X-Ray Spectral Imaging of Puppis A with Suzaku

We report the detection of X-ray emitting ejecta in the middle-aged Galactic supernova remnant Puppis A from an imaging and spectral survey with the Suzaku Observatory. Energy-selected images from five observations covering the eastern and middle portions of the remnant reveal a region inside the northern apex that is very highly enriched in Si. Regions with lesser enhancements of other elements such as O, Ne, and Mg are also seen, and confirmed by the spectra. The location of the large Si clump is radially outside that of X-ray emitting O ejecta relative to the expansion center, indicating that the explosively synthesized Si ejecta were mixed with and propelled beyond hydrostatically synthesized O ejecta. There appears to be little spatial correlation between the compact ejecta knots seen in O emission in the optical and the large-scale ejecta enhancements seen in X-rays by Suzaku.