An XMM–Newton observation of the neutron star X-ray transient 2S 1803−245 in quiescence

We observed the neutron star X-ray transient 2S 1803−245 in quiescence with the X-ray satellite XMM–Newton , but did not detect it. An analysis of the X-ray bursts observed during the 1998 outburst of 2S 1803−245 gives an upper limit to the distance of ≤7.3 kpc, leading to an upper limit on the quiescent 0.5–10 keV X-ray luminosity of  ≤2.8 × 10³² erg s⁻¹  (3σ). Since the expected orbital period of 2S 1803−245 is several hours, this limit is not much higher than those observed for the quiescent black hole transients with similar orbital periods.     

Relativistic ionized accretion disc models of MCG–6-30-15

We present BeppoSAX observations of Nova Velorum 1999 (V382 Vel), carried out in a broad X-ray band covering 0.1–300 keV only 15 d after the discovery and again after 6 months. The nova was detected at day 15 with the BeppoSAX instruments which measured a flux F _x≃1.8×10⁻¹¹ erg cm⁻² s⁻¹ in the 0.1–10 keV range and a 2 σ upper limit F _x<6.7×10⁻¹² erg cm⁻² s⁻¹ in the 15–60 keV range. We attribute the emission to shocked nebular ejecta at a plasma temperature kT ≃6 keV . At six months no bright component emerged in the 15–60 keV range, but a bright central supersoft X-ray source appeared. The hot nebular component previously detected had cooled to a plasma temperature kT <1 keV . There was strong intrinsic absorption of the ejecta in the first observation and not in the second, because the column density of neutral hydrogen decreased from N (H)≃1.7×10²³ to N (H)≃10²¹ cm⁻² (close to the interstellar value). The unabsorbed X-ray flux also decreased from F _x=4.3×10⁻¹¹ to F _x≃10⁻¹² erg cm⁻² s⁻¹ .     

RR Pic (1925): a Chandra X-ray view

We present the Chandra ACIS-S3 data of the old classical nova RR Pic (1925). The source has a count rate of 0.067 ± 0.002 count s⁻¹ in the 0.3–5.0 keV energy range. We detect the orbital period of the underlying binary system in the X-ray wavelengths. We also find that the neutral hydrogen column density differs for orbital minimum and orbital maximum spectra with values  0.25^+0.23_−0.18× 10²²  and  0.64^+0.13_−0.14× 10²² cm⁻²  at 3σ confidence level. The X-ray spectrum of RR Pic can be represented by a composite model of bremsstrahlung with a photoelectric absorption, two absorption lines centered around 1.1–1.4 keV and five Gaussian lines centered at emission lines around 0.3–1.1 keV corresponding to various transitions of S, N, O, C, Ne and Fe. The bremsstrahlung temperature derived from the fits ranges from 0.99 to 1.60 keV and the unabsorbed X-ray flux is found to be  2.5^+0.4_−1.2× 10⁻¹³ erg  cm⁻² s⁻¹  in the 0.3–5.0 keV range with a luminosity of 1.1 ± 0.2  10³¹ erg s⁻¹  at 600 pc. We also detect excess emission in the spectrum possibly originating from the reverse shock in the ejecta. A fit with a cooling flow plasma emission model shows enhanced abundances of He, C, N, O and Ne in the X-ray emitting region indicating existence of diffusive mixing.     

XMM–Newton observations of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1650–500 in quiescence

We report the result of an XMM–Newton observation of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1650–500 in quiescence. The source was not detected, and we set upper limits on the 0.5–10 keV luminosity of  0.9–1.0 × 10³¹ erg s⁻¹  (for a newly derived distance of 2.6 kpc). These limits are in line with the quiescent luminosities of black hole X-ray binaries with similar orbital periods (∼7–8 h).     

The X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet flux evolution of SS Cygni throughout outburst

We present the most complete multiwavelength coverage of any dwarf nova outburst: simultaneous optical, Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of SS Cygni throughout a narrow asymmetric outburst. Our data show that the high-energy outburst begins in the X-ray waveband 0.9–1.4 d after the beginning of the optical rise and 0.6 d before the extreme-ultraviolet rise. The X-ray flux drops suddenly, immediately before the extreme-ultraviolet flux rise, supporting the view that both components arise in the boundary layer between the accretion disc and white dwarf surface. The early rise of the X-ray flux shows that the propagation time of the outburst heating wave may have been previously overestimated.
The transitions between X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet dominated emission are accompanied by intense variability in the X-ray flux, with time-scales of minutes. As detailed by Mauche & Robinson, dwarf nova oscillations are detected throughout the extreme-ultraviolet outburst, but we find they are absent from the X-ray light curve.
X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet luminosities imply accretion rates of  3 × 10¹⁵ g s⁻¹  in quiescence,  1 × 10¹⁶ g s⁻¹  when the boundary layer becomes optically thick, and  ∼10¹⁸ g s⁻¹  at the peak of the outburst. The quiescent accretion rate is two and a half orders of magnitude higher than predicted by the standard disc instability model, and we suggest this may be because the inner accretion disc in SS Cyg is in a permanent outburst state.     

A Chandra detection of the radio hotspot of 3C 123

Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the powerful, peculiar radio galaxy 3C 123 have resulted in an X-ray detection of the bright eastern hotspot, with a 1-keV flux density of ∼5 nJy. The X-ray flux and spectrum of the hotspot are consistent with the X-rays being inverse-Compton scattering of radio synchrotron photons by the population of electrons responsible for the radio emission ('synchrotron self-Compton emission') if the magnetic fields in the hotspot are close to their equipartition values. 3C 123 is thus the third radio galaxy to show X-ray emission from a hotspot which is consistent with being in equipartition. Chandra also detects emission from a moderately rich cluster surrounding 3C 123, with L _X(2–10 keV)=2×10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ and kT ∼5 keV, and absorbed emission from the active nucleus, with an inferred intrinsic column density of 1.7×10²² cm⁻² and an intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosity of 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹.     

Chandra measurements of the X-ray core and cluster of 3C 220.1

We report results of an 18-ks exposure with the ACIS instrument on Chandra of the powerful z =0.62 radio galaxy 3C 220.1. The X-ray emission separates into cluster gas of emission-weighted kT ∼5 keV , 0.7–12 keV luminosity (to a radius of 45 arcsec) of 5.6×10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ and unresolved emission (coincident with the radio core). While the extended X-ray emission is clearly thermal in nature, a straightforward cooling-flow model, even in conjunction with a point-source component, is a poor fit to the radial profile of the X-ray emission. This is despite the fact that the measured properties of the gas suggest a massive cooling flow of ∼130 M_⊙ yr⁻¹, and the data show weak evidence for a temperature gradient. The central unresolved X-ray emission has a power-law spectral energy index α ∼0.7 and 0.7–12 keV luminosity of 10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹, and any intrinsic absorption is relatively small. The two-point spectrum of the core emission between radio and X-ray energies has α _rx=0.75 . Since this is a flatter spectrum than seen in other sources where the X-ray emission is presumed to be radio-related, regions close to the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in this source may dominate the central X-ray output, as is believed to be the case for lobe-dominated quasars. Simple unification models would be challenged if this were found to be the case for a large fraction of high-power radio galaxies.     

X-ray analysis of the cluster 3C 129

The cluster 3C 129 is classified as a rich cluster. An analysis of the properties of the cluster 3C 129 from ROSAT PSPC and HRI, Einstein IPC, and EXOSAT ME observations is presented. The mean temperature from a joint fit of the ROSAT PSPC and EXOSAT ME data is 5.5(±0.2) keV. The luminosity is 0.6×10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ in 0.2–2.4 keV and 2.7×10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ in 0.2–10 keV. We find a cooling flow with a rate of ∼84 M_⊙ yr⁻¹. The central gas density is 6×10⁻³ cm⁻³, and the ICM mass is 3.6×10¹³ M_⊙. The total cluster mass is ∼5×10¹⁴ M_⊙. The X-ray morphology shows an east–west elongation, which is evidence for a recent merger event. The radio source 3C 129.1 is located near the X-ray centre. Another cluster member galaxy (the radio galaxy 3C 129) is a prototype of head-tailed radio galaxies, and is located in the west part of the cluster. The tail points along the gradient of intracluster gas pressure. There are no significant point X-ray sources associated with the AGNs of the two radio galaxies.     

X-ray active galactic nuclei in the core of the Perseus cluster

We present a study of the X-ray emission from the nuclei of galaxies observed in the core of the Perseus cluster in a deep exposure with Chandra . Point sources are found coincident with the nuclei of 13 early-type galaxies, as well as the central galaxy NGC 1275. This corresponds to all galaxies brighter than M _B > −18 in the Chandra field. All of these sources have a steep power-law spectral component and four have an additional thermal component. The unabsorbed power-law luminosities in the 0.5–7.0 keV band range from 8 × 10³⁸ to 5 × 10⁴⁰ erg s⁻¹. We find no simple correlations between the K -band luminosity, or the FUV and NUV AB magnitudes of these galaxies and their X-ray properties. We have estimated the black hole masses of the nuclei using the K -band   M _BH– L _{K bol}  relation and again find no correlation between black hole mass and the X-ray luminosity. Bondi accretion on to the black holes in the galaxies with minihaloes should make them much more luminous than observed.     

PDS 456: an extreme accretion rate quasar?

We present quasi-simultaneous ASCA and RXTE observations of the most luminous known active galactic nucleus in the local ( z <0.3) Universe, the recently discovered quasar PDS 456. Multiwavelength observations have been conducted that show that PDS 456 has a bolometric luminosity of ∼10⁴⁷ erg s⁻¹ peaking in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. In the X-ray band the 2–10 keV (rest-frame) luminosity is 10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹. The broad-band X-ray spectrum obtained with ASCA and RXTE contains considerable complexity. The most striking feature observed is a very deep, ionized iron K edge, observed at 8.7 keV in the quasar rest-frame. We find that these features are consistent with reprocessing from highly ionized matter, probably the inner accretion disc. PDS 456 appeared to show a strong (factor of ∼2.1) outburst in just ∼17 ks, although non-intrinsic sources cannot be completely ruled out. If confirmed, this would be an unusual event for such a high-luminosity source, with a light-crossing-time corresponding to ∼2 R _S . The implication would be that flaring occurs within the very central regions, or else that PDS 456 is a 'super-Eddington' or relativistically beamed system. Overall we conclude on the basis of the extreme blue/UV luminosity, the rapid X-ray variability and from the imprint of highly ionized material on the X-ray spectrum, that PDS 456 is a quasar with an unusually high accretion rate.     

Iron line profiles including emission from within the innermost stable orbit of a black hole accretion disc

We propose a model for the source of the X-ray background (XRB) in which low-luminosity active nuclei ( L  ∼ 10⁴³ erg s⁻¹) are obscured ( N  ∼ 10²³ cm⁻²) by nuclear starbursts within the inner ∼ 100 pc. The obscuring material covers most of the sky as seen from the central source, rather than being distributed in a toroidal structure, and hardens the averaged X-ray spectrum by photoelectric absorption. The gas is turbulent with velocity dispersion ∼ few × 100 km s⁻¹ and cloud–cloud collisions lead to copious star formation. Although supernovae tend to produce outflows, most of the gas is trapped in the gravity field of the star-forming cluster itself and the central black hole. A hot ( T  ∼ 10⁶ − 10⁷ K) virialized phase of this gas, comprising a few per cent of the total obscuring material, feeds the central engine of ∼ 10⁷ M⊙ through Bondi accretion, at a sub-Eddington rate appropriate for the luminosity of these objects. If starburst-obscured objects give rise to the residual XRB, then only 10 per cent of the accretion in active galaxies occurs close to the Eddington limit in unabsorbed objects.     

Observations of the extreme-ultraviolet transient RE J1255+266: a short outburst of a WZ Sge system?

We present a previously unpublished ROSAT Wide Field Camera observation of the transient source RE J1255+266 made just 4 d before the discovery observations. The source is not detected, limiting the duration of the outburst to be less than expected for a superoutburst of a WZ Sge system.
We also present a marginal detection of X-ray emission from RE J1255+266 using ASCA . The most probable luminosity is 6×10²⁹ erg s⁻¹, which is very similar to WZ Sge itself.
We discuss the nature of the source in the light of these observations, and conclude that it is most probably a WZ Sge system, but that the observed outburst must have been a normal dwarf nova outburst.     

