Production of gamma rays and neutrinos in the dark jets of the microquasar SS433

We study the spectral energy distribution of gamma rays and neutrinos in the precessing microquasar SS433 as a result of pp interactions within its dark jets. Gamma-ray absorption due to interactions with matter of the extended disc and of the star is found to be important, as well as absorption caused by the ultraviolet and mid-infrared radiation from the equatorial envelopment. We analyse the range of precessional phases for which this attenuation is at a minimum and the chances for detection of a gamma-ray signal are enhanced. The power of relativistic protons in the jets, a free parameter of the model, is constrained by HEGRA data. This imposes limits on the gamma-ray fluxes to be detected with instruments such as GLAST, VERITAS and MAGIC II. A future detection of high-energy neutrinos with cubic kilometre telescopes such as IceCube would also yield important information about acceleration mechanisms that may take place in the dark jets. Overall, the determination of the ratio of gamma-ray to neutrino flux will result in a key observational tool to clarify the physics of heavy jets.     

Gamma-Ray Emission from Be/X-ray Binaries

Be/X-ray binaries are systems formed by a massive Be star and a magnetized neutron star, usually in an eccentric orbit. The Be star has strong equatorial winds occasionally forming a circumstellar disk. When the neutron star intersects the disk the accretion rate dramatically increases and a transient accretion disk can be formed around the compact object. This disk can last longer than a single orbit in the case of major outbursts. If the disk rotates faster than the neutron star, the Cheng-Ruderman mechanism can produce a current of relativistic protons that would impact onto the disk surface, producing gamma-rays from neutral pion decays and initiating electromagnetic cascades inside the disk. In this paper we present calculations of the evolution of the disk parameters during both major and minor X-ray events, and we discuss the generation of gamma-ray emission at different energies within a variety of models that include both screened and unscreened disks.     

Color-size Relations of Disk Galaxies with Equivalent Masses

The local face-on disk galaxies are selected as galaxy sample from the main galaxy sample of the Seventh Data Release of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR7). The correlations between the colors and sizes of disk galaxies with equivalent total stellar masses are statistically investigated and their realities are tested. It is found that for the disk galaxies with equivalent masses, the correlation between u-r color and size is very weak. However, there are anticorrelations between g-r, r-i, r-z colors and sizes, i.e., the larger are the sizes of galaxies, the bluer are their colors. This result means that the mass distribution of disk galaxies has a significant influence on their star formation history. The galaxies with more extended mass distributions evolve more slowly.     

Bimodal distribution of short gamma-ray bursts: Evidence for two distinct types of short gamma-ray bursts

GRB 170817A was confirmed to be associated with GW170817, which was produced by a neutron star - neutron star merger. It indicates that at least some short gamma-ray bursts come from binary neutron star mergers. Theoretically, it is widely accepted that short gamma-ray bursts can be produced by two distinctly different mechanisms, binary neutron star mergers and neutron star - black hole mergers. These two kinds of bursts should be different observationally due to their different trigger mechanisms. Motivated by this idea, we collect a universal data set constituted of 51 short gamma-ray bursts observed by Swift/BAT, among which 14 events have extended emission component. We study the observational features of these 51 events statistically. It is found that our samples consist of two distinct groups. They clearly show a bimodal distribution when their peak photon fluxes at 15–150 keV band are plotted against the corresponding fluences. Most interestingly, all the 14 short bursts with extended emission lie in a particular region of this plot. When the fluences are plotted against the burst durations, short bursts with extended emission again tend to concentrate in the long duration segment. These features strongly indicate that short gamma-ray bursts really may come from two distinct types of progenitors. We argue that those short gamma-ray bursts with extended emission come from the coalescence of neutron stars, while the short gamma-ray bursts without extended emission come from neutron star - black hole mergers.     

The G-dwarf problem in the solar neighbourhood: a Lagrangian picture

Recent data on the empirical metallicity distribution of G dwarfs in the disk solar neighbourhood are fitted in two different ways. We use an extended Poisson distribution in the limit where the probability of star formation is small, and a Gauss distribution in the limit where a large number of physical variables is required to determine stellar metal abundance. Both are found to reproduce the data at the same (acceptable) extent, with a slight preference for the former. The emprirical, differential metallicity distribution of G dwarfs in the disk solar neighbourhood is compared with its theoretical counterpart, in the picture of a closed, comoving model of chemical evolution. The limits of the currently used infall models are discussed and a scenario of galactic formation and evolution is presented. The Galactic history is thought as made of two main phases: contraction (which produces the extended component) and equilibrium (which gives the disk). In this view, the stars observed within the solar cylinder did not necessarily arise from the primordial gas which later collapsed into the disk solar neighbourhood. It is found that the G-dwarf problem is strongly alleviated, with the possible exception of the low-metallicity and high-metallicity tail of the distribution. The best choice of parameters implies: (i) a metal yield in the contraction phase which is larger by a factor of about 5 with respect to the equilibrium phase; (ii) a model halo mass fraction of about 0.3; (iii) a model disk mass fraction of about 0.6. It provides additional support to the idea of a generalized Schmidt star formation law, which is different in different phases of evolution. The model, cumulative, G-dwarf metallicity distribution in the disk solar neighbourhood is found to predict too may low-metallicity stars with respect to its empirical counterpart, related to a Poissonian or Gaussian fit. The main resons for the occurrence of a G-dwarf problem are discussed. Finally, a stochastic process of star formation, related to a Poisson distribution, is briefly outlined.     

Models of Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from the Jets of Microquasars: Orbital Modulation

The recent detection of very-high-energy (GeV – TeV) γ-ray emission from the Galactic black-hole candidate and microquasar LS 5039 has sparked renewed interest in jet models for the high-energy emission in those objects. In this work, we have focused on models in which the high-energy emission results from synchrotron and Compton emission by relativistic electrons in the jet (leptonic jet models). Particular attention has been paid to a possible orbital modulation of the high-energy emission due to azimuthal asymmetries caused by the presence of the companion star. Both orbital-phase dependentγγ absorption and Compton scattering of optical/UV photons from the companion star may lead to an orbital modulation of the gamma-ray emission. We make specific predictions which should be testable with refined data from HESS and the upcoming GLAST mission.     

Neutrino Dominated Accretion Flow Around a Strange Star

The “strange star - NDAF” model (NDAF: Neutrino Dominated Accretion Flow) is proposed as an alternative central engine of gamma-ray bursts for unifying the interpretation of the prompt emission and postburst activities of gamma-ray bursts. The structure of NDAF around a strange star is calculated. Different from other central compact objects, the strange star will feed back the phase transition energy of strangization on the accretion flow, with neutrinos as energy carriers. The friction between NDAF and strange star is ignored in this paper. The results indicate: firstly, the structure of NDAF around a strange star is sensitive to accretion rate; secondly, if accretion rate is larger than 0.18 M_? s^-1, the “strange star - NDAF” model can unify the explanation on the prompt emission and postburst activities of gamma-ray bursts, and the range of allowable accretion rates is wider than that in frictionless “neutron star - NDAF” models; thirdly, the range of annihilation energy of “strange star - NDAF” model is very wide, when the accretion rate is higher than 0.3 M_? s^-1, the annihilation energy is greater than 10⁵¹ erg; finally, if the accretion rate is greater than 0.3 M_? s^-1, the annihilation energy of “strange star - NDAF” model is larger than what of “black hole - NDAF” model at the same accretion rate by more than one order of magnitude, it is favorable to explaining some extremely energetic gamma-ray bursts.     

Are galactic GRB models still an option?

The traditional paradigm of a Galactic origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) suffered a major reduction in popularity when BATSE revealed an isotropic but radially inhomogeneous distribution of GRBs. The lack of pronounced galactic anisotropies places severe constraints on models including significant source contributions from the usual disk, bulge, or halo components of the Milky Way. Although models can be designed to preserve the local disk origin, a perhaps more promising approach invokes a very extended Galactic halo. Populating such halos with neutron stars requires very high velocities. Injection of such neutron stars might be restricted to a phase of the early galaxy, or it may continue to the present. We discuss several observational constraints that address the question presented in the title.     

Triggered planet formation in young stellar clusters

Conventional planet formation models via coagulation of planetesimals require timescales in the range of several 10 or even 100 Myr in the outer regions of a protoplanetary disk. But according to observational data, the lifetime of a protoplanetary disk is limited to about 6 Myr. Therefore the existence of Uranus and Neptune poses a problem. Planet formation via gravitational instability may be a solution for this discrepancy. We present a parameter study of the possibility of gravitationally triggered disk instability. Using a restricted N‐body model which allows for a survey of an extended parameter space, we show that a passing dwarf star with a mass between 0.1 and 1 M_⊙ can probably induce gravitational instabilities in the pre‐planetary solar disk for prograde passages with minimum separations below 80‐170 AU. Inclined and retrograde encounters lead to similar results but require slightly closer passages. Such encounter distances are quite likely in young moderately massive star clusters. The induced gravitational instabilities may lead to enhanced planetesimal formation in the outer regions of the protoplanetary disk, and could therefore be relevant for the formation of Uranus and Neptune. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Probing small scale structure in the atmosphere of V471 Tauri

The white dwarf in the eclipsing binary system V471 Tau is viewed through the atmosphere of the active K star prior to ingress and after egress. In the far UV the surface brightness of the hot white dwarf far outshines the K star emission. We can use this to probe the structure of the extended K star atmosphere along one line of sight, in absorption, on spatial scales of the radius of the white dwarf (10,000 km). The time series of HST/STIS spectra which show a hot (>250,000 K) extended (>1 K star radius) atmosphere around the K star. We see discrete structures in the velocity‐resolved spectra, on spatial scales of less than 100,000 km. The mean velocity is that expected of gas in co‐rotation with the K star, but the discrete velocity structures have excursions of up to 70 km/s from the mean. The mean temperature seems to increase with height above the K star photosphere. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Gamma-ray binaries

Recent observations have shown that some compact stellar binaries radiate the highest energy light in the universe. The challenge has been to determine the nature of the compact object and whether the very high energy gamma-rays are ultimately powered by pulsar winds or relativistic jets. Multiwavelength observations have shown that one of the three gamma-ray binaries known so far, PSR B1259−63, is a neutron star binary and that the very energetic gamma-rays from this source and from another gamma-ray binary, LS I +61 303, may be produced by the interaction of pulsar winds with the wind from the companion star. At this time it is an open question whether the third gamma-ray binary, LS 5039, is also powered by a pulsar wind or a microquasar jet, where relativistic particles in collimated jets would boost the energy of the wind from the stellar companion to TeV energies. I.F. Mirabel is on leave from CEA, France.     

The correlation between black hole mass and bulge velocity dispersion in hierarchical galaxy formation models

Popular models for the origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) include short-lived massive stars as the progenitors of the fireballs. Hence the redshift distribution of GRBs should track the cosmic star formation rate of massive stars accurately. A significant proportion of high-mass star formation activity appears to occur in regions that are obscured from view in the optical waveband by interstellar dust. The amount of dust-enshrouded star formation activity taking place has been estimated by observing the thermal radiation from the dust that has been heated by young stars in the far-infrared and submillimetre wavebands. Here we discuss an alternative probe – the redshift distribution of GRBs. GRBs are detectable at the highest redshifts, and because gamma-rays are not absorbed by dust, the redshift distribution of GRBs should therefore be unaffected by dust extinction. At present the redshifts of GRBs can only be determined from the associated optical transient emission; however, useful information about the prevalence of dust-obscured star formation can also be obtained from the ratio of GRBs with and without an associated optical transient. Eight GRBs currently have spectroscopic redshifts. Once about a hundred redshifts are known, the population of GRBs will provide an important test of different models of the star formation history of the Universe.     

