Early gray dust formation in the type IIn SN 2005ip

The physical characteristics of dust formed in supernovae is poorly known. In this paper, we investigate the extinction properties of dust formed in the type IIn SN 2005ip. The observed light curves of SN 2005ip all exhibit a sudden drop around 50 days after discovery. This has been attributed to dust formation in the dense circumstellar medium. We modeled the intrinsic light curves in six optical bands, adopting a theoretical model for the luminosity evolution of supernovae interacting with their circumstellar material. From the difference between the observed and intrinsic light curves, we calculated extinction curves as a function of time. The total-to-selective extinction ratio, $R_V$, was determined from the extinction in the B and V bands. The resulting extinction, $A_V$, increases monotonically up to about 1 mag, 150 days after discovery. The inferred $R_V$ value also increases slightly with time, but appears constant in the range 4.5--8, beyond 100 days after discovery. The analysis confirms that dust is likely formed in SN 2005ip, starting about two months after explosion. The high value of $R_V$, that is, gray dust, suggests dust properties different from of the Milky Way. While this result hinges on the assumed theoretical intrinsic light curve evolution, it is encouraging that the fitted light curves are as expected for standard ejecta and circumstellar medium density structures.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

The low luminosity behaviour of the 4U 0115+63 Be/X-ray transient

The Be/X-ray transient 4U 0115+63 exhibited a giant, type-II outburst in October 2015. The source did not decay to its quiescent state but settled in a meta-stable plateau state (a factor ~10 brighter than quiescence) in which its luminosity slowly decayed. We used XMM-Newton to observe the system during this phase and we found that its spectrum can be well described using a black-body model with a small emitting radius. This suggests emission from hot spots on the surface, which is confirmed by the detection of pulsations. In addition, we obtained a relatively long (~7.9 ksec) Swift/XRT observation ~35 days after our XMM-Newton one. We found that the source luminosity was significantly higher and, although the spectrum could be fitted with a black-body model the temperature was higher and the emitting radius smaller. Several weeks later the system started a sequence of type-I accretion outbursts. In between those outbursts, the source was marginally detected with a luminosity consistent with its quiescent level. We discuss our results in the context of the three proposed scenarios (accretion down to the magnestospheric boundary, direct accretion onto neutron star magnetic poles or cooling of the neutron star crust) to explain the plateau phase.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Validation of global ionospheric models using long-term observations of pulsar Faraday rotation with the LOFAR radio telescope

Broad band pulsar radiation can be effectively used to monitor the properties of the magneto-ionic media through which it propagates. Faraday rotation calculated from polarised pulsar observations provides an integrated product of electron densities and the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field in the intervening plasma. In particular, a time-variable effect mainly associated with the rapidly changing column density of the Earth’s ionosphere and plasmasphere heavily dominates the observed Faraday rotation of pulsar radiation. In this work, we aim to carry out a performance test of three GNSS-based models of the ionosphere using observations of PSR J0332+5434 taken with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR). As it was shown in Porayko et al. (Month Not Roy Astron Soc 483(3):4100–4113, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty3324. arXiv:1812.01463), the conventional single layer model (SLM), which assumes that the ionosphere is a thin slab at a fixed effective height, is not capable of fully accounting for the ionospheric Faraday rotation in pulsar data. The simplified physics of the SLM is upgraded within IRI-Plas (International Reference Ionosphere and Plasmasphere) extended SLM and the dual-layer voxel TOmographic Model of the Ionosphere (TOMION), both of which partially account for the thickness and vertical dynamics of the terrestrial plasma. Although the last two improve the reconstruction of the ionospheric Faraday rotation, none of the considered models completely purge the observed residual variations. With this study, we show that the long term LOFAR observations of Faraday rotation of pulsars provide an excellent tool to test and improve models of the magneto-ionic content of the Earth’s atmosphere.This work has been partially supported by the EU project 101007599 - PITHIA-NRF. N.P. is supported by the Max-Planck Society as part of the “LEGACY” collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences on low-frequency gravitational wave astronomy. N.P. is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Projektnummer PO 2758/1–1, through the Walter–Benjamin programme. J.P.W.V. acknowledges support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through the Heisenberg programme (Project No. 433075039). J.K. is financially supported by the D-LOFAR II (grant 05A20PB1). We would like to thank V. Venkatraman Krishnan and anonymous referees for carefully reading the paper. This paper is based on data obtained with the German stations of the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT), constructed by ASTRON van Haarlem et al. (2013) and operated by the GLOW consortium (https://www.glowconsortium.de/) during station-owners time and proposals LC0_014, LC1_048, LC2_011, LC3_029, LC4_025, LT5_001, LC9_039, LT10_014. We made use of data from Jülich (DE605) LOFAR station supported by the BMBF Verbundforschung project D-LOFAR I (grant 05A08LJ1); and the Norderstedt (DE609) LOFAR station funded by the BMBF Verbundforschung project D-LOFAR II (grant 05A11LJ1). The observations of the German LOFAR stations were carried out in the stand-alone GLOW mode, which is technically operated and supported by the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, the Forschungszentrum Jülich and Bielefeld University. We acknowledge support and operation of the GLOW network, computing and storage facilities by the FZ-Jülich, the MPIfR and Bielefeld University and financial support from BMBF D-LOFAR III (grant 05A14PBA) and D-LOFAR IV (grants 05A17PBA and 05A17PC1), and by the states of Nordrhein-Westfalia and Hamburg.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Peer reviewe

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

The X-ray pulsar 2A 1822−371 as a super-Eddington source

High Energy Astrophysic

Timing stability of three black widow pulsars

Bak Nielsen A-S, Janssen GH, Shaifullah G, et al. Timing stability of three black widow pulsars. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. 2020;494(2):2591-2599.We study the timing stability of three black widow pulsars (BWPs), both in terms of their longterm spin evolution and their shorter term orbital stability. The erratic timing behaviour and radio eclipses of the first two BWP systems discovered (PSRs B1957+20 and J2051-0827) were assumed to be representative for this class of pulsars. With several new black widow systems added to this population in the last decade, there are now several systems known that do not show these typical orbital variations or radio eclipses. We present timing solutions using 7-8 yr of observations from four of the European Pulsar Timing Array telescopes for PSRs J0023+0923, J2214+3000, and J2234+0944, and confirm that two of these systems do not show any significant orbital variability over our observing time span, both in terms of secular or orbital parameters. The third pulsar PSR J0023+0923 shows orbital variability and we discuss the implications for the timing solution. Our results from the long-term timing of these pulsars provide several new or improved parameters compared to earlier works. We discuss our results regarding the stability of these pulsars, and the stability of the class of BWPs in general, in the context of the binary parameters, and discuss the potential of the Roche lobe filling factor of the companion star being an indicator for stability of these systems

Pulsar scintillation studies with LOFAR. I. The census

Context. Interstellar scintillation (ISS) of pulsar emission can be used both as a probe of the ionised interstellar medium (IISM) and cause corruptions in pulsar timing experiments. Of particular interest are so-called scintillation arcs which can be used to measure time-variable interstellar scattering delays directly, potentially allowing high-precision improvements to timing precision. Aims. The primary aim of this study is to carry out the first sizeable and self-consistent census of diffractive pulsar scintillation and scintillation-arc detectability at low frequencies, as a primer for larger-scale IISM studies and pulsar-timing related propagation studies with the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) High Band Antennae (HBA). Results. In this initial set of 31 sources, 15 allow full determination of the scintillation properties; nine of these show detectable scintillation arcs at 120-180 MHz. Eight of the observed sources show unresolved scintillation; and the final eight don't display diffractive scintillation. Some correlation between scintillation detectability and pulsar brightness and dispersion measure is apparent, although no clear cut-off values can be determined. Our measurements across a large fractional bandwidth allow a meaningful test of the frequency scaling of scintillation parameters, uncorrupted by influences from refractive scintillation variations. Conclusions. Our results indicate the powerful advantage and great potential of ISS studies at low frequencies and the complex dependence of scintillation detectability on parameters like pulsar brightness and interstellar dispersion. This work provides the first installment of a larger-scale census and longer-term monitoring of interstellar scintillation effects at low frequencies

Pulsar scintillation studies with LOFAR, I. The census

Wu Z, Verbiest J, Main RA, et al. Pulsar scintillation studies with LOFAR, I. The census. Astronomy & Astrophysics. 2022;663: A116.Context.Interstellar scintillation (ISS) of pulsar emission can be used both as a probe of the ionized interstellar medium (IISM) and cause corruptions in pulsar timing experiments. Of particular interest are so-called scintillation arcs which can be used to measure time-variable interstellar scattering delays directly, potentially allowing high-precision improvements to timing precision.Aims.The primary aim of this study is to carry out the first sizeable and self-consistent census of diffractive pulsar scintillation and scintillation-arc detectability at low frequencies, as a primer for larger-scale IISM studies and pulsar-timing related propagation studies with the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) High Band Antennae (HBA).Methods.We use observations from five international LOFAR stations and the LOFAR core in the Netherlands. We analyze the 2D auto-covariance function of the dynamic spectra of these observations to determine the characteristic bandwidth and timescale of the ISS toward the pulsars in our sample and investigate the 2D power spectra of the dynamic spectra to determine the presence of scintillation arcs.Results.In this initial set of 31 sources, 15 allow for the full determination of the scintillation properties; nine of these show detectable scintillation arcs at 120–180 MHz. Eight of the observed sources show unresolved scintillation; and the final eight do not display diffractive scintillation. Some correlation between scintillation detectability and pulsar brightness and a dispersion measure is apparent, although no clear cut-off values can be determined. Our measurements across a large fractional bandwidth allow a meaningful test of the frequency scaling of scintillation parameters, uncorrupted by influences from refractive scintillation variations.Conclusions.Our results indicate the powerful advantage and great potential of ISS studies at low frequencies and the complex dependence of scintillation detectability on parameters such as pulsar brightness and interstellar dispersion. This work provides the first installment of a larger-scale census and longer-term monitoring of ISS effects at low frequencies

Pulsar scintillation studies with LOFAR. I. The census

Wu Z, Verbiest J, Main RA, et al. Pulsar scintillation studies with LOFAR. I. The census. arXiv:2203.10409. 2022.Context. Interstellar scintillation (ISS) of pulsar emission can be used both as a probe of the ionised interstellar medium (IISM) and cause corruptions in pulsar timing experiments. Of particular interest are so-called scintillation arcs which can be used to measure time-variable interstellar scattering delays directly, potentially allowing high-precision improvements to timing precision. Aims. The primary aim of this study is to carry out the first sizeable and self-consistent census of diffractive pulsar scintillation and scintillation-arc detectability at low frequencies, as a primer for larger-scale IISM studies and pulsar-timing related propagation studies with the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) High Band Antennae (HBA). Results. In this initial set of 31 sources, 15 allow full determination of the scintillation properties; nine of these show detectable scintillation arcs at 120-180 MHz. Eight of the observed sources show unresolved scintillation; and the final eight don't display diffractive scintillation. Some correlation between scintillation detectability and pulsar brightness and dispersion measure is apparent, although no clear cut-off values can be determined. Our measurements across a large fractional bandwidth allow a meaningful test of the frequency scaling of scintillation parameters, uncorrupted by influences from refractive scintillation variations. Conclusions. Our results indicate the powerful advantage and great potential of ISS studies at low frequencies and the complex dependence of scintillation detectability on parameters like pulsar brightness and interstellar dispersion. This work provides the first installment of a larger-scale census and longer-term monitoring of interstellar scintillation effects at low frequencies