559 research outputs found
A contribution of stellar flares to the GRXE -- based on MAXI observations --
Using unbiased observations of MAXI/GSC the potential contribution of stellar
flares and CVs to GRXE luminosity is estimated in the energy range of 2 - 10
keV. Currently, a reasonable luminosity has been obtained extrapolating the
number of stellar flares and that of CVs toward the Galactic ridge from those
of the observed flares and CVs near the solar system. The ionized emission
lines of Si to Fe are also simulated making the composite thermal spectrum
which is based on MAXI observations of stellar flares and CVs. The present
estimated result strongly supports a picture that the cumulative stellar flares
contribute primarily to the GRXE in terms of the composite thermal spectrum
with emission lines and secondary contribution is due to the thermal spectrum
with high temperature from CVs
The Peculiar X-ray transient Swift J0840.7-3516: an unusual low-mass X-ray binary or a tidal disruption event?
We report on the X-ray properties of the new transient Swift J0840.7-3516, discovered with Swift/BAT in 2020 February, using extensive data from Swift, MAXI, NICER, and NuSTAR. The source flux increased for similar to 10(3) s after the discovery, decayed rapidly over similar to 5 orders of magnitude in five days, and then remained almost constant over nine months. Large-amplitude short-term variations on timescales of 1-10(4) s were observed throughout the decay. In the initial flux rise, the source showed a hard power-law-shaped spectrum with a photon index of similar to 1.0 extending up to similar to 30 keV, above which an exponential cutoff was present. The photon index increased in the following rapid decay and became similar to 2 at the end of the decay. A spectral absorption feature at 3-4 keV was detected in the decay. It is not straightforward to explain all the observed properties by any known class of X-ray sources. We discuss the possible nature of the source, including a Galactic low-mass X-ray binary with multiple extreme properties and a tidal disruption event by a supermassive black hole or a Galactic neutron star
On-orbit Operations and Offline Data Processing of CALET onboard the ISS
The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET), launched for installation on the
International Space Station (ISS) in August, 2015, has been accumulating
scientific data since October, 2015. CALET is intended to perform long-duration
observations of high-energy cosmic rays onboard the ISS. CALET directly
measures the cosmic-ray electron spectrum in the energy range of 1 GeV to 20
TeV with a 2% energy resolution above 30 GeV. In addition, the instrument can
measure the spectrum of gamma rays well into the TeV range, and the spectra of
protons and nuclei up to a PeV.
In order to operate the CALET onboard ISS, JAXA Ground Support Equipment
(JAXA-GSE) and the Waseda CALET Operations Center (WCOC) have been established.
Scientific operations using CALET are planned at WCOC, taking into account
orbital variations of geomagnetic rigidity cutoff. Scheduled command sequences
are used to control the CALET observation modes on orbit. Calibration data
acquisition by, for example, recording pedestal and penetrating particle
events, a low-energy electron trigger mode operating at high geomagnetic
latitude, a low-energy gamma-ray trigger mode operating at low geomagnetic
latitude, and an ultra heavy trigger mode, are scheduled around the ISS orbit
while maintaining maximum exposure to high-energy electrons and other
high-energy shower events by always having the high-energy trigger mode active.
The WCOC also prepares and distributes CALET flight data to collaborators in
Italy and the United States.
As of August 31, 2017, the total observation time is 689 days with a live
time fraction of the total time of approximately 84%. Nearly 450 million events
are collected with a high-energy (E>10 GeV) trigger. By combining all operation
modes with the excellent-quality on-orbit data collected thus far, it is
expected that a five-year observation period will provide a wealth of new and
interesting results.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, published online 27 February 201
Search for GeV Gamma-ray Counterparts of Gravitational Wave Events by CALET
We present results on searches for gamma-ray counterparts of the LIGO/Virgo
gravitational-wave events using CALorimetric Electron Telescope ({\sl CALET})
observations. The main instrument of {\sl CALET}, CALorimeter (CAL), observes
gamma-rays from GeV up to 10 TeV with a field of view of nearly 2 sr.
In addition, the {\sl CALET} gamma-ray burst monitor (CGBM) views 3 sr
and sr of the sky in the 7 keV -- 1 MeV and the 40 keV -- 20 MeV
bands, respectively, by using two different crystal scintillators. The {\sl
CALET} observations on the International Space Station started in October 2015,
and here we report analyses of events associated with the following
gravitational wave events: GW151226, GW170104, GW170608, GW170814 and GW170817.
