arXiv subjects

P. S. Broos

Publications and source records attributed to P. S. Broos.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2015

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula survey XX. The nature of the X-ray bright emission line star VFTS 399

The stellar population of the 30 Doradus star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud contains a subset of apparently single, rapidly rotating O-type stars. The physical processes leading to the formation of this cohort are currently uncertain. One member of this group, the late O-type star VFTS 399, is found to be unexpectedly X-ray bright for its bolometric luminosity - in this study we aim to determine its physical nature and the cause of this behaviour. We find VFTS 399 to be an aperiodic photometric variable with an apparent near-IR excess. Its optical spectrum demonstrates complex emission profiles in the lower Balmer series and select HeI lines - taken together these suggest an OeBe classification. The highly variable X-ray luminosity is too great to be produced by a single star, while the hard, non-thermal nature suggests the presence of an accreting relativistic companion. Finally, the detection of periodic modulation of the X-ray lightcurve is most naturally explained under the assumption that the accretor is a neutron star. VFTS 399 appears to be the first high-mass X-ray binary identified within 30 Dor. Comparison of the current properties of VFTS 399 to binary-evolution models suggests a progenitor mass in excess of 25Msun for the putative neutron star, which may host a magnetic field comparable in strength to those of magnetars. VFTS 399 is now the second member of the cohort of rapidly rotating `single' O-type stars in 30 Dor to show evidence of binary interaction resulting in spin-up, suggesting that this may be a viable evolutionary pathway for the formation of a subset of this stellar population.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

Chandra observations of SN 1987A: the soft X-ray light curve revisited

We report on the present stage of SN 1987A as observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We reanalyze published Chandra observations and add three more epochs of Chandra data to get a consistent picture of the evolution of the X-ray fluxes in several energy bands. We discuss the implications of several calibration issues for Chandra data. Using the most recent Chandra calibration files, we find that the 0.5-2.0 keV band fluxes of SN 1987A have increased by ~6 x 10 ^-13 erg s^-1 cm^-2 per year since 2009. This is in contrast with our previous result that the 0.5-2.0 keV light curve showed a sudden flattening in 2009. Based on our new analysis, we conclude that the forward shock is still in full interaction with the equatorial ring.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

The Chandra Deep Field-South Survey: 4 Ms Source Catalogs

[abridged] We present point-source catalogs for the 4Ms Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S), which is the deepest Chandra survey to date and covers an area of 464.5 arcmin^2. We provide a main source catalog, which contains 740 X-ray point sources that are detected with wavdetect at a false-positive probability threshold of 1E-5 and also satisfy a binomial-probability source-selection criterion of P<0.004; this approach is designed to maximize the number of reliable sources detected. A total of 300 main-catalog sources are new compared to the previous 2Ms CDF-S main-catalog sources. We also provide a supplementary catalog, which consists of 36 sources that are detected with wavdetect at 1E-5, satisfy 0.004< P<0.1, and have an optical counterpart with R<24. Multiwavelength identifications, basic optical/infrared/radio photometry, and spectroscopic/photometric redshifts are provided for the X-ray sources. Basic analyses of the X-ray and multiwavelength properties of the sources indicate that >75% of the main-catalog sources are AGNs; of the 300 new main-catalog sources, about 35% are likely normal and starburst galaxies, reflecting the rise of normal and starburst galaxies at the very faint flux levels uniquely accessible to the 4Ms CDF-S. Near the center of the 4Ms CDF-S, the observed AGN and galaxy source densities have reached ~9800 and 6900 per square degree, respectively. The 4 Ms CDF-S reaches on-axis flux limits of ~9.1E-18 and 5.5E-17 erg/cm^2/s for the soft and hard bands, respectively. An increase in the CDF-S exposure by a factor of ~2-2.5 would provide further significant gains and probe key unexplored discovery space.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

X-ray emission from the double-binary OB-star system QZ Car (HD 93206)

