High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)

Abstract: We report the discovery of the isolated neutron star (INS) candidates eRASSU J065715.3+260428 and eRASSU J131716.9-402647 from the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) eROSITA All-Sky Survey. Selected for their soft X-ray emission and absence of catalogued counterparts, both objects were recently targeted with the Large Binocular Telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope. The absence of counterparts down to deep optical limits (25 mag, 5$\sigma$) and, as a result, large X-ray-to-optical flux ratios in both cases strongly suggest an INS nature. The X-ray spectra of both sources are well described by a simple absorbed blackbody, whereas other thermal and non-thermal models (e.g. a hot-plasma emission spectrum or power law) are disfavoured by the spectral analysis. Within the current observational limits, and as expected for cooling INSs, no significant variation ($>2\sigma$) has been identified over the first two-year time span of the survey. Upcoming dedicated follow-up observations will help us to confirm the candidates' nature.

Abstract: X-ray appearance of normal galaxies is mainly determined by X-ray binaries powered by accretion onto a neutron star or a stellar mass black hole. Their populations scale with the star-formation rate and stellar mass of the host galaxy and their X-ray luminosity distributions show a significant split between star-forming and passive galaxies, both facts being consequences of the dichotomy between high- and low-mass X-ray binaries. Metallicity, IMF and stellar age dependencies, and dynamical formation channels add complexity to this picture. The numbers of high-mass X-ray binaries observed in star-forming galaxies indicate quite high probability for a massive star to become an accretion powered X-ray source once upon its lifetime. This explains the unexpectedly high contribution of X-ray binaries to the Cosmic X-ray Background, of the order of $\sim 10\%$, mostly via X-ray emission of faint star-forming galaxies located at moderate redshifts which may account for the unresolved part of the CXB. Cosmological evolution of the $L_X-{\rm SFR}$ relation can make high-mass X-ray binaries a potentially significant factor in (pre)heating of intergalactic medium in the early Universe.

Abstract: In this paper, we analyzed 12 years of Fermi LAT gamma-ray data towards three nearby giant molecular clouds (GMCs), i.e., R~CrA, Chamaeleon, and Lupus. We calibrated the gas column density of these regions by using the Planck dust opacity map as well as the Gaia extinction map. With both the gamma-ray observations and gas column density maps, we derived the cosmic ray densities in the three GMCs. We found the derived CR spectra have almost the same shape but significantly different normalizations, which may reflect that the distributions of CRs in the vicinity of solar systems are inhomogeneous.

Abstract: The newest generation of radio telescopes are able to survey large areas with high sensitivity and cadence, producing data volumes that require new methods to better understand the transient sky. Here we describe the results from the first citizen science project dedicated to commensal radio transients, using data from the MeerKAT telescope with weekly cadence. Bursts from Space: MeerKAT was launched late in 2021 and received ~89000 classifications from over 1000 volunteers in 3 months. Our volunteers discovered 142 new variable sources which, along with the known transients in our fields, allowed us to estimate that at least 2.1 per cent of radio sources are varying at 1.28 GHz at the sampled cadence and sensitivity, in line with previous work. We provide the full catalogue of these sources, the largest of candidate radio variables to date. Transient sources found with archival counterparts include a pulsar (B1845-01) and an OH maser star (OH 30.1-0.7), in addition to the recovery of known stellar flares and X-ray binary jets in our observations. Data from the MeerLICHT optical telescope, along with estimates of long time-scale variability induced by scintillation, imply that the majority of the new variables are active galactic nuclei. This tells us that citizen scientists can discover phenomena varying on time-scales from weeks to several years. The success both in terms of volunteer engagement and scientific merit warrants the continued development of the project, whilst we use the classifications from volunteers to develop machine learning techniques for finding transients.

