Curriculum Vitaes
Profile Information
- Affiliation
- Associate Professor, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Department of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Degree
- 博士(理学)(Mar, 2004, 東京大学)
- Researcher number
- 60446599
- ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0441-7404- J-GLOBAL ID
- 202001021434500706
- researchmap Member ID
- R000012970
Research Interests
6Research Areas
2Research History
2Education
3-
Apr, 1999 - Mar, 2001
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Apr, 1995 - Mar, 1999
Awards
2Major Papers
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 70(6), Oct 1, 2018 Peer-reviewedCorresponding authorWe present the results from the Hitomi Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD) observation of the Crab nebula. The main part of SGD is a Compton camera, which in addition to being a spectrometer, is capable of measuring polarization of gamma-ray photons. The Crab nebula is one of the brightest X-ray / gamma-ray sources on the sky, and, the only source from which polarized X-ray photons have been detected. SGD observed the Crab nebula during the initial test observation phase of Hitomi. We performed the data analysis of the SGD observation, the SGD background estimation and the SGD Monte Carlo simulations, and, successfully detected polarized gamma-ray emission from the Crab nebula with only about 5 ks exposure time. The obtained polarization fraction of the phase-integrated Crab emission (sum of pulsar and nebula emissions) is (22.1 $\pm$ 10.6)% and, the polarization angle is 110.7$^o$ + 13.2 / $-$13.0$^o$ in the energy range of 60--160 keV (The errors correspond to the 1 sigma deviation). The confidence level of the polarization detection was 99.3%. The polarization angle measured by SGD is about one sigma deviation with the projected spin axis of the pulsar, 124.0$^o$ $\pm$0.1$^o$.
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Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 765 192-201, Sep 2, 2015 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding authorThe Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD) is one of the instrument payloads onboard ASTRO-H, and will cover a wide energy band (60--600 keV) at a background level 10 times better than instruments currently in orbit. The SGD achieves low background by combining a Compton camera scheme with a narrow field-of-view active shield. The Compton camera in the SGD is realized as a hybrid semiconductor detector system which consists of silicon and cadmium telluride (CdTe) sensors. The design of the SGD Compton camera has been finalized and the final prototype, which has the same configuration as the flight model, has been fabricated for performance evaluation. The Compton camera has overall dimensions of 12 cm x 12 cm x 12 cm, consisting of 32 layers of Si pixel sensors and 8 layers of CdTe pixel sensors surrounded by 2 layers of CdTe pixel sensors. The detection efficiency of the Compton camera reaches about 15% and 3% for 100 keV and 511 keV gamma rays, respectively. The pixel pitch of the Si and CdTe sensors is 3.2 mm, and the signals from all 13312 pixels are processed by 208 ASICs developed for the SGD. Good energy resolution is afforded by semiconductor sensors and low noise ASICs, and the obtained energy resolutions with the prototype Si and CdTe pixel sensors are 1.0--2.0 keV (FWHM) at 60 keV and 1.6--2.5 keV (FWHM) at 122 keV, respectively. This results in good background rejection capability due to better constraints on Compton kinematics. Compton camera energy resolutions achieved with the final prototype are 6.3 keV (FWHM) at 356 keV and 10.5 keV (FWHM) at 662 keV, respectively, which satisfy the instrument requirements for the SGD Compton camera (better than 2%). Moreover, a low intrinsic background has been confirmed by the background measurement with the final prototype.
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IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 56(3) 777-782, Nov 4, 2008 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding authorWe developed CdTe double-sided strip detectors (DSDs or cross strip detectors) and evaluated their spectral and imaging performance for hard X-rays and gamma-rays. Though the double-sided strip configuration is suitable for imagers with a fine position resolution and a large detection area, CdTe diode DSDs with indium (In) anodes have yet to be realized due to the difficulty posed by the segmented In anodes. CdTe diode devices with aluminum (Al) anodes were recently established, followed by a CdTe device in which the Al anodes could be segmented into strips. We developed CdTe double-sided strip devices having Pt cathode strips and Al anode strips, and assembled prototype CdTe DSDs. These prototypes have a strip pitch of 400 micrometer. Signals from the strips are processed with analog ASICs (application specific integrated circuits). We have successfully performed gamma-ray imaging spectroscopy with a position resolution of 400 micrometer. Energy resolution of 1.8 keV (FWHM: full width at half maximum) was obtained at 59.54 keV. Moreover, the possibility of improved spectral performance by utilizing the energy information of both side strips was demonstrated. We designed and fabricated a new analog ASIC, VA32TA6, for the readout of semiconductor detectors, which is also suitable for DSDs. A new feature of the ASIC is its internal ADC function. We confirmed this function and good noise performance that reaches an equivalent noise charge of 110 e- under the condition of 3-4 pF input capacitance.
