We report on International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) observations of the soft γ-ray repeater SGR 1935+2154 performed between 2020 April 28 and May 3. Several short bursts with fluence of erg cm−2 were detected by the Imager on-board INTEGRAL (IBIS) instrument in the 20–200 keV range. The burst with the hardest spectrum, discovered and localized in real time by the INTEGRAL Burst Alert System, was spatially and temporally coincident with a short and very bright radio burst detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and Survey for Transient Astronomical Radio Emission 2 (STARE2) radio telescopes at 400–800 MHz and 1.4 GHz, respectively. Its lightcurve shows three narrow peaks separated by ∼29 ms time intervals, superimposed on a broad pulse lasting ∼0.6 s. The brightest peak had a delay of 6.5 ± 1.0 ms with respect to the 1.4 GHz radio pulse (that coincides with the second and brightest component seen at lower frequencies). The burst spectrum, an exponentially cutoff power law with photon index and peak energy , is harder than those of the bursts usually observed from this and other magnetars. By the analysis of an expanding dust-scattering ring seen in X-rays with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory X-ray Telescope (XRT) instrument, we derived a distance of kpc for SGR 1935+2154, independent of its possible association with the supernova remnant G57.2+0.8. At this distance, the burst 20–200 keV fluence of erg cm−2 corresponds to an isotropic emitted energy of erg. This is the first burst with a radio counterpart observed from a soft γ-ray repeater and it strongly supports models based on magnetars that have been proposed for extragalactic fast radio bursts.
The short-term prediction of earthquakes is an essential issue connected with human life protection and related social and economic matters. Recent papers have provided some evidence of the link between the lithosphere, lower atmosphere, and ionosphere, even though with marginal statistical evidence. The basic coupling is hypothesized as being via the atmospheric gravity wave (AGW)/acoustic wave (AW) channel. In this paper we analyze a scenario of the low latitude earthquake (Mw = 6.9) which occurred in Indonesia on 5 August 2018, through a multi-instrumental approach, using ground and satellites high quality data. As a result, we derive a new analytical lithospheric–atmospheric–ionospheric–magnetospheric coupling model with the aim to provide quantitative indicators to interpret the observations around 6 h before and at the moment of the earthquake occurrence.
The High-energy Particle Detector (HEPD) on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01)—launched on 2018 February 2—is a light and compact payload suitable for measuring electrons (3–100 MeV), protons (30–250 MeV), and light nuclei (up to a few hundreds of MeV). The Sun-synchronous orbit and large acceptance allow HEPD to measure cosmic-ray particles near the ±65° latitude limit for a fair amount of time per day. In this work, three semiannual galactic hydrogen energy spectra between ∼40 and 250 MeV are presented, including a comparison with theoretical spectra from HelMod, a 2D Monte Carlo model developed to simulate the solar modulation of cosmic rays throughout the heliosphere. To our knowledge, these are the first hydrogen energy spectra below 250 MeV measured at 1 au between 2018 and 2020.
The aim of this work is to validate the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite 01 (CSES-01) Electric Field Detector (EFD) measurements through the analysis of the instrument response to various inputs: (a) geomagnetic field variations, (b) plasma density depletions, and (c) electromagnetic signals from natural and artificial sources such as Schumann resonance and VLF (Very Low Frequency) antennas. The knowledge of the geomagnetic induced electric field (where is the satellite speed and B and the local magnetic field), and the plasma variations effect, described by the Orbit Motion Limited (OML) theory, are key parameters to determine the expected theoretical values of the EFD sensors potentials data. Based on the CSES on-board measurements of plasma parameters and geomagnetic field, a direct quantitative validation is presented. In addition, the electromagnetic signals detection capability is checked but only qualitatively confirmed, since the ionospheric complexity does not allow an accurate theoretical computation of waves modulation. The quantitative comparison highlights the very good agreement between observed and theoretical potentials values during average condition. Conversely, in case of strong electric fields, the OML theory shows partial inability in reproducing the actual space plasma conditions resulting in a reduced theoretical values reliability. Finally, both natural and artificial electromagnetic signals are satisfactorily identified showing a reliable sensitivity in different frequency bands.
During the first observing run of LIGO, two gravitational wave events and one lower-significance trigger (LVT151012) were reported by the LIGO/Virgo collaboration. At the time of LVT151012, the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) was pointing at a region of the sky coincident with the high localization probability area of the event and thus permitted us to search for its electromagnetic counterpart (both prompt and afterglow emission). The imaging instruments on board INTEGRAL (IBIS/ISGRI, IBIS/PICsIT, SPI, and the two JEM-X modules) have been exploited to attempt the detection of any electromagnetic emission associated with LVT151012 over three decades in energy (from 3 keV to 8 MeV). The omni-directional instruments on board the satellite, i.e., the SPI-ACS and the IBIS/Veto, complemented the capabilities of the IBIS/ISGRI and IBIS/PICsIT for detections outside their imaging field of view in order to provide an efficient monitoring of the entire LVT151012 localization region at energies above 75 keV. We did not find any significant transient source that was spatially and/or temporally coincident with LVT151012, obtaining tight upper limits on the associated hard X-ray and γ-ray radiation. For typical spectral models, the upper limits on the fluence of the emission from any 1 s counterpart of LVT151012 ranges from Fγ = 3.5 × 10-8 erg cm-2 (20–200 keV), within the field of view of the imaging instruments, to Fγ = 7.1 × 10-7 erg cm-2 (75–2000 keV), considering the least favorable location of the counterpart for a detection by the omni-directional instruments. These results can be interpreted as a tight constraint on the ratio of the isotropic equivalent energy released in the electromagnetic emission to the total energy of the gravitational waves: E75−2000 keV/EGW< 4.4 × 10-5. Finally, we provide an exhaustive summary of the capabilities of all instruments on board INTEGRAL to hunt for γ-ray counterparts of gravitational wave events, exploiting both serendipitousand pointed follow-up observations. This will serve as a reference for all future searches.