Engineering topics

Okajima, Takashi

Publications and source records attributed to Okajima, Takashi.

41 records · Page 3

NASA NTRS2011

ASTRO-H Soft X-Ray Telescope (SXT)

ASTRO-H is an astrophysics satellite dedicated for X-ray spectroscopic study non-dispersively and to carry out survey complementally, which will be borne out of US-Japanese collaborative effort. Among the onboard instruments there are four conically approximated Wolter-I X-ray mirrors, among which two of them are soft X-ray mirrors\ of which the energy range is from a few hundred eV to 15 keY, currently being fabricated in the X-ray Optics Lab at Goddard Space Flight Center. The focal point instruments will be a calorimeter (SXS) and a CCD camera (SXI), respectively. The reflectors of the mirror are made of heat-formed aluminum substrate of the thickness gauged of 152 micron, 229 micron, and 305 micron of the alloy 5052 H-19, followed by epoxy replication on gold-sputtered smooth Pyrex cylindrical mandrels to acquire the X-ray reflective surface. The epoxy layer is 10 micron nominal and surface gold layer of 0.2 micron. Improvements on angular response over the Astro-El/Suzaku mirrors come from error reduction on the figure, the roundness, and the grazing angle/radius mismatching of the reflecting surface, and tighter specs and mechanical strength on supporting structure to reduce the reflector positioning and the assembly errors. In this paper, we report the results of calibration of the engineering model of SXT (EM), and project the quality of the flight mirrors.

Soong, Yang↗

NASA NTRS2011

Foil X-Ray Mirrors for Astronomical Observations: Still an Evolving Technology

Foil X-ray mirrors, introduced by the Goddard X-ray Group in the late 1970s, were envisioned as an interim and complementary approach toward increased sensitivity for small inexpensive astronomical instruments. The extreme light weight nature of these mirrors dovetailed beautifully with Japan's small payload missions, leading to several collaborative, earth orbiting observatories, designed primarily for spectroscopy, of which SUZAKU is still in earth orbit. ASTRO-H is the latest joint instrument with Japan, presently in the implementation phase. At Goddard, some 30 years after we introduced them, we are involved with four separate flight instruments utilizing foil X-ray mirrors, a good indication that this technology is here to stay. Nevertheless, an improved spatial resolution will be the most welcomed development by all. The task of preparing upwards of 1000 reflectors, then assembling them into a single mirror with arcmin resolution remains a formidable one. Many, performance limiting approximations become necessary when converting commercial aluminum sheets into 8 quadrant segments, each with approximately 200 nested conical, approximately 4Angstrom surface reflectors, which are then assembled into a single mirror. In this paper we will describe the mirror we are presently involved with, slated for the Goddard high resolution imaging X-ray spectrometer (SXS) onboard ASTRO-H. Improved spatial resolution will be an important enhancement to the science objectives from this instrument. We are accordingly pursuing and will briefly describe in this paper several design and reflector assembly modifications, aimed toward that goal.

Serlemitsos, Peter J.↗

NASA NTRS2007

A Stellar-mass Black Hole in the Ultra-luminous X-ray Source M82 X-1

We have analyzed the archival XMM-Newton data of the archetypal Ultra-Luminous X-ray Source (ULX) M82 X-1 with an LO5 ksec exposure when the source was in the steady state. Thanks to the high photon statistics from the large effective area and long exposure, we were able to discriminate different X-ray continuum spectral models. Neither the standard accretion disk model (where the radial dependency of the disk effective temperature is T(r) proportional to r(sup -3/4)) nor a power-law model gives a satisfactory fit. In fact, observed curvature of the M82 X-1 spectrum was just between those of the two models. When the exponent of the radial dependence (p in T(r) proportional to r(sup -P)) of the disk temperature is allowed to be free, we obtained p = 0.61 (sup +0.03)(sub -0.02). Such a reduction of p from the standard value 3/4 under extremely high mass accretion rates is predicted from the accretion disk theory as a consequence of the radial energy advection. Thus, the accretion disk in M82 X-1 is considered to be in the Slim disk state, where an optically thick Advection Dominant Accretion Flow (ADAF) is taking place. We have applied a theoretical slim disk spectral model to M82 X-1, and estimated the black hole mass approximately equal to 19 - 32 solar mass. We conclude that M82 X-1 is a stellar black hole which has been produced through evolution of an extremely massive star, shining at a several times the super-Eddington luminosity.

Okajima, Takashi↗

NASA NTRS2007

The Suzaku Observation of NGC 3516: Complex Absorption and the Broad and Narrow Fe K Lines

We present results from a 150 ksec Suzaku observation of the Seyfert 1 NGC 3516 in October 2005. The source was in a relatively highly absorbed state. Our best-fit model is consistent with partial covering by a lowly-ionized absorber with a column density near 5x10(exp 22) cm(exp -2) and with a covering fraction 96-100 percent. Narrow K-shell absorption features due to He- and H-like Fe confirm the presence of a high-ionization absorbing component as well. A broad Fe K(alpha) diskline is required in all fits, even after the complex absorption is taken into account; an additional partial-covering component is an inadequate substitute for the continuum curvature associated with the broad line. The narrow Fe Ka line at 6.4 keV is resolved, yielding a velocity width commensurate with the optical Broad Line Region. The strength of the Compton reflection hump suggests a contribution mainly from the broad Fe line origin. We include in our model soft band emission lines from He- and H-like ions and radiative recombination lines, consistent with photo-ionization, though a small contribution from collisional ionization is possible.

Markowitz, Alex↗

NASA NTRS2006

Precision Fe K-Alpha and Fe K-Beta Line Spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1.9 Galaxy NGC 2992 with Suzaku

We present detailed time-averaged X-ray spectroscopy in the 0.5-10 keV band of the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy NGC 2992 with the Suzaku X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS). The source had a factor approximately 3 higher 2-10 keV flux (approximately 1.2 x l0(exp -11) erg per square cm per s) than the historical minimum and a factor approximately 7 less than the historical maximum. The XIS spectrum of NGC 2992 can be described by several components. There is a primary continuum, modeled as a power-law with a photon index of Gamma = 1.57(sup +0.06) (sup -0.03) that is obscured by a Compton-thin absorber with a column density of 8.01(sup +0.6) (sup -0.5)x l0 (exp 21) per square cm. . There is another, weaker, unabsorbed power-law component (modeled with the same slope as the primary), that is likely to be due to the primary continuum being electron-scattered into our line-of-sight by a region extended on a scale of hundreds of parsecs. We measure the Thomson depth of the scattering zone to be Tau = 0.072 +/- 0.021. An optically-thin thermal continuum emission component, which probably originates in the same extended region, is included in the model and yields a temperature and luminosity of KT = 0.656(sup +0.088) (sup -0.0.61) keV and approximately 1.2 +/- 0.4 x l0 (exp 40) erg per s respectively. We detect an Fe K emission complex which we model with broad and narrow lines and we show that the intensities of the two components are decoupled at a confidence level > 3 sigma. The broad Fe K alpha line has an equivalent width of 118(sup +32) (sup -61) eV and could originate in an accretion disk (with inclination angle greater than approximately 30 deg) around the putative central black hole. The narrow Fe K alpha line has an equivalent width of 1632(sup +47) (sup -26) eV and is unresolved (FWHM < 4630 km per s) and likely originates in distant matter. The absolute flux in the narrow line implies that the column density out of the line-of-sight could be much higher than measured in the line-of-sight, and that the mean (historically-averaged) continuum luminosity responsible for forming the line could be a factor of several higher than that measured from the data. We also detect the Fe K Beta line (corresponding to the narrow Fe K alpha line) with a high signal-to-noise ratio and describe a new robust method to constrain the ionization state of Fe responsible for the Fe K alpha and Fe K Beta lines that does not require any knowledge of possible gravitational and Doppler energy shifts affecting the line energies. For the distant line-emitting matter (e. g. the putative obscuring torus) we deduce that the predominant ionization state is lower than Fe VIII (at 99% confidence), conservatively taking into account residual calibration uncertainties in the XIS energy scale and theoretical and experimental uncertainties in the Fe K fluorescent line energies. From the limits on a possible Compton-reflection continuum it is likely that the narrow Fe K alpha and Fe K Beta lines originate in a Compton-thin structure.

Yaqoob, Tahir↗