Type Ia Supernovae and Accretion Induced Collapse

Using the population synthesis binary evolution code StarTrack, we present theoretical rates and delay times of Type Ia supernovae arising from various formation channels. These channels include binaries in which the exploding white dwarf reaches the Chandrasekhar mass limit (DDS, SDS, and helium-rich donor scenario) as well as the sub-Chandrasekhar mass scenario, in which a white dwarf accretes from a helium-rich companion and explodes as a SN Ia before reaching the Chandrasekhar mass limit. We find that using a common envelope parameterization employing energy balance with alpha=1 and lambda=1, the supernova rates per unit mass (born in stars) of sub-Chandrasekhar mass SNe Ia exceed those of all other progenitor channels at epochs t=0.7 - 4 Gyr for a burst of star formation at t=0. Additionally, the delay time distribution of the sub-Chandrasekhar model can be divided in to two distinct evolutionary channels: the `prompt' helium-star channel with delay times < 500 Myr, and the `delayed' double white dwarf channel with delay times > 800 Myr spanning up to a Hubble time. These findings are in agreement with recent observationally-derived delay time distributions which predict that a large number of SNe Ia have delay times < 1 Gyr, with a significant fraction having delay times < 500 Myr. We find that the DDS channel is also able to account for the observed rates of SNe Ia. However, detailed simulations of white dwarf mergers have shown that most of these mergers will not lead to SNe Ia but rather to the formation of a neutron star via accretion-induced collapse. If this is true, our standard population synthesis model predicts that the only progenitor channel which can account for the rates of SNe Ia is the sub-Chandrasekhar mass scenario, and none of the other progenitors considered can fully account for the observed rates.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 1 table, to appear in proceedings for "Binary Star Evolution: Mass Loss, Accretion and Mergers

Understanding the fidelity effect when evaluating games with children

There have been a number of studies that have compared evaluation results from prototypes of different fidelities but very few of these are with children. This paper reports a comparative study of three prototypes ranging from low fidelity to high fidelity within the context of mobile games, using a between subject design with 37 participants aged 7 to 9. The children played a matching game on either an iPad, a paper prototype using screen shots of the actual game or a sketched version. Observational data was captured to establish the usability problems, and two tools from the Fun Toolkit were used to measure user experience. The results showed that there was little difference for user experience between the three prototypes and very few usability problems were unique to a specific prototype. The contribution of this paper is that children using low-fidelity prototypes can effectively evaluate games of this genre and style

Construction of optimal witness for unknown two-qubit entanglement

Whether entanglement in a state can be detected, distilled, and quantified without full state reconstruction is a fundamental open problem. We demonstrate a new scheme encompassing these three tasks for arbitrary two-qubit entanglement, by constructing the optimal entanglement witness for polarization-entangled mixed-state photon pairs without full state reconstruction. With better efficiency than quantum state tomography, the entanglement is maximally distilled by newly developed tunable polarization filters, and quantified by the expectation value of the witness, which equals the concurrence. This scheme is extendible to multiqubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger entanglement.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 230404 (2010); supplementary information (OWitness_sup.pdf) is included in source zip fil

The reverberation signatures of rotating disc winds in active galactic nuclei

The broad emission lines (BELs) in active galactic nuclei (AGN) respond to ionizing continuum variations. The time and velocity dependence of their response depends on the structure of the broad-line region: its geometry, kinematics and ionization state. Here, we predict the reverberation signatures of BELs formed in rotating accretion disc winds. We use a Monte Carlo radiative transfer and ionization code to predict velocity-delay maps for representative high- (C$~IV$) and low-ionization (H$\alpha$) emission lines in both high- and moderate-luminosity AGN. Self-shielding, multiple scattering and the ionization structure of the outflows are all self-consistently taken into account, while small-scale structure in the outflow is modelled in the micro-clumping approximation. Our main findings are: (1) The velocity-delay maps of smooth/micro-clumped outflows often contain significant negative responses. (2)~The reverberation signatures of disc wind models tend to be rotation dominated and can even resemble the classic "red-leads-blue" inflow signature. (3) Traditional "blue-leads-red" outflow signatures can usually only be observed in the long-delay limit. (4) Our models predict lag-luminosity relationships similar to those inferred from observations, but systematically underpredict the observed centroid delays. (5) The ratio between "virial product" and black hole mass predicted by our models depends on viewing angle. Our results imply that considerable care needs to be taken in interpreting data obtained by observational reverberation mapping campaigns. In particular, basic signatures such as "red-leads-blue", "blue-leads-red" and "blue and red vary jointly" are not always reliable indicators of inflow, outflow or rotation. This may help to explain the perplexing diversity of such signatures seen in observational campaigns to date.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by MNRAS 20/7/201

Authors' reply re: Laparoscopic ablation or excision with helium thermal coagulator versus electrodiathermy for the treatment of mild-to-moderate endometriosis: randomised controlled trial.

'No abstract

Type Ia Supernovae and Accretion Induced Collapse

Using the population synthesis binary evolution code StarTrack, we present theoretical rates and delay times of Type Ia supernovae arising from various formation channels. These channels include binaries in which the exploding white dwarf reaches the Chandrasekhar mass limit (DDS, SDS, and helium-rich donor scenario) as well as the sub-Chandrasekhar mass scenario, in which a white dwarf accretes from a helium-rich companion and explodes as a SN Ia before reaching the Chandrasekhar mass limit. We find that using a common envelope parameterization employing energy balance with alpha=1 and lambda=1, the supernova rates per unit mass (born in stars) of sub-Chandrasekhar mass SNe Ia exceed those of all other progenitor channels at epochs t=0.7 - 4 Gyr for a burst of star formation at t=0. Additionally, the delay time distribution of the sub-Chandrasekhar model can be divided in to two distinct evolutionary channels: the `prompt' helium-star channel with delay times < 500 Myr, and the `delayed' double white dwarf channel with delay times > 800 Myr spanning up to a Hubble time. These findings are in agreement with recent observationally-derived delay time distributions which predict that a large number of SNe Ia have delay times < 1 Gyr, with a significant fraction having delay times < 500 Myr. We find that the DDS channel is also able to account for the observed rates of SNe Ia. However, detailed simulations of white dwarf mergers have shown that most of these mergers will not lead to SNe Ia but rather to the formation of a neutron star via accretion-induced collapse. If this is true, our standard population synthesis model predicts that the only progenitor channel which can account for the rates of SNe Ia is the sub-Chandrasekhar mass scenario, and none of the other progenitors considered can fully account for the observed rates.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 1 table, to appear in proceedings for "Binary Star Evolution: Mass Loss, Accretion and Mergers

Deflagrations in hybrid CONe white dwarfs: a route to explain the faint Type Iax supernova 2008ha

Stellar evolution models predict the existence of hybrid white dwarfs (WDs) with a carbon-oxygen core surrounded by an oxygen-neon mantle. Being born with masses ~1.1 Msun, hybrid WDs in a binary system may easily approach the Chandrasekhar mass (MCh) by accretion and give rise to a thermonuclear explosion. Here, we investigate an off-centre deflagration in a near-MCh hybrid WD under the assumption that nuclear burning only occurs in carbon-rich material. Performing hydrodynamics simulations of the explosion and detailed nucleosynthesis post-processing calculations, we find that only 0.014 Msun of material is ejected while the remainder of the mass stays bound. The ejecta consist predominantly of iron-group elements, O, C, Si and S. We also calculate synthetic observables for our model and find reasonable agreement with the faint Type Iax SN 2008ha. This shows for the first time that deflagrations in near-MCh WDs can in principle explain the observed diversity of Type Iax supernovae. Leaving behind a near-MCh bound remnant opens the possibility for recurrent explosions or a subsequent accretion-induced collapse in faint Type Iax SNe, if further accretion episodes occur. From binary population synthesis calculations, we find the rate of hybrid WDs approaching MCh to be on the order of 1 percent of the Galactic SN Ia rate.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Type Ia supernovae from exploding oxygen-neon white dwarfs

The progenitor problem of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is still unsolved. Most of these events are thought to be explosions of carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs (WDs), but for many of the explosion scenarios, particularly those involving the externally triggered detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar mass WD (sub-M Ch WD), there is also a possibility of having an oxygen-neon (ONe) WD as progenitor. We simulate detonations of ONe WDs and calculate synthetic observables from these models. The results are compared with detonations in CO WDs of similar mass and observational data of SNe Ia. We perform hydrodynamic explosion simulations of detonations in initially hydrostatic ONe WDs for a range of masses below the Chandrasekhar mass (M Ch), followed by detailed nucleosynthetic postprocessing with a 384-isotope nuclear reaction network. The results are used to calculate synthetic spectra and light curves, which are then compared with observations of SNe Ia. We also perform binary evolution calculations to determine the number of SNe Ia involving ONe WDs relative to the number of other promising progenitor channels. The ejecta structures of our simulated detonations in sub-M Ch ONe WDs are similar to those from CO WDs. There are, however, small systematic deviations in the mass fractions and the ejecta velocities. These lead to spectral features that are systematically less blueshifted. Nevertheless, the synthetic observables of our ONe WD explosions are similar to those obtained from CO models. Our binary evolution calculations show that a significant fraction (3-10%) of potential progenitor systems should contain an ONe WD. The comparison of our ONe models with our CO models of comparable mass (1.2 Msun) shows that the less blueshifted spectral features fit the observations better, although they are too bright for normal SNe Ia.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Multi-dimensional modelling of X-ray spectra for AGN accretion-disk outflows III: application to a hydrodynamical simulation

We perform multi-dimensional radiative transfer simulations to compute spectra for a hydrodynamical simulation of a line-driven accretion disk wind from an active galactic nucleus. The synthetic spectra confirm expectations from parameterized models that a disk wind can imprint a wide variety of spectroscopic signatures including narrow absorption lines, broad emission lines and a Compton hump. The formation of these features is complex with contributions originating from many of the different structures present in the hydrodynamical simulation. In particular, spectral features are shaped both by gas in a successfully launched outflow and in complex flows where material is lifted out of the disk plane but ultimately falls back. We also confirm that the strong Fe Kalpha line can develop a weak, red-skewed line wing as a result of Compton scattering in the outflow. In addition, we demonstrate that X-ray radiation scattered and reprocessed in the flow has a pivotal part in both the spectrum formation and determining the ionization conditions in the wind. We find that scattered radiation is rather effective in ionizing gas which is shielded from direct irradiation from the central source. This effect likely makes the successful launching of a massive disk wind somewhat more challenging and should be considered in future wind simulations.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication by MNRA