| 1. |
- Jacobson-Galán, Wynn V., et al.
(author)
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Late-time Observations of Calcium-rich Transient SN 2019ehk Reveal a Pure Radioactive Decay Power Source
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 908:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present multiband Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the calcium-rich supernova (SN) SN 2019ehk at 276-389 days after explosion. These observations represent the latest B-band to near-IR photometric measurements of a calcium-rich transient to date and allow for the first opportunity to analyze the late-time bolometric evolution of an object in this observational SN class. We find that the late-time bolometric light curve of SN 2019ehk can be described predominantly through the radioactive decay of 56Co for which we derive a mass of M(56Co) = (2.8 ± 0.1) × 10-2 M o. Furthermore, the rate of decline in bolometric luminosity requires the leakage of γ-rays on timescale t γ = 53.9 ± 1.30 days, but we find no statistical evidence for incomplete positron trapping in the SN ejecta. While our observations cannot constrain the exact masses of other radioactive isotopes synthesized in SN 2019ehk, we estimate a mass ratio limit of M(57Co)/M(56Co) ≤ 0.030. This limit is consistent with the explosive nucleosynthesis produced in the merger of low-mass white dwarfs, which is one of the favored progenitor scenarios in early-time studies of SN 2019ehk.
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| 2. |
- Fremling, Christoffer, et al.
(author)
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SNIascore : Deep-learning Classification of Low-resolution Supernova Spectra
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 917:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present SNIascore, a deep-learning-based method for spectroscopic classification of thermonuclear supernovae (SNe Ia) based on very low-resolution (R similar to 100) data. The goal of SNIascore is the fully automated classification of SNe Ia with a very low false-positive rate (FPR) so that human intervention can be greatly reduced in large-scale SN classification efforts, such as that undertaken by the public Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Bright Transient Survey (BTS). We utilize a recurrent neural network architecture with a combination of bidirectional long short-term memory and gated recurrent unit layers. SNIascore achieves a SNIascore simultaneously performs binary classification and predicts the redshifts of secure SNe Ia via regression (with a typical uncertainty of z = 0.01 to z = 0.12). For the magnitude-limited ZTF BTS survey (approximate to 70% SNe Ia), deploying SNIascore reduces the amount of spectra in need of human classification or confirmation by approximate to 60%. Furthermore, SNIascore allows SN Ia classifications to be automatically announced in real time to the public immediately following a finished observation during the night.
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| 3. |
- Lundman, Christoffer, et al.
(author)
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A First-principle Simulation of Blast-wave Emergence at the Photosphere of a Neutron Star Merger
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 907:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the first ab initio simulation of a radiation-mediated shock emerging at the photosphere of a relativistic outflow. The simulation is performed using our code radshock that follows fluid dynamics coupled to time-dependent radiative transfer, calculated with the Monte-Carlo method. We use the code to examine the radiative blast wave emerging from neutron star merger GW170817. It was previously proposed that the merger ejected a dark, relativistically expanding, homologous envelope, and then an explosion inside the envelope produced the observed gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A. Our simulation demonstrates how the shock wave generates radiation as it propagates through the envelope, approaches its photosphere, releases the radiation, and collapses, splitting into two collisionless shocks of a microscopic thickness. We find the light curve and the spectral evolution of the produced gamma-ray burst; both are similar to the observed GRB 170817A.
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| 4. |
- Skuladottir, Asa, et al.
(author)
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Zero-metallicity Hypernova Uncovered by an Ultra-metal-poor Star in the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 915:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although true metal-free "Population III" stars have so far escaped discovery, their nature, and that of their supernovae, is revealed in the chemical products left behind in the next generations of stars. Here we report the detection of an ultra-metal-poor star in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy AS0039. With [Fe/H](LTE) = -4.11, it is the most metal-poor star discovered in any external galaxy thus far. Contrary to the majority of Milky Way stars at this metallicity, AS0039 is clearly not enhanced in carbon, with [C/Fe](LTE) = -0.75, and A(C) = +3.60, making it the lowest detected carbon abundance in any star to date. Furthermore, it lacks alpha-element uniformity, having extremely low [Mg/Ca](NLTE) = -0.60 and [Mg/Ti](NLTE) = -0.86, in stark contrast with the near solar ratios observed in C-normal stars within the Milky Way halo. The unique abundance pattern indicates that AS0039 formed out of material that was predominantly enriched by a similar to 20 M (circle dot) progenitor star with an unusually high explosion energy E = 10 x 10(51) erg. Therefore, star AS0039 represents some of the first observational evidence for zero-metallicity hypernovae and provides a unique opportunity to investigate the diverse nature of Population III stars.
