A two-component model for the high-energy variability of blazars. Application to PKS 2155-304

We study the production of VHE emission in blazars as a superposition of a steady component from a baryonic jet and a time- dependent contribution from an inner e-e+ beam launched by the black hole. Both primary relativistic electrons and protons are injected in the jet, and the particle distributions along it are found by solving a one-dimensional transport equation that accounts for convection and cooling. The short-timescale variability of the emission is explained by local pair injections in turbulent regions of the inner beam. For illustration, we apply the model to the case of PKS 2155-304, reproducing a quiescent state of emission with inverse Compton and synchrotron radiation from primary electrons, as well as proton-proton interactions in the jet. The latter also yield an accompanying neutrino flux that could be observed with a new generation km-scale detector in the northern hemisphere such as KM3NeT.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, published in A&A (final version

kHz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 0614+09

We report on a comprehensive analysis of the kilohertz (above 300 Hz) quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) detected from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U0614+09 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). With a much larger data set than previously analyzed (all archival data from February 1996 up to October 2007), we first investigate the reality of the 1330 Hz QPO reported by van Straaten et al. (2000). This QPO would be of particular interest since it has the highest frequency reported for any source. A thorough analysis of the same observation fails to confirm the detection. On the other hand, over our extended data set, the highest QPO frequency we measure for the upper kHz QPO is at about 1224 Hz; a value which is fully consistent with the maximum values observed in similar systems. Second, we demonstrate that the frequency dependence of the quality factor and amplitude of the lower and upper kHz QPOs follow the systematic trends seen in similar systems (Barret et al., 2006). In particular, 4U0614+09 shows a drop of the quality factor of the lower kHz QPO above 700 Hz. If this is due to an approach to the innermost stable circular orbit, it implies a neutron star mass of about 1.9 solar masses. Finally, when analyzing the data over fixed durations, we have found a gap in the frequency distribution of the upper QPO, associated with a local minimum of its amplitude. A similar gap is not present in the distribution of the lower QPO frequencies, suggesting some cautions when interpreting frequency ratio distributions, based on the occurrence of the lower QPO only.Comment: 10 pages, 6 color figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

A model for upper kHz QPO coherence of accreting neutron star

{We investigate the coherence of the twin kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) in the low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) theoretically. The profile of upper kHz QPO, interpreted as Keplerian frequency, is ascribed to the radial extent of the kHz QPO emission region, associated with the transitional layer at the magnetosphere-disk boundary, which corresponds to the coherence of upper kHz QPO. The theoretical model for Q-factor of upper kHz QPO is applied to the observational data of five Atoll and five Z sources, and the consistence is implied.Comment: accepted by A&

Morphological analysis on the coherence of kHz QPOs

We take the recently published data of twin kHz quasi-period oscillations (QPOs) in neutron star (NS) lowmass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) as the samples, and investigate the morphology of the samples, which focuses on the quality factor, peak frequency of kHz QPOs, and try to infer their physical mechanism. We notice that: (1) The quality factors of upper kHz QPOs are low (2 ~ 20 in general) and increase with the kHz QPO peak frequencies for both Z and Atoll sources. (2) The distribution of quality factor versus frequency for the lower kHz QPOs are quite different between Z and Atoll sources. For most Z source samples, the quality factors of lower kHz QPOs are low (usually lower than 15) and rise steadily with the peak frequencies except for Sco X-1, which drop abruptly at the frequency of about 750 Hz. While for most Atoll sources, the quality factors of lower kHz QPOs are very high (from 2 to 200) and usually have a rising part, a maximum and an abrupt drop. (3) There are three Atoll sources (4U 1728-34, 4U 1636-53 and 4U 1608-52) of displaying very high quality factors for lower kHz QPOs. These three sources have been detected with the spin frequencies and sidebands, in which the source with higher spin frequency presents higher quality factor of lower kHz QPOs and lower difference between sideband frequency and lower kHz QPO frequency.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, publishe

Magnetospheric accretion-ejection processes in the classical T Tauri star AA

From a long time series of high resolution (R=115,000) HARPS spectra and simultaneous broad-band photometry, we report new evidence for magnetospheric accretion as well as ejection processes in the nearly edge-on classical T Tauri star AA Tau. AA Tau's light curve is modulated with a period of 8.22d. The recurrent luminosity dips are due to the periodic occultation of the central star by the magnetically-warped inner disk edge located at about 9 Rstar. Balmer line profiles exhibit a clear rotational modulation of high-velocity redshifted absorption components with a period of 8.22 days as well, with a maximum strength when the main accretion funnel flow passes through the line of sight. At the same time, the luminosity of the system decreases by about 1 mag, indicative of circumstellar absorption of the stellar photosphere by the magnetically-warped, corotating inner disk edge. The photospheric and HeI radial velocities also exhibit periodic variations, and the veiling is modulated by the appearance of the accretion shock at the bottom of the accretion funnel. Diagnostics of hot winds and their temporal behaviour are also presented. The peculiar geometry of the young AA Tau system (nearly edge-on) allows us to uniquely probe the acretion-ejection region close to the star. We find that most spectral and photometric diagnostics vary as expected from models of magnetically-channelled accretion in young stars, with a large scale magnetosphere tilted by 20 deg onto the star's spin axis. We also find evidence for time variability of the magnetospheric accretion flow on a timescale of a few rotational periods.Comment: 14 page

Leaving the ISCO: the inner edge of a black-hole accretion disk at various luminosities

The "radiation inner edge" of an accretion disk is defined as the inner boundary of the region from which most of the luminosity emerges. Similarly, the "reflection edge" is the smallest radius capable of producing a significant X-ray reflection of the fluorescent iron line. For black hole accretion disks with very sub-Eddington luminosities these and all other "inner edges" locate at ISCO. Thus, in this case, one may rightly consider ISCO as the unique inner edge of the black hole accretion disk. However, even for moderate luminosities, there is no such unique inner edge as differently defined edges locate at different places. Several of them are significantly closer to the black hole than ISCO. The differences grow with the increasing luminosity. For nearly Eddington luminosities, they are so huge that the notion of the inner edge losses all practical significance.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures, submitted to A&

The Scientific Performance of the Microchannel X-ray Telescope on board the SVOM Mission

The Microchannel X-ray Telescope (MXT) will be the first focusing X-ray telescope based on a "Lobster-Eye" optical design to be flown on Sino-French mission SVOM. SVOM will be dedicated to the study of Gamma-Ray Bursts and more generally time-domain astrophysics. The MXT telescope is a compact (focal length ~ 1.15 m) and light (< 42 kg) instrument, sensitive in the 0.2--10 keV energy range. It is composed of an optical system, based on micro-pore optics (MPOs) of 40 micron pore size, coupled to a low-noise pnCDD X-ray detector. In this paper we describe the expected scientific performance of the MXT telescope, based on the End-to-End calibration campaign performed in fall 2021, before the integration of the SVOM payload on the satellite.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronom

Disc-oscillation resonance and neutron star QPOs: 3:2 epicyclic orbital model

The high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HF QPOs) that appear in the X-ray fluxes of low-mass X-ray binaries remain an unexplained phenomenon. Among other ideas, it has been suggested that a non-linear resonance between two oscillation modes in an accretion disc orbiting either a black hole or a neutron star plays a role in exciting the observed modulation. Several possible resonances have been discussed. A particular model assumes resonances in which the disc-oscillation modes have the eigenfrequencies equal to the radial and vertical epicyclic frequencies of geodesic orbital motion. This model has been discussed for black hole microquasar sources as well as for a group of neutron star sources. Assuming several neutron (strange) star equations of state and Hartle-Thorne geometry of rotating stars, we briefly compare the frequencies expected from the model to those observed. Our comparison implies that the inferred neutron star radius "RNS" is larger than the related radius of the marginally stable circular orbit "rms" for nuclear matter equations of state and spin frequencies up to 800Hz. For the same range of spin and a strange star (MIT) equation of state, the inferrred radius RNS is roughly equal to rms. The Paczynski modulation mechanism considered within the model requires that RNS < rms. However, we find this condition to be fulfilled only for the strange matter equation of state, masses below one solar mass, and spin frequencies above 800Hz. This result most likely falsifies the postulation of the neutron star 3:2 resonant eigenfrequencies being equal to the frequencies of geodesic radial and vertical epicyclic modes. We suggest that the 3:2 epicyclic modes could stay among the possible choices only if a fairly non-geodesic accretion flow is assumed, or if a different modulation mechanism operates.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures (in colour), accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

H.E.S.S. observations of gamma-ray bursts in 2003-2007

Very-high-energy (VHE; >~100 GeV) gamma-rays are expected from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in some scenarios. Exploring this photon energy regime is necessary for understanding the energetics and properties of GRBs. GRBs have been one of the prime targets for the H.E.S.S. experiment, which makes use of four Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) to detect VHE gamma-rays. Dedicated observations of 32 GRB positions were made in the years 2003-2007 and a search for VHE gamma-ray counterparts of these GRBs was made. Depending on the visibility and observing conditions, the observations mostly start minutes to hours after the burst and typically last two hours. Results from observations of 22 GRB positions are presented and evidence of a VHE signal was found neither in observations of any individual GRBs, nor from stacking data from subsets of GRBs with higher expected VHE flux according to a model-independent ranking scheme. Upper limits for the VHE gamma-ray flux from the GRB positions were derived. For those GRBs with measured redshifts, differential upper limits at the energy threshold after correcting for absorption due to extra-galactic background light are also presented.Comment: 9 pages, 4 tables, 3 figure