Abstract
Gamma-ray binary systems, a subclass of high-mass X-ray binaries, show nonthermal emissions from radio to TeV. While efficient electron acceleration is considered to take place in them, the ...nature of the acceleration mechanism and the physical environments in these systems have been a long-standing question. In this work, we report on long-term recurrent patterns in the short-term variability of the soft X-ray emission of LS 5039, one of the brightest gamma-ray binary systems. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) observed LS 5039 four times from 2018 to 2021. By comparing them with the previous Suzaku and NuSTAR long-exposure observations, we studied the long-term evolution of the orbital light curve in the soft X-ray band. Although the observations by NICER and Suzaku are separated by ∼14 yr, i.e., more than 10
3
orbits, the orbital light curves show remarkable consistency after calculating their running averages with a window width ≳70 ks. Furthermore, all of the light curves show short-term variability with a timescale of ∼10 ks. Since the column density did not vary when the flux changed abruptly, such a short-term variability seems to be an intrinsic feature of the X-ray emission. We propose that the short-term variability is caused by clumps (or inhomogeneities) of the companion star wind impacting the X-ray production site. The observed timescale matches well with the lifetime of the clumps interacting with the pulsar wind and the dynamical timescale of the relativistic intrabinary shock in the pulsar wind scenario.
We have analyzed X-ray data of SMC X-1 obtained with Suzaku and discovered the combination of an absorption line and an underlying broadened emission line centered at 6.4 keV in an observation ...performed on 2012 May 19. This absorption line is centered at with an absorption strength of , naturally interpreted as an He resonance line of Fe at 6.7 keV that has a redshift of . Although Suzaku observed this system 10 times during 11 months in 2011-2012, the absorption feature has been seen only in a single observation when the neutron star (NS) was in a rising phase of the super-orbital modulation, which can be regarded as an egress from occultation by an extended accretion disk. We therefore attribute the line to a low density, highly ionized absorber in an accretion disk corona arising from the disk illuminated by the NS's intense X-rays. This interpretation also agrees with a discussion on the photoionization degree and the line depth.
This paper presents a data processing algorithm with machine learning for polarization extraction and event selection applied to photoelectron track images taken with X-ray polarimeters. The method ...uses a convolutional neural network (CNN) classification to predict the azimuthal angle and 2-D position of the initial photoelectron emission from a 2-D track image projected along the X-ray incident direction. Two CNN models are demonstrated with data sets generated by a Monte Carlo simulation: one has a commonly used loss function calculated by the cross entropy and the other has an additional loss term to penalize nonuniformity for an unpolarized modulation curve based on the H-test, which is used for periodic signal search in X-ray/γ-ray astronomy. The modulation curve calculated by the former model with unpolarized data has several irregular features, which can be canceled out by unfolding the angular response or simulating the detector rotation. On the other hand, the latter model can predict a flat modulation curve with a residual systematic modulation down to ≲1%. Both models show almost the same modulation factors and position accuracy of less than 2 pixel (or 240μm) for all four test energies of 2.7, 4.5, 6.4, and 8.0 keV. In addition, event selection is performed based on probabilities from the CNN to maximize the polarization sensitivity considering a trade-off between the modulation factor and signal acceptance. The developed method with machine learning improves the polarization sensitivity by 10%–20%, compared to that determined with the image moment method developed previously.
