Search

We suggest a crucial direct-observational test for measuring distinction between the standard $\Lambda$CDM model and recently proposed phantom dark energy positive curvature cosmological model. The test is based on the fundamental distance--flux--redshift relation for general Friedmann models. It does not depend on the CMBR data, on the large-scale structure growth models, and also on the value of the Hubble constant $H_0$. Our crucial test can be performed by future gamma-ray burst observations with THESEUS space mission and by using gravitational-wave standard siren observations with modern advanced LIGO--Virgo and also forthcoming LISA detectors., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, MNRAS accepted 18.09.2020

Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) may have been created by density fluctuations in the early Universe and could be as massive as $> 10^9$ solar masses or as small as the Planck mass. It has been postulated that a black hole has a temperature inversely-proportional to its mass and will thermally emit all species of fundamental particles via Hawking Radiation. PBHs with initial masses of $\sim 5 \times 10^{14}$ g (approximately one gigaton) should be expiring today with bursts of high-energy gamma radiation in the GeV--TeV energy range. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is sensitive to gamma rays with energies of $\sim$300 GeV to past 100 TeV, which corresponds to the high end of the PBH burst spectrum. With its large instantaneous field-of-view of $\sim 2$ sr and a duty cycle over 95%, the HAWC Observatory is well suited to perform an all-sky search for PBH bursts. We conducted a search using 959 days of HAWC data and exclude the local PBH burst rate density above $3400~\mathrm{pc^{-3}~yr^{-1}}$ at 99% confidence, the strongest limit on the local PBH burst rate density from any existing electromagnetic measurement., Corresponding authors: K.L. Engel & A. Peisker. 13 pages, 5 figures

The physical scenario responsible for gamma-ray flaring activity and its location for Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars is still debated. The study of the statistical distribution of waiting-times between flares (the time intervals between consecutive activity peaks) can give information on the distribution of flaring times, and constrain the physical mechanism responsible for gamma-ray emission. We adopt here a Scan-Statistic driven clustering method (iSRS) to recognize flaring states within the FERMI-LAT data, and identify the time of activity-peaks. Results: Flares waiting times can be described with a poissonian process, consisting of a set of overlapping bursts of flares, with an average burst duration of about 0.6 year, and average rate of 1.3/y . For waiting times below 1d host-frame we found a statistically-relevant second population, the fast-component, mainly from CTA 102 data. The period of conspicuous detection of the fast component for CTA 102 coincides with the crossing-time of the superluminal K1 feature with the C1 stationary feature in radio reported in Jorstad et al. (2017); Casadio et al. (2019). Conclusions: To reconcile the mechanism proposed in Jorstad et al. (2017); Casadio et al. (2019) with the bursting-activity, we have to assume that plasma streams with a typical length of about 2pc (in the stream reference-frame) reach the recollimation-shock. Otherwise, the distribution of waiting-times can be interpreted as originating from relativistic-plasma moving along the jet for a deprojected length of about 30-50pc (assuming a Lorentz-factor=10), that sporadically produces gamma-ray flares. In magnetic-reconnection scenario, reconnection events or plasma injection to the reconnection-sites should be intermittent. Individual plasmoids can be resolved in a few favourable cases only (Christie et al., 2019); they could be responsible for the fast component., 15 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication on Astronomy and astrophysics

In recent years, several nova explosions have been detected by Fermi/LAT at E>100 MeV, mainly early after the explosion and for a short period of time. The first evidence of particle acceleration in novae was found in the 2006 eruption of RS Oph, to explain the faster than expected deceleration of the blast wave. As a consequence, emission of high-energy gamma-rays mainly from neutral pion decay and inverse Compton scattering is expected. We aim to understand the early shock evolution, when acceleration of particles can take place, in nova explosions. To achieve this goal, we perform a multiwavelength study of the 2014 outburst of V745 Sco, a symbiotic recurrent nova similar to RS Oph. The analysis of early Swift/XRT observations, simultaneous to the tentative Fermi detection, is combined with Chandra and NuStar data, to get a global picture of the nova ejecta and the red giant wind evolution. Early radio and IR data are also compiled, providing information about the forward shock velocity and its magnetic field. The comparison with the plasma properties of RS Oph shows striking similarities, such as the skipping of the adiabatic phase occurring in supernova remnants, a hint of particle acceleration. The multiwavelength study of V745 Sco provides new insights into the evolution of the hot plasma in novae and its interaction with the circumstellar material, a powerful tool to understand the nature of the high-energy gamma-ray emission from symbiotic recurrent novae., 15 pages, 14 Figures

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAM, The NEXT experiment aims at searching for the hypothetical neutrinoless double-beta decay from the 136Xe isotope using a high-purity xenon TPC. Efficient discrimination of the events through pattern recognition of the topology of primary ionisation tracks is a major requirement for the experiment. However, it is limited by the diffusion of electrons. It is known that the addition of a small fraction of a molecular gas to xenon reduces electron diffusion. On the other hand, the electroluminescence (EL) yield drops and the achievable energy resolution may be compromised. We have studied the effect of adding several molecular gases to xenon (CO2, CH4 and CF4) on the EL yield and energy resolution obtained in a small prototype of driftless gas proportional scintillation counter. We have compared our results on the scintillation characteristics (EL yield and energy resolution) with a microscopic simulation, obtaining the diffusion coefficients in those conditions as well. Accordingly, electron diffusion may be reduced from about 10 mm/m for pure xenon down to 2.5 mm/m using additive concentrations of about 0.05%, 0.2% and 0.02% for CO2, CH4 and CF4, respectively. Our results show that CF4 admixtures present the highest EL yield in those conditions, but very poor energy resolution as a result of huge fluctuations observed in the EL formation. CH4 presents the best energy resolution despite the EL yield being the lowest. The results obtained with xenon admixtures are extrapolated to the operational conditions of the NEXT-100 TPC. CO2 and CH4 show potential as molecular additives in a large xenon TPC. While CO2 has some operational constraints, making it difficult to be used in a large TPC, CH4 shows the best performance and stability as molecular additive to be used in the NEXT-100 TPC, with an extrapolated energy resolution of 0.4% at 2.45 MeV for concentrations below 0.4%, which is only slightly worse than the one obtained for pure xenon. We demonstrate the possibility to have an electroluminescence TPC operating very close to the thermal diffusion limit without jeopardizing the TPC performance, if CO2 or CH4 are chosen as additives.[Figure not available: see fulltext.], The NEXT Collaboration acknowledges support from the following agencies and institutions: the European Research Council (ERC) under the Advanced Grant 339787-NEXT; the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreements No.674896, 690575 and 740055; the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain under grants FIS2014-53371-C04, the Severo Ochoa Program SEV-2014-0398 and the María de Maetzu Program MDM-2016-0692;the GVA of Spain under grants PROMETEO/2016/120 and SEJI/2017/011; the Portuguese FCT under project PTDC/FIS-NUC/2525/2014, under project UID/FIS/04559/2013 to fund the activities of LIBPhys, and under grants PD/BD/105921/2014, SFRH/BPD/109180/2015 and SFRH/BPD/76842/2011; the U.S. Department of Energy under contracts number DE-AC02-07CH11359 (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory), DE-FG02-13ER42020(Texas A&M) and DE-SC0017721 (University of Texas at Arlington); and the University of Texas at Arlington. DGD acknowledges Ramon y Cajal program (Spain) under contract number RYC-2015-18820. We also warmly acknowledge the Laboratori Nazionalidel Gran Sasso (LNGS) and the Dark Side collaboration for their help with TPB coatingof various parts of the NEXT-White TPC.

We report on time series photometry of the faint Neptune irregular satellite Neso. Observations in the V, R, and I pass-bands were performed in photometric conditions at the Cerro Paranal observatory using the instrument FORS2, in the night of July 15th, 2010. Astrometry and photometry derived from these observations are presented here. The time coverage of about six hours does not allow to construct a light curve and derive a meaningful rotational period. However, we could derive new estimates of apparent magnitudes obtaining R=25.2 pm 0.2 mag in agreement with Brozovic, Jacobson, Sheppard (2011), and also V=25.6 pm 0.3 mag, and I=24.5 pm 0.3. In this way we could derive for the first time Neso colors, V-I=1.0 pm 0.4 mag, R-I=0.7 pm 0.4 mag and V-R=0.3 pm 0.4 mag. We compared those colors with those in Peixinho, Delsanti, Doressoundiram (2015). The color R-I appears to be slightly redder than the typical values for Centaurs and KBOs, the color V-I is in nice agreement with both populations. The large error-bars prevents from assigning Neso to any of the reference classes, just looking at Neso colors, although the data seem to suggest that we can rule out its membership in classes of resonant objects or Plutinos., Comment: In press, accepted for publication in RNAAS March 20th, 2018; 4 pages, 1 Figure, 1 Table

Mars is the only planet, other than Earth, for which there are several evidences that liquid water was abundant at the surface. Among them, one of the best evidence is that the ancient terrains of Mars are covered with fluvial and lacustrine features such as valley networks, longitudinal valleys and basin lakes. In addition, spectroscopic data have shown the widespread presence of aqueous alteration minerals on the Martian surface, including clays composed by phyllosilicates and hydrated salts. The main subject of my PhD is the study of these specific features (such as valley networks and paleolakes) on Mars surface, both from the geological and spectroscopic point of view through mapping, sediment transport modelling and CRISM spectra analyses. There are, in fact, no doubts that these structures were carved by liquid water, but several questions remain about the mechanisms of their formation and the climatic conditions under which this formation occurred. In this context, the study of these structures along with the identification of hydrated minerals, are a key in the investigation of the past climatic conditions of the planet which can have, in turn, important astrobiological implications. I updated previous global maps of Martian valleys using a new photomosaic of the Martian surface and data at higher resolution with respect to those used in the previous works. Furthermore, I selected a subset of the mapped valleys which includes 63 large fluvial systems and evaluated their formation timescales on the basis of sediment transport modelling. In addition, analyses of CRISM spectral data were performed on a sample of open/closed basin lakes (associated with the mapped valleys) detecting the possible presence of hydrated minerals, in particular (Fe/Mg-smectite), sometimes in association with mafic materials (olivine)., Comment: PhD dissertation thesis, 207 pages

