arXiv subjects

Silvia Zane

Publications and source records attributed to Silvia Zane.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

The Hot and Energetic Universe: End points of stellar evolution

White dwarfs, neutron stars and stellar mass black holes are key laboratories to study matter in most extreme conditions of gravity and magnetic field. The unprecedented effective area of Athena+ will allow us to advance our understanding of emission mechanisms and accretion physics over a wide range of mass accretion rates, starting from lower and sub-luminous quiescent X-ray binaries up to super-Eddington ultra-luminous sources. Athena+ will measure stellar black hole spins in a much higher number of binaries than achievable now, opening the possibility to study how spin varies with black hole history. The high throughput and energy resolution of the X-IFU will be instrumental in establishing how disc wind properties depend on accretion state, in determining wind launching mechanism and in quantifying the impact of the wind induced mass loss on binary evolution and environment. Triggers and high quality optical and radio data originating from large wide field contemporaneous instruments will provide essential complementary information on jet launching mechanisms and on the physics of rotation powered pulsars, for instance. In addition, Athena+ will furnish multiple, independent measurements of the neutron star mass/radius relation in a wide range of environments and conditions so as to constrain the debated equation of state.

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arXiv2012

Calibration strategies for the LAD instrument on-board LOFT

The Scientific objectives of the LOFT mission, e.g., the study of the Neutron Star equation of state and of the Strong Gravity, require accurate energy, time and flux calibration for the 500k channels of the SDD detectors, as well as the knowledge of the detector dead-time and of the detector response with respect to the incident angle of the photons. We report here the evaluations made to asses the calibration issues for the LAD instrument. The strategies for both ground and on-board calibrations, including astrophysical observations, show that the goals are achievable within the current technologies.

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arXiv2012

The continued spectral and temporal evolution of RX J0720.4-3125

RX J0720.4-3125 is the most peculiar object among a group of seven isolated X-ray pulsars (the so-called "Magnificent Seven"), since it shows long-term variations of its spectral and temporal properties on time scales of years. This behaviour was explained by different authors either by free precession (with a seven or fourteen years period) or possibly a glitch that occurred around $\mathrm{MJD=52866\pm73 days}$. We analysed our most recent XMM-Newton and Chandra observations in order to further monitor the behaviour of this neutron star. With the new data sets, the timing behaviour of RX J0720.4-3125 suggests a single (sudden) event (e.g. a glitch) rather than a cyclic pattern as expected by free precession. The spectral parameters changed significantly around the proposed glitch time, but more gradual variations occurred already before the (putative) event. Since $\mathrm{MJD\approx53000 days}$ the spectra indicate a very slow cooling by $\sim$2 eV over 7 years.

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arXiv2010

X-ray study of HLX1: intermediate-mass black hole or foreground neutron star?

We re-assess the XMM-Newton and Swift observations of HLX1, to examine the evidence for its identification as an intermediate-mass black hole. We show that the X-ray spectral and timing properties are equally consistent with an intermediate-mass black hole in a high state, or with a foreground neutron star with a luminosity of about a few times 10^{32} erg/s ~ 10^{-6} L_{Edd}, located at a distance of about 1.5 to 3 kpc. Contrary to previously published results, we find that the X-ray spectral change between the two XMM-Newton observations of 2004 and 2008 (going from power-law dominated to thermal dominated) is not associated with a change in the X-ray luminosity. The thermal component becomes more dominant (and hotter) during the 2009 outburst seen by Swift, but in a way that is consistent with either scenario.

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arXiv2010

The magnetar emission in the IR band: the role of magnetospheric currents

There is a general consensus about the fact that the magnetar scenario provides a convincing explanation for several of the observed properties of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and the Soft Gamma Repeaters. However, the origin of the emission observed at low energies is still an open issue. We present a quantitative model for the emission in the optical/infrared band produced by curvature radiation from magnetospheric charges, and compare results with current magnetars observations.

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arXiv2010

Modeling the broadband persistent emission of magnetars

In this paper, we discuss our first attempts to model the broadband persistent emission of magnetars within a self consistent, physical scenario. We present the predictions of a synthetic model that we calculated with a new Monte Carlo 3-D radiative code. The basic idea is that soft thermal photons (e.g. emitted by the star surface) can experience resonant cyclotron upscattering by a population of relativistic electrons threated in the twisted magnetosphere. Our code is specifically tailored to work in the ultra-magnetized regime; polarization and QED effects are consistently accounted for, as well different configurations for the magnetosphere. We discuss the predicted spectral properties in the 0.1-1000 keV range, the polarization properties, and we present the model application to a sample of magnetars soft X-ray spectra.

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arXiv2009

The first outburst of the new magnetar candidate SGR 0501+4516

We report here on the outburst onset and evolution of the new Soft Gamma Repeater SGR 0501+4516. We monitored the new SGR with XMM-Newton starting on 2008 August 23, one day after the source became burst-active, and continuing with 4 more observations, with the last one on 2008 September 30. Combining the data with the Swift-XRT and Suzaku data, we modelled the outburst decay over 160 days, and we found that the source flux decreased exponentially with a timescale of t_c=23.8 days. In the first XMM-Newton observation a large number of short X-ray bursts were observed, the rate of which decayed drastically in the following observations. We found large changes in the spectral and timing behavior of the source during the outburst, with softening emission as the flux decayed, and the non-thermal soft X-ray spectral component fading faster than the thermal one. Almost simultaneously to our XMM-Newton observations (on 2008 August 29 and September 2), we observed the source in the hard X-ray range with INTEGRAL, which clearly detected the source up to ~100keV in the first pointing, while giving only upper limits during the second pointing, discovering a variable hard X-ray component fading in less than 10 days after the bursting activation. We performed a phase-coherent X-ray timing analysis over about 160 days starting with the burst activation and found evidence of a strong second derivative period component (\ddot{P} = -1.6(4)x10^{-19} s/s^{-2}). Thanks to the phase-connection, we were able to study the the phase-resolved spectral evolution of SGR 0501+4516 in great detail. We also report on the ROSAT quiescent source data, taken back in 1992 when the source exhibits a flux ~80 times lower than that measured during the outburst, and a rather soft, thermal spectrum.

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arXiv2008

Resonant cyclotron scattering in magnetars' emission

(Abridged) We present a systematic fit of a model of resonant cyclotron scattering (RCS) to the X-ray data of ten magnetars, including canonical and transient anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), and soft gamma repeaters (SGRs). In this scenario, non-thermal magnetar spectra in the soft X-rays (i.e. below ~10 keV) result from resonant cyclotron scattering of the thermal surface emission by hot magnetospheric plasma. We find that this model can successfully account for the soft X-ray emission of magnetars, while using the same number of free parameters than the commonly used empirical blackbody plus power-law model. However, while the RCS model can alone reproduce the soft X-ray spectra of AXPs, the much harder spectra of SGRs below ~10 keV, requires the addition of a power-law component (the latter being the same component responsible for their hard X-ray emission). Although this model in its present form does not explain the hard X-ray emission of a few of these sources, we took this further component into account in our modeling not to overlook their contribution in the ~4-10 keV band. We find that the entire class of sources is characterized by magnetospheric plasma with a density which, at resonant radius, is about 3 orders of magnitudes higher than n_{GJ}, the Goldreich-Julian electron density. The inferred values of the intervening hydrogen column densities, are also in better agreement with more recent estimates inferred from the fit of single X-ray edges. For the entire sample of observations, we find indications for a correlation between the scattering depth and the electron thermal velocity, and the field strength. Moreover, in most transient anomalous X-ray pulsars the outburst state is characterized by a relatively high surface temperature which cools down during the decay.

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arXiv2007

Spectral modelling of the high energy emission of the magnetar 4U 0142+614

We present an empirical spectral modelling of the high energy emission of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+614, based on simultaneous Swift and INTEGRAL observations from X to gamma-ray energies. We adopted models contained in the XSPEC analysis package, as well as models based on recent theoretical studies, and restricted ourselves to those combinations of up to three components which produce a good fit while requiring the lowest number of free parameters. Only three models were found to fit satisfactorily the 0.5-250keV spectrum of 4U 0142+614: i) a ~0.4keV blackbody and two power-laws, ii) a resonant cyclotron scattering model plus a power-law and iii) two log-parabolic functions. We found that only the latter two models do not over-predict the infrared/optical emission observed simultaneously from this AXP, and only the log-parabolic functions can naturally account for the upper limits set by COMPTEL in the gamma-ray range. A possible interpretation of the two log-parabolae in terms of inverse Compton scattering of soft X-ray photons by very energetic particles is discussed.

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arXiv2006

Probing the Pulsar Wind Nebula of PSR B0355+54

We present XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray observations of the middle-aged radio pulsar PSR B0355+54. Our X-ray observations reveal emission not only from the pulsar itself, but also from a compact diffuse component extending ~50'' in the opposite direction to the pulsar's proper motion. There is also evidence for the presence of fainter diffuse emission extending ~5' from the point source. The compact diffuse feature is well-fitted with a power-law, the index of which is consistent with the values found for other pulsar wind nebulae. The morphology of the diffuse component is similar to the ram-pressure confined pulsar wind nebulae detected for other sources. The X-ray emission from the pulsar itself is described well by a thermal plus power-law fit, with the thermal emission most likely originating in a hot polar cap.

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arXiv2005

Evidence for surface cooling emission in the XMM-Newton spectrum of the X-ray pulsar PSR B2334+61

We report on the first XMM-Newton observation of the Vela-like pulsar PSR B2334+61. Spectral analysis reveals soft X-ray emission, with the bulk of the photons emitted at energies below ~1.5 keV. We find that the spectrum has a thermal origin and is well-fitted with either a blackbody or a magnetized, pure H atmospheric model. In the latter case, for a neutron star with a radius of 13 km and a magnetic field of 10e13 G, the best-fit gives an hydrogen column density nH = 0.33 x 10^22 cm^-2 and an effective temperature T_eff^infinity = 0.65 x 10^6 K, as measured at Earth. A comparison of the surface temperature of PSR B2334+61 obtained from this fit with cooling curves favor a medium mass neutron star with M ~ 1.45 solar masses or M ~ 1.6 solar masses, depending on two different models of proton superfluidity in the interior. We do not detect any pulsed emission from the source, and determine an upper limit of 5% for the modulation amplitude of the emission on the pulsar's radio frequency.

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arXiv2005

Unveiling the thermal and magnetic map of neutron star surfaces though their X-ray emission: method and lightcurves analysis

Recent Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of a number of X-ray ``dim'' pulsating neutron stars revealed quite unexpected features in the emission from these sources. Their soft thermal spectrum, believed to originate directly from the star surface, shows evidence for a phase-varying absorption line at some hundred eVs. The pulse modulation is relatively large (pulsed fractions in the range ~12%-35%), the pulse shape is often non-sinusoidal, and the hard X-ray color appears to be anti-correlated in phase with the total emission. Moreover, the prototype of this class, RX J0720.4-3125, has been found to undergo rather sensible changes both in its spectral and timing properties over a timescale of a few years. All these new findings seem difficult to reconcile with the standard picture of a cooling neutron star endowed with a purely dipolar magnetic field, at least if surface emission is produced in an atmosphere on top of the crust. In this paper we explore how a dipolar+quadrupolar star-centered field influence the properties of the observed lightcurves. The phase-resolved spectrum has been evaluated accounting for both radiative transfer in a magnetized atmosphere and general relativistic ray-bending. We computed over 78000 lightcurves varying the quadrupolar components and the viewing geometry. A comparison of the data with our model indicate that higher order multipoles are required to reproduce the observations.

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arXiv2005

A Compton reflection dominated spectrum in a peculiar accreting neutron star

We report on a puzzling event occurred during a long BeppoSAX observation of the slow-rotating binary pulsar GX 1+4. During this event, lasting about 1 day, the source X-ray flux was over a factor 10 lower than normal. The low-energy pulsations disappeared while at higher energies they were shifted in phase. The spectrum taken outside this low-intensity event was well fitted by an absorbed cut-off power law, and exhibited a broad iron line at ~6.5 keV probably due to the blending of the neutral (6.4 keV) and ionised (6.7 keV) K_alpha iron lines. The spectrum during the event was Compton reflection dominated and it showed two narrow iron lines at ~6.4 keV and ~7.0 keV, the latter never revealed before in this source. We also present a possible model for this event in which a variation of the accretion rate thickens a torus-like accretion disc which hides for a while the direct neutron star emission from our line of sight. In this scenario the Compton reflected emission observed during the event is well explained in terms of emission reflected by the side of the torus facing our line of sight.

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arXiv2005

The gamma-ray giant flare from SGR1806-20: Evidence for crustal cracking via initial timescales

We report here on serendipitous observations of the intense gamma-ray flare from SGR 1806-20 that occured on 27 December 2004. Unique data from the Cluster and Double Star-2 satellites, designed to study the Earth's magnetosphere, provide the first observational evidence of three separate timescales within the early (first 100ms) phases of this class of events. These observations reveal that, in addition to the initial very steep (<0.25ms) X-ray onset, there is firstly a 4.9ms exponential rise timescale followed by a continued exponential rise in intensity on a timescale of 70ms. These three timescales are a prominent feature of current theoretical models including the timescale (several ms) for fracture propagation in the crust of the neutron star.

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arXiv2005

A puzzling event during the X-ray emission of the binary system GX 1+4

We report on a long X-ray observation of the slow-rotating binary pulsar GX 1+4. BeppoSAX observed, in the 0.1-200 keV energy range, an event in which the source flux dropped for almost a day, and then recovered. During this event only the high-energy emission was found to be pulsed and the pulsations were shifted in phase of ~0.2 . The spectrum during the event was well fitted by a Compton-reflection model. A broad iron line at ~6.55 keV was present outside of the event, where instead two narrow emission lines at ~6.47 keV and ~7.05 keV were detected. The pulse profile was highly variable as a function of both energy and time. We interpret this low-flux event as an occultation of the direct X-ray emission, due to the increase of a torus-like accretion disk; we then discuss similarities between this source and the recently discovered highly absorbed INTEGRAL sources.

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arXiv2005

Thermal emission from Isolated Neutron Stars and their surface magnetic field: going quadrupolar?

In the last few years considerable observational resources have been devoted to study the thermal emission from isolated neutron stars. Detailed XMM and Chandra observations revealed a number of features in the X-ray pulse profile, like asymmetry, energy dependence, and possible evolution of the pulse profile over a time scale of months or years. Here we show that these characteristics may be explained by a patchy surface temperature distribution, which is expected if the magnetic field has a complex structure in which higher order multipoles contribute together with the dipole. We reconsider these effects from a theoretical point of view, and discuss their implications to the observational properties of thermally emitting neutron stars.

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arXiv2004

Timing Analysis of the Isolated Neutron Star RX J0720.4-3125 Revisited

We present a reanalysis of the X-ray data for RX J0720.4-3125 presented in Zane et al. (2002), using more data recently available from XMM-Newton and Chandra. This analysis also corrects the Rosat data used in that paper to the TDB time system, incorporates the revised XMM-Newton barycentric correction available since then, and corrects the definition of the instantaneous period in the maximum likelihood periodogramme search. However, we are now unable to find a single coherent period that is consistent with all Rosat, Chandra and XMM-Newton datasets. From an analysis of the separate datasets, we have derived limits on the period change of Pdot = 1.4+/-0.6x10^-13 s/s at 99% confidence level. This is stronger than the value presented in Zane et al. (2002), but sufficiently similar that their scientific conclusions remain unchanged. We examine the implications in more detail, and find that RX J0720.4-3125 can have been born as a magnetar provided that it has a young age of ~10^4 yr. A more conservative interpretation is that the field strength has remained relatively unchanged at just over 10^13 G, over the ~10^6 yr lifetime of the star.

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arXiv2004

XMM-Newton EPIC & OM observations of Her X-1 over the 35 day beat period

We present the results of a series of XMM-Newton EPIC and OM observations of Her X-1, spread over a wide range of the 35 day precession period. We confirm that the spin modulation of the neutron star is weak or absent in the low state - in marked contrast to the main or short-on states. During the states of higher intensity, we observe a substructure in the broad soft X-ray modulation below ~1keV, revealing the presence of separate peaks which reflect the structure seen at higher energies. The strong fluorescence emission line at ~6.4keV is detected in all observations (apart from one taken in the middle of eclipse), with higher line energy, width and normalisation during the main-on state. In addition, we report the detection of a second line near 7keV in 10 of the 15 observations taken during the low-intensity states of the system. This feature is rather weak and not significantly detected during the main-on state, when the strong continuum emission dominates the X-ray spectrum. Spin resolved spectroscopy just after the rise to the main-on state shows that the variation of the Fe Kalpha line at 6.4 keV is correlated with the soft X-ray emission. This confirms our past finding based on the XMM-Newton observations made further into the main-on state, and indicates the common origin for the thermal component and the Fe Kalpha line detected at these phases. We also find that the normalisation of the 6.4keV line during the low state is correlated with the binary orbital phase, having a broad maximum centered near phi_(orbit) ~ 0.5. We discuss these observations in the context of previous observations, investigate the origin of the soft and hard X-rays and consider the emission site of the 6.4keV and 7keV emission lines.

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