Ks-band Emission Research Articles

Infrared Emission from Kilonovae: The Case of the Nearby Short Hard Burst GRB 160821B

Abstract We present constraints on Ks-band emission from one of the nearest short hard gamma-ray bursts, GRB 160821B, at z = 0.16, at three epochs. We detect a red relativistic afterglow from the jetted emission in the first epoch but do not detect any excess kilonova emission in the second two epochs. We compare upper limits obtained with Keck I/MOSFIRE to multi-dimensional radiative transfer models of kilonovae, that employ composition-dependent nuclear heating and LTE opacities of heavy elements. We discuss eight models that combine toroidal dynamical ejecta and two types of wind and one model with dynamical ejecta only. We also discuss simple, empirical scaling laws of predicted emission as a function of ejecta mass and ejecta velocity. Our limits for GRB 160821B constrain the ejecta mass to be lower than 0.03 M ⊙ for velocities greater than 0.1 c. At the distance sensitivity range of advanced LIGO, similar ground-based observations would be sufficiently sensitive to the full range of predicted model emission including models with only dynamical ejecta. The color evolution of these models shows that I–K color spans 7–16 mag, which suggests that even relatively shallow infrared searches for kilonovae could be as constraining as optical searches.

Multiwavelength observations of NaSt1 (WR 122): equatorial mass loss and X-rays from an interacting Wolf–Rayet binary

NaSt1 (aka Wolf-Rayet 122) is a peculiar emission-line star embedded in an extended nebula of [N II] emission with a compact dusty core. This object was characterized by Crowther & Smith (1999) as a Wolf-Rayet (WR) star cloaked in an opaque nebula of CNO-processed material, perhaps analogous to Eta Car and its Homunculus nebula, albeit with a hotter central source. To discern the morphology of the [N II] nebula we performed narrowband imaging using the Hubble Space Telescope and Wide-field Camera 3. The images reveal that the nebula has a disk-like geometry tilted 12 degrees from edge-on, composed of a bright central ellipsoid surrounded by a larger clumpy ring. Ground-based spectroscopy reveals radial velocity structure (~10 km/s) near the outer portions of the nebula's major axis, which is likely to be the imprint of outflowing gas. Near-infrared adaptive-optics imaging with Magellan AO has resolved a compact ellipsoid of Ks-band emission aligned with the larger [N II] nebula, which we suspect is the result of scattered He I line emission (2.06 um). Observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory have revealed an X-ray point source at the core of the nebula that is heavily absorbed at energies <1 keV and has properties consistent with WR stars and colliding-wind binaries. We suggest that NaSt1 is a WR binary embedded in an equatorial outflow that formed as the result of non-conservative mass transfer. NaSt1 thus appears to be a rare and important example of a stripped-envelope WR forming through binary interaction, caught in the brief Roche-lobe overflow phase.

SPITZEROBSERVATIONS OF PASSIVE AND STAR-FORMING EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES: AN INFRARED COLOR–COLOR SEQUENCE

We describe the infrared properties of a large sample of early type galaxies, comparing data from the Spitzer archive with Ks-band emission from 2MASS. While most representations of this data result in correlations with large scatter, we find a remarkably tight relation among colors formed by ratios of luminosities in Spitzer-MIPS (24, 70 and 160 um) bands and the Ks-band. Remarkably, this correlation among E and S0 galaxies follows that of nearby normal galaxies of all morphological types. In particular, the tight infrared color-color correlation for S0 galaxies alone follows that of the entire Hubble sequence of normal galaxies, roughly in order of galaxy type from ellipticals to spirals to irregulars. The specific star formation rate of S0 galaxies estimated from the 24um luminosity increases with decreasing Ks-band luminosity (or stellar mass) from essentially zero, as with most massive ellipticals, to rates typical of irregular galaxies. Moreover, the luminosities of the many infrared-luminous S0 galaxies can significantly exceed those of the most luminous (presumably post-merger) E galaxies. Star formation rates in the most infrared-luminous S0 galaxies approach 1-10 solar masses per year. Consistently with this picture we find that while most early-type galaxies populate an infrared red sequence, about 24% of the objects (mostly S0s) are in an infrared blue cloud together with late type galaxies. For those early-type galaxies also observed at radio frequencies we find that the far-infrared luminosities correlate with the mass of neutral and molecular hydrogen, but the scatter is large. This scatter suggests that the star formation may be intermittent or that similar S0 galaxies with cold gaseous disks of nearly equal mass can have varying radial column density distributions that alter the local and global SF rates.

The unusual distribution of molecular gas and star formation in Arp 140

We investigate the atomic and molecular interstellar medium and star formation of NGC 275, the late-type spiral galaxy in Arp 140, which is interacting with NGC 274, an early-type system. The atomic gas (H I) observations reveal a tidal tail from NGC 275 which extends many optical radii beyond the interacting pair. The H I morphology implies a prograde encounter between the galaxy pair approximately ∼ 1.5 × 10 8 years ago. The Hα emission from NGC 275 indicates clumpy irregular star-formation, clumpiness which is mirrored by the underlying mass distribution as traced by the Ks-band emission. The molecular gas distribution is striking in its anti-correlation with the H II regions. Despite the evolved nature of NGC 275’s interaction and its barred potential, neither the molecular gas n or the star formation are centrally concentrated. We suggest that this structure results from s tochastic star formation leading to preferential consumption of the gas in certain regions of th e galaxy. In contrast to the often assumed picture of interacting galaxies, NGC 275, which appears to be close to merger, does not display enhanced or centrally concentrated star formation. If the eventual merger is to lead to a significant burst of star formation it must be preced ed by a significant conversion of atomic to molecular gas as at the current rate of star formati on all the molecular gas will be exhausted by the time the merger is complete.

Near‐Infrared Synchrotron Emission from Cassiopeia A

Recent high-energy observations of Cassiopeia A suggest the presence of synchrotron radiation, implying acceleration of cosmic rays by young supernova remnants. We detect synchrotron emission from Cas A in the near-infrared using Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) and Palomar 200 inch (5.1 m) PFIRCAM observations. The remnant is detected in the J, H, and Ks bands using 2MASS: the Ks band is the brightest, H is moderate, and J is faint. In the J and H bands, bright [Fe II] lines (1.24 and 1.64 μm) are detected spectroscopically. The Palomar observations include Ks-continuum, narrowband 1.64 μm (centered on [Fe II]) and 2.12 μm [centered on H2 (1-0)] images. While the narrowband 1.64 μm image shows filamentary and knotty structures, similar to the optical image, the Ks image shows a relatively smooth, diffuse shell, remarkably similar to the radio image. The H2 image is identical to the Ks-continuum image, with surface brightness reduced as expected for the ratio of filter bandwidths, showing no contribution of H2 lines to the Ks-band image. The broadband near-infrared fluxes of Cas A are generally consistent with, but a few tens of percent higher than, an extrapolation of the radio fluxes. The hardening to higher frequencies is possibly due to nonlinear shock acceleration and/or index variation across the remnant. We show evidence of index variation across Cas A using the spectral tomography technique. The presence of near-infrared synchrotron radiation requires the rolloff frequency to be higher than 1.5 × 1014 Hz, implying that electrons are accelerated to energies of at least E = 0.3B ergs, or 0.2 TeV. The morphological similarity in diffuse emission between the radio and Ks-band images implies that synchrotron losses are not dominant, or we would expect to see a greater concentration in knots. We also show that dust continuum is not significant in the near-infrared emission of Cas A. Our observations show unambiguous evidence that the near-infrared Ks-band emission of Cas A is from synchrotron emission by accelerated cosmic-ray electrons.