We present a sample of X-ray-selected candidate black holes in 51 low-mass galaxies with z ≤ 0.055 and masses up to 1010 M ⊙ obtained by cross-correlating the NASA-SLOAN Atlas with the 3XMM catalog. We have also searched in the available catalogs for radio counterparts of the black hole candidates and find that 19 of the previously selected sources also have a radio counterpart. Our results show that about 37% of the galaxies of our sample host an X-ray source (associated with a radio counterpart) spatially coincident with the galaxy center, in agreement with other recent works. For these nuclear sources, the X-ray/radio fundamental plane relation allows one to estimate the mass of the (central) candidate black holes, which are in the range of 104–2 × 108 M ⊙ (with a median value of sime3 × 107 M ⊙ and eight candidates having masses below 107 M ⊙). This result, while suggesting that X-ray emitting black holes in low-mass galaxies may have had a key role in the evolution of such systems, makes it even more urgent to explain how such massive objects formed in galaxies. Of course, dedicated follow-up observations both in the X-ray and radio bands, as well as in the optical, are necessary in order to confirm our results.

We present the results of the analysis of deep archival XMM-Newton observations towards the dwarf spheroidal galaxies Draco, Leo I, Ursa Major II (UMa II) and Ursa Minor (UMi) in the Milky Way neighbourhood. The X-ray source population is characterized and cross-correlated with available databases to infer their nature. We also investigate if intermediate-mass black holes are hosted in the centre of these galaxies. For Draco, we detect 96 high-energy sources, two of them possibly being local stars, while no evidence for any X-ray emitting central compact object is found. Towards the Leo I and UMa II fields of view, we reveal 116 and 49 X-ray sources, respectively. None of them correlates with the putative central black holes and only one is likely associated with a UMa II local source. The study of the UMi dwarf galaxy found 54 high-energy sources and a possible association with a source at the dwarf spheroidal galaxy centre. We put an upper limit on the luminosity of the central compact object of 4.02 × 1033 erg s-1. Furthermore, via the correlation with a radio source near the galactic centre, the putative black hole should have a mass of (2.76^{+32.00}_{-2.54})× 10^6 M_{{{⊙}}} and be radiatively inefficient. This confirms a previous result obtained using Chandra data alone.

We report the results of a deep archive XMM-Newton observation of the Fornax spheroidal galaxy that we analyzed with the aim of fully characterizing the X-ray source population (in most of the cases likely to be background active galactic nuclei) detected towards the target. A cross correlation with the available databases allowed us to find a source that may be associated with a variable star belonging to the galaxy. We also searched for X-ray sources in the vicinity of the Fornax globular clusters GC 3 and GC 4 and found two sources probably associated with the respective clusters. The deep X-ray observation was also suitable for the search of the intermediate-mass black hole (of mass 104 M ) expected to be hosted in the center of the galaxy. In the case of Fornax, this search is extremely difficult since the galaxy centroid of gravity is poorly constrained because of the large asymmetry observed in the optical surface brightness. Since we cannot firmly establish the existence of an X-ray counterpart of the putative black hole, we put constraints only on the accretion parameters. In particular, we found that the corresponding upper limit on the accretion efficiency, with respect to the Eddington luminosity, is as low as a few 10−5 .

In the next future, astrometric microlensing will offer a new channel for investigating the nature of both lenses and sources involved in a gravitational microlensing event. The effect, corresponding to the shift of the position of the multiple image centroid with respect to the source star location, is expected to occur on scales from micro-arcoseconds to milli-arcoseconds depending on the characteristics of the lens-source system. Here, we consider different classes of events (single/binary lens acting on a single/binary source) also accounting for additional effects including the finite source size, the blending and orbital motion. This is particularly important in the era of Gaia observations which are making possible astrometric measurements with unprecedented quality.

We investigate the effects of the accretion of phantom energy with non-zero bulk viscosity onto a Schwarzschild black hole and show that black holes accreting viscous phantom energy will lose mass rapidly compared to the non-viscous case. When matter is incorporated along with the phantom energy, the black holes meet with the same fate as bulk viscous forces dominate matter accretion. If the phantom energy has large bulk viscosity, then the mass of the black hole will reduce faster than in the small viscosity case.

Baryons constitute about 4% of our universe, but most of them are missing and we do not know where and in what form they are hidden. This constitute the so-called missing baryon problem. A possibility is that part of these baryons are hidden in galactic halos. We show how the 7-year data obtained by the WMAP satellite may be used to trace the halo of the nearby giant spiral galaxy M31. We detect a temperature asymmetry in the M31 halo along the rotation direction up to about 120 kpc. This could be the first detection of a galactic halo in microwaves and may open a new way to probe hidden baryons in these relatively less studied galactic objects using high accuracy CMB measurements.

We consider shadows around black holes as a tool to evaluate their parameters and to find eventual signatures of extra dimensions.

A concept of dark matter (DM) is introduced. As for other anomalies, we describe two ways to solve DM problem, namely a conservative way when we have to find substances with DM properties or we have to change a fundamental gravity law. We discuss constraints on DM concentration near the Galactic Center from apocenter shift data.

We show that exoplanets in the M31 galaxy may be detected with the pixel-lensing method by using telescopes making high cadence observations of an ongoing microlensing event.

In recent years free-floating planets (FFPs) have drawn a great interest among astrophysicists. Gravitational microlensing is a unique and exclusive method for their investigation which may allow obtaining precious information about their mass and spatial distribution. The planned Euclid space-based observatory will be able to detect a substantial number of microlensing events caused by FFPs towards the Galactic bulge. Making use of a synthetic population algorithm, we investigate the possibility of detecting finite source effects in simulated microlensing events due to FFPs. We find a significant efficiency for finite source effect detection that turns out to be between 20% and 40% for a FFP power law mass function index in the range [0.9, 1.6]. For many of such events it will also be possible to measure the angular Einstein radius and therefore constrain the lens physical parameters. These kinds of observations will also offer a unique possibility to investigate the photosphere and atmosphere of Galactic bulge stars.

The measurement of relativistic effects around the galactic center may allow in the near future to strongly constrain the parameters of the supermassive black hole likely present at the galactic center (Sgr A*). As a by-product of these measurements it would be possible to severely constrain, in addition, also the parameters of the mass-density distributions of both the innermost star cluster and the dark matter clump around the galactic center.

There are different methods for finding exoplanets such as radial spectral shifts, astrometrical measurements, transits, timing etc. Gravitational microlensing (including pixel-lensing) is among the most promising techniques with the potentiality of detecting Earth-like planets at distances about a few astronomical units from their host star or near the so-called snow line with a temperature in the range 0-100 °C on a solid surface of an exoplanet. We emphasize the importance of polarization measurements which can help to resolve degeneracies in theoretical models. In particular, the polarization angle could give additional information about the relative position of the lens with respect to the source.

There are different methods for finding exoplanets such as radial spectral shifts, astrometrical measurements, transits, timing, etc. Gravitational microlensing (including pixel-lensing) is among the most promising techniques with the potential of detecting Earth-like planets at distances about a few astronomical units from their host stars. Here we emphasize the importance of polarization measurements which can help to resolve degeneracies in theoretical models. In particular, the polarization angle could give additional information about the relative position of the lens with respect to the source.

There are different methods for finding exoplanets such as radial spectral shifts, astrometrical measurements, transits, timing etc. Gravitational microlensing (including pixel-lensing) is among the most promising techniques with the potentiality of detecting Earth-like planets at distances about a few astronomical units from their host star. We emphasize the importance of polarization measurements which can help to resolve degeneracies in theoretical models. In particular, the polarization angle could give additional information about the relative position of the lens with respect to the source.

We report the results of the analysis of an archive Chandra observation of the Ursa Minor spheroidal galaxy, one of the closest Milky Way satellites, searching for signatures from the intermediate mass black hole possibly hosted in the center of the galaxy. We identified an X-ray source with a detection confidence as low as ≃2.5σ and with an estimated unabsorbed flux in the 0.5-7 keV band of ≃4.9×10-15 erg s-1 cm-2 and at a few arcseconds from the reported center of the galaxy. The source is spatially coincident with a radio object (having flux density of ≃7.1 mJy at 1.4 GHz) already observed in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey. In the accreting black hole scenario, depending on the used fundamental plane relation, one estimates an accretor mass of (2.9-2.7+33.6)×106M⊙ or (11.7-9.7+57.1)×106M⊙. Relaxing the assumption for a flat radio spectrum, the minimum black hole mass would result in the range 5×104M⊙-5×105M⊙, i.e. still consistent with an intermediate mass black hole scenario. The compact object seems to radiate at a very tiny fraction of the associated Eddington luminosity.

The detection of anomalies in gravitational microlensing events is nowadays one of the main goals among the microlensing community. In the case of single-lens events, these anomalies can be caused by the finite source effects, that is when the source disk size is not negligible, and by the Earth rotation around the Sun (the so-called parallax effect). The finite source and parallax effects may help to define the mass of the lens, uniquely. Free-floating planets (FFPs) are extremely dim objects, and gravitational microlensing provides at present the exclusive method to investigate these bodies. In this work, making use of a synthetic population algorithm, we study the possibility of detecting the finite source and parallax effects in simulated microlensing events caused by FFPs towards the Galactic bulge, taking into consideration the capabilities of the space-based Euclid telescope. We find a significant efficiency for detecting the parallax effect in microlensing events with detectable finite source effect, that turns out to be about 51 % for mass function index α_{PL} = 1.3.

We present an updated analysis of the M31 pixel lensing candidate event OAB-N2 previously reported by Calchi Novati et al. Here we take advantage of new data both astrometrical and photometrical. For astrometry: using archival 4 m KPNO and Hubble Space Telescope/WFPC2 data we perform a detailed analysis of the event source whose result, although not fully conclusive on the source magnitude determination, is confirmed by the following light curve photometry analysis. For photometry: first, unpublished WeCAPP data allow us to confirm OAB-N2, previously reported only as a viable candidate, as a well-constrained pixel lensing event. Second, this photometry enables a detailed analysis in the event parameter space including the effects due to a finite source size. The combined results of these analyses allow us to put a strong lower limit on the lens proper motion. This outcome favors the MACHO lensing hypothesis over self-lensing for this individual event and points the way toward distinguishing between the MACHO and self-lensing hypotheses from larger data sets.

We reconsider the polarization of the star light that may arise during microlensing events due to the high gradient of magnification across the atmosphere of the source star, by exploring the full range of microlensing and stellar physical parameters. Since it is already known that only cool evolved giant stars give rise to the highest polarization signals, we follow the model by Simmons et al. to compute the polarization as due to the photon scattering on dust grains in the stellar wind. Motivated by the possibility to perform a polarization measurement during an ongoing microlensing event, we consider the recently reported event catalogue by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) collaboration covering the 2001-2009 campaigns (OGLE-III events), that makes available the largest and more comprehensive set of single-lens microlensing events towards the Galactic bulge. The study of these events, integrated by a Monte Carlo analysis, allows us to estimate the expected polarization profiles and to predict for which source stars and at which time is most convenient to perform a polarization measurement in an ongoing event. We find that about two dozens of OGLE-III events (about 1 per cent of the total) have maximum polarization degree in the range 0.1 < Pmax < 1 per cent, corresponding to source stars with apparent magnitude I ≲ 14.5, being very cool red giants. This signal is measurable by using the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS2) polarimeter at Very Large Telescope (VLT) telescope with about 1 h integration time.

SN 2015J was discovered on 2015 April 27th and is classified as an SN IIn. At first, it appeared to be an orphan SN candidate, I.e., without any clear identification of its host galaxy. Here, we present an analysis of the observations carried out by the VLT 8 m class telescope with the FORS2 camera in the R band and the Magellan telescope (6.5 m) equipped with the IMACS Short-Camera (V and I filters) and the FourStar camera (Ks filter). We show that SN 2015J resides in what appears to be a very compact galaxy, establishing a relation between the SN event and its natural host. We also present and discuss archival and new X-ray data centered on SN 2015J. At the time of the supernova explosion, Swift/XRT observations were made and a weak X-ray source was detected at the location of SN 2015J. Almost one year later, the same source was unambiguously identified during serendipitous observations by Swift/XRT and XMM-Newton, clearly showing an enhancement of the 0.3-10 keV band flux by a factor ≃ 30 with respect to the initial state. Swift/XRT observations show that the source is still active in the X-rays at a level of ≃ 0.05 counts s-1. The unabsorbed X-ray luminosity derived from the XMM-Newton slew and SWIFT observations, {L}x≃ 5× {10}41 erg s-1, places SN 2015J among the brightest young supernovae in X-rays. Based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and NASA, with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla-Paranal Observatory under program ID 298.D-5016(A), and with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. We also acknowledge the use of public data from the Swift data archive.

In gravitational microlensing, binary systems may act as lenses or sources. Identifying lens binarity is generally easy, in particular in events characterized by caustic crossing since the resulting light curve exhibits strong deviations from a smooth single-lensing light curve. In contrast, light curves with minor deviations from a Paczyński behavior do not allow one to identify the source binarity. A consequence of gravitational microlensing is the shift of the position of the multiple image centroid with respect to the source star location — the so-called astrometric microlensing signal. When the astrometric signal is considered, the presence of a binary source manifests with a path that largely differs from that expected for single source events. Here, we investigate the astrometric signatures of binary sources taking into account their orbital motion and the parallax effect due to the Earth’s motion, which turn out not to be negligible in most cases. We also show that considering the above-mentioned effects is important in the analysis of astrometric data in order to correctly estimate the lens-event parameters.