Recently, IceCube found evidence for a diffuse signal of astrophysical neutrinos in an energy range of $60\,\mathrm{TeV}$ to the $\mathrm{PeV}$-scale. The origin of those events, being a key to understanding the origin of cosmic rays, is still an unsolved question. So far, analyses have not succeeded to resolve the diffuse signal into point-like sources. Searches including a maximum-likelihood-ratio test, based on the reconstructed directions and energies of the detected down- and up-going neutrino candidates, were also performed on IceCube data leading to the exclusion of bright point sources. In this paper, we present two methods to search for faint neutrino point sources in three years of IceCube data, taken between 2008 and 2011. The first method is an autocorrelation test, applied separately to the northern and southern sky. The second method is a multipole analysis, which expands the measured data in the northern hemisphere into spherical harmonics and uses the resulting expansion coefficients to separate signal from background. With both methods, the results are consistent with the background expectation with a slightly more sparse spatial distribution, corresponding to an underfluctuation. Depending on the assumed number of sources, the resulting upper limit on the flux per source in the northern hemisphere for an $E^{-2}$ energy spectrum ranges from $1.5 \cdot 10^{-8}\,\mathrm{GeV}/(\mathrm{cm}^2 \mathrm{s})$, in the case of one assumed source, to $4 \cdot 10^{-10} \,\mathrm{GeV}/(\mathrm{cm}^2 \mathrm{s})$, in the case of $3500$ assumed sources., Comment: 35 pages, 16 figures, 1 table

The removal of radioactivity from liquid scintillator has been studied in preparation of a low background phase of KamLAND. This paper describes the methods and techniques developed to measure and efficiently extract radon decay products from liquid scintillator. We report the radio-isotope reduction factors obtained when applying various extraction methods. During this study, distillation was identified as the most efficient method for removing radon-born lead from liquid scintillator.

The European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft Rosetta accompanied the Jupiter-family comet (JFC) 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko for over two years along its trajectory through the inner solar system. Between 2014 and 2016, it performed almost continuous in-situ measurements of the comet's gaseous atmosphere in close proximity to its nucleus. In this study, the $^{16}$O/$^{18}$O ratio of H$_2$O in the coma of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as measured by the ROSINA DFMS mass spectrometer on board Rosetta, was determined from the ratio of H${_2}^{16}$O / H${_2}^{18}$O and $^{16}$OH / $^{18}$OH. The value of 445 $\pm$ 35 represents an $\sim$ 11% enrichment of $^{18}$O compared with the terrestrial ratio of 498.7 $\pm$ 0.1. This cometary value is consistent with the comet containing primordial water, in accordance with leading self-shielding models. These models predict primordial water to be between 5% to 20% enriched in heavier oxygen isotopes compared to terrestrial water. Addendum: The $^{16}$O/$^{17}$O ratio of H$_2$O in the coma of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko., 14 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables + Addendum. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A) Journal, Rosetta Special Issue 2019

We investigate the effect of propagation of cosmic-ray electrons (CRE) on the nonthermal (synchrotron) - far-infrared correlations in M31 and M33. The thermal (TH) and nonthermal (NTH) emission components of the radio continuum emission at 1.4 GHz and one higher frequency are compared with dust emission from M31 and M33 using Spitzer data. In both galaxies the TH emission is linearly correlated with the emission from warm dust (24 \mu m, 70 \mu m), but the power laws of the NTH-FIR correlations have exponents b < 1 that increase with increasing frequency. Furthermore, the values of b for M33 are significantly smaller (b ~ 0.4) than those for M31 (b ~ 0.6). We interpret the differences in b as differences in the diffusion length of the CRE. We estimate the diffusion length in two ways: (1) by smoothing the NTH emission at the higher frequency until the correlation with NTH emission at 1.4 GHz has b = 1, and (2) by smoothing the TH emission until the correlation with the NTH emission at the same frequency has b = 1, assuming that the TH emission represents the source distribution of the CRE. Our smoothing experiments show that M31 only has a thin NTH disk with a scale height of h = 0.3-0.4 kpc at 1.4 GHz, whereas M33 has a similar thin disk as well as a thick disk with scale height h_thick ~ 2 kpc. In the thin disks, the (deprojected) diffusion length at 1.4 GHz is ~ 1.5 kpc, yielding a diffusion coefficient of ~ 2 10^28 cm^2/s. The structure, strength and regularity of the magnetic field in a galaxy as well as the existence of a thick disk determine the diffusion of the CRE, and hence, the power-law exponent of the NTH-FIR correlations., Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures; accepted by MNRAS

