Techniques, results & analysis of the INTEGRAL/IBIS soft gamma-ray survey
Techniques, results & analysis of the INTEGRAL/IBIS soft gamma-ray survey
This thesis presents results from the soft gamma-ray survey performed with the IBIS telescope during the first three years of the INTEGRAL mission. Gamma-ray emission mechanisms and the types of astronomical objects emitting in the IBIS detection range are reviewed, together with the technologies developed to detect them. The imaging capability of IBIS is achieved by a coded mask aperture above the detector planes. The mask is supported by a honeycomb structure; systematic variations in reconstructed source fluxes have been found and attributed to the transparency of this structure. The instrument’s response to off-axis sources has been investigated and a correction model developed using dedicated Crab observations.
For the first time, a catalogue of objects emitting in the 20-100 keV energy regime has been produced down to a limiting sensitivity of 1 mCrab. The first IBIS catalogue presents 123 sources and is superceded by a second catalogue which includes 209, the majority of which are Galactic X-ray binaries. Techniques for the production of the catalogues and survey results, including average spectral characteristics of the sources, are discussed. 25% of the these sources are currently unclassified. Analysis of one such source, the transient black hole candidate IGR J17285-2922, is presented.
The IBIS/ISGRI survey also detects a small sample of cataclysmic variable stars. A cross-correlation performed between supplementary IBIS data and a CV catalogue has revealed eight more CV detections. It is shown that IBIS is more likely to detect CVs of intermediate polar and asynchronous polar sub-types, both of which are rare classes of object.
University of Southampton
Barlow, Elizabeth Joanne
e694659b-3228-4356-871f-0c6d904b91a1
2006
Barlow, Elizabeth Joanne
e694659b-3228-4356-871f-0c6d904b91a1
Barlow, Elizabeth Joanne
(2006)
Techniques, results & analysis of the INTEGRAL/IBIS soft gamma-ray survey.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This thesis presents results from the soft gamma-ray survey performed with the IBIS telescope during the first three years of the INTEGRAL mission. Gamma-ray emission mechanisms and the types of astronomical objects emitting in the IBIS detection range are reviewed, together with the technologies developed to detect them. The imaging capability of IBIS is achieved by a coded mask aperture above the detector planes. The mask is supported by a honeycomb structure; systematic variations in reconstructed source fluxes have been found and attributed to the transparency of this structure. The instrument’s response to off-axis sources has been investigated and a correction model developed using dedicated Crab observations.
For the first time, a catalogue of objects emitting in the 20-100 keV energy regime has been produced down to a limiting sensitivity of 1 mCrab. The first IBIS catalogue presents 123 sources and is superceded by a second catalogue which includes 209, the majority of which are Galactic X-ray binaries. Techniques for the production of the catalogues and survey results, including average spectral characteristics of the sources, are discussed. 25% of the these sources are currently unclassified. Analysis of one such source, the transient black hole candidate IGR J17285-2922, is presented.
The IBIS/ISGRI survey also detects a small sample of cataclysmic variable stars. A cross-correlation performed between supplementary IBIS data and a CV catalogue has revealed eight more CV detections. It is shown that IBIS is more likely to detect CVs of intermediate polar and asynchronous polar sub-types, both of which are rare classes of object.
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Published date: 2006
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Local EPrints ID: 466007
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/466007
PURE UUID: 55c8d59e-7541-4ae9-8955-20bdc44cf81a
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 03:57
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:28
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Author:
Elizabeth Joanne Barlow
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