3,489 research outputs found
VLT observations of GRB 990510 and its environment
We present BVRI photometry and spectrophotometry of GRB990510 obtained with
the ESO VLT/Antu telescope during the late decline phase. Between days 8 and 29
after the burst, the afterglow faded from R=24.2 to ~26.4. The spectral flux
distribution and the light curve support the interpretation of the afterglow as
synchrotron emission from a jet. The light curve is consistent with the optical
transient alone but an underlying SN with maximum brightness R>27.4 or a galaxy
with R>27.6 (3-sigma upper limits) cannot be ruled out. To a 5-sigma detection
threshold of R=26.1, no galaxy is found within 6'' of the transient. A very
blue V~24.5 extended object which may qualify as a starburst galaxy is located
12'' SE, but at unknown redshift.Comment: 5 pages A&A Latex, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
SCUBA observations of the host galaxies of four dark gamma-ray bursts
We present the results of a search for submillimetre-luminous host galaxies
of optically dark gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using the Submillimetre Common-User
Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). We made
photometry measurements of the 850-micron flux at the location of four `dark
bursts', which are those with no detected optical afterglow despite rapid deep
searches, and which may therefore be within galaxies containing substantial
amounts of dust. We were unable to detect any individual source significantly.
Our results are consistent with predictions for the host galaxy population as a
whole, rather than for a subset of dusty hosts. This indicates that optically
dark GRBs are not especially associated with very submillimetre-luminous
galaxies and so cannot be used as reliable indicators of dust-enshrouded
massive star-formation activity. Further observations are required to establish
the relationship between the wider GRB host galaxy population and SCUBA
galaxies.Comment: 6 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Dynamically-Coupled Oscillators -- Cooperative Behavior via Dynamical Interaction --
We propose a theoretical framework to study the cooperative behavior of
dynamically coupled oscillators (DCOs) that possess dynamical interactions.
Then, to understand synchronization phenomena in networks of interneurons which
possess inhibitory interactions, we propose a DCO model with dynamics of
interactions that tend to cause 180-degree phase lags. Employing an approach
developed here, we demonstrate that although our model displays synchronization
at high frequencies, it does not exhibit synchronization at low frequencies
because this dynamical interaction does not cause a phase lag sufficiently
large to cancel the effect of the inhibition. We interpret the disappearance of
synchronization in our model with decreasing frequency as describing the
breakdown of synchronization in the interneuron network of the CA1 area below
the critical frequency of 20 Hz.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
The warm, the excited, and the molecular gas: GRB 121024A shining through its star-forming galaxy
We present the first reported case of the simultaneous metallicity
determination of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxy, from both afterglow
absorption lines as well as strong emission-line diagnostics. Using
spectroscopic and imaging observations of the afterglow and host of the
long-duration Swift GRB121024A at z = 2.30, we give one of the most complete
views of a GRB host/environment to date. We observe a strong damped Ly-alpha
absorber (DLA) with a hydrogen column density of log N(HI) = 21.88 +/- 0.10, H2
absorption in the Lyman-Werner bands (molecular fraction of log(f)~ -1.4;
fourth solid detection of molecular hydrogen in a GRB-DLA), the nebular
emission lines H-alpha, H-beta, [O II], [O III] and [N II], as well as metal
absorption lines. We find a GRB host galaxy that is highly star-forming (SFR ~
40 solar masses/yr ), with a dust-corrected metallicity along the line of sight
of [Zn/H]corr = -0.6 +/- 0.2 ([O/H] ~ -0.3 from emission lines), and a
depletion factor [Zn/Fe] = 0.85 +/- 0.04. The molecular gas is separated by 400
km/s (and 1-3 kpc) from the gas that is photoexcited by the GRB. This implies a
fairly massive host, in agreement with the derived stellar mass of
log(M/M_solar ) = 9.9+/- 0.2. We dissect the host galaxy by characterising its
molecular component, the excited gas, and the line-emitting star-forming
regions. The extinction curve for the line of sight is found to be unusually
flat (Rv ~15). We discuss the possibility of an anomalous grain size
distributions. We furthermore discuss the different metallicity determinations
from both absorption and emission lines, which gives consistent results for the
line of sight to GRB 121024A.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, accepted by MNRA
Complete synchronization in coupled Type-I neurons
For a system of type-I neurons bidirectionally coupled through a nonlinear
feedback mechanism, we discuss the issue of noise-induced complete
synchronization (CS). For the inputs to the neurons, we point out that the rate
of change of instantaneous frequency with the instantaneous phase of the
stochastic inputs to each neuron matches exactly with that for the other in the
event of CS of their outputs. Our observation can be exploited in practical
situations to produce completely synchronized outputs in artificial devices.
For excitatory-excitatory synaptic coupling, a functional dependence for the
synchronization error on coupling and noise strengths is obtained. Finally we
report an observation of noise-induced CS between non-identical neurons coupled
bidirectionally through random non-zero couplings in an all-to- all way in a
large neuronal ensemble.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure
Spike-Train Responses of a Pair of Hodgkin-Huxley Neurons with Time-Delayed Couplings
Model calculations have been performed on the spike-train response of a pair
of Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons coupled by recurrent excitatory-excitatory
couplings with time delay. The coupled, excitable HH neurons are assumed to
receive the two kinds of spike-train inputs: the transient input consisting of
impulses for the finite duration (: integer) and the sequential input
with the constant interspike interval (ISI). The distribution of the output ISI
shows a rich of variety depending on the coupling strength and the
time delay. The comparison is made between the dependence of the output ISI for
the transient inputs and that for the sequential inputs.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Phase Diagram for the Winfree Model of Coupled Nonlinear Oscillators
In 1967 Winfree proposed a mean-field model for the spontaneous
synchronization of chorusing crickets, flashing fireflies, circadian pacemaker
cells, or other large populations of biological oscillators. Here we give the
first bifurcation analysis of the model, for a tractable special case. The
system displays rich collective dynamics as a function of the coupling strength
and the spread of natural frequencies. Besides incoherence, frequency locking,
and oscillator death, there exist novel hybrid solutions that combine two or
more of these states. We present the phase diagram and derive several of the
stability boundaries analytically.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
UVES/VLT high resolution absorption spectroscopy of the GRB080330 afterglow: a study of the GRB host galaxy and intervening absorbers
We study the Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) environment and intervening absorbers by
analyzing the optical absorption features produced by gas surrounding the GRB
or along its line of sight. We analyzed high resolution spectroscopic
observations (R=40000, S/N=3 - 6) of the optical afterglow of GRB080330, taken
with UVES at the VLT ~ 1.5 hours after the GRB trigger. The spectrum
illustrates the complexity of the ISM of the GRB host galaxy at z = 1.51 which
has at least four components in the main absorption system. We detect strong
FeII, SiII, and NiII excited absorption lines associated with the bluemost
component only. In addition to the host galaxy, at least two more absorbers
lying along the line of sight to the afterglow have been detected in the
redshift range 0.8 < z < 1.1, each exhibiting MgII absorption. For the bluemost
component in the host galaxy, we derive information about its distance from the
site of the GRB explosion. We do so by assuming that the excited absorption
lines are produced by indirect UV pumping, and compare the data with a time
dependent photo-excitation code. The distance of this component is found to be
280+40-50 pc, which is lower than found for other GRBs (1 - 6 kpc). We identify
two additional MgII absorbers, one of them with a rest frame equivalent width
larger than 1A. The distance between the GRB and the absorber measured in this
paper confirms that the power of the GRB radiation can influence the conditions
of the interstellar medium up to a distance of at least several hundred pc. For
the intervening absorbers, we confirm the trend that on average one strong
intervening system is found per afterglow, as has been noted in studies
exhibiting an excess of strong MgII absorbers along GRB sightlines compared to
quasars.Comment: 8 Pages, 7 ps figures, A&A in pres
Discovery of the peculiar supernova 1998bw in the error box of GRB980425
The discovery of X-ray, optical and radio afterglows of gamma-ray bursts
(GRBs) and the measurements of the distances to some of them have established
that these events come from Gpc distances and are the most powerful photon
emitters known in the Universe, with peak luminosities up to 10^52 erg/s. We
here report the discovery of an optical transient, in the BeppoSAX Wide Field
Camera error box of GRB980425, which occurred within about a day of the
gamma-ray burst. Its optical light curve, spectrum and location in a spiral arm
of the galaxy ESO 184-G82, at a redshift z = 0.0085, show that the transient is
a very luminous type Ic supernova, SN1998bw. The peculiar nature of SN1998bw is
emphasized by its extraordinary radio properties which require that the radio
emitter expand at relativistical speed. Since SN1998bw is very different from
all previously observed afterglows of GRBs, our discovery raises the
possibility that very different mechanisms may give rise to GRBs, which differ
little in their gamma-ray properties.Comment: Under press embargo at Nature (submitted June 10, 1998
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