S. K. Sazonov

XIPE: the X-ray imaging polarimetry explorer

Abstract X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017. The proposal was, unfortunately, not selected. To be compliant with this schedule, we designed the payload mostly with existing items. The XIPE proposal takes advantage of the completed phase A of POLARIX for an ASI small mission program that was cancelled, but is different in many aspects: the detectors, the presence of a solar flare polarimeter and photometer and the use of a light platform derived by a mass production for a cluster of satellites. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus. Two additional GPDs filled with a 3-bar Ar-DME mixture always face the Sun to detect polarization from solar flares. The Minimum Detectable Polarization of a 1 mCrab source reaches 14 % in the 2–10 keV band in 105 s for pointed observations, and 0.6 % for an X10 class solar flare in the 15–35 keV energy band. The imaging capability is 24 arcsec Half Energy Width (HEW) in a Field of View of 14.7 arcmin × 14.7 arcmin. The spectral resolution is 20 % at 6 keV and the time resolution is 8 μs. The imaging capabilities of the JET-X optics and of the GPD have been demonstrated by a recent calibration campaign at PANTER X-ray test facility of the Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE, Germany). XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil). The data policy is organized with a Core Program that comprises three months of Science Verification Phase and 25 % of net observing time in the following 2 years. A competitive Guest Observer program covers the remaining 75 % of the net observing time.

Does the obscured AGN fraction really depend on luminosity

We use a sample of 151 local non-blazar active galactic nuclei (AGN) selected from the INTEGRAL all-sky hard X-ray survey to investigate if the observed declining trend of the fraction of obscured (i.e. showing X-ray absorption) AGN with increasing luminosity is mostly an intrinsic or selection effect. Using a torus-obscuration model, we demonstrate that in addition to negative bias, due to absorption in the torus, in finding obscured AGN in hard X-ray flux-limited surveys, there is also positive bias in finding unobscured AGN, due to Compton reflection in the torus. These biases can be even stronger taking into account plausible intrinsic collimation of hard X-ray emission along the axis of the obscuring torus. Given the AGN luminosity function, which steepens at high luminosities, these observational biases lead to a decreasing observed fraction of obscured AGN with increasing luminosity even if this fraction has no intrinsic luminosity dependence. We find that if the central hard X-ray source in AGN is isotropic, the intrinsic (i.e. corrected for biases) obscured AGN fraction still shows a declining trend with luminosity, although the intrinsic obscured fraction is significantly larger than the observed one: the actual fraction is larger than ∼85u2009peru2009cent at L ≲ 10^(42.5)u2009erg s^(−1) (17–60 keV), and decreases to ≲60u2009peru2009cent at L ≳ 1044 erg s−1. In terms of the half-opening angle θ of an obscuring torus, this implies that θ ≲ 30° in lower luminosity AGN, and θ ≳ 45° in higher luminosity ones. If, however, the emission from the central supermassive black hole is collimated as dL/dΩu2009∝u2009cosu2009α, the intrinsic dependence of the obscured AGN fraction is consistent with a luminosity-independent torus half-opening angle θ ∼ 30°.

AGN and QSOs in the eROSITA all-sky survey - I. Statistical properties

Context. The main element of the observing program of the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma orbital observatory is a 4-years all-sky survey in the course of which the entire sky will be scanned eight times. Aims. We analyze statistical properties of AGN and QSO to be detected in the course of the eROSITA all-sky survey (eRASS). Methods. Given the currently planned survey strategy, parameters of the galactic and extragalactic X-ray background and results of the recent calculations of the eROSITA instrumental background, we compute the sensitivity map of the eRASS. Using the best available redshift-dependent AGN X-ray luminosity function (XLF) we compute various characteristics of the eRASS AGN sample, such as the luminosity and redshift distributions and the brightness distributions of their optical counterparts. Results. After four years of the survey, the sky-average sensitivity of ≈ 10 −14 erg s −1 cm −2 will be achieved in the 0.5 − 2.0keV band. With this sensitivity, eROSITA will detect about ≈ 3 million of AGN on the extragalactic sky (|b| > 10 ◦ ). The median redshift of the eRASS AGN will be z = 1 with ≈ 40% of objects in the z = 1 − 2 redshift range. There will be about ∼ 10 4 − 10 5 AGN beyond redshift z = 3 and about ∼ 2000 − 30000 AGN beyond redshift z = 4, the exact numbers depending on the poorly known behavior of the AGN XLF in the high redshift and luminosity regimes. The 10% of brightest AGN will be detected with more than ≈ 38 counts per PSF HEW, whereas the 10% of faintest objects will have less than ≈ 9 counts. The optical counterparts of about ∼ 95% of AGN will be brighter than IAB = 22.5mag. The planned scanning strategy will allow one to search for transient events on the time scale of a half a year and a ∼few hours with the 0.5 − 2.0keV sensitivity of ∼ 2 × 10 −14 − ∼ 2 × 10 −13 erg s −1 cm −2 respectively.

