Profile Information
- Affiliation
- Professor, Department of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration AgencyProfessor, Space and Astronautical Science, Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, The Graduate University for Advanced StudiesVisiting Professor, Department of Physics, School of Science, Institute of Science Tokyo
- Degree
- Ph. D.(The University of Tokyo)master's degree(The University of Tokyo)
- Researcher number
- 20280555
- ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2374-7073- J-GLOBAL ID
- 200901095989600566
- researchmap Member ID
- 1000363020
I have been developing cryogenic high-resolution X-ray microcalorimeter spectrometers onboard X-ray astronomy satellite. It was achieved as the Resolve instrument onboard XRISM, which was launched in September, 2023.
Here are research themes I can provide. (1) Analyze high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy data obtained by XRISM satellite, and research motion of the hot gas in clusters of galaxies, in order to understand the formation of the large-scale structures of the Universe. (2) Conduct experimental studies, in anticipation of LiteBIRD mission, that aims for observing the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation.
Message to students: Through the research, develop an understanding of specific natural phenomena, and also learn the process to reach fundamental physics laws that underlie the complex phenomena, together with experimental and/or analytical methods.
Research Interests
4Research Areas
2Research History
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Apr, 1995 - Sep, 2003
Education
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Apr, 1991 - Mar, 1995
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Apr, 1987 - Mar, 1991
Committee Memberships
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Apr, 2009 - Mar, 2011
Papers
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, Apr 11, 2025Abstract The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is a joint mission between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). In addition to the three space agencies, universities and research institutes from Japan, North America, and Europe have joined to contribute to developing satellite and onboard instruments, data-processing software, and the scientific observation program. XRISM is the successor to the ASTRO-H (Hitomi) mission, which ended prematurely in 2016. Its primary science goal is to examine astrophysical problems with precise, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. XRISM promises to discover new horizons in X-ray astronomy. It carries a 6 × 6 pixelized X-ray microcalorimeter on the focal plane of an X-ray mirror assembly (Resolve) and a co-aligned X-ray CCD camera (Xtend) that covers the same energy band over a large field of view. XRISM utilizes the Hitomi heritage, but all designs were reviewed. The attitude and orbit control system was improved in hardware and software. The spacecraft was launched from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center on 2023 September 6 (UTC). During the in-orbit commissioning phase, the onboard components were activated. Although the gate valve protecting the Resolve sensor with a thin beryllium X-ray entrance window was not yet opened, scientific observation started in 2024 February with the planned performance verification observation program. The nominal observation program commenced with the following guest observation program beginning in 2024 September.
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The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 982(1) L5-L5, Mar 12, 2025Abstract We present XRISM Resolve observations of the core of the hot, relaxed galaxy cluster Abell 2029 (A2029). We find that the line-of-sight bulk velocity of the intracluster medium (ICM) within the central 180 kpc is at rest with respect to the brightest cluster galaxy, with a 3σ upper limit of ∣v bulk∣ < 100 km s−1. We robustly measure the field-integrated ICM velocity dispersion to be σ v = 169 ± 10 km s−1, obtaining similar results for both single-temperature and two-temperature plasma models to account for the cluster cool core. This result, if ascribed to isotropic turbulence, implies a subsonic ICM with Mach number and a nonthermal pressure fraction of 2.6 ± 0.3%. The turbulent velocity is similar to what was measured in the core of the Perseus cluster by Hitomi, but here in a more massive cluster with an ICM temperature of 7 keV, the limit on the nonthermal pressure fraction is even more stringent. Our result is consistent with expectations from simulations of relaxed clusters, but it is on the low end of the predicted distribution, indicating that A2029 is an exceptionally relaxed cluster with no significant impacts from either a recent minor merger or active galactic nucleus activity.
