ABSTRACT
We present a 0.8–2.5 µm spectrum of the very late thermal pulse object V4334 Sgr (Sakurai’s Object), obtained in 2020 September. The spectrum displays a continuum that rises strongly to ...longer wavelengths, and is considerably brighter than the most recent published spectrum obtained 7 yr earlier. At the longer wavelengths, the continuum is well fitted by a blackbody with a temperature of 624 ± 8 K. However, there is excess continuum at the shortest wavelengths that we interpret as being due to hot dust that has very recently formed in an environment with C/O ≃ 2.5. Other possible sources for this excess continuum are discussed – such as the stellar photosphere dimly seen through the dust shell, and light scattered off the inner wall of the dust torus – but these interpretations seem unlikely. Numerous emission lines are present, including those of He i, C i, C i, and O i. Our observations confirm that emission in the He i 1.083 µm and C i 0.9827/0.9852 µm lines is spatially extended. The C i line fluxes suggest that the electron density increased by an order of magnitude between 2013 and 2020, and that these two lines may soon disappear from the spectrum. The flux ratio of the 1.083 and 2.058 µm He i lines is consistent with the previously assumed interstellar extinction. The stellar photosphere remains elusive, and the central star may not be as hot as suggested by current evolutionary models.
We present multi-epoch near-infrared observations of Nova Ophiuchi 2015 which was discovered during outburst in March 2015. This nova showed a few special properties viz. (i) it displayed an unusual ...prolonged flat-top light curve which does not easily fit into known classes of nova light curves, (ii) it showed evidence for possessing an evolved secondary in the outbursting binary system, and (iii) it made a rare reverse hybrid transition from the He/N class to Fe ii class early during its outburst. The present studies focus on the spectroscopic evolution of the object around maximum light and early decline. We show that there was a unique, rapid strengthening and decline in the He 1.0831, 2.0581 μm line strengths during this stage, wherein the nova combined the traits of both the He/N and Fe ii classes. Possible causes for this behaviour are discussed. The relative strengths of the Lyβ fluoresced O i 0.8446, 1.1287 μm lines are used to estimate the reddening to the nova. A recombination Case B analysis of the early spectra is used to set constraints on the electron density and emission measure, and a later time spectrum when the ejecta were optically thin is used to estimate the ejecta mass to be (0.95–1.9) × 10−4 M⊙. Power-law fits made to study the evolution of the continuum, show a fairly constant slope which differs from the trend generally expected during a nova's evolution viz. beginning with a blackbody and evolving to a free–free distribution at later stages.
A classical nova occurs when material accreting onto the surface of a white dwarf in a close binary system ignites in a thermonuclear runaway. Complex structures observed in the ejecta at late stages ...could result from interactions with the companion during the common-envelope phase. Alternatively, the explosion could be intrinsically bipolar, resulting from a localized ignition on the surface of the white dwarf or as a consequence of rotational distortion. Studying the structure of novae during the earliest phases is challenging because of the high spatial resolution needed to measure their small sizes. Here we report near-infrared interferometric measurements of the angular size of Nova Delphini 2013, starting one day after the explosion and continuing with extensive time coverage during the first 43 days. Changes in the apparent expansion rate can be explained by an explosion model consisting of an optically thick core surrounded by a diffuse envelope. The optical depth of the ejected material changes as it expands. We detect an ellipticity in the light distribution, suggesting a prolate or bipolar structure that develops as early as the second day. Combining the angular expansion rate with radial velocity measurements, we derive a geometric distance to the nova of 4.54 ± 0.59 kiloparsecs from the Sun.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present algorithms for the design of optimal virtual topologies embedded on wide-area wavelength-routed optical networks. The physical network architecture employs wavelength-conversion-enabled ...wavelength-routing switches (WRS) at the routing nodes, which allow the establishment of circuit-switched all-optical wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) channels, called lightpaths. We assume packet-based traffic in the network, such that a packet travelling from its source to its destination may have to multihop through one or more such lightpaths. We present an exact integer linear programming (ILP) formulation for the complete virtual topology design, including choice of the constituent lightpaths, routes for these lightpaths, and intensity of packet flows through these lightpaths. By minimizing the average packet hop distance in our objective function and by relaxing the wavelength-continuity constraints, we demonstrate that the entire optical network design problem can be considerably simplified and made computationally tractable. Although an ILP may take an exponential amount of time to obtain an exact optimal solution, we demonstrate that terminating the optimization within the first few iterations of the branch-and-bound method provides high-quality solutions. We ran experiments using the CPLEX optimization package on the NSFNET topology, a subset of the PACBELL network topology, as well as a third random topology to substantiate this conjecture. Minimizing the average packet hop distance is equivalent to maximizing the total network throughput under balanced flows through the lightpaths. The problem formulation can be used to design a balanced network, such that the utilizations of both transceivers and wavelengths in the network are maximized, thus reducing the cost of the network equipment. We analyze the trade-offs in budgeting of resources (transceivers and switch sizes) in the optical network, and demonstrate how an improperly designed network may have low utilization of any one of these resources. We also use the problem formulation to provide a reconfiguration methodology in order to adapt the virtual topology to changing traffic conditions.
Abstract Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients demonstrate higher rates of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity; and increased incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) with declining kidney failure. ...Coronary artery disease (CAD) associated risk factors are the major determinants of SCD in the general population. However, current evidence suggests that in CKD patients, traditional cardiovascular risk factors may play a lesser role. Complex relationships between CKD-specific risk factors, structural heart disease, and ventricular arrhythmias (VA) contribute to the high risk of SCD. In dialysis patients, the occurrence of VA and SCD could be exacerbated by electrolyte shifts, divalent ion abnormalities, sympathetic overactivity, inflammation and iron toxicity. As outcomes in CKD patients after cardiac arrest are poor, primary and secondary prevention of SCD and cardiac arrest could reduce cardiovascular mortality in patients with CKD.
Abstract
CK Vulpeculae (CK Vul), which erupted in AD 1670–71, was long considered to be a nova outburst; however, recent observations have required that alternative scenarios be considered. Long-slit ...infrared spectroscopy of a forbidden line of iron reported here has revealed high line-of-sight velocities (∼±900 km s
−1
) of the ansae at the tips of the bipolar lobes imaged in H
α
in 2010. The deprojected velocities of the tips are approximately ±2130 km s
−1
assuming the previously derived inclination angle of 65° for the axis of cylindrical symmetry of the bipolar nebula. Such high velocities are in stark contrast to previous reports of much lower expansion velocities in CK Vul. Based on the deprojected velocities of the tips and their angular expansion measured over a 10 yr baseline, we derive a revised estimate, with estimated uncertainties, of
kpc for the distance to CK Vul. This implies that the absolute visual magnitude at the peak of the 1670 explosion was
, indicating that the 1670 event was far more luminous than previous estimates and brighter than any classical nova or any Galactic stellar merger. We propose that CK Vul belongs to the class of intermediate-luminosity optical transients (ILOTs), objects which bridge the luminosity gap between novae and supernovae. While eruptions in lower luminosity ILOTs are attributed to merger events, the origin of the highly luminous ILOT outbursts is currently not known.
Near-infrared spectroscopic and photometric observations are presented for the recent 2011 outburst of recurrent nova T Pyxidis. Spectra, commencing from one day after outburst, are reported for a ...total of 18 epochs spread over the first 50 d of the eruption. A major finding is the transition of the nova from the He/N to the Fe ii class within a few days after the outburst. The transition is inferred from the appearance of prominent He i
lines soon after the onset of the eruption which then fade rapidly in strength within the next few days. Certain lines of carbon which are near-IR hallmarks of the Fe ii class of novae are also used to establish and trace the transition. The evolution in the strength and shape of the line profiles is presented and discussed. A Case B recombination analysis is done which shows that the Brackett lines are affected by optical depth effects from the start to the end of the observations. Based on the observation that the Br γ line is clearly optically thick, we are able to place lower limits on the emission measure
$n_{\rm e}^2$
L and show that the electron density of the ejecta n
e during the first 50 d must be in the range 109–1010 cm−3.
Context. It has been predicted that the object KIC 9832227 – a contact binary star – will undergo a merger in 2022.2 ± 0.7. We describe the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum of this object as an impetus ...to obtain pre-merger data. Aims. We aim to characterise (i) the nature of the individual components of the binary and (ii) the likely circumbinary environment, so that the merger – if and when it occurs – can be interpreted in an informed manner. Methods. We use infrared (IR) spectroscopy in the wavelength range 0.7–2.5 μm, to which we fit model atmospheres to represent the individual stars. We use the binary ephemeris to determine the orbital phase at the time of observation. Results. We find that the IR spectrum is best fitted by a single component with effective temperature 5920 K, logg = 4.1, and solar metallicity, consistent with the fact that the system was observed at conjunction. Conclusions. The strength of the IR H lines is consistent with a high value of logg, and the strength of the Ca II triplet indicates the presence of a chromosphere, as might be expected from rapid stellar rotation. The He I absorption we observe likely arises in He excited by coronal activity in a circumstellar envelope, suggesting that the weakness of the Ca II triplet is also likely chromospheric in origin.
We present near-infrared spectroscopy of the NGC 5128 supernova SN 2016adj in the first two months following discovery. We report the detection of first-overtone carbon monoxide emission at similar ...to 58.2 d after discovery, one of the earliest detections of CO in an erupting supernova. We model the CO emission to derive the CO mass, temperature, and velocity, assuming both pure (CO)-C-12 and a composition that includes (CO)-C-13; the case for the latter is the isotopic analyses of meteoritic grains, which suggest that core-collapse supernovae can synthesize significant amounts of C-13. Our models show that, while the CO data are adequately explained by pure (CO)-C-12, they do not preclude the presence of (CO)-C-13, to a limit of C-12/C-13 > 3, the first constraint on the C-12/C-13 ratio determined from near-infrared observations. We estimate the reddening to the object, and the effective temperature from the energy distribution at outburst. We discuss whether the ejecta of SN 2016adj may be carbon-rich, what the infrared data tell us about the classification of this supernova, and what implications the early formation of CO in supernovae may have for CO formation in supernovae in general.
We observe intensity oscillations along coronal fan loops associated with the active region AR 11428. The intensity oscillations were triggered by blast waves that were generated due to X-class ...flares in the distant active region AR 11429. To characterize the nature of oscillations, we created time-distance maps along the fan loops and noted that the intensity oscillations at two ends of the loops were out of phase. As we move along the fan loop, the amplitude of the oscillations first decreased and then increased. The out-of-phase nature together with the amplitude variation along the loop implies that these oscillations are very likely to be standing waves. The period of the oscillations is estimated to be ∼27 minutes, damping time to be ∼45 minutes, and phase velocity projected in the plane of sky to be ∼65-83 km s−1. The projected phase speeds were in the range of the acoustic speed of coronal plasma at about 0.6 MK, which further indicates that these are slow waves. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the existence of the standing slow waves in non-flaring fan loops.
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