152 research outputs found
Suzaku observation of the unidentified VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1702-420
A deep X-ray observation of the unidentified very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray
source HESS J1702-420, for the first time, was carried out by Suzaku. No bright
sources were detected in the XIS field of view (FOV) except for two faint
point-like sources. The two sources, however, are considered not to be related
to HESS J1702-420, because their fluxes in the 2-10 keV band (~ 10^-14 erg s^-1
cm^-2) are ~ 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the VHE gamma-ray flux in the
1-10 TeV band (F_{TeV} = 3.1 x 10^-11 erg s^-1 cm^-2). We compared the energy
spectrum of diffuse emission, extracted from the entire XIS FOV with those from
nearby observations. If we consider the systematic error of background
subtraction, no significant diffuse emission was detected with an upper limit
of F_X <2.7 x 10^-12 erg s^-1 cm^-2 in the 2-10 keV band for an assumed
power-law spectrum of \Gamma=2.1 and a source size same as that in the VHE
band. The upper limit of the X-ray flux is twelve times as small as the VHE
gamma-ray flux. The large flux ratio (F_{TeV}/F_X) indicates that HESS
J1702-420 is another example of a "dark" particle accelerator. If we use a
simple one-zone leptonic model, in which VHE gamma-rays are produced through
inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background and interstellar
far-infrared emission, and the X-rays via the synchrotron mechanism, an upper
limit of the magnetic field (1.7 \mu G) is obtained from the flux ratio.
Because the magnetic field is weaker than the typical value in the Galactic
plane (3-10 \mu G), the simple one-zone model may not work for HESS J1702-420
and a significant fraction of the VHE gamma-rays may originate from protons.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in PASJ (Suzaku and MAXI special
issue
Cuticular Hydrocarbon Content that Affects Male Mate Preference of Drosophila melanogaster from West Africa
Intraspecific variation in mating signals and preferences can be a potential source of incipient speciation. Variable crossability between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans among different strains suggested the abundance of such variations. A particular focus on one combination of D. melanogaster strains, TW1(G23) and Mel6(G59), that showed different crossabilities to D. simulans, revealed that the mating between females from the former and males from the latter occurs at low frequency. The cuticular hydrocarbon transfer experiment indicated that cuticular hydrocarbons of TW1 females have an inhibitory effect on courtship by Mel6 males. A candidate component, a C25 diene, was inferred from the gas chromatography analyses. The intensity of male refusal of TW1 females was variable among different strains of D. melanogaster, which suggested the presence of variation in sensitivity to different chemicals on the cuticle. Such variation could be a potential factor for the establishment of premating isolation under some conditions
Ionization States and Plasma Structures of Mixed-morphology SNRs Observed with ASCA
We present the results of a systematic study using ASCA of the ionization
state for six ``mixed-morphology'' supernova emnants (MMSNRs): IC 443, W49B,
W28, W44, 3C391, and Kes 27. MMSNRs show centrally filled thermal X-ray
emission, which contrasts to shell-like radio morphology, a set of
haracteristics at odds with the standard model of SNR evolution (e.g., the
Sedov model). We have therefore studied the evolution of the MMSNRs from the
ionization conditions inferred from the X-ray spectra, independent of X-ray
morphology. We find highly ionized plasmas approaching ionization equilibrium
in all the mmsnrs. The degree of ionization is systematically higher than the
plasma usually seen in shell-like SNRs. Radial temperature gradients are also
observed in five remnants, with cooler plasma toward the limb. In IC 443 and
W49B, we find a plasma structure consistent with shell-like SNRs, suggesting
that at least some MMSNRs have experienced similar evolution to shell-like
SNRs. In addition to the results above, we have discovered an ``overionized''
ionization state in W49B, in addition to that previously found in IC 443.
Thermal conduction can cause the hot interior plasma to become overionized by
reducing the temperature and density gradients, leading to an interior density
increase and temperature decrease. Therefore, we suggest that the
``center-filled'' X-ray morphology develops as the result of thermal
conduction, and should arise in all SNRs. This is consistent with the results
that MMSNRs are near collisional ionization equilibrium since the conduction
timescale is roughly similar to the ionization timescale. Hence, we conclude
that MMSNRs are those that have evolved over yr. We call this phase
as the ``conduction phase.''Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 9 tables, accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
A Suzaku Observation of the Low-Ionization Fe-Line Emission from RCW 86
The newly operational X-ray satellite Suzaku observed the southwestern
quadrant of the supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 86 in February 2006 to study the
nature of the 6.4 keV emission line first detected with the Advanced Satellite
for Cosmology and Astronomy (ASCA). The new data confirm the existence of the
line, localizing it for the first time; most of the line emission is adjacent
and interior to the forward shock and not at the locus of the continuum hard
emission. We also report the first detection of a 7.1 keV line that we
interpret as the K-beta emission from low-ionization iron. The Fe-K line
features are consistent with a non-equilibrium plasma of Fe-rich ejecta with
n_{e}t <~ 10^9 cm^-3 s and kT_{e} ~ 5 keV. This combination of low n_{e}t and
high kT_{e} suggests collisionless electron heating in an SNR shock. The Fe
K-alpha line shows evidence for intrinsic broadening, with a width of 47
(34--59) eV (99% error region). The difference of the spatial distributions of
the hard continuum above 3 keV and the Fe-K line emission support a synchrotron
origin for the hard continuum.Comment: 6 pages with 6 figures. Accepted for PASJ Suzaku Special Issue (vo.
58, sp.1
ASCA Observation of the New Transient X-ray Pulsar XTE J0111.2-7317 in the Small Magellanic Cloud
The new transient X-ray pulsar XTE J0111.2-7317 was observed with Advanced
Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) on 1998 November 18, a few days
after its discovery with the Proportional Counter Array onboard the Rossi X-ray
Timing Explorer. The source was detected at a flux level of 3.6x10^-10 erg
cm^-2 s^-1 in the 0.7--10.0 keV band, which corresponds to the X-ray luminosity
of 1.8x10^38 erg s^-1, if a distance of 65 kpc for this pulsar in the Small
Magellanic Cloud is assumed. Nearly sinusoidal pulsations with a period of
30.9497 +/- 0.0004 s were unambiguously detected during the ASCA observation.
The pulsed fraction is low and slightly energy dependent with average value of
\~27%. The energy spectrum shows a large soft excess below ~2 keV when fitted
to a simple power-law type model. The soft excess is eliminated if the spectrum
is fitted to an ``inversely broken power-law'' model, in which photon indices
below and above a break energy of 1.5 keV are 2.3 and 0.8, respectively. The
soft excess can also be described by a blackbody or a thermal bremsstrahlung
when the spectrum above ~2 keV is modeled by a power-law. In these models,
however, the thermal soft component requires a very large emission zone, and
hence it is difficult to explain the observed pulsations at energies below 2
keV. A bright state of the source enables us to identify a weak iron line
feature at 6.4 keV with an equivalent width of 50 +/- 14 eV. Pulse phase
resolved spectroscopy revealed a slight hardening of the spectrum and marginal
indication of an increase in the iron line strength during the pulse maximum.Comment: 8 pages, 5 Figures, to be published in ApJ. Also available at
http://www-cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp/member/jun/job
ASCA Observations of the Supernova Remnant IC 443: Thermal Structure and Detection of Overionized Plasma
We present the results of X-ray spatial and spectral studies of the
``mixed-morphology'' supernova remnant IC 443 using ASCA. IC 443 has a
center-filled image in X-ray band, contrasting with the shell-like appearance
in radio and optical bands. The overall X-ray emission is thermal, not from a
synchrotron nebula. ASCA observed IC 443 three times, covering the whole
remnant. From the image analysis, we found that the softness-ratio map reveals
a shell-like structure. At the same time, its spectra require two (1.0 keV and
0.2 keV) plasma components; the emission of the 0.2 keV plasma is stronger in
the region near the shell than the center. These results can be explained by a
simple model that IC 443 has a hot (1.0 keV) interior surrounded by a cool (0.2
keV) outer shell. From the emission measures, we infer that the 0.2 keV plasma
is denser than the 1.0 keV plasma, suggesting pressure equilibrium between the
two. In addition, we found that the ionization temperature of sulfur, obtained
from H-like K to He-like K intensity ratio, is 1.5 keV,
significantly higher than the gas temperature of 1.0 keV suggested from the
continuum spectrum. The same can be concluded for silicon. Neither an
additional, hotter plasma component nor a multi-temperature plasma successfully
accounts for this ratio, and we conclude that the 1.0 keV plasma is
overionized. This is the first time that overionized gas has been detected in a
SNR. For the gas to become overionized in the absence of a photoionizing flux,
it must cool faster than the ions recombine. Thermal conduction from the 1.0
keV plasma to the 0.2 keV one could cause the 1.0 keV plasma to become
overionized, which is plausible within an old (3 yr) SNR.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Reproducibility of Non-X-ray Background for the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer aboard Suzaku
One of the advantages of the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) system on board
Suzaku is its low and stable non-X-ray background (NXB). In order to make the
best use of this advantage, modeling the NXB spectra with high accuracy is
important to subtract them from the spectra of on-source observations. We
construct an NXB database by collecting XIS events when the dark Earth covers
the XIS FOV. The total exposure time of the NXB data is about 785 ks for each
XIS. It is found that the count rate of the NXB anti-correlates with the
cut-off-rigidity and correlates with the count rate of the PIN upper
discriminator (PIN-UD) in Hard X-ray Detector on board Suzaku. We thus model
the NXB spectrum for a given on-source observation by employing either of these
parameters and obtain a better reproducibility of the NXB for the model with
PIN-UD than that with the cut-off-rigidity. The reproducibility of the NXB
model with PIN-UD is 4.55-5.63% for each XIS NXB in the 1-7 keV band and
2.79-4.36% for each XIS NXB in the 5-12 keV band for each 5 ks exposure of the
NXB data. This NXB reproducibility is much smaller than the spatial fluctuation
of the cosmic X-ray background in the 1-7 keV band, and is almost comparable to
that in the 5-12 keV band.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (Suzaku
Special Issue
X-Ray Spectroscopy of SN 1006 with Suzaku
We report on observations of SN 1006 with the X-ray Imaging Spectrometers
(XIS) on board Suzaku. We firmly detected K-shell emission from Fe, for the
first time, and find that the Fe ionization state is quite low. The broad band
spectrum extracted from the southeast of the remnant is well fitted with a
model consisting of three optically thin thermal non-equilibrium ionization
plasmas and a power-law component. Two of the thermal models are highly
overabundant in heavy elements and, hence, are likely due to ejecta. These
components have different ionization parameters:
cm s and cm s and it is the later one
that produces the Fe-K emission. This suggests that Fe has been heated by the
reverse shock more recently than the other elements, consistent with a picture
where the ejecta are stratified by composition with Fe in the interior. On the
other hand, the third thermal component is assumed to be solar abundance, and
we associate it with emission from the interstellar medium (ISM). The electron
temperature and ionization parameter are 0.5 keV and cm s. The electron temperature is lower than that
expected from the shock velocity which suggests a lack of collisionless
electron heating at the forward shock. The extremely low ionization parameter
and extreme non-equilibrium state are due to the low density of the ambient
medium.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures (14 figure files), accepted for publication in
PAS
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