Gamma-Ray Bursts and the Cosmic Star Formation Rate

We have tested several models of GRB luminosity and redshift distribution functions for compatibility with the BATSE 4B number versus peak flux relation. Our results disagree with recent claims that current GRB observations can be used to strongly constrain the cosmic star formation history. Instead, we find that relaxing the assumption that GRBs are standard candles renders a very broad range of models consistent with the BATSE number-flux relation. We explicitly construct two sample distributions, one tracing the star formation history and one with a constant comoving density. We show that both distributions are compatible with the observed fluxes and redshifts of the bursts GRB970508, GRB971214, and GRB980703, and we discuss the measurements required to distinguish the two models.Comment: 12 pages, 2 postscript figures, uses AAS LaTex macros v4.0. To be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, accepted August 20, 1998. Revised for publicatio

Galactic Globular Cluster Metallicity Scale from the Calcium Triplet. II. Rankings, Comparisons and Puzzles

We compare our compilation of the W' calcium index for 71 Galactic globular clusters to the widely used Zinn and West (1984 ApJS, 55, 45) [Fe/H] scale and to Carretta and Gratton's (1997 A&A Supplement 121, 95) scale from high-dispersion spectra analyzed with Kurucz (1992, private communication) model atmospheres. We find our calcium ranking to be tightly correlated with each comparison set, in a non-linear and a linear fashion, respectively. By combining our calcium index information with the Zinn and West ranking, we are able to rank the globular clusters in our sample with a typical precision of +/- 0.05 dex for [Fe/H] < -0.5 on the Zinn and West scale; for clusters more metal rich than this, the ranking is less precise. The significant differences between these metallicity scales raise important questions about our understanding of Galactic formation and chemical enrichment processes. Furthermore, in spite of the apparent improvement in metallicity ranking for the Galactic globular clusters that results from our addition of information from the Ca II triplet lines to the potpourri of other metallicity indicators, caution -- perhaps considerable -- may be advisable when using W' as a surrogate for metallicity, especially for systems where ranges in age and metallicity are likely.Comment: To appear in the August 1997 issue of PASP Also available at http://www.hia.nrc.ca/eprints.htm

Measurement of the Radius of Neutron Stars with High S/N Quiescent Low-mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters

This paper presents the measurement of the neutron star (NS) radius using the thermal spectra from quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (qLMXBs) inside globular clusters (GCs). Recent observations of NSs have presented evidence that cold ultra dense matter -- present in the core of NSs -- is best described by "normal matter" equations of state (EoSs). Such EoSs predict that the radii of NSs, Rns, are quasi-constant (within measurement errors, of ~10%) for astrophysically relevant masses (Mns > 0.5 Msun). The present work adopts this theoretical prediction as an assumption, and uses it to constrain a single Rns value from five qLMXB targets with available high signal-to-noise X-ray spectroscopic data. Employing a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo approach, we produce the marginalized posterior distribution for Rns, constrained to be the same value for all five NSs in the sample. An effort was made to include all quantifiable sources of uncertainty into the uncertainty of the quoted radius measurement. These include the uncertainties in the distances to the GCs, the uncertainties due to the Galactic absorption in the direction of the GCs, and the possibility of a hard power-law spectral component for count excesses at high photon energy, which are observed in some qLMXBs in the Galactic plane. Using conservative assumptions,we found that the radius, common to the five qLMXBs and constant for a wide range of masses, lies in the low range of possible NS radii, Rns=9.1(+1.3)(-1.5) km (90%-confidence). Such a value is consistent with low-res equations of state. We compare this result with previous radius measurements of NSs from various analyses of different types of systems. In addition, we compare the spectral analyses of individual qLMXBs to previous works.Comment: Accepted to Apj. 31 pages, 17 figures, 8 table

Chandra Observations of 1RXS J141256.0+792204 (Calvera)

We report the results of a 30 ks Chandra ACIS-S observation of the isolated compact object 1RXS J141256.0+792204 (Calvera). The X-ray spectrum is adequately described by an absorbed neutron star hydrogen atmosphere model with an effective temperature at infinity of 88.3 +/- 0.8 eV and radiation radius at infinity of 4.1 +/- 0.1 km/kpc. The best-fit blackbody spectrum yields parameters consistent with previous measurements; although the fit itself is not statistically acceptable, systematic uncertainties in the pile-up correction may contribute to this. We find marginal evidence for narrow spectral features in the X-ray spectrum between 0.3 and 1.0 keV. In one interpretation, we find evidence at 81%-confidence for an absorption edge at 0.64 (+0.08) (-0.06) keV with an equivalent width of ~70 eV; if this feature is real, it is reminiscent of features seen in the isolated neutron stars RX J1605.3+3249, RX J0720.4-3125, and 1RXS J130848.6+212708 (RBS 1223). In an alternative approach, we find evidence at 88%-confidence for an unresolved emission line at energy 0.53 +/- 0.02 keV, with an equivalent width of ~28 eV; the interpretation of this feature, if real, is uncertain. We search for coherent pulsations up to the Nyquist frequency of 1.13 Hz and set an upper limit of 8.0% rms on the strength of any such modulation. We derive an improved position for the source and set the most rigorous limits to-date on any associated extended emission on arcsecond scales. Our analysis confirms the basic picture of Calvera as the first isolated compact object in the ROSAT/Bright Source Catalog discovered in six years, the hottest such object known, and an intriguing target for multiwavelength study.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. AASTeX, 19 pages, 2 figure

No Persistent Pulsations in Aquila X-1 as it Fades into Quiescence

We searched for coherent X-ray pulsations from Aql X-1 in a series of RXTE observations taken shortly after a recent outburst. During the course of these observations, Aql X-1 passes through an apparent "propeller" phase as its luminosity fades to its quiescent value. No pulsations were detected, and we place upper limits (ranging from 0.52% to 9.0%) on the fractional rms amplitude of any periodic signal contained in the various data sets searched. This result has implications for the geometry of the system, if the quiescent luminosity is due to continued low-level accretion. Alternatively, our result supports the idea that the quiescent luminosity may be due to thermal emission

Freeze-Thaw Cycling as a Chemical Weathering Agent on a Cold and Icy Mars

Liquid water was abundant on early Mars, but whether the climate was warm and wet or cold and icy with punctuated periods of melting is still poorly understood. Modern climate models for Mars tend to predict a colder, icier early climate than previously imagined. In addition, ice and glaciation have been major geologic agents throughout the later Hesperian and Amazonian eras. One process that can act in such climates is repeated freezing and thawing of water on the surface and in the subsurface, and is significant because it can occur anywhere with an active layer and could have persisted for a time after liquid water was no longer stable on Mars surface. As freeze-thaw is the dominant mechanical weathering process in most glacial/periglacial terrains, it was likely a significant geomorphologic driver at local to regional scales during past climates, and would potentially have been most active when day-average surface temperatures exceeded 0 C for part of the year. Indeed, freeze-thaw involving liquid water in the Amazonian is evidenced by abundant geomorphic features including polygonal ground and solifluction lobes requiring seasonal thawing. In addition to physical modification, freezing can drive solutions towards supersaturation and force dissolved solutes out as precipitates. In Mars-like terrains, dissolved solutes are typically dominated by silica. In polar regions on Earth, freeze-thaw cycles have been shown to promote deposition of silica, and freeze-thaw experiments on synthetic solutions found stable amorphous silica that built up over multiple cycles. Freeze-thaw may therefore be an important but overlooked chemical weathering process on Mars. However, our ability to assess its impact on alteration of martian terrains is majorly limited by the current lack of understanding of the alteration phases produced (and formation rates) under controlled freeze-thaw weathering of Mars-relevant materials. To address this knowledge gap, we report results from (1) freeze-thaw weathering products found at a glacial Mars analog site at the Three Sisters, Oregon, and (2) new controlled freeze-thaw experiments on basaltic material

Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts and Evolution of Galaxies

Evolution of the rate density of cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is calculated and compared to the BATSE brightness distribution in the context of binary neutron-star mergers as the source of GRBs, taking account of the realistic star formation history in the universe and evolution of compact binary systems. We tried two models of the evolution of cosmic star formation rate (SFR): one is based on recent observations of SFRs at high redshifts, while the other is based on a galaxy evolution model of stellar population synthesis that reproduces the present-day colors of galaxies. It is shown that the binary merger scenario of GRBs naturally results in the comoving rate-density evolution of \propto (1+z)^{2-2.5} up to z ~ 1, that has been suggested independently from the compatibility between the number-brightness distribution and duration-brightness correlation. If the cosmic SFR has its peak at z ~ 1--2 as suggested by recent observations, the effective power-index of GRB photon spectrum, \alpha >~ 1.5$ is favored, that is softer than the recent observational determination of \alpha = 1.1 \pm 0.3. However, high redshift starbursts (z >~ 5) in elliptical galaxies, that have not yet been detected, can alleviate this discrepancy. The redshift of GRB970508 is likely about 2, just below the upper limit that is recently determined, and the absorption system at z = 0.835 seems not to be the site of the GRB.Comment: ApJ Lett. in press, very minor change just making clear that the predicted rate-density evolution is in a comoving sense. (Received 1997 May 15; Accepted 1997 July 2

Oxidation and protection of fiberglass-epoxy composite masts for photovoltaic arrays in the low Earth orbital environment

Fiberglass-epoxy composites are considered for use as structural members for the mast of the space station solar array panel. The low Earth orbital environment in which space station is to operate is composed mainly of atomic oxygen, which has been shown to cause erosion of many organic materials and some metals. Ground based testing in a plasma asher was performed to determine the extent of degradation of fiberglass-epoxy composites when exposed to a simulated atomic oxygen environment. During exposure, the epoxy at the surface of the composite was oxidized, exposing individual glass fibers which could easily be removed. Several methods of protecting the composite were evaluated in an atomic oxygen environment and with thermal cycling and flexing. The protection techniques evaluated to date include an aluminum braid covering, an indium-tin eutectic and a silicone based paint. The open aluminum braid offered little protection while the CV-1144 coating offered some initial protection against atomic oxygen, but appears to develop cracks which accelerate degradation when flexed. Coatings such as the In-Sn eutectic may provide adequate protection by containing the glass fibers even though mass loss still occurs