On the degeneracies between baryons, massive neutrinos and f(R) gravity in Stage IV cosmic shear analyses [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06350


Modelling nonlinear structure formation is essential for current and forthcoming cosmic shear experiments. We combine the halo model reaction formalism, implemented in the REACT code, with the COSMOPOWER machine learning emulation platform, to develop and publicly release REACTEMU-FR, a fast and accurate nonlinear matter power spectrum emulator for $f(R)$ gravity with massive neutrinos. Coupled with the state-of-the-art baryon feedback emulator BCEMU, we use REACTEMU-FR to produce Markov Chain Monte Carlo forecasts for a cosmic shear experiment with typical Stage IV specifications. We find that the inclusion of highly nonlinear scales (multipoles between $1500\leq \ell \leq 5000$) only mildly improves constraints on most standard cosmological parameters (less than a factor of 2). In particular, the necessary modelling of baryonic physics effectively damps most constraining power on the sum of the neutrino masses and modified gravity at $\ell \gtrsim 1500$. Using an approximate baryonic physics model produces mildly improved constraints on cosmological parameters which remain unbiased at the $1\sigma$-level, but significantly biases constraints on baryonic parameters at the $> 2\sigma$-level.

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A. Mancini and B. Bose
Thu, 11 May 23
32/55

Comments: 16 pages, 10 figures, REACTEMU-FR available at this https URL

Inferences from surface brightness fluctuations of Zwicky 3146 via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect and X-ray observations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05790


The galaxy cluster Zwicky 3146 is a sloshing cool core cluster at $z{=}0.291$ that in SZ imaging does not appear to exhibit significant pressure substructure in the intracluster medium (ICM). We perform a surface brightness fluctuation analysis via Fourier amplitude spectra on SZ (MUSTANG-2) and X-ray (XMM-Newton) images of this cluster. These surface brightness fluctuations can be deprojected to infer pressure and density fluctuations from the SZ and X-ray data, respectively. In the central region (Ring 1, $r < 100^{\prime\prime} = 440$ kpc, in our analysis) we find fluctuation spectra that suggest injection scales around 200 kpc ($\sim 140$ kpc from pressure fluctuations and $\sim 250$ kpc from density fluctuations). When comparing the pressure and density fluctuations in the central region, we observe a change in the effective thermodynamic state from large to small scales, from isobaric (likely due to the slow sloshing) to adiabatic (due to more vigorous motions). By leveraging scalings from hydrodynamical simulations, we find an average 3D Mach number $\approx0.5$. We further compare our results to other studies of Zwicky 3146 and, more broadly, to other studies of fluctuations in other clusters.

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C. Romero, M. Gaspari, G. Schellenberger, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
33/55

Comments: Accepted to ApJ; 22 pages, 19 figures

Multi-Messenger Diagnostics of the Engine behind Core-Collapse Supernovae [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06134


Core-collapse supernova explosions play a wide role in astrophysics by producing compact remnants (neutron stars, black holes) and the synthesis and injection of many heavy elements into their host Galaxy. Because they are produced in some of the most extreme conditions in the universe, they can also probe physics in extreme conditions (matter at nuclear densities and extreme temperatures and magnetic fields). To quantify the impact of supernovae on both fundamental physics and our understanding of the Universe, we must leverage a broad set of observables of this engine. In this paper, we study a subset of these probes using a suite of 1-dimensional, parameterized mixing models: ejecta remnants from supernovae, ultraviolet, optical and infra-red lightcurves, and transient gamma-ray emission. We review the other diagnostics and show how the different probes tie together to provide a more clear picture of the supernova engine.

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C. Fryer, E. Burns, A. Hungerford, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
34/55

Comments: 21 pages, 11 figures

The spin measurement of MAXI J0637-430: a black hole candidate with high disk density [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05914


The Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J0637-430 was first discovered by $\textit{MAXI/GSC}$ on 2019 November 02. We study the spectral properties of MAXI J0637-430 by using the archived $\textit{NuSTAR}$ data and $\textit{Swift}$/XRT data. After fitting the eight spectra by using a disk component and a powerlaw component model with absorption, we select the spectra with relatively strong reflection components for detailed X-ray reflection spectroscopy. Using the most state-of-art reflection model $\tt{relxillCp}$, the spectral fitting measures a black hole spin $\textit{a}{\rm{*}} > 0.72$ and the inclination angle of the accretion disk $i$ = $46.1{-5.3}^{+4.0}$ degrees, at 90 per cent confidence level. In addition, the fitting results show an extreme supersolar iron abundance. Combined with the fitting results of the reflection model $\tt{reflionx_hd}$, we consider that this unphysical iron abundance may be caused by a very high density accretion disk ( $n_{\rm{e}} > 2.34 \times 10^{21}$ $\rm{cm}^{-3}$ ) or a strong Fe K$\alpha$ emission line. The soft excess is found in the soft state spectral fitting results, which may be an extra free-free heating effect caused by high density of the accretion disk. Finally, we discuss the robustness of black hole spin obtained by X-ray reflection spectroscopy. The result of relatively high spin is self-consistent with broadened Fe K$\alpha$ line. Iron abundance and disk density have no effect on the spin results.

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N. Jia, Y. Feng, Y. Song, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
35/55

Comments: submitted to Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Temperature and density dependence of line profiles of sodium perturbed by helium [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06079


Ultracool stellar atmospheres show absorption by alkali resonance lines severely broadened by collisions with neutral perturbers. In the coolest and densest atmospheres, such as those of T dwarfs, Na I and K I broadened by molecular hydrogen and helium can come to dominate the entire optical spectrum. The effects of NaHe collision broadening are also central to understanding the opacity of cool DZ white dwarf stars. In order to be able to construct synthetic spectra of brown dwarfs and cool DZ white dwarfs, where helium density can reach several 10^21~cm-3 NaHe line profiles of the resonance lines have been computed over a wide range of densities and temperatures. Unified line profiles that are valid from the core to the far wings at high densities are calculated in the semiclassical approach using up-to-date molecular data including in particular electronic spin-orbit coupling from the sodium atom. We present a comprehensive study of Na-He collisional profiles at high density, and temperatures from 5000~K, the temperature prevailing in the atmosphere of ultra-cool DZ white dwarf stars, down to 1~K, the temperature in liquid helium clusters. Collision broadening and shift parameters within the impact approximation obtained in the semiclassical and quantum theory using our new accurate molecular data are presented.

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N. Allard, K. Myneni, J. Blakely, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
36/55

Comments: N/A

(433) Eros and (25143) Itokawa surface properties from reflectance spectra [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05700


Context. Upcoming space missions will provide us with surface-resolved NEA reflectance spectra. Neural networks are useful tools for analysing reflectance spectra and determining material composition with high precision and low processing time. Aims. We applied neural-network models on disk-resolved spectra of the Eros and Itokawa asteroids observed by the NEAR Shoemaker and Hayabusa spacecraft. With this approach, the mineral variations or intensity of space weathering can be mapped. Methods. We tested two types of convolutional neural networks. The first one was trained using asteroid reflectance spectra with known taxonomy classes. The other one used silicate reflectance spectra with assigned mineral abundances and compositions. Results. The reliability of the classification model depends on the resolution of reflectance spectra. Typical F1 score and Cohen’s ${\kappa}_C$ values decrease from about 0.90 for high-resolution spectra to about 0.70 for low-resolution spectra. The predicted silicate composition does not strongly depend on spectrum resolution and coverage of the 2${\mu}$m band of pyroxene. The typical root mean square error is between 6 and 10 percentage points. For the Eros and Itokawa asteroids, the predicted taxonomy classes favour the S-type and the predicted surface compositions are homogeneous and correspond to the composition of L/LL and LL ordinary chondrites, respectively. On the Itokawa surface, the model identified fresh spots that were connected with craters or coarse-grain areas. Conclusions. The neural network models trained with measured spectra of asteroids and silicate samples are suitable for deriving surface silicate mineralogy with a reasonable level of accuracy. The predicted surface mineralogy is comparable to the mineralogy of returned samples measured in the laboratory. Moreover, the taxonomical predictions can point out locations of fresher areas.

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D. Korda, T. Kohout, K. Flanderová, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
37/55

Comments: 14 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables; plus appendices

Starobinsky Inflation from String Theory? [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05703


Starobinsky inflation is currently one of the best models concerning agreement with cosmological data. Despite this observational success, it is still lacking a robust embedding into a UV complete theory. Previous efforts to derive Starobinsky inflation from string theory have been based on the derivation of higher derivative curvature terms from the low-energy limit of ten-dimensional string theory. This approach is however known to fail due to the difficulty to tame the effect of contributions proportional to the Ricci scalar to a power larger than two. In this paper we investigate an alternative attempt which exploits instead the ubiquitous presence of scalar fields in string compactifications combined with the fact that Starobinsky inflation can be recast as Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field with a precise potential and conformal coupling to matter fermions. We focus in particular on type IIB K\”ahler moduli since they have shown to lead to exponential potentials with a Starobinsky-like plateau. We consider three classes of moduli with a different topological origin: the volume modulus, bulk fibre moduli, and blow-up modes. The only modulus with the correct coupling to matter is the volume mode but its potential does not feature any plateau at large field values. Fibre moduli admit instead a potential very similar to Starobinsky inflation with a natural suppression of higher curvature corrections, but they cannot reproduce the correct conformal coupling to matter. Blow-up modes have both a wrong potential and a wrong coupling. Our analysis implies therefore that embedding Starobinsky inflation into string theory seems rather hard. Finally, it provides a detailed derivation of the coupling to matter of fibre moduli which could be used as a way to discriminate Starobinsky from fibre inflation.

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M. Brinkmann, M. Cicoli and P. Zito
Thu, 11 May 23
38/55

Comments: 24 pages, 4 figures

The Merging of a Coronal Dimming and the Southern Polar Coronal Hole [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06106


We report on the merging between the southern polar coronal hole and an adjacent coronal dimming induced by a coronal mass ejection on 2022 March 18, resulting in the merged region persisting for at least 72 hrs. We use remote sensing data from multiple co-observing spacecraft to understand the physical processes during this merging event. The evolution of the merger is examined using Extreme-UltraViolet (EUV) images obtained from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory and Extreme Ultraviolet Imager onboard the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. The plasma dynamics are quantified using spectroscopic data obtained from the EUV Imaging Spectrometer onboard Hinode. The photospheric magnetograms from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager are used to derive magnetic field properties. To our knowledge, this work is the first spectroscopical analysis of the merging of two open-field structures. We find that the coronal hole and the coronal dimming become indistinguishable after the merging. The upflow speeds inside the coronal dimming become more similar to that of a coronal hole, with a mixture of plasma upflows and downflows observable after the merging. The brightening of bright points and the appearance of coronal jets inside the merged region further imply ongoing reconnection processes. We propose that component reconnection between the coronal hole and coronal dimming fields plays an important role during this merging event, as the footpoint switching resulting from the reconnection allows the coronal dimming to intrude onto the boundary of the southern polar coronal hole.

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N. Ngampoopun, D. Long, D. Baker, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
39/55

Comments: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

A Foreground-Immune CMB-Cluster Lensing Estimator [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06326


Galaxy clusters induce a distinct dipole pattern in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) through the effect of gravitational lensing. Extracting this lensing signal will enable us to constrain cluster masses, even for high redshift clusters ($z \gtrsim 1$) that are expected to be detected by future CMB surveys. However, cluster-correlated foreground signals, like the kinematic and thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (kSZ and tSZ) signals, present a challenge when extracting the lensing signal from CMB temperature data. While CMB polarization-based lensing reconstruction is one way to mitigate these foreground biases, the sensitivity from CMB temperature-based reconstruction is expected to be similar to or higher than polarization for future surveys. In this work, we extend the cluster lensing estimator developed in Raghunathan et al. (2019) to CMB temperature and test its robustness against systematic biases from foreground signals. We find that the kSZ signal only acts as an additional source of variance and provide a simple stacking-based approach to mitigate the bias from the tSZ signal. Additionally, we study the bias induced due to uncertainties in the cluster positions and show that they can be easily mitigated. The estimated signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of this estimator is comparable to other standard lensing estimators such as the maximum likelihood (MLE) and quadratic (QE) estimators. We predict the cluster mass uncertainties from CMB temperature data for current and future cluster samples to be: 6.6% for SPT-3G with 7,000 clusters, 4.1% for SO and 3.9% for SO + FYST with 25,000 clusters, and 1.8% for CMB-S4 with 100,000 clusters.

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K. Levy, S. Raghunathan and K. Basu
Thu, 11 May 23
40/55

Comments: 22 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables; to be submitted to JCAP; comments welcome

Sensitivity of Transition-Edge Sensors to Strong DC Electric Fields [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06032


Transition-edge sensors (TESs) have found a wide range of applications in both space- and land-based astronomical photon measurement and are being used in the search for dark matter and neutrino mass measurements. A fundamental aspect of TES physics that has not been investigated is the sensitivity of TESs to strong DC electric fields (10 kV/m and above). Understanding the resilience of TESs to DC electric fields is essential when considering their use as charged particle spectrometers, a field in which TESs could have an enormous impact. Techniques such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy produce a high number of low-energy electrons that are not of interest and can be screened from the detector using electrostatic deflection. The use of strong electric fields could also provide a mass-efficient route to prevent secondary electron measurements arising from cosmic radiation in space-based TES applications. Integrating electron optics into the TES membrane provides an elegant and compact means to control the interaction between charged particles and the sensor, whether by screening unwanted particles or enhancing the particle absorption efficiency but implementing such techniques requires understanding the sensitivity of the TES to the resulting electric fields. In this work, we applied a uniform DC electric field across a Mo/Au TES using a parallel pair of flat electrodes positioned above and below the TES. The electric field in the vicinity of the TES was enhanced by the presence of silicon backing plate directly beneath the TES. Using this arrangement, we were able to apply of electric fields up to 90 kV/m across the TES. We observed no electric field sensitivity at any field strength demonstrating the capability to use TESs in environments of strong electric fields.

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K. Patel, D. Goldie, S. Withington, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
41/55

Comments: N/A

Improved ranking statistics of the GstLAL inspiral search for compact binary coalescences [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06286


Starting from May 2023, the LIGO Scientific, Virgo and KAGRA Collaboration is planning to conduct the fourth observing run with improved detector sensitivities and an expanded detector network including KAGRA. Accordingly, it is vital to optimize the detection algorithm of low-latency search pipelines, increasing their sensitivities to gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences. In this work, we discuss several new features developed for ranking statistics of GstLAL-based inspiral pipeline, which mainly consist of: the signal contamination removal, the bank-$\xi^2$ incorporation, the upgraded $\rho-\xi^2$ signal model and the integration of KAGRA. An injection study demonstrates that these new features improve the pipeline’s sensitivity by approximately 15% to 20%, paving the way to further multi-messenger observations during the upcoming observing run.

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L. Tsukada, P. Joshi, S. Adhicary, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
42/55

Comments: 13pages, 6figures

CosmoPower-JAX: high-dimensional Bayesian inference with differentiable cosmological emulators [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06347


We present CosmoPower-JAX, a JAX-based implementation of the CosmoPower framework, which accelerates cosmological inference by building neural emulators of cosmological power spectra. We show how, using the automatic differentiation, batch evaluation and just-in-time compilation features of JAX, and running the inference pipeline on graphics processing units (GPUs), parameter estimation can be accelerated by orders of magnitude with advanced gradient-based sampling techniques. These can be used to efficiently explore high-dimensional parameter spaces, such as those needed for the analysis of next-generation cosmological surveys. We showcase the accuracy and computational efficiency of CosmoPower-JAX on two simulated Stage IV configurations. We first consider a single survey performing a cosmic shear analysis totalling 37 model parameters. We validate the contours derived with CosmoPower-JAX and a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo sampler against those derived with a nested sampler and without emulators, obtaining a speed-up factor of $\mathcal{O}(10^3)$. We then consider a combination of three Stage IV surveys, each performing a joint cosmic shear and galaxy clustering (3x2pt) analysis, for a total of 157 model parameters. Even with such a high-dimensional parameter space, CosmoPower-JAX provides converged posterior contours in 3 days, as opposed to the estimated 6 years required by standard methods. CosmoPower-JAX is fully written in Python, and we make it publicly available to help the cosmological community meet the accuracy requirements set by next-generation surveys.

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D. Piras and A. Mancini
Thu, 11 May 23
43/55

Comments: 11 pages, 5 figures. CosmoPower-JAX is available at this https URL

MeerKAT caught a Mini Mouse: serendipitous detection of a young radio pulsar escaping its birth sit [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06130


In MeerKAT observations pointed at a Galactic X-ray binary located on the Galactic plane we serendipitously discovered a radio nebula with cometary-like morphology. The feature, which we named the Mini Mouse' based on its similarity with the previously discoveredMouse’ nebula, points back towards the previously unidentified candidate supernova remnant G45.24$+$0.18. We observed the location of the Mini Mouse with MeerKAT in two different observations, and we localised with arcsecond precision the 138 ms radio pulsar PSR J1914+1054g, recently discovered by the FAST telescope, to a position consistent with the head of the nebula. We confirm a dispersion measure of about 418 pc cm$^{-3}$ corresponding to a distance between 7.8 and 8.8 kpc based on models of the electron distribution. Using our accurate localisation and 2 period measurements spaced 90 days apart we calculate a period derivative of (2.7 $\pm$ 0.3) $\times$ 10 $^{-14}$ s s$^{-1}$. We derive a characteristic age of approximately 82 kyr and a spin down luminosity of 4$\times$10$^{35}$ erg s$^{-1}$, respectively. For a pulsar age comparable with the characteristic age, we find that the projected velocity of the neutron star is between 320 and 360 km/s if it was born at the location of the supernova remnant. The size of the proposed remnant appears small if compared with the pulsar characteristic age, however the relatively high density of the environment near the Galactic plane could explain a suppressed expansion rate and thus a smaller remnant.

