N. C. Shupe, D. H. Cohen (Swarthmore College), J. J. MacFarlane (Prism Computational Sciences)
We have performed an initial round of experiments at the Z-Machine at Sandia National Laboratory in an attempt to create and characterize an X-ray photoionized plasma that is analogous to those found in X-ray binaries and AGNs. The ultimate goal is to benchmark X-ray spectral modeling codes that are used to analyze Chandra and XMM data from accretion powered astrophysical objects. The initial experiments involved neon and the primary measurement made was time-integrated, back-lit X-ray absorption spectroscopy of the photoionized neon. We present numerical modeling of this experiment, including non-LTE radiation hydrodynamics and spectral synthesis results, that are in good agreement with the data. We also present scaling studies for future experiments, including sythesized time-resolved X-ray emission spectra that correspond to the high-resolution spectral data being produced by the current generation of X-ray telescopes.
The authors acknowledge the support of Research Corporation grant CC5489.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.