Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

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 ~1.7 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 Mo. 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 ~40 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 ~9 and ~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 NGC4993 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

Gravitational Waves and Gamma-Rays from a Binary Neutron Star Merger: GW170817 and GRB 170817A

On 2017 August 17, the gravitational-wave event GW170817 was observed by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, and the gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 170817A was observed independently by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, and the Anti-Coincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory. The probability of the near-simultaneous temporal and spatial observation of GRB 170817A and GW170817 occurring by chance is $5.0\times {10}^{-8}$. We therefore confirm binary neutron star mergers as a progenitor of short GRBs. The association of GW170817 and GRB 170817A provides new insight into fundamental physics and the origin of short GRBs. We use the observed time delay of $(+1.74\pm 0.05)\,{\rm{s}}$ between GRB 170817A and GW170817 to: (i) constrain the difference between the speed of gravity and the speed of light to be between $-3\times {10}^{-15}$ and $+7\times {10}^{-16}$ times the speed of light, (ii) place new bounds on the violation of Lorentz invariance, (iii) present a new test of the equivalence principle by constraining the Shapiro delay between gravitational and electromagnetic radiation. We also use the time delay to constrain the size and bulk Lorentz factor of the region emitting the gamma-rays. GRB 170817A is the closest short GRB with a known distance, but is between 2 and 6 orders of magnitude less energetic than other bursts with measured redshift. A new generation of gamma-ray detectors, and subthreshold searches in existing detectors, will be essential to detect similar short bursts at greater distances. Finally, we predict a joint detection rate for the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors of 0.1-1.4 per year during the 2018-2019 observing run and 0.3-1.7 per year at design sensitivity

Dorsolateral Striatum Engagement Interferes with Early Discrimination Learning.

In current models, learning the relationship between environmental stimuli and the outcomes of actions involves both stimulus-driven and goal-directed systems, mediated in part by the DLS and DMS, respectively. However, though these models emphasize the importance of the DLS in governing actions after extensive experience has accumulated, there is growing evidence of DLS engagement from the onset of training. Here, we used in vivo photosilencing to reveal that DLS recruitment interferes with early touchscreen discrimination learning. We also show that the direct output pathway of the DLS is preferentially recruited and causally involved in early learning and find that silencing the normal contribution of the DLS produces plasticity-related alterations in a PL-DMS circuit. These data provide further evidence suggesting that the DLS is recruited in the construction of stimulus-elicited actions that ultimately automate behavior and liberate cognitive resources for other demands, but with a cost to performance at the outset of learning

Modelling rainfall and canopy controls on net-precipitation beneath selectively-logged tropical forest.

Understanding spatio-temporal patterns in rainfall received beneath tropical forest is required for eco- hydrological modelling of soil-water status, river behaviour, soil erosion, nutrient loss and wet-canopy evaporation. As selective-logging of tropical forest leaves a very complex mosaic of canopy types, it is likely to add to the spatio-temporal complexity of this sub-canopy or net precipitation. As a precursor to addressing this problem, the analysis presented here will examine the two dominant biophysical controls on sub-canopy precipitation. These controls are: (a) the spatial and temporal patterns in above-canopy or gross rainfall, and (b) the rate of wet-canopy evaporation associated with each type of canopy structure created by selective-forestry. For this study, over 400 raingauges were installed within a 10 km2 area of lowland dipterocarp forest affected by selective-forestry some 9-years prior to this work. Gauges were located beneath various canopy types and within large openings. The spatial distribution of gross rainfall (monitored within the openings) was modelled using variography, while the effects of different canopy types on sub-canopy preciptation was analysed by comparing 6-month totals. The temporal distribution of gross rainfall over an 11-year record collected at the same site (Danum Valley Field Centre) was modelled with Data-Based-Mechanistic (DBM) approaches. These DBM approaches were also applied to the rainfall time-series of the two adjacent meteorological stations; all three gauges being contained within a 5000 km2 region of Eastern Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. Strong diurnal modulation was apparent within gross rainfall for the inland rainforest site, with a distribution consistent with a dominance of local convective rain cells. A similarly strong cycle coincident with the periodicity of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was present within all of the region's rainfall records, though marked differences in annual and intra-annual seasonality were apparent. The preliminary variogram modelling indicated that a deterministic drift was present within the local-scale gross rainfall data, probably related to local topographic effects. Notwithstanding the need to remove this drift, the work indicated that spatial models of gross rainfall could be identified and used to interpret similar models of net-precipitation. During the ENSO drought-period monitored, the lowland dipterocarp forest allowed 91% of the gross rainfall to reach the ground as throughfall. These rates were, however, reduced to between 80%–86% beneath representative plots of moderately impacted to creeper-covered, highly damaged patches of forest