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M. Martos

Publications and source records attributed to M. Martos.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

VAMOS: a Pathfinder for the HAWC Gamma-Ray Observatory

VAMOS was a prototype detector built in 2011 at an altitude of 4100m a.s.l. in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The aim of VAMOS was to finalize the design, construction techniques and data acquisition system of the HAWC observatory. HAWC is an air-shower array currently under construction at the same site of VAMOS with the purpose to study the TeV sky. The VAMOS setup included six water Cherenkov detectors and two different data acquisition systems. It was in operation between October 2011 and May 2012 with an average live time of 30%. Besides the scientific verification purposes, the eight months of data were used to obtain the results presented in this paper: the detector response to the Forbush decrease of March 2012, and the analysis of possible emission, at energies above 30 GeV, for long gamma-ray bursts GRB111016B and GRB120328B.

astro-ph.IM

2D kinematics of the edge-on spiral galaxy ESO 379-G006

We present a kinematical study of the nearly edge-on galaxy ESO 379-G006 that shows the existence of extraplanar ionized gas. With Fabry-Perot spectroscopy at H-alpha, we study the kinematics of ESO 379-G006 using velocity maps and position-velocity diagrams parallel to the major and to the minor axis of the galaxy. We build the rotation curve of the disk and discuss the role of projection effects due to the fact of viewing this galaxy nearly edge-on. The twisting of the isovelocities in the radial velocity field of the disk of ESO 379-G006 as well as the kinematic asymmetries found in some position-velocity diagrams parallel to the minor axis of the galaxy suggest the existence of deviations to circular motions in the disk that can be modeled and explained with the inclusion of a radial inflow probably generated by a bar or by spiral arms. We succeeded in detecting extraplanar Diffuse Ionized Gas in this galaxy. At the same time, from the analysis of position-velocity diagrams, we found some evidence that the extraplanar gas could lag in rotation velocity with respect to the midplane rotation.

astro-ph.GA

On the sensitivity of the HAWC observatory to gamma-ray bursts

We present the sensitivity of HAWC to Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). HAWC is a very high-energy gamma-ray observatory currently under construction in Mexico at an altitude of 4100 m. It will observe atmospheric air showers via the water Cherenkov method. HAWC will consist of 300 large water tanks instrumented with 4 photomultipliers each. HAWC has two data acquisition (DAQ) systems. The main DAQ system reads out coincident signals in the tanks and reconstructs the direction and energy of individual atmospheric showers. The scaler DAQ counts the hits in each photomultiplier tube (PMT) in the detector and searches for a statistical excess over the noise of all PMTs. We show that HAWC has a realistic opportunity to observe the high-energy power law components of GRBs that extend at least up to 30 GeV, as it has been observed by Fermi LAT. The two DAQ systems have an energy threshold that is low enough to observe events similar to GRB 090510 and GRB 090902b with the characteristics observed by Fermi LAT. HAWC will provide information about the high-energy spectra of GRBs which in turn could help to understanding about e-pair attenuation in GRB jets, extragalactic background light absorption, as well as establishing the highest energy to which GRBs accelerate particles.

astro-ph.HE

A Plausible Galactic Spiral Pattern and its Rotation Speed

We report calculations of the stellar and gaseous response to a Milky Way mass distribution model including a spiral pattern with a locus as traced by K-band observations, over imposed on the axisymmetric components in the plane of the disk. The stellar study extends calculations from previous work concerning the self-consistency of the pattern. The stellar response to the imposed spiral mass is studied via computations of the central family of periodic and nearby orbits as a function of the pattern rotation speed, $Ω_p$, among other parameters. A fine grid of values of $Ω_p$ was explored ranging from 12 to 25 $km s^{-1} kpc^{-1}$. Dynamical self-consistency is highly sensitive to $Ω_p$, with the best fit appearing at 20 $km s^{-1} kpc^{-1}$. We give an account of recent independent pieces of theoretical and observational work that are dependent on the value of $Ω_p$, all of which are consistent with the value found here; the recent star formation history of the Milky Way, local inferences of cosmic ray flux variations and Galactic abundance patterns. The gaseous response, which is also a function of $Ω_p$, was calculated via 2D hydrodynamic simulations with the ZEUS code. For $Ω_p = 20 km s^{-1} kpc^{-1}$, the response to a two-armed pattern is a structured pattern of 4 arms, with bifurcations along the arms and interarm features. The pattern resembles qualitatively the optical arms observed in our Galaxy and other galaxies. The complex gaseous pattern appears to be linked to resonances in stellar orbits. Among these, the 4:1 resonance plays an important role, as it also determines the extent over which the imposed spiral pattern is dynamically self-consistent.

astro-ph

Central Activity in the Barred Galaxy NGC 3367

We report the radio continuum structure of the barred galaxy NGC 3367 with an angular resolution of 4''.5. The radio structure indicates emission from the disk and from a triple source consisting of the nucleus straddled by extended sources (the lobes). The triple source shows an excess of radio continuum emission compared to the emission expected from the total radio - Halpha correlation, suggesting a non-thermal origin probably related to AGN activity and no to star formation processes. The triple source is about 12 kpc in diameter at a P.A. 40, close (but not aligned) to that of the stellar bar P.A. 65. Only the southwest lobe is polarized. The polarizatrion asymmetry between the two lobes suggests that the triple source axis is slightly out of the plane.

astro-ph