A. J. Bird

THE FOURTH IBIS/ISGRI SOFT GAMMA-RAY SURVEY CATALOG

In this paper, we report on the fourth soft gamma-ray source catalog obtained with the IBIS gamma-ray imager on board the INTEGRAL satellite. The scientific data set is based on more than 70 Ms of high-quality observations performed during the first five and a half years of the Core Program and public observations. Compared to previous IBIS surveys, this catalog includes a substantially increased coverage of extragalactic fields, and comprises more than 700 high-energy sources detected in the energy range 17-100 keV, including both transients and faint persistent objects that can only be revealed with longer exposure times. A comparison is provided with the latest Swift/BAT survey results.

Polarized Gamma-Ray Emission from the Crab

Pulsar systems accelerate particles to immense energies. The detailed functioning of these engines is still poorly understood, but polarization measurements of high-energy radiation may allow us to locate where the particles are accelerated. We have detected polarized gamma rays from the vicinity of the Crab pulsar using data from the spectrometer on the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory satellite. Our results show polarization with an electric vector aligned with the spin axis of the neutron star, demonstrating that a substantial fraction of the high-energy electrons responsible for the polarized photons are produced in a highly ordered structure close to the pulsar.

Unveiling supergiant fast X-ray transient sources with Integral

Supergiant high-mass X-ray binaries (SGXBs) are believed to be rare objects, as stars in the supergiant phase have a very short lifetime and to date only about a dozen of them have been discovered. They are known to be persistent and bright X-ray sources. INTEGRAL is changing this classical picture, as its observations are revealing the presence of a new subclass of SGXBs that have been labeled supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs), since they are strongly characterized by fast X-ray outbursts lasting less than a day, typically a few hours. We report on IBIS detections of newly discovered fast X-ray outbursts from 10 sources, four of which have been recently optically identified as supergiant high-mass X-ray binaries. For one of them in particular, IGR J11215-5952, we observe fast X-ray transient behavior for the first time. The remaining six sources (IGR J16479-4514, IGR J16418-4532, IGR J16195-4945=AX J161929-4945, XTE J1743-363, AX J1749.1-2733, and IGR J17407-2808) are still unclassified; however, they can be considered candidate SFXTs because of their similarity to the known SFXTs.

INTEGRAL observations of recurrent fast X-ray transient sources

Fast X-ray Transients (FXTs) are believed to be non-recurrent bright X-ray sources lasting less than a day and occuring at serendipitous positions, they can best be detected and discovered by instruments having a sufficiently wide field of view and high sensitivity. The IBIS/ISGRI instrument onboard INTEGRAL is particularly suited to detect new or already known fast X-ray transient sources. We report on IBIS/ISGRI detection of newly discovered outbursts of three fast transient sources located at low Galactic latitude: SAX J1818.6−1703; IGR J16479−4514; IGR J17391−302/XTE J1739−302. The reported results confirm and strengthen the very fast transient nature of these sources, given that all their newly detected outbursts have a duration less than ∼3 h. Additionally, they provide the first evidence for a possible recurrent fast transient behaviour as all three sources were detected in outburst by ISGRI more than once during the last 2 years.

The INTEGRAL Complete Sample of Type 1 AGN

In this paper we discuss the broad-band X-ray characteristics of a complete sample of 36 type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGN), detected by INTEGRAL in the 20–40 keV band above the 5.5? level. We present, for all the objects in the sample, the broad-band (1–110 keV) spectral analysis obtained by using INTEGRAL/Swift/Burst Alert Telescope observations together with XMM–Newton, Chandra, ASCA and Swift/X-Ray Telescope data. We also present the general average properties of the sample, i.e. the distribution of photon indices, high-energy cut-offs, reflection fractions and absorption properties, together with an in-depth analysis of their parameter space. We find that the average Seyfert 1 power law has an index of 1.7 with a dispersion of 0.2. The mean cut-off energy is at around 100 keV, with most objects displaying Ec in the range 50–150 keV; the average amount of Compton reflection is 1.5 with a typical dispersion of 0.7. We do not find any convincing correlation between the various parameters, an indication that our analysis is not strongly dependent by the interplay between them. Finally, we investigate how the results presented in this work fit into current frameworks for AGN spectral modelling and cosmic diffuse X-ray background synthesis models

First high-energy observations of narrow-line Seyfert 1s with INTEGRAL/IBIS

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are very interesting objects which display peculiar properties when compared to their broad-line analogues (BLS1). Although well studied in many wavebands, their behaviour at >10 keV is poorly studied and yet important to discriminate between models invoked to explain the complexity observed in the X-ray band. Here, we present for the first time high-energy observations (17–100 keV) of five NLS1 galaxies (three bona fide and two candidates) detected by INTEGRAL/Imager on Board INTEGRAL Satellite (IBIS) and provide for all of them a broad-band spectral analysis using data obtained by Swift/XRT below 10 keV. The combined INTEGRAL spectrum is found to be steeper (?= 2.6 ± 0.3) than those of classical Seyfert 1 objects. This is due to a high-energy cut-off, which is required in some individual fits as in the average broad-band spectrum. The location of this high-energy cut-off is at lower energies (E? 60 keV) than typically seen in classical type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs); a reflection component may also be present but its value (R < 0.8) is compatible with those seen in standard Seyfert 1s. We do not detect a soft excess in individual objects but only in their cumulative spectrum. Our results suggest a lower plasma temperature for the accreting plasma which combined to the high accretion rates (close to the Eddington rate) points to different nuclear conditions in broad and NLS1 galaxies, likely related to different evolutionary stages.

INTEGRAL/IBIS and Swift/XRT observations of hard cataclysmic variables

The analysis of the third INTEGRAL/Imager on Board Integral Satellite (IBIS) survey has revealed several new cataclysmic variables, most of which turned out to be intermediate polars, thus confirming that these objects are strong emitters in hard X-rays. Here, we present high-energy spectra of all 22 cataclysmic variables detected in the third IBIS survey and provide the first average spectrum over the 20–100 keV band for this class. Our analysis indicates that the best-fitting model is a thermal bremsstrahlung with an average temperature of ?kT?? 22 keV . Recently, 11 (10 intermediate polars and one polar) of these systems have been followed up by Swift/X-ray telescope (XRT) (operating in the 0.3–10 keV energy band), thus allowing us to investigate their spectral behaviour over the range ?0.3–100 keV. Thanks to this wide energy coverage, it was possible for these sources to simultaneously measure the soft and hard components and estimate their temperatures. The soft emission, thought to originate in the irradiated poles of the white dwarf atmosphere, is well described by a blackbody model with temperatures in the range ?60–120 eV. The hard emission, which is supposed to be originated from optically thin plasma in the post-shock region above the magnetic poles, is indeed well modelled with a bremsstrahlung model with temperatures in the range ?16–35 keV, similar to the values obtained from the INTEGRAL data alone. In several cases, we also find the presence of a complex absorber: one totally [with NH? (0.4– 28) × 1021 cm?2 ] and one partially [with NH? (0.7–9) × 1023 cm?2 ] covering the source. Only in four cases (V709 Cas, GK Per, IGR J06253+7334 and IGR J17303?0601), we find evidence for the presence of an iron line at 6.4 keV. We discuss our findings in the light of the systems parameters and cataclysmic variables/intermediate polars modelling scenario.

Hard X-ray properties of magnetic cataclysmic variables

Hard X-ray surveys have proven remarkably efficient in detecting intermediate polars and asynchronous polars, two of the rarest type of cataclysmic variable (CV). Here, we present a global study of hard X-ray-selected intermediate polars and asynchronous polars, focusing particularly on the link between hard X-ray properties and spin/orbital periods. To this end, we first construct a new sample of these objects by cross-correlating candidate sources detected in INTEGRAL/IBIS observations against catalogues of known CVs. We find 23 CV matches, and also present an additional nine (of which three are definite) likely magnetic cataclysmic variables (mCVs) identified by others through optical follow-ups of IBIS detections. We also include in our analysis hard X-ray observations from the Swift/BAT and SUZAKU/HXD in order to make our study more complete. We find that most hard X-ray-detected mCVs have P spin /P orb < 0.1 above the period gap. In this respect, we also point out the very low number of detected systems in any band between P spin /P orb = 0.3 and P spin /P orb = 1 and the apparent peak of the P spin /P orb distribution at about 0.1. The observational features of the P sPin -P orb plane are discussed in the context of mCV evolution scenarios. We also present for the first time evidence for correlations between hard X-ray spectral hardness and P spin , P orb and P spin /P orb . An attempt to explain the observed correlations is made in the context of mCV evolution and accretion footprint geometries on the white dwarf surface.

Discovery of the orbital period in the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J17544–2619

The supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) system IGR J17544−2619 has displayed many large outbursts in the past and is considered an archetypal example of SFXTs. A search of the INTEGRAL/ISGRI data archive from MJD 52698−54354 has revealed 11 outbursts and timing analysis of the light curve identifies a period of 4.926 ± 0.001 d which we interpret as the orbital period of the system. We find that large outbursts occasionally occur outside of periastron and place an upper limit for the radius of the supergiant of <23 R� .

The broad-band XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL spectra of bright type 1 Seyfert galaxies

Aims. The 0.5–150 keV broad-band spectra of a sample of nine bright type 1 Seyfert galaxies are analyzed here. These sources have been discovered/detected by INTEGRAL and subsequently observed with XMM-Newton for the first time with high sensitivity below 10 keV. The sample, although small, is representative of the population of type 1 AGN which are now being observed above 20 keV. Methods. The intrinsic continuum has been modeled using three different parameterizations: a power-law model, an exponential cutoff power-law and an exponential cut-off power-law with a Compton reflection component. In each model the presence of intrinsic absorption, a soft component and emission line reprocessing features has also been tested. Results. A simple power-law model is a statistically good description of most of the spectra presented here; an FeK line, fully and/or partial covering absorption and a soft spectral component are detected in the majority of the sample sources. The average photon index (� Γ� = 1.7 ± 0.2) is consistent, within errors, with the canonical spectral slope often observed in AGN although the photon index distribution peaks in our case at flat Γ (∼1.5) values. For four sources, we find a significantly improved fit when the power-law is exponentially cut-off at an energy which is constrained to be below ∼150 keV. The Compton reflection parameter could be estimated in only two objects of the sample and in both cases is found to be R > 1.