301 research outputs found
Discovery of the Fomalhaut C debris disc
Fomalhaut is one of the most interesting and well studied nearby stars,
hosting at least one planet, a spectacular debris ring, and two distant
low-mass stellar companions (TW PsA and LP 876-10, a.k.a. Fomalhaut B & C). We
observed both companions with Herschel, and while no disc was detected around
the secondary, TW PsA, we have discovered the second debris disc in the
Fomalhaut system, around LP 876-10. This detection is only the second case of
two debris discs seen in a multiple system, both of which are relatively wide
(3000 AU for HD 223352/40 and 158 kAU [0.77 pc] for Fomalhaut/LP
876-10). The disc is cool (24K) and relatively bright, with a fractional
luminosity , and represents the rare
observation of a debris disc around an M dwarf. Further work should attempt to
find if the presence of two discs in the Fomalhaut system is coincidental,
perhaps simply due to the relatively young system age of 440 Myr, or if the
stellar components have dynamically interacted and the system is even more
complex than it currently appears.Comment: Published in MNRAS Letters. Merry Xma
The Fourth BATSE Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog (Revised)
The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray
Observatory (CGRO) has triggered on 1637 cosmic gamma-ray bursts between 1991
April 19 and 1996 August 29. These events constitute the Fourth BATSE burst
catalog. The current version (4Br) has been revised from the version first
circulated on CD-ROM in September 1997 (4B) to include improved locations for a
subset of bursts that have been reprocssed using additional data. A significant
difference from previous BATSE catalogs is the inclusion of bursts from periods
when the trigger energy range differed from the nominal 50-300 keV. We present
tables of the burst occurrence times, locations, peak fluxes, fluences, and
durations. In general, results from previous BATSE catalogs are confirmed here
with greater statistical significance.Comment: 45 pages, 12 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in Ap. J.
Supp
NIKA2: a mm camera for cluster cosmology
Galaxy clusters constitute a major cosmological probe. However, Planck 2015
results have shown a weak tension between CMB-derived and cluster-derived
cosmological parameters. This tension might be due to poor knowledge of the
cluster mass and observable relationship.
As for now, arcmin resolution Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) observations ({\it e.g.}
SPT, ACT and Planck) only allowed detailed studies of the intra cluster medium
for low redshift clusters () high
resolution and high sensitivity SZ observations are needed. With both a wide
field of view (6.5 arcmin) and a high angular resolution (17.7 and 11.2 arcsec
at 150 and 260 GHz), the NIKA2 camera installed at the IRAM 30-m telescope
(Pico Veleta, Spain) is particularly well adapted for these observations. The
NIKA2 SZ observation program will map a large sample of clusters (50) at
redshifts between 0.5 and 0.9. As a pilot study for NIKA2, several clusters of
galaxies have been observed with the pathfinder, NIKA, at the IRAM 30-m
telescope to cover the various configurations and observation conditions
expected for NIKA2.
Nika2: A mm camera for cluster cosmology
Galaxy clusters constitute a major cosmological probe. However, Planck 2015 results have shown a weak tension between CMB-derived and cluster-derived cosmological parameters. This tension might be due to poor knowledge of the cluster mass and observable relationship. As for now, arcmin resolution Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) observations (e.g. SPT, ACT and Planck) only allowed detailed studies of the intra cluster medium for low redshift clusters (z 0:5) high resolution and high sensitivity SZ observations are needed. With both a wide field of view (6.5 arcmin) and a high angular resolution (17.7 and 11.2 arcsec at 150 and 260 GHz), the NIKA2 camera installed at the IRAM 30-m telescope (Pico Veleta, Spain) is particularly well adapted for these observations. The NIKA2 SZ observation program will map a large sample of clusters (50) at redshifts between 0.5 and 0.9. As a pilot study for NIKA2, several clusters of galaxies have been observed with the pathfinder, NIKA, at the IRAM 30-m telescope to cover the various configurations and observation conditions expected for NIKA2
Spectral analysis of 35 GRBs/XRFs observed with HETE-2/FREGATE
We present a spectral analysis of 35 GRBs detected with the HETE-2 gamma-ray
detectors (the FREGATE instrument) in the energy range 7-400 keV. The GRB
sample analyzed is made of GRBs localized with the Wide Field X-ray Monitor
onboard HETE-2 or with the GRB Interplanetary Network. We derive the spectral
parameters of the time-integrated spectra, and present the distribution of the
low-energy photon index, alpha, and of the peak energy, e_peak . We then
discuss the existence and nature of the recently discovered X-Ray Flashes and
their relationship with classical GRBs.Comment: 14 pages, 43 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Preliminary calibration results for the BATSE instrument on CGRO
Preliminary results pertaining to spectral reconstruction using Burst and Transient Source (BATSE) Large Area Detector measurements of solar flares are presented. The solar flare measurements are currently being used to fine tune the calibration of our data analysis software. The current status of the stability of spectral analysis, given the systematic errors present in burst location, are given. A brief description is given of enhancements to the input data for the atmospheric scattering algorithm that will be implemented in the data analysis software
Herschel imaging of 61 Vir: implications for the prevalence of debris in low-mass planetary systems
This paper describes Herschel observations of the nearby (8.5 pc) G5V multi-exoplanet host star 61 Vir at 70, 100, 160, 250, 350 and 500 ÎŒm carried out as part of the DEBRIS survey. These observations reveal emission that is significantly extended out to a distance of >15 arcsec with a morphology that can be fitted by a nearly edge-on (77° inclination) radially broad (from 30 au out to at least 100 au) debris disc of fractional luminosity 2.7 Ă 10â5, with two additional (presumably unrelated) sources nearby that become more prominent at longer wavelengths. Chance alignment with a background object seen at 1.4 GHz provides potential for confusion, however, the star's 1.4 arcsec yrâ1 proper motion allows archival Spitzer 70 ÎŒm images to confirm that what we are interpreting as disc emission really is circumstellar. Although the exact shape of the disc's inner edge is not well constrained, the region inside 30 au must be significantly depleted in planetesimals. This is readily explained if there are additional planets outside those already known (i.e. in the 0.5-30 au region), but is also consistent with collisional erosion. We also find tentative evidence that the presence of detectable debris around nearby stars correlates with the presence of the lowest mass planets that are detectable in current radial velocity surveys. Out of an unbiased sample of the nearest 60 G stars, 11 are known to have planets, of which six (including 61 Vir) have planets that are all less massive than Saturn, and four of these have evidence for debris. The debris towards one of these planet hosts (HD 20794) is reported here for the first time. This fraction (4/6) is higher than that expected for nearby field stars (15 per cent), and implies that systems that form low-mass planets are also able to retain bright debris discs. We suggest that this correlation could arise because such planetary systems are dynamically stable and include regions that are populated with planetesimals in the formation process where the planetesimals can remain unperturbed over Gyr time-scale
Astrometry and geodesy with radio interferometry: experiments, models, results
Summarizes current status of radio interferometry at radio frequencies
between Earth-based receivers, for astrometric and geodetic applications.
Emphasizes theoretical models of VLBI observables that are required to extract
results at the present accuracy levels of 1 cm and 1 nanoradian. Highlights the
achievements of VLBI during the past two decades in reference frames, Earth
orientation, atmospheric effects on microwave propagation, and relativity.Comment: 83 pages, 19 Postscript figures. To be published in Rev. Mod. Phys.,
Vol. 70, Oct. 199
The Radio Corona of AR Lacertae
We present multifrequency VLA and VLBA observations at 8.4 GHz of the RS CVn
system AR Lac, that were performed in autumn 1997 simultaneously with X-ray
observations obtained from Rodono` et al. (1999). Our VLBA data indicate a
resolved source with dimension close to the system separation, while the study
of the flux density curve evidences a small amplitude outside of the eclipse
variability. The derived five-frequencies spectra, combined with the size
information from VLBA data, are compared with gyrosynchrotron emission from a
two component structured source. A comparison with the results of the X-ray
observations allow us to exclude the possibility that thermal gyrosynchrotron
is responsible for the radio emission, but it is compatible with the hypothesis
of co-spatial X-ray and radio emitting sources.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
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