arXiv subjects

N. Bartel

Publications and source records attributed to N. Bartel.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

VLBI Observations of SN 2008D

We report on two epochs of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the Type Ib/c supernova SN 2008D, which was associated with the X-ray outburst XRF 080109. At our first epoch, at t = 30 days after the explosion, we observed at 22 and 8.4 GHz, and at our second, at t = 133 days, at 8.4 and 5.0 GHz. The VLBI observations allow us to accurately measure the source's size and position at each epoch, and thus constrain its expansion velocity and proper motion. We find the source at best marginally resolved at both epochs, allowing us to place a 3sigma upper limit of ~0.75c on the expansion velocity of a circular source. For an elongated source, our measurements are compatible with mildly relativistic expansion. However, our 3sigma upper limit on the proper motion is 4 micro-arcsec/day, corresponding to an apparent velocity of <0.6c, and is consistent with a stationary flux centroid. This limit rules out a relativistic jet such as an gamma-ray burst jet away from the line of sight, which would be expected to show apparent proper motion of >c. Taken together, our measurements argue against the presence of any long-lived relativistic outflow in SN 2008D. On the other hand, our measurements are consistent with the nonrelativistic expansion velocities of <30,000 km/s and small proper motions (<500 km/s) seen in typical supernovae.

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arXiv2008

Science with ASKAP - the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

[ABRIDGED VERSION] The future of cm and m-wave astronomy lies with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a telescope under development by a consortium of 17 countries. The SKA will be 50 times more sensitive than any existing radio facility. A majority of the key science for the SKA will be addressed through large-area imaging of the Universe at frequencies from 300 MHz to a few GHz. The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) is aimed squarely in this frequency range, and achieves instantaneous wide-area imaging through the development and deployment of phase-array feed systems on parabolic reflectors. This large field-of-view makes ASKAP an unprecedented synoptic telescope poised to achieve substantial advances in SKA key science. The central core of ASKAP will be located at the Murchison Radio Observatory in inland Western Australia, one of the most radio-quiet locations on the Earth and one of the sites selected by the international community as a potential location for the SKA. Following an introductory description of ASKAP, this document contains 7 chapters describing specific science programmes for ASKAP. The combination of location, technological innovation and scientific program will ensure that ASKAP will be a world-leading radio astronomy facility, closely aligned with the scientific and technical direction of the SKA. A brief summary chapter emphasizes the point, and considers discovery space.

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arXiv2008

Shell revealed in SN 1979C

VLBI observations at 5 GHz have revealed that supernova 1979C, in the galaxy M100 in the Virgo cluster, has shell structure. The shell is approximately circular with the 50% contour deviating from a circle by an rms of no more than 8% of the radius. The brightness distribution along the ridge may vary. The position of the center of the shell is at R.A.=12h 22m 58.66758s and decl.=15^o 47' 51.9695" (J2000), with a standard error of 0.8 mas in each of the coordinates. No isolated central component is visible above a flux density limit of ~0.15 mJy which corresponds to an upper limit of ~15 times the corresponding spectral luminosity of the Crab Nebula. The radio lightcurve is clearly falling again and the radio spectrum is now flatter than at earlier times. SN 1979C is only the fourth, and oldest (optically identified) supernova of which a detailed image could be obtained.

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arXiv2008

Supernova 1996cr: SN 1987A's Wild Cousin?

We report on new VLT optical spectroscopic and multi-wavelength archival observations of SN1996cr, a previously identified ULX known as Circinus Galaxy X-2. Our optical spectrum confirms SN1996cr as a bona fide type IIn SN, while archival imaging isolates its explosion date to between 1995-02-28 and 1996-03-16. SN1996cr is one of the closest SNe (~3.8 Mpc) in the last several decades and in terms of flux ranks among the brightest radio and X-ray SNe ever detected. The wealth of optical, X-ray, and radio observations that exist for this source provide relatively detailed constraints on its post-explosion expansion and progenitor history, including an preliminary angular size constaint from VLBI. The archival X-ray and radio data imply that the progenitor of SN1996cr evacuated a large cavity just prior to exploding: the blast wave likely expanded for ~1-2 yrs before eventually striking the dense circumstellar material which surrounds SN1996cr. The X-ray and radio emission, which trace the progenitor mass-loss rate, have respectively risen by a factor of ~2 and remained roughly constant over the past 7 yr. This behavior is reminiscent of the late rise of SN1987A, but 1000 times more luminous and much more rapid to onset. Complex Oxygen line emission in the optical spectrum further hints at a possible concentric shell or ring-like structure. The discovery of SN1996cr suggests that a substantial fraction of the closest SNe observed in the last several decades have occurred in wind-blown bubbles. An Interplanetary Network position allows us to reject a tentative GRB association with BATSE 4B960202. [Abridged]

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arXiv2008

The Expansion and Radio Spectral Index of G21.5-0.9: Is PSR J1833-1034 the Youngest Pulsar?

We report on new 5-GHz VLA radio observations of the pulsar-powered supernova remnant G21.5-0.9. These observations have allowed us to make a high-quality radio image of this remnant with a resolution of ~0.7". It has a filamentary structure similar to that seen in the Crab Nebula. Radio structure suggestive of the torus seen around the Crab pulsar is tentatively identified. We also compared the new image with one taken ~15 yr earlier at 1.5 GHz, both to find the expansion speed of the remnant and to make a spectral index image. Between 1991 and 2006, we find that the average expansion rate of the remnant is 0.11 +/- 0.02 %/year, corresponding, for a distance of 5 kpc, to a speed of 910 +/- 160 km/s wrt. the centre of the nebula. Assuming undecelerated expansion, this expansion speed implies that the age of G21.5-0.9 is 870 (+200,-150) yr, which makes PSR J1833-1034 one of the youngest, if not the youngest, known pulsars in the Galaxy.

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arXiv2007

SN 1993J VLBI (IV): A Geometric Determination of the Distance to M81 with the Expanding Shock Front Method

We compare the angular expansion velocities, determined with VLBI, with the linear expansion velocities measured from optical spectra for supernova 1993J in the galaxy M81, over the period from 7 d to ~9 yr after shock breakout. We estimate the distance to SN 1993J using the Expanding Shock Front Method (ESM). We find the best distance estimate is obtained by fitting the angular velocity of a point halfway between the contact surface and outer shock front to the maximum observed hydrogen gas velocity. We obtain a direct, geometric, distance estimate for M81 of D=3.96+-0.05+-0.29 Mpc with statistical and systematic error contributions, respectively, corresponding to a total standard error of $+-0.29 Mpc. The upper limit of 4.25 Mpc corresponds to the hydrogen gas with the highest observed velocity reaching no farther out than the contact surface a few days after shock breakout. The lower limit of 3.67 Mpc corresponds to this hydrogen gas reaching as far out as the forward shock for the whole period, which would mean that Rayleigh-Taylor fingers have grown to the forward shock already a few days after shock breakout. Our distance estimate is 9+-13 % larger than that of 3.63+-0.34 Mpc from the HST Key Project, which is near our lower limit but within the errors.

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arXiv2007

SN 2001em: No Jet-Driven Gamma Ray Burst Event

We report on our second-epoch VLBI and VLA observations of the Type Ib/c supernova 2001em, five years after the explosion. It was suggested that SN 2001em might be a jet-driven gamma ray burst (GRB), with the jet oriented near the plane of the sky, which would entail relativistic expansion or motion. Our VLBI image shows that SN 2001em is still unresolved five years after the explosion. For a distance of 83 Mpc (H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc), the nominal expansion velocity is 5800 +/- 10,000 km/s, and the proper motion is 33,000 +/- 34,000 km/s. Our values are inconsistent with either relativistic expansion or motion, but are consistent with the non-relativistic expansion speeds and small proper motions seen in other supernovae. In particular these values are consistent with radio emission from SN 2001em being due to normal, non-relativistic supernova ejecta interacting with the circumstellar medium. Our VLA observations show a power-law decay in flux density since the time of the peak in the 8.4 GHz radio lightcurve in ~2003.

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arXiv2007

Probing cosmic plasma with giant radio pulses

VLBI observations of the Crab pulsar with the 64-m radio telescope at Kalyazin (Russia) and the 46-m radio telescope of the Algonquin Radio Observatory (Canada) at 2.2 GHz and single-dish observations of the millisecond pulsar B1937+21 with the GBT (USA) at 2.1 GHz were conducted to probe the interstellar medium and study the properties of giant pulses. The VLBI data were processed with a dedicated software correlator, which allowed us to obtain the visibility of single giant pulses. Two frequency scales of 50 and 450 kHz were found in the diffraction spectra of giant pulses from the Crab pulsar. The location of the scattering region was estimated to be close to the outer edge of the nebula. No correlation was found between the power spectra of giant pulses at left- and right-hand circular polarization. We explain this lack of correlation through the influence of the strong magnetic field on circularly polarized emission in the region close to the Crab pulsar. Combining the measurement of the decorrelation bandwidth with that of the scattering time of giant pulses for B1937+21, we found three frequency scales of 1.7, 3.8, and 16.5 MHz. The scattering time of giant pulses of B1937+21 at 2.1 GHz was found to be 40+-4 ns. We obtained an upper limit of the intrinsic width of giant pulses from B1937+21 of less than 8 ns. The frequency dependences of the scattering times for the Crab pulsar and PSR B1937+21 were found to be different. They are characterized by exponents of -3.5 and -4.2, respectively. We attribute the difference to the large influence of scattering in the Crab nebula.

