| 1. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(författare)
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The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 3:S08002
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is a general-purpose, heavy-ion detector at the CERN LHC which focuses on QCD, the strong-interaction sector of the Standard Model. It is designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at extreme values of energy density and temperature in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Besides running with Pb ions, the physics programme includes collisions with lighter ions, lower energy running and dedicated proton-nucleus runs. ALICE will also take data with proton beams at the top LHC energy to collect reference data for the heavy-ion programme and to address several QCD topics for which ALICE is complementary to the other LHC detectors. The ALICE detector has been built by a collaboration including currently over 1000 physicists and engineers from 105 Institutes in 30 countries, Its overall dimensions are 16 x 16 x 26 m(3) with a total weight of approximately 10 000 t. The experiment consists of 18 different detector systems each with its own specific technology choice and design constraints, driven both by the physics requirements and the experimental conditions expected at LHC. The most stringent design constraint is to cope with the extreme particle multiplicity anticipated in central Pb-Pb collisions. The different subsystems were optimized to provide high-momentum resolution as well as excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a broad range in momentum, up to the highest multiplicities predicted for LHC. This will allow for comprehensive studies of hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collision of heavy nuclei. Most detector systems are scheduled to be installed and ready for data taking by mid-2008 when the LHC is scheduled to start operation, with the exception of parts of the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS), Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) and Electro Magnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). These detectors will be completed for the high-luminosity ion run expected in 2010. This paper describes in detail the detector components as installed for the first data taking in the summer of 2008.
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| 2. |
- Veres, P., et al.
(författare)
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Observation of inverse Compton emission from a long gamma-ray burst
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 575:7783, s. 459-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) originate from ultra-relativistic jets launched from the collapsing cores of dying massive stars. They are characterized by an initial phase of bright and highly variable radiation in the kiloelectron volt-to-mega electronvoltband, which is probably produced within the jet and lasts from milliseconds to minutes, known as the prompt emission(1,2). Subsequently, the interaction of the jet with the surrounding medium generates shock waves that are responsible for the afterglow emission, which lasts from days to months and occurs over a broad energy range from the radio to the gigaelectronvolt bands(1-6). The afterglow emission is generally well explained as synchrotron radiation emitted by electrons accelerated by the external shock(7-9). Recently, intense long-lasting emission between 0.2 and 1 teraelectronvolts was observed from GRB 190114C(10,11). Here we report multifrequency observations of GRB 190114C, and study the evolution in time of the GRB emission across 17 orders of magnitude in energy, from 5 x 10(-6) to 10(12) electronvolts. We find that the broadband spectral energy distribution is double-peaked, with the teraelectronvolt emission constituting a distinct spectral component with power comparable to the synchrotron component. This component is associated with the afterglow and is satisfactorily explained by inverse Compton up-scattering of synchrotron photons by high-energy electrons. We find that the conditions required to account for the observed teraelectronvolt component are typical for GRBs, supporting the possibility that inverse Compton emission is commonly produced in GRBs.
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| 3. |
- Amati, L., et al.
(författare)
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The THESEUS space mission concept : science case, design and expected performances
- 2018
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Ingår i: Advances in Space Research. - : ELSEVIER SCI LTD. - 0273-1177 .- 1879-1948. ; 62:1, s. 191-244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- THESEUS is a space mission concept aimed at exploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts for investigating the early Universe and at providing a substantial advancement of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics. These goals will be achieved through a unique combination of instruments allowing GRB and X-ray transient detection over a broad field of view (more than 1 sr) with 0.5-1 arcmin localization, an energy band extending from several MeV down to 0.3 keV and high sensitivity to transient sources in the soft X-ray domain, as well as on-board prompt (few minutes) follow-up with a 0.7 m class IR telescope with both imaging and spectroscopic capabilities. THESEUS will be perfectly suited for addressing the main open issues in cosmology such as, e.g., star formation rate and metallicity evolution of the inter-stellar and intra-galactic medium up to redshift similar to 10, signatures of Pop III stars, sources and physics of re-ionization, and the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function. In addition, it will provide unprecedented capability to monitor the X-ray variable sky, thus detecting, localizing, and identifying the electromagnetic counterparts to sources of gravitational radiation, which may be routinely detected in the late '20s/early '30s by next generation facilities like aLIGO/ aVirgo, eLISA, KAGRA, and Einstein Telescope. THESEUS will also provide powerful synergies with the next generation of multi-wavelength observatories (e.g., LSST, ELT, SKA, CTA, ATHENA).
