ALMA spectral survey of Supernova 1987A-molecular inventory, chemistry, dynamics and explosive nucleosynthesis

We report the first molecular line survey of Supernova 1987A in the millimetre wavelength range. In the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 210–300 and 340–360 GHz spectra, we detected cold (20–170 K) CO, 28SiO, HCO+ and SO, with weaker lines of 29SiO from ejecta. This is the first identification of HCO+ and SO in a young supernova remnant. We find a dip in the J = 6–5 and 5–4 SiO line profiles, suggesting that the ejecta morphology is likely elongated. The difference of the CO and SiO line profiles is consistent with hydrodynamic simulations, which show that Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities cause mixing of gas, with heavier elements much more disturbed, making more elongated structure. We obtained isotopologue ratios of 28SiO/29SiO > 13, 28SiO/30SiO > 14 and 12CO/13CO > 21, with the most likely limits of 28SiO/29SiO >128, 28SiO/30SiO >189. Low 29Si and 30Si abundances in SN 1987A are consistent with nucleosynthesis models that show inefficient formation of neutron-rich isotopes in a low-metallicity environment, such as the Large Magellanic Cloud. The deduced large mass of HCO+ (∼5 × 10−6 M⊙) and small SiS mass (<6 × 10−5 M⊙) might be explained by some mixing of elements immediately after the explosion. The mixing might have caused some hydrogen from the envelope to sink into carbon- and oxygen-rich zones after the explosion, enabling the formation of a substantial mass of HCO+. Oxygen atoms may have penetrated into silicon and sulphur zones, suppressing formation of SiS. Our ALMA observations open up a new window to investigate chemistry, dynamics and explosive nucleosynthesis in supernovae

Supernovae from massive stars

Massive stars, by which we mean those stars exploding as core collapse supernovae, play a pivotal role in the evolution of the Universe. Therefore, the understanding of their evolution and explosion is fundamental in many branches of physics and astrophysics, among which, galaxy evolution, nucleosynthesis, supernovae, neutron stars and pulsars, black holes, neutrinos and gravitational waves. In this chapter, the author presents an overview of the presupernova evolution of stars in the range between 13 and 120 $\rm M_\odot$, with initial metallicities between [Fe/H]=-3 and [Fe/H]=0 and initial rotation velocities $\rm v=0,~150,~300~km/s$. Emphasis is placed upon those evolutionary properties that determine the final fate of the star with special attention to the interplay among mass loss, mixing and rotation. A general picture of the evolution and outcome of a generation of massive stars, as a function of the initial mass, metallicity and rotation velocity, is finally outlined.Comment: Author version of a chapter for 'Handbook of Supernovae,' edited by A. Alsabti and P. Murdin, Springer. 59 pages, 27 figure

Observational and Physical Classification of Supernovae

This chapter describes the current classification scheme of supernovae (SNe). This scheme has evolved over many decades and now includes numerous SN Types and sub-types. Many of these are universally recognized, while there are controversies regarding the definitions, membership and even the names of some sub-classes; we will try to review here the commonly-used nomenclature, noting the main variants when possible. SN Types are defined according to observational properties; mostly visible-light spectra near maximum light, as well as according to their photometric properties. However, a long-term goal of SN classification is to associate observationally-defined classes with specific physical explosive phenomena. We show here that this aspiration is now finally coming to fruition, and we establish the SN classification scheme upon direct observational evidence connecting SN groups with specific progenitor stars. Observationally, the broad class of Type II SNe contains objects showing strong spectroscopic signatures of hydrogen, while objects lacking such signatures are of Type I, which is further divided to numerous subclasses. Recently a class of super-luminous SNe (SLSNe, typically 10 times more luminous than standard events) has been identified, and it is discussed. We end this chapter by briefly describing a proposed alternative classification scheme that is inspired by the stellar classification system. This system presents our emerging physical understanding of SN explosions, while clearly separating robust observational properties from physical inferences that can be debated. This new system is quantitative, and naturally deals with events distributed along a continuum, rather than being strictly divided into discrete classes. Thus, it may be more suitable to the coming era where SN numbers will quickly expand from a few thousands to millions of events.Comment: Extended final draft of a chapter in the "SN Handbook". Comments most welcom

Prognostic significance of MIB1-determined proliferative activities in intraductal components and invasive foci associated with invasive ductal breast carcinoma

The prognostic significance of the proliferative activities in intraductal components and invasive foci was investigated using 157 cases of invasive ductal breast carcinoma in which intraductal components predominated. Proliferative activity was expressed as the number of MIB1-positive nuclei per 1000 cancer cells in the most active areas of intraductal components (MLI-DCIS) or invasive foci (MLI-INV). MLI-DCIS correlated closely with MLI-INV (r = 0.710, 95% confidence interval, 0.623–0.780; P< 0.0001). Both MLI-DCIS and MLI-INV were related to oestrogen receptor (ER) (P = 0.0006, P = 0.0028 respectively), grade of invasive tumour (P< 0.0001, P< 0.0001 respectively) and classification of intraductal components (P< 0.0001, P< 0.0001 respectively). In theunivariate disease-free survival analysis, both MLI-DCIS and MLI-INV were found to be significant (P< 0.0001, P = 0.0003 respectively). However, in node-negative cases, only MLI-DCIS was significant (P = 0.0416). Multivariate analysis revealed that MLI-DCIS was significant not only in all cases, but also in node-negative cases (P = 0.0223,P = 0.0426 respectively), whereas MLI-INV was not. These findings indicate that MIB1-determined proliferative activity of intraductal components is a significant prognostic determinant of invasive ductal breast carcinoma in which intraductal components predominate. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

The Cosmological Constant

This is a review of the physics and cosmology of the cosmological constant. Focusing on recent developments, I present a pedagogical overview of cosmology in the presence of a cosmological constant, observational constraints on its magnitude, and the physics of a small (and potentially nonzero) vacuum energy.Comment: 50 pages. Submitted to Living Reviews in Relativity (http://www.livingreviews.org/), December 199

Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology with Gravitational Waves

Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with detectors (bars and interferometers), and how these detectors operate. We study the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.Comment: 137 pages, 16 figures, Published version <http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2009-2

The 30 Year Search for the Compact Object in SN 1987A

Despite more than 30 years of searching, the compact object in Supernova (SN) 1987A has not yet been detected. We present new limits on the compact object in SN 1987A using millimeter, near-infrared, optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray observations from ALMA, VLT, HST, and Chandra. The limits are approximately 0.1 mJy (0.1 x 10(-26) erg s(-1) cm(-2) Hz(-1)) at 213 GHz, 1 L-circle dot (6 x 10(-29) erg s(-1) cm(-2) Hz(-1)) in the optical if our line of sight is free of ejecta dust, and 10(36) erg s(-1) (2 x 10(-30) erg s(-1) cm(-2) Hz(-1) ) in 2-10 keV X-rays. Our X-ray limits are an order of magnitude less constraining than previous limits because we use a more realistic ejecta absorption model based on three-dimensional neutrino-driven SN explosion models. The allowed bolometric luminosity of the compact object is 22 L-circle dot if our line of sight is free of ejecta dust, or 138L(circle dot) if dust-obscured. Depending on assumptions, these values limit the effective temperature of a neutron star (NS) to <4-8 MK and do not exclude models, which typically are in the range 3-4 MK. For the simplest accretion model, the accretion rate for an efficiency 77 is limited to <10(-11) eta(-1) M-circle dot yr(-1), which excludes most predictions. For pulsar activity modeled by a rotating magnetic dipole in vacuum, the limit on the magnetic field strength (B) for a given spin period (P) is B less than or similar to 10(14) P-2 G s(-2), which firmly excludes pulsars comparable to the Crab. By combining information about radiation reprocessing and geometry, we infer that the compact object is a dust-obscured thermally emitting NS, which may appear as a region of higher-temperature ejecta dust emission

