arXiv subjects

P. H. T. Tam

Publications and source records attributed to P. H. T. Tam.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Discovery of an X-ray Emitting Contact Binary System 2MASS J11201034$-$2201340

We report the detection of orbital modulation, a model solution, and X-ray properties of a newly discovered contact binary, 2MASS J11201034$-$2201340. We serendipitously found this X-ray point source outside the error ellipse when searching for possible X-ray counterparts of $γ$-ray millisecond pulsars among the unidentified objects detected by the {\it Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope}. The optical counterpart of the X-ray source (unrelated to the $γ$-ray source) was then identified using archival databases. The long-term CRTS survey detected a precise signal with a period of $P=0.28876208(56)$ days. A follow-up observation made by the SLT telescope of Lulin Observatory revealed the binary nature of the object. Utilizing archived photometric data of multi-band surveys, we construct the spectral energy distribution, which is well fitted by a K2V spectral template. The fitting result of the orbital profile using the Wilson--Devinney code suggests that 2MASS J11201034-2201340 is a short-period A-type contact binary and the more massive component has a cool spot. The X-ray emission was first noted in observations made by \swift\, then further confirmed and characterized by an \xmm\ observation. The X-ray spectrum can be described by a power law or thermal Bremsstrahlung. Unfortunately, we could not observe significant X-ray orbital modulation. Finally, according to the spectral energy distribution, this system is estimated to be 690 pc from Earth with a calculated X-ray intensity of $(0.7-1.5)\times 10^{30}$ erg s$^{-1}$, which is in the expected range of an X-ray emitting contact binary.

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arXiv2016

Observing two dark accelerators around the Galactic Centre with Fermi Large Area Telescope

We report the results from a detailed $γ-$ray investigation in the field of two "dark accelerators", HESS J1745-303 and HESS J1741-302, with $6.9$ years of data obtained by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. For HESS J1745-303, we found that its MeV-GeV emission is mainly originated from the "Region A" of the TeV feature. Its $γ-$ray spectrum can be modeled with a single power-law with a photon index of $Γ\sim2.5$ from few hundreds MeV to TeV. Moreover, an elongated feature, which extends from "Region A" toward northwest for $\sim1.3^{\circ}$, is discovered for the first time. The orientation of this feature is similar to that of a large scale atomic/molecular gas distribution. For HESS J1741-302, our analysis does not yield any MeV-GeV counterpart for this unidentified TeV source. On the other hand, we have detected a new point source, Fermi J1740.1-3013, serendipitously. Its spectrum is apparently curved which resembles that of a $γ-$ray pulsar. This makes it possibly associated with PSR B1737-20 or PSR J1739-3023.

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arXiv2015

The H.E.S.S. II GRB Program

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the most energetic and exotic events in the Universe, however their behaviour at the highest energies (>10 GeV) is largely unknown. Although the Fermi-LAT space telescope has detected several GRBs in this energy range, it is limited by the relatively small collection area of the instrument. The H.E.S.S. experiment has now entered its second phase by adding a fifth telescope of 600 m$^{2}$ mirror area to the centre of the array. This new telescope increases the energy range of the array, allowing it to probe the sub-100 GeV range while maintaining the large collection area of ground based gamma-ray observatories, essential to probing short-term variability at these energies. We will present a description of the GRB observation scheme used by the H.E.S.S. experiment, summarising the behaviour and performance of the rapid GRB repointing system, the conditions under which potential GRB repointings are made and the data analysis scheme used for these observations.

