Katsuaki Asano

Association between hyperglycemia and the no-reflow phenomenon inpatients with acute myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVES We investigated the association between hyperglycemia and the no-reflow phenomenon in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). BACKGROUND Hyperglycemia is associated with increased risks of heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and death after AMI, but its underlying mechanism remains unknown. METHODS A total of 146 consecutive patients with a first AMI were studied by intracoronary myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) after successful reperfusion within 24 h after symptom onset. Two-dimensional echocardiography was recorded on day 1 and three months later to determine the change in the wall motion score (DeltaWMS; sum of 16 segmental scores; dyskinesia = 4 to normokinesia = 0). RESULTS The no-reflow phenomenon was found on MCE in 49 (33.6%) of 146 patients; their glucose level on hospital admission was significantly higher than that of patients who did not exhibit this phenomenon (209 +/- 79 vs. 159 +/- 56 mg/dl; p < 0.0001). There was no difference in glycosylated hemoglobin or in the incidence of diabetes mellitus between the two subsets. The no-reflow phenomenon was more often observed in the 75 patients with hyperglycemia (>/=160 mg/dl) than in those without hyperglycemia (52.0% vs. 14.1%; p < 0.0001). Patients with hyperglycemia had a higher peak creatine kinase level (2,497 +/- 1,603 vs. 1,804 +/- 1,300 IU/l; p = 0.005) and a lower DeltaWMS (3.7 +/- 4.8 vs. 5.7 +/- 4.3; p = 0.01) than did those without hyperglycemia. The blood glucose level was an independent prognostic factor for no reflow, along with age, gender, absence of pre-infarction angina, complete occlusion of the culprit lesion, and anterior AMI. CONCLUSIONS Hyperglycemia might be associated with impaired microvascular function after AMI, resulting in a larger infarct size and worse functional recovery.

HADRONIC MODELS FOR THE EXTRA SPECTRAL COMPONENT IN THE SHORT GRB 090510

A short gamma-ray burst GRB 090510 detected by Fermi shows an extra spectral component between 10 MeV and 30 GeV, an addition to a more usual low-energy (<10 MeV) Band component. In general, such an extra component could originate from accelerated protons. In particular, inverse Compton emission from secondary electron-positron pairs and proton synchrotron emission are competitive models for reproducing the hard spectrum of the extra component in GRB 090510. Here, using Monte Carlo simulations, we test the hadronic scenarios against the observed properties. To reproduce the extra component around GeV with these models, the proton injection isotropic-equivalent luminosity is required to be larger than 1055 erg s–1. Such large proton luminosities are a challenge for the hadronic models.

THE ROLE OF STOCHASTIC ACCELERATION IN THE PROMPT EMISSION OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS: APPLICATION TO HADRONIC INJECTION

We study effects of particle re-acceleration (or heating) in the post-shock region via magnetohydrodynamic/plasma turbulence, in the context of a mixed hadronic-leptonic model for the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts, using both analytical and numerical methods. We show that stochastically accelerated (or heated) leptons, which are injected via pp and pγ reactions and subsequent pair cascades, are plausibly able to reproduce the Band function spectra with α ~ 1 and β ~ 2-3 in the ~MeV range. An additional hard component coming from the proton-induced cascade emission is simultaneously expected, which can be compatible with observed extra power-law spectra far above the MeV range. We also discuss the specific implications of hadronic models for ongoing high-energy neutrino observations.

Slow Heating Model of Gamma-Ray Burst: Photon Spectrum and Delayed Emission

We propose a new mechanism for the prompt emission of gamma-ray burst. In our model, electrons are continuously accelerated in the post-shock region via plasma turbulence. Using the Monte Carlo technique, we mimic the second-order Fermi acceleration due to plasma turbulence and obtain photon spectra. Since the acceleration balances with the synchrotron cooling, the observed low-energy spectral index is naturally explained. The resultant spectra can be consistent with observed spectra at least below ~1 MeV. The model also predicts delayed GeV-TeV emission due to inverse Compton and broad pulse profile of optical emission in some cases. Although nontrivial assumptions are required to reproduce MeV-GeV power-law spectra, the model implies the possibility of explaining various kinds of luminosity correlations.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL SIMULATIONS OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE BEHIND RELATIVISTIC SHOCK WAVES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

Relativistic astrophysical phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei often require long-lived strong magnetic fields that cannot be achieved by shock compression alone. Here, we report on three-dimensional special-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations that we performed using a second-order Godunov-type conservative code to explore the amplification and decay of macroscopic turbulence dynamo excited by the so-called Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI; a Rayleigh-Taylor-type instability). This instability is an inevitable outcome of interactions between shock and ambient density fluctuations. We find that the magnetic energy grows exponentially in a few eddy-turnover times because of field-line stretching and then, following the decay of kinetic turbulence, decays with a temporal power-law exponent of ?0.7. The magnetic energy fraction can reach B ~ 0.1 but depends on the initial magnetic field strength, which can diversify the observed phenomena. We find that the magnetic energy grows by at least two orders of magnitude compared to the magnetic energy immediately behind the shock, provided the kinetic energy of turbulence injected by the RMI is greater than the magnetic energy. This minimum degree of amplification does not depend on the amplitude of the initial density fluctuations, while the growth timescale and the maximum magnetic energy depend on the degree of inhomogeneity in the density. The transition from Kolmogorov cascade to MHD critical balance cascade occurs at ~1/10th the initial inhomogeneity scale, which limits the maximum synchrotron polarization to less than ~2%. We derive analytical formulas for these numerical results and apply them to GRBs. New results include the avoidance of electron cooling with RMI turbulence, the turbulent photosphere model via RMI, and the shallow decay of the early afterglow from RMI. We also perform a simulation of freely decaying turbulence with relativistic velocity dispersion. We find that relativistic turbulence begins to decay much more quickly than one eddy-turnover time because of rapid shock dissipation, which does not support the relativistic turbulence model by Narayan & Kumar.

PROMPT HIGH-ENERGY EMISSION FROM PROTON-DOMINATED GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is widely thought to be radiation from accelerated electrons, but an appreciably larger amount of energy could be carried by accelerated protons, particularly if GRBs are the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). We model the expected photon spectra for such proton-dominated GRBs in the internal shock scenario through Monte Carlo simulations, accounting for various processes related to high-energy electrons and protons. Besides proton and muon synchrotron components, emission from photomeson-induced secondary pair cascades becomes crucial, generally enhancing the GeV-TeV and/or eV-keV photons and offering a signature of UHE protons. In some cases, it can overwhelm the primary electron component and result in GRBs peaking in the 10 MeV-1 GeV range, which may be relevant to some bursts discussed in a recent re-analysis of EGRET TASC data. The dependence of the spectra on key quantities such as the bulk Lorentz factor, magnetic field, and proton-to-electron ratio is nontrivial due to the nonlinear nature of cascading and the interplay of electron- and proton-induced components. Observations by Fermi, ground-based telescopes, and other facilities should test these expectations and provide critical constraints on the proton acceleration efficiency.

Prompt GeV-TeV Emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts Due to High-Energy Protons, Muons, and Electron-Positron Pairs

In the framework of the internal shock scenario, we model the broadband prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with emphasis on the GeV-TeV bands, utilizing Monte Carlo simulations that include various processes associated with electrons and protons accelerated to high energies. While inverse Compton emission from primary electrons is often dominant, different proton-induced mechanisms can also give rise to distinct high-energy components, such as synchrotron emission from protons, muons, or secondary electrons/positrons injected via photomeson interactions. In some cases, they give rise to double spectral breaks that can serve as unique signatures of ultra-high-energy protons. We discuss the conditions favorable for such emission, and how they are related to the production of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos in internal shocks. Ongoing and upcoming observations by the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes, and other facilities will test these expectations, and provide important information on the physical conditions in GRB outflows.

Relativistic Effects on Neutrino Pair Annihilation above a Kerr Black Hole with the Accretion Disk

Using idealized models of the accretion disk, we investigate the relativistic effects on the energy deposition rate via neutrino pair annihilation near the rotation axis of a Kerr black hole. Neutrinos are emitted from the accretion disk. The bending of neutrino trajectories and the redshift due to the disk rotation and gravitation are taken into consideration. The Kerr parameter, a, affects not only behavior of the neutrinos but also the inner radius of the accretion disk. When the deposition energy is mainly contributed by the neutrinos coming from the central part, the redshift effect becomes dominant as a becomes large, and the energy deposition rate is reduced compared with that neglecting the relativistic effects. On the other hand, for a small a, the bending effect becomes dominant and makes the energy increase by factor of 2 compared with that which neglects the relativistic effects. For the disk with a temperature gradient, the energy deposition rate for a small inner radius of the accretion disk is smaller than that estimated by neglecting the relativistic effects. The relativistic effects, especially for a large a, play a negative role in avoiding the baryon contamination problem in gamma-ray bursts.

Neutrino Pair Annihilation in the Gravitation of Gamma-Ray Burst Sources

We study semianalytically the gravitational effects on neutrino pair annihilation near the neutrinosphere and around the thin accretion disk. For the disk case, we assume that the accretion disk is isothermal and that the gravitational field is dominated by the Schwarzschild black hole. General relativistic effects are studied only near the rotation axis. The energy deposition rate is enhanced by the effect of orbital bending toward the center. However, the effects of the redshift and gravitational trapping of the deposited energy reduce the effective energy of the gamma-ray bursts source. Although each effect is substantial, the effects partly cancel one another. As a result, the gravitational effects do not substantially change the energy deposition rate for either the spherically symmetric case or the disk case.

Gamma-ray burst science in the era of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

We outline the science prospects for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory operating at energies above few tens of GeV. With its low energy threshold, large effective area and rapid slewing capabilities, CTA will be able to measure the spectra and variability of GRBs at multi-GeV energies with unprecedented photon statistics, and thereby break new ground in elucidating the physics of GRBs, which is still poorly understood. Such measurements will also provide crucial diagnostics of ultra-high-energy cosmic ray and neutrino production in GRBs, advance observational cosmology by probing the high-redshift extragalactic background light and intergalactic magnetic fields, and contribute to fundamental physics by testing Lorentz invariance violation with high precision. Aiming to quantify these goals, we present some simulated observations of GRB spectra and light curves, together with estimates of their detection rates with CTA. Although the expected detection rate is modest, of order a few GRBs per year, hundreds or more high-energy photons per burst may be attainable once they are detected. We also address various issues related to following up alerts from satellites and other facilities with CTA, as well as follow-up observations at other wavelengths. The possibility of discovering and observing GRBs from their onset including short GRBs during a wide-field survey mode is also briefly discussed.