M. Oda

A scanning modulation collimator observation of the high-energy X-ray source in the Crab Nebula

Two-dimensional maps of the 22-64 keV emission from the Crab Nebula with an angular resolution of 15 arcsec has been synthesized. The maps are generated by application of a maximum entropy method operating on a series of one-dimensional scans obtained with a balloon-borne modulation collimator telescope. The two-dimensional size, shape and orientation of the hard X-ray nebula relative to the pulsar have been measured for the first time. The implications of these results for models of electron transport in the Crab are discussed, and the geometry of the observed X-ray nebula is related to other features of the Crab Nebula system. 63 references.

CygX-1/A candidate of the black hole

Among discrete galactic X-ray sources, Cyg X-1 has been noted for its peculiar features in several respects. It is one of the few sources with a hard power law spectrum extending beyond several hundred keV. Cyg X-1 also distinguishes itself by its profound time variability over a wide range of time scales. The most remarkable incident was that its optical identification with a spectroscopic binary HDE226868 has led to a presumption that it is a black hole. This possibility has induced continuous interests in the physical character of this source in conjunction with the nature of the black hole. The purpose of this paper is to summarize presently available pieces of knowledge on this source to help the design of future experimental and theoretical works, while the complexity of the source characteristics still has prevented us to construct a clear, coherent picture of this source in spite of the fact that numerous observational facts have been accumulated.

The location and size of a solar hard X-ray burst on September 27, 1969

The location and size of a solar impulsive hard X-ray burst have been determined in one dimension to a considerable precision with a balloon-borne X-ray modulation collimator. The center of the X-ray source is on the line passing through the center of a big Hα flare region of 3 arc min. The size of the X-ray source is remarkably smaller and may be one arc min or less.

Vertical Structure of Hard X-ray Flare

This paper presents studies of the vertical structure of hard X-ray flares for two contrasting examples. The 1981 May 13 flare contained a coronal hard X-ray source which was located above 50000 km above the photosphere. On the other hand, the 1981 July 20 flare had a chromospheric double source structure in the initial phase. Electrons in this case were able to stream freely from the corona to the chromosphere.

Observation of a New X-ray Source

THE purpose of this article is to present a preliminary report on a new cosmic X-ray source. The source was observed near Sco X-1 during recent rocket flights to observe Sco X-1 simultaneously with ground-based optical telescopes. It is very likely that we observed the source reported to have appeared between July 6 and July 9 by Conner et al. in an IAU telegram issued on July 30, 1969.

Delays of Optical Bursts in Simultaneous Optical and X-Ray Observations of MXB 1636-53

Observations of simultaneous optical and X-ray bursts from 4U/MXB 1636-53 were made using the Hakucho burst monitor system and optical telescopes at the European Southern Observatory during 1979 and 1980. The six best cases among the 10 coinciding observations are analyzed in terms of a model in which the optical emission is the result of reprocessing of X-rays (through blackbody heating). From this analysis, the temperature (spatially averaged) and size of a reprocessor, and the smearing and delay of the optical bursts are obtained. For the maximum temperatures of the optical reprocessor, the values differ from burst to burst, ranging from about 3 x 10 to the 4th to about 10 to the 5th K. The present analysis suggests that the size of the reprocessor varies by a factor of a few. For the smearing of the optical bursts an upper limit of a few seconds is derived. The most important result of this analysis is that the delay times are not the same for all bursts. The possible constraints which these results put on a low-mass binary model of this burst source are discussed.

γ-Ray burst observed at balloon altitude

SINCE the γ-ray burst was discovered in 1973, approximately 50 events have been observed using artificial satellites1,2. In addition, several bursts of smaller size have been found using balloon-borne detectors3–6 with large sensitive areas. No burst has yet been located on the celestial sphere, with an adequate precision to associate it with an astronomical object. To determine the precise position of a γ-ray burst which had not been predicted to occur, the detector must have a wide field of view and the capability of precise location of the source. A rotating cross-modulation-collimator (RCMC) proposed7 as a device to fulfill these apparently conflicting requirements was used in the series of balloon observations reported here. A small γ-ray burst was found during ∼ 150 h of observations and its celestial position was determined with a precision of ∼ 0.3°.

Measurement of the absolute intensity of cosmic X-rays

The intensity of the diffuse component of cosmic X-rays was measured with use of a rotating collimator system borne on a sounding rocket. A part of background counts proportional to the field of view of proportional counters enabled us to determine the intensity of the diffuse component to be 0.66±0.07 photons cm−2 sec−1 keV−1 in the energy range between 3.6 and 9.0 keV. The spectrum in this energy range was found to be comparatively flat. The intensity of Sco X-1 was also measured and its time variation was investigated.

Hard X-Ray Structure of the Crab Nebula

Two-dimensional maps of the Crab Nebula have been synthesized in 22–64 keV range through the modulation collimator experiment. The effective angular resolution is about 15″. The result indicates that the Crab morphology is strictly controlled by the pulsar.

Time variations of hard X-rays from Sco X-1

Simultaneous hard X-ray and optical observations of Sco X-1 were carried out on 1971 May 1 at Hyderabad, India, when Sco X-1 was optically bright. The X-ray intensity observed by balloon-borne counter telescopes increased in coincidence with optical enhancements, while the plasma temperature derived by fitting the X-ray spectrum in the energy range 20–40 keV to the thermal bremsstrahlung spectrum did not appreciably change over the whole period of observation.