Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

X-ray Spectroscopy of Astrophysical Dust

A High Spectral Resolution (Re)View and Look to the Future

  • Published:
Space Science Reviews Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

High spectral resolution X-ray instruments on powerful X-ray satellites (e.g. Chandra, XMM-Newton) pointed through dust and gas at bright black holes and neutron stars can be used to study dust and intervening material in unique ways. With the new subfield of Condensed Matter Astrophysics as its goal, I will discuss current efforts to combine techniques and knowledge from condensed matter physics and astrophysics to determine the species-specific quantity and composition of interstellar gas and dust in the ISM and ionized environments. Prospects for improving on this work in future X-ray missions with higher throughput and spectral resolution are also presented in the context of spectral resolution goals for gratings and calorimeters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • G.W. Clark, Chandra observations and Monte Carlo simulations of the grain-scattered halo of the binary X-ray pulsar 4U 1538-52. Astrophys. J. 610, 956–976 (2004). doi:10.1086/421764

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • E. Costantini, M.J. Freyberg, P. Predehl, Absorption and scattering by interstellar dust: an XMM-Newton observation of <ASTROBJ>Cyg X-2</ASTROBJ>. Astron. Astrophys. 444, 187–200 (2005). doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20042562

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • C.P. de Vries, E. Costantini, Physical properties of amorphous solid interstellar material from X-ray absorption spectroscopy of <ASTROBJ>Scorpius X-1</ASTROBJ>. Astron. Astrophys. 497, 393–398 (2009). doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200811260

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • B.T. Draine, Interstellar dust grains. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 41, 241–289 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • B.T. Draine, J.C. Tan, The scattered X-ray halo around Nova Cygni 1992: testing a model for interstellar dust. Astrophys. J. 594, 347–362 (2003). doi:10.1086/376855

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • R.C. Forrey, J.W. Woo, K. Cho, Model for astrophysical X-ray absorption fine structure. Astrophys. J. 505, 236–243 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Houck, ISIS: the interactive spectral interpretation system, in High Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy with XMM-Newton and Chandra, ed. by G. Branduardi-Raymont (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Houck, L.A. Denicola, ISIS: an interactive spectral interpretation system for high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, in ASP Conf. Ser. 216: Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems IX (2000), p. 591

    Google Scholar 

  • A.M. Juett, N.S. Schulz, D. Chakrabarty, High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the interstellar medium: structure at the oxygen absorption edge. Astrophys. J. 612, 308–318 (2004). doi:10.1086/422511

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A.M. Juett, N.S. Schulz, D. Chakrabarty, T.W. Gorczyca, High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the interstellar medium, II: neon and iron absorption edges. Astrophys. J. 648, 1066–1078 (2006). doi:10.1086/506189

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.S. Kaastra, R. Mewe, H. Nieuwenhuijzen, SPEX: a new code for spectral analysis of X & UV spectra, in UV and X-ray Spectroscopy of Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas, ed. by K. Yamashita, T. Watanabe (1996), pp. 411–414

    Google Scholar 

  • J.S. Kaastra, C.P. de Vries, E. Costantini, J.W.A. den Herder, Effective area calibration of the reflection grating spectrometers of XMM-Newton, I: X-ray spectroscopy of the Crab nebula. Astron. Astrophys. 497, 291–310 (2009). doi:10.1051/0004-6361/20077892

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • D.C. Koningsberger, R. Prins, X-ray Absorption: Principles, Applications, Techniques of EXAFS, SEXAFS, and XANES (Wiley, New York, 1988)

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Kruegel, The physics of interstellar dust (2003)

  • J.C. Lee, B. Ravel, Determining the grain composition of the interstellar medium with high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. Astrophys. J. 622, 970–976 (2005). doi:10.1086/428118

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Lee, P.M. Ogle, C.R. Canizares, H.L. Marshall, N.S. Schulz, R. Morales, A.C. Fabian, K. Iwasawa, Revealing the dusty warm absorber in MCG-6-30-15 with the Chandra high-energy transmission grating. Astrophys. J. Lett. 554, 13–17 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Lee, C.S. Reynolds, R. Remillard, N.S. Schulz, E.G. Blackman, A.C. Fabian, High-resolution Chandra HETGS and Rossi X-Ray timing explorer observations of GRS 1915+105: a hot disk atmosphere and cold gas enriched in iron and silicon. Astrophys. J. 567, 1102–1111 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Lee, J. Xiang, B. Ravel, J. Kortright, K. Flanagan, Condensed matter astrophysics: a prescription for determining the species-specific composition and quantity of interstellar dust using X-rays. Astrophys. J. 702, 970–979 (2009). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/702/2/970

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Lee, J. Xiang, M. Petaev, F. Rahoui, B. Ravel, J. Kortright, S. Heinz, A Chandra HETGS and Spitzer IRS look at the dust along the Cygnus X-1 line-of-sight. Astrophys. J. (2011 in final preparation)

