517 research outputs found
The Radio Afterglow and Host Galaxy of the Dark GRB 020819
Of the fourteen gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) localized to better than 2' radius
with the SXC on HETE-2, only two lack optical afterglow detections, and the
high recovery rate among this sample has been used to argue that the fraction
of truly dark bursts is ~10%. While a large fraction of earlier dark bursts can
be explained by the failure of ground-based searches to reach appropriate
limiting magnitudes, suppression of the optical light of these SXC dark bursts
seems likely. Here we report the discovery and observation of the radio
afterglow of GRB 020819, an SXC dark burst, which enables us to identify the
likely host galaxy (probability of 99.2%) and hence the redshift (z=0.41) of
the GRB. The radio light curve is qualitatively similar to that of several
other radio afterglows, and may include an early-time contribution from the
emission of the reverse shock. The proposed host is a bright R = 19.5 mag
barred spiral galaxy, with a faint R ~ 24.0 mag "blob'' of emission, 3" from
the galaxy core (16 kpc in projection), that is coincident with the radio
afterglow. Optical photometry of the galaxy and blob, beginning 3 hours after
the burst and extending over more than 100 days, establishes strong upper
limits to the optical brightness of any afterglow or associated supernova.
Combining the afterglow radio fluxes and our earliest R-band limit, we find
that the most likely afterglow model invokes a spherical expansion into a
constant-density (rather than stellar wind-like) external environment; within
the context of this model, a modest local extinction of A_V ~ 1 mag is
sufficient to suppress the optical flux below our limits.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. ApJ, in press. For more info on dark bursts, see
http://www.astro.ku.dk/~pallja/dark.htm
SGAS 143845.1+145407: A Big, Cool Starburst at Redshift 0.816
We present the discovery and a detailed multi-wavelength study of a
strongly-lensed luminous infrared galaxy at z=0.816. Unlike most known lensed
galaxies discovered at optical or near-infrared wavelengths this lensed source
is red, r-Ks = 3.9 [AB], which the data presented here demonstrate is due to
ongoing dusty star formation. The overall lensing magnification (a factor of
17) facilitates observations from the blue optical through to 500micron, fully
capturing both the stellar photospheric emission as well as the re-processed
thermal dust emission. We also present optical and near-IR spectroscopy. These
extensive data show that this lensed galaxy is in many ways typical of
IR-detected sources at z~1, with both a total luminosity and size in accordance
with other (albeit much less detailed) measurements in samples of galaxies
observed in deep fields with the Spitzer telescope. Its far-infrared spectral
energy distribution is well-fit by local templates that are an order of
magnitude less luminous than the lensed galaxy; local templates of comparable
luminosity are too hot to fit. Its size (D~7kpc) is much larger than local
luminous infrared galaxies, but in line with sizes observed for such galaxies
at z~1. The star formation appears uniform across this spatial scale. In this
source, the luminosity of which is typical of sources that dominate the cosmic
infrared background, we find that star formation is spatially extended and well
organised, quite unlike the compact merger-driven starbursts which are typical
for sources of this luminosity at z~0.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
Prospects for high-z cluster detections with Planck, based on a follow-up of 28 candidates using MegaCam@CFHT
The Planck catalogue of SZ sources limits itself to a significance threshold
of 4.5 to ensure a low contamination rate by false cluster candidates. This
means that only the most massive clusters at redshift z>0.5, and in particular
z>0.7, are expected to enter into the catalogue, with a large number of systems
in that redshift regime being expected around and just below that threshold. In
this paper, we follow-up a sample of SZ sources from the Planck SZ catalogues
from 2013 and 2015. In the latter maps, we consider detections around and at
lower significance than the threshold adopted by the Planck Collaboration. To
keep the contamination rate low, our 28 candidates are chosen to have
significant WISE detections, in combination with non-detections in SDSS/DSS,
which effectively selects galaxy cluster candidates at redshifts .
By taking r- and z-band imaging with MegaCam@CFHT, we bridge the 4000A
rest-frame break over a significant redshift range, thus allowing accurate
redshift estimates of red-sequence cluster galaxies up to z~0.8. After
discussing the possibility that an overdensity of galaxies coincides -by
chance- with a Planck SZ detection, we confirm that 16 of the candidates have
likely optical counterparts to their SZ signals, 13 (6) of which have an
estimated redshift z>0.5 (z>0.7). The richnesses of these systems are generally
lower than expected given the halo masses estimated from the Planck maps.
