3,927 research outputs found
Accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars: 10 years of INTEGRAL observations
During the last 10 years, INTEGRAL made a unique contribution to the study of
accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXPs), discovering three of the 14
sources now known of this class. Besides increasing the number of known AMXPs,
INTEGRAL also carried out observations of these objects above 20 keV,
substantially advancing our understanding of their behaviour. We present here a
review of all the AMXPs observed with INTEGRAL and discuss the physical
interpretation of their behaviour in the X-ray domain. We focus in particular
on the lightcurve profile during outburst, as well as the timing, spectral, and
thermonuclear type-I X-ray bursts properties.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Proceedings of "An INTEGRAL view of the
high-energy sky (the first 10 years)" the 9th INTEGRAL Workshop, October
15-19, 2012, Paris, Franc
Are There Magnetars in High Mass X-ray Binaries? The Case of SuperGiant Fast X-Ray Transients
In this paper we survey the theory of wind accretion in high mass X-ray
binaries hosting a magnetic neutron star and a supergiant companion.
We concentrate on the different types of interaction between the inflowing
wind matter and the neutron star magnetosphere that are relevant when accretion
of matter onto the neutron star surface is largely inhibited; these include the
inhibition through the centrifugal and magnetic barriers. Expanding on earlier
work, we calculate the expected luminosity for each regime and derive the
conditions under which transition from one regime to another can take place. We
show that very large luminosity swings (~10^4 or more on time scales as short
as hours) can result from transitions across different regimes.
The activity displayed by supergiant fast X-ray transients, a recently
discovered class of high mass X-ray binaries in our galaxy, has often been
interpreted in terms of direct accretion onto a neutron star immersed in an
extremely clumpy stellar wind. We show here that the transitions across the
magnetic and/or centrifugal barriers can explain the variability properties of
these sources as a results of relatively modest variations in the stellar wind
velocity and/or density. According to this interpretation we expect that
supergiant fast X-ray transients which display very large luminosity swings and
host a slowly spinning neutron star are characterized by magnetar-like fields,
irrespective of whether the magnetic or the centrifugal barrier applies.
Supergiant fast X-ray transients might thus provide a new opportunity to
detect and study magnetars in binary systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 16 pages, 6 figure
Proton-nucleus cross section at high energies
Cross sections for proton inelastic collision with different nuclei are
described within the Glauber and multiple scattering approximations. A
significant difference between approximate `Glauber' formula and exact
calculations with a geometrical scaling assumption for very high-energy cross
section is shown. Experimental values of proton-proton cross sections obtained
using extensive air shower data are based on the relationship of proton-proton
and respective proton-air absorption cross sections. According to obtained
results values reported by the Akeno and Fly's Eye experimental groups are
about 10% overestimated. The proper energy dependence of absorption cross
section for collisions with air nuclei is of a great importance for studies of
high energy cosmic rays using the Monte Carlo technique.Comment: 9pp (9 eps figures
Eikonal profile functions and amplitudes for and scattering
The eikonal profile function obtained from the Model of the Stochastic
Vacuum is parametrized in a form suitable for comparison with experiment. The
amplitude and the extended profile function (including imaginary and real
parts) are determined directly from the complete pp and p elastic
scattering data at high energies. Full and accurate representation of the data
is presented, with smooth energy dependence of all parameters. The changes
needed in the original profile function required for description of scattering
beyond the forward direction are described.Comment: Latex, 28 pages and 16 figure
The super-orbital modulation of supergiant high-mass X-ray binaries
© ESO, 2017. The long-term X-ray light curves of classical supergiant X-ray binaries and supergiant fast X-ray transients show relatively similar super-orbital modulations, which are still lacking a sound interpretation. We propose that these modulations are related to the presence of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) known to thread the winds of OB supergiants. To test this hypothesis, we couple the outcomes of three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic models for the formation of CIRs in stellar winds with a simplified recipe for the accretion onto a neutron star. The results show that the synthetic X-ray light curves are indeed modulated by the presence of the CIRs. The exact period and amplitude of these modulations depend on a number of parameters governing the hydrodynamic wind models and on the binary orbital configuration. To compare our model predictions with the observations, we apply the 3D wind structure previously shown to well explain the appearance of discrete absorption components in the UV time series of a prototypical B0.5I-type supergiant. Using the orbital parameters of IGRJ 16493-4348, which has the same B0.5I donor spectral type, the period and modulations in the simulated X-ray light curve are similar to the observed ones, thus providing support to our scenario. We propose that the presence of CIRs in donor star winds should be considered in future theoretical and simulation efforts of wind-fed X-ray binaries