Liverpool telescope 2: a new robotic facility for rapid transient follow-up

The Liverpool Telescope is one of the world's premier facilities for time domain astronomy. The time domain landscape is set to radically change in the coming decade, with surveys such as LSST providing huge numbers of transient detections on a nightly basis; transient detections across the electromagnetic spectrum from other facilities such as SVOM, SKA and CTA; and the era of `multi-messenger astronomy', wherein events are detected via non-electromagnetic means, such as gravitational wave emission. We describe here our plans for Liverpool Telescope 2: a new robotic telescope designed to capitalise on this new era of time domain astronomy. LT2 will be a 4-metre class facility co-located with the LT at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos on the Canary island of La Palma. The telescope will be designed for extremely rapid response: the aim is that the telescope will take data within 30 seconds of the receipt of a trigger from another facility. The motivation for this is twofold: firstly it will make it a world-leading facility for the study of fast fading transients and explosive phenomena discovered at early times. Secondly, it will enable large-scale programmes of low-to-intermediate resolution spectral classification of transients to be performed with great efficiency. In the target-rich environment of the LSST era, minimising acquisition overheads will be key to maximising the science gains from any follow-up programme. The telescope will have a diverse instrument suite which is simultaneously mounted for automatic changes, but it is envisaged that the primary instrument will be an intermediate resolution, optical/infrared spectrograph for scientific exploitation of transients discovered with the next generation of synoptic survey facilities. In this paper we outline the core science drivers for the telescope, and the requirements for the optical and mechanical design

Prognostic factors in prostate cancer

Prognostic factors in organ confined prostate cancer will reflect survival after surgical radical prostatectomy. Gleason score, tumour volume, surgical margins and Ki-67 index have the most significant prognosticators. Also the origins from the transitional zone, p53 status in cancer tissue, stage, and aneuploidy have shown prognostic significance. Progression-associated features include Gleason score, stage, and capsular invasion, but PSA is also highly significant. Progression can also be predicted with biological markers (E-cadherin, microvessel density, and aneuploidy) with high level of significance. Other prognostic features of clinical or PSA-associated progression include age, IGF-1, p27, and Ki-67. In patients who were treated with radiotherapy the survival was potentially predictable with age, race and p53, but available research on other markers is limited. The most significant published survival-associated prognosticators of prostate cancer with extension outside prostate are microvessel density and total blood PSA. However, survival can potentially be predicted by other markers like androgen receptor, and Ki-67-positive cell fraction. In advanced prostate cancer nuclear morphometry and Gleason score are the most highly significant progression-associated prognosticators. In conclusion, Gleason score, capsular invasion, blood PSA, stage, and aneuploidy are the best markers of progression in organ confined disease. Other biological markers are less important. In advanced disease Gleason score and nuclear morphometry can be used as predictors of progression. Compound prognostic factors based on combinations of single prognosticators, or on gene expression profiles (tested by DNA arrays) are promising, but clinically relevant data is still lacking

Supernova remnants: the X-ray perspective

Supernova remnants are beautiful astronomical objects that are also of high scientific interest, because they provide insights into supernova explosion mechanisms, and because they are the likely sources of Galactic cosmic rays. X-ray observations are an important means to study these objects.And in particular the advances made in X-ray imaging spectroscopy over the last two decades has greatly increased our knowledge about supernova remnants. It has made it possible to map the products of fresh nucleosynthesis, and resulted in the identification of regions near shock fronts that emit X-ray synchrotron radiation. In this text all the relevant aspects of X-ray emission from supernova remnants are reviewed and put into the context of supernova explosion properties and the physics and evolution of supernova remnants. The first half of this review has a more tutorial style and discusses the basics of supernova remnant physics and thermal and non-thermal X-ray emission. The second half offers a review of the recent advances.The topics addressed there are core collapse and thermonuclear supernova remnants, SN 1987A, mature supernova remnants, mixed-morphology remnants, including a discussion of the recent finding of overionization in some of them, and finally X-ray synchrotron radiation and its consequences for particle acceleration and magnetic fields.Comment: Published in Astronomy and Astrophysics Reviews. This version has 2 column-layout. 78 pages, 42 figures. This replaced version has some minor language edits and several references have been correcte