9,405 research outputs found
Hard Extended X-ray Source in the IC 443 SNR Resolved by Chandra: A Fast Ejecta Fragment or a New Pulsar Wind Nebula?
A Chandra observation of the isolated hard X-ray source XMMU
J061804.3+222732, located in the region of apparent interaction of the
supernova remnant IC 443 with a molecular cloud, resolved the complex structure
of the source in a few bright clumps embedded in an extended emission of a ~ 30
arcsec size. The X-ray spectra of the clumps and the extended emission are
dominated by a hard power-law component with a photon index of 1.2--1.4. In
addition, we see some indications of an optically thin thermal plasma of a ~
0.3 keV temperature. The observed X-ray morphology and spectra are consistent
with those expected for an isolated supernova ejecta fragment interacting with
a dense ambient medium. A possible alternative interpretation is a pulsar wind
nebula associated with either IC 443 or another SNR, G189.6+3.3.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters High
resolution Images of Fig.1 are appende
Polarization of Thermal X-rays from Isolated Neutron Stars
Since the opacity of a magnetized plasma depends on polarization of
radiation, the radiation emergent from atmospheres of neutron stars with strong
magnetic fields is expected to be strongly polarized. The degree of linear
polarization, typically ~10-30%, depends on photon energy, effective
temperature and magnetic field. The spectrum of polarization is more sensitive
to the magnetic field than the spectrum of intensity. Both the degree of
polarization and the position angle vary with the neutron star rotation period
so that the shape of polarization pulse profiles depends on the orientation of
the rotational and magnetic axes. Moreover, as the polarization is
substantially modified by the general relativistic effects, observations of
polarization of X-ray radiation from isolated neutron stars provide a new
method for evaluating the mass-to-radius ratio of these objects, which is
particularly important for elucidating the properties of the superdense matter
in the neutron star interiors.Comment: 7 figures, to be published in Ap
Mediation, arbitration and negotiation
We compare three common dispute resolution processes { negotiation, mediation, and arbitration { in the framework of Crawford and Sobel (1982). Under negotiation, the two parties engage in (possibly arbitrarily long) face-to-face cheap talk. Under mediation, the parties communicate with a neutral third party who makes a non-binding recommendation. Under arbitration, the two parties commit
to conform to the third party recommendation. We characterize and compare the optimal mediation and arbitration procedures. Both mediators and arbitrators should optimally filter information, but mediators should also add noise to it. We find that unmediated negotiation performs as well as mediation if and only if the degree of
conflict between the parties is low
Absorption Features in the X-ray Spectrum of an Ordinary Radio Pulsar
The vast majority of known non-accreting neutron stars (NSs) are
rotation-powered radio and/or gamma-ray pulsars. So far, their multiwavelength
spectra have all been described satisfactorily by thermal and non-thermal
continuum models, with no spectral lines. Spectral features have, however, been
found in a handful of exotic NSs and thought to be a manifestation of their
unique traits. Here we report the detection of absorption features in the X-ray
spectrum of an ordinary rotation-powered radio pulsar, J1740+1000. Our findings
bridge the gap between the spectra of pulsars and other, more exotic, NSs,
suggesting that the features are more common in the NS spectra than they have
been thought so far.Comment: 18 pages, 4 color figures, 1 Tabl
X-ray emission from PSR J1809-1917 and its pulsar wind nebula, possibly associated with the TeV gamma-ray source HESS J1809-193
We detected X-ray emission from the 50-kyr-old pulsar J1809-1917 and resolved
its pulsar wind nebula (PWN) with Chandra. The pulsar spectrum fits PL+BB model
with the photon index of 1.2 and the BB temperature of 2 MK for n_{H}=0.7\times
10^{22} cm^{-2}. The luminosities are(4\pm 1)\times 10^{31} ergs s^{-1} for the
PL component (in the 0.5-8 keV band) and ~1\times 10^{32} ergs s^{-1} for the
BB component (bolometric) at a plausible distance of 3.5 kpc. The bright inner
PWN component of a 3''\times12'' size is elongated in the north-south
direction, with the pulsar close to its south end. This component is immersed
in a larger (20''\times40''), similarly elongated outer PWN component of lower
surface brightness. The elongated shape of the compact PWN can be explained by
the ram pressure confinement of the pulsar wind due to the supersonic motion of
the pulsar. The PWN spectrum fits a PL model with photon index of 1.4\pm0.1 and
0.5-8 keV luminosity of 4\times10^{32} ergs s^{-1}. The compact PWN appears to
be inside a large-scale (~4'\times4') emission more extended to the south of
the pulsar, i.e. in the direction of the alleged pulsar motion. To explain the
extended X-ray emission ahead of the moving pulsar, one has to invoke strong
intrinsic anisotropy of the pulsar wind or assume that this emission comes from
a relic PWN swept by the asymmetrical reverse SNR shock. The pulsar and its PWN
are located within the extent of the unidentified TeV source HESS J1809-193
whose brightest part is offset by ~8' to the south of the pulsar, i.e. in the
same direction as the large-scale X-ray emission. Although the association
between J1809-1917 and HESS J1809-193 is plausible, an alternative source of
relativistic electrons powering HESS J1809-193 might be the serendipitously
discovered X-ray source CXOU J180940.7-192544.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures and 3 tables, submitted to ApJ. Version with the
high-resolution figures is available at
http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/green/J1809/ms_astroph.pd
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