Nature of the Unidentified TeV Source HESS J1614-518, Revealed by Suzaku and XMM-Newton Observations

We report on new Suzaku and XMM-Newton results concerning HESS J1614-518, which is one of the brightest extended TeV gamma-ray sources and has two regions with intense gamma-ray emission. We newly observed the south and center regions of HESS J1614-518 with Suzaku, since the north region, including the position of the 1st brightest peak of the TeV gamma-ray emission, has already been observed. No X-ray counterpart was found at the position of the 2nd brightest peak of the TeV gamma-ray emission; we estimated the upper limit of the X-ray flux to be 1.6 \times 10^{-13} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} in the 2-10 keV band. The soft X-ray source Suzaku J1614-5152, which was found at the edge of the field of view in a previous observation, was also detected at the middle of HESS J1614-518. Analyzing the XMM-Newton archival data, we revealed that Suzaku J1614-5152 consists of multiple point sources. The X-ray spectrum of the brightest point source, XMMU J161406.0-515225, can be described by a power-law model with a photon index of Gamma = 5.2^{+0.6}_{-0.5}, or a blackbody model with temperature kT = 0.38^{+0.04}_{-0.04} keV. In the blackbody model, the hydrogen-equivalent column density is almost the same as that of the hard extended X-ray emission, Suzaku J1614-5141, which was found at the 1st peak position. If true, XMMU J161406.0-515225 may be physically related to Suzaku J1614-5141 and HESS J1614-518.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ Vol.63 No.SP

Discoveries of 3 K-shell Lines of Iron and a Coherent Pulsation of 593-sec from SAX J1748.2-2808

SAX J1748.2$-$2808 is a unique X-ray object with a flat spectrum and strong emission lines at 6.4--7.0 keV. The Suzaku satellite resolved the emission lines into 3 K-shell lines from neutral and highly ionized irons. A clear coherent pulsation with a period of 593-sec was found from the Suzaku and XMM-Newton archives. These facts favor that SAX J1748.2$-$2808 isan intermediate polar, a subclass of magnetized white dwarf binary (cataclysmic variable: CV). This paper reports on details of the findings and discusses the origin of this source.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to PASJ on 2008, May 19, Accepted on 2008, June 2

Global Distribution of Fe K alpha Lines in the Galactic Center Region Observed with the Suzaku Satellite

We have surveyed spatial profiles of the Fe K$\alpha$ lines in the Galactic center diffuse X-rays (GCDX), including the transient region from the GCDX to the Galactic ridge X-ray emission (GRXE), with the Suzaku satellite. We resolved Fe K$\alpha$ line complex into three lines of Fe \emissiontype{I}, Fe \emissiontype{XXV} and Fe \emissiontype{XXVI} K$\alpha$, and obtained their spatial intensity profiles with the resolution of \sim \timeform{0D.1}. We compared the Fe \emissiontype{XXV} K$\alpha$ profile with a stellar mass distribution (SMD) model made from near infrared observations. The intensity profile of Fe \emissiontype{XXV} K$\alpha$ is nicely fitted with the SMD model in the GRXE region, while that in the GCDX region shows $3.8\pm0.3$ (\timeform{0D.2}<|l|<\timeform{1D.5}) or $19\pm6$ (|l|<\timeform{0D.2}) times excess over the best-fit SMD model in the GRXE region. Thus Fe \emissiontype{XXV} K$\alpha$ in the GCDX is hardly explained by the same origin of the GRXE. In the case of point source origin, a new population with the extremely strong Fe \emissiontype{XXV} K$\alpha$ line is required. An alternative possibility is that the majority of the GCDX is truly diffuse optically thin thermal plasma.Comment: Accepted by PAS

Gas, Iron and Gravitational Mass in Galaxy Clusters: The General Lack of Cluster Evolution at z < 1.0

We have analyzed the ASCA data of 29 nearby clusters of galaxies systematically, and obtained temperatures, iron abundances, and X-ray luminosities of their intracluster medium (ICM). We also estimate ICM mass using the beta model, and then evaluate iron mass contained in the ICM and derive the total gravitating mass. This gives the largest and most homogeneous information about the ICM derived only by the ASCA data. We compare these values with those of distant clusters whose temperatures, abundances, and luminosities were also measured with ASCA, and find no clear evidence of evolution for the clusters at z<1.0. Only the most distant cluster at z=1.0, AXJ2019.3+1127, has anomalously high iron abundance, but its iron mass in the ICM may be among normal values for the other clusters, because the ICM mass may be smaller than the other clusters. This may suggest a hint of evolution of clusters at z ~ 1.0.Comment: 23 pages including 5 figures. Using PASJ2.sty, and PASJ95.sty. Accepted by PAS

No X-Ray Excess from the HESS J1741-302 Region except a New Intermediate Polar Candidate

With the Suzaku satellite, we observed an unidentified TeV gamma-ray source HESS J1741$-$302 and its surroundings. No diffuse or point-like X-ray sources are detected from the bright southern emission peak of HESS J1741$-$302. From its neighborhood, we found a new intermediate polar candidate at the position of (\alpha, \delta)_{\rm J2000.0} = (\timeform{17h40m35.6s}, \timeform{-30D14m16s}), which is designated as Suzaku J174035.6$-$301416. The spectrum of Suzaku J174035.6$-$301416 exhibits emission lines at the energy of 6.4, 6.7 and 7.0 keV, which can be assigned as the K$\alpha$ lines from neutral, He-like and H-like iron, respectively. A coherent pulsation is found at a period of 432.1 $\pm$ 0.1 s. The pulse profile is quasi-sinusoidal in the hard X-ray band (4$-$8 keV), but is more complicated in the soft X-ray band (1$-$3 keV). The moderate period of pulsation, the energy flux, and the presence of the iron K$\alpha$ lines indicate that Suzaku J174035.6$-$301416 is likely an intermediate polar, a subclass of magnetized white dwarf binaries (cataclysmic variables). Based on these discoveries, we give some implications on the origin of GCDX and brief comments on HESS J1741$-$302 and PSR B1737$-$30.Comment: Accepted by PAS

First Detection of A Sub-kpc Scale Molecular Outflow in the Starburst Galaxy NGC 3628

We successfully detected a molecular outflow with a scale of 370-450 pc in the central region of the starburst galaxy NGC 3628 through deep CO(1-0) observations by using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array (NMA). The mass of the outflowing molecular gas is ~2.8x10^7 M_sun, and the outflow velocity is ~90(+/-10) km s^{-1}. The expansion timescale of the outflow is 3.3-6.8 Myr, and the molecular gas mass flow rate is 4.1-8.5 M_sun yr^{-1}. It requires mechanical energy of (1.8-2.8)x10^{54} erg to create this sub-kpc scale molecular outflow. In order to understand the evolution of the molecular outflow, we compare the physical properties between the molecular outflow observed from our NMA CO(1-0) data and the plasma gas from the soft X-ray emission of the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) archival data. We found that the distribution between the molecular outflow and the strong plasma outflow seems to be in a similar region. In this region, the ram pressure and the thermal pressure of the plasma outflow are 10^{-(8-10)} dyne cm^{-2}, and the thermal pressure of molecular outflow is 10^{-(11-13)} dyne cm^{-2}. This implies the molecular outflow is still expanding outward. The molecular gas consumption timescale is estimated as 17-27 Myr, and the total starburst timescale is 20-34 Myr. The evolutionary parameter is 0.11-0.25, suggesting that the starburst activity in NGC 3628 is still in a young stage.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, accepted by Ap