arXiv subjects

S. -K. Lee

Publications and source records attributed to S. -K. Lee.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

A luminous blue kilonova and an off-axis jet from a compact binary merger at z=0.1341

The recent discovery of a faint gamma-ray burst (GRB) coincident with the gravitational wave (GW) event GW 170817 revealed the existence of a population of low-luminosity short duration gamma-ray transients produced by neutron star mergers in the nearby Universe. These events could be routinely detected by existing gamma-ray monitors, yet previous observations failed to identify them without the aid of GW triggers. Here we show that GRB150101B was an analogue of GRB170817A located at a cosmological distance. GRB 150101B was a faint short duration GRB characterized by a bright optical counterpart and a long-lived X-ray afterglow. These properties are unusual for standard short GRBs and are instead consistent with an explosion viewed off-axis: the optical light is produced by a luminous kilonova component, while the observed X-rays trace the GRB afterglow viewed at an angle of ~13 degrees. Our findings suggest that these properties could be common among future electromagnetic counterparts of GW sources.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

The X-ray counterpart to the gravitational wave event GW 170817

A long-standing paradigm in astrophysics is that collisions- or mergers- of two neutron stars (NSs) form highly relativistic and collimated outflows (jets) powering gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) of short (< 2 s) duration. However, the observational support for this model is only indirect. A hitherto outstanding prediction is that gravitational wave (GW) events from such mergers should be associated with GRBs, and that a majority of these GRBs should be off-axis, that is, they should point away from the Earth. Here we report the discovery of the X-ray counterpart associated with the GW event GW170817. While the electromagnetic counterpart at optical and infrared frequencies is dominated by the radioactive glow from freshly synthesized r-process material in the merger ejecta, known as kilonova, observations at X-ray and, later, radio frequencies exhibit the behavior of a short GRB viewed off-axis. Our detection of X-ray emission at a location coincident with the kilonova transient provides the missing observational link between short GRBs and GWs from NS mergers, and gives independent confirmation of the collimated nature of the GRB emission.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Discovery of a Supercluster at $z\sim$0.91 and Testing the $Λ$CDM Cosmological Model

The $Λ$CDM cosmological model successfully reproduces many aspects of the galaxy and structure formation of the universe. However, the growth of large-scale structures (LSSs) in the early universe is not well tested yet with observational data. Here, we have utilized wide and deep optical--near-infrared data in order to search for distant galaxy clusters and superclusters ($0.8<z<1.2$). From the spectroscopic observation with the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) on the Magellan telescope, three massive clusters at $z\sim$0.91 are confirmed in the SSA22 field. Interestingly, all of them have similar redshifts within $Δz\sim$0.01 with velocity dispersions ranging from 470 to 1300 km s$^{-1}$. Moreover, as the maximum separation is $\sim$15 Mpc, they compose a supercluster at $z\sim$0.91, meaning that this is one of the most massive superclusters at this redshift to date. The galaxy density map implies that the confirmed clusters are embedded in a larger structure stretching over $\sim$100 Mpc. $Λ$CDM models predict about one supercluster like this in our surveyed volume, consistent with our finding so far. However, there are more supercluster candidates in this field, suggesting that additional studies are required to determine if the $Λ$CDM cosmological model can successfully reproduce the LSSs at high redshift.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Stellar masses from the CANDELS survey: the GOODS-South and UDS fields

We present the public release of the stellar mass catalogs for the GOODS-S and UDS fields obtained using some of the deepest near-IR images available, achieved as part of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) project. We combine the effort from ten different teams, who computed the stellar masses using the same photometry and the same redshifts. Each team adopted their preferred fitting code, assumptions, priors, and parameter grid. The combination of results using the same underlying stellar isochrones reduces the systematics associated with the fitting code and other choices. Thanks to the availability of different estimates, we can test the effect of some specific parameters and assumptions on the stellar mass estimate. The choice of the stellar isochrone library turns out to have the largest effect on the galaxy stellar mass estimates, resulting in the largest distributions around the median value (with a semi interquartile range larger than 0.1 dex). On the other hand, for most galaxies, the stellar mass estimates are relatively insensitive to the different parameterizations of the star formation history. The inclusion of nebular emission in the model spectra does not have a significant impact for the majority of galaxies (less than a factor of 2 for ~80% of the sample). Nevertheless, the stellar mass for the subsample of young galaxies (age < 100 Myr), especially in particular redshift ranges (e.g., 2.2 < z < 2.4, 3.2 < z < 3.6, and 5.5 < z < 6.5), can be seriously overestimated (by up to a factor of 10 for < 20 Myr sources) if nebular contribution is ignored.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2008

Spin noise at an arbitrary spin temperature

An ensemble of spins oriented along the $z$ direction exhibits nonzero fluctuation in the transverse ($x$- and $y$-) components of the spin angular momentum in accordance with the uncertainty principle. When the spins obey a spin temperature distribution, the mean square fluctuation in $S_{x}$ can be calculated by ensemble average of the expectation value of $S_{x}^{2}$ with respect to an equilibrium density matrix $ρ=e^{βS_{z}}/Z$. The fluctuation can also be calculated from the fluctuation-dissipation theorem as has been done in literature in the context of NMR spin noise. For spin 1/2 particles in the high temperature limit, appropriate for many NMR experiments, the two methods are known to produce the same, temperature-independent spin noise. We show that inclusion of the zero-point fluctuation term in the original Nyquist relation extends this correspondence to an arbitrary spin temperature for any spin $S$. This indicates that the uncertainty principle-limited spin projection noise can be viewed as a result of the zero-point fluctuation in the thermal bath coupled to the spins.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2007

Calculation of Magnetic Field Noise from High-Permeability Magnetic Shields and Conducting Objects with Simple Geometry

High-permeability magnetic shields generate magnetic field noise that can limit the sensitivity of modern precision measurements. We show that calculations based on the fluctuation-dissipation theorem allow quantitative evaluation of magnetic field noise, either from current or magnetization fluctuations, inside enclosures made of high-permeability materials. Explicit analytical formulas for the noise are derived for a few axially symmetric geometries, which are compared with results of numerical finite element analysis. Comparison is made between noises caused by current and magnetization fluctuations inside a high-permeability shield and also between current-fluctuation-induced noises inside magnetic and non-magnetic conducting shells. A simple model is suggested to predict power-law decay of noise spectra beyond quasi-static regime. Our results can be used to assess noise from existing shields and to guide design of new shields for precision measurements.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2007

A low-noise ferrite magnetic shield

Ferrite materials provide magnetic shielding performance similar to commonly used high permeability metals but have lower intrinsic magnetic noise generated by thermal Johnson currents due to their high electrical resistivity. Measurements inside a ferrite shield with a spin-exchange relaxation-free atomic magnetometer reveal a noise level of 0.75 fT Hz^(-1/2), 25 times lower than what would be expected in a comparable mu-metal shield. The authors identify a 1/f component of the magnetic noise due to magnetization fluctuations and derive general relationships for the Johnson current noise and magnetization noise in cylindrical ferromagnetic shields in terms of their conductivity and complex magnetic permeability.

physics.atom-ph↗