The Neutron Star in Puppis A: Atomic Photospheric Spectroscopy at Last?

We have accumulated 400 ksec of exposure time with the Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer on the neutron star in the supernova remnant Puppis A. We clearly detect photospheric radiation from a ~ 2 million degree star. We anticipate that the spectrum will have sufficient sensitivity for us to detect atomic absorption features from highly ionized mid-Z atoms, which may be present at the surface of the star. We discuss the data and our preliminary spectroscopic analysis.