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Astrophysical Journal, 651(1 I) 421-437, Jul 3, 2006 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding authorWe present results from quantitative modeling and spectral analysis of the high mass X-ray binary Vela X-1 obtained with the Chandra HETGS. The spectra exhibit emission lines from H-like and He-like ions driven by photoionization, as well as fluorescent emission lines from several elements in lower charge states. In order to interpret and make full use of the high-quality data, we have developed a simulator, which calculates the ionization and thermal structure of a stellar wind photoionized by an X-ray source, and performs Monte Carlo simulations of X-ray photons propagating through the wind. The emergent spectra are then computed as a function of the viewing angle accurately accounting for photon transport in three dimensions including dynamics. From comparisons of the observed spectra with the simulation results, we are able to find the ionization structure and the geometrical distribution of material in Vela X-1 that can reproduce the observed spectral line intensities and continuum shapes at different orbital phases remarkably well. It is found that a large fraction of X-ray emission lines from highly ionized ions are formed in the region between the neutron star and the companion star. We also find that the fluorescent X-ray lines must be produced in at least three distinct regions --(1)the extended stellar wind, (2)reflection off the stellar photosphere, and (3)in a distribution of dense material partially covering and possibly trailing the neutron star, which may be associated with an accretion wake. Finally, from detailed analysis of the emission lines, we demonstrate that the stellar wind is affected by X-ray photoionization.
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IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 52(5 III) 2045-2051, Oct, 2005 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding authorWe are developing a Compton camera based on Si and CdTe semiconductor imaging devices with high energy resolution. In this paper, results from the most recent prototype are reported. The Compton camera consists of six layered double-sided Si Strip detectors and CdTe pixel detectors, which are read out with low noise analog ASICs, VA32TAs. We obtained Compton reconstructed images and spectra of line gamma-rays from 122 keV to 662 keV. The energy resolution is 9.1 keV and 14 keV at 356 keV and 511 keV, respectively. © 2005 IEEE.
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Astrophysical Journal, 597(1 II), Sep 12, 2003 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding authorWe report the detection of a fully-resolved, Compton-scattered emission line in the X-ray spectrum of the massive binary GX 301-2 obtained with the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer onboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The iron K-alpha fluorescence line complex observed in this system consists of an intense narrow component centered at an energy of E = 6.40 keV and a redward shoulder that extends down to ~6.24 keV, which corresponds to an energy shift of a Compton back-scattered iron K-alpha photon. From detailed Monte Carlo simulations and comparisons with the observed spectra, we are able to directly constrain the physical properties of the scattering medium, including the electron temperature and column density, as well as an estimate for the metal abundance.
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IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 48(4 I) 950-959, Jul 20, 2001 Peer-reviewedCadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) have been regarded as promising semiconductor materials for hard X-ray and Gamma-ray detection. The high atomic number of the materials (Z_{Cd} =48, Z_{Te} =52) gives a high quantum efficiency in comparison with Si. The large band-gap energy (Eg ~ 1.5 eV) allows us to operate the detector at room temperature. However, a considerable amount of charge loss in these detectors produces a reduced energy resolution. This problem arises due to the low mobility and short lifetime of holes. Recently, significant improvements have been achieved to improve the spectral properties based on the advances in the production of crystals and in the design of electrodes. In this overview talk, we summarize (1) advantages and disadvantages of CdTe and CdZnTe semiconductor detectors and (2) technique for improving energy resolution and photopeak efficiencies. Applications of these imaging detectors in future hard X-ray and Gamma-ray astronomy missions are briefly discussed.
Misc.
