Soft X-ray Emission Research Articles

Chemical State Mapping of Bulk Materials by Electron Microscopy Based Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy

Chemical State Mapping of Bulk Materials by Electron Microscopy Based Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy

Spherical plasma focus operated with nitrogen and neon gases for soft x-rays (bremsstrahlung radiation, line radiation, and radiative recombination)

X-ray emissions (bremsstrahlung radiation, line radiation, and radiative recombination) from spherical plasma focus (SPF) device are investigated with the developed spherical MHD model for nitrogen (N) and neon (Ne) gases with respect to gas pressure, which is varied from 0.1 Torr to 7 Torr. Ion density, plasma velocity, pinch temperature, and peak current are also calculated for N and Ne gases. The total capacitance, external inductance, charging voltage, and stored energy as the operational conditions of the SPF device in this study are 432 µF, 36 nH, 25 kV, and 135 kJ. The maximum current is achieved at 7 Torr for both N (1561 kA) and Ne (1525 kA). It is found that there is an optimum pressure point for both x-rays (bremsstrahlung radiation, line radiation, and radiative recombination) and the used gases (N and Ne), separately. While the optimum pressure of bremsstrahlung radiation for N and Ne gases are 0.9 Torr and 1 Torr, respectively, these optimum pressures of radiative recombination and line radiation are 1 Torr for N gas and 1.1 Torr for Ne gas, respectively. It is also found that line radiation constitutes the big portion of the soft x-ray (SXR) emissions from SPF device. Line radiations of N at 1 Torr and Ne at 1.1 Torr are 911 J (91% of total N SXRs) and 3036.5 J (93.1% of total Ne SXRs), respectively, which shows that SPF device can be considered as a good SXR source. Ion densities and peak currents at 7 Torr are calculated as 21.88 × 1023 m−3 with 1561 kA peak current for N gas and 15.98 × 1023 m−3 with 1525 kA peak current for Ne gas.

UV and soft x-ray emission from gaseous and solid targets employing SiC detectors

A ns Nd:YAG pulsed laser has been employed to produce plasma from the interaction with a dense target, generating continuum and UV and soft x-ray emission depending on the laser parameters and target properties. The laser hits solid and gaseous targets producing plasma in high vacuum, which was investigated by employing a silicon carbide detector. The two different interaction mechanisms were studied, as well as their dependence on the atomic number. The photon emission from laser-generated plasma produced by solid targets, such as boron nitride (BN) and other elements (Al, Cu, Sn and Ta) and compounds such as polyethylene, has been compared with that coming from plasma produced by irradiating different gas-puff targets based on N2 and other gases (Ar, Xe, Kr, SF6). The experimental results demonstrated that the yields are comparable and, in both cases, increase proportionally to the target atomic number. The obtained results, focusing the attention on the advantages and drawbacks of the employed targets, are presented and discussed.

Multichannel gas electron multiplier based soft x-ray field-programmable gate array measurement system for W-Environment in Steady-state Tokamak (WEST): Hardware, installation, and first plasma acquisition.

The work describes a novel approach to the design of a fast, multichannel measurement system for plasma diagnostics [A. Wojenski et al., Fusion Eng. Des. 123, 727 (2016)]. Its main scope is to provide measurements of soft X-ray (SXR) emission during plasma phenomena at the W-Environment in Steady-state Tokamak (WEST), especially for monitoring and tracing tungsten impurities. This paper describes the vertical Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) camera installed at the WEST [M. Chernyshova et al., J. Instrument. 10, P10022 (2015)]. The designed GEM detector readout board has more than 100 channels, resulting in high-performance requirements for the data acquisition and processing system. The novel system construction approach is that the unit works on the raw signals providing a high quality of the data, especially in the scope of pileup effect analysis. In the case of doubtful results, the source data can be easily reviewed offline. The data selection and transmission are done in Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) on the custom boards with the custom Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)-Express Gen2 switch that allows us to register signals from multiple FPGAs and then process the data by complex algorithms [G. Kasprowicz et al., J. Fusion Energy 38, 480 (2019)]. The firmware is replaceable and different working modes can be applied (some under verification): global trigger mode, high-speed data serialization, and extended signal registration. Low level optimized central processing unit software for data readout was also designed [P. Linczuk et al., J. Instrum. 14, C05001 (2019)]. The installation of the system is described due to complex system components' distribution. The first results of the successful acquisition of the plasma at the WEST are discussed. The corresponding SXR energy and topology spectra were computed. Those are the first technical measurements of the system to ensure verification of data quality.