X-ray observations of the double-binary OB-star system QZ Car (HD 93206) obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory over a period of roughly 2 years are presented. The orbit of systems A (O9.7 I+b2 v, PA = 21 d) and B (O8 III+o9 v, PB = 6 d) are reasonably well sampled by the observations, allowing the origin of the X-ray emission to be examined in detail. The X-ray spectra can be well fitted by an attenuated three temperature thermal plasma model, characterised by cool, moderate, and hot plasma components at kT ~ 0.2, 0.7, and 2 keV, respectively, and a circumstellar absorption of ~ 0.2 x 10^22 cm-2. Although the hot plasma component could be indicating the presence of wind-wind collision shocks in the system, the model fluxes calculated from spectral fits, with an average value of ~ 7 x 10^-13 erg s-1 cm-2, do not show a clear correlation with the orbits of the two constituent binaries. A semi-analytical model of QZ Car reveals that a stable momentum balance may not be established in either system A or B. Yet, despite this, system B is expected to produce an observed X-ray flux well in excess of the observations. If one considers the wind of the O8 III star to be disrupted by mass transfer the model and observations are in far better agreement, which lends support to the previous suggestion of mass-transfer in the O8 III + o9 v binary. We conclude that the X-ray emission from QZ Car can be reasonably well accounted for by a combination of contributions mainly from the single stars and the mutual wind-wind collision between systems A and B.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Global X-ray properties of the O and B stars in Carina

The key empirical property of the X-ray emission from O stars is a strong correlation between the bolometric and X-ray luminosities. In the framework of the Chandra Carina Complex Project, 129 O and B stars have been detected as X-ray sources; 78 of those, all with spectral type earlier than B3, have enough counts for at least a rough X-ray spectral characterization. This leads to an estimate of the Lx/Lbol ratio for an exceptional number of 60 O stars belonging to the same region and triples the number of Carina massive stars studied spectroscopically in X-rays. The derived log(Lx/Lbol) is -7.26 for single objects, with a dispersion of only 0.21dex. Using the properties of hot massive stars listed in the literature, we compare the X-ray luminosities of different types of objects. In the case of O stars, the Lx/Lbol ratios are similar for bright and faint objects, as well as for stars of different luminosity classes or spectral types. Binaries appear only slightly harder and slightly more luminous in X-rays than single objects; the differences are not formally significant (at the 1% level), except for the Lx/Lbol ratio in the medium (1.0--2.5keV) energy band. Weak-wind objects have similar X-ray luminosities but they display slightly softer spectra compared to "normal" O stars with the same bolometric luminosity. Discarding three overluminous objects, we find a very shallow trend of harder emission in brighter objects. The properties of the few B stars bright enough to yield some spectral information appear to be different overall (constant X-ray luminosities, harder spectra), hinting that another mechanism for producing X-rays, besides wind shocks, might be at work. However, it must be stressed that the earliest and X-ray brightest amongst these few detected objects are similar to the latest O stars, suggesting a possibly smooth transition between the two processes.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2008

A Catalog of X-ray Point Sources from Two Megaseconds of Chandra Observations of the Galactic Center

We present a catalog of 9017 X-ray sources identified in Chandra observations of a 2 by 0.8 degree field around the Galactic center. We increase the number of known X-ray sources in the region by a factor of 2.5. The catalog incorporates all of the ACIS-I observations as of 2007 August, which total 2.25 Msec of exposure. At the distance to the Galactic center (8 kpc), we are sensitive to sources with luminosities >4e32 erg/s (0.5-8.0 keV; 90% confidence) over an area of one square degree, and up to an order of magnitude more sensitive in the deepest exposure (1.0 Msec) around Sgr A*. The positions of 60% of our sources are accurate to <1" (95% confidence), and 20% have positions accurate to <0.5". We search for variable sources, and find that 3% exhibit flux variations within an observation, 10% exhibit variations from observation-to-observation. We also find one source, CXOUGC J174622.7-285218, with a periodic 1745 s signal (1.4% chance probability), which is probably a magnetically-accreting cataclysmic variable. We compare the spatial distribution of X-ray sources to a model for the stellar distribution, and find 2.8 sigma evidence for excesses in the numbers of X-ray sources in the region of recent star formation encompassed by the Arches, Quintuplet, and Galactic center star clusters. These excess sources are also seen in the luminosity distribution of the X-ray sources, which is flatter near the Arches and Quintuplet than elsewhere in the field. These excess point sources, along with a similar longitudinal asymmetry in the distribution of diffuse iron emission that has been reported by other authors, probably have their origin in the young stars that are prominent at l~0.1 degree.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

An X-ray Imaging Study of the Stellar Population in RCW49

We present the results of a high-resolution X-ray imaging study of the stellar population in the Galactic massive star-forming region RCW49 and its central OB association Westerlund 2. We obtained a 40 ks X-ray image of a 17'x17' field using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and deep NIR images using the Infrared Survey Facility in a concentric 8'3x8'3 region. We detected 468 X-ray sources and identified optical, NIR, and Spitzer Space Telescope MIR counterparts for 379 of them. The unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity of the X-ray image, enhanced by optical and infrared imaging data, yielded the following results: (1) The central OB association Westerlund 2 is resolved for the first time in the X-ray band. X-ray emission is detected from all spectroscopically-identified early-type stars in this region. (2) Most (86%) X-ray sources with optical or infrared identifications are cluster members in comparison with a control field in the Galactic Plane. (3) A loose constraint (2--5 kpc) for the distance to RCW49 is derived from the mean X-ray luminosity of T Tauri stars. (4) The cluster X-ray population consists of low-mass pre--main-sequence and early-type stars as obtained from X-ray and NIR photometry. About 30 new OB star candidates are identified. (5) We estimate a cluster radius of 6'--7' based on the X-ray surface number density profiles. (6) A large fraction (90%) of cluster members are identified individually using complimentary X-ray and MIR excess emission. (7) The brightest five X-ray sources, two Wolf-Rayet stars and three O stars, have hard thermal spectra.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Hard X-rays from Ultra-Compact HII Regions in W49A

We report the Chandra detection of hard X-ray emission from the Welch ring in W49A, an organized structure of ultra-compact (UC) HII regions containing a dozen nascent early-type stars. Two UC HII regions are associated with hard X-ray emission in a deep Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer image exposed for 96.7 ks. One of the two X-ray sources has no near-infrared counterpart and is extended by ~5 arcsec, or ~0.3 pc, at a distance of ~11.4 kpc, which is spatially aligned with the cometary radio continuum emission associated with the UC HII region. The X-ray spectrum of the emission, when fit with a thermal model, indicates a heavily absorbed plasma with extinction of \~5x10^{23}/cm^{2}, temperature of ~7 keV, and X-ray luminosity in the 3.0-8.0 keV band of ~3x10^{33} ergs/s. Both the luminosity and the size of the emission resemble the extended hard emission found in UC HII regions in Sagittarius B2, yet they are smaller by an order of magnitude than the emission found in massive star clusters such as NGC 3603. Three possibilities are discussed for the cause of the hard extended emission in the Welch ring: an ensemble of unresolved point sources, shocked interacting winds of the young O stars, and a wind-blown bubble interacting with ambient cold matter.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

A Chandra/ACIS Study of 30 Doradus I. Superbubbles and Supernova Remnants

We present an X-ray tour of diffuse emission in the 30 Doradus star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud using high-spatial-resolution X-ray images and spatially-resolved spectra obtained with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The dominant X-ray feature of the 30 Doradus nebula is the intricate network of diffuse emission generated by interacting stellar winds and supernovae working together to create vast superbubbles filled with hot plasma. We construct maps of the region showing variations in plasma temperature (T = 3--9 million degrees), absorption (N_H = 1--6 x 10^{21} cm^{-2}), and absorption-corrected X-ray surface brightness (S_X = 3--126 x 10^{31} ergs s^{-1} pc^{-2}). Enhanced images reveal the pulsar wind nebula in the composite supernova remnant N157B and the Chandra data show spectral evolution from non-thermal synchrotron emission in the N157B core to a thermal plasma in its outer regions. In a companion paper we show that R136, the central massive star cluster, is resolved at the arcsecond level into almost 100 X-ray sources. Through X-ray studies of 30 Doradus the complete life cycle of such a massive stellar cluster can be revealed.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

A Chandra/ACIS Study of 30 Doradus II. X-ray Point Sources in the Massive Star Cluster R136 and Beyond

We have studied the X-ray point source population of the 30 Doradus star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud using high-spatial-resolution X-ray images and spatially-resolved spectra obtained with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Here we describe the X-ray sources in a 17' x 17' field centered on R136, the massive star cluster at the center of the main 30 Dor nebula. We detect 20 of the 32 Wolf-Rayet stars in the ACIS field. R136 is resolved at the subarcsecond level into almost 100 X-ray sources, including many typical O3--O5 stars as well as a few bright X-ray sources previously reported. Over two orders of magnitude of scatter in L_X is seen among R136 O stars, suggesting that X-ray emission in the most massive stars depends critically on the details of wind properties and binarity of each system, rather than reflecting the widely-reported characteristic value L_X/L_bol ~ 10^{-7}. Such a canonical ratio may exist for single massive stars in R136, but our data are too shallow to confirm this relationship. Through this and future X-ray studies of 30 Doradus, the complete life cycle of a massive stellar cluster can be revealed.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope

The UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT) is one of three instruments flying aboard the Swift Gamma-ray Observatory. It is designed to capture the early (approximately 1 minute) UV and optical photons from the afterglow of gamma-ray bursts in the 170-600 nm band as well as long term observations of these afterglows. This is accomplished through the use of UV and optical broadband filters and grisms. The UVOT has a modified Ritchey-Chretien design with micro-channel plate intensified charged-coupled device detectors that record the arrival time of individual photons and provide sub-arcsecond positioning of sources. We discuss some of the science to be pursued by the UVOT and the overall design of the instrument.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Parsec-scale X-ray Flows in High-mass Star-forming Regions

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is providing remarkable new views of massive star-forming regions, revealing all stages in the life cycle of high-mass stars and their effects on their surroundings. We present a Chandra tour of several high-mass star-forming regions, highlighting physical processes that characterize the life of a cluster of high-mass stars, from deeply-embedded cores too young to have established an HII region to superbubbles so large that they shape our views of galaxies. Along the way we see that X-ray observations reveal hundreds of stellar sources powering great HII region complexes, suffused by both hard and soft diffuse X-ray structures caused by fast O-star winds thermalized in wind-wind collisions or by termination shocks against the surrounding media. Finally, we examine the effects of the deaths of high-mass stars that remained close to their birthplaces, exploding as supernovae within the superbubbles that these clusters created. We present new X-ray results on W51 IRS2E and 30 Doradus and we introduce new data on Trumpler 14 in Carina and the W3 HII region complexes W3 Main and W3(OH).

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project: Observations and Source Lists

We present a description of the data reduction methods and the derived catalog of more than 1600 X-ray point sources from the exceptionally deep January 2003 Chandra X-ray Observatory observation of the Orion Nebula Cluster and embedded populations around OMC-1. The observation was obtained with Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) and has been nicknamed the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP). With an 838 ks exposure made over a continuous period of 13.2 days, the COUP observation provides the most uniform and comprehensive dataset on the X-ray emission of normal stars ever obtained in the history of X-ray astronomy.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

The Spectra and Variability of X-ray Sources in a Deep Chandra Observation of the Galactic Center

We examine the X-ray spectra and variability of the sample of X-ray sources with L_X = 10^{31}-10^{33} erg s^{-1} identified within the inner 9' of the Galaxy. Very few of the sources exhibit intra-day or inter-month variations. We find that the spectra of the point sources near the Galactic center are very hard between 2--8 keV, even after accounting for absorption. When modeled as power laws the median photon index is Gamma=0.7, while when modeled as thermal plasma we can only obtain lower limits to the temperature of kT>8 keV. The combined spectra of the point sources is similarly hard, with a photon index of Gamma=0.8. Strong line emission is observed from low-ionization, He-like, and H-like Fe, both in the average spectra and in the brightest individual sources. The line ratios of the highly-ionized Fe in the average spectra are consistent with emission from a plasma in thermal equilibrium. This line emission is observed whether average spectra are examined as a function of the count rate from the source, or as a function of the hardness ratios of individual sources. This suggests that the hardness of the spectra may in fact to due local absorption that partially-covers the X-ray emitting regions in the Galactic center systems. We suggest that most of these sources are intermediate polars, which (1) often exhibit hard spectra with prominent Fe lines, (2) rarely exhibit either flares on short time scales or changes in their mean X-ray flux on long time scales, and (3) are the most numerous hard X-ray sources with comparable luminosities in the Galaxy.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

A Deep Chandra Catalog of X-ray Point Sources toward the Galactic Center

(abridged) We present a catalog of 2357 point sources detected during 590 ks of Chandra observations of the 17-by-17 arcminute field around Sgr A*. This field encompasses a physical area of 40 by 40 pc at a distance of 8 kpc. The completeness limit of the sample at the Galactic center is 10^{31} erg s^{-1} (2.0--8.0 keV), while the detection limit is an order of magnitude lower. The 281 sources detected below 1.5 keV are mainly in the foreground of the Galactic center, while comparisons to the Chandra deep fields at high Galactic latitudes suggest that only about 100 of the observed sources are background AGN. The surface density of absorbed sources (not detected below 1.5 keV) falls off as 1/theta away from Sgr A*, in agreement with the distribution of stars in infrared surveys. Point sources brighter than our completeness limit produce 10% of the flux previously attributed to diffuse emission. The log(N)-log(S) distribution of the Galactic center sources is extremely steep (power-law slope alpha = 1.7). If this distribution extends down to a flux of 10^{-17} erg cm^{-1} s^{-1} (10^{29} erg s^{-1} at 8 kpc, 2.0--8.0 keV) with the same slope, then point sources would account for all of the previously reported diffuse emission. Therefore, the 2.0--8.0 keV luminosity distribution must flatten between 10^{29} - 10^{31} erg s^{-1}. Finally, the spectra of more than half of the Galactic center sources are very hard, and can be described by a power law ($E^{-Gamma}) with photon index Gamma < 1. Such hard spectra have been seen previously only from magnetically accreting white dwarfs and wind-accreting neutron stars, suggesting that there are large numbers of these systems in our field.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Ten Million Degree Gas in M 17 and the Rosette Nebula: X-ray Flows in Galactic H II Regions

We present the first high-spatial-resolution X-ray images of two high-mass star forming regions, the Omega Nebula (M 17) and the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237--2246), obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) instrument. The massive clusters powering these H II regions are resolved at the arcsecond level into >900 (M 17) and >300 (Rosette) stellar sources similar to those seen in closer young stellar clusters. However, we also detect soft diffuse X-ray emission on parsec scales that is spatially and spectrally distinct from the point source population. The diffuse emission has luminosity L_x ~ 3.4e33 ergs/s in M~17 with plasma energy components at kT ~0.13 and ~0.6 keV (1.5 and 7 MK), while in Rosette it has L_x \~6e32 ergs/s with plasma energy components at kT ~0.06 and ~0.8 keV (0.7 and 9 MK). This extended emission most likely arises from the fast O-star winds thermalized either by wind-wind collisions or by a termination shock against the surrounding media. We establish that only a small portion of the wind energy and mass appears in the observed diffuse X-ray plasma; in these blister H II regions, we suspect that most of it flows without cooling into the low-density interstellar medium. These data provide compelling observational evidence that strong wind shocks are present in H II regions.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The Chandra Deep Field-North Survey. XIII. 2 Ms Point-Source Catalogs

We present catalogs for the ~2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-North, currently the deepest X-ray observation of the Universe in the 0.5-8.0 keV band. Five hundred and three (503) X-ray sources are detected over an ~448 sq.arcmin area in up to seven bands; 20 of these X-ray sources lie in the Hubble Deep Field-North. Source positions are determined using matched-filter and centroiding techniques; the median positional uncertainty is ~0.3 arcsecs. The X-ray colors of the detected sources indicate a broad variety of source types, although absorbed AGNs (including some possible Compton-thick sources) are clearly the dominant type. We also match lower significance X-ray sources to optical counterparts and provide a list of 79 optically bright R<~23) lower significance Chandra sources. The majority of these sources appear to be starburst and normal galaxies. We investigate the source-free background, determine the maximum photon-limited exposures, and investigate source confusion. These analyses directly show that Chandra can achieve significantly higher sensitivities in an efficient nearly photon-limited manner and be largely free of source confusion. To allow consistent comparisons, we have also produced point-source catalogs for the ~1 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S). Three hundred and twenty-six (326) X-ray sources are included in the main Chandra catalog, and an additional 42 optically bright X-ray sources are included in a lower significance Chandra catalog. We find good agreement with the photometry of the previously published CDF-S catalogs; however, we provide significantly improved positional accuracy (ABRIDGED).

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

X-ray Spectroscopy and Variability of AGN Detected in the 2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-North Survey

We investigate the nature of the faint X-ray source population through X-ray spectroscopy and variability analyses of 136 AGN detected in the 2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-North survey with > 200 background-subtracted 0.5-8.0 keV counts [F(0.5-8.0 keV)=(1.4-200)e-15 erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}]. Our preliminary spectral analyses yield median spectral parameters of Gamma=1.61 and intrinsic N_H=6.2e21 cm^{-2} (z=1 assumed when no redshift available) when the AGN spectra are fitted with a simple absorbed power-law model. However, considerable spectral complexity is apparent (e.g., reflection, partial covering) and must be taken into account to model the data accurately. Moreover, the choice of spectral model (i.e., free vs. fixed photon index) has a pronounced effect on the derived N_H distribution and, to a lesser extent, the X-ray luminosity distribution. Ten of the 136 AGN (~7%) show significant Fe Kalpha emission-line features with equivalent widths in the range 0.1-1.3 keV. Two of these emission-line AGN could potentially be Compton thick (i.e., Gamma < 1.0 and large Fe Kalpha equivalent width). Finally, we find that 81 (~60%) of the 136 AGN show signs of variability, and that this fraction increases significantly (~80-90%) when better photon statistics are available.

astro-ph↗