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# RXTE, ROSAT and ASCA Observations of G347.3-0.5 (RX J1713.7-3946): Probing Cosmic-Ray Acceleration by a Galactic Shell-Type Supernova Remnant

## 1 Introduction

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are considered the leading candidates for the accelerators of cosmic-rays to at least the “knee” of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum ($`E`$ $``$ 3000 TeV). While the relationship between SNRs and cosmic-ray acceleration has received extensive attention in the literature (Bell, 1978a, b; Axford, 1981; Blandford & Eichler, 1987; Jones & Ellison, 1991; Malkov & Drury, 2001), most of this discussion has been theoretical, with only a limited amount of observational data to consider. One major unresolved issue related to cosmic-ray acceleration by SNRs is the maximum energy $`E`$cutoff attained by cosmic-ray particles accelerated by the shock front: for samples of young shell-type X-ray emitting SNRs located in the Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud, Reynolds & Keohane (1999) and Hendrick & Reynolds (2001) estimated values for $`E`$cutoff of $``$ 200 TeV and $``$ 80 TeV, respectively, both well below the cosmic-ray energy spectrum “knee.” Progress on this issue has been limited due to the lack of both X-ray and TeV observations of SNRs with the angular and spectral resolution needed to probe the acceleration process.

Recently, however, high spatial resolution observations of SNRs at X-ray energies have become feasible for the first time using such X-ray observatories as $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$, $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$, $`\mathrm{𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑎}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝑋𝑀𝑀}`$. These high resolution observations yield spatially-resolved spectroscopy of X-ray emitting features within the SNR, particularly the X-ray luminous rims that are associated with the expanding shock fronts of SNRs. By performing a detailed spectral analysis of X-ray emission from the rims of SNRs, corresponding to shock fronts where interstellar or circumstellar material is being swept up, the cosmic-ray acceleration process may be probed. Initial insights on cosmic-ray acceleration by SNRs have been gleaned from $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$, $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ observations of the high-energy X-ray emission from such SNRs as Cas A and SN 1006 (Willingale et al., 1996; Allen et al., 1997; Keohane, 1998; Dyer et al., 2001; Allen, Petre & Gotthelf, 2001), but a thorough multi-wavelength study of SNRs is required in order to obtain a detailed understanding of the cosmic-ray acceleration process.

In this paper, we present our analysis of the non-thermal X-ray emission from the Galactic SNR G347.3$``$0.5 (also known as RX J1713.7$``$3949). First discovered during the Röntgensatellit ($`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$) All Sky Survey (Pfeffermann & Aschenbach, 1996), this SNR has attracted a considerable amount of interest from the astronomical community. G347.3$``$0.5 is one of the brightest Galactic X-ray SNRs known with an X-ray flux density of 4.4 $`\times `$ 10-10 erg cm-2 s-1 (Pfeffermann & Aschenbach, 1996). Subsequent studies of this SNR based on $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ observations (Koyama et al., 1997; Slane et al., 1999) revealed that most of its X-ray emission is non-thermal and most likely produced by the synchrotron process. Unlike the X-ray spectra typically seen from most other SNRs, no thermal line emission was detected from any portion of G347.3$``$0.5 by these previous studies. The detection of non-thermal X-ray emission from this SNR has made G347.3$``$0.5 one of the prime examples of an SNR acting as an accelerator of cosmic-ray particles. In addition, Muraishi et al. (2000) detected emission from TeV photons located on the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5: those authors argued that these photons were produced by the inverse-Compton scattering process, with cosmic microwave background photons scattering off high-energy cosmic-ray electrons accelerated along the shock front of this SNR. This result makes G347.3$``$0.5 only the third shell-type SNR besides SN 1006 (Koyama et al., 1995) and Cas A (Aharonian et al., 2001) reported to produce TeV emission. A detailed analysis of the evolutionary state of G347.3$``$0.5 using radio, X-ray and TeV observations of the bright northwestern rim was given by Ellison et al. (2001). Those authors also estimated the maximum energy of cosmic-ray protons accelerated by G347.3$``$0.5 to be approximately 20 TeV. Butt et al. (2001) argued that this SNR is accelerating cosmic-ray nuclei as well as cosmic-ray electrons based on positional coincidence between the northeastern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 and the $`\gamma `$-ray source 3EG J1714$``$3857 (Hartman et al., 1999), which is positionally coincident with a molecular cloud: this cloud is assumed to be interacting with G347.3$``$0.5. Cosmic ray acceleration by this SNR was also discussed by Enomoto et al. (2002), who presented a TeV spectrum for the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 and argued that this spectrum is best fit by the decay of neutral pion ($`\pi `$0) particles rather than an inverse Compton spectrum of upscattered cosmic background photons. These pions are presumed to be produced by the collision of cosmic-ray protons (assumed to be accelerated by G347.3$``$0.5) with protons in the molecular cloud, as described by Enomoto et al. (2002). This result is in part based on the assumption that 3EG J1714$``$3857 is associated with G347.4-0.5 and, if correct, would represent significant observational evidence for cosmic-ray proton acceleration by an SNR (Aharonian, 2002). However, Reimer & Pohl (2002) and Butt et al. (2002) have disputed the association with the $`\gamma `$-ray source and instead claim that, while G347.3$``$0.5 is very likely an accelerator of cosmic-ray electrons, no convincing evidence yet exists that it accelerates hadrons as well. Other recent work on G347.3$``$0.5 includes modeling of the spectrum of AX J1714.1$``$3912, a hard X-ray source associated with 3EG J1714$``$3857 (Uchiyama et al., 2002), the discovery of fine-structure filaments associated with the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 (Uchiyama et al., 2003) and finally, a discussion of the flux of high energy neutrinos from the northwestern rim of this SNR, assuming that the TeV spectrum is produced by the decay of neutral pions, which yield neutrinos in the decay process (Alvarez-Muñiz & Halzen, 2002). In this paper, we present a spatially-resolved broadband spectral analysis of G347.3$``$0.5 in order to analyze the high energy emission from this SNR and probe cosmic-ray acceleration by this source. Like many Galactic SNRs, the distance to G347.3$``$0.5 and its age are not well known: early studies of this SNR suggested a low distance of about 1 kpc assuming G347.3$``$0.5 is in the Sedov stage of evolution (Pfeffermann & Aschenbach, 1996) or that it is associated with the historical supernova of 393 A.D. (Wang, Qu & Chen, 1997). In addition, Koyama et al. (1997) derived a distance of 1 kpc by comparing their measurement of the column density toward this source with the total column density in the direction of the Galactic Center. Such a low distance suggests that G347.3$``$0.5 is a young SNR with an age of about 2000 years. However, a subsequent analysis by Slane et al. (1999) instead favored a larger distance of 6 kpc based on a postulated association between G347.3$``$0.5, an HII region and a complex of three molecular clouds: such a distance would imply a much greater age of about 104 years. We will adopt a distance to G347.3$``$0.5 of 6 kpc for this paper in order to be consistent with the analyses presented by Slane et al. (1999) and Ellison et al. (2001) as well as the putative association between this SNR and the recently discovered pulsar J1713-3949, believed to lie at a distance of 5.0$`\pm `$0.2 kpc based on measurements of its dispersion measure (Crawford et al., 2002).

The organization of this paper is as follows: in Section 2, we describe the observations of G347.3$``$0.5 using ROSAT (Section 2.1), ASCA (Section 2.2) and RXTE (Section 2.3). While the ROSAT and ASCA observations have been presented previously, the RXTE observations are presented here for the first time. The spectral fitting and analysis for the datasets from all of the observations are described in Section 3, including descriptions of the models used to fit the non-thermal and thermal components to the X-ray emission. The results of this spectral fitting are presented in Section 4: we discuss in turn the maximum energies of electrons shock-accelerated by G347.3$``$0.5 (Section 4.1), our search for thermal X-ray emission from different regions of this SNR (Section 4.2), and the nature of the weak emission line found in the RXTE PCA spectrum of this source (Section 4.3). In our RXTE PCA data, we have searched for pulsed X-ray emission from the recently detected radio pulsar which is possibly associated with the discrete X-ray source seen at the center of G347.3$``$0.5: we describe this search in Section 4.4. A study of the broad-band spectrum of the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 from radio to $`\gamma `$-ray wavelengths is presented in Section 5. Comparisons between G347.3$``$0.5 and two similar SNRs (SN 1006 and G266.2$``$1.2) are presented in Section 6, and lastly the conclusions are given in Section 7.

## 2 Observations and Data Reduction

In this Section we discuss the X-ray observations that were used in this analysis, including the instruments used and the data reduction processes. These observations include archived data from observations of G347.3$``$0.5 that were made using the Position Sensitive Proprtion Counter (PSPCB, hereafter referred to as just PSPC) of $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ and the Gas Imaging Spectrometer (GIS) of $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$. We include our observations of this SNR using the Proportional Counting Array (PCA) of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ($`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$). These data sample the X-ray emission from G347.3$``$0.5 over nearly two full decades of energy (0.5 keV to 30 keV). Details of the observations for each instrument are provided in Table 1.

### 2.1 $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC Observations and Data Reduction

$`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ observed G347.3$``$0.5 at a location near the center of the remnant using the PSPC, a multiple-wire proportional counter sensitive to photons that have energies between approximately 0.1 and 2.0 keV. The energy resolution $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`E`$/$`E`$ is 0.43 at 0.93 keV and the field of view of the telescope is 2. For our off-axis observations, the angular resolution is $``$ 50 arcseconds (50% encircled-photon radius), and the maximum on-axis effective area of the system is about 260 cm2 (Pfeffermann et al., 1987).

Spectra were constructed using the PSPC data for four spatially separate regions: the luminous northwestern and southwestern rims, the northeastern rim and the interior region. This final region was considered in order to analyze diffuse emission from the interior of the SNR. Emission from the two bright interior point sources – 1WGA J1714.4$``$3945 and 1WGA J1713.4$``$3949 (Pfeffermann & Aschenbach, 1996; Slane et al., 1999) – were subtracted from this region before a spectrum was extracted. The former source appears to be associated with a foreground star while the latter may be the X-ray counterpart to a recently-discovered radio pulsar. This radio pulsar may in turn be associated with G347.3$``$0.5: we will discuss this source in more detail in Section 4.4. An image from the PSPC observation appears in Figure 1 with the positions of these regions indicated. Fits to the spectra extracted from these regions will be described in Section 3.2.

### 2.2 $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS Observations and Data Reduction

The instruments on $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ (Tanaka, Inoue & Holt, 1994) observed locations on the southwestern rim, the northwestern rim and the northeastern rim of G347.3$``$0.5. While both the GIS and the Solid-State Imaging Spectrometer (SIS) aboard $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ collected data during these observations, the GIS has a larger field of view so only the data from the GIS were considered for the present study. The GIS consists of two units (denoted as GIS2 and GIS3) of imaging gas scintillation proportional counters with a sealed-off gas cell equipped with an imaging phototube: for our research, we only considered data collected by the GIS2 unit. The GIS is sensitive over the energy range of approximately 0.7 - 10 keV and has an energy resolution of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`E`$/$`E`$ = 0.078 at 6 keV (Ohashi et al., 1996; Makishima et al., 1996). The field of view of the GIS is 22$`\mathrm{}`$ in radius and the maximum effective area for our off-axis observations is 94 cm2 at 2.07 keV. The data from these observations were reduced using standard $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS reduction techniques as described in “The $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ Data Reduction Guide, Version 2.0.” The reduction process filtered data for elevation angle, stable pointing directions, the South Atlantic Anomaly and cut-off rigidity. The data were also screened for characteristics of the GIS internal background and screening based on event locations and rise time. The standard script “ASCASCREEN” was run in order to accomplish much of this reduction. We extracted spectra for the northwestern rim, the southwestern rim and the northeast rim of the SNR using the same regions as in the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC spectral analysis. Fits to these spectra will be discussed in detail in Section 3.2.

### 2.3 $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA Observations and Data Reduction

G347.3$``$0.5 was observed by the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA with a pointing position that was offset by 7.8′ from the nominal center of the SNR to avoid contaminating flux from three nearby X-ray binaries (4U1708$``$408, 1RXS J170849.0$``$400910 and GPS1713$``$388) that appear close to G347.3$``$0.5 in the sky. Each of these X-ray binaries is located approximately 1 from the pointing position, so none of them appeared within the field of view (1 FWHM) of the RXTE PCA observation. Therefore, effects of contaminating flux from these X-ray binaries may be safely ignored.

The PCA is a spectrophotometer comprised of an array of five coaligned proportional counter units that are mechanically collimated to have a field of view of 1 FWHM. The array is sensitive to photons that have energies between approximately 2 and 60 keV. The energy resolution $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`E`$/$`E`$ of the array is 0.18 at 6 keV, and the maximum on-axis collecting area is about 6000 cm2 at 9.72 keV. The PCA data were screened to remove the time intervals during which (1) one or more of the five proportional counter units is off, (2) G347.3$``$0.5 is less than 10 above the limb of the Earth, (3) the background model is not well-defined and (4) the pointing direction of the detectors is more that 0.02 from the nominal pointing direction in either right ascension or declination. After screening the data using these criteria, a final dataset was prepared. The PCA background spectrum for G347.3$``$0.5 was estimated using the the FTOOL $`\mathrm{𝑝𝑐𝑎𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑠𝑡}`$111See http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/software/ftools/ftools\_menu.html for more information about FTOOLS..

G347.3$``$0.5 lies toward the direction of the Galactic Ridge (GR), a region of the Galaxy which features extensive diffuse X-ray emission as described by Valinia & Marshall (1998). G347.3$``$0.5 falls within the sub-region of the GR denoted as R1 by those authors: for this sub-region, Valinia & Marshall (1998) obtained a best-fit for the observed X-ray emission using a two component model. The first component is a Raymond-Smith plasma component (Raymond & Smith, 1977) – denoted as $`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$ – which describes the emission spectrum from a hot diffuse gas, including line emissions from several elements. Using this model, with abundances frozen to solar, Valinia & Marshall (1998) obtained a temperature of $`\mathrm{𝑘𝑇}`$ = 2.9 keV for the thermal emission from this sub-region of the GR. The second component was a simple power law (denoted as $`\mathrm{𝑃𝑂𝑊𝐸𝑅}\mathrm{𝐿𝐴𝑊}`$) which models the non-thermal emission from this sub-region: Valinia & Marshall (1998) obtained a photon index of 1.8 for this component. Lastly, the derived column density for the spectral fit was $`N`$H = 1.8$`\times `$1022 cm-2. To sample this background X-ray emission, two additional observations were made with the PCA of fields adjacent to the field observed in the pointed observation of G347.3$``$0.5: we denote these fields as Background Region 1 and Background Region 2, respectively (see Table 1). We note that the approximate pointing errors for all of the PCA observations are $``$8″. Data from these two observations were reduced in the same way as the data from the pointed observation of G347.3$``$0.5. In Figure 2, we present spectra extracted for the on-source observation and both of the background observations. We will return to a discussion of X-ray emission from the GR in Section 4.3.

## 3 Spectral Fitting and Analysis

### 3.1 The $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ Spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5

After reducing all of the data, we proceeded to perform spectral-fitting analysis using the X-ray spectral-fitting package $`\mathrm{𝑋𝑆𝑃𝐸𝐶}`$222See http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xanadu/xspec/index.html for more information about XSPEC., first considering the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA data. Given that the X-ray emission from G347.3$``$0.5 is known to be almost entirely non-thermal and probably produced by electrons emitting synchrotron radiation, we used three models for non-thermal X-ray emission to fit the data: a simple power law, the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ model and the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model. An emission feature is seen in the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA spectrum near 6.4 keV: to model this feature, we included a Gaussian component with each of the models used in the spectral fitting (see Section 4.3 for a more detailed discussion about this apparent feature). In all cases, photoelectric absorption along the line of sight was modeled using the Wisconsin (Morrison & McCammon, 1983) cross-sections and relative abundances of elements as described by Anders & Ebihara (1982).

$`\mathrm{𝑃𝑂𝑊𝐸𝑅}\mathrm{𝐿𝐴𝑊}`$: Earlier studies of the X-ray spectra associated with the bright rims of G347.3$``$0.5 by Koyama et al. (1997) and Slane et al. (1999) revealed that the X-ray emission from the northwestern rim, the southwestern rim and the eastern region of G347.3$``$0.5 could all be adequately fit using a simple power law (with a photon index of $``$ 2). These fits were made based on $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ observations (extending to approximately 10 keV), and we performed a fit to the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ data using a power law with approximately the same index. We included a second component, a Gaussian with a line width $`\sigma `$ frozen to 0 keV, to fit the apparent emission feature seen near 6.4 keV. We discuss this emission feature in more detail in Section 4.3.

Figure 3 shows a POWER LAW+GAUSSIAN fit to the spectrum extracted from the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA observations, using an photon index of 2.33 to correspond to the weighted mean value of photon indices obtained in the fits made to the northwestern rim, southwestern rim and eastern region of G347.3$``$0.5 by Slane et al. (1999). Clearly, this model did not fit the data in this energy range, yielding a reduced $`\chi `$2 of 482. Even when the photon index was a free parameter, an acceptable fit was still not obtained: in Figure 4, we plot the results of a POWER LAW+GAUSSIAN fit where we fit the photon index. In this Figure, the photon index is 2.61, yielding a $`\chi `$2 of 1808 for 49 degrees of freedom (a reduced $`\chi `$2 of 36.9). While this is certainly an improvement, this model still does not fit the data. We conclude that the power law models employed by Slane et al. (1999) over the energy ranges sampled by $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ cannot be extended into the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ energy range. The energy distribution of the electrons that produce the observed X-ray spectrum is therefore inconsistent with a simple power law.

$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$: The second model used in our analysis was $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$, which describes a synchrotron spectrum from an electron distribution limited by particle escape above some energy. This model was used by Dyer et al. (2001) to sucessfully fit the X-ray spectrum of SN 1006, and thorough descriptions of this model are presented by Reynolds (1996) and Reynolds (1998). The $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ model describes electrons which are shock-acclerated in a Sedov blast wave encountering a constant-density medium containing a uniform magnetic field. This model also includes variations in electron acceleration efficiency with shock obliquity and post-shock radiative and adiabatic losses.

In Figure 5, we present a fit to the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ spectrum using the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ model combined with the $`\mathrm{𝐺𝐴𝑈𝑆𝑆𝐼𝐴𝑁}`$ model. Similar to our attempts to fit the spectrum with a $`\mathrm{𝑃𝑂𝑊𝐸𝑅}\mathrm{𝐿𝐴𝑊}`$+$`\mathrm{𝐺𝐴𝑈𝑆𝑆𝐼𝐴𝑁}`$ model, we could not obtain an acceptable fit to the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 using this model. For the plotted model, the corresponding ratio of $`\chi `$2 to degrees of freedom is 2451/48 = 51.07. We therfore conclude that the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ model, like the $`\mathrm{𝑃𝑂𝑊𝐸𝑅}\mathrm{𝐿𝐴𝑊}`$ model, does not properly describe the non-thermal X-ray emission seen from this SNR.

$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$: The third model we considered is denoted as $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$: it was described by Reynolds (1998), Reynolds & Keohane (1999) and Hendrick & Reynolds (2001), with the latter two papers implementing the model in their study of the maximum energies of electrons accelerated by samples of SNRs in the Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud, respectively. The $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model describes a synchrotron spectrum from an exponentially cut off power law distribution of electrons in a uniform magnetic field. The photon spectrum is itself a cut-off power law, rolling off more slowly than an exponential in photon energies. Though this model is an oversimplification, it is more realistic than a power law and it does give the maximally curved physically plausible spectrum. This spectrum can in turn be used to set limits on maximum accelerated electron energies even in remnants whose X-rays are thermal. The $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model assumes an electron energy spectrum $`N`$e($`E`$) of the form

$$N_e(E)=KE^\mathrm{\Gamma }e^{E/E_{cutoff}}$$
(1)
where $`K`$ is a normalization constant derived from the observed flux density of the region of the SNR at 1 GHz, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is defined as 2$`\alpha `$+1 (where $`\alpha `$ is the radio spectral index) and $`E`$cutoff is the maximum energy of the accelerated cosmic-ray electrons. A crucial advantage of this model (as well as the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ model) is that a resulting fit may be compared with two observable properties of an SNR, namely its flux density at 1 GHz and $`\alpha `$. Finally, one of the fit parameters for the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ models is the cutoff frequency $`\nu _{cutoff}`$ of the synchrotron spectrum of the electrons. This quantity is defined as the frequency at which the flux has dropped by a factor of 10 from a straight power law. We can express $`\nu _{cutoff}`$ in a way which is quantitatively consistent with previous work (Reynolds, 1998; Reynolds & Keohane, 1999; Hendrick & Reynolds, 2001) as

$$\nu _{cutoff}0.48\times 10^{16}\left(\frac{B_{\mu G}}{10\mu G}\right)\left(\frac{E_{cutoff}}{10\text{TeV}}\right)^2\text{Hz,}$$
(2)
where $`B_{\mu G}`$ is the magnetic field strength of the SNR in $`\mu `$G, assuming the electrons are moving perpendicular to the magnetic field. By using the value for $`\nu _{cutoff}`$ returned by $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ as well as the normalization factor $`K`$, the synchrotron spectrum of the shock-accelerated electrons can be adequately described. Moreover, an estimate for the maximum energy $`E`$cutoff for the shock-accelerated electrons can also be derived.

