Optical Spectropolarimetry and Asphericity of Type Ic SN 2007gr

We present optical spectropolarimetric observations of Type Ic supernova (SN) 2007gr with Subaru telescope at 21 days after the maximum brightness (~37 days after the explosion). Non-zero polarization as high as ~3% is observed at the absorption feature of Ca II IR triplet. The polarization of the continuum light is ~0.5% if we estimate the interstellar polarization (ISP) component assuming that the continuum polarization has a single polarization angle. This suggests that the axis ratio of the SN photosphere projected to the sky is different from unity by ~10%. The polarization angle at the Ca II absorption is almost aligned to that of the continuum light. These features may be understood by the model where a bipolar explosion with an oblate photosphere is viewed from the slightly off-axis direction and explosively synthesized Ca near the polar region obscures the light originated around the minor axis of the SN photosphere. Given the uncertainty of the ISP, however, the polarization data could also be interpreted by the model with an almost spherically symmetric photosphere and a clumpy Ca II distribution.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Properties of Type II Plateau Supernova SNLS-04D2dc: Multicolor Light Curves of Shock Breakout and Plateau

Shock breakout is the brightest radiative phenomenon in a Type II supernova (SN). Although it was predicted to be bright, the direct observation is difficult due to the short duration and X-ray/ultraviolet-peaked spectra. First entire observations of the shock breakouts of Type II Plateau SNe (SNe IIP) were reported in 2008 by ultraviolet and optical observations by the {\it GALEX} satellite and supernova legacy survey (SNLS), named SNLS-04D2dc and SNLS-06D1jd. We present multicolor light curves of a SN IIP, including the shock breakout and plateau, calculated with a multigroup radiation hydrodynamical code {\sc STELLA} and an evolutionary progenitor model. The synthetic multicolor light curves reproduce well the observations of SNLS-04D2dc. This is the first study to reproduce the ultraviolet light curve of the shock breakout and the optical light curve of the plateau consistently. We conclude that SNLS-04D2dc is the explosion with a canonical explosion energy $1.2\times10^{51}$ ergs and that its progenitor is a star with a zero-age main-sequence mass $20M_\odot$ and a presupernova radius $800R_\odot$. The model demonstrates that the peak apparent $B$-band magnitude of the shock breakout would be $m_{\rm B}\sim26.4$ mag if a SN being identical to SNLS-04D2dc occurs at a redshift $z=1$, which can be reached by 8m-class telescopes. The result evidences that the shock breakout has a great potential to detect SNe IIP at z\gsim1.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

Multipole expansion for magnetic structures: A generation scheme for symmetry-adapted orthonormal basis set in crystallographic point group

We propose a systematic method to generate a complete orthonormal basis set of multipole expansion for magnetic structures in arbitrary crystal structure. The key idea is the introduction of a virtual atomic cluster of a target crystal, on which we can clearly define the magnetic configurations corresponding to symmetry-adapted multipole moments. The magnetic configurations are then mapped onto the crystal so as to preserve the magnetic point group of the multipole moments, leading to the magnetic structures classified according to the irreducible representations of crystallographic point group. We apply the present scheme to pyrhochlore and hexagonal ABO3 crystal structures, and demonstrate that the multipole expansion is useful to investigate the macroscopic responses of antiferromagnets

Trigger and Reconstruction for a heavy long lived charged particles with the ATLAS detector

Long lived charged particles are predicted by many models of physics beyond the standard model (SM). The common signature of such models is a heavy long-lived charged particle with velocity smaller than the speed of light, beta<1. This unique signature makes the search for it model independent. This paper presents methods developed as part of the ATLAS trigger and reconstruction chain for identifying slow particles and measuring their mass. The efficacy of these methods is demonstrated using two models that are different in every aspect except for the existence of long lived charged particles; A GMSB model that includes sleptons with a mass of 100 GeV, and R-Hadrons with a mass of 300 GeV produced in a split SUSY model

A massive star origin for an unusual helium-rich supernova in an elliptical galaxy

The unusual helium-rich (type Ib) supernova SN 2005E is distinguished from any supernova hitherto observed by its faint and rapidly fading light curve, prominent calcium lines in late-phase spectra and lack of any mark of recent star formation near the supernova location. These properties are claimed to be explained by a helium detonation in a thin surface layer of an accreting white dwarf (Perets et al. 2010). Here we report on observations of SN 2005cz appeared in an elliptical galaxy, whose observed properties resemble those of SN 2005E in that it is helium-rich and unusually faint, fades rapidly, shows much weaker oxygen emission lines than those of calcium in the well-evolved spectrum. We argue that these properties are best explained by a core-collapse supernova at the low-mass end ($8-12 M_{\odot}$) of the range of massive stars that explode (Smartt 2009). Such a low mass progenitor had lost its hydrogen-rich envelope through binary interaction, having very thin oxygen-rich and silicon-rich layers above the collapsing core, thus ejecting a very small amount of radioactive $^{56}$Ni and oxygen. Although the host galaxy NGC 4589 is an elliptical, some studies have revealed evidence of recent star-formation activity (Zhang et al. 2008), consistent with the core-collapse scenario.Comment: Accepted by Nature (24 March 2010), 32 pages including Supplementary Informatio

A protective role of gamma/delta T cells in primary infection with Listeria monocytogenes in mice.

We have previously reported that T cells bearing T cell receptors (TCRs) of gamma/delta type appear at a relatively early stage of primary infection with Listeria monocytogenes in mice. To characterize the early-appearing gamma/delta T cells during listeriosis, we analyzed the specificity and cytokine production of the gamma/delta T cells in the peritoneal cavity in mice inoculated intraperitoneally with a sublethal dose of L. monocytogenes. The early-appearing gamma/delta T cells, most of which were of CD4-CD8- phenotype, proliferated and secreted IFN-gamma and macrophage chemotactic factor in response to purified protein derivative from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or recombinant 65-kD heat-shock protein derived from M. bovis but not to heat-killed Listeria. To further elucidate the potential role of the gamma/delta T cells in the host-defense mechanism against primary infection with Listeria, we examined the effects of in vivo administration of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against TCR-gamma/delta or TCR-alpha/beta on the bacterial eradication in mice infected with Listeria. Most of alpha/beta T cells or gamma/delta T cells were depleted in the peripheral lymphoid organs at least for 12 d after an intraperitoneal injection of 200 micrograms TCR-alpha/beta mAb or 200 micrograms TCR-gamma/delta mAb, respectively. An exaggerated bacterial multiplication was evident at the early stage of listerial infection in the gamma/delta T cells-depleted mice, whereas the alpha/beta T cell-depleted mice exhibited much the same resistance level as the control mice at this stage although the resistance was severely impaired at the late stage after listerial infection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS