147 research outputs found
On the Integrated Spectrum of the X-ray Binaries and the Origin of Soft X-ray Emission from the Bulge of M31
Using ROSAT PSPC data, we have performed several tests aimed at understanding
the origin of the soft X-ray spectral component detected from the bulge of M31.
We find that a significant soft component in the spectrum of the bulge is
spatially correlated with the unresolved X-ray emission near the core of M31,
which is probably a hot interstellar medium or perhaps a population of multiple
faint sources. For the first time, we extracted the spectrum of this unresolved
emission, by removing point sources dominating the integral spectrum of the
bulge, and found it to be responsible for the most of soft excess. A soft
spectral component is not at all needed to fit the point source spectrum that
remains after subtracting the unresolved emission. The integral spectra of
bright point sources, both inside and outside of the M31 bulge, can be fitted
with a single power-law in the ROSAT band. Our analysis rules out the previous
suggestion that all bulge emission in M31 may be generated by low mass X-ray
binaries (Irwin & Bregman, 1999).Comment: 11 pages incl. 2 figures, 2 tables, accepted to ApJ
Millenium Year X-ray Transients in Andromeda Galaxy
We study three transient X-ray sources, that were bright in the central
region of M31 galaxy in the year 2000. Observations with Chandra and XMM-Newton
allowed us for the first time in the history of X-ray astronomy, to build light
curves of transient sources in M31 suitable for studying their variability on a
time scale of months and, in some periods, weeks. The three sources demonstrate
distinctly different types of X-ray variability and spectral evolution. XMMU
J004234.1+411808 is most likely a black hole candidate based on the similarity
of its X-ray light curve and spectra to typical transient low-mass X-ray
binaries observed in our Galaxy. The outburst of CXO J004242.0+411608 lasted
longer than a year, which makes the source an unusual X-ray transient. The
supersoft transient XMMU J004319.4+ 411759 is probably a classical nova-like
system containing a magnetized, rapidly-spinning white dwarf. We estimate a
total rate of X-ray transient outbursts in the central bulge of M31 to be of
the order ~10 per year. The rate of the hard X-ray transients (~5 1/year) in
the central part of the Andromeda Galaxy appears to be comparable to that of
the central part of our own Galaxy.Comment: ApJ Letters, submitte
MOXE: An X-ray all-sky monitor for Soviet Spectrum-X-Gamma Mission
A Monitoring Monitoring X-Ray Equipment (MOXE) is being developed for the Soviet Spectrum-X-Gamma Mission. MOXE is an X-ray all-sky monitor based on array of pinhole cameras, to be provided via a collaboration between Goddard Space Flight Center and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The objectives are to alert other observers on Spectrum-X-Gamma and other platforms of interesting transient activity, and to synoptically monitor the X-ray sky and study long-term changes in X-ray binaries. MOXE will be sensitive to sources as faint as 2 milliCrab (5 sigma) in 1 day, and cover the 2 to 20 KeV band
SkyDOT (Sky Database for Objects in the Time Domain): A Virtual Observatory for Variability Studies at LANL
The mining of Virtual Observatories (VOs) is becoming a powerful new method
for discovery in astronomy. Here we report on the development of SkyDOT (Sky
Database for Objects in the Time domain), a new Virtual Observatory, which is
dedicated to the study of sky variability. The site will confederate a number
of massive variability surveys and enable exploration of the time domain in
astronomy. We discuss the architecture of the database and the functionality of
the user interface. An important aspect of SkyDOT is that it is continuously
updated in near real time so that users can access new observations in a timely
manner. The site will also utilize high level machine learning tools that will
allow sophisticated mining of the archive. Another key feature is the real time
data stream provided by RAPTOR (RAPid Telescopes for Optical Response), a new
sky monitoring experiment under construction at Los Alamos National Laboratory
(LANL).Comment: to appear in SPIE proceedings vol. 4846, 11 pages, 5 figure
Fast X-ray Transients and Their Connection to Gamma-Ray Bursts
Fast X-ray transients (FXTs) with timescales from seconds to hours have been
seen by numerous space instruments. We have assembled archival data from
Ariel-5, HEAO-1 (A-1 and A-2), WATCH, ROSAT, and Einstein to produce a global
fluence-frequency relationship for these events. Fitting the log N-log S
distribution over several orders of magnitude to simple power law we find a
slope of -1.0. The sources of FXTs are undoubtedly heterogeneous, the -1 power
law is an approximate result of the summation of these multiple sources. Two
major contributions come from gamma-ray bursts and stellar flares.
Extrapolating from the BATSE catalog of GRBs, we find that the fraction of
X-ray flashes that can be the X-ray counterparts of gamma-ray bursts is a
function of fluence. Certainly most FXTs are not counterparts of standard
gamma-ray bursts. The fraction of FXTs from non-GRB sources, such as magnetic
stars, is greatest for the faintest FXTs. Our understanding of the FXT
phenomenon remains limited and would greatly benefit from a large, homogeneous
data set, which requires a wide-field, sensitive instrument.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figure
Bright X-ray Transients in M31: 2004 July XMM-Newton Observations
We present the results of X-ray observations of four bright transients
sources detected in the July 2004 XMM-Newton observations of the central bulge
of M31. Two X-ray sources, XMMU J004315.5+412440 and XMMU J004144.7+411110,
were discovered for the first time. Two other sources, CXOM31 J004309.9+412332
and CXOM31 J004241.8+411635, were previously detected by Chandra. The
properties of the sources suggest their identification with accreting binary
systems in M31. The X-ray spectra and variability of two sources, XMMU
J004144.7+411110 and CXOM31 J004241.8+411635, are similar to that of the
Galactic black hole transients, making them a good black hole candidates. The
X-ray source XMMU J004315.5+412440 demonstrates a dramatic decline of the X-ray
flux on a time scale of three days, and a remarkable flaring behavior on a
short time scales. The X-ray data on XMMU J004315.5+412440 and CXOM31
J004309.9+412332 suggest that they can be either black hole or neutron star
systems. Combining the results of 2000-2004 XMM observations of M31, we
estimate a total rate of the bright transient outbursts in the central region
of M31 to be 6-12 per year, in agreement with previous studies.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, uses emulateapj style. Submitted to Ap
Estimating influenza incidence using search query deceptiveness and generalized ridge regression
Seasonal influenza is a sometimes surprisingly impactful disease, causing
thousands of deaths per year along with much additional morbidity. Timely
knowledge of the outbreak state is valuable for managing an effective response.
The current state of the art is to gather this knowledge using in-person
patient contact. While accurate, this is time-consuming and expensive. This has
motivated inquiry into new approaches using internet activity traces, based on
the theory that lay observations of health status lead to informative features
in internet data.
These approaches risk being deceived by activity traces having a
coincidental, rather than informative, relationship to disease incidence; to
our knowledge, this risk has not yet been quantitatively explored. We evaluated
both simulated and real activity traces of varying deceptiveness for influenza
incidence estimation using linear regression.
We found that deceptiveness knowledge does reduce error in such estimates,
that it may help automatically-selected features perform as well or better than
features that require human curation, and that a semantic distance measure
derived from the Wikipedia article category tree serves as a useful proxy for
deceptiveness. This suggests that disease incidence estimation models should
incorporate not only data about how internet features map to incidence but also
additional data to estimate feature deceptiveness. By doing so, we may gain one
more step along the path to accurate, reliable disease incidence estimation
using internet data. This capability would improve public health by decreasing
the cost and increasing the timeliness of such estimates.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figure
Warping of Accretion Disks with Magnetically Driven Outflows: A Possible Origin for Jet Precession
Current theoretical models for the outflows/jets from AGN, X-ray binaries and
young stellar objects involve large-scale magnetic fields threading an
underlying accretion disk. We suggest that such a disk is subjected to warping
instability and retrograde precession driven by magnetic torques associated
with the outflow. The growth timescale for the disk warp and the precession
period are of order the radial infall time of the disk. These effects may be
relevant to jet precession and other variabilities observed in many systems.Comment: 4 pages with 2 figures. ApJL in pres
An Unusual X-ray Burst from the Globular Cluster M28
We report the discovery of an unusual X-ray burst from the direction of the
Globular Cluster M28 using data acquired with the ASCA Observatory. The burst
was recorded by all four ASCA telescopes and displays a fast (~ 70 ms) rise
followed by an exponential decay (t = 7.5 s) and a steady afterglow which lasts
between 800 - 3250 s. The image of the burst is consistent with an ASCA point
source and is centered on quiescent X-ray emission from the core of M28. The
burst temporal profile is similar to Type-I bursts emitted by accreting neutron
stars of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXB). We argue that the burst arises from an
LMXB that is located in the core of M28. The burst is unique in two ways: it is
intrinsically sub-luminous, ~ 0.02 L_Edd and more importantly, originates from
a source whose quiescent luminosity is fainter than that of the known cluster
bursters by three orders of magnitude. We suggest that this burst is from a
highly magnetized neutron star accreting at a low rate. These accreting systems
may account for the mysterious low luminosity X-ray sources in globular
clusters.Comment: 13 pages with 3 eps figures, LATEX, aastex, psfig. To appear in the
Astrophysical Journal Letter
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