Search

Collapsing massive stars lead to a broad range of astrophysical transients, whose multi-wavelength emission is powered by a variety of processes including radioactive decay, activity of the central engine, and interaction of the outflows with a dense circumstellar medium. These transients are also candidate factories of neutrinos with energy up to hundreds of PeV. We review the energy released by such astrophysical objects across the electromagnetic wavebands as well as neutrinos, in order to outline a strategy to optimize multi-messenger follow-up programs. We find that, while a significant fraction of the explosion energy can be emitted in the infrared-optical-ultraviolet (UVOIR) band, the optical signal alone is not optimal for neutrino searches. Rather, the neutrino emission is strongly correlated with the one in the radio band, if a dense circumstellar medium surrounds the transient, and with X-rays tracking the activity of the central engine. Joint observations of transients in radio, X-rays, and neutrinos will crucially complement those in the UVOIR band, breaking degeneracies in the transient parameter space. Our findings call for heightened surveys in the radio and X-ray bands to warrant multi-messenger detections., Comment: 26 pages, including 7 figures and 2 appendices. Minor revisions, conclusions unchanged. Matches version accepted for publication in PRD

A very recent simulation study of the transverse current autocorrelation of the Lennard-Jones fluid revealed, as expected, that this function can be perfectly described within the exponential expansion theory. However, above a certain wavevector $Q$, not only transverse collective excitations are found to propagate in the fluid, but a second oscillatory component of unclear origin (thereby called X) must be considered to properly account for the time behavior of the correlation. Here we present an extended investigation of the transverse current autocorrelation of liquid Au as obtained by ab initio molecular dynamics in the very wide range 5.7 nm$^{-1}$ $\le Q \le$ 32.8 nm$^{-1}$ in order to follow the behavior of the X component, if present, also at large $Q$ values. By combining the study of the transverse current autocorrelation with the analogous analysis of its self part, we show that the second oscillatory component originates from the longitudinal dynamics and appears in the same form as a collective excitation is represented in the single-particle behavior. Therefore, the signature of the longitudinal processes (sound waves) in the transverse current autocorrelation is not due to often conjectured couplings of longitudinal and trasverse modes, but descends from the self part of the function, which contains the traces of all processes acting in the fluid as the density of states, that is the spectrum of the velocity autocorrelation function, does.

A growing number of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows is observed at very-high energies (VHE, $\gtrsim 100$ GeV). Yet, our understanding of the mechanism powering the VHE emission remains baffling. We make use of multi-wavelength observations of the afterglow of GRB 180720B, GRB 190114C, and GRB 221009A to investigate whether the bursts exhibiting VHE emission share common features. We assume the standard afterglow model and microphysical parameters consistent with a synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario for the VHE radiation. By requiring that the blastwave should be transparent to $\gamma$-$\gamma$ pair production at the time of observation of the VHE photons and relying on typical prompt emission efficiencies and data in the radio, optical and X-ray bands, we infer for those bursts that the initial energy of the blastwave is $\tilde{E}_{k, \rm{iso}} \gtrsim \mathcal{O}(10^{54})$ erg and the circumburst density is $n_0 \lesssim \mathcal{O}(10^{-1})$ cm$^{-3}$ for a constant circumburst profile [or $A_\star \lesssim \mathcal{O}(10^{-1})$ cm$^{-1}$ for a wind scenario]. Our findings thus suggest that these VHE bursts might be hosted in low-density environments, if the SSC radiation is responsible for the VHE emission. While these trends are based on a small number of bursts, the Cherenkov Telescope Array has the potential to provide crucial insight in this context by detecting a larger sample of VHE GRBs. In addition, due to the very poor statistics, the non-observation of high-energy neutrinos cannot constrain the properties of these bursts efficiently, unless additional VHE GRBs should be detected at distances closer than $15$ Mpc when IceCube-Gen2 radio will be operational., Comment: 14 pages, including 3 figures and 3 appendices. Discussion expanded, main results unchanged. Matches version accepted for publication in MNRAS

Understanding how molecules engage in collective motions in a liquid where a network of bonds exists has both fundamental and applied relevance. On the one hand, it can elucidate the ``ordering" role of long-range correlations in an otherwise strongly dissipative system; on the other hand, it can inspire new avenues to control such order to implement sound manipulation. Water represents an ideal investigation case to unfold these general aspects and, across the decades, it has been the focus of thorough scrutiny. Despite this investigative effort, the spectrum of terahertz density fluctuations of water largely remains a puzzle for Condensed Matter physicists. To unravel it, we compare previous scattering measurements of water spectra with new ones on ice. Thanks to the unique asset of Bayesian inference, we draw a more detailed portrayal of the phonon response of ice. The comparison with the one of liquid water challenges the current understanding of density fluctuations in water, or more in general, of any networked liquid., Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures

Mounting evidence suggests that the launching of collapsar jets is magnetically driven. Recent general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of collapsars reveal that the jet is continuously loaded with baryons, owing to strong mixing with the cocoon. This results in a high photosphere at $\gtrsim 10^{12}$ cm. Consequently, collisionless internal shocks below the photosphere are disfavored, and the neutrino production in the deepest jet regions is prevented, in contrast to what has been assumed in the literature. We find that subphotospheric neutrino production could only take place in the presence of collisionless sub-shocks or magnetic reconnection. Efficient particle acceleration is not possible in the cocoon, at the cocoon-counter cocoon shock interface, or at the shock driven by the cocoon in the event of a jet halted in an extended envelope. These subphotospheric neutrinos have energy $E_\nu \lesssim 10^5$ GeV for initial jet magnetizations $\sigma_0=15$-$2000$. More than one neutrino and antineutrino event is expected to be observed in Hyper-Kamiokande and IceCube DeepCore for sources located at $z \lesssim \mathcal{O}(0.1)$. Because of their energy, these neutrinos do not contribute to the diffuse flux detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Our findings have implications on neutrino searches ranging from gamma-ray bursts to luminous fast blue optical transients., Comment: 28 pages, including 16 figures and 2 appendices. Minor changes in the text. Matches version published in PRD

A thorough analysis of the transverse current autocorrelation function obtained by molecular dynamics simulations of a dense Lennard-Jones fluid reveals that even such a simple system is characterized by a varied dynamical behavior with changing length scale. By using the exponential expansion theory, we provide a full account of the time correlation at wavevectors $Q$ between the upper boundary of the hydrodynamic region and $Q_p/2$, with $Q_p$ the position of the main peak of the static structure factor. In the $Q$ range studied we identify and accurately locate the wavevector at which shear wave propagation starts to take place, and show clearly how this phenomenon may be represented by a damped harmonic oscillator changing, in a continuous way, from an overdamped to an underdamped condition. The decomposition into exponential modes allows one to convincingly establish not only the crossover related to the onset of transverse waves but, surprisingly, also the existence of a second pair of modes equivalent to another oscillator that undergoes, at higher $Q$ values, a similarly smooth over- to underdamped transition., Comment: 6 pages and 4 figures in main text, 6 pages and 3 figures in supplementary material

Mounting evidence suggests that Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs) are powered by a compact object, launching an asymmetric and fast outflow responsible for the radiation observed in the ultraviolet, optical, infrared, radio, and X-ray bands. Proposed scenarios aiming to explain the electromagnetic emission include an inflated cocoon, surrounding a jet choked in the extended stellar envelope. In alternative, the observed radiation may arise from the disk formed by the delayed merger of a black hole with a Wolf-Rayet star. We explore the neutrino production in these scenarios, i.e. internal shocks in a choked jet and interaction between the outflow and the circumstellar medium (CSM). If observed on-axis, the choked jet provides the dominant contribution to the neutrino fluence. Intriguingly, the IceCube upper limit on the neutrino emission inferred from the closest LFBOT, AT2018cow, excludes a region of the parameter space otherwise allowed by electromagnetic observations. After correcting for the Eddington bias on the observation of cosmic neutrinos, we conclude that the emission from an on-axis choked jet and CSM interaction is compatible with the detection of two track-like neutrino events observed by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in coincidence with AT2018cow, and otherwise considered to be of atmospheric origin. While the neutrino emission from LFBOTs does not constitute the bulk of the diffuse background of neutrinos observed by IceCube, detection prospects of nearby LFBOTs with IceCube and the upcoming IceCube-Gen2 are encouraging. Follow-up neutrino searches will be crucial for unravelling the mechanism powering this emergent transient class., Comment: 23 pages, including 9 figures and 1 appendix. Minor changes, matches version accepted for publication in ApJ

Some afterglow light curves of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) exhibit very complex temporal and spectral features, such as a sudden intensity jump about one hour after the prompt emission in the optical band. We assume that this feature is due to the late collision of two relativistic shells and investigate the corresponding high-energy neutrino emission within a multi-messenger framework, while contrasting our findings with the ones from the classic afterglow model. For a constant density circumburst medium, the total number of emitted neutrinos can increase by about an order of magnitude when an optical jump occurs with respect to the self-similar afterglow scenario. By exploring the detection prospects with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and future radio arrays such as IceCube-Gen2 radio, RNO-G and GRAND200k, as well as the POEMMA spacecraft, we conclude that the detection of neutrinos with IceCube-Gen2 radio could enable us to constrain the fraction of GRB afterglows with a jump as well as the properties of the circumburst medium. We also investigate the neutrino signal expected for the afterglows of GRB 100621A and a GRB 130427A-like burst with an optical jump. The detection of neutrinos from GRB afterglows could be crucial to explore the yet-to-be unveiled mechanism powering the optical jumps., Comment: 44 pages, including 13 figures and 3 appendices. Discussion expanded, conclusions unchanged. Matches version accepted for publication in JCAP

The present work deals with the formal description of the response to neutrons of heteronuclear diatomic liquids, with special interest in the case of hydrogen deuteride as a possible candidate for the moderation process required in the production of cold neutrons. Preliminary evaluations of the model giving the neutron double differential cross section of a heteronuclear vibrating rotor are performed by using, as a first approximation, the ideal gas law for the centre-of-mass translational dynamics, which is expected to be appropriate at incident neutron energies above the thermal region. The unavailability of double differential cross section experimental data on liquid HD compels to test the model calculations only at an integral level, i.e. against the only measurement carried out on liquid HD for the determination of its neutron total cross section. The present findings indicate the evident need of more accurate measurements of the total cross section, as well as of future work devoted to double differential cross section determinations and appropriate simulations of the translational dynamics of this weakly quantum fluid., Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures

We review exact formalisms for describing the dynamics of liquids in terms of static parameters. We discuss how these formalisms are prone to suffer from imposing restrictions that appear to adhere to common sense but which are overly restrictive, resulting in a flawed description of the dynamics of liquids. We detail a fail-safe way for modeling the scattering data of liquids that is free from any unwarranted restriction and that models the scattering using the fewest possible number of free parameters. We also list some common habits in analyzing data and how these habits do not do justice to the accuracy of the results obtained in scattering experiments, and how these habits may stand in the way of rejecting some models used in describing the dynamics of liquids., Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, intended for Phys. Rev. E

The design of moderators and cold sources of neutrons is a key point in research-reactor physics, requiring extensive knowledge of the scattering properties of very important light molecular liquids such as methane, hydrogen and their deuterated counterparts. Inelastic scattering measurements constitute the basic source of such information but are difficult to perform, the more so when high accuracy is required, and additional experimental information is scarce. The need of data covering as large as possible portions of the kinematic Q-E plane thus pushes towards the use of computable models, validated by testing them, mainly, against integral quantities (either known from theory or measured) such as spectral moments and total cross section data. A few recent experiments demonstrated that, at least for the self contribution, which dominates in the incoherent scattering case of hydrogen, accurate calculations can be performed by means of quantum simulations of the velocity autocorrelation function. This method is shown here to be by far superior to the use of standard analytical models devised, although rather cleverly, for generic classical samples. The neutron dynamic structure factor (and consequently the well-known S({\alpha},{\beta}) of parahydrogen and deuterium, suitable for use in packages like NJOY, are given and shown to agree very well with total cross section measurements and expected quantum properties.

The Sun is a well-studied astrophysical source of axion-like particles (ALPs), produced mainly through the Primakoff process. Moreover, in the Sun there exist large-scale magnetic fields that catalyze an additional ALP production via a coherent conversion of thermal photons. We study this contribution to the solar ALP emissivity, typically neglected in previous investigations. Furthermore, we discuss additional bounds on the ALP-photon coupling from energy-loss arguments, and the detection perspectives of this new ALP flux at future helioscope and dark matter experiments., Comment: v2: 15 pages, 7 pdf figures. Figures improved, typos removed. Matches the version published on PRD

We present a neutron spin echo study (NSE) of the nanosecond dynamics of polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalised nanosized gold particles dissolved in D$_2$O at two temperatures and two different PEG molecular weights. The analysis of the NSE data was performed by applying a Bayesian approach to the description of time correlation function decays in terms of exponential terms, recently proved to be theoretically rigorous. This approach, which addresses in a direct way the fundamental issue of model choice in any dynamical analysis, provides here a guide to the most statistically supported way to follow the decay of the Intermediate Scattering Functions I(Q, t) by basing on statistical grounds the choice of the number of terms required for the description of the nanosecond dynamics of the studied systems. Then, the presented analysis avoids from the start resorting to a pre-selected framework and can be considered as model free. By comparing the results of PEG coated nanoparticles with those obtained in PEG2000 solutions, we were able to disentangle the translational diffusion of the nanoparticles from the internal dynamics of the polymer grafted to them, and to show that the polymer corona relaxation follows a pure exponential decay in agreement with the behavior predicted by coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical models. This methodology has one further advantage: in the presence of a complex dynamical scenario I(Q,t) is often described in terms of the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts function that can implicitly represent a distribution of relaxation times. By choosing to describe the I(Q,t) as a sum of exponential functions and with the support of the Bayesian approach, we can explicitly determine when a finer-structure analysis of the dynamical complexity of the system exists according to the available data without the risk of overparametrisation.

Extending a previous study of the velocity autocorrelation function (VAF) in a simulated Lennard-Jones fluid to cover higher-density and lower-temperature states, we show that the recently demonstrated multiexponential expansion allows for a full account and understanding of the dynamical processes encompassed by a fundamental quantity as the VAF. In particular, besides obtaining evidence of a persisting long-time tail, we assign specific and unambiguous physical meanings to groups of exponential modes related to the longitudinal and transverse collective dynamics, respectively. We have made this possible by consistently introducing the interpretation of the VAF frequency spectrum as a global density of states in fluids, generalizing a solid-state concept, and by giving to specific spectral components, obtained via the VAF exponential expansion, the corresponding meaning of partial densities of states relative to specific dynamical processes. The clear identification of a high-frequency oscillation of the VAF with the near-top excitation frequency in the dispersion curve of acoustic waves is a neat example of the power of the method. As for the transverse mode contribution, its analysis turns out to be particularly important, because the multiexponential expansion reveals a transition marking the onset of propagating excitations when the density is increased above a threshold value. While this finding agrees with recent literature debating the issue of dynamical crossover boundaries, such as the one identified with the Frenkel line, we can add detailed information on the modes involved in this specific process in the domains of both time and frequency. This will help obtain a still missing full account of transverse dynamics, in its nonpropagating and propagating aspects which are linked by dynamical transitions depending on both the thermodynamic states and the excitation wavevectors.

Digital correlated double sampling (DCDS), a readout technique for charge-coupled devices (CCD), is gaining popularity in astronomical applications. By using an oversampling ADC and a digital filter, a DCDS system can achieve a better performance than traditional analogue readout techniques at the expense of a more complex system analysis. Several attempts to analyse and optimize a DCDS system have been reported, but most of the work presented in the literature has been experimental. Some approximate analytical tools have been presented for independent parameters of the system, but the overall performance and trade-offs have not been yet modelled. Furthermore, there is disagreement among experimental results that cannot be explained by the analytical tools available. In this work, a theoretical analysis of a generic DCDS readout system is presented, including key aspects such as the signal conditioning stage, the ADC resolution, the sampling frequency and the digital filter implementation. By using a time-domain noise model, the effect of the digital filter is properly modelled as a discrete-time process, thus avoiding the imprecision of continuous-time approximations that have been used so far. As a result, an accurate, closed-form expression for the signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the readout system is reached. This expression can be easily optimized in order to meet a set of specifications for a given CCD, thus providing a systematic design methodology for an optimal readout system. Simulated results are presented to validate the theory, obtained with both time- and frequency-domain noise generation models for completeness., Comment: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record is available online via the DOI or at: http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/455/2/1443.full.pdf

The Digital Correlated Double Sampling (DCDS) is a technique based on multiple analog-to-digital conversions of every pixel when reading a CCD out. This technique allows to remove analog integrators, simplifying the readout electronics circuitry. In this work, a theoretical framework that computes the optimal weighted coefficients of the pixels samples, which minimize the readout noise measured at the CCD output is presented. By using a noise model for the CCD output amplifier where white and flicker noise are treated separately, the mathematical tool presented allows for the computation of the optimal samples coefficients in a deterministic fashion. By modifying the noise profile, our simulation results get in agreement and thus explain results that were in mutual disagreement up until now., Comment: This paper was presented at the Scientific Detectors Workshop 2013 and submitted to be published in the proceedings. However, the proceedings have not been published yet

Accurate knowledge of the single-molecule (self) translational dynamics of liquid para-H2 is an essential requirement for the calculation of the neutron scattering properties of this important quantum liquid. We show that, by using Centroid Molecular Dynamics (CMD) quantum simulations of the velocity autocorrelation function, calculations of the total neutron cross section (TCS) remarkably agree with experimental data at the thermal and epithermal incident neutron energies where para-H2 dynamics is actually dominated by the self contributions. This result shows that a proper account of the quantum nature of the fluid, as provided by CMD, is a necessary and very effective condition to obtain the correct absolute-scale cross section values directly from first-principle computations of the double differential cross section, and without the need of introducing any empirically adjusted quantity. At subthermal incident energies, appropriate modeling of the para-H2 intermolecular (distinct) dynamics also becomes crucial, but quantum simulations are not yet able to cope with it. Existing simple models which account for the distinct part provide an appropriate correction of self-only calculations and bring the computed results in reasonable accord with TCS experimental data available until very recently. However, if just published cross section measurements in the cold range are considered, the agreement turns out to be by far superior and very satisfactory. The possible origin of slight residual differences will be commented and suggest further computational and experimental efforts. Nonetheless, the ability to reproduce the total cross section in the wide range between 1 and 900 meV represents an encouraging and important validation step of the CMD method and of the present simple algorithm.