Chandra Finds Ghosts Of Eruption In Galaxy Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

gas. "Ghost cavities may be the vessels that transport magnetic fields generated in a disk surrounding a giant black hole to the cluster gas that is spread over a region a billion times larger," said McNamara. If dozens of these cavities were created over the life of the cluster, they could explain the surprisingly strong magnetic field of the multimillion-degree gas that pervades the cluster. Galaxy clusters are the largest known gravitationally bound structures in the universe. Hundreds of galaxies swarm in giant reservoirs of multimillion-degree gas that radiates most of its energy in X-rays. Over the course of billions of years some of the gas should cool and sink toward a galaxy in the center of the cluster where it could trigger an outburst in the vicinity of the central massive black hole. Chandra observed Abell 2597 on July 28, 2000,for 40,000 seconds with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) instrument. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and MIT developed the instrument for NASA. In addition to a group of astronomers from the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, the team included: Paul Nulsen, University of Wollagong, Australia; Larry David, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.; Chris Carilli, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, N.M.; and Craig Sarazin, University of Virginia. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

M Stars in the TW Hydra Association: A Chandra Large Program Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Punzi, Kristina; Kastner, Joel; Principe, David; Stelzer, Beate; Gorti, Uma; Pascucci, Illaria; Argiroffi, Costanza

2018-01-01

We have conducted a Cycle 18 Chandra Large Program survey of very cool members of the $\\sim$ 8 Myr-old TW Hydra Association (TWA) to extend our previous study of the potential connections between M star disks and X-rays (Kastner et al. 2016, AJ, 152, 3) to the extreme low-mass end of the stellar initial mass function. The spectral types of our targets extend down to the M/L borderline. Thus we can further investigate the potential connection between the intense X-ray emission from young, low-mass stars and the lifetimes of their circumstellar planet-forming discs, as well as better constrain the age at which coronal activity declines for stellar masses approaching the H-burning limit of $\\sim$ 0.08 M$_{\\odot}$. We present preliminary results from the Cycle 18 survey, including X-ray detection statistics and measurements of relative X-ray luminosities and coronal (X-ray) temperatures for those TWA stars detected by Chandra. This research is supported by SAO/CXC grant GO7-18002A and NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis program grants NNX12AH37G and NNX16AG13G to RIT.

The End of Days -- Chandra Catches X-ray Glow From Supernova

Science.gov (United States)

1999-12-01

operations team replanned the telescope's observation activities and by Monday morning, and by Monday morning, Chandra was pointed at the supernova and observed it for about nine hours. Lewin, who had been awarded the rights to Chandra's first observation of a nearby supernova, was ecstatic. "This is a unique chance that we have been hoping for!!!!" he wrote in an e-mail to Tananbaum. "I was impressed by how rapid the Chandra response was, " said Kirshner. "Supernovae expand quickly and cool quickly, so each day we delay observing the supernova it has changed irretrievably," Filippenko said. "We caught this really early, only a day or two after the explosion. We were lucky." The Chandra observation was taken with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on November 1 and 2, and 11 and 12, 1999 in two separate observations that lasted approximately nine hours each. ACIS was built by Pennsylvania State University, University Park. and MIT. To follow Chandra's progress, visit the Chandra site at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, CA, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. This image will be available on NASA Video File which airs at noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time. NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz. High resolution digital versions of the X-ray image (JPG, 300 dpi TIFF ) and other information associated with this release are available on the Internet at: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/sn1999em/ or via links in: http://chandra.harvard.edu

Chandra Finds Oxygen and Neon Ring in Ashes of Exploded Star

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

studying these supernova remnants for decades, but now we're getting the kind of information we need to really test the theories," said Canizares. "Understanding supernovas helps us to learn about the processes that formed chemical elements like those which are found on Earth and are necessary for life," said Flanagan. Most of the oxygen in the universe, for example, is synthesized in the interiors of relatively few massive stars like the one being studied here. When they explode, they expel the newly manufactured elements which become part of the raw material for new stars and planets. The amount of oxygen in the E0102-72 ring is enough for thousands of solar systems. By measuring the expansion velocity of the ring, the team can estimate the amount of energy liberated in the explosion. The expansion energy would be enough to power the Sun for 3 billion years. The ring has more complex structure and motion than can be explained by current simplified theories, suggesting complexity in the explosion itself or in the surrounding interstellar matter. The supernova remnant also provides a laboratory for atomic physics. The observations show how the atoms in the expelled matter behave when heated to such high temperatures. The images reveal the progressive stripping of electrons from the atoms after the super-sonic shock wave has passed. The Chandra observation was taken using the HETG in conjunction with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on September 28 and October 10, 1999. ACIS was built by Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. To follow Chandra's progress or download images visit the Chandra sites at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2000/0015/index.html AND http://chandra.nasa.gov NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science

Chandra Finds X-ray Star Bonanza in the Orion Nebula

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

Penn State; Steven Pravdo at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Lynne Hillenbrand at the California Institute of Technology. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, CA, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. Other Press Room:Orion Nebula Press Release (PSU Sep 01) To follow Chandra's progress or download images visit the Chandra sites at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2000/0054/index.html AND http://chandra.nasa.gov

Chandra Sees Wealth Of Black Holes In Star-Forming Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

2001-06-01

Center, Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. Images associated with this release are available on the World Wide Web at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov

Chandra Resolves Cosmic X-ray Glow and Finds Mysterious New Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

science theme. "Since it was first observedthirty-seven years ago, understanding the source of the X-ray background has been the Holy Grail of X-ray astronomy. Now, it is within reach." Drs. Cowie and Barger are searching for the optical counterparts to the newly discovered X-ray sources with the powerful Keck telescope atop Mauna Kea in hopes of determining their distance. However, these sources are very faint optically: They show up as a dim blue smudge or not at all. Further observations with the Hubble Space Telescope or Keck will be extremely difficult, and the power of the Next Generation Space Telescope and Constellation-X may be required to fully understand these sources. Resolution of the X-ray background relied on a 27.7-hour Chandra observation using the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) in early December 1999, and also utilized data from the Japan-U.S. Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA). The Chandra team has also reproduced the ROSAT lower-energy X-ray background observation with a factor of 2-5 times the resolution and sensitivity. For images connected to this release, and to follow Chandra's progress, visit the Chandra site at: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2000/bg/index.html AND http://chandra.nasa.gov The ACIS instrument was built for NASA by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and Pennsylvania State University, University Park. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

Chandra Discovers X-ray Source at the Center of Our Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

.html AND http://chandra.nasa.gov NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

Simultaneous Chandra/Swift Observations of the RT Cru Symbiotic System

Science.gov (United States)

Kashyap, Vinay; Kennea, J. A.; Karovska, M.; Calibration, Chandra

2013-04-01

The symbiotic star RT Cru was observed simultaneously by the Chandra/HRC-I and Swift/XRT in Dec 2012. The observations were carried out as part of a program to calibrate the Chandra PSF. The Chandra light curve shows a number of brightenings by factors of 2, with strong indications of a softening of the spectrum at these times. Swift observations cover a brief part of the Chandra light curve, and the intensities over this duration are tightly correlated. The Swift spectral data confirm the anticorrelation between intensity and spectral hardness. However, there are differences in the correlations at different periods that are not understood. We report on our analysis of the data, with emphasis on the spectral modeling at different times and intensity levels, and discuss the implications of the results on the emission mechanisms on symbiotic stars. We also report our inferences on the structure and energy dependence of the Chandra PSF anomaly, and on the high-energy cross-calibration between the HRC-I and XRT. This work is supported by the NASA contract NAS8-03060 to the Chandra X-ray Center.

Chandra Independently Determines Hubble Constant

Science.gov (United States)

2006-08-01

away in 2002. The foundation was laid when team members John Carlstrom (University of Chicago) and Marshall Joy obtained careful radio measurements of the distortions in the CMB radiation using radio telescopes at the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Array and the Caltech Owens Valley Radio Observatory. In order to measure the precise X-ray properties of the gas in these distant clusters, a space-based X-ray telescope with the resolution and sensitivity of Chandra was required. "It was one of Leon's goals to see this project happen, and it makes me very proud to see this come to fruition," said Chandra Project Scientist Martin Weisskopf of MSFC. The results are described in a paper appearing in the August 10th issue of The Astrophysical Journal. MSFC manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

NASA's Chandra Finds Black Holes Are "Green"

Science.gov (United States)

2006-04-01

the cavities. "If a car was as fuel-efficient as these black holes, it could theoretically travel over a billion miles on a gallon of gas," said coauthor Christopher Reynolds of the University of Maryland, College Park. New details are given about how black hole engines achieve this extreme efficiency. Some of the gas first attracted to the black holes may be blown away by the energetic activity before it gets too near the black hole, but a significant fraction must eventually approach the event horizon where it is used with high efficiency to power the jets. The study also implies that matter flows towards the black holes at a steady rate for several million years. Chandra X-ray Images of Elliptical Galaxies Chandra X-ray Images of Elliptical Galaxies "These black holes are very efficient, but it also takes a very long time to refuel them," said Steve Allen who receives funding from the Office of Science of the Department of Energy. This new study shows that black holes are green in another important way. The energy transferred to the hot gas by the jets should keep hot gas from cooling, thereby preventing billions of new stars from forming. This will place limits on the growth of the largest galaxies, and prevent galactic sprawl from taking over the neighborhood. These results will appear in an upcoming issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Cool-core clusters with Chandra obs. (Andrade-Santos+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade-Santos, F.; Jones, C.; Forman, W. R.; Lovisari, L.; Vikhlinin, A.; van Weeren, R. J.; Murray, S. S.; Arnaud, M.; Pratt, G. W.; Democles, J.; Kraft, R.; Mazzotta, P.; Bohringer, H.; Chon, G.; Giacintucci, S.; Clarke, T. E.; Borgani, S.; David, L.; Douspis, M.; Pointecouteau, E.; Dahle, H.; Brown, S.; Aghanim, N.; Rasia, E.

2018-02-01

The main goal of this work is to compare the fraction of cool-core (CC) clusters in X-ray-selected and SZ-selected samples. The first catalog of 189 SZ clusters detected by the Planck mission was released in early 2011 (Planck Collaboration 2011, VIII/88/esz). A Chandra XVP (X-ray Visionary Program--PI: Jones) and HRC Guaranteed Time Observations (PI: Murray) combined to form the Chandra-Planck Legacy Program for Massive Clusters of Galaxies. For each of the 164 ESZ Planck clusters at z<=0.35, we obtained Chandra exposures sufficient to collect at least 10000 source counts. The X-ray sample used here is an extension of the Voevodkin & Vikhlinin (2004ApJ...601..610V) sample. This sample contains 100 clusters and has an effective redshift depth of z<0.3. All have Chandra observations. Of the 100 X-ray-selected clusters, 49 are also in the ESZ sample, and 47 are in the HIFLUGCS (Reiprich & Boehringer 2002ApJ...567..716R) catalog. (2 data files).

The First Chandra Field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weisskopf, Martin C.; /NASA, Marshall; Aldcroft, Thomas L.; /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys.; Cameron, Robert A.; /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys. /SLAC; Gandhi,; Foellmi, Cedric; /European Southern Obs., Chile; Elsner, Ronald F.; /NASA, Marshall; Patel, Sandeep K.; /USRA, Huntsville; Wu, Kinwah; /Mullard Space Sci. Lab.; O' Dell, Stephen; /NASA, Marshall

2005-09-09

Before the official first-light images, the Chandra X-ray Observatory obtained an X-ray image of the field to which its focal plane was first exposed. We describe this historic observation and report our study of the first Chandra field. Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) detected 15 X-ray sources, the brightest being dubbed ''Leon X-1'' to honor the Chandra Telescope Scientist, Leon Van Speybroeck. Based upon our analysis of the X-ray data and spectroscopy at the European Southern Observatory (ESO; La Silla, Chile), we find that Leon X-1 is a Type-1 (unobscured) active galactic nucleus (AGN) at a redshift z = 0.3207. Leon X-1 exhibits strong Fe II emission and a broad-line Balmer decrement that is unusually flat for an AGN. Within the context of the Eigenvector-1 correlation space, these properties suggest that Leon X-1 may be a massive ({ge} 10{sup 9} M{sub {circle_dot}}) black hole, accreting at a rate approaching its Eddington limit.

Chandra Discovers Cosmic Cannonball

Science.gov (United States)

2007-11-01

Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

Chandra Finds Surprising Black Hole Activity In Galaxy Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

2002-09-01

harsh treatment galaxies suffer in clusters, and are now coming out of retirement," said Martini. This could imply that galaxies are better at holding onto a supply of gas and dust than previously thought, particularly deep down at their cores near the supermassive black hole. This gas and dust may also be the same material that obscures the AGN at other wavelengths. The presence of so many AGN could also contribute to the radio and infrared radiation from the clusters, which until now was thought to be almost exclusively a product of star formation. Thus, scientists may be overestimating the amount of star formation taking place in clusters. The Carnegie group has begun a study of other galaxy clusters with Chandra. Martini and Kelson are postdoctoral researchers at the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena; Mulchaey is a staff astronomer. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

Chandra Sees Remarkable Eclipse of Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2007-04-01

Chandra X-ray Image of NGC 1365 "Thanks to this eclipse, we were able to probe much closer to the edge of this black hole than anyone has been able to before," said co-author Martin Elvis from CfA. "Material this close in will likely cross the event horizon and disappear from the universe in about a hundred years, a blink of an eye in cosmic terms." In addition to measuring the size of this disk of material, Risaliti and his colleagues were also able to estimate the location of the dense gas cloud that eclipsed the X-ray source and central black hole. The Chandra data show that this cloud is one hundredth of a light year from the black hole's event horizon, or 300 times closer than generally thought. "AGN include the brightest objects in the Universe and are powerful probes of the early universe. So, it's vital to understand their basic structure," said Risaliti. "It turns out that we still have work to do to understand these monsters." A series of six Chandra observations of NGC 1365 were made every two days over a period of two weeks in April 2006. During five of the observations, high energy X-rays from the central X-ray source were visible, but in the second one - corresponding to the eclipse - they were not. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

THE CHANDRA VARIABLE GUIDE STAR CATALOG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nichols, Joy S.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Henden, Arne A.; Huenemoerder, David P.; Martin, Eric

2010-01-01

Variable stars have been identified among the optical-wavelength light curves of guide stars used for pointing control of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We present a catalog of these variable stars along with their light curves and ancillary data. Variability was detected to a lower limit of 0.02 mag amplitude in the 4000-10000 A range using the photometrically stable Aspect Camera on board the Chandra spacecraft. The Chandra Variable Guide Star Catalog (VGUIDE) contains 827 stars, of which 586 are classified as definitely variable and 241 are identified as possibly variable. Of the 586 definite variable stars, we believe 319 are new variable star identifications. Types of variables in the catalog include eclipsing binaries, pulsating stars, and rotating stars. The variability was detected during the course of normal verification of each Chandra pointing and results from analysis of over 75,000 guide star light curves from the Chandra mission. The VGUIDE catalog represents data from only about 9 years of the Chandra mission. Future releases of VGUIDE will include newly identified variable guide stars as the mission proceeds. An important advantage of the use of space data to identify and analyze variable stars is the relatively long observations that are available. The Chandra orbit allows for observations up to 2 days in length. Also, guide stars were often used multiple times for Chandra observations, so many of the stars in the VGUIDE catalog have multiple light curves available from various times in the mission. The catalog is presented as both online data associated with this paper and as a public Web interface. Light curves with data at the instrumental time resolution of about 2 s, overplotted with the data binned at 1 ks, can be viewed on the public Web interface and downloaded for further analysis. VGUIDE is a unique project using data collected during the mission that would otherwise be ignored. The stars available for use as Chandra guide stars are

The Chandra X-ray Observatory PSF Library

Science.gov (United States)

Karovska, M.; Beikman, S. J.; Elvis, M. S.; Flanagan, J. M.; Gaetz, T.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Jerius, D.; McDowell, J. C.; Rots, A. H.

Pre-flight and on-orbit calibration of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory provided a unique base for developing detailed models of the optics and detectors. Using these models we have produced a set of simulations of the Chandra point spread function (PSF) which is available to the users via PSF library files. We describe here how the PSF models are generated and the design and content of the Chandra PSF library files.

Chandra Catches "Piranha" Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

2007-07-01

had good evidence until now," said co-author Paul Martini, also of OSU. "This can help solve a couple of mysteries about galaxy clusters." One mystery is why there are so many blue, star-forming galaxies in young, distant clusters and fewer in nearby, older clusters. AGN are believed to expel or destroy cool gas in their host galaxy through powerful eruptions from the black hole. This may stifle star formation and the blue, massive stars will then gradually die off, leaving behind only the old, redder stars. This process takes about a billion years or more to take place, so a dearth of star-forming galaxies is only noticeable for older clusters. The process that sets the temperature of the hot gas in clusters when they form is also an open question. These new results suggest that even more AGN may have been present when most clusters were forming about ten billion years ago. Early heating of a cluster by large numbers of AGN can have a significant, long-lasting effect on the structure of a cluster by "puffing up" the gas. "In a few nearby clusters we've seen evidence for huge eruptions generated by supermassive black holes. But this is sedate compared to what might be going on in younger clusters," said Eastman. These results appeared in the July 20th issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Six Years Into Its Mission, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Continues to Achieve Scientific Firsts

Science.gov (United States)

2005-08-01

facing away from Earth's space satellites. Another Chandra discovery -- gleaned from the deepest X-ray observation of any star cluster -- offered insights on Earth's survival in its infancy. Chandra s focus was the Orion Nebula, which contains at least 1,400 young stars, 30 that are prototypes of the early sun. Using Chandra, scientists learned these young stars produce violent X-ray flares much more frequently and energetically than anything seen today from our 4.6 billion-year-old sun. This implies super-flares torched our young solar system and likely affected the planet-forming disk around the early sun -- enhancing the survival chances of Earth. Space is a harsh environment with extreme temperatures, harmful radiation and none of the protection offered by Earth s atmosphere, said Chandra Program Manager Keith Hefner of the Marshall Center. "Ironically, the fact that our atmosphere absorbs harmful X-rays is the very reason for Chandra s existence. Getting outside the absorbing atmosphere of the Earth requires space-based observatories, and viewing the universe in multiple wavelengths is necessary to fully study cosmic events. Chandra s continued outstanding performance after six years of operation under such harsh conditions is evidence that it is, indeed, an engineering marvel." In its sixth year, Chandra also continued to build on its growing list of discoveries involving black holes. This included finding the most powerful eruption seen in the universe, generated by a supermassive black hole growing at a remarkable rate. The eruption -- which has lasted for 100 million years and is still going -- has generated the energy equivalent to hundreds of millions of gamma-ray bursts. This discovery illustrated the enormous appetite of large black holes, and the profound impact they have on their surroundings. Other recent discoveries include confirming the existence of weight limits for supermassive black holes, finding evidence for a swarm of black holes near the

ASA's Chandra Neon Discovery Solves Solar Paradox

Science.gov (United States)

2005-07-01

heated to millions of degrees, neon shines brightly in X-rays. Stars like the sun are covered in this super-heated gas that is betrayed by the white corona around them during solar eclipses. However, observations of the sun's corona are very difficult to analyze. Labeled Illustration of Convection in Sun-like Star Labeled Illustration of Convection in Sun-like Star To probe the neon content, Drake and his colleague Paola Testa of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., observed 21 sun-like stars within a distance of 400 light years from Earth. These local stars and the sun should contain about the same amount of neon when compared to oxygen. However, these close stellar kin were found to contain on average almost three times more neon than is believed for the sun. "Either the sun is a freak in its stellar neighborhood, or it contains a lot more neon than we think," Testa said. These Chandra results reassured astronomers the detailed physical theory behind the solar model is secure. Scientists use the model of the sun as a basis for understanding the structure and evolution of other stars, as well as many other areas of astrophysics. "If the higher neon abundance measured by Drake and Testa is right, then it is a simultaneous triumph for Chandra and for the theory of how stars shine," said John Bahcall of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. Bahcall is an expert in the field who was not involved in the Chandra study. Drake is lead author of the study published in this week's issue of the journal Nature. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Macdonald difference operators and Harish-Chandra series

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Letzter, G.; Stokman, J.V.

2008-01-01

We analyse the centralizer of the Macdonald difference operator in an appropriate algebra of Weyl group invariant difference operators. We show that it coincides with Cherednik's commuting algebra of difference operators via an analog of the Harish-Chandra isomorphism. Analogs of Harish-Chandra

Black Hole Paradox Solved By NASA's Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

2006-06-01

. Using Chandra, Miller and his team provided crucial evidence for the role of magnetic forces in the black hole accretion process. The X-ray spectrum, the number of X-rays at different energies, showed that the speed and density of the wind from J1655's disk corresponded to computer simulation predictions for magnetically-driven winds. The spectral fingerprint also ruled out the two other major competing theories to winds driven by magnetic fields. "In 1973, theorists came up with the idea that magnetic fields could drive the generation of light by gas falling onto black holes," said co-author John Raymond of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "Now, over 30 years later, we finally may have convincing evidence." Evidence for Wind in the GRO J1655-40 Spectrum Evidence for Wind in the GRO J1655-40 Spectrum This deeper understanding of how black holes accrete matter also teaches astronomers about other properties of black holes, including how they grow. "Just as a doctor wants to understand the causes of an illness and not merely the symptoms, astronomers try to understand what causes phenomena they see in the Universe," said co-author Danny Steeghs also of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "By understanding what makes material release energy as it falls onto black holes, we may also learn how matter falls onto other important objects." In addition to accretion disks around black holes, magnetic fields may play an important role in disks detected around young sun-like stars where planets are forming, as well as ultra-dense objects called neutron stars. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Venkataraman, Prof. Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Elected: 2018 Section: Earth & Planetary Sciences. Venkataraman, Prof. Chandra Ph.D. (Univ. Calif., Los Angeles), FNAE, FNASc. Date of birth: 3 June 1963. Specialization: Aerosol Science & Engineering, Environmental & Climate Science, Atmospheric Science Address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian ...

Chandra Discovers Light Echo from the Milky Way's Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2007-01-01

Astrophysical Journal Letters. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Performance characterization of the TRW 35K pulse tube cooler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, S.A.; Johnson, D.L.; Smedley, G.T.; Ross, R.G. Jr.

1996-01-01

The TRW 35K pulse tube cooler is configured as an integral cooler, with the pulse tube attached perpendicular to a pair of compressors operating into a common compression chamber. The cooler was optimized for 35K operation and has a nominal cooling capacity of 850 mW at 35 K with a cooler input power of 200 W. It also provides 2 W of cooling at 60 K for 90 W of input power. The cooler was extensively characterized by JPL, measuring the thermal performance and the cooler-generated vibration and EMI as a function of piston stroke and offset position. The thermal performance was found to be quite sensitive to the piston offset position. The pulse tube parasitic conduction levels were also measured and shown to have a strong angular dependence relative to gravity. Magnetic shielding studies were performed to examine radiated magnetic emission levels from compressors with and without shielding

Chandra Reviews Black Hole Musical: Epic But Off-Key

Science.gov (United States)

2006-10-01

give the strongest evidence to date of a shock wave produced by the supermassive black hole, a clear sign of a powerful explosion. This shock wave appears as a nearly circular ring of high-energy X-rays that is 85,000 light years in diameter and centered on the black hole. Other remarkable features are seen in M87 for the first time including narrow filaments of X-ray emission -- some over 100,000 light years long -- that may be due hot gas trapped by magnetic fields. Also, a large, previously unknown cavity in the hot gas, created by an outburst from the black hole about 70 million years ago, is seen in the X-ray image. Animation Showing a Supermassive Black Hole Outburst in M87 Animation Showing a Supermassive Black Hole Outburst in M87 "We can explain some of what we see, like the shock wave, with textbook physics," said team member Christine Jones, also of the CfA. "However, other details, like the filaments we find, leave us scratching our heads." Sound has been detected from another black hole in the Perseus cluster, which was calculated to have a note some 57 octaves below middle C. However, the sound in M87 appears to be more discordant and complex. A series of unevenly spaced loops in the hot gas gives evidence for small outbursts from the black hole about every 6 million years. These loops imply the presence of sound waves, not visible in the Chandra image, which are about 56 octaves below middle C. The presence of the large cavity and the sonic boom gives evidence for even deeper notes -- 58 or 59 octaves below middle C -- powered by large outbursts. These new results on M87 were presented at the High-Energy Astrophysics Division meeting being held in San Francisco. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are

THE CHANDRA SURVEY OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES IN THE 3CR CATALOG: X-RAY EMISSION FROM NUCLEI, JETS, AND HOTSPOTS IN THE CHANDRA ARCHIVAL OBSERVATIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Massaro, F. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino (Italy); Harris, D. E.; Paggi, A.; Wilkes, B. J.; Kuraszkiewicz, J. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Liuzzo, E.; Orienti, M.; Paladino, R. [Istituto di Radioastronomia, INAF, via Gobetti 101, I-40129, Bologna (Italy); Tremblay, G. R. [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics Department, Yale University, P.O. Box 208120, New Haven, CT 06520-8120 (United States); Baum, S. A.; O’Dea, C. P. [University of Manitoba, Dept of Physics and Astronomy, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 (Canada)

2015-09-15

As part of our program to build a complete radio and X-ray database of all Third Cambridge catalog extragalactic radio sources, we present an analysis of 93 sources for which Chandra archival data are available. Most of these sources have already been published. Here we provide a uniform re-analysis and present nuclear X-ray fluxes and X-ray emission associated with radio jet knots and hotspots using both publicly available radio images and new radio images that have been constructed from data available in the Very Large Array archive. For about 1/3 of the sources in the selected sample, a comparison between the Chandra and radio observations was not reported in the literature: we find X-ray detections of 2 new radio jet knots and 17 hotspots. We also report the X-ray detection of extended emission from the intergalactic medium for 15 galaxy clusters.

Nirab Chandra Adhikary

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science. Nirab Chandra Adhikary. Articles written in Bulletin of Materials Science. Volume 37 Issue 7 December 2014 pp 1613-1624. Enhancement of proton conductivity of sulfonated polystyrene membrane prepared by plasma polymerization process · Bhabesh Kumar Nath Aziz Khan ...

subhas chandra saha

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Sadhana. SUBHAS CHANDRA SAHA. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 41 Issue 5 May 2016 pp 549-559. A comparative study of multiple regression analysis and back propagation neural network approaches on plain carbon steel in submerged-arc welding · ABHIJIT SARKAR PRASENJIT DEY R N ...

Chandra Data Reveal Rapidly Whirling Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

black holes," said co-investigator Richard Bower of Durham University. "This might help us explain the source of these incredible jets that we see stretching for enormous distances across space." One significant connection consequence of powerful, black-hole jets in galaxies in the centers of galaxy clusters is that they can pump enormous amounts of energy into their environments, and heat the gas around them. This heating prevents the gas from cooling, and affects the rate at which new stars form, thereby limiting the size of the central galaxy. Understanding the details of this fundamental feedback loop between supermassive black holes and the formation of the most massive galaxies remains an important goal in astrophysics. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

Stellar Forensics with Striking Image from Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

2007-10-01

exploded. Assuming that the pulsar was born at the center of the remnant, it is thought that recoil from the lopsided explosion may have kicked the pulsar in this direction. Pulsar Wind Nebula in G292.0+1.8 Pulsar Wind Nebula in G292.0+1.8 Surrounding the pulsar is a so-called pulsar wind nebula, a magnetized bubble of high-energy particles. The narrow, jet-like feature running from north to south in the image is likely parallel to the spin axis of the pulsar. This structure is most easily seen in high energy X-rays. In the case of G292.0+1.8, the spin direction and the kick direction do not appear to be aligned, in contrast to apparent spin-kick alignments in some other supernova remnants. Another intriguing feature of this remnant is the bright equatorial belt of X-ray emission that extends across the center of the remnant. This structure is thought to have been created when the star - before it died - expelled material from around its equator via winds. The orientation of the equatorial belt suggests that the parent star maintained the same spin axis both before and after it exploded. DSS Optical Image of G292.0+1.8 DSS Optical Image of G292.0+1.8 "The detection of the pulsar and its wind nebula confirms that the supernova that led to G292 produced a neutron star through the collapse of the core of a massive star," said coauthor John Hughes of Rutgers University, "The ability to study the asymmetry of the original explosion using X-ray images of the remnant gives us a powerful new technique for learning about these cataclysmic events." These results will appear in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

The Chandra Source Catalog: Storage and Interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

van Stone, David; Harbo, Peter N.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; Zografou, Panagoula; Evans, Ian N.; Primini, Francis A.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; He, Xiang Qun (Helen); Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Winkelman, Sherry L.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is part of the Chandra Data Archive (CDA) at the Chandra X-ray Center. The catalog contains source properties and associated data objects such as images, spectra, and lightcurves. The source properties are stored in relational databases and the data objects are stored in files with their metadata stored in databases. The CDA supports different versions of the catalog: multiple fixed release versions and a live database version. There are several interfaces to the catalog: CSCview, a graphical interface for building and submitting queries and for retrieving data objects; a command-line interface for property and source searches using ADQL; and VO-compliant services discoverable though the VO registry. This poster describes the structure of the catalog and provides an overview of the interfaces.

Chandra Source Catalog: Background Determination and Source Detection

Science.gov (United States)

McCollough, Michael L.; Rots, A. H.; Primini, F. A.; Evans, I. N.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Hain, R.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, J. D.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E.; Gibbs, D. G.; Grier, J. D.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; Van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-01-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a major project in which all of the pointed imaging observations taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory will used to generate the most extensive X-ray source catalog produced to date. Early in the development of the CSC it was recognized that the ability to estimate local background levels in an automated fashion would be critical for essential CSC tasks such as source detection, photometry, sensitivity estimates, and source characterization. We present a discussion of how such background maps are created directly from the Chandra data and how they are used in source detection. The general background for Chandra observations is rather smoothly varying, containing only low spatial frequency components. However, in the case of ACIS data, a high spatial frequency component is added that is due to the readout streaks of the CCD chips. We discuss how these components can be estimated reliably using the Chandra data and what limitations and caveats should be considered in their use. We will discuss the source detection algorithm used for the CSC and the effects of the background images on the detection results. We will also touch on some the Catalog Inclusion and Quality Assurance criteria applied to the source detection results. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

Deconvolving the Nucleus of Centaurus A Using Chandra PSF Library

Science.gov (United States)

Karovska, Margarita

2000-01-01

Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is a giant early-type galaxy containing the nearest (at 3.5 Mpc) radio-bright Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). Cen A was observed with the High Resolution Camera (HRC) on the Chandra X-ray Observatory on several occasions since the launch in July 1999. The high-angular resolution (less than 0.5 arcsecond) Chandra/HRC images reveal X ray multi-scale structures in this object with unprecedented detail and clarity, including the bright nucleus believed to be associated with a supermassive black hole. We explored the spatial extent of the Cen A nucleus using deconvolution techniques on the full resolution Chandra images. Model point spread functions (PSFs) were derived from the standard Chandra raytrace PSF library as well as unresolved point sources observed with Chandra. The deconvolved images show that the Cen A nucleus is resolved and asymmetric. We discuss several possible causes of this extended emission and of the asymmetries.

Chance and Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

with inverse-square interparticle forces. The roles of ... ness fluctuations in the star fields of the Milky Way [1] and one on the inference of the distribution ... Chandra, however, argued for a cut-off at the mean interparticle distance, D ... the root of the difficulty with large impact parameters lies in the insistence upon Markovian.

Role of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Observations for the Study of Ionized Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin C.

2010-01-01

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory, launched in 1999, is now beginning its 12-th year of operation. Chandra, the X-ray component of NASA s Great Observatory program, continues to operate efficiently, somewhat remarkable considering that the Observatory was designed for three years of operation with a goal of five. The Observatory features X-ray optics with sub-arcsecond angular resolution and a small suite of instruments, including transmission gratings, which allow for high-resolution spectroscopy of point sources. We will detail the capabilities of the Observatory for making such spectroscopic measurements and discuss a number of examples of what has been learned about the astrophysical plasmas capable of producing bright X-ray emission.

Budhani, Dr Ramesh Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Budhani, Dr Ramesh Chandra Ph.D. (IIT, Delhi), FNASc, FNA. Date of birth: 3 February 1955. Specialization: Renewable Energy, Nanoscale Systems, Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, Superconductivity and Magnetism Address: Department of Physics, Lasers & Photonics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 ...

CIAO: CHANDRA/X-RAY DATA ANALYSIS FOR EVERYONE

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, Jonathan; CIAO Team

2018-01-01

Eighteen years after the launch of Chandra, the archive is full of scientifically rich data and new observations continue. Improvements in recent years to the data analysis package CIAO (Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations) and its extensive accompanying documentation make it easier for astronomers without a specialist background in high energy astrophysics to take advantage of this resource.The CXC supports hundreds of CIAO users around the world at all levels of training from high school and undergraduate students to the most experienced X-ray astronomers. In general, we strive to provide a software system which is easy for beginners, yet powerful for advanced users.Chandra data cover a range of instrument configurations and types of target (pointlike, extended and moving), requiring a flexible data analysis system. In addition to CIAO tools using the familiar FTOOLS/IRAF-style parameter interface, CIAO includes applications such as the Sherpa fitting engine which provide access to the data via Python scripting.In this poster we point prospective (and existing!) users to the high level Python scripts now provided to reprocess Chandra or other X-ray mission data, determine source fluxes and upper limits, and estimate backgrounds; and to the latest documentation including the CIAO Gallery, a new entry point featuring the system's different capabilities.This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center.

Lakhotia, Prof. Subhash Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Elected: 1994 Section: Animal Sciences. Lakhotia, Prof. Subhash Chandra Ph.D. (Calcutta), FNA, FNASc. Date of birth: 4 October 1945. Specialization: Ayurvedic Biology, Cytogenetics, Gene Expression, Stress Biology and Molecular Biology Address: INSA Senior Scientist, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University ...

Application of powder metallurgy to an advanced-temperature nickel-base alloy, NASA-TRW 6-A

Science.gov (United States)

Freche, J. C.; Ashbrook, R. L.; Waters, W. J.

1971-01-01

Bar stock of the NASA-TRW 6-A alloy was made by prealloyed powder techniques and its properties evaluated over a range of temperatures. Room temperature ultimate tensile strength was 1894 MN/sq m (274 500 psi). The as-extruded powder product showed substantial improvements in strength over the cast alloy up to 649 C (1200 F) and superplasticity at 1093 C (2000 F). Both conventional and autoclave heat treatments were applied to the extruded powder product. The conventional heat treatment was effective in increasing rupture life at 649 and 704 C (1200 and 1300 F); the autoclave heat treatment, at 760 and 816 C (1400 and 1500 F).

The Chandra Source Catalog: Processing and Infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Janet; Evans, Ian N.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Miller, Joseph B.; Plummer, David A.; Zografou, Panagoula; Primini, Francis A.; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Grier, John D.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiang Qun (Helen); Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.

2009-09-01

Chandra Source Catalog processing recalibrates each observation using the latest available calibration data, and employs a wavelet-based source detection algorithm to identify all the X-ray sources in the field of view. Source properties are then extracted from each detected source that is a candidate for inclusion in the catalog. Catalog processing is completed by matching sources across multiple observations, merging common detections, and applying quality assurance checks. The Chandra Source Catalog processing system shares a common processing infrastructure and utilizes much of the functionality that is built into the Standard Data Processing (SDP) pipeline system that provides calibrated Chandra data to end-users. Other key components of the catalog processing system have been assembled from the portable CIAO data analysis package. Minimal new software tool development has been required to support the science algorithms needed for catalog production. Since processing pipelines must be instantiated for each detected source, the number of pipelines that are run during catalog construction is a factor of order 100 times larger than for SDP. The increased computational load, and inherent parallel nature of the processing, is handled by distributing the workload across a multi-node Beowulf cluster. Modifications to the SDP automated processing application to support catalog processing, and extensions to Chandra Data Archive software to ingest and retrieve catalog products, complete the upgrades to the infrastructure to support catalog processing.

Thakur, Dr Vikram Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Fellowship. Fellow Profile. Elected: 1991 Section: Earth & Planetary Sciences. Thakur, Dr Vikram Chandra Ph.D. (London). Date of birth: 15 January 1940. Specialization: Structural Geology, Tectonics of Himalayan Geology and Active Tectonics Address: 9/12 (Lane 9), Ashirwad Eclave, Dehra Dun 248 001, ...

Chaturvedi, Prof. Umesh Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Chaturvedi, Prof. Umesh Chandra M.D. (Lucknow), FRC Path. (London), FAMS, FNA, FNASc, FAAM(USA). Date of birth: 2 March 1939. Specialization: Medical Microbiology, Virology and Immunology Address: 201, Annapurna Apartments, No. 1, Bishop Rocky Street, Faizabad Road, Lucknow 226 007, U.P.. Contact:

Chandra X-ray Data Analysis in Educational Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Matilsky, T.; Etkina, E.; Lestition, K.; Mandel, E.; Joye, W.

2004-12-01

Recent progress in both software and remote connectivity capabilities have made it possible for authentic data analysis tasks to be presented in a wide range of educational venues. No longer are precollege teachers and students, and interested members of the public limited by their lack of access to the scientific workstations and UNIX-based imaging and analytical software used by the research community. Through a suite of programs that couples a simplified graphical user interface using the "DS9" imaging software with a "virtual observatory" capability that processes the analytical algorithms used by X-ray astronomers, we can access archived Chandra observations and generate images, as well as light curves, energy spectra, power spectra and other common examples of science tasks. The system connects to a remote UNIX server, but the user may be sited on a PC or Mac platform. Furthermore, the use of VNC (a remote desktop display environment) allows a teacher to view, comment on and debug any analysis task in real time, from anywhere in the world, and across any computer platform. This makes these programs especially useful in distance learning settings. We have developed, tested and used these capabilities in a wide variety of educational arenas, from 4 week intensive courses in X-ray astronomy research techniques for precollege students and teachers, to one day teacher enrichment workshops, to modules of classroom activities suitable for precollege grade levels, using a variety of cosmic X-ray sources. Examples using archived Chandra observations will be presented demonstrating the flexibility and usefulness of these resources.

Chandra Discovers the X-ray Signature of a Powerful Wind from a Galactic Microquasar

Science.gov (United States)

2000-11-01

." "Although a typical AGN has a roughly ten-million-solar-mass black hole at its center while the Circinus X-1 system has a neutron star only slightly more massive than our Sun, both systems must obey the same laws of physics," Brandt says. "Gas is gas and gravity is gravity and that's all there is to it--you put gas and gravity together and they make a disk and often, apparently, a disk-generated wind." The researchers hope X-ray P Cygni profiles will be found to be a fairly common property of X-ray binaries containing neutron stars and black holes. "If we can find X-ray P Cygni profiles in more systems, we can learn a great deal about the geometry and the dynamics of the winds these systems emit," Schulz says. "Due to the penetrating nature of X rays, X-ray P Cygni lines have the significant advantage that they can be used to probe winds even from systems that are heavily obscured by dust along the line of sight." The High-Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer was built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Bruno Rossi Professor Claude Canizares as Principal Investigator. The ACIS X-ray camera was conceived and developed for NASA by Penn State and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the leadership of Gordon Garmire, Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State. The observation of Circinus X-1 was part of the first round of Chandra's guest observer program. The guest observer program is a competitive one open to the World science community. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Circinus X-1 Handout Constellation Circinus To follow Chandra's progress, visit the Chandra site at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov This research was supported by the Chandra X-ray Center, the

Middle Tier Services Accessing the Chandra X-Ray Center Data Archive

Science.gov (United States)

Patz, A.; Harbo, P.; Moran, J.; van Stone, D.; Zografou, P.

The Chandra Data Archive team at the Chandra X-ray Center has developed middle tier services that are used by both our search and retrieval applications to uniformly access our data repository. Accessible through an HTTP URL interface, these services can be called by our J2EE web application (WebChaser) and our Java Swing application (Chaser), as well as any other HTTP client. Programs can call the services to retrieve observation data such as a single FITS file, a proposal abstract or a detailed report of observation parameters. Having a central interface to the archive, shared by client applications, facilitates code reusability and easier maintenance. These middle tier services have been written in Java and packaged into a single J2EE application called the Search and Retrieval (SR) Services. The package consists of a web application front-end and an Enterprise Java Beans back-end. This paper describes the design and use of the SR Services.

NASA Names Premier X-Ray Observatory and Schedules Launch

Science.gov (United States)

1998-12-01

Chicago until his death in 1995. The Chandra X-ray Observatory will help astronomers worldwide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of X rays such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes and other exotic celestial objects. X-radiation is an invisible form of light produced by multimillion degree gas. Chandra will provide X-ray images that are fifty times more detailed than previous missions. At more than 45 feet in length and weighing more than five tons, it will be one of the largest objects ever placed in Earth orbit by the Space Shuttle. Tyrel Johnson, a student at Priest River Lamanna High School in Priest River, Idaho, and Jatila van der Veen, a physics and astronomy teacher at Adolfo Camarillo High School in Camarillo, California, who submitted the winning name and essays, will receive a trip to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to view the launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, a prize donated by TRW. Members of the contest's selection committee were Timothy Hannemann, executive vice president and general manager, TRW Space & Electronics Group; the late CNN correspondent John Holliman; former Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall, professor of aeronautics at MIT; Charles Petit, senior writer for U.S. News & World Report; Sidney Wolff, Director, National Optical Astronomy Observatories; Martin Weisskopf, Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility project scientist, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL.; and Harvey Tananbaum, director of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility Science Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA. The Chandra X-ray Observatory program is managed by the Marshall Center for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. TRW Space and Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, CA, is NASA's prime contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations of the observatory for NASA

Statistical Characterization of the Chandra Source Catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Primini, Francis A.; Houck, John C.; Davis, John E.; Nowak, Michael A.; Evans, Ian N.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger M.; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiangqun Helen; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; Van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.; Zografou, Panagoula

2011-06-01

The first release of the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) contains ~95,000 X-ray sources in a total area of 0.75% of the entire sky, using data from ~3900 separate ACIS observations of a multitude of different types of X-ray sources. In order to maximize the scientific benefit of such a large, heterogeneous data set, careful characterization of the statistical properties of the catalog, i.e., completeness, sensitivity, false source rate, and accuracy of source properties, is required. Characterization efforts of other large Chandra catalogs, such as the ChaMP Point Source Catalog or the 2 Mega-second Deep Field Surveys, while informative, cannot serve this purpose, since the CSC analysis procedures are significantly different and the range of allowable data is much less restrictive. We describe here the characterization process for the CSC. This process includes both a comparison of real CSC results with those of other, deeper Chandra catalogs of the same targets and extensive simulations of blank-sky and point-source populations.

The Chandra Source Catalog: Background Determination and Source Detection

Science.gov (United States)

McCollough, Michael; Rots, Arnold; Primini, Francis A.; Evans, Ian N.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Hain, Roger; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Danny G. Gibbs, II; Grier, John D.; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiang Qun (Helen); Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.; Zografou, Panagoula

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a major project in which all of the pointed imaging observations taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory are used to generate one of the most extensive X-ray source catalog produced to date. Early in the development of the CSC it was recognized that the ability to estimate local background levels in an automated fashion would be critical for essential CSC tasks such as source detection, photometry, sensitivity estimates, and source characterization. We present a discussion of how such background maps are created directly from the Chandra data and how they are used in source detection. The general background for Chandra observations is rather smoothly varying, containing only low spatial frequency components. However, in the case of ACIS data, a high spatial frequency component is added that is due to the readout streaks of the CCD chips. We discuss how these components can be estimated reliably using the Chandra data and what limitations and caveats should be considered in their use. We will discuss the source detection algorithm used for the CSC and the effects of the background images on the detection results. We will also touch on some the Catalog Inclusion and Quality Assurance criteria applied to the source detection results. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

NASA's Chandra Reveals Origin of Key Cosmic Explosions

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-01

brightness. Because these two scenarios would generate different amounts of X-ray emission, Gilfanov and Bogdan used Chandra to observe five nearby elliptical galaxies and the central region of the Andromeda galaxy. A Type 1a supernova caused by accreting material produces significant X- ray emission prior to the explosion. A supernova from a merger of two white dwarfs, on the other hand, would create significantly less X-ray emission than the accretion scenario. The scientists found the observed X-ray emission was a factor of 30 to 50 times smaller than expected from the accretion scenario, effectively ruling it out. This implies that white dwarf mergers dominate in these galaxies. An open question remains whether these white dwarf mergers are the primary catalyst for Type Ia supernovae in spiral galaxies. Further studies are required to know if supernovae in spiral galaxies are caused by mergers or a mixture of the two processes. Another intriguing consequence of this result is that a pair of white dwarfs is relatively hard to spot, even with the best telescopes. "To many astrophysicists, the merger scenario seemed to be less likely because too few double-white-dwarf systems appeared to exist," said Gilfanov. "Now this path to supernovae will have to be investigated in more detail." In addition to the X-rays observed with Chandra, other data critical for this result came from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based, infrared Two Micron All Sky Survey. The infrared brightness of the galaxies allowed the team to estimate how many supernovae should occur. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass. More information, including images and other multimedia, can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Simultaneous Chandra and NuSTAR Observations of the Highly Obscured AGN Candidate in NGC660.

Science.gov (United States)

Annuar, Ady

2014-09-01

We are using NuSTAR to undertake a detailed investigation of the obscured AGN population at D<15Mpc. Our latest target is NGC660 where the presence of an AGN has been ambiguous. However, recently it was observed to undergo a radio outburst which reveals a bright continuum source (Argo et al. 2015), coincident with Chandra 2-8 keV emission from one of the three point sources near the nucleus (<5"). This confirms and pinpoints the X-ray position of the AGN. Comparisons of the Chandra flux with the radio emission and other multiwavelength luminosity indicators indicate that the X-ray flux is suppressed, suggesting that it is absorbed by a high column of gas. A NuSTAR observation for this object has been scheduled as part of our program. The requested Chandra observation is essential to unambiguously constrain the AGN and isolate it from other sources at <8 keV. When combined with NuSTAR, we will then be able to accurately characterise the 0.5-30 keV spectrum of the AGN for the first time.

The NuSTAR Extragalactic Surveys: Initial Results and Catalog from the Extended Chandra Deep Field South

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mullaney, J. R.; Del-Moro, A.; Aird, J.

2015-01-01

We present the initial results and the source catalog from the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (hereafter, ECDFS)—currently the deepest contiguous component of the NuSTAR extragalactic survey program. The survey covers the full ≈30......V fluxes) span the range L10 40 keV (0.7 300) 10 erg s» - ´ 43 1 -- ,sampling below the “knee” of the X-ray luminosity function out to z ~ 0.8-1. Finally, we identify oneNuSTAR source that has neither a Chandra nor an XMM-Newton counterpart, but that shows evidence of nuclearactivity at infrared...

Jet Power and Black Hole Assortment Revealed in New Chandra Image

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

acceleration in this part of the jet is unknown. Hundreds of point-like sources are also seen in the Chandra image. Many of these are X-ray binaries that contain a stellar-mass black hole and a companion star in orbit around one another. Determining the population and properties of these black holes should help scientists better understand the evolution of massive stars and the formation of black holes. Another surprise was the detection of two particularly bright X-ray binaries. These sources may contain stellar mass black holes that are unusually massive, and this Chandra observation might have caught them gobbling up material at a high rate. In this image, low-energy X-rays are colored red, intermediate-energy X-rays are green, and the highest-energy X-rays detected by Chandra are blue. The dark green and blue bands running almost perpendicular to the jet are dust lanes that absorb X-rays. This dust lane was created when Centaurus A merged with another galaxy perhaps 100 million years ago. This research was presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting on January 9th by Gregory Sivakoff (The Ohio State University). Other team members include Ralph Kraft (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Martin Hardcastle (University of Hertfordshire), Diana Worrall (University of Bristol), and Andres Jordan (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

IDENTIFYING THE LOCATION IN THE HOST GALAXY OF THE SHORT GRB 111117A WITH THE CHANDRA SUBARCSECOND POSITION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakamoto, T.; Troja, E. [Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Aoki, K. [Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 650 North A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Guiriec, S.; Barthelmy, S. D. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Im, M.; Jeon, Y. [Center for the Exploration of the Origin of the Universe (CEOU), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-747 (Korea, Republic of); Leloudas, G.; Malesani, D.; De Ugarte Postigo, A.; Andersen, M. I. [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen O (Denmark); Melandri, A.; D' Avanzo, P. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Italy); Urata, Y. [Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Chung-Li 32054, Taiwan (China); Xu, D. [Department of Particle Physics and Astronomy, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel); Gorosabel, J.; Sanchez-Ramirez, R. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomia s/n, E-18008 Granada (Spain); Bai, J. [Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650011 (China); Briggs, M. S. [Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States); Foley, S. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany); and others

2013-03-20

We present our successful Chandra program designed to identify, with subarcsecond accuracy, the X-ray afterglow of the short GRB 111117A, which was discovered by Swift and Fermi. Thanks to our rapid target of opportunity request, Chandra clearly detected the X-ray afterglow, though no optical afterglow was found in deep optical observations. The host galaxy was clearly detected in the optical and near-infrared band, with the best photometric redshift of z=1.31{sub -0.23}{sup +0.46} (90% confidence), making it one of the highest known short gamma-ray burst (GRB) redshifts. Furthermore, we see an offset of 1.0 {+-} 0.2 arcsec, which corresponds to 8.4 {+-} 1.7 kpc, between the host and the afterglow position. We discuss the importance of using Chandra for obtaining subarcsecond X-ray localizations of short GRB afterglows to study GRB environments.

STATISTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CHANDRA SOURCE CATALOG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Primini, Francis A.; Evans, Ian N.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He Xiangqun; Karovska, Margarita; Houck, John C.; Davis, John E.; Nowak, Michael A.; Hall, Diane M.

2011-01-01

The first release of the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) contains ∼95,000 X-ray sources in a total area of 0.75% of the entire sky, using data from ∼3900 separate ACIS observations of a multitude of different types of X-ray sources. In order to maximize the scientific benefit of such a large, heterogeneous data set, careful characterization of the statistical properties of the catalog, i.e., completeness, sensitivity, false source rate, and accuracy of source properties, is required. Characterization efforts of other large Chandra catalogs, such as the ChaMP Point Source Catalog or the 2 Mega-second Deep Field Surveys, while informative, cannot serve this purpose, since the CSC analysis procedures are significantly different and the range of allowable data is much less restrictive. We describe here the characterization process for the CSC. This process includes both a comparison of real CSC results with those of other, deeper Chandra catalogs of the same targets and extensive simulations of blank-sky and point-source populations.

Chandra Early Type Galaxy Atals

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dong-Woo; Anderson, Craig; Burke, Douglas J.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Fruscione, Antonella; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael; Morgan, Douglas; Mossman, Amy; O'Sullivan, Ewan; Paggi, Alessandro; Vrtilek, Saeqa Dil; Trinchieri, Ginevra

2017-08-01

The hot gas in early type galaxies (ETGs) plays a crucial role in understanding their formation and evolution. As the hot gas is often extended to the outskirts beyond the optical size, the large scale structural features identified by Chandra (including jets, cavities, cold fronts, filaments and tails) point to key evolutionary mechanisms, e.g., AGN feedback, merging history, accretion, stripping and star formation and its quenching. We have systematically analyzed the archival Chandra data of ~100 ETGs to study the hot ISM. We produce the uniformly derived data products with spatially resolved spectral information and will make them accessible via a public web site. With 2D spectral infomation, we further discuss gas morphology, scaling relations, X-ray based mass profiles and their implications related to various physical mechanisms (e.g., stellar and AGN feedback).

Cosmological constraints from Chandra observations of galaxy clusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Steven W

2002-09-15

Chandra observations of rich, relaxed galaxy clusters allow the properties of the X-ray gas and the total gravitating mass to be determined precisely. Here, we present results for a sample of the most X-ray luminous, dynamically relaxed clusters known. We show that the Chandra data and independent gravitational lensing studies provide consistent answers on the mass distributions in the clusters. The mass profiles exhibit a form in good agreement with the predictions from numerical simulations. Combining Chandra results on the X-ray gas mass fractions in the clusters with independent measurements of the Hubble constant and the mean baryonic matter density in the Universe, we obtain a tight constraint on the mean total matter density of the Universe, Omega(m), and an interesting constraint on the cosmological constant, Omega(Lambda). We also describe the 'virial relations' linking the masses, X-ray temperatures and luminosities of galaxy clusters. These relations provide a key step in linking the observed number density and spatial distribution of clusters to the predictions from cosmological models. The Chandra data confirm the presence of a systematic offset of ca. 40% between the normalization of the observed mass-temperature relation and the predictions from standard simulations. This finding leads to a significant revision of the best-fit value of sigma(8) inferred from the observed temperature and luminosity functions of clusters.

INNOVATIONS IN THE ANALYSIS OF CHANDRA-ACIS OBSERVATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broos, Patrick S.; Townsley, Leisa K.; Feigelson, Eric D.; Getman, Konstantin V.; Garmire, Gordon P.; Bauer, Franz E.

2010-01-01

As members of the instrument team for the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and as Chandra General Observers, we have developed a wide variety of data analysis methods that we believe are useful to the Chandra community, and have constructed a significant body of publicly available software (the ACIS Extract package) addressing important ACIS data and science analysis tasks. This paper seeks to describe these data analysis methods for two purposes: to document the data analysis work performed in our own science projects and to help other ACIS observers judge whether these methods may be useful in their own projects (regardless of what tools and procedures they choose to implement those methods). The ACIS data analysis recommendations we offer here address much of the workflow in a typical ACIS project, including data preparation, point source detection via both wavelet decomposition and image reconstruction, masking point sources, identification of diffuse structures, event extraction for both point and diffuse sources, merging extractions from multiple observations, nonparametric broadband photometry, analysis of low-count spectra, and automation of these tasks. Many of the innovations presented here arise from several, often interwoven, complications that are found in many Chandra projects: large numbers of point sources (hundreds to several thousand), faint point sources, misaligned multiple observations of an astronomical field, point source crowding, and scientifically relevant diffuse emission.

The Chandra Source Catalog 2.0: Calibrations

Science.gov (United States)

Graessle, Dale E.; Evans, Ian N.; Rots, Arnold H.; Allen, Christopher E.; Anderson, Craig S.; Budynkiewicz, Jamie A.; Burke, Douglas; Chen, Judy C.; Civano, Francesca Maria; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; Houck, John C.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Laurino, Omar; Lee, Nicholas P.; Martínez-Galarza, Juan Rafael; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph; McLaughlin, Warren; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nguyen, Dan T.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Paxson, Charles; Plummer, David A.; Primini, Francis Anthony; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael; Van Stone, David W.; Zografou, Panagoula

2018-01-01

Among the many enhancements implemented for the release of Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) 2.0 are improvements in the processing calibration database (CalDB). We have included a thorough overhaul of the CalDB software used in the processing. The software system upgrade, called "CalDB version 4," allows for a more rational and consistent specification of flight configurations and calibration boundary conditions. Numerous improvements in the specific calibrations applied have also been added. Chandra's radiometric and detector response calibrations vary considerably with time, detector operating temperature, and position on the detector. The CalDB has been enhanced to provide the best calibrations possible to each observation over the fifteen-year period included in CSC 2.0. Calibration updates include an improved ACIS contamination model, as well as updated time-varying gain (i.e., photon energy) and quantum efficiency maps for ACIS and HRC-I. Additionally, improved corrections for the ACIS quantum efficiency losses due to CCD charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) have been added for each of the ten ACIS detectors. These CTI corrections are now time and temperature-dependent, allowing ACIS to maintain a 0.3% energy calibration accuracy over the 0.5-7.0 keV range for any ACIS source in the catalog. Radiometric calibration (effective area) accuracy is estimated at ~4% over that range. We include a few examples where improvements in the Chandra CalDB allow for improved data reduction and modeling for the new CSC.This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center.

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF SN 1987A: THE SOFT X-RAY LIGHT CURVE REVISITED

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helder, E. A.; Broos, P. S.; Burrows, D. N. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Dewey, D. [MIT Kavli Institute, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Dwek, E. [Observational Cosmology Laboratory, Code 665, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); McCray, R. [JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Park, S. [Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Box 19059, Arlington, TX 76019 (United States); Racusin, J. L. [NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Zhekov, S. A. [Space Research and Technology Institute, Akad. G. Bonchev str., bl.1, Sofia 1113 (Bulgaria)

2013-02-10

We report on the present stage of SN 1987A as observed by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. We reanalyze published Chandra observations and add three more epochs of Chandra data to get a consistent picture of the evolution of the X-ray fluxes in several energy bands. We discuss the implications of several calibration issues for Chandra data. Using the most recent Chandra calibration files, we find that the 0.5-2.0 keV band fluxes of SN 1987A have increased by {approx}6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -13} erg s{sup -1} cm{sup -2} per year since 2009. This is in contrast with our previous result that the 0.5-2.0 keV light curve showed a sudden flattening in 2009. Based on our new analysis, we conclude that the forward shock is still in full interaction with the equatorial ring.

Patel, Prof. Chandra Kumar Naranbhai

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Elected: 1995 Honorary. Patel, Prof. Chandra Kumar Naranbhai. Date of birth: 2 July 1938. Address: President & CEO, Pranalytica Inc., 1101, Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401, U.S.A.. Contact: Office: (+1-310) 458 0808. Residence: (+1-310) 471 6505. Fax: (+1-310) 458 0171. Email: patel@pranalytica.com.

Chandra High Resolution Imaging of NGC 1365 and NGC 4151

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, G.; Elvis, M.; Risaliti, G.; Karovska, M.; Zezas, A.; Mazzarella, J. M.; Lord, S.; Howell, J. H.; Mundell, C. G.

2010-07-01

We present Chandra high resolution imaging of the circumnuclear regions of two nearby active galaxies, namely the starburst/AGN composite Seyfert 1.8 NGC 1365 and the archetypal Seyfert 1 NGC 4151. In NGC 1365, the X-ray morphology shows a biconical soft X-ray-emission region extending ~5 kpc in projection from the nucleus, coincident with the optical high-excitation outflows. Chandra HRC imaging of the NGC 4151 nucleus resolves X-ray emission from the 4 arcsec radio jet and the narrow line region (NLR) clouds. Our results demonstrate the unique power of spatially resolved spectroscopy with Chandra, and support previous claims that frequent jet-ISM interaction may explain why jets in Seyfert galaxies appear small, slow, and thermally dominated.

Impacts of Chandra X-ray Observatory Public Communications and Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Arcand, Kimberly K.; Watzke, Megan; Lestition, Kathleen; Edmonds, Peter

2015-01-01

The Chandra X-ray Observatory Center runs a multifaceted Public Communications & Engagement program encompassing press relations, public engagement, and education. Our goals include reaching a large and diverse audience of national and international scope, establishing direct connections and working relationships with the scientists whose research forms the basis for all products, creating peer-reviewed materials and activities that evolve from an integrated pipeline design and encourage users toward deeper engagement, and developing materials that target underserved audiences such as women, Spanish speakers, and the sight and hearing impaired. This talk will highlight some of the key features of our program, from the high quality curated digital presence to the cycle of research and evaluation that informs our practice at all points of the program creation. We will also discuss the main impacts of the program, from the tens of millions of participants reached through the establishment and sustainability of a network of science 'volunpeers.'

The Chandra Source Catalog: Spectral Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Doe, Stephen; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Evans, Ian N.; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiang Qun (Helen); Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Primini, Francis A.; Rots, Arnold H.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.; Zografou, Panagoula

2009-09-01

The first release of the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) contains all sources identified from eight years' worth of publicly accessible observations. The vast majority of these sources have been observed with the ACIS detector and have spectral information in 0.5-7 keV energy range. Here we describe the methods used to automatically derive spectral properties for each source detected by the standard processing pipeline and included in the final CSC. Hardness ratios were calculated for each source between pairs of energy bands (soft, medium and hard) using the Bayesian algorithm (BEHR, Park et al. 2006). The sources with high signal to noise ratio (exceeding 150 net counts) were fit in Sherpa (the modeling and fitting application from the Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations package, developed by the Chandra X-ray Center; see Freeman et al. 2001). Two models were fit to each source: an absorbed power law and a blackbody emission. The fitted parameter values for the power-law and blackbody models were included in the catalog with the calculated flux for each model. The CSC also provides the source energy flux computed from the normalizations of predefined power-law and black-body models needed to match the observed net X-ray counts. In addition, we provide access to data products for each source: a file with source spectrum, the background spectrum, and the spectral response of the detector. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

Patel, Prof. Chandra Kumar Naranbhai

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Patel, Prof. Chandra Kumar Naranbhai. Date of birth: 2 July 1938. Address: President & CEO, Pranalytica Inc., 1101, Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401, U.S.A.. Contact: Office: (+1-310) 458 0808. Residence: (+1-310) 471 6505. Fax: (+1-310) 458 0171. Email: patel@pranalytica.com. YouTube · Twitter · Facebook ...

Identifying the Location in the Host Galaxy of Short GRB 1111l7A with the Chandra Sub- Arcsecond Position

Science.gov (United States)

Sakamoto, Takanori; Troja, E.; Aoki, K.; Guiriec, S.; Im, M.; Leloudas, G.; Malesani, D.; Melandri, A.; deUgartePostigo, A.; Urata, Y.;

Chandra Source Catalog: User Interface

Science.gov (United States)

Bonaventura, Nina; Evans, Ian N.; Rots, Arnold H.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; van Stone, David W.; Zografou, Panagoula; Primini, Francis A.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Anderson, Craig S.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Helen; Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Winkelman, Sherry L.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is intended to be the definitive catalog of all X-ray sources detected by Chandra. For each source, the CSC provides positions and multi-band fluxes, as well as derived spatial, spectral, and temporal source properties. Full-field and source region data products are also available, including images, photon event lists, light curves, and spectra. The Chandra X-ray Center CSC website (http://cxc.harvard.edu/csc/) is the place to visit for high-level descriptions of each source property and data product included in the catalog, along with other useful information, such as step-by-step catalog tutorials, answers to FAQs, and a thorough summary of the catalog statistical characterization. Eight categories of detailed catalog documents may be accessed from the navigation bar on most of the 50+ CSC pages; these categories are: About the Catalog, Creating the Catalog, Using the Catalog, Catalog Columns, Column Descriptions, Documents, Conferences, and Useful Links. There are also prominent links to CSCview, the CSC data access GUI, and related help documentation, as well as a tutorial for using the new CSC/Google Earth interface. Catalog source properties are presented in seven scientific categories, within two table views: the Master Source and Source Observations tables. Each X-ray source has one ``master source'' entry and one or more ``source observation'' entries, the details of which are documented on the CSC ``Catalog Columns'' pages. The master source properties represent the best estimates of the properties of a source; these are extensively described on the following pages of the website: Position and Position Errors, Source Flags, Source Extent and Errors, Source Fluxes, Source Significance, Spectral Properties, and Source Variability. The eight tutorials (``threads'') available on the website serve as a collective guide for accessing, understanding, and manipulating the source properties and data products provided by the catalog.

Chandra Source Catalog: User Interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Bonaventura, Nina; Evans, I. N.; Harbo, P. N.; Rots, A. H.; Tibbetts, M. S.; Van Stone, D. W.; Zografou, P.; Anderson, C. S.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, J. D.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E.; Gibbs, D. G.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Grier, J. D.; Hain, R.; Hall, D. M.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McCollough, M. L.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Primini, F. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Winkelman, S. L.

2010-03-01

The CSCview data mining interface is available for browsing the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) and downloading tables of quality-assured source properties and data products. Once the desired source properties and search criteria are entered into the CSCview query form, the resulting source matches are returned in a table along with the values of the requested source properties for each source. (The catalog can be searched on any source property, not just position.) At this point, the table of search results may be saved to a text file, and the available data products for each source may be downloaded. CSCview save files are output in RDB-like and VOTable format. The available CSC data products include event files, spectra, lightcurves, and images, all of which are processed with the CIAO software. CSC data may also be accessed non-interactively with Unix command-line tools such as cURL and Wget, using ADQL 2.0 query syntax. In fact, CSCview features a separate ADQL query form for those who wish to specify this type of query within the GUI. Several interfaces are available for learning if a source is included in the catalog (in addition to CSCview): 1) the CSC interface to Sky in Google Earth shows the footprint of each Chandra observation on the sky, along with the CSC footprint for comparison (CSC source properties are also accessible when a source within a Chandra field-of-view is clicked); 2) the CSC Limiting Sensitivity online tool indicates if a source at an input celestial location was too faint for detection; 3) an IVOA Simple Cone Search interface locates all CSC sources within a specified radius of an R.A. and Dec.; and 4) the CSC-SDSS cross-match service returns the list of sources common to the CSC and SDSS, either all such sources or a subset based on search criteria.

Chandra Captures Venus In A Whole New Light

Science.gov (United States)

2001-11-01

conducted the research. The Chandra observation of Venus was also a technological tour de force. The angular separation of Venus from the Sun, as seen from Earth, never exceeds 48 degrees. This relative proximity has prevented star trackers and cameras on other X-ray astronomy satellites from locking onto guide stars and pointing steadily in the direction of Venus to perform such an observation. Venus was observed on Jan. 10, 2001, with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) detector plus the Low Energy Transmission Grating and on Jan. 13, 2001, with the ACIS alone. Other members of the team were Vadim Burwitz and Jakob Engelhauser, Max Planck Institute; Carey Lisse, University of Maryland, College Park; and Scott Wolk, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass. These results were presented at this week's "New Visions of X-ray universe in the XMM-Newton and Chandra Era" symposium in Noordwijk, Netherlands. The Low Energy Transmission Grating was built by the Space Research Organization of the Netherlands and the Max Planck Institute, and the ACIS instrument was developed for NASA by The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

The volunteering in the social responsibility actions: a study of case of the TRW Automotive

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisabete Stradiotto Siqueira

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a study of case of the TRW Automotive Company and analyzes one of its actions of social responsibility developed together with the non-governmental organization (NGO “Mais Vida”. The data exposition searches to show, from the valued point of view, the complexity of the volunteer action and how its relation with an organization may arouse changes in procedures that interfere in the organizational dimension. It is important to emphasize that the results of a volunteer action, in the context of a social responsibility project, cannot be evaluated considering solemnly the tangible aspects but that the symbolic dimension assumes a fundamental role to be analyzed. In the final considerations, some questions about this theme are outlined, calling attention to its unfinished character and to its potentiality for building a learning space of tolerance and alterity.

Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The Harish-Chandra Research Institute (known as the Mehta Research Institute of Math- ematics and Mathematical Physics until October 2000) came into existence in 1975, with a donation of some land and Rs. 40 lakhs from the B S Mehta Trust in Calcutta. With the aim of converting it into a top-class research Institute in ...

Ten Years of Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin C.

2009-01-01

We celebrated the 10-th anniversary of the Launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory on July 13, 2009. During these 10 years data from this Great Observatory have had a profound impact on 21st century astrophysics. With its unrivaled capability to produce sub-arcsecond images, the Observatory has enabled astronomers to make new discoveries in topics as diverse as comets and cosmology. We shall review some of the highlights, discuss the current status, and future plans.

The STM program at TRW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazar, N.H.; Barter, J.; Boehmer, H.

1984-01-01

The objective of the STM is to evaluate the feasibility of confining a plasma stably in a symmetric mirror configuration by taking advantage of the use of diamagnetic plasma rings as in EBT to produce an MHD stable configuration. Experiments using both ECRH and ICRH in a five-cell, symmetric tandem-mirror facility STM are described. Streaming plasmas are produced, cw, in the end cells. Multiple frequency heating at electron cyclotron resonance efficiently generate the stabilizing ''ELMO'' rings. Ion cyclotron heating of ions in the stream results in ion energies in excess of 300eV with an energetic tail extending past 3keV. Monte Carlo simulations of the heating processes will be described. (author). 3 refs, 6 figs

The Role of Project Science in the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, Stephen L.; Weisskopf, Martin C.

2006-01-01

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory, one of NASA's Great Observatories, has an outstanding record of scientific and technical success. This success results from the efforts of a team comprising NASA, its contractors, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the instrument groups, and other elements of the scientific community, including thousands of scientists who utilize this powerful facility for astrophysical research. We discuss the role of NASA Project Science in the formulation, development, calibration, and operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In addition to representing the scientific community within the Project, Project Science performed what we term "science systems engineering". This activity encompasses translation of science requirements into technical requirements and assessment of the scientific impact of programmatic and technical trades. We briefly describe several examples of science systems engineering conducted by Chandra Project Science.

Chandra X-ray Center Science Data Systems Regression Testing of CIAO

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, N. P.; Karovska, M.; Galle, E. C.; Bonaventura, N. R.

2011-07-01

The Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations (CIAO) is a software system developed for the analysis of Chandra X-ray Observatory observations. An important component of a successful CIAO release is the repeated testing of the tools across various platforms to ensure consistent and scientifically valid results. We describe the procedures of the scientific regression testing of CIAO and the enhancements made to the testing system to increase the efficiency of run time and result validation.

The Chandra Source Catalog: X-ray Aperture Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Kashyap, Vinay; Primini, F. A.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, I. N.; Evans, J. D.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E. C.; Gibbs, D. G., II; Grier, J. D.; Hain, R.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McCollough, M. L.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Rots, A. H.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) represents a reanalysis of the entire ACIS and HRC imaging observations over the 9-year Chandra mission. We describe here the method by which fluxes are measured for detected sources. Source detection is carried out on a uniform basis, using the CIAO tool wavdetect. Source fluxes are estimated post-facto using a Bayesian method that accounts for background, spatial resolution effects, and contamination from nearby sources. We use gamma-function prior distributions, which could be either non-informative, or in case there exist previous observations of the same source, strongly informative. The current implementation is however limited to non-informative priors. The resulting posterior probability density functions allow us to report the flux and a robust credible range on it.

Invited Review Article: The Chandra X-ray Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Daniel A.

2014-06-01

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is an orbiting x-ray telescope facility. It is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's four "Great Observatories" that collectively have carried out astronomical observations covering the infrared through gamma-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Chandra is used by astronomers world-wide to acquire imaging and spectroscopic data over a nominal 0.1-10 keV (124-1.24 Å) range. We describe the three major parts of the observatory: the telescope, the spacecraft systems, and the science instruments. This article will emphasize features of the design and development driven by some of the experimental considerations unique to x-ray astronomy. We will update the on-orbit performance and present examples of the scientific highlights.

The Chandra Source Catalog 2.0: Interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Zografou, Panagoula; Tibbetts, Michael; Allen, Christopher E.; Anderson, Craig S.; Budynkiewicz, Jamie A.; Burke, Douglas; Chen, Judy C.; Civano, Francesca Maria; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Ian N.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Graessle, Dale E.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; Houck, John C.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Laurino, Omar; Lee, Nicholas P.; Martínez-Galarza, Rafael; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph; McLaughlin, Warren; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nguyen, Dan T.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Paxson, Charles; Plummer, David A.; Primini, Francis Anthony; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Van Stone, David W.

2018-01-01

Easy-to-use, powerful public interfaces to access the wealth of information contained in any modern, complex astronomical catalog are fundamental to encourage its usage. In this poster,I present the public interfaces of the second Chandra Source Catalog (CSC2). CSC2 is the most comprehensive catalog of X-ray sources detected by Chandra, thanks to the inclusion of Chandra observations public through the end of 2014 and to methodological advancements. CSC2 provides measured properties for a large number of sources that sample the X-ray sky at fainter levels than the previous versions of the CSC, thanks to the stacking of single overlapping observations within 1’ before source detection. Sources from stacks are then crossmatched, if multiple stacks cover the same area of the sky, to create a list of unique, optimal CSC2 sources. The properties of sources detected in each single stack and each single observation are also measured. The layered structure of the CSC2 catalog is mirrored in the organization of the CSC2 database, consisting of three tables containing all properties for the unique stacked sources (“Master Source”), single stack sources (“Stack Source”) and sources in any single observation (“Observation Source”). These tables contain estimates of the position, flags, extent, significances, fluxes, spectral properties and variability (and associated errors) for all classes of sources. The CSC2 also includes source region and full-field data products for all master sources, stack sources and observation sources: images, photon event lists, light curves and spectra.CSCview, the main interface to the CSC2 source properties and data products, is a GUI tool that allows to build queries based on the values of all properties contained in CSC2 tables, query the catalog, inspect the returned table of source properties, browse and download the associated data products. I will also introduce the suite of command-line interfaces to CSC2 that can be used in

THE CHANDRA COSMOS LEGACY SURVEY: OPTICAL/IR IDENTIFICATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchesi, S.; Civano, F.; Urry, C. M.; Elvis, M.; Salvato, M.; Brusa, M.; Lanzuisi, G.; Vignali, C.; Comastri, A.; Gilli, R.; Zamorani, G.; Cappelluti, N.; Hasinger, G.; Miyaji, T.; Treister, E.; Allevato, V.; Finoguenov, A.; Cardamone, C.; Griffiths, R. E.; Karim, A.

2016-01-01

We present the catalog of optical and infrared counterparts of the Chandra  COSMOS-Legacy  Survey, a 4.6 Ms Chandra  program on the 2.2 deg 2 of the COSMOS field, combination of 56 new overlapping observations obtained in Cycle 14 with the previous C-COSMOS survey. In this Paper we report the i, K, and 3.6 μm identifications of the 2273 X-ray point sources detected in the new Cycle 14 observations. We use the likelihood ratio technique to derive the association of optical/infrared (IR) counterparts for 97% of the X-ray sources. We also update the information for the 1743 sources detected in C-COSMOS, using new K and 3.6 μm information not available when the C-COSMOS analysis was performed. The final catalog contains 4016 X-ray sources, 97% of which have an optical/IR counterpart and a photometric redshift, while ≃54% of the sources have a spectroscopic redshift. The full catalog, including spectroscopic and photometric redshifts and optical and X-ray properties described here in detail, is available online. We study several X-ray to optical (X/O) properties: with our large statistics we put better constraints on the X/O flux ratio locus, finding a shift toward faint optical magnitudes in both soft and hard X-ray band. We confirm the existence of a correlation between X/O and the the 2–10 keV luminosity for Type 2 sources. We extend to low luminosities the analysis of the correlation between the fraction of obscured AGNs and the hard band luminosity, finding a different behavior between the optically and X-ray classified obscured fraction

Acharya Prafulla Chandra at the College of Science

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

and by his remarkable book, 'History of Hindu Chemistry'. His activities progressed ... chemistry journals in England, Germany and America. Prafulla. Chandra ... Presidency College in 1889, he wrote an illustrated zoology primer for children.

Chandra Observations of M31 and their Implications for its ISM

Science.gov (United States)

Primini, F.; Garcia, M.; Murray, S.; Forman, W.; Jones, C.; McClintock, J.

2000-01-01

As part of the Chandra X-ray Observatory's Survey/Monitoring Program of M31, we have been regularly observing the bulge amd inner disk of M31 for nearly 1 year, using both the HRC and ACIS Instruments. We present results from our program th it are of interest to the study of the ISM in M31. In particular, spectral analysis of bright, unresolved x-ray sources in the bulge reveals the presence of significant local x-ray extinction (N(sub H) is about 2 x 10(exp 21)/square cm), and we will attempt to map out this extinction, Further, we find that diffuse emission accounts for a significant fraction of the overall x-ray flux from the bulge. Finally, our search for x-ray counterparts to supernova remnants in M31 yields surprisingly few candidates.

Chandra Grating Spectroscopy of Three Hot White Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Adamczak, J.; Werner, K.; Rauch, T.; Schuh, S.; Drake, J. J.; Kruk, J. W.

2013-01-01

High-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopic observations of single hot white dwarfs are scarce. With the Chandra Low-Energy Transmission Grating, we have observed two white dwarfs, one is of spectral type DA (LB1919) and the other is a non-DA of spectral type PG1159 (PG1520+525). The spectra of both stars are analyzed, together with an archival Chandra spectrum of another DA white dwarf (GD246). Aims. The soft X-ray spectra of the two DA white dwarfs are investigated in order to study the effect of gravitational settling and radiative levitation of metals in their photospheres. LB1919 is of interest because it has a significantly lower metallicity than DAs with otherwise similar atmospheric parameters. GD246 is the only white dwarf known that shows identifiable individual iron lines in the soft X-ray range. For the PG1159 star, a precise effective temperature determination is performed in order to confine the position of the blue edge of the GW Vir instability region in the HRD. Methods. The Chandra spectra are analyzed with chemically homogeneous as well as stratified NLTE model atmospheres that assume equilibrium between gravitational settling and radiative acceleration of chemical elements. Archival EUV and UV spectra obtained with EUVE, FUSE, and HST are utilized to support the analysis. Results. No metals could be identified in LB1919. All observations are compatible with a pure hydrogen atmosphere. This is in stark contrast to the vast majority of hot DA white dwarfs that exhibit light and heavy metals and to the stratified models that predict significant metal abundances in the atmosphere. For GD246 we find that neither stratified nor homogeneous models can fit the Chandra spectrum. The Chandra spectrum of PG1520+525 constrains the effective temperature to T(sub eff) = 150 000 +/- 10 000 K. Therefore, this nonpulsating star together with the pulsating prototype of the GWVir class (PG1159-035) defines the location of the blue edge of the GWVir instability region

Monitoring of the Crab Nebula with Chandra and Other Observatories Including HST

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin C.

2014-01-01

Subsequent to the detections AGILE and Fermi/LAT of the gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula in the fall of 2010, this team has been monitoring the X-Ray emission from the Crab on a regular basis. X-Ray observations have taken place typically once per month when viewing constraints allow and more recently four times per year. There have been notable exceptions, e.g. in April of 2011 and March 2013 when we initiated a set of Chandra Target of opportunity observations in conjunction with bright gamma-ray flares. For much of the time regular HST observations were made in conjunction with the Chandra observations. The aim of this program to further characterize, in depth, the X-Ray and optical variations that take place in the nebula, and by so doing determine the regions which contribute to the harder X-ray variations and, if possible, determine the precise location within the Nebula of the origin of the gamma-ray flares. As part of this project members of the team have developed Singular Value Decomposition techniques to sequences of images in order to more accurately characterize features. The current status of the project will be presented highlighting studies of the inner knot and possible correlations with the flares.

APC implementation in Chandra Asri - ethylene plant

Science.gov (United States)

Sidiq, Mochamad; Mustofa, Ali

2017-05-01

Nowadays, the modern process plants are continuously improved for maximizing production, Optimization of the energy and raw material and reducing the risk. Due to many disturbances appearance between the process units, hence, the failure of one unit might have a bad effect on the overall productivity. Ethylene Plant have significant opportunities for using Advanced Process Control (APC) technologies to improve operation stability, push closer to quality or equipment limit, and improve the capability of process units to handle disturbances. APC implementation had considered a best answer for solving multivariable control problem. PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical, Tbk (CAP) operates a large naphtha cracker complex at Cilegon, Indonesia. To optimize the plant operation and to enhance the benefit, Chandra Asri has been decided to implement Advance Process Control (APC) for ethylene plant. The APC implementation technology scopes at CAP are as follows: 1. Hot Section : Furnaces, Quench Tower 2. Cold Section : Demethanizer, Deethanizer, Acetylene Converter, Ethylene Fractionator, Depropanizer, Propylene Fractionator, Debutanizer

The Chandra X-ray Observatory data processing system

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Ian; Cresitello-Dittmar, Mark; Doe, Stephen; Evans, Janet; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Germain, Gregg; Glotfelty, Kenny; Plummer, David; Zografou, Panagoula

2006-06-01

Raw data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory are processed by a set of standard data processing pipelines to create scientifically useful data products appropriate for further analysis by end users. Fully automated pipelines read the dumped raw telemetry byte stream from the spacecraft and perform the common reductions and calibrations necessary to remove spacecraft and instrumental signatures and convert the data into physically meaningful quantities that can be further analyzed by observers. The resulting data products are subject to automated validation to ensure correct pipeline processing and verify that the spacecraft configuration and scheduling matched the observers request and any constraints. In addition, pipeline processing monitors science and engineering data for anomalous indications and trending, and triggers alerts if appropriate. Data products are ingested and stored in the Chandra Data Archive, where they are made available for downloading by users. In this paper, we describe the architecture of the data processing system, including the scientific algorithms that are applied to the data, and interfaces to other subsystems. We place particular emphasis on the impacts of design choices on system integrity and maintainability. We review areas where algorithmic improvements or changes in instrument characteristics have required significant enhancements, and the mechanisms used to effect these changes while assuring continued scientific integrity and robustness. We discuss major enhancements to the data processing system that are currently being developed to automate production of the Chandra Source Catalog.

THE CHANDRA COSMOS LEGACY SURVEY: OPTICAL/IR IDENTIFICATIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marchesi, S.; Civano, F.; Urry, C. M. [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 260 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Elvis, M. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Salvato, M. [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse 1, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Brusa, M.; Lanzuisi, G.; Vignali, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, viale Berti Pichat 6/2, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Comastri, A.; Gilli, R.; Zamorani, G.; Cappelluti, N. [INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Hasinger, G. [Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Miyaji, T. [Instituto de Astronomía sede Ensenada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Km. 103, Carret. Tijunana-Ensenada, Ensenada, BC (Mexico); Treister, E. [Universidad de Concepción, Departamento de Astronomía, Casilla 160-C, Concepción (Chile); Allevato, V.; Finoguenov, A. [Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2a, FI-00014 Helsinki (Finland); Cardamone, C. [Department of Science, Wheelock College, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Griffiths, R. E. [Physics and Astronomy Dept., Natural Sciences Division, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Karim, A. [Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); and others

2016-01-20

We present the catalog of optical and infrared counterparts of the Chandra  COSMOS-Legacy  Survey, a 4.6 Ms Chandra  program on the 2.2 deg{sup 2} of the COSMOS field, combination of 56 new overlapping observations obtained in Cycle 14 with the previous C-COSMOS survey. In this Paper we report the i, K, and 3.6 μm identifications of the 2273 X-ray point sources detected in the new Cycle 14 observations. We use the likelihood ratio technique to derive the association of optical/infrared (IR) counterparts for 97% of the X-ray sources. We also update the information for the 1743 sources detected in C-COSMOS, using new K and 3.6 μm information not available when the C-COSMOS analysis was performed. The final catalog contains 4016 X-ray sources, 97% of which have an optical/IR counterpart and a photometric redshift, while ≃54% of the sources have a spectroscopic redshift. The full catalog, including spectroscopic and photometric redshifts and optical and X-ray properties described here in detail, is available online. We study several X-ray to optical (X/O) properties: with our large statistics we put better constraints on the X/O flux ratio locus, finding a shift toward faint optical magnitudes in both soft and hard X-ray band. We confirm the existence of a correlation between X/O and the the 2–10 keV luminosity for Type 2 sources. We extend to low luminosities the analysis of the correlation between the fraction of obscured AGNs and the hard band luminosity, finding a different behavior between the optically and X-ray classified obscured fraction.

TGCat, The Chandra Transmission Grating Catalog and Archive: Systems, Design and Accessibility

OpenAIRE

Mitschang, Arik W.; Huenemoerder, David P.; Nichols, Joy S.

2009-01-01

The recently released Chandra Transmission Grating Catalog and Archive, TGCat, presents a fully dynamic on-line catalog allowing users to browse and categorize Chandra gratings observations quickly and easily, generate custom plots of resulting response corrected spectra on-line without the need for special software and to download analysis ready products from multiple observations in one convenient operation. TGCat has been registered as a VO resource with the NVO providing direct access to ...

Using the Chandra Source-Finding Algorithm to Automatically Identify Solar X-ray Bright Points

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Mitzi L.; Tennant, A.; Cirtain, J. M.

2009-01-01

This poster details a technique of bright point identification that is used to find sources in Chandra X-ray data. The algorithm, part of a program called LEXTRCT, searches for regions of a given size that are above a minimum signal to noise ratio. The algorithm allows selected pixels to be excluded from the source-finding, thus allowing exclusion of saturated pixels (from flares and/or active regions). For Chandra data the noise is determined by photon counting statistics, whereas solar telescopes typically integrate a flux. Thus the calculated signal-to-noise ratio is incorrect, but we find we can scale the number to get reasonable results. For example, Nakakubo and Hara (1998) find 297 bright points in a September 11, 1996 Yohkoh image; with judicious selection of signal-to-noise ratio, our algorithm finds 300 sources. To further assess the efficacy of the algorithm, we analyze a SOHO/EIT image (195 Angstroms) and compare results with those published in the literature (McIntosh and Gurman, 2005). Finally, we analyze three sets of data from Hinode, representing different parts of the decline to minimum of the solar cycle.

A Full Year's Chandra Exposure on Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasars from the Chandra Multiwavelength Project

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Paul J.; Aldcroft, T. L.; Richards, G. T.; Barkhouse, W. A.; Constantin, A.; Haggard, D.; Karovska, M.; Kim, D.-W.; Kim, M.; Vikhlinin, A.; Anderson, S. F.; Mossman, A.; Kashyap, V.; Myers, A. D.; Silverman, J. D.; Wilkes, B. J.; Tananbaum, H.

2009-01-01

We study the spectral energy distributions and evolution of a large sample of optically selected quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey that were observed in 323 Chandra images analyzed by the Chandra Multiwavelength Project. Our highest-confidence matched sample includes 1135 X-ray detected quasars in the redshift range 0.2 3, substantially expanding the known sample. We find no evidence for evolution out to z ~ 5 for either the X-ray photon index Γ or for the ratio of optical/UV to X-ray flux αox. About 10% of detected QSOs show best-fit intrinsic absorbing columns greater than 1022 cm-2, but the fraction might reach ~1/3 if most nondetections are absorbed. We confirm a significant correlation between αox and optical luminosity, but it flattens or disappears for fainter (MB gsim -23) active galactic nucleus (AGN) alone. We report significant hardening of Γ both toward higher X-ray luminosity, and for relatively X-ray loud quasars. These trends may represent a relative increase in nonthermal X-ray emission, and our findings thereby strengthen analogies between Galactic black hole binaries and AGN. For uniformly selected subsamples of narrow-line Seyfert 1s and narrow absorption line QSOs, we find no evidence for unusual distributions of either αox or Γ.

The Cosmic History of Black Hole Accretion from Chandra X-ray Stacking

Science.gov (United States)

Treister, Ezequiel; Urry, C.; Schawinski, K.; Lee, N.; Natarajan, P.; Volonteri, M.; Sanders, D. B.

2012-05-01

In order to fully understand galaxy formation we need to know when in the cosmic history are black holes growing more intensively, in what type of galaxies this growth is happening and what fraction of these sources are invisible at most wavelengths due to obscuration. We take advantage of the rich multi-wavelength data available in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S), including the 4 Msec Chandra observations (the deepest X-ray data to date), in order to measure the amount of black hole accretion as a function of cosmic history, from z 0 to z 6. We obtain stacked rest-frame X-ray spectra for samples of galaxies binned in terms of their IR luminosity, stellar mass and other galaxy properties. We find that the AGN fraction and their typical luminosities, and thus black hole accretion rates, increase with IR luminosity and stellar mass. The integrated intensity at high energies indicates that a significant fraction of the total black hole growth, 22%, occurs in heavily-obscured systems that are not individually detected in even the deepest X-ray observations. We find evidence for a strong connection between significant black hole growth events and major galaxy mergers from z 0 to z 3, while less spectacular but longer accretion episodes are most likely due to other (stochastic) processes. E.T. and K.S. gratefully acknowledges the support provided by NASA through Chandra Postdoctoral Fellowship Award Numbers PF8-90055 and PF9-00069, respectively issued by the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center. E.T. also thanks support by NASA through Chandra Award SP1-12005X Center of Excellence in Astrophysics and Associated Technologies (PFB 06). C. M. Urry acknowledges support from NSF Grants AST-0407295, AST-0449678, AST-0807570, and Yale University.

M31 in the Chandra Era: A High Definition Movie of a Nearby Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Albert; di Stefano, Rosanne

2009-09-01

M31 has been a prime targets for all X-ray missions since the first detection in 1974. With its superb spatial resolution, Chandra is unique in resolving dense source regions and detecting faint sources. Since the launch of Chandra, M31 has been regularly observed. It is perhaps the only nearby galaxy which is observed by an X-ray telescope regularly throughout operation. With 10 years of observations, the center of M31 has been observed with Chandra for nearly 1 Msec. The X-ray skies of M31 not only consist of many transients and variables, globular cluster X-ray sources in M31 are also different from our Milky Way. They are in general more luminous and one of them may even host an intermediate-mass black hole. Supersoft and quasi-soft X-ray sources in M31 are the best kept secret to unlock the nature of the progenitor of Type Ia supernova. In this talk, I will review some of the important Chandra discoveries in M31 in the past 10 years.

Chandra position of IGR J17454-2919 and discovery of a possible NIR counterpart

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paizis, A.; Nowak, M.; Chati, S.

2015-01-01

On 2014 November 3, we observed the recently discovered INTEGRAL source IGR J17454-2919 (ATels #6530, #6574 and #6602) with Chandra HETGS for 20ks. The J2000.0 Chandra position we obtain is RA: 17 45 27.689 DEC: -29 19 53.83 (90% uncertainty of 0.6") This position (2.4" away from the Swift positi...

The role of Chandra in ten years from now and for the next few decades of astrophysical research

Science.gov (United States)

D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Becker, Glenn E.; McCollough, Michael L.; Rots, Arnold H.; Thong, Sinh A.; Van Stone, David; Winkelman, Sherry

2018-06-01

For almost twenty years, Chandra has advanced our understanding of the X-ray Universe by allowing astronomers to peer into a previously unexplored region of the high-energy observational parameters space. Thanks to its longevity,the mission has accumulated a large, unique body of observations whose legacy value, already tangible at this point, will only increase with time, and whose long-lasting influence extends well beyond the energy interval probed by Chandra. The Chandra archive, through the extensive characterization of the links between observations and literature, has measured the impact of Chandra on the astrophysical literature at a high level of granularity, providing striking evidence of how deeply and widely Chandra has impacted the advancement of both high-energy astrophysics and astronomical research from a multi-wavelength perspective. In this talk, based on the missions that have been submitted for recommendation at the next decadal survey and the possible outcomes of the evaluation process, I will discuss how Chandra archival data can be used to anticipate the projected scientific success and long-lasting effects of a X-ray mission like Lynx or, differently, how they will become instrumental to maximize the scientific output of a new generation of facilities that will observe in different energies. I will argue that, in either scenario, the centrality of Chandra will extend well after the final demise of the mission, and its data will continue serving the community in many different ways for the foreseeable future.

Chandra "Hears" A Black Hole For The First Time

Science.gov (United States)

2003-09-01

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory detected sound waves, for the first time, from a super-massive black hole. The "note" is the deepest ever detected from an object in the universe. The tremendous amounts of energy carried by these sound waves may solve a longstanding problem in astrophysics. The black hole resides in the Perseus cluster, located 250 million light years from Earth. In 2002, astronomers obtained a deep Chandra observation that shows ripples in the gas filling the cluster. These ripples are evidence for sound waves that have traveled hundreds of thousands of light years away from the cluster's central black hole. perseus animation Illustration of Ripples in Perseus "We have observed the prodigious amounts of light and heat created by black holes, now we have detected the sound," said Andrew Fabian of the Institute of Astronomy (IoA) in Cambridge, England, and leader of the study. In musical terms, the pitch of the sound generated by the black hole translates into the note of B flat. But, a human would have no chance of hearing this cosmic performance, because the note is 57 octaves lower than middle-C (by comparison a typical piano contains only about seven octaves). At a frequency over a million, billion times deeper than the limits of human hearing, this is the deepest note ever detected from an object in the universe. "The Perseus sound waves are much more than just an interesting form of black hole acoustics," said Steve Allen, also of the IoA and a co-investigator in the research. "These sound waves may be the key in figuring out how galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the universe, grow," Allen said. For years astronomers have tried to understand why there is so much hot gas in galaxy clusters and so little cool gas. Hot gas glowing with X-rays should cool, and the dense central gas should cool the fastest. The pressure in this cool central gas should then fall, causing gas further out to sink in towards the galaxy, forming trillions of

75 FR 7471 - Chandra Coffee and Rabun Boatworks, Complainants v. Georgia Power Company, Respondent; Notice of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-19

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 2354-10] Chandra Coffee and Rabun Boatworks, Complainants v. Georgia Power Company, Respondent; Notice of Complaint February 3, 2010. Take notice that on December 14, 2009, as amended on January 8, 2010, Chandra Coffee and Rabun...

Chandra Cluster Cosmology Project III: Cosmological Parameter Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vikhlinin, A.; Kravtsov, A. V.; Burenin, R. A.

2009-01-01

function evolution to be used as a useful growth of a structure-based dark energy probe. In this paper, we present cosmological parameter constraints obtained from Chandra observations of 37 clusters with langzrang = 0.55 derived from 400 deg2 ROSAT serendipitous survey and 49 brightest z ≈ 0.05 clusters...

A High-definition View Of The Circum-nuclear Regions In Nearby Seyferts With Chandra And HST

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, G.; Elvis, M.; Risaliti, G.; Karovska, M.; Zezas, A.; Mundell, C. G.

2011-09-01

To improve our understanding of AGN feedback, it is crucial to evaluate the true role of outflows on galaxy evolution observationally. I will present new results from the CHandra survey of Extended Emission-line Regions in nearby Seyfert galaxies (CHEERS), which aims to examine feedback in action in much greater detail than at high redshift. Findings from Chandra studies of the circum-nuclear region in the archetypal Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 will be discussed in detail. Exploiting Chandra's highest possible resolution, we find evidence for X-ray emission from interaction between radio outflow and the optical narrow-line region clouds, in addition to the emission from photoionized gas.

The Chandra Source Catalog 2.0: Building The Catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Grier, John D.; Plummer, David A.; Allen, Christopher E.; Anderson, Craig S.; Budynkiewicz, Jamie A.; Burke, Douglas; Chen, Judy C.; Civano, Francesca Maria; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Ian N.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Graessle, Dale E.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; Houck, John C.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Laurino, Omar; Lee, Nicholas P.; Martínez-Galarza, Juan Rafael; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph; McLaughlin, Warren; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nguyen, Dan T.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Paxson, Charles; Primini, Francis Anthony; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael; Van Stone, David W.; Zografou, Panagoula

2018-01-01

To build release 2.0 of the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC2), we require scientific software tools and processing pipelines to evaluate and analyze the data. Additionally, software and hardware infrastructure is needed to coordinate and distribute pipeline execution, manage data i/o, and handle data for Quality Assurance (QA) intervention. We also provide data product staging for archive ingestion.Release 2 utilizes a database driven system used for integration and production. Included are four distinct instances of the Automatic Processing (AP) system (Source Detection, Master Match, Source Properties and Convex Hulls) and a high performance computing (HPC) cluster that is managed to provide efficient catalog processing. In this poster we highlight the internal systems developed to meet the CSC2 challenge.This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center.

Deep Chandra Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud. II. Timing Analysis of X-Ray Pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, JaeSub; Antoniou, Vallia; Zezas, Andreas; Drake, Jeremy J.; Plucinsky, Paul P. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Haberl, Frank [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbach straße, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Sasaki, Manami [Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Sternwartstrasse 7, 96049 Bamberg (Germany); Laycock, Silas, E-mail: jaesub@head.cfa.harvard.edu [Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA 01854 (United States)

2017-09-20

We report the timing analysis results of X-ray pulsars from a recent deep Chandra survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We analyzed a total exposure of 1.4 Ms from 31 observations over a 1.2 deg{sup 2} region in the SMC under a Chandra X-ray Visionary Program. Using the Lomb–Scargle and epoch-folding techniques, we detected periodic modulations from 20 pulsars and a new candidate pulsar. The survey also covered 11 other pulsars with no clear sign of periodic modulation. The 0.5–8 keV X-ray luminosity ( L {sub X} ) of the pulsars ranges from 10{sup 34} to 10{sup 37} erg s{sup −1} at 60 kpc. All of the Chandra sources with L {sub X} ≳ 4 × 10{sup 35} erg s{sup −1} exhibit X-ray pulsations. The X-ray spectra of the SMC pulsars (and high-mass X-ray binaries) are in general harder than those of the SMC field population. All but SXP 8.02 can be fitted by an absorbed power-law model with a photon index of Γ ≲ 1.5. The X-ray spectrum of the known magnetar SXP 8.02 is better fitted with a two-temperature blackbody model. Newly measured pulsation periods of SXP 51.0, SXP 214, and SXP 701, are significantly different from the previous XMM-Newton and RXTE measurements. This survey provides a rich data set for energy-dependent pulse profile modeling. Six pulsars show an almost eclipse-like dip in the pulse profile. Phase-resolved spectral analysis reveals diverse spectral variations during pulsation cycles: e.g., for an absorbed power-law model, some exhibit an (anti)-correlation between absorption and X-ray flux, while others show more intrinsic spectral variation (i.e., changes in photon indices).

Initial Performance of the Attitude Control and Aspect Determination Subsystems on the Chandra Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, R.; Aldcroft, T.; Podgorski, W. A.; Freeman, M. D.

2000-01-01

The aspect determination system of the Chandra X-ray Observatory plays a key role in realizing the full potential of Chandra's X-ray optics and detectors. We review the performance of the spacecraft hardware components and sub-systems, which provide information for both real time control of the attitude and attitude stability of the Chandra Observatory and also for more accurate post-facto attitude reconstruction. These flight components are comprised of the aspect camera (star tracker) and inertial reference units (gyros), plus the fiducial lights and fiducial transfer optics which provide an alignment null reference system for the science instruments and X-ray optics, together with associated thermal and structural components. Key performance measures will be presented for aspect camera focal plane data, gyro performance both during stable pointing and during maneuvers, alignment stability and mechanism repeatability.

Real Time Space Weather Support for Chandra X-ray Observatory Operations

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, S. L.; Miller, S.; Minow, J. I.; Wolk, S.; Aldcroft, T. L.; Spitzbart, B. D.; Swartz, D. A.

2012-12-01

NASA launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory in July 1999. Soon after first light in August 1999, however, degradation in the energy resolution and charge transfer efficiency of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) x-ray detectors was observed. The source of the degradation was quickly identified as radiation damage in the charge-transfer channel of the front-illuminated CCDs, by weakly penetrating ("soft", 100-500 keV) protons as Chandra passed through the Earth's radiation belts and ring currents. As soft protons were not considered a risk to spacecraft health before launch, the only on-board radiation monitoring system is the Electron, Proton, and Helium Instrument (EPHIN) which was included on Chandra with the primary purpose of monitoring energetic solar particle events. Further damage to the ACIS detector has been successfully mitigated through a combination of careful mission planning, autonomous on-board radiation protection, and manual intervention based upon real-time monitoring of the soft-proton environment. The AE-8 and AP-8 trapped radiation models and Chandra Radiation Models are used to schedule science operations in regions of low proton flux. EPHIN has been used as the primary autonomous in-situ radiation trigger; but, it is not sensitive to the soft protons that damage the front-illuminated CCDs. Monitoring of near-real-time space weather data sources provides critical information on the proton environment outside the Earth's magnetosphere due to solar proton events and other phenomena. The operations team uses data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) to provide near-real-time monitoring of the proton environment; however, these data do not give a representative measure of the soft-proton (real-time data provided by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. This presentation will discuss radiation mitigation against proton damage, including models and real-time data sources used to protect the ACIS detector

The Chandra Source Catalog 2.0: Spectral Properties

Science.gov (United States)

McCollough, Michael L.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Burke, Douglas; Nowak, Michael A.; Primini, Francis Anthony; Laurino, Omar; Nguyen, Dan T.; Allen, Christopher E.; Anderson, Craig S.; Budynkiewicz, Jamie A.; Chen, Judy C.; Civano, Francesca Maria; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Ian N.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Graessle, Dale E.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; Houck, John C.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Lee, Nicholas P.; Martínez-Galarza, Juan Rafael; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph; McLaughlin, Warren; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Paxson, Charles; Plummer, David A.; Rots, Arnold H.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael; Van Stone, David W.; Zografou, Panagoula; Chandra Source Catalog Team

2018-01-01

The second release of the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) contains all sources identified from sixteen years' worth of publicly accessible observations. The vast majority of these sources have been observed with the ACIS detector and have spectral information in 0.5-7 keV energy range. Here we describe the methods used to automatically derive spectral properties for each source detected by the standard processing pipeline and included in the final CSC. The sources with high signal to noise ratio (exceeding 150 net counts) were fit in Sherpa (the modeling and fitting application from the Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations package) using wstat as a fit statistic and Bayesian draws method to determine errors. Three models were fit to each source: an absorbed power-law, blackbody, and Bremsstrahlung emission. The fitted parameter values for the power-law, blackbody, and Bremsstrahlung models were included in the catalog with the calculated flux for each model. The CSC also provides the source energy fluxes computed from the normalizations of predefined absorbed power-law, black-body, Bremsstrahlung, and APEC models needed to match the observed net X-ray counts. For sources that have been observed multiple times we performed a Bayesian Blocks analysis will have been performed (see the Primini et al. poster) and the most significant block will have a joint fit performed for the mentioned spectral models. In addition, we provide access to data products for each source: a file with source spectrum, the background spectrum, and the spectral response of the detector. Hardness ratios were calculated for each source between pairs of energy bands (soft, medium and hard). This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center.

Modeling Contamination Migration on the Chandra X-ray Observatory II

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, Steve; Swartz, Doug; Tice, Neil; Plucinsky, Paul; Grant, Catherine; Marshall, Herman; Vikhlinin, Alexey

2013-01-01

During its first 14 years of operation, the cold (about -60degC) optical blocking filter of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory, has accumulated a growing layer of molecular contamination that attenuates low-energy x rays. Over the past few years, the accumulation rate, spatial distribution, and composition may have changed, perhaps partially related to changes in the operating temperature of the ACIS housing. This evolution of the accumulation of the molecular contamination has motivated further analysis of contamination migration on the Chandra X-ray Observatory, particularly within and near the ACIS cavity. To this end, the current study employs a higher-fidelity geometric model of the ACIS cavity, detailed thermal modeling based upon monitored temperature data, and an accordingly refined model of the molecular transport.

CHANDRA X-RAY DETECTION OF THE ENIGMATIC FIELD STAR BP Psc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kastner, Joel H.; Montez, Rodolfo; Rodriguez, David; Zuckerman, B.; Perrin, Marshall D.; Grosso, Nicolas; Forveille, Thierry; Graham, James R.

2010-01-01

BP Psc is a remarkable emission-line field star that is orbited by a dusty disk and drives a parsec-scale system of jets. We report the detection by the Chandra X-ray Observatory of a weak X-ray point source coincident with the centroids of optical/IR and submillimeter continuum emission at BP Psc. As the star's photosphere is obscured throughout the visible and near-infrared, the Chandra X-ray source likely represents the first detection of BP Psc itself. The X-rays most likely originate with magnetic activity at BP Psc and hence can be attributed either to a stellar corona or to star-disk interactions. The log of the ratio of X-ray to bolometric luminosity, log(L X /L bol ), lies in the range -5.8 to -4.2. This is smaller than log(L X /L bol ) ratios typical of low-mass, pre-main sequence stars, but is well within the log(L X /L bol ) range observed for rapidly rotating (FK Com-type) G giant stars. Hence, the Chandra results favor an exotic model wherein the disk/jet system of BP Psc is the result of its very recently engulfing a companion star or a giant planet, as the primary star ascended the giant branch.

Chandra and the VLT Jointly Investigate the Cosmic X-Ray Background

Science.gov (United States)

2001-03-01

Summary Important scientific advances often happen when complementary investigational techniques are brought together . In the present case, X-ray and optical/infrared observations with some of the world's foremost telescopes have provided the crucial information needed to solve a 40-year old cosmological riddle. Very detailed observations of a small field in the southern sky have recently been carried out, with the space-based NASA Chandra X-Ray Observatory as well as with several ground-based ESO telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory (Chile). Together, they have provided the "deepest" combined view at X-ray and visual/infrared wavelengths ever obtained into the distant Universe. The concerted observational effort has already yielded significant scientific results. This is primarily due to the possibility to 'identify' most of the X-ray emitting objects detected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory on ground-based optical/infrared images and then to determine their nature and distance by means of detailed (spectral) observations with the VLT . In particular, there is now little doubt that the so-called 'X-ray background' , a seemingly diffuse short-wave radiation first detected in 1962, in fact originates in a vast number of powerful black holes residing in active nuclei of distant galaxies . Moreover, the present investigation has permitted to identify and study in some detail a prime example of a hitherto little known type of object, a distant, so-called 'Type II Quasar' , in which the central black hole is deeply embedded in surrounding gas and dust. These achievements are just the beginning of a most fruitful collaboration between "space" and "ground". It is yet another impressive demonstration of the rapid progress of modern astrophysics, due to the recent emergence of a new generation of extremely powerful instruments. PR Photo 09a/01 : Images of a small part of the Chandra Deep Field South , obtained with ESO telescopes

TGCat : THE CHANDRA TRANSMISSION GRATING DATA CATALOG AND ARCHIVE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huenemoerder, David P.; Dewey, Daniel; Nowak, Michael A.; Schulz, Norbert S.; Davis, John E.; Houck, John C.; Marshall, Herman L.; Noble, Michael S.; Canizares, Claude R.; Mitschang, Arik; Nichols, Joy S.; Morgan, Doug

2011-01-01

The Chandra Transmission Grating Data Archive and Catalog (TGCat) provides easy access to analysis-ready products, specifically, high-resolution X-ray count spectra and their corresponding calibrations. The web interface makes it easy to find observations of a particular object, type of object, or type of observation; to quickly assess the quality and potential usefulness of the spectra from pre-computed summary plots; or to customize a view with an interactive plotter, optionally combining spectra over multiple orders or observations. Data and responses can be downloaded as a package or as individual files, and the query results themselves can be retrieved as ASCII or Virtual Observatory tables. Portable reprocessing scripts used to create the archive and which use the Chandra X-ray Center's (CXC's) software and other publicly available software are also available, facilitating standard or customized reprocessing from Level 1 CXC archival data to spectra and responses with minimal user interaction.

Action at the Horizon: Chandra/EHT Observations of Sgr A*

Science.gov (United States)

Neilsen, Joseph

2017-09-01

In April 2017, the Event Horizon Telescope will observe Sgr A* with imaging quality sufficient to resolve the shadow of the black hole, while providing a close-up view of accretion at the horizon. As Sgr A* is a well-known source of X-ray flares, coordinated Chandra/EHT observations offer an incredible opportunity: a chance to observe structures (e.g., hotspots) near the event horizon while tracking their high-energy variability. In anticipation of a follow-up campaign in 2018, we are requesting 4x33 ks Chandra observations of Sgr A* to be coordinated with EHT. This campaign will double our chances of simultaneous flares. We will search for flares and hotspots, provide priors for EHT image reconstruction, and track any activity associated with the closest approach of the massive star S0-2.

The Chandra planetary nebula survey (CHANPLANS). II. X-ray emission from compact planetary nebulae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freeman, M.; Kastner, J. H. [Center for Imaging Science and Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, Rochester Institute of Technology, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); Montez, R. Jr. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (United States); Balick, B. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Frew, D. J.; De Marco, O.; Parker, Q. A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Macquarie Research Centre for Astronomy, Astrophysics and Astrophotonics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 (Australia); Jones, D. [Departamento de Física, Universidad de Atacama, Copayapu 485, Copiapó (Chile); Miszalski, B. [South African Astronomical Observatory, P.O. Box 9, Observatory, 7935 (South Africa); Sahai, R. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 183-900, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Blackman, E.; Frank, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (United States); Chu, Y.-H. [Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL (United States); Guerrero, M. A. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, E-18008 (Spain); Lopez, J. A. [Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Campus Ensenada, Apdo. Postal 22860, Ensenada, B. C. (Mexico); Zijlstra, A. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Bujarrabal, V. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Corradi, R. L. M. [Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, E-38206 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Nordhaus, J. [NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellow, Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); and others

2014-10-20

We present results from the most recent set of observations obtained as part of the Chandra X-ray observatory Planetary Nebula Survey (CHANPLANS), the first comprehensive X-ray survey of planetary nebulae (PNe) in the solar neighborhood (i.e., within ∼1.5 kpc of the Sun). The survey is designed to place constraints on the frequency of appearance and range of X-ray spectral characteristics of X-ray-emitting PN central stars and the evolutionary timescales of wind-shock-heated bubbles within PNe. CHANPLANS began with a combined Cycle 12 and archive Chandra survey of 35 PNe. CHANPLANS continued via a Chandra Cycle 14 Large Program which targeted all (24) remaining known compact (R {sub neb} ≲ 0.4 pc), young PNe that lie within ∼1.5 kpc. Results from these Cycle 14 observations include first-time X-ray detections of hot bubbles within NGC 1501, 3918, 6153, and 6369, and point sources in HbDs 1, NGC 6337, and Sp 1. The addition of the Cycle 14 results brings the overall CHANPLANS diffuse X-ray detection rate to ∼27% and the point source detection rate to ∼36%. It has become clearer that diffuse X-ray emission is associated with young (≲ 5 × 10{sup 3} yr), and likewise compact (R {sub neb} ≲ 0.15 pc), PNe with closed structures and high central electron densities (n{sub e} ≳ 1000 cm{sup –3}), and is rarely associated with PNe that show H{sub 2} emission and/or pronounced butterfly structures. Hb 5 is one such exception of a PN with a butterfly structure that hosts diffuse X-ray emission. Additionally, two of the five new diffuse X-ray detections (NGC 1501 and NGC 6369) host [WR]-type central stars, supporting the hypothesis that PNe with central stars of [WR]-type are likely to display diffuse X-ray emission.

THE CHANDRA SOURCE CATALOG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, Ian N.; Primini, Francis A.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He Xiangqun; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Davis, John E.; Houck, John C.; Hall, Diane M.

2010-01-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a general purpose virtual X-ray astrophysics facility that provides access to a carefully selected set of generally useful quantities for individual X-ray sources, and is designed to satisfy the needs of a broad-based group of scientists, including those who may be less familiar with astronomical data analysis in the X-ray regime. The first release of the CSC includes information about 94,676 distinct X-ray sources detected in a subset of public Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer imaging observations from roughly the first eight years of the Chandra mission. This release of the catalog includes point and compact sources with observed spatial extents ∼<30''. The catalog (1) provides access to the best estimates of the X-ray source properties for detected sources, with good scientific fidelity, and directly supports scientific analysis using the individual source data; (2) facilitates analysis of a wide range of statistical properties for classes of X-ray sources; and (3) provides efficient access to calibrated observational data and ancillary data products for individual X-ray sources, so that users can perform detailed further analysis using existing tools. The catalog includes real X-ray sources detected with flux estimates that are at least 3 times their estimated 1σ uncertainties in at least one energy band, while maintaining the number of spurious sources at a level of ∼<1 false source per field for a 100 ks observation. For each detected source, the CSC provides commonly tabulated quantities, including source position, extent, multi-band fluxes, hardness ratios, and variability statistics, derived from the observations in which the source is detected. In addition to these traditional catalog elements, for each X-ray source the CSC includes an extensive set of file-based data products that can be manipulated interactively, including source images, event lists, light curves, and spectra from each observation in which a

The Chandra Source Catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Ian N.; Primini, Francis A.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger M.; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiangqun Helen; Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; Van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.; Zografou, Panagoula

2010-07-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a general purpose virtual X-ray astrophysics facility that provides access to a carefully selected set of generally useful quantities for individual X-ray sources, and is designed to satisfy the needs of a broad-based group of scientists, including those who may be less familiar with astronomical data analysis in the X-ray regime. The first release of the CSC includes information about 94,676 distinct X-ray sources detected in a subset of public Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer imaging observations from roughly the first eight years of the Chandra mission. This release of the catalog includes point and compact sources with observed spatial extents lsim30''. The catalog (1) provides access to the best estimates of the X-ray source properties for detected sources, with good scientific fidelity, and directly supports scientific analysis using the individual source data; (2) facilitates analysis of a wide range of statistical properties for classes of X-ray sources; and (3) provides efficient access to calibrated observational data and ancillary data products for individual X-ray sources, so that users can perform detailed further analysis using existing tools. The catalog includes real X-ray sources detected with flux estimates that are at least 3 times their estimated 1σ uncertainties in at least one energy band, while maintaining the number of spurious sources at a level of lsim1 false source per field for a 100 ks observation. For each detected source, the CSC provides commonly tabulated quantities, including source position, extent, multi-band fluxes, hardness ratios, and variability statistics, derived from the observations in which the source is detected. In addition to these traditional catalog elements, for each X-ray source the CSC includes an extensive set of file-based data products that can be manipulated interactively, including source images, event lists, light curves, and spectra from each observation in which a

Real Time Space Weather Support for Chandra X-Ray Observatory Operations

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, Stephen L.; Minow, Joseph I.; Miller, J. Scott; Wolk, Scott J.; Aldcroft, Thomas L.; Spitzbart, Bradley D.; Swartz. Douglas A.

2012-01-01

NASA launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory in July 1999. Soon after first light in August 1999, however, degradation in the energy resolution and charge transfer efficiency of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) x-ray detectors was observed. The source of the degradation was quickly identified as radiation damage in the charge-transfer channel of the front-illuminated CCDs, by weakly penetrating ( soft , 100 500 keV) protons as Chandra passed through the Earth s radiation belts and ring currents. As soft protons were not considered a risk to spacecraft health before launch, the only on-board radiation monitoring system is the Electron, Proton, and Helium Instrument (EPHIN) which was included on Chandra with the primary purpose of monitoring energetic solar particle events. Further damage to the ACIS detector has been successfully mitigated through a combination of careful mission planning, autonomous on-board radiation protection, and manual intervention based upon real-time monitoring of the soft-proton environment. The AE-8 and AP-8 trapped radiation models and Chandra Radiation Models are used to schedule science operations in regions of low proton flux. EPHIN has been used as the primary autonomous in-situ radiation trigger; but, it is not sensitive to the soft protons that damage the front-illuminated CCDs. Monitoring of near-real-time space weather data sources provides critical information on the proton environment outside the Earth s magnetosphere due to solar proton events and other phenomena. The operations team uses data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) to provide near-real-time monitoring of the proton environment; however, these data do not give a representative measure of the soft-proton (real-time data provided by NOAA s Space Weather Prediction Center. This presentation describes the radiation mitigation strategies to minimize the proton damage in the ACIS CCD detectors and the importance of real-time data

Description and characterization of the ACRR's programmable transient rod withdrawal mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boldt, K.R.; Sullivan, W.H.; Kefauver, H.L.

1980-01-01

To satisfy experiment needs for Sandia's Advanced Reactor Safety Program, a programmable Transient Rod Withdrawal (TRW) mode has been developed for the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR). The programmable mode is a modification of the existing continuous-withdrawal TRW mode and permits speed and direction changes during the pulse sequence. Basically, a TRW operation is similar to a routine pulse operation except that transient rods are mechanically withdrawn rather than pneumatically fired. Being a pulse-type operation, the TRW mode complies with pulse-mode safety system settings. Control system interlocks prevent the pneumatic firing of rods in the TRW mode. The hardware for the programmable TRW mode includes three ACRR transient rods, the ACRR timer, two rod programmers, a minicomputer and a summing circuit for position indication. Each ACRR transient rod is mechanically driven by a stepping motor (rated torque at 4.24 joules) and is capable of a maximum TRW speed of 26.7 centimeters/ second. The maximum reactivity insertion rate is $2.45/second with a transient rod bank worth of $3.00 and $3.47/second with a bank worth of $4.25, which is expected to be installed soon. The ACRR timer is a multifunctional timer used in all operating modes of the reactor. In the programmable TRW mode, the timer starts the rod programmers and drops regulating rods to terminate the operation. Programmed withdrawal capability is provided by one of two rod programmers (a hardwire-based unit and a microprocessor-based unit). The hardwire unit has eight intervals in which speed, direction and distance are selected by switches on the front panel. The microprocessor-based unit has the capability of 64 intervals in which speed, direction, and distance or time can be specified. Programming this unit is accomplished from the front panel or by inputting data from an HP-9845. minicomputer via a digital I/O interface. Self-test programs in the software provide a continual check of an operating

The Chandra Source Catalog : Automated Source Correlation

Science.gov (United States)

Hain, Roger; Evans, I. N.; Evans, J. D.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E.; Gibbs, D. G.; Grier, J. D.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McCollough, M. L.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Primini, F. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Rots, A. H.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; Van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-01-01

Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) master source pipeline processing seeks to automatically detect sources and compute their properties. Since Chandra is a pointed mission and not a sky survey, different sky regions are observed for a different number of times at varying orientations, resolutions, and other heterogeneous conditions. While this provides an opportunity to collect data from a potentially large number of observing passes, it also creates challenges in determining the best way to combine different detection results for the most accurate characterization of the detected sources. The CSC master source pipeline correlates data from multiple observations by updating existing cataloged source information with new data from the same sky region as they become available. This process sometimes leads to relatively straightforward conclusions, such as when single sources from two observations are similar in size and position. Other observation results require more logic to combine, such as one observation finding a single, large source and another identifying multiple, smaller sources at the same position. We present examples of different overlapping source detections processed in the current version of the CSC master source pipeline. We explain how they are resolved into entries in the master source database, and examine the challenges of computing source properties for the same source detected multiple times. Future enhancements are also discussed. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

Chandra: Ten Years of Amazing Science with a Great Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin C.

2009-01-01

We review briefly review the history of the development of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, highlighting certain details that many attendees of this Conference might not be aware of. We then present a selection of scientific highlights of the first 10 years of this remarkable and unique mission.

Nustar and Chandra Insight into the Nature of the 3-40 Kev Nuclear Emission in Ngc 253

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmer, Bret D.; Wik, Daniel R.; Hornschemeier, Ann E.; Ptak, Andrew; Antoniu, V.; Argo, M.K.; Bechtol, K.; Boggs, S.; Christensen, F.E.; Craig, W.W.;

A HIGH FIDELITY SAMPLE OF COLD FRONT CLUSTERS FROM THE CHANDRA ARCHIVE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Owers, Matt S.; Nulsen, Paul E. J.; Markevitch, Maxim; Couch, Warrick J.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a sample of 'cold front' clusters selected from the Chandra archive. The clusters are selected based purely on the existence of surface brightness edges in their Chandra images which are modeled as density jumps. A combination of the derived density and temperature jumps across the fronts is used to select nine robust examples of cold front clusters: 1ES0657 - 558, Abell 1201, Abell 1758N, MS1455.0+2232, Abell 2069, Abell 2142, Abell 2163, RXJ1720.1+2638, and Abell 3667. This sample is the subject of an ongoing study aimed at relating cold fronts to cluster merger activity, and understanding how the merging environment affects the cluster constituents. Here, temperature maps are presented along with the Chandra X-ray images. A dichotomy is found in the sample in that there exists a subsample of cold front clusters which are clearly mergers based on their X-ray morphologies, and a second subsample of clusters which harbor cold fronts, but have surprisingly relaxed X-ray morphologies, and minimal evidence for merger activity at other wavelengths. For this second subsample, the existence of a cold front provides the sole evidence for merger activity at X-ray wavelengths. We discuss how cold fronts can provide additional information which may be used to constrain merger histories, and also the possibility of using cold fronts to distinguish major and minor mergers.

Chandra Observations of Tycho's Supernova Remnant U. Hwang , R ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

runaway thermal instabilities in a white dwarf. It was observed for 50 ks with the superb 0.5 resolution mirror on the Chandra X-ray .... emission that comes from ejecta that have propagated to the forward shock. Such a spectrum, taken from a portion of the west rim of the remnant, is shown in the right panel of Fig. 2. The fitted ...

Observations of the Crab Nebula with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin C.

2012-01-01

The Crab Nebula and its pulsar has been the subject of a number of detailed observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The superb angular resolution of Chandra s high-resolution telescope has made possible numerous remarkable results. Here we describe a number of specific studies of the Crab that I and my colleagues have undertaken. We discuss the geometry of the system, which indicates that the "inner X-ray ring", typically identified with the termination shock of the pulsar s particle wind, is most likely not in the equatorial plane of the pulsar. Other topics are the northern wisps and their evolution with time; the characterization of features in the jet to the southeast; pulse-phase spectroscopy and possible correlations with the features at other wavelengths, particularly the optical polarization; and a search for correlations of the X-ray flux with the recently-discovered gamma -ray flares.

Chandra Observations of Neutron Stars: An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin C.; Karovska, M.; Pavlov, G. G.; Zavlin, V. E.; Clarke, Tracy

2006-01-01

We present a brief review of Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of neutron stars. The outstanding spatial and spectral resolution of this great observatory have allowed for observations of unprecedented clarity and accuracy. Many of these observations have provided new insights into neutron star physics. We present an admittedly biased and overly brief overview of these observations, highlighting some new discoveries made possible by the Observatory's unique capabilities. We also include our analysis of recent multiwavelength observations of the putative pulsar and its pulsar-wind nebula in the IC 443 SNR.

Chandra Observation of Polaris: Census of Low-mass Companions

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Nancy Remage; Guinan, Edward; Engle, Scott; Wolk, Scott J.; Schlegel, Eric; Mason, Brian D.; Karovska, Margarita; Spitzbart, Bradley

2010-05-01

We have observed Cepheid Polaris (α UMi A: F7 Ib [Aa] + F6 V [Ab]) with Chandra ACIS-I for 10 ks. An X-ray source was found at the location of Polaris with log LX = 28.89 erg s-1 (0.3-8 keV) and kT = 0.6 keV. A spectrum this soft could come from either the supergiant or the dwarf, as shown by comparable coronal stars. Two resolved low-mass visual companions, "C" and "D," are not physical members of the system based on the lack of X-rays (indicating an age older than the Cepheid) and inconsistent proper motions. Polaris B is not an X-ray source, consistent with its early F spectral type, and probably does not have a lower mass companion itself. A possible more distant member is identified, and an additional less plausible one. This provides a complete census of companions out to 0.1 pc covering a mass ratio range of an order of magnitude and a ΔV of nearly 15 mag. Based on observations made with the NASA Chandra Satellite.

A CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF THE ECLIPSING WOLF-RAYET BINARY CQ Cep

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skinner, Stephen L. [CASA, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0389 (United States); Zhekov, Svetozar A. [Space Research and Technology Institute, Akad. G. Bonchev Str., Sofia, 1113 (Bulgaria); Güdel, Manuel [Dept. of Astrophysics, Univ. of Vienna, Türkenschanzstr. 17, A-1180 Vienna (Austria); Schmutz, Werner, E-mail: stephen.skinner@colorado.edu, E-mail: szhekov@space.bas.bg, E-mail: manuel.guedel@univie.ac.at, E-mail: werner.schmutz@pmodwrc.ch [Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos and World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC), Dorfstrasse 33, CH-7260 Davos Dorf (Switzerland)

2015-02-01

The short-period (1.64 d) near-contact eclipsing WN6+O9 binary system CQ Cep provides an ideal laboratory for testing the predictions of X-ray colliding wind shock theory at close separation where the winds may not have reached terminal speeds before colliding. We present results of a Chandra X-ray observation of CQ Cep spanning ∼1 day during which a simultaneous Chandra optical light curve was acquired. Our primary objective was to compare the observed X-ray properties with colliding wind shock theory, which predicts that the hottest shock plasma (T ≳ 20 MK) will form on or near the line-of-centers between the stars. The X-ray spectrum is strikingly similar to apparently single WN6 stars such as WR 134 and spectral lines reveal plasma over a broad range of temperatures T ∼ 4-40 MK. A deep optical eclipse was seen as the O star passed in front of the Wolf-Rayet star and we determine an orbital period P {sub orb} = 1.6412400 d. Somewhat surprisingly, no significant X-ray variability was detected. This implies that the hottest X-ray plasma is not confined to the region between the stars, at odds with the colliding wind picture and suggesting that other X-ray production mechanisms may be at work. Hydrodynamic simulations that account for such effects as radiative cooling and orbital motion will be needed to determine if the new Chandra results can be reconciled with the colliding wind picture.

CHEERS Results on Mrk 573: A Study of Deep Chandra Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Paggi, Alessandro; Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita

2012-09-01

We present results on Mrk 573 obtained as part of the CHandra survey of Extended Emission-line Regions in nearby Seyfert galaxies (CHEERS). Previous studies showed that this source features a biconical emission in the soft X-ray band closely related to the narrow-line region as mapped by the [O III] emission line and the radio emission, though on a smaller scale; we investigate the properties of soft X-ray emission from this source with new deep Chandra observations. Making use of the subpixel resolution of the Chandra/ACIS image and point-spread function deconvolution, we resolve and study substructures in each ionizing cone. The two cone spectra are fitted with a photoionization model, showing a mildly photoionized phase diffused over the bicone. Thermal collisional gas at about ~1.1 keV and ~0.8 keV appears to be located between the nucleus and the "knots" resolved in radio observations, and between the "arcs" resolved in the optical images, respectively; this can be interpreted in terms of shock interaction with the host galactic plane. The nucleus shows a significant flux decrease across the observations indicating variability of the active galactic nucleus (AGN), with the nuclear region featuring a higher ionization parameter with respect to the bicone region. The long exposure allows us to find extended emission up to ~7 kpc from the nucleus along the bicone axis. Significant emission is also detected in the direction perpendicular to the ionizing cones, disagreeing with the fully obscuring torus prescribed in the AGN unified model and suggesting instead the presence of a clumpy structure.

The Restless Universe - Understanding X-Ray Astronomy in the Age of Chandra and Newton

Science.gov (United States)

Schlegel, Eric M.

2002-10-01

Carl Sagan once noted that there is only one generation that gets to see things for the first time. We are in the midst of such a time right now, standing on the threshold of discovery in the young and remarkable field of X-ray astronomy. In The Restless Universe , astronomer Eric Schlegel offers readers an informative survey of this cutting-edge science. Two major space observatories launched in the last few years--NASA's Chandra and the European Newton --are now orbiting the Earth, sending back a gold mine of data on the X-ray universe. Schlegel, who has worked on the Chandra project for seven years, describes the building and launching of this space-based X-ray observatory. But the book goes far beyond the story of Chandra . What Schlegel provides here is the background a nonscientist would need to grasp the present and follow the future of X-ray astronomy. He looks at the relatively brief history of the field, the hardware used to detect X-rays, the satellites--past, present, and future--that have been or will be flown to collect the data, the way astronomers interpret this data, and, perhaps most important, the insights we have already learned as well as speculations about what we may soon discover. And throughout the book, Schlegel conveys the excitement of looking at the universe from the perspective brought by these new observatories and the sharper view they deliver. Drawing on observations obtained from Chandra, Newton , and previous X-ray observatories, The Restless Universe gives a first look at an exciting field which significantly enriches our understanding of the universe.

VARIABILITY OF OPTICAL COUNTERPARTS IN THE CHANDRA GALACTIC BULGE SURVEY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Britt, C. T.; Hynes, R. I.; Johnson, C. B.; Baldwin, A.; Collazzi, A.; Gossen, L. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001 (United States); Jonker, P. G.; Torres, M. A. P. [SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht (Netherlands); Nelemans, G. [Department of Astrophysics, IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Maccarone, T. [Department of Physics, Texas Tech University, Box 41051, Science Building, Lubbock, TX 79409-1051 (United States); Steeghs, D.; Greiss, S. [Astronomy and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Heinke, C. [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, CCIS 4-183, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1 (Canada); Bassa, C. G. [Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Villar, A. [Department of Physics, Massachussettes Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (United States); Gabb, M. [Department of Physics, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431-0991 (United States)

2014-09-01

We present optical light curves of variable stars consistent with the positions of X-ray sources identified with the Chandra X-ray Observatory for the Chandra Galactic Bulge Survey (GBS). Using data from the Mosaic-II instrument on the Blanco 4 m Telescope at CTIO, we gathered time-resolved photometric data on timescales from ∼2 hr to 8 days over the 3/4 of the X-ray survey containing sources from the initial GBS catalog. Among the light curve morphologies we identify are flickering in interacting binaries, eclipsing sources, dwarf nova outbursts, ellipsoidal variations, long period variables, spotted stars, and flare stars. Eighty-seven percent of X-ray sources have at least one potential optical counterpart. Twenty-seven percent of these candidate counterparts are detectably variable; a much greater fraction than expected for randomly selected field stars, which suggests that most of these variables are real counterparts. We discuss individual sources of interest, provide variability information on candidate counterparts, and discuss the characteristics of the variable population.

Rapport de frais de 2016-2017 pour Chandra Madramootoo | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Rapport de frais de 2016-2017 pour Chandra Madramootoo. Total des frais de déplacement : CAD$10,750.19. Réunion du Conseil des gouverneurs. 20 mars 2017 au 22 mars 2017. CAD$821.31. Réunion du Conseil des gouverneurs. 20 novembre 2016 au 23 novembre 2016. CAD$907.94. Initiation des nouveaux ...

Romanticism or Reality? An Exploration of Frances Mary Hendry's "Chandra."

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Jilaine

This paper singles out a novel written for children about India, "Chandra" (1995) by Frances Mary Hendry, as a powerful and useful novel to present to today's 11 to 14 year old students. The paper contends that the novel allows students to explore and consider different value systems, challenges them to become aware of prejudice and the…

Chandra Survey of Nearby Galaxies: The Catalog

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

She, Rui; Feng, Hua [Department of Engineering Physics and Center for Astrophysics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Ho, Luis C. [Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100087 (China)

2017-02-01

We searched the public archive of the Chandra X-ray Observatory as of 2016 March and assembled a sample of 719 galaxies within 50 Mpc with available Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer observations. By cross-correlation with the optical or near-infrared nuclei of these galaxies, 314 of them are identified to have an X-ray active galactic nucleus (AGN). The majority of them are low-luminosity AGNs and are unlikely X-ray binaries based upon their spatial distribution and luminosity functions. The AGN fraction is around 60% for elliptical galaxies and early-type spirals, but drops to roughly 20% for Sc and later types, consistent with previous findings in the optical. However, the X-ray survey is more powerful in finding weak AGNs, especially from regions with active star formation that may mask the optical AGN signature. For example, 31% of the H ii nuclei are found to harbor an X-ray AGN. For most objects, a single power-law model subject to interstellar absorption is adequate to fit the spectrum, and the typical photon index is found to be around 1.8. For galaxies with a non-detection, their stacked Chandra image shows an X-ray excess with a luminosity of a few times 10{sup 37} erg s{sup −1} on average around the nuclear region, possibly composed of faint X-ray binaries. This paper reports on the technique and results of the survey; in-depth analysis and discussion of the results will be reported in forthcoming papers.

A medium-deep Chandra and Subaru survey of the 13-h XMM/ROSAT deep survey area

Science.gov (United States)

McHardy, I. M.; Gunn, K. F.; Newsam, A. M.; Mason, K. O.; Page, M. J.; Takata, T.; Sekiguchi, K.; Sasseen, T.; Cordova, F.; Jones, L. R.; Loaring, N.

2003-07-01

We present the results of a Chandra ACIS-I survey of a high-latitude region at 13 h +38° which was earlier observed with ROSAT and which has recently been observed by XMM-Newton for 200 ks. XMM-Newton will provide good-quality X-ray spectra for over 200 sources with fluxes around the knee of the log N/ log S, which are responsible for the bulk of the X-ray background. The main aim of the Chandra observations is to provide arcsecond, or better, positions, and hence reliable identifications, for the XMM-Newton sources. The ACIS-I observations were arranged in a mosaic of four 30-ks pointings, covering almost all of the 15-arcmin radius XMM-Newton/ROSAT field. We detect 214 Chandra sources above a Cash likelihood statistic of 25, which approximates to 5σ significance, to a limiting flux of ~1.3 × 10-15 erg cm-2 s-1 (0.5-7 keV). Optical counterparts are derived from a Subaru SuprimeCam image reaching to R~ 27. The very large majority of the Chandra sources have an optical counterpart, with the distribution peaking at 23 high LX/Lopt ratios, implying absorption at moderate redshift. Comparison with the earlier ROSAT survey shows that the accuracy of the ROSAT positions agrees very well with the predictions from simulations by McHardy et al. and that the large majority of the identifications were correct.

Chandra X-ray Observations of Jovian Low-latitude Emissions: Morphological, Temporal, and Spectral Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Bhardwaj, Anil; Elsner, Ronald F.; Gladstone, G. Randall; Cravens, Thomas E.; Waiate J. Hunter, Jr.; Branduardi-Raymont, Graziella; Ford, Peter

2004-01-01

Chandra observed X-rays from Jupiter during 24-26 February 2003 for about 40 hours with the ACIS-S and HRC-I instruments. The analysis of Jovian low-latitude "disk" Xray emissions are presented and compared with the high-latitude "auroral" emissions. We report the first Chandra ACIS-S measured X-ray spectrum (0.3-2 keV) of Jupiter's low-latitude disk The disk X-ray emission is harder and extends to higher energies than the auroral spectrum. The temporal variation in the Jovian disk X-rays is on an average consistent with those in the solar X-rays observed by GOES, and TIMED/SSE. Contrary to the auroral X-rays, the disk emissions are uniformly distributed over Jupiter; no indication of longitudinal dependence or correlation with surface magneh field strength is visible. Also, unlike the approx. 40 +/- 20 min periodic oscillations seen in the auroral X-ray emissions, the disk emissions do not show any periodic oscillations. The disk spectrum seems to be consistent with resonant and fluorescent scattering of solar X-rays by the Jovian upper atmosphere. Jupiter's disk is found to be about 50% dimmer in soft X-rays in February 2003 compared that in December 2000, which is consistent with the decrease in solar activity. No evidence of lightning-induced X-rays is seen in the Chandra X-ray data. The Jovian disk spectra observed with Chandra-ACIS is stronger than that observed with XMM-Newton two months later during April 28-29, 2003. The XMM-Newton Xray image of Jupiter shows evidence of limb darkening on the anti-sunward side as seen from Earth, as well as an asymmetry with respect to the subsolar point: suggesting a solar driven process.

The kinematics and chemical stratification of the type Ia supernova remnant 0519-69.0 : an XMM-Newton and Chandra study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kosenko, D.; Helder, E.A.; Vink, J.

2010-01-01

We present a detailed analysis of the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray data of the young type Ia supernova remnant SNR 0519-69.0, which is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We used data from both the Chandra ACIS and XMM-Newton EPIC MOS instruments, and high resolution X-ray spectra obtained with

A Deep Chandra Observation of the Distant Galaxy Cluster MS 1137.5+6625

Science.gov (United States)

Grego, Laura; Vrtilek, J. M.; Van Speybroeck, Leon; David, Laurence P.; Forman, William; Carlstrom, John E.; Reese, Erik D.; Joy, Marshall K.

2004-06-01

We present results from a deep Chandra observation of MS 1137.5+66, a distant (z=0.783) and massive cluster of galaxies. Only a few similarly massive clusters are currently known at such high redshifts; accordingly, this observation provides much needed information on the dynamical state of these rare systems. The cluster appears both regular and symmetric in the X-ray image. However, our analysis of the spectral and spatial X-ray data in conjunction with interferometric Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect data and published deep optical imaging suggests that the cluster has a fairly complex structure. The angular diameter distance we calculate from the Chandra and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect data assuming an isothermal, spherically symmetric cluster implies a low value for the Hubble constant for which we explore possible explanations.

Early Chandra X-ray Observations of Eta Carinae

OpenAIRE

Seward, F. D.; Butt, Y. M.; Karovska, M.; Schlegel, A. Prestwich. E. M.; Corcoran, M.

2001-01-01

Sub-arcsecond resolution Chandra observations of Eta Carinae reveal a 40 arcsec X 70 arcsec ring or partial shell of X-ray emission surrounding an unresolved, bright, central source. The spectrum of the central source is strongly absorbed and can be fit with a high-temperature thermal continuum and emission lines. The surrounding shell is well outside the optical/IR bipolar nebula and is coincident with the Outer Shell of Eta Carinae. The X-ray spectrum of the Shell is much softer than that o...

Implications from XMM and Chandra Source Catalogs for Future Studies with Lynx

Science.gov (United States)

Ptak, Andrew

2018-01-01

Lynx will perform extremely sensitive X-ray surveys by combining very high-resolution imaging over a large field of view with a high effective area. These will include deep planned surveys and serendipitous source surveys. Here we discuss implications that can be gleaned from current Chandra and XMM-Newton serendipitous source surveys. These current surveys have discovered novel sources such as tidal disruption events, binary AGN, and ULX pulsars. In addition these surveys have detected large samples of normal galaxies, low-luminosity AGN and quasars due to the wide-area coverage of the Chandra and XMM-Newton source catalogs, allowing the evolution of these phenonema to be explored. The wide area Lynx surveys will probe down further in flux and will be coupled with very sensitive wide-area surveys such as LSST and SKA, allowing for detailed modeling of their SEDs and the discovery of rare, exotic sources and transient events.

The Chandra Source Catalog 2.0: Estimating Source Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Primini, Francis Anthony; Allen, Christopher E.; Miller, Joseph; Anderson, Craig S.; Budynkiewicz, Jamie A.; Burke, Douglas; Chen, Judy C.; Civano, Francesca Maria; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Ian N.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Graessle, Dale E.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; Houck, John C.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Laurino, Omar; Lee, Nicholas P.; Martínez-Galarza, Juan Rafael; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; McLaughlin, Warren; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nguyen, Dan T.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Paxson, Charles; Plummer, David A.; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael; Van Stone, David W.; Zografou, Panagoula

2018-01-01

The Second Chandra Source Catalog (CSC2.0) will provide information on approximately 316,000 point or compact extended x-ray sources, derived from over 10,000 ACIS and HRC-I imaging observations available in the public archive at the end of 2014. As in the previous catalog release (CSC1.1), fluxes for these sources will be determined separately from source detection, using a Bayesian formalism that accounts for background, spatial resolution effects, and contamination from nearby sources. However, the CSC2.0 procedure differs from that used in CSC1.1 in three important aspects. First, for sources in crowded regions in which photometric apertures overlap, fluxes are determined jointly, using an extension of the CSC1.1 algorithm, as discussed in Primini & Kashyap (2014ApJ...796…24P). Second, an MCMC procedure is used to estimate marginalized posterior probability distributions for source fluxes. Finally, for sources observed in multiple observations, a Bayesian Blocks algorithm (Scargle, et al. 2013ApJ...764..167S) is used to group observations into blocks of constant source flux.In this poster we present details of the CSC2.0 photometry algorithms and illustrate their performance in actual CSC2.0 datasets.This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center.

Korea Earth Observation Satellite Program

Science.gov (United States)

Baek, Myung-Jin; Kim, Zeen-Chul

via Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) as the prime contractor in the area of Korea earth observation satellite program to enhance Korea's space program development capability. In this paper, Korea's on-going and future earth observation satellite programs are introduced: KOMPSAT- 1 (Korea Multi Purpose Satellite-1), KOMPSAT-2 and Communication, Broadcasting and Meteorological Satellite (CBMS) program. KOMPSAT-1 satellite successfully launched in December 1999 with Taurus launch vehicle. Since launch, KOMPSAT-1 is downlinking images of Korea Peninsular every day. Until now, KOMPSAT-1 has been operated more than 2 and half years without any major hardware malfunction for the mission operation. KOMPSAT-1 payload has 6.6m panchromatic spatial resolution at 685 km on-orbit and the spacecraft bus had NASA TOMS-EP (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer-Earth Probe) spacecraft bus heritage designed and built by TRW, U.S.A.KOMPSAT-1 program was international co-development program between KARI and TRW funded by Korean Government. be launched in 2004. Main mission objective is to provide geo-information products based on the multi-spectral high resolution sensor called Multi-Spectral Camera (MSC) which will provide 1m panchromatic and 4m multi-spectral high resolution images. ELOP of Israel is the prime contractor of the MSC payload system and KARI is the total system prime contractor including spacecraft bus development and ground segment. KARI also has the contract with Astrium of Europe for the purpose of technical consultation and hardware procurement. Based on the experience throughout KOMPSAT-1 and KOMPSAT-2 space system development, Korea is expecting to establish the infrastructure of developing satellite system. Currently, KOMPSAT-2 program is in the critical design stage. are scheduled to launch in 2008 and in 2014, respectively. The mission of CBMS consists of two areas. One is of space technology test for the communications mission, and the other is of a real

Probing Large-scale Coherence between Spitzer IR and Chandra X-Ray Source-subtracted Cosmic Backgrounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cappelluti, N.; Urry, M. [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, P.O. Box 208120, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Arendt, R. [University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States); Kashlinsky, A. [Observational Cosmology Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 665, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Li, Y.; Hasinger, G. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Helgason, K. [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, P.O. Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Natarajan, P. [Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Finoguenov, A. [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Postfach 1312, D-85741, Garching bei München (Germany)

2017-09-20

We present new measurements of the large-scale clustering component of the cross-power spectra of the source-subtracted Spitzer -IRAC cosmic infrared background and Chandra -ACIS cosmic X-ray background surface brightness fluctuations Our investigation uses data from the Chandra Deep Field South, Hubble Deep Field North, Extended Groth Strip/AEGIS field, and UDS/SXDF surveys, comprising 1160 Spitzer hours and ∼12 Ms of Chandra data collected over a total area of 0.3 deg{sup 2}. We report the first (>5 σ ) detection of a cross-power signal on large angular scales >20″ between [0.5–2] keV and the 3.6 and 4.5 μ m bands, at ∼5 σ and 6.3 σ significance, respectively. The correlation with harder X-ray bands is marginally significant. Comparing the new observations with existing models for the contribution of the known unmasked source population at z < 7, we find an excess of about an order of magnitude at 5 σ confidence. We discuss possible interpretations for the origin of this excess in terms of the contribution from accreting early black holes (BHs), including both direct collapse BHs and primordial BHs, as well as from scattering in the interstellar medium and intra-halo light.

Aquifer thermal energy storage reference manual: seasonal thermal energy storage program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prater, L.S.

1980-01-01

This is the reference manual of the Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) Program, and is the primary document for the transfer of technical information of the STES Program. It has been issued in preliminary form and will be updated periodically to include more technical data and results of research. As the program progresses and new technical data become available, sections of the manual will be revised to incorporate these data. This primary document contains summaries of: the TRW, incorporated demonstration project at Behtel, Alaska, Dames and Moore demonstration project at Stony Brook, New York, and the University of Minnesota demonstration project at Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; the technical support programs including legal/institutional assessment; economic assessment; environmental assessment; field test facilities; a compendia of existing information; numerical simulation; and non-aquifer STES concepts. (LCL)

Cometary X-rays - the View After the First Chandra Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Lisse, Carey M.

2001-09-01

The unexpected discovery of x-ray emission from Comet Hyakutake in March 1996 (Lisse et al. 1996) has produced a number of questions about the physical mechanism producing the radiation. The original detection and subsequent observations (Dennerl et al. 1997, Mumma et al. 1997, Krasnopolsky et al. 1998, Owens et al. 1998, Lisse et al. 1999) have shown that the very soft (best fit thermal bremsstrahlung model kT 0.2 keV) emission is due to an interaction between the solar wind and the comet's atmosphere. Using the results from the 15 comets detected to date in x-rays, we report on the latest results on cometary x-ray emission, including new results from Chandra and XMM. As-observed morphologies, spectra, and light curves will be discussed. Our emphasis will be on understanding the physical mechanism producing the emission, and using this to determine the nature of the cometary coma, the structure of the solar wind in the heliosphere, and the source of the local soft x-ray background. This work has been graciously supported by grants from the NASA Planetary Astronomy and Astrophysical Data Programs.

Dissecting Photometric Redshift for Active Galactic Nucleus Using XMM- and Chandra-COSMOS Samples

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salvato, M.; Ilbert, O.; Hasinger, G.; Rau, A.; Civano, F.; Zamorani, G.; Brusa, M.; Elvis, M.; Vignali, C.; Aussel, H.; Comastri, A.; Fiore, F.; Le Floc'h, E.; Mainieri, V.; Bardelli, S.; Bolzonella, M.; Bongiorno, A.; Capak, P.; Caputi, K.; Cappelluti, N.; Carollo, C. M.; Contini, T.; Garilli, B.; Iovino, A.; Fotopoulou, S.; Fruscione, A.; Gilli, R.; Halliday, C.; Kneib, J. -P.; Kakazu, Y.; Kartaltepe, J. S.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Kovac, K.; Ideue, Y.; Ikeda, H.; Impey, C. D.; Le Fevre, O.; Lamareille, F.; Lanzuisi, G.; Le Borgne, J. -F.; Le Brun, V.; Lilly, S.; Maier, C.; Manohar, S.; Masters, D.; McCracken, H.; Messias, H.; Mignoli, M.; Mobasher, B.; Nagao, T.; Pello, R.; Puccetti, S.; Perez-Montero, E.; Renzini, A.; Sargent, M.; Sanders, D. B.; Scodeggio, M.; Scoville, N.; Shopbell, P.; Silvermann, J.; Taniguchi, Y.; Tasca, L.; Tresse, L.; Trump, J. R.; Zucca, E.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we release accurate photometric redshifts for 1692 counterparts to Chandra sources in the central square degree of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. The availability of a large training set of spectroscopic redshifts that extends to faint magnitudes enabled photometric

CHANDRA CLUSTER COSMOLOGY PROJECT III: COSMOLOGICAL PARAMETER CONSTRAINTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vikhlinin, A.; Forman, W. R.; Jones, C.; Murray, S. S.; Kravtsov, A. V.; Burenin, R. A.; Voevodkin, A.; Ebeling, H.; Hornstrup, A.; Nagai, D.; Quintana, H.

2009-01-01

Chandra observations of large samples of galaxy clusters detected in X-rays by ROSAT provide a new, robust determination of the cluster mass functions at low and high redshifts. Statistical and systematic errors are now sufficiently small, and the redshift leverage sufficiently large for the mass function evolution to be used as a useful growth of a structure-based dark energy probe. In this paper, we present cosmological parameter constraints obtained from Chandra observations of 37 clusters with (z) = 0.55 derived from 400 deg 2 ROSAT serendipitous survey and 49 brightest z ∼ 0.05 clusters detected in the All-Sky Survey. Evolution of the mass function between these redshifts requires Ω Λ > 0 with a ∼5σ significance, and constrains the dark energy equation-of-state parameter to w 0 = -1.14 ± 0.21, assuming a constant w and a flat universe. Cluster information also significantly improves constraints when combined with other methods. Fitting our cluster data jointly with the latest supernovae, Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, and baryonic acoustic oscillation measurements, we obtain w 0 = -0.991 ± 0.045 (stat) ±0.039 (sys), a factor of 1.5 reduction in statistical uncertainties, and nearly a factor of 2 improvement in systematics compared with constraints that can be obtained without clusters. The joint analysis of these four data sets puts a conservative upper limit on the masses of light neutrinos Σm ν M h and σ 8 from the low-redshift cluster mass function.

The software development process at the Chandra X-ray Center

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Janet D.; Evans, Ian N.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina

2008-08-01

Software development for the Chandra X-ray Center Data System began in the mid 1990's, and the waterfall model of development was mandated by our documents. Although we initially tried this approach, we found that a process with elements of the spiral model worked better in our science-based environment. High-level science requirements are usually established by scientists, and provided to the software development group. We follow with review and refinement of those requirements prior to the design phase. Design reviews are conducted for substantial projects within the development team, and include scientists whenever appropriate. Development follows agreed upon schedules that include several internal releases of the task before completion. Feedback from science testing early in the process helps to identify and resolve misunderstandings present in the detailed requirements, and allows review of intangible requirements. The development process includes specific testing of requirements, developer and user documentation, and support after deployment to operations or to users. We discuss the process we follow at the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) to develop software and support operations. We review the role of the science and development staff from conception to release of software, and some lessons learned from managing CXC software development for over a decade.

Monitoring of CH Cyg requested for Chandra and HST observations

Science.gov (United States)

Waagen, Elizabeth O.

2012-03-01

Dr. Margarita Karovska, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has requested visual and photometric observations of the symbiotic variable CH Cyg in preparation for and support of Chandra and HST observations scheduled for later in March 2012. Dr. Karovska's observations will be a followup investigation of the central region of CH Cyg and its jet that was discovered a couple of years ago. AAVSO observations are requested in order to monitor the state of the system and correlate with the satellite observations. Visual observations and CCD/PEP observations in all bands - U through J and H - are requested. Daily observations now through April 2012 and high-speed photometry through March would be appreciated. CH Cyg is currently at visual magnitude 7.7. Halpha, OIII region, and optical spectroscopy are also requested. More details on the exact dates and times of the satellite observations will be announced when they become available, but daily monitoring should begin now. [HST observations scheduled for 2012 March 18; Chandra delayed some days due to X-class solar flare of 2012 March 7.] Coordinates: RA 19 24 33.07 Dec. +50 14 29.1 (J2000.0). Finder charts may be created and data from the AAVSO International Database may be viewed, plotted, or downloaded (www.aavso.org).

Initial Performance of the Aspect System on the Chandra Observatory: Post-Facto Aspect Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Aldcroft, T.; Karovska, M.; Cresitello-Dittmar, M.; Cameron, R.

2000-01-01

The aspect system of the Chandra Observatory plays a key role in realizing the full potential of Chandra's x-ray optics and detectors. To achieve the highest spatial and spectral resolution (for grating observations), an accurate post-facto time history of the spacecraft attitude and internal alignment is needed. The CXC has developed a suite of tools which process sensor data from the aspect camera assembly and gyroscopes, and produce the spacecraft aspect solution. In this poster, the design of the aspect pipeline software is briefly described, followed by details of aspect system performance during the first eight months of flight. The two key metrics of aspect performance are: image reconstruction accuracy, which measures the x-ray image blurring introduced by aspect; and celestial location, which is the accuracy of detected source positions in absolute sky coordinates.

Deepest X-Rays Ever Reveal universe Teeming With Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

2001-03-01

-ray wavelengths. Both Chandra Deep Fields are comparable in observation time to the Hubble Deep Fields, but cover a much larger area of the sky. "In essence, it is like seeing galaxies similar to our own Milky Way at much earlier times in their lives," Hornschemeier added. "These data will help scientists better understand star formation and how stellar-sized black holes evolve." Combining infrared and X-ray observations, the Penn State team also found veils of dust and gas are common around young black holes. Another discovery to emerge from the Chandra Deep Field South is the detection of an extremely distant X-ray quasar, shrouded in gas and dust. "The discovery of this object, some 12 billion light years away, is key to understanding how dense clouds of gas form galaxies, with massive black holes at their centers," said Colin Norman of Johns Hopkins University. The Chandra Deep Field South results were complemented by the extensive use of deep optical observations supplied by the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Garching, Germany. The Penn State team obtained optical spectroscopy and imaging using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Ft. Davis, TX, and the Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea, HI. Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer was developed for NASA by Penn State and Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the leadership of Penn State Professor Gordon Garmire. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. More information is available on the Internet at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov

A High Definition View of AGN Feedback: Chandra Imaging of Nearby Seyfert Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, G.; Risaliti, G.; Elvis, M.; Karovska, M.; Zezas, A.; Mundell, C. G.

2010-03-01

To improve the physics of AGN feedback, it is crucial to evaluate the true role of outflows on galaxy evolution observationally. I will present new results from Chandra spectral imaging of nearby Seyfert galaxies, which offer unique opportunities to examine feedback in action in much greater detail than at high redshift. Exploiting Chandra's highest possible resolution, we are able to study structures in NGC 4151 on spatial scales of 0.5 arcsec (30 pc), showing an extended X-ray morphology overall consistent with the optical NLR. We find that most of the NLR clouds in NGC 4151 have [OIII] to soft X-ray ratio consistent with the values observed in NLRs of some Seyfert 2 galaxies, which indicates a uniform ionization parameter even at large radii. We examine various X-ray emission mechanisms of the radio jet and consider thermal emission from interaction between radio outflow and the NLR clouds the most probable origin for the X-ray emission associated with the jet.

The Chandra Source Catalog 2.0: Combining Data for Processing (or How I learned 17 different words for "group")

Science.gov (United States)

Hain, Roger; Allen, Christopher E.; Anderson, Craig S.; Budynkiewicz, Jamie A.; Burke, Douglas; Chen, Judy C.; Civano, Francesca Maria; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Ian N.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Graessle, Dale E.; Grier, John D.; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; Houck, John C.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Laurino, Omar; Lee, Nicholas P.; Martínez-Galarza, Juan Rafael; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph; McLaughlin, Warren; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nguyen, Dan T.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Paxson, Charles; Plummer, David A.; Primini, Francis Anthony; Rots, Arnold H.; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael; Van Stone, David W.; Zografou, Panagoula

2018-01-01

The Second Chandra Source Catalog (CSC2.0) combines data at multiple stages to improve detection efficiency, enhance source region identification, and match observations of the same celestial source taken with significantly different point spread functions on Chandra's detectors. The need to group data for different reasons at different times in processing results in a hierarchy of groups to which individual sources belong. Source data are initially identified as belonging to each Chandra observation ID and number (an "obsid"). Data from each obsid whose pointings are within sixty arcseconds of each other are reprojected to the same aspect reference coordinates and grouped into stacks. Detection is performed on all data in the same stack, and individual sources are identified. Finer source position and region data are determined by further processing sources whose photons may be commingled together, grouping such sources into bundles. Individual stacks which overlap to any extent are grouped into ensembles, and all stacks in the same ensemble are later processed together to identify master sources and determine their properties.We discuss the basis for the various methods of combining data for processing and precisely define how the groups are determined. We also investigate some of the issues related to grouping data and discuss what options exist and how groups have evolved from prior releases.This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center.

Cometary X-ray Emission: the View After the First Chandra Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Lisse, C. M.

2002-01-01

The unexpected discovery of x-ray emission from Comet Hyakutake in March 1996 (Lisse et al. 1996) has produced a number of questions about the physical mechanism producing the radiation. The original detection and subsequent observations (Dennerl et al. 1997, Mumma et al. 1997, Krasnopolsky et al. 1998, Owens et al. 1998, Lisse et al. 1999) have shown that the very soft (best fit thermal bremsstrahlung model kT ~ 0.2 keV) emission is due to an interaction between the solar wind and the comet's atmosphere. Using the results from the 15 comets detected to date in x-rays, we report on the latest results on cometary x-ray emission, including new results from Chandra and XMM. As-observed morphologies, spectra, and light curves will be discussed. Our emphasis will be on understanding the physical mechanism producing the emission, and using this to determine the nature of the cometary coma, the structure of the solar wind in the heliosphere, and the source of the local soft x-ray background. This work has been graciously supported by grants from the NASA Planetary Astronomy and Astrophysical Data Programs.

Chandra and JVLA Observations of HST Frontier Fields Cluster MACS J0717.5+3745

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Weeren, R. J.; Jones, C.; Forman, W. R.; Andrade-Santos, F.; Pearce, Connor J. J.; David, L.; Kraft, R. P.; Nulsen, P. E. J.; Ogrean, G. A.; Bonafede, A.; Brüggen, M.; Bulbul, E.; Clarke, T. E.; Churazov, E.; Dawson, W. A.; Donahue, M.; Goulding, A.; Mason, B.; Merten, J.; Mroczkowski, T.

2017-01-01

To investigate the relationship between thermal and non-thermal components in merger galaxy clusters, we present deep JVLA and Chandra observations of the HST Frontier Fields cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. The Chandra image shows a complex merger event, with at least four components belonging to different merging subclusters. Northwest of the cluster, ∼0.7 Mpc from the center, there is a ram-pressure-stripped core that appears to have traversed the densest parts of the cluster after entering the intracluster medium (ICM) from the direction of a galaxy filament to the southeast. We detect a density discontinuity north-northeast of this core, which we speculate is associated with a cold front. Our radio images reveal new details for the complex radio relic and radio halo in this cluster. In addition, we discover several new filamentary radio sources with sizes of 100–300 kpc. A few of these seem to be connected to the main radio relic, while others are either embedded within the radio halo or projected onto it. A narrow-angled-tailed (NAT) radio galaxy, a cluster member, is located at the center of the radio relic. The steep spectrum tails of this active galactic nucleus lead into the large radio relic where the radio spectrum flattens again. This morphological connection between the NAT radio galaxy and relic provides evidence for re-acceleration (revival) of fossil electrons. The presence of hot ≳20 keV ICM gas detected by Chandra near the relic location provides additional support for this re-acceleration scenario.

Chandra and JVLA Observations of HST Frontier Fields Cluster MACS J0717.5+3745

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Weeren, R. J.; Jones, C.; Forman, W. R.; Andrade-Santos, F.; Pearce, Connor J. J.; David, L.; Kraft, R. P.; Nulsen, P. E. J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Ogrean, G. A. [Department of Physics, Stanford University, 382 Via Pueblo Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-4060 (United States); Bonafede, A.; Brüggen, M. [Hamburger Sternwarte, Universität Hamburg, Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg (Germany); Bulbul, E. [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Clarke, T. E. [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20375 (United States); Churazov, E. [Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85741, Garching (Germany); Dawson, W. A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States); Donahue, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States); Goulding, A. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Mason, B. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Merten, J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Mroczkowski, T., E-mail: rvanweeren@cfa.harvard.edu [ESO—European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching b. München (Germany); and others

2017-02-01

To investigate the relationship between thermal and non-thermal components in merger galaxy clusters, we present deep JVLA and Chandra observations of the HST Frontier Fields cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. The Chandra image shows a complex merger event, with at least four components belonging to different merging subclusters. Northwest of the cluster, ∼0.7 Mpc from the center, there is a ram-pressure-stripped core that appears to have traversed the densest parts of the cluster after entering the intracluster medium (ICM) from the direction of a galaxy filament to the southeast. We detect a density discontinuity north-northeast of this core, which we speculate is associated with a cold front. Our radio images reveal new details for the complex radio relic and radio halo in this cluster. In addition, we discover several new filamentary radio sources with sizes of 100–300 kpc. A few of these seem to be connected to the main radio relic, while others are either embedded within the radio halo or projected onto it. A narrow-angled-tailed (NAT) radio galaxy, a cluster member, is located at the center of the radio relic. The steep spectrum tails of this active galactic nucleus lead into the large radio relic where the radio spectrum flattens again. This morphological connection between the NAT radio galaxy and relic provides evidence for re-acceleration (revival) of fossil electrons. The presence of hot ≳20 keV ICM gas detected by Chandra near the relic location provides additional support for this re-acceleration scenario.

A CHANDRA STUDY OF TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE INTRACLUSTER MEDIUM IN 50 GALAXY CLUSTERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Zhenghao; Xu, Haiguang; Li, Weitian; Hu, Dan; Zhang, Chenhao; Liu, Chengze [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang, Shanghai 200240 (China); Wang, Jingying; Gu, Junhua; Wu, Xiang-Ping [National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20A Datun Road, Beijing 100012 (China); Gu, Liyi [SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht (Netherlands); An, Tao [Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai 200030 (China); Zhang, Zhongli [Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, Postfach 1317, D-85741 Garching (Germany); Zhu, Jie, E-mail: clsn@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: hgxu@sjtu.edu.cn [Department of Electronic Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2016-01-10

To investigate the spatial distribution of the intracluster medium temperature in galaxy clusters in a quantitative way and probe the physics behind it, we analyze the X-ray spectra from a sample of 50 clusters that were observed with the Chandra ACIS instrument over the past 15 years and measure the radial temperature profiles out to 0.45r{sub 500}. We construct a physical model that takes into consideration the effects of gravitational heating, thermal history (such as radiative cooling, active galactic nucleus feedback, and thermal conduction), and work done via gas compression, and use it to fit the observed temperature profiles by running Bayesian regressions. The results show that in all cases our model provides an acceptable fit at the 68% confidence level. For further validation, we select nine clusters that have been observed with both Chandra (out to ≳0.3r{sub 500}) and Suzaku (out to ≳1.5r{sub 500}) and fit their Chandra spectra with our model. We then compare the extrapolation of the best fits with the Suzaku measurements and find that the model profiles agree with the Suzaku results very well in seven clusters. In the remaining two clusters the difference between the model and the observation is possibly caused by local thermal substructures. Our study also implies that for most of the clusters the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium is safe out to at least 0.5r{sub 500} and the non-gravitational interactions between dark matter and its luminous counterparts is consistent with zero.

Chandra Phase-resolved Spectroscopy of the High Magnetic Field Pulsar B1509−58

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Chin-Ping; Ng, C.-Y. [Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong); Takata, J. [School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Shannon, R. M. [International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102 (Australia); Johnston, S., E-mail: cphu@hku.hk, E-mail: ncy@bohr.physics.hku.hk [CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia)

2017-04-01

We report on a timing and spectral analysis of the young, high magnetic field rotation-powered pulsar (RPP) B1509−58 using Chandra continuous-clocking mode observation. The pulsar’s X-ray light curve can be fit by the two Gaussian components and the pulsed fraction shows moderate energy dependence over the Chandra band. The pulsed X-ray spectrum is well described by a power law with a photon index 1.16(4), which is harder than the values measured with RXTE /PCA and NuSTAR . This result supports the log-parabolic model for the broadband X-ray spectrum. With the unprecedented angular resolution of Chandra , we clearly identified off-pulse X-ray emission from the pulsar, and its spectrum is best fit by a power law plus blackbody model. The latter component has a temperature of ∼0.14 keV with a bolometric luminosity comparable to the luminosities of other young and high magnetic field RPPs, and it lies between the temperature of magnetars and typical RPPs. In addition, we found that the nonthermal X-ray emission of PSR B1509−58 is significantly softer in the off-pulse phase than in the pulsed phase, with the photon index varying between 1.0 and 1.8 and anticorrelated with the flux. This is similar to the behavior of three other young pulsars. We interpreted it as different contributions of pair-creation processes at different altitudes from the neutron star surface according to the outer-gap model.

The Chandra Source Catalog: Statistical Characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Primini, Francis A.; Nowak, M. A.; Houck, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Karovska, M.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, I. N.; Evans, J. D.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E. C.; Gibbs, D. G., II; Grier, J. D.; Hain, R.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Lauer, J.; McCollough, M. L.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Rots, A. H.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) will ultimately contain more than ˜250000 x-ray sources in a total area of ˜1% of the entire sky, using data from ˜10000 separate ACIS and HRC observations of a multitude of different types of x-ray sources (see Evans et al. this conference). In order to maximize the scientific benefit of such a large, heterogeneous dataset, careful characterization of the statistical properties of the catalog, i.e., completeness, sensitivity, false source rate, and accuracy of source properties, is required. Our Characterization efforts include both extensive simulations of blank-sky and point source datasets, and detailed comparisons of CSC results with those of other x-ray and optical catalogs. We present here a summary of our characterization results for CSC Release 1 and preliminary plans for future releases. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

Chandra resolves the T Tauri binary system RW Aur

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skinner, Stephen L. [CASA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0389 (United States); Güdel, Manuel, E-mail: stephen.skinner@colorado.edu, E-mail: manuel.guedel@univie.ac.at [Department of Astrophysics, University of Vienna, Türkenschanzstr. 17, A-1180 Vienna (Austria)

2014-06-20

RW Aur is a multiple T Tauri system consisting of an early-K type primary (A) and a K5 companion (B) at a separation of 1.''4. RW Aur A drives a bipolar optical jet that is well characterized optically. We present results of a sensitive Chandra observation whose primary objective was to search for evidence of soft extended X-ray emission along the jet, as has been seen for a few other nearby T Tauri stars. The binary is clearly resolved by Chandra and both stars are detected as X-ray sources. The X-ray spectra of both stars reveal evidence for cool and hot plasma. Surprisingly, the X-ray luminosity of the less-massive secondary is at least twice that of the primary and is variable. The disparity is attributed to the primary whose X-ray luminosity is at the low end of the range for classical T Tauri stars of similar mass based on established correlations. Deconvolved soft-band images show evidence for slight outward elongation of the source structure of RW Aur A along the blueshifted jet axis inside the central arcsecond. In addition, a faint X-ray emission peak is present on the redshifted axis at an offset of 1.''2 ± 0.''2 from the star. Deprojected jet speeds determined from previous optical studies are too low to explain this faint emission peak as shock-heated jet plasma. Thus, unless flow speeds in the redshifted jet have been underestimated, other mechanisms such as magnetic jet heating may be involved.

CHANDRA HIGH-ENERGY TRANSMISSION GRATING SPECTRUM OF AE AQUARII

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauche, Christopher W.

2009-01-01

The nova-like cataclysmic binary AE Aqr, which is currently understood to be a former supersoft X-ray binary and current magnetic propeller, was observed for over two binary orbits (78 ks) in 2005 August with the High-Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The long, uninterrupted Chandra observation provides a wealth of details concerning the X-ray emission of AE Aqr, many of which are new and unique to the HETG. First, the X-ray spectrum is that of an optically thin multi-temperature thermal plasma; the X-ray emission lines are broad, with widths that increase with the line energy from σ ∼ 1 eV (510 km s -1 ) for O VIII to σ ∼ 5.5 eV (820 km s -1 ) for Si XIV; the X-ray spectrum is reasonably well fit by a plasma model with a Gaussian emission measure distribution that peaks at log T(K) = 7.16, has a width σ = 0.48, an Fe abundance equal to 0.44 times solar, and other metal (primarily Ne, Mg, and Si) abundances equal to 0.76 times solar; and for a distance d = 100 pc, the total emission measure EM = 8.0 x 10 53 cm -3 and the 0.5-10 keV luminosity L X = 1.1 x 10 31 erg s -1 . Second, based on the f/(i + r) flux ratios of the forbidden (f), intercombination (i), and recombination (r) lines of the Heα triplets of N VI, O VII, and Ne IX measured by Itoh et al. in the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer spectrum and those of O VII, Ne IX, Mg XI, and Si XIII in the Chandra HETG spectrum, either the electron density of the plasma increases with temperature by over three orders of magnitude, from n e ∼ 6 x 10 10 cm -3 for N VI [log T(K) ∼ 6] to n e ∼ 1 x 10 14 cm -3 for Si XIII [log T(K) ∼ 7], and/or the plasma is significantly affected by photoexcitation. Third, the radial velocity of the X-ray emission lines varies on the white dwarf spin phase, with two oscillations per spin cycle and an amplitude K ∼ 160 km s -1 . These results appear to be inconsistent with the recent models of Itoh et al., Ikhsanov, and

Chandra and XMM–Newton Observations of H2O Maser Galaxy Mrk ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

component, another power-law ( = 2.45 ± 0.07) for the soft component and a narrow Gaussian fitted to the Fe Kα line (EW∼48 eV) (see Fig. 2). The common model for Seyfert 2 and the above models cannot be well-fitted with the Chandra spectra. Residuals in terms of sigma show significant excess in 2–4 KeV and over 8 ...

CHANDRA AND SUZAKU OBSERVATIONS OF THE Be/X-RAY STAR HD110432

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torrejón, J. M.; Schulz, N. S.; Nowak, M. A.

2012-01-01

We present an analysis of a pointed 141 ks Chandra high-resolution transmission gratings observation of the Be X-ray emitting star HD110432, a prominent member of the γ Cas analogs. This observation represents the first high-resolution spectrum taken for this source as well as the longest uninterrupted observation of any γ Cas analog. The Chandra light curve shows a high variability but its analysis fails to detect any coherent periodicity up to a frequency of 0.05 Hz. Hardness ratio versus intensity analyses demonstrate that the relative contributions of the [1.5-3] Å, [3-6] Å, and [6-16] Å energy bands to the total flux change rapidly in the short term. The analysis of the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) spectrum shows that, to correctly describe the spectrum, three model components are needed. Two of those components are optically thin thermal plasmas of different temperatures (kT ≈ 8-9 and 0.2-0.3 keV, respectively) described by the models vmekal or bvapec. The Fe abundance in each of these two components appears equal within the errors and is slightly subsolar with Z ≈ 0.75 Z ☉ . The bvapec model better describes the Fe L transitions, although it cannot fit well the Na XI Lyα line at 10.02 Å, which appears to be overabundant. Two different models seem to describe well the third component. One possibility is a third hot optically thin thermal plasma at kT = 16-21 keV with an Fe abundance Z ≈ 0.3 Z ☉ , definitely smaller than for the other two thermal components. Furthermore, the bvapec model describes well the Fe K shell transitions because it accounts for the turbulence broadening of the Fe XXV and Fe XXVI lines with a v turb ≈ 1200 km s –1 . These two lines, contributed mainly by the hot thermal plasma, are significantly wider than the Fe Kα line whose FWHM ☉ , and a very hot second plasma with kT ≈ 33 keV or, alternatively, a power law with photon index of Γ = 1.58. In either case, each one of the two components

A Chandra Study of Supernova Remnants in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Schenck, Andrew Corey

2017-08-01

In the first part of this thesis we measure the interstellar abundances for the elements O, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), based on the observational data of sixteen supernova remnants (SNRs) in the LMC as available in the public archive of the Chandra X-ray Observatory (Chandra). We find lower abundances than previous measurements based on a similar method using data obtained with the Advanced Satellite for Astrophysics and Cosmology (ASCA). We discuss the origins of the discrepancy between our Chandra and the previous ASCA measurements. We conclude that our measurements are generally more reliable than the ASCA results thanks to the high-resolution imaging spectroscopy with our Chandra data, although there remain some systematic uncertainties due to the use of different spectral modelings between the previous work and ours. We also discuss our results in comparison with the LMC abundance measurements based on optical observations of stars. The second part of this thesis is a detailed study of a core-collapse SNR B0049-73.6 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Based on our deep Chandra observation, we detect metal-rich ejecta features extending out to the outermost boundary of B0049-73.6, which were not seen in the previous data. We find that the central nebula is dominated by emission from reverse-shocked ejecta material enriched in O, Ne, Mg, and Si. O-rich ejecta distribution is relatively smooth throughout the central nebula. In contrast the Si-rich material is highly structured. These results suggest that B0049-73.6 was produced by an asymmetric core-collapse explosion of a massive star. The estimated abundance ratios among these ejecta elements are in plausible agreement with the nucleosynthesis products from the explosion of a 13-15M. progenitor. We reveal that the central ring-like (in projection) ejecta nebula extends to ˜9 pc from the SNR center. This suggests that the contact discontinuity (CD) may be located at a further

The Chandra Source Catalog: Algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, Jonathan; Evans, I. N.; Primini, F. A.; Glotfelty, K. J.; McCollough, M. L.; Houck, J. C.; Nowak, M. A.; Karovska, M.; Davis, J. E.; Rots, A. H.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Hain, R.; Evans, J. D.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Doe, S. M.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E. C.; Gibbs, D. G., II; Grier, J. D.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Lauer, J.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-09-01

Creation of the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) required adjustment of existing pipeline processing, adaptation of existing interactive analysis software for automated use, and development of entirely new algorithms. Data calibration was based on the existing pipeline, but more rigorous data cleaning was applied and the latest calibration data products were used. For source detection, a local background map was created including the effects of ACIS source readout streaks. The existing wavelet source detection algorithm was modified and a set of post-processing scripts used to correct the results. To analyse the source properties we ran the SAO Traceray trace code for each source to generate a model point spread function, allowing us to find encircled energy correction factors and estimate source extent. Further algorithms were developed to characterize the spectral, spatial and temporal properties of the sources and to estimate the confidence intervals on count rates and fluxes. Finally, sources detected in multiple observations were matched, and best estimates of their merged properties derived. In this paper we present an overview of the algorithms used, with more detailed treatment of some of the newly developed algorithms presented in companion papers.

Chandra's Observations of Jupiter's X-Ray Aurora During Juno Upstream and Apojove Intervals

Science.gov (United States)

Jackman, C.M.; Dunn, W.; Kraft, R.; Gladstone, R.; Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Knigge, C.; Altamirano, D.; Elsner, R.

2017-01-01

The Chandra space telescope has recently conducted a number of campaigns to observe Jupiter's X-ray aurora. The first set of campaigns took place in summer 2016 while the Juno spacecraft was upstream of the planet sampling the solar wind. The second set of campaigns took place in February, June and August 2017 at times when the Juno spacecraft was at apojove (expected close to the magnetopause). We report on these upstream and apojove campaigns including intensities and periodicities of auroral X-ray emissions. This new era of jovian X-ray astronomy means we have more data than ever before, long observing windows (up to 72 kiloseconds for this Chandra set), and successive observations relatively closely spaced in time. These features combine to allow us to pursue novel methods for examining periodicities in the X-ray emission. Our work will explore significance testing of emerging periodicities, and the search for coherence in X-ray pulsing over weeks and months, seeking to understand the robustness and regularity of previously reported hot spot X-ray emissions. The periods that emerge from our analysis will be compared against those which emerge from radio and UV wavelengths.

Shocks and cold fronts in merging and massive galaxy clusters: new detections with Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

Botteon, A.; Gastaldello, F.; Brunetti, G.

2018-06-01

A number of merging galaxy clusters show the presence of shocks and cold fronts, i.e. sharp discontinuities in surface brightness and temperature. The observation of these features requires an X-ray telescope with high spatial resolution like Chandra, and allows to study important aspects concerning the physics of the intracluster medium (ICM), such as its thermal conduction and viscosity, as well as to provide information on the physical conditions leading to the acceleration of cosmic rays and magnetic field amplification in the cluster environment. In this work we search for new discontinuities in 15 merging and massive clusters observed with Chandra by using different imaging and spectral techniques of X-ray observations. Our analysis led to the discovery of 22 edges: six shocks, eight cold fronts, and eight with uncertain origin. All the six shocks detected have Mdiverse approaches aimed to identify edges in the ICM. A radio follow-up of the shocks discovered in this paper will be useful to study the connection between weak shocks and radio relics.

Big Explosions, Strong Gravity: Making Girl Scouts ACEs of Space through Chandra Outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Hornschemeier, A. E.; Lochner, J. C.; Ganguly, R.; Feaga, L. M.; Ford, K. E. S.

2005-12-01

Thanks to two years of Chandra E/PO funding we have carried out a number of successful activities with the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, focusing on girls in the 11-17 year age range. Our reasons for targeting this age range include the general decline in interest in math and science that occurs at or after children reach this critical age (meaning that we reach them early enough to have a positive effect). We initially target girls due to their underrepresentation in science, but the actitivities are all gender-neutral and highly adaptable to other groups. The program includes two components, in collaboration with Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. The first component is a well-established one-day Girl Scout patch activity entitled Big Explosions and Strong Gravity (BESG) where the girls earn a patch for their badge sash. The four BESG activities, mostly adapted from existing E/PO material, are available on the World Wide Web for use by others. The activities cover the electromagnetic spectrum as a tool for astronomy, the cosmic abundance of the elements and the supernova origin of many of the elements, black holes and their detection, and supernova explosions/stellar evolution. Thus far approximately 200 girls and their parents have participated in BESG and it has now become part of the council culture. The second activity is new and is part of the relatively new Girl Scout Studio 2B program, which is a girl-led program for the 11-17 year age range. Based on several meetings with small groups of girls and adults, we have formed a Studio 2B "club" called the ACE of Space Club (Astronomical Cosmic Exploration). We'll describe our experiences interacting with the Girl Scouts in this girl-led program.

Detecting Multi-scale Structures in Chandra Images of Centaurus A

Science.gov (United States)

Karovska, M.; Fabbiano, G.; Elvis, M. S.; Evans, I. N.; Kim, D. W.; Prestwich, A. H.; Schwartz, D. A.; Murray, S. S.; Forman, W.; Jones, C.; Kraft, R. P.; Isobe, T.; Cui, W.; Schreier, E. J.

1999-12-01

Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is a giant early-type galaxy with a merger history, containing the nearest radio-bright AGN. Recent Chandra High Resolution Camera (HRC) observations of Cen A reveal X-ray multi-scale structures in this object with unprecedented detail and clarity. We show the results of an analysis of the Chandra data with smoothing and edge enhancement techniques that allow us to enhance and quantify the multi-scale structures present in the HRC images. These techniques include an adaptive smoothing algorithm (Ebeling et al 1999), and a multi-directional gradient detection algorithm (Karovska et al 1994). The Ebeling et al adaptive smoothing algorithm, which is incorporated in the CXC analysis s/w package, is a powerful tool for smoothing images containing complex structures at various spatial scales. The adaptively smoothed images of Centaurus A show simultaneously the high-angular resolution bright structures at scales as small as an arcsecond and the extended faint structures as large as several arc minutes. The large scale structures suggest complex symmetry, including a component possibly associated with the inner radio lobes (as suggested by the ROSAT HRI data, Dobereiner et al 1996), and a separate component with an orthogonal symmetry that may be associated with the galaxy as a whole. The dust lane and the x-ray ridges are very clearly visible. The adaptively smoothed images and the edge-enhanced images also suggest several filamentary features including a large filament-like structure extending as far as about 5 arcminutes to North-West.

Modeling Contamination Migration on the Chandra X-ray Observatory - II

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, Stephen L.; Swartz, Douglas A.; Tice, Neil W.; Plucinsky, Paul P.; Grant, Catherine E.; Marshall, Herman L.; Vikhlinin, Alexey A.; Tennant, Allyn F.

2013-01-01

During its first 14 years of operation, the cold (about -60C) optical blocking filter of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory, has accumulated a growing layer of molecular contamination that attenuates low-energy x rays. Over the past few years, the accumulation rate, spatial distribution, and composition have changed. This evolution has motivated further analysis of contamination migration within and near the ACIS cavity. To this end, the current study employs a higher-fidelity geometric model of the ACIS cavity, detailed thermal modeling based upon temperature data, and a refined model of the molecular transport.

Modeling Contamination Migration on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory - III

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, Stephen L.; Swartz, Douglas A.; Tice, Neil W.; Plucinsky, Paul P.; Grant, Catherine E.; Marshall, Herman L.; Vikhlinin, Alexy A.; Tennant, Allyn F.; Dahmer, Matthew T.

2015-01-01

During its first 16 years of operation, the cold (about -60 C) optical blocking filter of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory, has accumulated a growing layer of molecular contamination that attenuates low-energy x rays. Over the past few years, the accumulation rate, spatial distribution, and composition have changed. This evolution has motivated further analysis of contamination migration within and near the ACIS cavity, in part to evaluate potential bake-out scenarios intended to reduce the level of contamination. Keywords: X-ray astronomy, CCDs, contamination, modeling and simulation, spacecraft operations

Analytic parameter dependence of Harish-Chandra modules for real reductive Lie groups - a family affair

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Noort, V.

2009-01-01

This thesis is written in the subfield of mathematics known as representation theory of real reductive Lie groups. Let G be a Lie group in the Harish-Chandra class with maximal compact subgroup K and Lie algebra g. Let Omega be a connected complex manifold. By a family of G-representations

CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF THE TeV SOURCE HESS J1834-087

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misanovic, Zdenka; Kargaltsev, Oleg; Pavlov, George G.

2011-01-01

Chandra ACIS observed the field of the extended TeV source HESS J1834-087 for 47 ks. A previous XMM-Newton EPIC observation of the same field revealed a point-like source (XMMU J183435.3-084443) and an offset region of faint extended emission. In the low-resolution, binned EPIC images the two appear to be connected. However, the high-resolution Chandra ACIS images do not support the alleged connection. In these images, XMMU J183435.3-084443 is resolved into a point source, CXOU J183434.9-084443 (L 0.5-8keV ≅ 2.3 x 10 33 erg s -1 , for a distance of 4 kpc; photon index Γ ≅ 1.1), and a compact (∼ 0.5-8keV ≅ 4.1 x 10 33 erg s -1 , Γ ≅ 2.7). The nature of the nebula is uncertain. We discuss a dust scattering halo and a pulsar-wind nebula as possible interpretations. Based on our analysis of the X-ray data, we re-evaluate the previously suggested interpretations of HESS J1834-087 and discuss a possible connection to the Fermi Large Area Telescope source 1FGL J1834.3-0842c. We also obtained an upper limit of 3 x 10 -14 erg cm -2 s -1 on the unabsorbed flux of the SGR J1833-0832 (in quiescence), which happened to be in the ACIS field of view.

PENGARUH PEMERIKSAAN INTERN TERHADAP EFEKTIVITAS PENGENDALIAN INTERN ATAS PERSEDIAAN BAHAN BAKU PADA PT. CHANDRA ASRI PETROCHEMICAL JAKARTA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andi Riyanto

2016-03-01

  Keyword : Raw Material Inventory, Internal Control, Internal Auditing.   Abstrak - PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical adalah perusahaan petrokimia terbesar dan terintegrasi secara vertikal di Indonesia. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemeriksaan intern terhadap efektivitas pengendalian intern atas persediaan bahan baku pada PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode deskriptif analitis dengan pendekatan kuantitatif. Populasi berjumlah 27 pegawai dan semua populasi digunakan sebagai sampel dengan teknik sampling jenuh. Dari perhitungan uji statistik menggunakan aplikasi SPSS versi 20, diperoleh nilai thitung untuk variabel pemeriksaan intern adalah 5,799 dengan df = 24 pada signifikansi (α 0,05, diperoleh ttabel sebesar 2,064, maka keputusan uji yang diambil adalah H0 ditolak. Artinya bahwa pemeriksaan intern berpengaruh signifikan terhadap efektivitas pengendalian intern atas persediaan bahan baku.   Kata Kunci : Pemeriksaan Intern, Pengendalian Intern, Persediaan Bahan Baku.

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF THE HIGH-MAGNETIC-FIELD RADIO PULSAR J1718-3718

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, W. W.; Kaspi, V. M.; Ng, C.-Y.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Pavlov, G. G.; Manchester, R. N.; Gaensler, B. M.; Woods, P. M.

2011-01-01

High-magnetic-field pulsars represent an important class of objects for studying the relationship between magnetars and radio pulsars. Here we report on four Chandra observations of the high-magnetic-field pulsar J1718-3718 (B = 7.4 x 10 13 G) taken in 2009 as well as a reanalysis of 2002 Chandra observations of the region. We also report an improved radio position for this pulsar based on ATCA observations. We detect X-ray pulsations at the pulsar's period in the 2009 data, with a pulsed fraction of 52% ± 13% in the 0.8-2.0 keV band. We find that the X-ray pulse is aligned with the radio pulse. The data from 2002 and 2009 show consistent spectra and fluxes: a merged overall spectrum is well fit by a blackbody of temperature 186 +19 -18 eV, slightly higher than predicted by standard cooling models; however, the best-fit neutron star atmosphere model is consistent with standard cooling. We find the bolometric luminosity L ∞ bb = 4 +5 -2 x 10 32 erg s -1 ∼0.3 E-dot for a distance of 4.5 kpc. We compile measurements of the temperatures of all X-ray-detected high-B pulsars as well as those of low-B radio pulsars and find evidence for the former being hotter on average than the latter.

Chandra Observations of the Deep Impact Encounter with Comet 9P/Tempel 1

Science.gov (United States)

Lisse, C. M.; Christian, D. J.; Dennerl, K.; Wolk, S. J.; Bodewits, D.; Combi, M. R.; Hoekstra, R.; Makinen, T.; Schultz, P. H.; Weaver, H. A.

2005-08-01

On July 4, 2005 NASA's discovery mission Deep Impact (hereafter DI) will send a 375 kg impactor into the nucleus of comet 9P/Tempel 1 at 10.2 km/s relative velocity. In the x-ray, the DI experiment allows for a controlled test of the charge exchange (CXE) emission mechanism that drives cometary x-ray emission (Lisse et al. 2001, Kharchenko and Dalgarno 2001, Krasnopolsky et al.2002). Previous ROSAT and Chandra observations studied cometary x-ray emission as the solar wind changed but the cometary emission remained constant. Here, at a precise time, a fresh amount of neutral material will be injected into a finite volume of the extended atmosphere, or coma, of the comet. This new material will directly increase the emission measure for the comet, passing from the collisionally thick to the collisionally thin regions of emission over the course of days. The DI experiment also allows for a direct search for prompt x-rays created by hyper-velocity impact processes, such as was seen by ROSAT during the impact of the K-fragment of comet D/Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter (Waite et al. 1995). We report here on the first results of of the Chandra observations of the Deep Impact encounter.

Most powerful X-ray telescope marks third anniversary

Science.gov (United States)

2002-08-01

include its discovery of an X-ray ring around the Crab Nebula , finding the most distant X-ray cluster of galaxies, capturing the deepest X-ray images ever recorded and discovering a new size of black hole. Because Earth's atmosphere blocks X-rays from reaching the surface, X-ray astronomy can only be performed from space. Launched in July 1999, the Chandra Observatory travels one-third of the way to the Moon during its orbit around the Earth every 64 hours. At its highest point, Chandra's highly elliptical, or egg-shaped, orbit is 200 times higher than that of its visible-light-gathering sister, the Hubble Space Telescope. The Marshall Center manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc. of Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

THE CHANDRA X-RAY SURVEY OF PLANETARY NEBULAE (CHANPLANS): PROBING BINARITY, MAGNETIC FIELDS, AND WIND COLLISIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kastner, J. H.; Montez, R. Jr.; Rapson, V. [Center for Imaging Science and Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, Rochester Institute of Technology, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); Balick, B. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Frew, D. J.; De Marco, O.; Parker, Q. A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Macquarie Research Centre for Astronomy, Astrophysics and Astrophotonics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 (Australia); Miszalski, B. [South African Astronomical Observatory, P.O. Box 9, Observatory, 7935 (South Africa); Sahai, R. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 183-900, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Blackman, E.; Frank, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (United States); Chu, Y.-H. [Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana, IL (United States); Guerrero, M. A. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Astronomia, Glorieta de la Astronomia s/n, Granada 18008 (Spain); Lopez, J. A. [Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Campus Ensenada, Apdo. Postal 22860, Ensenada, B. C. (Mexico); Zijlstra, A. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Behar, E. [Department of Physics, Technion (Israel); Bujarrabal, V. [Observatorio Astronomico Nacional, Apartado 112, E-28803, Alcala de Henares (Spain); Corradi, R. L. M. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Nordhaus, J. [Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); Sandin, C., E-mail: jhk@cis.rit.edu, E-mail: soker@physics.technion.ac.il, E-mail: eva.villaver@uam.es [Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam (Germany); and others

2012-08-15

We present an overview of the initial results from the Chandra Planetary Nebula Survey (CHANPLANS), the first systematic (volume-limited) Chandra X-Ray Observatory survey of planetary nebulae (PNe) in the solar neighborhood. The first phase of CHANPLANS targeted 21 mostly high-excitation PNe within {approx}1.5 kpc of Earth, yielding four detections of diffuse X-ray emission and nine detections of X-ray-luminous point sources at the central stars (CSPNe) of these objects. Combining these results with those obtained from Chandra archival data for all (14) other PNe within {approx}1.5 kpc that have been observed to date, we find an overall X-ray detection rate of {approx}70% for the 35 sample objects. Roughly 50% of the PNe observed by Chandra harbor X-ray-luminous CSPNe, while soft, diffuse X-ray emission tracing shocks-in most cases, 'hot bubbles'-formed by energetic wind collisions is detected in {approx}30%; five objects display both diffuse and point-like emission components. The presence (or absence) of X-ray sources appears correlated with PN density structure, in that molecule-poor, elliptical nebulae are more likely to display X-ray emission (either point-like or diffuse) than molecule-rich, bipolar, or Ring-like nebulae. All but one of the point-like CSPNe X-ray sources display X-ray spectra that are harder than expected from hot ({approx}100 kK) central stars emitting as simple blackbodies; the lone apparent exception is the central star of the Dumbbell nebula, NGC 6853. These hard X-ray excesses may suggest a high frequency of binary companions to CSPNe. Other potential explanations include self-shocking winds or PN mass fallback. Most PNe detected as diffuse X-ray sources are elliptical nebulae that display a nested shell/halo structure and bright ansae; the diffuse X-ray emission regions are confined within inner, sharp-rimmed shells. All sample PNe that display diffuse X-ray emission have inner shell dynamical ages {approx}< 5 Multiplication

Infrared Faint Radio Sources in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South

Science.gov (United States)

Huynh, Minh T.

2009-01-01

Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRSs) are a class of radio objects found in the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) which have no observable counterpart in the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic Survey (SWIRE). The extended Chandra Deep Field South now has even deeper Spitzer imaging (3.6 to 70 micron) from a number of Legacy surveys. We report the detections of two IFRS sources in IRAC images. The non-detection of two other IFRSs allows us to constrain the source type. Detailed modeling of the SED of these objects shows that they are consistent with high redshift AGN (z > 2).

Chandra and RXTE studies of the X-ray/gamma-ray millisecond pulsar PSR J0218+4232

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuiper, L.; Hermsen, W.; Stappers, B.W.

2004-01-01

We report on high-resolution spatial and timing observations of the millisecond pulsar PSR J0218+4232 performed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). With these observations we were able to study: (a) the possible spatial extent at X-ray energies of the

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF 3C RADIO SOURCES WITH z < 0.3. II. COMPLETING THE SNAPSHOT SURVEY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Massaro, F. [SLAC National Laboratory and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Tremblay, G. R. [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching bei Muenchen (Germany); Harris, D. E.; O' Dea, C. P. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kharb, P.; Axon, D. [Department of Physics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Carlson Center for Imaging Science 76-3144, 84 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); Balmaverde, B.; Capetti, A. [INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Strada Osservatorio 20, I-10025 Pino Torinese (Italy); Baum, S. A. [Carlson Center for Imaging Science 76-3144, 84 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623 (United States); Chiaberge, M.; Macchetto, F. D.; Sparks, W. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martine Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Gilli, R. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Giovannini, G. [INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna, Via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy); Grandi, P.; Torresi, E. [INAF-IASF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e fisica Cosmica di Bologna, Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy); Risaliti, G. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze (Italy)

2012-12-15

We report on the second round of Chandra observations of the 3C snapshot survey developed to observe the complete sample of 3C radio sources with z < 0.3 for 8 ks each. In the first paper, we illustrated the basic data reduction and analysis procedures performed for the 30 sources of the 3C sample observed during Chandra Cycle 9, while here we present the data for the remaining 27 sources observed during Cycle 12. We measured the X-ray intensity of the nuclei and of any radio hot spots and jet features with associated X-ray emission. X-ray fluxes in three energy bands, i.e., soft, medium, and hard, for all the sources analyzed are also reported. For the stronger nuclei, we also applied the standard spectral analysis, which provides the best-fit values of the X-ray spectral index and absorbing column density. In addition, a detailed analysis of bright X-ray nuclei that could be affected by pile-up has been performed. X-ray emission was detected for all the nuclei of the radio sources in our sample except for 3C 319. Among the current sample, there are two compact steep spectrum radio sources, two broad-line radio galaxies, and one wide angle tail radio galaxy, 3C 89, hosted in a cluster of galaxies clearly visible in our Chandra snapshot observation. In addition, we also detected soft X-ray emission arising from the galaxy cluster surrounding 3C 196.1. Finally, X-ray emission from hot spots has been found in three FR II radio sources and, in the case of 3C 459, we also report the detection of X-ray emission associated with the eastern radio lobe as well as X-ray emission cospatial with radio jets in 3C 29 and 3C 402.

A Chandra grating observation of the dusty Wolf-Rayet star WR 48a

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhekov, Svetozar A. [Space Research and Technology Institute, Akad. G. Bonchev Str., bl.1, Sofia 1113 (Bulgaria); Gagné, Marc [Department of Geology and Astronomy, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383 (United States); Skinner, Stephen L., E-mail: szhekov@space.bas.bg, E-mail: mgagne@wcupa.edu, E-mail: stephen.skinner@colorado.edu [CASA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

2014-04-10

We present results of a Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) observation of the carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR 48a. These are the first high-resolution spectra of this object in X-ray. Blueshifted centroids of the spectral lines of ∼ – 360 km s{sup –1} and line widths of 1000-1500 km s{sup –1} (FWHM) were deduced from the analysis of the line profiles of strong emission lines. The forbidden line of Si XIII is strong and not suppressed, indicating that the rarified 10-30 MK plasma forms far from strong sources of far-ultraviolet emission, most likely in a wind collision zone. Global spectral modeling showed that the X-ray spectrum of WR 48a suffered higher absorption in the 2012 October Chandra observation compared with a previous 2008 January XMM-Newton observation. The emission measure of the hot plasma in WR 48a decreased by a factor ∼3 over the same period of time. The most likely physical picture that emerges from the analysis of the available X-ray data is that of colliding stellar winds in a wide binary system with an elliptical orbit. We propose that the unseen secondary star in the system is another WR star or perhaps a luminous blue variable.

Nustar and Chandra insight into the nature of the 3-40 kev nuclear emission in NGC 253

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehmer, B. D.; Wik, D. R.; Hornschemeier, A. E.

2013-01-01

We present results from three nearly simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array ( NuSTAR ) and Chandra monitoring observations between 2012 September 2 and 2012 November 16 of the local star-forming galaxy NGC 253. The 3-40 keV intensity of the inner ~ 20 arcsec ( ~ 400 pc) nuclear region...

Simultaneous NuSTAR/Chandra Observations of The Bursting Pulsar GRO J1744-28 During Its Third Reactivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Younes, G.; Kouveliotou, C.; Grefenstette, B. W.

2015-01-01

We report on a 10 ks simultaneous Chandra/High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG)-Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observation of the Bursting Pulsar, GRO J1744-28, during its third detected outburst since discovery and after nearly 18 yr of quiescence. The source is detected up to 60...

A cluster in a crowded environment: XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of A3558

Science.gov (United States)

Rossetti, M.; Ghizzardi, S.; Molendi, S.; Finoguenov, A.

2007-03-01

Combining XMM-Newton and Chandra data, we have performed a detailed study of Abell 3558. Our analysis shows that its dynamical history is more complicated than previously thought. We have found some traits typical of cool core clusters (surface brightness peaked at the center, peaked metal abundance profile) and others that are more common in merging clusters, like deviations from spherical symmetry in the thermodynamic quantities of the ICM. This last result has been achieved with a new technique for deriving temperature maps from images. We have also detected a cold front and, with the combined use of XMM-Newton and Chandra, we have characterized its properties, such as the speed and the metal abundance profile across the edge. This cold front is probably due to the sloshing of the core, induced by the perturbation of the gravitational potential associated with a past merger. The hydrodynamic processes related to this perturbation have presumably produced a tail of lower entropy, higher pressure and metal rich ICM, which extends behind the cold front for~500 kpc. The unique characteristics of A3558 are probably due to the very peculiar environment in which it is located: the core of the Shapley supercluster. Appendices A and B are only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Solar wind charge exchange emission in the Chandra deep field north

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slavin, Jonathan D.; Wargelin, Bradford J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Koutroumpa, Dimitra [LATMOS/IPSL, CNRS, Université Versailles Saint Quentin, 11 Boulevard d' Alembert, F-78280, Guyancourt (France)

2013-12-10

The diffuse soft X-ray background comes from distant galaxies, from hot Galactic gas, and from within the solar system. The latter emission arises from charge exchange between highly charged solar wind ions and neutral gas. This so-called solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) emission is spatially and temporally variable and interferes with our measurements of more distant cosmic emission while also providing important information on the nature of the solar wind-interstellar medium interaction. We present the results of our analysis of eight Chandra observations of the Chandra Deep Field North (CDFN) with the goal of measuring the cosmic and SWCX contributions to the X-ray background. Our modeling of both geocoronal and heliospheric SWCX emission is the most detailed for any observation to date. After allowing for ∼30% uncertainty in the SWCX emission and subtracting it from the observational data, we estimate that the flux of cosmic background for the CDFN in the O VII Kα, Kβ, and O VIII Lyα lines totals 5.8 ± 1.1 photons s{sup –1} cm{sup –2} sr{sup –1} (or LU). Heliospheric SWCX emission varied for each observation due to differences in solar wind conditions and the line of sight through the solar system, but was typically about half as strong as the cosmic background (i.e., one-third of the total) in those lines. The modeled geocoronal emission was 0.82 LU in one observation but averaged only 0.15 LU in the others. Our measurement of the cosmic background is lower than but marginally consistent with previous estimates based on XMM-Newton data.

Solar wind charge exchange emission in the Chandra deep field north

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slavin, Jonathan D.; Wargelin, Bradford J.; Koutroumpa, Dimitra

2013-01-01

The diffuse soft X-ray background comes from distant galaxies, from hot Galactic gas, and from within the solar system. The latter emission arises from charge exchange between highly charged solar wind ions and neutral gas. This so-called solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) emission is spatially and temporally variable and interferes with our measurements of more distant cosmic emission while also providing important information on the nature of the solar wind-interstellar medium interaction. We present the results of our analysis of eight Chandra observations of the Chandra Deep Field North (CDFN) with the goal of measuring the cosmic and SWCX contributions to the X-ray background. Our modeling of both geocoronal and heliospheric SWCX emission is the most detailed for any observation to date. After allowing for ∼30% uncertainty in the SWCX emission and subtracting it from the observational data, we estimate that the flux of cosmic background for the CDFN in the O VII Kα, Kβ, and O VIII Lyα lines totals 5.8 ± 1.1 photons s –1 cm –2 sr –1 (or LU). Heliospheric SWCX emission varied for each observation due to differences in solar wind conditions and the line of sight through the solar system, but was typically about half as strong as the cosmic background (i.e., one-third of the total) in those lines. The modeled geocoronal emission was 0.82 LU in one observation but averaged only 0.15 LU in the others. Our measurement of the cosmic background is lower than but marginally consistent with previous estimates based on XMM-Newton data.

The mystery of the "Kite" radio source in Abell 2626: Insights from new Chandra observations

Science.gov (United States)

Ignesti, A.; Gitti, M.; Brunetti, G.; O'Sullivan, E.; Sarazin, C.; Wong, K.

2018-03-01

Context. We present the results of a new Chandra study of the galaxy cluster Abell 2626. The radio emission of the cluster shows a complex system of four symmetric arcs without known correlations with the thermal X-ray emission. The mirror symmetry of the radio arcs toward the center and the presence of two optical cores in the central galaxy suggested that they may be created by pairs of precessing radio jets powered by dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) inside the core dominant galaxy. However, previous observations failed to observe the second jetted AGN and the spectral trend due to radiative age along the radio arcs, thus challenging this interpretation. Aim. The new Chandra observation had several scientific objectives, including the search for the second AGN that would support the jet precession model. We focus here on the detailed study of the local properties of the thermal and non-thermal emission in the proximity of the radio arcs, in order to obtain further insights into their origin. Methods: We performed a standard data reduction of the Chandra dataset deriving the radial profiles of temperature, density, pressure and cooling time of the intra-cluster medium. We further analyzed the two-dimensional (2D) distribution of the gas temperature, discovering that the south-western junction of the radio arcs surrounds the cool core of the cluster. Results: We studied the X-ray surface brightness and spectral profiles across the junction, finding a cold front spatially coincident with the radio arcs. This may suggest a connection between the sloshing of the thermal gas and the nature of the radio filaments, raising new scenarios for their origin. A tantalizing possibility is that the radio arcs trace the projection of a complex surface connecting the sites where electrons are most efficiently reaccelerated by the turbulence that is generated by the gas sloshing. In this case, diffuse emission embedded by the arcs and with extremely steep spectrum should be

A CHANDRA SURVEY OF THE X-RAY PROPERTIES OF BROAD ABSORPTION LINE RADIO-LOUD QUASARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, B. P.; Brandt, W. N.; Garmire, G. P.; Gibson, R. R.; Shemmer, O.

2009-01-01

This work presents the results of a Chandra study of 21 broad absorption line (BAL) radio-loud quasars (RLQs). We conducted a Chandra snapshot survey of 12 bright BAL RLQs selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data/Faint Images of the Radio Sky data and possessing a wide range of radio and C IV absorption properties. Optical spectra were obtained nearly contemporaneously with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope; no strong flux or BAL variability was seen between epochs. In addition to the snapshot targets, we include in our sample nine additional BAL RLQs possessing archival Chandra coverage. We compare the properties of (predominantly high-ionization) BAL RLQs to those of non-BAL RLQs as well as to BAL radio-quiet quasars (RQQs) and non-BAL RQQs for context. All 12 snapshots and 8/9 archival BAL RLQs are detected, with observed X-ray luminosities less than those of non-BAL RLQs having comparable optical/UV luminosities by typical factors of 4.1-8.5. (BAL RLQs are also X-ray weak by typical factors of 2.0-4.5 relative to non-BAL RLQs having both comparable optical/UV and radio luminosities.) However, BAL RLQs are not as X-ray weak relative to non-BAL RLQs as are BAL RQQs relative to non-BAL RQQs. While some BAL RLQs have harder X-ray spectra than typical non-BAL RLQs, some have hardness ratios consistent with those of non-BAL RLQs, and there does not appear to be a correlation between X-ray weakness and spectral hardness, in contrast to the situation for BAL RQQs. RLQs are expected to have X-ray continuum contributions from both accretion-disk corona and small-scale jet emission. While the entire X-ray continuum in BAL RLQs cannot be obscured to the same degree as in BAL RQQs, we calculate that the jet is likely partially covered in many BAL RLQs. We comment briefly on implications for geometries and source ages in BAL RLQs.

Chandra Cluster Cosmology Project. II. Samples and X-Ray Data Reduction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vikhlinin, A.; Burenin, R. A.; Ebeling, H.

2009-01-01

We discuss the measurements of the galaxy cluster mass functions at z ≈ 0.05 and z ≈ 0.5 using high-quality Chandra observations of samples derived from the ROSAT PSPC All-Sky and 400 deg2 surveys. We provide a full reference for the data analysis procedures, present updated calibration of relati...... at a fixed mass threshold, e.g., by a factor of 5.0 ± 1.2 at M 500 = 2.5 × 1014 h –1 M sun between z = 0 and 0.5. This evolution reflects the growth of density perturbations, and can be used for the cosmological constraints complementing those from the distance-redshift relation....

Simultaneous NuSTAR/Chandra Observations of the Bursting Pulsar GRO J1744-28 During its Third Reactivation

Science.gov (United States)

Younes, G.; Kouveliotou, C.; Grefenstette, B. W.; Tomsick, J. A.; Tennant, A.; Finger, M. H.; Furst, F.; Pottschmidt, K.; Bhalerao, V.; Boggs, S. E.;

SIMULTANEOUS NuSTAR/CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF THE BURSTING PULSAR GRO J1744-28 DURING ITS THIRD REACTIVATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Younes, G.; Finger, M. H. [Universities Space Research Association, 6767 Old Madison Pike, Suite 450, Huntsville, AL 35806 (United States); Kouveliotou, C.; Tennant, A. [Astrophysics Office, ZP 12, NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812 (United States); Grefenstette, B. W.; Fürst, F. [Cahill Center for Astrophysics, 1216 East California Boulevard, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Tomsick, J. A.; Boggs, S. E.; Craig, W. W. [Space Sciences Laboratory, 7 Gauss Way, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 (United States); Pottschmidt, K. [Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States); Bhalerao, V. [Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Post Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411007 (India); Boirin, L. [Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, 11 Rue de l' Université, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Chakrabarty, D. [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Christensen, F. E. [DTU Space, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, DK-2800 Lyngby (Denmark); Degenaar, N. [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1085 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Fabian, A. C. [Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Gandhi, P. [Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Göğüş, E. [Sabancı University, Orhanlı-Tuzla, İstanbul 34956 (Turkey); and others

2015-05-01

We report on a 10 ks simultaneous Chandra/High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG)–Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observation of the Bursting Pulsar, GRO J1744-28, during its third detected outburst since discovery and after nearly 18 yr of quiescence. The source is detected up to 60 keV with an Eddington persistent flux level. Seven bursts, followed by dips, are seen with Chandra, three of which are also detected with NuSTAR. Timing analysis reveals a slight increase in the persistent emission pulsed fraction with energy (from 10% to 15%) up to 10 keV, above which it remains constant. The 0.5–70 keV spectra of the persistent and dip emission are the same within errors and well described by a blackbody (BB), a power-law (PL) with an exponential rolloff, a 10 keV feature, and a 6.7 keV emission feature, all modified by neutral absorption. Assuming that the BB emission originates in an accretion disk, we estimate its inner (magnetospheric) radius to be about 4 × 10{sup 7} cm, which translates to a surface dipole field B ≈ 9 × 10{sup 10} G. The Chandra/HETG spectrum resolves the 6.7 keV feature into (quasi-)neutral and highly ionized Fe xxv and Fe xxvi emission lines. XSTAR modeling shows these lines to also emanate from a truncated accretion disk. The burst spectra, with a peak flux more than an order of magnitude higher than Eddington, are well fit with a PL with an exponential rolloff and a 10 keV feature, with similar fit values compared to the persistent and dip spectra. The burst spectra lack a thermal component and any Fe features. Anisotropic (beamed) burst emission would explain both the lack of the BB and any Fe components.

Intraday X-Ray Variability of QSOs/AGN Using the Chandra Archives

Science.gov (United States)

Tartamella, C.; Busche, J.

2005-05-01

X-ray variability is a common characteristic of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and it can be used to probe the nuclear region at short time scales. Quantitative analysis of this variability has been difficult due to low signal-to-noise ratios and short time baselines, but serendipitous Chandra data acquired within the last six years have opened the door to such analysis. Cross-correlation of the Chandra archives with QSO/AGN catalogs on NASA's HEASARC website (e.g. Veron, Sloan) yields a sample of 50+ objects that satisfy the following criteria: absolute magnitude M≤ -22.5, proper time baselines greater than 2 hours, and count rates leading to 10% error bars for 8+ flux points on the light curve. The sample includes a range of red-shifts, magnitudes, and type (e.g. radio loud, radio quiet), and hence may yield empirical clues about luminosity or evolutionary trends. As a beginning of such analysis, we present 11 light curves for 9 objects for which the exposure time was greater than 10 hours. The variability was analyzed using three different statistical methods. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test proved to be impractical because of the unavoidably small number of data points and the simplistic nature of the test. A χ2 test indicated in most cases that there were significant departures from constant brightness (as expected). Autocorrelation plots were also generated for each light curve. With more work and a larger sample size, these plots can be used to identify any trends in the lightcurve such as whether the variability is stochastic or periodic in nature. This test was useful even with the small number of datapoints available. In future work, more sophisticated analyses based on Fourier series, power density spectra, or wavelets are likely to yield more meaningful and useful results.

Astronomers Take the Measure of Dark Matter in the universe

Science.gov (United States)

2001-09-01

measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation, the large-scale distribution of galaxies, and the properties of distant supernovas. The Institute of Astronomy team minimized systematic errors in their work by placing independent constraints on the masses of the clusters using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope atop Mauna Kea, HI. The new Chandra results also show how the average X-ray luminosity and temperature of the hot gas varies with the mass of a cluster. These findings should allow astronomers to use the data from large cluster catalogues, for which only X-ray luminosities are generally available, to get even more accurate measurements of the mean mass density of the universe, and to understand further the processes by which clusters form and grow. The Chandra observations were carried out using the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer, which was built for NASA by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and Pennsylvania State University, University Park. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, CA, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. Images associated with this release are available on the World Wide Web at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov

NARROW-LINE X-RAY-SELECTED GALAXIES IN THE CHANDRA -COSMOS FIELD. I. OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPIC CATALOG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pons, E.; Watson, M. G. [University of Leicester, Leicester (United Kingdom); Elvis, M.; Civano, F. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA (United States)

2016-04-20

The COSMOS survey is a large and deep survey with multiwavelength observations of sources from X-rays to the UV, allowing an extensive study of their properties. The central 0.9 deg{sup 2} of the COSMOS field have been observed by Chandra with a sensitivity up to 1.9 × 10{sup −16} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} in the full (0.5–10 keV) band. Photometric and spectroscopic identification of the Chandra -COSMOS (C-COSMOS) sources is available from several catalogs and campaigns. Despite the fact that the C-COSMOS galaxies have a reliable spectroscopic redshift in addition to a spectroscopic classification, the emission-line properties of this sample have not yet been measured. We present here the creation of an emission-line catalog of 453 narrow-line sources from the C-COSMOS spectroscopic sample. We have performed spectral fitting for the more common lines in galaxies ([O ii] λ 3727, [Ne iii] λ 3869, H β , [O iii] λλ 4959, 5007, H α , and [N ii] λλ 6548, 6584). These data provide an optical classification for 151 (i.e., 33%) of the C-COSMOS narrow-line galaxies based on emission-line diagnostic diagrams.

Chandra, NuSTAR and NICER Observations of MAXI J1535-571

Science.gov (United States)

Neilsen, Joseph; Cackett, Ed; Fabian, Andy; Gendreau, Keith C.; Miller, Jon M.; Pasham, Dheeraj; Remillard, Ron; Steiner, Jack; Uttley, Phil

2018-01-01

In September 2017, MAXI detected an outburst of a previously-unknown transient, MAXI J1535-571. Subsequent radio and X-ray monitoring indicated that the source is a strong black hole candidate. We began a series of monitoring observations with Chandra HETGS, NuSTAR, and NICER to track the evolution of the outburst. Together, these three observatories represent an incredible opportunity to study the geometry of the accretion flow (via continuum spectroscopy), its variation with accretion state (via spectral variability), and any associated outflows or mass ejections (via line spectroscopy). We will present our analysis of this bright outburst and discuss the physics of accretion and ejection in this new black hole candidate.

A CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF SNR 0540 - 697

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seward, F. D.; Williams, R. M.; Chu, Y.-H.; Gruendl, R. A.; Dickel, J. R.

2010-01-01

This paper describes a Chandra observation of SNR 0540 - 697 within the H II complex N159 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Scattering from the nearby bright source LMC X-1, which obscures the western edge of the remnant, has been removed. Larger than previously believed, the 2.'0 x 2.'8 remnant is defined by optical filaments and two lobes of X-ray emission. A band of intervening material absorbs X-rays from the central part of the remnant. The N Lobe of the remnant is relatively bright and well defined, while emission from the S Lobe is much weaker. There is structure within the N Lobe but no clear X-ray emission from an outer shell indicating a shock in the interstellar medium. The X-ray spectrum is thermal with emission lines from Fe, Mg, and Si. The observed temperature and luminosity of the hot gas are 0.6 keV and 6 x 10 35 erg s -1 , respectively. These are consistent with characteristics expected for older remnants. There is also diffuse thermal X-ray emission north of N159 extending into N160, evidence for a larger remnant or bubble.

Op. No A4495 Columbia, STS-93 Chandra - Breakfast, Suiting, and Walkout

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

The primary objective of the STS-93 mission was to deploy the Advanced X-ray Astrophysical Facility, which had been renamed the Chandra X-ray Observatory in honor of the late Indian-American Nobel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The mission was launched at 12:31 on July 23, 1999 onboard the space shuttle Columbia. The mission was led by Commander Eileen Collins. The crew was Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Cady Coleman, Steve Hawley and Michel Tognini from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). This videotape shows the astronauts after breakfast getting into spacesuits, walking out to board the bus, and boarding the bus prior to launch.

Searching for the 3.5 keV Line in the Deep Fields with Chandra: The 10 Ms Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Cappelluti, Nico; Bulbul, Esra; Foster, Adam; Natarajan, Priyamvada; Urry, Megan C.; Bautz, Mark W.; Civano, Francesca; Miller, Eric; Smith, Randall K.

2018-02-01

We report a systematic search for an emission line around 3.5 keV in the spectrum of the cosmic X-ray background using a total of ∼10 Ms Chandra observations toward the COSMOS Legacy and Extended Chandra Deep Field South survey fields. We find marginal evidence of a feature at an energy of ∼3.51 keV with a significance of 2.5–3σ, depending on the choice of statistical treatment. The line intensity is best fit at (8.8 ± 2.9) × 10‑7 ph cm‑2 s‑1 when using a simple Δχ 2 or {10.2}-0.4+0.2× {10}-7 ph cm‑2 s‑1 when Markov chain Monte Carlo is used. Based on our knowledge of Chandra and the reported detection of the line by other instruments, an instrumental origin for the line remains unlikely. We cannot, however, rule out a statistical fluctuation, and in that case our results provide a 3σ upper limit at 1.85 × 10‑6 ph cm‑2 s‑1. We discuss the interpretation of this observed line in terms of the iron line background, S XVI charge exchange, as well as potentially being from sterile neutrino decay. We note that our detection is consistent with previous measurements of this line toward the Galactic center and can be modeled as the result of sterile neutrino decay from the Milky Way for the dark matter distribution modeled as a Navarro–Frenk–White profile. For this case, we estimate a mass m ν ∼ 7.01 keV and a mixing angle sin2(2θ) = (0.83–2.75) × 10‑10. These derived values are in agreement with independent estimates from galaxy clusters, the Galactic center, and M31.

