arXiv subjects

M. Gawronski

Publications and source records attributed to M. Gawronski.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Connecting repeating and non-repeating fast radio bursts via their energy distributions

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extremely energetic, millisecond-duration radio flashes that reach Earth from extragalactic distances. Broadly speaking, FRBs can be classified as repeating or (apparently) non-repeating. It is still unclear, however, whether the two types share a common physical origin, differing only in their activity rate. Here we report on an unprecedented observing campaign that targeted one hyperactive repeating source, FRB 20201124A, for more than $2000~\mathrm{hr}$ using four $25-32\mathrm{-m}$ class radio telescopes. In total, we detect $46$ high-energy bursts, many more than one would expect given previous observations of lower-energy bursts using larger radio telescopes. We find a high-energy burst distribution that resembles that of the non-repeating FRB population, suggesting that apparently non-repeating FRB sources may simply be the rarest bursts from repeating sources. We also discuss how FRB 20201124A contributes strongly to the all-sky FRB rate and how similar sources would be observable even at very high redshift.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Burst timescales and luminosities link young pulsars and fast radio bursts

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extragalactic radio flashes of unknown physical origin. Their high luminosities and short durations require extreme energy densities, like those found in the vicinity of neutron stars and black holes. Studying the burst intensities and polarimetric properties on a wide range of timescales, from milliseconds down to nanoseconds, is key to understanding the emission mechanism. However, high-time-resolution studies of FRBs are limited by their unpredictable activity levels, available instrumentation and temporal broadening in the intervening ionised medium. Here we show that the repeating FRB 20200120E can produce isolated shots of emission as short as about 60 nanoseconds in duration, with brightness temperatures as high as $3\times 10^{41}$ K (excluding relativistic effects), comparable to `nano-shots' from the Crab pulsar. Comparing both the range of timescales and luminosities, we find that FRB 20200120E observationally bridges the gap between known Galactic young pulsars and magnetars, and the much more distant extragalactic FRBs. This suggests a common magnetically powered emission mechanism spanning many orders of magnitude in timescale and luminosity. In this work, we probe a relatively unexplored region of the short-duration transient phase space; we highlight that there likely exists a population of ultra-fast radio transients at nanosecond to microsecond timescales, which current FRB searches are insensitive to.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Detection of two bright radio bursts from magnetar SGR 1935+2154

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration, bright radio signals (fluence $\mathrm{0.1 - 100\,Jy\,ms}$) emitted from extragalactic sources of unknown physical origin. The recent CHIME/FRB and STARE2 detection of an extremely bright (fluence $\sim$MJy$\,$ms) radio burst from the Galactic magnetar SGR~1935$+$2154 supports the hypothesis that (at least some) FRBs are emitted by magnetars at cosmological distances. In follow-up observations totalling 522.7$\,$hrs on source, we detect two bright radio bursts with fluences of $112\pm22\mathrm{\,Jy\,ms}$ and $24\pm5\mathrm{\,Jy\,ms}$, respectively. Both bursts appear affected by interstellar scattering and we measure significant linear and circular polarisation for the fainter burst. The bursts are separated in time by $\sim$1.4$\,$s, suggesting a non-Poissonian, clustered emission process -- similar to what has been seen in some repeating FRBs. Together with the burst reported by CHIME/FRB and STARE2, as well as a much fainter burst seen by FAST (fluence 60$\mathrm{\,mJy\,ms}$), our observations demonstrate that SGR 1935+2154 can produce bursts with apparent energies spanning roughly seven orders of magnitude, and that the burst rate is comparable across this range. This raises the question of whether these four bursts arise from similar physical processes, and whether the FRB population distribution extends to very low energies ($\sim10^{30}\,$erg, isotropic equivalent).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Compact radio emission indicates a structured jet was produced by a binary neutron star merger

The binary neutron star merger event GW170817 was detected through both electromagnetic radiation and gravitational waves. Its afterglow emission may have been produced by either a narrow relativistic jet or an isotropic outflow. High spatial resolution measurements of the source size and displacement can discriminate between these scenarios. We present Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations, performed 207.4 days after the merger, using a global network of 32 radio telescopes. The apparent source size is constrained to be smaller than 2.5 milliarcseconds at the 90% confidence level. This excludes the isotropic outflow scenario, which would have produced a larger apparent size, indicating that GW170817 produced a structured relativistic jet. Our rate calculations show that at least 10% of neutron star mergers produce such a jet.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Search for exoplanets and brown dwarfs with VLBI

The main aim of this work is to estimate possible radio GHz emission of extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs and to check if such radiation can be detected by Very Large Baseline Interferometers (VLBI). In the estimation we assume that the emission may originate in processes similar to those observed in the Jupiter system. The frequency of the radio emission that is produced in this system depends mostly on the magnetic field strength. Jupiter's magnetic field ($\sim 9$ G on average) allows for radiation from kHz frequencies up to 40 MHz. This is well below the frequency range of VLBI. However, it was demonstrated that the magnetic field strength in massive and young object may be up to two orders of magnitude higher than for Jupiter, which is especially relevant for planets around short-lived A type stars. This should extend the range of the emission up to GHz frequencies. We calculated expected flux densities of radio emission for a variety of hypothetical young planetary systems. We analysed two different emission scenarios, and found that the radiation induced by moons (process similar to Jupiter-Io interactions) appears to be less efficient than the emission generated by a stellar wind on a planetary magnetosphere. We also estimated hypothetical emission of planets and brown dwarfs located around relatively young and massive main sequence A-type stars. Our results show that the emission produced by stellar winds could be detected by currently operating VLBI networks.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2016