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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LOFT - The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9780819491442 ; , s. 84432D-
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOFT mission concept is one of four candidates selected by ESA for the M3 launch opportunity as Medium Size missions of the Cosmic Vision programme. The launch window is currently planned for between 2022 and 2024. LOFT is designed to exploit the diagnostics of rapid X-ray flux and spectral variability that directly probe the motion of matter down to distances very close to black holes and neutron stars, as well as the physical state of ultradense matter. These primary science goals will be addressed by a payload composed of a Large Area Detector (LAD) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM). The LAD is a collimated (<1 degree field of view) experiment operating in the energy range 2-50 keV, with a 10 m2 peak effective area and an energy resolution of 260 eV at 6 keV. The WFM will operate in the same energy range as the LAD, enabling simultaneous monitoring of a few-steradian wide field of view, with an angular resolution of <5 arcmin. The LAD and WFM experiments will allow us to investigate variability from submillisecond QPO's to yearlong transient outbursts. In this paper we report the current status of the project.
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| 6. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2014
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 9780819496126
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final downselection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supranuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1° collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study.
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| 7. |
- Marinucci, A., et al.
(författare)
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Polarization constraints on the X-ray corona in Seyfert Galaxies : MCG-05-23-16
- 2022
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 516:4, s. 5907-5913
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the first observation of a radio-quiet active galactic nucleus (AGN) in polarized X-rays: the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy MCG-05-23-16. This source was pointed at with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) starting on 2022 May 14 for a net observing time of 486 ks, simultaneously with XMM-Newton (58 ks) and NuSTAR (83 ks). A polarization degree Π smaller than 4.7 per cent (at the 99 per cent confidence level) is derived in the 2–8 keV energy range, where emission is dominated by the primary component ascribed to the hot corona. The broad-band spectrum, inferred from a simultaneous fit to the IXPE, NuSTAR, and XMM-Newton data, is well reproduced by a power law with photon index Γ = 1.85 ± 0.01 and a high-energy cutoff EC = 120 ± 15 keV. A comparison with Monte Carlo simulations shows that a lamp-post and a conical geometry of the corona are consistent with the observed upper limit, a slab geometry is allowed only if the inclination angle of the system is less than 50°.
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| 8. |
- Donnarumma, I., et al.
(författare)
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Multiwavelength Observations of 3C 454.3. II. The AGILE 2007 December Campaign
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205. ; 707:2, s. 1115-1123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the second Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero (AGILE) multiwavelength campaign of the blazar 3C 454.3 during the first half of 2007 December. This campaign involved AGILE, Spitzer, Swift, Suzaku, the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) consortium, the Rapid Eye Mount (REM), and the Multicolor Imaging Telescopes for Survey and Monstrous Explosions (MITSuME) telescopes, offering a broadband coverage that allowed for a simultaneous sampling of the synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) emissions. The two-week AGILE monitoring was accompanied by radio to optical monitoring by WEBT and REM, and by sparse observations in mid-infrared and soft/ hard X-ray energy bands performed by means of Target of Opportunity observations by Spitzer, Swift, and Suzaku, respectively. The source was detected with an average flux of similar to 250 x 10(-8) photons cm(-2) s(-1) above 100 MeV, typical of its flaring states. The simultaneous optical and gamma-ray monitoring allowed us to study the time lag associated with the variability in the two energy bands, resulting in a possible <= one-day delay of the gamma-ray emission with respect to the optical one. From the simultaneous optical and gamma-ray fast flare detected on December 12, we can constrain the delay between the gamma-ray and optical emissions within 12 hr. Moreover, we obtain three spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with simultaneous data for 2007 December 5, 13, and 15, characterized by the widest multifrequency coverage. We found that a model with an external Compton on seed photons by a standard disk and reprocessed by the broad-line regions does not describe in a satisfactory way the SEDs of 2007 December 5, 13, and 15. An additional contribution, possibly from the hot corona with T = 10(6) K surrounding the jet, is required to account simultaneously for the softness of the synchrotron and the hardness of the IC emissions during those epochs.
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| 9. |
- Senage, T., et al.
(författare)
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The role of antibody responses against glycans in bioprosthetic heart valve calcification and deterioration
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 28, s. 283-294
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) are commonly used to replace severely diseased heart valves but their susceptibility to structural valve degeneration (SVD) limits their use in young patients. We hypothesized that antibodies against immunogenic glycans present on BHVs, particularly antibodies against the xenoantigens galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose (alpha Gal) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), could mediate their deterioration through calcification. We established a large longitudinal prospective international cohort of patients (n = 1668, 34 +/- 43 months of follow-up (0.1-182); 4,998 blood samples) to investigate the hemodynamics and immune responses associated with BHVs up to 15 years after aortic valve replacement. Early signs of SVD appeared in <5% of BHV recipients within 2 years. The levels of both anti-alpha Gal and anti-Neu5Gc IgGs significantly increased one month after BHV implantation. The levels of these IgGs declined thereafter but anti-alpha Gal IgG levels declined significantly faster in control patients compared to BHV recipients. Neu5Gc, anti-Neu5Gc IgG and complement deposition were found in calcified BHVs at much higher levels than in calcified native aortic valves. Moreover, in mice, anti-Neu5Gc antibodies were unable to promote calcium deposition on subcutaneously implanted BHV tissue engineered to lack alpha Gal and Neu5Gc antigens. These results indicate that BHVs manufactured using donor tissues deficient in alpha Gal and Neu5Gc could be less prone to immune-mediated deterioration and have improved durability. In a large cohort of patients who underwent aortic valve replacement, antibody responses to glycans present in bioprosthetic heart valves, notably galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose and N-glycolylneuraminic acid, were implicated in valve calcification and deterioration.
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| 10. |
- van de Laar, IMBH, et al.
(författare)
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European reference network for rare vascular diseases (VASCERN) consensus statement for the screening and management of patients with pathogenic ACTA2 variants
- 2019
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Ingår i: Orphanet journal of rare diseases. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1750-1172. ; 14:1, s. 264-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ACTA2 gene encodes for smooth muscle specific α-actin, a critical component of the contractile apparatus of the vascular smooth muscle cell. Pathogenic variants in the ACTA2 gene are the most frequently encountered genetic cause of non-syndromic hereditary thoracic aortic disease (HTAD). Although thoracic aortic aneurysm and/or dissection is the main clinical manifestation, a variety of occlusive vascular disease and extravascular manifestations occur in ACTA2-related vasculopathy. Current data suggest possible mutation-specific manifestations of vascular and extra-aortic traits.Despite its relatively high prevalence, comprehensive recommendations on the care of patients and families with pathogenic variants in ACTA2 have not yet been established. We aimed to develop a consensus document to provide medical guidance for health care professionals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of patients and relatives with pathogenic variants in ACTA2.The HTAD Working Group of the European Reference Network for Rare Vascular Diseases (VASCERN) convened to review current literature and discuss expert opinions on clinical management of ACTA2 related vasculopathy. This consensus statement summarizes our recommendations on diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, pregnancy, genetic counselling and testing in patients with ACTA2-related vasculopathy. However, there is a clear need for additional prospective multicenter studies to further define proper guidelines.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Chen, A. W., et al.
(författare)
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Calibration of AGILE-GRID with in-flight data and Monte Carlo simulations
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 558, s. A37-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. AGILE is a γ-ray astrophysics mission which has been in orbit since 23 April 2007 and continues to operate reliably. The γ-ray detector, AGILE-GRID, has observed Galactic and extragalactic sources, many of which were collected in the first AGILE Catalog. Aims. We present the calibration of the AGILE-GRID using in-flight data and Monte Carlo simulations, producing instrument response functions (IRFs) for the effective area (A eff), energy dispersion probability (EDP), and point spread function (PSF), each as a function of incident direction in instrument coordinates and energy. Methods. We performed Monte Carlo simulations at different γ-ray energies and incident angles, including background rejection filters and Kalman filter-based γ-ray reconstruction. Long integrations of in-flight observations of the Vela, Crab and Geminga sources in broad and narrow energy bands were used to validate and improve the accuracy of the instrument response functions. Results. The weighted average PSFs as a function of spectra correspond well to the data for all sources and energy bands. Conclusions. Changes in the interpolation of the PSF from Monte Carlo data and in the procedure for construction of the energy-weighted effective areas have improved the correspondence between predicted and observed fluxes and spectra of celestial calibration sources, reducing false positives and obviating the need for post-hoc energy-dependent scaling factors. The new IRFs have been publicly available from the AGILE Science Data Center since November 25, 2011, while the changes in the analysis software will be distributed in an upcoming release.
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| 13. |
- Del Monte, E., et al.
(författare)
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The observation of GRBs with AGILE and the interesting cases of GRB 090618 and GRB 100724B
- 2011
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Ingår i: AIP Conf. Proc.. - : AIP. - 9780735409163 ; , s. 209-212
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The AGILE satellite, in orbit since 2007, is localizing about 0.5 GRBs per month with the hard X-ray Imager superagile (18-60 keV) and is detecting around 1 GRB per week with the non-imaging Minicalorimeter (0.35 - 100 MeV). Up to now the AGILE Gamma Ray Imaging Detector firmly detected four GRBs in the energy band between 20 MeV and few GeV. In this presentation we review the status of the GRBs observation with AGILE, we discuss the upper limits in the gamma-ray band of the non-detected events and we show some interesting bursts, especially GRB 090618 (bright in soft and hard-X rays, optical and radio but lacking GeV emission) and GRB 100724B (with a bright GeV emission simultaneous to hard-X rays without delayed onset).
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| 14. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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Monitoring the hard X-ray sky with SuperAGILE
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 510, s. A9-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context SuperAGILE is the hard X-ray monitor of the AGILE gamma ray mission, in orbit since 23 April 2007. It is an imaging experiment based on a set of four independent silicon strip detectors, equipped with one-dimensional coded masks, operating in the nominal energy range 18-60 keV. Aims. The main goal of SuperAGILE is the observation of cosmic sources simultaneously with the main gamma-ray AGILE experiment, the Gamma Ray Imaging Detector (GRID). Given its similar to steradian-wide field of view and its similar to 15 mCrab day-sensitivity, SuperAGILE is also well suited to the long-term monitoring of Galactic compact objects and the detection of bright transients. Methods. The SuperAGILE detector properties and design allow for a 6 arcmin angular resolution in each of the two independent orthogonal projections of the celestial coordinates. Photon by photon data are continuously available by means of experiment telemetry, and are used to derive images and fluxes of individual sources, with integration times depending on the source intensity and position in the field of view. Results. We report on the main scientific results achieved by SuperAGILE over its first two years in orbit, until April 2009. The scientific observations started in mid-July 2007, with the science verification phase, continuing during the complete AGILE Cycle 1 and the first similar to half of Cycle 2. Despite the largely non-uniform sky coverage, due to the pointing strategy of the AGILE mission, a few tens of Galactic sources were monitored, sometimes for unprecedently long continuous periods, leading to the detection also of several bursts and outbursts. Approximately one gamma ray burst per month was detected and localized, allowing for prompt multi-wavelength observations. A few extragalactic sources in bright states were occasionally detected as well. The light curves of sources measured by SuperAGILE are made publicly available on the web in almost real-time. To enable a proper scientific use of these, we provide the reader with the relevant scientific and technical background.
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| 15. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)
- 2012
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 34:2, s. 415-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-time-resolution X-ray observations of compact objects provide direct access to strong-field gravity, to the equation of state of ultradense matter and to black hole masses and spins. A 10 m(2)-class instrument in combination with good spectral resolution is required to exploit the relevant diagnostics and answer two of the fundamental questions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision Theme "Matter under extreme conditions", namely: does matter orbiting close to the event horizon follow the predictions of general relativity? What is the equation of state of matter in neutron stars? The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), selected by ESA as one of the four Cosmic Vision M3 candidate missions to undergo an assessment phase, will revolutionise the study of collapsed objects in our galaxy and of the brightest supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. Thanks to an innovative design and the development of large-area monolithic silicon drift detectors, the Large Area Detector (LAD) on board LOFT will achieve an effective area of similar to 12 m(2) (more than an order of magnitude larger than any spaceborne predecessor) in the 2-30 keV range (up to 50 keV in expanded mode), yet still fits a conventional platform and small/medium-class launcher. With this large area and a spectral resolution of < 260 eV, LOFT will yield unprecedented information on strongly curved spacetimes and matter under extreme conditions of pressure and magnetic field strength.