In Figure 6, we present a fit to the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ spectrum using the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model. Clearly, this model gives the best-fit to the spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 over this energy range: the corresponding value for $`\chi `$2/degrees of freedom is 207.98/48 = 4.33, which is a considerable improvement (though still not statistically acceptable) over the fits obtained by both the $`\mathrm{𝑃𝑂𝑊𝐸𝑅}\mathrm{𝐿𝐴𝑊}`$ model and the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ model. The normalization $`K`$ for the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ component of this fit indicates that the flux density at 1 GHz for the entire SNR is 6.9 $`\pm `$ 0.2 Jy (90% confidence limits). This value is marginally consistent with the weak radio emission seen from this SNR, known to be dominated by a source of emission at the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 with a corresponding flux density of 4 $`\pm `$ 1 Jy (Ellison et al., 2001). Moreover, the broad field of view of the PCA certainly intercepts diffuse X-ray flux from other sources besides G347.3$``$0.5, which leads to a corresponding increase in the value for $`K`$ returned by the fit. We also note that by using the best fit value for $`\nu `$cutoff, Equation 2 yields $`E`$cutoff $``$ 68 TeV (assuming a magnetic field strength of 10 $`\mu `$G). This is in good agreement with the value of $`E`$cutoff obtained by Ellison et al. (2001) using a similar value for $`B`$μG with different models. Based on our success in fitting the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 with the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model, we conclude that the energy distribution of the highest energy cosmic-ray electrons accelerated by this SNR is consistent with an exponentially cut-off power law.

### 3.2 Joint Spectral Fitting of $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC, $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS and $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA Data

We next applied the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model to the X-ray spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 as observed by the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC and the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS as well as the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA. We took advantage of the spatial resolving capabilities of the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC and the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS in order to simultaneously fit spectra extracted from particular regions of the SNR. We simultaneously fit eight different X-ray spectra: the spectra for the northwestern rim, the southwestern rim, the northeastern rim and the diffuse central emission (with the two interior point sources omitted) as observed by the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC, the spectra for the northwestern rim, the southwestern rim and the northeastern rim as observed by the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS and finally the spectra for the whole SNR as observed by the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA.

Two models (each a combination of a thermal component and a non-thermal component) were used for the joint spectral-fitting process – namely a $`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model and an $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑄𝑈𝐼𝐿}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model – in order to fit both the thermal and non-thermal components respectively in the individual specta. In their study of the X-ray spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 based on $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC and $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS data, Slane et al. (1999) found no evidence for thermal emission from any portion of the SNR. We revisted this issue by testing whether the joint fit to the individual spectra would be improved by the inclusion of a thermal component. Both thermal models describe the emission spectrum from a hot diffuse gas, including line emission from several elements, that is in a state of collisional ionization equilibrium. Both of these models have a common set of parameters: a plasma temperature $`\mathrm{𝑘𝑇}`$, an abundance $`Z`$, a redshift $`z`$ and an emission measure $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑀}`$. For the purposes of the present work, we froze the values of $`Z`$ and $`z`$ to unity (i.e., solar abundance) and zero, respectively. The emission measure $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑀}`$ is defined as

$$\text{EM}\text{(cm}\text{-5}\text{)}=\frac{10^{14}}{4\pi d^2}n_en_H𝑑V,$$
(3)
where $`d`$ is the distance to the source in centimeters and $`n`$e and $`n`$H are the electron and hydrogen densities, respectively, in units of cm-3. We can evaluate this expression as follows: we recall that we have assumed a distance of 6 kiloparsecs to G347.3$``$0.5 and we note that the angular size of this SNR is 65$`\mathrm{}`$ $`\times `$ 55$`\mathrm{}`$ (Green, 2001), therefore the corresponding linear radius is 1.65 $`\times `$ 1020 cm. Assuming a spherical volume for the SNR with a filling factor of one-quarter (that is, assumed only one-quarter of the total volume of the SNR is filled with thermal particles that produce the observed emission), as well as uniform values for $`n`$e and $`n`$H throughout the volume, then Equation 3 yields

$$\text{EM}\text{(cm}\text{-5}\text{)}=\left(\frac{10^{14}}{4\pi d^2}\right)\left(\frac{1}{4}\right)\left(\frac{4}{3}\pi r^3\right)n_en_H=\text{(10.92 cm)}n_en_H$$
(4)
We can estimate the ambient densities of hydrogen surrounding G347.3$``$0.5 from the values obtained from the spectral fits for $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑀}`$ (assuming $`n`$e = 1.2 $`n`$H). We will continue this discussion when we describe our detection of thermal X-ray emission from G347.3$``$0.5 in Section 4.2.

We have modeled the background diffuse X-ray emission from the GR as observed by the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA with the same two component model used by Valinia & Marshall (1998) mentioned earlier, namely a $`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑃𝑂𝑊𝐸𝑅}\mathrm{𝐿𝐴𝑊}`$ model where the abundance $`Z`$ is frozen to solar values and the redshift $`z`$ is frozen to zero. We froze the values for $`\mathrm{𝑘𝑇}`$, photon index and $`N`$H to be 2.9 keV, 1.8 and 1.8 $`\times `$ 1022 cm-2, respectively: these are the same best-fit values measured by Valinia & Marshall (1998). The normalizations for the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝑃𝑂𝑊𝐸𝑅}\mathrm{𝐿𝐴𝑊}`$ components were left as free parameters.

In Figures 7 through 9, we present data, fits and residuals for the spectra extracted from the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC regions (Figure 7), the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS regions (Figure 8) and the whole SNR as observed by the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA (Figure 9) using the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model. Similarly, in Figures 10 through 12, we present data, fits and residuals for the same set of spectra using the $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑄𝑈𝐼𝐿}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model. In Tables 2 and 3, we present the fit parameters for the depicted fits: the quality of the two fits is comparable for the two models (a $`\chi `$2/degrees of freedom of 808.25/471 = 1.72 for the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model compared to a $`\chi `$2/degrees of freedom of 843.76/472 = 1.79 for the $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑄𝑈𝐼𝐿}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model for 501 pulse height amplitude bins). We emphasize that, for both two-component models, the fits successfully reproduce the observed radio properties of G347.3$``$0.5, namely the two estimates for the flux densities at 1 GHz for the northwestern rim are both consistent with the observed value of 4 $`\pm `$ 1 Jy (Ellison et al., 2001). Also, the estimates for the flux densities at that frequency for the other portions of the SNR are very modest, also consistent with observations. In the next section we discuss these fit parameters in more detail.

## 4 Results

### 4.1 Cutoff Energies of Electrons Shock-Accelerated by G347.3$``$0.5

The electron energy $`E`$e associated with synchrotron photons radiated at energy $`E`$X is given by the relation

$$E_e\frac{80\text{TeV}}{B_{\mu G}^{1/2}}\left(\frac{E_X}{1\text{keV}}\right)^{1/2}$$
(5)
We can use this equation and the values for $`\nu `$cutoff derived by our fits to estimate the maximum energy $`E`$cutoff of the electrons accelerated by G347.3$``$0.5. We took four values for $`\nu `$cutoff yielded by our fits to the emission from the northwestern rim and the diffuse central emission using the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$ model and the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$+$`\mathrm{𝐸𝑄𝑈𝐼𝐿}`$ model. Using Equation 5, $`E`$X = $`h`$$`\nu `$cutoff yields an estimate for $`E`$cutoff (assuming a magnetic field of 10 $`\mu `$G), and we list our calculated values for $`E`$cutoff in Table 4. These values range from approximately 19 TeV to 25 TeV and are consistent with the values obtained by Ellison et al. (2001). We agree with the results and arguments of Slane et al. (1999) and Ellison et al. (2001) that G347.3$``$0.5 is $`\mathrm{𝑛𝑜𝑡}`$ accelerating cosmic-ray electrons to the “knee” energy of 3000 TeV. In Section 5, we describe a more rigorous attempt to estimate the maximum energy of cosmic-ray electrons accelerated by this SNR, where we simultaneously consider radio, X-ray and TeV emission from the northwestern rim. We will employ a more sophisticated fitting method where the ambient magnetic field strength is allowed to vary.

### 4.2 Thermal X-ray Emission from G347.3$``$0.5?

Previous X-ray observations of G347.3$``$0.5 by Koyama et al. (1997) and Slane et al. (1999) found no evidence for thermal emission from any portion of this SNR. Slane et al. (1999) placed upper limits on the amount of thermal emission as a function of $`kT`$ for both emission from the northwestern rim and the central diffuse emission of G347.3$``$0.5. By including a thermal component in fits to the X-ray emission from G347.3$``$0.5, we re-examine the upper limits on thermal emission derived by Slane et al. (1999).

In Table 4, we present values for $`E`$cutoff, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, $`n`$H and $`n`$e = 1.2 $`n`$H, as calculated from our model fit values for $`\alpha `$, $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑀}`$ and Equation 4. We have considered only the fit values for the northwestern rim and the central diffuse emission based on the results of both the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$ model and the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$+$`\mathrm{𝐸𝑄𝑈𝐼𝐿}`$ model. For the northwestern rim, we can only provide upper limits for $`n`$H and $`n`$e. In Figures 13 and 14, we plot our values for $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑀}`$ for the northwestern rim and the central diffuse emission, respectively, against the upper limits derived by Slane et al. (1999). We find that for the northwestern rim, our values for $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑀}`$ fall well below the upper limits of Slane et al. (1999), but for the diffuse emission form the central region, our values for $`\mathrm{𝐸𝑀}`$ more closely straddle the upper limits, and in the case of $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$+$`\mathrm{𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑁𝐷}`$ our value exceeds the upper limit. This result indicates the first detection of thermal X-ray emission from G347.3$``$0.5: we speculate that earlier work may have missed this thermal emission because earlier efforts had concentrated on the non-thermal properties of this SNR (particularly the bright rims of this SNR) and only considered a narrower energy range of the spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5. In addition, the rather large angular size of this SNR makes it difficult to completely sample all of its X-ray properties. A more thorough understanding of the rather modest thermal emission from this SNR will require additional observations and modeling.

### 4.3 The Detection of Iron Emission – Galactic Ridge Background?

We now comment on a modest spectral feature seen near 6.4 keV in the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 and at a similar energy in the spectra from the two background observations also made with the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA. This emission feature may be associated with iron, which is known to produce a broad set of emission features between the energies of 6 keV and 7 keV. One possibility to consider is that the feature is produced by thermal emission from G347.3$``$0.5: we note that Bykov (2002) has recently argued that fast moving isolated fragments of SN ejecta composed of heavy elements (such as iron) should produce K$`\alpha `$ fluoresence emission lines at X-ray energies, and that the iron K$`\alpha `$ fluoresence emission line energy is known to be approximately 6.4 keV. A second possibility is that the feature originates from diffuse emission associated with the GR, which is seen in projection beyond G347.3$``$0.5. The large field of view of the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA (approximately 1 FWHM) and the lack of imaging capabilities of this instrument make it difficult to clearly associate this feature with either G347.3$``$0.5 or the GR. Recently, Tanaka (2002) presented an analysis of spectral features – including the iron K$`\alpha `$ fluoresence emission line – associated with different portions of the GR, as observed by the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ SIS.

In Table 5, we present the line energies and normalizations (along with the 90% confidence limits for these values) for the emission feature as seen in the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA spectra of G347.3$``$0.5 and the two background pointings. We also performed a simultaneous fit of the emission feature as seen in the three spectra, where the line energies and the normalizations for the feature as seen in each spectra were fixed to be the same. We also present the best-fit values for the line energy and the normalization for the joint fit as well. Notice that in each case, the line energies and the normalizations are all approximately the same, within the confidence limits. In order to check for any instrumental effects that may be corrupting the data, we obtained archived data from an $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA observation of Cas A made on 1999 August 5 (OBSID 40806$``$01$``$04$``$00): we selected this particular observation of Cas A for analysis because it took place nearly contemporaneously to our G347.3$``$0.5 observation (less than two months later). Using the same data reduction techniques described in Section 2.3, we generated a source spectrum of Cas A and measured both the line energy and the normalization of the iron K$`\alpha `$ emission line seen in the spectrum of Cas A. We measured a line energy of 6.66$`{}_{0.02}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{+0.01}`$ keV, which is in good agreement with the energy of this emission line in the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ SIS spectra of Cas A as observed by Holt et al. (1994). Thus, we conclude that there are no instrumental effects that are corrupting our analysis of the emission feature near 6.4 keV.

We therefore hypothesize that the spectral feature seen in the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA is not associated with G347.3$``$0.5 for two major reasons. First, this feature was not detected by either Slane et al. (1999) or by us during the analysis of $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS observations of this SNR which sampled the energy range which includes this spectral feature. Second, by inspection of Figure 2 and Table 5, it is clear that the emission feature is seen in both the on-source $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA pointing and the two background pointings, and the line energies and normalizations of the emission features for all three pointings are similar. If this feature was associated with G347.3$``$0.5 rather than the GR, we would expect that the line energy and/or the normalization in the source region would significantly differ from the values seen for the feature in the two background pointings. In the study of spectral features observed from diffuse X-ray emission from the GR, Tanaka (2002) found that only diffuse emission from within 1 of the Galactic Center exhibited a feature near 6.4 keV, while the diffuse line spectrum from two other regions – centered at longitudes of 10 and 28.5, respectively – were dominated instead by a feature near 6.7 keV. Because neither of these two regions include the positions of G347.3$``$0.5 or the two background regions, however, we argue that the results from Tanaka (2002) are not applicable to our study presented here. We therefore conclude that the spectral feature is not associated with G347.3$``$0.5 and instead originates in the diffuse X-ray emission from the GR seen in projection beyond G347.3$``$0.5.

### 4.4 X-ray Pulsations from the Radio Pulsar PSR J1713$``$3949 (Possibly Associated with 1WGA J1713.4$``$3949 and G347.3$``$0.5)?

Recent radio observations of 1WGA J1713.4$``$3949 (the X-ray source centrally located inside G347.3$``$0.5) by Crawford et al. (2002) discovered a new pulsar (PSR J1713$``$3949) with a period of 392 ms within 7 arcminutes (the discovery beam radius) of the X-ray source. Crawford et al. (2002) derived a distance of 5.0$`\pm `$0.2 kiloparsecs to this source, which is consistent with the distance estimate to G347.3$``$0.5 of Slane et al. (1999). The position of 1WGA J1713.4$``$3949 near the center of G347.3$``$0.5 suggests that the X-ray source (as well as the radio pulsar) and the SNR are associated. In addition, the position of G347.3$``$0.5 itself near a molecular cloud also suggests that the SNR was produced by a massive star in a core collapse SNe: these types of SNe are expected to produce neutron stars. To further investigate the nature of 1WGA J1713.4$``$3949, we performed a timing analysis of our $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA data to search for pulsations from this source.

In Figure 15, we present a power spectrum of our $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA data over the frequency range of 2.5 through 2.6 Hz with a dashed vertical line indicating a period of 392 ms (2.55 Hz). We find no evidence for pulsations in our spectrum at any frequency, including 2.55 Hz. Our failure to detect pulsations from this central source may be explained by several factors, such as significant contaminating diffuse background emission from the GR, cosmic ray background and finally emission from the SNR dominating over emission from a pulsar over the energy range sampled by our $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA observation. Pointed high angular resolution X-ray observations would be much more sensitive to pulsed X-ray emission from this source.

## 5 The Broadband Energy Spectrum of the Northwestern Rim of G347.3$``$0.5

In Figure 16, we present a broadband energy spectrum of the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 ranging from radio through $`\gamma `$-ray energies. We have constructed this diagram using published values for the 1 GHz radio observation of G347.3$``$0.5 by the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) as presented by Ellison et al. (2001), the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC and $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS data described previously in this paper and data from the CANGAROO observation at TeV energies of the spectrum of this rim as published by Enomoto et al. (2002). Using the $`\mathrm{𝐼𝑆𝐼𝑆}`$ software package333See http://space.mit.edu/ASC/ISIC/ for more information about $`\mathrm{𝐼𝑆𝐼𝑆}`$. (Houck & Denicola, 2000), we obtained a fit to the energy spectrum using a model that includes multiple high energy processes associated with SNRs, as indicated by separate curves. These curves indicate the emission profile expected by a shock-accelerated population of electrons from two different processes: synchrotron emission (as indicated by the curve labeled “S”), and inverse-Compton emission from cosmic microwave background photons that have been upscattered to TeV energies by energetic cosmic-ray electrons (the curve labeled “IC”). These emission models are consistent with the models employed by Sturner et al. (1997), and a detailed discussion of the high energy emission from non-linear shock acceleration processes associated with SNRs is given by Baring et al. (1999). From our fit to the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS data and the TeV data, we have derived estimates for $`E`$cutoff for the accelerated cosmic-ray electrons and magnetic field strength $`B`$. For the depicted fit, the ratio of $`\chi `$2 to the degrees of freedom is 191.78/113 = 1.70. Based on this fit, we estimate a value of only 8.8$`{}_{}{}^{+4.1}{}_{3.4}{}^{}`$ TeV for $`E`$cutoff of the accelerated cosmic-ray electrons and a corresponding magnetic field strength of $`B`$ = 150$`{}_{}{}^{+250}{}_{80}{}^{}`$ $`\mu `$G. This value for $`E`$cutoff is sharply lower (but still consistent) with the upper limit derived by Ellison et al. (2001), while the corresponding value for $`B`$ is considerably larger than the value of 10$`\mu `$G assumed by Slane et al. (1999). There is also a modest amount of overlap between our range of values for $`B`$ and the the range suggested by Enomoto et al. (2002) (10 $`\mu `$G – 100 $`\mu `$G). However, the physical plausibility of this fit may be questioned based on the value derived for the ratio of the volumes for TeV emission and X-ray emission from the northwestern rim – that is, $`V`$TeV/$`V`$X-ray. In contrast to Enomoto et al. (2002), who fixed this ratio to equal unity, we allowed this ratio to vary and obtained a value of $`V`$TeV/$`V`$X-ray $``$ 1000, with a lower limit of 360, assuming that the power law index is 2.1 (derived from our from our model fits where $`\alpha `$ = 0.55) and that there is no curvature to the electron spectrum. This ratio is too high to be physically acceptable, and suggests that the TeV emission from the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 is not produced by inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons off high energy electrons accelerated along this rim of the SNR.

Nonetheless, while this TeV emission may not be produced by inverse Compton scattering, we argue that neutral pion decay also cannot produce this emission. We point out that in arguing that the TeV emission is produced by neutral pion decay, Enomoto et al. (2002) assumed an extremely large ambient density ($`n`$ $``$ 100 cm-3 if a distance of 6 kpc to G347.3$``$0.5 is assumed) for the northwestern rim of the SNR. Our fits to the thermal component of the X-ray emission from the northwestern rim and the central diffuse emission yield a dramatically lower ambient density ($`n`$ $``$ 0.05-0.07 cm-3) and make the conclusions of Enomoto et al. (2002) seem untenable. Slane et al. (1999) also concluded that G347.3$``$0.5 is expanding into an ambient interstellar medium with an extremely low density, and suggested that the SNR is expanding into the evacuated wind-blown cavity created by the stellar progenitor: we agree with this finding, and suggest that while G347.3$``$0.5 may have formed in the vicinity of dense molecular clouds, it has not yet begun to interact with these clouds. We also note that the observed TeV emission is observed to be centered on the northwestern rim of the SNR and not on the adjacent cloud, as assumed by Enomoto et al. (2002). Finally, Reimer & Pohl (2002) noted that if the flux of the GeV emission from the $`\gamma `$-ray source 3EG J1714$``$3857 can be used to constrain the neutral pion decay spectrum fit presented by Enomoto et al. (2002): if this source is associated with the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5, its flux must be taken into account in all spectral fits, while if the $`\gamma `$-ray source is not associated with this rim, then the GeV emission may be treated instead as upper limits on flux along this energy range. Reimer & Pohl (2002) showed that the flux from the neutral pion decay spectrum fit exceeded the observed GeV emission by a factor of three, therefore strongly arguing against neutral pion decay as the process responsible for the TeV emission. For these reasons, we argue that the TeV emission observed from the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 is not produced by neutral pion decay. We also comment that if the ambient density is as low as inferred by our estimates, the process of non-thermal bremsstrahlung emission – as well as neutral pion decay – will be significantly suppressed. A non-thermal bremsstrahlung origin for the TeV emission may also be ruled out because a spectrum generated by this process would – like the spectrum produced by neutral pion decay – exceed the observed GeV emission. In conclusion, we state that none of the known high energy processes associated with SNRs – inverse Compton scattering, neutral pion decay and non-thermal bremsstrahlung – can adequately fit the observed TeV emission from the northwestern rim. From the work of Ellison et al. (2000), we suspect that all models of high energy emission from SNRs over broad energy ranges must take into account some curvature in the energy spectrum of accelerated electrons rather than assuming simple power laws. In such a case, one of these emission processes may be able to adequately fit the observed TeV emission from the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 – and perhaps the rims of other SNRs detected at such high energies – after all. We will discuss such curvature in the energy spectra of SNRs in more detail in a future work.

Lastly, we consider the putative association between G347.3$``$0.5 and the X-ray source AX J1714.1$``$3912, a hard spectrum source coincident with a molecular cloud located along the northeastern rim of G347.3$``$0.5. Uchiyama et al. (2003) presented an analysis of the spectral properties of this source using data from ASCA $`\mathrm{𝐺𝐼𝑆}`$ observations. The X-ray spectrum of this source was best fit by a power law with a rather flat photon index of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$=1.0$`{}_{0.3}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{+0.4}`$, prompting Uchiyama et al. (2003) to argue that such a spectrum was best interpreted as non-thermal bremsstrahlung emission from particles accelerated at the shock interface between the northeastern rim of G347.3$``$0.5 and the molecular cloud. Despite the spatial proximity between G347.3$``$0.5 and the molecular cloud (and, by extension, AX J1714.1$``$3912), the evidence for the association between these sources is not compelling because, based on simulations of the interactions between SNRs and interstellar clouds (Jun & Jones, 1999), we expect the amount of radio emission from both the SNR and the cloud to dramatically increase as a result of the interaction. Jun & Jones (1999) also predict that if the SNR has overtaken the cloud, the radio emission from the SNR would “wrap around” the cloud, and such a morphology should be readily apparent. Radio images of G347.3$``$0.5 and its surrounding environment have been made with the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) (Roberts, 1994) and presented by Slane et al. (1999) (at the frequency of 843 MHz) and Ellison et al. (2001) (at the frequency of 1.4 GHz). Inspection of these images reveals little (if any) radio emission at either the position of AX J1714.1$``$3912 or the northeastern rim of G347.3$``$0.5, and no evidence for a “wrap around” morphology in the radio emission. The failure to detect radio emission from the hard X-ray source or the northeastern rim of the SNR and a “wrap around” morphology to the radio emission argues against an interaction taking place at that site. Another reason to doubt that an interaction is taking place between G347.3$``$0.5 and the molecular cloud is related to the ratio of emission from rotational transitions of CO molecules, CO($`J`$=2$``$1)/CO($`J`$=1$``$0), as measured at the site of the cloud. An enhanced value for this ratio (such as a value of 1.2 or greater) is thought to indicate that an interaction is taking place between the cloud and a shock, such as the one associated with an SNR (Seta et al., 1998). Both Slane et al. (1999) and Butt et al. (2001) found an enhanced value for this ratio for the cloud along the northeastern rim of the SNR, but we suggest that in this particular case the enhanced CO($`J`$=2$``$1)/CO($`J`$=1$``$0) ratio and the low ambient density of the SNR cannot be reconciled, and that (as mentioned before) G347.3$``$0.5 is not currently interacting with this molecular cloud. Butt et al. (2001) measured a value for the flux ratio CO($`J`$=2$``$1)/CO($`J`$=1$``$0) of 2.4$`\pm `$0.9: according to Draine & Roberge (1984), such a flux ratio corresponds to a shock velocity of less than 5 km/sec in the cloud. The shock speed in a cloud is reduced by the square root of the ratio of the ambient densities. Based on CO observations (Bronfman et al., 1989; Butt et al., 2001), the mean density of the cloud has been estimated to be approximately 500 cm-3. From our spectral fits, we have inferred an average ambient density G347.3$``$0.5 to be $``$ 0.06 cm-3: from these estimates for the mean density of the cloud and ambient density around the SNR, we conclude that the shock velocity outside the cloud is less than 500 km/sec. For comparison, if we assume that the electrons and protons in G347.3$``$0.5 are in thermal equilibrium at $`\mathrm{𝑘𝑇}`$ = 1.5 keV (from our fits to the diffuse thermal emission from the SNR), then the corresponding shock velocity is approximately 1100 km/sec. Since the proton temperature is most likely much larger than the electron temperature in the case of young SNRs (Hwang et al., 2002), like G347.3$``$0.5, this value for the shock velocity is actually a lower limit, and therefore the shock velocity exceeds 1100 km/sec, which is in sharp disagreement with the shock velocity of $`<`$ 500 km/sec derived earlier. Uchiyama et al. (2003) noted that the large X-ray luminosity of AX J1714.1$``$3912 (1.7 $`\times `$ 1035 ergs/sec at the assumed distance of 6 kpc) made G347.3$``$0.5 barely able to provide enough kinetic energy (in the form of nonthermal particles) to power this source, unless G347.3$``$0.5 is much closer than 6 kpc or the SN explosion which created this SNR had more than 1051 ergs of energy. We suggest that G347.3$``$0.5 is located in the vicinity of the clouds, but has not yet started to interact with any of the clouds. More observations and analysis are required to determine the true nature of AX J1714.1$``$3912.

## 6 Comparison with Other Shell-Type SNRs with Non-Thermal X-ray Emission: SN 1006 and G266.2-1.2

In Table 6, we compare the gross properties of G347.3$``$0.5 with two other dynamically-young shell-type SNRs which possess significant non-thermal components to their X-ray emission, SN 1006 (Dyer et al., 2001; Allen, Petre & Gotthelf, 2001) and G266.2$``$1.2 (Slane et al., 2001). Inspection of this Table 6 reveals that all three SNRs are X-ray luminous, radio faint and are expanding into regions of the interstellar medium with particularly low ambient density. Both core-collapse and Type Ia SNe appear to produce SNRs with non-thermal X-ray emission: SN 1006 is the archetype of a SNR produced by a Type Ia SN, while G266.2$``$1.2 and G347.3$``$0.5 are thought to be produced by Type II SNe. The X-ray morphologies of these three SNRs also contrast as well: for SN 1006, the morphology is bilateral with two X-ray bright rims, visible in $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ images of this SNR (Dyer et al., 2001), while the morphologies of both G266.2$``$1.2 and G347.3$``$0.5 feature multiple bright rims: $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ and $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ images of these two SNRs reveal luminous northwestern, southwestern and northeastern rims for both SNRs, while G266.2$``$1.2 also has a luminous southern rim as well (Slane et al., 1999, 2001). The X-ray synchrotron flux depends on the exponential cut-off energy, the strength of the magnetic field, and the density of nonthermal electrons. In the case of SN 1006, the morphology may be due to an enhancement (via compression) in the magnetic field along the two bright rims relative to the magnetic field strength elsewhere along the rim. The morphology of SN 1006 – with two symmetric luminous X-ray rims – was reproduced remarkably well by the work of Reynolds (1998), who described models of synchrotron X-rays from shell supernova remnants. In the cases of G347.3$``$0.5 and G266.2$``$1.2, the cause of the morphology is not clear. The bright rims may be associated with regions where the density of nonthermal electrons is relatively high. The common property of low ambient density for these SNRs does not imply an exclusive requirement for non-thermal X-ray emission: for example, another SNR, Cas A, possesses a strong non-thermal X-ray component to its emission (Vink & Laming, 2003) – though not a component which dominates the X-ray spectrum of the SNR – and is expanding into a particularly dense ambient medium. Nonetheless, it appears that a low ambient density – independent of the type of SN progenitor – is conducive to the X-ray spectrum of the SNR being dominated by non-thermal X-ray emission. Deep X-ray observations and detailed analysis of other SNRs located in regions of low ambient density are required to determine the degree to which low ambient density is necessary for producing this type of X-ray emission: we will explore this subject in more detail using a sample of such SNRs in a future work.

## 7 Conclusions

The results and conclusions of this work may be summarized as follows:

1) We present a spatially-resolved X-ray spectral analysis of both the three bright rims and the diffuse central emission of the Galactic SNR G347.3$``$0.5. This analysis involves data from observations made of this source using instruments aboard three different X-ray satellites (namely the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑂𝑆𝐴𝑇}`$ PSPC, the $`\mathrm{𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐴}`$ GIS and the $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA) spanning the approximate energy range of 0.5 – 30 keV.

2) We have successfully fit the spatially-resolved X-ray spectra of G347.3$``$0.5 using the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐶𝑈𝑇}`$ model, describing an exponential cut-off in the population of the highest energy electrons accelerated by this SNR. In contrast, neither the $`\mathrm{𝑆𝑅𝐸𝑆𝐶}`$ model nor a simple power law model yielded acceptable fits to the data. We find that the power law fits obtained by Slane et al. (1999) to fit the spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 over the energy range of 0.5-8 keV do not adequately fit the spectrum of this SNR at higher energies. We have also detected for the first time a thermal component to the X-ray emission from this SNR: this component appears to be more closely associated with central diffuse emission from the SNR than from the X-ray luminous rims. We estimate the ambient density surrounding the SNR to be $``$0.05-0.07 cm-3: this value is consistent with the range of values obtained by Slane et al. (1999).

3) A weak emission feature is seen near 6.4 keV in our $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA spectra of G347.3$``$0.5 and our two background pointings which sample the GR. Because the strength and the line energy of this feature are approximately the same in all three pointings, we argue that the feature is associated with diffuse background emission from the GR rather than from G347.3$``$0.5 itself.

4) We have analyzed our $`\mathrm{𝑅𝑋𝑇𝐸}`$ PCA data to search for X-ray pulsations from the radio pulsar PSR J1713$``$3949, which lies near the center of G347.3$``$0.5 and may be associated with the SNR. We cannot confirm the presence of X-ray pulsations from this source, though our data is dominated by both cosmic ray background and X-ray emission from the SNR and the GR, making the detection of pulsed signal from the pulsar difficult.

5) Based on our two component (thermal and non-thermal) fits to the X-ray emission from the northwestern rim and the central diffuse emission from G347.3$``$0.5 and assuming a magnetic field strength of $`B`$ = 10 $`\mu `$G, we estimate the maximum energy $`E`$cutoff of accelerated cosmic ray electrons to be 19-25 TeV, consistent with previous analyses. Fitting the broadband (radio to $`\gamma `$-ray) energy spectrum of G347.3$``$0.5 with a synchrotron-inverse Compton scattering model yields values of 8.8$`{}_{}{}^{+4.1}{}_{3.4}{}^{}`$ TeV for the maximum energy $`E`$cutoff of the accelerated cosmic-ray electrons and a magnetic field of $`B`$ = 150$`{}_{}{}^{+250}{}_{80}{}^{}`$ $`\mu `$G. Our value for $`E`$cutoff is sharply lower (but still consistent) with upper limits derived by previous studies, while our value for $`B`$ is significantly higher than previously assumed. However, the ratio of volumes of TeV emission to X-ray emission derived by this fit ($`V`$TeV/$`V`$X-ray $``$ 1000, with a lower limit of 360) is too large to be physically reasonable. While it appears that inverse Compton scattering cannot adequately fit the TeV emission from the northwestern rim of G347.3$``$0.5, the other two high energy processes associated with SNRs – neutral pion decay, as argued by Enomoto et al. (2002), and non-thermal bremsstrahlung – can also be ruled out as well. This situation may change with the application of more sophisticated models which take into account curvature of the energy spectrum of electrons.

6) We have considered the gross properties of G347.3$``$0.5 and two other SNRs known to feature X-ray spectra dominated by non-thermal emission, SN 1006 and G266.2$``$1.2. We find that all three of these SNRs are dynamically young, X-ray luminous but radio weak SNRs expanding into regions of low ambient density. This suggests that low ambient density may play a key role in dictating that the X-ray spectrum from a SNR is dominated by non-thermal emission, though a more detailed study of the X-ray spectrum of other SNRs is required in order to test this hypothesis.

