Induced gravitational collapse at extreme cosmological distances: the case of GRB 090423

CONTEXT: The induced gravitational collapse (IGC) scenario has been introduced in order to explain the most energetic gamma ray bursts (GRBs), Eiso=10^{52}-10^{54}erg, associated with type Ib/c supernovae (SNe). It has led to the concept of binary-driven hypernovae (BdHNe) originating in a tight binary system composed by a FeCO core on the verge of a SN explosion and a companion neutron star (NS). Their evolution is characterized by a rapid sequence of events: [...]. AIMS: We investigate whether GRB 090423, one of the farthest observed GRB at z=8.2, is a member of the BdHN family. METHODS: We compare and contrast the spectra, the luminosity evolution and the detectability in the observations by Swift of GRB 090423 with the corresponding ones of the best known BdHN case, GRB 090618. RESULTS: Identification of constant slope power-law behavior in the late X-ray emission of GRB 090423 and its overlapping with the corresponding one in GRB 090618, measured in a common rest frame, represents the main result of this article. This result represents a very significant step on the way to using the scaling law properties, proven in Episode 3 of this BdHN family, as a cosmological standard candle. CONCLUSIONS: Having identified GRB 090423 as a member of the BdHN family, we can conclude that SN events, leading to NS formation, can already occur already at z=8.2, namely at 650 Myr after the Big Bang. It is then possible that these BdHNe originate stem from 40-60 M_{\odot} binaries. They are probing the Population II stars after the completion and possible disappearance of Population III stars.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, to appear on A&

Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups

In this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, which is a complete, distance-limited ($cz\leq$6000 km/s) and magnitude-limited (B$\leq$14) sample of $\sim$7000 optical galaxies. The sample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky ($|b|>20^{\circ}$) and appears to have a good completeness in redshift (98%). We select the sample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes in order to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify the groups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and the percolation {\it friends of friends} methods. The resulting catalogs of loose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs of groups presently available. Most of the NOG galaxies ($\sim$60%) are found to be members of galaxy pairs ($\sim$580 pairs for a total of $\sim$15% of objects) or groups with at least three members ($\sim$500 groups for a total of $\sim$45% of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies). We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Compared to previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a denser sampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given its large sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-density sampling, the NOG is suited for the analysis of the galaxy density field of the nearby universe, especially on small scales.Comment: 47 pages including 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

A common behavior in the late X-ray afterglow of energetic GRB-SN systems

The possibility to divide GRBs in different subclasses allow to understand better the physics underlying their emission mechanisms and progenitors. The induced gravitational collapse scenario proposes a binary progenitor to explain the time-sequence in GRBs-SNe. We show the existence of a common behavior of the late decay of the X-ray afterglow emission of this subclass of GRBs, pointing to a common physical mechanism of their late emission, consistent with the IGC picture.Comment: 3 pages, to appear in the proceedings of the Gamma-Ray Burst Symposium 2012 - IAA-CSIC - Marbella, editors: Castro-Tirado, A. J., Gorosabel, J. and Park, I.

GRB 081024B and GRB 140402A: two additional short GRBs from binary neutron star mergers

Theoretical and observational evidences have been recently gained for a two-fold classification of short bursts: 1) short gamma-ray flashes (S-GRFs), with isotropic energy $E_{iso}<10^{52}$~erg and no BH formation, and 2) the authentic short gamma-ray bursts (S-GRBs), with isotropic energy $E_{iso}>10^{52}$~erg evidencing a BH formation in the binary neutron star merging process. The signature for the BH formation consists in the on-set of the high energy ($0.1$--$100$~GeV) emission, coeval to the prompt emission, in all S-GRBs. No GeV emission is expected nor observed in the S-GRFs. In this paper we present two additional S-GRBs, GRB 081024B and GRB 140402A, following the already identified S-GRBs, i.e., GRB 090227B, GRB 090510 and GRB 140619B. We also return on the absence of the GeV emission of the S-GRB 090227B, at an angle of $71^{\rm{o}}$ from the \textit{Fermi}-LAT boresight. All the correctly identified S-GRBs correlate to the high energy emission, implying no significant presence of beaming in the GeV emission. The existence of a common power-law behavior in the GeV luminosities, following the BH formation, when measured in the source rest-frame, points to a commonality in the mass and spin of the newly-formed BH in all S-GRBs.Comment: 16 pages, submitted to ApJ, second version addressing the comments by the refere