Netherlands Institute for Space Research

About: Netherlands Institute for Space Research is a facility organization based out in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Galaxy & Neutron star. The organization has 737 authors who have published 3026 publications receiving 106632 citations. The organization is also known as: SRON & Space Research Organisation Netherlands.

Properties of the cosmological filament between two clusters: A possible detection of a large-scale accretion shock by Suzaku

Abstract: We report on the results of a Suzaku observation of the plasma in the filament located between the two massive clusters of galaxies, Abell 399 and Abell 401. Abell 399 ( z = 0.0724) and Abell 401 ( z = 0.0737) are expected to be in the initial phase of a cluster merger. In the region between the two clusters, we find a clear enhancement in the temperature of the filament plasma from 4 keV (expected value of a typical cluster temperature profile) to kT ~ 6.5 keV. Our analysis also shows that filament plasma is present out to a radial distance of 15′ (1.3 Mpc) from a line connecting the two clusters. The temperature profile is characterized by an almost flat radial shape with kT ~ 6–7 keV within 10′ or ~0.8 Mpc. Across r = 8′ from the axis, the temperature of the filament plasma shows a drop from 6.3 keV to 5.1 keV, indicating the presence of a shock front. The Mach number based on the temperature drop is estimated to be ℳ ~ 1.3. We also successfully determined the abundance profile up to 15′ (1.3 Mpc), showing an almost constant value ( Z = 0.3 solar) at the cluster outskirts. We estimated the Compton y parameter to be ~ 14.5 ± 1.3 × 10 -6 , which is in agreement with the Planck results (14–17 × 10 -6 on the filament). The line-of-sight depth of the filament is l ~ 1.1 Mpc, which indicates that the geometry of filament is likely a pancake shape rather than cylindrical. The total mass of the filamentary structure is ~7.7 × 10 13 M ⊙ . We discuss a possible interpretation of the drop of X-ray emission at the rim of the filament, which was pushed out by the merging activity and formed by the accretion flow induced by the gravitational force of the filament.

Herschel observations of ortho- and para-oxidaniumyl (H2O+) in spiral arm clouds toward Sagittarius B2(M)

Abstract: H2O+ has been observed in its ortho- and para- states toward the massive star forming core Sgr B2(M), located close to the Galactic center. The observations show absorption in all spiral arm clouds between the Sun and Sgr B2. The average o/p ratio of H2O+ in most velocity intervals is 4.8, which corresponds to a nuclear spin temperature of 21 K. The relationship of this spin temperature to the formation temperature and current physical temperature of the gas hosting H2O+ is discussed, but no firm conclusion is reached. In the velocity interval 0-60 km s-1, an ortho/para ratio of below unity is found, but if this is due to an artifact of contamination by other species or real is not clear. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.Appendix (pages 6, 7) is only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

LEDs: Sources and Intrinsically Bandwidth-Limited Detectors

Abstract: The increasing demand for light emitting diodes (LEDs) is driven by a number of application categories, including display backlighting, communications, signage, and general illumination. Nowadays, they have also become attractive candidates as new photometric standards. In recent years, LEDs have started to be applied as wavelength-selective photo-detectors as well. Nevertheless, manufacturers’ datasheets are limited about LEDs used as sources in terms of degradation with operating time (aging) or shifting of the emission spectrum as a function of the forward current. On the contrary, as far as detection is concerned, information about spectral responsivity of LEDs is missing. We investigated, mainly from a radiometric point of view, more than 50 commercial LEDs of a wide variety of wavelength bands, ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR). Originally, the final aim was to find which LEDs could better work together as detector-emitter pairs for the creation of self-calibrating ground-viewing LED radiometers; however, the findings that we are sharing here following, have a general validity that could be exploited in several sensing applications.

Final verdict from XMM–Newton: the X-ray obscured Seyfert galaxy NGC 5506 has a broad Fe Kα line

Abstract: We present the first unambiguous evidence of a broad (Gaussian width ∼330 eV) component of the iron K α fluorescent emission line in the X-ray obscured narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy, NGC 5506. This is the main result of a spectroscopic monitoring campaign on this source, performed with the XMM–Newton observatory between 2001 February and 2009 January. The broad line lacks extreme redward skewness. If modelled with a relativistic component, the profile of the line is consistent with a flat emissivity radial dependence (α � 1.9). The disc inclination (� 40 ◦ ) is nominally larger than typically observed in unobscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs), in agreement with most measurements of broadened iron lines in Seyfert 2 galaxies. The quality of the data allows us to decompose the full iron emission-line complex, and to study its long-term (time-scales of weeks to yr) variability pattern. The intensity of the neutral and narrow iron Kα core remains constant during the monitoring campaign. This indicates that the optically thick gas responsible for the non-relativistic reprocessing of the primary AGN continuum in NGC 5506 is probably located in the torus rather than in the optical broad-line region.

LOFAR tied-array imaging and spectroscopy of solar S bursts

Abstract: Context. The Sun is an active source of radio emission that is often associated with energetic phenomena ranging from nanoflares to coronal mass ejections (CMEs). At low radio frequencies (<100 MHz), numerous millisecond duration radio bursts have been reported, such as radio spikes or solar S bursts (where S stands for short). To date, these have neither been studied extensively nor imaged because of the instrumental limitations of previous radio telescopes. Aims. Here, Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) observations were used to study the spectral and spatial characteristics of a multitude of S bursts, as well as their origin and possible emission mechanisms. Methods. We used 170 simultaneous tied-array beams for spectroscopy and imaging of S bursts. Since S bursts have short timescales and fine frequency structures, high cadence (~50 ms) tied-array images were used instead of standard interferometric imaging, that is currently limited to one image per second. Results. On 9 July 2013, over 3000 S bursts were observed over a time period of ~8 hours. S bursts were found to appear as groups of short-lived (<1 s) and narrow-bandwidth (~2.5 MHz) features, the majority drifting at ~3.5 MHz/s and a wide range of circular polarisation degrees (2-8 times more polarised than the accompanying Type III bursts). Extrapolation of the photospheric magnetic field using the potential field source surface (PFSS) model suggests that S bursts are associated with a trans-equatorial loop system that connects an active region in the southern hemisphere to a bipolar region of plage in the northern hemisphere. Conclusions. We have identified polarised, short-lived solar radio bursts that have never been imaged before. They are observed at a height and frequency range where plasma emission is the dominant emission mechanism, however they possess some of the characteristics of electron-cyclotron maser emission.