The XMM-Newton Slew view of IGRJ17361-4441: a transient in the globular cluster NGC 6388

IGRJ17361-4441 is a hard transient recently observed by the INTEGRAL satellite. The source, close to the center of gravity of the globular cluster NGC 6388, quickly became the target of follow-up observations conducted by the Chandra, Swift/XRT and RXTE observatories. Here, we concentrate in particular on a set of observations conducted by the XMM-Newton satellite during two slews, in order to get the spectral information of the source and search for spectral variations. The spectral parameters determined by the recent XMM-Newton slew observations were compared to the previously known results. The maximum unabsorbed $X$-ray flux in the 0.5-10 keV band as detected by the XMM-Newton slew observations is $\simeq 4.5\times 10^{-11}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, i.e. consistent with that observed by the Swift/XRT satellite 15 days earlier. The spectrum seems to be marginally consistent ($\Gamma\simeq 0.93-1.63$) with that derived from the previous high energy observation.Comment: Accepted for publication on New Astronomy, 2012. A sentence about the globular cluster 47 Tuc was partially rewritten to avoid confusio

Calcium-Rich Gap Transients: Tidal Detonations of White Dwarfs?

We hypothesize that at least some of the recently discovered class of calcium-rich gap transients are tidal detonation events of white dwarfs (WDs) by black holes (BHs) or possibly neutron stars. We show that the properties of the calcium-rich gap transients agree well with the predictions of the tidal detonation model. Under the predictions of this model, we use a follow-up X-ray observation of one of these transients, SN 2012hn, to place weak upper limits on the detonator mass of this system that include all intermediate-mass BHs (IMBHs). As these transients are preferentially in the stellar haloes of galaxies, we discuss the possibility that these transients are tidal detonations of WDs caused by random flyby encounters with IMBHs in dwarf galaxies or globular clusters. This possibility has been already suggested in the literature but without connection to the calcium-rich gap transients. In order for the random flyby cross-section to be high enough, these events would have to be occurring inside these dense stellar associations. However, there is a lack of evidence for IMBHs in these systems, and recent observations have ruled out all but the very faintest dwarf galaxies and globular clusters for a few of these transients. Another possibility is that these are tidal detonations caused by three-body interactions, where a WD is perturbed toward the detonator in isolated multiple star systems. We highlight a number of ways this could occur, even in lower-mass systems with stellar-mass BHs or neutron stars. Finally, we outline several new observational tests of this scenario, which are feasible with current instrumentation.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in MNRA

Four new black hole candidates identified in M31 globular clusters with Chandra and XMM-Newton

We have identified four new black hole candidates in M31 globular clusters using 123 Chandra, and 4 XMM-Newton observations of the M31 central region. The X-ray source associated with Bo 163 (XB163) is a recurrent transient, with the highest luminosity ~1.4E+38 erg/s, considerably brighter than any outbursts from the neutron star transients Aql X-1 or 4U 1608-452; the outburst apparently started ~45 days earlier than the observed peak, hence the luminosity could have been considerably higher. We identified XB082, XB153 and XB185 as BHCs by observing "low state" emission spectra at luminosities that exceed the threshold for neutron star binaries. The probability that these are neutron star systems with anisotropic emission beamed toward us is <4E-4, and their variability suggests emission from a single source. We therefore conclude that these systems likely contain black holes rather than neutron stars. We have now identified 4 persistently bright BHCs in the region; the probability that these are all background AGN is <1E-20. According to theory, the donors could be tidally captured main sequence stars, or white dwarves in ultra-compact binaries. We find that GCs that are particularly massive (XB082) or metal rich (XB144) can host bright X-ray sources in addition to those that are both (XB163). Our method may reveal BHCs in other bright X-ray sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 17 pages, 5 figure

Tools and Procedures for the CTA Array Calibration

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international initiative to build the next generation ground-based very-high-energy gamma-ray observatory. Full sky coverage will be assured by two arrays, one located on each of the northern and southern hemispheres. Three different sizes of telescopes will cover a wide energy range from tens of GeV up to hundreds of TeV. These telescopes, of which prototypes are currently under construction or completion, will have different mirror sizes and fields-of-view designed to access different energy regimes. Additionally, there will be groups of telescopes with different optics system, camera and electronics design. Given this diversity of instruments, an overall coherent calibration of the full array is a challenging task. Moreover, the CTA requirements on calibration accuracy are much more stringent than those achieved with current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes, like for instance: the systematic errors in the energy scale must not exceed 10%.In this contribution we present both the methods that, applied directly to the acquired observational CTA data, will ensure that the calibration is correctly performed to the stringent required precision, and the calibration equipment that, external to the telescopes, is currently under development and testing. Moreover, some notes about the operative procedure to be followed with both methods and instruments, will be described. The methods applied to the observational CTA data include the analysis of muon ring images, of carefully selected cosmic-ray air shower images, of the reconstructed electron spectrum and that of known gamma-ray sources and the possible use of stereo techniques hardware-independent. These methods will be complemented with the use of calibrated light sources located on ground or on board unmanned aerial vehicles.Comment: All CTA contributions at arXiv:1709.0348

From Supermassive Black Holes to Dwarf Elliptical Nuclei: a Mass Continuum

Considerable evidence suggests that supermassive black holes reside at the centers of massive galactic bulges. At a lower galactic mass range, many dwarf galaxies contain extremely compact nuclei that structurally resemble massive globular clusters. We show that both these types of central massive objects (CMO's) define a single unbroken relation between CMO mass and the luminosity of their host galaxy spheroid. Equivalently, M_CMO is directly proportional to the host spheroid mass over 4 orders of magnitude. We note that this result has been simultaneously and independently identified by Cote et al. (2006), see also Ferrarese et al. (2006). We therefore suggest that the dE,N nuclei may be the low-mass analogs of supermassive black holes, and that these two types of CMO's may have both developed starting from similar initial formation processes. The overlap mass interval between the two types of CMO's is small, and suggests that for M_CMO > 10^7 M_sun, the formation of a black hole was strongly favored, perhaps because the initial gas infall to the center was too rapid and violent for star formation to occur efficiently.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ApJ

Multiwavelength Observations of Swift J1753.5-0127

We present contemporaneous X-ray, ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared observations of the black hole binary system, Swift J1753.5-0127, acquired in 2012 October. The UV observations, obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, are the first UV spectra of this system. The dereddened UV spectrum is characterized by a smooth, blue continuum and broad emission lines of CIV and HeII. The system was stable in the UV to <10% during our observations. We estimated the interstellar reddening by fitting the 2175 A absorption feature and fit the interstellar absorption profile of Ly$\alpha$ to directly measure the neutral hydrogen column density along the line of sight. By comparing the UV continuum flux to steady-state thin accretion disk models, we determined upper limits on the distance to the system as a function of black hole mass. The continuum is well fit with disk models dominated by viscous heating rather than irradiation. The broadband spectral energy distribution shows the system has declined at all wavelengths since previous broadband observations in 2005 and 2007. If we assume that the UV emission is dominated by the accretion disk the inner radius of the disk must be truncated at radii above the ISCO to be consistent with the X-ray flux, requiring significant mass loss from outflows and/or energy loss via advection into the black hole to maintain energy balance.Comment: To appear in the Ap