arXiv subjects

Feryal Ozel

Publications and source records attributed to Feryal Ozel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Markov Chains for Horizons (MARCH). I. Identifying Biases in Fitting Theoretical Models to Event Horizon Telescope Observations

We introduce a new Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm with parallel tempering for fitting theoretical models of horizon-scale images of black holes to the interferometric data from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). The algorithm implements forms of the noise distribution in the data that are accurate for all signal-to-noise ratios. In addition to being trivially parallelizable, the algorithm is optimized for high performance, achieving 1 million MCMC chain steps in under 20 seconds on a single processor. We use synthetic data for the 2017 EHT coverage of M87 that are generated based on analytic as well as General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) model images to explore several potential sources of biases in fitting models to sparse interferometric data. We demonstrate that a very small number of data points that lie near salient features of the interferometric data exert disproportionate influence on the inferred model parameters. We also show that the preferred orientations of the EHT baselines introduce significant biases in the inference of the orientation of the model images. Finally, we discuss strategies that help identify the presence and severity of such biases in realistic applications.

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arXiv2020

Discretization and Filtering Effects on Black Hole Images Obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope

Interferometers, such as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), do not directly observe the images of sources but rather measure their Fourier components at discrete spatial frequencies up to a maximum value set by the longest baseline in the array. Construction of images from the Fourier components or analysis of them with high-resolution models requires careful treatment of fine source structure nominally beyond the array resolution. The primary EHT targets, Sgr A* and M87, are expected to have black-hole shadows with sharp edges and strongly filamentary emission from the surrounding plasma on scales much smaller than those probed by the currently largest baselines. We show that for aliasing not to affect images reconstructed with regularized maximum likelihood methods and model images that are directly compared to the data, the sampling of these images (i.e., their pixel spacing) needs to be significantly finer than the scale probed by the largest baseline in the array. Using GRMHD simulations of black-hole images, we estimate the maximum allowable pixel spacing to be approximately equal to (1/8)GM/c^2; for both of the primary EHT targets, this corresponds to an angular pixel size of <0.5 microarcseconds. With aliasing under control, we then advocate use of the second-order Butterworth filter with a cut-off scale equal to the maximum array baseline as optimal for visualizing the reconstructed images. In contrast to the traditional Gaussian filters, this Butterworth filter retains most of the power at the scales probed by the array while suppressing the fine image details for which no data exist.

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arXiv2019

Constraining the Neutron Star Mass-Radius Relation and Dense Matter Equation of State with NICER. I. The Millisecond Pulsar X-ray Data Set

We present the set of deep Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray timing observations of the nearby rotation-powered millisecond pulsars PSRs J0437-4715, J0030+0451, J1231-1411, and J2124-3358, selected as targets for constraining the mass-radius relation of neutron stars and the dense matter equation of state via modeling of their pulsed thermal X-ray emission. We describe the instrument, observations, and data processing/reduction procedures, as well as the series of investigations conducted to ensure that the properties of the data sets are suitable for parameter estimation analyses to produce reliable constraints on the neutron star mass-radius relation and the dense matter equation of state. We find that the long-term timing and flux behavior and the Fourier-domain properties of the event data do not exhibit any anomalies that could adversely affect the intended measurements. From phase-selected spectroscopy, we find that emission from the individual pulse peaks is well described by a single-temperature hydrogen atmosphere spectrum, with the exception of PSR J0437-4715, for which multiple temperatures are required.

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arXiv2019

Measurement of the nuclear symmetry energy parameters from gravitational wave events

The nuclear symmetry energy plays a role in determining both the nuclear properties of terrestrial matter as well as the astrophysical properties of neutron stars. The first measurement of the neutron star tidal deformability, from gravitational wave event GW170817, provides a new way of probing the symmetry energy. In this work, we report on new constraints on the symmetry energy from GW170817. We focus in particular on the low-order coefficients: namely, the value of the symmetry energy at the nuclear saturation density, S_0, and the slope of the symmetry energy, L_0. We find that the gravitational wave data are relatively insensitive to S_0, but that they depend strongly on L_0 and point to lower values of L_0 than have previously been reported, with a peak likelihood near L_0 ~ 20 MeV. Finally, we use the inferred posteriors on L_0 to derive new analytic constraints on higher-order nuclear terms.

