X-Ray Emission from Dust in Hot Plasmas

摘要

Energetic (few keV) thermal electrons easily penetrate interstellar dust grains immersed in hot plasmas. These electrons create K-shell vacancies in atoms locked in dust grains through the K-shell collisional ionization process. Heavy elements such as Fe and Ca produce fluorescent Kα emission in the subsequent decay of the inner shell vacancy. We predict that this emission from Fe atoms in dust grains should be present in X-ray spectra emitted by dusty plasma, in addition to Kα emission from highly ionized Fe ions