arXiv subjects

Masanobu Ozaki

Publications and source records attributed to Masanobu Ozaki.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Discovery of Strong Radiative Recombination Continua from The Supernova Remnant IC 443 with Suzaku

We present the Suzaku spectroscopic study of the Galactic middle-aged supernova remnant (SNR) IC 443. The X-ray spectrum in the 1.75-6.0 keV band is described by an optically-thin thermal plasma with the electron temperature of 0.6 keV and several additional Lyman lines. We robustly detect, for the first time, strong radiative recombination continua (RRC) of H-like Si and S around at 2.7 and 3.5 keV. The ionization temperatures of Si and S determined from the intensity ratios of the RRC to He-like K-alpha line are 1.0 keV and 1.2 keV, respectively. We thus find firm evidence for an extremely-overionized (recombining) plasma. As the origin of the overionization, a thermal conduction scenario argued in previous work is not favored in our new results. We propose that the highly-ionized gas were made at the initial phase of the SNR evolution in dense regions around a massive progenitor, and the low electron temperature is due to a rapid cooling by an adiabatic expansion.

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arXiv2009

X-Ray Spectroscopy of SN 1006 with Suzaku

We report on observations of SN 1006 with the X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS) on board Suzaku. We firmly detected K-shell emission from Fe, for the first time, and find that the Fe ionization state is quite low. The broad band spectrum extracted from the southeast of the remnant is well fitted with a model consisting of three optically thin thermal non-equilibrium ionization plasmas and a power-law component. Two of the thermal models are highly overabundant in heavy elements and, hence, are likely due to ejecta. These components have different ionization parameters: $n_et \sim 1.4\times 10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ s and $n_et \sim 7.7\times 10^8$ cm$^{-3}$ s and it is the later one that produces the Fe-K emission. This suggests that Fe has been heated by the reverse shock more recently than the other elements, consistent with a picture where the ejecta are stratified by composition with Fe in the interior. On the other hand, the third thermal component is assumed to be solar abundance, and we associate it with emission from the interstellar medium (ISM). The electron temperature and ionization parameter are $kT_e \sim $0.5 keV and $n_et \sim 5.8\times 10^9$ cm$^{-3}$ s. The electron temperature is lower than that expected from the shock velocity which suggests a lack of collisionless electron heating at the forward shock. The extremely low ionization parameter and extreme non-equilibrium state are due to the low density of the ambient medium.

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arXiv2008

New CTI Correction Method for the Spaced-Row Charge Injection of the Suzaku X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer

The charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) of the X-ray CCDs on board the Suzaku satellite (X-ray Imaging Spectrometers; XIS) has increased since the launch due to radiation damage, and the energy resolution has been degraded. To improve the CTI, we have applied a spaced-row charge injection (SCI) technique to the XIS in orbit; by injecting charges into CCD rows periodically, the CTI is actively decreased. The CTI in the SCI mode depends on the distance between a signal charge and a preceding injected row, and the pulse height shows periodic positional variations. Using in-flight data of onboard calibration sources and of the strong iron line from the Perseus cluster of galaxies, we studied the variation in detail. We developed a new method to correct the variation. By applying the new method, the energy resolution (FWHM) at 5.9 keV at March 2008 is ~155 eV for the front-illuminated CCDs and ~175 eV for the back-illuminated CCD.

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arXiv2008

Energy-Scale Calibration of the Suzaku X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer Using the Checker Flag Charge Injection Technique in Orbit

The X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) on board the Suzaku satellite is an X-ray CCD camera system that has superior performance such as a low background, high quantum efficiency, and good energy resolution in the 0.2-12 keV band. Because of the radiation damage in orbit, however, the charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) has increased, and hence the energy scale and resolution of the XIS has been degraded since the launch of July 2005. The CCD has a charge injection structure, and the CTI of each column and the pulse-height dependence of the CTI are precisely measured by a checker flag charge injection (CFCI) technique. Our precise CTI correction improved the energy resolution from 230 eV to 190 eV at 5.9 keV in December 2006. This paper reports the CTI measurements with the CFCI experiments in orbit. Using the CFCI results, we have implemented the time-dependent energy scale and resolution to the Suzaku calibration database.

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arXiv2008

Restoring the Suzaku Source Position Accuracy and Point-Spread Function

We present an empirical correction of sky coordinates of X-ray photons obtained with the XIS aboard the Suzaku satellite to improve the source position accuracy and restore the point-spread function (PSF). The XIS images are known to have an uncertainty in position of up to 1 arcmin, and to show considerable degradations of the PSF. These problems are caused by a drifting of the satellite attitude due to thermal distortion of the side panel 7, where the attitude control system is mounted. We found that the position error averaged over a pointing observation can be largely reduced by using the relation between the deviation of the source position in the DETX direction and the ecliptic latitude of the pointing target. We parameterized the wobbling of the source position synchronized with the satellite orbital period with temperatures of onboard radiators and elapsed time since the night-day transition of the spacecraft. We developed software, aeattcor, to correct the image drift using these parameters, and applied it to 27 point-source images. We show that the radius of the 90% error circle of the source position was reduced to 19 arcsec and the PSF was sharpened. These improvements have enhanced the scientific capability of the Suzaku XIS.

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arXiv2008

Reproducibility of Non-X-ray Background for the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer aboard Suzaku

One of the advantages of the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) system on board Suzaku is its low and stable non-X-ray background (NXB). In order to make the best use of this advantage, modeling the NXB spectra with high accuracy is important to subtract them from the spectra of on-source observations. We construct an NXB database by collecting XIS events when the dark Earth covers the XIS FOV. The total exposure time of the NXB data is about 785 ks for each XIS. It is found that the count rate of the NXB anti-correlates with the cut-off-rigidity and correlates with the count rate of the PIN upper discriminator (PIN-UD) in Hard X-ray Detector on board Suzaku. We thus model the NXB spectrum for a given on-source observation by employing either of these parameters and obtain a better reproducibility of the NXB for the model with PIN-UD than that with the cut-off-rigidity. The reproducibility of the NXB model with PIN-UD is 4.55-5.63% for each XIS NXB in the 1-7 keV band and 2.79-4.36% for each XIS NXB in the 5-12 keV band for each 5 ks exposure of the NXB data. This NXB reproducibility is much smaller than the spatial fluctuation of the cosmic X-ray background in the 1-7 keV band, and is almost comparable to that in the 5-12 keV band.

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arXiv2007

In Orbit Timing Calibration of the Hard X-Ray Detector on Board Suzaku

The hard X-ray detector (HXD) on board the X-ray satellite Suzaku is designed to have a good timing capability with a 61 $μ$s time resolution. In addition to detailed descriptions of the HXD timing system, results of in-orbit timing calibration and performance of the HXD are summarized. The relative accuracy of time measurements of the HXD event was confirmed to have an accuracy of $1.9\times 10^{-9}$ s s$^{-1}$ per day, and the absolute timing was confirmed to be accurate to 360 $μ$s or better. The results were achieved mainly through observations of the Crab pulsar, including simultaneous ones with RXTE, INTEGRAL, and Swift.

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arXiv2007

Suzaku wide-band observations of SN 1006

We report on the wide band spectra of SN 1006 as observed by Suzaku. Thermal and nonthermal emission are successfully resolved thanks to the excellent spectral response of Suzaku's X-ray CCD XIS. The nonthermal emission cannot be reproduced by a simple power-law model but needs a roll-off at 5.7$\times 10^{16}$ Hz = 0.23 keV. The roll-off frequency is significantly higher in the northeastern rim than in the southwestern rim. We also have placed the most stringent upper limit of the flux above 10 keV using the Hard X-ray Detector.

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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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arXiv2005

Ionization States and Plasma Structures of Mixed-morphology SNRs Observed with ASCA

