- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/848/L16
- Title:
- Counterpart of GW170817. I. DECam obs.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/848/L16
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) discovery of the optical counterpart of the first binary neutron star merger detected through gravitational-wave emission, GW170817. Our observations commenced 10.5hr post-merger, as soon as the localization region became accessible from Chile. We imaged 70deg^2^ in the i and z bands, covering 93% of the initial integrated localization probability, to a depth necessary to identify likely optical counterparts (e.g., a kilonova). At 11.4hr post-merger we detected a bright optical transient located 10.6" from the nucleus of NGC 4993 at redshift z=0.0098, consistent (for H_0_=70km/s/Mpc) with the distance of 40+/-8Mpc reported by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration (LVC). At detection the transient had magnitudes of i=17.3 and z=17.4, and thus an absolute magnitude of Mi=-15.7, in the luminosity range expected for a kilonova. We identified 1500 potential transient candidates. Applying simple selection criteria aimed at rejecting background events such as supernovae, we find the transient associated with NGC 4993 as the only remaining plausible counterpart, and reject chance coincidence at the 99.5% confidence level. We therefore conclude that the optical counterpart we have identified near NGC 4993 is associated with GW170817. This discovery ushers in the era of multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves and demonstrates the power of DECam to identify the optical counterparts of gravitational-wave sources.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/872/43
- Title:
- IR spectroscopy of symbiotic stars. XII. V934 Her
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/872/43
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The X-ray symbiotic (SyXB) V934 Her = 4U1700+24 is an M giant-neutron star (NS) binary system. Employing optical and infrared radial velocities spanning 29yr combined with the extensive velocities in the literature, we compute the spectroscopic orbit of the M giant in that system. We determine an orbital period of 4391d, or 12.0yr, the longest for any SyXB and far longer than the 404 day orbit commonly cited for this system in the literature. In addition to the 12.0yr orbital period, we find a shorter period of 420 days, similar to the one previously found. Instead of orbital motion, we attribute this much shorter period to long secondary pulsation of the M3 III SRb variable. Our new orbit supports earlier work that concluded that the orbit is seen nearly pole-on, which is why X-ray pulsations associated with the NS have not been detected. We estimate an orbital inclination of 11.3{deg}+/-0.4{deg}. Arguments are made that this low inclination supports a pulsation origin for the 420 day secondary period. We also measure the CNO and Fe peak abundances of the M giant and find it to be slightly metal-poor compared to the Sun, with no trace of the NS-forming supernova event. The basic properties of the M giant and NS are derived. We discuss the possible evolutionary paths that this system has taken to get to its current state.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/882/40
- Title:
- Lanthanide fraction distribution of metal-poor stars
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/882/40
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Multimessenger observations of the neutron star merger GW170817 and its kilonova proved that neutron star mergers can synthesize large quantities of r-process elements. If neutron star mergers in fact dominate all r-process element production, then the distribution of kilonova ejecta compositions should match the distribution of r-process abundance patterns observed in stars. The lanthanide fraction (X_La_) is a measurable quantity in both kilonovae and metal-poor stars, but it has not previously been explicitly calculated for stars. Here we compute the lanthanide fraction distribution of metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]{<}-2.5) to enable comparison to current and future kilonovae. The full distribution peaks at log X_La_~-1.8, but r-process-enhanced stars ([Eu/Fe]>0.7) have distinctly higher lanthanide fractions: logX_La_>~-1.5. We review observations of GW170817 and find general consensus that the total logX_La_=-2.2+/-0.5, somewhat lower than the typical metal-poor star and inconsistent with the most highly r-enhanced stars. For neutron star mergers to remain viable as the dominant r-process site, future kilonova observations should be preferentially lanthanide-rich (including a population of ~10% with logX_La_>-1.5). These high-X_La_ kilonovae may be fainter and more rapidly evolving than GW170817, posing a challenge for discovery and follow-up observations. Both optical and (mid-)infrared observations will be required to robustly constrain kilonova lanthanide fractions. If such high-X_La_ kilonovae are not found in the next few years, that likely implies that the stars with the highest r-process enhancements have a different origin for their r-process elements.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/848/L29
- Title:
- Opt. follow-up of GW170817 counterpart
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/848/L29
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the results of prompt optical follow-up of the electromagnetic counterpart of the gravitational-wave event GW170817 by the Transient Optical Robotic Observatory of the South Collaboration. We detected highly significant dimming in the light curves of the counterpart ({Delta}g=0.17+/-0.03mag, {Delta}r=0.14+/-0.02mag, {Delta}i=0.10+/-0.03mag) over the course of only 80 minutes of observations obtained ~35hr after the trigger with the T80-South telescope. A second epoch of observations, obtained ~59hr after the event with the EABA 1.5m telescope, confirms the fast fading nature of the transient. The observed colors of the counterpart suggest that this event was a "blue kilonova" relatively free of lanthanides.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/866/83
- Title:
- Opt/NIR obs. of 1FGLJ1417.7-4407 neutron star bin.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/866/83
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The Fermi {gamma}-ray source 1FGL J1417.7-4407 (J1417) is a compact X-ray binary with a neutron star primary and a red giant companion in a ~5.4 days orbit. This initial conclusion, based on optical and X-ray data, was confirmed when a 2.66ms radio pulsar was found at the same location (and with the same orbital properties) as the optical/X-ray source. However, these initial studies found conflicting evidence about the accretion state and other properties of the binary. We present new optical, radio, and X-ray observations of J1417 that allow us to better understand this unusual system. We show that one of the main pieces of evidence previously put forward for an accretion disk-the complex morphology of the persistent H{alpha} emission line-can be better explained by the presence of a strong, magnetically driven stellar wind from the secondary and its interaction with the pulsar wind. The radio spectral index derived from VLA/ATCA observations is broadly consistent with that expected from a millisecond pulsar, further disfavoring an accretion disk scenario. X-ray observations show evidence for a double-peaked orbital light curve, similar to that observed in some redback millisecond pulsar binaries and likely due to an intrabinary shock. Refined optical light-curve fitting gives a distance of 3.1+/-0.6kpc, confirmed by a Gaia DR2 parallax measurement. At this distance the X-ray luminosity of J1417 is (1.0_-0.3_^+0.4^)x10^33^erg/s, which is more luminous than all known redback systems in the rotational-powered pulsar state, perhaps due to the wind from the giant companion. The unusual phenomenology of this system and its differing evolutionary path from redback millisecond pulsar binaries points to a new eclipsing pulsar "spider" subclass that is a possible progenitor of normal field millisecond pulsar binaries.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/853/150
- Title:
- Spectral analysis of low-mass X-ray binaries
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/853/150
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- A recent study of a small sample of X-ray binaries (XRBs) suggests a significant softening of spectra of neutron star (NS) binaries as compared to black hole (BH) binaries in the luminosity range 10^34^-10^37^erg/s. This softening is quantified as an anticorrelation between the spectral index and the 0.5-10keV X-ray luminosity. We extend the study to significantly lower luminosities (i.e., ~a few x10^30^erg/s) for a larger sample of XRBs. We find evidence for a significant anticorrelation between the spectral index and the luminosity for a group of NS binaries in the luminosity range 10^32^-10^33^erg/s. Our analysis suggests a steep slope for the correlation i.e., -2.12+/-0.63. In contrast, BH binaries do not exhibit the same behavior. We examine the possible dichotomy between NS and BH binaries in terms of a Comptonization model that assumes a feedback mechanism between an optically thin hot corona and an optically thick cool source of soft photons. We gauge the NS-BH dichotomy by comparing the extracted corona temperatures, Compton-y parameters, and the Comptonization amplification factors: the mean temperature of the NS group is found to be significantly lower than the equivalent temperature for the BH group. The extracted Compton-y parameters and the amplification factors follow the theoretically predicted relation with the spectral index.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/PASJ/70/28
- Title:
- Subaru HSC counterpart candidates of GW170817
- Short Name:
- J/PASJ/70/28
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We perform a z-band survey for an optical counterpart of the binary neutron star coalescence GW170817 with Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam. Our untargeted transient search covers 23.6deg^2^ corresponding to the 56.6% credible region of GW170817 and reaches the 50% completeness magnitude of 20.6mag on average. As a result, we find 60 candidate extragalactic transients, including J-GEM17btc (also known as SSS17a/DLT17ck). While J-GEM17btc is associated with NGC 4993, which is firmly located inside the 3D skymap of GW170817, the other 59 candidates do not have distance information in the GLADE v2 catalog or NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Among 59 of the candidates, 58 are located at the center of extended objects in the Pan-STARRS1 catalog, while one candidate has an offset. We present location, z-band apparent magnitude, and time variability of the candidates and evaluate the probabilities that they are located within the 3D skymap of GW170817. The probability for J-GEM17btc is 64%, which is much higher than for the other 59 candidates (9.3x10^-3^-2.1x10^-1^%). Furthermore, the possibility that at least one of the other 59 candidates is located within the 3D skymap is only 3.2%. Therefore, we conclude that J-GEM17btc is the most likely and distinguished candidate to be the optical counterpart of GW170817.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/245/19
- Title:
- Thermonuclear burst oscillations (TBOs) with RXTE
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/245/19
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We describe a blind uniform search for thermonuclear burst oscillations (TBOs) in the majority of Type I bursts observed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) (2118 bursts from 57 neutron stars). We examined 2-2002Hz power spectra from the Fourier transform in sliding 0.5-2s windows, using fine-binned light curves in the 2-60keV energy range. The significance of the oscillation candidates was assessed by simulations which took into account light-curve variations, dead time, and the sliding time windows. Some of our sources exhibited multi-frequency variability at <~15Hz that cannot be readily removed with light-curve modeling and may have an astrophysical (non-TBO) nature. Overall, we found that the number and strength of potential candidates depends strongly on the parameters of the search. We found candidates from all previously known RXTE TBO sources, with pulsations that had been detected at similar frequencies in multiple independent time windows, and discovered TBOs from SAXJ1810.8-2658. We could not confirm most previously reported tentative TBO detections or identify any obvious candidates just below the detection threshold at similar frequencies in multiple bursts. We computed fractional amplitudes of all TBO candidates and placed upper limits on non-detections. Finally, for a few sources we noted a small excess of candidates with powers comparable to fainter TBOs, but appearing in single independent time windows at random frequencies. At least some of these candidates may be noise spikes that appear interesting due to selection effects. The potential presence of such candidates calls for extra caution if claiming single-window TBO detections.
