Search

We present a direct comparison of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS) observations of the stellar halo of M31 with the stellar halos of 6 galaxies from the Auriga simulations. We process the simulated halos through the Auriga2PAndAS pipeline and create PAndAS-like mocks that fold in all observational limitations of the survey data (foreground contamination from the Milky Way stars, incompleteness of the stellar catalogues, photometric uncertainties, etc). This allows us to study the survey data and the mocks in the same way and generate directly comparable density maps and radial density profiles. We show that the simulations are overall compatible with the observations. Nevertheless, some systematic differences exist, such as a preponderance for metal-rich stars in the mocks. While these differences could suggest that M31 had a different accretion history or has a different mass compared to the simulated systems, it is more likely a consequence of an under-quenching of the star formation history of galaxies, related to the resolution of the Auriga simulations. The direct comparison enabled by our approach offers avenues to improve our understanding of galaxy formation as they can help pinpoint the observable differences between observations and simulations. Ideally, this approach will be further developed through an application to other stellar halo simulations. To facilitate this step, we release the pipeline to generate the mocks, along with the six mocks presented and used in this contribution., Accepted to ApJ; 23 pages, 12 figures. Pipeline available here: https://github.com/GFThomas/Auriga2PAndAS, and mocks here: https://wwwmpa.mpa-garching.mpg.de/auriga/gaiamock.html

The transition from prompt to the afterglow emission is one of the most exciting and least understood phases in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Correlations among optical, X-ray and gamma-ray emission in GRBs have been explored, to attempt to answer whether the earliest optical emission comes from internal and/or external shocks. We present optical photometric observations of GRB 180325A collected with the TAROT and RATIR ground-based telescopes. These observations show two strong optical flashes with separate peaks at $\sim50\;$s and $\sim120\;$s, followed by a temporally extended optical emission. We also present X-rays and gamma-ray observations of GRB 180325A, detected by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and X-ray Telescope (XRT), on the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory, which both observed a narrow flash at $\sim80\;$s. We show that the prompt gamma- and X-ray early emission shares similar temporal and spectral features consistent with internal dissipation within the relativistic outflow (e.g. by internal shocks or magnetic reconnection), while the early optical flashes are likely generated by the reverse shock that decelerates the ejecta as it sweeps up the external medium., Accepted for publication in ApJ

The supergiant High Mass X-ray Binary IGR J16318-4848 was the first source detected by the INTEGRAL satellite in 2003 and distinguishes itself by its high intrinsic absorption and B[e] phenomenon. It is the perfect candidate to study both binary interaction and the environment of supergiant B[e] stars. This study targets the local properties of IGR J16318-4848. We aim to clarify the geometry of this system, and distinguish different key emitting regions in the binary. We provide optical to near-infrared spectra from VLT/X-Shooter and analyse both fine structures of the lines and the broadband spectral energy distribution by adding archival mid-infrared Spitzer and Herschel data. We also performed a stellar atmosphere and wind modeling of the optical to near-infrared spectrum using the PoWR code. We determine the contribution of the irradiated inner edge of the dusty circumbinary disk, derive the velocity of an equatorial stellar wind, and suggest the compact object orbits within the cavity between the star and the disk. We report on flat-topped lines originating from a spherically symetric disk wind, along with the first detection of what is likely the polar component of the stellar wind. Stellar atmosphere and wind modeling shows that the central star may have a helium-enhanced atmosphere, likely because of its intense wind sheding part of its hydrogen envelope. Finally we compare the properties of IGR J16318-4848 with a similar source, CI Cameleopardis., ApJ in press, 20 pages, 16 figures

We report on seven nights of optical observation taken over a two-week period, and the resultant analysis of the intermediate-frequency peaked BL Lac object (IBL), BL Lac itself, at redshift z = 0.069. The microvariable behavior can be confirmed over the course of minutes for each night. A relativistic beaming model was used in our analysis, to infer changes to the line of sight angles for the motion of the different relativistic components. This model has very few free parameters. The light curves we generated show both high and moderate frequency cadence to the variable behavior of BL Lac itself, in addition to the well documented long-term variability.

We study a sample of 16 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) having both spectroscopic and photometric observations within 2 $-$ 3 days after the first light. The early $B-V$ colors of such a sample tends to show a continuous distribution. For objects with normal ejecta velocity (NV), the C~II $\lambda$6580 feature is always visible in the early spectra while it is absent or very weak in the high-velocity (HV) counterpart. Moreover, the velocities of the detached high-velocity features (HVFs) of Ca~II NIR triplet (CaIR3) above the photosphere are found to be much higher in HV objects than in NV objects, with typical values exceeding 30,000 km~s$^{-1}$ at 2 $-$ 3 days. We further analyze the relation between %velocities of Si~II~$\lambda$6355 at maximum, $v_{\rm Si,max}$, the velocity shift of late-time [Fe~II] lines ($v_{\rm [Fe~II]}$) and host galaxy mass. We find that all HV objects have redshifted $v_{\rm [Fe~II]}$ while NV objects have both blue- and redshifted $v_{\rm [Fe~II]}$. It is interesting to point out that the objects with redshifted $v_{\rm [Fe~II]}$ are all located in massive galaxies, implying that HV and a portion of NV objects may have similar progenitor metallicities and explosion mechanisms. We propose that, with a geometric/projected effect, the He-detonation model may account for the similarity in birthplace environment and the differences seen in some SNe Ia, including $B-V$ colors, C~II feature, CaIR3 HVFs at early time and $v_{\rm [Fe~II]}$ in the nebular phase. Nevertheless, some features predicted by He-detonation simulation, such as the rapidly decreasing light curve, deviate from the observations, and some NV objects with blueshifted nebular $v_{\rm [Fe~II]}$ may involve other explosion mechanisms., Comment: accepted by the ApJ

It is difficult to discover pulsars via their gamma-ray emission because current instruments typically detect fewer than one photon per million rotations. This creates a significant computing challenge for isolated pulsars, where the typical parameter search space spans wide ranges in four dimensions. It is even more demanding when the pulsar is in a binary system, where the orbital motion introduces several additional unknown parameters. Building on earlier work by Pletsch & Clark (arXiv:1408.6962), we present optimal methods for such searches. These can also incorporate external constraints on the parameter space to be searched, for example, from optical observations of a presumed binary companion. The solution has two parts. The first is the construction of optimal search grids in parameter space via a parameter-space metric, for initial semicoherent searches and subsequent fully coherent follow-ups. The second is a method to demodulate and detect the periodic pulsations. These methods have different sensitivity properties than traditional radio searches for binary pulsars and might unveil new populations of pulsars., 33 pages, 7 figures, published in ApJ

Full list of authors: Horesh, Assaf; Sfaradi, Itai; Ergon, Mattias; Barbarino, Cristina; Sollerman, Jesper; Moldon, Javier; Dobie, Dougal; Schulze, Steve; Pérez-Torres, Miguel; Williams, David R. A.; Fremling, Christoffer; Gal-Yam, Avishay; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; O'Brien, Andrew; Lundqvist, Peter; Murphy, Tara; Fender, Rob; Anand, Shreya; Belicki, Justin; Bellm, Eric C.; Coughlin, Michael W.; De, Kishalay; Golkhou, V. Zach; Graham, Matthew J.; Green, Dave A.; Hankins, Matt; Kasliwal, Mansi; Kupfer, Thomas; Laher, Russ R.; Masci, Frank J.; Miller, A. A.; Neill, James D.; Ofek, Eran O.; Perrott, Yvette; Porter, Michael; Reiley, Daniel J.; Rigault, Mickael; Rodriguez, Hector; Rusholme, Ben; Shupe, David L.; Titterington, David, We report the discovery and panchromatic follow-up observations of the young Type Ic supernova (SN Ic) SN 2020oi in M100, a grand-design spiral galaxy at a mere distance of 14 Mpc. We followed up with observations at radio, X-ray, and optical wavelengths from only a few days to several months after explosion. The optical behavior of the supernova is similar to those of other normal SNe Ic. The event was not detected in the X-ray band but our radio observations revealed a bright mJy source (Lν ≈ 1.2× 1027 erg s-1 Hz-1). Given the relatively small number of stripped envelope SNe for which radio emission is detectable, we used this opportunity to perform a detailed analysis of the comprehensive radio data set we obtained. The radio-emitting electrons initially experience a phase of inverse Compton cooling, which leads to steepening of the spectral index of the radio emission. Our analysis of the cooling frequency points to a large deviation from equipartition at the level of e/ B ⪆ 200, similar to a few other cases of stripped envelope SNe. Our modeling of the radio data suggests that the shock wave driven by the SN ejecta into the circumstellar matter (CSM) is moving at ∼ 3× 104 km s-1. Assuming a constant mass loss from the stellar progenitor, we find that the mass-loss rate is ⊙M≈ 1.4× 10-4 M⊙ yr-1 for an assumed wind velocity of 1000 km s-1. The temporal evolution of the radio emission suggests a radial CSM density structure steeper than the standard r -2. © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved., We thank the anonymous referee. A.H. is grateful for the support by grants from the Israel Science Foundation, the USIsrael Binational Science Foundation (BSF), and the I-CORE Program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Israel Science Foundation. T.M. acknowledges the support of the Australian Research Council through grant FT150100099. D.D. is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. D.R.A.W. was supported by the Oxford Centre for Astrophysical Surveys, which is funded through generous support from the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation. A.A.M. is funded by the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Corporation, the Brinson Foundation, and the Moore Foundation in support of the LSSTC Data Science Fellowship Program; he also receives support as a CIERA Fellow by the CIERA Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Northwestern University). M.P.T. acknowledges financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award to the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709) and through grant PGC2018-098915-B-C21 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE). J.M. acknowledges financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award to the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709) and from the grant RTI2018-096228-B-C31 (MICIU/FEDER, EU). A.G.Y.'s research is supported by the EU via ERC grant No. 725161, the ISF GW excellence center, an IMOS space infrastructure grant and BSF/Transformative and GIF grants, as well as The Benoziyo Endowment Fund for the Advancement of Science, the Deloro Institute for Advanced Research in Space and Optics, The Veronika A. Rabl Physics Discretionary Fund, Paul and Tina Gardner, Yeda-Sela and the WIS-CIT joint research grant; A.G.Y. is the recipient of the Helen and Martin Kimmel Award for Innovative Investigation. M.R. has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement n759194-USNAC). M.W.C. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation with grant number PHY-2010970. C.F. gratefully acknowledges support of his research by the Heising-Simons Foundation (#2018-0907). Based on observations obtained with the Samuel Oschin Telescope 48 inch and the 60 inch Telescope at the Palomar Observatory as part of the Zwicky Transient Facility project. Z.T.F. is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. AST-1440341 and a collaboration including Caltech, IPAC, the Weizmann Institute for Science, the Oskar Klein Center at Stockholm University, the University of Maryland, the University of Washington, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron and Humboldt University, Los Alamos National Laboratories, the TANGO Consortium of Taiwan, the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. Operations are conducted by COO, IPAC, and UW. Partly based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope. SED Machine is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. 1106171. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The Australia Telescope Compact Array is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility which is funded by the Australian Government for operation as a National Facility managed by CSIRO. We acknowledge the Gomeroi people as the traditional owners of the Observatory site. e-MERLIN is a National Facility operated by the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank Observatory on behalf of STFC. We thank the staff of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory for their assistance in the commissioning, maintenance, and operation of AMI, which is supported by the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. We also acknowledge support from the European Research Council under grant ERC-2012-StG-307215 LODESTONE. This work was supported by the GROWTH project funded by the National Science Foundation under grant No. 1545949.

Full author list: R. Morgan, M. Soares-Santos, J. Annis, K. Herner, A. Garcia, A. Palmese, A. Drlica-Wagner, R. Kessler, J. García-Bellido, T. G. Bachmann, N. Sherman, S. Allam, K. Bechtol, C. R. Bom, D. Brout, R. E. Butler, M. Butner, R. Cartier, H. Chen, C. Conselice, E. Cook, T. M. Davis, Z. Doctor, B. Farr, A. L. Figueiredo, D. A. Finley, R. J. Foley, J. Y. Galarza, M. S. S. Gill, R. A. Gruendl, D. E. Holz, N. Kuropatkin, C. Lidman, H. Lin, U. Malik, A. W. Mann, J. Marriner, J. L. Marshall, C. E. Martínez-Vázquez N. Meza, E. Neilsen, C. Nicolaou, F. Olivares E., F. Paz-Chinchón, S. Points, J. Quirola-Vásquez, O. Rodriguez, M. Sako, D. Scolnic, M. Smith, F. Sobreira, D. L. Tucker, A. K. Vivas, M. Wiesner, M. L. Wood, B. Yanny, A. Zenteno, T. M. C. Abbott, M. Aguena, S. Avila, E. Bertin, S. Bhargava, D. Brooks, D. L. Burke, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, J. Carretero, L. N. da Costa, M. Costanzi, J. De Vicente, S. Desai, H. T. Diehl, P. Doel, T. F. Eifler, S. Everett, B. Flaugher, J. Frieman, E. Gaztanaga, D. W. Gerdes, D. Gruen, J. Gschwend, G. Gutierrez, W. G. Hartley, S. R. Hinton, D. L. Hollowood, K. Honscheid, D. J. James, K. Kuehn, O. Lahav, M. Lima, M. A. G. Maia, M. March, R. Miquel, R. L. C. Ogando, A. A. Plazas, A. Roodman, E. Sanchez, V. Scarpine, M. Schubnell, S. Serrano, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, E. Suchyta, and G. Tarle, On 2019 August 14, the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations detected gravitational waves from a black hole and a 2.6 solar mass compact object, possibly the first neutron star-black hole merger. In search of an optical counterpart, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) obtained deep imaging of the entire 90% confidence level localization area with Blanco/DECam 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, and 16 nights after the merger. Objects with varying brightness were detected by the DES Pipeline, and we systematically reduced the candidate counterparts through catalog matching, light-curve properties, host-galaxy photometric redshifts, Southern Astrophysical Research spectroscopic follow-up observations, and machine-learning-based photometric classification. All candidates were rejected as counterparts to the merger. To quantify the sensitivity of our search, we applied our selection criteria to full light-curve simulations of supernovae and kilonovae as they would appear in the DECam observations. Because the source class of the merger was uncertain, we utilized an agnostic, three-component kilonova model based on tidally disrupted neutron star (NS) ejecta properties to quantify our detection efficiency of a counterpart if the merger included an NS. We find that, if a kilonova occurred during this merger, configurations where the ejected matter is greater than 0.07 solar masses, has lanthanide abundance less than 10-8.56, and has a velocity between 0.18c and 0.21c are disfavored at the 2σ level. Furthermore, we estimate that our background reduction methods are capable of associating gravitational wave signals with a detected electromagnetic counterpart at the 4σ level in 95% of future follow-up observations., R. Morgan thanks the LSSTC Data Science Fellowship Program, which is funded by LSSTC, NSF Cybertraining Grant #1829740, the Brinson Foundation, and the Moore Foundation; his participation in the program has benefited this work. F. O.E. acknowledges support from the FONDECYT grant No. 1201223. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under grant No. 1744555. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain, the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, the Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics at The Ohio State University, the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the Collaborating Institutions in the Dark Energy Survey. The Collaborating Institutions are Argonne National Laboratory, the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Cambridge, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas-Madrid, the University of Chicago, University College London, the DES-Brazil Consortium, the University of Edinburgh, the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, the Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (IEEC/CSIC), the Institut de Física d’Altes Energies, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München and the associated Excellence Cluster Universe, the University of Michigan, NFS’s NOIRLab, the University of Nottingham, The Ohio State University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Portsmouth, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, the University of Sussex, Texas A&M University, and the OzDES Membership Consortium. The UCSC team is supported in part by NASA grant NNG17PX03C, NSF grant AST-1815935, the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and by fellowships from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to R.J.F. Based in part on observations at Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory at NSFʼs NOIRLab (NOIRLab Prop. ID 2012B-0001; PI: J. Frieman), which is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. Based on observations obtained at the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, which is a joint project of the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Comunicações (MCTIC) da República Federativa do Brasil, the U.S. NSF’s NOIRLab, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Michigan State University (MSU). The DES data management system is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant Nos. AST-1138766 and AST-1536171. The DES participants from Spanish institutions are partially supported by MICINN under grants ESP2017-89838, PGC2018-094773, PGC2018-102021, SEV2016-0588, SEV-2016-0597, and MDM-2015-0509, some of which include ERDF funds from the European Union. IFAE is partially funded by the CERCA program of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007- 2013), including ERC grant agreements 240672, 291329, and 306478. We acknowledge support from the Brazilian Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia (INCT) e-Universe (CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). This paper has gone through internal review by the DES collaboration. This manuscript has been authored by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02- 07CH11359 with the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics.

We carry out a comprehensive Bayesian correlation analysis between hot halos and direct masses of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), by retrieving the X-ray plasma properties (temperature, luminosity, density, pressure, masses) over galactic to cluster scales for 85 diverse systems. We find new key scalings, with the tightest relation being the $M_\bullet-T_{\rm x}$, followed by $M_\bullet-L_{\rm x}$. The tighter scatter (down to 0.2 dex) and stronger correlation coefficient of all the X-ray halo scalings compared with the optical counterparts (as the $M_\bullet-\sigma_{\rm e}$) suggest that plasma halos play a more central role than stars in tracing and growing SMBHs (especially those that are ultramassive). Moreover, $M_\bullet$ correlates better with the gas mass than dark matter mass. We show the important role of the environment, morphology, and relic galaxies/coronae, as well as the main departures from virialization/self-similarity via the optical/X-ray fundamental planes. We test the three major channels for SMBH growth: hot/Bondi-like models have inconsistent anti-correlation with X-ray halos and too low feeding; cosmological simulations find SMBH mergers as sub-dominant over most of the cosmic time and too rare to induce a central-limit-theorem effect; the scalings are consistent with chaotic cold accretion (CCA), the rain of matter condensing out of the turbulent X-ray halos that sustains a long-term self-regulated feedback loop. The new correlations are major observational constraints for models of SMBH feeding/feedback in galaxies, groups, and clusters (e.g., to test cosmological hydrodynamical simulations), and enable the study of SMBHs not only through X-rays, but also via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (Compton parameter), lensing (total masses), and cosmology (gas fractions)., Comment: 40 pages, 27 figures, 3 tables; ApJ accepted version (minor revision) - Reviewer: "The authors are to be congratulated on a very interesting paper that deserves to be read by anyone interested in the connection between the SMBH and host galaxy."

Interaction between interplanetary shock and magnetosphere frequently induces dayside enhancements of auroral activity, and subsequent enhancement of auroral precipitation referred as shock aurora propagating dawnward and duskward from noon to the night sector. In some cases, these interplanetary shocks also induce enhanced activity during which the power precipitated into the night sector may reach values as high as observed during typical magnetospheric substorms. Present study analyzes the nightside auroral responses to the interplanetary shock sudden compression based-on the ground optical auroral observations from Chinese Antarctic Zhongshan (ZHS) and Arctic Yellow River (YRS) stations for the first time. The analysis result of 18 shock associated aurora cases indicated that nightside auroral responses can be classified into auroral breakup and weak intensification or quiescent events. Epoch time analysis showed that both the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling efficiency and electro-magnetic environment inside magnetosphere determine the nightside auroral responses.

We investigate a sample of 11 Galactic X-ray sources recently discovered with INTEGRAL or RXTE with the goal of identifying their optical and/or near-infrared (NIR) counterpart. For this purpose, new Chandra positions of nine objects are presented together with follow-up observations of all the targets in the optical and NIR. For the four sources IGR J16194-2810, IGR J 16479-4514, IGR J 16500-3307 and IGR J 19308+0530, the Chandra position confirms an existing association with an optical/NIR object, while for two sources, XTE J1716-389 and IGR J18490-0000, it rules out previously proposed counterparts indicating new ones. In the case of IGR J17597-220, a counterpart is selected out of the several possibilities proposed in the literature, and we present the first association with an optical/NIR source for IGR J16293-4603 and XTE J1743-363. Moreover, optical/NIR observations are reported for XTE J1710-281 and IGR J17254-3257; we investigate the counterpart to the X-ray sources based on their XMM-Newton positions. We discuss the nature of each system considering its optical/NIR and X-ray properties.

We report on the X-ray and optical observation of the two unidentified EGRET sources 3EG J0616-3310 and 3EG J1249-8330. The X-ray coverage performed by the ESA space telescope XMM–Newton provided ∼150 X-ray sources within each of the two γ-ray error-circles. The optical follow-up carried on with the Wide Field Imager at the ESO/MPG 2.2 m telescope have found no candidate counterpart for 125 of these X-ray sources. Among these, we have selected 9 sources with f X/f opt≥100, which we consider promising INS candidates.

Radar and optical observations reveal that the continuous increase in the spin rate of near-Earth asteroid (54509) 2000 PH5 can be attributed to the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect, a torque due to sunlight. The change in spin rate is in reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions for the YORP acceleration of a body with the radar-determined size, shape, and spin state of 2000 PH5. The detection of asteroid spin-up supports the YORP effect as an explanation for the anomalous distribution of spin rates for asteroids under 10 kilometers in diameter and as a binary formation mechanism.

International audience; Context: A new hard X-ray transient has been discovered by INTEGRAL on 2006 Sep. 17 at 1 degree from the Galactic Centre. Aims: INTEGRAL, Swift/XRT and optical photometric observations are used to characterize IGR J17497-2821 and to unveil its nature. Methods: The X-ray position has been refined to arcsec level through a study of the optical variability of the possible counterparts. Hard X-ray variability and spectroscopy are used to determine the nature of the source outburst. Results: IGR J17497-2821 is a new X-ray Nova in low-hard state, probably a new Black-Hole Candidate.

We present (UBVRI) multicolor linear polarimetric data for 31 of the brightest stars in the area of the open cluster NGC 5749 considered to study the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) towards the cluster. Our data yield a mean polarization percentage of Pv ∼ 1.7%, close to the polarization value produced by the ISM with normal efficiency (P(%) = 3.5E (B-V)0.8) for a mean color excess of EB-V = 0.42. The mean angle of polarization vectors, θ = 74°, agrees quite well with the expected angle produced by dust particles aligned in the direction of the galactic disk (and the magnetic field) in the region. Our analysis indicates that the visual absorption affecting the stars in NGC 5749 is partially produced by a dust layer located up to 300 pc from the Sun and also by a second layer of dust closer to the cluster (located at least at 700 pc). The observed photometry and our polarization data are consistent with the existence of dust within the cluster. We also show in this work how polarimetry could be an excellent technique for identifying nonmember stars., Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas

We present mm-wavelength and optical observations of the starburst region in NGC 2146. This region of ∼4 kpc diameter contains a well-ordered distribution of stars, gas, and dust, and a well-ordered rotation. The possible anomalies found in our observation are a warped CO distribution and an increase in the CO line width at the NW edge of the starburst region. The investigation of a possible encounter or merger origin of the starburst may therefore have to concentrate on the distorted outer structure of the galaxy. There are three large-scale features of ∼20 kpc extent, two of which give the impression of being stellar sub-systems. The third feature is an incomplete and expanding ring of H ii regions and stars, apparently indicating an event that occurred some 300 Myr ago.

A Near-infrared (1.18-1.35 micron) high-resolution spectrum of the gravitationally-lensed QSO APM 08279+5255 was obtained with the IRCS mounted on the Subaru Telescope using the AO system. We detected strong NaI D 5891,5897 doublet absorption in high-redshift DLAs at z=1.062 and 1.181, confirming the presence of NaI, which was first reported for the rest-frame UV NaI 3303.3,3303.9 doublet by Petitjean et al. This is the first detection of NaI D absorption in a high-redshift (z>1) DLA. In addition, we detected a new NaI component in the z=1.062 DLA and four new components in the z=1.181 DLA. Using an empirical relationship between NaI and HI column density, we found that all "components" have large HI column density, so that each component is classified as DLA absorption. We also detected strong NaI D absorption associated with a MgII system at z=1.173. Because no other metal absorption lines were detected in this system at the velocity of the NaI absorption in previously reported optical spectra (observed 3.6 years ago), we interpret this NaI absorption cloud probably appeared in the line of sight toward the QSO after the optical observation. This newly found cloud is likely to be a DLA based upon its large estimated HI column density. We found that the N(NaI)/N(CaII) ratios in these DLAs are systematically smaller than those observed in the Galaxy; they are more consistent with the ratios seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This is consistent with dust depletion generally being smaller in lower metallicity environments. However, all five clouds of the z=1.181 system have a high N(NaI)/N(CaII) ratio, which is characteristic of cold dense gas. We tentatively suggest that the host galaxy of this system may be the most significant contributor to the gravitational-lens toward APM 08279+5255.

The M8.5 object SSSPM J0109−5101 has recently been shown to be both a periodic and a flaring variable, based on optical observations in the extreme red. More than 16 h of monitoring in the near-infrared (NIR) reported here failed to show any variability. Similarly, no NIR variability could be detected in intensive monitoring of three other suspected optical variables. This paper also reports on photometry of half a dozen targets monitored over a few weeks, and on the comparison of intensive monitoring at different epochs. In only one case, that of the

We report on the results of our optical photometric observations of a black hole X-ray binary, V4641 Sgr during an outburst in 2003 August. During the outburst, we detected several properties having noteworthy similarities to those observed during an outburst in 2002 May; the outburst lasted about 6 days, during which it exhibited flares and rapid fluctuations, having timescales of 102–4 s. In complicated profiles of light curves, we identified several recurring patterns, which were also observed during the 2002 outburst. First, the object frequently experienced sudden temporary fadings, which we call “dips”, appearing just after the states characterized by strong short-term fluctuations. Second, we detected optical flashes, which are characterized by a brightening by ∼ 0.5mag within ∼ 50s. Based on the similarity of the outbursts in 2002 and 2003, we conclude that they have the same nature. This is the first time that repetitive outburst phenomena have been confirmed in V4641 Sgr. The object probably has an outburst interval that can be as small as 1–2 years.

We report optical CCD observations of the microquasar LS 5039. Its photometric behaviour is studied over differ- ent orbital periods with a time separation of three years. We do not detect evidences of an ellipsoidal modulation above the ±0.01 mag level, thus confirming the previous results reported by Clark et al. (2001). The light curve of LS 5039 has also been explored with a time resolution of 30 s but the source also appears to be stable on such shorter time scales. Possible scenarios consistent with the non-detection of optical variability are considered.

