162 research outputs found
Light Curves of the Neutron Star Merger GW170817/SSS17a: Implications for R-Process Nucleosynthesis
On 2017 August 17, gravitational waves were detected from a binary neutron
star merger, GW170817, along with a coincident short gamma-ray burst,
GRB170817A. An optical transient source, Swope Supernova Survey 17a (SSS17a),
was subsequently identified as the counterpart of this event. We present
ultraviolet, optical and infrared light curves of SSS17a extending from 10.9
hours to 18 days post-merger. We constrain the radioactively-powered transient
resulting from the ejection of neutron-rich material. The fast rise of the
light curves, subsequent decay, and rapid color evolution are consistent with
multiple ejecta components of differing lanthanide abundance. The late-time
light curve indicates that SSS17a produced at least ~0.05 solar masses of heavy
elements, demonstrating that neutron star mergers play a role in r-process
nucleosynthesis in the Universe.Comment: Accepted to Scienc
Early Spectra of the Gravitational Wave Source GW170817: Evolution of a Neutron Star Merger
On 2017 August 17, Swope Supernova Survey 2017a (SSS17a) was discovered as
the optical counterpart of the binary neutron star gravitational wave event
GW170817. We report time-series spectroscopy of SSS17a from 11.75 hours until
8.5 days after merger. Over the first hour of observations the ejecta rapidly
expanded and cooled. Applying blackbody fits to the spectra, we measure the
photosphere cooling from K to K,
and determine a photospheric velocity of roughly 30% of the speed of light. The
spectra of SSS17a begin displaying broad features after 1.46 days, and evolve
qualitatively over each subsequent day, with distinct blue (early-time) and red
(late-time) components. The late-time component is consistent with theoretical
models of r-process-enriched neutron star ejecta, whereas the blue component
requires high velocity, lanthanide-free material.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, Accepted to Scienc
Short Gamma Ray Bursts: marking the birth of black holes from coalescing compact binaries
This contribution summarizes, as of early 2008, the observational and
theoretical understanding of the origin, physics, and emission properties of
short gamma-ray bursts in both electromagnetic and gravitational waves.Comment: 19 pages, appeared in the book "Physics of Relativistic Objects in
Compact Binaries: From Birth to Coalescence", Astrophysics and Space Science
Library, edited by M. Colpi, P. Casella, V. Gorini, U. Moschella, and A.
Possent
Search for Two-Neutrino Double Electron Capture of Xe with XENON100
Two-neutrino double electron capture is a rare nuclear decay where two
electrons are simultaneously captured from the atomic shell. For Xe
this process has not yet been observed and its detection would provide a new
reference for nuclear matrix element calculations. We have conducted a search
for two-neutrino double electron capture from the K-shell of Xe using
7636 kgd of data from the XENON100 dark matter detector. Using a
Bayesian analysis we observed no significant excess above background, leading
to a lower 90 % credibility limit on the half-life
yr. We also evaluated the sensitivity of the XENON1T experiment, which is
currently being commissioned, and find a sensitivity of
yr after an exposure of 2 tyr.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Removing krypton from xenon by cryogenic distillation to the ppq level
The XENON1T experiment aims for the direct detection of dark matter in a
cryostat filled with 3.3 tons of liquid xenon. In order to achieve the desired
sensitivity, the background induced by radioactive decays inside the detector
has to be sufficiently low. One major contributor is the -emitter
Kr which is an intrinsic contamination of the xenon. For the XENON1T
experiment a concentration of natural krypton in xenon Kr/Xe < 200
ppq (parts per quadrillion, 1 ppq = 10 mol/mol) is required. In this
work, the design of a novel cryogenic distillation column using the common
McCabe-Thiele approach is described. The system demonstrated a krypton
reduction factor of 6.410 with thermodynamic stability at process
speeds above 3 kg/h. The resulting concentration of Kr/Xe < 26 ppq
is the lowest ever achieved, almost one order of magnitude below the
requirements for XENON1T and even sufficient for future dark matter experiments
using liquid xenon, such as XENONnT and DARWIN
Functional Annotation and Identification of Candidate Disease Genes by Computational Analysis of Normal Tissue Gene Expression Data
Background: High-throughput gene expression data can predict gene function through the ‘‘guilt by association’ ’ principle: coexpressed genes are likely to be functionally associated. Methodology/Principal Findings: We analyzed publicly available expression data on normal human tissues. The analysis is based on the integration of data obtained with two experimental platforms (microarrays and SAGE) and of various measures of dissimilarity between expression profiles. The building blocks of the procedure are the Ranked Coexpression Groups (RCG), small sets of tightly coexpressed genes which are analyzed in terms of functional annotation. Functionally characterized RCGs are selected by means of the majority rule and used to predict new functional annotations. Functionally characterized RCGs are enriched in groups of genes associated to similar phenotypes. We exploit this fact to find new candidate disease genes for many OMIM phenotypes of unknown molecular origin. Conclusions/Significance: We predict new functional annotations for many human genes, showing that the integration of different data sets and coexpression measures significantly improves the scope of the results. Combining gene expression data, functional annotation and known phenotype-gene associations we provide candidate genes for several geneti
A First Search for coincident Gravitational Waves and High Energy Neutrinos using LIGO, Virgo and ANTARES data from 2007
We present the results of the first search for gravitational wave bursts
associated with high energy neutrinos. Together, these messengers could reveal
new, hidden sources that are not observed by conventional photon astronomy,
particularly at high energy. Our search uses neutrinos detected by the
underwater neutrino telescope ANTARES in its 5 line configuration during the
period January - September 2007, which coincided with the fifth and first
science runs of LIGO and Virgo, respectively. The LIGO-Virgo data were analysed
for candidate gravitational-wave signals coincident in time and direction with
the neutrino events. No significant coincident events were observed. We place
limits on the density of joint high energy neutrino - gravitational wave
emission events in the local universe, and compare them with densities of
merger and core-collapse events.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, science summary page at
http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S5LV_ANTARES/index.php. Public access
area to figures, tables at
https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p120000
Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei: Past, Present and Future Research
This review discusses the current status of supermassive black hole research,
as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since the early '90s, rapid
technological advances, most notably the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope,
the commissioning of the VLBA and improvements in near-infrared speckle imaging
techniques, have not only given us incontrovertible proof of the existence of
supermassive black holes, but have unveiled fundamental connections between the
mass of the central singularity and the global properties of the host galaxy.
It is thanks to these observations that we are now, for the first time, in a
position to understand the origin, evolution and cosmic relevance of these
fascinating objects.Comment: Invited Review, 114 pages. Because of space requirements, this
version contains low resolution figures. The full resolution version can be
downloaded from http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~lff/publications.htm
Implementation and testing of the first prompt search for gravitational wave transients with electromagnetic counterparts
Aims. A transient astrophysical event observed in both gravitational wave
(GW) and electromagnetic (EM) channels would yield rich scientific rewards. A
first program initiating EM follow-ups to possible transient GW events has been
developed and exercised by the LIGO and Virgo community in association with
several partners. In this paper, we describe and evaluate the methods used to
promptly identify and localize GW event candidates and to request images of
targeted sky locations.
Methods. During two observing periods (Dec 17 2009 to Jan 8 2010 and Sep 2 to
Oct 20 2010), a low-latency analysis pipeline was used to identify GW event
candidates and to reconstruct maps of possible sky locations. A catalog of
nearby galaxies and Milky Way globular clusters was used to select the most
promising sky positions to be imaged, and this directional information was
delivered to EM observatories with time lags of about thirty minutes. A Monte
Carlo simulation has been used to evaluate the low-latency GW pipeline's
ability to reconstruct source positions correctly.
Results. For signals near the detection threshold, our low-latency algorithms
often localized simulated GW burst signals to tens of square degrees, while
neutron star/neutron star inspirals and neutron star/black hole inspirals were
localized to a few hundred square degrees. Localization precision improves for
moderately stronger signals. The correct sky location of signals well above
threshold and originating from nearby galaxies may be observed with ~50% or
better probability with a few pointings of wide-field telescopes.Comment: 17 pages. This version (v2) includes two tables and 1 section not
included in v1. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Opening a New Window to Fundamental Physics and Astrophysics: X-ray Polarimetry
An extensive theoretical literature predicts that X-ray Polarimetry can
directly determine relevant physical and geometrical parameters of
astrophysical sources, and discriminate between models further than allowed by
spectral and timing data only. X-ray Polarimetry can also provide tests of
Fundamental Physics. A high sensitivity polarimeter in the focal plane of a New
Generation X-ray telescope could open this new window in the High Energy Sky.Comment: 8 pages 1 table 14 figure
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