arXiv subjects

N.

Publications and source records attributed to N..

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

A Comparison of the UV and HI Properties of the Extended UV (XUV) Disk Galaxies NGC 2541, NGC 5832 and ESO406-042

We present a UV study of 3 extended UV (XUV) galaxies that we have observed with the UVIT and the GMRT. XUV galaxies show filamentary or diffuse star formation well beyond their optical disks, in regions where the disk surface density lies below the threshold for star formation. GALEX observations found that surprisingly 30% of all the nearby spiral galaxies have XUV disks. The XUV galaxies can be broadly classified as type 1 and type 2 XUV disks. The type 1 XUV disks have star formation that is linked to that in their main disk, and the UV emission appears as extended, filamentary spiral arms. The UV luminosity is associated with compact star forming regions along the extended spiral arms. The star formation is probably driven by slow gas accretion from nearby galaxies or the intergalactic medium (IGM). But the type 2 XUV disks have star formation associated with an outer low luminosity stellar disk that is often truncated near the optical radius of the galaxy. The nature of the stellar disks in type 2 XUV disks are similar to that of the diffuse stellar disks of low surface brightness galaxies. The star formation in type 2 XUV disks is thought to be due to rapid gas accretion or gas infall from nearby high velocity clouds (HVCs), interacting galaxies or the IGM. In this paper we investigate the star formation properties of the XUV regions of two type 2 galaxies and one mixed XUV type galaxy and compare them with the neutral hydrogen (HI) emission in their disks. We present preliminary results of our UVIT (FUV and NUV) observations of NGC 2541, NGC 5832 and ESO406-042, as well as GMRT observations of their HI emission. We describe the UV emission morphology, estimate the star formation rates and compare it with the HI distribution in these type 2 and mixed XUV galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs -- LP 714-47b (TOI 442.01): Populating the Neptune desert

We report the discovery of a Neptune-like planet (LP 714-47 b, P = 4.05204 d, m_b = 30.8 +/- 1.5 M_earth , R_b = 4.7 +/- 0.3 R_earth ) located in the 'hot Neptune desert'. Confirmation of the TESS Object of Interest (TOI 442.01) was achieved with radial-velocity follow-up using CARMENES, ESPRESSO, HIRES, iSHELL, and PFS, as well as from photometric data using TESS, Spitzer, and ground-based photometry from MuSCAT2, TRAPPIST- South, MONET-South, the George Mason University telescope, the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope network, the El Sauce telescope, the TUBITAK National Observatory, the University of Louisville Manner Telescope, and WASP-South. We also present high-spatial resolution adaptive optics imaging with the Gemini Near-Infrared Imager. The low uncertainties in the mass and radius determination place LP 714-47 b among physically well-characterised planets, allowing for a meaningful comparison with planet structure models. The host star LP 714-47 is a slowly rotating early M dwarf (T_eff = 3950 +/- 51 K) with a mass of 0.59 +/- 0.02 M_sun and a radius of 0.58 +/- 0.02 R_sun. From long-term photometric monitoring and spectroscopic activity indicators, we determine a stellar rotation period of about 33 d. The stellar activity is also manifested as correlated noise in the radial-velocity data. In the power spectrum of the radial-velocity data, we detect a second signal with a period of 16 days in addition to the four-day signal of the planet. This could be shown to be a harmonic of the stellar rotation period or the signal of a second planet. It may be possible to tell the difference once more TESS data and radial-velocity data are obtained.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

Swift/XRT, Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of IGR J17091-3624 as it returns into quiescence

IGR J17091-3624 is a low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) which received wide attention from the community thanks to its similarities with the bright black hole system GRS 1915+105. Both systems exhibit a wide range of highly structured X-ray variability during outburst, with time scales from few seconds to tens of minutes, which make them unique in the study of mass accretion in LMXBs. In this work we present a general overview into the long-term evolution of IGR J17091-3624, using Swift/XRT observations from the onset of the 2011-2013 outburst in February 2011 to the end of the last bright outburst in November 2016. We found 4 re-flares during the decay of the 2011 outburst, but no similar re-flares appear to be present in the latter one. We studied in detail the period with the lowest flux observed in the last 10 years, just at the tail end of the 2011-2013 outburst, using Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. We observed changes in flux as high as a factor of 10 during this period of relative quiescence, without strong evidence of softening in the spectra. This result suggests that the source has not been observed at its true quiescence so far. By comparing the spectral properties at low luminosities of IGR J17091-3624 and those observed for a well studied population of LMXBs, we concluded that IGR J17091-3624 is most likely to host a black hole as a compact companion rather than a neutron star.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Optical Spectroscopic Observations of Gamma-Ray Blazar Candidates. VII. Follow-up Campaign in the Southern Hemisphere

Searching for low energy counterparts of gamma-ray sources is one of the major challenges in modern gamma-ray astronomy. In the third Fermi source catalog about 30 % of detected sources are unidentified/unassociated Gamma-ray Sources (UGSs). We recently started an optical spectroscopic follow up campaign to confirm the blazar-like nature of candidates counterparts of UGSs. Here we report the spectra of 61 targets collected with the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR) between 2014 and the 2017. Our sample includes 33 potential counterparts of UGSs, selected on the basis of WISE colors, and 27 blazar candidates of uncertain type associated with gamma-ray sources of the last release of the Fermi catalog. We confirm the BZB nature of 20 sources lying within the positional uncertainty region of the UGSs. All the observed BCUs show blazar-like spectra, classified as 2 BZQs and 25 BZBs, for which we obtained 6 redshift estimates. Within the BCUs observations we report the redshift estimate for the BZB associated with, 3FGL J1106.4-3643 that is the second most distant BL Lac known to date, at z>1.084.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Optical spectroscopic observations of gamma-ray blazar candidates VIII: the 2016-2017 follow up campaign carried out at SPM, NOT, KPNO and SOAR telescopes

The third Fermi source catalog lists 3033 gamma-ray sources above $4\sigma$ significance. More than 30% are classified as either unidentified/unassociated Gamma-ray sources (UGSs), with about 20% classified as Blazar candidates of uncertain types (BCUs). To confirm the blazar-like nature of candidate counterparts of UGSs and BCUs, we started in 2012 an optical spectroscopic follow up campaign. We report here the spectra of 36 targets with observations from the Observatorio Astron\'omico Nacional San Pedro M\'artir, the Southern Astrophysical Research Observatory, the Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Northern Optical Telescope, between 2016 and 2017. We confirm the BL Lac nature of 23 sources, and the flat spectrum radio quasar nature of other 7 ones. We also provide redshift estimates for 19 out of these 30 confirmations, with only one being a lower limit due to spectral features ascribable to intervening systems along the line of sight. As in previous analyses, the largest fraction of now-classified BCUs belong to the class of BL Lac objects, that appear to be the most elusive class of active galactic nuclei. One of the BL Lacs identified in this work, associated with 3FGL J2213.6-4755, lies at a redshift of $z>$1.529, making it one of the few distant gamma-ray BL Lac objects.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

The Double Dust Envelopes of R Coronae Borealis Stars

The study of extended, cold dust envelopes surrounding R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars began with their discovery by IRAS. RCB stars are carbon-rich supergiants characterized by their extreme hydrogen deficiency and for their irregular and spectacular declines in brightness (up to 9 mags). We have analyzed new and archival Spitzer Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory data of the envelopes of seven RCB stars to examine the morphology and investigate the origin of these dusty shells. Herschel, in particular, has revealed the first ever bow shock associated with an RCB star with its observations of SU Tauri. These data have allowed the assembly of the most comprehensive spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these stars with multi--wavelength data from the ultraviolet to the submillimeter. Radiative transfer modeling of the SEDs implies that the RCB stars in this sample are surrounded by an inner warm (up to 1,200 K) and an outer cold (up to 200 K) envelope. The outer shells are suggested to contain up to 10$^{-3}$ M$_\odot$ of dust and have existed for up to $10^5$ yr depending on the expansion rate of the dust. This age limit indicates that these structures have most likely been formed during the RCB phase.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2017

Half-lives of neutron-rich $^{128-130}$Cd

The $\beta$-decay half-lives of $^{128\text{--}130}$Cd have been measured with the newly commissioned GRIFFIN $\gamma$-ray spectrometer at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility. The time structures of the most intense $\gamma$-rays emitted following the $\beta$-decay were used to determine the half-lives of $^{128}$Cd and $^{130}$Cd to be $T_{1/2}= 246.2(21)$ ms and $T_{1/2}= 126(4)$ ms, respectively. The half-lives of the 3/2$^+$ and 11/2$^-$ states of $^{129}$Cd were measured to be $T_{1/2}(3/2^+)= 157(8)$ ms and $T_{1/2}(11/2^-)= 147(3)$ ms. The half-lives of the Cd isotopes around the $N=82$ shell closure are an important ingredient in astrophysical simulations to derive the magnitude of the second $r$-process abundance peak in the $A\sim130$ region. Our new results are compared with recent literature values and theoretical calculations.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2006

Relativistic MHD Winds from Rotating Neutron Stars

We solve the time-dependent dynamics of axisymmetric, general relativistic MHD winds from rotating neutron stars. The mass loss rate is obtained self consistently as a solution of the MHD equations, subject to a finite thermal pressure at the stellar surface. Conditions are chosen to be representative of the neutrino driven phase in newly born magnetars, which have been considered as a possible engine for GRBs. We compute the angular momentum and energy losses as a function of $\sigma$ and compare them with the analytic expectation from the classical theory of pulsar winds. We observe the convergence to the force-free limit in the energy loss and we study the evolution of the closed zone for increasing magnetization. Results also show that the dipolar magnetic field and the presence of a closed zone do not modify significantly the acceleration and collimation properties of the wind.

astro-ph↗