Silicon ISM X-ray absorption: the gaseous component

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (1) ◽  
pp. L20-L24
Author(s):  
E Gatuzz ◽  
T W Gorczyca ◽  
M F Hasoglu ◽  
N S Schulz ◽  
L Corrales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Physical State ◽  
Ionic Species ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Gaseous Component ◽  
Absorber Material ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
X Ray Absorption ◽  
X Ray Binaries

ABSTRACT We present a detailed analysis of the gaseous component of the Si K edge using high-resolution Chandra spectra of low-mass X-ray binaries. We fit the spectra with a modified version of the ISMabs model, including new photoabsorption cross-sections computed for all Si ionic species. We estimate column densities for Si i, Si ii, Si iii, Si xii, and Si xiii, which trace the warm, intermediate temperature, and hot phases of the Galactic interstellar medium. We find that the ionic fractions of the first two phases are similar. This may be due to the physical state of the plasma determined by the temperature or due to the presence of absorber material in the close vicinity of the sources. Our findings highlight the need for accurate modelling of the gaseous component before attempting to address the solid component.

scholarly journals Theory of Accretion Disk Coronae

1990 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 187-196
Author(s):  
T. R. Kallman
Keyword(s):  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Accretion Disk ◽  
Cataclysmic Variables ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Spectral Signatures ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Absorption ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
Theoretical Issues

AbstractAccretion disk coronae are likely to be the dominant site for X-ray absorption and reprocessed emission in low mass X-ray binaries, and may be present in other classes of compact X-ray sources such as active galactic nuclei and cataclysmic variables. In spite of this fact, and in spite of the observational evidence for their existence, there remain many uncertainties about the structure of accretion disk coronae. This paper will discuss the coronal structure and dynamics, their X-ray spectral signatures including coupling to the variability behavior of compact X-ray sources, and the major unsolved theoretical issues surrounding them.

Iron K-Line Emission from X-Ray Binaries

1988 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 47-50
Author(s):  
K. Masai ◽  
S. Hayakawa ◽  
F. Nagase
Keyword(s):  
Accretion Disk ◽  
Radiative Recombination ◽  
Characteristic Temperature ◽  
Line Emission ◽  
Ionization Front ◽  
Continuum Radiation ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries

AbstractEmission mechanisms of the iron Kα-lines in X-ray binaries are discussed in relation with the characteristic temperature Txof continuum radiation thereof. The 6.7 keV line is ascribed to radiative recombination followed by cascades in a corona of ∼ 100 eV formed above the accretion disk. This mechanism is attained for Tx≲ 10 keV as observed for low mass X-ray binaries. The 6.4 keV line observed for binary X-ray pulsars with Tx> 10 keV is likely due to fluorescence outside the He II ionization front.

SIGMAL: A Program for Calculating L-Shell lonization Cross-Sections

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 198-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.F. Egerton
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Fortran Program ◽  
Absorption Data ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Atomic Electrons ◽  
Energy Dependent ◽  
Hydrogenic Model ◽  
Electron Energy Loss ◽  
X Ray Absorption ◽  
Shell Ionization

SIGMAL is a short (∼ 100-line) Fortran program designed to rapidly compute cross-sections for L-shell ionization, particularly the partial crosssections required in quantitative electron energy-loss microanalysis. The program is based on a hydrogenic model, the L1 and L23 subshells being represented by scaled Coulombic wave functions, which allows the generalized oscillator strength (GOS) to be expressed analytically. In this basic form, the model predicts too large a cross-section at energies near to the ionization edge (see Fig. 1), due mainly to the fact that the screening effect of the atomic electrons is assumed constant over the L-shell region. This can be remedied by applying an energy-dependent correction to the GOS or to the effective nuclear charge, resulting in much closer agreement with experimental X-ray absorption data and with more sophisticated calculations (see Fig. 1 ).

scholarly journals QPOs in compact binaries from small scale eruptions in an inner magnetized disk

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Scepi ◽  
Mitchell C Begelman ◽  
Jason Dexter
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Heating ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Type B ◽  
Periodic Oscillations ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Compact Binaries ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
Standard Disk

Abstract Dwarf novæ (DNe) and low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are compact binaries showing variability on time scales from years to less than seconds. Here, we focus on explaining part of the rapid fluctuations in DNe, following the framework of recent studies on the monthly eruptions of DNe that use a hybrid disk composed of an outer standard disk and an inner magnetized disk. We show that the ionization instability, that is responsible for the monthly eruptions of DNe, is also able to operate in the inner magnetized disk. Given the low density and the fast accretion time scale of the inner magnetized disk, the ionization instability generates small, rapid heating and cooling fronts propagating back and forth in the inner disk. This leads to quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with a period of the order of 1000 s. A strong prediction of our model is that these QPOs can only develop in quiescence or at the beginning/end of an outburst. We propose that these rapid fluctuations might explain a subclass of already observed QPOs in DNe as well as a, still to observe, subclass of QPOs in LMXBs. We also extrapolate to the possibility that the radiation pressure instability might be related to Type B QPOs in LMXBs.

scholarly journals Drifts of the marginally stable burning frequency in the X-ray binaries 4U 1608–52 and Aql X–1

2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (2) ◽  
pp. 1856-1863
Author(s):  
G C Mancuso ◽  
D Altamirano ◽  
M Méndez ◽  
M Lyu ◽  
J A Combi
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Drift ◽  
Soft Or ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Intermediate States ◽  
Source State ◽  
Nuclear Burning ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
Stable Burning

ABSTRACT We detect millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations (mHz QPOs) using the Rossi X-ray Time Explorer (RXTE) from the atoll neutron-star (NS) low-mass X-ray binaries 4U 1608–52 and Aql X–1. From the analysis of all RXTE observations of 4U 1608–52 and Aql X–1, we find mHz QPOs with a significance level >3σ in 49 and 47 observations, respectively. The QPO frequency is constrained between ∼4.2 and 13.4 mHz. These types of mHz QPOs have been interpreted as being the result of marginally stable nuclear burning of He on the NS surface. We also report the discovery of a downward frequency drift in three observations of 4U 1608–52, making it the third source that shows this behaviour. We only find strong evidence of frequency drift in one occasion in Aql X–1, probably because the observations were too short to measure a significant drift. Finally, the mHz QPOs are mainly detected when both sources are in the soft or intermediate states; the cases that show frequency drift only occur when the sources are in intermediate states. Our results are consistent with the phenomenology observed for the NS systems 4U 1636–53 and EXO 0748–676, suggesting that all four sources can reach the conditions for marginally stable burning of He on the NS surface. These conditions depend on the source state in the same manner in all four systems.

scholarly journals Search for intermittent X-ray pulsations from neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunus Emre Bahar ◽  
Manoneeta Chakraborty ◽  
Ersin Göğüş
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Stars ◽  
Orbital Period ◽  
Oscillation Frequency ◽  
Orbital Motion ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Corrected Data ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries

Abstract We present the results of our extensive binary orbital motion corrected pulsation search for 13 low-mass X-ray binaries. These selected sources exhibit burst oscillations in X-rays with frequencies ranging from 45 to 1 122 Hz and have a binary orbital period varying from 2.1 to 18.9 h. We first determined episodes that contain weak pulsations around the burst oscillation frequency by searching all archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer data of these sources. Then, we applied Doppler corrections to these pulsation episodes to discard the smearing effect of the binary orbital motion and searched for recovered pulsations at the second stage. Here we report 75 pulsation episodes that contain weak but coherent pulsations around the burst oscillation frequency. Furthermore, we report eight new episodes that show relatively strong pulsations in the binary orbital motion corrected data.

4U 1608–52 as a quasi-persistent X-ray source

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vojtěch Šimon
Keyword(s):  
Accretion Disk ◽  
Time Segment ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Band Emission ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Soft State ◽  
Cyclic Variations ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
Disk Region

Abstract 4U 1608–52 is a soft X-ray transient. The analysis presented here of a particular part of its X-ray activity uses observations of RXTE/ASM and Swift/BAT. We show a time segment (MJD 54262–MJD 55090) (828 d) in which 4U 1608–52 behaved as a quasi-persistent X-ray source with a series of bumps, with a complicated relation between the evolution of fluxes in the soft (1.5–12 keV) and the hard (15–50 keV) X-ray regions. We ascribe these bumps to a series of propagations of heating and cooling fronts over the inner disk region without any transitions to the true quiescence. 4U 1608–52 oscillated around the boundary between the dominance of the Comptonized component and the dominance of the multicolor accretion disk in its luminosity. Only some of the bumps in this series were accompanied by a transition from the hard to the soft state; if it occurred, it displayed a strong hysteresis effect. The hard-band emission with the dominant Comptonized component was present for most of this active state and showed a cycle of about 40 d. We argue that the cyclic variations of flux come from the inner disk region, not, e.g., from a jet. We also discuss the observed behavior of 4U 1608–52 in the context of other quasi-persistent low-mass X-ray binaries.

scholarly journals A Machine Learning Approach For Classifying Low-mass X-ray Binaries Based On Their Compact Object Nature

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Pattnaik ◽  
K Sharma ◽  
K Alabarta ◽  
D Altamirano ◽  
M Chakraborty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Neutron Star ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Compact Object ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Average Accuracy ◽  
Machine Learning Approach ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries

Abstract Low Mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are binary systems where one of the components is either a black hole or a neutron star and the other is a less massive star. It is challenging to unambiguously determine whether a LMXB hosts a black hole or a neutron star. In the last few decades, multiple observational works have tried, with different levels of success, to address this problem. In this paper, we explore the use of machine learning to tackle this observational challenge. We train a random forest classifier to identify the type of compact object using the energy spectrum in the energy range 5-25 keV obtained from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer archive. We report an average accuracy of 87±13% in classifying the spectra of LMXB sources. We further use the trained model for predicting the classes for LMXB systems with unknown or ambiguous classification. With the ever-increasing volume of astronomical data in the X-ray domain from present and upcoming missions (e.g., SWIFT, XMM-Newton, XARM, ATHENA, NICER), such methods can be extremely useful for faster and robust classification of X-ray sources and can also be deployed as part of the data reduction pipeline.

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