Detection of a high frequency break in the X-ray power spectrum of Ark 564

We present a power spectrum analysis of the long ASCA observation of Ark 564 in June/July 2001. The observed power spectrum covers a frequency range of ~ 3.5 decades. We detect a high frequency break at ~ 0.002 Hz. The power spectrum has an rms of ~30% and a slope of ~ -1 and ~ -2 below and above the break frequency. When combined with the results from a long RXTE observation (Pounds et al. 2001), the observed power spectra of Ark 564 and Cyg X-1 (in the low/hard state) are almost identical, showing a similar shape and rms amplitude. However, the ratio of the high frequency breaks is very small (~ 10e{3-4}), implying that these characteristic frequencies are not indicative of the black hole mass. This result supports the idea of a small black hole mass/high accretion rate in Ark 564.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, A&A (Letters) in pres

Discovery of TUG-770: a highly potent free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFA1/GPR40) agonist for treatment of type 2 diabetes

Free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFA1 or GPR40) enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells and currently attracts high interest as a new target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We here report the discovery of a highly potent FFA1 agonist with favorable physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. The compound efficiently normalizes glucose tolerance in diet-induced obese mice, an effect that is fully sustained after 29 days of chronic dosing

The first outburst of the black hole candidate MAXI J1836-194 observed by INTEGRAL, Swift, and RXTE

MAXI J1836-194 is a transient black-hole candidate discovered in outburst by MAXI on 30 August 2011. We report on the available INTEGRAL, Swift, and RXTE observations performed in the direction of the source during this event before 55 864 MJD. Combining the broad band (0.6-200 keV) spectral and timing information obtained from these data with the results of radio observations, we show that the event displayed by MAXI J1836-194 is another example of "failed" outburst. During the first ~20 days after the onset of the event, the source underwent a transition from the canonical low/hard to the hard intermediate state, while reaching the highest X-ray flux. In the ~40 days following the peak of the outburst, the source displayed a progressive spectral hardening and a decrease of the X-ray flux, thus it entered again the low/hard state and began its return to quiescence.Comment: Accepted for A&A Letters on 22 Dec. 201

Analisis Pengambilan Keputusan dan Strategi Pemasaran Di Tingkat Kebutuhan Kelor Indonesia (Kasus Agribisnis : Kelor Madura)

Kelor adalah tanaman yang tumbuh di dataran tropis, terutama di Indonesia. Bisnis kelor telah menjadi tren bisnis baru di Indonesia. Potensi kelor yang bagus namun belum tereksplor secara mendalam di bidang pemasaran menjadi salah satu hambatan. Kebijakan pengambilan keputusan untuk menjual barang tepat pada konsumen tepat di waktu yang tepat dibutuhkan untuk menghadapi persaingan pemasaran secara global. Penelitian ini bertujuan memetakan pengambilan keputusan dan mengidentifikasi strategi pemasaran pada perusahaan kelor Madura. Data didapatkan dari hasil wawancara terhadap pemilik perusahaan kelor. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah alur pengambilan keputusan dan perbandingan strategi pemasaran kelor pada perusahaan agribisnis kelor Madur

The X-ray CCD camera of the MAXI Experiment on the ISS/JEM

MAXI, Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, is the X-ray observatory on the Japanese experimental module (JEM) Exposed Facility (EF) on the International Space Station (ISS). MAXI is a slit scanning camera which consists of two kinds of X-ray detectors: one is a one-dimensional position-sensitive proportional counter with a total area of $\sim 5000 cm^2$, the Gas Slit Camera (GSC), and the other is an X-ray CCD array with a total area $\sim 200 cm^2$, the Solid-state Slit Camera (SSC). The GSC subtends a field of view with an angular dimension of 1$^\circ\times 180^\circ$ while the SSC subtends a field of view with an angular dimension of 1$^\circ$ times a little less than 180$^\circ$. In the course of one station orbit, MAXI can scan almost the entire sky with a precision of 1$^\circ$ and with an X-ray energy range of 0.5-30 keV. We have developed the engineering model of CCD chips and the analogue electronics for the SSC. The energy resolution of EM CCD for Mn K$\alpha$ has a full-width at half maximum of $\simeq$ 182 eV. Readout noise is $\simeq$ 11 e^- rms.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures Accepted for Nuclear Instruments and Method in Physics Researc

On the Nature of X-ray Variability in Ark 564

We use data from a recent long ASCA observation of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Ark 564 to investigate in detail its timing properties. We show that a thorough analysis of the time series, employing techniques not generally applied to AGN light curves, can provide useful information to characterize the engines of these powerful sources.We searched for signs of non-stationarity in the data, but did not find strong evidences for it. We find that the process causing the variability is very likely nonlinear, suggesting that variability models based on many active regions, as the shot noise model, may not be applicable to Ark 564. The complex light curve can be viewed, for a limited range of time scales, as a fractal object with non-trivial fractal dimension and statistical self-similarity. Finally, using a nonlinear statistic based on the scaling index as a tool to discriminate time series, we demonstrate that the high and low count rate states, which are indistinguishable on the basis of their autocorrelation, structure and probability density functions, are intrinsically different, with the high state characterized by higher complexity.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A&

First Results from Fermi GBM Earth Occultation Monitoring: Observations of Soft Gamma-Ray Sources Above 100 keV

The NaI and BGO detectors on the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on Fermi are now being used for long-term monitoring of the hard X-ray/low energy gamma-ray sky. Using the Earth occultation technique as demonstrated previously by the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, GBM can be used to produce multiband light curves and spectra for known sources and transient outbursts in the 8 keV to 1 MeV energy range with its NaI detectors and up to 40 MeV with its BGO detectors. Over 85% of the sky is viewed every orbit, and the precession of the Fermi orbit allows the entire sky to be viewed every ~26 days with sensitivity exceeding that of BATSE at energies below ~25 keV and above ~1.5 MeV. We briefly describe the technique and present preliminary results using the NaI detectors after the first two years of observations at energies above 100 keV. Eight sources are detected with a significance greater than 7 sigma: the Crab, Cyg X-1, SWIFT J1753.5-0127, 1E 1740-29, Cen A, GRS 1915+105, and the transient sources XTE J1752-223 and GX 339-4. Two of the sources, the Crab and Cyg X-1, have also been detected above 300 keV.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Ap

2018 X-Ray and Radio Outburst of Magnetar XTE J1810–197

We present the earliest X-ray observations of the 2018 outburst of XTE J1810−197, the first outburst since its 2003 discovery as the prototypical transient and radio-emitting anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP). The Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) detected XTE J1810−197 immediately after a November 20–26 visibility gap, contemporaneous with its reactivation as a radio pulsar, first observed on December 8. On December 13 the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) detected X-ray emission up to at least 30 keV, with a spectrum well-characterized by a blackbody plus power-law model with temperature kT = 0.74 ± 0.02 keV and photon index Γ = 4.4 ± 0.2 or by a two-blackbody model with kT = 0.59 ± 0.04 keV and kT = 1.0 ± 0.1 keV, both including an additional power-law component to account for emission above 10 keV, with Γ_h = −0.2 ± 1.5 and Γ_h = 1.5 ± 0.5, respectively. The latter index is consistent with hard X-ray flux reported for the nontransient magnetars. In the 2–10 keV bandpass, the absorbed flux is 2 × 10^(−10) erg s^(−1) cm^(−2), a factor of 2 greater than the maximum flux extrapolated for the 2003 outburst. The peak of the sinusoidal X-ray pulse lags the radio pulse by ≈0.13 cycles, consistent with their phase relationship during the 2003 outburst. This suggests a stable geometry in which radio emission originates on magnetic field lines containing currents that heat a spot on the neutron star surface. However, a measured energy-dependent phase shift of the pulsed X-rays suggests that all X-ray emitting regions are not precisely coaligned

Bright X-ray flares from the BL Lac object Mrk 421, detected with MAXI in 2010 January and February

Strong X-ray flares from the blazar Mrk 421 were detected in 2010 January and February through the 7 month monitoring with the MAXI GSC. The maximum 2 -- 10 keV flux in the January and February flares was measured as 120 +- 10 mCrab and 164 +- 17 mCrab respectively; the latter is the highest among those reported from the object. A comparison of the MAXI and Swift BAT data suggests a convex X-ray spectrum with an approximated photon index of about 2. This spectrum is consistent with a picture that MAXI is observing near the synchrotron peak frequency. The source exhibited a spectral variation during these flares, slightly different from those in the previous observations, in which the positive correlation between the flux and hardness was widely reported. By equating the halving decay timescale in the January flare, $t_{\rm d} \sim 2.5 \times 10^{4}$ s, to the synchrotron cooling time, the magnetic field was evaluated as B = 0.045 G $(\delta/10)^{-1/3}$, where $\delta$ is the jet beaming factor. Assuming that the light crossing time of the emission region is shorter than the doubling rise time, $t_{\rm r} \lesssim 2 \times 10^{4}$ s, the region size was roughly estimated as $R < 6 \times 10^{15}$ cm $(\delta/10)$. These are consistent with the values previously reported. For the February flare, the rise time, $t_{\rm r} < 1.3 \times 10^{5}$ s, gives a loose upper limit on the size as $R < 4 \times 10^{16}$ cm $(\delta/10)$, although the longer decay time $t_{\rm d} \sim 1.4 \times 10^{5}$ s, indicates B = 0.015 G $(\delta/10)^{-1/3}$, which is weaker than the previous results. This could be reconciled by invoking a scenario that this flare is a superposition of unresolved events with a shorter timescale.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, accepted for PASJ (Vol. 62 No. 6