- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/769/108
- Title:
- Optical photometry of 4 millisecond pulsars
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/769/108
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- In the last few years, over 43 millisecond radio pulsars have been discovered by targeted searches of unidentified {gamma}-ray sources found by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. A large fraction of these millisecond pulsars are in compact binaries with low-mass companions. These systems often show eclipses of the pulsar signal and are commonly known as black widows and redbacks because the pulsar is gradually destroying its companion. In this paper, we report on the optical discovery of four strongly irradiated millisecond pulsar companions. All four sources show modulations of their color and luminosity at the known orbital periods from radio timing. Light curve modeling of our exploratory data shows that the equilibrium temperature reached on the companion's dayside with respect to their nightside is consistent with about 10%-30% of the available spin-down energy from the pulsar being reprocessed to increase the companion's dayside temperature. This value compares well with the range observed in other irradiated pulsar binaries and offers insights about the energetics of the pulsar wind and the production of {gamma}-ray emission. In addition, this provides a simple way of estimating the brightness of irradiated pulsar companions given the pulsar spin-down luminosity. Our analysis also suggests that two of the four new irradiated pulsar companions are only partially filling their Roche lobe. Some of these sources are relatively bright and represent good targets for spectroscopic follow-up.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/447/1661
- Title:
- Optical photometry of nova V5588 Sgr
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/447/1661
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The outburst of Nova Sgr 2011 N.2 (=V5588 Sgr) was followed with optical and near-IR photometric and spectroscopic observations for 3.5 yr, beginning shortly before the maximum. V5588 Sgr is located close to Galactic Centre, suffering from E(B-V)=1.56(+/-0.1) extinction. The primary maximum was reached at V=12.37 on UT 2011 April 2.5(+/-0.2), and the underlying smooth decline was moderately fast with t^V^_2_=38 and t^V^_3_=77 d. On top of an otherwise normal decline, six self-similar, fast evolving and bright secondary maxima (SdM) appeared in succession. Only very few other novae have presented so clear SdM. Both the primary maximum and all SdM occurred at later times with increasing wavelengths, by amounts in agreement with expectations from fireball expansions. The radiative energy released during SdM declined following an exponential pattern, while the breadth of individual SdM and the time interval between them widened. Emission lines remained sharp (FWHM~1000 km/s) throughout the whole nova evolution, with the exception of a broad pedestal with a trapezoidal shape ({Delta}vel=3600 km/s at the top and 4500 km/s at the bottom) which was only seen during the advanced decline from SdM maxima and was absent in between SdM. V5588 Sgr at maximum light displayed a typical FeII-class spectrum which did not evolve into a nebular stage. About 10 d into the decline from primary maximum, a typical high-ionization He/N-class spectrum appeared and remained visible simultaneously with the FeII-class spectrum, qualifying V5588 Sgr as a rare hybrid nova. While the FeII-class spectrum faded into oblivion, the He/N-class spectrum developed strong [FeX] coronal lines.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/183/261
- Title:
- Optical photometry of the ONC
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/183/261
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present U, B, V, I broadband, 6200{AA} TiO medium band, and H{alpha} narrow band photometry of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) obtained with the WFI imager at the ESO/MPI 2.2 telescope at La Silla Observatory. The nearly simultaneous observations cover the entire ONC in a field of about 34x34arcmin^2^. They enable us to determine stellar colors avoiding the additional scatter in the photometry induced by stellar variability typical of pre-main-sequence stars. We identify 2612 point-like sources in the I band; 58%, 43%, and 17% of them are also detected in V, B, and U, respectively. 1040 sources are identified in the H{alpha} band. In this paper we present the observations, the calibration techniques adopted, and the resulting catalog. We show the derived color-magnitude diagram of the population and discuss the completeness of our photometry. We define a spectrophotometric TiO index that takes into account the fluxes in the V, I, and TiO bands. Comparing it with spectral types of ONC members in the literature, we find a correlation between the index and the spectral type valid for M-type stars, which is accurate to better than 1 spectral subclass for M3-M6 types and better than 2 spectral subclasses for M0-M2 types. This allows us to newly classify 217 stars.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/882/30
- Title:
- Optical photometry of type Ia SN 2014J
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/882/30
