Browsing by Department "O.A. Padova"

Kepler-20 is a solar-type star (V = 12.5) hosting a compact system of five transiting planets, all packed within the orbital distance of Mercury in our own solar system. A transition from rocky to gaseous planets with a planetary transition radius of ∼1.6 R_E has recently been proposed by several articles in the literature. Kepler-20b (R_p ∼ 1.9 R_E) has a size beyond this transition radius; however, previous mass measurements were not sufficiently precise to allow definite conclusions to be drawn regarding its composition. We present new mass measurements of three of the planets in the Kepler-20 system that are facilitated by 104 radial velocity measurements from the HARPS-N spectrograph and 30 archival Keck/HIRES observations, as well as an updated photometric analysis of the Kepler data and an asteroseismic analysis of the host star (M_star = 0.948+/- 0.051 M☉ and R_star = 0.964+/- 0.018 R☉). Kepler-20b is a 1.868_(-0.034)^(+0.066) R_E planet in a 3.7 day period with a mass of 9.70_(-1.44)^(+1.41) M_E, resulting in a mean density of 8.2_(-1.3)^(+1.5) g/cm^3, indicating a rocky composition with an iron-to-silicate ratio consistent with that of the Earth. This makes Kepler-20b the most massive planet with a rocky composition found to date. Furthermore, we report the discovery of an additional non-transiting planet with a minimum mass of 19.96_(-3.61)^(+3.08) M_E and an orbital period of ∼34 days in the gap between Kepler-20f (P ∼ 11 days) and Kepler-20d (P ∼ 78 days). -- Based on observations made with the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Fundación Galileo Galilei of the INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofísica) at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

We present the discovery of a 100 kpc low-frequency radio tail behind the nearby group galaxy, NGC 2276. The extent of this tail is a factor of ten larger than previously reported from higher-frequency radio and X-ray imaging. The radio morphology of the galaxy disc and tail suggest that the tail was produced via ram-pressure stripping, cementing NGC 2276 as the clearest known example of ram-pressure stripping in a low-mass group. With multi-frequency imaging, we extract radio continuum spectra between ∼50 MHz and 1.2 GHz as a function of projected distance along the tail. All of the spectra are well fit by a simple model of spectral ageing due to synchrotron and inverse-Compton losses. From these fits we estimate a velocity of 870 km s^‑1 for the stripped plasma across the plane of the sky, and a three-dimensional orbital velocity of 970 km s^‑1 for NGC 2276. The orbital speed that we derive is in excellent agreement with the previous estimates from an X-ray shock analysis, despite the completely independent methodology.

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) began observations in 2014 July. It pursues three core programs: the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2), Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA), and the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS). As well as its core program, eBOSS contains two major subprograms: the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) and the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Sources (SPIDERS). This paper describes the first data release from SDSS-IV, Data Release 13 (DR13). DR13 makes publicly available the first 1390 spatially resolved integral field unit observations of nearby galaxies from MaNGA. It includes new observations from eBOSS, completing the Sloan Extended QUasar, Emission-line galaxy, Luminous red galaxy Survey (SEQUELS), which also targeted variability-selected objects and X-ray-selected objects. DR13 includes new reductions of the SDSS-III BOSS data, improving the spectrophotometric calibration and redshift classification, and new reductions of the SDSS-III APOGEE-1 data, improving stellar parameters for dwarf stars and cooler stars. DR13 provides more robust and precise photometric calibrations. Value-added target catalogs relevant for eBOSS, TDSS, and SPIDERS and an updated red-clump catalog for APOGEE are also available. This paper describes the location and format of the data and provides references to important technical papers. The SDSS web site, http://www.sdss.org, provides links to the data, tutorials, examples of data access, and extensive documentation of the reduction and analysis procedures. DR13 is the first of a scheduled set that will contain new data and analyses from the planned ∼6 yr operations of SDSS-IV.

The Italian Government did not provide financial support to Italian astronomers so that they could organize expeditions to places where the 1882 transit of Venus could be observed both at ingress and egress, so all observations had to be made from Italy, where the phenomenon was only partially visible. On December 6, the ingress should have been visible at about 2:30 p.m., in very unfavorable circumstances. Nonetheless, observations were made at the Observatories of Milan, Turin, Moncalieri, and Palermo; at the University Observatory and the Royal Navy Observatory in Genoa; at the Observatories of the Collegio Romano, Campidoglio and Gianicolo in Rome; and at the Capodimonte Observatory in Naples. Both spectroscopic and visual observations were made.

In 1898 a new asteroid, 433 Eros, was discovered. As the opposition of 1900 October 30 would bring this asteroid very close to Earth, the Comité International Permanent pour l'Exécution Photographique de La Carte du Ciel instituted a special temporary Commission with the task of co-ordinating micrometric, heliometric, and photographic observations from different places on Earth, in order to determine the solar parallax. Fifty-one astronomical observatories, including the Italian Observatories of Arcetri, Padova, and Teramo, took part in this project with visual and photographic opbservations. Antonio Maria Antoniazzi, astronomer at the Padova Observatory, observed the new asteroid from 1900 October to 1901 February, The 122 observations made in Padova from October to December formed part of the data set used by Arthur Hinks of the Cambridge Observatory, who had the task of reducing all of the observations. In addition to discussing the final outcome of the 1900-1 programme, this paper briefly examines the solar parallax investigations associated with the Eros opposition of 1930-1.

During the month of 2009 December, the blazar 3C 454.3 became the brightest gamma-ray source in the sky, reaching a peak flux F 2000 × 10 -8 photons cm-2 s-1 for E > 100 MeV. Starting in 2009 November intensive multifrequency campaigns monitored the 3C 454 gamma-ray outburst. Here, we report on the results of a two-month campaign involving AGILE, INTEGRAL, Swift/XRT, Swift/BAT, and Rossi XTE for the high-energy observations and Swift/UVOT, KANATA, Goddard Robotic Telescope, and REM for the near-IR/optical/UV data. GASP/WEBT provided radio and additional optical data. We detected a long-term active emission phase lasting 1 month at all wavelengths: in the gamma-ray band, peak emission was reached on 2009 December 2-3. Remarkably, this gamma-ray super-flare was not accompanied by correspondingly intense emission in the optical/UV band that reached a level substantially lower than the previous observations in 2007-2008. The lack of strong simultaneous optical brightening during the super-flare and the determination of the broadband spectral evolution severely constrain the theoretical modeling. We find that the pre- and post-flare broadband behavior can be explained by a one-zone model involving synchrotron self-Compton plus external Compton emission from an accretion disk and a broad-line region. However, the spectra of the 2009 December 2-3 super-flare and of the secondary peak emission on 2009 December 9 cannot be satisfactorily modeled by a simple one-zone model. An additional particle component is most likely active during these states. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Aims: We perform an extensive characterization of the broadband emission of Mrk 421, as well as its temporal evolution, during the non-flaring (low) state. The high brightness and nearby location (z = 0.031) of Mrk 421 make it an excellent laboratory to study blazar emission. The goal is to learn about the physical processes responsible for the typical emission of Mrk 421, which might also be extended to other blazars that are located farther away and hence are more difficult to study.
Methods: We performed a 4.5-month multi-instrument campaign on Mrk 421 between January 2009 and June 2009, which included VLBA, F-GAMMA, GASP-WEBT, Swift, RXTE, Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, and Whipple, among other instruments and collaborations. This extensive radio to very-high-energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) γ-ray dataset provides excellent temporal and energy coverage, which allows detailed studies of the evolution of the broadband spectral energy distribution.
Results: Mrk421 was found in its typical (non-flaring) activity state, with a VHE flux of about half that of the Crab Nebula, yet the light curves show significant variability at all wavelengths, the highest variability being in the X-rays. We determined the power spectral densities (PSD) at most wavelengths and found that all PSDs can be described by power-laws without a break, and with indices consistent with pink/red-noise behavior. We observed a harder-when-brighter behavior in the X-ray spectra and measured a positive correlation between VHE and X-ray fluxes with zero time lag. Such characteristics have been reported many times during flaring activity, but here they are reported for the first time in the non-flaring state. We also observed an overall anti-correlation between optical/UV and X-rays extending over the duration of the campaign.
Conclusions: The harder-when-brighter behavior in the X-ray spectra and the measured positive X-ray/VHE correlation during the 2009 multi-wavelength campaign suggests that the physical processes dominating the emission during non-flaring states have similarities with those occurring during flaring activity. In particular, this observation supports leptonic scenarios as being responsible for the emission of Mrk 421 during non-flaring activity. Such a temporally extended X-ray/VHE correlation is not driven by any single flaring event, and hence is difficult to explain within the standard hadronic scenarios. The highest variability is observed in the X-ray band, which, within the one-zone synchrotron self-Compton scenario, indicates that the electron energy distribution is most variable at the highest energies.

Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgThe complete data set shown in Fig. 1 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/576/A126

After a quiescence period of about 10 years, the classical EXor source V1118 Ori has undergone an accretion outburst in 2015 September. The maximum brightness ({{∆ }}V≳ 4 mag) was reached in 2015 December and was maintained for several months. Since 2016 September, the source is in a declining phase. Photometry and low/high-resolution spectroscopy were obtained with MODS and LUCI2 at the Large Binocular Telescope, with the facilities at the Asiago 1.22 and 1.82 m telescopes, and with GIANO at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. The spectra are dominated by emission lines of H I and neutral metallic species. From line and continuum analysis we derive the mass accretion rate and its evolution during the outburst. Considering that extinction may vary between 1.5 and 2.9 mag, we obtain {\dot{M}}_{acc} = 0.3-2.0 10^-8 M {}_☉ yr^-1 in quiescence and {\dot{M}}_{acc} = 0.2-1.9 10^-6 M {}_☉ yr^-1 at the outburst peak. The Balmer decrement shape has been interpreted by means of line excitation models, finding that from quiescence to outburst peak, the electron density has increased from ∼2 10⁹ cm^-3 to ∼4 10¹¹ cm^-3. The profiles of the metallic lines are symmetric and narrower than 100 km s^-1, while H I and He I lines show prominent wings extending up to ±500 km s^-1. The metallic lines likely originate at the base of the accretion columns, where neutrals are efficiently shielded against the ionizing photons, while faster ionized gas is closer to the star. Outflowing activity is testified by the detection of a variable P Cyg-like profile of the Hα and He I 1.08 μm lines.

On 2016 Feb 19, nine Rosetta instruments serendipitously observed an outburst of gas and dust from the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Among these instruments were cameras and spectrometers ranging from UV over visible to microwave wavelengths, in situ gas, dust and plasma instruments, and one dust collector. At 09:40 a dust cloud developed at the edge of an image in the shadowed region of the nucleus. Over the next two hours the instruments recorded a signature of the outburst that significantly exceeded the background. The enhancement ranged from 50 per cent of the neutral gas density at Rosetta to factors >100 of the brightness of the coma near the nucleus. Dust related phenomena (dust counts or brightness due to illuminated dust) showed the strongest enhancements (factors >10). However, even the electron density at Rosetta increased by a factor 3 and consequently the spacecraft potential changed from ∼-16 V to -20 V during the outburst. A clear sequence of events was observed at the distance of Rosetta (34 km from the nucleus): within 15 min the Star Tracker camera detected fast particles (∼25 m s^-1) while 100 μm radius particles were detected by the GIADA dust instrument ∼1 h later at a speed of 6 m s^-1. The slowest were individual mm to cm sized grains observed by the OSIRIS cameras. Although the outburst originated just outside the FOV of the instruments, the source region and the magnitude of the outburst could be determined.

