We present the first results from our Keck program investigating the orbital architectures of planet-hosting multiple star systems. Kepler-444 is a metal-poor triple star system that hosts five sub-Earth-sized planets orbiting the primary star (Kepler-444A), as well as a spatially unresolved pair of M dwarfs (Kepler-444BC) at a projected distance of 1.8" (66 AU). We combine our Keck/NIRC2 adaptive optics astrometry with multi-epoch Keck/HIRES RVs of all three stars to determine a precise orbit for the BC pair around A, given their empirically constrained masses. We measure minimal astrometric motion ($1.0\pm0.6$ mas yr$^{-1}$, or $0.17\pm0.10$ km s$^{-1}$), but our RVs reveal significant orbital velocity ($1.7\pm0.2$ km s$^{-1}$) and acceleration ($7.8\pm0.5$ m s$^{-1}$ yr$^{-1}$). We determine a highly eccentric stellar orbit ($e=0.864\pm0.023$) that brings the tight M dwarf pair within $5.0^{+0.9}_{-1.0}$ AU of the planetary system. We validate that the system is dynamically stable in its present configuration via n-body simulations. We find that the A$-$BC orbit and planetary orbits are likely aligned (98%) given that they both have edge-on orbits and misalignment induces precession of the planets out of transit. We conclude that the stars were likely on their current orbits during the epoch of planet formation, truncating the protoplanetary disk at $\approx$2 AU. This truncated disk would have been severely depleted of solid material from which to form the total $\approx$1.5 $M_{\rm Earth}$ of planets. We thereby strongly constrain the efficiency of the conversion of dust into planets and suggest that the Kepler-444 system is consistent with models that explain the formation of more typical close-in Kepler planets in normal, not truncated, disks.
Giant clumps are a characteristic feature of observed high-redshift disk galaxies. We propose that these kpc-sized clumps have a complex substructure and are the result of many smaller clumps self-organizing themselves into clump clusters (CC). This is in contrast to the common understanding that these giant clumps are single homogeneous objects. Using a high resolution hydrodynamical simulation of an isolated, fragmented massive gas disk and mimicking the observations from Genzel et al. (2011) at $z \sim 2$, we find remarkable agreement in many details. The CCs appear as single entities of sizes $R_{HWHM} \simeq 0.9-1.4$ kpc and masses $\sim 1.5-3 \times 10^9 \ M_{\odot}$ representative of high-z observations. They are organized in a ring around the center of the galaxy. The origin of the observed clump's high intrinsic velocity dispersion $\sigma_{intrinsic} \simeq 50 - 100 \ km \ s^{-1}$ is fully explained by the internal irregular motions of their substructure in our simulation. No additional energy input, e.g. via stellar feedback, is necessary. Furthermore, in agreement with observations, we find a small velocity gradient $V_{grad} \simeq 8 - 27 \ km \ s^{-1} \ kpc^{-1}$ along the CCs in the beam smeared velocity residual maps which corresponds to net prograde and retrograde rotation with respect to the rotation of the galactic disk. The CC scenario could have strong implications for the internal evolution, lifetimes and the migration timescales of the observed giant clumps, bulge growth and AGN activity, stellar feedback and the chemical enrichment history of galactic disks.
We present a direct measurement of the mean halo occupation distribution (HOD) of galaxies taken from the eleventh data release (DR11) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Survey (BOSS). The HOD of BOSS low-redshift (LOWZ: $0.2 < z < 0.4$) and Constant-Mass (CMASS: $0.43 <z <0.7$) galaxies is inferred via their association with the dark-matter halos of 174 X-ray-selected galaxy clusters drawn from the XMM Cluster Survey (XCS). Halo masses are determined for each galaxy cluster based on X-ray temperature measurements, and range between ${\rm log_{10}} (M_{180}/M_{\odot}) = 13-15$, encompassing the mass range of the `one-halo' term. Our directly-measured HODs are consistent with the HOD-model fits inferred via the galaxy-clustering analyses of Parejko et al. (2013) for the BOSS LOWZ sample and White et al. (2011) for the BOSS CMASS sample. We determine a best-fit alpha-index of 0.91$\pm$0.08 and $1.27^{+0.03}_{-0.04}$ for the CMASS and LOWZ HOD, respectively. This result provides independent support for the HOD-models assumed during the development of the BOSS mock-galaxy catalogues that have subsequently been used to derive BOSS cosmological constraints.
We examine radiation-regulated accretion onto intermediate-mass and massive black holes (BHs) embedded in a bulge component. Using spherically symmetric one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations, we track the growth of BHs accreting from a cold, neutral gas reservoir with temperature T=10^4 K. We find that the accretion rate of BHs embedded in bulges is proportional to r_{B,eff}/r_B, where r_{B,eff} is the increased effective Bondi radius that includes the gravitational potential of the bulge, and r_B is the Bondi radius of the BH. The radiative feedback from the BH suppresses the cold accretion rate to ~1 percent of the Bondi rate when a bulge is not considered. However, we find that the BH fueling rate increases rapidly when the bulge mass M_bulge is greater than the critical value of 10^6 M_sun and is proportional to M_bulge. Since the critical bulge mass is independent of the central BH mass M_{BH}, the growth rate of BHs with masses of 10^2, 10^4, and 10^6 M_sun exhibits distinct dependencies on the bulge-to-BH mass ratio. Our results imply that light seed BHs (<= 10^2 M_sun) which might be the remnants of the Pop III stars, cannot grow through accretion coevally with the early assembly of the bulge of the host galaxies until the bulge reaches the critical mass. However, massive BH seeds (>= 10^5 M_sun) that may form via direct collapse, are more likely to be embedded in a supercritical bulge and thus can grow efficiently coupling to the host galaxies and driving the early evolution of the M_{BH}-$\sigma$ relationship.
Compiling data from literature and the ALMA archive, we show enhanced HCN(4-3)/HCO$^+$(4-3) and/or HCN(4-3)/CS(7-6) integrated intensity ratios in circumnuclear molecular gas around active galactic nuclei (AGNs) compared to those in starburst (SB) galaxies (submillimeter HCN-enhancement). The number of sample galaxies is significantly increased from our previous work. We expect this feature could potentially be an extinction-free energy diagnostic tool of nuclear regions of galaxies. Non-LTE radiative transfer modelings of the above molecular emission lines involving both collisional and radiative excitation, as well as a photon trapping effect were conducted to investigate the cause of the high line ratios in AGNs. As a result, we found that enhanced abundance ratios of HCN-to-HCO$^+$ and HCN-to-CS in AGNs as compared to SB galaxies by a factor of a few to even $>$ 10 is a plausible explanation for the submillimeter HCN-enhancement. However, a counter argument of a systematically higher gas density in AGNs than in SB galaxies can also be a plausible scenario. Although we could not fully discriminate these two scenarios at this moment due to insufficient amount of multi-transition, multi-species data, the former scenario equivalently claims for abnormal chemical composition in AGNs. Regarding the actual mechanism to realize the composition, we suggest it is difficult with conventional gas phase X-ray dominated region (XDR) ionization models to reproduce the observed high line ratios. We might have to take into account other mechanisms such as neutral-neutral reactions that are efficiently activated at high temperature environments and/or mechanically heated regions to further understand the high line ratios in AGNs.
Galaxies' interstellar media (ISM) are observed to be supersonically-turbulent, but the ultimate power source that drives turbulent motion remains uncertain. The two dominant models are that the turbulence is driven by star formation feedback and/or that it is produced by gravitational instability in the gas. Here we show that, while both models predict that the galaxies' ISM velocity dispersions will be positively correlated with their star formation rates, the forms of the correlation predicted by these two models are subtly but measurably different. A feedback-driven origin for the turbulence predicts a velocity dispersion that rises more sharply with star formation rate, and that does not depend on the gas fraction (i.e. $\dot{M}_* \propto \sigma^2$), while a gravity-driven model yields a shallower rise and a strong dependence on gas fraction(i.e. $\dot{M}_* \propto f_g^2 \sigma$). We compare the models to a collection of data on local and high-redshift galaxies culled from the literature, and show that the correlation expected for gravity-driven turbulence is a better match to the observations than a feedback-driven model. This suggests that gravity is the ultimate source of ISM turbulence, at least in the rapidly-star-forming, high velocity dispersion galaxies for which our test is most effective. We conclude by discussing the limitations of the present data set, and the prospects for future measurements to enable a more definitive test of the two models.
During the first several days after explosion, Type Ia supernova light curves probe the outer layers of the exploding star and therefore provide important clues for identifying their progenitors. We investigate how both the shallow $^{56}$Ni distribution and the presence of circumstellar material shape these early light curves. This is performed using a series of numerical experiments with parameterized properties for systematic exploration. Although not all of the considered models may be realized in nature (and indeed there are arguments why some of them should not occur), the spirit of this work is to provide a broader exploration of the diversity of possibilities. We find that shallower $^{56}$Ni leads to steeper, bluer light curves. Differences in the shape of the rise can introduce errors in estimating the explosion time and thus impact efforts to infer upper limits on the progenitor or companion radius from a lack of observed shock cooling emission. Circumstellar material can lead to significant luminosity during the first few days, but its presence can be difficult to identify depending on the degree of nickel mixing. In some cases, the hot emission of circumstellar material may even lead to a signature similar to interaction with a companion, and thus additional diagnostics should be gathered for properly assessing early light curves in the future. This first study here should hopefully motivate similar explorations with more detailed treatments of radiative transfer, including understanding how aspects of early light curves correlate with spectral features.
NASA's Kepler Mission uncovered a wealth of planetary systems, many with planets on short-period orbits. These short-period systems reside around 50% of Sun-like stars and are similarly prevalent around M dwarfs. Their formation and subsequent evolution is the subject of active debate. In this paper, we simulate late-stage, in-situ planet formation across a grid of planetesimal disks with varying surface density profiles and total mass. We compare simulation results with observable characteristics of the Kepler sample. We identify mixture models with different primordial planetesimal disk properties that self-consistently recover the multiplicity, period ratio and duration ratio distributions of the Kepler planets. We draw three main conclusions: (1) We favor a "frozen-in" narrative for systems of short period planets, in which they are stable over long timescales, as opposed to metastable. (2) The "Kepler dichotomy", an observed phenomenon of the Kepler sample wherein the architectures of planetary systems appear to either vary significantly or have multiple modes, can naturally be explained by formation within planetesimal disks with varying surface density profiles. Finally, (3) we quantify the nature of the "Kepler dichotomy" for both GK stars and M dwarfs, and find that it varies with stellar type. While the mode of planet formation that accounts for highly multiplistic systems occurs in 24+/-7% of planetary systems orbiting GK stars, it occurs in 63+/-16% of planetary systems orbiting M dwarfs.
Core-collapse supernovae are considered to be important contributors to the primitive dust enrichment of the interstellar medium in the high-redshift universe. Theoretical models of dust formation in stellar explosions have so far provided controversial results and a generally poor fit to the observations of dust formation in local supernovae. We present a new methodology for the calculation of carbonaceous dust formation in young supernova remnants. Our new technique uses both the nucleation theory and a chemical reaction network to allow us to compute the dust growth beyond the molecular level as well as to consider chemical erosion of the forming grains. We find that carbonaceous dust forms efficiently in the core of the ejecta, but takes several years to condensate, longer than previously estimated. It forms unevenly and remains concentrated in the inner part of the remnant. These results support the role of core-collapse supernovae as dust factories and provide new insight on the observations of SN 1987A, in which large amounts of dust have been detected to form on a timescale of years after core collapse.
In Bastien et al. (2013) we found that high quality light curves, such as those obtained by Kepler, may be used to measure stellar surface gravity via granulation-driven light curve "flicker". Here, we update and extend the relation originally presented in Bastien et al. (2013) after calibrating flicker against a more robust set of asteroseismically derived surface gravities. We describe in detail how we extract the flicker signal from the light curves, including how we treat phenomena, such as exoplanet transits and shot noise, that adversely affect the measurement of flicker. We examine the limitations of the technique, and, as a result, we now provide an updated treatment of the flicker-based logg error. We briefly highlight further applications of the technique, such as astrodensity profiling or its use in other types of stars with convective outer layers. We discuss potential uses in current and upcoming space-based photometric missions. Finally, we supply flicker-based logg values, and their uncertainties, for 27 628 Kepler stars not identified as transiting-planet hosts, with 4500<teff<7150 K, 2.5<logg<4.6, Kepler magnitude <13.5, and overall photometric amplitudes <10 parts per thousand.
Adaptive optics observations in the infrared (VLT/NACO, Kervella et al. 2014) and visible (VLT/SPHERE, Kervella et al. 2015) domains revealed that the nearby AGB star L2 Pup (d=64 pc) is surrounded by a dust disk seen almost edge-on. Thermal emission from a large dust "loop" is detected at 4 microns up to more than 10 AU from the star. We also detect a secondary source at a separation of 32 mas, whose nature is uncertain. L2 Pup is currently a relatively "young" AGB star, so we may witness the formation of a planetary nebula. The mechanism that breaks the spherical symmetry of mass loss is currently uncertain, but we propose that the dust disk and companion are key elements in the shaping of the bipolar structure. L2 Pup emerges as an important system to test this hypothesis.
We examine a large random sample of orbits in self-consistent simulations of N-body bars. Orbits in the bars are classified both visually and with a new automated orbit classification method based on frequency analysis. The well known prograde x1 orbit family originates from the same parent orbit as the box orbits in stationary and rotating triaxial ellipsoids. However only a small fraction of bar orbits ~4% have predominately prograde motion like their periodic parent orbit. Most bar orbits arising from the x1 orbit have little net angular momentum in the bar frame making them equivalent to box orbits in rotating triaxial potentials. A small fraction of bar orbits (~7%) are long axis tubes that behave exactly like those in triaxial ellipsoids:they are tipped about the intermediate-axis due to the Coriolis force, with the sense of tipping determined by the sign of their angular momentum about the long axis. No orbits parented by prograde periodic x2 orbits are found in the pure bar model, but a tiny population (~2%) of short axis tube orbits parented by retrograde x4 orbits are found. When a central point mass representing a supermassive black hole (SMBH) is grown adiabatically at the center of the bar, those orbits that lie in the immediate vicinity of the SMBH are transformed into precessing Keplerian orbits (PKOs) which belong the same major families (short axis tubes, long axis tubes and boxes) occupying the bar at larger radii. During the growth of a SMBH the inflow of mass and outward transport of angular momentum transforms some x1 and long axis tube orbits into prograde short axis tubes. This study has important implications for future attempts to constrain the masses of SMBHs in barred galaxies using orbit based methods like the Schwarzschild orbit superposition scheme and for understanding the observed features in barred galaxies.
We explore the response of the He II 304 {\AA} and He I 584 {\AA} line intensities to electron beam heating in solar flares using radiative hydrodynamic simulations. Comparing different electron beams parameters, we found that the intensities of both He lines are very sensitive to the energy flux deposited in the chromosphere, or more specifically to the heating rate, with He II 304 {\AA} being more sensitive to the heating than He I 584 {\AA}. Therefore, the He line ratio increases for larger heating rates in the chromosphere. A similar trend is found in observations, using SDO/EVE He irradiance ratios and estimates of the electron beam energy rate obtained from hard X-ray data. From the simulations, we also found that spectral index of the electrons can affect the He ratio but a similar effect was not found in the observations.
We present a new algorithm to reconstruct the Galactic free electron density from pulsar dispersion measures. The algorithm performs a nonparametric tomography for a density field with an arbitrary amount of degrees of freedom. It is based on approximating the Galactic free electron density as the product of a profile function with a statistically isotropic and homogeneous log-normal field. Under this approximation the algorithm generates a map of the free electron density as well as an uncertainty estimate without the need of information about the power spectrum. The uncertainties of the pulsar distances are treated consistently by an iterative procedure. We test the algorithm using the NE2001 model with modified fluctuations as a Galaxy model, pulsar populations generated from the Lorimer population model, and mock observations emulating the upcoming Square Kilometer Array. We show the quality of the reconstruction for mock data sets containing between 1000 and 10000 pulsars with distance uncertainties up to 25%. Our results show, that with the SKA nonparametric tomography of the Galactic free electron density becomes feasible, but the quality of the reconstruction is very sensitive to the distance uncertainties.
We use published OGLE LMC/SMC data to present comprehensive Period-Color (PC) and Amplitude-Color (AC) relations for both fundamental and overtone stars. For fundamental mode stars, we confirm earlier work that the minimum light extinction corrected PC relation in V-I has a shallow slope but with considerable scatter (LMC: $[0.093 \pm 0.019]$ with a standard deviation about this line of 0.116, SMC: $[0.055\pm0.058]$ with a standard deviation about this line of 0.099). We note the high scatter about this line for both the LMC and SMC: either there is some source of uncertainty in extinction or some other physical parameter is responsible for this dispersion. We compare with previous results and discuss some possible causes for this scatter. In contrast, RRc overtone stars do not obey a flat PC relation at minimum light (LMC: $[0.604 \pm 0.041]$ with a standard deviation about this line of 0.109, SMC: $[0.472 \pm 0.265]$ with a standard deviation about this line of 0.091). The fact that fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars obey a flat relation at minimum light and overtone RR Lyrae stars do not is consistent with the interaction of the stellar photosphere and hydrogen ionization front. We compare these results with PC relations for fundamental and first overtone Cepheids. The fact that the PC relations change significantly as a function of phase indicates strongly that Cepheid and RR Lyrae relations can only be understood at mean light when their properties as a function of phase are determined.
We offer an analytical study on the dynamics of a two-body problem perturbed by small post-Newtonian relativistic term. We prove that, while the angular momentum is not conserved, the motion is planar. We also show that the energy is subject to small changes due to the relativistic effect. We also offer a periodic solution to this problem, obtained by a method based of separation of timescales. We demonstrate that our solution is more general than the method developed in the book by Brumberg (1991). The practical applicability of this model may be studies of the long-term evolution of relativistic binaries (neutron stars or black holes).
We present constraints on WIMP-nucleus scattering from the 2013 data of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment, including $1.4\times10^{4}\,\mathrm{kg\cdot days}$ of search exposure. This new analysis incorporates several advances: single-photon calibration at the scintillation wavelength; improved event-reconstruction algorithms; a revised background model including events originating on the detector walls in an enlarged fiducial volume; and new calibrations from decays of an injected tritium $\beta$ source and from kinematically constrained nuclear recoils down to 1.1 keV. Sensitivity, especially to low-mass WIMPs, is enhanced compared to our previous results which modeled the signal only above a 3 keV minimum energy. Under standard dark matter halo assumptions and in the mass range above 4 $\mathrm{GeV}\,c^{-2}$, these new results give the most stringent direct limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section. The 90% CL upper limit has a minimum of 0.4 zb at 33 $\mathrm{GeV}\,c^{-2}$ WIMP mass.
We present observations of a remarkable compact group of galaxies at $z = 2.48$. Four galaxies, all within 40 kpc of each other, surround a powerful high redshift radio source. This group comprises two compact red passive galaxies and a pair of merging galaxies. One of the red galaxies, with an apparent stellar mass of $3.6\times10^{11} M_{\odot}$ and an effective radius of 470 pc, is one of the most extreme examples of a massive quiescent compact galaxy found so far. One of the pair of merging galaxies hosts the AGN producing the large powerful radio structure. The merger is massive and enriched, consistent with the mass-metallicity relation expected at this redshift. Close to the merging nuclei, the emission lines exhibit broad and asymmetric profiles that suggest outflows powered either by a very young expanding radio jet or by AGN radiation. At $\gtrsim 50$ kpc from the system, we found a fainter extended-emission region that may be a part of a radio jet-driven outflow.
We studied the possibility whether the massive primordial black holes (PBHs) surviving today can be produced in hybrid inflation. Though it is of great interest since such PBHs can be the candidate for dark matter or seeds of the supermassive black holes in galaxies, there have not been quantitatively complete works yet because of the non-perturbative behavior around the critical point of hybrid inflation. Therefore, combining the stochastic and $\delta N$ formalism, we numerically calculated the curvature perturbations in a non-perturbative way and found, without any specific assumption of the types of hybrid inflation, PBHs are rather overproduced when the waterfall phase of hybrid inflation continues so long that the PBH scale is well enlarged and the corresponding PBH mass becomes sizable enough.
The glitch of anomalous X-ray pulsars \& soft gamma repeaters (AXP/SGRs) usually accompanied with detectable energy releases manifesting as X-ray bursts or outbursts, while the glitch of some pulsars like Vela release negligible energy. We find that these two types of glitch can naturally correspond to two types of starquake of solid stars. So far only quark star and quark cluster star model develop a solid star model. Then the two types of glitch may be an implication that the pulsar is composed by quark matter or quark cluster matter.
We report the discovery of an ultra-faint star cluster in the constellation of Centaurus. This new stellar system, Kim 3, features a half light radius of $r_{h}=2.29^{+1.28}_{-0.52}$ pc and a total luminosity of $M_{V}=+0.7\pm0.3$. Approximately 26 stars are identified as candidate member stars down to four magnitudes below the main-sequence turn-off, which makes Kim 3 the least luminous star cluster known to date. The compact physical size and extreme low luminosity place it close to faint star clusters in the size-luminosity plane. The stellar population of Kim 3 appears to be relatively young ($9.5^{+3.0}_{-1.7}$ Gyr) and metal-poor ([Fe/H]$=-1.6^{+0.45}_{-0.30}$) at a heliocentric distance of $15.14^{+1.00}_{-0.28}$ kpc. The cluster lacks a well-defined center and a small but prominent group of stars consistent with the Kim 3 isochrone is present approximately 9.7 pc in projection south of the cluster center. Both are signs of the cluster being in the final stage of tidal disruption.
Fomalhaut plays an important role in the study of debris disks and small bodies in other planetary systems. The proximity and luminosity of the star make key features of its debris, like the water ice-line, accessible. Here we present ALMA cycle 1, 870 \mu m (345 GHz) observations targeted at the inner part of the Fomalhaut system with a synthesized beam of 0.45"x0.37" (~3 AU linear resolution at the distance of Fomalhaut) and a rms of 26 \mu Jy/beam. The high angular resolution and sensitivity of the ALMA data enable us to place strong constraints on the nature of the warm excess revealed by Spitzer and Herschel observations. We detect a point source at the star position with a total flux consistent with thermal emission from the stellar photosphere. No structures that are brighter than 3\sigma\ are detected in the central 15 AU x 15 AU region. Modeling the spectral energy distribution using parameters expected for a dust-producing planetesimal belt indicates a radial location in the range ~8-15 AU. This is consistent with the location where ice sublimates in Fomalhaut, i.e., an asteroid-belt analog. The 3\sigma\ upper limit for such a belt is <1.3 mJy at 870 \mu m. We also interpret the 2 and 8-13 \mu m interferometric measurements to reveal the structure in the inner 10 AU region as dust naturally connected to this proposed asteroid belt by Poynting-Robertson drag, dust sublimation, and magnetically trapped nano grains.
By means of N-body+Hydrodynamics zoom-in simulations we study the evolution of the inner dark matter and stellar mass distributions of central dwarf galaxies formed in halos of virial masses mh=2-3x10^10 Msun at z=0, both in a WDM and CDM cosmology. The half-mode mass in the WDM power spectrum of our simulations is Mv= 2x 10^10 Msun. In the dark matter only simulations halo density profiles are well described by the NFW parametric fit in both cosmologies, though the WDM halos have concentrations lower by factors 1.5--2.0 than their CDM counterparts. In the hydrodynamical simulations, the effects of baryons significantly flatten the inner density, velocity dispersion, and pseudo phase-space density profiles of the WDM halos but not of the CDM ones. The density slope measured at ~ 0.02xRv, alpha, becomes shallow in periods of 2 to 5 Gyr in the WDM runs. We explore whether this flattening process correlates with the global SF, Ms/Mv ratio, gas outflow, and internal specific angular momentum histories. We do not find any clear trends but when alpha is shallower than -0.5, Ms/Mv is always between 0.25 and 1%. We conclude that the main reason of the formation of the shallow core is the presence of strong gas mass fluctuations inside the inner halo, which are consequence of the feedback driven by a very bursty and sustained SF history in shallow gravitational potentials. Our WDM halos, which ensemble late and are less concentrated than the CDM ones, obey these conditions. There are also (rare) CDM systems with extended mass assembly histories that obey these conditions and form indeed shallow cores. The dynamical heating and expansion processes, behind the DM core flattening, apply also to the stars in a such a way that the stellar age and metallicity gradients of the dwarfs are softened, their stellar half-mass radii strongly grow with time, and their central surface densities decrease.
The East-Asian VLBI Network (EAVN) is the international VLBI facility in East Asia and is conducted in collaboration with China, Japan, and Korea. The EAVN consists of VLBI arrays operated in each East Asian country, containing 21 radio telescopes and three correlators. The EAVN will be mainly operated at 6.7 (C-band), 8 (X-band), 22 (K-band), and 43 GHz (Q-band), although the EAVN has an ability to conduct observations at 1.6 - 129 GHz. We have conducted fringe test observations eight times to date at 8 and 22 GHz and fringes have been successfully detected at both frequencies. We have also conducted science commissioning observations of 6.7 GHz methanol masers in massive star-forming regions. The EAVN will be operational from the second half of 2017, providing complementary results with the FAST on AGNs, massive star-forming regions, and evolved stars with high angular resolution at cm- to mm-wavelengths.
We propose a novel method for testing isotropy of a three-dimensional distribution using Shannon entropy. We test the method on some Monte Carlo simulations of isotropic and anisotropic distributions and find that the method can effectively identify and characterize different types of hemispherical asymmetry inputted in a distribution. We generate anisotropic distributions by introducing pockets of different densities inside homogeneous and isotropic distributions and find that the proposed method can effectively quantify the degree of anisotropy and determine the geometry of the pockets introduced. We also considered spherically symmetric radially inhomogeneous distributions which are anisotropic at all points other than the centre and find that such anisotropy can be easily characterized by our method. We use a semi analytic galaxy catalogue from the Millennium simulation to study the anisotropies induced by the redshift space distortions and find that the method can separate such anisotropies from a general one. The method may be also suitably adapted for any two dimensional maps on the celestial sphere to study the hemispherical asymmetry in other cosmological observations.
It has been shown recently that relativistic distortions generate a dipolar modulation in the two-point correlation function of galaxies. To measure this relativistic dipole it is necessary to cross-correlate different populations of galaxies with for example different luminosities or colours. In this paper, we construct an optimal estimator to measure the dipole with multiple populations. We show that this estimator increases the signal-to-noise of the dipole by up to 35 percent. Using 6 populations of galaxies, in a survey with halos and number densities similar to those of the millennium simulation, we forecast a cumulative signal-to-noise of 4.4. For the main galaxy sample of SDSS at low redshift z<0.2 our optimal estimator predicts a cumulative signal-to-noise of 2.4. Finally we forecast a cumulative signal-to-noise of 7.4 in the upcoming DESI survey. These forecasts indicate that with the appropriate choice of estimator the relativistic dipole should be detectable in current and future surveys.
We analyse the secular dynamics of planets on S-type coplanar orbits in tight
binary systems, based on first- and second-order analytical models, and compare
their predictions with full N-body simulations. The perturbation parameter
adopted for the development of these models depends on the masses of the stars
and on the semimajor axis ratio between the planet and the binary.
We show that each model has both advantages and limitations. While the
first-order analytical model is algebraically simple and easy to implement, it
is only applicable in regions of the parameter space where the perturbations
are sufficiently small. The second-order model, although more complex, has a
larger range of validity and must be taken into account for dynamical studies
of some real exoplanetary systems such as $\gamma$-Cephei and HD 41004A.
However, in some extreme cases, neither of these analytical models yields
quantitatively correct results, requiring either higher-order theories or
direct numerical simulations.
Finally, we determine the limits of applicability of each analytical model in
the parameter space of the system, giving an important visual aid to decode
which secular theory should be adopted for any given planetary system in a
close binary.
Evolved stars are among the largest and brightest stars and they are ideal targets for the new generation of sensitive, high resolution instrumentation that provides spectrophotometric, interferometric, astrometric, and imaging observables. The interpretation of the complex stellar surface images requires numerical simulations of stellar convection that take into account multi-dimensional time-dependent radiation hydrodynamics with realistic input physics. We show how the evolved star simulations are obtained using the radiative hydrodynamics code CO5BOLD and how the accurate observables are computed with the post-processing radiative transfer code Optim3D. The synergy between observations and theoretical work is supported by a proper and quantitative analysis using these simulations, and by strong constraints from the observational side.
Imaging companions to main-sequence stars often allows to detect a projected
orbital motion. MCMC has become very popular in for fitting their orbits. Some
of these companions appear to move on very eccentric, possibly unbound orbits.
This is the case for the exoplanet Fomalhaut b and the brown dwarf companion PZ
Tel B. For such orbits, standard MCMC codes assuming only bound orbits may be
inappropriate. We develop a new MCMC implementation able to handle bound and
unbound orbits as well in a continuous manner, and we apply it to the cases of
Fomalhaut b and PZ Tel B.
This code is based on universal Keplerian variables and Stumpff functions
formalism. We present two versions of this code, the second one using a
different set of angular variables designed to avoid degeneracies arising when
the projected orbital motion is quasi-radial, as it is the case for PZ Tel B.
We also present additional observations of PZ Tel B.
The code is applied to Fomalhaut b and PZ Tel B. Concerning Fomalhaut b, we
confirm previous results, but we show that open orbital solutions are also
possible. The eccentricity distribution nevertheless peaks around ~0.9 in the
bound regime. We present a first successful orbital fit of PZ Tel B, showing in
particular that the eccentricity distribution presents a sharp peak very close
to e=1, meaning a quasi-parabolic orbit.
It was recently suggested that unseen inner companions may lead orbital
fitting algorithms to artificially give high eccentricities. We show that this
caveat is unlikely to apply to Fomalhaut b. Concerning PZ Tel B, an inner ~12
MJup companion would mimic a e=1 orbit despite a real eccentricity around 0.7,
but a dynamical analysis reveals that such a system would not be stable. We
conclude that our orbital fit is robust.
We have undertaken a dedicated program of automatic source classification in the WISE database merged with SuperCOSMOS scans, comprehensively identifying galaxies, quasars and stars on most of the unconfused sky. We use the Support Vector Machines classifier for that purpose, trained on SDSS spectroscopic data. The classification has been applied to a photometric dataset based on all-sky WISE 3.4 and 4.6 $\mu$m information cross-matched with SuperCOSMOS B and R bands, which provides a reliable sample of $\sim170$ million sources, including galaxies at $z_{\rm med}\sim0.2$, as well as quasars and stars. The results of our classification method show very high purity and completeness (more than 96\%) of the separated sources, and the resultant catalogs can be used for sophisticated analyses, such as generating all-sky photometric redshifts.
The Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect is a spectral distortion in the Cosmic
Microwave Background (CMB), caused due to up-scattering of CMB photons by high
energy electron distributions. The largest SZ distortion in the CMB is caused
by the hot electrons present in the intra-cluster medium (ICM). However,
several other small scale astrophysical processes can also contribute to the SZ
distortion in the CMB.
Analytic studies have shown that the interstellar (ISM) electron gas of the
host galaxy heated by quasar feedback can also cause substantial SZ effect. For
successful detection of the quasar feedback signal, the SZ signal from the
virialized gas in the host halos of quasars needs to be properly quantified. In
this dissertation work, I have estimated the SZ signal from quasar hosts using
analytic models of the virialized gas in the ICM/ISM. As a new extension to
existing work I have used the measured Halo Occupation Distribution properties
of quasar hosts. The results show that the average SZ signal from quasar hosts
decreases with redshift. This result is consist what what has been observed by
the Planck team.
I have compared by calculations with the experimental results of Ruan et al.
(2015). While Ruan et al. (2015) claim their detection to be from quasar
feedback, I find that within the errors of my model, their detection can be
explained with halo signal alone, without introducing feedback.
We present the first results of our dedicated programme of automatised classification of galaxies, stars and quasars in the mid-infrared all-sky data from the WISE survey. We employ the Support Vector Machines (SVM) algorithm, which defines a hyperplane separating different classes of sources in a multidimensional space of arbitrarily chosen parameters. This approach consists of four general steps: 1) selection of the training sample, 2) selection of the optimal parameter space, 3) training of the classifier, 4) application to target data. Here, as the training set, we use sources from a cross-correlation of the WISE catalogue with the SDSS spectroscopic sample. The performance of the SVM classifier was tested as a function of size of the training set, dimension of the parameter space, WISE apparent magnitude and Galactic extinction. We find that our classifier provides promising results already for three classification parameters: magnitude, colour and differential aperture magnitude. Completeness and purity levels as high as 95% are obtained for quasars, while for galaxies and stars they vary between 80-95% depending on the magnitude, deteriorating for fainter sources.
We report on a systematic investigation of the cold and mildly ionized gaseous baryonic metal components of our Galaxy, through the analysis of high resolution Chandra and XMM-Newton spectra of two samples of Galactic and extragalactic sources. The comparison between lines of sight towards sources located in the disk of our Galaxy and extragalactic sources, allows us for the first time to clearly distinguish between gaseous metal components in the disk and halo of our Galaxy. We find that a Warm Ionized Metal Medium (WIMM) permeates a large volume above and below the Galaxy's disk, perhaps up to the Circum-Galactic space (CGM). This halo-WIMM imprints virtually the totality of the OI and OII absorption seen in the spectra of our extragalactic targets, has a temperature of T(Halo-WIMM)=2900 +/- 900 K, a density <n_H>(Halo-WIMM) = 0.023 +/- 0.009 cm-3 and a metallicity Z(Halo-WIMM) = (0.4 +/- 0.1) Z_Solar. Consistently with previous works, we also confirm that the disk of the Galaxy contains at least two distinct gaseous metal components, one cold and neutral (the CNMM: Cold Neutral Metal Medium) and one warm and mildly ionized, with the same temperature of the Halo-WIMM, but higher density (<n_H>(Disk-WIMM) = 0.09 +/- 0.03 cm-3) and metallicity (Z(Disk-WIMM) = 0.8 +/- 0.1$ Z_Solar). By adopting a simple disk+sphere geometry for the Galaxy, we estimates masses of the CNMM and the total (disk + halo) WIMM of M(CNMM) <~ 8e8 Solar masses and M(WIMM) ~ 8.2e9 Solar masses.
We present measurements of the galaxy bias $b$ and the galaxy-matter cross-correlation coefficient $r$ for the BOSS LOWZ luminous red galaxy sample. Using a new statistical weak lensing analysis of the Red Sequence Cluster Lensing Survey (RCSLenS) we find the bias properties of this sample to be higher than previously reported with $b=2.45^{+0.05}_{-0.05}$ and $r=1.64^{+0.17}_{-0.16}$ on scales between $3'$ and $20'$. We repeat the measurement for angular scales of $20'\leq \vartheta \leq70'$, which yields $b=2.39^{+0.07}_{-0.07}$ and $r=1.24^{+0.26}_{-0.25}$. This is the first application of a data compression analysis using a complete set of discrete estimators for galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering. As cosmological data sets grow, our new method of data compression will become increasingly important in order to interpret joint weak lensing and galaxy clustering measurements and to estimate the data covariance. In future studies this formalism can be used as a tool to study the large-scale structure of the Universe to yield a precise determination of cosmological parameters.
We determine the accuracy of galaxy redshift distributions as estimated from
photometric redshift probability distributions $p(z)$. Our method utilises
measurements of the angular cross-correlation between photometric galaxies and
an overlapping sample of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts. We describe the
redshift leakage from a galaxy photometric redshift bin $j$ into a
spectroscopic redshift bin $i$ using the sum of the $p(z)$ for the galaxies
residing in bin $j$. We can then predict the angular cross-correlation between
photometric and spectroscopic galaxies due to intrinsic galaxy clustering when
$i \neq j$ as a function of the measured angular cross-correlation when $i=j$.
We also account for enhanced clustering arising from lensing magnification
using a halo model. The comparison of this prediction with the measured signal
provides a consistency check on the validity of using the summed $p(z)$ to
determine galaxy redshift distributions in cosmological analyses, as advocated
by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS).
We present an analysis of the photometric redshifts measured by CFHTLenS,
which overlaps the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). We also
analyse the Red-sequence Cluster Lensing Survey (RCSLenS), which overlaps both
BOSS and the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey. We find that the summed $p(z)$ from
both surveys are generally biased with respect to the true underlying
distributions. If unaccounted for, this bias would lead to errors in
cosmological parameter estimation from CFHTLenS by less than $\sim 4\%$. For
photometric redshift bins which spatially overlap in 3-D with our spectroscopic
sample, we determine redshift bias corrections which can be used in future
cosmological analyses that rely on accurate galaxy redshift distributions.
In this paper we present results of applying the shear-ratio method to the RCSLenS data. The method takes the ratio of the mean of the weak lensing tangential shear signal about galaxy clusters, averaged over all clusters of the same redshift, in multiple background redshift bins. In taking a ratio the mass-dependency of the shear signal is cancelled-out leaving a statistic that is dependent on the geometric part of the lensing kernel only. We apply this method to 535 clusters and measure a cosmology-independent distance-redshift relation to redshifts z~1. In combination with Planck data the method lifts the degeneracies in the CMB measurements, resulting in cosmological parameter constraints of OmegaM=0.31 +/- 0.10 and w0 = -1.02 +/- 0.37, for a flat wCDM cosmology.
The total-to-selective extinction RV in the direction of a cluster is found to be 3.12 +/- 0.2 (close to its normal value). We derive the luminosity and mass functions for the cluster main sequence stars. The mass function slope is found to be -2.29 +/- 0.20 which is close to Salpeter value. We find evidence of mass segregation process in the cluster which is not yet dynamically relaxed. We have performed time series photometric observations to detect variable stars within star cluster NGC 1960. The DAOPHOT-II package is utilized to estimate the apparent stellar magnitudes of stars. The secondary standardization method is applied to the transformation of these apparent magnitudes into standard values. The magnitude-time diagrams (light curves) of stars are constructed to identify possible variability nature within them. The stars, having sufficient magnitude variation with time, are considered to be variable stars and their period values have computed through PERIOD04 package. These periodic values of variables are used to construct their corresponding phase diagrams. Here, we are reporting short periodic variables through the photometric analysis of science frames of whole night observations. Their type and variability nature, have been prescribed on the basis of information about amplitude, period and shape of phase diagrams. The location of variables on colour-magnitude-diagram is effective to constrain the history of stellar evolution. Our present analysis indicates that the variability fraction of massive stars is found to be high in the comparison of lighter members.
Neutrino interactions with matter play an important role in determining the nucleosynthesis outcome in explosive astrophysical environments such as core-collapse supernovae or mergers of compact objects. In this article, we first discuss our recent work on the importance of studying the time evolution of collective neutrino oscillations among active flavors in determining their effects on nucleosynthesis. We then consider the possible active-sterile neutrino mixing and demonstrate the need of a consistent approach to evolve neutrino flavor oscillations, matter composition, and the hydrodynamics when flavor oscillations can happen very deep inside the supernovae.
In the context of the determination of stellar properties using asteroseismology, we study the influence of rotation and convective-core overshooting on the properties of red-giant stars. We used models in order to investigate the effects of these mechanisms on the asymptotic period spacing of gravity modes ($\Delta \Pi_1$) of red-giant stars that ignite He burning in degenerate conditions (M$\lesssim$2.0 M$_{\odot}$). We also compare the predictions of these models with Kepler observations. For a given $\Delta\nu$, $\Delta \Pi_1$ depends not only on the stellar mass, but also on mixing processes that can affect the structure of the core. We find that in the case of more evolved red-giant-branch (RGB) stars and regardless of the transport processes occurring in their interiors, the observed $\Delta \Pi_1$ can provide information as to their stellar luminosity, within ~10-20%. In general, the trends of $\Delta \Pi_1$ with respect to mass and metallicity that are observed in Kepler red-giant stars are well reproduced by the models.
A review of the Gaia mission and its science performance after one year of operations will be presented, and the contribution to reconstructing the history of the Milky Way will be outlined.
This work is a continuation of our efforts to develop an efficient implicit solver for multidimensional hydrodynamics for the purpose of studying important physical processes in stellar interiors, such as turbulent convection and overshooting. We present an implicit solver resulting from the combination of a Jacobian-Free Newton-Krylov method and a preconditioning technique tailored for the inviscid, compressible equations of stellar hydrodynamics. We assess the accuracy and performance of the solver for both 2D and 3D problems, for Mach numbers down to $10^{-6}$. Although our applications concern flows in stellar interiors, the method can be applied to general advection and/or diffusion dominated flows. The method presented in this paper opens up new avenues in 3D modeling of realistic stellar interiors allowing the study of important problems in stellar structure and evolution.
SMC 3 is one of the most interesting symbiotic stars. This binary contains a bright K-type giant transferring mass to a massive white dwarf comanion, which makes it is a very promising SN Ia candidate. We discuss the evolutionary status of the system using results of population synthesis code.
Standing fast sausage modes in flare loops were suggested to account for a considerable number of quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) in the light curves of solar flares. This study continues our investigation into the possibility to invert the measured periods $P$ and damping times $\tau$ of sausage modes to deduce the transverse Alfv\'en time $R/v_{\rm Ai}$, density contrast $\rho_{\rm i}/\rho_{\rm e}$, and the steepness of the density distribution transverse to flare loops. A generic dispersion relation (DR) governing linear sausage modes is derived for pressureless cylinders where density inhomogeneity of arbitrary form takes place within the cylinder. We show that in general the inversion problem is under-determined for QPP events where only a single sausage mode exists, be the measurements spatially resolved or unresolved. While $R/v_{\rm Ai}$ can be inferred to some extent, the range of possible steepness parameters may be too broad to be useful. However, for spatially resolved measurements where an additional mode is present, it is possible to deduce self-consistently $\rho_{\rm i}/\rho_{\rm e}$, the profile steepness, and the internal Alfv\'en speed $v_{\rm Ai}$. We show that at least for a recent QPP event that involves a fundamental kink mode in addition to a sausage one, flare loop parameters are well constrained, even if the specific form of the transverse density distribution remains unknown. We conclude that spatially resolved, multi-mode QPP measurements need to be pursued for inferring flare loop parameters.
We present millimetre (SMA) and sub-millimetre (SCUBA-2) continuum observations of the peculiar star KIC 8462852 which displayed several deep and aperiodic dips in brightness during the Kepler mission. Our observations are approximately confusion-limited at 850 $\mu$m and are the deepest millimetre and sub-millimetre photometry of the star that has yet been carried out. No significant emission is detected towards KIC 8462852. We determine upper limits for dust between a few 10$^{-6}$ M$_{\oplus}$ and 10$^{-3}$ M$_{\oplus}$ for regions identified as the most likely to host occluding dust clumps and a total overall dust budget of $<$7.7 M$_{\oplus}$ within a radius of 200 AU. Such low limits for the inner system make the catastrophic planetary disruption hypothesis unlikely. Integrating over the Kepler lightcurve we determine that at least 10$^{-9}$ M$_{\oplus}$ of dust is required to cause the observed Q16 dip. This is consistent with the currently most favoured cometary breakup hypothesis, but nevertheless implies the complete breakup of $\sim$ 30 Comet 1/P Halley type objects. Finally, in the wide SCUBA-2 field-of-view we identify another candidate debris disc system that is potentially the largest yet discovered.
After a brief historical introduction and recalling basic concepts of stellar oscillation theory, I focus my review on interpretation of secondary periodicities found in RR Lyrae stars and Cepheids as a manifestation of nonradial mode excitation.
Photometric surveys such as Kepler have the precision to identify exoplanet and eclipsing binary candidates from only a single transit. K2, with its 75d campaign duration, is ideally suited to detect significant numbers of single-eclipsing objects. Here we develop a Bayesian transit-fitting tool ("Namaste: An Mcmc Analysis of Single Transit Exoplanets") to extract orbital information from single transit events. We achieve favourable results testing this technique on known Kepler planets, and apply the technique to 7 candidates identified from a targeted search of K2 campaigns 1, 2 and 3. We find EPIC203311200 to host an excellent exoplanet candidate with a period, assuming zero eccentricity, of $540 ^{+410}_{-230}$ days and a radius of $0.51 \pm 0.05 R_{Jup}$. We also find six further transit candidates for which more follow-up is required to determine a planetary origin. Such a technique could be used in the future with TESS, PLATO and ground-based photometric surveys such as NGTS, potentially allowing the detection of planets in reach of confirmation by Gaia.
The sky is full of variable and transient sources on all time scales, from milliseconds to decades. Planck's regular scanning strategy makes it an ideal instrument to search for variable sky signals in the millimetre and submillimetre regime, on time scales from hours to several years. A precondition is that instrumental noise and systematic effects, caused in particular by non-symmetric beam shapes, are properly removed. We present a method to perform a full sky blind search for variable and transient objects at all Planck frequencies.
The local properties of turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) in rotating, shearing flows are studied in the framework of a shearing-box model. Based on numerical simulations, we propose that the MRI-driven turbulence comprises two components: the large-scale shear-aligned strong magnetic field and the small-scale fluctuations resembling magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. The energy spectrum of the large-scale component is close to $k^{-2}$, whereas the spectrum of the small-scale component agrees with the spectrum of strong MHD turbulence $k^{-3/2}$. While the spectrum of the fluctuations is universal, the outer-scale characteristics of the turbulence are not; they depend on the parameters of the system, such as the net magnetic flux. However, there is remarkable universality among the allowed turbulent states -- their intensity $v_0$ and their outer scale $\lambda_0$ satisfy the balance condition $v_0/\lambda_0\sim \mathrm d\Omega/\mathrm d\ln r$, where $\mathrm d\Omega/\mathrm d\ln r$ is the local orbital shearing rate of the flow. Finally, we find no sustained dynamo action in the $\mathrm{Pm}=1$ zero net-flux case for Reynolds numbers as high as $45\,000$, casting doubts on the existence of an MRI dynamo in the $\mathrm{Pm}\leq 1$ regime.
We present photometric observations of RW Aurigae, a Classical T Tauri system, that reveal two remarkable dimming events. These events are similar to that which we observed in 2010-2011, which was the first such deep dimming observed in RW Aur in a century's worth of photometric monitoring. We suggested the 2010-2011 dimming was the result of an occultation of the star by its tidally disrupted circumstellar disk. In 2012-2013, the RW Aur system dimmed by ~0.7 mag for ~40 days and in 2014/2015 the system dimmed by ~2 mag for >250 days. The ingress/egress duration measurements of the more recent events agree well with those from the 2010-2011 event, providing strong evidence that the new dimmings are kinematically associated with the same occulting source. Therefore, we suggest that both the 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 dimming events, measured using data from the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope and the Kutztown University Observatory, are also occultations of RW Aur A by tidally disrupted circumstellar material. Recent hydrodynamical simulations of the eccentric fly-by of RW Aur B suggest the occulting body to be a bridge of material connecting RW Aur A and B. These simulations suggest the possibility of additional occultations, supported by the observations presented in this work. The color evolution of the dimmings suggest that the tidally stripped disk material includes dust grains ranging in size from small grains at the leading edge, typical of star forming regions, to large grains, ices or pebbles producing grey or nearly grey extinction deeper within the occulting material. It is not known whether this material represents arrested planet building prior to the tidal disruption event, or perhaps accelerated planet building as a result of the disruption event, but in any case the evidence suggests the presence of advanced planet building material in the space between RW Aur A and B.
This study presents elemental abundances of the early A-type supergiant HD 80057 and the late A-type supergiant HD80404. High resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio spectra published by the UVES Paranal Observatory Project (Bagnulo et al., 2003) were analysed to compute their elemental abundances using ATLAS9 (Kurucz, 1993, 2005; Sbordone et al., 2004). In our analysis we assumed local thermodynamic equilibrium. The atmospheric parameters of HD 80057 used in this study are from Firnstein & Przybilla (2012), and that of HD80404 are derived from spectral energy distribution, ionization equilibria of Cr I/II and Fe I/II, and the fits to the wings of Balmer lines and Paschen lines as Teff = 7700 +/- 150 K and log g=1.60 +/- 0.15 (in cgs). The microturbulent velocities of HD 80057 and HD 80404 have been determined as 4.3 +/- 0.1 and 2.2 +/- 0.7 km s^-1 . The rotational velocities are 15 +/-1 and 7 +/- 2 km s^-1 and their macroturbulence velocities are 24 +/-2 and 2+/-1 km s^-1 . We have given the abundances of 27 ions of 20 elements for HD 80057 and 39 ions of 25 elements for HD80404. The abundances are close to solar values, except for some elements (Na, Sc, Ti, V, Ba, and Sr). We have found the metallicities [M/H] for HD 80057 and HD 80404 as -0.15 +/- 0.24 and -0.02 +/- 0.20 dex, respectively. The evolutionary status of these stars are discussed and their nitrogen-to-carbon (N/C) and nitrogen-to-oxygen (N/O) ratios show that they are in their blue supergiant phase before the red supergiant region.
Fast radio bursts are mysterious transient sources likely located at cosmological distances. The derived brightness temperatures exceed by many orders of magnitude the self-absorption limit of incoherent synchrotron radiation, implying the operation of a coherent emission process. We propose a radiation mechanism for fast radio bursts where the emission arises from collisionless Bremsstrahlung in strong plasma turbulence excited by relativistic electron beams. We discuss possible astrophysical scenarios in which this process might operate. The emitting region is a turbulent plasma hit by a relativistic jet, where Langmuir plasma waves produce a concentration of intense electrostatic soliton-like regions (cavitons). The resulting radiation is coherent and, under some physical conditions, can be polarised and have a power-law distribution in energy. We obtain radio luminosities in agreement with the inferred values for fast radio bursts. The timescale of the radio flare in some cases can be extremely fast, of the order of $10^{-3}$ s. The mechanism we present here can explain the main features of fast radio bursts and is plausible in different astrophysical sources, such as gamma-ray bursts and some Active Galactic Nuclei.
The nearby cloud L1642 is one of only two known very high latitude (|b| > 30 deg) clouds actively forming stars. It is a rare example of star formation in isolated conditions, and can reveal important details of star formation in general, e.g., of the effect of magnetic fields. We compare Herschel dust emission structures and magnetic field orientation revealed by Planck polarization maps in L1642. The high-resolution (~18-40") Herschel data reveal a complex structure including a dense, compressed central blob with elongated extensions, low density striations, "fishbone" like structures with a spine and perpendicular striations, and a spiraling "tail". The Planck polarization data (at 10' resolution) reveal an ordered magnetic field pervading the cloud and aligned with the surrounding striations. There is a complex interplay between the cloud structure and large scale magnetic field. This suggests that magnetic field is closely linked to the formation and evolution of the cloud. CO rotational emission confirms that the striations are connected with the main clumps and likely to contain material either infalling to or flowing out of the clumps. There is a clear transition from aligned to perpendicular structures approximately at a column density of NH = 1.6 x 10^21 cm^-2. Comparing the high-resolution Herschel maps with the Planck polarization maps shows the close connection between the magnetic field and cloud structure. This connection is seen even at the finest details of the cloud, most notably in the striations.
We report on results from new high-sensitivity, high-resolution 86GHz (3.5 millimeter) observations of the jet base in the nearby radio galaxy M87, obtained by the Very Long Baseline Array in conjunction with the Green Bank Telescope. The resulting image has a dynamic range exceeding 1500 to 1, the highest ever achieved for this jet at this frequency, resolving and imaging a detailed jet formation/collimation structure down to ~10 Schwarzschild radii (Rs). The obtained 86GHz image clearly confirms some important jet features known at lower frequencies, i.e., a wide-opening angle jet base, a limb-brightened intensity profile, a parabola-shape collimation profile and a counter jet. The limb-brightened structure is already well developed at < 0.2mas (< 28Rs, projected) from the core, where the corresponding apparent opening angle becomes as wide as ~100 degrees. The subsequent jet collimation near the black hole evolves in a complicated manner; there is a "constricted" structure at tens Rs from the core, where the jet cross section is locally shrinking. We suggest that an external pressure support from the inner part of radiatively-inefficient accretion flow may be dynamically important in shaping/confining the footprint of the magnetized jet. We also present the first VLBI 86GHz polarimetric experiment for this source, where a highly polarized (~20%) feature is detected near the jet base, indicating the presence of a well-ordered magnetic field. As a by-product, we additionally report a 43/86 GHz polarimetric result for our calibrator 3C 273 suggesting an extreme rotation measure near the core.
Turbulence is a chaotic flow regime filled by irregular flows. The dissipation of turbulence is a fundamental problem in the realm of physics. Theoretically, dissipation cannot be ultimately achieved without collisions, and so how turbulent kinetic energy is dissipated in the nearly collisionless solar wind is a challenging problem. Wave particle interactions and magnetic reconnection are two possible dissipation mechanisms, but which mechanism dominates is still a controversial topic. Here we analyze the dissipation region scaling around a solar wind magnetic reconnection region. We find that the magnetic reconnection region shows a unique multifractal scaling in the dissipation range, while the ambient solar wind turbulence reveals a monofractal dissipation process for most of the time. These results provide the first observational evidences for the intermittent multifractal dissipation region scaling around a magnetic reconnection site, and they also have significant implications for the fundamental energy dissipation process.
The Physics GRE is currently a required element of the graduate admissions process in nearly all U.S. astronomy programs; however, its predictive power and utility as a means of selecting "successful" applicants has never been examined. We circulated a short questionnaire to 271 people who have held U.S. prize postdoctoral fellowships in astrophysics between 2010-2015, asking them to report their Physics GRE scores (this should not in any way be interpreted as a belief that a prize fellowship is the best or only metric of "success" in astronomy). The response rate was 64%, and the responding sample is unbiased with respect to the overall gender distribution of prize fellows. The responses reveal that the Physics GRE scores of prize fellows do not adhere to any minimum percentile score and show no statistically significant correlation with the number of first author papers published. As an example, a Physics GRE percentile cutoff of 60% would have eliminated 44% of 2010-2015 U.S. prize postdoctoral fellows, including 60% of the female fellows. From these data, we find no evidence that the Physics GRE can be used as an effective predictor of "success" either in or beyond graduate school.
We provide a novel model of gravity by using adjoint frame fields in four dimensions. It has a natural interpretation as a gravitational theory of a complex metric field, which describes interactions between two real metrics. The classical solutions establish three appealing features. The spherical symmetric black hole solution has an additional hair, which includes the Schwarzschild solution as a special case. The de Sitter solution is realized without introducing a cosmological constant. The constant flat background breaks the Lorentz invariance spontaneously, although the Lorentz breaking effect can be localized to the second metric while the first metric still respects the Lorentz invariance.
Axions with broken discrete shift symmetry (axion monodromy) have recently played a central role both in the discussion of inflation and the `relaxion' approach to the hierarchy problem. We suggest a very minimalist way to constrain such models by the weak gravity conjecture for domain walls: While the electric side of the conjecture is always satisfied if the cosine-oscillations of the axion potential are sufficiently small, the magnetic side imposes a cutoff, $\Lambda^3 \sim m f M_{pl}$, independent of the height of these `wiggles'. We compare our approach with the recent related proposal by Ibanez, Montero, Uranga and Valenzuela. We also discuss the non-trivial question which version, if any, of the weak gravity conjecture for domain walls should hold. In particular, we show that string compactifications with branes of different dimensions wrapped on different cycles lead to a `geometric weak gravity conjecture' relating volumes of cycles, norms of corresponding forms and the volume of the compact space. Imposing this `geometric conjecture', e.g. on the basis of the more widely accepted weak gravity conjecture for particles, provides at least some support for the (electric and magnetic) conjecture for domain walls.
We present a new multi-component dark matter model with a novel experimental signature that mimics neutral current interactions at neutrino detectors. In our model, the dark matter is composed of two particles, a heavier dominant component that annihilates to produce a boosted lighter component that we refer to as boosted dark matter. The lighter component is relativistic and scatters off electrons in neutrino experiments to produce Cherenkov light. This model combines the indirect detection of the dominant component with the direct detection of the boosted dark matter. Directionality can be used to distinguish the dark matter signal from the atmospheric neutrino background. We discuss the viable region of parameter space in current and future experiments.
We explicitly confirm that spatially flat non-singular bouncing cosmologies make sense as effective theories. The presence of a non-singular bounce in a spatially flat universe implies a temporary violation of the null energy condition, which can be achieved through a phase of ghost condensation. We calculate the scale of strong coupling and demonstrate that the ghost-condensate bounce remains trustworthy throughout, and that all perturbation modes within the regime of validity of the effective description remain under control. For this purpose we require the perturbed action up to third order in perturbations, which we calculate in both flat and co-moving gauge -- since these two gauges allow us to highlight different physical aspects. Our conclusion is that there exist healthy descriptions of non-singular bouncing cosmologies providing a viable resolution of the big-bang singularities in cosmological models. Our results also suggest a variant of ekpyrotic cosmology, in which entropy perturbations are generated during the contracting phase, but are only converted into curvature perturbations after the bounce.
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Traditionally, galaxy clusters have been expected to retain all the material accreted since their formation epoch. For this reason, their matter content should be representative of the Universe as a whole, and thus their baryon fraction should be close to the Universal baryon fraction. We make use of the sample of the 100 brightest galaxy clusters discovered in the XXL Survey to investigate the fraction of baryons in the form of hot gas and stars in the cluster population. We measure the gas masses of the detected halos and use a mass--temperature relation directly calibrated using weak-lensing measurements for a subset of XXL clusters to estimate the halo mass. We find that the weak-lensing calibrated gas fraction of XXL-100-GC clusters is substantially lower than was found in previous studies using hydrostatic masses. Our best-fit relation between gas fraction and mass reads $f_{\rm gas,500}=0.055_{-0.006}^{+0.007}\left(M_{\rm 500}/10^{14}M_\odot\right)^{0.21_{-0.10}^{+0.11}}$. The baryon budget of galaxy clusters therefore falls short of the Universal baryon fraction by about a factor of two at $r_{\rm 500}$. Our measurements require a hydrostatic bias $1-b=M_X/M_{\rm WL}=0.72_{-0.07}^{+0.08}$ to match the gas fraction obtained using lensing and hydrostatic equilibrium. Comparing our gas fraction measurements with the expectations from numerical simulations, our results favour an extreme feedback scheme in which a significant fraction of the baryons are expelled from the cores of halos. This model is, however, in contrast with the thermodynamical properties of observed halos, which might suggest that weak-lensing masses are overestimated. We note that a mass bias $1-b=0.58$ as required to reconcile Planck CMB and cluster counts should translate into an even lower baryon fraction, which poses a major challenge to our current understanding of galaxy clusters. [Abridged]
We report the discovery of NGC 253-dw2, a dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy candidate undergoing tidal disruption around a nearby spiral galaxy, NGC 253 in the Sculptor group: the first such event identified beyond the Local Group. The dwarf was found using small-aperture amateur telescopes, and followed up with Suprime-Cam on the 8 m Subaru Telescope in order to resolve its brightest stars. Using g- and R_c-band photometry, we detect a red giant branch consistent with an old, metal-poor stellar population at a distance of ~ 3.5 Mpc. From the distribution of likely member stars, we infer a highly elongated shape with a semi-major axis half-light radius of (2 +/- 0.4) kpc. Star counts also yield a luminosity estimate of ~ 2x10^6 L_Sun,V (M_V ~ -10.7). The morphological properties of NGC 253-dw2 mark it as distinct from normal dSphs and imply ongoing disruption at a projected distance of ~ 50 kpc from the main galaxy. Our observations support the hierarchical paradigm wherein massive galaxies continously accrete less massive ones, and provide a new case study for dSph infall and dissolution dynamics. We also note the continued efficacy of small telescopes for making big discoveries.
We report the discovery of Scl-MM-Dw2, a new dwarf galaxy at a projected separation of $\sim$50 kpc from NGC 253, as part of the PISCeS (Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor) project. We measure a tip of the red giant branch distance of $3.12\pm0.30$ Mpc, suggesting that Scl-MM-Dw2 is likely a satellite of NGC 253. We qualitatively compare the distribution of red giant branch (RGB) stars in the color-magnitude diagram with theoretical isochrones and find that it is consistent with an old, $\sim$12 Gyr, and metal poor, $-2.3<$[Fe/H]$<-1.1$, stellar population. We also detect a small number of asymptotic giant branch stars consistent with a metal poor $2-3$ Gyr population in the center of the dwarf. Our non-detection of HI in a deep Green Bank Telescope spectrum implies a gas fraction $M_{HI}/L_V<0.02$ Msun/Lsun. The stellar and gaseous properties of Scl-MM-Dw2 suggest that it is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Scl-MM-Dw2 has a luminosity of $M_V=-12.1\pm0.5$ mag and a half-light radius of $r_h=2.94\pm0.46$ kpc which makes it moderately larger than dwarf galaxies in the Local Group of the same luminosity. However, Scl-MM-Dw2 is very elongated ($\epsilon=0.66\pm0.06$) and it has an extremely low surface brightness ($\mu_{0,V}=26.5\pm0.7$ mag arcsec$^{-2}$). Its elongation and diffuseness make it an outlier in the ellipticity-luminosity and surface brightness-luminosity scaling relations. These properties suggest that this dwarf is being tidally disrupted by NGC 253.
We analyze Hubble Space Telescope observations of scattering regions in 20 luminous obscured quasars at $0.24<z<0.65$ (11 new observations and 9 archival ones) observed at rest-frame $\sim 3000$\AA. We find spectacular $5-10$ kpc-scale scattering regions in almost all cases. The median scattering efficiency at this wavelength (the ratio of observed to estimated intrinsic flux) is 2.3\%, and 73\% of the observed flux at this wavelength is due to scattered light, which if unaccounted for may strongly bias estimates of quasar hosts' star formation rates. Modeling these regions as illuminated dusty cones, we estimate the radial density distributions of the interstellar medium as well as the geometric properties of circumnuclear quasar obscuration -- inclinations and covering factors. Small derived opening angles (median half-angle and standard deviation 27\dg$\pm$9\dg) are inconsistent with a 1:1 type 1 / type 2 ratio. We suggest that quasar obscuration is patchy and that the observer has a $\sim 40\%$ chance of seeing a type 1 source even through the obscuration. We estimate median density profile of the scattering medium to be $n_{\rm H}=0.04-0.5$ $(1{\rm kpc}/r)^2$ cm$^{-3}$, depending on the method. Quasars in our sample likely exhibit galaxy-wide winds, but if these consist of optically thick clouds then only a small fraction of the wind mass ($\la 10\%$) contributes to scattering.
General relativity has been widely tested in weak gravitational fields but still stands largely untested in the strong-field regime. According to the no-hair theorem, black holes in general relativity depend only on their masses and spins and are described by the Kerr metric. Mass and spin are the first two multipole moments of the Kerr spacetime and completely determine all higher-order moments. The no-hair theorem and, hence, general relativity can be tested by measuring potential deviations from the Kerr metric affecting such higher-order moments. Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is a prime target for precision tests of general relativity with several experiments across the electromagnetic spectrum. First, near-infrared (NIR) monitoring of stars orbiting around Sgr A* with current and new instruments is expected to resolve their orbital precessions. Second, timing observations of radio pulsars near the Galactic center may detect characteristic residuals induced by the spin and quadrupole moment of Sgr A*. Third, the Event Horizon Telescope, a global network of mm and sub-mm telescopes, aims to study Sgr A* on horizon scales and to image its shadow cast against the surrounding accretion flow using very-long baseline interferometric (VLBI) techniques. Both NIR and VLBI observations may also detect quasiperiodic variability of the emission from the accretion flow of Sgr A*. In this review, I discuss our current understanding of the spacetime of Sgr A* and the prospects of NIR, timing, and VLBI observations to test its Kerr nature in the near future. [abridged]
The Outburst Catalogue contains a wide variety of observational properties for 722 dwarf nova-type (DN) cataclysmic variables (CVs) and 309 CVs of other types from the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey. In particular, it includes the apparent outburst and quiescent V-band magnitudes, duty cycles, limits on the recurrence time, upper- and lower-limits on the distance and absolute quiescent magnitudes, colour information, orbital parameters, and X-ray counterparts. These properties were determined by means of a classification script presented in this paper. The DN in the catalogue show a correlation between the outburst duty cycle and the orbital period (and outburst recurrence time), as well as between the quiescent absolute magnitude and the orbital period (and duty cycle). This is the largest sample of dwarf nova properties collected to date. Besides serving as a useful reference for individual systems and a means of selecting objects for targeted studies, it will prove valuable for statistical studies that aim to shed light on the formation and evolution of cataclysmic variables.
We provide detailed comparison between the AMR code Enzo-2.4 and the SPH code GADGET-3 in the context of direct baryonic collapse within DM halos to form supermassive black hole (SMBH) seeds, in isolated and cosmological frameworks, at z ~ 10-20. We find that both codes show an overall agreement in the general features of the collapse, however, many subtle differences exist. For isolated models, we find that the codes increase their spatial and mass resolutions at different pace, leading to substantially earlier collapse times in SPH due to higher gravitational resolution in GADGET-3. In fully cosmological runs, starting from z = 200, the AMR develops a slightly higher baryonic resolution than SPH during DM halo growth via cold accretion permeated by mergers. Still, both numerical schemes agree in the buildup of DM and baryonic structures. However, with the onset of direct collapse, this difference in mass and spatial resolution is amplified, so the evolution of SPH models begins to lag behind the AMR by ~10-20 Myr, especially in the central regions of halos. Such a delay can, in principle, have an effect on formation/destruction rate of molecular hydrogen in the presence of UV background, and on basic properties of host DM halos. Finally, the isolated models in spinning DM halos, with cosmological spin parameter lambda ~ 0.01 - 0.07, show delayed collapse times for greater lambda, but the pace of this increase is faster for the AMR. This conclusion does not stand for cosmological models. Within our simulation setup, GADGET-3 requires significantly larger computational resources than Enzo-2.4 during the collapse stage, cosmological or isolated, and needs similar resources, within factor ~2, during the pre-collapse, cosmological structure formation phase. Yet it benefits from substantially higher force and hydrodynamic resolution, except near the end of the collapse.
Extreme UV (EUV) and X-ray loops in the solar corona connect regions of enhanced magnetic activity, but usually they are not rooted in the dark umbrae of sunspots. This is because there the strong magnetic field suppresses convection and thus the Poynting flux of magnetic energy into the upper atmosphere is not significant within the umbra, as long as there are no light bridges, umbral dots. Here we report a rare observation of a coronal loop rooted in the dark umbra of a sunspot without any traces of light bridges or umbral dots. We used the slit-jaw images and spectroscopic data from the IRIS and concentrate on the line profiles of O IV and Si IV that show persistent strong redshifted components in the loop rooted in the umbra. Using the ratios of O IV, we can estimate the density and thus investigate the mass flux. The coronal context and temperature diagnostics of these observations is provided through the EUV channels of the AIA. The coronal loop, embedded within cooler downflows, is hosting supersonic downflows. The speed of more than 100 km s$^{-1}$ is of the same order of magnitude in the transition region lines of O IV and Si IV, and is even seen at comparable speed in the chromospheric Mg II lines. At a projected distance of within 1" from the footpoint, we see a shock transition to smaller downflow speeds of about 15 km s$^{-1}$ being consistent with mass conservation across a stationary isothermal shock. We see no (direct) evidence for energy input into the loop because the loop is rooted in the dark uniform part of the umbra, with no light bridges or umbral dots around. Thus one might conclude that we see a siphon flow driven from the footpoint at the other end of the loop. However, for a final result one would need data of similar quality at the other footpoint, which is too far away to be covered by the field-of-view of IRIS.
The XXL Survey is the largest homogeneous survey carried out with XMM-Newton. Covering an area of 50 deg$^{2}$, the survey contains several hundred galaxy clusters out to a redshift of $\approx$2 above an X-ray flux limit of $\sim$5$\times10^{-15}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. This paper belongs to the first series of XXL papers focusing on the bright cluster sample. We investigate the luminosity-temperature (LT) relation for the brightest clusters detected in the XXL Survey, taking fully into account the selection biases. We investigate the form of the LT relation, placing constraints on its evolution. We have classified the 100 brightest clusters in the XXL Survey based on their measured X-ray flux. These 100 clusters have been analysed to determine their luminosity and temperature to evaluate the LT relation. We used three methods to fit the LT relation, with two of these methods providing a prescription to fully take into account the selection effects of the survey. We measure the evolution of the LT relation internally using the broad redshift range of the sample. Taking into account selection effects, we find a slope of the bolometric LT relation of B$_{\rm LT}=3.08\pm$0.15, steeper than the self-similar expectation (B$_{\rm LT}$=2). Our best-fit result for the evolution factor is $E(z)^{1.64\pm0.77}$, consistent with "strong self-similar" evolution where clusters scale self-similarly with both mass and redshift. However, this result is marginally stronger than "weak self-similar" evolution, where clusters scale with redshift alone. We investigate the sensitivity of our results to the assumptions made in our model, finding that using an external LT relation as a low-z baseline can have a profound effect on the measured evolution. However, more clusters are needed to break the degeneracy between the choice of likelihood model and mass-temperature relation on the derived evolution.
Large dust grains can fluctuate dramatically in their local density, relative to gas, in neutral, turbulent disks. Small, high-redshift galaxies (before reionization) represent ideal environments for this process. We show via simple arguments and simulations that order-of-magnitude fluctuations are expected in local abundances of large grains under these conditions. This can have important consequences for star formation and stellar abundances in extremely metal-poor stars. Low-mass stars could form in dust-enhanced regions almost immediately after some dust forms, even if the galaxy-average metallicity is too low for fragmentation to occur. The abundances of these 'promoted' stars may contain interesting signatures, as the CNO abundances (concentrated in large carbonaceous grains and ices) and Mg and Si (in large silicate grains) can be enhanced or fluctuate independently. Remarkably, otherwise puzzling abundance patterns of some metal-poor stars can be well-fit by standard core-collapse SNe yields, if we allow for fluctuating dust-to-gas ratios. We also show that the observed log-normal-like distribution of enhancements in these species agrees with our simulations. Moreover, we confirm Mg and Si are correlated in these stars, with abundance ratios similar to those in local silicate grains. Meanwhile [Mg/Ca], predicted to be nearly invariant from pure SNe yields, shows large enhancements as expected in the dust-promoted model, preferentially in the [C/Fe]-enhanced metal-poor stars. This suggests that (1) dust exists in second-generation star formation, (2) dust-to-gas ratio fluctuations occur and can be important for star formation, and (3) light element abundances of these stars may be affected by the chemistry of dust where they formed, rather than directly tracing nucleosynthesis.
(Abridged) Recent spectroscopic surveys have begun to explore the Galactic disk system outside the solar neighborhood on the basis of large data samples. In this way, they provide valuable information for testing spatial and temporal variations of disk structure kinematics and chemical evolution. We used a Gaussian mixture model algorithm, as a rigurous mathematical approach, to separate in the [Mg/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] plane a clean disk star subsample from the Gaia-ESO survey internal data release 2. We find that the sample is separated into five groups associated with major Galactic components; the metal-rich end of the halo, the thick disk, and three subgroups for the thin disk sequence. This is confirmed with a sample of red clump stars from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. The two metal-intermediate and metal-rich groups of the thin disk decomposition ([Fe/H]>-0.25 dex) highlight a change in the slope at solar metallicity. This holds true at different radial regions. The distribution of Galactocentric radial distances of the metal-poor part of the thin disk ([Fe/H]<-0.25 dex) is shifted to larger distances than those of the more metal-rich parts. Moreover, the metal-poor part of the thin disk presents indications of a scale height intermediate between those of the thick and the rest of the thin disk, and it displays higher azimuthal velocities than the latter. These stars might have formed and evolved in parallel and/or dissociated from the inside-out formation taking place in the internal thin disk. Their enhancement levels might be due to their origin from gas pre-enriched by outflows from the thick disk or the inner halo. The smooth trends of their properties (their spatial distribution with respect to the plane, in particular) with [Fe/H] and [Mg/Fe] suggested by the data indicates a quiet dynamical evolution, with no relevant merger events.
Observations of the epoch of reionization give us clues about the nature and evolution of the sources of ionizing photons, or early stars and galaxies. We present a new suite of structure formation and radiative transfer simulations from the PRACE4LOFAR project designed to investigate whether the mechanism of radiative feedback, or the suppression of star formation in ionized regions from UV radiation, can be inferred from these observations. Our source halo mass extends down to $10^8 M_\odot$, with sources in the mass range $10^8$ to $10^9 M_\odot$ expected to be particularly susceptible to feedback from ionizing radiation, and we vary the aggressiveness and nature of this suppression. Not only do we have four distinct source models, we also include two box sizes (67 Mpc and 349 Mpc), each with two grid resolutions. This suite of simulations allows us to investigate the robustness of our results. All of our simulations are broadly consistent with the observed electron-scattering optical depth of the cosmic microwave background and the neutral fraction and photoionization rate of hydrogen at $z\sim6$. In particular, we investigate the redshifted 21-cm emission in anticipation of upcoming radio interferometer observations. We find that the overall shape of the 21-cm signal and various statistics are robust to the exact nature of source suppression, the box size, and the resolution. There are some promising model discriminators in the non-Gaussianity and small-scale power spectrum of the 21-cm signal.
Serious theoretical effort has been devoted to explain the observed frequencies of twin-peak quasi-periodic oscillations (HF QPOs) observed in low-mass X-ray neutron star binaries. Here we propose a new model of HF QPOs. Within its framework we consider an oscillating torus with cusp that changes location $r_0$ of its centre around radii very close to innermost stable circular orbit. The observed variability is assigned to global modes of accreted fluid motion that may give strong modulation of both accretion disc radiation and the accretion rate. For a given spacetime geometry, the model predicts that QPO frequencies are function of single parameter $r_0$. We illustrate that the model can provide fits of data comparable to those reached by other models, or even better. In particular it is compared to relativistic precession model. Moreover, we also illustrate that the model consideration is compatible with consideration of models of a rotating neutron star in the atoll source 4U~1636-53.
We present numerical simulations of properties of a parsec-scale torus exposed to illumination by the central black hole in an active galaxy (AGN). Our physical model allows to investigate the balance between the formation of winds and accretion simultaneously. Radiation-driven winds are allowed by taking into account radiation pressure due to UV and IR radiation along with X-ray heating and dust sublimation. Accretion is allowed through angular momentum transport and the solution of the equations of radiation hydrodynamics. Our methods adopt flux-limited diffusion radiation-hydrodynamics for the dusty, infrared pressure driven part of the flow, along with X-ray heating and cooling. Angular momentum transport in the accreting part of the flow is modeled using effective viscosity. Our results demonstrate that radiation pressure on dust can play an important role in shaping AGN obscuration. For example, when the luminosity illuminating the torus exceeds $L>0.01\,L_{\rm Edd}$, where $L_{\rm Edd}$ is the Eddington luminosity, we find no episodes of sustained disk accretion because radiation pressure does not allow a disk to form. Despite the absence of the disk accretion, the flow of gas to smaller radii still proceeds at a rate $10^{-4}-10^{-1}\,M_\odot\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$ through the capturing of the gas from the hot evaporative flow, thus providing a mechanism to deliver gas from a radiation-pressure dominated torus to the inner accretion disk. As $L/L_{\rm edd}$ increases, larger radiation input leads to larger torus aspect ratios and increased obscuration of the central black hole. We also find the important role of the X-ray heated gas in shaping of the obscuring torus.
We use rotational gravity darkening in the disk of \emph{Kepler} star KOI-2138 to show that the orbit of $2.1-R_\oplus$ transiting planet candidate KOI-2138.01 has a low projected spin-orbit alignment of $\lambda=1^\circ\pm13$. KOI-2138.01 is just the second super-Earth with a measured spin-orbit alignment after 55 Cancri e, and the first to be aligned. With a 23.55-day orbital period, KOI-2138.01 may represent the tip of a future iceberg of solar-system-like terrestrial planets having intermediate periods and low-inclination circular orbits.
The XXL survey is the largest survey carried out by XMM-Newton. Covering an area of 50deg$^2$, the survey contains $\sim450$ galaxy clusters out to a redshift $\sim$2 and to an X-ray flux limit of $\sim5\times10^{-15}erg\,s^{-1}cm^{-2}$. This paper is part of the first release of XXL results focussed on the bright cluster sample. We investigate the scaling relation between weak-lensing mass and X-ray temperature for the brightest clusters in XXL. The scaling relation is used to estimate the mass of all 100 clusters in XXL-100-GC. Based on a subsample of 38 objects that lie within the intersection of the northern XXL field and the publicly available CFHTLenS catalog, we derive the $M_{WL}$ of each system with careful considerations of the systematics. The clusters lie at $0.1<z<0.6$ and span a range of $ T\simeq1-5keV$. We combine our sample with 58 clusters from the literature, increasing the range out to 10keV. To date, this is the largest sample of clusters with $M_{WL}$ measurements that has been used to study the mass-temperature relation. The fit ($M\propto T^b$) to the XXL clusters returns a slope $b=1.78^{+0.37}_{-0.32}$ and intrinsic scatter $\sigma_{\ln M|T}\simeq0.53$; the scatter is dominated by disturbed clusters. The fit to the combined sample of 96 clusters is in tension with self-similarity, $b=1.67\pm0.12$ and $\sigma_{\ln M|T}\simeq0.41$. Overall our results demonstrate the feasibility of ground-based weak-lensing scaling relation studies down to cool systems of $\sim1keV$ temperature and highlight that the current data and samples are a limit to our statistical precision. As such we are unable to determine whether the validity of hydrostatic equilibrium is a function of halo mass. An enlarged sample of cool systems, deeper weak-lensing data, and robust modelling of the selection function will help to explore these issues further.
The magnetic chemically peculiar (CP2) stars of the upper main sequence are well-suited for investigating the impact of magnetic fields on the surface layers of stars, which leads to abundance inhomogeneities (spots) resulting in photometric variability. The light changes are explained in terms of the oblique rotator model; the derived photometric periods thus correlate with the rotational periods of the stars. CP2 stars exhibiting this kind of variability are classified as alpha2 Canum Venaticorum (ACV) variables. We have analysed around 3 850 000 individual photometric WASP measurements of magnetic chemically peculiar (CP2) stars and candidates selected from the Catalogue of Ap, HgMn, and Am stars, with the ultimate goal of detecting new ACV variables. In total, we found 80 variables, from which 74 are reported here for the first time. The data allowed us to establish variability for 23 stars which had been reported as probably constant in the literature before. Light curve parameters were obtained for all stars by a least-squares fit with the fundamental sine wave and its first harmonic. Because of the scarcity of Stroemgren uvbybeta measurements and the lack of parallax measurements with an accuracy better than 20%, we are not able to give reliable astrophysical parameters for the investigated objects.
Context. The S235AB star forming region houses a massive young stellar object
which has recently been reported to exhibit possible evidence of jet rotation -
an illusive yet crucial component of disk aided star formation theories.
Aims. To confirm the presence of a molecular counterpart to the jet and to
further study the molecular environment in in S235AB. Methods. We search for
velocity wings in the line emission of thermal SiO (J=2-1, v=0), a tracer of
shocked gas, which would indicate the presence of jet activity. Utilising other
lines detected in our survey we use the relative intensities of intra species
transitions, isotopes and hyperfine transitions to derive opacities,
temperatures, column densities and abundances of various molecular species in
S235AB.
Results. The SiO (J=2-1, v=0) emission exhibits velocity wing of up to 75
km/s above and below the velocity of the star, indicating the presence of a
jet. The molecular environment describes an evolutionary stage resemblant of a
hot molecular core.
We present the K-band luminosity-halo mass relation, $L_{K,500}-M_{500,WL}$, for a subsample of 20 of the 100 brightest clusters in the XXL Survey observed with WIRCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). For the first time, we have measured this relation via weak-lensing analysis down to $M_{500,WL} =3.5 \times 10^{13}\,M_\odot$. This allows us to investigate whether the slope of the $L_K-M$ relation is different for groups and clusters, as seen in other works. The clusters in our sample span a wide range in mass, $M_{500,WL} =0.35-12.10 \times 10^{14}\,M_\odot$, at $0<z<0.6$. The K-band luminosity scales as $\log_{10}(L_{K,500}/10^{12}L_\odot) \propto \beta log_{10}(M_{500,WL}/10^{14}M_\odot)$ with $\beta = 0.85^{+0.35}_{-0.27}$ and an intrinsic scatter of $\sigma_{lnL_K|M} =0.37^{+0.19}_{-0.17}$. Combining our sample with some clusters in the Local Cluster Substructure Survey (LoCuSS) present in the literature, we obtain a slope of $1.05^{+0.16}_{-0.14}$ and an intrinsic scatter of $0.14^{+0.09}_{-0.07}$. The flattening in the $L_K-M$ seen in previous works is not seen here and might be a result of a bias in the mass measurement due to assumptions on the dynamical state of the systems. We also study the richness-mass relation and find that group-sized halos have more galaxies per unit halo mass than massive clusters. However, the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in low-mass systems contributes a greater fraction to the total cluster light than BCGs do in massive clusters; the luminosity gap between the two brightest galaxies is more prominent for group-sized halos. This result is a natural outcome of the hierarchical growth of structures, where massive galaxies form and gain mass within low-mass groups and are ultimately accreted into more massive clusters to become either part of the BCG or one of the brighter galaxies. [Abridged]
The electron shear viscosity due to Coulomb scattering of degenerate electrons by atomic nuclei throughout a magnetized neutron star crust is calculated. The theory is based on the shear viscosity coefficient calculated neglecting magnetic fields but taking into account gaseous, liquid and solid states of atomic nuclei, multiphonon scattering processes, and finite sizes of the nuclei albeit neglecting the effects of electron band structure. The effects of strong magnetic fields are included in the relaxation time approximation with the effective electron relaxation time taken from the field-free theory. The viscosity in a magnetized matter is described by five shear viscosity coefficients. They are calculated and their dependence on the magnetic field and other parameters of dense matter is analyzed. Possible applications and open problems are outlined.
It is usually assumed that in the linear regime the two-point correlation function of galaxies contains only a monopole, quadrupole and hexadecapole. Looking at cross-correlations between different populations of galaxies, this turns out not to be the case. In particular, the cross-correlations between a bright and a faint population of galaxies contain also a dipole. In this paper we present the first measurement of this dipole. We discuss the three types of effects that contribute to the dipole: relativistic distortions, evolution effects and wide-angle effects. We show that the relativistic distortions and the evolution effects are too small to be detected in the LOWz and CMASS sample of the BOSS survey. We discuss the convention-dependent nature of the wide-angle effect and we show that with the appropriate choice of kernel, a particular version of the wide-angle effect (that we call large-angle effect) can be significantly enhanced. We measure this effect in the dipole with a signal-to-noise of 50, which is as good as the one of the monopole. We emphasise that the large-angle dipole does not contain new statistical information, since it is just a geometrical combination of the monopole and the quadrupole. However it is conceivable that it is sensitive to different systematics.
We analyze the coagulation of dust in and around a gap opened by a Jupiter-mass planet. To this end, we carry out a high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the gap environment, which is turbulent due to the magnetorotational instability. From the MHD simulation, we obtain values of the gas velocities, densities and turbulent stresses a) close to the gap edge, b) in one of the two gas streams that accrete onto the planet, c) inside the low-density gap, and d) outside the gap. The MHD values are then supplied to a Monte Carlo dust coagulation algorithm, which models grain sticking and compaction. We consider two dust populations for each region: one whose initial size distribution is monodisperse, with monomer radius equal to 1 $\mu$m, and another one whose initial size distribution follows the Mathis-Rumpl-Nordsieck distribution for interstellar dust grains, with an initial range of monomer radii between 0.5 and 10 $\mu$m. Our Monte Carlo calculations show initial growth of dust aggregates followed by compaction in all cases but one, that of aggregates belonging to the initially monodisperse population subject to gas conditions outside the gap. In this latter case, the mass-weighted (MW) average porosity of the population reaches extremely high final values of 98\%. The final MW porosities in all other cases range between 30\% and 82\%. The efficiency of compaction is due to high turbulent relative speeds between dust particles. Future studies will need to explore the effect of different planet masses and electric charge on grains.
We present a hard X-ray NuSTAR observation of PSR J0437-4715, the nearest millisecond pulsar. The known pulsations at the apparent pulse period ~5.76 ms are detected at energies up to 20 keV. We measure a photon index $\Gamma= 1.65\pm0.24$ (90% confidence) for the power law fit to the non-thermal emission. It had been shown that spectral models with two or three thermal components fit the XMM-Newton spectrum of PSR J0437-4715, depending on the slope of the power-law component, and the amount of absorption of soft X-rays. The new constraint on the high-energy emission provided by NuSTAR removes ambiguities regarding the thermal components of the emission below 3 keV. We performed a simultaneous spectral analysis of the XMM-Newton and NuSTAR data to confirm that three thermal components and a power law are required to fit the 0.3-20 keV emission of PSR J0437-4715. Adding a ROSAT-PSPC spectrum further confirmed this result and allowed us to better constrain the temperatures of the three thermal components. A phase-resolved analysis of the NuSTAR data revealed no significant change in the photon index of the high-energy emission. This NuSTAR observation provides further impetus for future observations with the NICER mission (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) whose sensitivity will provide much stricter constraints on the equation of state of nuclear matter by combining model fits to the pulsar's phase-folded lightcurve with the pulsar's well-defined mass and distance from radio timing observations.
We performed high-resolution, 3D MHD simulations and we compared to observations of translucent molecular clouds. We show that the observed populations of rotational levels of H2 can arise as a consequence of the multi-phase structure of the ISM.
Photometric and spectroscopic observations of a slowly declining, luminous type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2011hr in the star-burst galaxy NGC 2691 are presented. SN~2011hr is found to peak at $M_{B}=-19.84 \pm 0.40\,\rm{mag}$, with a post-maximum decline rate $\Delta$m$_{15}$(B) = 0.92 $\pm$ 0.03\,$\rm{mag}$. From the maximum-light bolometric luminosity, $L=(2.30 \pm 0.90) \times 10^{43}\,\rm{erg\,s^{-1}}$, we estimate the mass of synthesized \Nifs\ in SN~2011hr to be $M(\rm{^{56}Ni})=1.11 \pm 0.43\,M_{\sun}$. SN 2011hr appears more luminous than SN 1991T at around maximum light, and the absorption features from its intermediate-mass elements (IMEs) are noticeably weaker than the latter at similar phases. Spectral modelling suggests that SN 2011hr has the IMEs of $\sim$\,0.07 M$_{\sun}$ in the outer ejecta, which is much lower than the typical value of normal SNe Ia (i.e., 0.3 -- 0.4 M$_{\sun}$) and is also lower than the value of SN 1991T (i.e., $\sim$\,0.18 M$_{\sun}$). These results indicate that SN~2011hr may arise from a Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf progenitor that experienced a more efficient burning process in the explosion. Nevertheless, it is still possible that SN~2011hr may serve as a transitional object connecting the SN 1991T-like SNe Ia with the super-luminous subclass like SN 2007if given that the latter also shows very weak IMEs at all phases.
Hot, massive stars (spectral types O and B) have extreme luminosities ($10^4
-10^6 L_\odot$) that drive strong stellar winds through UV line-scattering.
Some massive stars also have disks, formed by either decretion from the star
(as in the rapidly rotating "Classical Be stars"), or accretion during the
star's formation. This dissertation examines the role of stellar radiation in
driving (ablating) material away from these circumstellar disks.
A key result is that the observed month to year decay of Classical Be disks
can be explained by line-driven ablation without, as previously done, appealing
to anomalously strong viscous diffusion. Moreover, the higher luminosity of O
stars leads to ablation of optically thin disks on dynamical timescales of
order a day, providing a natural explanation for the lack of observed Oe stars.
In addition to the destruction of Be disks, this dissertation also introduces a
model for their formation by coupling observationally inferred non-radial
pulsation modes and rapid stellar rotation to launch material into orbiting
Keplerian disks.
In contrast to such Be decretion disks, star-forming accretion disks are much
denser and so are generally optically thick to continuum processes. To
circumvent the computational challenges associated with radiation hydrodynamics
through optically thick media, we develop an approximate method for treating
continuum absorption in the limit of geometrically thin disks. The comparison
of ablation with and without continuum absorption shows that accounting for
disk optical thickness leads to less than a 50$\%$ reduction in ablation rate,
implying that ablation rate depends mainly on stellar properties like
luminosity.
We investigate cosmological implications of a quintessence field $\phi$ with a nonminimal coupling to gravity (extended quintessence) since driving the late-time cosmic acceleration. While the fraction of quintessence density invoked by such a nonminimal coupling, $\Omega^{nc}_\phi$, is highly suppressed once the field $\phi$ recovers the dynamics of a cosmological constant via an extremely flat potential, we show that $\Omega^{nc}_\phi$ generally controls the future cosmological evolutions, leading to new attractor solutions depending on the value of the coupling constant $\xi$. By applying the observational constraints from CMB, BAO, Type-Ia supernovae and Solar System measurements to the simplest scenario with a constant potential, we find that $\vert\Omega^{nc}_\phi\vert\lesssim 0.003 \%$ ($0.01 \%$) at present, which may start to govern the expansion rate of our universe some $30$ ($180$) billion years later for $\xi\simeq 1$ ($0.1$).
Despite their different nature and physics, blazars and gamma-ray bursts have in common very powerful relativistic jets, which make them the most luminous sources in the Universe. The energy extraction from the central compact object, the jet collimation, the role and geometry of the magnetic fields, the structure of the jet itself represent still big enough questions, that a complete paradigm cannot yet be drawn. This article is concerned with the main observational facts about blazars and gamma-ray burst jets, based on multi-wavelength campaigns, and on the clues one can glean from these on jet formation, behavior and powering. The future generation of telescopes and instruments and the contributions from multi-messenger investigation (astroparticle diagnostics and gravitational waves) will warrant further significant progress.
An incidental spectrum of the poorly studied long period variable EF Aquilae shows [O III] emission indicative of a symbiotic star. Strong GALEX detections in the UV reinforce this classification, providing overt evidence for the presence of the hot subluminous companion. Recent compilations of the photometric behavior strongly suggest that the cool component is a Mira variable. Thus EF Aql appears to be a member of the rare symbiotic Mira subgroup.
In our preceding paper, Liverpool Telescope data of M31 novae in eruption were used to facilitate a search for their progenitor systems within archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data, with the aim of detecting systems with red giant secondaries (RG-novae) or luminous accretion disks. From an input catalog of 38 spectroscopically confirmed novae with archival quiescent observations, likely progenitors were recovered for eleven systems. Here we present the results of the subsequent statistical analysis of the original survey, including possible biases associated with the survey and the M31 nova population in general. As part of this analysis we examine the distribution of optical decline times (t(2)) of M31 novae, how the likely bulge and disk nova distributions compare, and how the M31 t(2) distribution compares to that of the Milky Way. Using a detailed Monte Carlo simulation, we determine that 30 (+13/-10) percent of all M31 nova eruptions can be attributed to RG-nova systems, and at the 99 percent confidence level, >10 percent of all M31 novae are RG-novae. This is the first estimate of a RG-nova rate of an entire galaxy. Our results also imply that RG-novae in M31 are more likely to be associated with the M31 disk population than the bulge, indeed the results are consistent with all RG-novae residing in the disk. If this result is confirmed in other galaxies, it suggests any Type Ia supernovae that originate from RG-nova systems are more likely to be associated with younger populations, and may be rare in old stellar populations, such as early-type galaxies.
We applied the method of continuous wavelet-transform to high-quality time-frequency analysis to the sets of observations of relative sunspot numbers. Wavelet analysis of these data reveals the following pattern: at the same time there are several activity cycles whose periods vary widely from the quasi biennial up to the centennial period. These relatively low-frequency periodic variations of the solar activity gradually change the values of periods of different cycles in time. This phenomenon can be observed in every cycle of activity.
We explore from a statistical point of view the far-infrared (far-IR) and sub-millimeter (sub-mm) properties of a large sample of LBGs (22,000) at z~3 in the COSMOS field. The large number of galaxies allows us to split it in several bins as a function of UV luminosity, UV slope, and stellar mass to better sample their variety. We perform stacking analysis in PACS (100 and 160 um), SPIRE (250, 350 and 500 um) and AzTEC (1.1 mm) images. Our stacking procedure corrects the biases induced by galaxy clustering and incompleteness of our input catalogue in dense regions. We obtain the full IR spectral energy distributions (SED) of subsamples of LBGs and derive the mean IR luminosity as a function of UV luminosity, UV slope, and stellar mass. The average IRX is roughly constant over the UV luminosity range, with a mean of 7.9 (1.8 mag). However, it is correlated with UV slope, and stellar mass. We investigate using a statistically-controlled stacking analysis as a function of (stellar mass, UV slope) the dispersion of the IRX-UVslope and IRX-M* plane. Our results enable us to study the average relation between star-formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass, and we show that our LBG sample lies on the main sequence of star formation at z~3.
[Abridged] We have recently reported on the collapse and fragmentation properties of the northernmost part of this structure, located ~2.4pc north of Orion KL -- the Orion Molecular Cloud 3 (OMC 3, Takahashi et al. 2013). As part of our project to study the integral-shaped filament, we analyze the fragmentation properties of the northern OMC 1 filament. This filament is a dense structure previously identified by JCMT/SCUBA submillimeter continuum and VLA ammonia observations and shown to have fragmented into clumps. We observed OMC1 n with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) at 1.3mm and report on our analysis of the continuum data. We discovered 24 new compact sources, ranging in mass from 0.1 to 2.3, in size from 400 to 1300au, and in density from 2.6 x 10^7 to 2.8 x 10^6 cm^{-3}. The masses of these sources are similar to those of the SMA protostars in OMC3, but their typical sizes and densities are lower by a factor of ten. Only 8% of the new sources have infrared counterparts, yet there are five associated CO molecular outflows. These sources are thus likely in the Class 0 evolutionary phase yet it cannot be excluded that some of the sources might still be pre-stellar cores. The spatial analysis of the protostars shows that these are divided into small groups that coincide with previously identified JCMT/SCUBA 850 micron and VLA ammonia clumps, and that these are separated by a quasi-equidistant length of ~30arcmin (0.06pc). This separation is dominated by the Jeans length, and therefore indicates that the main physical process in the filament's evolution was thermal fragmentation. Within the protostellar groups, the typical separation is ~6arcsec (~2500\,au), which is a factor 2-3 smaller than the Jeans length of the parental clumps within which the protostars are embedded. These results point to a hierarchical (2-level) thermal fragmentation process of the OMC1n filament.
The Post Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase is arguably one of the least
understood phases of the evolution of low- and intermediate- mass stars. The
two grids of models presently available are based on outdated micro- and
macro-physics and do not agree with each other. We study the timescales of
post-AGB and CSPNe in the context of our present understanding of the micro-
and macro-physics of stars. We want to assess whether new post-AGB models,
based on the latter improvements in TP-AGB modeling, can help to understand the
discrepancies between observation and theory and within theory itself. We
compute a grid of post-AGB full evolutionary sequences that include all
previous evolutionary stages from the Zero Age Main Sequence to the White Dwarf
phase. Models are computed for initial masses between 0.8 and 4 $M_\odot$ and
for a wide range of initial metallicities ($Z_0=$0.02, 0.01, 0.001, 0.0001),
this allow us to provide post-AGB timescales and properties for H-burning
post-AGB objects with masses in the relevant range for the formation of
planetary nebulae ($\sim$ 0.5 - 0.8, $M_\odot$).
We find post-AGB timescales that are at least $\sim 3$ to $\sim 10$ times
shorter than those of old post-AGB stellar evolution models. This is true for
the whole mass and metallicity range. The new models are also $\sim$ 0.1 - 0.3
dex brighter than the previous models with similar remnant masses. Post-AGB
timescales show only a mild dependence on metallicity. The shorter post-AGB
timescales derived in the present work are in agreement with recent
semiempirical determinations of the post-AGB timescales from the CSPNe in the
Galactic Bulge. Due to the very different post-AGB crossing times,
initial-final mass relation and luminosities of the present models, they will
have a significant impact in the predictions for the formation of planetary
nebulae and the planetary nebulae luminosity function.
Knowledge of the electron density distribution in the solar corona put constraints on the magnetic field configurations for coronal modeling and on initial conditions for solar wind modeling. We work with polarized SOHO/LASCO-C2 images from the last two recent minima of solar activity (1996-1997 and 2008-2010), devoid of coronal mass ejections. The goals are to derive the 4D electron density distributions in the corona by applying a newly developed time-dependent tomographic reconstruction method and to compare the results between the two solar minima and with two magnetohydrodynamic models. First, we confirm that the values of the density distribution in thermodynamic models are more realistic than in polytropic ones. The tomography provides more accurate distributions in the polar regions, and we find that the density in tomographic and thermodynamic solutions varies with the solar cycle in both polar and equatorial regions. Second, we find that the highest-density structures do not always correspond to the predicted large-scale heliospheric current sheet or its helmet streamer but can follow the locations of pseudo-streamers. We deduce that tomography offers reliable density distributions in the corona, reproducing the slow time evolution of coronal structures, without prior knowledge of the coronal magnetic field over a full rotation. Finally, we suggest that the highest-density structures show a differential rotation well above the surface depending on how they are magnetically connected to the surface. Such valuable information on the rotation of large-scale structures could help to connect the sources of the solar wind to their in situ counterparts in future missions such as Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus.
We present an observational study of the vibrationally excited H$_{2}$O line at 658 GHz ($\nu_{2}$=1, 1$_{1, 0}$-1$_{0, 1}$) toward Orion KL using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). This line is clearly detected at the position of the massive protostar candidate, the Source I. The spatial structure is compact with a size of about 100 AU and is elongated along the northeast-southwest low-velocity (18 km s$^{-1}$) bipolar outflow traced by 22 GHz H$_{2}$O masers, SiO masers, and thermal SiO lines. A velocity gradient can be seen perpendicular to the bipolar outflow. Overall spatial and velocity structure seems analogous to that of the 321 GHz H$_{2}$O maser line previously detected with ALMA and with vibrationally excited SiO maser emission. The brightness temperature of the 658 GHz H$_{2}$O line is estimated to be higher than 2$\times$10$^{4}$ K, implying that it is emitted via maser action. Our results suggest that the 658 GHz H$_{2}$O maser line is emitted from the base of the outflow from a rotating and expanding accretion disk as observed for the SiO masers and the 321 GHz H$_{2}$O maser. We also search for two other H$_{2}$O lines at 646 GHz (9$_{7, 3}$-8$_{8, 0}$ and 9$_{7, 2}$-8$_{8, 1}$), but they are not detected in Orion KL.
We present the results of CO(J=3-2) on-the-fly mappings of two nearby non-barred spiral galaxies NGC 628 and NGC 7793 with the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment at an effective angular resolution of 25". We successfully obtained global distributions of CO(J=3-2) emission over the entire disks at a sub-kpc resolution for both galaxies. We examined the spatially-resolved (sub-kpc) relationship between CO(J=3-2) luminosities (L'CO(3-2)) and infrared (IR) luminosities (LIR) for NGC 628, NGC 7793, and M 83, and compared it with global luminosities of JCMT Nearby Galaxy Legacy Survey sample. We found a striking linear L'CO(3-2)-LIR correlation over the 4 orders of magnitude, and the correlation is consistent even with that for ultraluminous infrared galaxies and submillimeter selected galaxies. In addition, we examined the spatially-resolved relationship between CO(J=3-2) intensities (ICO(3-2)) and extinction-corrected star formation rates (SFRs) for NGC 628, NGC 7793, and M 83, and compared it with that for GMCs in M 33 and 14 nearby galaxy centers. We found a linear ICO(3-2)-SFR correlation with 1 dex scatter. We conclude that the CO(J=3-2) star formation law (i.e., linear L'CO(3-2)-LIR and ICO(3-2)-SFR correlations) is universally applicable to various types and spatial scales of galaxies, from spatially-resolved nearby galaxy disks to distant IR-luminous galaxies, within 1 dex scatter.
In this paper, we study shock structures of collisionless shocks in partially ionized plasmas by means of two-dimensional hybrid simulations, where the shock is a perpendicular shock with shock velocity Vsh ~ 40 Va ~ 1333 km/s and the upstream ionization fraction is 0.5. We find that large density fluctuations and large magnetic fields fluctuations are generated both in the upstream and downstream regions. In addition, we find that the velocity distribution of downstream hydrogen atoms has three components. Observed shock structures suggest that diffusive shock acceleration can operate at perpendicular shocks propagating into partially ionized plasmas in real three-dimensional systems.
Intensity mapping of the neutral hydrogen (HI) is a new observational tool that can be used to efficiently map the large-scale structure of the Universe over wide redshift ranges. The power spectrum of the intensity maps contains cosmological information on the matter distribution and probes galaxy evolution by tracing the HI content of galaxies at different redshifts and the scale-dependence of HI clustering. The cross-correlation of intensity maps with galaxy surveys is a robust measure of the power spectrum which diminishes systematics caused by instrumental effects and foreground removal. We examine the cross-correlation signature at redshift z=0.9 using a variant of the semi-analytical galaxy formation model SAGE (Croton et al. 2016) applied to the Millennium simulation in order to model the HI gas of galaxies as well as their optical magnitudes based on their star-formation history. We determine the clustering of the cross-correlation power for different types of galaxies determined by their colours, acting as a proxy for their star-formation activity. We find that the cross-correlation coefficient for red quiescent galaxies falls off more quickly on smaller scales k>0.2h/Mpc than for blue star-forming galaxies. Additionally, we create a mock catalogue of highly star-forming galaxies using a selection function to mimic the WiggleZ survey, and use this to predict existing and future cross-correlation measurements of the GBT and Parkes telescope. We find that the cross-power of highly star-forming galaxies shows a higher clustering on small scales than any other galaxy type and that this significantly alters the power spectrum shape on scales k>0.2h/Mpc. We show that the cross-correlation coefficient is not negligible when interpreting the cosmological cross-power spectrum. On the other hand, it contains information about the HI content of the optically selected galaxies.
After the jet break at $t\sim 1.4$ days, the optical afterglow emission of the long-short burst GRB 060614 can be divided into two components. One is the power-law decaying forward shock afterglow emission. The other is an excess of flux in several multi-band photometric observations, which emerges at $\sim$4 days after the burst, significantly earlier than that observed for a supernova associated with a long-duration GRB. At $t>13.6$ days, the F814W-band flux drops faster than $t^{-3.2}$. Moreover, the spectrum of the excess component is very soft and the luminosity is extremely low. These observed signals are incompatible with those from weak supernovae, but the ejection of $\sim 0.1~M_\odot$ of $r-$process material from a black hole-neutron star merger, as recently found in some numerical simulations, can produce it. If this interpretation is correct, it represents the first time that a multi-epoch/band lightcurve of a Li-Paczynski macronova (also known as kilonova) has been obtained and black hole-neutron star mergers are sites of significant production of $r-$process elements.
We estimated the accuracy of coronal magnetic fields derived from radio observations by comparing them to potential field calculations and the DEM measurements using EUV observations. We derived line of sight component of the coronal magnetic field from polarization observations of the thermal bremsstrahlung in the NOAA active region 11150, observed around 3:00 UT on February 3, 2011 using the Nobeyama Radioheliograph at 17 GHz. Because the thermal bremsstrahlung intensity at 17 GHz includes both chromospheric and coronal components, we extracted only the coronal component by measuring the coronal emission measure in EUV observations. In addition, we derived only the radio polarization component of the corona by selecting the region of coronal loops and weak magnetic field strength in the chromosphere along the line of sight. The upper limit of the coronal longitudinal magnetic fields were determined as 100 - 210 G. We also calculated the coronal longitudinal magnetic fields from the potential field extrapolation using the photospheric magnetic field obtained from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). However, the calculated potential fields were certainly smaller than the observed coronal longitudinal magnetic field. This discrepancy between the potential and the observed magnetic field strengths can be explained consistently by two reasons; (a) the underestimation of the coronal emission measure resulting from the limitation of the temperature range of the EUV observations, (b) the underestimation of the coronal magnetic field resulting from the potential field assumption.
We examine the effects of f(R) gravity on Jeans analysis of collapsing dust clouds. We find the presence of f(R) gravity modifies the limit for collapse. In this analysis we add perturbations to a de Sitter background. Depending on the characteristics f(R), the appearance of new limits is possible. The physicality of these limits is examined. We find the asymptotic Jeans masses for f(R) theories compared to standard Jeans mass. The effects of the f(R) modified Jeans mass for viable theories are examined in molecular clouds. Bok globules have a mass range comparable to Jeans masses in question and are therefore used for comparing different f(R) models. Viable theories are found to assist in star formation.
Recent numerical simulations suggest that Zahn's model for the turbulent
mixing of chemical elements due to differential rotation in stellar radiative
zones is valid.
We investigate the robustness of this result with respect to the numerical
configuration and Reynolds number of the flow.
We compare results from simulations performed with two different numerical
codes, including one using the shearing-box formalism. We also extensively
study the dependence of the turbulent diffusion coefficient on the turbulent
Reynolds number.
The two numerical codes used in this study give consistent results. The
turbulent diffusion coefficient is independent of the size of the numerical
domain if at least three large turbulent structures fit in the box. Generally,
the turbulent diffusion coefficient depends on the turbulent Reynolds number.
However, our simulations suggest that an asymptotic regime is obtained when the
turbulent Reynolds numbers is larger than $10^3$.
Shear mixing in the small-P\'eclet-number regime can be investigated
numerically both with shearing-box simulations and simulations using explicit
forcing. Our results suggest that Zahn's theory is valid at large turbulent
Reynolds numbers.
New CCD observations for thirteen eccentric eclipsing binaries from the Large Magellanic Cloud were carried out using the Danish 1.54-meter telescope located at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. These systems were observed for their times of minima and 56 new minima were obtained. These are needed for accurate determination of the apsidal motion. Besides that, in total 436 times of minima were derived from the photometric databases OGLE and MACHO. The (O-C) diagrams of minima timings for these B-type binaries were analysed and the parameters of the apsidal motion were computed. The light curves of these systems were fitted using the program PHOEBE, giving the light curve parameters. We derived for the first time the relatively short periods of the apsidal motion ranging from 21 to 107 years. The system OGLE-LMC-ECL-07902 was also analysed using the spectra and radial velocities, resulting in masses 6.8, and 4.4 M0 for the eclipsing components. For one system (OGLE-LMC-ECL-20112), the third-body hypothesis was also used for describing the residuals after subtraction of the apsidal motion, resulting in period of about 22 years. For several systems an additional third light was also detected, which makes these systems suspicious of triplicity. Based on data collected with the Danish 1.54-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory.
The ANAIS (Annual modulation with NaI(Tl) Scintillators) experiment aims at the confirmation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal using the same target and technique at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC). Along 2016, 112.5 kg of ultra pure NaI(Tl) crystals will be installed at LSC in a 3x3 modules matrix configuration. The ANAIS-25 and ANAIS-37 set-ups have been taking data at the LSC testing the detector performance, the DAQ and analysis systems, and assessing the background. Main results coming from both set-ups will be summarized in this paper, focusing on the excellent detector performance and background understanding. Prospects for the experiment will be also briefly revised.
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are extra-galactic and extremely energetic transient emissions of gamma rays, which are thought to be associated with the death of massive stars or the merger of compact objects in binary systems. Their huge luminosities involve the presence a newborn stellar-mass black hole emitting a relativistic collimated outflow, which accelerates particles and produces non-thermal emissions from the radio domain to the highest energies. In this article, I review recent progresses in the understanding of GRB jet physics above 100 MeV, based on Fermi observations of bright GRBs. I discuss the physical implications of these observations and their impact on GRB modeling, and I present some prospects for GRB observation at very high energies in the near future.
Gas expulsion is a central concept in some of the models for multiple populations and the light-element anticorrelations in globular clusters. If the star formation efficiency was around 30 per cent and the gas expulsion happened on the crossing timescale, this process could expel preferentially stars born with the chemical composition of the proto-cluster gas, while stars with special composition born in the centre would remain bound. Recently, a sample of extragalactic, gas-free, young massive clusters has been identified that has the potential to test the conditions for gas expulsion. We compute a large number of thin shell models, and calculate if the Rayleigh-Taylor instability is able to disrupt the shell before it reaches the escape speed. We show that the success of gas expulsion depends on the compactness index of a star cluster C5, proportionate to stellar mass over half-mass radius. For given C5, a certain critical, local star formation efficiency is required to remove the rest of the gas. Common stellar feedback processes may not lead to gas expulsion with significant loss of stars above C5 = 1. Considering pulsar winds and hypernovae, the limit increases to C5 = 30. If successful, gas expulsion generally takes place on the crossing timescale. Some observed young massive clusters have 1 < C5 < 10 and are gas-free at 10 Myr. This suggests that gas expulsion does not affect their stellar mass significantly, unless powerful pulsar winds and hypernovae are common in such objects. By comparison to observations, we show that C5 is a better predictor for the expression of multiple populations than stellar mass. The best separation between star clusters with and without multiple populations is achieved by a stellar winds-based gas expulsion model, where gas expulsion would occur exclusively in star clusters without multiple populations.
What are the mechanisms of particle acceleration and radiation, as well as magnetic field build up and decay in relativistic shocks are open questions with important implications to various phenomena in high energy astrophysics. While the Weibel instability is possibly responsible for magnetic field build up and diffusive shock acceleration is a model for acceleration, both have problems and current PIC simulation show that particles are accelerated only under special conditions and the magnetic field decays on a short length scale. We present here a novel model for the structure and the emission of highly relativistic collisionless shocks. The model takes into account (and is based on) non-local energy and momentum transport across the shock front via emission and absorption of high-energy photons. This leads to a pre-acceleration of the fluid and pre-amplificaiton of the magnetic fields in the upstream region. Both have drastic implications on the shock structure. The model explains the persistence of the shock generated magnetic field at large distances from the shock front. The dissipation of this magnetic field results in a continuous particle acceleration within the downstream region. The model suggests two non-uniform emission zones (the downstream and the upstream), that give rise to three emission components with different spectral and temporal properties. A unique feature of the model is the existence of an "attractor", toward which any shock will evolve. This enables us to estimate from first principles the synchrotron and inverse Compton spectrum of the downstream emission. The model is applicable to any relativistic shock, but its distinctive features show up only for large compactness. We demonstrate that prompt and afterglow Gamma-Ray Bursts' shocks satisfy the relevant conditions and compare their observations with the predictions.
Context. The XXL Survey is the largest survey carried out by the XMM-Newton
satellite and covers a total area of 50 square degrees distributed over two
fields. It primarily aims at investigating the large-scale structures of the
Universe using the distribution of galaxy clusters and active galactic nuclei
as tracers of the matter distribution.
Aims. This article presents the XXL bright cluster sample, a subsample of 100
galaxy clusters selected from the full XXL catalogue by setting a lower limit
of $3\times 10^{-14}\,\mathrm{erg \,s^{-1}cm^{-2}}$ on the source flux within a
1$^{\prime}$ aperture.
Methods. The selection function was estimated using a mixture of Monte Carlo
simulations and analytical recipes that closely reproduce the source selection
process. An extensive spectroscopic follow-up provided redshifts for 97 of the
100 clusters. We derived accurate X-ray parameters for all the sources. Scaling
relations were self-consistently derived from the same sample in other
publications of the series. On this basis, we study the number density,
luminosity function, and spatial distribution of the sample.
Results. The bright cluster sample consists of systems with masses between
$M_{500}=7\times 10^{13}$ and $3\times 10^{14} M_\odot$, mostly located between
$z=0.1$ and 0.5. The observed sky density of clusters is slightly below the
predictions from the WMAP9 model, and significantly below the predictions from
the Planck 2015 cosmology. In general, within the current uncertainties of the
cluster mass calibration, models with higher values of $\sigma_8$ and/or
$\Omega_m$ appear more difficult to accommodate. We provide tight constraints
on the cluster differential luminosity function and find no hint of evolution
out to $z\sim1$. We also find strong evidence for the presence of large-scale
structures in the XXL bright cluster sample and identify five new
superclusters.
We report on analysis of the two-color VR CCD observations of the newly discovered variable 2MASS J18024395+4003309=VSX J180243.9+400331 obtained using the 1-m telescope of the Mt. Lemmon Observatory (LOAO) in the field of the intermediate polar V1323 Her. The extended version of this conference talk we published in 2015JASS...32..127A. The variability was reported in 2012OAP....25..150A, and the object was monitored. The two-color observations covered all phase interval. The object is classified as an Algol-type variable with tidally distorted components, and shows an asymmetry of the maxima (the O\'Connell effect). For phenomenological modeling, we used the trigonometric polynomial approximation of statistically optimal degree, and a recent method "NAV" (New Algol Variable) using local specific shapes for the eclipse. Methodological aspects are described, especially for the case of few color observations. Estimates of the physical parameters based on analysis of phenomenological parameters, are presented.
Telescopes such as the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a NASA satellite, collect massive streams of high resolution images of the Sun through multiple wavelength filters. Reconstructing pixel-by-pixel thermal properties based on these images can be framed as an ill-posed inverse problem with Poisson noise, but this reconstruction is computationally expensive and there is disagreement among researchers about what regularization or prior assumptions are most appropriate. This article presents an image segmentation framework for preprocessing such images in order to reduce the data volume while preserving as much thermal information as possible for later downstream analyses. The resulting segmented images reflect thermal properties but do not depend on solving the ill-posed inverse problem. This allows users to avoid the Poisson inverse problem altogether or to tackle it on each of $\sim$10 segments rather than on each of $\sim$10$^7$ pixels, reducing computing time by a factor of $\sim$10$^6$. We employ a parametric class of dissimilarities that can be expressed as cosine dissimilarity functions or Hellinger distances between nonlinearly transformed vectors of multi-passband observations in each pixel. We develop a decision theoretic framework for choosing the dissimilarity that minimizes the expected loss that arises when estimating identifiable thermal properties based on segmented images rather than on a pixel-by-pixel basis. We also examine the efficacy of different dissimilarities for recovering clusters in the underlying thermal properties. The expected losses are computed under scientifically motivated prior distributions. Two simulation studies guide our choices of dissimilarity function. We illustrate our method by segmenting images of a coronal hole observed on 26 February 2015.
Recent interferometer observations have found that the D2O/HDO abundance ratio is higher than that of HDO/H2O by about one order of magnitude in the vicinity of low-mass protostar NGC 1333-IRAS 2A, where water ice has sublimated. Previous laboratory and theoretical studies show that the D2O/HDO ice ratio should be lower than the HDO/H2O ice ratio, if HDO and D2O ices are formed simultaneously with H2O ice. In this work, we propose that the observed feature, D2O/HDO > HDO/H2O, is a natural consequence of chemical evolution in the early cold stages of low-mass star formation: 1) majority of oxygen is locked up in water ice and other molecules in molecular clouds, where water deuteration is not efficient, and 2) water ice formation continues with much reduced efficiency in cold prestellar/protostellar cores, where deuteration processes are highly enhanced due to the drop of the ortho-para ratio of H2, the weaker UV radiation field, etc. Using a simple analytical model and gas-ice astrochemical simulations tracing the evolution from the formation of molecular clouds to protostellar cores, we show that the proposed scenario can quantitatively explain the observed HDO/H2O and D2O/HDO ratios. We also find that the majority of HDO and D2O ices are likely formed in cold prestellar/protostellar cores rather than in molecular clouds, where the majority of H2O ice is formed. This work demonstrates the power of the combination of the HDO/H2O and D2O/HDO ratios as a tool to reveal the past history of water ice formation in the early cold stages of star formation and when the enrichment of deuterium in the bulk of water occurred. Further observations are needed to explore if the relation, D2O/HDO > HDO/H2O, is common in low-mass protostellar sources.
This paper reports results of a Suzaku observation of the supernova remnant (SNR) Kes 79 (G33.6+0.1). The X-ray spectrum is best fitted by a two-temperature model: a non-equilibrium ionization (NEI) plasma and a collisional ionization equilibrium (CIE) plasma. The NEI plasma is spatially confined within the inner radio shell with kT~0.8 keV, while the CIE plasma is found in more spatially extended regions associated with the outer radio shell with kT~0.2 keV and solar abundance. Therefore, the NEI plasma is attributable to the SN ejecta and the CIE plasma is forward shocked interstellar medium. In the NEI plasma, we discovered K-shell line of Al, Ar and Ca for the first time. The abundance pattern and estimated mass of the ejecta are consistent with the core-collapse supernova explosion of a ~30-40 solar mass progenitor star. An Fe line with center energy of ~6.4 keV is also found in the southeast (SE) portion of the SNR, a close peripheral region around dense molecular clouds. One possibility is that the line is associated with the ejecta. However, the centroid energy of ~6.4 keV and the spatial distribution of enhancement near the SE peripheral do not favor this scenario. Since the ~6.4 keV emitting region coincides to the molecular clouds, we propose another possibility that the Fe line is due to K-shell ionization of neutral Fe by the interaction of locally accelerated protons (LECRp) with the surrounding molecular cloud. Both these possibilities, heated ejecta or LECRp origin, are discussed based on the observational facts.
We present the XXL Survey, the largest XMM programme totaling some 6.9 Ms to date and involving an international consortium of roughly 100 members. The XXL Survey covers two extragalactic areas of 25 deg2 each at a point-source sensitivity of ~ 5E-15 erg/sec/cm2 in the [0.5-2] keV band (completeness limit). The survey's main goals are to provide constraints on the dark energy equation of state from the space-time distribution of clusters of galaxies and to serve as a pathfinder for future, wide-area X-ray missions. We review science objectives, including cluster studies, AGN evolution, and large-scale structure, that are being conducted with the support of approximately 30 follow-up programmes. We describe the 542 XMM observations along with the associated multi-lambda and numerical simulation programmes. We give a detailed account of the X-ray processing steps and describe innovative tools being developed for the cosmological analysis. The paper provides a thorough evaluation of the X-ray data, including quality controls, photon statistics, exposure and background maps, and sky coverage. Source catalogue construction and multi-lambda associations are briefly described. This material will be the basis for the calculation of the cluster and AGN selection functions, critical elements of the cosmological and science analyses. The XXL multi-lambda data set will have a unique lasting legacy value for cosmological and extragalactic studies and will serve as a calibration resource for future dark energy studies with clusters and other X-ray selected sources. With the present article, we release the XMM XXL photon and smoothed images along with the corresponding exposure maps. The XMM XXL observation list (Table B.1) is available in electronic form at the CDS. The present paper is the first in a series reporting results of the XXL-XMM survey.
We present 2.1 GHz imaging with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) of a 6.5 deg^2 region within the XXM-Newton XXL South field using a band of 1.1-3.1 GHz. We achieve an angular resolution of 4.7" x 4.2" in the final radio continuum map with a median rms noise level of 50 uJy/beam. We identify 1389 radio sources in the field with peak S/N >=5 and present the catalogue of observed parameters. We find that 305 sources are resolved, of which 77 consist of multiple radio components. These number counts are in agreement with those found for the COSMOS-VLA 1.4 GHz survey. We derive spectral indices by a comparison with the Sydney University Molongolo Sky Survey (SUMSS) 843MHz data. We find an average spectral index of -0.78 and a scatter of 0.28, in line with expectations. This pilot survey was conducted in preparation for a larger ATCA program to observe the full 25 deg^2 southern XXL field. When complete, the survey will provide a unique resource of sensitive, wide-field radio continuum imaging with complementary X-ray data in the field. This will facilitate studies of the physical mechanisms of radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs and galaxy clusters, and the role they play in galaxy evolution. The source catalogue is publicly available online via the XXL Master Catalogue browser and the Centre de Donn\'ees astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS).
Thousands of transiting exoplanets have been discovered, but spectral analysis of their atmospheres has so far been dominated by a small number of exoplanets and data spanning relatively narrow wavelength ranges (such as 1.1 to 1.7 {\mu}m). Recent studies show that some hot-Jupiter exoplanets have much weaker water absorption features in their near-infrared spectra than predicted. The low amplitude of water signatures could be explained by very low water abundances, which may be a sign that water was depleted in the protoplanetary disk at the planet's formation location, but it is unclear whether this level of depletion can actually occur. Alternatively, these weak signals could be the result of obscuration by clouds or hazes, as found in some optical spectra. Here we report results from a comparative study of ten hot Jupiters covering the wavelength range 0.3-5 micrometres, which allows us to resolve both the optical scattering and infrared molecular absorption spectroscopically. Our results reveal a diverse group of hot Jupiters that exhibit a continuum from clear to cloudy atmospheres. We find that the difference between the planetary radius measured at optical and infrared wavelengths is an effective metric for distinguishing different atmosphere types. The difference correlates with the spectral strength of water, so that strong water absorption lines are seen in clear-atmosphere planets and the weakest features are associated with clouds and hazes. This result strongly suggests that primordial water depletion during formation is unlikely and that clouds and hazes are the cause of weaker spectral signatures.
This article belongs to the first series of XXL publications. It presents multifibre spectroscopic observations of three 0.55 sq.deg. fields in the XXL Survey, which were selected on the basis of their high density of X-ray-detected clusters. The observations were obtained with the AutoFib2+WYFFOS (AF2) wide-field fibre spectrograph mounted on the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope. The paper first describes the scientific rationale, the preparation, the data reduction, and the results of the observations, and then presents a study of active galactic nuclei (AGN) within three superclusters. We obtained redshifts for 455 galaxies in total, 56 of which are counterparts of X-ray point-like sources. We were able to determine the redshift of the merging supercluster XLSSC-e, which consists of six individual clusters at z~0.43, and we confirmed the redshift of supercluster XLSSC-d at z~0.3. More importantly, we discovered a new supercluster, XLSSC-f, that comprises three galaxy clusters also at z~0.3. We find a significant 2D overdensity of X-ray point-like sources only around the supercluster XLSSC-f. This result is also supported by the spatial (3D) analysis of XLSSC-f, where we find four AGN with compatible spectroscopic redshifts and possibly one more with compatible photometric redshift. In addition, we find two AGN (3D analysis) at the redshift of XLSSC-e, but no AGN in XLSSC-d. Comparing these findings with the optical galaxy overdensity we conclude that the total number of AGN in the area of the three superclusters significantly exceeds the field expectations. The difference in the AGN frequency between the three superclusters cannot be explained by the present study because of small number statistics. Further analysis of a larger number of superclusters within the 50 sq. deg. of the XXL is needed before any conclusions on the effect of the supercluster environment on AGN can be reached.
The XXL Survey is the largest homogeneous and contiguous survey carried out with XMM-Newton. Covering an area of 50 square degrees distributed over two fields, it primarily investigates the large-scale structures of the Universe using the distribution of galaxy clusters and active galactic nuclei as tracers of the matter distribution. Given its depth and sky coverage, XXL is particularly suited to systematically unveiling the clustering of X-ray clusters and to identifying superstructures in a homogeneous X-ray sample down to the typical mass scale of a local massive cluster. A friends-of-friends algorithm in three-dimensional physical space was run to identify large-scale structures. In this paper we report the discovery of the highest redshift supercluster of galaxies found in the XXL Survey. We describe the X-ray properties of the clusters members of the structure and the optical follow-up. The newly discovered supercluster is composed of six clusters of galaxies at a median redshift z around 0.43 and distributed across approximately 30 by 15 arc minutes (10 by 5 Mpc on sky) on the sky. This structure is very compact with all the clusters residing in one XMM pointing; for this reason this is the first supercluster discovered with the XXL Survey. Spectroscopic follow-up with WHT (William Herschel Telescope) and NTT (New Technology Telescope) confirmed a median redshift of z = 0.43. An estimate of the X-ray mass and luminosity of this supercluster and of its total gas mass put XLSSC-e at the average mass range of superclusters; its appearance, with two members of equal size, is quite unusual with respect to other superclusters and provides a unique view of the formation process of a massive structure.
We investigated the dynamics of solar activity using the nonlinear one-dimensional dynamo model and phenomenological equation for evolution of Wolf numbers. This system of equations was solved numerically. We took into account the algebraic and dynamical nonlinearities of the alpha effect. The dynamic nonlinearity is related to the evolution of small-scale magnetic helicity and leads to complicated behavior of the solar activity. The evolutionary equation for the Wolf number is based on the mechanism of formation of magnetic spots caused by the negative effective magnetic pressure instability (NEMPI). This phenomenon was predicted 25 years ago and investigated intensively in recent years in direct numerical simulations and mean-field simulations. The evolutionary equation for the Wolf number includes the production and decay of sunspots. Comparison of numerical simulations and observational data of Wolf numbers shows 70 \% correlations in all interval of observations (about 270 years). We determined the dependence of the maximum value of the Wolf number versus the period of the cycle and asymmetry of the solar cycles versus the amplitude of the cycle. These dependencies are in good agreement with observations.
We have developed a non-sequential ray-tracing simulation library, ROOT-based simulator for ray tracing (ROBAST), which is aimed to be widely used in optical simulations of cosmic-ray (CR) and gamma-ray telescopes. The library is written in C++, and fully utilizes the geometry library of the ROOT framework. Despite the importance of optics simulations in CR experiments, no open-source software for ray-tracing simulations that can be widely used in the community has existed. To reduce the dispensable effort needed to develop multiple ray-tracing simulators by different research groups, we have successfully used ROBAST for many years to perform optics simulations for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Among the six proposed telescope designs for CTA, ROBAST is currently used for three telescopes: a Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) medium-sized telescope, one of SC small-sized telescopes, and a large-sized telescope (LST). ROBAST is also used for the simulation and development of hexagonal light concentrators proposed for the LST focal plane. Making full use of the ROOT geometry library with additional ROBAST classes, we are able to build the complex optics geometries typically used in CR experiments and ground-based gamma-ray telescopes. We introduce ROBAST and its features developed for CR experiments, and show several successful applications for CTA.
Weak G-band (wGb) stars are very peculiar red giants almost devoided of
carbon and often mildly enriched in lithium. Despite their very puzzling
abundance patterns, very few detailed spectroscopic studies existed up to a few
years ago, preventing any clear understanding of the wGb phenomenon. We
recently proposed the first consistent analysis of published data for 28 wGb
stars and identified them as descendants of early A-type to late B-type stars,
without being able to conclude on their evolutionary status or the origin of
their peculiar abundance pattern.
We used newly obtained high-resolution and high SNR spectra for 19 wGb stars
in the southern and northern hemisphere to homogeneously derive their
fundamental parameters, metallicities, as well as the spectroscopic abundances
for Li, C, N, O, Na, Sr, and Ba. We also computed dedicated stellar evolution
models that we used to determine the masses and to investigate the evolutionary
status and chemical history of the stars in our sample. We confirm that the wGb
stars are stars in the mass range 3.2 to 4.2 M$_\odot$. We suggest that a large
fraction could be mildly evolved stars on the SGB currently undergoing the 1st
DUP, while a smaller number of stars are more probably in the core He burning
phase at the clump. After analysing their abundance pattern, we confirm their
strong N enrichment anti-correlated with large C depletion, characteristic of
material fully processed through the CNO cycle to an extent not known in other
evolved intermediate-mass stars. However, we demonstrate here that such a
pattern is very unlikely due to self-enrichment. In the light of the current
observational constraints, no solid self-consistent pollution scenario can be
presented either, leaving the wGb puzzle largely unsolved.
Protoplanetary disks are strongly irradiated by a stellar FUV spectrum that is dominated by Ly$\alpha$ photons. We investigate the impact of stellar Ly$\alpha$ irradiation on the terrestrial planet region of disks ($\lesssim 1$AU) using an updated thermal-chemical model of a disk atmosphere irradiated by stellar FUV and X-rays. The radiative transfer of Ly$\alpha$ is implemented in a simple approach that includes scattering by H I and absorption by molecules and dust. Because of their non-radial propagation path, scattered Ly$\alpha$ photons deposit their energy deeper in the disk atmosphere than the radially propagating FUV continuum photons. We find that Ly$\alpha$ has a significant impact on the thermal structure of the atmosphere. Photochemical heating produced by scattered Ly$\alpha$ photons interacting with water vapor and OH leads to a layer of hot (1500 - 2500 K) molecular gas. The temperature in the layer is high enough to thermally excite the H$_2$ to vibrational levels from which they can be fluoresced by Ly$\alpha$ to produce UV fluorescent H$_2$ emission. The resulting atmospheric structure may help explain the origin of UV fluorescent H$_2$ that is commonly observed from classical T Tauri stars.
Outbursts from gamma-ray quasars provide insights on the relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei and constraints on the diffuse radiation fields that fill the Universe. The detection of significant emission above 100 GeV from a distant quasar would show that some of the radiated gamma rays escape pair-production interactions with low-energy photons, be it the extragalactic background light (EBL), or the radiation near the supermassive black hole lying at the jet's base. VERITAS detected gamma-ray emission up to 200 GeV from PKS 1441+25 (z=0.939) during April 2015, a period of high activity across all wavelengths. This observation of PKS 1441+25 suggests that the emission region is located thousands of Schwarzschild radii away from the black hole. The gamma-ray detection also sets a stringent upper limit on the near-ultraviolet to near-infrared EBL intensity, suggesting that galaxy surveys have resolved most, if not all, of the sources of the EBL at these wavelengths.
The flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1441+25 at a redshift of z = 0.940 is detected between 40 and 250 GeV with a significance of 25.5 {\sigma} using the MAGIC telescopes. Together with the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 (z = 0.944), PKS 1441+25 is the most distant very high energy (VHE) blazar detected to date. The observations were triggered by an outburst in 2015 April seen at GeV energies with the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi. Multi-wavelength observations suggest a subdivision of the high state into two distinct flux states. In the band covered by MAGIC, the variability time scale is estimated to be 6.4 +/- 1.9 days. Modeling the broadband spectral energy distribution with an external Compton model, the location of the emitting region is understood as originating in the jet outside the broad line region (BLR) during the period of high activity, while being partially within the BLR during the period of low (typical) activity. The observed VHE spectrum during the highest activity is used to probe the extragalactic background light at an unprecedented distance scale for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy.
We classified the reddest (r-J> 2.2) stars observed by the NASA Kepler mission into main sequence dwarf or evolved giant stars and determined the properties of 4216 M dwarfs based on a comparison of available photometry with that of nearby calibrator stars, as well as available proper motions and spectra. We then revised the properties of candidate transiting planets using the stellar parameters, high-resolution imaging and aperture masking to identify companion stars, and refitting of the light curves to identify the component most likely to host the planet. We inferred the intrinsic distribution of M dwarf planets using the method of iterative Monte Carlo simulation. We compared several models of planet orbital geometry and clustering and found that one where planets are exponentially distributed and almost precisely coplanar best describes the distribution of multi-planet systems. We determined that Kepler M dwarfs host an average of 1.9+/-0.3 planets with radii of 1-4Re and orbital periods of 1.5-180d. The radius distribution peaks at ~1.2Re and is essentially zero at 4Re, although we identify three larger giant planet candidates other than the previously confirmed Kepler-45b. There is suggestive but not significant evidence that the radius distribution varies with orbital period. The distribution with logarithmic orbital period is flat except for a decline for orbits less than a few days. Twelve candidate planets, including two Jupiter-size objects, experience an irradiance below the threshold level for a runaway greenhouse on an Earth-like planet and are thus in a "habitable zone".
It is well established that elemental abundances vary in the solar atmosphere and that this variation is organized by first ionization potential (FIP). Previous studies have shown that in the solar corona low-FIP elements, such as Fe, Si, Mg, and Ca, are generally enriched relative to high-FIP elements, such as C, N, O, Ar, and Ne. In this paper we report on measurements of plasma composition made during impulsive heating events observed at transition region temperatures with the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on Hinode. During these events the intensities of O IV, V, and VI emission lines are enhanced relative to emission lines from Mg V, VI, and VII and Si VI and VII and indicate a composition close to that of the photosphere. Long-lived coronal fan structures, in contrast, show an enrichment of low-FIP elements. We conjecture that the plasma composition is an important signature of the coronal heating process, with impulsive heating leading to the evaporation of unfractionated material from the lower layers of the solar atmosphere and higher frequency heating leading to long-lived structures and the accumulation of low-FIP elements in the corona.
We report high-resolution observations at mid-infrared wavelengths of a minor solar flare, SOL2014-09-24T17T17:50 (C7.0), using Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) cameras at an auxiliary of the McMath-Pierce telescope. The flare emissions, the first simultaneous observations in two mid-infrared bands at $5\ \mu$m and $8\ \mu$m with white-light and hard X-ray coverage, revealed impulsive time variability with increases on time scales of $\sim 4$~s followed by exponential decay at $\sim$10 s in two bright regions separated by about 13$"$. The brightest source is compact, unresolved spatially at the diffraction limit ($1.3"$ at $5\ \mu$m). We identify the IR sources as flare ribbons also seen in white-light emission at 6173~\AA~observed by SDO/HMI, with twin hard X-ray sources observed by RHESSI, and with EUV sources (e.g., 94~\AA) observed by SDO/AIA. The two infrared points have closely the same flux density ($f_\nu$, W/m$^2$Hz) and extrapolate to a level about an order of magnitude below that observed in the visible band by HMI, but with a flux more than two orders of magnitude above the free-free continuum from the hot ($\sim$15 MK) coronal flare loop observed in the X-ray range. The observations suggest that the IR emission is optically thin, this constraint and others suggest major contributions from a density less than about $3 \times 10^{13}$~cm$^{-3}$. We tentatively interpret this emission mechanism as predominantly free-free emission in a highly ionized but cool and rather dense chromospheric region.
The physical mechanism of angular momentum transport in poorly ionized regions of protoplanetary discs, the dead zones (DZs), is not understood. The presence of a DZ naturally leads to conditions susceptible to the Rossby wave instability (RWI), which produces vortices and spiral density waves that may revive the DZ and be responsible for observed large-scale disc structures. We present a series of two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations to investigate the role of the RWI in DZs, including its impact on the long-term evolution of the disc and its morphology. The nonlinear RWI can generate Reynolds stresses (effective $\alpha$ parameter) as large as $0.01 - 0.05$ in the DZ, helping to sustain quasi-steady accretion throughout the disc. It also produces novel disc morphologies, including azimuthal asymmetries with $m = 1, 2$, and atypical vortex shapes. The angular momentum transport strength and morphology are most sensitive to two parameters: the radial extent of the DZ and the disc viscosity. The largest Reynolds stresses are produced when the radial extent of the DZ is less than its distance to the central star. Such narrow DZs lead to a single vortex or two coherent antipodal vortices in the quasi-steady state. The edges of wider DZs evolve separately, resulting in two independent vortices and reduced angular momentum transport efficiency. In either case, we find that, because of the Reynolds stresses generated by the nonlinear RWI, gravitational instability is unlikely to play a role in angular momentum transport across the DZ, unless the accretion rate is sufficiently high.
New spatially scanned spectropolarimetry sunspot observations are made of photospheric atomic and molecular absorption lines near 4135nm. The relative splittings among several atomic lines are measured and shown to agree with values calculated with configuration interaction and intermediate coupling. Large splitting is seen in a line identified with Fe I at 4137nm, showing multiple Stokes V components and an unusual linear polarization. This line will be a sensitive probe of quiet Sun magnetic fields, with a magnetic sensitivity of 2.5 times larger than that of the well-known 1565nm Fe I line.
We present a method to estimate the jet opening angles of long duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) using the prompt gamma-ray energetics and an inversion of the Ghirlanda relation, which is a correlation between the time-integrated peak energy of the GRB prompt spectrum and the collimation-corrected energy in gamma rays. The derived jet opening angles using this method and detailed assumptions match well with the corresponding inferred jet opening angles obtained when a break in the afterglow is observed. Furthermore, using a model of the predicted long GRB redshift probability distribution observable by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), we estimate the probability distributions for the jet opening angle and rest-frame energetics for a large sample of GBM GRBs for which the redshifts have not been observed. Previous studies have only used a handful of GRBs to estimate these properties due to the paucity of observed afterglow jet breaks, spectroscopic redshifts, and comprehensive prompt gamma-ray observations, and we potentially expand the number of GRBs that can be used in this analysis by more than an order of magnitude. In this analysis, we also present an inferred distribution of jet breaks which indicates that a large fraction of jet breaks are not observable with current instrumentation and observing strategies. We present simple parameterizations for the jet angle, energetics, and jet break distributions so that they may be used in future studies.
We study stability of a dust layer in a gaseous disc subject to the linear axisymmetric perturbations. Instead of considering single-size particles, however, the population of dust particles is assumed to consist of two grain species. Dust grains exchange momentum with the gas via the drag force and their self-gravity is also considered. We show that the presence of two grain sizes can increase the efficiency of the linear growth of drag-driven instability in the protoplanetary discs. A second dust phase with a small mass, comparing to the first dust phase, would reduce the growth timescale even by a factor of two or more especially when its coupling to the gas is weak. It means that once a certain amount of large dust particles form, even though it is much smaller than that of small dust particles, the dust layer becomes more unstable and dust clumping are accelerated. Thus, presence of dust particles with various sizes must be considered in studies of dust clumping in protoplanetary discs where both large and small dust grains are present.
The high brightness of Fast Radio Bursts requires coherent emission by particles "bunched" by plasma instability at powers far in excess of those of pulsar spindown. Dissipation of magnetic energy in a neutron star magnetosphere, as in popular models of Soft Gamma Repeaters, can meet the energy requirement and produces an electron-positron pair plasma. Annihilation gamma rays are scattered by cooler plasma, producing a broad beam of electrons. The resulting electron distribution function is unstable to the "bump-on-tail" plasma instability. Electron plasma waves grow exponentially, scattering on density gradients to produce propagating electromagnetic waves, in analogy to Solar Type III Radio Bursts. Galactic SGR may make Galactic FRB, many orders of magnitude brighter than FRB at "cosmological" distances, that could be observed by radio telescopes out of beam or by modest arrays of dipole antennas.
A novel large-scale dynamo mechanism, the magnetic shear-current effect, is discussed and explored. The effect relies on the interaction of magnetic fluctuations with a mean shear flow, meaning the saturated state of the small-scale dynamo can drive a large-scale dynamo -- in some sense the inverse of dynamo quenching. The dynamo is nonhelical, with the mean-field $\alpha$ coefficient zero, and is caused by the interaction between an off-diagonal component of the turbulent resistivity and the stretching of the large-scale field by shear flow. Following up on previous numerical and analytic work, this paper presents further details of the numerical evidence for the effect, as well as an heuristic description of how magnetic fluctuations can interact with shear flow to produce the required electromotive force. The pressure response of the fluid is fundamental to this mechanism, which helps explain why the magnetic effect is stronger than its kinematic cousin, and the basic idea is related to the well-known lack of turbulent resistivity quenching by magnetic fluctuations. As well as being interesting for its applications to general high Reynolds number astrophysical turbulence, where strong small-scale magnetic fluctuations are expected to be prevalent, the magnetic shear-current effect is a likely candidate for large-scale dynamo in the unstratified regions of ionized accretion disks. Evidence for this is discussed, as well as future research directions and the challenges involved with understanding details of the effect in astrophysically relevant regimes.
The physical processes that trigger solar flares are not well understood and significant debate remains around processes governing particle acceleration, energy partition, and particle and energy transport. Observations at high resolution in energy, time, and space are required in multiple energy ranges over the whole course of many flares in order to build an understanding of these processes. Obtaining high-quality, co-temporal data from ground- and space- based instruments is crucial to achieving this goal and was the primary motivation for starting the Max Millennium program and Major Flare Watch (MFW) alerts, aimed at coordinating observations of all flares >X1 GOES X-ray classification (including those partially occulted by the limb). We present a review of the performance of MFWs from 1 February 2001 to 31 May 2010, inclusive, that finds: (1) 220 MFWs were issued in 3,407 days considered (6.5% duty cycle), with these occurring in 32 uninterrupted periods that typically last 2-8 days; (2) 56% of flares >X1 were caught, occurring in 19% of MFW days; (3) MFW periods ended at suitable times, but substantial gain could have been achieved in percentage of flares caught if periods had started 24 h earlier; (4) MFWs successfully forecast X-class flares with a true skill statistic (TSS) verification metric score of 0.500, that is comparable to a categorical flare/no-flare interpretation of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Centre probabilistic forecasts (TSS = 0.488).
If the dark matter consists of axions, gravity can cause them to coalesce into axion stars, which are stable gravitationally bound Bose-Einstein condensates of axions. In the previously known axion stars, gravity and the attractive force between pairs of axions are balanced by the kinetic pressure.If the axion mass energy is $mc^2= 10^{-4}$ eV, these dilute axion stars have a maximum mass of about $10^{-14} M_\odot$. We point out that there are also dense axion stars in which gravity is balanced by the mean-field pressure of the axion condensate. We study axion stars using the leading term in a systematically improvable approximation to the effective potential of the nonrelativistic effective field theory for axions. Using the Thomas-Fermi approximation in which the kinetic pressure is neglected, we find a sequence of new branches of axion stars in which gravity is balanced by the mean-field interaction energy of the axion condensate. If $mc^2 = 10^{-4}$ eV, the first branch of these dense axion stars has mass ranging from about $10^{-11} M_\odot$ to about $M_\odot$.
Earth's rotation about the Sun produces an annual modulation in the expected scattering rate at direct dark matter detection experiments. The annual modulation as a function of the recoil energy $E_\text{R}$ imparted by the dark matter particle to a target nucleus is expected to vary depending on the detector material. However, for most interactions a change of variables from $E_\text{R}$ to $v_\text{min}$, the minimum speed a dark matter particle must have to impart a fixed $E_\text{R}$ to a target nucleus, produces an annual modulation independent of the target element. We recently showed that if the dark matter-nucleus cross section contains a non-factorizable target and dark matter velocity dependence, the annual modulation as a function of $v_\text{min}$ can be target dependent. Here we examine more extensively the necessary conditions for target-dependent modulation, its observability in present-day experiments, and the extent to which putative signals could identify a dark matter-nucleus differential cross section with a non-factorizable dependence on the dark matter velocity.
The fabrication of an ultralow-density hydrophobic silica aerogel for the intact capture cosmic dust during the Tanpopo mission is described. The Tanpopo experiment performed on the International Space Station orbiting the Earth includes the collection of terrestrial and interplanetary dust samples on a silica aerogel capture medium exposed to space for later ground-based biological and chemical analyses. The key to the mission's success is the development of high-performance capture media, and the major challenge is to satisfy the mechanical requirements as a spacecraft payload while maximizing the performance for intact capture. To this end, an ultralow-density (0.01 g cm$^{-3}$) soft aerogel was employed in combination with a relatively robust 0.03 g cm$^{-3}$ aerogel. A procedure was also established for the mass production of double-layer aerogel tiles formed with a 0.01 g cm$^{-3}$ surface layer and a 0.03 g cm$^{-3}$ open-topped, box-shaped base layer, and 60 aerogel tiles were manufactured. The fabricated aerogel tiles have been demonstrated to be suitable as flight hardware with respect to both scientific and safety requirements.
We investigate the minimal theory of massive gravity (MTMG) recently introduced. After reviewing the original construction based on its Hamiltonian in the vielbein formalism, we reformulate it in terms of its Lagrangian in both the vielbein and the metric formalisms. It then becomes obvious that, unlike previous attempts in the literature, not only the potential but also the kinetic structure of the action is modified from the de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity theory. We confirm that the number of physical degrees of freedom in MTMG is two at fully nonlinear level. This proves the absence of various possible pathologies such as superluminality, acausality and strong coupling. Afterwards, we discuss the phenomenology of MTMG in the presence of a dust fluid. We find that on a flat homogeneous and isotropic background we have two branches. One of them (self-accelerating branch) naturally leads to acceleration without the genuine cosmological constant or dark energy. For this branch both the scalar and the vector modes behave exactly as in general relativity (GR). The phenomenology of this branch differs from GR in the tensor modes sector, as the tensor modes acquire a non-zero mass. Hence, MTMG serves as a stable nonlinear completion of the self-accelerating cosmological solution found originally in dRGT theory. The other branch (normal branch) has a dynamics which depends on the time-dependent fiducial metric. For the normal branch, the scalar mode sector, even though as in GR only one scalar mode is present (due to the dust fluid), differs from the one in GR, and, in general, structure formation will follow a different phenomenology. The tensor modes will be massive, whereas the vector modes, for both branches, will have the same phenomenology as in GR.
An analytical representation of the relativistic Boltzmann distribution, the J\"uttner distribution, is provided under conditions when the pressure (or temperature) is anisotropic. Since the pressure becomes a tensor in this case, the relativistic temperature and its inverse become tensors as well. Such conditions are encountered in relativistically-high-temperature plasmas. The distribution is constructed for Bosons by reference to the Klein-Gordon representation of the relativistic energy and introducing an appropriate split.
We examine a new multiverse scenario in which the component universes interact. We focus our attention to the process of "true" vacuum nucleation in the false vacuum within one single element of the multiverse. It is shown that the interactions lead to a collective behaviour that might lead, under specific conditions, to a pre-inflationary phase and ensued distinguishable imprints in the comic microwave background radiation.
We investigate how the gravitational baryogenesis mechanism can potentially constrain the form of a Type IV singularity. Specifically, we study two different models with interesting phenomenology, that realize two distinct Type IV singularities, one occurring at the end of inflation and one during the radiation domination era or during the matter domination era. As we demonstrate, the Type IV singularities occurring at the matter domination era or during the radiation domination era, are constrained by the gravitational baryogenesis, in such a way so that these do not render the baryon to entropy ratio singular. Both the cosmological models we study cannot be realized in the context of ordinary Einstein-Hilbert gravity, and hence our work can only be realized in the context of $F(R)$ gravity and more generally in the context of modified gravity only.
If time-translations are spontaneously broken, so are boosts. This symmetry breaking pattern can be non-linearly realized by either just the Goldstone boson of time translations, or by four Goldstone bosons associated with time translations and boosts. In this paper we extend the Effective Field Theory of Multifield Inflation to consider the case in which the additional Goldstone bosons associated with boosts are light and coupled to the Goldstone boson of time translations. The symmetry breaking pattern forces a coupling to curvature so that the mass of the additional Goldstone bosons is predicted to be equal to $\sqrt{2}H$ in the vast majority of the parameter space where they are light. This pattern therefore offers a natural way of generating self-interacting particles with Hubble mass during inflation. After constructing the general effective Lagrangian, we study how these particles mix and interact with the curvature fluctuations, generating potentially detectable non-Gaussian signals.
We systematically study light (< few GeV) Dark Matter (DM) models that thermalize with visible matter through the Higgs portal and identify the remaining gaps in the viable parameter space. Such models require a comparably light scalar mediator that mixes with the Higgs to avoid DM overproduction and can be classified according to whether this mediator decays (in)visibly. In a representative benchmark model with Dirac fermion DM, we find that, even with conservative assumptions about the DM-mediator coupling and mass ratio, the regime in which the mediator is heavier than the DM is fully ruled out by a combination of collider, rare meson decay, and direct detection limits; future and planned experiments including NA62 can further improve sensitivity to scenarios in which the Higgs portal interaction does not determine the DM abundance. The opposite, regime in which the mediator is lighter than the DM and the latter annihilates to pairs of visibly-decaying mediators is still viable, but much of the parameter space is covered by rare meson decay, supernova cooling, beam dump, and direct detection constraints. Nearly all of these conclusions apply broadly to the simplest variations (e.g. scalar or asymmetric DM). Future experiments including SHiP, NEWS, and Super-CDMS SNOLAB can greatly improve coverage to this class of models.
We compute the distribution of minima that are reached dynamically on
multi-field axionic landscapes, both numerically and analytically. Such
landscapes are well suited for inflationary model building due to the presence
of shift symmetries and possible alignment effects (the KNP mechanism).
The resulting distribution of dynamically reached minima differs considerably
from the naive expectation based on counting all vacua. These differences are
more pronounced in the presence of many fields due to dynamical selection
effects: while low lying minima are preferred as fields roll down the
potential, trajectories are also more likely to get trapped by one of the many
nearby minima. We show that common analytic arguments based on random matrix
theory in the large $D$-limit to estimate the distribution of minima are
insufficient for quantitative arguments pertaining to the dynamically reached
ones. This discrepancy is not restricted to axionic potentials. We provide an
empirical expression for the expectation value of such dynamically reached
minimas' height and argue that the cosmological constant problem is not
alleviated in the absence of anthropic arguments. We further comment on the
likelihood of inflation on axionic landscapes in the large D-limit.
We study the validity of the Newtonian description of cosmological perturbations using the Lemaitre model, an exact spherically symmetric solution of Einstein's equation. This problem has been investigated in the past for the case of a dust fluid. Here, we extend the previous analysis to the more general case of a fluid with non-negligible pressure, and, for the numerical examples, we consider the case of radiation (P=\rho/3). We find that, even when the density contrast has a nonlinear amplitude, the Newtonian description of the cosmological perturbations using the gravitational potential \psi and the curvature potential \phi is valid as long as we consider sub-horizon inhomogeneities. However, the relation \psi+\phi={\cal O}(\phi^2), which holds for the case of a dust fluid, is not valid for a relativistic fluid and effective anisotropic stress is generated. This demonstrates the usefulness of the Lemaitre model which allows us to study in an exact nonlinear fashion the onset of anisotropic stress in fluids with non-negligible pressure. We show that this happens when the characteristic scale of the inhomogeneity is smaller than the sound horizon and that the deviation is caused by the nonlinear effect of the fluid's fast motion. We also find that \psi+\phi= \max[{\cal O}(\phi^2),{\cal O}(c_s^2\phi \, \delta)] for an inhomogeneity with density contrast \delta whose characteristic scale is smaller than the sound horizon, unless w is close to -1, where w and c_s are the equation of state parameter and the sound speed of the fluid, respectively. On the other hand, we expect \psi+\phi={\cal O}(\phi^2) to hold for an inhomogeneity whose characteristic scale is larger than the sound horizon, unless the amplitude of the inhomogeneity is large and w is close to -1.
We provide an anthropic reason that the supersymmetry breaking scale is much higher than the electroweak scale as indicated by the null result of collider experiments and observed 125 GeV Higgs boson. We focus on a new inflation model as a typical low-scale inflation model that may be expected in the string landscape. In this model, the R-symmetry is broken at the minimum of the inflaton potential and its breaking scale is related to the reheating temperature. Once we admit that the anthropic principle requires thermal leptogenesis, we obtain a lower bound on gravitino mass, which is related to R-symmetry breaking scale. This scenario and resulting gravitino mass predict the consistent amplitude of density perturbations. We also find that string axions and saxions are consistently implemented in this scenario.
We present a particularly simple model of axion monodromy inflation: Our axion is the lowest-lying KK-mode of the RR-2-form-potential $C_2$ in the standard Klebanov-Strassler throat. One can think of this inflaton candidate as being defined by the integral of $C_2$ over the $S^2$ cycle of the throat. It obtains an exponentially small mass from the IR-region in which the $S^2$ shrinks to zero size. Crucially, the $S^2$ cycle has to be shared between two throats, such that the second locus where the $S^2$ shrinks is also in a warped region. Well-known problems like the potentially dangerous back-reaction of brane/antibrane pairs and explicit supersymmetry breaking are not present in our scenario. The inflaton back-reaction on the geometry turns out to be controlled by the string coupling $g_s$. We hope that our setting is simple enough for many critical consistency issues of large-field inflation in string theory to be addressed at a quantitative level.
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The origin of massive stars is a fundamental open issue in modern astrophysics. Pre-ALMA interferometric studies reveal precursors to early B to late O type stars with collapsing envelopes of 15-20 M$_\odot$ on 1000-3000 AU size-scales. To search for more massive envelopes we selected the most massive nearby young clumps from the ATLASGAL survey to study their protostellar content with ALMA. Our first results using the intermediate scales revealed by the ALMA ACA array providing 3-5" angular resolution, corresponding to $\sim$0.05-0.1 pc size-scales, reveals a sample of compact objects. These massive dense cores are on average two-times more massive than previous studies of similar types of objects. We expect that once the full survey is completed, it will provide a comprehensive view on the origin of the most massive stars.
Active galactic nuclei jets are thought to form in the immediate vicinity of the event horizons of supermassive black holes. Therefore, jets could be excellent probes of general relativity. However, in practice, using jets to infer near-black hole physics is not straightforward since the cause of their most basic morphological features is not understood. For instance, there is no agreement on the cause of the well-known Fanaroff-Riley (FR) morphological dichotomy of jets, with FRI jets being shorter and wiggly and FRII jets being longer and more stable. Here, we carry out 3D relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of relativistic jets propagating through the ambient medium. Because in flat density cores of galaxies ($n \propto r^{-\alpha}$ with $\alpha < 2$) the mass per unit distance ahead of the jets increases with distance, the jets slow down and collimate into smaller opening angles. This makes the jets more vulnerable to the 3D magnetic kink ("corkscrew") instability, which develops faster in more tightly collimated jets. We show that the larger the galaxy core radius and the normalisation of the ambient medium density, the higher the critical power below which the jets succumb to the kink instability, stall within the galaxy core, and inflate cavities filled with a relativistically-hot plasma. Jets above the critical power escape the galaxy core and form powerful backflows. Thus, the kink instability controls the jet morphology and can naturally lead to the FR dichotomy.
We report on high-resolution JVLA and Chandra observations of the HST Frontier Cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. MACS J0717.5+3745 offers the largest contiguous magnified area of any known cluster, making it a promising target to search for lensed radio and X-ray sources. With the high-resolution 1.0-6.5 GHz JVLA imaging in A and B configuration, we detect a total of 51 compact radio sources within the area covered by the HST imaging. Within this sample we find 7 lensed sources with amplification factors larger than $2$. None of these sources are identified as multiply-lensed. Based on the radio luminosities, the majority of these sources are likely star forming galaxies with star formation rates of 10-50 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ located at $1 \lesssim z \lesssim 2$. Two of the lensed radio sources are also detected in the Chandra image of the cluster. These two sources are likely AGN, given their $2-10$ keV X-ray luminosities of $\sim 10^{43-44}$ erg s$^{-1}$. From the derived radio luminosity function, we find evidence for an increase in the number density of radio sources at $0.6<z<2.0$, compared to a $z < 0.3$ sample. Our observations indicate that deep radio imaging of lensing clusters can be used to study star forming galaxies, with star formation rates as low as $\sim10$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, at the peak of cosmic star formation history.
The common envelope (CE) phase is an important stage in binary stellar evolution. It is needed to explain many close binary stellar systems, such as cataclysmic variables, Type Ia supernova progenitors, or X-ray binaries. To form the resulting close binary, the initial orbit has to shrink, thereby transferring energy to the primary giant's envelope that is hence ejected. The details of this interaction, however, are still not understood. Here, we present new hydrodynamic simulations of the dynamical spiral-in forming a CE system. We apply the moving-mesh code AREPO to follow the interaction of a $1M_\odot$ compact star with a $2M_\odot$ red giant possessing a $0.4M_\odot$ core. The nearly Lagrangian scheme combines advantages of smoothed particle hydrodynamics and traditional grid-based hydrodynamic codes and allows us to capture also small flow features at high spatial resolution. Our simulations reproduce the initial transfer of energy and angular momentum from the binary core to the envelope by spiral shocks seen in previous studies, but after about 20 orbits a new phenomenon is observed. Large-scale flow instabilities are triggered by shear flows between adjacent shock layers. These indicate the onset of turbulent convection in the common envelope, thus altering the transport of energy on longer time scales. At the end of our simulation, only 8% of the envelope mass is ejected. The failure to unbind the envelope completely may be caused by processes on thermal time scales or unresolved microphysics.
The upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in less than three years is certain to bring a revolution in our understanding of many area of astrophysics, with one of the key goals being galaxy evolution. As the first proposals will be due in a little over two years, the time is ripe to take a holistic look at the science goals which the community would wish to accomplish with this observatory. Contrary to our experiences with the Hubble Space Telescope, which has now operated successfully for over two decades due to several timely servicing missions, the lifetime of JWST is finite and relatively short, with a lifetime requirement of five years, and a ten-year goal. Following the discussion session at the "Exploring the Universe with JWST" conference at ESA-ESTEC in October 2015, we highlight in this document the (non-local) extragalactic science goals for JWST. We describe how a concerted community effort could best address these, ensuring that the desired survey can be completed during the JWST mission.
One major problem of current theoretical models of galaxy formation is given by their inability to reproduce the apparently "anti-hierarchical" evolution of galaxy assembly: massive galaxies appear to be in place since $z\sim 3$, while a significant evolution is measured for lower mass galaxies, whose number densities increase significantly with decreasing redshift. In this work, we perform a systematic analysis of the influence of different stellar feedback schemes. Our analysis is carried out in the framework of GAEA, a new semi-analytic model that includes a self-consistent treatment for the timings of gas, metal and energy recycling, as well for the chemical yields. We show this to be crucial in order to use observational measurements of the metal content as independent and powerful constraints for the adopted feedback schemes. We find that the observed trends can be reproduced in the framework of either a strong ejective or preventive feedback model. In the former case, the gas ejection rate must decrease significantly with cosmic time, e.g. following parametrizations of the recent cosmological "FIRE" simulations. In the latter case, the re-incorporation time scale is also required to vary with halo mass, as found by previous work. Irrespective of the feedback scheme used, our successful models always imply that up to 60-70 per cent of the baryons reside in an "ejected" reservoir and are unavailable for cooling at high redshift. The same schemes predict physical properties of model galaxies (in terms of e.g. gas content, colour, age, and metallicity) that are in much better agreement with observational data than our previous fiducial model. Our investigation suggests that the overall fraction of passive galaxies is primarily determined by internal physical processes, with environment playing a secondary role, and being important only for the lowest mass galaxies.
I describe a new Bayesian based algorithm to infer the full three dimensional velocity field from observed distances and spectroscopic galaxy catalogues. In addition to the velocity field itself, the algorithm reconstructs true distances, some cosmological parameters and specific non-linearities in the velocity field. The algorithm takes care of selection effects, miscalibration issues and can be easily extended to handle direct fitting of, e.g., the inverse Tully-Fisher relation. I first describe the algorithm in details alongside its performances. This algorithm is implemented in the VIRBIuS (VelocIty Reconstruction using Bayesian Inference Software) software package. I then test it on different mock distance catalogues with a varying complexity of observational issues. The model proved to give robust measurement of velocities for mock catalogues of 3,000 galaxies. I expect the core of the algorithm to scale to tens of thousands galaxies. It holds the promises of giving a better handle on future large and deep distance surveys for which individual errors on distance would impede velocity field inference.
We measure the cross-correlation between weak lensing of galaxy images and of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The effects of gravitational lensing on different sources will be correlated if the lensing is caused by the same mass fluctuations. We use galaxy shape measurements from 139 deg$^{2}$ of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification data and overlapping CMB lensing from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck. The DES source galaxies have a median redshift of $z_{\rm med} {\sim} 0.7$, while the CMB lensing kernel is broad and peaks at $z{\sim}2$. The resulting cross-correlation is maximally sensitive to mass fluctuations at $z{\sim}0.44$. Assuming the Planck 2015 best-fit cosmology, the amplitude of the DES$\times$SPT cross-power is found to be $A = 0.88 \pm 0.30$ and that from DES$\times$Planck to be $A = 0.86 \pm 0.39$, where $A=1$ corresponds to the theoretical prediction. These are consistent with the expected signal and correspond to significances of $2.9 \sigma$ and $2.2 \sigma$ respectively. We demonstrate that our results are robust to a number of important systematic effects including the shear measurement method, estimator choice, photometric redshift uncertainty and CMB lensing systematics. Significant intrinsic alignment of galaxy shapes would increase the cross-correlation signal inferred from the data; we calculate a value of $A = 1.08 \pm 0.36$ for DES$\times$SPT when we correct the observations with a simple IA model. With three measurements of this cross-correlation now existing in the literature, there is not yet reliable evidence for any deviation from the expected LCDM level of cross-correlation, given the size of the statistical uncertainties and the significant impact of systematic errors, particularly IAs. We provide forecasts for the expected signal-to-noise of the combination of the five-year DES survey and SPT-3G.
The dynamics of stellar streams in rotating barred potentials is explained for the first time. Naturally, neighbouring stream stars reach pericentre at slightly different times. In the presence of a rotating bar, these neighbouring stream stars experience different bar orientations during pericentric passage and hence each star receives a different torque from the bar. These differing torques reshape the angular momentum and energy distribution of stars in the stream, which in turn changes the growth rate of the stream. For a progenitor orbiting in the same sense as the bar's rotation and satisfying a resonance condition, the resultant stream can be substantially shorter or longer than expected, depending on whether the pericentric passages of the progenitor occur along the bar's minor or major axis respectively. We present a full discussion of this phenomenon focusing mainly on streams confined to the Galactic plane. In stark contrast with the evolution in static potentials, which give rise to streams that grow steadily in time, rotating barred potentials can produce dynamically old, short streams. This challenges the traditional viewpoint that the inner halo consists of well phase-mixed material whilst the tidally-disrupted structures in the outer halo are more spatially coherent. We argue that this mechanism plays an important role in explaining the mysteriously short Ophiuchus stream that was recently discovered near the bulge region of the Milky Way.
Hydrogen in the Universe was (re)ionised between redshifts $z \approx 10$ and $z \approx 6$. The nature of the sources of the ionising radiation is hotly debated, with faint galaxies currently below the detection limit regarded as prime candidates. Here we consider a scenario in which ionising photons escape through channels punctured in the interstellar medium by outflows powered by starbursts. We take account of the observation that strong outflows occur only when the star formation density is sufficiently high, and estimate the galaxy-averaged escape fraction as a function of redshift and luminosity from the resolved star formation surface densities in the EAGLE cosmological hydrodynamical simulation. We find that the fraction of ionising photons that escape from galaxies increases rapidly with redshift, reaching values of 5-20 percent at $z > 6$, with the brighter galaxies having higher escape fractions. Combining the dependence of escape fraction on luminosity and redshift with the observed luminosity function, we demonstrate that galaxies emit enough ionising photons to match the existing constraints on reionisation while also matching the observed UV-background post-reionisation. Our findings suggest that galaxies above the current Hubble Space Telescope detection limit emit half of the ionising radiation required to reionise the Universe.
I present the Automated Line Fitting Algorithm, ALFA, a new code which can
fit emission line spectra of arbitrary wavelength coverage and resolution,
fully automatically. In contrast to traditional emission line fitting methods
which require the identification of spectral features suspected to be emission
lines, ALFA instead uses a list of lines which are expected to be present to
construct a synthetic spectrum. The parameters used to construct the synthetic
spectrum are optimised by means of a genetic algorithm. Uncertainties are
estimated using the noise structure of the residuals.
An emission line spectrum containing several hundred lines can be fitted in a
few seconds using a single processor of a typical contemporary desktop or
laptop PC. I show that the results are in excellent agreement with those
measured manually for a number of spectra. Where discrepancies exist, the
manually measured fluxes are found to be less accurate than those returned by
ALFA.
Together with the code NEAT (Wesson et al. 2012), ALFA provides a powerful
way to rapidly extract physical information from observations, an increasingly
vital function in the era of highly multiplexed spectroscopy. The two codes can
deliver a reliable and comprehensive analysis of very large datasets in a few
hours with little or no user interaction.
We present high-contrast Magellan adaptive optics (MagAO) images of HD 7449, a Sun-like star with one planet and a long-term radial velocity (RV) trend. We unambiguously detect the source of the long-term trend from 0.6-2.15 \microns ~at a separation of \about 0\fasec 54. We use the object's colors and spectral energy distribution to show that it is most likely an M4-M5 dwarf (mass \about 0.1-0.2 \msun) at the same distance as the primary and is therefore likely bound. We also present new RVs measured with the Magellan/MIKE and PFS spectrometers and compile these with archival data from CORALIE and HARPS. We use a new Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure to constrain both the mass ($> 0.17$ \msun ~at 99$\%$ confidence) and semimajor axis (\about 18 AU) of the M dwarf companion (HD 7449B). We also refine the parameters of the known massive planet (HD 7449Ab), finding that its minimum mass is $7.8^{+3.7}_{-1.35}$ \mj, its semimajor axis is $2.33^{+0.01}_{-0.02}$ AU, and its eccentricity is $0.8^{+0.08}_{-0.06}$. We use N-body simulations to constrain the eccentricity of HD 7449B to $\lesssim$ 0.5. The M dwarf may be inducing Kozai oscillations on the planet, explaining its high eccentricity. If this is the case and its orbit was initially circular, the mass of the planet would need to be $\lesssim$ 10.8 \mj. This demonstrates that strong constraints on known planets can be made using direct observations of otherwise undetectable long-period companions.
In a LCDM cosmology, the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation (BTFR) is expected to show significant intrinsic scatter resulting from the mass-concentration relation of dark matter halos and the baryonic-to-halo mass ratio. We study the BTFR using a sample of 118 disc galaxies (spirals and irregulars) with data of the highest quality: extended HI rotation curves (tracing the outer velocity) and Spitzer photometry at 3.6 $\mu$m (tracing the stellar mass). Assuming that the stellar mass-to-light ratio (M*/L) is nearly constant at 3.6 $\mu$m, we find that the scatter, slope, and normalization of the BTFR systematically vary with the adopted M*/L. The observed scatter is minimized for M*/L > 0.5, corresponding to nearly maximal discs in high-surface-brightness galaxies and BTFR slopes close to ~4. For any reasonable value of M*/L, the intrinsic scatter is ~0.1 dex, below general LCDM expectations. The residuals show no correlations with galaxy structural parameters (radius or surface brightness), contrary to the predictions from some semi-analytic models of galaxy formation. These are fundamental issues for LCDM cosmology.
Sterile neutrinos comprise an entire class of dark matter models that, depending on their production mechanism, can be hot, warm, or cold dark matter. We simulate the Local Group and representative volumes of the Universe in a variety of sterile neutrino models, all of which are consistent with the possible existence of a radiative decay line at ~3.5 keV. We compare models of production via resonances in the presence of a lepton asymmetry (suggested by Shi & Fuller 1999) to "thermal" models. We find that properties in the highly nonlinear regime - e.g., counts of satellites and internal properties of halos and subhalos - are insensitive to the precise fall-off in power with wavenumber, indicating that nonlinear evolution essentially washes away differences in the initial (linear) matter power spectrum. In the quasi-linear regime at higher redshifts, however, quantitative differences in the 3D matter power spectra remain, raising the possibility that such models can be tested with future observations of the Lyman-alpha forest. While many of the sterile neutrino models largely eliminate multiple small-scale issues within the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) paradigm, we show that these models may be ruled out in the near future via discoveries of additional dwarf satellites in the Local Group.
The anomalous 3.55 keV X-ray line recently detected towards a number of massive dark matter objects may be interpreted as the radiative decays of 7.1 keV mass sterile neutrino dark matter. Depending on its parameters, the sterile neutrino can range from cold to warm dark matter with small-scale suppression that differs in form from commonly-adopted thermal warm dark matter. Here, we numerically investigate the subhalo properties for 7.1 keV sterile neutrino dark matter produced via the resonant Shi-Fuller mechanism. Using accurate matter power spectra, we run cosmological zoom-in simulations of a Milky Way-sized halo and explore the abundance of massive subhalos, their radial distributions, and their internal structure. We also simulate the halo with thermal 2.0 keV warm dark matter for comparison and discuss quantitative differences. We find that the resonantly produced sterile neutrino model for the 3.55 keV line provides a good description of structures in the Local Group, including the number of satellite dwarf galaxies and their radial distribution, and largely mitigates the too-big-to-fail problem. Future searches for satellite galaxies by deep surveys, such as the Dark Energy Survey, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, and Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, will be a strong direct test of warm dark matter scenarios.
The star formation quenching depends on environment, but a full understanding of what mechanisms drive it is still missing. Exploiting a sample of galaxies with masses $M_\ast>10^{9.8}M_\odot$, drawn from the WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS) and its recent extension OMEGAWINGS, we investigate the star formation rate (SFR) as a function of stellar mass (M$_*$) in galaxy clusters at $0.04<z<0.07$. We use non-member galaxies at 0.02$<$z$<$0.09 as field control sample. Overall, we find agreement between the SFR-M$_*$ relation in the two environments, but detect a population of cluster galaxies with reduced SFRs which is rare in the field. These {\it transition} galaxies are mainly found within the cluster virial radius ($R_{200}$) but they impact on the SFR-M$_*$ relation only within 0.6R$_{200}$. The ratio of transition to PSF galaxies strongly depends on environment, being larger than 0.6 within 0.3R$_{200}$ and rapidly decreasing with distance, while it is almost flat with $M_*$. As galaxies move downward from the SFR-M$_*$ main sequence, they become redder and present older luminosity and mass weighted ages. These trends, together with the analysis of the star formation histories, suggest that transition galaxies have had a reduced SFR for the past 2-5 Gyr. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the interaction of galaxies with the intracluster medium via strangulation causes a gradual shut down of star formation, giving birth to an evolved population of galaxies in transition from being star forming to becoming passive.
We present new Keck/MOSFIRE K-band spectroscopy for a sample of 14 faint, X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) in the COSMOS field. The data covers the spectral region surrounding the broad Balmer emission lines, which enables the estimation of black hole masses (M_BH) and accretion rates (in terms of L/L_Edd). We focus on ten AGN at z~3.3, where the we observe the Hbeta spectral region, while for the other four z~2.4 sources we use the Halpha broad emission line. Compared with previous detailed studies of unobscured AGNs at these high redshifts, our sources are fainter by an order of magnitude, corresponding to number densities of order ~10^-6--10^-5 Mpc^-3. The lower luminosities also allow for a robust identification of the host galaxies emission, necessary to obtain reliable intrinsic AGN luminosities, BH masses and accretion rates. We find the AGNs in our sample to be powered by SMBHs with a typical mass of M_BH~6*10^8 M_Sol - significantly lower than the higher-luminosity, rarer quasars reported in previous studies. The accretion rates are in the range of L/L_Edd~0.1-0.5, with an evident lack of lower-L/L_Edd (and higher M_BH) sources, as found in several studies of faint AGNs at intermediate redshifts. Based on the early growth expected for the SMBHs in our sample, we argue that a significant population of faint z~6 AGNs, with M_BH~10^6 M_Sol, should be detectable in the deepest X-ray surveys available, which is however not observed. We discuss several possible explanations for the apparent absence of such a population, concluding that the most probable scenario involves an evolution in source obscuration and/or radiative efficiencies.
The Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars (SPOTS) survey aims to study the formation and distribution of planets in binary systems by detecting and characterizing circumbinary planets and their formation environments through direct imaging. With the SPHERE Extreme Adaptive Optics instrument, a good contrast can be achieved even at small (<300 mas) separations from bright stars, which enables studies of planets and disks in a separation range that was previously inaccessible. Here, we report the discovery of resolved scattered light emission from the circumbinary disk around the well-studied young double star AK Sco, at projected separations in the ~13--40 AU range. The sharp morphology of the imaged feature is surprising, given the smooth appearance of the disk in its spectral energy distribution. We show that the observed morphology can be represented either as a highly eccentric ring around AK Sco, or as two separate spiral arms in the disk, wound in opposite directions. The relative merits of these interpretations are discussed, as well as whether these features may have been caused by one or several circumbinary planets interacting with the disk.
We perform a comprehensive study of the total mass distribution of the galaxy cluster RXCJ2248 ($z=0.348$) with a set of high-precision strong lensing models, which take advantage of extensive spectroscopic information on many multiply lensed systems. In the effort to understand and quantify inherent systematics in parametric strong lensing modelling, we explore a collection of 22 models where we use different samples of multiple image families, parametrizations of the mass distribution and cosmological parameters. As input information for the strong lensing models, we use the CLASH HST imaging data and spectroscopic follow-up observations, carried out with the VIMOS and MUSE spectrographs, to identify bona-fide multiple images. A total of 16 background sources, over the redshift range $1.0-6.1$, are multiply lensed into 47 images, 24 of which are spectroscopically confirmed and belong to 10 individual sources. The cluster total mass distribution and underlying cosmology in the models are optimized by matching the observed positions of the multiple images on the lens plane. We show that with a careful selection of a sample of spectroscopically confirmed multiple images, the best-fit model reproduces their observed positions with a rms of $0.3$ in a fixed flat $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, whereas the lack of spectroscopic information lead to biases in the values of the model parameters. Allowing cosmological parameters to vary together with the cluster parameters, we find (at $68\%$ confidence level) $\Omega_m=0.25^{+0.13}_{-0.16}$ and $w=-1.07^{+0.16}_{-0.42}$ for a flat $\Lambda$CDM model, and $\Omega_m=0.31^{+0.12}_{-0.13}$ and $\Omega_\Lambda=0.38^{+0.38}_{-0.27}$ for a universe with $w=-1$ and free curvature. Using toy models mimicking the overall configuration of RXCJ2248, we estimate the impact of the line of sight mass structure on the positional rms to be $0.3\pm 0.1$.(ABRIDGED)
This study aims to analyse the elemental abundances for the late B type
supergiant star $\sigma$ Cyg and the early A-type supergiant $\eta$ Leo using
ATLAS9 (Kurucz, 1995; Sbordone et al., 2004), assuming local thermodynamic
equilibrium (LTE). The spectra used in this study are obtained from Dominion
Astrophysical Observatory and have high resolution and signal-to-noise ratios.
The effective temperature and the surface gravity of $\sigma$ Cyg are
determined from the ionisation equilibria of Al I/II, Mg I/II, Fe I/II, Fe
II/III , and by fitting to the wings of H$_\gamma$ and H$_\beta$ profiles as
$\textit{T}$$_{eff}$ = 10388 K and log $\textit{g}$ = 1.80. The elemental
abundances of $\eta$ Leo} are determined using $\textit{T}$$_{eff}$ = 9600 K
and log $\textit{g}$ = 2.00, as reported by Przybilla et al. (2006).
The ionisation equilibria of C I/II, N I/II, Mg I/II, Ca I/II, Cr I/II and Fe
I/II/III are also satisfied in the atmosphere of $\eta$ Leo. The radial
velocities of $\sigma$ Cyg and $\eta$ Leo are -7.25$\pm$7.57 km s$^{-1}$ and
10.40 $\pm$ 13.37 km s$^{-1}$, respectively. The derived projected rotational
velocities \textit{vsini} from synthetic spectra are 27 and 2 km s$^{-1}$ for
both stars, respectively. The macroturbulent velocities ($\zeta$) are 24 $\pm$
2 km s$^{-1}$ and 14.5 $\pm$ 1.5 km s$^{-1}$. Also, the microturbulent
velocities ($\xi$) have been determined for both of stars as 3.5 km s$^{-1}$.
The CNO abundance results of $\sigma$ Cyg and $\eta$ Leo show C deficiency, N
overabundance and O in excess.
Aims. Using a suite of cosmological chemodynamical disc galaxy simulations, we assess how (a) radial metallicity gradients evolve with scaleheight; (b) the vertical metallicity gradients change through the thick disc; and (c) the vertical gradient of the stellar rotation velocity varies through the disc. We compare with the Milky Way to search for analogous trends. Methods. We analyse five simulated spiral galaxies with masses comparable to the Milky Way. The simulations span a range of star formation and energy feedback strengths and prescriptions, particle- and grid-based hydrodynamical implementations, as well as initial conditions/assembly history. Results. Consistently, we find that the steeper, negative, radial metallicity gradients seen in the mid-plane flatten with increasing height away from the plane. In simulations with stronger (and/or more spatially-extended) feedback, the negative radial gradients invert, becoming positive for heights in excess of 1 kpc. Such behaviour is consistent with that inferred from recent observations. Our measurements of the vertical metallicity gradients show no clear correlation with galactocentric radius, and are in good agreement with those observed in the Milky Way's thick disc (locally). Conclusions. Simulations employing stronger/more extended feedback prescriptions possess radial and vertical metallicity and kinematic gradients more in line with recent observations. The inverted, positive, radial metallicity gradients seen in the simulated thick stellar discs originate from a population of younger, more metal-rich, stars formed in-situ, superimposed upon a background population of older migrators from the inner disc; the contrast provided by the former increases radially, due to the inside-out growth of the disc. A similar behaviour may be responsible for the same flattening seen in the radial gradients with scaleheight in the Milky Way.
We searched for quasi-periodicities on year-like timescales in the light curves of 6 blazars in the optical - near infrared bands and we made a comparison with the high energy emission. We obtained optical/NIR light curves from REM photometry plus archival SMARTS data and we accessed the Fermi light curves for the $\gamma$-ray data. The periodograms often show strong peaks in the optical and gamma-ray bands, which in some cases may be inter-related. The significance of the revealed peaks is then discussed, taking into account that the noise is frequency dependent. Quasi-periodicities on a year-like timescale appear to occur often in blazars. No straightforward model describing these possible periodicities is yet available, but some plausible interpretations for the physical mechanisms causing periodic variabilities of these sources are examined.
Theoretical models of galaxy formation based on the cold dark matter cosmogony typically require strong feedback from supernova (SN) explosions in order to reproduce the Milky Way satellite galaxy luminosity function and the faint end of the field galaxy luminosity function. However, too strong a SN feedback also leads to the universe reionizing too late, and the metallicities of Milky Way satellites being too low. The combination of these four observations therefore places tight constraints on SN feedback. We investigate these constraints using the semi-analytical galaxy formation model GALFORM. We find that these observations favour a SN feedback model in which the feedback strength evolves with redshift. We also investigate the sources of the photons responsible for reionization, and find that, for our best fit model, half of the ionizing photons are emitted by galaxies with rest-frame far-UV absolute magnitudes $M_{\rm AB}(1500{\rm \AA})<-17.5$, which implies that already observed galaxy populations contribute about half of the photons responsible for reionization. The $z=0$ descendants of these galaxies are mainly galaxies with stellar mass $M_*>10^{10}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}$ and preferentially inhabit halos with mass $M_{\rm halo}>10^{13}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}$.
Cosmological inflation generates primordial density perturbations on all scales, including those far too small to contribute to the cosmic microwave background. At these scales, isolated ultracompact minihalos of dark matter can form, well before standard structure formation, if the small-scale perturbations have a large enough amplitude. Such minihalos affect pulsar timing observations and are potentially bright sources of gamma rays. The resulting constraints significantly extend the observable window of inflation and dark matter, simultaneously probing two of the greatest puzzles in modern cosmology.
Spectroscopic observations of the low luminosity Seyfert 1 nucleus in NGC 3516 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope show that the visible spectrum is dominated by the Balmer emission lines of Hydrogen (H) and a continuum luminosity that rises into the UV. The anomalous H${\alpha}$/H${\beta}$ emission line ratio, the Balmer emission line luminosity and the distinctive shape observed for the H${\alpha}$ emission line profile serve as important constraints in any photoionization model aimed at explaining the visible emission line spectrum of NGC 3516. Photoionization modeling using Cloudy demonstrates that the central UV-X-ray source is able to completely ionize the H gas in between the Balmer and dust reverberation radii if the electron density is ${\le}$ 3 ${\times}$ 10${^7}$ cm${^{-3}}$ throughout. Thus, according to this model the region responsible for producing the visible H lines is a dust free shell of ionized H gas. Interestingly, the model predicts a rapid rise in the electron temperature as the central UV-X-ray source is approached, mirrored by an equally precipitous decrease in the Balmer line emissivity that coincides with the Balmer reverberation radius, providing a natural explanation for the finite width observed for the H Balmer lines. Collectively, the merit of the model is that it explains the relative intensities of the three brightest Balmer lines, and the shape of the H${\alpha}$ emission line profile. However, questions remain concerning the unusually weak forbidden lines that can not be addressed using Cloudy due to limitations with the code.
We suggest stellar oscillations are responsible for the strange radio behaviors of Anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft Gamma-ray repeaters (AXP/SGRs), within the framework of both solid quark star model and magnetar model. In solid quark star model, the extra voltage provided by oscillations activates the star from under death line to above death line. In magnetar model, oscillations enlarge the radio beam so that increase the possibility to detect it. Later radio emission decays and vanishes as oscillations damp.
For high-redshift submillimetre or millimetre sources detected with single dish telescopes, interferometric follow-up has shown that many are multiple submm galaxies blended together. Confusion-limited Herschel observations of such targets are also available, and these sample the peak of their spectral energy distribution in the far-infrared. Many methods for analysing these data have been adopted, but most follow the traditional approach of extracting fluxes before model spectral energy distributions are fit, which has the potential to erase important information on degeneracies among fitting parameters and glosses over the intricacies of confusion noise. Here, we adapt the forward-modelling method that we originally developed to disentangle a high-redshift strongly-lensed galaxy group, in order to tackle this problem in a more statistically rigorous way, by combining source deblending and SED fitting into the same procedure. We call this method "SEDeblend." As an application, we derive constraints on far-infrared luminosities and dust temperatures for sources within the ALMA follow-up of the LABOCA Extended Chandra Deep Field South Submillimetre Survey. We find an average dust temperature for an 870 micron-selected sample of (33.9+-2.4) K for the full survey. When selection effects of the sample are considered, we find no evidence that the average dust temperature evolves with redshift.
Protoplanetary disks dissipate rapidly after the central star forms, on time-scales comparable to those inferred for planet formation. In order to allow the formation of planets, disks must survive the dispersive effects of UV and X-ray photoevaporation for at least a few Myr. Viscous accretion depletes significant amounts of the mass in gas and solids, while photoevaporative flows driven by internal and external irradiation remove most of the gas. A reasonably large fraction of the mass in solids and some gas get incorporated into planets. Here, we review our current understanding of disk evolution and dispersal, and discuss how these might affect planet formation. We also discuss existing observational constraints on dispersal mechanisms and future directions.
Using galaxies as background light sources to map the Lya absorption lines is a novel approach to study Damped Lya Absorbers (DLAs). We report the discovery of an intervening z = 3.335 +- 0.007 DLA along a galaxy sight-line identified among 80 Lyman Break Galaxy (LBG) spectra obtained with our VLT/VIMOS survey in the SSA22 field. The measured DLA neutral hydrogen (HI) column density is log (NHI/cm^{-2}) = 21.68 +- 0.17. The DLA covering fraction over the extended background LBG is > 70 % (2 sigma), yielding a conservative constraint on the DLA area as > 1 kpc^2. Our search for a counterpart galaxy hosting this DLA concludes that there is no counterpart galaxy with star formation rate (SFR) larger than a few Msun yr^{-1}, ruling out an unobscured violent star formation in the DLA gas cloud. We also rule out the possibility that the host galaxy of the DLA is a passive galaxy with Mstar > 5 x 10^{10} Msun or a heavily dust-obscured galaxy with E(B-V) > 2. The DLA may coincide in a large-scale overdensity of the spectroscopic LBGs. The occurrence rate of the DLA is compatible with that of DLAs found in QSO sight-lines.
The PICO-LON project aims at search for cold dark matter by means of highly radio-pure and large volume NaI(Tl) scintillator. The NaI powder was purifed by chemical processing to remove lead isotopes and selecting a high purity graphite crucible. The concentrations of radioactive impurities of $^{226}$Ra and $^{228}$Th were effectively reduced to 58$\pm$4 $\mu$Bq/kg and 1.5$\pm$1.9 $\mu$Bq/kg, respectively. It should be remarked that the concentration of $^{210}$Pb, which is crucial for the sensitivity to dark matter, was reduced to 24$\pm$2 $\mu$Bq/kg. The total background rate at 10 keVee was as low as 8 keV$^{-1}$kg$^{-1}$day$^{-1}$, which was sufficiently low to search for dark matter. Further purification of NaI(Tl) ingot and future prospect of PICO-LON project is discussed.
In Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging taken on 10 November 2014, four images of supernova (SN) 'Refsdal' (z = 1.49) appeared in an Einstein-cross--like configuration (images S1-S4) around an early-type galaxy in the cluster MACS J1149.5+2223 (z = 0.54). The gravitational potential of the cluster creates three full images of the star-forming host galaxy of the SN. Almost all lens models of the cluster have predicted that the SN should reappear within approximately one year in a second host-galaxy image, offset by ~8" from the previous images. In HST observations taken on 11 December 2015, we find a new source that we interpret as a new image of SN Refsdal. This marks the first time the appearance of a SN at a particular time and location in the sky was successfully predicted in advance! We use these data and the light curve from the first four observed images of SN Refsdal to place constraints on the relative time delay and magnification of the new image (SX), compared to images S1-S4. This enables us, for the first time, to test lens model predictions of both magnifications and time delays for a lensed SN. We find that the timing and brightness of the new image are consistent with the blind predictions of a fraction of the models. The reappearance illustrates the discriminatory power of this blind test and its utility to uncover sources of systematic uncertainty in the lens models. From planned HST photometry, we expect to reach a precision of 1-2% on the relative time delay between S1-S4 and SX.
We present a selection of methods for automatically constructing an optimal kernel model for difference image analysis which require very few external parameters to control the kernel design. Each method consists of two components; namely, a kernel design algorithm to generate a set of candidate kernel models, and a model selection criterion to select the simplest kernel model from the candidate models that provides a sufficiently good fit to the target image. We restricted our attention to the case of solving for a spatially-invariant convolution kernel composed of delta basis functions, and we considered 19 different kernel solution methods including six employing kernel regularisation. We tested these kernel solution methods by performing a comprehensive set of image simulations and investigating how their performance in terms of model error, fit quality, and photometric accuracy depends on the properties of the reference and target images. We find that the irregular kernel design algorithm employing unregularised delta basis functions, combined with either the Akaike or Takeuchi information criterion, is the best kernel solution method in terms of photometric accuracy. Our results are validated by tests performed on two independent sets of real data. Finally, we provide some important recommendations for software implementations of difference image analysis.
We mapped the high-velocity compact cloud CO-0.40-0.22 in 21 molecular lines in the 3 mm band using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m radio telescope. Eighteen lines were detected from CO-0.40-0.22. The map of each detected line shows that this cloud has a compact appearance (d=~3 pc) and extremely broad velocity width (DV=~100 km/s). The mass and kinetic energy of CO-0.40-0.22 are estimated to be 10^{3.6} M_sun and 10^{49.7} erg, respectively. The representative position-velocity map along the major axis shows that CO-0.40-0.22 consists of an intense region with a shallow velocity gradient and a less intense high-velocity wing. Here, we show that this kinematical structure can be attributed to a gravitational kick to the molecular cloud caused by an invisible compact object with a mass of ~10^5 M_sun. Its compactness and the absence of counterparts at other wavelengths suggest that this massive object is an intermediate-mass black hole.
We present a catalogue containing the redshifts of 3,660 X-ray selected targets in the XXL southern field. The redshifts were obtained with the AAOmega spectrograph and 2dF fibre positioner on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The catalogue contains 1,515 broad line AGN, 528 stars, and redshifts for 41 out of the 49 brightest X-ray selected clusters in the XXL southern field.
Small 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events with their anomalous abundances, markedly different from solar system, provide evidence for a unique acceleration mechanism that operates routinely near solar active regions. Although the events are sometimes accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) it is believed that mass and isotopic fractionation is produced directly in the flare sites on the Sun. We report on a large-scale extreme ultraviolet (EUV) coronal wave observed in association with 3He-rich SEP events. In the two examples discussed, the observed waves were triggered by minor flares and appeared concurrently with EUV jets and type III radio bursts but without CMEs. The energy spectra from one event are consistent with so-called class-1 (characterized by power laws) while the other with class-2 (characterized by rounded 3He and Fe spectra) 3He-rich SEP events, suggesting different acceleration mechanisms in the two. The observation of EUV waves suggests that large-scale disturbances, in addition to more commonly associated jets, may be responsible for the production of 3He-rich SEP events.
Two radio-science instruments have included into the Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource projects in the frame of Russian Luna exploration program: the lander's radio beacon and the orbiter's receiver. Three types of experiments are planned: orbital doppler measurements, VLBI interferometry, and Same Beam Interferometry (SBI). An accuracy of acceleration measurements in the Lander-Orbiter experiment coud be about 3-10 mGal. VLBI and SBI measurements of relative landers distancies with accuracy better than millimeters should give a tool for a accuracy improvement in the following scientific tasks: precise determination of orbital and rotational movement of the Earth and the Moon, determination of mass distribution and internal movements in the Moon's interior, check of general relativity effects.
We present the first polarimetric space VLBI imaging observations at 22 GHz. BL Lacertae was observed in 2013 November 10 with the RadioAstron space VLBI mission, including a ground array of 15 radio telescopes. The instrumental polarization of the space radio telescope is found to be within 9%, demonstrating the polarimetric imaging capabilities of RadioAstron at 22 GHz. Ground-space fringes were obtained up to a projected baseline distance of 7.9 Earth's diameters in length, allowing us to image the jet in BL Lacertae with a maximum angular resolution of 21 $\mu$as, the highest achieved to date. We find evidence for emission upstream of the radio core, which may correspond to a recollimation shock at about 40 $\mu$as from the jet apex, in a pattern that includes other recollimation shocks at approximately 100 $\mu$as and 250 $\mu$as from the jet apex. Polarized emission is detected in two components within the innermost 0.5 mas from the core, as well as in some knots 3 mas downstream. Faraday rotation analysis, obtained from combining RadioAstron 22 GHz and ground-based 15 GHz and 43 GHz images, shows a gradient in rotation measure and Faraday corrected polarization vector as a function of position angle with respect to the core, suggesting that the jet in BL Lacertae is threaded by a helical magnetic field. The intrinsic de-boosted brightness temperature in the unresolved core exceeds $3\!\times\!10^{12}$ K, suggesting at the very least departure from equipartition of energy between the magnetic field and radiating particles.
The transport of charged particles in the heliosphere and the interstellar medium is governed by the interaction of particles and magnetic irregularities. For the transport of protons a rather simple model using a linear Alfv\'en wave spectrum which follows the Kolmogorov distribution usually yields good results. Even magnetostatic spectra may be used. For the case of electron transport, particles will resonate with the high-k end of the spectrum. Here the magnetic fluctuations do not follow the linear dispersion relation, but the kinetic regime kicks in. We will discuss the interaction of fluctuations of dispersive waves in the kinetic regime using a particle-in-cell code. Especially the scattering of particles following the idea of Lange et al. (2013) and its application to PiC codes will be discussed. The effect of the dispersive regime on the electron transport will be discussed in detail.
We explore the wind-driving mechanism of giant stars through the nearby (117 pc), intermediate-luminosity ($L \approx 1600$ L$_\odot$) star EU Del (HIP 101810, HD 196610). APEX observations of the CO (3--2) and (2--1) transitions are used to derive a wind velocity of 9.51 $\pm$ 0.02 km s$^{-1}$, a $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C ratio of 14 $^{+9}_{-4}$, and a mass-loss rate of a few $\times$ 10$^{-8}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. From published spectra, we estimate that the star has a metallicity of [Fe/H] = --0.27 $\pm$ $\sim$0.30 dex. The star's dusty envelope lacks a clear 10-$\mu$m silicate feature, despite the star's oxygen-rich nature. Radiative transfer modelling cannot fit a wind acceleration model which relies solely on radiation pressure on condensing dust. We compare our results to VY Leo (HIP 53449), a star with similar temperature and luminosity, but different pulsation properties. We suggest the much stronger mass loss from EU Del may be driven by long-period stellar pulsations, due to its potentially lower mass. We explore the implications for the mass-loss rate and wind velocities of other stars.
We investigate the properties of a `solar tornado' observed on 15 July 2014, and aim to link the behaviour of the plasma to the internal magnetic field structure of the associated prominence. We made multi-wavelength observations with high spatial resolution and high cadence using SDO/AIA, the IRIS spectrograph and the Hinode/SOT instrument. Along with spectropolarimetry provided by the THEMIS telescope we have coverage of both optically thick emission lines and magnetic field information. AIA reveals that the two legs of the prominence are strongly absorbing structures which look like they are rotating, or oscillating in the plane of the sky. The two prominence legs, which are both very bright in Ca II (SOT), are not visible in the IRIS Mg II slit-jaw images. This is explained by the large optical thickness of the structures in Mg II which leads to reversed profiles, and hence to lower integrated intensities at these locations than in the surroundings. Using lines formed at temperatures lower than 1 MK, we measure relatively low Doppler shifts on the order of +/- 10 km/s in the tornado-like structure. Between the two legs we see loops in Mg II, with material flowing from one leg to the other, as well as counterstreaming. It is difficult to interpret our data as showing two rotating, vertical structures which are unrelated to the loops. This kind of `tornado' scenario does not fit with our observations. The magnetic field in the two legs of the prominence is found to be preferentially horizontal.
The ionization state of the gas in the dynamic solar chromosphere can depart strongly from the instantaneous statistical equilibrium commonly assumed in numerical modeling. We improve on earlier simulations of the solar atmosphere that only included non-equilbrium hydrogen ionization by performing a 2D radiation-magneto-hydrodynamics simulation featuring non-equilibrium ionization of both hydrogen and helium. The simulation includes the effect of hydrogen Lyman-$\alpha$ and the EUV radiation from the corona on the ionization and heating of the atmosphere. Details on code implementation are given. We obtain helium ion fractions that are far from their equilibrium values. Comparison with models with LTE ionization shows that non-equilibrium helium ionization leads to higher temperatures in wave fronts and lower temperatures in the gas between shocks. Assuming LTE ionization results in a thermostat-like behaviour with matter accumulating around the temperatures where the LTE ionization fractions change rapidly. Comparison of DEM curves computed from our models shows that non-equilibrium ionization leads to more radiating material in the temperature range 11-18 kK compared to models with LTE helium ionization. We conclude that non-equilbrium helium ionization is important for the dynamics and thermal structure of the upper chromosphere and transition region. It might also help resolve the problem that intensities of chromospheric lines computed from current models are smaller than those observed.
In this work we combine SEDs, radio maps and polarization observations to understand the emission mechanisms in Cygnus X-1. Our radiative model indicates that the MeV emission originates in the jet and that all the very high-energy emission is from hadronic origin. We also performed a synthetic radio map that suggests that our description of the magnetic field should be improved, since it leads to a very compact emission region. In order to choose the most suitable magnetic field geometry, we investigated the polarization in X-rays and we found that very simple geometries can explain the high levels of polarization reported by other authors.
Stellar models provide a vital basis for many aspects of astronomy and astrophysics. Recent advances in observational astronomy -- through asteroseismology, precision photometry, high-resolution spectroscopy, and large-scale surveys -- are placing stellar models under greater quantitative scrutiny than ever. The model limitations are being exposed and the next generation of stellar models is needed as soon as possible. The current uncertainties in the models propagate to the later phases of stellar evolution, hindering our understanding of stellar populations and chemical evolution. Here we give a brief overview of the evolution, importance, and substantial uncertainties of core helium burning stars in particular and then briefly discuss a range of methods, both theoretical and observational, that we are using to advance the modelling.
Recently it could be shown ( that the impact crater size-frequency distribution of Pluto (based on an analysis of first images obtained by the recent New Horizons flyby) follows a power law alpha = 2.4926 in the interval of diameter (D) values ranging from 3.75 km to the largest determined value of 37.77 km. A reanalysis of this data set revealed that the whole crater SFD (i.e., with values in the interval of 1.2-37.7 km) can be described by a truncated Pareto distribution.
Using JCMT Gould Belt Survey data from CO J=3-2 isotopologues, we present a meta-analysis of the outflows and energetics of star-forming regions in several Gould Belt clouds. The majority of the regions are strongly gravitationally bound. There is evidence that molecular outflows transport large quantities of momentum and energy. Outflow energies are at least 20 per cent of the total turbulent kinetic energies in all of the regions studied and greater than the turbulent energy in half of the regions. However, we find no evidence that outflows increase levels of turbulence, and there is no correlation between the outflow and turbulent energies. Even though outflows in some regions contribute significantly to maintaining turbulence levels against dissipation, this relies on outflows efficiently coupling to bulk motions. Other mechanisms (e.g. supernovae) must be the main drivers of turbulence in most if not all of these regions.
We review aspects of cosmic microwave background spectral distortions which do not appear to have been fully explored in the literature. In particular, implications of recent evidences of heating of the intergalactic medium (IGM) by feedback from active galactic nuclei are investigated. Taking also into account the IGM heating associated to structure formation, we argue that values of the y parameter of several times 10^(-6), i.e. a factor of a few below the COBE/FIRAS upper limit, are to be expected. The Compton scattering by the re-ionized plasma also re-processes primordial Bose Einstein-type distortions, reshaping them; hence no pure Bose-Einstein-like distortions are to be expected. An assessment of Galactic and extragalactic foregrounds, taking into account the latest results from the Planck satellite as well as the contributions from the strong CII and CO lines from star-forming galaxies demonstrates that the foreground subtraction accurate enough to fully exploit the PIXIE sensitivity will be extremely challenging. Motivated by this fact we also discuss methods to detect spectral distortions not requiring absolute measurements and show that accurate determinations of the frequency spectrum of the CMB dipole amplitude may improve over COBE/FIRAS limits on distortion parameters. The estimated amplitude of the Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) dipole might be detectable by careful analyses of Planck maps at the highest frequencies. Thus Planck might provide interesting constraints on the CIB intensity, currently known with a 30% uncertainty.
ULX-7, in the northern spiral arm of M51, demonstrates unusual behaviour for an ultraluminous X-ray source, with a hard X-ray spectrum but very high short-term variability. This suggests that it is not in a typical ultraluminous state. We analyse the source using archival data from XMM-Newton, Chandra and NuSTAR, and by examining optical and radio data from HST and VLA. Our X-ray spectral analysis shows that the source has a hard power-law spectral shape with a photon index Gamma~1.5, which persists despite the source's X-ray luminosity varying by over an order of magnitude. The power spectrum of the source features a break at ~7x10^-3 Hz, from a low-frequency spectral index of alpha_1=0.1^{+0.2}_{-0.1} to a high-frequency spectral index of alpha_2=0.7^{+0.1}_{-0.3}, making it analogous to the low-frequency break found in the power spectra of low/hard state black holes (BHs). We can take a lower frequency limit for a corresponding high-frequency break to calculate a BH mass upper limit of 1.6x10^3 solar masses. Using the X-ray/radio fundamental plane we calculate another upper limit to the BH mass of 3.5x10^4 solar masses for a BH in the low/hard state. The hard spectrum, high rms variability and mass limits are consistent with ULX-7 being an intermediate-mass BH; however we cannot exclude other interpretations of this source's interesting behaviour, most notably a neutron star with an extreme accretion rate.
With the cosmic ray observations made by the Voyager 1 spacecraft outside the dominant modulating influence of the heliosphere, the comparison of computed galactic spectra with experimental data at lower energies is finally possible. Spectra for specifically protons, Helium and Carbon nuclei, computed by galactic propagation models, can now be compared with observations at low energies from Voyager 1 and at high energies from the PAMELA space detector at Earth. We set out to reproduce the Voyager 1 observations in the energy range of 6 MeV/nuc to 60 MeV/nuc, and the PAMELA spectrum above 50 GeV/nuc, using the GALPROP code, similarly to our previous study for Voyager 1 electrons. By varying the galactic diffusion parameters in the GALPROP plain diffusion model, specifically the rigidity dependence of spatial diffusion, and then including reacceleration, we compute spectra simultaneously for galactic protons, Helium and Carbon.We present new local interstellar spectra, with expressions for the energy range of 3 MeV/nuc to 100 GeV/nuc, which should be of value for solar modulation modeling.
We analyse distribution, kinematics and star-formation (SF) properties of satellite galaxies in three different samples of nearby groups. We find that studied groups are generally well approximated by low-concentration NFW model, show a variety of LOS velocity dispersion profiles and signs of SF quenching in outskirts of dwarf satellite galaxies.
The treatment of convective boundaries during core helium burning is a fundamental problem in stellar evolution calculations. In Paper~I we showed that new asteroseismic observations of these stars imply they have either very large convective cores or semiconvection/partially mixed zones that trap g-modes. We probe this mixing by inferring the relative lifetimes of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and horizontal branch (HB) from $R_2$, the observed ratio of these stars in recent HST photometry of 48 Galactic globular clusters. Our new determinations of $R_2$ are more self-consistent than those of previous studies and our overall calculation of $R_2 = 0.117 \pm 0.005$ is the most statistically robust now available. We also establish that the luminosity difference between the HB and the AGB clump is $\Delta \log{L}_\text{HB}^\text{AGB} = 0.455 \pm 0.012$. Our results accord with earlier findings that standard models predict a lower $R_2$ than is observed. We demonstrate that the dominant sources of uncertainty in models are the prescription for mixing and the stochastic effects that can result from its numerical treatment. The luminosity probability density functions that we derive from observations feature a sharp peak near the AGB clump. This constitutes a strong new argument against core breathing pulses, which broaden the predicted width of the peak. We conclude that the two mixing schemes that can match the asteroseismology are capable of matching globular cluster observations, but only if (i) core breathing pulses are avoided in models with a semiconvection/partially mixed zone, or (ii) that models with large convective cores have a particular depth of mixing beneath the Schwarzschild boundary during subsequent early-AGB `gravonuclear' convection.
We examine changes of the $\gamma$-ray intensity observed from the direction of the binary system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 during campaigns around its three periastron passages. A simple and straightforward method is applied to the published data obtained with the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique. Regardless of many issues of the detection process, the method works only with numbers of very high energetic photons registered in the specified regions. Within the realm of this scheme, we recognized changes attributable to the variations of the intrinsic source activity at high levels of significance.
Aims: Our goal is to study the chemical composition of the outflows of active
galactic nuclei and starburst galaxies.
Methods: We obtained high-resolution interferometric observations of HCN and
HCO$^+$ $J=1\rightarrow0$ and $J=2\rightarrow1$ of the ultraluminous infrared
galaxy Mrk~231 with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. We also use
previously published observations of HCN and HCO$^+$ $J=1\rightarrow0$ and
$J=3\rightarrow2$, and HNC $J=1\rightarrow0$ in the same source.
Results: In the line wings of the HCN, HCO$^+$, and HNC emission, we find
that these three molecular species exhibit features at distinct velocities
which differ between the species. The features are not consistent with emission
lines of other molecular species. Through radiative transfer modelling of the
HCN and HCO$^+$ outflow emission we find an average abundance ratio
$X(\mathrm{HCN})/X(\mathrm{HCO}^+)\gtrsim1000$. Assuming a clumpy outflow,
modelling of the HCN and HCO$^+$ emission produces strongly inconsistent
outflow masses.
Conclusions: Both the anti-correlated outflow features of HCN and HCO$^+$ and
the different outflow masses calculated from the radiative transfer models of
the HCN and HCO$^+$ emission suggest that the outflow is chemically
differentiated. The separation between HCN and HCO$^+$ could be an indicator of
shock fronts present in the outflow, since the HCN/HCO$^+$ ratio is expected to
be elevated in shocked regions. Our result shows that studies of the chemistry
in large-scale galactic outflows can be used to better understand the physical
properties of these outflows and their effects on the interstellar medium (ISM)
in the galaxy.
We perform hydro- and magnetohydrodynamical general relativistic simulations of a tidal disruption of a $0.1\,M_\odot$ red dwarf approaching a $10^5\,M_\odot$ non-rotating massive black hole on a close (impact parameter $\beta=10$) elliptical (eccentricity $e=0.97$) orbit. We track the debris self-interaction, circularization, and the accompanying accretion through the black hole horizon. We find that the relativistic precession leads to the formation of a self-crossing shock. The dissipated kinetic energy heats up the incoming debris and efficiently generates a quasi-spherical outflow. The self-interaction is modulated because of the feedback exerted by the flow on itself. The debris quickly forms a thick, almost marginally bound disc that remains turbulent for many orbital periods. Initially, the accretion through the black hole horizon results from the self-interaction, while in the later stages it is dominated by the debris originally ejected in the shocked region, as it gradually falls back towards the hole. The effective viscosity in the debris disc stems from the original hydrodynamical turbulence, which dominates over the magnetic component. The radiative efficiency is very low because of low energetics of the gas crossing the horizon and large optical depth that results in photon trapping.
We study solar energetic particle (SEP) events during multiple solar eruptions. The analysed sequences, on 24-26 November 2000, 9-13 April 2001, and 22-25 August 2005, consisted of halo-type coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that originated from the same active region and were associated with intense flares, EUV waves, and interplanetary (IP) radio type II and type III bursts. The first two solar events in each of these sequences showed SEP enhancements near Earth, but the third in the row did not. We observed that in these latter events the type III radio bursts were stopped at much higher frequencies than in the earlier events, indicating that the bursts did not reach the typical plasma density levels near Earth. To explain the missing third SEP event in each sequence, we suggest that the earlier-launched CMEs and the CME-driven shocks either reduced the seed particle population and thus led to inefficient particle acceleration, or that the earlier-launched CMEs and shocks changed the propagation paths or prevented the propagation of both the electron beams and SEPs, so that they did not get detected near Earth even when the shock arrivals were recorded.
Context: The full spectrum fitting of stellar spectra against a library of empirical spectra is a well-established approach to measure the atmospheric parameters of FGK stars with a high internal consistency. Extending it towards cooler stars still remains a challenge. Aims: We address this question by improving the interpolator of the MILES (Medium-resolution INT Library of Empirical Spectra) library in the low effective temperature regime (Tefff < 4800 K), and we refine the determination of the parameters of the cool MILES stars. Methods: We use the ULySS package to determine the atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg and [Fe/H]), and measure the biases of the results with respect to our updated compilation of parameters calibrated against theoretical spectra. After correcting some systematic effects, we compute a new interpolator that we finally use to redetermine the atmospheric parameters homogeneously and assess the biases. Results: Based on an updated literature compilation, we determine Teff in a more accurate and unbiased manner compared to those determined with the original interpolator. The validity range is extended downwards to about Teff = 2900 K compared to 3500 K previously. The mean residual biases on Teff, logg, and [Fe/H], with respect to the literature compilation for the coolest stars (Teff <= 3800 K) computed using the new interpolator, are -15 K, -0.02 dex, and 0.02 dex respectively. The corresponding estimations of the external precision are 63 K, 0.23 dex, and 0.15 dex respectively. For the stars with Teff in the range 3800 - 4200 K, the determinations of Teff and [Fe/H] have been slightly improved. At higher temperatures, the new interpolator is comparable to the original one. The new version of the interpolator is publicly available.
Gravitational waves are a prediction of general relativity, and with ground-based detectors now running in their advanced configuration, we will soon be able to measure them directly for the first time. Binaries of stellar-mass black holes are among the most interesting sources for these detectors. Unfortunately, the many different parameters associated with the problem make it difficult to promptly produce a large set of waveforms for the search in the data stream. To reduce the number of templates to develop, and hence speed up the search, one must restrict some of the physical parameters to a certain range of values predicted by either (electromagnetic) observations or theoretical modeling. This allows one to avoid the need to blindly cover the whole parameter space. In this work we show that "hyperstellar" black holes (HSBs) with masses $30 \lesssim M_{\rm BH}/M_{\odot} \lesssim 100$, i.e black holes significantly larger than the nominal $10\,M_{\odot}$, will have an associated low value for the spin, i.e. $a<0.5$. We prove that this is true regardless of the formation channel, and that when two HSBs build a binary, each of the spin magnitudes is also low, and the binary members have similar masses. We also address the distribution of the eccentricities of HSB binaries in dense stellar systems using a large suite of $10^6$ three-body scattering experiments with a highly accurate integrator, including relativistic corrections up to ${\cal O}(1/c^5)$. We find that most sources in the detector band will have nearly zero eccentricities. This correlation between large, similar masses, low spin and low eccentricity will help to accelerate the searches for gravitational-wave signals.
We analyse the oscillations of general relativistic superfluid hyperon stars, following the approach suggested by Gusakov & Kantor and Gusakov et al. and generalizing it to the nucleon-hyperon matter. We show that the equations governing the oscillations can be split into two weakly coupled systems with the coupling parameters $s_{\rm e}$, $s_{\rm \mu}$, and $s_{\rm str}$. The approximation $s_{\rm e} = s_{\rm \mu} = s_{\rm str} = 0$ (decoupling approximation) allows one to drastically simplify the calculations of stellar oscillation spectra. An efficiency of the presented scheme is illustrated by the calculation of sound speeds in the nucleon-hyperon matter composed of neutrons (n), protons (p), electrons (e), muons ($\mu$), as well as $\rm \Lambda$, ${\rm \Xi}^-$, and ${\rm \Xi}^0$-hyperons. However, the gravity oscillation modes (g-modes) cannot be treated within this approach, and we discuss them separately. For the first time we study the composition g-modes in superfluid hyperon stars with the $\rm npe\mu\Lambda$ core and show that there are two types of g-modes (`muonic' and `$\Lambda$--hyperonic') in such stars. We also calculate the g-mode spectrum and find out that the eigenfrequencies $\nu$ of the superfluid g-modes can be exceptionally large (up to $\nu \approx 742~{\rm Hz}$ for a considered stellar model).
Basic atmospheric properties such as albedo and heat redistribution between day and nightside have been inferred for a number of planets using observations of secondary eclipses and thermal phase curves. Optical phase curves have not yet been used to constrain these atmospheric properties consistently. We re-model previously published phase curves of CoRoT-1b, TrES-2b and HAT-P-7b and infer albedos and recirculation efficiencies. These are then compared to previous estimates based on secondary eclipse data. We use a physically consistent model to construct optical phase curves. This model takes Lambertian reflection, thermal emission, ellipsoidal variations and Doppler boosting into account. CoRoT-1b shows a non-negligible scattering albedo (0.11<AS<0.3 at 95% confidence) as well as small day-night temperature contrasts, indicative of moderate to high re-distribution of energy between dayside and nightside. These values are contrary to previous secondary eclipse and phase curve analyses. In the case of HAT-P-7b, model results suggest relatively high scattering albedo (AS=0.3). This confirms previous phase curve analysis, however, it is in slight contradiction to values inferred from secondary eclipse data. For TrES-2b, both approaches yield very similar estimates of albedo and heat recirculation. Discrepancies between recirculation and albedo values as inferred from secondary eclipse and optical phase curve analyses might be interpreted as a hint that optical and IR observations probe different atmospheric layers, and hence temperatures.
In order to study the type of collapse, mentioned in the title, we introduce a physically meaningful object, called the horizon function. It directly enters the expressions for many of the stellar characteristics. The main junction equation, which governs the collapse, transforms into a Riccati equation with simple coefficients for the horizon function. We integrate this equation in the geodesic case. The same is done in the general case when one or another of the coefficients vanish. It is shown how to build classes of star models in this formulation of the problem and simple solutions are given.
We investigate modified gravity cosmological model $f(R)=R+\gamma R^2$ in Palatini formalism. We consider the universe filled with the Chaplygin gas and baryonic matter. The dynamics is reduced to the 2D sewn dynamical system of a Newtonian type. For this aim we use dynamical system theory. We classify all evolutional paths in the model as well as trajectories in the phase space. We demonstrate that the presence of a degenerate freeze singularity (glued freeze type singularities) is a generic feature of early evolution of the universe. We point out that a degenerate type III of singularity can be considered as an endogenous model of inflation between the matter dominating epoch and the dark energy phase. We also investigate cosmological models with negative $\gamma$. It is demonstrated that $\gamma$ equal zero is a bifurcation parameter and dynamics qualitatively changes in comparison to positive $\gamma$. Instead of the big bang the sudden singularity appears and there is a generic class of bouncing solutions sewn along the line of sewing.
The main task of an energy calibration is to find a relation between pulse-height values and the corresponding energies. Doing this for each pulse-height channel individually requires an elaborated input spectrum with an excellent counting statistics and a sophisticated data analysis. This work presents an easy to handle energy calibration process which can operate reliably on calibration measurements with low counting statistics. The method uses a parameter based model for the energy calibration and concludes on the optimal parameters of the model by finding the best correlation between the measured pulse-height spectrum and multiple synthetic pulse-height spectra which are constructed with different sets of calibration parameters. A CdTe-based semiconductor detector and the line emissions of an 241 Am source were used to test the performance of the correlation method in terms of systematic calibration errors for different counting statistics. Up to energies of 60 keV systematic errors were measured to be less than 0.1 keV. Energy calibration via correlation can be applied to any kind of calibration spectra and shows a robust behavior at low counting statistics. It enables a fast and accurate calibration that can be used to monitor the spectroscopic properties of a detector system in near realtime.
In this letter we study Kaluza-Klein (KK) dimensional reduction of massive Abelian gauge theories with charged matter fields on a circle. Since local gauge transformations change position dependence of the charged fields, the decomposition of the charged matter fields into KK modes is gauge dependent. While whole KK mass spectrum is independent of the gauge choice, the mode number depends on the gauge. The masses of the KK modes depend on the field value of the zero-mode of the extra dimensional component of the gauge field. In particular, one of the KK modes in the KK tower of each massless 5D charged field becomes massless at particular values of the extra-dimensional component of the gauge field. This structure is of the type which appears in models of cosmological particle productions.
The indications in favor of the existence of light sterile neutrinos at the eV scale found in short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments is reviewed. The future perspectives of short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments and the connections with beta-decay measurements of the neutrino masses and with neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments are discussed.
We consider an extension of Higgs inflation in which the Higgs field is coupled to the Gauss-Bonnet term. Working solely in the Jordan frame, we firstly recover the standard predictions of Higgs inflation without a Gauss-Bonnet term. We then calculate the power spectra for scalar and tensor perturbations in the presence of a coupling to a Gauss-Bonnet term. We show that generically the predictions of Higgs inflation are robust and the contributions to the power spectra coming from the Gauss-Bonnet term are negligible. We find, however, that the end of inflation can be strongly modified and that we hence expect the details of (p)reheating to be significantly altered, leading to some concerns over the feasibility of the model which require further investigations.
An alternative to the Big Bang cosmologies is obtained by the Big Bounce cosmologies. In this paper, we study a bounce cosmology with a Type IV singularity occurring at the bouncing point, in the context of $F(R)$ modified gravity. We investigate the evolution of the Hubble radius and we examine the issue of primordial cosmological perturbations in detail. As we demonstrate, for the singular bounce, the primordial perturbations originating from the cosmological era near the bounce, do not produce a scale invariant spectrum and also the short wavelength modes, after these exit the horizon, do not freeze, but grow linearly with time. After presenting the cosmological perturbations study, we discuss the viability of the singular bounce model, and our results indicate that the singular bounce must be combined with another cosmological scenario, or should be modified appropriately, in order that it leads to a viable cosmology. The study of the slow-roll parameters leads to the same result, indicating the singular bounce theory is unstable at the singularity point, for certain values of the parameters. We also conformally transform the Jordan frame singular bounce, and as we demonstrate, the Einstein frame metric leads to a Big Rip singularity. Therefore, the Type IV singularity in the Jordan frame, becomes a Big Rip singularity in the Einstein frame. Finally, we briefly study a generalized singular cosmological model, which contains two Type IV singularities, with quite appealing features.
We construct a framework to probe the effect of non-linear structure formation on the large-scale expansion of the universe. We take a bottom-up approach to cosmological modelling by splitting our universe into cells. The matter content within each cell is described by the post-Newtonian formalism. We assume that most of the cell is in the vicinity of weak gravitational fields, so that it can be described using a perturbed Minkowski metric. Our cells are patched together using the Israel junction conditions. We impose reflection symmetry across the boundary of these cells. This allows us to calculate the equation of motion for the boundary of the cell and, hence, the expansion rate of the universe. At Newtonian order, we recover the standard Friedmann-like equations. At post-Newtonian orders, we obtain a correction to the large-scale expansion of the universe. Our framework does not depend on the process of averaging in cosmology. As an example, we use this framework to investigate the cosmological evolution of a large number of regularly arranged point-like masses. At Newtonian order, the Friedmann-like equations take the form of dust and spatial curvature. At post-Newtonian orders, we get corrections to the dust term and we get an additional term that takes the same form as radiation. The radiation-like term is a result of the non-linearity of Einstein's equations, and is due to the inhomogeneity present in our model.
Recently, Padmanabhan [arXiv:1206.4916 [hep-th]] discussed that the difference between the number of degrees of freedom on the boundary surface and the number of degrees of freedom in a bulk region causes the accelerated expansion of the universe. The main question that arises on the origin of this inequality between the surface degrees of freedom and the bulk degrees of freedom. We answer this question in M-theory. In our model, first M0-branes are compactified on one circle and then N D0-branes are created. Then, N D0-branes join to each other, grow and form a D5-brane. Next, D5- brane is compactified on two circle and our universe-D3-brane, two D1-brane and some extra energies are produced. After that, one of the D1-branes, which is more close to the universe-brane, gives its energy into it, leads to an increase of the difference between the number of degrees of freedom and the occurring inflation era. With the disappearance of this D1-brane, the number of degrees of freedom of boundary surface and bulk region becomes equal and inflation ends. At this stage, extra energies that are produced due to the compactification cause to an expansion of universe and deceleration epoch. Finally, another D1-brane, dissolves in our universe-brane, leads to an inequality between degrees of freedom and gives rise to a new phase of acceleration.
We compare the initial value formulation of the low-energy limit of (non-projectable) Horava gravity to that of Einstein-aether theory when the aether is assumed to be hypersurface orthogonal at the level of the field equations. This comparison clearly highlights a crucial difference in the causal structure of the two theories at the non-perturbative level: in Horava gravity evolution equations include an elliptic equation that is not a constraint relating initial data but needs to be imposed on each slice of the foliation. This feature is absent in Einstein-aether theory. We discuss its physical significance in Horava gravity. We also focus on spherical symmetry and we revisit existing collapse simulations in Einstein-aether theory. We argue that they have likely already uncovered the dynamical formation of a universal horizon and that they can act as evidence that this horizon is indeed a Cauchy horizon in Horava gravity.
A Higgs-like resonance with a mass of approximately 750 GeV has recently been observed at the LHC in its diphoton decay. If this state is not simply a statistical fluctuation which will disappear with more data, it will have important implications not only for particle physics but also for cosmology. In this note, we analyze the implications of such a resonance for the dark matter (DM). Assuming a spin 1/2 DM particle, we first verify that indeed the correct relic density can be obtain for a wide range of the particle mass and weak scale coupling that are compatible with present data. We then show that the combination of near future direct and indirect detection experiments will allow to probe the CP-nature of the mediator resonance, i.e. check whether it is a scalar or a pseudoscalar like particle.
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Infrared dark clouds are kinematically complex molecular structures in the interstellar medium that can host sites of massive star formation. We present 4 square arcminute maps of the 12CO, 13CO, and C18O J = 3 to 2 lines from selected locations within the C and F (G028.37+00.07 and G034.43+00.24) infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), as well as single pointing observations of the 13CO and C18O J = 2 to 1 lines towards three cores within these clouds. We derive CO gas temperatures throughout the maps and find that CO is significantly frozen out within these IRDCs. We find that the CO depletion tends to be the highest near column density peaks, with maximum depletion factors between 5 and 9 in IRDC F and between 16 and 31 in IRDC C. We also detect multiple velocity components and complex kinematic structure in both IRDCs. Therefore, the kinematics of IRDCs seem to point to dynamically evolving structures yielding dense cores with considerable depletion factors.
By comparing 3 constituents of Orion A (gas, protostars, and pre-main-sequence stars), both morhologically and kinematically, we derive the following. The gas surface density near the integral-shaped filament (ISF) is well represented by a power law, Sigma(b)=72 Msun/pc^2(b/pc)^{-5/8} for our entire range, 0.05<b/pc<8.5, of distance from the filament ridge. Essentially all protostars lie on the ISF or other filament ridges, while almost all pre-main-sequence stars do not. Combined with the fact that protostars move <1 kms relative to the filaments while stars move several times faster, this implies that protostellar accretion is terminated by a slingshot ejection from the filaments. The ISF is the 3rd in a series of star bursts that are progressively moving south, with separations of a few Myr in time and 3 pc in space. This, combined with the filament's observed undulations (spatial and velocity), suggests that repeated propagation of transverse waves thru the filament is progressively digesting the material that formerly connected Orion A and B into stars in discrete episodes. We construct an axially symmetric gas density profile rho(r)=16 Msun/pc^3(r/pc)^{-13/8}. The model implies that the observed magnetic fields are supercritical on scales of the observed undulations, suggesting that the filament's transverse waves are magnetically induced. Because the magnetic fields are subcritical on scales of the filament on larger scales, the system as a whole is relatively stable and long lived. Protostellar ejection occurs because the gas accelerates away from the protostars, not the other way around. The model also implies that the ISF is kinematically young, which is consistent with other lines of evidence. The southern filament has a broken power law, which matches the ISF profile for 2.5<b/pc<8.5, but is shallower closer in. It is also kinematically older than the ISF.
We present the stellar kinematics across the Galactic bulge and into the disk at positive longitudes from the SDSS-III APOGEE spectroscopic survey of the Milky Way. APOGEE includes extensive coverage of the stellar populations of the bulge along the mid-plane and near-plane regions. From these data, we have produced kinematic maps of 10,000 stars across longitudes 0 deg < l < 65 deg, and primarily across latitudes of |b| < 5 deg in the bulge region. The APOGEE data reveal that the bulge is cylindrically rotating across all latitudes and is kinematically hottest at the very centre of the bulge, with the smallest gradients in both kinematic and chemical space inside the inner-most region (l,|b|) < (5,5) deg. The results from APOGEE show good agreement with data from other surveys at higher latitudes and a remarkable similarity to the rotation and dispersion maps of barred galaxies viewed edge on. The thin bar that is reported to be present in the inner disk within a narrow latitude range of |b| < 2 deg appears to have a corresponding signature in [Fe/H] and [alpha/Fe]. Stars with [Fe/H] > -0.5 have dispersion and rotation profiles that are similar to that of N-body models of boxy/peanut bulges. There is a smooth kinematic transition from the thin bar and boxy bulge (l,|b|) < (15,12) deg out into the disk for stars with [Fe/H] > -1.0, and the chemodynamics across (l,b) suggests the stars in the inner Galaxy with [Fe/H] > -1.0 have an origin in the disk.
Recent VLT/SPHERE near-infrared imaging observations revealed two spiral arms with a near m=2 rotational symmetry in the protoplanetary disk around the ~1.7 solar mass Herbig star HD 100453. A ~0.3 solar mass M dwarf companion, HD 100453 B, was also identified at a projected separation of 120 AU from the primary. In this Letter, we carry out hydrodynamic and radiative transfer simulations to examine the scattered light morphology of the HD 100453 disk as perturbed by the companion on a circular and coplanar orbit. We find that the companion truncates the disk at ~45 AU in scattered light images, and excites two spiral arms in the remaining (circumprimary) disk with a near m=2 rotational symmetry. Both the truncated disk size and the morphology of the spirals are in excellent agreement with the SPHERE observations at Y , J, H, and K1-bands, suggesting that the M dwarf companion is indeed responsible for the observed double-spiral-arm pattern. Our model suggests that the disk is close to face on (inclination angle ~5 degree), and that the entire disk-companion system rotates counterclockwise on the sky. The HD 100453 observations, along with our modeling work, demonstrate that double spiral arm patterns in near-infrared scattered light images can be generically produced by companions, and support future observations to identify the companions responsible for the arms observed in the MWC 758 and SAO 206462 systems.
Recent non-detection of gravitational-wave backgrounds from pulsar timing arrays casts further uncertainty on the evolution of supermassive black hole binaries. We study the capabilities of current gravitational-wave observatories to detect individual binaries and demonstrate that, contrary to conventional wisdom, some are detectable throughout the Universe. In particular, a binary with rest-frame mass $\gtrsim 10^{10}\,M_\odot$ can be detected by current timing arrays at arbitrarily high redshifts. The same claim will apply for less massive binaries with more sensitive future arrays. As a consequence, future searches for nanohertz gravitational waves could be expanded to target evolving high-redshift binaries. We calculate the maximum distance at which binaries can be observed with pulsar timing arrays and other detectors, properly accounting for redshift and using realistic binary waveforms.
The giant impact phase of terrestrial planet formation establishes connections between super-Earths' orbital properties (semimajor axis spacings, eccentricities, mutual inclinations) and interior compositions (the presence or absence of gaseous envelopes). Using N-body simulations and analytic arguments, we show that spacings derive not only from eccentricities, but also from inclinations. Flatter systems attain tighter spacings, a consequence of an eccentricity equilibrium between gravitational scatterings, which increase eccentricities, and mergers, which damp them. Dynamical friction by residual disk gas plays a critical role in regulating mergers and in damping inclinations and eccentricities. Systems with moderate gas damping and high solid surface density spawn gas-enveloped super-Earths with tight spacings, small eccentricities, and small inclinations. Systems in which super-Earths coagulate without as much ambient gas, in disks with low solid surface density, produce rocky planets with wider spacings, larger eccentricities, and larger mutual inclinations. A combination of both populations can reproduce the observed distributions of spacings, period ratios, transiting planet multiplicities, and transit duration ratios exhibited by Kepler super-Earths. The two populations, both formed in situ, also help to explain observed trends of eccentricity vs. planet size, and bulk density vs. method of mass measurement (radial velocities vs. transit timing variations).
We have developed a search methodology to identify galaxy protoclusters at $z>2.74$, and implemented it on a sample of $\sim$14,000 galaxies with previously measured redshifts. The results of this search are recorded in the Candidate Cluster and Protocluster Catalog (CCPC). The catalog contains 12 clusters that are highly significant overdensities ($\delta_{gal}>7$), 6 of which are previously known. We also identify another 31 candidate protoclusters (including 4 previously identified structures) of lower overdensity. CCPC systems vary over a wide range of physical sizes and shapes, from small, compact groups to large, extended, and filamentary collections of galaxies. This variety persists over the range from $z=3.71$ to $z=2.74$. These structures exist as galaxy overdensities ($\delta_{gal}$) with a mean value of 2, similar to the values found for other protoclusters in the literature. The median number of galaxies for CCPC systems is 11. Virial mass estimates are large for these redshifts, with thirteen cases apparently having $M > 10^{15}\, M_{\odot}$. If these systems are virialized, such masses would pose a challenge to $\Lambda$CDM.
The Smith Cloud is a gaseous high-velocity cloud (HVC) in an advanced state of accretion, only 2.9 kpc below the Galactic plane and due to impact the disk in 27 Myr. It is unique among HVCs in having a known distance (12.4+/-1.3 kpc) and a well-constrained 3D velocity (296 km/s), but its origin has long remained a mystery. Here we present the first absorption-line measurements of its metallicity, using HST/COS UV spectra of three AGN lying behind the Cloud together with Green Bank Telescope 21 cm spectra of the same directions. Using Voigt-profile fitting of the S II 1250, 1253, 1259 triplet together with ionization corrections derived from photoionization modeling, we derive the sulfur abundance in each direction; a weighted average of the three measurements gives [S/H]=-0.28+/-0.14, or 0.53+0.21-0.15 solar metallicity. The finding that the Smith Cloud is metal-enriched lends support to scenarios where it represents recycled Galactic material rather than the remnant of a dwarf galaxy or accreting intergalactic gas. The metallicity and trajectory of the Cloud are both indicative of an origin in the outer disk. However, its large mass and prograde kinematics remain to be fully explained. If the cloud has accreted cooling gas from the corona during its fountain trajectory, as predicted in recent theoretical work, its current mass would be higher than its launch mass, alleviating the mass concern.
We consider the possibility that tidal disruption events (TDEs) caused by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in nearby galaxies can account for the ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray (UHECR) hot spot reported recently by the Telescope Array (TA) and the warm spot by Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO). We describe the expected cosmic-ray signal from a TDE and derive the constraints set by the timescale for dispersion due to intergalactic magnetic fields and the accretion time of the SMBH. We demonstrate that TDEs in M82 can explain the hot spot detected by the TA. Based on data-driven assumptions regarding the SMBH mass function, the luminosity scaling of the TDEs and the mass dependence of their rate, we then analyze the full parameter space of the model to search for consistency with the full-sky isotropic signal. Doing so, we show that TDEs can account for both the TA hot spot and full-sky UHECR observations. Using our model we show that the warm spot in the PAO data in the direction of Centaurus A (Cen A) can also be explained by TDEs. Finally, we show that although both hydrogen and iron nuclei are viable candidates for UHECRs, iron nuclei require smaller intergalactic magnetic fields and are therefore more feasible if TDEs explain the TA and PAO results.
It has been proposed that a large population of unresolved millisecond pulsars (MSPs) could potentially account for the excess of GeV-scale gamma-rays observed from the region surrounding the Galactic Center. The viability of this scenario depends critically on the gamma-ray luminosity function of this source population, which determines how many MSPs Fermi should have already detected as resolved point sources. In this paper, we revisit the gamma-ray luminosity function of MSPs, without relying on uncertain distance measurements. Our determination, based on a comparison of models with the observed characteristics of the MSP population, suggests that Fermi should have already detected a significant number of sources associated with such a hypothesized Inner Galaxy population. We cannot rule out a scenario in which the MSPs residing near the Galactic Center are systematically less luminous than those present in the Galactic Plane or within globular clusters.
(Abridged) We present the results of our ongoing radial-velocity (RV) survey of the old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188. Our WIYN 3.5m data set spans a time baseline of 11 years, a magnitude range of 12<=V<=16.5 (1.18-0.94 MSun), and a 1 deg. diameter region on the sky. With the addition of a Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) data set we extend our bright limit to V = 10.8 and, for some stars, extend our time baseline to 35 years. Our magnitude limits include solar-mass main-sequence stars, subgiants, giants, and blue stragglers (BSs), and our spatial coverage extends radially to 17 pc (~13 core radii). For the WIYN data we find a measurement precision of 0.4 km/s for narrow-lined stars. We have measured RVs for 1046 stars in the direction of NGC 188, finding 473 to be likely cluster members. We detect 124 velocity-variable cluster members, all of which are likely to be dynamically hard-binary stars. Using our single member stars, we find an average cluster RV of -42.36 +/- 0.04 km/s. We use our precise RV and proper-motion membership data to greatly reduce field-star contamination in our cleaned color-magnitude diagram, from which we identify six stars of note that lie far from a standard single-star isochrone. We find the binaries to be centrally concentrated, providing evidence for the presence of mass segregation in NGC 188. We observe the BSs to populate a bimodal spatial distribution that is not centrally concentrated, suggesting that we may be observing two populations of BSs in NGC 188, including a centrally concentrated distribution as well as a halo population. Finally, we find NGC 188 to have a global RV dispersion of 0.64 +/- 0.04 km/s. When corrected for unresolved binaries, the NGC 188 RV dispersion has a nearly isothermal radial distribution. We use this mean-corrected velocity dispersion to derive a virial mass of 2300 +/- 460 MSun.
Surveys of the cosmic large-scale structure carry opportunities for building and testing cosmological theories about the origin and evolution of the Universe. This endeavor requires appropriate data assimilation tools, for establishing the contact between survey catalogs and models of structure formation. In this thesis, we present an innovative statistical approach for the ab initio simultaneous analysis of the formation history and morphology of the cosmic web: the BORG algorithm infers the primordial density fluctuations and produces physical reconstructions of the dark matter distribution that underlies observed galaxies, by assimilating the survey data into a cosmological structure formation model. The method, based on Bayesian probability theory, provides accurate means of uncertainty quantification. We demonstrate the application of BORG to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data and describe the primordial and late-time large-scale structure in the observed volume. We show how the approach has led to the first quantitative inference of the cosmological initial conditions and of the formation history of the observed structures. We then use these results for several cosmographic projects aiming at analyzing and classifying the large-scale structure. In particular, we build an enhanced catalog of cosmic voids probed at the level of the dark matter distribution, deeper than with the galaxies. We present detailed probabilistic maps of the dynamic cosmic web, and offer a general solution to the problem of classifying structures in the presence of uncertainty. The results described in this thesis constitute accurate chrono-cosmography of the inhomogeneous cosmic structure.
Heat conduction has been found a plausible solution to explain discrepancies between expected and measured temperatures in hot bubbles of planetary nebulae (PNe). While the heat conduction process depends on the chemical composition, to date it has been exclusively studied for pure hydrogen plasmas in PNe. A smaller population of PNe show hydrogen-deficient and helium- and carbon-enriched surfaces surrounded by bubbles of the same composition; considerable differences are expected in physical properties of these objects in comparison to the pure hydrogen case. The aim of this study is to explore how a chemistry-dependent formulation of the heat conduction affects physical properties and how it affects the X-ray emission from PN bubbles of hydrogen-deficient stars. We extend the description of heat conduction in our radiation hydrodynamics code to work with any chemical composition. We then compare the bubble-formation process with a representative PN model using both the new and the old descriptions. We also compare differences in the resulting X-ray temperature and luminosity observables of the two descriptions. The improved equations show that the heat conduction in our representative model of a hydrogen-deficient PN is nearly as efficient with the chemistry-dependent description; a lower value on the diffusion coefficient is compensated by a slightly steeper temperature gradient. The bubble becomes somewhat hotter with the improved equations, but differences are otherwise minute. The observable properties of the bubble in terms of the X-ray temperature and luminosity are seemingly unaffected.
We present 98 spectroscopic binary orbits resulting from our ongoing radial-velocity survey of the old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188. All but 13 are high-probability cluster members based on both radial-velocity and proper-motion membership analyses. Fifteen of these member binaries are double lined. Our stellar sample spans a magnitude range of 10.8 <=V<= 16.5 (1.14-0.92 Msun) and extends spatially to 17 pc (~13 core radii). All of our binary orbits have periods ranging from a few days to on the order of 10^3 days, and thus are hard binaries that dynamically power the cluster. For each binary, we present the orbital solutions and place constraints on the component masses. Additionally, we discuss a few binaries of note from our sample, identifying a likely blue straggler-blue straggler binary system (7782), a double-lined binary with a secondary star which is under-luminous for its mass (5080), two potential eclipsing binaries (4705 and 5762), and two binaries which are likely members of a quadruple system (5015a and 5015b).
The pre-transitional disk around the Herbig Ae star HD 169142 shows a complex structure of possible ongoing planet formation in dust thermal emission from the near infrared (IR) to millimeter wavelength range. Also, a distinct set of broad emission features at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.3, and 12.7 $\mu$m, commonly attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are detected prominently in the HD 169142 disk. We model the spectral energy distribution (SED) as well as the PAH emission features of the HD 169142 disk simultaneously with porous dust and astronomical-PAHs taking into account the spatially resolved disk structure. Our porous dust model consisting of three distinct components that are primarily concentrated in the inner ring, middle ring, and outer disk, respectively, provides an excellent fit to the entire SED, and the PAH model closely reproduces the observed PAH features. The accretion of ice mantles onto porous dust aggregates occurs between ~16 AU and 60 AU, which overlaps with the spatial extent (~50 AU) of the observed PAH emission features. Finally, we discuss the role of PAHs in the formation of planets possibly taking place in the HD 169142 system.
Planetesimals form in gas-rich protoplanetary disks around young stars. However, protoplanetary disks fade in about 10 Myr. The planetesimals (and also many of the planets) left behind are too dim to study directly. Fortunately, collisions between planetesimals produce dusty debris disks. These debris disks trace the processes of terrestrial planet formation for 100 Myr and of exoplanetary system evolution out to 10 Gyr. This chapter begins with a summary of planetesimal formation as a prelude to the epoch of planetesimal destruction. Our review of debris disks covers the key issues, including dust production and dynamics, needed to understand the observations. Our discussion of extrasolar debris keeps an eye on similarities to and differences from Solar System dust.
The residence time of cosmic rays (CRs) in the Galaxy is usually inferred from the measurement of the ratio of secondary-to-primary nuclei, such as the boron (B)/carbon (C) ratio, which provides an estimate of the amount of matter traversed by CRs during their propagation, the so called CR grammage. However, after being released by their parent sources, for instance supernova remnants (SNRs), CRs must cross the disc of the Galaxy, before entering the much lower density halo, in which they are believed to spend most of the time before eventually escaping the Galaxy. In the near-source region, the CR propagation is shown to be dominated by the non-linear self-generation of waves. Here we show that due to this effect, the time that CRs with energies up to $\sim$ 10 TeV spend within a distance $L_{c}\sim 100$ pc from the sources is much larger than naive estimates would suggest. The corresponding grammage is close to current estimates of the total grammage traversed throughout the whole Galaxy. Moreover, there is an irreducible grammage that CRs traverse while trapped downstream of the shock that accelerated them, though this contribution is rather uncertain. We conclude that at energies $\lesssim 1$ TeV, the observed grammage is heavily affected by the near-source non-linear trapping of CRs, and at energies $\gtrsim 1$ TeV it is affected by the source grammage. As a result, the measurement of the B/C ratio should be used very cautiously as an indicator of the propagation of CRs on large Galactic scales.
We imaged Uranus in the near infrared from 2012 into 2014, using the Keck/NIRC2 camera and Gemini/NIRI camera, both with adaptive optics. We obtained exceptional signal to noise ratios by averaging 8-16 individual exposures in a planet-fixed coordinate system. noise-reduced images revealed many low-contrast discrete features and large scale cloud patterns not seen before, including scalloped waveforms just south of the equator. In all three years numerous small (600-700 km wide) and mainly bright discrete features were seen within the north polar region (north of about 55\deg N). Over 850 wind measurements were made, the vast majority of which were in the northern hemisphere. These revealed an extended region of solid body rotation between 62\deg N and at least 83\deg N, at a rate of 4.08$\pm0.015$\deg/h westward relative to the planet's interior (radio) rotation of 20.88\deg/h westward. Near-equatorial speeds measured with high accuracy give different results for waves and small discrete features, with eastward drift rates of 0.4\deg/h and 0.1\deg/h respectively. The region of polar solid body rotation is a close match to the region of small-scale polar cloud features, suggesting a dynamical relationship. While winds at high southern latitudes (50\deg S - 90\deg S) are unconstrained by groundbased observations, a recent reanalysis of 1986 Voyager 2 observations by Karkoschka (2015, Icarus 250, 294-307) has revealed an extremely large north-south asymmetry in this region, which might be seasonal. Greatly increased activity was seen in 2014, including the brightest ever feature seen in K' images (de Pater et al. 2015, Icarus 252, 121-128). Over the 2012-2014 period we identified six persistent discrete features. Three were tracked for more than two years, two more for more than one year, and one for at least 5 months and continuing.
Supermassive black holes are believed to be the central power house of active galactic nuclei. Applying the pulsar outer-magnetospheric particle accelerator theory to black-hole magnetospheres, we demonstrate that an electric field is exerted along the magnetic field lines near the event horizon of a rotating black hole. In this particle accelerator (or a gap), electrons and positrons are created by photon-photon collisions and accelerated in the opposite directions by this electric field, efficiently emitting gamma-rays via curvature and inverse-Compton processes. It is shown that a gap arises around the null charge surface formed by the frame-dragging effect, provided that there is no current injection across the gap boundaries. The gap is dissipating a part of the hole's rotational energy, and the resultant gamma-ray luminosity increases with decreasing plasma accretion from the surroundings. Considering an extremely rotating supermassive black hole, we show that such a gap reproduces the significant very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray flux observed from the radio galaxy IC 310, provided that the accretion rate becomes much less than the Eddington rate particularly during its flare phase. It is found that the curvature process dominates the inverse-Compton process in the magnetosphere of IC~310, and that the observed power-law-like spectrum in VHE gamma-rays can be explained to some extent by a superposition of the curvature emissions with varying curvature radius. It is predicted that the VHE spectrum extends into higher energies with increasing VHE photon flux.
Swift, Chandra and XMM have found a weak but nearly constant X-ray component from Swift J1644+57 that appeared at $\sim$ 500 days and was visible at least until ~ 1400 days after the stellar capture, which cannot be explained by standard tidal disruption theories. We suggest that this X-ray afterglow component may result from Thomson scattering between the primary X-rays and its surrounding plasma, i.e. the Compton echo effect. Similar phenomena has also been observed from molecular clouds in our Galactic Center, which were caused by the past activity of Srg A*. If this interpretation of Swift J1644+57 afterglow is correct, this is the first Compton Echo effect observed in the cosmological distances.
The Japanese infrared astronomical satellite AKARI performed ~4000 pointed observations for 16 months until the end of 2007 August, when the telescope and instruments were cooled by liquid Helium. Observation targets include solar system objects, Galactic objects, local galaxies, and galaxies at cosmological distances. We describe recent updates on calibration processes of near- and mid-infrared images taken by the Infrared Camera (IRC), which has nine photometric filters covering 2-27 um continuously. Using the latest data reduction toolkit, we created calibrated and stacked images from each pointed observation. About 90% of the stacked images have a position accuracy better than 1.5". Uncertainties in aperture photometry estimated from a typical standard sky deviation of stacked images are a factor of ~2-4 smaller than those of AllWISE at similar wavelengths. The processed images together with documents such as process logs as well as the latest toolkit are available online.
We present Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/IR images of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant that survey its high-velocity, S-rich debris in the NE jet and SW counterjet regions through [S III] 9069, 9531 and [S II] 10,287 - 10,370 line emissions. We identify nearly 3400 sulfur emitting knots concentrated in ~120 degree wide opposing streams, almost triple the number previously known. The vast majority of these ejecta knots lie at projected distances well out ahead of the remnant's forward blast wave and main shell ejecta, extending to angular distance of 320" to the NE and 260" to the SW from the center of expansion. Such angular distances imply undecelerated ejecta knot transverse velocities of 15,600 and 12,700 km/s respectively, assuming an explosion date ~1670 AD and a distance of 3.4 kpc. Optical spectra of knots near the outermost tip of the NE ejecta stream show strong emission lines of S, Ca, and Ar. We estimate a total mass ~0.1 Msun and a kinetic energy of at least ~1 x10^50 erg for S-rich ejecta in the NE jet and SW counterjet. Although their broadness and kinetic energy argue against the Cas~A SN being a jet-induced explosion, the jets are kinematically and chemically distinct from the rest of the remnant. This may reflect an origin in a jet-like mechanism that accelerated interior material from a Si,S,Ar,Ca-rich region near the progenitor's core up through the mantle and H,He,N and O-rich outer layers with velocities that greatly exceeded that of the rapidly expanding photosphere.
We consider the possibility of inflationary magnetogenesis due to dynamical couplings of the electromagnetic fields to gravity. We find that large primordial magnetic fields can be generated during inflation without the strong coupling problem, backreaction problem or curvature perturbation problem, which seed large-scale magnetic fields with observationally interesting strengths.
High-energy observations of extreme BL Lac objects, such as 1ES0229+200 or 1ES 0347-121, recently focused interest both for blazar and jet physics and for the implication on the extragalactic background light and intergalactic magnetic field estimate. Moreover, their enigmatic properties have been interpreted in a scenario in which their primary high- energy output is through a beam of high-energy hadrons. However, despite their possible important role in all these topics, the number of these extreme highly peaked BL Lac objects (EHBL) is still rather small. Aiming at increase their number, we selected a group of EHBL candidates considering those undetected (or only barely detected) by the LAT onboard Fermi and characterized by a high X-ray versus radio flux ratio. We assembled the multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution of the resulting 9 sources, using available archival data of Swift, GALEX, and Fermi satellites, confirming their nature. Through a simple one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model we estimate the expected very high energy flux, finding that in the majority of cases it is within the reach of present generation of Cherenkov arrays or of the forthcoming CTA.
Using LAMOST spectroscopic data, we find a strong signal of a comoving group of stars in the constellation of Draco. The group, observed near the apocenter of its orbit, is 2.6 kpc from the Sun with a metallicity of -0.64 dex. The system is observed as a streaming population of unknown provenance with mass of about 2.1E4 solar masses and an absolute V band magnitude of about -3.6. Its high metallicity, diffuse physical structure, and eccentric orbit may indicate that the progenitor satellite was a globular cluster rather than a dwarf galaxy or an open cluster.
Our detailed analytic local disc model (JJ-model) quantifies the interrelation between kinematic properties (e.g. velocity dispersions and asymmetric drift), spatial parameters (scale-lengths and vertical density profiles), and properties of stellar sub-populations (age and abundance distributions). Any consistent radial extension of the disc evolution model should predict specific features in the different distribution functions and in their correlations. Large spectroscopic surveys (SEGUE, RAVE, APOGEE, Gaia-ESO) allow significant constraints on the long-term evolution of the thin disc. We discuss the qualitative difference of correlations (like the alpha-enhancement as function of metallicity) and distribution functions (e.g. in [Mg/H] or [Fe/H]) for the construction of a disc model. In the framework of the JJ-model we build a local chemical enrichment model and show that significant vertical gradients for main sequence and red clump stars are expected in the thin disc. A Jeans analysis of the asymmetric drift provides a link to the radial structure of the disc. The derived metallicity-dependent radial scale-lengths can be combined in the future with the abundance distributions at different Galactocentric distances to construct full disc models. We expect to be able to constrain possible scenarios of inside-out growth of the thin disc and to characterise those populations, which require significant radial migration.
The haunt of high redshift BL Lacerate objects is day by day more compelling, to firmly understand their intrinsic nature and evolution. SDSS J004054.65-0915268 is, at the moment, one of the most distant BL Lac candidate at z \sim 5 (Plotkin et al 2010). We present a new optical-near IR spectrum obtained with ALFOSC-NOT with a new, custom designed dispersive grating aimed to detect broad emission lines that could disprove this classification. In the obtained spectra we do not detect any emission features and we provide an upper limit to the luminosity of the C IV broad emission line. Therefore, the nature of the object is then discussed, building the overall spectral energy distribution and fitting it with three different models. Our fits, based on the SED modeling with different possible scenarios, cannot rule out the possibility that this source is indeed a BL Lac object although, the absence of optical variability and lack of strong radio flux, they seems to suggest that the observed optical emission originate from a thermalized accretion disk.
We develop an approach to select families of lens models that can describe doubly and triply gravitationally lensed images near folds and cusps using the model-independent ratios of lensing-potential derivatives derived in Wagner & Bartelmann (2015). Models are selected by comparing these model-independent ratios of potential derivatives to (numerically determined) ratios of potential derivatives along critical curves for entire lens model families in a given range of parameter values. This comparison returns parameter ranges which lens model families can reproduce observation within, as well as sections of the critical curve where image sets of the observed type can appear. If the model-independent potential-derivative ratios inferred from the observation fall outside the range of these ratios derived for the lens model family, the entire family can be excluded as a feasible model in the given volume in parameter space. We employ this approach for the family of singular isothermal spheres with external shear to examples of lensing by a galaxy and two galaxy clusters (JVAS B1422+231, SDSS J2222+2745, and MACS J1149.5+2223) and show that the results obtained by our general method are in good agreement with results of previous model fits.
We investigate the properties of the circumgalactic gas in the halo of quasar host galaxies from CIV absorption line systems. Optical spectroscopy of closely aligned pairs of quasars (projected distance \leq 200 kpc) obtained at the Gran Telescopio Canarias is used to investigate the distribution of the absorbing gas for a sample of 18 quasars at z \sim 2. We found that the detected absorption systems of EW \geq 0.3Ang associated with the foreground QSO are revealed up to 200 kpc from the center of the host galaxy. The structure of the absorbing gas is rather patchy with a covering fraction of the gas that quickly decreases beyond 100 kpc. These results are in qualitative agreement with those found for the lower ionisation metal Mg II 2800 Ang.
Context. Extinction and emission of dust models need for observational constraints to be validated. The coreshine phenomenon has already shown the importance of scattering in the 3 to 5 micron range and its ability to validate dust properties for dense cores. Aims. We want to investigate whether scattering can also play a role at longer wavelengths and to place even tighter constraints on the dust properties. Methods. We analyze the inversion of the Spitzer 8 micron map of the dense molecular cloud L183, to examine the importance of scattering as a potential contributor to the line-of-sight extinction. Results. The column density deduced from the inversion of the 8 micron map, when we neglect scattering, disagrees with all the other column density measurements of the same region. Modeling confirms that scattering at 8 microns is not negligible with an intensity of several hundred kJy per sr. This demonstrates the need of efficiently scattering dust grains at MIR wavelengths up to 8 microns. Coagulated aggregates are good candidates and might also explain the discrepancy at high extinction between E(J-K) et tau(9.7) toward dense molecular clouds. Further investigation requires considering efficiently scattering dust grains including ices as realistic dust models.
By performing numerical simulations, we discuss the collisional dynamics of stable solitary waves in the Schrodinger-Poisson equation. In the framework of a model in which part or all of dark matter is a Bose-Einstein condensate of ultralight axions, we show that these dynamics can naturally account for the relative displacement between dark and ordinary matter in a galactic cluster, whose recent observation is the first empirical evidence of dark matter interactions beyond gravity. We argue that future observations might bear out or falsify this coherent wave interpretation of dark matter offsets.
Large-amplitude longitudinal oscillations (LALOs) in prominences are spectacular manifestations of the solar activity. In such events nearby energetic disturbances induce periodic motions on filaments with displacements comparable to the size of the filaments themselves and with velocities larger than 20 km/s. The pendulum model, in which the gravity projected along a rigid magnetic field is the restoring force, was proposed to explain these events. However, it can be objected that in a realistic situation where the magnetic field reacts to the mass motion of the heavy prominence, the simplified pendulum model could be no longer valid. We have performed non-linear time-dependent numerical simulations of LALOs considering a dipped magnetic field line structure. In this work we demonstrate that for even relatively weak magnetic fields the pendulum model works very well. We therefore validate the pendulum model and show its robustness, with important implications for prominence seismology purposes. With this model it is possible to infer the geometry of the dipped field lines that support the prominence.
We present the results of Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) 108, 233, 352, and 691 GHz continuum observations and Very Large Array (VLA) 4.81 and 8.36 GHz observations of the nearby luminous merger remnant NGC 1614. By analyzing the beam (1".0 * 1".0) and uv (> 45 k{\lambda}) matched ALMA and VLA maps, we find that the deconvolved source size of lower frequency emission (< 108 GHz) is more compact (420 pc * 380 pc) compared to the higher frequency emission (> 233 GHz) (560 pc * 390 pc), suggesting different physical origins for the continuum emission. Based on an SED model for a dusty starburst galaxy, it is found that the SED can be explained by three components, (1) non-thermal synchrotron emission (traced in the 4.81 and 8.36 GHz continuum), (2) thermal free-free emission (traced in the 108 GHz continuum), and (3) thermal dust emission (traced in the 352 and 691 GHz continuum). We also present the spatially-resolved (sub-kpc scale) Kennicutt-Schmidt relation of NGC 1614. The result suggests a systematically shorter molecular gas depletion time in NGC 1614 (average {\tau}_gas of 49 - 77 Myr and 70 - 226 Myr at the starburst ring and the outer region, respectively) than that of normal disk galaxies (~ 2 Gyr) and a mid-stage merger VV 114 (= 0.1 - 1 Gyr). This implies that the star formation activities in U/LIRGs are efficiently enhanced as the merger stage proceeds, which is consistent with the results from high-resolution numerical merger simulations.
We have studied the behaviour of stellar streams in the Aquarius fully cosmological N-body simulations of the formation of Milky Way halos. In particular, we have characterised the streams in angle and frequency spaces derived using an approximate but generally well-fitting spherical potential. We have also run several test-particle simulations to understand and guide our interpretation of the different features we see in the Aquarius streams. Our goal is both to establish which deviations of the expected action-angle behaviour of streams exist because of the approximations made on the potential, but also to derive to what degree we can use these coordinates to model streams reliably. We have found that many of the Aquarius streams wrap in angle space along relatively straight lines, and distribute themselves along linear structures also in frequency space. On the other hand, from our controlled simulations we have been able to establish that deviations from spherical symmetry, the use of incorrect potentials and the inclusion of self-gravity lead to streams in angle space to still be along relatively straight lines but also to depict wiggly behaviour whose amplitude increases as the approximation to the true potential becomes worse. In frequency space streams typically become thicker and somewhat distorted. In all cases, the energy gradient along the stream seems almost intact in frequency space, but this is not the case for angle space. Therefore, our analysis explains most of the features seen in the approximate angle and frequency spaces for the Aquarius streams (...) Since the measured angle-frequency misalignments of the Aquarius streams can largely be attributed to using the wrong (spherical) potential, the determination of the mass growth history of these halos will only be feasible once (and if) the true potential has been determined robustly.
Context: Flare kernels brighten simultaneously in all SDO/AIA channels making it difficult to determine their temperature structure. IRIS is able to spectrally resolve Fe xxi emission from cold chromospheric brightenings, so can be used to infer the amount of Fe xxi emission in 131 channel. Aims: We use observations of two small solar flares seen by IRIS and SDO to compare the EMs deduced from the IRIS Fe xxi line and the AIA 131 channel to determine the fraction of Fe xxi emission in flare kernels in the 131 channel of AIA. Methods: Cotemporal and cospatial pseudo-raster AIA images are compared with the IRIS results.We use multi-Gaussian line fitting to separate the blending chromospheric emission so as to derive Fe xxi intensities and Doppler shifts in IRIS spectra. Results: We define loop and kernel regions based on the brightness of the 131 and 1600 {\AA} intensities. In the loop regions the Fe xxi EMs are typically 80% of the 131 ones, and range from 67% to 92%. Much of the scatter is due to small misalignments but the largest site with low Fe xxi contributions was probably affected by a recent injection of cool plasma into the loop. In flare kernels the contribution of Fe xxi increases from less than 10% at the low intensity 131 sites to 40-80% in the brighter kernels. Here the Fe xxi is superimposed on bright chromospheric emission and the Fe xxi line shows blue shifts, sometimes extending up to the edge of the spectral window, 200 km/s. Conclusions: The AIA 131 emission in flare loops is due to Fe xxi emission with a 10-20% contribution from continuum, Fe xxiii, and cooler background plasma emission. In bright flare kernels up to 52% of the 131 is from cooler plasma. The wide range seen in the kernels is caused by significant structure in the kernels which is seen as sharp gradients in Fe xxi EM at sites of molecular and transition region emission.
We use archival HARPS spectra to detect three planets orbiting the M3 dwarf Wolf1061 (GJ 628). We detect a 1.36 Mearth minimum-mass planet with an orbital period P = 4.888d (Wolf1061b), a 4.25 Mearth minimum-mass planet with orbital period P = 17.867d (Wolf1061c), and a likely 5.21 Mearth minimum-mass planet with orbital period P = 67.274d (Wolf1061d). All of the planets are of sufficiently low mass that they may be rocky in nature. The 17.867d planet falls within the habitable zone for Wolf 1061 and the 67.274d planet falls just outside the outer boundary of the habitable zone. There are no signs of activity observed in the bisector spans, cross-correlation full-width-half-maxima, Calcium H & K indices, NaD indices, or H-alpha indices near the planetary periods. We use custom methods to generate a cross-correlation template tailored to the star. The resulting velocities do not suffer the strong annual variation observed in the HARPS DRS velocities. This differential technique should deliver better exploitation of the archival HARPS data for the detection of planets at extremely low amplitudes.
The detection of geologically recent channels at the end of the twentieth century rapidly suggested that liquid water could have been present on Mars up to recent times. A mechanism involving melting of water ice during ice ages in the last several million years progressively emerged during years following the first observations of these gullies. However, the recent discovery of current activity within gullies now suggests a paradigm shift where a contemporary CO2 ice-based and liquid water-free mechanism may form all gullies. Here we perform a survey of near-infrared observations and construct time sequences of water and CO2 ice formation and sublimation at active gully sites. We observe that all major new erosive features such as channel development or lengthening systematically occur where and, if applicable, when CO2 ice is observed or probable. CO2 ice layers are however estimated to be only 1 mm to 1 cm thick for low-latitude sites, which may have implication for potential formation mechanisms. We also observe that part of current gully activity, notably the formation of some new deposits, is poorly compatible with the presence of CO2 ice. In particular, all new bright deposits reported in the literature have a low CO2 ice probability while water ice should be present at most sites. Our results confirm that CO2 ice is a key factor controlling present-day channel development on Mars and show that other mechanisms, potentially involving sublimation or melting of water ice, are also contributing to current gully activity.
Giant exoplanets orbiting very close to their parent star (hot Jupiters) are subject to tidal forces expected to synchronize their rotational and orbital periods on short timescales (tidal locking). However, spin rotation has never been measured directly for hot Jupiters. Furthermore, their atmospheres can show equatorial super-rotation via strong eastward jet streams, and/or high-altitude winds flowing from the day- to the night-side hemisphere. Planet rotation and atmospheric circulation broaden and distort the planet spectral lines to an extent that is detectable with measurements at high spectral resolution. We observed a transit of the hot Jupiter HD 189733 b around 2.3 {\mu}m and at a spectral resolution of R~10$^5$ with CRIRES at the ESO Very Large Telescope. After correcting for the stellar absorption lines and their distortion during transit (the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect), we detect the absorption of carbon monoxide and water vapor in the planet transmission spectrum by cross-correlating with model spectra. The signal is maximized (7.6{\sigma}) for a planet rotational velocity of $(3.4^{+1.3}_{-2.1})$ km/s, corresponding to a rotational period of $(1.7^{+2.9}_{-0.4})$ days. This is consistent with the planet orbital period of 2.2 days and therefore with tidal locking. We find that the rotation of HD 189733 b is longer than 1 day (3{\sigma}). The data only marginally (1.5{\sigma}) prefer models with rotation versus models without rotation. We measure a small day- to night-side wind speed of $(-1.7^{+1.1}_{-1.2})$ km/s. Compared to the recent detection of sodium blue-shifted by (8$\pm$2) km/s, this likely implies a strong vertical wind shear between the pressures probed by near-infrared and optical transmission spectroscopy.
Various aspects of cosmology require comprehensive all-sky mapping of the cosmic web to considerable depths. In order to probe the whole extragalactic sky beyond 100 Mpc, one must draw on multiwavelength datasets and state-of-the-art photometric redshift techniques. Here I summarize our dedicated program that employs the largest photometric all-sky surveys -- 2MASS, WISE and SuperCOSMOS -- to obtain accurate redshift estimates of millions of galaxies. The first outcome of these efforts -- the 2MASS Photometric Redshift catalog (2MPZ) -- was publicly released in 2013 and includes almost 1 million galaxies with a median redshift of z~0.1. I discuss how this catalog was constructed and how it is being used for various cosmological tests. I also present how combining the WISE mid-infrared survey with SuperCOSMOS optical data allowed us to push to depths over 1 Gpc on unprecedented angular scales. These photometric redshift samples, with about 20 million sources in total, provide access to volumes large enough to study observationally the Copernican Principle of universal homogeneity and isotropy, as well as to probe various aspects of dark energy and dark matter through cross-correlations with other data such as the cosmic microwave or gamma-ray backgrounds. Last but not least, they constitute a test-bed for forthcoming wide-angle multi-million galaxy samples expected from such instruments as the SKA, Euclid, or LSST.
The Gaia benchmark stars are stars with very precise stellar parameters that cover a wide range in the HR diagram at various metallicities. They are meant to be good representative of typical FGK stars in the Milky Way. Currently, they are used by several spectroscopic surveys to validate and calibrate the methods that analyse the data. I review our recent activities done for these stars. Additionally, by applying our new method to find stellar twins on the Gaia-ESO Survey, I discuss how good representatives of Milky Way stars the benchmark stars are and how they distribute in space.
The sky-averaged, or global, background of redshifted 21-cm radiation is expected to be a rich source of information on the history of re-heating and re-ionization of the intergalactic medium. However, measuring the signal is technically challenging: one must extract the small, frequency-dependent signal from under the much brighter spectrally smooth foregrounds. Traditional approaches to study the global signal have used single-antenna systems, where one must calibrate out frequency-dependent structure in the overall system gain (due e.g. to internal reflections) as well as remove the noise bias from auto-correlating a single amplifier output. This has motivated several proposals to measure the global background using interferometric setups, where the signal appears in cross-correlation and where additional calibration techniques are available. In this paper, we focus on the general principles that drive the sensitivity of any interferometric setup to the global signal. In particular, we prove that this sensitivity is directly related to two characteristics of the setup: the cross-talk between the readout channels (i.e. the signal picked up at one antenna when the other one is driven) and the correlated noise due to thermal fluctuations of lossy elements (e.g. absorbers or the ground) radiating into both channels. Thus in an interferometric setup, one cannot suppress cross-talk and correlated thermal noise without reducing sensitivity to the global signal by the same factor -- instead, the challenge is to characterize these effects and their frequency dependence. We illustrate our general theorem by explicit calculations within toy setups consisting of two short-dipole antennas in free space, and above a perfectly reflecting ground surface.
Many of the scenarios proposed to explain the origin of chemically peculiar stars in globular clusters (GCs) require significant mass-loss ($\ge95\%$) to explain the observed fraction of such stars. In the GCs of the Fornax dwarf galaxy significant mass-loss could be a problem. Larsen et al. (2012) showed that there is a large ratio of GCs to metal-poor field stars in Fornax and about $20-25\%$ of all the stars with ${\rm [Fe/H]}<-2$ belong to the four metal-poor GCs. This imposes an upper limit of $\sim80\%$ mass-loss that could have happened in Fornax GCs. In this paper, we propose a solution to this problem by suggesting that stars can leave the Fornax galaxy. We use a series of $N$-body simulations, to determine the limit of mass-loss from Fornax as a function of the initial orbital radii of GCs and the speed with which stars leave Fornax GCs. We consider a set of cored and cuspy density profiles for Fornax. Our results show that with a cuspy model for Fornax, the fraction of stars which leave the galaxy, can be as high as $\sim90\%$, when the initial orbital radii of GCs are $R=2-3\,\rm{kpc}$ and the initial speed of stars is $v>20\,\rm{kms}$. We show that such large velocities can be achieved by gas expulsion induced mass-loss but not stellar evolution induced mass-loss. Our results imply that one cannot interpret the metallicity distribution of Fornax field stars as evidence against significant mass-loss in Fornax GCs, if mass-loss is due to gas expulsion.
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) provides spectroscopy and narrow band slit-jaw (SJI) imaging of the solar chromosphere and transition region at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Combined with high-resolution context spectral imaging of the photosphere and chromosphere as provided by the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST), we can now effectively trace dynamic phenomena through large parts of the solar atmosphere in both space and time. IRIS SJI 1400 images from active regions, which primarily sample the transition region with the Si IV 1394 and 1403 {\AA} lines, reveal ubiquitous bright "grains" which are short-lived (2-5 min) bright roundish small patches of sizes 0.5-1.7" that generally move limbward with velocities up to about 30 km s$^{-1}$. In this paper we show that many bright grains are the result of chromospheric shocks impacting the transition region. These shocks are associated with dynamic fibrils (DFs), most commonly observed in H{\alpha}. We find that the grains show strongest emission in the ascending phase of the DF, that the emission is strongest towards the top of the DF and that the grains correspond to a blueshift and broadening of the Si IV lines. We note that the SJI 1400 grains can also be observed in the SJI 1330 channel which is dominated by C II lines. Our observations show that a significant part of the active region transition region dynamics is driven from the chromosphere below rather than from coronal activity above. We conclude that the shocks that drive DFs also play an important role in the heating of the upper chromosphere and lower transition region.
Methyl cyanide is an important trace molecule in space, especially in
star-forming regions where it is one of the more common molecules used to
derive kinetic temperatures.
We want to obtain accurate spectroscopic parameters of minor isotopologs of
methyl cyanide in their lowest excited v8 = 1 vibrational states to support
astronomical observations, in particular, with interferometers such as ALMA.
The laboratory rotational spectrum of methyl cyanide in natural isotopic
composition has been recorded from the millimeter to the terahertz regions.
Transitions with good signal-to-noise ratios could be identified for the
three isotopic species CH3(13)CN, (13)CH3CN, and CH3C(15)N up to about 1.2 THz
(J" <= 66). Accurate spectroscopic parameters were obtained for all three
species.
The present data were already instrumental in identifying v8 = 1 lines of
methyl cyanide with one (13)C in IRAM 30 m and ALMA data toward Sagittarius
B2(N).
Big Data are revolutionizing nearly every aspect of the modern society. One area where this can have a profound positive societal impact is the field of Health Care Informatics (HCI), which faces many challenges. The key idea behind this study is: can we use some of the experience and technical and methodological solutions from the fields that have successfully adapted to the Big Data era, namely astronomy and space science, to help accelerate the progress of HCI? We illustrate this with examples from the Virtual Observatory framework, and the NCI EDRN project. An effective sharing and reuse of tools, methods, and experiences from different fields can save a lot of effort, time, and expense. HCI can thus benefit from the proven solutions to big data challenges from other domains.
The dark matter halos that host galaxies and clusters form out of initial high-density patches, providing a biased tracer of the linear matter density field. In the simplest local bias approximation, the halo field is treated as a perturbative series in the average overdensity of the Lagrangian patch. In more realistic models, however, additional quantities will affect the clustering of halo-patches, and this expansion becomes a function of several stochastic variables. In this paper, we present a general multivariate expansion scheme that can parametrize the clustering of any biased Lagrangian tracer, given only the variables involved and their symmetry (in our case rotational invariance). This approach is based on an expansion in the orthonormal polynomials associated with the relevant variables, so that no renormalization of the coefficients ever occurs. We provide explicit expression for the series coefficients, or Lagrangian bias parameters, in the case of peaks of the linear density field. As an application of our formalism, we present a simple derivation of the original BBKS formula, and compute the non-Gaussian bias in the presence of a primordial trispectrum of the local shape.
The aim of this work is to search for Li-rich giants in a sample of clusters where planets have been searched, thus we can study the planet engulfment scenario to explain Li replenishment using a proper comparison sample of stars without detected giant planets. We derived Li abundances for a sample of 67 red giant stars in 12 different open clusters using standard spectral synthesis techniques and high resolution spectra (from HARPS and UVES). We also determined masses, ages and radius from PARSEC stellar isochrones to constrain the evolutionary stage of these stars. We find three stars in different clusters with clearly enhanced Li abundances compared to other stars within the cluster. Interestingly, the only two stars with a detected substellar companion in our sample belong to that group. One of the planet hosts, NGC2423No3, might lie close to the luminosity bump on the HR diagram, a phase where Li production by the Cameron-Fowler process is supported by extra-mixing to bring fresh Li up to the surface. On the other hand, NGC4349No127 is a more massive and more evolved giant that does not seem to be in the evolutionary phase where other Li-rich stars are found. We discuss the possibility that the Li enhancement of this star is triggered by the engulfment of a planet, considering that close-in planets hardly survive the RGB-tip and the early-AGB phases.
Over the past five decades, radio astronomy has shown that molecular
complexity is a natural outcome of interstellar chemistry, in particular in
star forming regions. However, the pathways that lead to the formation of
complex molecules are not completely understood and the depth of chemical
complexity has not been entirely revealed. In addition, the sulfur chemistry in
the dense interstellar medium is not well understood.
We want to know the relative abundances of alkanethiols and alkanols in the
Galactic Center source Sagittarius B2(N2), the northern hot molecular core in
Sgr B2(N), whose relatively small line widths are favorable for studying the
molecular complexity in space.
We investigated spectroscopic parameter sets that were able to reproduce
published laboratory rotational spectra of ethanethiol and studied effects that
modify intensities in the predicted rotational spectrum of ethanol. We used the
Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in its Cycles~0 and 1 for a spectral line
survey of Sagittarius B2(N) between 84 and 114.4 GHz. These data were analyzed
by assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for each molecule. Our
observations are supplemented by astrochemical modeling; a new network is used
for the first time that includes reaction pathways for alkanethiols.
The column density ratios involving methanol, ethanol, and methanethiol in
Sgr B2(N2) are similar to values reported for Orion KL, but those involving
ethanethiol are significantly different and suggest that the detection of
ethanethiol reported toward Orion KL is uncertain. Our chemical model presently
does not permit the prediction of sufficiently accurate column densities of
alkanethiols or their ratios among alkanethiols and alkanols. Therefore,
additional observational results are required to establish the level of C2H5SH
in the dense and warm interstellar medium with certainty.
The cosmological Slavnov-Taylor (ST) identity of the Einstein-Hilbert action coupled to a single inflaton field is obtained from the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) symmetry associated with diffeomorphism invariance in the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) formalism. The consistency conditions between the correlators of the scalar and tensor modes in the squeezed limit are then derived from the ST identity, together with the softly broken conformal symmetry. Maldacena's original relations connecting the correlators of 2- and 3-point functions are also recovered. In this case, we point out a finite correction to the consistency conditions involving one soft graviton which depends on the angle between the soft and the hard momenta.
We consider the space-condensate inflation model to study the primordial gravitational waves generated in the early Universe. We calculate the energy spectrum of gravitational waves induced by the space-condensate inflation model for full frequency range with assumption that the phase transition between two consecutive regimes to be abrupt during evolution of the Universe. The suppression of energy spectrum is found in our model for the decreasing frequency of gravitational waves depending on the model parameter. To realize the suppression of energy spectrum of the primordial gravitational waves, we study an existence of the early phase transition during inflation for the space-condensate inflation model.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosion events in the universe. An amount of gravitational energy of the order of the rest-mass energy of the Sun is released from a small region, within seconds or longer. This should lead to the formation of a fireball of temperature in the MeV range, consisting of electrons/positrons, photons, and a small fraction of baryons. We exploit the potential of GRB fireballs for being a laboratory for testing particle physics beyond the Standard Model, where we find that Weinberg's Higgs portal model serves as a good candidate for this purpose. Due to the resonance effects, the Goldstone bosons can be rapidly produced by electron-positron annihilation process in the initial fireballs of the gamma-ray bursts. On the other hand, the mean free path of the Goldstone bosons is larger than the size of the GRB initial fireballs, so they are not coupled to the GRB's relativistic flow and can lead to significant energy loss. Using generic values for the GRB initial fireball energy, temperature, radius, expansion rate, and baryon number density, we find that the GRB bounds on the parameters of Weinberg's Higgs portal model are indeed competitive to current laboratory constraints.
In this letter, we show that there exists a class of dilaton models with non-trivial scalar-Ricci and scalar-matter couplings that strongly reduces deviations from general relativity in the dust limit. These models turn out to be special cases of the more general dilaton that will be studied in more detail in an upcoming publication. Depending essentially on the coupling between the dilaton and the fundamental matter fields, various strength of decouplings are uncovered. They range from almost no decoupling to a total decoupling state. In this latter case, the theory becomes indistinguishable from general relativity as all dilatonic effects can be re-absorbed through a simple change of units --- even though there is a non-minimal and non-trivial coupling between the dilaton and matter. But each strength of decoupling has the effect of reducing possible departures from the phenomenology of general relativity. The class of non-dynamical decouplings proposed in this letter might play a role in the current non-observation of any deviation from general relativity (in both the equivalence principle and the parametrized post-Newtonian sectors).
In this paper, we present extensively the observational consequences of
massless dilaton theories at the post-Newtonian level. We extend previous work
by considering a general model including a dilaton-Ricci coupling as well as a
general dilaton kinetic term while using the microphysical dilaton-matter
coupling model proposed in [Damour and Donoghue, PRD 2010].
We derive all the expressions needed to analyze local gravitational
observations in a dilaton framework, which is useful to derive constraints on
the dilaton theories. In particular, we present the equations of motion of
celestial bodies (in barycentric and planetocentric reference frames), the
equation of propagation of light and the evolution of proper time as measured
by specific clocks. Particular care is taken in order to derive properly the
observables. The resulting equations can be used to analyse a large numbers of
observations: universality of free fall tests, planetary ephemerides analysis,
analysis of satellites motion, Very Long Baseline Interferometry, tracking of
spacecraft, gravitational redshift tests, ...
Some of the scenarios envisaged for the possible new Solar System object, whose discovery with the ALMA facility has been recently claimed in the literature, are preliminarily put to the test by means of the orbital motions of some planets of the Solar System. It turns out that the current ranges of admissible values for any anomalous secular precession of the perihelion of Saturn, determined in the recent past with either the EPM2011 and the INPOP10a planetary ephemerides without modeling the action of such a potential new member of the Solar System, do not rule out the existence of a putative Neptune-like pointlike perturber at about 2500 au. Instead, both a super-Earth at some hundreds of au and a Jovian-type planet up to 4000 au are strongly disfavored. An Earth-sized body at 100 au would have a density as little as $\sim 0.1-0.01~\textrm{g}~\textrm{cm}^{-3}$, while an unusually large Centaur or (Extreme) Trans Neptunian Object with linear size of $220-880~\textrm{km}$ at $12-25~\textrm{au}$ would have density much larger than $\sim 1~\textrm{g}~\textrm{cm}^{-3}$.
We investigate the backreaction of the quantum fluctuations of a very light ($m \!\lesssim\! H_{\text{today}}$) nonminimally coupled spectator scalar field on the expansion dynamics of the Universe. The one-loop expectation value of the energy momentum tensor of these fluctuations, as a measure of the backreaction, is computed throughout the expansion history from the early inflationary universe until the onset of recent acceleration today. We show that, when the nonminimal coupling $\xi$ to Ricci curvature is negative ($\xi_c \!=\! 1/6$ corresponding to conformal coupling), the quantum backreaction grows exponentially during inflation, such that it can grow large enough rather quickly (within a few hundred e-foldings) to survive until late time and constitute a contribution of the cosmological constant type of the right magnitude to appreciably alter the expansion dynamics. The unique feature of this model is in that, under rather generic assumptions, inflation provides natural explanation for the initial conditions needed to explain the late-time accelerated expansion of the Universe, making it a particularly attractive model of dark energy.
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A modified gravity theory with $f(R)=R^2$ coupled to a dark energy lagrangian $L=-V(\phi)F(X)$ , $X=\nabla_{\mu}\phi\nabla^{\mu}\phi$, gives plausible cosmological scenarios when the modified Friedman equations are solved subject to the scaling relation $X (\frac{dF}{dX})^{2}=Ca(t)^{-6}$. This relation is already known to be valid, for constant potential $V(\phi)$, when $L$ is coupled to Einstein gravity. $\phi$ is the k-essence scalar field and $a(t)$ is the scale factor. The various scenarios are: (1) Radiation dominated Ricci flat universe with deceleration parameter $Q=1$. The solution for $\phi$ is an inflaton field for small times. (2) $Q$ is always negative and we have accelerated expansion of the universe right from the beginning of time and $\phi$ is an inflaton for small times. (3)The deceleration parameter $Q= -5$, i.e. we have an accelerated expansion of the universe. $\phi$ is an inflaton for small times.(4)A generalisation to $f(R)= R^n$ shows that whenever $n > 1.780$ or $n < - 0.280$ , $Q$ will be negative and we will have accelerated expansion of the universe. At small times $\phi$ is again an inflaton.
We formulate an effective theory of structure formation (ETHOS) that enables cosmological structure formation to be computed in almost any microphysical model of dark matter physics. This framework maps the detailed microphysical theories of particle dark matter interactions into the physical effective parameters that shape the linear matter power spectrum and the self-interaction transfer cross section of non-relativistic dark matter. These are the input to structure formation simulations, which follow the evolution of the cosmological and galactic dark matter distributions. Models with similar effective parameters in ETHOS but with different dark particle physics would nevertheless result in similar dark matter distributions. We present a general method to map an ultraviolet complete or effective field theory of low energy dark matter physics into parameters that affect the linear matter power spectrum and carry out this mapping for several representative particle models. We further propose a simple but useful choice for characterizing the dark matter self-interaction transfer cross section that parametrizes self-scattering in structure formation simulations. Taken together, these effective parameters in ETHOS allow the classification of dark matter theories according to their structure formation properties rather than their intrinsic particle properties, paving the way for future simulations to span the space of viable dark matter physics relevant for structure formation.
We constrain deviations of the form $T\propto (1+z)^{1+\epsilon}$ from the standard redshift-temperature relation, corresponding to modifying distance duality as $D_L=(1+z)^{2(1+\epsilon)} D_A$. We consider a consistent model, in which both the background and perturbation equations are changed. For this purpose, we introduce a species of dark radiation particles to which photon energy density is transferred, and assume $\epsilon\ge0$. The Planck 2015 release high multipole temperature plus low multipole data give the limit $\epsilon<4.5\times 10^{-3}$ at 95% C.L. The main obstacle to improving this CMB-only result is strong degeneracy between $\epsilon$ and the physical matter densities $\omega_{\rm b}$ and $\omega_{\rm c}$. A constraint on deuterium abundance improves the limit to $\epsilon<1.8\times 10^{-3}$. Adding the Planck high-multipole CMB polarisation and BAO data leads to a small improvement; with this maximal dataset we obtain $\epsilon<1.3\times 10^{-3}$. This dataset constrains the present dark radiation energy density to at most 12% of the total photon plus dark radiation density. Finally, we discuss the degeneracy between dark radiation and the effective number of relativistic species $N_{\rm eff}$, and consider the impact of dark radiation perturbations on the results.
The Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey (EBHIS) is a new 21-cm survey performed with the 100-m telescope at Effelsberg. It covers the whole northern sky out to a redshift of z~0.07 and comprises HI line emission from the Milky Way and the Local Volume. We aim to substitute the northern-hemisphere part of the Leiden/Argentine/Bonn Milky Way HI survey (LAB) with this first EBHIS data release, which presents the HI gas in the Milky Way regime. The use of a seven-beam L-band array made it feasible to perform this all-sky survey with a 100-m class telescope in a reasonable amount of observing time. State-of-the-art fast-Fourier-transform spectrometers provide the necessary data read-out speed, dynamic range, and spectral resolution to apply software radio-frequency interference mitigation. EBHIS is corrected for stray radiation and employs frequency-dependent flux-density calibration and sophisticated baseline-removal techniques to ensure the highest possible data quality. Detailed analyses of the resulting data products show that EBHIS is not only outperforming LAB in terms of sensitivity and angular resolution, but also matches the intensity-scale of LAB extremely well, allowing EBHIS to be used as a drop-in replacement for LAB. Data products are made available to the public in a variety of forms. Most important, we provide a properly gridded Milky Way HI column density map in HEALPix representation. To maximize the usefulness of EBHIS data, we estimate uncertainties in the HI column density and brightness temperature distributions, accounting for systematic effects.
We present the first simulations within an effective theory of structure formation (ETHOS), which includes the effect of interactions between dark matter and dark radiation on the linear initial power spectrum and dark matter self-interactions during non-linear structure formation. We simulate a Milky Way-like halo in four different dark matter models in addition to the cold dark matter case. Our highest resolution simulation has a particle mass of $2.8\times 10^4\,{\rm M}_\odot$ and a softening length of $72.4\,{\rm pc}$. We demonstrate that all alternative models have only a negligible impact on large scale structure formation and behave on those scales like cold dark matter. On galactic scales, however, the models significantly affect the structure and abundance of subhaloes due to the combined effects of small scale primordial damping in the power spectrum and the late time self-interaction rate in the center of subhaloes. We derive an analytic mapping from the primordial damping scale in the power spectrum to the cutoff scale in the halo mass function and the kinetic decoupling temperature. We demonstrate that it is possible to find models within this extended effective framework that can alleviate the too-big-to-fail and missing satellite problems simultaneously, and possibly the core-cusp problem. Furthermore, the primordial power spectrum cutoff of our models naturally creates a diversity in the circular velocity profiles of haloes, which is larger than that found for cold dark matter simulations. We also show that the parameter space of models can be constrained by contrasting model predictions to astrophysical observations. For example, some of our models may be challenged by the missing satellite problem if baryonic processes were to be included and even over-solve the too-big-to-fail problem; thus ruling them out.
The broad-band variability of many accreting systems displays characteristic structure; log-normal flux distributions, RMS-flux relations, and long inter-band lags. These characteristics are usually interpreted as inward propagating fluctuations in an accretion disk driven by stochasticity of the angular momentum transport mechanism. We present the first analysis of propagating fluctuations in a long-duration, high-resolution, global three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of a geometrically-thin ($h/r\approx0.1$) accretion disk around a black hole. While the dynamical-timescale turbulent fluctuations in the Maxwell stresses are too rapid to drive radially-coherent fluctuations in the accretion rate, we find that the low-frequency quasi-periodic dynamo action introduces low-frequency fluctuations in the Maxwell stresses which then drive the propagating fluctuations. Examining both the mass accretion rate and emission proxies, we recover log-normality, linear RMS-flux relations, and radial coherence that would produce inter-band lags. Hence, we successful relate and connect the phenomenology of propagating fluctuations to modern MHD accretion disk theory.
I derive analytically the temporal dependence of the perpendicular transport coefficient of a charged particle in the three-dimensional anisotropic turbulence conjectured by Goldreich-Sridhar by implementing multi-spacecraft constraints on the turbulence power spectrum. The particle motion away from the turbulent local field line is assessed as gradient/curvature drift of the guiding-center and compared with the magnetic field line random walk. At inertial scales much smaller than the turbulence outer scale, particles decorrelate from field lines in a free-streaming motion, with no diffusion. In the solar wind at $1$ AU, for energy sufficiently small ($< 1$ keV protons), the perpendicular average displacement due to field line tangling generally dominates over two decades of turbulent scales. However, for higher energies ($\simeq 25$ MeV protons) within the range of multi-spacecraft measurements, the longitudinal spread originating from transport due to gradient/curvature drift reaches up to $\simeq 10^\circ- 20^\circ$. This result highlights the role of the perpendicular transport in the interpretation of interplanetary and interstellar data.
Despite its continued observational successes, there is a persistent (and growing) interest in extending cosmology beyond the standard model, $\Lambda$CDM. This is motivated by a range of apparently serious theoretical issues, involving such questions as the cosmological constant problem, the particle nature of dark matter, the validity of general relativity on large scales, the existence of anomalies in the CMB and on small scales, and the predictivity and testability of the inflationary paradigm. In this paper, we summarize the current status of $\Lambda$CDM as a physical theory, and review investigations into possible alternatives along a number of different lines, with a particular focus on highlighting the most promising directions. While the fundamental problems are proving reluctant to yield, the study of alternative cosmologies has led to considerable progress, with much more to come if hopes about forthcoming high-precision observations and new theoretical ideas are fulfilled.
We present the first results and design from the redshift z~9-10 Brightest of the Reionizing Galaxies {\it Hubble Space Telescope} survey BoRG[z9-10], aimed at searching for intrinsically luminous unlensed galaxies during the first 700 Myr after the Big Bang. BoRG[z9-10] is the continuation of a multi-year pure-parallel near-IR and optical imaging campaign with the Wide Field Camera 3. The ongoing survey uses five filters, optimized for detecting the most distant objects and offering continuous wavelength coverage from {\lambda}=0.35{\mu}m to {\lambda}=1.7{\mu}m. We analyze the initial ~130 arcmin$^2$ of area over 28 independent lines of sight (~25% of the total planned) to search for z>7 galaxies using a combination of Lyman break and photometric redshift selections. From an effective comoving volume of (5-25) $times 10^5$ Mpc$^3$ for magnitudes brighter than $m_{AB}=26.5-24.0$ in the $H_{160}$-band respectively, we find five galaxy candidates at z~8.3-10 detected at high confidence (S/N>8), including a source at z~8.4 with mAB=24.5 (S/N~22), which, if confirmed, would be the brightest galaxy identified at such early times (z>8). In addition, BoRG[z9-10] data yield four galaxies with $7.3 \lesssim z \lesssim 8$. These new Lyman break galaxies with m$\lesssim26.5$ are ideal targets for follow-up observations from ground and space based observatories to help investigate the complex interplay between dark matter growth, galaxy assembly, and reionization.
We examine the squeezed limit of the bispectrum when a light scalar with arbitrary non-derivative self-interactions is coupled to the inflaton. We find that when the hidden sector scalar is sufficiently light ($m\lesssim0.25H$), the coupling between long and short wavelength modes from the series of higher order correlation functions (of arbitrary order) causes the statistics of the fluctuations to vary in sub-volumes. However, the local bispectrum induced by mode-coupling always has the same squeezed limit. This means that observations of primordial non-Gaussianity cannot be used to uniquely reconstruct the potential of the hidden field but can be used to determine its mass.
We present the widest-field resolved stellar map to date of the closest ($D\sim3.8$ Mpc) massive elliptical galaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A; Cen A), extending out to a projected galactocentric radius of $\sim150$ kpc. The dataset is part of our ongoing Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor (PISCeS) utilizing the Magellan/Megacam imager. We resolve a population of old red giant branch stars down to $\sim1.5$ mag below the tip of the red giant branch, reaching surface brightness limits as low as $\mu_{V,0}\sim32$ mag arcsec$^{-2}$. The resulting spatial stellar density map highlights a plethora of previously unknown streams, shells, and satellites, including the first tidally disrupting dwarf around Cen A, which underline its active accretion history. We report 13 previously unknown dwarf satellite candidates, of which 9 are confirmed to be at the distance of Cen A (the remaining 4 are not resolved into stars), with magnitudes in the range $M_V=-7.2$ to $-13.0$, central surface brightness values of $\mu_{V,0}=25.4-26.9$ mag arcsec$^{-2}$, and half-light radii of $r_h=0.22-2.92$ kpc. These values are in line with Local Group dwarfs but also lie at the faint/diffuse end of their distribution; most of the new dwarfs are fainter than the previously known Cen A satellites. The newly discovered dwarfs and halo substructures are discussed in light of their stellar populations, and they are compared to those discovered by the PAndAS survey of M31.
We present a new theoretical population synthesis model (the Galaxy Model) to examine and deal with huge amounts of data from surveys of the Milky Way and to decipher the present and past structure and history of our own Galaxy. We assume the Galaxy to be made up of the superposition of many composite stellar populations belonging to the thin and thick disks, the stellar halo and the bulge, and to be surrounded by a single dark matter halo component. A global model for the Milky Way's gravitational potential is built up to secure consistency with the density profiles from the Poisson equation. In turn, these density profiles are used to generate synthetic probability distribution functions (PDFs) for the distribution of stars in colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). Finally, the gravitational potential is used to constrain the stellar kinematics by means of the moment method on a (perturbed)-distribution function. The Galaxy Model contains also a star-count like description of non-axisymmetric features of the Galaxy such as the spiral arms, thus removing the axisymmetric crude assumptions commonly made in most of the analytical descriptions. Spiral arms perturb the disk distribution functions in the linear response framework of density-wave theory where we present an analytical formula of the so-called "reduction factor" in terms of Hypergeometric functions. Moreover, we consider a non-axisymmetric model of extinction to build CMDs in the presence of arbitrary non-axisymmetric features, an algorithm based on the concept of probability distribution function to handle colour magnitude diagrams with a large number of stars and a genetic algorithm to investigate the parameter space. This galaxy model represents the natural framework to investigate surveys such as Gaia-ESO, SEGUE, APOGEE as RAVE as well as the upcoming Gaia data releases.
Observations of short gamma-ray bursts indicate ongoing energy injection following the prompt emission, with the most likely candidate being the birth of a rapidly rotating, highly magnetised neutron star. We utilise X-ray observations of the burst remnant to constrain properties of the nascent neutron star, including its magnetic field-induced ellipticity and the saturation amplitude of various oscillation modes. Moreover, we derive strict upper limits on the gravitational wave emission from these objects by looking only at the X-ray light curve, showing the burst remnants are unlikely to be detected in the near future using ground-based gravitational wave interferometers such as Advanced LIGO.
We present the results of a long term orbit monitoring program, using sparse aperture masking observations taken with NIRC2 on the Keck-II telescope, of seven G to M-type members of the Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Sco-Cen OB association. We present astrometry and derived orbital elements of the binary systems we have monitored, and also determine the age, component masses, distance and reddening for each system using the orbital solutions and multi-band photometry, including Hubble Space Telescope photometry, and a Bayesian fitting procedure. We find that the models can be forced into agreement with any individual system by assuming an age, but that age is not consistent across the mass range of our sample. The G-type binary systems in our sample have model ages of ~11.5 Myr, which is consistent with the latest age estimates for Upper Scorpius, while the M-type binary systems have significantly younger model ages of ~7 Myr. Based on our fits, this age discrepancy in the models corresponds to a luminosity under-prediction of 0.8-0.15 dex, or equivalently an effective temperature over-prediction of 100-300 K for M-type stars at a given premain-sequence age. We also find that the M-type binary system RXJ 1550.0-2312 has an age (~16 Myr) and distance (~90 pc) indicating that it is either a nearby young binary system or a member of the Upper-Centaurus-Lupus subgroup with a 57% probability of membership.
Spectral characterization of young, giant exoplanets detected by direct imaging is one of the tasks of the new generation of high-contrast imagers. For this purpose, the VLT/SPHERE instrument includes a unique long-slit spectroscopy (LSS) mode coupled with Lyot coronagraphy in its infrared dual-band imager and spectrograph (IRDIS). The performance of this mode is intrinsically limited by the use of a non-optimal coronagraph, but in a previous work we demonstrated that it could be significantly improved at small inner-working angles using the stop-less Lyot coronagraph (SLLC). We now present the development, testing, and validation of the first SLLC prototype for VLT/SPHERE. Based on the transmission profile previously proposed, the prototype was manufactured using microdots technology and was installed inside the instrument in 2014. The transmission measurements agree well with the specifications, except in the very low transmissions (<5% in amplitude). The performance of the SLLC is tested in both imaging and spectroscopy using data acquired on the internal source. In imaging, we obtain a raw contrast gain of a factor 10 at 0.3" and 5 at 0.5" with the SLLC. Using data acquired with a focal-plane mask, we also demonstrate that no Lyot stop is required to reach the full performance, which validates the SLLC concept. Comparison with a realistic simulation model shows that we are currently limited by the internal phase aberrations of SPHERE. In spectroscopy, we obtain a gain of ~1 mag in a limited range of angular separations. Simulations show that although the main limitation comes from phase errors, the performance in the non-SLLC case is very close to the ultimate limit of the LSS mode. Finally, we obtain the very first on-sky data with the SLLC, which appear extremely promising for the future scientific exploitation of an apodized LSS mode in SPHERE.
The covariance matrix of the matter power spectrum is a key element of the statistical analysis of galaxy clustering data. Independent realisations of observational measurements can be used to sample the covariance, nevertheless statistical sampling errors will propagate into the cosmological parameter inference potentially limiting the capabilities of the upcoming generation of galaxy surveys. The impact of these errors as function of the number of independent realisations has been previously evaluated for Gaussian distributed data. However, non-linearities in the late time clustering of matter cause departures from Gaussian statistics. Here, we address the impact of non-Gaussian errors on the sample covariance and precision matrix errors using a large ensemble of numerical N-body simulations. In the range of modes where finite volume effects are negligible ($0.1\lesssim k\,[h\,{\rm Mpc^{-1}}]\lesssim 1.2$) we find deviations of the estimated variance of the sample covariance with respect to Gaussian predictions above $\sim 10\%$ level. These reduce to about $\sim 5\%$ in the case of the precision matrix. Finally, we perform a Fisher analysis to estimate the effect of covariance errors on the cosmological parameter constraints. In particular, assuming Euclid-like survey characteristics we find that a number of independent realisation larger than $\gtrsim 5000$ is necessary to reduce the contribution of sample covariance errors to the cosmological parameter uncertainties at sub-percent level. We also show that restricting the analysis to large scales $k\lesssim0.2\,h\,{\rm Mpc^{-1}}$ results in a considerable loss in constraining power, while using the linear covariance to include smaller scales leads to an underestimation of the errors on the cosmological parameters.
This paper is part of a larger project in which we systematically study the chemical abundances of Galactic and extragalactic post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars. Lead (Pb) is the final product of the s-process nucleosynthesis and is predicted to have large overabundances with respect to other s-process elements in AGB stars of low metallicities. However, Pb abundance studies of enriched post-AGB stars in the Magellanic Clouds show the Pb overabundance is not observed. We used high-resolution UVES and HERMES spectra for detailed spectral abundance studies of our sample of 14 Galactic post-AGB stars. We do not find any clear evidence of Pb overabundances in our sample. Stars with T(eff) > 7500 K do not provide strong constraints on the Pb abundance. We conclude that the discrepancy between theory and observation increases towards lower metallicities. All objects, except IRAS 17279-1119, confirm the relation between neutron exposure [hs/ls] and third dredge-up efficiency [s/Fe], whereas no relation between metallicity and neutron exposure is detected within the metallicity range of our total sample (-1.4 < [Fe/H] < -0.2). The mild enrichment of IRAS 17279-1119 can probably be attributed to a cut-off of the AGB evolution due to binary interactions. To our knowledge, IRAS 17279-1119 is the first s-process enhanced Galactic post-AGB star known in a binary system and is a possible precursor of the extrinsic Ba dwarf stars. Lead-rich stars have yet to be found in post-AGB stars. extrinsic Ba dwarf stars. Lead-rich stars are yet to be found in post-AGB stars.
Dust attenuation affects nearly all observational aspects of galaxy evolution, yet very little is known about the functional form of the dust-attenuation law in the distant Universe. In this work, we fit to the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies under different assumptions about the wavelength-dependent dust-attenuation curve, and compare the inferred attenuation with the observed infrared (IR) luminosities. This is applied to a sample of IR-luminous galaxies at z~1.5-3 where the multi-wavelength CANDELS photometry cover rest-frame ultraviolet (UV, down to Lyman-alpha) to near-IR (NIR) wavelengths, with supporting 24 micron imaging from Spitzer. We fit the UV-to-NIR galaxy SEDs with multiple dust laws, and use Bayes factors to select galaxies with strong preference between laws. Importantly, we find that for individual galaxies with strong Bayes-factor evidence, their observed location on the plane of the infrared excess (IRX, LIR/LUV) and UV slope (beta) agrees with the predicted value for the favored dust law. Furthermore, a parameterization of the dust law reveals a relationship between its UV-to-optical slope (delta) and the color excess. Galaxies with high color excess have a shallower, starburst-like attenuation, and those with low color excess have a steeper, SMC-like attenuation. Surprisingly, the shape of the dust law does not depend on stellar mass, star-formation rate, or beta, at least for galaxies down to the stellar mass range of this work (log Mstar/Msun >9). The strong correlation between the tilt of the attenuation law, and color excess is consistent with expected effects from an attenuation driven by scattering, a mixed star-dust geometry, and/or trends with stellar population age, metallicity, and dust grain composition.
We present the results of investigation of five stars, originally classified as dwarfs, belonging to Cyg OB2 association, their stellar and wind properties. Using both TLUSTY and CMFGEN codes we derived effective temperatures, surface gravities, chemical abundances, mass-loss rates and projected rotation velocities. Due to the fact that distance to the stars is well known, we were able to estimate their luminosities. Using evolutionary models we estimated the ages of these sample stars and find that lower mass ones - MT282 and MT343 - belong to older population of the association. Their ages are greater than 10 Myr. The ages of three other stars - MT317, MT299, MT259 - are between 4-6 Myr.
We interpret $\gamma$-ray flares from the Crab Nebula as the signature of turbulence in the pulsar's electromagnetic outflow. Turbulence is triggered upstream by dynamical instability of the wind's oscillating magnetic field, and accelerates non-thermal particles. On impacting the wind termination shock, those particles emit a distinct synchrotron component $F_{\nu,\rm flare}$, which is constantly modulated by intermittency of the upstream plasma flow. Flares are observed when the high-energy cutoff of $F_{\nu,\rm flare}$ emerges above the fast-declining nebular emission around 0.1 - 1 GeV. Simulations carried out in the force-free electrodynamics approximation predict the striped wind to become fully turbulent well ahead of the wind termination shock, provided its terminal Lorentz factor is $\lesssim 10^4$.
The mergers of binaries containing neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes are the most promising sources for direct detection in gravitational waves by the interferometers Advanced LIGO and Virgo over the next few years. The concurrent detection of electromagnetic emission from these events would greatly enhance the scientific return of these discoveries. Here we review the state of the art in modeling the electromagnetic signal of neutron star binary mergers across different phases of the merger and multiple wavelengths. We focus on those observables which provide the most sensitive diagnostics of the merger physics and the contribution to the synthesis of rapid neutron capture ($r$-process) elements in the Galaxy. We also outline expected future developments on the observational and theoretical sides of this rapidly evolving field.
We report the first detection of a gap and a ring in dust continuum emission from the protoplanetary disk around TW Hya, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array. The gap and ring are located at 25 and 41 AU from the central star, respectively, and are associated with the CO snowline at ~ 30AU. The gap width and depth are 15AU at the maximum and 23% at the minimum, respectively, regarding that the observations are limited to an angular resolution of ~ 15AU. In addition, we detect a decrement in CO line emission down to ~ 10AU, indicating freeze-out of gas-phase CO onto grain surfaces and possible subsequent surface reactions to form larger molecules. According to theoretical studies, the gap could be caused by gravitational interaction between the disk gas and a planet with a mass less than super-Neptune (2 Neptune mass), or result from destruction of large dust aggregates due to the sintering of CO ice.
We provide a theoretical context for understanding the recent work of Kalfountzou et al (2014) showing that star formation is enhanced at lower optical luminosity in radio loud quasars. Our proposal for coupling the assumption of collimated FRII quasar jet-induced star formation with lower accretion optical luminosity, also explains the observed jet power peak in active galaxies at higher redshift compared to the peak in accretion power, doing so in a way that predicts the existence of a family of radio quiet AGN associated with rapidly spinning supermassive black holes at low redshift, as mounting observations suggest. The relevance of this work lies in its promise to explain the observed cosmological evolution of accretion power, jet power, and star formation, in a way that is both compatible with the Soltan argument and resolves the so-called `Meier Paradox'.
We observed the 2015 July-August long outburst of V1006 Cyg and established this object to be an SU UMa-type dwarf nova in the period gap. Our observations have confirmed that V1006 Cyg is the second established object showing three types of outbursts (normal, long normal and superoutbursts) after TU Men. We have succeeded in recording the growing stage of superhumps (stage A superhumps) and obtained a mass ratio of 0.26-0.33, which is close to the stability limit of tidal instability. This identification of stage A superhumps demonstrated that superhumps indeed slowly grow in systems near the stability limit, the idea first introduced by Kato et al. 2014, arXiv:1406.6428). The superoutburst showed a temporary dip followed by a rebrightening. The moment of the dip coincided with the stage transition of superhumps, and we suggest that stage C superhumps is related to the start of the cooling wave in the accretion disk. We interpret that the tidal instability was not strong enough to maintain the disk in the hot state when the cooling wave started. We propose that the properties commonly seen in the extreme ends of mass ratios (WZ Sge-type objects and long-period systems) can be understood as a result of weak tidal effect.
We show a scenario for the cooling of compact stars considering the central source of Cassiopeia A (Cas A). The Cas A observation shows that the central source is a compact star with high effective temperature, and it is consistent with the cooling without exotic phases. The Cas A observation also gives the mass range of $M \geq 1.5 M_\odot$. It may conflict with the current cooling scenarios of compact stars that heavy stars show rapid cooling. We include the effect of the color superconducting (CSC) quark matter phase on the thermal evolution of compact stars. We assume the gap energy of CSC quark phase is large ($\Delta \gtrsim \mathrm{10 MeV}$), and we simulate the cooling of compact stars. We present cooling curves obtained from the evolutionary calculations of compact stars: while heavier stars cool slowly, and lighter ones indicate the opposite tendency.
We present the results of a study of spectral features and the velocity field in the atmosphere and the circumstellar envelope of the hypergiant V1302 Aql, the optical counterpart of the IR source IRC+10420, based on high-resolution spectroscopic observations obtained in 2001-2014. We measured radial velocities of the following types of lines: forbidden and permitted pure emissions, absorption and emission components of lines of ions, pure absorptions (e.g., HeI, SiII), and interstellar components of the NaI D-lines, KI, and DIBs. The heliocentric radial velocity measured for pure absorptions as well as for the forbidden and permitted pure emissions is close to the systemic radial velocity and equal to Vr=63.7$\pm$0.3, 65.2$\pm$0.3, and 62.0$\pm$0.4 km/s, respectively. Positions of the absorption components of the lines with inverse P Cyg profiles are stable and indicate the presence of clumps moving toward the star with a velocity of $\sim$20 km/s. The average radial velocity of the DIBs is Vr(DIB)=4.6$\pm$0.2 km/s. Comparison of the absorption lines observed in 2001-2014 and those in earlier data shows no noticeable variations. We conclude that the hypergiant reached a phase of slowing down (or termination) of the effective temperature growth and is currently located near the high-temperature boundary of the Yellow Void in the Hertszprung-Russell diagramme.
The origin of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars and their possible connections with the chemical elements produced by the first stellar generations is still highly debated. We briefly review observations of CEMP stars in different environments (Galactic stellar halo, ultra-faint and classical dwarf galaxies) and interpret their properties using cosmological chemical-evolution models for the formation of the Local Group. We discuss the implications of current observations for the properties of the first stars, clarify why the fraction of carbon-enhanced to carbon-normal stars varies in dwarf galaxies with different luminosity, and discuss the origin of the first CEMP(-no) star found in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy.
The LMXB NS GS 1826-238 was discovered by Ginga in 1988 September. Due to the presence of quasi-periodicity in the type I X-ray burst rate, the source has been a frequent target of X-ray observations for almost 30 years. Though the bursts were too soft to be detected by INTEGRAL/SPI, the persistent emission from GS 1826-238 was detected over 150 keV during the ~10 years of observations. Spectral analysis found a significant high-energy excess above a Comptonization model that is well fit by a power law, indicating an additional spectral component. Most previously reported spectra with hard tails in LMXB NS have had an electron temperature of a few keV and a hard tail dominating above ~50 keV with an index of \Gamma ~ 2-3. GS 1826-238 was found to have a markedly different spectrum with $ kT_e \sim 20 $ keV and a hard tail dominating above ~150 keV with an index of \Gamma ~ 1.8, more similar to BHXRB. We report on our search for long-term spectral variability over the 25-370 keV energy range and on a comparison of the GS 1826-238 average spectrum to the spectra of other LMXB NS with hard tails.
A two-wave dynamo model was recently proposed by Zharkova et al. (2015, Zh15 henceforth), which aims at long-term predictions of solar activity for millennia ahead and backwards. Here we confront the backward model predictions for the last 800 years with known variability of solar activity, using both direct sunspot observations since 1610 and reconstructions based on cosmogenic radionuclide data. We show that the Zh15 model fails to reproduce the well-established features of the solar activity evolution during the last millennium. This means that the predictive part for the future is not reliable either.
H2 is the simplest and the most abundant molecule in the ISM, and its formation precedes the formation of other molecules. Understanding the dynamical influence of the environment and the interplay between the thermal processes related to the formation and destruction of H2 and the structure of the cloud is mandatory to understand correctly the observations of H2. We perform high resolution MHD colliding flow simulations with the AMR code RAMSES in which the physics of H2 has been included. We compare the simulation results with various observations including the column densities of excited rotational levels. Due to a combination of thermal pressure, ram pressure and gravity, the clouds produced at the converging point of HI streams are highly inhomogeneous. H2 molecules quickly form in relatively dense clumps and spread into the diffuse interclump gas. This in particular leads to the existence of significant abundances of H2 in the diffuse and warm gas that lies in between clumps. Simulations and observations show similar trends, specially for the HI-to-H2 transition. The abundances of excited rotational levels, calculated at equilibrium in the simulations are very similar to the observed abundances inferred from FUSE results. This is a direct consequence of the presence of the H2 enriched diffuse and warm gas. Our simulations show that H2 rapidly forms in the dense clumps and, due to the complex structure of molecular clouds, quickly spreads at lower densities. Consequently a significant fraction of warm H2 exists in the low density gas. This warm H2 leads to column densities of excited rotational levels close to the observed ones likely revealing the complex intermix between the warm and the cold gas in molecular clouds. This suggests that the 2-phase structure of molecular clouds is an essential ingredient to fully understand molecular hydrogen in these objects.
Catalogue of star positions and B-magnitudes based on UkrVO Joint Digital Archive has been created in 60-degree declination zone of FONAK(FON) observational program as the first attempt to use the commercial scanners for astrometri c purposes. The height of zone is 8 degree, number of involved plates is 120. Digital images of plates were obtained using Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL TMA commercial scanner, with plate resolution 1200 dpi, linear dimensions 13,000x13,000 px for plates 30x30cm. The catalogue includes 1, 263, 932 stars and galaxies down to B 16.5 mag at the epoch 1984.76+/-0.50. Positions of objects are in TYCHO-2 reference frame, B-magnitudes in the system of photoelectric standards. The internal accuracy for all objects on both coordinates RA,DEC is +/-0.26 arcsec.The accuracy of B magnitudes determination is +/-0.17 mag, except stars in the B-interval 8-13 mag having the positional errors +/-0.13 arcsec and photometric ones +/-0.11 mag. The convergence of star positions with TYCHO-2 system is +/-0.06 arcsec on both coordinates(based on 93,925 stars), the convergence with photoelectric standards system is +/-0.16 mag (based on 4,458 stars). External comparison with UCAC-4 gives the positional errors +/-0.34 arcsec based on 1, 099, 005 cross-identified objects.
Two distinct routes lead to the creation of multi--scale equilibrium structures in dense degenerate plasmas, often met in astrophysical conditions. By analyzing an e-p-i plasma consisting of degenerate electrons and positrons with a small contamination of mobile classical ions, we show the creation of a new macro scale $L_{\rm{macro}}$ (controlled by ion concentration). The temperature and degeneracy enhancement effective inertia of bulk e-p components also makes the effective skin depths larger (much larger) than the standard skin depth. The emergence of these intermediate and macro scales lends immense richness to the process of structure formation, and vastly increases the channels for energy transformations. The possible role played by this mechanism in explaining the existence of large-scale structures in astrophysical objects with degenerate plasmas, is examined.
We present 13 high-precision and four additional light curves of four bright southern-hemisphere transiting planetary systems: WASP-22, WASP-41, WASP-42 and WASP-55. In the cases of WASP-42 and WASP-55, these are the first follow-up observations since their discovery papers. We present refined measurements of the physical properties and orbital ephemerides of all four systems. No indications of transit timing variations were seen. All four planets have radii inflated above those expected from theoretical models of gas-giant planets; WASP-55b is the most discrepant with a mass of 0.63 Mjup and a radius of 1.34 Rjup. WASP-41 shows brightness anomalies during transit due to the planet occulting spots on the stellar surface. Two anomalies observed 3.1 d apart are very likely due to the same spot. We measure its change in position and determine a rotation period for the host star of 18.6 +/- 1.5 d, in good agreement with a published measurement from spot-induced brightness modulation, and a sky-projected orbital obliquity of lambda = 6 +/- 11 degrees. We conclude with a compilation of obliquity measurements from spot-tracking analyses and a discussion of this technique in the study of the orbital configurations of hot Jupiters.
Fornax is the brightest Milky Way (MW) dwarf spheroidal galaxy and its star formation history (SFH) has been derived from observations. We estimate the time evolution of its gas mass and net inflow and outflow rates from the SFH using a simple star formation law that relates the star formation rate to the gas mass. We present a chemical evolution model on a 2D mass grid with supernovae (SNe) as sources of metal enrichment. We find that a key parameter controlling the enrichment is the mass M_x of the gas to mix with the ejecta from each SN. The choice of M_x depends on the evolution of SN remnants and on the global gas dynamics. It differs between the two types of SNe involved and between the periods before and after Fornax became an MW satellite at time t = t_sat . Our results indicate that due to the global gas outflow at t > t_sat , part of the ejecta from each SN may directly escape from Fornax. Sample results from our model are presented and compared with data.
Grain growth in planet-forming disks is the first step toward the formation of planets. The growth of grains and their inward drift leaves a distinct imprint on the dust surface-density distribution and the resulting surface-brightness profile of the thermal continuum emission. We determine the surface-brightness profile of the continuum emission using resolved observations at millimeter wavelengths of the disk around TW Hya, and infer the signature of dust evolution on the surface density and dust opacity. Archival ALMA observations at 820 micron on baselines up to 410 kilolambda are compared to parametrized disk models to determine the surface-brightness profile. Under the assumption of a constant dust opacity, a broken radial power law best describes the dust surface density, with a slope of -0.53 +/- 0.01 from the 4.1 au radius of the (already known) inner hole to a turn-over radius of 47.1 +/- 0.2 au, steepening to -8.0 +/- 0.1 at larger radii. The emission drops below the detection limit beyond ~60 au. The shape of the dust surface density is consistent with theoretical expectations for grain growth, fragmentation, and drift, but its total dust content and its turn-over radius are too large for TW Hya's age of 8-10 Myr even when taking into account a radially varying dust opacity. Higher resolution imaging with ALMA of TW Hya and other disks is required to establish if unseen gaps associated with, e.g., embedded planets trap grains at large radii or if locally enhanced grain growth associated with the CO snow line explains the extent of the millimeter-continuum surface brightness profile. In the latter case, population studies should reveal a correlation between the location of the CO snow line and the extent of the millimeter continuum. In the former case, and if CO freeze out promotes planet formation, this correlation should extend to the location of gaps as well.
The XMM-LSS, XMM-COSMOS, and XMM-CDFS surveys are complementary in terms of sky coverage and depth. Together, they form a clean sample with the least possible variance in instrument effective areas and PSF. Therefore this is one of the best samples available to determine the 2-10 keV luminosity function of AGN and its evolution. The samples and the relevant corrections for incompleteness are described. A total of 2887 AGN is used to build the LF in the luminosity interval 10^42-10^46 erg/s, and in the redshift interval 0.001-4. A new method to correct for absorption by considering the probability distribution for the column density conditioned on the hardness ratio is presented. The binned luminosity function and its evolution is determined with a variant of the Page-Carrera method, improved to include corrections for absorption and to account for the full probability distribution of photometric redshifts. Parametric models, namely a double power-law with LADE or LDDE evolution, are explored using Bayesian inference. We introduce the Watanabe-Akaike information criterion (WAIC) to compare the models and estimate their predictive power. Our data are best described by the LADE model, as hinted by the WAIC indicator. We also explore the 15-parameter extended LDDE model recently proposed by Ueda et al., and find that this extension is not supported by our data. The strength of our method is that it provides: un-absorbed non-parametric estimates; credible intervals for luminosity function parameters; model choice according to which one has more predictive power for future data.
In a previous paper, we proposed a new method to select low-power BL Lacs (LPBLs) based on mid-infrared emission and flux contrast through the Ca II spectral break; that study led to the selection of a complete sample formed by 34 LPBLs with 0.05<z<=0.15 and radio luminosities spanning the range log(L_r) = 39.2-41.5 [erg/s]. We now assemble the broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these sources to investigate their nature and compare them with brighter BL Lacs. We find that the ratios between the X-ray and radio luminosities range from ~20 to ~30000 and that the synchrotron peak frequencies span a wide energy interval, from log(nu_peak)~13.5 to ~20 [Hz]. This indicates a broad variety of SED shapes and a mixture of BL Lac flavors. Indeed, although the majority of our LPBLs are high-energy peaked BL Lacs (HBLs), we find that a quarter of them are low-energy peaked BL Lacs (LBLs), despite the fact that the sample is biased against the selection of LBLs. The analysis of the median LPBL SED confirms disagreement with the blazar sequence at low radio luminosities. Furthermore, if we limit the sample to the LBLs subsample, we find that their median SED shape is essentially indistinguishable from that of the most luminous BL Lacs. We conclude that the observed radio power is not the main driving parameter of the multiwavelength properties of BL Lacs.
The shapes of galaxies can be quantified by ratios of their quadrupole moments. For faint galaxies, observational noise can make the denominator close to zero, so the ratios become ill-defined. Knowledge of these ratios (i.e. their measured standard deviation) is commonly used to assess the efficiency of weak gravitational lensing surveys. Since the requirements cannot be formally tested for faint galaxies, we explore two complementary mitigation strategies. In many weak lensing contexts, the most problematic sources can be removed by a cut in measured size. We investigate how a size cuts affects the required precision of the charge transfer inefficiency model and find slightly wider tolerance margins compared to the full size distribution. However, subtle biases in the data analysis chain may be introduced. Instead, as our second strategy, we propose requirements directly on the quadrupole moments themselves. To optimally exploit a Stage-IV dark energy survey, we find that the mean and standard deviation of a population of galaxies' quadrupole moments must to be known to better than $1.4\times10^{-3}$ arcsec$^{2}$, or the Stokes parameters to $1.9\times10^{-3}$ arcsec$^2$. This testable requirement can now form the basis for future performance validation, or for proportioning the requirements between subsystems to ensure unbiased cosmological parameter inference.
Enormous observational effort has been made to constrain the energetics of AGN feedback by mapping the kinematics of the ionized gas on kpc scale with integral-field spectroscopy. Here, we investigate how the observed kinematics and inferred energetics are affected by beam smearing of a bright unresolved NLR due to seeing effects. We analysed optical IFU spectroscopy of a sample of twelve luminous unobscured QSOs (0.4<z<0.7) initially presented by Liu et al. (2014). The PSF for the observations is directly obtained from the light distribution of the broad Hbeta line component. Therefore, we are able to compare the ionized gas kinematics and derived energetics of the total [OIII] and spatially extended [OIII] line component. We find that the width of the spatially resolved [OIII] line on kpc scales is significantly narrower than the one before PSF deblending. The extended NLRs (ENLRs) appear intrinsically offset from the QSO position or more elongated which can be interpreted in favour of a conical outflow model for these QSOs. As a result the estimated kinetic power is reduced by two orders of magnitude after PSF deblending and corresponds to only 0.01-0.1% of the bolometric AGN luminosity. This is smaller than required by some numerical simulations including AGN feedback. Furthermore, the injected momentum fluxes are below the simple radiation-pressure limit Lbol/c for the conical outflow model, when beam smearing is taken into account. IFU observations are a powerful tool to investigate the energetics of AGN outflows, but the impact of beam smearing has to be carefully taken into account in the high contrast regime of QSOs. For the majority of observations in the literatures, this has not been addressed so that the incidence and energetics of large-scale AGN-driven outflows still remain an unsolved issue, from an observational perspective.
Optical observations provide convincing evidence that the optical phase of the Crab pulsar follows the radio one closely. Since optical data do not depend on dispersion measure variations, they provide a robust and independent confirmation of the radio timing solution. The aim of this paper is to find a global mathematical description of Crab pulsar's phase as a function of time for the complete set of published Jodrell Bank radio ephemerides (JBE) in the period 1988-2014. We apply the mathematical techniques developed for analyzing optical observations to the analysis of JBE. We break the whole period into a series of episodes and express the phase of the pulsar in each episode as the sum of two analytical functions. The first function is the best-fitting local braking index law, and the second function represents small residuals from this law with an amplitude of only a few turns, which rapidly relaxes to the local braking index law. From our analysis, we demonstrate that the power law index undergoes "instantaneous" changes at the time of observed jumps in rotational frequency (glitches). We find that the phase evolution of the Crab pulsar is dominated by a series of constant braking law episodes, with the braking index changing abruptly after each episode in the range of values between 2.1 and 2.6. Deviations from such a regular phase description behave as oscillations triggered by glitches and amount to fewer than 40 turns during the above period, in which the pulsar has made more than 2.0e10 turns. Our analysis does not favor the explanation that glitches are connected to phenomena occurring in the interior of the pulsar. On the contrary, timing irregularities and changes in slow down rate seem to point to electromagnetic interaction of the pulsar with the surrounding environment.
The CHIANTI atomic database was first released in 1996 and has had a huge impact on the analysis and modeling of emissions from astrophysical plasmas. The database has continued to be updated, with version 8 released in 2015. Atomic data for modeling the emissivities of 246 ions and neutrals are contained in CHIANTI, together with data for deriving the ionization fractions of all elements up to zinc. The different types of atomic data are summarized here and their formats discussed. Statistics on the impact of CHIANTI to the astrophysical community are given and examples of the diverse range of applications are presented.
An expression for the average redshift drift in a statistically homogeneous and isotropic dust universe is given. The expression takes the same form as the expression for the redshift drift in FLRW models. It is used for a proof-of-principle study of the effects of backreaction on redshift drift measurements by combining the expression with two-region models. The study shows that backreaction can lead to positive redshift drift at low redshifts, exemplifying that a positive redshift drift at low redshifts does not require dark energy. Moreover, the study illustrates that models without a dark energy component can have an average redshift drift observationally indistinguishable from that of the standard model according to the currently expected precision of ELT measurements. In an appendix, spherically symmetric solutions to Einstein's equations with inhomogeneous dark energy and matter are used to study deviations from the average redshift drift and effects of local voids.
We report the discovery of a multiply lensed Lyman-$\alpha$ blob (LAB) behind the galaxy cluster AS1063 using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the Very Large Telescope. The background source is at $z=$ 3.117 and is intrinsically faint compared to almost all previously reported LABs. We used our highly precise strong lensing model to reconstruct the source properties finding a luminosity of $L_{\rm Ly\alpha}$=$1.9\times10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$, extending to 33 kpc. We find that the LAB is associated with a group of galaxies, and possibly a protocluster, in keeping with previous studies that find LABs in overdensities. In addition to Ly$\alpha$ emission, we find CIV, HeII, and OIII] UV emission lines arising from the centre of the nebula. We used the compactness of these lines in combination with the line ratios to conclude that the Ly$\alpha$ nebula is likely powered by embedded star formation. Resonant scattering of the Ly$\alpha$ photons then produces the extended shape of the emission. Thanks to the combined power of MUSE and strong gravitational lensing, we are now able to probe the circumgalatic medium of sub-$L_{*}$ galaxies at $z\approx 3$
We consider what can be learnt about the processes of gas accretion and depletion from the kinematic misalignment between the cold/warm gas and stars in local early-type galaxies. Using simple analytic arguments and a toy model of the processes involved, we show that the lack of objects with counter-rotating gas reservoirs strongly constrains the relaxation, depletion and accretion timescales of gas in early-type galaxies. Standard values of the accretion rate, star formation efficiency and relaxation rate are not simultaneously consistent with the observed distribution of kinematic misalignments. To reproduce that distribution, both fast gas depletion ($t_{\rm dep} <10^8$ yr; e.g. more efficient star formation) and fast gas destruction (e.g. by active galactic nucleus feedback) can be invoked, but both also require a high rate of gas-rich mergers ($>1$ Gyr$^{-1}$). Alternatively, the relaxation of misaligned material could happen over very long timescales ($\simeq100$ dynamical times or $\approx1$-$5$ Gyr). We explore the various physical processes that could lead to fast gas depletion and/or slow gas relaxation, and discuss the prospects of using kinematic misalignments to probe gas-rich accretion processes in the era of large integral-field spectroscopic surveys.
We perform a homogeneous analysis of the Fe/Ni abundance ratio in eight Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) and three Galactic H II regions that include the Orion nebula, where we study four nebular zones and one shocked region. We use [Fe ii], [Fe iii], and [Ni iii] lines, and ionization correction factors (ICFs) that account for the unobserved ions. We derive an ICF for nickel from an extensive grid of photoionization models. We compare our results with those derived by other authors for 16 neutral clouds in the solar neighbourhood with available Fe/Ni ratios in the literature. We find an excellent agreement between the ionized nebulae and the diffuse clouds, with both types of regions showing a clear correlation between the Fe/Ni ratios and the iron and nickel depletion factors. The trend shows that the objects with a relatively low depletion have near solar Fe/Ni ratios whereas at higher depletions the Fe/Ni ratio increases with the depletion. Our results confirm that, compared to iron atoms, nickel ones are more efficiently stuck to the dust grains in ambients where dust formation or growth have been more efficient.
Theoretical models of grain growth predict dust properties to change as a function of protoplanetary disk radius, mass, age and other physical conditions. We lay down the methodology for a multi-wavelength analysis of (sub-)mm and cm continuum interferometric observations to constrain self-consistently the disk structure and the radial variation of the dust properties. The computational architecture is massively parallel and highly modular. The analysis is based on the simultaneous fit in the uv-plane of observations at several wavelengths with a model for the disk thermal emission and for the dust opacity. The observed flux density at the different wavelengths is fitted by posing constraints on the disk structure and on the radial variation of the grain size distribution. We apply the analysis to observations of three protoplanetary disks (AS 209, FT Tau, DR Tau) for which a combination of spatially resolved observations in the range ~0.88mm to ~10mm is available (from SMA, CARMA, and VLA), finding evidence of a decreasing maximum dust grain size (a_max) with radius. We derive large a_max values up to 1 cm in the inner disk between 15 and 30 AU and smaller grains with a_max~1 mm in the outer disk (R > 80AU). In this paper we develop a multi-wavelength analysis that will allow this missing quantity to be constrained for statistically relevant samples of disks and to investigate possible correlations with disk or stellar parameters.
Observations have suggested that some low-mass stars have larger radii than predicted by 1-D structure models. Some theoretical models have invoked very strong interior magnetic fields (of order 1 MG or more) as a possible cause of such large radii. Whether fields of that strength could in principle by generated by dynamo action in these objects is unclear, and we do not address the matter directly. Instead, we examine whether such fields could remain in the interior of a low mass object for a significant time, and whether they would have any other obvious signatures. First, we estimate timescales for the loss of strong fields by magnetic buoyancy instabilities. We consider a range of field strengths and simple morphologies, including both idealized flux tubes and smooth layers of field. We confirm some of our analytical estimates using thin flux tube magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the rise of buoyant fields in a fully-convective M-dwarf. Separately, we consider the Ohmic dissipation of such fields. We find that dissipation provides a complementary constraint to buoyancy: while small-scale, fibril fields might be regenerated faster than they rise, the dissipative heating associated with such fields would in some cases greatly exceed the luminosity of the star. We show how these constraints combine to yield limits on the internal field strength and morphology in low-mass stars. In particular, we find that for stars of 0.3 solar masses, no fields in flux tubes stronger than about 800 kG are simultaneously consistent with both constraints.
We revisit gravitino production following inflation. As a first step, we review the standard calculation of gravitino production in the thermal plasma formed at the end of post-inflationary reheating when the inflaton has completely decayed. Next we consider gravitino production prior to the completion of reheating, assuming that the inflaton decay products thermalize instantaneously while they are still dilute. We then argue that instantaneous thermalization is in general a good approximation, and also show that the contribution of non-thermal gravitino production via the collisions of inflaton decay products prior to thermalization is relatively small. Our final estimate of the gravitino-to-entropy ratio is approximated well by a standard calculation of gravitino production in the post-inflationary thermal plasma assuming total instantaneous decay and thermalization at a time $t \simeq 1.2/\Gamma_\phi$. Finally, in light of our calculations, we consider potential implications of upper limits on the gravitino abundance for models of inflation, with particular attention to scenarios for inflaton decays in supersymmetric Starobinsky-like models.
This paper considers secular interactions within multi-planet systems. In particular we consider dynamical evolution of known planetary systems resulting from an additional hypothetical planet on an eccentric orbit. We start with an analytical study of a general two-planet system, showing that a planet on an elliptical orbit transfers all of its eccentricity to an initially circular planet if the two planets have comparable orbital angular momenta. Application to the single Super-Earth system HD38858 shows that an additional hypothetical planet below current radial velocity (RV) constraints with {\textit{Msini}}=3-10M$_\oplus$, semi-major axis 1-10au and eccentricity 0.2-0.8 is unlikely to be present from the eccentricity that would be excited in the known planet (albeit cyclically). However, additional planets in proximity to the known planet could stabilise the system against secular perturbations from outer planets. Moreover these additional planets can have an {\textit{Msini}} below RV sensitivity and still affect their neighbours. For example, application to the two Super-Earth system 61Vir shows that an additional hypothetical planet cannot excite high eccentricities in the known planets, unless its mass and orbit lie in a restricted area of parameter space. Inner planets in HD38858 below RV sensitivity would also modify conclusions above about excluded parameter space. This suggests that it may be possible to infer the presence of additional stabilising planets in systems with an eccentric outer planet and an inner planet on an otherwise suspiciously circular orbit. This reinforces the point that the full complement of planets in a system is needed to assess its dynamical state.
AGN feedback is an important ingredient in galaxy evolution, however its treatment in numerical simulations is necessarily approximate, requiring subgrid prescriptions due to the dynamical range involved in the calculations. We present a suite of SPH simulations designed to showcase the importance of the choice of a particular subgrid prescription for AGN feedback. We concentrate on two approaches to treating wide-angle AGN outflows: thermal feedback, where thermal and kinetic energy is injected into the gas surrounding the SMBH particle, and virtual particle feedback, where energy is carried by tracer particles radially away from the AGN. We show that the latter model produces a far more complex structure around the SMBH, which we argue is a more physically correct outcome. We suggest a simple improvement to the thermal feedback model - injecting the energy into a cone, rather than spherically symmetrically - and show that this markedly improves the agreement between the two prescriptions, without requiring any noticeable increase in the computational cost of the simulation.
In spite of the accumulating high quality data on RR Lyrae stars, the underlying cause of the (quasi)periodic light curve modulation (the so-called Blazhko effect) of these objects remains as mysterious as it was more than hundred years ago when the first RR Lyrae observations were made. In this review we briefly summarize the current observational status of the Blazhko stars, discuss the failure of all currently available ideas attempting to explain the Blazhko effect and finally, we contemplate on various avenues, including massive 2-3D modeling to make progress. Somewhat unconventionally to a review, we present some new results, including the estimate of the true incidence rate of the fundamental mode Blazhko stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and tests concerning the effect of the aspect angle on the observed distribution of the modulation amplitudes for Blazhko models involving nonradial modes.
We report on constraints to the cosmological jerk parameter ($j$) and to possible variability of the fine-structure constant ($\Delta \alpha/\alpha$) based on stochastic quintessence models of dark energy, discussed by Chongchitnan and Efstathiou (2007). We confirm the results by these authors in the sense that many viable solutions can be obtained, obeying current observational constraints in low redshifts. We add the observables $j$ and $\Delta \alpha/\alpha$ to this conclusion. However, we find peculiarities that may produce, in the nearby Universe, potential observational imprints in future cosmological data. We conclude, for redshifts $z \lesssim 3$, that: {\it (i) } $j(z)$ fluctuates due to the stochasticity of the models, reaching an amplitude of up to $5\%$ relatively to the $\Lambda$CDM model value ($j_{\Lambda {\rm CDM}}=1$); and {\it (ii)} by contrasting two distinct ("extreme") types of solutions, variabilities in $\alpha(z)$, linked to a linear coupling ($\zeta$) between the dark energy and electromagnetic sectors, are weakly dependent on redshift, for couplings of the order $|\zeta| \sim 10 ^{-4}$, even for large variations in the equation of state parameter at relatively low redshifts. Nonlinear couplings produce an earlier and steeper onset of the evolution in $\Delta \alpha/\alpha (z)$, but can still accommodate the data for weak enough couplings.
We report on the proper motions of Balmer-dominated filaments in Kepler's supernova remnant using high resolution images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope at two epochs separated by about 10 years. We use the improved proper motion measurements and revised values of shock velocities to derive a distance to Kepler of 5.1 [+0.8, -0.7] kpc. The main shock around the northern rim of the remnant has a typical speed of 1690 km/s and is encountering material with densities of about 8 cm^-3. We find evidence for the variation of shock properties over small spatial scales, including differences in the driving pressures as the shock wraps around a curved cloud surface. We find that the Balmer filaments ahead of the ejecta knot on the northwest boundary of the remnant are becoming fainter and more diffuse. We also find that the Balmer filaments associated with circumstellar material in the interior regions of the remnant are due to shocks with significantly lower velocities and that the brightness variations among these filaments trace the density distribution of the material, which may have a disk-like geometry.
We present the first year of Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the unique supernova (SN) 'Refsdal', a gravitationally lensed SN at z=1.488 +- 0.001 with multiple images behind the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.6+2223. The first four observed images of SN Refsdal (images S1-S4) exhibited a slow rise (over ~150 days) to reach a broad peak brightness around 20 April, 2015. Using a set of light curve templates constructed from the family of SN 1987A-like peculiar Type II SNe, we measure time delays for the four images relative to S1 of 4+-4 (for S2), 2+-5 (S3), and 24+-7 days (S4). The measured magnification ratios relative to S1 are 1.15+-0.05 (S2), 1.01+-0.04 (S3), and 0.34+-0.02 (S4). We find, however, that none of the template light curves fully captures the photometric behavior of SN Refsdal, so we also derive complementary measurements for these parameters using polynomials to represent the intrinsic light curve shape. These more flexible fits deliver fully consistent time delays of 7+-2 days (S2), 0.6+-3 days (S3), and 27+-8 days (S4). The lensing magnification ratios are similarly consistent, measured as 1.17+-0.02 (S2), 1.00+-0.01 (S3), and 0.38+-0.02 (S4).} We compare these measurements against published predictions from lens models, and find that the majority of model predictions are in very good agreement with our measurements. Finally, we discuss avenues for future improvement of time delay measurements -- both for SN Refsdal and for other strongly lensed SNe yet to come.
We present new astrometric measurements of the components in the T Tauri
system, and derive new orbits and masses.
T Tauri was observed during the science verification time of the new extreme
adaptive optics facility SPHERE at the VLT. We combine the new positions with
recalibrated NACO-measurements and data from the literature. Model fits for the
orbits of T Tau Sa and Sb around each other and around T Tau N yield orbital
elements and individual masses of the stars Sa and Sb.
Our new orbit for T Tau Sa/Sb is in good agreement with other recent results,
which indicates that enough of the orbit has been observed for a reliable fit.
The total mass of T Tau S is 2.65+/-0.11 Msun. The mass ratio M_Sb:M_Sa is
0.25+/-0.03, which yields individual masses of M_Sa = 2.12+/-0.10 Msun and M_Sb
= 0.53+/-0.06 Msun. If our current knowledge of the orbital motions is used to
compute the position of the southern radio source in the T Tauri system, then
we find no evidence for the proposed dramatic change in its path.
We present $N$-body simulations of globular clusters, exploring the effect of different galactic potentials on cluster sizes, $r_h$. For various galactocentric distances, $R_G$, we assess how cluster sizes change when we vary the virial mass and concentration of the host galaxy's dark-matter halo. We show that sizes of GCs are determined by the local galactic mass density rather than the virial mass of the host galaxy. We find that clusters evolving in the inner haloes of less concentrated galaxies are significantly more extended than those evolving in more concentrated ones, while the sizes of those orbiting in the outer halo are almost independent of concentration. Adding a baryonic component to our galaxy models does not change these results much, since its effect is only significant in the very inner halo. Our simulations suggest that there is a relation between $r_h$ and $R_G$, which systematically depends on the physical parameters of the halo. Hence, observing such relations in individual galaxies can put a new observational constraint on dark-matter halo characteristics. However, by varying the halo mass in a wide range of $10^{9}\leq M_{vir}/\msun \leq10^{13}$, we find that the $r_h-R_G$ relationship will be nearly independent of halo mass, if one assumes $M_{vir}$ and $c_{vir}$ as two correlated parameters, as is suggested by cosmological simulations.
We present a study of the molecular gas properties in a sample of 98 HI - flux selected spiral galaxies within $\sim25$ Mpc, using the CO $J=3-2$ line observed with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. We use the technique of survival analysis to incorporate galaxies with CO upper limits into our results. Comparing the group and Virgo samples, we find a larger mean H$_{2}$ mass in the Virgo galaxies, despite their lower mean HI mass. This leads to a significantly higher H$_{2}$ to HI ratio for Virgo galaxies. Combining our data with complementary H$\alpha$ star formation rate measurements, Virgo galaxies have longer molecular gas depletion times compared to group galaxies, due to their higher H$_{2}$ masses and lower star formation rates. We suggest that the longer depletion times may be a result of heating processes in the cluster environment or differences in the turbulent pressure. From the full sample, we find that the molecular gas depletion time has a positive correlation with the stellar mass, indicative of differences in the star formation process between low and high mass galaxies, and a negative correlation between the molecular gas depletion time and the specific star formation rate.
Using the KEPLER hydrodynamics code, 464 models of thermonuclear X-ray bursters were performed across a range of accretion rates and compositions. We present the library of simulated burst profiles from this sample, and examine variations in the simulated lightcurve for different model conditions. We find that the recurrence time varies as a power law against accretion rate, and measure its slope while mixed H/He burning is occurring for a range of metallicities, finding the power law gradient to vary from $\eta = 1.1$ to $1.24$. We also identify the accretion rates at which mixed H/He burning stops and a transition occurs to different burning regimes. We also explore how varying the accretion rate and metallicity affects burst morphology in both the rise and tail.
Measurements of black-hole spins from gravitational-wave observations of black-hole binaries with ground-based detectors are expected to be hampered by partial degeneracies in the gravitational-wave phasing: between the two component spins, and between the spins and the binary's mass ratio, at least for signals that are dominated by the binary's inspiral. Through the merger and ringdown, however, a different set of degeneracies apply. This suggests the possibility that, if the inspiral, merger and ringdown are all within the sensitive frequency band of a detector, we may be able to break these degeneracies and more accurately measure both spins. In this work we investigate our ability to measure individual spins for non-precessing binaries, for a range of configurations and signal strengths, and conclude that in general the spin of the larger black hole will be measurable (at best) with observations from Advanced LIGO and Virgo. This implies that in many applications waveform models parameterized by only one \emph{effective spin} will be sufficient. Our work does not consider precessing binaries or sub-dominant harmonics, although we provide some arguments why we expect that these will not qualitatively change our conclusions.
Minimal Dark Matter (MDM) is a theoretical framework highly appreciated for its minimality and yet its predictivity. Of the two only viable candidates singled out in the original analysis, the scalar eptaplet has been found to decay too quickly to be around today, while the fermionic quintuplet will soon be probed by indirect Dark Matter (DM) searches. It is therefore timely to critically review the MDM paradigm, possibly pointing out generalizations of this framework. We propose and explore two distinct directions. One is to abandon the assumption of DM electric neutrality in favor of absolutely stable, millicharged DM candidates which are part of $SU(2)_\text{L}$ multiplets with integer isospin. Another possibility is to lower the cutoff of the model, which was originally fixed at the Planck scale, to allow for DM decays. We find new viable MDM candidates and study their phenomenology in detail.
The simplest way to create sterile neutrinos in the early Universe is by their admixture to active neutrinos. However, this mechanism, connected to the Dark Matter (DM) problem by Dodelson and Widrow (DW), cannot simultaneously meet the relic abundance constraint as well as bounds from structure formation and X-rays. Nonetheless, unless a symmetry forces active-sterile mixing to vanish exactly, the DW mechanism will unavoidably affect the sterile neutrino DM population created by any other production mechanism. We present a semi-analytic approach to the DW mechanism acting on an arbitrary initial abundance of sterile neutrinos, allowing to combine DW with any other preceding production mechanism in a physical and precise way. While previous analyses usually assumed that the spectra produced by DW and another mechanism can simply be added, we use our semi-analytic results to discuss the validity of this assumption and to quantify its accurateness, thereby also scrutinising the DW spectrum and the derived mass bounds. We then map our results to the case of sterile neutrino DM from the decay of a real SM singlet coupled to the Higgs. Finally, we will investigate aspects of structure formation beyond the usual simple free-streaming estimates in order to judge on the effects of the DW modification on the sterile neutrino DM spectra generated by scalar decay.
We apply as selection rule to determine the unknown functions of a cosmological model the existence of Lie point symmetries for the Wheeler-DeWitt equation of quantum gravity. Our cosmological setting consists of a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric having the scale factor $a(t)$, a scalar field with potential function $V(\phi)$ minimally coupled to gravity and a vector field of its kinetic energy is coupled with the scalar field by a coupling function $f(\phi)$. Then, the Lie symmetries of this dynamical system are investigated by utilizing the behavior of the corresponding minisuperspace under the infinitesimal generator of the desired symmetries. It is shown that by applying the Lie symmetry condition the form of the coupling function and also the scalar field potential function may be explicitly determined so that we are able to solve the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. Finally, we show how we can use the Lie symmetries in order to construct conservation laws and exact solutions for the field equations.
Rapidly rotating black hole solutions in theories beyond general relativity play a key role in experimental gravity, as they allow us to compute observables in extreme spacetimes that deviate from the predictions of general relativity (GR). Such solutions are often difficult to find in beyond-GR theories due to the inclusion of additional fields that couple to the metric non-linearly and non-minimally. In this paper, we consider rotating black hole solutions in one such theory, dynamical Chern-Simons gravity, where the Einstein-Hilbert action is modified by the introduction of a dynamical scalar field that couples to the metric through the Pontryagin density. We treat dynamical Chern-Simons gravity as an effective field theory and thus work in the decoupling limit, where corrections are treated as small perturbations from general relativity. We perturb about the maximally-rotating Kerr solution, the so-called extremal limit, and develop mathematical insight into the analysis techniques needed to construct solutions for generic spin. First we find closed-form, analytic expressions for the extremal scalar field, and then determine the trace of the metric perturbation, giving both in terms of Legendre decompositions. Retaining only the first three and four modes in the Legendre representation of the scalar field and the trace respectively suffices to ensure a fidelity of over 99% relative to full numerical solutions. The leading-order mode in the Legendre expansion of the trace of the metric perturbation contains a logarithmic divergence at the extremal Kerr horizon, which is likely to be unimportant as it occurs inside the perturbed dynamical Chern-Simons horizon. The techniques employed here should enable the construction of analytic, closed-form expressions for the scalar field and metric perturbations on a background with arbitrary rotation.
Trapping of microparticles and aerosols is of great interest for physics and chemistry. We report microparticle trapping in multipole linear Paul trap geometries, operating under Standard Ambient Temperature and Pressure (SATP) conditions. An 8-electrode and a 12-electrode linear trap geometries have been designed and tested with an aim to achieve trapping for larger number of particles and to study microparticle dynamical stability in electrodynamic fields. We report emergence of planar and volume ordered structures of the microparticles, depending on the a.c. trapping frequency and particle specific charge ratio. The electric potential within the trap was mapped using the electrolytic tank method. Particle dynamics was simulated using a stochastic Langevin equation. We emphasize extended regions of stable trapping with respect to quadrupole traps, as well as good agreement between experiment and numerical simulations.
Trapping of microparticles, nanoparticles and aerosols is an issue of major interest for physics and chemistry. We present a setup intended for microparticle trapping in multipole linear Paul trap geometries, operating under Standard Ambient Temperature and Pressure (SATP) conditions. A 16-electrode linear trap geometry has been designed and tested, with an aim to confine a larger number of particles with respect to quadrupole traps and thus enhance the signal to noise ratio, as well as to study microparticle dynamical stability in electrodynamic fields. Experimental tests and numerical simulations suggest that multipole traps are very suited for high precision mass spectrometry measurements in case of different microparticle species or to identify the presence of certain aerosols and polluting agents in the atmosphere. Particle traps represent versatile tools for environment monitoring or for the study of many-body Coulomb systems and dusty plasmas.
In 1964-1974, the German artist Max Ernst created, with the help of two friends, a series of works (books, movie, paintings) related to the astronomer Wilhelm Tempel. Mixing actual texts by Tempel and artistic features, this series pays homage to the astronomer by recalling his life and discoveries. Moreover, the core of the project, the book Maximiliana or the Illegal Practice of Astronomy, actually depicts the way science works, making this artwork a most original tribute to a scientist.
We construct a new global, fully analytic, approximate spacetime which accurately describes the dynamics of non-precessing, spinning black hole binaries during the inspiral phase of the relativistic merger process. This approximate solution of the vacuum Einstein's equations can be obtained by asymptotically matching perturbed Kerr solutions near the two black holes to a post-Newtonian metric valid far from the two black holes. This metric is then matched to a post-Minkowskian metric even farther out in the wave zone. The procedure of asymptotic matching is generalized to be valid on all spatial hypersurfaces, instead of a small group of initial hypersurfaces discussed in previous works. This metric is well suited for long term dynamical simulations of spinning black hole binary spacetimes prior to merger, such as studies of circumbinary gas accretion which requires hundreds of binary orbits.
We present a novel realization of Starobinsky-type inflation within Supergravity using two chiral superfields. The proposed superpotential is inspired by induced-gravity models. The Kaehler potential contains two logarithmic terms, one for the inflaton T and one for the matter-like field S, parameterizing the SU(1,1)/U(1)x SU(2)/U(1) Kaehler manifold. The two factors have constant curvatures -m/n and 2/n2, where n, m are the exponents of T in the superpotential and Kaehler potential respectively, and 0<n2<=6. The inflationary observables depend on the ratio 2n/m only. Essentially they coincide with the observables of the original Starobinsky model. Moreover, the inflaton mass is predicted to be 3x10^13 GeV.
So-called "Buchert averaging" is actually a coarse-graining procedure, where fine detail is "smeared out" due to limited spatio-temporal resolution. For technical reasons, (to be explained herein), "averaging" is not really an appropriate term, and I shall consistently describe the process as a "coarse-graining". Because Einstein gravity is nonlinear the coarse-grained Einstein tensor is typically not equal to the Einstein tensor of the coarse-grained spacetime geometry. The discrepancy can be viewed as an "effective" stress-energy, and this "effective" stress-energy often violates the classical energy conditions. To keep otherwise messy technical issues firmly under control, I shall work with conformal-FLRW (CFLRW) cosmologies. These CFLRW-based models are particularly tractable, and are also particularly attractive observationally: the CMB is not distorted. In this CFLRW context one can prove some rigorous theorems regarding the interplay between Buchert coarse-graining, tracelessness of the effective stress-energy, and the classical energy conditions.
We carefully study the implications of adiabaticity for the behavior of
cosmological perturbations. There are essentially three similar but different
definitions of non-adiabaticity: one is appropriate for a thermodynamic fluid
$\delta P_{nad}$, another is for a general matter field $\delta P_{c,nad}$, and
the last one is valid only on superhorizon scales. The first two definitions
coincide if $c_s^2=c_w^2$ where $c_s$ is the propagation speed of the
perturbation, while $c_w^2=\dot P/\dot\rho$. Assuming the adiabaticity in the
general sense, $\delta P_{c,nad}=0$, we derive a relation between the lapse
function in the comoving slicing $A_c$ and $\delta P_{nad}$ valid for arbitrary
matter field in any theory of gravity, by using only momentum conservation. The
relation implies that as long as $c_s\neq c_w$, the uniform density, comoving
and the proper-time slicings coincide approximately for any gravity theory and
for any matter field if $\delta P_{nad}=0$ approximately. In the case of
general relativity this gives the equivalence between the comoving curvature
perturbation $R_c$ and the uniform density curvature perturbation $\zeta$ on
superhorizon scales, and their conservation. This is realized on superhorizon
scales in standard slow-roll inflation.
We then consider an example in which $c_w=c_s$, where $\delta P_{nad}=\delta
P_{c,nad}=0$ exactly, but the equivalence between $R_c$ and $\zeta$ no longer
holds. Namely we consider the so-called ultra slow-roll inflation. In this case
both $R_c$ and $\zeta$ are not conserved. In particular, as for $\zeta$, we
find that it is crucial to take into account the next-to-leading order term in
$\zeta$'s spatial gradient expansion to show its non-conservation, even on
superhorizon scales. This is an example of the fact that adiabaticity is not
always enough to ensure the conservation of $R_c$ or $\zeta$.
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