2015 Southern Taurid fireballs and asteroids 2005 UR and 2005 TF50

On the night of Oct 31, 2015 two bright Southern Taurid fireballs occurred over Poland, being one of the most spectacular bolides of this shower in recent years. The first fireball - PF311015a Okonek - was detected by six video stations of Polish Fireball Network (PFN) and photographed by several bystanders, allowing for precise determination of the trajectory and orbit of the event. The PF311015a Okonek entered Earth's atmosphere with the velocity of 33.2 +\- 0.1 km/s and started to shine at height of 117.88 +\- 0.05 km. The maximum brightness of -16.0 +\- 0.4 mag was reached at height of 82.5 +\- 0.1 km. The trajectory of the fireball ended at height of 60.2 +\- 0.2 km with terminal velocity of 30.2 +\- 1.0 km/s. The second fireball - PF311015b Ostrowite - was detected by six video stations of PFN. It started with velocity of 33.2 +\- 0.1 km/s at height of 108.05 +\- 0.02 km. The peak brightness of -14.8 +\- 0.5 mag was recorded at height of 82.2 +\- 0.1 km. The terminal velocity was 31.8 +\- 0.5 km/s and was observed at height of 57.86 +\- 0.03 km. The orbits of both fireballs are similar not only to orbits of Southern Taurids and comet 2P/Encke, but even closer resemblance was noticed for orbits of 2005 UR and 2005 TF50 asteroids. Especially the former object is interesting because of its close flyby during spectacular Taurid maximum in 2005. We carried out a further search to investigate the possible genetic relationship of Okonek and Ostrowite fireballs with both asteroids, that are considered to be associated with Taurid complex. Although, we could not have confirmed unequivocally the relation between fireballs and these objects, we showed that both asteroids could be associated, having the same origin in a disruption process that separates them.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2016

Discovery of periodic and alternating flares of the methanol and water masers in G107.298+5.639

Methanol and water vapour masers are signposts of early stages of high-mass star formation but it is generally thought that due to different excitation processes they probe distinct parts of stellar environments. Here we present observations of the intermediate-mass young stellar object G107.298+5.639, revealing for the first time that 34.4 d flares of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission alternate with flares of individual features of the 22 GHz water maser. High angular resolution data reveal that a few components of both maser species showing periodic behaviour coincide in position and velocity and all the periodic water maser components appear in the methanol maser region of size of 360 au. The maser flares could be caused by variations in the infrared radiation field induced by cyclic accretion instabilities in a circumstellar or protobinary disc. The observations do not support either the stellar pulsations or the seed photon flux variations as the underlying mechanisms of the periodicity in the source.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2015

Broad absorption line (BAL) quasars as a class of low luminosity AGNs

Broad absorption lines seen in some quasars prove the existence of ionized plasma outflows from the accretion disk. Outflows together with powerful jets are important feedback processes. Understanding physics behind BAL outflows might be a key to comprehend Galaxy Evolution as a whole. First radio-loud BAL quasar was discovered in 1997 and this discovery has opened new possibilities for studies of the BAL phenomena, this time on the basis of radio emission. However, information about the radio structures, orientation and age of BAL quasars is still very limited due to weak radio emission and small sizes of these objects. Our high-resolution radio survey of a sample of BAL quasars aims to increase our knowledge about these objects. In this article, we present some conclusions arising from our research.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

The HU Aqr planetary system hypothesis revisited

We study the mid-egress eclipse timing data gathered for the cataclysmic binary HU Aquarii during the years 1993-2014. The (O-C) residuals were previously attributed to a single ~7 Jupiter mass companion in ~5 au orbit or to a stable 2-planet system with an unconstrained outermost orbit. We present 22 new observations gathered between June, 2011 and July, 2014 with four instruments around the world. They reveal a systematic deviation of ~60 - 120 seconds from the older ephemeris. We re-analyse the whole set of the timing data available. Our results provide an erratum to the previous HU Aqr planetary models, indicating that the hypothesis for a third and fourth body in this system is uncertain. The dynamical stability criterion and a particular geometry of orbits rule out coplanar 2-planet configurations. A putative HU Aqr planetary system may be more complex, e.g., highly non-coplanar. Indeed, we found examples of 3-planet configurations with the middle planet in a retrograde orbit, which are stable for at least 1Gyr, and consistent with the observations. The (O-C) may be also driven by oscillations of the gravitational quadrupole moment of the secondary, as predicted by the Lanza et al. modification of the Applegate mechanism. Further systematic, long-term monitoring of HU Aqr is required to interpret the (O-C) residuals.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

Intermittent activity of radio sources. Accretion instabilities and jet precession

We consider the radiation pressure instability operating on short timescales 10^3 - 10^6 years in the accretion disk around a supermassive black hole as the origin of the intermittent activity of radio sources. We test whether this instability can be responsible for short ages (<10^4 years) of Compact Steep Spectrum sources measured by hot spots propagation velocities in VLBI observations and statistical overabundance of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum sources.The implied timescales are consistent with the observed ages of the sources. We aslo discuss possible implications of the intermittent activity on the complex morphology of radio sources, such as the quasar 1045+352, dominated by a knotty jet showing several bends. It is possible that we are whitnessing an ongoing jet precession in this source due to internal instabilities within the jet flow.

astro-ph.CO↗