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arXiv2019

Detecting the Birth of Supermassive Black Holes Formed from Heavy Seeds

In this white paper we explore the capabilities required to identify and study supermassive black holes formed from heavy seeds ($\mathrm{M_{\bullet}} \sim 10^4 - 10^6 \, \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$) in the early Universe. To obtain an unequivocal detection of heavy seeds we need to probe mass scales of $\sim 10^{5-6} \, \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ at redshift $z \gtrsim 10$. From this theoretical perspective, we review the observational requirements and how they compare with planned/proposed instruments, in the infrared, X-ray and gravitational waves realms. In conclusion, detecting heavy black hole seeds at $z \gtrsim 10$ in the next decade will be challenging but, according to current theoretical models, feasible with upcoming/proposed facilities. Their detection will be fundamental to understand the early history of the Universe, as well as its evolution until now. Shedding light on the dawn of black holes will certainly be one of the key tasks that the astronomical community will focus on in the next decade.

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arXiv2019

Envisioning the next decade of Galactic Center science: a laboratory for the study of the physics and astrophysics of supermassive black holes

As the closest example of a galactic nucleus, the Galactic center (GC) presents an exquisite laboratory for learning about supermassive black holes (SMBH) and their environment. We describe several exciting new research directions that, over the next 10 years, hold the potential to answer some of the biggest scientific questions raised in recent decades: Is General Relativity (GR) the correct description for supermassive black holes? What is the nature of star formation in extreme environments? How do stars and compact objects dynamically interact with the supermassive black hole? What physical processes drive gas accretion in low-luminosity black holes? We describe how the high sensitivity, angular resolution, and astrometric precision offered by the next generation of large ground-based telescopes with adaptive optics will help us answer these questions. First, it will be possible to obtain precision measurements of stellar orbits in the Galaxy's central potential, providing both tests of GR in the unexplored regime near a SMBH and measurements of the extended dark matter distribution that is predicted to exist at the GC. Second, we will probe stellar populations at the GC to significantly lower masses than are possible today, down to brown dwarfs. Their structure and dynamics will provide an unprecedented view of the stellar cusp around the SMBH and will distinguish between models of star formation in this extreme environment. This increase in depth will also allow us to measure the currently unknown population of compact remnants at the GC by observing their effects on luminous sources. Third, uncertainties on the mass of and distance to the SMBH can be improved by a factor of $\sim$10. Finally, we can also study the near-infrared accretion onto the black hole at unprecedented sensitivity and time resolution, which can reveal the underlying physics of black hole accretion.

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arXiv2019

Determining the Equation of State of Cold, Dense Matter with X-ray Observations of Neutron Stars

The unknown state of matter at ultra-high density, large proton/neutron number asymmetry, and low temperature is a major long-standing problem in modern physics. Neutron stars provide the only known setting in the Universe where matter in this regime can stably exist. Valuable information about the interior structure of neutron stars can be extracted via sensitive observations of their exteriors. There are several complementary techniques that require different combinations of high time resolution, superb spectral resolution, and high spatial resolution. In the upcoming decade and beyond, measurements of the masses and radii of an ensemble of neutron stars using these techniques, based on data from multiple proposed next-generation X-ray telescopes, can produce definitive empirical constraints on the allowed dense matter equation of state.

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arXiv2019

Finite-temperature extension for cold neutron star equations of state

Observations of isolated neutron stars place constraints on the equation of state (EOS) of cold, neutron-rich matter, while nuclear physics experiments probe the EOS of hot, symmetric matter. Many dynamical phenomena, such as core-collapse supernovae, the formation and cooling of proto-neutron stars, and neutron star mergers, lie between these two regimes and depend on the EOS at finite temperatures for matter with varying proton fractions. In this paper, we introduce a new framework to accurately calculate the thermal pressure of neutron-proton-electron matter at arbitrary density, temperature, and proton fraction. This framework can be expressed using a set of five physically-motivated parameters that span a narrow range of values for realistic EOS and are able to capture the leading-order effects of degenerate matter on the thermal pressure. We base two of these parameters on a new approximation of the Dirac effective mass, with which we reproduce the thermal pressure to within <~30% for a variety of realistic EOS at densities of interest. Three additional parameters, based on the behavior of the symmetry energy near the nuclear saturation density, allow for the extrapolation of any cold EOS in beta-equilibrium to arbitrary proton fractions. Our model thus allows a user to extend any cold nucleonic EOS, including piecewise-polytropes, to arbitrary temperature and proton fraction, for use in calculations and numerical simulations of astrophysical phenomena. We find that our formalism is able to reproduce realistic finite-temperature EOS with errors of <~20% and offers a 1-3 orders-of-magnitude improvement over existing ideal-fluid models.

