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Marin F, Churazov E, Khabibullin I, Ferrazzoli R, Di Gesu L, Barnouin T, Di Marco A, Middei R, Vikhlinin A, Costa E, Soffitta P, Muleri F, Sunyaev R, Forman W, Kraft R, Bianchi S, Donnarumma I, Petrucci PO, Enoto T, Agudo I, Antonelli LA, Bachetti M, Baldini L, Baumgartner WH, Bellazzini R, Bongiorno SD, Bonino R, Brez A, Bucciantini N, Capitanio F, Castellano S, Cavazzuti E, Chen CT, Ciprini S, De Rosa A, Del Monte E, Di Lalla N, Doroshenko V, Dovčiak M, Ehlert SR, Evangelista Y, Fabiani S, Garcia JA, Gunji S, Hayashida K, Heyl J, Ingram A, Iwakiri W, Jorstad SG, Kaaret P, Karas V, Kitaguchi T, Kolodziejczak JJ, Krawczynski H, La Monaca F, Latronico L, Liodakis I, Maldera S, Manfreda A, Marinucci A, Marscher AP, Marshall HL, Massaro F, Matt G, Mitsuishi I, Mizuno T, Negro M, Ng CY, O'Dell SL, Omodei N, Oppedisano C, Papitto A, Pavlov GG, Peirson AL, Perri M, Pesce-Rollins M, Pilia M, Possenti A, Poutanen J, Puccetti S, Ramsey BD, Rankin J, Ratheesh A, Roberts OJ, Romani RW, Sgrò C, Slane P, Spandre G, Swartz D, Tamagawa T, Tavecchio F, Taverna R, Tawara Y, Tennant AF, Thomas NE, Tombesi F, Trois A, Tsygankov SS, Turolla R, Vink J, Weisskopf MC, Wu K, Xie F, Zane S. X-ray polarization evidence for a 200-year-old flare of Sgr A . Nature 2023:10.1038/s41586-023-06064-x. [PMID: 37344593 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06064-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
The centre of the Milky Way Galaxy hosts a black hole with a solar mass of about 4 million (Sagittarius A* (Sgr A)) that is very quiescent at present with a luminosity many orders of magnitude below those of active galactic nuclei1. Reflection of X-rays from Sgr A* by dense gas in the Galactic Centre region offers a means to study its past flaring activity on timescales of hundreds and thousands of years2. The shape of the X-ray continuum and the strong fluorescent iron line observed from giant molecular clouds in the vicinity of Sgr A* are consistent with the reflection scenario3-5. If this interpretation is correct, the reflected continuum emission should be polarized6. Here we report observations of polarized X-ray emission in the direction of the molecular clouds in the Galactic Centre using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. We measure a polarization degree of 31% ± 11%, and a polarization angle of -48° ± 11°. The polarization angle is consistent with Sgr A* being the primary source of the emission, and the polarization degree implies that some 200 years ago, the X-ray luminosity of Sgr A* was briefly comparable to that of a Seyfert galaxy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Marin
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Eugene Churazov
- Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ildar Khabibullin
- Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Universitäts-Sternwarte, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | | | | | - Thibault Barnouin
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Riccardo Middei
- Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Rome, Italy
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
| | - Alexey Vikhlinin
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Enrico Costa
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Soffitta
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Muleri
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Rashid Sunyaev
- Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - William Forman
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ralph Kraft
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Stefano Bianchi
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Iván Agudo
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía-CSIC, Granada, Spain
| | - Lucio A Antonelli
- Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Rome, Italy
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
| | | | - Luca Baldini
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Raffaella Bonino
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, Turin, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Brez
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Niccolò Bucciantini
- INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Florence, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Fiamma Capitanio
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Chien-Ting Chen
- Science and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | - Stefano Ciprini
- Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Rome, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
| | | | - Ettore Del Monte
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Niccolò Di Lalla
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Victor Doroshenko
- Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michal Dovčiak
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | | | - Yuri Evangelista
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Sergio Fabiani
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Jeremy Heyl
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Adam Ingram
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Wataru Iwakiri
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
- International Center for Hadron Astrophysics, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Svetlana G Jorstad
- Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Astrophysics, St. Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Philip Kaaret
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Vladimir Karas
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Henric Krawczynski
- Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Fabio La Monaca
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Luca Latronico
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Ioannis Liodakis
- Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Simone Maldera
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Alberto Manfreda
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Alan P Marscher
- Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Herman L Marshall
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Francesco Massaro
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, Turin, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Giorgio Matt
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
| | - Ikuyuki Mitsuishi
- Graduate School of Science, Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Tsunefumi Mizuno
- Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Michela Negro
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - C-Y Ng
- Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | | | - Nicola Omodei
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Chiara Oppedisano
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | | | - George G Pavlov
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Abel L Peirson
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Matteo Perri
- Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Rome, Italy
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
| | | | - Maura Pilia
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius, Italy
| | | | - Juri Poutanen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | | | - John Rankin
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Ajay Ratheesh
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
| | - Oliver J Roberts
- Science and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | - Roger W Romani
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Carmelo Sgrò
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Patrick Slane
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Gloria Spandre
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Doug Swartz
- Science and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | | | | | - Roberto Taverna
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Yuzuru Tawara
- Graduate School of Science, Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | | | | | - Francesco Tombesi
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Alessio Trois
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius, Italy
| | - Sergey S Tsygankov
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Roberto Turolla
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
| | - Jacco Vink
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy & GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Kinwah Wu
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
| | - Fei Xie
- INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome, Italy
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Silvia Zane
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
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2
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Taverna R, Turolla R, Muleri F, Heyl J, Zane S, Baldini L, González-Caniulef D, Bachetti M, Rankin J, Caiazzo I, Di Lalla N, Doroshenko V, Errando M, Gau E, Kırmızıbayrak D, Krawczynski H, Negro M, Ng M, Omodei N, Possenti A, Tamagawa T, Uchiyama K, Weisskopf MC, Agudo I, Antonelli LA, Baumgartner WH, Bellazzini R, Bianchi S, Bongiorno SD, Bonino R, Brez A, Bucciantini N, Capitanio F, Castellano S, Cavazzuti E, Ciprini S, Costa E, De Rosa A, Del Monte E, Di Gesu L, Di Marco A, Donnarumma I, Dovčiak M, Ehlert SR, Enoto T, Evangelista Y, Fabiani S, Ferrazzoli R, Garcia JA, Gunji S, Hayashida K, Iwakiri W, Jorstad SG, Karas V, Kitaguchi T, Kolodziejczak JJ, La Monaca F, Latronico L, Liodakis I, Maldera S, Manfreda A, Marin F, Marinucci A, Marscher AP, Marshall HL, Matt G, Mitsuishi I, Mizuno T, Ng SCY, O’Dell SL, Oppedisano C, Papitto A, Pavlov GG, Peirson AL, Perri M, Pesce-Rollins M, Pilia M, Poutanen J, Puccetti S, Ramsey BD, Ratheesh A, Romani RW, Sgrò C, Slane P, Soffitta P, Spandre G, Tavecchio F, Tawara Y, Tennant AF, Thomas NE, Tombesi F, Trois A, Tsygankov SS, Vink J, Wu K, Xie F. Polarized x-rays from a magnetar. Science 2022; 378:646-650. [DOI: 10.1126/science.add0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Magnetars are neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields, which can be observed in x-rays. Polarization measurements could provide information on their magnetic fields and surface properties. We observe polarized x-rays from the magnetar 4U 0142+61 using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, finding a linear polarization degree of 13.5 ± 0.8% averaged over the 2 to 8 keV band. The polarization changes with energy: the degree is 15.0 ± 1.0% at 2 to 4 keV, drops below the instrumental sensitivity around 4 to 5 keV, and rises to 35.2 ± 7.1% at 5.5 to 8 keV. The polarization angle also changes by 90° around 4 to 5 keV. These results are consistent with a model in which thermal radiation from the magnetar surface is reprocessed by scattering off charged particles in the magnetosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Taverna
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova I-35131, Italy
| | - Roberto Turolla
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova I-35131, Italy
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - Fabio Muleri
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Jeremy Heyl
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Silvia Zane
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - Luca Baldini
- Dipartimento di Fisica Enrico Fermi, Università di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
| | - Denis González-Caniulef
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Matteo Bachetti
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, INAF, Selargius I-09047, Italy
| | - John Rankin
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Ilaria Caiazzo
- Theoretical AstroPhysics Including Relativity and Cosmology, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Niccolò Di Lalla
- Deparment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Victor Doroshenko
- Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Manel Errando
- Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Ephraim Gau
- Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Demet Kırmızıbayrak
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Henric Krawczynski
- Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Michela Negro
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - Mason Ng
- Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Nicola Omodei
- Deparment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Andrea Possenti
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, INAF, Selargius I-09047, Italy
| | - Toru Tamagawa
- RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan
| | - Keisuke Uchiyama
- RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan
| | | | - Ivan Agudo
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, 18008 Granada, Spain
| | - Lucio A. Antonelli
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, INAF, Monte Porzio Catone 00040, Italy
- Space Science Data Center (SSDC), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Roma 00133, Italy
| | | | - Ronaldo Bellazzini
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
| | - Stefano Bianchi
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Roma 00146, Italy
| | | | - Raffaella Bonino
- INFN Sezione di Torino, Torino 10125, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino 10125, Italy
| | - Alessandro Brez
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
| | - Niccolò Bucciantini
- Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, INAF, Firenze 50125, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
- INFN Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
| | - Fiamma Capitanio
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Simone Castellano
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
| | | | - Stefano Ciprini
- Space Science Data Center (SSDC), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Roma 00133, Italy
- INFN Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma 00133, Italy
| | - Enrico Costa
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Alessandra De Rosa
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Ettore Del Monte
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | | | - Alessandro Di Marco
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | | | - Michal Dovčiak
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Steven R. Ehlert
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
| | - Teruaki Enoto
- RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yuri Evangelista
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Sergio Fabiani
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Riccardo Ferrazzoli
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | | | - Shuichi Gunji
- Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata-shi 990-8560, Japan
| | | | - Wataru Iwakiri
- Department of Physics, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551, Japan
| | - Svetlana G. Jorstad
- Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Laboratory of Observational Astrophysics, St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia
| | - Vladimir Karas
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Takao Kitaguchi
- RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | | | - Fabio La Monaca
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | | | - Ioannis Liodakis
- Finnish Centre for Astronomy with the European Southern Observatory, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | | | - Alberto Manfreda
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
| | - Frédéric Marin
- Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Alan P. Marscher
- Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Herman L. Marshall
- Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Giorgio Matt
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Roma 00146, Italy
| | - Ikuyuki Mitsuishi
- Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
| | - Tsunefumi Mizuno
- Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
| | - Stephen C.-Y. Ng
- Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | | | | | - Alessandro Papitto
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, INAF, Monte Porzio Catone 00040, Italy
| | - George G. Pavlov
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA
| | - Abel L. Peirson
- Deparment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Matteo Perri
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, INAF, Monte Porzio Catone 00040, Italy
- Space Science Data Center (SSDC), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Roma 00133, Italy
| | | | - Maura Pilia
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, INAF, Selargius I-09047, Italy
| | - Juri Poutanen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Simonetta Puccetti
- Space Science Data Center (SSDC), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Roma 00133, Italy
| | - Brian D. Ramsey
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
| | - Ajay Ratheesh
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Roger W. Romani
- Deparment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Carmelo Sgrò
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
| | - Patrick Slane
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Paolo Soffitta
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma I-00133, Italy
| | - Gloria Spandre
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Pisa, Pisa I-56127, Italy
| | | | - Yuzuru Tawara
- Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
| | - Allyn F. Tennant
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
| | | | - Francesco Tombesi
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma 00133, Italy
| | - Alessio Trois
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, INAF, Selargius I-09047, Italy
| | - Sergey S. Tsygankov
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Jacco Vink
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Kinwah Wu
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - Fei Xie
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
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3
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Krawczynski H, Muleri F, Dovčiak M, Veledina A, Rodriguez Cavero N, Svoboda J, Ingram A, Matt G, Garcia JA, Loktev V, Negro M, Poutanen J, Kitaguchi T, Podgorný J, Rankin J, Zhang W, Berdyugin A, Berdyugina SV, Bianchi S, Blinov D, Capitanio F, Di Lalla N, Draghis P, Fabiani S, Kagitani M, Kravtsov V, Kiehlmann S, Latronico L, Lutovinov AA, Mandarakas N, Marin F, Marinucci A, Miller JM, Mizuno T, Molkov SV, Omodei N, Petrucci PO, Ratheesh A, Sakanoi T, Semena AN, Skalidis R, Soffitta P, Tennant AF, Thalhammer P, Tombesi F, Weisskopf MC, Wilms J, Zhang S, Agudo I, Antonelli LA, Bachetti M, Baldini L, Baumgartner WH, Bellazzini R, Bongiorno SD, Bonino R, Brez A, Bucciantini N, Castellano S, Cavazzuti E, Ciprini S, Costa E, De Rosa A, Del Monte E, Di Gesu L, Di Marco A, Donnarumma I, Doroshenko V, Ehlert SR, Enoto T, Evangelista Y, Ferrazzoli R, Gunji S, Hayashida K, Heyl J, Iwakiri W, Jorstad SG, Karas V, Kolodziejczak JJ, La Monaca F, Liodakis I, Maldera S, Manfreda A, Marscher AP, Marshall HL, Mitsuishi I, Ng CY, O’Dell SL, Oppedisano C, Papitto A, Pavlov GG, Peirson AL, Perri M, Pesce-Rollins M, Pilia M, Possenti A, Puccetti S, Ramsey BD, Romani RW, Sgrò C, Slane P, Spandre G, Tamagawa T, Tavecchio F, Taverna R, Tawara Y, Thomas NE, Trois A, Tsygankov S, Turolla R, Vink J, Wu K, Xie F, Zane S. Polarized x-rays constrain the disk-jet geometry in the black hole x-ray binary Cygnus X-1. Science 2022; 378:650-654. [DOI: 10.1126/science.add5399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
A black hole x-ray binary (XRB) system forms when gas is stripped from a normal star and accretes onto a black hole, which heats the gas sufficiently to emit x-rays. We report a polarimetric observation of the XRB Cygnus X-1 using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. The electric field position angle aligns with the outflowing jet, indicating that the jet is launched from the inner x-ray emitting region. The polarization degree is 4.01 ± 0.20% at 2 to 8 kiloelectronvolts, implying that the accretion disk is viewed closer to edge-on than the binary orbit. The observations reveal that hot x-ray emitting plasma is spatially extended in a plane perpendicular to the jet axis, not parallel to the jet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henric Krawczynski
- Department of Physics and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Fabio Muleri
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Michal Dovčiak
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Alexandra Veledina
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (Nordita), Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH) Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Nicole Rodriguez Cavero
- Department of Physics and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Jiri Svoboda
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Ingram
- School of Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Giorgio Matt
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, 00146 Roma, Italy
| | - Javier A. Garcia
- Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Vladislav Loktev
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Michela Negro
- Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - Juri Poutanen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Takao Kitaguchi
- Rikagaku Kenkyūjyo (RIKEN) Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Jakub Podgorný
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic
- Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7550, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
- Astronomical Institute, Charles University, 18000 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - John Rankin
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Wenda Zhang
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Andrei Berdyugin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Svetlana V. Berdyugina
- Leibniz-Institut für Sonnenphysik, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Istituto Ricerche Solari (IRSOL) Aldo e Cele Daccò, Faculty of Informatics, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6605 Locarno, Switzerland
- Euler Institute, Faculty of Informatics, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6962 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Bianchi
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, 00146 Roma, Italy
| | - Dmitry Blinov
- Institute of Astrophysics, Foundation for Research and Technology–Hellas, 71110 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Physics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Fiamma Capitanio
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Niccolò Di Lalla
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Paul Draghis
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Sergio Fabiani
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Masato Kagitani
- School of Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, 980-8578 Sendai, Japan
| | - Vadim Kravtsov
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Sebastian Kiehlmann
- Institute of Astrophysics, Foundation for Research and Technology–Hellas, 71110 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Physics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Luca Latronico
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy
| | | | - Nikos Mandarakas
- Institute of Astrophysics, Foundation for Research and Technology–Hellas, 71110 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Physics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Frédéric Marin
- Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7550, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Jon M. Miller
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Tsunefumi Mizuno
- Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
| | - Sergey V. Molkov
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Nicola Omodei
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Pierre-Olivier Petrucci
- Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Université Grenoble Alpes, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Ajay Ratheesh
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Takeshi Sakanoi
- School of Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, 980-8578 Sendai, Japan
| | - Andrei N. Semena
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Raphael Skalidis
- Institute of Astrophysics, Foundation for Research and Technology–Hellas, 71110 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Physics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Paolo Soffitta
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | | | - Phillipp Thalhammer
- Dr. Karl Remeis Observatory, Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 96049 Bamberg, Germany
| | - Francesco Tombesi
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata,” 00133 Roma, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma “Tor Vergata,” 00133 Roma, Italy
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | | | - Joern Wilms
- Dr. Karl Remeis Observatory, Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 96049 Bamberg, Germany
| | - Sixuan Zhang
- Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
| | - Iván Agudo
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, 18008 Granada, Spain
| | - Lucio A. Antonelli
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Roma, Italy
- Space Science Data Center, ASI, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Matteo Bachetti
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, 09047 Selargius, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Luca Baldini
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Ronaldo Bellazzini
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Raffaella Bonino
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Brez
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Niccolò Bucciantini
- INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, 50125 Firenze, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Simone Castellano
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Stefano Ciprini
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma “Tor Vergata,” 00133 Roma, Italy
- Space Science Data Center, ASI, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Enrico Costa
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandra De Rosa
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Ettore Del Monte
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | | | - Alessandro Di Marco
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | | | - Victor Doroshenko
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
- Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Teruaki Enoto
- Rikagaku Kenkyūjyo (RIKEN) Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yuri Evangelista
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Riccardo Ferrazzoli
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Shuichi Gunji
- Department of Physics, Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata-shi 990-8560, Japan
| | - Kiyoshi Hayashida
- Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, 1-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Jeremy Heyl
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Wataru Iwakiri
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551, Japan
| | - Svetlana G. Jorstad
- Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Astrophysics, St. Petersburg State University, Petrodvoretz, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Vladimir Karas
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic
| | | | - Fabio La Monaca
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Ioannis Liodakis
- Finnish Centre for Astronomy with the European Southern Observatory (ESO), 20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Simone Maldera
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy
| | - Alberto Manfreda
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Alan P. Marscher
- Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Herman L. Marshall
- Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ikuyuki Mitsuishi
- Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
| | - Chi-Yung Ng
- Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | | | - Chiara Oppedisano
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Papitto
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Roma, Italy
| | - George G. Pavlov
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Abel L. Peirson
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Matteo Perri
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Roma, Italy
- Space Science Data Center, ASI, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | | | - Maura Pilia
