Evaluation of Dr. Szirmai's method of treating thrombosis with neomyograms resp. neomyographs

Neomyographic examinations were made by the authors on 28 patients. The extent of reconvalescence was measured on the basis of changes in the values recorded by the myograms taken before and after the treatment.</p

A Coherent Timing Solution for the Nearby Isolated Neutron Star RX J0720.4-3125

We present the results of a dedicated effort to measure the spin-down rate of the nearby isolated neutron star RX J0720.4-3125. Comparing arrival times of the 8.39-sec pulsations for data from Chandra we derive an unambiguous timing solution for RX J0720.4-3125 that is accurate to 5 years. Adding data from XMM and ROSAT, the final solution yields Pdot=(6.98+/-0.02)x10^(-14) s/s; for dipole spin-down, this implies a characteristic age of 2 Myr and a magnetic field strength of 2.4e13 G. The phase residuals are somewhat larger than those for purely regular spin-down, but do not show conclusive evidence for higher-order terms or a glitch. From our timing solution as well as recent X-ray spectroscopy, we concur with recent suggestions that RX J0720.4-3125 is most likely an off-beam radio pulsar with a moderately high magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in ApJ

XMM-Newton observations of SNR 1987A. II. The still increasing X-ray light curve and the properties of Fe K lines

Aims. We report on the recent observations of the supernova remnant SNR 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud with XMM-Newton. Carefully monitoring the evolution of the X-ray light curve allows to probe the complex circumstellar medium structure observed around the supernova progenitor star. Methods. We analyse all XMM-Newton observations of SNR 1987A from January 2007 to December 2011, using data from the EPIC-pn camera. Spectra from all epochs are extracted and analysed in a homogeneous way. Using a multi-shock model to fit the spectra across the 0.2-10 keV band we measure soft and hard X-ray fluxes with high accuracy. In the hard X-ray band we examine the presence and properties of Fe K ines. Our findings are interpreted in the framework of a hydrodynamics-based model. Results. The soft X-ray flux of SNR 1987A continuously increased in the recent years. Although the light curve shows a mild flattening, there is no sudden break as reported in an earlier work, a picture echoed by a revision of the Chandra light curve. We therefore conclude that material in the equatorial ring and out-of-plane HII regions are still being swept-up. We estimate the thickness of the equatorial ring to be at least 4.5x10^16 cm (0.0146 pc). This lower limit will increase as long as the soft X-ray flux has not reached a turn-over. We detect a broad Fe K line in all spectra from 2007 to 2011. The widths and centroid energies of the lines indicate the presence of a collection of iron ionisation stages. Thermal emission from the hydrodynamic model does not reproduce the low-energy part of the line (6.4-6.5 keV), suggesting that fluorescence from neutral and/or low ionisation Fe might be present.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

An Optical Study of Two VY Sculptoris-Type Cataclysmic Binary Stars: V704 And and RX J2338+431

We report observations of the known cataclysmic variable star (CV) V704 And, and also confirm that the optical counterpart of the ROSAT Galactic Plane Survey source RX J2338+431 is a heretofore-neglected CV. Photometric and spectroscopic observations from MDM Observatory show both systems to be novalike variables that exhibit dips of 4-5 magnitudes from their mean brightnesses, establishing them as members of the VY~Scl subclass. From high-state emission-line radial velocities, we determine orbital periods of 0.151424(3) d (3.63 hr) for V704 And and 0.130400(1) d (3.13 hr) for RX J2338+431. In V704 And, we find that the H-alpha emission-line measures cluster into distinct regions on a plot of equivalent width versus full width at half-maximum, which evidently correspond to high, intermediate, and low photometric states. This allows us to assign spectra to photometric states when contemporaneous photometry is not available, an apparently novel method that may be useful in studies of other novalikes. Our low-state spectra of RX J2338+431 show features of an M-type secondary star, from which we estimate a distance of 890 +- 200 pc, in good agreement with the Gaia DR2 parallax.Comment: Accepted for Astronomical Journa

The isolated neutron star X-ray pulsars RX J0420.0–5022 and RX J0806.4–4123 : new X-ray and optical observations

We report on the analysis of new X-ray data obtained with XMM-Newton and Chandra from two ROSAT-discovered X-ray dim isolated neutron stars (XDINs). RX J0806.4−4123 was observed with XMM-Newton in April 2003, 2.5 years after the first observation. The EPIC-pn data confirm that this object is an X-ray pulsar with 11.371 s neutron star spin period. The X-ray spectrum is consistent with absorbed black-body emission with a temperature kT = 96 eV and N H = 4 × 10 19 cm −2 without significant changes between the two observations. Four XMM-Newton observations of RX J0420.0−5022 between December 2002 and July 2003 did not confirm the 22.7 s pulsations originally indicated in ROSAT data, but clearly reveal a 3.453 s period. A fit to the X-ray spectrum using an absorbed black-body model yields kT = 45 eV, the lowest value found from the small group of XDINs and N H = 1.0 × 10 20 cm −2. Including a broad absorption line improves the quality of the spectral fits considerably for both objects and may indicate the presence of absorption features similar to those reported from RBS1223, RX J1605.3+3249 and RX J0720.4−3125. For both targets we derive accurate X-ray positions from the Chandra data and present an optical counterpart candidate for RX J0420.0−5022 with B = 26.6 ± 0.3 mag from VLT imaging

RXJ0123.4-7321, a Be/X-ray binary in the wing of the SMC

To confirm faint Be/X-ray binary candidates from the XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud, we searched for X-ray outbursts in archival ROSAT observations. We found that RXJ0123.4-7321 was much brighter when detected with ROSAT than seen 16 years later by XMM-Newton. We analysed the ROSAT observations and the OGLE I-band light curve of the optical counterpart to investigate the nature of the system. High long-term variability in the X-ray flux of a factor of ~150 was found between the ROSAT and XMM-Newton detections, indicating strong outburst activity during the ROSAT observations. The I-band light curve reveals long-term variability and regular outbursts with a period of (119.9+-2.5) days indicating the orbital period of the binary system. The large X-ray flux variations and the properties of the optical counterpart confirm RXJ0123.4-7321 as a new Be/X-ray binary in the wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Multi-wavelength properties of IGR J05007-7047 (LXP 38.55) and identification as a Be X-ray binary pulsar in the LMC

We report on the results of a $\sim$40 d multi-wavelength monitoring of the Be X-ray binary system IGR J05007-7047 (LXP 38.55). During that period the system was monitored in the X-rays using the Swift telescope and in the optical with multiple instruments. When the X-ray luminosity exceeded $10^{36}$ erg/s we triggered an XMM-Newton ToO observation. Timing analysis of the photon events collected during the XMM-Newton observation reveals coherent X-ray pulsations with a period of 38.551(3) s (1 {\sigma}), making it the 17$^{th}$ known high-mass X-ray binary pulsar in the LMC. During the outburst, the X-ray spectrum is fitted best with a model composed of an absorbed power law ($\Gamma =0.63$) plus a high-temperature black-body (kT $\sim$ 2 keV) component. By analysing $\sim$12 yr of available OGLE optical data we derived a 30.776(5) d optical period, confirming the previously reported X-ray period of the system as its orbital period. During our X-ray monitoring the system showed limited optical variability while its IR flux varied in phase with the X-ray luminosity, which implies the presence of a disk-like component adding cooler light to the spectral energy distribution of the system.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Two long-period X-ray pulsars detected in the SMC field around XTE J0055-727

An XMM-Newton target of opportunity observation of the field around the transient 18.37 s pulsar XTE J0055-727 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) revealed two bright, long-period X-ray pulsars in the EPIC data. A new pulsar, XMMU J005517.9-723853, with a pulse period of 701.7 +/- 0.8 s was discovered and 500.0 +/- 0.2 s pulsations were detected from XMMU J005455.4-724512 (= CXOU J005455.6-724510), confirming the period found in Chandra data. We derive X-ray positions of RA = 00h5455.88s, Dec = -72d45m10.5s and RA = 00h55m18.44s, Dec = -72d38m51.8s (J2000.0) with an uncertainty of 0.2'' utilizing optical identification with OGLE stars. For both objects, the optical brightness and colours and the X-ray spectra are consistent with Be/X-ray binary systems in the SMC.Comment: A&A Letters, in pres

A Probable Optical Counterpart for the Isolated Neutron Star RX J1308.6+2127

Using a very deep observation with HST/STIS, we have searched for an optical counterpart to the nearby radio-quiet isolated neutron star RX J1308.6+2127 (RBS 1223). We have identified a single object in the 90% Chandra error circle that we believe to be the optical counterpart. This object has $m_{50CCD}=28.56\pm0.13$ mag, which translates approximately to an unabsorbed flux of $F_{\lambda}=(1.7 \pm 0.3)e-20$ ergs/s/cm^2/A at 5150 A or an X-ray-to-optical flux ratio of $log(f_X/f_opt)=4.9$. This flux is a factor of $\approx 5$ above the extrapolation of the black-body fit to the X-ray spectrum, consistent with the optical spectra of other isolated neutron stars. Without color information we cannot conclude that this source is indeed the counterpart of RX J1308.6+2127. If not, then the counterpart must have $m_{50CCD} > 29.6$ mag, corresponding to a flux that is barely consistent with the extrapolation of the black-body fit to the X-ray spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Uses emulateapj5.sty, onecolfloat5.sty. Accepted by ApJ Letter