The filter wheel and filters development for the X-IFU instruments onboard Athena
Athena is the large mission selected by ESA in 2013 to investigate the science theme "Hot and Energetic Universe" and presently scheduled for launch in 2028. One of the two instruments located at the focus of the 12 m-long Athena telescope is the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU). This is an array of TES microcalorimeters that will be operated at temperatures of 50 mK in order to perform high resolution spectroscopy with an energy resolution down to 2.5 eV at energies < 7 keV. In order to cope with the large dynamical range of X-ray fluxes spanned by the celestial objects Athena will be observing, the X-IFU will be equipped with a filter wheel. This will allow the user to fine tune the instrument set-up based on the nature of the target, thus optimizing the scientific outcomes of the observation. A few positions of the filter wheel will also be used to host a calibration source and to allow the measurement of the instrument intrinsic background
Spectral and timing properties of the accreting X-ray millisecond pulsar IGR J17498-2921
We analyze the spectral and timing properties of IGR J17498-2921 and the
characteristics of X-ray bursts to constrain the physical processes responsible
for the X-ray production in this class of sources. The broad-band average
spectrum is well-described by thermal Comptonization with an electron
temperature of kT_e ~ 50 keV, soft seed photons of kT_bb ~ 1 keV, and Thomson
optical depth \taut ~ 1 in a slab geometry. The slab area corresponds to a
black body radius of R_bb ~9 km. During the outburst, the spectrum stays
remarkably stable with plasma and soft seed photon temperatures and scattering
optical depth that are constant within the errors. This behavior has been
interpreted as indicating that the X-ray emission originates above the neutron
star (NS) surface in a hot slab (either the heated NS surface or the accretion
shock). The INTEGRAL, RXTE, and Swift data reveal the X-ray pulsation at a
period of 2.5 milliseconds up to ~65 keV. The pulsed fraction is consistent
with being constant, i.e. energy independent and has a typical value of 6-7%.
The nearly sinusoidal pulses show soft lags that seem to saturate near 10 keV
at a rather small value of ~ -60\mu s with those observed in other accreting
pulsars. The short burst profiles indicate that there is a hydrogen-poor
material at ignition, which suggests either that the accreted material is
hydrogen-deficient, or that the CNO metallicity is up to a factor of about two
times solar. However, the variation in the burst recurrence time as a function
of \dot{m} (inferred from the X-ray flux) is much smaller than predicted by
helium-ignition models.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. arXiv admin
note: text overlap with arXiv:1012.022
High Energy Hadron-Nucleus Cross Sections and Their Extrapolation to Cosmic Ray Energies
Old models of the scattering of composite systems based on the Glauber model
of multiple diffraction are applied to hadron-nucleus scattering. We obtain an
excellent fit with only two free parameters to the highest energy
hadron-nucleus data available. Because of the quality of the fit and the
simplicity of the model it is argued that it should continue to be reliable up
to the highest cosmic ray energies. Logarithmic extrapolations of proton-proton
and proton-antiproton data are used to calculate the proton-air cross sections
at very high energy. Finally, it is observed that if the exponential behavior
of the proton-antiproton diffraction peak continues into the few TeV energy
range it will violate partial wave unitarity. We propose a simple modification
that will guarantee unitarity throughout the cosmic ray energy region.Comment: 8 pages, 9 postscript figures. This manuscript replaces a partial
manuscript incorrectly submitte
Accelerator experiments with soft protons and hyper-velocity dust particles: application to ongoing projects of future X-ray missions
We report on our activities, currently in progress, aimed at performing
accelerator experiments with soft protons and hyper-velocity dust particles.
They include tests of different types of X-ray detectors and related components
(such as filters) and measurements of scattering of soft protons and
hyper-velocity dust particles off X-ray mirror shells. These activities have
been identified as a goal in the context of a number of ongoing space projects
in order to assess the risk posed by environmental radiation and dust and
qualify the adopted instrumentation with respect to possible damage or
performance degradation. In this paper we focus on tests for the Silicon Drift
Detectors (SDDs) used aboard the LOFT space mission. We use the Van de Graaff
accelerators at the University of T\"ubingen and at the Max Planck Institute
for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) in Heidelberg, for soft proton and hyper-velocity
dust tests respectively. We present the experimental set-up adopted to perform
the tests, status of the activities and some very preliminary results achieved
at present time.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 8443, Paper No. 8443-24, 201
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