arXiv subjects

Tuneyoshi Kamae

Publications and source records attributed to Tuneyoshi Kamae.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

PoGO+ polarimetric constraint on the synchrotron jet emission of Cygnus X-1

We report a polarimetric constraint on the hard X-ray synchrotron jet emission from the Cygnus X-1 black-hole binary system. The observational data were obtained using the PoGO+ hard X-ray polarimeter in July 2016, when Cygnus X-1 was in the hard state. We have previously reported that emission from an extended corona with a low polarization fraction is dominating, and that the polarization angle is perpendicular to the disk surface. In the soft gamma-ray regime, a highly-polarized synchrotron jet is reported with INTEGRAL observations. To constrain the polarization fraction and flux of such a jet component in the hard X-ray regime, we now extend analyses through vector calculations in the Stokes QU plane, where the dominant corona emission and the jet component are considered simultaneously. The presence of another emission component with different polarization angle could partly cancel out the net polarization. The 90% upper limit of the polarization fraction for the additional synchrotron jet component is estimated as <10%, <5%, and <5% for polarization angle perpendicular to the disk surface, parallel to the surface, and aligned with the emission reported by INTEGRAL data, respectively. From the 20-180 keV total flux of 2.6 x 10^-8 erg s^-1 cm^-2, the upper limit of the polarized flux is estimated as <3 x 10^-9 erg s^-1 cm^-2.

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arXiv2018

Evidence for GeV Cosmic Rays from White Dwarfs in the Local Cosmic Ray Spectra and in the Gamma-ray Emissivity of the Inner Galaxy

Recent observations found that electrons are accelerated to $\sim$10 GeV and emit synchrotron hard X-rays in two magnetic white dwarfs (WDs), also known as cataclysmic variables (CVs). In nova outbursts of WDs, multi-GeV gamma-rays were detected inferring that protons are accelerated to 100 GeV or higher. In recent optical surveys, the WD density is found to be higher near the Sun than in the Galactic disk by a factor $\sim$2.5. The cosmic rays (CR) produced by local CVs and novae will accumulate in the local bubble for $10^6$ - $10^7$ yrs. On these findings, we search for CRs from historic CVs and novae in the observed CR spectra. We model the CR spectra at the heliopause as sums of Galactic and local components based on observational data as much as possible. The initial Galactic CR electron and proton spectra are deduced from the gamma-ray emissivity, the local electron spectrum from the hard X-ray spectra at the CVs, and the local proton spectrum inferred by gamma-ray spectrum at novae. These spectral shapes are then expressed in a simple set of polynomial functions of CR energy and regressively fitted until the high-energy ($>$100 GeV) CR spectra near Earth and the Voyager-1 spectra at the heliopause are reproduced. We then extend the modeling to nuclear CR spectra and find that one spectral shape fits all local nuclear CRs and the apparent hardening of the nuclear CR spectra is caused by the roll-down of local nuclear spectra around 100 - 200 GeV. All local CR spectra populate in a limited energy band below 100 - 200 GeV and enhance gamma-ray emissivity below $\sim$10 GeV. Such an enhancement is observed in the inner Galaxy, suggesting the CR fluxes from CVs and novae are substantially higher there.

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arXiv2017

Hitomi constraints on the 3.5 keV line in the Perseus galaxy cluster

High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with Hitomi was expected to resolve the origin of the faint unidentified E=3.5 keV emission line reported in several low-resolution studies of various massive systems, such as galaxies and clusters, including the Perseus cluster. We have analyzed the Hitomi first-light observation of the Perseus cluster. The emission line expected for Perseus based on the XMM-Newton signal from the large cluster sample under the dark matter decay scenario is too faint to be detectable in the Hitomi data. However, the previously reported 3.5 keV flux from Perseus was anomalously high compared to the sample-based prediction. We find no unidentified line at the reported high flux level. Taking into account the XMM measurement uncertainties for this region, the inconsistency with Hitomi is at a 99% significance for a broad dark-matter line and at 99.7% for a narrow line from the gas. We do not find anomalously high fluxes of the nearby faint K line or the Ar satellite line that were proposed as explanations for the earlier 3.5 keV detections. We do find a hint of a broad excess near the energies of high-n transitions of Sxvi (E=3.44 keV rest-frame) -- a possible signature of charge exchange in the molecular nebula and another proposed explanation for the unidentified line. While its energy is consistent with XMM pn detections, it is unlikely to explain the MOS signal. A confirmation of this interesting feature has to wait for a more sensitive observation with a future calorimeter experiment.

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arXiv2016

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.

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arXiv2014

The ASTRO-H X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), with a planned launch in 2015. The ASTRO-H mission is equipped with a suite of sensitive instruments with the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E > 3 keV and a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft X-rays to gamma-rays. The simultaneous broad band pass, coupled with the high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV of the micro-calorimeter, will enable a wide variety of important science themes to be pursued. ASTRO-H is expected to provide breakthrough results in scientific areas as diverse as the large-scale structure of the Universe and its evolution, the behavior of matter in the gravitational strong field regime, the physical conditions in sites of cosmic-ray acceleration, and the distribution of dark matter in galaxy clusters at different redshifts.

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arXiv2012

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.

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arXiv2010

Soft Gamma-ray Detector for the ASTRO-H Mission

ASTRO-H is the next generation JAXA X-ray satellite, intended to carry instruments with broad energy coverage and exquisite energy resolution. The Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD) is one of ASTRO-H instruments and will feature wide energy band (40-600 keV) at a background level 10 times better than the current instruments on orbit. SGD is complimentary to ASTRO-H's Hard X-ray Imager covering the energy range of 5-80 keV. The SGD achieves low background by combining a Compton camera scheme with a narrow field-of-view active shield where Compton kinematics is utilized to reject backgrounds. The Compton camera in the SGD is realized as a hybrid semiconductor detector system which consists of silicon and CdTe (cadmium telluride) sensors. Good energy resolution is afforded by semiconductor sensors, and it results in good background rejection capability due to better constraints on Compton kinematics. Utilization of Compton kinematics also makes the SGD sensitive to the gamma-ray polarization, opening up a new window to study properties of gamma-ray emission processes. The ASTRO-H mission is approved by ISAS/JAXA to proceed to a detailed design phase with an expected launch in 2014. In this paper, we present science drivers and concept of the SGD instrument followed by detailed description of the instrument and expected performance.

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arXiv2010

The ASTRO-H Mission

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe by performing high-resolution, high-throughput spectroscopy with moderate angular resolution. ASTRO-H covers very wide energy range from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. ASTRO-H allows a combination of wide band X-ray spectroscopy (5-80 keV) provided by multilayer coating, focusing hard X-ray mirrors and hard X-ray imaging detectors, and high energy-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy (0.3-12 keV) provided by thin-foil X-ray optics and a micro-calorimeter array. The mission will also carry an X-ray CCD camera as a focal plane detector for a soft X-ray telescope (0.4-12 keV) and a non-focusing soft gamma-ray detector (40-600 keV) . The micro-calorimeter system is developed by an international collaboration led by ISAS/JAXA and NASA. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution of Delta E ~7 eV provided by the micro-calorimeter will enable a wide variety of important science themes to be pursued.

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arXiv2008

Deconvolution of Images Taken with the Suzaku X-ray Imaging Spectrometer

We present a non-iterative method to deconvolve the spatial response function or the point spread function (PSF) from images taken with the Suzaku X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS). The method is optimized for analyses of extended sources with high photon statistics. Suzaku has four XIS detectors each with its own X-ray CCD and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) and has been providing unique opportunities in spatially-resolved spectroscopic analyses of extended objects. The detectors, however, suffer from broad and position-dependent PSFs with their typical half-power density (HPD) of about 110''. In the authors' view, this shortcoming has been preventing the high collecting area and high spectral resolution of Suzaku to be fully exploited. The present method is intended to recover spatial resolution to ~15'' over a dynamic range around 1:100 in the brightness without assuming any source model. Our deconvolution proceeds in two steps: An XIS image is multiplied with the inverse response matrix calculated from its PSF after rebinning CCD pixels to larger-size tiles (typically 6''x 6''); The inverted image is then adaptively smoothed to obtain the final deconvolved image. The PSF is modeled on a ray-tracing program and an observed point-source image. The deconvolution method has been applied to images of Centaurus A, PSR B1509-58 and RCW 89 taken by one XIS (XIS-1). The results have been compared with images obtained with Chandra to conclude that the spatial resolution has been recovered to ~20'' down to regions where surface brightness is about 1:50 of the brightest tile in the image. We believe the spatial resolution and the dynamic range can be improved in the future with higher fidelity PSF modeling and higher precision pointing information.

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arXiv2008

PoGOLite - A High Sensitivity Balloon-Borne Soft Gamma-ray Polarimeter

We describe a new balloon-borne instrument (PoGOLite) capable of detecting 10% polarisation from 200mCrab point-like sources between 25 and 80keV in one 6 hour flight. Polarisation measurements in the soft gamma-ray band are expected to provide a powerful probe into high-energy emission mechanisms as well as the distribution of magnetic fields, radiation fields and interstellar matter. At present, only exploratory polarisation measurements have been carried out in the soft gamma-ray band. Reduction of the large background produced by cosmic-ray particles has been the biggest challenge. PoGOLite uses Compton scattering and photo-absorption in an array of 217 well-type phoswich detector cells made of plastic and BGO scintillators surrounded by a BGO anticoincidence shield and a thick polyethylene neutron shield. The narrow FOV (1.25msr) obtained with well-type phoswich detector technology and the use of thick background shields enhance the detected S/N ratio. Event selections based on recorded phototube waveforms and Compton kinematics reduce the background to that expected for a 40-100mCrab source between 25 and 50keV. A 6 hour observation on the Crab will differentiate between the Polar Cap/Slot Gap, Outer Gap, and Caustic models with greater than 5 sigma; and also cleanly identify the Compton reflection component in the Cygnus X-1 hard state. The first flight is planned for 2010 and long-duration flights from Sweden to Northern Canada are foreseen thereafter.

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arXiv2007

Parameterization of the Angular Distribution of Gamma Rays Produced by p-p Interaction in Astronomical Environment

We present the angular distribution of gamma rays produced by proton-proton interactions in parameterized formulae to facilitate calculations in astrophysical environments. The parameterization is derived from Monte Carlo simulations of the up-to-date proton-proton interaction model by Kamae et al. (2005) and its extension by Kamae et al. (2006). This model includes the logarithmically rising inelastic cross section, the diffraction dissociation process and Feynman scaling violation. The extension adds two baryon resonance contributions: one representing the Delta(1232) and the other representing multiple resonances around 1600 MeV/c^2. We demonstrate the use of the formulae by calculating the predicted gamma-ray spectrum for two different cases: the first is a pencil beam of protons following a power law and the second is a fanned proton jet with a Gaussian intensity profile impinging on the surrounding material. In both cases we find that the predicted gamma-ray spectrum to be dependent on the viewing angle.

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arXiv2007

Studies of Cosmic Rays with GeV Gamma Rays

We describe the role of GeV gamma-ray observations with GLAST-LAT (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope - Large Area Telescope) in identifying interaction sites of cosmic-ray proton (or hadrons) with interstellar medium (ISM). We expect to detect gamma rays from neutral pion decays in high-density ISM regions in the Galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud, and other satellite galaxies. These gamma-ray sources have been detected already with EGRET (Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope) as extended sources (eg. LMC and Orion clouds) and GLAST-LAT will detect many more with a higher spatial resolution and in a wider spectral range. We have developed a novel image restoration technique based on the Richardson-Lucy algorithm optimized for GLAST-LAT observation of extended sources. Our algorithm calculates PSF (point spread function) for each event. This step is very important for GLAST-LAT and EGRET image analysis since PSF varies more than one order of magnitude from one gamma ray to another depending on its energy as well as its impact point and angle in the instrument. The GLAST-LAT and EGRET image analysis has to cope with Poisson fluctuation due to low number of detected photons for most sources. Our technique incorporates wavelet filtering to minimize effects due to the fluctuation. Preliminary studies on some EGRET sources are presented, which shows potential of this novel image restoration technique for the identification and characterisation of extended gamma-ray sources.

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arXiv2007

Studies of EGRET sources with a novel image restoration technique

We have developed an image restoration technique based on the Richardson-Lucy algorithm optimized for GLAST-LAT image analysis. Our algorithm is original since it utilizes the PSF (point spread function) that is calculated for each event. This is critical for EGRET and GLAST-LAT image analysis since the PSF depends on the energy and angle of incident gamma-rays and varies by more than one order of magnitude. EGRET and GLAST-LAT image analysis also faces Poisson noise due to low photon statistics. Our technique incorporates wavelet filtering to minimize noise effects. We present studies of EGRET sources using this novel image restoration technique for possible identification of extended gamma-ray sources.

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arXiv2007

Parameterization of Gamma, e^+/- and Neutrino Spectra Produced by p-p Interaction in Astronomical Environment

We present the yield and spectra of stable secondary particles (gamma, e^+/-, nu_e, nubar_e, nu_mu, and nubar_mu) of p-p interaction in parameterized formulae to facilitate calculations involving them in astronomical environments. The formulae are derived on the up-to-date p-p interaction model by [Kamae05] which incorporates the logarithmically rising inelastic cross-section, the diffraction dissociation process, and the Feynman scaling violation. To improve fidelity to experimental data in lower energies, two baryon resonance contributions have been added: one representing Delta(1232) and the other multiple resonances around 1600MeV/c^2. The parametrized formulae predict that all secondary particle spectra be harder by about 0.05 in power-law indices than that of the incident proton and their inclusive cross-sections be larger than those predicted by p-p interaction models based on the Feynman scaling.

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arXiv2004

Gamma-ray Polarimetry with Compton Telescope

Compton telescope is a promising technology to achieve very high sensitivity in the soft gamma-ray band (0.1-10 MeV) by utilizing Compton kinematics. Compton kinematics also enables polarization measurement which will open new windows to study gamma-ray production mechanism in the universe. CdTe and Si semiconductor technologies are key technologies to realize the Compton telescope in which their high energy resolution is crucial for high angular resolution and background rejection capability. We have assembled a prototype module using a double-sided silicon strip detector and CdTe pixel detectors. In this paper, we present expected polarization performance of a proposed mission (NeXT/SGD). We also report results from polarization measurements using polarized synchrotron light and validation of EGS4 MC simulation.

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arXiv2001

X-Ray Probing of the Central Regions of Clusters of Galaxies

Results of ASCA X-ray study of central regions of medium-richness clusters of galaxies are summarized, emphasizing differences between cD and non-cD clusters. The intra-cluster medium (ICM) is likely to consist of two (hot and cool) phases within $\sim 100$ kpc of a cD galaxy, where the ICM metallicity is also enhanced. In contrast, the ICM in non-cD clusters appears to be isothermal with little metallicity gradient right to the center. The gravitational potential exhibits a hierarchical nesting around cD galaxies, while a total mass-density profile with a central cusp is indicated for a non-cD cluster Abell~1060. The iron-mass-to-light ratio of the ICM decreases toward the center in both types of clusters, although it is radially constant in peripheral regions. The silicon-to-iron abundance ratio in the ICM increases with the cluster richness, but remains close to the solar ratio around cD galaxies. These overall results are interpreted without appealing to the popular cooling-flow hypothesis. Instead, an emphasis is put on the halo-in-halo structure formed around cD galaxies.

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