Correcting for lensing bias in the Hubble diagram

Gravitational lensing will cause a dispersion in the Hubble diagram for high redshift sources. This effect will introduce a bias in the cosmological parameter determination using the distance-redshift relation for Type Ia supernovae. In this note we show how one can diagnose and correct for this bias when doing precision cosmology with supernovae.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Testing for redshift evolution of Type Ia supernovae using the strongly lensed PS1-10afx at z=1.4z=1.4

The light from distant supernovae (SNe) can be magnified through gravitational lensing when a foreground galaxy is located along the line of sight. This line-up allows for detailed studies of SNe at high redshift that otherwise would not be possible. Spectroscopic observations of lensed high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are of particular interest since they can be used to test for evolution of their intrinsic properties. The use of SNe Ia for probing the cosmic expansion history has proven to be an extremely powerful method for measuring cosmological parameters. However, if systematic redshift-dependent properties are found, their usefulness for future surveys could be challenged. We investigate whether the spectroscopic properties of the strongly lensed and very distant SN Ia PS1-10afx at $z=1.4$ deviates from the well-studied populations of normal SNe Ia at nearby or intermediate distance. We created median spectra from nearby and intermediate-redshift spectroscopically normal SNe Ia from the literature at -5 and +1 days from light-curve maximum. We then compared these median spectra to those of PS1-10afx. We do not find signs of spectral evolution in PS1-10afx. The observed deviation between PS1-10afx and the median templates are within what is found for SNe at low- and intermediate-redshift. There is a noticeable broad feature centred at $\rm \lambda\sim 3500$~\AA{}, which is present only to a lesser extent in individual low and intermediate redshift SN Ia spectra. From a comparison with a recently developed explosion model, we find this feature to be dominated by iron peak elements, in particular, singly ionized cobalt and chromium.Comment: accepted for publication in section 4. Extragalactic astronomy of Astronomy and Astrophysic

Utilization of bioethanol generated from papaw peel waste for hand sanitizer production

Hands are the primary mode for the spread of microbes. For infection control, the first-line of defense as well as personal hygiene, are mandatory. Hand sanitizers that contain ethanol as the main constituent are used to kill a broad range of microbes. Demand for petroleum-derived ethanol is increasing with the COVID-19 outbreak and primary suppliers are searching for alternatives to overcome this problem. Objective of this study is to produce bioethanol from ripen papaw peel waste using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and to determine the potential utilization of bioethanol generated from papaw peel waste for a pilot study of which the end aim is hand sanitizer production. The blended ripened papaw (Carica papaya) fruit peel (100g/L) was inoculated with the S. cerevisiae (2g/L) in a fermentation medium that contains 10 g/L yeast extract, 10 g/L KH2PO4, 2 g/L (NH4)2SO4 and 0.5 g/L MgSO4•7H2O and allowed to ferment for 6-36 hours at room temperature. The bioethanol yield obtained after 12 hours, was 0.6% (V/V). The fermentation conditions were optimized by changing one factor at a time, while keeping the other variables constant. Significantly higher bioethanol yield (6.2 times, 3.7% V/V [p<0.05]) was obtained from papaya peels at the optimized conditions of 12 hours of incubation period, 5:1 ratio between air space and fermentation solution, 5g/L of yeast inoculum, 15g/100ml of papaw fruit peel, 1g/100ml of soybean powder as nitrogen source, 60ml/100ml of diluted sulfuric acid at pH 5. When the agar well diffusion assay was performed against pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp, all the bacterial strains showed an inhibition zone, i.e., they were sensitive for the bioethanol extract.            KEYWORDS:  Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bioethanol, Papaw peel waste, Soybea

The cosmological constant and the relaxed universe

We study the role of the cosmological constant (CC) as a component of dark energy (DE). It is argued that the cosmological term is in general unavoidable and it should not be ignored even when dynamical DE sources are considered. From the theoretical point of view quantum zero-point energy and phase transitions suggest a CC of large magnitude in contrast to its tiny observed value. Simply relieving this disaccord with a counterterm requires extreme fine-tuning which is referred to as the old CC problem. To avoid it, we discuss some recent approaches for neutralising a large CC dynamically without adding a fine-tuned counterterm. This can be realised by an effective DE component which relaxes the cosmic expansion by counteracting the effect of the large CC. Alternatively, a CC filter is constructed by modifying gravity to make it insensitive to vacuum energy.Comment: 6 pages, no figures, based on a talk presented at PASCOS 201

Constraints on the origin of the first light from SN2014J

We study the very early lightcurve of supernova 2014J (SN 2014J) using the high-cadence broad-band imaging data obtained by the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT), which fortuitously observed M 82 around the time of the explosion, starting more than two months prior to detection, with up to 20 observations per night. These observations are complemented by observations in two narrow-band filters used in an H$\alpha$ survey of nearby galaxies by the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) that also captured the first days of the brightening of the \sn. The evolution of the lightcurves is consistent with the expected signal from the cooling of shock heated material of large scale dimensions, \gsim 1 R_{\odot}. This could be due to heated material of the progenitor, a companion star or pre-existing circumstellar environment, e.g., in the form of an accretion disk. Structure seen in the lightcurves during the first days after explosion could also originate from radioactive material in the outer parts of an exploding white dwarf, as suggested from the early detection of gamma-rays. The model degeneracy translates into a systematic uncertainty of $\pm 0.3$ days on the estimate of the first light from SN 2014J.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. Companion paper by Siverd et al, arXiv:1411.415

Probing gas and dust in the tidal tail of NGC 5221 with the type Ia supernova iPTF16abc

Context. Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) can be used to address numerous questions in astrophysics and cosmology. Due to their well known spectral and photometric properties, SNe Ia are well suited to study gas and dust along the lines-of-sight to the explosions. For example, narrow Na I D and Ca II H&K absorption lines can be studied easily, because of the well-defined spectral continuum of SNe Ia around these features. Aims. We study the gas and dust along the line-of-sight to iPTF16abc, which occurred in an unusual location, in a tidal arm, 80 kpc from centre of the galaxy NGC 5221. Methods. Using a time-series of high-resolution spectra, we examine narrow Na I D and Ca II H&K absorption features for variations in time, which would be indicative for circumstellar (CS) matter. Furthermore, we take advantage of the well known photometric properties of SNe Ia to determine reddening due to dust along the line-of-sight. Results. From the lack of variations in Na I D and Ca II H&K, we determine that none of the detected absorption features originate from the CS medium of iPTF16abc. While the Na I D and Ca II H&K absorption is found to be optically thick, a negligible amount of reddening points to a small column of interstellar dust. Conclusions. We find that the gas along the line-of-sight to iPTF16abc is typical of what might be found in the interstellar medium (ISM) within a galaxy. It suggests that we are observing gas that has been tidally stripped during an interaction of NGC 5221 with one of its neighbouring galaxies in the past $\sim10^9$ years. In the future, the gas clouds could become the locations of star formation. On a longer time scale, the clouds might diffuse, enriching the circum-galactic medium (CGM) with metals. The gas profile along the line-of-sight should be useful for future studies of the dynamics of the galaxy group containing NGC 5221.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Suitability Analysis Between Expectations and Reality of Employee From Organizational Aspect at Bulu Lor Public Health Center in Semarang

