- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/836/25
- Title:
- Swift UVOT light curves of ASASSN-15lh
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/836/25
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the detection of persistent soft X-ray radiation with L_x_~10^41^-10^42^erg/s at the location of the extremely luminous, double-humped transient ASASSN-15lh as revealed by Chandra and Swift. We interpret this finding in the context of observations from our multiwavelength campaign, which revealed the presence of weak narrow nebular emission features from the host-galaxy nucleus and clear differences with respect to superluminous supernova optical spectra. Significant UV flux variability on short timescales detected at the time of the rebrightening disfavors the shock interaction scenario as the source of energy powering the long-lived UV emission, while deep radio limits exclude the presence of relativistic jets propagating into a low-density environment. We propose a model where the extreme luminosity and double-peaked temporal structure of ASASSN-15lh is powered by a central source of ionizing radiation that produces a sudden change in the ejecta opacity at later times. As a result, UV radiation can more easily escape, producing the second bump in the light curve. We discuss different interpretations for the intrinsic nature of the ionizing source. We conclude that, if the X-ray source is physically associated with the optical-UV transient, then ASASSN-15lh most likely represents the tidal disruption of a main-sequence star by the most massive spinning black hole detected to date. In this case, ASASSN-15lh and similar events discovered in the future would constitute the most direct probes of very massive, dormant, spinning, supermassive black holes in galaxies. Future monitoring of the X-rays may allow us to distinguish between the supernova hypothesis and the hypothesis of a tidal disruption event.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/836/232
- Title:
- Swift-UVOT obs. analysis of 29 SNe Ia
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/836/232
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The intrinsic colors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are important to understanding their use as cosmological standard candles. Understanding the effects of reddening and redshift on the observed colors are complicated and dependent on the intrinsic spectrum, the filter curves, and the wavelength dependence of reddening. We present ultraviolet and optical data of a growing sample of SNe Ia observed with the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope on the Swift spacecraft and use this sample to re-examine the near-UV (NUV) colors of SNe Ia. We find that a small amount of reddening (E(B-V)=0.2mag) could account for the difference between groups designated as NUV-blue and NUV-red, and a moderate amount of reddening (E(B-V)=0.5mag) could account for the whole NUV-optical differences. The reddening scenario, however, is inconsistent with the mid-UV colors and color evolution. The effect of redshift alone only accounts for part of the variation. Using a spectral template of SN2011fe, we can forward model the effects of redshift and reddening and directly compare those with the observed colors. We find that some SNe are consistent with reddened versions of SN2011fe, but most SNe Ia are much redder in the uvw1-v color than SN2011fe reddened to the same b-v color. The absolute magnitudes show that two out of five NUV-blue SNe Ia are blue because their near-UV luminosity is high, and the other three are optically fainter. We also show that SN 2011fe is not a "normal" SN Ia in the UV, but has colors placing it at the blue extreme of our sample.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/897/18
- Title:
- Swift UVOT observation of the radio quasar 3C 273
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/897/18
- Date:
- 16 Mar 2022 00:38:40
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- 3C273 is an intensively monitored flat-spectrum radio quasar with both a beamed jet and blue bump together with broad emission lines. The coexistence of the comparably prominent jet and accretion disk leads to complicated variability properties. Recent reverberation mapping monitoring for 3C273 revealed that the optical continuum shows a distinct long-term trend that does not have a corresponding echo in the H{beta} fluxes. We compile multiwavelength monitoring data from the Swift archive and other ground-based programs and clearly find two components of emissions at optical wavelength. One component stems from the accretion disk itself, and the other component can be ascribed to the jet contribution, which also naturally accounts for the nonechoed trend in reverberation mapping data. We develop an approach to decouple the optical emissions from the jet and accretion disk in 3C273 with the aid of multiwavelength monitoring data. By assuming that the disk emission has a negligible polarization in consideration of the low inclination of the jet, the results show that the jet contributes a fraction of ~10% at the minimum and up to ~40% at the maximum to the total optical emissions. This is the first time to provide a physical interpretation of the "detrending" manipulation conventionally adopted in reverberation mapping analysis. Our work also illustrates the importance of appropriately analyzing variability properties in cases of coexisting jets and accretion disks.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/749/18
- Title:
- Swift/UVOT observations of 12 nearby SN-Ia
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/749/18
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We compare early ultraviolet (UV) observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) with theoretical predictions for the brightness of the shock associated with the collision between SN ejecta and a companion star. Our simple method is independent of the intrinsic flux from the SN and treats the flux observed with the Swift/Ultra-Violet Optical Telescope as conservative upper limits on the shock brightness. Comparing this limit with the predicted flux for various shock models, we constrain the geometry of the SN progenitor-companion system. We find the model of a 1 M_{sun}_ red supergiant companion in Roche-lobe overflow to be excluded at a 95% confidence level for most individual SNe for all but the most unfavorable viewing angles. For the sample of 12 SNe taken together, the upper limits on the viewing angle are inconsistent with the expected distribution of viewing angles for red gaint stars as the majority of companions with high confidence. The separation distance constraints do allow main-sequence companions. A better understanding of the UV flux arising from the SN itself as well as continued UV observations of young SNe Ia will further constrain the possible progenitors of SNe Ia.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/753/22
- Title:
- Swift/UVOT observations of SN 2011fe
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/753/22
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the earliest ultraviolet (UV) observations of the bright Type Ia supernova SN 2011fe/PTF11kly in the nearby galaxy M101 at a distance of only 6.4 Mpc. It was discovered shortly after explosion by the Palomar Transient Factory and first observed by Swift/UVOT about a day after explosion. The early UV light is well defined, with ~20 data points per filter in the five days after explosion. These early and well-sampled UV observations form new template light curves for comparison with observations of other SNe Ia at low and high redshift. We report fits from semiempirical models of the explosion and find the time evolution of the early UV flux to be well fitted by the superposition of two parabolic curves. Finally, we use the early UV flux measurements to examine a possible shock interaction with a non-degenerate companion. From models predicting the measurable shock emission, we find that even a solar mass companion at a distance of a few solar radii is unlikely at more than 95% confidence.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/II/339
- Title:
- Swift/UVOT Serendipitous Source Catalog
- Short Name:
- II/339
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The first version of the Swift UVOT serendipitous source catalogue (UVOTSSC) provides positions and magnitudes, as well as errors and upper limits of confirmed sources for observations taken from start of operations in 2005 until October 1st of 2010. The first version of the Swift UVOT Serendipitous Source Catalogue (UVOTSSC) has been produced by processing the image data obtained from the Swift Ultraviolet and Optical Telescope (UVOT) from the beginning of the mission (2005) until 1st of October of 2010. The data processing was performed at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL, University College London, U.K.) using Swift FTOOLS from NASA's High Energy Astrophysics Software (HEASoft-6.11), with some customising of the UVOT packages in order to get more complete source detection and properly apply quality flags to those sources that were detected within the UVOT image artefacts. The total number of observations with 17'x17' images used for version 1 of the catalogue is 23,059, giving 6,200,016 sources in total, of which 2,027,265 have multiple entries in the source table because they have been detected in more than one observation. Some sources were only observed in one filter. The total number of entries in the source table is 13,860,568. The S/N ratio for all sources exceeds 5 for at least one UVOT filter, the rest of the filters having a S/N greater than 3.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/424/1636
- Title:
- Swift/UVOT sources in NGC4321 (M100)
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/424/1636
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We study the star-forming regions in the spiral galaxy NGC 4321 (M100). We take advantage of the spatial resolution (2.5-arcsec full width at half-maximum) of the Swift/Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope camera and the availability of three ultraviolet (UV) passbands in the region 1600<{lambda}<3000{AA}, in combination with optical and infrared (IR) imaging from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, KPNO/H{alpha} and Spitzer/IRAC, to obtain a catalogue of 787 star-forming regions out to three disc scalelengths. We use a large volume of star formation histories, combined with stellar population synthesis, to determine the properties of the young stellar component and its relationship with the spiral arms.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/158/35
- Title:
- Swift UVOT Stars Survey. III. Galactic open clusters
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/158/35
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- As part of the Swift/Ultraviolet-Optical Telescope Stars Survey, we present near-ultraviolet (NUV; 3000-1700 {AA}) point-source photometry for 103 Galactic open clusters. These data, taken over the span of the mission, provide a unique and unprecedented set of NUV point-source photometry on simple stellar populations. After applying a membership analysis fueled mostly by Gaia DR2 (Cat. I/345) proper motions, we find that 49 of these 103 have clear precise color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) amenable to investigation. We compare the CMDs to theoretical isochrones and find good agreement between the theoretical isochrones and the CMDs. The exceptions are the fainter parts of the main sequence and the red giant branch in the uvw2-uvw1 CMDs, which is most likely due to either the difficulty of correcting for the red leak in the uvw2 filter or limitations in our understanding of UV opacities for cool stars. For the most part, our derived cluster parameters - age, distance, and reddening - agree with the consensus literature, but we find a few clusters that warrant substantial revision from literature values, notably NGC 2304, NGC 2343, NGC 2360, NGC 2396, NGC 2428, NGC 2509, NGC 2533, NGC 2571, NGC 2818, Collinder 220, and NGC 6939. A number of these are clusters in the third Galactic quadrant, where previous studies may have mistaken the disk sequence for the cluster. However, the Gaia DR2 proper motions clearly favor a different sequence. A number of clusters also show white dwarf and blue straggler sequences. We confirm the presence of extended main-sequence turnoffs in NGC 2360 and NGC 2818 and show hints of them in a number of other clusters that may warrant future spectroscopic study. Most of the clusters in the study have low extinction, and the rest are well fit by a "Milky Way-like" extinction law. However, Collinder 220 hints at a possible "LMC-like" extinction law. We finally provide a comprehensive point-source catalog to the community as a tool for future investigation.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/150/129
- Title:
- Swift UVOT stars survey. II. RR Lyrae in M3 and M15
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/150/129
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the first results of a Near-UltraViolet (NUV) survey of RR Lyrae stars from the Ultraviolet Optical Telescope (UVOT) on board the Swift Gamma-ray Burst Mission. It is well-established that RR Lyrae stars have large amplitudes in the far- and near-ultraviolet. We have used UVOT's unique wide-field NUV imaging capability to perform the first systematic NUV survey of variable stars in the Galactic globular clusters M3 and M15. We identify 280 variable stars, comprised of 275 RR Lyrae, 2 anomalous Cepheids, 1 classical Cepheid, 1 SX Phoenicis star, and 1 possible long-period or irregular variable. Only two of these are new discoveries. We compare our results to previous investigations and find excellent agreement in the periods with significantly larger amplitudes in the NUV. We map out, for the first time, an NUV Bailey diagram from globular clusters, showing the usual loci for fundamental mode RRab and first overtone RRc pulsators. We show the unique sensitivity of NUV photometry to both the temperatures and the surface gravities of RR Lyrae stars. Finally, we show evidence of an NUV period-metallicity-luminosity relationship. Future investigations will further examine the dependence of NUV pulsation parameters on metallicity and Oosterhoff classification.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/208/25
- Title:
- Swift X-ray observations of 1FGL sources
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/208/25
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We have analyzed all the archival X-ray data of 134 unidentified (unID) gamma-ray sources listed in the first Fermi/LAT (1FGL) catalog and subsequently followed up by the Swift/XRT. We constructed the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from radio to gamma-rays for each X-ray source detected, and tried to pick up unique objects that display anomalous spectral signatures. In these analyses, we target all the 1FGL unID sources, using updated data from the second Fermi/LAT (2FGL) catalog on the Large Area Telescope (LAT) position and spectra. We found several potentially interesting objects, particularly three sources, 1FGL J0022.2-1850, 1FGL J0038.0+1236, and 1FGL J0157.0-5259, which were then more deeply observed with Suzaku as a part of an AO-7 program in 2012. We successfully detected an X-ray counterpart for each source whose X-ray spectra were well fitted by a single power-law function. The positional coincidence with a bright radio counterpart (currently identified as an active galactic nucleus, AGN) in the 2FGL error circles suggests these sources are definitely the X-ray emission from the same AGN, but their SEDs show a wide variety of behavior. In particular, the SED of 1FGL J0038.0+1236 is not easily explained by conventional emission models of blazars. The source 1FGL J0022.2-1850 may be in a transition state between a low-frequency peaked and a high-frequency peaked BL Lac object, and 1FGL J0157.0-5259 could be a rare kind of extreme blazar.