XMM-Newton observations of two transient millisecond X-ray pulsars in quiescence

We report on XMM-Newton observations of two X-ray transient millisecond pulsars (XRTMSPs). We detected XTE J0929-314 with an unabsorbed luminosity of \~7x10^{31} erg/s. (0.5-10 keV) at a fiducial distance of 10 kpc. The quiescent spectrum is consistent with a simple power law spectrum. The upper limit on the flux from a cooling neutron star atmosphere is about 20% of the total flux. XTE J1807-294 instead was not detected. We can put an upper limit on the source quiescent 0.5-10 keV unabsorbed luminosity <4x10^{31} erg/s at 8 kpc. These observations strenghten the idea that XRTMSPs have quiescent luminosities significantly lower than classical neutron star transients.Comment: 4 pages including 1 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A Letter

Double solid twistor spaces: the case of arbitrary signature

In a recent paper (math.DG/0701278) we constructed a series of new Moishezon twistor spaces which is a kind of variant of the famous LeBrun twistor spaces. In this paper we explicitly give projective models of another series of Moishezon twistor spaces on nCP^2 for arbitrary n>2, which can be regarded as a generalization of the twistor spaces of a 'double solid type' on 3CP^2 studied by Kreussler, Kurke, Poon and the author. Similarly to the twistor spaces of 'double solid type' on 3CP^2, projective models of present twistor spaces have a natural structure of double covering of a CP^2-bundle over CP^1. We explicitly give a defining polynomial of the branch divisor of the double covering whose restriction to fibers are degree four. If n>3 these are new twistor spaces, to the best of the author's knowledge. We also compute the dimension of the moduli space of these twistor spaces. Differently from math.DG/0701278, the present investigation is based on analysis of pluri-(half-)anticanonical systems of the twistor spaces.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures; v2: title changed (the original title was "Explicit construction of new Moishezon twistor spaces, II".

The quiescent X-ray emission of three transient X-ray pulsars

We report on BeppoSAX and Chandra observations of three Hard X-Ray Transients in quiescence containing fast spinning (P<5 s) neutron stars: A 0538-66, 4U 0115+63 and V 0332+53. These observations allowed us to study these transients at the faintest flux levels thus far. Spectra are remarkably different from the ones obtained at luminosities a factor >10 higher, testifying that the quiescent emission mechanism is different. Pulsations were not detected in any of the sources, indicating that accretion of matter down to the neutron star surface has ceased. We conclude that the quiescent emission of the three X-ray transients likely originates from accretion onto the magnetospheric boundary in the propeller regime and/or from deep crustal heating resulting from pycnonuclear reactions during the outbursts.Comment: Accepted for publication on ApJ (5 pages and 2 figures

The discovery of 12min X-ray pulsations from 1WGA J1958.2+3232

During a systematic search for periodic signals in a sample of ROSAT PSPC (0.1-2.4 keV) light curves, we discovered 12min large amplitude X-ray pulsations in 1WGA J1958.2+3232, an X-ray source which lies close to the galactic plane. The energy spectrum is well fit by a power law with a photon index of 0.8, corresponding to an X-ray flux of about 10E-12 ergs cmE-2 sE-1. The source is probably a long period, low luminosity X-ray pulsar, similar to X Per, or an intermediate polar.Comment: 5 pages (figures included). Accepted for publication on MNRA

Deciphering the large-scale environment of radio galaxies in the local Universe: where do they born, grow and die?