Background; At the health center Bulu Lor Semarang was obtained employees dissatisfaction to leadership, compensation, work environment, promotion opportunities, and supervision. The purpose of this study was to determine the fit between the expectations and reality of employee's job satisfaction in the organizational aspects of the health center Bulu Lor Semarang. Method; This research is an observational method and cross sectional survey. The research aspects were leadership, compensation, work environment, promotion opportunities, and supervision. The sample was civil servant who works in the health center of Bulu Lor Semarang totaling 17 people. The instrument in this study was using questionnaire that given twice, the first are expectations and the second are reality. Analysis of the research data was using Importance- Performance Analysis by Cartesian Diagram. Result; The results showed the level of suitability between expectation and reality employees are leadership 89.95%, compensation 82.82%, work environment 76,47%, promotion opportunities 86.59%, and supervision 84.50%. Summary of Cartesian diagram analysis shows that work environment needs to be fixed and there are aspects to maintain; compensation and leadership. Conclusions; It can be concluded that characteristics of the respondents in the health center of Semarang Bulu Lor percentage are, 58.8% Early Adult (26-35 years), 82.4% female, 82.4% are highly educated (D3, D4, S1), 76.5% period the new work is less than 10 years, and each as much as 17.6% holding positions as doctors, Sanitarian, Nurse, Administrative staff, The level of suitability between expectation and reality employees are leadership 89.95%, compensation 82.82%, work environment 76,47%, promotion opportunities 86.59%, and supervision 84.50%. Summary of Cartesian diagram analysis shows that work environment needs to be fixed and aspects to maintain are compensation and leadershi

Type Ia supernova Hubble diagram with near-infrared and optical observations

We main goal of this paper is to test whether the NIR peak magnitudes of SNe Ia could be accurately estimated with only a single observation obtained close to maximum light, provided the time of B band maximum and the optical stretch parameter are known. We obtained multi-epoch UBVRI and single-epoch J and H photometric observations of 16 SNe Ia in the redshift range z=0.037-0.183, doubling the leverage of the current SN Ia NIR Hubble diagram and the number of SNe beyond redshift 0.04. This sample was analyzed together with 102 NIR and 458 optical light curves (LCs) of normal SNe Ia from the literature. The analysis of 45 well-sampled NIR LCs shows that a single template accurately describes them if its time axis is stretched with the optical stretch parameter. This allows us to estimate the NIR peak magnitudes even with one observation obtained within 10 days from B-band maximum. We find that the NIR Hubble residuals show weak correlation with DM_15 and E(B-V), and for the first time we report a possible dependence on the J_max-H_max color. The intrinsic NIR luminosity scatter of SNe Ia is estimated to be around 0.10 mag, which is smaller than what can be derived for a similarly heterogeneous sample at optical wavelengths. In conclusion, we find that SNe Ia are at least as good standard candles in the NIR as in the optical. We showed that it is feasible to extended the NIR SN Ia Hubble diagram to z=0.2 with very modest sampling of the NIR LCs, if complemented by well-sampled optical LCs. Our results suggest that the most efficient way to extend the NIR Hubble diagram to high redshift would be to obtain a single observation close to the NIR maximum. (abridged)Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures, accepted by A&

Diversity in extinction laws of Type Ia supernovae measured between 0.2 and 2 μm

We present ultraviolet (UV) observations of six nearby Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, three of which were also observed in the near-IR (NIR) with Wide-Field Camera 3. UV observations with the Swift satellite, as well as ground-based optical and NIR data provide complementary information. The combined data set covers the wavelength range 0.2–2 μm. By also including archival data of SN 2014J, we analyse a sample spanning observed colour excesses up to E(B − V) = 1.4 mag. We study the wavelength-dependent extinction of each individual SN and find a diversity of reddening laws when characterized by the total-to-selective extinction R_V. In particular, we note that for the two SNe with E(B − V) ≳ 1 mag, for which the colour excess is dominated by dust extinction, we find R_V = 1.4 ± 0.1 and RV = 2.8 ± 0.1. Adding UV photometry reduces the uncertainty of fitted R_V by ∼50 per cent allowing us to also measure R_V of individual low-extinction objects which point to a similar diversity, currently not accounted for in the analyses when SNe Ia are used for studying the expansion history of the Universe