| 1. |
- Smartt, S. J., et al.
(författare)
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A kilonova as the electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational-wave source
- 2017
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 551:7678, s. 75-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gravitational waves were discovered with the detection of binary black-hole mergers(1) and they should also be detectable from lower-mass neutron-star mergers. These are predicted to eject material rich in heavy radioactive isotopes that can power an electromagnetic signal. This signal is luminous at optical and infrared wavelengths and is called a kilonova(2-5). The gravitational-wave source GW170817 arose from a binary neutron-star merger in the nearby Universe with a relatively well confined sky position and distance estimate(6). Here we report observations and physical modelling of a rapidly fading electromagnetic transient in the galaxy NGC 4993, which is spatially coincident with GW170817 and with a weak, short.-ray burst(7,8). The transient has physical parameters that broadly match the theoretical predictions of blue kilonovae from neutron-star mergers. The emitted electromagnetic radiation can be explained with an ejected mass of 0.04 +/- 0.01 solar masses, with an opacity of less than 0.5 square centimetres per gram, at a velocity of 0.2 +/- 0.1 times light speed. The power source is constrained to have a power-law slope of -1.2 +/- 0.3, consistent with radioactive powering from r-process nuclides. (The r-process is a series of neutron capture reactions that synthesise many of the elements heavier than iron.) We identify line features in the spectra that are consistent with light r-process elements (atomic masses of 90-140). As it fades, the transient rapidly becomes red, and a higher-opacity, lanthanide-rich ejecta component may contribute to the emission. This indicates that neutron-star mergers produce gravitational waves and radioactively powered kilonovae, and are a nucleosynthetic source of the r-process elements.
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| 2. |
- Deckers, M., et al.
(författare)
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Photometric study of the late-time near-infrared plateau in Type Ia supernovae
- 2023
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 521:3, s. 4414-4430
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present an in-depth study of the late-time near-infrared plateau in Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), which occurs between 70 and 500 d. We double the existing sample of SNe Ia observed during the late-time near-infrared plateau with new observations taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini, New Technology Telescope, the 3.5-m Calar Alto Telescope, and the Nordic Optical Telescope. Our sample consists of 24 nearby SNe Ia at redshift < 0.025. We are able to confirm that no plateau exists in the Ks band for most normal SNe Ia. SNe Ia with broader optical light curves at peak tend to have a higher average brightness on the plateau in J and H, most likely due to a shallower decline in the preceding 100 d. SNe Ia that are more luminous at peak also show a steeper decline during the plateau phase in H. We compare our data to state-of-the-art radiative transfer models of nebular SNe Ia in the near-infrared. We find good agreement with the sub-Mch model that has reduced non-thermal ionization rates, but no physical justification for reducing these rates has yet been proposed. An analysis of the spectral evolution during the plateau demonstrates that the ratio of [Fe II] to [Fe III] contribution in a near-infrared filter determines the light curve evolution in said filter. We find that overluminous SNe decline slower during the plateau than expected from the trend seen for normal SNe Ia.
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| 3. |
- Marino, A. F., et al.
(författare)
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Iron and s-elements abundance variations in NGC 5286 : comparison with 'anomalous' globular clusters and Milky Way satellites
- 2015
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 450:1, s. 815-845
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a high-resolution spectroscopic analysis of 62 red giants in the Milky Way globular cluster (GC) NGC 5286. We have determined abundances of representative light proton-capture, a, Fe-peak and neutron-capture element groups, and combined them with photometry of multiple sequences observed along the colour-magnitude diagram. Our principal results are: (i) a broad, bimodal distribution in s-process element abundance ratios, with two main groups, the s-poor and s-rich groups; (ii) substantial star-to-star Fe variations, with the s-rich stars having higher Fe, e.g. <[Fe/H]>(s-rich) - <[Fe/H]>(s-poor) similar to 0.2 dex; and (iii) the presence of O-Na-Al (anti) correlations in both stellar groups. We have defined a new photometric index, c(BVI) = (B - V) -(V - I), to maximize the separation in the colour-magnitude diagram between the two stellar groups with different Fe and s-element content, and this index is not significantly affected by variations in light elements (such as the O-Na anticorrelation). The variations in the overall metallicity present in NGC 5286 add this object to the class of anomalous GCs. Furthermore, the chemical abundance pattern of NGC 5286 resembles that observed in some of the anomalous GCs, e.g. M 22, NGC 1851, M 2, and the more extreme omega Centauri, that also show internal variations in s-elements, and in light elements within stars with different Fe and s-elements content. In view of the common variations in s-elements, we propose the term s-Fe-anomalous GCs to describe this sub-class of objects. The similarities in chemical abundance ratios between these objects strongly suggest similar formation and evolution histories, possibly associated with an origin in tidally disrupted dwarf satellites.
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| 4. |
- Maguire, K., et al.
(författare)
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Using late-time optical and near-infrared spectra to constrain Type Ia supernova explosion properties
- 2018
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 477:3, s. 3567-3582
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The late-time spectra of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are powerful probes of the underlying physics of their explosions. We investigate the late-time optical and near-infrared spectra of seven SNe Ia obtained at the VLT with XShooter at >200 d after explosion. At these epochs, the inner Fe-rich ejecta can be studied. We use a line-fitting analysis to determine the relative line fluxes, velocity shifts, and line widths of prominent features contributing to the spectra ([Fe II], [Ni II], and [Co III]). By focusing on [Fe II] and [Ni II] emission lines in the similar to 7000-7500 angstrom region of the spectrum, we find that the ratio of stable [Ni II] to mainly radioactively produced [Fe II] for most SNe Ia in the sample is consistent with Chandrasekhar-mass delayed-detonation explosion models, as well as sub-Chandrasekhar mass explosions that have metallicity values above solar. The mean measured Ni/Fe abundance of our sample is consistent with the solar value. The more highly ionized [Co III] emission lines are found to be more centrally located in the ejecta and have broader lines than the [Fe II] and [Ni II] features. Our analysis also strengthens previous results that SNe Ia with higher Si II velocities at maximum light preferentially display blueshifted [Fe II] 7155 angstrom lines at late times. Our combined results lead us to speculate that the majority of normal SN Ia explosions produce ejecta distributions that deviate significantly from spherical symmetry.
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| 5. |
- Shingles, L. J., et al.
(författare)
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Monte Carlo radiative transfer for the nebular phase of Type Ia supernovae
- 2020
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 492:2, s. 2029-2043
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We extend the range of validity of the ARTIS 3D radiative transfer code up to hundreds of days after explosion, when Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are in their nebular phase. To achieve this, we add a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium population and ionization solver, a new multifrequency radiation field model, and a new atomic data set with forbidden transitions. We treat collisions with non-thermal leptons resulting from nuclear decays to account for their contribution to excitation, ionization, and heating. We validate our method with a variety of tests including comparing our synthetic nebular spectra for the well-known one-dimensional W7 model with the results of other studies. As an illustrative application of the code, we present synthetic nebular spectra for the detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar white dwarf (WD) in which the possible effects of gravitational settling of Ne-22 prior to explosion have been explored. Specifically, we compare synthetic nebular spectra for a 1.06 M-circle dot WD model obtained when 5.5 Gyr of very efficient settling is assumed to a similar model without settling. We find that this degree of Ne-22 settling has only amodest effect on the resulting nebular spectra due to increased Ni-58 abundance. Due to the high ionization in sub-Chandrasekhar models, the nebular [Ni II] emission remains negligible, while the [Ni III] line strengths are increased and the overall ionization balance is slightly lowered in the model with Ne-22 settling. In common with previous studies of sub-Chandrasekhar models at nebular epochs, these models overproduce [Fe III] emission relative to [Fe II] in comparison to observations of normal SNe Ia.
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