Forced oscillations in a hydrodynamical accretion disk and QPOs

This is the second of a series of papers aimed to look for an explanation on the generation of high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in accretion disks around neutron star, black hole, and white dwarf binaries. The model is inspired by the general idea of a resonance mechanism in the accretion disk oscillations as was already pointed out by Abramowicz and Klu’zniak (2001). In a first paper (P'etri, 2005a, paper I), we showed that a rotating misaligned magnetic field of a neutron star gives rise to some resonances close to the inner edge of the accretion disk. In this second paper, we suggest that this process does also exist for an asymmetry in the gravitational potential of the compact object. We prove that the same physics applies, at least in the linear stage of the response to the disturbance in the system. This kind of asymmetry is well suited for neutron stars or white dwarfs possessing an inhomogeneous interior allowing for a deviation from a perfectly spherically symmetric gravitational field. After a discussion on the magnitude of this deformation applied to neutron stars, we show by a linear analysis that the disk initially in a cylindrically symmetric stationary state is subject to {three kinds of resonances: a corotation resonance, a Lindblad resonance due to a driven force and a parametric resonance}. In a second part, we focus on the linear response of a thin accretion disk in the 2D limit. {Waves are launched at the aforementioned resonance positions and propagate in some permitted regions inside the disk, according to the dispersion relation obtained by a WKB analysis}. In a last part, these results are confirmed and extended via non linear hydrodynamical numerical simulations performed with a pseudo-spectral code solving Euler's equations in a 2D cylindrical coordinate frame. {We found that for a weak potential perturbation, the Lindblad resonance is the only effective mechanism producing a significant density fluctuation}. In a last step, we replaced the Newtonian potential by the so called logarithmically modified pseudo-Newtonian potential in order to take into account some general-relativistic effects like the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO). The latter potential is better suited to describe the close vicinity of a neutron star or a black hole. However, from a qualitative point of view, the resonance conditions remain the same. The highest kHz QPOs are then interpreted as the orbital frequency of the disk at locations where the response to the resonances are maximal. It is also found that strong gravity is not required to excite the resonances.     

High-energy gamma-ray emission from the inner jet of LS I +61 303: the hadronic contribution revisited

LS I +61 303 has been detected by the Cherenkov telescope MAGIC at very high energies, presenting a variable flux along the orbital motion with a maximum clearly separated from the periastron passage. In the light of the new observational constraints, we revisit the discussion of the production of high-energy gamma rays from particle interactions in the inner jet of this system. The hadronic contribution could represent a major fraction of the TeV emission detected from this source. The spectral energy distribution resulting from pp interactions is recalculated. Opacity effects introduced by the photon fields of the primary star and the stellar decretion disk are shown to be essential in shaping the high-energy gamma-ray light curve at energies close to 200 GeV. We also present results of Monte Carlo simulations of the electromagnetic cascades developed very close to the periastron passage. We conclude that a hadronic microquasar model for the gamma-ray emission in LS I +61 303 can reproduce the main features of its observed high-energy γ-ray flux.      

Gamma rays from molecular clouds

It is believed that the observed diffuse gamma-ray emission from the galactic plane is the result of interactions between cosmic rays and the interstellar gas. Such emission can be amplified if cosmic rays penetrate into dense molecular clouds. The propagation of cosmic rays inside a molecular cloud has been studied assuming an arbitrary energy and space dependent diffusion coefficient. If the diffusion coefficient inside the cloud is significantly smaller compared to the average one derived for the galactic disk, the observed gamma-ray spectrum appears harder than the cosmic ray spectrum, mainly due to the slower penetration of the low energy particles towards the core of the cloud. This may produce a great variety of gamma-ray spectra.     

GRB060602B = Swift J1749.4−2807: an unusual transiently accreting neutron-star X-ray binary

We present an analysis of the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and X-ray telescope (XRT) data of GRB060602B, which is most likely an accreting neutron star in a binary system and not a gamma-ray burst. Our analysis shows that the BAT burst spectrum is consistent with a thermonuclear flash (type I X-ray burst) from the surface of an accreting neutron star in a binary system. The X-ray binary nature is further confirmed by the report of a detection of a faint point source at the position of the XRT counterpart of the burst in archival XMM–Newton data approximately six year before the burst and in more recent XMM–Newton data obtained at the end of 2006 September (nearly four months after the burst). Since the source is very likely not a gamma-ray burst, we rename the source Swift J1749.4−2807, based on the Swift /BAT discovery coordinates. Using the BAT data of the type I X-ray burst, we determined that the source is at most at a distance of  6.7 ± 1.3 kpc  . For a transiently accreting X-ray binary, its soft X-ray behaviour is atypical: its 2–10 keV X-ray luminosity (as measured using the Swift /XRT data) decreased by nearly three orders of magnitude in about 1 day, much faster than what is usually seen for X-ray transients. If the earlier phases of the outburst also evolved this rapidly, then many similar systems might remain undiscovered because the X-rays are difficult to detect and the type I X-ray bursts might be missed by all the sky surveying instruments. This source might be part of a class of very fast transient low-mass X-ray binary systems of which there may be a significant population in our Galaxy.     

The enhanced spectrum of the symbiotic variable star CH Cygni on November 2, 2006

The symbiotic variable star CH Cygni went on the deepest minimum phase in December 2006. A high-resolution spectrum of CH Cygni obtained at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO) on November 2, 2006, is reported. The spectrum of CH Cygni obtained at the BOAO was calibrated on a scale of an absolute-flux density. Emission lines of H I, [O III], [N II], and [S II] were strong, with several components, and Ca II, H, and K lines had P-Cygni profiles. Removal of the spectrum of the underlying M-type star from the CH Cygni spectrum was completed to obtain the true emission profiles. The radial velocities of all emission and absorption lines were measured. Some of the observed lines were also deconvoluted using multi-Gaussian functions to find the relationship between line shapes and the corresponding sources of these lines. The results obtained are discussed in terms of an accretion disk around the hot star, and in non-spherically extended nebular regions.     

The sun‐as‐a‐star solar spectrum

The Sun is the only star for which individual surface features can be observed directly. For other stars, the properties of starspots, stellar rotation, stellar flares, etc, are derived indirectly via variation of star‐integrated spectral line profiles or their luminosity measurements. Solar disk‐integrated and disk‐resolved observations allow for investigations of the contribution of individual solar disk features to sun‐as‐a‐star spectra. Here, we provide a brief overview of three sun‐as‐a‐star programs, currently in operation, and describe recent improvements in observations and data reduction for the Integrated Sunlight Spectrometer (ISS), one of three instruments comprising the Synoptic Optical Long‐term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) system. Next, we discuss studies employing sun‐as‐a‐star observations (including Ca II K line as proxy for total unsigned magnetic flux and 2800 MHz radio flux) as well as the effects of flares on solar disk‐integrated spectra. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Observations of the Star-Disk Interface: Search for Wind Origins

Energetic outflows provide a dramatic accompaniment to accretion disks in all stages of star formation. The low extinction toward Classical T Tauri stars offers an opportunity to probe the star-disk interface region to search for the launch site and acceleration region of accretion-driven winds. This search is complicated by the fact that the dominant sources of emission in the optical and ultraviolet are the funnel flows and accretion shocks associated with magnetospheric accretion. Thus the quest for inner wind diagnostics requires disentangling accretion and outflow processes from the same line profile. We discuss two tracers of a high velocity inner wind in stars with high disk accretion rates. One, a hot component, is traced by helium emission and must arise very close to the star. A second, cooler component, is traced by blueshifted absorption in strong resonance lines and arises further from the star, but still within about ten stellar radii. We present evidence that the character of both magnetospheric accretion and the inner wind may differ among stars with high and low disk accretion rates.     

The rest-frame ultraviolet spectra of GRBs from massive rapidly rotating stellar progenitors

The properties of a massive star prior to its final explosion are imprinted in the circumstellar medium (CSM) created by its wind and termination shock. We perform a detailed, comprehensive calculation of the time-variable and angle-dependent transmission spectra of an average-luminosity gamma-ray burst (GRB) which explodes in the CSM structure produced by the collapse of a  20 M_⊙  , rapidly rotating,   Z = 0.001  progenitor star. We study both the case in which metals are initially in the gaseous phase and the situation in which they are heavily depleted into dust. We find that high-velocity lines from low-ionization states of silicon, carbon and iron are initially present in the spectrum only if the metals are heavily depleted into dust prior to the GRB explosion. However, such lines disappear on time-scales of a fraction of a second for a burst observed on-axis, and of a few seconds for a burst seen at high latitude, making their observation virtually impossible. Rest-frame lines produced in the termination shock are instead clearly visible in all conditions. We conclude that time-resolved, early-time spectroscopy is not a promising way in which the properties of the GRB progenitor wind can be routinely studied. Previous detections of high-velocity features in GRB ultraviolet spectra must have been either due to a superposition of a physically unrelated absorber or due to a progenitor star with very unusual properties.