Mapping Plasma Properties of Cassiopeia A with XRISM/Resolve: A Bayesian Analysis via UltraSPEX

Abstract Mapping the physical conditions of the shocked plasma of young supernova remnants (SNRs) is crucial for understanding their explosion mechanisms, ejecta structure, and large-scale asymmetries. Using &gt;350 ks of XRISM/Resolve high spectral resolution observations of Cassiopeia A (Cas A), the youngest known Galactic core-collapse SNR, we present the first microcalorimeter-based plasma parameter maps of any SNR. We tessellate Cas A into <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo accent="false">′</mml:mo> <mml:mtext/> <mml:mspace width="0.1em"/> <mml:mtext/> <mml:mspace width="0.1em"/> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo accent="false">′</mml:mo> <mml:mtext/> <mml:mspace width="0.1em"/> <mml:mtext/> <mml:mspace width="0.1em"/> </mml:math> regions and fit the broadband spectra as thermal emission from two pure-metal ejecta components—corresponding to intermediate-mass elements (IMEs) and iron-group elements (IGEs)—plus nonthermal synchrotron radiation. For robust inference, we introduce UltraSPEX, a Bayesian framework that couples the SPEX plasma code with the UltraNest nested-sampling algorithm, yielding full posterior distributions and exploration of parameter degeneracies. Key findings include enhanced Ar/Si and Ca/Si abundance ratios near the base of the Si-rich jets and a high Ni/Fe mass ratio (0.08 ± 0.015) in the base of the NE jet. IGE ejecta exhibit systematically higher Doppler velocities and broadenings than IME ejecta in most regions, with maximum differences of ∼800 and ∼1200 km s −1 , respectively; Ca shows distinct (faster) kinematics from other IMEs in several SE regions. The ionization timescale and electron temperature show a robust anticorrelation, particularly for IGEs. This relation and measured parameter values could be explained by semianalytical models with significant ejecta clumping (overdensities of ∼10 for IGEs and up to ∼100 for IMEs) and reduced historical reverse-shock velocities. Nonthermal emission accounts for a substantial fraction, with at least 47% of the 4–6 keV continuum, and dominates in the western regions, where the spectrum hardens.