1,698 research outputs found
Discovery of Early Optical Emission from GRB 021211
We report our discovery and early time optical, near-infrared, and radio
wavelength follow-up observations of the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB
021211. Our optical observations, beginning 21 min after the burst trigger,
demonstrate that the early afterglow of this burst is roughly three magnitudes
fainter than the afterglow of GRB 990123 at similar epochs, and fainter than
almost all known afterglows at an epoch of 1d after the GRB. Our near-infrared
and optical observations indicate that this is not due to extinction. Combining
our observations with data reported by other groups, we identify the signature
of a reverse shock. This reverse shock is not detected to a 3-sigma limit of
110 uJy in an 8.46-GHz VLA observation at t=0.10d, implying either that the
Lorentz factor of the burst gamma <~ 200, or that synchrotron self-absorption
effects dominate the radio emission at this time. Our early optical
observations, near the peak of the optical afterglow (forward shock), allow us
to characterize the afterglow in detail. Comparing our model to flux upper
limits from the VLA at later times, t >~ 1 week, we find that the late-time
radio flux is suppressed by a factor of two relative to the >~ 80 uJy peak flux
at optical wavelengths. This suppression is not likely to be due to synchrotron
self-absorption or an early jet break, and we suggest instead that the burst
may have suffered substantial radiative corrections.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, ApJL accepted; edits for lengt
Cosmological Uses of Gamma-Ray Bursts
Studies of the cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their host galaxies are
starting to provide interesting or even unique new insights in observational
cosmology. GRBs represent a new way of identifying a population of star-forming
galaxies at cosmological redshifts. GRB hosts are broadly similar to the normal
field galaxy populations at comparable redshifts and magnitudes, and indicate
at most a mild luminosity evolution out to z ~ 1.5 - 2. GRB optical afterglows
seen in absorption provide a powerful new probe of the ISM in dense, central
regions of their host galaxies, complementary to the traditional studies using
QSO absorbers. Some GRB hosts are heavily obscured, and provide a new way to
select a population of cosmological sub-mm sources, and a novel constraint on
the total obscured fraction of star formation over the history of the universe.
Finally, detection of GRB afterglows at z > 6 may provide a unique way to probe
the primordial star formation, massive IMF, early IGM, and chemical enrichment
at the end of the cosmic reionization era.Comment: An invited review, to appear in: "Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow
Era: 3rd Workshop", ASPCS, in press; LaTeX file, 8 pages, 1 eps figure, style
files include
A Search for Near-Infrared Emission From the Halo of NGC 5907 at Radii of 10 kpc to 30 kpc
We present a search for near-infrared (3.5-5 micron) emission from baryonic
dark matter in the form of low-mass stars and/or brown dwarfs in the halo of
the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5907. The observations were made using a
256 by 256 InSb array with a pixel scale of 17" at the focus of a
liquid-helium-cooled telescope carried above the Earth's atmosphere by a
sounding rocket. In contrast to previous experiments which have detected a halo
around NGC 5907 in the V, R, I, J and K bands at galactic radii 6kpc < r <
10kpc, our search finds no evidence for emission from a halo at 10kpc < r <
30kpc. Assuming a halo mass density scaling as r^(-2), which is consistent with
the flat rotation curves that are observed out to radii of 32kpc, the lower
limit of the mass-to-light ratio at 3.5-5 microns for the halo of NGC 5907 is
250 (2 sigma) in solar units. This is comparable to the lower limit we have
found previously for NGC 4565 (Uemizu et al. 1998). Based on recent models, our
non-detection implies that hydrogen- burning stars contribute < 15% of the mass
of the dark halo of NGC 5907. Our results are consistent with the previous
detection of extended emission at r < 10kpc if the latter is caused by a
stellar population that has been ejected from the disk because of tidal
interactions. We conclude that the dark halo of NGC 5907, which is evident from
rotation curves that extend far beyond 10kpc, is not comprised of hydrogen
burning stars.Comment: 12 pages, LateX, plus 6 ps figures. Accepted by ApJ. minor changes,
added references, corrected typo
Hubble Space Telescope and Ground-Based Optical and Ultraviolet Observations of GRB010222
We report on Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 optical and STIS near ultraviolet
MAMA observations, and ground-based optical observations of GRB010222, spanning
15 hrs to 71 days. The observations are well-described by a relativistic
blast-wave model with a hard electron-energy distribution, p = 1.57, and a jet
transition at t_j=0.93 days. These values are slightly larger than previously
found as a result of a correction for the contribution from the host galaxy to
the late-time ground-based observations and the larger temporal baseline
provided by the Hubble Space Telescope observations. The host galaxy is found
to contain a very compact core (size <0.25 arcsec) which coincides with the
position of the optical transient. The STIS near ultraviolet MAMA observations
allow for an investigation of the extinction properties along the line of sight
to GRB010222. We find that the far ultraviolet curvature component (c_4) is
rather large. In combination with the low optical extinction A_V =0.11 mag,
when compared to the Hydrogen column inferred from X-ray observations, we
suggest that this is evidence for dust destruction.Comment: ApJ, in pres
The Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts
Cosmic gamma-ray bursts are one of the great frontiers of astrophysics today.
They are a playground of relativists and observers alike. They may teach us
about the death of stars and the birth of black holes, the physics in extreme
conditions, and help us probe star formation in the distant and obscured
universe. In this review we summarise some of the remarkable progress in this
field over the past few years. While the nature of the GRB progenitors is still
unsettled, it now appears likely that at least some bursts originate in
explosions of very massive stars, or at least occur in or near the regions of
massive star formation. The physics of the burst afterglows is reasonably well
understood, and has been tested and confirmed very well by the observations.
Bursts are found to be beamed, but with a broad range of jet opening angles;
the mean gamma-ray energies after the beaming corrections are ~ 10^51 erg.
Bursts are associated with faint ~ 25 mag) galaxies at cosmological
redshifts, with ~ 1. The host galaxies span a range of luminosities and
morphologies, but appear to be broadly typical for the normal, actively
star-forming galaxy populations at comparable redshifts and magnitudes. Some of
the challenges for the future include: the nature of the short bursts and
possibly other types of bursts and transients; use of GRBs to probe the
obscured star formation in the universe, and possibly as probes of the very
early universe; and their detection as sources of high-energy particles and
gravitational waves.Comment: An invited review, to appear in: Proc. IX Marcel Grossmann Meeting,
eds. V. Gurzadyan, R. Jantzen, and R. Ruffini, Singapore: World Scientific,
in press (2001); Latex file, 33 pages, 22 eps figures, style files include
3D integrated superconducting qubits
As the field of superconducting quantum computing advances from the few-qubit
stage to larger-scale processors, qubit addressability and extensibility will
necessitate the use of 3D integration and packaging. While 3D integration is
well-developed for commercial electronics, relatively little work has been
performed to determine its compatibility with high-coherence solid-state
qubits. Of particular concern, qubit coherence times can be suppressed by the
requisite processing steps and close proximity of another chip. In this work,
we use a flip-chip process to bond a chip with superconducting flux qubits to
another chip containing structures for qubit readout and control. We
demonstrate that high qubit coherence (, s) is
maintained in a flip-chip geometry in the presence of galvanic, capacitive, and
inductive coupling between the chips
Managing the Rotation from Alfalfa to Corn
This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu.This bulletin describes management practices for alfalfa termination and the two subsequent corn crops that will help utilize the benefits of alfalfa.This publication was funded by the Minnesota Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council. The research summarized in this publication was supported by the Minnesota Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council, the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council, the North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center, the Hueg-Harrison fellowship, the University of Minnesota, and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service
Integrated Analysis of Production Potential and Profitability of a Horizontal Well in the Lower Glen Rose Formation, Maverick County, Texas
The U.S. Department of Energy/Morgantown Energy Technology Center (DOE/METC) awarded a contract in 1991 to Prime Energy Corporation (PEC) to demonstrate the benefit of using horizontal wells to recover gas from low permeability formations. The project area was located in the Chittim field of Maverick County, Texas. The Lower Glen Rose Formation in the Chittim field was a promising horizontal well candidate based on the heterogenous nature of the reservoir (suggested by large well-to-well variances in reserves) and the low percentage of economical vertical wells. Since there was substantial evidence of reservoir heterogeneity, it was unknown whether the selected, wellsite would penetrate a reservoir with the desired properties for a horizontal well. Thus, an integrated team was formed to combine geologic analysis, seismic interpretation, reservoir engineering, reservoir simulation, and economic assessment to analyze the production potential and profitability of completing a horizontal well in the Lower Glen Rose formation
The bright optical afterglow of the nearby gamma-ray burst of 29 March 2003
Many past studies of cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been limited
because of the large distance to typical GRBs, resulting in faint afterglows.
There has long been a recognition that a nearby GRB would shed light on the
origin of these mysterious cosmic explosions, as well as the physics of their
fireballs. However, GRBs nearer than z=0.2 are extremely rare, with an
estimated rate of localisation of one every decade. Here, we report the
discovery of bright optical afterglow emission from GRB 030329. Our prompt
dissemination and the brilliance of the afterglow resulted in extensive
followup (more than 65 telescopes) from radio through X-ray bands, as well as
measurement of the redshift, z=0.169. The gamma-ray and afterglow properties of
GRB 030329 are similar to those of cosmological GRBs (after accounting for the
small distance), making this the nearest known cosmological GRB. Observations
have already securely identified the progenitor as a massive star that exploded
as a supernova, and we anticipate futher revelations of the GRB phenomenon from
studies of this source.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. Original tex
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