115 research outputs found
WIDGET: System Performance and GRB Prompt Optical Observations
The WIDeField telescope for Gamma-ray burst Early Timing (WIDGET) is used for
a fully automated, ultra-wide-field survey aimed at detecting the prompt
optical emission associated with Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs). WIDGET surveys the
HETE-2 and Swift/BAT pointing directions covering a total field of view of 62
degree x 62 degree every 10 secounds using an unfiltered system. This
monitoring survey allows exploration of the optical emission before the
gamma-ray trigger. The unfiltered magnitude is well converted to the SDSS r'
system at a 0.1 mag level. Since 2004, WIDGET has made a total of ten
simultaneous and one pre-trigger GRB observations. The efficiency of
synchronized observation with HETE-2 is four times better than that of Swift.
There has been no bright optical emission similar to that from GRB 080319B. The
statistical analysis implies that GRB080319B is a rare event. This paper
summarizes the design and operation of the WIDGET system and the simultaneous
GRB observations obtained with this instrument.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, Accepted to appear in PAS
Spectral and Timing Analysis of the accretion-powered pulsar 4U 1626-67 observed with Suzaku and NuSTAR
We present an analysis of the spectral shape and pulse profile of the
accretion-powered pulsar 4U 1626-67 observed with Suzaku and NuSTAR during a
spin-up state. The pulsar, which experienced a torque reversal to spin-up in
2008, has a spin period of 7.7 s. Comparing the phase-averaged spectra obtained
with Suzaku in 2010 and with NuSTAR in 2015, we find that the spectral shape
changed between the two observations: the 3-10 keV flux increased by 5% while
the 30-60 keV flux decreased significantly by 35%. Phase-averaged and
phase-resolved spectral analysis shows that the continuum spectrum observed by
NuSTAR is well described by an empirical NPEX continuum with an added broad
Gaussian emission component around the spectral peak at 20 keV. Taken together
with the observed Pdot value obtained from Fermi/GBM, we conclude that the
spectral change between the Suzaku and NuSTAR observations was likely caused by
an increase of the accretion rate. We also report the possible detection of
asymmetry in the profile of the fundamental cyclotron line. Furthermore, we
present a study of the energy-resolved pulse profiles using a new relativistic
ray tracing code, where we perform a simultaneous fit to the pulse profiles
assuming a two-column geometry with a mixed pencil- and fan-beam emission
pattern. The resulting pulse profile decompositions enable us to obtain
geometrical parameters of accretion columns (inclination, azimuthal and polar
angles) and a fiducial set of beam patterns. This information is important to
validate the theoretical predictions from radiation transfer in a strong
magnetic field.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ on May 5, 201
An Optimized Photoelectron Track Reconstruction Method for Photoelectric X-Ray Polarimeters
We present a data processing algorithm for angular reconstruction and event selection applied to 2-D photoelectron track images from X-ray polarimeters. The method reconstructs the initial emission angle of a photoelectron from the initial portion of the track, which is obtained by continuously cutting a track until the image moments or number of pixels fall below tunable thresholds. In addition, event selection which rejects round tracks quantified with eccentricity and circularity is performed so that polarimetry sensitivity considering a trade-off between the modulation factor and signal acceptance is maximized. The modulation factors with applying track selection are 26.6 0.4, 46.1 0.4, 62.3 0.4, and 61.8 0.3% at 2.7, 4.5, 6.4, and 8.0 keV, respectively, using the same data previously analyzed by Iwakiri et al. (2016), where the corresponding numbers are 26.90.4, 43.40.4, 54.40.3, and 59.1 0.3%. The method improves polarimeter sensitivity by 5%10% at the high energy end of the band previously presented (Iwakiri et al. 2016)
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