Andrea Comastri

Bio: Andrea Comastri is an academic researcher from INAF. The author has contributed to research in topics: Active galactic nucleus & Galaxy. The author has an hindex of 111, co-authored 706 publications receiving 49119 citations. Previous affiliations of Andrea Comastri include University of Bologna & Max Planck Society.

THE NUCLEAR SPECTROSCOPIC TELESCOPE ARRAY (NuSTAR) HIGH-ENERGY X-RAY MISSION

Abstract: The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, launched on 2012 June 13, is the first focusing high-energy X-ray telescope in orbit. NuSTAR operates in the band from 3 to 79 keV, extending the sensitivity of focusing far beyond the ~10 keV high-energy cutoff achieved by all previous X-ray satellites. The inherently low background associated with concentrating the X-ray light enables NuSTAR to probe the hard X-ray sky with a more than 100-fold improvement in sensitivity over the collimated or coded mask instruments that have operated in this bandpass. Using its unprecedented combination of sensitivity and spatial and spectral resolution, NuSTAR will pursue five primary scientific objectives: (1) probe obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity out to the peak epoch of galaxy assembly in the universe (at z ≾ 2) by surveying selected regions of the sky; (2) study the population of hard X-ray-emitting compact objects in the Galaxy by mapping the central regions of the Milky Way; (3) study the non-thermal radiation in young supernova remnants, both the hard X-ray continuum and the emission from the radioactive element ^(44)Ti; (4) observe blazars contemporaneously with ground-based radio, optical, and TeV telescopes, as well as with Fermi and Swift, to constrain the structure of AGN jets; and (5) observe line and continuum emission from core-collapse supernovae in the Local Group, and from nearby Type Ia events, to constrain explosion models. During its baseline two-year mission, NuSTAR will also undertake a broad program of targeted observations. The observatory consists of two co-aligned grazing-incidence X-ray telescopes pointed at celestial targets by a three-axis stabilized spacecraft. Deployed into a 600 km, near-circular, 6° inclination orbit, the observatory has now completed commissioning, and is performing consistent with pre-launch expectations. NuSTAR is now executing its primary science mission, and with an expected orbit lifetime of 10 yr, we anticipate proposing a guest investigator program, to begin in late 2014.

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission

Abstract: The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, launched on 13 June 2012, is the first focusing high-energy X-ray telescope in orbit. NuSTAR operates in the band from 3 -- 79 keV, extending the sensitivity of focusing far beyond the ~10 keV high-energy cutoff achieved by all previous X-ray satellites. The inherently low-background associated with concentrating the X-ray light enables NuSTAR to probe the hard X-ray sky with a more than one-hundred-fold improvement in sensitivity over the collimated or coded-mask instruments that have operated in this bandpass. Using its unprecedented combination of sensitivity, spatial and spectral resolution, NuSTAR will pursue five primary scientific objectives, and will also undertake a broad program of targeted observations. The observatory consists of two co-aligned grazing-incidence X-ray telescopes pointed at celestial targets by a three-axis stabilized spacecraft. Deployed into a 600 km, near-circular, 6degree inclination orbit, the Observatory has now completed commissioning, and is performing consistent with pre-launch expectations. NuSTAR is now executing its primary science mission, and with an expected orbit lifetime of ten years, we anticipate proposing a guest investigator program, to begin in Fall 2014.

A unifying view of the spectral energy distributions of blazars

Abstract: ABSTRA C T We collect data at well-sampled frequencies from the radio to the g-ray range for the following three complete samples of blazars: the Slew survey, the 1-Jy samples of BL Lacs and the 2-Jy sample of flat-spectrum radio-loud quasars (FSRQs). The fraction of objects detected in g-rays (E * 100 MeV) is ,17, 26 and 40 per cent in the three samples respectively. Except for the Slew survey sample, g-ray detected sources do not differ either from other sources in each sample, or from all the g-ray detected sources, in terms of the distributions of redshift, radio and X-ray luminosities or of the broad-band spectral indices (radio to optical and radio to X-ray). We compute average spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from radio to g-rays for each complete sample and for groups of blazars binned according to radio luminosity, irrespective of the original classification as BL Lac or FSRQ. The resulting SEDs show a remarkable continuity in that (i) the first peak occurs in different frequency ranges for different samples/luminosity classes, with most luminous sources peaking at lower frequencies; (ii) the peak frequency of the g-ray component correlates with the peak frequency of the lower energy one; (iii) the luminosity ratio between the high and low frequency components increases with bolometric luminosity. The continuity of properties among different classes of sources and the systematic trends of the SEDs as a function of luminosity favour a unified view of the blazar phenomenon: a single parameter, related to luminosity, seems to govern the physical properties and radiation mechanisms in the relativistic jets present in BL Lac objects as well as in FSRQs. The general implications of this unified scheme are discussed while a detailed theoretical analysis, based on fitting continuum models to the individual spectra of most g-ray blazars, is presented in a separate paper.

A theoretical unifying scheme for gamma-ray bright blazars

Abstract: ABSTRA C T The phenomenology of g-ray bright blazars can be accounted for by a sequence in the source power and intensity of the diffuse radiation field surrounding the relativistic jet. Correspondingly, the equilibrium particle distribution peaks at different energies. This leads to a trend in the observed properties: an increase of the observed power corresponds to: (i) a decrease in the frequencies of the synchrotron and inverse Compton peaks, and (ii) an increase in the ratio of the powers of the high- and low-energy spectral components. Objects along this sequence would be observationally classified respectively as high-frequency BL Lac objects, lowfrequency BL Lac objects, high-polarization quasars and low-polarization quasars. The proposed scheme is based on the correlations among the physical parameters derived in the present paper by applying to 51 g-ray loud blazars two of the most accepted scenarios for the broad-band emission of blazars, namely the synchrotron self-Compton and external Compton models. This also explains the observational trends presented by Fossati et al., dealing with the spectral energy distributions of all blazars. This gives us confidence that our scheme applies to all blazars as a class.

The synthesis of the cosmic X-ray background in the Chandra and XMM-Newton era

Abstract: We present a detailed and self-consistent modeling of the cosmic X-ray background (XRB) based on the most up-to-date X-ray luminosity functions (XLF) and evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). The large body of observational results collected by soft (0.5-2 keV) and hard (2-10 keV) X-ray surveys are used to constrain at best the properties of the Compton-thin AGN population and its contribution to the XRB emission. The number ratio R between moderately obscured (Compton-thin) AGN and unobscured AGN is fixed by the comparison between the soft and hard XLFs, which suggests that R decreases from 4 at low luminosities to 1 at high luminosities. From the same comparison there is no clear evidence of an evolution of the obscured AGN fraction with redshift. The distribution of the absorbing column densities in obscured AGN is determined by matching the soft and hard source counts. A distribution rising towards larger column densities is able to reproduce the soft and hard AGN counts over about 6 dex in flux. The model also reproduces with excellent accuracy the fraction of obscured objects in AGN samples selected at different X-ray fluxes. The integrated emission of the Compton-thin AGN population is found to underestimate the XRB flux at about 30 keV, calling for an additional population of extremely obscured (Compton-thick) AGN. Since the number of Compton-thick sources required to fit the 30 keV XRB emission strongly depends on the spectral templates assumed for unobscured and moderately obscured AGN, we explored the effects of varying the spectral templates. In particular, in addition to the column density distribution, we also considered a distribution in the intrinsic powerlaw spectral indices of variable width. In our baseline model a Gaussian distribution of photon indices with mean (F) = 1.9 and dispersion or = 0.2 is assumed. This increases the contribution of the Compton-thin AGN population to the 30 keV XRB intensity by ∼30% with respect to the case of null dispersion (i.e. a single primary AGN powerlaw with I= 1.9) but is not sufficient to match the 30 keV XRB emission. Therefore a population of heavily obscured -Compton-thick- AGN, as large as that of moderately obscured AGN, is required to fit the residual background emission. Remarkably, the fractions of Compton-thick AGN observed in the Chandra Deep Field South and in the first INTEGRAL and Swift catalogs of AGN selected above 10 keV are in excellent agreement with the model predictions.

The Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

Abstract: On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10(-21). It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203,000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410(-180)(+160) Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09(-0.04)(+0.03). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36(-4)(+5)M⊙ and 29(-4)(+4)M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62(-4)(+4)M⊙, with 3.0(-0.5)(+0.5)M⊙c(2) radiated in gravitational waves. All uncertainties define 90% credible intervals. These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

The Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Mission

Abstract: (Abridged) The Large Area Telescope (Fermi/LAT, hereafter LAT), the primary instrument on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) mission, is an imaging, wide field-of-view, high-energy gamma-ray telescope, covering the energy range from below 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV. This paper describes the LAT, its pre-flight expected performance, and summarizes the key science objectives that will be addressed. On-orbit performance will be presented in detail in a subsequent paper. The LAT is a pair-conversion telescope with a precision tracker and calorimeter, each consisting of a 4x4 array of 16 modules, a segmented anticoincidence detector that covers the tracker array, and a programmable trigger and data acquisition system. Each tracker module has a vertical stack of 18 x,y tracking planes, including two layers (x and y) of single-sided silicon strip detectors and high-Z converter material (tungsten) per tray. Every calorimeter module has 96 CsI(Tl) crystals, arranged in an 8 layer hodoscopic configuration with a total depth of 8.6 radiation lengths. The aspect ratio of the tracker (height/width) is 0.4 allowing a large field-of-view (2.4 sr). Data obtained with the LAT are intended to (i) permit rapid notification of high-energy gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and transients and facilitate monitoring of variable sources, (ii) yield an extensive catalog of several thousand high-energy sources obtained from an all-sky survey, (iii) measure spectra from 20 MeV to more than 50 GeV for several hundred sources, (iv) localize point sources to 0.3 - 2 arc minutes, (v) map and obtain spectra of extended sources such as SNRs, molecular clouds, and nearby galaxies, (vi) measure the diffuse isotropic gamma-ray background up to TeV energies, and (vii) explore the discovery space for dark matter.

Cosmic Star-Formation History

Abstract: Over the past two decades, an avalanche of data from multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopic surveys has revolutionized our view of galaxy formation and evolution. Here we review the range of complementary techniques and theoretical tools that allow astronomers to map the cosmic history of star formation, heavy element production, and reionization of the Universe from the cosmic "dark ages" to the present epoch. A consistent picture is emerging, whereby the star-formation rate density peaked approximately 3.5 Gyr after the Big Bang, at z~1.9, and declined exponentially at later times, with an e-folding timescale of 3.9 Gyr. Half of the stellar mass observed today was formed before a redshift z = 1.3. About 25% formed before the peak of the cosmic star-formation rate density, and another 25% formed after z = 0.7. Less than ~1% of today's stars formed during the epoch of reionization. Under the assumption of a universal initial mass function, the global stellar mass density inferred at any epoch matches reasonably well the time integral of all the preceding star-formation activity. The comoving rates of star formation and central black hole accretion follow a similar rise and fall, offering evidence for co-evolution of black holes and their host galaxies. The rise of the mean metallicity of the Universe to about 0.001 solar by z = 6, one Gyr after the Big Bang, appears to have been accompanied by the production of fewer than ten hydrogen Lyman-continuum photons per baryon, a rather tight budget for cosmological reionization.

Coevolution (Or Not) of Supermassive Black Holes and Host Galaxies

Abstract: Supermassive black holes (BHs) have been found in 85 galaxies by dynamical modeling of spatially resolved kinematics. The Hubble Space Telescope revolutionized BH research by advancing the subject from its proof-of-concept phase into quantitative studies of BH demographics. Most influential was the discovery of a tight correlation between BH mass and the velocity dispersion σ of the bulge component of the host galaxy. Together with similar correlations with bulge luminosity and mass, this led to the widespread belief that BHs and bulges coevolve by regulating each other's growth. Conclusions based on one set of correlations from in brightest cluster ellipticals to in the smallest galaxies dominated BH work for more than a decade. New results are now replacing this simple story with a richer and more plausible picture in which BHs correlate differently with different galaxy components. A reasonable aim is to use this progress to refine our understanding of BH-galaxy coevolution. BHs with masses of 105−106M...

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

Abstract: On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient's position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.