Cas A X-ray spectrum: Evidence for iron line emission
A sensitive measurement by rocket borne detectors of the X-ray flux from Cas A has revealed a steep continuum and a broad spectral feature in the region where line radiation from iron nuclei would be expected. The flux in this feature is .0122 plus or minus .0017 photons/sq cm/s: the total energy flux from 2 to 10 KeV is 1.02 x 10 to the minus 9th power ergs/sq cm/s. The presence of broad iron lines is consistent with a model in which approximately 13 MeV/nucleon iron nuclei charge exchange with surrounding interstellar oxygen and other heavy atoms. The model suggests that a substantial fraction of the energy from the outburst has gone into low energy cosmic rays which produce the observed HII region surrounding the remnant.