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Geoffrey C. Bower

Publications and source records attributed to Geoffrey C. Bower.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Simultaneous Monitoring of X-ray and Radio Variability in Sagittarius A*

Monitoring of Sagittarius A* from X-ray to radio wavelengths has revealed structured variability --- including X-ray flares --- but it is challenging to establish correlations between them. Most studies have focused on variability in the X-ray and infrared, where variations are often simultaneous, and because long time series at sub-millimeter and radio wavelengths are limited. Previous work on sub-mm and radio variability hints at a lag between X-ray flares and their candidate sub-millimeter or radio counterparts, with the long wavelength data lagging the X-ray. However, there is only one published time lag between an X-ray flare and a possible radio counterpart. Here we report 9 contemporaneous X-ray and radio observations of Sgr A*. We detect significant radio variability peaking $\gtrsim$176 minutes after the brightest X-ray flare ever detected from Sgr A*. We also report other potentially associated X-ray and radio variability, with the radio peaks appearing $\lesssim$80 minutes after these weaker X-ray flares. Taken at face value, these results suggest that stronger X-ray flares lead to longer time lags in the radio. However, we also test the possibility that the variability at X-ray and radio wavelengths is not temporally correlated. We cross-correlate data from mismatched X-ray and radio epochs and obtain comparable correlations to the matched data. Hence, we find no overall statistical evidence that X-ray flares and radio variability are correlated, underscoring a need for more simultaneous, long duration X-ray--radio monitoring of Sgr A*.

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The Greenland Telescope: Antenna Retrofit Status and Future Plans

Since the ALMA North America Prototype Antenna was awarded to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), SAO and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) are working jointly to relocate the antenna to Greenland. This paper shows the status of the antenna retrofit and the work carried out after the recommissioning and subsequent disassembly of the antenna at the VLA has taken place. The next coming months will see the start of the antenna reassembly at Thule Air Base. These activities are expected to last until the fall of 2017 when commissioning should take place. In parallel, design, fabrication and testing of the last components are taking place in Taiwan.

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Rare Event Statistics Applied to Fast Radio Bursts

Statistical interpretation of sparsely sampled event rates has become vital for new transient surveys, particularly those aimed at detecting fast radio bursts (FRBs). We provide an accessible reference for a number of simple, but critical, statistical questions relevant for current transient and FRB research and utilizing the negative binomial model for counts in which the count rate parameter is uncertain or randomly biased from one study to the next. We apply these methods to re-assess and update results from previous FRB surveys, finding as follows. 1) Thirteen FRBs detected across five high-Galactic-latitude (> 30$^\circ$) surveys are highly significant $(p = 5\times 10^{-5})$ evidence of a higher rate relative to the single FRB detected across four low-latitude (< 5$^\circ$) surveys, even after accounting for effects that dampen Galactic plane sensitivity. High- vs. mid-latitude (5 to 15$^\circ$) is marginally significant $(p = 0.03)$. 2) A meta analysis of twelve heterogeneous surveys gives an FRB rate of 2866 sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$ above 1 Jy at high Galactic latitude (95% confidence 1121 to 7328) and 285 sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$ at low/mid latitudes (95% from 48 to 1701). 3) Using the Parkes HTRU high-latitude setup requires 193 observing hours to achieve 50% probability of detecting an FRB and 937 hours to achieve 95% probability, based on the ten detections of (Champion et al. 2016) and appropriately accounting for uncertainty in the unknown Poisson rate. 4) Two quick detections at Parkes from a small number of high-latitude fields (Ravi et al. 2015; Petroff et al. 2015) tentatively favor a look long survey style relative to the scan wide HTRU survey, but only at $p = 0.07$ significance.

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The Non-homogeneous Poisson Process for Fast Radio Burst Rates

This paper presents the non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) for modeling the rate of fast radio bursts (FRBs) and other infrequently observed astronomical events. The NHPP, well-known in statistics, can model changes in the rate as a function of both astronomical features and the details of an observing campaign. This is particularly helpful for rare events like FRBs because the NHPP can combine information across surveys, making the most of all available information. The goal of the paper is two-fold. First, it is intended to be a tutorial on the use of the NHPP. Second, we build an NHPP model that incorporates beam patterns and a power law flux distribution for the rate of FRBs. Using information from 12 surveys including 15 detections, we find an all-sky FRB rate of 586.88 events per sky per day above a flux of 1 Jy (95\% CI: 271.86, 923.72) and a flux power-law index of 0.91 (95\% CI: 0.57, 1.25). Our rate is lower than other published rates, but consistent with the rate given in Champion et al. 2016.

