980 research outputs found
The emerging population of pulsar wind nebulae in hard X-rays
The hard X-ray synchrotron emission from pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) probes
energetic particles, closely related to the pulsar injection power at the
present time. INTEGRAL has disclosed the yet poorly known population of hard
X-ray pulsar/PWN systems. We summarize the properties of the class, with
emphasys on the first hard X-ray bow-shock (CTB 80 powered by PSR B1951+32),
and highlight some prospects for the study of Pulsar Wind Nebulae with the
Simbol-X mission.Comment: Proceedings of the 2nd Simbol-X Symposium, AIP Conf. Proc. Series,
Eds. P. Ferrando and J. Rodriguez (4 pages, 2 figures
Characterization of Strombolian events by using independent component analysis
We apply Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to seismic signals recorded at Stromboli volcano. Firstly, we show how ICA works considering synthetic signals, which are generated by dynamical systems. We prove that Strombolian signals, both tremor and explosions, in the high frequency band (>0.5 Hz), are similar in time domain. This seems to give some insights to the organ pipe model generation for the source of these events. Moreover, we are able to recognize in the tremor signals a low frequency component (<0.5 Hz), with a well defined peak corresponding to 30s
XMM-Newton and Swift observations of XTE J1743-363
XTEJ1743-363 is a poorly known hard X-ray transient, that displays short and
intense flares similar to those observed from Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients.
The probable optical counterpart shows spectral properties similar to those of
an M8 III giant, thus suggesting that XTEJ1743-363 belongs to the class of the
Symbiotic X-ray Binaries. In this paper we report on the first dedicated
monitoring campaign of the source in the soft X-ray range with XMM-Newton and
Swift/XRT. T hese observations confirmed the association of XTEJ1743-363 with
the previously suggested M8 III giant and the classification of the source as a
member of the Symbiotic X-ray binaries. In the soft X-ray domain, XTEJ1743-363
displays a high absorption (~6x10^22 cm^-2 ) and variability on time scales of
hundreds to few thousand seconds, typical of wind accreting systems. A
relatively faint flare (peak X-ray flux 3x10^-11 erg/cm^2/s) lasting ~4 ks is
recorded during the XMM-Newton observation and interpreted in terms of the wind
accretion scenario.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&
The X-ray spectrum of the bursting atoll source 4U~1728-34 observed with INTEGRAL
We present for the first time a study of the 3-200 keV broad band spectra of
the bursting atoll source 4U 1728-34 (GX 354-0) along its hardness intensity
diagram. The analysis was done using the INTEGRAL public and Galactic Center
deep exposure data ranging from February 2003 to October 2004. The spectra are
well described by a thermal Comptonization model with an electron temperature
from 35 keV to 3 keV and Thomson optical depth, tau_T, from 0.5 to 5 in a slab
geometry. The source undergoes a transition from an intermediate/hard to a soft
state where the source luminosity increases from 2 to 12% of Eddington. We have
also detected 36 type I X-ray bursts two of which show photospheric radius
expansion. The energetic bursts with photospheric radius expansion occurred at
an inferred low mass accretion rate per unit area of \dot m ~ 1.7x10E3 g/cm2/s,
while the others at a higher one between 2.4x10E3 - 9.4x10E3 g/cm2/s. For
4U1728-34 the bursts' total fluence, and the bursts' peak flux are
anti-correlated with the mass accretion rate. The type I X-ray bursts involve
pure helium burning either during the hard state, or during the soft state of
the source.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, and 2 tables. Accepted for publication in A&
Mass transfer during low mass X-ray transient decays
The outbursts of low mass X-ray binaries are prolonged relative to those of
dwarf nova cataclysmic variables as a consequence of X-ray irradiation of the
disc. We show that the time-scale of the decay light curve and its luminosity
at a characteristic time are linked to the radius of the accretion disc. Hence
a good X-ray light curve permits two independent estimates of the disc radius.
In the case of the milli-second pulsars SAX J1808.4-3658 and XTE J0929-314 the
agreement between these estimates is very strong. Our analysis allows new
determinations of distances and accretion disc radii. Our analysis will allow
determination of accretion disc radii for sources in external galaxies, and
hence constrain system parameters where other observational techniques are not
possible. We also use the X-ray light curves to estimate the mass transfer
rate. The broken exponential decay observed in the 2002 outburst of SAX
J1808.4-3658 may be caused by the changing self-shadowing of the disc.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables. Accepted MNRAS Oct 200
Are There Magnetars in High Mass X-ray Binaries? The Case of SuperGiant Fast X-Ray Transients
In this paper we survey the theory of wind accretion in high mass X-ray
binaries hosting a magnetic neutron star and a supergiant companion.
We concentrate on the different types of interaction between the inflowing
wind matter and the neutron star magnetosphere that are relevant when accretion
of matter onto the neutron star surface is largely inhibited; these include the
inhibition through the centrifugal and magnetic barriers. Expanding on earlier
work, we calculate the expected luminosity for each regime and derive the
conditions under which transition from one regime to another can take place. We
show that very large luminosity swings (~10^4 or more on time scales as short
as hours) can result from transitions across different regimes.
The activity displayed by supergiant fast X-ray transients, a recently
discovered class of high mass X-ray binaries in our galaxy, has often been
interpreted in terms of direct accretion onto a neutron star immersed in an
extremely clumpy stellar wind. We show here that the transitions across the
magnetic and/or centrifugal barriers can explain the variability properties of
these sources as a results of relatively modest variations in the stellar wind
velocity and/or density. According to this interpretation we expect that
supergiant fast X-ray transients which display very large luminosity swings and
host a slowly spinning neutron star are characterized by magnetar-like fields,
irrespective of whether the magnetic or the centrifugal barrier applies.
