One of the most exciting near-term prospects in physics is the potential discovery of gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors. To maximize both the confidence of the detection ...and the science return, it is essential to identify an electromagnetic counterpart. This is not trivial, as the events are expected to be poorly localized, particularly in the near-term, with error regions covering hundreds or even thousands of square degrees. In this paper, we discuss the prospects for finding an X-ray counterpart to a gravitational wave trigger with the Swift X-ray Telescope, using the assumption that the trigger is caused by a binary neutron star merger which also produces a short gamma-ray burst. We show that it is beneficial to target galaxies within the GW error region, highlighting the need for substantially complete galaxy catalogues out to distances of 300 Mpc. We also show that nearby, on-axis short GRBs are either extremely rare, or are systematically less luminous than those detected to date. We consider the prospects for detecting afterglow emission from an off-axis GRB which triggered the GW facilities, finding that the detectability, and the best time to look, are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the burst such as circumburst density and our viewing angle.
ABSTRACT
We present the Living Swift-XRT Point Source (LSXPS) catalogue and real-time transient detector. This system allows us for the first time to carry out low-latency searches for new transient ...X-ray events fainter than those available to the current generation of wide-field imagers, and report their detection in near real time. Previously, such events could only be found in delayed searches, e.g. of archival data; our low-latency analysis now enables rapid and ongoing follow-up of these events, enabling the probing of time-scales previously inaccessible. The LSXPS is, uniquely among X-ray catalogues, updated in near real time, making this the first up-to-date record of the point sources detected by a sensitive X-ray telescope: the SwiftX-ray Telescope. The associated upper limit calculator likewise makes use of all available data allowing contemporary upper limits to be rapidly produced on demand. These facilities, which enable the low-latency transient system, are also fully available to the community, providing a powerful resource for time-domain and multimessenger astrophysics.
The analysis of the third INTEGRAL/Imager on Board Integral Satellite (IBIS) survey has revealed several new cataclysmic variables, most of which turned out to be intermediate polars, thus confirming ...that these objects are strong emitters in hard X-rays. Here, we present high-energy spectra of all 22 cataclysmic variables detected in the third IBIS survey and provide the first average spectrum over the 20–100 keV band for this class. Our analysis indicates that the best-fitting model is a thermal bremsstrahlung with an average temperature of 〈kT〉∼ 22 keV. Recently, 11 (10 intermediate polars and one polar) of these systems have been followed up by Swift/X-ray telescope (XRT) (operating in the 0.3–10 keV energy band), thus allowing us to investigate their spectral behaviour over the range ∼0.3–100 keV. Thanks to this wide energy coverage, it was possible for these sources to simultaneously measure the soft and hard components and estimate their temperatures. The soft emission, thought to originate in the irradiated poles of the white dwarf atmosphere, is well described by a blackbody model with temperatures in the range ∼60–120 eV. The hard emission, which is supposed to be originated from optically thin plasma in the post-shock region above the magnetic poles, is indeed well modelled with a bremsstrahlung model with temperatures in the range ∼16–35 keV, similar to the values obtained from the INTEGRAL data alone. In several cases, we also find the presence of a complex absorber: one totally with NH∼ (0.4– 28) × 1021 cm−2 and one partially with NH∼ (0.7–9) × 1023 cm−2 covering the source. Only in four cases (V709 Cas, GK Per, IGR J06253+7334 and IGR J17303−0601), we find evidence for the presence of an iron line at 6.4 keV. We discuss our findings in the light of the systems parameters and cataclysmic variables/intermediate polars modelling scenario.
THESEUS, one of the two space mission concepts being studied by ESA as candidates for next M5 mission within its Comsic Vision programme, aims at fully exploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) to solve key ...questions about the early Universe, as well as becoming a cornerstone of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics. By investigating the first billion years of the Universe through high-redshift GRBs, THESEUS will shed light on the main open issues in modern cosmology, such as the population of primordial low mass and luminosity galaxies, sources and evolution of cosmic re-ionization, SFR and metallicity evolution up to the “cosmic dawn” and across Pop-III stars. At the same time, the mission will provide a substantial advancement of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics by enabling the identification, accurate localisation and study of electromagnetic counterparts to sources of gravitational waves and neutrinos, which will be routinely detected in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s by the second and third generation Gravitational Wave (GW) interferometers and future neutrino detectors, as well as of all kinds of GRBs and most classes of other X/gamma-ray transient sources. Under all these respects, THESEUS will provide great synergies with future large observing facilities in the multi-messenger domain. A Guest Observer programme, comprising Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations, will expand the science return of the mission, to include, e.g., solar system minor bodies, exoplanets, and AGN.
FCC Physics Opportunities Altmannshofer, W.; Arsenyev, S. A.; Aune, S. ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
2019, Letnik:
79, Številka:
6
Journal Article, Publication
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We review the physics opportunities of the Future Circular Collider, covering its e
+
e
-
, pp, ep and heavy ion programmes. We describe the measurement capabilities of each FCC component, addressing ...the study of electroweak, Higgs and strong interactions, the top quark and flavour, as well as phenomena beyond the Standard Model. We highlight the synergy and complementarity of the different colliders, which will contribute to a uniquely coherent and ambitious research programme, providing an unmatchable combination of precision and sensitivity to new physics.
First look at the physics case of TLEP Bicer, M.; Duran Yildiz, H.; Coignet, G. ...
