375 research outputs found
A new bursting X-ray transient: SAX J1750.8-2900
We have analysed in detail the discovery measurements of the X-ray burster
SAX J1750.8-2900 by the Wide Field Cameras on board BeppoSAX in spring 1997, at
a position ~1.2 degrees off the Galactic Centre. The source was in outburst on
March 13th when the first observation started and showed X-ray emission for ~ 2
weeks. A total of 9 bursts were detected, with peak intensities varying from ~
0.4 to 1.0 Crab in the 2-10 keV range. Most bursts showed a fast rise time (~
1s), an exponential decay profile with e-folding time of ~ 5s, spectral
softening during decay, and a spectrum which is consistent with few keV
blackbody radiation. These features identify them as type-I X-ray bursts of
thermonuclear origin. The presence of type-I bursts and the source position
close to the Galactic Centre favours the classification of this object as a
neutron star low mass X-ray binary. X-ray emission from SAX J1750.8-2900 was
not detected in the previous and subsequent Galactic bulge monitoring, and the
source was never seen bursting again.Comment: 13 pages, 3 Postscript figures, aaspp4 styl
SAXJ1712.6-3739: a persistent hard X-ray source as monitored with INTEGRAL
The X-ray source SAXJ1712.6-3739 is a very weak Low Mass X-ray Binary
discovered in 1999 with BeppoSAX and located in the Galactic Center. This
region has been deeply investigated by the INTEGRAL satellite with an
unprecedented exposure time, giving us an unique opportunity to study the hard
X-ray behavior also for weak objects. The spectral results are based on the
systematic analysis of all INTEGRAL observations covering the source position
performed between February 2003 and October 2006. SAXJ1712.6-3739 did not shows
any flux variation along this period as well as compared to previous BeppoSAX
observation. Hence, to better constrain the physical parameters we combined
both instrument data. Long INTEGRAL monitoring reveals, for the first time,
that this X-ray burster is a weak persistent source, displaying a X-ray
spectrum extended to high energy and spending most of the time in a low
luminosity hard state. The broad-band spectrum is well modeled with a simple
Comptonized model with a seed photons temperature of ~0.5keV and an electron
temperature of ~24keV. The low mass accretion rate (~2x10^{-10} Msun/yr), the
long bursts recurrence time, the small sizes of the region emitting the seed
photons consisting with the inner disk radius and the high luminosity ratio in
the 40-100keV and 20-40keV band, are all features common to the Ultra Compact
source class.Comment: accepted A&
Hard X-ray selected giant radio galaxies - I. The X-ray properties and radio connection
We present the first broad-band X-ray study of the nuclei of 14 hard X-ray
selected giant radio galaxies, based both on the literature and on the analysis
of archival X-ray data from NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, Swift and INTEGRAL. The X-ray
properties of the sources are consistent with an accretion-related X-ray
emission, likely originating from an X-ray corona coupled to a radiatively
efficient accretion flow. We find a correlation between the X-ray luminosity
and the radio core luminosity, consistent with that expected for AGNs powered
by efficient accretion. In most sources, the luminosity of the radio lobes and
the estimated jet power are relatively low compared with the nuclear X-ray
emission. This indicates that either the nucleus is more powerful than in the
past, consistent with a restarting of the central engine, or that the giant
lobes are dimmer due to expansion losses.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
INTEGRAL/IBIS search for e-e+ annihilation radiation from the Galactic Center Region
Electron-positron annihilation radiation from the Galactic Center region has
been detected since the seventies, but its astrophysical origin is still a
topic of a scientific debate. We have analyzed data of the gamma-ray imager
IBIS/ISGRI onboard of ESA's INTEGRAL platform in the ee line.
During the first year of the missions Galactic Center Deep Exposure no evidence
for point sources at 511 keV has been found in the ISGRI data; the
upper limit for resolved single point sources is estimated to be .Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; Cospar 2004. To be published in: Advances in
Space Researc
Disc-Jet coupling in the LMXB 4U1636-53 from INTEGRAL
We report on the spectral analysis results of the neutron star, atoll type,
low mass X-ray Binary 4U1636-53 observed by INTEGRAL and BeppoSAX satellites.
Spectral behavior in three different epochs corresponding to three different
spectral states has been deeply investigated. Two data set spectra show a
continuum well described by one or two soft blackbody plus a Comptonized
components with changes in the Comptonizing electrons and black body
temperature and the accretion rates, which are typical of the spectral
transitions from high to low state. In one occasion INTEGRAL spectrum shows,
for first time in this source, a hard tail dominating the emission above 30
keV. The total spectrum is fitted as the sum of a Comptonized component similar
to soft state and a power-law component (Gamma=2.76), indicating the presence
of a non thermal electron distribution of velocities. In this case, a
comparison with hard tails detected in soft states from neutron stars systems
and some black hole binaries suggests that a similar mechanism could originate
these components in both cases.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. accepted Ap
Gamma-ray polarization constraints on Planck scale violations of special relativity
Using recent polarimetric observations of the Crab Nebula in the hard X-ray
band by INTEGRAL, we show that the absence of vacuum birefringence effects
constrains O(E/M) Lorentz violation in QED to the level |\xi| < 9x10^{-10} at
three sigma CL, tightening by more than three orders of magnitude previous
constraints. We show that planned X-ray polarimeters have the potential the
potential to probe |\xi|~ 10^{-16} by detecting polarization in active galaxies
at red-shift ~1.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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