- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/567/A89
- Title:
- Swift X-ray Telescope Cluster Survey. II.
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/567/A89
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a spectral analysis of a new, flux-limited sample of 72 X-ray selected clusters of galaxies identified with the X-ray Telescope (XRT) on board the Swift satellite down to a flux limit of ~10^-14^erg/s/cm2 (SWXCS). We carry out a detailed X-ray spectral analysis with the twofold aim of measuring redshifts and characterizing the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) for the majority of the SWXCS sources. Optical counterparts and spectroscopic or photometric redshifts for some of the sources are obtained with a cross-correlation with the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Additional photometric redshifts are computed with a dedicated follow-up program with the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and a cross-correlation with the SDSS. In addition, we also blindly search for the Hydrogen-like and He-like iron K_{alpha}_ emission line complex in the X-ray spectrum. We detect the iron emission lines in 35% of the sample, and hence obtain a robust measure of the X-ray redshift z_X_ with typical rms error 1-5%. We use z_X_ whenever the optical redshift is not available. Finally, for all the sources with measured redshift, background-subtracted spectra are fitted with a single-temperature mekal model to measure global temperature, X-ray luminosity and iron abundance of the ICM. We perform extensive spectral simulations to accounts for fitting bias, and to assess the robustness of our results. We derive a criterion to select reliable best-fit models and an empirical formula to account for fitting bias. The bias-corrected values are then used to investigate the scaling properties of the X-ray observables.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/889/142
- Title:
- Swift/XRT and NICER timing study of MAXI J1820+070
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/889/142
- Date:
- 03 Dec 2021 13:13:00
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a detailed timing analysis of the bright black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070 (ASASSN-18ey), during its first detected outburst lasting from 2018 March until 2019 October based on Swift/XRT window timing mode observations, corresponding UVOT data and NICER observations. The light curves clearly show four outbursts, with the source remaining in the hard state during its first outburst, while the rise of the second outburst corresponds with the transition to the soft state. A similar double outburst of GX339-4 has been observed in 2004. Here it is followed by two hard-state only outbursts. In many observations the power density spectra showed type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with characteristic frequencies below 1Hz, which suggests that the source stayed in a state of low effective accretion for large parts of its outburst. The absence of other types of QPOs hinders a precise determination of the state transitions, but from combining NICER and Swift/XRT data, we find that MAXI J1820+070 went from the hard-intermediate to the soft state in less than one day. The covariance ratios derived from NICER data show an increase toward lower energies, which indicate that the source should make a transition to the soft state. This transition finally took place, after MAXI J1820+070 stayed in the hard state at rather constant luminosity for about 116 days. The steepness of the increase of the covariance ratios is not correlated with the amount of rms variability and it does not show a monotonic evolution along the outburst.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/245/15
- Title:
- Swift XRT follow-up of LIGO/Virgo GW triggers
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/245/15
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory carried out prompt searches for gravitational-wave (GW) events detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) during the second observing run ("O2"). Swift performed extensive tiling of eight LVC triggers, two of which had very low false-alarm rates (GW170814 and the epochal GW170817), indicating a high confidence of being astrophysical in origin; the latter was the first GW event to have an electromagnetic counterpart detected. In this paper we describe the follow-up performed during O2 and the results of our searches. No GW electromagnetic counterparts were detected; this result is expected, as GW170817 remained the only astrophysical event containing at least one neutron star after LVC's later retraction of some events. A number of X-ray sources were detected, with the majority of identified sources being active galactic nuclei. We discuss the detection rate of transient X-ray sources and their implications in the O2 tiling searches. Finally, we describe the lessons learned during O2 and how these are being used to improve the Swift follow-up of GW events. In particular, we simulate a population of gamma-ray burst afterglows to evaluate our source ranking system's ability to differentiate them from unrelated and uncataloged X-ray sources. We find that ~60%-70% of afterglows whose jets are oriented toward Earth will be given high rank (i.e., "interesting" designation) by the completion of our second follow-up phase (assuming that their location in the sky was observed), but that this fraction can be increased to nearly 100% by performing a third follow-up observation of sources exhibiting fading behavior.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/768/47
- Title:
- Swift/XRT 0.2-10keV observations of SN2009ip
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/768/47
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Some supernovae (SNe) show evidence for mass-loss events taking place prior to their explosions. Measuring their pre-outburst mass-loss rates provides essential information regarding the mechanisms that are responsible for these events. Here we present XMM-Newton and Swift X-ray observations taken after the latest, and presumably the final, outburst of SN 2009ip. We use these observations as well as new near-infrared and visible-light spectra and published radio and visible-light observations to put six independent order-of-magnitude constraints on the mass-loss rate of the SN progenitor prior to the explosion. Our methods utilize the X-ray luminosity, the bound-free absorption, the H{alpha} luminosity, the SN rise time, free-free absorption, and the bolometric luminosity of the outburst detected prior to the explosion. Assuming spherical mass loss with a wind-density profile, we estimate that the effective mass-loss rate from the progenitor was between 10^-3^ and 10^-2^M_{sun}_/yr, over a few years prior to the explosion, with a velocity of ~10^3^km/s. This mass-loss rate corresponds to a total circumstellar matter (CSM) mass of ~0.04M_{sun}_, within 6x10^15^cm of the SN. We note that the mass-loss rate estimate based on the H{alpha} luminosity is higher by an order of magnitude. This can be explained if the narrow-line H{alpha} component is generated at radii larger than the shock radius, or if the CSM has an aspherical geometry. We discuss simple geometries which are consistent with our results.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/808/144
- Title:
- Swift/XRT 0.5-10keV obs. of MAXI J1659-152
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/808/144
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an energy dependent X-ray variability study of the 2010 outburst of the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1659-152 with the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT). The broadband noise components and the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) observed in the power spectra show a strong and varied energy dependence. Combining Swift XRT data with data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, we report, for the first time, an rms spectrum (fractional rms amplitude as a function of energy) of these components in the 0.5-30keV energy range. We find that the strength of the low-frequency component (<0.1Hz) decreases with energy, contrary to the higher frequency components (>0.1Hz) whose strengths increase with energy. In the context of the propagating fluctuations model for X-ray variability, we suggest that the low-frequency component originates in the accretion disk (which dominates emission below ~2keV) and the higher frequency components are formed in the hot flow (which dominates emission above ~2keV). As the properties of the QPO suggest that it may have a different driving mechanism, we investigate the Lense-Thirring precession of the hot flow as a candidate model. We also report on the QPO coherence evolution for the first time in the energy band below 2keV. While there are strong indications that the QPO is less coherent at energies below 2keV than above 2keV, the coherence increases with intensity similar to what is observed at energies above 2keV in other black hole X-ray binaries.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/397/1177
- Title:
- Swift-XRT observations of GRBs
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/397/1177
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a homogeneous X-ray analysis of all 318 Gamma Ray Bursts detected by the X-ray Telescope on the Swift satellite up to 2008 July 23; this represents the largest sample of X-ray GRB data published to date. In Sections 2-3 we detail the methods which the Swift-XRT team has developed to produce the enhanced positions, light curves, hardness ratios and spectra presented in this paper. Software using these methods continues to create such products for all new GRBs observed by the Swift-XRT. We also detail web-based tools allowing users to create these products for any object observed by the XRT, not just GRBs. In Sections 4-6 we present the results of our analysis of GRBs, including probability distribution functions of the temporal and spectral properties of the sample. We demonstrate evidence for a consistent underlying behaviour which can produce a range of light curve morphologies, and attempt to interpret this behaviour in the framework of external forward shock emission. We find several difficulties, in particular that reconciliation of our data with the forward shock model requires energy injection to continue for days to weeks.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/403/945
- Title:
- Swift/XRT obs. of unidentified IBIS sources
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/403/945
