| 1. |
- Zamora, Juan Carlos, et al.
(författare)
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Considerations and consequences of allowing DNA sequence data as types of fungal taxa
- 2018
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Ingår i: IMA Fungus. - : INT MYCOLOGICAL ASSOC. - 2210-6340 .- 2210-6359. ; 9:1, s. 167-185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), allowing DNA sequences alone (of any region and extent) to serve as types of taxon names for voucherless fungi (mainly putative taxa from environmental DNA sequences), have been submitted to be voted on at the 11th International Mycological Congress (Puerto Rico, July 2018). We consider various genetic processes affecting the distribution of alleles among taxa and find that alleles may not consistently and uniquely represent the species within which they are contained. Should the proposals be accepted, the meaning of nomenclatural types would change in a fundamental way from physical objects as sources of data to the data themselves. Such changes are conducive to irreproducible science, the potential typification on artefactual data, and massive creation of names with low information content, ultimately causing nomenclatural instability and unnecessary work for future researchers that would stall future explorations of fungal diversity. We conclude that the acceptance of DNA sequences alone as types of names of taxa, under the terms used in the current proposals, is unnecessary and would not solve the problem of naming putative taxa known only from DNA sequences in a scientifically defensible way. As an alternative, we highlight the use of formulas for naming putative taxa (candidate taxa) that do not require any modification of the ICN.
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| 2. |
- Ascenzi, Stefano, et al.
(författare)
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A luminosity distribution for kilonovae based on short gamma-ray burst afterglows
- 2019
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 486:1, s. 672-690
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The combined detection of a gravitational-wave signal, kilonova, and short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) from GW170817 marked a scientific breakthrough in the field of multimessenger astronomy. But even before GW170817, there have been a number of sGRBs with possible associated kilonova detections. In this work, we re-examine these ` historical' sGRB afterglows with a combination of state-of-the-art afterglow and kilonova models. This allows us to include optical/near-infrared synchrotron emission produced by the sGRB as well as ultraviolet/optical/near-infrared emission powered by the radioactive decay of r-process elements (i.e. the kilonova). Fitting the light curves, we derive the velocity and the mass distribution as well as the composition of the ejected material. The posteriors on kilonova parameters obtained from the fit were turned into distributions for the peak magnitude of the kilonova emission in different bands and the time at which this peak occurs. From the sGRB with an associated kilonova, we found that the peak magnitude in H bands falls in the range [-16.2, -13.1] (95 per cent of confidence) and occurs within 0.8-3.6 d after the sGRB prompt emission. In g band instead we obtain a peak magnitude in range [-16.8, -12.3] occurring within the first 18 h after the sGRB prompt. From the luminosity distributions of GW170817/AT2017gfo, kilonova candidates GRB130603B, GRB050709, and GRB060614 (with the possible inclusion of GRB150101B, GRB050724A, GRB061201, GRB080905A, GRB150424A, and GRB160821B) and the upper limits from all the other sGRBs not associated with any kilonova detection we obtain for the first time a kilonova luminosity distribution in different bands.
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| 3. |
- Fryer, Chris L., et al.
(författare)
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THE FATE OF THE COMPACT REMNANT IN NEUTRON STAR MERGERS
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 812:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neutron star (binary neutron star and neutron star-black hole) mergers are believed to produce short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). They are also believed to be the dominant source of gravitational waves to be detected by the advanced LIGO and advanced VIRGO and the dominant source of the heavy r-process elements in the universe. Whether or not these mergers produce short-duration GRBs depends sensitively on the fate of the core of the remnant (whether, and how quickly, it forms a black hole). In this paper, we combine the results of Newtonian merger calculations and equation of state studies to determine the fate of the cores of neutron star mergers. Using population studies, we can determine the distribution of these fates to compare to observations. We find that black hole cores form quickly only for equations of state that predict maximum non-rotating neutron star masses below 2.3-2.4 solar masses. If quick black hole formation is essential in producing GRBs, LIGO/Virgo observed rates compared to GRB rates could be used to constrain the equation of state for dense nuclear matter.
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| 4. |
- Leloudas, Giorgos, et al.
