arXiv subjects

J. Rodriguez

Publications and source records attributed to J. Rodriguez.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Comparing classical and quantum PageRanks

Following recent developments in quantum PageRanking, we present a comparative analysis of discrete-time and continuous-time quantum-walk-based PageRank algorithms. For the discrete-time case, we introduce an alternative PageRank measure based on the maximum probabilities achieved by the walker on the nodes. We demonstrate that the required time of evolution does not scale significantly with increasing network size. We affirm that all three quantum PageRank measures considered here distinguish clearly between outerplanar hierarchical, scale-free, and Erdös-Rényi network types. Relative to classical PageRank and to different extents, the quantum measures better highlight secondary hubs and resolve ranking degeneracy among peripheral nodes for the networks we studied in this paper.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2015

Secondary eclipse observations for seven hot-Jupiters from the Anglo-Australian Telescope

We report detections and constraints for the near infrared Ks band secondary eclipses of seven hot-Jupiters using the IRIS2 infrared camera on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Eclipses in the Ks band for WASP-18b and WASP-36b have been measured for the first time. We also present new measurements for the eclipses of WASP-4b, WASP-5b, and WASP-46b, as well as upper limits for the eclipse depths of WASP-2b and WASP-76b. In particular, two full eclipses of WASP-46b were observed, allowing us to demonstrate the repeatability of our observations via independent analyses on each eclipse. Significant numbers of eclipse depths for hot-Jupiters have now been measured in both Ks and the four Spitzer IRAC bandpasses. We discuss these measurements in the context of the broadband colours and brightness temperatures of the hot-Jupiter atmosphere distribution. Specifically, we re-examine the proposed temperature dichotomy between the most irradiated, and mildly irradiated planets. We find no evidence for multiple clusters in the brightness temperature - equilibrium temperature distributions in any of these bandpasses, suggesting a continuous distribution of heat re-emission and circulation characteristics for these planets.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2015

Correlated optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray flaring activity seen with INTEGRAL during the 2015 outburst of V404 Cygni

After 25 years of quiescence, the microquasar V404 Cyg entered a new period of activity in June 2015. This X-ray source is known to undergo extremely bright and variable outbursts seen at all wavelengths. It is therefore an object of prime interest to understand the accretion-ejection connections. These can, however, only be probed through simultaneous observations at several wavelengths. We made use of the INTEGRAL instruments to obtain long, almost uninterrupted observations from 2015 June 20$^{\mathrm{th}}$, 15:50 UTC to June 25$^{\mathrm{th}}$, 4:05 UTC, from the optical V-band, up to the soft $γ$-rays. V404 Cyg was extremely variable in all bands, with the detection of 18 flares with fluxes exceeding 6 Crab (20--40 keV) within 3 days. The flare recurrence can be as short as $\sim$ 20~min from peak to peak. A model-independent analysis shows that the $>$6 Crab flares have a hard spectrum. A simple 10--400 keV spectral analysis of the off-flare and flare periods shows that the variation in intensity is likely to be due to variations of a cut-off power law component only. The optical flares seem to be at least of two different types: one occurring in simultaneity with the X-ray flares, the other showing a delay greater than 10 min. The former could be associated with X-ray reprocessing by either an accretion disk or the companion star. We suggest that the latter are associated with plasma ejections that have also been seen in radio.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Accurate gamma and MeV-electron track reconstruction with an ultra-low diffusion Xenon/TMA TPC at 10 atmospheres

We report the performance of a 10 atm Xenon/trimethylamine time projection chamber (TPC) for the detection of X-rays (30 keV) and gamma-rays (0.511-1.275 MeV) in conjunction with the accurate tracking of the associated electrons. When operated at such a high pressure and in 1%-admixtures, trimethylamine (TMA) endows Xenon with an extremely low electron diffusion (1.3 +-0.13 mm-sigma (longitudinal), 0.8 +-0.15 mm-sigma (transverse) along 1 m drift) besides forming a convenient Penning-Fluorescent mixture. The TPC, that houses 1.1 kg of gas in its active volume, operated continuously for 100 live-days in charge amplification mode. The readout was performed through the recently introduced microbulk Micromegas technology and the AFTER chip, providing a 3D voxelization of 8mm x 8mm x 1.2mm for approximately 10 cm/MeV-long electron tracks. This work was developed as part of the R&D program of the NEXT collaboration for future detector upgrades in the search of the 0bbnu decay in 136Xe, specifically those based on novel gas mixtures. Therefore we ultimately focus on the calorimetric and topological properties of the reconstructed MeV-electron tracks.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

