X-ray interferometry with transmissive beam combiners for ultra-high angular resolution astronomy

Interferometry provides one of the possible routes to ultra-high angular resolution for X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy. Sub-micro-arc-second angular resolution, necessary to achieve objectives such as imaging the regions around the event horizon of a super-massive black hole at the center of an active galaxy, can be achieved if beams from parts of the incoming wavefront separated by 100s of meters can be stably and accurately brought together at small angles. One way of achieving this is by using grazing incidence mirrors. We here investigate an alternative approach in which the beams are recombined by optical elements working in transmission. It is shown that the use of diffractive elements is a particularly attractive option. We report experimental results from a simple 2-beam interferometer using a low-cost commercially available profiled film as the diffractive elements. A rotationally symmetric filled (or mostly filled) aperture variant of such an interferometer, equivalent to an X-ray axicon, is shown to offer a much wider bandpass than either a Phase Fresnel Lens (PFL) or a PFL with a refractive lens in an achromatic pair. Simulations of an example system are presented.Comment: To be published in "Experimental Astronomy

On the high coherence of kilo-Hz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations

We have carried out a systematic study of the properties of the kilo-Hertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) observed in the X-ray emission of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U1608-52, using archival data obtained with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. We have investigated the quality factor, Q, of the oscillations (defined as the ratio of the frequency of the QPO peak to its full width at half maximum). In order to minimise the effect of long-term frequency drifts, power spectra were computed over the shortest times permitted by the data statistics. We show that the high Q of ~200 reported by Berger et al. (1996) for the lower frequency kilo-Hz QPO in one of their observations is by no means exceptional, as we observe a mean Q value in excess of 150 in 14 out of the 21 observations analysed and Q can remain above 200 for thousands of seconds. The frequency of the QPO varies over the wide range 560--890 Hz and we find a systematic trend for the coherence time of the QPO, estimated as tau=Q /(pi nu), to increase with the frequency, up to a maximum level at ~ 800 Hz, beyond which it appears to decrease, at frequencies where the QPO weakens. There is a more complex relationship between tau and the QPO root mean squared amplitude (RMS), in which positive and negative correlations can be found. A higher-frequency QPO, revealed by correcting for the frequency drift of the 560-890 Hz one, has a much lower Q (~10) which does not follow the same pattern. We discuss these results in the framework of competing QPO models and show that those involving clumps orbiting within or above the accretion disk are ruled out.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 8 pages, 6 figures, 3 Table

A Persistent High-Energy Flux from the Heart of the Milky Way : Integral's view of the Galactic Center

The Ibis/Isgri imager on Integral detected for the first time a hard X-ray source, IGR J17456-2901, located within 1' of Sgr A* over the energy range 20-100 keV. Here we present the results of a detailed analysis of ~7 Ms of Integral observations of the GC. With an effective exposure of 4.7 Ms we have obtained more stringent positional constraints on this HE source and constructed its spectrum in the range 20-400 keV. Furthermore, by combining the Isgri spectrum with the total X-ray spectrum corresponding to the same physical region around SgrA* from XMM data, and collected during part of the Integral observations, we constructed and present the first accurate wide band HE spectrum for the central arcmins of the Galaxy. Our complete analysis of the emission properties of IGR shows that it is faint but persistent with no variability above 3 sigma contrary to what was alluded to in our first paper. This result, in conjunction with the spectral characteristics of the X-ray emission from this region, suggests that the source is most likely not point-like but, rather, that it is a compact, yet diffuse, non-thermal emission region. The centroid of IGR is estimated to be R.A.=17h45m42.5, decl.=-28deg59'28'', offset by 1' from the radio position of Sgr A* and with a positional uncertainty of 1'. Its 20-400 keV luminosity at 8 kpc is L=5.4x10^35 erg/sec. Very recently, Hess detected of a source of ~TeV g-rays also located within 1' of Sgr A*. We present arguments in favor of an interpretation according to which the photons detected by Integral and Hess arise from the same compact region of diffuse emission near the central BH and that the supernova remnant Sgr A East could play an important role as a contributor of very HE g-rays to the overall spectrum from this region.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Imaging and burst location with the EXIST high-energy telescope

The primary instrument of the proposed EXIST mission is a coded mask high energy telescope (the HET), that must have a wide field of view and extremely good sensitivity. It will be crucial to minimize systematic errors so that even for very long total integration times the imaging performance is close to the statistical photon limit. There is also a requirement to be able to reconstruct images on-board in near real time in order to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts. This must be done while the spacecraft is scanning the sky. The scanning provides all-sky coverage and is key to reducing systematic errors. The on-board computational problem is made even more challenging for EXIST by the very large number of detector pixels. Numerous alternative designs for the HET have been evaluated. The baseline concept adopted depends on a unique coded mask with two spatial scales. Monte Carlo simulations and analytic analysis techniques have been used to demonstrate the capabilities of the design and of the proposed two-step burst localization procedure

Localization dynamics of fluids in random confinement

The dynamics of two-dimensional fluids confined within a random matrix of obstacles is investigated using both colloidal model experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. By varying fluid and matrix area fractions in the experiment, we find delocalized tracer particle dynamics at small matrix area fractions and localized motion of the tracers at high matrix area fractions. In the delocalized region, the dynamics is subdiffusive at intermediate times, and diffusive at long times, while in the localized regime, trapping in finite pockets of the matrix is observed. These observations are found to agree with the simulation of an ideal gas confined in a weakly correlated matrix. Our results show that Lorentz gas systems with soft interactions are exhibiting a smoothening of the critical dynamics and consequently a rounded delocalization-to-localization transition.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure