arXiv subjects

Bobing Wu

Publications and source records attributed to Bobing Wu.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

An Insight-HXMT view of the mHz quasi-regular modulation phenomenon in the black hole X-ray binary 4U 1630-47

Here we report the spectral-timing results of the black hole X-ray binary 4U 1630-47 during its 2021 outburst using observations from the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope. Type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in 1.6--4.2 Hz and quasi-regular modulation (QRM) near 60 mHz are detected during the outburst. The mHz QRM has a fractional rms of 10%--16% in the 8--35 keV energy band with a Q factor (frequency/width) of 2--4. Benefiting from the broad energy band of hxmt, we study the energy dependence of the 60 mHz QRM in 1--100 keV for the first time. We find that the fractional rms of the mHz QRM increases with photon energy, while the time lags of the mHz QRM are soft and decrease with photon energy. Fast recurrence of the mHz QRM, in a timescale of less than one hour, has been observed during the outburst. During this period, the corresponding energy spectra moderately change when the source transitions from the QRM state to the non-QRM state. The QRM phenomena also shows a dependence with the accretion rate. We suggest that the QRM could be caused by an unknown accretion instability aroused from the corona.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Quasi-periodic oscillations of the X-ray burst from the magnetar SGR J1935+2154 and associated with the fast radio burst FRB 200428

The origin(s) and mechanism(s) of fast radio bursts (FRBs), which are short radio pulses from cosmological distances, have remained a major puzzle since their discovery. We report a strong Quasi-Periodic Oscillation(QPO) of 40 Hz in the X-ray burst from the magnetar SGR J1935+2154 and associated with FRB 200428, significantly detected with the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) and also hinted by the Konus-Wind data. QPOs from magnetar bursts have only been rarely detected; our 3.4 sigma (p-value is 2.9e-4) detection of the QPO reported here reveals the strongest QPO signal observed from magnetars (except in some very rare giant flares), making this X-ray burst unique among magnetar bursts. The two X-ray spikes coinciding with the two FRB pulses are also among the peaks of the QPO. Our results suggest that at least some FRBs are related to strong oscillation processes of neutron stars. We also show that we may overestimate the significance of the QPO signal and underestimate the errors of QPO parameters if QPO exists only in a fraction of the time series of a X-ray burst which we use to calculate the Leahy-normalized periodogram.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Insight-HXMT observations of jet-like corona in a black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070

A black hole X-ray binary produces hard X-ray radiation from its corona and disk when the accreting matter heats up. During an outburst, the disk and corona co-evolves with each other. However, such an evolution is still unclear in both its geometry and dynamics. Here we report the unusual decrease of the reflection fraction in MAXI J1820+070, which is the ratio of the coronal intensity illuminating the disk to the coronal intensity reaching the observer, as the corona is observed to contrast during the decay phase. We postulate a jet-like corona model, in which the corona can be understood as a standing shock where the material flowing through. In this dynamical scenario, the decrease of the reflection fraction is a signature of the corona's bulk velocity. Our findings suggest that as the corona is observed to get closer to the black hole, the coronal material might be outflowing faster.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

POLAR measurements of the Crab pulsar

POLAR is a Compton polarimeter sensitive in the 50 to 500 keV energy range. The Crab pulsar is a scientific target for POLAR on board the Chinese space laboratory Tiangong-2 (TG-2). With its large Field of View (FoV), POLAR detected significant pulsed signals from the Crab pulsar which is visible by POLAR in about half of observation time. In this work, we present the preliminary results including the pulse profile, timing and polarization measuring method. First, we show the highly significant pulse profile observed by POLAR which is compared to the results of other detectors including Fermi/LAT and INTEGRAL. And the pulse profile as a function of theta incident angle and as a function of channel number, which indicate that POLAR has a good detection performance, have been showed. Second, we find that the timing of the Crab pulses are accurately measured, which provides a unique verification and calibration to the POLAR timing system. Finally, the potential polarization measurement of the Crab pulsar is also discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2019

Insight-HXMT observations of Swift J0243.6+6124 during its 2017-2018 outburst

The recently discovered neutron star transient Swift J0243.6+6124 has been monitored by {\it the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope} ({\it Insight-\rm HXMT). Based on the obtained data, we investigate the broadband spectrum of the source throughout the outburst. We estimate the broadband flux of the source and search for possible cyclotron line in the broadband spectrum. No evidence of line-like features is, however, found up to $\rm 150~keV$. In the absence of any cyclotron line in its energy spectrum, we estimate the magnetic field of the source based on the observed spin evolution of the neutron star by applying two accretion torque models. In both cases, we get consistent results with $B\rm \sim 10^{13}~G$, $D\rm \sim 6~kpc$ and peak luminosity of $\rm >10^{39}~erg~s^{-1}$ which makes the source the first Galactic ultraluminous X-ray source hosting a neutron star.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

In-flight energy calibration of the space-borne Compton polarimeter POLAR

POLAR is a compact wide-field space-borne detector for precise measurements of the linear polarisation of hard X-rays emitted by transient sources in the energy range from 50 keV to 500 keV. It consists of a 40$\times$40 array of plastic scintillator bars used as a detection material. The bars are grouped in 25 detector modules. The energy range sensitivity of POLAR is optimized to match with the prompt emission photons from the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Polarization measurements of the prompt emission would probe source geometries, emission mechanisms and magnetic structures in GRB jets. The instrument can also detect hard X-rays from solar flares and be used for precise measurement of their polarisation. POLAR was launched into a low Earth orbit on-board the Chinese space-lab TG-2 on September 15th, 2016. To achieve high accuracies in polarisation measurements it is essential to assure both before and during the flight a precise energy calibration. Such calibrations are performed with four low activity $^{22}$Na radioactive sources placed inside the instrument. Energy conversion factors are related to Compton edge positions from the collinear annihilation photons from the sources. This paper presents main principles of the in-flight calibration, describes studies of the method based on Monte Carlo simulations and its laboratory verification and finally provides some observation results based on the in-flight data analysis.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2018

In-Orbit Instrument Performance Study and Calibration for POLAR Polarization Measurements

POLAR is a compact space-borne detector designed to perform reliable measurements of the polarization for transient sources like Gamma-Ray Bursts in the energy range 50-500keV. The instrument works based on the Compton Scattering principle with the plastic scintillators as the main detection material along with the multi-anode photomultiplier tube. POLAR has been launched successfully onboard the Chinese space laboratory TG-2 on 15th September, 2016. In order to reliably reconstruct the polarization information a highly detailed understanding of the instrument is required for both data analysis and Monte Carlo studies. For this purpose a full study of the in-orbit performance was performed in order to obtain the instrument calibration parameters such as noise, pedestal, gain nonlinearity of the electronics, threshold, crosstalk and gain, as well as the effect of temperature on the above parameters. Furthermore the relationship between gain and high voltage of the multi-anode photomultiplier tube has been studied and the errors on all measurement values are presented. Finally the typical systematic error on polarization measurements of Gamma-Ray Bursts due to the measurement error of the calibration parameters are estimated using Monte Carlo simulations.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2018

A Low-latency Pipeline for GRB Light Curve and Spectrum using Fermi/GBM Near Real-time Data

Rapid response and short time latency are very important for Time Domain Astronomy, such as the observations of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) and electromagnetic (EM) counterparts of gravitational waves (GWs). Based on the near real-time Fermi/GBM data, we developed a low-latency pipeline to automatically calculate the temporal and spectral properties of GRBs. With this pipeline, some important parameters can be obtained, such as T90 and fluence, within ~20 minutes after the GRB trigger. For ~90% GRBs, T90 and fluence are consistent with the GBM catalog results within 2 sigma errors. This pipeline has been used by the Gamma-ray Bursts Polarimeter (POLAR) and the Insight Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) to follow up the bursts of interest. For GRB 170817A, the first EM counterpart of GW events detected by Fermi/GBM and INTEGRAL/SPI-ACS, the pipeline gave T90 and spectral information in 21 minutes after the GBM trigger, providing important information for POLAR and Insight-HXMT observations.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2016

A crosstalk and non-uniformity correction method for the Compact Space-borne Compton Polarimeter POLAR

In spite of extensive observations and numerous theoretical studies in the past decades several key questions related with Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) emission mechanisms are still to be answered. Precise detection of the GRB polarization carried out by dedicated instruments can provide new data and be an ultimate tool to unveil their real nature. A novel space-borne Compton polarimeter POLAR onboard the Chinese space station TG2 is designed to measure linear polarization of gamma-rays arriving from GRB prompt emissions. POLAR uses plastics scintillator bars (PS) as gamma-ray detectors and multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs) for readout of the scintillation light. Inherent properties of such detection systems are crosstalk and non-uniformity. The crosstalk smears recorded energy over multiple channels making both non-uniformity corrections and energy calibration more difficult. Rigorous extraction of polarization observable requires to take such effects properly into account. We studied influence of the crosstalk on energy depositions during laboratory measurements with X-ray beams. A relation between genuine and recorded energy was deduced using an introduced model of data analysis. It postulates that both the crosstalk and non-uniformities can be described with a single matrix obtained in calibrations with mono-energetic X- and gamma-rays. Necessary corrections are introduced using matrix based equations allowing for proper evaluation of the measured GRB spectra. Validity of the method was established during dedicated experimental tests. The same approach can be also applied in space utilizing POLAR internal calibration sources. The introduced model is general and with some adjustments well suitable for data analysis from other MAPMT-based instruments.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2012

Influence of the Earth on the background and the sensitivity of the GRM and ECLAIRs instruments aboard the Chinese-French mission SVOM

SVOM (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Object Monitor) is a future Chinese-French satellite mission which is dedicated to Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) studies. Its anti-solar pointing strategy makes the Earth cross the field of view of its payload every orbit. In this paper, we present the variations of the gamma-ray background of the two high energy instruments aboard SVOM, the Gamma-Ray Monitor (GRM) and ECLAIRs, as a function of the Earth position. We conclude with an estimate of the Earth influence on their sensitivity and their GRB detection capability.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2009

Expected performance of a hard X-ray polarimeter (POLAR) by Monte Carlo Simulation

Polarization measurements of the prompt emission in Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) can provide diagnostic information for understanding the nature of the central engine. POLAR is a compact polarimeter dedicated to the polarization measurement of GRBs between 50-300 keV and is scheduled to be launched aboard the Chinese Space Laboratory about year 2012. A preliminary Monte Carlo simulation has been accomplished to attain the expected performance of POLAR, while a prototype of POLAR is being constructed at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The modulation factor, efficiency and effective area, background rates and Minimum Detectable Polarization (MDP) were calculated for different detector configurations and trigger strategies. With the optimized detector configuration and trigger strategy and the constraint of total weight less than 30 kg, the primary science goal to determine whether most GRBs are strongly polarized can be achieved, and about 9 GRBs/yr can be detected with MDP < 10% for the conservative detector configuration

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2009

SVOM Gamma Ray Monitor

The Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Object Monitor (SVOM) mission is dedicated to the detection, localization and broad-band study of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and other high-energy transient phenomena. The Gamma Ray Monitor (GRM) onboard is designed to observe the GRBs up to 5 MeV. With this instrument one of the key GRB parameter, Epeak, can be easily measured in the hard x-ray band. It can achieve a detection rate of 100 GRBs per year which ensures the scientific output of SVOM.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2009

Light collection of POLAR detector

POLAR is a compact polarimeter dedicated to measure the polarization of GRBs between 50-300 keV. The light collection of 200*6*6mm3 plastic bars has been simulated and optimized in order to get uniform response to x-rays at different points of one single bar. According to the Monte Carlo results, the amplitude uniformity strongly depends on the polishing level of scintillator surface and the covering. A uniformity of 89% is achieved with a prototype constructed by a non position-sensitive PMT and an array of 4X4 bars.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2000

Spectral Lags of Gamma-Ray Burst From Ginga and BATSE

The analysis of spectral lag between energy bands, which combines temporal and spectral analyses, can add strict constraints to gamma-ray burst (GRB) models. In previous studies, the lag analysis focused on the lags between channel 1 (25-57 keV) and channel 3 (115-320 keV) from the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). In this paper, we analyzed the cross-correlation average lags (including approximate uncertainties) between energy bands for two GRB samples: 19 events detected by Ginga, and 109 events detected by BATSE. We paid special attention to the BATSE GRBs with known redshifts, because there has been a reported connection between lag and luminosity. This extends our knowledge of spectral lags to lower energy ($\sim 2$ keV). We found that lags between energy bands are small. The lag between the peak of $\sim 50$ keV photons and $\sim 200$ keV photons is $\sim 0.08$ sec. The upper limit in the lag between $\sim 9$ keV photons and $\sim 90$ keV photons is $\sim 0.5$ sec. Thus, there are not large shifts at low energy. We found that about 20% of GRBs have detectable lags between energy bands in the Ginga and BATSE samples. From the internal shock model there are three sources of time structure in GRB pulses: cooling, hydrodynamics, and angular effects. We argue that cooling is much too fast to account for our observed lags and angular effects are energy independent. Thus, only hydrodynamics can produce these lags. Perhaps the radiation process varies as the reverse shock moves through the shell.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

GRB990123: Evidence that the Gamma Rays Come from a Central Engine

GRB990123 was a long complex gamma-ray burst with an optical transient that started early within the gamma-ray phase. The peak and power law decay of the early optical emission strongly indicates the presence of a decelerating relativistic shell during that phase. Prior to this burst, it was not known if the shell decelerated during the burst, so an external shock origin for the gamma rays was still possible. If the gamma-rays are produced in the external shock, then the pulse widths should reflect the observed deceleration of the shell and increase by about 2.3. We analyze the fine time structure observed in the gamma-ray data from BATSE and determine that the width of the peaks do not increase as expected for a decelerating shell; the later pulses are, at most, a factor of 1.15 longer than the earlier pulses. We also analyze the variability to determine what fraction of the shell's surface could be involved in the production of the gamma rays, the so-called surface filling factor. For GRB990123 we find a filling factor of 0.008. The lack of pulse width evolution eliminates the only remaining kinematically acceptable external shock explanation for the gamma-ray phase and, thus, the gamma rays must originate at a central engine.

astro-ph↗