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Nature, 638(8050) 365-369, Feb 12, 2025
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, Dec 26, 2024Abstract Sagittarius A East is a supernova remnant with a unique surrounding environment, as it is located in the immediate vicinity of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic center, Sagittarius A$^{*}$. The X-ray emission of the remnant is suspected to show features of overionized plasma, which would require peculiar evolutionary paths. We report on the first observation of Sagittarius A East with the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). Equipped with a combination of a high-resolution microcalorimeter spectrometer and a large field-of-view CCD imager, we for the first time resolved the Fe xxv K-shell lines into fine structure lines and measured the forbidden-to-resonance intensity ratio to be $1.39 \pm 0.12$, which strongly suggests the presence of overionized plasma. We obtained a reliable constraint on the ionization temperature just before the transition into the overionization state, of $\gt\! 4\:$keV. The recombination timescale was constrained to be $\lt\! 8 \times 10^{11} \:$cm$^{-3}\:$s. The small velocity dispersion of $109 \pm 6\:$km$\:$s$^{-1}$ indicates a low Fe ion temperature $\lt\! 8\:$keV and a small expansion velocity $\lt\! 200\:$km$\:$s$^{-1}$. The high initial ionization temperature and small recombination timescale suggest that either rapid cooling of the plasma via adiabatic expansion from dense circumstellar material or intense photoionization by Sagittarius A$^{*}$ in the past may have triggered the overionization.
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The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 977(2) L34-L34, Dec 11, 2024Abstract The X-ray binary system Cygnus X-3 (4U 2030+40, V1521 Cyg) is luminous but enigmatic owing to the high intervening absorption. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy uniquely probes the dynamics of the photoionized gas in the system. In this Letter, we report on an observation of Cyg X-3 with the XRISM/Resolve spectrometer, which provides unprecedented spectral resolution and sensitivity in the 2–10 keV band. We detect multiple kinematic and ionization components in absorption and emission whose superposition leads to complex line profiles, including strong P Cygni profiles on resonance lines. The prominent Fe xxv Heα and Fe xxvi Lyα emission complexes are clearly resolved into their characteristic fine-structure transitions. Self-consistent photoionization modeling allows us to disentangle the absorption and emission components and measure the Doppler velocity of these components as a function of binary orbital phase. We find a significantly higher velocity amplitude for the emission lines than for the absorption lines. The absorption lines generally appear blueshifted by ∼−500–600 km s−1. We show that the wind decomposes naturally into a relatively smooth and large-scale component, perhaps associated with the background wind itself, plus a turbulent, denser structure located close to the compact object in its orbit.
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, Oct 10, 2024Abstract We present an initial analysis of the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) first-light observation of the supernova remnant (SNR) N 132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Resolve microcalorimeter has obtained the first high-resolution spectrum in the 1.6–10 keV band, which contains K-shell emission lines of Si, S, Ar, Ca, and Fe. We find that the Si and S lines are relatively narrow, with a broadening represented by a Gaussian-like velocity dispersion of $\sigma _v \sim 450$ km s$^{-1}$. However, the Fe He$\alpha$ lines are substantially broadened with $\sigma _v \sim 1670$ km s$^{-1}$. This broadening can be explained by a combination of the thermal Doppler effect due to the high ion temperature and the kinematic Doppler effect due to the SNR expansion. Assuming that the Fe He$\alpha$ emission originates predominantly from the supernova ejecta, we estimate the reverse shock velocity at the time when the bulk of the Fe ejecta were shock heated to be $-1000 \lesssim V_{\rm rs}$ (km s$^{-1}$) $\lesssim 3300$ (in the observer frame). We also find that Fe Ly$\alpha$ emission is redshifted with a bulk velocity of $\sim 890$ km s$^{-1}$, substantially larger than the radial velocity of the local interstellar medium surrounding N 132D. These results demonstrate that high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy is capable of providing constraints on the evolutionary stage, geometry, and velocity distribution of SNRs.
