The host galaxy of a fast radio burst

In recent years, millisecond-duration radio signals originating in distant galaxies appear to have been discovered in the so-called fast radio bursts. These signals are dispersed according to a precise physical law and this dispersion is a key observable quantity, which, in tandem with a redshift measurement, can be used for fundamental physical investigations. Every fast radio burst has a dispersion measurement, but none before now have had a redshift measurement, because of the difficulty in pinpointing their celestial coordinates. Here we report the discovery of a fast radio burst and the identification of a fading radio transient lasting ~6 days after the event, which we use to identify the host galaxy; we measure the galaxy's redshift to be z = 0.492 ± 0.008. The dispersion measure and redshift, in combination, provide a direct measurement of the cosmic density of ionized baryons in the intergalactic medium of ΩIGM = 4.9 ± 1.3 per cent, in agreement with the expectation from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, and including all of the so-called 'missing baryons'. The ~6-day radio transient is largely consistent with the radio afterglow of a short γ-ray burst, and its existence and timescale do not support progenitor models such as giant pulses from pulsars, and supernovae. This contrasts with the interpretation of another recently discovered fast radio burst, suggesting that there are at least two classes of bursts.

An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295

The prompt gamma-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) should be detectable out to distances of z > 10 (ref. 1), and should therefore provide an excellent probe of the evolution of cosmic star formation, reionization of the intergalactic medium, and the metal enrichment history of the Universe. Hitherto, the highest measured redshift for a GRB has been z = 4.50 (ref. 5). Here we report the optical spectrum of the afterglow of GRB 050904 obtained 3.4 days after the burst; the spectrum shows a clear continuum at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum with a sharp cut-off at around 9,000 A due to Lyman alpha absorption at z approximately 6.3 (with a damping wing). A system of absorption lines of heavy elements at z = 6.295 +/- 0.002 was also detected, yielding the precise measurement of the redshift. The Si ii fine-structure lines suggest a dense, metal-enriched environment around the progenitor of the GRB.

The afterglow of GRB 050709 and the nature of the short-hard gamma-ray bursts

The final chapter in the long-standing mystery of the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) centres on the origin of the short-hard class of bursts, which are suspected on theoretical grounds to result from the coalescence of neutron-star or black-hole binary systems. Numerous searches for the afterglows of short-hard bursts have been made, galvanized by the revolution in our understanding of long-duration GRBs that followed the discovery in 1997 of their broadband (X-ray, optical and radio) afterglow emission. Here we present the discovery of the X-ray afterglow of a short-hard burst, GRB 050709, whose accurate position allows us to associate it unambiguously with a star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 0.160, and whose optical lightcurve definitively excludes a supernova association. Together with results from three other recent short-hard bursts, this suggests that short-hard bursts release much less energy than the long-duration GRBs. Models requiring young stellar populations, such as magnetars and collapsars, are ruled out, while coalescing degenerate binaries remain the most promising progenitor candidates.

An Interpretation of the Evidence for TeV Emission from GRB 970417a

The Milagrito collaboration recently reported evidence for emission of very high energy gamma rays in the TeV range from one of the BATSE gamma-ray bursts, GRB 970417a. Here I discuss possible interpretations of this result. Taking into account the intergalactic absorption of TeV gamma rays by the cosmic infrared background, I found that the detection rate (one per 54 gamma-ray bursts [GRBs] observed by the Milagrito) and energy fluence can be consistently explained with the redshift of this GRB at z approximately 0.7 and the isotropic total energy in the TeV range, ETeV,iso greater, similar1054 ergs. This energy scale is not unreasonably large, but interestingly similar to the maximum total GRB energy in the sub-MeV range observed to date for GRB 990123. On the other hand, the energy emitted in the ordinary sub-MeV range becomes EMeV,iso approximately 1051 ergs for GRB 970417a, which is much smaller than the total energy in the TeV range by a factor of about 10(3). I show that the proton-synchrotron model of GRBs provides a possible explanation for these observational results. I also discuss some observational signatures expected in future experiments from this model.

Evolution of Dust Extinction and Supernova Cosmology

We have made a quantitative calculation for the systematic evolution of the average extinction by interstellar dust in host galaxies of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae by using a realistic model of photometric and chemical evolution of galaxies and supernova rate histories in various galaxy types. We find that the average B-band extinction <AB> at z approximately 0.5 is typically 0.1-0.2 mag larger than the present value, under a natural assumption that dust optical depth is proportional to gas column density and gas metallicity. This systematic evolution causes average reddening with E(B-V&parr0; approximately 0.025-0.05 mag with the standard extinction curve, and this is comparable with the observational uncertainty of the reddening of high-redshift supernovae. Therefore, our result does not contradict the observations that show no significant reddening in high-z supernovae. However, the difference in apparent magnitude between an open universe and a Lambda-dominated flat universe is only approximately 0.2 mag at z approximately 0.5, and hence this systematic evolution of extinction should be taken into account in a reliable measurement of cosmological parameters. Considering this uncertainty, we show that it is difficult to discriminate between open and Lambda-dominated flat cosmologies from the current data.

Pharmacokinetic correlation between experimental and clinical effects on human non-small cell lung cancers of cis-diammineglycolatoplatinum (254-S) and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum

We attempted to correlate the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities of cis-diammineglycolatoplatinum (254-S), a novel platinum complex, and cis-diamminedichloro-platinum (CDDP) against the established culture cell lines and xenografts of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with their clinical effects, based on the previous finding that the cytotoxicity of CDDP depends on the area under the curve (AUC). The concentration of 254-S and CDDP inhibiting the in vitro growth of 4 cultured NSCLC lines by 50% (IC50) was 0.82-7.8 and 0.53-4.2 micrograms/ml, respectively, showing a similar level. Of the 4 cell lines, only the most sensitive line, RERF-LC-AI, showed an IC50 close to a specific concentration (0.50 for 254-S and 0.32 micrograms/ml for CDDP) that reproduces in vitro the clinical AUCfree (24.8 and 5.34 micrograms-hr/ml) of the respective drugs. We treated 6 lines of human NSCLC xenografts implanted in nude mice with 254-S and CDDP at a particular dose (13.2 and 3.7 mg/kg) that is equivalent to the clinical doses with respect to the plasma AUCfree. 254-S and CDDP exhibited significant antitumor effects on 2 and 1 of the 6 lines, respectively. These in vitro and in vivo findings were considered to be relatively well correlated with the reported clinical response rates of 15-19% for 254-S and 14-15% for CDDP.

Synthesis and in vitro antimicrobial property of o-carborane derivatives

Various o-carboranes and nido-type dicarbollide anions have been synthesized and tested for antimicrobial activity. Nearly all of the dicarbollide monoanions investigated were active in vitro against fungi such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Tricophyton asteroides, as well as against Gram-positive bacteria. From a consideration of the structure-activity relationships, it seems most reasonable to conclude that the introduction of lipophilic alkyl or o-carboranyl groups to the hydrophilic dicarbollide anions leads to the antimicrobial activity.