The role played by the large-scale environment on the nuclear activity of radio galaxies (RGs), is still not completely understood. Accretion mode, jet power and galaxy evolution are connected with their large-scale environment from tens to hundreds of kpc. Here we present a detailed, statistical, analysis of the large-scale environment for two samples of RGs up to redshifts $z_\mathrm{src}$=0.15. The main advantages of our study, with respect to those already present in the literature, are due to the extremely homogeneous selection criteria of catalogs adopted to perform our investigation. This is also coupled with the use of several clustering algorithms. We performed a direct search of galaxy-rich environments around RGs using them as beacon. To perform this study we also developed a new method that does not appear to suffer by a strong $z_\mathrm{src}$ dependence as other algorithms. We conclude that, despite their radio morphological (FR\,I $vs$ FR\,II) and/or their optical (HERG $vs$ LERG) classification, RGs in the local Universe tend to live in galaxy-rich large-scale environments having similar characteristics and richness. We highlight that the fraction of FR\,Is-LERG, inhabiting galaxy rich environments, appears larger than that of FR\,IIs-LERG. We also found that 5 out of 7 FR\,II-HERGs, with $z_\mathrm{src}\leq$0.11, lie in groups/clusters of galaxies. However, we recognize that, despite the high level of completeness of our catalogs, when restricting to the local Universe, the low number of HERGs ($\sim$10\% of the total FR\,IIs investigated) prevent us to make a strong statistical conclusion about this source class.Comment: 21 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series - pre-proof versio

A Search for Pulsars in Quiescent Soft X-Ray Transients. I

We have carried out a deep search at 1.4 GHz for radio pulsed emission from six soft X-ray transient sources observed during their X-ray quiescent phase. The commonly accepted model for the formation of the millisecond radio pulsars predicts the presence of a rapidly rotating, weakly magnetized neutron star in the core of these systems. The sudden drop in accretion rate associated with the end of an X-ray outburst causes the Alfv\`en surface to move outside the light cylinder, allowing the pulsar emission process to operate. No pulsed signal was detected from the sources in our sample. We discuss several mechanisms that could hamper the detection and suggest that free-free absorption from material ejected from the system by the pulsar radiation pressure could explain our null result.Comment: accepted by Ap

The return to quiescence of Aql X-1 following the 2010 outburst

Aql X-1 is the most prolific low mass X-ray binary transient hosting a neutron star. In this paper we focus on the return to quiescence following the 2010 outburst of the source. This decay was monitored thanks to 11 pointed observations taken with XMM-Newton, Chandra and Swift. The decay from outburst to quiescence is very fast, with an exponential decay characteristic time scale of ~2 d. Once in quiescence the X-ray flux of Aql X-1 remained constant, with no further signs of variability or decay. The comparison with the only other well-monitored outburst from Aql X-1 (1997) is tail-telling. The luminosities at which the fast decay starts are fully compatible for the two outbursts, hinting at a mechanism intrinsic to the system and possibly related to the neutron star rotation and magnetic field (i.e., the propeller effect). In addition, for both outbursts, the decay profiles are also very similar, likely resulting from the shut-off of the accretion process onto the neutron star surface. Finally, the quiescent neutron star temperatures at the end of the outbursts are well consistent with one another, suggesting a hot neutron star core dominating the thermal balance. Small differences in the quiescent X-ray luminosity among the two outbursts can be attributed to a different level of the power law component.Comment: MNRAS accepted (4 figures and 6 tables

Optimisation of the Swift X-ray follow-up of Advanced LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave triggers in 2015--16

One of the most exciting near-term prospects in physics is the potential discovery of gravitational waves by the advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors. To maximise both the confidence of the detection and the science return, it is essential to identify an electromagnetic counterpart. This is not trivial, as the events are expected to be poorly localised, particularly in the near-term, with error regions covering hundreds or even thousands of square degrees. In this paper we discuss the prospects for finding an X-ray counterpart to a gravitational wave trigger with the Swift X-ray Telescope, using the assumption that the trigger is caused by a binary neutron star merger which also produces a short gamma-ray burst. We show that it is beneficial to target galaxies within the GW error region, highlighting the need for substantially complete galaxy catalogues out to distances of 300 Mpc. We also show that nearby, on-axis short GRBs are either extremely rare, or are systematically less luminous than those detected to date. We consider the prospects for detecting afterglow emission from an an off-axis GRB which triggered the GW facilities, finding that the detectability, and the best time to look, are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the burst such as circumburst density and our viewing angle.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA