TY - JOUR A1 - Acciari, V. A. A1 - Aliu, E. A1 - Arlen, T. A1 - Aune, T. A1 - Beilicke, M. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bradbury, S. M. A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Byrum, K. A1 - Cannon, A. A1 - Cesarini, A. A1 - Christiansen, J. L. A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Collins-Hughes, E. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Duke, C. A1 - Errando, M. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Finnegan, G. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Galante, N. A1 - Gall, D. A1 - Godambe, S. A1 - Griffin, S. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Guenette, R. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Hui, C. M. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Jackson, D. J. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Karlsson, N. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krawczynski, H. A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Madhavan, A. S. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Newbold, M. D. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Orr, M. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Perkins, J. S. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Prokoph, H. A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reyes, L. C. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rose, H. J. A1 - Ruppel, J. A1 - Saxon, D. B. A1 - Schroedter, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Sentuerk, G. D. A1 - Smith, A. W. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Swordy, S. P. A1 - Tesic, G. A1 - Theiling, M. A1 - Thibadeau, S. A1 - Tsurusaki, K. A1 - Varlotta, A. A1 - Vassiliev, V. V. A1 - Vincent, S. A1 - Vivier, M. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Ward, J. E. A1 - Weekes, T. C. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Weisgarber, T. A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Wood, M. T1 - Veritas observations of gamma-ray bursts detected by swift JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We present the results of 16 Swift-triggered Gamma-ray burst (GRB) follow-up observations taken with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) telescope array from 2007 January to 2009 June. The median energy threshold and response time of these observations were 260 GeV and 320 s, respectively. Observations had an average duration of 90 minutes. Each burst is analyzed independently in two modes: over the whole duration of the observations and again over a shorter timescale determined by the maximum VERITAS sensitivity to a burst with a t(-1.5) time profile. This temporal model is characteristic of GRB afterglows with high-energy, long-lived emission that have been detected by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi satellite. No significant very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission was detected and upper limits above the VERITAS threshold energy are calculated. The VERITAS upper limits are corrected for gamma-ray extinction by the extragalactic background light and interpreted in the context of the keV emission detected by Swift. For some bursts the VHE emission must have less power than the keV emission, placing constraints on inverse Compton models of VHE emission. KW - astroparticle physics KW - gamma-ray burst: general Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/1/62 SN - 0004-637X VL - 743 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol 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 - Shenar, Tomer A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer A1 - Todt, Helge Tobias T1 - The impact of rotation on the line profiles of Wolf-Rayet stars JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. Massive Wolf-Rayet stars are recognized today to be in a very common, but short, evolutionary phase of massive stars. While our understanding of Wolf-Rayet stars has increased dramatically over the past decades, it remains unclear whether rapid rotators are among them. There are various indications that rapidly rotating Wolf-Rayet stars should exist. Unfortunately, due to their expanding atmospheres, rotational velocities of Wolf-Rayet stars are very difficult to measure. However, recently observed spectra of several Wolf-Rayet stars reveal peculiarly broad and round emission lines. Could these spectra imply rapid rotation? Aims. In this work, we model the effects of rotation on the atmospheres of Wolf-Rayet stars. We further investigate whether the peculiar spectra of five Wolf-Rayet stars may be explained with the help of stellar rotation, infer appropriate rotation parameters, and discuss the implications of our results. Methods. We make use of the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) non-LTE model atmosphere code. Since the observed spectra of WolfRayet stars are mainly formed in their expanding atmospheres, rotation must be accounted for with a 3D integration scheme of the formal integral. For this purpose, we assume a rotational velocity field consisting of an inner co-rotating domain and an outer domain, where the angular momentum is conserved. Results. We find that rotation can reproduce the unique spectra analyzed here. However, the inferred rotational velocities at the stellar surface are large (similar to 200 km s(-1)), and the inferred co-rotation radii (similar to 10R.) suggest the existence of very strong photospheric magnetic fields (similar to 20 kG). KW - stars: Wolf-Rayet KW - Magellanic Clouds KW - stars: magnetic field KW - stars: massive KW - gamma-ray burst: general KW - stars: rotation Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201322496 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 562 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lange, J. A1 - Pohl, Martin T1 - The average GeV-band emission from gamma-ray bursts JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Aims. We analyze the emission in the 0.3-30 GeV energy range of gamma-ray bursts detected with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We concentrate on bursts that were previously only detected with the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor in the keV energy range. These bursts will then be compared to the bursts that were individually detected with the Large Area Telescope at higher energies. Methods. To estimate the emission of faint GRBs we used nonstandard analysis methods and sum over many GRBs to find an average signal that is significantly above background level. We used a subsample of 99 GRBs listed in the Burst Catalog from the first two years of observation. Results. Although most are not individually detectable, the bursts not detected by the Large Area Telescope on average emit a significant flux in the energy range from 0.3 GeV to 30 GeV, but their cumulative energy fluence is only 8% of that of all GRBs. Likewise, the GeV-to-MeV flux ratio is less and the GeV-band spectra are softer. We confirm that the GeV-band emission lasts much longer than the emission found in the keV energy range. The average allsky energy flux from GRBs in the GeV band is 6.4 x 10(-4) erg cm(-2) yr(-1) or only similar to 4% of the energy flux of cosmic rays above the ankle at 10(18.6) eV. KW - methods: statistical KW - surveys KW - gamma-ray burst: general Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201220652 SN - 0004-6361 VL - 551 IS - 1 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Eichler, David T1 - Origin of ultra-high-energy galactic cosmic rays the isotropy problem JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We study the propagation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) in the Galaxy, concentrating on the energy range below the ankle in the spectrum at 4 EeV. A Monte Carlo method, based on analytical solutions to the time-dependent diffusion problem, is used to account for intermittency by placing sources at random locations. Assuming a source population that scales with baryon mass density or star formation (e.g., long GRB), we derive constraints arising from intermittency and the observational limits on the composition and anisotropy. It is shown that the composition and anisotropy at 10(18) eV are difficult to reproduce and require that either (1) the particle mean free path is much smaller than a gyroradius, implying the escape time is very long, (2) the composition is heavier than suggested by recent Auger data, (3) the ultra-high-energy sub-ankle component is mostly extragalactic, or (4) we are living in a rare lull in the UHECR production, and the current UHECR intensity is far below the Galactic time average. We therefore recommend a strong observational focus on determining the UHECR composition around 10(18) eV. KW - cosmic rays KW - gamma-ray burst: general Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/742/2/114 SN - 0004-637X VL - 742 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Warren, Donald C. A1 - Ellison, Donald C. A1 - Barkov, Maxim V. A1 - Nagataki, Shigehiro T1 - Nonlinear Particle Acceleration and Thermal Particles in GRB Afterglows JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - The standard model for GRB afterglow emission treats the accelerated electron population as a simple power law, N(E) proportional to E-p for p greater than or similar to 2. However, in standard Fermi shock acceleration, a substantial fraction of the swept-up particles do not enter the acceleration process at all. Additionally, if acceleration is efficient, then the nonlinear back-reaction of accelerated particles on the shock structure modifies the shape of the nonthermal tail of the particle spectra. Both of these modifications to the standard synchrotron afterglow impact the luminosity, spectra, and temporal variation of the afterglow. To examine the effects of including thermal particles and nonlinear particle acceleration on afterglow emission, we follow a hydrodynamical model for an afterglow jet and simulate acceleration at numerous points during the evolution. When thermal particles are included, we find that the electron population is at no time well fitted by a single power law, though the highest-energy electrons are; if the acceleration is efficient, then the power-law region is even smaller. Our model predicts hard-soft-hard spectral evolution at X-ray energies, as well as an uncoupled X-ray and optical light curve. Additionally, we show that including emission from thermal particles has drastic effects (increases by factors of 100 and 30, respectively) on the observed flux at optical and GeV energies. This enhancement of GeV emission makes afterglow detections by future gamma-ray observatories, such as CTA, very likely. KW - acceleration of particles KW - cosmic rays KW - gamma-ray burst: general KW - shock waves KW - turbulence Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa56c3 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 835 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mizuno, Yosuke A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Niemiec, Jacek A1 - Zhang, Bing A1 - Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi A1 - Hardee, Philip E. T1 - Magnetic-field amplification by turbulence in a relativistic shockpropagating through an inhomogeneous medium JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We perform two-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a mildly relativistic shock propagating through an inhomogeneous medium. We show that the postshock region becomes turbulent owing to preshock density inhomogeneity, and the magnetic field is strongly amplified due to the stretching and folding of field lines in the turbulent velocity field. The amplified magnetic field evolves into a filamentary structure in two-dimensional simulations. The magnetic energy spectrum is flatter than the Kolmogorov spectrum and indicates that a so-called small-scale dynamo is occurring in the postshock region. We also find that the amount of magnetic-field amplification depends on the direction of the mean preshock magnetic field, and the timescale of magnetic-field growth depends on the shock strength. KW - gamma-ray burst: general KW - magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) KW - methods: numerical KW - relativistic processes KW - shock waves KW - turbulence Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/726/2/62 SN - 0004-637X VL - 726 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mizuno, Yosuke A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Niemiec, Jacek A1 - Zhang, Bing A1 - Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi A1 - Hardee, Philip E. T1 - Magnetic field amplification and saturation in turbulence behind a relativistic shock JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We have investigated via 2D relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations the long-term evolution of turbulence created by a relativistic shock propagating through an inhomogeneous medium. In the post-shock region, magnetic field is strongly amplified by turbulent motions triggered by pre-shock density inhomogeneities. Using a long-simulation box we have followed the magnetic field amplification until it is fully developed and saturated. The turbulent velocity is subrelativistic even for a strong shock. Magnetic field amplification is controlled by the turbulent motion and saturation occurs when the magnetic energy is comparable to the turbulent kinetic energy. Magnetic field amplification and saturation depend on the initial strength and direction of the magnetic field in the pre-shock medium, and on the shock strength. If the initial magnetic field is perpendicular to the shock normal, the magnetic field is first compressed at the shock and then can be amplified by turbulent motion in the post-shock region. Saturation occurs when the magnetic energy becomes comparable to the turbulent kinetic energy in the post-shock region. If the initial magnetic field in the pre-shock medium is strong, the post-shock region becomes turbulent but significant field amplification does not occur. If the magnetic energy after shock compression is larger than the turbulent kinetic energy in the post-shock region, significant field amplification does not occur. We discuss possible applications of our results to gamma-ray bursts and active galactic nuclei. KW - MHD KW - relativistic processes KW - shock waves KW - turbulence KW - methods: numerical KW - gamma-ray burst: general Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu196 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 439 IS - 4 SP - 3490 EP - 3503 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eichler, David A1 - Pohl, Martin T1 - Can ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays come from Gamma-ray bursts? - cosmic rays below the ankle and galactic gamma-ray bursts JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters N2 - The maximum cosmic-ray energy achievable by acceleration by a relativistic blast wave is derived. It is shown that forward shocks from long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the interstellar medium accelerate protons to large enough energies, and have a sufficient energy budget, to produce the Galactic cosmic-ray component just below the ankle at 4 x 10(18) eV, as per an earlier suggestion. It is further argued that, were extragalactic long GRBs responsible for the component above the ankle as well, the occasional Galactic GRB within the solar circle would contribute more than the observational limits on the outward flux from the solar circle, unless an avoidance scenario, such as intermittency and/or beaming, allows the present-day local flux to be less than 10(-3) of the average. Difficulties with these avoidance scenarios are noted. KW - cosmic rays KW - galaxies: general KW - gamma-ray burst: general Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/738/2/L21 SN - 2041-8205 VL - 738 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abeysekara, A. U. A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, Wystan A1 - Bird, Ralph A1 - Brose, Robert A1 - Buchovecky, M. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, Wei A1 - Errando, Manel A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Qi A1 - Finley, John P. A1 - Flinders, A. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, Amy A1 - Gillanders, Gerard H. A1 - Huetten, M. A1 - Hanna, David A1 - Hervet, O. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Johnson, Caitlin A. A1 - Kaaret, Philip A1 - Kar, P. A1 - Kelley-Hoskins, N. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, David A1 - Krause, Maria A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Lin, T. T. Y. A1 - Maier, Gernot A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, Reshmi A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Perkins, Jeremy S. A1 - Petrashyk, A. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Popkow, Alexis A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, Gregory T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rulten, C. A1 - Sadeh, I. A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, Karlen A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weiner, O. M. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Wells, R. M. A1 - Wilcox, P. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, David A. A1 - Zitzer, B. A1 - Vurm, Indrek A1 - Beloborodov, Andrei T1 - A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - On 2015 March 23, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) responded to a Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detection of a gamma-ray burst, with observations beginning 270 s after the onset of BAT emission, and only 135 s after the main BAT emission peak. No statistically significant signal is detected above 140 GeV. The VERITAS upper limit on the fluence in a 40-minute integration corresponds to about 1% of the prompt fluence. Our limit is particularly significant because the very-high-energy (VHE) observation started only similar to 2 minutes after the prompt emission peaked, and Fermi-Large Area Telescope observations of numerous other bursts have revealed that the high-energy emission is typically delayed relative to the prompt radiation and lasts significantly longer. Also, the proximity of GRB 150323A (z = 0.593) limits the attenuation by the extragalactic background light to similar to 50% at 100-200 GeV. We conclude that GRB 150323A had an intrinsically very weak high-energy afterglow, or that the GeV spectrum had a turnover below similar to 100 GeV. If the GRB exploded into the stellar wind of a massive progenitor, the VHE non-detection constrains the wind density parameter to be A greater than or similar to 3 x 10(11) g . cm(-1), consistent with a standard Wolf-Rayet progenitor. Alternatively, the VHE emission from the blast wave would be weak in a very tenuous medium such as the interstellar medium, which therefore cannot be ruled out as the environment of GRB 150323A. KW - gamma rays: general KW - gamma-ray burst: general KW - gamma-ray burst: individual (GRB 150323A) Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aab371 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 857 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER -