30 research outputs found
Evidence for Particle Acceleration to the Knee of the Cosmic Ray Spectrum in Tycho’s Supernova Remnant
Supernova remnants (SNRs) have long been assumed to be the source of cosmic rays (CRs) up to the knee of the CR spectrum at 10^15 eV, accelerating particles to relativistic energies in their blast waves by the process of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). Since cosmic ray nuclei do not radiate efficiently, their presence must be inferred indirectly. Previous theoretical calculations and X-ray observations show that CR acceleration modifies significantly the structure of the SNR and greatly amplifies the interstellar magnetic field. We present new, deep X-ray observations of the remnant of Tycho\u27s supernova (SN 1572, henceforth Tycho), which reveal a previously unknown, strikingly ordered pattern of non-thermal high-emissivity stripes in the projected interior of the remnant, with spacing that corresponds to the gyroradii of 10^14 - 10^15 eV} protons. Spectroscopy of the stripes shows the plasma to be highly turbulent on the (smaller) scale of the Larmor radii of TeV energy electrons. Models of the shock amplification of magnetic fields produce structure on the scale of the gyroradius of the highest energy CRs present, but they do not predict the highly-ordered pattern we observe. We interpret the stripes as evidence for acceleration of particles to near the knee of the CR spectrum in regions of enhanced magnetic turbulence, while the observed highly ordered pattern of these features provides a new challenge to models of DSA
The Flux Auto- and Cross-Correlation of the Lyman-alpha Forest. II. Modelling Anisotropies with Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations
The isotropy of the Lyman-alpha forest in real-space uniquely provides a
measurement of cosmic geometry at z > 2. The angular diameter distance for
which the correlation function along the line of sight and in the transverse
direction agree corresponds to the correct cosmological model. However, the
Lyman-alpha forest is observed in redshift-space where distortions due to
Hubble expansion, bulk flows, and thermal broadening introduce anisotropy.
Similarly, a spectrograph's line spread function affects the autocorrelation
and cross-correlation differently. In this the second paper of a series on
using the Lyman-alpha forest observed in pairs of QSOs for a new application of
the Alcock-Paczynski (AP) test, these anisotropies and related sources of
potential systematic error are investigated with cosmological hydrodynamic
simulations. Three prescriptions for galactic outflow were compared and found
to have only a marginal effect on the Lyman-alpha flux correlation (which
changed by at most 7% with use of the currently favored variable-momentum wind
model vs. no winds at all). An approximate solution for obtaining the zero-lag
cross-correlation corresponding to arbitrary spectral resolution directly from
the zero-lag cross-correlation computed at full-resolution (good to within 2%
at the scales of interest) is presented. Uncertainty in the observationally
determined mean flux decrement of the Lyman-alpha forest was found to be the
dominant source of systematic error; however, this is reduced significantly
when considering correlation ratios. We describe a simple scheme for
implementing our results, while mitigating systematic errors, in the context of
a future application of the AP test.Comment: 20 page
Chandra X-ray Observatory Arcsecond Imaging of the Young, Oxygen-rich Supernova Remnant 1E0102.2-7219
We present observations of the young, Oxygen-rich supernova remnant
1E0102.2-7219 taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory during Chandra's Orbital
Activation and Checkout phase. The boundary of the blast wave shock is clearly
seen for the first time, allowing the diameter of the remnant and the mean
blast wave velocity to be determined accurately. The prominent X-ray bright
ring of material may be the result of the reverse shock encountering ejecta;
the radial variation of O VII vs. O VIII emission indicates an ionizing shock
propagating inwards, possibly through a strong density gradient in the ejecta.
