438 research outputs found
Parameterization of the Angular Distribution of Gamma Rays Produced by p-p Interaction in Astronomical Environment
We present the angular distribution of gamma rays produced by proton-proton
interactions in parameterized formulae to facilitate calculations in
astrophysical environments. The parameterization is derived from Monte Carlo
simulations of the up-to-date proton-proton interaction model by Kamae et al.
(2005) and its extension by Kamae et al. (2006). This model includes the
logarithmically rising inelastic cross section, the diffraction dissociation
process and Feynman scaling violation. The extension adds two baryon resonance
contributions: one representing the Delta(1232) and the other representing
multiple resonances around 1600 MeV/c^2. We demonstrate the use of the formulae
by calculating the predicted gamma-ray spectrum for two different cases: the
first is a pencil beam of protons following a power law and the second is a
fanned proton jet with a Gaussian intensity profile impinging on the
surrounding material. In both cases we find that the predicted gamma-ray
spectrum to be dependent on the viewing angle.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, figure 7 updated, accepted for publication in
ApJ, text updated to match changes by the editor, two refs updated from
preprints to full journal
Chandra Observations of A Galactic Supernova Remnant Vela Jr.: A New Sample of Thin Filaments Emitting Synchrotron X-Rays
A galactic supernova remnant (SNR) Vela Jr. (RX J0852.04622, G266.61.2)
shows sharp filamentary structure on the north-western edge of the remnant in
the hard X-ray band. The filaments are so smooth and located on the most outer
side of the remnant. We measured the averaged scale width of the filaments
( and ) with excellent spatial resolution of {\it Chandra}, which are
in the order of the size of the point spread function of {\it Chandra} on the
upstream side and 49.5 (36.0--88.8) arcsec on the downstream side,
respectively. The spectra of the filaments are very hard and have no line-like
structure, and were well reproduced with an absorbed power-law model with
2.67 (2.55--2.77), or a {\tt SRCUT} model with = 4.3
(3.4--5.3) Hz under the assumption of . These results
imply that the hard X-rays are synchrotron radiation emitted by accelerated
electrons, as mentioned previously. Using a correlation between a function
and the SNR age, we estimated the
distance and the age of Vela Jr.: the estimated distance and age are 0.33
(0.26--0.50) kpc and 660 (420--1400) years, respectively. These results are
consistent with previous reports, implying that --age relation may be
a useful tool to estimate the distance and the age of synchrotron X-ray
emitting SNRs.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, ApJ, in pres
Reflection Shocked Gas in the Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant
We performed spectroscopic X-ray observations of the eastern and northern
regions of the Cygnus Loop with the ASCA observatory. The
X-ray surface brightness of these regions shows a complex structure in the
ROSAT all-sky survey image. We carried out a spatially-resolved analysis for
both regions and found that did not increase toward the center
region, but showed inhomogeneous structures. Such variation cannot be explained
by a blast wave model propagating into a homogeneous interstellar medium. We
thus investigated the interaction between a blast wave and an interstellar
cloud. Two major emission mechanisms are plausible: a cloud evaporation model
and a reflection shock model. In both regions, only a reflection shock model
qualitatively explains our results. Our results suggest the existence of a
large-scale interstellar cloud. We suppose that such a large-scale structure
would be produced by a precursor.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication of ApJ. High
resolution and color figures are available at
http://wwwxray.ess.sci.osaka-u.ac.jp/~miyata/paper/cygloop_reflection.pd
Scattering and Iron Fluorescence Revealed During Absorption Dips in Circinus X-1
We show that dramatic spectral evolution associated with dips occurring near
phase zero in RXTE observations of Cir X-1 is well-fit by variable and at times
heavy absorption (N_H > 10^24 cm^-2) of a bright component, plus an underlying
faint component which is not attenuated by the variable column and whose flux
is ~10% of that of the unabsorbed bright component. A prominent Fe emission
line at ~6.5 keV is evident during the dips. The absolute line flux outside the
dips is similar to that during the dips, indicating that the line is associated
with the faint component. These results are consistent with a model in which
the bright component is radiation received directly from a compact source while
the faint component may be attributed to scattered radiation. Our results are
