2,504 research outputs found
SIMBOL-X : a new generation hard X-ray telescope
SIMBOL-X is a hard X-ray mission, operating in the 0.5-70 keV range, which is
proposed by a consortium of European laboratories for a launch around 2010.
Relying on two spacecraft in a formation flying configuration, SIMBOL-X uses a
30 m focal length X-ray mirror to achieve an unprecedented angular resolution
(30 arcsec HEW) and sensitivity (100 times better than INTEGRAL below 50 keV)
in the hard X-ray range. SIMBOL-X will allow to elucidate fundamental questions
in high energy astrophysics, such as the physics of accretion onto Black Holes,
of acceleration in quasar jets and in supernovae remnants, or the nature of the
hard X-ray diffuse emission. The scientific objectives and the baseline
concepts of the mission and hardware design are presented.Comment: 12 pages, 16 fig., Proc. SPIE conf. 5168, San Diego, Aug. 200
HEXIT-SAT: a mission concept for X-ray grazing incidence telescopes from 0.5 to 70 keV
While the energy density of the Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB) provides a
statistical estimate of the super massive black hole (SMBH) growth and mass
density in the Universe, the lack, so far, of focusing instrument in the 20-60
keV (where the CXB energy density peaks), frustrates our effort to obtain a
comprehensive picture of the SMBH evolutionary properties. HEXIT-SAT (High
Energy X-ray Imaging Telescope SATellite) is a mission concept capable of
exploring the hard X-ray sky with focusing/imaging instrumentation, to obtain
an unbiased census of accreting SMBH up to the redshifts where galaxy formation
peaks, and on extremely wide luminosity ranges. This will represent a leap
forward comparable to that achieved in the soft X-rays by the Einstein
Observatory in the late 70'. In addition to accreting SMBH, and very much like
the Einstein Observatory, this mission would also have the capabilities of
investigating almost any type of the celestial X-ray sources. HEXIT-SAT is
based on high throughput (>400 cm2 @ 30 keV; >1200 cm2 @ 1 keV), high quality
(15 arcsec Half Power Diameter) multi-layer optics, coupled with focal plane
detectors with high efficiency in the full 0.5-70keV range. Building on the
BeppoSAX experience, a low-Earth, equatorial orbit, will assure a low and
stable particle background, and thus an extremely good sensitivity for faint
hard X-ray sources. At the flux limits of 1/10 microCrab (10-30 keV) and 1/3
microCrab (20-40 keV) (reachable in one Msec observation) we should detect ~100
and ~40 sources in the 15 arcmin FWHM Field of View respectively, thus
resolving >80% and ~65% of the CXB where its energy density peaks.Comment: to appear in Proceeedings of SPIE Vol. 5488, UV to Gamma Ray Space
Telescope System
Molecular approach to assess the origin of cv. Marzemino
DNA marker analysis was used to determine the varietal identity of Marzemino accessions in public collections and private Italian vineyards; relationships among this varietal group and Vertzami, a traditional Greek cultivar, were also investigated through SSR and AFLP approaches. Molecular results strongly support the relationship among Vertzami cultivars growing in Greece, Marzemino and several Italian accessions selected on the basis of etymological similarity. SSR data exclude a direct descent of Marzemino, or other related Italian varieties, from Vertzami; on the other hand the level of similarity among Vertzami, Marzemino and some related varieties indicates a possible common ancestor. None of the accessions is considered as common ancestor but on the basis of genomic variability in the Marzemino group and of the relationships with the other Italian cultivars a probable Italian ancestor is supposed.
Simbol-X Hard X-ray Focusing Mirrors: Results Obtained During the Phase A Study
Simbol-X will push grazing incidence imaging up to 80 keV, providing a strong
improvement both in sensitivity and angular resolution compared to all
instruments that have operated so far above 10 keV. The superb hard X-ray
imaging capability will be guaranteed by a mirror module of 100 electroformed
Nickel shells with a multilayer reflecting coating. Here we will describe the
technogical development and solutions adopted for the fabrication of the mirror
module, that must guarantee an Half Energy Width (HEW) better than 20 arcsec
from 0.5 up to 30 keV and a goal of 40 arcsec at 60 keV. During the phase A,
terminated at the end of 2008, we have developed three engineering models with
two, two and three shells, respectively. The most critical aspects in the
development of the Simbol-X mirrors are i) the production of the 100 mandrels
with very good surface quality within the timeline of the mission; ii) the
replication of shells that must be very thin (a factor of 2 thinner than those
of XMM-Newton) and still have very good image quality up to 80 keV; iii) the
development of an integration process that allows us to integrate these very
thin mirrors maintaining their intrinsic good image quality. The Phase A study
has shown that we can fabricate the mandrels with the needed quality and that
we have developed a valid integration process. The shells that we have produced
so far have a quite good image quality, e.g. HEW <~30 arcsec at 30 keV, and
effective area. However, we still need to make some improvements to reach the
requirements. We will briefly present these results and discuss the possible
improvements that we will investigate during phase B.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, invited talk at the conference "2nd International
Simbol-X Symposium", Paris, 2-5 december, 200
The imaging properties of the Gas Pixel Detector as a focal plane polarimeter
X-rays are particularly suited to probe the physics of extreme objects.
