104 research outputs found
SN 2013ab : A normal type IIP supernova in NGC 5669
We present densely-sampled ultraviolet/optical photometric and low-resolution
optical spectroscopic observations of the type IIP supernova 2013ab in the
nearby (24 Mpc) galaxy NGC 5669, from 2 to 190d after explosion.
Continuous photometric observations, with the cadence of typically a day to one
week, were acquired with the 1-2m class telescopes in the LCOGT network, ARIES
telescopes in India and various other telescopes around the globe. The light
curve and spectra suggest that the SN is a normal type IIP event with a plateau
duration of days with mid plateau absolute visual magnitude of
-16.7, although with a steeper decline during the plateau (0.92 mag 100 d in band) relative to other archetypal SNe of similar brightness.
The velocity profile of SN 2013ab shows striking resemblance with those of SNe
1999em and 2012aw. Following the Rabinak & Waxman (2011) prescription, the
initial temperature evolution of the SN emission allows us to estimate the
progenitor radius to be 800 R, indicating that the SN
originated from a red supergiant star. The distance to the SN host galaxy is
estimated to be 24.3 Mpc from expanding photosphere method (EPM). From our
observations, we estimate that 0.064 M of Ni was synthesized
in the explosion. General relativistic, radiation hydrodynamical modeling of
the SN infers an explosion energy of erg, a progenitor
mass (at the time of explosion) of M and an initial radius
of R.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Proposed host galaxies of repeating fast radio burst sources detected by CHIME/FRB
We present a search for host galaxy associations for the third set of
repeating fast radio burst (FRB) sources discovered by the CHIME/FRB
Collaboration. Using the ~1 arcmin CHIME/FRB baseband localizations and
probabilistic methods. We identify potential host galaxies of two FRBs,
20200223B and 20190110C at redshifts of 0.06024(2) and 0.12244(6),
respectively. We also discuss the properties of a third marginal candidate host
galaxy association for FRB 20191106C with a host redshift of 0.10775(1). The
three putative host galaxies are all relatively massive, fall on the standard
mass-metallicity relationship for nearby galaxies, and show evidence of ongoing
star formation. They also all show signatures of being in a transitional
regime, falling in the "green valley" which is between the bulk of star-forming
and quiescent galaxies. The plausible host galaxies identified by our analysis
are consistent with the overall population of repeating and non-repeating FRB
hosts while increasing the fraction of massive and bright galaxies. Coupled
with these previous host associations, we identify a possible excess of FRB
repeaters whose host galaxies have M_u - M_r colors redder than the bulk of
star-forming galaxies. Additional precise localizations are required to confirm
this trend.Comment: 11 pages, submitted to AAS journal
Multi-Messenger Astronomy with Extremely Large Telescopes
The field of time-domain astrophysics has entered the era of Multi-messenger
Astronomy (MMA). One key science goal for the next decade (and beyond) will be
to characterize gravitational wave (GW) and neutrino sources using the next
generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). These studies will have a
broad impact across astrophysics, informing our knowledge of the production and
enrichment history of the heaviest chemical elements, constrain the dense
matter equation of state, provide independent constraints on cosmology,
increase our understanding of particle acceleration in shocks and jets, and
study the lives of black holes in the universe. Future GW detectors will
greatly improve their sensitivity during the coming decade, as will
near-infrared telescopes capable of independently finding kilonovae from
neutron star mergers. However, the electromagnetic counterparts to
high-frequency (LIGO/Virgo band) GW sources will be distant and faint and thus
demand ELT capabilities for characterization. ELTs will be important and
necessary contributors to an advanced and complete multi-messenger network.Comment: White paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Surve
Existential Loneliness and end-of-life care: A Systematic Review
Contains fulltext :
88662.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Patients with a life-threatening illness can be confronted with various types of loneliness, one of which is existential loneliness (EL). Since the experience of EL is extremely disruptive, the issue of EL is relevant for the practice of end-of-life care. Still, the literature on EL has generated little discussion and empirical substantiation and has never been systematically reviewed. In order to systematically review the literature, we (1) identified the existential loneliness literature; (2) established an organising framework for the review; (3) conducted a conceptual analysis of existential loneliness; and (4) discussed its relevance for end-of-life care. We found that the EL concept is profoundly unclear. Distinguishing between three dimensions of EL-as a condition, as an experience, and as a process of inner growth-leads to some conceptual clarification. Analysis of these dimensions on the basis of their respective key notions-everpresent, feeling, defence; death, awareness, difficult communication; and inner growth, giving meaning, authenticity-further clarifies the concept. Although none of the key notions are unambiguous, they may function as a starting point for the development of care strategies on EL at the end of life.1 april 201
