Properties and observability of glitches and anti-glitches in accreting pulsars

Several glitches have been observed in young, isolated radio pulsars, while a clear detection in accretion-powered X-ray pulsars is still lacking. We use the Pizzochero snowplow model for pulsar glitches as well as starquake models to determine for the first time the expected properties of glitches in accreting pulsars and their observability. Since some accreting pulsars show accretion-induced long-term spin-up, we also investigate the possibility that anti-glitches occur in these stars. We find that glitches caused by quakes in a slow accreting neutron star are very rare and their detection extremely unlikely. On the contrary, glitches and anti-glitches caused by a transfer of angular momentum between the superfluid neutron vortices and the non-superfluid component may take place in accreting pulsars more often. We calculate the maximum jump in angular velocity of an anti-glitch and we find that it is expected to be about 1E-5 - 1E-4 rad/s. We also note that since accreting pulsars usually have rotational angular velocities lower than those of isolated glitching pulsars, both glitches and anti-glitches are expected to have long rise and recovery timescales compared to isolated glitching pulsars, with glitches and anti-glitches appearing as a simple step in angular velocity. Among accreting pulsars, we find that GX 1+4 is the best candidate for the detection of glitches with currently operating X-ray instruments and future missions such as the proposed Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT).Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 6 pages. Minor changes to match the final A&A versio

Glancing through the accretion column of EXO 2030+375

We took advantage of the large collecting area and good timing capabilities of the EPIC cameras on-board XMM-Newton to investigate the accretion geometry onto the magnetized neutron star hosted in the high mass X-ray binary EXO 2030+375 during the rise of a source Type-I outburst in 2014. We carried out a timing and spectral analysis of the XMM-Newton observation as function of the neutron star spin phase. We used a phenomenological spectral continuum model comprising the required fluorescence emission lines. Two neutral absorption components are present: one covering fully the source and one only partially. The same analysis was also carried out on two Suzaku observations of the source performed during outbursts in 2007 and 2012, to search for possible spectral variations at different luminosities. The XMM-Newton data caught the source at an X-ray luminosity of $2\times10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and revealed the presence of a narrow dip-like feature in its pulse profile that was never reported before. The width of this feature corresponds to about one hundredth of the neutron star spin period. From the results of the phase-resolved spectral analysis we suggest that this feature can be ascribed to the self-obscuration of the accretion stream passing in front of the observer line of sight. We inferred from the Suzaku observation carried out in 2007 that the self-obscuration of the accretion stream might produce a significantly wider feature in the neutron star pulsed profile at higher luminosities ($\gtrsim$$2\times10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$).Comment: Accepted for publication on A&

Spatial distribution of unidentified infrared bands and extended red emission in the compact galactic HII region Sh 152

We present visible and near IR images of the compact HII region Sh 152. Some of these images reveal the presence of Extended Red Emission (ERE) around 698 nm and emission from Unidentified Infra Red Bands (UIRBs) at 3.3 and 6.2 micron. Other images show the near infrared (7-12 micron) continuous emission of the nebula. The ERE emission is found to coincide with the ionized region and significantly differ from the UIRBs location. Also some evidence is found in favor of grains as carriers for ERE.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, to be published in the proceedings of the colloquium "The universe as seen by ISO" help in Paris, October 20-23, 1998 ; available in html format at http://www.obs-hp.fr/preprints.htm

Swift, NuSTAR, and INTEGRAL observations of the symbiotic X-ray binary IGR J16194-2810

We report on a simultaneous observational campaign with both Swift/XRT and NuSTAR targeting the symbiotic X-ray binary IGR J16194-2810. The main goal of the campaign was to investigate the possible presence of cyclotron scattering absorption features in the broad-band spectrum of the source, and help advance our understanding of the process of neutron star formation via the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf. The 1-30 keV spectrum of the source, as measured during our campaign, did not reveal the presence of any statistically significant absorption feature. The spectrum could be well described using a model comprising a thermal black-body hot component, most likely emerging from the surface of the accreting neutron star, and a power-law with no measurable cut-off energy (and affected by a modest absorption column density). Compared to previous analyses in the literature, we could rule out the presence of a colder thermal component emerging from an accretion disk, compatible with the idea that IGR J16194-2810 is a wind-fed binary (as most of the symbiotic X-ray binaries). Our results were strengthened by exploiting the archival XRT and INTEGRAL data, extending the validity of the spectral model used up to 0.3-40 keV and demonstrating that IGR J16194-2810 is unlikely to undergo significant spectral variability over time in the X-ray domain.Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRA

Giant outburst from the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J17544-2619: accretion from a transient disc?

Supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) are high mass X-ray binaries associated with OB supergiant companions and characterised by an X-ray flaring behaviour whose dynamical range reaches 5 orders of magnitude on timescales of a few hundred to thousands of seconds. Current investigations concentrate on finding possible mechanisms to inhibit accretion in SFXTs and explain their unusually low average X-ray luminosity. We present the Swift observations of an exceptionally bright outburst displayed by the SFXT IGR J17544-2619 on 2014 October 10 when the source achieved a peak luminosity of $3\times10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$. This extends the total source dynamic range to $\gtrsim$10$^6$, the largest (by a factor of 10) recorded so far from an SFXT. Tentative evidence for pulsations at a period of 11.6 s is also reported. We show that these observations challenge, for the first time, the maximum theoretical luminosity achievable by an SFXT and propose that this giant outburst was due to the formation of a transient accretion disc around the compact object.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters. 5 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Biogenic Amines Content of Four Types of "Pecorino" Cheese Manufactured in Tuscany

Biogenic amines content of four types of Tuscan ewes' milk "pecorino" cheese was evaluated using HPLC-UV analysis. All cheeses were manufactured in the same dairy factory with different combinations of milk (raw or pasteurized) and type of ripening. Total biogenic amines and tyramine levels of a raw milk "pecorino" ripened five months, partly in a traditional cave, were significantly higher than those of a pasteurized milk "pecorino" with a similar ripening; and of a two months raw milk "pecorino" ripened in the dairy plant. No statistical significant difference was found when comparing total biogenic amines and tyramine contents of the same five month ripened raw milk "pecorino" with a pasteurized milk "pecorino" ripened six months, partly in a traditional "fossa." In raw milk cave-ripened and "fossa"-ripened cheeses, total biogenic amines exceeded 1000 mg/kg. In cheeses manufactured with raw milk and/or in particular ripening environments, specific hygienic cares are needed to limit biogenic amines form..

Constraining duty cycles through a Bayesian technique

The duty cycle (DC) of astrophysical sources is generally defined as the fraction of time during which the sources are active. However, DCs are generally not provided with statistical uncertainties, since the standard approach is to perform Monte Carlo bootstrap simulations to evaluate them, which can be quite time consuming for a large sample of sources. As an alternative, considerably less time-consuming approach, we derived the theoretical expectation value for the DC and its error for sources whose state is one of two possible, mutually exclusive states, inactive (off) or flaring (on), as based on a finite set of independent observational data points. Following a Bayesian approach, we derived the analytical expression for the posterior, the conjugated distribution adopted as prior, and the expectation value and variance. We applied our method to the specific case of the inactivity duty cycle (IDC) for supergiant fast X-ray transients. We also studied IDC as a function of the number of observations in the sample. Finally, we compare the results with the theoretical expectations. We found excellent agreement with our findings based on the standard bootstrap method. Our Bayesian treatment can be applied to all sets of independent observations of two-state sources, such as active galactic nuclei, X-ray binaries, etc. In addition to being far less time consuming than bootstrap methods, the additional strength of this approach becomes obvious when considering a well-populated class of sources ($N_{\rm src} \geq 50$) for which the prior can be fully characterized by fitting the distribution of the observed DCs for all sources in the class, so that, through the prior, one can further constrain the DC of a new source by exploiting the information acquired on the DC distribution derived from the other sources. [Abridged]Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Supporting material at http://www.ifc.inaf.it/~romano/Sfxts/IDCSims/index.htm

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance myocardial perfusion: methods and applications in patients with coronary artery disease

Perfusion CMR is an attractive imaging modality that is becoming comparable with other clinically diagnostic tests. SPECT and PET are well clinically validated and have good accuracy for detection of significant CAD. However, these techniques have a rather low spatial resolution and are not suitable for the detection of subendocardial perfusion defect. In addition, the radiation burden, the potential for attenuation artefacts (SPECT) and the limited availability (PET) are limitations of these imaging techniques. An integrated assessment of myocardial perfusion, function and viability is feasible with CMR. In addition, compared to other clinically available imaging techniques, CMR perfusion has excellent spatial resolution and no ionising radiation exposure. However, it is not widely available and there is a need of protocol and pulse sequence standardization. Most perfusion analysis remains observer-dependent (“eyeball” analysis) or dependent on bolus dispersion (semi-quantitative analysis). Fully quantitative analysis using CMR perfusion is currently time-consuming for clinical application. Perfusion CMR is an evolving field with numerous future directions

In-depth study of long-term variability in the X-ray emission of the Be/X-ray binary system AX J0049.4-7323

AX J0049.4-7323 is a Be/X-ray binary in the Small Magellanic Cloud hosting a ~750 s pulsar which has been observed over the last ~17 years by several X-ray telescopes. Despite numerous observations, little is known about its X-ray behaviour. Therefore, we coherently analysed archival Swift, Chandra, XMM-Newton, RXTE, and INTEGRAL data, and we compared them with already published ASCA data, to study its X-ray long-term spectral and flux variability. AX J0049.4-7323 shows a high X-ray variability, spanning more than three orders of magnitudes, from L ~ 1.6E37 erg/s (0.3-8 keV, d=62 kpc) down to L ~ 8E33 erg/s. RXTE, Chandra, Swift, and ASCA observed, in addition to the expected enhancement of X-ray luminosity at periastron, flux variations by a factor of ~ 270 with peak luminosities of ~2.1E36 erg/s far from periastron. These properties are difficult to reconcile with the typical long-term variability of Be/XRBs, traditionally interpreted in terms of type I and type II outbursts. The study of AX J0049.4-7323 is complemented with a spectral analysis of Swift, Chandra, and XMM-Newton data which showed a softening trend when the emission becomes fainter, and an analysis of optical/UV data collected by the UVOT telescope on board Swift. In addition, we measured a secular spin-up rate of $\dot{P}=(-3.00\pm0.12)\times 10^{-3}$ s day$^{-1}$, which suggests that the pulsar has not yet achieved its equilibrium period. Assuming spherical accretion, we estimated an upper limit for the magnetic field strength of the pulsar of ~3E12 G.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic