145 research outputs found
NLS1s and Sy1s: A comparison of ionized X-ray absorber properties
The first results from a systematic study of warm absorbers in NLS1s using
BeppoSAX public archive data are presented here. We confirm ASCA results
showing that a warm absorber, as modeled by two oxygen K-shell absorption
edges, is less frequent in NLS1s than in broad line (BL) Sy1s (about 20 per
cent versus about 50 per cent). However, our study suggests that the ionization
state of NLS1s is not lower than that of BLS1s, as opposed to the ASCA-based
results. The soft excess temperatures of our sample, when fitted with blackbody
emission models, lie within a small range of values (about 0.02-0.15 keV in the
rest frame) with no marked dependence on source luminosity. This is in
agreement with ASCA-based findings for NLS1s and early results from IUE-ROSAT
BL Sy1 observations.Comment: Contributed talk presented at the Joint MPE,AIP,ESO workshop on
NLS1s, Bad Honnef, Dec. 1999, to appear in New Astronomy Reviews; also
available at http://wave.xray.mpe.mpg.de/conferences/nls1-worksho
Importance of Health Policy and Systems Research for Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems: A Call to Action to Accelerate Progress
INTEGRAL hard X-ray spectra of the cosmic X-ray background and Galactic ridge emission
We derive the spectra of the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) and of the
Galactic ridge X-ray emission (GRXE) in the ~20-200 keV range from the data of
the IBIS instrument aboard the INTEGRAL satellite obtained during the four
dedicated Earth-occultation observations of early 2006. We analyse the
modulation of the IBIS/ISGRI detector counts induced by the passage of the
Earth through the field of view of the instrument. Unlike previous studies, we
do not fix the spectral shape of the various contributions, but model instead
their spatial distribution and derive for each of them the expected modulation
of the detector counts. The spectra of the diffuse emission components are
obtained by fitting the normalizations of the model lightcurves to the observed
modulation in different energy bins. The obtained CXB spectrum is consistent
with the historic HEAO-1 results and falls slightly below the spectrum derived
with Swift/BAT. A 10% higher normalization of the CXB cannot be completely
excluded, but it would imply an unrealistically high albedo of the Earth. The
derived spectrum of the GRXE confirms the presence of a minimum around 80 keV
with improved statistics and yields an estimate of ~0.6 M_Sun for the average
mass of white dwarfs in the Galaxy. The analysis also provides updated
normalizations for the spectra of the Earth's albedo and the cosmic-ray induced
atmospheric emission.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, minor changes to text, A&A in pres
A Compton reflection dominated spectrum in a peculiar accreting neutron star
We report on a puzzling event occurred during a long BeppoSAX observation of
the slow-rotating binary pulsar GX 1+4. During this event, lasting about 1 day,
the source X-ray flux was over a factor 10 lower than normal. The low-energy
pulsations disappeared while at higher energies they were shifted in phase. The
spectrum taken outside this low-intensity event was well fitted by an absorbed
cut-off power law, and exhibited a broad iron line at ~6.5 keV probably due to
the blending of the neutral (6.4 keV) and ionised (6.7 keV) K_alpha iron lines.
