4 research outputs found
Multi-wavelength observations of 2HWC J1928+177: dark accelerator or new TeV gamma-ray binary?
2HWC J1928+177 is a Galactic TeV gamma-ray source detected by the High
Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory up to ~ 56 TeV. The HAWC source,
later confirmed by H.E.S.S., still remains unidentified as a dark accelerator
since there is no apparent supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula detected in
the lower energy bands. The radio pulsar PSR J1928+1746, coinciding with the
HAWC source position, has no X-ray counterpart. Our SED modeling shows that
inverse Compton scattering in the putative pulsar wind nebula can account for
the TeV emission only if the unseen nebula is extended beyond r ~ 4 [arcmin].
Alternatively, TeV gamma rays may be produced by hadronic interactions between
relativistic protons from an undetected supernova remnant associated with the
radio pulsar and a nearby molecular cloud G52.9+0.1. NuSTAR and Chandra
observations detected a variable X-ray point source within the HAWC error
circle, potentially associated with a bright IR source. The X-ray spectra can
be fitted with an absorbed power-law model with cm and and exhibit
long-term X-ray flux variability over the last decade. If the X-ray source,
possibly associated with the IR source (likely an O star), is the counterpart
of the HAWC source, it may be a new TeV gamma-ray binary powered by collisions
between the pulsar wind and stellar wind. Follow-up X-ray observations are
warranted to search for diffuse X-ray emission and determine the nature of the
HAWC source.Comment: accepted to ApJ, 8 pages, 7 figure
NuSTAR and Chandra observations of new X-ray transients in the central parsec of the Galaxy
We report NuSTAR and Chandra observations of two X-ray transients, SWIFT
J174540.7290015 (T15) and SWIFT J174540.2290037 (T37), which were
discovered by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in 2016 within pc of
Sgr A*. NuSTAR detected bright X-ray outbursts from T15 and T37, likely in the
soft and hard states, with 3-79~keV luminosities of and
erg/s, respectively. No X-ray outbursts have previously been
detected from the two transients and our Chandra ACIS analysis puts an upper
limit of erg/s on their quiescent 2-8 keV
luminosities. No pulsations, significant QPOs, or type I X-ray bursts were
detected in the NuSTAR data. While T15 exhibited no significant red noise, the
T37 power density spectra are well characterized by three Lorentzian
components. The declining variability of T37 above Hz is typical
of black hole (BH) transients in the hard state. NuSTAR spectra of both
transients exhibit a thermal disk blackbody, X-ray reflection with broadened Fe
atomic features, and a continuum component well described by Comptonization
models. Their X-ray reflection spectra are most consistent with high BH spin
() and large disk density ( cm).
Based on the best-fit ionization parameters and disk densities, we found that
X-ray reflection occurred near the inner disk radius, which was derived from
the relativistic broadening and thermal disk component. These X-ray
characteristics suggest the outbursting BH-LMXB scenario for both transients
and yield the first BH spin measurements from X-ray transients in the central
100 pc region.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap