arXiv subjects

Nissim Fraija

Publications and source records attributed to Nissim Fraija.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

The early afterglow and magnetized ejecta present in GRB 110731A

One of the most energetic gamma-ray bursts GRB 110731A, was observed from optical to GeV energy range by Fermi and Swift Observatories, and by the MOA and GROND optical telescopes. The multiwavelength observations over different epochs (from trigger time to more than 800 s) showed that the spectral energy distribution was better fitted by a wind afterglow model. We present a leptonic model based on an early afterglow that evolves in a stellar wind to describe the multiwavelength light curves observations. In particular, the origin of the LAT emission is explained through the superposition of synchrotron radiation from the forward shock and synchrotron self-Compton emission from the reverse shock. The bulk Lorentz factor required in this model is $Γ\simeq520$ and the result suggests that the ejecta must be magnetized.

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arXiv2015

Flaring activity of Mrk 421 in 2012 and 2013: orphan flare and multiwavelength analysis

The first one started in 2012 July 16 (MJD 56124) and the second one in 2013 April 9 (MJD 56391). The multiwavelength data analysis shows that the $γ$-ray flare observed in 2012 was not detected in the hard-X ray bands. This result is usually interpreted as an "orphan" flare. In 2013, the analysis of the multiwavelength light curves shows that there are two very bright states detected in the optical R-band. The first one in 2013 April 9 (R =11.74 $\pm$ 0.04) and the second one in May 12 (R =11.62 $\pm$ 0.04). Also, high activity states were detected in the soft and hard X-rays. A discrete correlation function analysis of this last flare shows a strong correlation between the GeV $γ$-rays and the optical/hard-X ray emission. These results are discussed in terms of the more adequate standard scenarios that could explain the multiwavelength variations displayed by this blazar.

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arXiv2015

Reviewing the case of the atypical central-engine activity in GRB 110709B

The unusual GRB 110709B triggered Swift/BAT twice, with a time difference of $\sim 11$ minutes. Its light curve presented three noticeable peaks but only two were originally identified. In this work, we describe each peak as due to a different central-engine phase: the first one is the millisecond-protomagnetar stage, the second one is the BH-formation collapse phase and the last one is the Collapsar scenario with a Blandford-Znajek engine. Additionally, we analyze and explain the afterglow phase evoking the standard fireball model. Our model can successfully describe the timescales, fluxes and spectral indices observed for GRB 110709B.

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arXiv2015

Three-Peak GRBs and Their Implications for Central Engines

GRB 110709B presented a peculiar three-peak lightcurve; this burst twice triggered the BAT detector onboard Swift. The two triggers were separated by $\sim 10$ minutes. In order to explain such an event, we unify into a single description the millisecond (ms) protomagnetar and the collapsar central-engine models. We find that such a scenario could produce GRBs with three peaks. One for the ms-protomagnetar stage, a second one for the BH-formation event and a third one for the collapsar phase. We show that the three peaks for GRB 110709B originate from different phases of the same collapsing object. We estimate the energies and timescales of the different episodes of this burst using our model and compare with previous results as well as with a reanalysis we perform on the data. We show that not only the light curve, but also the photon index evolution and the delay between the prompt emission and the afterglow of the second central-engine activity phase point towards a model like the one proposed here. We find that, with reasonable assumptions, our model correctly describes the activity in GRB 110709B. We further suggest careful study of future GRBs lightcurves which may help show the validity of our model. If our model is correct, this would be the first time that the formation of a BH from a core-collapse event is observed unimpededly.

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arXiv2015

Hypercritical accretion phase and neutrino expectation in the evolution of Cassiopeia A

Cassiopeia A the youngest supernova remnant known in the Milky Way is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky and a unique laboratory for supernova physics. Although its compact remnant was discovered in 1999 by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, nowadays it is widely accepted that a neutron star lies in the center of this supernova remnant. In addition, new observations suggest that such neutron star with a low magnetic field and evidence of a carbon atmosphere could have suffered a hypercritical accretion phase seconds after the explosion. Considering this hypercritical accretion episode, we compute the neutrino cooling effect, the number of events and neutrino flavor ratios expected on Hyper-Kamiokande Experiment. The neutrino cooling effect (the emissivity and luminosity of neutrinos) is obtained through numerical simulations performed in a customized version of the FLASH code. Based on these simulations, we forecast that the number of events expected on the Hyper-Kamiokande Experiment is around 3195. Similarly, we estimate the neutrino flavor ratios to be detected considering the neutrino effective potential due to the thermal and magnetized plasma and thanks to the envelope of the star. It is worth noting that our estimates correspond to the only trustworthy method for verifying the hypercritical phase and although this episode took place 330 years ago, at present supernova remnants with these similarities might occur thus confirming our predictions for this phase.

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arXiv2015

Could a plasma in quasi-thermal equilibrium be associated to the "orphan" TeV flares ?

TeV $γ$-ray detections in flaring states without activity in X-rays from blazars have attracted much attention due to the irregularity of these "orphan" flares. Although the synchrotron self-Compton model has been very successful in explaining the spectral energy distribution and spectral variability of these sources, it has not been able to describe these atypical flaring events. On the other hand, an electron-positron pair plasma at the base of the AGN jet was proposed as the mechanism of bulk acceleration of relativistic outflows. This plasma in quasi-themal equilibrium called Wein fireball emits radiation at MeV-peak energies serving as target of accelerated protons. In this work we describe the "orphan" TeV flares presented in blazars 1ES 1959+650 and Mrk421 assuming geometrical considerations in the jet and evoking the interactions of Fermi-accelerated protons and MeV-peak target photons coming from the Wein fireball. After describing successfully these "orphan" TeV flares, we correlate the TeV $γ$-ray, neutrino and UHECR fluxes through p$γ$ interactions and calculate the number of high-energy neutrinos and UHECRs expected in IceCube/AMANDA and TA experiment, respectively. In addition, thermal MeV neutrinos produced mainly through electron-positron annihilation at the Wein fireball will be able to propagate through it. By considering two- (solar, atmospheric and accelerator parameters) and three-neutrino mixing, we study the resonant oscillations and estimate the neutrino flavor ratios as well as the number of thermal neutrinos expected on Earth.

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arXiv2015

TeV $γ$-ray fluxes from the long campaigns on Mrk421 as constraints on the emission of TeV-PeV Neutrinos and UHECRs

Long TeV $γ$-ray campaigns have been carried out to study the spectrum, variability and duty cycle of the BL Lac object Markarian 421. These campaigns have given some evidence of the presence of protons in the jet: i) Its spectral energy distribution which shows two main peaks; one at low energies ($\sim$ 1 keV) and the other at high energies (hundreds of GeV), has been described by using synchrotron proton blazar model. ii) The study of the variability at GeV $γ$-rays and X-rays has indicated no significant correlation. iii) TeV $γ$-ray detections without activity in X-rays, called "orphan flares" have been observed in this object.\\ Recently, The Telescope Array Collaboration reported the arrival of 72 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with some of them possibly related to the direction of Markarian 421. The IceCube Collaboration reported the detection of 37 extraterrestrial neutrinos in the TeV - PeV energy range collected during three consecutive years. In particular, no neutrino track events were associated with this source. In this paper, we consider the proton-photon interactions to correlate the TeV $γ$-ray fluxes reported by long campaigns with the neutrino and ultra-high-energy cosmic ray observations around this blazar. Considering the results reported by The IceCube and Telescope Array Collaborations, we found that only from $\sim$ 25\% to 70\% of TeV fluxes described with a power law function with exponential cutoff can come from the proton-photon interactions.

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arXiv2015

Resonant oscillations of GeV - TeV neutrinos in internal shocks from gamma-ray burst jets inside the stars

High-energy neutrinos generated in collimated jets inside the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been related with the events detected by IceCube. These neutrinos, produced by hadronic interactions of Fermi-accelerated protons with thermal photons and hadrons in internal shocks, are the only signature when jet has not broken out or failed. Taking into account that the photon field is thermalized at keV energies and the standard assumption that the magnetic field maintains a steady value throughout the shock region (with a width of $10^{10} - 10^{11}$ cm in the observed frame), we study the effect of thermal and magnetized plasma generated in internal shocks on the neutrino oscillations. We calculate the neutrino effective potential generated by this plasma, the effects of the envelope of the star, and the vacuum on the path to Earth. By considering these three effects, the two (solar, atmospheric and accelerator parameters) and three neutrino mixing, we show that although GeV - TeV neutrinos can oscillate resonantly from one flavor to another, a nonsignificant deviation of the standard flavor ratio (1:1:1) could be expected on Earth.

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arXiv2015

GRB 110731A: Early afterglow in stellar wind powered by a magnetized outflow

One of the most energetic gamma-ray burst GRB 110731A was observed from optical to GeV energy range. Previous analysis on the prompt phase revealed similarities with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) bursts observed by Fermi: i) a delayed onset of the high-energy emission ($> 100$ MeV), ii) a short-lasting bright peak at later times and iii) a temporally extended component from this phase and lasting hundreds of seconds. Additionally to the prompt phase, multiwavelength observations over different epochs showed that the spectral energy distribution was better fitted by a wind afterglow model. We present a leptonic model based on an early afterglow that evolves in a stellar wind of its progenitor. We apply this model to interpret the temporally extended LAT emission and the brightest LAT peak exhibited by the prompt phase of GRB 110731A. Additionally, using the same set of parameters, we describe the multiwavelength afterglow observations. The origin of the temporally extended LAT, X-ray and optical flux is explained through synchrotron radiation from the forward shock and the brightest LAT peak is described evoking the synchrotron self-Compton emission from the reverse shock. The bulk Lorentz factor required in this model ($Γ\simeq520$) lies in the range of values demanded for most LAT-detected gamma-ray bursts. We show that the strength of the magnetic field in the reverse-shock region is $\sim$ 50 times stronger than in the forward-shock region. This result suggests that for GRB 110731A, the central engine is likely entrained with strong magnetic fields.

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arXiv2014

Scientific Verification of the High Altitude Water Cherenkov observatory

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is a TeV gamma-ray and cosmic-ray detector currently under construction at an altitude of 4100 m close to volcano Sierra Negra in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The HAWC observatory is an extensive air-shower array comprised of 300 optically-isolated water Cherenkov detectors (WCDs). Each WCD contains $\sim$200,000 liters of filtered water and four upward-facing photomultiplier tubes. In Fall 2014, when the HAWC observatory will reach an area of 22,000 m$^{2}$, the sensitivity will be 15 times higher than its predecessor Milagro. Since September 2012, more than 30 WCDs have been instrumented and taking data. This first commissioning phase has been crucial for the verification of the data acquisition and event reconstruction algorithms. Moreover, with the increasing number of instrumented WCDs, it is important to verify the data taken with different configuration geometries. In this work we present a comparison between Monte Carlo simulation and data recorded by the experiment during 24 hours of live time between 14 and 15 April of 2013 when 29 WCDs were active.

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arXiv2014

Signatures of Neutrino Cooling in the SN1987A Scenario

The neutrino signal from SN1987A confirmed the core-collapse scenario and the possible formation of a neutron star. Although this compact object has eluded all observations, theoretical and numerical developments have allowed a glimpse of the fate of it. In particular, a hypercritical accretion model has been proposed to forecast the accretion of $\sim 0.15 \:\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ in two hours and the subsequent submergence of the magnetic field in the newborn neutron star. In this paper, we revisit the Chevalier's model in a numerical framework, focusing on the neutrino cooling effect on the supernova fall-back dynamics. For that, using a customized version of the FLASH code, we carry out numerical simulations of the accretion of matter onto the newborn neutron star in order to estimate the size of the neutrino-sphere, the emissivity and luminosity of neutrinos. As a signature of this phase, we estimate the neutrinos expected on SK neutrino experiment and their flavor ratios. This is academically important because, although currently it was very difficult to detect 1.46 thermal neutrinos and their oscillations, these fingerprints are the only viable and reliable way to confirm the hypercritical phase. Perhaps new techniques for detecting neutrino oscillations arise in the near future allowing us to confirm our estimates.

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arXiv2014

Propagation and neutrino oscillations in the base of a highly magnetized gamma-ray burst fireball flow

Neutrons play an important role in the dynamics of gamma-ray bursts. The presence of neutrons in the baryon-loaded fireball is expected. If the neutrons abundance is comparable to that of protons, important features may be observed such as quasi-thermal multi-GeV neutrinos in coincidence with a subphotospheric $γ$-ray emission, nucleosynthesis at later times and rebrightening of the afterglow emission. Additionally, thermal MeV neutrinos are created by electron-positron annihilation, electron (positron) capture on protons (neutrons) and nucleonic bremsstrahlung. Although MeV neutrinos are difficult to detect, quasi-thermal GeV neutrinos are expected in km$^3$ detectors and/or DeepCore+IceCube. In this paper, we show that neutrino oscillations have outstanding implications for the dynamics of the fireball evolution and also that they can be detected through their flavor ratio on Earth. For that we derive the resonance and charged-neutrality conditions as well as the neutrino self-energy and effective potential up to order $m_W^{-4}$ at strong, moderate and weak magnetic field approximation to constrain the dynamics of the fireball. We found important implications: i) resonant oscillations are suppressed for high baryon densities as well as neutrons abundance larger than that of protons and ii) the effect of magnetic field is to decrease the proton-to-neutron ratio aside from the number of multi-GeV neutrinos expected in DeepCore detector. Also we estimate the GeV neutrino flavor ratios along the jet and on Earth.

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arXiv2014

Gamma-ray fluxes from the core emission of Centaurus A: A puzzle solved

A high-energy component in the radio galaxy Centaurus A was reported after analyzing four years of Fermi data. The spectrum of this component is described by means of a broken power law with a break energy of 4 GeV and, below and above spectral indices of $α_1$=2.74$\pm$0.03 and $α_2$=2.09$\pm$0.20, respectively. Also a faint $γ$-ray flux at TeV energies was detected by H.E.S.S.. In this paper we show that the spectrum at GeV-TeV energies is described through synchrotron self-Compton emission up to a few GeV ($\sim$ 4 GeV) and $π^0$ decay products up to TeV energies, although the emission of synchrotron radiation by muons could contribute to the spectrum at GeV energies, if they are rapidly accelerated. Muons and $π^0$s are generated in the interactions of accelerated protons with two populations of seed photons which were reported by Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory: one population at intermediate state emission with energy peak of 0.15 MeV and another at low state emission with energy peak of 0.59 MeV. In addition, we show that the reported observations of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and non high-energy neutrino detection around Centaurus A can be explained through these interactions, assuming that proton spectrum is extended up to ultra-high-energies.

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arXiv2014

Neutrino Oscillation from Hidden GRB Jets

Collapsars are the likely progenitors of Long Gamma-Ray Burst (lGRBs). lGRBs have been observed to last for thousands to tens of thousands of seconds, thus making unlikely the neutrino-driven engine as the main mechanism for driving the jets. In this context, the Blandford-Znajek mechanism seems likely to explain the production of rotational-axis directed jets without the need for large accretion rates. These engines, require magnetic fields between $10^{12}$ G $< B < 10^{15}$ G threading the innerdisk, Kerr-BH region to exist. We derive the neutrino self-energy and the effective potential up to O(1/$M_W^4$) in a weakly and highly magnetized GRB fireball flow which is made up of electrons, protons, neutrons and their anti-particles. We consider neutrino energies of 1-100 MeV which are produced during stellar collapse, merger events or in the fireball itself by electron-positron annihilation, inverse beta decay and nucleonic bremsstrahlung processes. Many of these neutrinos propagate through the fireball and may oscillate resonantly. Using two-neutrino mixing we study the possibility of these oscillations.

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arXiv2014

Neutrino Oscillation from Magnetized Strange Stars

Strange-quark matter (SQM) is a likely candidate of the ground state of nuclear matter. Along with many other equations of state (EoSs), SQM seemed to be severely constrained by the recent discoveries of the 1.97 $M_\odot$ PSR J1614-2230 and the 2.01 $M_\odot$ PSR J0348+0432. However with new, $O(α_c^2)$, perturbative calculations, SQM seems to be able to accommodate masses as large as $\sim 2.75 M_\odot$. The literature of SQM stars or strange stars includes estimates of internal magnetic fields as large as $10^{20}$ G, which are unlikely to be formed as they would require $\sim 10^{57}$ erg to be produced. Nonetheless, if strange stars may hold magnetar-strength fields ($10^{15}$ G), their internal fields are likely to reach magnetic fields as large as $10^{17}$ G. We consider neutrinos with energies of some MeV and oscillation parameters from solar, atmospheric and accelerator experiments. We study the possibility of resonant oscillation of neutrinos in strange stars.

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arXiv2014

Neutrino Oscillation as a constraint in the dynamics of Pop III Gamma Ray Bursts

Population III stars are believed to be rapidly-rotating sources with a mass range of hundreds to thousand of solar masses. Masses larger than 260 M$_\odot$ are expected to collapse resulting in central rotating Kerr black holes with large rotation parameter a. Due to particle-antiparticle asymmetry is small, we use the neutrino effective potential up to order $1/M_W^4$ in a magnetized plasma at the base of the ejecta to constrain the rotation parameter by means of neutrino oscillations. Additionally, we investigate the implications in the magnetic field, temperature and electron asymmetry.

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arXiv2013

Correlation of $γ$-ray and high-energy cosmic ray fluxes from the giant lobes of Centaurus A

The spectral energy distribution of giant lobes shows one main peak detected by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe at low energy of $10^{-5}$ eV and a faint $γ$-ray flux imaged by Fermi Large Area Telescope at energy $\geq$ 100 MeV. On the other hand, Pierre Auger Observatory associated some ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with the direction of Centaurus A and IceCube reported 28 neutrino-induced events in a TeV - PeV energy range, although none of them related with this direction. In this work we describe the spectra for each of the lobes, the main peak with synchrotron radiation, and the high-energy emission with $pp$ interactions. Obtaining a good description of the main peak, we deduce the magnetic fields, electron densities and the age of the lobes. Describing successfully the $γ$-ray emission by pp interactions and considering as targets those thermal particles in the lobes with density in the range $10^{-10}$ to $10^{-4}\, {\rm cm}^{-3}$, we calculate the number of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Although $γ$-spectrum is well described with any density in the range, only when $10^{-4}\, {\rm cm}^{-3}$ is considered, the expected number of events is very similar to that observed by Pierre Auger Observatory, otherwise we obtain an excessive luminosity. In addition, correlating the $γ$-ray and neutrino fluxes through pp interactions we calculate the number of high-energy neutrinos expected in IceCube. Our analysis indicates that neutrinos above 1 TeV cannot be produced in the lobes of Centaurus A, which is consistent with the results recently published by IceCube Collaboration.

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arXiv2013

GeV - PeV Neutrino Production and Oscillation in hidden jets from GRBs

Long gamma-ray bursts have been widely associated with collapsing massive stars in the framework of collapsar model. High-energy neutrinos and photons can be produced in the internal shocks of middle relativistic jets from core-collapse supernova. Although photons can hardly escape, high-energy neutrinos could be the only signature when the jets are hidden. We show that using suitable parameters, high-energy neutrinos in GeV - PeV range can be produced in the hidden jet inside the collapsar, thus demonstrating that these objects are candidates to produce neutrinos with energies between 1 - 10 PeV which were observed with IceCube. On the other hand, due to matter effects, high-energy neutrinos may oscillate resonantly from one flavor to another before leaving the star. Using two (solar, atmospheric and accelerator parameters) and three neutrino mixing, we study the possibility of resonant oscillation for these neutrinos created in internal shocks. Also we compute the probabilities of neutrino oscillations in the matter at different distances along the jet (before leaving the star) and after in vacuum, on their path to Earth. Finally, neutrino flavor ratios on Earth are estimated.

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