New spectral classification technique for X-ray sources: quantile analysis

We present a new technique called "quantile analysis" to classify spectral properties of X-ray sources with limited statistics. The quantile analysis is superior to the conventional approaches such as X-ray hardness ratio or X-ray color analysis to study relatively faint sources or to investigate a certain phase or state of a source in detail, where poor statistics does not allow spectral fitting using a model. Instead of working with predetermined energy bands, we determine the energy values that divide the detected photons into predetermined fractions of the total counts such as median (50%), tercile (33% & 67%), and quartile (25% & 75%). We use these quantiles as an indicator of the X-ray hardness or color of the source. We show that the median is an improved substitute for the conventional X-ray hardness ratio. The median and other quantiles form a phase space, similar to the conventional X-ray color-color diagrams. The quantile-based phase space is more evenly sensitive over various spectral shapes than the conventional color-color diagrams, and it is naturally arranged to properly represent the statistical similarity of various spectral shapes. We demonstrate the new technique in the 0.3-8 keV energy range using Chandra ACIS-S detector response function and a typical aperture photometry involving background subtraction. The technique can be applied in any energy band, provided the energy distribution of photons can be obtained.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

CMB dipoles and other low-order multipoles in the quasispherical Szekeres model

Several authors have previously shown that a Gpc-scale void based on the spherically symmetric Lemaıˆtre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) model can provide a good fit to certain cosmological data, including the SNIa data, but it is only consistent with the observed CMB dipole if we are located very close to the center, in violation of the Copernican principle. In this work we investigate the more general quasispherical Szekeres model, which does not include spherical symmetry, in order to determine whether this option may be less constricting. We find that the observer is still constrained to a small region, but it is not as geometrically ''special'' as the center of a LTB void. Furthermore, whereas the quadrupole and octupole near the center of a LTB void are necessarily small, certain Szekeres models can include a significant quadrupole while still being consistent with the observed dipole, hinting that Szekeres models may be able to give an explanation for the observed quadrupole/octupole anomalies

ROSAT HRI AND ASCA Observations of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 6946 and Its Northeast Complex of Luminous Supernova Remnants

Analysis of 80 ks ASCA and 60 ks ROSAT HRI observations of the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 are presented. The ASCA image is the first observation of this galaxy above ~2 keV. Diffuse emission may be present in the inner ~4\u27 extending to energies above ~2–3 keV. In the HRI data, 14 pointlike sources are detected, the brightest two being a source very close to the nucleus and a source to the northeast that corresponds to a luminous complex of interacting supernova remnants (SNRs). We detect a point source that lies ~30\u27\u27 west of the SNR complex but with a luminosity ~1/15 of the SNR complex. None of the point sources show evidence of strong variability; weak variability would escape our detection. The ASCA spectrum of the SNR complex shows evidence for an emission line at ~0.9 keV that could be either Ne IX at ~0.915 keV or a blend of ion stages of Fe L-shell emission if the continuum is fitted with a power law. However, a two-component, Raymond-Smith thermal spectrum with no lines gives an equally valid continuum fit and may be more physically plausible given the observed spectrum below 3 keV. Adopting this latter model, we derive a density for the SNR complex of 10–35 cm-3, consistent with estimates inferred from optical emission-line ratios. The complex\u27s extraordinary X-ray luminosity may be related more to the high density of the surrounding medium than to a small but intense interaction region where two of the complex\u27s SNRs are apparently colliding