331 research outputs found
Absolute measurement of the unresolved cosmic X-ray background in the 0.5-8 keV band with Chandra
We present the absolute measurement of the unresolved 0.5-8 keV cosmic X-ray
background (CXB) in the Chandra Deep Fields (CDFs) North and South, the longest
observations with Chandra (2 Ms and 1 Ms, respectively). We measure the
unresolved CXB intensity by extracting spectra of the sky, removing all point
and extended sources detected in the CDF. To model and subtract the
instrumental background, we use observations obtained with ACIS in stowed
position, not exposed to the sky. The unresolved signal in the 0.5-1 keV band
is dominated by diffuse Galactic and local thermal-like emission. In the 1-8
keV band, the unresolved spectrum is adequately described by a power law with a
photon index 1.5. We find unresolved CXB intensities of (1.04+/-0.14)x10^-12
ergs cm^-2 s^-1 deg^-2 for the 1-2 keV band and (3.4+/-1.7)x10^-12 ergs cm^-2
s^-1 deg^-2 for the 2-8 keV band. Our detected unresolved intensities in these
bands significantly exceed the expected flux from sources below the CDF
detection limits, if one extrapolates the logN/logS curve to zero flux. Thus
these background intensities imply either a genuine diffuse component, or a
steepening of the logN/logS curve at low fluxes, most significantly for
energies <2 keV. Adding the unresolved intensity to the total contribution from
sources detected in these fields and wider-field surveys, we obtain a total
intensity of the extragalactic CXB of (4.6+/-0.3)x10^-12 ergs cm^-2 s^-1 deg^-2
for 1-2 keV and (1.7+/-0.2)x10^-11 ergs cm^-2 s^-1 deg^-2 for 2-8 keV. These
totals correspond to a CXB power law normalization (for photon index 1.4) of
10.9 photons cm^-2 s^-1 keV^-1 sr^-1 at 1 keV. This corresponds to resolved
fracations of 77+/-3% and 80+/-8% for 1-2 and 2-8 keV, respectively.Comment: 23 emulateapj pages, accepted for publication in ApJ. Minor
revisions, most notably a new summary of the error analysi
The Hypervelocity Star SDSS J090745.0+024507 is a Short-Period Variable
We present high-precision photometry of the hypervelocity star SDSS
J090745.0+024507 (HVS), which has a Galactic rest-frame radial velocity of
v=709 km/s, and so has likely been ejected from the supermassive black hole in
the Galactic center. Our data were obtained on two nights using the MMT 6.5m
telescope, and is supplemented by lower precision photometry obtained on four
nights using the FLWO 1.2m telescope. The high-precision photometry indicates
that the HVS is a short-period, low-amplitude variable, with period P=0.2-2
days and amplitude A = 2-10%. Together with the known effective temperature of
T_eff ~ 10,500 K (spectral type B9), this variability implies that the HVS is a
member of the class of slowly pulsating B-type main sequence stars, thus
resolving the previously-reported two-fold degeneracy in the luminosity and
distance of the star. The HVS has a heliocentric distance of 71 kpc, and an age
of ~0.35 Gyr. The time of ejection from the center of the Galaxy is < 100 Myr,
and thus the existence of the OS constitutes observational evidence of a
population of young stars in the proximity of the central supermassive black
hole ~0.1 Gyr ago. It is possible that the HVS was a member of a binary that
was tidally disrupted by the central black hole; we discuss constraints on the
properties of the companion's orbit.Comment: ApJL, submitted, 4 pages, 4 figure
X-Ray Detected Active Galactic Nuclei in Dwarf Galaxies At 0 \u3c Z \u3c 1
We present a sample of accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in dwarf galaxies at z\lt 1. We identify dwarf galaxies in the NEWFIRM Medium Band Survey with stellar masses of {M}\star \lt 3Ă {10}9 {M}â that have spectroscopic redshifts from the DEEP2 survey and lie within the region covered by deep (flux limit of Ë 5Ă {10}-17{--}6Ă {10}-16 {erg} {{cm}}-2 {{{s}}}-1) archival Chandra X-ray data. From our sample of 605 dwarf galaxies, 10 exhibit X-ray emission consistent with that arising from active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. If black-hole mass scales roughly with stellar mass, then we expect that these AGNs are powered by SMBHs with masses of Ë {10}5{--}{10}6 {M}â and typical Eddington ratios of Ë 5 % . Furthermore, we find an AGN fraction consistent with extrapolations of other searches of Ë 0.6 % {--}3 % for {10}9 {M}â â€slant {M}\star â€slant 3Ă {10}9 {M}â and 0.1\lt z\lt 0.6. Our AGN fraction is in good agreement with a semi-analytic model, suggesting that, as we search larger volumes, we may use comparisons between observed AGN fractions and models to understand seeding mechanisms in the early universe
The Halo Mass of Optically Luminous Quasars at z ,Fâ ,F1-2 Measured via Gravitational Deflection of the Cosmic Microwave Background
© 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.We measure the average deflection of cosmic microwave background photons by quasars at ăZă= 1.7. Our sample is selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to cover the redshift range 0.9 â€zâ€2.2 with absolute i-band magnitudes of M i â€-24 (K-corrected to z = 2). A stack of nearly 200,000 targets reveals an 8ÎŽ detection of Planck's estimate of the lensing convergence toward the quasars. We fit the signal with a model comprising a Navarro-Frenk-White density profile and a two-halo term accounting for correlated large-scale structure, which dominates the observed signal. The best-fitting model is described by an average halo mass log 10 (M h h -1 M)12.6 ±0.2 = and linear bias b=2.7±0.3 at ăZ ă= 1.7, in excellent agreement with clustering studies. We also report a hint, at a 90% confidence level, of a correlation between the convergence amplitude and luminosity, indicating that quasars brighter than MiâČ -26 reside in halos of typical mass M h â 10 13 h -1 M, scaling roughly as M h â L opt 3/4 at M i âČ-24 mag, in good agreement with physically motivated quasar demography models. Although we acknowledge that this luminosity dependence is a marginal result, the observed Mh-L opt relationship could be interpreted as a reflection of the cutoff in the distribution of black hole accretion rates toward high Eddington ratios: the weak trend of Mh with Lopt observed at low luminosity becomes stronger for the most powerful quasars, which tend to be accreting close to the Eddington limit.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
A Serendipitous XMM Survey of the SDSS: the evolution of the colour-magnitude diagram of X-ray AGN from z=0.8 to z=0.1
A new serendipitous XMM survey in the area of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey is
described (XMM/SDSS), which includes features such as the merging of
overlapping fields to increase the sensitivity to faint sources, the use of a
new parametrisation of the XMM point spread function for the source detection
and photometry, the accurate estimation of the survey sensitivity. About 40,000
X-ray point sources are detected over a total area of 122deg2. A subsample of
209 sources detected in the 2-8keV spectral band with SDSS spectroscopic
redshifts in the range 0.03<z<0.2, optical magnitudes r<17.77mag and
logLx(2-10keV)>41.5 (erg/s) are selected to explore their distribution on the
colour magnitude diagram. This is compared with the colour-magnitude diagram of
X-ray AGN in the AEGIS field at z~0.8. We find no evidence for evolution of the
rest-frame colours of X-ray AGN hosts from z=0.8 to z=0.1. This suggests that
the dominant accretion mode of the AGN population, which is expected to imprint
on the properties of their host galaxies, does not change since z=0.8. This
argues against scenarios which attribute the rapid decline of the accretion
power of the Universe with time (1dex since z=0.8) to changes in the AGN
fueling/triggering mode.Comment: To appear in MNRAS. Data available at
http://www.astro.noa.gr/~age/xmmsdss.htm
Resolving the cosmic X-ray background with a next-generation high-energy X-ray observatory
The cosmic X-ray background (CXB), which peaks at an energy of ~30 keV, is
produced primarily by emission from accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs).
The CXB therefore serves as a constraint on the integrated SMBH growth in the
Universe and the accretion physics and obscuration in active galactic nuclei
(AGNs). This paper gives an overview of recent progress in understanding the
high-energy (>~10 keV) X-ray emission from AGNs and the synthesis of the CXB,
with an emphasis on results from NASA's NuSTAR hard X-ray mission. We then
discuss remaining challenges and open questions regarding the nature of AGN
obscuration and AGN physics. Finally, we highlight the exciting opportunities
for a next-generation, high-resolution hard X-ray mission to achieve the
long-standing goal of resolving and characterizing the vast majority of the
accreting SMBHs that produce the CXB.Comment: Science White paper submitted to Astro2020 Decadal Survey; 5 pages, 3
figures, plus references and cover pag
Separating the BL Lac and Cluster X-ray Emissions in Abell 689 with Chandra
We present the results of a Chandra observation of the galaxy cluster Abell
689 (z=0.279). Abell 689 is one of the most luminous clusters detected in the
ROSAT All Sky Survey (RASS), but was flagged as possibly including significant
point source contamination. The small PSF of the Chandra telescope allows us to
confirm this and separate the point source from the extended cluster X-ray
emission. For the cluster we determine a bolometric luminosity of
L_{bol}=(3.3+/-0.3)x10^{44} erg s-1 and a temperature of kT=5.1^{+2.2}_{-1.3}
keV when including a physically motivated background model. We compare our
measured luminosity for A689 to that quoted in the Rosat All Sky Survey (RASS)
and find L_{0.1-2.4,keV}=2.8x10^{44} erg s-1, a value \sim10 times lower than
the ROSAT measurement. Our analysis of the point source shows evidence for
significant pileup, with a pile-up fraction of ~60%. SDSS spectra and HST
images lead us to the conclusion that the point source within Abell 689 is a BL
Lac object. Using radio and optical observations from the VLA and HST archives,
we determine {\alpha}_{ro}=0.50, {\alpha}_{ox}=0.77 and {\alpha}_{rx}=0.58 for
the BL Lac, which would classify it as being of 'High-energy peak BL Lac' (HBL)
