11077788
A GRB Follow-up System at the Xinglong Observatory and Detection of the High-Redshift GRB 060927 ⋆
A gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical photometric follow-up system at the Xinglong Observatory of National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) has been constructed. It uses the 0.8-m Tsinghua-NAOC Telescope (TNT) and the 1-m EST telescope, and can automatically respond to GRB Coordinates Network (GCN) alerts. Both telescopes slew relatively fast, being able to point to a new target field within ~1 min upon a request. Whenever available, the 2.16-m NAOC telescope is also used. In 2006 the system responded to 15 GRBs and detected seven early afterglows. In 2007 six GRBs have been detected among 18 follow-up observations. TNT observations of the second most distant GRB 060927 (z = 5.5) are shown, which started as early as 91 s after the GRB trigger. The afterglow was detected in the combined image of the first 19×20 s unfiltered exposures. This GRB follow-up system has joined the East-Asia GRB Follow-up Observation Network (EAFON).
14732557
Very early multi-color observations of the plateau phase of GRB 041006 afterglow
Observations of the optical afterglow of GRB 041006 with the Kiso Observatory 1.05 m Schmidt telescope, the Lulin Observatory 1.0 m telescope and the Xinglong Observatory 0.6 m telescope. Three-bands (B, V and R) of photometric data points were obtained on 2004 October 6, 0.025−0.329 days after the burst. These very early multi band light curves imply the existence of a color dependent plateau phase. The B-band light curve shows a clear plateau at around 0.03 days after the burst. The R band light curve shows the hint of a plateau, or a possible slope change, at around 0.1 days after the burst. The overall behavior of these multi-band light curves may be interpreted in terms of the sum of two separate components, one showing a monotonic decay the other exhibiting a rising and a falling phase, as described by the standard afterglow model. Department of Physics, Saitama University, Shimo-Okubo, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan RIKEN (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Chung-Li 32054, Taiwan, Republic of China National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, China Institute of Astronomy, University of Tokyo, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-0015, Japan Kiso Observatory, Institute of Astronomy, The University of Tokyo, Mitake-mura, Kiso-gun, Nagano 397-0101, Japan Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute, Tashkent 700052, Uzbekistan Space Research Institute, 84/32 Profsoyuznaya Str, Moscow 117997, Russia Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
119755058
Relativistic Hartree-Fock model with short range correlation in nuclear matter
We introduce the form factor and short range correlation in the relativistic Hartree-Fock approximation (RHFU) to study the properties of nuclear matter. We treat the short range correlation with the unitary correlation operator method (UCOM). In this framework, we can perfectly reproduce the equation of state of pure neutron matter obtained by the relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock theory with the Bonn potential. We apply the RHFU model to symmetric nuclear matter. The contribution of ρ meson is cut down largely by the form factor of the size in the realistic nucleon-nucleon interaction. The short range correlation has a significant effect on the Fock energies of pion and ρ meson exchange interaction.
13913450
Ten Overdensities and an Arc Structure in the Galactic Halo
Aims. We use Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR5 photometric data to explore the structure of the Galaxy halo and hope to discover new companions or substructures which may reveal the forming history of the halo. Methods. We study overdensities in a sky area where � = 120 ◦ � 270 ◦ and � = 25 ◦ � 70 ◦ and pick out ten overdensity areas by comparing color-magnitude diagrams with known globular clusters or dwarf spheroidal galaxies. An automatic template matching method is developed to fit the color-magnitude diagram for ea ch overdensities with a suitable stellar evolution isochro nic line so that distance module and metalicity are roughly estimated. The performance test of the method indicates that our estimates on distance is acceptable. Results. The 10 overdensities and three known objects, UMa I, UMa II and Willman 1 are found to be connected with a long arc substructure starts from � 8kpc above the disk and spread to � 150kpc into north galactic cap. Evidence also shows a relationship between metalicities and distance modules of the overdensities. Conclusions. C7, one of the 10 overdensities is most likely a dwarf spheroidal galaxy according to radial density profile study and its absolute magnitude. Other overdensties are not classifi ed for poor information. The arc structure may either be a long tidal stream or be an intrinsic substructure of the halo. Follow-up study need to be done to clarify this problem.
95137172
Soft x-ray imaging and spectroscopy of single nanocrystals
Resonant photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) at the Fe L3,2 absorption edge was utilized to image single γ-Fe2O3 nanocrystals of 10 nm average diameter (∼20 000 Fe atoms) and to record soft x-ray absorption spectra of individual particles. Within the spectral resolution of the experiment, no damage to the individual nanoparticles occurs during repeated, prolonged exposure to the intense x-ray beam. Furthermore, no differences in the position or shape of the soft x-ray absorption spectrum of a single nanocrystal and the ensemble are observed within the experimental resolution. PEEM contrast images and soft x-ray absorption spectra, however, show strong intensity variations between different particles reflecting the size distribution of the sample. This proof-of-principle experiment successfully demonstrates the applicability of x-ray spectromicroscopy to the study of nanoscale systems on a hitherto unachieved length scale.
16379990
A high peculiarity rate for Type Ia SNe
We have compiled a sample of 90 SNe Ia from 1997 to 1999 (up to SN 1999da) and studied the peculiarity rate of SN 1991T, SN 1991bg and SN 1986G-like objects. A Monte Carlo code was written to study the observational biases involved in the evaluation of the intrinsic peculiarity rate of SNe Ia. We find that SNe Ia have a high peculiarity rate (>30%) and a flat luminosity function.
