| 1. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)
- 2012
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 34:2, s. 415-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-time-resolution X-ray observations of compact objects provide direct access to strong-field gravity, to the equation of state of ultradense matter and to black hole masses and spins. A 10 m(2)-class instrument in combination with good spectral resolution is required to exploit the relevant diagnostics and answer two of the fundamental questions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision Theme "Matter under extreme conditions", namely: does matter orbiting close to the event horizon follow the predictions of general relativity? What is the equation of state of matter in neutron stars? The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), selected by ESA as one of the four Cosmic Vision M3 candidate missions to undergo an assessment phase, will revolutionise the study of collapsed objects in our galaxy and of the brightest supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. Thanks to an innovative design and the development of large-area monolithic silicon drift detectors, the Large Area Detector (LAD) on board LOFT will achieve an effective area of similar to 12 m(2) (more than an order of magnitude larger than any spaceborne predecessor) in the 2-30 keV range (up to 50 keV in expanded mode), yet still fits a conventional platform and small/medium-class launcher. With this large area and a spectral resolution of < 260 eV, LOFT will yield unprecedented information on strongly curved spacetimes and matter under extreme conditions of pressure and magnetic field strength.
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| 2. |
- Kirsten, Franz, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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A repeating fast radio burst source in a globular cluster
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 602:7898, s. 585-589
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are flashes of unknown physical origin1. The majority of FRBs have been seen only once, although some are known to generate multiple flashes2,3. Many models invoke magnetically powered neutron stars (magnetars) as the source of the emission4,5. Recently, the discovery6 of another repeater (FRB 20200120E) was announced, in the direction of the nearby galaxy M81, with four potential counterparts at other wavelengths6. Here we report observations that localized the FRB to a globular cluster associated with M81, where it is 2 parsecs away from the optical centre of the cluster. Globular clusters host old stellar populations, challenging FRB models that invoke young magnetars formed in a core-collapse supernova. We propose instead that FRB 20200120E originates from a highly magnetized neutron star formed either through the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf, or the merger of compact stars in a binary system7. Compact binaries are efficiently formed inside globular clusters, so a model invoking them could also be responsible for the observed bursts.
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| 3. |
- Nimmo, K., et al.
(författare)
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Burst timescales and luminosities as links between young pulsars and fast radio bursts
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 6:3, s. 393-401
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extragalactic radio flashes of unknown physical origin. Their high luminosities and short durations require extreme energy densities, such as those found in the vicinity of neutron stars and black holes. Studying the burst intensities and polarimetric properties on a wide range of timescales, from milliseconds down to nanoseconds, is key to understanding the emission mechanism. However, high-time-resolution studies of FRBs are limited by their unpredictable activity levels, available instrumentation and temporal broadening in the intervening ionized medium. Here we show that the repeating FRB 20200120E can produce isolated shots of emission as short as about 60 nanoseconds in duration, with brightness temperatures as high as 3 × 1041 K (excluding relativistic effects), comparable with ‘nano-shots’ from the Crab pulsar. Comparing both the range of timescales and luminosities, we find that FRB 20200120E observationally bridges the gap between known Galactic young pulsars and magnetars and the much more distant extragalactic FRBs. This suggests a common magnetically powered emission mechanism spanning many orders of magnitude in timescale and luminosity. In this Article, we probe a relatively unexplored region of the short-duration transient phase space; we highlight that there probably exists a population of ultrafast radio transients at nanosecond to microsecond timescales, which current FRB searches are insensitive to.
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| 4. |
- Nimmo, K., et al.
(författare)
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Milliarcsecond Localization of the Repeating FRB 20201124A
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 927:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) localizations of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) have demonstrated a diversity of local environments: from nearby star-forming regions to globular clusters. Here we report the VLBI localization of FRB 20201124A using an ad hoc array of dishes that also participate in the European VLBI Network (EVN). In our campaign, we detected 18 bursts from FRB 20201124A at two separate epochs. By combining the visibilities from both epochs, we were able to localize FRB 20201124A with a 1 sigma uncertainty of 2.7 mas. We use the relatively large burst sample to investigate astrometric accuracy and find that for greater than or similar to 20 baselines (greater than or similar to 7 dishes) we can robustly reach milliarcsecond precision even using single-burst data sets. Subarcsecond precision is still possible for single bursts, even when only similar to 6 baselines (four dishes) are available. In such cases, the limited uv coverage for individual bursts results in very high side-lobe levels. Thus, in addition to the peak position from the dirty map, we also explore smoothing the structure in the dirty map by fitting Gaussian functions to the fringe pattern in order to constrain individual burst positions, which we find to be more reliable. Our VLBI work places FRB 20201124A 710 +/- 30 mas (1 sigma uncertainty) from the optical center of the host galaxy, consistent with originating from within the recently discovered extended radio structure associated with star formation in the host galaxy. Future high-resolution optical observations, e.g., with Hubble Space Telescope, can determine the proximity of FRB 20201124A's position to nearby knots of star formation.
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| 5. |
- Hewitt, Dante M., et al.
(författare)
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Milliarcsecond localization of the hyperactive repeating FRB 20220912A
- 2024
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 529:2, s. 1814-1826
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the hyperactive repeating FRB 20220912A using the European VLBI Network (EVN) outside of regular observing sessions (EVN-Lite). We detected 150 bursts from FRB 20220912A over two observing epochs in 2022 October. Combining the burst data allows us to localize FRB 20220912A to a precision of a few milliarcseconds, corresponding to a transverse scale of less than 10 pc at the distance of the source. This precise localization shows that FRB 20220912A lies closer to the centre of its host galaxy than previously found, although still significantly offset from the host galaxy's nucleus. On arcsecond scales, FRB 20220912A is coincident with a persistent continuum radio source known from archival observations; however, we find no compact persistent emission on milliarcsecond scales. The 5σ upper limit on the presence of such a compact persistent radio source is 120 μJy, corresponding to a luminosity limit of (D/362.4 Mpc)erg s-1 Hz-1. The persistent radio emission is thus likely to be from star formation in the host galaxy. This is in contrast to some other active FRBs, such as FRB 20121102A and FRB 20190520B.
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