An Integral View of Fast Shocks around Supernova 1006
  Supernova remnants are among the most spectacular examples of astrophysical
pistons in our cosmic neighborhood. The gas expelled by the supernova explosion
is launched with velocities ~ 1000 km/s into the ambient, tenuous interstellar
medium, producing shocks that excite hydrogen lines. We have used an optical
integral-field spectrograph to obtain high-resolution spatial-spectral maps
that allow us to study in detail the shocks in the northwestern rim of
supernova 1006. The two-component H\alpha\ line is detected at 133 sky
locations. Variations in the broad line widths and the broad-to-narrow line
intensity ratios across tens of atomic mean free paths suggest the presence of
suprathermal protons, the potential seed particles for generating high-energy
cosmic-rays.
