Are Swift Long-Lag Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Local Supercluster?

A sample of 18 long-lag (tau_{lag} > 1 s) Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) has been drawn from our catalog of all Swift long GRBs. Four different tests are done on this sample to test the prediction that a large fraction of long-lag GRBs are from our Local Supercluster. The results of these four tests come out that: (1) the distribution of these GRBs shows no tendency towards the Supergalactic plane; (2) the distribution shows no tendency towards the Virgo or Coma Cluster; (3) no associated bright host galaxies (m <=15) in the Local Supercluster are found for any of the 18 GRBs; (4) 17 of these 18 GRBs have redshifts of z>0.5, which are too far to be in the Local Supercluster. All these results disproved the hypothesis that any significant fraction of long-lag GRBs are from Local Supercluster. Hence these long-lag GRBs can not be counted in the calculation of LIGO detection rates. An explanation of why we can detect long-lag GRBs at high redshift is presented.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, ApJ accepte

The CH fraction of Carbon stars at high Galactic latitudes

CH stars form a distinct class of objects with characteristic properties like iron deficiency, enrichment of carbon and overabundance in heavy elements. These properties can provide strong observational constraints for theoretical computation of nucleosynthesis at low-metallicity. An important question is the relative surface density of CH stars which can provide valuable inputs to our understanding on the role of low to intermediate-mass stars in the early Galactic chemical evolution. Spectroscopic characterization provides an effective way of identifying CH stars. The present analysis is aimed at a quantitative assessment of the fraction of CH stars in a sample of stars using a set of spectral classification criteria. The sample consists of 92 objects selected from a collection of candidate Faint High Latitude Carbon stars from the Hamburg/ESO survey. Medium resolution (R ~ 1300) spectra for these objects were obtained using OMR at VBO, Kavalur and HFOSC at HCT, IAO, Hanle, during 2007 - 2009 spanning a wavelength range 3800 - 6800 A. Spectral analysis shows 36 of the 92 objects to be potential CH stars; combined with our earlier studies (Goswami 2005, Goswami et al. 2007) this implies ~ 37% (of 243) objects as the CH fraction. We present spectral descriptions of the newly identified CH star candidates. Estimated effective temperatures, 12C/13C isotopic ratios and their locations on the two colour J-H vs H-K plot are used to support their identification.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures,Accepted for publication in MNRA

Affordable Rotating Fluid Demonstrations for Geoscience Education: The DIYnamics Project

Demonstrations using rotating tanks of fluid can help demystify otherwise counterintuitive behaviors of atmospheric, oceanic, and planetary interior fluid motions. But the expense and complicated assembly of existing rotating table platforms limit their appeal for many schools, especially those below the university level. Here, we introduce Do-It-Yourself Dynamics (DIYnamics), a project developing extremely low-cost rotating tank platforms and accompanying teaching materials. The devices can be assembled in a few minutes from household items, all available for purchase online. Ordering, assembly, and operation instructions are available on the DIYnamics website. Videos using these and other rotating tables to teach specific concepts such as baroclinic instability are available on the DIYnamics YouTube channel—including some in Spanish. The devices, lesson plans, and demonstrations have been successfully piloted at multiple middle schools, in a university course, and at public science outreach events. These uses to date convince us of the DIYnamics materials’ pedagogical value for instructors from well-versed university professors to K–12 science teachers with little background in fluid dynamics

