Chlorine and potassium enrichment in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant

The elements in the Universe are synthesized primarily in stars and supernovae, where nuclear fusion favours the production of even-Z elements. In contrast, odd-Z elements are less abundant and their yields are highly dependent on detailed stellar physics, making theoretical predictions of their cosmic abundance uncertain. In particular, the origin of odd-Z elements such as phosphorus (P), chlorine (Cl) and potassium (K), which are important for planet formation and life, is poorly understood. While the abundances of these elements in Milky Way stars are close to solar values, supernova explosion models systematically underestimate their production by up to an order of magnitude, indicating that key mechanisms for odd-Z nucleosynthesis are currently missing from theoretical models. Here we report the observation of P, Cl and K in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant using high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission data, with the detection of K at above the 6? level being the most significant finding. Supernova explosion models of normal massive stars cannot explain the element abundance pattern, especially the high abundances of Cl and K, while models that include stellar rotation, binary interactions or shell mergers agree closely with the observations. Our observations suggest that such stellar activity plays an important role in supplying these elements to the Universe.

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Publication Details

Journal
Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (USMAI Consortium)
Published
2025-12-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.13016/m2xnry-xytr
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
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article

Chlorine and potassium enrichment in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant

Ken Ebisawa, M. Shidatsu, Luigi Gallo, Yoshiaki Kanemaru et al.
Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (USMAI Consortium)
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
article

Chlorine and potassium enrichment in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant

Ken Ebisawa, M. Shidatsu, Luigi Gallo, Yoshiaki Kanemaru, Mai Takeo, Daiki Ishi, Jan‐Uwe Ness, Bamba Aya, V. Brown, Adam Foster, F. S. Porter, HIROFUMI NODA, Kumiko Nobukawa, Ralf Ballhausen, Naomi Ota, Misaki Mizumoto, Rozenn Boissay-Malaquin, E. Costantini, Yuusuke Uchida, A. Tanimoto, Tessei Yoshida, Manabu Ishida, Koji Mori, Aya Kubota, XRISM Collaboration, Tadayasu Dotani, Marc Audard, Natalie Hell, Rie Sato, Koji Mukai, Maria Diaz-Trigo, Isamu Hatsukade, Anna Ogorzalek, Nagomi Uchida, Kai Matsunaga, Hisamitsu Awaki, Yutaka Fujita, Ann Hornschemeier, Takaaki Tanaka, Shinichiro Uno, Shinya Yamada, Tsunefumi Mizuno, Ikuyuki Mitsuishi, Shogo Kobayashi, Eric Haynes Miller, Chris Done, Andrew Szymkowiak, Takayuki Hayashi, Robert Petre, Richard F. Mushotzky, Hiroya Yamaguchi, Randall Smith, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Takeshi G. Tsuru, Yuto Ichinohe, Makoto Yamauchi, Masayoshi Nobukawa, Javier A. Garcia, Yoshitaka Ishisaki, Hiromi Seta, Laura Brenneman, Erin Kara, Timothy Kallman, Caroline Kilbourne, Yoshitomo Maeda, Toshiki Sato, Hiroshi Nakajima, Satoru Katsuda, Maxim Markevitch, Hiroshi Murakami, Akihiro Furuzawa, Stephane Paltani, Takayoshi Kohmura, Jacco Vink, Matteo Guainazzi, Hiroshi Tsunemi, Tomokage Yoneyama, Makoto Tashiro, Kosuke Sato, Teruaki Enoto, Takashi Okajima, Keisuke Tamura, Shigeo Yamauchi, Paul Plucinsky, Edmund Hodges-Kluck, Katja Pottschmidt, Shin Watanabe, Renata Cumbee, Megan Eckart, Toru Tamagawa, Shin-ichiro Fujimoto, Yasushi Fukazawa, Hideki Uchiyama, Dominique Eckert, Mihoko Yukita, Aurora Simionescu, Maurice Leutenegger, Satoshi Yamada, Brian McNamara, Ehud Behar, Lia Corrales, Ryuichi Fujimoto, Yuichi Terashima, Yohko Tsuboi, Kenji Hamaguchi, Masahiro Tsujimoto, Brian J. Williams, Yuichiro Ezoe, Hiromasa Suzuki, Dan McCammon, Kotaro Fukushima, Irina Zhuravleva, Richard Kelley, Michael Loewenstein, Shoji Ogawa, Satoshi Eguchi, Liyi Gu, Hiroyuki Uchida, Manan Agarwal, Yukikatsu Terada, Hiromitsu Takahashi, François Mernier, Hirokazu Odaka, Hironori Matsumoto, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kazutaka Yamaoka, Jelle Kaastra, Shunji Kitamoto, Katsuhiro Hayashi, Kyoko Matsushita, Jon M. Miller
article en

Abstract

The elements in the Universe are synthesized primarily in stars and supernovae, where nuclear fusion favours the production of even-Z elements. In contrast, odd-Z elements are less abundant and their yields are highly dependent on detailed stellar physics, making theoretical predictions of their cosmic abundance uncertain. In particular, the origin of odd-Z elements such as phosphorus (P), chlorine (Cl) and potassium (K), which are important for planet formation and life, is poorly understood. While the abundances of these elements in Milky Way stars are close to solar values, supernova explosion models systematically underestimate their production by up to an order of magnitude, indicating that key mechanisms for odd-Z nucleosynthesis are currently missing from theoretical models. Here we report the observation of P, Cl and K in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant using high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission data, with the detection of K at above the 6? level being the most significant finding. Supernova explosion models of normal massive stars cannot explain the element abundance pattern, especially the high abundances of Cl and K, while models that include stellar rotation, binary interactions or shell mergers agree closely with the observations. Our observations suggest that such stellar activity plays an important role in supplying these elements to the Universe.

Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (USMAI Consortium)
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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