3,173 research outputs found
Evidence of two spectral breaks in the prompt emission of gamma ray bursts
The long-lasting tension between the observed spectra of gamma ray bursts
(GRBs) and the predicted synchrotron emission spectrum might be solved if
electrons do not completely cool. Evidence for incomplete cooling was recently
found in Swift GRBs with prompt observations down to 0.1 keV and in one bright
Fermi burst, GRB 160625B. Here we systematically search for evidence of
incomplete cooling in the spectra of the ten brightest short and long GRBs
observed by Fermi. We find that in 8/10 long GRBs there is compelling evidence
of a low energy break (below the peak energy) and good agreement with the
photon indices of the synchrotron spectrum (respectively -2/3 and -3/2 below
the break and between the break and the peak energy). Interestingly, none of
the ten short GRBs analysed shows a break but the low energy spectral slope is
consistent with -2/3. In a standard scenario, these results imply a very low
magnetic field in the emission region (B' ~ 10 G in the comoving frame), at odd
with expectations.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures, in press, accepted for publication in A&
Long Gamma-Ray Bursts as standard candles
As soon as it was realized that long GRBs lie at cosmological distances,
attempts have been made to use them as cosmological probes. Besides their use
as lighthouses, a task that presents mainly the technological challenge of a
rapid deep high resolution follow-up, researchers attempted to find the Holy
Grail: a way to create a standard candle from GRB observables. We discuss here
the attempts and the discovery of the Ghirlanda correlation, to date the best
method to standardize the GRB candle. Together with discussing the promises of
this method, we will underline the open issues, the required calibrations and
how to understand them and keep them under control. Even though GRB cosmology
is a field in its infancy, ongoing work and studies will clarify soon if and
how GRBs will be able to keep up to the promises.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 16th Annual October Astrophysics
Conference in Maryland "Gamma Ray Bursts in the Swift Era", eds. S. Holt, N.
Gehrels & J. Nouse
T-violation in decay in a general two-Higgs doublet model
We calculate the transverse muon polarization in the process
arising from the Yukawa couplings of charged Higgs boson in a general two-Higgs
doublet model where spontaneous violation of CP is presentComment: 6 pages, latex, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Viabilidade da fertirrigação em pomares de macieira no Sul do Brasil.
Diante da importância que os elementos relacionados com a disponibilidade de água do solo e o fornecimento adequado de nutrientes têm sobre o crescimento e o desenvolvimento da macieira nas condições do Sul do Brasil, foram realizadas pesquisas para avaliar a disponibilidade de água do solo e os efeitos da irrigação e da fertirrigação na produtividade e qualidade de frutos de macieira em Vacaria e São Joaquim.Artigo apresentado no 11º Seminário Nacional sobre Fruticultura de Clima Temperado, São Joaquim (SC), 3 a 5 de junho de 2014
A complete sample of bright Swift short Gamma-Ray Bursts
We present a carefully selected sample of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs)
observed by the Swift satellite up to June 2013. Inspired by the criteria we
used to build a similar sample of bright long GRBs (the BAT6 sample), we
selected SGRBs with favorable observing conditions for the redshift
determination on ground, ending up with a sample of 36 events, almost half of
which with a redshift measure. The redshift completeness increases up to about
70% (with an average redshift value of z = 0.85) by restricting to those events
that are bright in the 15-150 keV Swift Burst Alert Telescope energy band. Such
flux-limited sample minimizes any redshift-related selection effects, and can
provide a robust base for the study of the energetics, redshift distribution
and environment of the Swift bright population of SGRBs. For all the events of
the sample we derived the prompt and afterglow emission in both the observer
and (when possible) rest frame and tested the consistency with the correlations
valid for long GRBs. The redshift and intrinsic X-ray absorbing column density
distributions we obtain are consistent with the scenario of SGRBs originated by
the coalescence of compact objects in primordial binaries, with a possible
minor contribution (~10%-25%) of binaries formed by dynamical capture (or
experiencing large natal kicks). This sample is expected to significantly
increase with further years of Swift activity.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Mixing Effects in the Crystallization of Supercooled Quantum Binary Liquids
By means of Raman spectroscopy of liquid microjets we have investigated the
crystallization process of supercooled quantum liquid mixtures composed of
parahydrogen (pH) diluted with small amounts of up to 5\% of either neon or
orthodeuterium (oD), and of oD diluted with either Ne or pH. We
show that the introduction of Ne impurities affects the crystallization
kinetics in both the pH-Ne and oD-Ne mixtures in terms of a significant
reduction of the crystal growth rate, similarly to what found in our previous
work on supercooled pH-oD liquid mixtures [M. K\"uhnel et {\it al.},
Phys. Rev. B \textbf{89}, 180506(R) (2014)]. Our experimental results, in
combination with path-integral simulations of the supercooled liquid mixtures,
suggest in particular a correlation between the measured growth rates and the
ratio of the effective particle sizes originating from quantum delocalization
effects. We further show that the crystalline structure of the mixture is also
affected to a large extent by the presence of the Ne impurities, which likely
initiate the freezing process through the formation of Ne crystallites.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Chem. Phy
GRB orphan afterglows in present and future radio transient surveys
Orphan Afterglows (OA) are slow transients produced by Gamma Ray Bursts seen
off-axis that become visible on timescales of days/years at optical/NIR and
radio frequencies, when the prompt emission at high energies (X and gamma rays)
has already ceased. Given the typically estimated jet opening angle of GRBs
theta_jet ~ 3 deg, for each burst pointing to the Earth there should be a
factor ~ 700 more GRBs pointing in other directions. Despite this, no secure
OAs have been detected so far. Through a population synthesis code we study the
emission properties of the population of OA at radio frequencies. OAs reach
their emission peak on year-timescales and they last for a comparable amount of
time. The typical peak fluxes (which depend on the observing frequency) are of
few micro Jy in the radio band with only a few OA reaching the mJy level. These
values are consistent with the upper limits on the radio flux of SN Ib/c
observed at late times. We find that the OA radio number count distribution has
a typical slope -1.7 at high fluxes and a flatter (-0.4) slope at low fluxes
with a break at a frequency-dependent flux. Our predictions of the OA rates are
consistent with the (upper) limits of recent radio surveys and archive searches
for radio transients. Future radio surveys like VAST/ASKAP at 1.4 GHz should
detect ~ 3x10^-3 OA deg^-2 yr-1, MeerKAT and EVLA at 8.4 GHz should see ~
3x10^-1 OA deg-2 yr-1. The SKA, reaching the micro Jy flux limit, could see up
to ~ 0.2-1.5 OA deg^-2 yr^-1. These rates also depend on the duration of the OA
above a certain flux limit and we discuss this effect with respect to the
survey cadence.Comment: (10 pages, 5 figures, 1 table) Accepted for publication by PAS
Mi corazoncito se querÃa quedar: everyday transnationalism among undocumented Mexican migrants in the USA and their kin in Mexico
This thesis reports on an ethnographic investigation of the everyday lives of
Mexican transnational families living in the USA and Mexico. It gives an account
of how migrants and their families who stayed behind experienced and coped with
separations and how they negotiated, maintained and continually redefined their
family relationships and emotional exchanges. I look at, compare and analyse the
experiences of undocumented migrants and non-migrants from both a small town
and from a city, for whom migration was, respectively, a long-standing tradition or
a fairly recent way of life.
The observations herein discussed draw from more than seven months of multi
sited participant observation and interview research in two locations in the USA −
in Texas and California − as well as in both a small town and two cities in Mexico
from where the immigrant cohorts originated (and to where some migrants
occasionally returned). The participants were ‘snowballed’ from the families of
two cohorts of first-generation undocumented Mexican migrants in these locations.
These cohorts differed mainly in their demographic origin (rural/urban), social
class (working-class/middle-class origins in Mexico), level of education
(basic/high school and higher) and modes of crossing (entry without
inspection/visa overstayers).
The social and cultural differences between the participants resulted in contrasting
self-perceptions and meanings given to their everyday lived experiences as
undocumented / ‘illegal’ migrants, to the efforts made for their loved ones, to their
identities as ‘camouflaged’ migrants or as people living ‘ambivalent loyalties’.
The above named topics are analysed in the framework of transnational family life
taking into account the interplay of gender relations, demographic origin, social
class, level of education, use of social networks and undocumented status
Optical and X-ray Rest-frame Light Curves of the BAT6 sample
We present the rest-frame light curves in the optical and X-ray bands of an
unbiased and complete sample of Swift long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), namely the
BAT6 sample. The unbiased BAT6 sample (consisting of 58 events) has the highest
level of completeness in redshift ( 95%), allowing us to compute the
rest-frame X-ray and optical light curves for 55 and 47 objects, respectively.
We compute the X-ray and optical luminosities accounting for any possible
source of absorption (Galactic and intrinsic) that could affect the observed
fluxes in these two bands. We compare the behaviour observed in the X-ray and
in the optical bands to assess the relative contribution of the emission during
the prompt and afterglow phases. We unarguably demonstrate that the GRBs
rest-frame optical luminosity distribution is not bimodal, being rather
clustered around the mean value Log(L) = 29.9 0.8 when estimated at
a rest frame time of 12 hr. This is in contrast with what found in previous
works and confirms that the GRB population has an intrinsic unimodal luminosity
distribution. For more than 70% of the events the rest-frame light curves in
the X-ray and optical bands have a different evolution, indicating distinct
emitting regions and/or mechanisms. The X-ray light curves normalised to the
GRB isotropic energy (E), provide evidence for X-ray emission still
powered by the prompt emission until late times ( hours after the burst
event). On the other hand, the same test performed for the E-normalised optical light curves shows that the optical emission is a
better proxy of the afterglow emission from early to late times.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A: 10 pages, 5 figures, 2 table
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