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Transient Events in Archival Very Large Array Observations of the Galactic Center

The Galactic center has some of the highest stellar densities in the Galaxy and a range of interstellar scattering properties that may aid in the detection of new radio-selected transient events. Here we describe a search for radio transients in the Galactic center using over 200 hours of archival data from the Very Large Array (VLA) at 5 and 8.4 GHz. Every observation of SgrA* from 1985$-$2005 has been searched using an automated processing and detection pipeline sensitive to transients with timescales between 30 seconds and five minutes with a typical detection threshold of $\sim$100 mJy. Eight possible candidates pass tests to filter false-positives from radio-frequency interference, calibration errors, and imaging artifacts. Two events are identified as promising candidates based on the smoothness of their light curves. Despite the high quality of their light curves, these detections remain suspect due to evidence of incomplete subtraction of the complex structure in the Galactic center, and apparent contingency of one detection on reduction routines. Events of this intensity ($\sim$100 mJy) and duration ($\sim$100 s) are not obviously associated with known astrophysical sources, and no counterparts are found in data at other wavelengths. We consider potential sources, including Galactic center pulsars, dwarf stars, sources like GCRT J1745-3009, and bursts from X-ray binaries. None can fully explain the observed transients, suggesting either a new astrophysical source or a subtle imaging artifact. More sensitive multiwavelength studies are necessary to characterize these events which, if real, occur with a rate of $14^{+32}_{-12}~{\rm hr}^{-1}\,{\rm deg}^{-2}$ in the Galactic center.

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Asymmetric structure in Sgr A* at 3mm from closure phase measurements with VLBA, GBT and LMT

We present the results of a closure phase analysis of 3 mm very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) measurements performed on Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). We have analyzed observations made in May 2015 using the Very Long Baseline Array, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope and the Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano and obtained non-zero closure phase measurements on several station triangles - indicative of a non-point-symmetric source structure. The data are fitted with an asymmetric source structure model in Sgr A*, represented by a simple two-component model, which favours a fainter component due East of the main source. This result is discussed in light of a scattering screen with substructure or an intrinsically asymmetric source.

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Variable Radio Emission from the Young Stellar Host of a Hot Jupiter

We report the discovery of variable radio emission associated with the T Tauri star, V830 Tau, which was recently shown to host a hot Jupiter companion. Very Large Array observations at a frequency of 6 GHz reveal a detection on 01 May 2011 with a flux density $919 \pm 26\ μ$Jy, along with non-detections in two other epochs at $<66$ and $<150\ μ$Jy. Additionally, Very Long Baseline Array observations include one detection and one non-detection at comparable sensitivity, demonstrating that the emission is nonthermal in origin. The emission is consistent with the gyro-synchrotron or synchrotron mechanism from a region with a magnetic field ${\stackrel{\scriptstyle >}{\scriptstyle \sim}} 30$ G, and is likely driven by an energetic event such as magnetic reconnection that accelerated electrons. With the limited data we have, we are not able to place any constraint on the relationship between the radio emission and the rotational or orbital properties of V830 Tau. This is the first detection of radio emission from a non-degenerate star known to host an exoplanet.

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COPSS II: The Molecular Gas Content of Ten Million Cubic Megaparsecs at $z\sim3$

We present a measurement of the abundance of carbon monoxide in the early Universe, utilizing the final results from the CO Power Spectrum Survey (COPSS). Between 2013 and 2015, we performed observations with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array (SZA) to measure the aggregate CO emission from $z\sim3$ galaxies with the intensity mapping technique. Data were collected on 19 fields, covering an area of 0.7 square degrees, over a frequency range of 27 to 35 GHz. With these data, along with data analyzed in COPSS I, we are able to observe the CO(1-0) transition in the redshift range of $z=2.3-3.3$ for spatial frequencies between $k=0.5-10\ h\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, spanning a comoving volume of $4.9\times10^{6}\ h^{-3}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{3}$. We present estimates of contributions from continuum sources and ground illumination within our measurement. We constrain the amplitude of the CO power spectrum to be $P_{\textrm{CO}}=3.0_{-1.3}^{+1.3}\times10^{3}\ μ\textrm{K}^{2} (h^{-1}\,\textrm{Mpc})^{3}$, or $Δ^{2}_{\textrm{CO}}(k\!=\!1\ h\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1})=1.5^{+0.7}_{-0.7} \times10^{3}\ μ\textrm{K}^{2}$, at 68% confidence, and $P_{\textrm{CO}}>0$ at 98.9% confidence. These results are a factor of 10 improvement in sensitivity compared to the previous limits set in COPSS I. We use this measurement to place constraints on the CO(1-0) galaxy luminosity function at $z\sim3$. We constrain the ratio of CO(1-0) luminosity to host halo mass to $A_{\textrm{CO}}=6.3_{-2.1}^{+1.4}\times10^{-7}\ L_{\odot}\ M_{\odot}^{-1}$, and estimate a mass fraction of molecular gas of $f_{\textrm{H}_{2}}=5.5^{+3.4}_{-2.2}\times10^{-2}$ for halos with masses of order $10^{12}M_{\odot}$. Using simple theoretical estimates for the scaling of molecular gas mass fraction and halo mass, we estimate the global density of molecular gas to be $ρ_{z\sim3}(\textrm{H}_{2})=1.1_{-0.4}^{+0.7}\times10^{8}\ M_{\odot}\ \textrm{Mpc}^{-3}$.

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The Proper Motion of the Galactic Center Pulsar Relative to Sagittarius A*

We measure the proper motion of the pulsar PSR J1745-2900 relative to the Galactic Center massive black hole, Sgr A*, using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The pulsar has a transverse velocity of 236 +/- 11 km s^-1 at position angle 22 +/- 2 deg East of North at a projected separation of 0.097 pc from Sgr A*. Given the unknown radial velocity, this transverse velocity measurement does not conclusively prove that the pulsar is bound to Sgr A*; however, the probability of chance alignment is very small. We do show that the velocity and position is consistent with a bound orbit originating in the clockwise disk of massive stars orbiting Sgr A* and a natal velocity kick of <~ 500 km s^-1. An origin among the isotropic stellar cluster is possible but less probable. If the pulsar remains radio-bright, multi-year astrometry of PSR J1745-2900 can detect its acceleration and determine the full three-dimensional orbit. We also demonstrate that PSR J1745-2900 exhibits the same angular broadening as Sgr A* over a wavelength range of 3.6 cm to 0.7 cm, further confirming that the two sources share the same interstellar scattering properties. Finally, we place the first limits on the presence of a wavelength-dependent shift in the position of Sgr A*, i.e., the core shift, one of the expected properties of optically-thick jet emission. Our results for PSR J1745-2900 support the hypothesis that Galactic Center pulsars will originate from the stellar disk and deepens the mystery regarding the small number of detected Galactic Center pulsars.

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Persistent Asymmetric Structure of Sagittarius A* on Event Horizon Scales

The Galactic Center black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is a prime observing target for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which can resolve the 1.3 mm emission from this source on angular scales comparable to that of the general relativistic shadow. Previous EHT observations have used visibility amplitudes to infer the morphology of the millimeter-wavelength emission. Potentially much richer source information is contained in the phases. We report on 1.3 mm phase information on Sgr A* obtained with the EHT on a total of 13 observing nights over 4 years. Closure phases, the sum of visibility phases along a closed triangle of interferometer baselines, are used because they are robust against phase corruptions introduced by instrumentation and the rapidly variable atmosphere. The median closure phase on a triangle including telescopes in California, Hawaii, and Arizona is nonzero. This result conclusively demonstrates that the millimeter emission is asymmetric on scales of a few Schwarzschild radii and can be used to break 180-degree rotational ambiguities inherent from amplitude data alone. The stability of the sign of the closure phase over most observing nights indicates persistent asymmetry in the image of Sgr A* that is not obscured by refraction due to interstellar electrons along the line of sight.

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A Multiwavelength Study of the Relativistic Tidal Disruption Candidate Sw J2058+05 at Late Times

We report a multiwavelength (X-ray, ultraviolet/optical/infrared, radio) analysis of the relativistic tidal disruption event candidate Sw J2058+05 from 3 months to 3 yr post-discovery in order to study its properties and compare its behavior with that of Sw J1644+57. Our main results are as follows. (1) The long-term X-ray light curve of Sw J2058+05 shows a remarkably similar trend to that of Sw J1644+57. After a prolonged power-law decay, the X-ray flux drops off rapidly by a factor of $\gtrsim 160$ within a span of $Δ$$t$/$t$ $\le$ 0.95. Associating this sudden decline with the transition from super-Eddington to sub-Eddington accretion, we estimate the black hole mass to be in the range of $10^{4-6}$ M$_{\odot}$. (2) We detect rapid ($\lesssim 500$ s) X-ray variability before the dropoff, suggesting that, even at late times, the X-rays originate from close to the black hole (ruling out a forward-shock origin). (3) We confirm using HST and VLBA astrometry that the location of the source coincides with the galaxy's center to within $\lesssim 400$ pc (in projection). (4) We modeled Sw J2058+05's ultraviolet/optical/infrared spectral energy distribution with a single-temperature blackbody and find that while the radius remains more or less constant at a value of $63.4 \pm 4.5$ AU ($\sim 10^{15}$ cm) at all times during the outburst, the blackbody temperature drops significantly from $\sim$ 30,000 K at early times to a value of $\sim$ 15,000 K at late times (before the X-ray dropoff). Our results strengthen Sw J2058+05's interpretation as a tidal disruption event similar to Sw J1644+57.

