Suzaku Observation of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 1E 1841-045

We report the results of a Suzaku observation of the anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP) 1E 1841-045 at a center of the supernova remnant Kes 73. We confirmed that the energy-dependent spectral models obtained by the previous separate observations were also satisfied over a wide energy range from 0.4 to ~70 keV, simultaneously. Here, the models below ~10 keV were a combination of blackbody (BB) and power-law (PL) functions or of two BBs wit h different temperatures at 0.6 - 7.0 keV (Morii et al. 2003), and that above ~20 keV was a PL function (Kuiper Hermsen Mendez 2004). The combination BB + PL + PL was found to best represent the phase-averaged spectrum. Phase-resolved spectroscopy indicated the existence of two emission regions, one with a thermal and the other with a non-thermal nature. The combination BB + BB + PL was also found to represent the phase-averaged spectrum well. However, we found that this model is physically unacceptable due to an excessively large area of the emission region of the blackbody. Nonetheless, we found that the temperatures and radii of the two blackbody components showed moderate correlations in the phase-resolved spectra. The fact that the same correlations have been observed between the phase-averaged spectra of various magnetars (Nakagawa et al. 2009) suggests that a self-similar function can approximate the intrinsic energy spectra of magnetars below ~10 keV.Comment: Accepted for publication in the PAS

Relationship between protein C and antithrombin III deficiencies in sepsis without disseminated intravascular coagulation status

Sepsis 2008 / Granada, Spain / 19-22 November 200

Subaru Observations for the K-band Luminosity Distribution of Galaxies in Clusters near to 3C 324 at z∼\sim1.2

We investigate the $K$-band luminosity distribution of galaxies in the region of clusters at $z\sim1.2$ near to the radio galaxy 3C 324. The imaging data were obtained during the commissioning period of the Subaru telescope. There is a significant excess of the surface number density of the galaxies with $K =$ 17--20 mag in the region within $\sim$ 40'' from 3C 324. At this bright end, the measured luminosity distribution shows a drop, which can be represented by the exponential cut off of the Schechter-function formula; the best-fitted value of the characteristic magnitude, $K^{*}$, is $\sim 18.4\pm0.8$. This measurement follows the evolutionary trend of the $K^*$ of the rich clusters observed at an intermediate redshift, which is consistent with passive evolution models with a formation redshift z_f \gtsim 2. At K \gtsim 20 mag, however, the excess of the galaxy surface density in the region of the clusters decreases abruptly, which may imply that the luminosity function of the cluster galaxies has a negative slope at the faint end. This may imply strong luminosity segregation between the inner and outer parts of the clusters, or some deficit of faint galaxies in the cluster central region of the cluster.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

High-Resolution Near-Infrared Imaging of the Powerful Radio Galaxy 3C 324 at z = 1.21 with the Subaru Telescope

We have obtained high-resolution K'-band images of the powerful z=1.206 radio galaxy 3C 324 with the Subaru telescope under seeing conditions of 0.3--0.4 arcsec. We clearly resolved the galaxy and directly compared it to the optical images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. The host galaxy of 3C 324 is revealed to be a moderately luminous elliptical galaxy with a smooth light profile. The effective radius of the galaxy, as determined by profile fitting, is 1.3+-0.1 arcsec (1.2 kpc), which is significantly smaller than the value of 2.2 arcsec, published in Best et al. (1998, MNRAS, 292, 758). The peak of the K'-band light coincides with the position of the radio core, which implies that the powerful AGN lies at the nucleus of the host galaxy. The peak also coincides with the gap in the optical knotty structures which may be a dust lane hiding the UV-optical emission of the AGN from our line of sight; it is very likely that we are seeing the obscuring structure almost edge-on. We clearly detected the `aligned component' in the K'-band image by subtracting a model elliptical galaxy from the observed image. The red R_F702W-K color of the outer region of the galaxy avoiding the aligned component indicates that the near infrared light of the host galaxy is dominated by an old stellar population.Comment: 21 pages (10 figures), accepted for publication in PAS

A Spectral Study of the Black Hole Candidate XTE J1752-223 in the High/Soft State with MAXI, Suzaku and Swift

We report on the X-ray spectral analysis of the black hole candidate XTE\ J1752--223 in the 2009--2010 outburst, utilizing data obtained with the MAXI/Gas Slit Camera (GSC), the Swift/XRT, and Suzaku, which work complementarily. As already reported by Nakahira et al. (2010) MAXI monitored the source continuously throughout the entire outburst for about eight months. All the MAXI/GSC energy spectra in the high/soft state lasting for 2 months are well represented by a multi-color disk plus power-law model. The innermost disk temperature changed from $\sim$0.7 keV to $\sim$0.4 keV and the disk flux decreased by an order of magnitude. Nevertheless, the innermost radius is constant at $\sim$41 $D_{3.5}(\cos{\it i})^{-1/2}$ km, where $D_{3.5}$ is the source distance in units of 3.5 kpc and $i$ the inclination. The multi-color disk parameters obtained with the MAXI/GSC are consistent with those with the Swift/XRT and Suzaku. The Suzaku data also suggests a possibility that the disk emission is slightly Comptonized, which could account for broad iron-K features reported previously. Assuming that the obtained innermost radius represents the innermost stable circular orbit for a non-rotating black hole, we estimate the mass of the black hole to be 5.51$\pm$0.28 $M_{\odot}$ $D_{3.5}(\cos{\it i})^{-1/2}$, where the correction for the stress-free inner boundary condition and color hardening factor of 1.7 are taken into account. If the inclination is less than 49$^{\circ}$ as suggested from the radio monitoring of transient jets and the soft-to-hard transition in 2010 April occurred at 1--4% of Eddignton luminosity, the fitting of the Suzaku spectra with a relativistic accretion-disk model derives constraints on the mass and the distance to be 3.1--55 $M_{\odot}$ and 2.3--22 {\rm kpc}, respectively. This confirms that the compact object in XTE J1752--223 is a black hole.Comment: 12 pages including 7 figures and 4 tables, accepted for publication in PAS

Central airway and peripheral lung structures in airway disease dominant COPD

The concept that the small airway is a primary pathological site for all COPD phenotypes has been challenged by recent findings that the disease starts from the central airways in COPD subgroups and that a smaller central airway tree increases COPD risk. This study aimed to examine whether the computed tomography (CT)-based airway disease-dominant (AD) subtype, defined using the central airway dimension, was less associated with small airway dysfunction (SAD) on CT, compared to the emphysema-dominant (ED) subtype. COPD patients were categorised into mild, AD, ED and mixed groups based on wall area per cent (WA%) of the segmental airways and low attenuation volume per cent in the Kyoto–Himeji (n=189) and Hokkaido COPD cohorts (n=93). The volume per cent of SAD regions (SAD%) was obtained by nonrigidly registering inspiratory and expiratory CT. The AD group had a lower SAD% than the ED group and similar SAD% to the mild group. The AD group had a smaller lumen size of airways proximal to the segmental airways and more frequent asthma history before age 40 years than the ED group. In multivariable analyses, while the AD and ED groups were similarly associated with greater airflow limitation, the ED, but not the AD, group was associated with greater SAD%, whereas the AD, but not the ED, group was associated with a smaller central airway size. The CT-based AD COPD subtype might be associated with a smaller central airway tree and asthma history, but not with peripheral lung pathologies including small airway disease, unlike the ED subtype