Free-floating planets are recently drawing a special interest among the scientific community. Gravitational microlensing is up to now the exclusive method for the study of this Galactic population. In this work we find that the future Euclid space-based observatory can discover a substantial number of microlensing events in its field of view, caused by free-floating planets. Making use of a synthetic population, we investigate also the importance of using the parallax effect as an additional source of information. We conclude about the best positions of the Earth in its orbit for obtaining the greatest number of events with parallax traces.

Planck data acquired during the first 15.4 months of observations toward both the disk and halo of the M 31 galaxy were analyzed. We confirm the temperature asymmetry that was previously detected by using the seven-year WMAP data in the direction of the rotation of M 31, which indicates that this is a Doppler-induced effect. The asymmetry extends to about 10° (≃130 kpc) from the center of M 31. We also investigated the recent problem raised in Rubin and Loeb (2014, JCAP, 01, 051) about the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect from the diffuse hot gas in the Local Group, which is predicted to generate a hot spot of a few degrees in size in the cosmic microwave background maps in the direction of M 31, where the free electron optical depth is highest. We also considered whether the same effect in the opposite direction with respect to the M 31 galaxy induces a minimum in temperature in the Planck maps of the sky. We find that the Planck data at 100 GHz show an even stronger effect than that expected.

Planck data towards the active galaxy Centaurus A are analyzed in the 70, 100 and 143 GHz bands. We find a temperature asymmetry of the northern radio lobe with respect to the southern one that clearly extends at least up to 5 degrees from the Cen A center and diminishes towards the outer regions of the lobes. That transparent parameter -the temperature asymmetry -thus has to carry a principal information, i.e. indication on the line-of-sight bulk motion of the lobes, while the increase of that asymmetry at smaller radii reveals the differential dynamics of the lobes as expected at ejections from the center.

Planck data towards the galaxy M 82 are analyzed in the 70, 100 and 143 GHz bands. A substantial north-south and east-west temperature asymmetry is found, extending up to 1° from the galactic center. Being almost frequency-independent, these temperature asymmetries are indicative of a Doppler-induced effect regarding the line-of-sight dynamics on the halo scale, the ejections from the galactic center and, possibly, even the tidal interaction with M 81 galaxy. The temperature asymmetry thus acts as a model-independent tool to reveal the bulk dynamics in nearby edge-on spiral galaxies, like the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect for clusters of galaxies.

Gravitational microlensing, when finite size source effects are relevant, provides a unique tool for the study of source star stellar atmospheres through an enhancement of a characteristic polarization signal. This is due to the differential magnification induced during the crossing of the source star. In this paper, we consider a specific set of reported highly magnified, both single and binary exoplanetary systems, microlensing events towards the Galactic bulge and evaluate the expected polarization signal. For this purpose, we consider several polarization models which apply to different types of source stars: hot, late type main sequence and cool giants. As a result we compute the polarization signal P, which goes up to P=0.04 per cent for late-type stars and up to a few per cent for cool giants, depending on the underlying physical polarization processes and atmosphere model parameters. Given an I-band magnitude at a maximum magnification of about 12 and a typical duration of the polarization signal up to 1 d, we conclude that the currently available technology, in particular the polarimeter in FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) on the Very Large Telescope (VLT), potentially may allow the detection of such signals. This observational programme may take advantage of the currently available surveys plus follow-up strategy already routinely used for microlensing monitoring towards the Galactic bulge (aimed at the detection of exoplanets). In particular, this allows one to predict in advance for which events and at which exact time the observing resources may be focused to make intensive polarization measurements.

The light received by source stars in microlensing events may be significantly polarized if both an efficient photon-scattering mechanism is active in the source stellar atmosphere and a differential magnification is therein induced by the lensing system. The best candidate events for observing polarization are highly magnified events with source stars belonging to the class of cool, giant stars in which the stellar light is polarized by photon scattering on dust grains contained in their envelopes. The presence in the stellar atmosphere of an internal cavity devoid of dust produces polarization profiles with a two peaks structure. Hence, the time interval between them gives an important observable quantity directly related to the size of the internal cavity and to the model parameters of the lens system. We show that, during a microlensing event, the expected polarization variability can solve an ambiguity that arises in some cases, related to the binary or planetary lensing interpretation of the perturbations observed near the maximum of the event light-curve. We consider a specific event case for which the parameter values corresponding to the two solutions are given. Then, assuming a polarization model for the source star, we compute the two expected polarization profiles. The position of the two peaks appearing in the polarization curves and the characteristic time interval between them allow us to distinguish between the binary and planetary lens solutions. © 2014 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Data on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) had a profound impact on the understanding of a variety of physical processes in the early phases of the Universe and on the estimation of the cosmological parameters. Here, the 7-year WMAP data are used to trace the disk and the halo of the nearby giant spiral galaxy M 31. We analyzed the temperature excess in three WMAP bands (W, V, and Q) by dividing the region of the sky around M 31 into several concentric circular areas. An asymmetry in the mean microwave temperature in the M 31 disk along the direction of the M 31 rotation is observed with a temperature contrast up to ≃ 130 μK/pixel. We also find a temperature asymmetry in the M 31 halo, which is much weaker than for the disk, up to a galactocentric distance of about 10° (≃ 120 kpc) with a peak temperature contrast of about 40 μK/pixel. We studied the robustness of these possible detections by considering 500 random control fields in the real WMAP maps and simulating 500 sky maps from the best-fitted cosmological parameters. By comparing the obtained temperature contrast profiles with the real ones towards the M 31 galaxy, we find that the temperature asymmetry in the M 31 disk is fairly robust, while the effect in the halo is weaker. Although the confidence level of the signal is not high, if estimated purely statistically, which could be expected due to the weakness of the effect, the geometrical structure of the temperature asymmetry points towards a definite effect modulated by the rotation of the M 31 halo. This result might open a new way to probe these relatively less studied galactic objects using high-accuracy CMB measurements, such as those with the Planck satellite or planned balloon-based experiments, which could prove or disprove our conclusions.

The K2’s Campaign 9 (K2C9) by the Kepler satellite for microlensing observations towards the Galactic bulge started on April 7, 2016, and is going to last for about three months. It offers the first chance to measure the masses of members of the large population of the isolated dark low-mass objects further away in our Galaxy, free-floating planets (FFPs). Intentionally, this observational period of K2 will overlap with that of the 2016 Spitzer follow-up microlensing project expected to start in June, 2016. Therefore, for the first time it is going to be possible to observe simultaneously the same microlensing events from a ground-based telescope and two satellites. This will help in removing the two-fold degeneracy of the impact parameter and in estimating the FFP mass, provided that the angular Einstein ring radius ΘE is measured. In this paper we calculate the probability that a microlensing event is detectable by two or more telescopes and study how it depends on the mass function index of FFPs and the position of the observers on the orbit.

The 4th Italian–Pakistani Workshop on Relativistic Astrophysics was held at the Center for Advanced Mathematics and Physics (now named the School of Natural Sciences), National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan in February 2013 (a group photo of the participants at the workshop is shown in figure 1). It was originally dedicated to 50 years of the Kerr metric and it was hoped that Professor Roy P Kerr would attend, but unfortunately he was unable to make it. Pakistanʼs top physicist at the time, Professor Riazuddin, who was Professor Abdus Salamʼs first PhD student, had presented a talk at this workshop on neutrinos in the context of their relevance for astroparticle physics. His cancer flared up soon after and he passed away in September 2013. On this account the workshop is re-dedicated to his memory and an obituary note is added. Some of the papers presented at the workshop are published in this issue of Physica Scripta.

In this paper, we focus on the astrophysical results and the related cosmological implications derived from recent microwave surveys, with emphasis to those coming from the Planck mission. We critically discuss the impact of systematic effects and the role of methods to separate the cosmic microwave background (CMB) signal from the astrophysical emissions and each different astrophysical component from the others. We then review the state-of-the-art diffuse emissions, extragalactic sources, cosmic infrared background and galaxy clusters, addressing the information they provide to our global view of the cosmic structure evolution and for some crucial physical parameters, as the neutrino mass. Finally, we present three different kinds of scientific perspectives for fundamental physics and cosmology offered by the analysis of on-going and future CMB projects at different angular scales dedicated to anisotropies in total intensity and polarization and to absolute temperature.

Several exoplanets have been detected towards the Galactic bulge with the microlensing technique. We show that exoplanets in M31 may also be detected with the pixel-lensing method, if telescopes making high cadence observations of an ongoing microlensing event are used. Using a Monte Carlo approach we find that the mean mass for detectable planetary systems is about 2 M J. However, even small mass exoplanets ({M_P < 20 M_{oplus}}) can cause significant deviations, which are observable with large telescopes. We reanalysed the POINT-AGAPE microlensing event PA-99-N2. First, we test the robustness of the binary lens conclusion for this light curve. Second, we show that for such long duration and bright microlensing events, the efficiency for finding planetary-like deviations is strongly enhanced with respect to that evaluated for all planetary detectable events.

Shadow formation around supermassive black holes were simulated. Due to enormous progress in observational facilities and techniques of data analysis researchers approach to opportunity to measure shapes and sizes of the shadows at least for the closest supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center. Measurements of the shadow sizes around the black holes can help to evaluate parameters of black hole metric. Theories with extra dimensions (Randall-Sundrum II braneworld approach, for instance) admit astrophysical objects (supermassive black holes, in particular) which are rather different from standard ones. Different tests were proposed to discover signatures of extra dimensions in supermassive black holes since the gravitational field may be different from the standard one in the general relativity (GR) approach. In particular, gravitational lensing features are different for alternative gravity theories with extra dimensions and general relativity. Therefore, there is an opportunity to find signatures of extra dimensions in supermassive black holes. We show how measurements of the shadow sizes can put constraints on parameters of black hole in spacetime with extra dimensions.

Gravitational microlensing offers a powerful method with which to probe a variety of binary-lens systems, as the binarity of the lens introduces deviations from the typical (single-lens) Paczyński behaviour in the event light curves. Generally, a static binary lens is considered to fit the observed light curve and, when the orbital motion is taken into account, an oversimplified model is usually employed. In this paper, we treat the binary-lens motion in a realistic way and focus on simulated events that are fitted well by a Paczyński curve. We show that an accurate timing analysis of the residuals (calculated with respect to the best-fitting Paczyński model) is usually sufficient to infer the orbital period of the binary lens. It goes without saying that the independently estimated period may be used to further constrain the orbital parameters obtained by the best-fitting procedure, which often gives degenerate solutions. We also present a preliminary analysis of the event OGLE-2011-BLG-1127 / MOA-2011-BLG-322, which has been recognized to be the result of a binary lens. The period analysis results in a periodicity of ≃12 d, which confirms the oscillation of the observed data around the best-fitting model. The estimated periodicity is probably associated with an intrinsic variability of the source star, and therefore there is an opportunity to use this technique to investigate either the intrinsic variability of the source or the effects induced by the binary-lens orbital motion.

We consider the effects induced by the presence of hot- and coldspots on the source star in the light curves of simulated microlensing events due to either single or binary lenses taking into account the rotation of the source star and the orbital motion of the lens system. Our goal is to study the anomalies induced by these effects on simulated microlensing light curves.

We analyse archival XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of some dwarf MW satellites (Leo T, Fornax, and Ursa Minor) with the aim to fully characterize the X-ray source population (in most of the cases background AGNs) detected towards the targets. We also searched for intermediate mass black holes expected to be hosted in the center of the galaxies. While for Leo T the quality of the data did not allow any useful analysis, we have hints of the existence of IMBHs in Fornax and Ursa Minor.

Optical observations suggest that the globular cluster NGC 6388 may harbor a central intermediate-mass black hole with mass of about 5.7×103 M⊙. We review the past X-ray and radio observations conducted towards NGC 6388 with particular attention to the high energy transient IGRJ17361-4441 recently obsereved by INTEGRAL satellite.