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arXiv2019

Atmospheric Structure and Radiation Pattern for Neutron-Star Polar Caps Heated by Magnetospheric Return Currents

The Neutron-star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is collecting data to measure the radii of neutron stars by observing the pulsed emission from their surfaces. The primary targets are isolated, rotation-powered pulsars, in which the surface polar caps are heated by bombardment from magnetospheric currents of electrons and positrons. We investigate various stopping mechanisms for the beams of particles that bombard the atmosphere and calculate the heat deposition, the atmospheric temperature profiles, and the energy spectra and beaming of the emerging radiation. We find that low-energy particles with γ $\sim 2-10$ deposit most of their energy in the upper regions of the atmosphere, at low optical depth, resulting in beaming patterns that are substantially different than those of deep-heated, radiative equilibrium models. Only particles with energies γ $\gtrsim 50$ penetrate to high optical depths and fulfill the conditions necessary for a deep-heating approximation. We discuss the implications of our work for modeling the pulse profiles from rotation-powered pulsars and for the inference of their radii with NICER observations.

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arXiv2018

NICER Discovers mHz Oscillations in the "Clocked" Burster GS 1826-238

We report the discovery with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) of mHz X-ray brightness oscillations from the "clocked burster." NICER observed the source in the periods 2017 June 20 - 29, July 11 - 13, and September 9 - 15, for a total useful exposure of 34 ks. Two consecutive dwells obtained on 2017 September 9 revealed highly significant oscillations at a frequency of 8 mHz. The fractional, sinusoidal modulation amplitude increases from 0.7 % at 1 keV to approximately 2 % at 6 keV. Similar oscillations were also detected at lower significance in three additional dwells. The oscillation frequency and amplitude are consistent with those of mHz QPOs reported in other accreting neutron star systems. A thermonuclear X-ray burst was also observed on 2017 June 22. The burst properties and X-ray colors are both consistent with the source being in a soft spectral state during these observations, findings that are confirmed by ongoing monitoring with MAXI and SWIFT-BAT. Assuming that the mHz oscillations are associated with black body emission from the neutron star surface, modeling of the phase-resolved spectra shows that the oscillation is consistent with being produced by modulation of the temperature component of this emission. In this interpretation, the black body normalization, proportional to the emitting surface area, is consistent with being constant through the oscillation cycle. We place the observations in the context of the current theory of marginally stable burning and briefly discuss the potential for constraining neutron star properties using mHz oscillations.

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arXiv2018

GRMHD simulations of visibility amplitude variability for Event Horizon Telescope images of Sgr A*

Synthesis imaging of the black hole in the center of the Milky Way, Sgr A*, with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) rests on the assumption of a stationary image. We explore the limitations of this assumption using high-cadence GRMHD simulations of Sgr A*. We employ analytic models that capture the basic characteristics of the images to understand the origin of the variability in the simulated visibility amplitudes. We find that, in all simulations, the visibility amplitudes for baselines oriented perpendicular to the spin axis of the black hole typically decrease smoothly over baseline lengths that are comparable to those of the EHT. On the other hand, the visibility amplitudes for baselines oriented parallel to the spin axis show significant structure with one or more minima. This suggests that fitting EHT observations with geometric models will lead to reasonably accurate determination of the orientation of the black-hole on the plane of the sky. However, in the disk-dominated models, the locations and depths of the minima in the visibility amplitudes depend primarily on the width and asymmetry of the crescent-like images and are highly variable. In the jet-dominated models, the locations of the minima are determined by the separation of the two image components but their depths depend primarily on the relative brightness of the two components and are also variable. This suggests that using time-independent models to infer additional black-hole parameters, such as the shadow size or the spin magnitude, will be severely affected by the variability of the accretion flow.

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arXiv2017

GRay2: A General Purpose Geodesic Integrator for Kerr Spacetimes

Fast and accurate integration of geodesics in Kerr spacetimes is an important tool in modeling the orbits of stars and the transport of radiation in the vicinities of black holes. Most existing integration algorithms employ Boyer-Lindquist coordinates, which have coordinate singularities at the event horizon and along the poles. Handling the singularities requires special numerical treatment in these regions, often slows down the calculations, and may lead to inaccurate geodesics. We present here a new general-purpose geodesic integrator, GRay2, that overcomes these issues by employing the Cartesian form of Kerr-Schild coordinates. By performing particular mathematical manipulations of the geodesic equations and several optimizations, we develop an implementation of the Cartesian Kerr-Schild coordinates that outperforms calculations that use the seemingly simpler equations in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates. We also employ the OpenCL framework, which allows GRay2 to run on multi-core CPUs as well as on a wide range of GPU hardware accelerators, making the algorithm more versatile. We report numerous convergence tests and benchmark results for GRay2 for both time-like (particle) and null (photon) geodesics.

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arXiv2016

Particle Acceleration and the Origin of X-ray Flares in GRMHD simulations of Sgr A*

Significant X-ray variability and flaring has been observed from Sgr A* but is poorly understood from a theoretical standpoint. We perform GRMHD simulations that take into account a population of non-thermal electrons with energy distributions and injection rates that are motivated by PIC simulations of magnetic reconnection. We explore the effects of including these non-thermal electrons on the predicted broadband variability of Sgr A* and find that X-ray variability is a generic result of localizing non-thermal electrons to highly magnetized regions, where particles are likely to be accelerated via magnetic reconnection. The proximity of these high-field regions to the event horizon forms a natural connection between IR and X-ray variability and accounts for the rapid timescales associated with the X-ray flares. The qualitative nature of this variability is consistent with observations, producing X-ray flares that are always coincident with IR flares, but not vice versa, i.e., there are a number of IR flares without X-ray counterparts.

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arXiv2016

Systematic Uncertainties in the Spectroscopic Measurements of Neutron-Star Masses and Radii from Thermonuclear X-ray Bursts. III. Absolute Flux Calibration

Many techniques for measuring neutron star radii rely on absolute flux measurements in the X-rays. As a result, one of the fundamental uncertainties in these spectroscopic measurements arises from the absolute flux calibrations of the detectors being used. Using the stable X-ray burster, GS 1826-238, and its simultaneous observations by Chandra HETG/ACIS-S and RXTE/PCA as well as by XMM-Newton EPIC-pn and RXTE/PCA, we quantify the degree of uncertainty in the flux calibration by assessing the differences between the measured fluxes during bursts. We find that the RXTE/PCA and the Chandra gratings measurements agree with each other within their formal uncertainties, increasing our confidence in these flux measurements. In contrast, XMM-Newton EPIC-pn measures 14.0$\pm$0.3 % less flux than the RXTE/PCA. This is consistent with the previously reported discrepancy with the flux measurements of EPIC-pn, compared to EPIC-MOS1, MOS2 and ACIS-S detectors. We also show that any intrinsic time dependent systematic uncertainty that may exist in the calibration of the satellites has already been implicity taken into account in the neutron star radius measurements.

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arXiv2016

Radio Constraints on Long-Lived Magnetar Remnants in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts

The merger of a neutron star binary may result in the formation of a rapidly-spinning magnetar. The magnetar can potentially survive for seconds or longer as a supramassive neutron star before collapsing to a black hole if, indeed, it collapses at all. During this process, a fraction of the magnetar's rotational energy of ~10^53 erg is transferred via magnetic spin-down to the surrounding ejecta. The resulting interaction between the ejecta and the surrounding circumburst medium powers a >year-long synchrotron radio transient. We present a search for radio emission with the Very Large Array following nine short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at rest-frame times of ~1.3-7.6 years after the bursts, focusing on those events which exhibit early-time excess X-ray emission that may signify the presence of magnetars. We place upper limits of <18-32 microJy on the 6.0 GHz radio emission, corresponding to spectral luminosities of <(0.05-8.3)x10^39 erg s^-1. Comparing these limits to the predicted radio emission from a long-lived remnant and incorporating measurements of the circumburst densities from broad-band modeling of short GRB afterglows, we rule out a stable magnetar with an energy of 10^53 erg for half of the events in our sample. A supramassive remnant that injects a lower rotational energy of 10^52 erg is ruled out for a single event, GRB 050724A. This study represents the deepest and most extensive search for long-term radio emission following short GRBs to date, and thus the most stringent limits placed on the physical properties of magnetars associated with short GRBs from radio observations.

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arXiv2016

Probing X-ray Absorption and Optical Extinction in the Interstellar Medium Using Chandra Observations of Supernova Remnants

We present a comprehensive study of interstellar X-ray extinction using the extensive Chandra supernova remnant archive and use our results to refine the empirical relation between the hydrogen column density and optical extinction. In our analysis, we make use of the large, uniform data sample to assess various systematic uncertainties in the measurement of the interstellar X-ray absorption. Specifically, we address systematic uncertainties that originate from (i) the emission models used to fit supernova remnant spectra, (ii) the spatial variations within individual remnants, (iii) the physical conditions of the remnant such as composition, temperature, and non-equilibrium regions, and (iv) the model used for the absorption of X-rays in the interstellar medium. Using a Bayesian framework to quantify these systematic uncertainties, and combining the resulting hydrogen column density measurements with the measurements of optical extinction toward the same remnants, we find the empirical relation NH = (2.87+/-0.12) x 10^21 AV cm^(-2), which is significantly higher than the previous measurements.

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arXiv2016

The millisecond pulsar mass distribution: Evidence for bimodality and constraints on the maximum neutron star mass

The mass function of neutron stars (NSs) contains information about the late evolution of massive stars, the supernova explosion mechanism, and the equation-of-state of cold, nuclear matter beyond the nuclear saturation density. A number of recent NS mass measurements in binary millisecond pulsar (MSP) systems increase the fraction of massive NSs (with $M > 1.8$ M$_{\odot}$) to $\sim 20\% $ of the observed population. In light of these results, we employ a Bayesian framework to revisit the MSP mass distribution. We find that a single Gaussian model does not sufficiently describe the observed population. We test alternative empirical models and infer that the MSP mass distribution is strongly asymmetric. The diversity in spin and orbital properties of high-mass NSs suggests that this is most likely not a result of the recycling process, but rather reflects differences in the NS birth masses. The asymmetry is best accounted for by a bimodal distribution with a low mass component centred at $1.393_{-0.029}^{+0.031}$ M$_{\odot}$ and dispersed by $0.064_{-0.025}^{+0.064}$ M$_{\odot}$, and a high-mass component with a mean of $1.807_{-0.132}^{+0.081}$ and a dispersion of $0.177_{-0.072}^{+0.115}$ M$_{\odot}$. We also establish a lower limit of $M_{max} \ge 2.018$ M$_{\odot}$ at 98% C.L. for the maximum NS mass, from the absence of a high-mass truncation in the observed masses. Using our inferred model, we find that the measurement of 350 MSP masses, expected after the conclusion of pulsar surveys with the Square-Kilometre Array, can result in a precise localization of a maximum mass up to 2.15 M$_{\odot}$, with a 5% accuracy. Finally, we identify possible massive NSs within the known pulsar population and discuss birth masses of MSPs.

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arXiv2016

Model-Independent Inference of Neutron Star Radii from Moment of Inertia Measurements

A precise moment of inertia measurement for PSR J0737-3039A in the double pulsar system is expected within the next five years. We present here a new method of mapping the anticipated measurement of the moment of inertia directly into the neutron star structure. We determine the maximum and minimum values possible for the moment of inertia of a neutron star of a given radius based on physical stability arguments, assuming knowledge of the equation of state only at densities below the nuclear saturation density. If the equation of state is trusted up to the nuclear saturation density, we find that a measurement of the moment of inertia will place absolute bounds on the radius of PSR J0737-3039A to within $\pm$1 km. The resulting combination of moment of inertia, mass, and radius measurements for a single source will allow for new, stringent constraints on the dense-matter equation of state.

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