352 research outputs found
The Rapidly Fading Afterglow from the Gamma-Ray Burst of 1999 May 6
We report on the discovery of the radio afterglow from the gamma-ray burst
(GRB) of 1999 May 6 (GRB 990506) using the Very Large Array (VLA). The radio
afterglow was detected at early times (1.5 days), but began to fade rapidly
sometime between 1 and 5 days after the burst. If we attribute the radio
emission to the forward shock from an expanding fireball, then this rapid onset
of the decay in the radio predicts that the corresponding optical transient
began to decay between 1 and 5 minutes after the burst. This could explain why
no optical transient for GRB 990506 was detected in spite of numerous searches.
The cause of the unusually rapid onset of the decay for the afterglow is
probably the result of an isotropically energetic fireball expanding into a low
density circumburst environment. At the location of the radio afterglow we find
a faint (R ~ 24 mag) host galaxy with a double morphology.Comment: in press at ApJ Letters, 13 page LaTeX document includes 2 postscript
figure
Clustering on very small scales from a large sample of confirmed quasar pairs: Does quasar clustering track from Mpc to kpc scales?
We present the most precise estimate to date of the clustering of quasars on
very small scales, based on a sample of 47 binary quasars with magnitudes of
and proper transverse separations of \,kpc. Our
sample of binary quasars, which is about 6 times larger than any previous
spectroscopically confirmed sample on these scales, is targeted using a Kernel
Density Estimation technique (KDE) applied to Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
imaging over most of the SDSS area. Our sample is "complete" in that all of the
KDE target pairs with \,kpc in our area
of interest have been spectroscopically confirmed from a combination of
previous surveys and our own long-slit observational campaign. We catalogue 230
candidate quasar pairs with angular separations of <8\arcsec, from which our
binary quasars were identified. We determine the projected correlation function
of quasars () in four bins of proper transverse scale over the
range \,kpc. The implied small-scale
quasar clustering amplitude from the projected correlation function, integrated
across our entire redshift range, is at \,kpc. Our sample is the first spectroscopically confirmed sample of
quasar pairs that is sufficiently large to study how quasar clustering evolves
with redshift at kpc. We find that empirical descriptions of
how quasar clustering evolves with redshift at Mpc also
adequately describe the evolution of quasar clustering at
kpc.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA
Discovery of a Probable Physical Triple Quasar
We report the discovery of the first known probable case of a physical triple
quasar (not a gravitational lens). A previously known double system, QQ
1429-008 at z = 2.076, is shown to contain a third, fainter QSO component at
the same redshift within the measurement errors. Deep optical and IR imaging at
the Keck and VLT telescopes has failed to reveal a plausible lensing galaxy
group or a cluster, and moreover, we are unable to construct any viable lensing
model which could lead to the observed distribution of source positions and
relative intensities of the three QSO image components. Furthermore, there are
hints of differences in broad-band spectral energy distributions of different
components, which are more naturally understood if they are physically distinct
AGN. Therefore, we conclude that this system is most likely a physical triple
quasar, the first such close QSO grouping known at any redshift. The projected
component separations in the restframe are ~ 30 - 50 kpc for the standard
concordance cosmology, typical of interacting galaxy systems. The existence of
this highly unusual system supports the standard picture in which galaxy
interactions lead to the onset of QSO activity.Comment: Submitted to ApJL, LaTeX, 13 pages, 4 eps figures, all include
X-ray Properties of Radio-Selected Dual Active Galactic Nuclei
Merger simulations predict that tidally induced gas inflows can trigger
kpc-scale dual active galactic nuclei (dAGN) in heavily obscured environments.
Previously with the Very Large Array, we have confirmed four dAGN with
redshifts between and projected separations between 4.3 and
9.2 kpc in the SDSS Stripe 82 field. Here, we present X-ray
observations that spatially resolve these dAGN and compare their
multi-wavelength properties to those of single AGN from the literature. We
detect X-ray emission from six of the individual merger components and obtain
upper limits for the remaining two. Combined with previous radio and optical
observations, we find that our dAGN have properties similar to nearby
low-luminosity AGN, and they agree well with the black hole fundamental plane
relation. There are three AGN-dominated X-ray sources, whose X-ray
hardness-ratio derived column densities show that two are unobscured and one is
obscured. The low obscured fraction suggests these dAGN are no more obscured
than single AGN, in contrast to the predictions from simulations. These three
sources show an apparent X-ray deficit compared to their mid-infrared continuum
and optical [OIII] line luminosities, suggesting higher levels of obscuration,
in tension with the hardness-ratio derived column densities. Enhanced
mid-infrared and [OIII] luminosities from star formation may explain this
deficit. There is ambiguity in the level of obscuration for the remaining five
components since their hardness ratios may be affected by non-nuclear X-ray
emissions, or are undetected altogether. They require further observations to
be fully characterized.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
From stars to patients: Lessons from space science and astrophysics for health care informatics
Big Data are revolutionizing nearly every aspect of the modern society. One area where this can have a profound positive societal impact is the field of Health Care Informatics (HCI), which faces many challenges. The key idea behind this study is: can we use some of the experience and technical and methodological solutions from the fields that have successfully adapted to the Big Data era, namely astronomy and space science, to help accelerate the progress of HCI? We illustrate this with examples from the Virtual Observatory framework, and the NCI EDRN project. An effective sharing and reuse of tools, methods, and experiences from different fields can save a lot of effort, time, and expense. HCI can thus benefit from the proven solutions to big data challenges from other domains
New Cataclysmic Variable 1RXS J073346.0+261933 in Gemini
In course of the search for the optical identifications associated with ROSAT
X-ray sources we have found a highly variable object with the very unusual
long-term behavior, color indices and high X-ray-to-optical flux ratio. We
report the archival photometric light curve from the Catalina Sky Survey,
optical spectroscopy from RTT150 and time-resolved photometry from
Astrotel-Caucasus telescope. The object appears to be the magnetic cataclysmic
variable (polar) with orbital period of P=3.20 hr.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Astronomy Letter
A Comprehensive View of a Strongly Lensed Planck-Associated Submillimeter Galaxy
We present high-resolution maps of stars, dust, and molecular gas in a strongly lensed submillimeter galaxy (SMG) at z = 3.259. HATLAS J114637.9â001132 is selected from the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) as a strong lens candidate mainly based on its unusually high 500 Îźm flux density (~300 mJy). It is the only high-redshift Planck detection in the 130 deg^2 H-ATLAS Phase-I area. Keck Adaptive Optics images reveal a quadruply imaged galaxy in the K band while the Submillimeter Array and the Jansky Very Large Array show doubly imaged 880 Îźm and CO(1â0) sources, indicating differentiated distributions of the various components in the galaxy. In the source plane, the stars reside in three major kpc-scale clumps extended over ~1.6 kpc, the dust in a compact (~1 kpc) region ~3 kpc north of the stars, and the cold molecular gas in an extended (~7 kpc) disk ~5 kpc northeast of the stars. The emissions from the stars, dust, and gas are magnified by ~17, ~8, and ~7 times, respectively, by four lensing galaxies at z ~ 1. Intrinsically, the lensed galaxy is a warm (T_(dust) ~ 40-65 K), hyper-luminous (L_(IR) ~ 1.7 Ă 10^(13) L_â; star formation rate (SFR) ~2000 M_â yr^(â1)), gas-rich (M_(gas)/M_(baryon) ~ 70%), young (M_(stellar)/SFR ~ 20 Myr), and short-lived (M_(gas)/SFR ~ 40 Myr) starburst. With physical properties similar to unlensed z > 2 SMGs, HATLAS J114637.9â001132 offers a detailed view of a typical SMG through a powerful cosmic microscope
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