6,869 research outputs found
IRIS observations of magnetic interactions in the solar atmosphere between pre-existing and emerging magnetic fields. II. UV emission properties
Multi-wavelength ultraviolet (UV) observations by the IRIS satellite in
active region NOAA 12529 have recently pointed out the presence of long-lasting
brightenings, akin to UV bursts, and simultaneous plasma ejections occurring in
the upper chromosphere and transition region during secondary flux emergence.
These signatures have been interpreted as evidence of small-scale, recurrent
magnetic reconnection episodes between the emerging flux region (EFR) and the
pre-existing plage field. Here, we characterize the UV emission of these
strong, intermittent brightenings and we study the surge activity above the
chromospheric arch filament system (AFS) overlying the EFR. We analyze the
surges and the cospatial brightenings observed at different wavelengths. We
find an asymmetry in the emission between the blue and red wings of the Si IV
1402 \AA{} and Mg II k 2796.3 \AA{} lines, which clearly outlines the dynamics
of the structures above the AFS that form during the small-scale eruptive
phenomena. We also detect a correlation between the Doppler velocity and
skewness of the Si IV 1394 \AA{} and 1402 \AA{} line profiles in the UV burst
pixels. Finally, we show that genuine emission in the Fe XII 1349.4 \AA{} line
is cospatial to the Si IV brightenings. This definitely reveals a pure coronal
counterpart to the reconnection event.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures + 3 figures in the Appendix; accepted in Ap
Standard interest profiles - Development of technical subjects Final report
NASA university program for technology transfer, and development of Standard Interest Profiles /SIP
The Broad Band Spectrum of MXB 1728-34 Observed by BeppoSAX
We report on the results of a broad band (0.1-100 keV) spectral analysis of
the bursting atoll source MXB 1728-34 observed by the BeppoSAX satellite. Three
bursts were present during this observation. The spectrum during the bursts can
be fitted by a blackbody with a temperature of 2 keV. From the bursts we also
estimate a distance to the source of 5.1 kpc. MXB 1728-34 was in a rather soft
state during the BeppoSAX observation. The persistent spectrum is well fitted
by a continuum consisting of a soft blackbody emission and a comptonized
spectrum. We interpreted the soft component as the emission from the accretion
disk. Taking into account a spectral hardening factor of 1.7, we estimated that
the inner disk radius is km, where i is the
inclination angle. The comptonized component could originate in a spherical
corona, with temperature of 10 keV and optical depth of 5, surrounding the
neutron star. A broad gaussian emission line at 6.7 keV is observed in the
spectrum, probably emitted in the ionized corona or in the inner part of the
disk. Another emission line is present at 1.66 keV.Comment: 12 pages, accepted by Ap
Chandra Observation of the Persistent Emission from the Dipping Source XB 1916-053
We present the results of a 50 ks long Chandra observation of the dipping
source XB 1916-053. During the observation two X-ray bursts occurred and the
dips were not present at each orbital period. From the zero-order image we
estimate the precise X-ray coordinates of the source with a 90% uncertainty of
0.6''. In this work we focus on the spectral study of discrete absorption
features, during the persistent emission, using the High Energy Transmission
Grating Spectrometer on board the Chandra satellite. We detect, for the first
time in the 1st-order spectra of XB 1916-053, absorption lines associated to Ne
X, Mg XII, Si XIV, and S XVI, and confirm the presence of the Fe XXV and Fe
XXVI absorption lines with a larger accuracy with respect to the previous XMM
EPIC pn observation. Assuming that the line widths are due to a bulk motion or
a turbulence associated to the coronal activity, we estimate that the lines are
produced in a photoionized absorber distant from the neutron star 4 x 10^{10}
cm, near the disk edge.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, submitted to ApJ on 2005-09-22, accepted by ApJ
on 2006-05-0
Broad-band Spectral Evolution of Scorpius X-1 along its Color-Color Diagram
We analyze a large collection of RXTE archive data from April 1997 to August
2003 of the bright X-ray source Scorpius X-1 in order to study the broadband
spectral evolution of the source for different values of the inferred mass
accretion rate by studying energy spectra from selected regions in the Z-track
of its Color-Color Diagram. A two-component model, consisting of a soft thermal
component interpreted as thermal emission from an accretion disk and a thermal
Comptonization component, is unable to fit the whole 3--200 keV energy spectrum
at low accretion rates. Strong residuals in the highest energy band of the
spectrum require the addition of a third component that can be fitted with a
power-law component, that could represent a second thermal Comptonization from
a much hotter plasma, or a hybrid thermal/non-thermal Comptonization. We
discuss the physical implications derived from the results of our analysis,
with a particular emphasis on the hardest part of the X-ray emission and its
possible origins.Comment: 18 pages. Accepted for publication in Ap
Discovery of periodic dips in the light curve of GX 13+1: the X-ray orbital ephemeris of the source
The bright low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) GX 13+1 is one of the most peculiar
Galactic binary systems. A periodicity of 24.27 d with a formal statistical