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arXiv2015

Searches for millisecond pulsar candidates among the unidentified Fermi objects

Here we report the results of searching millisecond pulsar (MSP) candidates from the Fermi LAT second source catalog (2FGL). Seven unassociated $γ-$ray sources in this catalog are identified as promising MSP candidates based on their $γ$-ray properties. Through the X-ray analysis, we have detected possible X-ray counterparts, localized to an arcsecond accuracy. We have systematically estimated their X-ray fluxes and compared with the corresponding $γ$-ray fluxes. The X-ray to $γ$-ray flux ratios for 2FGL J1653.6-0159 and 2FGL J1946.4-5402 are comparable with the typical value for pulsars. For 2FGL J1625.2-0020, 2FGL J1653.6-0159 and 2FGL J1946.4-5402, their candidate X-ray counterparts are bright enough for performing a detailed spectral and temporal analysis to discriminate their thermal/non thermal nature and search for the periodic signal. We have also searched for possible optical/IR counterparts at the X-ray positions. For the optical/IR source coincident with the brightest X-ray object that associated with 2FGL J1120.0-2204, its spectral energy distribution is comparable with a late-type star. Evidence for the variability has also been found by examining its optical light curve. All the aforementioned 2FGL sources resemble a pulsar in one or more aspects, which make them as the promising targets for follow-up investigations.

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arXiv2015

Exploring the intrabinary shock from the redback millisecond pulsar PSR J2129-0429

We have investigated the intrabinary shock emission from the redback millisecond pulsar PSR J2129-0429 with XMM-Newton and Fermi. Orbital modulation in X-ray and UV can be clearly seen. Its X-ray modulation has a double-peak structure with a dip in between. The observed X-rays are non-thermal dominant which can be modeled by a power-law with a photon index of ~1.2. Intrabinary shock can be the origin of the observed X-rays. The UV light curve is resulted from the ellipsoidal modulation of the companion. Modeling the UV light curve prefers a large viewing angle. The heating effect of the UV light curve is found to be negligible which suggests the high energy radiation beam of PSR J2129-0429 does not direct toward its companion. On the other hand, no significant orbital modulation can be found in gamma-ray which suggests the majority of the gamma-rays come from the pulsar.

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arXiv2014

The birth of radio millisecond pulsars and their high-energy signature

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are thought to born in low-mass X-ray binaries when the neutron star has gained enough angular momentum from the accreting materials of its companion star. It is generally believed that a radio MSP is born when the neutron star stops accreting and enters a rotation-powered state. Exactly what happens during the transition time was poorly understood until a year ago. In the past year, observations have revealed a few objects that not only switched from one state to the other (as predicted in the above picture), but also have swung between the two states within weeks to years. In this work, we present observations of two of these transition objects (PSR J1023+0038 and XSS J12270-4859) and a theoretical framework that tries to explain their high-energy radiation.

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arXiv2014

High-energy observations of PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 through the 2014 periastron passage: connecting X-rays to the GeV flare

The binary system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 is well sampled in radio, X-rays, and TeV gamma-rays, and shows orbital phase-dependent variability in these frequencies. The first detection of GeV gamma-rays from the system was made around the 2010 periastron passage. In this Letter, we present an analysis of X-ray and gamma-ray data obtained by the Swift/XRT, NuSTAR/FPM, and Fermi/LAT, through the recent periastron passage which occurred on 2014 May 4. While PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 was not detected by the LAT before and during this passage, we show that the GeV flares occurred at a similar orbital phase as in early 2011, thus establishing the repetitive nature of the post-periastron GeV flares. Multiple flares each lasting for a few days have been observed and short-term variability is seen as well. We also found X-ray flux variation contemporaneous with the GeV flare for the first time. A strong evidence of the keV-to-GeV connection came from the broadband high-energy spectra, which we interpret as synchrotron radiation from the shocked pulsar wind.

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arXiv2014

Fermi-LAT Detection of Pulsed Gamma-rays Above 50 GeV from the Vela Pulsar

The First \fermi-LAT Catalog of Sources Above 10 GeV reported evidence of pulsed emission above 25 GeV from 12 pulsars, including the Vela pulsar, which showed evidence of pulsation at $>37$ GeV energy bands. Using 62 months of \fermi-LAT data, we analyzed the gamma-ray emission from the Vela pulsar and searched for pulsed emission above 50 GeV. Having confirmed the significance of the pulsation in 30-50 GeV with the H-test (p-value $\sim10^{-77}$), we extracted its pulse profile using the Bayesian block algorithm and compared it with the distribution of the 5 observed photons above 50 GeV using the likelihood ratio test. Pulsation was significantly detected for photons above 50 GeV with p-value $=3\times10^{-5}$ ($4.2σ$). The detection of pulsation is significant above $4σ$ at $>79$ GeV and above $3σ$ at $>90$ GeV energy bands, making this the highest energy pulsation significantly detected by the LAT. We explore non-stationary outer gap scenario of the very high-energy emissions from the Vela pulsar.

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arXiv2014

NuSTAR observations and broadband spectral energy distribution modeling of the millisecond pulsar binary PSR J1023+0038

We report the first hard X-ray (3-79 keV) observations of the millisecond pulsar (MSP) binary PSR J1023+0038 using NuSTAR. This system has been shown transiting between a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) state and a rotation-powered MSP state. The NuSTAR observations were taken in both LMXB state and rotation-powered state. The source is clearly seen in both states up to ~79 keV. During the LMXB state, the 3-79 keV flux is about a factor of 10 higher that in the rotation-powered state. The hard X-rays show clear orbital modulation during the X-ray faint rotation-powered state but the X-ray orbital period is not detected in the X-ray bright LMXB state. In addition, the X-ray spectrum changes from a flat power-law spectrum during the rotation-powered state to a steeper power-law spectrum in the LMXB state. We suggest that the hard X-rays are due to the intra-binary shock from the interaction between the pulsar wind and the injected material from the low-mass companion star. During the rotation-powered MSP state, the X-ray orbital modulation is due to Doppler boosting of the shocked pulsar wind. At the LMXB state, the evaporating matter of the accretion disk due to the gamma-ray irradiation from the pulsar stops almost all the pulsar wind, resulting the disappearance of the X-ray orbital modulation.

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arXiv2014

Discovery of an ultracompact gamma-ray millisecond pulsar binary candidate

We report multi-wavelength observations of the unidentified Fermi object 2FGL J1653.6-0159. With the help of high-resolution X-ray observation, we have identified an X-ray and optical counterpart of 2FGL J1653.6-0159. The source exhibits a periodic modulation of 75 min in optical and possibly also in X-ray. We suggest that 2FGL J1653.6-0159 is a compact binary system with an orbital period of 75 min. Combining the gamma-ray and X-ray properties, 2FGL J1653.6-0159 is potentially a black widow/redback type gamma-ray millisecond pulsar (MSP). The optical and X-ray lightcurve profiles show that the companion is mildly heated by the high-energy emission and the X-rays are from intrabinary shock. Although no radio pulsation has been detected yet, we estimated that the spin period of the MSP is ~2ms based on a theoretical model. If pulsation can be confirmed in the future, 2FGL J1653.6-0159 will become the first ultracompact rotation-powered MSP.

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arXiv2014

High-energy emissions from the gamma-ray binary LS 5039

We study mechanisms of multi-wavelength emissions (X-ray, GeV and TeV gamma-rays) from the gamma-ray binary LS~5039. This paper is composed of two parts. In the first part, we report on results of observational analysis using four year data of \fermi\ Large Area Telescope. Due to the improvement of instrumental response function and increase of the statistics, the observational uncertainties of the spectrum in $\sim$100-300 MeV bands and $>10$GeV bands are significantly improved. The present data analysis suggests that the 0.1-100GeV emissions from LS~5039 contain three different components; (i) the first component contributes to $<$1GeV emissions around superior conjunction, (ii) the second component dominates in 1-10GeV energy bands and (iii) the third component is compatible to lower energy tail of the TeV emissions. In the second part, we develop an emission model to explain the properties of the phase-resolved emissions in multi-wavelength observations. Assuming that LS~5039 includes a pulsar, we argue that both emissions from magnetospheric outer gap and inverse-Compton scattering process of cold-relativistic pulsar wind contribute to the observed GeV emissions. We assume that the pulsar is wrapped by two kinds of termination shock; Shock-I due to the interaction between the pulsar wind and the stellar wind and Shock-II due to the effect of the orbital motion. We propose that the X-rays are produced by the synchrotron radiation at Shock-I region and the TeV gamma-rays are produced by the inverse-Compton scattering process at Shock-II region.

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arXiv2014

Chandra detection of a new diffuse X-ray component from the globular cluster 47 Tucanae

In re-analyzing the archival Chandra data of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, we have detected a new diffuse X-ray emission feature within the half-mass radius of the cluster. The spectrum of the diffuse emission can be described by a power-law model plus a plasma component with photon index $Γ\sim1.0$ and plasma temperature $kT\sim0.2$ keV. While the thermal component is apparently uniform, the non-thermal contribution falls off exponentially from the core. The observed properties could possibly be explained in the context of multiple shocks resulted from the collisions among the stellar wind in the cluster and the inverse Compton scattering between the pulsar wind and the relic photons.

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arXiv2014

Multi-wavelength emissions from the millisecond pulsar binary PSR J1023+0038 during an accretion active state

Recent observations strongly suggest that the millisecond pulsar binary PSR J1023+0038 has developed an accretion disk since 2013 June. We present a multi-wavelength analysis of PSR J1023+0038, which reveals that 1) its gamma-rays suddenly brightened within a few days in June/July 2013 and has remained at a high gamma-ray state for several months; 2) both UV and X-ray fluxes have increased by roughly an order of magnitude, and 3) the spectral energy distribution has changed significantly after the gamma-ray sudden flux change. Time variabilities associated with UV and X-rays are on the order of 100-500 seconds and 50-100 seconds, respectively. Our model suggests that a newly formed accretion disk due to the sudden increase of the stellar wind could explain the changes of all these observed features. The increase of UV is emitted from the disk, and a new component in gamma-rays is produced by inverse Compton scattering between the new UV component and pulsar wind. The increase of X-rays results from the enhancement of injection pulsar wind energy into the intra-binary shock due to the increase of the stellar wind. We also predict that the radio pulses may be blocked by the evaporated winds from the disk and the pulsar is still powered by rotation.

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arXiv2013

Exploring the X-ray and gamma-ray properties of the redback millisecond pulsar PSR J1723-2837

We have investigated the X-ray and $γ$-ray properties of the redback millisecond pulsar PSR J1723-2837 with XMM-Newton, Chandra and Fermi. We have discovered the X-ray orbital modulation of this binary system with the minimum that coincides with the phases of radio eclipse. The X-ray emission is clearly non-thermal in nature which can be well described by a simple power-law with a photon index of $\sim1.2$. The phase-averaged luminosity is $\sim9\times10^{31}$ erg/s in 0.3-10 keV which consumes $\sim0.2\%$ of the spin-down power. We have detected the $γ-$ray emission in $0.1-300$ GeV from this system at a significance of $\sim6σ$ for the first time. The $γ-$rays in this energy range consumes $\sim2\%$ of the spin-down power and can be modeled by a power-law with a photon index of $\sim2.6$. We discuss the high energy properties of the new redback in the context of a intrabinary shock model.

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arXiv2013

The missing GeV γ-ray binary: Searching for HESS J0632+057 with Fermi-LAT

The very high energy (VHE; >100 GeV) source HESS J0632+057 has been recently confirmed as a γ-ray binary, a subclass of the high mass X-ray binary (HMXB) population, through the detection of an orbital period of 321 days. We performed a deep search for the emission of HESS J0632+057 in the GeV energy range using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The analysis was challenging due to the source being located in close proximity to the bright γ-ray pulsar PSR J0633+0632 and lying in a crowded region of the Galactic plane where there is prominent diffuse emission. We formulated a Bayesian block algorithm adapted to work with weighted photon counts, in order to define the off-pulse phases of PSR J0633+0632. A detailed spectral-spatial model of a 5 deg circular region centred on the known location of HESS J0632+057 was generated to accurately model the LAT data. No significant emission from the location of HESS J0632+057 was detected in the 0.1-100 GeV energy range integrating over ~3.5 years of data; with a 95% flux upper limit of F_{0.1-100 GeV} < 3 x 10-8 ph cm-2 s-1. A search for emission over different phases of the orbit also yielded no significant detection. A search for source emission on shorter timescales (days--months) did not yield any significant detections. We also report the results of a search for radio pulsations using the 100-m Green Bank Telescope (GBT). No periodic signals or individual dispersed bursts of a likely astronomical origin were detected. We estimated the flux density limit of < 90/40 μJy at 2/9 GHz. The LAT flux upper limits combined with the detection of HESS J0632+057 in the 136-400 TeV energy band by the MAGIC collaboration imply that the VHE spectrum must turn over at energies <136 GeV placing constraints on any theoretical models invoked to explain the γ-ray emission.

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arXiv2013

High energy emission of GRB 130427A: evidence for inverse Compton radiation

A nearby super-luminous burst GRB 130427A was simultaneously detected by six $γ$-ray space telescopes ({\it Swift}, Fermi-GBM/LAT, Konus-Wind, SPI-ACS/INTEGRAL, AGILE and RHESSI) and by three RAPTOR full-sky persistent monitors. The isotropic $γ-$ray energy release is of $\sim 10^{54}$ erg, rendering it the most powerful explosion among the GRBs with a redshift $z\leq 0.5$. The emission above 100 MeV lasted about one day and four photons are at energies greater than 40 GeV. We show that the count rate of 100 MeV-100 GeV emission may be mainly accounted for by the forward shock synchrotron radiation and the inverse Compton radiation likely dominates at GeV-TeV energies. In particular, an inverse Compton radiation origin is established for the $\sim (95.3,~47.3,~41.4,~38.5,~32)$ GeV photons arriving at $t\sim (243,~256.3,~610.6,~3409.8,~34366.2)$ s after the trigger of Fermi-GBM. Interestingly, the external-inverse-Compton-scattering of the prompt emission (the second episode, i.e., $t\sim 120-260$ s) by the forward-shock-accelerated electrons is expected to produce a few $γ-$rays at energies above 10 GeV, while five were detected in the same time interval. A possible unified model for the prompt soft $γ-$ray, optical and GeV emission of GRB 130427A, GRB 080319B and GRB 090902B is outlined. Implication of the null detection of $>1$ TeV neutrinos from GRB 130427A by IceCube is discussed.

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arXiv2013

Searching for TeV emission from GRBs: the status of the H.E.S.S. GRB programme

H.E.S.S. is an array of five Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) located 1800 m above sea level in the Khomas Highland of Namibia and is sensitive to very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays between tens of GeV to tens of TeV. The very-high background rejection capabilities of IACTs provide excellent sensitivity of H.E.S.S. to GRBs. In this contribution the status of the H.E.S.S. GRB programme, already started in 2003, is reviewed. A highlight is the recent addition of the fifth telescope, which is the world's largest IACT. Its 600 square metre mirror lowers the energy threshold to tens of GeV and provides an effective area that is ten thousands of times larger than Fermi-LAT at these energies. The higher performance drive system will reduce the response time to a GRB alert, which will significantly enhance the chances of a H.E.S.S. GRB detection. Recent results on selected GRBs will be shown.

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arXiv2013

Search for pulsed gamma-ray emission from globular cluster M28

Using the data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, we have searched for the gamma-ray pulsations from the direction of globular cluster M28 (NGC 6626). We report the discovery of a signal with the frequency consistent with that of the energetic millisecond pulsar (MSP) PSR B1821-24 in M28. A weighted H-test test statisic (TS) of 28.8 is attained which corresponds to a chance probability of ~1e-5 (4.3-sigma detection). With a phase-resolved analysis, the pulsed component is found to contribute ~25% of the total observed gamma-ray emission from the cluster. On the other hand, the unpulsed level provides a constraint for the underlying MSP population and the fundamental plane relations for the scenario of inverse Compton scattering. Follow-up timing observations in radio/X-ray are encouraged for further investigating this periodic signal candidate.

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