The raw light curves of both KIC 10684673 and KIC 12216817 show variability. Both are listed in the Kepler Eclipsing Binary Catalog (hereafter KEBC), however both are flagged as uncertain in nature. In the present study we show their light curves can be modeled by considering each target as a single, multi-modal delta Scuti pulsator. While this does not exclude the possibility of eclipsing systems, we argue, while spectroscopy on the systems is still lacking, the delta Scuti model is a simpler explanation and therefore more probable., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

The vertical halo scale height is a crucial parameter to understand the transport of cosmic-ray electrons (CRE) and their energy loss mechanisms in spiral galaxies. Until now, the radio scale height could only be determined for a few edge-on galaxies because of missing sensitivity at high resolution. We developed a sophisticated method for the scale height determination of edge-on galaxies. With this we determined the scale heights and radial scale lengths for a sample of 13 galaxies from the CHANG-ES radio continuum survey in two frequency bands. The sample average value for the radio scale heights of the halo are 1.1 +/- 0.3kpc in C-band and 1.4 +/- 0.7kpc in L-band. From the frequency dependence analysis of the halo scale heights we found that the wind velocities (estimated using the adiabatic loss time) are above the escape velocity. We found that the halo scale heights increase linearly with the radio diameters. In order to exclude the diameter dependence, we defined a normalized scale height which is quite similar for all sample galaxies at both frequency bands and does not depend on the star formation rate or the magnetic field strength. However, the normalized scale height shows a tight anticorrelation with the mass surface density. The sample galaxies with smaller scale lengths are more spherical in the radio emission, while those with larger scale lengths are flatter. The radio scale height depends mainly on the radio diameter of the galaxy. The sample galaxies are consistent with an escape-dominated radio halo with convective cosmic ray propagation, indicating that galactic winds are a widespread phenomenon in spiral galaxies. While a higher star formation rate or star formation surface density does not lead to a higher wind velocity, we deceleration of CRE outflow, e.g. a lowering of the wind velocity from the galactic disk., accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The IceCube neutrino observatory pursues a follow-up program selecting interesting neutrino events in real-time and issuing alerts for electromagnetic follow-up observations. In 2012 March, the most significant neutrino alert during the first three years of operation was issued by IceCube. In the follow-up observations performed by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), a Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) PTF12csy was found 0.°2 away from the neutrino alert direction, with an error radius of 0.°54. It has a redshift of z = 0.0684, corresponding to a luminosity distance of about 300 Mpc and the Pan-STARRS1 survey shows that its explosion time was at least 158 days (in host galaxy rest frame) before the neutrino alert, so that a causal connection is unlikely. The a posteriori significance of the chance detection of both the neutrinos and the SN at any epoch is 2.2σ within IceCube's 2011/12 data acquisition season. Also, a complementary neutrino analysis reveals no long-term signal over the course of one year. Therefore, we consider the SN detection coincidental and the neutrinos uncorrelated to the SN. However, the SN is unusual and interesting by itself: it is luminous and energetic, bearing strong resemblance to the SN IIn 2010jl, and shows signs of interaction of the SN ejecta with a dense circumstellar medium. High-energy neutrino emission is expected in models of diffusive shock acceleration, but at a low, non-detectable level for this specific SN. In this paper, we describe the SN PTF12csy and present both the neutrino and electromagnetic data, as well as their analysis.

The origin of irradiation and fluorescence of the 6.4 keV bright giant molecular clouds surrounding Sgr A*, the central supermassive black hole of our Galaxy, remains enigmatic. Testing the theory of a past active period of Sgr A* requires X-ray polarimetry. In this paper, we show how modern imaging polarimeters could revolutionize our understanding of the Galactic Center. Through Monte Carlo modeling, we produce a 4-8 keV polarization map of the Galactic Center, focusing on the polarimetric signature produced by Sgr B1, Sgr B2, G0.11-0.11, Bridge E, Bridge D, Bridge B2, MC2, MC1, Sgr C3, Sgr C2, and Sgr C1. We estimate the resulting polarization, include polarized flux dilution by the diffuse plasma emission detected toward the GC, and simulate the polarization map that modern polarimetric detectors would obtain assuming the performances of a mission prototype. The eleven reflection nebulae investigated in this paper present a variety of polarization signatures, ranging from nearly unpolarized to highly polarized (about 77%) fluxes. A major improvement in our simulation is the addition of a diffuse, unpolarized plasma emission that strongly impacts soft X-ray polarized fluxes. The dilution factor is in the range 50% - 70%, making the observation of the Bridge structure unlikely even in the context of modern polarimetry. The best targets are the Sgr B and Sgr C complexes, and the G0.11-0.11 cloud. An exploratory observation of a few hundred kilo-seconds of the Sgr B complex would allow a significant detection of the polarization and be sufficient to derive hints on the primary source of radiation. A more ambitious program (few Ms) of mapping the giant molecular clouds could then be carried out to probe with great precision the turbulent history of Sgr A*, and place important constraints on the composition and three-dimensional position of the surrounding gas., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&A

In this paper, we present the results of an analysis of 481 weak solar flares, from A0.01 to the B \textit{GOES} class, that were observed during the period of extremely low solar activity from 2009 April to July. For all flares we measured the temperature of the plasma in the isothermal and two-temperature approximations and tried to fit its relationship with the X-ray class using exponential and power-law functions. We found that the whole temperature distribution in the range from A0.01 to X-class cannot be fit by one exponential function. The fitting for weak flares below A1.0 is significantly steeper than that for medium and large flares. The power-law approximation seems to be more reliable: the corresponding functions were found to be in good agreement with experimental data both for microflares and for normal flares. Our study predicts that the evidence of plasma heating can be found in flares starting from the A0.0002 X-ray class. Weaker events presumably cannot heat the surrounding plasma. We also estimated emission measures for all flares studied and the thermal energy for 113 events., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 1 table

Using multi-wavelength imaging observations, in EUV, white light and radio, and radio spectral data over a large frequency range, we analyzed the triggering and development of a complex eruptive event. This one includes two components, an eruptive jet and a CME which interact during more than 30 min, and can be considered as physically linked. This was an unusual event. The jet is generated above a typical complex magnetic configuration which has been investigated in many former studies related to the build-up of eruptive jets; this configuration includes fan-field lines originating from a corona null point above a parasitic polarity, which is embedded in one polarity region of large Active Region (AR). The initiation and development of the CME, observed first in EUV, does not show usual signatures. In this case, the eruptive jet is the main actor of this event. The CME appears first as a simple loop system which becomes destabilized by magnetic reconnection between the outer part of the jet and the ambient medium. The progression of the CME is closely associated with the occurrence of two successive types II bursts from distinct origin. An important part of this study is the first radio type II burst for which the joint spectral and imaging observations allowed: i) to follow, step by step, the evolution of the spectrum and of the trajectory of the radio burst, in relationship with the CME evolution; ii) to obtain, without introducing an electronic density model, the B-field and the Alfven speed., Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures

We have discovered two molecular features at radial velocities of -35 km/s and 0 km/s toward the infrared Double Helix Nebula (DHN) in the Galactic center with NANTEN2. The two features show good spatial correspondence with the DHN. We have also found two elongated molecular ridges at these two velocities distributed vertically to the Galactic plane over 0.8 degree. The two ridges are linked by broad features in velocity and are likely connected physically with each other. The ratio between the 12CO J=2-1 and J=1-0 transitions is 0.8 in the ridges which is larger than the average value 0.5 in the foreground gas, suggesting the two ridges are in the Galactic center. An examination of the K band extinction reveals a good coincidence with the CO 0 km/s ridge and is consistent with a distance of 8 +/-2 kpc. We discuss the possibility that the DHN was created by a magnetic phenomenon incorporating torsional Alfv��n waves launched from the circumnuclear disk (Morris, Uchida & Do 2006) and present a first estimate of the mass and energy involved in the DHN., 32 pages, 23 figures, Accepted by ApJ

Scaling properties of galaxy cluster observables with mass provide central insights into the processes shaping clusters. Calibrating proxies for cluster mass will be crucial to cluster cosmology with upcoming surveys like eROSITA and Euclid. The recent Planck results led to suggestions that X-ray masses might be biased low by $\sim\!40$ %, more than previously considered. We extend the direct calibration of the weak lensing -- X-ray mass scaling towards lower masses (as low as $1\!\times\!10^{14}\,\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$) in a sample representative of the $z\!\sim\!0.4$--$0.5$ population. We investigate the scaling of MMT/Megacam weak lensing (WL) masses for $8$ clusters at $0.39\!\leq\!z\!\leq\!0.80$ as part of the \emph{400d} WL programme with hydrostatic \textit{Chandra} X-ray masses as well as those based on the proxies, e.g. $Y_{\mathrm{X}}\!=\!T_{\mathrm{X}}M_{\mathrm{gas}}$. Overall, we find good agreement between WL and X-ray masses, with different mass bias estimators all consistent with zero. Subdividing the sample, we find the high-mass subsample to show no significant mass bias while for the low-mass subsample, there is a bias towards overestimated X-ray masses at the $\sim\!2\sigma$ level for some mass proxies. The overall scatter in the mass-mass scaling relations is surprisingly low. Neither observation can be traced back to the parameter settings in the WL analysis. We do not find evidence for a strong ($\sim\!40$ %) underestimate in the X-ray masses, as suggested to reconcile Planck cluster counts and cosmological constraints. For high-mass clusters, our measurements are consistent with studies in the literature. The mass dependent bias, significant at $\sim\!2\sigma$, may hint at a physically different cluster population (less relaxed clusters with more substructure and mergers); or it may be due to small number statistics., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy \& Astrophysics, 12+2 pages, 3+2 figures

When observed with optical long-baseline interferometers (OLBI), components of a binary star which are sufficiently separated produce their own interferometric fringe packets; these are referred to as Separated Fringe Packet (SFP) binaries. These SFP binaries can overlap in angular separation with the regime of systems resolvable by speckle interferometry at single, large-aperture telescopes and can provide additional measurements for preliminary orbits lacking good phase coverage, help constrain elements of already established orbits, and locate new binaries in the undersampled regime between the bounds of spectroscopic surveys and speckle interferometry. In this process, a visibility calibration star is not needed, and the separated fringe packets can provide an accurate vector separation. In this paper, we apply the SFP approach to �� Andromeda, HD 178911, and �� Cephei with the CLIMB three-beam combiner at the CHARA Array. For these systems we determine component masses and parallax of 0.963${\pm}$0.049 $M_{\odot}$ and 0.860${\pm}$0.051 $M_{\odot}$ and 39.54${\pm}$1.85 milliarcseconds (mas) for �� Andromeda, for HD 178911 of 0.802${\pm}$0.055 $M_{\odot}$ and 0.622${\pm}$0.053 $M_{\odot}$ with 28.26${\pm}$1.70 mas, and masses of 1.045${\pm}$0.031 $M_{\odot}$ and 0.408${\pm}$0.066 $M_{\odot}$ and 38.10${\pm}$2.81 mas for �� Cephei., 28 pages, 4 tables, 6 figures, accepted to AJ May 2014

Despite past panchromatic observations of the innermost part of the Milky Way, the overall structure of the Galactic Centre (GC) remains enigmatic in terms of geometry. In this paper, we aim to show how polarimetry can probe the three-dimensional position of the molecular material in the central ~100 pc of the GC. We investigate a model where the central supermassive black hole Sgr A* is radiatively coupled to a fragmented circumnuclear disc (CND), an elliptical twisted ring representative of the central molecular zone (CMZ), and the two main, bright molecular clouds Sgr B2 and Sgr C. 8 -- 35 keV integrated polarization mapping reveals that Sgr B2 and Sgr C, situated at the two sides of the CMZ, present the highest polarization degrees (66.5 and 47.8 per cent respectively), both associated with a polarization position angle psi = 90deg (normal to the scattering plane). The CND shows a lower polarization degree, 1.0 per cent with psi = -20.5deg, tracing the inclination of the CND with respect to the Galactic plane. The CMZ polarization is spatially variable. We also consider a range of spatial locations for Sgr A* and the reprocessing media, and investigate how the modeled three-dimensional geometry influences the resulting GC polarization. The two reflection nebulae are found to always produce high polarization degrees (>> 10 per cent). We show that a 500 ks observation with a broadband polarimeter could constrain the location and the morphology of the scattering material with respect to the emitting source, revealing the past activity of Sgr A*., 8 pages, 4 Figures, 4 Tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Asymmetric, broad iron lines are a common feature in the X-ray spectra of both X-ray binaries (XRBs) and type-1 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). It was suggested that the distortion of the Fe K_alpha emission results from Doppler and relativistic effects affecting the radiative transfer close to the strong gravitational well of the central compact object: a stellar mass black hole (BH) or neutron star (NS) in the case of XRBs, or a super massive black hole (SMBH) in the case of AGN. However, alternative approaches based on reprocessing and transmission of radiation through surrounding media also attempt to explain the line broadening. So far, spectroscopic and timing analyzes have not yet convinced the whole community to discriminate between the two scenarios. Here we study to which extent X-ray polarimetric measurements of black hole X-ray binaries (BHXRBs) and type-1 AGN could help to identify the possible origin of the line distortion. To do so, we report on recent simulations obtained for the two BH flavors and show that the proposed scenarios are found to behave differently in polarization degree and polarization angle. A relativistic origin for the distortion is found to be more probable in the context of BHXRBs, supporting the idea that the same mechanism should lead the way also for AGN. We show that the discriminating polarization signal could have been detectable by several X-ray polarimetry missions proposed in the past., Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research

The design of the new space-based gamma-ray telescope GAMMA-400 is presented. GAMMA-400 is optimized for the energy 100 GeV with the best parameters: the angular resolution ~0.01 deg, the energy resolution ~1%, and the proton rejection factor ~10E6, but is able to measure gamma-ray and electron + positron fluxes in the energy range from 100 MeV to 10 TeV. GAMMA-400 is aimed to a broad range of science topics, such as search for signatures of dark matter, studies of Galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sources, Galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, gamma-ray bursts, as well as high-precision measurements of spectra of cosmic-ray electrons + positrons, and nuclei., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to to the Proceedings of the International Cosmic-Ray Conference 2013, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

We study 50 cosmic ray Forbush decreases (FDs) from the Oulu neutron monitor data during 1997-2005 that were associated with Earth-directed interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). Such events are generally thought to arise due to the shielding of cosmic rays by a propagating diffusive barrier. The main processes at work are the diffusion of cosmic rays across the large-scale magnetic fields carried by the ICME and their advection by the solar wind. In an attempt to better understand the relative importance of these effects, we analyse the relationship between the FD profiles and those of the interplanetary magnetic field (B) and the solar wind speed (Vsw). Over the entire duration of a given FD, we find that the FD profile is generally well (anti)correlated with the B and Vsw profiles. This trend holds separately for the FD main and recovery phases too. For the recovery phases, however, the FD profile is highly anti-correlated with the Vsw profile, but not with the B profile. While the total duration of the FD profile is similar to that of the Vsw profile, it is significantly longer than that of the B profile., 19 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJ

The Galactic globular cluster NGC 1851 has raised much interest since HST photometry revealed that it hosts a double subgiant branch. Here we report on our homogeneous study into the cyanogen (CN) bandstrengths in the RGB population (17 stars) and AGB population (21 stars) using AAOmega/2dF spectra with R $\sim 3000$. We discover that NGC 1851 hosts a quadrimodal distribution of CN bandstrengths in its RGB and AGB populations. This result supports the merger formation scenario proposed for this cluster, such that the CN quadrimodality could be explained by the superposition of two `normal' bimodal populations. A small sample overlap with an abundance catalogue allowed us to tentatively explore the relationship between our CN populations and a range of elemental abundances. We found a striking correlation between CN and [O/Na]. We also found that the four CN peaks may be paired -- the two CN-weaker populations being associated with low Ba and the two CN-stronger populations with high Ba. If true then s-process abundances would be a good diagnostic for disentangling the two original clusters in the merger scenario. More observations are needed to confirm the quadrimodality, and also the relationship between the subpopulations. We also report CN results for NGC 288 as a comparison. Our relatively large samples of AGB stars show that both clusters have a bias towards CN-weak AGB populations., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

A probability model has been presented for understanding the operation of an array of encapsulated germanium detectors generally known as composite detector. The addback mode of operation of a composite detector has been described considering the absorption and scattering of gamma-rays. Considering up to triple detector hit events, we have obtained expressions for peak-to-total and peak-to-background ratios of the cluster detector, which consists of seven hexagonal closely packed encapsulated HPGe detectors. Results have been obtained for the miniball detectors comprising of three and four seven hexagonal closely packed encapsulated HPGe detectors. The formalism has been extended to the SPI spectrometer which is a telescope of the INTEGRAL satellite and consists of nineteen hexagonal closely packed encapsulated HPGe detectors. This spectrometer comprises of twelve detector modules surrounding the cluster detector. For comparison, we have considered a spectrometer comprising of nine detector modules surrounding the three detector configuration of miniball detector. In the present formalism, the operation of these sophisticated detectors could be described in terms of six probability amplitudes only. Using experimental data on relative efficiency and fold distribution of cluster detector as input, the fold distribution and the peak-to-total, peak-to-background ratios have been calculated for the SPI spectrometer and other composite detectors at 1332 keV. Remarkable agreement between experimental data and results from the present formalism has been observed for the SPI spectrometer., Comment: Accepted in Journal of Instrumentation (JINST) 18th March 2012, INTEGRAL SPI modeling, 20 pages

The GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope is designed to measure the fluxes of gamma rays and cosmic-ray electrons + positrons, which can be produced by annihilation or decay of the dark matter particles, as well as to survey the celestial sphere in order to study point and extended sources of gamma rays, measure energy spectra of Galactic and extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray emission, gamma-ray bursts, and gamma-ray emission from the Sun. The GAMMA-400 covers the energy range from 100 MeV to 3000 GeV. Its angular resolution is ~0.01 deg (E{\gamma} > 100 GeV), the energy resolution ~1% (E{\gamma} > 10 GeV), and the proton rejection factor ~10E6. GAMMA-400 will be installed on the Russian space platform Navigator. The beginning of observations is planned for 2018., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables; submitted to American Institute of Physics

We describe an ongoing variable star search program and present the first reduced results of a search in a 19 square degree (4.4\circle x 4.4\circle) field centered on J2000 {\alpha} = 22:03:24, {\delta} = +18:54:32. The search was carried out with the Baker-Nunn Patrol Camera located at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. A total of 26,271 stars were detected in the field, over a range of about 11-15 (instrumental) magnitudes. Our image processing made use of the IRAF version of the DAOPHOT aperture photometry routine and we used the ANOVA method to search for periodic variations in the light curves. We formally detected periodic variability in 35 stars, that we tentatively classify according to light curve characteristics: 6 EA (Algol), 5 EB ({\beta} Lyrae), 19 EW (W UMa), and 5 RR (RR Lyrae) stars. Eleven of the detected variable stars have been reported previously in the literature. The eclipsing binary light curves have been analyzed with a package of light curve modeling programs and 25 have yielded converged solutions. Nine of these systems are detached, 3 semi0detached, 10 over-contact, and 2 appear to be in marginal contact. We discuss these results as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the instrument and of the program., Comment: 62 pages, 21 figures, 5 tables

Astronomical facilities at the high-altitude observatory Terskol in the Northern Caucasus include optical telescopes with diameters up to 2 m, their instrumentation (high-resolution spectrometers, high-speed photometers, CCDs, etc.), as well as provisions for data distribution via satellite and computer networks. The decades of successful research at Terskol have yielded new data and findings in the following areas of astronomy: discovery and monitoring of NEOs, precise astrometry and photometry of solar system bodies, high-resolution spectroscopy of interstellar clouds, search for optical afterglow of gamma ray bursts, etc. Facilities of the Terskol Observatory are heavily used for the operation of the Synchronous Network of distant Telescopes, which includes optical telescopes at Terskol and at observatories in Bulgaria, Greece, and Ukraine; the remarkable results were obtained especially from synchronous observations of galaxies and flare stars., Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, a contribution to the conference "400 Years of Astronomical Telescopes" held at ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 29 September - 2 October 2008