error of 0.03 d was observed in its power spectrum density obtained with RXTE
All Sky Monitor (ASM) data spanning 14 years. Starting from a recent study,
indicating GX 13+1 as a possible dipping source candidate, we systematically
searched for periodic dips in the X-ray light curves of GX 13+1 from 1996 up to
2013 using RXTE/ASM, and MAXI data to determine for the first time the X-ray
orbital ephemeris of GX 13+1. We searched for a periodic signal in the ASM and
MAXI light curves, finding a common periodicity of 24.53 d. We folded the 1.3-5
keV and 5-12.1 keV ASM light curves and the 2-4 and 4-10 keV MAXI light curves
at the period of 24.53 d finding a periodic dip. To refine the value of the
period we used the timing technique dividing the ASM light curve in eight
intervals and the MAXI light curve in two intervals, obtaining four and two dip
arrival times from the ASM and MAXI light curves, respectively. We improved the
X-ray position of GX 13+1 using a recent Chandra observation. The new X-ray
position is discrepant by \sim 7\arcsec from the previous one, while it is
compatible with the infrared and radio counterpart positions. We detected an
X-ray dip, that is totally covered by the Chandra observation, in the light
curve of GX 13+1 and showed, a-posteriori, that it is a periodic dip. We
obtained seven dip arrival times from ASM, MAXI, and Chandra light curves. We
calculated the delays of the detected dip arrival times with respect to the
expected times for a 24.52 d periodicity. Fitting the delays with a linear
function we find that the orbital period and the epoch of reference of GX 13+1
are 24.5274(2) days and 50,086.79(3) MJD, respectively.(Abridged)Comment: 12 pages, including 16 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Chandra X-ray spectroscopy of a clear dip in GX 13+1
The source GX 13+1 is a persistent, bright Galactic X-ray binary hosting an
accreting neutron star. It shows highly ionized absorption features, with a
blueshift of 400 km s and an outflow-mass rate similar to the
accretion rate. Many other X-ray sources exhibit warm absorption features, and
they all show periodic dipping behavior at the same time. Recently, a dipping
periodicity has also been determined for GX 13+1 using long-term X-ray folded
light-curves, leading to a clear identification of one of such periodic dips in
an archival Chandra observation. We give the first spectral characterization of
the periodic dip of GX 13+1 found in this archival Chandra observation
performed in 2010. We used Chandra/HETGS data (1.0-10 keV band) and
contemporaneous RXTE/PCA data (3.5-25 keV) to analyze the broadband X-ray
spectrum. We adopted different spectral models to describe the continuum
emission and used the XSTAR-derived warm absorber component to constrain the
highly ionized absorption features. The 1.0-25 keV continuum emission is
consistent with a model of soft accretion-disk emission and an optically thick,
harder Comptonized component. The dip event, lasting 450 s, is
spectrally resolved with an increase in the column density of the neutral
absorber, while we do not find significant variations in the column density and
ionization parameter of the warm absorber with respect to the out-of-dip
spectrum. We argue that the very low dipping duty-cycle with respect to other
sources of the same class can be ascribed to its long orbital period and the
mostly neutral bulge, that is relatively small compared with the dimensions of
the outer disk radius.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
The role of General Relativity in the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries
We study the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) and of millisecond
binary radio pulsars (MSPs), with numerical simulations that keep into account
the evolution of the companion, of the binary system and of the neutron star.
According to general relativity, when energy is released, the system loses
gravitational mass. Moreover, the neutron star can collapse to a black hole if
its mass exceeds a critical limit, that depends on the equation of state. These
facts have some interesting consequences: 1) In a MSP the mass-energy is lost
with a specific angular momentum that is smaller than the one of the system,
resulting in a positive contribution to the orbital period derivative. If this
contribution is dominant and can be measured, we can extract information about
the moment of inertia of the neutron star, since the energy loss rate depends
on it. Such a measurement can therefore help to put constraints on the equation
of state of ultradense matter. 2) In LMXBs below the bifurcation period (\sim
18 h), the neutron star survives the period gap only if its mass is smaller
than the maximum non-rotating mass when the companion becomes fully convective
and accretion pauses. Therefore short period (P < 2h) millisecond X-ray pulsar
like SAX J1808.4-3658 can be formed only if either a large part of the
accreting matter has been ejected from the system, or the equation of state of
ultradense matter is very stiff. 3) In Low Mass X-ray binaries above the
bifurcation period, the mass-energy loss lowers the mass transfer rate. As side
effect, the inner core of the companion star becomes 1% bigger than in a system
with a non-collapsed primary. Due to this difference, the final orbital period
of the system becomes 20% larger than what is obtained if the mass-energy loss
effect is not taken into account.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted by the MNRA
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