31,657 research outputs found
Short-duration lensing events: II. Expectations and Protocols
Ongoing microlensing observations by OGLE and MOA regularly identify and
conduct high-cadence sampling of lensing events with Einstein diameter crossing
time, tau_E, of 16 or fewer days. Events with estimated values of tau_E of one
to two days have been detected. Short duration events tend to be generated by
low-mass lenses or by lenses with high transverse velocities. We compute the
expected rates, demonstrate the expected ranges of parameters for lenses of
different mass, and develop a protocol for observing and modeling
short-duration events. Relatively minor additions to the procedures presently
used will increase the rate of planet discovery, and also discover or place
limits on the population of high-speed dim stars and stellar remnants in the
vicinity of the Sun.Comment: 17 pages; 3 figures; submitted to ApJ 3 July 200
Spin-Up/Spin-Down models for Type Ia Supernovae
In the single degenerate scenario for Type Ia supernova (SNeIa), a white
dwarf (WD) must gain a significant amount of matter from a companion star.
Because the accreted mass carries angular momentum, the WD is likely to achieve
fast spin periods, which can increase the critical mass, , needed for
explosion. When is higher than the maximum mass achieved by the WD,
the WD must spin down before it can explode. This introduces a delay between
the time at which the WD has completed its epoch of mass gain and the time of
the explosion. Matter ejected from the binary during mass transfer therefore
has a chance to become diffuse, and the explosion occurs in a medium with a
density similar to that of typical regions of the interstellar medium. Also,
either by the end of the WD's mass increase or else by the time of explosion,
the donor may exhaust its stellar envelope and become a WD. This alters,
generally diminishing, explosion signatures related to the donor star.
Nevertheless, the spin-up/spin-down model is highly predictive. Prior to
explosion, progenitors can be super- WDs in either wide binaries with
WD companions, or else in cataclysmic variables. These systems can be
discovered and studied through wide-field surveys. Post explosion, the
spin-up/spin-down model predicts a population of fast-moving WDs, low-mass
stars, and even brown dwarfs. In addition, the spin-up/spin-down model provides
a paradigm which may be able to explain both the similarities and the diversity
observed among SNeIa.Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letter
The Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae: II. Are they Double-Degenerate Binaries? The Symbiotic Channel
In order for a white dwarf (WD) to achieve the Chandrasekhar mass, M_C, and
explode as a Type Ia supernova (SNIa), it must interact with another star,
either accreting matter from or merging with it. The failure to identify the
types of binaries which produce SNeIa is the "progenitor problem". Its solution
is required if we are to utilize the full potential of SNeIa to elucidate basic
cosmological and physical principles. In single-degenerate models, a WD
accretes and burns matter at high rates. Nuclear-burning WDs (NBWDs) with mass
close to M_C are hot and luminous, potentially detectable as supersoft x-ray
sources (SSSs). In previous work we showed that > 90-99% of the required number
of progenitors do not appear as SSSs during most of the crucial phase of mass
increase. The obvious implication is that double-degenerate (DD) binaries form
the main class of progenitors. We show in this paper, however, that many
binaries that later become DDs must pass through a long-lived NBWD phase during
which they are potentially detectable as SSSs. The paucity of SSSs is therefore
not a strong argument in favor of DD models. Those NBWDs that are the
progenitors of DD binaries are likely to appear as symbiotic binaries for
intervals > 10^6 years. In fact, symbiotic pre-DDs should be common, whether or
not the WDs eventually produce SNeIa. The key to solving the progenitor problem
lies in understanding the appearance of NBWDs. Most do not appear as SSSs most
of the time. We therefore consider the evolution of NBWDs to address the
question of what their appearance may be and how we can hope to detect them.Comment: 24 pages; 5 figures; submitted to Ap
Short-duration lensing events: I. wide-orbit planets? free-floating low-mass objects? or high-velocity stars?
Short duration lensing events tend to be generated by low-mass lenses or by
lenses with high transverse velocities. Furthermore, for any given lens mass
and speed, events of short duration are preferentially caused by nearby lenses
(mesolenses) that can be studied in detail, or else by lenses so close to the
source star that finite-source-size effects may be detected, yielding
information about both the Einstein ring radius and the surface of the lensed
star. Planets causing short-duration events may be in orbits with any
orientation, and may have semimajor axes smaller than an AU, or they may reach
the outer limits of their planetary systems, in the region corresponding to the
Solar System's Oort Cloud. They can have masses larger than Jupiter's or
smaller than Pluto's. Lensing therefore has a unique potential to expand our
understanding of planetary systems. A particular advantage of lensing is that
it can provide precision measurements of system parameters, including the
masses of and projected separation between star and planet. We demonstrate how
the parameters can be extracted and show that a great deal can be learned. For
example, it is remarkable that the gravitational mass of nearby free-floating
planet-mass lenses can be measured by complementing observations of a
photometric event with deep images that detect the planet itself. A fraction of
short events may be caused by high-velocity stars located within a kpc. Many
high-velocity lenses are likely to be neutron stars that received large natal
kicks. Other high-speed stars may be members of the halo population. Still
others may be hypervelocity stars that have been ejected from the Galactic
Center, or runaway stars escaped from close binaries, possibly including the
progenitor binaries of Type Ia supernovae.Comment: 17 pages; 2 figures; submitted to ApJ 3 July 200
The Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae: Are They Supersoft Sources?
In a canonical model, the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are
accreting, nuclear-burning white dwarfs (NBWDs), which explode when the white
dwarf reaches the Chandrasekhar mass, M_C. Such massive NBWDs are hot (kT ~100
eV), luminous (L ~ 10^{38} erg/s), and are potentially observable as luminous
supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs). During the past several years, surveys for soft
X-ray sources in external galaxies have been conducted. This paper shows that
the results falsify the hypothesis that a large fraction of progenitors are
NBWDs which are presently observable as SSSs. The data also place limits on
sub-M_C models. While Type Ia supernova progenitors may pass through one or
more phases of SSS activity, these phases are far shorter than the time needed
to accrete most of the matter that brings them close to M_C.Comment: submitted to ApJ 18 November 2009; 17 pages, 2 figure
Populations of Supersoft X-ray Sources: Novae, tidal disruption, Type Ia supernovae, accretion-induced collapse, ionization, and intermediate-mass black holes?
Observations of hundreds of supersoft x-ray sources (SSSs) in external
galaxies have shed light on the diversity of the class and on the natures of
the sources. SSSs are linked to the physics of Type Ia supernovae and
accretion-induced collapse, ultraluminous x-ray sources and black holes, the
ionization of the interstellar medium, and tidal disruption by supermassive
black holes. The class of SSSs has an extension to higher luminosities:
ultraluminous SSSs have luminosities above 10^39 erg/s. There is also an
extension to higher energies: quasisoft x-ray sources (QSSs) emit photons with
energies above 1 eV, but few or none with energies above 2 keV. Finally, a
significant fraction of the SSSs found in external galaxies switch states
between observations, becoming either quasisoft or hard. For many systems
``supersoft'' refers to a temporary state; SSSs are sources, possibly including
a variety of fundamentally different system types, that pass through such a
state. We review those results derived from extragalactic data and related
theoretical work that are most surprising and that suggest directions for
future research.Comment: submitted to Astron.Nachr.; latex, 6 figure
Transits and Lensing by Compact Objects in the Kepler Field: Disrupted Stars Orbiting Blue Stragglers
Kepler's first major discoveries are two hot objects orbiting stars in its
field. These may be the cores of stars that have each been eroded or disrupted
by a companion star. The companion, which is the star monitored today, is
likely to have gained mass from its now-defunct partner, and can be considered
to be a blue straggler. KOI-81 is almost certainly the product of stable mass
transfer; KOI-74 may be as well, or it may be the first clear example of a blue
straggler created throughthree-body interactions.
We show that mass transfer binaries are common enough that Kepler should
discover ~1000 white dwarfs orbiting main sequence stars. Most, like KOI-74 and
KOI-81, will be discovered through transits, but many will be discovered
through a combination of gravitational lensing and transits, while lensing will
dominate for a subset. In fact, some events caused by white dwarfs will have
the appearance of "anti-transits" --i.e., short-lived enhancements in the
amount of light received from the monitored star. Lensing and other mass
measurements methods provide a way to distinguish white dwarf binaries from
planetary systems. This is important for the success of Kepler's primary
mission, in light of the fact that white dwarf radii are similar to the radii
of terrestrial planets, and that some white dwarfs will have orbital periods
that place them in the habitable zones of their stellar companions. By
identifying transiting and/or lensing white dwarfs, Kepler will conduct
pioneering studies of white dwarfs and of the end states of mass transfer. It
may also identify orbiting neutron stars or black holes. The calculations
inspired by the discovery of KOI-74 and KOI-81 have implications for
ground-based wide-field surveys as well as for future space-based surveys.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; submitted to The Astrophysical Journa
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