arXiv subjects

M. Ozaki

Publications and source records attributed to M. Ozaki.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

In-orbit performance of the soft X-ray imaging system aboard Hitomi (ASTRO-H)

We describe the in-orbit performance of the soft X-ray imaging system consisting of the Soft X-ray Telescope and the Soft X-ray Imager aboard Hitomi. Verification and calibration of imaging and spectroscopic performance are carried out making the best use of the limited data of less than three weeks. Basic performance including a large field of view of 38'x38' is verified with the first light image of the Perseus cluster of galaxies. Amongst the small number of observed targets, the on-minus-off pulse image for the out-of-time events of the Crab pulsar enables us to measure a half power diameter of the telescope as about 1.3'. The average energy resolution measured with the onboard calibration source events at 5.89 keV is 179 pm 3 eV in full width at half maximum. Light leak and cross talk issues affected the effective exposure time and the effective area, respectively, because all the observations were performed before optimizing an observation schedule and parameters for the dark level calculation. Screening the data affected by these two issues, we measure the background level to be 5.6x10^{-6} counts s^{-1} arcmin^{-2} cm^{-2} in the energy band of 5-12 keV, which is seven times lower than that of the Suzaku XIS-BI.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

ASTRO-H White Paper - Older Supernova Remnants and Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Most supernova remnants (SNRs) are old, in the sense that their structure has been profoundly modified by their interaction with the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). Old SNRs are very heterogenous in terms of their appearance, reflecting differences in their evolutionary state, the environments in which SNe explode and in the explosion products. Some old SNRs are seen primarily as a result of a strong shock wave interacting with the ISM. Others, the so-called mixed-morphology SNRs, show central concentrations of emission, which may still show evidence of emission from the ejecta. Yet others, the pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), are seen primarily as a result of emission powered by a pulsar; these SNRs often lack the detectable thermal emission from the primary shock. The underlying goal in all studies of old SNRs is to understand these differences, in terms of the SNe that created them, the nature of the ISM into which they are expanding, and the fundamental physical processes that govern their evolution. Here we identify three areas of study where ASTRO-H can make important contributions. These are constraining abundances and physical processes in mature limb-brightened SNRs, understanding the puzzling nature of mixed-morphology SNRs, and exploring the nature of PWNe. The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) on-board ASTRO-H will, as a result of its high spectral resolution, be the primary tool for addressing problems associated with old SNRs, supported by hard X-ray observations with the Hard X-ray Imager (HXI) to obtain broad band X-ray coverage.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

ASTRO-H White Paper - Young Supernova Remnants

Thanks to the unprecedented spectral resolution and sensitivity of the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) to soft thermal X-ray emission, ASTRO-H will open a new discovery window for understanding young, ejecta-dominated, supernova remnants (SNRs). In particular we study how ASTRO-H observations will address, comprehensively, three key topics in SNR research: (1) using abundance measurements to unveil SNR progenitors, (2) using spatial and velocity distribution of the ejecta to understand supernova explosion mechanisms, (3) revealing the link between the thermal plasma state of SNRs and the efficiency of their particle acceleration.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Multi-wavelength observations of blazar AO 0235+164 in the 2008-2009 flaring state

The blazar AO 0235+164 (z = 0.94) has been one of the most active objects observed by Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) since its launch in Summer 2008. In addition to the continuous coverage by Fermi, contemporaneous observations were carried out from the radio to γ -ray bands between 2008 September and 2009 February. In this paper, we summarize the rich multi-wavelength data collected during the campaign (including F-GAMMA, GASP- WEBT, Kanata, OVRO, RXTE, SMARTS, Swift, and other instruments), examine the cross-correlation between the light curves measured in the different energy bands, and interpret the resulting spectral energy distributions in the context of well-known blazar emission models. We find that the γ -ray activity is well correlated with a series of near-IR/optical flares, accompanied by an increase in the optical polarization degree. On the other hand, the X-ray light curve shows a distinct 20 day high state of unusually soft spectrum, which does not match the extrapolation of the optical/UV synchrotron spectrum. We tentatively interpret this feature as the bulk Compton emission by cold electrons contained in the jet, which requires an accretion disk corona with an effective covering factor of 19% at a distance of 100 Rg . We model the broadband spectra with a leptonic model with external radiation dominated by the infrared emission from the dusty torus.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

GeV Observations of Star-forming Galaxies with \textit{Fermi} LAT

Recent detections of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253 by gamma-ray telescopes suggest that galaxies rapidly forming massive stars are more luminous at gamma-ray energies compared to their quiescent relatives. Building upon those results, we examine a sample of 69 dwarf, spiral, and luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies at photon energies 0.1-100 GeV using 3 years of data collected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the \textit{Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope} (\textit{Fermi}). Measured fluxes from significantly detected sources and flux upper limits for the remaining galaxies are used to explore the physics of cosmic rays in galaxies. We find further evidence for quasi-linear scaling relations between gamma-ray luminosity and both radio continuum luminosity and total infrared luminosity which apply both to quiescent galaxies of the Local Group and low-redshift starburst galaxies (conservative $P$-values $\lesssim0.05$ accounting for statistical and systematic uncertainties). The normalizations of these scaling relations correspond to luminosity ratios of $\log(L_{0.1-100 \rm{GeV}}/L_{1.4 \rm{GHz}}) = 1.7 \pm 0.1_{\rm (statistical)} \pm 0.2_{\rm (dispersion)}$ and $\log(L_{0.1-100 \rm{GeV}}/L_{8-1000 μ\rm{m}}) = -4.3 \pm 0.1_{\rm (statistical)} \pm 0.2_{\rm (dispersion)}$ for a galaxy with a star formation rate of 1 $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, assuming a Chabrier initial mass function. Using the relationship between infrared luminosity and gamma-ray luminosity, the collective intensity of unresolved star-forming galaxies at redshifts $0<z<2.5$ above 0.1 GeV is estimated to be 0.4-2.4 $\times 10^{-6}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ sr$^{-1}$ (4-23% of the intensity of the isotropic diffuse component measured with the LAT). We anticipate that $\sim10$ galaxies could be detected by their cosmic-ray induced gamma-ray emission during a 10-year \textit{Fermi} mission.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Search for Dark Matter Satellites using the FERMI-LAT

Numerical simulations based on the Lambda-CDM model of cosmology predict a large number of as yet unobserved Galactic dark matter satellites. We report the results of a Large Area Telescope (LAT) search for these satellites via the gamma-ray emission expected from the annihilation of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter. Some dark matter satellites are expected to have hard gamma-ray spectra, finite angular extents, and a lack of counterparts at other wavelengths. We sought to identify LAT sources with these characteristics, focusing on gamma-ray spectra consistent with WIMP annihilation through the $b \bar b$ channel. We found no viable dark matter satellite candidates using one year of data, and we present a framework for interpreting this result in the context of numerical simulations to constrain the velocity-averaged annihilation cross section for a conventional 100 GeV WIMP annihilating through the $b \bar b$ channel.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2008

The NeXT Mission

The NeXT (New exploration X-ray Telescope), the new Japanese X-ray Astronomy Satellite following Suzaku, is an international X-ray mission which is currently planed for launch in 2013. NeXT is a combination of wide band X-ray spectroscopy (3 - 80 keV) provided by multi-layer coating, focusing hard X-ray mirrors and hard X-ray imaging detectors, and high energy-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy (0.3 - 10 keV) provided by thin-foil X-ray optics and a micro-calorimeter array. The mission will also carry an X-ray CCD camera as a focal plane detector for a soft X-ray telescope and a non-focusing soft gamma-ray detector. With these instruments, NeXT covers very wide energy range from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. The micro-calorimeter system will be developed by international collaboration lead by ISAS/JAXA and NASA. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution of Delta E ~ 7 eV by the micro-calorimeter will enable a wide variety of important science themes to be pursued.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Performance of the Charge Injection Capability of Suzaku XIS

A charge injection technique is applied to the X-ray CCD camera, XIS (X-ray Imaging Spectrometer) onboard Suzaku. The charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) in each CCD column (vertical transfer channel) is measured by the injection of charge packets into a transfer channel and subsequent readout. This paper reports the performances of the charge injection capability based on the ground experiments using a radiation damaged device, and in-orbit measurements of the XIS. The ground experiments show that charges are stably injected with the dispersion of 91eV in FWHM in a specific column for the charges equivalent to the X-ray energy of 5.1keV. This dispersion width is significantly smaller than that of the X-ray events of 113eV (FWHM) at approximately the same energy. The amount of charge loss during transfer in a specific column, which is measured with the charge injection capability, is consistent with that measured with the calibration source. These results indicate that the charge injection technique can accurately measure column-dependent charge losses rather than the calibration sources. The column-to-column CTI correction to the calibration source spectra significantly reduces the line widths compared to those with a column-averaged CTI correction (from 193eV to 173eV in FWHM on an average at the time of one year after the launch). In addition, this method significantly reduces the low energy tail in the line profile of the calibration source spectrum.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Measurements of total and partial charge-changing cross sections for 200-400 MeV/nucleon 12C in water and polycarbonate

We have studied charged nuclear fragments produced by 200 - 400 MeV/nucleon carbon ions, interacting with water and polycarbonate, using a newly developed emulsion detector. Total and partial charge-changing cross sections for the production of B, Be, and Li fragments were measured and compared with both previously published measurements, and model predictions. This study is of importance for validating and improving carbon ion therapy treatment planning systems, and for estimating the radiological risks for personnel on space missions, since carbon is a significant component of the Galactic Cosmic Rays.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2006

Monte-Carlo Simulator and Ancillary Response Generator of Suzaku XRT/XIS System for Spatially Extended Source Analysis

We have developed a framework for the Monte-Carlo simulation of the X-Ray Telescopes (XRT) and the X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS) onboard Suzaku, mainly for the scientific analysis of spatially and spectroscopically complex celestial sources. A photon-by-photon instrumental simulator is built on the ANL platform, which has been successfully used in ASCA data analysis. The simulator has a modular structure, in which the XRT simulation is based on a ray-tracing library, while the XIS simulation utilizes a spectral "Redistribution Matrix File" (RMF), generated separately by other tools. Instrumental characteristics and calibration results, e.g., XRT geometry, reflectivity, mutual alignments, thermal shield transmission, build-up of the contamination on the XIS optical blocking filters (OBF), are incorporated as completely as possible. Most of this information is available in the form of the FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) files in the standard calibration database (CALDB). This simulator can also be utilized to generate an "Ancillary Response File" (ARF), which describes the XRT response and the amount of OBF contamination. The ARF is dependent on the spatial distribution of the celestial target and the photon accumulation region on the detector, as well as observing conditions such as the observation date and satellite attitude. We describe principles of the simulator and the ARF generator, and demonstrate their performance in comparison with in-flight data.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Wide band X-ray Imager (WXI) and Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD) for the NeXT Mission

The NeXT mission has been proposed to study high-energy non-thermal phenomena in the universe. The high-energy response of the super mirror will enable us to perform the first sensitive imaging observations up to 80 keV. The focal plane detector, which combines a fully depleted X-ray CCD and a pixellated CdTe detector, will provide spectra and images in the wide energy range from 0.5 keV to 80 keV. In the soft gamma-ray band up to ~1 MeV, a narrow field-of-view Compton gamma-ray telescope utilizing several tens of layers of thin Si or CdTe detector will provide precise spectra with much higher sensitivity than present instruments. The continuum sensitivity will reach several times 10^(-8) photons/s/keV/cm^(2) in the hard X-ray region and a few times10^(-7) photons/s/keV/cm^(2) in the soft gamma-ray region.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Cosmic-Ray Background Flux Model based on a Gamma-Ray Large-Area Space Telescope Balloon Flight Engineering Model

Cosmic-ray background fluxes were modeled based on existing measurements and theories and are presented here. The model, originally developed for the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) Balloon Experiment, covers the entire solid angle (${\rm 4πsr}$), the sensitive energy range of the instrument (${\rm \sim 10 MeV to 100 GeV}$) and abundant components (proton, alpha, $e^{-}$, $e^{+}$, $μ^{-}$, $μ^{+}$ and gamma). It is expressed in analytic functions in which modulations due to the solar activity and the Earth geomagnetism are parameterized. Although the model is intended to be used primarily for the GLAST Balloon Experiment, model functions in low-Earth orbit are also presented and can be used for other high energy astrophysical missions. The model has been validated via comparison with the data of the GLAST Balloon Experiment.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) Balloon Flight Data Handling Overview

The GLAST Balloon Flight Engineering Model (BFEM) represents one of 16 towers that constitute the Large Area Telescope (LAT), a high-energy (>20 MeV) gamma-ray pair-production telescope being built by an international partnership of astrophysicists and particle physicists for a satellite launch in 2006. The prototype tower consists of a Pb/Si pair-conversion tracker (TKR), a CsI hodoscopic calorimeter (CAL), an anti-coincidence detector (ACD) and an autonomous data acquisition system (DAQ). The self-triggering capabilities and performance of the detector elements have been previously characterized using positron, photon and hadron beams. External target scintillators were placed above the instrument to act as sources of hadronic showers. This paper provides a comprehensive description of the BFEM data-reduction process, from receipt of the flight data from telemetry through event reconstruction and background rejection cuts. The goals of the ground analysis presented here are to verify the functioning of the instrument and to validate the reconstruction software and the background-rejection scheme.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2000

Possible Triplet Electron Pairing and an Anisotropic Spin Susceptibility in Organic Superconductors (TMTSF)_2 X

We argue that (TMTSF)_2 PF_6 compound under pressure is likely a triplet superconductor with a vector order parameter d(k) \equiv (d_a(k) \neq 0, d_c(k) = ?, d_{b'}(k) = 0); |d_a(k)| > |d_c(k)|. It corresponds to an anisotropic spin susceptibility at T=0: χ_{b'} = χ_0, χ_a \ll χ_0, where χ_0 is its value in a metallic phase. [The spin quantization axis, z, is parallel to a so-called b'-axis]. We show that the suggested order parameter explains why the upper critical field along the b'-axis exceeds all paramagnetic limiting fields, including that for a nonuniform superconducting state, whereas the upper critical field along the a-axis (a \perp b') is limited by the Pauli paramagnetic effects [I. J. Lee, M. J. Naughton, G. M. Danner and P. M. Chaikin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 3555 (1997)]. The triplet order parameter is in agreement with the recent Knight shift measurements by I. J. Lee et al. as well as with the early results on a destruction of superconductivity by nonmagnetic impurities and on the absence of the Hebel-Slichter peak in the NMR relaxation rate.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1997

A Possible Site of Cosmic Ray Acceleration in the Supernova Remnant IC 443

We present evidence for shock acceleration of cosmic rays to high energies (about 10 TeV) in the supernova remnant IC 443. X-ray imaging spectroscopy with ASCA reveals two regions of particularly hard emission: an unresolved source embedded in an extended emission region, and a ridge of emission coincident with the southeastern rim. Both features are located on part of the radio shell where the shock wave is interacting with molecular gas, and together they account for a majority of the emission at 7 keV. Though we would not have noticed it a priori, the unresolved feature is coincident with one resolved by the ROSAT HRI. Because this feature overlaps a unique region of flat radio spectral index (alpha < 0.24), has about equal light-crossing and synchrotron loss times, and a power law spectrum with a spectral index of 2, we conclude that the hard X-ray feature is synchrotron radiation from a site of enhanced particle acceleration. Evidence against a plerion includes a lack of observed periodicity (the pulsed fraction upper limit is 33%), the spectral similarity with the more extended hard region, the location of the source outside the 95% error circle of the nearby EGRET source, the fact that it is nestled in a bend in the molecular cloud ring with which IC 443 is interacting, and the requirement of an extremely high transverse velocity (>5,000 km/s). We conclude that the anomalous feature is most likely tracing enhanced particle acceleration by shocks that are formed as the supernova blast wave impacts the ring of molecular clouds.

astro-ph↗