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Resolved Magnetic-Field Structure and Variability Near the Event Horizon of Sagittarius A*

Near a black hole, differential rotation of a magnetized accretion disk is thought to produce an instability that amplifies weak magnetic fields, driving accretion and outflow. These magnetic fields would naturally give rise to the observed synchrotron emission in galaxy cores and to the formation of relativistic jets, but no observations to date have been able to resolve the expected horizon-scale magnetic-field structure. We report interferometric observations at 1.3-millimeter wavelength that spatially resolve the linearly polarized emission from the Galactic Center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. We have found evidence for partially ordered fields near the event horizon, on scales of ~6 Schwarzschild radii, and we have detected and localized the intra-hour variability associated with these fields.

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First Results from COPSS: The CO Power Spectrum Survey

We present constraints on the abundance of carbon-monoxide in the early Universe from the CO Power Spectrum Survey (COPSS). We utilize a data set collected between 2005 and 2008 using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array (SZA), which were previously used to measure arcminute-scale fluctuations of the CMB. This data set features observations of 44 fields, covering an effective area of 1.7 square degrees, over a frequency range of 27 to 35 GHz. Using the technique of intensity mapping, we are able to probe the CO(1-0) transition, with sensitivity to spatial modes between $k=0.5{-}2\ h\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ over a range in redshift of $z=2.3{-}3.3$, spanning a comoving volume of $3.6\times10^{6}\ h^{-3}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{3}$. We demonstrate our ability to mitigate foregrounds, and present estimates of the impact of continuum sources on our measurement. We constrain the CO power spectrum to $P_{\textrm{CO}}<2.6\times10^{4}\ μ\textrm{K}^{2} (h^{-1}\,\textrm{Mpc})^{3}$, or $Δ^{2}_{\textrm{CO}}(k\! = \! 1 \ h\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1})<1.3 \times10^{3}\ μ\textrm{K}^{2}$, at $95\%$ confidence. This limit resides near optimistic predictions for the CO power spectrum. Under the assumption that CO emission is proportional to halo mass during bursts of active star formation, this corresponds to a limit on the ratio of $\textrm{CO}(1{-}0)$ luminosity to host halo mass of $A_{\textrm{CO}}<1.2\times10^{-5}\ L_{\odot}\ M_{\odot}^{-1}$. Further assuming a Milky Way-like conversion factor between CO luminosity and molecular gas mass ($α_{\textrm{CO}}=4.3\ M_{\odot}\ (\textrm{K}\ \textrm{km}\ \textrm{s}^{-1}\ \textrm{pc}^{-2})^{-1}$), we constrain the global density of molecular gas to $ρ_{z\sim3}(M_{\textrm{H}_{2}})\leq 2.8 \times10^{8}\ M_{\odot}\ \textrm{Mpc}^{-3}$.

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Next Generation Very Large Array Memo No. 9 Science Working Group 4: Time Domain, Fundamental Physics, and Cosmology

We report here on key science topics for the Next Generation Very Large Array in the areas of time domain, fundamental physics, and cosmology. Key science cases considered are pulsars in orbit around the Galactic Center massive black hole, Sagittarius A*, electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves, and astrometric cosmology. These areas all have the potential for ground-breaking and transformative discovery. Numerous other topics were discussed during the preparation of this report and some of those discussions are summarized here, as well. There is no doubt that further investigation of the science case will reveal rich and compelling opportunities.

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A Black Hole Mass-Variability Time Scale Correlation at Submillimeter Wavelengths

We analyze the light curves of 413 radio sources at submillimeter wavelengths using data from the Submillimeter Array calibrator database. The database includes more than 20,000 observations at 1.3 and 0.8 mm that span 13 years. We model the light curves as a damped random walk and determine a characteristic time scale $τ$ at which the variability amplitude saturates. For the vast majority of sources, primarily blazars and BL Lac objects, we find only lower limits on $τ$. For two nearby low luminosity active galactic nuclei, M81 and M87, however, we measure $τ=1.6^{+3.0}_{-0.9}$ days and $τ=45^{+61}_{-24}$ days, respectively ($2σ$ errors). Including the previously measured $τ=0.33\pm 0.16$ days for Sgr A*, we show an approximately linear correlation between $τ$ and black hole mass for these nearby LLAGN. Other LLAGN with spectra that peak in the submm are expected to follow this correlation. These characteristic time scales are comparable to the minimum time scale for emission processes close to an event horizon, and suggest that the underlying physics may be independent of black hole mass, accretion rate, and jet luminosity.

