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At least 55 records · Page 3

An X-ray method for detecting substructure in galaxy clusters - Application to Perseus, A2256, Centaurus, Coma, and Sersic 40/6

We use the moments of the X-ray surface brightness distribution to constrain the dynamical state of a galaxy cluster. Using X-ray observations from the Einstein Observatory IPC, we measure the first moment FM, the ellipsoidal orientation angle, and the axial ratio at a sequence of radii in the cluster. We argue that a significant variation in the image centroid FM as a function of radius is evidence for a nonequilibrium feature in the intracluster medium (ICM) density distribution. In simple terms, centroid shifts indicate that the center of mass of the ICM varies with radius. This variation is a tracer of continuing dynamical evolution. For each cluster, we evaluate the significance of variations in the centroid of the IPC image by computing the same statistics on an ensemble of simulated cluster images. In producing these simulated images we include X-ray point source emission, telescope vignetting, Poisson noise, and characteristics of the IPC. Application of this new method to five Abell clusters reveals that the core of each one has significant substructure. In addition, we find significant variations in the orientation angle and the axial ratio for several of the clusters.

Mohr, Joseph J.↗

Model-based reasoning for power system management using KATE and the SSM/PMAD

The overall goal of this research effort has been the development of a software system which automates tasks related to monitoring and controlling electrical power distribution in spacecraft electrical power systems. The resulting software system is called the Intelligent Power Controller (IPC). The specific tasks performed by the IPC include continuous monitoring of the flow of power from a source to a set of loads, fast detection of anomalous behavior indicating a fault to one of the components of the distribution systems, generation of diagnosis (explanation) of anomalous behavior, isolation of faulty object from remainder of system, and maintenance of flow of power to critical loads and systems (e.g. life-support) despite fault conditions being present (recovery). The IPC system has evolved out of KATE (Knowledge-based Autonomous Test Engineer), developed at NASA-KSC. KATE consists of a set of software tools for developing and applying structure and behavior models to monitoring, diagnostic, and control applications.

Morris, Robert A.↗

Einstein x ray observations of the core of the Shapley Supercluster in northern Centaurus

We present Einstein x ray observations of the core of the Shapley Supercluster, one of the richest and densest known mass concentrations in the local (z less than 0.1) universe. We used Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) observations supplemented with data from the Einstein Slew Survey to determine the locations and structure of mass concentrations in the region. An x ray map composed of IPC observations of the central (10 deg x 10 deg) region of the Shapley Supercluster is presented. We present evidence that the X-ray clusters observed within 5 deg of the core of the supercluster are on average brighter than those of corresponding richness class distributed throughout the sky. However, we measure no significant difference in the galaxy formation efficiency of these cluster of galaxies compared to other, more isolated clusters. We also find one previously uncataloged cluster-sized mass concentration in the core of the Shapley Supercluster. This new cluster, 'SC 1327-312', is relatively x ray bright (F(sub x) = 1.1 + or - 0.2 x 10(exp -11) erg sec(exp -1) cm(exp -2)) and L(sub x) = 1.1 + or - 0.2 x 10(exp 44) erg sec(exp -1) within 10 minutes, assuming z = 0.0477, H(sub 0) = 50, q(sub 0) = 0). As SC 1327-312 lies well within an Abell radius of the richness R = 4 cluster Shapley 8 (A3558), we suggest it may contribute to an artificially high galaxy count and richness classification for shapley 8. From slew data, we estimate an x ray luminosity for Shapley 8 which is just half the mean luminosity of the four other R = 4 clusters observed by the IPC, further suggesting the richness classification to be an overestimate.

Breen, Jeffrey↗

The faint X-ray sources in and out of omega Centauri: X-ray observations and optical identifications

We present the results of an observation of the globular cluster omega Cen (NGC 5139) with the Einstein high-resolution imager (HRI). Of the five low-luminosity X-ray sources toward omega Cen which were first identified with the Einstein imaging proportional counter (IPC) (Hertz and Grindlay 1983a, b), two are detected in the Einstein HRI observation: IPC sources A and D. These detections provide source positions accurate to 3 sec-4 sec; the positions are confirmed in a ROSAT HRI observation reported here. Using CCD photometry and spectroscopy, we have identified both sources as foreground dwarf M stars with emission lines (dMe). The chance projection of two Mde stars within approximately 13 min of the center of omega Cen is not extraordinary, given the space density of these stellar coronal X-ray sources. We discuss the possible nature of the three as yet unidentified IPC sources toward omega Cen, and consider the constraints that the Einstein observations place on the total population of X-ray sources in this cluster. The integrated luminosity from faint X-ray sources in omega Cen appears to be low relative to both the old open cluster M67 and the post-core-collapse globular, NGC 6397.

Cool, Adrienne M.↗

Thermal Cycle Reliability of PBGA/CCGA 717 I/Os

Status of thermal cycle test results for a nonfunctional daisy-chained peripheral ceramic column grid array (CCGA) and its plastic ball grid array (PBGA) version. both having 560 I/Os. were presented in last year's conference. Test results included environmental data for three different thermal cycle regimes (-55 C/125 C, -55 C/100 C, and -50 C /75 C). Update information on these - especially failure type for assemblies with high and low solder volumes-were presented. The thermal cycle test procedure followed those recommended IPC-9701 for tin-lead solder joint assemblies. Revision A of this specification covers guideline thermal cycle requirements for Pb-free solder joints. Some background information discussed during release of this specification with its current guideline recommendations were also presented. In a recent reliability investigation a fully populated CCGA with 717 I/Os was also considered for assembly reliability. evaluation. The functional package is a field-programmable gate array that has much higher processing power than its previous version. This new package is smaller in dimension, has no interposer, and has a thinner column wrapped with copper for reliability improvement. This paper will also present thermal cycle test results for this package assembly and its plastic version with 728 I/Os. both of which were exposed to three different cycle regimes. Two cycle profiles were those specified by IPC- 9701A for tin-lead, i.e. -55 to 100 C and -55 to 125 C and one was a cycle profile specified by Mil-Std-883, i.e.. -65 C/150 C which is generally used for ceramic hybrid packages. Per IPC-9701 A, test vehicles were built using daisy chain packages and were continuously monitored. The effects of many process and assembly variables-including corner staking commonly used for improving resistance to mechanical loading such as drop and vibration loads--were also considered as part of the test matrix. Optical photomicrographs were taken at various thermal cycle intervals to document damage progress and behavior. Representative samples of these along with cross-sectional photomicrographs at higher magnification taken by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine crack propagation and failure analyses for packages are also presented.

staking↗

Integrated Propulsion Control System program.

Description of a three-year exploratory research program for the design, development, and flight evaluation of an Integrated Propulsion Control System (IPCS). The primary objectives of this program are to establish through flight test the potential improvements in steady-state and transient propulsion system performance that can be achieved as a direct result of new modes of control, more direct sensing of engine and inlet parameters, and the use of more sophisticated, high-speed digital computation. A F-111 E aircraft with the left inlet and engine modified to the IPCS configuration will be used to conduct the flight evaluation.

Bentz, C. E.↗

Propulsion/flight control integration technology (PROFIT) design analysis status

The propulsion flight control integration technology (PROFIT) program was designed to develop a flying testbed dedicated to controls research. The preliminary design, analysis, and feasibility studies conducted in support of the PROFIT program are reported. The PROFIT system was built around existing IPCS hardware. In order to achieve the desired system flexibility and capability, additional interfaces between the IPCS hardware and F-15 systems were required. The requirements for additions and modifications to the existing hardware were defined. Those interfaces involving the more significant changes were studied. The DCU memory expansion to 32K with flight qualified hardware was completed on a brassboard basis. The uplink interface breadboard and a brassboard of the central computer interface were also tested. Two preliminary designs and corresponding program plans are presented.

Carlin, C. M.↗

A soft X-ray halo around SU UMa

The dwarf nova SU UMa was observed with the imaging proportional counter (IPC) detector on the Einstein X-ray Observatory on 4 October 1979 at 4 h UT for about 3,000 s. An X-ray source was detected at the position of the star. It had a flux of 1.3 x 10 to -11th erg/sq cm s (0.6 counts per s) in the 0.1-4.5 keV energy range of the IPC, assuming a spectral temperature of about 10 keV. In addition, several areas of weaker emission were observed which form a ring that is symmetrically disposed about the position of the dwarf nova. This latter emission is detected only at energies below 0.7 keV; the possibility that it arises in material that has been ejected from the star in a nova-like event is discussed.

