Neutron star masses from hydrodynamical effects in obscured sgHMXBs

A population of obscured supergiant High Mass X-ray Binaries (sgHMXBs) has been discovered by INTEGRAL. X-ray wind tomography of IGR J17252-3616 inferred a slow wind velocity to account for the enhanced obscuration. The main goal of this study is to understand under which conditions high obscuration could occur. We have used an hydrodynamical code to simulate the flow of the stellar wind around the neutron star. A grid of simulations was used to study the dependency of the absorbing column density and of the X-ray light-curves on the model parameters. A comparison between the simulation results and the observations of IGR J17252-3616 provides an estimate on these parameters. We have constrained the wind terminal velocity to 500-600 km/s and the neutron star mass to 1.75-2.15 solar masses. We have confirmed that the initial hypothesis of a slow wind velocity with a moderate mass loss rate is valid. The mass of the neutron star can be constrained by studying its impact on the accretion flow.Comment: A&A in pres

Ascertaining the Core Collapse Supernova Mechanism: An Emerging Picture?

Here we present the results from two sets of simulations, in two and three spatial dimensions. In two dimensions, the simulations include multifrequency flux-limited diffusion neutrino transport in the "ray-by-ray-plus" approximation, two-dimensional self gravity in the Newtonian limit, and nuclear burning through a 14-isotope alpha network. The three-dimensional simulations are model simulations constructed to reflect the post stellar core bounce conditions during neutrino shock reheating at the onset of explosion. They are hydrodynamics-only models that focus on critical aspects of the shock stability and dynamics and their impact on the supernova mechanism and explosion. In two dimensions, we obtain explosions (although in one case weak) for two progenitors (11 and 15 Solar mass models). Moreover, in both cases the explosion is initiated when the inner edge of the oxygen layer accretes through the shock. Thus, the shock is not revived while in the iron core, as previously discussed in the literature. The three-dimensional studies of the development of the stationary accretion shock instability (SASI) demonstrate the fundamentally new dynamics allowed when simulations are performed in three spatial dimensions. The predominant l=1 SASI mode gives way to a stable m=1 mode, which in turn has significant ramifications for the distribution of angular momentum in the region between the shock and proto-neutron star and, ultimately, for the spin of the remnant neutron star. Moreover, the three-dimensional simulations make clear, given the increased number of degrees of freedom, that two-dimensional models are severely limited by artificially imposed symmetries.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

2D and 3D Core-Collapse Supernovae Simulation Results Obtained with the CHIMERA Code

Much progress in realistic modeling of core-collapse supernovae has occurred recently through the availability of multi-teraflop machines and the increasing sophistication of supernova codes. These improvements are enabling simulations with enough realism that the explosion mechanism, long a mystery, may soon be delineated. We briefly describe the CHIMERA code, a supernova code we have developed to simulate core-collapse supernovae in 1, 2, and 3 spatial dimensions. We then describe the results of an ongoing suite of 2D simulations initiated from a 12, 15, 20, and 25 solar mass progenitor. These have all exhibited explosions and are currently in the expanding phase with the shock at between 5,000 and 20,000 km. We also briefly describe an ongoing simulation in 3 spatial dimensions initiated from the 15 solar mass progenitor.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Supernova cosmology: legacy and future

The discovery of dark energy by the first generation of high-redshift supernova surveys has generated enormous interest beyond cosmology and has dramatic implications for fundamental physics. Distance measurements using supernova explosions are the most direct probes of the expansion history of the Universe, making them extremely useful tools to study the cosmic fabric and the properties of gravity at the largest scales. The past decade has seen the confirmation of the original results. Type Ia supernovae are among the leading techniques to obtain high-precision measurements of the dark energy equation of state parameter, and in the near future, its time dependence. The success of these efforts depends on our ability to understand a large number of effects, mostly of astrophysical nature, influencing the observed flux at Earth. The frontier now lies in understanding if the observed phenomenon is due to vacuum energy, albeit its unnatural density, or some exotic new physics. Future surveys will address the systematic effects with improved calibration procedures and provide thousands of supernovae for detailed studies.Comment: Invited review, Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science (submitted version

A physical interpretation of the jet-like X-ray emission from supernova remnant W49B

In the framework of the study of supernova remnants and their complex interaction with the interstellar medium and the circumstellar material, we focus on the galactic supernova remnant W49B. Its morphology exhibits an X-ray bright elongated nebula, terminated on its eastern end by a sharp perpendicular structure aligned with the radio shell. The X-ray spectrum of W49B is characterized by strong K emission lines from Si, S, Ar, Ca, and Fe. There is a variation of the temperature in the remnant with the highest temperature found in the eastern side and the lowest one in the western side. The analysis of the recent observations of W49B indicates that the remnant may be the result of an asymmetric bipolar explosion where the ejecta are collimated along a jet-like structure and the eastern jet is hotter and more Fe-rich than the western one. Another possible scenario associates the X-ray emission with a spherical explosion where parts of the ejecta are interacting with a dense belt of ambient material. To overcome this ambiguity we present new results of the analysis of an XMM-Newton observation and we perform estimates of the mass and energy of the remnant. We conclude that the scenario of an anisotropic jet-like explosion explains quite naturally our observation results, but the association of W49B with a hypernova and a gamma-ray burst, although still possible, is not directly supported by any evidence.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Advances in Space Researc

Spherically symmetric relativistic MHD simulations of pulsar wind nebulae in supernova remnants

Pulsars, formed during supernova explosions, are known to be sources of relativistic magnetized winds whose interaction with the expanding supernova remnants (SNRs) gives rise to a pulsar wind nebula (PWN). We present spherically symmetric relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) simulations of the interaction of a pulsar wind with the surrounding SNR, both in particle and magnetically dominated regimes. As shown by previous simulations, the evolution can be divided in three phases: free expansion, a transient phase characterized by the compression and reverberation of the reverse shock, and a final Sedov expansion. The evolution of the contact discontinuity between the PWN and the SNR (and consequently of the SNR itself) is almost independent of the magnetization of the nebula as long as the total (magnetic plus particle) energy is the same. However, a different behaviour of the PWN internal structure is observable during the compression-reverberation phase, depending on the degree of magnetization=2E The simulations were performed using the third order conservative scheme by Del Zanna et al. (2003).Comment: 11 pages, Latex, 22 Encapsulated PostScript figures, accepted f or publication on A&

Turbulent Magnetic Field Amplification from Spiral SASI Modes: Implications for Core-Collapse Supernovae and Proto-Neutron Star Magnetization

We extend our investigation of magnetic field evolution in three-dimensional flows driven by the stationary accretion shock instability (SASI) with a suite of higher-resolution idealized models of the post-bounce core-collapse supernova environment. Our magnetohydrodynamic simulations vary in initial magnetic field strength, rotation rate, and grid resolution. Vigorous SASI-driven turbulence inside the shock amplifies magnetic fields exponentially; but while the amplified fields reduce the kinetic energy of small-scale flows, they do not seem to affect the global shock dynamics. The growth rate and final magnitude of the magnetic energy are very sensitive to grid resolution, and both are underestimated by the simulations. Nevertheless our simulations suggest that neutron star magnetic fields exceeding $10^{14}$ G can result from dynamics driven by the SASI, \emph{even for non-rotating progenitors}.Comment: 28 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in the Ap

Spectroscopy of High-Redshift Supernovae from the ESSENCE Project: The First Four Years

We present the results of spectroscopic observations from the ESSENCE high-redshift supernova (SN) survey during its first four years of operation. This sample includes spectra of all SNe Ia whose light curves were presented by Miknaitis et al. (2007) and used in the cosmological analyses of Davis et al. (2007) and Wood-Vasey et al. (2007). The sample represents 273 hours of spectroscopic observations with 6.5 - 10-m-class telescopes of objects detected and selected for spectroscopy by the ESSENCE team. We present 174 spectra of 156 objects. Combining this sample with that of Matheson et al. (2005), we have a total sample of 329 spectra of 274 objects. From this, we are able to spectroscopically classify 118 Type Ia SNe. As the survey has matured, the efficiency of classifying SNe Ia has remained constant while we have observed both higher-redshift SNe Ia and SNe Ia farther from maximum brightness. Examining the subsample of SNe Ia with host-galaxy redshifts shows that redshifts derived from only the SN Ia spectra are consistent with redshifts found from host-galaxy spectra. Moreover, the phases derived from only the SN Ia spectra are consistent with those derived from light-curve fits. By comparing our spectra to local templates, we find that the rate of objects similar to the overluminous SN 1991T and the underluminous SN 1991bg in our sample are consistent with that of the local sample. We do note, however, that we detect no object spectroscopically or photometrically similar to SN 1991bg. Although systematic effects could reduce the high-redshift rate we expect based on the low-redshift surveys, it is possible that SN 1991bg-like SNe Ia are less prevalent at high redshift.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figures, accepted to A