arXiv subjects

Marco Laurenti

Publications and source records attributed to Marco Laurenti.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Unveiling the dynamics of the ultra-fast outflow in IRAS 13224-3809 with X-ray spectroscopy

IRAS 13224-3809 is one of the most intensively studied narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, with a rich literature reporting diverse and sometimes contrasting interpretations of its complex X-ray spectra and variability. Notably, a fast and variable ultra-fast outflow (UFO) was discovered in this source, sparking debate over its nature and driving mechanisms. Motivated by these open questions, we present a systematic, time- and flux-resolved reanalysis of the full 2016 XMM-Newton (1.5 Ms) and NuSTAR (500 ks) datasets, employing careful background treatment and equal-count spectral selections. We uniformly apply three spectral models, including photo-ionized absorption, broad emission, and relativistic reflection, to all intervals. We unambiguously confirm the presence of a strong, variable outflow with velocities exceeding 0.2$c$, and find that models including absorption consistently reveal robust physical trends: a velocity-luminosity correlation of the UFO, persistently large line widths, and no compelling equivalent-width-flux anti-correlation. When emission or reflection components are included, the significance of the absorption features decreases, but significant UFO detections remain in most intervals. We also report clear evidence for rapid acceleration of the wind in response to X-ray flares, with the outflow carrying momentum and kinetic power sufficient to drive an efficient AGN feedback. The observed rapid response favors magnetic driving, analogous to coronal mass ejections, over radiative acceleration. Our results reconcile contrasting previous claims and underline the need for high-resolution spectroscopy to resolve the wind substructure. The observed UFO variability and structure are consistent with a multiphase, clumpy wind produced by thermal and hydrodynamic instabilities, with magnetic reconnection providing the rapid acceleration mechanism.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Emission and Absorption Features of Magnetically Driven Disk Winds in Black Hole X-Ray Binaries

We investigate accretion disk winds commonly observed in galactic black hole (BH) X-ray binaries (XRB), which manifest as blueshifted absorption features in X-ray spectra. We model these winds as ideal magnetohydrodynamic outflows of hot plasma driven by global magnetic fields threading the accretion disk around the BH. Using Monte Carlo simulations with MONACO, we solve three-dimensional radiative transfer equations to determine the large-scale ionization structure that produces the observed ionic column densities. Focusing on the high/soft state of the BH XRB, where disk emission provides the dominant source of ionizing X-rays, we calculated synthetic spectra showing resonance absorption and scattered emission from ions in various charge states. Our results demonstrate that systems viewed at high polar angles exhibit prominent multi-ion absorption lines with asymmetric profiles, accompanied by P-Cygni-like emission features that partially reproduce the characteristics seen in the observed spectra. This further implies that even a dense disk wind with a high polar angle is unlikely to be saturated due to effective scattering.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Fermi-LAT Discovery of a Gamma-ray Outburst from the Peculiar Compact Steep Spectrum Radiogalaxy 3C 216

3C 216 is an extragalactic radio source classified as a compact steep spectrum (CSS) object, associated with the source 4FGL J0910.0+4257 detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The source exhibits extended radio structures as well as an inner relativistic jet. In general, jets accelerated by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are efficient sources of non-thermal radiation, spanning from the radio band to X-ray and gamma-ray energies. Due to relativistic beaming, much of this radiation, particularly in the high-energy domain, is concentrated within a narrow cone aligned with the jet's direction. Consequently, high-energy emission is more easily detected in blazars, where the jet is closely aligned with the line of sight of the observer. Beginning in 2022 November, Fermi-LAT observed increased gamma-ray activity from 3C 216, culminating in a strong outburst in 2023 May. This event was followed up by observations from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory telescope. In this work, we perform a careful analysis of the multifrequency data (gamma ray, X-ray, UV, optical) collected during this observational campaign. We find that the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the flaring source evolves in a coherent way, supporting a common origin for the multifrequency emission. These results suggest that the SED observed during the outburst was dominated by a single emission zone, where synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) processes played a primary role. Since single-zone SSC models have typically fewer free parameters than multizone alternatives, they are a powerful probe of the physical conditions of the high-energy emitting regions. Therefore, observing SSC radiation even in CSS sources improves our understanding of the production of high-energy radiation in AGN jets.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Detection of X-ray Polarization from the Blazar 1ES 1959+650 with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer

Observations of linear polarization in the 2-8 keV energy range with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) explore the magnetic field geometry and dynamics of the regions generating non-thermal radiation in relativistic jets of blazars. These jets, particularly in blazars whose spectral energy distribution peaks at X-ray energies, emit X-rays via synchrotron radiation from high-energy particles within the jet. IXPE observations of the X-ray selected BL Lac-type blazar 1ES 1959+650 in 2022 May 3-4 showed a significant linear polarization degree of $Π_\mathrm{x} = 8.0\% \pm 2.3\%$ at an electric-vector position angle $ψ_\mathrm{x} = 123^\circ \pm 8^\circ$. However, in 2022 June 9-12, only an upper limit of $Π_\mathrm{x} \leq 5.1\%$ could be derived (at the 99% confidence level). The degree of optical polarization at that time $Π_\mathrm{O} \sim 5\%$ is comparable to the X-ray measurement. We investigate possible scenarios for these findings, including temporal and geometrical depolarization effects. Unlike some other X-ray selected BL Lac objects, there is no significant chromatic dependence of the measured polarization in 1ES 1959+650, and its low X-ray polarization may be attributed to turbulence in the jet flow with dynamical timescales shorter than 1 day.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

IXPE and multi-wavelength observations of blazar PG 1553+113 reveal an orphan optical polarization swing

The lower energy peak of the spectral energy distribution of blazars has commonly been ascribed to synchrotron radiation from relativistic particles in the jets. Despite the consensus regarding jet emission processes, the particle acceleration mechanism is still debated. Here, we present the first X-ray polarization observations of PG 1553+113, a high-synchrotron-peak blazar observed by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). We detect an X-ray polarization degree of $(10\pm2)\%$ along an electric-vector position angle of $ψ_X=86^{\circ}\pm8^{\circ}$. At the same time, the radio and optical polarization degrees are lower by a factor of $\sim$3. During our IXPE pointing, we observed the first orphan optical polarization swing of the IXPE era, as the optical angle of PG 1553+113 underwent a smooth monotonic rotation by about 125$^\circ$, with a rate of $\sim$17 degrees per day. We do not find evidence of a similar rotation in either radio or X-rays, which suggests that the X-ray and optically emitting regions are separate or, at most, partially co-spatial. Our spectro-polarimetric results provide further evidence that the steady-state X-ray emission in blazars originates in a shock-accelerated and energy-stratified electron population.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Rapid Variability of the accretion disk wind in the narrow line Seyfert 1, PG 1448+273

PG 1448+273 is a luminous, nearby ($z=0.0645$), narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy, which likely accretes close to the Eddington limit. XMM-Newton observations of PG 1448+273 in 2017 revealed the presence of an ultra fast outflow, as seen through its blueshifted iron K absorption profile, with an outflow velocity of about $0.1c$. Here, the first NuSTAR observation of PG 1448+273, performed in 2022 and coordinated with XMM-Newton is presented, which shows remarkable variability of its ultra fast outflow. The average count rate is a factor of 2 lower during the last 60 ks of the NuSTAR observation, where a much faster component of the ultra fast outflow was detected with a terminal velocity of $0.26\pm0.04c$. This is significantly faster than the outflow component which was initially detected in 2017, when overall PG 1448+273 was observed at a lower X-ray flux and which implies an order of magnitude increase in the wind kinetic power between the 2017 and 2022 epochs. Furthermore, the rapid variability of the ultra fast outflow in 2022, on timescales down to 10 ks, suggests we are viewing through a highly inhomogeneous disk wind in PG 1448+273, where the passage of a denser wind clump could account for the increase in obscuration in the last 60 ks of the NuSTAR observation.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

X-ray characterisation of the massive galaxy clusterClG-J104803.7+313843 at z=0.76 with XMM-Newton

We present the characterisation of the massive cluster ClG-J$104803.7+313843$ at $z=0.76$ performed using a serendipitous XMM-Newton observation. High redshift and massive objects represent an ideal laboratory to benchmark our understanding of how cluster form and assembly formation driven mainly by gravity.Leveraging the high throughput of XMM-Newton we were firstly able to determine the redshift of the object, shedding light on ambiguous photometric redshift associations. We investigated the morphology of this cluster which shows signs of merging activities in the outskirts and a flat core. We also measured the radial density profile up to $R_{500}$. With these quantities in hand, we were able to determine the mass, $M_{500}=5.64^{+0.79}_{-0.62} \times 10^{14}M_{\odot}$, using the YX proxy. This quantity improves previous measurement of the mass of this object by a factor of $\sim 3.5$. The characterisation of one cluster at such mass and redshift regime is fundamental as these objects are intrinsically rare, the number of objects discovered so far being less than $\sim 25$. Our study highlights the importance of using X-ray observations in combination with ancillary multi-wavelength data to improve our understanding of high-z and massive clusters

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

FRET distance dependence from upconverting nanoparticles to quantum dots

Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) with upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) as donors and quantum dots (QDs) as acceptors has been regarded as a promising tool for biosensing applications. In this work, we use time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to analyze the UCNP-to-QD FRET and we focus on the most relevant parameter of the FRET phenomenon, UCNP-QD distance. This distance is controlled by a nanometric silica shell around the UCNP surface. We theoretically reproduce the experimental results applying FRET theory to the distribution of emitting erbium ions in the UCNP. This simple model allows us to estimate the contribution of every erbium ion to the final FRET response and to explore different strategies to improve FRET efficiency.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