KORTES Mission for Solar Activity Monitoring Onboard International Space Station

We present a description of the recent advances in the development of the KORTES assembly—the first solar oriented mission designed for the Russian segment of the International Space Station. KORTES consists of several imaging and spectroscopic instruments collectively covering a wide spectral range extending from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths to X-rays. The EUV telescopes inside KORTES will trace the origin and dynamics of various solar phenomena, e.g., flares, CMEs, eruptions etc. EUV spectra provided by grazing-incidence spectroheliographs will enable precise DEM-diagnostics during these events. The monochromatic X-ray imager will observe the formation of hot plasma in active regions and outside them. The SolpeX module inside KORTES will offer an opportunity to measure fluxes, Doppler shifts and polarization of soft X-ray emission both in lines and continuum. SolpeX observations will contribute to studies of particle beams and chromospheric evaporation. The instrumentation of KORTES will employ a variety of novel multilayer and crystal optics. The deployment of KORTES is planned for 2024.

Solid solubility and site preference of Ti in 3C-SiC

Ti is one of characteristic background impurities in silicon carbide (SiC) crystals, and it has a significant effect on the electronic properties of SiC. Herein, the calculated C-Si-Ti phase diagrams reveal that TiC, Ti3SiC2, and TiSi2 are the most stable phases depending on the chemical potential of Si, and the solid solubilities of Ti in 3C-SiC were determined at the SiC-TiSi2 thermodynamic equilibrium. The calculated hole transition energy between L1 and M3 for different possible defects explains the observed peak shift for the experimental Ti-Lℓ soft X-ray emissions of the Ti-saturated 3C-SiC, which experimentally confirmed that the Si-site substitution by Ti is the preferred type of defects for Ti in narrower-bandgap 3C-SiC. Furthermore, theoretical calculations reveal the different effects of Ti on the Si-L2,3 and C-K emission spectra.

Analysis of nitrogen distribution in iron-titanium alloys after nitrogen trapping in liquid lithium by using soft X-ray emission spectroscopy

Liquid lithium, a candidate material for the target of International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility (IFMIF), easily contains nitrogen. Nitrogen in liquid lithium should be removed as it accelerates corrosion of tubing materials. Hot trapping by iron-titanium alloys is expected to be a practical method. In order to understand the characteristics of nitrogen trapping with iron-titanium alloys in liquid lithium, nitrogen distribution was observed by Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (SXES). Samples of Fe-5Ti alloys were immersed for 9–256 h in liquid lithium which contains 1000 w-ppm of nitrogen at 823 K and studied by X-ray Powder diffraction and SXES. The results show that nitrogen is trapped mainly in the grain boundaries and on the surfaces of the Fe-5Ti alloys and diffuses in Fe-5Ti much faster than in pure titanium. In addition, it is assumed that the amount of nitrogen trapping by the surface of Fe-5Ti alloys does not depend on the immersion time.

Electron transfer in LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 during charging studied with soft X-ray spectrometry.

This is the first report on analyzing the chemical state of Li-ion battery electrodes at different states of charge by using a wavelength-dispersive spectrometer, which has a two-order improved energy resolution in the soft X-ray energy region compared with that of a conventional energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer. Electrodes containing LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 were charged to prepare Li0.5Mn1.5Ni0.5O4 and λ-Mn0.75Ni0.25O2. The soft X-ray emission spectra obtained from those materials show that the O-K emission signal was drastically decreased throughout the charging process. This suggests that O-2p electron contributed to the electrochemical oxidation. The density of states and Bader charge evaluated from ab initio calculation support this result.

Soft X-ray absorption and emission spectra of nanographene prepared from pentacene with hot mesh deposition and soft X-ray irradiation

The molecular orientation and partial density of states were evaluated using NewSUBARU by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and soft X-ray emission spectroscopy measurements. The degree of molecular alignment was degraded by increasing mesh temperature in hot mesh deposition (HMD), in other words, was changed from pentacene (Pn) to 6,13-dihydropentacene (DHP). At a mesh temperature of 1450 °C, the different XAS was obtained due to the mixing effect of Pn and DHP, and presence of Pn oligomer. The HMD carbon film transformed into the graphite-like film and the graphene on the quartz substrate and the Ni/quartz substrate after soft X-ray irradiation, respectively. The HMD carbon film after soft X-ray irradiation showed the peaks due to terminal carbon such as CH n and COOH in comparison with the reported large graphene sheet. It indicates that the flake size of the graphene on the Ni/quartz substrate was small and had many edges.

An investigation of flare emissions at multiple wavelengths

We report multi-wavelength observations of four solar flares on 2014 July 07. We firstly select these flares according to the soft X-ray (SXR) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emissions recorded by the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment and Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellites. Then their locations and geometries are identified from the full-disk images measured by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), and the time delays among the light curves in different channels are identified. The electron number densities are estimated using the differential emission measure method. We find that three of four flares show strong emissions in SXR channels and high temperature (>6 MK) EUV wavelengths during the impulsive phase, i.e., AIA 131 Å and 94 Å, and then they emit peak radiation subsequently in the middle temperature (∼0.6−3 MK) EUV channels. Moreover, they last for a long time and have smaller electron densities, which are probably driven by the interaction of hot diffuse flare loops. Only one flare emits radiation at almost the same time in all the observed wavelengths, lasts for a relatively short time, and has a larger electron density. It is also accompanied by a type III radio burst. The bright emission at the EUV channel could be corresponding to the associated erupting filament.

Accretion-modified Stars in Accretion Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei: Slowly Transient Appearance

Abstract Compact objects are expected to exist in the accretion disks of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and in the presence of such a dense environment (∼1014 cm−3), they will form a new kind of stellar population denoted as accretion-modified stars (AMSs). This hypothesis is supported by recent LIGO/Virgo detection of the mergers of very high-mass stellar binary black holes (BHs). We show that the AMSs will be trapped by the SMBH disk within a typical AGN lifetime. In the context of SMBH disks, the rates of Bondi accretion onto BHs are ∼109 L Edd/c 2, where L Edd is the Eddington luminosity and c is the speed of light. Outflows developed from the hyper-Eddington accretion strongly impact the Bondi sphere and induce episodic accretion. We show that the hyper-Eddington accretion will be halted after an accretion interval of t a ∼ 105 m 1 s, where m 1 = m •/10M ⊙ is the BH mass. The kinetic energy of the outflows accumulated during t a is equivalent to 10 supernovae driving an explosion of the Bondi sphere and developing blast waves. We demonstrate that a synchrotron flare from relativistic electrons accelerated by the blast waves peaks in the soft X-ray band (∼0.1 keV), significantly contributing to the radio, optical, UV, and soft X-ray emission of typical radio-quiet quasars. External inverse Compton scattering of the electrons peaks around 40 GeV and is detectable through Fermi-LAT. The flare, decaying with t −6/5 with a few months, will appear as a slowly varying transient. The flares, occurring at a rate of a few per year in radio-quiet quasars, provide a new mechanism for explaining AGN variability.

Soft x-ray tomograms are consistent with the magneto-hydrodynamic equilibrium in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator

Soft x-ray tomograms are inferred from experimental data obtained during the recent operational phases of the superconducting, optimized stellarator Wendelstein 7-X. It is shown that the reconstructed soft x-ray emission profiles of the plasma are consistent with the numerically calculated magneto-hydrodynamic equilibrium of Wendelstein 7-X. In order to obtain reliable tomograms, the full chain of electrical and geometrical influences on the x-ray observation has to be taken into account. This has been achieved by formulation and application of an extended forward model. The forward model has been verified using phantom data derived from surrogate tomograms.

Discovery of soft and hard X-ray time lags in low-mass AGNs

ABSTRACT The scaling relations between the black hole (BH) mass and soft lag properties for both active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and BH X-ray binaries (BHXRBs) suggest the same underlying physical mechanism at work in accreting BH systems spanning a broad range of mass. However, the low-mass end of AGNs has never been explored in detail. In this work, we extend the existing scaling relations to lower mass AGNs, which serve as anchors between the normal-mass AGNs and BHXRBs. For this purpose, we construct a sample of low-mass AGNs ($M_{\rm BH}\lt 3\times 10^{6} \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$) from the XMM–Newton archive and measure frequency-resolved time-delays between the soft (0.3–1 keV) and hard (1–4 keV) X-ray emissions. We report that the soft band lags behind the hard band emission at high frequencies ∼[1.3−2.6] × 10−3 Hz, which is interpreted as a sign of reverberation from the inner accretion disc in response to the direct coronal emission. At low frequencies (∼[3−8] × 10−4 Hz), the hard-band lags behind the soft-band variations, which we explain in the context of the inward propagation of luminosity fluctuations through the corona. Assuming a lamppost geometry for the corona, we find that the X-ray source of the sample extends at an average height and radius of ∼10rg and ∼6rg, respectively. Our results confirm that the scaling relations between the BH mass and soft lag amplitude/frequency derived for higher mass AGNs can safely extrapolate to lower mass AGNs, and the accretion process is indeed independent of the BH mass.

Time-scales to reach chemical equilibrium in ices at snowline distance around compact objects: the influence of accretion mass in the central object

ABSTRACT In this work, we analyse soft X-ray emission due to mass accretion on to compact stars and its effects on the time-scale to reach chemical equilibrium of eventual surrounding astrophysical ices exposed to that radiation. Reaction time-scales due to soft X-ray in water-rich and pure ices of methanol, acetone, acetonitrile, formic acid, and acetic acid were determined. For accretion rates in the range $\dot{m}=10^{-12}\!-\!10^{-8}\,{\rm M}_\odot$ yr−1 and distances in the range 1–3 LY from the central compact objects, the time-scales lie in the range 10–108 yr, with shorter time-scales corresponding to higher accretion rates. Obtained time-scales for ices at snow-line distances can be small when compared to the lifetime (or age) of the compact stars, showing that chemical equilibrium could have been achieved. Time-scales for ices to reach chemical equilibrium depend on X-ray flux and, hence, on accretion rate, which indicates that systems with low accretion rates may not have reached chemical equilibrium.

Carbon dust in the evolved born-again planetary nebulae A 30 and A 78

ABSTRACT We present an infrared (IR) characterization of the born-again planetary nebulae (PNe) A 30 and A 78 using IR images and spectra. We demonstrate that the carbon-rich dust in A 30 and A 78 is spatially coincident with the H-poor ejecta and coexists with hot X-ray-emitting gas up to distances of 50 arcsec from the central stars of PNe (CSPNe). Dust forms immediately after the born-again event and survives for 1000 yr in the harsh environment around the CSPN as it is destroyed and pushed away by radiation pressure and dragged by hydrodynamical effects. Spitzer IRS spectral maps showed that the broad spectral features at 6.4 and 8.0 μm, attributed to amorphous carbon formed in H-deficient environments, are associated with the disrupted disc around their CSPN, providing an optimal environment for charge exchange reactions with the stellar wind that produces the soft X-ray emission of these sources. Nebular and dust properties are modelled for A 30 with cloudy taking into account different carbonaceous dust species. Our models predict dust temperatures in the 40–230 K range, five times lower than predicted by previous works. Gas and dust masses for the born-again ejecta in A 30 are estimated to be $M_\mathrm{gas}=4.41^{+0.55}_{-0.14}\times 10^{-3}$ M⊙ and $M_\mathrm{dust}=3.20^{+3.21}_{-2.06}\times 10^{-3}$ M⊙, which can be used to estimate a total ejected mass and mass-loss rate for the born-again event of $7.61^{+3.76}_{-2.20}\times 10^{-3}$ M⊙ and $\dot{M}=(5{\!-\!}60)\times 10^{-5}$ M⊙ yr−1, respectively. Taking into account the carbon trapped into dust grains, we estimate that the C/O mass ratio of the H-poor ejecta of A 30 is larger than 1, which favours the very late thermal pulse model over the alternate hypothesis of a nova-like event.

The Neupert Effect of Flare Ultraviolet and Soft X-Ray Emissions

Abstract We model the Neupert effect that relates flare heating energy with the observed soft X-ray (SXR) emission. The traditional form of the Neupert effect refers to the correlation between the time-integrated hard X-ray or microwave light curve and the SXR light curve. In this paper, we instead use as the proxy for heating energy the ultraviolet (UV) emission at the footpoints of flare loops and modify the model of the Neupert effect by taking into account the discrete nature of flare heating, as well as cooling. In the modified empirical model, spatially resolved UV light curves from the transition region or upper chromosphere are each convolved with a kernel function characterizing the decay of the flare loop emission. Contributions by all loops are summed to compare with the observed total SXR emission. The model has successfully reproduced the observed SXR emission from its rise to decay. To estimate the heating energies in flare loops, we also employ the UV footpoint calorimeter (UFC) method that infers heating rates in flare loops from these UV light curves and models the evolution of flare loops with a zero-dimensional hydrodynamic code. The experiments show that a multitude of impulsive heating events do not well reproduce the observed flare SXR light curve, but a two-phase heating model leads to better agreement with observations. Comparison of the two models of the Neupert effect further allows us to calibrate the UFC method and improve the estimate of heating rates in flare loops continuously formed by magnetic reconnection throughout the flare evolution.