type. Spectra extracted of A689 show a hard X-ray excess at energies above 6
keV that we interpret as inverse Compton emission from aged electrons that may
have been transported into the cluster from the BL Lac.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, MNRAS in pres
Weighing Obscured and Unobscured Quasar Hosts with the Cosmic Microwave Background
We cross-correlate a cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing map with the projected space densities of quasars to measure the bias and halo masses of a quasar sample split into obscured and unobscured populations, the first application of this method to distinct quasar subclasses. Several recent studies of the angular clustering of obscured quasars have shown that these objects likely reside in higher-mass halos compared to their unobscured counterparts. This has important implications for models of the structure and geometry of quasars, their role in growing supermassive black holes, and mutual quasar/host galaxy evolution. However, the magnitude and significance of this difference has varied from study to study. Using data from \planck, \wise, and SDSS, we follow up on these results using the independent method of CMB lensing cross-correlations. The region and sample are identical to that used for recent angular clustering measurements, allowing for a direct comparison of the CMB-lensing and angular clustering methods. At zâŒ1, we find that the bias of obscured quasars is bq=2.57±0.24, while that of unobscured quasars is bq=1.89±0.19. This corresponds to halo masses of log(Mh/Mâhâ1)=13.24+0.14â0.15 (obscured) and log(Mh/Mâhâ1)=12.71+0.15â0.13 (unobscured). These results agree well with with those from angular clustering (well within 1Ï), and confirm that obscured quasars reside in host halos âŒ3 times as massive as halos hosting unobscured quasars. This implies that quasars spend a significant portion of their lifetime in an obscured state, possibly more than one half of the entire active phase
Evidence of Compton cooling during an X-ray flare supports a neutron star nature of the compact object in 4U1700-37
Based on new Chandra X-ray telescope data, we present empirical evidence of
plasma Compton cooling during a flare in the non pulsating massive X-ray binary
4U1700-37. This behaviour might be explained by quasispherical accretion onto a
slowly rotating magnetised neutron star. In quiescence, the neutron star in
4U1700-37 is surrounded by a hot radiatively cooling shell. Its presence is
supported by the detection of mHz quasi periodic oscillations likely produced
by its convection cells. The high plasma temperature and the relatively low
X-ray luminosity observed during the quiescence, point to a small emitting area
about 1 km, compatible with a hot spot on a NS surface. The sudden transition
from a radiative to a significantly more efficient Compton cooling regime
triggers an episode of enhanced accretion resulting in a flare. During the
flare, the plasma temperature drops quickly. The predicted luminosity for such
transitions, Lx = 3 x 10^35 erg s-1, is very close to the luminosity of
4U1700-37 during quiescence. The transition may be caused by the accretion of a
clump in the stellar wind of the donor star. Thus, a magnetised NS nature of
the compact object is strongly favoured.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Studying the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium in Emission
We assess the possibility to detect the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM)
in emission and to characterize its physical conditions and spatial
distribution through spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, in the framework of
the recently proposed DIOS, EDGE, Xenia, and ORIGIN missions, all of which are
equipped with microcalorimeter-based detectors. For this purpose we analyze a
large set of mock emission spectra, extracted from a cosmological
hydrodynamical simulation. These mock X-ray spectra are searched for emission
features showing both the OVII K alpha triplet and OVIII Ly alpha line, which
constitute a typical signature of the warm hot gas. Our analysis shows that 1
Ms long exposures and energy resolution of 2.5 eV will allow us to detect about
400 such features per deg^2 with a significance >5 sigma and reveals that these
emission systems are typically associated with density ~100 above the mean. The
temperature can be estimated from the line ratio with a precision of ~20%. The
combined effect of contamination from other lines, variation in the level of
the continuum, and degradation of the energy resolution reduces these
estimates. Yet, with an energy resolution of 7 eV and all these effects taken
into account, one still expects about 160 detections per deg^2. These line
systems are sufficient to trace the spatial distribution of the line-emitting
gas, which constitute an additional information, independent from line
statistics, to constrain the poorly known cosmic chemical enrichment history
and the stellar feedback processes.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, ApJ in press; revised version according to
revie
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