Cordova, F. A.↗

An X-ray study of the galactic center

The results from two long observations with the Einstein Observatory Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) of an approximately 1 x 1 deg field centered near the galactic nucleus are presented. The X-ray images reveal a complex of weak sources within 20 arcmin of the galactic nucleus (Sgr A West) together with a region of apparently diffuse emission about 25 x 15 arcmin in extent. Three of the sources are tentatively identified: two with nearby galactic objects, and a third positionally coincident with Sgr A West itself (within the arcmin-accuracy available with the IPC). The nature of this source and the implications of both the high source density and presence of diffuse emission in the galactic center region are discussed.

Watson, M. G.↗

Einstein observations of the 1978 November 19 gamma ray burst source field

It is pointed out that several years after the discovery of cosmic gamma ray bursts (GRB) their sources have not yet been identified, although searches have been conducted in optical, X-ray, and radio wavelengths. The three smallest error boxes are now related to the events of Mar. 5, 1979, Apr. 6, 1979, and Nov. 19, 1978. X-ray observations, with the Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) of the Einstein Observatory, were made for all three locations. A description is presented of the results of the 8200 second IPC observation of the Nov. 19, 1978 GRB, made on July 1 and 2, 1980. Three sources were detected. However, two of them were outside the GRB error box. The third source is located well inside the burst error box.

Pizzichini, G.↗

Compact X-ray sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Sixteen Einstein X-ray sources in the field of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) that appear non-extended in the IPC detector have recently been accurately positioned with the HRI to make optical follow-up studies feasible. At least twelve of these are not associated with the LMC, including one Seyfert galaxy at a redshift of 0.076 and eleven late type galactic foreground stars, some showing photometric behavior typical for RS CVn and BY Dra variables. Two sources are identified with faint blue variable objects, one of them has been observed to exhibit He II 4686 and variable Balmer emission lines being reminiscent of the low mass X-ray binary LMC X-2. The IPC source 1E0501438-7037.6 is probably associated with the LMC OB star Sk-70 36 which has been found to show ellipsoidal light variations with a period of 6.94 d. The results strongly suggest that a gap in the X-ray binary luminosity function of the LMC exists between 10 to the 36th and 10 to the 38th ergls.

Pakull, M. W.↗

X-ray observations to detect hot coronae around galaxies

X-ray observations were made of two nearby edge-on spiral galaxies with the Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) on the Einstein Observatory in an effort to detect hot (1,000,000 K), gaseous galactic coronae. No diffuse emission from galactic coronae was detected. Upper limits to diffuse emission (0.3-2.9 keV) are 10 to the 39th ergs/sec (NGC 3628) and 2 x 10 to the 38th ergs/sec (NGC 4244). The measurements indicate that less than 1/1000 of the energy supplied by supernovae in these galaxies appears as soft X-rays. The energy from supernovae may be radiated away by cool gas (less than 600,000 K) whose emission is undetectable by the Einstein Observatory, or the energy may be carried away by a hot wind (10,000,000 K) which radiates inefficiently. Serendipitous X-ray sources from the two IPC fields are listed.

Bregman, J. N.↗

The X-ray morphology of Abell 1367

X-ray observations of the nearby cluster Abell 1367 were made with the Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) and High Resolution Imager (HRI) aboard the Einstein Observatory. The IPC is used to study the diffuse cluster emission. With the HRI, eight point sources are detected above the diffuse cluster emission, three of which are apparently associated with cluster galaxies. In addition, the HRI observations have resolved 13 extended features with characteristic radii of order arcmin, eight of which are associated with cluster galaxies. These extended sources have luminosities of 1.5-6.5 x 10 to the 41st per (H0)50)-squared ergs per sec in the 0.5-4.5 keV band and constitute about 60% of the total cluster emission. The ways in which these hot galactic coronae can be maintained are discussed.