We acknowledge useful discussions with Yousaf Butt, Kristy Dyer, Bryan Gaensler, Jasmina Lazendic, Joshua Migliazzo, Steven Reynolds, Mallory Roberts, Patrick Slane and Diego Torres. We thank the anonymous referee for useful comments which have helped to enhance the quality of this paper. This research has made use of data obtained from the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), provided by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. This research has also made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service. For the data analysis, we have made use of the ISIS software package and the LHEASOFT package, which is provided and maintained as a service of the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics (LHEA) at NASA/GSFC and the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). T.G.P. acknowledges support from NASA LTSA grant NAG5-9237.


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# Variable Stars in Metal-Rich Globular Clusters. II. NGC 6316

## 1 Introduction

Historically, the observational study of globular clusters has provided critical tests of stellar structure and evolution theories. In particular, the study of pulsating variable stars in globular clusters has provided tests of stellar theory which complement the matching of isochrones to observed cluster color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). The types of pulsating variables found in globulars include Long Period Variables (LPVs) on the asymptotic giant branch, population II Cepheids, RR Lyrae variables (RRL) on the horizontal branch, SX Phoenicis stars (population II $`\delta `$ Scuti stars) on the main sequence or in the blue straggler region, and pulsating white dwarfs. Of these, the LPVs and RRL most easily accessible for study because they are relatively luminous and are commonly found in globular clusters.

Metal-rich globular clusters (\[Fe/H\] $`>0.8`$), with their extremely cool red giant branches (RGBs) and horizontal branches (HBs), are expected to harbor large numbers of LPVs and few or no RRL. NGC 104 (47 Tuc) is often considered to be the prototype. However, two important exceptions have been discovered. In NGC 6388 and NGC 6441, Rich et al. (1997) observed blue HBs extending away from what appear to be ordinary red HB clumps. Subsequently, large numbers of RRL were discovered in both of these clusters (Layden et al., 1999; Pritzl et al., 2001, 2002). The periods of these RRL were unusually long ($`P>0.7`$ days), suggesting that they are atypically luminous.

To date, both observers and theorists have been unable to identify a definitive cause for the blue HB extensions, although many suggestions have been put forward. For example, Rich et al. (1997) suggested that age or dynamical effects could be responsible for the blue HBs. However, no deep photometry has yet been published for these clusters to constrain their ages, and calculations by Rich et al. (1997) indicated that stellar interactions alone are too infrequent to explain the blue HB extensions. From the perspective of stellar theory, Sweigart & Catelan (1998) have suggested that enhanced helium abundance and/or stellar rotation could account for the blue HBs, but subsequent observational evidence (Layden et al., 1999; Moehler, Sweigart, & Catelan, 1999) has cast doubt on these explanations. More recently, Raimondo et al. (2002) and Ree et al. (2002) have suggested that the stars in these clusters may have normal properties, but span a modest range in age and/or metallicity, akin to the massive globular cluster $`\omega `$ Centauri. Photometry below the main sequence turn-off is still required to test this hypothesis. Clearly, the effort to understand the cause of the blue HB extensions in NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 is an ongoing and important endeavor.

A means of complementing this effort is to search for other globular clusters which contain extended blue HBs. Most of the metal-rich globulars are located at low galactic latitudes, where differential reddening and contamination by field stars in the disk and bulge confuse the appearance of the CMDs, and can mask the presence of extended blue HBs. One way to alleviate this confusion is to search for RRL – old, pulsating HB stars – based on their photometric variability. With this in mind, we have undertaken a variable star survey of twelve of the metal-rich globulars listed by Suntzeff, Kinman, & Kraft (1991) as having poor or no variable star searches. A fortunate byproduct of this survey is the discovery of LPVs in these clusters. Frogel & Whitelock (1998) noted that the census of luminous LPVs (Mira variables) in globular clusters is seriously incomplete.

In the first paper of this series, Layden et al. (1999) discovered about 50 new variable stars toward NGC 6441, including at least eight RRL and over 20 LPVs. In this paper, we report our results for the second cluster, NGC 6316 (C 1713–280). According to Harris (1996), this cluster is located at a heliocentric distance of 11.0 kpc in the direction ($`l`$, $`b`$) = (357.18, +5.76) deg, behind the Galactic bulge. The resulting foreground field star contamination and the high reddening of $`E(BV)=0.51`$ mag present a challenge. However, the central concentration of the cluster (log $`r_t/r_c`$ = 1.55) is moderate, so we can obtain reasonable photometry near the cluster center. Previous optical CCD photometry has been conducted by Armandroff (1988), Davidge et al. (1992), and Heitsch & Richtler (1999), although the cluster has never been surveyed for variable stars of any kind (Clement et al., 2001).

In §2 of this paper, we describe the observations and data reduction procedures we employed, while §3 presents our color-magnitude diagrams of the cluster and nearby field. The detection and lightcurve analysis of the variable stars is discussed in §4. In §5 we investigate the foreground reddening of NGC 6316 in conjunction with its metallicity and distance. We consider whether the new variables are members of NGC 6316 in §6, and present a summary of our results in §7.

## 2 Observations and Reductions

We obtained time-series images of NGC 6316 using the direct CCD camera on the 0.9-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) during two runs in May and June of 1996 (3 and 8 usable nights, respectively). The Tek#3 2048 CCD provided a 13.5 arcmin field of view with 0.4 arcsec pixels. We used filters matched to the CCD to reproduce the Johnson $`V`$ and Kron-Cousins $`I`$ bandpasses. The raw images were processed by following the usual procedure for overscan subtraction and bias correction, and by using twilight sky frames to flat-field the images.

In a typical pointing toward the cluster, we obtained a short exposure (40–120 sec) $`VI`$ frame pair and a long exposure (250–600 sec) $`VI`$ pair. This provided two independent magnitude estimates of the HB stars at each observational epoch, and extended the dynamical range of the observations. Such pointings were obtained 0–2 times each night, with time intervals between pointings of at least two hours. In total, we obtained 47 images in twelve pointings toward NGC 6316. The seeing FWHM varied between 1.1 and 2.7 arcsec (1.7 arcsec median). In images taken during good seeing, a roughly radial gradient in the quality of the stellar profiles was evident, and in some images, the stars near the CCD corners were too far out of focus to yield reliable photometry.

During a photometric night in 1996 May, we obtained a pointing toward NGC 6316 along with an off-cluster $`VI`$ image pair centered 13.3 arcmin South of the cluster center. The latter, which we will call the control field, is outside the cluster tidal radius of 5.9 arcmin (Harris, 1996) and enables us to determine the photometric properties of the foreground star field. On this night, we also obtained images of 63 Landolt (1992) photometric standard stars in 13 independent pointings. The standards covered large ranges in color ($`0.3<VI<4.0`$) and airmass ($`1.08<X<1.74`$), and were obtained at roughly hourly intervals throughout the night. This time ($`T`$) coverage confirmed that the entire night was photometric, and enabled us to seek and correct for small, slow variations in extinction. The instrumental aperture magnitudes of these stars ($`A_f`$), through filters $`f=V`$ or $`I`$, were fit with the equation

$$A_fS_f=c_{1,f}+c_{2,f}X+c_{3,f}(VI)+c_{4,f}T+c_{5,f}T^2$$

where $`S_f`$ is the standard (Landolt) magnitude, and $`c_{i,f}`$ ($`i=1,5`$) are the fitted coefficients. The time-dependent terms produced corrections of 0.01 mag or less. The rms scatter about the adopted fits were 0.010 and 0.013 mag in $`V`$ and $`I`$, respectively.

The cluster and control $`VI`$ pairs obtained on this night were reduced using the Daophot II point spread function (PSF) fitting photometry package following the procedure outlined by Stetson (1994). We selected $``$300 PSF stars well-distributed spatially over each image to characterize the significant radial variation in PSF across the image. For each image, the PSF was iteratively improved by fitting and removing faint neighbor stars. This final PSF was applied to the image using Allstar to obtain optimal photometry for each star on the image. We then used Daophot to subtract all the fainter stars from each image, leaving only a set of several hundred bright, isolated stars for use as secondary standards. We measured the aperture magnitudes of these stars using the same software and parameters as was used for the Landolt standard stars, and used the equations above to transform them to the Landolt (1992) $`VI`$ system. These secondary standards were then used to transform the PSF-fit Daophot magnitudes of the fainter stars on the image onto the Landolt (1992) scale.

The remaining images of NGC 6316, taken during non-photometric conditions, were reduced using a version of the DoPHOT PSF-fitting package (Schechter et al., 1993) which allows for spatial variations in the PSF. Instrumental magnitudes were obtained for each image and combined into instrumental $`VI`$ pairs, and then transformed to standard Landolt (1992) $`VI`$ magnitudes via fits to the secondary standards described above. Each $`VI`$ image pair thus produced a single photometry list.

The $`XY`$ positions from each list where aligned to a common coordinate system,111A FITS-format image defining the ($`X,Y`$) system used in Table 1 is available at http://physics.bgsu.edu/$``$layden/ASTRO/PUBL/published.html. and the photometry of spatially coincident stellar images was combined using an error-weighted mean. As an estimate of the error in each combined stellar magnitude, we adopted the standard error of the mean from the individual measures. For each star, we also computed the variability index of Welch & Stetson (1993), $`I_{WS}`$, from the individual magnitudes (see §4).

Table 1 presents the mean photometry for stars near NGC 6316 that appear in at least four $`V`$ and four $`I`$ images, that lie within eight arcmin of the cluster center, and that have a mean magnitude of $`V<20.0`$ mag. Column 1 lists the identification number, columns 2 and 3 are the $`X`$ and $`Y`$ pixel values of the star, columns 4 and 5 are the mean $`V`$ magnitude and standar error of the mean, columns 6 and 7 are the mean $`I`$ magnitudes and standard error, columns 8 and 9 indicate the number of images on which the star appeared, and column 10 lists the Welch & Stetson (1993) variability index, $`I_{WS}`$. Data for nearly 16,000 stars are listed.

The control field photometry consisted of only a single $`VI`$ image pair with an intermediate exposure time of 300 sec. These data are presented in Table 2; columns 1–7 are as in Table 1. Only stars within eight arcmin of the field center, and with $`V<20.0`$ mag are included. Table 2 contains data for over 15,000 stars.

## 3 Color-Magnitude Diagrams

The color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) for the data in Tables 1 and 2 are shown in Figure 1a and 1b, respectively. Several features are common to both panels, indicating that they represent the field star populations (predominantly the Galactic disk and bulge) along the line of sight through NGC 6316. These include (a) the line of disk main sequence stars extending from $`VI=1.2`$ and $`V=15.0`$ mag to the lower right, (b) the disk and bulge red giant stars at $`VI>1.7`$ and $`V<19.0`$ mag, (c) the bulge core helium-burning stars (“red HB” or “red clump”) at $`VI1.9`$ and $`V17.6`$ mag, and (d) the bulge blue HB stars at $`VI<1.3`$ and $`17.0<V<18.8`$ mag. The only feature of the cluster CMD that is clearly absent in the control field CMD is the group of stars at $`VI=1.65`$ and $`V=17.9`$ mag, which corresponds to the red HB clump of NGC 6316.