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, 09047 Selargius, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Andrea Possenti
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, 09047 Selargius, Cagliari, Italy
| | | | - Brian D. Ramsey
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
| | - Roger W. Romani
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Carmelo Sgrò
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Patrick Slane
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Gloria Spandre
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Toru Tamagawa
- Astronomical Institute, Charles University, 18000 Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Roberto Taverna
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Yuzuru Tawara
- Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
| | | | - Alessio Trois
- INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, 09047 Selargius, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Sergey Tsygankov
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 20014 University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Roberto Turolla
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
| | - Jacco Vink
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Kinwah Wu
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
| | - Fei Xie
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), 00133 Roma, Italy
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Silvia Zane
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
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4
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Liodakis I, Marscher AP, Agudo I, Berdyugin AV, Bernardos MI, Bonnoli G, Borman GA, Casadio C, Casanova V, Cavazzuti E, Rodriguez Cavero N, Di Gesu L, Di Lalla N, Donnarumma I, Ehlert SR, Errando M, Escudero J, García-Comas M, Agís-González B, Husillos C, Jormanainen J, Jorstad SG, Kagitani M, Kopatskaya EN, Kravtsov V, Krawczynski H, Lindfors E, Larionova EG, Madejski GM, Marin F, Marchini A, Marshall HL, Morozova DA, Massaro F, Masiero JR, Mawet D, Middei R, Millar-Blanchaer MA, Myserlis I, Negro M, Nilsson K, O’Dell SL, Omodei N, Pacciani L, Paggi A, Panopoulou GV, Peirson AL, Perri M, Petrucci PO, Poutanen J, Puccetti S, Romani RW, Sakanoi T, Savchenko SS, Sota A, Tavecchio F, Tinyanont S, Vasilyev AA, Weaver ZR, Zhovtan AV, Antonelli LA, Bachetti M, Baldini L, Baumgartner WH, Bellazzini R, Bianchi S, Bongiorno SD, Bonino R, Brez A, Bucciantini N, Capitanio F, Castellano S, Ciprini S, Costa E, De Rosa A, Del Monte E, Di Marco A, Doroshenko V, Dovčiak M, Enoto T, Evangelista Y, Fabiani S, Ferrazzoli R, Garcia JA, Gunji S, Hayashida K, Heyl J, Iwakiri W, Karas V, Kitaguchi T, Kolodziejczak JJ, La Monaca F, Latronico L, Maldera S, Manfreda A, Marinucci A, Matt G, Mitsuishi I, Mizuno T, Muleri F, Ng SCY, Oppedisano C, Papitto A, Pavlov GG, Pesce-Rollins M, Pilia M, Possenti A, Ramsey BD, Rankin J, Ratheesh A, Sgró C, Slane P, Soffitta P, Spandre G, Tamagawa T, Taverna R, Tawara Y, Tennant AF, Thomas NE, Tombesi F, Trois A, Tsygankov S, Turolla R, Vink J, Weisskopf MC, Wu K, Xie F, Zane S. Polarized blazar X-rays imply particle acceleration in shocks. Nature 2022; 611:677-681. [PMID: 36418451 PMCID: PMC9684068 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05338-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Most of the light from blazars, active galactic nuclei with jets of magnetized plasma that point nearly along the line of sight, is produced by high-energy particles, up to around 1 TeV. Although the jets are known to be ultimately powered by a supermassive black hole, how the particles are accelerated to such high energies has been an unanswered question. The process must be related to the magnetic field, which can be probed by observations of the polarization of light from the jets. Measurements of the radio to optical polarization-the only range available until now-probe extended regions of the jet containing particles that left the acceleration site days to years earlier1-3, and hence do not directly explore the acceleration mechanism, as could X-ray measurements. Here we report the detection of X-ray polarization from the blazar Markarian 501 (Mrk 501). We measure an X-ray linear polarization degree ΠX of around 10%, which is a factor of around 2 higher than the value at optical wavelengths, with a polarization angle parallel to the radio jet. This points to a shock front as the source of particle acceleration and also implies that the plasma becomes increasingly turbulent with distance from the shock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Liodakis
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, FI-20014, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Alan P. Marscher
- grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA USA
| | - Iván Agudo
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | - Andrei V. Berdyugin
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Maria I. Bernardos
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | - Giacomo Bonnoli
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain ,grid.450217.5INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Merate (LC), Italy
| | - George A. Borman
- Crimean Astrophysical Observatory RAS, P/O Nauchny, Nauchnij, Crimea
| | - Carolina Casadio
- grid.4834.b0000 0004 0635 685XInstitute of Astrophysics, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, Voutes, Heraklion, Greece ,grid.8127.c0000 0004 0576 3437Department of Physics, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Víctor Casanova
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | - Elisabetta Cavazzuti
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, Roma, Italy
| | - Nicole Rodriguez Cavero
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO USA
| | - Laura Di Gesu
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, Roma, Italy
| | - Niccoló Di Lalla
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Immacolata Donnarumma
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, Roma, Italy
| | - Steven R. Ehlert
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - Manel Errando
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO USA
| | - Juan Escudero
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | - Maya García-Comas
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | - Beatriz Agís-González
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | - César Husillos
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | - Jenni Jormanainen
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, FI-20014, University of Turku, Turku, Finland ,grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Svetlana G. Jorstad
- grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA USA ,grid.15447.330000 0001 2289 6897Laboratory of Observational Astrophysics, St Petersburg University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Masato Kagitani
- grid.69566.3a0000 0001 2248 6943Graduate School of Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Evgenia N. Kopatskaya
- grid.15447.330000 0001 2289 6897Astronomical Institute, St Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Vadim Kravtsov
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Henric Krawczynski