The symbiotic X-ray binary (SyXB) 4U 1954+319 is a rare system hosting a peculiar neutron star (NS) and an M-type optical companion. Its ~5.4 hr NS spin period is the longest among all known ...accretion-powered pulsars and exhibited large (~7%) fluctuations over 8 yr. A spin trend transition was detected with Swift/BAT around an X-ray brightening in 2012. The source was in quiescent and bright states before and after this outburst based on 60 ks Suzaku observations in 2011 and 2012. The observed continuum is well described by a Comptonized model with the addition of a narrow 6.4 keV Fe-K alpha line during the outburst. Spectral similarities to slowly rotating pulsars in high-mass X-ray binaries, its high pulsed fraction (~60%-80%), and the location in the Corbet diagram favor high B-field (gap10 super(12) G) over a weak field as in low-mass X-ray binaries. The observed low X-ray luminosity (10 super(33)-10 super(35) erg s super(-1)), probable wide orbit, and a slow stellar wind of this SyXB make quasi-spherical accretion in the subsonic settling regime a plausible model. Assuming a ~10 super(13) G NS, this scheme can explain the ~5.4 hr equilibrium rotation without employing the magnetar-like field (-10 super(16) G) required in the disk accretion case. The timescales of multiple irregular flares (~50 s) can also be attributed to the free-fall time from the Alfven shell for a ~10 super(13) G field. A physical interpretation of SyXBs beyond the canonical binary classifications is discussed.
Abstract
The typical accreting neutron star, Aquila X-1, was observed with Suzaku seven times in the decay phase of an outburst in 2007 September–October. Among them, the second to the fourth ...observations were performed 10 to 22 days after the outburst peak, when the source was in the hard state with a luminosity of 2 × 1036 erg s−1. A unified spectral model for this type of objects approximately reproduced the 0.8–100 keV spectra obtained in these three observations. However, the spectra all exhibited an enigmatic hump-like excess around 30 keV, above the hard X-ray continuum which is interpreted as arising via Comptonization. The excess feature was confirmed to be significant against statistical and systematic uncertainties. It was successfully represented by a Gaussian centered at ∼32 keV, with a width (sigma) of ∼6 keV and an equivalent width of ∼8.6 keV. Alternatively, the feature can also be explained by a recombination edge model, which produces a quasi-continuum above an edge energy of ∼27 keV with an electron temperature of ∼11 keV and an equivalent width of ∼6.3 keV. These results are discussed in the context of the atomic features of heavy elements synthesized via a rapid-proton capture process during thermonuclear flashes.
Abstract
We report results from X-ray and optical observations of the Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J1828−249 performed with Suzaku and the Kanata telescope around the X-ray flux peak in the ...2013 outburst. The time-averaged X-ray spectrum covering 0.6–168 keV was approximately characterized by a strong multi-color disk blackbody component with an inner disk temperature of ∼0.6 keV, and a power-law tail with a photon index of ∼2.0. We detected an additional structure at 5–10 keV, which can be modeled neither with X-ray reflection on the disk nor relativistic broadening of the disk emission. Instead, it was successfully reproduced with a Comptonization of disk photons by thermal electrons with a relatively low temperature (≲10 keV). We infer that the source was in the intermediate state, considering its long-term trend in the hardness intensity diagram, the strength of the spectral power-law tail, and its variability properties. The low-temperature Comptonization component could be produced in a boundary region between the truncated standard disk and the hot inner flow, or a Comptonizing region that somehow developed above the disk surface. The multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution suggests that the optical and ultraviolet fluxes were dominated by irradiated outer disk emission.
In the tenuous atmospheric bodies of our solar system, space weathering on the celestial surface is an important process for its chemical and physical evolution and ambient environment on timescales ...of celestial evolution. Space plasma is a dominant energy and material source for space weathering. Plasma irradiation experiment in the laboratory is an effective method for modeling space weathering driven by space plasma. However, comprehensive modeling of plasma space weathering has not yet been conducted because the capabilities of the earlier facilities were not optimized for realistic space weathering; for example, the incident electron and ion were not irradiated in the same condition. Here, we developed a plasma irradiation system, Plasma Irradiation Emulator for Celestial Environments (PIECE) of the solar system bodies, which reproduces plasma space weathering in tenuous atmospheric bodies by the electron and ion irradiations in the same condition. We successfully developed a system with high electron and ion number fluxes of
∼
10
13
-
10
16
particles cm
-
2
s
-
1
at any acceleration energy in the range of 1–30 keV, which leads to a fluence of e.g.,
∼
10
18
-
10
21
particles cm
-
2
s
-
1
, with a 1-day irradiation time. This fluence corresponds to a plasma irradiation time of ~ 10
3
–10
6
years on Europa.
Graphical Abstract
ABSTRACT We report the first detection of thermal X-ray line emission from the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946, the prototype of the small class of synchrotron-dominated SNRs. A ...softness-ratio map generated using XMM-Newton data shows that faint interior regions are softer than bright shell regions. Using Suzaku and deep XMM-Newton observations, we have extracted X-ray spectra from the softest area, finding clear line features at 1 and ∼1.35 keV. These lines can be best explained as Ne Ly and Mg He from a thermal emission component. Since the abundance ratios of metals to Fe are much higher than solar values in the thermal component, we attribute the thermal emission to reverse-shocked SN ejecta. The measured Mg/Ne, Si/Ne, and Fe/Ne ratios of 2.0-2.6, 1.5-2.0, and <0.05 solar suggest that the progenitor star of RX J1713.7-3946 was a relatively low-mass star ( 20 M ), consistent with a previous inference based on the effect of stellar winds of the progenitor star on the surrounding medium. Since the mean blastwave speed of ∼6000 km s−1 (the radius of 9.6 pc divided by the age of 1600 years) is relatively fast compared with other core-collapse SNRs, we propose that RX J1713.7-3946 is a result of an SN Ib/c whose progenitor was a member of an interacting binary. While our analysis provides strong evidence for X-ray line emission, our interpretation of its nature as thermal emission from SN ejecta requires further confirmation especially through future precision spectroscopic measurements using ASTRO-H.
ABSTRACT Weak gravitational lensing causes subtle changes in the apparent shapes of galaxies due to the bending of light by the gravity of foreground masses. By measuring the shapes of large numbers ...of galaxies (millions in recent surveys, up to tens of billions in future surveys) we can infer the parameters that determine cosmology. Imperfections in the detectors used to record images of the sky can introduce changes in the apparent shapes of galaxies, which in turn can bias the inferred cosmological parameters. In this paper we consider the effect of two widely discussed sensor imperfections: tree rings, due to impurity gradients that cause transverse electric fields in the charge-coupled devices (CCDs), and pixel size variation, due to periodic CCD fabrication errors. These imperfections can be observed when the detectors are subject to uniform illumination (flat-field images). We develop methods to determine the spurious shear and convergence (due to the imperfections) from the flat-field images. We calculate how the spurious shear when added to the lensing shear will bias the determination of cosmological parameters. We apply our methods to candidate sensors of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) as a timely and important example, analyzing flat-field images recorded with LSST prototype CCDs in the laboratory. We find that tree rings and periodic pixel size variation present in the LSST CCDs will introduce negligible bias to cosmological parameters determined from the lensing power spectrum, specifically w, , and .
We present a data processing algorithm for angular reconstruction and event selection applied to 2-D photoelectron track images from X-ray polarimeters. The method reconstructs the initial emission ...angle of a photoelectron from the initial portion of the track, which is obtained by continuously cutting a track until the image moments or number of pixels fall below tunable thresholds. In addition, event selection which rejects round tracks quantified with eccentricity and circularity is performed so that polarimetry sensitivity considering a trade-off between the modulation factor and signal acceptance is maximized. The modulation factors with applying track selection are 26.6±0.4, 46.1±0.4, 62.3±0.4, and 61.8±0.3% at 2.7, 4.5, 6.4, and 8.0 keV, respectively, using the same data previously analyzed by Iwakiri et al. (2016), where the corresponding numbers are 26.9±0.4, 43.4±0.4, 54.4±0.3, and 59.1±0.3%. The method improves polarimeter sensitivity by 5%–10% at the high energy end of the band previously presented (Iwakiri et al. 2016).
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