On the mass of the neutron star in V395 Car/2S 0921-630

We report high-resolution optical spectroscopy of the low-mass X-ray binary V395 Car/2S 0921-630 obtained with the MIKE echelle spectrograph on the Magellan-Clay telescope. Our spectra are obtained near superior conjunction of the mass donor star and we exploit the absorption lines originating from the back-side of the K-type object to accurately derive its rotational velocity. Using K0-K1 III templates, we find vsini=32.9 +/- 0.8 km/s. We show that the choice of template star and the assumed limb darkening coefficient has little impact on the derived rotational velocity. This value is a significant revision downwards compared to previously published values. We derive new system parameter constraints in the light of our much lower rotational velocity. We find M_1=1.44 +/- 0.10 Msun, M_2=0.35 +/- 0.03 Msun, and q=0.24 +/- 0.02 where the errors have been estimated through a Monte-Carlo simulation. A possible remaining systematic effect is the fact that we may be over-estimating the orbital velocity of the mass donor due to irradiation effects. However, any correction for this effect will only reduce the compact object mass further, down to a minimum mass of M_1=1.05 +/- 0.08 Msun. There is thus strong evidence that the compact object in this binary is a neutron star of rather typical mass and that the previously reported mass values of 2-4Msun were too high due to an over-estimate of the rotational broadening.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Detection of X-ray line emission from the shell of SNR B0540-69.3 with XMM-Newton RGS

We present X-ray observations of PSR 0540-69.3 with the XMM-Newton observatory. The spectra obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer reveal, for the first time, emission from ionized species of O, Ne and Fe originating from the SNR shell. Analysis of the emission line spectrum allows us to derive estimates of the temperature, ionization timescale, abundances, location, and velocity of the emitting gas.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, letters (XMM issue

Biochemical studies on marine zooplankton the amino acid composition of some local species.

Further analyses of the amino acid composition of protein hydrolysates of Neomysis integer has confirmed the importance of glutamic, aspartic, lysine, leucine and arginine (in that descending order) in both ovigerous females and less mature animals. Mesopodopsis slabberi closely resembles Neomysis in its amino acid composition. Sagitta setosa shows considerable similarity to the mysids in its protein amino, acids but alanine replaces leucine in importance. There is a somewhat larger concentration of glycine ( ~ 7%) and of histidine(~ 5%) among the less important amino acids. Despite the low level of protein in Pleurobrachia pileus, the pattern of amino acids shows considerable resemblance to the other planktonic species but glycine occurs in greater concentration than leucine or arginin

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509: testing realistic comptonization models

Mrk 509 was observed by XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL in October/November 2009, with one observation every four days for a total of ten observations. Each observation has been fitted with a realistic thermal Comptonization model for the continuum emission. Prompted by the correlation between the UV and soft X-ray flux, we used a thermal Comptonization component for the soft X-ray excess. The UV to X-ray/gamma-ray emission of Mrk 509 can be well fitted by these components, pointing to the existence of a hot (kT ∼ 100 keV), optically-thin (τ ∼ 0.5) corona producing the primary continuum. In contrast, the soft X-ray component requires a warm (kT ∼ 1 keV), optically-thick (τ ∼ 10-20) plasma. Estimates of the amplification ratio for this warm plasma support a configuration relatively close to the “theoretical” configuration of a slab corona above a passive disk. This plasma could be the warm upper layer of the accretion disk. In contrast, the hot corona has a more photon-starved geometry. The high temperature (∼ 100 eV) of the soft-photon field entering and cooling it favors a localization of the hot corona in the inner flow. This soft-photon field could be part of the comptonized emission produced by the warm plasma

The massive neutron star or low-mass black hole in 2S0921-630

We report on optical spectroscopy of the eclipsing Halo LMXB 2S0921-630, that reveals the absorption line radial velocity curve of the K0III secondary star with a semi-amplitude K_2=92.89 +/- 3.84 km/s, a systemic velocity $\gamma$=34.9 +/- 3.3 \kms and an orbital period P_orb of 9.0035 +/- 0.0029 day (1-sigma). Given the quality of the data, we find no evidence for the effects of X-ray irradiation. Using the previously determined rotational broadening of the mass donor, and applying conservative limits on the orbital inclination, we constrain the compact object mass to be 2.0-4.3 Msolar (1-sigma), ruling out a canonical neutron star at the 99% level. Since the nature of the compact object is unclear, this mass range implies that the compact object is either a low-mass black hole with a mass slightly higher than the maximum neutron star mass (2.9 Msolar) or a massive neutron star. If the compact object is a black hole, it confirms the prediction of the existence of low-mass black holes, while if the object is a massive neutron star its high mass severely constrains the equation of state of nuclear matter.Comment: Accepted by ApJ

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509. V. Chandra-LETGS observation of the ionized absorber

We present here the results of a 180 ks Chandra-LETGS observation as part of a large multi-wavelength campaign on Mrk 509. We study the warm absorber in Mrk 509 and use the data from a simultaneous HST-COS observation in order to assess whether the gas responsible for the UV and X-ray absorption are the same. We analyzed the LETGS X-ray spectrum of Mrk 509 using the SPEX fitting package. We detect several absorption features originating in the ionized absorber of the source, along with resolved emission lines and radiative recombination continua. The absorption features belong to ions with, at least, three distinct ionization degrees. The lowest ionized component is slightly redshifted (v = +73 km/s) and is not in pressure equilibrium with the others, and therefore it is not likely part of the outflow, possibly belonging to the interstellar medium of the host galaxy. The other components are outflowing at velocities of -196 and -455 km/s, respectively. The source was observed simultaneously with HST-COS, finding 13 UV kinematic components. At least three of them can be kinematically associated with the observed X-ray components. Based on the HST-COS results and a previous FUSE observation, we find evidence that the UV absorbing gas might be co-located with the X-ray absorbing gas and belong to the same structure.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 9 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509 XV. A global modeling of the broad emission lines in the Optical, UV and X-ray bands

We model the broad emission lines present in the optical, UV and X-ray spectra of Mrk 509, a bright type 1 Seyfert galaxy. The broad lines were simultaneously observed during a large multiwavelength campaign, using the XMM-Newton-OM for the optical lines, HST-COS for the UV lines and XMM-Newton-RGS and Epic for the X-ray lines respectively. We also used FUSE archival data for the broad lines observed in the far-ultra-violet. The goal is to find a physical connection among the lines measured at different wavelengths and determine the size and the distance from the central source of the emitting gas components. We used the "Locally optimally emission Cloud" (LOC) model which interprets the emissivity of the broad line region (BLR) as regulated by powerlaw distributions of both gas density and distances from the central source. We find that one LOC component cannot model all the lines simultaneously. In particular, we find that the X-ray and UV lines likely may originate in the more internal part of the AGN, at radii in the range ~5x10^{14}-3x10^{17} cm, while the optical lines and part of the UV lines may likely be originating further out, at radii ~3x10^{17}-3x^{18} cm. These two gas components are parametrized by a radial distribution of the luminosities with a slope gamma of ~1.15 and ~1.10, respectively, both of them covering at least 60% of the source. This simple parameterization points to a structured broad line region, with the higher ionized emission coming from closer in, while the emission of the low-ionization lines is more concentrated in the outskirts of the broad line region.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509 XII. Broad band spectral analysis

(Abridged) The simultaneous UV to X-rays/gamma rays data obtained during the multi-wavelength XMM/INTEGRAL campaign on the Seyfert 1 Mrk 509 are used in this paper and tested against physically motivated broad band models. Each observation has been fitted with a realistic thermal comptonisation model for the continuum emission. Prompted by the correlation between the UV and soft X-ray flux, we use a thermal comptonisation component for the soft X-ray excess. The UV to X-rays/gamma-rays emission of Mrk 509 can be well fitted by these components. The presence of a relatively hard high-energy spectrum points to the existence of a hot (kT~100 keV), optically-thin (tau~0.5) corona producing the primary continuum. On the contrary, the soft X-ray component requires a warm (kT~1 keV), optically-thick (tau~15) plasma. Estimates of the amplification ratio for this warm plasma support a configuration close to the "theoretical" configuration of a slab corona above a passive disk. An interesting consequence is the weak luminosity-dependence of its emission, a possible explanation of the roughly constant spectral shape of the soft X-ray excess seen in AGNs. The temperature (~ 3 eV) and flux of the soft-photon field entering and cooling the warm plasma suggests that it covers the accretion disk down to a transition radius $R_{tr}$ of 10-20 $R_g$. This plasma could be the warm upper layer of the accretion disk. On the contrary the hot corona has a more photon-starved geometry. The high temperature ($\sim$ 100 eV) of the soft-photon field entering and cooling it favors a localization of the hot corona in the inner flow. This soft-photon field could be part of the comptonised emission produced by the warm plasma. In this framework, the change in the geometry (i.e. $R_{tr}$) could explain most of the observed flux and spectral variability.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509. VI. HST/COS observations of the far-ultraviolet spectrum

We present medium resolution (R~20,000) HST/COS ultraviolet spectra covering 1155-1760 A of the Seyfert 1 Mrk 509 obtained simultaneously with a Chandra/LETGS spectrum as part of a multiwavelength campaign in 2009 that included observations with XMM-Newton, SWIFT, and Integral. Our high S/N spectrum detects additional complexity in the absorption troughs from a variety of sources in Mrk 509, including the outflow from the active nucleus, the ISM and halo of the host galaxy, and infalling clouds or stripped gas from a merger that are illuminated by the AGN. Variability between the STIS and COS observation of the -400 km/s component allows us to set an upper limit on its distance of < 250 pc. Similarly, variability of a component at +150 km/s between two prior FUSE observations limits its distance to < 1.5 kpc. The UV absorption only partially covers the emission from the AGN nucleus. Covering fractions are lower than those previously seen with STIS, and are comparable to those seen with FUSE. Given the larger apertures of COS and FUSE compared to STIS, we favor scattered light from an extended region near the AGN as the explanation for the partial covering. As observed in prior X-ray and UV spectra, the UV absorption has velocities comparable to the X-ray absorption, but the bulk of the ultraviolet absorption is in a lower ionization state with lower total column density than the gas responsible for the X-ray absorption. We conclude that the outflow from the active nucleus is a multiphase wind.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 26 May 201