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Physics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO USA
| | - Elina Lindfors
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, FI-20014, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Elena G. Larionova
- grid.15447.330000 0001 2289 6897Astronomical Institute, St Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Grzegorz M. Madejski
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University and SLAC, Menlo Park, CA USA
| | - Frédéric Marin
- grid.440483.f0000 0000 9383 4469Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, Strasbourg, France
| | - Alessandro Marchini
- grid.9024.f0000 0004 1757 4641Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Astronomical Observatory, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Herman L. Marshall
- grid.116068.80000 0001 2341 2786MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Daria A. Morozova
- grid.15447.330000 0001 2289 6897Astronomical Institute, St Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Francesco Massaro
- grid.470222.10000 0004 7471 9712Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, , Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy ,grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | | | - Dimitri Mawet
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Riccardo Middei
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Roma, Italy ,grid.463298.20000 0001 2168 8201INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy
| | | | | | - Michela Negro
- Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST), Greenbelt, MD USA ,grid.266673.00000 0001 2177 1144Department of Physics and Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Kari Nilsson
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, FI-20014, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Stephen L. O’Dell
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - Nicola Omodei
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Luigi Pacciani
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandro Paggi
- grid.470222.10000 0004 7471 9712Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, , Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy ,grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy ,grid.436940.cINAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Pino Torinese, Italy
| | | | - Abel L. Peirson
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Matteo Perri
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Roma, Italy ,grid.463298.20000 0001 2168 8201INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy
| | | | - Juri Poutanen
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland ,grid.426428.e0000 0004 0405 8736Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Simonetta Puccetti
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, Roma, Italy
| | - Roger W. Romani
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Takeshi Sakanoi
- grid.69566.3a0000 0001 2248 6943Graduate School of Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Sergey S. Savchenko
- grid.15447.330000 0001 2289 6897Astronomical Institute, St Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, Russia ,grid.4886.20000 0001 2192 9124Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnii Arkhyz, Russia ,grid.437494.90000 0000 9168 8058Pulkovo Observatory, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alfredo Sota
- grid.450285.e0000 0004 1793 7043Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Samaporn Tinyanont
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Andrey A. Vasilyev
- grid.15447.330000 0001 2289 6897Astronomical Institute, St Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Zachary R. Weaver
- grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA USA
| | - Alexey V. Zhovtan
- Crimean Astrophysical Observatory RAS, P/O Nauchny, Nauchnij, Crimea
| | - Lucio A. Antonelli
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Roma, Italy ,grid.463298.20000 0001 2168 8201INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy
| | - Matteo Bachetti
- grid.437052.70000 0001 0096 8079INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius (CA), Italy
| | - Luca Baldini
- grid.470216.6Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy ,grid.5395.a0000 0004 1757 3729Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Wayne H. Baumgartner
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - Ronaldo Bellazzini
- grid.470216.6Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Stefano Bianchi
- grid.8509.40000000121622106Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Universitá degli Studi Roma Tre, Roma, Italy
| | - Stephen D. Bongiorno
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - Raffaella Bonino
- grid.470222.10000 0004 7471 9712Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, , Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy ,grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Brez
- grid.470216.6Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Niccoló Bucciantini
- grid.426239.80000 0000 9176 4495INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy ,grid.8404.80000 0004 1757 2304Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universitá degli Studi di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy ,grid.470204.5Q30265285Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Fiamma Capitanio
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Simone Castellano
- grid.470216.6Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Stefano Ciprini
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Roma, Italy ,grid.470219.9Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
| | - Enrico Costa
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandra De Rosa
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Ettore Del Monte
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandro Di Marco
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Victor Doroshenko
- grid.426428.e0000 0004 0405 8736Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia ,grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michal Dovčiak
- grid.423799.20000 0004 0385 3578Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ondřejov, Czech Republic
| | - Teruaki Enoto
- grid.7597.c0000000094465255RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Saitama, Japan
| | - Yuri Evangelista
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Sergio Fabiani
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Riccardo Ferrazzoli
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Javier A. Garcia
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Shuichi Gunji
- grid.268394.20000 0001 0674 7277Yamagata University, Yamagata-shi, Japan
| | | | - Jeremy Heyl
- grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Wataru Iwakiri
- grid.443595.a0000 0001 2323 0843Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Vladimir Karas
- grid.423799.20000 0004 0385 3578Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ondřejov, Czech Republic
| | - Takao Kitaguchi
- grid.7597.c0000000094465255RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Saitama, Japan
| | | | - Fabio La Monaca
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Luca Latronico
