100 research outputs found
Narrow absorption features in the co-added XMM-Newton RGS spectra of isolated Neutron Stars
We co-added the available XMM-Newton RGS spectra for each of the isolated
X-ray pulsars RX\,J0720.43125, RX\,J1308.6+2127 (RBS\,1223),
RX\,J1605.3+3249 and RX\,J1856.43754 (four members of the "Magnificent
Seven") and the "Three Musketeers" Geminga, PSR\,B0656+14 and PSR\,B1055-52. We
confirm the detection of a narrow absorption feature at 0.57 keV in the
co-added RGS spectra of RX\,J0720.43125 and RX\,J1605.3+3249 (including most
recent observations). In addition we found similar absorption features in the
spectra of RX\,J1308.6+2127 (at 0.53 keV) and maybe PSR\,B1055-52 (at 0.56
keV). The absorption feature in the spectra of RX\,J1308.6+2127 is broader than
the feature e.g. in RX\,J0720.43125. The narrow absorption features are
detected with 2 to 5.6 significance. Although very bright and
frequently observed, there are no absorption features visible in the spectra of
RX\,J1856.43754 and PSR\,B0656+14, while the co-added XMM-Newton RGS
spectrum of Geminga has not enough counts to detect such a feature. We discuss
a possible origin of these absorption features as lines caused by the presence
of highly ionised oxygen (in particular OVII and/or OVI at 0.57 keV) in the
interstellar medium and absorption in the neutron star atmosphere, namely the
absorption features at 0.57 keV as gravitational redshifted (=1.17)
OVIII.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures and 10 tables. Accepted for publication by MNRAS
(Sep 12th, 2011
The continued spectral evolution of the neutron star RX J0720.4-3125
We observed the isolated neutron star RX J720.4-3125 with Chandra's Low
Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer, following the XMM-Newton discovery of
long term spectral evolution of this source. The new observation shows that the
spectrum of RX J720.4-3125 has continued to change in the course of 5 months.
It has remained hard, similar to the last XMM-Newton observation, but the
strong depression observed with XMM-Newton at long wavelengths has disappeared.
Contrary to the XMM-Newton observations, the new Chandra observation shows that
the flux increase at short wavelengths and the decrease at long wavelengths do
not necessarily occur simultaneously.Comment: To be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Contains 4
pages with 3 figures, including 1 color figur
On the Putative Detection of z>0 X-ray Absorption Features in the Spectrum of Markarian 421
In a series of papers, Nicastro et al. have reported the detection of z>0
OVII absorption features in the spectrum of Mrk421 obtained with the Chandra
Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS). We evaluate this result
in the context of a high quality spectrum of the same source obtained with the
Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) on XMM-Newton. The data comprise over
955ks of usable exposure time and more than 26000 counts per 50 milliAngstrom
at 21.6 Angstroms. We concentrate on the spectrally clean region (21.3 < lambda
< 22.5 Angstroms) where sharp features due to the astrophysically abundant OVII
may reveal an intervening, warm--hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). We do not
confirm detection of any of the intervening systems claimed to date. Rather, we
detect only three unsurprising, astrophysically expected features down to the
Log(N_i)~14.6 (3 sigma) sensitivity level. Each of the two purported WHIM
features is rejected with a statistical confidence that exceeds that reported
for its initial detection. While we can not rule out the existence of fainter,
WHIM related features in these spectra, we suggest that previous discovery
claims were premature. A more recent paper by Williams et al. claims to have
demonstrated that the RGS data we analyze here do not have the resolution or
statistical quality required to confirm or deny the LETGS detections. We show
that our careful analysis resolves the issues encountered by Williams et al.
and recovers the full resolution and statistical quality of the RGS data. We
highlight the differences between our analysis and those published by Williams
et al. as this may explain our disparate conclusions.Comment: 19 pages/7 figures/4 tables. 060424 submitted to ApJ 060522
re-submitted following ApJ reques
Accretion and outflow of gas in Markarian 509
A major uncertainty in models for photoionised outflows in AGN is the
distance of the gas to the central black hole. We present the results of a
massive multiwavelength monitoring campaign on the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk
509 to constrain the location of the outflow components dominating the soft
X-ray band.
Mrk 509 was monitored by XMM-Newton, Integral, Chandra, HST/COS and Swift in
2009. We have studied the response of the photoionised gas to the changes in
the ionising flux produced by the central regions. We were able to put tight
constraints on the variability of the absorbers from day to year time scales.
This allowed us to develop a model for the time-dependent photoionisation in
this source.
We find that the more highly ionised gas producing most X-ray line opacity is
at least 5 pc away from the core; upper limits to the distance of various
absorbing components range between 20 pc up to a few kpc. The more lowly
ionised gas producing most UV line opacity is at least 100 pc away from the
nucleus.
These results point to an origin of the dominant, slow (v<1000 km/s) outflow
components in the NLR or torus-region of Mrk 509. We find that while the
kinetic luminosity of the outflow is small, the mass carried away is likely
larger than the 0.5 Solar mass per year accreting onto the black hole.
We also determined the chemical composition of the outflow as well as
valuable constraints on the different emission regions. We find for instance
that the resolved component of the Fe-K line originates from a region 40-1000
gravitational radii from the black hole, and that the soft excess is produced
by Comptonisation in a warm (0.2-1 keV), optically thick (tau~10-20) corona
near the inner part of the disk.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of IAUS 290 "Feeding Compact Objects:
Accretion on All Scales", C. M. Zhang, T. Belloni, M. Mendez & S. N. Zhang
(eds.
Development of frequency domain multiplexing for the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) on the Athena
We are developing the frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) read-out of
transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters for the X-ray Integral Field
Unit (X-IFU) instrument on board of the future European X-Ray observatory
Athena. The X-IFU instrument consists of an array of 3840 TESs with a
high quantum efficiency (90 \%) and spectral resolution =2.5 eV
7 keV (2800). FDM is currently the baseline readout system
for the X-IFU instrument. Using high quality factor LC filters and room
temperature electronics developed at SRON and low-noise two stage SQUID
amplifiers provided by VTT, we have recently demonstrated good performance with
the FDM readout of Mo/Au TES calorimeters with Au/Bi absorbers. An integrated
noise equivalent power resolution of about 2.0 eV at 1.7 MHz has been
demonstrated with a pixel from a new TES array from NASA/Goddard (GSFC-A2). We
have achieved X-ray energy resolutions 2.5 eV at AC bias frequency at 1.7
MHz in the single pixel read-out. We have also demonstrated for the first time
an X-ray energy resolution around 3.0 eV in a 6 pixel FDM read-out with TES
array (GSFC-A1). In this paper we report on the single pixel performance of
these microcalorimeters under MHz AC bias, and further results of the
performance of these pixels under FDM.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical
Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Ultraviolet to
Gamma Ray
Accretion and outflow of gas in Markarian 509
A major uncertainty in models for photoionised outflows in AGN is the distance of the gas to the central black hole. We present the results of a massive multiwavelength monitoring campaign on the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 to constrain the location of the outflow components dominating the soft X-ray band. Mrk 509 was monitored by XMM-Newton, Integral, Chandra, HST/COS and Swift in 2009. We have studied the response of the photoionised gas to the changes in the ionising flux produced by the central regions. We were able to put tight constraints on the variability of the absorbers from day to year time scales. This allowed us to develop a model for the time-dependent photoionisation in this source. We find that the more highly ionised gas producing most X-ray line opacity is at least 5 pc away from the core; upper limits to the distance of various absorbing components range between 20 pc up to a few kpc. The more lowly ionised gas producing most UV line opacity is at least 100 pc away from the nucleus. These results point to an origin of the dominant, slow (v<1000 km s−1) outflow components in the NLR or torus-region of Mrk 509. We find that while the kinetic luminosity of the outflow is small, the mass carried away is likely larger than the 0.5 Solar mass per year accreting onto the black hole. We also determined the chemical composition of the outflow as well as valuable constraints on the different emission regions. We find for instance that the resolved component of the Fe-K line originates from a region 40-1000 gravitational radii from the black hole, and that the soft excess is produced by Comptonisation in a warm (0.2-1 keV), optically thick (τ~ 10-20) corona near the inner part of the dis
Rapid exome sequencing as a first-tier test in neonates with suspected genetic disorder:results of a prospective multicenter clinical utility study in the Netherlands
