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Galaxy clusters grow by gas accretion, mostly from mergers of substructures, which release powerful shock waves into cosmic plasmas and convert a fraction of kinetic energy into thermal energy, amplification of magnetic fields and into the acceleration of energetic particles. The modeling of the radio signature of cosmic shocks, combined with the lack of detected gamma-rays from cosmic ray (CR) protons, poses challenges to our understanding of how cosmic rays get accelerated and stored in the intracluster medium. Here we review the injection of CRs by cosmic shocks of different strengths, combining the detailed "microscopic" view of collisionless processes governing the creation of non-thermal distributions of electrons and protons in cluster shocks (based on analytic theory and particle-in-cell simulations), with the "macroscopic" view of the large-scale distribution of cosmic rays, suggested by modern cosmological simulations. We discuss time dependent non-linear kinetic models of particle acceleration by multiple internal shocks with large scale compressible motions of plasma. The models produce soft CR spectra containing a noticeable energy density in the super-thermal protons of energies below a few GeV which are difficult to constrain by Fermi observations. We consider the effect of plasma composition on CR injection and super-thermal particle population in the hot intracluster matter which can be constrained by fine high resolution X-ray spectroscopy of Fe ions., Comment: Space Science Reviews, in print

This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of thermonuclear X-ray bursts on accreting neutron stars. For a summary, we refer to the paper., Comment: White Paper in Support of the Mission Concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing

Context: XMM-Newton was launched on 10 December 1999 and has been operational since early 2000. One of the instruments onboard XMM-Newton is the reflection grating spectrometer (RGS). Two identical RGS instruments are available, with each RGS combining a reflection grating assembly (RGA) and a camera with CCDs to record the spectra. Aims: We describe the calibration and in-orbit performance of the RGS instrument. By combining the preflight calibration with appropriate inflight calibration data including the changes in detector performance over time, we aim at profound knowledge about the accuracy in the calibration. This will be crucial for any correct scientific interpretation of spectral features for a wide variety of objects. Methods: Ground calibrations alone are not able to fully characterize the instrument. Dedicated inflight measurements and constant monitoring are essential for a full understanding of the instrument and the variations of the instrument response over time. Physical models of the instrument are tuned to agree with calibration measurements and are the basis from which the actual instrument response can be interpolated over the full parameter space. Results: Uncertainties in the instrument response have been reduced to < 10% for the effective area and < 6 mA for the wavelength scale (in the range from 8 A to 34 A. The remaining systematic uncertainty in the detection of weak absorption features has been estimated to be 1.5%. Conclusions: Based on a large set of inflight calibration data and comparison with other instruments onboard XMM-Newton, the calibration accuracy of the RGS instrument has been improved considerably over the preflight calibrations., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astronomical instrumentation section

The prototypical accretion-powered millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 was observed simultaneously with Chandra-LETGS and RXTE-PCA near the peak of a transient outburst in November 2011. A single thermonuclear (type-I) burst was detected, the brightest yet observed by Chandra from any source, and the second-brightest observed by RXTE. We found no evidence for discrete spectral features during the burst; absorption edges have been predicted to be present in such bursts, but may require a greater degree of photospheric expansion than the rather moderate expansion seen in this event (a factor of a few). These observations provide a unique data set to study an X-ray burst over a broad bandpass and at high spectral resolution (lambda/delta-lambda=200-400). We find a significant excess of photons at high and low energies compared to the standard black body spectrum. This excess is well described by a 20-fold increase of the persistent flux during the burst. We speculate that this results from burst photons being scattered in the accretion disk corona. These and other recent observations of X-ray bursts point out the need for detailed theoretical modeling of the radiative and hydrodynamical interaction between thermonuclear X-ray bursts and accretion disks., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, dd. 19-mar-2013

We present the spectral analysis of a large set of XMM-Newton observations of EXO 0748-676, a bright dipping LMXB. In particular, we focus on the dipping phenomenon as a result of changes in the properties of the ionised gas close to the source. Using the high-resolution spectra collected with the RGS, we explored two simple geometrical scenarios for which we derived physical quantities of the absorbing material like the density, size, and mass. We find that the continuum is absorbed by a neutral gas, and by both a collisionally (temperature T~70 eV) and photoionised (ionisation parameter log\xi~2.5) absorbers. Emission lines from OVII and OVIII are also detected. This is the first time that evidence of a collisionally ionised absorber has been found in a low-mass X-ray binary. The collisionally ionised absorber may be in the form of dense (n>10^14 cm^-3) filaments, located at a distance r>10^11 cm. During dips, the photoionised absorber significantly increases its column density (factor 2--4) while becoming less ionised. This strengthens the idea that the colder material of the accretion stream impinging the disc is passing on our line of sight during dips. We find that the distance from the neutron star to the impact region (~ 5x10^10 cm) is similar to the size of the neutron star's Roche lobe. The gas observed during the persistent state may have a flattened geometry. Finally, we explore the possibility of the existence of material forming an initial, hotter portion of a circumbinary disc., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We present the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) and Keck observations of HDE 245059, a young weak-lined T Tauri star (WTTS), member of the pre-main sequence group in the Lambda Orionis Cluster. Our high spatial resolution, near-infrared observations with Keck reveal that HDE 245059 a binary separated by 0.87". Based on this new information we have obtained an estimate of the masses of the binary components; 3M_{sun} and 2.5M_{sun} for the north and south components, respectively. We have estimated the age of the system to be ~2-3 Myr. We detect both components of the binary in the zeroth order Chandra image and in the grating spectra. Our fits to the spectrum of the binary have shown that the emission is dominated by a plasma between 8 and 15 MK, a soft component at 4 MK and a hard component at 50 MK are also detected. The value of the hydrogen column density was low, 8 x 10^{19} cm^{-2}, likely due to the clearing of the inner region of the Lambda Orionis cloud. The abundance pattern shows an inverse First Ionization Potential (FIP) effect for all elements from O to Fe, the only exception being Ca. A 3-T model was fitted to the individual zeroth order spectra using the abundances derived for the binary. We have also obtained several lines fluxes from the grating spectra. The fits to the triplets show no evidence of high densities. We conclude that the X-ray properties of the weak-lined T Tau binary HDE 245059 are similar to those generally observed in other weak-lined T Tau stars. Although its accretion history may have been affected by the clearing of the interstellar material around Lambda Ori, its coronal properties appears not to have been strongly modified., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures Accepted for publication in ApJ

White dwarf spectra have been widely used as a calibration source for X-ray and EUV instruments. The in-flight effective area calibration of the reflection grating spectrometers (RGS) of XMM-Newton depend upon the availability of reliable calibration sources. We investigate how well these white dwarf spectra can be used as standard candles at the lowest X-ray energies in order to gauge the absolute effective area scale of X-ray instruments. We calculate a grid of model atmospheres for Sirius B and HZ 43A, and adjust the parameters using several constraints until the ratio of the spectra of both stars agrees with the ratio as observed by the low energy transmission grating spectrometer (LETGS) of Chandra. This ratio is independent of any errors in the effective area of the LETGS. We find that we can constrain the absolute X-ray spectrum of both stars with better than 5 % accuracy. The best-fit model for both stars is close to a pure hydrogen atmosphere, and we put tight limits to the amount of helium or the thickness of a hydrogen layer in both stars. Our upper limit to the helium abundance in Sirius B is 4 times below the previous detection based on EUVE data. We also find that our results are sensitive to the adopted cut-off in the Lyman pseudo-continuum opacity in Sirius B. We get best agreement with a long wavelength cut-off. White dwarf model atmospheres can be used to derive the effective area of X-ray spectrometers in the lowest energy band. An accuracy of 3-4 % in the absolute effective area can be achieved., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, main journal

We briefly review capabilities and requirements for future instrumentation in UV- and X-ray astronomy that can contribute to advancing our understanding of the diffuse, highly ionised intergalactic medium., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 19; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeker

The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) is thought to contribute about 40-50 % to the baryonic budget at the present evolution stage of the universe. The observed large scale structure is likely to be due to gravitational growth of density fluctuations in the post-inflation era. The evolving cosmic web is governed by non-linear gravitational growth of the initially weak density fluctuations in the dark energy dominated cosmology. Non-linear structure formation, accretion and merging processes, star forming and AGN activity produce gas shocks in the WHIM. Shock waves are converting a fraction of the gravitation power to thermal and non-thermal emission of baryonic/leptonic matter. They provide the most likely way to power the luminous matter in the WHIM. The plasma shocks in the WHIM are expected to be collisionless. Collisionless shocks produce a highly non-equilibrium state with anisotropic temperatures and a large differences in ion and electron temperatures. We discuss the ion and electron heating by the collisionless shocks and then review the plasma processes responsible for the Coulomb equilibration and collisional ionisation equilibrium of oxygen ions in the WHIM. MHD-turbulence produced by the strong collisionless shocks could provide a sizeable non-thermal contribution to the observed Doppler parameter of the UV line spectra of the WHIM., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 8; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeker

We discuss the different physical processes that are important to understand the thermal X-ray emission and absorption spectra of the diffuse gas in clusters of galaxies and the warm-hot intergalactic medium. The ionisation balance, line and continuum emission and absorption properties are reviewed and several practical examples are given that illustrate the most important diagnostic features in the X-ray spectra., Comment: 37 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 9; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeker

The Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) arises from shock-heated gas collapsing in large-scale filaments and probably harbours a substantial fraction of the baryons in the local Universe. Absorption-line measurements in the ultraviolet (UV) and in the X-ray band currently represent the best method to study the WHIM at low redshifts. We here describe the physical properties of the WHIM and the concepts behind WHIM absorption line measurements of H I and high ions such as O VI, O VII, and O VIII in the far-ultraviolet and X-ray band. We review results of recent WHIM absorption line studies carried out with UV and X-ray satellites such as FUSE, HST, Chandra, and XMM-Newton and discuss their implications for our knowledge of the WHIM., Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 3; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeker

We present the work of an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern that worked together to review the current observational and theoretical status of the non-virialised X-ray emission components in clusters of galaxies. The subject is important for the study of large-scale hierarchical structure formation and to shed light on the "missing baryon" problem. The topics of the team work include thermal emission and absorption from the warm-hot intergalactic medium, non-thermal X-ray emission in clusters of galaxies, physical processes and chemical enrichment of this medium and clusters of galaxies, and the relationship between all these processes. One of the main goals of the team is to write and discuss a series of review papers on this subject. These reviews are intended as introductory text and reference for scientists wishing to work actively in this field. The team consists of sixteen experts in observations, theory and numerical simulations., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 1; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeker

We present XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer observations of pairs of X-ray emission line profiles from the O star Zeta Pup that originate from the same He-like ion. The two profiles in each pair have different shapes and cannot both be consistently fit by models assuming the same wind parameters. We show that the differences in profile shape can be accounted for in a model including the effects of resonance scattering, which affects the resonance line in the pair but not the intercombination line. This implies that resonance scattering is also important in single resonance lines, where its effect is difficult to distinguish from a low effective continuum optical depth in the wind. Thus, resonance scattering may help reconcile X-ray line profile shapes with literature mass-loss rates., Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the workshop proceedings 'Clumping in Hot Star Winds', eds. W.-R. Hamann, A. Feldmeier, & L. Oskinova

Recently the first detections of highly ionised gas associated with two Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) filaments have been reported. The evidence is based on X-ray absorption lines due to O VII and other ions observed by Chandra towards the bright blazar Mrk 421. We investigate the robustness of this detection by a re-analysis of the original Chandra LETGS spectra, the analysis of a large set of XMM-Newton RGS spectra of Mrk 421, and additional Chandra observations. We address the reliability of individual spectral features belonging to the absorption components, and assess the significance of the detection of these components. We also use Monte Carlo simulations of spectra. We confirm the apparent strength of several features in the Chandra spectra, but demonstrate that they are statistically not significant. This decreased significance is due to the number of redshift trials that are made and that are not taken into account in the original discovery paper. Therefore these features must be attributed to statistical fluctuations. This is confirmed by the RGS spectra, which have a higher signal to noise ratio than the Chandra spectra, but do not show features at the same wavelengths. Finally, we show that the possible association with a Ly-alpha absorption system also lacks sufficient statistical evidence. We conclude that there is insufficient observational proof for the existence of the two proposed WHIM filaments towards Mrk 421, the brightest X-ray blazar on the sky. Therefore, the highly ionised component of the WHIM still remains to be discovered., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the Astrophysical Journal

We present the results from our 140 ks XMM-Newton and 500 ks Chandra observation of NGC 5548. The velocity structure of the X-ray absorber is consistent with the velocity structure measured in the simultaneous UV spectra. In the X-rays we can separate the highest outflow velocity component, -1040 km/s, from the other velocity components. This velocity component spans at least three orders of magnitude in ionization parameter, producing both highly ionized X-ray absorption lines (Mg XII, Si XIV) and UV absorption lines. A similar conclusion is very probable for the other four velocity components. We show that the lower ionized absorbers are not in pressure equilibrium with the rest of the absorbers. Instead, a model with a continuous distribution of column density versus ionization parameter gives an excellent fit to our data., Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The X-ray Universe 2005", San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Spain), 26-30 September 2005

(Abridged) We present results of XMM-Newton observations of the RS CVn binary $\sigma^2$ Coronae Borealis. The RGS and EPIC MOS2 spectra were simultaneously fitted with collisional ionization equilibrium plasma models to determine coronal abundances of various elements. Contrary to the solar first ionization potential (FIP) effect in which elements with a low FIP are overabundant in the corona compared to the solar photosphere, and contrary to the ``inverse'' FIP effect observed in several active RS CVn binaries, coronal abundance ratios in $\sigma^2$ CrB show a complex pattern as supported by similar findings in the Chandra HETGS analysis of $\sigma^2$ CrB with a different methodology (Osten et al. 2003). Low-FIP elements ($<10$ eV) have their abundance ratios relative to Fe consistent with the solar photospheric ratios, whereas high-FIP elements have their abundance ratios increase with increasing FIP. We find that the coronal Fe abundance is consistent with the stellar photospheric value, indicating that there is no metal depletion in $\sigma^2$ CrB. However, we obtain a higher Fe absolute abundance than in Osten et al. (2003). Except for Ar and S, our absolute abundances are about 1.5 times larger than those reported by Osten et al. (2003). However, a comparison of their model with our XMM-Newton data (and vice versa) shows that both models work adequately in general. We find, therefore, no preference for one methodology over the other to derive coronal abundances. Despite the systematic discrepancy in absolute abundances, our abundance ratios are very close to those obtained by Osten et al. (2003). Finally, we confirm the measurement of a low density in \ion{O}{7} ($< 4 \times 10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$), but could not confirm the higher densities measured in spectral lines formed at higher temperatures., Comment: To appear in Astrophysical Journal (ApJ 10 September 2005, v630 2 issue)