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The most recent IBIS/ISGRI survey, i.e. the fourth one, lists 723 hard X-ray sources, many still unidentified, i.e. lacking an X-ray counterpart or simply not studied at lower energies, i.e. below 10keV. In order to overcome this lack of X-ray information, we cross-correlated the list of IBIS sources included in the fourth IBIS catalogue with the Swift/X-ray Telescope (XRT) data archive, finding a sample of 20 objects, not yet reported in the literature, for which XRT data could help in the search for the X-ray and hence optical counterpart and/or, for the first time, in the study of the source spectral and variability properties below 10keV. 16 of these objects are new INTEGRAL detections, while four were already listed in the third survey but not yet observed in X-rays.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/185/433
- Title:
- SWIRE/Chandra survey in Lockman Hole Field
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/185/433
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report a moderate-depth (70ks), contiguous 0.7deg^2^ Chandra survey in the Lockman Hole Field of the Spitzer/SWIRE Legacy Survey coincident with a completed, ultra-deep VLA survey with deep optical and near-infrared imaging in-hand. The primary motivation is to distinguish starburst galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs), including the significant, highly obscured (logN_H_>23) subset. Chandra has detected 775 X-ray sources to a limiting broadband (0.3-8keV) flux ~4x10^-16^erg/cm^2^/s. We present the X-ray catalog, fluxes, hardness ratios, and multi-wavelength fluxes. The logN versus logS agrees with those of previous surveys covering similar flux ranges. The Chandra and Spitzer flux limits are well matched: 771 (99%) of the X-ray sources have infrared (IR) or optical counterparts, and 333 have MIPS 24um detections. There are four optical-only X-ray sources and four with no visible optical/IR counterpart. The very deep (~2.7uJy rms) VLA data yield 251 (>4{sigma}) radio counterparts, 44% of the X-ray sources in the field. More than 40% of the X-ray sources in the VLA field are radio-loud using the classical definition, RL. The majority of these are red and relatively faint in the optical so that the use of RL to select those AGNs with the strongest radio emission becomes questionable. Using the 24um to radio flux ratio (q_24_) instead results in 13 of the 147 AGNs with sufficient data being classified as radio-loud, in good agreement with the ~10% expected for broad-lined AGNs based on optical surveys. We conclude that q_24_ is a more reliable indicator of radio-loudness. Use of RL should be confined to the optically selected type 1 AGN.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/216/28
- Title:
- SWXCS III. Cluster catalog from 2005-2012 Swift data
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/216/28
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the Swift X-ray Cluster Survey (SWXCS) catalog obtained using archival data from the X-ray telescope (XRT) on board the Swift satellite acquired from 2005 February to 2012 November, extending the first release of the SWXCS. The catalog provides positions, soft fluxes, and, when possible, optical counterparts for a flux-limited sample of X-ray group and cluster candidates. We consider the fields with Galactic latitude |b|>20{deg} to avoid high H I column densities. We discard all of the observations targeted at groups or clusters of galaxies, as well as particular extragalactic fields not suitable to search for faint extended sources. We finally select ~3000 useful fields covering a total solid angle of ~400deg^2^. We identify extended source candidates in the soft-band (0.5-2keV) images of these fields using the software EXSdetect, which is specifically calibrated for the XRT data. Extensive simulations are used to evaluate contamination and completeness as a function of the source signal, allowing us to minimize the number of spurious detections and to robustly assess the selection function. Our catalog includes 263 candidate galaxy clusters and groups down to a flux limit of 7x10^-15^erg/cm2/s in the soft band, and the logN-logS is in very good agreement with previous deep X-ray surveys. The final list of sources is cross-correlated with published optical, X-ray, and Sunyaev-Zeldovich catalogs of clusters. We find that 137 sources have been previously identified as clusters in the literature in independent surveys, while 126 are new detections. Currently, we have collected redshift information for 158 sources (60% of the entire sample).
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/403/2063
- Title:
- SXDF X-ray groups and galaxy clusters
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/403/2063
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the results of a search for galaxy clusters in the Subaru-XMM Deep Field (SXDF). We reach a depth for a total cluster flux in the 0.5-2keV band of 2x10^-15^erg/cm^2^/s over one of the widest XMM-Newton contiguous raster surveys, covering an area of 1.3deg^2^. Cluster candidates are identified through a wavelet detection of extended X-ray emission. The red-sequence technique allows us to identify 57 cluster candidates. We report on the progress with the cluster spectroscopic follow-up and derive their properties based on the X-ray luminosity and cluster scaling relations.