619 research outputs found
XMM-Newton Slew Survey observations of the gravitational wave event GW150914
The detection of the first gravitational wave (GW) transient GW150914
prompted an extensive campaign of follow-up observations at all wavelengths.
Although no dedicated XMM-Newton observations have been performed, the
satellite passed through the GW150914 error box during normal operations. Here
we report the analysis of the data taken during these satellite slews performed
two hours and two weeks after the GW event. Our data cover 1.1 square degrees
and 4.8 square degrees of the final GW localization region. No credible X-ray
counterpart to GW150914 is found down to a sensitivity of 6E-13 erg/cm2/s in
the 0.2-2 keV band. Nevertheless, these observations show the great potential
of XMM-Newton slew observations for the search of the electromagnetic
counterparts of GW events. A series of adjacent slews performed in response to
a GW trigger would take <1.5 days to cover most of the typical GW credible
region. We discuss this scenario and its prospects for detecting the X-ray
counterpart of future GW detections.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Improvement of the Rotation Arch of the Posterior Interosseous Pedicle Flap Preserving Both Reverse Posterior and Anterior Interosseous Vascular Sources.
Abstract
PURPOSE:
The reverse posterior interosseous artery flap has several advantages, not sacrificing any major blood vessel, but its relatively short pedicle limits the use to cover defects up to the metacarpophalangeal joint. Our purpose is to demonstrate that the ligature of the anterior interosseous artery (AIA), proximal to the communicating branch with the posterior interosseous artery, leads to an improved flap rotation arch, preserving both vascular sources.
METHODS:
Sixteen fresh cadavers with latex perfusion were analyzed before and after our technique of elongation, and the so-obtained measures were standardized in "percentage of elongation of the pedicle." Eight patient with the loss of substance at the dorsal aspect of the hand have been treated with this technique, and results were evaluated in terms of flap survival and complication rates.
RESULTS:
The medium length of the pedicle in the normal flap was 10.8\u2009cm, and after the section of the AIA, the medium length of the pedicle was 13.6\u2009cm with a medium increase of 2.8\u2009cm. It means a medium increase of 24% of the length of the pedicle. In all patients treated, full coverage of the defect was obtained, and we did not experience major complications.
CONCLUSIONS:
This anatomical study supported by our clinical experience demonstrates that the use of the variant described above permits to reach more distal part of the hand without being afraid to stretch the pedicle because of the connection with the anastomotic arcades of the AIA at the wrist reducing the risk of ischemia of the flap
An overview of the EXTraS project: Exploring the X-ray Transient and Variable Sky
The EXTraS project (Exploring the X-ray Transient and variable Sky) will
harvest the hitherto unexplored temporal domain information buried in the
serendipitous data collected by the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC)
instrument onboard the ESA XMM-Newton X-ray observatory since its launch. This
will include a search for fast transients, as well as a search and
characterization of variability (both periodic and aperiodic) in hundreds of
thousands of sources spanning more than nine orders of magnitude in time scale
and six orders of magnitude in flux. X-ray results will be complemented by
multiwavelength characterization of new discoveries. Phenomenological
classification of variable sources will also be performed. All our results will
be made available to the community. A didactic program in selected High Schools
in Italy, Germany and the UK will also be implemented. The EXTraS project
(2014-2016), funded within the EU/FP7 framework, is carried out by a
collaboration including INAF (Italy), IUSS (Italy), CNR/IMATI (Italy),
University of Leicester (UK), MPE (Germany) and ECAP (Germany).Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. Proceedings of "Swift: 10 years of Discovery", to
appear in Po
Long Term Study of the Double Pulsar J0737-3039 with XMM-Newton: pulsar timing
The relativistic double neutron star binary PSR J0737-3039 shows clear
evidence of orbital phase-dependent wind-companion interaction, both in radio
and X-rays. In this paper we present the results of timing analysis of PSR
J0737-3039 performed during 2006 and 2011 XMM-Newton Large Programs that
collected ~20,000 X-ray counts from the system. We detected pulsations from PSR
J0737-3039A (PSR A) through the most accurate timing measurement obtained by
XMM-Newton so far, the spin period error being of 2x10^-13 s. PSR A's pulse
profile in X-rays is very stable despite significant relativistic spin
precession that occurred within the time span of observations. This yields a
constraint on the misalignment between the spin axis and the orbital momentum
axis Delta_A ~6.6^{+1.3}_{-5.4} deg, consistent with estimates based on radio
data. We confirmed pulsed emission from PSR J0737-3039B (PSR B) in X-rays even
after its disappearance in radio. The unusual phenomenology of PSR B's X-ray
emission includes orbital pulsed flux and profile variations as well as a loss
of pulsar phase coherence on time scales of years. We hypothesize that this is
due to the interaction of PSR A's wind with PSR B's magnetosphere and
orbital-dependent penetration of the wind plasma onto PSR B closed field lines.