Although only upper limits on gamma-ray emission are obtained, they correspond
to a luminosity of erg s in the GeV energy band
depending on the distance and the assumed time duration of each event, which is
approximately the order of luminosity of typical short gamma-ray bursts. This
implies there will be a favorable opportunity to detect high-energy gamma-ray
emission in further observations if additional gravitational wave events with
favorable geometry will occur within our field-of-view. We also show the
sensitivity of {\sl CALET} for gamma-ray transient events which is the order of
~erg\,cm\,s for an observation of 100~s duration.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in
Astrophysical Journa
Magnetic correlations and quantum criticality in the insulating antiferromagnetic, insulating spin liquid, renormalized Fermi liquid, and metallic antiferromagnetic phases of the Mott system V_2O_3
Magnetic correlations in all four phases of pure and doped vanadium
sesquioxide V_2O_3 have been examined by magnetic thermal neutron scattering.
While the antiferromagnetic insulator can be accounted for by a Heisenberg
localized spin model, the long range order in the antiferromagnetic metal is an
incommensurate spin-density-wave, resulting from a Fermi surface nesting
instability. Spin dynamics in the strongly correlated metal are dominated by
spin fluctuations in the Stoner electron-hole continuum. Furthermore, our
results in metallic V_2O_3 represent an unprecedentedly complete
characterization of the spin fluctuations near a metallic quantum critical
point, and provide quantitative support for the SCR theory for itinerant
antiferromagnets in the small moment limit. Dynamic magnetic correlations for
energy smaller than k_BT in the paramagnetic insulator carry substantial
magnetic spectral weight. However, the correlation length extends only to the
nearest neighbor distance. The phase transition to the antiferromagnetic
insulator introduces a sudden switching of magnetic correlations to a different
spatial periodicity which indicates a sudden change in the underlying spin
Hamiltonian. To describe this phase transition and also the unusual short range
order in the paramagnetic state, it seems necessary to take into account the
orbital degrees of freedom associated with the degenerate d-orbitals at the
Fermi level in V_2O_3.Comment: Postscript file, 24 pages, 26 figures, 2 tables, accepted by Phys.
Rev.
Difficulties in establishing a timely diagnosis of pulmonary artery sarcoma misdiagnosed as chronic thrombo-embolic pulmonary disease: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Pulmonary artery sarcomas are rare neoplasms that are often confused with chronic thrombo-embolic disease, as both can have similar clinical and imaging presentation.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>In this report, we present a case of a 50-year-old man initially diagnosed with chronic thrombo-embolic pulmonary disease, but who was later found to have pulmonary artery sarcoma with poor survival prognosis. We review the clinical and imaging characteristics of the two diseases and discuss the difficulties in establishing a timely diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Similar clinical features and imaging presentation of pulmonary artery sarcoma and chronic thrombo-embolic pulmonary disease make definitive diagnosis difficult. This case report also illustrates and emphasizes that in any case with no predisposition factors for embolism, no evidence of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli, and inadequate relief of symptoms with anticoagulation, an alternative diagnosis of pulmonary artery sarcoma should be considered. If pulmonary artery sarcoma is diagnosed late in the course of the disease, there is usually a poor survival outcome.</p
Coupling of a Core Post-Translational Pacemaker to a Slave Transcription/Translation Feedback Loop in a Circadian System
Analysis of the cyanobacterial circadian biological clock reveals a complex interdependence between a transcription/translation feedback loop and a biochemical oscillator
Extraordinary luminous soft x-ray transient maxi j0158-744 as an ignition of a nova on a very massive o-ne white dwarf
We present the observation of an extraordinary luminous soft X-ray transient, MAXI J0158-744, by the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) on 2011 November 11. This transient is characterized by a soft X-ray spectrum, a short duration (1.3 × 103 s < Td < 1.10 × 104 s), a very rapid rise (< 5.5 × 103 s), and a huge peak luminosity of 2×1040 erg s-1 in 0.7-7.0 keV band. With Swift observations and optical spectroscopy from the Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System (SMARTS), we confirmed that the transient is a nova explosion, on a white dwarf in a binary with a Be star, located near the Small Magellanic Cloud. An extremely early turn-on of the super-soft X-ray source (SSS) phase (< 0.44 d), the short SSS phase duration of about one month, and a 0.92 keV neon emission line found in the third MAXI scan, 1296 s after the first detection, suggest that the explosion involves a small amount of ejecta and is produced on an unusually massive O-Ne white dwarf close to, or possibly over, the Chandrasekhar limit. We propose that the huge luminosity detected with MAXI was due to the fireball phase, a direct manifestation of the ignition of the thermonuclear runaway process in a nova explosion
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