4,036 research outputs found
Flat Spectrum X-ray Emission from the Direction of a Molecular Cloud Associated with SNR RX J1713.7-3946
We report on the discovery of a hard X-ray source with ASCA from a molecular
cloud in the vicinity of the SNR RX J1713.7-3946. The energy spectrum (1--10
keV) shows a flat continuum which is described by a power-law with photon index
1.0 +-0.4. We argue that this unusually flat spectrum can be best interpreted
in terms of characteristic bremsstrahlung emission from the
ionization-loss-flattened distribution of either sub-relativistic protons or
mildly-relativistic electrons. The strong shock of the SNR RX J1713.7-3946,
which presumably interacts with the molecular cloud, as evidenced by
observations of CO-lines, seems to be a natural site of acceleration of such
sub- or mildly-relativistic nonthermal particles. However, the observed X-ray
luminosity of 1.7 10^35 erg/s (for 6 kpc distance) requires that a huge kinetic
energy of about 10^50 erg be released in the form of nonthermal particles to
illuminate the cloud. The shock-acceleration at RX J1713.7-3946 can barely
satisfy this energetic requirement, unless (i) the source is located much
closer than 6 kpc and/or (ii) the mechanical energy of the explosion
essentially exceeds 10^51 erg. Another possibility would be that an essential
part of the "lost" energy is somehow converted to plasma waves, which return
this energy to nonthermal particles through their turbulent reacceleration on
plasma waves. Irrespective of mechanisms responsible for production of
high-energy particles, the flat X-ray emission seems to be a signature of a new
striking energetic phenomenon in molecular clouds.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in PAS
Synthesis and properties of bis(1,3-benzodithiole)-type redox systems containing a xylyl rotator unit: A new type of redox-responsive molecular rotor
A new type of redox-responsive molecular rotors (3(2+)/4) possessing a xylyl rotator unit have been designed and synthesized. Reduction of 3(2+) with zinc gave the corresponding cyclization products (4), from which dications (3 2,) were regenerated upon oxidation. Cyclic voltammetry also showed the interconversion between 3(2+) and 4. Variable-temperature (1)H NMR measurements revealed that the rotational barriers of the xylyl units in the neutral states (4) are higher than those in the dication states (3(2+)).ArticleHETEROCYCLES. 74: 251-257 (2007)journal articl
Chandra observations of the HII complex G5.89-0.39 and TeV gamma-ray source HESSJ1800-240B
We present the results of our investigation, using a Chandra X-ray
observation, into the stellar population of the massive star formation region
G5.89-0.39, and its potential connection to the coincident TeV gamma-ray source
HESSJ1800-240B. G5.89-0.39 comprises two separate HII regions G5.89-0.39A and
G5.89-0.39B (an ultra-compact HII region). We identified 159 individual X-ray
point sources in our observation using the source detection algorithm
\texttt{wavdetect}. 35 X-ray sources are associated with the HII complex
G5.89-0.39. The 35 X-ray sources represent an average unabsorbed luminosity
(0.3-10\,keV) of \,erg/s, typical of B7-B5 type stars. The
potential ionising source of G5.89-0.39B known as Feldt's star is possibly
identified in our observation with an unabsorbed X-ray luminosity suggestive of
a B7-B5 star. The stacked energy spectra of these sources is well-fitted with a
single thermal plasma APEC model with kT5\,keV, and column density
N\,cm (A). The residual
(source-subtracted) X-ray emission towards G5.89-0.39A and B is about 30\% and
25\% larger than their respective stacked source luminosities. Assuming this
residual emission is from unresolved stellar sources, the total
B-type-equivalent stellar content in G5.89-0.39A and B would be 75 stars,
consistent with an earlier estimate of the total stellar mass of hot stars in
G5.89-0.39. We have also looked at the variability of the 35 X-ray sources in
G5.89-0.39. Ten of these sources are flagged as being variable. Further studies
are needed to determine the exact causes of the variability, however the
variability could point towards pre-main sequence stars. Such a stellar
population could provide sufficient kinetic energy to account for a part of the
GeV to TeV gamma-ray emission in the source HESSJ1800-240B.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figure
Fermi-LAT Detection of a Break in the Gamma-Ray Spectrum of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
We report on observations of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A in the energy
range from 100 MeV to 100 GeV using 44 months of observations from the Large
Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We perform a
detailed spectral analysis of this source and report on a low-energy break in
the spectrum at GeV. By comparing the results with
models for the gamma-ray emission, we find that hadronic emission is preferred
for the GeV energy range.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, to be published in Ap
Nonthermal X-radiation of SNR RX J1713.7-3946: The Relations to a Nearby Molecular Cloud
The recent X-ray and CO observations of RX J1713.7-3946 show that a
significant fraction of the nonthermal X-ray emission of this unique supernova
remnant associates, in one way or another, with a molecular cloud interacting
with the west part of the shell. This adds a new puzzle in the origin of X-ray
emission which cannot be easily explained within the standard model in
accordance of which X-rays are result of synchrotron radiation of multi-TeV
electrons accelerated by supernova shock waves. We explore an alternative
origin of the X-ray emission assuming that it is produced by secondary
electrons resulting from high energy hadronic interactions in the molecular
gas. Such a scenario could explain in a quite natural way the apparent
correlation between the X-ray and CO morphologies. However, the TeV gamma-ray
emission recently reported by H.E.S.S. significantly constrains the parameter
space of this model. Namely, this mechanism cannot reproduce the bulk of the
observed X-ray flux unless one postulates existence of a PeV cosmic-ray
component penetrating with an unusually hard spectrum into the dense cloud.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Proc. of Int. Symp. on High Energy
Gamma-ray Astronomy, Heidelberg (July 2004
Force measurements of a superconducting-film actuator for a cryogenic interferometric gravitational-wave detector
We measured forces applied by an actuator with a YBCO film at near 77 K for
the Large-scale Cryogenic Gravitational-wave Telescope (LCGT) project. An
actuator consisting of both a YBCO film of 1.6 micrometers thickness and 0.81
square centimeters area and a solenoid coil exerted a force of up to 0.2 mN on
a test mass. The presented actuator system can be used to displace the mirror
of LCGT for fringe lock of the interferometer.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Fine-structure in the nonthermal X-ray emission of SNR RX J1713.7-3946 revealed by Chandra
We present morphological and spectroscopic studies of the northwest rim of
the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 based on observations by the Chandra
X-ray observatory. We found a complex network of nonthermal (synchrotron) X-ray
filaments, as well as a 'void' type structure -- a dim region of a circular
shape -- in the northwest rim. It is remarkable that despite distinct
brightness variations, the X-ray spectra everywhere in this region can be well
fitted with a power-law model with photon index around 2.3. We briefly discuss
some implications of these results and argue that the resolved X-ray features
in the northwest rim may challenge the perceptions of standard (diffusive
shock-acceleration) models concerning the production, propagation and radiation
of relativistic particles in supernova remnants.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures; accepted for publication in A&A; significant
additions for publication in Main journal (previous version was for A&A
Letter); a manuscript (as a single PDF file, 501kb) including all figures is
available at http://www.astro.isas.ac.jp/~uchiyama/publication/h4106.pd
- …