Search results for " X-rays"
showing 10 items of 234 documents
Spatial distribution of X-ray emitting ejecta in Tychos SNR: indications of shocked Titanium
2015
Young supernova remnants show a characteristic ejecta-dominated X-ray emission that allows us to probe the products of the explosive nucleosynthesis processes and to ascertain important information about the physics of the supernova explosions. Hard X-ray observations have recently revealed the radioactive decay lines of 44Ti at ~67.9 keV and ~78.4 keV in the Tycho's SNR. We here analyze the set of XMM-Newton archive observations of the Tycho's SNR. We produce equivalent width maps of the Fe K and Ca XIX emission lines and find indications for a stratification of the abundances of these elements and significant anisotropies. We then perform a spatially resolved spectral analysis by identify…
The discovery of the 401 Hz accreting millisecond pulsar IGR J17498-2921 in a 3.8 h orbit
2011
We report on the detection of a 400.99018734(1) Hz coherent signal in the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer light curves of the recently discovered X-ray transient, IGR J17498-2921. By analysing the frequency modulation caused by the orbital motion observed between August 13 and September 8, 2011, we derive an orbital solution for the binary system with a period of 3.8432275(3) hr. The measured mass function, f(M_2, M_1, i)=0.00203807(8) Msun, allows to set a lower limit of 0.17 Msun on the mass of the companion star, while an upper limit of 0.48 Msun is set by imposing that the companion star does not overfill its Roche lobe. We observe a marginally significant evolution of the signal frequency …
XMM-Newton Large Program on SN1006 - I: Methods and Initial Results of Spatially-Resolved Spectroscopy
2015
Based on our newly developed methods and the XMM-Newton large program of SN1006, we extract and analyze the spectra from 3596 tessellated regions of this SNR each with 0.3-8 keV counts $>10^4$. For the first time, we map out multiple physical parameters, such as the temperature ($kT$), electron density ($n_e$), ionization parameter ($n_et$), ionization age ($t_{ion}$), metal abundances, as well as the radio-to-X-ray slope ($\alpha$) and cutoff frequency ($\nu_{cutoff}$) of the synchrotron emission. We construct probability distribution functions of $kT$ and $n_et$, and model them with several Gaussians, in order to characterize the average thermal and ionization states of such an extended s…
A relativistically smeared spectrum in the neutron star X-ray binary 4U 1705−44: looking at the inner accretion disc with X-ray spectroscopy
2009
Iron emission lines at 6.4-6.97 keV, identified with fluorescent Kalpha transitions, are among the strongest discrete features in the X-ray band. These are therefore one of the most powerful probes to infer the properties of the plasma in the innermost part of the accretion disc around a compact object. In this paper we present a recent XMM observation of the X-ray burster 4U 1705-44, where we clearly detect a relativistically smeared iron line at about 6.7 keV, testifying with high statistical significance that the line profile is distorted by high velocity motion in the accretion disc. As expected from disc reflection models, we also find a significant absorption edge at about 8.3 keV; th…
On the observability of T Tauri accretion shocks in the X-ray band
2010
Context. High resolution X-ray observations of classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs) show a soft X-ray excess due to high density plasma (n_e=10^11-10^13 cm^-3). This emission has been attributed to shock-heated accreting material impacting onto the stellar surface. Aims. We investigate the observability of the shock-heated accreting material in the X-ray band as a function of the accretion stream properties (velocity, density, and metal abundance) in the case of plasma-beta<<1 in the post-shock zone. Methods. We use a 1-D hydrodynamic model describing the impact of an accretion stream onto the chromosphere, including the effects of radiative cooling, gravity and thermal conduction. We expl…
Testing reflection features in 4U 1705-44 with XMM-Newton, BeppoSAX, and RXTE in the hard and soft states
2012
We use data of the bright atoll source 4U 1705-44 taken with XMM-Newton, BeppoSAX and RXTE both in the hard and in the soft state to perform a self-consistent study of the reflection component in this source. Although the data from these X-ray observatories are not simultaneous, the spectral decomposition is shown to be consistent among the different observations, when the source flux is similar. We therefore select observations performed at similar flux levels in the hard and soft state in order to study the spectral shape in these two states in a broad band (0.1-200 keV) energy range, with good energy resolution, and using self-consistent reflection models. These reflection models provide…
X-ray spectroscopy of MXB 1728-34 with XMM-Newton
2011
We have analysed an XMM-Newton observation of the low mass X-ray binary and atoll source MXB 1728-34. The source was in a low luminosity state during the XMM-Newton observation, corresponding to a bolometric X-ray luminosity of 5*10E36 d^2 erg/s, where d is the distance in units of 5.1 kpc. The 1-11 keV X-ray spectrum of the source, obtained combining data from all the five instruments on-board XMM-Newton, is well fitted by a Comptonized continuum. Evident residuals are present at 6-7 keV which are ascribed to the presence of a broad iron emission line. This feature can be equally well fitted by a relativistically smeared line or by a self-consistent, relativistically smeared, reflection mo…
The jets and disc of SS 433 at super-Eddington luminosities
2009
We examine the jets and the disc of SS 433 at super-Eddington luminosities with 600 times Eddington critical accretion rate by time-dependent two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamical calculations, assuming alpha-model for the viscosity. One-dimensional supercritical accretion disc models with mass loss or advection are used as the initial configurations of the disc. As a result, from the initial advective disc models with alpha =0.001 and 0.1, we obtain the total luminosities 2.5x10^{40} and 2.0x10^{40} erg/s. The total mass-outflow rates are 4x10^{-5} and 10^{-4} solar-mass/yr and the rates of the relativistic axial outflows in a small half opening angle of 1 degree are about 10^{-6} solar…
Testing Rate Dependent corrections on timing mode EPIC-pn spectra of the accreting Neutron Star GX 13+1
2014
When the EPIC-pn instrument on board XMM-Newton is operated in Timing mode, high count rates (>100 cts/s) of bright sources may affect the calibration of the energy scale, resulting in a modification of the real spectral shape. The corrections related to this effect are then strongly important in the study of the spectral properties. Tests of these calibrations are more suitable in sources which spectra are characterised by a large number of discrete features. Therefore, in this work, we carried out a spectral analysis of the accreting Neutron Star GX 13+1, which is a dipping source with several narrow absorption lines and a broad emission line in its spectrum. We tested two different co…
The spin and orbit of the newly discovered pulsar IGR J17480-2446
2011
We present an analysis of the spin and orbital properties of the newly discovered accreting pulsar IGR J17480-2446, located in the globular cluster Terzan 5. Considering the pulses detected by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer at a period of 90.539645(2) ms, we derive a solution for the 21.27454(8) hr binary system. The binary mass function is estimated to be 0.021275(5) Msun, indicating a companion star with a mass larger than 0.4 Msun. The X-ray pulsar spins up while accreting at a rate of between 1.2 and 1.7E-12 Hz/s, in agreement with the accretion of disc matter angular momentum given the observed luminosity. We also report the detection of pulsations at the spin period of the source dur…