118411365
The photometric system of the Tsinghua-NAOC 80-cm telescope at NAOC Xinglong Observatory
The Tsinghua-NAOC (National Astronomical Observatories of China) Telescope (hereafter, TNT) is an 80-cm Cassegrain reflecting telescope located at the Xinglong Observatory of NAOC, with the main scientific goals of monitoring various transients in the universe such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, novae, variable stars, and active galactic nuclei. We present a systematic test and analysis of the photometric performance of this telescope. Based on the calibration observations taken on 12 photometric nights, spanning the period from 2004 to 2012, we derived an accurate transformation equation between the instrumental ubvri magnitudes and standard Johnson UBV and Cousins RI magnitudes. In particular, the color terms and the extinction coefficients of different passbands are well determined. With these data, we also obtained the limiting magnitudes and the photometric precision of TNT. It is worthwhile to point out that the sky background at the Xinglong Observatory became gradually worse over the period from 2005 to 2012 (e.g., ~21.4 mag vs. ~20.1 mag in the V band).
118442181
GRB 070518: a gamma-ray burst with optically dim luminosity
We present our optical observations of the GRB 070518 afterglow obtained at the 0.8-m Tsinghua University-National Astronomical Observatory of China Telescope (TNT) at Xinglong Observatory. Our follow-up observations were performed from 512 s after the burst trigger. With the upper limit of redshift ~0.7, GRB 070518 is found to be an optically dim burst. The spectra indices β ox of optical to X-ray are slightly larger than 0.5, which implies that the burst might be a dark burst. The extinction A V of the host galaxy is 3.2 mag, inferred from the X-ray hydrogen column density with Galactic extinction law, and 0.3 mag with the Small Magellanic Cloud extinction law. Also, it is similar to three other low-redshift optically dim bursts, which belong to X-ray rich gamma-ray bursts or X-ray flashes and have mid-term duration (T 90 < 10, except for GRB 070419A, T 90 £= 116 s). Moreover, its R-band afterglow flux is well fitted by a single power law with an index of 0.87. The optical afterglow and the X-ray afterglow in the normal segment might have the same mechanism, as they are consistent with the prediction of the classical external shock model. Besides, GRB 070518 agrees with the Amati relation under reasonable assumptions. The Ghirlanda relation is also tested with the burst.
119237976
A large sample of low surface brightness disc galaxies from the SDSS – II. Metallicities in surface brightness bins
We study the spectroscopic properties of a large sample of low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) [with B-band central surface brightness μ0(B) > 22 mag arcsec −2 ] selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 (SDSS-DR4) main galaxy sample. A large sample of disc-dominated high surface brightness galaxies [HSBGs, with μ0(B) < 22 mag arcsec −2 ] are also selected for comparison simultaneously. To study them in more details, these sample galaxies are further divided into four subgroups according to μ0(B) (in units of mag arcsec −2 ): very low surface brightness galaxies (vLSBGs) (24.5–22.75), intermediate low surface brightness galaxies (iLSBGs) (22.75–22.0), intermediate high surface brightness galaxies (iHSBGs) (22.0–21.25) and very high surface brightness galaxies (vHSBGs) (<21.25). The diagnostic diagram from spectral emission-line ratios shows that the active galactic nucleus fractions of all the four subgroups are small (<9 per cent). The 21 032 star-forming galaxies with good-quality spectroscopic observations are further selected for studying their dust extinction, strong-line ratios, metallicities and stellar mass–metallicity relations. The vLSBGs have lower extinction values and have less metal-rich and massive galaxies than the other subgroups. The oxygen abundances of our LSBGs are not as low as those of the H II regions in LSBGs studied in literature, which could be because our samples are more luminous, and because of the different metallicity calibrations used. We find a correlation between 12 + log(O/H) and μ0(B) for vLSBGs, iLSBGs and iHSBGs but show that this could be a result of correlation between μ0(B) and stellar mass and the well-known mass–metallicity relation. This large sample shows that LSBGs span a wide range in metallicity and stellar mass, and they lie nearly on the stellar mass versus metallicity and N/O versus O/H relations of normal galaxies. This suggests that LSBGs and HSBGs have not had dramatically different star formation and chemical enrichment histories.
121460689
Relativistic Hartree-Fock model with bare nucleon-nucleon interaction for neutron-rich matter
Abstract We study neutron-rich matter in the relativistic Hartree–Fock model (RHF) with the bare nucleon–nucleon interaction. As an important ingredient, we take into account the short range correlation in terms of the unitary correlation operator method (UCOM). We calculate the equations of state (EOS) of neutron-rich matter with Bonn potential. Our results on neutron-rich matter compare very nicely with those in the Relativistic Brueckner–Hartree–Fock (RBHF) theory. On the other hand, when we apply the RHF model with the UCOM on symmetric nuclear matter, the EOS is largely different from the RBHF result particularly in the low density region. This is because the other important ingredient as the tensor interaction plays important role in symmetric nuclear matter. We also discuss the proton and neutron Dirac masses in neutron-rich matter and find that the proton Dirac mass is larger than the neutron mass in agreement with the RBHF theory using projection techniques.