TY - JOUR A1 - Heintz, Kasper Elm A1 - Watson, D. A1 - Jakobsson, P. A1 - Fynbo, J. P. U. A1 - Bolmer, J. A1 - Arabsalmani, M. A1 - Cano, Zach A1 - Covino, S. A1 - Gomboc, A. A1 - Japelj, J. A1 - Kaper, L. A1 - Krogager, J. -K. A1 - Pugliese, G. A1 - Sanchez-Ramirez, R. A1 - Selsing, J. A1 - Sparre, Martin A1 - Tanvir, N. R. A1 - Thone, C. C. A1 - de Ugarte Postigo, A. A1 - Vergani, S. D. T1 - Highly ionized metals as probes of the circumburst gas in the natal regions of gamma-ray bursts JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We present here a survey of high-ionization absorption lines in the afterglow spectra of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) obtained with the VLT/X-shooter spectrograph. Our main goal is to investigate the circumburst medium in the natal regions of GRBs. Our primary focus is on the N vλλ 1238, 1242 line transitions, but we also discuss other high-ionization lines such as O vi, C iv, and Si iv. We find no correlation between the column density of N v and the neutral gas properties such as metallicity, H i column density, and dust depletion; however, the relative velocity of N v, typically a blueshift with respect to the neutral gas, is found to be correlated with the column density of H i. This may be explained if the N v gas is part of an H ii region hosting the GRB, where the region’s expansion is confined by dense, neutral gas in the GRB’s host galaxy. We find tentative evidence (at 2σ significance) that the X-ray derived column density, NH, X, may be correlated with the column density of N v, which would indicate that both measurements are sensitive to the column density of the gas located in the vicinity of the GRB. We investigate the scenario where N v (and also O vi) is produced by recombination after the corresponding atoms have been stripped entirely of their electrons by the initial prompt emission, in contrast to previous models where highly ionized gas is produced by photoionization from the GRB afterglow. KW - gamma-ray bursts: general KW - ISM: abundances Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1447 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 479 IS - 3 SP - 3456 EP - 3476 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Selsing, Jonatan A1 - Malesani, D. A1 - Goldoni, P. A1 - Fynbo, Johan A1 - Krühler, T. A1 - Antonelli, L. A. A1 - Arabsalmani, M. A1 - Bolmer, J. A1 - Cano, Z. A1 - Christensen, L. A1 - Covino, S. A1 - De Cia, A. A1 - de Ugarte Postigo, A. A1 - Flores, H. A1 - Fliis, M. A1 - Gomboc, A. A1 - Greiner, J. A1 - Groot, P. A1 - Hammer, F. A1 - Hartoog, O. E. A1 - Heintz, K. E. A1 - Hjorth, J. A1 - Jakobsson, P. A1 - Japelj, J. A1 - Kann, D. A. A1 - Kaper, L. A1 - Ledoux, C. A1 - Leloudas, G. A1 - Levan, A. J. A1 - Maiorano, E. A1 - Melandri, A. A1 - Milvang-Jensen, B. A1 - Palazzi, E. A1 - Palmerio, J. T. A1 - Perley, D. A. A1 - Pian, E. A1 - Piranomonte, S. A1 - Pugliese, G. A1 - Sanchez-Ramirez, R. A1 - Savaglio, S. A1 - Schady, P. A1 - Schulze, S. A1 - Sollerman, J. A1 - Sparre, Martin A1 - Tagliaferri, G. A1 - Tanvir, N. R. A1 - Thone, C. C. A1 - Vergani, S. D. A1 - Vreeswijk, P. A1 - Watson, D. A1 - Wiersema, K. A1 - Wijers, R. A1 - Xu, D. A1 - Zafar, T. T1 - The X-shooter GRB afterglow legacy sample (XS-GRB) JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - In this work we present spectra of all gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows that have been promptly observed with the X-shooter spectrograph until 31/03/2017. In total, we have obtained spectroscopic observations of 103 individual GRBs observed within 48 hours of the GRB trigger. Redshifts have been measured for 97 per cent of these, covering a redshift range from 0.059 to 7.84. Based on a set of observational selection criteria that minimise biases with regards to intrinsic properties of the GRBs, the follow-up effort has been focused on producing a homogeneously selected sample of 93 afterglow spectra for GRBs discovered by the Swift satellite. We here provide a public release of all the reduced spectra, including continuum estimates and telluric absorption corrections. For completeness, we also provide reductions for the 18 late-time observations of the underlying host galaxies. We provide an assessment of the degree of completeness with respect to the parent GRB population, in terms of the X-ray properties of the bursts in the sample and find that the sample presented here is representative of the full Swift sample. We have constrained the fraction of dark bursts to be <28 per cent and confirm previous results that higher optical darkness is correlated with increased X-ray absorption. For the 42 bursts for which it is possible, we have provided a measurement of the neutral hydrogen column density, increasing the total number of published HI column density measurements by similar to 33 per cent. This dataset provides a unique resource to study the ISM across cosmic time, from the local progenitor surroundings to the intervening Universe. KW - gamma-ray burst: general KW - galaxies: high-redshift KW - ISM: general KW - techniques: spectroscopic KW - catalogs KW - galaxies: star formation Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832835 SN - 1432-0746 SN - 0004-6361 VL - 623 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tramper, F. A1 - Straal, S. M. A1 - Sanyal, D. A1 - Sana, Hugues A1 - de Koter, A. A1 - Gräfener, G. A1 - Langer, N. A1 - Vink, J. S. A1 - de Mink, S. E. A1 - Kaper, L. T1 - Massive Wolf-Rayet stars on the verge to explode BT - the properties of the WO stars JF - Wolf-Rayet Stars : Proceedings of an International Workshop held in Potsdam, Germany, 1.–5. June 2015 N2 - The enigmatic oxygen-sequence Wolf-Rayet stars represent a rare stage in the evolution of massive stars. Their properties can provide unique constraints on the pre-supernova evolution of massive stars. This work presents the results of a quantitative spectroscopic analysis of the known single WO stars, with the aim to obtain the key stellar parameters and deduce their evolutionary state.X-Shooter spectra of the WO stars are modeled using the line-blanketed non-local thermal equilibrium atmosphere code cmfgen. The obtained stellar parameters show that the WO stars are very hot, with temperatures ranging from 150 kK to 210 kK. Their chemical composition is dominated by carbon (>50%), while the helium mass fraction is very low (down to 14%). Oxygen mass fractions reach as high as 25%. These properties can be reproduced with dedicated evolutionary models for helium stars, which show that the stars are post core-helium burning and very close to their eventual supernova explosion. The helium-star masses indicate initial masses or approximately 40 - 60M⊙.Thus, WO stars represent the final evolutionary stage of stars with estimated initial masses of 40 - 60M⊙. They are post core-helium burning and may explode as type Ic supernovae within a few thousand years. Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-87786 SP - 109 EP - 112 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Brown, John C. A1 - Barrett, R. K. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Owocki, S. P. A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer A1 - de Jong, J. A. A1 - Kaper, L. A1 - Henrichs, H. F. T1 - Inference of hot star density stream properties from data on rotationally recurrent DACs N2 - The information content of data on rotationally periodic recurrent discrete absorption components (DACs) in hot star wind emission lines is discussed. The data comprise optical depths tau(w,phi) as a function of dimensionless Doppler velocity w=(Deltalambda/lambda(0))(c/v(infinity)) and of time expressed in terms of stellar rotation angle phi. This is used to study the spatial distributions of density, radial and rotational velocities, and ionisation structures of the corotating wind streams to which recurrent DACs are conventionally attributed. The simplifying assumptions made to reduce the degrees of freedom in such structure distribution functions to match those in the DAC data are discussed and the problem then posed in terms of a bivariate relationship between tau(w, phi) and the radial velocity v(r)(r), transverse rotation rate Omega(r) and density rho(r, phi) structures of the streams. The discussion applies to cases where: the streams are equatorial; the system is seen edge on; the ionisation structure is approximated as uniform; the radial and transverse velocities are taken to be functions only of radial distance but the stream density is allowed to vary with azimuth. The last kinematic assumption essentially ignores the dynamical feedback of density on velocity and the relationship of this to fully dynamical models is discussed. The case of narrow streams is first considered, noting the result of Hamann et al. (2001) that the apparent acceleration of a narrow stream DAC is higher than the acceleration of the matter itself, so that the apparent slow acceleration of DACs cannot be attributed to the slowness of stellar rotation. Thus DACs either involve matter which accelerates slower than the general wind flow, or they are formed by structures which are not advected with the matter flow but propagate upstream (such as Abbott waves). It is then shown how, in the kinematic model approximation, the radial speed of the absorbing matter can be found by inversion of the apparent acceleration of the narrow DAC, for a given rotation law. The case of broad streams is more complex but also more informative. The observed tau(w,phi) is governed not only by v(r)(r) and Omega(r) of the absorbing stream matter but also by the density profile across the stream, determined by the azimuthal (phi(0)) distribution function F- 0(phi(0)) of mass loss rate around the stellar equator. When F-0(phi(0)) is fairly wide in phi(0), the acceleration of the DAC peak tau(w, phi) in w is generally slow compared with that of a narrow stream DAC and the information on v(r)(r), Omega(r) and F-0(phi(0)) is convoluted in the data tau(w, phi). We show that it is possible, in this kinematic model, to recover by inversion, complete information on all three distribution functions v(r)(r), Omega(r) and F- 0(phi(0)) from data on tau(w, phi) of sufficiently high precision and resolution since v(r)(r) and Omega(r) occur in combination rather than independently in the equations. This is demonstrated for simulated data, including noise effects, and is discussed in relation to real data and to fully hydrodynamic models Y1 - 2004 SN - 0004-6361 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Vink, Jorick Sandor A1 - Heger, Alexander A1 - Krumholz, Mark R. A1 - Puls, Joachim A1 - Banerjee, Shiladitya A1 - Castro, Norberto A1 - Chen, K.-J. A1 - Chenè, A.-N. A1 - Crowther, P. A. A1 - Daminelli, A. A1 - Gräfener, G. A1 - Groh, J. H. A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer A1 - Heap, S. A1 - Herrero, A. A1 - Kaper, L. A1 - Najarro, F. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Roman-Lopes, A. A1 - Rosen, A. A1 - Sander, A. A1 - Shirazi, M. A1 - Sugawara, Y. A1 - Tramper, F. A1 - Vanbeveren, D. A1 - Voss, R. A1 - Wofford, A. A1 - Zhang, Y. T1 - Very massive stars in the local universe T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Recent studies have claimed the existence of very massive stars (VMS) up to 300 M⊙ in the local Universe. As this finding may represent a paradigm shift for the canonical stellar upper-mass limit of 150 M⊙, it is timely to discuss the status of the data, as well as the far-reaching implications of such objects. We held a Joint Discussion at the General Assembly in Beijing to discuss (i) the determination of the current masses of the most massive stars, (ii) the formation of VMS, (iii) their mass loss, and (iv) their evolution and final fate. The prime aim was to reach broad consensus between observers and theorists on how to identify and quantify the dominant physical processes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 601 KW - stars: massive stars KW - stars: mass-loss KW - stars: stellar evolution Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-415220 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 601 ER -