A THEORETICAL COLOR-VELOCITY CORRELATION FOR SUPERNOVAE ASSOCIATED WITH GAMMA-RAY BURSTS
We carry out the first multi-dimensional radiative transfer calculations to simultaneously compute synthetic spectra and light curves for models of supernovae driven by fast bipolar outflows. These allow us to make self-consistent predictions for the orientation dependence of both color evolution and spectral features. We compare models with different degrees of asphericity and metallicity and find significant observable consequences of both. In aspherical models, we find spectral and light curve features that vary systematically with observer orientation. In particular, we find that the early-phase light curves are brighter and bluer when viewed close to the polar axis but that the peak flux is highest for equatorial (off-axis) inclinations. Spectral line features also depend systematically on observer orientation, including the velocity of the Si II 6355 A line. Consequently, our models predict a correlation between line velocity and color that could assist the identification of supernovae associated with off-axis jet-driven explosions. The amplitude and range of this correlation depends on the degree of asphericity, the metallicity, and the epoch of observation but we find that it is always present and acts in the same direction.

title: Finding RR Lyrae Stars with SkyMapper: An Observational Test
abstract: SkyMapper operations are funded by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University. Research conducted with SkyMapper is supported in part by grants from the Australian Research Council, most recently through ARC Laureate Fellowship FL0992131 and Discovery Projects grant DP120101237.

title: A RECONNAISSANCE OF THE POSSIBLE DONOR STARS TO THE KEPLER SUPERNOVA
abstract: The identity of Type Ia supernova progenitors remains a mystery, with various lines of evidence pointing toward either accretion from a nondegenerate companion or the rapid merger of two degenerate stars leading to the thermonuclear destruction of a white dwarf. In this paper, we spectroscopically scrutinize 24 of the brightest stars residing in the central 38'' × 38'' of the SN 1604 (Kepler) supernova remnant to search for a possible surviving companion star. We can rule out, with high certainty, a red giant companion star—a progenitor indicated by some models of the supernova remnant. Furthermore, we find no star that exhibits properties uniquely consistent with those expected of a donor star down to L > 10 L {sub ☉}. While the distribution of star properties toward the remnant are consistent with unrelated stars, we identify the most promising candidates for further astrometric and spectroscopic follow up. Such a program would either discover the donor star or place strong limits on progenitor systems to luminosities with L << L {sub ☉}.

title: Discovery of GRB 020405 and its Underlying Supernova

title: The Science Case for PILOT I: Summary and Overview
abstract: PILOT (the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope) is a proposed 2.5-m optical/infrared telescope to be located at Dome C on the Antarctic plateau. Conditions at Dome C are known to be exceptional for astronomy. The seeing (above ∼30 m height), coherence time, and isoplanatic angle are all twice as good as at typical mid-latitude sites, while the water-vapour column, and the atmosphere and telescope thermal emission are all an order of magnitude better. These conditions enable a unique scientific capability for PILOT, which is addressed in this series of papers. The current paper presents an overview of the optical and instrumentation suite for PILOT and its expected performance, a summary of the key science goals and observational approach for the facility, a discussion of the synergies between the science goals for PILOT and other telescopes, and a discussion of the future of Antarctic astronomy.

title: On the significance of the excess number of strong Mg II absorbers observed toward gamma-ray bursts
abstract: The number of strong (equivalent width >1 A) Mg II absorbers observed toward gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has been found to be statistically larger than the number of strong absorbers toward quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). We formalize this "Mg II problem" and present a detailed explanation of the statistical tools required to assess the significance of the discrepancy. We find that the problem exists at the 4σ level for GRBs with high-resolution spectra. It has been suggested that the discrepancy can be resolved by the combination of a dust obscuration bias toward QSOs, and a strong gravitational lensing bias toward GRBs. We investigate one of the two most probable lensed GRBs that we presented in our previous work (GRB020405) and find that it is not strongly gravitationally lensed, constraining the percentage of lensed GRBs to be <35% (2σ). Dust obscuration of QSOs has been estimated to be a significant effect with dusty Mg II systems removing ~20% of absorbed objects from flux-limited QSO samples. We find that if ~30% of the strong Mg II systems toward QSOs are missing from the observed samples, then GRBs and QSOs would have comparable numbers of absorbers per unit redshift. Thus, strong gravitational lensing bias is likely to make only a modest contribution to solving the Mg II problem. However, if the dust obscuration bias has been slightly underestimated, the Mg II problem would no longer persist.

title: HATSouth: A Global Network of Fully Automated Identical Wide-Field Telescopes*
abstract: HATSouth is the world's first network of automated and homogeneous telescopes that is capable of year-round 24 hr monitoring of positions over an entire hemisphere of the sky. The primary scientific goal of the network is to discover and characterize a large number of transiting extrasolar planets, reaching out to long periods and down to small planetary radii. HATSouth achieves this by monitoring extended areas on the sky, deriving high precision light curves for a large number of stars, searching for the signature of planetary transits, and confirming planetary candidates with larger telescopes. HATSouth employs six telescope units spread over three prime locations with large longitude separation in the southern hemisphere (Las Campanas Observatory, Chile; HESS site, Namibia; Siding Spring Observatory, Australia). Each of the HATSouth units holds four 0.18 m diameter f/2.8 focal ratio telescope tubes on a common mount producing an 8.2° × 8.2° field of view on the sky, imaged using four 4 K × 4 K CCD cameras and Sloan r filters, to give a pixel scale of 3.7'' pixel-1. The HATSouth network is capable of continuously monitoring 128 square arc degrees at celestial positions moderately close to the anti-solar direction. We present the technical details of the network, summarize operations, and present detailed weather statistics for the three sites. Robust operations have meant that on average each of the six HATSouth units has conducted observations on ~500 nights over a 2 years time period, yielding a total of more than 1 million science frames at a 4 minute integration time and observing ~10.65 hr day-1 on average. We describe the scheme of our data transfer and reduction from raw pixel images to trend-filtered light curves and transiting planet candidates. Photometric precision reaches ~6 mmag at 4 minute cadence for the brightest non-saturated stars at r ≈ 10.5. We present detailed transit recovery simulations to determine the expected yield of transiting planets from HATSouth. We highlight the advantages of networked operations, namely, a threefold increase in the expected number of detected planets, as compared to all telescopes operating from the same site.

title: On the asymptotic structure of axisymmetric radiative spacetimes
abstract: The asymptotic structure of axisymmetric radiative spacetimes which need not admit global null infinity is discussed. It is shown that from the asymptotic symmetry group a unique translation subgroup can locally be singled out and the news tensor can be obtained. The asymptotic structure of axisymmetric spacetimes with an infinite cosmic string and some of the exact radiative solutions with boost-rotation symmetry are treated as examples.

title: TADPOLE for longitudinal electron-bunch diagnostics based on electro-optic upconversion
abstract: Electron-bunch diagnostics are desired to utilize unambiguous, non-destructive, single-shot techniques. Various methods fulfill the latter two demands, but feature significant ambiguities and constraints in the reconstruction of time-domain electron-bunch profiles, e.g. uncertainties arising from the phase retrieval of coherent radiation using the Kramers–Kronig relation. We present a novel method of measuring the spectral phase. The measurement is based on upconversion in an electro-optic crystal, where the THz-field spectrum of fs-electron bunches is shifted to the near-infrared. This technique allows the single-shot detection of its longitudinal form factor in both, amplitude and phase. The spectral phase and amplitude information is measured and thus the temporal profile reconstructed using temporal analysis by dispersing a pair of light E-fields, also known as TADPOLE. This is a combination of frequency resolved optical gating (FROG) and spectral interferometry, enabling the temporal measurement of low-power laser pulses. In this procedure, a narrow-bandwidth laser pulse detecting the longitudinal variations in the transverse electric field of an electron bunch via frequency mixing is interfered with a broadband and FROG-characterized reference pulse. The longitudinal beam profile may therefore be unambiguously inferred from the generated interferogram and the detected spectral-phase-information of the reference pulse.

title: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF THE BUNCH ARRIVAL TIME MONITOR WITH FEMTOSECOND RESOLUTION AT FLASH
abstract: The electron Bunch Arrival time Monitors (BAM), based on electro-optical modulation, present an integral part of the optical synchronisation system, which is now being installed and commissioned at the Free-electron LASer in Hamburg (FLASH). Built on the experiences with first prototypes, the most recent version of the BAM, installed prior to the first bunch compressor, includes essential changes affecting the optical layout, the mechanical and thermal stability as well as the electronics for read-out and controls. The experiences with installation as well as the scope of improvements as to simplification and long-term stability will be presented.

title: EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF THE TIMING STABILITY OF THE OPTICAL SYNCHRONIZATION SYSTEM AT FLASH
abstract: An optical, long-term stable synchronization system with an accuracy of better than 10 fs is presently being installed at the free electron laser FLASH. A periodic laser pulse train from a mode-locked, erbium-doped fiber laser is distributed via length stabilized fiber links. In this paper, we present measurements of the timing stability of the optical distribution system. Two bunch arrival time monitors (BAMs) are used to measure the electron bunch arrival times at two positions in the linac, separated by 60m. Each BAM is supplied with fiber laser pulses by its own fiber link. By correlating the measured arrival times of the same electron bunches, the overall performance of the optical distribution system and the BAMs can be evaluated. A resolution and timing stability of better than 10 fs has been achieved.