DG Canum Venaticorum (DG CVn) is a binary system in which one of the components is an M-type dwarf ultrafast rotator, only three of which are known in the solar neighbourhood. Observations of DG CVn ...by the Swift satellite and several ground-based observatories during its superflare event on 2014 allowed us to perform a complete hard X-ray–optical follow-up of a superflare from the red-dwarf star. The observations support the fact that the superflare can be explained by the presence of (a) large active region(s) on the surface of the star. Such activity is similar to the most extreme solar flaring events. This points towards a plausible extrapolation between the behaviour from the most active red-dwarf stars and the processes occurring in the Sun.
This article explores the experiences of students who participated in a series of seminars that employed active learning methodologies. The study on which the article is based involved two parts. ...First, students completed a questionnaire after each seminar, resulting in 468 questionnaires. Second, nine students participated in a focus group where the questionnaire findings were explored. The research findings suggest that the students were highly engaged and that the mix of 'doing', 'observing' and 'reflecting' contributed to their engagement. However, in addition, the students' perspectives suggested that the learning environment in which the seminars took place was of particular importance. Overall, the study highlights that while active learning methodologies contribute to student engagement, the atmosphere in which the methodologies are used is also of central importance. Therefore, as well as paying attention to the cognitive aspects of learning, teachers need to consider the affective domains.
Aims. We investigate the long gamma-ray burst (GRB) 140629A through multiwavelength observations to derive the properties of the dominant jet and its host galaxy. Methods. The afterglow and host ...galaxy observations were taken in the optical (Swift/UVOT and various facilities worldwide), infrared (Spitzer), and X-rays (Swift/XRT) between 40 s and 3 yr after the burst trigger. Results. Polarisation observations by the MASTER telescope indicate that this burst is weakly polarised. The optical spectrum contains absorption features, from which we confirm the redshift of the GRB as originating at z = 2.276 ± 0.001. We performed spectral fitting of the X-rays to optical afterglow data and find there is no strong spectral evolution. We determine the hydrogen column density NH to be 7.2 × 1021 cm−2 along the line of sight. The afterglow in this burst can be explained by a blast wave jet with a long-lasting central engine expanding into a uniform medium in the slow cooling regime. At the end of energy injection, a normal decay phase is observed in both the optical and X-ray bands. An achromatic jet break is also found in the afterglow light curves ∼0.4 d after trigger. We fit the multiwavelength data simultaneously with a model based on a numerical simulation and find that the observations can be explained by a narrow uniform jet in a dense environment with an opening angle of 6.7° viewed 3.8° off-axis, which released a total energy of 1.4 × 1054 erg. Using the redshift and opening angle, we find GRB 140629A follows both the Ghirlanda and Amati relations. From the peak time of the light curve, identified as the onset of the forward shock (181s after trigger), the initial Lorentz factor (Γ0) is constrained in the range 82–118. Fitting the host galaxy photometry, we find the host to be a low mass, star-forming galaxy with a star formation rate of log (SFR) 1.1+0.9−0.4 M⊙ log ( SFR ) = 1 . 1 − 0.4 + 0.9 M ⊙ $ \log\mathrm{(SFR)}=1.1_{-0.4}^{+0.9}\,M_\odot $ yr−1. We obtain a value of the neutral hydrogen density by fitting the optical spectrum, log NHI = 21.0 ± 0.3, classifying this host as a damped Lyman-alpha. High ionisation lines (N V, Si IV) are also detected in the spectrum.
We present results of our analysis of the optical emission of the unique source GRB 070610/SWIFT J195509+261406 during its 2007 outburst and discuss the implications of the non-detection of the very ...faint optical counterpart in quiescence. We analyse the statistical properties of the optical brightness and X-ray intensity during the outburst and determined an approximate value of the mean colour index R−I. The optical emission has the form of spikes whose duration decreases with the outburst's progress, and the spectral energy distribution from the X-ray to the optical bands undergoes variations during the spikes. We show that the optical emission can be explained by a synchrotron mechanism while any thermal component is below the detection limit. We discuss the similarities between synchrotron emission of J1955 and the optical afterglows (OAs) of the extragalactic long gamma-ray bursts. We conclude that while the emission mechanisms in J1955 and OAs are quite similar, the configurations of their light-emitting regions largely differ. The synchrotron emission of the spike must be primarily generated near (several times 1010 cm) the central object, and cannot be explained by density enhancements in the interstellar medium. We argue that the activity of a central engine plays a great role in generating the afterglow emission of J1955. We discuss the possibility that J1955 is an ultracompact binary with a very low time-averaged mass transfer rate on to the neutron star. This can fulfil the conditions required for J1955, with the 2007 outburst as the extreme case seen from the very close X-ray binary SAX J1808.4−3658 in 2005.
Context. Dark gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) constitute a significant fraction of the GRB population. In this paper, we present a multi-wavelength analysis (both prompt emission and afterglow) of an intense ...(3.98 × 10 −5 erg cm −2 using Fermi -Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor) two-episodic GRB 150309A observed early on until ∼114 days post burst. Despite the strong gamma-ray emission, no optical afterglow was detected for this burst. However, we discovered near-infrared (NIR) afterglow ( K S -band), ∼5.2 h post burst, with the CIRCE instrument mounted at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (hereafter, GTC). Aims. We aim to examine the characteristics of GRB 150309A as a dark burst and to constrain other properties using multi-wavelength observations. Methods. We used Fermi observations of GRB 150309A to understand the prompt emission mechanisms and jet composition. We performed early optical observations using the BOOTES robotic telescope and late-time afterglow observations using the GTC. A potential faint host galaxy was also detected in the optical wavelength using the GTC. We modelled the potential host galaxy of GRB 150309A in order to explore the environment of the burst. Results. The time-resolved spectral analysis of Fermi data indicates a hybrid jet composition consisting of a matter-dominated fireball and magnetic-dominated Poynting flux. The GTC observations of the afterglow revealed that the counterpart of GRB 150309A was very red, with H − K S > 2.1 mag (95% confidence). The red counterpart was not discovered in any bluer filters of Swift UVOT/BOOTES, which would be indicative of a high redshift origin. Therefore we discarded this possibility based on multiple arguments, such as spectral analysis of the X-ray afterglow constrain z < 4.15 and a moderate redshift value obtained using the spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling of the potential galaxy. The broadband (X-ray to NIR bands) afterglow SED implies a very dusty host galaxy with a deeply embedded GRB (suggesting A V ≳ 35 mag). Conclusions. The environment of GRB 150309A demands a high extinction towards the line of sight. Demanding dust obscuration is the most probable origin of optical darkness as well as the very red afterglow of GRB 150309A. This result establishes GRB 150309A as the most extinguished GRB known to date.
Bootes-IR (Castro-Tiradoet al. 2005) is a robotic observatory based around a 60 cm alt-az telescope (dubbed T60) that can slew rapidly while carrying heavy instrumentation at the Nasmyth foci. ...Initially commissioned with an optical camera, with which the optical afterglow to GRB 060707 (http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3/5290.gcn3) was discovered, we have concentrated our efforts on the near-IR (0.8–2.5 μm) camera (BIRCAM) for which the telescope was specifically designed. The telescope is installed at the Observatorio de Sierra Nevada near Granada in Spain, at an altitude of 3000 m and in an area of very low humidity. The telescope, dome, camera and liquid nitrogen generation and refilling systems have all been recently brought back into operation, and routine observations are expected to begin within the next few months.
ABSTRACT
We present results from a multi-chord Pluto stellar occultation observed on 2015 June 29 from New Zealand and Australia. This occurred only two weeks before the NASA New Horizons flyby of ...the Pluto system and serves as a useful comparison between ground-based and space results. We find that Pluto's atmosphere is still expanding, with a significant pressure increase of 5 ± 2% since 2013 and a factor of almost three since 1988. This trend rules out, as of today, an atmospheric collapse associated with Pluto's recession from the Sun. A central flash, a rare occurrence, was observed from several sites in New Zealand. The flash shape and amplitude are compatible with a spherical and transparent atmospheric layer of roughly 3 km in thickness whose base lies at about 4 km above Pluto's surface, and where an average thermal gradient of about 5 K km
−1
prevails. We discuss the possibility that small departures between the observed and modeled flash are caused by local topographic features (mountains) along Pluto's limb that block the stellar light. Finally, using two possible temperature profiles, and extrapolating our pressure profile from our deepest accessible level down to the surface, we obtain a possible range of 11.9–13.7
μ
bar for the surface pressure.
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