| 41. |
- Lara Avila, Samuel, 1983, et al.
(författare)
-
Towards quantum-limited coherent detection of terahertz waves in charge-neutral graphene
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 3:11, s. 983-988
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Spectacular advances in heterodyne astronomy1,2 have been largely due to breakthroughs in detector technology3. To exploit the full capacity of future terahertz (∼300 GHz–5 THz) telescope space missions4, new concepts of terahertz coherent receivers are needed, providing larger bandwidths and imaging capabilities with multipixel focal plane heterodyne arrays5. Here we show that graphene uniformly doped to the Dirac point, with material resistance dominated by quantum localization and thermal relaxation governed by electron diffusion, enables highly sensitive and wideband coherent detection of signals from 90 to 700 GHz and, prospectively, across the entire terahertz range. We measure on proof-of-concept graphene bolometric mixers an electron diffusion-limited gain bandwidth of 8 GHz (corresponding to a Doppler shift of 480 km s−1 at 5 THz) and intrinsic mixer noise temperature of 475 K (which would be equivalent to ~2 hν/kB at ν = 5 THz), limited by the residual thermal background in our setup. An optimized device will result in a mixer noise temperature as low as 36 K, with the gain bandwidth exceeding 20 GHz, and a local oscillator power of <100 pW. In conjunction with the emerging quantum-limited amplifiers at the intermediate frequency6,7, our approach promises quantum-limited sensing in the terahertz domain, potentially surpassing superconducting technologies, particularly for large heterodyne arrays
|
|
| 42. |
- Leloudas, Giorgos, et al.
(författare)
-
An asymmetric electron-scattering photosphere around optical tidal disruption events
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 6:10, s. 1193-1202
-
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.
|
|
| 43. |
- Leloudas, G., et al.
(författare)
-
The superluminous transient ASASSN-15lh as a tidal disruption event from a Kerr black hole
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 1:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When a star passes within the tidal radius of a supermassive black hole, it will be torn apart1. For a star with the mass of the Sun (M-circle dot) and a non-spinning black hole with a mass <10(8)M(circle dot), the tidal radius lies outside the black hole event horizon2 and the disruption results in a luminous flare(3-6). Here we report observations over a period of ten months of a transient, hitherto interpreted(7) as a superluminous supernova(8). Our data show that the transient rebrightened substantially in the ultraviolet and that the spectrum went through three different spectroscopic phases without ever becoming nebular. Our observations are more consistent with a tidal disruption event than a superluminous supernova because of the temperature evolution(6), the presence of highly ionized CNO gas in the line of sight(9) and our improved localization of the transient in the nucleus of a passive galaxy, where the presence of massive stars is highly unlikely(10,11). While the supermassive black hole has a mass >10(8)M(circle dot)(12,13), a star with the same mass as the Sun could be disrupted outside the event horizon if the black hole were spinning rapidly(14). The rapid spin and high black hole mass can explain the high luminosity of this event.
|
|
| 44. |
- Levan, Andrew J., et al.
(författare)
-
A long-duration gamma-ray burst of dynamical origin from the nucleus of an ancient galaxy
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - 2397-3366. ; 7:8, s. 976-985
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The majority of long-duration (>2 s) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) arise from the collapse of massive stars, with a small proportion created from the merger of compact objects. Most of these systems form via standard stellar evolution pathways. However, a fraction of GRBs may result from dynamical interactions in dense environments. These channels could also contribute substantially to the samples of compact object mergers detected as gravitational wave sources. Here we report the case of GRB 191019A, a long GRB (a duration of T90 = 64.4 ± 4.5 s), which we pinpoint close (⪅100 pc projected) to the nucleus of an ancient (>1 Gyr old) host galaxy at z = 0.248. The lack of evidence for star formation and deep limits on any supernova emission disfavour a massive star origin. The most likely route for progenitor formation is via dynamical interactions in the dense nucleus of the host. The progenitor, in this case, could be a compact object merger. These may form in dense nuclear clusters or originate in a gaseous disc around the supermassive black hole. Identifying, to the best of our knowledge, a first example of a dynamically produced GRB demonstrates the role that such bursts may have in probing dense environments and constraining dynamical fractions in gravitational wave populations.
|
|
| 45. |
- Lin, Weili, et al.
(författare)
-
A superluminous supernova lightened by collisions with pulsational pair-instability shells
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - 2397-3366. ; 7:7, s. 779-789
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Superluminous supernovae are among the most energetic stellar explosions in the Universe, but their energy sources remain an open question. Here we present long-term observations of one of the closest examples of the hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae subclass SLSNe-I, supernova SN 2017egm, revealing the most complicated known luminosity evolution of SLSNe-I. Three distinct post-peak bumps were recorded in its light curve collected at about 100–350 days after maximum brightness, challenging current popular power models such as magnetar, fallback accretion, and interaction between ejecta and a circumstellar shell. However, the complex light curve can be well modelled by successive interactions with multiple circumstellar shells with a total mass of about 6.8–7.7 M⊙. In this scenario, large energy deposition from interaction-induced reverse shocks results in ionization of neutral oxygen in the supernova ejecta and hence a much lower nebular-phase line ratio of [O I] λ6,300/([Ca II] + [O II]) λ7,300 (~0.2) compared with that derived for other superluminous and normal stripped-envelope supernovae. The pre-existing multiple shells indicate that the progenitor of SN 2017egm experienced pulsational mass ejections triggered by pair instability within 2 years before explosion, in robust agreement with theoretical predictions for a pre-pulsation helium-core mass of 48–51 M⊙.
|
|
| 46. |
- Lunnan, Ragnhild, et al.
(författare)
-
A UV resonance line echo from a shell around a hydrogen-poor superluminous supernova
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 2:11, s. 887-895
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSN-I) are a class of rare and energetic explosions that have been discovered in untargeted transient surveys in the past decade(1,2). The progenitor stars and the physical mechanism behind their large radiated energies (about 1O(51) erg or 1O(44) J) are both debated, with one class of models primarily requiring a large rotational energy(3,4) and the other requiring very massive progenitors that either convert kinetic energy into radiation through interaction with circumstellar material (CSM)(5-8 )or engender an explosion caused by pair-instability (loss of photon pressure due to particle-antiparticle production)(9,10). Observing the structure of the CSM around SLSN-I offers a powerful test of some scenarios, although direct observations are scarce(11,)(12). Here, we present a series of spectroscopic observations of the SLSN-I iPTF16eh, which reveal both absorption and time- and frequency-variable emission in the Mg n resonance doublet. We show that these observations are naturally explained as a resonance scattering light echo from a circumstellar shell. Modelling the evolution of the emission, we infer a shell radius of 0.1 pc and velocity of 3,300 km s(-1), implying that the shell was ejected three decades before the supernova explosion. These properties match theoretical predictions of shell ejections occurring because of pulsational pair-instability and imply that the progenitor had a helium core mass of about 50-55 M-circle dot, corresponding to an initial mass of about 115 M-circle dot.
|
|
| 47. |
- Lyman, J. D., et al.
(författare)
-
The optical afterglow of the short gamma-ray burst associated with GW170817
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 2:9, s. 751-754
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The binary neutron star merger GW170817 was the first multi-messenger event observed in both gravitational and electromagnetic waves(1,2). The electromagnetic signal began approximately two seconds post-merger with a weak, short burst of gamma rays(3), which was followed over the next hours and days by the ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared emission from a radioactively powered kilonova(4-11). Later, non-thermal rising X-ray and radio emission was observed(12,13). The low luminosity of the gamma rays and the rising non-thermal flux from the source at late times could indicate that we are outside the opening angle of the beamed relativistic jet. Alternatively, the emission could be arising from a cocoon of material formed from the interaction between a jet and the merger ejecta(13-15). Here we present late-time optical detections and deep near-infrared limits on the emission from GW170817 at 110 days post-merger. Our new observations are at odds with expectations of late-time emission from kilonova models, being too bright and blue(16,17). Instead, the emission arises from the interaction between the relativistic ejecta of GW170817 and the interstellar medium. We show that this emission matches the expectations of a Gaussian-structured relativistic jet, which would have launched a high-luminosity, short gamma-ray burst to an aligned observer. However, other jet structure or cocoon models can also match current data-the future evolution of the afterglow will directly distinguish the origin of the emission.
|
|
| 48. |
|
|
| 49. |
- Marigo, Paola, et al.
(författare)
-
Carbon star formation as seen through the non-monotonic initial-final mass relation
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : NATURE RESEARCH. - 2397-3366. ; 4:11, s. 1102-
-
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.
|
|
| 50. |
- Mi, Wujun, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
-
A stacked prism lens concept for next-generation hard X-ray telescopes
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - United Kingdom : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Effective collecting area, angular resolution, field of view and energy response are fundamental attributes of X-ray telescopes. The performance of state-of-the-art telescopes is currently restricted by Wolter optics, especially for hard X-rays. Here we report the development of a stacked prism lens (SPL), which is lightweight and modular and has the potential for a significant improvement in effective area, while retaining high angular resolution. The proposed optics are built by stacking disks embedded with prismatic rings, created with photoresist by focused ultraviolet lithography. We demonstrate the SPL approach using a prototype lens that was manufactured and characterized at a synchrotron radiation facility. The design of a potential satellite-borne X-ray telescope is outlined and the performance is compared with contemporary missions.
|
|