We present the final analysis of the observational campaign carried out by the PLAN (Pixel Lensing Andromeda) collaboration to detect a dark matter signal in form of MACHOs through the microlensing effect. The campaign consists of about 1 month/year observations carried out over 4 years (2007-2010) at the 1.5 m Cassini telescope in Loiano (Astronomical Observatory of BOLOGNA, OAB) plus 10 days of data taken in 2010 at the 2 m Himalayan Chandra Telescope monitoring the central part of M31 (two fields of about 13′ × 12.′6). We establish a fully automated pipeline for the search and the characterization of microlensing flux variations. As a result, we detect three microlensing candidates. We evaluate the expected signal through a full Monte Carlo simulation of the experiment completed by an analysis of the detection efficiency of our pipeline. We consider both "self lensing" and "MACHO lensing" lens populations, given by M31 stars and dark matter halo MACHOs, in M31 and the Milky Way, respectively. The total number of events is consistent with the expected self-lensing rate. Specifically, we evaluate an expected signal of about two self-lensing events. As for MACHO lensing, for full 0.5(10-2) M⊙ MACHO halos, our prediction is for about four (seven) events. The comparatively small number of expected MACHO versus self-lensing events, together with the small number statistics at our disposal, do not enable us to put strong constraints on that population. Rather, the hypothesis, suggested by a previous analysis, on the MACHO nature of OAB-07-N2, one of the microlensing candidates, translates into a sizeable lower limit for the halo mass fraction in form of the would-be MACHO population, f, of about 15% for 0.5 M⊙ MACHOs. © 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Context. Symbiotic X-ray binaries form a subclass of low-mass X-ray binary systems consisting of a neutron star accreting material from a red giant donor star via stellar wind or Roche lobe overflow. Only a few confirmed members are currently known; 4U 1700+24 is a good candidate as it is a relatively bright X-ray object, possibly associated with the late-type star V934 Her. Aims: We analysed the archive XMM-Newton and Swift/XRT observations of 4U 1700+24 in order to have a uniform high-energy (0.3-10 keV) view of the source. Apart from the 2003, 2010, and 2012 data, publicly available but still unpublished, we also took the opportunity to re-analyze a set of XMM-Newton data acquired in 2002. Methods: After reducing the XMM-Newton and Swift/XRT data with standard methods, we performed a detailed spectral and timing analysis. Results: We confirmed the existence of a red-shifted O VIII Ly-α transition (already observed in the 2002 XMM-Newton data) in the high-resolution spectra collected via the RGS instruments. The red-shift of the line is found in all the analysed observations and, on average, it was estimated to be ≃0.009. We also observed a modulation of the centroid energy of the line on short time scales (a few days) and discuss the observations in the framework of different scenarios. If the modulation is due to the gravitational red-shift of the neutron star, it might arise from a sudden re-organization of the emitting X-ray matter on the scale of a few hundreds of km. Alternatively, we are witnessing a uni-polar jet of matter (with typical velocity of 1000-4000 km s-1) possibly emitted by the neutron star in an almost face-on system. The second possibility seems to be required by the apparent lack of any modulation in the observed X-ray light curve. We also note also that the low-resolution spectra (both XMM-Newton and Swift/XRT in the 0.3-10 keV band) show the existence of a black-body radiation emitted by a region (possibly associated with the neutron star polar cap) with typical size from a few tens to hundreds of meters. The size of this spot-like region reduces as the overall luminosity of 4U 1700+24 decreases.

On 2011 August 11, INTEGRAL discovered the hard X-ray source IGR J17361-4441 near the centre of the globular cluster NGC 6388. Follow-up observations with Chandra showed the position of the transient was inconsistent with the cluster dynamical centre, and thus not related to its possible intermediate mass black hole. The source showed a peculiar hard spectrum (Γ ≈ 0.8) and no evidence of QPOs, pulsations, type-I bursts, or radio emission. Based on its peak luminosity, IGR J17361-4441 was classified as a very faint X-ray transient, and most likely a low-mass X-ray binary. We re-analysed 200 d of Swift/XRT observations, covering the whole outburst of IGR J17361-4441 and find a t-5/3 trend evident in the light curve, and a thermal emission component that does not evolve significantly with time. We investigate whether this source could be a tidal disruption event, and for certain assumptions find an accretion efficiency ɛ ≈ 3.5 × 10-4(MCh/M) consistent with a massive white dwarf, and a disrupted minor body mass Mmb ≈ 1.9 × 1027(M/MCh) g in the terrestrial-icy planet regime. These numbers yield an inner disc temperature of the order kTin ≈ 0.04 keV, consistent with the blackbody temperature of kTin ≈ 0.08 keV estimated by spectral fitting. Although the density of white dwarfs and the number of free-floating planets are uncertain, we estimate the rate of planetary tidal disruptions in NGC 6388 to be in the range 3 × 10-6-3 × 10-4 yr-1. Averaged over the Milky Way globular clusters, the upper limit value corresponds to 0.05 yr-1, consistent with the observation of a single event by INTEGRAL and Swift.

After exactly a century since the formulation of the general theory of relativity, the phenomenon of gravitational lensing is still an extremely powerful method for investigating in astrophysics and cosmology. Indeed, it is adopted to study the distribution of the stellar component in the Milky Way, to study dark matter and dark energy on very large scales and even to discover exoplanets. Moreover, thanks to technological developments, it will allow the measure of the physical parameters (mass, angular momentum and electric charge) of supermassive black holes in the center of ours and nearby galaxies.

IGRJ17361-4441 is a hard transient recently observed by the INTEGRAL satellite. The source, close to the center of gravity of the globular cluster NGC 6388, quickly became the target of follow-up observations conducted by the Chandra, Swift/XRT and RXTE observatories. Here, we concentrate in particular on a set of observations conducted by the XMM-Newton satellite during two slews, to get the spectral information of the source and search for spectral variations. The spectral parameters determined by the recent XMM-Newton slew observations were compared to the previously known results. The maximum unabsorbed X-ray flux in the 0.5-10 keV band as detected by the XMM-Newton slew observations is ≃4.5 × 10-11 erg cm-2 s-1; i.e., it is consistent with that observed by the Swift/XRT satellite 15 days earlier. The spectrum seems to be marginally consistent (Γ ≃ 0.93 - 1.63) with what has been derived from the previous high-energy observations.

Context. A cataclysmic variable contains a white dwarf that accretes material from a secondary star via the Roche lobe mechanism. Systems with high line-of-sight inclination angles offer the possibility to pinpoint the location of the X-ray emitting region by characterizing the observed eclipse by the secondary star. Aims: We present an XMM-Newton observation of the dwarf nova Z Chamaleontis that we analyzed to determine the properties of the X-ray and optical light curves, as well as the high-energy spectrum. Methods: We performed a spectral analysis of the data taken by the EPIC camera, and a timing analysis of the observed X-ray and optical OM light curves. Results: We find that a multi-temperature plasma component absorbed by ionized material is required to describe the data. In particular, we estimate that the total absorbed flux in the 0.2-9.0 keV band is FAbs0.2-9.0 = (4.1±0.1) × 10-12 erg s-1 cm-2, which, when accounted for absorption and bolometric correction, corresponds to a bolometric luminosity of LBolX = (6.9±0.1) × 1030 erg s-1 at a distance of 97 pc. The mass accretion rate onto the white dwarf turns out to be about 1.1 × 10-11Msun yr-1. Our analysis of the optical and X-ray eclipse light curves and the mid-eclipse times of Z-Chamaleontis, in addition to the eclipse (during which the observed EPIC count rate is 0.033 ± 0.003 count s-1), implies that the X-ray light curve contains dips (at the orbital phases 0.30 ± 0.02 and 0.73 ± 0.02) that can be naturally explained as absorption effects by intervening stable gas clouds close to the accretor.

Timing analysis is a powerful tool used to determine periodic features of physical phenomena. Here we review two applications of timing analysis to gravitational microlensing events. The first one, in particular cases, allows the estimation of the orbital period of binary lenses, which in turn enables the breaking of degeneracies. The second one is a method to measure the rotation period of the lensed star by observing signatures due to stellar spots on its surface.

We used Planck data to study the M 33 galaxy and find a substantial temperature asymmetry with respect to its minor axis projected onto the sky plane. This temperature asymmetry correlates well with the HI velocity field at 21 cm, at least within a galactocentric distance of 0.5°, and it is found to extend up to about 3° from the galaxy center. We conclude that the revealed effect, that is, the temperature asymmetry and its extension, implies that we detected the differential rotation of the M 33 galaxy and of its extended baryonic halo.

A cataclysmic variable is a binary system containing a white dwarf which accretes material from a secondary star through the Roche lobe mechanism. Systems observed at large inclination angles offer the possibility to locate the the X-ray emitting region thus allowing to study the behaviour of systems accreting matter in extreme conditions. We briefly review the main properties of a cataclysmic variable and focus on the information possibly derived by high energy observations.

Context. WZ Sagittae is the prototype object of a subclass of dwarf novae with rare and long (super)outbursts, in which a white dwarf primary accretes matter from a low mass companion. High-energy observations offer the possibility of a better understanding of the disk-accretion mechanism in WZ Sge-like binaries. Aims: We used archival XMM-Newton and Swift data to characterize the X-ray spectral and temporal properties of WZ Sge in quiescence. Methods: We performed a detailed timing analysis of the simultaneous X-ray and UV light curves obtained with the EPIC and OM instruments on board XMM-Newton in 2003. We employed several techniques in this study, including a correlation study between the two curves. We also performed an X-ray spectral analysis using the EPIC data and Swift/XRT data obtained in 2011. Results: We find that the X-ray intensity is clearly modulated at a period of ≃28.96 s, confirming previously published preliminary results. We find that the X-ray spectral shape of WZ Sge remains practically unchanged between the XMM-Newton and Swift observations. However, after correcting for interstellar absorption, the intrinsic luminosity is estimated to be LXUna = (2.65 ± 0.06) × 1030 erg s-1 and LXUna = (1.57 ± 0.03) × 1030 erg s-1 in 2003 and 2011, respectively. During the Swift/XRT observation, the observed flux is a factor ≃2 lower than that observed by XMM-Newton but is similar to the quiescent levels that are observed various times before the 2001 outburst.