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[54.16U] Creating an X-ray Nebula in the Laboratory: Spectral Diagnostics of Neon Photoionization Experiments on the Z-machine

D.S. Conners, D.H. Cohen (Swarthmore College & Prism Computational Sciences), J.J. MacFarlane (Prism Computational Sciences), D.A. Liedahl (Livermore National Laboratory), J.E. Bailey (Sandia National Laboratory)

We report on initial spectroscopic studies of an X-ray photoionized neon plasma, in an attempt to study spectral properties of X-ray nebulae in the laboratory. These experiments, carried out on the Z-machine at Sandia, are optimized to produce a gradient free, X-ray heated and ionized plasma, and to approximate as closely as possible the photoionization-dominated regime. We present results of initial experiments demonstrating the ability to measure K-shell absorption spectra. We also present modeling of future experiments in which we will measure simultaneously the time-resolved absorption and emission spectra of the X-ray photoionized plasma. The emission spectra are expected to be relevant to spectra observed from sources like X-ray binaries. These experiments can help us better understand the new, high-resolution spectra being produced by the Chandra and XMM-Newton telescopes, and to benchmark spectral synthesis codes.

This work is supported by the Research Corporation, under grant CC5489 to Swarthmore College and DOE contract DE-FG03-98DP00250 to Prism Computational Sciences.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.