Case Notes

For decades, optical time-domain searches have been tuned to find ordinary supernovae, which rise and fall in brightness over a period of weeks. Recently, supernova searches have improved their cadences and a handful of fast-evolving luminous transients have been identified(1-5). These have peak luminosities comparable to type Ia supernovae, but rise to maximum in less than ten days and fade from view in less than one month. Here we present the most extreme example of this class of object thus far: KSN 2015K, with a rise time of only 2.2 days and a time above half-maximum of only 6.8 days. We show that, unlike type Ia supernovae, the light curve of KSN 2015K was not powered by the decay of radioactive elements. We further argue that it is unlikely that it was powered by continuing energy deposition from a central remnant (a magnetar or black hole). Using numerical radiation hydrodynamical models, we show that the light curve of KSN 2015K is well fitted by a model where the supernova runs into external material presumably expelled in a pre-supernova mass-loss episode. The rapid rise of KSN 2015K therefore probes the venting of photons when a hypersonic shock wave breaks out of a dense extended medium.NASA NNH15ZDA001N NNX17AI64G Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics CE11000102

Glycotope structures and intramolecular affinity factors of plant lectins for Tn/T antigens

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Weak lensing analysis of RXC J2248.7-4431

We present a weak lensing analysis of the cluster of galaxies RXC J2248.7-4431, a massive system at z=0.3475 with prominent strong lensing features covered by the HST/CLASH survey (Postman et al. 2012). Based on UBVRIZ imaging from the WFI camera at the MPG/ESO-2.2m telescope, we measure photometric redshifts and shapes of background galaxies. The cluster is detected as a mass peak at 5sigma significance. Its density can be parametrised as an NFW profile (Navarro et al. 1996) with two free parameters, the mass M_200m=(33.1+9.6-6.8)x10^14Msol and concentration c_200m=2.6+1.5-1.0. We discover a second cluster inside the field of view at a photometric redshift of z~0.6, with an NFW mass of M_200m=(4.0+3.7-2.6)x10^14Msol.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures; matching published versio

Baryon Content of Massive Galaxy Clusters (0.57 < z < 1.33)

We study the stellar, Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) and intracluster medium (ICM) masses of 14 South Pole Telescope (SPT) selected galaxy clusters with median redshift $z=0.9$ and median mass $M_{500}=6\times10^{14}M_{\odot}$. We estimate stellar masses for each cluster and BCG using six photometric bands spanning the range from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared observed with the VLT, HST and Spitzer. The ICM masses are derived from Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations, and the virial masses are derived from the SPT Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect signature. At $z=0.9$ the BCG mass $M_{\star}^{\textrm{BCG}}$ constitutes $0.12\pm0.01$% of the halo mass for a $6\times10^{14}M_{\odot}$ cluster, and this fraction falls as $M_{500}^{-0.58\pm0.07}$. The cluster stellar mass function has a characteristic mass $M_{0}=10^{11.0\pm0.1}M_{\odot}$, and the number of galaxies per unit mass in clusters is larger than in the field by a factor $1.65\pm0.2$. Both results are consistent with measurements on group scales and at lower redshift. We combine our SPT sample with previously published samples at low redshift that we correct to a common initial mass function and for systematic differences in virial masses. We then explore mass and redshift trends in the stellar fraction (fstar), the ICM fraction (fICM), the cold baryon fraction (fc) and the baryon fraction (fb). At a pivot mass of $6\times10^{14}M_{\odot}$ and redshift $z=0.9$, the characteristic values are fstar=$1.1\pm0.1$%, fICM=$9.6\pm0.5$%, fc=$10.4\pm1.2$% and fb=$10.7\pm0.6$%. These fractions all vary with cluster mass at high significance, indicating that higher mass clusters have lower fstar and fc and higher fICM and fb. When accounting for a 15% systematic virial mass uncertainty, there is no statistically significant redshift trend at fixed mass in these baryon fractions. (abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Searching for a Hypervelocity White Dwarf Companion: A Proper Motion Survey of SN 1006

Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) are securely understood to come from the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf as a result of binary interaction, but the nature of that binary interaction and the secondary object is uncertain. Recently, a double white dwarf model known as the dynamically driven double-degenerate double-detonation (D6) model has become a promising explanation for these events. One realization of this scenario predicts that the companion may survive the explosion and reside within the remnant as a fast moving ($V_{peculiar} >1000$ km s$^{-1}$), overluminous ($L > 0.1 L_\odot$) white dwarf. Recently, three objects which appear to have these unusual properties have been discovered in the Gaia survey. We obtained photometric observations of the SN Ia remnant SN 1006 with the Dark Energy Camera over four years to attempt to discover a similar star. We present a deep, high precision astrometric proper motion survey of the interior stellar population of the remnant. We rule out the existence of a high proper motion object consistent with our tested realization of the D6 scenario ($V_{transverse} > 600$ km s$^{-1}$ with $m_r 0.0176 L_\odot$). We conclude that such a star does not exist within the remnant, or is hidden from detection by either strong localized dust or the unlikely possibility of ejection from the binary system near parallel to the line of sight.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure

Detection of Enhancement in Number Densities of Background Galaxies due to Magnification by Massive Galaxy Clusters