Malaria Liver Stage Susceptibility Locus Identified on Mouse Chromosome 17 by Congenic Mapping
Host genetic variants are known to confer resistance to Plasmodium blood stage infection and to control malaria severity both in humans and mice. This work describes the genetic mapping of a locus for resistance to liver stage parasite in the mouse. First, we show that decreased susceptibility to the liver stage of Plasmodium berghei in the BALB/c mouse strain is attributable to intra-hepatic factors and impacts on the initial phase of blood stage infection. We used QTL mapping techniques to identify a locus controlling this susceptibility phenotype (LOD score 4.2) on mouse chromosome 17 (belr1 locus). Furthermore, analysis of congenic mouse strains delimited the belr1 locus boundaries distally to the H2 region. Quantification of parasites in the liver of infected congenic mice strongly suggested that the belr1 locus represents a genetic factor controlling the expansion of P. berghei in the hepatic tissue. The mapping of belr1 locus raises the hypothesis that host gene variation is able to control the progression of Plasmodium liver stage infection and opens the possibility that the human genomic region orthologue to belr1 may contain genes that confer resistance to the human malaria liver stage
Early Spectroscopy and Dense Circumstellar Medium Interaction in SN~2023ixf
We present the optical spectroscopic evolution of SN~2023ixf seen in
sub-night cadence spectra from 1.18 to 14 days after explosion. We identify
high-ionization emission features, signatures of interaction with material
surrounding the progenitor star, that fade over the first 7 days, with rapid
evolution between spectra observed within the same night. We compare the
emission lines present and their relative strength to those of other supernovae
with early interaction, finding a close match to SN~2020pni and SN~2017ahn in
the first spectrum and SN~2014G at later epochs. To physically interpret our
observations we compare them to CMFGEN models with confined, dense
circumstellar material around a red supergiant progenitor from the literature.
We find that very few models reproduce the blended \NC{} emission lines
observed in the first few spectra and their rapid disappearance thereafter,
making this a unique diagnostic. From the best models, we find a mass-loss rate
of \mlunit{}, which far exceeds the mass-loss rate for any
steady wind, especially for a red supergiant in the initial mass range of the
detected progenitor. These mass-loss rates are, however, similar to rates
inferred for other supernovae with early circumstellar interaction. Using the
phase when the narrow emission features disappear, we calculate an outer dense
radius of circumstellar material and a mean circumstellar material density
of . This is consistent with the
lower limit on the outer radius of the circumstellar material we calculate from
the peak \Halpha{} emission flux, .Comment: Submitted to ApJ
The Gravity Collective: A Search for the Electromagnetic Counterpart to the Neutron Star-Black Hole Merger GW190814
We present optical follow-up imaging obtained with the Katzman Automatic
Imaging Telescope, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Nickel
Telescope, Swope Telescope, and Thacher Telescope of the LIGO/Virgo
gravitational wave (GW) signal from the neutron star-black hole (NSBH) merger
GW190814. We searched the GW190814 localization region (19 deg for the
90th percentile best localization), covering a total of 51 deg and 94.6%
of the two-dimensional localization region. Analyzing the properties of 189
transients that we consider as candidate counterparts to the NSBH merger,
including their localizations, discovery times from merger, optical spectra,
likely host-galaxy redshifts, and photometric evolution, we conclude that none
of these objects are likely to be associated with GW190814. Based on this
finding, we consider the likely optical properties of an electromagnetic
counterpart to GW190814, including possible kilonovae and short gamma-ray burst
afterglows. Using the joint limits from our follow-up imaging, we conclude that
a counterpart with an -band decline rate of 0.68 mag day, similar to
the kilonova AT 2017gfo, could peak at an absolute magnitude of at most
mag (50% confidence). Our data are not constraining for ''red'' kilonovae and
rule out ''blue'' kilonovae with (30% confidence). We
strongly rule out all known types of short gamma-ray burst afterglows with
viewing angles 17 assuming an initial jet opening angle of
and explosion energies and circumburst densities similar to
afterglows explored in the literature. Finally, we explore the possibility that
GW190814 merged in the disk of an active galactic nucleus, of which we find
four in the localization region, but we do not find any candidate counterparts
among these sources.Comment: 86 pages, 9 figure
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