Update on modeling and data analysis of heliospheric solar wind charge exchange X‐ray emission

About 15 years ago, charge exchange (CX) X‐ray emission was discovered in comet observations, and was identified as the radiative decay of excited states of highly‐charge solar wind ions populated in collisions with neutral cometary material. This non‐thermal X‐ray emission mechanism is now generally acknowledged in planetary environments (e.g. Mars, Earth), as well as interstellar atoms sweeping through the heliosphere. In this paper I present the most recent improvements made in simulations of the heliospheric CX X‐ray emission. The model results are compared to X‐ray data from Suzaku, XMM‐Newton and Chandra spanning over a 10‐year period, and some conclusions are drawn on the heliospheric contribution to the diffuse soft X‐ray background. The solar system CX X‐ray sources can serve as prototypes in terms of modeling and diagnostics to more distant astrophysical objects where CX emission signatures are being discovered (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Galactic X‐ray source populations

The landscape of Galactic X‐ray sources made of accreting binaries, isolated objects and active stellar coronae has been significantly modified by the advent of the Chandra, XMM‐Newton and INTEGRAL satellites. New types of relatively low X‐ray luminosity X‐ray binaries have been unveiled in the Galactic disc, while deep observations of the central regions have revealed large numbers of X‐ray binaries of so far poorly constrained nature. Because of the high spatial resolution needed and faint X‐ray luminosities generally emitted, studying the dependency of the X‐ray source composition with parent stellar population, Galactic disc, bulge, nuclear bulge, etc., is only practicable in our Galaxy. The evolutionary links between low L_X X‐ray binaries and classical X‐ray luminous accreting systems are still open in many cases. In addition, the important question of the nature of the compact sources contributing to the Galactic ridge hard X‐ray emission remains unresolved. We review the most important results gathered by XMM‐Newton over the last years in this domain and show how future observations could be instrumental in addressing several of these issues. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Toward an unbiased sample of X‐ray selected normal galaxies outside the local Universe

This paper shows that our understanding of the statistical properties of X‐ray selected normal galaxies (e.g. X‐ray luminosity function) can be significantly improved by combining a wide‐area XMM‐Newton survey with the moderare resolution and high S/N optical spectroscopy of the SDSS. Such a combined dataset has the potential to minimise uncertainties that affect existing normal galaxy samples at X‐rays, such as small number statistics, cosmic variance, AGN contamination and incompleteness at bright X‐ray luminosities. It is demonstrated that a 100 deg² XMM‐Newton survey in the SDSS area to the limit f_X(0.5–2 keV) ≈ 5 × 10^–15 erg cm^–2 s^–1 will detect over 400 X‐ray selected normal galaxies with excellent control over systematic biases, thereby providing tight contraints on the X‐ray luminosity function at z ≈ 0.1. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Supersoft AGNs and their relations to Galactic binaries

I review some basic results on AGN with supersoft X‐ray spectra and their relations to Galactic binaries in their soft high states. This paper is based on a talk given at the Supersoft Sources Workshop at ESTEC in May 2009. Given the length of the talk and the number of pages the review cannot be complete and is biased towards my personal view. I demonstrate that at high accretion rates supersoft AGNs and Galactic binaries share steep soft X‐ray spectra, that the X‐ray variability of supersoft AGNs is more pronounced compared to Galactic binaries in their high states, that the X‐ray variability of supersoft novae and supersoft AGNs is similar, and that in Galactic binaries mostly positive time lags are seen, while negative time lags are observed in some supersoft AGN (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A scientific case for XMM‐Newton continuation

The presentations made at the workshop “XMM‐Newton: The Next Decade”, held at ESAC from 4th to the 6th of July 2007, contained an overwhelming amount of new results and well justified scientific questions that can be addressed by observations with XMM‐Newton. XMM‐Newton has over the next decade a solid scientific case. Given the high impact of X‐ray observations, XMM‐Newton operations are not only a matter for “X‐ray astrophysics”, but also of fundamental importance for astrophysics in general. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Populations of supersoft X‐ray sources: Novae,tidal disruption,Type Ia supernovae,accretion‐induced collapse,ionization, and intermediatemass black holes?

Observations of hundreds of supersoft X‐ray sources (SSSs) in external galaxies have shed light on the diversity of the class and on the natures of the sources. SSSs are linked to the physics of Type Ia supernovae and accretion‐induced collapse, ultraluminous X‐ray sources and black holes, the ionization of the interstellar medium, and tidal disruption by supermassive black holes. The class of SSSs has an extension to higher luminosities: ultraluminous SSSs have luminosities above 10³⁹ erg s^–1. There is also an extension to higher energies: quasisoft X‐ray sources (QSSs) emit photons with energies above 1 keV, but few or none with energies above 2 keV. Finally, a significant fraction of the SSSs found in external galaxies switch states between observations, becoming either quasisoft or hard. For many systems “supersoft” refers to a temporary state; SSSs are sources, possibly including a variety of fundamentally different system types, that pass through such a state. We review those results derived from extragalactic data and related theoretical work that are most surprising and that suggest directions for future research (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Observational evidence for expansion in the SSS spectra of novae

For several novae, a bright X‐ray source with a spectrum resembling the class of Super Soft X‐ray Sources (SSS) has been observed a few weeks to months after outburst. Novae are powered by explosive nuclear burning on the surface of a white dwarf, and enough energy is produced to power a radiatively driven wind. Owing to the evolution of the opacity of the ejecta, the observable spectrum gradually shifts from optical to soft X‐rays (SSS phase). It has sometimes been assumed that at the beginning of the SSS phase no more mass loss occurs. However, high‐resolution X‐ray spectra of some novae have shown highly blue‐shifted absorption lines, indicating a significant expansion. In this paper, I show that all novae that have been observed with X‐ray gratings during their SSS phase show significant blue shifts. I argue that all models that attempt to explain the X‐ray bright SSS phase have to accommodate the continued expansion of the ejecta (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Relativistic blue‐ and red‐shifted absorption lines in AGNs

Current, accumulating evidence for (mildly) relativistic blue‐ and red‐shifted absorption lines in AGNs is reviewed. XMM‐Newton and Chandra sensitive X‐ray observations are starting to probe not only the kinematics (velocity) but also the dynamics (accelerations) of highly ionized gas flowing in‐and‐out from, likely, a few gravitational radii from the black hole. It is thus emphasized that X‐ray absorption‐line spectroscopy provides new potential to map the accretion flows near black holes, to probe the launching regions of relativistic jets/outflows, and to quantify the cosmological feedback of AGNs. Prospects to tackle these issues with future high energy missions are briefly addressed. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Statistical algorithms for identification of astronomical X‐ray sources

Observations of present and future X‐ray telescopes include a large number of ipitous sources of unknown types. They are a rich source of knowledge about X‐ray dominated astronomical objects, their distribution, and their evolution. The large number of these sources does not permit their individual spectroscopical follow‐up and classification. Here we use Chandra Multi‐Wavelength public data to investigate a number of statistical algorithms for classification of X‐ray sources with optical imaging follow‐up. We show that up to statistical uncertainties, each class of X‐ray sources has specific photometric characteristics that can be used for its classification. We assess the relative and absolute performance of classification methods and measured features by comparing the behaviour of physical quantities for statistically classified objects with what is obtained from spectroscopy. We find that among methods we have studied, multi‐dimensional probability distribution is the best for both classifying source type and redshift, but it needs a sufficiently large input (learning) data set. In absence of such data, a mixture of various methods can give a better final result.We discuss some of potential applications of the statistical classification and the enhancement of information obtained in this way. We also assess the effect of classification methods and input data set on the astronomical conclusions such as distribution and properties of X‐ray selected sources. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Swift observations of CSS081007:030559+054715

CSS081007:030559+054715 was discovered by the Catalina Real‐time Transient Survey. Optical spectroscopy revealed a multi‐peaked Hα emission line profile with radial velocities exceeding 1500 km/s, as well as strong Ne emission, suggestive of a neon nova. We monitored the source extensively with the Swift satellite, obtaining a unique dataset spanning 270 days in the soft X‐ray and UV bands. The data reveal a soft, blackbody‐like spectrum with a temperature around 55 eV (though dependent on the modelling), variable X‐ray and UV light curves with a 1.77 day period in both the X‐ray and UV bands, a longer timescale modulation of ∼ 50 days, followed by a slowly declining trend in the soft X‐ray and UV flux. We highlight the Swift observations and their implications for the SSS nature of this object (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Results and perspectives of young stellar object long look programs

Both Chandra and XMM‐Newton have performed long look programs for studying the YSO physics. I will discuss recent results on the controversial issue of Class 0 YSO X‐ray emission, the observational evidence of magnetic funnels interconnecting the YSO with its circumstellar disk and the Fe 6.4 keV fluorescent line emission and its origin. While recent results of the XMM‐Newton DROXO program challenge the “standard” interpretation of the Fe 6.4 kev line origin as due to photoionized fluorescing disk material, the discovery of X‐ray excited Ne 12.81 μ m line is a clear evidence of the interaction between X‐rays and disk material. Future long look observations with XMM‐Newton are required to clarify the X‐ray effects on YSO disk. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Connection between spectral complexity and X‐ray weakness: testing the reflection interpretation

In recent work it was demonstrated that narrow‐line Seyfert 1 galaxies, which possessed spectral complexity in the 2–10 keV band were at the same time X‐ray weak. In this contribution I show how X‐ray weakness can be understood in the context of reflection and light bending picture. In fact, X‐ray weakness should be expected from objects that are in a reflection dominated state. With simultaneous UV and X‐ray data available with most XMM‐Newton observations, an estimate of the X‐ray weakness is relatively straightforward. As such, it is an easy way to substantiate conclusions of reflection dominated spectra, and we use this method to examine recent claims. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The X‐ray source population of the Andromeda galaxy M 31

First studies of the X‐ray source population of M 31 were performed with the Einstein Observatory and ROSAT. High resolution Chandra Observatory images not only spatially resolved the center area but also supernova remnants (SNRs) in the galaxy. Source catalogues of restricted areas were presented with high astrometric accuracy. Also luminosity function studies and studies of individual sources based on Chandra and XMM‐Newton observations led to a better knowledge of the X‐ray source population. An XMM‐Newton source catalog based on archival observations revealed more than 850 sources down to a 0.2–4.5 keV luminosity of 10³⁵ erg s^–1. EPIC hardness ratios as well as informations from earlier X‐ray, optical, and radio catalogues were used to distinguish between different source classes (SNRs, supersoft sources (SSSs), X‐ray binaries (XRBs), globular cluster sources within M 31, and foreground stars and objects in the background). However, many sources could only be classified as “hard”. These sources may either be XRBs or Crab‐like SNRs in M 31 or background sources. Two of the globular cluster sources could be identified as low mass XRBs with a neutron star as compact object as they showed type I X‐ray bursts. Many of the SSSs were identified as optical novae. Inspired by these results an XMM‐Newton survey of the entire D₂₅ disk of M 31 and a dedicated program to monitor X‐ray counterparts of optical novae in M 31 was started. We discuss implications for further nearby galaxy studies. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Using X‐ray observations to identify the particle acceleration mechanisms in VHE SNRs and “dark” VHE sources

Very high energy (VHE) γ‐ray observations have proven to be very successful in localizing Galactic acceleration sites of VHE particles. Observations of shell‐type supernova remnants have confirmed that particles are accelerated to VHE energies in supernova blast waves; the interpretation of the γ‐ray data in terms of hadronic or leptonic particle components in these objects relies nevertheless strongly on input from X‐ray observations. The largest identified Galactic VHE source class consists of pulsar wind nebulae, as detected in X‐rays. Many of the remaining VHE sources remain however unidentified until now. With X‐ray observations of these enigmatic “dark” objects one hopes to solve the following questions: What is the astrophysical nature of these sources? Are they predominantly electron or hadron accelerators? And what is their contribution to the overall cosmic ray energy budget? The paper aims to provide an overview over the identification status of the Galactic VHE source population. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

High frequency QPOs,nonlinear oscillations in strong gravity

Some of the more promising ideas about the origin of the high frequency variability (kHz QPOs) in the observed X‐ray emissions of low‐mass X‐ray binaries are contrasted with less promising ones. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Extragalactic X‐ray surveys: AGN physics and evolution

We review the most important findings on AGN physics and cosmological evolution as obtained by extragalactic X‐ray surveys and associated multiwavelength observations. We briefly discuss the perspectives for future enterprises and in particular the scientific case for an extremely deep (2–3 Ms) XMM survey. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Constraining the neutron star equation of state using XMM‐Newton

We have identified three possible ways in which future XMM‐Newton observations can provide significant constraints on the equation of state of neutron stars. First, using a long observation of the neutron star X‐ray transient Cen X‐4 in quiescence one can use the RGS spectrum to constrain the interstellar extinction to the source. This removes this parameter from the X‐ray spectral fitting of the pn and MOS spectra and allows us to investigate whether the variability observed in the quiescent X‐ray spectrum of this source is due to variations in the soft thermal spectral component or variations in the power law spectral component coupled with variations in N_H. This will test whether the soft thermal spectral component can indeed be due to the hot thermal glow of the neutron star. Potentially such an observation could also reveal redshifted spectral lines from the neutron star surface. Second, XMM‐Newton observations of radius expansion type I Xray bursts might reveal redshifted absorption lines from the surface of the neutron star. Third, XMM‐Newton observations of eclipsing quiescent low‐mass X‐ray binaries provide the eclipse duration. With this the system inclination can be determined accurately. The inclination determined from the X‐ray eclipse duration in quiescence, the rotational velocity of the companion star and the semi‐amplitude of the radial velocity curve determined through optical spectroscopy, yield the neutron star mass. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

X‐ray luminosity functions of different morphological and X‐ray type AGN populations

Luminosity functions are one of the most important observational clues when studying galaxy evolution over cosmic time. In this paper we present the X‐ray luminosity functions for X‐ray detected AGN in the SXDS and GWS fields. The limiting fluxes of our samples are 9.0 ×10^–15 and 4.8 ×10^–16 erg cm^–2 s^–1 in the 0.5–7.0 keV band in the two fields, respectively. We carried out analysis in three X‐ray bands and in two redshift intervals up to z ≤ 1.4. Moreover, we derive the luminosity functions for different optical morphologies and X‐ray types. We confirm strong luminosity evolution in all three bands, finding the most luminous objects at higher redshift. However, no signs of density evolution are found in any tested X‐ray band. We obtain similar results for compact and early‐type objects. Finally, we observe the “Steffen effect”, where X‐ray type‐1 sources are more numerous at higher luminosities in comparison with type‐2 sources. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

X‐Ray observations of the Galactic Centre with Suzaku

We report on the diffuse X‐ray emission from the Galactic Centre (GCDX) observed with the X‐ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) on board the Suzaku satellite. The highly accurate energy calibration and extremely low background of the XIS provide many new facts on the GCDX. These are (1) the origin of the lines at 6.7 and 7.0 keV is collisional excitation in a hot plasma, (2) the discovery of new SNR and super‐bubble candidates, (3) most of the 6.4 keV line is X‐ray fluorescence, and (4) time variability of the 6.4 keV line is found from the Sgr B2 complex. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

>“Resolving” neutron stars physics and geometry

The unprecedented harvest of X‐ray photons detected from dozens of isolated neutron stars has made it possible to glimpse at their emission mechanisms as well as at their emission geometry. Rotating hot spot(s), superimposed to the global thermal emission from the neutron star surface, are seen from several objects, allowing to probe the stars' external heating sources. Non‐thermal emission is also seen to vary as the stars rotate. Moreover, absorption features have been detected in the spectra of several objects, allowing to probe (tentatively) the stars' magnetic fields. Spectacular tails, trailing the stars' supersonic motion, trace the boundaries of the relativist winds streaming from the star's magnetosphere. Apart from classical radio pulsar and certified radio‐quiet neutron stars, XMM‐Newton has devoted significant observation time to the enigmatic central compact objects, presumably isolated neutron stars shining at the center of their supernova remnants. Far from showing a unifying behaviour, XMM‐Newton data have unveiled a surprising diversity. Understanding the reason(s) behind such diversity is the challenge for the next decade of X‐ray observations. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)