We present a detection of the enhancement in the number densities of background galaxies induced from lensing magnification and use it to test the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) inferred masses in a sample of 19 galaxy clusters with median redshift $z\simeq0.42$ selected from the South Pole Telescope SPT-SZ survey. Two background galaxy populations are selected for this study through their photometric colours; they have median redshifts ${z}_{\mathrm{median}}\simeq0.9$ (low-$z$ background) and ${z}_{\mathrm{median}}\simeq1.8$ (high-$z$ background). Stacking these populations, we detect the magnification bias effect at $3.3\sigma$ and $1.3\sigma$ for the low- and high-$z$ backgrounds, respectively. We fit NFW models simultaneously to all observed magnification bias profiles to estimate the multiplicative factor $\eta$ that describes the ratio of the weak lensing mass to the mass inferred from the SZE observable-mass relation. We further quantify systematic uncertainties in $\eta$ resulting from the photometric noise and bias, the cluster galaxy contamination and the estimations of the background properties. The resulting $\eta$ for the combined background populations with $1\sigma$ uncertainties is $0.83\pm0.24\mathrm{(stat)}\pm0.074\mathrm{(sys)}$, indicating good consistency between the lensing and the SZE-inferred masses. We use our best-fit $\eta$ to predict the weak lensing shear profiles and compare these predictions with observations, showing agreement between the magnification and shear mass constraints. This work demonstrates the promise of using the magnification as a complementary method to estimate cluster masses in large surveys.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Constraining Cosmic Evolution of Type Ia Supernovae

We present the first large-scale effort of creating composite spectra of high-redshift type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and comparing them to low-redshift counterparts. Through the ESSENCE project, we have obtained 107 spectra of 88 high-redshift SNe Ia with excellent light-curve information. In addition, we have obtained 397 spectra of low-redshift SNe through a multiple-decade effort at Lick and Keck Observatories, and we have used 45 UV spectra obtained by HST/IUE. The low-redshift spectra act as a control sample when comparing to the ESSENCE spectra. In all instances, the ESSENCE and Lick composite spectra appear very similar. The addition of galaxy light to the Lick composite spectra allows a nearly perfect match of the overall spectral-energy distribution with the ESSENCE composite spectra, indicating that the high-redshift SNe are more contaminated with host-galaxy light than their low-redshift counterparts. This is caused by observing objects at all redshifts with the same slit width, which corresponds to different projected distances. After correcting for the galaxy-light contamination, subtle differences in the spectra remain. We have estimated the systematic errors when using current spectral templates for K-corrections to be ~0.02 mag. The variance in the composite spectra give an estimate of the intrinsic variance in low-redshift maximum-light SN spectra of ~3% in the optical and growing toward the UV. The difference between the maximum light low and high-redshift spectra constrain SN evolution between our samples to be < 10% in the rest-frame optical.Comment: 22 pages, 22 figures, submitted to ApJ. Composite spectra can be downloaded from http://astro.berkeley.edu/~rfoley/composite

The ESSENCE Supernova Survey: Survey Optimization, Observations, and Supernova Photometry

We describe the implementation and optimization of the ESSENCE supernova survey, which we have undertaken to measure the equation of state parameter of the dark energy. We present a method for optimizing the survey exposure times and cadence to maximize our sensitivity to the dark energy equation of state parameter w=P/rho c^2 for a given fixed amount of telescope time. For our survey on the CTIO 4m telescope, measuring the luminosity distances and redshifts for supernovae at modest redshifts (z~0.5 +- 0.2) is optimal for determining w. We describe the data analysis pipeline based on using reliable and robust image subtraction to find supernovae automatically and in near real-time. Since making cosmological inferences with supernovae relies crucially on accurate measurement of their brightnesses, we describe our efforts to establish a thorough calibration of the CTIO 4m natural photometric system. In its first four years, ESSENCE has discovered and spectroscopically confirmed 102 type Ia SNe, at redshifts from 0.10 to 0.78, identified through an impartial, effective methodology for spectroscopic classification and redshift determination. We present the resulting light curves for the all type Ia supernovae found by ESSENCE and used in our measurement of w, presented in Wood-Vasey et al, 2007.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. Companion paper to Wood-Vasey et al (2007). Electronic tables available at http://www.ctio.noao.edu/essence/wresult

Nut production in Bertholletia excelsa across a logged forest mosaic: implications for multiple forest use

Although many examples of multiple-use forest management may be found in tropical smallholder systems, few studies provide empirical support for the integration of selective timber harvesting with non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa, Lecythidaceae) is one of the world’s most economically-important NTFP species extracted almost entirely from natural forests across the Amazon Basin. An obligate out-crosser, Brazil nut flowers are pollinated by large-bodied bees, a process resulting in a hard round fruit that takes up to 14 months to mature. As many smallholders turn to the financial security provided by timber, Brazil nut fruits are increasingly being harvested in logged forests. We tested the influence of tree and stand-level covariates (distance to nearest cut stump and local logging intensity) on total nut production at the individual tree level in five recently logged Brazil nut concessions covering about 4000 ha of forest in Madre de Dios, Peru. Our field team accompanied Brazil nut harvesters during the traditional harvest period (January-April 2012 and January-April 2013) in order to collect data on fruit production. Three hundred and ninety-nine (approximately 80%) of the 499 trees included in this study were at least 100 m from the nearest cut stump, suggesting that concessionaires avoid logging near adult Brazil nut trees. Yet even for those trees on the edge of logging gaps, distance to nearest cut stump and local logging intensity did not have a statistically significant influence on Brazil nut production at the applied logging intensities (typically 1–2 timber trees removed per ha). In one concession where at least 4 trees ha-1 were removed, however, the logging intensity covariate resulted in a marginally significant (0.09) P value, highlighting a potential risk for a drop in nut production at higher intensities. While we do not suggest that logging activities should be completely avoided in Brazil nut rich forests, when a buffer zone cannot be observed, low logging intensities should be implemented. The sustainability of this integrated management system will ultimately depend on a complex series of socioeconomic and ecological interactions. Yet we submit that our study provides an important initial step in understanding the compatibility of timber harvesting with a high value NTFP, potentially allowing for diversification of forest use strategies in Amazonian Perù