Bechtold, J.↗

Einstein Observations of the Cygnus Loop

The imaging instruments on the Einstein Observatory were used to study the detailed X-ray structure of the Cygnus Loop. An arc minute resolution map of the 0.1-4.0 keV emission from the entire remnant was obtained with the imaging proportional counter (IPC). The bright northeastern and western limbs were mapped with the high resolution imager (HRI). The large-scale structure of the Loop is well modeled as a limb-brightened shell of hot gas at 2 x 10 to the 6th K created by the expansion of a blast wave into an inhomogeneous interstellar medium. The pulse-height data from the IPC indicate that the center of the remnant is generally hotter than the limb with temperatures as high as 4 x 10 to the 6th K. The X-ray maps show good general correlation with large-scale radio and optical structure, and in some cases good detailed correlation with faint optical filaments dominated by hydrogen line emission.

Ku, W. H.-M.↗

Binary modulation and transient periodic variations in X-ray emission from the AM Her binary H 0139 - 68

A detailed timing analysis of HEAO-1 and Einstein satellite soft X-ray data on the AM Her-type binary H 0139 - 68 indicates that the X-ray flux is modulated at the 113.6363-min period of its optical counterpart, and that the X-ray source shows high and low states. Transient X-ray pulsations with a period of about 275 sec are noted in the Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) data during the high state, and the rapid X-ray flickering observed in the IPC light curve is characterized by an average e-folding autocorrelation time of about 10-20 sec. The present optical and X-ray data preclude the presence of an accretion disk in the primary system.

Singh, K. P.↗

Complex structure of the supernova remnant HB 3

HB 3 is an old, large (84 pc diameter) supernova remnant associated with the W3 H II region/molecular cloud complex. Observations of the imaging proportional counter (IPC) onboard the Einstein X-ray astronomy satellite have been reprocessed to yield a contour map of X-ray brightness and spectra of various regions of this remnant. The measured IPC flux is 2.4 x 10 to the -11th ergs per sq cm per s, giving a 0.2-4 keV luminosity of 1.6 x 10 to the 35th ergs/s for a column densityof 6 x 10 to the 21st per sq cm. The measured X-ray temperatures reveal a decrease from center to limb of the remnant of 1-0.3 keV. HB 3 is in the late adiabatic blast-wave phase of evolution, 30,000 to 50,000 yr old and with an initial blast energy of 3 x 10 to the 50th ergs. The X-ray map is compared with available radio and optical images. In X-rays, HB 3 has two components - a diffuse emission inside the 84 pc radio remnant and a ring of emission at the center of 30 pc in diameter. The diffuse emission is similar to that from other supernova remnants which are moderately obscured (column density, nH approximately 10 to the 22nd per sq cm). Three possibilities for the origin of the ring are explored: (1) a second supernova remnant, (2) a shocked shell in the interstellar medium surrounding HB 3, and (3) reverse-shock heated ejecta. There is no hot neutron star within the remnant.

Leahy, D. A.↗

Current issues in the X-ray properties of active galactic nuclei

Some issues raised by soft X-ray spectra and hours variability observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN), made possible by improved energy calibration of the Einstein IPC and the launch of Exosat into a unique 72-hour highly elliptical orbit, are presented. Explanations for steep soft excesses in quasars include the emission from the hot tail of an accretion disk spectrum, and from optically thin bremsstrahlung at 1-2 x 10 to the 6th K from a large volume. Mechanisms for the approximately 1.0 slope in the 0.2-4 keV soft IPC X-ray band quasars include direct synchrotron emission, unsaturated Comptonization of an arbitrary seed spectrum, and synchro-Compton scattering from the infrared. The Exosat observation of NGC 4051 revealed six 1-hour cycles with spectral changes during the variations. AGN time variations may now be able to limit emission models through studying, for example, the lag times between soft and hard variations.

Elvis, M.↗

Rapid X-ray and optical variability in the X-ray selected BL Lacertae object IE 1402.3 + 0416

Results from X-ray and optical observations of the X-ray-discovered BL Lac object 1E 1402.3 + 0416 are presented, where the X-ray measurements were carried out with the Channel Multiplier Array (CMA) and Medium Energy experiment (ME) detectors on board Exosat. These measurements revealed an intensity decrease by a factor of two on a time scale of a few hours. At maximum flux, the source was significantly greater than at the time of the Einstein Image Proportional Counter (IPC) discovery observation. The 2-6 keV X-ray spectrum was determined by the ME experiment, and IPC, HRI, and CMA data were subsequently compared. The source varied over the years by a factor of five; its brightest state was within the last three years. It is noted that a redshift greater than 0.2 would require that anisotropic emission mechanisms be invoked.

Giommi, P.↗