Atypical Thermonuclear Supernovae from Tidally Crushed White Dwarfs

Suggestive evidence has accumulated that intermediate mass black holes (IMBH) exist in some globular clusters. As stars diffuse in the cluster, some will inevitable wander sufficiently close to the hole that they suffer tidal disruption. An attractive feature of the IMBH hypothesis is its potential to disrupt not only solar-type stars but also compact white dwarf stars. Attention is given to the fate of white dwarfs that approach the hole close enough to be disrupted and compressed to such extent that explosive nuclear burning may be triggered. Precise modeling of the dynamics of the encounter coupled with a nuclear network allow for a realistic determination of the explosive energy release, and it is argued that ignition is a natural outcome for white dwarfs of all varieties passing well within the tidal radius. Although event rates are estimated to be significantly less than the rate of normal Type Ia supernovae, such encounters may be frequent enough in globular clusters harboring an IMBH to warrant a search for this new class of supernova.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, ApJ, accepte

Completely dark galaxies: their existence, properties, and strategies for finding them

There are a number of theoretical and observational hints that large numbers of low-mass galaxies composed entirely of dark matter exist in the field. The theoretical considerations follow from the prediction of cold dark matter theory that there exist many low-mass galaxies for every massive one. The observational considerations follow from the observed paucity of these low-mass galaxies in the field but not in dense clusters of galaxies; this suggests that the lack of small galaxies in the field is due to the inhibition of star formation in the galaxies as opposed to the fact that their small dark matter halos do not exist. In this work we outline the likely properties of low-mass dark galaxies, and describe observational strategies for finding them, and where in the sky to search. The results are presented as a function of the global properties of dark matter, in particular the presence or absence of a substantial baryonic dark matter component. If the dark matter is purely cold and has a Navarro, Frenk and White density profile, directly detecting dark galaxies will only be feasible with present technology if the galaxy has a maximum velocity dispersion in excess of 70 km/s, in which case the dark galaxies could strongly lens background objects. This is much higher than the maximum velocity dispersions in most dwarf galaxies. If the dark matter in galaxy halos has a baryonic component close to the cosmic ratio, the possibility of directly detecting dark galaxies is much more realistic; the optimal method of detection will depend on the nature of the dark matter. A number of more indirect methods are also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, MNRAS in pres

Afterglow Observations Shed New Light on the Nature of X-ray Flashes

X-ray flashes (XRFs) and X-ray rich gamma-ray bursts (XRGRBs) share many observational characteristics with long duration GRBs, but the reason for which their prompt emission peaks at lower photon energies, $E_p$, is still under debate. Although many different models have been invoked in order to explain the lower $E_p$ values, their implications for the afterglow emission were not considered in most cases, mainly because observations of XRF afterglows have become available only recently. Here we examine the predictions of the various XRF models for the afterglow emission, and test them against the observations of XRF 030723 and XRGRB 041006, the events with the best monitored afterglow light curves in their respective class. We show that most existing XRF models are hard to reconcile with the observed afterglow light curves, which are very flat at early times. Such light curves are, however, naturally produced by a roughly uniform jet with relatively sharp edges that is viewed off-axis (i.e. from outside of the jet aperture). This type of model self consistently accommodates both the observed prompt emission and the afterglow light curves of XRGRB 041006 and XRF 030723, implying viewing angles $\theta_{obs}$ from the jet axis of $(\theta_{obs}-\theta_0)\sim 0.15\theta_0$ and $\sim \theta_0$, respectively, where $\theta_0\sim 3$ deg is the jet half-opening angle. This suggests that GRBs, XRGRBs and XRFs are intrinsically similar relativistic jets viewed from different angles, corresponding to $\gamma(\theta_{obs}-\theta_0)$ of less than 1, between 1 and a few, and more than a few, respectively, where $\gamma$ is the Lorentz factor. Future observations with Swift could help test this unification scheme in which GRBs, XRGRBs and XRFs share the same basic physics and differ only by their orientation relative to our line of sight.Comment: some references added, small typos corrected, and the important role of HETE II emphasize

Properties of Gamma-Ray Burst Time Profiles Using Pulse Decomposition Analysis

The time profiles of many gamma-ray bursts consist of distinct pulses, which offers the possibility of characterizing the temporal structure of these bursts using a relatively small set of pulse shape parameters. This pulse decomposition analysis has previously been performed on a small sample of bright long bursts using binned data from BATSE, which comes in several data types, and on a sample of short bursts using the BATSE Time-Tagged Event (TTE) data type. We have developed an interactive pulse-fitting program using the phenomenological pulse model of Norris, et al. and a maximum-likelihood fitting routine. We have used this program to analyze the Time-to-Spill (TTS) data for all bursts observed by BATSE up through trigger number 2000, in all energy channels for which TTS data is available. We present statistical information on the attributes of pulses comprising these bursts, including relations between pulse characteristics in different energy channels and the evolution of pulse characteristics through the course of a burst. We carry out simulations to determine the biases that our procedures may introduce. We find that pulses tend to have shorter rise times than decay times, and tend to be narrower and peak earlier at higher energies. We also find that pulse brightness, pulse width, and pulse hardness ratios do not evolve monotonically within bursts, but that the ratios of pulse rise times to decay times tend to decrease with time within bursts.Comment: 40 pages, 19 figures. Submitted to Astrophysical Journal. PostScript and PDF with un-bitmapped figures available at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/pubs/slacpubs/8000/slac-pub-8364.html . Accompanying paper astro-ph/0002218 available at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/pubs/slacpubs/8000/slac-pub-8365.htm

Temporal Evolution of the Pulse Width in GRBs

Many cosmological models of GRBs envision the energy source to be a cataclysmic stellar event leading to a relativistically expanding fireball. Particles are thought to be accelerated at shocks and produce nonthermal radiation. The highly variable temporal structure observed in most GRBs has significantly constrained models. By using different methods of statistical analysis in the time domain we show that the width of the pulses in GRBs time histories remain remarkably constant throughout the classic GRB phase. Peaks at the end of a burst have the same average duration to within a few percent as the peaks at the start of the burst. For emission sites that lie on a relativistically expanding shell, peaks should grow in duration because of deceleration. We find no deceleration over at least 2/3 of the burst duration. For emission sites that occupy a spread of angles on a shell, the curvature should cause the later peaks to grow in duration. Since we see no such growth, we can limit the total angular size of the shell to be substantially smaller than \Gamma^{-1} where \Gamma is the bulk Lorentz factor. This lack of temporal evolution of the pulse width should be explained by any fireball shock scenario

Events in the life of a cocoon surrounding a light, collapsar jet

According to the collapsar model, gamma-ray bursts are thought to be produced in shocks that occur after the relativistic jet has broken free from the stellar envelope. If the mass density of the collimated outflow is less than that of the stellar envelope, the jet will then be surrounded by a cocoon of relativistic plasma. This material would itself be able to escape along the direction of least resistance, which is likely to be the rotation axis of the stellar progenitor, and accelerate in approximately the same way as an impulsive fireball. We discuss how the properties of the stellar envelope have a decisive effect on the appearance of a cocoon propagating through it. The relativistic material that accumulated in the cocoon would have enough kinetic energy to substantially alter the structure of the relativistic outflow, if not in fact provide much of the observed explosive power. Shock waves within this plasma can produce gamma-ray and X-ray transients, in addition to the standard afterglow emission that would arise from the deceleration shock of the cocoon fireball.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, slightly revised version, accepted for publication in MNRA