I present a software tool for solving the astrometry of astronomical images. The code puts emphasis on robustness against failures for correctly matching the sources in the image to a reference ...catalog, and on the stability of the solutions over the field of view (e.g., using orthogonal polynomials for the fitted transformation). The code was tested on over 5 × 104 images from various sources, including the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). The tested images equally represent low and high Galactic latitude fields and exhibit failure/bad-solution rate of 2 × 10−5. Running on PTF 60-s integration images, and using the GAIA-DR2 as a reference catalog, the typical two-axes-combined astrometric root-mean square (rms) is 14 mas at the bright end, presumably due to astrometric scintillation noise and systematic errors. I discuss the effects of seeing, airmass, and the order of the transformation on the astrometric accuracy. The software, available online, is developed in MATLAB as part of an astronomical image processing environment and it can be run also as a stand-alone code.
The explosive fate of massive Wolf-Rayet stars (WRSs) is a key open question in stellar physics. An appealing option is that hydrogen-deficient WRSs are the progenitors of some hydrogen-poor ...supernova explosions of types IIb, Ib and Ic (ref. 2). A blue object, having luminosity and colours consistent with those of some WRSs, has recently been identified in pre-explosion images at the location of a supernova of type Ib (ref. 3), but has not yet been conclusively determined to have been the progenitor. Similar work has so far only resulted in non-detections. Comparison of early photometric observations of type Ic supernovae with theoretical models suggests that the progenitor stars had radii of less than 10(12) centimetres, as expected for some WRSs. The signature of WRSs, their emission line spectra, cannot be probed by such studies. Here we report the detection of strong emission lines in a spectrum of type IIb supernova 2013cu (iPTF13ast) obtained approximately 15.5 hours after explosion (by 'flash spectroscopy', which captures the effects of the supernova explosion shock breakout flash on material surrounding the progenitor star). We identify Wolf-Rayet-like wind signatures, suggesting a progenitor of the WN(h) subclass (those WRSs with winds dominated by helium and nitrogen, with traces of hydrogen). The extent of this dense wind may indicate increased mass loss from the progenitor shortly before its explosion, consistent with recent theoretical predictions.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
GIANT SPARKS AT COSMOLOGICAL DISTANCES? Kulkarni, S R; Ofek, E O; Neill, J D ...
Astrophysical journal/The Astrophysical journal,
12/2014, Letnik:
797, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Millisecond-duration bright radio pulses at 1.4 GHz with high dispersion measures (DMs) were reported by Lorimer et al., Keane et al., and Thornton et al. Their all-sky rate is approximately 10 ...super(4) day super(-1) above ~1 Jy. Related events are "Perytons"-similar pulsed, dispersed sources, but most certainly local. Suggested models of fast radio bursts (FRBs) can originate in Earth's atmosphere, in stellar coronae, in other galaxies, and even at cosmological distances. Using physically motivated assumptions combined with observed properties, we explore these models. In our analysis, we focus on the Lorimer event: a 30 Jy, 5 ms duration burst with DM = 375 cm super(-3) pc, exhibiting a steep frequency-dependent pulse width (the Sparker). To be complete, we drop the assumption that high DMs are produced by plasma propagation and assume that the source produces pulses with frequency-dependent arrival time ("chirped signals"). Within this framework, we explore a scenario in which Perytons, the Sparker, and the FRBs are all atmospheric phenomena occurring at different heights. This model is ad hoc in that we cannot explain why Perytons at higher altitudes show greater DMs or exhibit narrower pulses. Nonetheless, we argue that the Sparker may be a Peryton. We end with two remarks. First, the detection of a single FRB by an interferometer with a kilometer (or longer) baseline will prove that FRBs are of extraterrestrial origin. Second, we urge astronomers to pursue observations and understanding of Perytons since they form (at least) a formidable foreground for the FRBs.
Typically large telescope construction and operation costs scale up faster than their collecting area. This slows scientific progress, making it expensive and complicated to increase telescope size. ...We review the argument that a metric that represents the capability of an imaging survey telescopes, and that captures a wide range of science objectives, is the telescope grasp-the amount of volume of space in which a standard candle is detectable per unit time. We show that in a homogeneous Euclidean universe, and in the background-noise dominated limit, the grasp is: ∝ A eff 3 4 − 3 2 t E 3 4 ( t E + t D ) , where is the telescope field of view, Aeff is the effective collecting area of the telescope, is the instrumental or atmospheric seeing or the pixel-size, whichever dominates, tE is the exposure time, and tD is the dead time. In this case, the optimal exposure time is three times the dead time. We also introduce a related metric we call the information-content grasp, which summarizes the variance of all sources observed by the telescope per unit time. We show that, in the background-noise dominated regime, the information-content grasp scales like the grasp. For seeing-dominated sky surveys, in terms of grasp, étendue, or collecting-area optimization, recent technological advancements make it more cost effective to construct multiple small telescopes rather than a single large telescope with a similar grasp or étendue. Among these key advancements are the availability of large-format back-side illuminated CMOS detectors with 4 m pixels, well suited to sample standard seeing conditions given typical focal lengths of small fast telescopes. We also discuss the possible use of multiple small telescopes for spectroscopy and intensity interferometers. We argue that if all the obstacles to implementing cost-effective wide-field imaging and multi-object spectrographs using multiple small telescopes are removed, then the motivation to build new single large-aperture ( 1 m) visible-light telescopes which are seeing-dominated, will be weakened. These ideas have led to the concept of the, currently under construction, Large-Array Survey Telescope.
ABSTRACT While dozens of stellar-mass black holes (BHs) have been discovered in binary systems, isolated BHs have eluded detection. Their presence can be inferred when they lens light from a ...background star. We attempt to detect the astrometric lensing signatures of three photometrically identified microlensing events, OGLE-2011-BLG-0022, OGLE-2011-BLG-0125, and OGLE-2012-BLG-0169 (OB110022, OB110125, and OB120169), located toward the Galactic Bulge. These events were selected because of their long durations, which statistically favors more massive lenses. Astrometric measurements were made over one to two years using laser-guided adaptive optics observations from the W. M. Keck Observatory. Lens model parameters were first constrained by the photometric light curves. The OB120169 light curve is well fit by a single-lens model, while both OB110022 and OB110125 light curves favor binary lens models. Using the photometric fits as prior information, no significant astrometric lensing signal was detected and all targets were consistent with linear motion. The significant lack of astrometric signal constrains the lens mass of OB110022 to 0.05-1.79 M in a 99.7% confidence interval, which disfavors a BH lens. Fits to OB110125 yielded a reduced Einstein crossing time and insufficient observations during the peak, so no mass limits were obtained. Two degenerate solutions exist for OB120169, which have a lens mass between 0.2-38.8 M and 0.4-39.8 M for a 99.7% confidence interval. Follow-up observations of OB120169 will further constrain the lens mass. Based on our experience, we use simulations to design optimal astrometric observing strategies and show that with more typical observing conditions the detection of BHs is feasible.
iPTF16geu Goobar, A.; Amanullah, R.; Kulkarni, S. R. ...
Science,
04/2017, Letnik:
356, Številka:
6335
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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We report the discovery of a multiply imaged, gravitationally lensed type Ia supernova, iPTF16geu (SN 2016geu), at redshift z = 0.409. This phenomenon was identified because the light from the ...stellar explosion was magnified more than 50 times by the curvature of space around matter in an intervening galaxy. We used high-spatial-resolution observations to resolve four images of the lensed supernova, approximately 0.3 arc seconds from the center of the foreground galaxy. The observations probe a physical scale of ~1 kiloparsec, smaller than is typical in other studies of extragalactic gravitational lensing. The large magnification and symmetric image configuration imply close alignment between the lines of sight to the supernova and to the lens. The relative magnifications of the four images provide evidence for substructures in the lensing galaxy.
The evolution of a Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) is governed by the interaction between the SN ejecta and a hydrogen-rich circumstellar medium. The SNe IIn thus allow us to probe the late-time ...mass-loss history of their progenitor stars. We present a sample of SNe IIn from the untargeted, magnitude-limited surveys of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and its successor, the intermediate PTF (iPTF). To date, statistics on SN IIn optical light-curve properties have generally been based on small (≲10 SNe) samples from targeted SN surveys. The SNe IIn found and followed by the PTF/iPTF were used to select a sample of 42 events with useful constraints on the rise times as well as with available post-peak photometry. The sample SNe were discovered in 2009−2016 and have at least one low-resolution classification spectrum, as well as photometry from the P48 and P60 telescopes at Palomar Observatory. We study the light-curve properties of these SNe IIn using spline fits (for the peak and the declining portion) and template matching (for the rising portion). We study the peak-magnitude distribution, rise times, decline rates, colour evolution, host galaxies, and K-corrections of the SNe in our sample. We find that the typical rise times are divided into fast and slow risers at 20 ± 6 d and 50 ± 11 d, respectively. The decline rates are possibly divided into two clusters (with slopes 0.013 ± 0.006 mag d
−1
and 0.040 ± 0.010 mag d
−1
), but this division has weak statistical significance. We find no significant correlation between the peak luminosity of SNe IIn and their rise times, but the more luminous SNe IIn are generally found to be more long-lasting. Slowly rising SNe IIn are generally found to decline slowly. The SNe in our sample were hosted by galaxies of absolute magnitude −22 ≲
M
g
≲ −13 mag. The K-corrections at light-curve peak of the SNe IIn in our sample are found to be within 0.2 mag for the observer’s frame
r
-band, for SNe at redshifts
z
< 0.25. By applying K-corrections and also including ostensibly “superluminous” SNe IIn, we find that the peak magnitudes are
M
r
peak
= −19.18 ± 1.32 mag. We conclude that the occurrence of conspicuous light-curve bumps in SNe IIn, such as in iPTF13z, are limited to 1.4
+14.6
−1.0
% of the SNe IIn. We also investigate a possible sub-type of SNe IIn with a fast rise to a ≳50 d plateau followed by a slow, linear decline.
ABSTRACT Supernovae (SNe) embedded in dense circumstellar material (CSM) may show prominent emission lines in their early-time spectra (≤10 days after the explosion), owing to recombination of the ...CSM ionized by the shock-breakout flash. From such spectra ("flash spectroscopy"), we can measure various physical properties of the CSM, as well as the mass-loss rate of the progenitor during the year prior to its explosion. Searching through the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF and iPTF) SN spectroscopy databases from 2009 through 2014, we found 12 SNe II showing flash-ionized (FI) signatures in their first spectra. All are younger than 10 days. These events constitute 14% of all 84 SNe in our sample having a spectrum within 10 days from explosion, and 18% of SNe II observed at ages <5 days, thereby setting lower limits on the fraction of FI events. We classified as "blue/featureless" (BF) those events having a first spectrum that is similar to that of a blackbody, without any emission or absorption signatures. It is possible that some BF events had FI signatures at an earlier phase than observed, or that they lack dense CSM around the progenitor. Within 2 days after explosion, 8 out of 11 SNe in our sample are either BF events or show FI signatures. Interestingly, we found that 19 out of 21 SNe brighter than an absolute magnitude MR = −18.2 belong to the FI or BF groups, and that all FI events peaked above MR = −17.6 mag, significantly brighter than average SNe II.
The rising light curves of Type Ia supernovae Firth, R E; Sullivan, M; Gal-Yam, A ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
02/2015, Letnik:
446, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present an analysis of the early, rising light curves of 18 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory and the La Silla-QUEST variability survey. We fit these early ...data flux using a simple power law (f(t) = alpha x t...) to determine the time of first light (t...), and hence the rise time (t...) from first light to peak luminosity, and the exponent of the power-law rise (n). We find a mean uncorrected rise time of 18.98 plus or minus 0.54 d, with individual supernova (SN) rise times ranging from 15.98 to 24.7 d. The exponent n shows significant departures from the simple 'fireball model' of n = 2 (or f(t) ... t...) usually assumed in the literature. With a mean value of n = 2.44 plus or minus 0.13, our data also show significant diversity from event to event. This deviation has implications for the distribution of ...Ni throughout the SN ejecta, with a higher index suggesting a lesser degree of ...Ni mixing. The range of n found also confirms that the ...Ni distribution is not standard throughout the population of SNe Ia, in agreement with earlier work measuring such abundances through spectral modelling. We also show that the duration of the very early light curve, before the luminosity has reached half of its maximal value, does not correlate with the light-curve shape or stretch used to standardize SNe Ia in cosmological applications. This has implications for the cosmological fitting of SN Ia light curves. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
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