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| 16. |
- Giuliani, A., et al.
(författare)
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AGILE Detection of Delayed Gamma-ray Emission From the Short Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 090510
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205. ; 708:2, s. L84-L88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), typically lasting less than 2 s, are a special class of GRBs of great interest. We report the detection by the AGILE satellite of the short GRB 090510 which shows two clearly distinct emission phases: a prompt phase lasting similar to 200 ms and a second phase lasting tens of seconds. The prompt phase is relatively intense in the 0.3-10 MeV range with a spectrum characterized by a large peak/cutoff energy near 3 MeV; in this phase, no significant high-energy gamma-ray emission is detected. At the end of the prompt phase, intense gamma-ray emission above 30 MeV is detected showing a power-law time decay of the flux of the type t(-1.3) and a broadband spectrum remarkably different from that of the prompt phase. It extends from sub-MeV to hundreds of MeV energies with a photon index alpha similar or equal to 1.5. GRB 090510 provides the first case of a short GRB with delayed gamma-ray emission. We present the timing and spectral data of GRB 090510 and briefly discuss its remarkable properties within the current models of gamma-ray emission of short GRBs.
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| 17. |
- Longo, F., et al.
(författare)
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Upper limits on the high-energy emission from gamma-ray bursts observed by AGILE-GRID
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 547, s. A95-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The detection and the characterization of the highenergy emission component from individual gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is one of the key science objectives of the currently operating gamma-ray satellite AGILE, launched in April 2007. In its first two years of operation AGILE detected three GRBs with photons of energy larger than 30 MeV. One more GRB was detected in AGILE third operation year, while operating in spinning mode. Aims. For the 64 other GRBs localized during the period July 2007 to October 2009 in the field of view of the AGILE Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID), but not detected by this instrument, we estimate the count and flux upper limits on the GRB high energy emission in the AGILE-GRID energy band (30 MeV-3 GeV). Methods. To calculate the count upper limits, we adopted a Bayesian approach. The flux upper limits are derived using several assumptions on the high-energy spectral behavior. For 28 GRBs with available prompt spectral information, a flux upper limit and the comparison with the expected flux estimated from spectral extrapolation of the Band spectrum to the 30 MeV-3 GeV band are provided. Moreover, upper limits on the flux under the assumption of an extra power law component dominating the 30 MeV-3 GeV band are calculated for all GRBs and considering four different values for the spectral photon index. Finally, we performed a likelihood upper limit on the possible delayed emission up to 1 h after the GRB. Results. The estimated flux upper limits range between 1 × 10 -4 and ∼2 × 10 -2 photons cm -2 s -1 and generally lie above the flux estimated from the extrapolation of the prompt emission in the 30 MeV-3 GeV band. A notable case is GRB 080721, where the AGILE-GRID upper limit suggests a steeper spectral index or the presence of a cut-off in the high energy part of the Band prompt spectrum. The four GRBs detected by AGILE-GRID show high-energy (30 MeV-3 GeV) to low-energy (1 keV-10 MeV) fluence ratios similar to those estimated in this paper for the 64 GRBs without GRID detection, favoring the possibility that AGILE-GRID detected only high-fluence, hard GRBs. From the flux upper limits derived in this work we put some constraint on high-energy radiation from the afterglow emission and from synchrotron self Compton emission in internal shocks.
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| 18. |
- Longo, F., et al.
(författare)
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Variable and transient Galactic gamma-ray sources with AGILE
- 2011
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Ingår i: Nuovo Cimento della Societa Italiana di Fisica C. - 1124-1896. ; 34:3, s. 191-196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AGILE has been providing continous monitoring of the Galactic plane in its three years of operation. Thanks to its sensitivity at energies near 100 MeV, AGILE has observed variability and transient behaviour in a number of sources. Simultaneous hard-X-ray coverage, rapid alerts to the astronomical community, and multiwavelength campaigns have provided identifications for some of these sources and placed constraints on others. We provide an overview of these observations and their possible counterparts, including microquasars and colliding wind binaries.
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| 19. |
- Marisaldi, M., et al.
(författare)
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Detection of terrestrial gamma ray flashes up to 40 MeV by the AGILE satellite
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 115:3, s. A00E13-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the detection by the Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero (AGILE) satellite of terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) obtained with the minicalorimeter (MCAL) detector operating in the energy range 0.3-100 MeV. We select events typically lasting a few milliseconds with spectral and directional selections consistent with the TGF characteristics previously reported by other space missions. During the period 1 June 2008 to 31 March 2009 we detect 34 high-confidence events showing millisecond durations and a geographical distribution peaked over continental Africa and Southeast Asia. For the first time, AGILE-MCAL detects photons associated with TGF events up to 40 MeV. We determine the cumulative spectral properties of the spectrum in the range 0.5-40 MeV, which can be effectively described by a Bremsstrahlung spectrum. We find that both the TGF cumulative spectral properties and their geographical distribution are in good agreement with the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) results.
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| 20. |
- Nilson, K., et al.
(författare)
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Potassium-intercalated H2Pc films : Alkali-induced electronic and geometrical modifications
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 137:4, s. 044708-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- X-ray spectroscopy studies of potassium intercalated metal-free phthalocyanine multilayers adsorbed on Al(110) have been undertaken. Photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show the presence of several charge states of the molecules upon K intercalation, due to a charge transfer from the alkali. In addition, the comparison of valence band photoemission spectra with the density functional theory calculations of the density of states of the H2Pc- anion indicates a filling of the formerly lowest unoccupied molecular orbital by charge transfer from the alkali. This is further confirmed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies, which show a decreased density of unoccupied states. XAS measurements in different experimental geometries reveal that the molecules in the pristine film are standing upright on the surface or are only slightly tilted away from the surface normal but upon K intercalation, the molecular orientation is changed in that the tilt angle of the molecules increases.
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| 21. |
- Pellizzoni, A., et al.
(författare)
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Detection of Gamma-Ray Emission from the Vela Pulsar Wind Nebula with AGILE
- 2010
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 327:5966, s. 663-665
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pulsars are known to power winds of relativistic particles that can produce bright nebulae by interacting with the surrounding medium. These pulsar wind nebulae are observed by their radio, optical, and x-ray emissions, and in some cases also at TeV (teraelectron volt) energies, but the lack of information in the gamma-ray band precludes drawing a comprehensive multiwavelength picture of their phenomenology and emission mechanisms. Using data from the AGILE satellite, we detected the Vela pulsar wind nebula in the energy range from 100 MeV to 3 GeV. This result constrains the particle population responsible for the GeV emission and establishes a class of gamma-ray emitters that could account for a fraction of the unidentified galactic gamma-ray sources.
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| 22. |
- Pittori, C., et al.
(författare)
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First AGILE catalog of high-confidence gamma-ray sources
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 506:3, s. 1563-1574
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the first catalog of high-confidence gamma-ray sources detected by the AGILE satellite during observations performed from July 9, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Cataloged sources were detected by merging all the available data over the entire time period. AGILE, launched in April 2007, is an ASI mission devoted to gamma-ray observations in the 30 MeV-50 GeV energy range, with simultaneous X-ray imaging capability in the 18-60 keV band. This catalog is based on Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) data for energies greater than 100 MeV. For the first AGILE catalog, we adopted a conservative analysis, with a high-quality event filter optimized to select gamma-ray events within the central zone of the instrument field of view (radius of 40 degrees). This is a significance-limited (4 sigma) catalog, and it is not a complete flux-limited sample due to the non-uniform first-year AGILE sky coverage. The catalog includes 47 sources, 21 of which are associated with confirmed or candidate pulsars, 13 with blazars (7 FSRQ, 4 BL Lacs, 2 unknown type), 2 with HMXRBs, 2 with SNRs, 1 with a colliding-wind binary system, and 8 with unidentified sources.
