Detection of the IceCube-170922A neutrino coincident with the flaring blazar TXS 0506+056, the first and only ∼3 high-energy neutrino source association to date, offers a potential breakthrough in ...our understanding of high-energy cosmic particles and blazar physics. We present a comprehensive analysis of TXS 0506+056 during its flaring state, using newly collected Swift, NuSTAR, and X-shooter data with Fermi observations and numerical models to constrain the blazar's particle acceleration processes and multimessenger (electromagnetic (EM) and high-energy neutrino) emissions. Accounting properly for EM cascades in the emission region, we find a physically consistent picture only within a hybrid leptonic scenario, with γ-rays produced by external inverse-Compton processes and high-energy neutrinos via a radiatively subdominant hadronic component. We derive robust constraints on the blazar's neutrino and cosmic-ray emissions and demonstrate that, because of cascade effects, the 0.1-100 keV emissions of TXS 0506+056 serve as a better probe of its hadronic acceleration and high-energy neutrino production processes than its GeV-TeV emissions. If the IceCube neutrino association holds, physical conditions in the TXS 0506+056 jet must be close to optimal for high-energy neutrino production, and are not favorable for ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray acceleration. Alternatively, the challenges we identify in generating a significant rate of IceCube neutrino detections from TXS 0506+056 may disfavor single-zone models, in which γ-rays and high-energy neutrinos are produced in a single emission region. In concert with continued operations of the high-energy neutrino observatories, we advocate regular X-ray monitoring of TXS 0506+056 and other blazars in order to test single-zone blazar emission models, clarify the nature and extent of their hadronic acceleration processes, and carry out the most sensitive possible search for additional multimessenger sources.
ABSTRACT We report our discovery in Swift satellite data of a transient gamma-ray counterpart (3.2 confidence) to the fast radio burst (FRB) FRB 131104, the first such counterpart to any FRB. The ...transient has a duration T90 100 s and a fluence Sγ 4 × 10−6 erg cm−2, increasing the energy budget for this event by more than a billion times; at the nominal z 0.55 redshift implied by its dispersion measure, the burst's gamma-ray energy output is Eγ 5 × 1051 erg. The observed radio to gamma-ray fluence ratio for FRB 131104 is consistent with a lower limit we derive from Swift observations of another FRB, which is not detected in gamma-rays, and with an upper limit previously derived for the brightest gamma-ray flare from SGR 1806−20, which was not detected in the radio. X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical observations beginning two days after the FRB do not reveal any associated afterglow, supernova, or transient; Swift observations exclude association with the brightest 65% of Swift gamma-ray burst (GRB) X-ray afterglows, while leaving the possibility of an associated supernova at much more than 10% the FRB's nominal distance, D 320 Mpc, largely unconstrained. Transient high-luminosity gamma-ray emission arises most naturally in a relativistic outflow or shock breakout, such as, for example, from magnetar flares, GRBs, relativistic supernovae, and some types of galactic nuclear activity. Our discovery thus bolsters the case for an extragalactic origin for some FRBs and suggests that future rapid-response observations might identify long-lived counterparts, resolving the nature of these mysterious phenomena and realizing their promise as probes of cosmology and fundamental physics.
We present results of a search for late-time radio emission and fast radio bursts (FRBs) from a sample of type-I superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I). We used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array to ...observe 10 SLSN-I more than 5 yr old at a frequency of 3 GHz. We searched fast-sampled visibilities for FRBs and used the same data to perform a deep imaging search for late-time radio emission expected in models of magnetar-powered supernovae. No FRBs were found. One SLSN-I, PTF10hgi, is detected in deep imaging, corresponding to a luminosity of 1.2 × 1028 erg s−1. This luminosity, considered with the recent 6 GHz detection of PTF10hgi in Eftekhari et al., supports the interpretation that it is powered by a young, fast-spinning (∼ms spin period) magnetar with ∼15 M of partially ionized ejecta. Broadly, our observations are most consistent with SLSNe-I being powered by neutron stars with fast spin periods, although most require more free-free absorption than is inferred for PTF10hgi. We predict that radio observations at higher frequencies or in the near future will detect these systems and begin constraining properties of the young pulsars and their birth environments.
Abstract
We present the largest and deepest late-time radio and millimeter survey to date of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) to search for associated ...nonthermal synchrotron emission. Using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), we observed 43 sources at 6 and 100 GHz on a timescale of ∼ 1–19 yr post-explosion. We do not detect radio/millimeter emission from any of the sources, with the exception of a 6 GHz detection of PTF10hgi, as well as the detection of 6 GHz emission near the location of the SLSN PTF12dam, which we associate with its host galaxy. We use our data to place constraints on central engine emission due to magnetar wind nebulae and off-axis relativistic jets. We also explore nonrelativistic emission from the SN ejecta, and place constraints on obscured star formation in the host galaxies. In addition, we conduct a search for fast radio bursts (FRBs) from some of the sources using VLA phased-array observations; no FRBs are detected to a limit of 16 mJy (7
σ
; 10 ms duration) in about 40 minutes on source per event. A comparison to theoretical models suggests that continued radio monitoring may lead to detections of persistent radio emission on timescales of ≳ a decade.
