Claes-Ingvar Björnsson

Radio emission and particle acceleration in sn 1993j

The radio light curves of SN 1993J are discussed. We find that a fit to the individual spectra by a synchrotron spectrum, suppressed by external free-free absorption and synchrotron self-absorption, gives a superior fit to models based on pure free-free absorption. A standard r-2 circumstellar medium is assumed and is found to be adequate. From the flux and cutoff wavelength, the magnetic field in the synchrotron-emitting region behind the shock is determined to B ≈ 64(Rs/1015 cm)-1 G. The strength of the field argues strongly for turbulent amplification behind the shock. The ratio of the magnetic and thermal energy density behind the shock is ~0.14. Synchrotron losses dominate the cooling of the electrons, whereas inverse Compton losses due to photospheric photons are less important. For most of the time also Coulomb cooling affects the spectrum. A model where a constant fraction of the shocked, thermal electrons are injected and accelerated, and subsequently lose their energy due to synchrotron losses, reproduces the observed evolution of the flux and number of relativistic electrons well. The injected electron spectrum has dn/dγ ∝ γ-2.1, consistent with diffusive shock acceleration. The injected number density of relativistic electrons scales with the thermal electron energy density, ρV2, rather than the density, ρ. The evolution of the flux is strongly connected to the deceleration of the shock wave. The total energy density of the relativistic electrons, if extrapolated to γ ~ 1, is ~5 × 10-4 of the thermal energy density. The free-free absorption required is consistent with previous calculations of the circumstellar temperature of SN 1993J, Te ~ (2-10) × 105 K, which failed in explaining the radio light curves by pure free-free absorption. Implications for the injection of the relativistic electrons, and the relative importance of free-free absorption, Razin suppression, and the synchrotron self-absorption effect for other supernovae, are also briefly discussed. It is argued that especially the expansion velocity, both directly and through the temperature, is important for determining the relative importance of the free-free absorption and synchrotron self-absorption. Some guidelines for the modeling and interpretation of VLBI observations are also given.

Constraints on the Progenitor System and the Environs of SN 2014J from Deep Radio Observations

We report deep EVN and eMERLIN observations of the Type Ia SN 2014J in the nearby galaxy M82. Our observations represent, together with JVLA observations of SNe 2011fe and 2014J, the most sensitive radio studies of Type Ia SNe ever. By combining data and a proper modeling of the radio emission, we constrain the mass-loss rate from the progenitor system of SN 2014J to (M) over dot less than or similar to 7.0 x 10(-10) M yr(-1) (for a wind speed of 100 km s(-1)). If the medium around the supernova is uniform, then n(ISM) less than or similar to 1.3 cm(-3), which is the most stringent limit for the (uniform) density around a Type Ia SN. Our deep upper limits favor a double-degenerate (DD) scenario-involving two WD stars-for the progenitor system of SN 2014J, as such systems have less circumstellar gas than our upper limits. By contrast, most single-degenerate (SD) scenarios, i.e., the wide family of progenitor systems where a red giant, main-sequence, or sub-giant star donates mass to an exploding WD, are ruled out by our observations. (While completing our work, we noticed that a paper by Margutti et al. was submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. From a non-detection of X-ray emission from SN 2014J, the authors obtain limits of (M) over dot less than or similar to 1.2 x 10(-9) M-circle dot yr(-1) (for a wind speed of 100 km s(-1)) and n(ISM) less than or similar to 3.5 cm(-3), for the rho proportional to r(-2) wind and constant density cases, respectively. As these limits are less constraining than ours, the findings by Margutti et al. do not alter our conclusions. The X-ray results are, however, important to rule out free-free and synchrotron self-absorption as a reason for the radio non-detections.) Our estimates on the limits on the gas density surrounding SN2011fe, using the flux density limits from Chomiuk et al., agree well with their results. Although we discuss the possibilities of an SD scenario passing observational tests, as well as uncertainties in the modeling of the radio emission, the evidence from SNe 2011fe and 2014J points in the direction of a DD scenario for both.

The X-Ray and Radio Emission from SN 2002ap: The Importance of Compton Scattering

The radio and X-ray observations of the Type Ic supernova SN 2002ap are modeled. We find that inverse Compton cooling by photospheric photons explains the observed steep radio spectrum, and also the X-ray flux observed by XMM-Newton. Thermal emission from the shock is insufficient to explain the X-ray flux. The radio-emitting region expands with a velocity of ~70,000 km s-1. From the ratio of X-ray to radio emission, we find that the energy densities of magnetic fields and relativistic electrons are close to equipartition. The mass-loss rate of the progenitor star depends on the absolute value of B, and is given by ≈ 1 × 10-8(vw/1000 km s-1) M☉ yr-1.

Spectral evolution and polarization of variable structures in the pulsar wind nebula of PSR B0540-69.3

We present high spatial resolution optical imaging and polarization observations of the PSR B0540-69.3 and its highly dynamical pulsar wind nebula (PWN) performed with Hubble Space Telescope, and c ...

Heating from Free-Free Absorption and the Mass-loss Rate of the Progenitor Stars to Supernovae

An accurate determination of the mass-loss rate of the progenitor stars to core-collapse supernovae is often limited by uncertainties pertaining to various model assumptions. It is shown that under conditions when the temperature of the circumstellar medium is set by heating due to free-free absorption, observations of the accompanying free-free optical depth allow a direct determination of the mass-loss rate from observed quantities in a rather model-independent way. The temperature is determined self-consistently, which results in a characteristic time dependence of the free-free optical depth. This can be used to distinguish free-free heating from other heating mechanisms. Since the importance of free-free heating is quite model dependent, this also makes possible several consistency checks of the deduced mass-loss rate. It is argued that the free-free absorption observed in SN 1993J is consistent with heating from free-free absorption. The deduced mass-loss rate of the progenitor star is, approximately, 10–5 M ☉ yr–1 for a wind velocity of 10 km s–1.

Statistical Analysis of BATSE Gamma-Ray Bursts: Self-Similarity and the Amati Relation

The statistical properties of a complete, flux-limited sample of 197 long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by BATSE are studied. In order to bring forth their main characteristics, care was taken to define a representative set of 10 parameters. A multivariate analysis gives that ~70% of the total variation in parameter values is driven by only three principal components. The variation of the temporal parameters is clearly distinct from that of the spectral ones. A close correlation is found between the half-width of the autocorrelation function (τ) and the emission time (50); most importantly, this correlation is self-similar in the sense that the mean values and dispersions of both τ and 50 scale with the duration of the burst (T90). It is shown that the Amati relation can be derived from the sample and that the scatter around this relation is correlated with the value of τ. Hence, τ has a role similar to that of the break in the afterglow light curve (tb) in the Ghirlanda-relation. In the standard GRB-scenario, the close relation between a global parameter (tb) and a local one (τ) indicates that some of the jet-properties do not vary much for different lines of sight. Finally, it is argued that the basic temporal and spectral properties are associated with individual pulses, while the overall properties of a burst is determined mainly by the number of pulses.

INHOMOGENEITIES IN TYPE Ib/c SUPERNOVAE: AN INVERSE COMPTON SCATTERING ORIGIN OF THE X-RAY EMISSION

Inhomogeneities in a synchrotron source can severely affect the conclusions drawn from observations regarding the source properties. However, their presence is not always easy to establish, since several other effects can give rise to similar observed characteristics. It is argued that the recently observed broadening of the radio spectra and/or light curves in some Type Ib/c supernovae is a direct indication of inhomogeneities. As compared to a homogeneous source, this increases the deduced velocity of the forward shock and the observed correlation between total energy and shock velocity could in part be due to a varying covering factor. The X-ray emission from at least some Type Ib/c supernovae is unlikely to be synchrotron radiation from an electron distribution accelerated in a nonlinear shock. Instead it is shown that the observed correlation during the first few hundred days between the radio, X-ray, and bolometric luminosities indicates that the X-ray emission is inverse Compton scattering of the photospheric photons. Inhomogeneities are consistent with equipartition between electrons and magnetic fields in the optically thin synchrotron emitting regions.

Properties of the three-dimensional structure in the central region of the supernova remnant SNR 0540−69.3

We present and discuss new visual wavelength-range observations of the inner regions of the supernova remnant SNR 0540−69.3 that is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). These observations provide us with more spatial and spectral information than were previously available for this object. We use these data to create a detailed three-dimensional model of the remnant, assuming linear expansion of the ejecta. With the observations and the model, we study the general three-dimensional structure of the remnant, and the influence of an active region in the remnant – a ‘blob’ – that we address in previous papers. We used the fibre-fed integral-field Visual Multi-Object Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory. The observations provide us with three-dimensional data in [O iii] λ5007 and [S ii] λλ6717, 6731 at a 0.33 arcsec × 0.33 arcsec spatial sampling and a velocity resolution of about 35 km s− 1. We decomposed the two, partially overlapping, sulphur lines and used them to calculate electron densities across the remnant at a high signal-to-noise ratio. In our study, we recover results of previous studies, but we are more importantly able to obtain more detailed information than before. Our analysis reveals a structure that stretches from the position of the ‘blob’, and into the plane of the sky at a position angle of PA ≃ 60°. Assuming a remnant age of 1000 yr and the usual LMC distance, the structure has an inclination angle of about 65° to the line of sight. The position angle is close to the symmetry axis with present and past activity in the visual and the X-ray wavelength ranges. We speculate that the pulsar is positioned along this activity axis, where it has a velocity along the line of sight of a few hundred km s− 1. The ‘blob’ is most likely a region of shock activity, as it is mainly bright in [S ii]; future observations of [O ii] λλ3726, 3729 would be useful to test whether the S/O abundance ratio is higher than average for that location in the remnant. The striking resemblance in X-rays between the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of SNR 0540−69.3 and the Crab, in combination with our findings in this paper, suggests that the symmetry axis is part of a torus in the PWN. This is in agreement with the original suggestion by Gotthelf & Wang.

Data acquisition system for the PoGOLite astronomical hard X-ray polarimeter

The PoGOLite is a new balloon-borne instrument to measure the polarization of hard X-rays / soft gamma-rays in the 25-80 keV energy range for the first time. In order to detect the polarization, PoGOLite measures the azimuthal angle asymmetry of Compton scattering and the subsequent photo- absorption in an array of detectors. This array consists of 217 well-type phoswich detector cells (PDCs) surrounded by a side anti-coincidence shield (SAS) composed of 54 segments of BGO crystals. At balloon altitude, the intensity of backgrounds due to cosmic-ray charged particles, atmospheric gamma-rays and neutrons is extremely high, typically a few hundred Hz per unit. Hence the data acquisition (DAQ) system of PoGOLite is required to handle more than 270 signals simultaneously, and detect weak signals from astrophysical objects (lOOmCrab, 1.5 cs-1 in 25-80 keV ) under such a severe environment. We have developed a new DAQ system consisting of front-end electronics, waveform digitizer, field programmable gate array (FPGA) and a microprocessor. In this system, all output signals of PDC / SAS are fed into individual charge-sensitive amplifier and then digitized to 12 bit accuracy at 24MSa/s by pipelined analog to digital converters. A DAQ board for the PDC records waveforms which will be examined in an off-line analysis to distinguish signals from the background events and measure the energy spectrum and polarization of targets. A board for the SAS records hit pattern to be used for background rejection. It also continuously records a pulse-height analysis (PHA) histogram to monitor incident background flux. These basic functions of the DAQ system were verified in a series of beam tests.

Measuring energy dependent polarization in soft γ-rays using Compton scattering in PoGOLite

Linear polarization in X-and gamma-rays is an important diagnostic of many astrophysical sources, foremost giving information about their geometry, magnetic fields, and radiation mechanisms. However, very few X-ray polarization measurements have been made, and then only mono-energetic detections, whilst several objects are assumed to have energy dependent polarization signatures. In this paper, we investigate whether detection of energy dependent polarization from cosmic sources is possible using the Compton technique, in particular with the proposed PoGOLite balloon-experiment, in the 25-100 keV range. We use Geant4 simulations of a PoGOLite model and input photon spectra based on Cygnus X-1 and accreting magnetic pulsars (100 mCrab). Effective observing times of 6 and 35 h were simulated, corresponding to a standard and a long duration flight, respectively. Both smooth and sharp energy variations of the polarization are investigated and compared to constant polarization signals using chi-square statistics. We can reject constant polarization, with energy, for the Cygnus X-1 spectrum (in the hard state), if the reflected component is assumed to be completely polarized, whereas the distinction cannot be made for weaker polarization. For the accreting pulsar, constant polarization can be rejected in the case of polarization in a narrow energy band with at least 50% polarization, and similarly for a negative step distribution from 30% to 0% polarization.