133 research outputs found
Getting to know Classical Novae with Swift
Novae have been reported as transients for more than two thousand years.
Their bright optical outbursts are the result of explosive nuclear burning of
gas accreted from a binary companion onto a white dwarf. Novae containing a
white dwarf close to the Chandrasekhar mass limit and accreting at a high rate
are potentially the unknown progenitors of the type Ia supernovae used to
measure the acceleration of the Universe. Swift X-ray observations have
radically transformed our view of novae by providing dense monitoring
throughout the outburst, revealing new phenomena in the super-soft X-rays from
the still-burning white dwarf such as early extreme variability and half- to
one-minute timescale quasi-periodic oscillations. The distinct evolution of
this emission from the harder X-ray emission due to ejecta shocks has been
clearly delineated. Soft X-ray observations allow the mass of the white dwarf,
the mass burned and the mass ejected to be estimated. In combination with
observations at other wavelengths, including the high spectral resolution
observations of the large X-ray observatories, high resolution optical and
radio imaging, radio monitoring, optical spectroscopy, and the detection of GeV
gamma-ray emission from recent novae, models of the explosion have been tested
and developed. I review nine novae for which Swift has made a significant
impact; these have shown the signature of the components in the interacting
binary system in addition to the white dwarf: the re-formed accretion disk, the
companion star and its stellar wind.Comment: 11 pages. As publishe
X-Ray Grating Observations of Recurrent Nova T Pyxidis During The 2011 Outburst
The recurrent nova T Pyx was observed with the X-ray gratings of Chandra and
XMM-Newton, 210 and 235 days, respectively, after the discovery of the 2011
April 14 outburst. The X-ray spectra show prominent emission lines of C, N, and
O, with broadening corresponding to a full width at half maximum of ~2000-3000
km/s, and line ratios consistent with high-density plasma in collisional
ionization equilibrium. On day 210 we also measured soft X-ray continuum
emission that appears to be consistent with a white dwarf (WD) atmosphere at a
temperature ~420,000 K, partially obscured by anisotropic, optically thick
ejecta. The X-ray continuum emission is modulated with the photometric and
spectroscopic period observed in quiescence. The continuum at day 235 indicated
a WD atmosphere at a consistent effective temperature of 25 days earlier, but
with a lower flux. The effective temperature indicates a mass of ~1 solar mass.
The conclusion of partial WD obscuration is supported by the complex geometry
of non-spherically-symmetric ejecta confirmed in recent optical spectra
obtained with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in November and
December of 2012. These spectra exhibited prominent [O III] nebular lines with
velocity structures typical of bipolar ejecta.Comment: Accepted to ApJ 2013 October 23, 14 pages, 9 figures, 3 table
The discovery of 2.78 hour periodic modulation of the X-ray flux from globular cluster source Bo 158 in M31
We report the discovery of periodic intensity dips in the X-ray source XMMU
J004314.1+410724, in the globular cluster Bo158 in M31. The X-ray flux was
modulated by ~83% at a period of 2.78 hr (10017 s) in an XMM-Newton observation
taken 2002 Jan 6-7. The X-ray intensity dips show no energy dependence. We
detected weaker dips with the same period in observations taken 2000 June 25
(XMM-Newton) and 1991 June 26 (ROSAT/PSPC). The amplitude of the modulation has
been found to be anticorrelated with source X-ray flux: it becomes lower when
the source intensity rises. The energy spectrum of Bo158 was stable from
observation to observation, with a characteristic cutoff at ~4-6 keV. The
photo-electric absorption was consistent with the Galactic foreground value. No
significant spectral changes were seen in the course of the dips. If the 2.78
hr cycle is the binary period of Bo158 the system is highly compact, with a
binary separation of ~10e11 cm. The association of the source with a globular
cluster, together with spectral parameters consistent with Galactic neutron
star sources, suggests that X-rays are emitted by an accreting neutron star.
The properties of Bo 158 are somewhat reminiscent of the Galactic X-ray sources
exhibiting a dip-like modulations. We discuss two possible mechanisms
explaining the energy-independent modulation observed in Bo 158: i) the
obscuration of the central source by highly ionized material that scatters
X-rays out of the line of sight; ii) partial covering of an extended source by
an opaque absorber which occults varying fractions of the source.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, ApJ, submitted, uses emulateapj styl
The 2011 Outburst of Recurrent Nova T Pyx: X-ray Observations Expose the White Dwarf Mass and Ejection Dynamics
The recurrent nova T Pyx underwent its sixth historical outburst in 2011, and
became the subject of an intensive multi-wavelength observational campaign. We
analyze data from the Swift and Suzaku satellites to produce a detailed X-ray
light curve augmented by epochs of spectral information. X-ray observations
yield mostly non-detections in the first four months of outburst, but both a
super-soft and hard X-ray component rise rapidly after Day 115. The super-soft
X-ray component, attributable to the photosphere of the nuclear-burning white
dwarf, is relatively cool (~45 eV) and implies that the white dwarf in T Pyx is
significantly below the Chandrasekhar mass (~1 M_sun). The late turn-on time of
the super-soft component yields a large nova ejecta mass (>~10^-5 M_sun),
consistent with estimates at other wavelengths. The hard X-ray component is
well fit by a ~1 keV thermal plasma, and is attributed to shocks internal to
the 2011 nova ejecta. The presence of a strong oxygen line in this thermal
plasma on Day 194 requires a significantly super-solar abundance of oxygen and
implies that the ejecta are polluted by white dwarf material. The X-ray light
curve can be explained by a dual-phase ejection, with a significant delay
between the first and second ejection phases, and the second ejection finally
released two months after outburst. A delayed ejection is consistent with
optical and radio observations of T Pyx, but the physical mechanism producing
such a delay remains a mystery.Comment: Re-submitted to ApJ after revision
Spectroscopy of high mass X-ray binaries with Swift/XRT
We present the X-ray spectroscopy study of three high mass X-ray binary systems, Vela X-1, Cen X-3 and V0332+53 using data obtained with Swift/XRT. The continuum emission of Vela X-1 is consistent with two absorbed power laws, each of them modified by different absorbing columns and with the same power law index. Moreover, the high energy part of the spectrum is modified by absorption components, like Gaussian profile, smedge} or edge} functions. We also detect emission lines and fit as Gaussians at 6.406^+0.004_-0.021 keV (Fe Kalpha) and 2.44^+0.04_-0.03 keV (S XV He_alpha). The continuum emission of Cen X-3 is consistent with two absorbed power laws, each of them modified by different absorbing columns and with the same power law index. We also detect emission lines and fit as Gaussians at 6.432^+0.020_-0.023 keV (Fe Kalpha), 6.84^+0.12_-0.10 keV (Fe XXVI), 2.90 +/- 0.18 keV Ar Kalpha and 1.12^+0.07_-0.06 keV (Ne X Ly_alpha). The presence of iron emission lines at 6.4 keV and 6.8 keV simultaneously indicates that there are at least two distinct emission sites. Fluorescence in a localized region of relatively low ionization may be responsible for the 6.4 keV emission. We could interpret the emission line at 6.8 keV as a blend of several narrow lines due to scattering of radiation from the neutron star in an extended highly ionized stellar wind. Finally, the continuum emission of V0332+53 is consistent with an absorbed power law and a Gaussian emission line to describe the soft excess at low energies. No emission lines are present in this system.Part of this work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science Primera ciencia con el GTC: La astronomÃa española en vanguardia de la astronomÃa europea CSD200670 and Multiplicidad y evolución de estrellas masivas project number AYA200806166C0303. KLP and JPO acknowledge support from STFC. JMT & JJRR acknowledge support by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC) under grants PR2007-0176 & PR2009-0455. This work made use of data supplied by the UK Swift Science Data Centre at the University of Leicester
Pan-chromatic observations of the remarkable nova LMC 2012
We present the results of an intensive multiwavelength campaign on nova LMC
2012. This nova evolved very rapidly in all observed wavelengths. The time to
fall two magnitudes in the V band was only 2 days. In X-rays the super soft
phase began 135 days after discovery and ended around day 50 after
discovery. During the super soft phase, the \Swift/XRT and \Chandra\ spectra
were consistent with the underlying white dwarf being very hot, 1 MK,
and luminous, 10 erg s. The UV, optical, and near-IR
photometry showed a periodic variation after the initial and rapid fading had
ended. Timing analysis revealed a consistent 19.240.03 hr period in all
UV, optical, and near-IR bands with amplitudes of 0.3 magnitudes which
we associate with the orbital period of the central binary. No periods were
detected in the corresponding X-ray data sets. A moderately high inclination
system, = 6010^{\arcdeg}, was inferred from the early optical
emission lines. The {\it HST}/STIS UV spectra were highly unusual with only the
\ion{N}{5} (1240\AA) line present and superposed on a blue continuum. The lack
of emission lines and the observed UV and optical continua from four epochs can
be fit with a low mass ejection event, 10 M, from a hot
and massive white dwarf near the Chandrasekhar limit. The white dwarf, in turn,
significantly illuminated its subgiant companion which provided the bulk of the
observed UV/optical continuum emission at the later dates. The inferred extreme
white dwarf characteristics and low mass ejection event favor nova LMC 2012
being a recurrent nova of the U Sco subclass.Comment: 18 figures, 6 tables (one online only containing all the photometry
X-Ray Flashes in Recurrent Novae: M31N 2008-12a and the Implications of the Swift Non-detection
Models of nova outbursts suggest that an X-ray flash should occur just after
hydrogen ignition. However, this X-ray flash has never been observationally
confirmed. We present four theoretical light curves of the X-ray flash for two
very massive white dwarfs (WDs) of 1.380 and 1.385 M_sun and for two recurrence
periods of 0.5 and 1 years. The duration of the X-ray flash is shorter for a
more massive WD and for a longer recurrence period. The shortest duration of 14
hours (0.6 days) among the four cases is obtained for the 1.385 M_sun WD with
one year recurrence period. In general, a nova explosion is relatively weak for
a very short recurrence period, which results in a rather slow evolution toward
the optical peak. This slow timescale and the predictability of very short
recurrence period novae give us a chance to observe X-ray flashes of recurrent
novae. In this context, we report the first attempt, using the Swift
observatory, to detect an X-ray flash of the recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a (0.5
or 1 year recurrence period), which resulted in the non-detection of X-ray
emission during the period of 8 days before the optical detection. We discuss
the impact of these observations on nova outburst theory. The X-ray flash is
one of the last frontiers of nova studies and its detection is essentially
important to understand the pre-optical-maximum phase. We encourage further
observations.Comment: 12 pages, including 9 figures and 3 tables. To appear in the
Astrophysical Journa
Resolving iron emission lines in 4U 1538-52 with XMM-Newton
The X-ray Universe 2011, Presentations of the Conference held in Berlin, Germany, 27-30 June 2011. Available online at: http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_science/workshops/2011symposium/, article id.275We present the results of a XMM-Newton observation of the high-mass X-ray binary 4U 1538-52 at orbital phases between 0.75-1.00 (in the eclipse-ingress phase). Here we concentrate on the study of discrete features in the energy range from 5.9 keV to 7.8 keV, i.e. on the iron Kα line region, using the EPIC/PN instrument on board XMM-Newton observatory. We clearly see a Kα neutral iron line at around 6.4 keV and were able to distinguish two hot lines from highly photoionized Fe XXV and Fe XXVI. We discuss the implications of the simultaneous presence of iron with both low and high ionization levels.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science De INTEGRAL a IXO: binarias de rayos X y estrellas activas AYA2010-15431 and partially supported by Primera ciencia con el GTC: La astronomÃa española en vanguardia de la astronomÃa europea CSD200670. KLP and JPO acknowledge support from the UK Space Agency. JJRR acknowledges support by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC) under grant PR2009-0455. This work made use of data obtained through the XMM-Newton Science Archive (XSA), rovided by European Space Agency (ESA)
Detecting emission lines with XMM-Newton in 4U 1538–52
Context. The properties of the X-ray emission lines are a fundamental tool for studying the nature of the matter surrounding the neutron star and the phenomena that produce these lines. Aims. The aim of this work is to analyse the X-ray spectrum of 4U 1538−52 obtained by the XMM-Newton observatory and to look for the presence of diagnostic lines in the energy range 0.3−11.5 keV. Methods. We used a 54 ks PN & MOS/XMM-Newton observation of the high-mass X-ray binary 4U 1538−52 covering the orbital phase between 0.75 to 1.00 (the eclipse ingress). We modelled the 0.3−11.5 keV continuum emission with three absorbed power laws and looked for the emission lines. Results. We found previously unreported recombination lines in this system at ~2.4 keV, ~1.9 keV, and ~1.3 keV, which is consistent with the presence of highly ionized states of S XV Heα, Si XIII Heα, and either Mg Kα or Mg XI Heα. On the other hand, in spectra that are both out of eclipse and in eclipse, we detect a fluorescence iron emission line at 6.4 keV, which is resolved into two components: a narrow (σ ≤ 10 eV) fluorescence Fe Kα line plus one hot line from highly photoionized Fe XXV. Conclusions. The detection of new recombination lines during eclipse ingress in 4U 1538−52 indicates that there is an extended ionized region surrounding the neutron star.Part of this work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science Primera ciencia con el GTC: La astronomÃa española en vanguardia de la astronomÃa europea CSD200670 and Multiplicidad y evolución de estrellas masivas project number AYA200806166C0303 and partially supported by AYA2010-15431. J.J.R.R. acknowledges the support by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia under grant PR2009-0455
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