Carbyne (e.g., linear chains of sp-bonded carbon) has been the subject of intense research focus due to its presence in astrophysical bodies, as well as its potential for use as a nanoelectronic ...device and superhard material. In this work, we discuss the formation of carbyne fiber bundles over a nanosecond time scale in laser pulse melting studies, using a previously determined density functional tight binding model for carbon coupled with a new correction for the dispersion energy. We determine our dispersion energy model by optimizing a modified Lennard-Jones potential to an experimentally determined equation of state for graphite, yielding excellent results for the bulk modulus and density under ambient conditions. We then simulate previous experiments by heating graphite to high temperature, followed by expanding the ensuing liquid phase to low density. Our results indicate that the initial, hot liquid phase mainly consists of sp2-bonded carbon atoms, which form a system of sp-bonded strands bound together via dispersion interactions upon achieving low density and temperature. The high computational efficiency of our approach allows for direct comparison with experiments that span a wide range of thermodynamic conditions and can help determine parameters for synthesis of carbon-based materials with potentially exotic properties.
Using the Zwicky Transient Facility alert stream, we are conducting a large spectroscopic campaign to construct a complete, volume-limited sample of transients brighter than 20 mag, and coincident ...within 100″ of galaxies in the Census of the Local Universe catalog. We describe the experiment design and spectroscopic completeness from the first 16 months of operations, which have classified 754 supernovae. We present results from a systematic search for calcium-rich gap transients in the sample of 22 low-luminosity (peak absolute magnitude M > −17), hydrogen-poor events found in the experiment. We report the detection of eight new events, and constrain their volumetric rate to 15% 5% of the SN Ia rate. Combining this sample with 10 previously known events, we find a likely continuum of spectroscopic properties ranging from events with SN Ia-like features (Ca-Ia objects) to those with SN Ib/c-like features (Ca-Ib/c objects) at peak light. Within the Ca-Ib/c events, we find two populations distinguished by their red (g − r 1.5 mag) or green ( mag) colors at the r-band peak, wherein redder events show strong line blanketing features and slower light curves (similar to Ca-Ia objects), weaker He lines, and lower Ca ii/O i in the nebular phase. We find that all together the spectroscopic continuum, volumetric rates, and striking old environments are consistent with the explosive burning of He shells on low-mass white dwarfs. We suggest that Ca-Ia and red Ca-Ib/c objects arise from the double detonation of He shells, while green Ca-Ib/c objects are consistent with low-efficiency burning scenarios like detonations in low-density shells or deflagrations.
The detonation of a helium shell on a white dwarf (WD) has been proposed as a possible explosion triggering mechanism for SNe Ia. Here, we report ZTF 18aaqeasu (SN 2018byg/ATLAS 18pqq), a peculiar ...Type I supernova, consistent with being a helium-shell double-detonation. With a rise time of 18 days from explosion, the transient reached a peak absolute magnitude of MR −18.2 mag, exhibiting a light curve akin to sub-luminous SN 1991bg-like SNe Ia, albeit with an unusually steep increase in brightness within a week from explosion. Spectra taken near peak light exhibit prominent Si absorption features together with an unusually red color (g − r 2 mag) arising from nearly complete line blanketing of flux blueward of 5000 . This behavior is unlike any previously observed thermonuclear transient. Nebular phase spectra taken at and after 30 days from peak light reveal evidence of a thermonuclear detonation event dominated by Fe-group nucleosynthesis. We show that the peculiar properties of ZTF 18aaqeasu are consistent with the detonation of a massive ( 0.15 ) helium shell on a sub-Chandrasekhar mass ( 0.75 ) WD after including mixing of 0.2 of material in the outer ejecta. These observations provide evidence of a likely rare class of thermonuclear supernovae arising from detonations of massive helium shells.
This work presents novel techniques for approaching missing data using generative models. The main focus of these techniques is on leveraging the latent spaces of generative models, both to improve ...inference performance and to overcome many of the architectural challenges missing data poses for current generative models. This work includes methodologies that are broadly applicable regardless of model architecture and model specific techniques.The first half of this work is dedicated to model agnostic techniques. Here, we present our Linearized-Marginal Restricted Boltzmann Machine (LM-RBM), a method for directly approximating the conditional and marginal distributions of RBMs used to infer missing data. We also present our Semi-Empirical Ab Initio objective functions for Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) proposal optimization, which are objective functions of a restricted functional class that are fit to recover analytically known optimal proposals. These Semi-Empirical Ab Initio objective functions are shown to avoid failures exhibited by current objective functions for MCMC proposal optimization with highly expressive neural proposals and enable the more confident optimization of deep generative architectures for MCMC techniques.The second half of this work is dedicated to techniques applicable to specific generative architectures. We present Projected-Latent Markov Chain Monte Carlo (PL-MCMC), a technique for performing asymptotically exact conditional inference of missing data using normalizing flows. We evaluate the performance of PL-MCMC based on its applicability to tasks of training from and inferring missing data. We also present our Perceiver Attentional Copula for Time Series (PrACTiS), which utilizes attention with learned latent vectors to significantly improve the computational efficiency of attention based modeling in light of the additional challenges that time series data pose with respect to missing data inference.
Carbyne (e.g., linear chains of sp-bonded carbon) has been the subject of intense research focus due to its presence in astrophysical bodies, as well as its potential for use as a nanoelectronic ...device and superhard material. In this work, we discuss the formation of carbyne fiber bundles over a nanosecond time scale in laser pulse melting studies, using a previously determined density functional tight binding model for carbon coupled with a new correction for the dispersion energy. We determine our dispersion energy model by optimizing a modified Lennard-Jones potential to an experimentally determined equation of state for graphite, yielding excellent results for the bulk modulus and density under ambient conditions. We then simulate previous experiments by heating graphite to high temperature, followed by expanding the ensuing liquid phase to low density. Our results indicate that the initial, hot liquid phase mainly consists of sp2-bonded carbon atoms, which form a system of sp-bonded strands bound together via dispersion interactions upon achieving low density and temperature. Lastly, the high computational efficiency of our approach allows for direct comparison with experiments that span a wide range of thermodynamic conditions and can help determine parameters for synthesis of carbon-based materials with potentially exotic properties.
We study the properties of the galaxies hosting the first 19 tidal disruption events(TDEs)detected with the Zwicky Transient Facility(ZTF)within the context of a carefully constructed, representative ...host galaxy sample. We find that the ZTF sample of TDE hosts is dominated by compact “green valley” galaxies. After we restrict the comparison sample to galaxies with a similar concentration, as measured by the Sérsic index, we find this green valley overrepresentation is even larger. That is, concentrated red sequence galaxies are not producing TDEs at elevated levels. We present host galaxy spectra that show that E+A galaxies are overrepresented in the ZTF sample by a factor of≈22, which is lower than previous TDE host galaxy studies have found. We find that this overrepresentation can be fully accounted for when taking into account the masses, colors, and Sérsic indices of the ZTF TDE hosts. The combination of both green colors and high Sérsic index of the typical TDE host galaxy could be explained if the TDE rate is temporarily enhanced following a merger that leads to a higher central concentration of stars.
The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is a new robotic time-domain survey currently in progress using the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt Telescope. ZTF uses a 47 square degree field with a 600 megapixel ...camera to scan the entire northern visible sky at rates of ∼3760 square degrees/hour to median depths of g ∼ 20.8 and r ∼ 20.6 mag (AB, 5 in 30 sec). We describe the Science Data System that is housed at IPAC, Caltech. This comprises the data-processing pipelines, alert production system, data archive, and user interfaces for accessing and analyzing the products. The real-time pipeline employs a novel image-differencing algorithm, optimized for the detection of point-source transient events. These events are vetted for reliability using a machine-learned classifier and combined with contextual information to generate data-rich alert packets. The packets become available for distribution typically within 13 minutes (95th percentile) of observation. Detected events are also linked to generate candidate moving-object tracks using a novel algorithm. Objects that move fast enough to streak in the individual exposures are also extracted and vetted. We present some preliminary results of the calibration performance delivered by the real-time pipeline. The reconstructed astrometric accuracy per science image with respect to Gaia DR1 is typically 45 to 85 milliarcsec. This is the RMS per-axis on the sky for sources extracted with photometric S/N ≥ 10 and hence corresponds to the typical astrometric uncertainty down to this limit. The derived photometric precision (repeatability) at bright unsaturated fluxes varies between 8 and 25 millimag. The high end of these ranges corresponds to an airmass approaching ∼2-the limit of the public survey. Photometric calibration accuracy with respect to Pan-STARRS1 is generally better than 2%. The products support a broad range of scientific applications: fast and young supernovae; rare flux transients; variable stars; eclipsing binaries; variability from active galactic nuclei; counterparts to gravitational wave sources; a more complete census of Type Ia supernovae; and solar-system objects.
We study the properties of the galaxies hosting the first 19 tidal disruption events (TDEs) detected with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) within the context of a carefully constructed, ...representative host galaxy sample. We find that the ZTF sample of TDE hosts is dominated by compact "green valley" galaxies. After we restrict the comparison sample to galaxies with a similar concentration, as measured by Sersic index, we find this green valley over representation is even larger. That is, concentrated red sequence galaxies are not producing TDEs at elevated levels. We present host galaxy spectra which show that E+A galaxies are overrepresented in the ZTF sample by a factor of \(\approx\)22, which is lower than previous TDE host galaxy studies have found. We find that this overrepresentation can be fully accounted for when taking into account the masses, colors, and Sérsic indices of the ZTF TDE hosts. The combination of both green colors and high Sérsic index of the typical TDE host galaxy could be explained if the TDE rate is temporarily enhanced following a merger that leads to a higher central concentration of stars.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the brightest and most energetic events in the universe. The duration and hardness distribution of GRBs has two clusters, now understood to reflect (at least) two ...different progenitors. Short-hard GRBs (SGRBs; T90 <2 s) arise from compact binary mergers, while long-soft GRBs (LGRBs; T90 >2 s) have been attributed to the collapse of peculiar massive stars (collapsars). The discovery of SN 1998bw/GRB 980425 marked the first association of a LGRB with a collapsar and AT 2017gfo/GRB 170817A/GW170817 marked the first association of a SGRB with a binary neutron star merger, producing also gravitational wave (GW). Here, we present the discovery of ZTF20abwysqy (AT2020scz), a fast-fading optical transient in the Fermi Satellite and the InterPlanetary Network (IPN) localization regions of GRB 200826A; X-ray and radio emission further confirm that this is the afterglow. Follow-up imaging (at rest-frame 16.5 days) reveals excess emission above the afterglow that cannot be explained as an underlying kilonova (KN), but is consistent with being the supernova (SN). Despite the GRB duration being short (rest-frame T90 of 0.65 s), our panchromatic follow-up data confirms a collapsar origin. GRB 200826A is the shortest LGRB found with an associated collapsar; it appears to sit on the brink between a successful and a failed collapsar. Our discovery is consistent with the hypothesis that most collapsars fail to produce ultra-relativistic jets.
(Abridged) Using the Zwicky Transient Facility alert stream, we are conducting a large campaign to spectroscopically classify all transients occurring in galaxies in the Census of the Local Universe ...(CLU) catalog. The aim of the experiment is to construct a spectroscopically complete, volume-limited sample of transients coincident within 100" of CLU galaxies out to 200 Mpc, and to a depth of 20 mag. We describe the survey design and spectroscopic completeness from the first 16 months of operations. We present results from a systematic search for Calcium rich gap transients in the sample of 22 low luminosity (peak absolute magnitude \(M > -17\)), hydrogen poor events found in the experiment (out of 754 spectroscopically classified SNe). We report the detection of eight Calcium rich gap transients, and constrain their volumetric rate to be at least \(\approx 15\pm5\)% of the SN Ia rate. Combining this sample with ten events from the literature, we find a likely continuum of spectroscopic properties ranging from events with SN Ia-like features (Ca-Ia objects) to SN Ib/c-like features (Ca-Ib/c objects) at peak light. Within the Ca-Ib/c events, we find two populations of events distinguished by their red (\(g - r \approx 1.5\) mag) or green (\(g - r \approx 0.5\) mag) spectral colors at \(r\)-band peak, wherein redder events show strong line blanketing signatures, slower light curves, weaker He lines and lower Ca II/O I in the nebular phase. Together, we find that the spectroscopic continuum, volumetric rates and striking old environments are consistent with the explosive burning of He shells on low mass white dwarfs. We posit that Ca-Ia and red Ca-Ib/c objects are consistent with the double detonation of He shells with high He burning efficiency, while green Ca-Ib/c objects could arise from less efficient He burning scenarios such as detonations in low density He shells or He shell deflagrations.
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