362 research outputs found
Measuring individuals' response quality in self-administered psychological tests : an introduction to Gendre's functional method
The functional method is a new test theory using a new scoring method that assumes complexity in test structure, and thus takes into account every correlation between factors and items. The main specificity of the functional method is to model test scores by multiple regression instead of estimating them by using simplistic sums of points. In order to proceed, the functional method requires the creation of hyperspherical measurement space, in which item responses are expressed by their correlation with orthogonal factors. This method has three main qualities. First, measures are expressed in the absolute metric of correlations; therefore, items, scales and persons are expressed in the same measurement space using the same single metric. Second, factors are systematically orthogonal and without errors, which is optimal in order to predict other outcomes. Such predictions can be performed to estimate how one would answer to other tests, or even to model one's response strategy if it was perfectly coherent. Third, the functional method provides measures of individuals' response validity (i.e., control indices). Herein, we propose a standard procedure in order to identify whether test results are interpretable and to exclude invalid results caused by various response biases based on control indices
Fall back accretion and energy injections in gamma-ray bursts
Intense flares that occur at late times relative to the prompt phase have
been observed by the satellite in the X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray
bursts (GRBs). Here, we present a detailed analysis on the fall back accretion
process to explain the intense flare phase in the very early X-ray afterglow
light curves. To reproduce the afterglow at late times, we resort to the
external shock by engaging energy injections. By applying our model to GRBs
080810, 081028 and 091029, we show that their X-ray afterglow light curves can
be reproduced well. We then apply our model to the ultra-long GRB
111209A, which is the longest burst ever observed. The very early X-ray
afterglow of GRB 111209A showed many interesting features, such as a
significant bump observed at around 2000 s after the /BAT trigger. We
assume two constant energy injection processes in our model. These can explain
the observed plateau at X-ray wavelength in the relatively early stage
( s) and a second X-ray plateau and optical rebrightening at
about s. Our analysis supports the scenario that a significant amount
of material may fall back toward the central engine after the prompt phase,
causing an enhanced and long lived mass accretion rate powering a
Poynting-flux-dominated outflow.Comment: 2 tables, 3 figures, accepted by MNRA
GRB 110205A: Anatomy of a long gamma-ray burst
The Swift burst GRB 110205A was a very bright burst visible in the Northern
hemisphere. GRB 110205A was intrinsically long and very energetic and it
occurred in a low-density interstellar medium environment, leading to delayed
afterglow emission and a clear temporal separation of the main emitting
components: prompt emission, reverse shock, and forward shock. Our observations
show several remarkable features of GRB 110205A : the detection of prompt
optical emission strongly correlated with the BAT light curve, with no temporal
lag between the two ; the absence of correlation of the X-ray emission compared
to the optical and high energy gamma-ray ones during the prompt phase ; and a
large optical re-brightening after the end of the prompt phase, that we
interpret as a signature of the reverse shock. Beyond the pedagogical value
offered by the excellent multi-wavelength coverage of a GRB with temporally
separated radiating components, we discuss several questions raised by our
observations: the nature of the prompt optical emission and the spectral
evolution of the prompt emission at high-energies (from 0.5 keV to 150 keV) ;
the origin of an X-ray flare at the beginning of the forward shock; and the
modeling of the afterglow, including the reverse shock, in the framework of the
classical fireball model.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure (all in colors), accepted for publication in Ap
Browsing the sky through the ASI Science Data Centre Data Explorer Tool
We present here the Data Explorer tool developed at the ASI Science Data
Center (ASDC). This tool is designed to provide an efficient and user-friendly
way to display information residing in several catalogs stored in the ASDC
servers, to cross-correlate this information and to download/analyze data via
our scientific tools and/or external services. Our database includes GRB
catalogs (such as Swift and Beppo-SAX), which can be queried through the Data
Explorer. The GRB fields can be viewed in multiwavelength and the data can be
analyzed or retrieved.Comment: 3 pages, 2 .ps figures, to appear in "Deciphering the Ancient
Universe with GRBs" conference proceeding
Breakdown in mm-sized discharges : modifying the electric field
Due to the small size of the gas gap in micro- and millimeter sized discharges, the presence of a metallic structure in its vicinity profoundly influences the breakdown process. This is a drawback because it makes electrical probing impossible, but can also be an advantage because it allows control over the electric field in the discharge reactor. Optical and electrical measurements were performed in an argon atmosphere at 0.3 or 0.7 bar. A pin-pin geometry was used, with 4 or 7mm between the electrode tips. We found that both active and passive structures influence breakdown, and we demonstrated the differences between the two types and their effects on the breakdown process
Studying the WHIM with Gamma Ray Bursts
We assess the possibility to detect and characterize the physical state of
the missing baryons at low redshift by analyzing the X-ray absorption spectra
of the Gamma Ray Burst [GRB] afterglows, measured by a micro calorimeters-based
detector with 3 eV resolution and 1000 cm2 effective area and capable of fast
re-pointing, similar to that on board of the recently proposed X-ray satellites
EDGE and XENIA. For this purpose we have analyzed mock absorption spectra
extracted from different hydrodynamical simulations used to model the
properties of the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium [WHIM]. These models predict
the correct abundance of OVI absorption lines observed in UV and satisfy
current X-ray constraints. According to these models space missions like EDGE
and XENIA should be able to detect about 60 WHIM absorbers per year through the
OVII line. About 45 % of these have at least two more detectable lines in
addition to OVII that can be used to determine the density and the temperature
of the gas. Systematic errors in the estimates of the gas density and
temperature can be corrected for in a robust, largely model-independent
fashion. The analysis of the GRB absorption spectra collected in three years
would also allow to measure the cosmic mass density of the WHIM with about 15 %
accuracy, although this estimate depends on the WHIM model. Our results suggest
that GRBs represent a valid, if not preferable, alternative to Active Galactic
Nuclei to study the WHIM in absorption. The analysis of the absorption spectra
nicely complements the study of the WHIM in emission that the spectrometer
proposed for EDGE and XENIA would be able to carry out thanks to its high
sensitivity and large field of view.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication by Ap
Continuous optical monitoring during the prompt emission of GRB 060111B
We present the time-resolved optical emission of GRB 060111B during its
prompt phase, measured with the TAROT robotic observatory. This is the first
time that the optical emission from a gamma-ray burst has been continuously
monitored with a temporal resolution of a few seconds during the prompt
gamma-ray phase. The temporal evolution of the prompt optical emission at the
level of several seconds is used to provide a clue to the origin of this
emission. The optical emission was found to decay steadily from our first
measure, 28s after the trigger, in contrast to the gamma-ray emission, which
exhibits strong variability at the same time. This behaviour strongly suggests
that the optical emission is due to the reverse shock
A multiwavelength study of Swift GRB 060111B constraining the origin of its prompt optical emission
In this work, we present the results obtained from a multi-wavelength
campaign, as well as from the public Swift/BAT, XRT, and UVOT data of GRB
060111B for which a bright optical emission was measured with good temporal
resolution during the prompt phase. We identified the host galaxy at R~25 mag;
its featureless spectral continuum and brightness, as well as the non-detection
of any associated supernova 16 days after the trigger and other independent
redshift estimates, converge to z~1-2. From the analysis of the early afterglow
SED, we find that non-negligible host galaxy dust extinction, in addition to
the Galactic one, affects the observed flux in the optical regime. The
extinction-corrected optical-to-gamma-ray spectral energy distribution during
the prompt emission shows a flux density ratio =0.01-0.0001
with spectral index , strongly suggesting a
separate origin of the optical and gamma-ray components. This result is
supported by the lack of correlated behavior in the prompt emission light
curves observed in the two energy domains. The properties of the prompt optical
emission observed during GRB 060111B favor interpretation of this optical light
as radiation from the reverse shock in a thick shell limit and in the slow
cooling regime. The expected peak flux is consistent with the observed one
corrected for the host extinction, likely indicating that the starting time of
the TAROT observations is very near to or coincident with the peak time. The
estimated fireball initial Lorentz factor is >260-360 at z=1-2, similar to the
Lorentz factors obtained from other GRBs. GRB 060111B is a rare, good test case
of the reverse shock emission mechanism in both the X-ray and optical energy
ranges.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 15 pages,10
figures and 7 table
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