arXiv subjects

J. B. Stephen

Publications and source records attributed to J. B. Stephen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy. X. A new multi-year, multi-observatory campaign

Within the framework of our program (running since 2004) of identification of hard X-ray INTEGRAL sources through optical spectroscopy, we present the results concerning the nature of 33 high-energy objects. The data were acquired with the use of six telescopes of different sizes and from one on-line archive. The results indicate that the majority of these objects (23 out of 33) are active galactic nuclei (AGNs), whereas 10 are sources in the local Universe with eight of which in the Galaxy and two in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Among the identified AGNs, 13 are of Type 1 (i.e., with broad emission lines), eight are of Type 2 (with narrow emissions only), and two are X-ray bright, optically normal galaxies with no apparent nuclear activity in the optical. Six of these AGNs lie at high redshift (z > 0.5). Concerning local objects, we found that five of them are Galactic cataclysmic variables, three are high-mass X-ray binaries (two of which lying in the SMC), one is a low-mass X-ray binary, and one is classified as a flare star that is likely of RS CVn type. The main optical properties and inferred physical characteristics of these sources are presented and discussed.

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arXiv2013

Hard X-ray spectra of AGN in the INTEGRAL complete sample

In this paper, we present the hard X-ray spectral analysis of a complete sample of AGN de- tected by INTEGRAL/IBIS. In conjunction with IBIS spectra, we make use of Swift/BAT data, with the aim of cross-calibrating the two instruments, studying source variability and con- straining some important spectral parameters. We find that flux variability is present in at least 14% of the sample, while spectral variability is found only in one object. There is general good agreement between BAT and IBIS spectra, despite a systematic mismatch of about 22% in normalisation. When fitted with a simple power-law model, type 1 and type 2 sources appear to have very similar average photon indices, suggesting that they are powered by the same mechanism. As expected, we also find that a simple power-law does not always describe the data sufficiently well, thus indicating a certain degree of spectral complexity, which can be ascribed to features like a high energy cut-off and/or a reflection component. Fixing the reflection to be 0, 1 or 2, we find that our sample covers quite a large range in photon indices as well as cut-off energies; however, the spread is due only to a small number of objects, while the majority of the AGN lie within well defined boundaries of photon index (1<Γ<2) and cut-off energy (30<Ecut<300 keV).

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arXiv2013

Review on Active Galactic Nuclei at hard X-ray energies

Hard X-ray surveys are an important tool for the study of active galactic nuclei (AGN): they provide almost an unbiased view of absorption in the extragalactic population, allow the study of spectral features such as reflection and high energy cut-off which would otherwise be unexplored and favour the discovery of some blazars at high redshift. Here, we present the absorption properties of a large sample of INTEGRAL detected AGN, including an update on the fraction of Compton thick objects. For a sub-sample of 87 sources, which represent a complete set of bright AGN, we will discuss the hard X-ray (20-100 keV) spectral properties, also in conjunction with Swift/BAT 58 month data, providing information on BAT/IBIS cross-calibration constant, average spectral shape and spectral complexity. For this complete sample, we will also present broad-band data using soft X-ray observations, in order to explore the complexity of AGN spectra both at low and high energies and to highlight the variety of shapes. Future prospects for AGN studies with INTEGRAL will also be outlined.

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arXiv2012

The INTEGRAL/IBIS AGN catalogue I: X-ray absorption properties versus optical classification

In this work we present the most comprehensive INTEGRAL AGN sample which lists 272 objects. Here we mainly use this sample to study the absorption properties of active galaxies, to probe new AGN classes and to test the AGN unification scheme. We find that half (48%) of the sample is absorbed while the fraction of Compton thick AGN is small (~7%). In line with our previous analysis, we have however shown that when the bias towards heavily absorbed objects which are lost if weak and at large distance is removed, as it is possible in the local Universe, the above fractions increase to become 80% and 17%. We also find that absorption is a function of source luminosity, which implies some evolution in the obscuration properties of AGN. Few peculiar classes, so far poorly studied in the hard X-ray band, have been detected and studied for the first time such as 5 XBONG, 5 type 2 QSOs and 11 LINERs. In terms of optical classification, our sample contains 57% of type 1 and 43% of type 2 AGN; this subdivision is similar to that found in X-rays if unabsorbed versus absorbed objects are considered, suggesting that the match between optical and X-ray classification is overall good. Only a small percentage of sources (12%) does not fulfill the expectation of the unified theory as we find 22 type 1 AGN which are absorbed and 10 type 2 AGN which are unabsorbed. Studying in depth these outliers we found that most of the absorbed type 1 AGN have X-ray spectra characterized by either complex or warm/ionized absorption more likely due to ionized gas located in an accretion disk wind or in the biconical structure associated to the central nucleus, therefore unrelated to the toroidal structure. Among 10 type 2 AGN which resulted to be unabsorbed, at most 3-4% is still eligible to be classified as a "true" type 2 AGN.

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arXiv2012

Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy. IX. 22 more identifications, and a glance into the far hard X-ray Universe

(Abridged) Since its launch in October 2002, the INTEGRAL satellite has revolutionized our knowledge of the hard X-ray sky thanks to its unprecedented imaging capabilities and source detection positional accuracy above 20 keV. Nevertheless, many of the newly-detected sources in the INTEGRAL sky surveys are of unknown nature. The combined use of available information at longer wavelengths (mainly soft X-rays and radio) and of optical spectroscopy on the putative counterparts of these new hard X-ray objects allows us to pinpoint their exact nature. Continuing our long-standing program that has been running since 2004, and using 6 different telescopes of various sizes, we report the classification through optical spectroscopy of 22 more unidentified or poorly studied high-energy sources detected with the IBIS instrument onboard INTEGRAL. We found that 16 of them are active galactic nuclei (AGNs), while the remaining 6 objects are within our Galaxy. Among the identified extragalactic sources, 14 are Type 1 AGNs; of these, 6 lie at redshift larger than 0.5 and one has z = 3.12, which makes it the second farthest object detected in the INTEGRAL surveys up to now. The remaining AGNs are of type 2, and one of them is a pair of interacting Seyfert 2 galaxies. The Galactic objects are identified as two cataclysmic variables, one high-mass X-ray binary, one symbiotic binary and two chromospherically active stars. We thus still find that AGNs are the most abundant population among hard X-ray objects identified through optical spectroscopy. Moreover, we note that the higher sensitivity of the more recent INTEGRAL surveys is now enabling the detection of high-redshift AGNs, thus allowing the exploration of the most distant hard X-ray emitting sources and possibly of the most extreme blazars.

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arXiv2011

The nature of 19 X-ray sources detected with INTEGRAL

Since its launch on October 2002, the INTEGRAL satellite has revolutionized our knowledge of the hard X-ray sky thanks to its unprecedented imaging capabilities and source detection positional accuracy above 20 keV. Nevertheless, many of the newly-detected sources in the INTEGRAL sky surveys are of unknown nature. The combined use of available information at longer wavelengths (mainly soft X-rays and radio) and of optical spectroscopy on the putative counterparts of these new hard X-ray objects allows pinpointing their exact nature. Continuing our long-standing program running since 2004, here we report the classification, through optical spectroscopy, of 19 more unidentified or poorly studied high-energy sources detected with the IBIS instrument onboard INTEGRAL.

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arXiv2011

The LAUE project for broadband gamma-ray focusing lenses

We present the LAUE project devoted to develop an advanced technology for building a high focal length Laue lens for soft gamma--ray astronomy (80-600 keV). The final goal is to develop a focusing optics that can improve the current sensitivity in the above energy band by 2 orders of magnitude.