Supergiant fast X-ray transients might thus provide a new opportunity to
detect and study magnetars in binary systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 16 pages, 6 figure
Multi-wavelength observations of IGR J17544-2619 from quiescence to outburst
In this paper we report on a long multi-wavelength observational campaign of
the supergiant fast X-ray transient prototype IGR J17544-2619. A 150 ks-long
observation was carried out simultaneously with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR, catching
the source in an initial faint X-ray state and then undergoing a bright X-ray
outburst lasting about 7 ks. We studied the spectral variability during
outburst and quiescence by using a thermal and bulk Comptonization model that
is typically adopted to describe the X-ray spectral energy distribution of
young pulsars in high mass X-ray binaries. Although the statistics of the
collected X-ray data were relatively high we could neither confirm the presence
of a cyclotron line in the broad-band spectrum of the source (0.5-40 keV), nor
detect any of the previously reported tentative detection of the source spin
period. The monitoring carried out with Swift/XRT during the same orbit of the
system observed by XMM-Newton and NuSTAR revealed that the source remained in a
low emission state for most of the time, in agreement with the known property
of all supergiant fast X-ray transients being significantly sub-luminous
compared to other supergiant X-ray binaries. Optical and infrared observations
were carried out for a total of a few thousands of seconds during the
quiescence state of the source detected by XMM-Newton and NuSTAR. The measured
optical and infrared magnitudes were slightly lower than previous values
reported in the literature, but compatible with the known micro-variability of
supergiant stars. UV observations obtained with the UVOT telescope on-board
Swift did not reveal significant changes in the magnitude of the source in this
energy domain compared to previously reported values.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&A. V2: few typos correcte
Bursting behavior of the Galactic Center faint X-ray transient GRS 1741.9-2853
The neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GRS 1741.9-2853 is a known type-I
burster of the Galactic Center. It is transient, faint, and located in a very
crowded region, only 10 arcmin from the supermassive black hole Sgr A*.
Therefore, its bursting behavior has been poorly studied so far. In particular,
its persistent emission has rarely been detected between consecutive bursts,
due to lack of sensitivity or confusion. This is what made GRS 1741.9-2853 one
of the nine "burst-only sources" identified by BeppoSAX a few years ago. The
physical properties of GRS 1741.9-2853 bursts are yet of great interest since
we know very little about the nuclear regimes at stake in low accretion rate
bursters. We examine here for the first time several bursts in relation with
the persistent emission of the source, using INTEGRAL, XMM-Newton, and Swift
observations. We investigate the source flux variability and bursting behavior
during its 2005 and 2007 long outbursts. The persistent luminosity of GRS
1741.9-2853 varied between ~1.7 and 10.5 10^36 erg s^-1, i.e. 0.9-5.3% of the
Eddington luminosity. The shape of the spectrum as described by an absorbed
power-law remained with a photon index Gamma ~ 2 and a column density $N_{\rm
H} ~ 12 10^22 cm^-2 throughout the outbursts. We discovered 11 type-I bursts
with INTEGRAL, and inspected 4 additional bursts: 2 recorded by XMM-Newton and
2 by Swift. From the brigthest burst, we derive an upper limit on the source
distance of ~7 kpc. The observed bursts characteristics and source accretion
rate suggest pure helium explosions igniting at column depths y_{ign} ~ 0.8-4.8
10^8 g cm^-1, for typical energy releases of ~1.2-7.4 10^39 erg.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Biofilms: Novel strategies based on antimicrobial peptides
The problem of drug resistance is very worrying and ever increasing. Resistance is due not only to the reckless use of antibiotics but also to the fact that pathogens are able to adapt to different conditions and develop self-defense mechanisms such as living in biofilms; altogether these issues make the search for alternative drugs a real challenge. Antimicrobial peptides appear as promising alternatives but they have disadvantages that do not make them easily applicable in the medical field; thus many researches look for solutions to overcome the disadvantages and ensure that the advantages can be exploited. This review describes the biofilm characteristics and identifies the key features that antimicrobial peptides should have. Recalcitrant bacterial infections caused by the most obstinate bacterial species should be treated with a strategy to combine conventional peptides functionalized with nano-tools. This approach could effectively disrupt high density infections caused by biofilms. Moreover, the importance of using in vivo non mammalian models for biofilm studies is described. In particular, here we analyze the use of amphibians as a model to substitute the rodent model
Discovery of new quasi-periodic oscillations in the X-ray transient source V~0332+53
We report the discovery of a new quasi-period oscillation (QPO) at 0.22 Hz,
centered on the source spin frequency of the high mass X-ray binary system
V~0332+53 when the source was observed during its November 2004/March 2005
outburst by {\em RXTE}. Besides this new QPO, we also detected the known 0.05
Hz QPO. Both the 0.22 and 0.05 Hz QPOs stand out clearly at a mid-flux level of
the outburst within January 15--19 2005, and later at an even lower flux level
as the width of 0.22 Hz QPO drops. No evolution of the centroid frequency with
the flux is seen in either QPO. The rms value below 10 keV is around 4--6% for
both QPOs and decreases at higher energies. We discuss our results in the
context of current QPO models.Comment: 5 figures, 12 pages. AASTex preprint style. (In 2005, ApJ Let., 629,
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