NuSTAR observation of the Arches cluster: X-ray spectrum extraction from a 2D image

The NuSTAR mission performed a long (200 ks) observation of the Arches stellar cluster in 2015. The emission from the cluster represents a mixture of bright thermal (kT~2 keV) X-rays and the extended non-thermal radiation of the molecular cloud around the cluster. In this work we describe the method used to decouple spatially confused emission of the stellar cluster and the molecular cloud in the NuSTAR data.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted contribution to the 11th INTEGRAL Conference, "Gamma-Ray Astrophysics in Multi-Wavelength Perspective", 10-14 October 2016, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (<a href="https://pos.sissa.it/285/">HTTP link

NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 5643 X-1

We present a high-quality hard X-ray spectrum of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5643 X-1 measured with NuSTAR in May-June 2014. We have obtained this spectrum by carefully separating the signals from the ULX and from the active nucleus of its host galaxy NGC 5643 located 0.8 arcmin away. Together with long XMM-Newton observations performed in July 2009 and August 2014, the NuSTAR data confidently reveal a high-energy cutoff in the spectrum of NGC 5643 X-1 above ~10 keV, which is a characteristic signature of ULXs. The NuSTAR and XMM-Newton data are consistent with the source having a constant luminosity ~1.5E40 erg/s (0.2-12 keV) in all but the latest observation (August 2014) when it brightened to ~3E40 erg/s. This increase is associated with the dominant, hard spectral component (presumably collimated emission from the inner regions of a supercritical accretion disc), while an additional, soft component (with a temperature ~0.3 keV if described by multicolor disk emission), possibly associated with a massive wind outflowing from the disk, is also evident in the spectrum but does not exhibit significant variability.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Does the obscured AGN fraction really depend on luminosity?

We use a sample of 151 local non-blazar AGN selected from the INTEGRAL all-sky hard X-ray survey to investigate if the observed declining trend of the fraction of obscured (i.e. showing X-ray absorption) AGN with increasing luminosity is mostly an intrinsic or selection effect. Using a torus-obscuration model, we demonstrate that in addition to negative bias, due to absorption in the torus, in finding obscured AGN in hard X-ray flux limited surveys, there is also positive bias in finding unobscured AGN, due to Compton reflection in the torus. These biases can be even stronger taking into account plausible intrinsic collimation of hard X-ray emission along the axis of the obscuring torus. Given the AGN luminosity function, which steepens at high luminosities, these observational biases lead to a decreasing observed fraction of obscured AGN with increasing luminosity even if this fraction has no intrinsic luminosity dependence. We find that if the central hard X-ray source in AGN is isotropic, the intrinsic (i.e. corrected for biases) obscured AGN fraction still shows a declining trend with luminosity, although the intrinsic obscured fraction is significantly larger than the observed one: the actual fraction is larger than $\sim 85$% at $L\lesssim 10^{42.5}$ erg/s (17--60 keV), and decreases to $\lesssim 60$% at $L\gtrsim 10^{44}$ erg/s. In terms of the half-opening angle, $\theta$, of an obscuring torus, this implies that $\theta\lesssim 30$ deg in lower-luminosity AGN, and $\theta\gtrsim 45$ deg in higher-luminosity ones. If, however, the emission from the central SMBH is collimated as $dL/d\Omega\propto\cos\alpha$, the intrinsic dependence of the obscured AGN fraction is consistent with a luminosity-independent torus half-opening angle $\theta\sim 30$ deg.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Hard X-ray emission of Sco X-1

We study hard X-ray emission of the brightest accreting neutron star Sco X-1 with INTEGRAL observatory. Up to now INTEGRAL have collected ~4 Msec of deadtime corrected exposure on this source. We show that hard X-ray tail in time average spectrum of Sco X-1 has a power law shape without cutoff up to energies ~200-300 keV. An absence of the high energy cutoff does not agree with the predictions of a model, in which the tail is formed as a result of Comptonization of soft seed photons on bulk motion of matter near the compact object. The amplitude of the tail varies with time with factor more than ten with the faintest tail at the top of the so-called flaring branch of its color-color diagram. We show that the minimal amplitude of the power law tail is recorded when the component, corresponding to the innermost part of optically thick accretion disk, disappears from the emission spectrum. Therefore we show that the presence of the hard X-ray tail may be related with the existence of the inner part of the optically thick disk. We estimate cooling time for these energetic electrons and show that they can not be thermal. We propose that the hard X-ray tail emission originates as a Compton upscattering of soft seed photons on electrons, which might have initial non-thermal distribution.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

New hard X-ray sources discovered in the ongoing INTEGRAL Galactic Plane survey after 14 years of observations

The International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) continues to successfully work in orbit after its launch in 2002. The mission provides the deepest ever survey of hard X-ray sources throughout the Galaxy at energies above 20 keV. We report on a catalogue of new hard X-ray source candidates based on the latest sky maps comprising 14 years of data acquired with the IBIS telescope onboard INTEGRAL in the Galactic Plane (|b|<17.5 deg). The current catalogue includes in total 72 hard X-ray sources detected at S/N>4.7 sigma and not known to previous INTEGRAL surveys. Among them, 31 objects have also been detected in the on-going all-sky survey by the BAT telescope of the Swift observatory. For 26 sources on the list, we suggest possible identifications: 21 active galactic nuclei, two cataclysmic variables, two isolated pulsars or pulsar wind nebulae, and one supernova remnant; 46 sources from the catalogue remain unclassified.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to MNRAS Letters, comments welcom

NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 5643 X-1

We present a high-quality hard X-ray spectrum of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5643 X-1 measured with NuSTAR in 2014 May–June. We have obtained this spectrum by carefully separating the signals from the ULX and from the active nucleus of its host galaxyNGC 5643 located 0.8 arcmin away. Together with long XMM–Newton observations performed in 2009 July and 2014 August, the NuSTAR data confidently reveal a high-energy cutoff in the spectrum of NGC 5643 X-1 above ∼10 keV, which is a characteristic signature of ULXs. The NuSTAR and XMM–Newton data are consistent with the source having a constant luminosity ∼1.5 × 10^(40) erg s^(−1) (0.2–12 keV) in all but the latest observation (2014 August) when it brightened to ∼3 × 10^(40) erg s^(−1). This increase is associated with the dominant, hard spectral component (presumably collimated emission from the inner regions of a supercritical accretion disc), while an additional, soft component (with a temperature ∼0.3 keV if described by multicolour disc emission), possibly associated with a massive wind outflowing from the disc, is also evident in the spectrum but does not exhibit significant variability