Combining galaxy cluster and void abundances breaks the degeneracy between mean matter density $\Omega_{\rm m}$ and power spectrum normalization $\sigma_8$. In a first for voids, we constrain $\Omega_{\rm m} = 0.21 \pm 0.10$ and $\sigma_8 = 0.95 \pm 0.21$ for a flat $\Lambda$CDM universe, using extreme-value statistics on the claimed largest cluster and void. The Planck-consistent results detect dark energy with two objects, independently of other dark energy probes. Cluster-void studies also offer complementarity in scale, density, and non-linearity - of particular interest for testing modified-gravity models.
GJ758 B is a brown dwarf companion to a nearby (15.76 pc) solar-type, metal-rich (M/H = +0.2 dex) main-sequence star (G9V) that was discovered with Subaru/HiCIAO in 2009. From previous studies, it has drawn attention as being the coldest (~600K) companion ever directly imaged around a neighboring star. We present new high-contrast data obtained during the commissioning of the SPHERE instrument at the VLT. The data was obtained in Y-, J-, H-, and Ks-bands with the dual-band imaging (DBI) mode of IRDIS, providing a broad coverage of the full near-infrared (near-IR) range at higher contrast and better spectral sampling than previously reported. In this new set of high-quality data, we report the re-detection of the companion, as well as the first detection of a new candidate closer-in to the star. We use the new 8 photometric points for an extended comparison of GJ758 B with empirical objects and 4 families of atmospheric models. From comparison to empirical object, we estimate a T8 spectral type, but none of the comparison object can accurately represent the observed near-IR fluxes of GJ758 B. From comparison to atmospheric models, we attribute a Teff = 600K $\pm$ 100K, but we find that no atmospheric model can adequately fit all the fluxes of GJ758 B. The photometry of the new candidate companion is broadly consistent with L-type objects, but a second epoch with improved photometry is necessary to clarify its status. The new astrometry of GJ758 B shows a significant proper motion since the last epoch. We use this result to improve the determination of the orbital characteristics using two fitting approaches, Least-Square Monte Carlo and Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Finally, we analyze the sensitivity of our data to additional closer-in companions and reject the possibility of other massive brown dwarf companions down to 4-5 AU. [abridged]
The sterile neutrino is a viable dark matter candidate that can be produced in the early Universe via non-equilibrium processes, and would therefore possess a highly non-thermal spectrum of primordial velocities. In this paper we analyse the process of structure formation with this class of dark matter particles. To this end we construct primordial dark matter power spectra as a function of the lepton asymmetry, $L_6$, that is present in the primordial plasma and leads to resonant sterile neutrino production. We compare these power spectra with those of thermally produced dark matter particles and show that resonantly produced sterile neutrinos are much colder than their thermal relic counterparts. We also demonstrate that the shape of these power spectra are not determined by the free-streaming scale alone. We then use the power spectra as an input for semi-analytic models of galaxy formation in order to predict the number of luminous satellite galaxies in a Milky Way-like halo. By assuming that the mass of the Milky Way halo must be no more than $2\times10^{12}M_{\odot}$ (the adopted upper bound based on current astronomical observations) we are able to constrain the value of $L_6$ for $M_{s}\le 5$keV. We also show that the range of $L_6$ that is in best agreement with the 3.5keV line (if produced by decays of 7keV sterile neutrino) requires that the Milky Way halo has a mass no smaller than $1.2\times10^{12}M_{\odot}$. Finally, we compare the power spectra obtained by direct integration of the Boltzmann equations for a non-resonantly produced sterile neutrino with the fitting formula of Viel et al. and find that the latter significantly underestimates the power amplitude on scales relevant to satellite galaxies.
Observed at z = 4.601 and with L_bol = 3.5 x 10^14 Lsun, W2246-0526 is the most luminous galaxy known in the Universe, and hosts a deeply-buried active galactic nucleus (AGN)/super-massive black hole (SMBH). Discovered using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), W2246-0526 is classified as a Hot Dust Obscured Galaxy (Hot DOG), based on its luminosity and dust temperature. Here we present spatially resolved ALMA [CII]157.7um observations of W2246-0526, providing unique insight into the kinematics of its interstellar medium (ISM). The measured [CII]-to-far-infrared ratio is ~2 x 10^-4, implying ISM conditions that compare only with the most obscured, compact starbursts and AGN in the local Universe today. The spatially resolved [CII] line is strikingly uniform and very broad, 500-600 km/s wide, extending throughout the entire galaxy over about 2.5 kpc, with modest shear. Such a large, homogeneous velocity dispersion indicates a highly turbulent medium. W2246-0526 is unstable in terms of the energy and momentum that are being injected into the ISM, strongly suggesting that the gas is being blown away from the system isotropically, likely reflecting a cathartic state on its road to becoming an un-obscured quasar. W2246-0526 provides an extraordinary laboratory to study and model the properties and kinematics of gas in an extreme environment under strong feedback, at a time when the Universe was 1/10 of its current age: a system pushing the limits that can be reached during galaxy formation.
We present a broadband spectropolarimetric survey of 563 discrete, mostly unresolved radio sources between 1.3 \& 2.0 GHz using data taken with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). We have used rotation measure synthesis to identify Faraday complex polarized sources --- i.e. objects whose frequency-dependent polarization behaviour indicates the presence of material possessing complicated magnetoionic structure along the line of sight (LOS). For sources classified as Faraday complex, we have analyzed a number of their radio and multiwavelength properties to determine whether they differ from Faraday simple polarized sources (i.e. sources for which LOS magnetoionic structures are comparatively simple) in these properties. We use this information to constrain the physical nature of the magnetoionic structures responsible for generating the observed complexity. We detect Faraday complexity in 12\% of polarized sources at $\sim1'$ resolution, but demonstrate that underlying signal-to-noise limitations mean the true percentage is likely to be significantly higher in the polarized radio source population. We find that the properties of Faraday complex objects are diverse, but that complexity is most often associated with depolarization of extended radio sources possessing a relatively steep total intensity spectrum. We find an association between Faraday complexity and LOS structure in the Galactic interstellar medium (ISM), and claim that a significant proportion of the Faraday complexity we observe may be generated at interfaces of the ISM associated with ionization fronts near neutral hydrogen structures. Galaxy clusters environments and internally generated Faraday complexity provide possible alternative explanations in some cases.
The system of four planets around HR8799 offers a unique opportunity to probe the physics and chemistry at play in the atmospheres of self-luminous young (~30 Myr) planets. We recently obtained new photometry of the four planets and low-resolution (R~30) spectra of HR8799 d and e with the SPHERE instrument (paper III). In this paper (paper IV), we compare the available spectra and photometry of the planets to known objects and atmospheric models (BT-SETTL14, Cloud-AE60, Exo-REM) to characterize the atmospheric properties of the planets. We find that HR8799d and e properties are well reproduced by those of L6-L8 dusty dwarfs discovered in the field, among which some are candidate members of young nearby associations. No known object reproduces well the properties of planets b and c. Nevertheless, we find that the spectra and WISE photometry of peculiar and/or young early-T dwarfs reddened by submicron grains made of corundum, iron, enstatite, or forsterite successfully reproduce the SED of these two planets. Our analysis confirms that only the Exo-REM models with thick clouds fit (within 2{\sigma}) the whole set of spectrophotometric datapoints available for HR8799 d and e for Teff = 1200 K, log g in the range 3.0-4.5, and M/H=+0.5. The models still fail to reproduce the SED of HR8799c and b. The determination of the metallicity, log g, and cloud thickness are degenerate. We conclude that an enhanced content in dust and decreased CIA of H2 is certainly responsible for the deviation of the properties of the planet with respect to field dwarfs. The analysis suggests in addition that HR8799c and b have later spectral types than the two other planets, and therefore could both have lower masses.
The planetary system discovered around the young A-type HR8799 provides a unique laboratory to: a) test planet formation theories, b) probe the diversity of system architectures at these separations, and c) perform comparative (exo)planetology. We present and exploit new near-infrared images and integral-field spectra of the four gas giants surrounding HR8799 obtained with SPHERE, the new planet finder instrument at the Very Large Telescope, during the commissioning and science verification phase of the instrument (July-December 2014). With these new data, we contribute to completing the spectral energy distribution of these bodies in the 1.0-2.5 $\mu$m range. We also provide new astrometric data, in particular for planet e, to further constrain the orbits. We used the infrared dual-band imager and spectrograph (IRDIS) subsystem to obtain pupil-stabilized, dual-band $H2H3$ (1.593 $\mu$m, 1.667 $\mu$m), $K1K2$ (2.110 $\mu$m, 2.251 $\mu$m), and broadband $J$ (1.245 $\mu$m) images of the four planets. IRDIS was operated in parallel with the integral field spectrograph (IFS) of SPHERE to collect low-resolution ($R\sim30$), near-infrared (0.94-1.64 $\mu$m) spectra of the two innermost planets HR8799d and e. The data were reduced with dedicated algorithms, such as the Karhunen-Lo\`eve image projection (KLIP), to reveal the planets. We used the so-called negative planets injection technique to extract their photometry, spectra, and measure their positions. We illustrate the astrometric performance of SPHERE through sample orbital fits compatible with SPHERE and literature data.
Long period variable stars arise in the final stages of the asymptotic giant branch phase of stellar evolution. They have periods of up to ~1000d and amplitudes that can exceed a factor of three in the I-band flux. These stars pulsate predominantly in their fundamental mode, which is a function of mass and radius, and so the pulsation periods are sensitive to the age of the underlying stellar population. The overall number of long period variables in a population is directly related to their lifetime, which is difficult to predict from first principles because of uncertainties associated with stellar mass-loss and convective mixing. The time variability of these stars has not been previously taken into account when modeling the spectral energy distributions of galaxies. Here we construct time-dependent stellar population models that include the effects of long period variable stars, and report the ubiquitous detection of this expected `pixel shimmer' in the massive metal-rich galaxy M87. The pixel light curves display a variety of behaviors, including linearly rising and falling curves, semi-periodic curves, and sudden increases or decreases in the flux level. The observed variation of 0.1-1% is very well matched to the predictions of our models. The data provide a strong and novel constraint on the properties of variable stars in an old and metal-rich stellar population, and we infer that the lifetime of long period variables in M87 is shorter by approximately 30% compared to predictions from the latest stellar evolution models.
We present a sample of local red giant stars observed using the New Mexico State University 1 m telescope with the APOGEE spectrograph, for which we estimate stellar ages and the age distribution from the high-resolution spectroscopic stellar parameters and accurate distance measurements from Hipparcos. The high-resolution (R ~ 23,000), near infrared (H-band, 1.5-1.7 micron) APOGEE spectra provide measurements of the stellar atmospheric parameters (temperature, surface gravity, [M/H], and [alpha/M]). Due to the smaller uncertainties in surface gravity possible with high-resolution spectra and accurate Hipparcos distance measurements, we are able to calculate the stellar masses to within 40%. For red giants, the relatively rapid evolution of stars up the red giant branch allows the age to be constrained based on the mass. We examine methods of estimating age using both the mass-age relation directly and a Bayesian isochrone matching of measured parameters, assuming a constant star formation history (SFH). To improve the prior on the SFH, we use a hierarchical modeling approach to constrain the parameters of a model SFH from the age probability distribution functions of the data. The results of an alpha dependent Gaussian SFH model shows a clear relation between age and [alpha/M] at all ages. Using this SFH model as the prior for an empirical Bayesian analysis, we construct a full age probability distribution function and determine ages for individual stars. The age-metallicity relation is flat, with a slight decrease in [M/H] at the oldest ages and a ~ 0.5 dex spread in metallicity. For stars with ages < 1 Gyr we find a smaller spread, consistent with radial migration having a smaller effect on these young stars than on the older stars.
We introduce and explore "paired" cosmological simulations. A pair consists of an A and B simulation with initial conditions related by the inversion $\delta_A(x, t_{initial})=-\delta_B(x,t_{initial})$ (underdensities substituted for overdensities and vice versa). We argue that the technique is valuable for improving our understanding of cosmic structure formation. The A and B fields are by definition equally likely draws from {\Lambda}CDM initial conditions, and in the linear regime evolve identically up to the overall sign. As non-linear evolution takes hold, a region that collapses to form a halo in simulation A will tend to expand to create a void in simulation B. Applications include (i) contrasting the growth of A-halos and B-voids to test excursion-set theories of structure formation; (ii) cross-correlating the density field of the A and B universes as a novel test for perturbation theory; and (iii) canceling error terms by averaging power spectra between the two boxes. Generalizations of the method to more elaborate field transformations are suggested.
We present MUSE observations in the core of the HFF galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223, where the first magnified and spatially-resolved multiple images of SN 'Refsdal' at redshift 1.489 were detected. Thanks to a DDT program with the VLT and the extraordinary efficiency of MUSE, we measure 117 secure redshifts with just 4.8 hours of total integration time on a single target pointing. We spectroscopically confirm 68 galaxy cluster members, with redshift values ranging from 0.5272 to 0.5660, and 18 multiple images belonging to 7 background, lensed sources distributed in redshifts between 1.240 and 3.703. Starting from the combination of our catalog with those obtained from extensive spectroscopic and photometric campaigns using the HST, we select a sample of 300 (164 spectroscopic and 136 photometric) cluster members, within approximately 500 kpc from the BCG, and a set of 88 reliable multiple images associated to 10 different background source galaxies and 18 distinct knots in the spiral galaxy hosting SN 'Refsdal'. We exploit this valuable information to build 6 detailed strong lensing models, the best of which reproduces the observed positions of the multiple images with a rms offset of only 0.26". We use these models to quantify the statistical and systematic errors on the predicted values of magnification and time delay of the next emerging image of SN 'Refsdal'. We find that its peak luminosity should be approximately 20% fainter than the dimmest (S4) of the previously detected images but above the detection limit of the planned HST/WFC3 follow-up, and should occur between March and June 2016. We present our two-dimensional reconstruction of the cluster mass density distribution and of the SN 'Refsdal' host galaxy surface brightness distribution. We outline the roadmap towards even better strong lensing models with a synergetic MUSE and HST effort.
The latest generation of cosmological simulations are on the verge of being able to resolve the structure of bulges for the first time. Hence, we review the current state of bulge formation in cosmological simulations, and discuss open questions that can be addressed in the near future by simulators, with a particular focus on merger-driven bulge growth. Galaxy mergers have long been assumed to produce classical bulges in disk galaxies. Under this bulge-formation model, though, the high rates of mergers in Cold Dark Matter galaxy formation theory predict many more classical bulges than are observed. Furthermore, simulations of galaxy formation continue to generally produce too massive of bulges. Feedback offers a promising avenue for reducing merger-driven bulge growth by maintaining high gas fractions in galaxies and ejecting low-angular momentum gas driven to the centers of galaxies. After reviewing the results of relevant research that has been published to date, we use cosmological simulations to explore the ability of feedback to reduce or even prevent bulge growth during mergers. In dwarf galaxies, mergers actually reduce the central concentration of galaxies as the induced burst of star formation drives out low angular momentum material. This result shows the potential for feedback to reduce central mass growth. However, we also demonstrate that it is very difficult for current stellar feedback models to reproduce the small bulges observed in more massive disk galaxies like the Milky Way. We argue that feedback models need to be improved, or an additional source of feedback such as AGN is necessary to generate the required outflows.
We use the Fisher matrix formalism and semi-numerical simulations to derive quantitative predictions of the constraints that power spectrum measurements on next-generation interferometers, such as the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), will place on the characteristics of the X-ray sources that heated the high redshift intergalactic medium. Incorporating observations between $z=5$ and $z=25$, we find that the proposed 331 element HERA and SKA phase 1 will be capable of placing $\lesssim 10\%$ constraints on the spectral properties of these first X-ray sources, even if one is unable to perform measurements within the foreground contaminated "wedge" or the FM band. When accounting for the enhancement in power spectrum amplitude from spin temperature fluctuations, we find that the observable signatures of reionization extend well beyond the peak in the power spectrum usually associated with it. We also find that lower redshift degeneracies between the signatures of heating and reionization physics lead to errors on reionization parameters that are significantly greater than previously predicted. Observations over the heating epoch are able to break these degeneracies and improve our constraints considerably. For these two reasons, 21 cm observations during the heating epoch significantly enhance our understanding of reionization as well.
We combined hydrodynamical simulations of planet-disk interactions with dust evolution models that include coagulation and fragmentation of dust grains over a large range of radii and derived observational properties using radiative transfer calculations. We studied the role of the snow line in the survival of the inner disk of transition disks. Inside the snow line, the lack of ice mantles in dust particles decreases the sticking efficiency between grains. As a consequence, particles fragment at lower collision velocities than in regions beyond the snow line. This effect allows small particles to be maintained for up to a few Myrs within the first astronomical unit. These particles are closely coupled to the gas and do not drift significantly with respect to the gas. For lower mass planets (1$M_{\rm{Jup}}$), the pre-transition appearance can be maintained even longer because dust still trickles through the gap created by the planet, moves invisibly and quickly in the form of relatively large grains through the gap, and becomes visible again as it fragments and gets slowed down inside of the snow line. The global study of dust evolution of a disk with an embedded planet, including the changes of the dust aerodynamics near the snow line, can explain the concentration of millimetre-sized particles in the outer disk and the survival of the dust in the inner disk if a large dust trap is present in the outer disk. This behaviour solves the conundrum of the combination of both near-infrared excess and ring-like millimetre emission observed in several transition disks.
We perform $N$-body simulations of star clusters in time-dependant galactic potentials. Since the Milky Way was built-up through mergers with dwarf galaxies, its globular cluster population is made up of clusters formed both during the initial collapse of the Galaxy and in dwarf galaxies that were later accreted. Throughout a dwarf-Milky Way merger, dwarf galaxy clusters are subject to a changing galactic potential. Building on our previous work, we investigate how this changing galactic potential affects the evolution of a cluster's half mass radius. In particular, we simulate clusters on circular orbits around a dwarf galaxy that either falls into the Milky Way or evaporates as it orbits the Milky Way. We find that the dynamical evolution of a star cluster is determined by whichever galaxy has the strongest tidal field at the position of the cluster. Thus, clusters entering the Milky Way undergo changes in size as the Milky Way tidal field becomes stronger and that of the dwarf diminishes. We find that ultimately accreted clusters quickly become the same size as a cluster born in the Milky Way on the same orbit. Assuming their initial sizes are similar, clusters born in the Galaxy and those that are accreted cannot be separated based on their current size alone.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) constitute an emerging class of fast radio transient whose origin continues to be a mystery. Realizing the importance of increasing coverage of the search parameter space, we have designed, built, and deployed a realtime monitor for FRBs at the 305-m Arecibo radio telescope. Named 'ALFABURST', it is a commensal instrument that is triggered whenever the 1.4 GHz seven-beam Arecibo $L$-Band Feed Array (ALFA) receiver commences operation. The ongoing commensal survey we are conducting using ALFABURST has an instantaneous field of view of 0.02 sq. deg. within the FWHM of the beams, with the realtime software configurable to use up to 300 MHz of bandwidth. We search for FRBs with dispersion measure up to 2560 cm$^{-3}$ pc and pulse widths ranging from 0.128 ms to 16.384 ms. Commissioning observations performed over the past few months have demonstrated the capability of the instrument in detecting single pulses from known pulsars. In this paper, I describe the instrument and the associated survey.
Light travel time changes due to gravitational waves may be detected within the next decade through precision timing of millisecond pulsars. Removal of frequency-dependent interstellar medium (ISM) delays due to dispersion and scattering is a key issue in the detection process. Current timing algorithms routinely correct pulse times of arrival (TOAs) for time-variable delays due to cold plasma dispersion. However, none of the major pulsar timing groups correct for delays due to scattering from multi-path propagation in the ISM. Scattering introduces a frequency-dependent phase change in the signal that results in pulse broadening and arrival time delays. Any method to correct the TOA for interstellar propagation effects must be based on multi-frequency measurements that can effectively separate dispersion and scattering delay terms from frequency-independent perturbations such as those due to a gravitational wave. Cyclic spectroscopy, first described in an astronomical context by Demorest (2011), is a potentially powerful tool to assist in this multi-frequency decomposition. As a step toward a more comprehensive ISM propagation delay correction, we demonstrate through a simulation that we can accurately recover impulse response functions (IRFs), such as those that would be introduced by multi-path scattering, with a realistic signal-to-noise ratio. We demonstrate that timing precision is improved when scatter-corrected TOAs are used, under the assumptions of a high signal-to-noise and highly scattered signal. We also show that the effect of pulse-to-pulse "jitter" is not a serious problem for IRF reconstruction, at least for jitter levels comparable to those observed in several bright pulsars.
This study aims to elucidate a possible link between chemical properties of ices in star-forming regions and environmental characteristics of the host galaxy. We performed 3--4 micron spectroscopic observations toward nine embedded high-mass YSOs in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with the ISAAC at the VLT. Additionally, we analyzed archival ISAAC data of two LMC YSOs. As a result, we detected absorption bands due to solid H2O and CH3OH as well as the 3.47 micron absorption band. The 3.53 micron CH3OH ice absorption band for the LMC YSOs is found to be absent or very weak compared to that seen toward Galactic sources. The result suggests the low abundance of CH3OH ice in the LMC. The 3.47 micron absorption band is detected toward six out of eleven LMC YSOs. We found that the 3.47 micron band and the H2O ice band correlate similarly between the LMC and Galactic samples, but the LMC sources seem to require a slightly higher H2O ice threshold for the appearance of the 3.47 micron band. For the LMC sources with relatively large H2O ice optical depths, we found that the strength ratio of the 3.47 micron band relative to the water ice band is only marginally lower than those of the Galactic sources. We propose that grain surface reactions at a relatively high dust temperature (warm ice chemistry) are responsible for the observed characteristics of ice chemical compositions in the LMC. We suggest that this warm ice chemistry is one of the important characteristics of interstellar and circumstellar chemistry in low metallicity environments. The low abundance of CH3OH in the solid phase implies that formation of complex organic molecules from methanol-derived species is less efficient in the LMC. For the 3.47 micron band, the observed difference in the water ice threshold may suggest that a more shielded environment is necessary for the formation of the 3.47 micron band carrier in the LMC.
We present the results of the SDSS APOGEE INfrared Spectroscopy of Young Nebulous Clusters program (IN-SYNC) survey of the Orion A molecular cloud. This survey obtained high resolution near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy of about 2700 young pre-main sequence stars throughout the region, acquired across five distinct fields spanning 6deg field of view (FOV). With these spectra, we have measured accurate stellar parameters (T_eff, log g, v sin i) and extinctions, and placed the sources in the Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram (HRD). We have also extracted radial velocities for the kinematic characterization of the population. We compare our measurements with literature results for a sub-sample of targets in order to assess the performances and accuracy of the survey. Source extinction shows evidence for dust grains that are larger than those in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM): we estimate an average R_V=5.5 in the region. Importantly, we find a clear correlation between HRD inferred ages and spectroscopic surface-gravity inferred ages. This clearly indicates a real spread of stellar radii at fixed temperature, and together with additional correlations with extinction and with disk presence, strongly suggests a real spread of ages large than a few Myr. Focussing on the young population around NGC1980 iota Ori, which has previously been suggested to be a separate, foreground, older cluster, we confirm its older (5Myr) age and low A_V, but considering that its radial velocity distribution is indistinguishable from the Orion A's population, we suggest that NGC1980 is part of Orion A's star formation activity. Based on their stellar parameters and kinematic properties, we identify 383 new candidate members of Orion A, most of which are diskless sources in areas of the region poorly studied by previous works.
Enhanced continuum brightness is observed in many flares (''white light flares''), yet it is still unclear which processes contribute to the emission. To understand the transport of energy needed to account for this emission, we must first identify both the emission processes and the emission source regions. Possibilities include heating in the chromosphere causing optically thin or thick emission from free-bound transitions of Hydrogen, and heating of the photosphere causing enhanced H$^-$ continuum brightness. To investigate these possibilities, we combine observations from IRIS, SDO/HMI, and the ground-based FIRS instrument, covering wavelengths in the far-UV, near-UV, visible, and infrared during the X1 flare SOL20140329T17:48. Fits of blackbody spectra to infrared and visible wavelengths are reasonable, yielding radiation temperatures $\sim$6000-6300 K. The NUV emission, formed in the upper photosphere under undisturbed conditions, exceeds these simple fits during the flare, requiring extra emission from the Balmer continuum in the chromosphere. Thus, the continuum originates from enhanced radiation from photosphere (visible-IR) and chromosphere (NUV). From the standard thick-target flare model, we calculate the energy of the nonthermal electrons observed by RHESSI and compare it to the energy radiated by the continuum emission. We find that the energy contained in most electrons $>$40 keV, or alternatively, of $\sim$10-20% of electrons $>$20 keV is sufficient to explain the extra continuum emission of $\sim4-8 \times 10^{10}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$. Also, from the timing of the RHESSI HXR and the IRIS observations, we conclude that the NUV continuum is emitted nearly instantaneously when HXR emission is observed with a time difference of no more than 15 s.
Two distinct halo populations were found in the solar neighborhood by a series of works. They can be clearly separated by [alpha\Fe] and several other elemental abundance ratios including [Cu/Fe]. Very recently, a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) study revealed that relatively large departures exist between LTE and non-LTE results in copper abundance analysis. We aim to derive the copper abundances for the stars from the sample of Nissen et al (2010) with both LTE and non-LTE calculations. Based on our results, we study the non-LTE effects of copper and investigate whether the high-alpha population can still be distinguished from the low-alpha population in the non-LTE [Cu/Fe] results. Our differential abundance ratios are derived from the high-resolution spectra collected from VLT/UVES and NOT/FIES spectrographs. Applying the MAFAGS opacity sampling atmospheric models and spectrum synthesis method, we derive the non-LTE copper abundances based on the new atomic model with current atomic data obtained from both laboratory and theoretical calculations. The copper abundances determined from non-LTE calculations are increased by 0.01 to 0.2 dex depending on the stellar parameters compared with the LTE results. The non-LTE [Cu/Fe] trend is much flatter than the LTE one in the metallicity range -1.6<[Fe/H]<-0.8. Taking non-LTE effects into consideration, the high- and low-alpha stars still show distinguishable copper abundances, which appear even more clear in a diagram of non-LTE [Cu/Fe] versus [Fe/H]. The non-LTE effects are strong for copper, especially in metal-poor stars. Our results confirmed that there are two distinct halo populations in the solar neighborhood. The dichotomy in copper abundance is a peculiar feature of each population, suggesting that they formed in different environments and evolved obeying diverse scenarios.
We present the 3-8 keV and 8-24 keV number counts of active galactic nuclei (AGN) identified in the NuSTAR extragalactic surveys. NuSTAR has now resolved approximately 35% of the X-ray background in the 8-24 keV band, directly identifying AGN with obscuring columns up to 1e25 / cm2. In the softer 3-8 keV band the number counts are in general agreement with those measured by XMM-Newton and Chandra over the flux range 5e-15 < S(3 - 8 keV)/(erg/cm2/s) < 1e-12 probed by NuSTAR. In the hard 8-24 keV band NuSTAR probes fluxes over the range 2e-14 < S(8-24 keV)/(erg/cm2/s) < 1e-12, a factor of approximately 100 fainter than previous measurements covering this energy range. The slope of the 8-24 keV number counts closely matches predictions from AGN population synthesis models that account for the shape and intensity of the diffuse cosmic X-ray background. This directly confirms the existence of a population of obscured and/or hard X-ray sources inferred from the shape of the integrated diffuse cosmic X-ray background. The measured NuSTAR counts lie significantly above simple extrapolations of the Swift/BAT 15-55 keV number counts measured at higher fluxes, S(15-55 keV) > 1e-11 erg/cm2/s, for any realistic AGN spectral model. The most natural explanation for the difference is an evolution in the AGN poulation between the very local objects seen by BAT and the more distant (0.5 < z < 1) NuSTAR sample that is not accounted for in the current models.
We present the first direct measurements of the rest-frame 10-40 keV X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) based on a sample of 94 sources at 0.1 < z <3, selected at 8-24 keV energies from sources in the NuSTAR extragalactic survey program. Our results are consistent with the strong evolution of the AGN population seen in prior, lower-energy studies of the XLF. However, different models of the intrinsic distribution of absorption, which are used to correct for selection biases, give significantly different predictions for the total number of sources in our sample, leading to small, systematic differences in our binned estimates of the XLF. Adopting a model with a lower intrinsic fraction of Compton-thick sources and a larger population of sources with column densities N_H ~ 10^{23-24} /cm2 or a model with stronger Compton reflection component (with a relative normalization of R ~ 2 at all luminosities) can bring extrapolations of the XLF from 2-10 keV into agreement with our NuSTAR sample. Ultimately, X-ray spectral analysis of the NuSTAR sources is required to break this degeneracy between the distribution of absorbing column densities and the strength of the Compton reflection component and thus refine our measurements of the XLF. Furthermore, the models that successfully describe the high-redshift population seen by NuSTAR tend to over-predict previous, high-energy measurements of the local XLF, indicating that there is evolution of the AGN population that is not fully captured by the current models.
To provide the census of the sources contributing to the X-ray background peak above 10 keV, NuSTAR is performing extragalactic surveys using a three-tier "wedding cake" approach. We present the NuSTAR survey of the COSMOS field, the medium sensitivity and medium area tier, covering 1.7 deg2 and overlapping with both Chandra and XMM-Newton data. This survey consists of 121 observations for a total exposure of ~3 Ms. To fully exploit these data, we developed a new detection strategy, carefully tested through extensive simulations. The survey sensitivity at 20% completeness is 5.9, 2.9 and 6.4 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s in the 3-24 keV, 3-8 keV and 8-24 keV bands, respectively. By combining detections in 3 bands, we have a sample of 91 NuSTAR sources with 10^42 -10^45.5 erg/s luminosities and redshift z=0.04-2.5. Thirty two sources are detected in the 8-24 keV band with fluxes ~100 times fainter than sources detected by Swift-BAT. Of the 91 detections, all but four are associated with a Chandra and/or XMM-Newton point-like counterpart. One source is associated with an extended lower energy X-ray source. We present the X-ray (hardness ratio and luminosity) and optical-to-X-ray properties. The observed fraction of candidate Compton-thick AGN measured from the hardness ratio is between 13-20%. We discuss the spectral properties of NuSTAR J100259+0220.6 (ID 330) at z=0.044, with the highest hardness ratio in the entire sample. The measured column density exceeds 10^24 /cm2, implying the source is Compton-thick. This source was not previously recognized as such without the >10 keV data.
We present initial results and the source catalog from the NuSTAR survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (hereafter, ECDFS) - currently the deepest contiguous component of the NuSTAR extragalactic survey program. The survey covers the full ~30 arcmin x 30 arcmin area of this field to a maximum depth of ~360 ks (~220 ks when corrected for vignetting at 3-24 keV), reaching sensitivity limits of ~1.3 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s (3-8 keV), ~3.4 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s (8-24 keV) and ~3.0 x 10^-14 erg/cm2/s (3-24 keV). Fifty four (54) sources are detected over the full field, although five of these are found to lie below our significance threshold once contaminating flux from neighboring (i.e., blended) sources is taken into account. Of the remaining 49 that are significant, 19 are detected in the 8-24 keV band. The 8-24 keV to 3-8 keV band ratios of the twelve sources that are detected in both bands span the range 0.39-1.7, corresponding to a photon index range of Gamma ~ 0.5-2.3, with a median photon index of 1.70 +/- 0.52. The redshifts of the 49 sources in our main sample span the range z = 0.21-2.7, and their rest-frame 10-40 keV luminosities (derived from the observed 8-24 keV fluxes) span the range L(10-40 keV) ~ (0.7-300) x 10^43 erg/s, sampling below the "knee" of the X-ray luminosity function out to z ~ 0.8-1. Finally, we identify one NuSTAR source that has neither a Chandra nor an XMM-Newton counterpart, but that shows evidence of nuclear activity at infrared wavelengths, and thus may represent a genuine, new X-ray source detected by NuSTAR in the ECDFS.
In this work we aim at determining the intrinsic variety, at a given mass, of the properties of the intracluster medium in cluster of galaxies. This requires a cluster sample selected independently of the intracluster medium content for which reliable masses and subsequent X-ray data can be obtained. We present such a sample, formed by 34 galaxy clusters selected independently of their X-ray properties, in the nearby ($0.050<z<0.135$) Universe and mostly with $14<\log M_{500}/M_\odot \lesssim 14.5$, where masses are dynamically estimated. We collected the available X-ray observations from the archives and then observed the remaining clusters with the low-background Swift X-ray telescope, extremely useful for sampling a cluster population expected to have low surface brightness. We found that clusters display a large range (up to a factor 50) in X-ray luminosities within $r_{500}$ at a given mass, whether or not the central emission ($r<0.15 r_{500}$) is excised, unveiling a wider cluster population than seen in Sunayev-Zeldovich surveys or inferred from the population seen in X-ray surveys. The measured dispersion is $0.5$ dex in $L_X$ at a given mass.
[abbreviated] We present a census of Ly\alpha\ emission at $z\gtrsim7$ utilizing deep near infrared HST grism spectroscopy from the first six completed clusters of the Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS). In 24/159 photometrically selected galaxies we detect emission lines consistent with Ly\alpha\ in the GLASS spectra. Based on the distribution of signal-to-noise ratios and on simulations we expect the completeness and the purity of the sample to be 40-100% and 60-90%, respectively. For the objects without detected emission lines we show that the observed (not corrected for lensing magnification) 1$\sigma$ flux limits reaches $5\times10^{-18}$erg/s/cm$^{2}$ per position angle over the full wavelength range of GLASS (0.8-1.7$\mu$m). Based on the conditional probability of Ly\alpha\ emission measured from the ground at $z\sim7$ we would have expected 12-18 Ly\alpha\ emitters. This is consistent with the number of detections, within the uncertainties, confirming the drop in Ly\alpha\ emission with respect to $z\sim6$. These candidates include a promising source at $z=8.1$. The spatial extent of Ly\alpha\ in a deep stack of the most convincing Ly\alpha\ emitters with $\langle z\rangle=7.2$ is consistent with that of the rest-frame UV continuum. Extended Ly$\alpha$ emission, if present, has a surface brightness below our detection limit, consistent with the properties of lower redshift comparison samples. From the stack we estimate upper limits on rest-frame UV emission line ratios and find $f_\textrm{CIV} / f_\textrm{Ly${\alpha}$} \lesssim 0.32$ and $f_\textrm{CIII]} / f_\textrm{Ly$\alpha$} \lesssim 0.23$ in good agreement with other values published in the literature.
We report on the discovery of an eclipsing dwarf nova (DN) inside the peculiar, bilobed nebula Te 11. Modelling of high-speed photometry of the eclipse finds the accreting white dwarf to have a mass 1.18 M$_\odot$ and temperature 13 kK. The donor spectral type of M2.5 results in a distance of 330 pc, colocated with Barnard's loop at the edge of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble. The perplexing morphology and observed bow shock of the slowly-expanding nebula may be explained by strong interactions with the dense interstellar medium in this region. We match the DN to the historic nova of 483 CE in Orion and postulate that the nebula is the remnant of this eruption. This connection supports the millennia time scale of the post-nova transition from high to low mass-transfer rates. Te 11 constitutes an important benchmark system for CV and nova studies as the only eclipsing binary out of just three DNe with nova shells.
A number of observational and theoretical aspects of solar magnetoconvection are considered in this review. We discuss recent developments in our understanding of the small-scale structure of the magnetic field on the solar surface and its interaction with convective flows, which is at the centre of current research. Topics range from plage areas in active regions over the magnetic network shaped by supergranulation to the ubiquituous `turbulent' internetwork fields. On the theoretical side, we focus upon magnetic field generation by small-scale dynamo action.
A model is introduced, in which the irregularity spectrum of the Galactic magnetic field beyond the dissipation length scale is first a Kolmogorov spectrum $k^{-5/3}$ at small scales $\lambda \, = \, 2 \pi/k$ with $k$ the wave-number, then a saturation spectrum $k^{-1}$, and finally a shock-dominated spectrum $k^{-2}$ mostly in the halo/wind outside the Cosmic Ray disk. In an isotropic approximation such a model is consistent with the Interstellar Medium (ISM) data. With this model we discuss the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) spectrum, as well as the extragalactic Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), their chemical abundances and anisotropies. UHECRs may include a proton component from many radio galaxies integrated over vast distances, visible already below 3 EeV.
PSR J1357$-$6429 is a young radio pulsar that was detected in X-rays and $\gamma$-rays. We present the high spatial resolution near-infrared imaging of the pulsar field in $J$, $H$ and $K_s$ bands obtained with the VLT/NaCo using the Adaptive Optic system. We found a faint source at the most precise pulsar radio position which we propose as the pulsar near-infrared counterpart candidate. It is confidently detected in the $J$ and $K_s$ bands, with $J$ = 23.51$\pm$0.24 and $K_s$ = 21.82$\pm$0.25. There is a hint of the source in the $H$ band with an upper limit $H$ $>$ 22.8. The dereddened source fluxes are compatible with the extrapolation of the pulsar X-ray spectrum towards the near-infrared. If the candidate is the true counterpart, by this property PSR J1357$-$6429 would be similar to the nearby middle-age pulsar PSR B0656+14. In this case, both pulsars demonstrate an unusually high near-infrared efficiency relative to the X-ray efficiency as compared to other pulsars detected in both ranges.
Using numerical analysis of fundamental frequencies we study the orbital structure of a tidally induced bar formed in a simulated dwarf galaxy orbiting a Milky Way-like host. We find that only about 10% of stars have frequencies compatible with x1 orbits, the classical periodic orbits in a barred potential. The rest of the stars follows box orbits parallel to the bar, with varying degree of elongation.
Young stars are surrounded by copious amounts of circumstellar material. Its composition, in particular its gas-to-dust ratio, is an important parameter. However, measuring this ratio is challenging, because gas mass estimates are often model dependent. X-ray absorption is sensitive to the gas along the line-of-sight while optical/near-IR extinction depends on the dust content. Therefore, the gas-to-dust ratio of an absorber is given by the ratio between X-ray and optical/near-IR extinction. We present three systems where we used X-ray and optical/near-IR data to constrain the gas-to-dust ratio of circumstellar material; from a dust-rich debris disk to gaseous protoplanetary disks.
We implement a semi-analytic approach for stability analysis, addressing the ongoing uncertainty about stability and structure of neutron star magnetic fields. Applying the energy variational principle, a model system is displaced from its equilibrium state. The related energy density variation is set up analytically, whereas its volume integration is carried out numerically. This facilitates the consideration of more realistic neutron star characteristics within the model compared to analytical treatments. At the same time, our method retains the possibility to yield general information about neutron star magnetic field and composition structures that are likely to be stable. In contrast to numerical studies, classes of parametrized systems can be studied at once, finally constraining realistic configurations for interior neutron star magnetic fields. We apply the stability analysis scheme on polytropic and non-barotropic neutron stars with toroidal, poloidal and mixed fields testing their stability in a Newtonian framework. Furthermore, we provide the analytical scheme for dropping the Cowling approximation in an axisymmetric system and investigate its impact. Our results confirm the instability of simple magnetised neutron star models as well as a stabilisation tendency in the case of mixed fields and stratification. These findings agree with analytical studies whose spectrum of model systems we extend by lifting former simplifications.
We present a novel parameter-free cosmological void finder (\textsc{dive}, Delaunay TrIangulation Void findEr) based on Delaunay Triangulation (DT), which efficiently computes the empty spheres constrained by a discrete set of tracers. We define the spheres as DT voids, and describe their properties, including an universal density profile together with an intrinsic scatter. We apply this technique on 100 halo catalogues with volumes of 2.5\,$h^{-1}$Gpc side each, with a bias and number density similar to the BOSS CMASS Luminous Red Galaxies, performed with the \textsc{patchy} code. Our results show that there are two main species of DT voids, which can be characterised by the radius: they have different responses to halo redshift space distortions, to number density of tracers, and reside in different dark matter environments. Based on dynamical arguments using the tidal field tensor, we demonstrate that large DT voids are hosted in expanding regions, whereas the haloes used to construct them reside in collapsing ones. Our approach is therefore able to efficiently determine the troughs of the density field from galaxy surveys, and can be used to study their clustering. We further study the power spectra of DT voids, and find that the bias of the two populations are different, demonstrating that the small DT voids are essentially tracers of groups of haloes.
General properties of neutron stars are briefly reviewed with an emphasis on the indispensability of general relativity in our understanding of these fascinating objects. In Newtonian gravity the pressure within a star merely plays the role of opposing self-gravity. In general relativity all sources of energy and momentum contribute to the gravity. As a result the pressure not only opposes gravity but also enhances it. The later role of pressure becomes more pronounced with increasing compactness, $M/R$ where $M$ and $R$ are the mass and radius of the star, and sets a critical mass beyond which collapse is inevitable. This critical mass has no Newtonian analogue; it is conceptually different than the Stoner-Landau-Chandrasekhar limit in Newtonian gravity which is attained asymptotically for ultra-relativistic fermions. For white dwarfs the general relativistic critical mass is very close to the Stoner-Landau-Chandrasekhar limit. For neutron stars the maximum mass---so called Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit---is significantly smaller than the Stoner-Landau-Chandrasekhar limit. This follows from the fact that the general relativistic correction to hydrostatic equilibrium within a neutron star is significant throughout the star, including the central part where the mass contained within radial coordinate, $m(r)$, and gravitational acceleration, $Gm(r)/r^2$, are small.
Centaurus A is the most nearby powerful AGN, widely studied at all
wavelengths. Molecular gas has been found in the halo at a distance of ~20 kpc
from the galaxy centre, associated with HI shells. The molecular gas lies
inside some IR and UV bright star-forming filaments that have recently been
observed in the direction of the radio jets. These archival data show that
there is dust and very weak star formation on scales of hundreds of parsecs.
On top of analysing combined archival data, we have performed searches of
HCN(1-0) and HCO+(1-0) emission with ATCA at the interaction of the northern
filaments and the HI shell of Cen A. Measuring the dense gas is another
indicator of star formation efficiency inside the filaments. However, we only
derived upper limits of 1.6x10^3 K.km/s.pc^2 at 3 sigma in the synthesised beam
of 3.1".
We also compared the CO masses with the SFR estimates in order to measure a
star formation efficiency. Using a standard conversion factor leads to long
depletion times (7 Gyr). We then corrected the mass estimates from metallicity
effect by using gas-to-dust mass ratio as a proxy. From MUSE data, we estimated
the metallicity spread (0.4-0.8 Zsun) in the filament, corresponding to
gas-to-dust ratios of ~200-400. The CO/H2 conversion ratio is corrected for low
metallicity by a factor between 1.4 and 3.2. Such a low-metallicity correction
leads to even more massive clouds with higher depletion times (16 Gyr). We
finally present ALMA observations that detect 3 unresolved CO(2-1) clumps of
size <37x21 pc and masses around 10^4 Msun. The velocity width of the CO
emission line is ~10 km/s, leading to a rather high virial parameter. This is a
hint of a turbulent gas probably powered by kinetic energy injection from the
AGN jet/wind and leading to molecular gas reservoir not forming star
efficiently.
HD 188112 is a bright (V = 10.2 mag) hot subdwarf B (sdB) star with a mass too low to sustain core helium burning and is therefore considered as a pre-extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarf (WD). ELM WDs (M $\le$ 0.3 Msun) are He-core objects produced by the evolution of compact binary systems. We present in this paper a detailed abundance analysis of HD 188112 based on high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) near and far-ultraviolet spectroscopy. We also constrain the mass of the star's companion. We use hybrid non-LTE model atmospheres to fit the observed spectral lines and derive the abundances of more than a dozen elements as well as the rotational broadening of metallic lines. We confirm the previous binary system parameters by combining radial velocities measured in our UV spectra with the already published ones. The system has a period of 0.6065858 days and a WD companion with M $\geq$ 0.70 Msun. By assuming a tidally locked rotation, combined with the projected rotational velocity (v sin i = 7.9 $\pm$ 0.3 km s$^{-1}$) we constrain the companion mass to be between 0.9 and 1.3 Msun. We further discuss the future evolution of the system as a potential progenitor of a (underluminous) type Ia supernova. We measure abundances for Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, and Zn, as well as for the trans-iron elements Ga, Sn, and Pb. In addition, we derive upper limits for the C, N, O elements and find HD 188112 to be strongly depleted in carbon. We find evidence of non-LTE effects on the line strength of some ionic species such as Si II and Ni II. The metallic abundances indicate that the star is metal-poor, with an abundance pattern most likely produced by diffusion effects.
The redshift dependence of the cosmic microwave background temperature is one of the key cosmological observables. In the standard cosmological model one has $T(z)=T_0(1+z)$, where $T_0$ is the present-day temperature. Deviations from this behavior would imply the presence of new physics. Here we discuss how the combination of all currently available direct and indirect measurements of $T(z)$ constrains the common phenomenological parametrization $T(z)=T_0(1+z)^{1-\beta}$, and obtain the first sub-percent constraint on the $\beta$ parameter, specifically $\beta=(7.6\pm8.0)\times10^{-3}$ at the $68.3\%$ confidence level.
This paper presents analysis of the rotational parameters of Toutatis based on the observational results from Chang'e-2's close flyby. The 3-D shape model derived from ground-based radar observation is used to calculate the 3-1-3 Euler angles at the flyby epoch, which are evaluated to be $-20.1^\circ\pm1^\circ$, $27.6^\circ\pm1^\circ$ and $42.2^\circ\pm1^\circ$. The large amplitude of Toutatis' tumbling attitude is demonstrated to be the result of the large deviation of the angular momentum axis and the rotational axis. Two rotational periods are evaluated to be $5.38\pm0.03$ days for rotation about the long axis and $7.40\pm0.03$ days for precession of the long axis about the angular momentum vector based on Fourier analysis. These results provide a further understanding of rotational state of Toutatis.
We construct self-similar inflow-outflow solutions for a hot viscous-resistive accretion flow with large scale magnetic fields that have odd symmetry with respect to the equatorial plane in $B_\theta$, and even symmetry in $B_r$ and $B_\phi$. Following previous authors, we also assume that the polar velocity $v_\theta$ is nonzero. We focus on four parameters: $\beta_{r0}$, $\beta_{\phi0}$ (the plasma beta parameters for associated with magnetic field components at the equatorial plane), the magnetic resistivity $\eta_0$, and the density index $n=-d\ln\rho/d\ln r$. The resulting flow solutions are divided into two parts consisting of an inflow region with a negative radial velocity ($v_r<0$) and an outflow region with $v_r>0$. Our results show that stronger outflows emerge for smaller $\beta_{r0}$ ($\le10^{-2}$ for $n>1$) and larger values of $\beta_{\phi0}$, $\eta_0$ and $n$.
We investigate the necessary methodology to optimally measure the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) signal, from voids based on galaxy redshift catalogues. To this end, we study the dependency of the BAO signal on the population of voids classified by their sizes. We find for the first time the characteristic features of the correlation function of voids including the first robust detection of BAOs in mock galaxy catalogues. These show an anti-correlation around the scale corresponding to the smallest size of voids in the sample (the void exclusion effect), and dips at both sides of the BAO peak, which can be used to determine the significance of the BAO signal without any priori model. Furthermore, our analysis demonstrates that there is a scale dependent bias for different populations of voids depending on the radius, with the peculiar property that the void population with the largest BAO significance corresponds to tracers with approximately zero bias on the largest scales. We further investigate the methodology on an additional set of 1,000 realistic mock galaxy catalogues reproducing the SDSS-III/BOSS CMASS DR11 data, to control the impact of sky mask and radial selection function. Our solution is based on generating voids from randoms including the same survey geometry and completeness, and a post-processing cleaning procedure in the holes and at the boundaries of the survey. The methodology and optimal selection of void populations validated in this work have been used to perform the first BAO detection from voids in observations, presented in a companion paper.
Sound waves from the primordial fluctuations of the Universe imprinted in the large-scale structure, called baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs), can be used as standard rulers to measure the scale of the Universe. These oscillations have already been detected in the distribution of galaxies. Here we propose to measure BAOs from the troughs (minima) of the density field. Based on two sets of accurate mock halo catalogues with and without BAOs in the seed initial conditions, we demonstrate that the BAO signal cannot be obtained from the clustering of classical disjoint voids, but is clearly detected from overlapping voids. The latter represent an estimate of all troughs of the density field. We compute them from the empty circumspheres centres constrained by tetrahedra of galaxies using Delaunay triangulation. Our theoretical models based on an unprecedented large set of detailed simulated void catalogues are remarkably well confirmed by observational data. We use the largest recently publicly available sample of Luminous Red Galaxies from SDSS-III BOSS DR11 to unveil for the first time a >3{\sigma} BAO detection from voids in observations. Since voids are nearly isotropically expanding regions, their centres represent the most quiet places in the Universe, keeping in memory the cosmos origin, and providing a new promising window in the analysis of the cosmological large-scale structure from galaxy surveys.
The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) will measure the
polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background to search for and characterize
the polarized signature of inflation. CLASS will operate from the Atacama
Desert and observe $\sim$70% of the sky. A variable-delay polarization
modulator (VPM) modulates the polarization at $\sim$10 Hz to suppress the 1/f
noise of the atmosphere and enable the measurement of the large angular scale
polarization modes. The measurement of the inflationary signal across angular
scales that span both the recombination and reionization features allows a test
of the predicted shape of the polarized angular power spectra in addition to a
measurement of the energy scale of inflation.
CLASS is an array of telescopes covering frequencies of 38, 93, 148, and 217
GHz. These frequencies straddle the foreground minimum and thus allow the
extraction of foregrounds from the primordial signal. Each focal plane contains
feedhorn-coupled transition-edge sensors that simultaneously detect two
orthogonal linear polarizations. The use of single-crystal silicon as the
dielectric for the on-chip transmission lines enables both high efficiency and
uniformity in fabrication. Integrated band definition has been implemented that
both controls the bandpass of the single mode transmission on the chip and
prevents stray light from coupling to the detectors.
We estimate how the light curve and total stellar heating of a planet depend on forward and backward scattering clouds. To do that, we construct light curves for Jupiter- and Saturn-like planet based on observations. We fit analytical functions to the reflected brightness of Jupiter's and Saturn's surface versus planet's phase. We use Pioneer and Cassini spacecraft images to estimate these functions. These observations cover broad bands at 0.59-0.72 microns and 0.39-0.5 microns, and narrow bands at 0.938 microns (atmospheric window), 0.889 microns (CH4 absorption band), and 0.24-0.28 microns. We simulate the images of the planets at different phases with ray-tracing model of a planet by Dyudina et al. (2005). The full-disk luminosity of these simulated images changes with planet's phase producing the full-orbit light curves. We also derive total planet's reflection integrated in all directions (spherical albedos) for Jupiter, Saturn, and for planets with Lambertian and Rayleigh-scattering atmosphere. For Jupiter, we tune the model to fit the observed full-disk brightness at several phase angles. Jupiter-like atmosphere can produce light curves that are a factor of two fainter at half-phase than the Lambertian planet, given the same geometric albedo at transit. The spherical albedo (and likely the wavelengh-integrated Bond albedo) is lower than for a Lambertian planet. Corresponding absorption of the stellar light and the planet's heating rate would be higher than for a grey Lambertian planet. Lambertian assumption can overestimate spherical albedo by up to a factor of ~ 1.5.
The FORWARD SolarSoft IDL package is a community resource for model-data comparison, with a particular emphasis on analyzing coronal magnetic fields. FORWARD allows the synthesis of coronal polarimetric signals at visible, infrared, and radio frequencies, and will soon be augmented for ultraviolet polarimetry. In this paper we focus on observations of the infrared (IR) forbidden lines of Fe XIII, and describe how FORWARD may be used to directly access these data from the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (MLSO/CoMP), to put them in the context of other space- and ground-based observations, and to compare them to synthetic observables generated from magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models.
We review the paradigm of eternal inflation in the light of the recently proposed corpuscular picture of space-time. Comparing the strength of the average fluctuation of the field up its potential with that of quantum depletion, we show that the latter can be dominant. We then study the full respective distributions in order to show that the fraction of the space-time which has an increasing potential is always below the eternal-inflation threshold. We prove that for monomial potentials eternal inflaton is excluded. This is likely to hold for other models as well.
The atmospheric electric fields in thunderclouds have been shown to significantly modify the intensity and polarization patterns of the radio footprint of cosmic-ray-induced extensive air showers. Simulations indicated a very non-linear dependence of the signal strength in the frequency window of 30-80 MHz on the magnitude of the atmospheric electric field. In this work we present an explanation of this dependence based on Monte-Carlo simulations, supported by arguments based on electron dynamics in air showers and expressed in terms of a simplified model. We show that by extending the frequency window to lower frequencies additional sensitivity to the atmospheric electric field is obtained.
We propose to search for scalar dark matter via its effects on the electromagnetic fine-structure constant and particle masses. Scalar dark matter that forms an oscillating classical field produces `slow' linear-in-time drifts and oscillating variations of the fundamental constants, while scalar dark matter that forms topological defects produces transient-in-time variations of the constants of Nature. These variations can be sought for with atomic clock, laser interferometer and pulsar timing measurements. Atomic spectroscopy and Big Bang nucleosynthesis measurements already give improved bounds on the quadratic interaction parameters of scalar dark matter with the photon, electron, and light quarks by up to 15 orders of magnitude, while Big Bang nucleosynthesis measurements provide the first such constraints on the interaction parameters of scalar dark matter with the massive vector bosons.
The Regge-Wheeler-Zerilli (RWZ) wave-equation describes Schwarzschild-Droste black hole perturbations. The source term contains a Dirac distribution and its derivative. We have previously designed a method of integration in time domain. It consists of a finite difference scheme where analytic expressions, dealing with the wave-function discontinuity through the jump conditions, replace the direct integration of the source and the potential. Herein, we successfully apply the same method to the geodesic generic orbits of EMRI (Extreme Mass Ratio Inspiral) sources, at second order. An EMRI is a Compact Star (CS) captured by a Super Massive Black Hole (SMBH). These are considered the best probes for testing gravitation in strong regime. The gravitational wave-forms, the radiated energy and angular momentum at infinity are computed and extensively compared with other methods, for different orbits (circular, elliptic, parabolic, including zoom-whirl).
In this work, we have focused on microsolvation of isopropyl cyanide (i-PrCN) as isopropyl cyanide has been recently detected in interstellar space and is of great importance from the astrochemical and bio-chemical point of view for its branching carbon chains. Such branches are needed for many molecules crucial to life, such as the amino acids that build proteins. The phenomenon of the formation of hydrogen bond affects structure, energetic and electric properties of microhydrated isopropyl cyanide and this has been explored by using three different quantum chemical models. It is observed that the structural parameters calculated by the three models display similarities, however model dependence is evident from equilibrium electronic energies of the clusters. Presence of water molecule has a significant effect on the values of dipole moments and polarizabilities. Rayleigh intensities which are calculated using mean polarizibility and polarizibility anisotropy are increased much due to the formation of hydrogen bonding. For CN stretching vibration of isopropyl cyanide, intensification of Raman scattering activities are observed upon complexation.
We apply our method of indirect integration, described in Part I, at fourth order, to the radial fall affected by the self-force. The Mode-Sum regularisation is performed in the Regge-Wheeler gauge using the equivalence with the harmonic gauge for this orbit. We consider also the motion subjected to a self-consistent and iterative correction determined by the self-force through osculating stretches of geodesics. The convergence of the results confirms the validity of the integration method. This work complements and justifies the analysis and the results appeared in Int. J. Geom. Meth. Mod. Phys., 11, 1450090 (2014).
We present the particle creation probability rate around a general black hole as an outcome of quantum fluctuations. Using the uncertainty principle for these fluctuation, we derive a new ultraviolet frequency cutoff for the radiation spectrum of a dynamical black hole. Using this frequency cutoff, we define the probability creation rate function for such black holes. We consider a dynamical Vaidya model, and calculate the probability creation rate for this case when its horizon is in a slowly evolving phase. Our results show that one can expect the usual Hawking radiation emission process in the case of a dynamical black hole when it has a slowly evolving horizon. Moreover, calculating the probability rate for a dynamical black hole gives a measure of when Hawking radiation can be killed off by an incoming flux of matter or radiation. Our result strictly suggests that we have to revise the Hawking radiation expectation for primordial black holes that have grown substantially since they were created in the early universe.
We investigate the cosmological background evolution and perturbations in a general class of spatially covariant theories of gravity, which propagates two tensor modes and one scalar mode. We show that the structure of the theory is preserved under the disformal transformation. We also evaluate the primordial spectra for both the gravitational waves and the curvature perturbation, which are invariant under the disformal transformation. Due to the existence of higher spatial derivatives, the quadratic Lagrangian for the tensor modes itself cannot be transformed to the form in the Einstein frame. Nevertheless, there exists a one-parameter family of frames in which the spectrum of the gravitational waves takes the standard form in the Einstein frame.
Work on the chemical evolution of pre-biotic molecules remains incomplete since the major obstacle is the lack of adequate knowledge of rate coefficients of various reactions which take place in interstellar conditions. In this work, we study the possibility of forming three pyrimidine bases, namely, cytosine, uracil and thymine in interstellar regions. Our study reveals that the synthesis of uracil from cytosine and water is quite impossible under interstellar circumstances. For the synthesis of thymine, reaction between uracil and :CH2 is investigated. Since no other relevant pathways for the formation of uracil and thymine were available in the literature, we consider a large gas-grain chemical network to study the chemical evolution of cytosine in gas and ice phases. Our modeling result shows that cytosine would be produced in cold, dense interstellar conditions. However, presence of cytosine is yet to be established. We propose that a new molecule, namely, C4N3OH5 could be observable in the interstellar region. C4N3OH5 is a precursor (Z isomer of cytosine) of cytosine and far more abundant than cytosine. We hope that observation of this precursor molecule would enable us to estimate the abundance of cytosine in interstellar regions. We also carry out quantum chemical calculations to find out the vibrational as well as rotational transitions of this precursor molecule along with three pyrimidine bases.
Entropic cosmology assumes several forms of entropy on the horizon of the universe, where the entropy can be considered to behave as if it were related to the exchange (the transfer) of energy. To discuss this exchangeability, the consistency of the two continuity equations obtained from two different methods is examined, focusing on a homogeneous, isotropic, spatially flat, and matter-dominated universe. The first continuity equation is derived from the first law of thermodynamics, whereas the second equation is from the Friedmann and acceleration equations. To study the influence of forms of entropy on the consistency, a phenomenological entropic-force model is examined, using a general form of entropy proportional to the $n$-th power of the Hubble horizon. In this formulation, the Bekenstein entropy (an area entropy), the Tsallis--Cirto black-hole entropy (a volume entropy), and a quartic entropy are represented by $n=2$, $3$, and $4$, respectively. The two continuity equations for the present model are found to be consistent with each other, especially when $n=2$, i.e., the Bekenstein entropy. The exchange of energy between the bulk (the universe) and the boundary (the horizon of the universe) should be a viable scenario consistent with the holographic principle.
We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10 - 500 seconds in a frequency band of 40 - 1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. We also report upper limits on the source rate density per year per Mpc^3 for specific signal models. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves.
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In the standard inflationary scenario, primordial perturbations are adiabatic. The amplitudes of most types of isocurvature perturbations are generally constrained by current data to be small. If, however, there is a baryon-density perturbation that is compensated by a dark-matter perturbation in such a way that the total matter density is unperturbed, then this compensated isocurvature perturbation (CIP) has no observable consequence in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at linear order in the CIP amplitude. Here we search for the effects of CIPs on CMB power spectra to quadratic order in the CIP amplitude. An analysis of the Planck temperature data leads to an upper bound $\Delta_{\rm rms}^2 \leq 7.1\times 10^{-3}$, at the 68\% confidence level, to the variance $\Delta_{\rm rms}^2$ of the CIP amplitude. This is then strengthened to $\Delta_{\rm rms}^2\leq 5.0\times 10^{-3}$ if Planck small-angle polarization data are included. A cosmic-variance-limited CMB experiment could improve the $1\sigma$ sensitivity to CIPs to $\Delta^2_{\rm rms} \lesssim 9\times 10^{-4}$. It is also found that adding CIPs to the standard $\Lambda$CDM model can improve the fit of the observed smoothing of CMB acoustic peaks just as much as adding a non-standard lensing amplitude.
Simple numerical models can produce the observed radial breaks in the stellar surface density profile of late-type galaxies by varying only one parameter, the initial halo spin {\lambda}. Here we analyse these simulations in more detail in an effort to identify the physical mechanism that leads to the formation of anti-truncations (Type-III profiles). We find that orbital resonances with a central bar drive stellar orbits from circular orbits with small semi-major axes to rather eccentric orbits with large semi-major axes. These orbits then form a disk-like configuration with high radial dispersion and rotation far below the circular velocity. This will manifest itself in photometry as an anti-truncated (Type-III) outer stellar disk. Whether such outer disks -- with qualitatively new dynamics -- exist in nature can be tested by future observations.
We derive average radial gradients in the dust attenuation towards HII regions in 609 galaxies at z~1.4, using measurements of the Balmer decrement out to r~3kpc. The Balmer decrements are derived from spatially resolved maps of Halpha and Hbeta emission from the 3D-HST survey. We find that with increasing stellar mass (M) both the normalization and strength of the gradient in dust attenuation increases. Galaxies with a mean mass of <log(M)> = 9.2Msun have little dust attenuation at all radii, whereas galaxies with <log(M)>= 10.2Msun have dust attenuation toward Halpha A(Halpha)~2mag in their central regions. We parameterize this as A(Halpha) = b + c log(r), with b = 0.9 + 1.0 log(M10), c = -1.9 - 2.2 log(M10), r in kpc, and M10 the stellar mass in units of 10^10Msun. This expression can be used to correct spatially resolved measurements of Halpha to radial distributions of star formation. When applied to our data, we find that the star formation rates in the central r<1kpc of galaxies in the highest mass bin are ~ 6 Msun/yr, six times higher than before correction and approximately half of the total star formation rate of these galaxies. If this high central star formation rate is maintained for several Gyr, a large fraction of the stars in present-day bulges likely formed in-situ.
Earth has a unique surface character among Solar System worlds. Not only does it harbor liquid water, but also large continents. An exoplanet with a similar appearance would remind us of home, but it is not obvious whether such a planet is more likely to bear life than an entirely ocean-covered waterworld---after all, surface liquid water defines the canonical habitable zone. In this proceeding, I argue that 1) Earth's bimodal surface character is critical to its long-term climate stability and hence is a signpost of habitability, and 2) we will be able to constrain the surface character of terrestrial exoplanets with next-generation space missions.
Black holes accreting well below the Eddington rate are believed to have geometrically thick, optically thin, rotationally supported accretion discs in which the Coulomb mean free path is large compared to $GM/c^2$. In such an environment, the disc evolution may differ significantly from ideal magnetohydrodynamic predictions. We present non-ideal global axisymmetric simulations of geometrically thick discs around a rotating black hole. The simulations are carried out using a new code ${\rm\it grim}$, which evolves a covariant extended magnetohydrodynamics model derived by treating non-ideal effects as a perturbation of ideal magnetohydrodynamics. Non-ideal effects are modeled through heat conduction along magnetic field lines, and a difference between the pressure parallel and perpendicular to the field lines. The model relies on an effective collisionality in the disc from wave-particle scattering and velocity-space (mirror and firehose) instabilities. We find that the pressure anisotropy grows to match the magnetic pressure, at which point it saturates due to the mirror instability. The pressure anisotropy produces outward angular momentum transport with a magnitude comparable to that of MHD turbulence in the disc, and a significant increase in the temperature in the wall of the jet. We also find that, at least in our axisymmetric simulations, conduction has a small effect on the disc evolution because (1) the heat flux is constrained to be parallel to the field and the field is close to perpendicular to temperature gradients, and (2) the heat flux is choked by an increase in effective collisionality associated with the mirror instability.
Context: We introduce the Dwarf Galaxy Survey with Amateur Telescopes (DGSAT) project and report the discovery of eleven Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies in the fields of the nearby galaxies NGC 2683, NGC 3628, NGC 4594 (M104), NGC 4631, NGC 5457 (M101), and NGC7814. Aims: The DGSAT project aims at using the potential of small-sized telescopes to probe LSB features around large galaxies and to increase the sample size of the dwarf satellite galaxies in the Local Volume. Methods: Using long exposure images centred on the target, its field is explored for extended low surface brightness objects. After identifying dwarf galaxy candidates, their observed properties are extracted by fitting models to their light profiles. Results: We find three, one, three, one, one, and two new LSB galaxies in the fields of NGC 2683, 3628, 4594, 4631, 5457, and 7814, respectively. In addition to the newly found galaxies, we analyse the structural properties of 9 already known galaxies. All of these 20 dwarf galaxy candidates have effective surface brightnesses in the range $25.3\lesssim\mu_{e}\lesssim28.8$ mag.arcsec$^{-2}$ and are fit with Sersic profiles with indices $n\lesssim 1$. Assuming that they are in the vicinity of the above mentioned massive galaxies, their $r$-band absolute magnitudes, their effective radii, and their luminosities are in the ranges $-15.6 \lesssim M_r \lesssim -7.8$, $160$ pc $\lesssim R_e \lesssim 4.1$ kpc, and $0.1\times 10^6 \lesssim\left(\frac{L}{L_{\odot}}\right)_r\lesssim127 \times 10^6$, respectively. To determine if these LSB galaxies are indeed satellites of the above mentioned massive galaxies, their distances need to be determined via further observations. Conclusions: Using small telescopes we are readily able to detect LSB galaxies with similar properties to the known dwarf galaxies of the Local Group.
The bright southern star L2 Pup is a particularly prominent asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star, as its distance of 64 pc makes it the nearest of its type. We report new adaptive optics observations of L2 Pup at visible wavelengths with the SPHERE/ZIMPOL instrument of the VLT that confirm the presence of the circumstellar dust disk at high inclination discovered recently by Kervella et al. (2014b). The signature of the three-dimensional structure of the disk is clearly observed in the map of the degree of linear polarization pL. We identify the inner rim of the disk through its polarimetric signature at a radius of 6 AU from the AGB star. The ZIMPOL intensity images in the V and R bands also reveal a close-in secondary source at a projected separation of 2 AU from the primary. The identification of the spectral type of this companion is uncertain due to the strong reddening from the disk, but its photometry suggests that it is a late K giant, of comparable mass to the AGB star. We present refined physical parameters for the dust disk derived using the RADMC-3D radiative transfer code. We also interpret the pL map using a simple polarization model to infer the three-dimensional structure of the envelope. Interactions between the inner binary system and the disk apparently form spiral structures that propagate along the orthogonal axis to the disk to form streamers. Two dust plumes propagating orthogonally to the disk are also detected. They originate in the inner stellar system, and are possibly related to the interaction of the wind of the two stars with the material in the disk. Based on the morphology of the envelope of L2 Pup, we propose that this star is at an early stage of the formation of a bipolar planetary nebula.
The physical mechanism through which the outgoing material of massive red supergiants is accelerated above the escape velocity is unclear. Thanks to the transparency of its circumstellar envelope, the nearby red supergiant Betelgeuse gives the opportunity to probe the innermost layers of the envelope of a typical red supergiant down to the photosphere, i.e. where the acceleration of the wind is expected to occur. We took advantage of the SPHERE/ZIMPOL adaptive optics imaging polarimeter to resolve the visible photosphere and close envelope of Betelgeuse. We detect an asymmetric gaseous envelope inside a radius of 2 to 3 times the near-infrared photospheric radius of the star (R*), and a significant Halpha emission mostly contained within 3 R*. From the polarimetric signal, we also identify the signature of dust scattering in an asymmetric and incomplete dust shell located at a similar radius. The presence of dust so close to the star may have a significant impact on the wind acceleration through radiative pressure on the grains. The 3 R* radius emerges as a major interface between the hot gaseous and dusty envelopes. The detected asymmetries strengthen previous indications that the mass loss of Betelgeuse is likely tied to the vigorous convective motions in its atmosphere.
We use the Ly-$\alpha$ Mass Association Scheme (LyMAS; Peirani et al. 2014) to predict cross-correlations at z = 2.5 between dark matter halos and transmitted flux in the Ly-$\alpha$ forest, and we compare these predictions to cross-correlations measured for quasars and damped Ly-$\alpha$ systems (DLAs) from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) by Font-Ribera et al. (2012, 2013). We calibrate and test LyMAS using Horizon-AGN hydrodynamical cosmological simulations of a $(100\ h^{-1}\ \rm{Mpc})^3$ comoving volume with and without AGN feedback. We apply this calibration to a $(1\ h^{-1}\ \rm{Gpc})^3$ simulation realized with $2048^3$ dark matter particles for our primary predictions. In the $100\ h^{-1}\ \rm{Mpc}$ box, LyMAS reproduces the halo-flux correlations computed from the full hydrodynamic gas distribution essentially perfectly. In the $1\ h^{-1}\ \rm{Gpc}$ box, the amplitude of the cross-correlation tracks the halo bias as expected, and the correlation for a halo sample with a distribution of masses scales linearly with the number-weighted mean bias. We provide empirical fitting functions that describe our numerical results. In the transverse separation bins used for the BOSS analyses, LyMAS cross-correlation predictions follow linear theory accurately down to small scales, though the quadrupole departs from linear theory on scales below $\sim15\ h^{-1}\ \rm{Mpc}$. Fitting the BOSS measurements requires inclusion of random velocity errors; we find best-fit RMS velocity errors of 399 km/s and 252 km/s for quasars and DLAs, respectively. We infer bias-weighted mean halo masses of $M_h/10^{12}\ h^{-1}\ M_\odot = 2.19^{+0.16}_{-0.15}$ and $0.69^{+0.16}_{-0.14}$ for the host halos of quasars and DLAs, with ~ 0.2 dex systematic uncertainty associated with redshift evolution, IGM parameters, and selection of data fitting range.
The nearby lenticular galaxy NGC 1277 is thought to host one of the largest black holes known, however the black hole mass measurement is based on low spatial resolution spectroscopy. In this paper, we present Gemini Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrometer observations assisted by adaptive optics. We map out the galaxy's stellar kinematics within ~440 pc of the nucleus with an angular resolution that allows us to probe well within the region where the potential from the black hole dominates. We find that the stellar velocity dispersion rises dramatically, reaching ~550 km/s at the center. Through orbit-based, stellar-dynamical models we obtain a black hole mass of (4.9 \pm 1.6) x 10^9 Msun (1-sigma uncertainties). Although the black hole mass measurement is smaller by a factor of ~3 compared to previous claims based on large-scale kinematics, NGC 1277 does indeed contain one of the most massive black holes detected to date, and the black hole mass is an order of magnitude larger than expectations from the empirical relation between black hole mass and galaxy luminosity. Given the galaxy's similarities to the higher redshift (z~2) massive quiescent galaxies, NGC 1277 could be a relic, passively evolving since that period. A population of local analogs to the higher redshift quiescent galaxies that also contain over-massive black holes may suggest that black hole growth precedes that of the host galaxy.
We demonstrate a new method to constrain gravity on the largest cosmological scales by combining measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing and the galaxy velocity field. $E_G$ is a statistic, constructed from a gravitational lensing tracer and a measure of velocities such as redshift-space distortions (RSD), that can discriminate between gravity models while being independent of clustering bias and $\sigma_8$. While traditionally, the lensing field for $E_G$ has been probed through galaxy lensing, CMB lensing has been proposed as a more robust tracer of the lensing field for $E_G$ at higher redshifts while avoiding intrinsic alignments. We perform the largest-scale measurement of $E_G$ ever, up to 150 Mpc/$h$, by cross-correlating the Planck CMB lensing map with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) CMASS galaxy sample and combining this with our measurement of the CMASS auto-power spectrum and the RSD parameter $\beta$. We report $E_G(z=0.57)=0.243\pm0.060$ (stat) $\pm0.013$ (sys), a measurement in tension with the general relativity prediction at a level of 2.6$\sigma$. Upcoming surveys, which will provide an order-of-magnitude reduction in statistical errors, can significantly constrain alternative gravity models when combined with better control of systematics.
Recent data on Galactic cosmic rays revealed that the helium energy spectrum is harder than the proton spectrum. The AMS experiment has now reported that the proton-to-helium ratio as function of rigidity $R$ (momentum-to-charge ratio) falls off steadily as p/He $\sim R^\Delta$, with $\Delta\approx$-0.08 between $R\sim$40 GV and $R\sim$2 TV. Besides, the single spectra of proton and helium are found to progressively harden at $R\gtrsim$100 GV. The p/He anomaly is generally ascribed to particle-dependent acceleration mechanisms occurring in Galactic cosmic-ray sources. However, this explanation poses a challenge to the known mechanisms of particle acceleration since they are believed to be "universal", composition blind rigidity mechanisms. Using the new AMS data, we show that the p/He anomaly can be simply explained in terms of a two-component scenario where the GeV-TeV flux is ascribed to a hydrogen-rich source, possibly a nearby supernova remnant, characterized by a soft acceleration spectrum. This simple idea provides a common interpretation for the p/He ratio and for the single spectra of proton and helium: both anomalies are explained by a flux transition between two components. The "universality" of particle acceleration in sources is not violated in this model. A distinctive signature of our scenario is the high-energy flattening of the p/He ratio at multi-TeV energies, which is hinted by existing data and will be resolutely tested by new space experiments ISS-CREAM and CALET.
Using the most recent releases of WISE and Planck data, we perform updated measurements of the bias and typical dark matter halo mass of infrared-selected obscured and unobscured quasars, using the angular autocorrelation function and cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing cross-correlations. Since our recent work of this kind, the WISE Allwise catalogue was released with improved photometry, and the Planck mission was completed and released improved products. These new data provide a more reliable measurement of the quasar bias and provide an opportunity to explore the role of changing survey pipelines in results downstream. We present a comparison of IR color-selected quasars, split into obscured and unobscured populations based on optical-IR colors, selected from two versions of the WISE data. Which combination of data is used impacts the final results, particularly for obscured quasars, both because of mitigation of some systematics and because the newer catalogue provides a slightly different sample. We show that Allwise data is superior in several ways, though there may be some systematic trends with Moon contamination that were not present in the previous catalogue. We opt currently for the most conservative sample that meet our selection criteria in both the previous and new WISE catalogues. We measure a higher bias and halo mass for obscured quasars ($b_{\textrm{obsc}} \sim 2.1$, $b_{\textrm{unob}} \sim 1.8$) --- at odds with simple orientation models --- but at a reduced significance ($\sim$1.5$\sigma$) as compared to our work with previous survey data.
An overview is presented of the H$_2$ quasar absorption method to search for a possible variation of the proton--electron mass ratio $\mu=m_p/m_e$ on a cosmological time scale. Details of the analysis of astronomical spectra, obtained with large 8--10 m class optical telescopes, equipped with high-resolution echelle grating based spectrographs, are explained. The methods and results of the laboratory molecular spectroscopy of H$_2$, in particular the laser-based metrology studies for the determination of rest wavelengths of the Lyman and Werner band absorption lines, are reviewed. Theoretical physics scenarios delivering a rationale for a varying $\mu$ will be discussed briefly, as well as alternative spectroscopic approaches to probe variation of $\mu$, other than the H$_2$ method. Also a recent approach to detect a dependence of the proton-to-electron mass ratio on environmental conditions, such as the presence of strong gravitational fields, will be highlighted. Currently some 56 H$_2$ absorption systems are known and listed. Their usefulness to detect $\mu$-variation is discussed, in terms of column densities and brightness of background quasar sources, along with future observational strategies. The astronomical observations of ten quasar systems analyzed so far set a constraint on a varying proton-electron mass ratio of $|\Delta\mu/\mu| < 5 \times 10^{-6}$ (3-$\sigma$), which is a null result, holding for redshifts in the range $z=2.0-4.2$. This corresponds to look-back times of 10--12.4 billion years into cosmic history. Attempts to interpret the results from these 10 H$_2$ absorbers in terms of a spatial variation of $\mu$ are currently hampered by the small sample size and their coincidental distribution in a relatively narrow band across the sky.
Events in the solar corona are often widely separated in their timescales, which can allow them to be identified when they would otherwise be confused with emission from other sources in the corona. Methods for cleanly separating such events based on their timescales are thus desirable for research in the field. This paper develops a technique for identifying time-varying signals in solar coronal image sequences which is based on a per-pixel running median filter and an understanding of photon-counting statistics. Example applications to 'EIT Waves' and small-scale dynamics are shown, both using data from the 193 Angstrom channel on AIA. The technique is found to discriminate EIT Waves more cleanly than the running and base difference techniques most commonly used. It is also demonstrated that there is more signal in the data than is commonly appreciated, finding that the waves can be traced to the edge of the AIA field of view when the data are rebinned to increase the signal-to-noise ratio.
First stars can only form in structures that are suitably dense, which can be parametrized by the minimum dark matter halo mass $M_{\rm min}$. $M_{\rm min}$ must plays an important role in star formation. The connection of long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) with the collapse of massive stars has provided a good opportunity for probing star formation in dark matter halos. We place some constraints on $M_{\rm min}$ using the latest $Swift$ LGRB data. We conservatively consider that LGRB rate is proportional to the cosmic star formation rate (CSFR) and an additional evolution parametrized as $(1+z)^{\alpha}$, where the CSFR model as a function of $M_{\rm min}$. Using the $\chi^{2}$ statistic, the contour constraints on the $M_{\rm min}$--$\alpha$ plane show that at the $1\sigma$ confidence level, we have $M_{\rm min}<10^{10.5}$ $\rm M_{\odot}$ from 118 LGRBs with redshift $z<4$ and luminosity $L_{\rm iso}>1.8\times10^{51}$ erg $\rm s^{-1}$. We also find that adding 12 high-\emph{z} $(4<z<5)$ LGRBs (consisting of 104 LGRBs with $z<5$ and $L_{\rm iso}>3.1\times10^{51}$ erg $\rm s^{-1}$) could result in much tighter constraints on $M_{\rm min}$, for which, $10^{7.7}\rm M_{\odot}<M_{\rm min}<10^{11.6}\rm M_{\odot}$ ($1\sigma$). Through Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate that future five years of Sino-French spacebased multiband astronomical variable objects monitor (\emph{SVOM}) observations would tighten these constraints to $10^{9.7}\rm M_{\odot}<M_{\rm min}<10^{11.3}\rm M_{\odot}$. The strong constraints on $M_{\rm min}$ indicate that LGRBs are a new promising tool for investigating star formation in dark matter halos.
SuperSpec is a novel on-chip spectrometer we are developing for multi-object, moderate resolution (R = 100 - 500), large bandwidth (~1.65:1) submillimeter and millimeter survey spectroscopy of high-redshift galaxies. The spectrometer employs a filter bank architecture, and consists of a series of half-wave resonators formed by lithographically-patterned superconducting transmission lines. The signal power admitted by each resonator is detected by a lumped element titanium nitride (TiN) kinetic inductance detector (KID) operating at 100 - 200 MHz. We have tested a new prototype device that achieves the targeted R = 100 resolving power, and has better detector sensitivity and optical efficiency than previous devices. We employ a new method for measuring photon noise using both coherent and thermal sources of radiation to cleanly separate the contributions of shot and wave noise. We report an upper limit to the detector NEP of $1.4\times10^{-17}$ W Hz$^{-1/2}$, within 10% of the photon noise limited NEP for a ground-based R=100 spectrometer.
Whether or not the initial star cluster mass function is established through a universal, galactocentric-distance-independent stochastic process, on the scales of individual galaxies, remains an unsolved problem. This debate has recently gained new impetus through the publication of a study that concluded that the maximum cluster mass in a given population is not solely determined by size-of-sample effects. Here, we revisit the evidence in favor and against stochastic cluster formation by examining the young ($\lesssim$ a few $\times 10^8$ yr-old) star cluster mass--galactocentric radius relation in M33, M51, M83, and the Large Magellanic Cloud. To eliminate size-of-sample effects, we first adopt radial bin sizes containing constant numbers of clusters, which we use to quantify the radial distribution of the first- to fifth-ranked most massive clusters using ordinary least-squares fitting. We supplement this analysis with an application of quantile regression, a binless approach to rank-based regression taking an absolute-value-distance penalty. Both methods yield, within the $1\sigma$ to $3\sigma$ uncertainties, near-zero slopes in the diagnostic plane, largely irrespective of the maximum age or minimum mass imposed on our sample selection, or of the radial bin size adopted. We conclude that, at least in our four well-studied sample galaxies, star cluster formation does not necessarily require an environment-dependent cluster formation scenario, which thus supports the notion of stochastic star cluster formation as the dominant star cluster-formation process within a given galaxy.
We report the discovery and confirmation of two sub-Saturn planets orbiting a bright (V = 11.3), metal-rich ([Fe/H] = 0.42 $\pm$ 0.04 dex) G3 dwarf in the K2 Campaign 2 field. The planets are 5.68 $\pm$ 0.56 Earth-radii and 7.82 $\pm$ 0.72 Earth-radii and have orbital periods of 20.8851 $\pm$ 0.0003 d and 42.3633$\pm$0.0006 d, near to the 2:1 mean-motion resonance. We obtained 32 radial velocities (RVs) with Keck/HIRES and detected the reflex motion due to EPIC-203771098b and c. These planets have masses of 21.0 $\pm$ 5.4 Earth-masses and 27.0 $\pm$ 6.9 Earth-masses, respectively. With low densities of 0.63 $\pm$ 0.25 g/cc and 0.31 $\pm$ 0.12 g/cc, respectively, the planets require thick envelopes of H/He to explain their large sizes and low masses. Interior structure models predict that the planets have fairly massive cores of 17.6 $\pm$ 4.3 Earth-masses and 16.1 $\pm$ 4.2 Earth-masses, respectively. They may have formed exterior to their present locations, accreted their H/He envelopes at large orbital distances, and migrated in as a resonant pair. The proximity to resonance, large transit depths, and host star brightness offer rich opportunities for TTV follow-up. Finally, the low surface gravities of the EPIC-203771098 planets make them favorable targets for transmission spectroscopy by HST, Spitzer, and JWST.
Current large-aperture cosmic microwave background (CMB) telescopes have nearly maximized the number of detectors that can be illuminated while maintaining diffraction-limited image quality. The polarization-sensitive detector arrays being deployed in these telescopes in the next few years will have roughly $10^4$ detectors. Increasing the mapping speed of future instruments by at least an order of magnitude is important to enable precise probes of the inflationary paradigm in the first fraction of a second after the big bang and provide strong constraints on cosmological parameters. This paper introduces new crossed Dragone telescope and receiver optics designs that increase the usable diffraction-limited field-of-view, and therefore the mapping speed, by over an order of magnitude to enable high efficiency illumination of $>10^5$ detectors in a next generation CMB telescope.
We present the first polarimetric observations of a Type I superluminous supernova (SLSN). LSQ14mo was observed with VLT/FORS2 at 5 different epochs in the V band, observations starting before maximum light and spanning 26 days in the rest-frame (z=0.256). During this period, we do not detect any statistically significant evolution (< 2$\sigma$) in the Stokes parameters. The average values we obtain, corrected for interstellar polarisation in the Galaxy, are Q = -0.01% ($\pm$ 0.15%) and U = - 0.50% ($\pm$ 0.14%). This low polarisation can be entirely due to interstellar polarisation in the SN host galaxy. We conclude that, at least during the period of observations and at the optical depths probed, the photosphere of LSQ14mo does not present significant asymmetries, unlike most lower-luminosity hydrogen-poor SNe Ib/c. Alternatively, it is possible that we may have observed LSQ14mo from a special viewing angle. Supporting spectroscopy and photometry confirm that LSQ14mo is a typical SLSN I. Further studies of the polarisation of Type I SLSNe are required to determine whether the low levels of polarisation are a characteristic of the entire class and to study the implications for the proposed explosion models.
Thanks to the advances in robotic telescopes, the time domain astronomy leads to a large number of transient events detected in images every night. Data mining and machine learning tools used for object classification are presented. The goal is to automatically classify transient events for both further follow-up by a larger telescope and for statistical studies of transient events. A special attention is given to the identification of gamma-ray burst afterglows. Machine learning techniques is used to identify GROND gamma-ray burst afterglow among the astrophysical objects present in the SDSS archival images based on the $g'-r'$, $r'-i'$ and $i'-z'$ colour indices. The performance of the support vector machine, random forest and neural network algorithms is compared. A joint meta-classifier, built on top of the individual classifiers, can identify GRB afterglows with the overall accuracy of $\gtrsim 90\%$.
In this thesis, we systematically analyze the properties of intergalactic
\Ovi absorbing gas structures at high redshift using optical spectra with
intermediate ($\sim 6.6$ \kms FWHM) and high ($\sim 4.0$ \kms FWHM) resolution,
obtained with UVES/VLT. We complement our analysis with synthetic spectra
obtained from extensive cosmological simulations that are part of the OWLS
project (Schaye et al. 2010).
Our main conclusions are:
1) Both the observations and simulations imply that \Ovi absorbers at high
redshift arise in structures spanning a broad range of scales and different
physical conditions. When the \Ovi components are characterized by small
Doppler parameters, the ionizing mechanism is most likely photoionization;
otherwise, collisional ionization is the dominant mechanism.
2) The baryon- and metal-content of the \Ovi absorbers at $z\approx2$ is less
than one per cent of the total mass-density of baryons and metals at that
redshift. Therefore, \Ovi absorbers do not trace the bulk of baryons and metals
at that epoch.
3) The \Ovi gas density, metallicity and non-thermal broadening mechanisms
are significantly different at high redshift with respect to low redshift. In
particular, non-thermal broadening mechanisms appear less important at high
redshift as compared to low redshift, where the turbulence in the absorption
gas might be significant. This, together with the result that \Ovi arises in
different environments, embedded in small- and large-scale structures,
indicates that \Ovi does not trace characteristic regions in the circumgalactic
and intergalactic medium, but rather traces a gas phase with a characteristic
transition temperature ($T\sim10^{5}$K).
4) The \Ovi absorbers at high redshift arise in gas with metallicities
significantly higher than the surrounding environment, which suggests an
inhomogeneous metal enrichment of the IGM.
Starforming factories in galaxies produce compact clusters and loose associations of young massive stars. Fast radiation-driven winds and supernovae input their huge kinetic power into the interstellar medium in the form of highly supersonic and superalfvenic outflows. Apart from gas heating, collisionless relaxation of fast plasma outflows results in fluctuating magnetic fields and energetic particles. The energetic particles comprise a long-lived component which may contain a sizeable fraction of the kinetic energy released by the winds and supernova ejecta and thus modify the magnetohydrodynamic flows in the systems. We present a concise review of observational data and models of nonthermal emission from starburst galaxies, superbubbles, and compact clusters of massive stars. Efficient mechanisms of particle acceleration and amplification of fluctuating magnetic fields with a wide dynamical range in starburst regions are discussed. Sources of cosmic rays, neutrinos and multi-wavelength nonthermal emission associated with starburst regions including potential galactic "PeVatrons" are reviewed in the global galactic ecology context.
Compact binary stars at cosmological distances are promising sources for gravitational waves (GWs), and these are thought to be powerful cosmological probes, referred to as the GW standard sirens. With future GW detectors such as the Einstein telescope (ET), we will be able to precisely measure their luminosity distances out to a redshift $z\sim5$. While previously proposed cosmological studies using the GW standard sirens require redshift information for each source, which could be obtained through an extensive electromagnetic follow-up campaign, we here propose an alternative method only with the luminosity distances. Utilizing the anisotropies of the number density and luminosity distances originated from the large-scale structure, we discuss how this anisotropies can be measured and are sensitive to the cosmology, finding that the expected constraints on the primordial non-Gaussianity parameter $f_{\rm NL}$ could become $\sigma(f_{\rm NL})=0.54$ with a network of ET-like detectors.
Earth's atmosphere imprints a large number of telluric absorption and emission lines on astronomical spectra, especially in the near infrared, that need to be removed before analysing the affected wavelength regions. These lines are typically removed by comparison to A- or B-type stars used as telluric standards that themselves have strong hydrogen lines, which complicates the removal of telluric lines. We have developed a method to circumvent that problem. For our IDL software package tellrem we used a recent approach to model telluric absorption features with the line-by-line radiative transfer model (LBLRTM). The broad wavelength coverage of the X-Shooter at VLT allows us to expand their technique by determining the abundances of the most important telluric molecules H2O, O2, CO2, and CH4 from sufficiently isolated line groups. For individual observations we construct a telluric absorption model for most of the spectral range that is used to remove the telluric absorption from the object spectrum. We remove telluric absorption from both continuum regions and emission lines without systematic residuals for most of the processable spectral range; however, our method increases the statistical errors. The errors of the corrected spectrum typically increase by 10% for S/N~10 and by a factor of two for high-quality data (S/N~100), i.e. the method is accurate on the percent level. Modelling telluric absorption can be an alternative to the observation of standard stars for removing telluric contamination.
Traditional cosmological inference using Type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) have used stretch- and color-corrected fits of SN Ia light curves and assumed a resulting fiducial mean and symmetric intrinsic dispersion to the resulting relative luminosity. However, the recent literature has presented mounting evidence that SNeIa have different width-color-corrected luminosities, depending on the environment in which they are found. Such correlations suggest the existence of multiple populations of SNeIa and a non-Gaussian distribution of relative luminosity. We introduce a framework that provides a generalized full-likelihood approach to accommodate multiple populations with unknown population parameters. To illustrate this framework we use a simple model of two populations with a relative shift, independent intrinsic dispersions, and linear redshift evolution of the relative fraction of each population. We generate mock SN Ia data sets from an underlying two-population model and use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to quantify biases on cosmological parameters induced by modeling a two-population data set with a one-population model for the distance-redshift relation. Treating observationally viable two-population mock data using a one-population model results in an inferred dark energy equation of state parameter $w$ that is biased by roughly 2 times its statistical error for a sample of N>~2500 SNeIa. Modeling the two-population data with a two-population model removes this bias at a cost of an approximately ~20% increase in the statistical constraint on $w$. These significant biases can be realized even if the support for two underlying SNeIa populations, in the form of model selection criteria, is inconclusive. With the current observationally-estimated difference in the two proposed populations, a sample of N>~10,000 SNeIa is necessary to yield conclusive evidence of two populations.
We explore the potential use of the Radio Continuum (RC) survey conducted by the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) to remove (delens) the lensing-induced B-mode polarization and thus enhance future cosmic microwave background (CMB) searches for inflationary gravitational waves. Measurements of large-scale B-modes of the CMB are considered to be the best method for probing gravitational waves from the cosmic inflation. Future CMB experiments will, however, suffer from contamination by non-primordial B-modes, one source of which is the lensing B-modes. Delensing will be therefore required for further improvement of the detection sensitivity for gravitational waves. Analyzing the use of the two-dimensional map of galaxy distribution provided by the SKA RC survey as a lensing mass tracer, we find that joint delensing using near future CMB experiments and the SKA phase 1 will improve the constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio by more than a factor of $\sim 2$ compared to those without the delensing analysis. Compared to the use of CMB data alone, the inclusion of the SKA phase 1 data will increase the significance of the constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio by a factor $1.2$-$1.6$. For LiteBIRD combined with a ground-based experiment such as Simons Array and Advanced ACT, the constraint on the tensor-to-scalar ratio when adding SKA phase 2 data is improved by a factor of $2.3$-$2.7$, whereas delensing with CMB data alone improves the constraints by only a factor $1.3$-$1.7$. We conclude that the use of SKA data is a promising method for delensing upcoming CMB experiments such as LiteBIRD.
Many works have attempted to investigate the astrophysical origin of the neutron-capture elements in the metalpoor star HD 140283. However, no definite conclusions have been drawn. In this work, using the abundancedecomposed approach, we find that the metal-poor star HD 140283 is a weak r-process star. Although this star is a weak r-process star, its Ba abundance mainly originates from the main r-process. This is the reason that the ratio [Ba/Eu]= -0.58+- 0.15 for HD 140283 is close to the ratio of the main r-process. Based on the comparison of the abundances in the six-weak r-process stars, we find that their element abundances possess a robust nature. On the other hand, we find that the robust nature of the abundance of the extreme main r-process stars ([r/Fe]>= 1.5) can be extended to the lighter neutron-capture elements. Furthermore, the abundance characteristics of the weak r-process and main r-process are investigated. The abundance robustness of the two category r-process stars could be used as the constraint of the r-process theory and could be used to investigate the astrophysical origins of the elements in the metal-poor stars and population I stars.
The gravitational coupling of a long wavelength tidal field with small scale density fluctuations leads to anisotropic distortions of the locally measured small scale matter correlation function. Since the local correlation function is statistically isotropic in the absence of such tidal interactions, the tidal distortions can be used to reconstruct the long wavelength tidal field and large scale density field in analogy with the cosmic microwave background lensing reconstruction. In this paper we present in detail a formalism for the cosmic tidal reconstruction and test the reconstruction in numerical simulations. We find that the density field on large scales can be reconstructed with good accuracy and the cross correlation coefficient between the reconstructed density field and the original density field is greater than 0.9 on large scales ($k\lesssim0.1h/\mathrm{Mpc}$). This is useful in the 21cm intensity mapping survey, where the long wavelength radial modes are lost due to foreground subtraction process.
Carbon and oxygen abundances of eight late M dwarfs are determined based on the near IR spectra of medium resolution. Seven objects with T_eff above 2600K are analyzed with the dust-free models. The M8.5 dwarf 2MASSI J1835379+325954 whose T_eff is 2275K is analyzed by the dusty model, in which the surface temperature is higher by about 600K due to the blanketing effect of the dust, and C and O abundances are higher by 0.25 and 0.15dex, respectively, compared to the analysis by the dust-free model. Once dust forms in the photosphere, the dust works as a kind of thermostat and temperatures of the surface layers remain nearly the same as the condensation temperatures of the dust grains. For this reason, the temperatures of the surface layers of the dusty dwarfs are not sensitive to the fundamental parameters including T_eff. Also, 2MASS J1835379 +325954 is a rapid rotator, for which its EWs are thought to remain unchanged by the rotational broadening. This is, however, true only when the true continuum is well defined. Otherwise, the pseudo-continuum level depends on the rotational velocity and hence the EWs as well. For this reason, the derived abundances depend on the rotational velocity assumed: For the values of V_rot*sin(i)=37.6 and 44.0km/s available in the literature, the derived C and O abundances differ by 0.23 and 0.14dex, respectively, and we find that the higher value provides a better account of the observed spectrum. The resulting C and O abundances in our late M dwarfs show no systematic difference from our results for the early and middle M dwarfs, and confirm the higher O/C ratio at the lower metallicity. In late M dwarfs, CO and H2O remain as excellent abundance indicators of C and O, respectively, except for additional uncertainty due to the complexity associated with the dust formation in the latest M dwarfs.
In order to understand how molecular clouds form in the Galactic interstellar medium, we would like to be able to map the structure and kinematics of the gas flows responsible for forming them. However, doing so is observationally challenging. CO, the workhorse molecule for studies of molecular clouds, traces only relatively dense gas and hence only allows us to study those portions of the clouds that have already assembled. Numerical simulations suggest that the inflowing gas that forms these clouds is largely composed of CO-dark H2. These same simulations allow us to explore the usefulness of different tracers of this CO-dark molecular material, and we use them here to show that the [CII] fine structure line is potentially a very powerful tracer of this gas and should be readily detectable using modern instrumentation.
We improve our filament automated detection method which was proposed in our previous works. It is then applied to process the full disk H$\alpha$ data mainly obtained by Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) from 1988 to 2013, spanning nearly 3 solar cycles. The butterfly diagrams of the filaments, showing the information of the filament area, spine length, tilt angle, and the barb number, are obtained. The variations of these features with the calendar year and the latitude band are analyzed. The drift velocities of the filaments in different latitude bands are calculated and studied. We also investigate the north-south (N-S) asymmetries of the filament numbers in total and in each subclass classified according to the filament area, spine length, and tilt angle. The latitudinal distribution of the filament number is found to be bimodal. About 80% of all the filaments have tilt angles within [0{\deg}, 60{\deg}]. For the filaments within latitudes lower (higher) than 50{\deg} the northeast (northwest) direction is dominant in the northern hemisphere and the southeast (southwest) direction is dominant in the southern hemisphere. The latitudinal migrations of the filaments experience three stages with declining drift velocities in each of solar cycles 22 and 23, and it seems that the drift velocity is faster in shorter solar cycles. Most filaments in latitudes lower (higher) than 50{\deg} migrate toward the equator (polar region). The N-S asymmetry indices indicate that the southern hemisphere is the dominant hemisphere in solar cycle 22 and the northern hemisphere is the dominant one in solar cycle 23.
In order to investigate the spatial distribution of the ICM temperature in galaxy clusters in a quantitative way and probe the physics behind, we analyze the X-ray spectra of a sample of 50 galaxy clusters, which were observed with the Chandra ACIS instrument in the past 15 years, and measure the radial temperature profiles out to $0.45r_{500}$. We construct a physical model that takes into account the effects of gravitational heating, thermal history (such as radiative cooling, AGN feedback, and thermal conduction) and work done via gas compression, and use it to fit the observed temperature profiles by running Bayesian regressions. The results show that in all cases our model provides an acceptable fit at the 68% confidence level. To further validate this model we select nine clusters that have been observed with both Chandra (out to $\gtrsim 0.3r_{500}$) and Suzaku (out to $\gtrsim 1.5r_{500}$), fit their Chandra spectra with our model, and compare the extrapolation of the best-fits with the Suzaku measurements. We find that the model profiles agree with the Suzaku results very well in seven clusters. In the rest two clusters the difference between the model and observation is possibly caused by local thermal substructures. Our study also implies that for most of the clusters the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium is safe out to at least $0.5r_{500}$, and the non-gravitational interactions between dark matter and its luminous counterpart is consistent with zero.
The question of the origin of the recent acceleration of the Universes expansion is still pending. What is making the situation even worst, it is impossible to distinguish the vast majority of the proposed models of the dynamical dark energy and modified gravity from the $\Lambda CDM$ in view of recent geometrical and dynamical, observational data. On the other hand on scales much smaller than the present Hubble scale, there are differences in the growth of the matter perturbations for different modes of the perturbations in the $\Lambda CDM$. In the view of the new planned observations that will give insight into the perturbations of the dark sector this issue is being worth of further investigation. We analyze the evolution of the dark matter perturbations in the dynamical dark energy models with the singularities, such as the sudden future singularity and the finite scale factor singularity. We employ the Newtonian gauge formulation for derivation of the perturbation equations for the growth function. We abandon the sub-Hubble approximation, what leads to the scale dependent solutions for the perturbations. Treating the growth function as a scale dependent allows to differentiate the dynamical dark energy models with the singularities and the dynamical dark energy models and the $\Lambda CDM$. The new data constraining growth of the perturbations will be able to rule out the whole range of the values of the parameters allowed by the present data of the dynamical dark energy models with the sudden future singularity and the finite scale factor singularity.
In [1] a new method to measure the speed of light through Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) was introduced. Here, we describe in much more detail the theoretical basis of that method, its implementation, and give some newly updated results about its application to the forecast data. In particular, we will show that SKA will be able to detect a 1% variation (if any) in the speed of light at 3$\sigma$ level. Smaller signals will be hardly detected by already-planned future galaxy surveys, but we give indications about what sensitivity requirements should a survey ful?ll in order to be successful.
The Atacama B-Mode Search (ABS) instrument is a cryogenic ($\sim$10 K) crossed-Dragone telescope located at an elevation of 5190 m in the Atacama Desert in Chile that observed for three seasons between February 2012 and October 2014. ABS observed the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at large angular scales ($40<\ell<500$) to limit the B-mode polarization spectrum around the primordial B-mode peak from inflationary gravity waves at $\ell \sim100$. The ABS focal plane consists of 480 transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers. They are coupled to orthogonal polarizations from a planar ortho-mode transducer (OMT) and observe at 145 GHz. ABS employs an ambient-temperature, rapidly rotating half-wave plate (HWP) to mitigate systematic effects and move the signal band away from atmospheric $1/f$ noise, allowing for the recovery of large angular scales. We discuss how the signal at the second harmonic of the HWP rotation frequency can be used for data selection and for monitoring the detector responsivities.
We report results from a Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope search for
"associated" redshifted HI 21cm absorption from 24 active galactic nuclei
(AGNs), at $1.1 < z < 3.6$, selected from the Caltech-Jodrell Bank
Flat-spectrum (CJF) sample. 22 out of 23 sources with usable data showed no
evidence of absorption, with typical $3\sigma$ optical depth detection limits
of $\approx 0.01$ at a velocity resolution of $\approx 30$~km~s$^{-1}$. A
single tentative absorption detection was obtained at $z \approx 3.530$ towards
TXS0604+728. If confirmed, this would be the highest redshift at which HI 21cm
absorption has ever been detected.
Including 29 CJF sources with searches for redshifted HI 21cm absorption in
the literature, mostly at $z < 1$, we construct a sample of 52
uniformly-selected flat-spectrum sources. A Peto-Prentice two-sample test for
censored data finds (at $\approx 3\sigma$ significance) that the strength of HI
21cm absorption is weaker in the high-$z$ sample than in the low-$z$ sample,
this is the first statistically significant evidence for redshift evolution in
the strength of HI 21cm absorption in a uniformly selected AGN sample. However,
the two-sample test also finds that the HI 21cm absorption strength is higher
in AGNs with low ultraviolet or radio luminosities, at $\approx 3.4 \sigma$
significance. The fact that the higher-luminosity AGNs of the sample typically
lie at high redshifts implies that it is currently not possible to break the
degeneracy between AGN luminosity and redshift evolution as the primary cause
of the low HI 21cm opacities in high-redshift, high-luminosity active galactic
nuclei.
In this paper, we present a catalogue of the spectra of bright stars observed during the sky survey using the Far-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (FIMS), which was designed primarily to observe diffuse emissions. By carefully eliminating the contamination from the diffuse background, we obtain the spectra of 70 bright stars observed for the first time with a spectral resolution of 2--3 {\AA} over the wavelength of 1370--1710 {\AA}. The far-ultraviolet spectra of an additional 139 stars are also extracted with a better spectral resolution and/or higher reliability than those of the previous observations. The stellar spectral type of the stars presented in the catalogue spans from O9 to A3. The method of spectral extraction of the bright stars is validated by comparing the spectra of 323 stars with those of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) observations.
We have surveyed 84 Class 0, Class I, and flat-spectrum protostars in
mid-infrared [Si II], [Fe II] and [S I] line emission, and 11 of these in
far-infrared [O I] emission. We use the results to derive their mass outflow
rates. Thereby we observe a strong correlation of mass outflow rates with
bolometric luminosity, and with the inferred mass accretion rates of the
central objects, which continues through the Class 0 range the trend observed
in Class II young stellar objects. Along this trend from large to small
mass-flow rates, the different classes of young stellar objects lie in the
sequence Class 0 -- Class I/flat-spectrum -- Class II, indicating that the
trend is an evolutionary sequence in which mass outflow and accretion rates
decrease together with increasing age, while maintaining rough proportionality.
The survey results include two which are key tests of magnetocentrifugal
outflow-acceleration mechanisms: the distribution of the outflow/accretion
branching ratio b, and limits on the distribution of outflow speeds. Neither
rule out any of the three leading outflow-acceleration,
angular-momentum-ejection mechanisms, but they provide some evidence that disk
winds and accretion-powered stellar winds (APSWs) operate in many protostars.
An upper edge observed in the branching-ratio distribution is consistent with
the upper bound of b = 0.6 found in models of APSWs, and a large fraction
(0.31) of the sample have branching ratio sufficiently small that only disk
winds, launched on scales as large as several AU, have been demonstrated to
account for them.
Studying the internal dynamics of stellar clusters is conducted primarily through N-Body simulations. One of the major inputs into N-Body simulations is the binary star frequency and mass distribution, which is currently constrained by relations derived from field binary stars. However to truly understand how clustered environments evolve, binary data from within star clusters is needed including masses. Detailed information on binaries masses, primary and secondary, in star clusters has been limited to date. The primary technique currently available has been radial velocity surveys that are limited in depth. Using previous two-band photometry-based studies that may cover different mass ranges produce potentially discrepant interpretations of the observed binary population. We introduce a new binary detection method, Binary INformation from Open Clusters Using SEDs (BINOCS) that covers the wide mass range needed to improve cluster N-body simulation inputs and comparisons. Using newly-observed multi-wavelength photometric catalogs (0.3 - 8 microns) of the key open clusters with a range of ages, we can show that the BINOCS method determines accurate binary component masses for unresolved cluster binaries through comparison to available RV-based studies. Using this method, we present results on the dynamical evolution of binaries from 0.4 - 2.5 solar masses within five prototypical clusters, spaning 30 Myr to 3.5 Gyr, and how the binary populations evolve as a function of mass.
We present the first detailed analysis of the East Cloud, a highly disrupted diffuse stellar substructure in the outer halo of M31. The core of the substructure lies at a projected distance of $\sim100$ kpc from the centre of M31 in the outer halo, with possible extensions reaching right into the inner halo. Using Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey photometry of red giant branch stars, we measure the distance, metallicity and brightness of the cloud. Using Hubble Space Telescope data, we independently measure the distance and metallicity to the two globular clusters coincident with the East Cloud core, PA-57 and PA-58, and find their distances to be consistent with the cloud. Four further globular clusters coincident with the substructure extensions are identified as potentially associated. Combining the analyses, we determine a distance to the cloud of $814^{+20}_{-9}$ kpc, a metallicity of $[Fe/H] = -1.2\pm0.1$, and a brightness of $M_V = -10.7\pm0.4$ mag. Even allowing for the inclusion of the potential extensions, this accounts for less than $20$ per cent of the progenitor luminosity implied by the luminosity-metallicity relation. Using the updated techniques developed for this analysis, we also refine our estimates of the distance and brightness of the South-West Cloud, a separate substructure analyzed in the previous work in this series.
The M101 galaxy contains the best-known example of an ultraluminous supersoft source (ULS), dominated by a thermal component at kT ~ 0.1 keV. The origin of the thermal component and the relation between ULSs and standard (broad-band spectrum) ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are still controversial. We re-examined the X-ray spectral and timing properties of the M101 ULS using archival Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. We show that the X-ray time-variability and spectral properties are inconsistent with standard disk emission. The characteristic radius R_{bb} of the thermal emitter varies from epoch to epoch between ~10,000 km and ~100,000 km; the colour temperature kT_{bb} varies between ~50 eV and ~140 eV; and the two quantities scale approximately as R_{bb} ~ T_{bb}^{-2}. In addition to the smooth continuum, we also find (at some epochs) spectral residuals well fitted with thermal plasma models and absorption edges: we interpret this as evidence that we are looking at a clumpy, multi-temperature outflow. We suggest that at sufficiently high accretion rates and inclination angles, the super-critical, radiatively driven outflow becomes effectively optically thick and completely thermalizes the harder X-ray photons from the inner part of the inflow, removing the hard spectral tail. We develop a simple, spherically symmetric outflow model and show that it is consistent with the observed temperatures, radii and luminosities. A larger, cooler photosphere shifts the emission peak into the far-UV and makes the source dimmer in X-rays but possibly ultraluminous in the UV. We compare our results and interpretation with those of Liu et al. (2013).
A search for dark matter was conducted with the XMASS detector by means of
the expected annual modulation due to the Earth's rotation around the Sun. The
data used for this analysis was 359.2 live days $\times$ 832 kg of exposure
accumulated between November 2013 and March 2015. The result of a simple
modulation analysis, without assuming any specific dark matter model, showed a
slight negative amplitude. As the $p$-values are 6.1 or 17\% in our two
independent analyses, these results are consistent with fluctuations. We also
set 90\% confidence level (C.L.) upper bounds that can be used to test models.
When we assume Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter
elastically scattering on the target nuclei, we exclude almost all the
DAMA/LIBRA allowed region with the modulation analysis. This is the first
extensive search probing this region with redan exposure comparable to theirs.
We re-process the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) long-baseline science verification data taken toward HL Tauri. As shown by the previous work, we confirm that the high spatial resolution (~ 0."019, corresponding to ~ 2.7 AU) dust continuum images at \lambda = 0.87, 1.3, and 2.9 mm exhibit a multiple ring-like gap structure in the circumstellar disk. Assuming that the observed gaps are opened up by currently forming, unseen bodies, we estimate the mass of such hypothetical bodies based on following two approaches; the Hill radius analysis and a more elaborated approach developed from the angular momentum transfer analysis in gas disks. For the former, the measured gap widths are used for calibrating the mass of the bodies, while for the latter, the measured gap depths are utilized. We show that their masses are likely comparable to or less than the mass of Jovian planets, and then discuss an origin of the observed gap structure. By evaluating Toomre's gravitational instability (GI) condition and cooling effect, we find that the GI might be a possible mechanism to form the bodies in the outer region of the disk. As the disk might be gravitationally unstable only in the outer region of the disk, inward planetary migration would be needed to construct the current architecture of the hypothetical bodies. We estimate the gap-opening mass and show that type II migration might be able to play such a role. Combining GIs with inward migration, we conjecture that all of the observed gaps may be a consequence of bodies that might have originally formed at the outer part of the disk, and have subsequently migrated to the current locations. While ALMA's unprecedented high spatial resolution observations can revolutionize our picture of planet formation, more dedicated observational and theoretical studies are needed in order to fully understand the HL Tau images.
Erosive collisions among planetary embryos in the inner solar system can lead to multiple remnant bodies, varied in mass, composition and residual velocity. Some of the smaller, unbound debris may become available to seed the main asteroid belt. The makeup of these collisionally produced bodies is different from the canonical chondritic composition, in terms of rock/iron ratio and may contain further shock-processed material. Having some of the material in the asteroid belt owe its origin from collisions of larger planetary bodies may help in explaining some of the diversity and oddities in composition of different asteroid groups.
Using the Tully-Fisher relation, we derive peculiar velocities for the 2MASS Tully-Fisher Survey and describe the velocity field of the nearby Universe. We use adaptive kernel smoothing to map the velocity field, and compare it to reconstructions based on the redshift space galaxy distributions of the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) and the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift Survey (PSCz). With a standard $\chi^2$ minimization fit to the models, we find that the PSCz model provides a better fit to the 2MTF velocity field data than does the 2MRS model, and provides a value of $\beta$ in greater agreement with literature values. However, when we subtract away the monopole deviation in the velocity zeropoint between data and model, the 2MRS model also produces a value of $\beta$ in agreement with literature values. We also calculate the `residual bulk flow': the component of the bulk flow not accounted for by the models. This is $\sim 250$ km/s when performing the standard fit, but drops to $\sim 150$ km/s for both models when the aforementioned monopole offset between data and models is removed. This smaller number is more in line with theoretical expectations, and suggests that the models largely account for the major structures in the nearby Universe responsible for the bulk velocity.
We explore the orbital dynamics of a realistic three dimensional model describing the properties of a disk galaxy with a spherically symmetric central dense nucleus and a triaxial dark matter halo component. Regions of phase space with regular and chaotic motion are identified depending on the parameter values for triaxiality of the dark matter halo and for breaking the rotational symmetry. The four dimensional Poincar\'e map of the three degrees of freedom system is analyzed by a study of its restriction to various two dimensional invariant subsets of its domain.
The partially deuterated linear isomer HDCCC of the ubiquitous cyclic carbene ($c$-C$_3$H$_2$) was observed in the starless cores TMC-1C and L1544 at 96.9 GHz, and a confirming line was observed in TMC-1 at 19.38 GHz. To aid the identification in these narrow line sources, four centimetre-wave rotational transitions (two in the previously reported $K_a =0$ ladder, and two new ones in the $K_a =1$ ladder), and 23 transitions in the millimetre band between 96 and 272 GHz were measured in high-resolution laboratory spectra. Nine spectroscopic constants in a standard asymmetric top Hamiltonian allow the principal transitions of astronomical interest in the $K_a \le 3$ rotational ladders to be calculated to within 0.1 km s$^{-1}$ in radial velocity up to 400 GHz. Conclusive evidence for the identification of the two astronomical lines of HDCCC was provided by the $V_{\rm{LSR}}$ which is the same as that of the normal isotopic species (H$_2$CCC) in the three narrow line sources. In these sources, deuterium fractionation in singly substituted H$_2$CCC (HDCCC/H$_2$CCC $\sim4\%\text{-}19\%$) is comparable to that in $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ ($c$-C$_3$H$_2$/$c$-C$_3$HD $\sim5\%\text{-}17\%$), and similarly in doubly deuterated $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ ($c$-C$_3$D$_2$/$c$-C$_3$HD $\sim3\%\text{-}17\%$), implying that the efficiency of the deuteration processes in the H$_2$CCC and $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ isomers are comparable in dark clouds.
We study three high magnification microlensing events, generally recognized as probable caustic crossings, in the optical light curves of the multiply imaged quasar Q 2237+0305. We model the light curve of each event as the convolution of a standard thin disk luminosity profile with a straight fold caustic. We also allow for a linear gradient that can account for an additional varying background effect of microlensing. This model not only matches noticeably well the global shape of each of the three independent microlensing events but also gives remarkably similar estimates for the disk size parameter. The measured average half-light radius, $R_{1/2}=(3.0\pm 1.5)\sqrt{M/0.3M\odot}$ light-days, agrees with previous estimates. In the three events, the core of the magnification profile exhibits "fine structure" related to the innermost region of the accretion disk (located at a radial distance of $2.7\pm 1.4$ Schwarzschild radii according to our measurement). Relativistic beaming at the internal rim of the accretion disk can explain the shape and size of the fine structure, although alternative explanations are also possible. This is the first direct measurement of the size of a structure, likely the innermost stable circular orbit, at $\sim 3$ Schwarzschild radii in a quasar accretion disk. The monitoring of thousands of lensed quasars with future telescopes will allow the study of the event horizon environment of black holes in hundreds of quasars in a wide range of redshifts $(0.5<z<5)$.
We compare the mass and internal distribution of atomic hydrogen (HI) in 2200 present-day central galaxies with M_star > 10^10 M_Sun from the 100 Mpc EAGLE Reference simulation to observational data. Atomic hydrogen fractions are corrected for self-shielding using a fitting formula from radiative transfer simulations and for the presence of molecular hydrogen using an empirical or a theoretical prescription from the literature. The resulting neutral hydrogen fractions, M_(HI+H2)/M_star, agree with observations to better than 0.1 dex for galaxies with M_star between 10^10 and 10^11 M_Sun. Our fiducial, empirical H2 model based on gas pressure results in galactic HI mass fractions, M_HI/M_star, that agree with observations from the GASS survey to better than 0.3 dex, but the alternative theoretical H2 formula leads to a negative offset in M_HI/M_star of up to 0.5 dex. Visual inspection reveals that most HI disks in simulated HI-rich galaxies are vertically disturbed, plausibly due to recent accretion events. Many galaxies (up to 80 per cent) contain spuriously large HI holes, which are likely formed as a consequence of the feedback implementation in EAGLE. The HI mass-size relation of all simulated galaxies is close to (but 16 per cent steeper than) observed, and when only galaxies without large holes in the HI disc are considered, the agreement becomes excellent (better than 0.1 dex). The presence of large HI holes also makes the radial HI surface density profiles somewhat too low in the centre, at \Sigma_HI > 1 M_Sun pc^-2 (by a factor of <~ 2 compared to data from the Bluedisk survey). In the outer region (\Sigma_HI < 1 M_Sun pc^-2), the simulated profiles agree quantitatively with observations. Scaled by HI size, the simulated profiles of HI-rich (M_HI > 10^9.8 M_Sun) and control galaxies (10^9.1 M_Sun > M_HI > 10^9.8 M_Sun) follow each other closely, as observed. (Abridged)
M-dwarf stars are generally considered favourable for rocky planet detection. However, such planets may be subject to extreme conditions due to possible high stellar activity. The goal of this work is to determine the potential effect of stellar cosmic rays on key atmospheric species of Earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone of M-dwarf stars and show corresponding changes in the planetary spectra. We build upon the cosmic rays model scheme of Grenfell et al. (2012), who considered cosmic ray induced NOx production, by adding further cosmic ray induced production mechanisms (e.g. for HOx) and introducing primary protons of a wider energy range (16 MeV - 0.5 TeV). Previous studies suggested that planets in the habitable zone that are subject to strong flaring conditions have high atmospheric methane concentrations, while their ozone biosignature is completely destroyed. Our current study shows, however, that adding cosmic ray induced HOx production can cause a decrease in atmospheric methane abundance of up to 80\%. Furthermore, the cosmic ray induced HOx molecules react with NOx to produce HNO$_3$, which produces strong HNO$_3$ signals in the theoretical spectra and reduces NOx-induced catalytic destruction of ozone so that more than 25\% of the ozone column remains. Hence, an ozone signal remains visible in the theoretical spectrum (albeit with a weaker intensity) when incorporating the new cosmic ray induced NOx and HOx schemes, even for a constantly flaring M-star case. We also find that HNO$_3$ levels may be high enough to be potentially detectable. Since ozone concentrations, which act as the key shield against harmful UV radiation, are affected by cosmic rays via NOx-induced catalytic destruction of ozone, the impact of stellar cosmic rays on surface UV fluxes is also studied.
Radial velocity measurements, $BVR_C$ photometry, and high-resolution spectroscopy in the wavelength region from blue to near infrared are employed in order to clarify the evolutionary status of the carbon-enhanced metal-poor star HD112869 with unique ratio of carbon isotopes in the atmosphere. An LTE abundance analysis was carried out using the method of spectral synthesis and new self consistent 1D atmospheric models. The radial velocity monitoring confirmed semiregular variations with a peak-to-peak amplitude of about 10 km $s^{-1}$ and a dominating period of about 115 days. The light, color and radial velocity variations are typical of the evolved pulsating stars. The atmosphere of HD112869 appears to be less metal-poor than reported before, [Fe/H] = -2.3 $\pm$0.2 dex. Carbon to oxygen and carbon isotope ratios are found to be extremely high, C/O $\simeq$ 12.6 and $^{12}C/^{13}C \gtrsim$ 1500, respectively. The s-process elements yttrium and barium are not enhanced, but neodymium appears to be overabundant. The magnesium abundance seems to be lower than the average found for CEMP stars, [Mg/Fe] < +0.4 dex. HD112869 could be a single low mass halo star in the stage of asymptotic giant branch evolution
Boulders, rocks and regolith on fast rotating asteroids (<2.5 hours) are modeled to slide towards the equator due to a strong centrifugal force and a low cohesion force. As a result, regions of fresh subsurface material can be exposed. Therefore, we searched for color variation on small and fast rotating asteroids. We describe a novel technique in which the asteroid is simultaneously observed in the visible and near-IR wavelength range. In this technique, brightness changes due to atmospheric extinction effects can be calibrated across the visible and near-IR images. We use V- and J-band filters since the distinction in color between weathered and unweathered surfaces on ordinary chondrite-like bodies is most prominent at these wavelengths and can reach ~25%. To test our method, we observed 3 asteroids with Cerro Tololo's 1.3 m telescope. We find ~5% variation of the mean V-J color, but do not find any clearly repeating color signature through multiple rotations. This suggests that no landslides occurred within the timescale of space weathering, or that Landslides occurred but the exposed patches are too small for the measurements' uncertainty.
Approximately 10-20% of Active Galactic Nuclei are known to eject powerful jets from the innermost regions. There is very little observational evidence if the jets are powered by spinning black holes and if the accretion disks extend to the innermost regions in radio-loud AGN. Here we study the soft X-ray excess, the hard X-ray spectrum and the optical/UV emission from the radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 0558-504 using Suzaku and Swift observations. The broadband X-ray continuum of PKS 0558- 504 consists of a soft X-ray excess emission below 2 keV that is well described by a blackbody (kTe ~ 0.13 keV) and high energy emission that is well described by a thermal Comptonisation (compps) model with kTe ~ 250 keV, optical depth {\tau} ~ 0.05 (spherical corona) or kTe ~ 90 keV, {\tau} ~ 0.5 (slab corona). The Comptonising corona in PKS 0558-504 is likely hotter than in radio-quiet Seyferts such as IC 4329A and Swift J2127.4+5654. The observed soft X-ray excess can be modelled as blurred reflection from an ionised accretion disk or optically thick thermal Comptonisation in a low temperature plasma. Both the soft X-ray excess emission when interpreted as the blurred reflection and the optical/UV to soft X-ray emission interpreted as intrinsic disk Comptonised emission implies spinning (a > 0.6) black hole. These results suggest that disk truncation at large radii and retrograde black hole spin both are unlikely to be the necessary conditions for launching the jets.
Carbon monoxide is a simple molecule present in many astrophysical environments, and collisional excitation rate coefficients due to the dominant collision partners are necessary to accurately predict spectral line intensities and extract astrophysical parameters. We report new quantum scattering calculations for rotational deexcitation transitions of CO induced by H using the three-dimensional potential energy surface~(PES) of Song et al. (2015). State-to-state cross sections for collision energies from 10$^{-5}$ to 15,000~cm$^{-1}$ and rate coefficients for temperatures ranging from 1 to 3000~K are obtained for CO($v=0$, $j$) deexcitation from $j=1-45$ to all lower $j'$ levels, where $j$ is the rotational quantum number. Close-coupling and coupled-states calculations were performed in full-dimension for $j$=1-5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 while scaling approaches were used to estimate rate coefficients for all other intermediate rotational states. The current rate coefficients are compared with previous scattering results using earlier PESs. Astrophysical applications of the current results are briefly discussed.
A significant fraction of main sequence stars observed interferometrically in the near infrared have slightly extended components that have been attributed to very hot dust. To match the spectrum appears to require the presence of large numbers of very small (< 200 nm in radius) dust grains. However, particularly for the hotter stars, it has been unclear how such grains can be retained close to the star against radiation pressure force. We find that the expected weak stellar magnetic fields are sufficient to trap nm-sized dust grains in epicyclic orbits for a few weeks or longer, sufficient to account for the hot excess emission. Our models provide a natural explanation for the requirement that the hot excess dust grains be smaller than 200 nm. They also suggest that magnetic trapping is more effective for rapidly rotating stars, consistent with the average vsini measurements of stars with hot excesses being larger (at about 2 sigma) than those for stars without such excesses.
The presence of numerous complex organic molecules (COMs; defined as those containing six or more atoms) around protostars shows that star formation is accompanied by an increase of molecular complexity. These COMs may be part of the material from which planetesimals and, ultimately, planets formed. Comets represent some of the oldest and most primitive material in the solar system, including ices, and are thus our best window into the volatile composition of the solar protoplanetary disk. Molecules identified to be present in cometary ices include water, simple hydrocarbons, oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen-bearing species, as well as a few COMs, such as ethylene glycol and glycine. We report the detection of 21 molecules in comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy), including the first identification of ethyl alcohol (ethanol, C2H5OH) and the simplest monosaccharide sugar glycolaldehyde (CH2OHCHO) in a comet. The abundances of ethanol and glycolaldehyde, respectively 5 and 0.8% relative to methanol (0.12 and 0.02% relative to water), are somewhat higher than the values measured in solar- type protostars. Overall, the high abundance of COMs in cometary ices supports the formation through grain-surface reactions in the solar system protoplanetary disk.
We present a sample of 38 intervening Damped Lyman $\alpha$ (DLA) systems identified towards 100 $z>3.5$ quasars, observed during the XQ-100 survey. The XQ-100 DLA sample is combined with major DLA surveys in the literature. The final combined sample consists of 742 DLAs over a redshift range approximately $1.6 < z_{\rm abs} < 5.0$. We develop a novel technique for computing $\Omega_{\rm HI}^{\rm DLA}$ as a continuous function of redshift, and we thoroughly assess and quantify the sources of error therein, including fitting errors and incomplete sampling of the high column density end of the column density distribution function. There is a statistically significant redshift evolution in $\Omega_{\rm HI}^{\rm DLA}$ ($\geq 3 \sigma$) from $z \sim 2$ to $z \sim$ 5. In order to make a complete assessment of the redshift evolution of $\Omega_{\rm HI}$, we combine our high redshift DLA sample with absorption surveys at intermediate redshift and 21cm emission line surveys of the local universe. Although $\Omega_{\rm HI}^{\rm DLA}$, and hence its redshift evolution, remains uncertain in the intermediate redshift regime ($0.1 < z_{\rm abs} < 1.6$), we find that the combination of high redshift data with 21cm surveys of the local universe all yield a statistically significant evolution in $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ from $z \sim 0$ to $z \sim 5$ ($\geq 3 \sigma$). Despite its statistical significance, the magnitude of the evolution is small: a linear regression fit between $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ and $z$ yields a typical slope of $\sim$0.17$\times 10^{-3}$, corresponding to a factor of $\sim$ 4 decrease in $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ between $z=5$ and $z=0$.
We show that the self-similarity property of decaying turbulent non-helical magnetic fields is the same in all dimensions. It is shown that these fields produce an inverse transfer in all dimensions. It is also shown that this phenomenon in a certain gauge can be assigned to a time independent value of the squared vector potential. This mechanism is similar to what happens in the well known inverse cascade in two dimensional magnetohydrodynamics.
A search for cosmic neutrino point-like sources using the ANTARES and IceCube neutrino telescopes over the Southern Hemisphere is presented. The ANTARES data was collected between January 2007 and December 2012, whereas the IceCube data ranges from April 2008 to May 2011. Clusters of muon neutrinos over the diffusely distributed background have been looked for by means of an unbinned maximum likelihood maximisation. This method is used to search for a localised excess of events over the whole Southern Sky assuming an $E^{-2}$ source spectrum. A search over a pre-selected list of candidate sources has also been carried out for different source assumptions: spectral indices of 2.0 and 2.5, and energy cutoffs of 1 PeV, 300 TeV and 100 TeV. No significant excess over the expected background has been found, and upper limits for the candidate sources are presented compared to the individual experiments.
We report the detection of a possible gamma-ray counterpart of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. The analysis of ~6 years of data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi-LAT) within a region of 15deg radius around the position of the pulsar reveals a point gamma-ray source detected at a significance of ~6 sigma (Test Statistic TS = 32), with position compatible with that of SAX J1808.4-3658 within 95% Confidence Level. The energy flux in the energy range between 0.6 GeV and 10 GeV amounts to (2.1 +- 0.5) x 10-12 erg cm-2 s-1 and the spectrum is well-represented by a power-law function with photon index 2.1 +- 0.1. We searched for significant variation of the flux at the spin frequency of the pulsar and for orbital modulation, taking into account the trials due to the uncertainties in the position, the orbital motion of the pulsar and the intrinsic evolution of the pulsar spin. No significant deviation from a constant flux at any time scale was found, preventing a firm identification via time variability. Nonetheless, the association of the LAT source as the gamma-ray counterpart of SAX J1808.4-3658 would match the emission expected from the millisecond pulsar, if it switches on as a rotation-powered source during X-ray quiescence.
Characterization of the minute cosmic microwave background polarization signature requires multi-frequency, high-throughput precision instrument systems. We have previously described the detector fabrication of a 40 GHz focal plane and now describe the fabrication of detector modules for measurement of the CMB at 90 GHz. The 90 GHz detectors are a scaled version of the 40 GHz architecture where, due to smaller size detectors, we have implemented a modular (wafer level) rather than the chip-level architecture. The new fabrication process utilizes the same design rules with the added challenge of increased wiring density to the 74 TES's as well as a new wafer level hybridization procedure. The hexagonally shaped modules are tile-able, and as such, can be used to form the large focal planes required for a space-based CMB polarimeter. The detectors described here will be deployed in two focal planes with 7 modules each in the Johns Hopkins University led ground-based Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) telescope.
Restricted three-body codes have a proven ability to recreate much of the disturbed morphology of actual interacting galaxies. As more sophisticated n-body models were developed and computer speed increased, restricted three-body codes fell out of favor. However, their supporting role for performing wide searches of parameter space when fitting orbits to real systems demonstrates a continuing need for their use. Here we present the model and algorithm used in the JSPAM code. A precursor of this code was originally described in 1990, and was called SPAM. We have recently updated the software with an alternate potential and a treatment of dynamical friction to more closely mimic the results from n-body tree codes. The code is released publicly for use under the terms of the Academic Free License (AFL) v.3.0 and has been added to the Astrophysics Source Code Library.
Magnetized plasmas traversed by linearly polarized light will reveal their presence by the frequency dependent Faraday rotation of the angle of polarization. The regions surrounding the black holes powering the jets in AGNs are expected to have dense magnetized plasmas, possibly giving rise to very large Faraday rotations. Compact steep spectrum (CSS) sources are good candidates to search for very large Faraday rotated components as they contain compact emission from close to the black hole and many are strongly depolarized at centimeter wavelengths as expected from strong Faraday effects. We present data on several CSS sources (3C48, 3C138 and 3C147) observed with the VLA at frequencies between 20 and 48 GHz in the most extended configuration. Large, but not excessive rotation measures are reported.
Shocks are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium of galaxies, where they contribute to the energetic balance and to the cycle of matter, and where they are thought to be the primary sites for cosmic rays acceleration. Most of the time: in jets and outflows, supernova remnants, or colliding flows, they are linked with star formation. The study of shocks is hence a powerful tool to probe the evolution of the interstellar medium and to better understand star formation. To these aims, the most precise observations must be compared with the most precise models of shocks. The SOFIA/GREAT instrument represents a powerful observational tool to support our progresses, as it allows to observe numerous shock tracers in the far-infrared range.
Sensitive 21cm HI observations have been made with the Green Bank Telescope toward the newly-discovered Local Group dwarf galaxy Hydra II, which may lie within the leading arm of the Magellanic Stream. No neutral hydrogen was detected. Our 5-sigma limit of MHI < 210 solar masses for a 15 km/s linewidth gives a gas-to-luminosity ratio MHI/L_V < 2.6 x 10^{-2} Mo / Lo. The limits on HI mass and MHI/L_V are typical of dwarf galaxies found within a few hundred kpc of the Milky Way. Whatever the origin of Hydra II, its neutral gas properties are not unusual.
In this talk, we discuss the formation of the near-ultraviolet and optical continuum emission in M dwarf flares through the formation of a dense, heated chromospheric condensation. Results are used from a recent radiative-hydrodynamic model of the response of an M dwarf atmosphere to a high energy flux of nonthermal electrons. These models are used to infer the charge density and optical depth in continuum emitting flare layers from spectra covering the Balmer jump and optical wavelength regimes. Future modeling and observational directions are discussed.
Ionising feedback from massive stars dramatically affects the interstellar medium local to star forming regions. Numerical simulations are now starting to include enough complexity to produce morphologies and gas properties that are not too dissimilar from observations. The comparison between the density fields produced by hydrodynamical simulations and observations at given wavelengths relies however on photoionisation/chemistry and radiative transfer calculations. We present here an implementation of Monte Carlo radiation transport through a Voronoi tessellation in the photoionisation and dust radiative transfer code MOCASSIN. We show for the first time a synthetic spectrum and synthetic emission line maps of an hydrodynamical simulation of a molecular cloud affected by massive stellar feedback. We show that the approach on which previous work is based, which remapped hydrodynamical density fields onto Cartesian grids before performing radiative transfer/photoionisation calculations, results in significant errors in the temperature and ionisation structure of the region. Furthermore, we describe the mathematical process of tracing photon energy packets through a Voronoi tessellation, including optimisations, treating problematic cases and boundary conditions. We perform various benchmarks using both the original version of MOCASSIN and the modified version using the Voronoi tessellation. We show that for uniform grids, or equivalently a cubic lattice of cell generating points, the new Voronoi version gives the same results as the original Cartesian-grid version of MOCASSIN for all benchmarks. For non-uniform initial conditions, such as using snapshots from Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations, we show that the Voronoi version performs better than the Cartesian grid version, resulting in much better resolution in dense regions.
We present an improved and extended analysis of the cross-correlation between the map of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) lensing potential derived from the Planck mission data and the high-redshift galaxies detected by the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) in the photometric redshift range $z_{\rm ph} \ge 1.5$. We compare the results based on the 2013 and 2015 Planck datasets, and investigate the impact of different selections of the H-ATLAS galaxy samples. Significant improvements over our previous analysis have been achieved thanks to the higher signal-to-noise ratio of the new CMB lensing map recently released by the Planck collaboration. The effective galaxy bias parameter, $b$, for the full galaxy sample, derived from a joint analysis of the cross-power spectrum and of the galaxy auto-power spectrum is found to be $b = 3.54^{+0.15}_{-0.14}$. Furthermore, a first tomographic analysis of the cross-correlation signal is implemented, by splitting the galaxy sample into two redshift intervals: $1.5 \le z_{\rm ph} < 2.1$ and $z_{\rm ph}\ge 2.1$. A statistically significant signal was found for both bins, indicating a substantial increase with redshift of the bias parameter: $b=2.89\pm0.23$ for the lower and $b=4.75^{+0.24}_{-0.25}$ for the higher redshift bin. Consistently with our previous analysis we find that the amplitude of the cross correlation signal is a factor of $1.45^{+0.14}_{-0.13}$ higher than expected from the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. The robustness of our results against possible systematic effects has been extensively discussed although the tension is mitigated by passing from 4 to 3$\sigma$.
We suggest a method for probing global properties of clump populations in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) in the case where these act as X-ray reflection nebulae (XRNe), based on the study of the clumping's overall effect on the reflected X-ray signal, in particular on the Fe K-alpha line's shoulder. We consider the particular case of Sgr B2, one of the brightest and most massive XRN in our Galaxy. We parametrise the gas distribution inside the cloud using a simple clumping model, with the slope of the clump mass function (alpha), the minimum clump mass (m_{min}), the fraction of the cloud's mass contained in clumps (f_{DGMF}), and the mass-size relation of individual clumps as free parameters, and investigate how these affect the reflected X-ray spectrum. In the case of very dense clumps, similar to those presently observed in Sgr B2, these occupy a small volume of the cloud and present a small projected area to the incoming X-ray radiation. We find that these contribute negligibly to the scattered X-rays. Clump populations with volume filling factors of > 10^{-3}, do leave observational signatures, that are sensitive to the clump model parameters, in the reflected spectrum and polarisation. Future high-resolution X-ray observations could therefore complement the traditional optical and radio observations of these GMCs, and prove to be a powerful probe in the study of their internal structure. Finally, clumps in GMCs should be visible both as bright spots and regions of heavy absorption in high resolution X-ray observations. We therefore further study the time-evolution of the X-ray morphology, under illumination by a transient source, as a probe of the 3d distribution and column density of individual clumps by future X-ray observatories.
We have recently published observations of significant flux density variations at 1.3 cm in HII regions in the star forming regions Sgr B2 Main and North (De Pree et al. 2014). To further study these variations, we have made new 7 mm continuum and recombination line observations of Sgr B2 at the highest possible angular resolution of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We have observed Sgr B2 Main and North at 42.9 GHz and at 45.4 GHz in the BnA configuration (Main) and the A configuration (North). We compare these new data to archival VLA 7 mm continuum data of Sgr B2 Main observed in 2003 and Sgr B2 North observed in 2001. We find that one of the 41 known ultracompact and hypercompact HII regions in Sgr B2 (K2-North) has decreased $\sim$27% in flux density from 142$\pm$14 mJy to 103$\pm$10 mJy (2.3$\sigma$) between 2001 and 2012. A second source, F3c-Main has increased $\sim$30% in flux density from 82$\pm$8 mJy to 107 $\pm$11 mJy (1.8$\sigma$) between 2003 and 2012. F3c-Main was previously observed to increase in flux density at 1.3 cm over a longer time period between 1989 and 2012 (De Pree et al. 2014). An observation of decreasing flux density, such as that observed in K2-North, is particularly significant since such a change is not predicted by the classical hypothesis of steady expansion of HII regions during massive star accretion. Our new observations at 7 mm, along with others in the literature, suggest that the formation of massive stars occurs through time-variable and violent accretion.
We revisit the most general theory for a massive vector field with derivative self-interactions, extending previous works on the subject to account for terms having trivial total derivative interactions for the longitudinal mode. In the flat spacetime (Minkowski) case, we obtain all the possible terms containing products of up to five first-order derivatives of the vector field, and provide a conjecture about higher-order terms. Rendering the metric dynamical, we covariantize the results and add all possible terms implying curvature.
Elliptic partial differential equations (ePDEs) appear in a wide variety of areas of mathematics, physics and engineering. Typically, ePDEs must be solved numerically, which sets an ever growing demand for efficient and highly parallel algorithms to tackle their computational solution. The Scheduled Relaxation Jacobi (SRJ) is a promising class of methods, atypical for combining simplicity and efficiency, that has been recently introduced for solving linear Poisson-like ePDEs. The SRJ methodology relies on computing the appropriate parameters of a multilevel approach with the goal of minimizing the number of iterations needed to cut down the residuals below specified tolerances. The efficiency in the reduction of the residual increases with the number of levels employed in the algorithm. Applying the original methodology to compute the algorithm parameters with more than 5 levels notably hinders obtaining optimal SRJ schemes, as the mixed (non-linear) algebraic-differential equations from which they result become notably stiff. Here we present a new methodology for obtaining the parameters of SRJ schemes that overcomes the limitations of the original algorithm and provide parameters for SRJ schemes with up to 15 levels and resolutions of up to $2^{15}$ points per dimension, allowing for acceleration factors larger than several hundreds with respect to the Jacobi method for typical resolutions and, in some high resolution cases, close to 1000. Furthermore, we extend the original algorithm to apply it to certain systems of non-linear ePDEs.
We propose a new Dark Energy parametrization based on the dynamics of a scalar field. We use an equation of state w=(x-1)/(x+1), with x=E_k/V, the ratio of kinetic energy E_k=\dotphi^2/2 and potential V. The equation of motion gives x=(L/6)(V/3H^2) and has a solution x=([(1+y)^2+2 L/3]^{1/2}-(1+y))/2 where y\equiv \rmm/V and L= (V'/V)^2 (1+q)^2, q=\ddotphi/V'. The resulting EoS is w=[6+ L- 6 \sqrt((1+y)^2+2L/3)]/(L+6y). Since the universe is accelerating at present time we use the slow roll approximation in which case we have |q|<< 1 and L\simeq (V'/V)^2. However, the derivation of w is exact and has no approximation. By choosing an appropriate ansatz for L we obtain a wide class of behavior for the evolution of Dark Energy without the need to specify the potential V. The EoS w can either grow and later decrease, or other way around, as a function of redshift and it is constraint between -1\leq w\leq 1 as for any canonical scalar field with only gravitational interaction. To determine the dynamics of Dark Energy we calculate the background evolution and its perturbations, since they are important to discriminate between different DE models. Our parametrization follows closely the dynamics of a scalar field scalar fields and the function L allow us to connect it with the potential V(phi) of the scalar field phi.
We present a comprehensive study of a model where the dark matter is composed of a singlet real scalar that couples to the Standard Model predominantly via a Yukawa interaction with a light quark and a colored vector-like fermion. A distinctive feature of this scenario is that thermal freeze-out in the early universe may be driven by annihilation both into gluon pairs at one-loop ($gg$) and by virtual internal Bremsstrahlung of a gluon ($q \bar{q} g$). Such a dark matter candidate may also be tested through direct and indirect detection and at the LHC; viable candidates have either a mass nearly degenerate with that of the fermionic mediator or a mass above about 2 TeV.
First order phase transitions in the early Universe generate gravitational waves, which may be observable in future space-based gravitational wave observatiories, e.g. the European eLISA satellite constellation. The gravitational waves provide an unprecedented direct view of the Universe at the time of their creation. We study the generation of the gravitational waves during a first order phase transition using large-scale simulations of a model consisting of relativistic fluid and an order parameter field. We observe that the dominant source of gravitational waves is the sound generated by the transition, resulting in considerably stronger radiation than earlier calculations have indicated.
We study mimetic $F(R)$ gravity with potential and Lagrange multiplier constraint. In the context of these theories, we introduce a reconstruction technique which enables us to realize arbitrary cosmologies, given the Hubble rate and an arbitrarily chosen $F(R)$ gravity. We exemplify our method by realizing cosmologies that are in concordance with current observations (Planck data) and also well known bouncing cosmologies. The attribute of our method is that the $F(R)$ gravity can be arbitrarily chosen, so we can have the appealing features of the mimetic approach combined with the known features of some $F(R)$ gravities, which unify early-time with late-time acceleration. Moreover, we study the existence and the stability of de Sitter points in the context of mimetic $F(R)$ gravity. In the case of unstable de Sitter points, it is demonstrated that graceful exit from inflation occurs. We also study the Einstein frame counterpart theory of the Jordan frame mimetic $F(R)$ gravity, we discuss the general properties of the theory and exemplify our analysis by studying a quite interesting from a phenomenological point of view, model with two scalar fields. We also calculate the observational indices of the two scalar field model, by using the two scalar field formalism. Furthermore, we extensively study the dynamical system that corresponds to the mimetic $F(R)$ gravity, by finding the fixed points and studying their stability. Finally, we modify our reconstruction method to function in the inverse way and thus yielding which $F(R)$ gravity can realize a specific cosmological evolution, given the mimetic potential and the Lagrange multiplier.
We present a new version of conservative ADER-WENO finite volume schemes, in which both the high order spatial reconstruction as well as the time evolution of the reconstruction polynomials in the local space-time predictor stage are performed in primitive variables, rather than in conserved ones. Since the underlying finite volume scheme is still written in terms of cell averages of the conserved quantities, our new approach performs the spatial WENO reconstruction twice: the first WENO reconstruction is carried out on the known cell averages of the conservative variables. The WENO polynomials are then used at the cell centers to compute point values of the conserved variables, which are converted into point values of the primitive variables. A second WENO reconstruction is performed on the point values of the primitive variables to obtain piecewise high order reconstruction polynomials of the primitive variables. The reconstruction polynomials are subsequently evolved in time with a novel space-time finite element predictor that is directly applied to the governing PDE written in primitive form. We have verified the validity of the new approach over the classical Euler equations of gas dynamics, the special relativistic hydrodynamics (RHD) and ideal magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) equations, as well as the Baer-Nunziato model for compressible two-phase flows. In all cases we have noticed that the new ADER schemes provide less oscillatory solutions when compared to ADER finite volume schemes based on the reconstruction in conserved variables, especially for the RMHD and the Baer-Nunziato equations. For the RHD and RMHD equations, the accuracy is improved and the CPU time is reduced by about 25%. We recommend to use this version of ADER as the standard one in the relativistic framework. The new approach can be extended to ADER-DG schemes on space-time adaptive grids.
General Relativity extended through a dynamical scalar quartet is proposed as a theory of the scalar-vector-tensor gravity, generically describing the unified gravitational dark matter (DM) and dark energy (DE). The implementation in the weak-field limit of the Higgs mechanism for the gravity, with a redefinition of metric field, is exposed in a generally covariant form. Under a natural restriction on parameters, the redefined theory possesses in the linearized approximation by a residual transverse-diffeomorphism invariance, and consistently comprises the massless tensor graviton and a massive scalar one as a DM particle. A number of the adjustable parameters in the full nonlinear theory and a partial decoupling of the latter from its weak-field limit noticeably extend the perspectives for the unified description of the gravity DM and DE in the various phenomena at the different scales.
Relic gravitational waves (RGWs) , a background originated during inflation, would give imprints on the pulsar timing residuals. This makes RGWs be one of important sources for detection using the method of pulsar timing. In this paper, we discuss the effects of RGWs on the single pulsar timing, and give quantitively the timing residuals caused by RGWs with different model parameters. In principle, if the RGWs are strong enough today, they can be detected by timing a single millisecond pulsar with high precision after the intrinsic red noise in pulsar timing residuals were understood, even though observing simultaneously multiple millisecond pulsars is a more powerful technique in extracting gravitational wave signals. We corrected the normalization of RGWs using observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which leads to the amplitudes of RGWs being reduced by two orders of magnitude or so compared to our previous works. We made new constraints on RGWs using the recent observations from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, employing the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r=0.2$ due to the tensor-type polarization observations of CMB by BICEP2 as a referenced value even though it has been denied. Moreover, the constraints on RGWs from CMB and BBN (Big Bang nucleosynthesis) will also be discussed for comparison.
We comment on the recent paper "Note on the perihelion/periastron advance due to cosmological constant" by H. Arakida (Int. J. Theor. Phys. 52 (2013) 1408-1414, arXiv:1212.6289) and provide simple derivations both of the main result of this paper and of the Adkins-McDonnell's precession formula, on which this main result is based.
The detection of particles with only gravitational interactions (Newtorites) in gravitational bar detectors was studied in 1984 by Bernard, De Rujula and Lautrup. The negative results of dark matter searches suggest to look to exotic possibilities like Newtorites. The limits obtained with the Nautilus bar detector will be presented and the possible improvements will be discussed. Since the gravitational coupling is very weak, the possible limits are very far from what is needed for dark matter, but for large masses are the best limits obtained on the Earth. An update of limits for MACRO particles will be given.
We explore the electron neutrino signals from light dark matter (DM) annihilation in the Sun for the large liquid scintillator detector JUNO. In terms of the spectrum features of three typical DM annihilation channels $\chi \chi \rightarrow \nu \bar{\nu},\tau^+ \tau^-, b \bar{b}$, we take two sets of selection conditions to calculate the expected signals and atmospheric neutrino backgrounds based on the Monte Carlo simulation data. Then the JUNO sensitivities to the spin independent DM-nucleon and spin dependent DM-proton cross sections are presented. It is found that JUNO has the better results than the current spin dependent direct detection experimental limits for all three channels. In the spin independent case, the JUNO can give the better sensitivities to the DM-nucleon cross section than the LUX and XENON100 limits for the $\tau^+ \tau^-$ and $\nu \bar{\nu}$ channels with the DM mass lighter than 6 GeV. If the $\nu \bar{\nu}$ or $\tau^+ \tau^-$ channel is dominant, the future JUNO results are very helpful for us to understand the tension between the DAMA annual modulation signal and other direct detection exclusions.
We study the Witten effect of hidden monopoles on the QCD axion dynamics, and show that its abundance as well as isocurvature perturbations can be significantly suppressed if there is a sufficient amount of hidden monopoles. When the hidden monopoles make up a significant fraction of dark matter, the Witten effect suppresses the abundance of axion with the decay constant smaller than $10^{12}$ GeV. The cosmological domain wall problem of the QCD axion can also be avoided, relaxing the upper bound on the decay constant when the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is spontaneously broken after inflation.
We examine the shadow of a rotating Kaluza-Klein black hole in Einstein gravity coupled to a Maxwell field and a dilaton. The size and the shape of the shadow depend on the mass, the charge, and the angular momentum of the compact object. For a given mass, the size increases with the rotation parameter and decreases with the electric charge. The distortion with respect to the non rotating case grows with the charge and the rotation parameter. For fixed values of these parameters, the shadow is slightly larger and less deformed than in the Kerr-Newman case.
We construct a three-dimensional, fully relativistic numerical model of a universe filled with an inhomogeneous pressureless fluid, starting from initial data that represent a perturbation of the Einstein-de~Sitter model. We then measure the departure of the average expansion rate with respect to this Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker reference model, comparing local quantities to the predictions of linear perturbation theory and of the averaging formalism. We find local deviations from the homogeneous expansion that can be as high as $15\%$ for an initial density contrast of $10^{-2}$. We also study, for the first time, the non-perturbative behavior of the backreaction term ${\cal Q}_{\cal D}$, measuring its sign and scaling during the evolution. We find that this term scales as the second-order perturbative prediction for small values of the initial perturbations, and that it becomes negative with a linearly-growing absolute value for larger perturbation amplitudes. Its magnitude, however, remains very small even for relatively large perturbations.
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In a real medium which has oscillations, the perturbations can cause the energy transfer between different modes. The perturbation interpreted as an interaction between the modes is inferred as mode coupling. Mode coupling process in an inhomogeneous medium such as solar spicules may lead to the coupling of kink waves to local Alfven waves. This coupling occurs practically in any conditions when there is smooth variation in density in the radial direction. This process is seen as the decay of transverse kink waves in the medium. To study the damping of kink waves due to mode coupling, a 2.5-dimensional numerical simulation of the initial wave is considered in spicules. The initial perturbation is assumed to be in a plane perpendicular to the spicule axis. The considered kink wave is a standing wave which shows an exponential damping in the inhomogeneous layer after occurrence of the mode coupling.
The processes leading to the birth of high-mass stars are poorly understood. We characterise here a sample of 430 massive clumps from the ATLASGAL survey, which are representative of different evolutionary stages. To establish a census of molecular tracers of their evolution we performed an unbiased spectral line survey covering the 3-mm atmospheric window between 84-117 GHz with the IRAM 30m. A smaller sample of 128 clumps has been observed in the SiO (5-4) transition with the APEX telescope to complement the SiO (2-1) line and probe the excitation conditions of the emitting gas, which is the main focus of the current study. We report a high detection rate of >75% of the SiO (2-1) line and a >90% detection rate from the dedicated follow-ups in the (5-4) transition. The SiO (2-1) line with broad line profiles and high detection rates, is a powerful probe of star formation activity, while the ubiquitous detection of SiO in all evolutionary stages suggests a continuous star formation process in massive clumps. We find a large fraction of infrared-quiet clumps to exhibit SiO emission, the majority of them only showing a low-velocity component (FWHM~5-6 km/s) centred at the rest velocity of the clump. In the current picture, where this is attributed to low-velocity shocks from cloud-cloud collisions, this can be used to pinpoint the youngest, thus, likely prestellar massive structures. Based on the line ratio of the (5-4) to the (2-1) line, our study reveals a trend of changing excitation conditions that lead to brighter emission in the (5-4) line towards more evolved sources. Our analysis delivers a more robust estimate of SiO column density and abundance than previous studies and questions the decrease of jet activity in massive clumps as a function of age.
To constrain the nature and fraction of the ionized gas outflows in AGNs, we perform a detailed analysis on gas kinematics as manifested by the velocity dispersion and shift of the OIII {\lambda}5007 emission line, using a large sample of ~39,000 type 2 AGNs at z<0.3. First, we confirm a broad correlation between OIII and stellar velocity dispersions, indicating that the bulge gravitational potential plays a main role in determining the OIII kinematics. However, OIII velocity dispersion is on average larger than stellar velocity dispersion by a factor of 1.3-1.4, suggesting that the non-gravitational component, i.e., outflows, is almost comparable to the gravitational component. Second, the increase of the OIII velocity dispersion (after normalized by stellar velocity dispersion) with both AGN luminosity and Eddington ratio suggests that non-gravitational kinematics are clearly linked to AGN accretion. The distribution in the OIII velocity - velocity dispersion diagram dramatically expands toward large values with increasing AGN luminosity, implying that the launching velocity of gas outflows increases with AGN luminosity. Third, the majority of luminous AGNs presents the non-gravitational kinematics in the OIII profile. These results suggest that ionized gas outflows are prevalent among type 2 AGNs. On the other hand, we find no strong trend of the OIII kinematics with radio luminosity, once we remove the effect of the bulge gravitational potential, indicating that ionized gas outflows are not directly related to radio activity for the majority of type 2 AGNs.
We explore the impact of cosmic rays (CRs) on cosmological adaptive-mesh refinement simulations of a forming 10^12 Msolar halo, focusing on the circumgalactic medium (CGM), and its resulting low-redshift structure and composition. In contrast to a run with star formation and energetic feedback but no CRs, the CR-inclusive runs feature a CGM substantially enriched with CRs and with metals to roughly 0.1 Zsolar, thanks to robust, persistent outflows from the disk. The CR-inclusive CGMs also feature more diffuse gas at lower temperatures, down to 10^4 K, than the non-CR run, with diffuse material often receiving a majority of its pressure support from the CR proton fluid. We compare to recent observations of the CGM of L ~ L* galaxies at low redshift, including UV absorption lines within background quasar spectra. The combination of metal-enriched, CR-driven winds and large swaths of CR pressure-supported, cooler diffuse gas leads to a CGM that provides a better match to data from COS-Halos (for HI, SiIV, CIII and OVI) than the non-CR run. We also compare our models to recent, preliminary observations of diffuse gamma-ray emission in local group halos. For our lower CR-diffusion runs with kappa_CR in the range 0.3 to 1 x 10^28 cm^2/s, the CR enriched CGM produces an inconsistently high level of gamma emission. But the model with a relatively high kappa_CR = 3 x 10^28 cm^2/s provided a gamma-ray luminosity consistent with the extra-galactic gamma-ray background observed by FERMI and roughly consistent with preliminary measures of the emission from M31's CGM.
We present a Hubble diagram of type II supernovae using corrected magnitudes derived only from photometry, with no input of spectral information. We use a data set from the Carnegie Supernovae Project I (CSP) for which optical and near-infrared light-curves were obtained. The apparent magnitude is corrected by two observables, one corresponding to the slope of the plateau in the $V$ band and the second a colour term. We obtain a dispersion of 0.44 mag using a combination of the $(V-i)$ colour and the $r$ band and we are able to reduce the dispersion to 0.39 mag using our golden sample. A comparison of our photometric colour method (PCM) with the standardised candle method (SCM) is also performed. The dispersion obtained for the SCM (which uses both photometric and spectroscopic information) is 0.29 mag which compares with 0.43 mag from the PCM, for the same SN sample. The construction of a photometric Hubble diagram is of high importance in the coming era of large photometric wide-field surveys, which will increase the detection rate of supernovae by orders of magnitude. Such numbers will prohibit spectroscopic follow-up in the vast majority of cases, and hence methods must be deployed which can proceed using solely photometric data.
We present new, tight, constraints on the cosmological background of gravitational waves (GWs) using the latest measurements of CMB temperature and polarization anisotropies provided by the Planck, BICEP2 and Keck Array experiments. These constraints are further improved when the GW contribution $N^{\rm GW}_{\rm eff}$ to the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom $N_{\rm eff}$ is also considered. Parametrizing the tensor spectrum as a power law with tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$, tilt $n_\mathrm{t}$ and pivot $0.01\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, and assuming a minimum value of $r=0.001$, we find $r < 0.089$, $n_\mathrm{t} = 1.7^{+2.1}_{-2.0}$ ($95\%\,\mathrm{CL}$, no $N^{\rm GW}_{\rm eff}$) and $r < 0.082$, $n_\mathrm{t} = -0.05^{+0.58}_{-0.87}$ ($95\%\,\mathrm{CL}$, with $N^{\rm GW}_{\rm eff}$). When the recently released $95\,\mathrm{GHz}$ data from Keck Array are added to the analysis, the constraints on $r$ are improved to $r < 0.067$ ($95\%\,\mathrm{CL}$, no $N^{\rm GW}_{\rm eff}$), $r < 0.061$ ($95\%\,\mathrm{CL}$, with $N^{\rm GW}_{\rm eff}$). We discuss the limits coming from direct detection experiments such as LIGO-Virgo, pulsar timing (European Pulsar Timing Array) and CMB spectral distortions (FIRAS). Finally, we show future constraints achievable from a COrE-like mission: if the tensor-to-scalar ratio is of order $10^{-2}$ and the inflationary consistency relation $n_\mathrm{t} = -r/8$ holds, COrE will be able to constrain $n_\mathrm{t}$ to $-0.002^{+0.160}_{-0.164}$ ($95\%\,\mathrm{CL}$). In the case that lensing $B$-modes can be subtracted to $10\%$ of their power, a feasible goal for COrE, these limits will be improved to $n_\mathrm{t}$ to $-0.002^{+0.107}_{-0.109}$ ($95\%\,\mathrm{CL}$).
(Abridged) Combining the deepest Herschel extragalactic surveys (PEP, GOODS-H, HerMES), and Monte Carlo mock catalogs, we explore the robustness of dust mass estimates based on modeling of broad band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with two popular approaches: Draine & Li (2007, DL07) and a modified black body (MBB). As long as the observed SED extends to at least 160-200 micron in the rest frame, M(dust) can be recovered with a >3 sigma significance and without the occurrence of systematics. An average offset of a factor ~1.5 exists between DL07- and MBB-based dust masses, based on consistent dust properties. At the depth of the deepest Herschel surveys (in the GOODS-S field) it is possible to retrieve dust masses with a S/N>=3 for galaxies on the main sequence of star formation (MS) down to M(stars)~1e10 [M(sun)] up to z~1. At higher redshift (z<=2) the same result is achieved only for objects at the tip of the MS or lying above it. Molecular gas masses, obtained converting M(dust) through the metallicity-dependent gas-to-dust ratio delta(GDR), are consistent with those based on the scaling of depletion time, and on CO spectroscopy. Focusing on CO-detected galaxies at z>1, the delta(GDR) dependence on metallicity is consistent with the local relation. We combine far-IR Herschel data and sub-mm ALMA expected fluxes to study the advantages of a full SED coverage.
Young, intermediate-mass stars are experiencing renewed interest as targets for direct-imaging planet searches. However, these types of stars are part of multiple systems more often than not. Close stellar companions affect the formation and orbital evolution of any planets, and the properties of the companions can help constrain the binary formation mechanism. Unfortunately, close companions are difficult and expensive to detect with imaging techniques. In this paper, we describe the direct spectral detection method wherein a high-resolution spectrum of the primary is cross-correlated against a template for a companion star. Variants of this method have previously been used to search for stellar, brown dwarf, and even planetary companions. We show that the direct spectral detection method can detect companions as late as M-type orbiting A0 or earlier primary stars in a single epoch on small-aperture telescopes. In addition to estimating the detection limits, we determine the sources of uncertainty in characterizing the companion temperature, and find that large systematic biases can exist. After calibrating the systematic biases with synthetic binary star observations, we apply the method to a sample of 34 known binary systems with an A- or B-type primary star. We detect nine total companions, including four of the five known companions with literature temperatures between $4000$ K $ < T < 6000$ K, the temperature range for which our method is optimized. We additionally characterize the companion for the first time in two previously single-lined binary systems and one binary identified with speckle interferometry. This method provides an inexpensive way to use small-aperture telescopes to detect binary companions with moderate mass-ratios, and is competitive with high-resolution imaging techniques inside $\sim 100-200$ mas.
ALMA Cycle 2 observations of the long wavelength dust emission in 145 star-forming galaxies are used to probe the evolution of star-forming ISM. We also develop the physical basis and empirical calibration (with 72 low-z and z ~ 2 galaxies) for using the dust continuum as a quantitative probe of interstellar medium (ISM) masses. The galaxies with highest star formation rates (SFRs) at <z> = 2.2 and 4.4 have gas masses up to 100 times that of the Milky Way and gas mass fractions reaching 50 to 80%, i.e. gas masses 1 - 4 times their stellar masses. We find a single high-z star formation law: SFR = 35 M_ mol^0.89 x (1+z)_{z=2}^0.95 x (sSFR)_{MS}^0.23 \msun yr^-1 -- an approximately linear dependence on the ISM mass and an increased star formation efficiency per unit gas mass at higher redshift. Galaxies above the Main Sequence (MS) have larger gas masses but are converting their ISM into stars on a timescale only slightly shorter than those on the MS -- thus these 'starbursts' are largely the result of having greatly increased gas masses rather than and increased efficiency for converting gas to stars. At z $> 1$, the entire population of star-forming galaxies has $\sim$ 2 - 5 times shorter gas depletion times than low-z galaxies. These shorter depletion times indicate a different mode of star formation in the early universe -- most likely dynamically driven by compressive, high-dispersion gas motions -- a natural consequence of the high gas accretion rates.
We report on the discovery of a z=1.58 mature cluster around the high-redshift radio galaxy 7C1753+6311, first identified in the Clusters Around Radio-Loud AGN survey. Two-thirds of the excess galaxies within the central 1Mpc lie on a red sequence with a colour that is consistent with an average formation redshift of zf~3. We show that 80+/-6% of the red sequence galaxies in the cluster core are quiescent, while the remaining 20% are red due to dusty star formation. We demonstrate that the cluster has an enhanced quiescent galaxy fraction that is three times that of the control field. We also show that this enhancement is mass dependent: 91+/-9% of the M* >10^{10.5}Msun cluster galaxies are quiescent, compared to only 36+/-2% of field galaxies, whereas the fraction of quiescent galaxies with lower masses is the same in the cluster and field environments. The presence of a dense core and a well-formed, quiescent red sequence suggest that this is a mature cluster. This means that distant radio galaxies do not solely reside in young, uncollapsed protoclusters, rather they can be found in clusters in a wide range of evolutionary states.
Stellar winds and supernova (SN) explosions of massive stars ("stellar feedback") create bubbles in the interstellar medium (ISM) and insert newly produced heavy elements and kinetic energy into their surroundings, possibly driving turbulence. Most of this energy is thermalized and immediately removed from the ISM by radiative cooling. The rest is available for driving ISM dynamics. In this work we estimate the amount of feedback energy retained as kinetic energy when the bubble walls have decelerated to the sound speed of the ambient medium. We show that the feedback of the most massive star outweighs the feedback from less massive stars. For a giant molecular cloud (GMC) mass of 1e5 solar masses (as e.g. found in the Orion GMCs) and a star formation efficiency of 8% the initial mass function predicts a most massive star of approximately 60 solar masses. For this stellar evolution model we test the dependence of the retained kinetic energy of the cold GMC gas on the inclusion of stellar winds. In our model winds insert 2.34 times the energy of a SN and create stellar wind bubbles serving as pressure reservoirs. We find that during the pressure driven phases of the bubble evolution radiative losses peak near the contact discontinuity (CD), and thus, the retained energy depends critically on the scales of the mixing processes across the CD. Taking into account the winds of massive stars increases the amount of kinetic energy deposited in the cold ISM from 0.1% to a few percent of the feedback energy.
The obliquity of a terrestrial planet is an important clue about its formation and critical to its climate. Previous studies using simulated photometry of Earth show that continuous observations over most of a planet's orbit can be inverted to infer obliquity. We extend this approach to single-epoch observations for planets with arbitrary albedo maps. For diffuse reflection, the flux seen by a distant observer is the product of the planet's albedo map, the host star's illumination, and the observer's visibility of different planet regions. It is useful to treat the product of illumination and visibility as the kernel of a convolution; this kernel is unimodal and symmetric. For planets with unknown obliquity, the kernel is not known a priori, but could be inferred by fitting a rotational light curve. We analyze this kernel under different viewing geometries, finding it well described by its longitudinal width and latitudinal position. We use Monte Carlo simulation to estimate uncertainties on these kernel characteristics from variations in a planet's apparent albedo. We demonstrate that the kernel properties are functions of obliquity and axial orientation, which may both be inferred even if planets are A) East-West uniform or spinning rapidly, or B) North-South uniform. We consider degeneracies in these inferences with a case study, and describe how to tell prograde from retrograde rotation for inclined, oblique planets. This approach could be used to estimate obliquities of terrestrial planets with modest time investment from flagship direct-imaging missions.
Hot Dust-Obscured Galaxies (Hot DOGs) are a population of hyper-luminous infrared galaxies identified by the WISE mission from their very red mid-IR colors, and characterized by hot dust temperatures ($T>60~\rm K$). Several studies have shown clear evidence that the IR emission in these objects is powered by a highly dust-obscured AGN that shows close to Compton-thick absorption at X-ray wavelengths. Thanks to the high AGN obscuration, the host galaxy is easily observable, and has UV/optical colors usually consistent with those of a normal galaxy. Here we discuss a sub-population of 8 Hot DOGs that show enhanced rest-frame UV/optical emission. We discuss three scenarios that might explain the excess UV emission: (i) unobscured light leaked from the AGN by reflection over the dust or by partial coverage of the accretion disk; (ii) a second unobscured AGN in the system; or (iii) a luminous young starburst. X-ray observations can help discriminate between these scenarios. We study in detail the blue excess Hot DOG WISE J020446.13-050640.8, which was serendipitously observed by Chandra/ACIS-I for 174.5 ks. The X-ray spectrum is consistent with a single, hyper-luminous, highly absorbed AGN, and is strongly inconsistent with the presence of a secondary unobscured AGN. Based on this, we argue that the excess blue emission in this object is most likely either due to reflection or a co-eval starburst. We favor the reflection scenario as the unobscured star-formation rate needed to power the UV/optical emission would be $\gtrsim 1000~\rm M_{\odot}~\rm yr^{-1}$. Deep polarimetry observations could confirm the reflection hypothesis.
The Virgo cluster is the largest Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) source in the sky, both in terms of angular size and total integrated flux. Planck's wide angular scale and frequency coverage, together with its high sensitivity, allow a detailed study of this large object through the SZ effect. Virgo is well resolved by Planck, showing an elongated structure, which correlates well with the morphology observed from X-rays, but extends beyond the observed X-ray signal. We find a good agreement between the SZ signal (or Compton paranmeter, y_c) observed by Planck and the expected signal inferred from X-ray observations and simple analytical models. Due to its proximity to us, the gas beyond the virial radius can be studied with unprecedented sensitivity by integrating the SZ signal over tens of square degrees. We study the signal in the outskirts of Virgo and compare it with analytical models and a constrained simulation of the environment of Virgo. Planck data suggest that significant amounts of low-density plasma surround Virgo out to twice the virial radius. We find the SZ signal in the outskirts of Virgo to be consistent with a simple model that extrapolates the inferred pressure at lower radii while assuming that the temperature stays in the keV range beyond the virial radius. The observed signal is also consistent with simulations and points to a shallow pressure profile in the outskirts of the cluster. This reservoir of gas at large radii can be linked with the hottest phase of the elusive warm/hot intergalactic medium. Taking the lack of symmetry of Virgo into account, we find that a prolate model is favoured by the combination of SZ and X-ray data, in agreement with predictions.
We carry out direct numerical simulations of turbulent astrophysical media exposed to the redshift zero metagalactic background. The simulations assume solar composition and explicitly track ionizations, recombinations, and ion-by-ion radiative cooling for hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, sodium, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, calcium, and iron. Each run reaches a global steady state that not only depends on the ionization parameter, $U,$ and mass-weighted average temperature, $T_{\rm MW},$ but also on the the one-dimensional turbulent velocity dispersion, \soned. We carry out runs that span a grid of models with $U$ ranging from 0 to 10$^{-1}$ and \soned\ ranging from 3.5 to 58 km s$^{-1}$, and we vary the product of the mean density and the driving scale of the turbulence, $nL,$ which determines the average temperature of the medium, from $nL =10^{16}$ to $nL =10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$. The turbulent Mach numbers of our simulations vary from $M \approx 0.5$ for the lowest velocity dispersions cases to $M \approx 20$ for the largest velocity dispersion cases. When $M \lesssim1,$ turbulent effects are minimal, and the species abundances are reasonably described as those of a uniform photoionized medium at a fixed temperature. On the other hand, when $M \gtrsim 1,$ dynamical simulations such as the ones carried out here are required to accurately predict the species abundances. We gather our results into a set of tables, to allow future redshift zero studies of the intergalactic medium to account for turbulent effects.
Our three-dimensional hydro-dynamical simulations of starbursts examine the formation of superbubbles over a range of driving luminosities and mass loadings which determine superbubble growth and wind velocity. From this we determine the relationship between the velocity of a galactic wind and the power of the starburst. We find a threshold for the formation of a wind, above which the speed of the wind is not affected by grid resolution or the temperature floor of our radiative cooling. We investigate the effect two different temperature floors in our radiative cooling prescription have on wind kinematics and content. We find that cooling to $10$ K instead of to $10^4$ K increases the mass fraction of cold neutral and hot X-ray gas in the galactic wind while halving that in warm H$\alpha$. Our simulations show the mass of cold gas transported into the lower halo does not depend on the starburst strength. Optically bright filaments form at the edge of merging superbubbles, or where a cold dense cloud has been disrupted by the wind. Filaments formed by merging superbubbles will persist and grow to $>400$ pc in length if anchored to a star forming complex. Filaments embedded in the hot galactic wind contain warm and cold gas which moves $300-1200$ km s$^{-1}$ slower than the surrounding wind, with the coldest gas hardly moving with respect to the galaxy. Warm and cold matter in the galactic wind show asymmetric absorption profiles consistent with observations, with a thin tail up to the wind velocity.
Polar ring galaxies (PRGs) are composed of two kinematically distinct and nearly orthogonal components, a host galaxy (HG) and a polar ring/disk (PR). The HG usually contains an older stellar population than the PR. The suggested formation channel of PRGs is still poorly constrained. Suggested options are merger, gas accretion, tidal interaction, or a combination of both. To constrain the formation scenario of PRGs, we study the compact stellar systems (CSSs) in two PRGs at different evolutionary stages: NGC 4650A with well-defined PR, and NGC 3808B, which is in the process of PR formation. We use archival HST/WFPC2 imaging. PSF-fitting techniques, and color selection criteria are used to select cluster candidates. Photometric analysis of the CSSs was performed to determine their ages and masses using stellar population models at a fixed metallicity. Both PRGs contain young CSSs ($< 1$ Gyr) with masses of up to 5$\times$10$^6$M$_\odot$, mostly located in the PR and along the tidal debris. The most massive CSSs may be progenitors of metal-rich globular clusters or ultra compact dwarf (UCD) galaxies. We identify one such young UCD candidate, NGC 3808 B-8, and measure its size of $r_{\rm eff}=25.23^{+1.43}_{-2.01}$ pc. We reconstruct the star formation history of the two PRGs and find strong peaks in the star formation rate (SFR $\simeq$ 200M$_\odot$/yr) in NGC 3808B, while NGC 4650A shows milder (declining) star formation (SFR $<$ 10M$_\odot$/yr). This difference may support different evolutionary paths between these PRGs. The spatial distribution, masses, and peak star formation epoch of the clusters in NGC 3808 suggest for a tidally triggered star formation. Incompleteness at old ages prevents us from probing the SFR at earlier epochs of NGC 4650A, where we observe the fading tail of CSS formation. This also impedes us from testing the formation scenarios of this PRG.
Accurate measurements of the physical characteristics of a large number of exoplanets are useful to strongly constrain theoretical models of planet formation and evolution, which lead to the large variety of exoplanets and planetary-system configurations that have been observed. We present a study of the planetary systems WASP-45 and WASP-46, both composed of a main-sequence star and a close-in hot Jupiter, based on 29 new high-quality light curves of transits events. In particular, one transit of WASP-45 b and four of WASP-46 b were simultaneously observed in four optical filters, while one transit of WASP-46 b was observed with the NTT obtaining precision of 0.30 mmag with a cadence of roughly three minutes. We also obtained five new spectra of WASP-45 with the FEROS spectrograph. We improved by a factor of four the measurement of the radius of the planet WASP-45 b, and found that WASP-46 b is slightly less massive and smaller than previously reported. Both planets now have a more accurate measurement of the density (0.959 +\- 0.077 \rho Jup instead of 0.64 +\- 0.30 \rho Jup for WASP-45 b, and 1.103 +\- 0.052 \rho Jup instead of 0.94 +\- 0.11 \rho Jup for WASP-46 b). We tentatively detected radius variations with wavelength for both planets, in particular in the case of WASP-45 b we found a slightly larger absorption in the redder bands than in the bluer ones. No hints for the presence of an additional planetary companion in the two systems were found either from the photometric or radial velocity measurements.
The regular or chaotic dynamics of an analytical realistic three dimensional model composed of a spherically symmetric central nucleus, a bar and a flat disk is investigated. For describing the properties of the bar we introduce a new simple dynamical model and we explore the influence on the character of orbits of all the involved parameters of it, such as the mass and the scale length of the bar, the major semi-axis and the angular velocity of the bar as well as the energy. Regions of phase space with ordered and chaotic motion are identified in dependence on these parameters and for breaking the rotational symmetry. First we study in detail the dynamics in the invariant plane $z = p_z = 0$ using the Poincar\'e map as a basic tool and then we study the full 3 dimensional case using the SALI method as principal tool for distinguishing between order and chaos. We also present strong evidence obtained through the numerical simulations that our new bar model can realistically describe the formation and the evolution of the observed twin spiral structure in barred galaxies.
The IceCube neutrino discovery presents an opportunity to answer long-standing questions in high-energy astrophysics. For their own sake and relations to other processes, it is important to understand neutrinos arising from the Milky Way, which should have an accompanying flux of gamma rays. Examining Fermi TeV data, and applying other constraints up to >1 PeV, it appears implausible that the Galactic fraction of the IceCube flux is large, though could be present at some level. We address Sgr A*, where the TeV-PeV neutrinos may outrun gamma rays due to gamma-gamma opacity, and further implications, including dark matter and cosmic-ray electrons.
The distributions of stars and prestellar cores by mass (initial and dense core mass functions, IMF/DCMF) stay among the key factors regulating star formation and are subject of detailed theoretical and observational studies. Results from numerical simulations of star formation qualitatively resemble an observed mass function, a scale free power law with a sharp decline at low masses. However, most analytic IMF theories critically depend on the empirically chosen input spectrum of mass fluctuations which evolve into dense cores and, subsequently, stars. Here we propose a new approach exploiting the techniques from the field of network science. We represent a system of dense cores accreting gas from the surrounding diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) as a spatial network growing by preferential attachment and assume that the ISM density has a self-similar fractal distribution following the Kolmogorov turbulence theory. As opposed to gravoturbulent fragmentation theories, we consider the dense core growth and demonstrate that the power law core mass function emerges independently of the initial distribution of density fluctuations by mass. Our model yields a power law solely defined by the fractal dimensionalities of the ISM and accreting gas. With a proper choice of the low mass cut-off, it reproduces observations over three decades in mass. We also rule out a low mass star dominated ``bottom-heavy'' IMF in a single star forming region.
Debris disks are signposts of analogues to small body populations of the Solar System, often however with much higher masses and dust production rates. The disk associated with the nearby star Eta Corvi is especially striking as it shows strong mid- and far-infrared excesses despite an age of ~1.4 Gyr. We undertake to construct a consistent model of the system able to explain a diverse collection of spatial and spectral data. We analyze Keck Interferometer Nuller measurements and revisit Spitzer and additional spectro-photometric data, as well as resolved Herschel images to determine the dust spatial distribution in the inner exozodi and in the outer belt. We model in detail the two-component disk and the dust properties from the sub-AU scale to the outermost regions by fitting simultaneously all measurements against a large parameter space. The properties of the cold belt are consistent with a collisional cascade in a reservoir of ice-free planetesimals at 133 AU. It shows marginal evidence for asymmetries along the major axis. KIN enables us to establish that the warm dust consists in a ring that peaks between 0.2 and 0.8 AU. To reconcile this location with the ~400 K dust temperature, very high albedo dust must be invoked and a distribution of forsterite grains starting from micron sizes satisfies this criterion while providing an excellent fit to the spectrum. We discuss additional constraints from the LBTI and near-infrared spectra, and we present predictions of what JWST can unveil about this unusual object and whether it can detect unseen planets.
The Crab pulsar belongs to one of the most studied stellar objects in the sky. Since its accidental detection in 1968, its pulsed emission has been observed throughout most of the electromagnetic spectrum. Although currently one of more than 2000 known pulsars, its way of work has remained not understood making the Crab pulsar an object of continuous studies and interest. Referring to the pulsed emission of the Crab pulsar only at radio wavelengths, it reveals a diversity of different phenomena. They range from deviations of the predicted slowing down process of the pulsar with time (long time phenomena) to an irregularity of its single pulse emission (short time phenomena). Similar and different kinds of deviations are observed at other wavelengths. Consequently, the Crab pulsar provides a large diversity of different emission characteristics which have remained difficult to interpret with a uniform theoretical approach including all observed properties. Since a review of all currently examined properties of the Crab pulsar is beyond the scope of this paper, its goal is to give an overview of previous studies of the Crab pulsar predominantly at radio and gamma-wavelengths with an emphasis on a possible connection to its radio single pulse emission. A discussion of a possible identification of common emission mechanisms is given.
Spatially averaged (> 50'') EUV spectral lines in the transition region of solar quiet regions are known to be redshifted. Because the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is unclear, we require additional physical information on the lower corona for limiting the theoretical models. To acquire this information, we measured the Doppler shifts over a wide coronal temperature range (log T[K]=5.7--6.3) using the spectroscopic data taken by the Hinode EUV Imaging Spectrometer. By analyzing the data over the center-to-limb variations covering the meridian from the south to the north pole, we successfully measured the velocity to an accuracy of 3 km/s. Below log T[K] = 6.0, the Doppler shifts of the emission lines were almost zero with an error of 1--3 km/s; above this temperature, they were blueshifted with a gradually increasing magnitude, reaching - 6.3 +/- 2.1 km/s at log T[K]=6.25.
We present a comprehensive study of one method for measuring various parameters of global modes of oscillation of the Sun. Using velocity data taken by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), we analyze spherical harmonic degrees l <= 300. Both current and historical methodologies are explained, and the various differences between the two are investigated to determine their effects on global-mode parameters and systematic errors in the analysis. These differences include a number of geometric corrections made during spherical harmonic decomposition; updated routines for generating window functions, detrending timeseries, and filling gaps; and consideration of physical effects such as mode profile asymmetry, horizontal displacement at the solar surface, and distortion of eigenfunctions by differential rotation. We apply these changes one by one to three years of data, and then reanalyze the entire MDI mission applying all of them, using both the original 72-day long timeseries and 360-day long timeseries. We find significant changes in mode parameters, both as a result of the various changes to the processing, as well as between the 72-day and 360-day analyses. We find reduced residuals of inversions for internal rotation, but seeming artifacts remain, such as the peak in the rotation rate near the surface at high latitudes. An annual periodicity in the f-mode frequencies is also investigated.
We study the long term Kepler light curve of the blazar W2R 1926+42 ($\sim$ 1.6 years) which indicates a variety of variability properties during different intervals of observation. The normalized excess variance, $F_{\rm var}$ ranges from 1.8 % in the quiescent phase and 43.3 % in the outburst phase. We find no significant deviation from linearity in the $F_{\rm var}$-flux relation. Time series analysis is conducted using the Fourier power spectrum and the wavelet analysis methods to study the power spectral density (PSD) shape, infer characteristic timescales and statistically significant quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). A bending power law with an associated timescale of $T_B = 6.2^{+6.4}_{-3.1}$ hours is inferred in the PSD analysis. We obtain a black hole mass of $M_\bullet = (1.5 - 5.9) \times 10^7 M_\odot$ for the first time using $F_{\rm var}$ and the bend timescale for this source. From a mean outburst lifetime of days, we infer a distance from the jet base $r \leq 1.75$ pc indicating that the outburst originates due to a shock. A possible QPO peaked at 9.1 days and lasting 3.4 cycles is inferred from the wavelet analysis. Assuming that the QPO is a true feature, $r = (152 - 378)~ G M_\bullet/c^2$ and supported by the other timing analysis products such as a weighted mean PSD slope of $-1.5 \pm 0.2$ from the PSD analysis, we argue that the observed variability and the weak and short duration QPO could be due to jet based processes including orbital features in a relativistic helical jet and others such as shocks and turbulence.
Ultraluminous supersoft sources (ULSs) are defined by a thermal spectrum with colour temperatures ~0.1 keV, bolometric luminosities ~ a few 10^39 erg/s, and almost no emission above 1 keV. It has never been clear how they fit into the general scheme of accreting compact objects. To address this problem, we studied a sample of seven ULSs with extensive Chandra and XMM-Newton coverage. We find an anticorrelation between fitted temperatures and radii of the thermal emitter, and no correlation between bolometric luminosity and radius or temperature. We compare the physical parameters of ULSs with those of classical supersoft sources, thought to be surface-nuclear-burning white dwarfs, and of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), thought to be super-Eddington stellar-mass black holes. We argue that ULSs are the sub-class of ULXs seen through the densest wind, perhaps an extension of the soft-ultraluminous regime. We suggest that in ULSs, the massive disk outflow becomes effectively optically thick and forms a large photosphere, shrouding the inner regions from our view. Our model predicts that when the photosphere expands to >10,000 km and the temperature decreases below approximately 50 eV, ULSs become brighter in the far-UV but undetectable in X-rays. Conversely, we find that harder emission components begin to appear in ULSs when the fitted size of the thermal emitter is smallest (interpreted as a shrinking of the photosphere). The observed short-term variability and absorption edges are also consistent with clumpy outflows. We suggest that the transition between ULXs (with a harder tail) and ULSs (with only a soft thermal component) occurs at blackbody temperatures of approximately 150 eV.
We combine new Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from Planck with Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) data to constrain the Brans-Dicke (BD) theory, in which the gravitational constant $G$ evolves with time. Observations of type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) provide another important set of cosmological data, as they may be regarded as standard candles after some empirical corrections. However, in theories that include modified gravity like the BD theory, there is some risk and complication when using the SNIa data because their luminosity may depend on $G$. In this paper, we assume a power law relation between the SNIa luminosity and $G$, but treat the power index as a free parameter. We then test whether the difference in distances measured with SNIa data and BAO data can be reduced in such a model. We also constrain the BD theory and cosmological parameters by making a global fit with the CMB, BAO and SNIa data set. For the CMB+BAO+SNIa data set, we find $0.08\times10^{-2} < \zeta <0.33\times10^{-2} $ at the 68\% confidence level (CL) and $-0.01\times10^{-2} <\zeta <0.43\times 10^{-2} $ at the 95\% CL, where $\zeta$ is related to the {BD} parameter $\omega$ by $\zeta=\ln(1+1/\omega)$.
We embark on a detailed study of the lightcurves of Keplers most Earth-like exoplanet host stars using the full length of Kepler data. We derive rotation periods, photometric activity indices, flaring energies, mass loss rates, gyrochronological ages, X-ray luminosities and consider implications for the planetary magnetospheres and habitability. Furthermore, we present the detection of superflares in the lightcurve of Kepler-438, the exoplanet with the highest Earth Similarity Index to date. Kepler-438b orbits at a distance of 0.166AU to its host star, and hence may be susceptible to atmospheric stripping. Our sample is taken from the Habitable Exoplanet Catalogue, and consists of the stars Kepler-22, Kepler-61, Kepler-62, Kepler-174, Kepler-186, Kepler-283, Kepler-296, Kepler-298, Kepler-438, Kepler-440, Kepler-442, Kepler-443 and KOI-4427, between them hosting 15 of the most habitable transiting planets known to date from Kepler.
We present the detection of 16 optical supernova remnant (SNR) candidates in the nearby spiral galaxy IC342. The candidates were detected by applying [SII]/H$\alpha$ ratio criterion on observations made with the 2 m RCC telescope at Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory in Bulgaria. In this paper, we report the coordinates, diameters, H$\alpha$ and [SII] fluxes for 16 SNRs detected in two fields of view in the IC342 galaxy. Also, we estimate that the contamination of total H$\alpha$ flux from SNRs in the observed portion of IC342 is 1.4%. This would represent the fractional error when the star formation rate (SFR) for this galaxy is derived from the total galaxy's H$\alpha$ emission.
We study the abundances of {\alpha} elements, Fe-peak elements, and neutron-capture elements in Pal 1. We found that the abundances of the SNe Ia and main s-process components of Pal 1 are larger than those of the disk stars and the abundances of the primary component of Pal 1 are smaller than those of the disk stars with similar metallicity. The Fe abundances of Pal 1 and the disk stars mainly originate from the SNe Ia and the primary component, respectively. Although the {\alpha} abundances dominantly produced by the primary process for the disk stars and Pal 1, the contributions of the primary component to Pal 1 are smaller than the corresponding contributions to the disk stars. The Fe-peak elements V and Co mainly originate from the primary and secondary components for the disk stars and Pal 1, but the contributions of the massive stars to Pal 1 are lower than those of the massive stars to the disk stars. The Yabundances mainly originate from the weak r-component for the disk stars. However, the contributions of the main s-components and main r-components to Y are close to those of the weak r-component for Pal 1. The Ba abundances of Pal 1 and the disk stars mainly originate from the main s-component and the main r-component, respectively. Our calculated results imply that the unusual abundances of Pal could be explained by the top-light IMF for Pal 1 progenitor-system.
Context. The analysis of observations of circumstellar disks around young
stellar objects is often based on models with a smooth and continuous density
distribution. However, spatially resolved observations with increasing angular
resolution and dynamical models indicate that circumstellar disks are
highlystructured.
Aims. We investigate the influence of different clumpy density distributions
on selected physical properties and observable characteristics of circumstellar
disks.
Methods. Based on radiative transfer modelling we calculate the temperature
structure of the disk and simulate observational quantities in the thermal
re-emission and scattering regime. We compare our results to those obtained for
a smooth and continuous density distribution to quantify the influence of
clumps on physical parameters and observable quantities of circumstellar disks.
Results. Within the considered model space, the clumpiness has a significant
impact on the disk temperature distribution. For instance, in the transition
region from the upper disk layers to the disk interior, it causes a decrease of
the mean temperature by up to 12 K. In addition, circumstellar disks with
clumpy density distributions feature a lower spectral index in the submm/mm
range of the SED. As a consequence of the lower spectral index, the dust grain
size derived from the submm/mm-slope of the SED may be overestimated, if the
inhomogeneity of the disk density distribution is not taken into account.
Furthermore, the scattered light brightness distribution of clumpy disks shows
a steeper radial decrease. Additionally, clumpy density distributions change
the degree of polarization of the scattered light in the optical.
The presence of neutral hydrogen in the shock proximity changes the structure
of the shock and affects the spectra of particles accelerated through the first
order Fermi mechanism. This phenomenon has profound implications for the
interpretation of the multifrequency spectra of radiation from supernova
remnants.
Neutrals that undergo charge exchange with hot ions downstream of the shock
may result in fast neutrals moving towards the upstream gas, where they can
suffer additional charge exchange or ionisation reactions, thereby depositing
energy and momentum upstream. Here we discuss the implications of this neutral
return flux, already predicted in our previous work on neutral mediated
supernova shocks and show how the spectra of accelerated particles turn out to
be appreciably steeper than $p^{-4}$, thereby affecting the gamma ray spectra
from supernova remnants in general and from Tycho specifically.
The theory that describes non-linear diffusive shock acceleration in the
presence of neutral hydrogen has been developed in the last few years. Here we
use this semi-analytical theory and specialise our predictions to the case of
the Tycho supernova shock, where there is evidence from gamma ray observations
that the spectrum of the parent cosmic rays is steeper than expected from the
traditional theory of diffusive shock acceleration.
We show that, if the fraction of neutral hydrogen in the vicinity of the
Tycho supernova shock is, as suggested by observations, $\sim 70-90\%$, then
spectra of accelerated protons steeper than $p^{-4}$ may be a natural
consequence of charge exchange reactions and the associated neutral return
flux. The spectral shape is affected by this phenomenon for particles with
energies below $\sim 100-1000$ GeV, for which the diffusion length is smaller
than or at most comparable with the pathlength of charge exchange and
ionisation upstream of the shock.
The metallicity of the progenitor system producing a type Ia supernova (SN Ia) could play a role in its maximum luminosity, as suggested by theoretical predictions. We present an observational study to investigate if such a relationship there exists. Using the 4.2m WHT we have obtained intermediate-resolution spectroscopy data of a sample of 28 local galaxies hosting SNe Ia, for which distances have been derived using methods independent to those based on the own SN Ia parameters. From the emission lines observed in their optical spectrum, we derived the gas-phase oxygen abundance in the region where each SN Ia exploded. Our data show a trend, with a 80% of chance not to be due to random fluctuation, between SNe Ia absolute magnitudes and the oxygen abundances of the host galaxies, in the sense that luminosities tend to be higher for galaxies with lower metallicities. This result seems like to be in agreement with both the theoretically expected behavior, and with other observational results. This dependence $M_{B}$-Z might induce to systematic errors when is not considered in deriving SNe Ia luminosities and then using them to derive cosmological distances.
New photometric data from CCD multicolour BVRI observations of 14 pre-main sequence stars during the period from 2013 April to 2015 September are presented. The studied objects are located in the field of 'Gulf of Mexico' in the NGC 7000/IC 5070 star-forming complex. The stars from our study exhibit different types of photometric variability in all optical passbands. Using our long-term observations and data published by other authors, we tried to define the reasons for the observed brightness variations. On the basis of our new data previously unknown periodicity in the light curve of the star LkH_alpha 189 (2.45 days) was registered.
We present integral field spectroscopic observations with the Potsdam Multi Aperture Spectrophotometer of all 14 galaxies in the $z\sim 0.1$ Lyman Alpha Reference Sample (LARS). We produce 2D line of sight velocity maps and velocity dispersion maps from the Balmer $\alpha$ (H$\alpha$) emission in our data cubes. These maps trace the spectral and spatial properties of the LARS galaxies' intrinsic Ly$\alpha$ radiation field. We show our kinematic maps spatially registered onto the Hubble Space Telescope H$\alpha$ and Lyman $\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) images. Only for individual galaxies a causal connection between spatially resolved H$\alpha$ kinematics and Ly$\alpha$ photometry can be conjectured. However, no general trend can be established for the whole sample. Furthermore, we compute non-parametric global kinematical statistics -- intrinsic velocity dispersion $\sigma_0$, shearing velocity $v_\mathrm{shear}$, and the $v_\mathrm{shear}/\sigma_0$ ratio -- from our kinematic maps. In general LARS galaxies are characterised by high intrinsic velocity dispersions (54\,km\,s$^{-1}$ median) and low shearing velocities (65\,km\,s$^{-1}$ median). $v_\mathrm{shear}/\sigma_0$ values range from 0.5 to 3.2 with an average of 1.5. Noteworthy, five galaxies of the sample are dispersion dominated systems with $v_\mathrm{shear}/\sigma_0 <1$ and are thus kinematically similar to turbulent star forming galaxies seen at high redshift. When linking our kinematical statistics to the global LARS Ly$\alpha$ properties, we find that dispersion dominated systems show higher Ly$\alpha$ equivalent widths and higher Ly$\alpha$ escape fractions than systems with $v_\mathrm{shear}/\sigma_0 > 1$. Our result indicates that turbulence in actively star-forming systems is causally connected to interstellar medium conditions that favour an escape of Ly$\alpha$ radiation.
Based on SDSS data, we have selected a sample of nine edge-on spiral galaxies with bulges whose major axes show a high inclination to the disk plane. Such objects are called polar-bulge galaxies. They are similar in their morphology to polar-ring galaxies, but the central objects in them have small size and low luminosity. We have performed a photometric analysis of the galaxies in the g and r bands and determined the main characteristics of their bulges and disks. We show that the disks of such galaxies are typical for the disks of spiral galaxies of late morphological types. The integrated characteristics of their bulges are similar to the parameters of normal bulges. The stellar disks of polar-bulge galaxies often show large-scale warps, which can be explained by their interaction with neighboring galaxies or external accretion from outside.
Active gas accretion onto the Milky Way is observed in an object called the Smith Cloud, which contains several million solar masses of neutral and warm ionized gas and is currently losing material to the Milky Way, adding angular momentum to the disk. It is several kpc in size and its tip lies two kpc below the Galactic plane. It appears to have no stellar counterpart, but could contain a stellar population like that of the dwarf galaxy Leo P. There are suggestions that its existence and survival require that it be embedded in a dark matter halo of a few 10^8 solar masses.
Large-scale surveys make huge amounts of photometric data available. Because of the sheer amount of objects, spectral data cannot be obtained for all of them. Therefore it is important to devise techniques for reliably estimating physical properties of objects from photometric information alone. These estimates are needed to automatically identify interesting objects worth a follow-up investigation as well as to produce the required data for a statistical analysis of the space covered by a survey. We argue that machine learning techniques are suitable to compute these estimates accurately and efficiently. This study considers the task of estimating the specific star formation rate (sSFR) of galaxies. It is shown that a nearest neighbours algorithm can produce better sSFR estimates than traditional SED fitting. We show that we can obtain accurate estimates of the sSFR even at high redshifts using only broad-band photometry based on the u, g, r, i and z filters from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We addtionally demonstrate that combining magnitudes estimated with different methods from the same photometry can lead to a further improvement in accuracy. The study highlights the general importance of performing proper model selection to improve the results of machine learning systems and how feature selection can provide insights into the predictive relevance of particular input features. Furthermore, the use of massively parallel computation on graphics processing units (GPUs) for handling large amounts of astronomical data is advocated.
Our goal is to provide a robust estimate of the metal content of the ICM in massive clusters. We make use of published abundance profiles for a sample of ~60 nearby systems, we include in our estimate uncertainties associated to the measurement process and to the almost total lack of measures in cluster outskirts. We perform a first, albeit rough, census of metals finding that the mean abundance of the ICM within r_180 is very poorly constrained, 0.06Z_sol < Z < 0.26Z_sol, and presents no tension with expectations. Similarly, the question of if and how the bulk of the metal content in clusters varies with cosmic time, is very much an open one. A solid estimate of abundances in cluster outskirts could be achieved by combining observations of the two experiments which will operate on board Athena, the XIFU and the WFI, provided they do not fall victim to the de-scoping process that has afflicted several space observatories over the last decade.
The main carrier of primordial heavy noble gases in chondrites is thought to be an organic phase, known as phase Q, whose precise characterization has resisted decades of investigation. Indirect techniques have revealed that phase Q might be composed of two subphases, one of them associated with sulfide. Here we provide experimental evidence that noble gases trapped within meteoritic sulfides present chemically- and thermally-driven behavior patterns that are similar to Q-gases. We therefore suggest that phase Q is likely composed of two subcomponents: carbonaceous phases and sulfides. In situ decay of iodine at concentrations levels consistent with those reported for meteoritic sulfides can reproduce the 129Xe excess observed for Q-gases relative to fractionated Solar Wind. We suggest that the Q-bearing sulfides formed at high temperature and could have recorded the conditions that prevailed in the chondrule-forming region(s).
We aim to bring a new perspective about some aspects of the current research in Cosmology. We start with a brief introduction about the main developments of the field in the last century; then we introduce an analogy that shall elucidate the main difficulties that observational sciences involve, which might be part of the issue related to some of the contemporary cosmological problems. The analogy investigates how microscopic beings could ever discover and understand gravitational phenomena.
Line-of-sight velocities of gas and stars can constrain dark matter (DM) within rotationally supported galaxies if they trace circular orbits extensively. Photometric asymmetries may signify non-circular motions, requiring spectra with dense spatial coverage. Our integral-field spectroscopy of 178 galaxies spanned the mass range of the SAMI Galaxy Survey. We derived circular speed curves (CSCs) of gas and stars from non-parametric Diskfit fits out to $r\sim2r_e$. For 12/14 with measured H I profiles, ionized gas and H I maximum velocities agreed. We fitted mass-follows-light models to 163 galaxies by approximating the radial starlight profile as nested, very flattened mass homeoids viewed as a S\'ersic form. Fitting broad-band SEDs to SDSS images gave median stellar mass/light 1.7 assuming a Kroupa IMF vs. 2.6 dynamically. Two-thirds of the dynamical mass/light measures were consistent with star+remnant IMFs. One-fifth required upscaled starlight to fit, hence comparable mass of unobserved baryons and/or DM distributed similarly across the SAMI aperture that came to dominate motions as the starlight CSC declined rapidly. The rest had mass distributed differently from starlight. Subtracting fits of S\'ersic profiles to 13 VIKING Z-band images revealed residual weak bars. Near the bar PA, we assessed m = 2 streaming velocities, and found deviations usually <30 km/s from the CSC; three showed no deviation. Thus, asymmetries rarely influenced our CSCs despite co-located shock-indicating, emission-line flux ratios in more than 2/3.
The main goal of this study is to compile a catalogue including the fundamental parameters of a complete sample of 277 star clusters (SCs) of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) observed in the Washington photometric system, including 82 clusters very recently studied by us. All the clusters' parameters such as radii, deprojected distances, reddenings, ages and metallicities have been obtained by appyling essentially the same procedures which are briefly described here. We have used empirical cumulative distribution functions to examine age, metallicity and deprojected distance distributions for different cluster subsamples of the catalogue. Our new sample made up of 82 additional clusters recently studied by us represents about a 40% increase in the total number of LMC SCs observed up to now in the Washington photometric system. In particular, we report here the fundamental parameters obtained for the first time for 42 of these clusters. We found that single LMC SCs are typically older than multiple SCs. Both single and multiple SCs exhibit asymmetrical distributions in log (age). We compared cluster ages derived through isochrone fittings obtained using different models of the Padova group. Although $t_G$ and $t_B$ ages obtained using isochrones from Girardi et al. (2002) and Bressan et al. (2012), respectively, are consistent in general terms, we found that $t_B$ values are not only typically larger than $t_G$ ages but also that Bressan et al.'s age uncertainties are clearly smaller than the corresponding Girardi et al. values.
The Taurid meteoroid stream has long been linked with 2P/Encke owing to a good match of their orbital elements, even though the comet's activity is not strong enough to explain the number of observed meteors. Various small NEOs have been discovered with orbits that can be linked to 2P and the Taurid meteoroid stream. Maribo and Sutter's Mill are CM type carbonaceous chondrites that fell in Denmark on Jan 17, 2009 and Apr 22, 2012, respectively. Their pre-atmospheric orbits place them in the middle of the Taurid meteoroid stream, which raises the intriguing possibility that comet 2P could be the parent body of CM chondrites. To investigate whether a relationship between comet 2P, the Taurid complex associated NEOs, and CM chondrites exists, we performed photometric and spectroscopic studies of these objects in the visible wavelength range. We observed 2P and 10 NEOs on Aug 2, 2011 with FORS at the VLT. Images in the R filter, used to investigate the possible presence of cometary activity around the nucleus of 2P and the NEOs, show that no resolved coma is present. None of the FORS spectra show the 700 nm absorption feature due to hydrated minerals that is seen in the CM chondrite meteorites. All objects show featureless spectra with moderate reddening slopes at $\lambda < 800$nm. Apart for 2003 QC10 and 1999 VT25, which show a flatter spectrum, the spectral slope of the observed NEOs is compatible with that of 2P. However, most of the NEOs show evidence of a silicate absorption in lower S/N data at $\lambda > 800$nm, which is not seen in 2P, which suggests that they are not related. Despite similar orbits, we find no spectroscopic evidence for a link between 2P, the Taurid complex NEOs and the Maribo and Sutter's Mill meteorites. However, we cannot rule out a connection to the meteorites either, as the spectral differences may be caused by secondary alteration of the surfaces of the NEOs.
In this study, the properties of wavefunctions of the MHD oscillations for a single and a system of straight flux tubes are investigated. Magnetic flux tubes with a straight magnetic field and longitudinally density stratification under coronal conditions were considered. With repect to the density inhomogeneity in the radial direction of the flux tube, a smoothed step function at the lateral surface is employed. A single three-dimensional wave equation for longitudinal component of the perturbed magnetic field is solved using the finite element method (FEM). Wavefunctions of the MHD oscillations are categorized into kink, sausage, and torsional modes. Concerning the amplitude location of the waves which are arisen from the flux tube, those waves identified as body, surface, and leaky waves and appeared in both a single and a system of flux tubes cases. Exact recognition of the wavefunctions can be used in coronal seismology and also helps to future the high resolution instruments that would be designed for studying the detailed properties of the solar loops.
We present a series of results from a clustering analysis of the first data release of the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Deep Extragalactic Observations (VIDEO) survey. VIDEO is the only survey currently capable of probing the bulk of stellar mass in galaxies at redshifts corresponding to the peak of star formation on degree scales. Galaxy clustering is measured with the two-point correlation function, which is calculated using a non parametric kernel based density estimator. We use our measurements to investigate the connection between the galaxies and the host dark matter halo using a halo occupation distribution methodology, deriving bias, satellite fractions, and typical host halo masses for stellar masses between $10^{9.35}M_{\odot}$ and $10^{10.85}M_{\odot}$, at redshifts $0.5<z<1.7$. Our results show typical halo mass increasing with stellar mass (with moderate scatter) and bias increasing with stellar mass and redshift consistent with previous studies. We find the satellite fraction increased towards low redshifts, increasing from $\sim 5\%$ at $z\sim 1.5$, to $\sim 20\%$ at $z\sim 0.6$, also increasing for lower mass galaxies. We combine our results to derive the stellar mass to halo mass ratio for both satellites and centrals over a range of halo masses and find the peak corresponding to the halo mass with maximum star formation efficiency to be $ \sim 2 \times10^{12} M_{\odot}$ over cosmic time, finding no evidence for evolution.
Pulsars are known to display short-term variability. Recently, examples of longer-term emission variability have emerged that are often correlated with changes in the rotational properties of the pulsar. To further illuminate this relationship, we have developed techniques to identify emission and rotation variability in pulsar data, and determine correlations between the two. Individual observations may be too noisy to identify subtle changes in the pulse profile. We use Gaussian process (GP) regression to model noisy observations and produce a continuous map of pulse profile variability. Generally, multiple observing epochs are required to obtain the pulsar spin frequency derivative ($\dot{\nu}$). GP regression is, therefore, also used to obtain $\dot{\nu}$, under the hypothesis that pulsar timing noise is primarily caused by unmodelled changes in $\dot{\nu}$. Our techniques distinguish between two types of variability: changes in the total flux density versus changes in the pulse shape. We have applied these techniques to 168 pulsars observed by the Parkes radio telescope, and see that although variations in flux density are ubiquitous, substantial changes in the shape of the pulse profile are rare. We reproduce previously published results and present examples of profile shape changing in seven pulsars; in particular, a clear new example of correlated changes in profile shape and rotation is found in PSR~J1602$-$5100. In the shape changing pulsars, a more complex picture than the previously proposed two state model emerges. We conclude that our simple assumption that all timing noise can be interpreted as $\dot{\nu}$ variability is insufficient to explain our dataset.
We have used the Herschel-HIFI instrument to observe both nuclear spin symmetries of amidogen (NH2) towards the high-mass star-forming regions W31C (G10.6-0.4), W49N (G43.2-0.1), W51 (G49.5-0.4) and G34.3+0.1. The aim is to investigate the ratio of nuclear spin types, the ortho-to-para ratio (OPR), of NH2. The excited NH2 transitions are used to construct radiative transfer models of the hot cores and surrounding envelopes in order to investigate the excitation and possible emission of the ground state rotational transitions of ortho-NH2 N_(K_a,K_c} J=1_(1,1) 3/2 - 0_(0,0) 1/2 and para-NH2 2_(1,2) 5/2 - 1_(0,1) 3/2$ used in the OPR calculations. Our best estimate of the average OPR in the envelopes lie above the high temperature limit of three for W49N, specifically 3.5 with formal errors of \pm0.1, but for W31C, W51, and G34.3+0.1 we find lower values of 2.5\pm0.1, 2.7\pm0.1, and 2.3\pm0.1, respectively. Such low values are strictly forbidden in thermodynamical equilibrium since the OPR is expected to increase above three at low temperatures. In the translucent interstellar gas towards W31C, where the excitation effects are low, we find similar values between 2.2\pm0.2 and 2.9\pm0.2. In contrast, we find an OPR of 3.4\pm0.1 in the dense and cold filament connected to W51, and also two lower limits of >4.2 and >5.0 in two other translucent gas components towards W31C and W49N. At low temperatures (T \lesssim 50 K) the OPR of H2 is <10^-1, far lower than the terrestrial laboratory normal value of three. In such a ``para-enriched H2'' gas, our astrochemical models can reproduce the variations of the observed OPR, both below and above the thermodynamical equilibrium value, by considering nuclear-spin gas-phase chemistry. The models suggest that values below three arise in regions with temperatures >20-25 K, depending on time, and values above three at lower temperatures.
We study the dust evolution in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. We follow the processing of dust grains formed in the Type II-b supernova by modelling the sputtering of grains located in dense ejecta clumps crossed by the reverse shock. Further sputtering in the inter-clump medium once the clumps are disrupted by the reverse shock is investigated. The dust evolution in the dense ejecta clumps of Type II-P supernovae and their remnants is also studied. We study oxygen-rich clumps that describe the ejecta oxygen core, and carbon-rich clumps that correspond to the outermost carbon-rich ejecta zone. We consider the dust components formed in the supernova, several reverse shock velocities and inter-clump gas temperatures, and derive dust grain size distributions and masses as a function of time. We find that non-thermal sputtering in clumps is important and accounts for reducing the grain population by ~ 40% to 80% in mass, depending on the clump gas over-density and the grain type and size. A Type II-b SN forms small grains that are sputtered within clumps and in the inter-clump medium. For Cas A, silicate grains do not survive thermal sputtering in the inter-clump medium. Our derived masses of currently processed silicate, alumina and carbon grains in Cas A agree well with values derived from observations. Grains in Type II-P are better survive the remnant phase. For dense ejecta clumps, dust survival efficiencies range between 42% and 98% in mass. For the SN1987A model, the derived surviving dust mass is in the range ~ 0.06-0.14 Msolar. This type of dense SNe may then be efficient dust providers to galaxies. Specifically, silicate grains over 0.1 micron and other grains over 0,05 micron survive thermal sputtering in the remnant. Therefore, pre-solar grains of SN origin possibly form in the dense ejecta clumps of Type II-P supernovae.
The recent discovery of the ultraluminous quasar SDSS J010013.02+280225.8 at redshift 6.3 has exacerbated the time compression problem implied by the appearance of supermassive black holes only ~900 Myr after the big bang, and only ~500 Myr beyond the formation of Pop II and III stars. Aside from heralding the onset of cosmic reionization, these first and second generation stars could have reasonably produced the ~5-20 solar-mass seeds that eventually grew into z~6-7 quasars. But this process would have taken ~900 Myr, a timeline that appears to be at odds with the predictions of LCDM without an anomalously high accretion rate, or some exotic creation of ~10^5 solar-mass seeds. There is no evidence of either of these happening in the local universe. In this paper, we show that a much simpler, more elegant solution to the supermassive black hole anomaly is instead to view this process using the age-redshift relation predicted by the R_h=ct Universe, an FRW cosmology with zero active mass. In this context, cosmic reionization lasted from t~883 Myr to ~2 Gyr (z~15 to z~6), so ~5-20 solar-mass black hole seeds formed shortly after reionization had begun, would have evolved into ~10^10 solar-mass quasars by z~6-7 simply via the standard Eddington-limited accretion rate. The consistency of these observations with the age-redshift relationship predicted by R_h=ct supports the existence of dark energy; but not in the form of a cosmological constant.
Remote observation of spectroscopic emissions is a potential tool for the identification and quantification of various species in comets. CO Cameron band (to trace \cod) and atomic oxygen emissions (to trace H$_2$O and/or CO$_2$, CO) have been used to probe neutral composition in the cometary coma. Using a coupled-chemistry emission model, various excitation processes controlling CO Cameron band and different atomic oxygen and atomic carbon have been modelled in comet 67P-Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 1.29~AU (perihelion) and at 3~AU heliocentric distances, which is being explored by ESA's Rosetta mission. The intensities of CO Cameron band, atomic oxygen and atomic carbon emission lines as a function of projected distance are calculated for different CO and CO$_2$ volume mixing ratios relative to water. Contributions of different excitation processes controlling these emissions are quantified. We assess how CO$_2$ and/or CO volume mixing ratios with respect to H$_2$O can be derived based on the observed intensities of CO Cameron band, atomic oxygen, and atomic carbon emission lines.The results presented in this work serve as base line calculations to understand the behaviour of low out-gassing cometary coma and compare them with the higher gas production rate cases (e.g. comet Halley). Quantitative analysis of different excitation processes governing the spectroscopic emissions is essential to study the chemistry of inner coma and to derive neutral gas composition.
In area and depth, the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) 3$\pi$ survey is unique among many-epoch, multi-band surveys and has enormous potential for all-sky identification of variable sources. PS1 has observed the sky typically seven times in each of its five bands ($grizy$) over 3.5 years, but unlike SDSS not simultaneously across the bands. Here we develop a new approach for quantifying statistical properties of non-simultaneous, sparse, multi-color lightcurves through light-curve structure functions, effectively turning PS1 into a $\sim 35$-epoch survey. We use this approach to estimate variability amplitudes and timescales $(\omega_r, \tau)$ for all point-sources brighter than $r_{\mathrm{P1}}=21.5$ mag in the survey. With PS1 data on SDSS Stripe 82 as ``ground truth", we use a Random Forest Classifier to identify QSOs and RR Lyrae based on their variability and their mean PS1 and WISE colors. We find that, aside from the Galactic plane, QSO and RR Lyrae samples of purity $\sim$75\% and completeness $\sim$92\% can be selected. On this basis we have identified a sample of $\sim 1,000,000$ QSO candidates, as well as an unprecedentedly large and deep sample of $\sim$150,000 RR Lyrae candidates with distances from $\sim$10 kpc to $\sim$120 kpc. Within the Draco dwarf spheroidal, we demonstrate a distance precision of 6\% for RR Lyrae candidates. We provide a catalog of all likely variable point sources and likely QSOs in PS1, a total of $25.8\times 10^6$ sources.
We explore how well James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra will likely constrain bulk atmospheric properties of transiting exoplanets. We start by modeling the atmospheres of archetypal hot Jupiter, warm Neptune, warm sub-Neptune, and cool super-Earth planets with clear, cloudy, or high mean molecular weight atmospheres. Next we simulate the $\lambda = 1 - 11$ $\mu$m transmission and emission spectra of these systems for several JWST instrument modes for single transit and eclipse events. We then perform retrievals to determine how well temperatures and molecular mixing ratios (CH$_4$, CO, CO$_2$, H$_2$O, NH$_3$) can be constrained. We find that $\lambda = 1 - 2.5$ $\mu$m transmission spectra will often constrain the major molecular constituents of clear solar composition atmospheres well. Cloudy or high mean molecular weight atmospheres will often require full $1 - 11$ $\mu$m spectra for good constraints, and emission data may be more useful in cases of sufficiently high $F_p$ and high $F_p/F_*$. Strong temperature inversions in the solar composition hot Jupiter atmosphere should be detectable with $1 - 2.5+$ $\mu$m emission spectra, and $1 - 5+$ $\mu$m emission spectra will constrain the temperature-pressure profiles of warm planets. Transmission spectra over $1 - 5+$ $\mu$m will constrain [Fe/H] values to better than 0.5 dex for the clear atmospheres of the hot and warm planets studied. Carbon-to-oxygen ratios can be constrained to better than a factor of 2 in some systems. We expect that these results will provide useful predictions of the scientific value of single event JWST spectra until its on-orbit performance is known.
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation lensing is a promising tool to study the physics of early universe. In this work we probe the imprints of deviations from isotropy and scale invariance of primordial curvature perturbation power spectrum on CMB lensing potential and convergence. Specifically, we consider a scale-dependent hemispherical asymmetry in primordial power spectrum. We show that the CMB lensing potential and convergence and also the cross-correlation of the CMB lensing and late time galaxy convergence can probe the amplitude and the scale dependence of the dipole modulation. As another example, we consider a primordial power spectrum with local feature. We show that the CMB lensing and the cross-correlation of the CMB lensing and galaxy lensing can probe the amplitude and the shape of the local feature. We show that the cross correlation of CMB lensing convergence and galaxy lensing is capable to probe the effects of local features in power spectrum on smaller scales than the CMB lensing.
Low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies form a major class of galaxies, and are characterized by low disc surface density and low star formation rate. These are known to be dominated by dark matter halo from the innermost regions. Here we study the role of dark matter halo on the grand-design, $m=2$, spiral modes in a galactic disc by carrying out a global mode analysis in the WKB approximation. The Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule is used to determine how many discrete global spiral modes are permitted. First a typical superthin LSB galaxy, UGC 7321 is studied by taking only the galactic disc, modelled as fluid; and then the disc embedded in a dark matter halo. We find that both cases permit the existence of global spiral modes. This is in contrast to earlier results where the inclusion of dark matter halo was shown to nearly fully suppress local, swing-amplified spiral features. Although technically global modes are permitted in the fluid model as shown here, we argue that due to lack of tidal interactions, these are not triggered in LSB galaxies. For comparison, we carried out a similar analysis for the Galaxy, for which the dark matter halo does not dominate in the inner regions. We show that here too the dark matter halo has little effect, hence the disc embedded in a halo is also able to support global modes. The derived pattern speed of the global mode agrees fairly well with the observed value for the Galaxy.
We study the possibility that self-interacting bosonic dark matter forms star-like objects. We study both the case of attractive and repulsive self-interactions, and we focus particularly in the parameter phase space where self-interactions can solve well standing problems of the collisionless dark matter paradigm. We find the mass radius relations for these dark matter bosonic stars, their density profile as well as the maximum mass they can support.
Using numerical solutions of the full Einstein field equations coupled to a scalar inflaton field in 3+1 dimensions, we study the conditions under which a universe that is initially highly inhomogeneous and dominated by gradient energy can transition to an inflationary period. If the initial scalar field variations are contained within a sufficiently flat region of the inflaton potential, and the universe is spatially flat or open on average, inflation will occur following the dilution of the gradient and kinetic energy due to expansion. This is the case even when the scale of the inhomogeneities is comparable to the initial Hubble length, and overdense regions collapse and form black holes, because underdense regions continue expanding, allowing inflation to eventually begin. This establishes that inflation can arise from a general class of highly inhomogeneous initial conditions and solve the horizon and flatness problems, at least as long as the variations in the scalar field do not include values that exceed the inflationary plateau.
Equations for cosmological evolution are formulated in a Weyl invariant formalism to take into account possible Weyl anomalies. Near two dimensions, the renormalized cosmological term leads to a nonlocal energy-momentum tensor and a slowly decaying vacuum energy. A natural generalization to four dimensions implies a quantum modification of Einstein field equations at long distances. It offers a new perspective on time-dependence of couplings and naturalness with potentially far-reaching consequences for the cosmological constant problem, inflation, and dark energy.
The firm observational confirmation of the late-time acceleration of the universe expansion has proposed a major challenge to the theoretical foundations of cosmology and the explanation of the acceleration mechanism requires the introduction of either a simply cosmological constant, or of a mysterious dark energy component (time dependent or modified gravities), filling the universe and dominating its current expansionary evolution. Universally given that the universe is permeated by a dark energy fluid, therefore, we should also investigate the astrophysical scale properties from the dark energy effects. In the present paper, the exact solutions of spherically-symmetrical Einstein field equations describing wormholes supported by phantom energy that violates the null energy condition from Shan-Chen fluid description are obtained. We have considered the important case that the model parameter $\psi\approx1$ which corresponds to the `` saturation effect ", and this regime corresponds to an effective form of `` asymptotic freedom " for the fluids, but occurring at cosmological rather than subnuclear scales. Then we investigate the allowed range values of the model parameters $g$ and $\omega$ when the space-time metrics describe wormholes and discuss the possible singularities of the solutions, finding that the obtained spacetimes are geodesically complete. Moreover, we construct two traversable wormholes through matching our obtained interior solutions to the exterior Schwarzschild solutions and calculate out the total mass of the wormhole when the wormhole throat size $r\leq a$ or $r\leq b$, respectively. Finally, we acquire that the surface stress-energy $\sigma$ is zero and the surface tangential pressure $\wp$ is positive when discussing the surface stresses of the solutions and analyze the traversable wormholes.
We perform a general analysis of axionic dark radiation produced from the decay of the lightest modulus in the sequestered LARGE Volume Scenario. We discuss several cases depending on the form of the Kahler metric for visible sector matter fields and the mechanism responsible for achieving a de Sitter vacuum. The leading decay channels which determine dark radiation predictions are to hidden sector axions, visible sector Higgses and SUSY scalars depending on their mass. We show that in most of the parameter space of split SUSY-like models squarks and sleptons are heavier than the lightest modulus. Hence dark radiation predictions previously obtained for MSSM-like cases hold more generally also for split SUSY-like cases since the decay channel to SUSY scalars is kinematically forbidden. However the inclusion of string loop corrections to the Kahler potential gives rise to a parameter space region where the decay channel to SUSY scalars opens up, leading to a significant reduction of dark radiation production. In this case, the simplest model with a shift-symmetric Higgs sector can suppress the excess of dark radiation $\Delta N_{eff}$ to values as small as 0.14, in perfect agreement with current experimental bounds. Depending on the exact mass of the SUSY scalars all values in the range 0.14 $\lesssim \Delta N_{eff} \lesssim$ 1.6 are allowed. Interestingly dark radiation overproduction can be avoided also in the absence of a Giudice-Masiero coupling.
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It is sometimes argued that the uneven sky coverage of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) biases the distribution of satellite galaxies discovered by it to align with the polar plane defined by the 11 brighter, classical Milky Way (MW) satellites. This might prevent the SDSS satellites from adding significance to the MW's Vast Polar Structure (VPOS). We investigate whether this argument is valid by comparing the observed situation with model satellite distributions confined to the exact SDSS footprint area. We find that the SDSS satellites indeed add to the significance of the VPOS and that the survey footprint rather biases away from a close alignment between the plane fitted to the SDSS satellites and the plane fitted to the 11 classical satellites. Finding the observed satellite phase-space alignments of both the classical and SDSS satellites is a ~5{\sigma} event with respect to an isotropic distribution. This constitutes a robust discovery of the VPOS and makes it more significant than the Great Plane of Andromeda (GPoA). Motivated by the GPoA, which consists of only about half of M31's satellites, we also estimate which fraction of the MW satellites is consistent with being part of an isotropic distribution. Depending on the underlying satellite plane width, only 2 to 6 out of the 27 considered MW satellites are expected to be drawn from isotropy, and an isotropic component of >50% of the MW satellite population is excluded at 95% confidence.
Although the universe at redshifts greater than six represents only the first one billion years (<10%) of cosmic time, the dense nature of the early universe led to vigorous galaxy formation and evolution activity which we are only now starting to piece together. Technological improvements have, over only the past decade, allowed large samples of galaxies at such high redshifts to be collected, providing a glimpse into the epoch of formation of the first stars and galaxies. A wide variety of observational techniques have led to the discovery of thousands of galaxy candidates at z > 6, with spectroscopically confirmed galaxies out to nearly z = 9. Using these large samples, we have begun to gain a physical insight into the processes inherent in galaxy evolution at early times. In this review, I will discuss i) the selection techniques for finding distant galaxies, including a summary of previous and ongoing ground and space-based searches, and spectroscopic followup efforts, ii) insights into galaxy evolution gleaned from measures such as the rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity function, the stellar mass function, and galaxy star-formation rates, and iii) the effect of galaxies on their surrounding environment, including the chemical enrichment of the universe, and the reionization of the intergalactic medium. Finally, I conclude with prospects for future observational study of the distant universe, using a bevy of new state-of-the-art facilities coming online over the next decade and beyond.
The well-studied M9 dwarf TVLM 513-46546 is a rapid rotator (P_rot ~ 2 hr) hosting a stable, dipolar magnetic field of ~3 kG surface strength. Here we report its detection with ALMA at 95 GHz at a mean flux density of $56 \pm 12$ uJy, making it the first ultracool dwarf detected in the millimeter band, excluding young, disk-bearing objects. We also report flux density measurements from unpublished archival VLA data and new optical monitoring data from the Liverpool Telescope. The ALMA data are consistent with a power-law radio spectrum that extends continuously between centimeter and millimeter wavelengths. We argue that the emission is due to the synchrotron process, excluding thermal, free-free, and electron cyclotron maser emission as possible sources. During the interval of the ALMA observation that phases with the maximum of the object's optical variability, the flux density is higher at a ~1.8 sigma significance level. These early results show how ALMA opens a new window for studying the magnetic activity of ultracool dwarfs, particularly shedding light on the particle acceleration mechanism operating in their immediate surroundings.
The C/O ratio is a defining feature of both gas giant atmospheric and protoplanetary disk chemistry. In disks, the C/O ratio is regulated by the presence of snowlines of major volatiles at different distances from the central star. We explore the effect of radial drift of solids and viscous gas accretion onto the central star on the snowline locations of the main C and O carriers in a protoplanetary disk, H2O, CO2 and CO, and their consequences for the C/O ratio in gas and dust throughout the disk. We determine the snowline locations for a range of fixed initial particle sizes and disk types. For our fiducial disk model, we find that grains with sizes ~0.5 cm < s < 7 m for an irradiated disk, and ~0.001 cm < s < 7 m for an evolving and viscous disk, desorb at a size-dependent location in the disk, which is independent of the particle's initial position. The snowline radius decreases for larger particles, up to sizes of ~7 m. Compared to a static disk, we find that radial drift and gas accretion in a viscous disk move the H2O snowline inwards by up to 40%, the CO2 snowline by up to 60%, and the CO snowline by up to 50%. We thus determine an inner limit on the snowline locations when radial drift and gas accretion are accounted for.
Decade-long timing observations of arrays of millisecond pulsars have placed highly constraining upper limits on the amplitude of the nanohertz gravitational-wave stochastic signal from the mergers of supermassive black-hole binaries ($\sim 10^{-15}$ strain at $f = 1/\mathrm{yr}$). These limits suggest that binary merger rates have been overestimated, or that environmental influences from nuclear gas or stars accelerate orbital decay, reducing the gravitational-wave signal at the lowest, most sensitive frequencies. This prompts the question whether nanohertz gravitational waves are likely to be detected in the near future. In this letter, we answer this question quantitatively using simple statistical estimates, deriving the range of true signal amplitudes that are compatible with current upper limits, and computing expected detection probabilities as a function of observation time. We conclude that small arrays consisting of the pulsars with the least timing noise, which yield the tightest upper limits, have discouraging prospects of making a detection in the next two decades. By contrast, we find large arrays are crucial to detection because the quadrupolar spatial correlations induced by gravitational waves can be well sampled by many pulsar pairs. Indeed, timing programs which monitor a large and expanding set of pulsars have an $\sim 80\%$ probability of detecting gravitational waves within the next ten years, under assumptions on merger rates and environmental influences ranging from optimistic to conservative. Even in the extreme case where $90\%$ of binaries stall before merger and environmental coupling effects diminish low-frequency gravitational-wave power, detection is delayed by at most a few years.
The optical classification of a Seyfert galaxy and whether it is considered
X-ray absorbed are often used interchangeably. But there are many borderline
cases and also numerous examples where the optical and X-ray classifications
appear to be in conflict. In this article we re-visit the relation between
optical obscuration and X-ray absorption in AGNs. We make use of our "dust
color" method (Burtscher et al. 2015) to derive the optical obscuration A_V and
consistently estimated X-ray absorbing columns using 0.3--150 keV spectral
energy distributions. We also take into account the variable nature of the
neutral gas column N_H and derive the Seyfert sub-classes of all our objects in
a consistent way.
We show in a sample of 25 local, hard-X-ray detected Seyfert galaxies (log
L_X / (erg/s) ~ 41.5 - 43.5) that there can actually be a good agreement
between optical and X-ray classification. If Seyfert types 1.8 and 1.9 are
considered unobscured, the threshold between X-ray unabsorbed and absorbed
should be chosen at a column N_H = 10^22.3 / cm^2 to be consistent with the
optical classification.
We find that N_H is related to A_V and that the N_H/A_V ratio is
approximately Galactic or higher in all sources, as indicated previously. But
in several objects we also see that deviations from the Galactic ratio are only
due to a variable X-ray column, showing that (1) deviations from the Galactic
N_H/A_V can simply be explained by dust-free neutral gas within the broad line
region in some sources, that (2) the dust properties in AGNs can be similar to
Galactic dust and that (3) the dust color method is a robust way to estimate
the optical extinction towards the sublimation radius in all but the most
obscured AGNs.
Young star clusters (YSCs) appear to be a ubiquitous product of star formation in local galaxies, thus, they can be used to study the star formation process at work in their host galaxies. Moreover, YSCs are intrinsically brighter that single stars, potentially becoming the most important tracers of the recent star formation history in galaxies in the local Universe. In local galaxies, we also witness the presence of a large population of evolved star clusters, commonly called globular clusters (GCs). GCs peak formation history is very close to the redshift (z~2) when the cosmic star formation history reached the maximum. Therefore, GCs are usually associated to extreme star formation episodes in high-redshift galaxies. It is yet not clear whether YSCs and GCs share a similar formation process (same physics under different interstellar medium conditions) and evolution process, and whether the former can be used as progenitor analogs of the latter. In this invited contribution, I review general properties of YSC populations in local galaxies. I will summarise some of the current open questions in the field, with particular emphasis to whether or not galactic environments, where YSCs form, leave imprints on the nested populations. The importance of this rapidly developing field can be crucial in understanding GC formation and possibly the galactic environment condition where this ancient population formed.
Our aim is to model the 3D magnetic field structure of the upper solar atmosphere, including regions of non-negligible plasma beta. We use high-resolution photospheric magnetic field measurements from SUNRISE/IMaX as boundary condition for a magneto-static magnetic field model. The high resolution of IMaX allows us to resolve the interface region between photosphere and corona, but modelling this region is challenging for the following reasons. While the coronal magnetic field is thought to be force-free (the Lorentz-force vanishes), this is not the case in the mixed plasma $\beta$ environment in the photosphere and lower chromosphere. In our model, pressure gradients and gravity forces are taken self-consistently into account and compensate the non-vanishing Lorentz-force. Above a certain height (about 2 Mm) the non-magnetic forces become very weak and consequently the magnetic field becomes almost force-free. Here we apply a linear approach, where the electric current density consists of a superposition of a field-line parallel current and a current perpendicular to the Sun's gravity field. We illustrate the prospects and limitations of this approach and give an outlook for an extension towards a non-linear model.
The obliquities of planet-hosting stars are clues about the formation of planetary systems. Previous observations led to the hypothesis that for close-in giant planets, spin-orbit alignment is enforced by tidal interactions. Here, we examine two problems with this hypothesis. First, Mazeh and coworkers recently used a new technique -- based on the amplitude of starspot-induced photometric variability -- to conclude that spin-orbit alignment is common even for relatively long-period planets, which would not be expected if tides were responsible. We re-examine the data and find a statistically significant correlation between photometric variability and planetary orbital period that is qualitatively consistent with tidal interactions. However it is still difficult to explain quantitatively, as it would require tides to be effective for periods as long as tens of days. Second, Rogers and Lin argued against a particular theory for tidal re-alignment by showing that initially retrograde systems would fail to be re-aligned, in contradiction with the observed prevalence of prograde systems. We investigate a simple model that overcomes this problem by taking into account the dissipation of inertial waves and the equilibrium tide, as well as magnetic braking. We identify a region of parameter space where re-alignment can be achieved, but it only works for close-in giant planets, and requires some fine tuning. Thus, while we find both problems to be more nuanced than they first appeared, the tidal model still has serious shortcomings.
Mapping the dark matter distribution across our Galaxy represents a central challenge for the near future as a new generation of space-borne and ground-based astronomical surveys swiftly comes online. Here we present a synopsis of the present status of the field, reviewing briefly the baryonic content and the kinematics of the Milky Way and outlining the methods used to infer the dark matter component. The discussion then proceeds with some of the latest developments based on our own work. In particular, we present a new compilation of kinematic measurements tracing the rotation curve of the Galaxy and an exhaustive array of observation-based baryonic models setting the contribution of stellar bulge, stellar disc and gas to the total gravitational potential. The discrepancy between these two components is then quantified to derive the latest constraints on the dark matter distribution and on modified Newtonian dynamics. We shall end with an overview of future directions to improve our mapping of the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way.
We present SAURON integral-field observations of a sample of 12 mid to high-inclination disk galaxies, to unveil hidden bars on the basis of their kinematics, i.e., the correlation between velocity and h3 profiles, and to establish their degree of cylindrical rotation. For the latter, we introduce a method to quantify cylindrical rotation that is robust against inner disk components. We confirm high-levels of cylindrical rotation in boxy/peanut bulges, but also observe this feature in a few galaxies with rounder bulges. We suggest that these are also barred galaxies with end-on orientations. Re-analysing published data for our own Galaxy using this new method, we determine that the Milky Way bulge is cylindrically rotating at the same level as the strongest barred galaxy in our sample. Finally, we use self-consistent three-dimensional N-body simulations of bar-unstable disks to study the dependence of cylindrical rotation on the bar's orientation and host galaxy inclination.
We study the debated contribution from thermally pulsing asymptotic giant
branch (TP-AGB) stars in evolutionary population synthesis models. We
investigate the Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) of a sample of 51
spectroscopically confirmed, high-z ($1.3<z_{\rm spec}<2.7$), galaxies using
three evolutionary population synthesis models with strong, mild and light
TP-AGB. Our sample is the largest of spectroscopically confirmed galaxies on
which such models are tested so far. Galaxies were selected as passive, but we
model them using a variety of star formation histories in order not to be
dependent on this pre-selection.
We find that the observed SEDs are best fitted with a significant
contribution of TP-AGB stars or with substantial dust attenuation. Without
including reddening, TP-AGB-strong models perform better and deliver solutions
consistent within $1\sigma$ from the best-fit ones in the vast majority of
cases. Including reddening, all models perform similarly. Using independent
constraints from observations in the mid- and far-IR, we show that
low/negligible dust attenuation, i.e. $E(B-V)\lesssim 0.05$ , should be
preferred for the SEDs of passively-selected galaxies. Given that TP-AGB-light
models give systematically older ages for passive galaxies, we suggest number
counts of passive galaxies at higher redshifts as a further test to
discriminate among stellar population models.
The Disk of Satellites (DoS) observed in the Andromeda galaxy is a thin and extended group of satellites, nearly perpendicular to the disk plane, that share a common direction of rotation about the centre of Andromeda. Although a DoS is also observed in the Milky Way galaxy, the prevalance of such structures in more distant galaxies remains controversial. Explanations for the formation of such DoSs vary widely from filamentary infall, or flattening due to the potential field from large scale structure, to galaxy interactions in a Mondian paradigm. Here we present an alternative scenario -- during a merger, a galaxy may bring its own satellite population when merging with another galaxy. We demonstrate how, under the correct circumstances, during the coalescence of the two galaxies, the satellite population can be spread into an extended, flattened structure, with a common direction of rotation about the merger remnant. We investigate the key parameters of the interaction, and the satellite population, that are required to form a DoS in this scenario.
Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are weak absorption features of interstellar origin present in the optical and infrared spectra of stars. Their use as a tool to trace the structure of the Galactic ISM is gaining relevance in the recent years. Here we present an experiment to test our ability to trace differential reddening on the plane of the sky by using the information relative to the DIB at $\lambda$6614 extracted from the spectra of cool stars. For that we made use of archive FLAMES data of the globular cluster M4, as well as WISE and Planck images for reference. We found a global positive trend between the distribution of the strength of the DIB, as traced by its equivalent width, and the amount of Galactic reddening, as traced by Planck. This result supports the use of DIBs to trace the small scale structure of the Galactic ISM.
Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs) are an extreme star-bursting population of galaxies that were far more common at earlier epochs than today. Based on spectroscopic and photometric measurements of LCBGs in massive (M >10^15 M_sun), intermediate redshift (0.5 < z < 0.9) galaxy clusters, we present their rest-frame properties including star-formation rate, dynamical mass, size, luminosity, and metallicity. The appearance of these small, compact galaxies in clusters at intermediate redshift helps explain the observed redshift evolution in the size-luminosity relationship among cluster galaxies. In addition, we find the rest-frame properties of LCBGs appearing in galaxy clusters are indistinguishable from field LCBGs at the same redshift. Up to 35% of the LCBGs show significant discrepancies between optical and infrared indicators of star formation, suggesting that star formation occurs in obscured regions. Nonetheless, the star formation for LCBGs shows a decrease toward the center of the galaxy clusters. Based on their position and velocity, we estimate that up to 10% of cluster LCBGs are likely to merge with another cluster galaxy. Finally, the observed properties and distributions of the LCBGs in these clusters lead us to conclude that we are witnessing the quenching of the progenitors of dwarf elliptical galaxies that dominate the number density of present-epoch galaxy clusters.
The radioactive decay of the freshly synthesized $r$-process nuclei ejected in compact binary mergers power optical/infrared macronovae (kilonovae) that follow these events. The light curves depend critically on the energy partition among the different products of the radioactive decay and this plays an important role in estimates of the amount of ejected $r$-process elements from a given observed signal. We study the energy partition and $\gamma$-ray emission of the radioactive decay. We show that $20$-$50\%$ of the total radioactive energy is released in $\gamma$-rays on timescales from hours to a month. The number of emitted $\gamma$-rays per unit energy interval has roughly a flat spectrum between a few dozen keV and $1$ MeV so that most of this energy is carried by $\sim 1$ MeV $\gamma$-rays. However at the peak of macronova emission the optical depth of the $\gamma$-rays is $\sim 0.02$ and most of the $\gamma$-rays escape. The loss of these $\gamma$-rays reduces the heat deposition into the ejecta and hence reduces the expected macronova signals if those are lanthanides dominated. This implies that the ejected mass is larger by a factor of $2$-$3$ than what was previously estimated. Spontaneous fission heats up the ejecta and the heating rate can increase if a sufficient amount of transuranic nuclei are synthesized. Direct measurements of these escaping $\gamma$-rays may provide the ultimate proof for the macronova mechanisms and an identification of the $r$-process nucleosynthesis sites. However, the chances to detect these signals are slim with current X-ray and $\gamma$-ray missions. New detectors, more sensitive by at least a factor of ten, are needed for a realistic detection rate.
Depending on the values of the energy and angular momentum per unit mass in the gas supplied at large radii, inviscid advection-dominated accretion flows can display velocity profiles with either pre-shock deceleration or pre-shock acceleration. Nakayama has shown that these two types of flow configurations are expected to have different stability properties. By employing the Chevalier & Imamura linearization method and the Nakayama instability boundary conditions, we discover that there are regions of parameters space where disk/shocks with outflows can be stable or unstable. In region of instability, we find that pre-shock deceleration is always unstable to the zeroth mode with zero frequency of oscillation, but is always stable to the fundamental and overtones. Furthermore, we also find that pre-shock acceleration is always unstable to the zeroth mode, and that the fundamental and overtones become increasingly less stable as the shock location moves away from the horizon when the disk half-height expands above $\sim 12$ gravitational radii at the shock radius. In region of stability, we demonstrate the zeroth mode to be stable for the velocity profiles that exhibit pre-shock acceleration and deceleration. Moreover, for models that are linearly unstable, our model suggests the possible existence of QPOs with ratios 2:3 and 3:5. These ratios are believed to occur in stellar and supermassive black hole candidates, for example in GRS 1915+105 and Sgr A*, respectively. We expect similar QPO ratios also exist in region of stable shocks.
We report on a deep photometric survey covering an area of 1.17 deg$^2$ in the young Upper Scorpius stellar association using VIMOS $Iz$ and UKIDSS $ZJHK$ data taking several years apart. The search for the least massive population of Upper Scorpius ($\sim$5-10 Myr, 145 pc) is performed on the basis of various optical and infrared color-color and color-magnitude diagrams, including WISE photometry, in the magnitude interval $J$=14.5-19 mag (completeness), which corresponds to substellar masses from 0.028 through 0.004 M$_\odot$ at the age and distance of Upper Scorpius. We also present the proper motion analysis of the photometric candidates, finding that two objects successfully pass all photometric and astrometric criteria for membership in the young stellar association. One of them, UScoJ155150.2$-$213457, is a new discovery. We obtained low resolution, near-infrared spectroscopy ($R\sim$450, 0.85--2.35 $\mu$m) of this new finding using the FIRE instrument. We confirmed its low-gravity atmosphere expected for an Upper Scorpius member (weak alkaline lines, strong VO absorption, peaked $H$-band pseudocontinuum). By comparison with spectroscopic standards, we derive a spectral type of L6$\pm$1, and estimate a mass of $\approx$0.008-0.010 M$_\odot$ for UScoJ155150.2$-$213457. The colors and spectral slope of this object resemble those of other young, cool members of Upper Scorpius and $\sigma$ Orionis ($\sim$3 Myr) and field, high gravity dwarfs of related classification in contrast with the very red indices of field, low gravity, L-type dwarfs of intermediate age. UScoJ155150.2$-$213457, which does not show infrared flux excesses up to 4.5 $\mu$m, becomes one of the least massive and latest type objects known in the entire Upper Scorpius stellar association.
The VLT Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) integral-field spectrograph can detect Ly\alpha{} emitters (LAE) in the redshift range $2.8 \lesssim z \lesssim 6.7$ in a homogeneous way. Ongoing MUSE surveys will notably probe faint Ly\alpha{} sources that are usually missed by current narrow-band surveys. We provide quantitative predictions for a typical wedding-cake observing strategy with MUSE based on mock catalogs generated with a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation coupled to numerical Ly\alpha{} radiation transfer models in gas outflows. We expect $\approx$ 1500 bright LAEs ($F_{Ly\alpha}$ $\gtrsim$ $10^{-17}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$) in a typical Shallow Field (SF) survey carried over $\approx$ 100 arcmin$^2$, and $\approx$ 2,000 sources as faint as $10^{-18}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ in a Medium-Deep Field (MDF) survey over 10 arcmin$^2$. In a typical Deep Field (DF) survey of 1 arcmin$^2$, we predict that $\approx$ 500 extremely faint LAEs ($F_{Ly\alpha}$ $\gtrsim$ $4 \times 10^{-19}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$) will be found. Our results suggest that faint Ly\alpha{} sources contribute significantly to the cosmic Ly\alpha{} luminosity and SFR budget. While the host halos of bright LAEs at z $\approx$ 3 and 6 have descendants with median masses of $2 \times 10^{12}$ and $5 \times 10^{13}$ $M_{\odot}$ respectively, the faintest sources detectable by MUSE at these redshifts are predicted to reside in halos which evolve into typical sub-$L^{*}$ and $L^{*}$ galaxy halos at z = 0. We expect typical DF and MDF surveys to uncover the building blocks of Milky Way-like objects, even probing the bulk of the stellar mass content of LAEs located in their progenitor halos at z $\approx$ 3.
GJ 3470b is a warm Neptune-size planet transiting a M dwarf star. Like the handful of other small exoplanets for which transmission spectroscopy has been obtained, GJ 3470b exhibits a flat spectrum in the near- and mid-infrared. Recently, a tentative detection of Rayleigh scattering in its atmosphere has been reported. This signal manifests itself as an observed increase of the planetary radius as a function of decreasing wavelength in the visible. We set out to verify this detection and observed several transits of this planet with the LCOGT network and the Kuiper telescope in four different bands (Sloan g', Sloan i', Harris B and Harris V). Our analysis reveals a strong Rayleigh scattering slope, thus confirming previous results. This makes GJ 3470b the smallest known exoplanet with a detection of Rayleigh scattering. We find that the most plausible scenario is a hydrogen/helium-dominated atmosphere covered by clouds which obscure absorption features in the infrared and hazes which give rise to scattering in the visible. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of exoplanet atmospheric characterization from the ground, even with meter-class telescopes.
Molecular cloud observations show that clouds have non-thermal velocity dispersions that scale with the cloud size as $\sigma\propto R^{1/2}$ at constant surface density, and for varying surface density scale with both the cloud`s size and surface density, $\sigma^2 \propto R \Sigma$. The energy source driving these chaotic motions remains poorly understood. We describe the velocity dispersions observed in a cloud population formed in a kiloparsec-scale numerical simulation of a magnetized, supernova-driven, self-gravitating, interstellar medium, including diffuse heating and radiative cooling. We compare the relationships between velocity dispersion, size, and surface density measured in the simulated cloud population to those found in observations of Galactic molecular clouds. We find that external supernova explosions can not drive turbulent motions of the observed magnitudes within dense clouds. On the other hand, self-gravity also induces non-thermal motions as gravitationally bound clouds begin to collapse in our model, and by doing so their internal velocity dispersions recover the observed relations. Energy conservation suggests that the observed behavior is consistent with the kinetic energy being proportional to the gravitational energy. However, the clouds in our model show no sign of reaching a stable equilibrium state at any time, even for strongly magnetized clouds. We conclude that gravitationally bound molecular clouds are always in a state of gravitational collapse and their properties are a natural result of this chaotic collapse. In order to agree with observed star formation efficiencies, this process must be terminated by the early destruction of the clouds, presumably from internal stellar feedback.
Using 3.6 and 4.5$\mu$m images of 73 late-type, edge-on galaxies from the S$^4$G survey, we compare the richness of the globular cluster populations of these galaxies to those of early type galaxies that we measured previously. In general, the galaxies presented here fill in the distribution for galaxies with lower stellar mass, M$_*$, specifically $\log({\rm M}_*/{\rm M}_\odot) < 10$, overlap the results for early-type galaxies of similar masses, and, by doing so, strengthen the case for a dependence of the number of globular clusters per $10^9\ {\rm M}_\odot$ of galaxy stellar mass, T$_{\rm N}$, on M$_*$. For $8.5 < \log ({\rm M}_*/{\rm M}_\odot) < 10.5$ we find the relationship can be satisfactorily described as T$_{\rm N} = ({\rm M}_*/10^{6.7})^{-0.56}$ when M$_*$ is expressed in solar masses. The functional form of the relationship is only weakly constrained and extrapolation outside this range is not advised. Our late-type galaxies, in contrast to our early-types, do not show the tendency for low mass galaxies to split into two T$_{\rm N}$ families. Using these results and a galaxy stellar mass function from the literature, we calculate that in a volume limited, local Universe sample, clusters are most likely to be found around fairly massive galaxies (M$_* \sim 10^{10.8}$ M$_\odot$) and present a fitting function for the volume number density of clusters as a function of parent galaxy stellar mass. We find no correlation between T$_{\rm N}$ and large-scale environment, but do find a tendency for galaxies of fixed M$_*$ to have larger T$_{\rm N}$ if they have converted a larger proportion of their baryons into stars.
The structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks, especially the radial flows of gas through them, are sensitive to a number of factors. One that has been considered only occasionally in the literature is external photoevaporation by far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation from nearby, massive stars, despite the fact that nearly half of all disks will experience photoevaporation. Another effect apparently not considered in the literature is a spatially and temporally varying value of $\alpha$ in the disk [where the turbulent viscosity $\nu$ is $\alpha$ times the sound speed C times the disk scale height H]. Here we use the formulation of Bai \& Stone (2011) to relate $\alpha$ to the ionization fraction in the disk, assuming turbulent transport of angular momentum is due to the magnetorotational instability. We find that disk evolution is most sensitive to the surface area of dust. Typically $\alpha \lesssim 10^{-5}$ in the inner disk ($< 2$ AU), rising to $\sim 10^{-1}$ beyond 20 AU. This drastically alters the structure of the disk and the flow of mass through it: while the outer disk rapidly viscously spreads, the inner disk hardly evolves; this leads to a steep surface density profile with a slope < p > $\approx$ 2 - 5 in the 5-30 AU region) that is made steeper by external photoevaporation. We also find that the combination of variable $\alpha$ and external photoevaporation eventually causes gas as close as 3 AU, previously accreting inward, to be drawn outward to the photoevaporated outer edge of the disk. These effects have drastic consequences for planet formation and volatile transport in protoplanetary disks.
One of the most unusual aspects of the X-ray binary LSI +61 303 is that at each orbit (P1=26.4960 \pm 0.0028 d) one radio outburst occurs whose amplitude is modulated with Plong, a long-term period of more than 4 yr. It is still not clear whether the compact object of the system or the companion Be star is responsible for the long-term modulation. We study here the stability of Plong. Such a stability is expected if Plong is due to periodic (P2) Doppler boosting of periodic (P1) ejections from the accreting compact object of the system. On the contrary it is not expected if Plong is related to variations in the mass loss of the companion Be star. We built a database of 36.8 yr of radio observations of LSI +61 303 covering more than 8 long-term cycles. We performed timing and correlation analysis. In addition to the two dominant features at P1 and P2, the timing analysis gives a feature at Plong=1628 \pm 48 days. The determined value of Plong agrees with the beat of the two dominant features, i.e. Pbeat=1/(\nu1 -\nu2)=1626 \pm 68 d. The correlation coefficient of the radio data oscillates at multiples of Pbeat. Cycles in varying Be stars change in length and disappear after 2-3 cycles following the well-studied case of the binary system zeta Tau. On the contrary, in LSI +61 303 the long-term period is quite stable and repeats itself over the available 8 cycles. The long-term modulation in LSI +61 303 accurately reflects the beat of periodical Doppler boosting (induced by precession) with the periodicity of the ejecta. The peak of the long-term modulation occurs at the coincidence of the maximum number of ejected particles with the maximum Doppler boosting of their emission; this coincidence occurs every 1/(\nu1 - \nu2) and creates the long-term modulation observed in LSI +61 303.
A dynamical model for star formation on a galactic scale is proposed in which the interstellar medium is constantly condensing to star-forming clouds on the dynamical time of the average midplane density, and the clouds are constantly being disrupted on the dynamical time scale appropriate for their higher density. In this model, the areal star formation rate scales with the 1.5 power of the total gas column density throughout the main regions of spiral galaxies, and with a steeper power, 2, in the far outer regions and in dwarf irregular galaxies because of the flaring disks. At the same time, there is a molecular star formation law that is linear in the main and outer parts of disks and in dIrrs because the duration of individual structures in the molecular phase is also the dynamical time scale, canceling the additional 0.5 power of surface density. The total gas consumption time scales directly with the midplane dynamical time, quenching star formation in the inner regions if there is no accretion, and sustaining star formation for ~100 Gyr or more in the outer regions with no qualitative change in gas stability or molecular cloud properties. The ULIRG track follows from high densities in galaxy collisions.
Rotation period clustering in prograde/retrograde rotators might indicate the preliminary indication of the Slivan state in the Koronis family as a result of the YORP effect. We follow the general scenario of dispersion in semimajor axis of the asteroid family members to separate prograde and retrograde rotators in the Koronis family. From the available rotation periods obtained from PTF/iPTF, we can not found the rotation period clustering of objects with H grater than 12 mag in the Koronis family. This could be the result of the intermittent collisional process of small asteroids (D less than ~20 km) which leads to astray Yarkovsky drifting. Measurement of the pole orientations of our sample will verify our preliminary result and validate our method.
In this paper we analyze in detail a rarely discussed question of gravity waves production from evaporating black holes. Evaporating black holes emit gravitons which are at classical level registered as gravity waves. We use the latest constraints on the primordial black hole abundance, and calculate the power emitted in gravitons at the time of their evaporation. We then solve the coupled system of equations that gives us the evolution of the frequency and amplitude of gravity waves during the expansion of the universe. The spectrum of gravitational waves that can be detected today depends on multiple factors: fraction of the total energy density which was occupied by black holes, the epoch in which the black holes are formed, and quantities like mass and angular momentum of evaporating black holes. We conclude that very small primordial black holes which evaporate before the nucleosynthesis emit gravitons whose spectral energy fraction today can be as large as $10^{-5}$. On the other hand, primordial black holes which are massive enough so that they evaporate by today or still exist now can yield a signal of $\sim 10^{-10}$. However, typical frequencies of the gravity waves from these black holes are still too high to be observed with the current and near future gravity waves observations.
Digital correlated double sampling (DCDS), a readout technique for charge-coupled devices (CCD), is gaining popularity in astronomical applications. By using an oversampling ADC and a digital filter, a DCDS system can achieve a better performance than traditional analogue readout techniques at the expense of a more complex system analysis. Several attempts to analyse and optimize a DCDS system have been reported, but most of the work presented in the literature has been experimental. Some approximate analytical tools have been presented for independent parameters of the system, but the overall performance and trade-offs have not been yet modelled. Furthermore, there is disagreement among experimental results that cannot be explained by the analytical tools available. In this work, a theoretical analysis of a generic DCDS readout system is presented, including key aspects such as the signal conditioning stage, the ADC resolution, the sampling frequency and the digital filter implementation. By using a time-domain noise model, the effect of the digital filter is properly modelled as a discrete-time process, thus avoiding the imprecision of continuous-time approximations that have been used so far. As a result, an accurate, closed-form expression for the signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the readout system is reached. This expression can be easily optimized in order to meet a set of specifications for a given CCD, thus providing a systematic design methodology for an optimal readout system. Simulated results are presented to validate the theory, obtained with both time- and frequency-domain noise generation models for completeness.
The classification "early-type" galaxy includes both elliptically- and lenticular-shaped galaxies. Theoretically, the spheroid-to-disc flux ratio of an early-type galaxy can assume any positive value, but in practice studies often consider only spheroid/disc decompositions in which the disc neatly dominates over the spheroid at large galaxy radii, creating an inner "bulge" as observed in most spiral galaxies. Here we show that decompositions in which the disc remains embedded within the spheroid, labelled by some as "unphysical", correctly reproduce both the photometric and kinematic properties of early-type galaxies with intermediate-scale discs. Intermediate-scale discs have often been confused with large-scale discs and incorrectly modelled as such; when this happens, the spheroid luminosity is considerably underestimated. This has recently led to some surprising conclusions, such as the claim that a number of galaxies with intermediate-scale discs (Mrk 1216, NGC 1277, NGC 1271, and NGC 1332) host a central black hole whose mass is abnormally large compared to expectations from the (underestimated) spheroid luminosity. We show that when these galaxies are correctly modelled, they no longer appear as extreme outliers in the (black hole mass)-(spheroid mass) diagram. This not only nullifies the need for invoking different evolutionary scenarios for these galaxies but it strengthens the significance of the observed (black hole mass)-(spheroid mass) correlation and confirms its importance as a fundamental ingredient for theoretical and semi-analytic models used to describe the coevolution of spheroids and their central supermassive black holes.
Late-type main sequence stars exhibit an x-ray to bolometric flux that depends on the Corolis number $Co$ (product of convective turnover time and angular rotation speed) as $Co^{\zeta}$ with $2\le \zeta \le 3$ for $Co <<1$, but saturates with $|\zeta| <0.2$ for $Co>> 1$. Stars in the unsaturated regime also obey the Skumanich law--- their rotation speeds scale inversely with square root of their age. The associated stellar magnetic field strengths follow a similar decrease with age. While the connection between faster rotators, stronger fields, and higher activity has been well established observationally, a basic theory for the time evolution of x-ray luminosity, rotation, magnetic field and mass loss been lacking. Here we offer a minimalist model for the time evolution of these quantities built from combining a Parker wind with several new ingredients: (1) explicit sourcing of both the thermal energy launching the wind and the x-ray luminosity via dynamo produced magnetic fields; (2) explicit coupling of x-ray activity and mass loss saturation to dynamo saturation (via magnetic helicity buildup and convection eddy shredding); (3) use of short term coronal equilibrium to determine how magnetic energy sourcing is divided into wind and x-rays. Applying the theory to main-sequence evolution of a sun-like star, the approach shows some promise toward a unified explanation of the aforementioned time-dependent observational evolution. We focus here on the basic method and the time evolution of a solar mass star, highlighting what is possible for further generalizations.
Pure power-law density profiles, $\rho(r)\propto r^{b-3}$, are classified in connection with the following reference cases: (i) isodensity, $b=3$, $\rho=$ const; (ii) isogravity, $b=2$, $g=$ const; (iii) isothermal, $b=1$, $v=[GM(r)/r]^{1/2}=$ const; (iv) isomass, $b=0$, $M=$ const. A restricted number of different families of density profiles including, in addition, cored power-law, generalized power-law, polytropes, are studied in detail with regard to both one-component and two-component systems. Considerable effort is devoted to the existence of an extremum point (maximum absolute value) in the gravitational acceleration within the matter distribution. Predicted velocity curves are compared to the data inferred from observations. Tidal effects on an inner subsystem are investigated and an application is made to globular clusters within the Galaxy. To this aim, the tidal radius is defined by balancing the opposite gravitational forces from the Galaxy and the selected cluster on a special point of the cluster boundary, lying between related centres of mass. The position of 17 globular clusters with respect to the stability region, where the tidal radius exceeds the observed radius, is shown for assigned dark-to-visible mass ratios and density profiles, among those considered, which are currently used for the description of galaxies and/or dark matter haloes.
Na I D absorbing systems towards Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) have been intensively studied over the last decade with the aim of finding circumstellar material (CSM), which is an indirect probe of the progenitor system. However, it is difficult to deconvolve CSM components from non-variable, and often dominant, components created by interstellar material (ISM). We present a series of high resolution spectra of SN Ia 2014J from before maximum brightness to >~250 days after maximum brightness. The late-time spectrum provides unique information for determining the origin of the Na I D absorption systems. The deep late-time observation allows us to probe the environment around the SN at a large scale, extending to >~40 pc. We find that a spectrum of diffuse light in the vicinity, but not directly in the line-of-sight of the SN, has absorbing systems nearly identical to those obtained for the `pure' SN line-of-sight. Therefore, basically all Na I D systems seen towards SN 2014J must originate from foreground material that extends to at least ~40 pc in projection and none at the CSM scale. A fluctuation in the column densities at a scale of ~20 pc is also identified. After subtracting the diffuse, "background" spectrum, the late-time SN line-of-sight Na I D profile is consistent with that of near-maximum brightness profiles. The lack of variability on a ~1 year timescale is consistent with the ISM interpretation for the gas.
We aim at unveiling the observational imprint of physical mechanisms that govern planetary formation in the young, multiple system GG Tau A. We present ALMA observations of $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO 3-2 and continuum at 0.9 mm at 0.35" resolution. The $^{12}$CO gas, found in the cavity of the dust ring where no $^{13}$CO gas is detected, confirms the existence of a CO accretion shock near the circumstellar disk of GG Tau Aa. The outer disk and the hot spot lying at the outer edge of the dust ring are observed both in $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO. The gas emission in the outer disk can be radially decomposed in a series of slightly overlapping gaussian rings, suggesting the presence of unresolved gaps. The dip closest to the disk center lies at a radius very close to the CO hot spot location ($\sim250-260$~au). Studies of the CO excitation conditions reveal that the outer disk remains in the shadow of the ring. The hot spot probably results from local heating processes. The two latter points strongly support the hypothesis making the hot spot an embedded proto-planet shepherding the outer disk and accreting surrounding material which may be traced by the the redshifted component observed in the spectra around the hot spot.
Galactic globular clusters (GCs) are known to host multiple stellar populations: a first generation with a chemical pattern typical of halo field stars and a second generation (SG) enriched in Na and Al and depleted in O and Mg. Both stellar generations are found at different evolutionary stages (e.g., the main-sequence turnoff, the subgiant branch, and the red giant branch). The non detection of SG asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in several metal-poor ([Fe/H] < -1) GCs suggests that not all SG stars ascend the AGB phase, and that failed AGB stars may be very common in metal-poor GCs. This observation represents a serious problem for stellar evolution and GC formation/evolution theories. We report fourteen SG-AGB stars in four metal-poor GCs (M 13, M 5, M 3, and M 2) with different observational properties: horizontal branch (HB) morphology, metallicity, and age. By combining the H-band Al abundances obtained by the APOGEE survey with ground-based optical photometry, we identify SG Al-rich AGB stars in these four GCs and show that Al-rich RGB/AGB GC stars should be Na-rich. Our observations provide strong support for present, standard stellar models, i.e., without including a strong mass-loss efficiency, for low-mass HB stars. In fact, current empirical evidence is in agreement with the predicted distribution of FG and and SG stars during the He-burning stages based on these standard stellar models.
Deuteration is a powerful tracer of the history of the cold prestellar phase in star forming regions. Apart from methanol, little is known about deuterium fractionation of complex organic molecules in the interstellar medium, especially in high mass star forming regions. We use a spectral line survey performed with ALMA to search for deuterated complex organic molecules toward the hot molecular core Sgr B2(N2). Population diagrams and integrated intensity maps are constructed to fit rotational temperatures and emission sizes for each molecule. Column densities are derived by modelling the full spectrum under the LTE assumption. The results are compared to predictions of two astrochemical models that treat the deuteration process. We report the detection of CH2DCN toward Sgr B2(N2) with a deuteration level of 0.4%, and tentative detections of CH2DOH, CH2DCH2CN, the chiral molecule CH3CHDCN, and DC3N with levels in the range 0.05%-0.12%. A stringent deuteration upper limit is obtained for CH3OD (<0.07%). Upper limits in the range 0.5-1.8% are derived for the three deuterated isotopologues of vinyl cyanide, the four deuterated species of ethanol, and CH2DOCHO. Ethyl cyanide is less deuterated than methyl cyanide by at least a factor five. Except for methyl cyanide, the measured deuteration levels lie at least a factor four below the predictions of current astrochemical models. The deuteration levels in Sgr B2(N2) are also lower than in Orion KL by a factor of a few up to a factor ten. The discrepancy between the deuteration levels of Sgr B2(N2) and the predictions of chemical models, and the difference between Sgr B2(N2) and Orion KL may both be due to the higher kinetic temperatures that characterize the Galactic Center region compared to nearby clouds. Alternatively, they may result from a lower overall abundance of deuterium itself in the Galactic Center region by up to a factor ten.
We present a study of the cataclysmic variable star PT Per based on archival XMM-Newton X-ray data and new optical spectroscopy from the WHT with ISIS. The X-ray data show deep minima which recur at a period of 82 minutes and a hard, unabsorbed X-ray spectrum. The optical spectra of PT Per show a relatively featureless blue continuum. From an analysis of the X-ray and optical data we conclude that PT Per is likely to be a magnetic cataclysmic variable of the polar class in which the minima correspond to those phase intervals when the accretion column rotates out of the field of view of the observer. We suggest that the optical spectrum, obtained around 4 years after the X-ray coverage, is dominated by the white dwarf in the system, implying that PT Per was in a low accretion state at the time of the observations. An analysis of the likely system parameters for PT Per suggests a distance of $\approx900$ pc and a very low-mass secondary, consistent with the idea that PT Per is a "period-bounce" binary.
Rotation was shown to have a strong impact on the structure and light element
nucleosynthesis in massive stars. In particular, models including rotation can
reproduce the primary nitrogen observed in halo extremely metal-poor (EMP)
stars. Additional exploratory models showed that rotation may enhance
$s$-process production at low metallicity.
Here we present a large grid of massive star models including rotation and a
full $s$-process network to study the impact of rotation on the weak
$s$-process. We explore the possibility of producing significant amounts of
elements beyond the strontium peak, which is where the weak $s$-process usually
stops.
We used the Geneva stellar evolution code coupled to an enlarged reaction
network with 737 nuclear species up to bismuth to calculate
$15-40\,\text{M}_\odot$ models at four metallicities ($Z = 0.014,10^{-3}$,
$10^{-5}$, and $10^{-7}$) from the main sequence up to the end of oxygen
burning.
We confirm that rotation-induced mixing between the convective H-shell and
He-core enables an important production of primary $^{14}$N and $^{22}$Ne and
$s$-process at low metallicity. At low metallicity, even though the production
is still limited by the initial number of iron seeds, rotation enhances the
$s$-process production, even for isotopes heavier than strontium, by increasing
the neutron to seed ratio. The increase in this ratio is a direct consequence
of the primary production of $^{22}$Ne. Despite nuclear uncertainties affecting
the $s$-process production and stellar uncertainties affecting the
rotation-induced mixing, our results show a robust production of $s$ process at
low metallicity when rotation is taken into account. Considering models with a
distribution of initial rotation rates enables to reproduce the observed large
range of the [Sr/Ba] ratios in (carbon-enhanced and normal) EMP stars.
We present results based on follow-up observations of the Type II-plateau supernova (SN) 2013ej at 6 epochs spanning a total duration of $\sim$37 d. The $R_{c}$-band linear polarimetric observations were carried out between the end of the plateau and the beginning of the nebular phases as noticed in the photometric light curve. The contribution due to interstellar polarization (ISP) was constrained by using couple of approaches, i.e. based upon the observations of foreground stars lying within 5\arcmin\, and 10$\degr$ radius of the SN location and also investigating the extinction due to the Milky Way and host galaxy towards the SN direction. Our analysis revealed that in general the intrinsic polarization of the SN is higher than the polarization values for the foreground stars and exhibits an increasing trend during our observations. After correcting the ISP of $\sim$0.6 per cent, the maximum intrinsic polarization of SN~2013ej is found to be 2.14 $\pm$ 0.57 per cent. Such a strong polarization has rarely been seen in Type II-P SNe. If this is the case, i.e., the `polarization bias' effect is still negligible, the polarization could be attributed to the asymmetry of the inner ejecta of the SN because the ISP towards the SN location is estimated to be, at most, 0.6 per cent.
In this work we examine with the help of Monte Carlo simulation whether a consistent primary energy spectrum of cosmic rays emerges from both the experimentally observed total charged particles and muon size spectra of cosmic ray extensive air showers considering primary composition may or may not change beyond the knee of the energy spectrum. It is found that EAS-TOP observations consistently infer a knee in the primary energy spectrum provided the primary is pure unchanging iron whereas no consistent primary spectrum emerges from simultaneous use of the KASCADE observed total charged particle and muon spectra. However, it is also found that when primary composition changes across the knee the estimation of spectral index of total charged particle spectrum is quite tricky, depends on the choice of selection of points near the knee in the size spectrum.