THE NATURE OF THE BRIGHT ULX X-2 IN NGC 3921: A CHANDRA POSITION AND HST CANDIDATE COUNTERPART

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jonker, P. G.; Heida, M.; Torres, M. A. P.; Ratti, E. M. [SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht (Netherlands); Miller-Jones, J. C. A. [International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845 (Australia); Fabian, A. C.; Walton, D. J. [Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Miniutti, G. [Centro de Astrobiologia (CSIC-INTA), Departamento de Astrofisica, ESA, P.O. Box 78, E-28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid (Spain); Roberts, T. P., E-mail: p.jonker@sron.nl [Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)

2012-10-10

We report on Chandra observations of the bright ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) source in NGC 3921. Previous XMM-Newton observations reported in the literature show the presence of a bright ULX at a 0.5-10 keV luminosity of 2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 40} erg s{sup -1}. Our Chandra observation finds the source at a lower luminosity of Almost-Equal-To 8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 39} erg s{sup -1}; furthermore, we provide a Chandra position of the ULX accurate to 0.''7 at 90% confidence. The X-ray variability makes it unlikely that the high luminosity is caused by several separate X-ray sources. In three epochs of archival Hubble Space Telescope observations, we find a candidate counterpart to the ULX. There is direct evidence for variability between the two epochs of WFPC2 F814W observations with the observation obtained in 2000 showing a brighter source. Furthermore, converting the 1994 F336W and 2000 F300W WFPC2 and the 2010 F336W WFC3 observations to the Johnson U-band filter assuming a spectral type of O7I, we find evidence for a brightening of the U-band light in 2000. Using the higher resolution WFC3 observations, we resolve the candidate counterpart into two sources of similar color. We discuss the nature of the ULX and the probable association with the optical counterpart(s). Finally, we investigate a potential new explanation for some (bright) ULXs as the decaying stages of flares caused by the tidal disruption of a star by a recoiled supermassive black hole. However, we find that there should be at most only one of such systems within z = 0.08.

The Living with a Red Dwarf / Goldiloks Program: The Activity-Rotation-Age Relationships of M and K Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Engle, Scott; Guinan, Edward Francis

2018-01-01

Over the past several years, the database of M dwarfs with determined ages has continually expanded, allowing us to furnish Activity-Rotation-Age Relationships as part of the Living with a Red Dwarf program. We have now begun to expand this successful program to also cover K dwarfs - the Goldiloks program. Both M and K dwarfs suffer from the same limitation - due to their long lifetimes and very slow nuclear evolution, the best method for determining ages for a large number of M and K dwarf targets is through “magnetic tracers” such as X-UV activity levels and stellar rotation rates. We report on the current results of our relationships: deriving photometric rotation rates; gathering X-UV measures with HST, IUE Chandra and XMM (both proposed by us, and archival); and assessing their impacts on our understanding of the evolutions and habitability of these stellar types.We gratefully acknowledge the support from NSF/RUI Grant AST 1009903, Chandra Grant GO-13200633, HST Grants GO-12124X and GO-13020X.

VLBA AND CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF JETS IN FRI RADIO GALAXIES: CONSTRAINTS ON JET EVOLUTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kharb, P.; O'Dea, C. P.; Tilak, A.; Baum, S. A.; Haynes, E.; Noel-Storr, J.; Fallon, C.; Christiansen, K.

2012-01-01

We present here the results from new Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations at 1.6 and 5 GHz of 19 galaxies of a complete sample of 21 Uppasala General Catalog (UGC) Fanaroff-Riley type I (FRI) radio galaxies. New Chandra data of two sources, viz., UGC 00408 and UGC 08433, are combined with the Chandra archival data of 13 sources. The 5 GHz observations of 10 'core-jet' sources are polarization-sensitive, while the 1.6 GHz observations constitute second-epoch total intensity observations of nine 'core-only' sources. Polarized emission is detected in the jets of seven sources at 5 GHz, but the cores are essentially unpolarized, except in M87. Polarization is detected at the jet edges in several sources, and the inferred magnetic field is primarily aligned with the jet direction. This could be indicative of magnetic field 'shearing' due to jet-medium interaction, or the presence of helical magnetic fields. The jet peak intensity I ν falls with distance d from the core, following the relation, I ν ∝d a , where a is typically ∼ – 1.5. Assuming that adiabatic expansion losses are primarily responsible for the jet intensity 'dimming,' two limiting cases are considered: (1) the jet has a constant speed on parsec scales and is expanding gradually such that the jet radius r∝d 0 .4 ; this expansion is, however, unobservable in the laterally unresolved jets at 5 GHz, and (2) the jet is cylindrical and is accelerating on parsec scales. Accelerating parsec-scale jets are consistent with the phenomenon of 'magnetic driving' in Poynting-flux-dominated jets. While slow jet expansion as predicted by case (1) is indeed observed in a few sources from the literature that are resolved laterally, on scales of tens or hundreds of parsecs, case (2) cannot be ruled out in the present data, provided the jets become conical on scales larger than those probed by VLBA. Chandra observations of 15 UGC FRIs detect X-ray jets in 9 of them. The high frequency of occurrence of X

Chandra's Darkest Bright Star: not so Dark after All?

Science.gov (United States)

Ayres, Thomas R.

2008-11-01

The Chandra High Resolution camera (HRC) has obtained numerous short exposures of the ultraviolet (UV)-bright star Vega (α Lyrae; HD 172167: A0 V), to calibrate the response of the detector to out-of-band (non-X-ray) radiation. A new analysis uncovered a stronger "blue leak" in the imaging section (HRC-I) than reported in an earlier study of Vega based on a subset of the pointings. The higher count rate—a factor of nearly 2 above prelaunch estimates—raised the possibility that genuine coronal X-rays might lurk among the out-of-band events. Exploiting the broader point-spread function of the UV leak compared with soft X-rays identified an excess of counts centered on the target, technically at 3σ significance. A number of uncertainties, however, prevent a clear declaration of a Vegan corona. A more secure result would be within reach of a deep uninterrupted HRC-I pointing.

Titan Casts Revealing Shadow

Science.gov (United States)

2004-05-01

program for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

THE X-RAY FLUX DISTRIBUTION OF SAGITTARIUS A* AS SEEN BY CHANDRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neilsen, J.; Anton Pannekoek, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam (Netherlands))" data-affiliation=" (Astronomical Institute, Anton Pannekoek, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam (Netherlands))" >Markoff, S.; Nowak, M. A.; Baganoff, F. K.; Dexter, J.; Witzel, G.; Barrière, N.; Li, Y.; Degenaar, N.; Fragile, P. C.; Gammie, C.; Goldwurm, A.; Grosso, N.; Haggard, D.

2015-01-01

We present a statistical analysis of the X-ray flux distribution of Sgr A* from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's 3 Ms Sgr A* X-ray Visionary Project in 2012. Our analysis indicates that the observed X-ray flux distribution can be decomposed into a steady quiescent component, represented by a Poisson process with rate Q = (5.24 ± 0.08) × 10 –3  counts s –1 , and a variable component, represented by a power law process (dN/dF∝F –ξ , ξ=1.92 −0.02 +0.03 ). This slope matches our recently reported distribution of flare luminosities. The variability may also be described by a log-normal process with a median unabsorbed 2-8 keV flux of 1.8 −0.6 +0.8 ×10 −14  erg s –1  cm –2 and a shape parameter σ = 2.4 ± 0.2, but the power law provides a superior description of the data. In this decomposition of the flux distribution, all of the intrinsic X-ray variability of Sgr A* (spanning at least three orders of magnitude in flux) can be attributed to flaring activity, likely in the inner accretion flow. We confirm that at the faint end, the variable component contributes ∼10% of the apparent quiescent flux, as previously indicated by our statistical analysis of X-ray flares in these Chandra observations. Our flux distribution provides a new and important observational constraint on theoretical models of Sgr A*, and we use simple radiation models to explore the extent to which a statistical comparison of the X-ray and infrared can provide insights into the physics of the X-ray emission mechanism

INVESTIGATING THE OPTICAL COUNTERPART CANDIDATES OF FOUR INTEGRAL SOURCES LOCALIZED WITH CHANDRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Özbey Arabacı, Mehtap; Kalemci, Emrah; Tomsick, John A.; Bodaghee, Arash; Halpern, Jules; Chaty, Sylvain; Rodriguez, Jerome; Rahoui, Farid

2012-01-01

We report on the optical spectroscopic follow-up observations of the candidate counterparts to four INTEGRAL sources: IGR J04069+5042, IGR J06552–1146, IGR J21188+4901, and IGR J22014+6034. The candidate counterparts were determined with Chandra, and the optical observations were performed with 1.5 m RTT-150 telescope (TÜBİTAK National Observatory, Antalya, Turkey) and 2.4 m Hiltner Telescope (MDM Observatory, Kitt Peak, Arizona). Our spectroscopic results show that one of the two candidates of IGR J04069+5042 and the one observed for IGR J06552–1146 could be active late-type stars in RS CVn systems. However, according to the likelihood analysis based on Chandra and INTEGRAL, two optically weaker sources in the INTEGRAL error circle of IGR J06552–1146 have higher probabilities to be the actual counterpart. The candidate counterparts of IGR J21188+4901 are classified as an active M-type star and a late-type star. Among the optical spectra of four candidates of IGR J22014+6034, two show Hα emission lines, one is a late-type star, and the other is an M type. The likelihood analysis favors a candidate with no distinguishing features in the optical spectrum. Two of the candidates classified as M-type dwarfs, are similar to some IGR candidates claimed to be symbiotic stars. However, some of the prominent features of symbiotic systems are missing in our spectra, and their NIR colors are not consistent with those expected for giants. We consider the IR colors of all IGR candidates claimed to be symbiotic systems and find that low-resolution optical spectrum may not be enough for conclusive identification.

THE X-RAY FLUX DISTRIBUTION OF SAGITTARIUS A* AS SEEN BY CHANDRA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neilsen, J. [Department of Astronomy, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Markoff, S. [Astronomical Institute, " Anton Pannekoek," University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam (Netherlands); Nowak, M. A.; Baganoff, F. K. [MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Dexter, J. [Department of Astronomy, Hearst Field Annex, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States); Witzel, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States); Barrière, N. [Space Sciences Laboratory, 7 Gauss Way, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 (United States); Li, Y. [Department of Astronomy and Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); Degenaar, N. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 OHA (United Kingdom); Fragile, P. C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424 (United States); Gammie, C. [Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Goldwurm, A. [AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC), Université Paris 7 Denis Diderot, F-75205 Paris cedex 13 (France); Grosso, N. [Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l' Université, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Haggard, D., E-mail: jneilsen@space.mit.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, AC# 2244, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002 (United States)

2015-02-01

We present a statistical analysis of the X-ray flux distribution of Sgr A* from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's 3 Ms Sgr A* X-ray Visionary Project in 2012. Our analysis indicates that the observed X-ray flux distribution can be decomposed into a steady quiescent component, represented by a Poisson process with rate Q = (5.24 ± 0.08) × 10{sup –3} counts s{sup –1}, and a variable component, represented by a power law process (dN/dF∝F {sup –ξ}, ξ=1.92{sub −0.02}{sup +0.03}). This slope matches our recently reported distribution of flare luminosities. The variability may also be described by a log-normal process with a median unabsorbed 2-8 keV flux of 1.8{sub −0.6}{sup +0.8}×10{sup −14} erg s{sup –1} cm{sup –2} and a shape parameter σ = 2.4 ± 0.2, but the power law provides a superior description of the data. In this decomposition of the flux distribution, all of the intrinsic X-ray variability of Sgr A* (spanning at least three orders of magnitude in flux) can be attributed to flaring activity, likely in the inner accretion flow. We confirm that at the faint end, the variable component contributes ∼10% of the apparent quiescent flux, as previously indicated by our statistical analysis of X-ray flares in these Chandra observations. Our flux distribution provides a new and important observational constraint on theoretical models of Sgr A*, and we use simple radiation models to explore the extent to which a statistical comparison of the X-ray and infrared can provide insights into the physics of the X-ray emission mechanism.

CHEERS Results from NGC 3393. II. Investigating the Extended Narrow-line Region Using Deep Chandra Observations and Hubble Space Telescope Narrow-line Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maksym, W. Peter; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita; Paggi, Alessandro; Raymond, John [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Wang, Junfeng [Department of Astronomy, Physics Building, Xiamen University Xiamen, Fujian, 361005 (China); Storchi-Bergmann, Thaisa, E-mail: walter.maksym@cfa.harvard.edu [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, IF, CP 15051, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil)

2017-07-20

The CHandra Extended Emission Line Region Survey (CHEERS) is an X-ray study of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) designed to take full advantage of Chandra 's unique angular resolution by spatially resolving feedback signatures and effects. In the second paper of a series on CHEERS target NGC 3393, we examine deep high-resolution Chandra images and compare them with Hubble Space Telescope narrow-line images of [O iii], [S ii], and H α , as well as previously unpublished mid-ultraviolet (MUV) images. The X-rays provide unprecedented evidence that the S-shaped arms that envelope the nuclear radio outflows extend only ≲0.″2 (≲50 pc) across. The high-resolution multiwavelength data suggest that the extended narrow-line region is a complex multiphase structure in the circumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM). Its ionization structure is highly stratified with respect to outflow-driven bubbles in the bicone and varies dramatically on scales of ∼10 pc. Multiple findings show likely contributions from shocks to the feedback in regions where radio outflows from the AGN most directly influence the ISM. These findings include H α evidence for gas compression and extended MUV emission and are in agreement with existing STIS kinematics. Extended filamentary structure in the X-rays and optical suggests the presence of an undetected plasma component, whose existence could be tested with deeper radio observations.

CHEERS Results from NGC 3393. II. Investigating the Extended Narrow-line Region Using Deep Chandra Observations and Hubble Space Telescope Narrow-line Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Maksym, W. Peter; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita; Paggi, Alessandro; Raymond, John; Wang, Junfeng; Storchi-Bergmann, Thaisa

2017-07-01

The CHandra Extended Emission Line Region Survey (CHEERS) is an X-ray study of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) designed to take full advantage of Chandra's unique angular resolution by spatially resolving feedback signatures and effects. In the second paper of a series on CHEERS target NGC 3393, we examine deep high-resolution Chandra images and compare them with Hubble Space Telescope narrow-line images of [O III], [S II], and Hα, as well as previously unpublished mid-ultraviolet (MUV) images. The X-rays provide unprecedented evidence that the S-shaped arms that envelope the nuclear radio outflows extend only ≲0.″2 (≲50 pc) across. The high-resolution multiwavelength data suggest that the extended narrow-line region is a complex multiphase structure in the circumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM). Its ionization structure is highly stratified with respect to outflow-driven bubbles in the bicone and varies dramatically on scales of ˜10 pc. Multiple findings show likely contributions from shocks to the feedback in regions where radio outflows from the AGN most directly influence the ISM. These findings include Hα evidence for gas compression and extended MUV emission and are in agreement with existing STIS kinematics. Extended filamentary structure in the X-rays and optical suggests the presence of an undetected plasma component, whose existence could be tested with deeper radio observations.

CHEERS Results from NGC 3393. II. Investigating the Extended Narrow-line Region Using Deep Chandra Observations and Hubble Space Telescope Narrow-line Imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maksym, W. Peter; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita; Paggi, Alessandro; Raymond, John; Wang, Junfeng; Storchi-Bergmann, Thaisa

2017-01-01

The CHandra Extended Emission Line Region Survey (CHEERS) is an X-ray study of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) designed to take full advantage of Chandra 's unique angular resolution by spatially resolving feedback signatures and effects. In the second paper of a series on CHEERS target NGC 3393, we examine deep high-resolution Chandra images and compare them with Hubble Space Telescope narrow-line images of [O iii], [S ii], and H α , as well as previously unpublished mid-ultraviolet (MUV) images. The X-rays provide unprecedented evidence that the S-shaped arms that envelope the nuclear radio outflows extend only ≲0.″2 (≲50 pc) across. The high-resolution multiwavelength data suggest that the extended narrow-line region is a complex multiphase structure in the circumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM). Its ionization structure is highly stratified with respect to outflow-driven bubbles in the bicone and varies dramatically on scales of ∼10 pc. Multiple findings show likely contributions from shocks to the feedback in regions where radio outflows from the AGN most directly influence the ISM. These findings include H α evidence for gas compression and extended MUV emission and are in agreement with existing STIS kinematics. Extended filamentary structure in the X-rays and optical suggests the presence of an undetected plasma component, whose existence could be tested with deeper radio observations.

Computer control and data acquisition system for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility Ion Cyclotron Resonant Heating System (ICRH)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheshire, D.L.; Thomas, R.A.

1985-01-01

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) large Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B) will employ an Ion Cyclotron Resonant Heating (ICRH) system for plasma startup. As the MFTF-B Industrial Participant, TRW has responsibility for the ICRH system, including development of the data acquisition and control system. During the MFTF-B Supervisory Control and Diagnostic System (SCDS). For subsystem development and checkout at TRW, and for verification and acceptance testing at LLNL, the system will be run from a stand-alone computer system designed to simulate the functions of SCDS. The ''SCDS Simulator'' was developed originally for the MFTF-B ECRH System; descriptions of the hardware and software are updated in this paper. The computer control and data acquisition functions implemented for ICRH are described, including development status, and test schedule at TRW and at LLNL. The application software is written for the SCDS Simulator, but it is programmed in PASCAL and designed to facilitate conversion for use on the SCDS computers

Coronal Physics and the Chandra Emission Line Project

Science.gov (United States)

Brickhouse, N. S.; Drake, J. J.

2000-01-01

With the launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, high resolution X-ray spectroscopy of cosmic sources has begun. Early, deep observations of three stellar coronal sources Capella, Procyon, and HR 1099 are providing not only invaluable calibration data, but also benchmarks for plasma spectral models. These models are needed to interpret data from stellar coronae, galaxies and clusters of galaxies, supernova, remnants and other astrophysical sources. They have been called into question in recent years as problems with understanding low resolution ASCA and moderate resolution Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite (EUVE) data have arisen. The Emission Line Project is a collaborative effort, to improve the models, with Phase I being the comparison of models with observed spectra of Capella, Procyon, and HR 1099. Goals of these comparisons are (1) to determine and verify accurate and robust diagnostics and (2) to identify and prioritize issues in fundamental spectroscopy which will require further theoretical and/or laboratory work. A critical issue in exploiting the coronal data for these purposes is to understand the extent, to which common simplifying assumptions (coronal equilibrium, negligible optical depth) apply. We will discuss recent, advances in our understanding of stellar coronae, in this context.

The Mouse That Soared

Science.gov (United States)

2004-09-01

diameter of about 12 miles. Their formation is associated with a Type II supernova, the collapse and subsequent explosion of a massive star. The origin of a pulsar's high velocity is not known, but many astrophysicists suspect that it is directly related to the explosive circumstances involved in the birth of the pulsar. The rapid rotation and strong magnetic field of a pulsar can generate a wind of high-energy matter and antimatter particles that rush out at near the speed of light. These pulsar winds create large, magnetized bubbles of high-energy particles called pulsar wind nebulae. The X-ray and radio data on the Mouse have enabled Gaensler and his colleagues to constrain the properties of the ambient gas, to estimate the velocity of the pulsar, and to analyze the structure of the various shock waves created by the pulsar, the flow of particles away from the pulsar, and the magnetic field in the nebula. Zoom into Chandra's Image of the Mouse Zoom into Chandra's Image of the Mouse Other members of the research team were Eric van der Swaluw (FOM Institute of Physics, The Netherlands), Fernando Camilo (Columbia Univ., New York), Vicky Kaspi (McGill Univ., Montreal), Frederick K. Baganoff (MIT, Cambridge, Mass.), Farhad Yusef-Zadeh (Northwestern), and Richard Manchester (Australia Telescope National Facility). The pulsar in the Mouse was originally detected by Camilo et al. in 2002 using Australia's Parkes radio telescope. Chandra observed the Mouse on October 23 and 24, 2002. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Spectacular X-ray Jet Points Toward Cosmic Energy Booster

Science.gov (United States)

2000-06-01

electromagnetic forces created by magnetized gas swirling toward a black hole. Although most of the material falls into the black hole, some can be ejected at extremely high speeds. Magnetic fields spun out by these forces can extend over vast distances and may help explain the narrowness of the jet. The Chandra observation of Pictor A was made on January 18, 2000 for eight hours using the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS). The ACIS instrument was built for NASA by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and Pennsylvania State University, University Park. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass. Images associated with this release are available on the World Wide Web at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov High resolution digital versions of the X-ray image (JPG, 300 dpi TIFF) are available at the Internet sites listed above. This image will be available on NASA Video File which airs at noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time. NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz.

DEEP CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF NGC 1404: CLUSTER PLASMA PHYSICS REVEALED BY AN INFALLING EARLY-TYPE GALAXY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Su, Yuanyuan; Kraft, Ralph P.; Nulsen, Paul; Forman, William R.; Randall, Scott W.; Jones, Christine; Machacek, Marie E. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Roediger, Elke [E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX (United Kingdom); Churazov, Eugene, E-mail: yuanyuan.su@cfa.harvard.edu [Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85741, Garching (Germany)

2017-01-01

The intracluster medium (ICM), as a magnetized and highly ionized fluid, provides an ideal laboratory to study plasma physics under extreme conditions that cannot be achieved on Earth. NGC 1404 is a bright elliptical galaxy that is being gas stripped as it falls through the ICM of the Fornax Cluster. We use the new Chandra X-ray observations of NGC 1404 to study ICM microphysics. The interstellar medium of NGC 1404 is characterized by a sharp leading edge, 8 kpc from the Galaxy center, and a short downstream gaseous tail. Contact discontinuities are resolved on unprecedented spatial scales (0.″5 = 45 pc) due to the combination of the proximity of NGC 1404, the superb spatial resolution of Chandra , and the very deep (670 ks) exposure. At the leading edge, we observe sub-kiloparsec-scale eddies generated by Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) and put an upper limit of 5% Spitzer on the isotropic viscosity of the hot cluster plasma. We also observe mixing between the hot cluster gas and the cooler galaxy gas in the downstream stripped tail, which provides further evidence of a low viscosity plasma. The assumed ordered magnetic fields in the ICM ought to be smaller than 5 μ G to allow KHI to develop. The lack of an evident magnetic draping layer just outside the contact edge is consistent with such an upper limit.

CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF POLARIS: CENSUS OF LOW-MASS COMPANIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Remage Evans, Nancy; Wolk, Scott J.; Karovska, Margarita; Spitzbart, Bradley; Guinan, Edward; Engle, Scott; Schlegel, Eric; Mason, Brian D.

2010-01-01

We have observed Cepheid Polaris (α UMi A: F7 Ib [Aa] + F6 V [Ab]) with Chandra ACIS-I for 10 ks. An X-ray source was found at the location of Polaris with log L X = 28.89 erg s -1 (0.3-8 keV) and kT = 0.6 keV. A spectrum this soft could come from either the supergiant or the dwarf, as shown by comparable coronal stars. Two resolved low-mass visual companions, 'C' and 'D', are not physical members of the system based on the lack of X-rays (indicating an age older than the Cepheid) and inconsistent proper motions. Polaris B is not an X-ray source, consistent with its early F spectral type, and probably does not have a lower mass companion itself. A possible more distant member is identified, and an additional less plausible one. This provides a complete census of companions out to 0.1 pc covering a mass ratio range of an order of magnitude and a ΔV of nearly 15 mag.

DISSECTING PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFT FOR ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS USING XMM- AND CHANDRA-COSMOS SAMPLES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvato, M.; Hasinger, G.; Ilbert, O.; Rau, A.; Brusa, M.; Bongiorno, A.; Civano, F.; Elvis, M.; Zamorani, G.; Vignali, C.; Comastri, A.; Bardelli, S.; Bolzonella, M.; Cappelluti, N.; Aussel, H.; Le Floc'h, E.; Fiore, F.; Mainieri, V.; Capak, P.; Caputi, K.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we release accurate photometric redshifts for 1692 counterparts to Chandra sources in the central square degree of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. The availability of a large training set of spectroscopic redshifts that extends to faint magnitudes enabled photometric redshifts comparable to the highest quality results presently available for normal galaxies. We demonstrate that morphologically extended, faint X-ray sources without optical variability are more accurately described by a library of normal galaxies (corrected for emission lines) than by active galactic nucleus (AGN) dominated templates, even if these sources have AGN-like X-ray luminosities. Preselecting the library on the bases of the source properties allowed us to reach an accuracy σ Δz/(1+z spec ) ∼0.015 with a fraction of outliers of 5.8% for the entire Chandra-COSMOS sample. In addition, we release revised photometric redshifts for the 1735 optical counterparts of the XMM-detected sources over the entire 2 deg 2 of COSMOS. For 248 sources, our updated photometric redshift differs from the previous release by Δz > 0.2. These changes are predominantly due to the inclusion of newly available deep H-band photometry (H AB = 24 mag). We illustrate once again the importance of a spectroscopic training sample and how an assumption about the nature of a source together, with the number and the depth of the available bands, influences the accuracy of the photometric redshifts determined for AGN. These considerations should be kept in mind when defining the observational strategies of upcoming large surveys targeting AGNs, such as eROSITA at X-ray energies and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder Evolutionary Map of the Universe in the radio band.

Chandra Observations of Pluto's Escaping Atmosphere in Support of the New Horizons Mission

Science.gov (United States)

McNutt, Ralph, Jr.

2013-09-01

Current models of Pluto's extended N2+CH4 atmosphere are still very uncertain, causing numerous difficulties in optimizing the New Horizons fast flyby operations plan for the dwarf planet. Applying knowledge gained from studying cometary X-ray emission, Chandra ACIS-S photometric imaging of X-rays produced by CXE between the solar wind and Pluto's atmosphere will address both the run of atmospheric density and the interaction of the solar wind with the extended Plutonian atmosphere. Determining the atmosphere's extent and amount of free molecular escape will aid the atmospheric sounding measurements of the NH ALICE instrument, while determining the x-ray luminosity will help the NH PEPSI instrument characterize the solar wind particle environment.

Chandra monitoring of the Galactic Centre magnetar SGR J1745-2900 during the initial 3.5 years of outburst decay

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coti Zelati, F.; Rea, N.; Turolla, R.; Pons, J.A.; Papitto, A.; Esposito, P.; Israel, G.L.; Campana, S.; Zane, S.; Tiengo, A.; Mignani, R.P.; Mereghetti, S.; Baganoff, F.K.; Haggard, D.; Ponti, G.; Torres, D.F.; Borghese, A.; Elfritz, J.

2017-01-01

We report on 3.5 yr of Chandra monitoring of the Galactic Centre magnetar SGR J1745−2900 since its outburst onset in 2013 April. The magnetar spin-down has shown at least two episodes of period derivative increases so far, and it has slowed down regularly in the past year or so. We observed a

Biodiversity and Indigenous Uses of Medicinal Plant in the Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandauli District, Uttar Pradesh

OpenAIRE

Maurya Santosh Kumar; Seth Ankit; Dev Nath Singh Gautam; Singh Anil Kumar

2015-01-01

Conventional medicines are very important part of Indian culture. In this study the outcome of two-year study of ethnomedicinal uses of plants in Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary (CPWLS) and nearby area is reported. Information related to different plants which are used by local community in the treatment of many common diseases and well-being in the area was collected. Data on the use of medicinal plants were collected using structured interview of about 122 participants and thorough observ...

Comparative Analysis and Variability of the Jovian X-Ray Spectra Detected by the Chandra and XMM-Newton Observatories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hui, Yawei [ORNL; Schultz, David Robert [ORNL; Kharchenko, Vasili A [ORNL; Bhardwaj, Anil [Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, Trivandrum, India; Branduardi-Raymont, Graziella [University College, London; Stancil, Phillip C. [University of Georgia, Athens, GA; Cravens, Thomas E. E. [University of Kansas; Lisse, Carey M. [Johns Hopkins University; Dalgarno, A. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

2010-01-01

Expanding upon recent work, a more comprehensive spectral model based on charge exchange induced X-ray emission by ions precipitating into the Jovian atmosphere is used to provide new understanding of the polar auroras. In conjunction with the Xspec spectral fitting software, the model is applied to analyze observations from both Chandra and XMM-Newton by systematically varying the initial precipitating ion parameters to obtain the best fit model for the observed spectra. In addition to the oxygen and sulfur ions considered previously, carbon is included to discriminate between solar wind and Jovian magnetospheric ion origins, enabled by the use of extensive databases of both atomic collision cross sections and radiative transitions. On the basis of fits to all the Chandra observations, we find that carbon contributes negligibly to the observed polar X-ray emission suggesting that the highly accelerated precipitating ions are of magnetospheric origin. Most of the XMM-Newton fits also favor this conclusion with one exception that implies a possible carbon contribution. Comparison among all the spectra from these two observatories in light of the inferred initial energies and relative abundances of precipitating ions from the modeling show that they are significantly variable in time (observation date) and space (north and south polar X-ray auroras).

A Deep Chandra Observation of the Centaurus Cluster:Bubbles, Filaments and Edges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fabian, A.C.

2005-03-14

X-ray images and gas temperatures taken from a deep {approx}200 ks Chandra observation of the Centaurus cluster are presented. Multiple inner bubbles and outer semicircular edges are revealed, together with wispy filaments of soft X-ray emitting gas. The frothy central structure and eastern edge are likely due to the central radio source blowing bubbles in the intracluster gas. The semicircular edges to the surface brightness maps 32 kpc to the east and 17.5 kpc to the west are marked by sharp temperature increases and abundance drops. The edges could be due to sloshing motions of the central potential, or are possibly enhanced by earlier radio activity. The high abundance of the innermost gas (about 2.5 times Solar) limits the amount of diffusion and mixing taking place.

The Chandra Source Catalog: Source Variability

Science.gov (United States)

Nowak, Michael; Rots, A. H.; McCollough, M. L.; Primini, F. A.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, J. D.; Evans, I.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E. C.; Gibbs, D. G., II; Grier, J. D.; Hain, R.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) contains fields of view that have been studied with individual, uninterrupted observations that span integration times ranging from 1 ksec to 160 ksec, and a large number of which have received (multiple) repeat observations days to years later. The CSC thus offers an unprecedented look at the variability of the X-ray sky over a broad range of time scales, and across a wide diversity of variable X-ray sources: stars in the local galactic neighborhood, galactic and extragalactic X-ray binaries, Active Galactic Nuclei, etc. Here we describe the methods used to identify and quantify source variability within a single observation, and the methods used to assess the variability of a source when detected in multiple, individual observations. Three tests are used to detect source variability within a single observation: the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and its variant, the Kuiper test, and a Bayesian approach originally suggested by Gregory and Loredo. The latter test not only provides an indicator of variability, but is also used to create a best estimate of the variable lightcurve shape. We assess the performance of these tests via simulation of statistically stationary, variable processes with arbitrary input power spectral densities (here we concentrate on results of red noise simulations) at variety of mean count rates and fractional root mean square variabilities relevant to CSC sources. We also assess the false positive rate via simulations of constant sources whose sole source of fluctuation is Poisson noise. We compare these simulations to an assessment of the variability found in real CSC sources, and estimate the variability sensitivities of the CSC.

The Chandra Source Catalog : Google Earth Interface

Science.gov (United States)

Glotfelty, Kenny; McLaughlin, W.; Evans, I.; Evans, J.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E. C.; Gibbs, D. G., II; Grier, J. D.; Hain, R.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, H.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Kashyap, V. L.; Lauer, J.; McCollough, M. L.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Mossman, A. E.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Primini, F. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Rots, A. R.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) contains multi-resolution, exposure corrected, background subtracted, full-field images that are stored as individual FITS files and as three-color JPEG files. In this poster we discuss how we took these data and were able to, with relatively minimal effort, convert them for use with the Google Earth application in its ``Sky'' mode. We will highlight some of the challenges which include converting the data to the required Mercator projection, reworking the 3-color algorithm for pipeline processing, and ways to reduce the data volume through re-binning, using color-maps, and special Keyhole Markup Language (kml) tags to only load images on-demand. The result is a collection of some 11,000 3-color images that are available for all the individual observation in the CSC Release 1. We also have made available all ˜4000 Field-of-View outlines (with per-chip regions), which turns out are trivial to produce starting with a simple dmlist command. In the first week of release, approximately 40% of the images have been accessed at least once through some 50,000 individual web hits which have served over 4Gb of data to roughly 750 users in 60+ countries. We will also highlight some future directions we are exploring, including real-time catalog access to individual source properties and eventual access to file based products such as FITS images, spectra, and light-curves.

A Search for New Galactic Magnetars in Archival Chandra and XMM-Newton Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Muno, M. P.; Gaensler, B. M.; Nechita, A.; Miller, J. M.; Slane, P. O.

2008-06-01

We present constraints on the number of Galactic magnetars, which we have established by searching for sources with periodic variability in 506 archival Chandra observations and 441 archival XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic plane (| b| fall within our survey, then there are 59+ 92-32 in the Galaxy. Barely detectable magnetars (LX = 3 × 1033 ergs s-1 and Arms = 15% ) could have been identified throughout ≈0.4% of the spiral arms. The lack of new examples implies that birth rate of magnetars is between 0.003 and 0.06 yr-1. Therefore, the birth rate of magnetars is at least 10% of that for normal radio pulsars, and could exceed that value, unless transient magnetars are active for gtrsim105 yr.

Hot Galactic Arms Point To Vicious Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

2001-12-01

usually observed in connection with galactic outbursts. "It may be that we are seeing an early stage of the cycle before the radio source has turned on," said team member William Forman also of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "Or, it could be a new type of outburst that is not accompanied by strong radio emission." Other members of the team included Alexey Vikhlinin, Maxim Markevitch, Laurence David, Aryeh Warmflash, all of the CfA, and Paul Nulsen of the University of Wollongong in Australia. Chandra observed NGC 4636, an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo some 50 million light years from Earth, with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on Dec. 4-5, 1999 for 11,000 sec, and Jan. 26-27, 2000 for 53,000 seconds as part of a program led by Richard Mushotzky of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to study X-ray emission from elliptical galaxies. The ACIS instrument was developed for NASA by Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

Chandra X-ray observations of the hyper-luminous infrared galaxy IRAS F15307+3252

Science.gov (United States)

Hlavacek-Larrondo, J.; Gandhi, P.; Hogan, M. T.; Gendron-Marsolais, M.-L.; Edge, A. C.; Fabian, A. C.; Russell, H. R.; Iwasawa, K.; Mezcua, M.

2017-01-01

Hyper-luminous infrared galaxies (HyLIRGs) lie at the extreme luminosity end of the IR galaxy population with LIR > 1013 L⊙. They are thought to be closer counterparts of the more distant sub-millimeter galaxies, and should therefore be optimal targets to study the most massive systems in formation. We present deep Chandra observations of IRAS F15307+3252 (100 ks), a classical HyLIRG located at z = 0.93 and hosting a radio-loud AGN (L1.4 GHz ˜ 3.5 × 1025 W Hz-1). The Chandra images reveal the presence of extended (r = 160 kpc), asymmetric X-ray emission in the soft 0.3-2.0 keV band that has no radio counterpart. We therefore argue that the emission is of thermal origin originating from a hot intragroup or intracluster medium virializing in the potential. We find that the temperature (˜2 keV) and bolometric X-ray luminosity (˜3 × 1043 erg s-1) of the gas follow the expected LX-ray-T correlation for groups and clusters, and that the gas has a remarkably short cooling time of 1.2 Gyr. In addition, VLA radio observations reveal that the galaxy hosts an unresolved compact steep-spectrum (CSS) source, most likely indicating the presence of a young radio source similar to 3C186. We also confirm that the nucleus is dominated by a redshifted 6.4 keV Fe Kα line, strongly suggesting that the AGN is Compton-thick. Finally, Hubble images reveal an overdensity of galaxies and sub-structure in the galaxy that correlates with soft X-ray emission. This could be a snapshot view of on-going groupings expected in a growing cluster environment. IRAS F15307+3252 might therefore be a rare example of a group in the process of transforming into a cluster.

Optical colours of AGN in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South: Obscured black holes in early type galaxies

OpenAIRE

Rovilos, E.; Georgantopoulos, I.

2007-01-01

We investigate the optical colours of X-ray sources from the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS) using photometry from the COMBO-17 survey, aiming to explore AGN - galaxy feedback models. The X-ray sources populate both the ``blue'' and the ``red sequence'' on the colour-magnitude diagram. However, sources in the ``red sequence'' appear systematically more obscured. HST imaging from the GEMS survey demonstrates that the nucleus does not affect significantly the observed colours, and the...

PROBING WOLF–RAYET WINDS: CHANDRA/HETG X-RAY SPECTRA OF WR 6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huenemoerder, David P.; Schulz, N. S. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 70 Vassar St., Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Gayley, K. G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Hamann, W.-R.; Oskinova, L.; Shenar, T. [Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, D-14476 Potsdam (Germany); Ignace, R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614 (United States); Nichols, J. S. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., MS 34, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Pollock, A. M. T., E-mail: dph@space.mit.edu, E-mail: ken.gayley@gmail.com, E-mail: wrh@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de, E-mail: lida@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de, E-mail: shtomer@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de, E-mail: ignace@mail.etsu.edu, E-mail: jnichols@cfa.harvard.edu [European Space Agency, ESAC, Apartado 78, E-28691 Villanueva de la Cañada (Spain)

2015-12-10

With a deep Chandra/HETGS exposure of WR 6, we have resolved emission lines whose profiles show that the X-rays originate from a uniformly expanding spherical wind of high X-ray-continuum optical depth. The presence of strong helium-like forbidden lines places the source of X-ray emission at tens to hundreds of stellar radii from the photosphere. Variability was present in X-rays and simultaneous optical photometry, but neither were correlated with the known period of the system or with each other. An enhanced abundance of sodium revealed nuclear-processed material, a quantity related to the evolutionary state of the star. The characterization of the extent and nature of the hot plasma in WR 6 will help to pave the way to a more fundamental theoretical understanding of the winds and evolution of massive stars.

A VERY DEEP CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF A2052: BUBBLES, SHOCKS, AND SLOSHING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanton, E. L.; Douglass, E. M.; Randall, S. W.; McNamara, B. R.; Clarke, T. E.; Sarazin, C. L.; McDonald, M.

2011-01-01

We present the first results from a very deep (∼650 ks) Chandra X-ray observation of A2052, as well as archival Very Large Array radio observations. The data reveal detailed structure in the inner parts of the cluster, including bubbles evacuated by radio lobes of the active galactic nucleus (AGN), compressed bubble rims, filaments, and loops. Two concentric shocks are seen, and a temperature rise is measured for the innermost one. On larger scales, we report the first detection of an excess surface brightness spiral feature. The spiral has cooler temperatures, lower entropies, and higher abundances than its surroundings, and is likely the result of sloshing gas initiated by a previous cluster-cluster or sub-cluster merger. Initial evidence for previously unseen bubbles at larger radii related to earlier outbursts from the AGN is presented.

Neutron Stars and Black Holes New clues from Chandra and XMM-Newton

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva. Audiovisual Unit

2002-01-01

Neutron stars and black holes, the most compact astrophysical objects, have become observable in many different ways during the last few decades. We will first review the phenomenology and properties of neutron stars and black holes (stellar and supermassive) as derived from multiwavelength observatories. Recently much progress has been made by means of the new powerful X-ray observatories Chandra and XMM-Newton which provide a substantial increase in sensitivity as well as spectral and angular resolution compared with previous satellites like ROSAT and ASCA. We shall discuss in more detail two recent topics: (1) The attempts to use X-ray spectroscopy for measuring the radii of neutron stars which depend on the equation of state at supranuclear densities. Have quark stars been detected? (2) The diagnostics of the strong gravity regions around supermassive black holes using X-ray spectroscopy.

A Chandra High-Resolution X-ray Image of Centaurus A.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraft; Forman; Jones; Kenter; Murray; Aldcroft; Elvis; Evans; Fabbiano; Isobe; Jerius; Karovska; Kim; Prestwich; Primini; Schwartz; Schreier; Vikhlinin

2000-03-01

We present first results from a Chandra X-Ray Observatory observation of the radio galaxy Centaurus A with the High-Resolution Camera. All previously reported major sources of X-ray emission including the bright nucleus, the jet, individual point sources, and diffuse emission are resolved or detected. The spatial resolution of this observation is better than 1&arcsec; in the center of the field of view and allows us to resolve X-ray features of this galaxy not previously seen. In particular, we resolve individual knots of emission in the inner jet and diffuse emission between the knots. All of the knots are diffuse at the 1&arcsec; level, and several exhibit complex spatial structure. We find the nucleus to be extended by a few tenths of an arcsecond. Our image also suggests the presence of an X-ray counterjet. Weak X-ray emission from the southwest radio lobe is also seen, and we detect 63 pointlike galactic sources (probably X-ray binaries and supernova remnants) above a luminosity limit of approximately 1.7x1037 ergs s-1.

Chandra Observations of Galaxy Zoo Mergers: Frequency of Binary Active Nuclei in Massive Mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Stacy H.; Schawinski, Kevin; Urry, C. Megan; Darg, Dan W.; Kaviraj, Sugata; Oh, Kyuseok; Bonning, Erin W.; Cardamone, Carolin N.; Keel, William C.; Lintott, Chris J.;

A DEEP CHANDRA ACIS STUDY OF NGC 4151. III. THE LINE EMISSION AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF THE IONIZATION CONE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin; Risaliti, Guido; Karovska, Margarita; Zezas, Andreas; Mundell, Carole G.; Dumas, Gaelle; Schinnerer, Eva

2011-01-01

This paper is the third in a series in which we present deep Chandra ACIS-S imaging spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151, devoted to study its complex circumnuclear X-ray emission. Emission features in the soft X-ray spectrum of the bright extended emission (L 0.3-2 k eV ∼ 10 40 erg s –1 ) at r > 130 pc (2'') are consistent with blended brighter O VII, O VIII, and Ne IX lines seen in the Chandra HETGS and XMM-Newton RGS spectra below 2 keV. We construct emission line images of these features and find good morphological correlations with the narrow-line region clouds mapped in [O III] λ5007. Self-consistent photoionization models provide good descriptions of the spectra of the large-scale emission, as well as resolved structures, supporting the dominant role of nuclear photoionization, although displacement of optical and X-ray features implies a more complex medium. Collisionally ionized emission is estimated to be ∼ ☉ yr –1 at 130 pc and the kinematic power of the ionized outflow is 1.7 × 10 41 erg s –1 , approximately 0.3% of the bolometric luminosity of the active nucleus in NGC 4151.

Contributions of the "Great" X-Ray Observatories (XMM-Newton and Chandra) to Astronomy and Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin

2011-01-01

NASA s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA s XMM-Newton made their first observations over a decade ago. The unprecedented and complementary capabilities of these observatories to detect, image, and measure the energy of cosmic X-rays, achieved less than 50 years after the first detection of an extra-solar X-ray source, represent an increase in sensitivity comparable in going from naked-eye observations to the most powerful optical telescopes over the past 400 years. In this presentation we highlight some of the many discoveries made using these powerful X-ray observatories that have transformed 21st century astronomy. We briefly discuss future prospects for this truly exciting field.

Chandra observations of Jupiter's X-ray Aurora during Juno upstream and apojove intervals

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, W.; Jackman, C. M.; Kraft, R.; Gladstone, R.; Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Knigge, C.; Altamirano, D.; Elsner, R.; Kammer, J.

2017-12-01

The Chandra space telescope has recently conducted a number of campaigns to observe Jupiter's X-ray aurora. The first set of campaigns took place in summer 2016 while the Juno spacecraft was upstream of the planet sampling the solar wind. The second set of campaigns took place in February, June and August 2017 at times when the Juno spacecraft was at apojove. These campaigns were planned following the Juno orbit correction to capitalise on the opportunity to image the X-ray emission while Juno was orbiting close to the expected position of the magnetopause. Previous work has suggested that the auroral X-ray emissions map close to the magnetopause boundary [e.g. Vogt et al., 2015; Kimura et al., 2016; Dunn et al., 2016] and thus in situ spacecraft coverage in this region combined with remote observation of the X-rays afford the chance to constrain the drivers of these energetic emissions and determine if they originate on open or closed field lines. We aim to examine possible drivers of X-ray emission including reconnection and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and to explore the role of the solar wind in controlling the emissions. We report on these upstream and apojove campaigns including intensities and periodicities of auroral X-ray emissions. This new era of jovian X-ray astronomy means we have more data than ever before, long observing windows (up to 72 ks for this Chandra set), and successive observations relatively closely spaced in time. These features combine to allow us to pursue novel methods for examining periodicities in the X-ray emission. Our work will explore significance testing of emerging periodicities, and the search for coherence in X-ray pulsing over weeks and months, seeking to understand the robustness and regularity of previously reported hot spot X-ray emissions. The periods that emerge from our analysis will be compared against those which emerge from radio and UV wavelengths.

Chandra Takes on Heavy Jets and Massive Winds in 4U 1630-47

Science.gov (United States)

Neilsen, Joey

2014-11-01

Recently, Díaz Trigo et al. reported the discovery of relativistic baryons in a jet in XMM/ATCA observations of the 2012 outburst of the black hole 4U 1630-47. We present a search for a similarly massive jet earlier in the same outburst using high-resolution X-ray spectra from the Chandra HETGS. Despite a detection of radio emission with ATCA, we find no evidence of a heavy jet in the X-ray spectrum, with tight upper limits on the relativistic emission lines seen by Díaz Trigo eight months later. Instead, we find deep absorption lines from a massive, highly ionized disk wind, whose properties can be probed with detailed photoionization models. We explore several scenarios to explain the two modes of massive outflow in this remarkable black hole system.

Space Movie Reveals Shocking Secrets Of The Crab Pulsa

Science.gov (United States)

2002-09-01

particles and magnetic field. "The jet looks like steam from a high pressure boiler," said David Burrows of Penn State, another coauthor of the paper. "Except when you realize you are looking at a stream of matter and anti-matter electrons moving at half the speed of light!" Time-Lapse Movie Of Crab Pulsar Wind Time-Lapse Movie Of Crab Pulsar Wind The inner region of the Crab Nebula around the pulsar was observed with Hubble on 24 occasions between August 2000 and April 2001 at 11-day intervals, and with Chandra on eight occasions between November 2000 and April 2001. The Crab was observed with Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer and Hubble's Wide-Field Planetary Camera. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass. The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

CHANDRA ACIS SURVEY OF X-RAY POINT SOURCES: THE SOURCE CATALOG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Song; Liu, Jifeng; Qiu, Yanli; Bai, Yu; Yang, Huiqin; Guo, Jincheng; Zhang, Peng, E-mail: jfliu@bao.ac.cn, E-mail: songw@bao.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)

2016-06-01

The Chandra archival data is a valuable resource for various studies on different X-ray astronomy topics. In this paper, we utilize this wealth of information and present a uniformly processed data set, which can be used to address a wide range of scientific questions. The data analysis procedures are applied to 10,029 Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer observations, which produces 363,530 source detections belonging to 217,828 distinct X-ray sources. This number is twice the size of the Chandra Source Catalog (Version 1.1). The catalogs in this paper provide abundant estimates of the detected X-ray source properties, including source positions, counts, colors, fluxes, luminosities, variability statistics, etc. Cross-correlation of these objects with galaxies shows that 17,828 sources are located within the D {sub 25} isophotes of 1110 galaxies, and 7504 sources are located between the D {sub 25} and 2 D {sub 25} isophotes of 910 galaxies. Contamination analysis with the log N –log S relation indicates that 51.3% of objects within 2 D {sub 25} isophotes are truly relevant to galaxies, and the “net” source fraction increases to 58.9%, 67.3%, and 69.1% for sources with luminosities above 10{sup 37}, 10{sup 38}, and 10{sup 39} erg s{sup −1}, respectively. Among the possible scientific uses of this catalog, we discuss the possibility of studying intra-observation variability, inter-observation variability, and supersoft sources (SSSs). About 17,092 detected sources above 10 counts are classified as variable in individual observation with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) criterion ( P {sub K–S} < 0.01). There are 99,647 sources observed more than once and 11,843 sources observed 10 times or more, offering us a wealth of data with which to explore the long-term variability. There are 1638 individual objects (∼2350 detections) classified as SSSs. As a quite interesting subclass, detailed studies on X-ray spectra and optical spectroscopic follow-up are needed to

X-ray/ultraviolet observing campaign of the Markarian 279 active galactic nucleus outflow: a close look at the absorbing/emitting gas with Chandra-LETGS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Costantini, E.; Kaastra, J.S.; Arav, N.; Kriss, G.A.; Steenbrugge, K.C.; Gabel, J.R.; Verbunt, F.W.M.; Behar, E.; Gaskell, C. Martin; Korista, K.T.; Proga, D.; Kim Quijano, J.; Scott, J.E.; Klimek, E.S.; Hedrick, C.H.

2007-01-01

We present a Chandra-LETGS observation of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 279. This observation was simultaneous with HST-STIS and FUSE observations, in the context of a multiwavelength study of this source. The data also allow for the presence of intermediate ionization components. The distribution of the

The Chandra Source Catalog: Source Properties and Data Products

Science.gov (United States)

Rots, Arnold; Evans, Ian N.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Primini, Francis A.; Zografou, Panagoula; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiang Qun (Helen); Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is breaking new ground in several areas. There are two aspects that are of particular interest to the users: its evolution and its contents. The CSC will be a living catalog that becomes richer, bigger, and better in time while still remembering its state at each point in time. This means that users will be able to take full advantage of new additions to the catalog, while retaining the ability to back-track and return to what was extracted in the past. The CSC sheds the limitations of flat-table catalogs. Its sources will be characterized by a large number of properties, as usual, but each source will also be associated with its own specific data products, allowing users to perform mini custom analysis on the sources. Source properties fall in the spatial (position, extent), photometric (fluxes, count rates), spectral (hardness ratios, standard spectral fits), and temporal (variability probabilities) domains, and are all accompanied by error estimates. Data products cover the same coordinate space and include event lists, images, spectra, and light curves. In addition, the catalog contains data products covering complete observations: event lists, background images, exposure maps, etc. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

Chandra reveals a black hole X-ray binary within the ultraluminous supernova remnant MF 16

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, T. P.; Colbert, E. J. M.

2003-06-01

We present evidence, based on Chandra ACIS-S observations of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946, that the extraordinary X-ray luminosity of the MF 16 supernova remnant actually arises in a black hole X-ray binary. This conclusion is drawn from the point-like nature of the X-ray source, its X-ray spectrum closely resembling the spectrum of other ultraluminous X-ray sources thought to be black hole X-ray binary systems, and the detection of rapid hard X-ray variability from the source. We briefly discuss the nature of the hard X-ray variability, and the origin of the extreme radio and optical luminosity of MF 16 in light of this identification.

Chandra Observations of a Collisionally and Optically Thin Charge Exchange System - Comet 2P/Encke 2003

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, D. J.; Lisse, C. M.; Dennerl, K.; Wolk, S. J.; Bodewits, D.; Combi, M. R.; Hoekstra, R.; Makinen, J. T. T.; Weaver, H. A.

2004-11-01

The highly favorable perigee passage of the x-ray bright comet 2P/Encke in late 2003 provided an excellent opportunity to use Chandra's high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution to study cometary x-ray emission in the low neutral target density, low x-ray flux regime. The 1997 ROSAT/EUVE observations of Encke (Lisse et al. 1999) and the nucleus rotation studies of Luu and Jewitt (1990, most likely rotation period = 15 hours) suggested a simple Chandra experiment - continuous ACIS-S observations of Encke over 15 hours during the time of its closest approach to Earth. Here we report initial results from our X-ray observations. X-ray emission from comet Encke was found only in a small, asymmetric region between 1500 km - 40,000 km from the nucleus. The Encke ACIS-S3 200 -- 1000 eV spectrum shows many of the same x-ray emission lines previously observed from comets (C+5, O+6,O+7), including confirmation of several emission lines in the 800 to 1000 eV range. However, the Encke spectrum shows very different line ratios in the 200 - 700 eV range than any previous comet. A lightcurve with peak-to-peak amplitude of 20% and period 11.7 hours was found over the 15 hour observing period. Comparing the observations to contemporaneous measurements of the coma and solar wind made by other means, we find the combination of a low density, collisionally thin (to charge exchange) coma and a post-massive X-flare, high temperature, moderate density solar wind can explain our unusual Encke x-ray observations.

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS C/2012 S1 (ISON) AND C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snios, Bradford; Kharchenko, Vasili [Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States); Lisse, Carey M. [Planetary Exploration Group, Space Department, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723 (United States); Wolk, Scott J. [Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Dennerl, Konrad [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Combi, Michael R. [Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2016-02-20

We present our results on the Chandra X-ray Observatory Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) observations of the bright Oort Cloud comets C/2012 S1 (ISON) and C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS). ISON was observed between 2013 October 31–November 06 during variable speed solar wind (SW), and PanSTARRS was observed between 2013 April 17–23 during fast SW. ISON produced an extended parabolic X-ray morphology consistent with a collisionally thick coma, while PanSTARRS demonstrated only a diffuse X-ray-emitting region. We consider these emissions to be from charge exchange (CX) and model each comet's emission spectrum from first principles accordingly. Our model agrees with the observational spectra and also generates composition ratios for heavy, highly charged SW ions interacting with the cometary atmosphere. We compare our derived SW ion compositions to observational data and find a strong agreement between them. These results further demonstrate the utility of CX emissions as a remote diagnostics tool of both astrophysical plasma interaction and SW composition. In addition, we observe potential soft X-ray emissions via ACIS around 0.2 keV from both comets that are correlated in intensity to the hard X-ray emissions between 0.4–1.0 keV. We fit our CX model to these emissions, but our lack of a unique solution at low energies makes it impossible to conclude if they are cometary CX in origin. Finally, we discuss probable emission mechanism sources for the soft X-rays and explore new opportunities these findings present in understanding cometary emission processes via Chandra.

The Chandra M10l Megasecond: Diffuse Emission

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntz, K. D.; Snowden, S. L.

2009-01-01

Because MIOl is nearly face-on, it provides an excellent laboratory in which to study the distribution of X-ray emitting gas in a typical late-type spiral galaxy. We obtained a Chandra observation with a cumulative exposure of roughly 1 Ms to study the diffuse X-ray emission in MlOl. The bulk of the X-ray emission is correlated with the star formation traced by the FUV emission. The global FUV/Xray correlation is non-linear (the X-ray surface brightness is roughly proportional to the square root of the FUV surface brightness) and the small-scale correlation is poor, probably due to the delay between the FUV emission and the X-ray production ill star-forming regions. The X-ray emission contains only minor contributions from unresolved stars (approximates less than 3%), unresolved X-ray point sources (approximates less than 4%), and individual supernova remnants (approximates 3%). The global spectrum of the diffuse emission can be reasonably well fitted with a three component thermal model, but the fitted temperatures are not unique; many distributions of emission measure can produce the same temperatures when observed with the current CCD energy resolution. The spectrum of the diffuse emission depends on the environment; regions with higher X-ray surface brightnesses have relatively stronger hard components, but there is no significant evidence that the temperatures of the emitting components increase with surface brightness.

An Archival Chandra and XMM-Newton Survey of Type 2 Quasars

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Jianjun; Ptak, Andrew Francis; Heckman, Timothy; Zakamska, Nadia L.

2013-01-01

In order to investigate obscuration in high-luminosity type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we analyzed Chandra and XMM-Newton archival observations for 71 type 2 quasars detected at 0.05 100 eV in the rest frame) and we detect this line in the other sources through a joint fit (spectral stacking). The correlation between the Fe K alpha and [O III] fluxes and the inverse correlation of the equivalent width of the Fe Ka line with the ratio of hard X-ray and [O III] fluxes is consistent with previous results for lower luminosity Seyfert 2 galaxies. We conclude that obscuration is the cause of the weak hard X-ray emission rather than intrinsically low X-ray luminosities. We find that about half of the population of optically selected type 2 quasars are likely to be Compton thick. We also find no evidence that the amount of X-ray obscuration depends on the AGN luminosity (over a range of more than three orders of magnitude in luminosity).

Motions in Nearby Galaxy Cluster Reveal Presence of Hidden Superstructure

Science.gov (United States)

2004-09-01

led by Marie Machacek of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., the hot gas cloud surrounding this galaxy has a sharp leading edge and a trailing tail of gas being stripped from the galaxy. Illustration of Fornax Cluster Illustration of Fornax Cluster "One thing that makes what we see in Fornax rather compelling is that it looks a lot like some of the latest computer simulations," added Scharf. "The Fornax picture, with infalling galaxies, and the swept back geometry of the cluster gas - seen only with the Chandra resolution and the proximity of Fornax - is one of the best matches to date with these high-resolution simulations." Over the course of hundreds of millions of years, NGC 1404's orbit will take it through the cluster core several times, most of the gas it contains will be stripped away, and the formation of new stars will cease. In contrast, galaxies that remain outside the core will retain their gas, and new stars can continue to form. Indeed, Scharf and colleagues found that galaxies located in regions outside the core were more likely to show X-ray activity which could be associated with active star formation. Dissolve from Optical to X-ray View of Fornax Animation Dissolve from Optical to X-ray View of Fornax Animation The wide-field and deep X-ray view around Fornax was obtained through ten Chandra pointings, each lasting about 14 hours. Other members of the research team were David Zurek of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, and Martin Bureau, a Hubble Fellow currently at Columbia. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available

Superbubbles Bespeak Toil and Trouble

Science.gov (United States)

2000-08-01

enriched with oxygen, iron and other heavy elements. These expanding bubbles, collide and coalesce to form superbubbles that are five thousand light years in diameter. Earlier data from the Rosat X-ray observatory showed extended patches of X-ray light in the Antennae, but according to Fabbiano, "We didn't know for sure that the superbubbles existed." Now scientists know that in addition to the superbubbles, the Antennae contain dozens of bright point-like sources- neutron stars and black holes-- left behind by the flurry of supernova activity. The X-rays from these sources are generated by gas that is heated to tens of millions of degrees Celsius as it streams from nearby companion stars onto neutron stars or into black holes. The ability to observe the neutron star/black hole sources and the superbubbles in the Antennae will enhance astronomers' understanding of the evolution of galaxies over the eons through the interplay of galaxy collisions, star formation, gravity and supernovas. "What we are witnessing with Chandra is galaxy ecology in action," said Andreas Zezas, "Over tens of millions of years, the superbubbles gradually enrich the galaxy's supply of oxygen and other elements, and may provide the energy needed to trigger the collapse of more clouds to form more stars and more supernovas in a continuing cycle of star birth, death and renewal." The next step will be to pin down the temperature and energy content more exactly, and to determine how much iron and other heavy elements are in the bubbles, and do some statistics based on the number of bubbles to refine the "galactic ecology." Chandra observed the Antennae with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) for 20 hours on December 1, 1999. The ACIS instrument was built for NASA by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and Pennsylvania State University, University Park. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is

Revisiting the Short-term X-ray Spectral Variability of NGC 4151 with Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Risaliti, G.; Fabbiano, G.; Elvis, M.; Zezas, A.; Karovska, M.

2010-05-01

We present new X-ray spectral data for the Seyfert 1 nucleus in NGC 4151 observed with Chandra for ~200 ks. A significant ACIS pileup is present, resulting in a nonlinear count rate variation during the observation. With pileup corrected spectral fitting, we are able to recover the spectral parameters and find consistency with those derived from unpiled events in the ACIS readout streak and outer region from the bright nucleus. The absorption corrected 2-10 keV flux of the nucleus varied between 6 × 10-11 erg s-1 cm-2 and 10-10 erg s-1 cm-2 (L 2-10 keV ~ 1.3-2.1 × 1042 erg s-1). Similar to earlier Chandra studies of NGC 4151 at a historical low state, the photon indices derived from the same absorbed power-law model are Γ ~ 0.7-0.9. However, we show that Γ is highly dependent on the adopted spectral models. Fitting the power-law continuum with a Compton reflection component gives Γ ~ 1.1. By including passage of non-uniform X-ray obscuring clouds, we can reproduce the apparent flat spectral states with Γ ~ 1.7, typical for Seyfert 1 active galactic nuclei. The same model also fits the hard spectra from previous ASCA "long look" observation of NGC 4151 in the lowest flux state. The spectral variability during our observation can be interpreted as variations in intrinsic soft continuum flux relative to a Compton reflection component that is from distant cold material and constant on short timescale, or variations of partially covering absorber in the line of sight toward the nucleus. An ionized absorber model with ionization parameter log ξ ~ 0.8-1.1 can also fit the low-resolution ACIS spectra. If the partial covering model is correct, adopting a black hole mass M_{BH}˜ 4.6× 10^7 M sun we constrain the distance of the obscuring cloud from the central black hole to be r <~ 9 lt-day, consistent with the size of the broad emission line region of NGC 4151 from optical reverberation mapping.

REVISITING THE SHORT-TERM X-RAY SPECTRAL VARIABILITY OF NGC 4151 WITH CHANDRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junfeng; Fabbiano, G.; Elvis, M.; Zezas, A.; Karovska, M.; Risaliti, G.

2010-01-01

We present new X-ray spectral data for the Seyfert 1 nucleus in NGC 4151 observed with Chandra for ∼200 ks. A significant ACIS pileup is present, resulting in a nonlinear count rate variation during the observation. With pileup corrected spectral fitting, we are able to recover the spectral parameters and find consistency with those derived from unpiled events in the ACIS readout streak and outer region from the bright nucleus. The absorption corrected 2-10 keV flux of the nucleus varied between 6 x 10 -11 erg s -1 cm -2 and 10 -10 erg s -1 cm -2 (L 2-10 k eV ∼ 1.3-2.1 x 10 42 erg s -1 ). Similar to earlier Chandra studies of NGC 4151 at a historical low state, the photon indices derived from the same absorbed power-law model are Γ ∼ 0.7-0.9. However, we show that Γ is highly dependent on the adopted spectral models. Fitting the power-law continuum with a Compton reflection component gives Γ ∼ 1.1. By including passage of non-uniform X-ray obscuring clouds, we can reproduce the apparent flat spectral states with Γ ∼ 1.7, typical for Seyfert 1 active galactic nuclei. The same model also fits the hard spectra from previous ASCA 'long look' observation of NGC 4151 in the lowest flux state. The spectral variability during our observation can be interpreted as variations in intrinsic soft continuum flux relative to a Compton reflection component that is from distant cold material and constant on short timescale, or variations of partially covering absorber in the line of sight toward the nucleus. An ionized absorber model with ionization parameter log ξ ∼ 0.8-1.1 can also fit the low-resolution ACIS spectra. If the partial covering model is correct, adopting a black hole mass M BH ∼4.6x10 7 M sun we constrain the distance of the obscuring cloud from the central black hole to be r ∼< 9 lt-day, consistent with the size of the broad emission line region of NGC 4151 from optical reverberation mapping.

A Cocoon Found Inside the Black Widow's Web

Science.gov (United States)

2003-02-01

and relatively low magnetic field of millisecond pulsars put them in a totally separate class from young pulsars observed in the remnants of supernova explosions. "This star has had an incredible journey. It was born in a supernova explosion as a young and energetic pulsar, but after a few million years grew old and slow and faded from view," said Bryan Gaensler of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., a coauthor of the paper. "Over the next few hundred million years, this dead pulsar had material dumped on it by its companion, and the pulsar's magnetic field has been dramatically reduced. B1957+20 B1957+20 Artist's illustrations of B1957+20 "This pulsar has been through hell, yet somehow it's still able to generate high-energy particles just like its younger brethren," continued Gaensler. The key is the rapid rotation of B1957+20. The Chandra result confirms the theory that even a relatively weakly magnetized neutron star can generate intense electromagnetic forces and accelerate particles to high energies to create a pulsar wind, if it is rotating rapidly enough. Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer observed B1957+20 for over 40,000 seconds on June 21, 2001. Other members of the research team include Victoria Kaspi (McGill University, Montreal), Michiel van der Klis (University of Amsterdam) and Walter Lewin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass., for the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

X-Ray Outburst from Young Star in McNeil's Nebula

Science.gov (United States)

2004-07-01

sudden infall of matter onto the surface of the star from an orbiting disk of gas. In general, the coupling of the magnetic field of the star and the magnetic field of its circumstellar disk regulates the inflow of gas from the disk onto the star. This slow, steady inflow suddenly can become much more rapid if a large amount of gas accumulates in the disk, and the disk and the star are rotating at different rates. The differing rotation rates would twist and shear the magnetic field, storing up energy. This energy is eventually released in an energetic, X-ray producing outburst as the magnetic field violently rearranges back to a more stable state. During this period, a large amount of gas can fall onto the star, producing the observed optical and infrared outburst. A new buildup of gas in the disk could lead to a new outburst in the future. Such a scenario may explain why the brightness of McNeil's Nebula appears to vary with time. It is faintly present in surveys of this region of Orion in images taken in the 1960s, but absent from images taken in the 1950s and 1990s. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

CHANDRA DETECTION OF A NEW DIFFUSE X-RAY COMPONENT FROM THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER 47 TUCANAE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, E. M. H.; Cheng, K. S. [Department of Physics, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong); Hui, C. Y. [Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kong, A. K. H.; Tam, P. H. T. [Institute of Astronomy and Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Dogiel, V. A., E-mail: cyhui@cnu.ac.kr [I. E. Tamm Theoretical Physics Division of P. N. Lebedev Institute of Physics, Leninskii pr. 53, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2014-06-20

In re-analyzing the archival Chandra data of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, we have detected a new diffuse X-ray emission feature within the half-mass radius of the cluster. The spectrum of the diffuse emission can be described by a power-law model plus a plasma component with photon index Γ ∼ 1.0 and plasma temperature kT ∼ 0.2 keV. While the thermal component is apparently uniform, the non-thermal contribution falls off exponentially from the core. The observed properties could possibly be explained in the context of multiple shocks resulting from the collisions among the stellar wind in the cluster and the inverse Compton scattering between the pulsar wind and the relic photons.

A Joint Chandra and Swift View of the 2015 X-ray Dust-scattering Echo of V404 Cygni

Science.gov (United States)

Heinz, S.; Corrales, L.; Smith, R.; Brandt, W. N.; Jonker, P. G.; Plotkin, R. M.; Neilsen, J.

2016-07-01

We present a combined analysis of the Chandra and Swift observations of the 2015 X-ray echo of V404 Cygni. Using a stacking analysis, we identify eight separate rings in the echo. We reconstruct the soft X-ray light curve of the 2015 June outburst using the high-resolution Chandra images and cross-correlations of the radial intensity profiles, indicating that about 70% of the outburst fluence occurred during the bright flare at the end of the outburst on MJD 57199.8. By deconvolving the intensity profiles with the reconstructed outburst light curve, we show that the rings correspond to eight separate dust concentrations with precise distance determinations. We further show that the column density of the clouds varies significantly across the field of view, with the centroid of most of the clouds shifted toward the Galactic plane, relative to the position of V404 Cyg, invalidating the assumption of uniform cloud column typically made in attempts to constrain dust properties from light echoes. We present a new XSPEC spectral dust-scattering model that calculates the differential dust-scattering cross section for a range of commonly used dust distributions and compositions and use it to jointly fit the entire set of Swift echo data. We find that a standard Mathis-Rumpl-Nordsieck model provides an adequate fit to the ensemble of echo data. The fit is improved by allowing steeper dust distributions, and models with simple silicate and graphite grains are preferred over models with more complex composition.

Automatic surveying techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sah, R.

1976-01-01

In order to investigate the feasibility of automatic surveying methods in a more systematic manner, the PEP organization signed a contract in late 1975 for TRW Systems Group to undertake a feasibility study. The completion of this study resulted in TRW Report 6452.10-75-101, dated December 29, 1975, which was largely devoted to an analysis of a survey system based on an Inertial Navigation System. This PEP note is a review and, in some instances, an extension of that TRW report. A second survey system which employed an ''Image Processing System'' was also considered by TRW, and it will be reviewed in the last section of this note. 5 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

Observations of the Crab Nebula with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory During the Gamma-Ray Flare of 2011 April

Science.gov (United States)

Weisskopf, Martin C.

2012-01-01

Recently, using the AGILE and Fermi satellites, gamma-ray flares have been discovered from the direction of the Crab Nebula (Tavani et al. 2011, Abdo et al. 2011). We have been using the Chandra X-Ray observatory to monitor the Crab on a monthly cadence since just after the 2010 September gamma-ray flare. We were fortunate to trigger series of pre-planned target of opportunity observations during the 2011 April flare. We present the results of these observations and address some implications both for now and for the future.

Monitoring Chandra Observations of the Quasi-persistent Neutron Star X-Ray Transient MXB 1659-29 in Quiescence: The Cooling Curve of the Heated Neutron Star Crust

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijnands, R.A.D.; Homan, J.; Miller, J.M.; Lewin, W.H.G.

2004-01-01

We have observed the quasi-persistent neutron star X-ray transient and eclipsing binary MXB 1659-29 in quiescence on three occasions with Chandra. The purpose of our observations was to monitor the quiescent behavior of the source after its last prolonged (~2.5 yr) outburst that ended in 2001

Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of the low-luminosity X-ray pulsators SAX J1324.4−6200 and SAX J1452.8−5949

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaur, R.; Wijnands, R.; Patruno, A.; Testa, V.; Israel, G.; Degenaar, N.; Paul, B.; Kumar, B.

2009-01-01

We present results from our Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of two low-luminosity X-ray pulsators SAX J1324.4-6200 and SAX J1452.8-5949 which have spin periods of 172 and 437 s, respectively. The XMM-Newton spectra for both sources can be fitted well with a simple power-law model of photon

Chandra's Ultimate Angular Resolution: Studies of the HRC-I Point Spread Function

Science.gov (United States)

Juda, Michael; Karovska, M.

2010-03-01

The Chandra High Resolution Camera (HRC) should provide an ideal imaging match to the High-Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA). The laboratory-measured intrinsic resolution of the HRC is 20 microns FWHM. HRC event positions are determined via a centroiding method rather than by using discrete pixels. This event position reconstruction method and any non-ideal performance of the detector electronics can introduce distortions in event locations that, when combined with spacecraft dither, produce artifacts in source images. We compare ray-traces of the HRMA response to "on-axis" observations of AR Lac and Capella as they move through their dither patterns to images produced from filtered event lists to characterize the effective intrinsic PSF of the HRC-I. A two-dimensional Gaussian, which is often used to represent the detector response, is NOT a good representation of the intrinsic PSF of the HRC-I; the actual PSF has a sharper peak and additional structure which will be discussed. This work was supported under NASA contract NAS8-03060.

Precocious Supermassive Black Holes Challenge Theories

Science.gov (United States)

2004-11-01

after the Big Bang." There is general agreement among astronomers that X-radiation from the vicinity of supermassive black holes is produced as gas is pulled toward a black hole, and heated to temperatures ranging from millions to billions of degrees. Most of the infalling gas is concentrated in a rapidly rotating disk, the inner part of which has a hot atmosphere or corona where temperatures can climb to billions of degrees. Although the precise geometry and details of the X-ray production are not known, observations of numerous quasars, or supermassive black holes, have shown that many of them have very similar X-ray spectra, especially at high X-ray energies. This suggests that the basic geometry and mechanism are the same for these objects. Chandra X-ray Image of SDSSp J1306 Chandra X-ray Image of SDSSp J1306 The remarkable similarity of the X-ray spectra of the young supermassive black holes to those of much older ones means that the supermassive black holes and their accretion disks, were already in place less than a billion years after the Big Bang. One possibility is that millions of 100 solar mass black holes formed from the collapse of massive stars in the young galaxy, and subsequently built up a billion-solar mass black hole in the center of the galaxy through mergers and accretion of gas. To answer the question of how and when supermassive black holes were formed, astronomers plan to use the very deep Chandra exposures and other surveys to identify and study quasars at even earlier ages. The paper by Schwartz and Virani on SDSSp J1306 was published in the November 1, 2004 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. The paper by Duncan Farrah and colleagues on SDSS J1030 was published in the August 10, 2004 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Chandra observed J1306 with its Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) instrument for approximately 33 hours in November 2003. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA

TRW - Lunar Descent Engine. Chapter 6, Appendix H

Science.gov (United States)

Elverum, Gerard W.

