Survival analysis of the optical brightness of GRB host galaxies

We studied the unbiased optical brightness distribution which was calculated from the survival analysis of host galaxies and its relationship with the Swift GRB data of the host galaxies observed by the Keck telescopes. Based on the sample obtained from merging the Swift GRB table and the Keck optical data we also studied the dependence of this distribution on the data of the GRBs. Finally, we compared the HGs distribution with standard galaxies distribution which is in the DEEP2 galaxies catalog.Comment: Swift: 10 Years of Discovery. Conference paper. 2-5 December 2014. La Sapienza University, Rome, Ital

A giant ring-like structure at 0.78<z<0.86 displayed by GRBs

According to the cosmological principle, Universal large-scale structure is homogeneous and isotropic. The observable Universe, however, shows complex structures even on very large scales. The recent discoveries of structures significantly exceeding the transition scale of 370 Mpc pose a challenge to the cosmological principle. We report here the discovery of the largest regular formation in the observable Universe; a ring with a diameter of 1720 Mpc, displayed by 9 gamma ray bursts (GRBs), exceeding by a factor of five the transition scale to the homogeneous and isotropic distribution. The ring has a major diameter of $43^o$ and a minor diameter of $30^o$ at a distance of 2770 Mpc in the 0.78<z<0.86 redshift range, with a probability of $2\times 10^{-6}$ of being the result of a random fluctuation in the GRB count rate. Evidence suggests that this feature is the projection of a shell onto the plane of the sky. Voids and string-like formations are common outcomes of large-scale structure. However, these structures have maximum sizes of 150 Mpc, which are an order of magnitude smaller than the observed GRB ring diameter. Evidence in support of the shell interpretation requires that temporal information of the transient GRBs be included in the analysis. This ring-shaped feature is large enough to contradict the cosmological principle. The physical mechanism responsible for causing it is unknown.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 8 figures and 4 table

Maxwell Fields in Spacetimes Admitting Non-Null Killing Vectors

We consider source-free electromagnetic fields in spacetimes possessing a non-null Killing vector field, $\xi^a$. We assume further that the electromagnetic field tensor, $F_{ab}$, is invariant under the action of the isometry group induced by $\xi^a$. It is proved that whenever the two potentials associated with the electromagnetic field are functionally independent the entire content of Maxwell's equations is equivalent to the relation \n^aT_{ab}=0. Since this relation is implied by Einstein's equation we argue that it is enough to solve merely Einstein's equation for these electrovac spacetimes because the relevant equations of motion will be satisfied automatically. It is also shown that for the exceptional case of functionally related potentials \n^aT_{ab}=0 implies along with one of the relevant equations of motion that the complementary equation concerning the electromagnetic field is satisfied.Comment: 7 pages,PACS numbers: 04.20.Cv, 04.20.Me, 04.40.+

Killing spinor data on distorted black hole horizons and the uniqueness of stationary vacuum black holes

We make use of the black hole holograph construction of [I. R\'acz, Stationary black holes as holographs, Class. Quantum Grav. 31, 035006 (2014)] to analyse the existence of Killing spinors in the domain of dependence of the horizons of distorted black holes. In particular, we provide conditions on the bifurcation sphere ensuring the existence of a Killing spinor. These conditions can be understood as restrictions on the curvature of the bifurcation sphere and ensure the existence of an axial Killing vector on the 2-surface. We obtain the most general 2-dimensional metric on the bifurcation sphere for which these curvature conditions are satisfied. Remarkably, these conditions are found to be so restrictive that, in the considered particular case, the free data on the bifurcation surface (determining a distorted black hole spacetime) is completely determined by them. In addition, we formulate further conditions on the bifurcation sphere ensuring that the Killing vector associated to the Killing spinor is Hermitian. Once the existence of a Hermitian Killing vector is guaranteed, one can use a characterisation of the Kerr spacetime due to Mars to identify the particular subfamily of 2-metrics giving rise to a member of the Kerr family in the black hole holograph construction. Our analysis sheds light on the role of asymptotic flatness and curvature conditions on the bifurcation sphere in the context of the problem of uniqueness of stationary black holes. The Petrov type of the considered distorted black hole spacetimes is also determined.Comment: 39 pages, 1 figur

A Hyperbolic Solver for Black Hole Initial Data in Numerical Relativity

Initial data in numerical relativity. The constraints are formulated as elliptic equations, parabolic equations and strongly hyperbolic equations. This presentation is about a different approach to initial data for black holes, the strongly hyperbolic method