Astronomy & Astrophysics Bepposax
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The Cosmic X-Ray Background
The Cosmic X-Ray Background Steven M. Kahn Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology Stanford University 1 Outline of Lectures Lecture I: * Historical Introduction and General Characteristics of the CXB. * Contributions from Discrete Source Classes * Spectral Paradoxes Lecture II: * The CXB and Large Scale Structure * The Galactic Contributions to the CXB * The CXB and the Cosmic Web 2 I. Historical Introduction and General Characteristics of the CXB. 3 Historical Introduction * The “birth” of the field of X-ray astronomy is usually associated with the flight of a particular rocket experiment in 1962 that yielded the detection of the first non-solar cosmic X-ray source: Scorpius X-1. (Giacconi et al. 1962) * That same rocket experiment also yielded the discovery of an apparent diffuse component of X-radiation, the Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB). (N.B. This was well in advance of the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background by Pensias and Wilson!) * In the ensuing 40 some odd years, our understanding of the X-ray Universe has progressed considerably. X-rays have now been detected from virtually all classes of astronomical systems, ranging from normal stars to the most distant galaxies. * Nevertheless, the precise origin of the CXB remains puzzling. This has been one of the great mysteries of high energy astrophysics! 4 Historical Introduction 5 Historical Introduction * “The diffuse character of the observed background radiation does not permit a positive determination of its nature and origin. However, the apparent absorption coefficient in mica and the altitude dependence is consistent with radiation of about the same wavelength responsible for the peak. -
Chandra Was Launched Aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999!!! Crew Lost During Re-Entry Modern X-Ray Telescopes and Detectors
Chandra was launched aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999!!! Crew Lost During Re-Entry Modern X-ray Telescopes and Detectors •X-ray Telescopes •X-ray Instruments •Some early highlights •Observations •Data characteristics •Calibration •Analysis X-ray Telescope: The advantages • Achieve 2-D imaging – Separate sources – Study morphology of extended sources – Simultaneously measure both source and local background • Reduce the background Æ increase the source 1/2 detection sensitivity: S/N ~ Fs t/(Fst+ ASbt) –t –exposure time –Fs – source count flux –A –source detection area –Sb – background surface brightness: Detector + sky background • Facilitate high-resolution dispersive spectrometers X-ray Telescope: Focusing mechanism External reflection at small grazing angles - an analogy of skipping stones on water •Snell’s law: sinφr=sinφi/n, where the index of refraction n=1-δ+iβ • External reflection occurs with sinφr > 1 Æ 1/2 The critical grazing angle θ = π/2- φi ~ (2δ) 1/2 (δ ∝ ne /E << 1) Focusing mechanism (cont.) • The critical angle (effective collecting area) decreases with increasing photon energy • High Z materials allow for reflecting high energy photon with the same grazing angle X-ray Telescope: Hans Wolter Configuraions • A Paraboloid gives a perfect image for on-axis rays. But it gives a coma blur of equivalent image size proportional to the off-axis angle. • Wolter showed that two reflections were needed to eliminate the coma. • A Paraboloid-Hyperboloid combination proves to be the most useful in X-ray astronomy. X-ray Telescopes • First used to observe the Solar corona • Then transferred to general astronomy with HEAO-2 (Einstein Observatory), launched in 1978: – imaged X-rays in 0.5-4.0 keV. -
Nustar Observatory Guide
NuSTAR Guest Observer Program NuSTAR Observatory Guide Version 3.2 (June 2016) NuSTAR Science Operations Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt, MD nustar.caltech.edu heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/nustar/index.html i Revision History Revision Date Editor Comments D1,2,3 2014-08-01 NuSTAR SOC Initial draft 1.0 2014-08-15 NuSTAR GOF Release for AO-1 Addition of more information about CZT 2.0 2014-10-30 NuSTAR SOC detectors in section 3. 3.0 2015-09-24 NuSTAR SOC Update to section 4 for release of AO-2 Update for NuSTARDAS v1.6.0 release 3.1 2016-05-10 NuSTAR SOC (nusplitsc, Section 5) 3.2 2016-06-15 NuSTAR SOC Adjustment to section 9 ii Table of Contents Revision History ......................................................................................................................................................... ii 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 NuSTAR Program Organization ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 2. The NuSTAR observatory .................................................................................................................................... 2 2.1 NuSTAR Performance ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ -
Highlights and Discoveries from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory1
Highlights and Discoveries from the Chandra X-ray Observatory1 H Tananbaum1, M C Weisskopf2, W Tucker1, B Wilkes1 and P Edmonds1 1Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. 2 NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, ZP12, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805. Abstract. Within 40 years of the detection of the first extrasolar X-ray source in 1962, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has achieved an increase in sensitivity of 10 orders of magnitude, comparable to the gain in going from naked-eye observations to the most powerful optical telescopes over the past 400 years. Chandra is unique in its capabilities for producing sub-arcsecond X-ray images with 100-200 eV energy resolution for energies in the range 0.08<E<10 keV, locating X-ray sources to high precision, detecting extremely faint sources, and obtaining high resolution spectra of selected cosmic phenomena. The extended Chandra mission provides a long observing baseline with stable and well-calibrated instruments, enabling temporal studies over time-scales from milliseconds to years. In this report we present a selection of highlights that illustrate how observations using Chandra, sometimes alone, but often in conjunction with other telescopes, have deepened, and in some instances revolutionized, our understanding of topics as diverse as protoplanetary nebulae; massive stars; supernova explosions; pulsar wind nebulae; the superfluid interior of neutron stars; accretion flows around black holes; the growth of supermassive black holes and their role in the regulation of star formation and growth of galaxies; impacts of collisions, mergers, and feedback on growth and evolution of groups and clusters of galaxies; and properties of dark matter and dark energy. -
Software Error Doomed Japanese Hitomi Spacecraft!
Software error doomed Japanese Hitomi spacecraft! ! Space agency declares the astronomy satellite a loss.! ! Japan’s flagship Hitomi astronomical satellite, which launched successfully on 17 February but tumbled out of control five weeks later, may have been doomed by a basic engineering error. Confused about how it was oriented in space and trying to stop itself from spinning, Hitomi's software apparently fired a thruster jet in the wrong direction — accelerating rather than slowing the craft's rotation.! ! http://www.nature.com/news/software-error-doomed-japanese-hitomi- spacecraft-1.19835! 1! Gamma-Ray Bursts- Longair 22.7! • Are bright flashes of γ-rays- for a short period of time (<100 sec )! • fluxes of ~0.1-100 photon/cm2/sec/keV emitted primarily in the 20-500 keV band.! – Distribution is isotropic on the sky! • Because of these properties it took ~30 years from their discovery (1967) to their identification! – They are at very large distances (z up to 8 (!)) with apparent luminosities of 3x1054 erg/sec! – Rate is ~10-7/yr/galaxy ! • What are they??- short timescales imply compact object ; what could the 2 33 energy reservoir be- Mc implies M~10 gms~ Msun if total conversion of mass into energy How does all this energy end up as γ-rays ?! – Location of long γRBs is in and near star forming regions in smallish galaxies- associated with star formation! – a few γRBs have been associated with a type Ic supernova! 2! 3! Gamma-Ray Bursts ! • Cosmic γ-ray bursts (GRBs) were first reported in 1973 by Klebesadel et al (l973) but were first seen -
16Th HEAD Meeting Session Table of Contents
16th HEAD Meeting Sun Valley, Idaho – August, 2017 Meeting Abstracts Session Table of Contents 99 – Public Talk - Revealing the Hidden, High Energy Sun, 204 – Mid-Career Prize Talk - X-ray Winds from Black Rachel Osten Holes, Jon Miller 100 – Solar/Stellar Compact I 205 – ISM & Galaxies 101 – AGN in Dwarf Galaxies 206 – First Results from NICER: X-ray Astrophysics from 102 – High-Energy and Multiwavelength Polarimetry: the International Space Station Current Status and New Frontiers 300 – Black Holes Across the Mass Spectrum 103 – Missions & Instruments Poster Session 301 – The Future of Spectral-Timing of Compact Objects 104 – First Results from NICER: X-ray Astrophysics from 302 – Synergies with the Millihertz Gravitational Wave the International Space Station Poster Session Universe 105 – Galaxy Clusters and Cosmology Poster Session 303 – Dissertation Prize Talk - Stellar Death by Black 106 – AGN Poster Session Hole: How Tidal Disruption Events Unveil the High 107 – ISM & Galaxies Poster Session Energy Universe, Eric Coughlin 108 – Stellar Compact Poster Session 304 – Missions & Instruments 109 – Black Holes, Neutron Stars and ULX Sources Poster 305 – SNR/GRB/Gravitational Waves Session 306 – Cosmic Ray Feedback: From Supernova Remnants 110 – Supernovae and Particle Acceleration Poster Session to Galaxy Clusters 111 – Electromagnetic & Gravitational Transients Poster 307 – Diagnosing Astrophysics of Collisional Plasmas - A Session Joint HEAD/LAD Session 112 – Physics of Hot Plasmas Poster Session 400 – Solar/Stellar Compact II 113 -
Pos(MULTIF15)001 the Impact of Space Exper- (Giovannelli & Sabau-Graziati, 2004) † ∗ [email protected] [email protected] Speaker
Multifrequency Astrophysics: An Updated Review PoS(MULTIF15)001 Franco Giovannelli∗† INAF - Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100, 00133 Roma, Italy E-mail: [email protected] Lola Sabau-Graziati INTA- Dpt. Cargas Utiles y Ciencias del Espacio, C/ra de Ajalvir, Km 4 - E28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain E-mail: [email protected] In this paper – a short updated version of our review paper about "The impact of space exper- iments on our knowledge of the physics of the Universe (Giovannelli & Sabau-Graziati, 2004) (GSG2004) and subsequent updating (Giovannelli & Sabau-Graziati, 2012a, 2014a) – we will briefly discuss old and new results obtained in astrophysics, that marked substantially the re- search in this field. Thanks to the results, chosen by us following our knowledge and feelings, we will go along different stages of the evolution of our Universe discussing briefly several examples of results that are the pillars carrying the Bridge between the Big Bang and Biology. We will remark the importance of the joint venture of ‘active physics experiments’ and ‘passive physics experiments’ ground– and space–based either big either small in size that, with their results, are directed towards the knowledge of the physics of our universe. New generation exper- iments open up new prospects for improving our knowledge of the aforementioned main pillars. XI Multifrequency Behaviour of High Energy Cosmic Sources Workshop 25-30 May 2015 Palermo, Italy ∗Speaker. †A footnote may follow. ⃝c Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). -
Eyes for Gamma Rays” Though the Major Peaks Suggest a Periodic- Whether These Are Truly Gamma-Ray Bursts for a Description of This System)
