Search results for "Astronomía y Astrofísica"
showing 10 items of 151 documents
SPI: The spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL
2003
SPI is a high spectral resolution gamma-ray telescope on board the ESA mission INTEGRAL (International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory). It consists of an array of 19 closely packed germanium detectors surrounded by an active anticoincidence shield of BGO. The imaging capabilities of the instrument are obtained with a tungsten coded aperture mask located 1.7 m from the Ge array. The fully coded field-of-view is 16º, the partially coded field of view amounts to 31º, and the angular resolution is 2.5º. The energy range extends from 20 keV to 8 MeV with a typical energy resolution of 2.5 keV at 1.3 MeV. Here we present the general concept of the instrument followed by a brief description of …
The role of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the internal structure of relativistic outflows. The case of the jet in 3C 273
2006
Relativistic outflows represent one of the best-suited tools to probe the physics of AGN. Numerical modelling of internal structure of the relativistic outflows on parsec scales provides important clues about the conditions and dynamics of the material in the immediate vicinity of the central black holes in AGN. We investigate possible causes of the structural patterns and regularities observed in the parsec-scale jet of the well-known quasar 3C 273. We present here the results from a 3D relativistic hydrodynamics numerical simulation based on the parameters given for the jet by Lobanov & Zensus (2001), and one in which the effects of jet precession and the injection of discrete compone…
Correlated X-ray spectral and timing variability of the Be/X-ray binary V0332+53/BQ Camelopardalis during a type II outburst
2005
We have used INTEGRAL & RXTE data to investigate the timing properties of the source in correlation with its spectral states as defined by different positions in the colour-colour diagram. The source shows two distinct branches in the colour-colour diagram that resemble those of the Z sources. The hard branch (similar to the horizontal branch of Z sources) is characterised by a low-amplitude change of the hard colour compared to the change in the soft colour. In the soft branch (analogue to the normal branch) the amplitude of variability of the hard colour is about three times larger than that of the soft colour. As the count rate decreases the source moves up gradually through the soft…
A photometric redshift of z = 1.8$^{\sf{+0.4}}_{\sf{-0.3}}$ for the AGILE GRB 080514B
2008
Aims: The AGILE gamma-ray burst GRB 080514B is the first burst with detected emission above 30 MeV and an optical afterglow. However, no spectroscopic redshift for this burst is known. Methods: We compiled ground-based photometric optical/NIR and millimeter data from several observatories, including the multi-channel imager GROND, as well as ultraviolet \swift UVOT and X-ray XRT observations. The spectral energy distribution of the optical/NIR afterglow shows a sharp drop in the \swift UVOT UV filters that can be utilized for the estimation of a redshift. Results: Fitting the SED from the \swift UVOT $uvw2$ band to the $H$ band, we estimate a photometric redshift of $z=1.8^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$, c…
The pre-outburst flare of the A 0535+26 August/September 2005 outburst
2008
We study the spectral and temporal behavior of the High Mass X-ray Binary A 0535+26 during a `pre-outburst flare' which took place ~5 d before the peak of a normal (type I) outburst in August/September 2005. We compare the studied behavior with that observed during the outburst. We analyse RXTE observations that monitored A 0535+26 during the outburst. We complete spectral and timing analyses of the data. We study the evolution of the pulse period, present energy-dependent pulse profiles both at the initial pre-outburst flare and close to outburst maximum, and measure how the cyclotron resonance-scattering feature (hereafter CRSF) evolves. We present three main results: a constant period P=…
Gravitational Lensing: the Structure of Quasars and Galaxies
2016
We use gravitational lens systems in which a galaxy produces multiple images of a distant quasar to study the properties of both the unresolved structure of the lensed quasar and the mass distribution in the gravitational lens. First, we estimate the size and the logarithmic slope of the temperature profile in the accretion disk of the lensed quasar Q2237+0305 using a method that is independent of the component velocities, based on six epochs of multi-wavelength narrowband images from the Nordic Optical Telescope. A statistical comparison of the observed microlensing with simulations based on microlensing magnification maps gives Bayesian estimates for the half-light radius of ~8 light-days…
Are pulsars born with a hidden magnetic field?
2015
The observation of several neutron stars in the center of supernova remnants and with significantly lower values of the dipolar magnetic field than the average radio-pulsar population has motivated a lively debate about their formation and origin, with controversial interpretations. A possible explanation requires the slow rotation of the proto-neutron star at birth, which is unable to amplify its magnetic field to typical pulsar levels. An alternative possibility, the hidden magnetic field scenario, considers the accretion of the fallback of the supernova debris onto the neutron star as responsible for the submergence (or screening) of the field and its apparently low value. In this paper …
Towards asteroseismology of core-collapse supernovae with gravitational-wave observations – I. Cowling approximation
2017
Gravitational waves from core-collapse supernovae are produced by the excitation of different oscillation modes in the protoneutron star (PNS) and its surroundings, including the shock. In this work we study the relationship between the post-bounce oscillation spectrum of the PNS–shock system and the characteristic frequencies observed in gravitational-wave signals from core-collapse simulations. This is a fundamental first step in order to develop a procedure to infer astrophysical parameters of the PNS formed in core-collapse supernovae. Our method combines information from the oscillation spectrum of the PNS, obtained through linear perturbation analysis in general relativity of a backgr…
Magnetic fields of relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei
2011
The motivation of my work is to understand the role played by the magnetic field in the dynamics and emission of relativistic jets. In order to achieve this objective I have been carrying it out in two parallel ways. In the first of them I have performed numerical magnetohydrodynamic and emission (eRMHD) simulations of relativistic jets. The simulations have been performed in collaboration with the Relativistic Astrophysics Group in the University of Valencia, using a numerical code that solves the RMHD equations in conservative form and cylindrical coordinates with axial symmetry (see Leismann et al., 2005, for more details). I have focused the study on the role played by the magnetic fiel…
Space-VLBI phase-reference mapping and astrometry
2001
We present 5 GHz space-VLBI observations of the quasar pair B1342+662/B1342+663 that demonstrate the feasibility of phase-reference techniques using an antenna in space. The space-based data were taken by the satellite HALCA, of the space-VLBI mission VSOP. From residual (referenced) phases we derive an upper bound of 10 meters to the uncertainty of the spacecraft orbit reconstruction. An analysis of the phase-reference maps of the sources additionally suggests that the above mentioned uncertaintyis likely not larger than 3 meters. With errors of this magnitude, HALCA is a useful tool for astrometric studies of close pairs of radio sources.