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| 23. |
- Rushton, Anthony, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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A weak compact jet in a soft state of Cygnus X-1
- 2012
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 419:4, s. 3194-3199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present evidence for the presence of a weak compact jet during a soft X-ray state of Cygnus X-1. Very-high-resolution radio observations were taken with the VLBA, EVN and MERLIN during a hard-to-soft spectral state change, showing the hard state jet to be suppressed by a factor of about 35 in radio flux and unresolved to direct imaging observations (i.e. ?1 mas at 4 cm). High time-resolution X-ray observations with the RXTE-PCA were also taken during the radio monitoring period, showing the source to make the transition from the hard state to a softer state (via an intermediate state), although the source may never have reached the canonical soft state. Using astrometric very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) analysis and removing proper motion, parallax and orbital motion signatures, the residual positions show a scatter of similar to 0.2 mas (at 4 cm) and similar to 3 mas (at 13 cm) along the position angle of the known jet axis; these residuals suggest that there is a weak unresolved outflow, with varying size or opacity, during intermediate and soft X-ray states. Furthermore, no evidence was found for extended knots or shocks forming within the jet during the state transition, suggesting that the change in outflow rate may not be sufficiently high to produce superluminal knots.
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| 24. |
- Tavani, M., et al.
(författare)
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Detection of Gamma-Ray Emission from the Eta-Carinae Region
- 2009
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Ingår i: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS. - 2041-8205. ; 698:2, s. L142-L146
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the results of extensive observations by the gamma-ray AGILE satellite of the Galactic region hosting the Carina nebula and the remarkable colliding wind binary Eta Carinae (eta Car) during the period 2007 July-2009 January. We detect a gamma-ray source (1AGL J1043-5931) consistent with the position of eta Car. If 1AGL J1043-5931 is associated with the Car system, our data provide the long sought first detection above 100 MeV of a colliding wind binary. The average gamma-ray flux above 100 MeV and integrated over the preperiastron period 2007 July-2008 October is F(gamma) = (37 +/- 5) x 10(-8) ph cm(-2) s(-1) corresponding to an average gamma-ray luminosity of L(gamma) = 3.4 x 10(34) erg s(-1) for a distance of 2.3 kpc. We also report a two-day gamma-ray flaring episode of 1AGL J1043-5931 on 2008 October 11-13 possibly related to a transient acceleration and radiation episode of the strongly variable shock in the system.
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| 25. |
- Tavani, M., et al.
(författare)
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Direct Evidence for Hadronic Cosmic-Ray Acceleration in the Supernova Remnant IC 443
- 2010
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Ingår i: The Astrophysical Journal. Letters. - 2041-8205. ; 710:2, s. L151-L155
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The supernova remnant (SNR) IC 443 is an intermediate-age remnant well known for its radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy emissions. In this Letter, we study the gamma-ray emission above 100 MeV from IC 443 as obtained by the AGILE satellite. A distinct pattern of diffuse emission in the energy range 100 MeV-3 GeV is detected across the SNR with its prominent maximum (source "A") localized in the northeastern shell with a flux F = (47 +/- 10) x 10(-8) photons cm(-2) s(-1) above 100 MeV. This location is the site of the strongest shock interaction between the SNR blast wave and the dense circumstellar medium. Source "A" is not coincident with the TeV source located 0.4. away and associated with a dense molecular cloud complex in the SNR central region. From our observations, and from the lack of detectable diffuse TeV emission from its northeastern rim, we demonstrate that electrons cannot be the main emitters of gamma rays in the range 0.1-10 GeV at the site of the strongest SNR shock. The intensity, spectral characteristics, and location of the most prominent gamma-ray emission together with the absence of cospatial detectable TeV emission are consistent only with a hadronic model of cosmic-ray acceleration in the SNR. A high-density molecular cloud (cloud "E") provides a remarkable "target" for nucleonic interactions of accelerated hadrons; our results show enhanced gamma-ray production near the molecular cloud/shocked shell interaction site. IC 443 provides the first unambiguous evidence of cosmic-ray acceleration by SNRs.
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| 26. |
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