XMM-Newton Observations of Solar Wind Charge Exchange Emission

We present an XMM-Newton spectrum of diffuse X-ray emission from within the solar system. The spectrum is dominated by O VII and O VIII lines at 0.57 keV and 0.65 keV, O VIII (and possibly Fe XVII) lines at approximately 0.8 keV, Ne IX lines at approximately 0.92 keV, and Mg XI lines at approximately 1.35 keV. This spectrum is consistent with what is expected from charge exchange emission between the highly ionized solar wind and either interstellar neutrals in the heliosphere or material from Earth's exosphere. The emission is clearly seen as a low-energy ( E less than 1.5 keV) spectral enhancement in one of a series of observations of the Hubble Deep Field North. The X-ray enhancement is concurrent with an enhancement in the solar wind measured by the ACE satellite. The solar wind enhancement reaches a flux level an order of magnitude more intense than typical fluxes at 1 AU, and has ion ratios with significantly enhanced higher ionization states. Whereas observations of the solar wind plasma made at a single point reflect only local conditions which may only be representative of solar wind properties with spatial scales ranging from less than half of an Earth radii (approximately 10 s) to 100 Earth radii, X-ray observations of solar wind charge exchange are remote sensing measurements which may provide observations which are significantly more global in character. Besides being of interest in its own right for studies of the solar system, this emission can have significant consequences for observations of more cosmological objects. It can provide emission lines at zero redshift which are of particular interest (e.g., O VII and O VIII) in studies of diffuse thermal emission, and which can therefore act as contamination in objects which cover the entire detector field of view. We propose the use of solar wind monitoring data, such as from the ACE and Wind spacecraft, as a diagnostic to screen for such possibilities