arXiv subjects

P. -H. T. Tam

Publications and source records attributed to P. -H. T. Tam.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Evidence of the gamma-ray counterpart from nova FM Cir with Fermi-LAT

We report the analysis results of X-ray and gamma-ray data of the nova FM Cir taken by Swift and Fermi-LAT. The gamma-ray emission from FM Cir can be identified with a significance level of 3sigma within 40 days after the nova eruption (2018 January 19) while we bin the light curve per day. The significance can further exceed 4 sigma confidence level if we accumulate longer time (i.e., 20 days) to bin the light curve. The gamma-ray counterpart could be identified with a Test Statistic (TS) above 4 until 180 days after the eruption. The duration of the gamma-ray detection was longer than those reported in the previous studies of the other novae detected in the GeV range. The significant X-ray emission was observed after the gamma-ray flux level fell below the sensitivity of Fermi-LAT. The hardness ratio of the X-ray emission decreased rapidly with time, and the spectra were dominated by blackbody radiation from the hot white dwarf. Except for the longer duration of the gamma-ray emission, the multi-wavelength properties of FM Cir closely resemble those of other novae detected in the GeV range.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

An Investigation of the state changes of PSR J2021+4026 and the Vela pulsar

We investigate the high energy emission activities of two bright gamma-ray pulsars, PSR~J2021+4026 and Vela. For PSR~J2021+4026, the state changes in the gamma-ray flux and spin-down rate have been observed. We report that the long-term evolution of the gamma-ray flux and timing behavior of PSR~J2021+4026 suggests a new gamma-ray flux recovery at around MJD~58910 and a flux decrease around MJD~59500. During this epoch, the staying time, the gamma-ray flux difference and spin-down rate are smaller than previous epochs in the same state. The waiting timescale of the quasi-periodic state changes is similar to the waiting timescale of the glitch events of the Vela pulsar. For the Vela pulsar, the quench of the radio pulse was in a timescale of $\sim0.2$~s after the 2016 glitch, and the glitch may disturb the structure of the magnetosphere. Nevertheless, we did not find any evidence for a long-term change in the gamma-ray emission properties using years of $Fermi$-LAT data, and therefore, no long-term magnetosphere structural change. We also conduct searching for photons above 100~GeV using 15-year $Fermi$-LAT data, and found none. Our results provide additional information for the relation between the state change of the gamma-ray emission and the glitch event.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Transition from Fireball to Poynting-flux-dominated Outflow in Three-Episode GRB 160625B

The ejecta composition is an open question in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) physics. Some GRBs possess a quasi-thermal spectral component in the time-resolved spectral analysis, suggesting a hot fireball origin. Others show a featureless non-thermal spectrum known as the "Band" function, consistent with a synchrotron radiation origin and suggesting that the jet is Poynting-flux-dominated at the central engine and likely in the emission region as well. There are also bursts showing a sub-dominant thermal component and a dominant synchrotron component suggesting a likely hybrid jet composition. Here we report an extraordinarily bright GRB 160625B, simultaneously observed in gamma-rays and optical wavelengths, whose prompt emission consists of three isolated episodes separated by long quiescent intervals, with the durations of each "sub-burst" being $\sim$ 0.8 s, 35 s, and 212 s, respectively. Its high brightness (with isotropic peak luminosity L$_{\rm p, iso}\sim 4\times 10^{53}$ erg/s) allows us to conduct detailed time-resolved spectral analysis in each episode, from precursor to main burst and to extended emission. The spectral properties of the first two sub-bursts are distinctly different, allowing us to observe the transition from thermal to non-thermal radiation between well-separated emission episodes within a single GRB. Such a transition is a clear indication of the change of jet composition from a fireball to a Poynting-flux-dominated jet.

astro-ph.HE↗