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| 5. |
- Tendulkar, Shriharsh P., et al.
(author)
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The 60 pc Environment of FRB 20180916B
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 908:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fast radio burst FRB 20180916B in its host galaxy SDSS J015800.28+654253.0 at 149 Mpc is by far the closest-known FRB with a robust host galaxy association. The source also exhibits a 16.35 day period in its bursting. Here we present optical and infrared imaging as well as integral field spectroscopy observations of FRB 20180916B with the WFC3 camera on the Hubble Space Telescope and the MEGARA spectrograph on the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias. The 60-90 milliarcsecond (mas) resolution of the Hubble imaging, along with the previous 2.3 mas localization of FRB 20180916B, allows us to probe its environment with a 30-60 pc resolution. We constrain any point-like star formation or H ii region at the location of FRB 20180916B to have an H alpha luminosity L-H alpha less than or similar to 10(37) erg s(-1), and we correspondingly constrain the local star formation rate to be less than or similar to 10(-4) M yr(-1). The constraint on H alpha suggests that possible stellar companions to FRB 20180916B should be of a cooler, less massive spectral type than O6V. FRB 20180916B is 250 pc away (in projected distance) from the brightest pixel of the nearest young stellar clump, which is similar to 380 pc in size (FWHM). With the typical projected velocities of pulsars, magnetars, or neutron stars in binaries (60-750 km s(-1)), FRB 20180916B would need 800 kyr to 7 Myr to traverse the observed distance from its presumed birth site. This timescale is inconsistent with the active ages of magnetars (less than or similar to 10 kyr). Rather, the inferred age and observed separation are compatible with the ages of high-mass X-ray binaries and gamma-ray binaries, and their separations from the nearest OB associations.
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| 6. |
- Zucker, Daniel B., et al.
(author)
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The GALAH Survey : No Chemical Evidence of an Extragalactic Origin for the Nyx Stream
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 912:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The results from the ESA Gaia astrometric mission and deep photometric surveys have revolutionized our knowledge of the Milky Way. There are many ongoing efforts to search these data for stellar substructure to find evidence of individual accretion events that built up the Milky Way and its halo. One of these newly identified features, called Nyx, was announced as an accreted stellar stream traveling in the plane of the disk. Using a combination of elemental abundances and stellar parameters from the GALAH and Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) surveys, we find that the abundances of the highest likelihood Nyx members are entirely consistent with membership of the thick disk, and inconsistent with a dwarf galaxy origin. We conclude that the postulated Nyx stream is most probably a high-velocity component of the Milky Way's thick disk. With the growing availability of large data sets including kinematics, stellar parameters, and detailed abundances, the probability of detecting chance associations increases, and hence new searches for substructure require confirmation across as many data dimensions as possible.
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| 7. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(author)
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Search for Multi-flare Neutrino Emissions in 10 yr of IceCube Data from a Catalog of Sources
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 920:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A recent time-integrated analysis of a catalog of 110 candidate neutrino sources revealed a cumulative neutrino excess in the data collected by IceCube between 2008 April 6 and 2018 July 10. This excess, inconsistent with the background hypothesis in the Northern Hemisphere at the 3.3 sigma level, is associated with four sources: NGC 1068, TXS 0506+056, PKS 1424+240, and GB6 J1542+6129. This Letter presents two time-dependent neutrino emission searches on the same data sample and catalog: a point-source search that looks for the most significant time-dependent source of the catalog by combining space, energy, and time information of the events, and a population test based on binomial statistics that looks for a cumulative time-dependent neutrino excess from a subset of sources. Compared to previous time-dependent searches, these analyses enable a feature to possibly find multiple flares from a single direction with an unbinned maximum-likelihood method. M87 is found to be the most significant time-dependent source of this catalog at the level of 1.7 sigma post-trial, and TXS 0506+056 is the only source for which two flares are reconstructed. The binomial test reports a cumulative time-dependent neutrino excess in the Northern Hemisphere at the level of 3.0 sigma associated with four sources: M87, TXS 0506+056, GB6 J1542+6129, and NGC 1068.
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| 8. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(author)
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First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VII. Polarization of the Ring
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 910:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2017 April, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observed the near-horizon region around the supermassive black hole at the core of the M87 galaxy. These 1.3 mm wavelength observations revealed a compact asymmetric ring-like source morphology. This structure originates from synchrotron emission produced by relativistic plasma located in the immediate vicinity of the black hole. Here we present the corresponding linear-polarimetric EHT images of the center of M87. We find that only a part of the ring is significantly polarized. The resolved fractional linear polarization has a maximum located in the southwest part of the ring, where it rises to the level of similar to 15%. The polarization position angles are arranged in a nearly azimuthal pattern. We perform quantitative measurements of relevant polarimetric properties of the compact emission and find evidence for the temporal evolution of the polarized source structure over one week of EHT observations. The details of the polarimetric data reduction and calibration methodology are provided. We carry out the data analysis using multiple independent imaging and modeling techniques, each of which is validated against a suite of synthetic data sets. The gross polarimetric structure and its apparent evolution with time are insensitive to the method used to reconstruct the image. These polarimetric images carry information about the structure of the magnetic fields responsible for the synchrotron emission. Their physical interpretation is discussed in an accompanying publication.
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| 9. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(author)
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First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VIII. Magnetic Field Structure near The Event Horizon
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 910:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations at 230 GHz have now imaged polarized emission around the supermassive black hole in M87 on event-horizon scales. This polarized synchrotron radiation probes the structure of magnetic fields and the plasma properties near the black hole. Here we compare the resolved polarization structure observed by the EHT, along with simultaneous unresolved observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, to expectations from theoretical models. The low fractional linear polarization in the resolved image suggests that the polarization is scrambled on scales smaller than the EHT beam, which we attribute to Faraday rotation internal to the emission region. We estimate the average density n(e) similar to 10(4-7) cm(-3), magnetic field strength B similar to 1-30 G, and electron temperature T-e similar to (1-12) x 10(10) K of the radiating plasma in a simple one-zone emission model. We show that the net azimuthal linear polarization pattern may result from organized, poloidal magnetic fields in the emission region. In a quantitative comparison with a large library of simulated polarimetric images from general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations, we identify a subset of physical models that can explain critical features of the polarimetric EHT observations while producing a relativistic jet of sufficient power. The consistent GRMHD models are all of magnetically arrested accretion disks, where near-horizon magnetic fields are dynamically important. We use the models to infer a mass accretion rate onto the black hole in M87 of (3-20) x 10(-4) M yr(-1).
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| 10. |
- Algaba, Juan-Carlos, et al.
(author)
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Broadband Multi-wavelength Properties of M87 during the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope Campaign
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 911:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2017, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration succeeded in capturing the first direct image of the center of the M87 galaxy. The asymmetric ring morphology and size are consistent with theoretical expectations for a weakly accreting supermassive black hole of mass ∼6.5 × 109 M o˙. The EHTC also partnered with several international facilities in space and on the ground, to arrange an extensive, quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength campaign. This Letter presents the results and analysis of this campaign, as well as the multi-wavelength data as a legacy data repository. We captured M87 in a historically low state, and the core flux dominates over HST-1 at high energies, making it possible to combine core flux constraints with the more spatially precise very long baseline interferometry data. We present the most complete simultaneous multi-wavelength spectrum of the active nucleus to date, and discuss the complexity and caveats of combining data from different spatial scales into one broadband spectrum. We apply two heuristic, isotropic leptonic single-zone models to provide insight into the basic source properties, but conclude that a structured jet is necessary to explain M87's spectrum. We can exclude that the simultaneous γ-ray emission is produced via inverse Compton emission in the same region producing the EHT mm-band emission, and further conclude that the γ-rays can only be produced in the inner jets (inward of HST-1) if there are strongly particle-dominated regions. Direct synchrotron emission from accelerated protons and secondaries cannot yet be excluded.
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