2009-01-01

As we went through the program, what we determined, and what we all agreed on, was that the thrust coefficient (Cf) of the nozzle, after you get past a certain point, is really an engineering parameter. It s not a fundamental parameter that is going to be highly variable. Once we knew what the contour of the nozzle was, and once we knew what its characteristic was out to 2:1, we could calculate what the 48:1 thrust coefficient was going to be. In every case that we made a test, the calculation was precise. We weren't looking for a problem out at 48:1. Once we crushed the nozzle and said, "Yeah, we can land on the boulder," and once we had the thermal profile of that columbium nozzle, we did not require a lot of effort there. The real characterization was done in throttling over the 10:1 with the injector and controlling the mixture ratio on that - the whole head-end assembly - out to 2:1. I think everybody at NASA and Grumman agreed that flying like you test is great, particularly if you are using an aircraft engine. But, in this case, the thrust coefficient of the nozzle was not an issue. We had the tandem configuration of the service module, the command module, and the LEM sitting out there, and we were to fire the LEM. On Apollo 5, we were firing the LEM to show how it would work. There was a problem. I can t remember where the problem was, but something caused a problem before that engine had finished its burn. It was not in the engine, but there was some other problem, and NASA made a controlled shutdown. Then, they came to us and asked, "Hey, we re up there. We want to finish this test program. Is it okay if we restart that engine again in space with this tandem configuration?" We said, "As long as it has been more than forty minutes since you shut down, our analysis says that you will be okay in terms of the thermal characteristics of the inside of that chamber." They restarted it and pushed that system around in orbit on Apollo 5. It turned out, that when

The Ultra-fast Outflow of the Quasar PG 1211+143 as Viewed by Time-averaged Chandra Grating Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Danehkar, Ashkbiz; Nowak, Michael A.; Lee, Julia C.; Kriss, Gerard A.; Young, Andrew J.; Hardcastle, Martin J.; Chakravorty, Susmita; Fang, Taotao; Neilsen, Joseph; Rahoui, Farid; Smith, Randall K.

2018-02-01

We present a detailed X-ray spectral study of the quasar PG 1211+143 based on Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) observations collected in a multi-wavelength campaign with UV data using the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (HST-COS) and radio bands using the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We constructed a multi-wavelength ionizing spectral energy distribution using these observations and archival infrared data to create XSTAR photoionization models specific to the PG 1211+143 flux behavior during the epoch of our observations. Our analysis of the Chandra-HETGS spectra yields complex absorption lines from H-like and He-like ions of Ne, Mg, and Si, which confirm the presence of an ultra-fast outflow (UFO) with a velocity of approximately ‑17,300 km s‑1 (outflow redshift z out ∼ ‑0.0561) in the rest frame of PG 1211+143. This absorber is well described by an ionization parameter {log}ξ ∼ 2.9 {erg} {{{s}}}-1 {cm} and column density {log}{N}{{H}}∼ 21.5 {{cm}}-2. This corresponds to a stable region of the absorber’s thermal stability curve, and furthermore its implied neutral hydrogen column is broadly consistent with a broad Lyα absorption line at a mean outflow velocity of approximately ‑16,980 km s‑1 detected by our HST-COS observations. Our findings represent the first simultaneous detection of a UFO in both X-ray and UV observations. Our VLA observations provide evidence for an active jet in PG 1211+143, which may be connected to the X-ray and UV outflows; this possibility can be evaluated using very-long-baseline interferometric observations.

Climate-Induced Larch Growth Response Within the Central Siberian Permafrost Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Kharuk, Viacheslav I.; Ranson, Kenneth J.; Im, Sergei T.; Petrov, Il'ya A.

2015-01-01

Aim: estimation of larch (Larix gmelinii) growth response to current climate changes. Location: permafrost area within the northern part of Central Siberia (approximately 65.8 deg N, 98.5 deg E). Method: analysis of dendrochronological data, climate variables, drought index SPEI, GPP (gross primary production) and EVI vegetation index (both Aqua/MODIS satellite derived), and soil water content anomalies (GRACE satellite measurements of equivalent water thickness anomalies, EWTA). Results: larch tree ring width (TRW) correlated with previous year August precipitation (r = 0.63), snow accumulation (r = 0.61), soil water anomalies (r = 0.79), early summer temperatures and water vapor pressure (r = 0.73 and r = 0.69, respectively), May and June drought index (r = 0.68-0.82). There are significant positive trends of TRW since late 1980s and GPP since the year 2000. Mean TRW increased by about 50%, which is similar to post-Little Ice Age warming. TRW correlated with GPP and EVI of larch stands (r = 0.68-0.69). Main conclusions: within the permafrost zone of central Siberia larch TRW growth is limited by early summer temperatures, available water from snowmelt, water accumulated within soil in the previous year, and permafrost thaw water. Water stress is one of the limiting factors of larch growth. Larch TRW growth and GPP increased during recent decades.

IACHEC CROSS-CALIBRATION OF CHANDRA , NuSTAR , SWIFT , SUZAKU , XMM-NEWTON WITH 3C 273 ANDPKS 2155-304

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madsen, Kristin K.; Forster, Karl [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Beardmore, Andrew P.; Page, Kim L. [X-ray and Observational Astronomy Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH (United Kingdom); Guainazzi, Matteo [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, 3-1-1, Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5201 (Japan); Marshall, Herman L.; Miller, Eric D. [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Stuhlinger, Martin [European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), P.O. Box 78, E-28691 Villanueva de la Caada, Madrid (Spain)

2017-01-01

On behalf of the International Astronomical Consortium for High Energy Calibration, we present results from the cross-calibration campaigns in 2012 on 3C 273 and in 2013 on PKS 2155-304 between the then active X-ray observatories Chandra , NuSTAR , Suzaku , Swift, and XMM-Newton . We compare measured fluxes between instrument pairs in two energy bands, 1–5 keV and 3–7 keV, and calculate an average cross-normalization constant for each energy range. We review known cross-calibration features and provide a series of tables and figures to be used for evaluating cross-normalization constants obtained from other observations with the above mentioned observatories.

NASA X-Ray Observatory Completes Tests Under Harsh Simulated Space Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

1998-07-01

the Operations Control Center after launch. "As is usually the case, we identified a few issues to be resolved before launch," said Wojtalik. "Overall, however, the observatory performed exceptionally well." The observatory test team discovered a mechanical problem with one of the primary science instruments, the Imaging Spectrometer. A door protecting the instrument did not function when commanded by test controllers. "We do these tests to check and double check every aspect of satellite operation that could affect the ultimate success of the science mission," said Craig Staresinich, TRW Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility program manager. "Discovering a problem now is a success. Discovering a problem later, after launch, would be a failure." A team of NASA and contractor engineers are studying the mechanical problem and developing a plan to correct it. The instrument will be sent back to its builder, Lockheed-Martin Astronautics in Denver, Colo., where it will be repaired while the rest of the observatory continues other testing. This should still allow an on-time delivery of the observatory to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in August, where it will be readied for launch in January. With a resolving power 10 times greater than previous X-ray telescopes, the new X-ray observatory will provide scientists with views of previously invisible X-ray sources, including black holes, exploding stars and interstellar gasses. The third of NASA's Great Observatories, it will join the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit. The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility program is managed by the Marshall Center for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. TRW Space & Electronics Group is assembling the observatory and doing verification testing. The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility Operations Control Center is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Using glass purchased from Schott Glaswerke, Mainz, Germany

Assembly of NASA's Most Powerful X-Ray Telescope Completed

Science.gov (United States)

1998-03-01

holes, many of which are invisible to us now. We may even see the processes that create the elements found here on Earth." Assembly of the observatory began in 1997 with the arrival of the high resolution mirror assembly at TRW Space and Electronics Group. In August 1997, the telescope's optical bench was mated with the mirrors, followed by integration of the telescope with the spacecraft in October. In February 1998, the observatory's science instrument module was mated to the top of the telescope. The complete observatory is 45 feet long, has a solar array wing span 64 feet wide, and weighs more than 5 tons. Using glass purchased from Schott Glaswerke, Mainz, Germany, the telescope's mirrors were built by Raytheon Optical Systems Inc., Danbury, Conn. The mirrors were coated by Optical Coating Laboratory Inc., Santa Rosa, Calif.; and assembled by Eastman-Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. The observatory's charged coupled device imaging spectrometer was developed by Pennsylvania State University at University Park, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), at Cambridge. One diffraction grating was developed by MIT, the other by the Space Research Organization Netherlands, Utrecht, in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute, Garching, Germany. The high resolution camera instrument was built by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation of Boulder, Colo., developed the science instrument module. The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility program is managed by the Marshall Center for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., will operate the observatory for NASA. NOTE TO EDITORS: A photo of the integrated telescope is available via the World Wide Web at URL: http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/images.html Prepared by John Bryk

CHANDRA, KECK, AND VLA OBSERVATIONS OF THE CRAB NEBULA DURING THE 2011-APRIL GAMMA-RAY FLARE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weisskopf, Martin C.; Tennant, Allyn F.; O' Dell, Stephen L. [NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Astrophysics Office (ZP12), Huntsville, AL 35812 (United States); Arons, Jonathan [Astronomy Department and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Blandford, Roger; Funk, Stefan; Romani, Roger W. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Buehler, Rolf [DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Caraveo, Patrizia; De Luca, Andrea [INAF-IASF Milano, via E. Bassini 15, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Cheung, Chi C. [National Research Council Research Associate, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 20001 (United States); Costa, Enrico [INFN Roma Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Ferrigno, Carlo [ISDC, Data Center for Astrophysics of the University of Geneva, chemin d' cogia 16, CH-1290 Versoix (Switzerland); Fu, Hai [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States); Habermehl, Moritz; Horns, Dieter [Institut fuer Experimentalphysik, Universitaet Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany); Linford, Justin D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, MSC07 4220, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 (United States); Lobanov, Andrei [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Max, Claire [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Mignani, Roberto [Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); and others

2013-03-01

We present results from our analysis of Chandra X-Ray Observatory, W. M. Keck Observatory, and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) images of the Crab Nebula that were contemporaneous with the {gamma}-ray flare of 2011 April. Despite hints in the X-ray data, we find no evidence for statistically significant variations that pinpoint the specific location of the flares within the Nebula. The Keck observations extend this conclusion to the 'inner knot', i.e., the feature within an arcsecond of the pulsar. The VLA observations support this conclusion. We also discuss theoretical implications of the {gamma}-ray flares and suggest that the most dramatic {gamma}-ray flares are due to radiation-reaction-limited synchrotron emission associated with sudden, dissipative changes in the current system sustained by the central pulsar.

Giant Galaxy's Violent Past Comes Into Focus

Science.gov (United States)

2004-05-01

feed the black hole, producing an outburst which shuts down the inflow for a few million years, at which point the cycle begins again. Or, the cause could be a much more dramatic event, like the cannibalization of a smaller galaxy, with the subsequent merger of two supermassive black holes in the center. The results from Nulsen's team, which included William Forman and other colleagues from the CfA, were based on approximately 40 hours of Chandra observations with its Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer. Andrew Young of the University of Maryland in College Park, and colleagues, have published a paper identifying many of the X-ray features in M87 in the November 10, 2002 issue of The Astrophysical Journal based on a shorter Chandra observation. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

RESOLVING THE ξ BOO BINARY WITH CHANDRA, AND REVEALING THE SPECTRAL TYPE DEPENDENCE OF THE CORONAL 'FIP EFFECT'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Brian E.; Linsky, Jeffrey L.

2010-01-01

On 2008 May 2, Chandra observed the X-ray spectrum of ξ Boo (G8 V+K4 V), resolving the binary for the first time in X-rays and allowing the coronae of the two stars to be studied separately. With the contributions of ξ Boo A and B to the system's total X-ray emission now observationally established (88.5% and 11.5%, respectively), consideration of mass loss measurements for GK dwarfs of various activity levels (including one for ξ Boo) leads to the surprising conclusion that ξ Boo B may dominate the wind from the binary, with ξ Boo A's wind being very weak despite its active corona. Emission measure (EM) distributions and coronal abundances are computed for both stars and compared with Chandra measurements of other moderately active stars with G8-K5 spectral types, all of which exhibit a narrow peak in EM near log T = 6.6, indicating that the coronal heating process in these stars has a strong preference for this temperature. As is the case for the Sun and many other stars, our sample of stars shows coronal abundance anomalies dependent on the first ionization potential (FIP) of the element. We see no dependence of the degree of 'FIP effect' on activity, but there is a dependence on spectral type, a correlation that becomes more convincing when moderately active main-sequence stars with a broader range of spectral types are considered. This clear dependence of coronal abundances on spectral type weakens if the stellar sample is allowed to be contaminated by evolved stars, interacting binaries, or extremely active stars with log L X >29, explaining why this correlation has not been recognized in the past.

Resolving the xi Boo Binary with Chandra, and Revealing the Spectral Type Dependence of the Coronal "Fip Effect"

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Brian E.; Linsky, Jeffrey L.

2010-01-01

On 2008 May 2, Chandra observed the X-ray spectrum of xi Boo (G8 V+K4 V), resolving the binary for the first time in X-rays and allowing the coronae of the two stars to be studied separately. With the contributions of ξ Boo A and B to the system's total X-ray emission now observationally established (88.5% and 11.5% respectively), consideration of mass loss measurements for GK dwarfs of various activity levels (including one for xi Boo) leads to the surprising conclusion that xi Boo B may dominate the wind from the binary, with xi Boo A's wind being very weak despite its active corona. Emission measure (EM) distributions and coronal abundances are computed for both stars and compared with Chandra measurements of other moderately active stars with G8-K5 spectral types, all of which exhibit a narrow peak in EM near log T = 6.6, indicating that the coronal heating process in these stars has a strong preference for this temperature. As is the case for the Sun and many other stars, our sample of stars shows coronal abundance anomalies dependent on the first ionization potential (FIP) of the element. We see no dependence of the degree of FIP effect on activity, but there is a dependence on spectral type, a correlation that becomes more convincing when moderately active main-sequence stars with a broader range of spectral types are considered. This clear dependence of coronal abundances on spectral type weakens if the stellar sample is allowed to be contaminated by evolved stars, interacting binaries or extremely active stars with logLX 29, explaining why this correlation has not been recognized in the past.

A COMPTON-THICK ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS AT z ∼ 5 IN THE 4 Ms CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilli, R.; Comastri, A.; Su, J.; Norman, C.; Vignali, C.; Tozzi, P.; Rosati, P.; Mainieri, V.; Stiavelli, M.; Brandt, W. N.; Xue, Y. Q.; Luo, B.; Castellano, M.; Fontana, A.; Fiore, F.; Ptak, A.

2011-01-01

We report the discovery of a Compton-thick active galactic nucleus (AGN) at z = 4.76 in the 4 Ms Chandra Deep Field South. This object was selected as a V-band dropout in HST/ACS images and previously recognized as an AGN from optical spectroscopy. The 4 Ms Chandra observations show a significant (∼4.2σ) X-ray detection at the V-band dropout position. The X-ray source displays a hardness ratio of HR = 0.23 ± 0.24, which, for a source at z ∼ 5, is highly suggestive of Compton-thick absorption. The source X-ray spectrum is seen above the background level in the energy range of ∼0.9-4 keV, i.e., in the rest-frame energy range of ∼5-23 keV. When fixing the photon index to Γ = 1.8, the measured column density is N H = 1.4 +0.9 -0.5 x 10 24 cm -2 , which is Compton thick. To our knowledge, this is the most distant heavily obscured AGN, confirmed by X-ray spectral analysis, discovered so far. The intrinsic (de-absorbed), rest-frame luminosity in the 2-10 keV band is ∼2.5 x 10 44 erg s -1 , which places this object among type-2 quasars. The spectral energy distribution shows that massive star formation is associated with obscured black hole (BH) accretion. This system may have then been caught during a major coeval episode of BH and stellar mass assembly at early times. The measure of the number density of heavily obscured AGN at high redshifts will be crucial to reconstructing the BH/galaxy evolution history from the beginning.

CORRELATION OF CHANDRA PHOTONS WITH THE RADIO GIANT PULSES FROM THE CRAB PULSAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilous, A. V.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Ransom, S. M.

2012-01-01

No apparent correlation was found between giant pulses (GPs) and X-ray photons from the Crab pulsar during 5.4 hr of simultaneous observations with the Green Bank Telescope at 1.5 GHz and Chandra X-Ray Observatory primarily in the energy range of 1.5-4.5 keV. During the Crab pulsar periods with GPs, the X-ray flux in radio emission phase windows does not change more than by ±10% for main pulse (MP) GPs and ±30% for interpulse (IP) GPs. During GPs themselves, the X-ray flux does not change by more than two times for MP GPs and five times for IP GPs. All limits quoted are compatible with 2σ fluctuations of the X-ray flux around the sets of false GPs with random arrival times. The results speak in favor of changes in plasma coherence as the origin of GPs. However, the results do not rule out variations in the rate of particle creation if the particles that emit coherent radio emission are mostly at the lowest Landau level.

Spatially resolving a starburst galaxy at hard X-ray energies: NuSTAR, CHANDRA, AND VLBA observations of NGC 253

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wik, D. R.; Lehmer, B. D.; Hornschemeier, A. E.

2014-01-01

for the first time. As a follow up to our initial study of its nuclear region, we present the first results concerning the full galaxy from simultaneous NuSTAR, Chandra, and Very Long Baseline Array monitoring of the local starburst galaxy NGC 253. Above ~10 keV, nearly all the emission is concentrated within...... is detected at E > 40 keV. We report upper limits on diffuse inverse Compton emission for a range of spatial models. For the most extended morphologies considered, these hard X-ray constraints disfavor a dominant inverse Compton component to explain the γ-ray emission detected with Fermi and H.E.S.S. If NGC...

Adaptability-what it is and what it is not: Comment on Chandra and Leong (2016).

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Andrew J

2017-10-01

Chandra and Leong (2016) propose a new model of adaptability: the diversified portfolio model (DPM) of adaptability. Further thought and research on adaptability is a welcome addition to the limited body of work conducted on this topic to date. However, in their discussion there is a lack of definitional clarity, and there is frequent conflation of adaptability and resilience. It is also the case that the hypothesized adaptability model is general and could apply to many psychological constructs and processes (not just adaptability). In addition, there are gaps in research suggested by the authors that have been addressed by other researchers and there is a good deal of contemporary adaptability research that is not cited. Addressing these limitations in future work is vital to the further development of theory, research, and practice in the area of adaptability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Most Powerful Eruption in the Universe Discovered

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Infrared Counterparts to Chandra X-Ray Sources in the Antennae

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, D. M.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Brandl, B. R.; Wilson, J. C.; Carson, J. C.; Henderson, C. P.; Hayward, T. L.; Barry, D. J.; Ptak, A. F.; Colbert, E. J. M.

2007-03-01

We use deep J (1.25 μm) and Ks (2.15 μm) images of the Antennae (NGC 4038/4039) obtained with the Wide-field InfraRed Camera on the Palomar 200 inch (5 m) telescope, together with the Chandra X-ray source list of Zezas and coworkers to search for infrared counterparts to X-ray point sources. We establish an X-ray/IR astrometric frame tie with ~0.5" rms residuals over a ~4.3' field. We find 13 ``strong'' IR counterparts brighter than Ks=17.8 mag and 99.9% confidence level that IR counterparts to X-ray sources are ΔMKs~1.2 mag more luminous than average non-X-ray clusters. We also note that the X-ray/IR matches are concentrated in the spiral arms and ``overlap'' regions of the Antennae. This implies that these X-ray sources lie in the most ``super'' of the Antennae's super star clusters, and thus trace the recent massive star formation history here. Based on the NH inferred from the X-ray sources without IR counterparts, we determine that the absence of most of the ``missing'' IR counterparts is not due to extinction, but that these sources are intrinsically less luminous in the IR, implying that they trace a different (possibly older) stellar population. We find no clear correlation between X-ray luminosity classes and IR properties of the sources, although small-number statistics hamper this analysis.

Reactor systems modeling for ICF hybrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berwald, D.H.; Meier, W.R.

1980-10-01

The computational models of ICF reactor subsystems developed by LLNL and TRW are described and a computer program was incorporated for use in the EPRI-sponsored Feasibility Assessment of Fusion-Fission Hybrids. Representative parametric variations have been examined. Many of the ICF subsystem models are very preliminary and more quantitative models need to be developed and included in the code

HDE 245059: A WEAK-LINED T TAURI BINARY REVEALED BY CHANDRA AND KECK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldovin-Saavedra, C.; Audard, M.; Duchene, G.; Guedel, M.; Skinner, S.L.; Paerels, F. B. S.; Ghez, A.; McCabe, C.

2009-01-01

We present the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer and Keck observations of HDE 245059, a young weak-lined T Tauri star (WTTS), member of the pre-main-sequence group in the λ Orionis Cluster. Our high spatial resolution, near-infrared observations with Keck reveal that HDE 245059 is in fact a binary separated by 0.''87, probably composed of two WTTS based on their color indices. Based on this new information we have obtained an estimate of the masses of the binary components; ∼3 M sun and ∼2.5 M sun for the north and south components, respectively. We have also estimated the age of the system to be ∼2-3 Myr. We detect both components of the binary in the zeroth-order Chandra image and in the grating spectra. The light curves show X-ray variability of both sources and in particular a flaring event in the weaker southern component. The spectra of both stars show similar features: a combination of cool and hot plasma as demonstrated by several iron lines from Fe XVII to Fe XXV and a strong bremsstrahlung continuum at short wavelengths. We have fitted the combined grating and zeroth-order spectrum (considering the contribution of both stars) in XSPEC. The coronal abundances and emission measure distribution for the binary have been obtained using different methods, including a continuous emission measure distribution and a multi-temperature approximation. In all cases we have found that the emission is dominated by plasma between ∼8 and ∼15 MK a soft component at ∼4 MK and a hard component at ∼50 MK are also detected. The value of the hydrogen column density was low, N H ∼ 8 x 10 19 cm -2 , likely due to the clearing of the inner region of the λ Orionis cloud, where HDE 245059 is located. The abundance pattern shows an inverse first ionization potential effect for all elements from O to Fe, the only exception being Ca. To obtain the properties of the binary components, a 3-T model was fitted to the individual zeroth-order spectra

Living with a Red Dwarf: A Chandra Archival Study of dM Star Activity and Habitability

Science.gov (United States)

Engle, Scott

2017-09-01

We propose to analyze 6 archival Chandra visits, not pointed at, but serendipitously including 3 dM stars of known age. GJ 669 AB are a common proper motion pair, each are resolved and detected in 3 exposures, and LHS 373 is a much older dM star also detected on 3 exposures. Photometry (by us) of GJ 669 AB began 5 years ago, is ongoing, and has precisely determined rotation rates for both stars and evidence of frequent flaring from GJ 669 B. We will analyze the multiple exposures, derive an accurate mean level of X-ray activity from the targets, and also separate out and individually analyze and model any observed X-ray flares. This proposal will provide highly accurate coronal properties for the targets, but also very useful data for stellar evolution and planetary habitability studies.

Chandra Studies of the X-ray gas properties of fossil systems

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Zhen-Zhen

2016-03-01

We study ten galaxy groups and clusters suggested in the literature to be “fossil systems (FSs)” based on Chandra observations. According to the M500 - T and LX - T relations, the gas properties of FSs are not physically distinct from ordinary galaxy groups or clusters. We also first study the fgas, 2500 - T relation and find that the FSs exhibit the same trend as ordinary systems. The gas densities of FSs within 0.1r200 are ˜ 10-3 cm-3, which is the same order of magnitude as galaxy clusters. The entropies within 01r200 (S0.1r200) of FSs are systematically lower than those inordinary galaxy groups, which is consistent with previous reports, but we find their S0.1r200 - T relation is more similar to galaxy clusters. The derived mass profiles of FSs are consistent with the Navarro, Frenk and White model in (0.1 - 1)r200, and the relation between scale radius rs and characteristic mass density δc indicates self-similarity of dark matter halos of FSs. The ranges of rs and δc for FSs are also close to those of galaxy clusters. Therefore, FSs share more common characteristics with galaxy clusters. The special birth place of the FS makes it a distinct type of galaxy system.

STAR FORMATION IN THE CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH: OBSERVATIONS CONFRONT SIMULATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damen, Maaike; Franx, Marijn; Foerster Schreiber, Natascha M.; Labbe, Ivo; Toft, Sune; Van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Wuyts, Stijn

2009-01-01

We investigate the star formation history of the universe using FIREWORKS, a multiwavelength survey of the Chandra Deep Field South. We study the evolution of the specific star formation rate (sSFR) with redshift in different mass bins from z = 0 to z ∼ 3. We find that the sSFR increases with redshift for all masses. The logarithmic increase of the sSFR with redshift is nearly independent of mass, but this cannot yet be verified at the lowest-mass bins at z>0.8, due to incompleteness. We convert the sSFRs to a dimensionless growth rate to facilitate a comparison with a semianalytic galaxy formation model that was implemented on the Millennium Simulation. The model predicts that the growth rates and sSFRs increase similarly with redshift for all masses, consistent with the observations. However, we find that for all masses, the inferred observed growth rates increase more rapidly with redshift than the model predictions. We discuss several possible causes for this discrepancy, ranging from field-to-field variance, conversions to SFR, and shape of the initial mass function. We find that none of these can solve the discrepancy completely. We conclude that the models need to be adapted to produce the steep increase in growth rate between redshift z = 0 and z = 1.

Annealing bounds to prevent further Charge Transfer Inefficiency increase of the Chandra X-ray CCDs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monmeyran, Corentin, E-mail: comonmey@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Patel, Neil S., E-mail: neilp@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Bautz, Mark W., E-mail: mwb@space.mit.edu [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Grant, Catherine E., E-mail: cgrant@space.mit.edu [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Prigozhin, Gregory Y., E-mail: gyp@space.mit.edu [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Agarwal, Anuradha, E-mail: anu@mit.edu [Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Kimerling, Lionel C., E-mail: lckim@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

2016-12-15

After the front-illuminated CCDs on board the X-ray telescope Chandra were damaged by radiation after launch, it was decided to anneal them in an effort to remove the defects introduced by the irradiation. The annealing led to an unexpected increase of the Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI). The performance degradation is attributed to point defect interactions in the devices. Specifically, the annealing at 30 °C activated the diffusion of the main interstitial defect in the device, the carbon interstitial, which led to its association with a substitutional impurity, ultimately resulting in a stable and electrically active defect state. Because the formation reaction of this carbon interstitial and substitutional impurity associate is diffusion limited, we recommend a higher upper bound for the annealing temperature and duration of any future CCD anneals, that of −50 °C for one day or −60 °C for a week, to prevent further CTI increase.

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF A 1.9 kpc SEPARATION DOUBLE X-RAY SOURCE IN A CANDIDATE DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS GALAXY AT z = 0.16

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comerford, Julia M.; Pooley, David; Gerke, Brian F.; Madejski, Greg M.

2011-01-01

We report Chandra observations of a double X-ray source in the z = 0.1569 galaxy SDSS J171544.05+600835.7. The galaxy was initially identified as a dual active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidate based on the double-peaked [O III] λ5007 emission lines, with a line-of-sight velocity separation of 350 km s -1 , in its Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectrum. We used the Kast Spectrograph at Lick Observatory to obtain two long-slit spectra of the galaxy at two different position angles, which reveal that the two Type 2 AGN emission components have not only a velocity offset, but also a projected spatial offset of 1.9 h -1 70 kpc on the sky. Chandra/ACIS observations of two X-ray sources with the same spatial offset and orientation as the optical emission suggest that the galaxy most likely contains Compton-thick dual AGNs, although the observations could also be explained by AGN jets. Deeper X-ray observations that reveal Fe K lines, if present, would distinguish between the two scenarios. The observations of a double X-ray source in SDSS J171544.05+600835.7 are a proof of concept for a new, systematic detection method that selects promising dual AGN candidates from ground-based spectroscopy that exhibits both velocity and spatial offsets in the AGN emission features.

Young Star Cluster Found Aglow With Mysterious X-Ray Cloud

Science.gov (United States)

2002-12-01

-stellar disks in ways that could still be manifest billions of years later." For example, in our own solar system, we find evidence of certain short-lived radioactive nuclides (Aluminum 26 being the most well known). This implies the existence of a high-energy process late in the evolution of our solar system. If our solar system was immersed for a time in a sea of energetic particles, this could explain the rare nuclides present in meteorites found on the Earth today. RCW 38, at a distance of 6,000 light years from Earth, is one of the nearest star-forming regions with very young, hot stars. Other authors of the paper, which appeared in the 2002 December 1 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters, are Tyler Bourke, Randall Smith and Bradley Spitzbart of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Joao Alves of the European Southern Observatory in Garching, Germany. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science in Washington. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

Never Before Seen: Two Supermassive Black Holes in Same Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

2002-11-01

., manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, Washington, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass. Press Kit: NGC 6240 Press Kit

How Does The Universe Work? The Physics Of The Cosmos Program (PCOS)

Science.gov (United States)

Sambruna, Rita M.

2011-09-01

The Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) program incorporates cosmology, high-energy astrophysics, and fundamental physics projects aimed at addressing central questions about the nature of complex astrophysical phenomena such as black holes, neutron stars, dark energy, and gravitational waves. Its overarching theme is, How does the Universe work? PCOS includes a suite of operating (Chandra, Fermi, Planck, XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL) and future missions across the electromagnetic spectrum and beyond, which are in concept development and/or formulation. The PCOS program directly supports development of intermediate TRL (4-6) technology relevant to future missions through the Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program, as well as data analysis, theory, and experimental astrophysics via other R&A avenues (e.g., ADAP, ATP). The Einstein Fellowship is a vital and vibrant PCOS component funded by the program. PCOS receives community input via its Program Analysis Group, the PhysPAG (www.pcos.gsfc.nasa.gov/physpag.php), whose membership and meetings are open to the community at large. In this poster, we describe the detailed science questions addressed within PCOS, with special emphasis on future opportunities. Details about the PhysPAG operations and functions will be provided, as well as an update on future meetings.

CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF THE RELATIVISTIC BINARY J1906+0746

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kargaltsev, O.; Pavlov, G. G.

2009-01-01

PSR J1906+0746 is a young radio pulsar (τ = 112 kyr, P = 144 ms) in a tight binary (P orb = 3.98 hr) with a compact high-mass companion (M comp ≅ 1.36 M sun ), at the distance of about 5 kpc. We observed this unique relativistic binary with the Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer detector for 31.6 ks. Surprisingly, not a single photon was detected within the 3'' radius from the J1906+0746 radio position. For a plausible range of hydrogen column densities, n H = (0.5-1) x 10 22 cm -2 , the nondetection corresponds to the 90% upper limit of (3-5) x 10 30 erg s -1 on the unabsorbed 0.5-8 keV luminosity for the power-law model with Γ = 1.0-2.0, and ∼10 32 erg s -1 on the bolometric luminosity of the thermal emission from the neutrons star surface. The inferred limits are the lowest known for pulsars with spin-down properties similar to those of PSR J1906+0746. We have also tentatively detected a puzzling extended structure which looks like a tilted ring with a radius of 1.'6 centered on the pulsar. The measured 0.5-8 keV flux of the feature, ∼3.1 x 10 -14 erg cm -2 s -1 , implies an unabsorbed luminosity of 1.2 x 10 32 erg s -1 (4.5 x 10 -4 of the pulsar's E-dot) for n H = 0.7 x 10 22 cm -2 . If the ring is not a peculiar noise artifact, the pulsar wind nebula around an unusually underluminous pulsar would be the most plausible interpretation.

Stripped Elliptical Galaxies as Probes of ICM Physics. III. Deep Chandra Observations of NGC 4552: Measuring the Viscosity of the Intracluster Medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraft, R. P.; Roediger, E.; Machacek, M.; Forman, W. R.; Nulsen, P. E. J.; Jones, C.; Randall, S.; Su, Y. [Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Churazov, E. [MPI für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, Garching D-85741 (Germany); Sheardown, A., E-mail: rkraft@cfa.harvard.edu [E. A. Milne Center for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX (United Kingdom)

2017-10-10

We present results from a deep (200 ks) Chandra observation of the early-type galaxy NGC 4552 (M89), which is falling into the Virgo cluster. Previous shallower X-ray observations of this galaxy showed a remnant gas core, a tail to the South of the galaxy, and twin “horns” attached to the northern edge of the gas core. In our deeper data, we detect a diffuse, low surface brightness extension to the previously known tail, and measure the temperature structure within the tail. We combine the deep Chandra data with archival XMM-Newton observations to put a strong upper limit on the diffuse emission of the tail out to a large distance (10× the radius of the remnant core) from the galaxy center. In our two previous papers, we presented the results of hydrodynamical simulations of ram pressure stripping specifically for M89 falling into the Virgo cluster and investigated the effect of intracluster medium (ICM) viscosity. In this paper, we compare our deep data with our specifically tailored simulations and conclude that the observed morphology of the stripped tail in NGC 4552 is most similar to the inviscid models. We conclude that, to the extent the transport processes can be simply modeled as a hydrodynamic viscosity, the ICM viscosity is negligible. More generally, any micro-scale description of the transport processes in the high- β plasma of the cluster ICM must be consistent with the efficient mixing observed in the stripped tail on macroscopic scales.

Chandra-SDSS Normal and Star-Forming Galaxies. I. X-Ray Source Properties of Galaxies Detected by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory in SDSS DR2

Science.gov (United States)

Hornschemeier, A. E.; Heckman, T. M.; Ptak, A. F.; Tremonti, C. A.; Colbert, E. J. M.

2005-01-01

We have cross-correlated X-ray catalogs derived from archival Chandra X-Ray Observatory ACIS observations with a Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 2 (DR2) galaxy catalog to form a sample of 42 serendipitously X-ray-detected galaxies over the redshift interval 0.03

IDENTIFICATIONS AND PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS OF THE 2 Ms CHANDRA DEEP FIELD-SOUTH SOURCES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, B.; Brandt, W. N.; Xue, Y. Q.; Rafferty, D. A.; Schneider, D. P.; Brusa, M.; Alexander, D. M.; Lehmer, B. D.; Bauer, F. E.; Comastri, A.; Koekemoer, A.; Mainieri, V.; Silverman, J. D.; Vignali, C.

2010-01-01

We present reliable multiwavelength identifications and high-quality photometric redshifts for the 462 X-ray sources in the ∼2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) survey. Source identifications are carried out using deep optical-to-radio multiwavelength catalogs, and are then combined to create lists of primary and secondary counterparts for the X-ray sources. We identified reliable counterparts for 442 (95.7%) of the X-ray sources, with an expected false-match probability of ∼ 6.2%; we also selected four additional likely counterparts. The majority of the other 16 X-ray sources appear to be off-nuclear sources, sources associated with galaxy groups and clusters, high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or spurious X-ray sources. A likelihood-ratio method is used for source matching, which effectively reduces the false-match probability at faint magnitudes compared to a simple error-circle matching method. We construct a master photometric catalog for the identified X-ray sources including up to 42 bands of UV-to-infrared data, and then calculate their photometric redshifts (photo-z's). High accuracy in the derived photo-z's is accomplished owing to (1) the up-to-date photometric data covering the full spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the X-ray sources, (2) more accurate photometric data as a result of source deblending for ∼10% of the sources in the infrared bands and a few percent in the optical and near-infrared bands, (3) a set of 265 galaxy, AGN, and galaxy/AGN hybrid templates carefully constructed to best represent all possible SEDs, (4) the Zurich Extragalactic Bayesian Redshift Analyzer used to derive the photo-z's, which corrects the SED templates to best represent the SEDs of real sources at different redshifts and thus improves the photo-z quality. The reliability of the photo-z's is evaluated using the subsample of 220 sources with secure spectroscopic redshifts. We achieve an accuracy of |Δz|/(1 + z) ∼ 1% and an outlier [with |�

Chandra Studies of the X-ray gas properties of fossil systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, Zhen-Zhen

2016-01-01

We study ten galaxy groups and clusters suggested in the literature to be “fossil systems (FSs)” based on Chandra observations. According to the M 500 − T and L X − T relations, the gas properties of FSs are not physically distinct from ordinary galaxy groups or clusters. We also first study the f gas, 2500 − T relation and find that the FSs exhibit the same trend as ordinary systems. The gas densities of FSs within 0.1r 200 are ∼ 10 −3 cm −3 , which is the same order of magnitude as galaxy clusters. The entropies within 01r 200 (S 0.1r200 ) of FSs are systematically lower than those inordinary galaxy groups, which is consistent with previous reports, but we find their S 0.1r200 − T relation is more similar to galaxy clusters. The derived mass profiles of FSs are consistent with the Navarro, Frenk and White model in (0.1 − 1)r 200 , and the relation between scale radius r s and characteristic mass density δ c indicates self-similarity of dark matter halos of FSs. The ranges of r s and δ c for FSs are also close to those of galaxy clusters. Therefore, FSs share more common characteristics with galaxy clusters. The special birth place of the FS makes it a distinct type of galaxy system. (paper)

Varying boreal forest response to Arctic environmental change at the Firth River, Alaska

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreu-Hayles, Laia; D'Arrigo, Rosanne; Anchukaitis, Kevin J; Beck, Pieter S A; Goetz, Scott; Frank, David

2011-01-01

The response of boreal forests to anthropogenic climate change remains uncertain, with potentially significant impacts for the global carbon cycle, albedo, canopy evapotranspiration and feedbacks into further climate change. Here, we focus on tree-ring data from the Firth River site at treeline in northeastern Alaska, in a tundra–forest transition region where pronounced warming has already occurred. Both tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) chronologies were developed to identify the nature of tree growth and density responses to climatic and environmental changes in white spruce (Picea glauca), a dominant Arctic treeline species. Good agreement was found between the interannual fluctuations in the TRW chronology and summer temperatures from 1901 to 1950, whereas no significant relationships were found from 1951 to 2001, supporting evidence of significant divergence between TRW and summer temperature in the second half of the 20th century. In contrast to this unstable climatic response in the TRW record, the high frequency July–August temperature signal in the MXD series seems reasonably stable through the 20th century. Wider and denser rings were more frequent during the 20th century, particularly after 1950, than in previous centuries. Finally, comparison between the tree-ring proxies and a satellite-derived vegetation index suggests that TRW and MXD correlate with vegetation productivity at the landscape level at different times of the growing season.

FRONTIER FIELDS CLUSTERS: DEEP CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMPLEX MERGER MACS J1149.6+2223

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ogrean, G. A.; Weeren, R. J. van; Jones, C.; Forman, W.; Andrade-Santos, F.; Murray, S. S.; Nulsen, P.; Bulbul, E.; Kraft, R.; Randall, S. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Dawson, W. A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States); Golovich, N. [University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Roediger, E. [Astronomy and Astrophysics Section, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2 (Ireland); Zitrin, A.; Sayers, J. [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Goulding, A. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Umetsu, K. [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Mroczkowski, T. [U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Bonafede, A. [Hamburger Sternwarte, Universität Hamburg, Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg (Germany); Churazov, E., E-mail: gogrean@cfa.harvard.edu [Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85741, Garching (Germany); and others

2016-03-10

The Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields cluster MACS J1149.6+2223 is one of the most complex merging clusters, believed to consist of four dark matter halos. We present results from deep (365 ks) Chandra observations of the cluster, which reveal the most distant cold front (z  =  0.544) discovered to date. In the cluster outskirts, we also detect hints of a surface brightness edge that could be the bow shock preceding the cold front. The substructure analysis of the cluster identified several components with large relative radial velocities, thus indicating that at least some collisions occur almost along the line of sight. The inclination of the mergers with respect to the plane of the sky poses significant observational challenges at X-ray wavelengths. MACS J1149.6+2223 possibly hosts a steep-spectrum radio halo. If the steepness of the radio halo is confirmed, then the radio spectrum, combined with the relatively regular ICM morphology, could indicate that MACS J1149.6+2223 is an old merging cluster.

Chandra and XMM-Newton Observations of the Abell 3395/Abell 3391 Intercluster Filament

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Gabriella E.; Randall, Scott W.; Bourdin, Hervé; Jones, Christine; Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly

2018-05-01

We present Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations of the Abell 3391/Abell 3395 intercluster filament. It has been suggested that the galaxy clusters Abell 3395, Abell 3391, and the galaxy group ESO-161 -IG 006 located between the two clusters, are in alignment along a large-scale intercluster filament. We find that the filament is aligned close to the plane of the sky, in contrast to previous results. We find a global projected filament temperature kT = {4.45}-0.55+0.89 keV, electron density {n}e={1.08}-0.05+0.06× {10}-4 cm‑3, and {M}gas}={2.7}-0.1+0.2 × {10}13 M ⊙. The thermodynamic properties of the filament are consistent with that of the intracluster medium (ICM) of Abell 3395 and Abell 3391, suggesting that the filament emission is dominated by ICM gas that has been tidally disrupted during an early stage merger between these two clusters. We present temperature, density, entropy, and abundance profiles across the filament. We find that the galaxy group ESO-161 may be undergoing ram-pressure-stripping in the low-density environment at or near the virial radius of both clusters, due to its rapid motion through the filament.

Chandra X-Rays from the Redshift 7.54 Quasar ULAS J1342+0928

Science.gov (United States)

Bañados, Eduardo; Connor, Thomas; Stern, Daniel; Mulchaey, John; Fan, Xiaohui; Decarli, Roberto; Farina, Emanuele P.; Mazzucchelli, Chiara; Venemans, Bram P.; Walter, Fabian; Wang, Feige; Yang, Jinyi

2018-04-01

We present a 45 ks Chandra observation of the quasar ULAS J1342+0928 at z = 7.54. We detect {14.0}-3.7+4.8 counts from the quasar in the observed-frame energy range 0.5–7.0 keV (6σ detection), representing the most distant non-transient astronomical source identified in X-rays to date. The present data are sufficient only to infer rough constraints on the spectral parameters. We find an X-ray hardness ratio of { \\mathcal H }{ \\mathcal R }=-{0.51}-0.28+0.26 between the 0.5–2.0 keV and 2.0–7.0 keV ranges and derive a power-law photon index of {{Γ }}={1.95}-0.53+0.55. Assuming a typical value for high-redshift quasars of Γ = 1.9, ULAS J1342+0928 has a 2–10 keV rest-frame X-ray luminosity of {L}2-10={11.6}-3.5+4.3× {10}44 {erg} {{{s}}}-1. Its X-ray-to-optical power-law slope is {α }OX}=-{1.67}-0.10+0.16, consistent with the general trend indicating that the X-ray emission in the most bolometrically powerful quasars is weaker relative to their optical emission.

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF GALAXY ZOO MERGERS: FREQUENCY OF BINARY ACTIVE NUCLEI IN MASSIVE MERGERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teng, Stacy H. [Observational Cosmology Laboratory, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Schawinski, Kevin; Urry, C. Megan; Bonning, Erin W. [Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Darg, Dan W.; Kaviraj, Sugata; Lintott, Chris J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Oh, Kyuseok [Department of Astronomy, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Cardamone, Carolin N. [Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, P.O. Box 1912, Providence, RI 02912 (United States); Keel, William C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, 206 Gallalee Hall, 514 University Boulevard, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-034 (United States); Simmons, Brooke D. [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, P.O. Box 208121, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Treister, Ezequiel, E-mail: stacy.h.teng@nasa.gov [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Concepcion, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion (Chile)

2012-07-10

We present the results from a Chandra pilot study of 12 massive galaxy mergers selected from Galaxy Zoo. The sample includes major mergers down to a host galaxy mass of 10{sup 11} M{sub Sun} that already have optical active galactic nucleus (AGN) signatures in at least one of the progenitors. We find that the coincidences of optically selected active nuclei with mildly obscured (N{sub H} {approx}< 1.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 22} cm{sup -2}) X-ray nuclei are relatively common (8/12), but the detections are too faint (<40 counts per nucleus; f{sub 2-10keV} {approx}< 1.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -13} erg s{sup -1} cm{sup -2}) to reliably separate starburst and nuclear activity as the origin of the X-ray emission. Only one merger is found to have confirmed binary X-ray nuclei, though the X-ray emission from its southern nucleus could be due solely to star formation. Thus, the occurrences of binary AGNs in these mergers are rare (0%-8%), unless most merger-induced active nuclei are very heavily obscured or Compton thick.

A Deep Chandra ACIS Study of NGC 4151. III. The Line Emission and Spectral Analysis of the Ionization Cone

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin; Risaliti, Guido; Karovska, Margarita; Zezas, Andreas; Mundell, Carole G.; Dumas, Gaelle; Schinnerer, Eva

2011-11-01

This paper is the third in a series in which we present deep Chandra ACIS-S imaging spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151, devoted to study its complex circumnuclear X-ray emission. Emission features in the soft X-ray spectrum of the bright extended emission (L 0.3-2 keV ~ 1040 erg s-1) at r > 130 pc (2'') are consistent with blended brighter O VII, O VIII, and Ne IX lines seen in the Chandra HETGS and XMM-Newton RGS spectra below 2 keV. We construct emission line images of these features and find good morphological correlations with the narrow-line region clouds mapped in [O III] λ5007. Self-consistent photoionization models provide good descriptions of the spectra of the large-scale emission, as well as resolved structures, supporting the dominant role of nuclear photoionization, although displacement of optical and X-ray features implies a more complex medium. Collisionally ionized emission is estimated to be lsim12% of the extended emission. Presence of both low- and high-ionization spectral components and extended emission in the X-ray image perpendicular to the bicone indicates leakage of nuclear ionization, likely filtered through warm absorbers, instead of being blocked by a continuous obscuring torus. The ratios of [O III]/soft X-ray flux are approximately constant (~15) for the 1.5 kpc radius spanned by these measurements, indicating similar relative contributions from the low- and high-ionization gas phases at different radial distances from the nucleus. If the [O III] and X-ray emission arise from a single photoionized medium, this further implies an outflow with a wind-like density profile. Using spatially resolved X-ray features, we estimate that the mass outflow rate in NGC 4151 is ~2 M ⊙ yr-1 at 130 pc and the kinematic power of the ionized outflow is 1.7 × 1041 erg s-1, approximately 0.3% of the bolometric luminosity of the active nucleus in NGC 4151.

78 FR 68475 - Certain Vision-Based Driver Assistance System Cameras and Components Thereof; Institution of...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-14

... 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, on behalf of TRW Automotive U.S. LLC of Livonia, Michigan. A... notice of investigation shall be served: (a) The complainant is: TRW Automotive U.S. LLC, 12001 Tech... section 337, and is the party upon which the complaint is to be served: Magna Electronics, Inc., 601 Abbot...

Identifications and Photometric Redshifts of the 2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, B.; Brandt, W. N.; Xue, Y. Q.; Brusa, M.; Alexander, D. M.; Bauer, F. E.; Comastri, A.; Koekemoer, A.; Lehmer, B. D.; Mainieri, V.; Rafferty, D. A.; Schneider, D. P.; Silverman, J. D.; Vignali, C.

2010-04-01

We present reliable multiwavelength identifications and high-quality photometric redshifts for the 462 X-ray sources in the ≈2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) survey. Source identifications are carried out using deep optical-to-radio multiwavelength catalogs, and are then combined to create lists of primary and secondary counterparts for the X-ray sources. We identified reliable counterparts for 442 (95.7%) of the X-ray sources, with an expected false-match probability of ≈ 6.2%; we also selected four additional likely counterparts. The majority of the other 16 X-ray sources appear to be off-nuclear sources, sources associated with galaxy groups and clusters, high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or spurious X-ray sources. A likelihood-ratio method is used for source matching, which effectively reduces the false-match probability at faint magnitudes compared to a simple error-circle matching method. We construct a master photometric catalog for the identified X-ray sources including up to 42 bands of UV-to-infrared data, and then calculate their photometric redshifts (photo-z's). High accuracy in the derived photo-z's is accomplished owing to (1) the up-to-date photometric data covering the full spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the X-ray sources, (2) more accurate photometric data as a result of source deblending for ≈10% of the sources in the infrared bands and a few percent in the optical and near-infrared bands, (3) a set of 265 galaxy, AGN, and galaxy/AGN hybrid templates carefully constructed to best represent all possible SEDs, (4) the Zurich Extragalactic Bayesian Redshift Analyzer used to derive the photo-z's, which corrects the SED templates to best represent the SEDs of real sources at different redshifts and thus improves the photo-z quality. The reliability of the photo-z's is evaluated using the subsample of 220 sources with secure spectroscopic redshifts. We achieve an accuracy of |Δz|/(1 + z) ≈ 1% and an outlier [with |�

Campaign of AAVSO Monitoring of the CH Cyg Symbiotic System in Support of Chandra and HST Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Karovska, M.

2013-06-01

(Abstract only) CH Cyg is one of the most interesting interacting binaries in which a compact object, a white dwarf or a neutron star, accretes from the wind of an evolved giant or supergiant. CH Cyg is a member of the symbiotic systems group, and at about 250pc it is one of the closest systems. Symbiotic systems are accreting binaries, which are likely progenitors of a fraction of Pre-Planetary and Planetary Nebulae, and of a fraction of SN type Ia (the cosmic distance scale indicators). We carried out Chandra and HST observations of CH Cyg in March 2012 as part of a follow-up investigation of the central region of CH Cyg and its precessing jet, including the multi-structures that were discovered in 2008. I will describe here the campaign of multi-wavelength observations, including photometry and spectroscopy, that were carried out by AAVSO members in support of the space-based observations.

THE CHANDRA COSMOS-LEGACY SURVEY: THE z > 3 SAMPLE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marchesi, S.; Civano, F.; Urry, C. M. [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 260 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Salvato, M. [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse 1, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Shankar, F. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Highfield, SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Comastri, A.; Lanzuisi, G.; Vignali, C.; Zamorani, G.; Brusa, M.; Gilli, R. [INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, 40127 Bologna (Italy); Elvis, M. [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Trakhtenbrot, B.; Schawinski, K. [Institute for Astronomy, Department of Physics, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Allevato, V. [Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2a, FI-00014 Helsinki (Finland); Fiore, F. [INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via di Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone (Italy); Griffiths, R. [Physics and Astronomy Department, Natural Sciences Division, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Hasinger, G. [Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Miyaji, T. [Instituto de Astronomía sede Ensenada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Km. 103, Carret. Tijunana-Ensenada, Ensenada, BC (Mexico); Treister, E. [Universidad de Concepción, Departamento de Astronomía, Casilla 160-C, Concepción (Chile)

2016-08-20

We present the largest high-redshift (3 < z < 6.85) sample of X-ray-selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) on a contiguous field, using sources detected in the Chandra COSMOS-Legacy survey. The sample contains 174 sources, 87 with spectroscopic redshift and the other 87 with photometric redshift (z {sub phot}). In this work, we treat z {sub phot} as a probability-weighted sum of contributions, adding to our sample the contribution of sources with z {sub phot} < 3 but z {sub phot} probability distribution >0 at z > 3. We compute the number counts in the observed 0.5–2 keV band, finding a decline in the number of sources at z > 3 and constraining phenomenological models of the X-ray background. We compute the AGN space density at z > 3 in two different luminosity bins. At higher luminosities (log L (2–10 keV) > 44.1 erg s{sup −1}), the space density declines exponentially, dropping by a factor of ∼20 from z ∼ 3 to z ∼ 6. The observed decline is ∼80% steeper at lower luminosities (43.55 erg s{sup −1} < logL(2–10 keV) < 44.1 erg s{sup −1}) from z ∼ 3 to z ∼ 4.5. We study the space density evolution dividing our sample into optically classified Type 1 and Type 2 AGNs. At log L (2–10 keV) > 44.1 erg s{sup −1}, unobscured and obscured objects may have different evolution with redshift, with the obscured component being three times higher at z ∼ 5. Finally, we compare our space density with predictions of quasar activation merger models, whose calibration is based on optically luminous AGNs. These models significantly overpredict the number of expected AGNs at log L (2–10 keV) > 44.1 erg s{sup −1} with respect to our data.

Giant Black Hole Rips Apart Star

Science.gov (United States)

2004-02-01

hole, ruling out other possible astronomical explanations. In the future, searches using Chandra, XMM-Newton and survey instruments should find many other tidal disruptions. Detailed studies with future observatories like Constellation-X should teach us about the extreme physics around supermassive black holes. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. XMM-Newton is an ESA science mission managed at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands for the Directorate of the Scientific Programme. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

NASA Observatory Confirms Black Hole Limits

Science.gov (United States)

2005-02-01

cosmic time. Such "cosmic downsizing" was previously observed for galaxies undergoing star formation. These results connect well with the observations of nearby galaxies, which find that the mass of a supermassive black hole is proportional to the mass of the central region of its host galaxy. The other co-authors on the paper in the February 2005 issue of The Astronomical Journal were Len Cowie, Wei-Hao Wang, and Peter Capak (Institute for Astronomy, Univ. of Hawaii), Yuxuan Yang (GSFC and the Univ. of Maryland, College Park), and Aaron Steffen (Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Space Mission Directorate, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Defense Institution Building in Africa: An Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

relevant to Africa, and 14 U.S. Department of the Army, Army Security Cooperation Handbook, Washington, D.C., Pamphlet 11-31, March 5, 2013b; Jennifer... brochure , Lackland Air Force Base, Tex.: U.S. Air Force, undated. DIB Programs in Africa: Challenges and Responses 53 human rights, stability... brochure , Lackland Air Force Base, Tex.: U.S. Air Force, undated. As of September 25, 2015: http://www.37trw.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD

A CHANDRA PERSPECTIVE ON GALAXY-WIDE X-RAY BINARY EMISSION AND ITS CORRELATION WITH STAR FORMATION RATE AND STELLAR MASS: NEW RESULTS FROM LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehmer, B. D.; Jenkins, L. P.; Alexander, D. M.; Goulding, A. D.; Roberts, T. P.; Bauer, F. E.; Brandt, W. N.; Ptak, A.

2010-01-01

We present new Chandra observations that complete a sample of seventeen (17) luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) with D H ∼ 20 cm -2 . The LIRGs in our sample have total infrared (8-1000 μm) luminosities in the range of L IR ∼ (1-8) x 10 11 L sun . The high-resolution imaging and X-ray spectral information from our Chandra observations allow us to measure separately X-ray contributions from active galactic nuclei and normal galaxy processes (e.g., X-ray binaries and hot gas). We utilized total infrared plus UV luminosities to estimate star formation rates (SFRs) and K-band luminosities and optical colors to estimate stellar masses (M * ) for the sample. Under the assumption that the galaxy-wide 2-10 keV luminosity (L gal HX ) traces the combined emission from high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) and low-mass X-ray binaries, and that the power output from these components is linearly correlated with SFR and M * , respectively, we constrain the relation L gal HX = αM * + βSFR. To achieve this, we construct a Chandra-based data set composed of our new LIRG sample combined with additional samples of less actively star-forming normal galaxies and more powerful LIRGs and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) from the literature. Using these data, we measure best-fit values of α = (9.05 ± 0.37) x 10 28 erg s -1 M -1 sun and β = (1.62 ± 0.22) x 10 39 erg s -1 (M sun yr -1 ) -1 . This scaling provides a more physically meaningful estimate of L gal HX , with ∼0.1-0.2 dex less scatter, than a direct linear scaling with SFR. Our results suggest that HMXBs dominate the galaxy-wide X-ray emission for galaxies with SFR/M * ∼>5.9 x 10 -11 yr -1 , a factor of ∼2.9 times lower than previous estimates. We find that several of the most powerful LIRGs and ULIRGs, with SFR/M * ∼> 10 -9 yr -1 , appear to be X-ray underluminous with respect to our best-fit relation. We argue that these galaxies are likely to contain X-ray binaries residing in compact star-forming regions

Chandra Observations of the Eclipsing Wolf-Rayet Binary CQ CepOver a Full Orbital Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Steve L.; Guedel, Manuel; Schmutz, Werner; Zhekov, Svetozar

2018-06-01

We present results of Chandra X-ray observations and simultaneous optical light curves of the short-period (1.64 d) eclipsing WN6+O9 binary system CQ Cep obtained in 2013 and 2017 covering a full binary orbit. Our primary objective was to compare the observed X-ray properties with colliding wind shock theory, which predicts that the hottest shock plasma (T > 20 MK) will form on or near the line-of-centers between the stars. Thus, X-ray variability is expected during eclipses when the hottest plasma is occulted. The X-ray spectrum is strikingly similar to apparently single WN6 stars such as WR 134 and spectral lines reveal plasma over a broad range of temperatures T ~ 4 - 40 MK. Both primary and secondary optical eclipses were clearly detected and provide an accurate orbital period determination (P = 1.6412 d). The X-ray emission remained remarkably steady throughout the orbit and statistical tests give a low probability of variability. The lack of significant X-ray variabililty during eclipses indicates that the X-ray emission is not confined along the line-of-centers but is extended on larger spatial scales, contrary to colliding wind predictions.

CHANDRA DEEP OBSERVATION OF XDCP J0044.0-2033, A MASSIVE GALAXY CLUSTER AT z > 1.5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tozzi, P.; Santos, J. S.; Rosati, P. [INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze (Italy); Jee, M. J. [Department of Physics, University of California, Davis One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8677 (United States); Fassbender, R. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma (OAR), via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone (Italy); Nastasi, A. [Istitut d' Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS, Bat. 121, Université Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay (France); Forman, W.; Jones, C. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Sartoris, B.; Borgani, S. [Università degli Studi di Trieste, Dipartimento di Fisica, Via A.Valerio, 2 I-34127 Trieste (Italy); Boehringer, H. [Max-Planck-Institut fr extraterrestrische Physik Giessenbachstr.1, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Altieri, B. [European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), European Space Agency, Apartado de Correos 78, E-28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid (Spain); Pratt, G. W. [CEA Saclay, Service d' Astrophysique, LOrme des Merisiers, Bat. 709, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Nonino, M. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, via G. B. Tiepolo 11, I-34143 Trieste (Italy)

2015-01-20

We report the analysis of the Chandra observation of XDCP J0044.0-2033, a massive, distant (z = 1.579) galaxy cluster discovered in the XDCP survey. The total exposure time of 380 ks with Chandra ACIS-S provides the deepest X-ray observation currently achieved on a massive, high-redshift cluster. Extended emission from the intra cluster medium (ICM) is detected at a very high significance level (S/N ∼ 20) on a circular region with a 44'' radius, corresponding to R {sub ext} = 375 kpc at the cluster redshift. We perform an X-ray spectral fit of the ICM emission modeling the spectrum with a single-temperature thermal mekal model. Our analysis provides a global temperature kT=6.7{sub −0.9}{sup +1.3} keV, and a iron abundance Z{sub Fe}=0.41{sub −0.26}{sup +0.29}Z{sub Fe{sub ⊙}} (error bars correspond to 1σ). We fit the background-subtracted surface brightness profile with a single β-model out to 44'', finding a rather flat profile with no hints of a cool core. We derive the deprojected electron density profile and compute the ICM mass within the extraction radius R {sub ext} = 375 kpc to be M {sub ICM}(r < R {sub ext}) = (1.48 ± 0.20) × 10{sup 13} M {sub ☉}. Under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium and assuming isothermality within R {sub ext}, the total mass is M{sub 2500}=1.23{sub −0.27}{sup +0.46}×10{sup 14} M{sub ⊙} for R{sub 2500}=240{sub −20}{sup +30} kpc. Extrapolating the profile at radii larger than the extraction radius R {sub ext} we find M{sub 500}=3.2{sub −0.6}{sup +0.9}×10{sup 14} M{sub ⊙} for R{sub 500}=562{sub −37}{sup +50} kpc. This analysis establishes the existence of virialized, massive galaxy clusters at redshift z ∼ 1.6, paving the way to the investigation of the progenitors of the most massive clusters today. Given its mass and the XDCP survey volume, XDCP J0044.0-2033 does not create significant tension with the WMAP-7 ΛCDM cosmology.

X-ray Arcs Tell The Tale Of Giant Eruption

Science.gov (United States)

2002-08-01

outburst is consistent with other optical and infrared observations that indicate that the rate of star formation in the galaxy increased dramatically at about that time. Centaurus A Arcs Centaurus A X-ray Image Other authors have suggested that the merger of a small spiral galaxy with Centaurus A about a hundred million years ago triggered the high-energy jets and the ongoing violent activity in the nucleus of the galaxy. The tremendous energy released when a galaxy is "turned on" by a collision can have a profound influence on the subsequent evolution of the galaxy and its neighbors. The mass of the central black hole can increase, the gas reservoir for the next generation of stars can be expelled, and the space between the galaxies can be enriched with heavier elements. "Active galaxies could have played a significant role in the evolution of galaxies in the early universe when collisions between galaxies were much more frequent," said Giuseppina Fabbiano, a coauthor on the paper. "Centaurus A, at a distance of only 11 million light years, gives us a rare opportunity to study such an active galaxy in action." Chandra observed Centaurus A with its High Resolution Camera instrument on September 10, 1999, for approximately 4.7 hours. Other members of CfA research team include Martin Elvis, Ralph Kraft, Stephen Murray, and Fabrizio Nicastro The HRC was built by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA.

Testing the Universality of the Stellar IMF with Chandra and HST

Science.gov (United States)

Coulter, D. A.; Lehmer, B. D.; Eufrasio, R. T.; Kundu, A.; Maccarone, T.; Peacock, M.; Hornschemeier, A. E.; Basu-Zych, A.; Gonzalez, A. H.; Maraston, C.; Zepf, S. E.

2017-02-01

The stellar initial mass function (IMF), which is often assumed to be universal across unresolved stellar populations, has recently been suggested to be “bottom-heavy” for massive ellipticals. In these galaxies, the prevalence of gravity-sensitive absorption lines (e.g., Na I and Ca II) in their near-IR spectra implies an excess of low-mass (m≲ 0.5 {M}⊙ ) stars over that expected from a canonical IMF observed in low-mass ellipticals. A direct extrapolation of such a bottom-heavy IMF to high stellar masses (m≳ 8 {M}⊙ ) would lead to a corresponding deficit of neutron stars and black holes, and therefore of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), per unit near-IR luminosity in these galaxies. Peacock et al. searched for evidence of this trend and found that the observed number of LMXBs per unit K-band luminosity (N/{L}K) was nearly constant. We extend this work using new and archival Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope observations of seven low-mass ellipticals where N/{L}K is expected to be the largest and compare these data with a variety of IMF models to test which are consistent with the observed N/{L}K. We reproduce the result of Peacock et al., strengthening the constraint that the slope of the IMF at m≳ 8 {M}⊙ must be consistent with a Kroupa-like IMF. We construct an IMF model that is a linear combination of a Milky Way-like IMF and a broken power-law IMF, with a steep slope ({α }1=3.84) for stars 0.5 {M}⊙ , and discuss its wider ramifications and limitations.

Topography and age mediate the growth responses of Smith fir to climate warming in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, B; Wang, Y; Zhu, H; Liang, E; Camarero, J J

2016-10-01

The Tibetan Plateau holds some of the world's highest undisturbed natural treelines and timberlines. Such extreme environments constitute potentially valuable monitoring sites of the effects of climate warming on high-elevation forests. Here, we analyze a network of 21 Smith fir forests situated in the Sygera Mountains, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, using tree-ring width (TRW) and basal area increment (BAI) chronologies. Sampled sites encompassed a wide elevation gradient, from 3600 to 4400 m, including some treeline sites and diverse aspects and tree ages. In comparison with TRW series, BAI series better capture the long-term warming signal. Previous November and current April and summer temperatures are the dominant climatic factors controlling Smith fir radial growth. The mean inter-series correlations of TRW increased upwards, but the forest limit presented the highest potential to reconstruct past temperature variability. Moreover, the growth responses of young trees were less stable than those of trees older than 100 years. Climate warming is accelerating radial growth of Smith fir forest subjected to mesic conditions. Collectively, these findings confirm that the effects of site elevation and tree age should be considered when quantifying climate-growth relationships. The type of tree-ring data (BAI vs. TRW) is also relevant since BAI indices seem to be a better climatic proxy of low-frequency temperature signals than TRW indices. Therefore, site (e.g., elevation) and tree (e.g., age) features should be considered to properly evaluate the effects of climate warming on growth of high-elevation forests.

Topography and age mediate the growth responses of Smith fir to climate warming in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, B.; Wang, Y.; Zhu, H.; Liang, E.; Camarero, J. J.

2016-10-01

The Tibetan Plateau holds some of the world's highest undisturbed natural treelines and timberlines. Such extreme environments constitute potentially valuable monitoring sites of the effects of climate warming on high-elevation forests. Here, we analyze a network of 21 Smith fir forests situated in the Sygera Mountains, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, using tree-ring width (TRW) and basal area increment (BAI) chronologies. Sampled sites encompassed a wide elevation gradient, from 3600 to 4400 m, including some treeline sites and diverse aspects and tree ages. In comparison with TRW series, BAI series better capture the long-term warming signal. Previous November and current April and summer temperatures are the dominant climatic factors controlling Smith fir radial growth. The mean inter-series correlations of TRW increased upwards, but the forest limit presented the highest potential to reconstruct past temperature variability. Moreover, the growth responses of young trees were less stable than those of trees older than 100 years. Climate warming is accelerating radial growth of Smith fir forest subjected to mesic conditions. Collectively, these findings confirm that the effects of site elevation and tree age should be considered when quantifying climate-growth relationships. The type of tree-ring data (BAI vs. TRW) is also relevant since BAI indices seem to be a better climatic proxy of low-frequency temperature signals than TRW indices. Therefore, site (e.g., elevation) and tree (e.g., age) features should be considered to properly evaluate the effects of climate warming on growth of high-elevation forests.

Office of Waste Isolation. Progress report, November 1977. [National waste terminal storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhines, R.C.; Asher, J.M. (eds.)

1977-12-28

This program is part of the National Waste Terminal Storage program. The Geologic Review Group meeting was held in New Orleans, November 16-17. Start-up of the near-surface heater experiment in the Conasauga Shale formation is under way at Oak Ridge. The first shipment of experimental equipment from Oak Ridge to Avery Island, Louisiana, for the dome salt in-situ test was successfully completed. On November 9-10, a design status review on the spent fuel repository conceptual design was held with Kaiser Engineers, Inc. On November 2, OWI personnel reviewed the progress on the Economic Studies with TRW representatives.

The radio-X-ray relation as a star formation indicator: results from the Very Large Array-Extended Chandra Deep Field-South

Science.gov (United States)

Vattakunnel, S.; Tozzi, P.; Matteucci, F.; Padovani, P.; Miller, N.; Bonzini, M.; Mainieri, V.; Paolillo, M.; Vincoletto, L.; Brandt, W. N.; Luo, B.; Kellermann, K. I.; Xue, Y. Q.

2012-03-01

In order to trace the instantaneous star formation rate (SFR) at high redshift, and thus help in understanding the relation between the different emission mechanisms related to star formation, we combine the recent 4-Ms Chandra X-ray data and the deep Very Large Array radio data in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South region. We find 268 sources detected both in the X-ray and radio bands. The availability of redshifts for ˜95 per cent of the sources in our sample allows us to derive reliable luminosity estimates and the intrinsic properties from X-ray analysis for the majority of the objects. With the aim of selecting sources powered by star formation in both bands, we adopt classification criteria based on X-ray and radio data, exploiting the X-ray spectral features and time variability, taking advantage of observations scattered across more than 10 years. We identify 43 objects consistent with being powered by star formation. We also add another 111 and 70 star-forming candidates detected only in the radio and X-ray bands, respectively. We find a clear linear correlation between radio and X-ray luminosity in star-forming galaxies over three orders of magnitude and up to z˜ 1.5. We also measure a significant scatter of the order of 0.4 dex, higher than that observed at low redshift, implying an intrinsic scatter component. The correlation is consistent with that measured locally, and no evolution with redshift is observed. Using a locally calibrated relation between the SFR and the radio luminosity, we investigate the LX(2-10 keV)-SFR relation at high redshift. The comparison of the SFR measured in our sample with some theoretical models for the Milky Way and M31, two typical spiral galaxies, indicates that, with current data, we can trace typical spirals only at z≤ 0.2, and strong starburst galaxies with SFRs as high as ˜100 M⊙ yr-1, up to z˜ 1.5.

PROBING X-RAY ABSORPTION AND OPTICAL EXTINCTION IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM USING CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foight, Dillon R.; Slane, Patrick O. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Güver, Tolga [Istanbul University, Science Faculty, Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences, Beyazıt, 34119, Istanbul (Turkey); Özel, Feryal [Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2016-07-20

We present a comprehensive study of interstellar X-ray extinction using the extensive Chandra supernova remnant (SNR) archive and use our results to refine the empirical relation between the hydrogen column density and optical extinction. In our analysis, we make use of the large, uniform data sample to assess various systematic uncertainties in the measurement of the interstellar X-ray absorption. Specifically, we address systematic uncertainties that originate from (i) the emission models used to fit SNR spectra; (ii) the spatial variations within individual remnants; (iii) the physical conditions of the remnant such as composition, temperature, and non-equilibrium regions; and (iv) the model used for the absorption of X-rays in the interstellar medium. Using a Bayesian framework to quantify these systematic uncertainties, and combining the resulting hydrogen column density measurements with the measurements of optical extinction toward the same remnants, we find the empirical relation N {sub H} = (2.87 ± 0.12) × 10{sup 21} A {sub V} cm{sup 2}, which is significantly higher than the previous measurements.

A Search for Optical Counterparts of Chandra Sources in Omega Centauri using ACS

Science.gov (United States)

Haggard, D.; Fuller, A. D.; Dorfman, J. L.; Cool, A. M.; Anderson, J.; Edmonds, P. D.; Davies, M. B.

2002-12-01

The globular cluster Omega Centauri, with its high mass and large, moderate density core, is of interest both for its population of primordial binaries and for the large number of tidal-capture and/or exchange-collision binaries it may harbor. We have obtained a 3x3 mosaic of Wide Field Camera pointings with HST's Advanced Camera for Surveys, covering a 10'x10' field out to the cluster's half-mass radius. Containing ~1.7 million detected stars, the resulting mosaic represents the most complete image of Omega Cen yet obtained. Here we report preliminary findings of a search in these data for optical counterparts to more than 100 faint X-ray sources (Lx ~ 2 x 1030 - 5 x 1032 erg-s-1) detected in our prior study of Omega Cen using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Cluster X-ray sources are likely to consist primarily of accreting binary stars and close detached binaries with active coronae. Significant numbers of active galaxies in the background are also expected to be present. Using B, R, and H-alpha images, we are searching for optical counterparts that are H-alpha-bright and blue, as signatures of accretion in cataclysmic variables and/or quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries. Active binaries (e.g., BY Draconis stars) may appear as weaker H-alpha emitters lying on or slightly redward of the main sequence. This work is supported by NASA grant GO-9442 from the Space Telescope Science Institute.

The 2-79 keV X-ray spectrum of the circinus galaxy with NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Chandra: a fully compton-thick active galactic nucleus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arévalo, P.; Bauer, F. E.; Puccetti, S.

2014-01-01

The Circinus galaxy is one of the closest obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs), making it an ideal target for detailed study. Combining archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data with new NuSTAR observations, we model the 2-79 keV spectrum to constrain the primary AGN continuum and to derive physical......-nuclear emission amounts to 18% of the nuclear flux in the Fe line region, but becomes comparable to the nuclear emission above 30 keV. The new analysis no longer supports a prominent transmitted AGN component in the observed band. We find that the nuclear spectrum is consistent with Compton scattering...

Seasonal Climate Signals in Multiple Tree-Ring Parameters: A Pilot Study of Pinus ponderosa in the Columbia River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Dannenberg, M.; Wise, E. K.; Keung, J. H.

2014-12-01

Proxy-based reconstructions of past climate have played an integral role in assessments of historical climate change, and tree-ring widths (TRW) have a long history of use in this paleoclimate research due to their annual resolution, widespread availability, and sensitivity of growth processes to variation in temperature and water availability. Increasingly, studies have shown that additional tree-ring metrics—including earlywood and latewood widths (EW and LW, respectively), maximum latewood density, and the intensity of reflected blue light from latewood (BI)—can provide additional information on seasonal climatic variability that is not present in TRW alone due to different processes that affect growth in different parts of the growing season. Studies of these additional tree-ring metrics highlight their utility in climate reconstructions, but to date they have mostly been limited to a few tree species and regions. Here, we extend the range of previous studies on alternative tree-ring metrics by evaluating the seasonal climate signals in TRW, EW, LW, and BI of Pinus ponderosa at six semiarid sites surrounding the Columbia River basin in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW). Cores from each site were cross-dated and EW, LW, and TRW were measured using standard dendrochronological procedures. BI was obtained using a high-resolution flatbed scanner and CooRecorder software. To evaluate the unique climate processes and seasonalities contributing to different dendrochronological metrics, monthly temperature and precipitation from each site were obtained from the PRISM climate model and were correlated with each of the tree-ring metrics using the MATLAB program SEASCORR. We also evaluate the potential of using multiple tree-ring metrics (rather than a single proxy) in reconstructions of precipitation in the PNW. Initial results suggest that 1) tree growth at each site is water-limited but with substantial differences among the sites in the strength and seasonality of

Where Are the r-modes? Chandra Observations of Millisecond Pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahmoodifar, Simin; Strohmayer, Tod [Astrophysics Science Division and Joint Space-Science Institute, NASA' s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2017-05-10

We present the results of Chandra observations of two non-accreting millisecond pulsars, PSRs J1640+2224 (J1640) and J1709+2313 (J1709), with low inferred magnetic fields and spin-down rates in order to constrain their surface temperatures, obtain limits on the amplitude of unstable r -modes in them, and make comparisons with similar limits obtained for a sample of accreting low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) neutron stars. We detect both pulsars in the X-ray band for the first time. They are faint, with inferred soft X-ray fluxes (0.3–3 keV) of ≈6 × 10{sup −15} and 3 × 10{sup −15} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} for J1640 and J1709, respectively. Spectral analysis assuming hydrogen atmosphere emission gives global effective temperature upper limits (90% confidence) of 3.3–4.3 × 10{sup 5} K for J1640 and 3.6–4.7 × 10{sup 5} K for J1709, where the low end of the range corresponds to canonical neutron stars ( M = 1.4 M {sub ⊙}), and the upper end corresponds to higher-mass stars ( M = 2.21 M {sub ⊙}). Under the assumption that r -mode heating provides the thermal support, we obtain dimensionless r -mode amplitude upper limits of 3.2–4.8 × 10{sup −8} and 1.8–2.8 × 10{sup −7} for J1640 and J1709, respectively, where again the low end of the range corresponds to lower-mass, canonical neutron stars ( M = 1.4 M {sub ⊙}). These limits are about an order of magnitude lower than those we derived previously for a sample of LMXBs, except for the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4–3658, which has a comparable amplitude limit to J1640 and J1709.

Advanced radiometric and interferometric milimeter-wave scene simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Hauss, B. I.; Moffa, P. J.; Steele, W. G.; Agravante, H.; Davidheiser, R.; Samec, T.; Young, S. K.

1993-01-01

Smart munitions and weapons utilize various imaging sensors (including passive IR, active and passive millimeter-wave, and visible wavebands) to detect/identify targets at short standoff ranges and in varied terrain backgrounds. In order to design and evaluate these sensors under a variety of conditions, a high-fidelity scene simulation capability is necessary. Such a capability for passive millimeter-wave scene simulation exists at TRW. TRW's Advanced Radiometric Millimeter-Wave Scene Simulation (ARMSS) code is a rigorous, benchmarked, end-to-end passive millimeter-wave scene simulation code for interpreting millimeter-wave data, establishing scene signatures and evaluating sensor performance. In passive millimeter-wave imaging, resolution is limited due to wavelength and aperture size. Where high resolution is required, the utility of passive millimeter-wave imaging is confined to short ranges. Recent developments in interferometry have made possible high resolution applications on military platforms. Interferometry or synthetic aperture radiometry allows the creation of a high resolution image with a sparsely filled aperture. Borrowing from research work in radio astronomy, we have developed and tested at TRW scene reconstruction algorithms that allow the recovery of the scene from a relatively small number of spatial frequency components. In this paper, the TRW modeling capability is described and numerical results are presented.

The Chandra Deep Field South as a test case for Global Multi Conjugate Adaptive Optics

Science.gov (United States)

Portaluri, E.; Viotto, V.; Ragazzoni, R.; Gullieuszik, M.; Bergomi, M.; Greggio, D.; Biondi, F.; Dima, M.; Magrin, D.; Farinato, J.

2017-04-01

The era of the next generation of giant telescopes requires not only the advent of new technologies but also the development of novel methods, in order to exploit fully the extraordinary potential they are built for. Global Multi Conjugate Adaptive Optics (GMCAO) pursues this approach, with the goal of achieving good performance over a field of view of a few arcmin and an increase in sky coverage. In this article, we show the gain offered by this technique to an astrophysical application, such as the photometric survey strategy applied to the Chandra Deep Field South as a case study. We simulated a close-to-real observation of a 500 × 500 arcsec2 extragalactic deep field with a 40-m class telescope that implements GMCAO. We analysed mock K-band images of 6000 high-redshift (up to z = 2.75) galaxies therein as if they were real to recover the initial input parameters. We attained 94.5 per cent completeness for source detection with SEXTRACTOR. We also measured the morphological parameters of all the sources with the two-dimensional fitting tools GALFIT. The agreement we found between recovered and intrinsic parameters demonstrates GMCAO as a reliable approach to assist extremely large telescope (ELT) observations of extragalactic interest.

The Chandra Dust-scattering Halo of Galactic Center Transient Swift J174540.7–290015

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corrales, L. R. [Einstein Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI, 53706 (United States); Mon, B.; Haggard, D. [McGill Space Institute, McGill University, 3550 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2A7 (Canada); Baganoff, F. K. [MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139 (United States); Garmire, G. [Huntingdon Institute for X-ray Astronomy, 10677 Franks Road Huntingdon, PA, 16652 (United States); Degenaar, N. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHA (United Kingdom); Reynolds, M. [University of Michigan, 1085 S. University, 311 West Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2017-04-20

We report the detection of a dust-scattering halo around a recently discovered X-ray transient, Swift J174540.7–290015, which in early 2016 February underwent one of the brightest outbursts ( F {sub X} ≈ 5 × 10{sup −10} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}) observed from a compact object in the Galactic Center field. We analyze four Chandra images that were taken as follow-up observations to Swift discoveries of new Galactic Center transients. After adjusting our spectral extraction for the effects of detector pile-up, we construct a point-spread function for each observation and compare it to the GC field before the outburst. We find residual surface brightness around Swift J174540.7–290015, which has a shape and temporal evolution consistent with the behavior expected from X-rays scattered by foreground dust. We examine the spectral properties of the source, which shows evidence that the object transitioned from a soft to hard spectral state as it faded below L {sub X} ∼ 10{sup 36} erg s{sup −1}. This behavior is consistent with the hypothesis that the object is a low-mass X-ray binary in the Galactic Center.

The Chandra HRC View of the Subarcsecond Structures in the Nuclear Region of NGC 1068

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Karovska, Margarita; Elvis, Martin; Risaliti, Guido

2012-09-01

We have obtained a high spatial resolution X-ray image of the nucleus of NGC 1068 using the High Resolution Camera (HRC-I) on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which provides an unprecedented view of the innermost 1 arcsec radius region of this galaxy. The HRC image resolves the narrow-line region into X-ray emission clumps matching bright emission-line clouds in the HST [OIII] λ5007 images and allows comparison with subarcsecond-scale radio jet for the first time. Two distinct X-ray knots are revealed at 1.3-1.4 arcsec northeast and southwest of the nucleus. Based on the combined X-ray, [O III], and radio continuum morphology, we identify the locations of intense radio jet-cloud interaction. The [O III] to soft X-ray ratios show that some of these clouds are strongly affected by shock heating, whereas in other locations the jet simply thrusts through with no signs of strong interaction. This is further strengthened by the presence of a kT ~ 1 keV collisionally ionized component in the ACIS spectrum of a shock-heated cloud HST-G. We estimate that the kinematic luminosity of the jet-driven shocks is 6 × 1038 erg s-1, a negligible fraction (10-4) of the estimated total jet power.

Chandra Detection of an Evolved Population of Young Stars in Serpens South

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, E.; Wolk, S. J.; Gutermuth, R.; Bourke, T. L.

2018-06-01

We present a Chandra study of the deeply embedded Serpens South star-forming region, examining cluster structure and disk properties at the earliest stages. In total, 152 X-ray sources are detected. Combined with Spitzer and 2MASS photometry, 66 X-ray sources are reliably matched to an IR counterpart. We identify 21 class I, 6 flat spectrum, 16 class II, and 18 class III young stars; 5 were unclassified. Eighteen sources were variable in X-rays, 8 exhibiting flare-like emission and one source being periodic. The cluster’s X-ray luminosity distance was estimated: the best match was to the nearer distance of 260 pc for the front of the Aquila Rift complex. The ratio of N H to A K is found to be ∼0.68 × 1022, similar to that measured in other young low-mass regions, but lower than that measured in the interstellar medium and high-mass clusters (∼(1.6–2) × 1022). We find that the spatial distribution closely follows that of the dense filament from which the stars have formed, with the class II population still strongly associated with the filament. There are four subclusters in the field, with three forming knots in the filament, and a fourth to the west, which may not be associated but may be contributing to the distributed class III population. A high percentage of diskless class IIIs (upper limit 30% of classified X-ray sources) in such a young cluster could indicate that processing of disks is influenced by the cluster environment and is not solely dependent on timescale.

The 2-79 keV X-ray spectrum of the Circinus galaxy with NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Chandra: a fully Compton-thick active galactic nucleus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arévalo, P.; Bauer, F. E.; Puccetti, S.; Walton, D. J.; Fuerst, F.; Grefenstette, B. W.; Harrison, F. A.; Madsen, K. K.; Koss, M.; Boggs, S. E.; Craig, W. W.; Brandt, W. N.; Luo, B.; Brightman, M.; Christensen, F. E.; Comastri, A.; Gandhi, P.; Hailey, C. J.; Madejski, G.; Marinucci, A.

2014-01-01

The Circinus galaxy is one of the closest obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs), making it an ideal target for detailed study. Combining archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data with new NuSTAR observations, we model the 2-79 keV spectrum to constrain the primary AGN continuum and to derive physical parameters for the obscuring material. Chandra's high angular resolution allows a separation of nuclear and off-nuclear galactic emission. In the off-nuclear diffuse emission, we find signatures of strong cold reflection, including high equivalent-width neutral Fe lines. This Compton-scattered off-nuclear emission amounts to 18% of the nuclear flux in the Fe line region, but becomes comparable to the nuclear emission above 30 keV. The new analysis no longer supports a prominent transmitted AGN component in the observed band. We find that the nuclear spectrum is consistent with Compton scattering by an optically thick torus, where the intrinsic spectrum is a power law of photon index Γ = 2.2-2.4, the torus has an equatorial column density of N H = (6-10) × 10 24 cm –2 , and the intrinsic AGN 2-10 keV luminosity is (2.3-5.1) × 10 42 erg s –1 . These values place Circinus along the same relations as unobscured AGNs in accretion rate versus Γ and L X versus L IR phase space. NuSTAR's high sensitivity and low background allow us to study the short timescale variability of Circinus at X-ray energies above 10 keV for the first time. The lack of detected variability favors a Compton-thick absorber, in line with the spectral fitting results.

Teamwork for Oversight of Processes and Systems (TOPS). Implementation guide for TOPS version 2.0, 10 August 1992

Science.gov (United States)

Strand, Albert A.; Jackson, Darryl J.

As the nation redefines priorities to deal with a rapidly changing world order, both government and industry require new approaches for oversight of management systems, particularly for high technology products. Declining defense budgets will lead to significant reductions in government contract management personnel. Concurrently, defense contractors are reducing administrative and overhead staffing to control costs. These combined pressures require bold approaches for the oversight of management systems. In the Spring of 1991, the DPRO and TRW created a Process Action Team (PAT) to jointly prepare a Performance Based Management (PBM) system titled Teamwork for Oversight of Processes and Systems (TOPS). The primary goal is implementation of a performance based management system based on objective data to review critical TRW processes with an emphasis on continuous improvement. The processes are: Finance and Business Systems, Engineering and Manufacturing Systems, Quality Assurance, and Software Systems. The team established a number of goals: delivery of quality products to contractual terms and conditions; ensure that TRW management systems meet government guidance and good business practices; use of objective data to measure critical processes; elimination of wasteful/duplicative reviews and audits; emphasis on teamwork--all efforts must be perceived to add value by both sides and decisions are made by consensus; and synergy and the creation of a strong working trust between TRW and the DPRO. TOPS permits the adjustment of oversight resources when conditions change or when TRW systems performance indicate either an increase or decrease in surveillance is appropriate. Monthly Contractor Performance Assessments (CPA) are derived from a summary of supporting system level and process-level ratings obtained from objective process-level data. Tiered, objective, data-driven metrics are highly successful in achieving a cooperative and effective method of measuring

Teamwork for Oversight of Processes and Systems (TOPS). Implementation guide for TOPS version 2.0, 10 August 1992

Science.gov (United States)

Strand, Albert A.; Jackson, Darryl J.

1992-01-01

As the nation redefines priorities to deal with a rapidly changing world order, both government and industry require new approaches for oversight of management systems, particularly for high technology products. Declining defense budgets will lead to significant reductions in government contract management personnel. Concurrently, defense contractors are reducing administrative and overhead staffing to control costs. These combined pressures require bold approaches for the oversight of management systems. In the Spring of 1991, the DPRO and TRW created a Process Action Team (PAT) to jointly prepare a Performance Based Management (PBM) system titled Teamwork for Oversight of Processes and Systems (TOPS). The primary goal is implementation of a performance based management system based on objective data to review critical TRW processes with an emphasis on continuous improvement. The processes are: Finance and Business Systems, Engineering and Manufacturing Systems, Quality Assurance, and Software Systems. The team established a number of goals: delivery of quality products to contractual terms and conditions; ensure that TRW management systems meet government guidance and good business practices; use of objective data to measure critical processes; elimination of wasteful/duplicative reviews and audits; emphasis on teamwork--all efforts must be perceived to add value by both sides and decisions are made by consensus; and synergy and the creation of a strong working trust between TRW and the DPRO. TOPS permits the adjustment of oversight resources when conditions change or when TRW systems performance indicate either an increase or decrease in surveillance is appropriate. Monthly Contractor Performance Assessments (CPA) are derived from a summary of supporting system level and process-level ratings obtained from objective process-level data. Tiered, objective, data-driven metrics are highly successful in achieving a cooperative and effective method of measuring

TRADOC Union List of Periodicals.

Science.gov (United States)

1988-08-01

0161-119. Apr 1986+ TSD 1979+ Cuadernos del Tercer Mundo TTY Mar 1985 - Cuba Internacional TSL 0011-2593 Current 12 issues only Cuban News and Propaganda...Australiir. Journal of Political History TSQ 198 4. Austr ,I] .liiw utl,-cAk Ti& ?r, 1-9913 1963+ Auto Wee!, TRW current issues ori] Aut ob d.\\ TTX...Consumer Guide Auto Series TTH current year onil Consumer Guide Investment Series TTH current year only Consumer News (Publication ceased in 1979) TRW Apr

Comparing forest measurements from tree rings and a space-based index of vegetation activity in Siberia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bunn, Andrew G; Hughes, Malcolm K; Losleben, Mark; Kirdyanov, Alexander V; Shishov, Vladimir V; Vaganov, Eugene A; Berner, Logan T; Oltchev, Alexander

2013-01-01

Different methods have been developed for measuring carbon stocks and fluxes in the northern high latitudes, ranging from intensively measured small plots to space-based methods that use reflectance data to drive production efficiency models. The field of dendroecology has used samples of tree growth from radial increments to quantify long-term variability in ecosystem productivity, but these have very limited spatial domains. Since the cambium material in tree cores is itself a product of photosynthesis in the canopy, it would be ideal to link these two approaches. We examine the associations between the normalized differenced vegetation index (NDVI) and tree growth using 19 pairs of tree-ring widths (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) across much of Siberia. We find consistent correlations between NDVI and both measures of tree growth and no systematic difference between MXD and TRW. At the regional level we note strong correspondence between the first principal component of tree growth and NDVI for MXD and TRW in a temperature-limited bioregion, indicating that canopy reflectance and cambial production are broadly linked. Using a network of 21 TRW chronologies from south of Lake Baikal, we find a similarly strong regional correspondence with NDVI in a markedly drier region. We show that tree growth is dominated by variation at decadal and multidecadal time periods, which the satellite record is incapable of recording given its relatively short record. (letter)

Searching for faint AGN in the CDFS: an X-ray (Chandra) vs optical variability (HST) comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgantopoulos, I.; Pouliasis, E.; Bonanos, A.; Sokolovsky, K.; Yang, M.; Hatzidimitriou, D.; Bellas, I.; Gavras, P.; Spetsieri, Z.

2017-10-01

X-ray surveys are believed to be the most efficient way to detect AGN. Recently though, optical variability studies are claimed to probe even fainter AGN. We are presenting results from an HST study aimed to identify Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) through optical variability selection in the CDFS.. This work is part of the 'Hubble Catalogue of Variables'project of ESA that aims to identify variable sources in the Hubble Source Catalogue.' In particular, we used Hubble Space Telescope (HST) z-band images taken over 5 epochs and performed aperture photometry to derive the lightcurves of the sources. Two statistical methods (standard deviation & interquartile range) resulting in a final sample of 175 variable AGN candidates, having removed the artifacts by visual inspection and known stars and supernovae. The fact that the majority of the sources are extended and variable indicates AGN activity. We compare the efficiency of the method by comparing with the 7Ms Chandra detections. Our work shows that the optical variability probes AGN at comparable redshifts but at deeper optical magnitudes. Our candidate AGN (non detected in X-rays) have luminosities of L_x<6×10^{40} erg/sec at z˜0.7 suggesting that these are associated with low luminosity Seyferts and LINERS.

Physical properties of the interstellar medium using high-resolution Chandra spectra: O K-edge absorption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gatuzz, E.; Mendoza, C. [Centro de Física, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), P.O. Box 20632, Caracas 1020A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); García, J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, MS-6, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kallman, T. R. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Bautista, M. A.; Gorczyca, T. W., E-mail: egatuzz@ivic.gob.ve, E-mail: claudio@ivic.gob.ve, E-mail: javier@head.cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: manuel.bautista@wmich.edu, E-mail: thomas.gorczyca@wmich.edu, E-mail: timothy.r.kallman@nasa.gov [Department of Physics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (United States)

2014-08-01

Chandra high-resolution spectra toward eight low-mass Galactic binaries have been analyzed with a photoionization model that is capable of determining the physical state of the interstellar medium. Particular attention is given to the accuracy of the atomic data. Hydrogen column densities are derived with a broadband fit that takes into account pileup effects, and in general are in good agreement with previous results. The dominant features in the oxygen-edge region are O I and O II Kα absorption lines whose simultaneous fits lead to average values of the ionization parameter of log ξ = –2.90 and oxygen abundance of A{sub O} = 0.70. The latter is given relative to the standard by Grevesse and Sauval, but rescaling with the revision by Asplund et al. would lead to an average abundance value fairly close to solar. The low average oxygen column density (N{sub O} = 9.2 × 10{sup 17} cm{sup –2}) suggests a correlation with the low ionization parameters, the latter also being in evidence in the column density ratios N(O II)/N(O I) and N(O III)/N(O I) that are estimated to be less than 0.1. We do not find conclusive evidence for absorption by any other compound but atomic oxygen in our oxygen-edge region analysis.

THE CHANDRA HRC VIEW OF THE SUBARCSECOND STRUCTURES IN THE NUCLEAR REGION OF NGC 1068

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Karovska, Margarita; Elvis, Martin; Risaliti, Guido, E-mail: juwang@cfa.harvard.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2012-09-10

We have obtained a high spatial resolution X-ray image of the nucleus of NGC 1068 using the High Resolution Camera (HRC-I) on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which provides an unprecedented view of the innermost 1 arcsec radius region of this galaxy. The HRC image resolves the narrow-line region into X-ray emission clumps matching bright emission-line clouds in the HST [OIII] {lambda}5007 images and allows comparison with subarcsecond-scale radio jet for the first time. Two distinct X-ray knots are revealed at 1.3-1.4 arcsec northeast and southwest of the nucleus. Based on the combined X-ray, [O III], and radio continuum morphology, we identify the locations of intense radio jet-cloud interaction. The [O III] to soft X-ray ratios show that some of these clouds are strongly affected by shock heating, whereas in other locations the jet simply thrusts through with no signs of strong interaction. This is further strengthened by the presence of a kT {approx} 1 keV collisionally ionized component in the ACIS spectrum of a shock-heated cloud HST-G. We estimate that the kinematic luminosity of the jet-driven shocks is 6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 38} erg s{sup -1}, a negligible fraction (10{sup -4}) of the estimated total jet power.

THE CHANDRA HRC VIEW OF THE SUBARCSECOND STRUCTURES IN THE NUCLEAR REGION OF NGC 1068

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Karovska, Margarita; Elvis, Martin; Risaliti, Guido

2012-01-01

We have obtained a high spatial resolution X-ray image of the nucleus of NGC 1068 using the High Resolution Camera (HRC-I) on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which provides an unprecedented view of the innermost 1 arcsec radius region of this galaxy. The HRC image resolves the narrow-line region into X-ray emission clumps matching bright emission-line clouds in the HST [OIII] λ5007 images and allows comparison with subarcsecond-scale radio jet for the first time. Two distinct X-ray knots are revealed at 1.3-1.4 arcsec northeast and southwest of the nucleus. Based on the combined X-ray, [O III], and radio continuum morphology, we identify the locations of intense radio jet-cloud interaction. The [O III] to soft X-ray ratios show that some of these clouds are strongly affected by shock heating, whereas in other locations the jet simply thrusts through with no signs of strong interaction. This is further strengthened by the presence of a kT ∼ 1 keV collisionally ionized component in the ACIS spectrum of a shock-heated cloud HST-G. We estimate that the kinematic luminosity of the jet-driven shocks is 6 × 10 38 erg s –1 , a negligible fraction (10 –4 ) of the estimated total jet power.

X-Ray Properties of AGN in Brightest Cluster Galaxies. I. A Systematic Study of the Chandra Archive in the 0.2 < z < 0.3 and 0.55 < z < 0.75 Redshift Range

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lilan; Tozzi, Paolo; Yu, Heng; Lusso, Elisabeta; Gaspari, Massimo; Gilli, Roberto; Nardini, Emanuele; Risaliti, Guido

2018-05-01

We present a search for nuclear X-ray emission in the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) of a sample of groups and clusters of galaxies extracted from the Chandra archive. The exquisite angular resolution of Chandra allows us to obtain robust photometry at the position of the BCG, and to firmly identify unresolved X-ray emission when present, thanks to an accurate characterization of the extended emission at the BCG position. We consider two redshift bins (0.2 soft (0.5–2 keV) or hard (2–7 keV) band is detected only in 14 and 9 BCGs (∼18% of the total samples), respectively. The X-ray photometry shows that at least half of the BCGs have a high hardness ratio, compatible with significant intrinsic absorption. This is confirmed by the spectral analysis with a power-law model plus intrinsic absorption. We compute the fraction of X-ray bright BCGs above a given hard X-ray luminosity, considering only sources with positive photometry in the hard band (12/5 sources in the low/high-z sample).

The role of industry in fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forsen, H.K.; Fowler, T.K.; Mariscalco, J.A.; Reichle, F.C.

1985-01-01

Bechtel National, Inc. comments on the principle objective of the national fusion program as being the development of fusion as a potential new energy source option. It is also discussed that industry needs a clearer statement of fusion program goals and approximate timing from the DOE, in order to properly assess corporate priorities and commitment to the principle objective. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory discusses the idea of ''partnership'', which addresses the issue of industry's role in the fusion program. TRW specifies a need for budget realities and the administrations's science and energy policies as outlined by the DOE's Office of Fusion Energy. Ebasco Services, Inc. expands on the idea of fully involving industry in the fusion energy program. At the Plasma Physics Laboratory, further comments are made on the need for industry's participation in the fusion energy program

Normal Spiral Galaxies Really Do Have Hot Gas in Their Halos: Chandra Observations of NGC 4013 and NGC 4217.

Science.gov (United States)

Strickland, D. K.; Colbert, E. J. M.; Heckman, T. M.; Hoopes, C. G.; Howk, J. C.; Rand, R. J.

2004-08-01

Although soft X-ray emission from million degree plasma has long been observed in the halos of starburst galaxies known to have supernova-driven galactic superwinds, X-ray observations have generally failed to detect hot halos around normal spiral galaxies. Indeed, the Milky Way and NGC 891 have historically been the only genuinely "normal" spiral galaxies with unambiguous X-ray halo detections, until now. Here we report on deep observations of NGC 4013 and NGC 4217, two Milky-Way-mass spiral galaxies with star formation rates per unit area similar to the Milky Way and NGC 891, using the Chandra X-ray observatory. Preliminary investigation of the observations clearly show extra-planar diffuse X-ray emission extending several kpc into the halo of NGC 4013. We will present the results of these observations, compare them to the non-detections of hot gas around normal spirals, and relate them to galactic fountain and IGM accretion based models for hot halos. DKS acknowledges funding from NASA through the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. grant G045095X.

Fluktuace pracovníků ve vybraném podniku

OpenAIRE

LAVIČKA, Václav

2014-01-01

This thesis focuses on the analysis of employee turnover in the company TRW-DAS a.s. Dačice. The first part consists of the theoretical part and in the second part, the analysis was made and the methods for measuring employee turnover in the company TRW-DAS a.s. were applied. Based on the established calculations and information, recommendations and proposals that would lead to a reduction in employee turnover of the company were proposed. The aim of this thesis is to apply the recommendation...

An In-depth Chandra ACIS View Of The Circumnuclear Region Of NGC 4151: The Jet, The Biconical Outflow, And A Leaky Torus

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, G.; Elvis, M.; Risaliti, G.; Karovska, M.; Zezas, A.; Mundell, C. G.

2011-05-01

We report on the imaging analysis of 200 ks Chandra ACIS-S observations of the nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. Structured soft X-ray emission is observed to extend from 30 pc to 1.5 kpc. We find strong evidence for jet-gas cloud interaction in the inner 150 pc region, confirming our previous HRC results. Self-consistent photoionization models provide good descriptions of the spectra of the optical bi-cone, supporting the dominant role of nuclear photoionization. Presence of both low and high ionization spectral components and extended emission in the X-ray image perpendicular to the bi-cone indicates leakage of nuclear ionization. Using spatially resolved features, we estimate the kinematic power of the outflow in NGC 4151 to be 0.3% of its bolometric luminosity. This work is supported by NASA grant GO8-9101X and GO1-12009X.

A Chandra Observation of the Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy IRAS 19254-7245 (The Superantennae): X-Ray Emission from the Compton-Thick Active Galactic Nucleus and the Diffuse Starburst

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Jianjun; Ptak, Andrew; Heckman, Timothy M.; Braito, Valentina; Reeves, James

2012-01-01

We present a Chandra observation of IRAS 19254-7245, a nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxy also known as the Superantennae. The high spatial resolution of Chandra allows us to disentangle for the first time the diffuse starburst (SB) emission from the embedded Compton-thick active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the southern nucleus. No AGN activity is detected in the northern nucleus. The 2-10 keV spectrum of the AGN emission is fitted by a flat power law (TAU = 1.3) and an He-like Fe Kalpha line with equivalent width 1.5 keV, consistent with previous observations. The Fe K line profile could be resolved as a blend of a neutral 6.4 keV line and an ionized 6.7 keV (He-like) or 6.9 keV (H-like) line. Variability of the neutral line is detected compared with the previous XMM-Newton and Suzaku observations, demonstrating the compact size of the iron line emission. The spectrum of the galaxy-scale extended emission excluding the AGN and other bright point sources is fitted with a thermal component with a best-fit kT of approximately 0.8 keV. The 2-10 keV luminosity of the extended emission is about one order of magnitude lower than that of the AGN. The basic physical and structural properties of the extended emission are fully consistent with a galactic wind being driven by the SB. A candidate ultraluminous X-ray source is detected 8 south of the southern nucleus. The 0.3 - 10 keV luminosity of this off-nuclear point source is approximately 6 x 10(exp 40) erg per second if the emission is isotropic and the source is associated with the Superantennae.

Recent Chandra/HETGS and NuSTAR observations of the quasar PDS 456 and its Ultra-Fast Outflow

Science.gov (United States)

Boissay Malaquin, Rozenn; Marshall, Herman L.; Nowak, Michael A.

2018-01-01

Evidence is growing that the interaction between outflows from active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their surrounding medium may play an important role in galaxy evolution, i.e. in the regulation of star formation in galaxies, through AGN feedback processes. Indeed, powerful outflows, such as the ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) that can reach mildly relativistic velocities of 0.2-0.4c, could blow away a galaxy’s reservoir of star-forming gas and hence quench the star formation in host galaxies. The low-redshift (z=0.184) radio-quiet quasar PDS 456 has showed the presence of a strong and blueshifted absorption trough in the Fe K band above 7 keV, that has been associated with the signature of such a fast and highly ionized accretion disk wind of a velocity of 0.25-0.3c. This persistent and variable feature has been detected in many observations of PDS 456, in particular by XMM-Newton, Suzaku and NuSTAR, together with other blueshifted absorption lines in the soft energy band (e.g. Nardini et al. 2015, Reeves et al. 2016). I will present here the results of the analysis of recent and contemporaneous high-resolution Chandra/HETGS and NuSTAR observations of PDS 456, and compare them with the previous findings.

Biodiversity and Indigenous Uses of Medicinal Plant in the Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandauli District, Uttar Pradesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurya Santosh Kumar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional medicines are very important part of Indian culture. In this study the outcome of two-year study of ethnomedicinal uses of plants in Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary (CPWLS and nearby area is reported. Information related to different plants which are used by local community in the treatment of many common diseases and well-being in the area was collected. Data on the use of medicinal plants were collected using structured interview of about 122 participants and thorough observations and conversations with local communities. Approximately 100 plants belonging to 43 families used by the local healers were reported in this study. The plant species with the highest fidelity level (Fl were Holarrhena antidysenterica, Lawsonia inermis, Gymnema sylvestre, Dalbergia sissoo, Cassia fistula Linn., Butea monosperma (Lam. Kuntze., Boerhaavia diffusa Linn., Albizia lebbeck Benth., Aegle marmelos Correa., Sphaeranthus indicus Linn., and Solanum surattense Burm. f. The most frequent ailments reported were hepatitis, jaundice, constipation, and skin and urinary problems. The parts of the plants most frequently used were fruit, roots, and whole plants (17% followed by leaves (16% and bark (15%. This study presents new research efforts and perspectives on the search for new drugs based on local uses of medicinal plants.

About the Las Acacias, Trelew and Vassouras Magnetic Observatories Monitoring the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly Region Response to an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection

Science.gov (United States)

Gianibelli, J. C.; Quaglino, N. M.

2007-05-01

The South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA) Region presents evolutive characteristics very important as were observed by a variety of satelital sensors. Important Magnetic Observatories with digital record monitor the effects of the Sun-Earth interaction, such as San Juan de Puerto Rico (SJG), Kourou (KOU), Vassouras (VSS), Las Acacias (LAS), Trelew (TRW), Vernadsky (AIA), Hermanus (HER) and Huancayo (HUA). In the present work we present the features registered during the geomagnetic storm in January 21, 2005, produced by a geoeffective Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) whose Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection (ICME) was detected by the instrumental onboard the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) Sonde. We analize how the Magnetic Total Intensity records at VSS, TRW and LAS Observatories shows the effect of the entering particles to ionospherical dephts producing a field enhancement following the first Interplanetary Shock (IP) arrival of the ICME. This process manifest in the digital record as an increment over the magnetospheric Ring Current field effect and superinpossed effects over the Antarctic Auroral Electrojet. The analysis and comparison of the records demonstrate that the Ring Current effects are important in SJG and KOU but not in VSS, LAS and TRW observatories, concluding that SAMA region shows a enhancement of the ionospherical currents oposed to those generated at magnetospheric heighs. Moreover in TRW, 5 hours after the ICME shock arrival, shows the effect of the Antarctic Auroral Electrojet counteracting to fields generated by the Ring Current.

CHANDRA AND XMM-NEWTON X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE HYPERACTIVE T TAURI STAR RY TAU

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skinner, Stephen L. [Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA), Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0389 (United States); Audard, Marc [Dept. of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Ch. d’Ecogia 16, CH-1290 Versoix (Switzerland); Güdel, Manuel, E-mail: stephen.skinner@colorado.edu, E-mail: marc.audard@unige.ch, E-mail: manuel.guedel@univie.ac.at [Dept. of Astrophysics, Univ. of Vienna, Türkenschanzstr. 17, A-1180 Vienna (Austria)

2016-07-20

We present results of pointed X-ray observations of the accreting jet-driving T Tauri star RY Tau using Chandra and XMM-Newton . We obtained high-resolution grating spectra and excellent-quality CCD spectra and light curves with the objective of identifying the physical mechanisms underlying RY Tau’s bright X-ray emission. Grating spectra reveal numerous emission lines spanning a broad range of temperature superimposed on a hot continuum. The X-ray emission measure distribution is dominated by very hot plasma at T {sub hot} ∼ 50 MK, but higher temperatures were present during flares. A weaker cool plasma component is also present as revealed by low-temperature lines such as O viii. X-ray light curves show complex variability consisting of short-duration (∼hours) superhot flares accompanied by fluorescent Fe emission at 6.4 keV superimposed on a slowly varying (∼one day) component that may be tied to stellar rotation. The hot flaring component is undoubtedly of magnetic (e.g., coronal) origin. Soft- and hard-band light curves undergo similar slow variability implying that at least some of the cool plasma shares a common magnetic origin with the hot plasma. Any contribution to the X-ray emission from cool shocked plasma is small compared to the dominant hot component but production of individual low-temperature lines such as O viii in an accretion shock is not ruled out.

CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF ABELL 1142: A COOL-CORE CLUSTER LACKING A CENTRAL BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXY?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Su, Yuanyuan; Weeren, Reinout van [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Buote, David A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, 4129 Frederick Reines Hall, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States); Gastaldello, Fabio, E-mail: yuanyuan.su@cfa.harvard.edu [INAF-IASF-Milano, Via E. Bassini 15, I-20133 Milano (Italy)

2016-04-10

Abell 1142 is a low-mass galaxy cluster at low redshift containing two comparable brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) resembling a scaled-down version of the Coma Cluster. Our Chandra analysis reveals an X-ray emission peak, roughly 100 kpc away from either BCG, which we identify as the cluster center. The emission center manifests itself as a second beta-model surface brightness component distinct from that of the cluster on larger scales. The center is also substantially cooler and more metal-rich than the surrounding intracluster medium (ICM), which makes Abell 1142 appear to be a cool-core cluster. The redshift distribution of its member galaxies indicates that Abell 1142 may contain two subclusters, each of which contain one BCG. The BCGs are merging at a relative velocity of ≈1200 km s{sup −1}. This ongoing merger may have shock-heated the ICM from ≈2 keV to above 3 keV, which would explain the anomalous L{sub X}–T{sub X} scaling relation for this system. This merger may have displaced the metal-enriched “cool core” of either of the subclusters from the BCG. The southern BCG consists of three individual galaxies residing within a radius of 5 kpc in projection. These galaxies should rapidly sink into the subcluster center due to the dynamical friction of a cuspy cold dark matter halo.

Milky Way Monster Stars in Cosmic Reality Show

Science.gov (United States)

2003-01-01

faint streak of X-rays about 1 light-year long has been discovered 1.5 light years from Sgr A*. The streak points at Sgr A*, suggesting that it may be a jet of particles expelled at nearly the speed of light from just outside the event horizon of the black hole. The intensity and size of this jet indicate that the flaring activity has been occurring for many years. Labeled image of Sagittarius A* Jet Labeled image of Sagittarius A* Jet On a much larger scale, huge lobes of 20-million-degree-Centigrade gas extending over dozens of light years on either side of the black hole have also been discovered. "These lobes show that enormous explosions have occurred several times over the last ten thousand years," said Mark Morris of UCLA, lead author of a second paper on Sgr A*, who also participated in the press conference. Sangwook Park, of Penn State University in University Park, and Michael Muno, of MIT, were lead authors of two other papers presented at the meeting. These papers focused on the extraordinarily rich region around the central black hole, where they detected more than 2,000 X-ray sources. Other members of the team include Mark Bautz and George Ricker of MIT, Niel Brandt, Patrick Broos, George Chartas, Eric Feigelson, Gordon Garmire, and Leisa Townsley of Penn State, Yoshitomo Maeda of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan, and Christian Howard of UCLA. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass., for the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, Washington. Images and additional information about this result are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

CHANDRA DETECTION OF X-RAY EMISSION FROM ULTRACOMPACT DWARF GALAXIES AND EXTENDED STAR CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou, Meicun; Li, Zhiyuan

2016-01-01

We have conducted a systematic study of X-ray emission from ultracompact dwarf (UCD) galaxies and extended star clusters (ESCs), based on archival Chandra observations. Among a sample of 511 UCDs and ESCs complied from the literature, 17 X-ray counterparts with 0.5–8 keV luminosities above ∼5 × 10 36 erg s −1 are identified, which are distributed in eight early-type host galaxies. To facilitate comparison, we also identify X-ray counterparts of 360 globular clusters (GCs) distributed in four of the eight galaxies. The X-ray properties of the UCDs and ESCs are found to be broadly similar to those of the GCs. The incidence rate of X-ray-detected UCDs and ESCs, 3.3% ± 0.8%, while lower than that of the X-ray-detected GCs (7.0% ± 0.4%), is substantially higher than expected from the field populations of external galaxies. A stacking analysis of the individually undetected UCDs/ESCs further reveals significant X-ray signals, which corresponds to an equivalent 0.5–8 keV luminosity of ∼4 × 10 35 erg s −1 per source. Taken together, these provide strong evidence that the X-ray emission from UCDs and ESCs is dominated by low-mass X-ray binaries having formed from stellar dynamical interactions, consistent with the stellar populations in these dense systems being predominantly old. For the most massive UCDs, there remains the possibility that a putative central massive black hole gives rise to the observed X-ray emission

CHANDRA DETECTION OF X-RAY EMISSION FROM ULTRACOMPACT DWARF GALAXIES AND EXTENDED STAR CLUSTERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hou, Meicun; Li, Zhiyuan, E-mail: lizy@nju.edu.cn [School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046 (China)

2016-03-10

We have conducted a systematic study of X-ray emission from ultracompact dwarf (UCD) galaxies and extended star clusters (ESCs), based on archival Chandra observations. Among a sample of 511 UCDs and ESCs complied from the literature, 17 X-ray counterparts with 0.5–8 keV luminosities above ∼5 × 10{sup 36} erg s{sup −1} are identified, which are distributed in eight early-type host galaxies. To facilitate comparison, we also identify X-ray counterparts of 360 globular clusters (GCs) distributed in four of the eight galaxies. The X-ray properties of the UCDs and ESCs are found to be broadly similar to those of the GCs. The incidence rate of X-ray-detected UCDs and ESCs, 3.3% ± 0.8%, while lower than that of the X-ray-detected GCs (7.0% ± 0.4%), is substantially higher than expected from the field populations of external galaxies. A stacking analysis of the individually undetected UCDs/ESCs further reveals significant X-ray signals, which corresponds to an equivalent 0.5–8 keV luminosity of ∼4 × 10{sup 35} erg s{sup −1} per source. Taken together, these provide strong evidence that the X-ray emission from UCDs and ESCs is dominated by low-mass X-ray binaries having formed from stellar dynamical interactions, consistent with the stellar populations in these dense systems being predominantly old. For the most massive UCDs, there remains the possibility that a putative central massive black hole gives rise to the observed X-ray emission.

BeppoSAX and Chandra Observations of SAX J0103.2-7209 = 2E 0101.5-7225: A New Persistent 345 Second X-Ray Pulsar in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

Science.gov (United States)

Israel; Campana; Covino; Dal Fiume D; Gaetz; Mereghetti; Oosterbroek; Orlandini; Parmar; Ricci; Stella

2000-03-10

We report the results of a 1998 July BeppoSAX observation of a field in the Small Magellanic Cloud which led to the discovery of approximately 345 s pulsations in the X-ray flux of SAX J0103.2-7209. The BeppoSAX X-ray spectrum is well fitted by an absorbed power law with a photon index of approximately 1.0 plus a blackbody component with kT=0.11 keV. The unabsorbed luminosity in the 2-10 keV energy range is approximately 1.2x1036 ergs s-1. In a very recent Chandra observation, the 345 s pulsations are also detected. The available period measurements provide a constant period derivative of -1.7 s yr-1 over the last 3 years, making SAX J0103.2-7209 one of the most rapidly spinning up X-ray pulsars known. The BeppoSAX position (30&arcsec; uncertainty radius) is consistent with that of the Einstein source 2E 0101.5-7225 and the ROSAT source RX J0103.2-7209. This source was detected at a luminosity level of a few times 1035-1036 ergs s-1 in all data sets of past X-ray missions since 1979. The ROSAT HRI and Chandra positions are consistent with that of a mV=14.8 Be spectral-type star already proposed as the likely optical counterpart of 2E 0101.5-7225. We briefly report and discuss photometric and spectroscopic data carried out at the ESO telescopes 2 days before the BeppoSAX observation. We conclude that SAX J0103.2-7209 and 2E 0101.5-7225 are the same source: a relatively young and persistent X-ray pulsar in the SMC.

Chandra X-ray Time-Domain Study of Alpha Centauri AB, Procyon, and their Environs

Science.gov (United States)

Ayres, Thomas R.

2018-06-01

For more than a decade, Chandra X-ray Observatory has been monitoring the central AB binary (G2V+K1V) of the α Centauri triple system with semi-annual pointings, using the High-Resolution Camera. This study has been extended in recent years to the mid-F subgiant, Procyon. The main objective is to follow the coronal (T~1MK) activity variations of the three stars, analogous to the Sun's 11-year sunspot cycle. Tentative periods of 20 yr and 8 yr have been deduced for α Cen A and B, respectively; but so far Procyon has shown only a slow, very modest decline in count rate, which could well reflect a slight instrumental degradation rather than intrinsic behavior. The negligible high-energy variability of Procyon sits in stark contrast to the dramatic factor of several to ten changes in the X-ray luminosities of α Cen AB and the Sun over their respective cycles. Further, although sunlike α Cen A has been observed by successive generations of X-ray observatories for nearly four decades, albeit sporadically, there are key gaps in the coverage that affect the determination of the cycle period. In fact, the most recent pointings suggest a downturn in A's count rate that might be signaling a shorter, more solar-like cycle following a delayed minimum in the 2005--2010 time frame (perhaps an exaggerated version of the extended solar minimum between recent Cycles 23 and 24). Beyond the coronal cycles of the three stars, the sequence of periodic X-ray images represents a unique time-domain history concerning steady as well as variable sources in the two 30'x30' fields. The most conspicuous of the variable objects -- in the α Cen field -- will be described here.

CHANDRA IDENTIFICATION OF 26 NEW BLACK HOLE CANDIDATES IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF M31

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnard, R.; Garcia, M. R.; Murray, S. S. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA), Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2013-06-20

We have previously identified 10 M31 black hole candidates (BHCs) in M31 from their X-ray properties alone. They exhibit ''hard state'' emission spectra that are seen at luminosities {approx}<10% Eddington in X-ray binaries (XBs) containing a neutron star (NS) or black hole, at luminosities that significantly exceed the NS threshold. Nine of these are associated with globular clusters (GCs); hence, these are most likely low mass X-ray binaries; eight are included in this survey. We have recently discovered that analysis of the long term 0.5-4.5 keV variability of XBs via structure functions allows us to separate XBs from active galactic nuclei, even though the emission spectra are often similar; this has enabled us to search for BHCs outside of GCs. We have identified 26 new BHCs (12 strong, 14 plausible) within 20' of the M31 nucleus (M31*), using 152 Chandra observations spaced over {approx}13 yr; some of our classifications were enhanced with XMM-Newton observations. Of these, seven appear within 100'' of M31*; this supports the theory suggesting that this region experiences enhanced XB production via dynamical processes similar to those seen in GCs. We have found a parameter space where our BHCs are separated from Galactic NS binaries: we show that modeling a simulated hard state spectrum with a disk blackbody + blackbody model yields parameters that lie outside the space occupied by NS binaries that are modeled this way. The probability that our BHCs all lie within the NS parameter space is {approx}3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -29}.

HST/ACS IMAGING OF OMEGA CENTAURI: OPTICAL COUNTERPARTS OF CHANDRA X-RAY SOURCES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cool, Adrienne M.; Arias, Tersi; Brochmann, Michelle; Dorfman, Jason; Gafford, April; White, Vivian; Haggard, Daryl; Anderson, Jay

2013-01-01

We present results of a search for optical counterparts of X-ray sources in and toward the globular cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The ACS data consist of a mosaic of Wide Field Channel images obtained using F625W, F435W, and F658N filters; with nine pointings we cover the central ∼10' × 10' of the cluster and encompass 109 known Chandra sources. We find promising optical counterparts for 59 of the sources, ∼40 of which are likely to be associated with the cluster. These include 27 candidate cataclysmic variables (CVs), 24 of which are reported here for the first time. Fourteen of the CV candidates are very faint, with absolute magnitudes in the range M 625 =10.4-12.6, making them comparable in brightness to field CVs near the period minimum discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Additional optical counterparts include three BY Dra candidates, a possible blue straggler, and a previously reported quiescent low-mass X-ray binary. We also identify 3 foreground stars and 11 probable active galactic nuclei. Finally, we report the discovery of a group of seven stars whose X-ray properties are suggestive of magnetically active binaries, and whose optical counterparts lie on or very near the metal-rich anomalous giant and subgiant branches in ω Cen. If the apparent association between these seven stars and the RGB/SGB-a stars is real, then the frequency of X-ray sources in this metal-rich population is enhanced by a factor of at least five relative to the other giant and subgiant populations in the cluster. If these stars are not members of the metal-rich population, then they bring the total number of red stragglers (also known as sub-subgiants) that have been identified in ω to Cen 20, the largest number yet known in any globular cluster.

HST/ACS Imaging of Omega Centauri: Optical Counterparts of Chandra X-Ray Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Cool, Adrienne M.; Haggard, Daryl; Arias, Tersi; Brochmann, Michelle; Dorfman, Jason; Gafford, April; White, Vivian; Anderson, Jay

2013-02-01

We present results of a search for optical counterparts of X-ray sources in and toward the globular cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The ACS data consist of a mosaic of Wide Field Channel images obtained using F625W, F435W, and F658N filters; with nine pointings we cover the central ~10' × 10' of the cluster and encompass 109 known Chandra sources. We find promising optical counterparts for 59 of the sources, ~40 of which are likely to be associated with the cluster. These include 27 candidate cataclysmic variables (CVs), 24 of which are reported here for the first time. Fourteen of the CV candidates are very faint, with absolute magnitudes in the range M 625 =10.4-12.6, making them comparable in brightness to field CVs near the period minimum discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Additional optical counterparts include three BY Dra candidates, a possible blue straggler, and a previously reported quiescent low-mass X-ray binary. We also identify 3 foreground stars and 11 probable active galactic nuclei. Finally, we report the discovery of a group of seven stars whose X-ray properties are suggestive of magnetically active binaries, and whose optical counterparts lie on or very near the metal-rich anomalous giant and subgiant branches in ω Cen. If the apparent association between these seven stars and the RGB/SGB-a stars is real, then the frequency of X-ray sources in this metal-rich population is enhanced by a factor of at least five relative to the other giant and subgiant populations in the cluster. If these stars are not members of the metal-rich population, then they bring the total number of red stragglers (also known as sub-subgiants) that have been identified in ω to Cen 20, the largest number yet known in any globular cluster.

XV and XVI SERC Main Schools in Theoretical High Energy Physics held at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and Harish-Chandra Research Institute

CERN Document Server

2005-01-01

Current research in High Energy Physics focuses on a number of enigmatic issues that go beyond the very successful Standard Model of particle physics. Among these are the problem of neutrino mass, the (as yet) unobserved Higgs particle, the quark-gluon plasma, quantum aspects of gravity, and the so--called hierarchy problem. Satisfactory resolution of these important questions will take much research effort in both theory and experiment. The Science & Engineering Research Council, Department of Science & Technology has sponsored a series of SERC Schools in Theoretical High Energy Physics over the past several years, to provide instruction and training to graduate students working for research degrees. This book is an outcome of the schools held at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata in 2000, and at the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad in 2001. Based on lectures by active researchers in the field---Rajiv Gavai, Debashis Ghoshal, Dileep Jatkar, Anjan Joshipura, Biswarup Mukhopadhy...

A Deep Chandra ACIS Study of NGC 4151. I. The X-ray Morphology of the 3 kpc Diameter Circum-nuclear Region and Relation to the Cold Interstellar Medium

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Risaliti, Guido; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita; Zezas, Andreas; Mundell, Carole G.; Dumas, Gaelle; Schinnerer, Eva

2011-03-01

We report on the imaging analysis of ~200 ks sub-arcsecond resolution Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS-S) observations of the nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. Bright, structured soft X-ray emission is observed to extend from 30 pc to 1.3 kpc in the southwest from the nucleus, much farther than seen in earlier X-ray studies. The terminus of the northeastern X-ray emission is spatially coincident with a CO gas lane, where the outflow likely encounters dense gas in the host galactic disk. X-ray emission is also detected outside the boundaries of the ionization cone, which indicates that the gas there is not completely shielded from the nuclear continuum, as would be the case for a molecular torus collimating the bicone. In the central r < 200 pc region, the subpixel processing of the ACIS data recovers the morphological details on scales of <30 pc (<0farcs5) first discovered in Chandra High Resolution Camera images. The X-ray emission is more absorbed toward the boundaries of the ionization cone, as well as perpendicular to the bicone along the direction of a putative torus in NGC 4151. The innermost region where X-ray emission shows the highest hardness ratio is spatially coincident with the near-infrared-resolved H2 emission and dusty spirals we find in an Hubble Space Telescope V - H color image. The agreement between the observed H2 line flux and the value predicted from X-ray-irradiated molecular cloud models supports photo-excitation by X-rays from the active nucleus as the origin of the H2 line, although contribution from UV fluorescence or collisional excitation cannot be ruled out with current data. The discrepancy between the mass of cold molecular gas inferred from recent CO and near-infrared H2 observations may be explained by the anomalous CO abundance in this X-ray-dominated region. The total H2 mass derived from the X-ray observation agrees with the recent measurement by Storchi-Bergmann et al.

Deep Chandra Observation and Numerical Studies of the Nearest Cluster Cold Front in the Sky

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, N.; ZuHone, J. A.; Zhuravleva, I.; Ichinohe, Y.; Simionescu, A.; Allen, S. W.; Markevitch, M.; Fabian, A. C.; Keshet, U.; Roediger, E.;

Energy distribution of relativistic electrons in the kiloparsec scale jet of M 87 with Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiao-Na; Yang, Rui-Zhi; Rieger, Frank M.; Liu, Ruo-Yu; Aharonian, Felix

2018-05-01

The X-ray emission from the jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) carries important information on the distributions of relativistic electrons and magnetic fields on large scales. We reanalysed archival Chandra observations on the jet of M 87 from 2000 to 2016 with a total exposure of 1460 kiloseconds to explore the X-ray emission characteristics along the jet. We investigated the variability behaviours of the nucleus and the inner jet component HST-1, and confirm indications for day-scale X-ray variability in the nucleus contemporaneous to the 2010 high TeV γ-ray state. HST-1 shows a general decline in X-ray flux over the last few years consistent with its synchrotron interpretation. We extracted the X-ray spectra for the nucleus and all knots in the jet, showing that they are compatible with a single power law within the X-ray band. There are indications that the resultant X-ray photon index exhibit a trend, with slight but significant index variations ranging from ≃ 2.2 (e.g. in knot D) to ≃ 2.4-2.6 (in the outer knots F, A, and B). When viewed in a multiwavelength context, a more complex situation can be seen. Fitting the radio to X-ray spectral energy distributions (SEDs) assuming a synchrotron origin, we show that a broken power-law electron spectrum with break energy Eb around 1 (300 μG/B)1/2 TeV allows a satisfactory description of the multiband SEDs for most of the knots. However, in the case of knots B, C, and D we find indications that an additional high-energy component is needed to adequately reproduce the broad-band SEDs. We discuss the implications and suggest that a stratified jet model may account for the differences.

Status of the Multipurpose Canister (MPC) Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopper, J.P.

1996-01-01

The multipurpose canister (MPC) project represents a cornerstone of the current U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) program for handling spent nuclear fuel. The MPC and associated support equipment is being designed to accommodate the requirements for not only storage and transport but also for the specified disposal requirements of the mined geologic repository system. The phase 1 design effort for the MPC system, being performed by the Westinghouse team on behalf of TRW Environmental Safety Systems (TESS), the OCRWM management ampersand operating (M ampersand O) contractor, is on schedule for delivery of completed safety analysis reports (SARs) in April 1996

Analysis of the 3C 445 soft X-ray spectrum as observed by Chandra high-energy gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Fu-Tong; Shao, Shu-Hua; Cheng, Yan; Zeng, Jiao-Long

2018-05-01

We present a detailed analysis of the soft X-ray emission of 3C 445 using an archival Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) spectrum. Highly-ionized H- and He-like Mg, Si and S lines, as well as a resolved low-ionized Si Kα line, are detected in the high resolution spectrum. The He-like triplets of Mg and Si are resolved into individual lines, and the calculated R ratios indicate a high density for the emitter. The low values of G ratios indicate the lines originate from collisionally ionized plasmas. However, the detection of a resolved narrow Ne X radiative recombination continua (RRC) feature in the spectrum seems to prefer a photoionized environment. The spectrum is subsequently modeled with a photoionization model, and the results are compared with those of a collisional model. Through a detailed analysis of the spectrum, we exclude a collisional origin for these emission lines. A one-component photoionization model provides a great fit to the emission features. The best-fit parameters are {log} ξ ={3.3}-0.3+0.4 erg cm s‑1, {n}{{H}}={5}-4.5+15× {10}10 cm‑3 and {N}{{H}}={2.5}-1.7+3.8× {10}20 cm‑2. According to the calculated high density for the emitter, the measured velocity widths of the emission lines and the inferred radial distance (6 × 1014 – 8 × 1015 cm), we suggest the emission lines originating from matter are located in the broad line region (BLR).

Planetary Protection: X-ray Super-Flares Aid Formation of "Solar Systems"

Science.gov (United States)

2005-05-01

form. Specifically, this turbulence can help prevent planets from rapidly migrating towards the young star. "Although these flares may be creating havoc in the disks, they ultimately could do more good than harm," said Feigelson. "These flares may be acting like a planetary protection program." About half of the young suns in Orion show evidence for disks, likely sites for current planet formation, including four lying at the center of proplyds (proto-planetary disks) imaged by Hubble Space Telescope. X-ray flares bombard these planet-forming disks, likely giving them an electric charge. This charge, combined with motion of the disk and the effects of magnetic fields should create turbulence in the disk. handra X-ray Image of Orion Nebula, Full-Field Chandra X-ray Image of Orion Nebula, Full-Field The numerous results from the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project will appear in a dedicated issue of The Astrophysical Journal Supplement in October, 2005. The team contains 37 scientists from institutions across the world including the US, Italy, France, Germany, Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

"Iron-Clad" Evidence For Spinning Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2003-09-01

-energy particles have been detected around both types of black holes. Why do some stellar black holes spin rapidly and others not? One possibility is that differences in spin are imparted at birth when a massive star collapses. Another possibility is that the spin rate depends on how long the black hole has been devouring matter from its companion star, a process that makes the black hole spin faster. Black holes with more rapid spin, XTE J1650-500 and GX 339-4, have low-mass companion stars. These relatively long-lived stars may have been feeding the black hole for longer, allowing it to spin up to faster rates. Cygnus X-1 with its short-lived companion star may not have not time to spin up. Miller is a National Science Foundation Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow. His primary collaborators in this work were Walter Lewin if the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Andrew Fabian of the University of Cambridge, UK, and Chris Reynolds of the University of Maryland, College Park. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

Recent changes in equilibrium line altitudes of glaciers in the Chandra-Bhaga Catchments, the Western Himalaya

Science.gov (United States)

Kumari, R.; Vijay, S.; Banerjee, A.; Singh, G.

2017-12-01

Abstract: Climatic forcing affects a glacier through a change in the corresponding equilibrium line altitude (ELA). Many approximate methods are available in the literature for estimating ELA of glaciers that are in a steady state. Some of the rudimentary methods e.g. Toe-to-Headwall-Ratio method or mid-point elevation methods are based solely on the elevation range of the glacier cover, and ignore the variations in slope, valley width or the mass-balance profile. The mean-elevation method is more accurate in that it takes into account the glacier hypsometry. In this study, we extend this method to estimate the ELA of a glacier that is not in a steady state. We assume a linear mass-balance profile, and utilize geodetic mass balance and hypsometry of the glacier to obtain ELA. This method is generally useful to track, for example, the spatial pattern of recent ELA changes in a given region. We apply the above method to 46 debris-free glaciers in the Chandra-Bhaga catchments, the Western Himalaya, to understand the regional ELA forcing during 2000 to 2012. Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (2000) and TanDEM-X (2012) digital elevation model (DEM) are used to get elevation data. A strong correlation (r2=0.90 and pELAs with the corresponding end-of-summer-snowline-elevation data derived from cloud-free Landsat images validates our method. Our estimate for the recent ELA of Chhota shigri Glacier from the region are consistent with published glaciological ELA values. On a regional scale, the estimated ELAs are negatively correlated (r2= 0.66 and pELA per 10 mm/year reduction in rainfall. We shall also discuss the regional patterns of the changes in transient ELA between 2000 and 2012.

A Chandra Survey of Milky Way Globular Clusters. I. Emissivity and Abundance of Weak X-Ray Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Zhongqun; Li, Zhiyuan; Xu, Xiaojie; Li, Xiangdong

2018-05-01

Based on archival Chandra data, we have carried out an X-ray survey of 69, or nearly half the known population of, Milky Way globular clusters (GCs), focusing on weak X-ray sources, mainly cataclysmic variables (CVs) and coronally active binaries (ABs). Using the cumulative X-ray luminosity per unit stellar mass (i.e., X-ray emissivity) as a proxy of the source abundance, we demonstrate a paucity (lower by 41% ± 27% on average) of weak X-ray sources in most GCs relative to the field, which is represented by the Solar Neighborhood and Local Group dwarf elliptical galaxies. We also revisit the mutual correlations among the cumulative X-ray luminosity (L X), cluster mass (M), and stellar encounter rate (Γ), finding {L}{{X}}\\propto {M}0.74+/- 0.13, {L}{{X}}\\propto {{{Γ }}}0.67+/- 0.07 and {{Γ }}\\propto {M}1.28+/- 0.17. The three quantities can further be expressed as {L}{{X}}\\propto {M}0.64+/- 0.12 {{{Γ }}}0.19+/- 0.07, which indicates that the dynamical formation of CVs and ABs through stellar encounters in GCs is less dominant than previously suggested, and that the primordial formation channel has a substantial contribution. Taking these aspects together, we suggest that a large fraction of primordial, soft binaries have been disrupted in binary–single or binary–binary stellar interactions before they could otherwise evolve into X-ray-emitting close binaries, whereas the same interactions also have led to the formation of new close binaries. No significant correlations between {L}{{X}}/{L}K and cluster properties, including dynamical age, metallicity, and structural parameters, are found.

Hydrostatic Chandra X-ray analysis of SPT-selected galaxy clusters - I. Evolution of profiles and core properties

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, J. S.; Fabian, A. C.; Russell, H. R.; Walker, S. A.

2018-02-01

We analyse Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of a set of galaxy clusters selected by the South Pole Telescope using a new publicly available forward-modelling projection code, MBPROJ2, assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. By fitting a power law plus constant entropy model we find no evidence for a central entropy floor in the lowest entropy systems. A model of the underlying central entropy distribution shows a narrow peak close to zero entropy which accounts for 60 per cent of the systems, and a second broader peak around 130 keV cm2. We look for evolution over the 0.28-1.2 redshift range of the sample in density, pressure, entropy and cooling time at 0.015R500 and at 10 kpc radius. By modelling the evolution of the central quantities with a simple model, we find no evidence for a non-zero slope with redshift. In addition, a non-parametric sliding median shows no significant change. The fraction of cool-core clusters with central cooling times below 2 Gyr is consistent above and below z = 0.6 (˜30-40 per cent). Both by comparing the median thermodynamic profiles, centrally biased towards cool cores, in two redshift bins, and by modelling the evolution of the unbiased average profile as a function of redshift, we find no significant evolution beyond self-similar scaling in any of our examined quantities. Our average modelled radial density, entropy and cooling-time profiles appear as power laws with breaks around 0.2R500. The dispersion in these quantities rises inwards of this radius to around 0.4 dex, although some of this scatter can be fitted by a bimodal model.

77 FR 48170 - Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to Comprehensive Environmental Response...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-13

... Medical Center; Scana Corp.; Southern Union Company; Space Systems/Loral, Inc.; Taylor School District; The M&P Lab, Inc.; The Scripps Research Institute; TRW Automotive US, LLC; Union College; University...

THE COMPLEX CIRCUMNUCLEAR ENVIRONMENT OF THE BROAD-LINE RADIO GALAXY 3C 390.3 REVEALED BY CHANDRA HETG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tombesi, F.; Kallman, T.; Leutenegger, M. A. [X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Reeves, J. N. [Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States); Reynolds, C. S.; Mushotzky, R. F.; Behar, E. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Braito, V. [INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Italy); Cappi, M., E-mail: francesco.tombesi@nasa.gov, E-mail: ftombesi@astro.umd.edu [Department of Physics, Technion 32000, Haifa 32000 (Israel)

2016-10-20

We present the first high spectral resolution X-ray observation of the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 390.3 obtained with the high-energy transmission grating spectrometer on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory . The spectrum shows complex emission and absorption features in both the soft X-rays and Fe K band. We detect emission and absorption lines in the energy range E = 700–1000 eV associated with ionized Fe L transitions (Fe XVII–XX). An emission line at the energy of E ≃ 6.4 keV consistent with the Fe K α is also observed. Our best-fit model requires at least three different components: (i) a hot emission component likely associated with the hot interstellar medium in this elliptical galaxy with temperature kT = 0.5 ± 0.1 keV; (ii) a warm absorber with ionization parameter log ξ = 2.3 ± 0.5 erg s{sup −1} cm, column density log N {sub H} = 20.7 ± 0.1 cm{sup −2}, and outflow velocity v {sub out} < 150 km s{sup −1}; and (iii) a lowly ionized reflection component in the Fe K band likely associated with the optical broad-line region or the outer accretion disk. These evidences suggest the possibility that we are looking directly down the ionization cone of this active galaxy and that the central X-ray source only photoionizes along the unobscured cone. This is overall consistent with the angle-dependent unified picture of active galactic nuclei.

Chandra ACIS-S imaging spectroscopy of anomalously faint X-ray emission from Comet 103P/Hartley 2 during the EPOXI encounter

Science.gov (United States)

Lisse, C. M.; Christian, D. J.; Wolk, S. J.; Dennerl, K.; Bodewits, D.; Combi, M. R.; Lepri, S. T.; Zurbuchen, T. H.; Li, J. Y.; Dello-Russo, N.; Belton, M. J. S.; Knight, M. M.

2013-02-01

We present results from the Chandra X-ray Observatory's characterization of the X-ray emission from Comet 103P/Hartley 2, in support of NASA's Deep Impact Extended close flyby of the comet on 04 November 2010. The comet was observed 4 times for a total on target time of ˜60 ks between the 17th of October and 16th of November 2010, with two of the visits occurring during the EPOXI close approach on 04 November and 05 November 2010. X-ray emission from 103P was qualitatively similar to that observed for collisionally thin Comets 2P/Encke (Lisse, C.M. et al. [2005]. Astrophys. J. 635, 1329-1347) and 9P/Tempel 1 (Lisse, C.M. et al. [2007]. Icarus 190, 391-405). Emission morphology offset sunward but asymmetrical from the nucleus and emission lines produced by charge exchange between highly stripped C, N, and O solar wind minor ions and coma neutral gas species were found. The comet was very under-luminous in the X-ray at all times, representing the 3rd faintest comet ever detected (LX = 1.1 ± 0.3 × 1014 erg s-1). The coma was collisionally thin to the solar wind at all times, allowing solar wind ions to flow into the inner coma and interact with the densest neutral coma gas. Localization of the X-ray emission in the regions of the major rotating gas jets was observed, consistent with the major source of cometary neutral gas species being icy coma dust particles. Variable spectral features due to changing solar wind flux densities and charge states were also seen. Modeling of the Chandra observations from the first three visits using observed gas production rates and ACE solar wind ion fluxes with a charge exchange mechanism for the emission is consistent with the temporal and spectral behavior expected for a slow, hot wind typical of low latitude emission from the solar corona interacting with the comet's neutral coma. The X-ray emission during the 4th visit on 16 November 2010 is similar to the unusual behavior seen for Comet 17P/Holmes in 2007 (Christian, D.J. et

CHANDRA CHARACTERIZATION OF X-RAY EMISSION IN THE YOUNG F-STAR BINARY SYSTEM HD 113766

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisse, C. M.; Christian, D. J.; Wolk, S. J.; Günther, H. M.; Chen, C. H.; Grady, C. A.

2017-01-01

Using Chandra , we have obtained imaging X-ray spectroscopy of the 10–16 Myr old F-star binary HD 113766. We individually resolve the 1.″4 separation binary components for the first time in the X-ray and find a total 0.3–2.0 keV luminosity of 2.2 × 10 29 erg s −1 , consistent with previous RASS estimates. We find emission from the easternmost, infrared-bright, dusty member HD 113766A to be only ∼10% that of the western, infrared-faint member HD 113766B. There is no evidence for a 3rd late-type stellar or substellar member of HD 113766 with L x  > 6 × 10 25 erg s −1 within 2′ of the binary pair. The ratio of the two stars’ X-ray luminosity is consistent with their assignments as F2V and F6V by Pecaut et al. The emission is soft for both stars, kT Apec  = 0.30–0.50 keV, suggesting X-rays produced by stellar rotation and/or convection in young dynamos, but not accretion or outflow shocks, which we rule out. A possible 2.8 ± 0.15 (2 σ ) hr modulation in the HD 113766B X-ray emission is seen, but at very low confidence and of unknown provenance. Stellar wind drag models corresponding to L x  ∼ 2 × 10 29 erg s −1 argue for a 1 mm dust particle lifetime around HD 113766B of only ∼90,0000 years, suggesting that dust around HD 113766B is quickly removed, whereas 1 mm sized dust around HD 113766A can survive for >1.5 × 10 6 years. At 10 28 –10 29 erg s −1 X-ray luminosity, astrobiologically important effects, like dust warming and X-ray photolytic organic synthesis, are likely for any circumstellar material in the HD 113766 systems.

VETA-I x ray test analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Brissenden, R. J. V.; Chartas, G.; Freeman, M. D.; Hughes, J. P.; Kellogg, E. M.; Podgorski, W. A.; Schwartz, D. A.; Zhao, P.

1992-01-01

This interim report presents some definitive results from our analysis of the VETA-I x-ray testing data. It also provides a description of the hardware and software used in the conduct of the VETA-I x-ray test program performed at the MSFC x-ray Calibration Facility (XRCF). These test results also serve to supply data and information to include in the TRW final report required by DPD 692, DR XC04. To provide an authoritative compendium of results, we have taken nine papers as published in the SPIE Symposium, 'Grazing Incidence X-ray/EUV Optics for Astronomy and Projection Lithography' and have reproduced them as the content of this report.

Using the PSCPCSP computer software for optimization of the composition of industrial alloys and development of new high-temperature nickel-base alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Rtishchev, V. V.

1995-11-01

Using computer programs some foreign firms have developed new deformable and castable high-temperature nickel-base alloys such as IN, Rene, Mar-M, Udimet, TRW, TM, TMS, TUT, with equiaxial, columnar, and single-crystal structures for manufacturing functional and nozzle blades and other parts of the hot duct of transport and stationary gas-turbine installations (GTI). Similar investigations have been carried out in Russia. This paper presents examples of the use of the PSCPCSP computer software for a quantitative analysis of structural und phase characteristics and properties of industrial alloys with change (within the grade range) in the concentrations of the alloying elements for optimizing the composition of the alloys and regimes of their heat treatment.

The puzzling detection of x-rays from Pluto by Chandra

Science.gov (United States)

Lisse, C. M.; McNutt, R. L.; Wolk, S. J.; Bagenal, F.; Stern, S. A.; Gladstone, G. R.; Cravens, T. E.; Hill, M. E.; Kollmann, P.; Weaver, H. A.; Strobel, D. F.; Elliott, H. A.; McComas, D. J.; Binzel, R. P.; Snios, B. T.; Bhardwaj, A.; Chutjian, A.; Young, L. A.; Olkin, C. B.; Ennico, K. A.

2017-05-01

Using Chandra ACIS-S, we have obtained low-resolution imaging X-ray spectrophotometry of the Pluto system in support of the New Horizons flyby on 14 July 2015. Observations were obtained in a trial ;seed; campaign conducted in one visit on 24 Feb 2014, and a follow-up campaign conducted soon after the New Horizons flyby that consisted of 3 visits spanning 26 Jul to 03 Aug 2015. In a total of 174 ksec of on-target time, in the 0.31 to 0.60 keV passband, we measured 8 total photons in a co-moving 11 × 11 pixel2 box (the 90% flux aperture determined by observations of fixed background sources in the field) measuring ∼121,000 × 121,000 km2 (or ∼100 × 100 RPluto) at Pluto. No photons were detected from 0.60 to 1.0 keV in this box during the same exposures. Allowing for background, we find a net signal of 6.8 counts and a statistical noise level of 1.2 counts, for a detection of Pluto in this passband at > 99.95% confidence. The Pluto photons do not have the spectral shape of the background, are coincident with a 90% flux aperture co-moving with Pluto, and are not confused with any background source, so we consider them as sourced from the Pluto system. The mean 0.31 - 0.60 keV X-ray power from Pluto is 200 +200/-100 MW, in the middle range of X-ray power levels seen for other known Solar System emission sources: auroral precipitation, solar X-ray scattering, and charge exchange (CXE) between solar wind (SW) ions and atmospheric neutrals. We eliminate auroral effects as a source, as Pluto has no known magnetic field and the New Horizons Alice UV spectrometer detected no airglow from Pluto during the flyby. Nano-scale atmospheric haze particles could lead to enhanced resonant scattering of solar X-rays from Pluto, but the energy signature of the detected photons does not match the solar spectrum and estimates of Pluto's scattered X-ray emission are 2 to 3 orders of magnitude below the 3.9 ± 0.7 × 10-5cps found in our observations. Charge-exchange-driven emission

Clusters, groups, and filaments in the Chandra deep field-south up to redshift 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dehghan, S.; Johnston-Hollitt, M.

2014-01-01

We present a comprehensive structure detection analysis of the 0.3 deg 2 area of the MUSYC-ACES field, which covers the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDFS). Using a density-based clustering algorithm on the MUSYC and ACES photometric and spectroscopic catalogs, we find 62 overdense regions up to redshifts of 1, including clusters, groups, and filaments. We also present the detection of a relatively small void of ∼10 Mpc 2 at z ∼ 0.53. All structures are confirmed using the DBSCAN method, including the detection of nine structures previously reported in the literature. We present a catalog of all structures present, including their central position, mean redshift, velocity dispersions, and classification based on their morphological and spectroscopic distributions. In particular, we find 13 galaxy clusters and 6 large groups/small clusters. Comparison of these massive structures with published XMM-Newton imaging (where available) shows that 80% of these structures are associated with diffuse, soft-band (0.4-1 keV) X-ray emission, including 90% of all objects classified as clusters. The presence of soft-band X-ray emission in these massive structures (M 200 ≥ 4.9 × 10 13 M ☉ ) provides a strong independent confirmation of our methodology and classification scheme. In the closest two clusters identified (z < 0.13) high-quality optical imaging from the Deep2c field of the Garching-Bonn Deep Survey reveals the cD galaxies and demonstrates that they sit at the center of the detected X-ray emission. Nearly 60% of the clusters, groups, and filaments are detected in the known enhanced density regions of the CDFS at z ≅ 0.13, 0.52, 0.68, and 0.73. Additionally, all of the clusters, bar the most distant, are found in these overdense redshift regions. Many of the clusters and groups exhibit signs of ongoing formation seen in their velocity distributions, position within the detected cosmic web, and in one case through the presence of tidally disrupted central galaxies

Clusters, groups, and filaments in the Chandra deep field-south up to redshift 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dehghan, S.; Johnston-Hollitt, M., E-mail: siamak.dehghan@vuw.ac.nz [School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140 (New Zealand)

2014-03-01

We present a comprehensive structure detection analysis of the 0.3 deg{sup 2} area of the MUSYC-ACES field, which covers the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDFS). Using a density-based clustering algorithm on the MUSYC and ACES photometric and spectroscopic catalogs, we find 62 overdense regions up to redshifts of 1, including clusters, groups, and filaments. We also present the detection of a relatively small void of ∼10 Mpc{sup 2} at z ∼ 0.53. All structures are confirmed using the DBSCAN method, including the detection of nine structures previously reported in the literature. We present a catalog of all structures present, including their central position, mean redshift, velocity dispersions, and classification based on their morphological and spectroscopic distributions. In particular, we find 13 galaxy clusters and 6 large groups/small clusters. Comparison of these massive structures with published XMM-Newton imaging (where available) shows that 80% of these structures are associated with diffuse, soft-band (0.4-1 keV) X-ray emission, including 90% of all objects classified as clusters. The presence of soft-band X-ray emission in these massive structures (M {sub 200} ≥ 4.9 × 10{sup 13} M {sub ☉}) provides a strong independent confirmation of our methodology and classification scheme. In the closest two clusters identified (z < 0.13) high-quality optical imaging from the Deep2c field of the Garching-Bonn Deep Survey reveals the cD galaxies and demonstrates that they sit at the center of the detected X-ray emission. Nearly 60% of the clusters, groups, and filaments are detected in the known enhanced density regions of the CDFS at z ≅ 0.13, 0.52, 0.68, and 0.73. Additionally, all of the clusters, bar the most distant, are found in these overdense redshift regions. Many of the clusters and groups exhibit signs of ongoing formation seen in their velocity distributions, position within the detected cosmic web, and in one case through the presence of tidally

Drought-induced weakening of growth-temperature associations in high-elevation Iberian pines

Science.gov (United States)

Diego Galván, J.; Büntgen, Ulf; Ginzler, Christian; Grudd, Håkan; Gutiérrez, Emilia; Labuhn, Inga; Julio Camarero, J.

2015-01-01

The growth/climate relationship of theoretically temperature-controlled high-elevation forests has been demonstrated to weaken over recent decades. This is likely due to new tree growth limiting factors, such as an increasing drought risk for ecosystem functioning and productivity across the Mediterranean Basin. In addition, declining tree growth sensitivity to spring temperature may emerge in response to increasing drought stress. Here, we evaluate these ideas by assessing the growth/climate sensitivity of 1500 tree-ring width (TRW) and 102 maximum density (MXD) measurement series from 711 and 74 Pinus uncinata trees, respectively, sampled at 28 high-elevation forest sites across the Pyrenees and two relict populations of the Iberian System. Different dendroclimatological standardization and split period approaches were used to assess the high- to low-frequency behavior of 20th century tree growth in response to temperature means, precipitation totals and drought indices. Long-term variations in TRW track summer temperatures until about 1970 but diverge afterwards, whereas MXD captures the recent temperature increase in the low-frequency domain fairly well. On the other hand summer drought has increasingly driven TRW along the 20th century. Our results suggest fading temperature sensitivity of Iberian high-elevation P. uncinata forest growth, and reveal the importance of summer drought that is becoming the emergent limiting factor of tree ring width formation in many parts of the Mediterranean Basin.

78 FR 79480 - Notice of Receipt of Complaint; Solicitation of Comments Relating to the Public Interest

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-30

... Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure filed on behalf of Magna Electronics Inc. on December 23, 2013... names as respondent TRW Automotive U.S., LLC of Livonia, Michigan. The complainant requests that the...

Revival of the Magnetar PSR J1622–4950: Observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR

Science.gov (United States)

Camilo, F.; Scholz, P.; Serylak, M.; Buchner, S.; Merryfield, M.; Kaspi, V. M.; Archibald, R. F.; Bailes, M.; Jameson, A.; van Straten, W.; Sarkissian, J.; Reynolds, J. E.; Johnston, S.; Hobbs, G.; Abbott, T. D.; Adam, R. M.; Adams, G. B.; Alberts, T.; Andreas, R.; Asad, K. M. B.; Baker, D. E.; Baloyi, T.; Bauermeister, E. F.; Baxana, T.; Bennett, T. G. H.; Bernardi, G.; Booisen, D.; Booth, R. S.; Botha, D. H.; Boyana, L.; Brederode, L. R. S.; Burger, J. P.; Cheetham, T.; Conradie, J.; Conradie, J. P.; Davidson, D. B.; De Bruin, G.; de Swardt, B.; de Villiers, C.; de Villiers, D. I. L.; de Villiers, M. S.; de Villiers, W.; De Waal, C.; Dikgale, M. A.; du Toit, G.; du Toit, L. J.; Esterhuyse, S. W. P.; Fanaroff, B.; Fataar, S.; Foley, A. R.; Foster, G.; Fourie, D.; Gamatham, R.; Gatsi, T.; Geschke, R.; Goedhart, S.; Grobler, T. L.; Gumede, S. C.; Hlakola, M. J.; Hokwana, A.; Hoorn, D. H.; Horn, D.; Horrell, J.; Hugo, B.; Isaacson, A.; Jacobs, O.; Jansen van Rensburg, J. P.; Jonas, J. L.; Jordaan, B.; Joubert, A.; Joubert, F.; Józsa, G. I. G.; Julie, R.; Julius, C. C.; Kapp, F.; Karastergiou, A.; Karels, F.; Kariseb, M.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kasper, V.; Knox-Davies, E. C.; Koch, D.; Kotzé, P. P. A.; Krebs, A.; Kriek, N.; Kriel, H.; Kusel, T.; Lamoor, S.; Lehmensiek, R.; Liebenberg, D.; Liebenberg, I.; Lord, R. T.; Lunsky, B.; Mabombo, N.; Macdonald, T.; Macfarlane, P.; Madisa, K.; Mafhungo, L.; Magnus, L. G.; Magozore, C.; Mahgoub, O.; Main, J. P. L.; Makhathini, S.; Malan, J. A.; Malgas, P.; Manley, J. R.; Manzini, M.; Marais, L.; Marais, N.; Marais, S. J.; Maree, M.; Martens, A.; Matshawule, S. D.; Matthysen, N.; Mauch, T.; McNally, L. D.; Merry, B.; Millenaar, R. P.; Mjikelo, C.; Mkhabela, N.; Mnyandu, N.; Moeng, I. T.; Mokone, O. J.; Monama, T. E.; Montshiwa, K.; Moss, V.; Mphego, M.; New, W.; Ngcebetsha, B.; Ngoasheng, K.; Niehaus, H.; Ntuli, P.; Nzama, A.; Obies, F.; Obrocka, M.; Ockards, M. T.; Olyn, C.; Oozeer, N.; Otto, A. J.; Padayachee, Y.; Passmoor, S.; Patel, A. A.; Paula, S.; Peens-Hough, A.; Pholoholo, B.; Prozesky, P.; Rakoma, S.; Ramaila, A. J. T.; Rammala, I.; Ramudzuli, Z. R.; Rasivhaga, M.; Ratcliffe, S.; Reader, H. C.; Renil, R.; Richter, L.; Robyntjies, A.; Rosekrans, D.; Rust, A.; Salie, S.; Sambu, N.; Schollar, C. T. G.; Schwardt, L.; Seranyane, S.; Sethosa, G.; Sharpe, C.; Siebrits, R.; Sirothia, S. K.; Slabber, M. J.; Smirnov, O.; Smith, S.; Sofeya, L.; Songqumase, N.; Spann, R.; Stappers, B.; Steyn, D.; Steyn, T. J.; Strong, R.; Struthers, A.; Stuart, C.; Sunnylall, P.; Swart, P. S.; Taljaard, B.; Tasse, C.; Taylor, G.; Theron, I. P.; Thondikulam, V.; Thorat, K.; Tiplady, A.; Toruvanda, O.; van Aardt, J.; van Balla, T.; van den Heever, L.; van der Byl, A.; van der Merwe, C.; van der Merwe, P.; van Niekerk, P. C.; van Rooyen, R.; van Staden, J. P.; van Tonder, V.; van Wyk, R.; Wait, I.; Walker, A. L.; Wallace, B.; Welz, M.; Williams, L. P.; Xaia, B.; Young, N.; Zitha, S.

2018-04-01

New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622–4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19 and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100× larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after reactivation was at least 800× larger than during quiescence, and has been decaying exponentially on a 111 ± 19 day timescale. This high-flux state, together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3–6 keV pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be broadly consistent with that determined 6–8 years earlier. However, rotating vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7 within six months of reactivation.

ON THE X-RAY BALDWIN EFFECT IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI OBSERVED BY THE CHANDRA HIGH-ENERGY GRATING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, X. W.; Wang, J. X.; Jiang, P.; Zhou, Y. Y.; Yaqoob, T.

2012-01-01

Using Chandra high-energy grating (HEG) observations of 32 active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we present a systematic study of the X-ray Baldwin effect (XBE; i.e., the anti-correlation between the narrow Fe Kα line equivalent width (EW) and X-ray continuum luminosity for AGN samples) with the highest spectral resolution currently available. We have previously reported an anti-correlation with EW∝L –0.22 2-10keV in an HEG sample, and the correlation is much weaker after averaging multiple observations of individual AGNs (EW∝L –0.13 2-10keV ). This indicates that rapid variation in the X-ray continuum plays an important role in producing the XBE, and such an effect should also be visible in individual AGNs. In this Letter, by normalizing the line EWs and continuum luminosities to the time-averaged values for each AGN in our sample with multiple HEG observations, we find a strong anti-correlation between EW and L X (EW/(EW)∝(L/(L)) –0.82±0.10 ), consistent with the XBE expected in an individual AGN if the narrow line flux remains constant while the continuum varies. This is first observational evidence that the Fe Kα line flux in a large sample of AGNs lacks a corresponding response to the continuum variation, supporting the fact that the narrow Fe-K line emission originates from a region far from the nucleus. We then performed Monte Carlo simulations to address whether the global XBE can be produced by X-ray continuum variation solely, and found that such an interpretation of the XBE cannot be ruled out statistically. One should thus be very cautious before drawing any scientific conclusion based on an observed XBE.

78 FR 59370 - Notice of Receipt of Complaint: Solicitation of Comments Relating to the Public Interest

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-26

... Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure filed on behalf of TRW Automotive U.S. LLC on September 20, 2013... names as a respondent Magna Electronics, Inc. of East Lansing, Michigan. The complainant requests that...

Deep 20-GHz survey of the Chandra Deep Field South and SDSS Stripe 82: source catalogue and spectral properties

Science.gov (United States)

Franzen, Thomas M. O.; Sadler, Elaine M.; Chhetri, Rajan; Ekers, Ronald D.; Mahony, Elizabeth K.; Murphy, Tara; Norris, Ray P.; Waldram, Elizabeth M.; Whittam, Imogen H.

2014-04-01

We present a source catalogue and first results from a deep, blind radio survey carried out at 20 GHz with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, with follow-up observations at 5.5, 9 and 18 GHz. The Australia Telescope 20 GHz (AT20G) deep pilot survey covers a total area of 5 deg2 in the Chandra Deep Field South and in Stripe 82 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We estimate the survey to be 90 per cent complete above 2.5 mJy. Of the 85 sources detected, 55 per cent have steep spectra (α _{1.4}^{20} law spectra between 1.4 and 18 GHz, while the spectral indices of the flat- or inverted-spectrum sources tend to steepen with frequency. Among the 18 inverted-spectrum (α _{1.4}^{20} ≥ 0.0) sources, 10 have clearly defined peaks in their spectra with α _{1.4}^{5.5} > 0.15 and α 9^{18} Cambridge and Tenth Cambridge surveys: there is a shift towards a steeper-spectrum population when going from ˜1 Jy to ˜5 mJy, which is followed by a shift back towards a flatter-spectrum population below ˜5 mJy. The 5-GHz source-count model by Jackson & Wall, which only includes contributions from FRI and FRII sources, and star-forming galaxies, does not reproduce the observed flattening of the flat-spectrum counts below ˜5 mJy. It is therefore possible that another population of sources is contributing to this effect.

Detection of Hot Halo Gets Theory Out of Hot Water

Science.gov (United States)

2006-02-01

intergalactic gas," said Jesper Rasmussen of the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom and a coauthor of the report. "What we found is in good agreement with computer simulations in which galaxies are built up gradually from the merger of smaller clouds of hot gas and dark matter." The computer simulations were done by Jesper Sommer-Larsen (also a coauthor of the report) and collaborators at the University of Copenhagen. The paper describing these results will be published in the April issue of the journal New Astronomy. Other researchers on this project were Sune Toft, Yale University; Andrew Benson, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; and Richard Bower, University of Durham, United Kingdom. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Bayesian Multiscale Analysis of X-Ray Jet Features in High Redshift Quasars

Science.gov (United States)

McKeough, Kathryn; Siemiginowska, A.; Kashyap, V.; Stein, N.

2014-01-01

X-ray emission of powerful quasar jets may be a result of the inverse Compton (IC) process in which the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) photons gain energy by interactions with the jet’s relativistic electrons. However, there is no definite evidence that IC/CMB process is responsible for the observed X-ray emission of large scale jets. A step toward understanding the X-ray emission process is to study the Radio and X-ray morphologies of the jet. We implement a sophisticated Bayesian image analysis program, Low-count Image Reconstruction and Analysis (LIRA) (Esch et al. 2004; Conners & van Dyk 2007), to analyze jet features in 11 Chandra images of high redshift quasars (z ~ 2 - 4.8). Out of the 36 regions where knots are visible in the radio jets, nine showed detectable X-ray emission. We measured the ratios of the X-ray and radio luminosities of the detected features and found that they are consistent with the CMB radiation relationship. We derived a range of the bulk lorentz factor (Γ) for detected jet features under the CMB jet emission model. There is no discernible trend of Γ with redshift within the sample. The efficiency of the X-ray emission between the detected jet feature and the corresponding quasar also shows no correlation with redshift. This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation REU and the Department of Defense ASSURE programs under NSF Grant no.1262851 and by the Smithsonian Institution, and by NASA Contract NAS8-39073 to the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC). This research has made use of data obtained from the Chandra Data Archive and Chandra Source Catalog, and software provided by the CXC in the application packages CIAO, ChIPS, and Sherpa. We thank Teddy Cheung for providing the VLA radio images. Connors, A., & van Dyk, D. A. 2007, Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy IV, 371, 101 Esch, D. N., Connors, A., Karovska, M., & van Dyk, D. A. 2004, ApJ, 610, 1213

An X-ray Expansion and Proper Motion Study of the Magellanic Cloud Supernova Remnant J0509-6731 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Roper, Quentin; Filipovi, Miroslav; Allen, Glenn E.; Sano, Hidetoshi; Park, Laurence; Pannuti, Thomas G.; Sasaki, Manami; Haberl, Frank; Kavanagh, Patrick J.; Yamane, Yumiko; Yoshiike, Satoshi; Fujii, Kosuke; Fukui, Yasuo; Seitenzahl, Ivo R.

2018-05-01

Using archival Chandra data consisting of a total of 78.46 ksec over two epochs seven years apart, we have measured the expansion of the young (˜400 years old) type Ia Large Magellanic Cloud supernova remnant (SNR) J0509-6731. In addition, we use radial brightness profile matching to detect proper-motion expansion of this SNR, and estimate an speed of 7 500±1 700 km s-1. This is one of the only proper motion studies of extragalactic SNRs expansion that is able to derive an expansion velocity, and one of only two such studies of an extragalactic SNR to yield positive results in the X-rays. We find that this expansion velocity is consistent with an optical expansion study on this object. In addition, we examine the medium into which the SNR is expanding by examining the CO and neutral H I gas using radio data obtained from Mopra, the Australia Telescope Compact Array and Parkes radio telescopes. We also briefly compare this result with a recent radio survey, and find that our results predict a radio spectral index α of -0.67±0.07. This value is consistent with high frequency radio observations of MCSNR J0509-6731.

XMM-Newton and Chandra Observations of the Remarkable Dynamics of the Intracluster Medium and Radio Sources in the Clusters Abell 2061 and 3667

Science.gov (United States)

Sarazin, C.; Hogge, T.; Chatzikos, M.; Wik, D.; Giacintucci, S.; Clarke, T.; Wong, K.; Gitti, M.; Finoguenov, A.

2014-07-01

XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of remarkable dynamic structures in the X-ray gas and connected radio sources in three clusters are presented. Abell 2061 is a highly irregular, merging cluster in the Corona Borealis supercluster. X-ray observations show that there is a plume of very cool gas (˜1 keV) to the NE of the cluster, and a hot (7.6 keV) shock region just NE of the center. There is a very bright radio relic to the far SW of the cluster, and a central radio halo/relic with an extension to the NE. Comparison to SLAM simulations show that this is an offset merger of a ˜5 × 10^{13} M⊙ subcluster with a ˜2.5 × 10^{14} M⊙ cluster seen after first core passage. The plume is the cool-core gas from the subcluster, which has been ``slingshot'' to the NE of the cluster. The plume gas is now falling back into the cluster center, and shocks when it hits the central gas. The model predicts a strong shock to the SW at the location of the bright radio relic, and another shock at the NE radio extension. Time permitting, the observations of Abell 2626 and Abell 3667 will also be presented.

X-Ray Snapshots Capture the First Cries of Baby Stars

Science.gov (United States)

2000-11-01

proves that the X rays come really from the center of the cloud core, from the protostar itself. We therefore discovered X rays even in the Class-0 phase." "Far beyond our imagination, a star immediately after the birth at the center of a cold molecular core at temperatures of only a few tens of Kelvin [-400 degrees Fahrenheit] frequently generates very hot plasma with 10 to 100 million Kelvin," said Katsuji Koyama of Kyoto University, director of these two observations. Koyama said that the violent X-ray flares on protostars may be generated by a coupled action of stellar spin and convection. These become less active as a star condenses to ignite the hydrogen burning and finally settles to a quiet phase like the Sun. In fact, our Sun was born about five billion years ago in a molecular cloud core, which also created the rest of the solar system, including the Earth. The infant Sun may have also been prone to fierce X-ray tantrums. Once the Sun's core was hot and dense enough to initiate hydrogen fusion, after about a few million years, the Sun became a steadier source of energy. This steadiness could have been what allowed life to develop on Earth. The research team for the Orion Molecular Clouds also includes Kenji Hamaguchi at Kyoto University; Ken'ichi Tatematsu and Yutaro Sekimoto at Nobeyama Radio Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; and John Bally and Bo Reipurth at University of Colorado. The Chandra observations were made using the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), conceived and developed for NASA by Penn State and Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the leadership of Penn State Professor Gordon Garmire. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass. Rho Ophiuchi Handout Constellation Ophiuchus Note to media

Fuzzy optimization of primal-dual pair using piecewise linear membership functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pandey D.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Present paper improves the model of Bector and Chandra [Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 125 (2002 317-325] on duality in fuzzy linear programming by using non-linear membership functions. Numerical problem discussed by these authors has also been worked out through our non-linear model to demonstrate improved optimality of the results.

Resonance – Journal of Science Education | News

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A Taste of Functional Programming – I · Madhavan Mukund · More Details Fulltext PDF. pp 49-64 General Article. High Pressure Research on Materials - Experimental Techniques to Study the Behaviour of Materials Under High Pressure · P Ch Sahu N V Chandra Shekar · More Details Fulltext PDF. pp 65-75 General Article.

CHANDRA CHARACTERIZATION OF X-RAY EMISSION IN THE YOUNG F-STAR BINARY SYSTEM HD 113766

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lisse, C. M. [Planetary Exploration Branch, Space Exploration Sector, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 (United States); Christian, D. J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330 (United States); Wolk, S. J. [Chandra X-ray Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Günther, H. M. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, NE83-569, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Chen, C. H. [STScI, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Grady, C. A., E-mail: carey.lisse@jhuapl.edu, E-mail: damian.christian@csun.edu, E-mail: swolk@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: hgunther@mit.edu, E-mail: cchen@stsci.edu, E-mail: carol.a.grady@nasa.gov [Eureka Scientific and Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 667, NASA-GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2017-02-01

Using Chandra , we have obtained imaging X-ray spectroscopy of the 10–16 Myr old F-star binary HD 113766. We individually resolve the 1.″4 separation binary components for the first time in the X-ray and find a total 0.3–2.0 keV luminosity of 2.2 × 10{sup 29} erg s{sup −1}, consistent with previous RASS estimates. We find emission from the easternmost, infrared-bright, dusty member HD 113766A to be only ∼10% that of the western, infrared-faint member HD 113766B. There is no evidence for a 3rd late-type stellar or substellar member of HD 113766 with L {sub x} > 6 × 10{sup 25} erg s{sup −1} within 2′ of the binary pair. The ratio of the two stars’ X-ray luminosity is consistent with their assignments as F2V and F6V by Pecaut et al. The emission is soft for both stars, kT {sub Apec} = 0.30–0.50 keV, suggesting X-rays produced by stellar rotation and/or convection in young dynamos, but not accretion or outflow shocks, which we rule out. A possible 2.8 ± 0.15 (2 σ ) hr modulation in the HD 113766B X-ray emission is seen, but at very low confidence and of unknown provenance. Stellar wind drag models corresponding to L {sub x} ∼ 2 × 10{sup 29} erg s{sup −1} argue for a 1 mm dust particle lifetime around HD 113766B of only ∼90,0000 years, suggesting that dust around HD 113766B is quickly removed, whereas 1 mm sized dust around HD 113766A can survive for >1.5 × 10{sup 6} years. At 10{sup 28}–10{sup 29} erg s{sup −1} X-ray luminosity, astrobiologically important effects, like dust warming and X-ray photolytic organic synthesis, are likely for any circumstellar material in the HD 113766 systems.

THE TAIWAN ECDFS NEAR-INFRARED SURVEY: ULTRA-DEEP J AND K{sub S} IMAGING IN THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD-SOUTH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsieh, Bau-Ching; Wang, Wei-Hao; Hsieh, Chih-Chiang; Lin, Lihwai; Lim, Jeremy; Ho, Paul T. P. [Institute of Astrophysics and Astronomy, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China); Yan Haojing [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 (United States)

2012-12-15

We present ultra-deep J and K{sub S} imaging observations covering a 30' Multiplication-Sign 30' area of the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (ECDFS) carried out by our Taiwan ECDFS Near-Infrared Survey (TENIS). The median 5{sigma} limiting magnitudes for all detected objects in the ECDFS reach 24.5 and 23.9 mag (AB) for J and K{sub S} , respectively. In the inner 400 arcmin{sup 2} region where the sensitivity is more uniform, objects as faint as 25.6 and 25.0 mag are detected at 5{sigma}. Thus, this is by far the deepest J and K{sub S} data sets available for the ECDFS. To combine TENIS with the Spitzer IRAC data for obtaining better spectral energy distributions of high-redshift objects, we developed a novel deconvolution technique (IRACLEAN) to accurately estimate the IRAC fluxes. IRACLEAN can minimize the effect of blending in the IRAC images caused by the large point-spread functions and reduce the confusion noise. We applied IRACLEAN to the images from the Spitzer IRAC/MUSYC Public Legacy in the ECDFS survey (SIMPLE) and generated a J+K{sub S} -selected multi-wavelength catalog including the photometry of both the TENIS near-infrared and the SIMPLE IRAC data. We publicly release the data products derived from this work, including the J and K{sub S} images and the J+K{sub S} -selected multi-wavelength catalog.

Simultaneous Chandra and VLA Observations of the Transitional Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1023+0038: Anti-correlated X-Ray and Radio Variability

Science.gov (United States)

Bogdanov, Slavko; Deller, Adam T.; Miller-Jones, James C. A.; Archibald, Anne M.; Hessels, Jason W. T.; Jaodand, Amruta; Patruno, Alessandro; Bassa, Cees; D’Angelo, Caroline

2018-03-01

We present coordinated Chandra X-ray Observatory and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array observations of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 in its low-luminosity accreting state. The unprecedented five hours of strictly simultaneous X-ray and radio continuum coverage for the first time unambiguously show a highly reproducible, anti-correlated variability pattern. The characteristic switches from the X-ray high mode into a low mode are always accompanied by a radio brightening with a duration that closely matches the X-ray low mode interval. This behavior cannot be explained by a canonical inflow/outflow accretion model where the radiated emission and the jet luminosity are powered by, and positively correlated with, the available accretion energy. We interpret this phenomenology as alternating episodes of low-level accretion onto the neutron star during the X-ray high mode that are interrupted by rapid ejections of plasma by the active rotation-powered pulsar, possibly initiated by a reconfiguration of the pulsar magnetosphere, that cause a transition to a less X-ray luminous mode. The observed anti-correlation between radio and X-ray luminosity has an additional consequence: transitional MSPs can make excursions into a region of the radio/X-ray luminosity plane previously thought to be occupied solely by black hole X-ray binary sources. This complicates the use of this luminosity relation for identifying candidate black holes, suggesting the need for additional discriminants when attempting to establish the true nature of the accretor.

Open string topological amplitudes and gaugino masses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antoniadis, I.; Narain, K.S.; Taylor, T.R.

2005-09-01

We discuss the moduli-dependent couplings of the higher derivative F-terms (TrW 2 ) h-1 , where W is the gauge N =1 chiral superfield. They are determined by the genus zero topological partition function F (0,h) , on a world-sheet with h boundaries. By string duality, these terms are also related to heterotic topological amplitudes studied in the past, with the topological twist applied only in the left-moving supersymmetric sector of the internal N =(2,0) superconformal field theory. The holomorphic anomaly of these couplings relates them to terms of the form Π n (TrW 2 ) h-2 , where Π's represent chiral projections of non-holomorphic functions of chiral superfields. An important property of these couplings is that they violate R-symmetry for h ≥ 3. As a result, once supersymmetry is broken by D-term expectation values, (TrW 2 ) 2 generates gaugino masses that can be hierarchically smaller than the scalar masses, behaving as m 1/2 ∼ m 0 4 in string units. Similarly, ΠTrW 2 generates Dirac masses for non-chiral brane fermions, of the same order of magnitude. This mechanism can be used for instance to obtain fermion masses at the TeV scale for scalar masses as high as m 0 ∼ O (10 13 ) GeV. We present explicit examples in toroidal string compactifications with intersecting D-branes. (author)

The Highest Resolution Chandra View of Photoionization and Jet-Cloud Interaction in the Nuclear Region of NGC 4151

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junfeng; Fabbiano, G.; Karovska, M.; Elvis, M.; Risaliti, G.; Zezas, A.; Mundell, C. G.

2009-10-01

We report high resolution imaging of the nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 obtained with a 50 ks Chandra High Resolution Camera (HRC) observation. The HRC image resolves the emission on spatial scales of 0farcs5, ~30 pc, showing an extended X-ray morphology overall consistent with the narrow-line region (NLR) seen in optical line emission. Removal of the bright point-like nuclear source and image deconvolution techniques both reveal X-ray enhancements that closely match the substructures seen in the Hubble Space Telescope [O III] image and prominent knots in the radio jet. We find that most of the NLR clouds in NGC 4151 have [O III]/soft X-ray ratio ~10, despite the distance of the clouds from the nucleus. This ratio is consistent with the values observed in NLRs of some Seyfert 2 galaxies, which indicates a uniform ionization parameter even at large radii and a density decreasing as r -2 as expected for a nuclear wind scenario. The [O III]/X-ray ratios at the location of radio knots show an excess of X-ray emission, suggesting shock heating in addition to photoionization. We examine various mechanisms for the X-ray emission and find that, in contrast to jet-related X-ray emission in more powerful active galactic nucleus, the observed jet parameters in NGC 4151 are inconsistent with synchrotron emission, synchrotron self-Compton, inverse Compton of cosmic microwave background photons or galaxy optical light. Instead, our results favor thermal emission from the interaction between radio outflow and NLR gas clouds as the origin for the X-ray emission associated with the jet. This supports previous claims that frequent jet-interstellar medium interaction may explain why jets in Seyfert galaxies appear small, slow, and thermally dominated, distinct from those kpc-scale jets in the radio galaxies.

THE HIGHEST RESOLUTION CHANDRA VIEW OF PHOTOIONIZATION AND JET-CLOUD INTERACTION IN THE NUCLEAR REGION OF NGC 4151

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junfeng; Fabbiano, G.; Karovska, M.; Elvis, M.; Risaliti, G.; Zezas, A.; Mundell, C. G.

2009-01-01

We report high resolution imaging of the nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 obtained with a 50 ks Chandra High Resolution Camera (HRC) observation. The HRC image resolves the emission on spatial scales of 0.''5, ∼30 pc, showing an extended X-ray morphology overall consistent with the narrow-line region (NLR) seen in optical line emission. Removal of the bright point-like nuclear source and image deconvolution techniques both reveal X-ray enhancements that closely match the substructures seen in the Hubble Space Telescope [O III] image and prominent knots in the radio jet. We find that most of the NLR clouds in NGC 4151 have [O III]/soft X-ray ratio ∼10, despite the distance of the clouds from the nucleus. This ratio is consistent with the values observed in NLRs of some Seyfert 2 galaxies, which indicates a uniform ionization parameter even at large radii and a density decreasing as r -2 as expected for a nuclear wind scenario. The [O III]/X-ray ratios at the location of radio knots show an excess of X-ray emission, suggesting shock heating in addition to photoionization. We examine various mechanisms for the X-ray emission and find that, in contrast to jet-related X-ray emission in more powerful active galactic nucleus, the observed jet parameters in NGC 4151 are inconsistent with synchrotron emission, synchrotron self-Compton, inverse Compton of cosmic microwave background photons or galaxy optical light. Instead, our results favor thermal emission from the interaction between radio outflow and NLR gas clouds as the origin for the X-ray emission associated with the jet. This supports previous claims that frequent jet-interstellar medium interaction may explain why jets in Seyfert galaxies appear small, slow, and thermally dominated, distinct from those kpc-scale jets in the radio galaxies.

Spectral and Temporal Properties of the Ultra-Luminous X-Ray Pulsar in M82 from 15 Years of Chandra Observations and Analysis of the Pulsed Emission Using NuSTAR

Science.gov (United States)

Brightman, Murray; Harrison, Fiona; Walton, Dominic J.; Fuerst, Felis; Zezas, Andreas; Bachetti, Matteo; Grefenstette, Brian; Ptak, Andrew; Tendulkar, Shriharsh; Yukita, Mihoko

2016-01-01

The recent discovery by Bachetti et al. of a pulsar in M82 that can reach luminosities of up to 10(exp 40) erg s(exp -1), a factor of approximately 100 times the Eddington luminosity for a 1.4 solar mass compact object, poses a challenge for accretion physics. In order to better understand the nature of this source and its duty cycle, and in light of several physical models that have been subsequently published, we conduct a spectral and temporal analysis of the 0.58 keV X-ray emission from this source from 15 years of Chandra observations. We analyze 19 ACIS observations where the point-spread function (PSF) of the pulsar is not contaminated by nearby sources. We fit the Chandra spectra of the pulsar with a power-law model and a disk blackbody model, subjected to interstellar absorption in M82. We carefully assess for the effect of pile-up in our observations, where four observations have a pile-up fraction of 10, which we account for during spectral modeling with a convolution model. When fitted with a power-law model, the average photon index when the source is at high luminosity (LX greater than 10(exp 39) erg s(exp -1) is equal to gamma 1.33 +/-.0.15. For the disk blackbody model, the average temperature is T(sub in) 3.24 +/- 0.65 keV, the spectral shape being consistent with other luminous X-ray pulsars. We also investigated the inclusion of a soft excess component and spectral break, finding that the spectra are also consistent with these features common to luminous X-ray pulsars. In addition, we present spectral analysis from NuSTAR over the 3-50 keV range where we have isolated the pulsed component. We find that the pulsed emission in this band is best fit by a power-law with a high-energy cutoff, where gamma is equal to 0.6 +/- 0.3 and E(sub C) is equal to 14(exp +5) (sub -3)) keV. While the pulsar has previously been identified as a transient, we find from our longer-baseline study that it has been remarkably active over the 15-year period, where for 9

Tracing the accretion history of supermassive black holes through X-ray variability: results from the ChandraDeep Field-South

Science.gov (United States)

Paolillo, M.; Papadakis, I.; Brandt, W. N.; Luo, B.; Xue, Y. Q.; Tozzi, P.; Shemmer, O.; Allevato, V.; Bauer, F. E.; Comastri, A.; Gilli, R.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Liu, T.; Vignali, C.; Vito, F.; Yang, G.; Wang, J. X.; Zheng, X. C.

2017-11-01

We study the X-ray variability properties of distant active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the ChandraDeep Field-South region over 17 yr, up to z ˜ 4, and compare them with those predicted by models based on local samples. We use the results of Monte Carlo simulations to account for the biases introduced by the discontinuous sampling and the low-count regime. We confirm that variability is a ubiquitous property of AGNs, with no clear dependence on the density of the environment. The variability properties of high-z AGNs, over different temporal time-scales, are most consistent with a power spectral density (PSD) described by a broken (or bending) power law, similar to nearby AGNs. We confirm the presence of an anticorrelation between luminosity and variability, resulting from the dependence of variability on black hole (BH) mass and accretion rate. We explore different models, finding that our acceptable solutions predict that BH mass influences the value of the PSD break frequency, while the Eddington ratio λEdd affects the PSD break frequency and, possibly, the PSD amplitude as well. We derive the evolution of the average λEdd as a function of redshift, finding results in agreement with measurements based on different estimators. The large statistical uncertainties make our results consistent with a constant Eddington ratio, although one of our models suggest a possible increase of λEdd with lookback time up to z ˜ 2-3. We conclude that variability is a viable mean to trace the accretion history of supermassive BHs, whose usefulness will increase with future, wide-field/large effective area X-ray missions.

Erratum: "Photoionization Modeling of Oxygen K Absorption in the Interstellar Medium, the Chandra Grating Spectra of XTE J1817-330" (2013, Apj, 768, 60)

Science.gov (United States)

Gatuzz, E.; Garcia, J.; Mendoza, C.; Kallman, Timothy R.; Witthoeft, Michael C.; Lohfink, A.; Bautista, M. A.; Palmeri, P.; Quinet, P.

2013-01-01

In the published version of this paper, there are some minor inaccuracies in the absorption-line wavelengths listed in Table 4 as a result of a faulty reduction procedure of the Obs6615 spectrum. The shifts have been detected in a comparison with the wavelengths listed for this spectrum in the Chandra Transmission Grating Catalog and Archive (TGCat8). They are due to incorrect centroid positions of the zero-order image in both reductions as determined by the tgdetect utility which, when disentangled, yield the improved line positions of the amended Table 4 given below. It must also be pointed out that other quantitative findings of the original paper: 1. Table 5, p. 9: the column density (NH), ionization parameter, oxygen abundance of the warmabs model and the normalization and photon index of the power-law model; 2. Table 6, p. 9: the hydrogen column density of the warmabs fit; 3. Table 7, p. 9: the present oxygen equivalent widths of XTE J1817-330; and 4. Table 8, p. 10: the present oxygen column densities of XTE J1817-330 derived from both the curve of growth and warmabs model fit have been revised in the new light and are, within the estimated uncertainty ranges, in good accord with the new rendering.

THE PLERIONIC SUPERNOVA REMNANT G21.5-0.9 POWERED BY PSR J1833-1034: NEW SPECTROSCOPIC AND IMAGING RESULTS REVEALED WITH THE CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matheson, Heather; Safi-Harb, Samar

2010-01-01

In 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory revealed a 150'' radius halo surrounding the 40'' radius pulsar wind nebula (PWN) G21.5-0.9. A 2005 imaging study of G21.5-0.9 showed that the halo is limb-brightened and suggested that this feature is a candidate for the long-sought supernova remnant (SNR) shell. We present a spectral analysis of SNR G21.5-0.9, using the longest effective observation to date (578.6 ks with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) and 278.4 ks with the High-Resolution Camera (HRC)) to study unresolved questions about the spectral nature of remnant features, such as the limb brightening of the X-ray halo and the bright knot in the northern part of the halo. The Chandra analysis favors the non-thermal interpretation of the limb. Its spectrum is fit well with a power-law model with a photon index Γ = 2.13 (1.94-2.33) and a luminosity of L x (0.5-8 keV) = (2.3 ± 0.6) x 10 33 erg s -1 (at an assumed distance of 5.0 kpc). An srcut model was also used to fit the spectrum between the radio and X-ray energies. While the absence of a shell in the radio still prohibits constraining the spectrum at radio wavelengths, we assume a range of spectral indices to infer the 1 GHz flux density and the rolloff frequency of the synchrotron spectrum in X-rays and find that the maximum energy to which electrons are accelerated at the shock ranges from ∼60 to 130 TeV (B/10 μG) -1/2 , where B is the magnetic field in units of μG. For the northern knot, we constrain previous models and find that a two-component power-law (or srcut) + pshock model provides an adequate fit, with the pshock model requiring a very low ionization timescale and solar abundances for Mg and Si. Our spectroscopic study of PSR J1833-1034, the highly energetic pulsar powering G21.5-0.9, shows that its spectrum is dominated by hard non-thermal X-ray emission with some evidence of a thermal component that represents ∼9% of the observed non-thermal emission and that suggests non

Intermediate-mass black holes in dwarf galaxies out to redshift ˜ 2.4 in the Chandra COSMOS Legacy Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Mezcua, M.; Civano, F.; Marchesi, S.; Suh, H.; Fabbiano, G.; Volonteri, M.

2018-05-01

We present a sample of 40 AGN in dwarf galaxies at redshifts z ≲ 2.4. The galaxies are drawn from the Chandra COSMOS-Legacy survey as having stellar masses 107 ≤ M* ≤ 3 × 109 M⊙. Most of the dwarf galaxies are star-forming. After removing the contribution from star formation to the X-ray emission, the AGN luminosities of the 40 dwarf galaxies are in the range L0.5-10keV ˜ 1039 - 1044 erg s-1. With 12 sources at z > 0.5, our sample constitutes the highest-redshift discovery of AGN in dwarf galaxies. The record-holder is cid_1192, at z = 2.39 and with L0.5-10keV ˜ 1044 erg s-1. One of the dwarf galaxies has M* = 6.6 × 107 M⊙ and is the least massive galaxy found so far to host an AGN. All the AGN are of type 2 and consistent with hosting intermediate-mass black holes (BHs) with masses ˜104 - 105 M⊙ and typical Eddington ratios >1%. We also study the evolution, corrected for completeness, of AGN fraction with stellar mass, X-ray luminosity, and redshift in dwarf galaxies out to z = 0.7. We find that the AGN fraction for 109 < M* ≤ 3 × 109 M⊙ and LX ˜ 1041 - 1042 erg s-1 is ˜0.4% for z ≤ 0.3 and that it decreases with X-ray luminosity and decreasing stellar mass. Unlike massive galaxies, the AGN fraction seems to decrease with redshift, suggesting that AGN in dwarf galaxies evolve differently than those in high-mass galaxies. Mindful of potential caveats, the results seem to favor a direct collapse formation mechanism for the seed BHs in the early Universe.

PHOTOIONIZATION MODELING OF OXYGEN K ABSORPTION IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: THE CHANDRA GRATING SPECTRA OF XTE J1817-330

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gatuzz, E.; Mendoza, C.; García, J.; Lohfink, A.; Kallman, T. R.; Witthoeft, M.; Bautista, M. A.; Palmeri, P.; Quinet, P.

2013-01-01

We present detailed analyses of oxygen K absorption in the interstellar medium (ISM) using four high-resolution Chandra spectra toward the X-ray low-mass binary XTE J1817-330. The 11-25 Å broadband is described with a simple absorption model that takes into account the pile-up effect and results in an estimate of the hydrogen column density. The oxygen K-edge region (21-25 Å) is fitted with the physical warmabs model, which is based on a photoionization model grid generated with the XSTAR code with the most up-to-date atomic database. This approach allows a benchmark of the atomic data which involves wavelength shifts of both the K lines and photoionization cross sections in order to fit the observed spectra accurately. As a result we obtain a column density of N H = 1.38 ± 0.01 × 10 21 cm –2 ; an ionization parameter of log ξ = –2.70 ± 0.023; an oxygen abundance of A O = 0.689 +0.015 -0.010 ; and ionization fractions of O I/O = 0.911, O II/O = 0.077, and O III/O = 0.012 that are in good agreement with results from previous studies. Since the oxygen abundance in warmabs is given relative to the solar standard of Grevesse and Sauval, a rescaling with the revision by Asplund et al. yields A O =0.952 +0.020 -0.013 , a value close to solar that reinforces the new standard. We identify several atomic absorption lines—Kα, Kβ, and Kγ in O I and O II and Kα in O III, O VI, and O VII—the last two probably residing in the neighborhood of the source rather than in the ISM. This is the first firm detection of oxygen K resonances with principal quantum numbers n > 2 associated with ISM cold absorption.

New Panorama Reveals More Than a Thousand Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

2007-03-01

. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

DNA Delivery and Genomic Integration into Mammalian Target Cells through Type IV A and B Secretion Systems of Human Pathogens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dolores L. Guzmán-Herrador

2017-08-01

Full Text Available We explore the potential of bacterial secretion systems as tools for genomic modification of human cells. We previously showed that foreign DNA can be introduced into human cells through the Type IV A secretion system of the human pathogen Bartonella henselae. Moreover, the DNA is delivered covalently attached to the conjugative relaxase TrwC, which promotes its integration into the recipient genome. In this work, we report that this tool can be adapted to other target cells by using different relaxases and secretion systems. The promiscuous relaxase MobA from plasmid RSF1010 can be used to deliver DNA into human cells with higher efficiency than TrwC. MobA also promotes DNA integration, albeit at lower rates than TrwC. Notably, we report that DNA transfer to human cells can also take place through the Type IV secretion system of two intracellular human pathogens, Legionella pneumophila and Coxiella burnetii, which code for a distantly related Dot/Icm Type IV B secretion system. This suggests that DNA transfer could be an intrinsic ability of this family of secretion systems, expanding the range of target human cells. Further analysis of the DNA transfer process showed that recruitment of MobA by Dot/Icm was dependent on the IcmSW chaperone, which may explain the higher DNA transfer rates obtained. Finally, we observed that the presence of MobA negatively affected the intracellular replication of C. burnetii, suggesting an interference with Dot/Icm translocation of virulence factors.

The SLANG/CIAO Synergy: Using S-Lang within CIAO

Science.gov (United States)

Germain, G.; Milaszewski, R.; McLaughlin, W.; Miller, J.

2004-07-01

The integration of S-Lang into the Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations (CIAO) infrastructure has transformed the capabilities of CIAO. There are several ways to use S-Lang. One is to write a S-Lang function which can be called from C/C++, CIAO applications, or any S-Lang prompt. Another is to write a C/C++ program which is made into a S-Lang intrinsic, allowing it to be called from any S-Lang script. The key element is that a C/C++ or CIAO application can call a S-Lang function/intrinsic, and that a S-Lang function/intrinsic can call a C/C++ or CIAO application. To use this capability, data must be exchanged between the C/C++ space and S-Lang space. This paper describes some of the mechanisms available for that data exchange. These mechanisms are illustrated through simple C/C++ and S-Lang program pairs, the S-Lang intrinsic methodology used by the CIAO S-Lang function ``univar'', and the use of the VARMM library by CIAO functions: Chandra Imaging and Plotting Software (ChIPS) UNIVAR, and the Graphical File Browser (PRISM) ``histogram''.

K Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Ceramic coated Y1 magnesium alloy surfaces by microarc oxidation process for ... in which ceramic coating is directly formed on the surface of magnesium alloy, ... Effect of carbon on corrosion resistance of powder-processed Fe–0.35%P alloys ... strength of CNT and carbon fibre reinforced, epoxy-matrix hybrid composite.

Paleo Data Assimilation of Pseudo-Tree-Ring-Width Chronologies in a Climate Model

Science.gov (United States)

Fallah Hassanabadi, B.; Acevedo, W.; Reich, S.; Cubasch, U.

2016-12-01

Using the Time-Averaged Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) and a forward model, we assimilate the pseudo Tree-Ring-Width (TRW) chronologies into an Atmospheric Global Circulation model. This study investigates several aspects of Paleo-Data Assimilation (PDA) within a perfect-model set-up: (i) we test the performance of several forward operators in the framework of a PDA-based climate reconstruction, (ii) compare the PDA-based simulations' skill against the free ensemble runs and (iii) inverstigate the skill of the "online" (with cycling) DA and the "off-line" (no-cycling) DA. In our experiments, the "online" (with cycling) PDA approach did not outperform the "off-line" (no-cycling) one, despite its considerable additional implementation complexity. On the other hand, it was observed that the error reduction achieved by assimilating a particular pseudo-TRW chronology is modulated by the strength of the yearly internal variability of the model at the chronology site. This result might help the dendrochronology community to optimize their sampling efforts.

Deep Chandra Observations of ESO 428-G014. II. Spectral Properties and Morphology of the Large-scale Extended X-Ray Emission

Science.gov (United States)

Fabbiano, G.; Paggi, A.; Karovska, M.; Elvis, M.; Maksym, W. P.; Risaliti, G.; Wang, Junfeng

2018-03-01

We present a deep Chandra spectral and spatial study of the kpc-scale diffuse X-ray emission of the Compton-thick (CT) active galactic nucleus (AGN) ESO 428-G014. The entire spectrum is best fit with composite photoionization + thermal models. The diffuse emission is more extended at lower energies (<3 keV). The smaller extent of the hard continuum and Fe Kα profiles implies that the optically thicker clouds responsible for this scattering may be relatively more prevalent closer to the nucleus. These clouds must not prevent soft ionizing X-rays from the AGN escaping to larger radii, in order to have photoionized ISM at larger radii. This suggests that at smaller radii, there may be a larger population of molecular clouds to scatter the hard X-rays, as in the Milky Way. The diffuse emission is also significantly extended in the cross-cone direction, where the AGN emission would be mostly obscured by the torus in the standard AGN model. Our results suggest that the transmission of the obscuring region in the cross-cone direction is ∼10% of that in the cone direction. In the 0.3–1.5 keV band, the ratio of cross-cone to cone photons increases to ∼84%, suggesting an additional soft diffuse emission component disjoint from the AGN. This could be due to hot ISM trapped in the potential of the galaxy. The luminosity of this component, ∼5 × 1038 erg s‑1, is roughly consistent with the thermal component suggested by the spectral fits in the 170–900 pc annulus.

12 YEARS OF X-RAY VARIABILITY IN M31 GLOBULAR CLUSTERS, INCLUDING 8 BLACK HOLE CANDIDATES, AS SEEN BY CHANDRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnard, R.; Garcia, M.; Murray, S. S.

2012-01-01

We examined 134 Chandra observations of the population of X-ray sources associated with globular clusters (GCs) in the central region of M31. These are expected to be X-ray binary systems (XBs), consisting of a neutron star or black hole accreting material from a close companion. We created long-term light curves for these sources, correcting for background, interstellar absorption, and instrumental effects. We tested for variability by examining the goodness of fit for the best-fit constant intensity. We also created structure functions (SFs) for every object in our sample, the first time this technique has been applied to XBs. We found significant variability in 28 out of 34 GCs and GC candidates; the other 6 sources had 0.3-10 keV luminosities fainter than ∼2 × 10 36 erg s –1 , limiting our ability to detect similar variability. The SFs of XBs with 0.3-10 keV luminosities ∼2-50 × 10 36 erg s –1 generally showed considerably more variability than the published ensemble SF of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Our brightest XBs were mostly consistent with the AGN SF; however, their 2-10 keV fluxes could be matched by <1 AGN per square degree. These encouraging results suggest that examining the long-term light curves of other X-ray sources in the field may provide an important distinction between X-ray binaries and background galaxies, as the X-ray emission spectra from these two classes of X-ray sources are similar. Additionally, we identify 3 new black hole candidates (BHCs) using additional XMM-Newton data, bringing the total number of M31 GC BHCs to 9, with 8 covered in this survey.

The Evolution of Normal Galaxy X-Ray Emission Through Cosmic History: Constraints from the 6 MS Chandra Deep Field-South

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmer, B. D.; Basu-Zych, A. R.; Mineo, S.; Brandt, W. N.; Eurfrasio, R. T.; Fragos, T.; Hornschemeier, A. E.; Lou, B.; Xue, Y. Q.; Bauer, F. E.;

Remembering the Giants: Apollo Rocket Propulsion Development

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Steven C. (Editor); Rahman, Shamim A. (Editor)

2009-01-01

Topics discussed include: Rocketdyne - F-1 Saturn V First Stage Engine; Rocketdyne - J-2 Saturn V 2nd & 3rd Stage Engine; Rocketdyne - SE-7 & SE-8 Engines; Aerojet - AJ10-137 Apollo Service Module Engine; Aerojet - Attitude Control Engines; TRW - Lunar Descent Engine; and Rocketdyne - Lunar Ascent Engine.

Era of Galaxy and Black Hole Growth Spurt Discovered

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

Universe that they can be detected at all. "The deeper we look into the Universe with Chandra, the more fascinating things we find" says Niel Brandt of Penn State University in University Park. "Who knows what nature has in store for us as we push the boundaries yet further." The X-ray observations also showed that the black holes are surrounded by a dense shroud of gas and dust. This is probably the material that will be consumed by the growing black holes. Hubble Space Telescope observations indicate that most of the submillimeter galaxies are actually two galaxies that are colliding and merging. Recent sophisticated computer simulations performed by Tiziana Di Matteo of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., and her collaborators have shown that such mergers drive gas toward the central regions of galaxies, triggering a burst of star formation and providing fuel for the growth of a central black hole. Chandra's X-ray Image of Black Holes in the Early Universe Chandra's X-ray Image of Black Holes in the Early Universe "It is exciting that these recent observations are in good agreement with our simulation," says Di Matteo, "We seem to be converging on a consistent picture of galaxy formation with both observations and theory." In particular, this work will help scientists to understand the observed link in the present epoch between the total mass of stars in the central bulges of large galaxies and the size of their central, supermassive black holes. The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) is operated on behalf of the United Kingdom, Canada & Netherlands by the Joint Astronomy Centre. With its 15-meter (50-foot) diameter dish the JCMT detects light with "submillimeter" wavelengths, between infrared light and radio waves on the wavelength scale. The W. M. Keck Observatory is operated by the California Association for Research in Astronomy. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate

A 323-year long reconstruction of drought for SW Romania based on black pine (Pinus Nigra) tree-ring widths.

Science.gov (United States)

Levanič, Tom; Popa, Ionel; Poljanšek, Simon; Nechita, Constantin

2013-09-01

Increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation pose a major future challenge for sustainable ecosystem management in Romania. To understand ecosystem response and the wider social consequences of environmental change, we constructed a 396-year long (1615-2010) drought sensitive tree-ring width chronology (TRW) of Pinus nigra var. banatica (Georg. et Ion.) growing on steep slopes and shallow organic soil. We established a statistical relationship between TRW and two meteorological parameters-monthly sum of precipitation (PP) and standardised precipitation index (SPI). PP and SPI correlate significantly with TRW (r = 0.54 and 0.58) and are stable in time. Rigorous statistical tests, which measure the accuracy and prediction ability of the model, were all significant. SPI was eventually reconstructed back to 1688, with extreme dry and wet years identified using the percentile method. By means of reconstruction, we identified two so far unknown extremely dry years in Romania--1725 and 1782. Those 2 years are almost as dry as 1946, which was known as the "year of great famine." Since no historical documents for these 2 years were available in local archives, we compared the results with those from neighbouring countries and discovered that both years were extremely dry in the wider region (Slovakia, Hungary, Anatolia, Syria, and Turkey). While the 1800-1900 period was relatively mild, with only two moderately extreme years as far as weather is concerned, the 1900-2009 period was highly salient owing to the very high number of wet and dry extremes--five extremely wet and three extremely dry events (one of them in 1946) were identified.

Admissible invariant distributions on reductive

CERN Document Server

Harish-Chandra; Paul J Sally, Jr

1999-01-01

Harish-Chandra presented these lectures on admissible invariant distributions for p-adic groups at the Institute for Advanced Study in the early 1970s. He published a short sketch of this material as his famous "Queen's Notes". This book, which was prepared and edited by DeBacker and Sally, presents a faithful rendering of Harish-Chandra's original lecture notes. The main purpose of Harish-Chandra's lectures was to show that the character of an irreducible admissible representation of a connected reductive p-adic group G is represented by a locally summable function on G. A key ingredient in this proof is the study of the Fourier transforms of distributions on \\mathfrak g, the Lie algebra of G. In particular, Harish-Chandra shows that if the support of a G-invariant distribution on \\mathfrak g is compactly generated, then its Fourier transform has an asymptotic expansion about any semisimple point of \\mathfrak g. Harish-Chandra's remarkable theorem on the local summability of characters for p-adic groups was ...

Photoionization Modeling of Oxygen K Absorption in the Interstellar Medium: The Chandra Grating Spectra of XTE J1817-330

Science.gov (United States)

Gatuzz, E.; Garcia, J.; Menodza, C.; Kallman, T. R.; Witthoeft, M.; Lohfink, A.; Bautista, M. A.; Palmeri, P.; Quinet, P.

2013-01-01

We present detailed analyses of oxygen K absorption in the interstellar medium (ISM) using four high-resolution Chandra spectra towards the X-ray low-mass binary XTE J1817-330. The 11-25 A broadband is described with a simple absorption model that takes into account the pileup effect and results in an estimate of the hydrogen column density. The oxygen K-edge region (21-25 A) is fitted with the physical warmabs model, which is based on a photoionization model grid generated with the XSTAR code with the most up-to-date atomic database. This approach allows a benchmark of the atomic data which involves wavelength shifts of both the K lines and photoionization cross sections in order to fit the observed spectra accurately. As a result we obtain: a column density of N(sub H) = 1.38 +/- 0.01 x 10(exp 21) cm(exp -2); ionization parameter of log xi = .2.70 +/- 0.023; oxygen abundance of A(sub O) = 0.689(exp +0.015./-0.010); and ionization fractions of O I/O = 0.911, O II/O = 0.077, and O III/O = 0.012 that are in good agreement with previous studies. Since the oxygen abundance in warmabs is given relative to the solar standard of Grevesse and Sauval (1998), a rescaling with the revision by Asplund et al. (2009) yields A(sub O) = 0.952(exp +0.020/-0.013, a value close to solar that reinforces the new standard. We identify several atomic absorption lines.K-alpha , K-beta, and K-gamma in O I and O II; and K-alpha in O III, O VI, and O VII--last two probably residing in the neighborhood of the source rather than in the ISM. This is the first firm detection of oxygen K resonances with principal quantum numbers n greater than 2 associated to ISM cold absorption.

Photoionization Modeling of Oxygen K Absorption in the Interstellar Medium:. [The Chandra Grating Spectra of XTE J1817-330

Science.gov (United States)

Gatuzz, E.; Garcia, J.; Mendoza, C.; Kallman, T. R.; Witthoeft, M.; Lohfink, A.; Bautista, M. A.; Palmeri, P.; Quinet, P.

2013-01-01

We present detailed analyses of oxygen K absorption in the interstellar medium (ISM) using four high-resolution Chandra spectra toward the X-ray low-mass binary XTE J1817-330. The 11-25 Angstrom broadband is described with a simple absorption model that takes into account the pile-up effect and results in an estimate of the hydrogen column density. The oxygen K-edge region (21-25 Angstroms) is fitted with the physical warmabs model, which is based on a photoionization model grid generated with the xstar code with the most up-to-date atomic database. This approach allows a benchmark of the atomic data which involves wavelength shifts of both the K lines and photoionization cross sections in order to fit the observed spectra accurately. As a result we obtain a column density of N(sub H) = 1.38 +/- 0.01 × 10(exp 21) cm(exp -2); an ionization parameter of log xi = -2.70 +/- 0.023; an oxygen abundance of A(sub O) = 0.689 (+0.015/-0.010); and ionization fractions of O(sub I)/O = 0.911, O(sub II)/O = 0.077, and O(sub III)/O = 0.012 that are in good agreement with results from previous studies. Since the oxygen abundance in warmabs is given relative to the solar standard of Grevesse & Sauval, a rescaling with the revision by Asplund et al. yields A(sub O) = 0.952(+0.020/-0.013), a value close to solar that reinforces the new standard.We identify several atomic absorption lines-K(alpha), K(beta), and K(gamma) in O(sub I) and O(sub II) and K(alpha) in O(sub III), O(sub VI), and O(sub VII)-the last two probably residing in the neighborhood of the source rather than in the ISM. This is the first firm detection of oxygen K resonances with principal quantum numbers n greater than 2 associated with ISM cold absorption.

AN ALMA SURVEY OF SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES IN THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH: NEAR-INFRARED MORPHOLOGIES AND STELLAR SIZES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Chian-Chou; Smail, Ian; Swinbank, A. M.; Simpson, J. M.; Ma, Cheng-Jiun; Alexander, D. M.; Danielson, A. L. R.; Edge, A. C. [Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Biggs, A. D.; Ivison, R. J. [European Southern Observatory, Karl Schwarzschild Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Brandt, W. N. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Chapman, S. C. [Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5 (Canada); Coppin, K. E. K. [Centre for Astrophysics Research, Science and Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom); Dannerbauer, H. [Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Wien, Türkenschanzstraße 17, A-1180 Wien (Austria); Greve, T. R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Karim, A. [Argelander-Institute for Astronomy, Bonn University, Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Menten, Karl M. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Schinnerer, E.; Walter, F. [Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Wardlow, J. L. [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); and others

2015-02-01

We analyze Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/H {sub 160}-band observations of a sample of 48 Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detected submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South field, to study their stellar morphologies and sizes. We detect 79% ± 17% of the SMGs in the H {sub 160}-band imaging with a median sensitivity of 27.8 mag, and most (80%) of the nondetections are SMGs with 870 μm fluxes of S {sub 870} < 3 mJy. With a surface brightness limit of μ {sub H} ∼ 26 mag arcsec{sup –2}, we find that 82% ± 9% of the H {sub 160}-band-detected SMGs at z = 1-3 appear to have disturbed morphologies, meaning they are visually classified as either irregulars or interacting systems, or both. By determining a Sérsic fit to the H {sub 160} surface brightness profiles, we derive a median Sérsic index of n = 1.2 ± 0.3 and a median half-light radius of r{sub e} = 4.4{sub −0.5}{sup +1.1} kpc for our SMGs at z = 1-3. We also find significant displacements between the positions of the H {sub 160} component and 870 μm emission in these systems, suggesting that the dusty starburst regions and less-obscured stellar distribution are not colocated. We find significant differences in the sizes and the Sérsic index between our z = 2-3 SMGs and z ∼ 2 quiescent galaxies, suggesting that a major transformation of the stellar light profile is needed in the quenching processes if SMGs are progenitors of the red-and-dead z ∼ 2 galaxies. Given the short-lived nature of SMGs, we postulate that the majority of the z = 2-3 SMGs with S {sub 870} ≳ 2 mJy are early/mid-stage major mergers.

CORONA, JET, AND RELATIVISTIC LINE MODELS FOR SUZAKU/RXTE/CHANDRA-HETG OBSERVATIONS OF THE CYGNUS X-1 HARD STATE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowak, Michael A.; Trowbridge, Sarah N.; Davis, John E.; Hanke, Manfred; Wilms, Joern; Markoff, Sera B.; Maitra, Dipankar; Tramper, Frank; Pottschmidt, Katja; Coppi, Paolo

2011-01-01

Using Suzaku and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), we have conducted a series of four simultaneous observations of the galactic black hole candidate Cyg X-1 in what were historically faint and spectrally hard 'low states'. Additionally, all of these observations occurred near superior conjunction with our line of sight to the X-ray source passing through the dense phases of the 'focused wind' from the mass donating secondary. One of our observations was also simultaneous with observations by the Chandra-High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG). These latter spectra are crucial for revealing the ionized absorption due to the secondary's focused wind. Such absorption is present and must be accounted for in all four spectra. These simultaneous data give an unprecedented view of the 0.8-300 keV spectrum of Cyg X-1, and hence bear upon both corona and X-ray emitting jet models of black hole hard states. Three models fit the spectra well: coronae with thermal or mixed thermal/non-thermal electron populations and jets. All three models require a soft component that we fit with a low temperature disk spectrum with an inner radius of only a few tens of GM/c 2 . All three models also agree that the known spectral break at 10 keV is not solely due to the presence of reflection, but each gives a different underlying explanation for the augmentation of this break. Thus, whereas all three models require that there is a relativistically broadened Fe line, the strength and inner radius of such a line is dependent upon the specific model, thus making premature line-based estimates of the black hole spin in the Cyg X-1 system. We look at the relativistic line in detail, accounting for the narrow Fe emission and ionized absorption detected by HETG. Although the specific relativistic parameters of the line are continuum dependent, none of the broad line fits allow for an inner disk radius that is >40 GM/c 2 .

Graphite-Reinforced Polycyanate Composites for Space and Missile Applications

Science.gov (United States)

1993-11-01

ground experiment (pp. E-61). ACTEX I (Advanced Control Technology Experiment) is scheduled for the STEP-3 flight in July 1994. It is fabricated in an...Marietta 3:30 Clementine Panels, etc. G. Krumweide, Composite Optics 3:50 ACTEX , etc. R. Lewis, TRW 4:10 All-Composite Spacecraft, etc. H. Dursch

Development of an active structure flight experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Manning, R. A.; Wyse, R. E.; Schubert, S. R.

1993-02-01

The design and development of the Air Force and TRW's Advanced Control Technology Experiment (ACTEX) flight experiment is described in this paper. The overall objective of ACTEX is to provide an active structure trailblazer which will demonstrate the compatibility of active structures with operational spacecraft performance and lifetime measures. At the heart of the experiment is an active tripod driven by a digitally-programmable analog control electronics subsystem. Piezoceramic sensors and actuators embedded in a graphite epoxy host material provide the sensing and actuation mechanism for the active tripod. Low noise ground-programmable electronics provide a virtually unlimited number of control schemes that can be implemented in the space environment. The flight experiment program provides the opportunity to gather performance, reliability, adaptability, and lifetime performance data on vibration suppression hardware for the next generation of DoD and NASA spacecraft.

Towards A Complete Census of the Compton-thick AGN Population in our Cosmic Backyard

Science.gov (United States)

Annuar, Ady

2016-09-01

We propose for Chandra and NuSTAR observations of two local AGNs to characterise their obscuring properties. We are using Chandra and NuSTAR to form the first complete measurement of the column density (N_H) distribution of AGN at D35%. We also found that Chandra resolution is key in resolving the AGN from off-nuclear X-ray sources. When combined with NuSTAR, this allow us to accurately characterise the broadband spectrum of the AGN, and identify it as CT. These new observations will provide Chandra data for all D<15Mpc AGNs and boost up the N_H distribution up to 85% complete. This will be fully completed with future NuSTAR observations.

An ALMA survey of submillimeter galaxies in the extended Chandra deep field south: The redshift distribution and evolution of submillimeter galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simpson, J. M.; Swinbank, A. M.; Smail, Ian; Alexander, D. M.; Danielson, A. L. R.; Thomson, A. P. [Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Brandt, W. N. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Bertoldi, F.; Karim, A. [Argelander-Institute for Astronomy, Bonn University, Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); De Breuck, C. [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Straße, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Chapman, S. C. [Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5 (Canada); Coppin, K. E. K. [Centre for Astrophysics Research, Science and Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom); Da Cunha, E.; Hodge, J. A.; Schinnerer, E. [Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Dannerbauer, H. [Universität Wien, Institut für Astrophysik, Türkenschanzstraße 17, A-1180 Wien (Austria); Greve, T. R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Ivison, R. J. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Knudsen, K. K. [Department of Earth and Space Science, Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-43992 Onsala (Sweden); Poggianti, B. M., E-mail: j.m.simpson@dur.ac.uk [INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova, I-35122 Padova (Italy); and others

2014-06-20

We present the first photometric redshift distribution for a large sample of 870 μm submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) with robust identifications based on observations with ALMA. In our analysis we consider 96 SMGs in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, 77 of which have 4-19 band photometry. We model the SEDs for these 77 SMGs, deriving a median photometric redshift of z {sub phot} = 2.3 ± 0.1. The remaining 19 SMGs have insufficient photometry to derive photometric redshifts, but a stacking analysis of Herschel observations confirms they are not spurious. Assuming that these SMGs have an absolute H-band magnitude distribution comparable to that of a complete sample of z ∼ 1-2 SMGs, we demonstrate that they lie at slightly higher redshifts, raising the median redshift for SMGs to z {sub phot} = 2.5 ± 0.2. Critically we show that the proportion of galaxies undergoing an SMG-like phase at z ≥ 3 is at most 35% ± 5% of the total population. We derive a median stellar mass of M {sub *} = (8 ± 1) × 10{sup 10} M {sub ☉}, although there are systematic uncertainties of up to 5 × for individual sources. Assuming that the star formation activity in SMGs has a timescale of ∼100 Myr, we show that their descendants at z ∼ 0 would have a space density and M{sub H} distribution that are in good agreement with those of local ellipticals. In addition, the inferred mass-weighted ages of the local ellipticals broadly agree with the look-back times of the SMG events. Taken together, these results are consistent with a simple model that identifies SMGs as events that form most of the stars seen in the majority of luminous elliptical galaxies at the present day.

An ALMA survey of submillimeter galaxies in the extended Chandra deep field south: The redshift distribution and evolution of submillimeter galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simpson, J. M.; Swinbank, A. M.; Smail, Ian; Alexander, D. M.; Danielson, A. L. R.; Thomson, A. P.; Brandt, W. N.; Bertoldi, F.; Karim, A.; De Breuck, C.; Chapman, S. C.; Coppin, K. E. K.; Da Cunha, E.; Hodge, J. A.; Schinnerer, E.; Dannerbauer, H.; Greve, T. R.; Ivison, R. J.; Knudsen, K. K.; Poggianti, B. M.

2014-01-01

We present the first photometric redshift distribution for a large sample of 870 μm submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) with robust identifications based on observations with ALMA. In our analysis we consider 96 SMGs in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, 77 of which have 4-19 band photometry. We model the SEDs for these 77 SMGs, deriving a median photometric redshift of z phot = 2.3 ± 0.1. The remaining 19 SMGs have insufficient photometry to derive photometric redshifts, but a stacking analysis of Herschel observations confirms they are not spurious. Assuming that these SMGs have an absolute H-band magnitude distribution comparable to that of a complete sample of z ∼ 1-2 SMGs, we demonstrate that they lie at slightly higher redshifts, raising the median redshift for SMGs to z phot = 2.5 ± 0.2. Critically we show that the proportion of galaxies undergoing an SMG-like phase at z ≥ 3 is at most 35% ± 5% of the total population. We derive a median stellar mass of M * = (8 ± 1) × 10 10 M ☉ , although there are systematic uncertainties of up to 5 × for individual sources. Assuming that the star formation activity in SMGs has a timescale of ∼100 Myr, we show that their descendants at z ∼ 0 would have a space density and M H distribution that are in good agreement with those of local ellipticals. In addition, the inferred mass-weighted ages of the local ellipticals broadly agree with the look-back times of the SMG events. Taken together, these results are consistent with a simple model that identifies SMGs as events that form most of the stars seen in the majority of luminous elliptical galaxies at the present day.

CHANDRA ACIS SURVEY OF X-RAY POINT SOURCES IN NEARBY GALAXIES. II. X-RAY LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS AND ULTRALUMINOUS X-RAY SOURCES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Song; Qiu, Yanli; Liu, Jifeng [Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Bregman, Joel N., E-mail: songw@bao.ac.cn, E-mail: jfliu@bao.ac.cn [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2016-09-20

Based on the recently completed Chandra /ACIS survey of X-ray point sources in nearby galaxies, we study the X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) for X-ray point sources in different types of galaxies and the statistical properties of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). Uniform procedures are developed to compute the detection threshold, to estimate the foreground/background contamination, and to calculate the XLFs for individual galaxies and groups of galaxies, resulting in an XLF library of 343 galaxies of different types. With the large number of surveyed galaxies, we have studied the XLFs and ULX properties across different host galaxy types, and confirm with good statistics that the XLF slope flattens from lenticular ( α ∼ 1.50 ± 0.07) to elliptical (∼1.21 ± 0.02), to spirals (∼0.80 ± 0.02), to peculiars (∼0.55 ± 0.30), and to irregulars (∼0.26 ± 0.10). The XLF break dividing the neutron star and black hole binaries is also confirmed, albeit at quite different break luminosities for different types of galaxies. A radial dependency is found for ellipticals, with a flatter XLF slope for sources located between D {sub 25} and 2 D {sub 25}, suggesting the XLF slopes in the outer region of early-type galaxies are dominated by low-mass X-ray binaries in globular clusters. This study shows that the ULX rate in early-type galaxies is 0.24 ± 0.05 ULXs per surveyed galaxy, on a 5 σ confidence level. The XLF for ULXs in late-type galaxies extends smoothly until it drops abruptly around 4 × 10{sup 40} erg s{sup −1}, and this break may suggest a mild boundary between the stellar black hole population possibly including 30 M {sub ⊙} black holes with super-Eddington radiation and intermediate mass black holes.

dE/dx electronics for MARK II experiment at SLAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernstein, D.; Boyarski, A.; Coupal, D.; Feldman, G.; Paffrath, L.

1985-10-01

This paper describes a 100 MHz pulse digitizer for dE/dx measurements on the MARK II drift chamber at SLAC. The electronics provides the read-out of the detector's 5832 sense based on a 16-channel FASTBUS module. The basic element of the module is the TRW 6-bit Flash-ADC

THE CORES OF THE Fe Kα LINES IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI: AN EXTENDED CHANDRA HIGH ENERGY GRATING SAMPLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, X. W.; Wang, J. X.; Yaqoob, T.

2010-01-01

We extend the study of the core of the Fe Kα emission line at ∼6.4 keV in Seyfert galaxies reported by Yaqoob and Padmanabhan using a larger sample observed by the Chandra high-energy grating (HEG). The sample consists of 82 observations of 36 unique sources with z H 23 cm -2 ) Seyfert galaxies to date. From an empirical and uniform analysis, we present measurements of the Fe Kα line centroid energy, flux, equivalent width (EW), and intrinsic width (FWHM). The Fe Kα line is detected in 33 sources, and its centroid energy is constrained in 32 sources. In 27 sources, the statistical quality of the data is good enough to yield measurements of the FWHM. We find that the distribution in the line centroid energy is strongly peaked around the value for neutral Fe, with over 80% of the observations giving values in the range 6.38-6.43 keV. Including statistical errors, 30 out of 32 sources (∼94%) have a line centroid energy in the range 6.35-6.47 keV. The mean EW, among the observations in which a non-zero lower limit could be measured, was 53 ± 3 eV. The mean FWHM from the subsample of 27 sources was 2060 ± 230 km s -1 . The mean EW and FWHM are somewhat higher when multiple observations for a given source are averaged. From a comparison with the Hβ optical emission-line widths (or, for one source, Brα), we find that there is no universal location of the Fe Kα line-emitting region relative to the optical broad-line region (BLR). In general, a given source may have contributions to the Fe Kα line flux from parsec-scale distances from the putative black hole, down to matter a factor ∼2 closer to the black hole than the BLR. We confirm the presence of the X-ray Baldwin effect, an anti-correlation between the Fe Kα line EW and X-ray continuum luminosity. The HEG data have enabled isolation of this effect to the narrow core of the Fe Kα line.

X-Ray, UV and Optical Observations of Classical Cepheids: New Insights into Cepheid Evolution, and the Heating and Dynamics of Their Atmospheres

OpenAIRE

Engle, Scott G.; Guinan, Edward F.

2012-01-01

To broaden the understanding of classical Cepheid structure, evolution and atmospheres, we have extended our continuing secret lives of Cepheids program by obtaining XMM/Chandra X-ray observations, and Hubble space telescope (HST) / cosmic origins spectrograph (COS) FUV-UV spectra of the bright, nearby Cepheids Polaris, {\\delta} Cep and {\\beta} Dor. Previous studies made with the international ultraviolet explorer (IUE) showed a limited number of UV emission lines in Cepheids. The well-known ...

Nobel Connection to the Space Program

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Edward W.; Nash, Rebecca

2007-09-01

The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics was heralded by some in the press as the "First Nobel Prize for Space Exploration." Indeed the Nobel Foundation's announcement specifically cited the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite launched by NASA in 1989 as the prime-enabling instrument It elaborated further, "The COBE results provided increased support for the Big Bang scenario for the origin of the Universe... These measurements also marked the inception of cosmology as a precise science." NASA also seized this unique moment of fame to honor its favorite son, the first Nobel scientist of the agency, John Mather, of the Goddard Space Flight Center, who shared the honor with Professor G. Smoot of the University of California, the Principal Investigator of the COBE measurement. It is without any dispute that the Nobel Prize is the highest scientific honor and best-known award of admiration and inspiration to the public and educational sectors. Unfortunately in the American culture, youths are mostly exposed to success icons in the sports, entertainment, and business domains. Science icons (of either gender) are largely unknown to them. We sincerely hope that success stories of Nobel scientists will become part of the learning curriculum in the K-16 educational experience. In this paper, we examine the pedigree of a number of Nobel Prizes over the years, and discuss their interactions with, and connections to, the space program. It is advantageous for the context of educational and public outreach to see such connections, because in a number of public surveys, one important customer expectation for the space program is the search for new knowledge, to which the Nobel Prize is a prominent benchmark. We have organized this paper into nine, fairly independent sections for ease of reading: I. "Michael Jordan or Mia Hamm" - Introduction and Background II. "Connecting the Dots Between the Heavens and Earth" - From Newton to Bethe III. "From Cosmic Noise to the Big Bang" - The

Chandra and ALMA observations of the nuclear activity in two strongly lensed star-forming galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Massardi, M.; Enia, A. F. M.; Negrello, M.; Mancuso, C.; Lapi, A.; Vignali, C.; Gilli, R.; Burkutean, S.; Danese, L.; Zotti, G. De

2018-02-01

Aim. According to coevolutionary scenarios, nuclear activity and star formation play relevant roles in the early stages of galaxy formation. We aim at identifying them in high-redshift galaxies by exploiting high-resolution and high-sensitivity X-ray and millimeter-wavelength data to confirm the presence or absence of star formation and nuclear activity and describe their relative roles in shaping the spectral energy distributions and in contributing to the energy budgets of the galaxies. Methods: We present the data, model, and analysis in the X-ray and millimeter (mm) bands for two strongly lensed galaxies, SDP.9 (HATLAS J090740.0-004200) and SDP.11 (HATLAS J091043.1-000322), which we selected in the Herschel-ATLAS catalogs for their excess emission in the mid-IR regime at redshift ≳1.5. This emission suggests nuclear activity in the early stages of galaxy formation. We observed both of them with Chandra ACIS-S in the X-ray regime and analyzed the high-resolution mm data that are available in the ALMA Science Archive for SDP.9. By combining the information available in mm, optical, and X-ray bands, we reconstructed the source morphology. Results: Both targets were detected in the X-ray, which strongly indicates highly obscured nuclear activity. ALMA observations for SDP.9 for the continuum and CO(6-5) spectral line with high resolution (0.02 arcsec corresponding to 65 pc at the distance of the galaxy) allowed us to estimate the lensed galaxy redshift to a better accuracy than pre-ALMA estimates (1.5753 ± 0.0003) and to model the emission of the optical, millimetric, and X-ray band for this galaxy. We demonstrate that the X-ray emission is generated in the nuclear environment, which strongly supports that this object has nuclear activity. On the basis of the X-ray data, we attempt an estimate of the black hole properties in these galaxies. Conclusions: By taking advantage of the lensing magnification, we identify weak nuclear activity associated with high

Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition alters growth responses of European beech (Fagus sylvativa L.) to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Carsten; Niemeyer, Thomas; Fichtner, Andreas; Jansen, Kirstin; Kunz, Matthias; Maneke, Moritz; von Wehrden, Henrik; Quante, Markus; Walmsley, David; von Oheimb, Goddert; Härdtle, Werner

2018-02-01

Global change affects the functioning of forest ecosystems and the services they provide, but little is known about the interactive effects of co-occurring global change drivers on important functions such as tree growth and vitality. In the present study we quantified the interactive (i.e. synergistic or antagonistic) effects of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and climatic variables (temperature, precipitation) on tree growth (in terms of tree-ring width, TRW), taking forest ecosystems with European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) as an example. We hypothesised that (i) N deposition and climatic variables can evoke non-additive responses of the radial increment of beech trees, and (ii) N loads have the potential to strengthen the trees' sensitivity to climate change. In young stands, we found a synergistic positive effect of N deposition and annual mean temperature on TRW, possibly linked to the alleviation of an N shortage in young stands. In mature stands, however, high N deposition significantly increased the trees' sensitivity to increasing annual mean temperatures (antagonistic effect on TRW), possibly due to increased fine root dieback, decreasing mycorrhizal colonization or shifts in biomass allocation patterns (aboveground vs. belowground). Accordingly, N deposition and climatic variables caused both synergistic and antagonistic effects on the radial increment of beech trees, depending on tree age and stand characteristics. Hence, the nature of interactions could mediate the long-term effects of global change drivers (including N deposition) on forest carbon sequestration. In conclusion, our findings illustrate that interaction processes between climatic variables and N deposition are complex and have the potential to impair growth and performance of European beech. This in turn emphasises the importance of multiple-factor studies to foster an integrated understanding and models aiming at improved projections of tree growth responses to co-occurring drivers

75 FR 5350 - Investigations Regarding Certifications of Eligibility To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-02

... 73028 TRW Automotive (Wkrs)...... Galesville, WI........ 12/07/09 10/11/09 73029 Faurecia Exhaust...)........ Waunakee, WI 12/08/09 09/01/24 73046 Quality Logic, Inc. (Wkrs). Boise, ID 12/08/09 12/03/09 73047 Keewatin... 73070 Oakley Industries (Union).. Belvidere, IL......... 12/10/09 12/09/09 73071 Arvin Meritor (Union...

Winds of Change: How Black Holes May Shape Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-01

portion of the gas is pulled into the black hole, but some of it is blown away. High energy X-rays produced by the gas near the black hole heat the ouflowing gas, causing it to glow at lower X-ray energies. This Chandra study by Evans and his colleagues is much deeper than previous X-ray observations. It allowed them to make a high-definition map of the cone-shaped volume lit up by the black hole and its winds. By combining measurement of the velocity of the clouds with estimates of the density of the gas, Evans and his colleagues showed that each year several times the mass of the Sun is being deposited out to large distances, about 3,000 light years from the black hole. The wind may carry enough energy to heat the surrounding gas and suppress extra star formation. "We have shown that even these middle-of-the-road black holes can pack a punch," said Evans. "I think the upshot is that these black holes are anything but ordinary." Further Chandra HETGS studies of other nearby galaxies will examine the impact of other AGN outflows, leading to improvements in our understanding of the evolution of both galaxies and black holes. "In the future, our own Galaxy's black hole may undergo similar activity, helping to shut down the growth of new stars in the central region of the Milky Way," said Evans. These new results provide a key comparison to previous work performed at Georgia State University and the Catholic University of America with the Hubble Space Telescope's STIS instrument. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass. More information, including images and other multimedia, can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Black hole growth and starburst activity at z = 0.6-4 in the Chandra Deep Field South. Host galaxies properties of obscured AGN

Science.gov (United States)

Brusa, M.; Fiore, F.; Santini, P.; Grazian, A.; Comastri, A.; Zamorani, G.; Hasinger, G.; Merloni, A.; Civano, F.; Fontana, A.; Mainieri, V.

2009-12-01

Aims: The co-evolution of host galaxies and the active black holes which reside in their centre is one of the most important topics in modern observational cosmology. Here we present a study of the properties of obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) detected in the CDFS 1 Ms observation and their host galaxies. Methods: We limited the analysis to the MUSIC area, for which deep K-band observations obtained with ISAAC@VLT are available, ensuring accurate identifications of the counterparts of the X-ray sources as well as reliable determination of photometric redshifts and galaxy parameters, such as stellar masses and star formation rates. In particular, we: 1) refined the X-ray/infrared/optical association of 179 sources in the MUSIC area detected in the Chandra observation; 2) studied the host galaxies observed and rest frame colors and properties. Results: We found that X-ray selected (LX ⪆ 1042 erg s-1) AGN show Spitzer colors consistent with both AGN and starburst dominated infrared continuum; the latter would not have been selected as AGN from infrared diagnostics. The host galaxies of X-ray selected obscured AGN are all massive (Mast > 1010 M_⊙) and, in 50% of the cases, are also actively forming stars (1/SSFR mass up to a value of 30% at z > 1 and Mast > 3 × 1011 M_⊙, a fraction significantly higher than in the local Universe for AGN of similar luminosities. Tables [see full textsee full textsee full text] and [see full textsee full textsee full text] are only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

CTIO, ROSAT HRI, and Chandra ACIS Observations of the Archetypical Mixed-morphology Supernova Remnant W28 (G6.4–0.1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pannuti, Thomas G.; Kosakowski, Alekzander R.; Ernst, Sonny; Rho, Jeonghee; Kargaltsev, Oleg; Rangelov, Blagoy; Hare, Jeremy; Winkler, P. Frank; Keohane, Jonathan W.

2017-01-01

We present a joint analysis of optical emission-line and X-ray observations of the archetypical Galactic mixed-morphology supernova remnant (MMSNR) W28 (G6.4–0.1). MMSNRs comprise a class of sources whose shell-like radio morphology contrasts with a filled center in X-rays; the origin of these contrasting morphologies remains uncertain. Our CTIO images reveal enhanced [S ii] emission relative to H α along the northern and eastern rims of W28. Hydroxyl (OH) masers are detected along these same rims, supporting prior studies suggesting that W28 is interacting with molecular clouds at these locations, as observed for several other MMSNRs. Our ROSAT HRI mosaic of W28 provides almost complete coverage of the supernova remnant (SNR). The X-ray and radio emission is generally anti-correlated, except for the luminous northeastern rim, which is prominent in both bands. Our Chandra observation sampled the X-ray-luminous central diffuse emission. Spectra extracted from the bright central peak and from nearby annular regions are best fit with two overionized recombining plasma models. We also find that while the X-ray emission from the central peak is dominated by swept-up material, that from the surrounding regions shows evidence for oxygen-rich ejecta, suggesting that W28 was produced by a massive progenitor. We also analyze the X-ray properties of two X-ray sources (CXOU J175857.55−233400.3 and 3XMM J180058.5–232735) projected into the interior of W28 and conclude that neither is a neutron star associated with the SNR. The former is likely to be a foreground cataclysmic variable or a quiescent low-mass X-ray-binary, while the latter is likely to be a coronally active main-sequence star.

CTIO, ROSAT HRI, and Chandra ACIS Observations of the Archetypical Mixed-morphology Supernova Remnant W28 (G6.4–0.1)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pannuti, Thomas G.; Kosakowski, Alekzander R.; Ernst, Sonny [Space Science Center, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Morehead State University, 235 Martindale Drive, Morehead, KY 40351 (United States); Rho, Jeonghee [SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043 (United States); Kargaltsev, Oleg; Rangelov, Blagoy; Hare, Jeremy [Department of Physics, 214 Samson Hall, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052 (United States); Winkler, P. Frank [Department of Physics, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753 (United States); Keohane, Jonathan W., E-mail: t.pannuti@moreheadstate.edu, E-mail: jrho@seti.org, E-mail: jrho@sofia.usra.edu, E-mail: kargaltsev@gwu.edu, E-mail: alekzanderkos@ou.edu, E-mail: winkler@middlebury.edu, E-mail: jkeohane@hsc.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, VA 23943 (United States)

2017-04-10

We present a joint analysis of optical emission-line and X-ray observations of the archetypical Galactic mixed-morphology supernova remnant (MMSNR) W28 (G6.4–0.1). MMSNRs comprise a class of sources whose shell-like radio morphology contrasts with a filled center in X-rays; the origin of these contrasting morphologies remains uncertain. Our CTIO images reveal enhanced [S ii] emission relative to H α along the northern and eastern rims of W28. Hydroxyl (OH) masers are detected along these same rims, supporting prior studies suggesting that W28 is interacting with molecular clouds at these locations, as observed for several other MMSNRs. Our ROSAT HRI mosaic of W28 provides almost complete coverage of the supernova remnant (SNR). The X-ray and radio emission is generally anti-correlated, except for the luminous northeastern rim, which is prominent in both bands. Our Chandra observation sampled the X-ray-luminous central diffuse emission. Spectra extracted from the bright central peak and from nearby annular regions are best fit with two overionized recombining plasma models. We also find that while the X-ray emission from the central peak is dominated by swept-up material, that from the surrounding regions shows evidence for oxygen-rich ejecta, suggesting that W28 was produced by a massive progenitor. We also analyze the X-ray properties of two X-ray sources (CXOU J175857.55−233400.3 and 3XMM J180058.5–232735) projected into the interior of W28 and conclude that neither is a neutron star associated with the SNR. The former is likely to be a foreground cataclysmic variable or a quiescent low-mass X-ray-binary, while the latter is likely to be a coronally active main-sequence star.

Healy Clean Coal Project: A DOE Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

National Energy Technology Laboratory

2003-09-01

The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Clean Coal Technology (CCT) Program is to provide the energy marketplace with advanced, more efficient, and environmentally responsible coal utilization options by conducting demonstrations of new technologies. These demonstration projects are intended to establish the commercial feasibility of promising advanced coal technologies that have been developed to a level at which they are ready for demonstration testing under commercial conditions. This document serves as a DOE post-project assessment (PPA) of the Healy Clean Coal Project (HCCP), selected under Round III of the CCT Program, and described in a Report to Congress (U.S. Department of Energy, 1991). The desire to demonstrate an innovative power plant that integrates an advanced slagging combustor, a heat recovery system, and both high- and low-temperature emissions control processes prompted the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) to submit a proposal for this project. In April 1991, AIDEA entered into a cooperative agreement with DOE to conduct this project. Other team members included Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA), host and operator; Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc., coal supplier; TRW, Inc., Space & Technology Division, combustor technology provider; Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. (S&W), engineer; Babcock & Wilcox Company (which acquired the assets of Joy Environmental Technologies, Inc.), supplier of the spray dryer absorber technology; and Steigers Corporation, provider of environmental and permitting support. Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation supplied the boiler. GVEA provided oversight of the design and provided operators during demonstration testing. The project was sited adjacent to GVEA's Healy Unit No. 1 in Healy, Alaska. The objective of this CCT project was to demonstrate the ability of the TRW Clean Coal Combustion System to operate on a blend of run-of-mine (ROM) coal and waste coal, while meeting strict

New Constraints on the Geometry and Kinematics of Matter Surrounding the Accretion Flow in X-Ray Binaries from Chandra High-energy Transmission Grating X-Ray Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Tzanavaris, P.; Yaqoob, T.

2018-03-01

The narrow, neutral Fe Kα fluorescence emission line in X-ray binaries (XRBs) is a powerful probe of the geometry, kinematics, and Fe abundance of matter around the accretion flow. In a recent study it has been claimed, using Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) spectra for a sample of XRBs, that the circumnuclear material is consistent with a solar-abundance, uniform, spherical distribution. It was also claimed that the Fe Kα line was unresolved in all cases by the HETG. However, these conclusions were based on ad hoc models that did not attempt to relate the global column density to the Fe Kα line emission. We revisit the sample and test a self-consistent model of a uniform, spherical X-ray reprocessor against HETG spectra from 56 observations of 14 Galactic XRBs. We find that the model is ruled out in 13/14 sources because a variable Fe abundance is required. In two sources a spherical distribution is viable, but with nonsolar Fe abundance. We also applied a solar-abundance Compton-thick reflection model, which can account for the spectra that are inconsistent with a spherical model, but spectra with a broader bandpass are required to better constrain model parameters. We also robustly measured the velocity width of the Fe Kα line and found FWHM values of up to ∼5000 km s‑1. Only in some spectra was the Fe Kα line unresolved by the HETG.

New Constraints on the Geometry and Kinematics of Matter Surrounding the Accretion Flow in X-Ray Binaries from Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating X-Ray Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Tzanavaris, P.; Yaqoob, T.

2018-01-01

The narrow, neutral Fe Ka fluorescence emission line in X-ray binaries (XRBs) is a powerful probe of the geometry, kinematics, and Fe abundance of matter around the accretion flow. In a recent study it has been claimed, using Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) spectra for a sample of XRBs, that the circumnuclear material is consistent with a solar-abundance, uniform, spherical distribution. It was also claimed that the Fe Ka line was unresolved in all cases by the HETG. However, these conclusions were based on ad hoc models that did not attempt to relate the global column density to the Fe Ka line emission. We revisit the sample and test a self-consistent model of a uniform, spherical X-ray reprocessor against HETG spectra from 56 observations of 14 Galactic XRBs. We find that the model is ruled out in 13/14 sources because a variable Fe abundance is required. In two sources a spherical distribution is viable, but with nonsolar Fe abundance. We also applied a solar-abundance Compton-thick reflection model, which can account for the spectra that are inconsistent with a spherical model, but spectra with a broader bandpass are required to better constrain model parameters. We also robustly measured the velocity width of the Fe Ka line and found FWHM values of up to approx. 5000 km/s. Only in some spectra was the Fe Ka line unresolved by the HETG.

Materials support for HITAF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breder, K.; Tennery, V.J.

1994-01-01

The purpose of this project is to compare structural ceramic materials proposed for use in the air heater of a coal fired high temperature advanced furnace (HITAF) for power generation. The work will provide necessary initial strength and statistical material parameters for design of a prototype system. Two teams are currently funded by Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) under the Combustion 2000 program to develop such a system. One team is led by the United Technologies Research Corporation, and consists of UTC Turbo Power and Marine Division, Bechtel, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and a Joint Venture of Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) Technologies, Reaction Engineering International (REI) and University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (UNDERERC); the other team is led by Foster Wheeler Development Corporation, and members are AiResearch Division of AlliedSignal Aerospace Systems ampersand Equipment, Research Cottrell, TRW, General Electric and Bechtel

Atomic Physics Measurements in Support of X-ray Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Beiersdorfer, Peter; Brown, G. V.; Kelley, R. E.; Kilbourne, C. A.; Leutenegger, M.; Porter, F. S.; Obst, M.; Lepson, J. K.; Desai, P.; Gu, M. F.

2010-10-01

X-ray astronomy has been a voracious consumer of atomic data, especially after the launch of the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray Observatories, which have produced very high-resolution grating spectra of point sources. One of the important issues has been to understand the physics underlying the Fe L-shell spectra, and the Fe XVII spectrum in particular. A lot of progress has been made, including measurements of the electron-impact and resonance excitation cross sections, which now provides a rather clear picture of the production mechanism of the Fe XVII spectrum. Recent measurements of the radiative rates provide additional information on the deexcitation channels, while investigations of dielectronic satellite transitions provide a measure of the electron temperature. Many questions, however, still remain. Work at LLNL was performed under the auspices of DOE under contract DE-AC53-07NA27344 and supported by NASA's APRA program under contracts NNH07AF81I and NNG06WF08I. Part of this work was supported by Chandra Cycle 10 Award AR9-0002X.

Studies of dark energy with X-ray observatories.

Science.gov (United States)

Vikhlinin, Alexey

2010-04-20

I review the contribution of Chandra X-ray Observatory to studies of dark energy. There are two broad classes of observable effects of dark energy: evolution of the expansion rate of the Universe, and slow down in the rate of growth of cosmic structures. Chandra has detected and measured both of these effects through observations of galaxy clusters. A combination of the Chandra results with other cosmological datasets leads to 5% constraints on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, and limits possible deviations of gravity on large scales from general relativity.

S Chandrasekhar the man behind the legend

CERN Document Server

1997-01-01

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar - known simply as Chandra throughout the scientific world - has become a legendary figure for his prolific contributions to physics, astrophysics, and applied mathematics. Before his death in 1995, Chandra had forbidden a memorial of the conventional sort, celebrating his life. This book, which contains some thirty articles by his former students, his associates, and his colleagues, is in a sense a memorial volume. It says little about Chandra's great scientific achievements, but shows his human side and the various facets of his brilliant personality, his incredible

Chandra, Prof. Nagasuma

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

. Date of birth: 16 May 1965. Specialization: Protein Structure, Algorithm Development, Systems Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomic & Clinical Data Analysis Address: Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, ...

Evaluation of powder metallurgy superalloy disk materials

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, D. J.

1975-01-01

A program was conducted to develop nickel-base superalloy disk material using prealloyed powder metallurgy techniques. The program included fabrication of test specimens and subscale turbine disks from four different prealloyed powders (NASA-TRW-VIA, AF2-1DA, Mar-M-432 and MERL 80). Based on evaluation of these specimens and disks, two alloys (AF2-1DA and Mar-M-432) were selected for scale-up evaluation. Using fabricating experience gained in the subscale turbine disk effort, test specimens and full scale turbine disks were formed from the selected alloys. These specimens and disks were then subjected to a rigorous test program to evaluate their physical properties and determine their suitability for use in advanced performance turbine engines. A major objective of the program was to develop processes which would yield alloy properties that would be repeatable in producing jet engine disks from the same powder metallurgy alloys. The feasibility of manufacturing full scale gas turbine engine disks by thermomechanical processing of pre-alloyed metal powders was demonstrated. AF2-1DA was shown to possess tensile and creep-rupture properties in excess of those of Astroloy, one of the highest temperature capability disk alloys now in production. It was determined that metallographic evaluation after post-HIP elevated temperature exposure should be used to verify the effectiveness of consolidation of hot isostatically pressed billets.

Optical Counterparts for Low-Luminosity X-ray Sources in Omega Centauri

Science.gov (United States)

Cool, Adrienne

2002-07-01

We propose to use narrow-band HAlpha imaging with ACS to search for the optical counterparts of low-luminosity X-ray sources {Lx 2 x 10^30 - 5 x 10^32 erg/s} in the globular cluster Omega Centauri. With 9 WFC fields, we will cover the inner two core radii of the cluster, and encompass about 90 of the faint sources we have identified with Chandra. Approximately 30-50 of these sources should be cluster members, the remainder being mostly background galaxies plus a smaller number of foreground stars. This large population of low-Lx cluster X-ray sources is second only to the more than 100 faint sources recently discovered in 47 Tuc with Chandra {Grindlay et al. 2001a}, which have been identified as a mixture of cataclysmic variables, quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries, millisecond pulsars, and coronally active main-sequence binaries. Our Cycle 6 WFPC2 program successfully identified 2 of the 3 then-known faint X-ray sources in the core of Omega Cen using H-alpha imaging. We now propose to expand the areal coverage by a factor of about 18 to encompass the much larger number of sources that have since been discovered with Chandra. The extreme crowding in the central regions of Omega Cen requires the resolution of HST to obtain optical IDs. These identifications are key to making meaningful comparisons between the populations of faint X-ray sources in different clusters, in an effort to understand their origins and role in cluster dynamics.

An Estimate of HF/VHF Surface-Wave Communication Link Reaches in the West German Forest Environment

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

Naval Shipyard ATTN: AEAGD-MM(DCSLOG, Mun & Msl Div) ATTN: Commanding Officer 3 cy ATTN: DCSI-AEAGB-PDN David Taylor Naval Ship R & D Ctr U.S. Army... Shrier TRW Electronics & Defense Sector ATTN: R. Anspach Systems Research & Applications Corp ATTN: S. Greenstein Vector Research, Inc ATTN: S, Bonder R & D Associates 4 cy ATTN: G. Gordon 4 cy ATTN: E. Hoyt 60

Environmental Baseline Survey for Three Sites at TRW Capistrano Test Site, California

Science.gov (United States)

1999-11-01

1000250063 CAD980891600 PACIFIC BELL 27472 CAMINO CAPISTRANO LAGUNA NIGUEL CA HAZNET 92672 S103648733 CAL923576363 ARCO PRODUCTS COMPANY 2749 EL CAMINO...S103651743 CAL000152953 LAWSON’S LANDSCAPE 31050 CAMINO CAPISTRANO SAN JUAN CAPISTRANOCA HAZNET 92675 S103652159 CAC000758920 THE CAPISTRANO LAGUNA ...CAPISTRANOCA HAZNET 92675 S102809627 CAL000008434 DAUGHTERS HONDA CAR 32861 CAMINO CAPISTRANO #5 SAN JUAN CAPISTRANOCA HAZNET 92675 S103653091 CAMINO

Plasma Separation Process: Betacell (BCELL) code: User's manual. [Bipolar barrier junction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taherzadeh, M.

1987-11-13

The emergence of clearly defined applications for (small or large) amounts of long-life and reliable power sources has given the design and production of betavoltaic systems a new life. Moreover, because of the availability of the plasma separation program, (PSP) at TRW, it is now possible to separate the most desirable radioisotopes for betacell power generating devices. A computer code, named BCELL, has been developed to model the betavoltaic concept by utilizing the available up-to-date source/cell parameters. In this program, attempts have been made to determine the betacell energy device maximum efficiency, degradation due to the emitting source radiation and source/cell lifetime power reduction processes. Additionally, comparison is made between the Schottky and PN junction devices for betacell battery design purposes. Certain computer code runs have been made to determine the JV distribution function and the upper limit of the betacell generated power for specified energy sources. A Ni beta emitting radioisotope was used for the energy source and certain semiconductors were used for the converter subsystem of the betacell system. Some results for a Promethium source are also given here for comparison. 16 refs.

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Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

From Euclid to Soccer if is ... A R Rao. Chemical Research of Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray. Sreebrata Goswami and Samaresh Bhattacharya. Acharya Prafulla Chandra at the College of Science. Gurunath Mukherjee. FEATURE ARTICLES. 54 Nature Watch. Engimatic Bamboos. C K John and Rajani 5 Nadgauda.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 1999 Accountability Report

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This Accountability Report consolidates reports required by various statutes and summarizes NASA's program accomplishments and its stewardship over budget and financial resources. It is a culmination of NASA's management process, which begins with mission definition and program planning, continues with the formulation and justification of budgets for the President and Congress, and ends with the resulting scientific and engineering program accomplishments. The report covers activities from October 1, 1998, through September 30, 1999, with a discussion of some subsequent events. Program accomplishments included the deployment and operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the delivery of supplies and equipment needed to live and operate on the International Space Station, and the development of the first global 3-D map of Mars. Achievements are highlighted in the Statement of the Administrator and summarized in the performance section of this report.

Stars Form Surprisingly Close to Milky Way's Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2005-10-01

million low mass, sun-like stars in and around the ring, whereas in the disk model, the number of low mass stars could be much less. Nayakshin and his coauthor, Rashid Sunyaev of the Max Plank Institute for Physics in Garching, Germany, used Chandra observations to compare the X-ray glow from the region around Sgr A* to the X-ray emission from thousands of young stars in the Orion Nebula star cluster. They found that the Sgr A* star cluster contains only about 10,000 low mass stars, thereby ruling out the migration model. "We can now say that the stars around Sgr A* were not deposited there by some passing star cluster, rather they were born there," said Sunyaev . "There have been theories that this was possible, but this is the first real evidence. Many scientists are going to be very surprised by these results." Because the Galactic Center is shrouded in dust and gas, it has not been possible to look for the low-mass stars in optical observations. In contrast, X-ray data have allowed astronomers to penetrate the veil of gas and dust and look for these low mass stars. Scenario Dismissed by Chandra Results Scenario Dismissed by Chandra Results "In one of the most inhospitable places in our Galaxy, stars have prevailed," said Nayakshin. "It appears that star formation is much more tenacious than we previously believed." The results suggest that the "rules" of star formation change when stars form in the disk of a giant black hole. Because this environment is very different from typical star formation regions, there is a change in the proportion of stars that form. For example, there is a much higher percentage of massive stars in the disks around black holes. And, when these massive stars explode as supernovae, they will "fertilize" the region with heavy elements such as oxygen. This may explain the large amounts of such elements observed in the disks of young supermassive black holes. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for

Policy Studies Series: Japanese Technology Policy: What’s the Secret?

Science.gov (United States)

1991-02-01

Lauder Pacific Telesis Group Estee Lauder , Inc. Joseph T. Gorman Frank W. Luerssen TRW, Inc. Inland Steel Industries, Inc. Katharine Graham C. Peter...emphasized the acquisition, development, and use of technology as an engine of economic growth. In recent years, the strategy has been to pursue...technology enterprise, such as private-sector technology strategies , research related to other government missions (such as energy, ocean, and disaster

Bulletin of Materials Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science. K Chandra. Articles written in Bulletin of Materials Science. Volume 30 Issue 4 August 2007 pp 309-314 Biomaterials. Characteristics of porous zirconia coated with hydroxyapatite as human bones · V V Narulkar S Prakash K Chandra · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Sadhana. SUBHASH CHANDRA PANDEY. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 43 Issue 3 March 2018 pp 35. New facet of honey bees dancing language for mining the induction rules · SUBHASH CHANDRA PANDEY · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF. Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is used in ...

Pramana – Journal of Physics | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics. B P Chandra. Articles written in Pramana – Journal of Physics. Volume 54 Issue 2 February 2000 pp 287-303 Research Articles. Correlation between deformation bleaching and mechanoluminescence in coloured alkali halide crystals · B P Chandra M Ramrakhiani P Sahu ...

THE EVOLUTION OF THE FAR-UV LUMINOSITY FUNCTION AND STAR FORMATION RATE DENSITY OF THE CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH FROM z = 0.2 TO 1.2 WITH SWIFT/UVOT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hagen, Lea M. Z.; Gronwall, Caryl; Wolf, Christopher; Siegel, Michael H.; Hagen, Alex [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Hoversten, Erik A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 120 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (United States); Page, Mathew, E-mail: lmz5057@psu.edu [Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT (United Kingdom)

2015-08-01

We use deep Swift UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT) near-ultraviolet (1600–4000 Å) imaging of the Chandra Deep Field South to measure the rest-frame far-UV (FUV; 1500 Å) luminosity function (LF) in four redshift bins between z = 0.2 and 1.2. Our sample includes 730 galaxies with u < 24.1 mag. We use two methods to construct and fit the LFs: the traditional V{sub max} method with bootstrap errors, and a maximum likelihood estimator. We observe luminosity evolution such that M* fades by ∼2 mag from z ∼ 1 to z ∼ 0.3, implying that star formation activity was substantially higher at z ∼ 1 than today. We integrate our LFs to determine the FUV luminosity densities and star formation rate densities (SFRDs) from z = 0.2 to 1.2. We find evolution consistent with an increase proportional to (1 + z){sup 1.9} out to z ∼ 1. Our luminosity densities and star formation rates are consistent with those found in the literature but are, on average, a factor of ∼2 higher than previous FUV measurements. In addition, we combine our UVOT data with the MUSYC survey to model the galaxies’ ultraviolet-to-infrared spectral energy distributions and estimate the rest-frame FUV attenuation. We find that accounting for the attenuation increases the SFRDs by ∼1 dex across all four redshift bins.

LATE-TIME EVOLUTION OF COMPOSITE SUPERNOVA REMNANTS: DEEP CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS AND HYDRODYNAMICAL MODELING OF A CRUSHED PULSAR WIND NEBULA IN SNR G327.1-1.1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Temim, Tea [Observational Cosmology Lab, Code 665, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Slane, Patrick [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kolb, Christopher; Blondin, John [North Carolina State University, 421 Riddick Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Hughes, John P. [Rutgers University, 57 US Highway 1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (United States); Bucciantini, Niccoló [INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi, 5, 50125, Firenze Italy (Italy)

2015-07-20

In an effort to better understand the evolution of composite supernova remnants (SNRs) and the eventual fate of relativistic particles injected by their pulsars, we present a multifaceted investigation of the interaction between a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and its host SNR G327.1-1.1. Our 350 Chandra X-ray observations of SNR G327.1-1.1 reveal a highly complex morphology: a cometary structure resembling a bow shock, prong-like features extending into large arcs in the SNR interior, and thermal emission from the SNR shell. Spectral analysis of the non-thermal emission offers clues about the origin of the PWN structures, while enhanced abundances in the PWN region provide evidence for a mixing of supernova ejecta with PWN material. The overall morphology and spectral properties of the SNR suggest that the PWN has undergone an asymmetric interaction with the SNR reverse shock (RS), whichcan occur as a result of a density gradient in the ambient medium and/or a moving pulsar that displaces the PWN from the center of the remnant. We present hydrodynamical simulations of G327.1-1.1 that show that its morphology and evolution can be described by a ∼17,000-year-old composite SNR that expanded into a density gradient with an orientation perpendicular to the pulsar’s motion. We also show that the RS/PWN interaction scenario can reproduce the broadband spectrum of the PWN from radio to γ-ray wavelengths. The analysis and modeling presented in this work have important implications for our general understanding of the structure and evolution of composite SNRs.

Late-Time Evolution of Composite Supernova Remnants: Deep Chandra Observations and Hydrodynamical Modeling of a Crushed Pulsar Wind Nebula in SNR G327.1-1.1

Science.gov (United States)

Temim, Tea; Slane, Patrick; Kolb, Christopher; Blondin, John; Hughes, John P.; Bucciantini, Niccolo

2015-01-01

In an effort to better understand the evolution of composite supernova remnants (SNRs) and the eventual fate of relativistic particles injected by their pulsars, we present a multifaceted investigation of the interaction between a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and its host SNR G327.1-1.1. Our 350 ks Chandra X-ray observations of SNR G327.1-1.1 reveal a highly complex morphology; a cometary structure resembling a bow shock, prong-like features extending into large arcs in the SNR interior, and thermal emission from the SNR shell. Spectral analysis of the non-thermal emission offers clues about the origin of the PWN structures, while enhanced abundances in the PWN region provide evidence for mixing of supernova ejecta with PWN material. The overall morphology and spectral properties of the SNR suggest that the PWN has undergone an asymmetric interaction with the SNR reverse shock(RS) that can occur as a result of a density gradient in the ambient medium and or a moving pulsar that displaces the PWN from the center of the remnant. We present hydrodynamical simulations of G327.1-1.1 that show that its morphology and evolution can be described by a approx. 17,000 yr old composite SNR that expanded into a density gradient with an orientation perpendicular to the pulsar's motion. We also show that the RSPWN interaction scenario can reproduce the broadband spectrum of the PWN from radio to gamma-ray wavelengths. The analysis and modeling presented in this work have important implications for our general understanding of the structure and evolution of composite SNRs.

Pramana – Journal of Physics | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics. Bikash Chandra Paul. Articles written in Pramana – Journal of Physics. Volume 71 Issue 6 December 2008 pp 1247-1257 Research Articles. Anisotropic Bianchi-I universe with phantom field and cosmological constant · Bikash Chandra Paul Dilip Paul · More Details Abstract ...

THE MEGASECOND CHANDRA X-RAY VISIONARY PROJECT OBSERVATION OF NGC 3115. III. LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS OF LMXBS AND DEPENDENCE ON STELLAR ENVIRONMENTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Dacheng; Irwin, Jimmy A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Alabama, Box 870324, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (United States); Wong, Ka-Wah [Eureka Scientific, Inc., 2452 Delmer Street Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94602-3017 (United States); Jennings, Zachary G.; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Brodie, Jean P. [University of California Observatories, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Homan, Jeroen; Remillard, Ronald A. [MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, MIT, 70 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (United States); Strader, Jay [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, MI 48824 (United States); Sivakoff, Gregory R., E-mail: dacheng.lin@unh.edu [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1 (Canada)

2015-07-20

We studied the X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in the nearby lenticular galaxy NGC 3115, using the Megasecond Chandra X-ray Visionary Project Observation. With a total exposure time of ∼1.1 Ms, we constructed the XLF down to a limiting luminosity of ∼10{sup 36} erg s{sup −1}, which is much deeper than that typically reached for other early-type galaxies. We found significant flattening of the overall LMXB XLF from dN/dL ∝ L{sup −2.2±0.4} above 5.5 × 10{sup 37} erg s{sup −1} to dN/dL ∝ L{sup −1.0±0.1} below it, although we could not rule out a fit with a higher break at ∼1.6 × 10{sup 38} erg s{sup −1}. We also found evidence that the XLF of LMXBs in globular clusters (GCs) is overall flatter than that of field LMXBs. Thus, our results for this galaxy do not support the idea that all LMXBs are formed in GCs. The XLF of field LMXBs seems to show spatial variation, with the XLF in the inner region of the galaxy being flatter than that in the outer region, probably due to contamination of LMXBs from undetected and/or disrupted GCs in the inner region. The XLF in the outer region is probably the XLF of primordial field LMXBs, exhibiting dN/dL ∝ L{sup −1.2±0.1} up to a break close to the Eddington limit of neutron star LMXBs (∼1.7 × 10{sup 38} erg s{sup −1}). The break of the GC LMXB XLF is lower, at ∼1.1 × 10{sup 37} erg s{sup −1}. We also confirm previous findings that the metal-rich/red GCs are more likely to host LMXBs than the metal-poor/blue GCs, which is more significant for more luminous LMXBs, and that more massive GCs are more likely to host LMXBs.

A PUBLIC, K-SELECTED, OPTICAL-TO-NEAR-INFRARED CATALOG OF THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH (ECDFS) FROM THE MULTIWAVELENGTH SURVEY BY YALE-CHILE (MUSYC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, Edward N.; Franx, Marijn; Quadri, Ryan F.; Damen, Maaike; Hildebrandt, Hendrik; Van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Herrera, David; Gawiser, Eric; Bell, Eric F.; Barrientos, L. Felipe; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Castander, Francisco J.; Gonzalez-Perez, Violeta; Hall, Patrick B.; Kriek, Mariska; Labbe, Ivo; Lira, Paulina; Maza, Jose; Rudnick, Gregory; Treister, Ezequiel

2009-01-01

We present a new, K-selected, optical-to-near infrared photometric catalog of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), making it publicly available to the astronomical community. 22 Imaging and spectroscopy data and catalogs are freely available through the MUSYC Public Data Release webpage: http://www.astro.yale.edu/MUSYC/. The data set is founded on publicly available imaging, supplemented by original z'JK imaging data collected as part of the MUltiwavelength Survey by Yale-Chile (MUSYC). The final photometric catalog consists of photometry derived from UU 38 BVRIz'JK imaging covering the full 1/2 x 1/2 square circ of the ECDFS, plus H-band photometry for approximately 80% of the field. The 5σ flux limit for point sources is K (AB) tot = 22.0. This is also the nominal completeness and reliability limit of the catalog: the empirical completeness for 21.75 85%. We have verified the quality of the catalog through both internal consistency checks, and comparisons to other existing and publicly available catalogs. As well as the photometric catalog, we also present catalogs of photometric redshifts and rest-frame photometry derived from the 10-band photometry. We have collected robust spectroscopic redshift determinations from published sources for 1966 galaxies in the catalog. Based on these sources, we have achieved a (1σ) photometric redshift accuracy of Δz/(1 + z) = 0.036, with an outlier fraction of 7.8%. Most of these outliers are X-ray sources. Finally, we describe and release a utility for interpolating rest-frame photometry from observed spectral energy distributions, dubbed InterRest. 23 InterRest is available via http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~ent/InterRest. Documentation and a complete walkthrough can be found at the same address.

The Nobel Connection to the Space Program

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, E. N.; Nash, R. L.

2007-09-01

The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics was heralded by some in the press as the "First Nobel Prize for Space Exploration." Indeed the Nobel Foundation's announcement specifically cited the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite launched by NASA in 1989 as the prime-enabling instrument It elaborated further, "The COBE results provided increased support for the Big Bang scenario for the origin of the Universe. These measurements also marked the inception of cosmology as a precise science." NASA also seized this unique moment of fame to honor its favorite son, the first Nobel scientist of the agency, John Mather, of the Goddard Space Flight Center, who shared the honor with Professor G. Smoot of the University of California, the Principal Investigator of the COBE measurement. It is without any dispute that the Nobel Prize is the highest scientific honor and best-known award of admiration and inspiration to the public and educational sectors. Unfortunately in the American culture, youths are mostly exposed to success icons in the sports, entertainment, and business domains. Science icons are largely unknown to them. We sincerely hope that success stories of Nobel scientists will become part of the learning curriculum in the K-16 educational experience. In this paper, we examine the pedigree of a number of Nobel Prizes over the years, and discuss their interactions with, and connections to, the space program. It is advantageous for the context of educational and public outreach to see such connections, because in a number of public surveys, one important customer expectation for the space program is the search for new knowledge, to which the Nobel Prize is a prominent benchmark. We have organized this lengthy paper into nine, fairly independent sections for ease of reading:1."Michael Jordan or Mia Hamm" - Introduction and Background2."Connecting the Dots Between the Heavens and Earth" - From Newton to Bethe3."From Cosmic Noise to the Big Bang" - The First Nobel

A DEEP CHANDRA ACIS STUDY OF NGC 4151. I. THE X-RAY MORPHOLOGY OF THE 3 kpc DIAMETER CIRCUM-NUCLEAR REGION AND RELATION TO THE COLD INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junfeng; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Risaliti, Guido; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita; Zezas, Andreas; Mundell, Carole G.; Dumas, Gaelle; Schinnerer, Eva

2011-01-01

We report on the imaging analysis of ∼200 ks sub-arcsecond resolution Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS-S) observations of the nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. Bright, structured soft X-ray emission is observed to extend from 30 pc to 1.3 kpc in the southwest from the nucleus, much farther than seen in earlier X-ray studies. The terminus of the northeastern X-ray emission is spatially coincident with a CO gas lane, where the outflow likely encounters dense gas in the host galactic disk. X-ray emission is also detected outside the boundaries of the ionization cone, which indicates that the gas there is not completely shielded from the nuclear continuum, as would be the case for a molecular torus collimating the bicone. In the central r 2 emission and dusty spirals we find in an Hubble Space Telescope V - H color image. The agreement between the observed H 2 line flux and the value predicted from X-ray-irradiated molecular cloud models supports photo-excitation by X-rays from the active nucleus as the origin of the H 2 line, although contribution from UV fluorescence or collisional excitation cannot be ruled out with current data. The discrepancy between the mass of cold molecular gas inferred from recent CO and near-infrared H 2 observations may be explained by the anomalous CO abundance in this X-ray-dominated region. The total H 2 mass derived from the X-ray observation agrees with the recent measurement by Storchi-Bergmann et al.

Giant black hole rips star apart

Science.gov (United States)

2004-02-01

satellite and is helping to solve many cosmic mysteries of the violent Universe, from black holes to the formation of galaxies. It was launched on 10 December 1999, using an Ariane-5 rocket, from French Guiana. It is expected to return data for a decade. XMM-Newton's high-tech design uses over 170 wafer-thin cylindrical mirrors spread over three telescopes. Its orbit takes it almost a third of the way to the Moon, so that astronomers can enjoy long, uninterrupted views of celestial objects. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra programme for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington DC, USA. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, California, formerly TRW Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... For H2O megamaser galaxy Mrk 348, Chandra and XMM–Newton data are analysed. The nuclear fitting results of XMM–Newton data suggest the possible existence of a heavily obscured AGN. But the nuclear spectrum extracted from Chandra cannot be well-fitted by the best fitting model for XMM–Newton.

Analysis of the Relationships among Trust Antecedents, Organizational Structures, and Performance Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps as one of fourteen desirable traits that leaders should develop. In market economies, trust refers to “a combination...translate their common purpose into specific, measurable performance goals; - are of a manageable size; - develop the right mix of expertise...industry, is a matrix organization (Miles & Snow, 1992; TRW website). Finally, network structures—used by organizations such as Nike —began to form

Resonance – Journal of Science Education | News

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

pp 28-41 General Article. The Football - From Euclid to Soccer it is... A R Rao · More Details Fulltext PDF. pp 42-49 General Article. Chemical Research of Sir Prafulla Chandra Rây · Sreebrata Goswami Samaresh Bhattacharya · More Details Fulltext PDF. pp 50-53 General Article. Acharya Prafulla Chandra at the College of ...

Searching for Exoplanet Effects on the X-ray Spectrum of τ Boo

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Brian; Laming, J. Martin

2018-01-01

We study the X-ray spectrum of the exoplanet host star τ Boo A (F7 V), in order to explore the possibility that its very close-in, massive exoplanet (Porb=3.31 days, m sin i=3.9 MJ) may be affecting the coronal emissions of this star. The star was observed recently by Chandra/LETGS for 92 ksec in three pieces between 2017 February 27 and 2017 March 5; and was previously observed by XMM for 65 ksec in 2003 June 24. The new Chandra observations allow us to resolve τ Boo A from its stellar companion, τ Boo B (M2 V), for the first time. The companion accounts for 21% of the system's total X-ray emission at the time of the Chandra observation. Nevertheless, our measurements of τ Boo A emission measures and coronal abundances from Chandra are reasonably consistent with previous measurements from XMM by Maggio et al. (2011, A&A, 527, A144), in which τ Boo A and B are not resolved. Covering planetary orbital phases 0.21-0.31, 0.44-0.49, and 0.69-0.86, the Chandra data show that τ Boo A's coronal X-ray spectrum does not vary significantly with planetary orbital phase. However, our analysis suggests that coronal abundances for τ Boo A are somewhat anomalous, with a significantly weaker "FIP effect" compared to similar stars without close-in exoplanets, particularly π3 Ori (F6 V).

Implications of the Detection of X-rays From Pluto by Chandra for Its Solar Wind - Neutral Atmosphere Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Lisse, C. M.

2016-12-01

Using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, we have obtained low-resolution imaging X-ray spectrophotometry of the Pluto system in support of the New Horizons (NH) flyby. In a total of 174 ksec of on-target time, we measured 8 photons from 0.31 to 0.60 keV in a co-moving 11 x 11 pixel2 box (the 90% flux aperture for fixed background sources in the field) measuring 121,000 x 121,000 km2 (or 100 x 100 RPluto) at Pluto. The Pluto photons do not have the spectral shape of the background, are coincident with a 90% flux aperture co-moving with Pluto, and are not confused with any background source, so we consider them as sourced from the Pluto system. Allowing for background, we find a net signal of 6.8 counts and a statistical noise level of 1.2 counts, for a detection of Pluto at > 99.95%. The mean 0.31 - 0.60 keV X-ray power from Pluto is 200 +200/-100 MW, in the middle range of X-ray power levels seen for other known solar system emission sources: auroral precipitation, solar X-ray scattering, and charge exchange (CXE) between solar wind (SW) ions and atmospheric neutrals. We eliminate auroral effects as a source, as Pluto has no known magnetic field and the NH/Alice UV spectrometer detected no airglow from Pluto during the flyby. Atmospheric haze particles could produce resonant scattering of solar X-rays from Pluto, but the energy signature of the detected photons does not match the solar spectrum and estimates of Pluto's scattered X-ray emission are 2 to 3 orders of magnitude lower than seen in our observations. CXE-driven emission from hydrogenic and heliogenic SW carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen ions can produce the energy signature seen, and the 6 x 1025 neutral gas escape rate from Pluto deduced from NH data (Gladstone et al. 2016) can support the 3.0 +3.0/-1.5 x 1024 X-ray photons/s emission rate required by our observations. Using the SW proton density and speed measured by the NH/SWAP instrument in the vicinity of Pluto at the time of the photon emissions, we find a

High-temperature gas reactor (HTGR) market assessment, synthetic fuels analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-08-01

This study is an update of assessments made in TRW's October 1979 assessment of overall high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) markets in the future synfuels industry (1985 to 2020). Three additional synfuels processes were assessed. Revised synfuel production forecasts were used. General environmental impacts were assessed. Additional market barriers, such as labor and materials, were researched. Market share estimates were used to consider the percent of markets applicable to the reference HTGR size plant. Eleven HTGR plants under nominal conditions and two under pessimistic assumptions are estimated for selection by 2020. No new HTGR markets were identified in the three additional synfuels processes studied. This reduction in TRW's earlier estimate is a result of later availability of HTGR's (commercial operation in 2008) and delayed build up in the total synfuels estimated markets. Also, a latest date for HTGR capture of a synfuels market could not be established because total markets continue to grow through 2020. If the nominal HTGR synfuels market is realized, just under one million tons of sulfur dioxide effluents and just over one million tons of nitrous oxide effluents will be avoided by 2020. Major barriers to a large synfuels industry discussed in this study include labor, materials, financing, siting, and licensing. Use of the HTGR intensifies these barriers

Increased water use efficiency does not prevent growth decline of Pinus canariensis in a semi-arid treeline ecotone in Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain).

Science.gov (United States)

Brito, Patricia; Grams, Thorsten E E; Matysssek, Rainer; Jimenez, Maria S; Gonzalez-Rodríguez, Agueda M; Oberhuber, Walter; Wieser, Gerhard

2016-09-01

Intrinsic water-use efficiency of Pinus canariensis (Sweet ex Spreng.) growing at a semi-arid treeline has increased during the past 37 years. Tree-ring width by contrast has declined, likely caused by reduced stomatal conductance due to increasing aridity. Rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration ( C a ) has been related to tree growth enhancement accompanied by increasing intrinsic water-use-efficiency (iWUE). Nevertheless, the extent of rising C a on long-term changes in iWUE and growth has remained poorly understood to date in Mediterranean treeline ecosystems. This study aimed to examine radial growth and physiological responses of P. canariensis in relation to rising C a and increasing aridity at treeline in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. We evaluated temporal changes in secondary growth (tree-ring width; TRW) and tree ring stable C isotope signature for assessing iWUE from 1975 through 2011. Precipitation was the main factor controlling secondary growth. Over the last 36 years P. canariensis showed a decline in TRW at enhanced iWUE, likely caused by reduced stomatal conductance due to increasing aridity. Our results indicate that increasing aridity has overridden the potential CO 2 fertilization on tree growth of P. canariensis at its upper distribution limit.

Searches for 3.5 keV Absorption Features in Cluster AGN Spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Conlon, Joseph P.

2018-06-01

We investigate possible evidence for a spectral dip around 3.5 keV in central cluster AGNs, motivated by previous results for archival Chandra observations of the Perseus cluster and the general interest in novel spectral features around 3.5 keV that may arise from dark matter physics. We use two deep Chandra observations of the Perseus and Virgo clusters that have recently been made public. In both cases, mild improvements in the fit (Δχ2 = 4.2 and Δχ2 = 2.5) are found by including such a dip at 3.5 keV into the spectrum. A comparable result (Δχ2 = 6.5) is found re-analysing archival on-axis Chandra ACIS-S observations of the centre of the Perseus cluster.

Prafulla Chandra Rây

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

This in tum led him to illumine the little known general chemistry of nitrites and hyponitrites. This endeavour was spread over all his years in .... Nature magazine of July 15 wrote, "Sir Prafulla was more than anyone else, responsible for the great development of scientific research in India during the past fifty years ... '.

Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

New Chemical Laboratory, Alercurous Nitrite and History of Hindu Chemistry ... I dreamt a dream that, God willing, a time would come when she too would contribute her .... of his encyclopaedic work on Syriac, Arabic, and middle-age alchemy.

Ranu, Prof. Brindaban Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Jadavpur), FNA. Date of birth: 1 August 1949. Specialization: Visible Light Photocatalysed Reactions, Green Chemistry, Indium-mediated Supported Metal and Metal Nanoparticle-catalysed Reactions, Organic Synthesis Address: Department of ...

Chandra's X-ray Vision

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

1999-07-23

Jul 23, 1999 ... CXO is 13.8 metres long and its solar arrays have a wingspan of. 19.5 metres as shown in ... the Universe (for example, coronae of stars, matter ejected from .... The telescope system and the scientific instruments were put through ..... solve the puzzle about the origin of cosmic X-ray background- one of the ...

Maheshwari, Prof. Satish Chandra

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Delhi), FNA, FNASc. Date of birth: 4 October 1933. Specialization: Physiology & Biochemistry of Plant Growth & Development and Plant Molecular Biology Address: 251/56, Prathap Enclave, Haldighati Road, Jaipur 302 033, Rajasthan Contact ...

CIAO: A Modern Data Analysis System for X-Ray Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Fruscione, Antonella

2017-08-01

It is now eighteen years after launch and Chandra continues to produce spectacular results!A portion of the success is to be attributed to the data analysis software CIAO (Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations) that the Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC) continues to improve and release year after year.CIAO is downloaded more than 1200 times a year and it is used by a wide variety of users around the world: from novice to experienced X-ray astronomers, high school, undergraduate and graduate students, archival users (many new to X-ray or Chandra data), users with extensive resources and others from smaller countries and institutions.The scientific goals and kinds of datasets and analysis cover a wide range: observations spanning from days to years, different instrument configurations and different kinds of targets, from pointlike stars and quasars, to fuzzy galaxies and clusters, to moving solar objects. These different needs and goals require a variety of specialized software and careful and detailed documentation which is what the CIAO software provides. In general, we strive to build a software system which is easy for beginners, yet powerful for advanced users.The complexity of the Chandra data require a flexible data analysis system which provides an environment where the users can apply our tools, but can also explore and construct their own applications. The main purpose of this talk is to present CIAO as a modern data analysis system for X-ray data analysis.CIAO has grown tremendously over the years and we will highlight (a) the most recent advancements with a particular emphasis on the newly developed high-level scripts which simplify the analysis steps for the most common cases making CIAO more accessible to all users - including beginners and users who are not X-ray astronomy specialists, (b) the python-based Sherpa modelling and fitting application and the new stand-alone version openly developed and distributed on Github and (c) progress on methods to

Spatial distribution of electron plasma oscillations in the Earth`s foreshock at ISEE 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greenstadt, E.W.; Moses, S.L.; Coroniti, F.V. [TRW, Redondo Beach, CA (United States)] [and others

1995-10-01

Electric field oscillations recorded by the 10-56 kHz channels of TRW`s plasma wave detector during parts of two of the ISEE 3 circumterrestrial orbits in 1983 have been used to make the first mapping of Earth`s electron plasma wave foreshock. By combining data from the two trajectory segments, each of which provided relatively meager spatial sampling outside the bow shock, but high variation of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) direction, a first-order pattern of occurrence of electron plasma waves, hence also backstreaming electrons, has been determined. The authors depict the pattern with an adaptation of the mapping program previously used for the Venus electron foreshock. As at Venus, plasma wave activity was concentrated most densely along the IMF line tangent to the bow shock. Their mappings with three additional ISEE 3 channels surrounding the local electron plasma frequency indicate a richer distribution of waves in the foreshock than the single electron frequency channel of Pioneer Venus Orbiter could detect around Venus. 14 refs., 4 figs.

Observations of Short Gamma-Ray Bursts: Prompt Emission and Afterglow

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Edo

2011-09-01

The study of short gamma-ray bursts has been revolutionized by the discovery of afterglows and host galaxies. In this talk I will review observations of the prompt emission, afterglows, and host galaxies, primarily as they pertain to the nature of the progenitor systems. The bulk of the evidence points to the merger of compact objects (NS-NS or NS-BH) making short GRBs the prime candidate for gravitational wave detections with the next generation detectors. This work is partially supported by funds from NASA (through the Swift and Chandra GO programs) and the NSF through an AAG grant.

"Wonderful" Star Reveals its Hot Nature

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

to become a white dwarf. The internal turmoil in Mira A could create magnetic disturbances in the upper atmosphere of the star and lead to the observed X-ray outbursts, as well as the rapid loss of material from the star in a blustery, strong, stellar wind. Some of the gas and dust escaping from Mira A is captured by its companion Mira B. In stark contrast to Mira A, Mira B is thought to be a white dwarf star about the size of the Earth. Some of the material in the wind from Mira A is captured in an accretion disk around Mira B, where collisions between rapidly moving particles produce X-rays. Animation of Interacting Stars Animation of Interacting Stars One of the more intriguing aspects of the observations of Mira AB at both X-ray and ultraviolet wavelengths is the evidence for a faint bridge of material joining the two stars. The existence of a bridge would indicate that, in addition to capturing material from the stellar wind, Mira B is also pulling material directly off Mira A into the accretion disk. Chandra observed Mira with its Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on December 6, 2003 for about 19 hours. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

TRADOC Library and Information Network (TRALINET). Union List of Periodicals (TULIP) (6th Edition)

Science.gov (United States)

1993-12-01

LIST OF PERIODICALS PAGE 87 DECEMBER 1993 AUSTRALIAN OUTLOOK TRC (0004-9913] paper 1963-1989. AUTO WEEK TRW paper Current issue only. AUTOBODY AND...LIST OF PERIODICALS PAGE 100 DECEMBER 1993 BOLETIN DEL FMI TTY paper 1989+ BON APPETIT APF [0006-6990] paper Current two years only TSS paper Jan 1988...Current month only EL DIARIO/LA PRENSA TTY (0742-9428] paper Current month only EL MERCURIO (CHILE) TTY paper Current month only EL MUNDO TTX paper

The Case of the Neutron Star With a Wayward Wake

Science.gov (United States)

2006-06-01

program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory provides science support and controls flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images can be found at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

Too Fast, Too Furious: A Galaxy's Fatal Plunge

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

multimillion-degree trail of gas. Chandra's data indicate that this hot gas was probably enriched in heavy elements by the starburst and driven out of the galaxy by its supersonic motion through the much larger cloud of gas that pervades the cluster. Collectively, these observations offer evidence that the ram pressure of external gas in the cluster is stripping away the galaxy's own gas. This process has long been hypothesized to account for the forced evolution of cluster galaxies. Its aftermath has been seen in several ways. Some nearby examples, Seyfert's Sextet and Stefan's Quintet, are tight clusters that show the aftermath of high-velocity collisions. The galaxy C153 is destined to lose the last vestiges of its spiral arms and become a bland S0-type galaxy having a central bulge and disk, but no spiral-arm structure. These types of galaxies are common in the dense galaxy clusters seen today. Astronomers plan to make new observations with Gemini again in 2004 to study the dynamics of the gas and stars in the tail. The science team members are William Keel (University of Alabama), Frazer Owen (National Radio Astronomy Observatory), Michael Ledlow (Gemini Observatory), and Daniel Wang (University of Massachusetts). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass. Additional information and images are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://chandra.nasa.gov

Dark Matter Search Using XMM-Newton Observations of Willman 1

Science.gov (United States)

Lowenstein, Michael; Kusenko, Alexander

2012-01-01

We report the results of a search for an emission line from radiatively decaying dark matter in the ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy Willman 1 based on analysis of spectra extracted from XMM-Newton X-ray Observatory data. The observation follows up our analysis of Chandra data of Willman 1that resulted in line flux upper limits over the Chandra bandpass and evidence of a 2.5 keY feature at a significance below the 99% confidence threshold used to define the limits. The higher effective area of the XMM-Newton detectors, combined with application of recently developing methods for extended-source analysis, allow us to derive improved constraints on the combination of mass and mixing angle of the sterile neutrino dark matter candidate. We do not confirm the Chandra evidence for a 2.5 keV emission line.

A LABOCA SURVEY OF THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH-SUBMILLIMETER PROPERTIES OF NEAR-INFRARED SELECTED GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greve, T. R.; Walter, F.; Bell, E. F.; Dannerbauer, H.; Rix, H.-W.; Schinnerer, E.; Weiss, A.; Kovacs, A.; Smail, I.; Coppin, K. E. K.; Alexander, D.; Zheng, X. Z.; Knudsen, K. K.; Bertoldi, F.; De Breuck, C.; Dickinson, M.; Gawiser, E.; Lutz, D.; Brandt, N.; Chapman, S. C.

2010-01-01

Using the 330 hr ESO-MPG 870 μm survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDF-S) obtained with the Large Apex BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA) on the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX), we have carried out a stacking analysis at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths of a sample of 8266 near-infra-red (near-IR) selected (K vega ≤ 20) galaxies, including 893 BzK galaxies, 1253 extremely red objects (EROs), and 737 distant red galaxies (DRGs), selected from the Multi-wavelength Survey by Yale-Chile (MUSYC). We measure average 870 μm fluxes of 0.22 ± 0.01 mJy (22.0σ), 0.48 ± 0.04 mJy (12.0σ), 0.39 ± 0.03 mJy (13.0σ), and 0.43 ± 0.04 mJy (10.8σ) for the K vega ≤ 20, BzK, ERO, and DRG samples, respectively. For the BzK, ERO, and DRG sub-samples, which overlap to some degree and are likely to be at z ≅ 1-2, this implies an average far-IR luminosity of ∼(1-5) x 10 11 L sun and star formation rate (SFR) of ∼20-90 M sun . Splitting the BzK galaxies into star-forming (sBzK) and passive (pBzK) galaxies, the former is significantly detected (0.50 ± 0.04 mJy, 12.5σ) while the latter is only marginally detected (0.34 ± 0.10 mJy, 3.4σ), thus confirming that the sBzK and pBzK criteria to some extent select obscured, star-forming, and truly passive galaxies, respectively. The K vega ≤ 20 galaxies are found to contribute 7.27 ± 0.34 Jy deg -2 (16.5% ± 5.7%) to the 870 μm extragalactic background light (EBL). sBzK and pBzK galaxies contribute 1.49 ± 0.22 Jy deg -2 (3.4% ± 1.3%) and 0.20 ± 0.14 Jy deg -2 (0.5% ± 0.3%) to the EBL. We present the first delineation of the average submm signal from the K vega ≤ 20 selected galaxies and their contribution to the submm EBL as a function of (photometric) redshift, and find a decline in the average submm signal (and therefore IR luminosity and SFR) by a factor ∼2-3 from z ∼ 2 to z ∼ 0. This is in line with a cosmic star formation history in which the star formation activity in galaxies increases

A Unified Framework for Simulating Markovian Models of Highly Dependable Systems

Science.gov (United States)

1989-07-01

ependability I’valuiation of Complex lault- lolerant Computing Systems. Ptreedings of the 1-.et-enth Sv~npmiun on Falult- lolerant Comnputing. Portland, Maine...New York. [12] (icis;t, R.M. and ’I’rivedi, K.S. (1983). I!Itra-Il gh Reliability Prediction for Fault-’ lolerant Computer Systems. IEE.-E Trw.%,.cions... 1998 ). Surv’ey of Software Tools for [valuating Reli- ability. A vailability, and Serviceabilitv. ACA1 Computing S urveyjs 20. 4, 227-269). [32] Meyer

Organizational Culture in a chosen Organization

OpenAIRE

Mandík, Jaroslav

2009-01-01

The target of the thesis with the title "Corporate culture in selected organization" is to describe the corporate culture of the Engineering Center based in the company TRW Automotive Czech s.r.o. in Jablonec nad Nisou. The theoretical resources of the thesis are a compilation of facts and opinions originating from authors and scientists who are engaged in the area of management, organizations and corporate culture. The thesis endeavours to provide a brief but comprehensive view on the topic....

Fingerprinting Software Defined Networks and Controllers

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-01

rps requests per second RTT Round-Trip Time SDN Software Defined Networking SOM Self-Organizing Map STP Spanning Tree Protocol TRW-CB Threshold Random...Protocol ( STP ) updates), in which case the frame will be “punted” from the forwarding lookup process and processed by the route processor [9]. The act of...environment 20 to accomplish the needs of B4. In addition to Google, the SDN market is expected to grow beyond $35 billion by April 2018 [31]. The rate

NASA's Universe of Learning: Engaging Learners in Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Cominsky, L.; Smith, D. A.; Lestition, K.; Greene, M.; Squires, G.

2016-12-01

NASA's Universe of Learning is one of 27 competitively awarded education programs selected by NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) to enable scientists and engineers to more effectively engage with learners of all ages. The NASA's Universe of Learning program is created through a partnership between the Space Telescope Science Institute, Chandra X-ray Center, IPAC at Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Exoplanet Exploration Program, and Sonoma State University. The program will connect the scientists, engineers, science, technology and adventure of NASA Astrophysics with audience needs, proven infrastructure, and a network of over 500 partners to advance the objectives of SMD's newly restructured education program. The multi-institutional team will develop and deliver a unified, consolidated suite of education products, programs, and professional development offerings that spans the full spectrum of NASA Astrophysics, including the Exoplanet Exploration theme. Program elements include enabling educational use of Astrophysics mission data and offering participatory experiences; creating multimedia and immersive experiences; designing exhibits and community programs; providing professional development for pre-service educators, undergraduate instructors, and informal educators; and, producing resources for special needs and underserved/underrepresented audiences. This presentation will provide an overview of the program and process for mapping discoveries to products and programs for informal, lifelong, and self-directed learning environments.

Revealing the nature of the ULX and X-ray population of the spiral galaxy NGC 4088

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mezcua, M. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Fabbiano, G. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Gladstone, J. C. [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, 11322-89 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G7 (Canada); Farrell, S. A. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Soria, R., E-mail: mmezcua@iac.es [International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845 (Australia)

2014-04-20

We present the first Chandra and Swift X-ray study of the spiral galaxy NGC 4088 and its ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX N4088-X1). We also report very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations at 1.6 and 5 GHz performed quasi-simultaneously with the Swift and Chandra observations, respectively. Fifteen X-ray sources are detected by Chandra within the D25 ellipse of NGC 4088, from which we derive the X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of this galaxy. We find the XLF is very similar to those of star-forming galaxies and estimate a star-formation rate of 4.5 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}. The Chandra detection of the ULX yields its most accurate X-ray position, which is spatially coincident with compact radio emission at 1.6 GHz. The ULX Chandra X-ray luminosity, L {sub 0.2-10.0} {sub keV} = 3.4 × 10{sup 39} erg s{sup –1}, indicates that N4088-X1 could be located at the high-luminosity end of the high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) population of NGC 4088. The estimates of the black hole (BH) mass and ratio of radio to X-ray luminosity of N4088-X1 rule out a supermassive BH nature. The Swift X-ray spectrum of N4088-X1 is best described by a thermal Comptonization model and presents a statistically significant high-energy cutoff. We conclude that N4088-X1 is most likely a stellar remnant BH in an HMXB, probably fed by Roche lobe overflow, residing in a super-Eddington ultraluminous state. The 1.6 GHz VLBI source is consistent with radio emission from possible ballistic jet ejections in this state.

Erratic Black Hole Regulates Itself

Science.gov (United States)

2009-03-01

system," said Lee. "So, we can learn a tremendous amount about black holes by just studying stellar-mass black holes like this one." It is not known what causes the jet to turn on again once the wind dies down, and this remains one of the major unsolved mysteries in astronomy. "Every major observatory, ground and space, has been used to study this black hole for the past two decades," said Neilsen. "Although we still don't have all the answers, we think our work is a step in the right direction." This was work made using Chandra's High Energy Transmission Gratings Spectrometer. These results appear in the March 26th issue of Nature. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.