  • Z. Ling, S.N. Zhang, S. Tang, Determining the distance of Cyg X-3 with its X-Ray dust scattering halo. Astrophys. J. 695, 1111–1120 (2009a). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/695/2/1111

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Z. Ling, S.N. Zhang, J. Xiang, S. Tang, A study of the X-ray dust scattering halo of cyg X-1 with a cross-correlation method. Astrophys. J. 690, 224–230 (2009b). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/690/1/224

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.W. Overbeck, Small-angle scattering of celestial X-rays by interstellar grains. Astrophys. J. 141, 864 (1965). doi:10.1086/148180

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • F.B.S. Paerels, S.M. Kahn, High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with Chandra and XMM-Newton. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 41, 291–342 (2003). doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.41.071601.165952

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • F. Paerels, A.C. Brinkman, R.L.J. van der Meer, J.S. Kaastra, E. Kuulkers, A.J.F.d. Boggende, P. Predehl, J.J. Drake, S.M. Kahn, D.W. Savin, B.M. McLaughlin, Interstellar X-ray absorption spectroscopy of oxygen, neon, and iron with the LETGS spectrum of X0614+091. Astrophys. J. 546, 338–344 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Petric, G.A. Telis, F. Paerels, D.J. Helfand, A direct upper limit on the density of cosmological dust from the absence of an X-ray scattering halo around the z=4.3 Quasar QSO 1508+5714. Astrophys. J. 651, 41–45 (2006). doi:10.1086/507667

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • P. Predehl, V. Burwitz, F. Paerels, J. Trümper, Chandra measurement of the geometrical distance to Cyg X-3 using its X-ray scattering halo. Astron. Astrophys. 357, 25–28 (2000)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.J. Rehr, R.C. Albers, Theoretical approaches to x-ray absorption fine structure. Rev. Mod. Phys. 73(3), 621–654 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Rivera-Ingraham, M.H. van Kerkwijk, Extinction and distance to anomalous X-ray pulsars from X-ray scattering halos. Astrophys. J. 710, 797–803 (2010). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/710/1/797

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • B.D. Savage, K.R. Sembach, Interstellar gas-phase abundances and physical conditions toward two distant high-latitude halo stars. Astrophys. J. 470, 893 (1996) doi:10.1086/177919

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M.L. Schattenburg, C.R. Canizares, High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the Crab Nebula and the oxygen abundance of the interstellar medium. Astrophys. J. 301, 759–771 (1986)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • R.K. Smith, X-ray dust scattering at small angles: the complete halo around GX13+1. Astrophys. J. 681, 343–349 (2008). doi:10.1086/588519

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J. Stöhr, NEXAFS Spectroscopy. Springer Series in Surface Sciences (Springer, Berlin, 1996)

    Google Scholar 

  • Y. Takei, R. Fujimoto, K. Mitsuda, T. Onaka, O and Ne K absorption edge structures and interstellar abundance toward Cygnus X-2. Astrophys. J. 581, 307–314 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Tan, B.T. Draine, X-ray scattering halos from the galactic center: implications for diffuse emission around Sagittarius A*. Astrophys. J. 606, 296–305 (2004). doi:10.1086/382865

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Y. Ueda, K. Yamaoka, R. Remillard, GRS 1915+105 in “Soft State”: nature of accretion disk wind and origin of X-ray emission. Astrophys. J. 695, 888–899 (2009). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/695/2/888

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Y. Ueda, K. Mitsuda, H. Murakami, K. Matsushita, Study of the galactic interstellar medium from high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy: X-ray absorption fine structure and abundances of O, Mg, Si, S, and Fe. Astrophys. J. 620, 274–286 (2005). doi:10.1086/426933

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J. Wilms, A. Allen, R. McCray, On the absorption of X-rays in the interstellar medium. Astrophys. J. 542, 914–924 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.W. Woo, EXAFS and XANES: new astrophysical tools to study the solid state structure of interstellar grains. Astrophys. J. Lett. 447, 129 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.W. Woo, R.C. Forrey, K. Cho, Astrophysical extended X-ray absorption fine-structure analysis. Astrophys. J. 477, 235 (1997)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J. Xiang, S.N. Zhang, Y. Yao, Probing the spatial distribution of the interstellar dust medium by high angular resolution X-ray halos of point sources. Astrophys. J. 628, 769–779 (2005) doi:10.1086/430848

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J. Xiang, J.C. Lee, M.A. Nowak, J. Wilms, N.S. Schulz, The accretion disk corona and disk atmosphere of 4U 1624-490 as viewed by the Chandra-high energy transmission grating spectrometer. Astrophys. J. 701, 984–993 (2009). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/701/2/984

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy & Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University, 60 Garden Street MS-6, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Julia C. Lee

Authors
  1. Julia C. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julia C. Lee.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lee, J.C. X-ray Spectroscopy of Astrophysical Dust. Space Sci Rev 157, 93–101 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-010-9723-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-010-9723-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation