Study of Type-B QPOs Observed in Black Hole X-Ray Binary Swift J1728.9-3613

We report the detection of type-B quasi-periodic oscillation(QPO)of the black hole X-ray binary Swift J1728.9-3613 observed by NICER during the 2019 outburst.A type-B QPO was observed for the first two days and it disappeared as flux increased,but again appeared at∼7.70 Hz when flux was dramatically decreased.The source was found in the soft intermediate state during these observations.We further studied the energy dependence of the QPO.We found that QPO was observed only for a higher energy range implying that the origin of QPO is possibly due to the corona emitting higher energy photons by the inverse Compton process.The variation of spectral parameters can be explained with the disk truncation model.The fractional rms was found to be monotonically increased with energy.The phase lag spectrum followed the“U-shaped”curve.The rms and phase lag spectrum are modeled and explained with the single-component Comptonization model vkompthdk.

A model of fast radio bursts: collisions between episodic magnetic blobs

Fast radio bursts(FRBs) are bright radio pulses from the sky with millisecond durations and Jansky-level flux densities. Their origins are still largely uncertain. Here we suggest a new model for FRBs. We argue that the collision of a white dwarf with a black hole can generate a transient accretion disk, from which powerful episodic magnetic blobs will be launched. The collision between two consecutive magnetic blobs can result in a catastrophic magnetic reconnection, which releases a large amount of free magnetic energy and forms a forward shock. The shock propagates through the cold magnetized plasma within the blob in the collision region, radiating through the synchrotron maser mechanism,which is responsible for a non-repeating FRB signal. Our calculations show that the theoretical energetics, radiation frequency, duration timescale and event rate can be very consistent with the observational characteristics of FRBs.

Mass Transfer in Binary Stellar Evolution and Its Stability

The evolution of a binary star system by various analytical and numerical approximations of mass transfer rate normalized to the equilibrium rate and its stability conditions are investigated. We present results from investigations of mass transfer and stability in close binary star systems using the different orbital parameters. The stability and instability of mass transfer in binary star evolution depends on the exchange of material which the response of the binary to the initial Roche lobe overflow causes the donor to loose even more material. Our work is mainly focused on basic mathematical derivations, analytical and numerical solutions in order to explain the mass transfer system in different orbital parameters as well as the results are compared with previous studies in both cases. Mass transfer is usually stable, as long as the winds specific angular momentum does not exceed the angular momentum per reduced mass of the system. This holds for both dynamical and thermal time scales. Those systems which are not stable will usually transfer mass on the thermal time scale. The variation of Roche lobe radius with mass ratio in the binary, for various orbital parameters in the conservative and non-conservative mass transfer, as well as the evolution equations, orbital angular momentum of the binary system and the corresponding analytical and numerical solutions for different cases, under certain restrictive approximations is derived, simulated and discussed.

Log-normal flux distribution of bright Fermi blazars

We present the results of the γ-ray flux distribution study on the brightest blazars which were observed by Fermi-LAT. We selected 50 of the brightest blazars based on the maximum number of detections reported in the Third LAT AGN Catalog. We performed standard unbinned maximum likelihood analysis on the LAT data during the period between August 2008 and December 2016, in order to obtain the average monthly flux. After quality cuts, blazars for which at least 90% of the total flux had survived were selected for further study, and this included 19 FSRQs and 19 BL Lacs. The Anderson-Darling and χ2 tests suggest that the integrated monthly flux follows a log-normal distribution for all sources, except for three FSRQs for which neither a normal nor a log-normal distribution was preferred. A double log-normal flux distribution tendency was observed in these sources, though this has to be confirmed with improved statistics. We also found that the standard deviation of the log-normal flux distribution increases with the mean spectral index of the blazar, and can be fitted with a line of slope 0.24±0.04. We repeat our study on three additional brightest unclassified blazars to identify their flux distribution properties. Based on the features of their log-normal flux distribution, we infer these unclassified blazars may be closely associated with FSRQs. We also highlight that considering the lognormal behavior of the flux distribution of blazars, averaging their long term flux on a linear scale can largely underestimate the nominal flux and this discrepancy can propagate down to the estimation of source parameters through spectral modeling.

Suzaku observation of Be / X-ray binary pulsar EXO 2030+375

We study the timing and spectral properties of Be/X-ray binary pulsar EXO 2030＋375 using a Suzaku observation taken on 2012 May 23, during a less intense Type I outburst. Pulsations were clearly detected in the X-ray light curves at a barycentric period of 41.2852 s, which suggest that the pulsar is spinning-up. The pulse profiles were found to be peculiar, e.g. unlike those obtained from the earlier Suzaku observation acquired on 2007 May 14. A single-peaked narrow profile at soft X-rays （0.5-10 keV range） changed to a double-peaked broad profile in the 12-55 keV energy range and again reverted back to a smooth single-peaked profile at hard X-rays （55-70 keV range）. The 1.0-100.0 keV broadband spectrum of the pulsar was found to be well described by three continuum models described as （i） a partial covering high energy cut-off power-law model, （ii） a partially absorbed power-law with high- energy exponential rolloff and （iii） a partial covering Negative and Positive power law with EXponential （NPEX） continuum model. Unlike the earlier Suzaku observation during which several low energy emission lines were detected, a weak and narrow Iron Ka emission line at 6.4 keV was only present in the pulsar spectrum during the 2012 May outburst. Non-detection of any absorption like feature in the 1-100 keV energy range supports the claim of the absence of the cyclotron resonance scattering feature in EXO 2030＋375 from the earlier Suzaku observation. Pulse-phase resolved spectroscopy revealed the presence of additional dense matter causing the absence of a second peak from the soft X-ray pulse profiles. The details of the results are described in the paper.

Broadband spectral fitting of blazars using XSPEC

The broadband spectral energy distribution（SED） of blazars is generally interpreted as radiation arising from synchrotron and inverse Compton mechanisms. Traditionally,the underlying source parameters responsible for these emission processes,like particle energy density,magnetic field,etc.,are obtained through simple visual reproduction of the observed fluxes. However,this procedure is incapable of providing confidence ranges for the estimated parameters. In this work,we propose an efficient algorithm to perform a statistical fit of the observed broadband spectrum of blazars using different emission models. Moreover,we use the observable quantities as the fit parameters,rather than the direct source parameters which govern the resultant SED. This significantly improves the convergence time and eliminates the uncertainty regarding initial guess parameters. This approach also has an added advantage of identifying the degenerate parameters,which can be removed by including more observable information and/or additional constraints. A computer code developed based on this algorithm is implemented as a user-defined routine in the standard X-ray spectral fitting package,XSPEC. Further,we demonstrate the efficacy of the algorithm by fitting the well sampled SED of blazar 3 C 279 during its gamma ray flare in 2014.

M-giant star candidates identified in LAMOST DR 1

We perform a discrimination procedure with the spectral index diagram of TiO 5 and Ca H2＋Ca H3 to separate M giants from M dwarfs. Using the M giant spectra identified from LAMOST DR1 with high signal-to-noise ratio, we have successfully assembled a set of M giant templates, which show more reliable spectral features. Combining with the M dwarf/subdwarf templates in Zhong et al., we present an extended library of M-type templates which includes not only M dwarfs with a well-defined temperature and metallicity grid but also M giants with subtypes from M0 to M6. Then, the template-fitting algorithm is used to automatically identify and classify M giant stars from LAMOST DR1. The resulting catalog of M giant stars is cross-matched with 2MASS J H Ks and WISE W1/W2 infrared photometry. In addition, we calculated the heliocentric radial velocity of all M giant stars by using the cross-correlation method with the template spectrum in a zero-velocity rest frame.Using the relationship between the absolute infrared magnitude MJ and our classified spectroscopic subtype, we derived the spectroscopic distance of M giants with uncertainties of about 40%. A catalog of 8639 M giants is provided. As an additional result of this analysis, we also present a catalog of 101 690 M dwarfs/subdwarfs which are processed by our classification pipeline.

Near-infrared observations of the Be/X-ray binary pulsar A0535+262

We present the results obtained from extensive near-infrared （IR） spectro- scopic and photometric observations of the Be/X-ray binary A0535＋262/HDE 245770 at different phases of its - 111 d orbital period. This observation campaign is part of the monitoring program of selective Be/X-ray binary systems aimed at understanding X-ray and near-IR properties at different orbital phases, especially during the perias- tron passage of the neutron star. The near-IR observations presented here were carried out using the 1.2 m telescope at the Mt. Abu IR Observatory. Though the source was relatively faint for spectroscopic observations with the 1.2 m telescope, we monitored the source closely during the 2011 February-March giant X-ray outburst to primarily investigate whether any drastic changes in the near-IR JHK spectra took place at the periastron passage. Changes of such a striking nature were expected to be detectable in our spectra. Photometric observations of the Be star show a gradual and systematic fading in the JHK light curves since the onset of the X-ray outburst, which could suggest a mild evacuation/truncation of the circumstellar disk of the Be companion. Near-IR spectroscopy of the object shows that the JHK spectra are dominated by the emission lines of hydrogen Brackett and Paschen series and HeI lines at 1.0830, 1.7002 and 2.0585 μm. The presence of all the hydrogen emission lines in the JHK spectra, along with the absence of any significant change in the continuum of the Be companion during X-ray quiescent and X-ray outburst phases, suggests that the near- IR line emitting regions of the disk are not significantly affected during the X-ray outburst.

Studies of a possible new Herbig Ae/Be star in the open cluster NGC 7380

We present a study of the star 2MASS J22472238＋5801214 with the aim of identifying its true nature which has hitherto been uncertain. This object, which is a member of the young cluster NGC 7380, has been variously proposed to be a Be star, a D-type symbiotic and a Herbig Ae/Be star in separate studies. Here we present optical spectroscopy, near-IR photometry and narrow band Hα imaging of the nebulosity in its environment. Analysis of all these results, including the spectral energy distribution constructed from available data, strongly indicate the source to be a Herbig Ae/Be star. The star is found to be accompanied by a nebulosity with an interesting structure. A bow-shock shaped structure, similar to a cometary nebula, is seen very close to the star with its apex oriented towards the photoionizing source of this region （i.e. the star DH Cep）. An interesting spectroscopic finding, from the forbidden [StI] 6716, 6731A and [OI] 6300A lines, is the detection of a blue-shifted high velocity outflow （200 -t-50 km s-1） from the star.

Gamma/hadron segregation for a ground based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope using machine learning methods: Random Forest leads

A detailed case study of γ-hadron segregation for a ground based atmo- spheric Cherenkov telescope is presented. We have evaluated and compared various supervised machine learning methods such as the Random Forest method, Artificial Neural Network, Linear Discriminant method, Naive Bayes Classifiers, Support Vector Machines as well as the conventional dynamic supercut method by simulating triggering events with the Monte Carlo method and applied the results to a Cherenkov telescope. It is demonstrated that the Random Forest method is the most sensitive machine learning method for γ-hadron segregation.

Optical/IR studies of Be stars in NGC 6834 with emphasis on two specific stars

We present optical and infrared photometric and spectroscopic studies of two Be stars in the 70-80-Myr-old open cluster NGC 6834. NGC 6834（1） has been reported as a binary from speckle interferometric studies whereas NGC 6834（2） may possibly be a γ Cas-like variable. Infrared photometry and spectroscopy from the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope （UKIRT）, and optical data from various facilities are combined with archival data to understand the nature of these candidates. High signal-to-noise near-IR spectra obtained from UKIRT have enabled us to study the optical depth effects in the hydrogen emission lines of these stars. We have explored the spectral classification scheme based on the intensity of emission lines in the H and K bands and contrasted it with the conventional classification based on the intensity of hydrogen and helium absorption lines. This work also presents hitherto unavailable UBV CCD photometry of NGC 6834, from which the evolutionary state of the Be stars is identified.

Broad-band spectroscopy of the transient X-ray binary pulsar KS 1947+300 during 2013 giant outburst: Detection of pulsating soft X-ray excess component

We present the results obtained from detailed timing and spectral studies of the Be/X-ray binary pulsar KS 1947＋300 during its 2013 giant outburst. We used data from Suzaku observations of the pulsar at two epochs, i.e. on 2013 October 22 （close to the peak of the outburst） and 2013 November 22. X- ray pulsations at - 18.81 s were clearly detected in the light curves obtained from both observations. Pulse periods estimated during the outburst showed that the pulsar was spinning up. The pulse profile was found to be single-peaked up to -10 keV beyond which a sharp peak followed by a dip-like feature appeared at hard X-rays. The dip-like feature has been observed up to -70 keV. The 1-110 keV broad-band spectroscopy of both observations revealed that the best-fit model was comprised of a partially absorbed Negative and Positive power law with EXponential cutoff （NPEX） continuum model along with a blackbody component for the soft X-ray excess and two Gaussian functions at 6.4 and 6.7 keV for emission lines. Both the lines were identified as emission from neutral and He-like iron atoms. To fit the spectra, we included the previously reported cyclotron absorption line at 12.2 keV. From the spin-up rate, the magnetic field of the pulsar was estimated to be -1.2 x 10^12 G and found to be comparable to that obtained from the detection of the cyclotron absorption feature. Pulse-phase resolved spectroscopy revealed the pulsating nature of the soft X-ray excess component in phase with the continuum flux. This confirms that the accretion column and/or accretion stream are the most probable regions of the soft X-ray excess emission in KS1947＋300. The presence of the pulsating soft X-ray excess in phase with continuum emission may be the possible reason for not observing the dip at soft X-rays.

Interval Based Analysis of Bell’s Theorem

This paper introduces the concept and motivates the use of finite-interval based measures for physically realizable and measurable quantities, which we call -measures. We demonstrate the utility and power of -measures by illustrating their use in an interval-based analysis of a prototypical Bell’s inequality in the measurement of the polarization states of an entangled pair of photons. We show that the use of finite intervals in place of real-numbered values in the Bell inequality leads to reduced violations. We demonstrate that, under some conditions, an interval-based but otherwise classically calculated probability measure can be made to arbitrarily closely approximate its quantal counterpart. More generally, we claim by heuristic arguments and by formal analogy with finite-state machines that -measures can provide a more accurate model of both classical and quantal physical property values than point-like, real numbers—as originally proposed by Tuero Sunaga in 1958.

Star Formation in Magnetized, Turbulent and Rotating Molecular Cloud: The Critical Mass

In this paper, we present the critical mass of magnetized, turbulent and rotating star-forming molecular cloud core (MCc) in the presence of magnetic tension. The critical mass of star-forming magnetized cloud is influenced by the magnetic tension, magnetic pressure and other pressures. Applying the method of theoretical modelling by taking into account the basic equations and assumptions, we formulate the critical mass of magnetized MCc in different cases. Accordingly, the minimum critical masses we find in both cases are different. Energy due to magnetic tension significantly triggers the collapse at relatively larger radius of the core. The model shows that when the initial radius of the parent cloud (Ro) is larger than that of collapsing core radius (Rcore) the magnetic tension also has the larger radius of curvature, so it plays a significant role in supporting gravity to collapse the core. The results indicate gravity without magnetic tension may not overcome magnetic pressure, turbulence pressure and pressure due to rotation. This shows the critical mass of MCc for the collapse depends on the tension force that magnetic field lines apply on the envelope. We conclude that if there is magnetic pressure in star-forming MCc, there is also unavoidable magnetic tension, which triggers the collapse of the core. If there is no magnetic tension, the magnetized MCc needs relatively larger mass and higher density within the small size to collapse.

Study of Principal Catalogues of Visual Double Stars

The goal of this study is to develop a tool for detection of errors and misprints in principal catalogues of visual double stars. Modern statistical investigations of visual doubles (which are about 130 thousand, and they represent the most numerous observational type of binaries) are based almost exclusively on data, listed in those catalogues. So their correction is a challenging task, otherwise the statistics of visual binaries can be biased. Study of individual stars should also be based on correct data. We have presented tools to detect some of errors in the catalogues, especially, to indicate cases i) when positional information on components of a pair is contradictory, and ii) when a double star or its component is included in a catalogue twice, under different names.

Gamma-ray bursts and their links with supernovae and cosmology

Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the Universe, whose origin and mechanism are the focus of intense interest. They appear connected to su- pernova remnants from massive stars or the merger of their remnants, and their bright- ness makes them temporarily detectable out to the largest distances yet explored in the universe. After pioneering breakthroughs from space and ground experiments, their study is entering a new phase with observations from the recently launched Fermi satellite, as well as the prospect of detections or limits from large neutrino and gravitational wave detectors. The interplay between such observations and theoretical models of gamma-ray bursts is reviewed, and cosmology. as well as their connections to supernovae

Star Formation in Self-Gravitating Molecular Cloud: The Critical Mass and the Core Accretion Rate

Understanding how stars form in molecular clouds is one of the ongoing research areas in astrophysics. Star formation is the fundamental process to which our current understanding remains incomplete due to the complexity of the physics that drives their formation within molecular clouds. In this article theoretical modelling of the lowest possible mass of the cloud needed for collapse and the core accretion rate has been presented for the molecular cloud collapsing under its gravity. In many of previous studies the critical mass of star forming cloud under its gravity has been modelled using kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy. However, we test the effect of thermodynamic efficiency factor together with other physical processes in describing the critical mass, and controlling or triggering the rate of mass falling onto the central core. Assuming that, the ratio of radiation luminosity to gravitational energy released per unit time of the collapsing MC is less than unity. Following this conceptual framework we have formulated the critical mass and the core accretion rate of the self-gravitating molecular cloud.

The LEGUE high latitude bright survey design for the LAMOST pilot survey

We describe the footprint and input catalog for bright nights in the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began in October 2011. Targets are selected from two stripes in the north and south Galactic Cap regions, centered at δ = 29°, with 10° width in declination, covering right ascensions of 135° to 290° and -30° to 30° re- spectively. We selected spectroscopic targets from a combination of the SDSS and 2MASS point source catalogs. The catalog of stars defining the field centers （as re- quired by the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor at the center of the LAMOST field） consists of all V 〈 8m stars from the Hipparcos catalog. We employ a statistical selection algorithm that assigns priorities to targets based on their positions in mul- tidimensional color/magnitude space. This scheme overemphasizes rare objects and de-emphasizes more populated regions of magnitude and color phase space, while en- suring a smooth, well-understood selection function. A demonstration of plate design is presented based on the Shack-Hartmann star catalog and an input catalog that was generated by our target selection routines.

Scientific objectives of the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor(HUBS) mission

The Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor(HUBS) is a proposed space-based X-ray telescope for detecting X-ray emissions from the hot gas content in our universe. With its unprecedented spatially-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy and large field of view,the HUBS mission will be uniquely qualified to measure the physical and chemical properties of the hot gas in the interstellar medium, the circumgalactic medium, the intergalactic medium, and the intracluster medium. These measurements will be valuable for two key scientific goals of HUBS, namely to unravel the AGN and stellar feedback physics that governs the formation and evolution of galaxies, and to probe the baryon budget and multi-phase states from galactic to cosmological scales. In addition to these two goals, the HUBS mission will also help us solve some problems in the fields of galaxy clusters, AGNs, difuse X-ray backgrounds, supernova remnants, and compact objects. This paper discusses the perspective of advancing these fields using the HUBS telescope.

The neutron star zoo

Neutron stars are a very diverse population, both in their observational and their physical properties. They prefer to radiate most of their energy at X-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths. But whether their emission is powered by rotation, accretion, heat, magnetic fields or nuclear reactions, they are all different species of the same animal whose magnetic field evolution and interior composition remain a mystery. This article will broadly review the properties of inhabitants of the neutron star zoo, with emphasis on their high-energy emission.