585 research outputs found
Closure Relations for Electron-Positron Pair-Signatures in Gamma-Ray Bursts
We present recipes to diagnose the fireball of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) by
combining observations of electron-positron pair-signatures (the
pair-annihilation line and the cutoff energy due to the pair-creation process).
Our recipes are largely model-independent and extract information even from the
non-detection of either pair-signature. We evaluate physical quantities such as
the Lorentz factor, optical depth and pair-to-baryon ratio, only from the
observable quantities. In particular, we can test whether the prompt emission
of GRBs comes from the pair/baryonic photosphere or not. The future-coming
Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) satellite will provide us with
good chances to use our recipes by detecting or non-detecting pair-signatures.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, with extended
discussions. Conclusions unchange
Microlensing of collimated Gamma-Ray Burst afterglows
We investigate stellar microlensing of the collimated gamma-ray burst
afterglows. A spherical afterglow appears on the sky as a superluminally
expanding thin ring (``ring-like'' image), which is maximally amplified as it
crosses the lens. We find that the image of the collimated afterglow becomes
quite uniform (``disk-like'' image) after the jet break time (after the Lorentz
factor of the jet drops below the inverse of the jet opening angle).
Consequently, the amplification peak in the light curve after the break time is
lower and broader. Therefore detailed monitoring of the amplification history
will be able to test whether the afterglows are jets or not, i.e.,
``disk-like'' or not, if the lensing occurs after the break time. We also show
that some proper motion and polarization is expected, peaking around the
maximum amplification. The simultaneous detection of the proper motion and the
polarization will strengthen that the brightening of the light curve is due to
microlensing.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Trans-Ejecta High-Energy Neutrino Emission from Binary Neutron Star Mergers
The observations of a macronova/kilonova accompanied by gravitational waves
from a binary neutron star merger (GW170817) confirmed that neutron star
coalescences produce copious ejecta. The coincident gamma-ray detection implies
the existence of a relativistic jet in this system. During the jet's
propagation within the ejecta, high-energy photons and neutrinos can be
produced. The photons are absorbed by the ejecta, while the neutrinos escape
and can be detected. Here, we estimate such trans-ejecta neutrino emission, and
discuss how neutrino observations could be used to differentiate between
gamma-ray burst emission scenarios. We find that neutrinos from the internal
shocks inside the ejecta may be detectable by IceCube within a few years of
operation, and will likely be detected with IceCube-Gen2. The neutrino signals
coincident with gravitational waves would enable us to reveal the physical
quantities of the choked jets even without electromagnetic signals.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in PR
Gravitational Wave Memory of Gamma-Ray Burst Jets
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are now considered as relativistic jets. We analyze
the gravitational waves from the acceleration stage of the GRB jets. We show
that (i) the point mass approximation is not appropriate if the opening
half-angle of the jet is larger than the inverse of the Lorentz factor of the
jet, (ii) the gravitational waveform has many step function like jumps, and
(iii) the practical DECIGO and BBO may detect such an event if the GRBs occur
in Local group of galaxy. We found that the light curve of GRBs and the
gravitational waveform are anti-correlated so that the detection of the
gravitational wave is indispensable to determine the structure of GRB jets.Comment: Revtex4, 10 pages, 6 figures, Fig.2 and Fig.3 replaced, minor changes
to text in Sec.I and Sec.V, typos corrected, some reference added, Version to
be published in PR
Late Engine Activity in Neutron Star Mergers and Its Cocoon: An Alternative Scenario for the Blue Kilonova
Follow-up observations of short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) have continuously
unveiled late extended/plateau emissions, attributed to jet launch due to late
engine activity, the nature of which remains enigmatic. Observations of
GW170817 confirmed that sGRBs are linked to neutron star (NS) mergers, and
discovered a kilonova (KN) transient. Nevertheless, the origin of the early
"blue" KN in GW170817 remains unclear. Here, we investigate the propagation of
late jets in the merger ejecta. By analytically modeling jet dynamics, we
determine the properties of the jet heated cocoon, and estimate its cooling
emission. Our results reveal that late jets generate significantly brighter
cocoons compared to prompt jets, primarily due to reduced energy loss by
adiabatic cooling. Notably, with typical late jets, emission from the cocoon
trapped inside the ejecta can reproduce the blue KN emission. We estimate that
the forthcoming Einstein Probe mission will detect the early cocoon emission
with a rate of yr, and that optical/UV
follow-ups in the LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA O5 run will be able to detect cocoon emission events. As an electromagnetic counterpart,
this emission provides an independent tool to probe NS mergers in the Universe,
complementing insights from sGRBs and gravitational waves.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, and 1 table. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Relativistic stars with poloidal and toroidal magnetic fields and meridional flow
We investigate stationary axisymmetric configurations of magnetized stars in
the framework of general relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamics. Our
relativistic stellar model incorporates a toroidal magnetic field and
meridional flow in addition to a poloidal magnetic field for the first time.
The magnetic field and meridional flow are treated as perturbations, but no
other approximation is made. We find that the stellar shape can be prolate
rather than oblate when a toroidal field exists. We also find that, for fixed
baryonic mass and total magnetic helicity, more spherical the star is, lower
the energy it has. Further, we find two new types of the frame dragging effect
which differ from the standard one in a rotating star or Kerr geometry. They
may violate the reflection symmetry about the equatorial plane.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, emulateapj.cls used, accepted for
publication in Ap
Napabucasin plus nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine versus nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine in previously untreated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: an adaptive multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3, superiority trial
Adenocarcinoma; Napabucasin; Pancreatic cancerAdenocarcinoma; Napabucasin; Cà ncer de pà ncreesAdenocarcinoma; Napabucasin; Cáncer de páncreasBackground
Compared with normal cells, tumour cells contain elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increased levels of the antioxidant protein NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3) correlate negatively with the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. Napabucasin is an investigational, orally administered ROS generator bioactivated by NQO1.
Methods
In the open-label, phase 3 CanStem111P study (NCT02993731), adults with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) were randomised (1:1) to napabucasin plus nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine or nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine alone. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). In exploratory analyses, OS was evaluated in the subgroup of patients with tumours positive for pSTAT3 (biomarker-positive).
Findings
Between 30 January 2017 and 20 February 2019, a total of 1779 patients were screened across 165 study sites in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, and the US. Of the 565 and 569 patients randomised to the napabucasin and control treatment arms, respectively, 206 and 176 were biomarker-positive. Median (95% confidence interval [CI]) OS in the napabucasin and control treatment arms was 11.4 (10.5–12.2) and 11.7 (10.7–12.7) months, respectively (hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.93–1.23). Due to the lack of OS improvement in the napabucasin arm, CanStem111P was terminated due to futility. In the biomarker-positive subgroup, no difference between treatment arms was found for OS. Grade ≥3 adverse events were reported in 85.4% and 83.9% of napabucasin-treated and control-treated patients, respectively. The incidence of gastrointestinal-related grade ≥3 events was higher with napabucasin (diarrhoea: 11.6% vs 4.9%; abdominal pain: 10.0% vs 4.8%).
Interpretation
Our findings suggested that although the addition of napabucasin to nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine did not improve efficacy in patients with previously untreated mPDAC, the safety profile of napabucasin was consistent with previous reports. CanStem111P represents the largest cohort of patients with mPDAC administered nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine in the clinical trial setting. Our data reinforce the value of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine as a platform for novel therapeutics approaches in mPDAC.This study was supported by Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, Inc
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