Star formation in strongly self-gravitating cloud cores should be similar at all redshifts, forming single or multiple stars with a range of masses determined by local magneto-hydrodynamics and gravity. The formation processes for these cores, however, as well as their structures, temperatures, Mach numbers, etc., and the boundedness and mass distribution functions of the resulting stars, should depend on environment, as should the characteristic mass, density, and column density at which cloud self-gravity dominates other forces. Because the environments for high and low redshift star formation differ significantly, we expect the resulting gas to stellar conversion details to differ also. At high redshift, the universe is denser and more gas-rich, so the active parts of galaxies are denser and more gas rich too, leading to slightly shorter gas consumption timescales, higher cloud pressures, and denser, more massive, bound stellar clusters at the high mass end. With shorter consumption times corresponding to higher relative cosmic accretion rates, and with the resulting higher star formation rates and their higher feedback powers, the ISM has greater turbulent speeds relative to the rotation speeds, thicker gas disks, and larger cloud and star complex sizes at the characteristic Jeans length. The result is a more chaotic appearance at high redshift, bridging the morphology gap between today's quiescent spirals and today's major-mergers, with neither spiral nor major-merger processes actually in play at that time. The result is also a thick disk at early times, and after in-plane accretion from relatively large clump torques, a classical bulge. Today's disks are thinner, and torque-driven accretion is slower outside of inner barred regions. This paper reviews the basic processes involved with star formation in order to illustrate its evolution over time and environment.
The modeling of the peculiar scattering polarization signals observed in some diagnostically important solar resonance lines requires the consideration of the detailed spectral structure of the incident radiation field as well as the possibility of ground level polarization, along with the atom's hyperfine structure and quantum interference between hyperfine F-levels pertaining either to the same fine structure J-level, or to different J-levels of the same term. Here we present a theoretical and numerical approach suitable for solving this complex non-LTE radiative transfer problem. This approach is based on the density-matrix metalevel theory (where each level is viewed as a continuous distribution of sublevels) and on accurate formal solvers of the transfer equations and efficient iterative methods. We show an application to the D-lines of NaI, with emphasis on the enigmatic D1 line, pointing out the observable signatures of the various physical mechanisms considered. We demonstrate that the linear polarization observed in the core of the D1 line may be explained by the effect that one gets when the detailed spectral structure of the anisotropic radiation responsible for the optical pumping is taken into account. This physical ingredient is capable of introducing significant scattering polarization in the core of the NaI D1 line without the need for ground-level polarization.
Accretion of gas from the cosmic web to galaxy halos and ultimately their disks is a prediction of modern cosmological models but is rarely observed directly or at the full rate expected from star formation. Here we illustrate possible large-scale cosmic HI accretion onto the nearby dwarf starburst galaxy IC10, observed with the VLA and GBT. We also suggest that cosmic accretion is the origin of sharp metallicity drops in the starburst regions of other dwarf galaxies, as observed with the 10-m GTC. Finally, we question the importance of cosmic accretion in normal dwarf irregulars, for which a recent study of their far-outer regions sees no need for, or evidence of, continuing gas buildup.
We discuss here a purely hydrodynamical mechanism to invert the sign of the kinetic helicity, which plays a key role in determining the direction of propagation of cyclical magnetism in most models of dynamo action by rotating convection. Such propagation provides a prominent, and puzzling constraint on dynamo models. In the Sun, active regions emerge first at mid-latitudes, then appear nearer the equator over the course of a cycle, but most previous global-scale dynamo simulations have exhibited poleward propagation (if they were cyclical at all). Here, we highlight some simulations in which the direction of propagation of dynamo waves is altered primarily by an inversion of the kinetic helicity throughout much of the interior, rather than by changes in the differential rotation. This tends to occur in cases with a low Prandtl number and internal heating, in regions where the local density gradient is relatively small. We analyse how this inversion arises, and contrast it to the case of convection that is either highly columnar (i.e., rapidly rotating) or locally very stratified; in both of those situations, the typical profile of kinetic helicity (negative throughout most of the northern hemisphere) instead prevails.
We study the properties of gravito-inertial waves in a differentially rotating fluid inside a spherical shell. The fluid is modeled with the Boussinesq approximation and has a shellular steady rotation profile that stems from the combined effects of stratification, rotation, and no-slip boundary conditions. The waves properties are examined by computing paths of characteristics in the non-dissipative limit, and by solving the full dissipative eigenvalue problem using a high-resolution spectral method. Gravito-inertial waves are found to obey a mixed-type second-order operator and to be often focused around short-period attractors of characteristics or trapped in a wedge formed by turning surfaces and boundaries. We also find eigenmodes that show a weak dependence with respect to viscosity and heat diffusion just like truly regular modes. Some axisymmetric modes are found unstable and likely destabilized by baroclinic instabilities. Similarly, some non-axisymmetric modes that meet a critical layer (or corotation resonance) can turn unstable at sufficiently low diffusivities. In all cases, the growth rate of the unstable modes is determined by the differential rotation. For many modes of the spectrum, neat power laws are found for the dependence of the damping rates with the diffusion coefficients, but the theoretical explanation for the exponent values remains elusive in general. These results show a very rich and complex eigenvalue spectrum which lets us suppose an even richer and more complex spectrum when realistic models of stellar and planetary set-ups are to be considered.
We further study the relations between parameters of bursts at 35 GHz recorded with the Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters during 25 years, on the one hand, and solar proton events, on the other hand (Grechnev et al. in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan 65, S4, 2013a). Here we address the relations between the microwave fluences at 35 GHz and near-Earth proton fluences above 100 MeV in order to find information on their sources and evaluate their diagnostic potential. A correlation was found to be pronouncedly higher between the microwave and proton fluences than between their peak fluxes. This fact probably reflects a dependence of the total number of protons on the duration of the acceleration process. In events with strong flares, the correlation coefficients of high-energy proton fluences with microwave and soft X-ray fluences are higher than those with the speeds of coronal mass ejections. The results indicate a statistically larger contribution of flare processes to high-energy proton fluxes. Acceleration by shock waves seems to be less important at high energies in events associated with strong flares, although its contribution is probable and possibly prevails in weaker events. The probability of a detectable proton enhancement was found to directly depend on the peak flux, duration, and fluence of the 35 GHz burst, while the role of the Big Flare Syndrome might be overestimated previously. Empirical diagnostic relations are proposed.
We study a sample of $\sim$50,000 dwarf starburst and late-type galaxies drawn from the COSMOS survey with the aim of investigating the presence of nuclear accreting black holes (BHs) as those seed BHs from which supermassive BHs could grow in the early Universe. We divide the sample into five complete redshift bins up to $z=1.5$ and perform an X-ray stacking analysis using the \textit{Chandra} COSMOS-Legacy survey data. After removing the contribution from X-ray binaries and hot gas to the stacked X-ray emission, we still find an X-ray excess in the five redshift bins that can be explained by nuclear accreting BHs. This X-ray excess is more significant for $z<0.5$. At higher redshifts, these active galactic nuclei could suffer mild obscuration, as indicated by the analysis of their hardness ratios. The average nuclear X-ray luminosities in the soft band are in the range 10$^{39}-10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Assuming that the sources accrete at $\geq$ 1\% the Eddington rate, their BH masses would be $\leq$ 10$^{5}$ M$_{\odot}$, thus in the intermediate-mass BH regime, but their mass would be smaller than the one predicted by the BH-stellar mass relation. If instead the sources follow the correlation between BH mass and stellar mass, they would have sub-Eddington accreting rates of $\sim$ 10$^{-3}$ and BH masses 1-9 $\times$ 10$^{5}$ M$_{\odot}$. We thus conclude that a population of intermediate-mass BHs exists in dwarf starburst galaxies, at least up to $z$=1.5, though their detection beyond the local Universe is challenging due to their low luminosity and mild obscuration unless deep surveys are employed.
The Magellanic Clouds are surrounded by an extended network of gaseous structures. Chief among these is the Magellanic Stream, an interwoven tail of filaments trailing the Clouds in their orbit around the Milky Way. When considered in tandem with its Leading Arm, the Stream stretches over 200 degrees on the sky. Thought to represent the result of tidal interactions between the Clouds and ram-pressure forces exerted by the Galactic corona, its kinematic properties reflect the dynamical history of the closest pair of dwarf galaxies to the Milky Way. The Stream is a benchmark for hydrodynamical simulations of accreting gas and cloud/corona interactions. If the Stream survives these interactions and arrives safely in the Galactic disk, its cargo of over a billion solar masses of gas has the potential to maintain or elevate the Galactic star formation rate. In this article, we review the current state of knowledge of the Stream, including its chemical composition, physical conditions, origin, and fate. We also review the dynamics of the Magellanic System, including the proper motions and orbital history of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the first-passage and second-passage scenarios, and the evidence for a Magellanic Group of galaxies.
Context. Friends-of-friends algorithms are a common tool to detect galaxy groups and clusters in large survey data. For them to be as precise as possible, they have to be carefully calibrated using mock-catalogues. Aims. To create an accurate and robust description of the matter distribution in the local universe using the most up-to-date available data. This will provide input for a specific cosmological test planned as follow-up to this work, and will be useful for general extra- galactic and cosmological research. Methods. We create a set of galaxy group catalogues based on the 2MRS and SDSS DR12 catalogues using a friends-of-friends based group finder algorithm. The algorithm is carefully calibrated and optimised on a new set of wide-angle mock catalogues from the Millennium simulation, such as to provide accurate total mass estimates of the galaxy groups taking into account the relevant observational biases in 2MRS and SDSS. Results. We provide four different catalogues: 1) a 2MRS based group catalogue; 2) a SDSS DR12 based group catalogue reaching out to a redshift of 0.11; 3) a catalogue providing additional fundamental plane distances for all groups of the SDSS catalogue that host elliptical galaxies; 4) a catalogue of the mass distribution in the local universe based on a combination of our 2MRS and SDSS catalogues. The latter catalogue is especially designed for a specific cosmological test planned as follow-up to this work. Conclusions. While motivated by a specific cosmological test, three of the four catalogues that we produced are well suited to act as reference databases for a variety of extragalactic and cosmological science cases. Our catalogue of fundamental plane distances for SDSS groups provides further added value to this paper.
Several distant icy worlds have atmospheres that are in vapor-pressure equilibrium with their surface volatiles, including Pluto, Triton, and, probably, several large KBOs near perihelion. Studies of the volatile and thermal evolution of these have been limited by computational speed, especially for models that treat surfaces that vary with both latitude and longitude. In order to expedite such work, I present a new numerical model for the seasonal behavior of Pluto and Triton which (i) uses initial conditions that improve convergence, (ii) uses an expedient method for handling the transition between global and non-global atmospheres, (iii) includes local conservation of energy and global conservation of mass to partition energy between heating, conduction, and sublimation or condensation, (iv) uses time-stepping algorithms that ensure stability while allowing larger timesteps, and (v) can include longitudinal variability. This model, called VT3D, has been used in Young (2012), Young (2013), Olkin et al. (2015), Young and McKinnon (2013), and French et al. (2015).
The Galaxy's population of High Velocity Clouds (HVCs) may include a subpopulation that is confined by dark matter minihalos and falling toward the Galactic disk. We present the first magnetohydrodynamic simulational study of dark matter-dominated HVCs colliding with a weakly magnetized galactic disk. Our HVCs have baryonic masses of $5 \times 10^6\,$M$_{\odot}$ and dark matter minihalo masses of 0, $3 \times 10^8$, or $1 \times 10^9\,$M$_{\odot}$. They are modeled on the Smith Cloud, which is said to have collided with the disk 70 Myr ago. We find that, in all cases, the cloud's collision with the galactic disk creates a hole in the disk, completely disperses the cloud, and forms a bubble-shaped structure on the far side of the disk. In contrast, when present, the dark matter minihalo continues unimpeded along its trajectory. Later, as the minihalo passes through the bubble structure and galactic halo, it accretes up to $6.0 \times 10^5\,$M$_{\odot}$ in baryonic material, depending on the strengths of the magnetic field and minihalo gravity. These simulations suggest that if the Smith Cloud is associated with a dark matter minihalo and collided with the Galactic disk, the minihalo has accreted the observed gas. However, if the Smith Cloud is dark matter-free, it is on its first approach toward the disk. These simulations also suggest that the dark matter is most concentrated either at the head of the cloud or near the cloud, depending upon the strength of the magnetic field, a point that could inform indirect dark matter searches.
This paper summarises our current understanding of the spectral continuum components observed in black hole X-ray binaries. The consequences for theoretical models are discussed with an emphasis on the constraints set by observations on the nature of the X-ray corona in different spectral states.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a particle physics experiment designed to study origin and nature of Galactic Cosmic Rays (CRs) up to TeV energies from space. With its high sensitivity, long exposure and excellent identification capabilities, AMS is conducting a unique mission of fundamental physics research in space. To date, more than 60 billion CR events have been collected by AMS. The new results on CR leptons and the analysis and light-nuclei are presented and discussed. The new leptonic data indicate the existence of new sources of high-energy CR leptons, that may arise either by dark-matter particles annihilation or by nearby astrophysical sources of $e^{\pm}$ pairs. Future data at higher energies and forthcoming measurements on the antiproton spectrum and the boron-to-carbon ratio will be crucial in providing the discrimination among the different scenario.
Superconducting reentrant cavities can be used in parametric transducers for Gravitational Wave antennas. The Mario Schenberg detector, which is being built by the GRAVITON group at Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), basically consists of a resonant mass (ball) and a set of parametric transducers in order to monitor the fundamental modes of vibration. When coupled to the antenna, the transducer-sphere system will work as a mass-spring system. In this work the main task is the development of parametric transducers consisting of reentrant superconducting cavity with high performance to be implemented in the Mario Schenberg detector. Many geometries, materials and designs have been tested and compared to optimize parameters such as electric and mechanical Q-factor. The aim is the construction of a complete set of nine parametric transducers that, attached to the spherical antenna, will possibly reach the sensitivity $h$ $\sim$ 10$^{-22}$ $Hz$$^{-1/2}$ in the near future.
Lambda Boo stars are predominately A-type stars with solar abundant C, N, O, and S, but up to 2 dex underabundances of refractory elements. The stars' unusual surface abundances could be due to a selective accretion of volatile gas over dust. It has been proposed that there is a correlation between the Lambda Boo phenomenon and IR-excesses which are the result of a debris disk or interstellar medium (ISM) interaction providing the accreting material. We observe 70 or 100 and 160 $\mu$m excess emission around 9 confirmed Lambda Boo stars with the Herschel Space Observatory, to differentiate whether the dust emission is from a debris disk or an ISM bow wave. We find that 3/9 stars observed host well resolved debris disks. While the remaining 6/9 are not resolved, they are inconsistent with an ISM bow wave based on the dust emission being more compact for its temperature and predicted bow wave models produce hotter emission than what is observed. We find the incidence of bright IR-excesses around Lambda Boo stars is higher than normal A-stars. To explain this given our observations, we explore Poynting-Robertson (PR) drag as a mechanism of accretion from a debris disk but find it insufficient. As an alternative, we propose the correlation is due to higher dynamical activity in the disks currently underway. Large impacts of planetesimals or a higher influx of comets could provide enough volatile gas for accretion. Further study on the transport of circumstellar material in relation to the abundance anomalies are required to explain the phenomenon through external accretion.
We investigate the possibility of testing Einstein's general theory of relativity (GR) and the standard cosmological model via the $E_{\rm G}$ statistic using neutral hydrogen (HI) intensity mapping. We generalise the Fourier space estimator for $E_{\rm G}$ to include HI as a biased tracer of matter and forecast statistical errors using HI clustering and lensing surveys that can be performed in the near future, in combination with ongoing and forthcoming optical galaxy and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) surveys. We find that fractional errors $< 1\%$ in the $E_{\rm G}$ measurement can be achieved in a number of cases and compare the ability of various survey combinations to differentiate between GR and specific modified gravity models. Measuring $E_{\rm G}$ with intensity mapping and the Square Kilometre Array can provide exquisite tests of gravity at cosmological scales.
A history is given of the discovery between 1914 and 1935 of stars of intermediate luminosity between giants and dwarfs with spectral types between G0 to K3. The Mt Wilson spectroscopists identified about 90 such stars in their 1935 summary paper of spectroscopic absolute magnitudes for 4179 stars. Called "subgiants" by Str\"omberg, these 90 stars defined the group at the time. The position of the Mt Wilson subgiants in the HR diagram caused difficulties in comparisons of high weight trigonometric parallaxes being measured and with Russell's prevailing evolution proposal, and critics questioned the reality of the Mt Wilson subgiants. We compare, star-by-star, the Mt Wilson spectroscopic absolute magnitudes of the 90 stars defining their sample against those absolute magnitudes derived from Hipparcos (HIP) trigonometric parallaxes. We address concerns over biases in the Mt Wilson calibration sample and biases created by the adopted methodology for calibration. Historically, these concerns were sufficient to discredit the discovery of subgiants in the Mt Wilson sample. However, as shown here, the majority of the Mount Wilson stars identified as subgiants that also have reliable HIP trigonometric parallaxes do lie among the subgiant sequence in the HIP HR diagram. Moreover, no significant offset is seen between the M(V) brightnesses derived from the Mt Wilson spectroscopic parallaxes and the M(V) values derived from Hipparcos trigonometric parallaxes with a fractional error of 10%, which confirms in an impressive manner the efficacy of the original Mt Wilson assessments. The existence of subgiants proved that Russell's contraction proposal for stellar evolution from giants to the main sequence was incorrect. Instead, Gamow's 1944 unpublished conjecture that subgiants are post main-sequence stars just having left the main sequence was very nearly correct but was a decade before its time.
The infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of $z\gtrsim 5$ quasars can be reproduced by combining a low-metallicity galaxy template with a standard AGN template. The host galaxy is represented by Haro 11, a compact, moderately low metallicity, star-bursting galaxy that shares typical features of high-$z$ galaxies. For the vast majority of $z\gtrsim 5$ quasars, the AGN contribution is well modeled by a standard empirical template with the contamination of star formation in the infrared subtracted. Together, these two templates can separate the contributions from the host galaxy and the AGN even in the case of limited data points, given that this model has only two free parameters. Using this method, we re-analyze 69 $z\gtrsim 5$ quasars with extensive Herschel observations, and derive their AGN luminosities $L_{\rm AGN}$ in a range $\sim (0.78-27.4) \times10^{13}\, L_{\odot}$, the infrared luminosities from star formation $L_{\rm SF,IR} \sim (<1.5-25.7)\times10^{12}\, L_{\odot}$, and the corresponding star formation rates ${\rm SFR}\sim (<290-2650)\, M_\odot/{\rm yr}$. The average infrared luminosity from star formation and the average total AGN luminosity of the $z\gtrsim5$ quasar sample follows the correlation defined by quasars at $z < 2.6$. We assume these quasar host galaxies maintain a constant average SFR ($\sim620\, M_\odot/{\rm yr}$) during their mass assembly and estimate the stellar mass that could form till $z\sim5-6$ to be $\langle M_* \rangle \sim(3-5)\times10^{11} M_\odot$. Combining with the black hole (BH) mass measurements, this stellar mass is adequate to establish a BH-galaxy mass ratio $M_{\rm BH}/M_{*}$ at 0.1-1%, consistent with the local relation.
The infall of cold dark matter onto a galaxy produces cold collisionless flows and caustics in its halo. If a signal is found in the cavity detector of dark matter axions, the flows will be readily apparent as peaks in the energy spectrum of photons from axion conversion, allowing the densities, velocity vectors and velocity dispersions of the flows to be determined. We discuss the evolution of velocity dispersion along cold collisionless flows in one and two dimensions. A technique is presented for obtaining the leading behaviour of the velocity dispersion near caustics. The results are used to derive an upper limit on the energy dispersion of the Big Flow from the sharpness of its nearby caustic, and a prediction for the dispersions in its velocity components.
We report the discovery of a new transiting planet from the WASP survey. WASP-135b is a hot Jupiter with a radius of 1.30 pm 0.09 Rjup, a mass of 1.90 pm 0.08 Mjup and an orbital period of 1.401 days. Its host is a Sun-like star, with a G5 spectral type and a mass and radius of 0.98 pm 0.06 Msun and 0.96 pm 0.05 Rsun respectively. The proximity of the planet to its host means that WASP-135b receives high levels of insolation, which may be the cause of its inflated radius. Additionally, we find weak evidence of a transfer of angular momentum from the planet to its star.
Curvelets are efficient to represent highly anisotropic signal content, such as local linear and curvilinear structure. First-generation curvelets on the sphere, however, suffered from blocking artefacts. We present a new second- generation curvelet transform, where scale-discretised curvelets are constructed directly on the sphere. Scale-discretised curvelets exhibit a parabolic scaling relation, are well-localised in both spatial and harmonic domains, support the exact analysis and synthesis of both scalar and spin signals, and are free of blocking artefacts. We present fast algorithms to compute the exact curvelet transform, reducing computational complexity from $\mathcal{O}(L^5)$ to $\mathcal{O}(L^3\log_{2}{L})$ for signals band-limited at $L$. The implementation of these algorithms is made publicly available. Finally, we present an illustrative application demonstrating the effectiveness of curvelets for representing directional curve-like features in natural spherical images.
We compare the science capabilities of different eLISA mission designs, including four-link (two-arm) and six-link (three-arm) configurations with different arm lengths, low-frequency noise sensitivities and mission durations. For each of these configurations we consider a few representative massive black hole formation scenarios. These scenarios are chosen to explore two physical mechanisms that greatly affect eLISA rates, namely (i) black hole seeding, and (ii) the delays between the merger of two galaxies and the merger of the black holes hosted by those galaxies. We assess the eLISA parameter estimation accuracy using a Fisher matrix analysis with spin-precessing, inspiral-only waveforms. We quantify the information present in the merger and ringdown by rescaling the inspiral-only Fisher matrix estimates using the signal-to-noise ratio from non-precessing inspiral-merger-ringdown phenomenological waveforms, and from a reduced set of precessing numerical relativity/post-Newtonian hybrid waveforms. We find that all of the eLISA configurations considered in our study should detect some massive black hole binaries. However, configurations with six links and better low-frequency noise will provide much more information on the origin of black holes at high redshifts and on their accretion history, and they may allow the identification of electromagnetic counterparts to massive black hole mergers.
We present an analysis of the electron dynamics during rapid island merging in asymmetric magnetic reconnection. We consider a doubly periodic system with two asymmetric transitions. The upper layer is an asymmetric Harris sheet initially perturbed to promote a single reconnection site. The lower layer is a tangential discontinuity that promotes the formation of many X-points, separated by rapidly merging islands. Across both layers the magnetic field and the density have a strong jump, but the pressure is held constant. Our analysis focuses on the consequences of electron energization during island coalescence. We focus first on the parallel and perpendicular components of the electron temperature to establish the presence of possible anisotropies and non-gyrotropies. Thanks to the direct comparison between the two different layers simulated, we can distinguish three main types of behavior characteristic of three different regions of interest. The first type represents the regions where traditional asymmetric reconnections take place without involving island merging. The second type of regions instead show reconnection events between two merging islands. Finally, the third regions identifies the regions between two diverging island and where typical signature of reconnection is not observed. Electrons in these latter regions additionally show a flat-top distribution resulting from the saturation of a two-stream instability generated by the two interacting electron beams from the two nearest reconnection points. Finally, the analysis of agyrotropy shows the presence of a distinct double structure laying all over the lower side facing the higher magnetic field region. The distinguishing features found for the three types of regions investigated provide clear indicators to the recently launched MMS NASA mission for investigating magnetopause reconnection involving multiple islands.
The coupled gravitational-electromagnetic quasinormal resonances of charged rotating Kerr-Newman black holes are explored. In particular, using the recently published numerical data of Dias, Godazgar, and Santos [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 151101 (2015)], we show that the characteristic relaxation times $\tau\equiv 1/\Im\omega_0$ of near-extremal Kerr-Newman black holes in the regime $Q/r_+\leq 0.9$ are described, to a very good degree of accuracy, by the simple universal relation $\tau\times T_{\text{BH}}=\pi^{-1}$ (here $Q, r_+$, and $T_{\text{BH}}$ are respectively the electric charge, horizon radius, and temperature of the Kerr-Newman black hole, and $\omega_0$ is the fundamental quasinormal resonance of the perturbed black-hole spacetime).
In this article, our prime objective is to study the inflationary paradigm from generalized tachyon (GTachyon) living on the world volume of a non-BPS string theory. The tachyon action is considered here is getting modified compared to the original action. One can quantify the amount of the modification via a power $q$ instead of $1/2$ in the effective action. Using this set up we study inflation from various types of tachyonic potentials, using which we constrain the index $q$ within, $1/2<q<2$, Regge slope $\alpha^{'}$, string coupling constant $g_{s}$ and mass scale of tachyon $M_s$, from the recent Planck 2015 and Planck+BICEP2/Keck Array joint data. We explicitly study the inflationary consequences from single field, assisted field and multi-field tachyon set up. Specifically for single field and assisted field case we derive the results in the quasi-de-Sitter background in which we will utilize the details of cosmological perturbations and quantum fluctuations. Also we derive the expressions for all inflationary observables using any arbitrary vacuum and Bunch-Davies vacuum. For single field and assisted field case we derive-the inflationary flow equations, new sets of consistency relations. Also we derive the field excursion formula for tachyon, which shows that assisted inflation is in more safer side compared to the single field case to validate effective field theory framework. Further we study the features of CMB Angular power spectrum from TT, TE and EE correlations from scalar fluctuations within the allowed range of $q$ for each potentials from single field set-up. We also put constraints from the temperature anisotropy and polarization spectra, which shows that our analysis is consistent with the Planck 2015 data. Finally, using $\delta N$ formalism we derive the expressions for inflationary observables in the context of multi-field tachyons.
We have measured absolute cross sections for ultrafast (fs) single-carbon knockout from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) cations as functions of He-PAH center-of-mass collision energy in the range 10-200 eV. Classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations cover this range and extend up to 10$^5$ eV. The shapes of the knockout cross sections are well described by a simple analytical expression yielding experimental and MD threshold energies of $E_{th}^{Exp}=32.5\pm 0.4$ eV and $E_{th}^{MD}=41.0\pm 0.3$ eV, respectively. These are the first measurements of knockout threshold energies for molecules isolated \emph{in vacuo}. We further deduce semi-empirical (SE) and MD displacement energies --- \emph{i.e.} the energy transfers to the PAH molecules at the threshold energies for knockout --- of $T_{disp}^{SE}=23.3\pm 0.3$ eV and $T_{disp}^{MD}=27.0\pm 0.3$ eV. The semi-empirical results compare favorably with measured displacement energies for graphene $T_{disp}=23.6$ eV [Meyer \emph{et al.} Phys. Rev Lett. \textbf{108} 196102 (2012) and \textbf{110} 239902 (2013)].
Recently, it was argued that the conformal coupling of the chameleon to matter fields created an issue for early universe cosmology. As standard model degrees of freedom become non-relativistic in the early universe, the chameleon is attracted towards a "surfing" solution, so that it arrives at the potential minimum with too large a velocity. This leads to rapid variations in the chameleon's mass and excitation of high energy modes, casting doubts on the classical treatment at Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Here we present the DBI chameleon, a consistent high energy modification of the chameleon theory that dynamically renders it weakly coupled to matter during the early universe thereby eliminating the adverse effects of the `kicks'. This is done without any fine tuning of the coupling between the chameleon and matter fields, and retains its screening ability in the solar system. We demonstrate this explicitly with a combination of analytic and numerical results.
We consider a pp-wave symmetric model in the framework of the Einstein-Maxwell-aether-axion theory. Exact solutions to the equations of axion electrodynamics are obtained for the model, in which pseudoscalar, electric and magnetic fields were constant before the arrival of a gravitational pp-wave. We show that dynamo-optical interactions, i.e., couplings of electromagnetic field to a dynamic unit vector field, attributed to the velocity of a cosmic substratum (aether, vacuum, dark fluid...), provide the response of axionically active electrodynamic system to display anomalous behavior.
We have carried-out two intermediate coupling frame transformation (ICFT) R-matrix calculations for the electron-impact excitation of C-like Fe $^{20+}$, both of which use the same expansions for their configuration interaction (CI) and close-coupling (CC) representations. The first expansion arises from the configurations 2s$^2$ 2p$^2$, 2s 2p$^3$, 2p$^4$, {2s$^2$ 2p, 2s 2p$^2$, 2p$^3$} nl, with n=3,4, for l=0-3, which give rise to 564 CI/CC levels. The second adds configurations 2s$^2$ 2p 5l, for l=0-2, which give rise to 590 CI/CC levels in total. Comparison of oscillator strengths and effective collision strengths from these two calculations demonstrates the lack of convergence in data for n=4 from the smaller one. Comparison of results for the 564 CI/CC level calculation with an earlier ICFT R-matrix calculation which used the exact same CI expansion but truncated the CC expansion to only 200 levels demonstrates the lack of convergence of the earlier data, particularly for n=3 levels. Also, we find that the results of our 590 CC R-matrix calculation are significantly and systematically larger than those of an earlier comparable Distorted Wave-plus-resonances calculation. Thus, it is important still to take note of the (lack of) convergence in both atomic structural and collisional data, even in such a highly-charged ion as Fe $^{20+}$, and to treat resonances non-perturbatively. This is of particular importance for Fe ions given their importance in the spectroscopic diagnostic modelling of astrophysical plasmas.
The existence of a Killing symmetry in a gauge theory is equivalent to the
addition of extra Hamiltonian constraints in its phase space formulation, which
imply restrictions both on the Dirac observables (the gauge invariant physical
degrees of freedom) and on the gauge freedom.
When there is a time-like Killing vector field only pure gauge
electromagnetic fields survive in Maxwell theory in Minkowski space-time ,
while in ADM canonical gravity in asymptotically Minkowskian space-times only
inertial effects without gravitational waves survive.
In this contribution, we outline a new 2-phase description of the quark-nuclear matter hybrid equation of state that takes into account effects of phase space occupation (excluded volume) in both, the hadronic and the quark matter phases. For the nuclear matter phase, the reduction of the available volume at increasing density leads to a stiffening, while for the quark matter phase a reduction of the effective string tension in the confining density functional is obtained. The deconfinement phase transition in the resulting hybrid equation of state is sensitive to both excluded volume effects. As an application, we consider matter under compact star constraints of electric neutrality and $\beta$-equilibrium. We obtain mass-radius relations for hybrid stars that fulfill the $2M_\odot$ constraint and exhibit the high-mass twin phenomenon. Both features depend sensitively on the excluded volume.
We suggest a new Bayesian analysis (BA) using disjunct M-R constraints for extracting probability measures for cold, dense matter equations of state (EoS). One of the key issues of such an analysis is the question of a deconfinement transition in compact stars and whether it proceeds as a crossover or rather as a first order transition. We show by postulating results of not yet existing radius measurements for the known pulsars with a mass of $2M_\odot$ that a radius gap of about 3 km would clearly select an EoS with a strong first order phase transition as the most probably one. This would support the existence of a critical endpoint in the QCD phase diagram under scrutiny in present and upcoming heavy-ion collision experiments.
Small-field inflation (SFI) is widely considered to be unnatural because an extreme fine-tuning of the initial condition is necessary for sufficiently large e-folding. In this paper, we show that the unnaturally-looking initial condition can be dynamically realised without any fine-tuning if the SFI occurs after rapid oscillations of the inflaton field and particle creations by preheating. In fact, if the inflaton field $\phi$ is coupled to another scalar field $\chi$ through the interaction $g^2 \chi^2 \phi^2$ and the vacuum energy during the small field inflation is given by $\lambda M^4$, the initial value can be dynamically set at $(\sqrt{\lambda}/g) M^2/M_{\rm pl}$, which is much smaller than the typical scale of the potential $M.$ This solves the initial condition problem in the new inflation model or some classes of the hilltop inflation models.
The advanced era of gravitational-wave astronomy, with data collected in part by the LIGO gravitational-wave interferometers, has begun as of fall 2015. One potential type of detectable gravitational waves is short-duration gravitational-wave bursts, whose waveforms can be difficult to predict. We present the framework for a new detection algorithm -- called \textit{oLIB} -- that can be used in relatively low-latency to turn calibrated strain data into a detection significance statement. This pipeline consists of 1) a sine-Gaussian matched-filter trigger generator based on the Q-transform -- known as \textit{Omicron} --, 2) incoherent down-selection of these triggers to the most signal-like set, and 3) a fully coherent analysis of this signal-like set using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Bayesian evidence calculator \textit{LALInferenceBurst} (LIB). These steps effectively compress the full data stream into a set of search statistics for the most signal-like events, and we use elements from information theory to minimize the amount of information regarding the signal-versus-noise hypothesis lost during this compression. We optimally extract this information by using a likelihood-ratio test (LRT) to map these search statistics into a significance statement. Using representative archival LIGO data, we show that the algorithm can detect gravitational-wave burst events of realistic strength in realistic instrumental noise with good detection efficiencies across different burst waveform morphologies. We also demonstrate that the combination of search statistics by means of an LRT can improve the detection efficiency of our search. Finally, we show that oLIB's performance is robust against the choice of gravitational-wave populations used to model the LRT likelihoods.
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Modified gravity theories often contain a scalar field of gravitational strength which interacts with matter. We examine constraints on the range and the coupling strength of a scalar gravitational degree of freedom using a subset of current data that can be safely analyzed within the linear perturbation theory. Using a model-independent implementation of scalar-tensor theories in MGCAMB in terms of two functions of the scale factor describing the mass and the coupling of the scalar degree of freedom, we derive constraints on the $f(R)$, generalized chameleon, Symmetron and Dilaton models. Since most of the large scale structure data available today is from relatively low redshifts, only a limited range of observed scales is in the linear regime, leading to relatively weak constraints. We then perform a forecast for a future large scale structure survey, such as Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which will map a significant volume at higher redshifts, and show that it will produce much stronger constraints on scalar interactions in specific models. We also perform a principal component analysis and find that future surveys should be able to provide tight constraints on several eigenmodes of the scalar mass evolution.
It is well known that stellar companions can influence the evolution of a protoplanetary disk. Nevertheless, previous disk surveys did not - and could not - consistently exclude binaries from their samples. We present a study dedicated to investigating the frequency of ongoing disk accretion around single stars in a star-forming region. We obtained near-infrared spectroscopy of 54 low-mass stars selected from a high-angular resolution survey in the 2-3 Myr-old Chamaeleon I region to determine the presence of Brackett-$\gamma$ emission, taking the residual chance of undetected multiplicity into account, which we estimate to be on the order of 30%. The result is compared with previous surveys of the same feature in binary stars of the same region to provide a robust estimate of the difference between the accretor fractions of single stars and individual components of binary systems. We find Br$\gamma$ emission among $39.5^{+14.0}_{-9.9}$% of single stars, which is a significantly higher fraction than for binary stars in Chamaeleon I. In particular, close binary systems with separations <100 AU show emission in only $6.5^{+16.5}_{-3.0}$% of the cases according to the same analysis. The emitter frequency of wider binaries appears consistent with the single star value. Interpreting Br$\gamma$ emission as a sign of ongoing accretion and correcting for sensitivity bias, we infer an accretor fraction of single stars of F_acc=$47.8^{+14.0}_{-9.9}$%. This is slightly higher but consistent with previous estimates that do not clearly exclude binaries from their samples. Through our robust and consistent analysis, we confirm that the fraction of young single stars harboring accretion disks is much larger than that of close binaries at the same age. Our findings have important implications for the timescales of disk evolution and planet formation.
We present Herschel observations of 22 radio galaxies, selected for the presence of shocked, warm molecular hydrogen emission. We measured and modeled spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in 33 bands from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared to investigate the impact of jet feedback on star formation activity. These galaxies are massive, early-type galaxies with normal gas-to-dust ratios, covering a range of optical and IR colors. We find that the star formation rate (SFR) is suppressed by a factor of ~3-6, depending on how molecular gas mass is estimated. We suggest this suppression is due to the shocks driven by the radio jets injecting turbulence into the interstellar medium (ISM), which also powers the luminous warm H2 line emission. Approximately 25% of the sample shows suppression by more than a factor of 10. However, the degree of SFR suppression does not correlate with indicators of jet feedback including jet power, diffuse X-ray emission, or intensity of warm molecular H2 emission, suggesting that while injected turbulence likely impacts star formation, the process is not purely parametrized by the amount of mechanical energy dissipated into the ISM. Radio galaxies with shocked warm molecular gas cover a wide range in SFR-stellar mass space, indicating that these galaxies are in a variety of evolutionary states, from actively star-forming and gas-rich to quiescent and gas-poor. SFR suppression appears to have the biggest impact on the evolution of galaxies that are moderately gas-rich.
When inferring parameters from a Gaussian-distributed data set by computing a likelihood, a covariance matrix is needed that describes the data errors and their correlations. If the covariance matrix is not known a priori, it may be estimated and thereby becomes a random object with some intrinsic uncertainty itself. We show how to infer parameters in the presence of such an estimated covariance matrix, by marginalising over the true covariance matrix, conditioned on its estimated value. This leads to a likelihood function that is no longer Gaussian, but rather an adapted version of a multivariate $t$-distribution, which has the same numerical complexity as the multivariate Gaussian. As expected, marginalisation over the true covariance matrix improves inference when compared with Hartlap et al.'s method, which uses an unbiased estimate of the inverse covariance matrix but still assumes that the likelihood is Gaussian.
The cosmic web defines the large scale distribution of matter we see in the Universe today. Classifying the cosmic web into voids, sheets, filaments and nodes allows one to explore structure formation and the role environmental factors have on halo and galaxy properties. While existing studies of cosmic web classification concentrate on grid based methods, this work explores a Lagrangian approach where the V-web algorithm proposed by Hoffman et al. (2012) is implemented with techniques borrowed from smoothed particle hydrodynamics. The Lagrangian approach allows one to classify individual objects (e.g. particles or halos) based on properties of their nearest neighbours in an adaptive manner. It can be applied directly to a halo sample which dramatically reduces computational cost and potentially allows an application of this classification scheme to observed galaxy samples. Finally, the Lagrangian nature admits a straight forward inclusion of the Hubble flow negating the necessity of a visually defined threshold value which is commonly employed by grid based classification methods.
We report high-resolution spectroscopic observations of WD 1145+017 -- a white dwarf that recently has been found to be transitted by multiple asteroid-sized objects within its tidal radius. We have discovered numerous circumstellar absorption lines with linewidths of $\sim$ 300 km s$^{-1}$ from Mg, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe and Ni, possibly from several gas streams produced by collisions among the actively disintegrating objects. The atmosphere of WD 1145+017 is polluted with 11 heavy elements, including O, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, V:, Cr, Mn, Fe and Ni. Evidently, we are witnessing the active disintegration and subsequent accretion of an extrasolar asteroid.
We investigate the evolution of bright and faint galaxies in fossil and non-fossil groups. We used mock galaxies constructed based on the Millennium run simulation II. We identified fossil groups at redshift zero according to two different selection criteria, and then built reliable control samples of non-fossil groups that reproduce the fossil virial mass and assembly time distributions. The faint galaxies were defined as having r-band absolute magnitudes in the range [-16,-11]. We analysed the properties of the bright and faint galaxies in fossil and non-fossil groups during the past 8 Gyr. We observed that the brightest galaxy in fossil groups is typically brighter and more massive than their counterparts in control groups. Fossil groups developed their large magnitude gap between the brightest galaxies around 3.5 Gyr ago. The brightest galaxy stellar masses of all groups show a notorious increment at that time. By analysing the behaviour of the magnitude gap between the first and the second, third, and fourth ranked galaxies, we found that at earlier times, fossil groups comprised two large brightest galaxies with similar magnitudes surrounded by much fainter galaxies, while in control groups these magnitude gaps were never as large as in fossils. At early times, fossil groups in the faint population were denser than non-fossil groups, then this trend reversed, and finally they became similar at the present day. The mean number of faint galaxies in non-fossil systems increases in an almost constant rate towards later times, while this number in fossil groups reaches a plateau at $z\sim0.6$ that lasts $\sim 2$ Gyr, and then starts growing again more rapidly. The formation of fossil groups is defined at the very beginning of the groups according to their galaxy luminosity sampling, which could be determined by their merging rate at early times.
We present cosmological upper limits on the sum of active neutrino masses using large-scale power spectrum data from the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey and from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - Data Release 7 (SDSS-DR7) sample of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRG). Combining measurements on the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarisation anisotropies by the Planck satellite together with WiggleZ power spectrum results in a neutrino mass bound of 0.43 eV at 95% C.L., while replacing WiggleZ by the SDSS-DR7 LRG power spectrum, the 95% C.L. bound on the sum of neutrino masses improves to 0.17 eV. Adding Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) distance scale measurements, the neutrino mass upper limits greatly improve, since BAO data break degeneracies in parameter space. Within a $\Lambda$CDM model, we find an upper limit of 0.11 eV (0.15 eV) at 95% C.L., when using SDSS-DR7 LRG (WiggleZ) together with BAO and Planck. The addition of BAO data makes the neutrino mass upper limit robust, showing only a weak dependence on the power spectrum used. We also quantify the dependence of neutrino mass limit reported here on the CMB lensing information. The tighter upper limit (0.11 eV) obtained with SDSS-DR7 LRG is very close to that recently obtained using Lyman-alpha clustering data, yet uses a completely different probe and redshift range, further supporting the robustness of the constraint. This constraint puts under some pressure the inverted mass hierarchy and favours the normal hierarchy.
We have derived new very accurate abundances of the Fe-group elements Sc through Zn (Z = 21-30) in the bright main-sequence turnoff star HD 84937, based on high-resolution spectra covering the visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. New or recent laboratory transition data for 14 species of seven elements have been used. Abundances from more than 600 lines of non-Fe species have been combined with about 550 Fe lines in HD 84937 to yield abundance ratios of high precision. The abundances have been determined from both neutral and ionized transitions, which generally are in agreement with each other. We find no substantial departures from standard LTE Saha ionization balance in this [Fe/H] = -2.32 star. Noteworthy among the abundances are: [Co/Fe] = 0.14 and [Cu/Fe] = -0.83, in agreement with past studies abundance trends in this and other low metallicity stars; and <[Sc,Ti,V/Fe]> = 0.31, which has not been noted previously. A detailed examination of scandium, titanium, and vanadium abundances in large-sample spectroscopic surveys reveals that they are positively correlated in stars with [Fe/H] < -2; HD 84937 lies at the high end of this correlation. These trends constrain the synthesis mechanisms of Fe-group elements. We also examine the GCE abundance trends of the Fe-group elements, including a new nucleosynthesis model with jet-like explosion effects.
Recent years have brought more precise temperature measurements of the low-density intergalactic medium (IGM). These new measurements constrain the processes that heated the IGM, such as the reionization of HI and of HeII. We present a semi-analytical model for the thermal history of the IGM that follows the photoheating history of primordial gas. We compare this model with recent temperature measurements spanning z= 1.6-4.8, finding that these measurements are consistent with scenarios in which the HeII was reionized at z= 3-4 by quasars. Significantly longer duration or higher redshift HeII reionization scenarios are ruled out by the measurements. For hydrogen reionization, we find that only low redshift and high temperature scenarios are excluded. For example, a model in which the IGM was heated to 30,000K when an ionization front passed, and with hydrogen reionization occurring over 6<z<9, is ruled out. Finally, we place constraints on how much heating could owe to TeV blazars, cosmic rays, and other nonstandard mechanisms. We find that by z= 2 a maximum of 1~eV of additional heat could be injected per baryon over standard photoheating-only models, with this limit becoming ~< 0.5 eV at z>3.
Quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field in the early Universe, amplified by inflation, produce a primordial gravitational-wave background across a broad frequency band. We derive constraints on the spectrum of this gravitational radiation, and hence on theories of the early Universe, by combining experiments that cover 29 orders of magnitude in frequency. These include Planck observations of cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization power spectra and lensing, together with baryon acoustic oscillations and big bang nucleosynthesis measurements, as well as new pulsar timing array and ground-based interferometer limits. While individual experiments constrain the gravitational-wave energy density in specific frequency bands, the combination of experiments allows us to constrain cosmological parameters, including the inflationary spectral index, $n_t$, and the tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r$. Results from individual experiments include the most stringent nanohertz limit of the primordial background to date from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, $\Omega_{\rm gw}(f)<2.3\times10^{-10}$. Observations of the cosmic microwave background alone limit the gravitational-wave spectral index at 95\% confidence to $n_t\lesssim5$ for a tensor-to-scalar ratio of $r = 0.11$. However, the combination of all the above experiments limits $n_t<0.36$. Future Advanced LIGO observations are expected to further constrain $n_t<0.34$ by 2020. When cosmic microwave background experiments detect a non-zero $r$, our results will imply even more stringent constraints on $n_t$ and hence theories of the early Universe.
Nearly twenty years after the discovery of anomalous microwave emission (AME) that contaminates to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, its origin remains inconclusive. Observational results from numerous experiments have revealed that AME is most consistent with spinning dust emission from rapidly spinning ultrasmall interstellar grains. In this paper, I will first review our improved model of spinning dust, which treats realistic dynamics of wobbling non-spherical grains, impulsive interactions of grains with ions in the ambient plasma, and some other important effects. I will then discuss recent progress in quantifying the polarization of spinning dust emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. I will finish with a brief discussion on remaining issues about the origins of AME.
We analyze the velocity dispersions of individual HI and CO profiles in a number of nearby galaxies from the high-resolution HERACLES CO and THINGS HI surveys. Focusing on regions with bright CO emission, we find a CO dispersion value: 7.3 $\pm$ 1.7 km/s. The corresponding HI dispersion is 11.7 $\pm$ 2.3 km/s, yielding a mean HI/CO dispersion ratio of 1.4 $\pm$ 0.2, independent of radius. We find that the CO velocity dispersion increases towards lower peak fluxes. This is consistent with previous work where we showed that when using spectra averaged ("stacked") over large areas, larger values for the CO dispersion are found, and a lower dispersion ratio: 1.0 $\pm$ 0.2. The stacking method is more sensitive to low-level diffuse emission, whereas individual profiles trace narrow-line, GMC-dominated, bright emission. These results provide further evidence that disk galaxies contain not only a thin, low velocity dispersion, high density CO disk that is dominated by GMCs, but also a fainter, higher dispersion, diffuse disk component.
The kinetic power of radio jets is a quantity of fundamental importance to studies of the AGN feedback process and radio galaxy physics. A widely used proxy for jet power is the extended radio luminosity. A number of empirical methods have been used to calibrate a scaling relationship between jet power (Q) and radio luminosity (L) of the form log(Q) = beta_L * log(L) + C. The regression slope has typically been found to be beta_L ~ 0.7 - 0.8. Here we show that the previously reported scaling relations are strongly affected by the confounding variable, distance. We find that in a sample of FRI X-ray cavity systems, after accounting for the mutual distance dependence, the jet power and radio luminosity are only weakly correlated, with slope beta_L ~ 0.3: significantly flatter than previously reported. We also find that in previously used samples of high-power sources, no evidence for an intrinsic correlation is present when the effect of distance is accounted for. Using a simple model we show that beta_L is expected to be significantly lower in samples of FRI radio galaxies than it is for FRIIs, due to the differing dynamics for these two classes of radio source. For FRI X-ray cavity systems the model predicts beta_L (FRI) ~ 0.5 in contrast to FRII radio galaxies, for which beta_L(FRII) ~ 0.8. We discuss the implications of our finding for studies of radio mode feedback, and radio galaxy physics.
Laming (1990) predicted that the narrow Balmer line core of the ~3000 km/s shock in the SN 1006 remnant would be significantly polarized due to electron and proton impact polarization. Here, based on deep spectrally resolved polarimetry obtained with the European Southern Observatory (ESO)'s Very Large Telescope (VLT), we report the discovery of polarized line emission of polarization degree approx 1.3 percent with position angle orthogonal to the SNR filament. Correcting for an unpolarized broad line component, the implied narrow line polarization is approx 2.0 percent, close to the predictions of Laming (1990). The predicted polarization is primarily sensitive to shock velocity and post-shock temperature equilibration. By measuring polarization for the SN1006 remnant, we validate and enable a new diagnostic that has important applications in a wide variety of astrophysical situations, such as shocks, intense radiation fields, high energy particle streams and conductive interfaces.
We present and describe the astro-photometric catalog of more than 800,000 sources found in the Hubble Tarantula Treasury Project (HTTP). HTTP is a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Treasury program designed to image the entire 30 Doradus region down to the sub-solar (~0.5 solar masses) mass regime using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). We observed 30 Doradus in the near ultraviolet (F275W, F336W), optical (F555W, F658N, F775W), and near infrared (F110W, F160W) wavelengths. The stellar photometry was measured using point-spread function (PSF) fitting across all the bands simultaneously. The relative astrometric accuracy of the catalog is 0.4 mas. The astro-photometric catalog, results from artificial star experiments and the mosaics for all the filters are available for download. Color-magnitude diagrams are presented showing the spatial distributions and ages of stars within 30 Dor as well as in the surrounding fields. HTTP provides the first rich and statistically significant sample of intermediate and low mass pre-main sequence candidates and allows us to trace how star formation has been developing through the region. The depth and high spatial resolution of our analysis highlight the dual role of stellar feedback in quenching and triggering star formation on the giant HII region scale. Our results are consistent with stellar sub-clustering in a partially filled gaseous nebula that is offset towards our side of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
In the coming decades, the discovery of the first truly Earth-like exoplanets
is anticipated. The characterisation of those planets will play a vital role in
determining which are chosen as targets for the search for life beyond the
Solar system. One of the many variables that will be considered in that
characterisation and selection process is the nature of the potential climatic
variability of the exoEarths in question.
In our own Solar system, the Earth's long-term climate is driven by several
factors - including the modifying influence of life on our atmosphere, and the
temporal evolution of Solar luminosity. The gravitational influence of the
other planets in our Solar system add an extra complication - driving the
Milankovitch cycles that are thought to have caused the on-going series of
glacial and interglacial periods that have dominated Earth's climate for the
past few million years.
Here, we present the results of a large suite of dynamical simulations that
investigate the influence of the giant planet Jupiter on the Earth's
Milankovitch cycles. If Jupiter was located on a different orbit, we find that
the long-term variability of Earth's orbit would be significantly different.
Our results illustrate how small differences in the architecture of planetary
systems can result in marked changes in the potential habitability of the
planets therein, and are an important first step in developing a means to
characterise the nature of climate variability on planets beyond our Solar
system.
In decomposing the HI rotation curves of disc galaxies, it is necessary to break a degeneracy between the gravitational fields of the disc and the dark halo by estimating the disc surface density. This is done by combining measurements of the vertical velocity dispersion of the disc with the disc scale height. The vertical velocity dispersion of the discs is measured from absorption lines (near the V-band) of near-face-on spiral galaxies, with the light coming from a mixed population of giants of all ages. However, the scale heights for these galaxies are estimated statistically from near-IR surface photometry of edge-on galaxies. The scale height estimate is therefore dominated by a population of older (> 2 Gyr) red giants. In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of measuring the velocity dispersion for the same older population of stars that is used to estimate the vertical scale height. We present an analysis of the vertical kinematics of K-giants in the solar vicinity. We find the vertical velocity distribution best fit by two components with dispersions of 9.6 +/- 0.5 km/s and 18.6 +/- 1.0 km/s, which we interpret as the dispersions of the young and old disc populations respectively. Combining the (single) measured velocity dispersion of the total young + old disc population (13.0 +/- 0.1 km/s) with the scale height estimated for the older population would underestimate the disc surface density by a factor of ~ 2. Such a disc would have a peak rotational velocity that is only 70% of that for the maximal disc, thus making it appear submaximal.
We utilize multi-dimensional simulations of varying equatorial jet strength to predict wavelength dependent variations in the eclipse times of gas-giant planets. A displaced hot-spot introduces an asymmetry in the secondary eclipse light curve that manifests itself as a measured offset in the timing of the center of eclipse. A multi-wavelength observation of secondary eclipse, one probing the timing of barycentric eclipse at short wavelengths and another probing at longer wavelengths, will reveal the longitudinal displacement of the hot-spot and break the degeneracy between this effect and that associated with the asymmetry due to an eccentric orbit. The effect of time offsets was first explored in the IRAC wavebands by Williams et. al (2006). Here we improve upon their methodology, extend to a broad ranges of wavelengths, and demonstrate our technique on a series of multi-dimensional radiative-hydrodynamical simulations of HD 209458b with varying equatorial jet strength and hot-spot displacement. Simulations with the largest hot-spot displacement result in timing offsets of up to 100 seconds in the infrared. Though we utilize a particular radiative hydrodynamical model to demonstrate this effect, the technique is model independent. This technique should allow a much larger survey of hot-spot displacements with JWST then currently accessible with time-intensive phase curves, hopefully shedding light on the physical mechanisms associated with thermal energy advection in irradiated gas-giants.
The formation of SMSs is a potential pathway to seed SMBHs in the early universe. A critical issue for forming SMSs is stellar UV feedback, which may limit the stellar mass growth via accretion. In this paper we study the evolution of an accreting SMS and its UV emissivity under conditions of realistic variable accretion from a self-gravitating circumstellar disc. First we conduct a 2D hydrodynamical simulation to follow the long-term protostellar accretion until the stellar mass exceeds $10^4~M_\odot$. The disc fragments due to gravitational instability, creating a number of small clumps that rapidly migrate inward to fall onto the star. The resulting accretion history is thus highly time-dependent: short episodic accretion bursts are followed by longer, relative quiescent phases. We show that the circumstellar disc for the so-called direct collapse model is more unstable and generates greater variability over shorter timescales than normal Pop III cases. We conduct a post-process stellar evolution calculation using the obtained accretion history. Our results show that, regardless of the strong variability of the accretion rates, the stellar radius monotonically increases with almost constant effective temperature at $T_{\rm eff} \simeq 5000$ K as the stellar mass increases. The resulting UV feedback is too weak to hinder mass accretion due to the low flux of stellar UV photons, thus verifying our implicit assumption of no stellar feedback during the hydrodynamic simulations. The insensitivity of stellar evolution to variable accretion is attributed to the fact that typical timescales of variability, $\lesssim 10^3$ years, are too short to affect the stellar structure. We argue that this evolution will continue until the SMS eventually collapses to produce a massive black hole by the general relativistic instability after the stellar mass reaches $\gtrsim 10^5~M_\odot$.
We present the multi-point and multi-wavelength observation and analysis on a solar coronal jet and coronal mass ejection (CME) event in this paper. Employing the GCS model, we obtained the real (three-dimensional) heliocentric distance and direction of the CME and found it propagate in a high speed over 1000 km/s . The jet erupted before and shared the same source region with the CME. The temporal and spacial relation- ship between them guide us the possibility that the jet triggered the CME and became its core. This scenario could promisingly enrich our understanding on the triggering mechanism of coronal mass ejections and their relations with coronal large-scale jets. On the other hand, the magnetic field configuration of the source region observed by the SDO/HMI instrument and the off- limb inverse Y-shaped configuration observed by SDO/AIA 171 A passband, together provide the first detailed observation on the three-dimensional reconnection process of large-scale jets as simulated in Pariat et al. 2009. The erupting process of the jet highlights that filament-like materials are important during the eruption not only of small-scale X-ray jets (Sterling et al. 2015) but also probably of large-scale EUV jets. Based on our observation and analysis, we propose a most possible mechanism for the whole event with a blob structure overlaying the three-dimensional structure of the jet to describe the interaction between the jet and the CME.
The current photometric datasets, that span decades, allow for studying long-term cycles on active stars. Complementary Ca H&K observations give information also on the cycles of normal solar-like stars, which have significantly smaller, and less easily detectable, spots. In the recent years, high precision space-based observations, for example from the Kepler satellite, have allowed also to study the sunspot-like spot sizes in other stars. Here I review what is known about the properties of the cyclic stellar activity in other stars than our Sun.
Quantum mechanical corrections to the hydromagnetic force balance equation, derived from the microscopic Schr\"{o}dinger-Pauli theory of quantum plasmas, modify the equilibrium structure and hence the mass quadrupole moment of a neutron star. It is shown here that the dominant effect --- spin paramagnetism --- is most significant in a magnetar, where one typically has $\mu_{B}|\boldsymbol{B}|\gtrsim k_B T_e$, where $\mu_{B}$ is the Bohr magneton, $\boldsymbol{B}$ is the magnetic field, and $T_e$ is the electron temperature. The spin paramagnetic deformation of a nonbarotropic magnetar with a linked poloidal-toroidal magnetic field is calculated to be up to ${{\sim 10}}$ times greater than the deformation caused solely by the Lorentz force. It depends on the degree of Pauli blocking by conduction electrons and the propensity to form magnetic domains, processes which are incompletely modelled at magnetar field strengths. The star becomes more oblate, as the toroidal field component strengthens. The result implies that existing classical predictions underestimate the maximum strength of the gravitational wave signal from rapidly spinning magnetars at birth. Turning the argument around, future gravitational-wave upper limits of increasing sensitivity will place ever-stricter constraints on the physics of Pauli blocking and magnetic domain formation under magnetar conditions.
This chapter discusses the use and possibilities of optical and infrared interferometry to study star formation. The chapter starts with a brief overview of the star formation process and highlights the open questions from an observational point of view. These are found at the smallest scales, as this is, inevitably, where all the action such as accretion and outflows, occurs. We then use basic astrophysical concepts to assess which scales and conditions can be probed with existing interferometric set-ups for which we use the ESO/VLTI instrument suite as example. We will concentrate on the more massive stars observed at high resolution with continuum interferometry. Throughout, some of the most recent interferometric results are used as examples of the various processes discussed.
We introduce to the stellar physics community a method of modelling stellar coronae that can be considered to be an extension of the potential field. In this approach, the magnetic field is coupled to the background atmosphere. The model is magnetohydrostatic (MHS) and is a balance between the Lorentz force, the pressure gradient and gravity. Analytical solutions are possible and we consider a particular class of equilibria in this paper. The model contains two free parameters and the effects of these on both the geometry and topology of the coronal magnetic field are investigated. A demonstration of the approach is given using a magnetogram derived from Zeeman-Doppler imaging of the 0.75 M$_{\odot}$ M-dwarf star GJ 182.
We performed extensive tests of the accuracy of atmospheric parameter determination for FGK stars based on the spectrum fitting procedure Spectroscopy Made Easy (SME). Our stellar sample consists of 13 objects, including the Sun, in the temperature range 5000--6600~K and metallicity range -1.4 -- +0.4. The analysed stars have the advantage of having parameters derived by interferometry. For each star we use spectra obtained with different spectrographs and different signal-to-noise ratios (S/N). For the fitting we adopted three different sets of constraints and test how the derived parameters depend upon the spectral regions (masks) used in SME. We developed and implemented in SME a new method for estimating uncertainties in the resulting parameters based on fitting residuals, partial derivatives, and data uncertainties. For stars in the 5700--6600 K range the best agreement with the effective temperatures derived by interferometry is achieved when spectrum fitting includes the H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ lines, while for cooler stars the choice of the mask does not affect the results. The derived atmospheric parameters do not strongly depend on spectral resolution and S/N of the observations, while the uncertainties in temperature and surface gravity increase with increasing effective temperature, with minima at 50~K in Teff and 0.1~dex in log g, for spectra with S/N=150--200. A NLTE analysis of the TiI/TiII and FeI/FeII ionisation equilibria and abundances determined from the atomic CI (NLTE) and molecular CH species supports the parameters we derived with SME by fitting the observed spectra including the hydrogen lines.
Here, we present a set of time-dependent 3D RMHD simulations of a M-dwarf star representative of AD Leo, which extend from the upper convection zone into the chromosphere. The 3D model atmospheres are characterized by a very dynamic and intermittent structure on small spatial and temporal scales and a wealth of physical processes, which by nature cannot be described by means of 1D static model atmospheres. Artificial observations of these models imply that a combination of complementary diagnostics such as Ca II lines and the continuum intensity from UV to millimeter wavelengths, probe various properties of the dynamics, thermal and magnetic structure of the photosphere and the chromosphere and thus provide measures of stellar activity, which can be compared to observations. The complicated magnetic field structure and its imprint in synthetic diagnostics may have important implications for the understanding and characterization of stellar activity and with it possibly for the evaluation of planetary habitability around active M-dwarf stars.
Gamma-rays from hadronic collisions are expected from supernova remnants (SNRs) located near molecular clouds. The temperature on the shock interacting with the dense environment quickly reaches $10^5$ K. The radiative losses of plasma become essential in the evolution of SNRs. They decrease the thermal pressure and essentially increase the density behind the shock. The presence of ambient magnetic field may considerably alter the behavior of the post-adiabatic SNRs comparing to hydrodynamic scenario. In the present paper, the magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of radiative shocks in magnetic field are performed. High plasma compression due to the radiative losses results also in the prominent increase of the strength of the tangential component of magnetic field behind the shock and the decrease of the parallel one. If the strength of the tangential field before the shock is higher than about $3\mathrm{\mu G}$ it prevents formation of the very dense thin shell. The higher the strength of the tangential magnetic field the larger the thickness and the lower the maximum density in the radiative shell. Parallel magnetic field does not affect the distribution of the hydrodynamic parameters behind the shock. There are almost independent channels of energy transformations: radiative losses are due to the thermal energy, the magnetic energy increases by reducing the kinetic energy. The large density and high strength of the perpendicular magnetic field in the radiative shells of SNRs should result in considerable increase of the hadronic gamma-ray flux comparing to the leptonic one.
In this paper we study the dynamics of the stellar interior of the early red-giant star KIC 4448777 by asteroseismic inversion of 14 splittings of the dipole mixed modes obtained from {\it Kepler} observations. In order to overcome the complexity of the oscillation pattern typical of red-giant stars, we present a procedure which involves a combination of different methods to extract the rotational splittings from the power spectrum. We find not only that the core rotates faster than the surface, confirming previous inversion results generated for other red giants (Deheuvels et al. 2012,2014), but we also estimate the variation of the angular velocity within the helium core with a spatial resolution of $\Delta r=0.001R$ and verify the hypothesis of a sharp discontinuity in the inner stellar rotation (Deheuvels et al. 2014). The results show that the entire core rotates rigidly with an angular velocity of about $\langle\Omega_c/2\pi\rangle=748\pm18$~nHz and provide evidence for an angular velocity decrease through a region between the helium core and part of the hydrogen burning shell; however we do not succeed to characterize the rotational slope, due to the intrinsic limits of the applied techniques. The angular velocity, from the edge of the core and through the hydrogen burning shell, appears to decrease with increasing distance from the center, reaching an average value in the convective envelope of $\langle\Omega_s/2\pi\rangle=68\pm22$~nHz. Hence, the core in KIC~4448777 is rotating from a minimum of 8 to a maximum of 17 times faster than the envelope. We conclude that a set of data which includes only dipolar modes is sufficient to infer quite accurately the rotation of a red giant not only in the dense core but also, with a lower level of confidence, in part of the radiative region and in the convective envelope.
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) vary in their brightness across all wavelengths. Moreover, longer wavelength ultraviolet - optical continuum light curves appear to be delayed with respect to shorter wavelength light curves. A simple way to model these delays is by assuming thermal reprocessing of a variable point source (a lamp post) by a blackbody accretion disc. We introduce a new method, CREAM (\textbf{C}ontinuum \textbf{RE}processed \textbf{A}GN \textbf{M}arkov Chain Monte Carlo), that models continuum variations using this lamp post model. The disc light curves lag the lamp post emission with a time delay distribution sensitive to the disc temperature-radius profile and inclination. We test CREAM's ability to recover both inclination and product of black hole mass and accretion rate $\mmdot$, and show that the code is also able to infer the shape of the driving light curve. CREAM is applied to synthetic light curves expected from 1000 second exposures of a 17th magnitude AGN with a 2m telescope in Sloan g and i bands with signal to noise of 500 - 900 depending on the filter and lunar phase. We also tests CREAM on poorer quality g and i light curves with SNR = 100. We find in the high SNR case that CREAM can recover the accretion disc inclination to within an uncertainty of 5 degrees and an $\mmdot$ to within 0.04 dex.
Extra-galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) permit the study of dust and molecules in metallicity environments other than the Galaxy. Their known distances lower the number of free parameters in the observations vs. models comparison, providing strong constraints on the gas-phase and solid-state astrochemistry models. Observations of PNe in the Galaxy and other Local Group galaxies such as the Magellanic Clouds (MC) provide evidence that metallicity affects the production of dust as well as the formation of complex organic molecules and inorganic solid-state compounds in their circumstellar envelopes. In particular, the lower metallicity MC environments seem to be less favorable to dust production and the frequency of carbonaceous dust features and complex fullerene molecules is generally higher with decreasing metallicity. Here, I present an observational review of the dust and molecular content in extra-galactic PNe as compared to their higher metallicity Galactic counterparts. A special attention is given to the level of dust processing and the formation of complex organic molecules (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, fullerenes, and graphene precursors) depending on metallicity.
We used wide area surveys over 39 deg$^2$ by the HerMES collaboration, performed with the Herschel Observatory SPIRE multi-wavelength camera, to estimate the low-redshift, $0.02<z<0.5$, monochromatic luminosity functions (LFs) of galaxies at 250, 350 and 500$\,\mu$m. SPIRE flux densities were also combined with Spitzer photometry and multi-wavelength archival data to perform a complete SED fitting analysis of SPIRE detected sources to calculate precise k-corrections, as well as the bolometric infrared (8-1000$\,\mu$m) luminosity functions and their low-$z$ evolution from a combination of statistical estimators. Integration of the latter prompted us to also compute the local luminosity density (LLD) and the comoving star formation rate density (SFRD) for our sources, and to compare them with theoretical predictions of galaxy formation models. The luminosity functions show significant and rapid luminosity evolution already at low redshifts, $0.02<z<0.2$, with L$_{IR}^* \propto (1+z)^{6.0\pm0.4}$ and $\Phi_{IR}^* \propto (1+z)^{-2.1\pm0.4}$, L$_{250}^* \propto (1+z)^{5.3\pm0.2}$ and $\Phi_{250}^* \propto (1+z)^{-0.6\pm0.4}$ estimated using the IR bolometric and the 250$\,\mu$m LFs respectively. Converting our IR LD estimate into an SFRD assuming a standard Salpeter IMF and including the unobscured contribution based on the UV dust-uncorrected emission from local galaxies, we estimate a SFRD scaling of SFRD$_0+0.08 z$, where SFRD$_0\simeq (1.9\pm 0.03)\times 10^{-2} [\mathrm{M}_\odot\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-3}]$ is our total SFRD estimate at $z\sim0.02$.
We consider the inflationary model in which the inflaton $\phi$ couples to another scalar field $\chi$ via the interaction $g^2(\phi-\phi_0)^2\chi^2$ with a small coupling constant $g$ ($g^2 \sim 10^{-7}$). We assume that there is a sequence of "trapping points" $\phi_{0i}$ along the inflationary trajectory where particles of $\chi$-field become massless and are rather effectively produced. We calculate the power spectrum of inflaton field fluctuations originated from a backreaction of $\chi$-particles produced, using the Schwinger's "in-in" formalism. We show that the primary curvature power spectrum produced by these backreaction effects is blue, which leads to a strong overproduction of primordial black holes (PBHs) in subsequent radiation era.
Wei et al [PRD 88, 043510 (2013)] have proposed the existence of a cosmological degeneracy between warm dark matter (WDM), modified gravity and coupled cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies at both the background expansion and the growth of density perturbation levels, i.e., corresponding cosmological data would not be able to differentiate such scenarios. Here, we will focus on the specific indistinguishability between a warm dark matter plus cosmological constant ($\Lambda$) and coupled scalar field-CDM scenarios. Although the statement of Wei et al is true for very specific conditions we present a more complete discussion on this issue and show in more detail that these models are indeed distinguishable. We show that the degeneracy breaks down since coupled models leave a specific signature in the redshift space distortion data which is absent in the uncoupled warm dark matter cosmologies. Furthermore, we complement our claim by providing the reasons which suggest that even at nonlinear level a breaking of such apparent equivalence is also expected.
We use a cosmological simulation of the formation of the Local Group to explore the origin of age and metallicity gradients in dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We find that a number of simulated dwarfs form "outside-in", with an old, metal-poor population that surrounds a younger, more concentrated metal-rich component, reminiscent of dwarf spheroidals like Sculptor or Sextans. We focus on a few examples where stars form in two populations distinct in age in order to elucidate the origin of these gradients. The spatial distributions of the two components reflect their diverse origin; the old stellar component is assembled through mergers, but the young population forms largely in situ. The older component results from a first episode of star formation that begins early but is quickly shut off by the combined effects of stellar feedback and reionization. The younger component forms when a late accretion event adds gas and reignites star formation. The effect of mergers is to disperse the old stellar population, increasing their radius and decreasing their central density relative to the young population. We argue that dwarf-dwarf mergers offer a plausible scenario for the formation of systems with multiple distinct populations and, more generally, for the origin of age and metallicity gradients in dwarf spheroidals.
The coronagraphic instrument currently proposed for the WFIRST-AFTA mission will be the first example of a space-based coronagraph optimized for extremely high contrasts that are required for the direct imaging of exoplanets reflecting the light of their host star. While the design of this instrument is still in progress, this early stage of development is a particularly beneficial time to consider the operation of such an instrument. In this paper, we review current or planned operations on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) with a focus on which operational aspects will have relevance to the planned WFIRST-AFTA coronagraphic instrument. We identify five key aspects of operations that will require attention: 1) detector health and evolution, 2) wavefront control, 3) observing strategies/post-processing, 4) astrometric precision/target acquisition, and 5) polarimetry. We make suggestions on a path forward for each of these items.
Tidal dissipation of kinetic energy, when it is strong enough, tends to synchronize the rotation of planets and moons with the mean orbital motion, or drive it into long-term stable spin-orbit resonances. As the orbital motion undergoes periodic acceleration due to a finite orbital eccentricity, the spin rate oscillates around the equilibrium mean value too, giving rise to the forced, or eccentricity-driven, librations. Both the shape and amplitude of forced librations of synchronous viscoelastic planets and moons are defined by a combination of two different types of perturbative torque, the tidal torque and the triaxial torque. Consequently, forced librations can be tidally dominated (e.g., Io and possibly Titan) or deformation-dominated (e.g., the Moon) depending on a set of orbital, rheological, and other physical parameters. With small eccentricities, for the former kind, the largest term in the libration angle can be minus cosine of the mean anomaly, whereas for the latter kind, it is minus sine of the mean anomaly. The shape and the amplitude of tidal forced librations determine the rate of orbital evolution of synchronous planets and moons, i.e., the rate of dissipative damping of semimajor axis and eccentricity. The known super-Earth exoplanets can exhibit both kinds of libration, or a mixture thereof, depending on, for example, the effective Maxwell time of their rigid mantles. Our approach can be extended to estimate the amplitudes of other libration harmonics, as well as the forced libration in non-synchronous spin-orbit resonances.
We present results from spectroscopic observations with the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System (M2FS) of $147$ stellar targets along the line of sight to the newly-discovered `ultrafaint' stellar systems Tucana 2 (Tuc 2) and Grus 1 (Gru 1). Based on simultaneous estimates of line-of-sight velocity and stellar-atmospheric parameters, we identify 8 and 7 stars as probable members of Tuc 2 and and Gru 1, respectively. Our sample for Tuc 2 is sufficient to resolve an internal velocity dispersion of $8.6_{-2.7}^{+4.4}$ km s$^{-1}$ about a mean of $-129.1_{-3.5}^{+3.5}$ km s$^{-1}$ (solar rest frame), and to estimate a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]= $-2.23_{-0.12}^{+0.18}$. These results place Tuc 2 on chemodynamical scaling relations followed by dwarf galaxies, suggesting a dominant dark matter component with dynamical mass $2.7_{-1.3}^{+3.1}\times 10^6$ $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ enclosed within the central $\sim 160$ pc, and dynamical mass-to-light ratio $1900_{-900}^{+2200}$ $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}/L_{V,\odot}$. For Gru 1 we estimate a mean velocity of $-140.5_{-1.6}^{+2.4}$ km s$^{-1}$ and a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=$-1.42_{-0.42}^{+0.55}$, but our sample does not resolve Gru 1's velocity dispersion. The radial coordinates of Tuc 2 and Gru 1 in Galactic phase space suggest that their orbits are among the most energetic within distance $\leq 300$ kpc. Moreover, their proximity to each other in this space arises naturally if both objects are trailing the Large Magellanic Cloud.
By means of 3D hydrodynamical simulations, in a separate paper we have discussed the properties of non-axisymmetric density wave trains in the outermost regions of galaxy disks, based on the picture that self-excited global spiral modes in the bright optical stellar disk are accompanied by low-amplitude short trailing wave signals outside corotation; in the gas, such wave trains can penetrate through the outer Lindblad resonance and propagate outwards, forming prominent spiral patterns. In this paper we present the synthetic 21~cm velocity maps expected from simulated models of the outer gaseous disk, focusing on the case when the disk is dominated by a two-armed spiral pattern, but considering also other more complex situations. We discuss some aspects of the spiral pattern in the gaseous periphery of galaxy disks noted in our simulations that might be interesting to compare with specific observed cases.
We use the Herschel Hi-GAL survey data to study the spatial distribution in Galactic longitude and latitude of the interstellar medium and of dense, star-forming clumps in the inner Galaxy. The peak position and width of the latitude distribution of the dust column density as well as of number density of compact sources from the band-merged Hi-GAL photometric catalogues are analysed as a function of longitude. The width of the diffuse dust column density traced by the Hi-GAL 500 micron emission varies across the inner Galaxy, with a mean value of 1{\deg}.2-1{\deg}.3, similar to that of the 250um Hi-GAL sources. 70um Hi-GAL sources define a much thinner disk, with a mean FWHM of 0{\deg}.75, and an average latitude of b=0{\deg}.06, coincident with the results from ATLASGAL. The GLAT distribution as a function of GLON shows modulations, both for the diffuse emission and for the compact sources, with ~0{\deg}.2 displacements mostly toward negative latitudes at l~ +40{\deg}, +12{\deg}, -25{\deg} and -40{\deg}. No such modulations can be found in the MIPSGAL 24 or WISE 22 um data when the entire source samples are considered. The distortions revealed by Herschel are interpreted as large-scale bending modes of the Plane. The lack of similar distortions in tracers of more evolved YSOs or stars rules out gravitational instabilities or satellite-induced perturbations, as they should act on both the diffuse and stellar disk components. We propose that the observed bends are caused by incoming flows of extra-planar gas interacting with the gaseous disk. Stars decouple from the gaseous ISM and relax into the stellar disk potential. The time required for the disappearance of the distortions from the diffuse ISM to the relatively evolved YSO stages are compatible with star-formation timescales.
We report the discovery of HATS-15 b and HATS-16 b, two massive transiting extrasolar planets orbiting evolved ($\sim 10$ Gyr) main-sequence stars. The planet HATS-15 b, which is hosted by a G9V star ($V=14.8$ mag), is a hot Jupiter with mass of $2.17\pm0.15\, M_{\mathrm{J}}$ and radius of $1.105\pm0.0.040\, R_{\mathrm{J}}$, and completes its orbit in nearly 1.7 days. HATS-16 b is a very massive hot Jupiter with mass of $3.27\pm0.19\, M_{\mathrm{J}}$ and radius of $1.30\pm0.15\, R_{\mathrm{J}}$; it orbits around its G3 V parent star ($V=13.8$ mag) in $\sim2.7$ days. HATS-16 is slightly active and shows a periodic photometric modulation, implying a rotational period of 12 days which is unexpectedly short given its isochronal age. This fast rotation might be the result of the tidal interaction between the star and its planet.
Physical properties were derived for the candidate open cluster La Serena 94, recently unveiled by the VVV collaboration. Thanks to the exquisite angular resolution provided by GeMS/GSAOI, we could characterize this system in detail, for the first time, with deep photometry in JHK$_{s}$ - bands. Decontaminated JHK$_{s}$ diagrams reach about 5 mag below the cluster turnoff in H. The locus of red clump giants in the colour - colour diagram, together with an extinction law, was used to obtain an average extinction of $A_V =14.18 \pm 0.71$. The same stars were considered as standard - candles to derive the cluster distance, $8.5 \pm 1.0$ kpc. Isochrones were matched to the cluster colour - magnitude diagrams to determine its age, $\log{t(yr)}=9.12\pm 0.06$, and metallicity, $Z=0.02\pm0.01$. A core radius of $r_{c}=0.51\pm 0.04$ pc was found by fitting King models to the radial density profile. By adding up the visible stellar mass to an extrapolated mass function, the cluster mass was estimated as $M=(2.65\pm0.57) \times 10^3$ M$_{\odot}$, consistent with an integrated magnitude of $M_{K}=-5.82\pm0.16$ and a tidal radius of $r_{t}=17.2\pm2.1$ pc. The overall characteristics of La Serena 94 confirm that it is an old open cluster located in the Crux spiral arm towards the fourth Galactic quadrant and distant $7.30\pm 0.49$ kpc from the Galactic centre. The cluster distorted structure, mass segregation and age indicate that it is a dynamically evolved stellar system.
The population of classical novae in the Magellanic Clouds was poorly known because of a lack of systematic studies. There were some suggestions that nova rates per unit mass in the Magellanic Clouds were higher than in any other galaxy. Here, we present an analysis of data collected over sixteen years by the OGLE survey with the aim of characterizing nova population in the Clouds. We found twenty eruptions of novae, half of them are new discoveries. We robustly measure the nova rates of $2.4 \pm 0.8$ yr$^{-1}$ (LMC) and $0.9 \pm 0.4$ yr$^{-1}$ (SMC) and confirm that K-band luminosity-specific nova rates in both Clouds are 2-3 times higher than in other galaxies. This can be explained by the star formation history in the Magellanic Clouds, specifically a re-ignition of the star formation rate a few Gyr ago. We also present the discovery of an intriguing system OGLE-MBR133.25.1160 which mimics recurrent nova eruptions.
In this work we investigate the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) sensitivity to the velocity power spectrum in high opacity regimes of the interstellar medium (ISM). For our analysis we use synthetic Position-Position-Velocity (PPV) cubes of fractional Brownian motion (fBm) and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations, post processed to include radiative transfer effects from CO. We find that PCA analysis is very different from the tools based on the traditional power spectrum of PPV data cubes. Our major finding is that PCA is also sensitive to the phase information of PPV cubes and this allows PCA to detect the changes of the underlying velocity and density spectra at high opacities, where the spectral analysis of the maps provides the universal -3 spectrum in accordance with the predictions of Lazarian \& Pogosyan (2004) theory. This makes PCA potentially a valuable tool for studies of turbulence at high opacities provided that the proper gauging of the PCA index is made. The later, however, we found to be not easy, as the PCA results change in an irregular way for data with high sonic Mach numbers. This is in contrast to synthetic Brownian noise data used for velocity and density fields that show monotonic PCA behavior. We attribute this difference to the PCA's sensitivity to Fourier phase information.
Large field inflation can be sensitive to perturbative and nonperturbative quantum corrections that spoil slow roll. A large number $N$ of light species in the theory, which occur in many string constructions, can amplify these problems. One might even worry that in a de Sitter background, light species will lead to a violation of the covariant entropy bound at large $N$. If so, requiring the validity of the covariant entropy bound could limit the number of light species and their couplings, which in turn could severely constrain axion-driven inflation. Here we show that there is no such problem when we correctly renormalize models with many light species, taking the {\it physical} Planck scale to be $M^2_{pl} \gtrsim N {\cal M}_{UV}^2$, where ${\cal M}_{UV}$ is the cutoff for the QFT coupled to semiclassical quantum gravity. The number of light species then cancels out of the gravitational entropy of de Sitter or near-de Sitter backgrounds at leading order. Working in detail with $N$ scalar fields in de Sitter space, renormalized to one loop order, we show that the gravitational entropy automatically obeys the covariant entropy bound. Furthermore, while the axion decay constant is a strong coupling scale for the axion dynamics, we show that it is {\it not} in general the cutoff of 4d semiclassical gravity. After renormalizing the two point function of the inflaton, we note that it is also controlled by scales much below the cutoff. We revisit $N$-flation and KKLT-type compactifications in this light, and show that they are perfectly consistent with the covariant entropy bound. Thus, while quantum gravity might yet spoil large field inflation, holographic considerations in the semiclassical theory do not obstruct it.
We apply effective field theory methods to compute bino-nucleon scattering, in the case where tree-level interactions are suppressed and the leading contribution is at loop order via heavy flavor squarks or sleptons. We find that leading log corrections to fixed-order calculations can increase the bino mass reach of direct detection experiments by a factor of two in some models. These effects are particularly large for the bino-sbottom coannihilation region, where bino dark matter as heavy as 5-10 TeV may be detected by near future experiments. For the case of stop- and selectron-loop mediated scattering, an experiment reaching the neutrino background will probe thermal binos as heavy as 500 and 300 GeV, respectively. We present three key examples that illustrate in detail the framework for determining weak scale coefficients, and for mapping onto a low energy theory at hadronic scales, through a sequence of effective theories and renormalization group evolution. For the case of a squark degenerate with the bino, we extend the framework to include a squark degree of freedom at low energies using heavy particle effective theory, thus accounting for large logarithms through a "heavy-light current." Benchmark predictions for scattering cross sections are evaluated, including complete leading order matching onto quark and gluon operators, and a systematic treatment of perturbative and hadronic uncertainties.
We show that the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) can realistically challenge the Inert Doublet Model, excluding its heavy regime up to dark matter masses of 800 GeV and probing a large fraction of the remaining viable parameter space at even higher masses. Two features of the Inert Doublet Model make it particularly suitable for CTA searches. First, the dark matter mass (in the heavy regime) must be larger than 500 GeV. Second, the dark matter annihilation cross section, $\sigma v$, is always larger than the thermal one, reaching values as high as $10^{-25} \mathrm{cm^3s^{-1}}$. This higher value of $\sigma v$ is the result of the unavoidable coannhilation effects that determine the relic density via thermal freeze-out in the early Universe. We find that with 100 hours of Galactic Center exposure, CTA's expected limit widely surpasses, even after the inclusion of systematic errors, current and projected bounds from Fermi-LAT and HESS on this model.
We propose a new scenario of Affleck-Dine baryogenesis where a flat direction in the MSSM generates B-L asymmetry just after the end of inflation. The resulting amount of baryon asymmetry is independent of low-energy supersymmetric models but is dependent on inflation models. We consider the hybrid and chaotic inflation models and find that reheating temperature is required to be higher than that in the conventional scenario of Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. In particular, non-thermal gravitino-overproduction problem is naturally avoided in the hybrid inflation model. Our results imply that Affleck-Dine baryogenesis can be realized in a broader range of supersymmetry and inflation models than expected in the literature.
We present a method for detection and reconstruction of the gravitational wave (GW) transients with the networks of advanced detectors. Originally designed to search for the transients with the initial GW detectors, it uses significantly improved algorithms, which enable both the low-latency searches with rapid localization of GW events for the electro-magnetic followup and high confidence detection of a broad range of the transient GW sources. In the paper we present the analytic framework of the method. Following a short description of the core analysis algorithms, we introduce a novel approach to the reconstruction of the GW polarization from a pattern of detector responses to a GW signal. This polarization pattern is a unique signature of an arbitrary GW signal that can be measured independent from the other source parameters. The polarization measurements enable rapid reconstruction of the GW waveforms, sky localization and helps identification of the source origin.
We have developed a passive 350 GHz (850 {\mu}m) video-camera to demonstrate lumped element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) -- designed originally for far-infrared astronomy -- as an option for general purpose terrestrial terahertz imaging applications. The camera currently operates at a quasi-video frame rate of 2 Hz with a noise equivalent temperature difference per frame of $\sim$0.1 K, which is close to the background limit. The 152 element superconducting LEKID array is fabricated from a simple 40 nm aluminum film on a silicon dielectric substrate and is read out through a single microwave feedline with a cryogenic low noise amplifier and room temperature frequency domain multiplexing electronics.
The onset of dynamo action is investigated within the context of a newly developed low Rossby, low magnetic Prandtl number, convection-driven dynamo model. The model represents an asymptotically exact form of an $\alpha^2$ mean field dynamo model in which the small-scale convection is represented explicitly by the finite amplitude, single mode convective solutions first investigated by Bassom and Zhang (Geophys.~Astrophys.~Fluid Dyn., \textbf{76}, p.223, 1994). Both steady and oscillatory convection are considered for a variety of horizontal planforms. The kinematic helicity is observed to be a monotonically increasing function of the Rayleigh number; as a result, very small magnetic Prandtl number dynamos can be found for a sufficiently large Rayleigh number. All dynamos are found to be oscillatory with an oscillation frequency that increases as the strength of the convection is increased and the magnetic Prandtl number is reduced. Single mode solutions which exhibit boundary layer behavior in the kinematic helicity show a decrease in the efficiency of dynamo action due to the enhancement of magnetic diffusion in the boundary layer regions. For a given value of the Rayleigh number, lower magnetic Prandtl number dynamos are excited for the case of oscillatory convection in comparison to steady convection.
We review the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model (NJL), proposed long time ago, as a four-fermion interaction theory with chiral symmetry. The theory is not renormalizable and presents a symmetry breaking due to quantum corrections which depends on the strength of the coupling constant. We may associate a phase transition with this symmetry breaking, leading from a fermion massless states to fermion condensates. This condensates can be described effectively by a scalar field. We are interested in this paper in the cosmological dynamics of the NJL model, and in the possibility that it can be related to dark energy and/or dark matter, which form up to 95% of the energy content of the universe at present time. We consider exclusively gravitational interaction between the NJL and the SM particles.
In this letter we study the hydrostatic equilibrium configuration of polytropic and strange stars, stars whose fluid pressures are respectively computed from the equation of states $p=\omega\rho^{5/3}$ and $p=(\rho-4\mathcal{B})/3$, being $\omega$ and $B$ constants. We start this work deriving the hydrostatic equilibrium equation, the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff? equation, for the $f(R,T)$ theory of gravity. This equation is a generalization of the one obtained in General relativity, due to the nonconservation of the energy-momentum tensor predicted by the $f(R,T)$ theory. We found that some physical properties of the star such as the pressure, the energy density, the mass and the radius of the star are a?ffected when the parameter $\lambda$ is increased. We show that for a greater ?$\lambda$ the maximum mass of a star is attained in a lower central energy densities, being these central energy densities lower than the ones used to find the most massive neutron stars, calculated by a microscopic EoS where are only taking into account nucleonic degrees of freedom.
The recent observation of very high energy cosmic neutrinos by IceCube heralds the beginning of neutrino astronomy. At these energies, the dominant background to the astrophysical signal is the flux of `prompt' neutrinos, arising from the decay of charmed mesons produced by cosmic ray collisions in the atmosphere. In this work we provide predictions for the prompt atmospheric neutrino flux in the framework of perturbative QCD, using state-of-the-art Monte Carlo event generators. Our calculation includes the constraints set by charm production measurements from the LHCb experiment at 7 TeV, and has been recently validated with the corresponding 13 TeV data. Our results for the prompt flux are a factor of about 2 below the previous benchmark calculation, in general agreement with two other recent estimates, and with an improved estimate of the uncertainty. This alleviates the existing tension between the theoretical prediction and IceCube limits, and suggests that a direct direction of the prompt flux is imminent.
We propose a simple mechanism to suppress axion isocurvature fluctuations using hidden sector magnetic monopoles. This allows for the Peccei-Quinn scale to be of order the unification scale consistently with high scale inflation.
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