A. Decourchelle, E. Costantini, et al.

Thanks to its spatially-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy capability, Athena will open a new discovery space by measuring the velocity, temperature, ionization state and composition of individual parcels of ejected material in the line of sight.

For the first time, the three-dimensional geometry and composition of hot ejecta will be revealed in young Galactic supernova remnant, providing unique observational constraints to explosion models of type Ia and core-collapse supernovae.

Athena also opens new exploring windows on prime SNR issues: shock physics and particle acceleration.

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