Stellar tidal disruption candidates found by cross-correlating the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue and XMM–Newton observations

We performed a systematic search for stellar tidal disrupti on events (TDE) by looking for X-ray sources that were detected during the ROSAT All Sky Survey and faded by more than an order of magnitude over the next two decades according to XMM-Newtonserendipitous observations. Besides a number of highly variable persistent X-ray sources (like active galactic nuclei and cataclysmic variables), we found three sources that are broadly consistent with the TDE scenario: 1RXS J114727.1+494302, 1RXS J130547.2+641252, and 1RXS J235424.5-102053. A TDE association is also acceptable for the fourth source, 1RXS J112312.7+012858, but an AGN origin cannot be ruled out either. This statistics implies a TDE rate of∼ 3× 10 −5 yr −1 per galaxy in the Universe within z ∼ 0.18, which is broadly consistent with the estimates of the TDE rate in the more local Universe obtained previously.

Preheating of the Universe by cosmic rays from primordial supernovae at the beginning of cosmic reionization

The 21-cm signal from the cosmic reionization epoch can shed light on the history of heating of the primordial intergalactic medium (IGM) at z~30-10. It has been suggested that X-rays from the first accreting black holes could significantly heat the Universe at these early epochs. Here we propose another IGM heating mechanism associated with the first stars. As known from previous work, the remnants of powerful supernovae (SNe) ending the lives of massive Population III stars could readily expand out of their host dark matter minihalos into the surrounding IGM, aided by the preceeding photoevaporation of the halos gas by the UV radiation from the progenitor star. We argue that during the evolution of such a remnant a significant fraction of the SN kinetic energy can be put into low-energy (E<30 MeV) cosmic rays that will eventually escape into the IGM. These subrelativistic cosmic rays could propagate through the Universe and heat the IGM by ~10-100 K by z~15, before more powerful reionization/heating mechanisms associated with the first galaxies and quasars came into play. Future 21-cm observations could thus constrain the energetics of the first supernovae and provide information on the magnetic fields in the primordial IGM.

Synthesis, structure, and characterization of chromo(fluoro)ionophores with cation-triggered emission based on N-methylaza-crown-ether styryl dyes.

Novel 2-benzothiazole-, 4-pyridine-, and 2- and 4-quinoline-based styryl dyes containing an N-methylbenzoaza-15(18)-crown-5(6)-ether moiety were synthesized. A detailed electronic spectroscopy study revealed high performance of these compounds as optical molecular sensors for alkali and alkaline-earth metal cations. They were shown to considerably surpass analogous chromoionophores based on N-phenylaza-crown ethers regarding both the ionochromism and the cation-binding ability. In addition, they act as fluorescent sensors for the metal cations by demonstrating cation-triggered emission. Upon complexation with Ba(2+), the fluorescence enhancement factor reaches 61. The structural features of dyes and their metal complexes were studied by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The high degree of macrocycle preorganization was found to be one of the factors determining the high cation-binding ability of the sensor molecules based on N-methylbenzoaza-crown ethers.

Is SS 433 a misaligned ultraluminous X-ray source? Constraints from its reflected signal in the Galactic plane

We evaluate the emission that must arise due to reflection of the putative collimated X-ray radiation of SS 433 by atomic gas and molecular clouds in the Galactic plane and compare the predicted signal with existing RXTE and ASCA data for the region of interest. Assuming that the intrinsic X-ray spectrum of SS 433 is similar to that of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), we obtain an upper limit of

Specificity of photonics of 3,3′-diethyl-5,5′-dichloro-9-ethylthiacarbocyanine dimers in the presence of cucurbit[7]uril

sim 2times 10^{39}

Bright end of the luminosity function of high-mass X-ray binaries: contributions of hard, soft and supersoft sources

erg s

Specific features of the crystal packing that enable styryl dyes of the pyridine series to undergo the solid-phase [2 + 2] photocycloaddition including the process with single crystal retention

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