We compare the X-ray emission to Australia Telescope Compact Array 6 cm radio
observations (Amy and Ball) and to archival Hubble Space Telescope [O III]
observations. The ring of radio emission is predominantly inward of the outer
blast wave, consistent with an interpretation as synchrotron radiation
originating behind the blast wave, but outward of the bright X-ray ring of
emission. Many (but not all) of the prominent optical filaments are seen to
correspond to X-ray bright regions. We obtain an upper limit of ~9e33 erg/s (3
sigma) on any potential pulsar X-ray emission from the central region.Comment: Accepted for pulication in Ap. J. Letters. 4 pages, 6 figures (one
color figure). Formatted with emulateapj5. Revised to incorporate copyediting
changes. High-resolution postscript (3.02MB) and tiff versions of the color
figure are available from
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cycle1/0015multi/index.htm
A Chandrasekhar Mass Progenitor for the Type Ia Supernova Remnant 3C 397 from The Enhanced Abundances of Nickel and Manganese
Despite decades of intense efforts, many fundamental aspects of Type Ia
supernova (SNe Ia) remain elusive. One of the major open questions is whether
the mass of the exploding white dwarf (WD) is close to the Chandrasekhar limit.
Here we report the detection of strong K-shell emission from stable Fe-peak
elements in the Suzaku X-ray spectrum of the Type Ia supernova remnant (SNR) 3C
397. The high Ni/Fe and Mn/Fe mass ratios (0.11-0.24 and 0.018-0.033,
respectively) in the hot plasma component that dominates the K-shell emission
lines indicate a degree of neutronization in the SN ejecta which can only be
achieved by electron captures in the dense cores of exploding WDs with a
near-Chandrasekhar mass. This suggests a single-degenerate origin for 3C 397,
since Chandrasekhar mass progenitors are expected naturally if the WD accretes
mass slowly from a companion. Together with other results supporting the
double-degenerate scenario, our work adds to the mounting evidence that both
progenitor channels make a significant contribution to the SN Ia rate in
star-forming galaxies.Comment: Accepted by ApJL; 6 pages with 4 figures and 1 tabl
New Evidence for Efficient Collisionless Heating of Electrons at the Reverse Shock of a Young Supernova Remnant
Although collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysics, certain key
aspects of them are not well understood. In particular, the process known as
collisionless electron heating, whereby electrons are rapidly energized at the
shock front, is one of the main open issues in shock physics. Here we present
the first clear evidence for efficient collisionless electron heating at the
reverse shock of Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR), revealed by Fe-K diagnostics
using high-quality X-ray data obtained by the Suzaku satellite. We detect
K-beta (3p->1s) fluorescence emission from low-ionization Fe ejecta excited by
energetic thermal electrons at the reverse shock front, which peaks at a
smaller radius than Fe K-alpha (2p->1s) emission dominated by a relatively
highly-ionized component. Comparison with our hydrodynamical simulations
implies instantaneous electron heating to a temperature 1000 times higher than
expected from Coulomb collisions alone. The unique environment of the reverse
shock, which is propagating with a high Mach number into rarefied ejecta with a
low magnetic field strength, puts strong constraints on the physical mechanism
responsible for this heating, and favors a cross-shock potential created by
charge deflection at the shock front. Our sensitive observation also reveals
that the reverse shock radius of this SNR is about 10% smaller than the
previous measurement using the Fe K-alpha morphology from the Chandra
observations. Since strong Fe K-beta fluorescence is expected only from
low-ionization plasma where Fe ions still have many 3p electrons, this feature
is key to diagnosing the plasma state and distribution of the immediate
postshock ejecta in a young SNR.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, resubmitted to ApJ with minor changes following
the referee repor
A Super-Solar Metallicity for the Progenitor of Kepler's Supernova
We have performed deep X-ray observations of the remnant of Kepler's
supernova (SN 1604) as a Key Project of the Suzaku Observatory. Our main goal
is to detect secondary Fe-peak elements in the SN ejecta to gain insights into
the Type Ia supernova explosion mechanism and the nature of the progenitor.
Here we report our initial results. We made a conclusive detection of X-ray
emission lines from highly ionized Mn, Cr, and Ni as well as Fe. The observed
Mn-to-Cr line flux ratio is ~0.60, ~30% larger than that measured in Tycho's
remnant. We estimate a Mn-to-Cr mass ratio of ~0.77, which is strongly
suggestive of a large neutron excess in the progenitor star before the onset of
the thermonuclear runaway. The observed Ni-to-Fe line flux ratio (~0.03)
corresponds to a mass ratio of ~0.06, which is generally consistent with the
products of explosive Si-burning regime in Type Ia explosion models, and rules
out contamination from the products of neutron-rich nuclear statistical
equilibrium in the shocked ejecta. Together with the previously suggested
luminous nature of the explosion, these mass ratios provide strong evidence for
a super-solar metallicity in the SN progenitor (~3 Z_sun). Kepler's supernova
was likely the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf formed in the recent
past that must have exploded through a relatively prompt channel.Comment: Total 12 pages including 2 tables and 2 color figures. Accepted by
ApJ
Scalable Group Level Probabilistic Sparse Factor Analysis
Many data-driven approaches exist to extract neural representations of
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, but most of them lack a
proper probabilistic formulation. We propose a group level scalable
probabilistic sparse factor analysis (psFA) allowing spatially sparse maps,
component pruning using automatic relevance determination (ARD) and subject
specific heteroscedastic spatial noise modeling. For task-based and resting
state fMRI, we show that the sparsity constraint gives rise to components
similar to those obtained by group independent component analysis. The noise
modeling shows that noise is reduced in areas typically associated with
activation by the experimental design. The psFA model identifies sparse
components and the probabilistic setting provides a natural way to handle
parameter uncertainties. The variational Bayesian framework easily extends to
more complex noise models than the presently considered.Comment: 10 pages plus 5 pages appendix, Submitted to ICASSP 1
A Spatially Resolved Study of the Synchrotron Emission and Titanium in Tycho's Supernova Remnant with NuSTAR
We report results from deep observations (~750 ks) of Tycho's supernova
remnant (SNR) with NuSTAR. Using these data, we produce narrow-band images over
several energy bands to identify the regions producing the hardest X-rays and
to search for radioactive decay line emission from 44Ti. We find that the
hardest (>10 keV) X-rays are concentrated in the southwest of Tycho, where
recent Chandra observations have revealed high emissivity "stripes" associated
with particles accelerated to the knee of the cosmic-ray spectrum. We do not
find evidence of 44Ti, and we set limits on its presence and distribution
within the SNR. These limits correspond to a upper-limit 44Ti mass of M44 <
2.4x10^-4 M_sun for a distance of 2.3 kpc. We perform spatially resolved
spectroscopic analysis of sixty-six regions across Tycho. We map the best-fit
rolloff frequency of the hard X-ray spectra, and we compare these results to
measurements of the shock expansion and ambient density. We find that the
highest energy electrons are accelerated at the lowest densities and in the
fastest shocks, with a steep dependence of the roll-off frequency with shock
velocity. Such a dependence is predicted by models where the maximum energy of
accelerated electrons is limited by the age of the SNR rather than by
synchrotron losses, but this scenario requires far lower magnetic field
strengths than those derived from observations in Tycho. One way to reconcile
these discrepant findings is through shock obliquity effects, and future
observational work is necessary to explore the role of obliquity in the
particle acceleration process.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, ApJ in pres
Windowless microfluidic platform based on capillary burst valves for high intensity x-ray measurements
The Flux Auto- and Cross-Correlation of the Lyman-alpha Forest. I. Spectroscopy of QSO Pairs with Arcminute Separations and Similar Redshifts
The Lyman-alpha forest has opened a new redshift regime for cosmological
investigation. At z > 2 it provides a unique probe of cosmic geometry and an
independent constraint on dark energy that is not subject to standard candle or
ruler assumptions. In Paper I of this series on using the Lyman-alpha forest
observed in pairs of QSOs for a new application of the Alcock-Paczynski test,
we present and discuss the results of a campaign to obtain moderate-resolution
spectroscopy (FWHM ~ 2.5 Angstroms) of the Lyman-alpha forest in pairs of QSOs
with small redshift differences (Delta z 2.2) and arcminute
separations (< 5'). This data set, composed of seven individual QSOs, 35 pairs,
and one triplet, is also well-suited for future investigations of the coherence
of Lyman-alpha absorbers on ~ 1 Mpc transverse scales and the transverse
proximity effect. We note seven revisions for previously published QSO
identifications and/or redshifts.Comment: 20 page