(författare)
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An asymmetric electron-scattering photosphere around optical tidal disruption events
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 6:10, s. 1193-1202
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A star crossing the tidal radius of a supermassive black hole will be spectacularly ripped apart with an accompanying burst of radiation. A few tens of such tidal disruption events have now been identified in optical wavelengths, but the exact origin of the strong optical emission remains inconclusive. Here we report polarimetric observations of three tidal disruption events. The continuum polarization appears independent of wavelength, while emission lines are partially depolarized. These signatures are consistent with photons being scattered and polarized in an envelope of free electrons. An almost axisymmetric photosphere viewed from different angles is in broad agreement with the data, but there is also evidence for deviations from axial symmetry before the peak of the flare and significant time evolution at early times, compatible with the rapid formation of an accretion disk. By combining a super-Eddington accretion model with a radiative transfer code, we simulate the polarization degree as a function of disk mass and viewing angle and we show that the predicted levels are compatible with the observations for extended reprocessing envelopes of similar to 1,000 gravitational radii. Spectropolarimetry therefore constitutes a new observational test for tidal disruption event models, and opens an important new line of exploration in the study of tidal disruption events.
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| 5. |
- MacLeod, Morgan, et al.
(författare)
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OPTICAL THERMONUCLEAR TRANSIENTS FROM TIDAL COMPRESSION OF WHITE DWARFS AS TRACERS OF THE LOW END OF THE MASSIVE BLACK HOLE MASS FUNCTION
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 819:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we model the observable signatures of tidal disruptions of white dwarf (WD) stars using massive black holes (MBHs) of moderate mass, approximate to 10(3)-10(5) M-circle dot. When the WD passes deep enough within the MBH's tidal field, these signatures include thermonuclear transients from burning during maximum compression. We combine a hydrodynamic simulation that includes nuclear burning of the disruption of a 0.6 M-circle dot C/O WD with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculation to synthesize the properties of a representative transient. The transient's emission emerges in the optical, with light. curves and spectra reminiscent of Type I supernovae. The properties are strongly viewing. angle dependent, and key spectral signatures are approximate to 10,000 km s(-1) doppler shifts, due to the orbital motion of the unbound ejecta. Disruptions of He WDs likely produce large quantities of intermediate-mass elements, offering a possible production mechanism for Ca-rich transients. Accompanying multi-wavelength transients are fueled by accretion and arise from the nascent accretion disk and relativistic jet. If MBHs of moderate mass exist with number densities similar to those of supermassive BHs, both high-energy wide-field monitors and upcoming optical surveys should detect tens to hundreds of WD tidal disruptions per year. The current best strategy for their detection may therefore be deep optical follow-up of high-energy transients of unusually long duration. The detection rate or the nondetection of these transients by current and upcoming surveys can thus be used to place meaningful constraints on the extrapolation of the MBH mass function to moderate masses.
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| 6. |
- Marigo, Paola, et al.
(författare)
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Carbon star formation as seen through the non-monotonic initial-final mass relation
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : NATURE RESEARCH. - 2397-3366. ; 4:11, s. 1102-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The initial-final mass relation (IFMR) links the birth mass of a star to the mass of the compact remnant left at its death. While the relevance of the IFMR across astrophysics is universally acknowledged, not all of its fine details have yet been resolved. A new analysis of a few carbon-oxygen white dwarfs in old open clusters of the Milky Way led us to identify a kink in the IFMR, located over a range of initial masses, 1.65 less than or similar to M-i/M-circle dot less than or similar to 2.10. The kink's peak in white dwarf mass of about 0.70-0.75 M(circle dot)is produced by stars withM(i) approximate to 1.8-1.9 M-circle dot, corresponding to ages of about 1.8-1.7 Gyr. Interestingly, this peak coincides with the initial mass limit between low-mass stars that develop a degenerate helium core after central hydrogen exhaustion, and intermediate-mass stars that avoid electron degeneracy. We interpret the IFMR kink as the signature of carbon star formation in the Milky Way. This finding is critical to constraining the evolution and chemical enrichment of low-mass stars, and their impact on the spectrophotometric properties of galaxies. An analysis of the relation between a star's initial mass and its final mass (as a white dwarf) reveals a kink in the initial mass range 1.65-2.10 M-circle dot. This kink appears to correspond to the minimum mass required for carbon star formation in the Milky Way at solar metallicity.
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| 7. |
- Murguia-Berthier, Ariadna, et al.
(författare)
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The Fate of the Merger Remnant in GW170817 and Its Imprint on the Jet Structure
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 908:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first neutron star binary merger detected in gravitational waves, GW170817, and the subsequent detection of its emission across the electromagnetic spectrum showed that these systems are viable progenitors of short γ-ray bursts (sGRB). The afterglow signal of GW170817 has been found to be consistent with a structured GRB jet seen off-axis, requiring significant amounts of relativistic material at large angles. This trait can be attributed to the interaction of the relativistic jet with the external wind medium. Here we perform numerical simulations of relativistic jets interacting with realistic wind environments in order to explore how the properties of the wind and central engine affect the structure of successful jets. We find that the angular energy distribution of the jet depends primarily on the ratio between the lifetime of the jet and the time it takes the merger remnant to collapse. We make use of these simulations to constrain the time it took for the merger remnant in GW170817 to collapse into a black hole based on the angular structure of the jet as inferred from afterglow observations. We conclude that the lifetime of the merger remnant in GW170817 was ≈1–1.7 s, which, after collapse, triggered the formation of the jet.
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| 8. |
- Murguia-Berthier, Ariadna, et al.
(författare)
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The Properties of Short Gamma-Ray Burst Jets Triggered by Neutron Star Mergers
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 835:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The most popular model for short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) involves the coalescence of binary neutron stars. Because the progenitor is actually hidden from view, we must consider under which circumstances such merging systems are capable of producing a successful sGRB. Soon after coalescence, winds are launched from the merger remnant. In this paper, we use realistic wind profiles derived from global merger simulations in order to investigate the interaction of sGRB jets with these winds using numerical simulations. We analyze the conditions for which these axisymmetric winds permit relativistic jets to break out and produce an sGRB. We find that jets with luminosities comparable to those observed in sGRBs are only successful when their half-opening angles are below approximate to 20 degrees. This jet collimation mechanism leads to a simple physical interpretation of the luminosities and opening angles inferred for sGRBs. If wide, low-luminosity jets are observed, they might be indicative of a different progenitor avenue such as the merger of a neutron star with a black hole. We also use the observed durations of sGRB to place constraints on the lifetime of the wind phase, which is determined by the time it takes the jet to break out. In all cases we find that the derived limits argue against completely stable remnants for binary neutron star mergers that produce sGRBs.
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| 9. |
- Perley, Daniel A., et al.
(författare)
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The fast, luminous ultraviolet transient AT2018cow : extreme supernova, or disruption of a star by an intermediate-mass black hole?
- 2019
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 484:1, s. 1031-1049
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wide-field optical surveys have begun to uncover large samples of fast (t(rise) less than or similar to 5 d), luminous (M-peak < 18), blue transients. While commonly attributed to the breakout of a supernova shock into a dense wind, the great distances to the transients of this class found so far have hampered detailed investigation of their properties. We present photometry and spectroscopy from a comprehensive worldwide campaign to observe AT 2018cow (ATLAS 18qqn), the first fast-luminous optical transient to be found in real time at low redshift. Our first spectra (<2 days after discovery) are entirely featureless. A very broad absorption feature suggestive of near-relativistic velocities develops between 3 and 8 days, then disappears. Broad emission features of H and He develop after >10 days. The spectrum remains extremely hot throughout its evolution, and the photospheric radius contracts with time (receding below R < 10 (14) cm after 1 month). This behaviour does not match that of any known supernova, although a relativistic jet within a fallback supernova could explain some of the observed features. Alternatively, the transient could originate from the disruption of a star by an intermediate-mass black hole, although this would require long-lasting emission of highly super-Eddington thermal radiation. In either case, AT 2018cow suggests that the population of fast luminous transients represents a new class of astrophysical event. Intensive follow-up of this event in its late phases, and of any future events found at comparable distance, will be essential to better constrain their origins.
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