V404 Cygni went into an outburst again on June 15, 2015 after 26 years of quietness. Soon after the notifications, we started intense optical observation campaign of this source. The spectral index between RC and IC-band was stable over the outburst, whereas that between g′ and RC-band varied violently. With the time domain analysis of the multi-color optical light curves, we successfully decomposed optical variations into three components: highly-variable component (HVC), little-variable component (LVC). The loci of the LVC in the color-color diagram is consistent with that of a single temperature blackbody radiation or a multi-color blackbody radiation from a standard accretion disk, while those of the HVC trace that of power-law spectra.

We report BeppoSAX and optical observations of the black hole candidate GX 339-4 during its X-ray `off' state in 1999. The broad-band (0.8-50 keV) X-ray emission can be fitted by a single power law with spectral index, \alpha ~1.6. The observed luminosity is 6.6e33 erg s^{-1} in the 0.5-10 keV band, which is at the higher end of the flux distribution of black hole soft X-ray transients in quiescence, comparable to that seen in GS 2023+338 and 4U 1630-47. An optical observation just before the BeppoSAX observation shows the source to be very faint at these wavelengths as well (B=20.1, V=19.2). By comparing with previously reported `off' and low states (LS), we conclude that the `off' state is actually an extension of the LS, i.e. a LS at lower intensities. We propose that accretion models such as the advection-dominated accretion flows are able to explain the observed properties in such a state., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

High speed video of sprites show that they are typically initiated at an altitude of about 75 km and usually develop simultaneously upwards and downwards from the point of origin with an initial columniform shape. The initial development of sprites appears to be dominated by corona streamers with velocities in excess of 107 m/s. Many of the observed characteristics are consistent with a conventional breakdown mechanism for both sprite initiation and initial sprite development.

We summarize here our ongoing project of multiwavelength optical observations aimed at studying the chromosphere of active binary systems, using the information provided for several optical spectroscopic features, that are formed at different heights in the chromosphere.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are short, intense flashes of soft gamma-rays coming from the distant Universe. Long-duration GRBs (those lasting more than ~2 s) are believed to originate from the deaths of massive stars, mainly on the basis of a handful of solid associations between GRBs and supernovae. GRB 060614, one of the closest GRBs discovered, consisted of a 5-s hard spike followed by softer, brighter emission that lasted for ~100 s. Here we report deep optical observations of GRB 060614 showing no emerging supernova with absolute visual magnitude brighter than M_V = -13.7. Any supernova associated with GRB 060614 was therefore at least 100 times fainter, at optical wavelengths, than the other supernovae associated with GRBs. This demonstrates that some long-lasting GRBs can either be associated with a very faint supernova or produced by different phenomena., Comment: 14 pages, 4 color figures. Final version accepted to Nature. Title and author list updated. Includes supplementary material and one extra color figure for presentations

WOS: 000314944100015, We present the results of a study of non-nuclear discrete sources in a sample of three nearby spiral galaxies (NGC 4395, NGC 4736, and NGC 4258) based on XMM-Newton archival data supplemented with Chandra data for spectral and timing analyses. A total of 75 X-ray sources have been detected within the D-25 regions of the target galaxies. The large collecting area of XMM-Newton makes the statistics sufficient to obtain spectral fitting for 16 (about 20%) of these sources. Compiling the extensive archival exposures available, we were able to obtain the detailed spectral shapes of diverse classes of point sources. We have also studied temporal properties of these luminous sources. Eleven of them are found to show short-term (less than 80 ks) variation while eight of them show long-term variation within factors of similar to 2-5 during a time interval of similar to 2-12 years. Timing analysis provides strong evidence that most of these sources are accreting X-ray binary systems. One source that has properties different from others was suspected to be a supernova remnant, and our follow-up optical observation confirmed this. Our results indicate that sources within the three nearby galaxies are showing a variety of source populations, including several ultraluminous X-ray sources, X-ray binaries, transients together with a super soft source, and a background active galactic nucleus candidate., EU [MKTD-CT-2006-042722], Aysun Akyuz acknowledges support from the EU FP6 Transfer of Knowledge Project "Astrophysics of Neutron Stars" (MKTD-CT-2006-042722). We thank Frank Haberl and Nazim Aksaker for their very valuable help. We also thank the TUBITAK National Observatory (TUG) for support with observing times and equipment.

We present the results of measurements of magnetic fields above a sunspot at different altitudes of the solar atmosphere for a number of observation days. The data are based on simultaneous optical and radio observations in August, 1992. The existence of a maximum in the field intensity at the chromospheric level is confirmed.

In this paper we report the long-term optical observation of the faint soft X-ray transient SAX J1810.8-2609 from OGLE and MOA. We have focused on the 2007 outburst, and also did the cross-correlate between its optical light curves and the quasi-simultaneous X-ray observations from swift. Both the optical and X-ray light curves of 2007 outburst show multi-peak features. Quasi-simultaneous optical/X-ray luminosity shows that both the X-ray reprocessing and viscously thermal emission can explain the observed optical flux. There is a slightly X-ray delay of 0.6+-0.3 days during the first peak, while the X-ray emission lags the optical emission by ~2 days during the rebrightening stage, which suggests that X-ray reprocessing emission contributes significantly to the optical flux in the first peak, but the viscously-heated-disk origin dominates the optical flux during rebrightening. It implies variation of the physical environment of the outer disk, even the source stayed in low-hard state during the whole outburst. The ~2 day X-ray lag indicates a small accretion disk of the system, and the optical counterpart was not detected by OGLE and MOA during quiescence, which constrained it to be fainter than MI = 7.5 mag. There is a suspected short-time optical flare detected at MJD = 52583.5 without X-ray counterpart detected, this single flux increase may imply a magnetic loop reconnection in the outer disk as proposed by Zurita et al (2003). The observations cover all stages of the outburst, however, due to the low sensitivity of RXTE/ASM, we cannot conclude whether it is an optical precursor at the initial rise of the outburst., 21 pages, 7 figures, ApJ accepted

Context. Recent observations of LMC Cepheids bring new constraints on the slope of the period-projection factor relation (hereafter Pp relation) that is currently used in the Baade-Wesselink (hereafter BW) method of distance determination. The discrepancy between observations and theoretical analysis is particularly significant for short period Cepheids Aims. We investigate three physical effects that might possibly explain this discrepancy: (1) the spectroscopic S/N that is systematically lower for LMC Cepheids (around 10) compared to Galactic ones (up to 300), (2) the impact of the metallicity on the dynamical structure of LMC Cepheids, and (3) the combination of infrared photometry/interferometry with optical spectroscopy. Methods. To study the S/N we use a very simple toy model of Cepheids. The impact of metallicity on the projection factor is based on the hydrodynamical model of delta Cep already described in previous studies. This model is also used to derive the position of the optical versus infrared photospheric layers. Results. We find no significant effect of S/N, metallicity, and optical-versus-infrared observations on the Pp relation. Conclusions. The Pp relation of Cepheids in the LMC does not differ from the Galactic relation. This allows its universal application to determine distances to extragalactic Cepheids via BW analysis., Comment: accepted in A&A LETTERS

A significant area (about 0.5 sq deg) of the cluster A3574 was surveyed using the large-format Thomson CCD, operating at f/1 on the AAT. The candidate cluster low-surface brightness galaxies (LSBG) were selected in terms of their position in isophotal magnitude-isophotal area plot, and 300 candidates with exponential sale-sizes greater than 2 arcsec. The largest objects have scale-sizes of 12-14 arcsec, which correspond to about 3 h/kpc if they are genuine cluster members. The lowest surface brightness objects found have central values around 26.5 Vmu. It is concluded that A 3574 has a particularly large LSBG content both in terms of the surface density and the LSBG-to-giant-galaxy ratio. A catolog of the 300 candidate objects is presented and compared with the LSBG population of this cluster.

We report preliminary results obtained from a spectroscopy and photometry campaign of the T Tauri star TW Hya in February- March, 2007. A long HETG observation with CHANDRA and simultaneous optical observations around the world have been carried out to investigate the relationship between the X-ray emission and optical variability and to connect these to the accretion and wind characteristics of the star.

We present optical photometry and spectra for the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2007gi in the nearby galaxy NGC 4036. SN 2007gi is characterized by extremely high-velocity (HV) features of the intermediate-mass elements (Si, Ca, and S), with expansion velocities ($v_{\rm exp}$) approaching $\sim$15,500 km s$^{-1}$ near maximum brightness (compared to $\sim$10,600 km s$^{-1}$ for SNe Ia with normal $v_{\rm exp}$). SN 2007gi reached a $B$-band peak magnitude of 13.25$\pm$0.04 mag with a decline rate of $\Delta m_{15}(B)$(true) = 1.33$\pm$0.09 mag. The $B$-band light curve of SN 2007gi demonstrated an interesting two-stage evolution during the nebular phase, with a decay rate of 1.16$\pm$0.05 mag (100 days)$^{-1}$ during $t = 60$--90 days and 1.61$\pm0.04$ mag (100 days)$^{-1}$ thereafter. Such a behavior was also observed in the HV SN Ia 2006X, and might be caused by the interaction between supernova ejecta and circumstellar material (CSM) around HV SNe Ia. Based on a sample of a dozen well-observed $R$-band (or unfiltered) light curves of SNe Ia, we confirm that the HV events may have a faster rise time to maximum than the ones with normal $v_{\rm exp}$., Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures

A review of ground-based optical observations of Io's neutral clouds and plasma torus is provided. The physical processes determining the spatial distribution and intensity of torus emissions are described with reference to a model based on Voyager spacecraft data. The model is then compared to ground-based observations. Inconsistencies and variations in torus conditions over long timescales are emphasized. Periodicities in the torus evident in Voyager and ground-based are critically discussed.

We present a combined radio, X-ray and optical study of the galaxy cluster RXCJ2003.5-2323. The cluster hosts one of the largest, most powerful and distant giant radio halos known to date, suggesting that it may be undergoing a strong merger process. The aim of our multiwavelength study is to investigate the radio-halo cluster merger scenario. We studied the radio properties of the giant radio halo in RXCJ2003.5-2323 by means of new radio data obtained at 1.4 GHz with the Very Large Array, and at 240 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, in combination with previously published GMRT data at 610 MHz. The dynamical state of the cluster was investigated by means of X-ray Chandra observations and optical ESO--NTT observations. Our study confirms that RXCJ2003.5-2323 is an unrelaxed cluster. The unusual filamentary and clumpy morphology of the radio halo could be due to a combination of the filamentary structure of the magnetic field and turbulence in the inital stage of a cluster merger., 10 page, 10 figures, accepted for publication on A&A

Accepted: 1991-05-15, 資料番号: SA1002397000

Infrared and optical photometry of the Herbig Be star HD 97048 obtained at intervals over a period of ∼1000 d is discussed. This shows that although the optical (BVRI) magnitude of the star has remained virtually constant, the star appears variable at Stromgren u, Johnson U and near-infrared (JHKL) wavelengths. This behaviour is interpreted as being the result of the variability of an active shell, superimposed on a star that is photospherically inactive. Variations in the flux shortward of the B-band directly influence the U magnitude and, by affecting the temperature of a circumstellar dust shell, cause the variability detected in the infrared

Cosmic rays are energetic particles from outside the earth’s atmosphere. When a high energy cosmic ray hits the atmosphere it triggers a cascade of secondary particles produced in nuclear interactions, an air shower. Up to now the established methods of measuring air showers are detection of the particles that reach the ground level or optical observation of the Cherenkov or fluorescent light.