Light curves of jetted gamma-ray burst afterglows in circumstellar clouds

We present a Chandra observation of the powerful radio galaxy 3C 294 showing clear evidence for a surrounding intracluster medium. At a redshift of 1.786 this is the most distant cluster of galaxies yet detected in X-rays. The radio core is detected as a point source, which has a spectrum consistent with a heavily absorbed power law, implying an intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosity of ∼10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹. A small excess of emission is associated with the southern radio hotspots. The soft, diffuse emission from the intracluster medium is centred on the radio source. It has an hourglass shape in the north–south direction, extending to radii of at least 100 kpc, well beyond the radio source. The X-ray spectrum of this extended component is fitted by a thermal model with temperature ∼5 keV, or by gas cooling from above 7 keV at rates of ∼ 400–700 M_⊙ yr⁻¹. The rest-frame 0.3–10 keV luminosity of the cluster is ∼ 4.5×10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹. The existence of such a cluster is consistent with a low-density universe.     

A Chandra observation of the distant radio galaxy B2 0902+343: a powerful obscured active galaxy

We report a Chandra observation of the   z =3.395  radio galaxy B2 0902+343. The unresolved X-ray source is centred on the active nucleus. The spectrum is well fitted by a flat power law of photon index of  Γ∼1.1  with intrinsic absorption of  8×10²² cm^-2  , and an intrinsic  2–10 keV  luminosity of  3.3×10⁴⁵ erg s^-1  . More complex models that allow for a steeper spectral index cause the column density and intrinsic luminosity to increase. The data limit any thermal luminosity of the hot magnetized medium, assumed responsible for high Faraday rotation measures seen in the radio source, to less than ∼10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹.     

An unexpected outburst from A0535+262

A0535+262 is a transient Be/X-ray binary system which was in a quiescent phase from 1994 to 2005. In this paper we report on the timing and spectral properties of the INTEGRAL detection of the source in 2003 October. The source is detected for ∼6000 s in the 18–100 keV energy band at a luminosity of  ∼3.8 × 10³⁵ erg s⁻¹  ; this is compatible with the high end of the range of luminosities expected for quiescent emission. The system is observed to be outside of the centrifugal inhibition regime and pulsations are detected with periodicity,   P = 103.7 ± 0.1 s  . An examination of the pulse history of the source shows that it had been in a constant state of spin-down since it entered the quiescent phase in 1994. The rate of spin-down implies the consistent presence of an accretion disc supplying torques to the pulsar. The observations show that the system is still active and highly variable even in the absence of recent Type I or Type II X-ray outbursts.     

An ultraluminous X-ray microquasar in NGC 5408?

We studied the radio source associated with the ultraluminous X-ray source in NGC 5408  ( L _X≈ 10⁴⁰ erg s⁻¹)  . The radio spectrum is steep (index  ≈−1  ), consistent with optically thin synchrotron emission, not with flat-spectrum core emission. Its flux density (≈0.28 mJy at 4.8 GHz, at a distance of 4.8 Mpc) was the same in the March 2000 and December 2004 observations, suggesting steady emission rather than a transient outburst. However, it is orders of magnitude higher than expected from steady jets in stellar-mass microquasar. Based on its radio flux and spectral index, we suggest that the radio source is either an unusually bright supernova remnant, or, more likely, a radio lobe powered by a jet from the black hole (BH). Moreover, there is speculative evidence that the source is marginally resolved with a radius ∼30 pc. A faint H  ii region of similar size appears to coincide with the radio and X-ray sources, but its ionization mechanism remains unclear. Using a self-similar solution for the expansion of a jet-powered electron–positron plasma bubble, in the minimum-energy approximation, we show that the observed flux and (speculative) size are consistent with an average jet power  ≈ 7 × 10³⁸ erg s⁻¹∼ 0.1 L _X∼ 0.1 L _Edd  , an age ≈10⁵ yr, a current velocity of expansion ≈80 km s⁻¹. We briefly discuss the importance of this source as a key to understand the balance between luminosity and jet power in accreting BHs.     

X-ray and ultraviolet observations of the dwarf nova VW Hyi in quiescence

We present an analysis of X-ray and ultraviolet (UV) data of the dwarf nova VW Hyi that were obtained with XMM–Newton during the quiescent state. The X-ray spectrum indicates the presence of an optically thin plasma in the boundary layer that cools as it settles on to the white dwarf. The plasma has a continuous temperature distribution that is well described by a power law or a cooling flow model with a maximum temperature of 6–8 keV. We estimate from the X-ray spectrum a boundary layer luminosity of  8 × 10³⁰ erg s^-1  , which is only 20 per cent of the disc luminosity. The rate of accretion on to the white dwarf is  5 × 10⁻¹² M_⊙ yr⁻¹  , about half of the rate in the disc. From the high-resolution X-ray spectra, we estimate that the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer is rotating with a velocity of 540 km s⁻¹, which is close to the rotation velocity of the white dwarf but is significantly smaller than the Keplerian velocity. We detect a 60-s quasi-periodic oscillation of the X-ray flux, which is likely to be due to the rotation of the boundary layer. The X-ray and the UV flux show strong variability on a time-scale of ∼1500 s. We find that the variability in the two bands is correlated and that the X-ray fluctuations are delayed by ∼100 s. The correlation indicates that the variable UV flux is emitted near the transition region between the disc and the boundary layer and that accretion rate fluctuations in this region are propagated to the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer within ∼100 s. An orbital modulation of the X-ray flux suggests that the inner accretion disc is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. The elemental abundances in the boundary layer are close to their solar values.     

ASCA observations of deep ROSAT fields — III. The discovery of an obscured Type 2 AGN at z = 0.67

We report on the discovery of a narrow-emission-line object at z  = 0.672 detected in a deep ASCA survey. The object, AXJ 0341.4–4453, has a flux in the 2–10 keV band of 1.1 ± 0.27 × 10⁻¹³ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻², corresponding to a luminosity of 1.8 × 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ ( q ₀ = 0.5, H ₀ = 50 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹). It is also marginally detected in the ROSAT 0.5–2 keV band with a flux 5.8 × 10⁻¹⁵ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻². Both the ASCA data alone and the combined ROSAT/ASCA data show a very hard X-ray spectrum, consistent with either a flat power law (α < 0.1) or photoelectric absorption with a column of n _H > 4 × 10²² cm⁻² (α = 1). The optical spectrum shows the high-ionization, narrow emission lines typical of a Seyfert 2 galaxy. We suggest that this object may be typical of the hard sources required to explain the remainder of the X-ray background at hard energies.     

The accretion powered spin-up of GRO J1750−27

The timing properties of the 4.45 s pulsar in the Be X-ray binary system GRO J1750−27 are examined using hard X-ray data from INTEGRAL and Swift during a type II outburst observed during 2008. The orbital parameters of the system are measured and agree well with those found during the last known outburst of the system in 1995. Correcting the effects of the Doppler shifting of the period, due to the orbital motion of the pulsar, leads to the detection of an intrinsic spin-up that is well described by a simple model including     and     terms of  −7.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ s s⁻¹  and  1 × 10⁻¹⁶ s s⁻²  , respectively. The model is then used to compare the time-resolved variation of the X-ray flux and intrinsic spin-up against the accretion torque model of Ghosh & Lamb; this finds that GRO J1750−27 is likely located 12–22 kpc distant and that the surface magnetic field of the neutron star is  ∼2 × 10¹²  G. The shape of the pulse and the pulsed fraction shows different behaviour above and below 20 keV, indicating that the observed pulsations are the convolution of many complex components.     

Timing properties of the X-ray pulsar EXO 2030+375 during an X-ray outburst

We present Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) observations of the Be/X-ray transient EXO 2030+375 during an outburst after a period of quiescence between 1993 August and 1996 April. When active, EXO 2030+375 is normally detected at each periastron passage of the neutron star. Our observations correspond to the third periastron passage after the source 'turned on' again. All outbursts after the quiescent period, including the one reported here, have been occurring at a much earlier binary phase than in the past. We discuss the possible mechanisms that may explain this shift in the onset of the outburst. Pulsations in the X-ray radiation are detected throughout the entire run. The neutron star spun up during the outburst at a rate of −1.16×10⁻⁸ s s⁻¹, but no variations in the shape of the pulse profile as a function of intensity were seen. A correlation between the hardness ratio and the intensity is observed at low energies (6–12/2–6 keV). By comparing the magnetospheric and corotation radii we argue that the neutron star spins at a rate close to the equilibrium period. Finally, we perform pulse-phase spectroscopy and comment on changes seen as a function of spin phase.