Abstract: Stellar winds of massive stars are known to be driven by line absorption of UV photons, a mechanism which is prone to instabilities, causing the wind to be clumpy. The clumpy structure hampers wind mass-loss estimates, limiting our understanding of massive star evolution. The wind structure also impacts accretion in high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) systems. We analyse the wavelength-dependent variability of X-ray absorption in the wind to study its structure. Such an approach is possible in HMXBs, where the compact object serves as an X-ray backlight. We probe different parts of the wind by analysing data taken at superior and inferior conjunction. We apply excess variance spectroscopy to study the wavelength-dependent soft X-ray variability of the HMXB Cygnus X-1 in the low/hard spectral state. Excess variance spectroscopy quantifies the variability of an object above the statistical noise as a function of wavelength, which allows us to study the variability of individual spectral lines. As one of the first studies, we apply this technique to high-resolution gratings spectra provided by Chandra, accounting for various systematic effects. The frequency dependence is investigated by changing the time binning. The strong orbital phase dependence we observe in the excess variance is consistent with column density variations predicted by a simple model for a clumpy wind. We identify spikes of increased variability with spectral features found by previous spectroscopic analyses of the same data set, most notably from silicon in over-dense clumps in the wind. In the silicon line region, the variability power is redistributed towards lower frequencies, hinting at increased line variability in large clumps. In prospect of the microcalorimetry missions that are scheduled to launch within the next decade, excess variance spectra present a promising approach to constrain the wind structure.

Abstract: Relativistic jets launched by Active Galactic Nuclei are among the most powerful particle accelerators in the Universe. The emission over the entire electromagnetic spectrum of these relativistic jets can be extremely variable with scales of variability from less than few minutes up to several years. These variability patterns, which can be very complex, contain information about the acceleration processes of the particles and the area(s) of emission. Thanks to its sensitivity, five-to twenty-times better than the current generation of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes depending on energy, the Cherenkov Telescope Array will be able to follow the emission from these objects with a very accurate time sampling and over a wide spectral coverage from 20 GeV to > 20 TeV and thus reveal the nature of the acceleration processes at work in these objects. We will show the first results of our lightcurve simulations and long-term behavior of AGN as will be observed by CTA, based on state-of-art particle acceleration models.

Abstract: Most active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at the center of the nearby galaxies have super-massive black holes accreting at sub-Eddington rates through hot accretion flows or radiatively inefficient accretion flows, which efficiently produce jets. The association of radio and X-ray flares with the knot ejection from M81* inspires us to model its multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution during these flares to constrain the physical parameters of the jet. Moreover, we construct a long-term light curve in X-rays to identify the flares in the available data and constrain the jet parameters during those periods. The jet activity may vary on short and long time scales, which may produce flares in different frequency bands. The spectral energy distributions from radio to X-ray during the quiescent as well as flaring states are found to be satisfactorily explained by synchrotron emission of relativistic electrons from a single zone. The variation in the values of the jet parameters during the different states is shown and compared with high synchrotron peaked blazars.

Abstract: The afterglows of exceptionally bright gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can reveal the angular structure of their ultra-relativistic jets after they emerge from the confining medium, e.g. the progenitor's stellar envelope in long-soft GRBs. These jets appear to have a narrow core (of half-opening angle $\theta_c$), beyond which their kinetic energy drops as a power-law with the angle $\theta$ from the jet's symmetry axis, $E_{k,\rm iso}(\theta)\propto[1+(\theta/\theta_c)^2]^{-a/2}$. The power-law index $a$ reflects the amount of mixing between the shocked jet and confining medium, which depends on the jet's inital magnetization. Weakly magnetized jets undergo significant mixing, leading to shallow ($a\lesssim2$) angular profiles. Here we use the exquisite multi-waveband afterglow observations of GRB 221009A to constrain the jet angular structure using a dynamical model that accounts for both the forward and reverse shocks, for a power-law external density radial profile, $n_{\rm{}ext}\propto{}R^{-k}$. Both the forward shock emission, that dominates the optical and X-ray flux, and the reverse shock emission, that produces the radio afterglow, require a jet with a narrow core ($\theta_c\approx0.021$) and a shallow angular structure ($a\approx0.8$) expanding into a stellar wind ($k\approx2$). In addition, the fraction of shock-heated electrons forming a relativistic power-law energy distribution is limited to $\xi_e\approx10^{-2}$ in both shocks.