Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 July 2016
We present the first results of the observations of the supernova remnant RX J1713.7–3946 (also known as G347.3–0.5) obtained with the EPIC instrument on board the XMM-Newton satellite. We show a 5-pointings mosaiced image of the X-ray synchrotron emission. We characterize this emission by mapping its spectral parameters (absorbing column density NH and photon index γ). The synchrotron spectrum is flat at the shock and steep in the interior of the remnant. NH is well correlated with the X-ray brightness. A strong NH is found in the southwest rim of RX J1713.7–3946. We suggest that the SNR is interacting with a HI region there.