Hitoshi Negoro

Relativistic jet activity from the tidal disruption of a star by a massive black hole

Supermassive black holes have powerful gravitational fields with strong gradients that can destroy stars that get too close, producing a bright flare in ultraviolet and X-ray spectral regions from stellar debris that forms an accretion disk around the black hole. The aftermath of this process may have been seen several times over the past two decades in the form of sparsely sampled, slowly fading emission from distant galaxies, but the onset of the stellar disruption event has not hitherto been observed. Here we report observations of a bright X-ray flare from the extragalactic transient Swift J164449.3+573451. This source increased in brightness in the X-ray band by a factor of at least 10,000 since 1990 and by a factor of at least 100 since early 2010. We conclude that we have captured the onset of relativistic jet activity from a supermassive black hole. A companion paper comes to similar conclusions on the basis of radio observations. This event is probably due to the tidal disruption of a star falling into a supermassive black hole, but the detailed behaviour differs from current theoretical models of such events.D. N. Burrows , J. A. Kennea , G. Ghisellini , V. Mangano , B. Zhang , K. L. Page , M. Eracleous , P. Romano , T. Sakamoto , A. D. Falcone , J. P. Osborne , S. Campana , A. P. Beardmore , A. A. Breeveld , M. M. Chester , R. Corbet , S. Covino , J. R. Cummings , P. D’Avanzo , V. D’Elia , P. Esposito , P. A. Evans , D. Fugazza, J. M. Gelbord , K. Hiroi , S. T. Holland , K. Y. Huang , M. Im, G. Israel , Y. Jeon , Y.-B. Jeon , N. Kawai , H. A. Krimm , P. Mészáros , H. Negoro , N. Omodei , W.K. Park , J. S. Perkins , M. Sugizaki , H.-I. Sung , G. Tagliaferri , E. Troja , Y. Ueda, Y. Urata, R. Usui , L. A. Antonelli , S. D. Barthelmy , G. Cusumano , P. Giommi , F. E. Marshall , A. Melandri , M. Perri , J. L. Racusin , B. Sbarufatti , M. H. Siegel , & N. Gehrels 21

Relativistic jet activity from the tidal disruption of a star by a massive black hole [Discovery of the onset of rapid accretion by a dormant massive black hole]

Supermassive black holes have powerful gravitational fields with strong gradients that can destroy stars that get too close, producing a bright flare in ultraviolet and X-ray spectral regions from stellar debris that forms an accretion disk around the black hole. The aftermath of this process may have been seen several times over the past two decades in the form of sparsely sampled, slowly fading emission from distant galaxies, but the onset of the stellar disruption event has not hitherto been observed. Here we report observations of a bright X-ray flare from the extragalactic transient Swift J164449.3+573451. This source increased in brightness in the X-ray band by a factor of at least 10,000 since 1990 and by a factor of at least 100 since early 2010. We conclude that we have captured the onset of relativistic jet activity from a supermassive black hole. A companion paper comes to similar conclusions on the basis of radio observations. This event is probably due to the tidal disruption of a star falling into a supermassive black hole, but the detailed behaviour differs from current theoretical models of such events.D. N. Burrows , J. A. Kennea , G. Ghisellini , V. Mangano , B. Zhang , K. L. Page , M. Eracleous , P. Romano , T. Sakamoto , A. D. Falcone , J. P. Osborne , S. Campana , A. P. Beardmore , A. A. Breeveld , M. M. Chester , R. Corbet , S. Covino , J. R. Cummings , P. D’Avanzo , V. D’Elia , P. Esposito , P. A. Evans , D. Fugazza, J. M. Gelbord , K. Hiroi , S. T. Holland , K. Y. Huang , M. Im, G. Israel , Y. Jeon , Y.-B. Jeon , N. Kawai , H. A. Krimm , P. Mészáros , H. Negoro , N. Omodei , W.K. Park , J. S. Perkins , M. Sugizaki , H.-I. Sung , G. Tagliaferri , E. Troja , Y. Ueda, Y. Urata, R. Usui , L. A. Antonelli , S. D. Barthelmy , G. Cusumano , P. Giommi , F. E. Marshall , A. Melandri , M. Perri , J. L. Racusin , B. Sbarufatti , M. H. Siegel , & N. Gehrels 21

The MAXI Mission on the ISS: Science and Instruments for Monitoring All-Sky X-Ray Images

The Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) mission is the first astronomical payload to be installed on the Japanese Experiment Module — Exposed Facility (JEM-EF or Kibo-EF) on the International Space Station. It has two types of X-ray slit cameras with wide FOVs and two kinds of X-ray detectors consisting of gas proportional counters covering the energy range of 2 to 30 keV and X-ray CCDs covering the energy range of 0.5 to 12 keV. MAXI will be more powerful than any previous X-ray All Sky Monitor payloads, being able to monitor hundreds of Active Galactic Nuclei. A realistic simulation under optimal observation conditions suggests that MAXI will provide all-sky images of X-ray sources of � 20 mCrab (� 7 � 10 � 10 erg cm � 2 s � 1 in the energy band of 2–30 keV) from observations during one ISS orbit (90 min), � 4.5 mCrab for one day, and � 2 mCrab for one week. The final detectability of MAXI could be � 0.2 mCrab for two years, which is comparable to the source confusion limit of the MAXI field of view (FOV). The MAXI objectives are: (1) to alert the community to X-ray novae and transient X-ray sources, (2) to monitor long-term variabilities of X-ray sources, (3) to stimulate multi-wavelength observations of variable objects, (4) to create unbiased X-ray source cataloges, and (5) to observe diffuse cosmic X-ray emissions, especially with better energy resolution for soft X-rays down to 0.5 keV.

Canonical time variations of X-rays from black hole candidates in the low-intensity state

X-rays from black hole candidates, Cyg X-1, GX 339-4, and GS 2023+338 in their low-intensity state, consist of various shots or burst events, and shapes of the shots are similar among these sources. In their low-intensity states, the normalized power spectrum density functions of the X-rays except for the Fourier frequencies below about 0.2 Hz are the same not only in their shape but also in their absolute values, even if the X-ray energy range is different.

Gas Slit Camera (GSC) onboard MAXI on ISS

The Gas Slit Camera (GSC) is an X-ray instrument on the MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image) mission on the International Space Station. It is designed to scan the entire sky every 92-minute orbital period in the 2‐30 keV band and to achieve the highest sensitivity among the X-ray all-sky monitors ever flown so far. The GSC employs large-area position-sensitive proportional counters with the total detector area of 5350 cm 2 . The on-board data processor has functions to format telemetry data as well as to control the high voltage of the proportional counters to protect them from the particle irradiation. The paper describes the instruments, on-board data processing, telemetry data formats, and performance specifications expected from the ground calibration tests.

In-Orbit Performance of MAXI Gas Slit Camera (GSC) on ISS

We report the in-orbit performance of the Gas Slit Camera (GSC) on the MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image) mission carried on the International Space Station (ISS). Its commissioning operation started on August 8, 2009, confirmed the basic performances of the effective area in the energy band of 2--30 keV, the spatial resolution of the slit-and-slat collimator and detector with 1.5 degree FWHM, the source visibility of 40-150 seconds for each scan cycle, and the sky coverage of 85% per 92-minute orbital period and 95% per day. The gas gains and read-out amplifier gains have been stable within 1%. The background rate is consistent with the past X-ray experiments operated at the similar low-earth orbit if its relation with the geomagnetic cutoff rigidity is extrapolated to the high latitude. We also present the status of the in-orbit operation and the calibration of the effective area and the energy response matrix using Crab-nebula data.

