Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “433”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

On the Nature of the Compact Object in SS 433. Observational Evidence of X-Ray Photon Index Saturation

We present an analysis of the X-ray spectral properties observed from black hole , candidate (BHC) binary SS 433. We have analyzed Rossi X-ray Time Explorer (RXTE) data from this source, coordinated with Green Bank Interferometer/RATAN-600. We show that SS 433 undergoes a X-ray spectral transition from the low hard state (LHS) to the intermediate state (IS). We show that the X-ray broad-band energy spectra during all spectral states are well fit by a sum of so called "Bulk Motion Comptonization (BMC) component" and by two (broad and narrow) Gaussians for the continuum and line emissions respectively. In addition to these spectral model components we also find a strong feature that we identify as a" blackbody-like (BB)" component which color temperature is in the range of 4-5 keV in 24 IS spectra during the radio outburst decay in SS 433. Our observational results on the "high temperature BB" bump leads us to suggest the presence of gravitationally redshifted annihilation line emission in this source. In fact this spectral feature has been recently reproduced in Monte Carlo simulations by Laurent and Titarchuk. We have also established the photon index saturation at about 2.3 in index vs mass accretion correlation. This index-mass accretion correlation allows us to evaluate the low limit of black hole (BH) mass of compact object in SS 433, M(sub bh) approximately > 2 solar masses, using the scaling method using BHC GX 339-4 as a reference source. Our estimate of the BH mass in SS 433 is consistent with recent BH mass measurement using the radial-velocity measurements of the binary system by Hillwig & Gies who find that M(sub x)( = (4.3 +/- 0.8) solar masses. This is the smallest BH mass found up to now among all BH sources. Moreover, the index saturation effect versus mass accretion rate revealed in SS 433, like in a number of other BH candidates, is the strong observational evidence for the presence of a BH in SS 433.

Seifina, Elena↗
NASA NTRS1980

Diffuse X-ray emission from the jets of SS 433

The detection of large-scale diffuse X-ray jets from the variable-emission-line object SS 433 is reported. Observations were made with the high resolution imager and imaging proportional counter on board the Einstein X-ray Observatory. The two diffuse X-ray features discovered are found to be aligned with both the central source of SS 433 and with the bulges of the shell of the huge supernova remnant W 50 associated with SS 433, thus confirming the detection of jets related to SS 433 and the link between SS 433 and W 50, establishing a minimum age of 1000 years for the jet phenomenon and offering an explanation of the size of W 50. Processes by which two oppositely directed beams of material from the SS 433 source region may emit the diffuse X-rays are then considered, including shock heating by interactions with the ambient medium and synchrotron radiation. Similarities between the morphologies of the diffuse X-ray emission and those of radio galaxies are also noted.

Seward, F.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The X-ray lobes of SS 433

Einstein Observatory imaging detector observations of SS 433 and its surrounding region are used to map an approximately 2 x 1-deg region containing W50 centered on SS 433, which exhibits two bright, diffuse lobes of X-ray emission symmetrically displaced east and west of SS 433 and aligned along the long axis of W50. The bulk of the emission from each lobe is confined to a region subtending an angle of about 30 deg at the central object. X-ray spectra indicate that the diffuse emission is considerably softer than SS 433 itself. The kinematic beam model for SS 433 is taken as the basis for a discussion of the properties and origins of the lobes and of their relationship to W50.

Watson, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The central X-ray source in SS 433

Numerous observations of SS 433 were obtained with the Einstein X-ray Observatory over an 18 month period from 1979 March through 1980 October. MPC (as well as imaging) data from these observations show that the central object in SS 433 is variable in intensity and spectrum on a wide range of time scales. Flares appear to be correlated with the 13 day binary period, and may be more numerous at particular phases of the 164 day period. No evidence for variability on time scales less than 5 minutes is seen, suggesting the central X-ray source is extended and that the compact object itself is not directly visible. A model for SS 433 is suggested wherein the companion star has a spin misaligned with the orbital angular momentum. The volume of the Roche lobe reaches a minimum twice per binary orbit, giving rise to enhanced accretion which results in X-ray and radio flares. Additional constraints imposed by the X-ray and optical data suggest the compact object in SS 433 is an approximately 10-solar-mass black hole.

Band, D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

SS 433: Total Coverage of 162-Day Precession Phase in Four Years

The observations prior to AO-4 covered a number of precession phases, leaving a gap at phase 0.8. In addition, ASCA and previous observations of SS 433 did not observe the spectrum above approx. 10 keV, and consequently the continuum underlying the spectral lines was poorly constrained. Therefore RXTE observations were scheduled for April 1997 to extend the observed spectrum to higher energies; these observations were planned to sample the X-ray lightcurve during the 13.08 day binary period, concentrating on the eclipse of the compact object which emits the jets. We proposed and were awarded ASCA observations simultaneous with the RXTE observations; the purpose of the ASCA observations was to provide greater spectral resolution at the low end of the spectrum observed by RXTE, and to complete the phase coverage of SS 433. As a result of scheduling difficulties early in the mission the RXTE observations were confined to a much shorter time range than originally planned, April 18-91 1997. Optical observations of SS 433 were performed at a number of observatories. The ASCA observations occurred from April 18 13:10 (UT) to April 21 13:20 (UT) for a total effective exposure of 120 ks. The continuum X-ray light curve shows that the ASCA observations started shortly before the ingress into the X-ray partial eclipse, and ended approximately at the time of the egress. Light curves were also obtained for the prominent Fe emission lines in the blue-shifted frame (approaching jet), red-shifted frame (receding jet), and the stationary frame (fluorescent line from the ambient matter). Through the eclipse mapping technique using the light curves, the parameters of the jet emission model were constrained, showing that the kinetic power in the jet exceeds 104? erg s-l. If the energy source is gravitational accretion, as is commonly believed, the derived l;inetic power implies extremely supercritical accretion even for a black; hole with 10M. These results will be described more fully in a major presentation of all the ASCA observations of SS 433.

Band, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Speckle interferometry of asteroids. I - 433 Eros

Analytical expressions are derived for the semimajor and semiminor axes and orientation angle of the ellipse projected by a triaxial asteroid, and the results are applied speckle-interferometry observations of the 433 Eros asteroid. The expressions were calculated as functions of the dimensions and pole of the body and of the asterocentric position of the earth and the sun. On the basis of the analytical expressions, the dimensions of 433 Eros are obtained. The light curve from December 18, 1981 is compared to the dimensions to obtain a geometric albedo of 0.156 (+ or - 0.010). A series of two-dimensional power spectra and autocorrelation functions for 433 Eros show that it is spinning in space.

Drummond, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Search for Doppler-shifted gamma-ray emission from SS 433 using the SMM spectrometer

Data accumulated from 1980 to 1983 with the Gamma Ray Spectrometer aboard NASA's Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite were searched for evidence of red and blue Doppler-shifted 1.37 MeV Mg-24 nuclear lines from SS 433. The SMM data base covers 270 days when SS 433 was in the field of view and includes periods of radio flaring and quiescence. No evidence was found for Doppler-shifted line emission in any of the spectra. The range of 3-sigma upper limits for individual 9 day integration periods was 0.0008-0.0023 photons/sq cm per sec for the blue beam, encompassing the reported about 1.5 MeV line, and 0.0008-0.002 photons/sq cm per sec for the red beam, encompassing the reported about 1.2 MeV line; the average 3-sigma upper limit in each beam for shifted about 1.37 MeV lines is 0.0015 photons/sq cm per sec for single 9 day integrations. The 3-sigma upper limit on 1.37 MeV gamma-ray emission over 23 9-day integration intervals for the red beam and 28 intervals for the blue beam is 0.0002 photons/sq cm per sec. These new limits from SMM can be reconciled with the HEAO 3 results only if SS 433 emits gamma radiation at or above the SMM sensitivity limit on rare occasions due to variable physical conditions in the system.

Geldzahler, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Power of SS 433's Jets

We observed SS 433 for the third time with RXTE, this time simultaneously with a Nobeyama millimeter band monitoring campaign. These observations extended the RXTE coverage of SS 433's precession phases. and once again monitored the source during a binary eclipse. Our AO-2 campaign of a joint RXTE-VLBA-VLA-MERLIN observation was delayed to little more than a month before the AO-3 observations. We also had an AO-1 observation of SS 433. In each case we observed an eclipse of the compact ob'ect by the companion star, and had contemporaneous optical observations. We are analyzing all three sets of observations together. A publication is in preparation; Its completion will be supported by the remaining AO-2 funds. Here I will summarize the general results and point out the relevant features of the AO-3 observations. The spectrum is detected to approx. 50 keV, which is entirely within the PCA energy band. We find that the HEXTE data do not add significantly to the spectrum, and most of our fits are without HEXTE. We find that the continuum can be fit with a power law with an exponential cutoff; the photon index is usually approx. 1.4. A line at approx. 6.4 keV is definitely required, and the fits improve significant, if we add a second line, also with an energy in the iron K(alpha) complex, and an absorption edge. The edge usually has an energy of approx. 5.8 keV, which does not correspond to any known physical feature. and may be an instrumental artifact. This is under further investigation.

Band, David F.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The bizarre spectrum of SS 433

Results are reported for extensive spectrophotometric observations, over the wavelength range from 3800 to 7800 A, of the peculiar 14th-mag emission-line object Stephenson-Sanduleak (SS) 433, which has been identified with a variable nonthermal radio source and is positionally coincident with the X-ray source A1909+04. It is found that the spectrum is dominated by intense variable Balmer and He I emission, that three of the He I lines have very prominent P Cygni profiles, and that virtually all the emission features undergo changes in equivalent width on a time scale of days. Anomalous emission features are described which consist of three previously unreported, very strong, broad emission lines at unfamiliar wavelengths in the green, red, and IR, and which vary nightly in intensity, profile, and wavelength. SS 433 is inferred to be a luminous object with an absolute visual magnitude of -3.1 or brighter.

Margon, B.↗
NASA NTRS1981

VLBI observations of SS 433 at 3.6 and 13 centimeters

SS 433 was detected and partially resolved at 2290 MHz on baselines with fringe spacings of 1.4, 0.1, and 0.003 arcsec. It was also detected at 8420 MHz on a baseline with a fringe spacing of 0.009 arcsec. Simple models of the source, consistent with the limited data, have elongated structures greater than 0.1 arcsec in size with position angles in 1979 May that were within about 10 deg of the position angle of the apparent bulges of the supernova remnant W50. The data also imply that the source contains a core less than 0.002 arcsec in size with a brightness temperature greater than 10 to the 9th K. The bright core and aligned structures that seem to be present in SS 433 and W50 resemble the structures seen in powerful extragalactic radio sources which are many orders of magnitude larger.

Walker, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Periodic changes in the compact radio structure of SS 433

VLBI observations of SS 433 at 2.3 GHz made on 12 days between 1979 May and 1980 August yield the following results: (a) the position angle of the radio 'jet' of angular size of about 0.1 arcsec varies approximately sinusoidally about a mean value of 100.2 + or - 1.7 deg with an amplitude of 19.3 + or - 3.4 deg for a period fixed at 163.6 days. This resolves the ambiguity in the two angles of the optical model of Abell and Margon and assigns the inclination of the axis of the precession cone to the 79 deg value; (b) the position angle of the radio structure on this scale lags that of the optical model by 17.4 + or - 1.6 days; and (c) at least some of the radio emitting material appears to propagate away from the core in blobs. Using the rate of change of angular separation of the blobs from the core obtained from measurements on four different days, and assuming that the radio emission is traveling at the speed derived for the optical jets from the kinematic model, a distance to SS 433 of 5.1 + or - 0.5 kpc is obtained.

Niell, A. E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Jitter in SS 433-A clue to the collimation mechanism

The blue and red shift jitter observed in SS 433 is examined with a view to determining its sources. The jitter is characterized by a Delta-z rms amplitude of 0.01, corresponding to a 3000 km/sec Doppler velocity, which is larger than either the width or the error of measurement of the shifted lines. In addition, the amplitude of the jumps is not strongly dependent on the phase in the 164-day cycle, and the amplitudes of the jitter in the redshifted and blueshifted branches are comparable. It is shown that these features set strong constraints on models proposed for SS 433 by Sarazin et al. (1980), Katz (1980), and Van den Heuvel et al. (1980).

Katz, J. I.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The peculiar radio galaxy 3C 433

Radio, optical and X-ray observations are presented of the peculiar radio galaxy 3C 433, a Seyfert 2 object with luminosity an order of magnitude greater than that expected from its complex, shell-type morphology. Observations conducted at 6 and 12 cm with the VLA and at 21 cm with the Westerbork telescope show a striking asymmetry between the northern and southern radio emissions, and an overall X-shaped morphology. Optical observations using the Video Camera and High Gain Video Spectrometer on the 4-m telescope and the Intensified Image Dissector Scanner on the 2.1-m telescope at Kitt Peak confirm the identification of the source with a pair of bright galaxies. Observations in the X-ray from the Einstein Observatory IPC reveal an unresolved source at the position of 3C 433, as well as two serendipitous X-ray sources. The observations may be used to explain the overall structure of the source either in terms of tidal torquing or precessing models of double galaxies; however, it is argued that the tidal torquing model requires fewer assumptions to account for the brightness asymmetry.

Van Breugel, W.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A large molecular cloud toward the SNR W50 and SS 433

The CO 1 yields 0 transition at 115 GHz has been mapped over an area of more than 6 deg sq toward W50, the extended SNR surrounding the peculiar object SS 433. W50 is found to lie at the end of a filamentary molecular cloud 4 deg long and 1 deg wide that closely matches a conspicuous dust lane on the Palomar Sky Survey; the cloud's kinematic distance is within 0.7 of 2.2 kpc, in agreement with the distance 2-3.3 kpc estimated for the SNR, and its mass is about 120,000 solar masses. Though there is little evidence of star formation in the molecular filament, or evidence of an interaction between the filament and W50 (or SS 433), the positional coincidence of the two, their similar distance, and their displacement nearly two molecular scale heights from the plane all suggest a physical relationship or common origin. One possibility is that both the molecular filament and the stellar progenitor of W50 were ejected from a large active molecular complex lying in the plane at l = 40 deg.

Huang, Y.-L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Rapid intensity variability in the jets of SS 433

The 'moving' emission lines in the spectrum of SS 433 can disappear entirely on a time scale of less than 1 day, remain absent for at least a few days, and reappear equally rapidly. Examples of both disappearance and reappearance episodes are presented. While the majority of SS 433 spectra clearly do show the moving features, isolated spectra lacking the Doppler-shifted lines must now not be regarded as highly unusual. The extreme intensity variability is found to be synchronized in both the red- and blueshifted emission systems, providing an upper limit of 100 AU to the separation of the two relativistic emitting regions. On some occasions the intensity and profile of emission lines from these two separate regions can be identical to very high accuracy, again suggesting that the majority of the relativistic gas originates in a common, compact region.

Margon, B.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Nuclear processes in the jets of SS 433

The very narrow gamma-ray lines observed at 1.495 and 6.695 MeV from SS 433 which are blueshifted 1.369 and 6.129 emissions from deexcitations of (24)Mg-asterisk and (16)O-asterisk in grains moving with the jets and inelastically excited by interactions with the ambient medium are discussed. Energetic particle interactions in grains produce very narrow gamma ray lines from deexcitation of nuclear levels whose lifetimes are long enough that the excited nuclei stop before deexcitation. The presence of grains in the jets resolves hitherto discussed difficulties of inelastic excitation models for gamma ray production in SS 433, the very narrow widths of the observed lines and the absence of other strong lines, expected from abundant elements. A model is proposed which could be distinguished from a previously proposed fusion model by gamma ray line observations.

Ramaty, R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

On the origin of X-ray variability of SS 433

The X-ray flares observed from the central source in SS 433 by the Einstein telescope are attributed to surges in the mass transfer rate due to changes in the critical Roche volume of the companion. Analysis of the Roche potential for a primary with spin misaligned with the orbital axis, as required by the slaved disk model, predicts that the critical Roche volume will contract twice per orbit if the orbit is circular. A critical Roche volume fractional change of 1-2 percent is found by applying this potential to SS 433. The nutation of the companion should not affect the steady precession of its spin. Aspects of this work strengthen the evidence that the compact object might be a black hole.

Band, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Infrared variability of SS 433

New JHKLM photometry of SS 433 showing short time scale variabilities is reported for the period of 1983 July 16-22 UT. The entire body of infrared data included in this paper, Giles et al. (1980), and Catchpole et al. (1981), is examined with reference to periods of 164 days and 13.08 days. Comparison of the infrared light curves with the optical light curves of Leibowitz et al. (1984) makes it possible to conclude, within the context of an accretion disk model, that the majority of the infrared flux in the SS 433 system comes from the disk, and that the hot spot responsible for the 'hump' in the visual and infrared light curves has a color similar to the average of the disk. A two-dimensional Fourier analysis of the infrared data suggests that the brightness maximum occurs when, seen from the compact star, the noncompact companion passes through a fixed elongation relative to the disk line of nodes with the orbital plane, if the precession is prograde.

Kodaira, K.↗