sion of regularity and slow evolution in the They suggested that examination of the Vela exe-atmospheric nuclear detonation. Surpris- universe persisted into the 1960s. data might disclose evidence of bursts of ingly, however, the survey soon revealed that The feeling that transient cosmic events gamma rays at times close to the appearance the gamma-ray instruments on widely sepa- were rare was certainly prevalent in 1959 of supernovae. Such searches were con- rated satellites had sometimes responded when summit meetings were being held be- ducted; however, no distinctive signals were almost identically. Some of these events were tween England, the United States, and found. attributable to solar flare activity. However, Russia to discuss a nuclear test-ban treaty. On the other hand, there was evidence of one particularly distinctive event was dis- One key issue was the ability to detect treaty variability that had been ignored. For exam- covered for which a solar origin seemed violations unambiguously. A leading ple, the earliest x-ray data from small rocket inconsistent. Fortunately, the characteristics proposal for the detection of exo-at- probes and from satellites were often found of this event did not at all resemble those of a mospheric nuclear explosions was the use of to disagree significantly. The quality of the nuclear detonation, and thus the event did satellites with instruments that included de- data, rather than actual variations in the not create concern of a possible test-ban tectors sensitive to the gamma rays emitted sources, was suspected as the reason for treaty violation. by the explosion as well as those emitted these discrepancies. -
Alerts from High-Energy Observatories (From Space)
ALERTS FROM HIGH-ENERGY OBSERVATORIES (FROM SPACE) DIEGO GÖTZ CEA SACLAY - IRFU/DÉPARTEMENT D’ASTROPHYSIQUE THE CONTEXT H. Ashkar talk Ashkar H. Diego Götz - High Energy Alerts from Space — TS2020 - 25/09/2019 WIDE FIELD HARD X-RAY IMAGING • Above 10 keV it is very difficult to perform direct imaging with mirrors (the maximum energy is proportional to the focal length) • Coded mask (indirect) imaging is a solution (INTEGRAL/IBIS and SPI, BeppoSAX/WFC, Swift/BAT, GRANAT/SIGMA, etc.) often coupled to pixellated CdTe detectors • Each pixel records background and possibly source(s) photons • Image deconvolution techniques are required to reconstruct the sky • Wide field of view → all-sky monitoring of the transient sky, optimal for Gamma-Ray Burst searches (BAT on board Swift or IBIS on board INTEGRAL) • State of the art PSF ~ 12 arc min @ 100 keV • It is difficult to image diffuse sources, and its sensitivity limited (mCrab) due to the high background • Can be used up to a few MeV (SPI on board INTEGRAL) • Diego Götz - High Energy Alerts from Space — TS2020 - 25/09/2019 SWIFT RESULTS Localization of SGRBs The light curve zoo Ultra-long GRBs • Many, many other results, e.g. high-z GRBs, long GRBs without SN, low-z with SN • Swift has observed over 1000 GRBs and is still finding exceptional objects Diego Götz - High Energy Alerts from Space — TS2020 - 25/09/2019 SWIFT EVOLUTION (COURTESY P. O’BRIEN) Early on: all GRBs followed until too faint Ever increasing no. of TOO requests Now: GRBs followed usually for only for 1-3 days (NuStar coordinated in green) Much more time now spent on GI/TOOs Diego Götz - High Energy Alerts from Space — TS2020 - 25/09/2019 SWIFT & MULTI-MESSENGER ALERTS (COURTESY P. -
X-Ray Broad-Band Study of the Symbiotic X-Ray Binary 4U 1954+ 31
Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. (will be inserted by hand later) X–ray broad-band study of the symbiotic X–ray binary 4U 1954+31 N. Masetti1, E. Rigon2, E. Maiorano1,3, G. Cusumano4, E. Palazzi1, M. Orlandini1, L. Amati1 and F. Frontera1,3 1 INAF – Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Bologna, Via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy (formerly IASF/CNR, Bologna) 2 Dipartimento di Fisica, Universit`adi Bologna, Via Irnerio 48, I-40126 Bologna, Italy 3 Dipartimento di Fisica, Universit`adi Ferrara, via Saragat 1, I-44100 Ferrara, Italy 4 INAF – Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, I-90146 Palermo, Italy (formerly IASF/CNR, Palermo) Received 6 October 2006; Accepted 14 November 2006 Abstract. We present results of several pointed X–ray broad band observations of the ‘symbiotic X–ray binary’ 4U 1954+31 performed with the satellites BeppoSAX, EXOSAT, ROSAT, RXTE and Swift between October 1983 and April 2006. We also studied the RXTE ASM data over a period of more than 10 years, from January 1996 to October 2006. Light curves of all pointed observations show an erratic behaviour with sudden increases in the source emission on timescales variable from hundreds to thousands of seconds. There are no indications of changes in the source spectral hardness, with the possible exception of the RXTE pointed observation. Timing analysis does not reveal the presence of coherent pulsations or periodicities either in the pointed observations in the range from 2 ms to 2000 s or in the long-term RXTE ASM light curve on timescales from days to years. -
The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope
The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope Peter W. A. Roming*a, Thomas E. Kennedyb, Keith O. Masonb, John A. Nouseka, Lindy Ahrc, Richard E. Binghamd, Patrick S. Broosa, Mary J. Carterb, Barry K. Hancockb, Howard E. Huckleb, S. D. Hunsbergera, Hajime Kawakamib, Ronnie Killoughc, T. Scott Kocha, Michael K. McLellandc, Kelly Smithc, Philip J. Smithb, Juan Carlos Soto†e, Patricia T. Boydf, Alice A. Breeveldb, Stephen T. Hollandf, Mariya Ivanushkinaa, Michael S. Pryzbyg, Martin D. Stillf, Joseph Stockg aDepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA bMullard Space Sciences Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK cSouthwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Rd, San Antonio, TX 78228, USA dOptical Science Laboratory, University College London, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT, UK eStarsys Research Corporation, 4909 Nautilus Court N., Boulder, CO 80301, USA fNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 660.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA gSwales Aerospace, 5050 Powder Mill Rd, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA ABSTRACT The UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT) is one of three instruments flying aboard the Swift Gamma-ray Observatory. It is designed to capture the early (~1 minute) UV and optical photons from the afterglow of gamma-ray bursts in the 170-600 nm band as well as long term observations of these afterglows. This is accomplished through the use of UV and optical broadband filters and grisms. The UVOT has a modified Ritchey-Chrétien design with micro-channel plate intensified charged-coupled device detectors that record the arrival time of individual photons and provide sub- arcsecond positioning of sources. -
THE INTERPLANETARY NETWORK SUPPLEMENT to the Bepposax GAMMA-RAY BURST CATALOGS
THE INTERPLANETARY NETWORK SUPPLEMENT TO THE BeppoSAX GAMMA-RAY BURST CATALOGS The MIT Faculty has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Citation Hurley, K., C. Guidorzi, F. Frontera, E. Montanari, F. Rossi, M. Feroci, E. Mazets, et al. “ THE INTERPLANETARY NETWORK SUPPLEMENT TO THE BeppoSAX GAMMA-RAY BURST CATALOGS .” The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 191, no. 1 (November 1, 2010): 179–184. © 2010 The American Astronomical Society. As Published http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/191/1/179 Publisher IOP Publishing Version Final published version Citable link http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96021 Terms of Use Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 191:179–184, 2010 November doi:10.1088/0067-0049/191/1/179 C 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. THE INTERPLANETARY NETWORK SUPPLEMENT TO THE BeppoSAX GAMMA-RAY BURST CATALOGS K. Hurley1, C. Guidorzi2, F. Frontera2,3, E. Montanari2,15, F. Rossi2, M. Feroci4, E. Mazets5, S. Golenetskii5, D. D. Frederiks5,V.D.Pal’shin5, R. L. Aptekar5,T.Cline6,16, J. Trombka6, T. McClanahan6, R. Starr6, J.-L. Atteia7, C. Barraud7,A.Pelangeon´ 7,M.Boer¨ 8, R. Vanderspek9, G. Ricker9, I. G. Mitrofanov10, D. V. Golovin10, A. S. Kozyrev10, M. L. Litvak10,A.B.Sanin10, W. Boynton11, C. Fellows11, K. Harshman11, J. Goldsten12,R.Gold12, D.