arXiv subjects

Sarah Burke-Spolaor

Publications and source records attributed to Sarah Burke-Spolaor.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Astro2020 science white paper: The gravitational wave view of massive black holes

Coalescing, massive black-hole (MBH) binaries are the most powerful sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the Universe, which makes MBH science a prime focus for ongoing and upcoming GW observatories. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) -- a gigameter scale space-based GW observatory -- will grant us access to an immense cosmological volume, revealing MBHs merging when the first cosmic structures assembled in the Dark Ages. LISA will unveil the yet unknown origin of the first quasars, and detect the teeming population of MBHs of $10^4 - 10^7$ solar masses. forming within protogalactic halos. The Pulsar Timing Array, a galactic-scale GW survey, can access the largest MBHs the Universe, detecting the cosmic GW foreground from inspiraling MBH binaries of about 10^9 solar masses. LISA can measure MBH spins and masses with precision far exceeding that from electromagnetic (EM) probes, and together, both GW observatories will provide the first full census of binary MBHs, and their orbital dynamics, across cosmic time. Detecting the loud gravitational signal of these MBH binaries will also trigger alerts for EM counterpart searches, from decades (PTAs) to hours (LISA) prior to the final merger. By witnessing both the GW and EM signals of MBH mergers, precious information will be gathered about the rich and complex environment in the aftermath of a galaxy collision. The unique GW characterization of MBHs will shed light on the deep link between MBHs of $10^4-10^{10}$ solar masses and the grand design of galaxy assembly, as well as on the complex dynamics that drive MBHs to coalescence.

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arXiv2019

Fast Radio Burst Tomography of the Unseen Universe

The discovery of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) at cosmological distances has opened a powerful window on otherwise unseen matter in the Universe. In the 2020s, observations of $>10^{4}$ FRBs will assess the baryon contents and physical conditions in the hot/diffuse circumgalactic, intracluster, and intergalactic medium, and test extant compact-object dark matter models.

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arXiv2019

Multi-Messenger Astronomy with Extremely Large Telescopes

The field of time-domain astrophysics has entered the era of Multi-messenger Astronomy (MMA). One key science goal for the next decade (and beyond) will be to characterize gravitational wave (GW) and neutrino sources using the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). These studies will have a broad impact across astrophysics, informing our knowledge of the production and enrichment history of the heaviest chemical elements, constrain the dense matter equation of state, provide independent constraints on cosmology, increase our understanding of particle acceleration in shocks and jets, and study the lives of black holes in the universe. Future GW detectors will greatly improve their sensitivity during the coming decade, as will near-infrared telescopes capable of independently finding kilonovae from neutron star mergers. However, the electromagnetic counterparts to high-frequency (LIGO/Virgo band) GW sources will be distant and faint and thus demand ELT capabilities for characterization. ELTs will be important and necessary contributors to an advanced and complete multi-messenger network.

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arXiv2019

Investigating the Candidate Displaced Active Galactic Nucleus in NGC 3115

The nearby galaxy NGC 3115 contains a known radio-emitting, low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN), and was recently claimed to host a candidate AGN displaced 14.3 pc from the galaxy's optical photocenter. Our goal is to understand whether this represents a single offset AGN, an AGN in orbit around a central black hole, or something else. We present a new, sensitive (RMS = 4.4 $μ$Jy beam$^{-1}$) 10 GHz image, which finds evidence for only one AGN. We place a stringent limit on the radio luminosity of any secondary supermassive black hole of $L_{10~\rm{GHz}}<5.8\times10^{33}$ ergs/s. An analysis of the relative positioning of the radio core, X-ray nucleus, and stellar bulge in this galaxy indicate that the radio source is centrally located, and not offset from the galactic bulge. This provides an argument against a single offset AGN in NGC 3115, however does not provide conclusive evidence against the purported offset AGN as an in-spiralling secondary black hole.

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arXiv2019

Constraints on the HI Mass of NGC 1052-DF2

We report deep, single-dish 21 cm observations of NGC 1052-DF2, taken with the Green Bank Telescope. NGC 1052-DF2, proposed to be lacking in dark matter, is currently classified as an ultra-diffuse galaxy in the NGC 1052 group. We do not detect the galaxy, and derive an upper limit on the HI, mass. The galaxy is extremely gas-poor, and we find that a $3σ\, M_{HI}$ detection at a distance of 19 Mpc and using a line width of 3.2 km $\rm s^{-1}$ would have an upper limit of $M_{HI,lim} < 5.5 \times 10^5$ M$_{\odot}$. At this mass limit, the gas fraction of neutral gas mass to stellar mass is extremely low, at $M_{HI}$/M$_{*}$ $\, < \, 0.0027$. This extremely low gas fraction, comparable to Galactic dwarf spheroidals and gas-poor dwarf ellipticals, implies that either the galaxy is within the virial radius of NGC1052, where its gas has been stripped due to its proximity to the central galaxy, or that NGC 1052-DF2 is at distance large enough to inhibit detection of its gas. We also estimated the upper limit of the HI mass of NGC 1052-DF2 resided at 13 Mpc. This would give an HI mass of $M_{HI,lim} < 2.5 \times 10^5$ M$_{\odot}$, and an HI gas fraction of $M_{HI}$/M$_{*}$r $\, < \, 0.0012$, becoming even more extreme. While the dark matter fraction would be less extreme at this distance, the neutral gas fraction would be unprecedented for an object in a low density environment.

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arXiv2018

Multiple messengers of fast radio bursts

We review the potential information that can be gleaned from multi-wavelength and multi-messenger detections of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). The primary function of such detections, following FRB localization, will be to reveal the progenitors of FRB events. However, these observations serve a more basic function in host galaxy identification, subsequent redshift measurement, and in disentangling the contributions of various line-of-sight contributions to properties of FRBs measured at radio wavelengths.

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arXiv2018

Science with an ngVLA: Offset Active Galactic Nuclei

Gravitational-wave (GW) and gravitational slingshot recoil kicks, which are natural products of SMBH evolution in merging galaxies, can produce active galactic "nuclei" that are offset from the centers of their host galaxies. Detections of offset AGN would provide key constraints on SMBH binary mass and spin evolution and on GW event rates. Although numerous offset AGN candidates have been identified, none have been definitively confirmed. The ngVLA offers unparalleled capabilities to identify and confirm candidate offset AGN from sub-parsec to kiloparsec scales, opening a new avenue for multi-messenger studies in the dawn of low-frequency GW astronomy.

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arXiv2018

The Next-Generation Very Large Array: Supermassive Black Hole Pairs and Binaries

The Next-Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) has the potential to be a workhorse for the discovery and study of paired supermassive black holes either at large separations (dual) or in tightly bound systems (binary). In this chapter, we outline the science case for the study of these supermassive pairs, and summarize discovery methods that can be used at radio wavelengths to discover them: including morphological, spectral, and time-domain identifications. One critical aspect of this work is that multi-messenger binary black hole studies may be possible with the ngVLA when combined with gravitational-wave searches using pulsar timing array techniques. However, long-baseline interferometery (>>1000 km) will make this possibility more likely by expanding the redshift range at which radio emission arising from two separate black holes may be resolved and studied.

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arXiv2018

Multi-Messenger Astrophysics: Harnessing the Data Revolution

The past year has witnessed discovery of the first identified counterparts to a gravitational wave transient (GW 170817A) and a very high-energy neutrino (IceCube-170922A). These source identifications, and ensuing detailed studies, have realized longstanding dreams of astronomers and physicists to routinely carry out observations of cosmic sources by other than electromagnetic means, and inaugurated the era of "multi-messenger" astronomy. While this new era promises extraordinary physical insights into the universe, it brings with it new challenges, including: highly heterogeneous, high-volume, high-velocity datasets; globe-spanning cross-disciplinary teams of researchers, regularly brought together into transient collaborations; an extraordinary breadth and depth of domain-specific knowledge and computing resources required to anticipate, model, and interpret observations; and the routine need for adaptive, distributed, rapid-response observing campaigns to fully exploit the scientific potential of each source. We argue, therefore, that the time is ripe for the community to conceive and propose an Institute for Multi-Messenger Astrophysics that would coordinate its resources in a sustained and strategic fashion to efficiently address these challenges, while simultaneously serving as a center for education and key supporting activities. In this fashion, we can prepare now to realize the bright future that we see, beyond, through these newly opened windows onto the universe.

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arXiv2018

The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: High-precision timing of 45 Millisecond Pulsars

We present high-precision timing data over time spans of up to 11 years for 45 millisecond pulsars observed as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project, aimed at detecting and characterizing low-frequency gravitational waves. The pulsars were observed with the Arecibo Observatory and/or the Green Bank Telescope at frequencies ranging from 327 MHz to 2.3 GHz. Most pulsars were observed with approximately monthly cadence, with six high--timing-precision pulsars observed weekly, and all were observed at widely separated frequencies at each observing epoch in order to fit for time-variable dispersion delays. We describe our methods for data processing, time-of-arrival (TOA) calculation, and the implementation of a new, automated method for removing outlier TOAs. We fit a timing model for each pulsar that includes spin, astrometric, and, if necessary, binary parameters, in addition to time-variable dispersion delays and parameters that quantify pulse-profile evolution with frequency. The new timing solutions provide three new parallax measurements, two new Shapiro delay measurements, and two new measurements of large orbital-period variations. We fit models that characterize sources of noise for each pulsar. We find that 11 pulsars show significant red noise, with generally smaller spectral indices than typically measured for non-recycled pulsars, possibly suggesting a different origin. Future papers will use these data to constrain or detect the signatures of gravitational-wave signals.

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arXiv2017

VOEvent Standard for Fast Radio Bursts

Fast radio bursts are a new class of transient radio phenomena currently detected as millisecond radio pulses with very high dispersion measures. As new radio surveys begin searching for FRBs a large population is expected to be detected in real-time, triggering a range of multi-wavelength and multi-messenger telescopes to search for repeating bursts and/or associated emission. Here we propose a method for disseminating FRB triggers using Virtual Observatory Events (VOEvents). This format was developed and is used successfully for transient alerts across the electromagnetic spectrum and for multi-messenger signals such as gravitational waves. In this paper we outline a proposed VOEvent standard for FRBs that includes the essential parameters of the event and where these parameters should be specified within the structure of the event. An additional advantage to the use of VOEvents for FRBs is that the events can automatically be ingested into the FRB Catalogue (FRBCAT) enabling real-time updates for public use. We welcome feedback from the community on the proposed standard outlined below and encourage those interested to join the nascent working group forming around this topic.

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arXiv2017

A Radio Relic and a Search for the Central Black Hole in the Abell 2261 Brightest Cluster Galaxy

We present VLA images and HST/STIS spectra of sources within the center of the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in Abell 2261. These observations were obtained to test the hypothesis that its extremely large, flat core reflects the ejection of its supermassive black hole. Spectra of three of the four most luminous "knots" embedded in the core were taken to test whether one may represent stars bound to a displaced massive black hole. The three knots have radial velocity offsets dV < ~150 km/s from the BCG. Knots 2 and 3 show kinematics, colors, and stellar masses consistent with infalling low-mass galaxies or larger stripped cluster members. Large errors in the stellar velocity dispersion of Knot 1, however, mean that we cannot rule out the hypothesis that it hosts a high-mass black hole. A2261-BCG has a compact, relic radio-source offset by 6.5 kpc (projected) from the optical core's center, but no active radio core that would pinpoint the galaxy's central black hole to a tight 10 GHz flux limit <3.6 uJy. Its spectrum and morphology are suggestive of an active galactic nucleus that switched off >48 Myr ago, with an equipartition condition magnetic field of 15 uG. These observations are still consistent with the hypothesis that the nuclear black hole has been ejected from its core, but the critical task of locating the supermassive black hole or demonstrating that A2261-BCG lacks one remains to be done.

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arXiv2017

The Local Nanohertz Gravitational-Wave Landscape From Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) in the 10 million to 10 billion $M_\odot$ range form in galaxy mergers, and live in galactic nuclei with large and poorly constrained concentrations of gas and stars. There are currently no observations of merging SMBHBs--- it is in fact possible that they stall at their final parsec of separation and never merge. While LIGO has detected high frequency GWs, SMBHBs emit GWs in the nanohertz to millihertz band. This is inaccessible to ground-based interferometers, but possible with Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs). Using data from local galaxies in the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey, together with galaxy merger rates from Illustris, we find that there are on average $91\pm7$ sources emitting GWs in the PTA band, and $7\pm2$ binaries which will never merge. Local unresolved SMBHBs can contribute to GW background anisotropy at a level of $\sim20\%$, and if the GW background can be successfully isolated, GWs from at least one local SMBHB can be detected in 10 years.

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arXiv2017

What if the fast radio bursts 110220 and 140514 are from the same source?

The fast radio bursts (FRBs) 110220 and 140514 were detected at telescope pointing locations within 9 arcmin of each other over three years apart, both within the same 14.4 arcmin beam of the Parkes radio telescope. Nevertheless, they generally have not been considered to be from the same source because of a vastly different dispersion measure (DM) for the two bursts by over $380\,{\rm pc\,cm^{-3}}$. Here we consider the hypothesis that these two FRBs are from the same neutron star embedded within a supernova remnant (SNR) that provides an evolving DM as the ejecta expands and becomes more diffuse. Using such a model and the observed DM change, it can be argued that the corresponding SN must have occurred within $\approx10.2$ years of FRB 110220. Furthermore, constraints can be placed on the SN ejecta mass and explosion energy, which appear to require a stripped envelope (Type Ib/c) SN and/or a very energetic explosion. A third FRB from this location would be even more constraining, allowing the component of the DM due to the SNR to be separated from the unchanging DM components due to the host galaxy and intergalactic medium. In the future, if more FRBs are found to repeat, the sort of arguments presented here can be used to test the young neutron star progenitor hypothesis for FRBs.

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arXiv2017

The Host Galaxy and Redshift of the Repeating Fast Radio Burst FRB 121102

The precise localization of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB 121102) has provided the first unambiguous association (chance coincidence probability $p\lesssim3\times10^{-4}$) of an FRB with an optical and persistent radio counterpart. We report on optical imaging and spectroscopy of the counterpart and find that it is an extended ($0.6^{\prime\prime}-0.8^{\prime\prime}$) object displaying prominent Balmer and [OIII] emission lines. Based on the spectrum and emission line ratios, we classify the counterpart as a low-metallicity, star-forming, $m_{r^\prime} = 25.1$ AB mag dwarf galaxy at a redshift of $z=0.19273(8)$, corresponding to a luminosity distance of 972 Mpc. From the angular size, the redshift, and luminosity, we estimate the host galaxy to have a diameter $\lesssim4$ kpc and a stellar mass of $M_*\sim4-7\times 10^{7}\,M_\odot$, assuming a mass-to-light ratio between 2 to 3$\,M_\odot\,L_\odot^{-1}$. Based on the H$α$ flux, we estimate the star formation rate of the host to be $0.4\,M_\odot\,\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$ and a substantial host dispersion measure depth $\lesssim 324\,\mathrm{pc\,cm^{-3}}$. The net dispersion measure contribution of the host galaxy to FRB 121102 is likely to be lower than this value depending on geometrical factors. We show that the persistent radio source at FRB 121102's location reported by Marcote et al (2017) is offset from the galaxy's center of light by $\sim$200 mas and the host galaxy does not show optical signatures for AGN activity. If FRB 121102 is typical of the wider FRB population and if future interferometric localizations preferentially find them in dwarf galaxies with low metallicities and prominent emission lines, they would share such a preference with long gamma ray bursts and superluminous supernovae.

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arXiv2016

Rare Event Statistics Applied to Fast Radio Bursts

Statistical interpretation of sparsely sampled event rates has become vital for new transient surveys, particularly those aimed at detecting fast radio bursts (FRBs). We provide an accessible reference for a number of simple, but critical, statistical questions relevant for current transient and FRB research and utilizing the negative binomial model for counts in which the count rate parameter is uncertain or randomly biased from one study to the next. We apply these methods to re-assess and update results from previous FRB surveys, finding as follows. 1) Thirteen FRBs detected across five high-Galactic-latitude (> 30$^\circ$) surveys are highly significant $(p = 5\times 10^{-5})$ evidence of a higher rate relative to the single FRB detected across four low-latitude (< 5$^\circ$) surveys, even after accounting for effects that dampen Galactic plane sensitivity. High- vs. mid-latitude (5 to 15$^\circ$) is marginally significant $(p = 0.03)$. 2) A meta analysis of twelve heterogeneous surveys gives an FRB rate of 2866 sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$ above 1 Jy at high Galactic latitude (95% confidence 1121 to 7328) and 285 sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$ at low/mid latitudes (95% from 48 to 1701). 3) Using the Parkes HTRU high-latitude setup requires 193 observing hours to achieve 50% probability of detecting an FRB and 937 hours to achieve 95% probability, based on the ten detections of (Champion et al. 2016) and appropriately accounting for uncertainty in the unknown Poisson rate. 4) Two quick detections at Parkes from a small number of high-latitude fields (Ravi et al. 2015; Petroff et al. 2015) tentatively favor a look long survey style relative to the scan wide HTRU survey, but only at $p = 0.07$ significance.

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arXiv2016

Limits on Fast Radio Bursts from Four Years of the V-FASTR Experiment

The V-FASTR experiment on the Very Long Baseline Array was designed to detect dispersed pulses of milliseconds duration, such as fast radio bursts (FRBs). We use all V-FASTR data through February 2015 to report V-FASTR's upper limits on the rates of FRBs, and compare these with re-derived rates from Parkes FRB detection experiments. V-FASTR's operation at lambda=20 cm allows direct comparison with the 20 cm Parkes rate, and we derive a power-law limit of γ<-0.4 (95% confidence limit) on the index of FRB source counts, N(>S)\propto S^γ. Using the previously measured FRB rate and the unprecedented amount of survey time spent searching for FRBs at a large range of wavelengths (0.3 cm > λ> 90 cm), we also place frequency-dependent limits on the spectral distribution of FRBs. The most constraining frequencies place two-point spectral index limits of α_{20cm}^{4cm} < 5.8 and α_{90cm}^{20cm} > -7.6, where fluence F \propto f^αif we assume true the burst rate reported by Champion et al. (2016) of R(F~0.6 Jy ms) = 7 x 10^3 sky^{-1} day^{-1} (for bursts of ~3 ms duration). This upper limit on αsuggests that if FRBs are extragalactic but non-cosmological, that on average they are not experiencing excessive free-free absorption due to a medium with high optical depth (assuming temperature ~8,000 K), which excessively invert their low-frequency spectrum. This in turn implies that the dispersion of FRBs arises in either or both of the intergalactic medium or the host galaxy, rather than from the source itself.

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arXiv2016

Constraints on Black Hole/Host Galaxy Co-evolution and Binary Stalling Using Pulsar Timing Arrays

Pulsar timing arrays are now setting increasingly tight limits on the gravitational wave background from binary supermassive black holes. But as upper limits grow more constraining, what can be implied about galaxy evolution? We investigate which astrophysical parameters have the largest impact on strain spectrum predictions and provide a simple framework to directly translate between measured values for the parameters of galaxy evolution and PTA limits on the gravitational wave background of binary supermassive black holes. We find that the most influential observable is the relation between a host galaxy's central bulge and its central black hole, $\mbox{$M_{\bullet}$-$M_{\rm bulge}$}$, which has the largest effect on the mean value of the characteristic strain amplitude. However, the variance of each prediction is dominated by uncertainties in the galaxy stellar mass function. Using this framework with the best published PTA limit, we can set limits on the shape and scatter of the $\mbox{$M_{\bullet}$-$M_{\rm bulge}$}$ relation. We find our limits to be in contention with strain predictions using two leading measurements of this relation. We investigate several possible reasons for this disagreement. If we take the $\mbox{$M_{\bullet}$-$M_{\rm bulge}$}$ relations to be correct within a simple power-law model for the gravitational wave background, then the inconsistency is reconcilable by allowing for an additional "stalling" time between a galaxy merger and evolution of a binary supermassive black hole to sub-parsec scales, with lower limits on this timescale of $\sim 1-2$ Gyr.

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