We present the results of a systematic study using ASCA of the ionization state for six ``mixed-morphology'' supernova emnants (MMSNRs): IC 443, W49B, W28, W44, 3C391, and Kes 27. MMSNRs show centrally filled thermal X-ray emission, which contrasts to shell-like radio morphology, a set of haracteristics at odds with the standard model of SNR evolution (e.g., the Sedov model). We have therefore studied the evolution of the MMSNRs from the ionization conditions inferred from the X-ray spectra, independent of X-ray morphology. We find highly ionized plasmas approaching ionization equilibrium in all the mmsnrs. The degree of ionization is systematically higher than the plasma usually seen in shell-like SNRs. Radial temperature gradients are also observed in five remnants, with cooler plasma toward the limb. In IC 443 and W49B, we find a plasma structure consistent with shell-like SNRs, suggesting that at least some MMSNRs have experienced similar evolution to shell-like SNRs. In addition to the results above, we have discovered an ``overionized'' ionization state in W49B, in addition to that previously found in IC 443. Thermal conduction can cause the hot interior plasma to become overionized by reducing the temperature and density gradients, leading to an interior density increase and temperature decrease. Therefore, we suggest that the ``center-filled'' X-ray morphology develops as the result of thermal conduction, and should arise in all SNRs. This is consistent with the results that MMSNRs are near collisional ionization equilibrium since the conduction timescale is roughly similar to the ionization timescale. Hence, we conclude that MMSNRs are those that have evolved over$\sim10^4$ yr. We call this phase as the ``conduction phase.''

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arXiv2002

ASCA Observations of the Supernova Remnant IC 443: Thermal Structure and Detection of Overionized Plasma

We present the results of X-ray spatial and spectral studies of the ``mixed-morphology'' supernova remnant IC 443 using ASCA. IC 443 has a center-filled image in X-ray band, contrasting with the shell-like appearance in radio and optical bands. The overall X-ray emission is thermal, not from a synchrotron nebula. ASCA observed IC 443 three times, covering the whole remnant. From the image analysis, we found that the softness-ratio map reveals a shell-like structure. At the same time, its spectra require two (1.0 keV and 0.2 keV) plasma components; the emission of the 0.2 keV plasma is stronger in the region near the shell than the center. These results can be explained by a simple model that IC 443 has a hot (1.0 keV) interior surrounded by a cool (0.2 keV) outer shell. From the emission measures, we infer that the 0.2 keV plasma is denser than the 1.0 keV plasma, suggesting pressure equilibrium between the two. In addition, we found that the ionization temperature of sulfur, obtained from H-like K$α$ to He-like K$α$ intensity ratio, is 1.5 keV, significantly higher than the gas temperature of 1.0 keV suggested from the continuum spectrum. The same can be concluded for silicon. Neither an additional, hotter plasma component nor a multi-temperature plasma successfully accounts for this ratio, and we conclude that the 1.0 keV plasma is overionized. This is the first time that overionized gas has been detected in a SNR. For the gas to become overionized in the absence of a photoionizing flux, it must cool faster than the ions recombine. Thermal conduction from the 1.0 keV plasma to the 0.2 keV one could cause the 1.0 keV plasma to become overionized, which is plausible within an old (3$\times10^4$ yr) SNR.

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arXiv2000

ASCA Observation of the New Transient X-ray Pulsar XTE J0111.2-7317 in the Small Magellanic Cloud

The new transient X-ray pulsar XTE J0111.2-7317 was observed with Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) on 1998 November 18, a few days after its discovery with the Proportional Counter Array onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. The source was detected at a flux level of 3.6x10^-10 erg cm^-2 s^-1 in the 0.7--10.0 keV band, which corresponds to the X-ray luminosity of 1.8x10^38 erg s^-1, if a distance of 65 kpc for this pulsar in the Small Magellanic Cloud is assumed. Nearly sinusoidal pulsations with a period of 30.9497 +/- 0.0004 s were unambiguously detected during the ASCA observation. The pulsed fraction is low and slightly energy dependent with average value of \~27%. The energy spectrum shows a large soft excess below ~2 keV when fitted to a simple power-law type model. The soft excess is eliminated if the spectrum is fitted to an ``inversely broken power-law'' model, in which photon indices below and above a break energy of 1.5 keV are 2.3 and 0.8, respectively. The soft excess can also be described by a blackbody or a thermal bremsstrahlung when the spectrum above ~2 keV is modeled by a power-law. In these models, however, the thermal soft component requires a very large emission zone, and hence it is difficult to explain the observed pulsations at energies below 2 keV. A bright state of the source enables us to identify a weak iron line feature at 6.4 keV with an equivalent width of 50 +/- 14 eV. Pulse phase resolved spectroscopy revealed a slight hardening of the spectrum and marginal indication of an increase in the iron line strength during the pulse maximum.

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