Engineering topics

Kotani, Taro

Publications and source records attributed to Kotani, Taro.

5 records

NASA NTRS2011

Combined Spectral and Timing Analysis of the Black Hole Candidate MAXI J1659-152 Discovered by MAXI and Swift

We report on X-ray spectral and timing results of the new black hole candidate (BHC) MAXI J1659-152 with the orbital period of 2.41 hours (shortest among BHCs) in the 2010 outburst from 65 Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations and 8 simultaneous Swift and RXTE observations. According to the definitions of the spectral states in Remillard & McClintock (2006), most of the observations have been classified into the intermediate state. All the X-ray broadband spectra can be modeled by a multi-color disk plus a power-law with an exponential cutoff or a multi-color disk plus a Comptonization component. During the initial phase of the outburst, a high energy cutoff was visible at 30-40 keV. The innermost radius of the disk gradually decreased by a factor of more than 3 from the onset of the outburst and reached a constant value of 35 d(sub 10)cos(i sup −1/2) km, where d(sub 10) is the distance in units of 10 kpc and i is the inclination. The type-C quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) frequency varied from 1.6 Hz to 7.3 Hz in association with a change of the innermost radius, while the innermost radius remained constant during the type-B QPO detections at 1.6-4.1 Hz. Hence, we suggest that the origin of the type-B QPOs is different from that of type-C QPOs, the latter of which would originate from the disk truncation radius. Assuming the constant innermost radius in the latter phase of the outburst as the innermost stable circular orbit, the black hole mass in MAXI J1659-152 is estimated to be 3.6-8.0 solar mass for a distance of 5.3-8.6 kpc and an inclination angle of 60-75 degrees.

Timing↗

NASA NTRS2001

ASCA Observation of the Superluminal Jet Source GRO J1655-40 in the 1997 Outburst

We report on the results of an ASCA observation of the Galactic jet source GRO 51655-40 performed from 1997 February 25 to February 28 covering a full orbital period (2.62 d). The averaged 2-10 keV flux was about 1.1 Crab. An absorption line feature centered at 6.8 keV was detected both in the GIS and SIS spectra. We interpret this as a blend of two resonance-absorption K alpha lines from H-like and He-like iron ions. We can consistently explain both the ASCA spectra and the simultaneous RXTE/PCA spectrum by a combination of K-absorption lines and K-absorption edges of iron ions. The fact that the absorption line is stably present over the whole orbital phase implies that the distribution of the highly ionized plasma is not affected by the companion star, which is consistent with its presence around the black hole. A curve of growth analysis shows that the plasma contains velocity dispersion along the line-of-sight larger than 300 km/s attributed to bulk motions. It is probably a part of a geometrically thick accretion flow in turbulent motions with velocities of 500-1600 km/s at an estimated radius of sim 10(exp 10)/cm.

Yamaoka, Kazutaka↗

NASA NTRS1994

The X-ray emission of 3C 273 observed with ASCA

We report preliminary results of an Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) observation of 3C 273. There is no spectral variability within the ASCA observation, in contrast to the longer term behavior found with European X-ray Observatory Satellite (EXOSAT) and Ginga which established significant changes in the spectral index of the power-law continuum on timescales of a week or more, uncorrelated with luminosity. Comparison of the ASCA data with a simultaneous Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) Ginga observation in 1990 December shows that while the shape of the spectrum above approximately 1 keV is essentially the same, the flux in the soft component, below approximately 1 keV, considerably weaker relative to the hard component in the ASCA observation. The 2-10 keV luminosity is at least a factor of approximately 1.5 greater in the ASCA observation than in the ROSAT/Ginga observation while the ratio of 2-10 keV luminosity to 0.4-1.0 keV luminosity increases by a factor of approximately 1.2. Thus the spectral shape of the hard component appears to be independent of the relative magnitude of the soft component and is an important constraint on emission and reprocessing models. We find no significant Fe K line-emission in this observation. The data also highlight very well some of the outstanding problems in the instrumental responses.

Yaqoob, Tahir↗

NASA NTRS1994

Discovery of the double Doppler-shifted emission-line systems in the X-ray spectrum of SS 433

We have used the CCD X-ray spectrometers on ASCA and resolved the X-ray emission line from the jet of SS 433 both into Doppler-shifted components with two distinct velocities, and into emission from different ionization states of iron, i.e., Fe XXV and Fe XXVI. This is the first direct detection of the two Doppler shifted beams in the X-ray spectra of SS 433 and allows the radial velocity of the jet along the line of sight to be determined with an accuracy comparable to the optical spectroscopy. We also found pairs of emission lines from other atomic species, such as ionized silicon and sulfur, with the Doppler shifts consistent with each other. This confirms the origin of the X-ray emission in the high temperature plasma in the jets.

Kotani, Taro↗

NASA NTRS1994

Detection os X-rays from SN 1993J with ASCA

ASCA observed SN 1993J seven times between April 5 and October 24 in 1993. The 1-10 keV luminosity 10d after the explosion was (15 +/- 4) x 10(exp 39) erg/s and decreased monotonicly to (1.3 +/- 0.4) x 10(exp 39) erg/s 210 d after the explosion, when a distance of 3.6 Mpc was assumed. The hardness ratio (2-10 keV/0.5-2 keV) significantly decreased during the course of the observations. The spectrum obtained from a sky region including not only SN 1993J but also the nearby X-ray source clearly shows an iron emission line. The correlation between the iron line flux with the SN 1993J flux suggests that the iron line emission originated in SN 1993J. These observational results are discussed in the context of thermal X-ray emission from a hot region behind the shock due to the collision of the supernova ejecta with the pre-supernova stellar wind.

Kohmura, Yoshiki↗