The influence of the overwhelming field star population is reduced in Figure 1c, where we plot only the stars located at a projected radius between 40 and 160 arcsec from the center of NGC 6316. The cluster red clump is again evident, and appears slightly elongated along the reddening vector, suggesting there is a small amount of differential reddening across the face of the cluster. This helps to explain why the cluster RGB remains ill-defined in this panel. The number of BHB stars is greatly reduced relative to Figure Figure 1a, indicating that few, if any, are members of NGC 6316.

Another means of isolating the cluster stars from the field involves the technique of statistical subtraction. We generated a field star CMD using only stars located between 40 and 160 arcsec of the center of the control field image. For each star in this CMD, we removed from the cluster CMD (Figure 1c) the star nearest in color-magnitude space.222Tests showed no detectable difference in mean reddening between the cluster and control field CMDs. Statistically, the remaining stars should represent the locus of stars in the cluster alone. This CMD is shown in Figure 1d. Though the subtraction is over-aggressive for the faint stars, the red clump and lower RGB stars are more clearly shown. Unfortunately, subtraction was not possible for the upper RGB stars because they were saturated in the control field images. An important result of the subtraction is that only a handful of blue HB stars remain, further indicating that NGC 6316 does not have a well-populated blue HB like the metal-rich globulars NGC 6388 and NGC 6441. Specifically, we would expect about 22 HB stars with $`(VI)<1.55`$ if NGC 6316 had the same ratio of HB to red clump stars as seen in NGC 6441 (Layden et al., 1999), whereas at most six can be seen in Figure 1d.

We can compare our photometry with other CCD photometry available in the literature. Figure 2 shows a star-by-star comparison with the $`VI`$ photometry of Armandroff (1988). Small but significant systematic differences are apparent. Considering bright stars ($`V<18`$ mag) and rejecting outliers, we find $`\overline{\mathrm{\Delta }V}=0.086\pm 0.003`$ mag (rms = 0.040 mag) and $`\overline{\mathrm{\Delta }(VI)}=0.109\pm 0.003`$ mag (rms = 0.043 mag), with our photometry being fainter and redder than that of Armandroff (1988). The differences do not appear to be color dependent, though there is a slight correlation with $`X`$ coordinate.

Heitsch & Richtler (1999) also presented $`VI`$ photometry of NGC 6316. Estimating from their observed CMD (their Figure 8), they find the typical color and magnitude of the red clump to be 1.30 and 17.5 mag, respectively. The median color and magnitude of the red clump in our data (Table 2) are 1.63 and 17.85 mag, while the values from Armandroff’s data were 1.56 and 17.80 mag. Davidge et al. (1992) found the red clump at $`V17.85`$ mag.

Clearly, there are disagreements between these studies, particularly among the colors, and it is not obvious which photometric zeropoint is correct. Errors in aperture corrections due to the high stellar density in the region are a likely cause of the discrepancies. It is worth noting that our larger areal coverage enables us to obtain aperture corrections from stars farther from the crowded cluster center. For the remainder of this paper we adopt the data presented in Table 1, but acknowledge the uncertainty in its photometric zeropoint.

## 4 Variable Stars

We used the Welch & Stetson (1993) variability index, $`I_{WS}`$, to characterize the likelihood that a given star varies in brightness. The location of points in the ($`I_{WS}`$, $`V`$) plane led us to classify stars as probable variables ($`I_{WS}>130`$) and possible variables ($`30<I_{WS}<130`$). When plotted on the cluster CMD, three classes of variables were evident: extremely red variables (candidate long period variables), blue variables (candidate RRL), and a few variables scattered around the CMD (candidate eclipsing binaries or other types).

The cluster center is rather crowded, resulting in larger photometric errors and an increased likelihood of detection incompleteness for faint or low-amplitude variables. Variable star detection using image-subtraction software (Alard, 2000), rather than PSF-fitting software, may provide a more complete census of variables near the cluster center. In this approach, a number of high-quality images are registered and co-added to produce a reference image. This reference image is convolved with a spatially-variable kernel to match the seeing in each observed image, and the two images are subtracted. The non-variable stars subtract away, leaving positive or negative residuals at the positions of variable stars. We used the ISIS2.1 software by Alard (2000) on our $`V`$-band images. As described below, the results confirmed the variability of stars found using DoPHOT, and detected some additional candidate variables.

### 4.1 Long Period Variable Stars

When their $`V`$ and $`I`$ magnitudes were plotted as a function of time, many of the red variable candidates showed constant or slowly-varying apparent brightness, with distinct jumps between the May and June data. This suggests that they are long period variables (LPVs) of the Mira, Semi-Regular, or Irregular classes. An example of their behavior is shown in Figure 3.

Mean photometry for the thirteen detected LPV stars is presented in Table 3, where we have designated these stars V1 through V13. This table also contains the identification number from Table 1 (“ID”),333The $`XY`$ coordinates of each variable star in Tables 3, 4, and 6 can be found using the cross-reference “ID” number listed in Table 1. The $`XY`$ coordinates can be converted to approximate right ascension and declination offsets from the cluster center (in arc seconds, with positive values indicating East and North) via the equations $`\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha 0.396(X_{\mathrm{pix}}1059)`$, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\delta 0.396(Y_{\mathrm{pix}}993)`$. Harris (1996) lists the J2000.0 equatorial coordinates of NGC 6316 as ($`\alpha `$, $`\delta `$) = (17:16:37.4, –28:08:24). the radial distance of the variable from the cluster center in arcsec ($`R`$); the mean $`I`$ magnitude and $`(VI)`$ color of the variable during the May observing run ($`\overline{I}_M`$ and $`\overline{VI}_M`$), and the number of $`VI`$ observations obtained in May ($`N_M`$). The next two columns contain the difference between the average magnitudes and colors determined in the May and June observing runs ($`\mathrm{\Delta }\overline{I}_{MJ}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\overline{VI}_{MJ}`$), and the number of $`VI`$ observations obtained in June ($`N_J`$).

The ISIS2.1 analysis confirmed the variability of V1 through V13, and suggested that several other stars might vary. The DoPHOT photometry of these stars was often compromised by light from blended neighbor stars, resulting in time-magnitude plots with enhanced scatter. These stars are listed in Table 4 as SV1-SV6, along with their “ID” number and radial distance, $`R`$, as in Table 3. Also listed are the mean $`V`$ magnitude and $`(VI)`$ color of the variable ($`\overline{V}`$ and $`\overline{VI}`$), the range of observed $`V`$ and $`I`$ magnitudes ($`\delta V`$ and $`\delta I`$), and the number of $`VI`$ pairs observed ($`N_{obs}`$).

The time-series photometry of the probable and suspected LPVs are presented in Table 5. The columns contain: the variable star name, the heliocentric Julian Date of the observation (HJD), the observed $`V`$ magnitude and its error ($`\sigma _V`$), the observed $`I`$ magnitude and its error ($`\sigma _I`$), the fitted light curve phase ($`\varphi `$) when applicable (see Sec. 4.2), and a quality code ($`Q`$). This code is defined as: $`Q=1`$ indicates a long exposure under good seeing conditions (filled circle), $`Q=2`$ indicates a short exposure in good seeing (filled triangle), $`Q=3`$ indicates a long exposure in poor seeing (open circle), and $`Q=4`$ indicates a short exposure in poor seeing (open triangle). Variability detected only in the ISIS2.1 analysis are indicated by $`Q=5`$.

Unfortunately, our observations do not sample the complete light cycles of the LPVs, and thus do not accurately represent the stars’ mean photometric properties. The limited phase coverage also leads to LPV detection incompleteness, especially for stars which vary on long time scales or with low amplitudes. The LPV stars in NGC 6316 deserve long-term photometric monitoring, though the detections described here are an important first step in their study.

### 4.2 RR Lyrae Variables and Eclipsing Binaries

When plotted as a function of time, the magnitudes of the blue variable candidates usually showed large variations on time scales of a day or less. The same was true for most of the variables scattered around the CMD. This type of behavior is expected from RR Lyrae and close binary stars.

The rapid variability makes it likely that, even with only twelve independent observational epochs, we can obtain sufficient phase coverage to determine the period and construct a light curve for a candidate variable. This information enables us to classify the type of variability with some confidence.

We searched for periods using the template-fitting method described in Layden et al. (1999) and Layden & Sarajedini (2000). Briefly, this technique involves folding a star’s magnitude–time data by a sequence of periods, and at each period, fitting the resulting light curve with a set of templates describing the light curve shapes of different types of variables (e.g., RRab, RRc, W UMa, etc.) If the period being tested is near the true period, the scatter about the fitted template will be small, resulting in a small value of $`\chi ^2`$. Probable periods can thus be identified by searching for $`\chi ^2`$ minima in period–template space.

We fit each star with ten templates, including curves for six RRab with different shapes, one RRc, a contact binary, a detached binary, and a cosine function (Layden & Sarajedini, 2000). We fit the templates over periods ranging from 0.1 to 3.0 days (periods longer than 3 days are evident in the time-magnitude plots). To complement this analysis, we also searched for periods in the range $`0.2<P<2.0`$ days using both the Lomb-Scargle method (Scargle, 1982) and the String Length method (von Braun & Mateo, private communication). In most cases, the periods from the different methods agreed well.

We determined periods for six of the short-period variable candidates. Three appear to be RR Lyrae stars pulsating in the fundamental mode (RRab), one is an RR Lyrae pulsating in the first overtone (RRc), and two are probably contact binaries of the W Ursae Majoris type (WUMa). Details of these stars’ photometry are presented in Table 6, including the variable star designation, ID number corresponding to Table 1, the radial distance from the cluster center in arcseconds ($`R`$), the best-fitting period in days ($`P`$), the class of variability corresponding to the best-fitting template, the rms scatter of the observed points about that template ($`rms_V`$ and $`rms_I`$), the intensity-mean $`V`$ and $`I`$ magnitudes ($`V`$ and $`I`$), the light curve amplitude ($`\mathrm{\Delta }V`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }I`$), the number of paired $`VI`$ data points observed for the variable ($`N_{obs}`$), and a comment. The intensity means and amplitudes were determined from the best-fitting template since the phase coverage of the actual observations was often incomplete. The light curves, along with the best-fitting templates, are shown in Figure 4.

For the stars V14, V17, and V19, the light curve fitting procedure yielded two $`\chi ^2`$ minima of comparable depth, and hence two possible periods. In the cases of V14 and V19, this led to ambiguity in the variable class (contact binary versus pulsating star). For each of these stars, entries for both periods are given in Table 6, and light curves for both periods are shown in Figure 4. The rms values listed in Table 6 indicate the relative merit of the two periods. The star labeled SV2 in Table 4 exhibited short period variability in its magnitude–time plots, but did not present any $`\chi ^2`$ minima which yielded a satisfactory light curve. Further observations of these stars are required to determine their correct periods and variable classes. Time-series photometry for each of the suspected and probable variable stars is given in Table 5.