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230 GHz VLBI observations of M87: event-horizon-scale structure at the enhanced very-high-energy $\rm γ$-ray state in 2012

We report on 230 GHz (1.3 mm) VLBI observations of M87 with the Event Horizon Telescope using antennas on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, Mt. Graham in Arizona and Cedar Flat in California. For the first time, we have acquired 230 GHz VLBI interferometric phase information on M87 through measurement of closure phase on the triangle of long baselines. Most of the measured closure phases are consistent with 0$^{\circ}$ as expected by physically-motivated models for 230 GHz structure such as jet models and accretion disk models. The brightness temperature of the event-horizon-scale structure is $\sim 1 \times 10^{10}$ K derived from the compact flux density of $\sim 1$ Jy and the angular size of $\sim 40 $ $\rm μ$as $\sim$ 5.5 $R_{\rm s}$, which is broadly consistent with the peak brightness of the radio cores at 1-86 GHz located within $\sim 10^2$ $R_{\rm s}$. Our observations occurred in the middle of an enhancement in very-high-energy (VHE) $\rm γ$-ray flux, presumably originating in the vicinity of the central black hole. Our measurements, combined with results of multi-wavelength observations, favor a scenario in which the VHE region has an extended size of $\sim$20-60 $R_{\rm s}$.

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Radio and Millimeter Monitoring of Sgr A*: Spectrum, Variability, and Constraints on the G2 Encounter

We report new observations with the Very Large Array, Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and Submillimeter Array at frequencies from 1.0 to 355 GHz of the Galactic Center black hole, Sagittarius A*. These observations were conducted between October 2012 and November 2014. While we see variability over the whole spectrum with an amplitude as large as a factor of 2 at millimeter wavelengths, we find no evidence for a change in the mean flux density or spectrum of Sgr A* that can be attributed to interaction with the G2 source. The absence of a bow shock at low frequencies is consistent with a cross-sectional area for G2 that is less than $2 \times 10^{29}$ cm$^2$. This result fits with several model predictions including a magnetically arrested cloud, a pressure-confined stellar wind, and a stellar photosphere of a binary merger. There is no evidence for enhanced accretion onto the black hole driving greater jet and/or accretion flow emission. Finally, we measure the millimeter wavelength spectral index of Sgr A* to be flat; combined with previous measurements, this suggests that there is no spectral break between 230 and 690 GHz. The emission region is thus likely in a transition between optically thick and thin at these frequencies and requires a mix of lepton distributions with varying temperatures consistent with stratification.

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ALMA and VLA measurements of frequency-dependent time lags in Sagittarius A*: evidence for a relativistic outflow

Radio and mm-wavelength observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the radio source associated with the supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy, show that it behaves as a partially self-absorbed synchrotron-emitting source. The measured size of Sgr A* shows that the mm-wavelength emission comes from a small region and consists of the inner accretion flow and a possible collimated outflow. Existing observations of Sgr A* have revealed a time lag between light curves at 43 GHz and 22 GHz, which is consistent with a rapidly expanding plasma flow and supports the presence of a collimated outflow from the environment of an accreting black hole. Here we wish to measure simultaneous frequency-dependent time lags in the light curves of Sgr A* across a broad frequency range to constrain direction and speed of the radio-emitting plasma in the vicinity of the black hole. Light curves of Sgr A* were taken in May 2012 using ALMA at 100 GHz using the VLA at 48, 39, 37, 27, 25.5, and 19 GHz. As a result of elevation limits and the longitude difference between the stations, the usable overlap in the light curves is approximately four hours. Although Sgr A* was in a relatively quiet phase, the high sensitivity of ALMA and the VLA allowed us to detect and fit maxima of an observed minor flare where flux density varied by ~10%. The fitted times of flux density maxima at frequencies from 100 GHz to 19 GHz, as well as a cross-correlation analysis, reveal a simple frequency-dependent time lag relation where maxima at higher frequencies lead those at lower frequencies. Taking the observed size-frequency relation of Sgr A* into account, these time lags suggest a moderately relativistic (lower estimates: 0.5c for two-sided, 0.77c for one-sided) collimated outflow.

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