12058393
Using Line Profiles to Test the Fraternity of Type Ia Supernovae at High and Low Redshifts
Using archival data of low-redshift (z 1.7] SNe Ia, which are also subluminous. In addition, we give the first direct evidence in two high-z SN Ia spectra of a double-absorption feature in Ca II λ3945, an event also observed, although infrequently, in low-redshift SN Ia spectra (6 out of 22 SNe Ia in our local sample). Moreover, echoing the recent studies of Dessart & Hillier in the context of Type II supernovae (SNe II), we see similar P Cygni line profiles in our large sample of SN Ia spectra. First, the magnitude of the velocity location at maximum profile absorption may underestimate that at the continuum photosphere, as observed, for example, in the optically thinner line S II λ5640. Second, we report for the first time the unambiguous and systematic intrinsic blueshift of peak emission of optical P Cygni line profiles in SN Ia spectra, by as much as 8000 km s-1. All the high-z SNe Ia analyzed in this paper were discovered and followed up by the ESSENCE collaboration and are now publicly available.
118556930
HATS-1b: The First Transiting Planet Discovered by the HATSouth Survey
We report the discovery of HATS-1b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting the moderately bright V = 12.05 G dwarf star GSC 6652-00186, and the first planet discovered by HATSouth, a global network of autonomous wide-field telescopes. HATS-1b has a period of P 3.4465 days, mass of Mp 1.86 M J, and radius of Rp 1.30 R J. The host star has a mass of 0.99 M ☉ and radius of 1.04 R ☉. The discovery light curve of HATS-1b has near-continuous coverage over several multi-day timespans, demonstrating the power of using a global network of telescopes to discover transiting planets.
5990408
The Science Case for PILOT I: Summary and Overview
PILOT (the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope) is a proposed 2.5-m optical/infrared telescope to be located at Dome C on the Antarctic plateau. Conditions at Dome C are known to be exceptional for astronomy. The seeing (above ∼30 m height), coherence time, and isoplanatic angle are all twice as good as at typical mid-latitude sites, while the water-vapour column, and the atmosphere and telescope thermal emission are all an order of magnitude better. These conditions enable a unique scientific capability for PILOT, which is addressed in this series of papers. The current paper presents an overview of the optical and instrumentation suite for PILOT and its expected performance, a summary of the key science goals and observational approach for the facility, a discussion of the synergies between the science goals for PILOT and other telescopes, and a discussion of the future of Antarctic astronomy. Paper II and Paper III present details of the science projects divided, respectively, between the distant Universe (i.e. studies of first light, and the assembly and evolution of structure) and the nearby Universe (i.e. studies of Local Group galaxies, the Milky Way, and the Solar System).
13255925
The Mount Stromlo A bell Cluster Supernova Search
We have initiated a 3 year project to find supernovae in a well-defined sample of high-density southern Abell clusters with redshifts z ≤ 0.08. These observations will provide a volume-limited sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) to more than a magnitude below their peak brightness and will enable us to (1) measure the luminosity function of SNe, (2) further explore the correlation of light-curve shape with the absolute luminosity of SNe Ia to better understand SNe Ia as distance indicators, (3) measure SN rates, (4) measure the bulk motion of the Local Group using SNe Ia, and (5) directly compare SN Ia distances with brightest cluster galaxy distances. We use the MACHO wide-field two-color imager on the 1.3 m telescope at Mount Stromlo to routinely monitor ~12 clusters per week. We describe our technique for target selection and scheduling search observations, and for finding and identifying SN candidates. We also describe the results from the first year of our program, including the detection of 19 SNe, several RR Lyrae variables, and hundreds of asteroids.
3943345
First Searches for Optical Counterparts to Gravitational-wave Candidate Events
During the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory and Virgo joint science runs in 2009-2010, gravitational wave (GW) data from three interferometer detectors were analyzed within minutes to select GW candidate events and infer their apparent sky positions. Target coordinates were transmitted to several telescopes for follow-up observations aimed at the detection of an associated optical transient. Images were obtained for eight such GW candidates. We present the methods used to analyze the image data as well as the transient search results. No optical transient was identified with a convincing association with any of these candidates, and none of the GW triggers showed strong evidence for being astrophysical in nature. We compare the sensitivities of these observations to several model light curves from possible sources of interest, and discuss prospects for future joint GW-optical observations of this type.
113407190
A THEORETICAL COLOR-VELOCITY CORRELATION FOR SUPERNOVAE ASSOCIATED WITH GAMMA-RAY BURSTS
We carry out the first multi-dimensional radiative transfer calculations to simultaneously compute synthetic spectra and light curves for models of supernovae driven by fast bipolar outflows. These allow us to make self-consistent predictions for the orientation dependence of both color evolution and spectral features. We compare models with different degrees of asphericity and metallicity and find significant observable consequences of both. In aspherical models, we find spectral and light curve features that vary systematically with observer orientation. In particular, we find that the early-phase light curves are brighter and bluer when viewed close to the polar axis but that the peak flux is highest for equatorial (off-axis) inclinations. Spectral line features also depend systematically on observer orientation, including the velocity of the Si II 6355 A line. Consequently, our models predict a correlation between line velocity and color that could assist the identification of supernovae associated with off-axis jet-driven explosions. The amplitude and range of this correlation depends on the degree of asphericity, the metallicity, and the epoch of observation but we find that it is always present and acts in the same direction.
14737811
Status Report on the Nomad Experiment
The NOMAD experiment is searching for ! oscillations in the CERN wide-band neutrino beam and is sensitive to neutrino mass diiernces m 2 > 1 eV 2. Signal detection is based on the observation of ? decays by means of kinematic selection criteria. The detector was completed in 1995 and all subdetectors have been functioning well during the 1995 and 1996 data taking periods. Preliminary results from the 1995 data indicate that the performance of the detector is in agreement with expectations.
109715841
The Outer Tracker detector of the HERA-B experiment. Part II: Front-end electronics
Abstract The HERA-B Outer Tracker is a large detector with 112,674 drift chamber channels. It is exposed to a particle flux of up to 2 × 10 5 cm - 2 s - 1 thus coping with conditions similar to those expected for the LHC experiments. The front-end readout system, based on the ASD-8 chip and a customized TDC chip, is designed to fulfil the requirements on low noise, high sensitivity, rate tolerance, and high integration density. The TDC system is based on an ASIC which digitizes the time in bins of about 0.5 ns within a total of 256 bins. The chip also comprises a pipeline to store data from 128 events which is required for a deadtime-free trigger and data acquisition system. We report on the development, installation, and commissioning of the front-end electronics, including the grounding and noise suppression schemes, and discuss its performance in the HERA-B experiment.
52025012
A multi-channel THz and infrared spectrometer for femtosecond electron bunch diagnostics by single-shot spectroscopy of coherent radiation
Abstract The required high peak current in free-electron lasers (FELs) is realized by longitudinal compression of the electron bunches to sub-picosecond length. In this paper, a frequency-domain diagnostic method is described that is capable of resolving structures in the femtosecond regime. A novel in-vacuum spectrometer has been developed for spectroscopy of coherent radiation in the THz and infrared range. The spectrometer is equipped with five consecutive dispersion gratings and 120 parallel readout channels; it can be operated either in short (5– 44 μ m ) or in long wavelength mode (45– 430 μ m ). Fast parallel readout permits the spectroscopy of coherent radiation from single electron bunches. Test measurements at the soft X-ray free-electron laser FLASH, using coherent transition radiation, demonstrate excellent performance of the spectrometer. The device is planned for use as an online bunch profile monitor during regular FEL operation.
110147758
OVERVIEW ON DIAGNOSTICS FOR X- AND XUV-FEL
Controlling and optimizing the SASE process of X-FEL and XUV-FEL requires detailed knowledge and information about the parameters of the driving electron beam which are of critical influence on the laser performance. Due to the very high peak current, collective phenomena have to be carefully measured and controlled while integral (projected) parameters are of limited use. This necessitates the developmentof a varietyof diagnostics tools to monitor the electron bunch parameters in detailedness beyond the capabilities of conventional systems. Longitudinal bunch structures can be derived from time domain methods like electro optic techniques or using transverse deflecting RFstructures, and from frequency domain methods using coherent radiation. The paper will report on recent developments with special emphasis on single shot and online monitoring capabilities in this field. Other topics will be new concepts and experience in measuring the projected and time-sliced emittanceof the beam, highprecisionbeam position monitors and sub-picosecond beam phase and arrival time monitor systems.
16811603
Kinematic distributions and nuclear effects of J/ψ production in 920 GeV fixed-target proton-nucleus collisions
AbstractMeasurements of the kinematic distributions of J/ψ mesons produced in p–C, p–Ti and p–W collisions at 
$\sqrt{s}=41.6~\mathrm{GeV}$ 
in the Feynman-x region −0.34<xF<0.14 and for transverse momentum up to pT=5.4 GeV/c are presented. The xF and pT dependencies of the nuclear suppression parameter, α, are also given. The results are based on 2.4×105J/ψ mesons reconstructed in both the e+e− and μ+μ− decay channels. The data have been collected by the HERA-B experiment at the HERA proton ring of the DESY laboratory. The measurement explores the negative region of xF for the first time. The average value of α in the measured xF region is 0.981±0.015. The data suggest that the strong nuclear suppression of J/ψ production previously observed at high xF turns into an enhancement at negative xF.