| 1. |
- Bellm, Eric C., et al.
(författare)
-
The Zwicky Transient Facility : System Overview, Performance, and First Results
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. - : IOP Publishing. - 0004-6280 .- 1538-3873. ; 131:995
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is a new optical time-domain survey that uses the Palomar 48 inch Schmidt telescope. A custom-built wide-field camera provides a 47 deg(2) field of view and 8 s readout time, yielding more than an order of magnitude improvement in survey speed relative to its predecessor survey, the Palomar Transient Factory. We describe the design and implementation of the camera and observing system. The ZTF data system at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center provides near-real-time reduction to identify moving and varying objects. We outline the analysis pipelines, data products, and associated archive. Finally, we present on-sky performance analysis and first scientific results from commissioning and the early survey. ZTF's public alert stream will serve as a useful precursor for that of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.
|
|
| 2. |
- Graham, Matthew J., et al.
(författare)
-
The Zwicky Transient Facility : Science Objectives
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. - : IOP Publishing. - 0004-6280 .- 1538-3873. ; 131:1001
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a public-private enterprise, is a new time-domain survey employing a dedicated camera on the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt telescope with a 47 deg(2) field of view and an 8 second readout time. It is well positioned in the development of time-domain astronomy, offering operations at 10% of the scale and style of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) with a single 1-m class survey telescope. The public surveys will cover the observable northern sky every three nights in g and r filters and the visible Galactic plane every night in g and r. Alerts generated by these surveys are sent in real time to brokers. A consortium of universities that provided funding (partnership) are undertaking several boutique surveys. The combination of these surveys producing one million alerts per night allows for exploration of transient and variable astrophysical phenomena brighter than r similar to 20.5 on timescales of minutes to years. We describe the primary science objectives driving ZTF, including the physics of supernovae and relativistic explosions, multi-messenger astrophysics, supernova cosmology, active galactic nuclei, and tidal disruption events, stellar variability, and solar system objects.
|
|
| 3. |
- Ho, Anna Y. Q., et al.
(författare)
-
SN 2020bvc : A Broad-line Type Ic Supernova with a Double-peaked Optical Light Curve and a Luminous X-Ray and Radio Counterpart
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 902:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present optical, radio, and X-ray observations of SN 2020bvc (=ASASSN-20bs, ZTF 20aalxlis), a nearby (z = 0.0252; d.=.114Mpc) broad-line (BL) Type Ic supernova (SN) and the first double-peaked Ic-BL discovered without a gamma-ray burst (GRB) trigger. Our observations show that SN 2020bvc shares several properties in common with the Ic-BL SN 2006aj, which was associated with the low-luminosity gamma-ray burst (LLGRB) 060218. First, the 10 GHz radio luminosity (L-radio approximate to 10(37) erg s(-1)) is brighter than ordinary core-collapse SNe but fainter than LLGRB SNe such as SN 1998bw (associated with LLGRB 980425). We model our VLA observations (spanning 13-43 days) as synchrotron emission from a mildly relativistic (v greater than or similar to 0.3c) forward shock. Second, with Swift and Chandra, we detect X-ray emission (L-X approximate to 10(41) erg s(-1)) that is not naturally explained as inverse Compton emission or part of the same synchrotron spectrum as the radio emission. Third, high-cadence (6x night(-1)) data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) show a double-peaked optical light curve, the first peak from shock cooling of extended low-mass material (mass M-e < 10(-2) M-circle dot at radius R-e > 10(12) cm) and the second peak from the radioactive decay of 56Ni. SN 2020bvc is the first double-peaked Ic-BL SN discovered without a GRB trigger, so it is noteworthy that it shows X-ray and radio emission similar to LLGRB SNe. For four of the five other nearby (z less than or similar to 0.05) Ic-BL SNe with ZTF high-cadence data, we rule out a first peak like that seen in SN 2006aj and SN 2020bvc, i.e., that lasts approximate to 1 day.and reaches a peak luminosity M approximate to -18. Follow-up X-ray and radio observations of Ic-BL SNe with well-sampled early optical light curves will establish whether double-peaked optical light curves are indeed predictive of LLGRB-like X-ray and radio emission.
|
|
| 4. |
- Kasliwal, Mansi M., et al.
(författare)
-
Kilonova Luminosity Function Constraints Based on Zwicky Transient Facility Searches for 13 Neutron Star Merger Triggers during O3
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 905:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a systematic search for optical counterparts to 13 gravitational wave (GW) triggers involving at least one neutron star during LIGO/Virgo's third observing run (O3). We searched binary neutron star (BNS) and neutron star black hole (NSBH) merger localizations with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and undertook follow-up with the Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH) collaboration. The GW triggers had a median localization area of 4480 deg(2), a median distance of 267 Mpc, and false-alarm rates ranging from 1.5 to 10(-25) yr(-1). The ZTF coverage in the g and r bands had a median enclosed probability of 39%, median depth of 20.8 mag, and median time lag between merger and the start of observations of 1.5 hr. The O3 follow-up by the GROWTH team comprised 340 UltraViolet/Optical/InfraRed (UVOIR) photometric points, 64 OIR spectra, and three radio images using 17 different telescopes. We find no promising kilonovae (radioactivity-powered counterparts), and we show how to convert the upper limits to constrain the underlying kilonova luminosity function. Initially, we assume that all GW triggers are bona fide astrophysical events regardless of false-alarm rate and that kilonovae accompanying BNS and NSBH mergers are drawn from a common population; later, we relax these assumptions. Assuming that all kilonovae are at least as luminous as the discovery magnitude of GW170817 (-16.1 mag), we calculate that our joint probability of detecting zero kilonovae is only 4.2%. If we assume that all kilonovae are brighter than -16.6 mag (the extrapolated peak magnitude of GW170817) and fade at a rate of 1 mag day(-1) (similar to GW170817), the joint probability of zero detections is 7%. If we separate the NSBH and BNS populations based on the online classifications, the joint probability of zero detections, assuming all kilonovae are brighter than -16.6 mag, is 9.7% for NSBH and 7.9% for BNS mergers. Moreover, no more than <57% (<89%) of putative kilonovae could be brighter than -16.6 mag assuming flat evolution (fading by 1 mag day(-1)) at the 90% confidence level. If we further take into account the online terrestrial probability for each GW trigger, we find that no more than <68% of putative kilonovae could be brighter than -16.6 mag. Comparing to model grids, we find that some kilonovae must have M-ej M, X-lan > 10(-4), or > 30 degrees to be consistent with our limits. We look forward to searches in the fourth GW observing run; even 17 neutron star mergers with only 50% coverage to a depth of -16 mag would constrain the maximum fraction of bright kilonovae to <25%.
|
|
| 5. |
- Purdum, Josiah N., et al.
(författare)
-
Time-series and Phase-curve Photometry of the Episodically Active Asteroid (6478) Gault in a Quiescent State Using APO, GROWTH, P200, and ZTF
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 911:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We observed the episodically active asteroid (6478) Gault in 2020 with multiple telescopes in Asia and North America and found that it is no longer active after its recent outbursts at the end of 2018 and the start of 2019. The inactivity during this apparition allowed us to measure the absolute magnitude of Gault of H ( r ) = 14.63 +/- 0.02, G ( r ) = 0.21 +/- 0.02 from our secular phase-curve observations. In addition, we were able to constrain Gault's rotation period using time-series photometric lightcurves taken over 17 hr on multiple days in 2020 August, September, and October. The photometric lightcurves have a repeating less than or similar to 0.05 mag feature suggesting that (6478) Gault has a rotation period of similar to 2.5 hr and may have a semispherical or top-like shape, much like the near-Earth asteroids Ryugu and Bennu. The rotation period of similar to 2.5 hr is near the expected critical rotation period for an asteroid with the physical properties of (6478) Gault, suggesting that its activity observed over multiple epochs is due to surface mass shedding from its fast rotation spin-up by the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack effect.
|
|
| 6. |
- Yao, Yuhan, et al.
(författare)
-
SN2019dge : A Helium-rich Ultra-stripped Envelope Supernova
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 900:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present observations of ZTF18abfcmjw (SN2019dge), a helium-rich supernova with a fast-evolving light curve indicating an extremely low ejecta mass (approximate to 0.33M(circle dot)) and low kinetic energy (approximate to 1.3 x 10(50)erg). Early-time (<4 days after explosion) photometry reveals evidence of shock cooling from an extended helium-rich envelope of similar to 0.1 M-circle dot located similar to 1.2 x 10(13) cm from the progenitor. Early-time He II line emission and subsequent spectra show signatures of interaction with helium-rich circumstellar material, which extends from greater than or similar to 5 x 10(13)cm to greater than or similar to 2 x 10(16)cm. We interpret SN2019dge as a helium-rich supernova from an ultra-stripped progenitor, which originates from a close binary system consisting of a mass-losing helium star and a low-mass main-sequence star or a compact object (i.e., a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole). We infer that the local volumetric birth rate of 19dge-like ultra-stripped SNe is in the range of 1400-8200 Gpc(-3)yr(-1) (i.e., 2%-12% of core-collapse supernova rate). This can be compared to the observed coalescence rate of compact neutron star binaries that are not formed by dynamical capture.
|
|
