A Transient Sub-Eddington Black Hole X-ray Binary Candidate in the Dust Lanes of Centaurus A

We report the discovery of a bright X-ray transient, CXOU J132527.6-430023, in the nearby early-type galaxy NGC 5128. The source was first detected over the course of five Chandra observations in 2007, reaching an unabsorbed outburst luminosity of 1-2*10^38 erg/s in the 0.5-7.0 keV band before returning to quiescence. Such luminosities are possible for both stellar-mass black hole and neutron star X-ray binary transients. Here, we attempt to characterize the nature of the compact object. No counterpart has been detected in the optical or radio sky, but the proximity of the source to the dust lanes allows for the possibility of an obscured companion. The brightness of the source after a >100 fold increase in X-ray flux makes it either the first confirmed transient non-ULX black hole system in outburst to be subject to detailed spectral modeling outside the Local Group, or a bright (>10^38 erg/s) transient neutron star X-ray binary, which are very rare. Such a large increase in flux would appear to lend weight to the view that this is a black hole transient. X-ray spectral fitting of an absorbed power law yielded unphysical photon indices, while the parameters of the best-fit absorbed disc blackbody model are typical of an accreting ~10 Msol black hole in the thermally dominant state.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Deep Chandra X-ray Imaging of a Nearby Radio Galaxy 4C+29.30: X-ray/Radio Connection

We report results from our deep Chandra X-ray observations of a nearby radio galaxy, 4C+29.30 (z=0.0647). The Chandra image resolves structures on sub-arcsec to arcsec scales, revealing complex X-ray morphology and detecting the main radio features: the nucleus, a jet, hotspots, and lobes. The nucleus is absorbed (N(H)=3.95 (+0.27/-0.33)x10^23 atoms/cm^2) with an unabsorbed luminosity of L(2-10 keV) ~ (5.08 +/-0.52) 10^43 erg/s characteristic of Type 2 AGN. Regions of soft (<2 keV) X-ray emission that trace the hot interstellar medium (ISM) are correlated with radio structures along the main radio axis indicating a strong relation between the two. The X-ray emission beyond the radio source correlates with the morphology of optical line-emitting regions. We measured the ISM temperature in several regions across the galaxy to be kT ~ 0.5 with slightly higher temperatures (of a few keV) in the center and in the vicinity of the radio hotspots. Assuming these regions were heated by weak shocks driven by the expanding radio source, we estimated the corresponding Mach number of 1.6 in the southern regions. The thermal pressure of the X-ray emitting gas in the outermost regions suggest the hot ISM is slightly under-pressured with respect to the cold optical-line emitting gas and radio-emitting plasma, which both seem to be in a rough pressure equilibrium. We conclude that 4C+29.30 displays a complex view of interactions between the jet-driven radio outflow and host galaxy environment, signaling feedback processes closely associated with the central active nucleus.Comment: ApJ in pres

Research Data Management Training Module 3: Safeguarding Data

Discussing the benefits and risks of storage media, back up systems, sharing data across the internet, and general security, this training module encourages secure storage and sharing of data whilst in the working stage of a research project. Slides and training notes are included in this pack in one collection, but can be divided into four sections; storage solutions, keep it safe - back up, sharing, and security.

Research Data Management Training Module 4: Finishing Touches

At the end of a research project, the science is published and the data should be preserved. This final RDM module includes advice on where to publish the science outcomes and the supporting data as well as how to select the data, anonymise it, and choose the right archive for your data. Slides and training notes are included in this pack in one collection, but can be divided into four sections: publication, preserving data, anonymisation, and archiving data.

Spectral ageing in the lobes of FR-II radio galaxies : New methods of analysis for broad-band radio data

The broad-bandwidth capabilities of next generation telescopes such as the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) mean that the spectrum of any given source varies significantly within the bandwidth of any given observation. Detailed spectral analysis taking this variation into account is set to become standard practice when dealing with any new broad-band radio observations; it is therefore vital that methods are developed to handle this new type of data. In this paper, we present the Broadband Radio Astronomy ToolS (BRATS) software package and, use it to carry out detailed analysis of JVLA observations of three powerful radio galaxies. We compare two of the most widely used models of spectral ageing, the Kardashev-Pacholczyk and Jaffe-Perola models and also results of the more complex, but potentially more realistic, Tribble model. We find that the Tribble model provides both a good fit to observations as well as providing a physically realistic description of the source. We present the first high-resolution spectral maps of our sources and find that the best-fitting injection indices across all models take higher values than have previously been assumed. We present characteristic hotspot advance speeds and make comparison to those derived from dynamical ages, confirming the previously known discrepancy in speed remains present when determined at high spectral resolutions. We show that some previously common assumptions made in determining spectral ages with narrow-band radio telescopes may not always hold and strongly suggest that these are accounted for in future investigations.Peer reviewe