Finally, the analysis of the full XMM-Newton dataset provided evidences of
orbital flux variability (~7%) for the first time, involving a bow-shock
scenario between PSR A's wind and PSR B's magnetosphere.Comment: Comments: 16 Pages, 6 Figures. Accepted for publication in
Astrophysical Journal (Draft Version
The XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud: The X-ray point-source catalogue
Local-Group galaxies provide access to samples of X-ray source populations of
whole galaxies. The XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)
completely covers the bar and eastern wing with a 5.6 deg^2 area in the
(0.2-12.0) keV band. To characterise the X-ray sources in the SMC field, we
created a catalogue of point sources and sources with moderate extent. Sources
with high extent (>40") have been presented in a companion paper. We searched
for point sources in the EPIC images using sliding-box and maximum-likelihood
techniques and classified the sources using hardness ratios, X-ray variability,
and their multi-wavelength properties. The catalogue comprises 3053 unique
X-ray sources with a median position uncertainty of 1.3" down to a flux limit
for point sources of ~10^-14 erg cm^-2 s^-1 in the (0.2-4.5) keV band,
corresponding to 5x10^33 erg s^-1 for sources in the SMC. We discuss
statistical properties, like the spatial distribution, X-ray colour diagrams,
luminosity functions, and time variability. We identified 49 SMC high-mass
X-ray binaries (HMXB), four super-soft X-ray sources (SSS), 34 foreground
stars, and 72 active galactic nuclei (AGN) behind the SMC. In addition, we
found candidates for SMC HMXBs (45) and faint SSSs (8) as well as AGN (2092)
and galaxy clusters (13). We present the most up-to-date catalogue of the X-ray
source population in the SMC field. In particular, the known population of
X-ray binaries is greatly increased. We find that the bright-end slope of the
luminosity function of Be/X-ray binaries significantly deviates from the
expected universal high-mass X-ray binary luminosity function.Comment: 32 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, catalog will
be available at CD
XMM-Newton Spectroscopy of the Accretion-Driven Millisecond X-ray Pulsar XTE J1751-305 in Outburst
We present an analysis of the first high-resolution spectra measured from an
accretion-driven millisecond X-ray pulsar in outburst. We observed XTE
J1751-305 with XMM-Newton on 2002 April 7 for approximately 35 ksec. Using a
simple absorbed blackbody plus power-law model, we measure an unabsorbed flux
of (6.6 +/- 0.1) * 10^(-10) erg/cm^2/s (0.5--10.0 keV). A hard power-law
component (Gamma = 1.44 +/- 0.01) contributes 83% of the unabsorbed flux in the
0.5-10.0 keV band, but a blackbody component (kT = 1.05 +/- 0.01 keV) is
required. We find no clear evidence for narrow or broad emission or absorption
lines in the time-averaged spectra, and the sensitivity of this observation has
allowed us to set constraining upper-limits on the strength of important
features. The lack of line features is at odds with spectra measured from some
other X-ray binaries which share some similarities with XTE J1751-305. We
discuss the implications of these findings on the accretion flow geometry in
XTE J1751-305.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures (2 color). ApJ Letters, accepted. Uses
emulateapj.st
Discovery of periodic dips in the brightest hard X-ray source of M31 with EXTraS
We performed a search for eclipsing and dipping sources in the archive of the
EXTraS project - a systematic characterization of the temporal behaviour of
XMM-Newton point sources. We discovered dips in the X-ray light curve of 3XMM
J004232.1+411314, which has been recently associated with the hard X-ray source
dominating the emission of M31. A systematic analysis of XMM-Newton
observations revealed 13 dips in 40 observations (total exposure time 0.8
Ms). Among them, four observations show two dips, separated by 4.01 hr.
Dip depths and durations are variable. The dips occur only during
low-luminosity states (L erg s), while the
source reaches L erg s. We propose this
system to be a new dipping Low-Mass X-ray Binary in M31 seen at high
inclination (60-80), the observed dipping periodicity is
the orbital period of the system. A blue HST source within the Chandra error
circle is the most likely optical counterpart of the accretion disk. The high
luminosity of the system makes it the most luminous dipper known to date.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ
The first Suzaku observation of SGR 1806-20
The soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1806-20 has been attracting a lot of
attention owing to the fact that in December 2004 it emitted the most powerful
giant flare ever observed. Here we present the results of the first Suzaku
observation of SGR 1806-20, that seems to have reached a state characterized by
a flux close to the pre-flare level and by a relatively soft spectrum. Despite
this, the source remained quite active, as testified by several short bursts
observed by Suzaku. We discuss the broadband spectral properties of SGR 1806-20
in the context of the magnetar model, considering its recent theoretical
developments.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure. Proceedings of the conference "40 Years of
Pulsars, Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More", Montreal, August 12-17
2007. AIP, in pres
Spin-down rate and inferred dipole magnetic field of the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1627-41
Using Chandra data taken on 2008 June, we detected pulsations at 2.59439(4) s
in the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1627-41. This is the second measurement of
the source spin period and allows us to derive for the first time a long-term
spin-down rate of (1.9 +/- 0.4)E-11 s/s. From this value we infer for SGR
1627-41 a characteristic age of 2.2 kyr, a spin-down luminosity of 4E+34 erg/s
(one of the highest among sources of the same class), and a surface dipole
magnetic field strength of 2E+14 G. These properties confirm the magnetar
nature of SGR 1627-41; however, they should be considered with caution since
they were derived on the basis of a period derivative measurement made using
two epochs only and magnetar spin-down rates are generally highly variable. The
pulse profile, double-peaked and with a pulsed fraction of (13 +/- 2)% in the
2-10 keV range, closely resembles that observed by XMM-Newton in 2008
September. Having for the first time a timing model for this SGR, we also
searched for a pulsed signal in archival radio data collected with the Parkes
radio telescope nine months after the previous X-ray outburst. No evidence for
radio pulsations was found, down to a luminosity level 10-20 times fainter (for
a 10% duty cycle and a distance of 11 kpc) than the peak luminosity shown by
the known radio magnetars.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
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