Context. V2492 Cyg is a young pre-main sequence star presenting repetitive brightness variations of significant amplitude (∆R ≥ 5 mag) whose physical origin has been ascribed to both extinction (UXor-type) and accretion (EXor-type) variability, although their mutual proportion has not been clarified yet. Recently, V2492 Cyg has reached a level of brightness ever registered in the period of its documented activity. Aim. We aim to derive the variation of the mass accretion rate between low- and high-state and to get new insights on the origin of the variability of V2492 Cyg.
Methods: Optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry and spectroscopy have been obtained in October 2016 and between March and July 2017. The source has remained bright until the end of May 2017, then it started to rapidly fade since the beginning of June at a rate of 0.08 mag/day. On mid-July 2017 the source has reached the same low-brightness level as two years before. Extinction and mass accretion rate were derived by means of the luminosity of the brightest lines, in particular Hα and Hβ. A couple of optical high-resolution spectra are also presented to derive information on the gas kinematics.
Results: Visual extinction variations do not exceed a few magnitudes, while the mass accretion rate is estimated to vary from less than 10^-8 up to a few 10^-7 M_☉ yr^-1. This latter is comparable to that estimated on the previous high-state in 2010, likely occurred under more severe extinction conditions.
Conclusions: The combined analysis of the optical and NIR observations extends to the present event the original suggestion that the V2492 Cyg variability is a combination of changing extinction and accretion.

On 2021 August 8, the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) erupted again, after an interval of 15.5 yr. Regular monitoring by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory began promptly, on August 9.9 (0.37 d after the optical peak), and continued until the source passed behind the Sun at the start of November, 86 d later. Observations then restarted on day 197, once RS Oph emerged from the Sun constraint. This makes RS Oph the first Galactic recurrent nova to have been monitored by Swift throughout two eruptions. Here we investigate the extensive X-ray data sets between 2006 and 2021, as well as the more limited data collected by the European X-ray Observatory Satellite (EXOSAT) in 1985. The hard X-rays arising from shock interactions between the nova ejecta and red giant wind are similar following the last two eruptions. In contrast, the early supersoft source (SSS) in 2021 was both less variable and significantly fainter than in 2006. However, 0.3-1 keV light curves from 2021 reveal a 35 s quasi-periodic oscillation consistent in frequency with the 2006 data. The Swift X-ray spectra from 2021 are featureless, with the soft emission typically being well parametrized by a simple blackbody, while the 2006 spectra showed much stronger evidence for superimposed ionized absorption edges. Considering the data after day 60 following each eruption, during the supersoft phase the 2021 spectra are hotter, with smaller effective radii and lower wind absorption, leading to an apparently reduced bolometric luminosity. We explore possible explanations for the gross differences in observed SSS behaviour between the 2006 and 2021 outbursts.

I disegni e i documenti conservati presso l'Archivo storico dell'Osservatorio di Padova raccontano la storia della fondazione della Specola patavina

The presence of massive stars (MSs) in the region close to the Galactic Centre (GC) poses several questions about their origin. The harsh environment of the GC favours specific formation scenarios, each of which should imprint characteristic kinematic features on the MSs. We present a 2D kinematic analysis of MSs in a GC region surrounding Sgr A* based on high-precision proper motions obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. Thanks to a careful data reduction, well-measured bright stars in our proper-motion catalogues have errors better than 0.5 mas yr^-1. We discuss the absolute motion of the MSs in the field and their motion relative to Sgr A*, the Arches, and the Quintuplet. For the majority of the MSs, we rule out any distance further than 3-4 kpc from Sgr A* using only kinematic arguments. If their membership to the GC is confirmed, most of the isolated MSs are likely not associated with either the Arches or Quintuplet clusters or Sgr A*. Only a few MSs have proper motions, suggesting that they are likely members of the Arches cluster, in agreement with previous spectroscopic results. Line-of-sight radial velocities and distances are required to shed further light on the origin of most of these massive objects. We also present an analysis of other fast-moving objects in the GC region, finding no clear excess of high-velocity escaping stars. We make our astro-photometric catalogues publicly available.

We develop a statistical estimator to infer the redshift probability distribution of a photometric sample of galaxies from its angular cross-correlation in redshift bins with an overlapping spectroscopic sample. This estimator is a minimum-variance weighted quadratic function of the data: a quadratic estimator. This extends and modifies the methodology presented by McQuinn & White. The derived source redshift distribution is degenerate with the source galaxy bias, which must be constrained via additional assumptions. We apply this estimator to constrain source galaxy redshift distributions in the Kilo-Degree imaging survey through cross-correlation with the spectroscopic 2-degree Field Lensing Survey, presenting results first as a binned step-wise distribution in the range z < 0.8, and then building a continuous distribution using a Gaussian process model. We demonstrate the robustness of our methodology using mock catalogues constructed from N-body simulations, and comparisons with other techniques for inferring the redshift distribution.

Substellar companions at wide separation around stars hosting planets or brown dwarfs (BDs) yet close enough for their formation in the circumstellar disc are of special interest. In this Letter we report the discovery of a wide (projected separation ∼16.0", or 2400 AU, and position angle 114.61°) companion of the GQ Lup A-B system, most likely gravitationally bound to it. A VLT/X-shooter spectrum shows that this star, 2MASS J15491331-3539118, is a bonafide low-mass (∼0.15 M_⊙) young stellar object (YSO) with stellar and accretion/ejection properties typical of Lupus YSOs of similar mass, and with kinematics consistent with that of the GQ Lup A-B system. A possible scenario for the formation of the triple system is that GQ Lup A and 2MASS J15491331-3539118 formed by fragmentation of a turbulent core in the Lup I filament, while GQ Lup B, the BD companion of GQ Lup A at 0.7", formed in situ by the fragmentation of the circumprimary disc. The recent discoveries that stars form along cloud filaments would favour the scenario of turbulent fragmentation for the formation of GQ Lup A and 2MASS J15491331-3539118.

Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory at Paranal, under program 103.C-0200(A), and archive data from 074.C-0037(A) and 082.C-0390(A).

In the last years we have operated two very similar ultrafast photon counting photometers (Iqueye and Aqueye+) on different telescopes. The absolute time accuracy in time tagging the detected photon with these instruments is of the order of 500 ps for hours of observation, allowing us to obtain, for example, the most accurate ever light curve in visible light of the optical pulsars. Recently we adapted the two photometers for working together on two telescopes at Asiago (Italy), for realizing an Hanbury-Brown and Twiss Intensity Interferometry like experiment with two 3.9 km distant telescopes. In this paper we report about the status of the activity and on the very preliminary results of our first attempt to measure the photon intensity correlation.

Lobe-dominated radio-loud (LD RL) quasars occupy a restricted domain in the 4D Eigenvector 1 (4DE1) parameter space which implies restricted geometry/physics/kinematics for this subclass compared to the radio-quiet (RQ) majority of quasars. We discuss how this restricted domain for the LD RL parent population supports the notion for a RQ-RL dichotomy among type 1 sources. 3C 57 is an atypical RL quasar that shows both uncertain radio morphology and falls in a region of 4DE1 space where RL quasars are rare. We present new radio flux and optical spectroscopic measures designed to verify its atypical optical/UV spectroscopic behaviour and clarify its radio structure. The former data confirms that 3C 57 falls off the 4DE1 quasar `main sequence' with both extreme optical Fe II emission (R_{Fe II} ̃ 1) and a large C IV λ1549 profile blueshift (̃-1500 km s^-1). These parameter values are typical of extreme Population A sources which are almost always RQ. New radio measures show no evidence for flux change over a 50+ year time-scale consistent with compact steep-spectrum (or young LD) over core-dominated morphology. In the 4DE1 context where LD RL are usually low L/L_Edd quasars, we suggest that 3C 57 is an evolved RL quasar (i.e. large blackhole mass) undergoing a major accretion event leading to a rejuvenation reflected by strong Fe II emission, perhaps indicating significant heavy metal enrichment, high bolometric luminosity for a low-redshift source and resultant unusually high Eddington ratio giving rise to the atypical C IV λ1549.

