33,148 research outputs found
A two component jet model for the X-ray afterglow flat segment in short GRB 051221A
In the double neutron star merger or neutron star-black hole merger model for
short GRBs, the outflow launched might be mildly magnetized and neutron rich.
The magnetized neutron-rich outflow will be accelerated by the magnetic and
thermal pressure and may form a two component jet finally, as suggested by
Vlahakis, Peng & K\"{o}nigl (2003). We show in this work that such a two
component jet model could well reproduce the multi-wavelength afterglow
lightcurves, in particular the X-ray flat segment, of short GRB 051221A. In
this model, the central engine need not to be active much longer than the
prompt ray emission.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure; Accepted for publication by ApJ
Probing annihilations and decays of low-mass galactic dark matter in IceCube DeepCore array: Track events
The deployment of DeepCore array significantly lowers IceCube's energy
threshold to about 10 GeV and enhances the sensitivity of detecting neutrinos
from annihilations and decays of light dark matter. To match this experimental
development, we calculate the track event rate in DeepCore array due to
neutrino flux produced by annihilations and decays of galactic dark matter. We
also calculate the background event rate due to atmospheric neutrino flux for
evaluating the sensitivity of DeepCore array to galactic dark matter
signatures. Unlike previous approaches, which set the energy threshold for
track events at around 50 GeV (this choice avoids the necessity of including
oscillation effect in the estimation of atmospheric background event rate), we
have set the energy threshold at 10 GeV to take the full advantage of DeepCore
array. We compare our calculated sensitivity with those obtained by setting the
threshold energy at 50 GeV. We conclude that our proposed threshold energy
significantly improves the sensitivity of DeepCore array to the dark matter
signature for GeV in the annihilation scenario and
GeV in the decay scenario.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures; match the published versio
Radio Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts and Hypernovae at High Redshift, and their Potential for 21-cm Absorption Studies
We investigate the radio afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and hypernovae
(HNe) at high redshifts and quantify their detectability, as well as their
potential usefulness for 21 cm absorption line studies of the intergalactic
medium (IGM) and intervening structures. We examine several sets of source and
environment model parameters that are physically plausible at high redshifts.
The radio afterglows of GRBs would be detectable out to z ~ 30, while the
energetic HNe could be detectable out to z ~ 20 even by the current Very Large
Array (VLA). We find that the 21 cm absorption line due to the diffuse neutral
IGM is difficult to detect even by the proposed Square Kilometer Array (SKA),
except for highly energetic sources. We also find that the 21 cm line due to
collapsed gas clouds with high optical depth may be detected on rare occasions.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Ap
Modeling GRB 050904: Autopsy of a Massive Stellar Explosion at z=6.29
GRB 050904 at redshift z=6.29, discovered and observed by Swift and with
spectroscopic redshift from the Subaru telescope, is the first gamma-ray burst
to be identified from beyond the epoch of reionization. Since the progenitors
of long gamma-ray bursts have been identified as massive stars, this event
offers a unique opportunity to investigate star formation environments at this
epoch. Apart from its record redshift, the burst is remarkable in two respects:
first, it exhibits fast-evolving X-ray and optical flares that peak
simultaneously at t~470 s in the observer frame, and may thus originate in the
same emission region; and second, its afterglow exhibits an accelerated decay
in the near-infrared (NIR) from t~10^4 s to t~3 10^4 s after the burst,
coincident with repeated and energetic X-ray flaring activity. We make a
complete analysis of available X-ray, NIR, and radio observations, utilizing
afterglow models that incorporate a range of physical effects not previously
considered for this or any other GRB afterglow, and quantifying our model
uncertainties in detail via Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis. In the process,
we explore the possibility that the early optical and X-ray flare is due to
synchrotron and inverse Compton emission from the reverse shock regions of the
outflow. We suggest that the period of accelerated decay in the NIR may be due
to suppression of synchrotron radiation by inverse Compton interaction of X-ray
flare photons with electrons in the forward shock; a subsequent interval of
slow decay would then be due to a progressive decline in this suppression. The
range of acceptable models demonstrates that the kinetic energy and circumburst
density of GRB 050904 are well above the typical values found for low-redshift
GRBs.Comment: 45 pages, 7 figures, and ApJ accepted. Revised version, minor
modifications and 1 extra figur
Seventy-One New L and T Dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
We present near-infrared observations of 71 newly discovered L and T dwarfs,
selected from imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) using the
i-dropout technique. Sixty-five of these dwarfs have been classified
spectroscopically according to the near-infrared L dwarf classification scheme
of Geballe et al. and the unified T dwarf classification scheme of Burgasser et
al. The spectral types of these dwarfs range from L3 to T7, and include the
latest types yet found in the SDSS. Six of the newly identified dwarfs are
classified as early- to mid-L dwarfs according to their photometric
near-infrared colors, and two others are classified photometrically as M
dwarfs. We also present new near-infrared spectra for five previously published
SDSS L and T dwarfs, and one L dwarf and one T dwarf discovered by Burgasser et
al. from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. The new SDSS sample includes 27 T
dwarfs and 30 dwarfs with spectral types spanning the complex L-T transition
(L7-T3). We continue to see a large (~0.5 mag) spread in J-H for L3 to T1
types, and a similar spread in H-K for all dwarfs later than L3. This color
dispersion is probably due to a range of grain sedimentation properties,
metallicity, and gravity. We also find L and T dwarfs with unusual colors and
spectral properties that may eventually help to disentangle these effects.Comment: accepted by AJ, 18 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables, emulateapj layou
Reconstruction of 2D Al Ti on TiB in an aluminium melt
It has been widely considered that Al Ti is involved in the aluminium nucleation on TiB , although the mechanism has not been fully understood. In this paper molecular dynamics has been conducted to investigate this phenomenon at an atomistic scale. It was found that a two-dimensional Al Ti layer may remain on TiB above the aluminium liquidus. In addition, the results showed that this 2D Al Ti undergoes interface reconstruction by forming a triangular pattern. This triangular pattern consists of different alternative stacking sequences. The transition region between the triangles forms an area of strain concentration. By means of this mechanism, this interfacial Al Ti layer stabilizes itself by localizing the large misfit strain between TiB and Al Ti This reconstruction is similar to the hdp-fcc interface reconstruction in other systems which has been observed experimentally.EPSR
The X-ray Spectral Properties and Variability of Luminous High-Redshift Active Galactic Nuclei
We perform a detailed investigation of moderate-to-high quality X-ray spectra
of ten of the most luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) known at z>4 (up to
z~6.28). This study includes five new XMM observations and five archived X-ray
observations (four by XMM and one by Chandra). We find that the X-ray power-law
photon indices of our sample, composed of eight radio-quiet sources and two
that are moderately radio loud, are not significantly different from those of
lower redshift AGNs. The upper limits obtained on intrinsic neutral hydrogen
column densities, N_H<~10^{22}-10^{23} cm^{-2}, indicate that these AGNs are
not significantly absorbed. A joint fit performed on our eight radio-quiet
sources, with a total of ~7000 photons, constrains the mean photon index of z>4
radio-quiet AGNs to Gamma=1.97^{+0.06}_{-0.04}, with no detectable intrinsic
dispersion from source to source. We also obtain a strong constraint on the
mean intrinsic column density, N_H<~3x10^{21} cm^{-2}, showing that optically
selected radio-quiet AGNs at z>4 are, on average, not more absorbed than their
lower-redshift counterparts. All this suggests that the X-ray production
mechanism and the central environment in radio-quiet AGNs have not
significantly evolved over cosmic time. The mean equivalent width of a putative
neutral narrow Fe Ka line is constrained to be <~190 eV, and similarly we place
constraints on the mean Compton reflection component (R<~1.2). None of the AGNs
varied on short (~1 hr) timescales, but on longer timescales (months-to-years)
strong variability is observed in four of the sources. In particular, the X-ray
flux of the z=5.41 radio-quiet AGN SDSS 0231-0728 dropped by a factor of ~4
over a rest-frame period of 73 d. This is the most extreme X-ray variation
observed in a luminous z>4 radio-quiet AGN.Comment: 10 pages (emulateapj), 5 figures. Accepted by Ap
Helicity-selective phase-matching and quasi-phase matching of circularly polarized high-order harmonics: Towards chiral attosecond pulses
Phase matching of circularly polarized high-order harmonics driven by counter-rotating bi-chromatic lasers was recently predicted theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. In that work, phase matching was analyzed by assuming that the total energy, spin angular momentum and linear momentum of the photons participating in the process are conserved. Here we propose a new perspective on phase matching of circularly polarized high harmonics. We derive an extended phase matching condition by requiring a new propagation matching condition between the classical vectorial bi-chromatic laser pump and harmonics fields. This allows us to include the influence of the laser pulse envelopes on phase matching. We find that the helicity dependent phase matching facilitates generation of high harmonics beams with a high degree of chirality. Indeed, we present an experimentally measured chiral spectrum that can support a train of attosecond pulses with a high degree of circular polarization. Moreover, while the degree of circularity of the most intense pulse approaches unity, all other pulses exhibit reduced circularity. This feature suggests the possibility of using a train of attosecond pulses as an isolated attosecond probe for chiral-sensitive experiments
Close companions to two high-redshift quasars
We report the serendipitous discoveries of companion galaxies to two
high-redshift quasars. SDSS J025617.7+001904 is a z=4.79 quasar included in our
recent survey of faint quasars in the SDSS Stripe 82 region. The initial MMT
slit spectroscopy shows excess Lyman alpha emission extending well beyond the
quasar's light profile. Further imaging and spectroscopy with LBT/MODS1
confirms the presence of a bright galaxy (i_AB = 23.6) located 2arcsec (12 kpc
projected) from the quasar with strong Lyman alpha emission (EW_0 ~ 100Ang) at
the redshift of the quasar, as well as faint continuum. The second quasar,
CFHQS J005006.6+344522 (z=6.25), is included in our recent HST SNAP survey of
z~6 quasars searching for evidence of gravitational lensing. Deep imaging with
ACS and WFC3 confirms an optical dropout ~4.5 mag fainter than the quasar
(Y_AB=25) at a separation of 0.9 arcsec. The red i_775-Y_105 color of the
galaxy and its proximity to the quasar (5 kpc projected if at the quasar
redshift) strongly favor an association with the quasar. Although it is much
fainter than the quasar it is remarkably bright when compared to field galaxies
at this redshift, while showing no evidence for lensing. Both systems may
represent late-stage mergers of two massive galaxies, with the observed light
for one dominated by powerful ongoing star formation and for the other by rapid
black hole growth. Observations of close companions are rare; if major mergers
are primarily responsible for high-redshift quasar fueling then the phase when
progenitor galaxies can be observed as bright companions is relatively short.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A
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