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present extensive ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometry of the highly reddened, very nearby SN Ia 2014J in M82, covering the phases from 9 days before to about 900 days after the B-band maximum. SN 2014J is similar to other normal SNe Ia near the maximum light, but it shows flux excess in the B band in the early nebular phase. This excess flux emission can be due to light scattering by some structures of circumstellar materials located at a few 10^17^cm, consistent with a single-degenerate progenitor system or a double-degenerate progenitor system with mass outflows in the final evolution or magnetically driven winds around the binary system. At t~+300 to ~+500 days past the B-band maximum, the light curve of SN 2014J shows a faster decline relative to the 56Ni decay. That feature can be attributed to the significant weakening of the emission features around [FeIII]{lambda}4700 and [FeII]{lambda}5200 rather than the positron escape, as previously suggested. Analysis of the HST images taken at t>600 days confirms that the luminosity of SN 2014J maintains a flat evolution at the very late phase. Fitting the late-time pseudobolometric light curve with radioactive decay of ^56^Ni, ^57^Ni, and ^55^Fe isotopes, we obtain the mass ratio ^57^Ni/^56^Ni as 0.035+/-0.011, which is consistent with the corresponding value predicted from the 2D and 3D delayed-detonation models. Combined with early-time analysis, we propose that delayed-detonation through the single-degenerate scenario is most likely favored for SN 2014J.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/806/94
- Title:
- Optical polarimetric catalog of stars in the SMC
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/806/94
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a new optical polarimetric catalog for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). It contains a total of 7207 stars, located in the northeast (NE) and Wing sections of the SMC and part of the Magellanic Bridge. This new catalog is a significant improvement compared to previous polarimetric catalogs for the SMC. We used it to study the sky-projected interstellar magnetic field structure of the SMC. Three trends were observed for the ordered magnetic field direction at position angles (PAs) of (65{deg}+/-10{deg}), (115{deg}+/-10{deg}), and (150{deg}+/-10{deg}). Our results suggest the existence of an ordered magnetic field aligned with the Magellanic Bridge direction and SMC's Bar in the NE region, which have PAs roughly at 115.4{deg} and 45{deg}, respectively. However, the overall magnetic field structure is fairly complex. The trends at 115{deg} and 150{deg} may be correlated with the SMC's bimodal structure, observed in Cepheids' distances and HI velocities. We derived a value of B_sky_=(0.497+/-0.079){mu}G for the ordered sky-projected magnetic field, and {delta}B=(1.465+/-0.069){mu}G for the turbulent magnetic field. This estimate of B_sky_ is significantly larger (by a factor of ~10) than the line of sight field derived from Faraday rotation observations, suggesting that most of the ordered field component is on the plane of the sky. A turbulent magnetic field stronger than the ordered field agrees with observed estimates for other irregular and spiral galaxies. For the SMC the B_sky_/{delta}B ratio is closer to what is observed for our Galaxy than other irregular dwarf galaxies.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/402/2087
- Title:
- Optical polarization of OJ 287 in 2005-2009
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/402/2087
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- OJ287 is a BL Lac object at redshift z=0.306 that has shown double-peaked bursts at regular intervals of ~12yr during the last ~40yr. We analyse optical photopolarimetric monitoring data from 2005-2009, during which the latest double-peaked outburst occurred. The aim of this study is twofold: firstly, we aim to analyse variability patterns and statistical properties of the optical polarization light-curve. We find a strong preferred position angle in optical polarization. The preferred position angle can be explained by separating the jet emission into two components: an optical polarization core and chaotic jet emission. The optical polarization core is stable on time scales of years and can be explained as emission from an underlying quiescent jet component. The chaotic jet emission sometimes exhibits a circular movement in the Stokes plane. We find six such events, all on the timescales of 10-20days. We interpret these events as a shock front moving forwards and backwards in the jet, swiping through a helical magnetic field. Secondly, we use our data to assess different binary black hole models proposed to explain the regularly appearing double-peaked bursts in OJ287. We compose a list of requirements a model has to fulfil to explain the mysterious behaviour observed in OJ287. The list includes not only characteristics of the light-curve but also other properties of OJ287, such as the black hole mass and restrictions on accretion flow properties. We rate all existing models using this list and conclude that none of the models is able to explain all observations. We discuss possible new explanations and propose a new approach to understanding OJ287. We suggest that both the double-peaked bursts and the evolution of the optical polarization position angle could be explained as a sign of resonant accretion of magnetic field lines, a 'magnetic breathing' of the disc.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/686/1209
- Title:
- Optical properties of GRB afterglows
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/686/1209
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a multiwavelength analysis of 63 gamma-ray bursts observed with the world's three largest robotic optical telescopes, the Liverpool and Faulkes Telescopes (North and South). Optical emission was detected for 24 GRBs with brightnesses ranging from R=10 to 22mag in the first 10 minutes after the burst. By comparing optical and X-ray light curves from t=100 to ~106 seconds, we introduce four main classes, defined by the presence or absence of temporal breaks at optical and/or X-ray wavelengths. While 14/24 GRBs can be modeled with the forward-shock model, explaining the remaining 10 is very challenging in the standard framework even with the introduction of energy injection or an ambient density gradient. Early X-ray afterglows, even segments of light curves described by a power law, may be due to additional emission from the central engine. Thirty-nine GRBs in our sample were not detected and have deep upper limits (R<22mag) at early time. Of these, only 10 were identified by other facilities, primarily at near infrared wavelengths, resulting in a dark burst fraction of ~50%. Additional emission in the early-time X-ray afterglow due to late-time central engine activity may also explain some dark bursts by making the bursts brighter than expected in the X-ray band compared to the optical band.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/723/1119
- Title:
- Optical properties of radio galaxies at z<0.3
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/723/1119
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Extended extragalactic radio sources have traditionally been classified into Fanaroff & Riley (FR) I and II types, based on the ratio r_s_ of the separation S between the brightest regions on either sides of the host galaxy and the total size T of the radio source (r_s_~S/T). In this paper, we examine the distribution of various physical properties as a function of r_s_ of 1040 luminous (L>~L*) extended radio galaxies (RGs) at z<0.3 selected with well-defined criteria from the SDSS (Strauss et al. 2002AJ....124.1810S), NVSS (Condon et al. 1998, Cat. VIII/65), and FIRST (Becker et al. 1995+, Cat. VIII/71) surveys. About 2/3 of the RGs are lobe dominated (LD) and 1/3 have prominent jets. If we follow the original definition of the FR types, i.e., a division based solely on r_s_, FRI and FRII RGs overlap in their host galaxy properties.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/758/25
- Title:
- Optical properties of WISE galaxies
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/758/25
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We use a dense, complete redshift survey, the Smithsonian Hectospec Lensing Survey (SHELS), covering a 4deg^2^ region of a deep imaging survey, the Deep Lens Survey (DLS), to study the optical spectral properties of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) 22{mu}m selected galaxies. Among 507 WISE 22{mu}m selected sources with (S/N)_22{mu}m_>=3 ({approx}S_22{mu}m_>~2.5mJy), we identify the optical counterparts of 481 sources (~98%) at R<25.2 in the very deep, DLS R-band source catalog. Among them, 337 galaxies at R<21 have SHELS spectroscopic data. Most of these objects are at z<0.8. The infrared (IR) luminosities are in the range 4.5x10^8^(L_{sun}_)<~L_IR_<~5.4x10^12^(L_{sun}_). Most 22{mu}m selected galaxies are dusty star-forming galaxies with a small (<1.5) 4000{AA} break. The stacked spectra of the 22 {mu}m selected galaxies binned in IR luminosity show that the strength of the [O III] line relative to H{beta} grows with increasing IR luminosity. The optical spectra of the 22{mu}m selected galaxies also show that there are some (~2.8%) unusual galaxies with very strong [Ne III] {lambda}3869, 3968 emission lines that require hard ionizing radiation such as active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or extremely young massive stars. The specific star formation rates (sSFRs) derived from the 3.6 and 22{mu}m flux densities are enhanced if the 22{mu}m selected galaxies have close late-type neighbors. The sSFR distribution of the 22{mu}m selected galaxies containing AGNs is similar to the distribution for star-forming galaxies without AGNs. We identify 48 dust-obscured galaxy candidates with large (>~1000) mid-IR to optical flux density ratio. The combination of deep photometric and spectroscopic data with WISE data suggests that WISE can probe the universe to z~2.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/895/114
- Title:
- Optical, radio and X-ray properties for 113 QSOs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/895/114
- Date:
- 16 Mar 2022 00:19:12
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We investigate whether the correlation between the hard X-ray photon index ({Gamma}) and accretion rate for super-Eddington accreting quasars is different from that for sub-Eddington accreting quasars. We construct a sample of 113 bright quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14 quasar catalog, with 38 quasars as the super-Eddington subsample and 75 quasars as the sub-Eddington subsample. We derive black hole masses using a simple-epoch virial mass formula based on the H{beta} lines, and we use the standard thin disk model to derive the dimensionless accretion rates (M) for our sample. The X-ray data for these quasars are collected from the Chandra and XMM-Newton archives. We fit the hard X-ray spectra using a single power-law model to obtain {Gamma} values. We find a statistically significant (R_S_=0.43, p=7.75x10^-3^) correlation between {Gamma} and M for the super-Eddington subsample. The {Gamma}-M correlation for the sub-Eddington subsample is also significant, but weaker (R_S_=0.30, p=9.98x10^-3^). Linear regression analysis shows that {Gamma}=(0.34{+/-}0.11)log(M)+(1.71{+/-}0.17) and {Gamma}=(0.09{+/-}0.04)log(M)+(1.93{+/-}0.04) for the super- and sub-Eddington subsamples, respectively. The {Gamma}-M correlations of the two subsamples are different, suggesting different disk-corona connections in these two types of systems. We propose one qualitative explanation of the steeper {Gamma}-M correlation in the super-Eddington regime that involves larger seed photon fluxes received by the compact coronae from the thick disks in super-Eddington accreting quasars.