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arXiv2007

Detailed studies of giant pulses from the millisecond pulsar B1937+21

The second fastest millisecond pulsar, B1937+21, is one of several pulsars known to emit giant pulses (GPs). GPs are characterized by their huge energy, power-law cumulative energy distribution, and particular longitudes of occurrence. All these characteristics are different from those of regular pulses. Here, we present a study of GPs from our observations of the pulsar B1937+21 with the GBT at 2.1 GHz in both left and right circular polarization with a time resolution of 8 ns. The Mark5 data acquisition system was used for the first time in single-dish observations with the GBT. This allowed us to obtain continuous and uniform recording for 7.5 hours with a data rate of 512 Mbps. As a result, more than 6000 GPs were found above a detection threshold of 200 Jy. We report on instantaneous spectra of GPs, as well as on a comparison with scintillation spectra of regular emission, on the distribution of GP energies, and on polarization properties of GPs.

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arXiv2005

An Upper Limit on the Expansion Velocity of GRB Candidate SN 2001em

We report on VLBI observations of the Type I b/c supernova 2001em, three years after the explosion. It had been suggested that SN 2001em might be a jet-driven gamma ray burst (GRB), with the jet oriented far from the line of sight so that the GRB would not be visible from earth. To test this conjecture, we determined the size of SN 2001em. It is only marginally resolved at our resolution of ~0.9 mas. The 3-sigma upper limit on the major axis angular size of the radio source was 0.59 mas (FWHM of an elliptical Gaussian), corresponding to a one-sided apparent expansion velocity of 70,000 km/s for a distance of 80 Mpc. No low-brightness jet was seen in our image to a level of 4% of the peak brightness. If we assume instead a spherical shell geometry typical of a supernova, we find the angular radius of SN 2001em was 0.17 (-0.10,+0.06) mas, implying an isotropic expansion velocity of 20,000 (-12,000, +7,000) km/s, which is comparable to the expansion velocities of supernova shells. Our observations, therefore, are not consistent with a relativistically expanding radio source in SN 2001em, but are instead consistent with a supernova shell origin of SN 2001's radio emission.

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arXiv2004

The Crab Nebula's Wisps in Radio and Optical

We present four new, high-resolution VLA radio images of the Crab nebula, taken between 2001 Feb. and Apr. The radio images show systematic variability in the Crab's radio emission throughout the region near the pulsar. The principal geometry of the variable features is that of elliptical ripples very similar to the optical wisps. The radio wisps are seen to move systematically outward with projected speeds of up to 0.3c. Comparing the new radio images to our earlier ones from 1998 and 2000, we show there are also more slowly moving features somewhat farther away from the pulsar. In particular, there is a prominent moving feature to the northwest of the pulsar which has a projected speed of order 10,000 km/s. Striation is seen throughout the nebula, suggesting the presence of wave-like disturbances propagating through the synchrotron bubble. The radio images were taken simultaneously with HST optical observations. Comparing the radio to the optical images, we find that the radio wisps are sometimes displaced from the optical ones or have no optical counterparts. We also find that some optical wisps in particular, the brightest optical wisps near the pulsar, do not seem to have radio counterparts. In the exterior of the nebula, by contrast, there is generally a good correspondence between the radio and optical features.

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arXiv2004

The Location of the Core in M81

We report on VLBI observations of M81*, the northwest-southeast oriented nuclear core-jet source of the spiral galaxy M81, at five different frequencies between 1.7 and 14.8 GHz. By phase referencing to supernova 1993J we can accurately locate the emission region of M81* in the galaxy's reference frame. Although the emission region's size decreases with increasing frequency while the brightness peak moves to the southwest, the emission region seems sharply bounded to the southwest at all frequencies. We argue that the core must be located between the brightness peak at our highest frequency (14.8 GHz) and the sharp bound to the southwest. This narrowly constrains the location of the core, or the purported black hole in the center of the galaxy, to be within a region of +/-0.2 mas or +/-800 AU (at a distance of ~4 Mpc). This range includes the core position that we determined earlier by finding the most stationary point in the brightness distribution of M81* at only a single frequency. This independent constraint therefore strongly confirms our earlier core position. Our observations also confirm that M81* is a core-jet source, with a one-sided jet that extends to the northeast from the core, on average curved somewhat to the east, with a radio spectrum that is flat or inverted near the core and steep at the distant end. The brightness peak is unambiguously identified with the variable jet rather than the core, which indicates limitations in determining the proper motion of nearby galaxies and in refining the extragalactic reference frame.

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arXiv2004

Giant Pulses from PSR B1937+21 with widths <= 15 nanoseconds and T_b >= 5 x 10^39 K, the Highest Brightness Temperature Observed in the Universe

Giant radio pulses of the millisecond pulsar B1937+21 were recorded with the S2 VLBI system at 1.65 GHz with NASA/JPL's 70-m radio telescope at Tidbinbilla, Australia. These pulses have been observed as strong as 65000 Jy with widths <= 15 ns, corresponding to a brightness temperature T_b >= 5 x 10^39 K, the highest observed in the universe. The vast majority of these pulses occur in a 5.8 mcs and 8.2 mcs window at the very trailing edges of the regular main pulse and interpulse profiles, respectively. Giant pulses occur in general with a single spike. Only in one case out of 309 was the structure clearly more complex. The cumulative distribution is fit by a power law with index -1.40 +/- 0.01 with a low-energy but no high-energy cutoff. We estimate that giant pulses occur frequently but are only rarely detected. When corrected for the directivity factor, 25 giant pulses are estimated to be generated in one neutron star revolution alone. The intensities of the giant pulses of the main pulses and interpulses are not correlated with each other nor with the intensities or energies of the main pulses and interpulses themselves. Their radiation energy density can exceed 300 times the plasma energy density at the surface of the neutron star and can even exceed the magnetic field energy density at that surface. We therefore do not think that the generation of giant pulses is linked to the plasma mechanisms in the magnetosphere. Instead we suggest that it is directly related to discharges in the polar cap region of the pulsar.

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arXiv2003

SN 1993J VLBI (III): The Evolution of the Radio Shell

We present two sequences of VLBI images of SN1993J in M81, with 24 images at 8.4 GHz and 19 images at 5.0 GHz, These sequences, from 50 d to ~9 yr after shock breakout, show the evolution of the expanding radio shell of an exploded star in detail. The images are all phase-referenced to the stable reference point of the core of M81, allowing us to display them relative to the supernova explosion center. At 50 d, SN1993J is almost unresolved with a radius of 520 AU. The shell structure becomes discernible at 175 d. The brightness of the ridge of the projected shell is not uniform, but rather varies by a factor of two, having a distinct maximum to the south-east and a minimum to the west. Over the next ~350 d, this pattern appears to rotate counter-clockwise. After two years, the structure becomes more complex with hot spots developing in the east, south, and west. The pattern of modulation continues to change, and after five years the three hot spots have shifted somewhat. After nine years, the radio shell has expanded to a radius of 19,000 AU. The brightness in the center of the images is lower than expected for an optically thin, spherical shell. Absorption in the center is favored over a thinner shell in the back and/or front. Allowing for absorption, we find that the thickness of the shell is (25+/-3)% of its outer radius. We find no compact source in the central region and conclude that any pulsar nebula in the center of SN 1993J is either much fainter than the Crab or affected by remaining significant internal radio absorption.

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arXiv2003

VLBI imaging of the RS CVn binary star system HR 5110

We present VLBI images of the RS CVn binary star HR 5110 (=BH CVn; HD 118216), obtained from observations made at 8.4 GHz on 1994 May 29/30 in support of the NASA/Stanford Gravity Probe B project. Our images show an emission region with a core-halo morphology. The core was 0.39 +/- 0.09 mas (FWHM) in size, or 66% +/- 20% of the 0.6 +/- 0.1 mas diameter of the chromospherically active K subgiant star in the binary system. The halo was 1.95 +/- 0.22 mas (FWHM) in size, or 1.8 +/- 0.2 times the 1.1 +/- 0.1 mas separation of the centers of the K and F stars. The core increased significantly in brightness over the course of the observations and seems to have been the site of flare activity that generated an increase in the total flux density of ~200% in 12 hours. The fractional circular polarization simultaneously decreased from ~10% to 2.5%.

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arXiv2002

Pulsar microstructure and its quasi-periodicities with the S2 VLBI system at a resolution of 62.5 nanoseconds

We report on a study of microstructure and its quasi-periodicities of three pulsars at 1.65 GHz with the S2 VLBI system at a resolution of 62.5 ns, by far the highest for any such statistical study yet. For PSR B1929+10 we found in the average cross-correlation function (CCF) broad microstructure with a characteristic timescale of 95+-10 mcs and confirmed microstructure with characteristic timescales between 100 and 450 mcs for PSRs B0950+08 and B1133+16. On a finer scale PSRs B0950+08, B1133+16 (component II) and B1929+10 show narrow microstructure with a characteristic timescale in the CCFs of ~10 mcs, the shortest found in the average CCF or autocorrelation function (ACF) for any pulsar, apart perhaps for the Crab pulsar. Histograms of microstructure widths are skewed heavily toward shorter timescales but display a sharp cutoff. The shortest micropulses have widths between 2 and 7 mcs. No nanopulses or unresolved pulse spikes were detected. Cross-power spectra of single pulses show a large range of complexity with single spectral features representing classic quasi-periodicities and broad and overlapping features with essentially no periodicities at all. Significant differences were found for the two components of PSR B1133+16 in every aspect of our statistical analysis of micropulses and their quasi-periodicities. Asymmetries in the magnetosphere and the hollow cone of emission above the polar cap of the neutron star may be responsible for these differences.

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arXiv2002

SN 1986J VLBI. The Evolution and Deceleration of the Complex Source and a Search for a Pulsar Nebula

We report on VLBI observations of supernova 1986J in the spiral galaxy NGC 891 at two new epochs, 1990 July and 1999 February, t=7.4 and 15.9 yr after the explosion, and on a comprehensive analysis of these and earlier observations from t~4 yr after the explosion date, which we estimate to be 1983.2 +/- 1.1. The source is a shell or composite, and continues to show a complex morphology with large brightness modulations along the ridge and with protrusions. The supernova is moderately to strongly decelerated. The average outer radius expands as t^(0.71 +/- 0.11), and the expansion velocity has slowed to 6000 km/s at t=15.9 yr from an extrapolated 20,000 km/s at t=0.25 yr. The structure changes significantly with time, showing that the evolution is not self-similar. The shell structure is best visible at the latest epoch, when the protrusions have diminished somewhat in prominence and a new, compact component has appeared. The radio spectrum shows a clear inversion above 10 GHz. This might be related to a pulsar nebula becoming visible through the debris of the explosion. The radio flux density between 1.5 and 23 GHz decreases strongly with time, with the flux density proportional to t^(-2.94 +/- 0.24) between t~15 to 19 yr. This decrease is much more rapid than that found in earlier measurements up to t~6 yr.

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arXiv2001

SN1993J VLBI (I): The Center of the Explosion and a Limit on Anisotropic Expansion

Phase-referenced VLBI observations of supernova 1993J at 24 epochs, from 50 days after shock breakout to the present, allowed us to determine the coordinates of the explosion center relative to the quasi-stationary core of the host galaxy M81 with an accuracy of 45 micro-arcsec, and to determine the nominal proper motion of the geometric center of the radio shell with an accuracy of 9micro-arcsec/yr. The uncertainties correspond to 160 AU for the position and 160 km/s for the proper motion at the distance of the source of 3.63 Mpc. After correcting for the expected galactic proper motion of the supernova around the core of M81 using HI rotation curves, we obtain a peculiar proper motion of the radio shell center of only 320 +/- 160 km/s to the south, which limits any possible one-sided expansion of the shell. We also find that the shell is highly circular, the outer contours in fact being circular to within 3%. Combining our proper motion values with the degree of circular symmetry, we find that the expansion of the shockfront from the explosion center is isotropic to within 5.5% in the plane of the sky. This is a more fundamental result on isotropic expansion than can be derived from the circularity of the images alone. The brightness of the radio shell, however, varies along the ridge and systematically changes with time. The degree of isotropy in the expansion of the shockfront contrasts with the asymmetries and polarization found in optical spectral lines. Asymmetric density distributions in the ejecta or more likely in the circumstellar medium, are favored to reconcile the radio and optical results. We see no sign of any disk-like density distribution of the circumstellar material, with the average axis ratio of the radio shell of SN1993J being less than 1.04.

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