X-rays from charge transfer in astrophysics: Overview

摘要

X-rays produced by charge transfer provide a major fraction of the soft X-ray background. If they contribute significantly to emission from other astrophysical sources, then model fits that ignore them will yield wrong answers, and an important diagnostic opportunity will be missed. Several recent papers suggest charge transfer contributions to observed X-ray spectra. This informal overview discusses analysis that might confirm the charge transfer interpretation and carry it toward the status of a useful diagnostic.