Context: A fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGN) show dramatic X-ray spectral changes on the day-to-week time scales associated with variation in the line of sight of the cold absorber. Aims: We intend to model the polarization fluctuations arising from an obscuration event, thereby offering a method of determining whether flux variations are due to occultation or extreme intrinsic emission variability. Methods: Undertaking 1 - 100 keV polarimetric simulations with the Monte Carlo code STOKES, we simulated the journey of a variety of cold gas clouds in front of an extended primary source. We varied the hydrogen column density nH and size of the absorber, as well as the initial polarization state of the emitting source, to cover a wide range of scenarios. Results: For unpolarized primary fluxes, large (about 50deg) variations of the polarization position angle psi are expected before and after an occultation event, which is associated with very low residual polarization degrees (P lower than 1 per cent). In the case of an emitting disk with intrinsic, position-independent polarization, and for a given range of parameters, X-ray eclipses significantly alter the observed polarization spectra, with most of the variations seen in psi. Finally, non-uniformly polarized emitting regions produce very distinctive polarization variations due to the successive covering and uncovering of different portions of the disk. Plotted against time, variations in P and psi form detectable P~Cygni type profiles that are distinctive signatures of non-axisymmetric emission. Conclusions: Polarization measurements are thus particularly adapted to distinguish between intrinsic intensity fluctuations and external eclipsing events, constrain the geometry of the covering medium, and test the hypothesis of non-uniformly emitting disks predicted by general relativity., 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Young stars are known to show variability due to non-steady mass accretion rate from their circumstellar disks. Accretion flares can produce strong energetic irradiation and heating that may affect the disk in the planet formation region, close to the central star. During an extreme accretion outburst in the young star EX Lupi, the prototype of EXor variables, remarkable changes in molecular gas emission from $\sim1$ AU in the disk have recently been observed (Banzatti et al. 2012). Here, we focus on water vapor and explore how it is affected by variable accretion luminosity in T Tauri stars. We monitored a young highly variable solar-mass star, DR Tau, using simultaneously two high/medium-resolution ESO-VLT spectrographs: VISIR at 12.4 $\mu$m to observe water lines from the disk, and X-shooter covering from 0.3 to 2.5 $\mu$m to constrain the stellar accretion. Three epochs spanning timescales from several days to several weeks were obtained. Accretion luminosity was estimated to change within a factor $\sim2$, and no change in water emission was detected at a significant level. In comparison to EX Lupi and EXor outbursts, DR Tau suggests that the less long-lived and weaker variability phenomena typical of T Tauri stars may leave water at planet-forming radii in the disk mostly unaffected. We propose that these systems may provide evidence for two processes that act over different timescales: UV photochemistry in the disk atmosphere (faster) and heating of the disk deeper layers (slower)., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

If the existence of an obscuring circumnuclear region around the innermost regions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) has been observationally proven, its geometry remains highly uncertain. The morphology usually adopted for this region is a toroidal structure, but other alternatives, such as flared disks, can be a good representative of equatorial outflows. Those two geometries usually provide very similar spectroscopic signatures, even when they are modeled under the assumption of fragmentation. In this lecture note, we show that the resulting polarization signatures of the two models, either a torus or a flared disk, are quite different from each other. We use a radiative transfer code that computes the 2000 - 8000 angstrom polarization of the two morphologies in a clumpy environment, and show that varying the sizes of a toroidal region has deep impacts onto the resulting polarization, while the polarization of flared disks is independent of the outer radius. Clumpy flared disks also produce higher polarization degrees (about 10 % at best) together with highly variable polarization position angles., 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the SF2A-2015

Asymmetric beams can create significant bias in estimates of the power spectra from CMB experiments. With the temperature power spectrum many orders of magnitude stronger than the B-mode power spectrum any systematic error that couples the two must be carefully controlled and/or removed. Here, we derive unbiased estimators for the CMB temperature and polarisation power spectra taking into account general beams and general scan strategies. A simple consequence of asymmetric beams is that, even with an ideal scan strategy where every sky pixel is seen at every orientation, there will be residual coupling from temperature power to B-mode power if the orientation of the beam asymmetry is not aligned with the orientation of the co-polarisation. We test our correction algorithm on simulations of two temperature-only experiments and demonstrate that it is unbiased. The simulated experiments use realistic scan strategies, noise levels and highly asymmetric beams. We also develop a map-making algorithm that is capable of removing beam asymmetry bias at the map level. We demonstrate its implementation using simulations and show that it is capable of accurately correcting both temperature and polarisation maps for all of the effects of beam asymmetry including the effects of temperature to polarisation leakage., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures