http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05039

Accreting black holes commonly exhibit hard X-ray emission, originating from a region of hot plasma near the central engine referred to as the corona. The origin and geometry of the corona are poorly understood, and models invoking either inflowing or outflowing material (or both) can successfully explain only parts of the observed phenomenology. In particular, recent works indicate that the time-averaged and variability property might originate in different regions of the corona. In this paper we present a model designed to move beyond the lamp post paradigm, with the goal of accounting for the vertical extent of the corona. In particular, we highlight the impact of including self consistently a second lamp post, mimicking for example an extended jet base. We fully include the effect that the second source has on the time-dependent disk ionization, reflection spectrum, and reverberation lags. We also present an application of this new model to NICER observations of the X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070 near its hard-to-soft state transition. We demonstrate that in these observations, a vertically extended corona can capture both spectral and timing properties, while a single lamp post model can not. In this scenario, the illumination responsible for the time-averaged spectrum originates close to the black hole, while the variability is likely associated with the ballistic jet.

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M. Lucchini, G. Mastroserio, J. Wang, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
9/65

Comments: 17 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication on ApJ

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05261

We undertake the first targeted search at 1.5 GHz for radio emission from the variable $\gamma$-ray pulsar PSR J2021$+$4026. This radio-quiet pulsar assumes one of two stable $\gamma$-ray emission states, between which it transitions on a timescale of years. These transitions, in both $\gamma$-ray flux and pulse profile shape, are accompanied by contemporaneous changes to the pulsar’s spin-down rate. A number of radio pulsars are known to exhibit similar correlated variability, which in some cases involves an emission state in which the radio emission ceases to be detectable. In this paper, we perform a search for radio emission from PSR J2021$+$4026, using archival radio observations recorded when the pulsar was in each of its emission/spin-down states. Using improved techniques, we search for periodic radio emission as well as single pulse phenomena such as giant radio pulses and RRAT-like emission. Our search reveals no evidence of radio emission from PSR J2021$+$4026. We estimate that the flux density for periodic emission from PSR J2021$+$4026 does not exceed 0.2 mJy at this frequency. We also estimate single-pulse flux limits for RRAT-like bursts and giant radio pulses to be 0.3 and 100 Jy respectively. We discuss the transitioning behaviour of PSR J2021$+$4026 in the context of pulsar glitches, intermittent pulsars and the increasingly common emission-rotation correlation observed in radio pulsars.

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B. Shaw, B. Stappers, P. Weltevrede, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
15/65

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05372

The diffuse Galactic $\gamma$-ray emission, mainly produced via interactions between cosmic rays and the diffuse interstellar medium, is a very important probe of the distribution, propagation, and interaction of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. In this work we report the measurements of diffuse $\gamma$-rays from the Galactic plane between 10 TeV and 1 PeV energies, with the square kilometer array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Diffuse emissions from the inner ($15^{\circ}<l<125^{\circ}$, $|b|<5^{\circ}$) and outer ($125^{\circ}<l<235^{\circ}$, $|b|<5^{\circ}$) Galactic plane are detected with $29.1\sigma$ and $12.7\sigma$ significance, respectively. The outer Galactic plane diffuse emission is detected for the first time in the very- to ultra-high-energy domain ($E>10$~TeV). The energy spectrum in the inner Galaxy regions can be described by a power-law function with an index of $-2.99\pm0.04$, which is different from the curved spectrum as expected from hadronic interactions between locally measured cosmic rays and the line-of-sight integrated gas content. Furthermore, the measured flux is higher by a factor of $\sim3$ than the prediction. A similar spectrum with an index of $-2.99\pm0.07$ is found in the outer Galaxy region, and the absolute flux for $10\lesssim E\lesssim60$ TeV is again higher than the prediction for hadronic cosmic ray interactions. The latitude distributions of the diffuse emission are consistent with the gas distribution, while the longitude distributions show slight deviation from the gas distribution. The LHAASO measurements imply that either additional emission sources exist or cosmic ray intensities have spatial variations.

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Z. Cao, F. Aharonian, Q. An, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
25/65

Comments: 11 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04738

The dynamics of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) are driven by their physical nature and central engine, however their event rate, energy distribution and temporal occurrence behaviour are still remain uncertain due to the server lack of information of bursts. Recently, the available of high-frequency observation data for the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) has made it possible to statistically study the temporal occurrence on timescales from several milliseconds to over several thousand seconds. In this research we studied both the FRB121102 and FRB20201124A temporal occurrence and report here a statistical result about the behaviour of the waiting time (or recurrence-time) between successive bursts. The results exhibit novel scaling and universality which have not reported in the field yet. Specifically, we find the scaling law for FRBs recurrence-time distribution which is a clear indication of the importance of correlations in the structure of its physical nature and central engine. The scaling relationships were observed for time scales spanning three orders of magnitude. Given that they are sharing the same scaling law between two repeating FRBs, we infer that the scaling law of waiting time distribution should acts as a indicator which provides insights into the physical nature and the development of the central engine model.

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Y. Du, P. Wang, L. Song, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
11/88

Comments: N/A

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04849

Neutron stars might have multipole magnetic fields as implied by recent observations of pulsars. The presence of the quadrupole field might have an effect on the interaction between the disc and the neutron star depending on the location of the inner radius of the disc and the strength of the quadrupole field. For a quadrudipole stellar field, we calculate the toroidal field generated within the disc, the magnetospheric radius and the torque exerted onto the star. Also, we deduce the effect of the rotation of the star on the magnetospheric radius which is relevant even for pure dipole magnetic fields.

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S. Çıkıntoğlu
Tue, 9 May 23
18/88

Comments: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04419

The 4U 1820-30 is a ultra-compact low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) near the center of the globular cluster NGC 6624. Its negative orbital period derivative, observed from the phase evolution of its sinusoidal-like orbital variation, contradicts the positive value obtained from the theoretical prediction. In this paper, we present the analysis of the 4U 1820-30 orbital modulation from light curves obtained from the {\it Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER)} observations from 2017 to mid 2022. Combined with historical records, the orbital derivative is measured from the orbital phase evolution between 1976 and 2002 is $\dot P /P =(-5.21 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{-8}$ yr$^{-1}$. No significant second order orbital period derivative is detected with a 2$\sigma$ upper limit of $|\ddot P|<5.48 \times 10^{-22}$ s s$^{-2}$. We discuss the possible intrinsic orbital period derivative of 4U 1820-30 and suggest that this binary system may have a significant mass outflow similar to some other LMXBs. In addition, a periodic modulation with a period of $691.6 \pm 0.7$ s, which is consistent with the superhump period discovered in the far ultraviolet band of the {\it Hubble Space Telescope}, was also detected in in the X-ray light curves collected by {\it NICER}. We conclude that such modulation is probably caused by a period of $0.8 \pm 0.1$ day apsidal precession of accretion disk similar to the SU UMa type dwarf novae and some LMXBs. However we cannot exclude the possibility that it is induced by a hierarchical third star orbiting around the binary system.

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Y. Chou and Y. Jhang
Tue, 9 May 23
52/88

Comments: 27 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication by Astrophysical Journal

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03767

AT 2020mot is a typical UV/optical tidal disruption event (TDE) with no radio or X-ray signatures in a quiescent host. We find an i-band excess and re-brightening along the decline of the light curve which could be due to two consecutive dust echoes from a TDE. We model our observations following van Velzen et al. (2016) and find that the near-infrared light curve can be explained by concentric rings of thin dust within $\sim$0.1 parsecs of a 6e6 M$_{\odot}$ supermassive black hole (SMBH), among the smallest scales at which dust has been inferred near SMBHs. We find dust covering factors of order fc $\leq$ 2%, much lower than found for dusty tori of active galactic nuclei. These results highlight the potential of TDEs for uncovering the environments around black holes when including near-infrared observations in high-cadence transient studies.

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M. Newsome, I. Arcavi, D. Howell, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
54/88

Comments: N/A

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04571

Evidence of efficient acceleration of cosmic rays in massive young stellar objects has been recently reported. Among these massive protostars, S255 NIRS 3 for which extreme flaring events associated with radio jets have been detected, is one of the best objects to test this hypothesis. We search for gamma-ray emission associated with this object in Fermi-LAT data and inspect the gas content in different molecular lines using the MWISP survey. A GeV source dubbed 4FGL J0613.1+1749c lies on top of the MYSO region, where two filamentary ~10 pc CO structures extend along the same direction of the sub-parsec radio jets. We investigate the spectrum, morphology, and light curve of the gamma-ray source and compare it with the theoretical emission expected from hadronic and leptonic populations accelerated in the radio jets. We argue that the gamma-ray source could be powered by particles accelerated in the S255 NIRS 3 jets, radiating via Bremsstrahlung or proton-proton interaction, and with a synchrotron component shinning in radio from primary or secondary electrons in the case of a leptonic or hadronic population.

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E. Wilhelmi, R. López-Coto and Y. Su
Tue, 9 May 23
66/88

Comments: accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03764

Over the past decade, observations of relativistic outflows from outbursting X-ray binaries in the Galactic field have grown significantly. In this work, we present the first detection of moving and decelerating radio-emitting outflows from an X-ray binary in a globular cluster. MAXI J1848-015 is a recently discovered transient X-ray binary in the direction of the globular cluster GLIMPSE-C01. Using observations from the VLA, and a monitoring campaign with the MeerKAT observatory for 500 days, we model the motion of the outflows. This represents some of the most intensive, long-term coverage of relativistically moving X-ray binary outflows to date. We use the proper motions of the outflows from MAXI J1848-015 to constrain the component of the intrinsic jet speed along the line of sight, $\beta_\textrm{int} \cos \theta_\textrm{ejection}$, to be $=0.19\pm0.02$. Assuming it is located in GLIMPSE-C01, at 3.4 kpc, we determine the intrinsic jet speed, $\beta_\textrm{int}=0.79\pm0.07$, and the inclination angle to the line of sight, $\theta_\textrm{ejection}=76^\circ\pm2^{\circ}$. This makes the outflows from MAXI J1848-015 somewhat slower than those seen from many other known X-ray binaries. We also constrain the maximum distance to MAXI J1848-015 to be $4.3$ kpc. Lastly, we discuss the implications of our findings for the nature of the compact object in this system, finding that a black hole primary is a viable (but as-of-yet unconfirmed) explanation for the observed properties of MAXI J1848-015. If future data and/or analysis provide more conclusive evidence that MAXI J1848-015 indeed hosts a black hole, it would be the first black hole X-ray binary in outburst identified in a Galactic globular cluster.

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A. Bahramian, E. Tremou, A. Tetarenko, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
88/88

Comments: 14 pages, 5 figures, ApJL in press

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03561

Although neutron star-black hole binaries have been identified through mergers detected in gravitational waves, a pulsar-black hole binary has yet to be detected. While short-period binaries are detectable due to a clear signal in the pulsar’s timing residuals, effects from a long-period binary could be masked by other timing effects, allowing them to go undetected. In particular, a long-period binary measured over a small subset of its orbital period could manifest via time derivatives of the spin-frequency incompatible with isolated pulsar properties. We assess the possibility of pulsars having unknown companions in long-period binaries and put constraints on the range of binary properties that may remain undetected in current data, but that may be detectable with further observations. We find that for 35% of canonical pulsars with published higher order derivatives, the precision of measurements is not enough to confidently reject binarity (period greater than ~2 kyr), and that a black-hole binary companion could not be ruled out for a sample of pulsars without published constraints if the period is greater than 1 kyr. While we find no convincing cases in the literature, we put more stringent limits on orbital period and longitude of periastron for the few pulsars with published higher-order frequency derivatives (n greater than 3). We discuss the detectability of candidates and find that a sample pulsar in a 100 yr orbit could be detectable within 5-10 yr.

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M. Jones, D. Kaplan, M. McLaughlin, et. al.
Mon, 8 May 23
31/63

Comments: 9 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to ApJ

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03084

We perform extensive spectroscopy of the supernova remnant N63A in the Large Magellanic Cloud, using $\sim 43$ ks {\it Chandra} archival data. By analysing the spectra of the entire remnant, we determine the abundance distributions for O, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe. We detect evidence of enhanced O and possibly Ne and Mg in some of the central regions which might indicate an asymmetric distribution of the ejecta. The average O/Ne, O/Mg, and Ne/Mg abundance ratios of the ejecta are in plausible agreement with the nucleosynthesis products from the explosion of a $\sim40$ $M_{\odot}$ progenitor. We estimate an upper limit on the Sedov age of $\sim 5,400\pm200$ yr and explosion energy of $\sim 8.9\pm 1.6\times 10^{51}$ erg for N63A. We discuss the implications of our results for the morphological structure of the remnant, its circumstellar medium and the nature of the progenitor star.

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E. Karagoz, N. Alan, S. Bilir, et. al.
Mon, 8 May 23
46/63

Comments: 22 pages, including 9 figures and 4 tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2201.09891

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03679

We present the analysis of archival XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of CH Cyg, one of the most studied symbiotic stars (SySts). The combination of the high-resolution XMM-Newton RGS and Chandra HETG X-ray spectra allowed us to obtain reliable estimates of the chemical abundances and to corroborate the presence of multi-temperature X-ray-emitting gas. Spectral fitting of the medium-resolution XMM-Newton MOS (MOS1+MOS2) spectrum required the use of an additional component not seen in previous studies in order to fit the 2.0-4.0 keV energy range. Detailed spectral modelling of the XMM-Newton MOS data suggests the presence of a reflection component, very similar to that found in active galactic nuclei. The reflection component is very likely produced by an ionised disk (the accretion disk around the white dwarf) and naturally explains the presence of the fluorescent Fe emission line at 6.4 keV while also contributing to the soft and medium energy ranges. The variability of the global X-ray properties of CH Cyg are discussed as well as the variation of the three Fe lines around the 6-7 keV energy range. We conclude that reflection components are needed to model the hard X-ray emission and may be present in most $\beta/\delta$-type SySt.

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J. Toalá, O. González-Martín, M. Karovska, et. al.
Mon, 8 May 23
50/63

Comments: 12 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables; To appear in MNRAS

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02860

We report the detection of very high energy gamma-ray emission from the blazar S3 1227+25 (VER J1230+253) with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). VERITAS observations of the source were triggered by the detection of a hard-spectrum GeV flare on May 15, 2015 with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT). A combined five-hour VERITAS exposure on May 16th and May 18th resulted in a strong 13$\sigma$ detection with a differential photon spectral index, $\Gamma$ = 3.8 $\pm$ 0.4, and a flux level at 9% of the Crab Nebula above 120 GeV. This also triggered target of opportunity observations with Swift, optical photometry, polarimetry and radio measurements, also presented in this work, in addition to the VERITAS and Fermi-LAT data. A temporal analysis of the gamma-ray flux during this period finds evidence of a shortest variability timescale of $\tau_{obs}$ = 6.2 $\pm$ 0.9 hours, indicating emission from compact regions within the jet, and the combined gamma-ray spectrum shows no strong evidence of a spectral cut-off. An investigation into correlations between the multiwavelength observations found evidence of optical and gamma-ray correlations, suggesting a single-zone model of emission. Finally, the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution is well described by a simple one-zone leptonic synchrotron self-Compton radiation model.

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A. Acharyya, C. Adams, A. Archer, et. al.
Fri, 5 May 23
14/67

Comments: 18 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ)

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02619

We study the evolution of a non-relativistically expanding thin shell in radio-emitting tidal disruption events (TDEs) based on a one-dimensional spherically symmetric model considering the effect of both a time-dependent mass loss rate of the disk wind and the ambient mass distribution. The analytical solutions are derived in two extreme limits: one is the approximate solution near the origin in the form of the Taylor series, and the other is the asymptotic solution in which the ambient matter is dominant far away from the origin. Our numerical solutions are confirmed to agree with the respective analytical solutions. We find that no simple power-law of time solution exists in early to middle times because the mass loss rate varies over time, affecting the shell dynamics. We also discuss the application of our model to the observed radio-emitting TDE, AT2019dsg.

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K. Hayasaki and R. Yamazaki
Fri, 5 May 23
21/67

Comments: 26 pages, 6 figures

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02595

A comparative analysis of the individual bursts between FRB 20190520B and FRB 20121102A is presented by compiling a sample of bursts in multiple wavelengths. It is found that the peak frequency ($\nu_p$) distribution of the bursts of FRB 20190520B illustrates four discrete peaks in $\sim1-6$ GHz and their spectral width distribution can be fitted with a log-normal function peaking at 0.35 GHz. The discrete $\nu_p$ distribution and the narrow-banded spectral feature are analogous to FRB 20121102A. The burst duration of FRB 20190520B in the rest frame averages 10.72 ms, longer than that of FRB 20121102A by a factor 3. The specific energy ($E_{\rm \mu_{\rm c}}$) at 1.25 GHz of FRB 20190520B observed with the FAST telescope narrowly ranges in $[0.4, 1]\times 10^{38}$ erg, different from the bimodal $E_{\rm \mu_{\rm c}}$ distribution of FRB 20121102A. Assuming a Gaussian spectral profile of the bursts, our Monte Carlo simulation analysis suggests that a power-law (PL) or a cutoff power-law (CPL) energy function can comparably reproduce the $E_{\rm \mu_{\rm c}}$ distribution of FRB 20190520B. The derived energy function index of the PL model is $4.46\pm 0.17$, much steeper than that of FRB 20121102A ($1.82^{+0.10}_{-0.30}$). For the CPL model, we obtain an index of $0.47$ and a cutoff energy of $7.4\times 10^{37}$ erg. Regarding the predicted $\nu_p$ distribution in 1-2 GHz, the CPL model is more preferred than the PL model. These results indicate that FRB 20190520B and FRB 20121102A shares similar spectral properties, but their energy functions are intrinsically different.

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F. Lyu and E. Liang
Fri, 5 May 23
37/67

Comments: 2023,MNRAS in press, 12 pages, 7 figures

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02598

The observed spectral shapes variation and tentative bimodal burst energy distribution (E-distribution) of fast radio burst (FRB) 20121102A with the FAST telescope are great puzzles. Adopting the published multifrequency data observed with the FAST and Arecibo telescopes at $L$ band and the GBT telescope at $C$ band, we investigate these puzzles through Monte Carlo simulations. The intrinsic energy function (E-function) is modeled as $dp/dE\propto E^{-\alpha_{\rm E}}$, and the spectral profile is described as a Gaussian function. A fringe pattern of its spectral peak frequency ($\nu_{\rm p}$) in 0.5-8 GHz is inferred from the $\nu_{\rm p}$ distribution of the GBT sample. We estimate the likelihood of $\alpha_{\rm E}$ and the standard deviation of the spectral profile ($\sigma_{\rm s}$) by utilizing the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K-S) test probability for the observed and simulated specific E-distributions. Our simulations yields $\alpha_{\rm E}=1.82^{+0.10}{-0.30}$ and $\sigma{\rm s}=0.18^{+0.28}{-0.06}$ ($3\sigma$ confidence level) with the FAST sample. These results suggest that a single power-law function is adequate to model the E-function of FRB 20121102A. The variations of its observed spectral indices and E-distributions with telescopes in different frequency ranges are due to both physical and observational reasons, i.e. narrow spectral width for a single burst and discrete $\nu{p}$ fringe pattern in a broad frequency range among bursts, and the selection effects of the telescope bandpass and sensitivity. The putative $\nu_{p}$ fringe pattern cannot be explained with the current radiation physics models of FRBs. Some caveats of possible artificial effects that may introduce such a feature are discussed.

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F. Lyu, J. Cheng, E. Liang, et. al.
Fri, 5 May 23
40/67

Comments: Published in ApJ,13 pages, 5 figures

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02929

We examine the effect of a jet transversal structure from magnetohydrodynamic semi-analytical modelling on the total intensity profiles of relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei. In order to determine the conditions for forming double- and triple-peaked transverse intensity profiles, we calculate the radiative transfer for synchrotron emission with self-absorption from the jets described by the models with a constant angular velocity and with a total electric current closed inside a jet. We show that double-peaked profiles appear either in the models with high maximal Lorentz factors or in optically thick conditions. We show that triple-peaked profiles in radio galaxies constrain the fraction of the emitting particles in a jet. We introduce the possible conditions for triple-peaked profiles under the assumptions that nonthermal electrons are preferably located at the jet edges or are distributed according to Ohmic heating.

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V. Frolova, E. Nokhrina and I. Pashchenko
Fri, 5 May 23
44/67

Comments: 22 pages, 11 figures, accepted by MNRAS

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02778

The paper presents the verification of previously published fast radio bursts (FRB) from the work of V.A. Fedorova and A.E. Rodin, detected in the monitoring data of the Large Phased Array (LPA) radio telescope using a search algorithm based on the convolution of data with a scattered pulse pattern. The same 6-channel data (channel width 415 kHz) were used for verification, in which FRBs were detected with dispersion measures of 247, 570 and 1767 pc/cm3. Additional verification of the published FRB was also carried out in 32-channel data (channel width 78 kHz). We have not been able to confirm any published FRB on the signal-to-noise ratios stated in the original paper. The main errors are caused by incorrect identification of the baseline and incorrect estimation of the standard deviations of noise.

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E. Brylyakova and S. Tyul’bashev
Fri, 5 May 23
51/67

Comments: published in Astronomy Reports, translated by Yandex translator with correction of scientific lexis, 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02639

We present a relativistic disk-corona model for a steady state advective accretion disk to explain the UV to X-ray spectral index $\alpha_{\text{OX}}$ evolution of \textbf{four} tidal disruption event (TDE) sources XMMSL2J1446, XMMSL1J1404, XMMSL1J0740, \textbf{and AT2018fyk}. The viscous stress in our model depends on gas ($P_g$) and total ($P_t$) pressures as $\tau_{r\phi} \propto P_g^{\mu} P_t^{1-\mu}$, where $\mu$ is a constant. We compare various steady and time-dependent sub-Eddington TDE accretion models along with our disk-corona model to the observed $\alpha_{\text{OX}}$ of TDE sources and find that the disk-corona model agrees with the observations better than the other models. We find that $\mu$ is much smaller than unity for TDE sources XMMSL2J1446, XMMSL1J1404, and XMMSL1J0740. We also compare the relativistic model with a non-relativistic disk-corona model. The relativistic accretion dynamics reduce the spectral index relative to the non-relativistic accretion by increasing the energy transport to the corona. We estimate the mass accretion rate for all the sources and find that the observed luminosity follows a nearly linear relation with the mass accretion rate. The ratio of X-ray luminosity from the disk to the corona increases with the mass accretion rate. The observed $\alpha_{\text{OX}}$ shows positive and negative correlations with luminosity. The disk-corona model explains the negative correlation seen in the TDE sources XMMSL1J0740, XMMSL2J1446, and XMMSL1J1404. However, TDE AT2018fyk shows a positive correlation at higher luminosity and shows a better fit when a simple spherical adiabatic outflow model is added to the relativistic disk-corona model. Even though the disk luminosity dominates at a higher mass accretion rate, we show that the accretion models without a corona are unable to explain the observations, and the presence of a corona is essential.

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T. Mageshwaran and S. Bhattacharyya
Fri, 5 May 23
59/67

Comments: 23 pages, 18 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Physical Review D

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.02087

Recent works have developed samples of blazars from among the Fermi-LAT unassociated sources via machine learning comparisons with known blazar samples. Continued analysis of these new blazars tests the predictions of the blazar sequence and enables more flux-complete samples of blazars as a population. Using Fermi, Swift, WISE, and archival radio data, we construct broadband spectral energy distributions for 106 recently identified blazars. Drawn from the unassociated 4FGL source sample, this new sample has a lower median flux than the overall sample of gamma-ray blazars. By measuring the synchrotron peak frequency, we compare our sample of new blazars with known blazars from the 4LAC catalog. We find that the bulk of the new blazars are similar to High-Synchrotron Peak (HSP) BL Lac objects, with a higher median synchrotron peak; the sample has a median $ log( {\nu}{syn} /Hz ) = 15.5 $ via BLaST peak estimation, compared to $ log( {\nu}{syn} /Hz ) = 14.2 $ for the 4LAC BL Lacs. Finally, we conduct synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) leptonic modeling, comparing fitted physical and phenomenological properties to brighter blazars. We find that the new blazars have smaller characteristic Lorentz factors ${\gamma}_{boost}$ and fitted magnetic fields $B$, in agreement with blazar sequence predictions. The new blazars have slightly higher Compton dominance ratios than expected, which may point to alternative emission models for these dim blazars. Our results extend the predictions of the blazar sequence to a sample of dimmer blazars, confirming the broad predictions of that theory.

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S. Kerby and A. Falcone
Thu, 4 May 23
31/60

Comments: 13 pages main body with 10 figures. 8 pages of data tables

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.01689

Low-luminosity supermassive and stellar-mass black holes (BHs) may be embedded in a collisionless and highly magnetized plasma. They show non-thermal flares indicative of efficient dissipative processes in the vicinity of the BH. During NIR flares from the supermassive BH Sagittarius A* (Sgr A), GRAVITY detected circular motion and polarization evolution which suggest the presence of transient synchrotron-emitting hot spots moving around the BH. We study 3D reconnecting current layers in the magnetosphere of spinning BHs to determine whether plasma-loaded flux ropes formed near the event horizon could reproduce the hot spot observations and help constraining the BH spin. We perform global 3D particle-in-cell simulations in Kerr spacetime of a pair plasma embedded in a strong large-scale magnetic field originating in a disk in prograde Keplerian rotation. A cone-shaped current layer develops which surrounds the twisted open magnetic field lines threading the event horizon. Magnetic field lines coupling the disk to the BH inflate and reconnect a few gravitational radii above the disk. Particles accelerate and accumulate in a few rotating macroscopic flux ropes. Once flux ropes detach, they propagate in the current layer following what appears as a rapidly opening spiral when seen face-on. A single flux rope carries enough relativistic particles to emit synchrotron radiation at levels suitable to reproduce the flares’ peak-luminosity of Sgr A but it quickly fades away as it flows away. Our kinematic analysis of flux ropes’ motion favors a BH spin of 0.65 to 0.8 for Sgr A*. The flares’ duration require that the underlying magnetic loop seeded in the disk mid-plane has a finite lifetime and azimuthal extent. In this scenario, the hot spot corresponds to a spinning arc along which multiple reconnection sites power the net emission as flux ropes episodically detach.

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I. Mellah, B. Cerutti and B. Crinquand
Thu, 4 May 23
33/60

Comments: Submitted to A&A, comments welcome

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.01500

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have long been suspected as possible ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) accelerators. In this brief note, I report that GRB 980425/SN 1998bw falls within the region of interest (ROI) with the highest significance in an all-sky blind search for magnetically-induced effects in the arrival directions of UHECRs conducted by the Pierre Auger Collaboration with events detected up to to 2018 August 31. There is also report in the literature of delayed TeV emission in archival Fermi-LAT observations from the direction of GRB 980425/SN 1998bw. The combined probability that two distinct cosmic ray acceleration signatures in two different multimessenger experiments may appear at the same spatial location by chance is estimated to be between $1.62 \times 10^{-3}$ and 0.0157.

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N. Mirabal
Wed, 3 May 23
5/67

Comments: 3 pages, 1 figure, Research Notes of the AAS

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.01409

On the Large Phased Array (LPA) of Lebedev Physics Institute (LPI), a search for pulsars outside the Galaxy plane was carried out in a 300 sq. deg area. The search with a sensitivity 5-10 times better than that of previously conducted surveys was at a frequency of 111 MHz. The search was carried out in the summed power spectra. With an accumulation equivalent to 100 hours of continuous observations for each point of the area, 5 known pulsars were detected with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) from 20 to 1300 in the first harmonic of the spectrum. Average profiles were obtained for the detected pulsars. Estimates of the peak and integral flux densities of the found pulsars are given for individual sessions and for the power spectra summarized over 5.5 years, obtained using the developed method based on measurements of the height of harmonics in the power spectrum. No new pulsars have been detected in the area. Apparently, when searching for pulsars in the area, we have approached the lower limit of the luminosity of the second pulsars. The completeness of the survey is at the level of 0.5 mJy.

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S. Tyul’bashev and G. Tyul’basheva
Wed, 3 May 23
56/67

Comments: published in Astronomy Reports, translated by Yandex translator with correction of scientific lexis, 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00029

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), both long and short, are explosive events whose inner engine is generally expected to be a black hole or a highly magnetic neutron star (magnetar) accreting high density matter. Recognizing the nature of GRB central engines, and in particular the formation of neutron stars (NSs), is of high astrophysical significance. A possible signature of NSs in GRBs is the presence of a plateau in the early X-ray afterglow. Here we carefully select a subset of long and short GRBs with a clear plateau, and look for an additional NS signature in their prompt emission, namely a transition between accretion and propeller in analogy with accreting, magnetic compact objects in other astrophysical sources. We estimate from the prompt emission the minimum accretion luminosity below which the propeller mechanism sets in, and the NS magnetic field and spin period from the plateau. We demonstrate that these three quantities obey the same universal relation in GRBs as in other accreting compact objects switching from accretion to propeller. This relation provides also an estimate of the radiative efficiency of GRBs, which we find to be several times lower than radiatively efficient accretion in X-ray binaries and in agreement with theoretical expectations. These results provide additional support to the idea that at least some GRBs are powered by magnetars surrounded by an accretion disc.

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S. Dall’Osso, G. Stratta, R. Perna, et. al.
Tue, 2 May 23
9/57

Comments: 15 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00209

Recently the Galactic and Extra-galactic All-sky Murchison Widefield Array survey has published 27 new candidate radio supernova remnants (SNRs) which are located within the longitude ranges of 345{\deg} < l < 60{\deg} and 180{\deg} < l < 240{\deg}. To search for the gamma-ray counterparts of these candidate radio SNRs, we analyzed 14 years of {\it Fermi}-LAT data in the energy range of 1 – 300 GeV. There are three promising SNRs; G18.9$-$1.2, G23.1$+$0.1, and G28.3$+$0.2, which we detected at a significance level of $\sim$9$\sigma$, $\sim$13$\sigma$, and $\sim$12$\sigma$, respectively. Here we report the results of our morphological and spectral analyses of G18.9$-$1.2, G23.1$+$0.1, and G28.3$+$0.2. No extended gamma-ray emission is detected for any of these SNRs. Our analysis of the 3 SNRs’ {\it Fermi}-LAT gamma-ray emission showed that their best-fit positions (if assumed point-like) overlap with the locations of the corresponding GLEAM counterparts.

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B. Mese and T. Ergin
Tue, 2 May 23
10/57

Comments: Proceedings of Science; 7th Heidelberg International Symposium on High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy (Gamma2022), 4-8 July 2022, Barcelona, Spain

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00475

It is a common belief that for magnetic fields typical for accreting neutron stars in High-Mass X-ray Binaries vacuum polarization only affects the propagation of polarized emission in the neutron star magnetosphere. We show that vacuum resonances can significantly alter the emission from the poles of accreting neutron stars. The effect is similar to vacuum polarization in the atmospheres of isolated neutron stars and can result in suppression of the continuum and the cyclotron lines. It is enhanced by magnetic Comptonization in the hot plasma and proximity to the electron cyclotron resonance. We present several models to illustrate the vacuum polarization effect for various optically thick media and discuss how the choice of polarization modes affects the properties of the emergent radiation by simulating polarized energy- and angle-dependent radiative transfer. Polarization effects, including vacuum polarization, crucially alter the emission properties. Together with strongly angle- and energy- dependent magnetic Comptonization, they result in a complex spectral shape, which can be described by dips and humps on top of a power-law-like continuum with high-energy cutoff. These effects provide a possible explanation for the common necessity of additional broad Gaussian components and two-component Comptonization models that are used to describe spectra of accreting X-ray pulsars. We also demonstrate the character of depolarization introduced by the radiation field’s propagation inside the inhomogeneous emission region.

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E. Sokolova-Lapa, J. Stierhof, T. Dauser, et. al.
Tue, 2 May 23
14/57

Comments: 4 pages, 6 figures

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00847

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) 201015A and 201216C are valuable cases with detection of very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray afterglows. By analysing their prompt emission data, we find that GRB 201216C is an extremely energetic long GRB with a hard gamma-ray spectrum, while GRB 201015A is a relative sub-energetic, soft spectrum GRB. Attributing their radio-optical-X-ray afterglows to the synchrotron radiation of the relativistic electrons accelerated in their jets, we fit their afterglow lightcurves with the standard external shock model and infer their VHE afterglows from the synchrotron self-Compton scattering process of the electrons. It is found that the jet of GRB 201015A is mid-relativistic ($\Gamma_0=44$) surrounded by a very dense medium ($n=1202$ cm$^{-3}$) and the jet of GRB 201216C is ultra-relativistic ($\Gamma_0=331$) surrounded by a moderate dense medium ($n=5$ cm$^{-3}$). The inferred peak luminosity of the VHE gamma-ray afterglows of GRB 201216C is approximately $10^{-9}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ at $57-600$ seconds after the GRB trigger, making it can be detectable with the MAGIC telescopes at a high confidence level, even the GRB is at a redshift of 1.1. Comparing their intrinsic VHE gamma-ray lightcurves and spectral energy distributions with GRBs~180720B, 190114C, and 190829A, we show that their intrinsic peak luminosity of VHE gamma-ray afterglows at $10^{4}$ seconds post the GRB trigger is variable from $10^{45}$ to $5\times 10^{48}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and their kinetic energy, initial Lorentz factor, and medium density are diverse among bursts.

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L. Zhang, J. Ren, Y. Wang, et. al.
Tue, 2 May 23
26/57

Comments: 18 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. ApJ accepted

http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00036

We study the linear stability of a planar interface separating two fluids in relative motion, focusing on the symmetric configuration where the two fluids have the same properties (density, temperature, magnetic field strength, and direction). We consider the most general case with arbitrary sound speed $c_{\rm s}$, Alfv\’en speed $v_{\rm A}$, and magnetic field orientation. For the instability associated with the fast mode, we find that the lower bound of unstable shear velocities is set by the requirement that the projection of the velocity onto the fluid-frame wavevector is larger than the projection of the Alfv\’en speed onto the same direction, i.e., shear should overcome the effect of magnetic tension. In the frame where the two fluids move in opposite directions with equal speed $v$, the upper bound of unstable velocities corresponds to an effective relativistic Mach number $M_{re} \equiv v/v_{\rm f\perp} \sqrt{(1-v_{\rm f\perp}^2)/(1-v^2)} \cos\theta=\sqrt{2}$, where $v_{rm f\perp}=[v_A^2+c_{\rm s}^2(1-v_A^2)]^{1/2}$ is the fast speed assuming a magnetic field perpendicular to the wavevector (here, all velocities are in units of the speed of light), and $\theta$ is the laboratory-frame angle between the flow velocity and the wavevector projection onto the shear interface. Our results have implications for shear flows in the magnetospheres of neutron stars and black holes — both for single objects and for merging binaries — where the Alfv\’en speed may approach the speed of light.

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A. Chow, M. Rowan, L. Sironi, et. al.
Tue, 2 May 23
43/57

Comments: 11 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, submitted to journal

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14665

We report the observations of FRB 20220912A using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). We conducted 17 observations totaling 8.67 hours and detected a total of 1076 bursts with an event rate up to 390 hr$^{-1}$. The cumulative energy distribution can be well described using a broken power-law function with the lower and higher-energy slopes of $-0.38\pm0.02$ and $-2.07\pm0.07$, respectively. We also report the L band ($1-1.5$ GHz) spectral index of the synthetic spectrum of FRB~20220912A bursts, which is $-2.6\pm0.21$. The average rotation measure (RM) value of the bursts from FRB~20220912A is $-0.08\pm5.39\ \rm rad\,m^{-2}$, close to 0 $\rm rad\,m^{-2}$ and maintain relatively stable over two months. Most bursts have nearly 100\% linear polarization. About 45\% of the bursts have circular polarization with SNR $>$ 3, and the highest circular polarization degree can reach 70\%. Our observations suggest that FRB~20220912A is located in a relatively clean local environment with complex circular polarization characteristics. These various behaviors imply that the mechanism of circular polarization of FRBs likely originates from an intrinsic radiation mechanism, such as coherent curvature radiation or inverse Compton scattering inside the magnetosphere of the FRB engine source (e.g. a magnetar).

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Y. Zhang, D. Li, B. Zhang, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
1/51

Comments: 15 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, submitted to ApJ, comments are welcome!

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14697

We present the interstellar scintillation analysis of fast radio burst (FRB) 20220912A during its extremely active episode in 2022 using data from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST). We detect a scintillation arc in the FRB’s secondary spectrum, which describes the power in terms of the scattered FRB signals’ time delay and Doppler shift. The arc indicates that the scintillation is caused by a highly localized region of the ionized interstellar medium (IISM). Our analysis favors a Milky Way origin for the localized scattering medium but cannot rule out a host galaxy origin. We present our method for detecting the scintillation arc, which can be applied generally to sources with irregularly spaced bursts or pulses. These methods could help shed light on the complex interstellar environment surrounding the FRBs and in our Galaxy.

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Z. Wu, R. Main, W. Zhu, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
6/51

Comments: Submitted to SCPMA, 9 pages, 7 figures

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14534

The BL Lac Markarian 501 exhibited two flaring activities in the very-high-energy (VHE) band in May 2009. The lack of correlation between X-rays and TeV gamma-rays without increasing in other bands suggested that more than one emission zone could be involved. Moreover, fast variability in the flaring state was observed, indicating that the emission zones responsible must have small sizes. We use a lepto-hadronic model with two-zone emission to explain the spectral energy distribution during quiescent and these flaring states. In the proposed scenario, the photopion processes explain the VHE flaring activities successfully, and variability constraints place the activity in a zone located near the jet’s base or named inner blob, while synchrotron self-Compton emission describing the X-ray signature during that flaring state occurs in the zone situated far the central engine or named outer blob.

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E. Aguilar-Ruiz, N. Fraija and A. ámez
Mon, 1 May 23
11/51

Comments: Accepted in The European Physical Journal C

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14671

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright millisecond radio bursts at cosmological distances. Only three FRBs have exhibited extreme activities, such as achieving a peak event rate $\gtrsim 100$ hr$^{-1}$ or being persistently active. Only these three among $\sim 50$ known repeating FRBs have circular polarization. We observed the FRB 20220912A with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) at L-band on 24 October 2022 and detected 128 bursts in 1.4 hours, corresponding to a burst rate of about 90 hr$^{-1}$, which is the highest yet for FRBs observed by the GBT and makes it the fourth extremely active FRB. The median energy of the bursts is $4.0\times10^{37}$ erg, close to the characteristic energy of FRB 20121102A. The average rotation measure (RM) was $-$0.4 rad m$^{-2}$ with unnoticeable intraday RM change, indicating a likely clean environment, in contrast to the other three extremely active repeating FRBs. Most bursts have nearly 100% linear polarization. Approximately 56% of the bright bursts have circular polarization, the highest such fraction among all FRBs. A downward drift in frequency and polarization angle swings were found in our sample. The discovery and characterization of FRB 20220912A support the view that the downward drift in frequency, polarization angle swings, and circular polarization are intrinsic to radiation physics, which may be shared by active repeaters regardless of the environments.

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Y. Feng, D. Li, Y. Zhang, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
19/51

Comments: N/A

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14935

Rotating massive stars with initial progenitor masses $M_{\rm prog} \sim$ 25 $M_{\odot}$ — $\sim$140 $M_{\odot}$ can leave rapidly rotating black holes to become collapsars. The black holes and the surrounding accretion disks may develop powerful jets by magneto-hydrodynamics instabilities. The propagation of the jet in the stellar envelope provides the necessary shock heating for triggering nucleosynthesis unseen in canonical core-collapse supernovae. Yet, the energy budget of the jet and its effects on the final chemical abundance pattern are unclear. In this exploratory work, we present a survey on the parameter dependence of collapsar nucleosynthesis on jet energetics. We use the zero-metallicity star with $M_{\rm prog} \sim$ 40 $M_{\odot}$ as the progenitor. The parameters include the jet duration, its energy deposition rate, deposited energy, and the opening angle. We examine the correlations of following observables: (1) the ejecta and remnant masses, (2) the energy deposition efficiency, (3) the $^{56}$Ni production and its correlation with the ejecta velocity, deposited energy, and the ejected mass, (4) the Sc-Ti-V correlation as observed in metal-poor stars, and (5) the [Zn/Fe] ratio as observed in some metal-poor stars. We also provide the chemical abundance table of these explosion models for the use of the galactic chemical evolution and stellar archaeology.

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S. Leung, K. Nomoto and T. Suzuki
Mon, 1 May 23
21/51

Comments: 21 pages, 32 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14881

In the beginning of 2023 the Be transient X-ray pulsar RX J0440.9+4431 underwent a fist-ever giant outburst observed from the source peaking in the beginning of February and reaching peak luminosity of $\sim 4.3\times10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Here we present the results of a detailed spectral and temporal study of the source based on NuSTAR, INTEGRAL, Swift, and NICER observations performed during this period and covering wide range of energies and luminosities. We find that both the pulse profile shape and spectral hardness change abruptly around $\sim2.8\times10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$, which we associate with a transition to super-critical accretion regime and erection of the accretion column. The observed pulsed fraction decreases gradually with energy up to 20 keV (with a local minimum around fluorescence iron line), which is unusual for an X-ray pulsar, and then rises rapidly at higher energies with the pulsations significantly detected up to $\sim120$ keV. The broadband energy spectra of RX J0440.9+4431 at different luminosity states can be approximated with a two-hump model with peaks at energies of about 10-20 and 50-70 keV previously suggested for other pulsars without additional features. In particular an absorption feature around 30 keV previously reported and interpreted as a cyclotron line in the literature appears to be absent when using this model, so the question regarding the magnetic field strength of the neutron star remains open. Instead, we attempted to estimate field using several indirect methods and conclude that all of them point to a relatively strong field of around $B\sim 10^{13}$ G.

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A. Salganik, S. Tsygankov, V. Doroshenko, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
35/51

Comments: 11 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to MNRAS

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14699

We present the results of a direct measurement of the cosmic-ray helium spectrum with the CALET instrument in operation on the International Space Station since 2015. The observation period covered by this analysis spans from October 13, 2015 to April 30, 2022 (2392 days). The very wide dynamic range of CALET allowed to collect helium data over a large energy interval, from ~40 GeV to ~250 TeV, for the first time with a single instrument in Low Earth Orbit. The measured spectrum shows evidence of a deviation of the flux from a single power-law by more than 8$\sigma$ with a progressive spectral hardening from a few hundred GeV to a few tens of TeV. This result is consistent with the data reported by space instruments including PAMELA, AMS-02, DAMPE and balloon instruments including CREAM. At higher energy we report the onset of a softening of the helium spectrum around 30 TeV (total kinetic energy). Though affected by large uncertainties in the highest energy bins, the observation of a flux reduction turns out to be consistent with the most recent results of DAMPE. A Double Broken Power Law (DBPL) is found to fit simultaneously both spectral features: the hardening (at lower energy) and the softening (at higher energy). A measurement of the proton to helium flux ratio in the energy range from 60 GeV/n to about 60 TeV/n is also presented, using the CALET proton flux recently updated with higher statistics.

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O. Adriani, Y. Akaike, K. Asano, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
50/51

Comments: N/A

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14107

In this paper, we analyzed 12 years of Fermi LAT gamma-ray data towards three nearby giant molecular clouds (GMCs), i.e., R~CrA, Chamaeleon, and Lupus. We calibrated the gas column density of these regions by using the Planck dust opacity map as well as the Gaia extinction map. With both the gamma-ray observations and gas column density maps, we derived the cosmic ray densities in the three GMCs. We found the derived CR spectra have almost the same shape but significantly different normalizations, which may reflect that the distributions of CRs in the vicinity of solar systems are inhomogeneous.

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J. Liu, B. Liu and R. Yang
Fri, 28 Apr 23
5/68

Comments: 9 pages, 6 figures, to be submitted to JCAP

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13893

The proton synchrotron radiation is considered as the origin of high-energy emission of blazars at times. However, extreme physical parameters are often required. In this work, we propose an analytical method to study the parameter space when applying the proton synchrotron radiation to fit the keV, GeV, and very-high-energy emission of blazar jets. We find that proton synchrotron radiation can fit the high-energy hump when it peaks beyond tens GeV without violating basic observations and theories. For the high-energy hump peaked around GeV band, extreme parameters, such as a super-Eddington jet power and a very strong magnetic field, are required. For the high-energy hump peaked around keV band, if an acceptable parameter space can be found depends on the object’s keV luminosity.

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R. Xue, S. Huang, H. Xiao, et. al.
Fri, 28 Apr 23
7/68

Comments: Accepted for publication in Physical Review D (13 pages, 8 figures)

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13795

Extragalactic fast X-ray transients (FXTs) are short flashes of X-ray photons of unknown origin that last a few minutes to hours. We extend the search for extragalactic FXTs from Quirola et al. 2022 (Paper I; based on sources in the Chandra Source Catalog 2.0, CSC2) to further Chandra archival data between 2014-2022. We extract X-ray data using a method similar to that employed by CSC2 and apply identical search criteria as in Paper I. We report the detection of eight FXT candidates, with peak 0.3-10 keV fluxes between 1$\times$10$^{-13}$ to 1$\times$10$^{-11}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ and $T_{90}$ values from 0.3 to 12.1 ks. This sample of FXTs has likely redshifts between 0.7 to 1.8. Three FXT candidates exhibit light curves with a plateau (${\approx}$1-3 ks duration) followed by a power-law decay and X-ray spectral softening, similar to what was observed for a few previously reported FXTs in Paper I. In light of the new, expanded source lists (eight FXTs with known redshifts from Paper I and this work), we update the event sky rates derived in Paper I, finding 36.9$_{-8.3}^{+9.7}$ deg$^{-2}$ yr$^{-1}$ for the extragalactic samples for a limiting flux of ${\gtrsim}$1${\times}$10$^{-13}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, calculate the first FXT X-ray luminosity function, and compare the volumetric density rate between FXTs and other transient classes. Our latest Chandra-detected extragalactic FXT candidates boost the total Chandra sample by $\sim$50 %, and appear to have a similar diversity of possible progenitors.

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J. Quirola-Vásquez, F. Bauer, P. Jonker, et. al.
Fri, 28 Apr 23
11/68

Comments: 37 pages, 19 figures, 11 tables, accepted for publication in A&A. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2201.07773

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14331

The afterglows of exceptionally bright gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can reveal the angular structure of their ultra-relativistic jets after they emerge from the confining medium, e.g. the progenitor’s stellar envelope in long-soft GRBs. These jets appear to have a narrow core (of half-opening angle $\theta_c$), beyond which their kinetic energy drops as a power-law with the angle $\theta$ from the jet’s symmetry axis, $E_{k,\rm iso}(\theta)\propto[1+(\theta/\theta_c)^2]^{-a/2}$. The power-law index $a$ reflects the amount of mixing between the shocked jet and confining medium, which depends on the jet’s inital magnetization. Weakly magnetized jets undergo significant mixing, leading to shallow ($a\lesssim2$) angular profiles. Here we use the exquisite multi-waveband afterglow observations of GRB 221009A to constrain the jet angular structure using a dynamical model that accounts for both the forward and reverse shocks, for a power-law external density radial profile, $n_{\rm{}ext}\propto{}R^{-k}$. Both the forward shock emission, that dominates the optical and X-ray flux, and the reverse shock emission, that produces the radio afterglow, require a jet with a narrow core ($\theta_c\approx0.021$) and a shallow angular structure ($a\approx0.8$) expanding into a stellar wind ($k\approx2$). In addition, the fraction of shock-heated electrons forming a relativistic power-law energy distribution is limited to $\xi_e\approx10^{-2}$ in both shocks.

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R. Gill and J. Granot
Fri, 28 Apr 23
26/68

Comments: 5 pages, 3 figures. Submitted

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14265

Most active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at the center of the nearby galaxies have super-massive black holes accreting at sub-Eddington rates through hot accretion flows or radiatively inefficient accretion flows, which efficiently produce jets. The association of radio and X-ray flares with the knot ejection from M81* inspires us to model its multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution during these flares to constrain the physical parameters of the jet. Moreover, we construct a long-term light curve in X-rays to identify the flares in the available data and constrain the jet parameters during those periods. The jet activity may vary on short and long time scales, which may produce flares in different frequency bands. The spectral energy distributions from radio to X-ray during the quiescent as well as flaring states are found to be satisfactorily explained by synchrotron emission of relativistic electrons from a single zone. The variation in the values of the jet parameters during the different states is shown and compared with high synchrotron peaked blazars.

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G. Tomar and N. Gupta
Fri, 28 Apr 23
41/68

Comments: 14 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; Under review at ApJ

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14066

We report the discovery of the isolated neutron star (INS) candidates eRASSU J065715.3+260428 and eRASSU J131716.9-402647 from the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) eROSITA All-Sky Survey. Selected for their soft X-ray emission and absence of catalogued counterparts, both objects were recently targeted with the Large Binocular Telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope. The absence of counterparts down to deep optical limits (25 mag, 5$\sigma$) and, as a result, large X-ray-to-optical flux ratios in both cases strongly suggest an INS nature. The X-ray spectra of both sources are well described by a simple absorbed blackbody, whereas other thermal and non-thermal models (e.g. a hot-plasma emission spectrum or power law) are disfavoured by the spectral analysis. Within the current observational limits, and as expected for cooling INSs, no significant variation ($>2\sigma$) has been identified over the first two-year time span of the survey. Upcoming dedicated follow-up observations will help us to confirm the candidates’ nature.

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J. Kurpas, A. Schwope, A. Pires, et. al.
Fri, 28 Apr 23
42/68

Comments: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14208

Relativistic jets launched by Active Galactic Nuclei are among the most powerful particle accelerators in the Universe. The emission over the entire electromagnetic spectrum of these relativistic jets can be extremely variable with scales of variability from less than few minutes up to several years. These variability patterns, which can be very complex, contain information about the acceleration processes of the particles and the area(s) of emission. Thanks to its sensitivity, five-to twenty-times better than the current generation of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes depending on energy, the Cherenkov Telescope Array will be able to follow the emission from these objects with a very accurate time sampling and over a wide spectral coverage from 20 GeV to > 20 TeV and thus reveal the nature of the acceleration processes at work in these objects. We will show the first results of our lightcurve simulations and long-term behavior of AGN as will be observed by CTA, based on state-of-art particle acceleration models.

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F. Cangemi, T. Hovatta, E. Lindfors, et. al.
Fri, 28 Apr 23
57/68

Comments: Proceedings for Gamma 2022, 8 pages, 6 figures

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13599

The X-ray pulsar 1A 0535+262 exhibited a giant outburst in 2020, offering us a unique opportunity for X-ray polarimetry of an accreting pulsar in the supercritical state. Measurement with PolarLight yielded a non-detection in 3-8 keV; the 99% upper limit of the polarization fraction (PF) is found to be 0.34 averaged over spin phases, or 0.51 based on the rotating vector model. No useful constraint can be placed with phase resolved polarimetry. These upper limits are lower than a previous theoretical prediction of 0.6-0.8, but consistent with those found in other accreting pulsars, like Her X-1, Cen X-3, 4U 1626-67, and GRO J1008-57, which were in the subcritical state, or at least not confidently in the supercritical state, during the polarization measurements. Our results suggest that the relatively low PF seen in accreting pulsars cannot be attributed to the source not being in the supercritical state, but could be a general feature.

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X. Long, H. Feng, H. Li, et. al.
Thu, 27 Apr 23
25/78

Comments: accepted for publication in ApJ

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13358

The observation of varying broad iron lines during the state transition of the black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) have been accumulating.In this work, the relation between the normalized intensity and the width of iron lines is investigated, in order to understand better the variation of iron lines and possibly its connection to state transition. Considering the uncertainties due to ionization and illuminating X-rays, only the effects of geometry and gravity are taken into account. Three scenarios were studied, i.e., the continuous disk model, innermost annulus model, and the cloud model. As shown by our calculations, at given iron width, the line flux of the cloud model is smaller than that of the continuous disk model; while for the innermost annulus model, the width is almost unrelated with the flux. The range of the line strength depends on both the BH spin and the inclination of the disk. We then apply to the observation of MAXI J1631-479 by NuSTAR during its decay from the soft state to the intermediate state. We estimated the relative line strength and width according to the spectral fitting results by Xu et al.(2020), and then compared with our theoretical width-flux relation. It was found that the cloud model was more favored. We further modeled the iron line profiles, and found that the cloud model can explain both the line profile and its variation with reasonable parameters.

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H. Shui, F. Xie, Z. Yan, et. al.
Thu, 27 Apr 23
33/78

Comments: 7 figures, 12 pages, accepted for publication in RAA

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13630

A conducting cylinder, with a uniform magnetic field along its axis, and radial temperature gradient, is considered. At large temperature gradients the azimuthal Hall electrical current creates the axial magnetic field which strength may be comparable with the original one. It is shown, that the magnetic field generated by the azimuthal Hall current leads to the decrease of magnetic field originated by external sources.

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G. Bisnovatyi-Kogan and M. Glushikhina
Thu, 27 Apr 23
40/78

Comments: 15 pages, 13 figures