| 1. |
- Chauvin, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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Accretion geometry of the black-hole binary Cygnus X-1 from X-ray polarimetry
- 2018
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2397-3366. ; 2:8, s. 652-655
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Black hole binary (BHB) systems comprise a stellar-mass black hole and a closely orbiting companion star. Matter is transferred from the companion to the black hole, forming an accretion disk, corona and jet structures. The resulting release of gravitational energy leads to the emission of X-rays1. The radiation is affected by special/general relativistic effects, and can serve as a probe for the properties of the black hole and surrounding environment, if the accretion geometry is properly identified. Two competing models describe the disk–corona geometry for the hard spectral state of BHBs, based on spectral and timing measurements2,3. Measuring the polarization of hard X-rays reflected from the disk allows the geometry to be determined. The extent of the corona differs between the two models, affecting the strength of the relativistic effects (such as enhancement of the polarization fraction and rotation of the polarization angle). Here, we report observational results on the linear polarization of hard X-ray emission (19–181 keV) from a BHB, Cygnus X-14, in the hard state. The low polarization fraction, <8.6% (upper limit at a 90% confidence level), and the alignment of the polarization angle with the jet axis show that the dominant emission is not influenced by strong gravity. When considered together with existing spectral and timing data, our result reveals that the accretion corona is either an extended structure, or is located far from the black hole in the hard state of Cygnus X-1.
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| 2. |
- Chauvin, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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Observation of polarized hard X-ray emission from the Crab by the PoGOLite Pathfinder
- 2016
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966 .- 1745-3925 .- 1745-3933. ; 456:1, s. L84-L88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have measured the linear polarization of hard X-ray emission from the Crab in a previously unexplored energy interval, 20-120 keV. The introduction of two new observational parameters, the polarization fraction and angle stands to disentangle geometrical and physical effects, thereby providing information on the pulsar wind geometry and magnetic field environment. Measurements are conducted using the PoGOLite Pathfinder - a balloon-borne polarimeter. Polarization is determined by measuring the azimuthal Compton scattering angle of incident X-rays in an array of plastic scintillators housed in an anticoincidence well. The polarimetric response has been characterized prior to flight using both polarized and unpolarized calibration sources. We address possible systematic effects through observations of a background field. The measured polarization fraction for the integrated Crab light curve is 18.4(-10.6)(+9.8) per cent, corresponding to an upper limit (99 per cent credibility) of 42.4 per cent, for a polarization angle of (149.2 +/- 16.0)degrees.
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| 3. |
- Chauvin, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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PoGO + polarimetric constraint on the synchrotron jet emission of Cygnus X-1
- 2019
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. - : Oxford University Press. - 1745-3925 .- 1745-3933 .- 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 483:1, s. L138-L143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report a polarimetric constraint on the hard X-ray synchrotron jet emission from the Cygnus X-1 black hole binary system. The observational data were obtained using the PoGO+ hard X-ray polarimeter in 2016 July, when Cygnus X-1 was in the hard state. We have previously reported that emission from an extended corona with a low polarization fraction is dominating, and that the polarization angle is perpendicular to the disc surface. In the soft gamma-ray regime, a highly polarized synchrotron jet is reported with INTEGRAL observations. To constrain the polarization fraction and flux of such a jet component in the hard X-ray regime, we now extend analyses through vector calculations in the Stokes QU plane, where the dominant corona emission and the jet component are considered simultaneously. The presence of another emission component with different polarization angle could partly cancel out the net polarization. The 90 per cent upper limit of the polarization fraction for the additional synchrotron jet component is estimated as <10 per cent, <5 per cent, and <5 per cent for polarization angle perpendicular to the disc surface, parallel to the surface, and aligned with the emission reported by INTEGRAL data, respectively. From the 20-180 keV total flux of 2.6 × 10 -8 erg s -1 cm -2, the upper limit of the polarized flux is estimated as < 3 × 10 -9 erg s -1 cm -2.
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| 4. |
- Chauvin, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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Shedding new light on the Crab with polarized X-rays
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 7:7816, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Strong magnetic fields, synchrotron emission, and Compton scattering are omnipresent in compactcelestial X-ray sources. Emissions in the X-ray energy band are consequently expected to be linearlypolarized. X-ray polarimetry provides a unique diagnostic to study the location and fundamentalmechanisms behind emission processes. The polarization of emissions from a bright celestial X-raysource, the Crab, is reported here for the first time in the hard X-ray band (~20–160 keV). The Crab isa complex system consisting of a central pulsar, a diffuse pulsar wind nebula, as well as structures inthe inner nebula including a jet and torus. Measurements are made by a purpose-built and calibratedpolarimeter, PoGO+. The polarization vector is found to be aligned with the spin axis of the pulsar for apolarization fraction, PF = (20.9 ± 5.0)%. This is higher than that of the optical diffuse nebula, implyinga more compact emission site, though not as compact as, e.g., the synchrotron knot. Contrary tomeasurements at higher energies, no significant temporal evolution of phase-integrated polarisationparameters is observed. The polarization parameters for the pulsar itself are measured for the first timein the X-ray energy band and are consistent with observations at optical wavelengths.
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| 5. |
- Chauvin, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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The design and flight performance of the PoGOLite Pathfinder balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter
- 2016
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 41:1, s. 17-41
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the 50 years since the advent of X-ray astronomy there have been many scientific advances due to the development of new experimental techniques for detecting and characterising X-rays. Observations of X-ray polarisation have, however, not undergone a similar development. This is a shortcoming since a plethora of open questions related to the nature of X-ray sources could be resolved through measurements of the linear polarisation of emitted X-rays. The PoGOLite Pathfinder is a balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter operating in the 25-240 keV energy band from a stabilised observation platform. Polarisation is determined using coincident energy deposits in a segmented array of plastic scintillators surrounded by a BGO anticoincidence system and a polyethylene neutron shield. The PoGOLite Pathfinder was launched from the SSC Esrange Space Centre in July 2013. A near-circumpolar flight was achieved with a duration of approximately two weeks. The flight performance of the Pathfinder design is discussed for the three Crab observations conducted. The signal-to-background ratio for the observations is shown to be 0.25 ±0.03 and the Minimum Detectable Polarisation (99 % C.L.) is (28.4 ±2.2) %. A strategy for the continuation of the PoGOLite programme is outlined based on experience gained during the 2013 maiden flight.
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| 6. |
- Chauvin, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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The PoGO plus view on Crab off-pulse hard X-ray polarization
- 2018
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966 .- 1745-3925 .- 1745-3933. ; 477:1, s. L45-L49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The linear polarization fraction (PF) and angle of the hard X-ray emission from the Crab provide unique insight into high-energy radiation mechanisms, complementing the usual imaging, timing, and spectroscopic approaches. Results have recently been presented by two missions operating in partially overlapping energy bands, PoGO+ (18-160 keV) and AstroSat CZTI (100-380 keV). We previously reported PoGO+ results on the polarization parameters integrated across the light curve and for the entire nebula-dominated off-pulse region. We now introduce finer phase binning, in light of the AstroSat CZTI claim that the PF varies across the off-pulse region. Since both missions are operating in a regime where errors on the reconstructed polarization parameters are non-Gaussian, we adopt a Bayesian approach to compare results from each mission. We find no statistically significant variation in off-pulse polarization parameters, neither when considering the mission data separately nor when they are combined. This supports expectations from standard high-energy emission models.
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