Swift and NuSTAR observations of GW170817: Detection of a blue kilonova

With the first direct detection of merging black holes in 2015, the era of gravitational wave (GW) astrophysics began. A complete picture of compact object mergers, however, requires the detection of an electromagnetic (EM) counterpart. We report ultraviolet (UV) and x-ray observations by Swift and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array of the EM counterpart of the binary neutron star merger GW170817. The bright, rapidly fading UV emission indicates a high mass (≈0.03 solar masses) wind-driven outflow with moderate electron fraction (Y_e ≈ 0.27). Combined with the x-ray limits, we favor an observer viewing angle of ≈30° away from the orbital rotation axis, which avoids both obscuration from the heaviest elements in the orbital plane and a direct view of any ultrarelativistic, highly collimated ejecta (a γ-ray burst afterglow).

Asymmetries in core-collapse supernovae from maps of radioactive 44Ti in Cassiopeia A

Asymmetry is required by most numerical simulations of stellar core-collapse explosions, but the form it takes differs significantly among models. The spatial distribution of radioactive (44)Ti, synthesized in an exploding star near the boundary between material falling back onto the collapsing core and that ejected into the surrounding medium, directly probes the explosion asymmetries. Cassiopeia A is a young, nearby, core-collapse remnant from which (44)Ti emission has previously been detected but not imaged. Asymmetries in the explosion have been indirectly inferred from a high ratio of observed (44)Ti emission to estimated (56)Ni emission, from optical light echoes, and from jet-like features seen in the X-ray and optical ejecta. Here we report spatial maps and spectral properties of the (44)Ti in Cassiopeia A. This may explain the unexpected lack of correlation between the (44)Ti and iron X-ray emission, the latter being visible only in shock-heated material. The observed spatial distribution rules out symmetric explosions even with a high level of convective mixing, as well as highly asymmetric bipolar explosions resulting from a fast-rotating progenitor. Instead, these observations provide strong evidence for the development of low-mode convective instabilities in core-collapse supernovae.

A rapidly spinning supermassive black hole at the centre of NGC 1365

Broad X-ray emission lines from neutral and partially ionized iron observed in active galaxies have been interpreted as fluorescence produced by the reflection of hard X-rays off the inner edge of an accretion disk. In this model, line broadening and distortion result from rapid rotation and relativistic effects near the black hole, the line shape being sensitive to its spin. Alternative models in which the distortions result from absorption by intervening structures provide an equally good description of the data, and there has been no general agreement on which is correct. Recent claims that the black hole (2 × 10(6) solar masses) at the centre of the galaxy NGC 1365 is rotating at close to its maximum possible speed rest on the assumption of relativistic reflection. Here we report X-ray observations of NGC 1365 that reveal the relativistic disk features through broadened Fe-line emission and an associated Compton scattering excess of 10-30 kiloelectronvolts. Using temporal and spectral analyses, we disentangle continuum changes due to time-variable absorption from reflection, which we find arises from a region within 2.5 gravitational radii of the rapidly spinning black hole. Absorption-dominated models that do not include relativistic disk reflection can be ruled out both statistically and on physical grounds.

Deletion of the betaine-GABA transporter (BGT1; slc6a12) gene does not affect seizure thresholds of adult mice

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. Once released, it is removed from the extracellular space by cellular uptake catalyzed by GABA transporter proteins. Four GABA transporters (GAT1, GAT2, GAT3 and BGT1) have been identified. Inhibition of the GAT1 by the clinically available anti-epileptic drug tiagabine has been an effective strategy for the treatment of some patients with partial seizures. Recently, the investigational drug EF1502, which inhibits both GAT1 and BGT1, was found to exert an anti-convulsant action synergistic to that of tiagabine, supposedly due to inhibition of BGT1. The present study addresses the role of BGT1 in seizure control and the effect of EF1502 by developing and exploring a new mouse line lacking exons 3-5 of the BGT1 (slc6a12) gene. The deletion of this sequence abolishes the expression of BGT1 mRNA. However, homozygous BGT1-deficient mice have normal development and show seizure susceptibility indistinguishable from that in wild-type mice in a variety of seizure threshold models including: corneal kindling, the minimal clonic and minimal tonic extension seizure threshold tests, the 6Hz seizure threshold test, and the i.v. pentylenetetrazol threshold test. We confirm that BGT1 mRNA is present in the brain, but find that the levels are several hundred times lower than those of GAT1 mRNA; possibly explaining the apparent lack of phenotype. In conclusion, the present results do not support a role for BGT1 in the control of seizure susceptibility and cannot provide a mechanistic understanding of the synergism that has been previously reported with tiagabine and EF1502.