The proximity of SN 1987A and the wealth of observations collected at all wavelength bands since its outburst allow us to study in detail the transition of a supernova (SN) in a supernova remnant(SNR) and the link between the morphological properties of a SNRand the complex phases in the SN explosion. Here we investigate theinteraction between the remnant of SN 1987A and the surroundingcircumstellar medium (CSM) through three-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling. The aim is to identify the imprint of SN 1987A on the X-ray emission of its remnant and to determine the contribution of shocked ejecta and shocked CSM to the detected X-ray flux, thusproviding clues on both the ejecta and the density structure of theinhomogeneous CSM. Our model describes the evolution of the blast wave from the breakout of the shock wave at the stellar surface till its transition from SN to SNR, making predictions on the future observations of SN 1987A with the instruments on board Athena. Our model is able to reproduce alltogether the main observables of both the progenitor supernova (e.g. the bolometric lightcurve during the first 250 days) and of its remnant (X-ray lightcurves and spectra during the following 26 years of evolution), providing for the first time an accurate description of the structure of ejecta and of the CSM around the progenitor.

An innovative photogrammetric pipeline has been developed by INAF-Padova for the processing of the stereo images from the CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Imaging System) (Thomas et al., 2014). CaSSIS is the multispectral stereo push frame camera on board ExoMars TGO (Trace Gas Orbiter) which will image 1.5% of the Mars surface in stereo mode with a spatial resolution of 4.6 m/pixel: the highest resolution single pass stereo capability currently operating at Mars. Data acquisition started in April 2018. The camera is able to provide two images of the same target from two different points of view along the same orbit and within one minute. The telescope is mounted on a rotational stage and its boresight is oriented to 10° with respect to nadir direction. After the acquisition of the first set of images looking forward along track, the rotational stage is rotated by 180° and a second set of images (looking backward) is acquired. The stereo pairs can then be processed to provide the 3D topography of specific targets.

The suite of photogrammetry and imaging tools, named 3DPD (3Dimensional reconstruction of Planetary Data) (Simioni et al. 2017), is designed for processing stereo push frame data and producing the three-dimensional data for geomorphological analysis of planetary surfaces.

The workflow involves a MATLAB tool for the preparation of the inputs (the mosaicked images and the projection matrices) to be ingested into the 3DPD matching core software. The pipeline is in continuous development and routinely ingests a large number of images that CaSSIS is presently acquiring and will continue to acquire in the future. CaSSIS 3DPD products are the unique DTMs available nowadays and the stereo products have been considered in some scientific work (as described in Section 6.2). The same pipeline faces the need of a dedicated pipeline for the Mercury Global Mapping with the Spectrometers and Imagers for the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS) (Cremonese et al., 2020).

We present a catalog of sources detected above 10 GeV by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) in the first 7 years of data using the Pass 8 event-level analysis. This is the Third Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT Sources (3FHL), containing 1556 objects characterized in the 10 GeV-2 TeV energy range. The sensitivity and angular resolution are improved by factors of 3 and 2 relative to the previous LAT catalog at the same energies (1FHL). The vast majority of detected sources (79%) are associated with extragalactic counterparts at other wavelengths, including 16 sources located at very high redshift (z > 2). Of the sources, 8% have Galactic counterparts and 13% are unassociated (or associated with a source of unknown nature). The high-latitude sky and the Galactic plane are observed with a flux sensitivity of 4.4 to 9.5 × 10^-11 ph cm^-2 s^-1, respectively (this is approximately 0.5% and 1% of the Crab Nebula flux above 10 GeV). The catalog includes 214 new γ-ray sources. The substantial increase in the number of photons (more than 4 times relative to 1FHL and 10 times to 2FHL) also allows us to measure significant spectral curvature for 32 sources and find flux variability for 163 of them. Furthermore, we estimate that for the same flux limit of 10^-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1, the energy range above 10 GeV has twice as many sources as the range above 50 GeV, highlighting the importance, for future Cherenkov telescopes, of lowering the energy threshold as much as possible.