Abstract
Recent detection of gravitational waves from a neutron star (NS) merger event GW170817 and identification of an electromagnetic counterpart provide a unique opportunity to study the physical ...processes in NS mergers. To derive properties of ejected material from the NS merger, we perform radiative transfer simulations of kilonova, optical and near-infrared emissions powered by radioactive decays of r-process nuclei synthesized in the merger. We find that the observed near-infrared emission lasting for >10 d is explained by 0.03 M⊙ of ejecta containing lanthanide elements. However, the blue optical component observed at the initial phases requires an ejecta component with a relatively high electron fraction (Ye). We show that both optical and near-infrared emissions are simultaneously reproduced by the ejecta with a medium Ye of ∼0.25. We suggest that a dominant component powering the emission is post-merger ejecta, which exhibits that the mass ejection after the first dynamical ejection is quite efficient. Our results indicate that NS mergers synthesize a wide range of r-process elements and strengthen the hypothesis that NS mergers are the origin of r-process elements in the Universe.
Abstract
GW170817 is the first detected gravitational wave source from a neutron star merger. We present the Japanese collaboration for gravitational-wave electro-magnetic (J-GEM) follow-up ...observations of SSS17a, an electromagnetic counterpart of GW170817. SSS17a shows a 2.5 mag decline in the z band during the period between 1.7 and 7.7 d after the merger. Such a rapid decline is not comparable with supernovae light curves at any epoch. The color of SSS17a also evolves rapidly and becomes redder during later epochs: the z − H color has changed by approximately 2.5 mag during the period between 0.7 and 7.7 d. The rapid evolutions of both the color and the optical brightness are consistent with the expected properties of a kilonova that is powered by the radioactive decay of newly synthesized r-process nuclei. Kilonova models with Lanthanide elements can reproduce the aforementioned observed properties well, which suggests that r-process nucleosynthesis beyond the second peak takes place in SSS17a. However, the absolute magnitude of SSS17a is brighter than the expected brightness of the kilonova models with an ejecta mass of 0.01 M⊙, which suggests a more intense mass ejection (∼0.03 M⊙) or possibly an additional energy source.
Abstract We report the optical, UV, and soft X-ray observations of the 2017–2022 eruptions of the recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a. We find a cusp feature in the r ′ - and i ′ -band light curves close to ...the peak, which could be related to jets. The geometry of the nova ejecta based on morpho-kinematic modeling of the H α emission line indicates an extended jet-like bipolar structure. Spectral modeling indicates an ejecta mass of 10 −7 –10 −8 M ⊙ during each eruption and an enhanced helium abundance. The supersoft source phase shows significant variability, which is anticorrelated to the UV emission, indicating a common origin. The variability could be due to the reformation of the accretion disk. We infer a steady decrease in the accretion rate over the years based on the intereruption recurrence period. A comparison of the accretion rate with different models on the M WD – M ̇ plane yields the mass of a CO white dwarf, powering the H-shell flashes every ∼1 yr, to be >1.36 M ⊙ and growing with time, making M31N 2008-12a a strong candidate for the single degenerate scenario of the Type Ia supernovae progenitor.
Abstract
We present early-phase panchromatic photometric and spectroscopic coverage spanning the far-ultraviolet to near-infrared regime of the nearest hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernova (SN) in ...the last 25 yr, SN 2023ixf. We observe early “flash” features in the optical spectra due to confined dense circumstellar material (CSM). We observe high-ionization absorption lines (Fe
ii
, Mg
ii
) in the ultraviolet spectra from very early on. We also observe a multipeaked emission profile of H
α
in the spectrum beginning at ∼16 days, which indicates ongoing interaction of the SN ejecta with a preexisting shell-shaped CSM having an inner radius of ∼75 au and an outer radius of ∼140 au. The shell-shaped CSM is likely a result of enhanced mass loss ∼35–65 yr before the explosion assuming a standard red supergiant wind. The UV spectra are dominated by multiple highly ionized narrow absorption and broad emission features from elements such as C, N, O, Si, Fe, and Ni. Based on early light-curve models of Type II SNe, we infer that the nearby dense CSM confined to 7 ± 3 × 10
14
cm (∼45 au) is a result of enhanced mass loss (10
−3.0±0.5
M
⊙
yr
−1
) two decades before the explosion.
Abstract
We report on SALT low-resolution optical spectroscopy and optical/IR photometry undertaken with other SAAO telescopes (MASTER-SAAO and IRSF) of the kilonova AT 2017gfo (a.k.a. SSS17a) in the ...galaxy NGC4993 during the first 10 d of discovery. This event has been identified as the first ever electromagnetic counterpart of a gravitational wave event, namely GW170817, which was detected by the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave observatories. The event is likely due to a merger of two neutron stars, resulting in a kilonova explosion. SALT was the third observatory to obtain spectroscopy of AT 2017gfo and the first spectrum, 1.2 d after the merger, is quite blue and shows some broad features, but no identifiable spectral lines and becomes redder by the second night. We compare the spectral and photometric evolution with recent kilonova simulations and conclude that they are in qualitative agreement for post-merger wind models with proton:nucleon ratios of Ye = 0.25–0.30. The blue colour of the first spectrum is consistent with the lower opacity of the lanthanide-free r-process elements in the ejecta. Differences between the models and observations are likely due to the choice of system parameters combined with the absence of atomic data for more elements in the ejecta models.
Discovery of carbon-rich Miras in the Galactic bulge Matsunaga, Noriyuki; Menzies, John W; Feast, Michael W ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
08/2017, Volume:
469, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Abstract
Only one carbon-rich (C-rich, hereinafter) Mira variable has so far been suggested as a member of the Galactic bulge and this is in a symbiotic system. Here we describe a method for ...selecting C-rich candidates from an infrared colour–colour diagram, (J − K
s) versus (9 − 18). Follow-up low-resolution spectroscopy resulted in the detection of eight C-rich Mira variables from a sample of 36 candidates towards the Galactic bulge. Our near-infrared photometry indicates that two of these, including the known symbiotic, are closer than the main body of the bulge while a third is a known foreground object. Of the five bulge members, one shows He i and O ii emission and is possibly another symbiotic star. Our method is useful for identifying rare C-rich stars in the Galactic bulge and elsewhere. The age of these C-rich stars and the evolutionary process which produced them remain uncertain. They could be old and the products of either binary mass transfer or mergers, i.e. the descendants of blue stragglers, but we cannot rule out the possibility that they belong to a small in situ population of metal-poor intermediate age (<5 Gyr) stars in the bulge or that they have been accreted from a dwarf galaxy.
The central region of the enigmatic Malin 1 Saha, Kanak; Dhiwar, Suraj; Barway, Sudhanshu ...
Journal of astrophysics and astronomy,
10/2021, Volume:
42, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Malin 1, being a class of giant low surface galaxies, continues to surprise us even today. The HST/F814W observation has shown that the central region of Malin 1 is more like a normal SB0/a galaxy, ...while the rest of the disk has the characteristic of a low surface brightness system. The AstroSat/UVIT observations suggest scattered recent star formation activity all over the disk, especially along the spiral arms. The central
9
′
′
(
∼
14
kpc
) region, similar to the size of the Milky Way’s stellar disk, has a number of far-UV clumps—indicating recent star-formation activity. The high resolution UVIT/F154W image reveals far-UV emission within the bar region (
∼
4
kpc
)—suggesting the presence of hot, young stars in the bar. These young stars from the bar region are perhaps responsible for producing the strong emission lines such as H
α
, O
ii
seen in the SDSS spectra. Malin 1B, a dwarf early-type galaxy, is interacting with the central region and probably responsible for inducing the recent star-formation activity in this galaxy.
We report observations of the optical counterpart of the long gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A. Due to the extreme rarity of being both nearby (z = 0.151) and highly energetic (Eϒ,iso≥ 1054erg), GRB ...221009A offers a unique opportunity to probe the connection between massive star core collapse and relativistic jet formation across a very broad range of γ-ray properties. Adopting a phenomenological power-law model for the afterglow and host galaxy estimates from high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we use Bayesian model comparison techniques to determine the likelihood of an associated supernova (SN) contributing excess flux to the optical light curve. Though not conclusive, we find moderate evidence (KBayes=101.2for the presence of an additional component arising from an associated SN, SN 2022xiw, and find that it must be substantially fainter (<67% as bright at the 99% confidence interval) than SN 1998bw. Given the large and uncertain line-of-sight extinction, we attempt to constrain the SN parameters (MNi, Mejand EKE) under several different assumptions with respect to the host galaxy's extinction. We find properties that are broadly consistent with previous GRB-associated SNe: MNi = 0.05–0.25 M⊙, Mej = 3.5–11.1 M⊙, and EKE = (1.6–5.2) × 1052 erg. We note that these properties are weakly constrained due to the faintness of the SN with respect to the afterglow and host emission, but we do find a robust upper limit on MNi of MNi < 0.36 M⊙. Given the tremendous range in isotropic gamma-ray energy release exhibited by GRBs (seven orders of magnitude), the SN emission appears to be decoupled from the central engine in these systems.
In the innermost regions of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), matter is understood to be flowing onto the Supermassive black hole (SMBH), which forms an accretion disk. This disk is responsible for the ...optical/UV continuum emission observed in the spectra of AGN. Reverberation Mapping of the accretion disk using multiple bands can yield the structure of the disk. The emission is expected to be of the black body type peaking at different wavelengths. Hence, depending on the temperature of the disk, continuous, simultaneous monitoring in multiple wavelength ranges to cover hotter inner regions and cooler outer regions can yield the structure and temperature profile of the accretion disk itself. In this study, we present initial results from our accretion disk reverberation mapping campaign targeting AGN with Super High Eddington Accreting Black Holes (SEAMBH). Our analysis on one of the sources, IRAS 04416+1215, based on the broadband observations using the Growth India telescope (GIT), reveals that the size of the accretion disk for this source, calculated by cross-correlating the continuum light curves is larger than expected from the theoretical model. We fit the light curves directly using the thin disk model available in JAVELIN and find that the disk sizes are approximately four times larger than expected from the Shakura Sunyaev (SS) disk model. Further studies are needed to understand better the structure and physics of AGN accretion disks and their role in the evolution of galaxies.
Aims.
We aim to investigate the characteristics of the bar and inner disc in the collisional ring galaxy Cartwheel.
Methods.
We used integral field unit (IFU) observations from the Multi-Unit ...Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to investigate the stellar kinematics, age, and nature of ionised gas in the inner region of the Cartwheel galaxy. We produced stellar line of sight velocity (
V
), velocity dispersion (
σ
),
h
3
velocity moment, stellar population age, and emission-line maps of the galaxy using the Galaxy IFU Spectroscopy Tool (GIST) pipeline.
Results.
The observed nature of the intensity,
V
, and
σ
profiles together support the existence of a stellar bar, as earlier revealed from near-infrared (NIR)
K
s
-band imaging. A weak correlation between
V
/
σ
and
h
3
is found within the bar radius, providing more kinematic evidence for a stellar bar that survived the drop-through collision. The overall weak anti-correlation between
V
/
σ
and
h
3
in the disc implies that the stellar orbits in the disc are less stable, which might be due to the impact of the collision. The mass-weighted age map of the galaxy shows that the stellar populations in the bar region are relatively old, with an increasing gradient from the bar edge to the centre, further evidence that the bar was present before the galaxy underwent collision. Using a BPT diagram, we analysed a central unresolved source detected earlier with NIR imaging and do not find evidence of an active galactic nucleus. Our findings signify the preservation of the pre-collisional structures in the inner region of the Cartwheel, an important point to note when attempting to determine the evolution of collisional galaxy systems, particularly when investigating pre-collisional central regions in theoretical studies.
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