Investigating the nature of IGR J17454-2919 using X-ray and Near-Infrared observations

IGR J17454-2919 is a hard X-ray transient discovered by INTEGRAL on 2014 September 27. We report on our 20ks Chandra observation of the source, performed about five weeks after the discovery, as well as on INTEGRAL and Swift monitoring long-term observations. X-ray broad-band spectra of the source are compatible with an absorbed power-law, $Γ\sim$1.6-1.8, ${\rm N_H}\sim$(10-12)$\times 10^{22}\,{\rm cm}^{-2}$, with no trace of a cut-off in the data up to about 100keV, and with an average absorbed 0.5-100keV flux of about (7.1-9.7)${\times 10^{-10}~erg~cm^{-2}~s^{-1}}$. With Chandra, we determine the most accurate X-ray position of IGR J17454-2919, $α_{J2000}$=17$^{h}$ 45$^{m}$ 27$^{s}$.69, $δ_{J2000}$= $-$29$^{\circ}$ 19$^{\prime}$ 53$^{\prime \prime}$.8 (90% uncertainty of 0$^{\prime\prime}$.6), consistent with the NIR source 2MASS J17452768-2919534. We also include NIR investigations from our observations of the source field on 2014 October 6 with GROND. With the multi-wavelength information at hand, we discuss the possible nature of IGR J17454-2919.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Spectral state dependence of the 0.4-2 MeV polarized emission in Cygnus X-1 seen with INTEGRAL/IBIS, and links with the AMI radio data

Polarization of the >~400 keV hard tail of the microquasar Cygnus X-1 has been independently reported by INTEGRAL/IBIS, and INTEGRAL/SPI and interpreted as emission from a compact jet. These conclusions were, however, based on the accumulation of all INTEGRAL data regardless of the spectral state. We utilize additional INTEGRAL exposure accumulated until December 2012, and include the AMI/Ryle (15 GHz) radio data in our study. We separate the observations into hard, soft, and intermediate/transitional states and detect radio emission from a compact jet in hard and intermediate states, but not in the soft. The 10-400 keV INTEGRAL (JEM-X and IBIS) state resolved spectra are well modeled with thermal Comptonization and reflection components. We detect a hard tail in the 0.4-2 MeV range for the hard state only. We extract the state dependent polarigrams of Cyg X-1, which all are compatible to no or undetectable level of polarization except in 400-2000 keV range in the hard state where the polarization fraction is 75$\pm$32 % and the polarization angle 40.0 +-14 deg. An upper limit on the 0.4-2 MeV soft state polarization fraction is 70%. Due to the short exposure, we obtain no meaningful constraint for the intermediate state. The likely detection of a >400 keV polarized tail in the hard state, together with the simultaneous presence of a radio jet, reinforce the notion of a compact jet origin of the 400 keV emission.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

The physics of accretion-ejection with LOFT

This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of the physics of accretion and ejection around compact objects. For a summary, we refer to the paper.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Results of the material screening program of the NEXT experiment

The 'Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC (NEXT)', intended to investigate neutrinoless double beta decay, requires extremely low background levels. An extensive material screening and selection process to assess the radioactivity of components is underway combining several techniques, including germanium gamma-ray spectrometry performed at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory; recent results of this material screening program are presented here.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Discovery of X-ray Pulsations from the INTEGRAL Source IGR J11014-6103

We report the discovery of PSR J1101-6101, a 62.8 ms pulsar in IGR J11014-6103, a hard X-ray source with a jet and a cometary tail that strongly suggests it is moving away from the center of the supernova remnant (SNR) MSH 11-61A at v>1000 km/s. Two XMM-Newton observations were obtained with the EPIC pn in small window mode, resulting in the measurement of its spin-down luminosity E_dot = 1.36e36 erg/s, characteristic age Tau_c = 116 kyr, and surface magnetic field strength B_s = 7.4e11 G. In comparison to Tau_c, the 10-30 kyr age estimated for MSH 11-61A suggests that the pulsar was born in the SNR with initial period in the range 54 < P_0 < 60 ms. PSR J1101-6101 is the least energetic of the 15 rotation-powered pulsars detected by INTEGRAL, and has a high efficiency of hard X-ray radiation and jet power. We examine the shape of the cometary nebula in a Chandra image, which is roughly consistent with a bow shock at the velocity inferred from the SNR age and the pulsar's E-dot. However, its structure differs in detail from the classic bow shock, and we explore possible reasons for this.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

A Window on Exoplanet Dynamical Histories: Rossiter-McLaughlin Observations of WASP-13b and WASP-32b

We present Rossiter-McLaughlin observations of WASP-13b and WASP-32b and determine the sky-projected angle between the normal of the planetary orbit and the stellar rotation axis ($λ$). WASP-13b and WASP-32b both have prograde orbits and are consistent with alignment with measured sky-projected angles of $λ={8^{\circ}}^{+13}_{-12}$ and $λ={-2^{\circ}}^{+17}_{-19}$, respectively. Both WASP-13 and WASP-32 have $T_{\mathrm{eff}}<6250$K and therefore these systems support the general trend that aligned planetary systems are preferentially found orbiting cool host stars. A Lomb-Scargle periodogram analysis was carried out on archival SuperWASP data for both systems. A statistically significant stellar rotation period detection (above 99.9\% confidence) was identified for the WASP-32 system with $P_{\mathrm{rot}}=11.6 \pm 1.0 $ days. This rotation period is in agreement with the predicted stellar rotation period calculated from the stellar radius, $R_{\star}$, and $v \sin i$ if a stellar inclination of $i_{\star}=90^{\circ}$ is assumed. With the determined rotation period, the true 3D angle between the stellar rotation axis and the planetary orbit, $ψ$, was found to be $ψ=11^{\circ} \pm 14$. We conclude with a discussion on the alignment of systems around cool host stars with $T_{\mathrm{eff}}<6150$K by calculating the tidal dissipation timescale. We find that systems with short tidal dissipation timescales are preferentially aligned and systems with long tidal dissipation timescales have a broad range of obliquities.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2014

Long term variability of Cygnus X-1: VI. Energy-resolved X-ray variability 1999-2011

We present the most extensive analysis of Fourier-based X-ray timing properties of the black hole binary Cygnus X-1 to date, based on 12 years of bi-weekly monitoring with RXTE from 1999 to 2011. Our aim is a comprehensive study of timing behavior across all spectral states, including the elusive transitions and extreme hard and soft states. We discuss the dependence of the timing properties on spectral shape and photon energy, and study correlations between Fourier-frequency dependent coherence and time lags with features in the power spectra. Our main results are: (a) The fractional rms in the 0.125-256 Hz range in different spectral states shows complex behavior that depends on the energy range considered. It reaches its maximum not in the hard state, but in the soft state in the Comptonized tail above 10 keV. (b) The shape of power spectra in hard and intermediate states and the normalization in the soft state are strongly energy dependent in the 2.1-15 keV range. This emphasizes the need for an energy-dependent treatment of power spectra and a careful consideration of energy- and mass-scaling when comparing the variability of different source types, e.g., black hole binaries and AGN. PSDs during extremely hard and extremely soft states can be easily confused for energies above ~5 keV in the 0.125-256 Hz range. (c) The coherence between energy bands drops during transitions from the intermediate into the soft state but recovers in the soft state. (d) The time lag spectra in soft and intermediate states show distinct features at frequencies related to the frequencies of the main variability components seen in the power spectra and show the same shift to higher frequencies as the source softens. [...abridged] In particular, we discuss how the timing properties of Cyg X-1 can be used to assess the evolution of variability with spectral shape in other black hole binaries. [...abridged]

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Characterization of a medium size Xe/TMA TPC instrumented with microbulk Micromegas, using low-energy $γ$-rays

NEXT-MM is a general-purpose high pressure (10 bar, $\sim25$ l active volume) Xenon-based TPC, read out in charge mode with an 8 cm $\times$8 cm-segmented 700 cm$^2$ plane (1152 ch) of the latest microbulk-Micromegas technology. It has been recently commissioned at University of Zaragoza as part of the R&D of the NEXT $0νββ$ experiment, although the experiment's first stage is currently being built based on a SiPM/PMT-readout concept relying on electroluminescence. Around 2 million events were collected during the last months, stemming from the low energy $γ$-rays emitted by a $^{241}$Am source when interacting with the Xenon gas ($ε$ = 26, 30, 59.5 keV). The localized nature of such events above atmospheric pressure, the long drift times, as well as the possibility to determine their production time from the associated $α$ particle in coincidence, allow the extraction of primordial properties of the TPC filling gas, namely the drift velocity, diffusion and attachment coefficients. In this work we focus on the little explored combination of Xe and trimethylamine (TMA) for which, in particular, such properties are largely unknown. This gas mixture offers potential advantages over pure Xenon when aimed at Rare Event Searches, mainly due to its Penning characteristics, wave-length shifting properties and reduced diffusion, and it is being actively investigated by our collaboration. The chamber is currently operated at 2.7 bar, as an intermediate step towards the envisaged 10 bar. We report here its performance as well as a first implementation of the calibration procedures that have allowed the extension of the previously reported energy resolution to the whole readout plane (10.6%FWHM@30keV).

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Cygnus X-1: shedding light on the spectral variability of a black hole

The knowledge of the spectral state of a black hole is essential for the interpretation of data from black holes in terms of their emission models. Based on pointed observations of Cyg X-1 with the Rossi X-ray timing Explorer (RXTE) that are used to classify simultaneous RXTE-ASM observations, we develop a scheme based on RXTE -ASM colors and count rates that can be used to classify all observations of this canonical black hole that were performed between 1996 and 2011. We show that a simple count rate criterion, as used previously, leads to a significantly higher fraction of misclassified observations. This scheme enables us to classify single INTEGRAL-IBIS science windows and to obtain summed spectra for the soft, intermediate and hard state with low contamination by other states.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Formation of the compact jets in the black hole GX 339-4

Galactic black hole binaries produce powerful outflows with emit over almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Here, we report the first detection with the Herschel observatory of a variable far-infrared source associated with the compact jets of the black hole transient GX 339-4 during the decay of its recent 2010-2011 outburst, after the transition to the hard state. We also outline the results of very sensitive radio observations conducted with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, along with a series of near-infrared, optical (OIR) and X-ray observations, allowing for the first time the re-ignition of the compact jets to be observed over a wide range of wavelengths. The compact jets first turn on at radio frequencies with an optically thin spectrum that later evolves to optically thick synchrotron emission. An OIR reflare is observed about ten days after the onset of radio and hard X-ray emission, likely reflecting the necessary time to build up enough density, as well as to have acceleration (e.g. through shocks) along an extended region in the jets. The Herschel measurements are consistent with an extrapolation of the radio inverted power-law spectrum, but they highlight a more complex radio to OIR spectral energy distribution for the jets.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Long term variability of Cygnus X-1 V. State definitions with all sky monitors

We present a scheme to determine the spectral state of the canonical black hole Cyg X-1 using data from previous and current X-ray all sky monitors (RXTE-ASM, Swift-BAT, MAXI, and Fermi-GBM). State determinations of the hard/intermediate and soft state agree to better than 10% between different monitors, facilitating the determination of the state and its context for any observation of the source, potentially over the lifetimes of different individual monitors. A separation of the hard and the intermediate state, which strongly differ in their spectral shape and short-term timing behavior, is only possible when monitor data in the soft X-rays (<5 keV) are available. A statistical analysis of the states confirms the different activity patterns of the source (e.g., months to years long hard state periods or phases during which numerous transitions occurs). It also shows the hard and soft states to be stable, with the probability of Cyg X-1 remaining in a given state for at least one week to be larger than 85% for the hard state and larger than 75%, for the soft state. Intermediate states are short lived, with a probability of 50% that the source leaves the intermediate state within three days. A reliable detection of these potentially short-lived events is only possible with monitor data with a time resolution of better than 1 d.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

The Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient with the shortest orbital period: Suzaku observes one orbit in IGRJ16479-4514

The eclipsing hard X-ray source IGR J16479-4514 is the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient (SFXT) with the shortest orbital period (3.32 days). This allowed us to perform a 250 ks long X-ray observation with Suzaku in 2012 February, covering most of its orbit, including the eclipse egress. Outside the eclipse, the source luminosity is around a few 1E34erg/s. The X-ray spectrum can be fit with an absorbed power law together with a neutral iron emission line at 6.4 keV. The column density is constant at 1E23 cm-2 outside the X-ray eclipse. During the eclipse it is lower, consistent with a scattering origin for the low X-ray emission during the eclipse by the supergiant companion wind. The scattered X-ray emission during the X-ray eclipse is used to directly probe the density of the companion wind at the orbital separation, resulting in 7E-14 g/cm3, which translates into a ratio Mdot_w/v_terminal = 7E-17 solar masses/km of the wind mass loss rate to the wind terminal velocity. This ratio, assuming reasonable terminal velocities in the range 500-3000 km/s, translates into an accretion luminosity two orders of magnitude higher than that observed. We conclude that a mechanism reducing the accretion rate onto the compact object is at work, likely due to the neutron star magnetosphere.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Near-UV Absorption, Chromospheric Activity, and Star-Planet Interactions in the WASP-12 system

We observed the extreme close-in hot Jupiter system WASP-12 with HST. Near-UV transits up to three times deeper than the optical transit of WASP-12b reveal extensive diffuse gas, extending well beyond the Roche lobe. The distribution of absorbing gas varies between visits. The deepest NUV transits are at wavelength ranges with strong photospheric absorption, implying the absorbing gas may have temperature and composition similar to the stellar photosphere. Our spectra reveal significantly enhanced absorption (greater than 3 σbelow the median) at ~200 wavelengths on each of two HST visits; 65 of these wavelengths are consistent between the two visits, using a strict criterion for velocity matching which excludes matches with velocity shifts exceeding ~20 km/s. Excess transit depths are robustly detected throughout the inner wings of the MgII resonance lines independently on both HST visits. We detected absorption in FeII 2586A, the heaviest species yet detected in an exoplanet transit. The MgII line cores have zero flux, emission cores exhibited by every other observed star of similar age and spectral type are conspicuously absent. WASP-12 probably produces normal MgII profiles, but the inner portions of these strong resonance lines are likely affected by extrinsic absorption. The required Mg+ column is an order of magnitude greater than expected from the ISM, though we cannot completely dismiss that possibility. A more plausible source of absorption is gas lost by WASP-12b. We show that planetary mass loss can produce the required column. Our Visit 2 NUV light curves show evidence for a stellar flare. We show that some of the possible transit detections in resonance lines of rare elements may be due instead to non-resonant transitions in common species. We present optical observations and update the transit ephemeris.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2013

Radiopurity control in the NEXT-100 double beta decay experiment: procedures and initial measurements

The Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC (NEXT) is intended to investigate the neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe, which requires a severe suppression of potential backgrounds. An extensive screening and material selection process is underway for NEXT since the control of the radiopurity levels of the materials to be used in the experimental set-up is a must for rare event searches. First measurements based on Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry and gamma-ray spectroscopy using ultra-low background germanium detectors at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (Spain) are described here. Activity results for natural radioactive chains and other common radionuclides are summarized, being the values obtained for some materials like copper and stainless steel very competitive. The implications of these results for the NEXT experiment are also discussed.

physics.ins-det↗