We did not detect any detached eclipsing binaries in the region of NGC 6316. We suspect this is due largely to observational bias. With only twelve independent visits to the cluster, the chance of observing a detached binary during eclipse is relatively small, and the chance of observing enough eclipses to determine a unique period is smaller still. In Paper I, we found the detached eclipsing variables were not members of the cluster, so their absence in this study of NGC 6316 should not adversely affect our inventory of variable stars in the cluster. We emphasize that our sampling is much more sensitive to variables that exhibit continuous variations. The ISIS2.1 analysis confirmed the variability of the short-period variables V14–V19 and did not detect any additional meaningful candidates near the crowded cluster center.

## 5 Interstellar Reddening

We used the equations of Cardelli et al. (1989) to establish the relations between reddening and extinction in the filter passbands used in this study. We find $`A_V/E(VI)=2.4`$ and $`E(VI)/E(BV)=1.24`$, where $`E(BV)`$ corresponds to the system defined in Cardelli et al. (1989). The reddening vector in Figure 1 employs this relation. The cluster HB in that figure is elongated by differential reddening along the same slope, indicating that $`A_V/E(VI)=2.4`$ is appropriate for our data.

Heitsch & Richtler (1999) showed that there is a small amount of differential reddening along the line of sight to NGC 6316. They used the cluster’s red clump and RGB stars to derive a reddening map for stars in a $`2.24\times 2.24`$ arcmin box centered on the cluster (see their Figure 22). Having noted in §3 the difference in photometric zeropoint between their data and ours, it seems that a differential application of their map to our data is appropriate. We converted their map into a differential map by subtracting the mean reddening in their field, 0.66 mag, from each map value.444Experiments with our own data indicate a differential reddening map with qualitatively similar behavior.

Harris (1996) lists the metallicity and mean reddening of NGC 6316 as \[Fe/H\] = –0.55 and $`E(BV)=0.51`$ mag, respectively. The reddening value corresponds to $`E(VI)=0.63`$ mag. Figure 5 shows the dereddened CMD of stars from Table 1 that are located within the $`2.24\times 2.24`$ arcmin box defined by Heitsch & Richtler (1999). The photometry of each star has been adjusted using the differential reddening map derived from Heitsch & Richtler (1999), and then shifted by the mean reddening value from Harris (1996).

We can use isochrones in conjunction with our data to test whether the Harris (1996) reddening and metallicity values are correct. Bertelli et al. (1994) provides isochrones that bracket the metallicity of NGC 6316: $`z=0.004`$ and 0.008 (\[Fe/H\] = –0.7 and –0.4 dex, respectively). Figure 5 shows the 12 Gyr isochrones ($`\mathrm{log}t=10.08`$) at these metallicities (isochrones with 10 and 14 Gyr ages are nearly identical). They have been shifted vertically by 15.5 mag to match the red clump stars. The isochrones bracket the observed red clump and the upper RGB and AGB stars, supporting the Harris (1996) reddening and metallicity values. The elongation of the red clump suggests that differential reddening, on scales that are unresolved by the Heitsch & Richtler (1999) map, continues to affect our data at the level of $`<`$0.1 mag. Alternatively, this elongation could indicate a metallicity spread of $``$0.4 dex within the cluster. However, the narrowness of the upper RGB and AGB sequences argues against this. Finally, we note that our photometry shows an enhancement in the number of stars at $`V_015.3`$ mag, where the isochrones double-back upon themselves along the AGB.

To summarize, our data are in excellent agreement with globular cluster aged Bertelli et al. (1994) isochrones with the current estimates of metallicity and reddening: \[Fe/H\] = –0.55 and $`E(BV)=0.51`$ mag. The one free parameter in this analysis is the cluster distance modulus, which we find to be $`(VM_V)_0=15.50\pm 0.10`$ mag. This corresponds to a distance of $`12.6\pm 0.6`$ kpc, which is somewhat larger than the value of 11.0 kpc listed by Harris (1996).

## 6 Cluster Membership

The high density of field stars along the line of sight through NGC 6316 makes it difficult to determine which variable stars are members of the cluster and which are not. Information on cluster membership can be derived from the positions of the stars in the CMD and the radial locations of the stars with respect to the cluster center. Future radial velocity measurements are another possible discriminant for membership.

The colors and magnitudes of all the variable stars are plotted on the CMD shown in Figure 5. The four LPVs within 3.0 arcmin of the cluster center define a tight sequence, suggesting that most of them are cluster members. The LPV with $`(VI)_01.4`$ (V12) appears to be too faint and blue to be a pulsating AGB star, but could be a contact eclipsing binary involving a red giant star. The LPVs V7, V11, and V12 are very close to the cluster’s tidal radius of 5.9 arcmin, and so are unlikely to be members of NGC 6316. Of the five suspected LPVs, only SV1 appears capable of being a cluster member. Membership of the stars redder than $`(VI)_0=3.2`$ mag is uncertain since the isochrones leave some ambiguity over the exact position and extent of the AGB tip. Based on this information, we classified as LPV members (commented with an “m” in Table 3) the seven variables with $`R<3.0`$ arcmin and which have $`2.4<(VI)_0<3.2`$ mag. The group of LPVs at ($`VI`$, $`V`$) = (4.0, 15.6), which includes V8, V10, and SV1, are possible members. The slope of the color-magnitude variations of Mira stars suggest that these stars, along with the fainest, reddest LPV (V13) could be cluster Mira variables. Ultimately, it is difficult to assign definitive membership designations since our observations do not provide an accurate estimate of the stars’ magnitudes and colors averaged over their pulsation cycles. Further monitoring of the LPVs in NGC 6316 is required to improve the membership analysis. Such monitoring would also provide perriods and light curves for the LPVs that would enable their classification as Irregular, Semi-Regular, or Mira variables.

The positions of the eclipsing binary candidates in Figure 5 suggest that these stars are associated with the field population. One exception may be V19, which lies only 1.5 arcmin from the cluster center. In the CMD, this variable is in the correct place to be an RRL member of the cluster. However, its light curve suggests it is a contact eclipsing binary star or perhaps a Population II Cepheid (BL Herculis type). If the latter, it should have a luminosity $``$1 mag above the HB. Its presence at the apparent magnitude of the cluster HB would argue that it is located well behind the cluster. Whether V19 is an eclipsing binary or a BL Her star, its membership in NGC 6316 seems unlikely.

The membership of the four probable RRL is of particular interest. Only one of the stars, V17, lies within the cluster’s tidal radius. This star is about 0.5 mag brighter than the NGC 6316 red clump stars, and is about the same brightness as the red clump of the Galactic bulge (see §3). This argument favors membership in the foreground bulge. However, the RRL in the metal-rich globulars NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 are unusually luminous (Pritzl et al., 2002; Layden et al., 1999; Pritzl et al., 2001), and their “horizontal” branches slope upward toward the blue end (Rich et al., 1997). Thus, it is possible that V17 is a luminous member of NGC 6316. The mean periods of the luminous RRL in NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 are unusually long ($`P_{RRab}0.75`$ days) compared to those of bulge RRL ($`P_{RRab}0.55`$ days, Alard (1996)). Unfortunately, this test does not yield a clear result, since V17 is well-fit by two periods: 0.4883 days and 0.9769 days. The first period suggests a bulge origin, while the second is consistent with cluster membership in the long-period, metal-rich RRL paradigm. We encourage additional monitoring of V17.

## 7 Conclusions

We have obtained time-series $`VI`$ photometry of stars within a projected radius of 8 arcmin from the metal-rich globular cluster NGC 6313. Our photometry is in agreement with that of Armandroff (1988) and Davidge et al. (1992), but is $``$0.35 mag fainter and redder than that of Heitsch & Richtler (1999). Though our photometry extends several magnitudes below the cluster’s red clump, we find no evidence for an extended, blue horizontal branch of the type found in the metal-rich globular clusters NGC 6388 and NGC 6441. Comparison of our CMD with isochrones (Bertelli et al., 1994) indicates consistency with the metallicity and reddening values listed by Harris (1996), provided the cluster’s distance modulus is $`(mM)_0=15.50`$ mag.

We have detected over a dozen long period variable stars in the direction of NGC 6316, and at least seven of them appear to be cluster members. Several of the member LPVs appear to lie above the RGB tip in Figure 5, which would suggest they are Mira variables according to the criteria of Frogel & Whitelock (1998). However, our limited coverage of the stars’ pulsation cycles leaves us uncertain whether these LPVs are Irregular, Semi-Regular, or Mira type pulsators. If they are Mira stars, the specific frequency for Miras in NGC 6316 should be comparable to that found in other globular clusters of similar metallicity. The specific frequency has been defined as

$$S_x=N_x10^{0.4(7.5+M)},$$

where $`N_x`$ is the number of stars of type “$`x`$” in the cluster and and $`M`$ is the cluster’s integrated absolute magnitude. Using the Mira counts and $`K`$-band absolute magnitudes from Table 1 of Frogel & Whitelock (1998), we find that most clusters with –0.8 $`<`$ \[Fe/H\] $`<`$ –0.3 dex have $`0.05<S_{Mira}<0.20`$. If we assume that $`3\pm 3`$ of the very red LPVs in Figure 5 are Mira stars, then $`S_{Mira}=0.09\pm 0.09`$ for NGC 6316. The agreement suggests that some or all of these stars could be Mira members of this cluster. Long-term photometric monitoring is strongly encouraged to confirm this interpretation.

We also detected four RR Lyrae variables along the line of sight through the cluster. Three lie outside the tidal radius of the cluster, and their periods and magnitudes indicate they belong to the foreground bulge. Ambiguities in the pulsation period of the fourth RRL (V17) leave us unable to determine whether it is a normal bulge RRL projected on the cluster or a long-period, luminous member of NGC 6316. If V17 is a field star, the specific frequency of RRL in NGC 6316 is clearly zero, whereas $`S_{RR}=0.35`$ if V17 is the sole RRL member of NGC 6316. In this calculation, we used the integrated $`V`$-band apparent magnitude and interstellar reddening values from Harris (1996) along with the distance modulus determined herein to obtain $`M_V=8.65`$ mag. The $`S_{RR}`$ value for NGC 6316 is much smaller than was found for the unusual clusters NGC 6388 and 6441, which have $`S_{RR}=1.7`$ (Pritzl et al., 2002) and 7.5 (Pritzl et al., 2001), respectively. By comparison, 47 Tuc has $`S_{RR}=0.3`$ (Harris, 1996). Whether or not V17 is found to be an RRL member of NGC 6316, the process that produced abundant RRL and blue HB stars in NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 is clearly not operating in NGC 6316.

The authors thank an anonymous referee for valuable comments and suggestions. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9988259. ACL also acknowledges support by NASA through Hubble Fellowship grant HF-01082.01-96A, which was awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute. DLW and TMAW were supported, in part, by a Research Grant from the Natural Engineering and Research Council of Canada (NSERC).