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Proceedings of 38th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2023), Aug 18, 2023
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, Aug 31, 2022
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, Aug 31, 2022
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, Aug 31, 2022
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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 7(03), Jul 1, 2021
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Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, Dec 13, 2020
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電気学会研究会資料. ECT = The papers of technical meeting on electronic circuits, IEE Japan / 電子回路研究会 [編], 2020(55-58) 1-4, Sep 17, 2020
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Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 11444, 2020© 2020 SPIE The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is the successor to the 2016 Hitomi mission that ended prematurely. Like Hitomi, the primary science goals are to examine astrophysical problems with precise high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. XRISM promises to discover new horizons in X-ray astronomy. XRISM carries a 6 x 6 pixelized X-ray micro-calorimeter on the focal plane of an X-ray mirror assembly and a co-aligned X-ray CCD camera that covers the same energy band over a large field of view. XRISM utilizes Hitomi heritage, but all designs were reviewed. The attitude and orbit control system were improved in hardware and software. The number of star sensors were increased from two to three to improve coverage and robustness in onboard attitude determination and to obtain a wider field of view sun sensor. The fault detection, isolation, and reconfiguration (FDIR) system was carefully examined and reconfigured. Together with a planned increase of ground support stations, the survivability of the spacecraft is significantly improved.
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Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 11444, 2020© 2020 SPIE The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, XRISM, is currently scheduled to launch in 2022 with the objective of building on the brief, but significant, successes of the ASTRO-H (Hitomi) mission in solving outstanding astrophysical questions using high resolution X-ray spectroscopy. The XRISM Science Operations Team (SOT) consists of the JAXA-led Science Operations Center (SOC) and NASA-led Science Data Center (SDC), which work together to optimize the scientific output from the Resolve high-resolution spectrometer and the Xtend wide-field imager through planning and scheduling of observations, processing and distribution of data, development and distribution of software tools and the calibration database (CaldB), support of ground and in-flight calibration, and support of XRISM users in their scientific investigations of the energetic universe. Here, we summarize the roles and responsibilities of the SDC and its current status and future plans. The Resolve instrument poses particular challenges due to its unprecedented combination of high spectral resolution and throughput, broad spectral coverage, and relatively small field-of-view and large pixel-size. We highlight those challenges and how they are being met.
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Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 11444, 2020© 2020 SPIE The XRISM is the X-ray astronomical mission led by JAXA/NASA/ESA with international participation, plan to be launched in 2022 (Japanese fiscal year), to quickly recover the high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of astrophysical objects using the micro-calorimeter array after the failure of Hitomi. To enhance the scientific outputs of the mission, the Science Operations Team (SOT) is structured independently from the instrument teams and the mission operation team (MOT). The responsibilities of the SOT are summarized into four categories: 1) Guest observer program and data distributions, 2) Distribution of the analyses software and calibration database, 3) Guest observer supporting activities, and 4) the performance verification and optimization (PVO) activities. Before constructing the Operations Concept of the XRISM mission, the lessons on the Science Operations learned from the past Japanese X-ray missions (ASCA, Suzaku, and Hitomi) are reviewed, and 16 kinds of lessons are identified by the above categories: lessons on the importance of avoiding nonpublic (“animal”) tools, coding quality of public tools both on the engineering viewpoint and the calibration accuracy, tight communications with instrument teams and operations team, well-defined task division between scientists and engineers etc. Among these lessons, a) importance of the early preparations of the operations from the ground stage, b) construction of the independent team for the Science Operations from the instrument developments, and c) operations with well-defined duties by appointed members are recognized as the key lessons for XRISM. Then, i) the task division between the Mission and Science Operations and ii) the subgroup structure within the XRISM team are defined in detail as the XRISM Operations Concept. Then, following the Operations Concept, the detail plan of the Science Operations is designed as follows. The Science Operations tasks are shared among Japan, US, and Europe operated by three centers, the Science Operations Center (SOC) at JAXA, the Science Data Center (SDC) at NASA, and European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) at ESA. The SOT is defined as a combination of the SOC and SDC; the SOC is designed to perform tasks close to the spacecraft operations, such as spacecraft planning of science targets, quick-look health checks, pre-pipeline data processing, etc., and the SDC covers the tasks on the data calibration processing (pipeline processing), maintenance of the analysis tools etc. The data-archive and users-support activities are planned to be covered both by the SOC and SDC. Finally, the details of the Science Operations tasks and the tools for the Science Operations are also described in this paper. This information would be helpful for a construction of Science Operations of future X-ray missions.
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 74.1 745-745, 2019
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 74.2 535-535, 2019
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JSAP Annual Meetings Extended Abstracts, 2018.1 673-673, Mar 5, 2018
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JSAP Annual Meetings Extended Abstracts, 2018.1 671-671, Mar 5, 2018
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JSAP Annual Meetings Extended Abstracts, 2018.1 672-672, Mar 5, 2018
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 73.1 2511-2511, 2018
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 73 492-492, 2018
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Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 10699, 2018© 2018 SPIE. The ASTRO-H mission was designed and developed through an international collaboration of JAXA, NASA, ESA, and the CSA. It was successfully launched on February 17, 2016, and then named Hitomi. During the in-orbit verification phase, the on-board observational instruments functioned as expected. The intricate coolant and refrigeration systems for soft X-ray spectrometer (SXS, a quantum micro-calorimeter) and soft X-ray imager (SXI, an X-ray CCD) also functioned as expected. However, on March 26, 2016, operations were prematurely terminated by a series of abnormal events and mishaps triggered by the attitude control system. These errors led to a fatal event: the loss of the solar panels on the Hitomi mission. The X-ray Astronomy Recovery Mission (or, XARM) is proposed to regain the key scientific advances anticipated by the international collaboration behind Hitomi. XARM will recover this science in the shortest time possible by focusing on one of the main science goals of Hitomi,"Resolving astrophysical problems by precise high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy".1 This decision was reached after evaluating the performance of the instruments aboard Hitomi and the mission's initial scientific results, and considering the landscape of planned international X-ray astrophysics missions in 2020's and 2030's. Hitomi opened the door to high-resolution spectroscopy in the X-ray universe. It revealed a number of discrepancies between new observational results and prior theoretical predictions. Yet, the resolution pioneered by Hitomi is also the key to answering these and other fundamental questions. The high spectral resolution realized by XARM will not offer mere refinements; rather, it will enable qualitative leaps in astrophysics and plasma physics. XARM has therefore been given a broad scientific charge: "Revealing material circulation and energy transfer in cosmic plasmas and elucidating evolution of cosmic structures and objects". To fulfill this charge, four categories of science objectives that were defined for Hitomi will also be pursued by XARM; these include (1) Structure formation of the Universe and evolution of clusters of galaxies; (2) Circulation history of baryonic matters in the Universe; (3) Transport and circulation of energy in the Universe; (4) New science with unprecedented high resolution X-ray spectroscopy. In order to achieve these scientific objectives, XARM will carry a 6 × 6 pixelized X-ray micro-calorimeter on the focal plane of an X-ray mirror assembly, and an aligned X-ray CCD camera covering the same energy band and a wider field of view. This paper introduces the science objectives, mission concept, and observing plan of XARM.
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 72 508-508, 2017
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Jan, 201717th Space Science Symposium (January 5-6, 2017. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA)(ISAS)Sagamihara Campus), Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 71 116-116, 2016
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 71 508-508, 2016
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RADIOISOTOPES, 65(2) 81-92, 2016After the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant, the technology to visualize radioactive substances has been highly desired to effectively support the radioactive clean-up. In addition to the Si/CdTe semiconductor Compton camera that was proposed and has been developed by our group, we pick up some topics regarding practical visualization systems realized in recent years.
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 71 372-372, 2016
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 71 374-374, 2016
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 71 370-370, 2016
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 71 371-371, 2016
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Meeting Abstracts of the Physical Society of Japan, 71 373-373, 2016
Presentations
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日本天文学会2025年春季年会, Mar 19, 2025
Research Projects
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科学研究費助成事業, 日本学術振興会, Apr, 2024 - Mar, 2029
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科学研究費助成事業 基盤研究(A), 日本学術振興会, Apr, 2021 - Mar, 2025
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科学研究費助成事業 基盤研究(A), 日本学術振興会, Apr, 2020 - Mar, 2024
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Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Jun, 2018 - Mar, 2023
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Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Jun, 2018 - Mar, 2023
