On the nature of the flux variability during an expansion stage of a type I X-ray burst: Constraints on Neutron Star Parameters for 4U 1820-30

Powerful Type I X-ray burst with strong radial expansion was observed from the low mass X-ray binary 4U 1820-30 with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer on May 2, 1997. We investigate closely the flux profile during the burst expansion stage. Applying a semi-analytical model we are able to uncover the behavior of a photospheric radius and to simulate the evolution of neutron star (NS)-accretion disk system. The bottom flux L_{bot} is a few times the Eddington limit L_{Edd} for outer layers, because the electron cross-section is a few times less than the Thomson cross-section at such a high temperatures. The surplus of energy flux with respect to the Eddington, $L_{bot}-L_{Edd}$, goes into the potential energy of the expanded envelope. As cooling of the burning zone starts the surplus decreases and thus the envelope shrinks while the emergent photon flux stays the same $L=L_{Edd}$. At a certain moment the NS low-hemisphere, previously screened by the disk, becomes visible to the observer. Consequently, the flux detected by the observer increases. Indeed, we observe to the paradoxical situation when the burning zone cools, but the apparent flux increases because of the NS-accretion disk geometry. We demonstrate a strong observational evidence of NS-accretion disk occultation in the behavior of the observed bolometric flux. We estimate the anisotropy due to geometry and find that the system should have a high inclination angle. Finally, we apply an analytical model of X-ray spectral formation in the neutron star atmosphere during burst decay stage to infer the neutron star (NS) mass-radius relation.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ

Hands-On Universe: A Global Program for Education and Public Outreach in Astronomy

Hands-On Universe (HOU) is an educational program that enables students to investigate the Universe while applying tools and concepts from science, math, and technology. Using the Internet, HOU participants around the world request observations from an automated telescope, download images from a large image archive, and analyze them with the aid of user-friendly image processing software. This program is developing now in many countries, including the USA, France, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Australia, and others. A network of telescopes has been established among these countries, many of them remotely operated, as shown in the accompanying demo. Using this feature, students in the classroom are able to make night observations during the day, using a telescope placed in another country. An archive of images taken on large telescopes is also accessible, as well as resources for teachers. Students are also dealing with real research projects, e.g. the search for asteroids, which resulted in the discovery of a Kuiper Belt object by high-school students. Not only Hands-On Universe gives the general public an access to professional astronomy, but it is also a more general tool to demonstrate the use of a complex automated system, the techniques of data processing and automation. Last but not least, through the use of telescopes located in many countries over the globe, a form of powerful and genuine cooperation between teachers and children from various countries is promoted, with a clear educational goal.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of the ADASS X conference, Boston, October 2000, ASP conf. pro

Stack-CNN algorithm: A new approach for the detection of space objects

We present a new trigger algorithm combining a stacking procedure and a Convolutional Neural Network that could be applied to any space object moving linearly or with a known trajectory in the field of view of a telescope. This includes the detection of high velocity fragmentation debris in orbit. A possible implementation is as trigger system for an orbiting Space Debris remediation system. The algorithm was initially developed as offline system for the Multiwavelength Imaging New Instrument for the Extreme Universe Space Observatory (Mini-EUSO), on the International Space Station. We evaluated the performance of the algorithm on simulated data and compared it with those obtained by means of a more conventional trigger algorithm. Results indicate that this method would allow to recognise signals with 1% Signal over Background Ratio (SBR) on poissonian random fluctuations with a negligible fake trigger rate. Such promising results lead us to not only consider this technique as an online trigger system, but also as an offline method for searching moving signals and their characteristics (speed and direction). More generally, any kind of telescope (on the ground or in space) such as those used for space debris, meteors monitoring or cosmic ray science, could benefit from this automatized technique. The content of this paper is part of the recent Italian patent proposal submitted by the authors (patent application number: 102021000009845)

Are dwarf spheroidal galaxies dark matter dominated or remnants of disrupted larger satellite galaxies? -- A possible test

The failure of standard cosmolocical models in accounting for the statistics of dwarf satellites and the rotation curve of gas-rich dwarf galaxies in detail has led us to examine whether earlier non-equilibrium models of dwarf spheroidal satellites without any dark matter should be reconsidered in more detail. Such models can explain the high dispersion of the dwarf spheroids by the projection of disrupted tidal debris. We show in the case of Milky Way satellites, that these models predict a significant spread in the apparent magnitude of horizontal branch stars which is correlated with sky position and velocity. In particular, the models produce a strong correlation of radial velocity with the long axis of the dwarf. Current data do not set strong enough constraints on the models, but we suggest that photometric and spectroscopic surveys of extra-tidal stars of nearby dwarf spheroids in the Milky Way and Andromeda can falsify these models without dark matter.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Hands-On TAROT: Intercontinental use of the TAROT for Education and Public Outreach

The TAROT telescope has for primary goal the search for the prompt optical counterpart of Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts. It is a completely autonomous 25cm telescope installed near Nice (France), able to point any location of the sky within 1-2 seconds. The control, scheduling, and data processing activities are completely automated, so the instrument is completely autonomous. In addition to its un-manned modes, we added recently the possibility to remotely control the telescope, as a request of the "Hands-On Universe" (HOU) program for exchange of time within automatic telescopes for the education and public outreach. To this purpose we developed a simple control interface. A webcam was installed to visualize the telescope. Access to the data is possible through a web interface. The images can be processed by the HOU software, a program specially suited for use within the classroom. We experienced these feature during the open days of the University of California Berkeley and the Astronomy Festival of Fleurance (France). We plan a regular use for an astronomy course of the Museum of Tokyo, as well as for French schools. Not only does Hands-On TAROT gives the general public an access to professional astronomy, but it is also a more general tool to demonstrate the use of a complex automated system, the techniques of data processing and automation. Last but not least, through the use of telescopes located in many countries over the globe, a form of powerful and genuine cooperation between teachers and children from various countries is promoted, with a clear educational goal.Comment: 4 pages, Based on a demonstration presented at the ADASS X Conference, Boston, MA, USA, October 2000, to appear in ASP Conf. Serie

Ultrahigh energy neutrino scattering: an update

We update our estimates of charged and neutral current neutrino total cross sections on isoscalar nucleons at ultrahigh energies using a global (x, Q^2) fit, motivated by the Froissart bound, to the F_2 (electron-proton) structure function utilizing the most recent analysis of the complete ZEUS and H1 data sets from HERA I. Using the large Q^2, small Bjorken-x limits of the "wee" parton model, we connect the ultrahigh energy neutrino cross sections directly to the large Q^2, small-x extrapolation of our new fit, which we assume saturates the Froissart bound. We compare both to our previous work, which utilized only the smaller ZEUS data set, as well as to recent results of a calculation using the ZEUS-S based global perturbative QCD parton distributions using the combined HERA I results as input. Our new results substantiate our previous conclusions, again predicting significantly smaller cross sections than those predicted by extrapolating pQCD calculations to neutrino energies above 10^9 GeV.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 3 table

The Merging History of Massive Black Holes

We investigate a hierarchical structure formation scenario describing the evolution of a Super Massive Black Holes (SMBHs) population. The seeds of the local SMBHs are assumed to be 'pregalactic' black holes, remnants of the first POPIII stars. As these pregalactic holes become incorporated through a series of mergers into larger and larger halos, they sink to the center owing to dynamical friction, accrete a fraction of the gas in the merger remnant to become supermassive, form a binary system, and eventually coalesce. A simple model in which the damage done to a stellar cusps by decaying BH pairs is cumulative is able to reproduce the observed scaling relation between galaxy luminosity and core size. An accretion model connecting quasar activity with major mergers and the observed BH mass-velocity dispersion correlation reproduces remarkably well the observed luminosity function of optically-selected quasars in the redshift range 1<z<5. We finally asses the potential observability of the gravitational wave background generated by the cosmic evolution of SMBH binaries by the planned space-born interferometer LISA.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Contribute to "Multiwavelength Cosmology", Mykonos, Greece, June 17-20, 200