We review integrated dynamical approaches to describe heavy ion reaction as a whole at ultrarelativistic energies. Since final observables result from all the history of the reaction, it is important ...to describe all the stages of the reaction to obtain the properties of the quark–gluon plasma from experimental data. As an example of these approaches, we develop an integrated dynamical model, which is composed of a fully (3+1) dimensional ideal hydrodynamic model with a state-of-the-art equation of state based on lattice QCD, and subsequent hadronic cascade in the late stage. Initial conditions are obtained employing Monte Carlo versions of the Kharzeev–Levin–Nardi model (MC-KLN) or the Glauber model (MC-Glauber). Using this integrated model, we first simulate relativistic heavy ion collisions at the RHIC and LHC energies starting from conventional smooth initial conditions. We next utilise each Monte Carlo sample of initial conditions on an event-by-event basis and perform event-by-event dynamical simulations to accumulate a large number of minimum bias events. A special attention is paid to performing the flow analysis as in experiments towards consistent comparison of theoretical results with experimental data.
Context. The spectrum of cosmic rays (CRs) is affected by their escape from an acceleration site. This may be observed not only in the gamma-ray spectrum of young supernova remnants (SNRs) such as ...RX J1713.7–3946, but also in the spectrum of CRs showering the Earth. Aims. The escape-limited model of cosmic-ray acceleration is studied in general. We discuss the spectrum of runaway CRs from the acceleration site. The model will also be able to constrain the spectral index at the acceleration site and the ansatz with respect to the unknown injection process into the particle acceleration. Methods. Our methods are analytical derivations. We apply our model to CR acceleration in SNRs and in active galactic nuclei (AGN), which are plausible candidates of Galactic and extragalactic CRs, respectively. In particular we take account into the shock evolution with cooling of escaping CRs in the Sedov phase for young SNRs. Results. The spectrum of escaping CRs generally depends on the physical quantities at the acceleration site like the spectral index, the evolution of the maximum energy of CRs and the evolution of the normalization factor of the spectrum. It is found that the spectrum of runaway particles can be both softer and harder than that of the acceleration site. Conclusions. The model explains spectral indices of both Galactic and extragalactic CRs produced by SNRs and AGNs, respectively, suggesting the unified picture of CR acceleration.
We study the survival of ultrahigh energy nuclei injected in clusters of galaxies, as well as their secondary neutrino and photon emissions, using a complete numerical propagation method and a ...realistic modeling of the magnetic, baryonic, and photonic backgrounds. It is found that the survival of heavy nuclei highly depends on the injection position and on the profile of the magnetic field. Taking into account the limited lifetime of the central source could also lead in some cases to the detection of a cosmic-ray afterglow, temporally decorrelated from neutrino and gamma-ray emissions. We calculate that the diffusive neutrino flux around 1 PeV coming from clusters of galaxies may have a chance to be detected by current instruments. The observation of single sources in neutrinos and in gamma rays produced by ultrahigh energy cosmic rays will be more difficult. Signals coming from lower energy cosmic rays (E 1 PeV), if they exist, might however be detected by Fermi, for reasonable sets of parameters.
The double explosion of SN 2009ip in 2012 raises questions about our understanding of the late stages of massive star evolution. Here we present a comprehensive study of SN 2009ip during its ...remarkable rebrightenings. High-cadence photometric and spectroscopic observations from the GeV to the radio band obtained from a variety of ground-based and space facilities (including the Very Large Array, Swift, Fermi, Hubble Space Telescope, and XMM) constrain SN 2009ip to be a low energy (E ~ 10 super(50) erg for an ejecta mass ~0.5 M sub(middot in circle)) and asymmetric explosion in a complex medium shaped by multiple eruptions of the restless progenitor star. Most of the energy is radiated as a result of the shock breaking out through a dense shell of material located at ~5 x 10 super(14)cm with M ~ 0.1 M sub(middot in circle), ejected by the precursor outburst ~40 days before the major explosion. We interpret the NIR excess of emission as signature of material located further out, the origin of which has to be connected with documented mass-loss episodes in the previous years. Our modeling predicts bright neutrino emission associated with the shock break-out if the cosmic-ray energy is comparable to the radiated energy. We connect this phenomenology with the explosive ejection of the outer layers of the massive progenitor star, which later interacted with material deposited in the surroundings by previous eruptions. Future observations will reveal if the massive luminous progenitor star survived. Irrespective of whether the explosion was terminal, SN 2009ip brought to light the existence of new channels for sustained episodic mass loss, the physical origin of which has yet to be identified.
Abstract
We present the results from a multiyear radio campaign of the superluminous supernova (SLSN) SN 2017ens, which yielded the earliest radio detection of an SLSN to date at the age of ∼3.3 yr ...after explosion. SN 2017ens was not detected at radio frequencies in the first ∼300 days but reached
L
ν
≈ 10
28
erg s
−1
cm
−2
Hz
−1
at
ν
∼ 6 GHz, ∼1250 days post explosion. Interpreting the radio observations in the context of synchrotron radiation from the supernova shock interaction with the circumstellar medium (CSM), we infer an effective mass-loss rate
M
̇
≈
10
−
4
M
☉
yr
−
1
at
r
∼ 10
17
cm from the explosion’s site, for a wind speed of
v
w
= 50–60 km s
−1
as measured from optical spectra. These findings are consistent with the spectroscopic metamorphosis of SN 2017ens from hydrogen poor to hydrogen rich ∼190 days after explosion reported by Chen et al. SN 2017ens is thus an addition to the sample of hydrogen-poor massive progenitors that explode shortly after having lost their hydrogen envelope. The inferred circumstellar densities, implying a CSM mass up to ∼0.5
M
☉
, and low velocity of the ejection suggest that binary interactions (in the form of common-envelope evolution and subsequent envelope ejection) play a role in shaping the evolution of the stellar progenitors of SLSNe in the ≲500 yr preceding core collapse.