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S. Motta, J. Turner, B. Stappers, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
44/55

Comments: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication on MNRAS

Dynamical He Flashes in Double White Dwarf Binaries [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05695


The detonation of an overlying helium layer on a $0.8-1.1\,\mathrm{M}{\odot}$ carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarf (WD) can detonate the CO WD and create a thermonuclear supernova (SN). Many authors have recently shown that when the mass of the He layer is low ($\lesssim 0.03\,\mathrm{M}{\odot}$), the ashes from its detonation minimally impact the spectra and light-curve from the CO detonation, allowing the explosion to appear remarkably similar to Type Ia SNe. These new insights motivate our investigation of dynamical He shell burning, and our search for a binary scenario that stably accumulates thermally unstable He shells in the $0.01-0.08\,\mathrm{M}{\odot}$ range, thick enough to detonate, but also often thin enough for minimal impact on the observables. We first show that our improved non-adiabatic evolution of convective He shell burning in this shell mass range leads to conditions ripe for a He detonation. We also find that a stable mass-transfer scenario with a high entropy He WD donor of mass $0.15-0.25\,\mathrm{M}\odot$ yields the He shell masses needed to achieve the double detonations. This scenario also predicts that the surviving He donor leaves with a space velocity consistent with the unusual runaway object, D6-2. We find that hot He WD donors originate in common envelope events when a $1.3-2.0\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$ star fills its Roche lobe at the base of the red giant branch at orbital periods of $1-10$ days with the CO WD.

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T. Wong and L. Bildsten
Thu, 11 May 23
45/55

Comments: 12 pages, 6 figures; Accepted to ApJ

Gravitational Wave Peeps from EMRIs and their Implication for LISA Signal Confusion Noise [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05793


Scattering events around a supermassive black hole will occasionally toss a stellar-mass compact object into an orbit around the supermassive black hole, beginning an extreme mass ratio inspiral. The early stages of such a highly eccentric orbit will not produce detectable gravitational waves as the source will only be in a suitable frequency band briefly when it is close to periapsis during each long-period orbit. This burst of emission, firmly in the millihertz band is the gravitational wave peep. While a single peep is not likely to be detectable, if we consider an ensemble of such subthreshold sources, spread across the universe, together they produce an unresolvable background noise that may obscure sources otherwise detectable by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, the proposed space-based gravitational wave detector. Previous studies of the extreme mass ratio burst signal confusion background focused more on parabolic orbits going very near the supermassive black hole and on events near the galactic center. We seek to improve this characterization by implementing numerical kludge waveforms that can calculate highly eccentric orbits with relativistic effects focusing on orbits which are farther away from the supermassive black hole and thus less likely to be detectable on their own, but will otherwise contribute to the background signal confusion noise. Here we present the waveforms and spectra of the gravitational wave peeps generated from recent calculations of extreme mass ratio inspirals/bursts capture parameters and discuss how these can be used to estimate the signal confusion noise generated by such events.

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D. Oliver, A. Johnson, J. Berrier, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
46/55

Comments: 10 pages, 7 figures

Absorption of Axion Dark Matter in a Magnetized Medium [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05681


Detection of axion dark matter heavier than a meV is hindered by its small wavelength, which limits the useful volume of traditional experiments. This problem can be avoided by directly detecting in-medium excitations, whose $\sim \text{meV} – \text{eV}$ energies are decoupled from the detector size. We show that for any target inside a magnetic field, the absorption rate of electromagnetically-coupled axions into in-medium excitations is determined by the dielectric function. As a result, the plethora of candidate targets previously identified for sub-GeV dark matter searches can be repurposed as broadband axion detectors. We find that a $\text{kg} \cdot \text{yr}$ exposure with noise levels comparable to recent measurements is sufficient to probe parameter space currently unexplored by laboratory tests. Noise reduction by only a few orders of magnitude can enable sensitivity to the QCD axion in the $\sim 10 \ \text{meV} – 10 \ \text{eV}$ mass range.

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A. Berlin and T. Trickle
Thu, 11 May 23
47/55

Comments: 10 pages, 2 figures

Hydrodynamical structure formation in Milgromian cosmology [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05696


We present the first hydrodynamical cosmological simulations in the $\nu$HDM framework based on Milgromian dynamics (MOND) with light (11~eV) sterile neutrinos. $\nu$HDM can explain the expansion history, CMB anisotropies, and galaxy cluster dynamics similarly to standard cosmology while preserving MOND’s successes on galaxy scales, making this the most conservative Milgromian framework. We generate initial conditions including sterile neutrinos using \textsc{camb} and \textsc{music} and modify the publicly available code \textsc{phantom of ramses} to run $\nu$HDM models. The simulations start at redshift $z_e=199$, when the gravitational fields are stronger than $a_{_0}$ provided this does not vary. We analyse the growth of structure and investigate the impact of resolution and box size, which is at most 600 comoving Mpc. Large density contrasts arise at late times, which may explain the KBC void and Hubble tension. We quantify the mass function of formed structures at different redshifts. We show that the sterile neutrino mass fraction in these structures is similar to the cosmic fraction at high masses (consistent with MOND dynamical analyses) but approaches zero at lower masses, as expected for galaxies. We also identify structures with a low peculiar velocity comparable to the Local Group, but these are rare. The onset of group/cluster scale structure formation at $z_e\approx4$ appears to be in tension with observations of high redshift galaxies, which we discuss in comparison to prior analytical work in a MONDian framework. The formation of a cosmic web of filaments and voids demonstrates that this is not unique to standard Einstein/Newton-based cosmology.

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N. Wittenburg, P. Kroupa, I. Banik, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
48/55

Comments: 24 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in MNRAS 28.04.2023; For movies of the models simulated in this work see this https URL

Coronal Heating as Determined by the Solar Flare Frequency Distribution Obtained by Aggregating Case Studies [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05687


Flare frequency distributions represent a key approach to addressing one of the largest problems in solar and stellar physics: determining the mechanism that counter-intuitively heats coronae to temperatures that are orders of magnitude hotter than the corresponding photospheres. It is widely accepted that the magnetic field is responsible for the heating, but there are two competing mechanisms that could explain it: nanoflares or Alfv\’en waves. To date, neither can be directly observed. Nanoflares are, by definition, extremely small, but their aggregate energy release could represent a substantial heating mechanism, presuming they are sufficiently abundant. One way to test this presumption is via the flare frequency distribution, which describes how often flares of various energies occur. If the slope of the power law fitting the flare frequency distribution is above a critical threshold, $\alpha=2$ as established in prior literature, then there should be a sufficient abundance of nanoflares to explain coronal heating. We performed $>$600 case studies of solar flares, made possible by an unprecedented number of data analysts via three semesters of an undergraduate physics laboratory course. This allowed us to include two crucial, but nontrivial, analysis methods: pre-flare baseline subtraction and computation of the flare energy, which requires determining flare start and stop times. We aggregated the results of these analyses into a statistical study to determine that $\alpha = 1.63 \pm 0.03$. This is below the critical threshold, suggesting that Alfv\’en waves are an important driver of coronal heating.

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J. Mason, A. Werth, C. West, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
49/55

Comments: 1,002 authors, 14 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, published by The Astrophysical Journal on 2023-05-09, volume 948, page 71

A reflective, metal-rich atmosphere for GJ 1214b from its JWST phase curve [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06240


There are no planets intermediate in size between Earth and Neptune in our Solar System, yet these objects are found around a substantial fraction of other stars. Population statistics show that close-in planets in this size range bifurcate into two classes based on their radii. It is hypothesized that the group with larger radii (referred to as “sub-Neptunes”) is distinguished by having hydrogen-dominated atmospheres that are a few percent of the total mass of the planets. GJ 1214b is an archetype sub-Neptune that has been observed extensively using transmission spectroscopy to test this hypothesis. However, the measured spectra are featureless, and thus inconclusive, due to the presence of high-altitude aerosols in the planet’s atmosphere. Here we report a spectroscopic thermal phase curve of GJ 1214b obtained with JWST in the mid-infrared. The dayside and nightside spectra (average brightness temperatures of 553 $\pm$ 9 and 437 $\pm$ 19 K, respectively) each show >3$\sigma$ evidence of absorption features, with H$_2$O as the most likely cause in both. The measured global thermal emission implies that GJ 1214b’s Bond albedo is 0.51 $\pm$ 0.06. Comparison between the spectroscopic phase curve data and three-dimensional models of GJ 1214b reveal a planet with a high metallicity atmosphere blanketed by a thick and highly reflective layer of clouds or haze.

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E. Kempton, M. Zhang, J. Bean, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
50/55

Comments: Published online in Nature on May 10, 2023

Physics and Chemistry of Radiation Driven Cloud Evolution. [C II] Kinematics of IC 59 and IC 63 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05719


We used high-resolution [C II] 158 $\mu$m mapping of two nebulae IC 59 and IC 63 from SOFIA/upGREAT in conjunction with ancillary data on the gas, dust, and polarization to probe the kinematics, structure, and magnetic properties of their photo-dissociation regions (PDRs). The nebulae are part of the Sh 2-185 H II region illuminated by the B0 IVe star $\gamma$ Cas. The velocity structure of each PDR changes with distance from $\gamma$ Cas, consistent with driving by the radiation. Based on previous FUV flux measurements of, and the known distance to $\gamma$ Cas along with the predictions of 3D distances to the clouds, we estimated the FUV radiation field strength (G0) at the clouds. Assuming negligible extinction between the star and clouds, we find their 3D distances from $\gamma$ Cas. For IC 63, our results are consistent with earlier estimates of distance from Andersson et al. (2013), locating the cloud at 2 pc from $\gamma$ Cas, at an angle of 58 to the plane of the sky, behind the star. For IC 59, we derive a distance of 4.5 pc at an angle of 70 in front of the star. We do not detect any significant correlation between the orientation of the magnetic field (Soam et al. 2017) and the velocity gradients of [C II] gas, indicating a moderate magnetic field strength. The kinetic energy in IC 63 is estimated to be order of ten higher than the magnetic energies. This suggests that kinetic pressure in this nebula is dominant.

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M. Caputo, A. Soam, B. Andersson, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
51/55

Comments: N/A

Detectability of a phase transition in neutron star matter with third-generation gravitational wave interferometers [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05999


Possible strong first-order hadron-quark phase transitions in neutron star interiors leave an imprint on gravitational waves, which could be detected with planned third-generation interferometers. Given a signal from the late inspiral of a binary neutron star (BNS) coalescence, %the possibility of assessing the presence of such a phase transition depends on the precision that can be attained in the determination of the tidal deformability parameter, as well as on the model used to describe the hybrid star equation of state. For the latter, we employ here a phenomenological meta-modelling of the equation of state that largely spans the parameter space associated with both the low density phase and the quark high density compatible with current constraints. We show that with a network of third-generation detectors, a single loud BNS event might be sufficient to infer the presence of a phase transition at low baryon densities with an average Bayes factor $B\approx 100$, up to a luminosity distance ($\mathcal{D}_L \lesssim$ 300 Mpc).

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C. Mondal, M. Antonelli, F. Gulminelli, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
52/55

Comments: N/A

A 1.55 R$_{\oplus}$ habitable-zone planet hosted by TOI-715, an M4 star near the ecliptic South Pole [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06206


A new generation of observatories is enabling detailed study of exoplanetary atmospheres and the diversity of alien climates, allowing us to seek evidence for extraterrestrial biological and geological processes. Now is therefore the time to identify the most unique planets to be characterised with these instruments. In this context, we report on the discovery and validation of TOI-715 b, a $R_{\rm b}=1.55\pm 0.06\rm R_{\oplus}$ planet orbiting its nearby ($42$ pc) M4 host (TOI-715/TIC 271971130) with a period $P_{\rm b} = 19.288004_{-0.000024}^{+0.000027}$ days. TOI-715 b was first identified by TESS and validated using ground-based photometry, high-resolution imaging and statistical validation. The planet’s orbital period combined with the stellar effective temperature $T_{\rm eff}=3075\pm75~\rm K$ give this planet an instellation $S_{\rm b} = 0.67_{-0.20}^{+0.15}~\rm S_\oplus$, placing it within the most conservative definitions of the habitable zone for rocky planets. TOI-715 b’s radius falls exactly between two measured locations of the M-dwarf radius valley; characterising its mass and composition will help understand the true nature of the radius valley for low-mass stars. We demonstrate TOI-715 b is amenable for characterisation using precise radial velocities and transmission spectroscopy. Additionally, we reveal a second candidate planet in the system, TIC 271971130.02, with a potential orbital period of $P_{02} = 25.60712_{-0.00036}^{+0.00031}$ days and a radius of $R_{02} = 1.066\pm0.092\,\rm R_{\oplus}$, just inside the outer boundary of the habitable zone, and near a 4:3 orbital period commensurability. Should this second planet be confirmed, it would represent the smallest habitable zone planet discovered by TESS to date.

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G. Dransfield, M. Timmermans, A. Triaud, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
53/55

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey Deep Fields Data Release 1: V. Survey description, source classifications and host galaxy properties [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05782


Source classifications, stellar masses and star formation rates are presented for 80,000 radio sources from the first data release of the Low Frequency Array Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) Deep Fields, which represents the widest deep radio survey ever undertaken. Using deep multi-wavelength data spanning from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared, spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting is carried out for all of the LoTSS-Deep host galaxies using four different SED codes, two of which include modelling of the contributions from an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Comparing the results of the four codes, galaxies that host a radiative AGN are identified, and an optimised consensus estimate of the stellar mass and star-formation rate for each galaxy is derived. Those galaxies with an excess of radio emission over that expected from star formation are then identified, and the LoTSS-Deep sources are divided into four classes: star-forming galaxies, radio-quiet AGN, and radio-loud high-excitation and low-excitation AGN. Ninety-five per cent of the sources can be reliably classified, of which more than two-thirds are star-forming galaxies, ranging from normal galaxies in the nearby Universe to highly-starbursting systems at z>4. Star-forming galaxies become the dominant population below 150-MHz flux densities of about 1 mJy, accounting for 90 per cent of sources at a 150-MHz flux density of 100 microJy. Radio-quiet AGN comprise around 10 per cent of the overall population. Results are compared against the predictions of the SKADS and T-RECS radio sky simulations, and improvements to the simulations are suggested.

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P. Best, R. Kondapally, W. Williams, et. al.
Thu, 11 May 23
54/55

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Catalogues available at www.lofar-surveys.org/deepfields.html. 27 pages

Quantifying Uncertainties on the Tip of the Red Giant Branch Method [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.06195


We present an extensive grid of numerical simulations quantifying the uncertainties in measurements of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB). These simulations incorporate a luminosity function composed of 2 magnitudes of red giant branch (RGB) stars leading up to the tip, with asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars contributing exclusively to the luminosity function for at least a magnitude above the RGB tip. We quantify the sensitivity of the TRGB detection and measurement to three important error sources: (1) the sample size of stars near the tip, (2) the photometric measurement uncertainties at the tip, and (3) the degree of self-crowding of the RGB population. The self-crowding creates a population of supra-TRGB stars due to the blending of one or more RGB stars just below the tip. This last population is ultimately difficult, though still possible, to disentangle from true AGB stars. In the analysis given here, the precepts and general methodology as used in the Chicago-Carnegie Hubble Program (CCHP) has been followed. However, in the Appendix, we introduce and test a set of new tip detection kernels which internally incorporate self-consistent smoothing. These are generalizations of the two-step model used by the CCHP (smoothing followed by Sobel-filter tip detection), where the new kernels are based on successive binomial-coefficient approximations to the Derivative-of-a-Gaussian (DoG) edge detector, as is commonly used in modern digital image processing.

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B. Madore, W. Owens and I. Jang
Thu, 11 May 23
55/55

Comments: Accepte to the Astronomical Journal

Laboratory demonstration of the wrapped staircase scalar vortex coronagraph [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05076


Of the over 5000 exoplanets that have been detected, only about a dozen have ever been directly imaged. Earth-like exoplanets are on the order of 10 billion times fainter than their host star in visible and near-infrared, requiring a coronagraph instrument to block primary starlight and allow for the imaging of nearby orbiting planets. In the pursuit of direct imaging of exoplanets, scalar vortex coronagraphs (SVCs) are an attractive alternative to vector vortex coronagraphs (VVCs). VVCs have demonstrated 2e-9 raw contrast in broadband light but have several limitations due to their polarization properties. SVCs imprint the same phase ramp as VVCs on the incoming light and do not require polarization splitting, but they are inherently chromatic. Discretized phase ramp patterns such as a wrapped staircase help reduce SVC chromaticity and simulations show it outperforms a chromatic classical vortex in broadband light. We designed, fabricated, and tested a wrapped staircase SVC, and here we present the broadband characterization on the high contrast spectroscopy testbed. We also performed wavefront correction on the in-air coronagraph testbed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and achieved an average raw contrasts of 3.2e-8 in monochromatic light and 2.2e-7 across a 10% bandwidth.

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N. Desai, G. Ruane, J. Llop-Sayson, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
1/65

Comments: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2212.02633

QLUSTER: quick clusters of merging binary black holes [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04987


This short document illustrates QLUSTER: a toy model for populations of binary black holes in dense astrophysical environments. QLUSTER is a simple tool to investigate the occurrence and properties of hierarchical black-hole mergers detectable by gravitational-wave interferometers. QLUSTER is not meant to rival the complexity of state-of-the-art population synthesis and N-body codes but rather provide a fast, approximate, and easy-to-interpret framework to investigate some of the key ingredients of the problem. These include the binary pairing probability, the escape speed of the host environment, and the merger generation. We also introduce the “hierarchical-merger efficiency” — an estimator that quantifies the relevance of hierarchical black-hole mergers in a given astrophysical environment.

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D. Gerosa and M. Mould
Wed, 10 May 23
2/65

Comments: Contribution to the 2023 Gravitation session of the 57th Rencontres de Moriond

Reconstructing k-inflation from $n_s(N)$ and reheating constraints [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05042


Inspired by the reconstruction scheme of the inflaton field potential $V(\phi)$ from the attractors$n_s(N)$, we investigate the viability of reconstruct the inflationary potential within the framework of k-inflation for a non-linear kinetic term $K(X)=k_{n+1}X^n$ through three expressions for the scalar spectral index $n_s(N)$, namely: (i) $n_s-1=-\frac{2}{N}$, (ii) $n_s-1=-\frac{p}{N}$, and (iii) $n_s-1=-\frac{\beta}{N^q}$. For each reconstructed potential, we determine the values of the parameter space which characterize it by requiring that it must reproduce the observable parameters from PLANCK 2018 and BICEP/Keck results. Furthermore, we analyze the reheating era by assuming a constant equation of state, in which we derive the relations between the reheating duration, the temperature at the end of reheating together with the reheating epoch, and the number of $e$-folds during inflation. In this sense, we unify the inflationary observables in order to narrow the parameter space of each model within the framework of the reconstruction in k-inflation.

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R. Herrera, M. Housset, C. Osses, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
3/65

Comments: 40 pages and 6 figures

Metal-poor stars observed with the Magellan Telescope. IV. Neutron-capture element signatures in 27 main-sequence stars [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05363


Based on high-resolution spectra obtained with Magellan/MIKE, we present a chemo-dynamical analysis for 27 near main-sequence turnoff metal-poor stars, including 20 stars analyzed for the first time. The sample spans a range in [Fe/H] from -2.5 to -3.6, with 44% having [Fe/H] <-2.9. We derived chemical abundances for 17 elements, including strontium and barium. We derive Li abundances for the sample, which are in good agreement with the “Spite Plateau” value. A dozen of stars are carbon-enhanced. The lighter elements (Z<30) generally agree well with those of other low-metallicity halo stars. This broadly indicates chemically homogeneous gas at the earliest times. Of the neutron-capture elements, we only detected strontium and barium. We used the [Sr/Ba] vs. [Ba/Fe] diagram to classify metal-poor stars into five populations based on their observed ratios. We find HE0232-3755 to be a likely main r-process star, and HE2214-6127 and HE2332-3039 to be limited-r stars. CS30302-145, HE2045-5057, and CD-24 17504 plausibly originated in long-disrupted early dwarf galaxies as evidenced by their [Sr/Ba] and [Ba/Fe] ratios. We also find that the derived [Sr/H] and [Ba/H] values for CD-24 17504 are not inconsistent with the predicted yields of the s-process in massive rotating low-metallicity stars models. Further theoretical explorations will be helpful to better understand the earliest mechanisms and time scales of heavy element production for comparison with these and other observational abundance data. Finally, we investigate the orbital histories of our sample stars. Most display halo-like kinematics although three stars (CS29504-018, HE0223-2814, and HE2133-0421) appear to be disk-like in nature. This confirms the extragalactic origin for CS30302-145, HE2045-5057, and, in particular, CD-24 17504 which likely originated from a small accreted stellar system as one of the oldest stars.

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M. Mardini, A. Frebel, L. Betre, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
4/65

Comments: N/A

Shocks Power Tidal Disruption Events [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05333


Accretion of debris seems to be the natural mechanism to power the radiation emitted during a tidal disruption event (TDE), in which a supermassive black hole tears apart a star. However, this requires the prompt formation of a compact accretion disk. Here, using a fully relativistic global simulation for the long-term evolution of debris in a TDE with realistic initial conditions, we show that at most a tiny fraction of the bound mass enters such a disk on the timescale of observed flares. To “circularize” most of the bound mass entails an increase in the binding energy of that mass by a factor $\sim 30$; we find at most an order unity change. Our simulation suggests it would take a time scale comparable to a few tens of the characteristic mass fallback time to dissipate enough energy for “circularization”. Instead, the bound debris forms an extended eccentric accretion flow with eccentricity $\simeq 0.4-0.5$ by $\sim 2$ fallback times. Although the energy dissipated in shocks in this large-scale flow is much smaller than the “circularization” energy, it matches the observed radiated energy very well. Nonetheless, the impact of shocks is not strong enough to unbind initially bound debris into an outflow.

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T. Ryu, J. Krolik, T. Piran, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
5/65

Comments: 20 pages, 16 figures, Submitted to ApJ, comments welcome!

AREPO White Dwarf merger simulations resulting in edge-lit detonation and run-away hypervelocity companion [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05192


We present a series of high-resolution simulations generated with the moving-mesh code AREPO to model the merger of a $1.1 \, \mathrm{M_\odot}$ carbon-oxygen primary white dwarf with an outer helium layer and a $0.35\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$ secondary helium white dwarf. Our simulations lead to detonations that are consistent with the edge-lit scenario, where a helium detonation is ignited at the base of the helium layer of the primary WD, which triggers an off-centre carbon detonation. This produces an asymmetric ejecta pattern and differences in line-of-sight observables (e.g. mean atomic weight). The ejecta that are flung into space are dominated by $^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$, $^{4}\mathrm{He}$, $^{28}\mathrm{Si}$, and $^{32}\mathrm{S}$. Our simulations result in a surviving degenerate companion of mass $0.22-0.25$ $\mathrm{M_\odot}$ moving at $>1\,700$ $\mathrm{km}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}$, consistent with the observational findings of hypervelocity WDs. The secondary’s surface layers are enriched by heavy metals, with $^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$ making up approximately $0.8 \%$ of the remaining mass. We also analyse the sensitivity of the outcome on simulation parameters, including the “inspiral time”, which defines a period of accelerated angular momentum loss. We find that the choice of “inspiral time” qualitatively influences the simulation result, including the survival of the secondary. We argue that the shorter inspiral cases result in qualitatively and quantitatively similar outcomes. We also investigate the sensitivity of our results on the primary’s chemical profile by comparing simulations using isothermal, constant composition models with the same mass and central composition and characterised by either a bare carbon-oxygen core (no helium) or a carbon-oxygen core enveloped by a thick helium layer.

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U. Burmester, L. Ferrario, R. Pakmor, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
6/65

Comments: The submission has been accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS). 20 pages, 12 figures

Calculating the Gravitational Waves Emitted from High-speed Sources [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04969


The possibility of forming gravitational-wave sources with high center-of-mass (c.m.) velocities in the vicinity of supermassive black holes requires us to develop a method of deriving the waveform in the observer’s frame. Here we show that in the limit where the c.m. velocity is high but the relative velocities of the components of the source are small, we can solve the problem by directly integrating the relaxed Einstein field equation. In particular, we expand the result into multipole components which can be conveniently calculated given the orbit of the source in the observer’s frame. Our numerical calculations using arbitrary c.m. velocities show that the result is consistent with the Lorentz transformation of GWs to the leading order of the radiation field. Moreover, we show an example of using this method to calculate the waveform of a scattering event between the high-speed ($\sim 0.1c$) stellar objects embedded in the accretion disk of an active galactic nucleus. Our multipole-expansion method not only has advantages in analyzing the results from stellar-dynamical models but also provides new insight into the multipole properties of the GWs emitted from a high-speed source.

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H. Yan, X. Chen and A. Torres-Orjuela
Wed, 10 May 23
7/65

Comments: 9 pages, 2 figures. Accepted by PRD

Feasibility of Passive Sounding of Uranian Moons using Uranian Kilometric Radiation [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05382


We present a feasibility study for passive sounding of Uranian icy moons using Uranian Kilometric Radio (UKR) emissions in the 100 – 900 kHz band. We provide a summary description of the observation geometry, the UKR characteristics, and estimate the sensitivity for an instrument analogous to the Cassini Radio Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) but with a modified receiver digitizer and signal processing chain. We show that the concept has the potential to directly and unambiguously detect cold oceans within Uranian satellites and provide strong constraints on the interior structure in the presence of warm or no oceans. As part of a geophysical payload, the concept could therefore have a key role in the detection of oceans within the Uranian satellites. The main limitation of the concept is coherence losses attributed to the extended source size of the UKR and dependence on the illumination geometry. These factors represent constraints on the tour design of a future Uranus mission in terms of flyby altitudes and encounter timing.

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A. Romero-Wolf, G. Steinbruegge, J. Castillo-Rogez, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
8/65

Comments: N/A

Investigating the impact of vertically extended coronae on X-ray reverberation mapping [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05039


Accreting black holes commonly exhibit hard X-ray emission, originating from a region of hot plasma near the central engine referred to as the corona. The origin and geometry of the corona are poorly understood, and models invoking either inflowing or outflowing material (or both) can successfully explain only parts of the observed phenomenology. In particular, recent works indicate that the time-averaged and variability property might originate in different regions of the corona. In this paper we present a model designed to move beyond the lamp post paradigm, with the goal of accounting for the vertical extent of the corona. In particular, we highlight the impact of including self consistently a second lamp post, mimicking for example an extended jet base. We fully include the effect that the second source has on the time-dependent disk ionization, reflection spectrum, and reverberation lags. We also present an application of this new model to NICER observations of the X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070 near its hard-to-soft state transition. We demonstrate that in these observations, a vertically extended corona can capture both spectral and timing properties, while a single lamp post model can not. In this scenario, the illumination responsible for the time-averaged spectrum originates close to the black hole, while the variability is likely associated with the ballistic jet.

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M. Lucchini, G. Mastroserio, J. Wang, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
9/65

Comments: 17 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication on ApJ

Exoplanet Volatile Carbon Content as a Natural Pathway for Haze Formation [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05056


We explore terrestrial planet formation with a focus on the supply of solid-state organics as the main source of volatile carbon. For the water-poor Earth, the water ice line, or ice sublimation front, within the planet-forming disk has long been a key focal point. We posit that the soot line, the location where solid-state organics are irreversibly destroyed, is also a key location within the disk. The soot line is closer to the host star than the water snowline and overlaps with the location of the majority of detected exoplanets. In this work, we explore the ultimate atmospheric composition of a body that receives a major portion of its materials from the zone between the soot line and water ice line. We model a silicate-rich world with 0.1% and 1% carbon by mass with variable water content. We show that as a result of geochemical equilibrium, the mantle of these planets would be rich in reduced carbon but have relatively low water (hydrogen) content. Outgassing would naturally yield the ingredients for haze production when exposed to stellar UV photons in the upper atmosphere. Obscuring atmospheric hazes appear common in the exoplanetary inventory based on the presence of often featureless transmission spectra (Kreidberg et al. 2014, Knutson et al. 2014, Libby-Roberts et al. 2020). Such hazes may be powered by the high volatile content of the underlying silicate-dominated mantle. Although this type of planet has no solar system counterpart, it should be common in the galaxy with potential impact on habitability.

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E. Bergin, E. Kempton, M. Hirschmann, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
10/65

Comments: 15 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letters. ApJL version has 5 figures. We include an extra figure (Figure 6) in this submission which is an artist rendering of a young disk including the soot and water ice lines. Image Credit for Fig. 6: Ari Gea/SayoStudio

Discovery of a new lunar mineral rich in water and ammonium in lunar soils returned by Chang'e-5 mission [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05263


The origin and distribution of lunar water are among the most important issues in understanding the earth-moon system. After more than half a century of laboratory research and remote detection, only hydroxyl contained minerals and lunar ice (H2O) are identified. Here we report the discovery of a hydrous mineral (NH4)MgCl3(H2O)6 in the lunar soil returned by Chang’e-5 mission, which contains 417,000 parts per million H2O. The determined structure and composition are similar to novograblenovite-a terrestrial fumarole mineral formed by reaction of hot basalt in water-rich volcanic gases, whereas the measured isotope composition delta37Cl reached 20.4 parts per thousand, a high value that only found in lunar minerals. We rule out the possibility that this hydrate originated from terrestrial contaminants or rocket exhaust through analysis of its chemical, isotopic compositions as well as the formation conditions. Our finding indicates that water can exist on some parts of the sunlit Moon in the form of hydrate compounds. Moreover, this hydrate is rich in ammonium, providing new information in understanding the origin of the Moon.

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S. Jin, M. Hao, Z. Guo, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
11/65

Comments: 17 pages, 4 figures

Atomic Layer Deposited Protective Coating of Aluminum Oxide on Silver-based Telescope Mirror A Comparison Between a Pure Ozone and H2O Precursor [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05109


Although silver-based telescope mirrors excel over other materials such as gold and aluminum in the visible-infrared spectral range, they require robust protective coatings to overcome their inherent low durability. Our research shows that a single-layer of aluminum oxide (AlOx) deposited through thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) using trimethylaluminum (TMA) and water (H2O) at low temperatures (~60{\deg}C) serves as an acceptable protective coating without adversely impacting the optical performance of the mirrors. While silver-based mirrors protected with a single-layer of AlOx perform decently in the field, in environmental tests under high-humidity at high-temperature conditions that accelerate underlying failure mechanisms, they degrade quickly, suggesting that there is room for improvement. This paper describes a study that compares the performance and endurance of two sets of silver-based mirrors protected by a single-layer of AlOx prepared by thermal ALD with two types of oxygen precursors: H2O and pure ozone (PO). The study shows that while the two types of samples, regardless of their oxygen precursors, initially have comparable spectral reflectance, the reflectance of the samples with AlOx protective coatings prepared with PO remain nearly constant 1.6 times longer than those with AlOx protective coatings prepared with H2O in the environmental test, suggesting promising characteristics of AlOx protective coatings prepared with PO.

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S. Tornøe, B. Cheney, B. Dupraw, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
12/65

Comments: 18 pages, 5 figures, 1 table

ZZ Ceti stars of the southern ecliptic hemisphere re-observed by TESS [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05246


Context. In 2020, a publication presented the first-light results for 18 known ZZ Ceti stars observed by the TESS space telescope during the first survey observations of the southern ecliptic hemisphere. However, in the meantime, new measurements have become available from this field, in many cases with the new, 20s ultrashort cadence mode.
Aims. We investigated the similarities and differences in the pulsational behaviour of the observed stars between the two observational seasons, and searched for new pulsation modes for asteroseismology.
Methods. We performed Fourier analysis of the light curves using the standard pre-whitening process, and compared the results with frequencies obtained from the earlier data. Utilising the 2018 version of the White Dwarf Evolution Code, we also performed an asteroseismic analysis of the different stars. We searched for models with seismic distances in the vicinity of the Gaia geometric distances.
Results. We detected several new possible pulsation modes of the studied pulsators. In the case of HE 0532-5605, we found a similar brightening phase to the one presented in the 2020 first-light paper, which means this phenomenon is recurring. Therefore, HE 0532-5605 appears to be a new outbursting DAV star. We also detected a lower-amplitude brightening phase in the star WD J0925+0509. However, this case has proven to be the result of the passage of a Solar System object in the foreground. We accept asteroseismic model solutions for six stars.

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Z. Bognár, &. Sódor, I. Clark, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
13/65

Comments: 15 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

RAM: Rapid Advection Algorithm on Arbitrary Meshes [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05362


The study of many astrophysical flows requires computational algorithms that can capture high Mach number flows, while resolving a large dynamic range in spatial and density scales. In this paper we present a novel method, RAM: Rapid Advection Algorithm on Arbitrary Meshes. RAM is a time-explicit method to solve the advection equation in problems with large bulk velocity on arbitrary computational grids. In comparison with standard up-wind algorithms, RAM enables advection with larger time steps and lower truncation errors. Our method is based on the operator splitting technique and conservative interpolation. Depending on the bulk velocity and resolution, RAM can decrease the numerical cost of hydrodynamics by more than one order of magnitude. To quantify the truncation errors and speed-up with RAM, we perform one and two-dimensional hydrodynamics tests. We find that the order of our method is given by the order of the conservative interpolation and that the effective speed up is in agreement with the relative increment in time step. RAM will be especially useful for numerical studies of disk-satellite interaction, characterized by high bulk orbital velocities, and non-trivial geometries. Our method dramatically lowers the computational cost of simulations that simultaneously resolve the global disk and well inside the Hill radius of the secondary companion.

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P. Benítez-Llambay, L. Krapp, X. Ramos, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
14/65

Comments: 15 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to ApJ. Comments are welcome

A renewed search for radio emission from the variable $γ$-ray pulsar PSR J2021$+$4026 [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05261


We undertake the first targeted search at 1.5 GHz for radio emission from the variable $\gamma$-ray pulsar PSR J2021$+$4026. This radio-quiet pulsar assumes one of two stable $\gamma$-ray emission states, between which it transitions on a timescale of years. These transitions, in both $\gamma$-ray flux and pulse profile shape, are accompanied by contemporaneous changes to the pulsar’s spin-down rate. A number of radio pulsars are known to exhibit similar correlated variability, which in some cases involves an emission state in which the radio emission ceases to be detectable. In this paper, we perform a search for radio emission from PSR J2021$+$4026, using archival radio observations recorded when the pulsar was in each of its emission/spin-down states. Using improved techniques, we search for periodic radio emission as well as single pulse phenomena such as giant radio pulses and RRAT-like emission. Our search reveals no evidence of radio emission from PSR J2021$+$4026. We estimate that the flux density for periodic emission from PSR J2021$+$4026 does not exceed 0.2 mJy at this frequency. We also estimate single-pulse flux limits for RRAT-like bursts and giant radio pulses to be 0.3 and 100 Jy respectively. We discuss the transitioning behaviour of PSR J2021$+$4026 in the context of pulsar glitches, intermittent pulsars and the increasingly common emission-rotation correlation observed in radio pulsars.

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B. Shaw, B. Stappers, P. Weltevrede, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
15/65

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

A high-redshift calibration of the [OI]-to-HI conversion factor in star-forming galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05213


The assembly and build-up of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) in galaxies is one of the most fundamental processes in galaxy formation and evolution. Studying this process directly in the early universe is hindered by the weakness of the hyperfine 21-cm HI line transition, impeding direct detections and measurements of the HI gas masses ($M_{\rm HI}$). Here we present a new method to infer $M_{\rm HI}$ of high-redshift galaxies using neutral, atomic oxygen as a proxy. Specifically, we derive metallicity-dependent conversion factors relating the far-infrared [OI]-$63\mu$m and [OI]-$145\mu$m emission line luminosities and $M_{\rm HI}$ in star-forming galaxies at $z\approx 2-6$ using gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) as probes. We substantiate these results by observations of galaxies at $z\approx 0$ with direct measurements of $M_{\rm HI}$ and [OI]-$63\mu$m and [OI]-$145\mu$m in addition to hydrodynamical simulations at similar epochs. We find that the [OI]${\rm 63\mu m}$-to-HI and [OI]${\rm 145\mu m}$-to-HI conversion factors universally appears to be anti-correlated with the gas-phase metallicity. The high-redshift GRB measurements further predict a mean ratio of $L_{\rm [OI]-63\mu m} / L_{\rm [OI]-145\mu m}=1.55\pm 0.12$ and reveal generally less excited [CII]. The $z \approx 0$ galaxy sample also shows systematically higher $\beta_{\rm [OI]-63\mu m}$ and $\beta_{\rm [OI]-145\mu m}$ conversion factors than the GRB sample, indicating either suppressed [OI] emission in local galaxies or more extended, diffuse HI gas reservoirs traced by the HI 21-cm. Finally, we apply these empirical calibrations to the few high-redshift detections of [OI]-$63\mu$m and [OI]-$145\mu$m line transitions from the literature and further discuss the applicability of these conversion factors to probe the HI gas content in the dense, star-forming ISM of galaxies at $z\gtrsim 6$, well into the epoch of reionization.

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S. Wilson, K. Heintz, P. Jakobsson, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
16/65

Comments: Submitted to A&A. Comments welcome

The Dragonfly Galaxy. III. Jet-brightening of a High-redshift Radio Source Caught in a Violent Merger of Disk Galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05564


The Dragonfly Galaxy (MRC 0152-209), the most infrared-luminous radio galaxy at redshift z~2, is a merger system containing a powerful radio source and large displacements of gas. We present kpc-resolution data from ALMA and the VLA of carbon monoxide (6-5), dust, and synchrotron continuum, combined with Keck integral-field spectroscopy. We find that the Dragonfly consists of two galaxies with rotating disks that are in the early phase of merging. The radio jet originates from the northern galaxy and brightens when it hits the disk of the southern galaxy. The Dragonfly Galaxy therefore likely appears as a powerful radio galaxy because its flux is boosted into the regime of high-z radio galaxies by the jet-disk interaction. We also find a molecular outflow of (1100 $\pm$ 550) M${\odot}$/yr associated with the radio host galaxy, but not with the radio hot-spot or southern galaxy, which is the galaxy that hosts the bulk of the star formation. Gravitational effects of the merger drive a slower and longer lived mass displacement at a rate of (170 $\pm$ 40) M${\odot}$/yr, but this tidal debris contain at least as much molecular gas mass as the much faster outflow, namely M(H2) = (3 $\pm$ 1) x 10$^9$ (alpha(CO)/0.8) M$_{\odot}$. This suggests that both the AGN-driven outflow and mass transfer due to tidal effects are important in the evolution of the Dragonfly system. The Keck data show Ly$\alpha$ emission spread across 100 kpc, and CIV and HeII emission across 35 kpc, confirming the presence of a metal-rich and extended circumgalactic medium previously detected in CO(1-0).

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S. Lebowitz, B. Emonts, D. Terndrup, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
17/65

Comments: Accepted for publication in ApJ (15 pages, 9 figures)

Possible hints of decreasing dark energy from supernova data [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04946


The potential energy from a time-dependent scalar field provides a possible explanation for the observed cosmic acceleration. In this paper, we investigate how the redshift vs brightness data from the recent Pantheon+ survey of type Ia supernovae constrain the possible evolution of a single scalar field for the period of time (roughly half the age of the universe) over which supernova data are available. Taking a linear approximation to the potential, we find that models providing a good fit to the data typically have a decreasing potential energy at present (accounting for over 99% of the allowed parameter space) with a significant variation in scalar potential ($\langle {\rm Range}(V)/V_0 \rangle \approx 0.97$) over the period of time corresponding to the available data ($z < 2.3$). Including quadratic terms in the potential, the data can be fit well for a wide range of possible potentials including those with positive or negative $V_2$ of large magnitude, and models where the universe has already stopped accelerating. We describe a few degeneracies and approximate degeneracies in the model that help explain the somewhat surprising range of allowed potentials.

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M. Raamsdonk and C. Waddell
Wed, 10 May 23
18/65

Comments: N/A

Primordial Black Holes from Supercooled Phase Transitions [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04942


Cosmological first-order phase transitions (1stOPTs) are said to be strongly supercooled when the nucleation temperature is much smaller than the critical temperature. These are often encountered in theories that admit a nearly scale-invariant potential, for which the bounce action decreases only logarithmically with temperature. During supercooled 1stOPTs the equation of state of the universe undergoes a rapid and drastic change, transitioning from vacuum-domination to radiation-domination. The statistical variations in bubble nucleation histories imply that distinct causal patches percolate at slightly different times. Patches which percolate the latest undergo the longest vacuum-domination stage and as a consequence develop large over-densities triggering their collapse into primordial black holes (PBHs). We derive an analytical approximation for the probability of a patch to collapse into a PBH as a function of the 1stOPT duration, $\beta^{-1}$, and deduce the expected PBH abundance. We find that 1stOPTs which take more than $12\%$ of a Hubble time to complete ($\beta/H \lesssim 8$) produce observable PBHs. Their abundance is independent of the duration of the supercooling phase, in agreement with the de Sitter no hair conjecture.

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Y. Gouttenoire and T. Volansky
Wed, 10 May 23
19/65

Comments: Main text: 6 pages, 5 figures, Appendices: 12 pages, 6 figures

ALMA High-Level Data Products: Submillimetre counterparts of SDSS quasars in the ALMA footprint [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05173


The Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) is the world’s most advanced radio interferometric facility, producing science data with an average rate of about 1 TB per day. After a process of calibration, imaging and quality assurance, the scientific data are stored in the ALMA Science Archive (ASA), along with the corresponding raw data, making the ASA an invaluable resource for original astronomical research. Due to their complexity, each ALMA data set has the potential for scientific results that go well beyond the ideas behind the original proposal that led to each observation. For this reason, the European ALMA Regional Centre initiated the High-Level Data Products initiative to develop science-oriented data products derived from data sets publicly available in the ASA, that go beyond the formal ALMA deliverables. The first instance of this initiative is the creation of a catalogue of submillimetre (submm) detections of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasars from the SDSS Data Release 14 that lie in the aggregate ALMA footprint observed since ALMA Cycle 0. The ALMA fluxes are extracted in an automatic fashion, using the ALMA Data Mining Toolkit. All extractions above a signal-to-noise cut of 3.5 are considered, they have been visually inspected and the reliable detections are presented in a catalogue of 376 entries, corresponding to 275 unique quasars. Interesting targets found in the process, i.e. lensed or jetted quasars as well as quasars with nearby submm counterparts are highlighted, to facilitate further studies or potential follow up observations.

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A. Wong, E. Hatziminaoglou, A. Borkar, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
20/65

Comments: N/A

The odd bunch: chrono-chemo-dynamics of sixteen unusual stars from Kepler [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05024


In this study we combine asteroseismic, spectroscopic and kinematic information to perform a detailed analysis of a sample of 16 stars from the Kepler field. Our selection focuses on stars that appear to contradict Galactic chemical evolution models: young and $\alpha$-rich, old and metal-rich, as well as other targets with unclear classification in past surveys. Kinematics are derived from Gaia DR3 parallaxes and proper motions, and high-resolution spectra from HIRES/Keck are used to calculate chemical abundances for over 20 elements. This information is used to perform careful checks on asteroseismic masses and ages derived via grid-based modelling. Among the seven stars previously classified as young and $\alpha$-rich, only one seems to be an unambiguously older object masking its true age. We confirm the existence of two very old ($\geq$11 Gyr), super metal rich ($\geq$0.1 dex) giants. These two stars have regular thin disc chemistry and in-plane solar circle orbits which fit well in the picture of radial migration via the churning mechanism. The alternative explanation that these stars have younger ages would require mass-loss rates which strongly increases with increasing metallicity. Finally, we suggest further investigations to explore the suitability of Zn as a chemical clock in red giants.

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A. Puls, L. Casagrande, S. Monty, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
21/65

Comments: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Search for astrophysical electron antineutrinos in Super-Kamiokande with 0.01wt% gadolinium loaded water [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05135


We report the first search result for the flux of astrophysical electron antineutrinos for energies O(10) MeV in the gadolinium-loaded Super-Kamiokande (SK) detector. In June 2020, gadolinium was introduced to the ultra-pure water of the SK detector in order to detect neutrons more efficiently. In this new experimental phase, SK-Gd, we can search for electron antineutrinos via inverse beta decay with efficient background rejection and higher signal efficiency thanks to the high efficiency of the neutron tagging technique. In this paper, we report the result for the initial stage of SK-Gd with a $22.5\times552$ $\rm kton\cdot day$ exposure at 0.01% Gd mass concentration. No significant excess over the expected background in the observed events is found for the neutrino energies below 31.3 MeV. Thus, the flux upper limits are placed at the 90% confidence level. The limits and sensitivities are already comparable with the previous SK result with pure-water ($22.5 \times 2970 \rm kton\cdot day$) owing to the enhanced neutron tagging.

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M. Harada, K. Abe, C. Bronner, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
22/65

Comments: N/A

Beyond Mediocrity: How Common is Life? [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05395


The probability that life spontaneously emerges in a suitable environment (abiogenesis) is one of the major unknowns in astrobiology. Assessing its value is impeded by the lack of an accepted theory for the origin of life, and is further complicated by the existence of selection biases. Appealing uncritically to some version of the “Principle of Mediocrity” — namely, the supposed typicality of what transpired on Earth — is problematic on empirical or logical grounds. In this paper, we adopt a Bayesian statistical approach to put on rigorous footing the inference of lower bounds for the probability of abiogenesis, based on current and future evidence. We demonstrate that the single datum that life has appeared at least once on Earth merely sets weak constraints on the minimal probability of abiogenesis. In fact, the {\it a priori} probability assigned to this event (viz., optimistic, pessimistic or agnostic prior) exerts the strongest influence on the final result. We also show that the existence of a large number of habitable worlds does not necessarily imply, by itself, a high probability that life should be common in the universe. Instead, as delineated before, the choice of prior, which is subject to uncertainty (i.e., admits multiple scenarios), strongly influences the likelihood of life being common. If habitable worlds are uncommon, for an agnostic prior, a deterministic scenario for the origin of life might be favoured over one where abiogenesis is a fluke event.

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A. Balbi and M. Lingam
Wed, 10 May 23
23/65

Comments: 7 pages, 2 figures. Published in MNRAS

Exploring the nature of UV-bright $z \gtrsim 10$ galaxies detected by JWST: star formation, black hole accretion, or a non universal IMF? [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04944


We use the Cosmic Archaeology Tool (CAT) semi-analytical model to explore the contribution of Population (Pop) III/II stars and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to the galaxy UV luminosity function (LF) evolution at $4 \leq z \leq 20$. We compare in particular with recent JWST data in order to explore the apparent tension between observations and theoretical models in the number density of bright galaxies at $z \gtrsim 10$. The model predicts a star formation history dominated by UV faint ($M_{\rm UV} > – 18$) galaxies, with a Pop III contribution of $\lesssim 10\%$ ($\lesssim 0.5\%$) at $z \simeq 20$ ($z \simeq 10$). Stars are the primary sources of cosmic reionization, with $5 – 10 \%$ of ionizing photons escaping into the intergalatic medium at $5 \leq z \leq 10$, while the contribution of unobscured AGNs becomes dominant only at $z \lesssim 5$. The predicted stellar and AGN UV LFs reproduce the observational data at $5 \lesssim z \lesssim 9 – 10$. At higher redshift, CAT predicts a steeper evolution in the faint-end slope ($M_{\rm UV} > – 18$), and a number density of bright galaxies ($M_{\rm UV} \simeq -20$) consistent with data at $z \sim 10 – 11$, but smaller by 0.8 dex at $z \sim 12 – 13$, and 1.2 dex at $z \sim 14 – 16$, when compared to the values estimated by recent studies. Including the AGN emission does not affect the above findings, as AGNs contribute at most to $\lesssim 10 \%$ of the total UV luminosity at $M_{\rm UV} < – 19$ and $z \gtrsim 10$. Interestingly, considering a gradual transition in the stellar IMF, modulated by metallicity and redshift as suggested by recent simulations, the model agrees with JWST data at $z \sim 12 – 13$, and the disagreement at $z \sim 14 – 16$ is reduced to 0.5 dex.

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A. Trinca, R. Schneider, R. Valiante, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
24/65

Comments: 18 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. Comments are welcome

Measurement of ultra-high-energy diffuse gamma-ray emission of the Galactic plane from 10 TeV to 1 PeV with LHAASO-KM2A [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05372


The diffuse Galactic $\gamma$-ray emission, mainly produced via interactions between cosmic rays and the diffuse interstellar medium, is a very important probe of the distribution, propagation, and interaction of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. In this work we report the measurements of diffuse $\gamma$-rays from the Galactic plane between 10 TeV and 1 PeV energies, with the square kilometer array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Diffuse emissions from the inner ($15^{\circ}<l<125^{\circ}$, $|b|<5^{\circ}$) and outer ($125^{\circ}<l<235^{\circ}$, $|b|<5^{\circ}$) Galactic plane are detected with $29.1\sigma$ and $12.7\sigma$ significance, respectively. The outer Galactic plane diffuse emission is detected for the first time in the very- to ultra-high-energy domain ($E>10$~TeV). The energy spectrum in the inner Galaxy regions can be described by a power-law function with an index of $-2.99\pm0.04$, which is different from the curved spectrum as expected from hadronic interactions between locally measured cosmic rays and the line-of-sight integrated gas content. Furthermore, the measured flux is higher by a factor of $\sim3$ than the prediction. A similar spectrum with an index of $-2.99\pm0.07$ is found in the outer Galaxy region, and the absolute flux for $10\lesssim E\lesssim60$ TeV is again higher than the prediction for hadronic cosmic ray interactions. The latitude distributions of the diffuse emission are consistent with the gas distribution, while the longitude distributions show slight deviation from the gas distribution. The LHAASO measurements imply that either additional emission sources exist or cosmic ray intensities have spatial variations.

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Z. Cao, F. Aharonian, Q. An, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
25/65

Comments: 11 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables

CLEAR: The Morphological Evolution of Galaxies in the Green Valley [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04953


Quiescent galaxies having more compact morphologies than star-forming galaxies has been a consistent result in the field of galaxy evolution. What is not clear is at what point this divergence happens, i.e. when do quiescent galaxies become compact, and how big of a role does the progenitor effect play in this result? Here we aim to model the morphological and star-formation histories of high redshift (0.8 $<$ z $<$ 1.65) massive galaxies (log(M/M$\odot$) $>$ 10.2) with stellar population fits using HST/WFC3 G102 and G141 grism spectra plus photometry from the CLEAR (CANDELS Lyman-alpha Emission at Reionization) survey, constraining the star-formation histories for a sample of $\sim$ 400 massive galaxies using flexible star-formation histories. We develop a novel approach to classifying galaxies by their formation activity in a way that highlights the green valley population, by modeling the specific star-formation rate distributions as a function of redshift and deriving the probability that a galaxy is quiescent (PQ). Using PQ and our flexible star-formation histories we outline the evolutionary paths of our galaxies in relation to stellar mass, Sersic index, $R_{eff}$, and stellar mass surface density. We find that galaxies show no appreciable stellar mass growth after entering the green valley (a net decrease of 4$\%$) while their stellar mass surface densities increase by $\sim$ 0.25 dex. Therefore galaxies are becoming compact during the green valley and this is due to increases in Sersic index and decreases in $R_{eff}$.

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V. Estrada-Carpenter, C. Papovich, I. Momcheva, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
26/65

Comments: 17 pages, 10 figures, submitted to ApJ

Implementation of chemistry in the Athena++ code [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04965


Chemistry plays a key role in many aspects of astrophysical fluids. Atoms and molecules are agents for heating and cooling, determine the ionization fraction, serve as observational tracers, and build the molecular foundation of life. We present the implementation of a chemistry module in the publicly available magneto-hydrodynamic code Athena++. We implement several chemical networks and heating and cooling processes suitable for simulating the interstellar medium (ISM). A general chemical network framework in the KIDA format is also included, allowing the user to easily implement their own chemistry. Radiation transfer and cosmic-ray ionization are coupled with chemistry and solved with the simple six-ray approximation. The chemical and thermal processes are evolved as a system of coupled ODEs with an implicit solver from the CVODE library. We perform and present a series of tests to ensure the numerical accuracy and convergence of the code. Many tests combine chemistry with gas dynamics, including comparisons with analytic solutions, 1D problems of the photo-dissociation regions and shocks, and realistic 3D simulations of the turbulent ISM. We release the code with the new public version of Athena++, aiming to provide a robust and flexible code for the astrochemical simulation community.

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M. Gong, K. Ho, J. Stone, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
27/65

Comments: N/A

Constraining SIDM cross section models with a joint analysis of galaxies and clusters [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05067


One necessary step for probing the nature of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) particles with astrophysical observations is to pin down any possible velocity dependence in the SIDM cross section. Major challenges for achieving this goal include eliminating, or mitigating, the impact of the baryonic components and tidal effects within the dark matter halos of interest — the effects of these processes can be highly degenerate with those of dark matter self-interactions at small scales. In this work we select 9 isolated galaxies and brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) with baryonic components small enough such that the baryonic gravitational potentials do not significantly influence the halo gravothermal evolution processes. We then constrain the parameters of a cross section model $\sigma(v)=\sigma_0/(1+v^2/\omega^2)^2$ with the measured rotation curves and stellar kinematics through the gravothermal fluid formalism and isothermal method. We are able to constrain a best-fit double power-law result with the gravothermal fluid formalism $\log(\sigma_0/[\mathrm{cm^2/g}])=2.6/[(\log(\omega/[\mathrm{km/s}])/1.9)^{0.85}+(\log(\omega/[\mathrm{km/s}])/1.9)^{5.5}]-1.1$ with $\log(\omega/[\mathrm{km/s}])\leq3.7$ and a scatter of 0.5 dex at a 68% confidence level. The constraint given by the isothermal model is $\log(\sigma_0/[\mathrm{cm^2/g}])=3.9/[(\log(\omega/[\mathrm{km/s}])/1.6)^{0.29}+(\log(\omega/[\mathrm{km/s}])/1.6)^{5.1}]-0.34$ with $1.4\leq\log(\omega/[\mathrm{km/s}])\leq3.5$ and a scatter of 0.34 dex at 68% confidence level. Cross sections constrained by the two methods are consistent at $2\sigma$ confidence level, but the isothermal method prefers cross sections greater than the gravothermal approach constraints by a factor of $\sim4$.

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S. Yang, F. Jiang, A. Benson, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
28/65

Comments: 14 pages, 10 figures

HSC-CLAUDS survey: The star formation rate functions since z ~ 2 and comparison with hydrodynamical simulations [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05504


Star formation rate functions (SFRFs) give an instantaneous view of the distribution of star formation rates (SFRs) in galaxies at different epochs. They are a complementary and more stringent test for models than the galaxy stellar mass function, which gives an integrated view of the past star formation activity. However, the exploration of SFRFs has been limited thus far due to difficulties in assessing the SFR from observed quantities and probing the SFRF over a wide range of SFRs. We overcome these limitations thanks to an original method that predicts the infrared luminosity from the rest-frame UV/optical color of a galaxy and then its SFR over a wide range of stellar masses and redshifts. We applied this technique to the deep imaging survey HSC-CLAUDS combined with near-infrared and UV photometry. We provide the first SFR functions with reliable measurements in the high- and low-SFR regimes up to $z=2$ and compare our results with previous observations and four state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations.

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V. Picouet, S. Arnouts, E. Floch, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
29/65

Comments: 29 pages, 19 figures

RAAD: LIGHT-1 CubeSat's Payload for the Detection of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05434


The Rapid Acquisition Atmospheric Detector (RAAD), onboard the LIGHT-1 3U CubeSat, detects photons between hard X-rays and soft gamma-rays, in order to identify and characterize Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes (TGFs). Three detector configurations are tested, making use of Cerium Bromide and Lanthanum BromoChloride scintillating crystals coupled to photomultiplier tubes or Multi-Pixel Photon Counters, in order to identify the optimal combination for TGF detection. High timing resolution, a short trigger window, and the short decay time of its electronics allow RAAD to perform accurate measurements of prompt, transient events. Here we describe the overview of the detection concept, the development of the front-end acquisition electronics, as well as the ground testing and simulation the payload underwent prior to its launch on December 21st, 2021. We further present a preliminary analysis of the detector’s housekeeping data collected in orbit to evaluate the health of the instrument in operating conditions.

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A. Giovanni, F. Arneodo, A. Qasim, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
30/65

Comments: 19 pages, 15 figures

Instability of scalarized compact objects in Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet theories [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05185


We investigate the linear stability of scalarized black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs) in the Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet (GB) theories against the odd- and even-parity perturbations including the higher multipole modes. We show that the angular propagation speeds in the even-parity perturbations in the $\ell \to \infty$ limit, with $\ell$ being the angular multipole moments, become imaginary and hence scalarized BH solutions suffer from the gradient instability. We show that such an instability appears irrespective of the structure of the higher-order terms in the GB coupling function and is caused purely due to the existence of the leading quadratic term and the boundary condition that the value of the scalar field vanishes at the spatial infinity.~This indicates that the gradient instability appears at the point in the mass-charge diagram where the scalarized branches bifurcate from the Schwarzschild branch. We also show that scalarized BH solutions realized in a nonlinear scalarization model also suffer from the gradient instability in the even-parity perturbations. Our result also suggests the gradient instability of the exterior solutions of the static and spherically-symmetric scalarized NS solutions induced by the same GB coupling functions.

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M. Minamitsuji and S. Mukohyama
Wed, 10 May 23
31/65

Comments: 14 pages

Fisher matrix forecasts on the astrophysics of galaxies during the epoch of reionisation from the 21-cm power spectra [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05104


The hyperfine 21-cm transition of neutral hydrogen from the early Universe ($z>5$) is a sensitive probe of the formation and evolution of the first luminous sources. Using the Fisher matrix formalism we explore the complex and degenerate high-dimensional parameter space associated with the high-$z$ sources of this era and forecast quantitative constraints from a future 21-cm power spectrum (21-cm PS) detection. This is achieved using MERAXES, a coupled semi-analytic galaxy formation model and reionisation simulation, applied to an $N$-body halo merger tree with a statistically complete population of all atomically cooled galaxies out to $z\sim20$. Our mock observation assumes a 21-cm detection spanning $z \in [5, 24]$ from a 1000 h mock observation with the forthcoming Square Kilometre Array and is calibrated with respect to ultraviolet luminosity functions (UV LFs) at $z\in[5, 10]$, the optical depth of CMB photons to Thompson scattering from Planck, and various constraints on the IGM neutral fraction at $z > 5$. In this work, we focus on the X-ray luminosity, ionising UV photon escape fraction, star formation and supernova feedback of the first galaxies. We demonstrate that it is possible to recover 5 of the 8 parameters describing these properties with better than $50$ per cent precision using just the 21-cm PS. By combining with UV LFs, we are able to improve our forecast, with 5 of the 8 parameters constrained to better than 10 per cent (and all below 50 per cent).

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S. Balu, B. Greig and J. Wyithe
Wed, 10 May 23
32/65

Comments: 13 pages, 5 figures (+1 appendix), submitted to MNRAS, comments welcome

Binary neutron star populations in the Milky Way [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04955


Galactic binary neutron stars (BNSs) are a unique laboratory to probe the evolution of BNSs and their progenitors. Here, we use a new version of the population synthesis code SEVN to evolve the population of Galactic BNSs, by modeling the spin up and down of pulsars self-consistently. We analyze the merger rate $\mathcal{R}{\rm MW}$, orbital period $P{\rm orb}$, eccentricity $e$, spin period $P$, and spin period derivative $\dot{P}$ of the BNS population. Values of the common envelope parameter $\alpha=1 – 3$ and an accurate model of the Milky Way star formation history best reproduce the BNS merger rate in our Galaxy ($\mathcal{R}{\rm MW}\approx{}30$ Myr$^{-1}$). We apply radio-selection effects to our simulated BNSs and compare them to the observed population. Using a Dirichlet process Gaussian mixture method, we evaluate the four-dimensional likelihood in the $(P{\rm orb}, e, P, \dot{P})$ space, by comparing our radio-selected simulated pulsars against Galactic BNSs. Our analysis favours an uniform initial distribution for both the magnetic field ($10^{10-13}$ G) and the spin period ($10-100$ ms). The implementation of radio selection effects is critical to match not only the spin period and period derivative, but also the orbital period and eccentricity of Galactic BNSs. According to our fiducial model, the Square Kilometre Array will detect $\sim 20$ new BNSs in the Milky Way.

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C. Sgalletta, G. Iorio, M. Mapelli, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
33/65

Comments: 20 pages, 8 figures, 8 tables, comments welcome

R-modes as a New Probe of Dark Matter in Neutron Stars [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05664


In this work, we perform the first systematic investigation of effects of the presence of dark matter on r-mode oscillations in neutron stars (NSs). Using a self-interacting dark matter (DM) model based on the neutron decay anomaly and a hadronic model obtained from the posterior distribution of a recent Bayesian analysis, we impose constraints on the DM self-interaction strength using recent multimessenger astrophysical observations. The constrained DM interaction strength is then used to estimate DM self-interaction cross section and shear viscosity resulting from DM, which is found to be several orders of magnitude smaller than shear viscosity due to hadronic matter. Assuming that the DM fermion is in chemical equilibrium with the neutrons in the neutron star, we estimate the bulk viscosity resulting from the dark decay of neutrons, and find it to be much smaller than the hadronic bulk viscosity. We also conclude that the instability window with minimal hadronic damping mechanisms can become smaller when including DM shear and bulk viscosity but remains incompatible with the X-ray and pulsar observational data for the chosen DM model.

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S. Shirke, S. Ghosh, D. Chatterjee, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
34/65

Comments: 29 pages, 12 figures, 1 table. To be submitted to JCAP. Comments are welcome

ICME pancaking: a cause of two-step severe storm ($Dst \sim -187$ nT) of 25th solar cycle observed on 23 April 2023 [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05381


Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) are prominent drivers of space weather disturbances and mainly lead to intense or extreme geomagnetic storms. The reported studies suggested that the planar ICME sheath and planar magnetic clouds (MCs) cause extreme storms. Here, we investigated the severe two-step geomagnetic storm ($Dst \sim -187$ nT) of 25$^{th}$ solar cycle. Our analysis demonstrates flattened (pancaked) ICME structures, i.e., quasi-planar magnetic structures (PMS). The study corroborates our earlier reported finding that the less adiabatic expansion in quasi-PMS transformed ICME enhanced the strength of the southward magnetic field component. It contributes to the efficient transfer of plasma and energy in the Earth’s magnetosphere to cause the observed severe storm.

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K. Ghag, A. Raghav, A. Bhaskar, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
35/65

Comments: N/A

Initial On-Sky Performance testing of the Single-Photon Imager for Nanosecond Astrophysics (SPINA) system [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05197


This work presents an initial on-sky performance measurement of the Single-Photon Imager for Nanosecond Astrophysics (SPINA) system, part of our Ultra-Fast Astronomy (UFA) program. We developed the SPINA system based on the position-sensitive silicon photomultiplier (PS-SiPM) detector to record both photoelectron (P.E.) temporal and spatial information. The initial on-sky testing of the SPINA system was successfully performed on UT 2022 Jul 10, on the 0.7-meter aperture Nazarbayev University Transient Telescope at the Assy-Turgen Astrophysical Observatory (NUTTelA-TAO). We measured stars with a wide range of brightness and a dark region of the sky without stars $< 18$ mag. We measured the SPINA system’s spatial resolution to be $<232\mu m$ (full-width half-maximum, FWHM), limited by the unstable atmosphere. We measured the total background noise (detector dark counts and sky background) of 1914 counts per second (cps) within this resolution element. We also performed a crosstalk mapping of the detector, obtaining the crosstalk probability of $\sim0.18$ near the detector’s center while reaching $\sim 50\%$ at the edges. We derived a $5\sigma$ sensitivity of $17.45$ Gaia-BP magnitude in a 1s exposure with no atmospheric extinction by comparing the received flux with Gaia-BP band data. For a $10ms$ window and a false alarm rate of once per 100 nights, we derived a transient sensitivity of 14.06 mag. For a $1\mu s$ or faster time scale, we are limited by crosstalk to a 15 P.E. detection threshold. In addition, we demonstrated that the SPINA system is capable of capturing changes in the stellar profile FWHM of $\pm1.8\%$ and $\pm5\%$ change in the stellar profile FWHM in $20ms$ and $2ms$ exposures, respectively, as well as capturing stellar light curves on the $ms$ and $\mu s$ scales.

Read this paper on arXiv…

A. Lau, N. Shaimoldin, Z. Maksut, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
36/65

Comments: N/A

Constraining The Milky Way Bar Length using Hercules and Gaia DR3 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04981


The distribution of moving groups in the solar neighborhood has been used to constrain dynamical properties of the Milky Way for decades. Unfortunately, the unique bimodality between the main mode (Hyades, Pleiades, Coma Berenices, and Sirius) and Hercules can be explained by two different bar models — via the outer Lindblad resonance of a short, fast bar, or via the corotation resonance of a long, slow bar. In this work, we break this degeneracy by using Gaia DR3 to explore the variation of Hercules across Galactic azimuth. We find that Hercules increases in $V_\phi$ and becomes stronger as we move towards the minor axis of the bar, and decreases in $V_\phi$ and becomes weaker as we move towards the major axis of the bar. This is in direct agreement with theoretical predictions of a long, slow bar model in which Hercules is formed by the corotation resonance with stars orbiting the bar’s L4/L5 Lagrange points.

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S. Lucchini, E. D’Onghia and J. Aguerri
Wed, 10 May 23
37/65

Comments: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted

Stellar Collisions in Galactic Nuclei: Impact on Destructive Events Near a Supermassive Black Hole [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04997


Centers of galaxies host both a supermassive black hole and a dense stellar cluster. Such an environment should lead to stellar collisions, possibly at very high velocities so that the total energy involved is of the same order as supernovae explosions. We present a simplified numerical analysis of the destructive stellar collision rate in a cluster similar to that of the Milky Way. The analysis includes an effective average two-body relaxation Monte-Carlo scheme and general relativistic effects, as used by Sari and Fragione (2019), to which we added explicit tracking of local probabilities for stellar collisions. We also consider stars which are injected into the stellar cluster after being disrupted from a binary system by the supermassive black hole. Such stars are captured in the vicinity of the black hole and enhance the expected collision rate. In our results we examine the rate and energetic distribution function of high velocity stellar collisions, and compare them self-consistently with the other destructive processes which occur in the galactic center, namely tidal disruptions and extreme mass ratio inspirals.

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S. Balberg and G. Yassur
Wed, 10 May 23
38/65

Comments: 18 pages, 10 figures; submitted to ApJ

The Impact of Cosmic Variance on Inferences of Global Neutral Fraction Derived from Ly$α$ Luminosity Functions During Reionization [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04949


We investigate the impact of field-to-field variation, deriving from cosmic variance, in measured Lyman-$\alpha$ emitter (LAE) luminosity functions (LFs) and this variation’s impact on inferences of the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium (IGM) during reionization. We post-process a z=7 IGM simulation to populate the dark matter halos with LAEs. These LAEs have realistic UV magnitudes, Ly$\alpha$ fluxes, and Ly$\alpha$ line profiles. We calculate the attenuation of Ly$\alpha$ emission in universes with varying IGM neutral fraction, $\bar{\rm{x}}{\rm{HI}}$. In a $\bar{\rm{x}}{\rm{HI}}=0.3$ simulation, we perform 100 realizations of a mock 2 square degree survey with a redshift window $\Delta z = 0.5$ and flux limit $\rm{f}{Ly\alpha}>1\times10^{-17}:\rm{ergs}:: \rm{s}^{-1} : \rm{cm}^{-2}$; such a survey is typical in depth and volume of the largest LAE surveys conducted today. For each realization, we compute the LAE LF and use it to recover the input $\bar{\rm{x}}{\rm{HI}}$. Comparing the inferred values of $\bar{\rm{x}}{\rm{HI}}$ across the ensemble of the surveys, we find that cosmic variance, deriving from large-scale structure and variation in the neutral gas along the sightline, imposes a floor in the uncertainty of $\Delta \bar{\rm{x}}{\rm{HI}} \sim 0.2$ when $\bar{\rm{x}}{\rm{HI}}$ $=0.3$. We explore mitigation strategies to decrease this uncertainty, such as increasing the volume, decreasing the flux limit, or probing the volume with many independent fields. Increasing the area and/or depth of the survey does not mitigate the uncertainty, but composing a survey with many independent fields is effective. This finding highlights the best strategy for LAE surveys aiming at constraining $\bar{\rm{x}}{\rm{HI}}$ of the universe during reionization.

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S. Bruton, C. Scarlata, F. Haardt, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
39/65

Comments: 17 pages, 13 figures

Identification of interstellar cyanamide towards the hot molecular core G358.93-0.03 MM1 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05578


The amide-related molecules are essential for the formation of the other complex bio-molecules and an understanding of the prebiotic chemistry in the interstellar medium (ISM). We presented the first detection of the rotational emission lines of the amide-like molecule cyanamide (NH${2}$CN) towards the hot molecular core G358.93$-$0.03 MM1 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). Using the rotational diagram model, the derived column density of NH${2}$CN towards the G358.93$-$0.03 MM1 was (5.9$\pm$2.5)$\times$10$^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$ with a rotational temperature of 100.6$\pm$30.4 K. The derived fractional abundance of NH${2}$CN towards the G358.93$-$0.03 MM1 with respect to H${2}$ was (4.72$\pm$2.0)$\times$10$^{-10}$, which is very similar to the existent three-phase warm-up chemical model abundances of NH${2}$CN. We compare the estimated abundance of NH${2}$CN towards G358.93$-$0.03 MM1 with other sources, and we observe the abundance of NH${2}$CN towards G358.93$-$0.03 MM1 is nearly similar to that of the sculptor galaxy NGC 253 and the low-mass protostars IRAS 16293-2422 B and NGC 1333 IRAS4A2. We also discussed the possible formation mechanisms of NH${2}$CN towards the hot molecular cores and hot corinos, and we find that the NH${2}$CN molecule was created in the grain-surfaces of G358.93-0.03 MM1 via the neutral-neutral reaction between NH${2}$ and CN.

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A. Mannna and S. Pal
Wed, 10 May 23
40/65

Comments: Published in Astrophysics and Space Science

Multi-messenger observations of double neutron stars in Galactic disk with gravitational and radio waves [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05202


We evaluate the prospects for radio follow-up of the double neutron stars (DNSs) in the Galactic disk that could be detected through future space-borne gravitational wave (GW) detectors. We first simulate the DNS population in the Galactic disk that is accessible to space-borne GW detectors according to the merger rate from recent LIGO results. Using the inspiraling waveform for the eccentric binary, the average number of the DNSs detectable by TianQin (TQ), LISA, and TQ+LISA are 217, 368, and 429, respectively. For the joint GW detection of TQ+LISA, the forecasted parameter estimation accuracies, based on the Fisher information matrix, for the detectable sources can reach the levels of $\Delta P_{\mathrm b}/P_{\mathrm b} \lesssim 10^{-6}$, $\Delta \Omega \lesssim 100~{\mathrm {deg}}^2$, $\Delta e/e \lesssim 0.3$, and $\Delta \dot{P}{\mathrm b} / \dot{P}{\mathrm b} \lesssim 0.02$. These estimation accuracies are fitted in the form of power-law function of signal-to-noise ratio. Next, we simulate the radio pulse emission from the possible pulsars in these DNSs according to pulsar beam geometry and the empirical distributions of spin period and luminosity. For the DNSs detectable by TQ+LISA, the average number of DNSs detectable by the follow-up pulsar searches using the Parkes, FAST, SKA1, and SKA are 8, 10, 43, and 87, respectively. Depending on the radio telescope, the average distances of these GW-detectable pulsar binaries vary from 1 to 7 kpc. Considering the dominant radiometer noise and phase jitter noise, the timing accuracy of these GW-detectable pulsars can be as low as 70 ${\rm ns}$ while the most probable value is about 100 $\mu {\rm s}$.

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W. Feng, J. Chen, Y. Wang, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
41/65

Comments: 15 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. To be published in PRD

Globular clusters in the central region of the Milky Way galaxy I. Bar influence on the orbit parameters according to Gaia EDR3 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05012


The work is devoted to the analysis of the influence of the galactic bar on the orbital motion of globular clusters in the central region of the Galaxy. For this task, 45 globular clusters were selected, 34 of which belong to the bulge/bar and 11 to the disk. The most accurate astrometric data from the Gaia satellite (Vasiliev and Baumgardt, 2021), as well as new refined average distances (Baumgardt and Vasiliev, 2021), were used to form the 6D-phase space required for orbit integration. The orbits of globular clusters are obtained both in an axisymmetric potential and in a potential including a bar. In this case, the mass, rotation velocity, shape and scale length of the bar were varied. A comparison is made of such orbital parameters as apocentric and pericentric distances, eccentricity and maximum distance from the galactic plane. It is shown that the mass of the bar exerts the greatest influence on the orbital motion, which is expressed mainly in an increase in both the apocentric and pericentric distances in the vast majority of globular clusters. The eccentricities of the orbits in the overwhelming majority also change significantly, and there is a change both upward and downward, especially in the range of values from 0.2 to 0.8. The greatest changes in parameters are observed in globular clusters with high radial velocities and small pericentric distances. The change in orbital parameters depending on the bar rotation velocity is less pronounced. The influence of the geometric parameters of the bar is insignificant in the accepted range of their changes. Several examples show that globular clusters in the bulge are more affected by the bar than those belonging to the disk.

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A. Bajkova, A. Smirnov and V. Bobylev
Wed, 10 May 23
42/65

Comments: 29 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables

The HI gas fraction scaling relation of the Green Pea galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05167


Green Pea galaxies are compact galaxies with high star formation rates. However, limited samples of Green Pea galaxies have HI 21 cm measurements. Whether the HI gas fraction f_{HI} = M_{HI}/M_{} of Green Pea galaxies follows the existing scaling relations between the f_{HI} and NUV-r color or linear combinations of color and other physical quantities needs checking. Using archival data of HI 21cm observations, we investigate the scaling relation of the NUV-r color with the M_{HI}/M_{} of 38 Green Pea galaxies, including 17 detections and 21 non-detections. The HI to stellar mass ratios (f_{HI}) of Green Pea galaxies deviate from the polynomial form, where a higher HI gas fraction is predicted given the current NUV-r color, even with the emission lines removed. The blue sources (NUV-r<1) from the comparison sample (ALFALFA-SDSS) follow a similar trend. The HI gas fraction scaling relations with linear combination forms of -0.34(NUV-r) – 0.64 log(mu_{,z}) + 5.94 and -0.77 log mu_{,i} + 0.26 log SFR/M_{*}+8.53, better predict the HI gas fraction of the Green Pea galaxies. In order to obtain accurate linear combined forms, higher-resolution photometry from space-based telescopes is needed.

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S. Liu, A. Luo, W. Zhang, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
43/65

Comments: 15 pages, 7 figures, to be published in RAA

Solar Cycle Variation of 0.3-1.29 MeV/nucleon Heavy Ion Composition during Quiet Times near 1 AU in Solar Cycles 23 and 24 [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05441


We report on the annual variation of quiet-time suprathermal ion composition for C through Fe using Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)/Ultra-Low Energy Isotope Spectrometer (ULEIS) data over the energy range 0.3 MeV/nuc to 1.28 MeV/nuc from 1998 through 2019, covering solar cycle 23’s rising phase through Solar Cycle 24’s declining phase. Our findings are (1) quiet time suprathermal abundances resemble CIR-associated particles during solar minima; (2) quiet time suprathermals are M/Q fractionated in a manner that is consistent with M/Q fractionation in large gradual solar energetic particle events (GSEP) during solar maxima; and (3) variability within the quiet time suprathermal pool increases as a function of M/Q and is consistent with the analogous variability in GSEP events. From these observations, we infer that quiet time suprathermal ions are remnants of CIRs in solar minima and GSEP events in solar maxima. Coincident with these results, we also unexpectedly show that S behaves like a low FIP ion in the suprathermal regime and therefore drawn from low FIP solar sources.

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B. Alterman, M. Desai, M. Dayeh, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
44/65

Comments: Accepted in Astrophysical Journal. 19 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables

Low-Temperature Kinetics for the N + NO reaction: Experiment Guides the Way [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05305


The reaction N(4S) + NO -> O(3P) + N2 plays a pivotal role in the conversion of atomic to molecular nitrogen in dense interstellar clouds and in the atmosphere. Here we report a joint experimental and computational investigation of the N + NO reaction with the aim of providing improved constraints on its low temperature reactivity. Thermal rates were measured over the 50 to 296 K range in a continuous supersonic flow reactor coupled with pulsed laser photolysis and laser induced fluorescence for the production and detection of N(4S) atoms, respectively. With decreasing temperature, the experimentally measured reaction rate was found to monotonously increase up to a value of (6.6 +- 1.3) x 10-11 cm3 s-1 at 50 K. To confirm this finding, quasi-classical trajectory simulations were carried out on a previously validated, full-dimensional potential energy surface (PES). However, around 50 K the computed rates decreased which required re-evaluation of the reactive PES in the long-range part due to a small spurious barrier with height 40 K in the entrance channel. By exploring different correction schemes the measured thermal rates can be adequately reproduced, displaying a clear negative temperature dependence over the entire temperature range. The possible astrochemical implications of an increased reaction rate at low temperature are also discussed.

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K. Hickson, J. Veliz, D. Koner, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
45/65

Comments: 28 pages, 6 figures and 2 tables in the main article. 3 figures and 1 table in the supplementary information. Accepted for publication in PCCP

Bayesian radio interferometric imaging with direction-dependent calibration [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05489


Context: Radio interferometers measure frequency components of the sky brightness, modulated by the gains of the individual radio antennas. Due to atmospheric turbulence and variations in the operational conditions of the antennas these gains fluctuate. Thereby the gains do not only depend on time but also on the spatial direction on the sky. To recover high quality radio maps an accurate reconstruction of the direction and time-dependent individual antenna gains is required. Aims: This paper aims to improve the reconstruction of radio images, by introducing a novel joint imaging and calibration algorithm including direction-dependent antenna gains. Methods: Building on the \texttt{resolve} framework, we designed a Bayesian imaging and calibration algorithm utilizing the image domain gridding method for numerically efficient application of direction-dependent antenna gains. Furthermore by approximating the posterior probability distribution with variational inference, our algorithm can provide reliable uncertainty maps. Results: We demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to recover high resolution high dynamic range radio maps from VLA data of the radio galaxy Cygnus A. We compare the quality of the recovered images with previous work relying on classically calibrated data. Furthermore we compare with a compressed sensing algorithm also incorporating direction-dependent gains. Conclusions: Including direction-dependent effects in the calibration model significantly improves the dynamic range of the reconstructed images compared to reconstructions from classically calibrated data. Compared to the compressed sensing reconstruction, the resulting sky images have a higher resolution and show fewer artifacts. For utilizing the full potential of radio interferometric data, it is essential to consider the direction dependence of the antenna gains.

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J. Roth, P. Arras, M. Reinecke, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
46/65

Comments: 13 pages, 9 figures

Constraining $p$-wave Dark Matter Annihilation with Gamma-ray Observations of M87 [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05155


We consider constraints on $p$-wave dark matter in a dark matter spike surrounding the supermassive black hole at the center of M87. Owing to the large mass of the black hole, and resulting large velocity dispersion for the dark matter particles in the spike, it is possible for Fermi-LAT and MAGIC data to place tight constraints on $p$-wave annihilation, which would be far more stringent than those placed by observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Indeed, for optimistic choices of the spike parameters, gamma-ray data would exclude thermal $p$-wave dark matter models with a particle mass $\lesssim {10}~\rm TeV$. But there is significant uncertainty in the properties and parameters of the spike, and for less optimistic scenarios, thermal dark matter candidates would be completely unconstrained. In addition to better understanding the spike parameters, a second key to improving constraints on dark matter annihilation is an accurate astrophysical background model.

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K. Christy, J. Kumar and P. Sandick
Wed, 10 May 23
47/65

Comments: 10 pages, 4 figures

First observations of warm and cold methanol in Class 0/I proto-brown dwarfs [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04991


We present results from the first molecular line survey to search for the fundamental complex organic molecule, methanol (CH${3}$OH), in 14 Class 0/I proto-brown dwarfs (proto-BDs). IRAM 30-m observations over the frequency range of 92-116 GHz and 213-280 GHz have revealed emission in 14 CH${3}$OH transition lines, at upper state energy level, E${upper}\sim$7-49 K, and critical densities, $n{crit}$ of 10$^{5}$ to 10$^{9}$ cm$^{-3}$. The most commonly detected lines are at E${upper} <$ 20 K, while 11 proto-BDs also show emission in the higher excitation lines at E${upper}\sim$21-49 K and $n_{crit}\sim$10$^{5}$ to 10$^{8}$ cm$^{-3}$. In comparison with the brown dwarf formation models, the high excitation lines likely probe the warm ($\sim$25-50 K) corino region at $\sim$10-50 au in the proto-BDs, while the low-excitation lines trace the cold ($<$ 20 K) gas at $\sim$50-150 au. The column density for the cold component is an order of magnitude higher than the warm component. The CH${3}$OH ortho-to-para ratios range between $\sim$0.3-2.3. The volume-averaged CH${3}$OH column densities show a rise with decreasing bolometric luminosity among the proto-BDs, with the median column density higher by a factor of $\sim$3 compared to low-mass protostars. Emission in high-excitation (E${upper}>$ 25 K) CH${3}$OH lines together with the model predictions suggest that a warm corino is present in $\sim$78\% of the proto-BDs in our sample. The remaining show evidence of only the cold component, possibly due to the absence of a strong, high-velocity jet that can stir up the warm gas around it.

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B. Riaz, W. Thi and M. Machida
Wed, 10 May 23
48/65

Comments: Accepted in MNRAS

Understanding Sun-as-a-star variability of solar Balmer lines [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05510


Precise, high-cadence, long-term records of stellar spectral variability at different temporal scales lead to better understanding of a wide variety of phenomena including stellar atmospheres and dynamos, convective motions, and rotational periods. Here, we investigate the variability of solar Balmer lines (H-$\alpha$, -$\beta$, -$\gamma$, -$\delta$) observed by space-borne radiometers (OSIRIS, SCIAMACHY, OMI, and GOME-2), combining these precise, long-term observations with high-resolution data from the ground-based NSO/ISS spectrograph. We relate the detected variability to the appearance of magnetic features on the solar disk. We find that on solar-rotational timescales (about 1 month), the Balmer line activity indices (defined as line-core to line-wing ratios) closely follow variations in the total solar irradiance (which is predominantly photospheric), thus frequently (specifically, during passages of sunspot groups) deviating from behavior of activity indices that track chromospheric activity levels. On longer timescales, the correlation with chromospheric indices increases, with periods of low- or even anti-correlation found at intermediate timescales. Comparison of these observations with estimates from semi-empirical irradiance reconstructions helps quantify the contributions of different magnetic and quiet features. We conclude that both the lower sensitivity to network and in part the higher sensitivity to filaments and prominences, may result in complex, time-dependent relationships between Balmer and other chromospheric indices observed for the Sun and solar-like stars. The fact that core and wings contribute in similar manner to the variability, and current knowledge of Balmer-lines formation in stellar atmospheres, support the notion that Balmer lines core-to-wing ratios indices behave more like photospheric rather than chromospheric indices.

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S. Criscuoli, S. Marchenko, M. DeLand, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
49/65

Comments: Accepted for publication on ApJ on April 28, 2023

Performance of the low-latency GstLAL inspiral search towards LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA's fourth observing run [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05625


GstLAL is a stream-based matched-filtering search pipeline aiming at the prompt discovery of gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences such as the mergers of black holes and neutron stars. Over the past three observation runs by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA (LVK) collaboration, the GstLAL search pipeline has participated in several tens of gravitational wave discoveries. The fourth observing run (O4) is set to begin in May 2023 and is expected to see the discovery of many new and interesting gravitational wave signals which will inform our understanding of astrophysics and cosmology. We describe the current configuration of the GstLAL low-latency search and show its readiness for the upcoming observation run by presenting its performance on a mock data challenge. The mock data challenge includes 40 days of LIGO Hanford, LIGO Livingston, and Virgo strain data along with an injection campaign in order to fully characterize the performance of the search. We find an improved performance in terms of detection rate and significance estimation as compared to that observed in the O3 online analysis. The improvements are attributed to several incremental advances in the likelihood ratio ranking statistic computation and the method of background estimation.

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B. Ewing, R. Huxford, D. Singh, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
50/65

Comments: 16 pages, 17 figures

Accurate electron-recoil ionization factors for dark matter direct detection in xenon, krypton and argon [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05125


While most scintillation-based dark matter experiments search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), a sub-GeV WIMP-like particle may also be detectable in these experiments. While dark matter of this type and scale would not leave appreciable nuclear recoil signals, it may instead induce ionization of atomic electrons. Accurate modelling of the atomic wavefunctions is key to investigating this possibility, with incorrect treatment leading to a large suppression in the atomic excitation factors. We have calculated these atomic factors for argon, krypton and xenon and present the tabulated results for use with a range of dark matter models. This is made possible by the separability of the atomic and dark matter form factor, allowing the atomic factors to be calculated for general couplings; we include tables for vector, scalar, pseudovector, and pseudoscalar electron couplings. Additionally, we calculate electron impact total ionization cross sections for xenon using the tabulated results as a test of accuracy. Lastly, we provide an example calculation of the event rate for dark matter scattering on electrons in XENON1T and show that these calculations depend heavily on how the low-energy response of the detector is modelled.

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A. Caddell, V. Flambaum and B. Roberts
Wed, 10 May 23
51/65

Comments: N/A

Physical properties of the slow-rotating near-Earth asteroid (2059) Baboquivari from one apparition [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05217


In this study, we carried out photometric, spectroscopic, and for the first time, polarimetric observations of the Amor-type near-Earth asteroid (2059) Baboquivari. Our findings represent the first reliable determination of Baboquivari’s physical properties. We used data from a 1m-class telescope (T100) along with ALCDEF data for photometric analyses and a 1.5-m-class telescope (RTT150) for polarimetric, spectroscopic, and additional photometric observations. We obtained the synodic rotation period of Baboquivari as 129.93 +/- 2.31 hours and the standard phase function parameters H and G as 16.05 +/- 0.05, 0.22 +/- 0.02, respectively. Our colour index (V-R) measurement of 0.45 +/- 0.02 is consistent with spectroscopic observations, indicating an S (or sub-S) spectral type. Using the polarimetric and spectroscopic data, we found that the geometric albedo is 0.15 +/- 0.03, and the spectral type is Sq. Based on the estimated albedo and absolute magnitude, Baboquivari has an effective diameter of 2.12 +/- 0.21 km. Due to the scattered data in the light curve, its slow rotation and location among the NEAs suggest that Baboquivari may be a non-principal axis (NPA) rotator.

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O. Erece, I. Khamitov, M. Kaplan, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
52/65

Comments: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted to publish in Planetary and Space Science (2023)

A Low-Mass Helium Star Progenitor Model for the Type Ibn SN 2020nxt [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05015


A growing number of supernovae (SNe) are now known to exhibit evidence for significant interaction with a dense, pre-existing, circumstellar medium (CSM). SNe Ibn comprise one such class that can be characterised by both rapidly evolving light curves and persistent narrow He I lines. The origin of such a dense CSM in these systems remains a pressing question, specifically concerning the progenitor system and mass-loss mechanism. In this paper, we present multi-wavelength data of the Type Ibn SN 2020nxt, including $HST$/STIS ultraviolet spectra. We fit the data with recently updated CMFGEN models designed to handle configurations for SNe Ibn. The UV coverage yields strong constraints on the energetics and, when combined with the CMFGEN models, offer new insight on potential progenitor systems. We find the most successful model is a $\lesssim4 {\rm M}\odot$ helium star that lost its $\sim 1\,{\rm M}\odot$ He-rich envelope in the years preceding core collapse. We also consider viable alternatives, such as a He white dwarf merger. Ultimately, we conclude at least some SNe Ibn do not arise from single, massive ($>30 {\rm M}_\odot$) Wolf-Rayet-like stars.

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Q. Wang, A. Goel, L. Dessart, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
53/65

Comments: 17 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, submitted to MNRAS

The impact and response of minihalos and the inter-halo medium on cosmic reionization [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04959


An ionization front (I-front) that propagates through an inhomogeneous medium is slowed down by self-shielding and recombinations. We perform cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations of the I-front propagation during the epoch of cosmic reionization. The simulations resolve gas in minihalos (halo mass $10^4\lesssim M_h[{\rm M}\odot]\lesssim 10^8)$ that could dominate recombinations, in a computational volume that is large enough to sample the abundance of such halos. The numerical resolution is sufficient (gas particle mass $\sim 20{\rm M}\odot$, spatial resolution $< 0.1\;{\rm ckpc}$) to allow accurate modelling of the hydrodynamic response of gas to photo-heating. We quantify the photo-evaporation time of minihalos as a function of $M_h$ and its dependence on the photo-ionization rate, $\Gamma_{-12}$, and the redshift of reionization, $z_i$. The recombination rate can be enhanced over that of a uniform medium by a factor $\sim 10-20$ early on. The peak value increases with $\Gamma_{-12}$ and decreases with $z_i$, due to the enhanced contribution from minihalos. The clumping factor, $c_r$, decreases to a factor of a few at $\sim 100\;{\rm Myr}$ after the passage of the I-front when the minihalos have been photo-evaporated; this asymptotic value depends only weakly on $\Gamma_{-12}$. Recombinations increase the required number of photons per baryon to reionize the Universe by 20-100 per cent, with the higher value occurring when $\Gamma_{-12}$ is high and $z_i$ is low. We complement the numerical simulations with simple analytical models for the evaporation rate and the inverse Str\”omgren layer. The study also demonstrates the proficiency and potential of SPHM1RT to address astrophysical problems in high-resolution cosmological simulations.

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T. Chan, A. Benitez-Llambay, T. Theuns, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
54/65

Comments: 34 pages, 34 figures; submitted to MNRAS

Discovery of Radial Spectral Hardening in the Hot Bubble of Planetary Nebula BD+30 3639 with Median Energy Imaging [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04948


We introduce a new imaging analysis technique to study the spatial distribution of the X-ray emission from the hot bubble of planetary nebula BD+30 3639. Hot bubble emission is typically photon-starved, thus limiting the methods for spatial-spectral analysis, however, this new technique uses the statistics of photon energies across the nebula to identify spatial variations. Using the median energy value of the X-ray photons, we identified a rise in median energy values towards the projected edge of the nebula, which we refer to as radial spectral hardening. We explored the origin of this radial spectral hardening with X-ray spectral analysis of distinct regions of high- and low-median energy values. Given that the hot bubble is embedded within a young, dense, planetary nebula, we argue that the radial spectral hardening is due to an increased column density at the projected nebular edge. Median energy imaging provides a promising new methodology for exploring the spatial variations in faint extended X-ray sources.

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R. Jr
Wed, 10 May 23
55/65

Comments: 10 pages, 6 figures, and one potentially embarrassing last minute revision. Submitted to ApJ

Measuring Dust Attenuation Curves of SINGS/KINGFISH Galaxies Using Swift/UVOT Photometry [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05650


We present Swift/Ultraviolet Optical Telescope (UVOT) integrated light photometry of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) and the Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: A Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel (KINGFISH) samples of nearby galaxies. Combining the Swift/UVOT data with archival photometry, we investigate a variety of dust attenuation curves derived using MCSED, a flexible spectral energy distribution fitting code. We fit the panchromatic data using three different star formation history (SFH) parameterizations: a decaying exponential, a double power law, and a piecewise function with breaks at physically motivated ages. We find that the average attenuation law of the sample changes slightly based on the SFH assumed. Specifically, the exponential SFH leads to the shallowest attenuation curves. Using simulated data, we also find the exponential SFH fails to outperform the more complex SFHs. Finally, we find a systematic offset in the derived bump strength between SED fits with and without UVOT data, where the inclusion of UVOT data leads to smaller bump strengths, highlighting the importance of the UVOT data. This discrepancy is not seen in fits to mock photometry. Understanding dust attenuation in the local universe is key to understanding high redshift objects where rest-frame far-infrared data is unavailable.

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A. Belles, M. Decleir, W. Bowman, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
56/65

Comments: 30 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

New MGCAMB tests of gravity with CosmoMC and Cobaya [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05667


We present a new version of MGCAMB, a patch for the Einstein-Boltzmann solver CAMB for cosmological tests of gravity. New features include a new cubic-spline parameterization allowing for a simultaneous reconstruction of $\mu$, $\Sigma$ and the dark energy density fraction $\Omega_X$ as functions of redshift, the option to work with a direct implementation of $\mu$, $\Sigma$ (instead of converting to $\mu$, $\gamma$ first), along with the option to test models with a scalar field coupled only to dark matter, and the option to include dark energy perturbations when working with $w\ne -1$ backgrounds, to restore consistency with CAMB in the GR limit. This version of MGCAMB comes with a python wrapper to run it directly from the python interface, an implementation in the latest version of CosmoMC, and can be used with Cobaya.

Read this paper on arXiv…

Z. Wang, S. Mirpoorian, L. Pogosian, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
57/65

Comments: 8 pages + 2 appendices, 4 figures; MGCAMB, MGCosmoMC and MGCobaya available at this https URL, this https URL, this https URL

Pulsar Observations at low latitudes and low frequencies [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05458


The Pulsar Monitoring in Argentina (PuMA) is a collaboration between the Argentine Institute for Radioastronomy (IAR) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) that since 2017 has been observing southern sky pulsars with high cadence using the two restored IAR antennas in the L-Band (1400MHz). We briefly review the first set of results of this program to study transient phenomena, such as magnetars and glitching pulsars, as well as to perform precise timing of millisecond pulsars. Access to lower frequency bands, where most of the pulsars are brighter, would allow us to reach additional pulsars, currently buried into the background noise. We identify two dozen additional glitching pulsars that could be observable in the 400MHz band by the IAR’s projected Multipurpose Interferometer Array (MIA). We also discuss the relevance and challenges of single-pulse pulsar timing at low frequencies and the search for Fast Radio Burst (FRB) in the collected data since 2017 using machine learning techniques.

Read this paper on arXiv…

C. Lousto, R. Missel, E. Zubieta, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
58/65

Comments: 11 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2108.13462

More relaxed intracluster gas than galaxies in clusters in quasi-equilibrium [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05250


During cluster mergers, the intracluster gas and member galaxies undergo dynamic evolution, but at different timescales and reach different states. We collect 24 galaxy clusters in quasi-equilibrium state as indicated by the X-ray image, and calculate the cluster orientations and three kinds of dynamical parameters, i.e., the normalized centroid offset, the sphere index and the ellipticity, for these clusters from the distributions of member galaxies and also the intracluster gas. We find consistent alignments for the orientations estimated from the two components. However, the three kinds of dynamical parameters indicated by member galaxies are systematically larger than those derived from the gas component, suggesting that the gas component is more relaxed than member galaxies. Differences of dynamical features between the intracluster gas and member galaxies are independent of cluster mass and concentration. We conclude that the intracluster gas reaches the dynamic equilibrium state earlier than the almost collisionless member galaxies.

Read this paper on arXiv…

Z. Yuan, J. Han, H. Böhringer, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
59/65

Comments: 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRAS

XQR-30: the ultimate XSHOOTER quasar sample at the reionization epoch [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05053


The final phase of the reionization process can be probed by rest-frame UV absorption spectra of quasars at z>6, shedding light on the properties of the diffuse intergalactic medium within the first Gyr of the Universe. The ESO Large Programme “XQR-30: the ultimate XSHOOTER legacy survey of quasars at z~5.8-6.6” dedicated ~250 hours of observations at the VLT to create a homogeneous and high-quality sample of spectra of 30 luminous quasars at z~6, covering the rest wavelength range from the Lyman limit to beyond the MgII emission. Twelve quasar spectra of similar quality from the XSHOOTER archive were added to form the enlarged XQR-30 sample, corresponding to a total of ~350 hours of on-source exposure time. The median effective resolving power of the 42 spectra is R~11400 and 9800 in the VIS and NIR arm, respectively. The signal-to-noise ratio per 10 km/s pixel ranges from ~11 to 114 at $\lambda \simeq 1285$ \AA rest frame, with a median value of ~29. We describe the observations, data reduction and analysis of the spectra, together with some first results based on the E-XQR-30 sample. New photometry in the H and K bands are provided for the XQR-30 quasars, together with composite spectra whose characteristics reflect the large absolute magnitudes of the sample. The composite and the reduced spectra are released to the community through a public repository, and will enable a range of studies addressing outstanding questions regarding the first Gyr of the Universe.

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V. D’Odorico, E. Banados, G. Becker, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
60/65

Comments: 21 pages, 10 figures. Revised version resubmitted to MNRAS after minor referee report

Research on access, use and effective exploration of astronomical observational and bibliographical data from sonification [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05635


Data analysis in space sciences has been performed exclusively visually for years, despite the fact that the largest amount of data belongs to non-visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. This, on the one hand, limits the study of the unknown to the current resolution possibilities of the screens, and on the other hand, it excludes a group of people who present some type of visual disability. Taking into account the aforementioned, and that people with some type of disability encounter many barriers to achieve academic studies and stable jobs, the present investigation focuses on new modalities of access to the data, but taking into account the accessibility and inclusion of people with functional diversity from the beginning. It has been shown that multimodal perception (use of more than one sense) can be a good complement to visual exploration and understanding of complex scientific data. This is especially true for astrophysical data, composed of a sum of different oscillatory modes resulting in the final complex data array. This proposal focuses on the human ability to adapt to data and interaction with sound, in order to analyze data sets and produce an application aimed at leveling the possibilities of access to information in the field of physics and astronomy (although the tool is also applicable to any type of data in files with 2 or more columns (.txt or .csv)) for people with disabilities. In addition, it proposes the study of scientific and technological capacities for the generation of tools with a novel approach, focused on the user and oriented to: a specific social problem, the use of free programming languages and the design of infrastructure to improve inclusion.

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J. Casado and B. García
Wed, 10 May 23
61/65

Comments: Thesis of 265 pages with bibliography, in Spanish language, the rest are appends

An analysis of the isomers HCN and HNC in the evolution of high-mass star-forming regions [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05073


The study of molecules and their chemistry in star-forming regions is fundamental to understand the physical process occurring in such regions. The HCN and HNC J=1-0 emissions were used to derive their integrated line intensities (I), to probe a relation recently appeared in the literature between the kinetic temperatures (T${K}$) and the isomeric (I) ratio, and to obtain the isomers abundances (X) in 55 high-mass star-forming regions. These last ones are classified, according to the evolutive stage, as infrared dark clouds, high-mass protostellar objects, hot molecular cores, and ultracompact HII regions. It is inferred that the T${K}$ obtained from the isomeric integrated intensity ratio (I$^{HCN/HNC}$) are underestimated, and hence we suggest that this relation cannot be employed as an universal thermometer in the interstellar medium. The isomers abundances show a behavior that can be explained from the chemistry occurring as the temperature and the UV radiation increase according to the evolutive stage. We found that the abundance ratio (X$^{HCN/HNC}$) hardly could be used as a chemical clock, and we suggest that it can be approximated by I$^{HCN/HNC}$. This work is part of an on-going study of multiple molecules that stand in the sample of analyzed regions which intends to contribute in the chemical knowledge of high-mass star formation.

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N. Martinez and S. Paron
Wed, 10 May 23
62/65

Comments: to appear in Bolet\’in de la Asociaci\’on Argentina de Astronom\’ia

On the onset delays of solar energetic electrons and protons: Evidence for a common accelerator [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05347


The processes responsible for the acceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) are still not well understood, including whether SEP electrons and protons are accelerated by common or separate processes. Using a numerical particle transport model that includes both pitch-angle and perpendicular spatial diffusion, we simulate, amongst other quantities, the onset delay for MeV electrons and protons and compare the results to observations of SEPs from widely-separated spacecraft. Such observations have previously been interpreted, in a simple scenario assuming no perpendicular diffusion, as evidence for different electron and proton sources. We show that, by assuming a common particle source together with perpendicular diffusion, we are able to simultaneously reproduce the onset delays for both electrons and protons. We argue that this points towards a common accelerator for these particles. Moreover, a relatively broad particle source is required in the model to correctly describe the observations. This is suggestive of diffusive shock acceleration occurring at large shock structures playing a significant role in the acceleration of these SEPs.

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R. Strauss, N. Dresing, I. Richardson, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
63/65

Comments: Accepted to ApJ

EPIC 206197016: A very hot white dwarf orbited by a strongly irradiated red dwarf [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05270


Very precise satellite photometry has revealed a large number of variable stars whose variability is caused either by surface spots or by binarity. Detailed studies of such variables provide insights into the physics of these objects. We study the nature of the periodic light variability of the white dwarf EPIC 206197016 that was observed by the K2 mission. We obtain phase-resolved medium-resolution spectroscopy of EPIC 206197016 using XSHOOTER spectrograph at VLT to understand the nature of the white dwarf variability. We use NLTE model atmospheres to determine stellar parameters at individual phases. EPIC 206197016 is a hot DA white dwarf with $T_\text{eff}=78\,$kK. The analysis of the spectra reveals periodic radial velocity variations that can result from gravitational interaction with an invisible secondary whose mass corresponds to a red dwarf. The close proximity of the two stars where the semimajor axis is about $3\,R_\odot$ results in the irradiation of the companion with temperatures more than twice as high on the illuminated side compared to the nonilluminated hemisphere. This effect can explain the observed light variations. The spectra of the white dwarf show a particular feature of the Balmer lines called the Balmer line problem, where the observed cores of the lower Balmer lines are deeper than predicted. This can be attributed to either weak pollution of hydrogen in the white dwarf atmosphere by heavy elements or to the presence of a circumstellar cloud or disk.

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J. Krticka, A. Kawka, Z. Mikulasek, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
64/65

Comments: 8 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

GRB 221009A: Spectral signatures based on ALPs candidates [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.05145


GRB 221009A has posed a significant challenge to our current understanding of the mechanisms that produce TeV photons in gamma-ray bursts (GRB). On one hand, the Klein-Nishina (KN) effect of the inverse Compton scattering leads to less efficient energy losses of high-energy electrons. In the other hand, at a redshift of 0.151, the TeV spectrum of GRB 221009A undergoes significant absorption by the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL). Therefore, the observation of 18-TeV and 250-TeV photons in this event implies the presence of enormous photon fluxes at the source, which cannot be easily generated by the Synchrotron Self-Compton mechanism in external shocks. As an alternative, some authors have suggested the possibility of converting the TeV-photons into Axion-like particles (ALPs) at the host galaxy, in order to avoid the effects of EBL absorption, and then reconverting them into photons within the Milky Way. While this solution relaxes the requirement of very-high photon fluxes, the KN effect still poses a challenge. Previously, we have showed that the injections of ALPs could explain the observation of 18-TeV photons. Here, we include the energy dependence of the survival probability to determine the spectral conditions that would be required for the injection of such ALPs, limit the ALP’s candidate region, and discuss the implications in the maximum particle rate for different light-curve assumptions.

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D. Rojas, S. Hernández-Cadena, M. González, et. al.
Wed, 10 May 23
65/65

Comments: N/A

Exploring departures from Schwarzschild black hole geometry in $f(R)$ gravity [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04695


Different astrophysical methods can be combined to detect possible deviations from General Relativity. In this work, we consider a class of $f(R)$ gravity models selected by the existence of Noether symmetries. In this framework, it is possible to determine a set of static and spherically symmetric black hole solutions, encompassing small departures from the Schwarzschild geometry. In particular, when gravity is the only dominating interaction, we exploit the ray-tracing technique to reconstruct the image of a black hole, the epicyclic frequencies, and the black hole shadow profile. Moreover, when matter dynamics is also affected by an electromagnetic radiation force, we take into account the general relativistic Poynting-Robertson effect. In light of the obtained results, the proposed strategy results to be robust and efficient: on the one hand, it allows to investigate gravity from strong to weak field regimes; on the other hand, it is capable of detecting small departures from General Relativity, depending on the current observational sensitivity.

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V. Falco, F. Bajardi, R. D’Agostino, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
1/88

Comments: 19 pages; 7 figures; 2 tables; accepted for publication on EPJ C

Revisiting the Dragonfly Galaxy I. High-resolution ALMA and VLA Observations of the Radio Hotspots in a Hyper-luminous Infrared Galaxy at $z=1.92$ [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03979


Radio-loud active galactic nuclei (RLAGNs) are rare among AGN populations. Lacking high-resolution and high-frequency observations, their structure and evolution stages are not well understood at high redshifts. In this work, we report ALMA 237 GHz continuum observation at $0.023”$ resolution and VLA 44 GHz continuum observation at $0.08”$ resolution of the radio continuum emission from a high-redshift radio and hyper-luminous infrared galaxy at $z=1.92$. The new observations confirm the South-East (SE) and North-West (NW) hotspots identified by previous low-resolution VLA observations at 4.7 and 8.2 GHz and identify a radio core undetected in all previous observations. The SE hotspot has a higher flux density than the NW one does by a factor of 6, suggesting that there can be a Doppler boosting effect in the SE one. In this scenario, we estimate the advance speed of the jet head, ranging from $\sim$0.1c — 0.3c, which yields a mildly relativistic case. The projected linear distance between the two hotspots is $\sim13$ kpc, yielding a linear size ($\leq20$ kpc) of a Compact-Steep-Spectrum (CSS) source. Combined with new \black{high-frequency ($\nu_\text{obs}\geq44$ GHz) and archived low-frequency observations ($\nu_\text{obs}\leq8.2$ GHz)}, we find that injection spectra of both NW and SE hotspots can be fitted with a continuous injection (CI) model. Based on the CI model, the synchrotron ages of NW and SE hotspots have an order of $10^5$ yr, consistent with the order of magnitude $10^3 – 10^5$ yr observed in CSS sources associated with radio AGNs at an early evolution stage. The CI model also favors the scenario in which the double hotspots have experienced a quiescent phase, suggesting that this RLAGN may have transient or intermittent activities.

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Y. Zhong, A. Inoue, Y. Sugahara, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
2/88

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The Planck clusters in the LOFAR sky V. LoTSS-DR2: Mass – radio halo power correlation at low frequency [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04564


Many galaxy clusters show diffuse cluster-scale emission in the form of radio halos, showing that magnetic fields and relativistic electrons are mixed in with the intra-cluster medium (ICM). There is general agreement that the origin of radio halos is connected to turbulence, generated during cluster mergers. Statistical studies of large samples of galaxy clusters in the radio band have the potential to unveil the connection between the properties of radio halos and the mass and dynamics of the host clusters. Previous studies have been limited to massive clusters and based on a small number of radio halos. The aim of this paper is to investigate the scaling relation between the radio power of radio halos and the mass of the host clusters at low frequencies and down to lower cluster masses. We analysed the clusters from the second catalogue of Planck Sunyaev Zel’dovich sources that lie within the 5634 sq deg covered by the second Data Release of the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey. We derived the correlation between the radio power and the mass of the host clusters and we investigated the distribution of clusters without radio halos with respect to the correlation. We use X-ray observations to classify the dynamical state of clusters and investigate its role on the power of radio halos. We found a correlation between the power of radio halos at 150 MHz and the mass of the host clusters down to 3e14 Msun. This correlation has a large scatter, part of which can be attributed to the different dynamical states of host clusters. We used two statistical test to show that the distribution of clusters with and without (upper limits) radio halos in the mass-radio power diagram is not compatible with a single correlation and that it is also not compatible with clusters being uniformly distributed below an upper envelope constituted by the correlation.

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V. Cuciti, R. Cassano, M. Sereno, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
3/88

Comments: 12 pages, 7 figures, submitted to A&A

Memory matters : Gravitational wave memory of compact binary coalescence in the presence of matter effects [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04761


Binary neutron stars (BNS) and neutron star-black hole (NSBH) binaries are one of the most promising gravitational wave (GW) sources to probe matter effects. Upcoming observing runs of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA detectors and future third generation detectors like Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer will allow the extraction of detailed information on these matter effects from the GW signature of BNS and NSBH systems. One subtle effect which may be helpful to extract more information from the detection of compact binary systems is the non-linear memory. In this work, we investigate the observational consequences of gravitational wave non-linear memory in the presence of matter effects.
We start by quantifying the impact of non-linear memory on distinguishing BNS mergers from binary black holes (BBH) or NSBH mergers. We find that for the third generation detectors, the addition of non-linear memory to the GW signal model expands the parameter space where BNS signals become distinguishable from the BBH and NSBH signals. Using numerical relativity simulations, we also study the non-linear memory generated from the post-merger phase of BNS systems. We find that it does not show a strong dependence on the equation of state of the NS. However, the non-linear memory from the BNS post-merger phase is much lower than the one from BBH systems of the same masses. Furthermore, we compute the detection prospects of non-linear memory from the post-merger phase of NS systems by accumulating signal strength from a population of BNS mergers for the current and future detectors. Finally, we discuss the impact of possible linear memory from the dynamical ejecta of BNS and NSBH systems and its signal strength relative to the non-linear memory. We find that linear memory almost always has a much weaker effect than non-linear memory.

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D. Lopez, S. Tiwari and M. Ebersold
Tue, 9 May 23
4/88

Comments: N/A

Diverse Chemo-Dynamical Properties of Nitrogen-Rich Stars Identified From Low-Resolution Spectra [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04025


The second generation of stars in the GCs of the MW exhibit unusually high N, Na, or Al, compared to typical Galactic halo stars at similar metallicities. The halo field stars enhanced with such elements are believed to have originated in disrupted GCs or escaped from existing GCs. We identify such stars in the metallicity range -3.0 < [Fe/H] < 0.0 from a sample of ~ 36,800 giant stars observed in the SDSS and LAMOST survey, and present their dynamical properties. The N-rich population and N-normal population among our giant sample do not exhibit similarities in either in their metallicity distribution function or dynamical properties. We find that, even though the MDF of the NRP looks similar to that of the MW’s GCs in the range of [Fe/H] < -1.0, our analysis of the dynamical properties does not indicate similarities between them in the same metallicity range, implying that the escaped members from existing GCs may account for a small fraction of our N-rich stars, or the orbits of the present GCs have been altered by the dynamical friction of the MW. We also find a significant increase in the fraction of N-rich stars in the halo field in the very metal-poor (VMP; [Fe/H] < -2.0) regime, comprising up to ~ 20% of the fraction of the N-rich stars below [Fe/H] = -2.5, hinting that partially or fully destroyed VMP GCs may have in some degree contributed to the Galactic halo. A more detailed dynamical analysis of the NRP reveals that our sample of N-rich stars do not share a single common origin. Although a substantial fraction of the N-rich stars seem to originate from the GCs formed in situ, more than 60% of them are not associated with those of typical Galactic populations, but probably have extragalactic origins associated with GSE, Sequoia, and Sagittarius dwarf galaxies, as well as with presently unrecognized progenitors.

Read this paper on arXiv…

C. Kim, Y. Lee, T. Beers, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
5/88

Comments: 16 pages, 6 figures, 1 table

Exploring the nature of black hole and gravity with an imminent merging binary of supermassive black holes [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04478


A supermassive binary black-hole candidate SDSS J1430+2303 reported recently motivates us to investigate an imminent binary of supermassive black holes as potential gravitational wave source, the radiated gravitational waves at the end of the merger are shown to be in the band of space-borne detectors. We provide a general analysis on the required detecting sensitivity needed for probing such type gravitational wave sources and make a full discussion by considering two typically designed configurations of space-borne antennas. If a source is so close, it is possible to be detected with Taiji pathfinder-plus which is proposed to be an extension for the planned Taiji pathfinder by just adding an additional satellite to the initial two satellites. The gravitational wave detection on such kind of source enables us to explore the properties of supermassive black holes and the nature of gravity.

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X. Zhong, W. Han, Z. Luo, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
6/88

Comments: N/A

Faint Galaxy Number Counts in the Durhamand SDSS Catalogues [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04308


Galaxy number counts in the $K$-, $H$-, $I$-, $R$-, $B$- and $U$-bands from the Durham Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology catalogue could be well-fitted over their whole range using luminosity function (LF) parameters derived from the SDSS at the bright region and required only modest luminosity evolution with the steepening of the LF slope ($\alpha$), except for a sudden steep increase in the $B$-band and a less steep increase in the $U$-band at faint magnitudes that required a starburst evolutionary model to account for the excess faint number counts. A cosmological model treating Hubble expansion as an Einstein curvature required less correction at faint magnitudes than a standard $\Lambda$CDM model, without requiring dark matter or dark energy. Data from DR17 of the SDSS in the $g$, $i$, $r$, $u$ and $z$ bands over two areas of the sky centred on the North Galactic Cap (NGC) and above the South Galactic Cap (SGC), with areas of 5954 and 859 sq. deg., respectively, and a combined count of 622,121 galaxies, were used to construct bright galaxy number counts and galaxy redshift/density plots within the limits of redshift $\leq0.4$ and mag $\leq20$. Their comparative densities confirmed an extensive void in the Southern sky with a deficit of 26\% out to a redshift $z$$\leq$0.15. Although not included in the number count data set because of its incompleteness at fainter magnitudes, extending the SDSS redshift-number count survey to fainter and more distant galaxies with redshift $\leq1.20$ showed a secondary peak in the number counts with many QSOs, bright X-ray and radio sources, and evolving irregular galaxies with rapid star formation rates. This sub-population at redshifts of 0.45–0.65 may account for the excess counts observed in the $B$-band.

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J. Marr
Tue, 9 May 23
7/88

Comments: 19 pages, 10 figures

No Surviving SN Ia Companion In SNR 0509-67.5: Stellar Population Characterization and Comparison To Models [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03750


The community agrees that Type Ia supernovae arise from Carbon/Oxygen white dwarfs undergoing thermonuclear runaway. However, the full progenitor system and the process that prompts the white dwarf to explode remain unknown. Most current models suggest that the white dwarf explodes because of interaction with a binary companion which may survive the process and remain within the resulting remnant of the exploded star. Furthermore, both the pre-supernova interaction process and the explosion of the primary are expected to imprint a significant departure from ordinary stellar radii and temperatures onto the secondary, making the star identifiable against the unrelated stellar population. Identification of a surviving companion inside an SN Ia remnant might confirm a specific corresponding SN Ia progenitor channel based on the identity of the companion. We conducted a surviving companion search of the Type Ia remnant SNR 0509-67.5 based in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The well-constrained distance to and foreground extinction of the Large Magellanic Cloud allow for Bayesian inference of stellar parameters with low correlation and uncertainties. We present a deep catalog of fully characterized stars interior to SNR 0509-67.5 with radii, effective temperatures, and metallicities inferred using combined Hubble Space Telescope photometric observations across multiple visits. We then compile a list of surviving companion models appropriate for the age of the remnant (roughly 400 years after the explosion). We compare these predictions with the inferred stellar parameters and conclude that none of the stars are consistent with the predicted signatures of a surviving companion.

Read this paper on arXiv…

J. Shields, P. Arunachalam, W. Kerzendorf, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
8/88

Comments: 16 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables

Vivisecting galaxies with BANG: an automated morpho-kinematical decomposition of the SDSS-DR17 MaNGA survey [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03762


From a purely photometric perspective galaxies are generally decomposed into a bulge+disc system, with bulges being dispersion-dominated and discs rotationally-supported. However, recent observations have demonstrated that such framework oversimplifies complexity, especially if one considers galaxy kinematic.To address this issue we introduced with the GPU-based code \textsc{bang} a novel approach that employs analytical potential-density pairs as galactic components, allowing for a computationally fast, still reliable fit of the morphological and kinematical properties of galaxies. Here we apply \textsc{bang} to the SDSS-MaNGA survey, estimating key parameters such as mass, radial extensions, dynamics, for both bulges and discs of +10,000 objects. We test our methodology against a smaller subsample of galaxies independently analysed with an orbit-based algorithm, finding agreement in the recovered total stellar mass. We also manage to reproduce well-established scaling relations, demonstrating how a proper dynamical modelling can result in tighter correlations and provide corrections to standard approaches. Finally, we propose a more general way of decomposing galaxies into “hot” and “cold” components, showing a correlation with orbit-based approaches and visually determined morphological type. Unexpected tails in the “hot-to-total” mass-ratio distribution are present for galaxies of all morphologies, possibly due to visual morphology misclassifications.

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F. Rigamonti, M. Dotti, S. Covino, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
9/88

Comments: 13 pages, 10 figures

Exploring the environment, magnetic fields, and feedback effects of massive high-redshift galaxies with [CII] [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.03812


Massive galaxies are expected to grow through different transformative evolutionary phases where high-redshift starburst galaxies and quasars are examples of such phases. The physical mechanisms driving these phases include companion galaxy interactions, active galactic nuclei feedback, and magnetic fields. Our aim is to characterize the physical properties and the environment of the submillimeter galaxy AzTEC-3 at z = 5.3 and the lensed quasar BRI 0952-0115 at z = 4.4, to set a limit on the polarization properties, as well as placing both in the broader context of galaxy evolution. We used full polarization, sub-arcsecond-resolution, ALMA band-7 observations of both BRI 0952-0115 and AzTEC-3 and detect [CII] line emission towards both galaxies, along with companions in each field. We present an updated gravitational lensing model for BRI 0952-0115. We present infrared luminosities, star-formation rates, and [CII] line to infrared luminosity ratios for each source. The [CII] emission line profile for both BRI 0952-0115 and AzTEC-3 exhibit a broad, complex morphology, indicating the possible presence of outflows. We present evidence of a ‘gas bridge’ between AzTEC-3 and a companion source. Using a simple dynamical mass estimate for the sources, we suggest that both systems are undergoing minor or major mergers. No polarization is detected for the [CII], placing an upper limit below that of theoretical predictions. Our results show that high-velocity wings are detected, indicating possible signs of massive outflows; however, the presence of companion galaxies can affect the final interpretation. Furthermore, the results provide additional evidence in support of the hypothesis that massive galaxies form in overdense regions, growing through interactions. Finally, strong, ordered magnetic fields are unlikely to exist at the kiloparsec scale in the two studied sources.

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K. Kade, K. Knudsen, W. Vlemmings, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
10/88

Comments: N/A

Scaling and Universality in the Temporal Occurrence of Repeating FRBs [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04738


The dynamics of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) are driven by their physical nature and central engine, however their event rate, energy distribution and temporal occurrence behaviour are still remain uncertain due to the server lack of information of bursts. Recently, the available of high-frequency observation data for the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) has made it possible to statistically study the temporal occurrence on timescales from several milliseconds to over several thousand seconds. In this research we studied both the FRB121102 and FRB20201124A temporal occurrence and report here a statistical result about the behaviour of the waiting time (or recurrence-time) between successive bursts. The results exhibit novel scaling and universality which have not reported in the field yet. Specifically, we find the scaling law for FRBs recurrence-time distribution which is a clear indication of the importance of correlations in the structure of its physical nature and central engine. The scaling relationships were observed for time scales spanning three orders of magnitude. Given that they are sharing the same scaling law between two repeating FRBs, we infer that the scaling law of waiting time distribution should acts as a indicator which provides insights into the physical nature and the development of the central engine model.

Read this paper on arXiv…

Y. Du, P. Wang, L. Song, et. al.
Tue, 9 May 23
11/88

Comments: N/A