| 1. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Multiwavelength follow-up of a rare IceCube neutrino multiplet
- 2017
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP SCIENCES S A. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 607
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- On February 17, 2016, the IceCube real-time neutrino search identified, for the first time, three muon neutrino candidates arriving within 100 s of one another, consistent with coming from the same point in the sky. Such a triplet is expected once every 13.7 years as a random coincidence of background events. However, considering the lifetime of the follow-up program the probability of detecting at least one triplet from atmospheric background is 32%. Follow-up observatories were notified in order to search for an electromagnetic counterpart. Observations were obtained by Swift's X-ray telescope, by ASAS-SN, LCO and MASTER at optical wavelengths, and by VERITAS in the very-high-energy gamma-ray regime. Moreover, the Swift BAT serendipitously observed the location 100 s after the first neutrino was detected, and data from the Fermi LAT and HAWC observatory were analyzed. We present details of the neutrino triplet and the follow-up observations. No likely electromagnetic counterpart was detected, and we discuss the implications of these constraints on candidate neutrino sources such as gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae and active galactic nucleus flares. This study illustrates the potential of and challenges for future follow-up campaigns.
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| 2. |
- Evans, P. A., et al.
(author)
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Swift and NuSTAR observations of GW170817 : Detection of a blue kilonova
- 2017
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 358:6370, s. 1565-1569
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- With the first direct detection of merging black holes in 2015, the era of gravitational wave (GW) astrophysics began. A complete picture of compact object mergers, however, requires the detection of an electromagnetic (EM) counterpart. We report ultraviolet (UV) and x-ray observations by Swift and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array of the EM counter part of the binary neutron star merger GW170817. The bright, rapidly fading UV emission indicates a high mass (approximate to 0.03 solar masses) wind-driven outflow with moderate electron fraction (Y-e approximate to 0.27). Combined with the x-ray limits, we favor an observer viewing angle of approximate to 30 degrees away from the orbital rotation axis, which avoids both obscuration from the heaviest elements in the orbital plane and a direct view of any ultrarelativistic, highly collimated ejecta (a gamma-ray burst afterglow).
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| 3. |
- Chakraborti, Sayan, et al.
(author)
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A MISSING-LINK IN THE SUPERNOVA-GRB CONNECTION : THE CASE OF SN 2012ap
- 2015
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 805:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are characterized by ultra-relativistic outflows, while supernovae are generally characterized by non-relativistic ejecta. GRB afterglows decelerate rapidly, usually within days, because their low-mass ejecta rapidly sweep up a comparatively larger mass of circumstellar material. However, supernovae with heavy ejecta can be in nearly free expansion for centuries. Supernovae were thought to have non-relativistic outflows except for a few relativistic ones accompanied by GRBs. This clear division was blurred by SN 2009bb, the first supernova with a relativistic outflow without an observed GRB. However, the ejecta from SN 2009bb was baryon loaded and in nearly free expansion for a year, unlike GRBs. We report the first supernova discovered without a GRB but with rapidly decelerating mildly relativistic ejecta, SN 2012ap. We discovered a bright and rapidly evolving radio counterpart driven by the circumstellar interaction of the relativistic ejecta. However, we did not find any coincident GRB with an isotropic fluence of more than one-sixth of the fluence from GRB 980425. This shows for the first time that central engines in SNe Ic, even without an observed GRB, can produce both relativistic and rapidly decelerating outflows like GRBs.
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