1,067 research outputs found
Prospects for the detection of electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave events
Various models for electromagnetic emissions correlated with the
gravitational wave signals expected to be detectable by the current and planned
gravitational wave detectors are studied. The position error on the location of
a gravitational wave source is estimated, and is used to show that it could be
possible to observe the electromagnetic counterparts to neutron star-neutron
star or neutron star-black hole binary coalescences detected with the Advanced
LIGO and the Virgo detectors.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 1 figur
A new measure of using the lensing dispersion in high- type Ia SNe
The gravitational lensing magnification or demagnification due to large-scale
structures induces a scatter in peak magnitudes of high redshift type Ia
supernovae (SNe Ia). The amplitude of the lensing dispersion strongly depends
on that of density fluctuations characterized by the parameter.
Therefore the value of is constrained by measuring the dispersion in
the peak magnitudes. We examine how well SN Ia data will provide a constraint
on the value of using a likelihood analysis method. It is found that
the number and quality of SN Ia data needed for placing a useful constraint on
is attainable with Next Generation Space Telescope.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Selection of high-z supernovae candidates
Deep, ground based, optical wide-field supernova searches are capable of
detecting a large number of supernovae over a broad redshift range up to z~1.5.
While it is practically unfeasible to obtain spectroscopic redshifts of all the
supernova candidates right after the discovery, we show that the magnitudes and
colors of the host galaxies, as well as the supernovae, can be used to select
high-z supernova candidates, for subsequent spectroscopic and photometric
follow-up.
Using Monte-Carlo simulations we construct criteria for selecting galaxies in
well-defined redshift bands. For example, with a selection criteria using B-R
and R-I colors we are able to pick out potential host galaxies for which z>0.85
with 80% confidence level and with a selection efficiency of 64-86%. The method
was successfully tested using real observations from the HDF.
Similarly, we show that that the magnitude and colors of the supernova
discovery data can be used to constrain the redshift. With a set of cuts based
on V-R and R-I in a search to m_I~25, supernovae at z~1 can be selected in a
redshift interval sigma_z <0.15.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in PASP (March 2002
issue
Lensing magnification of supernovae in the GOODS-fields
Gravitational lensing of high-redshift supernovae is potentially an important
source of uncertainty when deriving cosmological parameters from the measured
brightness of Type Ia supernovae, especially in deep surveys with scarce
statistics. Photometric and spectroscopic measurements of foreground galaxies
along the lines-of-sight of 33 supernovae discovered with the Hubble Space
Telescope, both core-collapse and Type Ia, are used to model the magnification
probability distributions of the sources. Modelling galaxy halos with SIS or
NFW-profiles and using M/L scaling laws provided by the Faber-Jackson and
Tully-Fisher relations, we find clear evidence for supernovae with lensing
(de)magnification. However, the magnification distribution of the Type Ia
supernovae used to determine cosmological distances matches very well the
expectations for an unbiased sample, i.e.their mean magnification factor is
consistent with unity. Our results show that the lensing distortions of the
supernova brightness can be well understood for the GOODS sample and that
correcting for this effect has a negligible impact on the derived cosmological
parameters.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication by Ap
The Deepest Supernova Search is Realized in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey has not only provided the deepest optical
and near infrared views of universe, but has enabled a search for the most
distant supernovae to z~2.2. We have found four supernovae by searching spans
of integrations of the Ultra Deep Field and the Ultra Deep Field Parallels
taken with the Hubble Space Telescope paired with the Advanced Camera for
Surveys and the Near Infrared Multi Object Spectrometer. Interestingly, none of
these supernovae were at z>1.4, despite the substantially increased sensitivity
per unit area to such objects over the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey.
We present the optical photometric data for the four supernovae. We also show
that the low frequency of Type Ia supernovae observed at z>1.4 is statistically
consistent with current estimates of the global star formation history combined
with the non-trivial assembly time of SN Ia progenitors.Comment: 24 pages (6 figures), submitted to the Astronomical Journa
Corrections for gravitational lensing of supernovae: better than average?
We investigate the possibility of correcting for the magnification due to
gravitational lensing of standard candle sources, such as Type Ia supernovae.
Our method uses the observed properties of the foreground galaxies along the
lines-of-sight to each source and the accuracy of the lensing correction
depends on the quality and depth of these observations as well as the
uncertainties in translating the observed luminosities to the matter
distribution in the lensing galaxies. The current work is limited to cases
where the matter density is dominated by the individual galaxy halos. However,
it is straightforward to generalize the method to include also gravitational
lensing from cluster scale halos. We show that the dispersion due to lensing
for a standard candle source at z=1.5 can be reduced from about 7% to ~< 3%,
i.e. the magnification correction is useful in reducing the scatter in the Type
Ia Hubble diagram, especially at high redshifts where the required long
exposure times makes it hard to reach large statistics and the dispersion due
to lensing becomes comparable to the intrinsic Type Ia scatter.Comment: Matches accepted version, includes clarifications and additional
issues. 28 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Supernovae Rates: A Cosmic History
We discuss the cosmic history of supernovae on the basis of various
assumptions and recent data on the star formation history.
We show that supernova rates as a function of redshift can be used to place
significant constraints on progenitor models, on the star formation history,
and on the importance of dust obscuration.
We demonstrate that it is unlikely that the current observational indications
for the existence of a cosmological constant are merely an artifact of the
dominance of different progenitor classes at different redshift intervals.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
The evolution of the AGN content in groups up to z~1
Determining the AGN content in structures of different mass/velocity
dispersion and comparing them to higher mass/lower redshift analogs is
important to understand how the AGN formation process is related to
environmental properties. We use our well-tested cluster finding algorithm to
identify structures in the GOODS North and South fields, exploiting the
available spectroscopic redshifts and accurate photometric redshifts. We
identify 9 structures in GOODS-south (presented in a previous paper) and 8 new
structures in GOODS-north. We only consider structures where at least 2/3 of
the members brighter than M_R=-20 have a spectroscopic redshift. For those
group members that coincide with X-ray sources in the 4 and 2 Msec Chandra
source catalogs respectively, we determine if the X-ray emission originates
from AGN activity or it is related to the galaxies' star-formation activity. We
find that the fraction of AGN with Log L_H > 42 erg/s in galaxies with M_R <
-20 is on average 6.3+-1.3%, much higher than in lower redshift groups of
similar mass and more than double the fraction found in massive clusters at a
similarly high redshift. We then explore the spatial distribution of AGN in the
structures and find that they preferentially populate the outer regions. The
colors of AGN host galaxies in structures tend to be confined to the green
valley, thus avoiding the blue cloud and, partially, also the red-sequence,
contrary to what happens in the field. We finally compare our results to the
predictions of two sets of semi analytic models to investigate the evolution of
AGN and evaluate potential triggering and fueling mechanisms. The outcome of
this comparison attests the importance of galaxy encounters, not necessarily
leading to mergers, as an efficient AGN triggering mechanism. (abridged)Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Accepted accepted for publication in A&
The Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background is detectable in Super-Kamiokande
The Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background (DSNB) provides an immediate
opportunity to study the emission of MeV thermal neutrinos from core-collapse
supernovae. The DSNB is a powerful probe of stellar and neutrino physics,
provided that the core-collapse rate is large enough and that its uncertainty
is small enough. To assess the important physics enabled by the DSNB, we start
with the cosmic star formation history of Hopkins & Beacom (2006) and confirm
its normalization and evolution by cross-checks with the supernova rate,
extragalactic background light, and stellar mass density. We find a sufficient
core-collapse rate with small uncertainties that translate into a variation of
+/- 40% in the DSNB event spectrum. Considering thermal neutrino spectra with
effective temperatures between 4-6 MeV, the predicted DSNB is within a factor
4-2 below the upper limit obtained by Super-Kamiokande in 2003. Furthermore,
detection prospects would be dramatically improved with a gadolinium-enhanced
Super-Kamiokande: the backgrounds would be significantly reduced, the fluxes
and uncertainties converge at the lower threshold energy, and the predicted
event rate is 1.2-5.6 events /yr in the energy range 10-26 MeV. These results
demonstrate the imminent detection of the DSNB by Super-Kamiokande and its
exciting prospects for studying stellar and neutrino physics.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, some added discussions, accepted for
publication in Physical Review
Near-IR Search for Lensed Supernovae Behind Galaxy Clusters - II. First Detection and Future Prospects
Powerful gravitational telescopes in the form of massive galaxy clusters can
be used to enhance the light collecting power over a limited field of view by
about an order of magnitude in flux. This effect is exploited here to increase
the depth of a survey for lensed supernovae at near-IR wavelengths. A pilot SN
search program conducted with the ISAAC camera at VLT is presented. Lensed
galaxies behind the massive clusters A1689, A1835 and AC114 were observed for a
total of 20 hours split into 2, 3 and 4 epochs respectively, separated by
approximately one month to a limiting magnitude J<24 (Vega). Image subtractions
including another 20 hours worth of archival ISAAC/VLT data were used to search
for transients with lightcurve properties consistent with redshifted
supernovae, both in the new and reference data. The feasibility of finding
lensed supernovae in our survey was investigated using synthetic lightcurves of
supernovae and several models of the volumetric Type Ia and core-collapse
supernova rates as a function of redshift. We also estimate the number of
supernova discoveries expected from the inferred star formation rate in the
observed galaxies. The methods consistently predict a Poisson mean value for
the expected number of SNe in the survey between N_SN=0.8 and 1.6 for all
supernova types, evenly distributed between core collapse and Type Ia SN. One
transient object was found behind A1689, 0.5" from a galaxy with photometric
redshift z_gal=0.6 +- 0.15. The lightcurve and colors of the transient are
consistent with being a reddened Type IIP SN at z_SN=0.59. The lensing model
predicts 1.4 magnitudes of magnification at the location of the transient,
without which this object would not have been detected in the near-IR ground
based search described in this paper (unlensed magnitude J~25). (abridged)Comment: Accepted by AA, matches journal versio
- âŠ