arXiv subjects

Hiroshi Tomida

Publications and source records attributed to Hiroshi Tomida.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

MAXI GSC observations of a spectral state transition in the black hole candidate XTE J1752-223

We present the first results on the black hole candidate XTE J1752-223 from the Gas Slit Camera (GSC) on-board the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) on the International Space Station. Including the onset of the outburst reported by the Proportional Counter Array on-board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer on 2009 October 23, the MAXI/GSC has been monitoring this source approximately 10 times per day with a high sensitivity in the 2-20 keV band. XTE J1752-223 was initially in the low/hard state during the first 3 months. An anti-correlated behavior between the 2-4 keV and 4-20 keV bands were observed around January 20, 2010, indicating that the source exhibited the spectral transition to the high/soft state. A transient radio jet may have been ejected when the source was in the intermediate state where the spectrum was roughly explained by a power-law with a photon index of 2.5-3.0. The unusually long period in the initial low/hard state implies a slow variation in the mass accretion rate, and the dramatic soft X-ray increase may be explained by a sudden appearance of the accretion disk component with a relatively low innermost temperature (0.4-0.7 keV). Such a low temperature might suggest that the maximum accretion rate was just above the critical gas evaporation rate required for the state transition.

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arXiv2009

The MAXI Mission on the ISS: Science and Instruments for Monitoring All Sky X-Ray Images

The MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image) mission is the first astronomical payload to be installed on the Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) on the ISS. It is scheduled for launch in the middle of 2009 to monitor all-sky X-ray objects on every ISS orbit. MAXI will be more powerful than any previous X-ray All Sky Monitor (ASM) payloads, being able to monitor hundreds of AGN. MAXI will provide all sky images of X-ray sources of about 20 mCrab in the energy band of 2-30 keV from observation on one ISS orbit (90 min), about 4.5 mCrab for one day, and about 1 mCrab for one month. A final detectability of MAXI could be 0.2 mCrab for 2 year observations.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2006

A Suzaku Observation of the Low-Ionization Fe-Line Emission from RCW 86

The newly operational X-ray satellite Suzaku observed the southwestern quadrant of the supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 86 in February 2006 to study the nature of the 6.4 keV emission line first detected with the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astronomy (ASCA). The new data confirm the existence of the line, localizing it for the first time; most of the line emission is adjacent and interior to the forward shock and not at the locus of the continuum hard emission. We also report the first detection of a 7.1 keV line that we interpret as the K-beta emission from low-ionization iron. The Fe-K line features are consistent with a non-equilibrium plasma of Fe-rich ejecta with n_{e}t <~ 10^9 cm^-3 s and kT_{e} ~ 5 keV. This combination of low n_{e}t and high kT_{e} suggests collisionless electron heating in an SNR shock. The Fe K-alpha line shows evidence for intrinsic broadening, with a width of 47 (34--59) eV (99% error region). The difference of the spatial distributions of the hard continuum above 3 keV and the Fe-K line emission support a synchrotron origin for the hard continuum.

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arXiv2001

X-ray emission from a merger remnant, NGC 7252,the "Atoms-for-Peace" galaxy

We observed a nearby merger remnant NGC 7252 with the X-ray satellite ASCA, and detected X-ray emission with the X-ray flux of (1.8+/-0.3)E-13 ergs/s/cm/cm in the 0.5 - 10 keV band. This corresponds to the X-ray luminosity of 8.1E40 ergs/s. The X-ray emission is well described with a two-component model: a soft component with kT =0.72+/-0.13 keV and a hard component with kT > 5.1 keV. Although NGC 7252 is referred to as a dynamically young protoelliptical, the 0.5 - 4 keV luminosity of the soft component is about 2E40 ergs/s, which is low for an early-type galaxy. The ratio of L_X/L_FIR suggests that the soft component originated from the hot gas due to star formation. Its low luminosity can be explained by the gas ejection from the galaxy as galaxy winds. Our observation reveals the existence of hard X-ray emission with the 2 - 10 keV luminosity of 5.6E40 ergs/s. This may indicate the existence of nuclear activity or intermediate-mass black hole in NGC 7252.

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arXiv2000

Discovery of Non-Thermal X-Rays from the Shell of RCW86

We report the ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics) results of RCW 86, a shell-like supernova remnant (SNR). The bright region in the X-ray band traces the radio clumpy shell, although details of the structure are different. The X-ray spectrum from each part of the shell can not be fitted to a thin thermal plasma model, but requires, at least three components: a low temperature plasma of 0.3 keV, high temperature plasma of > several keV, and a power-law component with a photon index = 3. The abundances of O, Ne, Mg and Si are significantly higher than that of Fe, indicating that RCW 86 is a type II SNR. The absorption column of 3e21 H cm^-2 indicates the distance to the SNR to be several kpc. The power-law component can be interpreted to be synchrotron radiation of high energy electrons. Assuming energy density equipartition between the magnetic field and the electrons, and using the radio and X-ray spectra, we argue that high energy electrons are accelerated up to 20 TeV. The acceleration efficiency is, however, different from shell to shell.

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arXiv1997

ICM masses in nearby and distant clusters of galaxies

We compile X-ray data of clusters of galaxies at a wide range of redshift $z=0.0\sim1.0$ and compare X-ray luminosities, gas masses, iron abundances and iron masses of nearby clusters and those of distant clusters as a function of plasma temperature. All the date presented in this paper have been obtained only with \ASCA and/or \ROSAT. No evidence for a change in the \KT -\LX\ relationship or \KT - iron abundance at $z<0.6$ is found. No significant change in \KT -\LX relationship at $z>0.6$ is seen, either. However, the gas masses of very distant clusters at $z\sim0.8-1.0$ and some clusters around $z\sim0.6$ are significantly lower than those of nearby clusters, which indicates a hint of evolution. The iron masses of the two very distant clusters at $z\sim0.8-1.0$ are significantly different from each other, which suggests that the epoch of the metal injection into ICM is different from cluster to cluster.

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