However, when we follow a simplistic model to correct for Eddington bias in the
SZ halo mass proxy, the richnesses are consistent with a reference
mass-richness relation established for clusters detected at higher
significance. This illustrates the benefit of an optical follow-up, not only to
obtain redshift estimates, but also to provide an independent mass proxy that
is not based on the same data the clusters are detected with, and thus not
subject to Eddington bias.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
The GPS Space Service Volume
Prior to the advent of artificial satellites, the concept of navigating in space and the desire to understand and validate the laws of planetary and satellite motion dates back centuries. At the initiation of orbital flight in 1957, space navigation was dominated by inertial and groundbased tracking methods, underpinned by the laws of planetary motion. It was early in the 1980s that GPS was first explored as a system useful for refining the position, velocity, and timing (PVT) of other spacecraft equipped with GPS receivers. As a result, an entirely new GPS utility was developed beyond its original purpose of providing PVT services for land, maritime, and air applications. Spacecraft both above and below the GPS constellation now receive the GPS signals, including the signals that spill over the limb of the Earth. The use of radionavigation satellite services for space navigation in High Earth Orbits is in fact a capability unique to GPS. Support to GPS space applications is being studied and planned as an important improvement to GPS. This paper discusses the formalization of PVT services in space as part of an overall GPS improvement effort. It describes the GPS Space Service Volume (SSV) and compares it to the Terrestrial Service Volume (TSV). It also discusses SSV coverage with the current GPS constellation, coverage characteristics as a function of altitude, expected power levels, and coverage figures of merit
Gravitational Lensing
Gravitational lensing has developed into one of the most powerful tools for
the analysis of the dark universe. This review summarises the theory of
gravitational lensing, its main current applications and representative results
achieved so far. It has two parts. In the first, starting from the equation of
geodesic deviation, the equations of thin and extended gravitational lensing
are derived. In the second, gravitational lensing by stars and planets,
galaxies, galaxy clusters and large-scale structures is discussed and
summarised.Comment: Invited review article to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity, 85
pages, 15 figure
Halo mass - concentration relation from weak lensing
We perform a statistical weak lensing analysis of dark matter profiles around
tracers of halo mass from galactic- to cluster-size halos. In this analysis we
use 170,640 isolated ~L* galaxies split into ellipticals and spirals, 38,236
groups traced by isolated spectroscopic Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) and 13,823
MaxBCG clusters from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) covering a wide range
of richness. Together these three samples allow a determination of the density
profiles of dark matter halos over three orders of magnitude in mass, from
10^{12} M_{sun} to 10^{15} M_{sun}. The resulting lensing signal is consistent
with an NFW or Einasto profile on scales outside the central region. We find
that the NFW concentration parameter c_{200b} decreases with halo mass, from
around 10 for galactic halos to 4 for cluster halos. Assuming its dependence on
halo mass in the form of c_{200b} = c_0 [M/(10^{14}M_{sun}/h)]^{\beta}, we find
c_0=4.6 +/- 0.7 (at z=0.22) and \beta=0.13 +/- 0.07, with very similar results
for the Einasto profile. The slope (\beta) is in agreement with theoretical
predictions, while the amplitude is about two standard deviations below the
predictions for this mass and redshift, but we note that the published values
in the literature differ at a level of 10-20% and that for a proper comparison
our analysis should be repeated in simulations. We discuss the implications of
our results for the baryonic effects on the shear power spectrum: since these
are expected to increase the halo concentration, the fact that we see no
evidence of high concentrations on scales above 20% of the virial radius
suggests that baryonic effects are limited to small scales, and are not a
significant source of uncertainty for the current weak lensing measurements of
the dark matter power spectrum. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, accepted to JCAP pending minor revisions that
are included in v2 here on arXi
A highly magnified supernova at z=1.703 behind the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1689
Our ability to study the most remote supernova explosions, crucial for the
understanding of the evolution of the high-redshift universe and its expansion
rate, is limited by the light collection capabilities of telescopes. However,
nature offers unique opportunities to look beyond the range within reach of our
unaided instruments thanks to the light-focusing power of massive galaxy
clusters. Here we report on the discovery of one of the most distant supernovae
ever found, at redshift, z=1.703. Due to a lensing magnification factor of
4.3\pm0.3, we are able to measure a lightcurve of the supernova, as well as
spectroscopic features of the host galaxy with a precision comparable to what
will otherwise only be possible with future generation telescopes.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted to ApJ
Combination Service for Time-variable Gravity Fields: operational GRACE-FO combination and validation of Chinese GRACE time-series
The Combination Service for Time-variable Gravity Fields (COST-G) of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) provides combined monthly gravity fields of its associated and partner Analysis Centers (ACs). In November 2020, the combination of monthly GRACE-FO gravity fields started its operational mode, providing consolidated L2 (spherical harmonics) and L3 (gridded and post-processed) products with a latency of currently 3 months. We present an overview and quality assessment of the available products. COST-G aims at the extension of its service to include further GRACE and GRACE-FO analysis centers. In January 2020 a collaboration with representatives of five Chinese ACs was initiated, who provided GRACE time-series according to the COST-G requirements. We present the results of a test combination with the Chinese AC models, including comparison and quality assessment of all contributing time-series and validation of the combined gravity fields
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