Coronal Heating Law Constrained by Microwave Gyroresonant Emission

Abstract The question why the solar corona is much hotter than the visible solar surface still puzzles solar researchers. Most theories of the coronal heating involve a tight coupling between the coronal magnetic field and the associated thermal structure. This coupling is based on two facts: (i) the magnetic field is the main source of the energy in the corona and (ii) the heat transfer preferentially happens along the magnetic field, while is suppressed across it. However, most of the information about the coronal heating is derived from the analysis of extreme ultraviolet or soft X-ray emissions, which are not explicitly sensitive to the magnetic field. This paper employs another electromagnetic channel—the sunspot-associated microwave gyroresonant emission, which is explicitly sensitive to both the magnetic field and thermal plasma. We use nonlinear force-free field reconstructions of the magnetic skeleton dressed with a thermal structure as prescribed by a field-aligned hydrodynamics to constrain the coronal heating model. We demonstrate that the microwave gyroresonant emission is extraordinarily sensitive to details of the coronal heating. We infer heating model parameters consistent with observations.

Extended X-Ray Emission in Compton Thick AGN with Deep Chandra Observations

Abstract We present the spatial analysis of five Compton thick (CT) active galactic nuclei (AGNs), including MKN 573, NGC 1386, NGC 3393, NGC 5643, and NGC 7212, for which high-resolution Chandra observations are available. For each source, we find hard X-ray emission (>3 keV) extending to ∼kiloparsec scales along the ionization cone, and for some sources, in the cross-cone region. This collection represents the first, high-signal sample of CT AGN with extended hard X-ray emission for which we can begin to build a more complete picture of this new population of AGN. We investigate the energy dependence of the extended X-ray emission, including possible dependencies on host galaxy and AGN properties, and find a correlation between the excess emission and obscuration, suggesting a connection between the nuclear obscuring material and the galactic molecular clouds. Furthermore, we find that the soft X-ray emission extends farther than the hard X-rays along the ionization cone, which may be explained by a galactocentric radial dependence on the density of molecular clouds due to the orientation of the ionization cone with respect to the galactic disk. These results are consistent with other CT AGN with observed extended hard X-ray emission (e.g., ESO 428-G014 and the Ma et al. CT AGN sample), further demonstrating the ubiquity of extended hard X-ray emission in CT AGN.

Measurement of n-resolved State-selective Charge Exchange in Ne(8,9)+ Collision with He and H2

Abstract Charge exchange between highly charged ions and neutral atoms and molecules has been considered as one of the important mechanisms controlling soft X-ray emissions in many astrophysical objects and environments. However, for modeling charge exchange soft X-ray emission, the data of n- and l-resolved state-selective capture cross sections are often obtained by empirical and semiclassical theory calculations. With a newly built cold target recoil-ion momentum spectroscopy (COLTRIMS) apparatus, we perform a series of measurements of the charge exchange of Ne(8,9)+ ions with He and H2 for collision energy ranging from 1 to 24.75 keV/u. n-resolved state-selective capture cross sections are reported. By comparing the measured state-selective capture cross sections to those calculated by the multichannel Landau–Zener method (MCLZ), it is found that MCLZ calculations are in good agreement with the measurement for the dominant n capture for He target. Furthermore, by using nl-resolved cross sections calculated by MCLZ and applying l distributions commonly used in the astrophysical literature to experimentally derived n-resolved cross sections, we calculate the soft X-ray emissions in the charge exchange between 4 keV/u Ne8+ and He by considering the radiative cascade from the excited Ne7+ ions. Reasonable agreement is found in comparison to the measurement for even and separable models, and MCLZ calculations give results in a better agreement.

Hydration of the Zwitterionic and Protonated Forms of Glycine Betaine Probed by Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometrics.

Soft X-ray absorption and emission spectra of glycine betaine (GB) have been measured at the O K-edge in neutral and strongly acidic solutions. The absorption spectra of the neutral solutions have a resonance peak at 532.6 eV, assigned to the transition to the π* orbital, whereas in the acidic solutions, the peak is shifted by -0.3 eV. The emission spectra taken as a function of the GB concentration have been analyzed by means of a modified classical least-squares regression method to obtain the hydration number of the solute. The analysis is successful when the emission spectra have been acquired at the energy of a slightly detuned resonance, giving 28 and 24 as the minimum values for the zwitterionic and protonated GB, respectively. The number of 28 accords with the reported values for the number of water molecules in the first hydration layer of the zwitterion and is greater than that obtained by other experimental techniques. The obtained numbers are used to discuss the hydration structure of GB with the aid of ab initio molecular orbital calculations. The hydration structure of the protonated form of GB is explored for the first time.