Suzaku Results on Cygnus X-1 in the Low/Hard State

AbstractThe black-hole binary Cygnus X-1 was observed for 17 ks with the Suzaku X-ray observatory in 2005October, while it was in a low/hard state with a 0.7–300 keV luminosity of 4.6×10 37 erg s −1 . The XIS andHXD spectra, spanning 0.7–400 keV, were reproduced successfully incorporating a cool accretion disk anda hot Comptonizing corona. The corona is characterized by an electron temperature of ∼100 keV, and twooptical depths of ∼0.4 and ∼1.5 which account for the harder and softer continua, respectively. The disk hasthe innermost temperature of ∼0.2 keV, and is though to protrude half way into the corona. The disk notonly provides seed photons to the Compton cloud, but also produces a soft spectral excess, a mild reflectionhump, and a weakly broadened iron line. A comparison with the Suzaku data on GRO J1655−40 revealsseveral interesting spectral differences, which can mostly be attributed to inclination effects assuming thatthe disk has a flat geometry while the corona is grossly spherical. An intensity-sorted spectroscopy indicatesthat the continuum becomes less Comptonized when the source flares up on times scales of 1–200 s, whilethe underlying disk remains unchanged.Key words: accretion disks — black hole physics — stars: individual (Cygnus X-1)— X-ray: binaries1. IntroductionLuminous soft X-ray radiation of accreting stellar-massblack holes (BHs) has generally been explained as thermalemission from optically-thick (in particular “standard”)accretion disks (Shakura & Sunyaev 1973; Makishimaet al. 1986; Dotani et al. 1997; Remillard & McClintock2006), which are expected to form around them underrather high accretion rates. In contrast, their hard X-rayproduction process is much less understood, even thoughintense hard X-ray emission characterizes black-hoe bina-ries (BHBs) among varioustypes of compact X-raysourcesin the Milky Way and Magellanic clouds.Indeed, BHBs often emit a major fraction of their ra-diative luminosity in the hard X-ray band, in the formof spectral hard-tail component if they are in so-calledhigh/soft state, or as the entire power-law (hereafter PL)like continua if they are in so-called low/hard state (here-after LHS) which appears under relatively low accretionrates. Furthermore, the hard X-ray emission (partic-ularly in the LHS) involves another interesting aspect,namely the long-known aperiodic variation over a widefrequency range (e.g., Oda et al. 1971; Oda 1977; Nolanet al. 1981; Miyamoto et al. 1991; Pottschmidt et al.2003; Remillard & McClintock 2006). These spectral andtiming studies are not limited to stellar-mass BHs, since a

Multiwavelength Monitoring of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Arakelian 564. III. Optical Observations and the Optical-UV-X-Ray Connection

We present the results of a 2 yr long optical monitoring program of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ark 564. The majority of this monitoring project was also covered by X-ray observations (RXTE), and for a period of ~50 days, we observed the galaxy in UV (HST) and X-rays (RXTE and ASCA) simultaneously with the ground-based observations. Rapid and large-amplitude variations seen in the X-ray band, on a daily and hourly timescale, were not detected at optical and UV wavelengths, which in turn exhibited much lower variability either on short (1 day) or long (several months) timescales. The only significant optical variations can be described as two 2-4 day events with ~10% flux variations. We detect no significant optical line variations and thus cannot infer a reverberation size for the broad-line region. Similarly, the large X-ray variations seem to vanish when the light curve is smoothed over a period of 30 days. The UV continuum follows the X-rays with a lag of ~0.4 days, and the optical band lags the UV band by ~2 days. No significant correlation was found between the entire X-ray data set and the optical band. Focusing on a 20 day interval around the strongest optical event we detect a significant X-ray-optical correlation with similar events seen in the UV and X-rays. Our data are consistent with reprocessing models on the grounds of the energy emitted in this single event. However, several large X-ray flares produced no corresponding optical emission.

X-Ray Fluctuations from Locally Unstable Advection-dominated Disks

The response of advection-dominated accretion disks to local disturbances is examined by one-dimensional numerical simulations. It is generally believed that advection-dominated disks are thermally stable. We, however, find that any disturbance added onto accretion flow at large radii does not decay so rapidly that it can move inward with roughly the free-fall velocity. Although disturbances continue to be present, the global disk structure will not be modified greatly. This can account for persistent hard X-ray emission with substantial variations observed in active galactic nuclei and stellar black hole candidates during the hard state. Moreover, when the disturbance reaches the innermost parts, an acoustic wave emerges, propagating outward as a shock wave. The resultant light variation is roughly (time) symmetric and is quite reminiscent of the observed X-ray shots of Cygnus X-1.

ASCA Observation of Cygnus X-1 in the Soft State: Mass of the Compact Object

We describe the ASCA observation of the black hole candidate Cyg X-1 in the soft state of 1996 May and report the mass estimation of the central object from X-ray spectral analysis. The energy spectrum in 0.7-10 keV can be described by the sum of a power law (Γ = 2.3 ± 0.1) and an ultrasoft component; the latter is most probably the emission from an optically thick accretion disk. Through the spectral analysis of the ultrasoft component, we estimated the size of the accretion disk, which is closely related to the Schwarzschild radius and, hence, to the mass of the central object. Taking the general relativistic effects into account, the most probable mass of the compact object is estimated as 12+ 3−1M☉. This value is independent of, yet consistent with, the mass estimate based on the orbital kinematics information.