Search Publications
Accounting for incompleteness due to transit multiplicity in Kepler planet occurrence rates
Christiansen, Jessie L.; Zink, Jon K.; Hansen, Bradley M. S.
We investigate the role that planet detection order plays in the Kepler planet detection pipeline. The Kepler pipeline typically detects planets in order of descending signal strength (MES). We find that the detectability of transits experiences an additional 5.5 per cent and 15.9 per cent efficiency loss, for periods <200 days and >200 days…
SIXTE: a generic X-ray instrument simulation toolkit
Wilms, Jörn; Dauser, Thomas; Falkner, Sebastian +8 more
We give an overview of the SImulation of X-ray TElescopes (SIXTE) software package, a generic, mission-independent Monte Carlo simulation toolkit for X-ray astronomical instrumentation. The package is based on a modular approach for the source definition, the description of the optics, and the detector type such that new missions can be easily imp…
Highly luminous supernovae associated with gamma-ray bursts. I. GRB 111209A/SN 2011kl in the context of stripped-envelope and superluminous supernovae
Pian, E.; Greiner, J.; Klose, S. +22 more
Context. GRB 111209A, one of the longest gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) ever observed, is linked to SN 2011kl, which is the most luminous GRB supernova (SN) detected so far. Several lines of evidence indicate that this GRB-SN is powered by a magnetar central engine.
Aims: We place SN 2011kl into the context of large samples of SNe, addressing in mor…
Under the FIRElight: Stellar Tracers of the Local Dark Matter Velocity Distribution in the Milky Way
Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André; Hopkins, Philip F.; Sanderson, Robyn +5 more
The Gaia era opens new possibilities for discovering the remnants of disrupted satellite galaxies in the solar neighborhood. If the population of local accreted stars is correlated with the dark matter sourced by the same mergers, one can then map the dark matter distribution directly. Using two cosmological zoom-in hydrodynamic simulations of Mil…
Observable tests of self-interacting dark matter in galaxy clusters: BCG wobbles in a constant density core
Massey, Richard; Harvey, David; Robertson, Andrew +1 more
Models of cold dark matter (CDM) predict that the distribution of dark matter in galaxy clusters should be cuspy, centrally concentrated. Constant density cores would be strong evidence for beyond CDM physics, such as self-interacting dark matter (SIDM). An observable consequence would be oscillations of the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in other…
Swift spectra of AT2018cow: a white dwarf tidal disruption event?
Wu, Kinwah; Cenko, S. Bradley; Levan, Andrew +19 more
The bright transient AT2018cow has been unlike any other known type of transient. Its high brightness, rapid rise and decay, and initially nearly featureless spectrum are unprecedented and difficult to explain using models for similar burst sources. We present evidence for faint γ-ray emission continuing for at least 8 d, and featureless spectra i…
Strong lensing models of eight CLASH clusters from extensive spectroscopy: Accurate total mass reconstructions in the cores
Demarco, R.; Zitrin, A.; Grillo, C. +19 more
We carried out a detailed strong lensing analysis of a sub-sample of eight galaxy clusters of the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) in the redshift range of zcluster = [0.23 - 0.59] using extensive spectroscopic information, primarily from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) archival data and complemented…
Toward Precision Tests of General Relativity with Black Hole X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy
Tripathi, Ashutosh; Abdikamalov, Askar B.; Ayzenberg, Dimitry +5 more
Astrophysical black hole systems are the ideal laboratories for testing Einstein’s theory of gravity in the strong field regime. We have recently developed a framework that uses the reflection spectrum of black hole systems to perform precision tests of general relativity by testing the Kerr black hole hypothesis. In this paper, we analyze XMM-New…
Photometric Redshifts and Stellar Masses for Galaxies from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys
Kong, Xu; Zou, Hu; Zhou, Xu +1 more
We present a catalog of photometric redshifts and stellar masses for galaxies from imaging surveys serving the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument project. The imaging footprints cover an area of over 14,000 deg2. This catalog contains about 0.17 billion morphologically classified galaxies with r < 23 mag. It covers the redshift ran…
Stellar population of Sco OB2 revealed by Gaia DR2 data
Micela, G.; Sciortino, S.; Pillitteri, I. +2 more
Context. The Sco OB2 association is the nearest OB association, extending over approximately 2000 square degrees on the sky. Only its brightest and most massive members are already known (from HIPPARCOS) across its entire size, while studies of its lower mass population refer only to small portions of its extent.
Aims: In this work we exploit…