also generally consistent with those of Brandt et al., who found that a
partial- covering model could explain ASCA spectra of a low-to-high transition
in Cir X-1. The relative brightness of the two components in our model requires
a column density of ~2*10^23 cm^-2 if the faint component is due to Thomson
scattering in material that mostly surrounds the source. We find that
illumination of such a scattering cloud by the observed direct component would
produce an Fe K-alpha fluorescence flux that is in rough agreement with the
flux of the observed emission line. We also conclude that if the scattering
medium is not highly ionized, our line of sight to the compact source does not
pass through it. Finally, we discuss simple pictures of the absorbers
responsible for the dips themselves.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (23 pages,
including 11 figures
The Compact Central Object in the Supernova Remnant G266.2-1.2
We observed the compact central object CXOU J085201.4--461753 in the
supernova remnant G266.2--1.2 (RX J0852.0--4622) with the Chandra ACIS detector
in timing mode. The spectrum of this object can be described by a blackbody
model with the temperature kT=404 eV and radius of the emitting region R=0.28
km, at a distance of 1 kpc. Power-law and thermal plasma models do not fit the
source spectrum. The spectrum shows a marginally significant feature at 1.68
keV. Search for periodicity yields two candidate periods, about 301 ms and 33
ms, both significant at a 2.1 sigma level; the corresponding pulsed fractions
are 13% and 9%, respectively. We find no evidence for long-term variability of
the source flux, nor do we find extended emission around the central object. We
suggest that CXOU J085201.4--461753 is similar to CXOU J232327.9+584842, the
central source of the supernova remnant Cas A. It could be either a neutron
star with a low or regular magnetic field, slowly accreting from a fossil disk,
or, more likely, an isolated neutron star with a superstrong magnetic field. In
either case, a conservative upper limit on surface temperature of a 10 km
radius neutron star is about 90 eV, which suggests accelerated cooling for a
reasonable age of a few thousand years.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 13 pages, 1 figur
Chandra view of Kes 79: a nearly isothermal SNR with rich spatial structure
A 30 ks \chandra ACIS-I observation of Kes 79 reveals rich spatial
structures, including many filaments, three partial shells, a loop and a
``protrusion''. Most of them have corresponding radio features. Regardless of
the different results from two non-equilibrium ionization (NEI) codes,
temperatures of different parts of the remnant are all around 0.7 keV, which is
surprisingly constant for a remnant with such rich structure. If thermal
conduction is responsible for smoothing the temperature gradient, a lower limit
on the thermal conductivity of 1/10 of the Spitzer value can be derived.
Thus, thermal conduction may play an important role in the evolution of at
least some SNRs. No spectral signature of the ejecta is found, which suggests
the ejecta material has been well mixed with the ambient medium. From the
morphology and the spectral properties, we suggest the bright inner shell is a
wind-driven shell (WDS) overtaken by the blast wave (the outer shell) and
estimate the age of the remnant to be 6 kyr for the assumed dynamics.
Projection is also required to explain the complicated morphology of Kes 79.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures (3 in color), ApJ, in press, April 20, 200
The X-ray reflector in NGC 4945: a time and space resolved portrait
We present a time, spectral and imaging analysis of the X-ray reflector in
NGC 4945, which reveals its geometrical and physical structure with
unprecedented detail. NGC 4945 hosts one of the brightest AGN in the sky above
10 keV, but it is only visible through its reflected/scattered emission below
10 keV, due to absorption by a column density of ~4\times10^24 cm-2. A new
Suzaku campaign of 5 observations spanning ~6 months, together with past
XMM-Newton and Chandra observations, show a remarkable constancy (within <10%)
of the reflected component. Instead, Swift-BAT reveals strong intrinsic
variability on time scales longer than one year. Modeling the circumnuclear gas
as a thin cylinder with the axis on the plane of the sky, we show that the
reflector is at a distance >30-50 pc, well within the imaging capabilities of
Chandra at the distance of NGC 4945 (1"~18 pc). Accordingly, the Chandra
imaging reveals a resolved, flattened, ~150 pc-long clumpy structure, whose
spectrum is fully due to cold reflection of the primary AGN emission. The
clumpiness may explain the small covering factor derived from the spectral and
variability properties.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRA
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