209 research outputs found
Towards Locating the Brightest Microlensing Events on the Sky
It is estimated that a star brighter than visual magnitude 17 is undergoing a
detectable gravitational microlensing event, somewhere on the sky, at any given
time. It is assumed that both lenses and sources are normal stars drawn from a
standard Bahcall-Soneira model of our Galaxy. Furthermore, over the time scale
of a year, a star 15th magnitude or brighter should undergo a detectable
gravitational lens amplification. Detecting and studying the microlensing event
rate among the brightest 10 stars could yield a better understanding of
Galactic stellar and dark matter distributions. Diligent tracking of bright
microlensing events with even small telescopes might detect planets orbiting
these stellar lenses.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap
Probing For Machos of Mass - with Gamma-Ray Burst Parallax Spacecraft
Two spacecraft separated by \sim 1\,\au and equipped with gamma-ray burst
(GRB) detectors could detect or rule out a cosmological density of Massive
Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs) in the mass range 10^{-15} M_{\odot}\lsim M
\lsim 10^{-7} M_{\odot} provided that GRBs prove to be cosmological.
Previously devised methods for detecting MACHOs have spanned the mass range
10^{-16} M_{\odot}\lsim M \lsim 10^{7} M_{\odot}, but with a gap of several
orders of magnitude near . For MACHOs and sources both at a
cosmological distance, the Einstein radius is \sim 1\,\au\,(M/10^{-7}
M_\odot)^{1/2}. Hence, if a GRB lies within the Einstein ring of a MACHO of
mass M\lsim 10^{-7}M_\odot as seen by one detector, it will not lie in the
Einstein ring as seen by a second detector \sim 1\,\au away. This implies
that if GRBs are measured to have significantly different fluxes by the two
detectors, this would signal the presence of a MACHO \lsim 10^{-7}M_\odot. By
the same token, if the two detectors measured similar fluxes for several
hundred events a cosmological abundance of such low-mass MACHOs would be ruled
out. The lower limit of sensitivity, M\lsim 10^{-15}M_\odot is set by the
finite size of the source. If low-mass MACHOs are detected, there are tests
which can discriminate among events generated by MACHOs in the three mass
ranges M\lsim 10^{-12}\,M_\odot, 10^{-12}\,M_\odot\lsim M\lsim
10^{-7}\,M_\odot, and M\gsim 10^{-7}\ M_\odot. Further experiments would
then be required to make more accurate mass measurements.Comment: 8 pages, uuencoded postscript, no figure
GRB Spikes Could Resolve Stars
GRBs vary more rapidly than any other known cosmological phenomena. The lower
limits of this variability have not yet been explored. Improvements in
detectors would reveal or limit the actual rate of short GRBs. Were microsecond
"spike" GRBs to exist and be detectable, they would time-resolve stellar mass
objects throughout the universe by their gravitational microlensing effect.
Analyzing the time structure of sufficient numbers of GRB spikes would reveal
or limit , , and/or .Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, in press: ApJ (Letters
An exposition on Friedmann Cosmology with Negative Energy Densities
How would negative energy density affect a classic Friedmann cosmology?
Although never measured and possibly unphysical, certain realizations of
quantum field theories leaves the door open for such a possibility. In this
paper we analyze the evolution of a universe comprising varying amounts of
negative energy forms. Negative energy components have negative normalized
energy densities, . They include negative phantom energy with an
equation of state parameter , negative cosmological constant: ,
negative domain walls: , negative cosmic strings: , negative
mass: , negative radiation: and negative ultralight: .
Assuming that such energy forms generate pressure like perfect fluids, the
attractive or repulsive nature of negative energy components are reviewed. The
Friedmann equation is satisfied only when negative energy forms are coupled to
a greater magnitude of positive energy forms or positive curvature. We show
that the solutions exhibit cyclic evolution with bounces and turnovers.The
future and fate of such universes in terms of curvature, temperature,
acceleration, and energy density are reviewed. The end states are dubbed Big
Crunch, Big Void, or Big Rip and further qualified as "Warped", "Curved", or
"Flat", "Hot" versus "Cold", "Accelerating" versus "Decelerating" versus
"Coasting". A universe that ends by contracting to zero energy density is
termed "Big Poof." Which contracting universes "bounce" in expansion and which
expanding universes "turnover" into contraction are also reviewed.Comment: Abridged version with minor correction
Gravitational Lensing Characteristics of the Transparent Sun
The transparent Sun is modeled as a spherically symmetric and centrally
condensed gravitational lens using recent Standard Solar Model (SSM) data. The
Sun's minimum focal length is computed to a refined accuracy of 23.5 +/- 0.1
AU, just beyond the orbit of Uranus. The Sun creates a single image of a
distant point source visible to observers inside this minimum focal length and
to observers sufficiently removed from the line connecting the source through
the Sun's center. Regions of space are mapped where three images of a distant
point source are created, along with their associated magnifications. Solar
caustics, critical curves, and Einstein rings are computed and discussed.
Extremely high gravitational lens magnifications exist for observers situated
so that an angularly small, unlensed source appears near a three-image caustic.
Types of radiations that might undergo significant solar lens magnifications as
they can traverse the core of the Sun, including neutrinos and gravitational
radiation, are discussed
All-sky Relative Opacity Mapping Using Night Time Panoramic Images
An all-sky cloud monitoring system that generates relative opacity maps over
many of the world's premier astronomical observatories is described.
Photometric measurements of numerous background stars are combined with
simultaneous sky brightness measurements to differentiate thin clouds from sky
glow sources such as air glow and zodiacal light. The system takes a continuous
pipeline of all-sky images, and compares them to canonical images taken on
other nights at the same sidereal time. Data interpolation then yields
transmission maps covering almost the entire sky. An implementation of this
system is currently operating through the Night Sky Live network of CONCAM3s
located at Cerro Pachon (Chile), Mauna Kea (Hawaii), Haleakala (Hawaii), SALT
(South Africa) and the Canary Islands (Northwestern Africa).Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS
Distribution of Spectral Characteristics and the Cosmological Evolution of GRBs
We investigate the cosmological evolution of GRBs, using the total gamma ray
fluence as a measure of the burst strength. This involves an understanding of
the distributions of the spectral parameters of GRBs as well as the total
fluence distribution - both of which are subject to detector selection effects.
We present new non-parametric statistical techniques to account for these
effects, and use these methods to estimate the true distribution of the peak of
the nu F_nu spectrum, E_p, from the raw distribution. The distributions are
obtained from four channel data and therefore are rough estimates. Here, we
emphasize the methods and present qualitative results. Given its spectral
parameters, we then calculate the total fluence for each burst, and compute its
cumulative and differential distributions. We use these distributions to
estimate the cosmological rate evolution of GRBs, for three cosmological
models. Our two main conclusions are the following: 1) Given our estimates of
the spectral parameters, we find that there may exist a significant population
of high E_p bursts that are not detected by BATSE, 2) We find a GRB co-moving
rate density quite different from that of other extragalactic objects; in
particular, it is different from the recently determined star formation rate.Comment: 20 pages, including 10 postscript figures. Submitted to Ap
On Source Density Evolution of Gamma-ray Bursts
Recent optical afterglow observations of gamma-ray bursts indicate a setting
and distance scale that many relate to star-formation regions. In this paper,
we use and a set of artificial trigger thresholds to probe
several potential GRB source density evolutionary scenarios. In particular, we
compare a uniform subset of BATSE 4B data to cosmological scenarios where GRBs
evolve as the comoving density, the star formation rate, the QSO rate, and the
SN Type Ic rate. Standard candle bursts with power-law spectra and a universe
without vacuum energy were assumed. Our results significantly favor a comoving
density model, implying that GRB source density evolution is weaker than
expected in these evolutionary scenarios. GRB density might still follow
star-formation rates given proper concurrent GRB luminosity evolution,
significant beaming, significant error in standard candle assumptions, or were
a significant modification of star formation rate estimates to occur.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap
Test for Time Dilation of Intervals Between Pulse Structures in GRBs
If -ray bursts are at cosmological distances, then not only their
constituent pulses but also the intervals between pulses should be
time-dilated. Unlike time-dilation measures of pulse emission, intervals would
appear to require negligible correction for redshift of narrower temporal
structure from higher energy into the band of observation. However, stretching
of pulse intervals is inherently difficult to measure without incurring a
timescale-dependent bias since, as time profiles are stretched, more structure
can appear near the limit of resolution. This problem is compounded in dimmer
bursts because identification of significant structures becomes more
problematic. We attempt to minimize brightness bias by equalizing
signal-to-noise (s/n) level of all bursts. We analyze wavelet-denoised burst
profiles binned to several resolutions, identifying significant fluctuations
between pulse structures and interjacent valleys. When bursts are ranked by
peak flux, an interval time-dilation signature is evident, but its magnitude
and significance are dependent upon temporal resolution and s/n level.Comment: 5 pages in LATeX, REVTEX style, 2 embedded figures. To appear in
Third Huntsville GRB Workshop Proceeding
Calibration of Tests for Time Dilation in GRB Pulse Structures
Two tests for cosmological time dilation in -ray bursts -- the peak
alignment and auto-correlation statistics -- involve averaging information near
the times of peak intensity. Both tests require width corrections, assuming
cosmological origin for bursts, since narrower temporal structure from higher
energy would be redshifted into the band of observation, and since intervals
between pulse structures are included in the averaging procedures. We analyze
long ( 2 s) BATSE bursts and estimate total width corrections for trial
time-dilation factors (TDF = [1+]/[1+]) by
time-dilating and redshifting bright bursts. Both tests reveal significant
trends of increasing TDF with decreasing peak flux, but neither provides
sufficient discriminatory power to distinguish between actual TDFs in the range
2--3.Comment: 5 pages in LATeX, REVTEX style, 2 embedded figures. To appear in
Third Huntsville GRB Workshop Proceeding
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