The introduction of rapid exome sequencing (rES) for critically ill neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit has made it possible to impact clinical decision-making. Unbiased prospective studies to quantify the impact of rES over routine genetic testing are, however, scarce. We performed a clinical utility study to compare rES to conventional genetic diagnostic workup for critically ill neonates with suspected genetic disorders. In a multicenter prospective parallel cohort study involving five Dutch NICUs, we performed rES in parallel to routine genetic testing for 60 neonates with a suspected genetic disorder and monitored diagnostic yield and the time to diagnosis. To assess the economic impact of rES, healthcare resource use was collected for all neonates. rES detected more conclusive genetic diagnoses than routine genetic testing (20% vs. 10%, respectively), in a significantly shorter time to diagnosis (15 days (95% CI 10–20) vs. 59 days (95% CI 23–98, p < 0.001)). Moreover, rES reduced genetic diagnostic costs by 1.5% (€85 per neonate). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the clinical utility of rES for critically ill neonates based on increased diagnostic yield, shorter time to diagnosis, and net healthcare savings. Our observations warrant the widespread implementation of rES as first-tier genetic test in critically ill neonates with disorders of suspected genetic origin.What is Known:• Rapid exome sequencing (rES) enables diagnosing rare genetic disorders in a fast and reliable manner, but retrospective studies with neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) indicated that genetic disorders are likely underdiagnosed as rES is not routinely used.• Scenario modeling for implementation of rES for neonates with presumed genetic disorders indicated an expected increase in costs associated with genetic testing.What is New:• This unique prospective national clinical utility study of rES in a NICU setting shows that rES obtained more and faster diagnoses than conventional genetic tests.• Implementation of rES as replacement for all other genetic tests does not increase healthcare costs but in fact leads to a reduction in healthcare costs.</p
The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory
The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly
successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical
Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy
universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range,
from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution,
high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral
resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in
the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers
covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing
hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12
keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and
a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the
40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral
resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science
themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical
Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to
Gamma Ray
Life-prolonging treatment restrictions and outcomes in patients with cancer and COVID-19:an update from the Dutch Oncology COVID-19 Consortium
AIM OF THE STUDY: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly impacted cancer care. In this study, clinical patient characteristics related to COVID-19 outcomes and advanced care planning, in terms of non-oncological treatment restrictions (e.g. do-not-resuscitate codes), were studied in patients with cancer and COVID-19. METHODS: The Dutch Oncology COVID-19 Consortium registry was launched in March 2020 in 45 hospitals in the Netherlands, primarily to identify risk factors of a severe COVID-19 outcome in patients with cancer. Here, an updated analysis of the registry was performed, and treatment restrictions (e.g. do-not-intubate codes) were studied in relation to COVID-19 outcomes in patients with cancer. Oncological treatment restrictions were not taken into account. RESULTS: Between 27th March 2020 and 4th February 2021, 1360 patients with cancer and COVID-19 were registered. Follow-up data of 830 patients could be validated for this analysis. Overall, 230 of 830 (27.7%) patients died of COVID-19, and 60% of the remaining 600 patients with resolved COVID-19 were admitted to the hospital. Patients with haematological malignancies or lung cancer had a higher risk of a fatal outcome than other solid tumours. No correlation between anticancer therapies and the risk of a fatal COVID-19 outcome was found. In terms of end-of-life communication, 50% of all patients had restrictions regarding life-prolonging treatment (e.g. do-not-intubate codes). Most identified patients with treatment restrictions had risk factors associated with fatal COVID-19 outcome. CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of a negative impact of anticancer therapies on COVID-19 outcomes. Timely end-of-life communication as part of advanced care planning could save patients from prolonged suffering and decrease burden in intensive care units. Early discussion of treatment restrictions should therefore be part of routine oncological care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic
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