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arXiv2011

Searching for AGNs among unidentified INTEGRAL sources

We report on a new method to identify Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) among unidentified INTEGRAL sources. This method consists of cross-correlating unidentified sources listed in the fourth IBIS Survey Catalogue first with infrared and then with radio catalogues and a posteriori verifying, by means of X-ray and optical follow up observations, the likelihood of these associations. In order to test this method, a sample of 8 sources has been extracted from the fourth IBIS Catalogue. For 7 sources of the sample we obtained an identification, whereas the last one (IGR J03103+5706) has insufficient information for a clear classification and deserves more in-depth study. We identified three objects (IGR J08190-3835, IGR J17520-6018, IGR J21441+4640) as AGNs and suggest that three more (IGR J00556+7708, IGRJ17219-1509, IGR J21268+6203) are likely active galaxies on the basis of their radio spectra, near-infrared photometry and location above the Galaxy plane. One source (IGR J05583-1257) has been classified as a starburst galaxy but it might have been spuriously associated with the INTEGRAL detection.

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arXiv2010

Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy. VIII. Identification of 44 newly detected hard X-ray sources

(abridged) Hard X-ray surveys performed by the INTEGRAL satellite have discovered a conspicuous fraction (up to 30%) of unidentified objects among the detected sources. Here we continue our identification program by selecting probable optical candidates using positional cross-correlation with soft X-ray, radio, and/or optical archives, and performing optical spectroscopy on them. As a result, we identified or more accurately characterized 44 counterparts of INTEGRAL sources: 32 active galactic nuclei, with redshift 0.019 < z < 0.6058, 6 cataclysmic variables (CVs), 5 high-mass X-ray binaries (2 of which in the Small Magellanic Cloud), and 1 low-mass X-ray binary. This was achieved by using 7 telescopes of various sizes and archival data from two online spectroscopic surveys. The main physical parameters of these hard X-ray sources were also determined using the available multiwavelength information. AGNs are the most abundant population among hard X-ray objects, and our results confirm this tendency when optical spectroscopy is used as an identification tool. The deeper sensitivity of recent INTEGRAL surveys enables one to begin detecting hard X-ray emission above 20 keV from sources such as LINER-type AGNs and non-magnetic CVs.

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arXiv2010

Using the Rosat Catalogue to find Counterparts for Unidentified Objects in the 1st Fermi/LAT Catalogue

There are a total of 1451 gamma-ray emitting objects in the Fermi Large Area Telescope First Source Catalogue. The point source location accuracy of typically a few arcminutes has allowed the counterparts for many of these sources to be found at other wavelengths, but even so there are 630 which are described as having no plausible counterpart at 80% confidence. In order to help identify the unknown objects, we have cross-correlated the positions of these sources with the Rosat All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalogue. In this way, for Fermi sources which have a possible counterpart in soft X-rays, we can use the, much smaller, Rosat error box to search for identifications. We find a strong correlation between the two samples and calculate that there are about 60 sources with a Rosat counterpart. Using the Rosat error boxes we provide tentative associations for half of them, demonstrate that the majority of these are either blazars or blazar candidates and give evidence that most belong to the BL Lac class. Given that they are X-ray selected and most are high synchrotron peaked objects, which indicates the presence of high energy electrons, these sources are also good candidates for TeV emission, and therefore good probes of the extragalactic background light.

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arXiv2010

XMM-Newton observations of unidentified INTEGRAL/IBIS sources

About 30% of the sources in the 4th INTEGRAL-IBIS catalogue are unidentified in that they lack an optical counterpart. To be able to classify them, X-ray observations are of crucial importance as they can place tighter constraints on the high energy error box, which is usually of the order of a few arcminutes, and allow their broad band spectrum to be studied. To this aim we have cross-correlated the list of all unidentified IBIS sources in the fourth catalogue with the archive of all XMM-Newton pointings, finding a set of 6 objects with archival data. For 1 of them, IGR J17331-2406, no X-ray source is detected by XMM inside the IBIS error box, most likely due to the fact that it is a transient object. In the case of IGR J17445-2747 two possible X-ray counterparts are found inside the IBIS error box: one is very weak while the other is bright but only detected once. In each of the remaining 4 cases: IGR J155359-5750, AX J1739.3-2923, AX J1740.2-2903 and IGR J18538-0102, we find instead a convincing association for which we provide an improved X-ray position and information on the optical/infrared counterpart. We also performed a detailed analysis of their XMM-IBIS spectra and on the basis of all information acquired we suggest that IGR J155359-5750 is an AGN of intermediate type, AX J1739.3-2923 and AX J1740.2-2903 are High Mass X-ray Binary systems, IGR J17331-2406 and IGR J17445-2747 are Galactic transient sources and IGR J18538-0102 could be a background AGN.

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arXiv2010

Swift/XRT follow-up observations of unidentified INTEGRAL/IBIS sources

Many sources listed in the 4th IBIS/ISGRI survey are still unidentified, i.e. lacking an X-ray counterpart or simply not studied at lower energies (< 10 keV). The cross-correlation between the list of IBIS sources in the 4th catalogue and the Swift/XRT data archive is of key importance to search for the X-ray counterparts; in fact, the positional accuracy of few arcseconds obtained with XRT allows us to perform more efficient and reliable follow-up observations at other wavelengths (optical, UV, radio). In this work, we present the results of the XRT observations for four new gamma-ray sources: IGR J12123-5802, IGR J1248.2-5828, IGR J13107-5626 and IGR J14080-3023. For IGR J12123-5802 we find a likely counterpart, but further information are needed to classified this object, IGR J1248.2-5828 is found to be a Seyfert 1.9, for IGR J13107-5626 we suggest a possible AGN nature, while IGR J14080-3023 is classified as a Seyfert 1.5 galaxy.

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arXiv2010

A new determination of the INTEGRAL/IBIS point source location accuracy

AIMS: To determine the Point Source Location Accuracy (PSLA) for the INTEGRAL/IBIS telescope based on analysis of archival in-flight data. METHODS: Over 40000 individual pointings (science windows) of INTEGRAL/IBIS data were analysed using the latest Off-line Science Analysis software, version 7.0. Reconstructed source positions were then compared against the most accurate positions available, determined from focusing X-ray telescopes. Since the PSLA is a strong function of source detection significance, the offsets from true position were histogrammed against significance, so that the 90% confidence limits could be determined. This has been done for both sources in the fully coded field of view (FCFOV) and partially coded field of view (PCFOV). RESULTS: The PSLA is found to have improved significantly since values derived from early mission data and software for both FCFOV and PCFOV. CONCLUSIONS: This result has implications for observers executing follow-up programs on IBIS sources since the sky area to be searched is reduced by >50% in some cases.

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arXiv2010

Re-evaluating the Local Compton-thick AGN Fraction

We study the NH distribution in a complete sample of 88 AGN selected in the 20-40 keV band from INTEGRAL/IBIS observations. We find that the fraction of absorbed (NH > 10^22 cm^-2) sources is 43% while Compton thick AGN comprise 7% of the sample. While these estimates are fully compatible with previous soft gamma-ray surveys, they would appear to be in contrast with results reported from an optically selected sample. This apparent difference can be explained as being due to a selection bias caused by the reduction in high energy flux in Compton thick objects rendering them invisible at our sensitivity limit. Taking this into account we estimate that the fraction of highly absorbed sources is actually in close agreement with the optically selected sample. Furthermore we show that the measured fraction of absorbed sources in our sample decreases from 80% to ~20-30% as a function of redshift with all Compton thick AGN having z<0.015. We conclude that in the low redshift bin we are seeing almost the entire AGN population, from unabsorbed to at least mildly Compton thick objects, while in the total sample we lose the heavily absorbed 'counterparts' of distant and therefore dim sources with little or no absorption. Taking therefore this low z bin as the only one able to provide the 'true' distribution of absorption in type 1 and 2 AGN, we estimate the fraction of Compton thick objects to be >24%

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arXiv2010

Revealing the nature of new unidentified INTEGRAL sources

Since its launch on October 2002, the INTEGRAL satellite has revolutionized our knowledge of the hard X-ray sky thanks to its unprecedented imaging capabilities and source detection positional accuracy above 20 keV. Nevertheless, many of the newly-detected sources in the INTEGRAL sky surveys are of unknown nature. However, the combined use of available information at longer wavelengths (mainly soft X-rays and radio) and of optical spectroscopy on the putative counterparts of these new hard X-ray objects allows pinpointing their exact nature. Continuing our long-standing program running since 2004 (and with which we identified more than 100 INTEGRAL objects) here we report the classification, through optical spectroscopy, of 25 unidentified high-energy sources mostly belonging to the recently published 4th IBIS survey.

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arXiv2009

Swift/XRT observations of unidentified INTEGRAL/IBIS sources

The 4th IBIS/ISGRI survey lists 723 hard X-ray sources many still unidentified. We cross-correlated the list of the sources included in the 4th IBIS catalogue with the Swift/XRT data archive, finding a sample of 20 objects for which XRT data could help in the search for the X-ray and hence optical counterpart and/or in the study of the source spectral and variability properties below 10 keV. Four objects (IGR J00465-4005, LEDA 96373, IGR J1248.2-5828 and IGR J13107-5626) are confirmed or likely absorbed active galaxies, while two (IGR J14080-3023 and 1RXS J213944.3+595016) are unabsorbed AGN. We find three peculiar extragalactic objects, NGC 4728 being a Narrow Line Seyfert galaxy, MCG+04-26-006 a type 2 LINER and PKS 1143-693 probably a QSO; furthermore, our results indicate that IGR J08262+4051 and IGR J22234-4116 are candidate AGN, which require further optical spectroscopic follow-up observations to be fully classified. In the case of 1RXS J080114.6-462324 we are confident that the source is a Galactic object. For IGR J10447-6027, IGR J12123-5802 and IGR J20569+4940 we pinpoint one X-ray counterpart, although its nature could not be assessed despite spectral and sometimes variability information being obtained. Clearly, we need to perform optical follow-up observations in order to firmly assess their nature. There are five objects for which we find no obvious X-ray counterpart (IGR J07506-1547 and IGR J17008-6425) or even no detection (IGR J17331-2406, IGR J18134-1636 and IGR J18175-1530); apart from IGR J18134-1636, all these sources are found to be variable in the IBIS energy band, therefore it is difficult to catch them even in X-rays.

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arXiv2009

New results on focusing of gamma-rays with Laue lenses

We report on new results on the development activity of broad band Laue lenses for hard X-/gamma-ray astronomy (70/100-600 keV). After the development of a first prototype, whose performance was presented at the SPIE conference on Astronomical Telescopes held last year in Marseille (Frontera et al. 2008), we have improved the lens assembling technology. We present the development status of the new lens prototype that is on the way to be assembled.

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arXiv2009

The Fermi/LAT sky as seen by INTEGRAL/IBIS

In this letter we present the result of the cross correlation between the 4th INTEGRAL/IBIS soft gamma-ray catalog, in the range 20-100 keV, and the Fermi LAT bright source list of objects emitting in the 100 MeV - 100 GeV range. The main result is that only a minuscule part of the more than 720 sources detected by INTEGRAL and the population of 205 Fermi LAT sources are detected in both spectral regimes. This is in spite of the mCrab INTEGRAL sensitivity for both galactic and extragalactic sources and the breakthrough, in terms of sensitivity, achieved by Fermi at MeV-GeV energies. The majority of the 14 Fermi LAT sources clearly detected in the 4th INTEGRAL/IBIS catalog are optically identified AGNs (10) complemented by 2 isolated pulsars (Crab and Vela) and 2 High Mass X-Ray Binaries (HMXB, LS I +61 303 and LS 5039). Two more possible associations have been found: one is 0FGL J1045.6-5937, possibly the counterpart at high energy of the massive colliding wind binary system Eta Carinae, discovered to be a soft gamma ray emitter by recent INTEGRAL observations and 0FGL J1746.0-2900 coincident with IGR J17459-2902, but still not identified with any known object at lower energy. For the remaining 189 Fermi LAT sources no INTEGRAL counterpart was found and we report the 2 sigma upper limit in the energy band 20-40 keV.

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