We report here on some of the major developments achieved on optical observations of gravitational lenses since the last conference devoted to “Gravitational Lensing” (Toulouse, September 1989). After describing the main surveys and photometric monitorings which are being carried out in the form of systematic searches for gravitational lensing effects, we review the optical observations published during the last two years for selected individual cases (essentially multiply imaged quasars and micro-lensed candidates. Preliminary results of lensing statistics applied to a sample of more than 200 highly luminous quasars are then presented both for the effectiveness parameter F of galaxies and for the density parameter ΩL of compact lenses to produce macro-lensed images of distant quasars.

Observations of radio emission from flare stars are reviewed, including surveys of flare stars in the solar neighborhood and in stellar associations, studies of quiescent emission, and continuum and spectral studies of radio burst emission. The radio observations are placed in an observational context provided by soft X-ray, UV, and optical observations. It is stressed that, as is the case for the latter wavelength regimes, observations of rado bursts on flare stars are qualitatively similar to those on the Sun, albeit in a dramatically scaled-up fashion.

We present multifrequency observations of the active binary RS CVn. Ultraviolet observations were obtained from the IUE data bank. Optical observations were made at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma), while the infrared observations were obtained at the Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife).

We present science highlights and performance from the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT), which was launched on November 20, 2004. The XRT covers the 0.2-10 keV band, and spends most of its time observing gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, though it has also performed observations of many other objects. By mid-August 2007, the XRT had observed over 220 GRB afterglows, detecting about 96% of them. The XRT positions enable followup ground-based optical observations, with roughly 60% of the afterglows detected at optical or near IR wavelengths. Redshifts are measured for 33% of X-ray afterglows. Science highlights include the discovery of flaring behavior at quite late times, with implications for GRB central engines; localization of short GRBs, leading to observational support for compact merger progenitors for this class of bursts; a mysterious plateau phase to GRB afterglows; as well as many other interesting observations such as X-ray emission from comets, novae, galactic transients, and other objects.

Context. The presence of a Wolf-Rayet star, WR12, at α = 8 h44m47.2s, δ = -45°58′55. 5″ (J2000.0), triggered the search for a surrounding OB association now known as Bochum 7. Several papers have dealt with the existence of Bo 7, but none actually included spectral types of the stars. To assure the spectral types of members of the association, it is essential to have spectral images of them. Aims. In this paper we present previously unpublished spectra of OB stars over a 30 arcmin field covering the estimated field of the galactic OB association. Methods. From UBV aperture photometry, OB star candidates were selected, and optical spectroscopic observations were obtained for these in CASLEO, Argentina. Results. 63 stars were classified as OB type, including 8 stars already present in the LSS catalogue, and 37 of these 63 stars did not have a well-known spectral type. The OB stars were used to test the properties of the interstellar dust in the line of sight and the relation between the diffuse interestelar band at 4428 A, which grows linearly with E(B-V) until 1 mag. Combining our data with 2MASS IR photometry we tested and confirmed that derivation of stellar parameters from our photometry, using the CHORIZOS code, is highly reliable., Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas

Medium and high resolution spectroscopy of U Equulei from 1 to 4 microns during 1997-2003 has revealed information about its unusual circumstellar envelope, observed previously at optical and radio wavelengths. Strong absorption bands of H2O and of CO dominate the 1-4um spectrum. The gas has a mean temperature of 600 K and 12C/13C =< 10. The CO 2-0 line profiles and velocities imply no net ejection or infall and indicate either rapid radial gas motions being seen along a narrow continuum beam, or absorption by orbiting gas that is nearly coincident with a highly extended continuum source. The gas could be located in a disk-like structure. The observed high column densities of warm CO and H2 normally would be associated with sufficient dust to completely obscure the star at optical wavelengths. The observations thus indicate either a highly abnormal gas-to-dust ratio, consistent with the earlier optical observation of abundant refractory metal oxides in the circumstellar gas, or peculiar geometry and/or illumination., 21 pages incl. 8 postscript figures and 1 table; typos corrected

I shall review some of the recent results concerning the astrophysics of a core collapse supernova (SN) and neutrino oscillations. Neutrinos play an important role in the SN explosion, and they also carry most of the energy of the collapse. The energy spectra of neutrinos and antineutrinos arriving at the Earth incorporate information on the primary neutrino fluxes as well as the neutrino mixing scenario. The analysis of neutrino propagation through the matter of the supernova and the Earth, combined with the observation of a neutrino burst from a galactic SN, enables us to put limits on the mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ and identify whether the mass hierarchy is normal or inverted. The neutrino burst also acts as an early warning signal for the optical observation, and in addition allows us to have a peek at the shock wave while still inside the SN mantle., Comment: 8 pages, uses espcrc2.sty (Nucl. Phys. B). Talk given at Neutrino 2004, Paris