We present results from a new 120 ks XMM-Newton observation of the cluster of galaxies Sersic 159-03. In this paper we focus on the high-resolution X-ray spectra obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS). The spectra allow us to constrain the temperature structure in the core of the cluster and determine the emission measure distribution as a function of temperature. We also fit the line widths of mainly oxygen and iron lines., Comment: 7 pages and 4 figures. Contribution to the proceedings of the COSPAR Scientific Assembly, session E1.2 "Clusters of Galaxies: New Insights from XMM-Newton, Chandra and INTEGRAL", july 2004, Paris (France). Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research

We present the results of a long (~93 ksec) XMM-Newton observation of the bright BL-Lac object PKS 0548-322 (z=0.069). Our Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) spectrum shows a single absorption feature at an observed wavelength lambda=23.33 A, which we interpret as OVI Ka absorption at z=0.058, i.e., ~3000 km/s from the background object. The observed equivalent width of the absorption line ~30 mA, coupled with the lack of the corresponding absorption edge in the EPIC pn data, implies an OVI column density ~ 2 10^{16} cm-2 and turbulence with a Doppler velocity parameter b>100 km/s. Within the limitations of our RGS spectrum, no OVII or OV Ka absorption are detected. Under the assumption of ionisation equilibrium by both collisions and the extragalactic background, this is only marginally consistent if the gas temperature is ~250,000 K, with significantly lower or higher values being excluded by our limits on OV or OVII. If confirmed, this would be the first X-ray detection of a large amount of intervening warm absorbing gas through OVI absorption. The existence of such a high column density absorber, much stronger than any previously detected one in OVI, would place stringent constraints on the large-scale distribution of baryonic gas in the Universe., Comment: 9 pages, 10 ps figures, accepted by MNRAS

We present the results from a 500 ks Chandra observation of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. We detect broadened emission lines of O VII and C VI in the spectra, similar to those observed in the optical and UV bands. The source was continuously variable, with a 30 % increase in luminosity in the second half of the observation. No variability in the warm absorber was detected between the spectra from the first 170 ks and the second part of the observation. The velocity structure of the X-ray absorber is consistent with the velocity structure measured simultaneously in the ultraviolet spectra. We find that the highest velocity outflow component, at -1040 km/s, becomes increasingly important for higher ionization parameters. This velocity component spans at least three orders of magnitude in ionization parameter, producing both highly ionized X-ray absorption lines (Mg XII, Si XIV) as well as UV absorption lines. A similar conclusion is very probable for the other four velocity components. Based upon our observations, we argue that the warm absorber probably does not manifest itself in the form of photoionized clumps in pressure equilibrium with a surrounding wind. Instead, a model with a continuous distribution of column density versus ionization parameter gives an excellent fit to our data. From the shape of this distribution and the assumption that the mass loss through the wind should be smaller than the accretion rate onto the black hole, we derive upper limits to the solid angle as small as 10^{-4} sr. From this we argue that the outflow occurs in density-stratified streamers. The density stratification across the stream then produces the wide range of ionization parameter observed in this source. Abridged., Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures accepted for publication in A&A

We detect seven distinct absorbing systems in the high-resolution X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert 1 galaxy IC 4329A, taken with XMM-Newton. Firstly we detect absorption due to cold gas in our own Galaxy and warm gas in the Galactic halo or the Local Group. This local warm gas is only detected through O VII absorption, from which we deduce a temperature between 0.03 and 0.2 keV. In IC 4329A we detect absorption from the host galaxy as well as from a warm absorber, close to the nucleus, which has 4 components. The absorption from the host galaxy is well modeled by neutral material. The warm absorber detected in IC 4329A is photoionized and has an ionization range between log $\xi$ = -1.37 and log $\xi$ = 2.7. A broad excess is measured at the O VIII Ly$\alpha$ and N VII Ly$\alpha$ emission lines, which can be modeled by either disklines or multiple Gaussians. From the lightcurve we find that the source changed luminosity by about 20 % over the 140 ks observation, while the spectral shape, i.e. the softness ratio did not vary. In the EPIC spectra a narrow Fe K$\alpha$ and Fe XXVI Ly$\alpha$ emission line are detected. The narrowness of the Fe K$\alpha$ line and the fact that there is no evidence for flux variability between different observations leads us to conclude that the Fe K$\alpha$ line is formed at a large distance from the central black hole., Comment: Accepted by A&A, 10 pages, 14 figures

The Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 was observed for a week by Chandra using both the HETGS and LETGS spectrometers. In this paper we study the time variability of the continuum radiation. During our observation, the source showed a gradual increase in flux over four days, followed by a rapid decrease and flattening of the light curve afterwards. Superimposed upon these relatively slow variations several short duration bursts or quasi-periodic oscillations occured with a typical duration of several hours and separation between 0.6-0.9 days. The bursts show a delay of the hard X-rays with respect to the soft X-rays of a few hours. We interprete these bursts as due to a rotating, fluctuating hot spot at approximately 10 gravitational radii; the time delay of the hard X-rays from the bursts agree with the canonical picture of Inverse Compton scattering of the soft accretion disk photons on a hot medium that is relatively close to the central black hole., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We present spatially resolved X-ray spectra taken with the EPIC cameras of XMM-Newton of a sample of 17 cooling clusters and three non-cooling clusters for comparison. The deprojected spectra are analyzed with a multi-temperature model, independent of any a priori assumptions about the physics behind the cooling and heating mechanisms. All cooling clusters show a central decrement of the average temperature, most of them of a factor of ~2. At each radius within the cooling region the gas is non-isothermal. The differential emission measure distribution peaks near the maximum (ambient) temperature, and steeply declines towards lower temperatures, proportional to T^3, or alternatively a cut-off at about a quarter to half of the maximum temperature. In general, we find a poor correlation between radio flux of the central galaxy and the temperature decrement of the cooling flow. This is interpreted as evidence that except for a few cases heating by a central AGN is not the most common cause of weak cooling flows. We investigate the role of heat conduction by electrons and find that the theoretically predicted conductivity rates are not high enough to balance radiation losses. The differential emission measure distribution has remarkable similarities with the predictions from coronal magnetic loop models. Also the physical processes involved (radiative cooling, thermal conduction along the loops, gravity) are similar for clusters loops and coronal loops. If coronal loop models apply to clusters, we find that a few hundred loops per scale height should be present. The typical loop sizes deduced from the observed emission measure distribution are consistent with the characteristic magnetic field sizes deduced from Faraday rotation measurements., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, main journal, 25 pages, 12 figures

In this paper, we analyze spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4593 obtained with the Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS), the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) and the European Photon Imaging Camera's (EPIC) onboard of XMM-Newton. The two observations were separated by ~7 months. In the LETGS spectrum we detect a highly ionized warm absorber corresponding to an ionization state of 400x10^{-9} W m, visible as a depression at 10-18 \AA. This depression is formed by multiple weak Fe and Ne lines. A much smaller column density was found for the lowly ionized warm absorber, corresponding to xi = 3x10^{-9} W m. However, an intermediate ionization warm absorber is not detected. For the RGS data the ionization state is hard to constrain. The EPIC results show a narrow Fe Kalpha line., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

XMM-Newton recently discovered O VII line emission from ~2 million K gas near the outer parts of several clusters of galaxies. This emission is attributed to the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium. The original sample of clusters studied for this purpose has been extended and two more clusters with a soft X-ray excess have been found. We discuss the physical properties of the warm gas, in particular the density, spatial extent, abundances and temperature., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, conference "Soft X-ray emission from clusters of galaxies and related phenomena", ed. R. Lieu, Kluwer, in press

We present new UV spectra of the nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548, which we obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph at high spectral resolution, in conjunction with simultaneous Chandra X-ray Observatory spectra. Taking advantage of the low UV continuum and broad emission-line fluxes, we have determined that the deepest UV absorption component covers at least a portion of the inner, high-ionization narrow-line region (NLR). We find nonunity covering factors in the cores of several kinematic components, which increase the column density measurements of N V and C IV by factors of 1.2 to 1.9 over the full-covering case; however, the revised columns have only a minor effect on the parameters derived from our photoionization models. For the first time, we have simultaneous N V and C IV columns for component 1 (at -1040 km/s), and find that this component cannot be an X-ray warm absorber, contrary to our previous claim based on nonsimultaneous observations. We find that models of the absorbers based on solar abundances severely overpredict the O VI columns previously obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectrograph, and present arguments that this is not likely due to variability. However, models that include either enhanced nitrogen (twice solar) or dust, with strong depletion of carbon in either case, are successful in matching all of the observed ionic columns. These models result in substantially lower ionization parameters and total column densities compared to dust-free solar-abundance models, and produce little O VII or O VIII, indicating that none of the UV absorbers are X-ray warm absorbers., Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures (Figures 3 and 4 are in color), Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We present a detailed model of the discrete X-ray spectroscopic features expected from steady-state, low-density photoionized plasmas. We apply the Flexible Atomic Code (FAC) to calculate all of the necessary atomic data for the full range of ions relevant for the X-ray regime. These calculations have been incorporated into a simple model of a cone of ions irradiated by a point source located at its tip (now available as the XSPEC model PHOTOION). For each ionic species in the cone, photoionization is balanced by recombination and ensuing radiative cascades, and photoexcitation of resonance transitions is balanced by radiative decay. This simple model is useful for diagnosing X-ray emission mechanisms, determining photoionization/photoexcitation/recombination rates, fitting temperatures and ionic emission measures, and probing geometrical properties (covering factor/column densities/radial filling factor/velocity distributions) of absorbing/reemitting regions in photoionized plasmas. Such plasmas have already been observed in diverse astrophysical X-ray sources, including active galactic nuclei, X-ray binaries, cataclysmic variables, and stellar winds of early-type stars, and may also provide a significant contribution to the X-ray spectra of gamma-ray-burst afterglows and the intergalactic medium., Comment: Submitted to ApJ. XSPEC model codes for PHOTOION, PHSI, MPABS, and SIABS can be found at http://xmm.astro.columbia.edu/research.html

Using the combined spectral and spatial resolving power of the Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETGS) on board Chandra, we obtain separate spectra from the bright central source of NGC 1068 (Primary region), and from a fainter bright spot 4" to the NE (Secondary region). Both spectra are dominated by line emission from H- and He-like ions of C through S, and from Fe L-shell ions, but also include narrow radiative recombination continua, indicating that most of the soft X-ray emission arises in low-temperature (kT few eV) photoionized plasma. We confirm the conclusions of Kinkhabwala et al. (2002), based on XMM-Newton RGS observations, that the entire nuclear spectrum can be explained by recombination/radiative cascade following photoionization, and radiative decay following photoexcitation, with no evidence for hot, collisionally ionized plasma. In addition, this model also provides an excellent fit to the spectrum of the Secondary region, albeit with radial column densities a factor of three lower, as would be expected given its distance from the source of the ionizing continuum. The remarkable overlap and kinematical agreement of the optical and X-ray line emission, coupled with the need for a distribution of ionization parameter to explain the X-ray spectra, collectively imply the presence of a distribution of densities (over a few orders of magnitude) at each radius in the ionization cone. Relative abundances of all elements are consistent with Solar abundance, except for N, which is 2-3 times Solar. The long wavelength spectrum beyond 30 A is rich of L-shell transitions of Mg, Si, S, and Ar, and M-shell transitions of Fe. The velocity dispersion decreases with increasing ionization parameter, as deduced from these long wavelength lines and the Fe-L shell lines., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We investigate a sample of 14 clusters of galaxies observed with XMM-Newton in a search for soft X-ray excess emission. In five of these clusters a significant soft excess is evident. This soft X-ray excess is compared with the thermal emission from both the hot intracluster gas and any cooling (flow) gas that may be present. A warm (kT=0.2 keV), extended (several Mpc), plasma component is particularly clear in the outer parts of the cluster, where the normal cluster X-ray emission is weak. This warm component causes both a thermal soft X-ray excess at low energies (below 0.4-0.5 keV), as well as O VII line emission with a redshift consistent with a cluster origin, and not easily interpreted as Galactic foreground emission. The intensity of this component is commensurate with what has been measured before with the ROSAT PSPC in the 1/4 keV band. We attribute this component to emission from intercluster filaments of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium in the vicinity of these clusters. For the central regions of clusters the detection of lines in the soft X-ray spectrum is more difficult, due to the predominance of the X-ray emitting hot plasma there, hence we cannot discriminate between the thermal and nonthermal origin of the soft excess, leaving several options open. These include thermal emission from warm filaments seen in projection in front of or behind the cluster center, thermal or nonthermal emission in the cluster core itself related to magnetic reconnection, or Inverse Compton emission from the cosmic microwave background on relativistic electrons., Comment: 18 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

In many clusters of galaxies, the cooling time at the core of the intracluster medium is much less than the age of the system, suggesting that the the gas should continually lose energy by radiation. Simple thermodynamic arguments then require that the expected "cooling flow" should exhibit a specific spectroscopic signature, characterized by a differential emission measure distribution that is inversely proportional to the cooling function of the plasma. That prediction can be quantitatively tested for the first time by the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) experiment on XMM-Newton, which provides high resolution X-ray spectra, even for moderately extended sources like clusters. We present RGS data on 14 separate cooling flow clusters, sampling a very wide range in mass deposition rate. Surprisingly, in all cases we find a systematic deficit of low temperature emission relative to the predictions of the cooling flow models. However, we do see evidence for cooling flow gas at temperatures just below the cluster background temperature, $T_0$, roughly down to $T_0/2$. These results are difficult to reconcile with most of the possible explanations for the cooling flow problem that have been proposed to date. We also present RGS data on the massive elliptical galaxy NGC 4636. In this case, we detect evidence for resonance emission line scattering of high oscillator strength Fe L-shell emission lines within the gaseous halo of the galaxy. The detection of that effect leads to very tight constraints on physical conditions within the halo. However, here again, the expected signature of a cooling flow is not detected, perhaps suggesting some fundamental uncertainty in our understanding of radiative cooling in low density cosmic plasmas., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, Contribution for Matter and Energy in Galaxy Clusters, April 2002, Chung-Li, Taiwan

We present high resolution X-ray spectra of 14 putative cooling-flow clusters of galaxies obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on XMM-Newton. The clusters in the sample span a large range of temperatures and mass deposition rates. Various of these spectra exhibit line emission from O VIII, Ne X, Mg XII & XI, Al XIII & XII, Si XIV & XIII, N VII, and C VI as well as all Fe L ions. The spectra exhibit strong emission from cool plasma at just below the ambient temperature, $T_0$, down to $T_0/2$, but also exhibit a severe deficit of emission, relative to the predictions of the isobaric cooling-flow model at lower temperatures ($<$ $T_0/3$). In addition, the best-resolved spectra show emission throughout the entire X-ray temperature range, but increasingly less emission at lower temperatures than the cooling-flow model would predict. These results are difficult to reconcile with simple prescriptions for distorting the emission measure distribution, e.g. by including additional heating or rapid cooling terms. We enumerate some theoretical difficulties in understanding the soft X-ray spectra of cooling-flows independent of the classic problem of the failure to detect the cooling-flow sink. Empirically, the differential luminosity distribution is consistent with being proportional to the temperature to the power of $\approx$ 1 to 2, instead of being independent of the temperature, as expected in the standard multi-phase model. The primary differences in the observed low temperature spectra are ascribed to differences in the ambient temperature., Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, submitted to ApJ

We present high-resolution X-ray spectroscopic observations of M87 with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers on XMM-Newton. We detect strong K-shell line emission from N, O, Ne, Mg, some emission from He-like Si, a fully resolved set of Fe L-shell emission spectra, and some emission from C. The angular intensity distributions of the strong emission lines are detectably resolved on scales (15-160) arcsec. The gas in the inner arcmin of M87 has a multi-phase structure, as indicated by the similarity of the emission line profiles of Fe L shell ions with widely separated ionization potentials. The global Fe L spectrum is approximately consistent with an isothermal plasma at kT_e ~ 1.8 keV, in addition to a component with a temperature distribution appropriate to an isobaric cooling flow, but with a minimum temperature cutoff of kT_min ~ 600 eV. The behaviour of this cooling-flow component is qualitatively similar to what is seen in other cooling flow clusters. Finally, we do not find any strong evidence for a spatial variation in abundances due to resonance scattering redistribution in the inner arcminute of the core., Comment: accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, 8 pages, 4 figures

We present high resolution X-ray spectra of 14 cooling-flow X-ray clusters and groups obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) on XMM-Newton. The spectra exhibit line emission from a number of Fe L charge states as well as O VIII, Mg XII, Ne X, Si XIV & XIII, N VII, and C VI. All spectra show a deficit of soft X-ray lines predicted from the isobaric multi-phase spectral model as compared with morphological mass deposition rates from spatially-resolved spectroscopy with the European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC). We present some weak detections of plasma several times cooler than the ambient cluster temperatures. The results further suggest that either morphological mass deposition rates systematically overestimate the actual cooling rate or the emission measure of cooling-flows has a much steeper distribution than that predicted by a simple isobaric multi-phase model. We briefly discuss some modifications to the cooling-flow process., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Contribution to "New Visions of the X-ray Universe in the XMM-Newton and Chandra Era" 26-30 November 2001, ESTEC, The Netherlands

We present the first high spectral resolution X-ray observation of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4636, obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on-board the XMM-Newton Observatory. The resulting spectrum contains a wealth of emission lines from various charge states of oxygen, neon, magnesium, and iron. Examination of the cross-dispersion profiles of several of these lines provides clear, unambiguous evidence of resonance scattering by the highest oscillator strength lines, as well as a weak temperature gradient in the inner regions of the interstellar medium. We invoke a sophisticated new Monte Carlo technique which allows us to properly account for these effects in performing quantitative fits to the spectrum. Our spectral fits are not subject to many of the systematics that have plagued earlier investigations. The derived metal abundances are higher than have been inferred from prior, lower spectral resolution observations of this source (Awaki et al. 1994), but are still incompatible with conventional chemical enrichment models of elliptical galaxies. In addition, our data are incompatible with standard cooling flow models for this system - our derived upper limit to the mass deposition rate is below the predicted value by a factor of 3--5., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; submitted to ApJ

X-ray spectroscopy of Seyfert 2 galaxies provides an excellent probe of the circumnuclear environment in active galactic nuclei. The grating experiments on both Chandra and XMM-Newton have now provided the first high resolution spectra of several of the brightest Seyfert 2's. We present Chandra HETG data on Markarian 3 and XMM-Newton RGS data on NGC 1068. In both cases, the spectra are dominated by emission lines due to radiative recombination following photoionization, photoexcitation, and fluorescence. There is no evidence for any significant contribution from collisionally-heated gas., Comment: 4 pages, to appear in New Century of X-ray Astronomy, ASP Conf. Ser., Vol. TBD, 2001

First results from high-resolution coronal spectroscopy with the {\it XMM-Newton} Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) are reviewed. Five stellar systems (HR 1099, Capella, Procyon, YY Gem, AB Dor) have been observed. The emphasis of the present paper is on overall coronal structure. Elemental abundances in {\it active stars} are found to be `anomalous' in the sense that they tend to increase with increasing First Ionization Potential (FIP - i.e., signifying an inverse FIP effect). Coronal densities are measured at levels of a few times $10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ for cooler plasma, although there are indications for very high densities in the hotter plasma components., Comment: To appear in Proc. of "X-ray astronomy 2000",(Palermo Sep. 2000), Eds. R. Giacconi, L. Stella, S. Serio, ASP Conf. Series, in press

First results from high-resolution coronal spectroscopy of flares with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers on board the \textit{XMM-Newton} satellite are reviewed. Rotational modulation in the X-ray light curve of HR 1099 is discussed. Results from time-dependent spectroscopy of flares in the active stars HR 1099, AB Dor, YY Gem are also presented. Variations in the shape of the emission measure distributions, in the abundances and in the average density of the cool plasma are discussed., Comment: To appear in Proc. of "X-ray astronomy 2000",(Palermo Sep. 2000), Eds. R. Giacconi, L. Stella, S. Serio, ASP Conf. Series, in press

The RS CVn binary system HR 1099 was extensively observed by the XMM-Newton observatory in February 2000 as its first-light target. A total of 570 ks of exposure time was accumulated with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS). The integrated X-ray spectrum between 5-35 Angstrom is of unprecedented quality and shows numerous features attributed to transitions of the elements C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Fe, and Ni. We perform an in-depth study of the elemental composition of the average corona of this system, and find that the elemental abundances strongly depend on the first ionisation potential (FIP) of the elements. But different from the solar coronal case, we find an inverse FIP effect, i.e., the abundances (relative to oxygen) increase with increasing FIP. Possible scenarios, e.g., selective enrichment due to Ne-rich flare-like events, are discussed., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by A&A Letters, XMM issue

We present detailed spatially-resolved spectroscopy results of the observation of Abell 1835 using the European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC) and the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) on the XMM-Newton observatory. Abell 1835 is a luminous ($10^{46}$ ergs ${s}^{-1}$), medium redshift ($z=0.2523$), X-ray emitting cluster of galaxies. The observations support the interpretation that large amounts of cool gas are present in a multi-phase medium surrounded by a hot ($kT_{e}$=8.2 keV) outer envelope. We detect O VIII Ly$\alpha$ and two Fe XXIV complexes in the RGS spectrum. The emission measure of the cool gas below $kT_{e}$=2.7 keV is much lower than expected from standard cooling-flow models, suggesting either a more complicated cooling process than simple isobaric radiative cooling or differential cold absorption of the cooler gas., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by A&A letters, XMM issue

The cluster of galaxies Sersic 159-03 was observed with the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory as part of the Guaranteed Time program. X-ray spectra taken with the EPIC and RGS instruments show no evidence for the strong cooling flow derived from previous X-ray observations. There is a significant lack of cool gas below 1.5 keV as compared to standard isobaric cooling flow models. While the oxygen is distributed more or less uniformly over the cluster, iron shows a strong concentration in the center of the cluster, slightly offset from the brightness center but within the central cD galaxy. This points to enhanced type Ia supernova activity in the center of the cluster. There is also an elongated iron-rich structure extending to the east of the cluster, showing the inhomogeneity of the iron distribution. Finally, the temperature drops rapidly beyond 4 arcmin from the cluster center., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, XMM issue (revised using new A&A macro)

We present new UV spectra of the nucleus of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548, which we obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph at high spectral resolution, in conjunction with simultaneous Chandra X-ray Observatory spectra. Taking advantage of the low UV continuum and broad emission-line fluxes, we have determined that the deepest UV absorption component covers at least a portion of the inner, high-ionization narrow-line region (NLR). We find nonunity covering factors in the cores of several kinematic components, which increase the column density measurements of N V and C IV by factors of 1.2 to 1.9 over the full-covering case; however, the revised columns have only a minor effect on the parameters derived from our photoionization models. For the first time, we have simultaneous N V and C IV columns for component 1 (at -1040 km/s), and find that this component cannot be an X-ray warm absorber, contrary to our previous claim based on nonsimultaneous observations. We find that models of the absorbers based on solar abundances severely overpredict the O VI columns previously obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectrograph, and present arguments that this is not likely due to variability. However, models that include either enhanced nitrogen (twice solar) or dust, with strong depletion of carbon in either case, are successful in matching all of the observed ionic columns. These models result in substantially lower ionization parameters and total column densities compared to dust-free solar-abundance models, and produce little O VII or O VIII, indicating that none of the UV absorbers are X-ray warm absorbers.

The cluster of galaxies Sersic 159-03 was observed with the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory as part of the Guaranteed Time program. X-ray spectra taken with the EPIC and RGS instruments show no evidence for the strong cooling flow derived from previous X-ray observations. There is a significant lack of cool gas below 1.5 keV as compared to standard isobaric cooling flow models. While the oxygen is distributed more or less uniformly over the cluster, iron shows a strong concentration in the center of the cluster, slightly offset from the brightness center but within the central cD galaxy. This points to enhanced type Ia supernova activity in the center of the cluster. There is also an elongated iron-rich structure ex- tending to the east of the cluster, showing the inhomogeneity of the iron distribution. Finally, the temperature drops rapidly beyond 4' from the cluster center.

We present detailed spatially-resolved spectroscopy results of the observation of Abell 1835 using the European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC) and the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) on the XMM-Newton observatory. Abell 1835 is a luminous (10(exp 46)ergs/s), medium redshift (z = 0.2523), X-ray emitting cluster of galaxies. The observations support the interpretation that large amounts of cool gas are present in a multi-phase medium surrounded by a hot (kT(sub e) = 8.2 keV) outer envelope. We detect O VIII Ly(alpha) and two Fe XXIV complexes in the RGS spectrum. The emission measure of the cool gas below kT(sub e) = 2.7 keV is much lower than expected from standard cooling-flow models, suggesting either a more complicated cooling process than simple isobaric radiative cooling or differential cold absorption of the cooler gas.