However, despite the enormous improvements of X-ray Astronomy in imaging,
spectroscopy and timing, polarimetry remains largely unexplored. We propose the
photoelectric polarimeter Gas Pixel Detector (GPD) as an instrument candidate
to fill the gap of more than thirty years of lack of measurements. The GPD, in
the focus of a telescope, will increase the sensitivity of orders of magnitude.
Moreover, since it can measure the energy, the position, the arrival time and
the polarization angle of every single photon, allows to perform polarimetry of
subsets of data singled out from the spectrum, the light curve or the image of
source. The GPD has an intrinsic very fine imaging capability and in this work
we report on the calibration campaign carried out in 2012 at the PANTER X-ray
test facility of the Max-Planck-Institut f\"ur extraterrestrische Physik of
Garching (Germany) in which, for the first time, we coupled it to a JET-X
optics module with a focal length of 3.5 m and an angular resolution of 18
arcsec at 4.5 keV. This configuration was proposed in 2012 aboard the X-ray
Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE) in response to the ESA call for a small
mission. We derived the imaging and polarimetric performance for extended
sources like Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Supernova Remnants as case studies for the
XIPE configuration, discussing also possible improvements by coupling the
detector with advanced optics, having finer angular resolution and larger
effective area, to study with more details extended objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplemen
The in-flight spectroscopic performance of the Swift XRT CCD camera during 2006-2007
The Swift X-ray Telescope focal plane camera is a front-illuminated MOS CCD,
providing a spectral response kernel of 135 eV FWHM at 5.9 keV as measured
before launch. We describe the CCD calibration program based on celestial and
on-board calibration sources, relevant in-flight experiences, and developments
in the CCD response model. We illustrate how the revised response model
describes the calibration sources well. Comparison of observed spectra with
models folded through the instrument response produces negative residuals
around and below the Oxygen edge. We discuss several possible causes for such
residuals. Traps created by proton damage on the CCD increase the charge
transfer inefficiency (CTI) over time. We describe the evolution of the CTI
since the launch and its effect on the CCD spectral resolution and the gain.Comment: 8 pages, 5 colour figures, submitted to SPI
USP15 deubiquitinase safeguards hematopoiesis and genome integrity in hematopoietic stem cells and leukemia cells
Altering ubiquitination by disruption of individual deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) has proven to affect hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance. However, comprehensive knowledge of DUB function during hematopoiesis in vivo is lacking. To accomplish this goal, we systematically inactivated DUBs in mouse hematopoietic progenitors using in vivo small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) screens. We found that multiple DUBs may be individually required for hematopoiesis and that the ubiquitin-specific protease 15 (USP15) is particularly important for the maintenance of murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, Usp15 knockout mice exhibited a reduced HSC pool. The defect was intrinsic to HSCs, as demonstrated by competitive repopulation assays. Importantly, USP15 is highly expressed in normal human hematopoietic cells and leukemias, and USP15 depletion in murine early progenitors and myeloid leukemia cells impaired in vitro expansion and increased genotoxic stress. Our study underscores the importance of DUBs in preserving normal hematopoiesis and uncovers USP15 as a critical DUB in safeguarding genome integrity in HSC and in leukemia cells
Thin fused silica shells for high-resolution and large collecting area x-ray telescopes (like Lynx/XRS)
The implementation of an X-ray mission with high imaging capabilities, similar to those achieved with Chandra (2 effective area @1 keV), represents a compelling request by the scientific community. To this end the Lynx/XRS mission is being studied in USA, with the participation of international partners. In order to figure out the challenging technological task of the mirror fabrication, different approaches are considered, based on monolithic and segmented shells. Starting from the experience done on the glass prototypal shell realized in the past years, the direct polishing of thin (2 mm thick) fused silica monolithic shells is being investigated as a possible solution. A temporary stiffening structure is designed to support the shell during the figuring and polishing operations and to manage the handling up to its integration in the telescope structure. After the grinding and the polishing phases, in order to achieve the required surface accuracy, a final ion beam figuring correction is foreseen. In this paper, we present the technological process and the results achieved so far on a prototypal shell under development
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