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The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 973(1) L25-L25, Sep 1, 2024Abstract We present an analysis of the first two XRISM/Resolve spectra of the well-known Seyfert-1.5 active galactic nucleus (AGN) in NGC 4151, obtained in 2023 December. Our work focuses on the nature of the narrow Fe K α emission line at 6.4 keV, the strongest and most common X-ray line observed in AGN. The total line is found to consist of three components. Even the narrowest component of the line is resolved with evident Fe K α,1 (6.404 keV) and K α,2 (6.391 keV) contributions in a 2:1 flux ratio, fully consistent with neutral gas with negligible bulk velocity. Subject to the limitations of our models, the narrowest and intermediate-width components are consistent with emission from optically thin gas, suggesting that they arise in a disk atmosphere and/or wind. Modeling the three line components in terms of Keplerian broadening, they are readily associated with (1) the inner wall of the “torus,” (2) the innermost optical “broad-line region” (or “X-ray BLR”), and (3) a region with a radius of r ≃ 100 GM/c 2 that may signal a warp in the accretion disk. Viable alternative explanations of the broadest component include a fast-wind component and/or scattering; however, we find evidence of variability in the narrow Fe K α line complex on timescales consistent with small radii. The best-fit models are statistically superior to simple Voigt functions, but when fit with Voigt profiles the time-averaged lines are consistent with a projected velocity broadening of FWHM . Overall, the resolution and sensitivity of XRISM show that the narrow Fe K line in AGN is an effective probe of all key parts of the accretion flow, as it is currently understood. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of AGN accretion, future studies with XRISM, and X-ray-based black hole mass measurements.
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 53-53, Aug 22, 2024
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 55-55, Aug 22, 2024
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 56-56, Aug 21, 2024
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 58-58, Aug 21, 2024
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 62-62, Aug 21, 2024
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 234-234, Aug 21, 2024
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 52-52, Aug 21, 2024
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 232-232, Aug 21, 2024
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Cryogenics, 139 103831-103831, Apr, 2024 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 9(1) 14003-14003, 2023
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Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 209(5-6) 971-979, Dec, 2022
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 12181, Aug 31, 2022
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Ground test results of the micro-vibration interference for the x-ray microcalorimeter onboard XRISMProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 12181, 2022
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X-RAY, OPTICAL, AND INFRARED DETECTORS FOR ASTRONOMY X, 12191, 2022
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SPACE TELESCOPES AND INSTRUMENTATION 2022: ULTRAVIOLET TO GAMMA RAY, 12181, 2022
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 73(3) 584-595, Jun, 2021 Peer-reviewed
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, Dec 13, 2020
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Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 11444, 2020
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Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 491(3) 3411-3418, 2020 Peer-reviewed
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 72(1), 2020 Peer-reviewed
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Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 10699, 2018
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(1), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 70(2), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 193(5-6) 991-995, 2018
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(1), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(1), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Cryogenics, 91, 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(1), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(2), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(1), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 70(2), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 70(3), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(2), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(2), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(1), 2018 Peer-reviewed
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(2), 2018
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 4(2), 2018
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 69(3), 2017
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SPACE TELESCOPES AND INSTRUMENTATION 2016: ULTRAVIOLET TO GAMMA RAY, 9905, 2016 Peer-reviewed
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Vibration isolation system for cryocoolers of Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) onboard ASTRO-H (Hitomi)SPACE TELESCOPES AND INSTRUMENTATION 2016: ULTRAVIOLET TO GAMMA RAY, 9905, 2016 Peer-reviewed
Misc.
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日本物理学会講演概要集(CD-ROM), 79(1), 2024
Professional Memberships
2Research Projects
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科学研究費助成事業 基盤研究(C), 日本学術振興会, Apr, 2023 - Mar, 2026
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科学研究費助成事業 新学術領域研究(研究領域提案型), 日本学術振興会, Apr, 2019 - Mar, 2021
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Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Apr, 2013 - Mar, 2017
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Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Apr, 2011 - Mar, 2014
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科研費 挑戦的萌芽研究, Apr, 2008 - Mar, 2011