Stellar Archaeology -- Exploring the Universe with Metal-Poor Stars

The abundance patterns of the most metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo and small dwarf galaxies provide us with a wealth of information about the early Universe. In particular, these old survivors allow us to study the nature of the first stars and supernovae, the relevant nucleosynthesis processes responsible for the formation and evolution of the elements, early star- and galaxy formation processes, as well as the assembly process of the stellar halo from dwarf galaxies a long time ago. This review presents the current state of the field of "stellar archaeology" -- the diverse use of metal-poor stars to explore the high-redshift Universe and its constituents. In particular, the conditions for early star formation are discussed, how these ultimately led to a chemical evolution, and what the role of the most iron-poor stars is for learning about Population III supernovae yields. Rapid neutron-capture signatures found in metal-poor stars can be used to obtain stellar ages, but also to constrain this complex nucleosynthesis process with observational measurements. Moreover, chemical abundances of extremely metal-poor stars in different types of dwarf galaxies can be used to infer details on the formation scenario of the halo. and the role of dwarf galaxies as Galactic building blocks. I conclude with an outlook as to where this field may be heading within the next decade. A table of ~1000 metal-poor stars and their abundances as collected from the literature is provided in electronic format.Comment: Ludwig Biermann Award Lecture 2009; data table can be found at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~afrebel/abundances/abund.html; published in AN 331, 47

School Counselor Use of Narrative Therapy to Support Students of Color Transitioning from an Alternative School Setting

The authors propose a collaborative application of narrative therapy utilizing the school counselor, teachers, and parents to support students of color transitioning from an alternative school setting. Research indicates that students of color transitioning from alternative settings often face stigma and marginalization by teachers and peers. The authors contend that school counselors can use this collaborative narrative approach to support students to create new narratives within a supportive environment. Included is an illustration demonstrating the application of the collaborative narrative therapy process

Investigation for the enrichment pattern of the element abundances in r+s star HE 0338-3945: a special r-II star?

The very metal-poor star HE 0338-3945 shows a double-enhanced pattern of the neutron-capture elements. The study to this sample could make people gain a better understanding of s- and r-process nucleosynthesis at low metallicity. Using a parametric model,we find that the abundance pattern of the neutron-capture elements could be best explained by a binary system formed in a molecular cloud, which had been polluted by r-process material. The observed abundance pattern of C and N can be explained by an AGB model(Karakas & Lattanzio 2007), . Combing with the parameters obtained from Cui & Zhang (2006), we suggest that the initial mass of the AGB companion is most likely to be about 2.5Msun, which excludes the possibility of forming a type-1.5 supernova. By comparing with the observational abundance pattern of CS 22892-052, we find that the dominating production of O should accompany with the production of the heavy r-process elements of r+s stars. Similar to r-II stars, the heavy r-process elements are not produced in conjunction with all the light elements from Na to Fe group. The abundance pattern of the light and r-process elements for HE 0338-3945 is very close to the pattern of the r-II star CS 22892-052. So, we suggest that this star HE 0338-3945 should be a special r-II star.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, published by Ap

CS 30322-023: an ultra metal-poor TP-AGB star?

With [Fe/H] = -3.5, CS 30322-023 is the most metal-poor star to exhibit a clear s-process signature and the most metal-poor ``lead star'' known. CS 30322-023 is also remarkable in having the lowest surface gravity (log g <= -0.3) among the metal-poor stars studied to date. The available evidence indicates that this star is presently a thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) star, with no strong indication of binarity thus far (although a signal of period 192 d is clearly present in the radial-velocity data, this is likely due to pulsation of the stellar envelope). We show that low-mass TP-AGB stars are not expected to be exceedingly rare in a magnitude-limited sample such as the HK survey, because their high luminosities make it possible to sample them over a very large volume. The strong N overabundance and the low 12C/13C ratio (4) in this star is typical of the operation of the CN cycle. Coupled with a Na overabundance and the absence of a strong C overabundance, this pattern seems to imply that hot-bottom burning operated in this star, which should then have a mass of at least 2 Msun. However, the luminosity associated with this mass would put the star at a distance of about 50 kpc, in the outskirts of the galactic halo. We explore alternative scenarios in which the observed abundance pattern results from some mixing mechanism yet to be identified occurring in a single low-metallicity 0.8 Msun AGB star, or from pollution by matter from an intermediate-mass AGB companion which has undergone hot-bottom burning. We stress, however, that our abundances may be subject to uncertainties due to NLTE or 3D granulation effects which were not taken into consideration.Comment: 17 pages, Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press; also available at http://www.astro.ulb.ac.be/Html/ps.html#PR

Pollen Nightmare: Elevated Airborne Pollen Levels at Night

High airborne pollen concentrations are generally associated with daylight hours when it is sunny and warm and plants release pollen into the air (Alcázar et al. 1999; Dahl et al. 2013). In contrast, cooler night-time periods are usually considered to be the time of low-allergy risk. This opinion is often reflected in pollen allergy avoidance strategies presented by the media, where the most commonly repeated recommendation is to stay indoors during the day and plan outdoor activities for the evening. However, there is evidence to suggest that elevated concentrations of airborne pollen might also occur during the evening (e.g. Norris-Hill and Emberlin 1991). So, is the night really a time of low-allergy risk? We present the results of the comparative analysis of pollen concentrations during daytime and night-time hours for five allergenic pollen types (Burbach et al. 2009), i.e. alder (Alnus sp.), birch (Betula sp.), grasses (Poaceae), mugwort (Artemisia sp.) and ragweed (Ambrosia sp.)

Unveiling the origin of X-ray flares in Gamma-Ray Bursts

We present an updated catalog of 113 X-ray flares detected by Swift in the ~33% of the X-ray afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB). 43 flares have a measured redshift. For the first time the analysis is performed in 4 different X-ray energy bands, allowing us to constrain the evolution of the flare temporal properties with energy. We find that flares are narrower at higher energies: their width follows a power-law relation w~E^{-0.5} reminiscent of the prompt emission. Flares are asymmetric structures, with a decay time which is twice the rise time on average. Both time scales linearly evolve with time, giving rise to a constant rise-to-decay ratio: this implies that both time scales are stretched by the same factor. As a consequence, the flare width linearly evolves with time to larger values: this is a key point that clearly distinguishes the flare from the GRB prompt emission. The flare 0.3-10 keV peak luminosity decreases with time, following a power-law behaviour with large scatter: L_{pk}~ t_{pk}^{-2.7}. When multiple flares are present, a global softening trend is established: each flare is on average softer than the previous one. The 0.3-10 keV isotropic energy distribution is a log-normal peaked at 10^{51} erg, with a possible excess at low energies. The flare average spectral energy distribution (SED) is found to be a power-law with spectral energy index beta~1.1. These results confirmed that the flares are tightly linked to the prompt emission. However, after considering various models we conclude that no model is currently able to account for the entire set of observations.Comment: MNRAS submitte

The Chemistry of the Trailing arm of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

We present abundances of C, O, Ti, and Fe for eleven M-giant stars in the trailing tidal arm of the Sagittarius dwarf (Sgr). The abundances were derived by comparing synthetic spectra with high-resolution infrared spectra obtained with the Phoenix spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope. The targeted stars are drawn from two regions of the Sgr trailing arm separated by 66 degrees (5 stars) and 132 degrees (6 stars) from the main body of Sgr. The trailing arm provides a more direct diagnostic of the chemical evolution of Sgr compared to the extensively phase-mixed leading arm. Within our restricted sample of ~2-3 Gyr old stars, we find that the stream material exhibits a significant metallicity gradient of -(2.4\pm0.3)x10^{-3} dex / degree (-(9.4\pm1.1)x10^{-4} dex / kpc) away from the main body of Sgr. The tidal disruption of Sgr is a relatively recently event. We therefore interpret the presence of a metallicity gradient in the debris as indicative of a similar gradient in the progenitor. The fact that such a metallicity gradient survived for almost a Hubble time indicates that the efficiency of radial mixing was very low in the Sgr progenitor. No significant gradient is seen to exist in the [alpha/Fe] abundance ratio along the trailing arm. Our results may be accounted for by a radial decrease in star formation efficiency and/or radial increase in the efficiency of galactic wind-driven metal loss in the chemical evolution of the Sgr progenitor. The [Ti/Fe] and [O/Fe] abundance ratios observed within the stream are distinct from those of the Galactic halo. We conclude that the fraction of the intermediate to metal-rich halo population contributed by the recent dissolution (<3 Gyr) of Sgr-like dwarf galaxies can not be substantial.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, ApJ accepte