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Eugenio Ursino

Publications and source records attributed to Eugenio Ursino.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2023

Evidence of X-ray emission from the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium

The Universe has evolved from an initial diffuse, uniform gas to a complex structure that includes both voids and high-density galaxy clusters connected by gaseous filaments, known as the Cosmic Web, and traced by 3D surveys of galaxies. The filamentary structure contains a significant fraction of the baryonic matter and is predicted to be mostly in the form of a moderately high temperature plasma, the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium. Plasma at this temperature and ionization level emits mostly in soft X-rays. The filamentary structure, however, is hard to detect because the other sources contributing to the Diffuse X-ray Background are much brighter and, currently, there are very few reported detections of emission from the filaments. We report the first high-confidence level indirect detection of X-ray emission from the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium. Applying the Power Spectrum Analysis to XMM-Newton and eROSITA data, we separated its contribution from other sources modeled in previous studies. Our result is in good agreement with numerical simulations and fills a critical gap in the picture of the large-scale structure of the Universe, in which filamentary gas, galaxies and dark matter interact and co-evolve.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2023

Point source contribution to the Diffuse X-ray Background below 1 keV and its effect on our understanding of the circum-galactic medium

We studied the spectral signature of different components of the Diffuse X-ray Background (DXB), including Local Hot Bubble (LHB), Solar Wind Charge Exchange (SWCX), Galactic Halo, and typically unresolved point sources (galaxies and AGN), in the direction of the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS) using the 4 Ms XMM-Newton survey and Chandra 4 Ms Source Catalog. In this paper, we present our results showing how the different components contribute to the DXB below 1 keV. In particular, we have found that ~6% of the emission at 3/4 keV (all-sky average value ~ 3$\times10^{-3}$ cm$^{-6}$pc), which is typically associated with Galactic Halo (GH) and Circum-galactic medium (CGM) is, in fact, due to emission from typically unresolved galaxies. We will discuss the effect that this has on our understanding of GH and CGM, and to our understanding of the missing CGM baryons.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2023

Line Emission Mapper (LEM): Probing the physics of cosmic ecosystems

The Line Emission Mapper (LEM) is an X-ray Probe for the 2030s that will answer the outstanding questions of the Universe's structure formation. It will also provide transformative new observing capabilities for every area of astrophysics, and to heliophysics and planetary physics as well. LEM's main goal is a comprehensive look at the physics of galaxy formation, including stellar and black-hole feedback and flows of baryonic matter into and out of galaxies. These processes are best studied in X-rays, and emission-line mapping is the pressing need in this area. LEM will use a large microcalorimeter array/IFU, covering a 30x30' field with 10" angular resolution, to map the soft X-ray line emission from objects that constitute galactic ecosystems. These include supernova remnants, star-forming regions, superbubbles, galactic outflows (such as the Fermi/eROSITA bubbles in the Milky Way and their analogs in other galaxies), the Circumgalactic Medium in the Milky Way and other galaxies, and the Intergalactic Medium at the outskirts and beyond the confines of galaxies and clusters. LEM's 1-2 eV spectral resolution in the 0.2-2 keV band will make it possible to disentangle the faintest emission lines in those objects from the bright Milky Way foreground, providing groundbreaking measurements of the physics of these plasmas, from temperatures, densities, chemical composition to gas dynamics. While LEM's main focus is on galaxy formation, it will provide transformative capability for all classes of astrophysical objects, from the Earth's magnetosphere, planets and comets to the interstellar medium and X-ray binaries in nearby galaxies, AGN, and cooling gas in galaxy clusters. In addition to pointed observations, LEM will perform a shallow all-sky survey that will dramatically expand the discovery space.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2015

Evidence for a very low-column density hole in the Galactic halo in the direction of the high latitude molecular cloud MBM 16

Shadow observations are the only way to observe emission from the galactic halo (GH) and/or the circumgalactic medium (CGM) free of any foreground contamination from local hot bubble (LHB) and solar wind charge exchange (SWCX). We analyzed data from a shadow observation in the direction of the high latitude, neutral hydrogen cloud MBM 16 with \Suzaku. We found that all emission can be accounted for by foreground emission from LHB and SWCX, plus power law emission associated with unresolved point sources. The GH/CGM in the direction of MBM 16 is negligible or inexistent in our observation, with upper limits on the emission measure of 9.5x10^{-4} pc cm^{-6} (90% C.L.), at the lowest end of current estimates.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2014

X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich properties of the WHIM

We use numerical simulations to predict the soft X-ray ([0.4-0.6] keV) and Sunyaev-Zeldovich signal (at 150 GHz) from the large scale structure in the Universe and then compute 2-point statistics to study the spatial distribution and time evolution of the signals. The average X-ray signal predicted for the WHIM is in good agreement with observational constraints that set it at about 10% of the total Diffuse X-ray Background. The characteristic angle computed with the Autocorrelation Function is of the order of some arcminutes and becomes smaller at higher redshift. The power spectrum peak of the SZ due to the WHIM is at l~10000 and has amplitude of ~0.2 muK^2, about one order of magnitude below the signal measured with telescopes like Planck, ACT, and SPT. Even if the high-redshift WHIM signal is too weak to be detected using X-rays only, the small-scale correlation between X-ray and SZ maps is dominated by the high-redshift WHIM. This makes the analysis of the SZ signal in support of X-rays a promising tool to study the early time WHIM.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2013

The Hot and Energetic Universe: The missing baryons and the warm-hot intergalactic medium

The backbone of the large-scale structure of the Universe is determined by processes on a cosmological scale and by the gravitational interaction of the dominant dark matter. However, the mobile baryon population shapes the appearance of these structures. Theory predicts that most of the baryons reside in vast unvirialized filamentary structures that connect galaxy groups and clusters, but the observational evidence is currently lacking. Because the majority of the baryons are supposed to exist in a large-scale, hot and dilute gaseous phase, X-rays provide the ideal tool to progress our understanding. Observations with the Athena+ X-ray Integral Field Unit will reveal the location, chemical composition, physical state and dynamics of the active population of baryons.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2011

Studying the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium in Emission

We assess the possibility to detect the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) in emission and to characterize its physical conditions and spatial distribution through spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, in the framework of the recently proposed DIOS, EDGE, Xenia, and ORIGIN missions, all of which are equipped with microcalorimeter-based detectors. For this purpose we analyze a large set of mock emission spectra, extracted from a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation. These mock X-ray spectra are searched for emission features showing both the OVII K alpha triplet and OVIII Ly alpha line, which constitute a typical signature of the warm hot gas. Our analysis shows that 1 Ms long exposures and energy resolution of 2.5 eV will allow us to detect about 400 such features per deg^2 with a significance >5 sigma and reveals that these emission systems are typically associated with density ~100 above the mean. The temperature can be estimated from the line ratio with a precision of ~20%. The combined effect of contamination from other lines, variation in the level of the continuum, and degradation of the energy resolution reduces these estimates. Yet, with an energy resolution of 7 eV and all these effects taken into account, one still expects about 160 detections per deg^2. These line systems are sufficient to trace the spatial distribution of the line-emitting gas, which constitute an additional information, independent from line statistics, to constrain the poorly known cosmic chemical enrichment history and the stellar feedback processes.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2011

Expected properties of the Two-Point Autocorrelation Function of the IGM

Recent analyses of the fluctuations of the soft Diffuse X-ray Background (DXB) have provided indirect detection of a component consistent with the elusive Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM). In this work we use theoretical predictions obtained from hydrodynamical simulations to investigate the angular correlation properties of the WHIM in emission and assess the possibility of indirect detection with next-generation X-ray missions. Our results indicate that the angular correlation signal of the WHIM is generally weak but dominates the angular correlation function of the DXB outside virialized regions. Its indirect detection is possible but requires rather long exposure times [0.1-1] Ms, large (~1° x1°) fields of view and accurate subtraction of isotropic fore/background contributions, mostly contributed by Galactic emission. The angular correlation function of the WHIM is positive for θ < 5' and provides limited information on its spatial distribution. A satisfactory characterization of the WHIM in 3D can be obtained through spatially resolved spectroscopy. 1 Ms long exposures with next generation detectors will allow to detect ~400 O VII+O VIII X-ray emission systems that we use to trace the spatial distribution of the WHIM. We predict that these observations will allow to estimate the WHIM correlation function with high statistical significance out to ~10 Mpc h^-1 and characterize its dynamical state through the analysis of redshift-space distortions. The detectable WHIM, which is typically associated with the outskirts of virialized regions rather than the filaments has a non-zero correlation function with slope γ = -1.7 \pm 0.1 and correlation length r0 = 4.0 \pm 0.1 Mpc h^-1 in the range r = [4.5, 12] Mpc h^-1. Redshift space distances can be measured to assess the dynamical properties of the gas, typically infalling onto large virialized structures.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2010

Effect of the Metallicity on the X-ray Emission from the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium

Hydrodynamic simulations predict that a significant fraction of the gas in the current Universe is in the form of high temperature, highly ionized plasma emitting and absorbing primarily in the soft X-ray and UV bands, dubbed the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM). Its signature should be observable in red-shifted emission and absorption lines from highly ionized elements. To determine the expected WHIM emission in the soft X-ray band we used the output of a large scale hydrodynamic SPH simulation to generate images and spectra with angular resolution of 14'' and energy resolution of 1 eV. The current biggest limit of any hydrodynamic simulation in predicting the X-ray emission comes from metal diffusion. In our investigation, by using four different models for the WHIM metallicity we have found a strong dependence of the emission on the model used, with differences up to almost an order of magnitude. For each model we have investigated the redshift distribution and angular scale of the emission, confirming that most photons come from redshift z<1.2 and that the emission has a typical angular scale of less than a few arcminutes. We also compared our simulations with the few currently available observations and found that, within the variation of the metallicity models, our predictions are in good agreement with current constraints on the WHIM emission, and at this time the weak experimental constraints on the WHIM emission are not sufficient to exclude any of the models used.

astro-ph.CO↗