Study of a mechanism for accelerating and heating electrons in clusters of galaxies observed with focusing hard X-ray telescopes

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24740185
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Particle/Nuclear/Cosmic ray/Astro physics
• Research Institution: The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: KITAGUCHI Takao 独立行政法人理化学研究所, 仁科加速器研究センター, 客員研究員 (30620679)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 国際研究者交流 / アメリカ / 宇宙Ｘ線 / 銀河団

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We observed clusters of galaxies with the first focusing hard X-ray telescope onboard the NuSTAR satellite launched in 2012 to search for non-thermal and super-thermal hard X-rays, which allow us to study a mechanism for accelerating and heating plasma and estimate a cluster-scale energy budget. No significant excess emission above known X-rays form the hot gas is found so far. The lowest upper limit of the flux and the highest lower limit of the magnetic field were determined. In addition, new observations of other objects with the telescope require an extended emission model of an accreting white dwarf with a moderately strong magnetic field, and reveal new evidence on asymmetric explosion of core collapse supernovae by means of the diagnosis with the nuclear decay lines of Ti-44.

Free Research Field

高エネルギー宇宙物理実験