The journal of high energy physics,
01/2014, Letnik:
2014, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A
bstract
The discovery by the ATLAS and CMS experiments of a new boson with mass around 125 GeV and with measured properties compatible with those of a Standard-Model Higgs boson, coupled with the ...absence of discoveries of phenomena beyond the Standard Model at the TeV scale, has triggered interest in ideas for future Higgs factories. A new circular e
+
e
−
collider hosted in a 80 to 100 km tunnel, TLEP, is among the most attractive solutions proposed so far. It has a clean experimental environment, produces high luminosity for top-quark, Higgs boson, W and Z studies, accommodates multiple detectors, and can reach energies up to the
threshold and beyond. It will enable measurements of the Higgs boson properties and of Electroweak Symmetry-Breaking (EWSB) parameters with unequalled precision, offering exploration of physics beyond the Standard Model in the multi-TeV range. Moreover, being the natural precursor of the VHE-LHC, a 100 TeV hadron machine in the same tunnel, it builds up a long-term vision for particle physics. Altogether, the combination of TLEP and the VHE-LHC offers, for a great cost effectiveness, the best precision and the best search reach of all options presently on the market. This paper presents a first appraisal of the salient features of the TLEP physics potential, to serve as a baseline for a more extensive design study.
We present the 1SXPS (Swift-XRT point source) catalog of 151, 524 X-ray point sources detected by the Swift-XRT in 8 yr of operation. The catalog covers 1905 deg super(2) distributed approximately ...uniformly on the sky. We analyze the data in two ways. First we consider all observations individually, for which we have a typical sensitivity of ~3 x 10 super(-13) erg cm super(-2) s super(-1) (0.3-10 keV). Then we co-add all data covering the same location on the sky: these images have a typical sensitivity of ~9 x 10 super(-14) erg cm super(-2) s super(-1) (0.3-10 keV). Our sky coverage is nearly 2.5 times that of 3XMM-DR4, although the catalog is a factor of ~1.5 less sensitive. The median position error is 5''.5 (90% confidence), including systematics. Our source detection method improves on that used in previous X-ray Telescope (XRT) catalogs and we report >68,000 new X-ray sources. The goals and observing strategy of the Swift satellite allow us to probe source variability on multiple timescales, and we find ~30,000 variable objects in our catalog. For every source we give positions, fluxes, time series (in four energy bands and two hardness ratios), estimates of the spectral properties, spectra and spectral fits for the brightest sources, and variability probabilities in multiple energy bands and timescales.
How insects promote crop pollination remains poorly understood in terms of the contribution of functional trait differences between species. We used meta-analyses to test for correlations between ...community abundance, species richness and functional trait metrics with oilseed rape yield, a globally important crop. While overall abundance is consistently important in predicting yield, functional divergence between species traits also showed a positive correlation. This result supports the complementarity hypothesis that pollination function is maintained by non-overlapping trait distributions. In artificially constructed communities (mesocosms), species richness is positively correlated with yield, although this effect is not seen under field conditions. As traits of the dominant species do not predict yield above that attributed to the effect of abundance alone, we find no evidence in support of the mass ratio hypothesis. Management practices increasing not just pollinator abundance, but also functional divergence, could benefit oilseed rape agriculture.
The polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) regulates epigenetic gene repression in eukaryotes. Mechanisms controlling its developmental specificity and signal-responsiveness are poorly understood. ...Here, we identify an oxygen-sensitive N-terminal (N-) degron in the plant PRC2 subunit VERNALIZATION(VRN) 2, a homolog of animal Su(z)12, that promotes its degradation via the N-end rule pathway. We provide evidence that this N-degron arose early during angiosperm evolution via gene duplication and N-terminal truncation, facilitating expansion of PRC2 function in flowering plants. We show that proteolysis via the N-end rule pathway prevents ectopic VRN2 accumulation, and that hypoxia and long-term cold exposure lead to increased VRN2 abundance, which we propose may be due to inhibition of VRN2 turnover via its N-degron. Furthermore, we identify an overlap in the transcriptional responses to hypoxia and prolonged cold, and show that VRN2 promotes tolerance to hypoxia. Our work reveals a mechanism for post-translational regulation of VRN2 stability that could potentially link environmental inputs to the epigenetic control of plant development.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory carried out prompt searches for gravitational-wave (GW) events detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) during the second observing run ("O2"). Swift ...performed extensive tiling of eight LVC triggers, two of which had very low false-alarm rates (GW170814 and the epochal GW170817), indicating a high confidence of being astrophysical in origin; the latter was the first GW event to have an electromagnetic counterpart detected. In this paper we describe the follow-up performed during O2 and the results of our searches. No GW electromagnetic counterparts were detected; this result is expected, as GW170817 remained the only astrophysical event containing at least one neutron star after LVC's later retraction of some events. A number of X-ray sources were detected, with the majority of identified sources being active galactic nuclei. We discuss the detection rate of transient X-ray sources and their implications in the O2 tiling searches. Finally, we describe the lessons learned during O2 and how these are being used to improve the Swift follow-up of GW events. In particular, we simulate a population of gamma-ray burst afterglows to evaluate our source ranking system's ability to differentiate them from unrelated and uncataloged X-ray sources. We find that 60%-70% of afterglows whose jets are oriented toward Earth will be given high rank (i.e., "interesting" designation) by the completion of our second follow-up phase (assuming that their location in the sky was observed), but that this fraction can be increased to nearly 100% by performing a third follow-up observation of sources exhibiting fading behavior.
PDF