The spectrum during the event was Compton reflection dominated and it showed
two narrow iron lines at ~6.4 keV and ~7.0 keV, the latter never revealed
before in this source. We also present a possible model for this event in which
a variation of the accretion rate thickens a torus-like accretion disc which
hides for a while the direct neutron star emission from our line of sight. In
this scenario the Compton reflected emission observed during the event is well
explained in terms of emission reflected by the side of the torus facing our
line of sight.Comment: 10 pages; to be published in MNRA
Rehabilitation medicine summit: building research capacity Executive Summary
The general objective of the "Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity" was to advance and promote research in medical rehabilitation by making recommendations to expand research capacity. The five elements of research capacity that guided the discussions were: 1) researchers; 2) research culture, environment, and infrastructure; 3) funding; 4) partnerships; and 5) metrics. The 100 participants included representatives of professional organizations, consumer groups, academic departments, researchers, governmental funding agencies, and the private sector. The small group discussions and plenary sessions generated an array of problems, possible solutions, and recommended actions. A post-Summit, multi-organizational initiative is called to pursue the agendas outlined in this report (see Additional File 1)
Broadband Observations of the Afterglow of GRB 000926: Observing the Effect of Inverse Compton Scattering and Evidence for a High-Density Environment
GRB 000926 has one of the best-studied afterglows to-date, with multiple
X-ray observations, as well as extensive multi-frequency optical and radio
coverage. Broadband afterglow observations, spanning from X-ray to radio
frequencies, provide a probe of the density structure of the circumburst
medium, as well as of the ejecta energetics, geometry, and the physical
parameters of the relativistic blastwave resulting from the explosion. We
present an analysis of {\em Chandra X-ray Observatory} observations of this
event, along with {\em Hubble Space Telescope} and radio monitoring. We combine
these data with ground-based optical and IR observations and fit the
synthesized afterglow lightcurve using models where collimated ejecta expand
into a surrounding medium. We find that we can explain the broadband lightcurve
with reasonable physical parameters only if the cooling is dominated by inverse
Compton scattering. Excess X-ray emission in the broadband spectrum indicates
that we are directly observing a contribution from inverse Compton scattering.
It is the first time this has been observed in a GRB afterglow, and it implies
that the GRB exploded in a reasonably dense (n~30 cm^{-3}) medium, consistent
with a diffuse interstellar cloud environment.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Neutrino astronomy with the MACRO detector
High energy gamma ray astronomy is now a well established field and several
sources have been discovered in the region from a few GeV up to several TeV. If
sources involving hadronic processes exist, the production of photons would be
accompanied by neutrinos too. Other possible neutrino sources could be related
to the annihilation of WIMPs at the center of galaxies with black holes.
We present the results of a search for point-like sources using 1100
upward-going muons produced by neutrino interactions in the rock below and
inside the MACRO detector in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory. These data
show no evidence for a possible neutrino point-like source or for possible
correlations between gamma ray bursts and neutrinos. They have been used to set
flux upper limits for candidate point-like sources which are in the range
10^-14-10^-15 cm-2 s-1.Comment: 37 pages, 15 figures, replacement due to a typo in tab. 6, AASLaTex,
submitted to Ap
Search for Astrophysical Neutrino Point Sources at Super-Kamiokande
It has been hypothesized that large fluxes of neutrinos may be created in
astrophysical "cosmic accelerators." The primary background for a search for
astrophysical neutrinos comes from atmospheric neutrinos, which do not exhibit
the pointlike directional clustering that characterizes a distant astrophysical
signal. We perform a search for neutrino point sources using the upward-going
muon data from three phases of operation (SK-I, SK-II, and SK-III) spanning
2623 days of live time taken from April 1, 1996 to August 11, 2007. The search
looks for signals from suspected galactic and extragalactic sources, transient
sources, and unexpected sources. We find interesting signatures from two
objects--RX J1713.7-3946 (97.5% CL) and GRB 991004D (95.3% CL)--but the
signatures lack compelling statistical significance given trial factors. We set
limits on the flux and fluence of neutrino point sources above energies of 1.6
GeV
Broadband observations of the afterglow of GRB 000926: Observing the effect of inverse Compton scattering
GRB 000926 has one of the best-studied afterglows to date, with multiple X-ray observations, as well as extensive multifrequency optical and radio coverage. Broadband afterglow observations, spanning from X-ray to radio frequencies, provide a probe of the density structure of the circumburst medium, as well as of the ejecta energetics, geometry, and physical parameters of the relativistic blast wave resulting from the explosion. We present an analysis of Chandra X-Ray Observatory observations of this event, along with Hubble Space Telescope and radio monitoring data. We combine these data with ground-based optical and IR observations and fit the synthesized afterglow light curve using models where collimated ejecta expand into a surrounding medium. We find that we can explain the broadband light curve with reasonable physical parameters if the cooling is dominated by inverse Compton scattering. For this model, an excess due to inverse Compton scattering appears above the best-fit synchrotron spectrum in the X-ray band. No previous bursts have exhibited this component, and its observation would imply that the GRB exploded in a moderately dense (n ⌠30 cm-3) medium, consistent with a diffuse interstellar cloud environment
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