- grid.470222.10000 0004 7471 9712Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, , Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Simone Maldera
- grid.470222.10000 0004 7471 9712Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, , Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Alberto Manfreda
- grid.470216.6Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Andrea Marinucci
- grid.423784.e0000 0000 9801 3133Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, Roma, Italy
| | - Giorgio Matt
- grid.8509.40000000121622106Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Universitá degli Studi Roma Tre, Roma, Italy
| | - Ikuyuki Mitsuishi
- grid.27476.300000 0001 0943 978XGraduate School of Science, Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Tsunefumi Mizuno
- grid.257022.00000 0000 8711 3200Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Fabio Muleri
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Stephen C.-Y. Ng
- grid.194645.b0000000121742757Department of Physics, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Chiara Oppedisano
- grid.470222.10000 0004 7471 9712Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, , Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Papitto
- grid.463298.20000 0001 2168 8201INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy
| | - George G. Pavlov
- grid.29857.310000 0001 2097 4281Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA USA
| | | | - Maura Pilia
- grid.437052.70000 0001 0096 8079INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius (CA), Italy
| | - Andrea Possenti
- grid.437052.70000 0001 0096 8079INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius (CA), Italy
| | - Brian D. Ramsey
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - John Rankin
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Ajay Ratheesh
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Carmelo Sgró
- grid.470216.6Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Patrick Slane
- grid.455754.20000 0001 1781 4754Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Paolo Soffitta
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy
| | - Gloria Spandre
- grid.470216.6Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Toru Tamagawa
- grid.7597.c0000000094465255RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Saitama, Japan
| | - Roberto Taverna
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universitá degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Yuzuru Tawara
- grid.27476.300000 0001 0943 978XGraduate School of Science, Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Allyn F. Tennant
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - Nicolas E. Thomas
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - Francesco Tombesi
- grid.6530.00000 0001 2300 0941Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
| | - Alessio Trois
- grid.437052.70000 0001 0096 8079INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius (CA), Italy
| | - Sergey Tsygankov
- grid.1374.10000 0001 2097 1371Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland ,grid.426428.e0000 0004 0405 8736Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Roberto Turolla
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universitá degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.83440.3b0000000121901201Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
| | - Jacco Vink
- grid.7177.60000000084992262Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy & GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Martin C. Weisskopf
- grid.419091.40000 0001 2238 4912NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL USA
| | - Kinwah Wu
- grid.83440.3b0000000121901201Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
| | - Fei Xie
- grid.466835.a0000 0004 1776 2255INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma, Italy ,grid.256609.e0000 0001 2254 5798Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Silvia Zane
- grid.83440.3b0000000121901201Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
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5
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Kilaru K, Ramsey BD, Baumgartner WH, Bongiorno SD, Broadway DM, Champey PR, Davis JM, O’Dell SL, Elsner RF, Gaskin JA, Johnson S, Kolodziejczak JK, Roberts OJ, Swartz DA, Weisskopf MC. Full-shell x-ray optics development at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. J Astron Telesc Instrum Syst 2019; 5:021010. [PMID: 32905453 PMCID: PMC7473390 DOI: 10.1117/1.jatis.5.2.021010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) maintains an active research program toward the development of high-resolution, lightweight, grazing-incidence x-ray optics to serve the needs of future x-ray astronomy missions such as Lynx. MSFC development efforts include both direct fabrication (diamond turning and deterministic computer-controlled polishing) of mirror shells and replication of mirror shells (from figured, polished mandrels). Both techniques produce full-circumference monolithic (primary + secondary) shells that share the advantages of inherent stability, ease of assembly, and low production cost. However, to achieve high-angular resolution, MSFC is exploring significant technology advances needed to control sources of figure error including fabrication- and coating-induced stresses and mounting-induced distortions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiranmayee Kilaru
- Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | - Brian D. Ramsey
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | | | | | - David M. Broadway
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | | | | | - Stephen L. O’Dell
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | - Ronald F. Elsner
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | - Jessica A. Gaskin
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | - Samantha Johnson
- University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | | | - Oliver J. Roberts
- Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
| | - Douglas A. Swartz
- Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
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6
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Abstract
Within 40 years of the detection of the first extra-solar x-ray source in 1962, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has achieved an increase in sensitivity of 10 orders of magnitude, comparable to the gain in going from naked-eye observations to the most powerful optical telescopes over the past 400 years. Chandra is unique in its capabilities for producing sub-arcsecond x-ray images with 100-200 eV energy resolution for energies in the range 0.08 < E < 10 keV, locating x-ray sources to high precision, detecting extremely faint sources, and obtaining high-resolution spectra of selected cosmic phenomena. The extended Chandra mission provides a long observing baseline with stable and well-calibrated instruments, enabling temporal studies over timescales from milliseconds to years. In this report we present a selection of highlights that illustrate how observations using Chandra, sometimes alone, but often in conjunction with other telescopes, have deepened, and in some instances revolutionized, our understanding of topics as diverse as protoplanetary nebulae; massive stars; supernova explosions; pulsar wind nebulae; the superfluid interior of neutron stars; accretion flows around black holes; the growth of supermassive black holes and their role in the regulation of star formation and growth of galaxies; impacts of collisions, mergers, and feedback on growth and evolution of groups and clusters of galaxies; and properties of dark matter and dark energy.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Tananbaum
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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7
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Santos-Lleo M, Schartel N, Tananbaum H, Tucker W, Weisskopf MC. The first decade of science with Chandra and XMM-Newton. Nature 2009; 462:997-1004. [DOI: 10.1038/nature08690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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8
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Ramsey BD, Elsner RF, Engelhaupt DE, O'Dell SL, Speegle CO, Weisskopf MC. Development of hard x-ray optics at MSFC. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2003. [DOI: 10.1117/12.461597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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9
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Gladstone GR, Waite JH, Grodent D, Lewis WS, Crary FJ, Elsner RF, Weisskopf MC, Majeed T, Jahn JM, Bhardwaj A, Clarke JT, Young DT, Dougherty MK, Espinosa SA, Cravens TE. A pulsating auroral X-ray hot spot on Jupiter. Nature 2002; 415:1000-3. [PMID: 11875561 DOI: 10.1038/4151000a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Jupiter's X-ray aurora has been thought to be excited by energetic sulphur and oxygen ions precipitating from the inner magnetosphere into the planet's polar regions. Here we report high-spatial-resolution observations that demonstrate that most of Jupiter's northern auroral X-rays come from a 'hot spot' located significantly poleward of the latitudes connected to the inner magnetosphere. The hot spot seems to be fixed in magnetic latitude and longitude and occurs in a region where anomalous infrared and ultraviolet emissions have also been observed. We infer from the data that the particles that excite the aurora originate in the outer magnetosphere. The hot spot X-rays pulsate with an approximately 45-min period, a period similar to that reported for high-latitude radio and energetic electron bursts observed by near-Jupiter spacecraft. These results invalidate the idea that jovian auroral X-ray emissions are mainly excited by steady precipitation of energetic heavy ions from the inner magnetosphere. Instead, the X-rays seem to result from currently unexplained processes in the outer magnetosphere that produce highly localized and highly variable emissions over an extremely wide range of wavelengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- G R Gladstone
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA.
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10
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Weisskopf MC, Hester JJ, Tennant AF, Elsner RF, Schulz NS, Marshall HL, Karovska M, Nichols JS, Swartz DA, Kolodziejczak JJ, O'Dell SL. Discovery of Spatial and Spectral Structure in the X-Ray Emission from the Crab Nebula. Astrophys J 2000; 536:L81-L84. [PMID: 10859123 DOI: 10.1086/312733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2000] [Accepted: 03/28/2000] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The Chandra X-Ray Observatory observed the Crab Nebula and pulsar during orbital calibration. Zeroth-order images with the High-Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) readout by the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopy array (ACIS-S) show a striking richness of X-ray structure at a resolution comparable to that of the best ground-based visible-light observations. The HETG-ACIS-S images reveal, for the first time, an X-ray inner ring within the X-ray torus, the suggestion of a hollow-tube structure for the torus, and X-ray knots along the inner ring and (perhaps) along the inward extension of the X-ray jet. Although complicated by instrumental effects and the brightness of the Crab Nebula, the spectrometric analysis shows systematic variations of the X-ray spectrum throughout the nebula.
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11
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12
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Elsner RF, O'Dell SL, Weisskopf MC. Effective Area of the AXAF X-Ray Telescope: Dependence upon Dielectric Constants of Coating Materials. J Xray Sci Technol 1991; 3:35-44. [PMID: 21307435 DOI: 10.3233/xst-1991-3104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
This study examines the dependence of the effective area of the AXAF x-ray telescope, upon the complex dielectric constants of possible mirror coatings, over the energy range 0.1-10 keV. At energies near and above the astrophysically important iron-line complex near 6.7 keV, the effective area is very sensitive to the coating density on the three innermost of the telescope's six mirror pairs. Thus, it is desirable to achieve as high a density as feasible. The telescope's spectral response exhibits sharp features at absorption edges of the coating materials. In view of the exceptional energy resolution of the AXAF spectrometers and uncertainties in reflectivities (especially near absorption edges), the AXAF goal of 1% accuracy requires both precise x-ray calibration of the telescope and improved modeling of the telescope and calibration sources. Presented here in the form of plots, the results are also available (on floppy disks) in tabular form.
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Affiliation(s)
- R F Elsner
- Space Science Laboratory, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 35812
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13
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Takahashi Y, Miyaji S, Parnell TA, Weisskopf MC, Hayashi T, Nomoto K. Enhancement of high-energy cosmic-ray spectrum by type-II supernovae. Nature 1986. [DOI: 10.1038/321839a0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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14
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Weisskopf MC. Design of Grazing-incidence X-Ray Telescopes. 1. Appl Opt 1973; 12:1436-1439. [PMID: 20125544 DOI: 10.1364/ao.12.001436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The theoretical and practical constraints on designs of grazing-incidence x-ray telescopes are discussed. It is shown that there is a maximum useful diameter for an x-ray telescope. It is further shown that when practical constraints are considered, the maximum reflecting area is not necessarily achieved by utilizing the largest available area within this diameter. Equations are derived that allow rapid calculation of the effective area of an x-ray telescope before one proceeds to detailed studies utilizing Monte Carlo techniques.
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