Astrophys.J.667:358-366,2007 The fast repositioning system of the MAGIC Telescope has allowed during its
first data cycle, between 2005 and the beginning of year 2006, observing nine
different GRBs ...as possible sources of very high energy gammas. These
observations were triggered by alerts from Swift, HETE-II, and Integral; they
started as fast as possible after the alerts and lasted for several minutes,
with an energy threshold varying between 80 and 200 GeV, depending upon the
zenith angle of the burst. No evidence for gamma signals was found, and upper
limits for the flux were derived for all events, using the standard analysis
chain of MAGIC. For the bursts with measured redshift, the upper limits are
compatible with a power law extrapolation, when the intrinsic fluxes are
evaluated taking into account the attenuation due to the scattering in the
Metagalactic Radiation Field (MRF).
Astrophys.J.642:L119-L122,2006 The MAGIC collaboration has studied the high peaked BL-Lac object
1ES1218+30.4 at a redshift z = 0.182, using the MAGIC imaging air Cherenkov
telescope located on the ...Canary island of La Palma. A gamma-ray signal was
observed with 6.4sigma significance. The differential energy spectrum for an
energy threshold of 120GeV can be fitted by a simple power law yielding F_E(E)
= (8.1+-2.1)*10^-7 (E/250GeV)^(-3.0+-0.4) TeV^-1 m^-2 s^-1. During the six days
of observation in January 2005 no time variability on time scales of days was
found within the statistical errors. The observed integral flux above 350GeV is
nearly a factor two below the the upper limit reported by the Whipple
Collaboration in 2003.
We present an analysis of the impact of bars and bulges on the radial distributions of the different types of supernovae (SNe) in the stellar discs of host galaxies with various morphologies. We use ...a well-defined sample of 500 nearby (≤100 Mpc) SNe and their low-inclined (i ≤ 60°) and morphologically non-disturbed S0–Sm host galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that in Sa–Sm galaxies, all core-collapse (CC) and vast majority of SNe Ia belong to the disc, rather than the bulge component. The radial distribution of SNe Ia in S0–S0/a galaxies is inconsistent with their distribution in Sa–Sm hosts, which is probably due to the contribution of the outer bulge SNe Ia in S0–S0/a galaxies. In Sa–Sbc galaxies, the radial distribution of CC SNe in barred hosts is inconsistent with that in unbarred ones, while the distributions of SNe Ia are not significantly different. At the same time, the radial distributions of both types of SNe in Sc–Sm galaxies are not affected by bars. We propose that the additional mechanism shaping the distributions of Type Ia and CC SNe can be explained within the framework of substantial suppression of massive star formation in the radial range swept by strong bars, particularly in early-type spirals. The radial distribution of CC SNe in unbarred Sa–Sbc galaxies is more centrally peaked and inconsistent with that in unbarred Sc–Sm hosts, while the distribution of SNe Ia in unbarred galaxies is not affected by host morphology. These results can be explained by the distinct distributions of massive stars in the discs of early- and late-type spirals.
Stars and planets both form by accreting material from a surrounding disk. Because they grow from the same material, theory predicts that there should be a relationship between their compositions. In ...this study, we search for a compositional link between rocky exoplanets and their host stars. We estimate the iron-mass fraction of rocky exoplanets from their masses and radii and compare it with the compositions of their host stars, which we assume reflect the compositions of the protoplanetary disks. We find a correlation (but not a 1:1 relationship) between these two quantities, with a slope of >4, which we interpret as being attributable to planet formation processes. Super-Earths and super-Mercuries appear to be distinct populations with differing compositions, implying differences in their formation processes.
Astrophys.J.641:L9-L12,2006 The long-duration GRB050713a was observed by the MAGIC Telescope, 40 seconds
after the burst onset, and followed up for 37 minutes, until twilight. The
observation, ...triggered by a SWIFT alert, covered energies above ~175 GeV. Using
standard MAGIC analysis, no evidence for a gamma signal was found. As the
redshift of the GRB was not measured directly, the flux upper limit, estimated
by MAGIC, is still compatible with the assumption of an unbroken power-law
spectrum extending from a few hundred keV to our energy range.
In the realm of maritime transportation, autonomous vessel navigation in natural inland waterways faces persistent challenges due to unpredictable natural factors. Existing scheduling algorithms fall ...short in handling these uncertainties, compromising both safety and efficiency. Moreover, these algorithms are primarily designed for nonautonomous vessels, leading to labor-intensive operations vulnerable to human error. To address these issues, this study proposes a risk-aware motion control approach for vessels that accounts for the dynamic and uncertain nature of tide islands in a distributionally robust manner. Specifically, a model predictive control (MPC) method is employed to follow the reference trajectory in the time-space map while incorporating a risk constraint to prevent grounding accidents. To address uncertainties in tide islands, a novel modeling technique represents them as stochastic polytopes. Additionally, potential inaccuracies in waterway depth are addressed through a risk constraint that considers the worst case uncertainty distribution within a Wasserstein ambiguity set around the empirical distribution. Using sensor data collected in the Guadalquivir River, we empirically demonstrate the performance of the proposed method through simulations on a vessel. As a result, the vessel successfully navigates the waterway while avoiding grounding accidents, even with a limited dataset of observations. This stands in contrast to existing nonrobust controllers, highlighting the robustness and practical applicability of the proposed approach.
Using a sample of 215 supernovae (SNe), we analyse their positions relative to the spiral arms of their host galaxies, distinguishing grand-design (GD) spirals from non-GD (NGD) galaxies. We find ...that: (1) in GD galaxies, an offset exists between the positions of Ia and core-collapse (CC) SNe relative to the peaks of arms, while in NGD galaxies the positions show no such shifts; (2) in GD galaxies, the positions of CC SNe relative to the peaks of arms are correlated with the radial distance from the galaxy nucleus. Inside (outside) the corotation radius, CC SNe are found closer to the inner (outer) edge. No such correlation is observed for SNe in NGD galaxies nor for SNe Ia in either galaxy class; (3) in GD galaxies, SNe Ibc occur closer to the leading edges of the arms than do SNe II, while in NGD galaxies they are more concentrated towards the peaks of arms. In both samples of hosts, the distributions of SNe Ia relative to the arms have broader wings. These observations suggest that shocks in spiral arms of GD galaxies trigger star formation in the leading edges of arms affecting the distributions of CC SNe (known to have short-lived progenitors). The closer locations of SNe Ibc versus SNe II relative to the leading edges of the arms supports the belief that SNe Ibc have more massive progenitors. SNe Ia having less massive and older progenitors, have more time to drift away from the leading edge of the spiral arms.
ABSTRACT
We present an analysis of the light curve (LC) decline rates (Δm15) of 407 normal and peculiar supernovae (SNe) Ia and global parameters of their host galaxies. As previously known, there is ...a significant correlation between the Δm15 of normal SNe Ia and global ages (morphologies, colours, and masses) of their hosts. On average, those normal SNe Ia that are in galaxies from the Red Sequence (early-type, massive, old hosts) have faster declining LCs in comparison with those from the Blue Cloud (late-type, less massive, younger hosts) of the colour–mass diagram. The observed correlations between the Δm15 of normal SNe Ia and hosts’ parameters appear to be due to the superposition of at least two distinct populations of faster and slower declining normal SNe Ia from older and younger stellar components. We show, for the first time, that the Δm15 of 91bg- and 91T-like SNe is independent of host morphology and colour. The distribution of hosts on the colour–mass diagram confirms the known tendency for 91bg-like SNe to occur in globally red/old galaxies, while 91T-like events prefer blue/younger hosts. On average, the youngest global ages of 02cx-like SNe hosts and their positions in the colour–mass diagram hint that these events likely originate from young population, but they differ from 91T-like events in the LC decline rate. Finally, we discuss the possible explosion channels and present our favoured SN Ia models that have the potential to explain the observed SN–host relations.
We present an analysis of the impact of spiral density waves (DWs) on the radial and surface density distributions of supernovae (SNe) in host galaxies with different arm classes. We use a ...well-defined sample of 269 relatively nearby, low-inclination, morphologically non-disturbed and unbarred Sa–Sc galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, hosting 333 SNe. Only for core-collapse (CC) SNe, a significant difference appears when comparing their R25-normalized radial distributions in long-armed grand-design (LGD) versus non-GD (NGD) hosts, with that in LGD galaxies being marginally inconsistent with an exponential profile, while SNe Ia exhibit exponential surface density profiles regardless of the arm class. Using a smaller sample of LGD galaxies with estimated corotation radii (RC), we show that the RC-normalized surface density distribution of CC SNe indicates a dip at corotation. Although not statistically significant, the high CC SNe surface density just inside and outside corotation may be the sign of triggered massive star formation by the DWs. Our results may, if confirmed with larger samples, support the large-scale shock scenario induced by spiral DWs in LGD galaxies, which predicts a higher star formation efficiency around the shock fronts, avoiding the corotation region.
Context.
Revealing the mechanisms shaping the architecture of planetary systems is crucial for our understanding of their formation and evolution. In this context, it has been recently proposed that ...stellar clustering might be the key in shaping the orbital architecture of exoplanets.
Aims.
The main goal of this work is to explore the factors that shape the orbits of planets.
Methods.
We performed different statistical tests to compare the properties of planets and their host stars associated with different stellar environments.
Results.
We used a homogeneous sample of relatively young FGK dwarf stars with radial velocity detected planets and tested the hypothesis that their association to phase space (position-velocity) over-densities (“cluster” stars) and under-densities (“field” stars) impacts the orbital periods of planets. When controlling for the host star properties on a sample of 52 planets orbiting around cluster stars and 15 planets orbiting around field stars, we found no significant difference in the period distribution of planets orbiting these two populations of stars. By considering an extended sample of 73 planets orbiting around cluster stars and 25 planets orbiting field stars, a significant difference in the planetary period distributions emerged. However, the hosts associated with stellar under-densities appeared to be significantly older than their cluster counterparts. This does not allow us to conclude as to whether the planetary architecture is related to age, environment, or both. We further studied a sample of planets orbiting cluster stars to study the mechanism responsible for the shaping of orbits of planets in similar environments. We could not identify a parameter that can unambiguously be responsible for the orbital architecture of massive planets, perhaps, indicating the complexity of the issue.
Conclusions.
An increased number of planets in clusters and in over-density environments will help to build large and unbiased samples which will then allow to better understand the dominant processes shaping the orbits of planets.
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