1. |
- Bianco, Federica B., et al.
(author)
-
Optimization of the Observing Cadence for the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time : A Pioneering Process of Community-focused Experimental Design
- 2022
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 258:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a ground-based astronomical facility under construction, a joint project of the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, designed to conduct a multipurpose 10 yr optical survey of the Southern Hemisphere sky: the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Significant flexibility in survey strategy remains within the constraints imposed by the core science goals of probing dark energy and dark matter, cataloging the solar system, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. The survey's massive data throughput will be transformational for many other astrophysics domains and Rubin's data access policy sets the stage for a huge community of potential users. To ensure that the survey science potential is maximized while serving as broad a community as possible, Rubin Observatory has involved the scientific community at large in the process of setting and refining the details of the observing strategy. The motivation, history, and decision-making process of this strategy optimization are detailed in this paper, giving context to the science-driven proposals and recommendations for the survey strategy included in this Focus Issue.
|
|
2. |
- Chomiuk, Laura, et al.
(author)
-
A DEEP SEARCH FOR PROMPT RADIO EMISSION FROM THERMONUCLEAR SUPERNOVAE WITH THE VERY LARGE ARRAY
- 2016
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 821:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Searches for circumstellar material around Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are some of the most powerful tests of the nature of SN Ia progenitors, and radio observations provide a particularly sensitive probe of this material. Here, we report radio observations for SNe. Ia and their lower-luminosity thermonuclear cousins. We present the largest, most sensitive, and spectroscopically diverse study of prompt (Delta t less than or similar to 1 years) radio observations of 85 thermonuclear SNe, including 25 obtained by our team with the unprecedented depth of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. With these observations, SN 2012cg joins SN 2011fe and SN 2014J as an SN. Ia with remarkably deep radio limits and excellent temporal coverage (six epochs, spanning 5-216 days after explosion, implying <(M)over dot>/v(w) less than or similar to 5 x 10(-9) M-circle dot yr(-1)/100 km s(-1), assuming epsilon(B) = 0.1 and epsilon(e) = 0.1). All observations yield non-detections, placing strong constraints on the presence of circumstellar material. We present analytical models for the temporal and spectral evolution of prompt radio emission from thermonuclear SNe as expected from interaction with either wind-stratified or uniform density media. These models allow us to constrain the progenitor mass loss rates, with limits in the range of <(M)over dot> less than or similar to 10(-9) - 10(-4) M-circle dot yr(-1), assuming a wind velocity of v(w) = 100 km s(-1). We compare our radio constraints with measurements of Galactic symbiotic binaries to conclude that less than or similar to 10% of thermonuclear SNe have red giant companions.
|
|
3. |
- Chomiuk, Laura, et al.
(author)
-
Classical Novae at Radio Wavelengths
- 2021
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 257:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present radio observations (1-40 GHz) for 36 classical novae, representing data from over five decades compiled from the literature, telescope archives, and our own programs. Our targets display a striking diversity in their optical parameters (e.g., spanning optical fading timescales, t (2) = 1-263 days), and we find a similar diversity in the radio light curves. Using a brightness temperature analysis, we find that radio emission from novae is a mixture of thermal and synchrotron emission, with nonthermal emission observed at earlier times. We identify high brightness temperature emission (T ( B ) > 5 x 10(4) K) as an indication of synchrotron emission in at least nine (25%) of the novae. We find a class of synchrotron-dominated novae with mildly evolved companions, exemplified by V5589 Sgr and V392 Per, that appear to be a bridge between classical novae with dwarf companions and symbiotic binaries with giant companions. Four of the novae in our sample have two distinct radio maxima (the first dominated by synchrotron and the later by thermal emission), and in four cases the early synchrotron peak is temporally coincident with a dramatic dip in the optical light curve, hinting at a common site for particle acceleration and dust formation. We publish the light curves in a machine-readable table and encourage the use of these data by the broader community in multiwavelength studies and modeling efforts.
|
|
4. |
- Church, Ross P., et al.
(author)
-
Formation Constraints Indicate a Black Hole Accretor in 47 Tuc X9
- 2017
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 851:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The luminous X-ray binary 47 Tuc X9 shows radio and X-ray emission consistent with a stellar-mass black hole (BH) accreting from a carbon-oxygen white dwarf. Its location, in the core of the massive globular cluster 47 Tuc, hints at a dynamical origin. We assess the stability of mass transfer from a carbon-oxygen white dwarf onto compact objects of various masses, and conclude that for mass transfer to proceed stably, the accretor must, in fact, be a BH. Such systems can form dynamically by the collision of a stellar-mass BH with a giant star. Tidal dissipation of energy in the giant's envelope leads to a bound binary with a pericenter separation less than the radius of the giant. An episode of common-envelope evolution follows, which ejects the giant's envelope. We find that the most likely target is a horizontal-branch star, and that a realistic quantity of subsequent dynamical hardening is required for the resulting binary to merge via gravitational wave emission. Observing one binary like 47 Tuc X9 in the Milky Way globular cluster system is consistent with the expected formation rate. The observed 6.8-day periodicity in the X-ray emission may be driven by eccentricity induced in the ultra-compact X-ray binary's orbit by a perturbing companion.
|
|
5. |
- Clark, Andrew G., et al.
(author)
-
Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny
- 2007
-
In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 450:7167, s. 203-218
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species.
|
|
6. |
- Hosseinzadeh, Griffin, et al.
(author)
-
Constraining the Progenitor System of the Type Ia Supernova 2021aefx
- 2022
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 933:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present high-cadence optical and ultraviolet light curves of the normal Type Ia supernova (SN) 2021aefx, which shows an early bump during the first two days of observation. This bump may be a signature of interaction between the exploding white dwarf and a nondegenerate binary companion, or it may be intrinsic to the white dwarf explosion mechanism. In the case of the former, the short duration of the bump implies a relatively compact main-sequence companion star, although this conclusion is viewing-angle dependent. Our best-fit companion-shocking and double-detonation models both overpredict the UV luminosity during the bump, and existing nickel-shell models do not match the strength and timescale of the bump. We also present nebular spectra of SN 2021aefx, which do not show the hydrogen or helium emission expected from a nondegenerate companion, as well as a radio nondetection that rules out all symbiotic progenitor systems and most accretion disk winds. Our analysis places strong but conflicting constraints on the progenitor of SN 2021aefx; no current model can explain all of our observations.
|
|