arXiv subjects

J. D. Melon Fuksman

Publications and source records attributed to J. D. Melon Fuksman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

A multiwavelength analysis of the spiral arms in the protoplanetary disk around WaOph 6

[Full abstract in the paper] In recent years, protoplanetary disks with spiral structures have been detected in scattered light, millimeter continuum, and CO gas emission. The mechanisms causing these structures are still under debate. A popular scenario to drive the spiral arms is the one of a planet perturbing the material in the disk. However, if the disk is massive, gravitational instability is usually the favored explanation. Multiwavelength studies could be helpful to distinguish between the two scenarios. So far, only a handful of disks with spiral arms have been observed in both scattered light and millimeter continuum. We aim to perform an in-depth characterization of the protoplanetary disk morphology around WaOph 6 analyzing data obtained at different wavelengths, as well as to investigate the origin of the spiral features in the disk. We present the first near-infrared polarimetric observations of WaOph 6 obtained with SPHERE at the VLT and compare them to archival millimeter continuum ALMA observations. We traced the spiral features in both data sets and estimated the respective pitch angles. We discuss the different scenarios that can give rise to the spiral arms in WaOph 6. We tested the planetary perturber hypothesis by performing hydrodynamical and radiative transfer simulations to compare them with scattered light and millimeter continuum observations.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2019

On the role of a cavity in the hypernova ejecta of GRB 190114C

Within the binary-driven hypernova I (BdHN I) scenario, the gamma-ray burst GRB190114C originates in a binary system composed of a massive carbon-oxygen core (CO$_{core}$), and a binary neutron star (NS) companion. As the CO$_{core}$ undergoes a supernova explosion with the creation of a new neutron star ($ν$NS), hypercritical accretion occurs onto the companion binary neutron star until it exceeds the critical mass for gravitational collapse. The formation of a black hole (BH) captures $10^{57}$ baryons by enclosing them within its horizon, and thus a cavity of approximately $10^{11}$ cm is formed around it with initial density $10^{-7}$ g/cm$^3$. A further depletion of baryons in the cavity originates from the expansion of the electron-positron-photon ($e^{+}e^{-}γ$) plasma formed at the collapse, reaching a density of $10^{-14}$ g/cm$^3$ by the end of the interaction. It is demonstrated here using an analytical model complemented by a hydrodynamical numerical simulation that part of the $e^{+}e^{-}γ$ plasma is reflected off the walls of the cavity. The consequent outflow and its observed properties are shown to coincide with the featureless emission occurring in a time interval of duration $t_{rf}$, measured in the rest frame of the source, between $11$ and $20$ s of the GBM observation. Moreover, similar features of the GRB light curve were previously observed in GRB 090926A and GRB 130427A, all belonging to the BdHN I class. This interpretation supports the general conceptual framework presented in Ruffini et al. (2019) and guarantees that a low baryon density is reached in the cavity, a necessary condition for the operation of the "inner engine" of the GRB presented in an accompanying article (Ruffini & Moradi 2019).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

The inner engine of GeV-radiation-emitting gamma-ray bursts

We motivate how the most recent progress in the understanding the nature of the GeV radiation in most energetic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the binary-driven hypernovae (BdHNe), has led to the solution of a forty years unsolved problem in relativistic astrophysics: how to extract the rotational energy from a Kerr black hole for powering synchrotron emission and ultra high-energy cosmic rays. The "inner engine" is identified in the proper use of a classical solution introduced by Wald in 1974 duly extended to the most extreme conditions found around the newborn black hole in a BdHN. The energy extraction process occurs in a sequence impulsive processes each accelerating protons to $10^{21}$ eV in a timescale of $10^{-6}$ s and in presence of an external magnetic field of $10^{14}$ G. Specific example is given for a black hole of initial angular momentum $J=0.3\,M^2$ and mass $M\approx 3\,M_\odot$ leading to the GeV radiation of $10^{49}$ erg$\cdot$s$^{-1}$. The process can energetically continue for thousands of years.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Self-similarity and power-laws in GRB 190114C

Following Fermi and NOT observations, Ruffini et al. (2019b) soon identified GRB 190114C as BdHN I at z=0.424, it has been observed since, with unprecedented accuracy, [...] all the way to the successful optical observation of our predicted supernova (SN). This GRB is a twin of GRB 130427A. Here we take advantage of the GBM data and identify in it three different Episodes. Episode 1 represents the precursor which includes the SN breakout and the creation of the new neutron star ($ν$NS), the hypercritical accretion of the SN ejecta onto the NS binary companion, exceeding the NS critical mass at $t_{rf}=1.9$s. Episode 2 starting at $t_{rf}=1.9$s includes three major events: the formation of the BH, the onset of the GeV emission and the onset of the ultra-relativistic prompt emission (UPE), which extends all the way up to $t_{rf}=3.99$s. Episode 3 which occurs at times following $t_{rf}=3.99$s reveals the presence of a cavity carved out in the SN ejecta by the BH formation. We perform an in depth time-resolved spectral analysis on the entire UPE with the corresponding determination of the spectra best fit by a cut-off power-law and a black body (CPL+BB) model, and then we repeat the spectral analysis in 5 successive time iterations in increasingly shorter time bins: we find a similarity in the spectra in each stage of the iteration revealing clearly a self-similar structure. We find a power-law dependence of the BB temperature with index $-1.56\pm0.38$, a dependence with index $-1.20\pm0.26$ for the gamma-ray luminosity confirming a similar dependence with index $-1.20\pm0.36$ which we find as well in the GeV luminosity, both expressed in the rest-frame. We thus discover in the realm of relativistic astrophysics the existence of a self-similar physical process and power-law dependencies, extensively described in the micro-physical world by the classical works of Heisenberg-Landau-Wilson.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

On the ultra-relativistic Prompt Emission (UPE), the Hard and Soft X-ray Flares, and the extended thermal emission (ETE) in GRB 151027A

We analyze GRB 151027A within the binary-driven hypernova (BdHN) approach, with progenitor a carbon-oxygen core on the verge of a supernova (SN) explosion and a binary companion neutron star (NS). The hypercritical accretion of the SN ejecta onto the NS leads to its gravitational collapse into a black hole (BH), to the emission of the GRB and to a copious $e^+e^-$ plasma. The impact of this $e^+e^-$ plasma on the SN ejecta explains {the} early soft X-ray flare observed in long GRBs. We here apply this approach to the UPE and to the hard X-ray flares. We use GRB 151027A as a prototype. From the time-integrated and the time-resolved analysis we identify a double component in the UPE and confirm its ultra-relativistic nature. We confirm the mildly-relativistic nature of the soft X-ray flare, of the hard X-ray flare and of the ETE. We show that the ETE identifies the transition from a SN to the HN. We then address the theoretical justification of these observations by integrating the hydrodynamical propagation equations of the $e^+ e^-$ into the SN ejecta, the latter independently obtained from 3D smoothed-particle-hydrodynamics simulations. We conclude that the UPE, the hard X-ray flare and the soft X-ray flare do not form a causally connected sequence: Within our model they are the manifestation of \textbf{the same} physical process of the BH formation as seen through different viewing angles, implied by the morphology and the $\sim 300$~s rotation period of the HN ejecta.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Early X-ray Flares in GRBs

We analyze the early X-ray flares in the GRB "flare-plateau-afterglow" (FPA) phase observed by Swift-XRT. The FPA occurs only in one of the seven GRB subclasses: the binary-driven hypernovae (BdHNe). This subclass consists of long GRBs with a carbon-oxygen core and a neutron star (NS) binary companion as progenitors. The hypercritical accretion of the supernova (SN) ejecta onto the NS can lead to the gravitational collapse of the NS into a black hole. Consequently, one can observe a GRB emission with isotropic energy $E_{iso}\gtrsim10^{52}$~erg, as well as the associated GeV emission and the FPA phase. Previous work had shown that gamma-ray spikes in the prompt emission occur at $\sim 10^{15}$--$10^{17}$~cm with Lorentz gamma factor $Γ\sim10^{2}$--$10^{3}$. Using a novel data analysis we show that the time of occurrence, duration, luminosity and total energy of the X-ray flares correlate with $E_{iso}$. A crucial feature is the observation of thermal emission in the X-ray flares that we show occurs at radii $\sim10^{12}$~cm with $Γ\lesssim 4$. These model independent observations cannot be explained by the "fireball" model, which postulates synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation from a single ultra relativistic jetted emission extending from the prompt to the late afterglow and GeV emission phases. We show that in BdHNe a collision between the GRB and the SN ejecta occurs at $\simeq10^{10}$~cm reaching transparency at $\sim10^{12}$~cm with $Γ\lesssim4$. The agreement between the thermal emission observations and these theoretically derived values validates our model and opens the possibility of testing each BdHN episode with the corresponding Lorentz gamma factor.

astro-ph.HE↗