Evolution of Resonant Self-interacting Dark Matter Halos [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12621


Recent analysis on the stellar kinematics of ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies has put a stringent upper limit on the self-scattering cross section of dark matter, i.e., $\sigma/m<{\cal O}(0.1)\,{\rm cm^2/g}$ at the scattering velocity of ${\cal O}(10)\,{\rm km/s}$. Resonant self-interacting dark matter (rSIDM) is one possibility that can be consistent with the UFDs and explain the low central densities of rotation-supported galaxies; the cross section is resonantly enhanced to be $\sigma/m = {\cal O}(1)\,{\rm cm^2/g}$ around the scattering velocity of ${\cal O}(100)\,{\rm km/s}$ while being suppressed at lower velocities. To further assess this possibility, since the inferred dark matter distribution of halos from astrophysical observations is usually compared to that in constant-cross section SIDM (cSIDM), whether the structures of rSIDM halos can be approximated by the cSIDM halo profiles needs to be clarified. In this work, we employ the grovothermal fluid method to investigate the structural evolution of rSIDM halos in a wide mass range. We find that except for halos in a specific mass range, the present structures of rSIDM halos are virtually indistinguishable from those of the cSIDM halos. For halos in the specific mass range, the resonant self-scattering renders a break in their density profile. We demonstrate how such a density-profile break appears in astrophysical observations, e.g., rotation curves and line-of-sight velocity dispersion profiles. We show that for halos above the specific mass range, the density-profile break thermalizes to disappear before the present. We demonstrate that such distinctive thermalization dynamics can leave imprints on the orbital classes of stars with similar ages and metallicities.

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A. Kamada and H. Kim
Wed, 26 Apr 23
24/62

Comments: 18 pages, 9 figures

Cosmic ray transport in large-amplitude turbulence with small-scale field reversals [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12335


The nature of cosmic ray (CR) transport in the Milky Way remains elusive. The predictions of current micro-physical models of CR transport in magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence are drastically different from what is observed. These models of transport usually focus on MHD turbulence in the presence of a strong guide field and ignore the impact of turbulent intermittency on particle propagation. This motivates our studying the alternative regime of large-amplitude turbulence with $\delta B/B_0 \gg 1$, in which intermittent small-scale magnetic field reversals are ubiquitous. We study particle transport in such turbulence by integrating trajectories in stationary snapshots. To quantify spatial diffusion, we use a setup with continuous particle injection and escape, which we term the turbulent leaky box. We find that particle transport is very different from the strong-guide-field case. Low-energy particles are better confined than high-energy particles, despite less efficient pitch-angle diffusion at small energies. In the limit of weak guide field, energy-dependent confinement is driven by the energy-dependent (in)ability to follow reversing magnetic field lines exactly and by the scattering in regions of “resonant curvature”, where the field line bends on a scale that is of order the local particle gyro-radius. We derive a heuristic model of particle transport in magnetic folds that approximately reproduces the energy dependence of transport found in the leaky-box experiments. We speculate that CR propagation in the Galaxy is regulated by the intermittent field reversals highlighted here and discuss the implications of our findings for the transport of CRs in the Milky Way.

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P. Kempski, D. Fielding, E. Quataert, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
25/62

Comments: Submitted to MNRAS, 15 pages, 9 Figures

Europium enrichment and hierarchical formation of the Galactic halo [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12913


Context. The origin of the large star-to-star variation of the [Eu/Fe] ratios observed in the extremely metal-poor (at [Fe/H]$\leq-3$) stars of the Galactic halo is still a matter of debate.\ Aims. In this paper, we explore this problem by putting our stochastic chemical evolution model in the hierarchical clustering framework, with the aim of explaining the observed spread in the halo.\ Methods. We compute the chemical enrichment of Eu occurring in the building blocks that have possibly formed the Galactic halo. In this framework, the enrichment from neutron star mergers can be influenced by the dynamics of the binary systems in the gravitational potential of the original host galaxy. In the least massive systems, the neutron stars can merge outside the host galaxy and so only a small fraction of newly produced Eu can be retained by the parent galaxy itself.\ Results. In the framework of this new scenario, the accreted merging neutron stars are able to explain the presence of stars with sub-solar [Eu/Fe] ratios at [Fe/H]$\leq-3$, but only if we assume a delay time distribution for merging of the neutron stars $\propto t^{-1.5}$. We confirm the correlation between the dispersion of [Eu/Fe] at a given metallicity and the fraction of massive stars which give origin to neutron star mergers. The mixed scenario, where both neutron star mergers and magneto-rotational supernovae do produce Eu, can explain the observed spread in the Eu abundance also for a delay time distribution for mergers going either as $\propto t^{-1}$ or $\propto t^{-1.5}$.

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L. Cavallo, G. Cescutti and F. Matteucci
Wed, 26 Apr 23
26/62

Comments: 15 pages, 7 Figures, Accepted for publication in A&A

The Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area Survey: extended and remastered data release [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13022


This paper describes the extended data release of the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey (eDR). It comprises science-grade quality data for 895 galaxies obtained with the PMAS/PPak instrument at the 3.5 m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory along the last 12 years, using the V500 setup (3700-7500{\AA}, 6{\AA}/FWHM) and the CALIFA observing strategy. It includes galaxies of any morphological type, star-formation stage, a wide range of stellar masses ($\sim$10$^7$ 10$^{12}$ Msun ), at an average redshift of $\sim$0.015 (90\% within 0.005$<$z$<$0.05). Primarily selected based on the projected size and apparent magnitude, we demonstrate that it can be volume corrected resulting in a statistically limited but representative sample of the population of galaxies in the nearby Universe. All the data were homogeneous re-reduced, introducing a set of modifications to the previous reduction. The most relevant is the development and implementation of a new cube-reconstruction algorithm that provides with an (almost) seeing-limited spatial resolution (FWHM PSF $\sim$1.0″).To illustrate the usability and quality of the data, we extracted two aperture spectra for each galaxy (central 1.5″ and fully integrated), and analyze them using pyFIT3D. We obtain a set of observational and physical properties of both the stellar populations and the ionized gas, that have been compared for the two apertures, exploring their distributions as a function of the stellar masses and morphologies of the galaxies, comparing with recent results in the literature. DATA RELEASE: this http URL unam.mx/CALIFA_WEB/public_html/

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S. Sanchez, L. Galbany, C. C.J.Walcher, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
27/62

Comments: 30 pages, 26 figures, submitted the 13th or March 2023 to MNRAS

The Gas-Phase Mass–Metallicity Relation for Massive Galaxies at $z\sim0.7$ with the LEGA-C Survey [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12343


The massive end of the gas-phase mass–metallicity relation (MZR) is a sensitive probe of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback that is a crucial but highly uncertain component of galaxy evolution models. In this paper, we extend the $z\sim0.7$ MZR by $\sim$0.5 dex up to log$(M_\star/\textrm{M}\odot)\sim11.1$. We use extremely deep VLT VIMOS spectra from the Large Early Galaxy Astrophysics Census (LEGA-C) survey to measure metallicities for 145 galaxies. The LEGA-C MZR matches the normalization of the $z\sim0.8$ DEEP2 MZR where they overlap, so we combine the two to create an MZR spanning from 9.3 to 11.1 log$(M\star/\textrm{M}_\odot)$. The LEGA-C+DEEP2 MZR at $z\sim0.7$ is offset to slightly lower metallicities (0.05-0.13 dex) than the $z\sim0$ MZR, but it otherwise mirrors the established power law rise at low/intermediate stellar masses and asymptotic flattening at high stellar masses. We compare the LEGA-C+DEEP2 MZR to the MZR from two cosmological simulations (IllustrisTNG and SIMBA), which predict qualitatively different metallicity trends for high-mass galaxies. This comparison highlights that our extended MZR provides a crucial observational constraint for galaxy evolution models in a mass regime where the MZR is very sensitive to choices about the implementation of AGN feedback.

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Z. Lewis, B. Andrews, R. Bezanson, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
28/62

Comments: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

Sparse logistic regression for RR Lyrae vs binaries classification [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12355


RR Lyrae (RRL) are old, low-mass radially pulsating variable stars in their core helium burning phase. They are popular stellar tracers and primary distance indicators, since they obey to well defined period-luminosity relations in the near-infrared regime. Their photometric identification is not trivial, indeed, RRL samples can be contaminated by eclipsing binaries, especially in large datasets produced by fully automatic pipelines. Interpretable machine-learning approaches for separating eclipsing binaries from RRL are thus needed. Ideally, they should be able to achieve high precision in identifying RRL while generalizing to new data from different instruments. In this paper, we train a simple logistic regression classifier on Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) light curves. It achieves a precision of 87% at 78% recall for the RRL class on unseen CSS light curves. It generalizes on out-of-sample data (ASAS/ASAS-SN light curves) with a precision of 85% at 96% recall. We also considered a L1-regularized version of our classifier, which reaches 90% sparsity in the light-curve features with a limited trade-off in accuracy on our CSS validation set and — remarkably — also on the ASAS/ASAS-SN light curve test set. Logistic regression is natively interpretable, and regularization allows us to point out the parts of the light curves that matter the most in classification. We thus achieved both good generalization and full interpretability.

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P. Trevisan, M. Pasquato, G. Carenini, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
31/62

Comments: To appear on The Astrophysical Journal. 13 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables

Integral Field Spectroscopy of the Cometary Starburst Galaxy NGC 4861 [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12800


Using the PMAS Integral Field Unit on the Calar Alto 3.5m telescope we observed the southern component (Markarian 59) of the cometary' starburst galaxy NGC 4861. Mrk 59 is centred on a giant nebula and concentration of stars 1 kpc in diameter. Strong $\rm H\alpha$ emission points to a star-formation rate (SFR) at least 0.47 $\rm M_{\odot}yr^{-1}$. Mrk 59 has a very high [OIII]$\rm\lambda5007/H\beta$ ratio, reaching 7.35 in the central nebula, with a second peak at a star-forming hotspot further north. Fast outflows are not detected but nebular motion and galaxy rotation produce relative velocities up to 40 km $\rm s^{-1}$. Spectral analysis of different regions withFitting Analysis using Differential evolution Optimisation’ (FADO) finds that the stars in the central and spur' nebulae are very young, $\rm \leq125~Myr$ with a large $\rm &lt;10~Myr$ contribution. Older stars ($\rm \sim 1~Gyr$), make up the northern disk component, while the other regions show mixtures of 1 Gyr age with very young stars. This and the high specific SFR $\rm\sim 3.5~Gyr^{-1}$ imply a bimodal star formation history, with Mrk 59 formed in ongoing starbursts fuelled by a huge gas inflow, turning the galaxy into an asymmetricgreen pea’ or blue compact dwarf. We map the HeII$\lambda4686$ emission, and identify a broad component from the central nebula, consistent with the emission of $\sim 300$ Wolf-Rayet stars. About a third of the HeII$\lambda$4686 flux is a narrow line emitted from a more extended area covering the central and spur nebulae, and may have a different origin.

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N. Roche, J. Vílchez, J. Iglesias-Páramo, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
33/62

Comments: 19 pages, 24 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Super-massive black hole wake or bulgeless edge-on galaxy? [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12344


van Dokkum et al. (2023) reported the serendipitous discovery of a thin linear object interpreted as the trail of star-forming regions left behind by a runaway supermassive black hole (SMBH) kicked out from the center of a galaxy. Despite the undeniable interest in the idea, the actual physical interpretation is not devoid of difficulty. The wake of a SMBH produces only small perturbations on the external medium, which has to be in exceptional physical conditions to collapse gravitationally and form a long (40 kpc) massive (3e9 Msun) stellar trace in only 39 Myr. Here we offer a more conventional explanation: the stellar trail is a bulgeless galaxy viewed edge-on. This interpretation is supported by the fact that its position–velocity curve resembles a rotation curve which, together with its stellar mass, puts the object right on top of the Tully-Fisher relation characteristic of disk galaxies. Moreover, the rotation curve (Vmax sim 110 km/s), stellar mass, extension, width (z0 sim 1.2 kpc), and surface brightness profile of the object are very much like those of IC5249, a well-known local bulgeless edge-on galaxy. These observational facts are difficult to interpret within the SMBH wake scenario. We discuss in detail the pros and cons of the two options.

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J. Almeida, M. Montes and I. Trujillo
Wed, 26 Apr 23
34/62

Comments: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters

Unambiguous Detection of Doubly-Ionized Thorium in the Extreme Ap Star CPD-62 2717 [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12938


Despite the universe containing primordial thorium (Th) of sufficient abundance to appear in stellar spectra, detection of Th has to date been tentative and based on just a few weak and blended lines. Here, we present convincing evidence not only for the first Th detection in a magnetic chemically peculiar Ap star but also for the first detection of Th III in a stellar spectrum. CPD-62 2717 was initially recognized as a highly-magnetized Ap star thanks to resolved magnetically split lines captured in $H$-band spectra from the SDSS/APOGEE survey. The star was subsequently pinpointed as extraordinarily peculiar when careful inspection of the $H$-band line content revealed the presence of five lines of Th III, none of which are detected in the other $\sim1500$ APOGEE-observed Ap stars. Follow-up with the VLT+UVES confirmed a similarly peculiar optical spectrum featuring dozens of Th III lines, among other peculiarities. Unlike past claims of Th detection, and owing to high-resolution observations of the strong ($\sim$8$-$12$\,$kG) magnetic field of CPD-62 2717, the detection of Th III can in this case be supported by matches between the observed and theoretical magnetic splitting patterns. Comparison of CPD-62 2717 to stars for which Th overabundances have been previously reported (e.g., Przybylski’s Star) indicate that only for CPD-62 2717 is the Th detection certain. Along with the focus on Th III, we use time series measurements of the magnetic field modulus to constrain the rotation period of CPD-62 2717 to $\sim$4.8 years, thus establishing it as a new example of a super-slowly-rotating Ap star.

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S. Chojnowski, S. Hubrig, D. Nidever, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
38/62

Comments: N/A

Spectral Energy Distributions for 258 Local Volume Galaxies [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12491


We present model spectral energy distribution (SED) fits to ultraviolet/optical/infrared observations for the 258 nearby galaxies in the Local Volume Legacy survey, a sample dominated by lower-luminosity dwarf irregular systems. The data for each galaxy include up to 26 spatially-integrated broadband and narrowband fluxes from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Infrared Astronomical Satellite space-based platforms and from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and other ground-based efforts. The CIGALE SED fitting package is employed using a delayed star formation history with an optional late burst or quenching episode to constrain 11 different free parameters that characterize the properties of each galaxy’s stellar and dust emission, with the overriding constraint that the ultraviolet/optical emission absorbed by interstellar dust grains is emitted in equal energy portions at infrared wavelengths. The main results are: i) 94% of the SED fits yield reduced chi^2 values less than 3; ii) the modeled stellar masses agree with those derived from 3.6um-based measures with a scatter of 0.07 dex; iii) for a typical galaxy in the sample the SED-derived star formation rate averaged over the past 100 Myr is about 88% of the value derived from standard hybrid indicators on similar timescales; and iv) there is a statistically significant inverse relation between the stellar mass fraction appearing in the late burst and the total stellar mass. These results build upon prior SED modeling efforts in the local volume and lay the groundwork for future studies of more distant low-metallicity galaxies with JWST.

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D. Dale, M. Boquien, J. Turner, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
46/62

Comments: Accepted for publication in AJ

Disentangling the Faraday rotation sky [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12350


Magnetic fields permeate the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) of the Milky Way, and are essential to explain the dynamical evolution and current shape of the Galaxy. Magnetic fields reveal themselves via their influence on the surrounding matter, and as such are notoriously hard to measure independently of other tracers. In this work, we attempt to disentangle an all sky map of the line-of-sight parallel component of the Galactic magnetic field from the Faraday effect, utilizing several tracers of the Galactic thermal electron density. Additionally, we aim to produce a Galactic electron dispersion measure map and quantify several tracers of the structure of the ionized medium of the Milky Way. We rely on compiled catalogs of extragalactic Faraday rotation measures and Galactic pulsar dispersion measures, a well as data on bremsstrahlung and the hydrogen $\alpha$ spectral line to trace the ionized medium of the Milky Way. We present the first full sky map of the line-of-sight averaged Galactic magnetic field. Within this map, we find LoS parallel and LoS-averaged magnetic field strengths of up to 4 $\mu$G, with an all-sky root-mean-square of 1.1 $\mu$G, which is consistent with previous local measurements and global magnetic field models. Additionally, we produce a detailed electron dispersion measure map, which agrees with already existing parametric models at high latitudes, but suffers from systematic effects in the disk. Further analysis of our results with regard to the 3D structure of $n_{th}$ reveals that it follows a Kolmogorov-type turbulence for most of the sky. From the reconstructed dispersion measure and emission measure maps we construct several tracers of variability of $n_{th}$ along the LoS.

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S. Hutschenreuter, M. Haverkorn, P. Frank, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
47/62

Comments: 24 pages, 16 Figures, submitted to A&A

ALMACAL X: Constraints on molecular gas in the low-redshift circumgalactic medium [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12421


Despite its crucial role in galaxy evolution, the complex circumgalactic medium (CGM) remains underexplored. Although it is known to be multi-phase, the importance of the molecular gas phase to the total CGM mass budget is, to date, unconstrained. We present the first constraints on the molecular gas covering fraction in the CGM of low-redshift galaxies, using measurements of CO column densities along sightlines towards mm-bright background quasars with intervening galaxies. We do not detect molecular absorption against the background quasars. For the individual, low-redshift, ‘normal’ galaxy haloes probed here, we can therefore rule out the presence of an extremely molecular gas-rich CGM, as recently reported in high-redshift protoclusters and around luminous active galactic nuclei. We also set statistical limits on the volume filling factor of molecular material in the CGM as a whole, and as a function of radius. ISM-like molecular clouds of ~30 pc in radius with column densities of N(CO) >~ 10^16 cm^-2 have volume filling factors of less than 0.2 per cent. Large-scale smooth gas reservoirs are ruled out much more stringently. The development of this technique in the future will allow deeper constraining limits to be set on the importance (or unimportance) of molecular gas in the CGM.

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A. Klitsch, T. Davis, A. Hamanowicz, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
49/62

Comments: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Radio Emission from the First Quasars [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12333


Over 200 quasars have now been discovered at $z >$ 6, including nine at $z >$ 7. They are thought to form from the collapse of supermassive primordial stars to 10$^4$ – 10$^5$ M${\odot}$ black holes at $z \sim$ 20 – 25, which then rapidly grow in the low-shear environments of rare, massive halos fed by strong accretion flows. Sensitive new radio telescopes such as the Next-Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) could probe the growth of these objects at much earliest stages than is now possible. Here, we estimate radio flux from the first quasars at $z \sim$ 6 – 15 at 1 – 10 GHz. We find that a quasar with properties similar to that of ULAS J1120+0641, a 2.1 $\times$ 10$^9$ M${\odot}$ black hole at $z =$ 7.1, could be detected at up to $z \sim$ 16 by the SKA and at $z \sim$ 14 by the ngVLA. The advent of these new observatories, together with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Euclid, and the Roman Space Telescope (RST), will inaugurate the era of $z \lesssim$ 15 quasar astronomy in the coming decade.

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M. Latif, D. Whalen and M. Mezcua
Wed, 26 Apr 23
55/62

Comments: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJL

Study of the bipolar jet of the YSO Th 28 with VLT/SINFONI: Jet morphology and H$_2$ emission [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12974


$Context.$ The YSO Th 28 possesses a highly collimated jet, which clearly exhibits an asymmetric brightness of its jet lobes at optical and NIR wavelengths. There may be asymmetry in the jet plasma parameters in opposite jet lobes (e.g. electron density, temperature, and outflow velocity). $Aims.$ We examined the Th 28 jet in a 3″x3″ where the jet material is collimated and accelerated. Our goal is to map the morphology and determine its physical parameters to determine the physical origin of such asymmetries. $Methods.$ We present $JHK$-spectra of Th 28 obtained with the SINFONI on the (VLT, ESO) in June-July 2015. $Results.$ The [Fe II] emission originates in collimated jet lobes. Two new axial knots are detected at 1″ in the blue lobe and 1″.2 in the red lobe. The H$_2$ radiation is emitted from an extended region with a radius of $\gtrsim270$ au, which is perpendicular to the jet. The PV diagrams of the bright H$_2$ lines reveal faint H$_2$ emission along both jet lobes as well. The compact and faint H I emission (Pa$\beta$ and Br$\gamma$) comes from two regions, namely from a spherical region around the star and from the jet lobes. The size of the jet launching region is derived as 0″.015 ($\sim$3 au at 185 pc), and the initial opening angle of the Th 28 jet is $\sim28^0$, which makes this jet substantially less collimated than most jets from other CTTs. $Conclusions.$ The emission in [Fe II], H$_2$, and H I lines suggests a morphology in which the ionised gas in the disc appears to be disrupted by the jet. The resolved disc-like H$_2$ emission most likely arises in the disc atmosphere from shocks caused by a radial uncollimated wind. The asymmetry of the [Fe II] photocentre shifts with respect to the jet source arises in the immediate vicinity of the driving source of Th28 and suggests that the observed brightness asymmetry is intrinsic as well.

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S. Melnikov, P. Boley, N. Nikonova, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
60/62

Comments: 18 pages, 14 figures

Spectroscopy from Photometry: A Population of Extreme Emission Line Galaxies at $1.7 \lesssim z \lesssim 6.7$ Selected with JWST Medium Band Filters [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11181


We use JWST/NIRCam medium band photometry in a single pointing of the CAnadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS) to identify 118 Extreme Emission Line Galaxies (EELGs) over $1.7 \lesssim z \lesssim 6.7$, selected using a set of color cuts that target galaxies with extreme $\text{[OIII] + H}\beta$ and H$\alpha$ emission. We show that our medium band color selections are able to select galaxies based on emission line equivalent width (EW), which is advantageous to more commonly used selections since it does not require strong continuum emission, and can select galaxies with faint or red continuum fluxes. The median EWs of our sample is $EW(\text{H}\alpha) = 893 $ \AA\ and $ EW(\text{[OIII] + H}\beta) = 1255 $ \AA, and includes some objects with $EW(\text{[OIII] + H}\beta) \sim 3000$ \AA. These systems are mostly compact with low stellar mass (median $\log(M_\star/M_\odot) = 8.03$), low metallicity (median $Z = 0.14 Z_\odot$), little dust (median $A_V = 0.18$ mag) and high SSFR (median $SSFR = 1.18 \times 10^{-8}/yr$). Additionally, galaxies in our sample show increasing EW(\Ha) and EW(\OIIIHb) with redshift, an anti-correlation of EW(\Ha) with stellar mass, and no correlation between EW(\OIIIHb) and stellar mass. Finally, we present NIRSpec spectroscopy of 15 of the EELGs in our sample. These spectra confirm the redshifts and EWs of the EELGs calculated from the medium bands, which demonstrates the accuracy and efficiency of our color selections. Overall, we show that there are significant advantages to using medium band photometry to identify and study EELGs at a wide range of redshifts.

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S. Withers, A. Muzzin, S. Ravindranath, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
1/72

Comments: Submitted to ApJL. 11 pages, 5 figures, animated Figure 1 is available to view here: this https URL and available for download here: this https URL

Application of the emission model to PAHs and C$_{60}$ II.Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon emission model in photodissociation regions [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11230


We present a charge distribution-based emission model that calculates the infrared spectrum of fullerenes (C${60}$). Analysis of the modelled spectrum of C${60}$ in various charge states shows that the relative intensity of the features in the 5-10 $\mu$m versus 15-20 $\mu$m can be used to probe the C${60}$ charge state in interstellar spectra. We further used our model to simulate emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and C${60}$ at five positions in the cavity of reflection nebula NGC~7023. Specifically, we modelled the 6.2/11.2 band ratio for circumcoronene and circumcircumcoronene and the 7.0/19.0 band ratio for C${60}$ as a function of the ionization parameter $\gamma$. A comparison of the model results with the observed band ratios shows that the $\gamma$ values in the cavity do not vary significantly, suggesting that the emission in the cavity does not originate from locations at the projected distances. Furthermore, we find that the C${60}$ derived $\gamma$ values are lower than the PAH-derived values by an order of magnitude. We discuss likely scenarios for this discrepancy. In one scenario, we attribute the differences in the derived $\gamma$ values to the uncertainties in the electron recombination rates of PAHs and C${60}$. In the other scenario, we suggest that PAHs and C${60}$ are not co-spatial resulting in different $\gamma$ values from their respective models. We highlight that experiments to determine necessary rates will be required in validating either one of the scenarios.

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A. Sidhu, A. Tielens, E. Peeters, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
2/72

Comments: 10 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

MaNGA DynPop — I. Quality-assessed stellar dynamical modelling from integral-field spectroscopy of 10K nearby galaxies: a catalogue of masses, mass-to-light ratios, density profiles and dark matter [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11711


This is the first paper in our series on the combined analysis of the Dynamics and stellar Population (DynPop) for the MaNGA survey in the final SDSS Data Release 17 (DR17). Here we present a catalogue of dynamically-determined quantities for over 10000 nearby galaxies based on integral-field stellar kinematics from the MaNGA survey. The dynamical properties are extracted using the axisymmetric Jeans Anisotropic Modelling (JAM) method, which was previously shown to be the most accurate for this kind of study. We assess systematic uncertainties using eight dynamical models with different assumptions. We use two orientations of the velocity ellipsoid: either cylindrically-aligned JAM${\rm cyl}$ or spherically-aligned JAM${\rm sph}$. We also make four assumptions for the models’ dark vs. luminous matter distributions: (1) mass-follows-light, (2) free NFW dark halo, (3) cosmologically-constrained NFW halo, (4) generalized NFW dark halo, i.e. with free inner slope. In this catalogue, we provide the quantities related to the mass distributions (e.g. the density slopes and enclosed mass within a sphere of a given radius for total mass, stellar mass, and dark matter mass components). We also provide the complete models which can be used to compute the full luminous and mass distribution of each galaxy. Additionally, we visually assess the qualities of the models to help with model selections. We estimate the observed scatter in the measured quantities which decreases as expected with improvements in quality. For the best data quality, we find a remarkable consistency of measured quantities between different models, highlighting the robustness of the results.

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K. Zhu, S. Lu, M. Cappellari, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
5/72

Comments: 30 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables, the catalogue will become available here this https URL once the paper is published by MNRAS

Radio Polarization: A Powerful Resource for Understanding the Blazar Divide [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11831


With high-sensitivity kiloparsec-scale radio polarimetry, we can examine the jet-medium interactions and get a better understanding of the blazar divide in radio-loud (RL) AGN. We are analyzing the radio polarimetric observations with the EVLA and GMRT of 24 quasars and BL Lacs belonging to the Palomar-Green (PG) sample. The RL quasars show extensive polarisation structures in their cores, jets, lobes, and hotspots, whereas preliminary results suggest that BL Lacs exhibit polarisation primarily in their cores and inner jet regions. These findings imply that both intrinsic (central engine-related) and extrinsic (environment-related) variables are important in the formation of the blazar subclasses. The Fanaroff-Riley (FR) dichotomy can also be studied assuming RL unification and looking through the lens of blazars. Due to the radio-unbiased nature of the optically/UV-selected PG sample, we find a large fraction of the PG quasars are restarted, distorted (S- or X-shaped), or have a hybrid FR morphology.

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J. Baghel, P. Kharb, S. S., et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
6/72

Comments: Conference Proceeding – IAUS 375: The Multimessenger Chakra of Blazar Jets; 4 pages, 1 figure

Anatomy of galactic star formation history: Roles of different modes of gas accretion, feedback, and recycling [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11581


We investigate how the diverse star formation histories observed across galaxy masses emerged using models that evolve under gas accretion from host halos. They also include ejection of interstellar matter by supernova feedback, recycling of ejected matter and preventive feedback that partially hinders gas accretion. We consider three schemes of gas accretion: the fiducial scheme which includes the accretion of cold gas in low-mass halos and high-redshift massive halos as hinted by cosmological simulations; the flat scheme in which high-mass cold accretion is removed; and finally the shock-heating scheme which assumes radiative cooling of the shock-heated halo gas. The fiducial scheme reproduces dramatic diminishment in star formation rate (SFR) after its peak as observed for the present halo mass $M_{\rm vir}>10^{12.5}{\rm M}_\odot$ while other two schemes show reduced or negligible quenching. This scheme reproduces the high-mass slope in the SFR vs. stellar mass relation decreasing toward recent epochs whereas other two schemes show opposite trend which contradicts observation. Success in the fiducial scheme originates in the existence of high-mass cold-mode accretion which retards transition to the slow hot-mode accretion thereby inducing a larger drop in SFR. Aided by gas recycling, which creates monotonically increasing SFR in low-mass halos, this scheme can reproduce the downsizing galaxy formation. Several issues remain, suggesting non-negligible roles of missing physics. Feedback from active galactic nuclei could mitigate upturn of SFR in low-redshift massive halos whereas galaxy mergers could remedy early inefficient star formation.

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M. Noguchi
Tue, 25 Apr 23
7/72

Comments: 28 pages, 21 figures, MNRAS accepted

Confirmation of the standard cosmological model from red massive galaxies $\sim600$ Myr after the Big Bang [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11911


In their recent study, Labb\’e et al. used multi-band infrared images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to discover a population of red massive galaxies that formed approximately 600 million years after the Big Bang. The authors reported an extraordinarily large density of these galaxies, with stellar masses exceeding $10^{10}$ solar masses, which, if confirmed, challenges the standard cosmological model as suggested by recent studies. However, this conclusion is disputed. We contend that during the early epochs of the universe the stellar mass-to-light ratio could not have reached the values reported by Labb\’e et al. A model of galaxy formation based on standard cosmology provides support for this hypothesis, predicting the formation of massive galaxies with higher ultraviolet (UV) luminosity, which produce several hundred solar masses of stars per year and containing significant dust. These forecasts are consistent with the abundance of JWST/HST galaxies selected photometrically in the rest-frame UV wavelengths and with the properties of the recent spectroscopically-confirmed JWST/HST galaxies formed during that era. Discrepancies with Labb\’e et al. may arise from overestimation of the stellar masses, systematic uncertainties, absence of JWST/MIRI data, heavy dust extinction affecting UV luminosities, or misidentification of faint red AGN galaxies at closer redshifts. The current JWST/HST results, combined with a realistic galaxy formation model, provide strong confirmation of the standard cosmology.

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F. Prada, P. Behroozi, T. Ishiyama, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
12/72

Comments: Submitted to Nature, matters arising

The Performance of FAST with Ultra-Wide Bandwidth Receiver at 500-3300 MHz [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11895


The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) has been running for several years. A new Ultra-Wide Bandwidth (UWB) receiver, simultaneously covering 500-3300 MHz, has been mounted in the FAST feed cabin and passed a series of observational tests. The whole UWB band is separated into four independent bands. Each band has 1048576 channels in total, resulted in a spectral resolution of 1 kHz. At 500-3300 MHz, the antenna gain is around 14.3-7.7 K/Jy, the aperture efficiency is around 0.56-0.30, the system temperature is around 88-130 K, and the HPBW is around 7.6-1.6 arcmin. The measured standard deviation of pointing accuracy is better than ~7.9 arcsec, when zenith angle (ZA) is within 26.4deg. The sensitivity and stability of the UWB receiver are confirmed to satisfy expectation by spectral observations, e.g., HI and OH. The FAST UWB receiver already has a good performance for taking sensitive observations in various scientific goals.

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C. Zhang, P. Jiang, M. Zhu, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
15/72

Comments: 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Nuclear activity in $z<0.3$ QSO 2's mainly triggered by galaxy mergers [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12061


We investigate the role of the close environment on the nuclear activity of a sample of 436 nearby ($z<0.3$) QSO 2’s — selected from SDSS-III spectra, via comparison of their environment and interaction parameters with those of a control sample of 1308 galaxies. We have used the corresponding SDSS images to obtain the number of neighbour galaxies $N$, tidal strength parameter $Q$ and asymmetry parameters. We find a small excess of $N$ in the QSOs compared to its three controls, and no difference in $Q$. The main difference is an excess of asymmetry in the QSOs hosts, which is almost twice that of the control galaxies. This difference is not due to the hosts’ morphology, since there is no difference in their Galaxy Zoo classifications. HST images of two highly asymmetric QSO 2 hosts of our sample show that both sources have a close companion (at projected separations $\sim$ 5 kpc), which we thus conclude is the cause of the observed asymmetry in the lower resolution SDSS images. The mean projected radius of the controls is $ \langle r \rangle = 8.53\pm$0.06 kpc, while that of the QSO hosts is $ \langle r \rangle = 9.39\pm$0.12 kpc, supporting the presence of interaction signatures in the outer regions of the QSO hosts. Our results favour a scenario in which nuclear activity in QSO 2’s is triggered by close galaxy interactions — when the distance between the host and companion is of the order of the galaxy radius, implying that they are already in the process of merger.

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B. Araujo, T. Storchi-Bergmann, S. Rembold, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
16/72

Comments: 15 pages, 20 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Transition disc nature of post-AGB binary systems confirmed by mid-infrared interferometry [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12028


Circumbinary discs around evolved post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) binary systems show many similar properties to protoplanetary discs around young stars. Deficits of near-infrared (near-IR) flux in the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of such systems hints towards large dust-free cavities, reminiscent of transition discs as commonly observed around young stars. We aim to assess the inner rim size of 6 post-AGB binary systems with such a lack in near-IR using resolved mid-IR high-angular resolution observations of VLTI/MATISSE and VLTI/MIDI. The inner rim of only one such system was previously resolved. We compare these inner rim sizes to 5 systems with available MATISSE data that were identified to host a disc starting at the dust sublimation radius. We used geometric ring models to estimate the inner rim sizes, the relative flux contributions of the star, the ring, and an over-resolved emission, the orientation of the ring, and the spectral dependencies of the components. We find that the dust inner rims of the targets with a lack of near-IR excess in their SEDs are 2.5 to 7.5 times larger than the theoretical dust sublimation radii while the systems that do not show such a deficit have inner rim sizes similar to their dust sublimation radii. Physical radii of the inner rims of these transition discs around post-AGB binaries are 3-25 au, which are larger than the disc sizes inferred for transition discs around young stars with VLTI/MIDI. This is due to the higher stellar luminosities of post-AGB systems compared to young stars, implying larger dust sublimation radii and thus larger physical transition disc inner radii. With mid-IR interferometric data we directly confirm the transition disc nature of six discs around post-AGB binary systems. Future observational and modelling efforts are needed to progress on the structure, origin, and evolution of these transition discs.

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A. Corporaal, J. Kluska, H. Winckel, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
18/72

Comments: accepted for publication in A&A. 13 pages, including appendices

An analytic surface density profile for $Λ$CDM halos and gravitational lensing studies [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11177


We introduce an analytic surface density profile for dark matter halos that accurately reproduces the structure of simulated halos of mass $M_{\rm vir} = 10^{7-11}\ M_\odot$, making it useful for modeling line-of-sight perturbers in strong gravitational lensing models. The two-parameter function has an analytic deflection potential and is more accurate than the projected Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) profile commonly adopted at this mass scale for perturbers, especially at the small radii of most relevant for lensing perturbations. Using a characteristic radius, $R_{-1}$, where the log slope of surface density is equal to $-1$, and an associated surface density, $\Sigma_{-1}$, we can represent the expected lensing signal from line-of-sight halos statistically, for an ensemble of halo orientations, using a distribution of {\em projected concentration} parameters, $\mathcal{C}{\rm vir} := r{\rm vir}/ R_{-1}$. Though an individual halo can have a projected concentration that varies with orientation with respect to the observer, the range of projected concentrations correlates with the usual three-dimensional halo concentration in a way that enables ease of use.

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A. Lazar, J. Bullock, M. Boylan-Kolchin, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
19/72

Comments: 15 pages, 13 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Hydrodynamic Evolution of Sgr A East: The Imprint of A Supernova Remnant in the Galactic Center [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11296


We perform three-dimensional numerical simulations to study the hydrodynamic evolution of Sgr A East, the only known supernova remnant (SNR) in the center of our Galaxy, to infer its debated progenitor SN type and its potential impact on the Galactic center environment. Three sets of simulations are performed, each of which represents a represent a certain type of SN explosion (SN Iax, SN Ia or core-collapse SN) expanding against a nuclear outflow of hot gas driven by massive stars, whose thermodynamical properties have been well established by previous work and fixed in the simulations. All three simulations can simultaneously roughly reproduce the extent of Sgr A East and the position and morphology of an arc-shaped thermal X-ray feature, known as the “ridge”. Confirming previous work, our simulations show that the ridge is the manifestation of a strong collision between the expanding SN ejecta and the nuclear outflow. The simulation of the core-collapse SN, with an assumed explosion energy of 5×10^50 erg and an ejecta mass of 10 M_sun, can well match the X-ray flux of the ridge, whereas the simulations of the SN Iax and SN Ia explosions underpredict its X-ray emission, due to a smaller ejecta mass. All three simulations constrain the age of Sgr A East to be <1500 yr and predict that the ridge should fade out over the next few hundred years. We address the implications of these results for our understanding of the Galactic center environment.

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M. Zhang, Z. Li and Z. Morris
Tue, 25 Apr 23
22/72

Comments: 21 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication on MNRAS

The reionising bubble size distribution around galaxies [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11192


Constraining when and how reionisation began is pivotal for understanding when the first galaxies formed. Lyman-alpha (Ly$\alpha$) emission from galaxies is currently our most promising probe of these early stages. At z>7 the majority of galaxies detected with Ly$\alpha$ are in candidate overdensities. Here we quantify the probability of these galaxies residing in large ionised bubbles. We create (1.6 Gpc)$^3$ reionising intergalactic medium (IGM) simulations, providing sufficient volume to robustly measure bubble size distributions around UV-bright galaxies and rare overdensities. We find $M_{\rm UV} \lesssim -16$ galaxies and overdensities are $\gtrsim$10-1000x more likely to trace ionised bubbles compared to randomly selected positions. The brightest galaxies and strongest overdensities have bubble size distributions with highest characteristic size and least scatter. We compare two models: gradual reionisation driven by numerous UV-faint galaxies versus more rapid reionisation by rarer brighter galaxies, producing larger bubbles at fixed neutral fraction. We demonstrate that recently observed z~7 overdensities are highly likely to trace large ionised bubbles, corroborated by their high Ly$\alpha$ detection rates. However, the z~8.7 association of Ly$\alpha$ emitters in EGS and GN-z11, with Ly$\alpha$ at z=10.6, are unlikely to trace large bubbles in our fiducial model — 11% and 7% probability of >1 proper Mpc bubbles, respectively. Ly$\alpha$ detections at such high redshifts could be explained by: a less neutral IGM than previously expected; larger ionised regions at fixed neutral fraction; or if intrinsic Ly$\alpha$ flux is unusually strong in these galaxies. We discuss how to test these scenarios with JWST and the prospects for using upcoming wide-area surveys to distinguish between reionisation models.

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T. Lu, C. Mason, A. Hutter, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
24/72

Comments: 15 pages (+ 3 pages in Appendix), 13 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Constraints on the Galactic Centre environment from \textit{Gaia} hypervelocity stars III: Insights on a possible companion to Sgr A* [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12169


We consider a scenario in which Sgr A* is in a massive black hole binary (MBHB) with an as-of-yet undetected supermassive or intermediate-mass black hole companion. Dynamical encounters between this MBHB and single stars in its immediate vicinity would eject hypervelocity stars (HVSs) with velocities beyond the Galactic escape velocity. In this work, we use existing HVS observations to constrain for the first time the existence of a companion to Sgr A*. We simulate the ejection of HVSs via the `MBHB slingshot’ scenario and show that the population of HVSs detectable today depends strongly on the companion mass and the separation of the MBHB. We demonstrate that the lack of uncontroversial HVS candidates in \textit{Gaia} Data Release 3 places a firm upper limit on the mass of a possible Sgr A* companion. Within one milliparsec of Sgr A*, our results exclude a companion more massive than $1000 \, \mathrm{M_\odot}$. If Sgr A* recently merged with a companion black hole, our findings indicate that unless this companion was less massive than $500 \, \mathrm{M_\odot}$, this merger must have occurred at least $10$ Myr ago. These results complement and improve upon existing independent constraints on a companion to Sgr A* and show that large regions of its parameter space can now be ruled out.

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F. Evans, A. Rasskazov, A. Remmelzwaal, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
26/72

Comments: Submitted to MNRAS. 16 pages, 9 figures. Comments welcome

MaNGA DynPop — II. Global stellar population, gradients, and star-formation histories from integral-field spectroscopy of 10K galaxies: link with galaxy rotation, shape, and total-density gradients [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11712


We analyze the global stellar population, radial gradients and non-parametric star formation history of $\sim 10$K galaxies from the MaNGA Survey final data release 17 (DR17), based on stellar population synthesis and full-spectrum fitting, and relate them with dynamical properties of galaxies. We confirm that stellar population correlates with stellar velocity dispersion $\sigma_{\rm e}$ better than with stellar mass $M_{\ast}$, but also find that younger galaxies are more metal-poor at fixed $\sigma_{\rm e}$. Stellar age, metallicity, and mass-to-light ratio $M_{\ast}/L$ all decrease with galaxy rotation, while radial gradients become more negative (i.e., younger, more metal-poor, and lower $M_{\ast}/L$ in the outskirts). The trend between metallicity gradients and rotation reverses for slow rotators, which stand out for their more negative metallicity gradients than faster-rotating galaxies. We highlight a population of massive disk galaxies on the green valley, on the $(\sigma_{\rm e},\rm Age)$ plane, that show steep negative age and metallicity gradients, consistent with their old central bulges surrounded by young star-forming disks and metal-poor gas accretion. Galaxies with high $\sigma_{\rm e}$, steep total mass-density slope, low dark matter fraction, high $M_{\ast}/L$, and high metallicity have the highest star-formation rate at earlier times, and are currently quenched. We discover a population of low-mass star-forming galaxies with low rotation but physically distinct from the massive slow rotators. A catalogue of the population properties is provided publicly.

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S. Lu, K. Zhu, M. Cappellari, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
29/72

Comments: 23 pages, 18 figures, 1 table. Submitted to MNRAS. The catalogue will become available at this https URL once the paper is published by MNRAS

Using multiobjective optimization to reconstruct interferometric data (I) [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12107


Imaging in radioastronomy is an ill-posed inverse problem. Particularly the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration faces two big limitations for the existing methods when imaging the active galactic nuclei (AGN): large and expensive surveys solving the problem with different optimization parameters must be done, and only one local minima for each instance is returned. With our novel nonconvex, multiobjective optimization modeling approach, we aim to overcome these limitations. To this end we used a multiobjective version of the genetic algorithm (GA): the Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm Based on Decomposition, or MOEA/D. GA strategies explore the objective function by evolutionary operations to find the different local minima, and to avoid getting trapped in saddle points. First, we have tested our algorithm (MOEA/D) using synthetic data based on the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) array and a possible EHT + next-generation EHT (ngEHT) configuration. We successfully recover a fully evolved Pareto front of non-dominated solutions for these examples. The Pareto front divides into clusters of image morphologies representing the full set of locally optimal solutions. We discuss approaches to find the most natural guess among these solutions and demonstrate its performance on synthetic data. Finally, we apply MOEA/D to observations of the black hole shadow in Messier 87 (M87) with the EHT data in 2017. MOEA/D is very flexible, faster than any other Bayesian method and explores more solutions than Regularized Maximum Likelihood methods (RML). We have done two papers to present this new algorithm: the first explains the basic idea behind multi-objective optimization and MOEA/D and it is used to recover static images, while in the second paper we extend the algorithm to allow dynamic and (static and dynamic) polarimetric reconstructions.

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H. Müller, A. Mus and A. Lobanov
Tue, 25 Apr 23
31/72

Comments: accepted for publication in A&A, both first authors have contributed equally to this work

Vorticity and magnetic dynamo from subsonic expansion waves [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11929


This work concentrates on the effect of an irrotational forcing on a magnetized flow in the presence of rotation, baroclinicity, shear, or a combination of them. By including magnetic field in the model we can evaluate the occurrence of dynamo on both small and large scales. We aim at finding what are the minimum ingredients needed to trigger a dynamo instability and what is the relation between dynamo and the growth of vorticity.
We use the Pencil code to run resistive MHD direct numerical simulations. We report no dynamo in all cases where only rotation is included, regardless on the equation of state. Conversely, the inclusion of a background sinusoidal shearing profile leads to an hydrodynamic instability that produces an exponential growth of the vorticity at all scales, starting from small ones. This is know as vorticity dynamo. The onset of this instability occurs after a rather long temporal evolution of several thousand turbulent turnover times. The vorticity dynamo in turn drives an exponential growth of the magnetic field, first at small scales, then also at large one. The instability then saturates and the magnetic field approximately reaches equipartition with the turbulent kinetic energy. During the saturation phase we can observe a winding of the magnetic field in the direction of the shearing flow. By varying the intensity of the shear we see that the growth rates of this instability change. The inclusion of the baroclinic term delays the onset of the vorticity dynamo but leads to a more rapid growth.
We demonstrate how in the presence of shear, even a purely irrotational forcing amplifies the field to equipartition. At the same time, we confirm how this forcing alone does not lead to vorticity nor magnetic field growth, and this picture does not change in the presence of rotation or baroclinicity up to $256^3$ meshpoints.

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A. Elias-López, F. Sordo and D. Viganò
Tue, 25 Apr 23
32/72

Comments: 14 pages, 8 figures, submitted for publication, comments welcome

MeerKAT discovery of a double radio relic and odd radio circle [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11784


We present the serendipitous discovery of a large double radio relic associated with the merging galaxy cluster PSZ2 G277.93+12.34 and a new odd radio circle, ORC J1027-4422, both found in deep MeerKAT 1.3 GHz wide-band data. The angular separation of the two arc-shaped cluster relics is 16 arcmin or 2.6 Mpc for a cluster redshift of z = 0.158. The thin southern relic, which shows a number of ridges/shocks including one possibly moving inwards, has a linear extent of 1.64 Mpc. In contrast, the northern relic is about twice as wide, twice as bright, but only has a largest linear size of 0.66 Mpc. Complementary SRG/eROSITA X-ray images reveal extended emission from hot intracluster gas between the two relics and around the narrow-angle tail (NAT) radio galaxy PMN J1033-4335 (z = 0.153) located just east of the northern relic. No radio halo associated with the PSZ2 cluster is detected. The radio morphologies of the NAT galaxy and the northern relic, which are also detected with the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder at 887.5 MHz, suggest both are moving in the same outward direction. The discovery of ORC J1027-4422 in a different part of the MeerKAT image makes it the 4th known single ORC. It has a diameter of 90″ corresponding to 400 kpc at a tentative redshift of z = 0.3 and remains undetected in X-ray emission. We discuss similarities between galaxy and cluster mergers as the formation mechanisms for ORCs and radio relics, respectively.

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B. Koribalski, A. Veronica, M. Brüggen, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
35/72

Comments: 14 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Rotational spectroscopy of oxirane-\textit{2,2}-$d_2$, $c$-CD$_2$CH$_2$O, and its tentative detection toward IRAS 16293$-$2422~B [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12045


We prepared a sample of oxirane doubly deuterated at one C atom and studied its rotational spectrum in the laboratory for the first time between 120~GHz and 1094~GHz. Accurate spectroscopic parameters up to eighth order were determined, and the calculated rest frequencies were used to identify $c$-CD$2$CH$_2$O tentatively in the interstellar medium in the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Protostellar Interferometric Line Survey (PILS) of the Class 0 protostellar system IRAS 16293$-$2422. The $c$-CD$_2$CH$_2$O to $c$-C$_2$H$_4$O ratio was estimated to be $\sim$0.054 with $T{\rm rot} = 125$ K. This value translates to a D-to-H ratio of $\sim$0.16 per H atom which is higher by a factor of 4.5 than the $\sim$0.036 per H atom obtained for $c$-C$_2$H$_3$DO. Such increase in the degree of deuteration referenced to one H atom in multiply deuterated isotopologs compared to their singly deuterated variants have been observed commonly in recent years.

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H. Müller, J. Jørgensen, J. Guillemin, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
38/72

Comments: Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, in press; Per Jensen special issue. 12 pages here

Key Science Goals for the Next-Generation Event Horizon Telescope [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11188


The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has led to the first images of a supermassive black hole, revealing the central compact objects in the elliptical galaxy M87 and the Milky Way. Proposed upgrades to this array through the next-generation EHT (ngEHT) program would sharply improve the angular resolution, dynamic range, and temporal coverage of the existing EHT observations. These improvements will uniquely enable a wealth of transformative new discoveries related to black hole science, extending from event-horizon-scale studies of strong gravity to studies of explosive transients to the cosmological growth and influence of supermassive black holes. Here, we present the key science goals for the ngEHT and their associated instrument requirements, both of which have been formulated through a multi-year international effort involving hundreds of scientists worldwide.

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M. Johnson, K. Akiyama, L. Blackburn, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
41/72

Comments: 32 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in a special issue of Galaxies on the ngEHT (this https URL)

Kinematics of Galactic Centre clouds shaped by shear-seeded solenoidal turbulence [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11190


The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is a kinematically unusual environment relative to the Galactic disc, with high velocity dispersions and a steep size-linewidth relation of the molecular clouds. In addition, the CMZ region has a significantly lower star formation rate (SFR) than expected by its large amount of dense gas. An important factor in explaining the low SFR is the turbulent state of the star-forming gas, which seems to be dominated by rotational modes. However, the turbulence driving mechanism remains unclear. In this work, we investigate how the Galactic gravitational potential affects the turbulence in CMZ clouds. We demonstrate that several kinematic properties of the CMZ cloud G0.253+0.016 (`the Brick’) arise naturally in a cloud-scale hydrodynamics simulation that takes into account the Galactic gravitational potential. These properties include the line-of-sight velocity distribution, the steepened size-linewidth relation, and the predominantly solenoidal nature of the turbulence. Within the simulation, these properties result from the Galactic shear in combination with the cloud’s gravitational collapse. This is a strong indication that the Galactic gravitational potential plays a crucial role in shaping the CMZ gas kinematics, and is a major contributor to suppressing the SFR by inducing predominantly solenoidal turbulent modes.

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M. Petkova, J. Kruijssen, J. Henshaw, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
43/72

Comments: MNRAS Letters submitted (December 21, 2022); 6 pages, 4 figures

Exponential galaxy discs as the quasi-stationary distribution in a Markov chain model simulating stellar scattering [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11774


Previous models have shown that stochastic scattering of stars in a two-dimensional galaxy disc can generate a time-independent surface density distribution that is an exponential divided by radius when a constant inward scattering bias is present. Here we show, using a Markov chain model, that similar profiles result from an outward scattering bias, although the disc surface density decreases slowly with time because of a net stellar outflow. The trend towards a near-exponential surface profile is robust, as it exists even if the scattering intensity has moderate radial and time dependences, subject to some limitations on the scattering rates discussed in the text. The exponential scale length of the pseudo-equilibrium disc depends on the scattering bias, the scattering length, and the size of the disc where scattering is important.

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J. Wu, C. Struck, B. Elmegreen, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
45/72

Comments: 18 pages, 20 figures

Digging deeper into NGC\,6868 I: stellar population [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11194


We use Gemini integral field unit observations to map the stellar population properties in the inner region ($\sim680\times470$ pc$^2$) of the galaxy NGC 6868. In order to understand the physical and chemical properties of the stellar content of this galaxy, we performed stellar population synthesis using the starlight code with the MILES simple stellar population models. We measured the absorption line indices Fe4383, Mg$2$, Mg$_b$, Fe5270, Fe5335 for the whole FoV, and used them to derive Fe3 and [MgFe]’. These indices were used to derive [$\alpha$/Fe]. This galaxy is dominated by old metal-rich populations (12.6 Gyr; 1.0 and 1.6 Z$\odot$) with a negative metallicity gradient. We also found a recent ($\sim63$ Myr) metal-rich (1.6 Z$_{\odot}$) residual star formation in the centre of the galaxy. A dust lane with a peak extinction in the V band of 0.65 mag is seen. No signs of ordered stellar motion are found and the stellar kinematics is dispersion dominated. All indices show a spatial profile varying significantly along the FoV. Mg$_2$ shows a shallow gradient, compatible with the occurrence of mergers in the past. Mg$_b$ and Fe3 profiles suggest different enrichment processes for these elements. We observe three distinct regions: for $R<100$pc and $R>220$pc, Mg$_2$, Mg$_b$ anti correlate with respect to Fe3 and [MgFe]’, and for $100 \text{pc}<R<220 \text{pc}$, they correlate, hinting at different enrichment histories. The [$\alpha$/Fe] profile is really complex and has a central value of $\sim 0.2$ dex. We interpret this as the result of a past merger with another galaxy with a different [$\alpha$/Fe] history, thus explaining the [$\alpha$/Fe] maps.

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J. Benedetti, R. Riffel, T. Ricci, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
46/72

Comments: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Dust attenuation law in JWST galaxies at z = 7-8 [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11178


Attenuation curves in galaxies depend on dust chemical composition, content, and grain size distribution. Such parameters are related to intrinsic galaxy properties such as metallicity, star formation rate, and stellar age. Due to the lack of observational constraints at high redshift, dust empirical curves measured in the local Universe (e.g. Calzetti and SMC curves) have been employed to describe the dust attenuation at early epochs. We exploit the high sensitivity and spectral resolution of the JWST to constrain the dust attenuation curves in high-z galaxies. Our goals are to check whether dust attenuation curves evolve with redshift and quantify the dependence of the inferred galaxy properties on the assumed dust attenuation law. We develop a modified version of the SED fitting code BAGPIPES by including a detailed dust attenuation curve parametrization. Dust parameters are derived, along with galaxy properties, from the fit to the data from FUV to mm bands. Once applied to three star-forming galaxies at z = 7-8, we find that their attenuation curves differ from local templates. One out of three galaxies shows a characteristic MW bump, typically associated to the presence of small carbonaceous dust grains such as PAHs. This is one of the first evidences suggesting the presence of PAHs in early galaxies. Galaxy properties such as stellar mass and SFR inferred from SED fitting are strongly affected by the assumed attenuation curve, though the adopted star formation history also plays a major role. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for the potential diversity of dust attenuation laws when analyzing the properties of galaxies at the EoR, whose dust properties are still poorly understood. The application of our method to a larger sample of galaxies observed with JWST can provide us important insights into the properties of dust and galaxies in the early universe.

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V. Markov, S. Gallerani, A. Pallottini, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
48/72

Comments: 19 pages, 10 figures

Investigating the $M_{GCS}-M_h$ Relation in the Most Massive Galaxies [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11210


The relation between the total mass contained in the globular clusters of a galaxy and the mass of its dark matter halo has been found observationally to be nearly linear over five decades of mass. However, the high-mass end of this relation is not well determined from previous data and shows large scatter. We analyze the globular cluster systems (GCSs) of a homogeneous sample of 11 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) through DOLPHOT photometry of their deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images in the F814W filter. We standardize the definition of $M_{GCS}$, the total GCS mass, by using the GC total population within a limiting radius of $0.1 R_{virial}$, while the dark-matter halo mass $M_h$ is determined from the weak-lensing calibration of $M_h$ versus $M_{bary}$. When these 11 BCGs are added to the previously studied homogeneous catalogue of Virgo member galaxies, a total value for $\eta = M_{GCS}/M_h$ is found to be $(3.0\pm1.8_{internal})\times10^{-5}$, slightly higher than previous estimates but with much reduced uncertainty. Perhaps more importantly, the results suggest that the relation continues to have a near-linear shape at the highest galaxy masses, strongly reinforcing the conclusion that accreted GCs make a major contribution to the GC populations at high galaxy mass.

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V. Dornan and W. Harris
Tue, 25 Apr 23
49/72

Comments: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Intranight Optical Variability of Blazars and Radio-quiet Quasars using the ZTF Survey [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11187


We explore the potential of the ongoing Zwicky-Transient-Facility (ZTF) survey for studying Intra-Night Optical Variability (INOV) of active galactic nuclei (AGN), in particular for picking rare events of large INOV amplitudes, whose detection may require extensive temporal coverage. For this, we have used the available high cadence subsets of the ZTF database to build a well-defined large sample of 53 blazars (BLs) and another sample of 132 radio-quiet quasars (RQQs), matched to the blazar sample in the redshift-magnitude plane. High-cadence ZTF monitoring of these two matched samples are available, respectively, for 156 and 418 intranight sessions. Median durations for both sets of sessions are 3.7 hours. The two classes of powerful AGN monitored in these sessions represent opposite extremes of jet activity. The present analysis of their ZTF light curves has revealed some strong INOV events which, although not exceptionally rare for blazars, are indeed so for RQQs, and their possible nature is briefly discussed.

Read this paper on arXiv…

V. Negi, G. Gopal-Krishna, R. Joshi, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
50/72

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

A 3D view of dwarf galaxies with Gaia and VLT/FLAMES I. The Sculptor dwarf spheroidal [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11980


We present a new homogeneous survey of VLT/FLAMES LR8 line-of-sight radial velocities (vlos) for 1604 resolved red giant branch stars in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. In addition, we provide reliable Ca II triplet metallicities, [Fe/H], for 1339 of these stars. From this combination of new observations (2257 individual spectra) with ESO archival data (2389 spectra), we obtain the largest and most complete sample of vlos and [Fe/H] measurements for individual stars in any dwarf galaxy. Our sample includes VLT/FLAMES LR8 spectra for 55% of the red giant branch stars at G $<20$ from Gaia DR3, and $>70$% of the brightest stars, G $<18.75$. Our spectroscopic velocities are combined with Gaia DR3 proper motions and parallax measurements for a new and more precise membership analysis. We look again at the global characteristics of Sculptor, deriving a mean metallicity of $\langle$[Fe/H]$\rangle = -1.82 \pm 0.45$ and a mean line-of-sight velocity of $\langle$vlos$\rangle = +111.2 \pm 0.25$km/s. There is a clear metallicity gradient in Sculptor, -0.7deg/dex, with the most metal-rich population being the most centrally concentrated. Furthermore, the most metal-poor population in Sculptor, [Fe/H]$<-2.5$, appears to show kinematic properties distinct from the rest of the stellar population. Finally, we combine our results with the exquisite Gaia DR3 multi-colour photometry to further investigate the colour-magnitude diagram of the resolved stellar population in Sculptor. Our detailed analysis shows a similar global picture as previous studies, but with much more precise detail, revealing that Sculptor has more complex properties than previously thought. This survey emphasises the role of the stellar spectroscopy technique and this galaxy as a benchmark system for modelling galaxy formation and evolution on small scales.

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E. Tolstoy, &. Skúladóttir, G. Battaglia, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
51/72

Comments: A&A, in press

The Northern Cross Fast Radio Burst project — III. The FRB-magnetar connection in a sample of nearby galaxies [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11179


Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-radio transients observed at cosmological distances. The nature of their progenitors is still under debate, although magnetars are invoked by most models. The FRB-magnetar connection was strengthened by the discovery of an FRB-like event from the Galactic magnetar SGR J1935+215. In this work, we aim to investigate how prevalent are magnetars like SGR~J1935+2154 within FRB progenitors. We carried out an FRB search in a sample of seven nearby (< 12 Mpc) galaxies with the Northern Cross radio telescope for a total of 692 h. We detected one 1.8~ms burst in the direction of M101 with fluence of $58 \pm 5$ Jy ms. Its dispersion measure of 303 pc cm$^{-3}$ places it most-likely beyond M101. Considering no significant detection coming indisputably from the selected galaxies, we place a 38 yr$^{-1}$ upper limit on the total – i.e., including the whole sample – burst rate at the 95\% confidence level. This upper limit constrains $\lambda_{\rm mag} < 0.42$~magnetar$^{-1}$ yr$^{-1}$ or, if combined with literature observations of a similar sample of nearby galaxies, it yields a joint constraint of $\lambda_{\rm mag} < 0.25$ magnetar$^{-1}$ yr$^{-1}$. We also provide the first constraints on the expected rate of FRBs hypothetically originating from ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) sources, since some of the galaxies observed during our observational campaign host confirmed ULXs. We obtain $< 13$ yr$^{-1}$ per ULX on the total sample of galaxies observed. Our results indicate that bursts with energies $E > 10^{34}$ erg from magnetars like SGR~J1935+2154 appear more rare compared to previous observations, and further disfavours them as unique progenitors for the cosmological FRB population, leaving more space open to the contribution from a population of more exotic magnetars, not born via core-collapsed supernovae.

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D. Pelliciari, G. Bernardi, M. Pilia, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
53/72

Comments: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to A&A

The Gaia-ESO Survey: Empirical estimates of stellar ages from lithium equivalent widths (EAGLES) [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12197


We present an empirical model of age-dependent photospheric lithium depletion, calibrated using a large, homogeneously-analysed sample of 6200 stars in 52 open clusters, with ages from 2–6000 Myr and $-0.3<{\rm [Fe/H}]<0.2$, observed in the Gaia-ESO spectroscopic survey. The model is used to obtain age estimates and posterior age probability distributions from measurements of the Li I 6708A equivalent width for individual (pre) main sequence stars with $3000 < T_{\rm eff}/{\rm K} <6500$, a domain where age determination from the HR diagram is either insensitive or highly model-dependent. In the best cases, precisions of 0.1 dex in log age are achievable; even higher precision can be obtained for coeval groups and associations where the individual age probabilities of their members can be combined. The method is validated on a sample of exoplanet-hosting young stars, finding agreement with claimed young ages for some, but not others. We obtain better than 10 per cent precision in age, and excellent agreement with published ages, for seven well-studied young moving groups. The derived ages for young clusters ($<1$ Gyr) in our sample are also in good agreement with their training ages, and consistent with several published, model-insensitive lithium depletion boundary ages. For older clusters there remain systematic age errors that could be as large as a factor of two. There is no evidence to link these errors to any strong systematic metallicity dependence of (pre) main sequence lithium depletion, at least in the range $-0.29 < {\rm [Fe/H]} < 0.18$. Our methods and model are provided as software — “Empirical AGes from Lithium Equivalent widthS” (EAGLES).

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R. Jeffries, R. Jackson, N. Wright, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
55/72

Comments: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Massive black holes in galactic nuclei: Theory and Simulations [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11541


Massive black holes are fundamental constituents of our cosmos, from the Big Bang to today. Understanding their formation from cosmic dawn, their growth, and the emergence of the first, rare quasars in the early Universe remains one of our greatest theoretical and observational challenges. Hydrodynamic cosmological simulations self-consistently combine the processes of structure formation at cosmological scales with the physics of smaller, galaxy scales. They capture our most realistic understanding of massive black holes and their connection to galaxy formation and have become the primary avenue for theoretical research in this field. The space-based gravitational wave interferometer, LISA, will open up new investigations into the dynamical processes involving massive black holes. Multi-messenger astrophysics brings new exciting prospects for tracing the origin, growth and merger history of massive black holes across cosmic ages.

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T. Matteo, D. Angles-Alcazar and F. Shankar
Tue, 25 Apr 23
59/72

Comments: 77 pages, 20 figures, This chapter is the preprint of the version currently in production. Please cite this chapter as the following: T.DiMatteo, D. Angles-Alcazar, and F. Shankar. Massive black holes in galactic nuclei: Theory and simulations, in The Encyclopedia of Cosmology (Set 2): Black Holes, edited by Z. Haiman (World Scientific, New Jersey, 2023)

Evolution of open clusters with or without black holes [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12291


Binary black holes (BHs) can be formed dynamically in the centers of star clusters. The high natal kicks for stellar-mass BHs used in previous works made it hard to retain BHs in star clusters. Recent studies of massive star evolution and supernovae (SN) propose kick velocities that are lower due to the fallback of the SN ejecta. We study the impact of these updates by performing $N$-body simulations following instantaneous gas expulsion. For comparison, we simulate two additional model sets with the previous treatment of stars: one with high kicks and another with artificial removal of the kicks. Our model clusters initially consist of about one hundred thousand stars, formed with centrally-peaked efficiency. We find that the updated treatment of stars, due to the fallback-scaled lower natal kicks, allows clusters to retain SN remnants after violent relaxation. The mass contribution of the retained remnants does not exceed a few percent of the total bound cluster mass during the early evolution. For this reason, the first giga year of evolution is not affected significantly by this effect. Nevertheless, during the subsequent long-term evolution, the retained BHs accelerate mass segregation, leading to the faster dissolution of the clusters.

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B. Shukirgaliyev, P. Berczik, A. Otebay, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
62/72

Comments: 8 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRAS, comments are welcome

High-velocity CP2 stars in the Galactic halo [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11269


Context. The second subclass of chemically peculiar stars, the CP2 stars, are early-type stars exhibiting anomalous abundances with variable line strengths possibly also accompanied by photometric variability that typically belong to the Galactic disk. However, a small fraction of these objects were recently found to be located far from the Galactic plane and are thought to belong to the Galactic halo, which is unexpected for this class of objects. Aims. Our study investigates the halo membership of the proposed halo CP2 star candidates based on their velocities and Galactic orbits, to determine their points of origin. In addition, we searched for further halo CP2 star candidates using an as-yet-unpublished sample of CP stars. Methods. Our analysis relied on the astrometry from the early third \textit{Gaia} data release and radial velocities based on the spectroscopy from LAMOST and SDSS, which was also employed in spectral classification. The light variability of the confirmed CP2 stars in our sample was analyzed using data from the ZTF and ATLAS surveys. Results. After filtering our initial sample using kinematic and spectroscopic criteria, we identified six CP2 stars with kinematical properties consistent with a halo membership. The orbits of these stars are in agreement with an origin in the Galactic disk where they were probably ejected through dynamical interactions or in the binary supernova scenario, making them the first runaway CP2 stars known.

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N. Faltová, M. Prišegen, K. Bernhard, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
63/72

Comments: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

MaNGA DynPop — IV. Stacked total density profile of galaxy groups and clusters from combining dynamical models of integral-field stellar kinematics and galaxy-galaxy lensing [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11715


We present the measurement of total and stellar/dark matter decomposed mass density profile around a sample of galaxy groups and clusters with dynamical masses derived from integral-field stellar kinematics from the MaNGA survey in Paper~I and weak lensing derived from the DECaLS imaging survey. Combining the two data sets enables accurate measurement of the radial density distribution from several kpc to Mpc scales. Intriguingly, we find that the excess surface density derived from stellar kinematics in the inner region cannot be explained by simply adding an NFW dark matter halo extrapolated from lensing measurement at a larger scale to a stellar mass component derived from the NASA-Sloan Atlas (NSA) catalog. We find that a good fit to both data sets requires a stellar mass normalization about 3 times higher than that derived from the NSA catalog, which would require an unrealistically too-heavy initial mass function for stellar mass estimation. If we keep the stellar mass normalization to that of the NSA catalog but allow a varying inner dark matter density profile, we obtain an asymptotic slope of $\gamma_{\rm gnfw}$= $1.82_{-0.25}^{+0.15}$, $\gamma_{\rm gnfw}$= $1.48_{-0.41}^{+0.20}$ for the group bin and the cluster bin respectively, significantly steeper than the NFW case. We also compare the total mass inner density slopes with those from Illustris-TNG300 and find that the values from the simulation are lower than the observation by at least $3\sigma$ level.

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C. Wang, R. Li, K. Zhu, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
64/72

Comments: 12 pages, 9 figures, was submitted to MNRAS

The GeMS/GSAOI Galactic Globular Cluster Survey (G4CS) II: Characterization of 47 Tuc with Bayesian Statistics [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11240


We present a photometric analysis of globular cluster 47 Tuc (NGC\,104), using near-IR imaging data from the GeMS/GSAOI Galactic Globular Cluster Survey (G4CS) which is in operation at Gemini-South telescope.~Our survey is designed to obtain AO-assisted deep imaging with near diffraction-limited spatial resolution of the central fields of Milky Way globular clusters.~The G4CS near-IR photometry was combined with an optical photometry catalog obtained from Hubble Space Telescope survey data to produce a high-quality color-magnitude diagram that reaches down to K$s\approx$ 21 Vega mag.~We used the software suite BASE-9, which uses an adaptive Metropolis sampling algorithm to perform a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Bayesian analysis, and obtained probability distributions and precise estimates for the age, distance and extinction cluster parameters.~Our best estimate for the age of 47 Tuc is 12.42$^{+0.05}{-0.05}$ $\pm$ 0.08 Gyr, and our true distance modulus estimate is (m$-$M)$0$=13.250$^{+0.003}{-0.003}$ $\pm$ 0.028 mag, in tight agreement with previous studies using Gaia DR2 parallax and detached eclipsing binaries.

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M. Simunovic, T. Puzia, B. Miller, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
65/72

Comments: 25 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

MaNGA DynPop — III. Accurate stellar dynamics vs. stellar population relations in 6000 early-type and spiral galaxies: fundamental plane, mass-to-light ratios, total density slopes, and dark matter fractions [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11714


We present dynamical scaling relations, combined with the stellar population properties, for a subsample of about 6000 nearby galaxies with the most reliable dynamical models extracted from the full MaNGA sample of 10K galaxies. We show that the inclination-corrected mass plane (MP) for both early-type galaxies (ETGs) and late-type galaxies (LTGs), which links dynamical mass, projected half-light radius $R_{\rm e}$, and the second stellar velocity moment $\sigma_{\rm e}$ within $R_{\rm e}$, satisfies the virial theorem and is even tighter than the uncorrected one. We find a clear parabolic relation between $\lg(M/L)(<R_{\rm e})$, the total mass-to-light ratio within a sphere of radius $R_{\rm e}$, and $\lg\sigma_{\rm e}$, with the $M/L$ increasing with $\sigma_{\rm e}$ and for older stellar populations. However, the relation for ETGs is linear and the one for the youngest galaxies is constant. We confirm and improve the relation between average logarithmic total density slopes $\gamma_{{\rm T}}$ and $\sigma{\rm e}$: $\gamma_{{\rm T}}$ become steeper with increasing $\sigma{\rm e}$ until $\lg(\sigma_{\rm e}/{\rm km\,s^{-1}})\approx 2.2$ and then remain constant around $\gamma_{{\rm T}}\approx -2.2$. The $\gamma{{\rm T}}-\sigma{\rm e}$ variation is larger for LTGs than ETGs. At fixed $\sigma_{\rm e}$ the total density profiles steepen with galaxy age and for ETGs. We find generally low dark matter fractions, median $f_{\rm DM}(<R_{\rm e})=8$ per cent, within a sphere of radius $R_{\rm e}$. However, we find that $f_{\rm DM}(<R_{\rm e})$ depends on $\sigma_{\rm e}$ better than stellar mass: dark matter increases to a median $f_{\rm DM}=33$ percent for galaxies with $\sigma_{\rm e}\lesssim100{\rm km\,s^{-1}}$. The increased $f_{\rm DM}(<R_{\rm e})$ at low $\sigma_{\rm e}$ explains the parabolic $\lg(M/L)(<R_{\rm e})-\lg\sigma_{\rm e}$ relation.

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K. Zhu, S. Lu, M. Cappellari, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
66/72

Comments: 21 pages, 16 figures, 1 table, Submitted to MNRAS

Photometric determination of the mass accretion rates of pre-main-sequence stars. VIII. Recent star formation in NGC 299 [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12137


We studied the properties of the young stellar populations in the NGC 299 cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud using observations obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope in the $V, I$, and $H\alpha$ bands. We identified 252 stars with H$\alpha$ excess exceeding 5 $\sigma$ and an equivalent width of the H$\alpha$ emission line of at least 20 \r{A}, indicating that these stars are still undergoing accretion and therefore represent bona fide pre-main-sequence (PMS) objects. For all of them, we derived the mass, age, and mass accretion rate by comparing the observed photometry with theoretical models. We find evidence for the existence of two populations of PMS stars, with median ages of 25 and 50 Myr respectively. The average mass accretion rate for these PMS stars is $\sim 5 \times 10^{-9}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, which is comparable to the values found in other low-metallicity, low-density clusters in the Magellanic Clouds, but is about a factor of three lower than those measured for stars of similar mass and age in denser Magellanic Cloud stellar regions. Our findings support the hypothesis that both the metallicity and density of the forming environment can affect the mass accretion rate and thus the star formation process in a region.
A study of the spatial distribution of both massive stars and (low-mass) PMS objects reveals that the former are clustered near the nominal centre of NGC 299, whereas the PMS stars are rather uniformly distributed over the field. To explore whether the stars formed in an initially more diffuse or compact structure, we studied the cluster’s stellar density profile. We find a core radius $r_c\simeq 0.6$ pc and a tidal radius $r_t\simeq 5.5$ pc, with an implied concentration parameter $c \simeq 1$, suggesting that the cluster could be dispersing into the field.

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M. Vlasblom and G. Marchi
Tue, 25 Apr 23
68/72

Comments: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Revisiting the black hole mass of M87* using VLT/MUSE Adaptive Optics Integral Field Unit data I: Ionized gas kinematics [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11264


The stellar dynamic-based black hole mass measurement of M87 is twice that determined via ionized gas kinematics; they disagree by more than 3$\sigma$, being the former closer to the mass estimated from the diameter of the gravitationally-lensed ring around the black hole. Using a deeper and more comprehensive ionized gas kinematic dataset, we aim to better constrain the complex morphology and kinematics of the nuclear ionized gas. We use both Narrow and Wide Field Mode integral field spectroscopic data from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer instrument to model the kinematics of multiple ionized gas emission lines. The dataset reveals complexities in the nuclear ionized gas kinematics not seen in earlier observations. Several ionized gas filaments, some with large flow velocities, can be traced down into the projected sphere of influence. We also find evidence of a partially-filled biconical outflow, aligned with the jet. The nuclear rotating ionized gas ‘disk’ is well resolved in our datacubes. The complexity of the nuclear morphology precludes the measurement of an accurate black hole mass from the ionized gas kinematics. The ionized gas kinematics can be explained with either a 6.6 $\times 10^{9}\rm~M_{\odot}$ black hole with a disk inclination of 25\deg, or a 3.5 $\times 10^{9}\rm~M_{\odot}$ black hole with an inclination of 42\deg, with more support for the former. The velocity isophotes of the sub-arcsecond ionized gas disk are twisted, and the position angle of the innermost gas disk tends towards a value perpendicular to the radio jet axis. An inclination close to 25\deg\ for the nuclear gas disk, and the warp in the sub-arcsec ionized gas disk, help to reconcile the contradictory nature of key earlier results: the discrepancy between stellar and ionized gas measurements, and the mis-orientation between the axes of the ionized gas disk and the jet.

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J. Osorno, N. Nagar, T. Richtler, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
72/72

Comments: 17 pages, 16 figures (3 of them in the appendix). Submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics

Stellar Collisions in the Galactic Center: Massive Stars, Collision Remnants, and Missing Red Giants [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10569


Like most galaxies, the Milky Way harbors a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its center, surrounded by a nuclear star cluster. In this dense star cluster, direct collisions can occur between stars before they evolve off the main-sequence. Using a statistical approach, we characterize the outcomes of these stellar collisions within the inner parsec of the Galactic Center (GC). Close to the SMBH, where the velocity dispersion is larger than the escape speed from a Sun-like star, collisions lead to mass loss. We find that the stellar population within $0.01$ pc is halved within about a Gyr because of destructive collisions. Additionally, we predict a diffuse population of peculiar low-mass stars in the GC. These stars have been divested of their outer layers in the inner $0.01$ pc before migrating to larger distances from the SMBH. Between $0.01$ and $0.1$ pc from the SMBH, collisions can result in mergers. Our results suggest that repeated collisions between lower mass stars can produce massive ($\gtrsim 10$ M$_\odot$) stars, and there may be $\sim 100$ of them residing in this region. We provide predictions on the number of G objects, dust and gas enshrouded stellar objects, that may result from main-sequence stellar collisions. Lastly, we comment on uncertainties in our model and possible connections between stellar collisions and the missing red giants in the GC.

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S. Rose, S. Naoz, R. Sari, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
2/41

Comments: Submitted to ApJ. Comments welcome. 24 pages, 13 figures

What Does the Milky Way Look Like? [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10690


In spite of much work, the overall spiral structure morphology of the Milky Way remains somewhat uncertain. In the last two decades, accurate distance measurements have provided us with an opportunity to solve this issue. Using the precise locations of very young objects, for the first time, we propose that our galaxy has a multiple-arm morphology that consists of two-arm symmetry (the Perseus and Norma Arms) in the inner parts and that extends to the outer parts, where there are several long, irregular arms (the Centaurus, Sagittarius, Carina, Outer, and Local Arms).

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Y. Xu, C. Hao, D. Liu, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
3/41

Comments: 11 pages, 9 figures, ApJ, 947, 54

The APO-K2 Catalog. I. 7,673 Red Giants with Fundamental Stellar Parameters from APOGEE DR17 Spectroscopy and K2-GAP Asteroseismology [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10654


We present a catalog of fundamental stellar properties for 7,673 evolved stars, including stellar radii and masses, determined from the combination of spectroscopic observations from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS), and asteroseismology from K2. The resulting APO-K2 catalog provides spectroscopically derived temperatures and metallicities, asteroseismic global parameters, evolutionary states, and asteroseismically-derived masses and radii. Additionally, we include kinematic information from \textit{Gaia}. We investigate the multi-dimensional space of abundance, stellar mass, and velocity with an eye toward applications in Galactic archaeology. The APO-K2 sample has a large population of low metallicity stars ($\sim$288 at [M/H] $\leq$ $-$1), and their asteroseismic masses are larger than astrophysical estimates. We argue that this may reflect offsets in the adopted fundamental temperature scale for metal-poor stars rather than metallicity-dependent issues with interpreting asteroseismic data. We characterize the kinematic properties of the population as a function of $\alpha$-enhancement and position in the disk and identify those stars in the sample that are candidate components of the \textit{Gaia-Enceladus} merger. Importantly, we characterize the selection function for the APO-K2 sample as a function of metallicity, radius, mass, $\nu_{\mathrm{max}}$, color, and magnitude referencing Galactic simulations and target selection criteria to enable robust statistical inferences with the catalog.

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J. Schonhut-Stasik, J. Zinn, K. Stassun, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
5/41

Comments: 28 Pages, 14 Figures, 1 Table. Full table and selection function data available at this https URL Submitted April 18th 2023 with AJ, awaiting review

Optical Emission Model for Binary Black Hole Merger Remnants Travelling through Discs of Active Galactic Nucleus [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10567


Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been proposed as plausible sites hosting a sizable fraction of the binary black hole (BBH) mergers measured through gravitational waves (GWs) by the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra (LVK) experiment. These GWs could be accompanied by radiation feedback due to the interaction of the BBH merger remnant with the AGN disc. We present a new predicted radiation signature driven by the passage of a kicked BBH remnant throughout a thin AGN disc. We analyse the situation of a merger occurring outside the thin disc, where the merger is of second or higher generation in a merging hierarchical sequence. The coalescence produces a kicked BH remnant that eventually plunges into the disc, accretes material, and inflates jet cocoons. We consider the case of a jet cocoon propagating quasi-parallel to the disc plane and study the outflow that results when the cocoon emerges from the disc. Here we focus on the long time-scale emission produced after the disc outflow expands and becomes optically thin. The bolometric luminosity of such disc outflow evolves as $L\propto t^{-7/2}$. Depending on the parameter configuration, the flare produced by the disc outflow could be comparable to or exceed the AGN background emission at near-infrared, optical, and extreme ultraviolet wavelengths appearing $\sim$[20-500] days after the GW event and lasting for $\sim$[1-200] days, accordingly.

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J. Rodríguez-Ramírez, C. Bom, B. Fraga, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
8/41

Comments: 11 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to MNRAS

X-ray radiative transfer in full 3D with SKIRT [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10563


Models of active galactic nuclei (AGN) suggest that their circumnuclear media are complex with clumps and filaments, while recent observations hint towards polar extended structures of gas and dust, as opposed to the classical torus paradigm. The X-ray band forms an interesting window to study these circumnuclear media in great detail. In this work, we extended the radiative transfer code SKIRT with the X-ray processes that govern the broadband X-ray spectra of obscured AGN, to study the structure of AGN circumnuclear media in full 3D, based on their reflected X-ray emission. We extended the SKIRT code with Compton scattering on free electrons, photo-absorption and fluorescence by cold atomic gas, scattering on bound electrons, and extinction by dust. This includes a novel treatment of extreme-forward scattering by dust, and a detailed description of anomalous Rayleigh scattering. To verify our X-ray implementation, we performed the first dedicated benchmark of X-ray torus models, comparing five X-ray radiative transfer codes. Finally, we illustrated the 3D nature of the code by producing synthetic X-ray images and spectra of clumpy torus models. SKIRT forms a powerful new tool to model AGN circumnuclear media in full 3D from X-ray to millimetre wavelengths, and is now publicly available. In the X-ray regime, we find an excellent agreement with the simulation results of the MYTorus and RefleX codes, which validates our X-ray implementation. We find some discrepancies with other codes, which motivates the need for a robust framework that can handle non-linear 3D radiative transfer effects. The new X-ray functionalities of the SKIRT code allow for uncomplicated access to a broad suite of 3D X-ray models for AGN that can easily be tested and modified. This will be particularly useful with the advent of X-ray microcalorimeter observations.

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B. Meulen, P. Camps, M. Stalevski, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
12/41

Comments: 20 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

VLBI Astrometry of Radio Stars to Link Radio and Optical Celestial Reference Frames. I. HD 199178 $\&$ AR Lacertae [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10886


To accurately link the radio and optical Celestial Reference Frames (CRFs) at optical bright end, i.e., with Gaia G band magnitude < 13, increasing number and improving sky distribution of radio stars with accurate astrometric parameters from both Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and Gaia measurements are mandatory. We selected two radio stars HD 199178 and AR Lacertae as the target for a pilot program for the frame link, using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 15 GHz at six epochs spanning about 1 year, to measure their astrometric parameters. The measured parallax of HD 199178 is $8.949 \pm 0.059$ mas and the proper motion is $\mu_\alpha cos \delta = 26.393 \pm 0.093$, $\mu_\delta = -0.950 \pm 0.083~mas~yr^{-1}$, while the parallax of AR Lac is $23.459 \pm 0.094$ mas and the proper motion is $\mu_\alpha cos \delta = -51.906 \pm 0.138$, $\mu_\delta = 46.732 \pm 0.131~mas~yr^{-1}$. Our VLBI measured astrometric parameters have accuracies about 4-5 times better than the corresponding historic VLBI measurements and comparable accuracies with those from Gaia, validating the feasibility of frame link using radio stars. With the updated astrometric parameters for these two stars, there is a 25% reduction of the uncertainties on the Y axis for both orientation and spin parameters.

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W. Chen, B. Zhang, J. Zhang, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
17/41

Comments: 11 pages, accepted by MNRAS on 2023 April 20

The Magnetohydrodynamic-Particle-In-Cell Module in Athena++: Implementation and Code Tests [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10568


We present a new magnetohydrodynamic-particle-in-cell (MHD-PIC) code integrated into the Athena++ framework. It treats energetic particles as in conventional PIC codes while the rest of thermal plasmas are treated as background fluid described by MHD, thus primarily targeting at multi-scale astrophysical problems involving the kinetic physics of the cosmic-rays (CRs). The code is optimized toward efficient vectorization in interpolation and particle deposits, with excellent parallel scaling. The code is also compatible with static/adaptive mesh refinement, with dynamic load balancing to further enhance multi-scale simulations. In addition, we have implemented a compressing/expanding box framework which allows adiabatic driving of CR pressure anisotropy, as well as the $\delta f$ method that can dramatically reduce Poisson noise in problems where distribution function $f$ is only expected to slightly deviate from the background. The code performance is demonstrated over a series of benchmark test problems including particle acceleration in non-relativistic parallel shocks. In particular, we reproduce the linear growth of the CR gyro-resonant (streaming and pressure anisotropy) instabilities, under both the periodic and expanding/compressing box setting. We anticipate the code to open up the avenue for a wide range of astrophysical and plasma physics applications.

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X. Sun and X. Bai
Mon, 24 Apr 23
18/41

Comments: 20 pages, 19 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Properties of the dense cores and filamentary structures in the Vela C molecular cloud [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10863


The initial and boundary conditions of the Galactic star formation in molecular clouds are not well understood. In an effort to shed new light on this long-standing problem, we measured properties of dense cores and filamentary structures in the Vela C molecular cloud, observed with Herschel. We applied the getsf extraction method to separate the components of sources and filaments from each other and their backgrounds, before detecting, measuring, and cataloging the structures. The cores and filamentary structures constitute 40% of the total mass of Vela C, most of the material is in the low-density molecular background cloud. We selected 570 reliable cores, of which 149 are the protostellar cores and 421 are the starless cores. Almost 78% of the starless cores were identified with the gravitationally bound prestellar cores. The exponent of the CMF (alpha = 1.35) is identical to that of the Salpeter IMF. We selected 68 filaments with at least one side that appeared not blended with adjacent structures. The filament widths are in the range of 0.15 pc to 0.63 pc, and have a median value of W = 0.3(0.11) pc. The surface densities of filaments are well correlated with their contrasts and linear densities. Within uncertainties of the filament instability criterion, many filaments may well be both supercritical and subcritical. A large fraction of filaments may definitely be considered supercritical, in which are found 94 prestellar cores, 83 protostellar cores, and only 1 unbound starless core. Taking into account the uncertainties, the supercritical filaments contain only prestellar and protostellar cores. Our findings support the idea that there exists a direct relationship between the CMF and IMF and that filaments play a key role in the formation of prestellar cores, which is consistent with the previous Herschel results.

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X. Li, G. Zhang, A. Men’shchikov, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
30/41

Comments: 15 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&A

Multi-epoch hard X-ray view of Compton-thick AGN Circinus Galaxy [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10972


The circumnuclear material around Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is one of the essential components of the obscuration-based unification model. However, our understanding of the circumnuclear material in terms of its geometrical shape, structure and its dependence on accretion rate is still debated. In this paper, we present the multi-epoch broadband X-ray spectral modelling of a nearby Compton-thick AGN in Circinus galaxy. We utilise all the available hard X-ray ($> 10$ keV) observations taken from different telescopes, $i.e.,$ $BeppoSAX$, $Suzaku$, $NuSTAR$ and $AstroSat$, at ten different epochs across $22$ years from $1998$ to $2020$. The $3.0-79$ keV broadband X-ray spectral modelling using physically-motivated models, namely MYTORUS, BORUS02 and UXCLUMPY, infers the presence of a torus with a low covering factor of $0.28$, an inclination angle of $77^{\circ}$ $-$ $81^{\circ}$ and Compton-thick line-of-sight column densities ($N_{\rm H,LOS} = 4.13~-~9.26~\times~10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$) in all the epochs. The joint multi-epoch spectral modelling suggests that the overall structure of the torus is likely to remain unchanged. However, we find tentative evidence for the variable line-of-sight column density on timescales ranging from one day to one week to a few years, suggesting a clumpy circumnuclear material located at sub-parsec to tens of parsec scales.

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A. Kayal, V. Singh, C. Ricci, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
35/41

Comments: 18 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Photometric metallicity for 694233 Galactic giant stars from Gaia DR3 synthetic Stromgren photometry. Metallicity distribution functions of halo sub-structures [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10772


We use the calibrations by Calamida et al. and by Hilker et al., and the standardised synthetic photometry in the v, b, and y Stromgren passbands from Gaia DR3 BP/RP spectra, to obtain photometric metallicities for a selected sample of 694233 old Galactic giant stars having |b|>20.0 and parallax uncertainties lower than 10%. The zero point of both sets of photometric metallicities has been shifted to to ensure optimal match with the spectroscopic [Fe/H] values for 44785 stars in common with APOGEE DR17, focusing on the metallicity range where they provide the highest accuracy. The metallicities derived in this way from the Calamida et al. calibration display a typical accuracy of ~0.1 dex and 1 sigma precision ~0.2 dex in the range -2.2 <=[Fe/H]<= -0.4, while they show a systematic trend with [Fe/H] at higher metallicity, beyond the applicability range of the relation. Those derived from the Hilker et al. calibration display, in general, worse precision, and lower accuracy in the metal-poor regime, but have a median accuracy < 0.05 dex for [Fe/H]>= -0.8. These results are confirmed and, consequently, the metallicities validated, by comparison with large sets of spectroscopic metallicities from various surveys. The newly obtained metallicities are used to derive metallicity distributions for several previously identified sub-structures in the Galactic halo with an unprecedented number of stars. The catalogue including both sets of metallicities and the associated uncertainties is made publicly available.

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B. M., M. D., D. F., et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
36/41

Comments: Accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysics. Latex. 20 pages, 21 color figures. The catalogue will be publicly available at CDS. In the meanwhile it is available upon request to the first author

The Evolution of Population III and Extremely Metal-Poor Binary Stars [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11078


Numerical simulations have now shown that Population III (Pop III) stars can form in binaries and small clusters and that these stars can be in close proximity to each other. If so, they could be subject to binary interactions such as mass exchange that could profoundly alter their evolution, ionizing UV and Lyman-Werner (LW) photon emission and explosion yields, with important consequences for early cosmological reionization and chemical enrichment. Here we investigate the evolution of Pop III and extremely metal-poor binary stars with the MESA code. We find that interactions ranging from stable mass transfer to common envelope evolution can occur in these binaries for a wide range of mass ratios and initial separations. Mass transfer can nearly double UV photon yields in some of these binaries with respect to their individual stars by extending the life of the companion star, which in turn can enhance early cosmological reionization but also suppress the formation of later generations of primordial stars. Binary interactions can also have large effects on the nucleosynthetic yields of the stars by promoting or removing them into or out of mass ranges for specific SN types. We provide fits to total photon yields for the binaries in our study for use in cosmological simulations.

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S. Tsai, K. Chen, D. Whalen, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
40/41

Comments: N/A

Simulating Atomic Dark Matter in Milky Way Analogues [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09878


Dark sector theories naturally lead to multi-component scenarios for dark matter where a sub-component can dissipate energy through self-interactions, allowing it to efficiently cool inside galaxies. We present the first cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way analogues where the majority of dark matter is collisionless Cold Dark Matter (CDM), but a sub-component (6%) is strongly dissipative minimal Atomic Dark Matter (ADM). The simulations, implemented in GIZMO and utilizing FIRE-2 galaxy formation physics to model the standard baryonic sector, demonstrate that the addition of even a small fraction of dissipative dark matter can significantly impact galactic evolution despite being consistent with current cosmological constraints. We show that ADM gas with roughly Standard-Model-like masses and couplings can cool to form a rotating “dark disk” with angular momentum closely aligned with the visible stellar disk. The morphology of the disk depends sensitively on the parameters of the ADM model, which affect the cooling rates in the dark sector. The majority of the ADM gas gravitationally collapses into dark “clumps” (regions of black hole or mirror star formation), which form a prominent bulge and a rotating thick disk in the central galaxy. These clumps form early and quickly sink to the inner ~kpc of the galaxy, affecting the galaxy’s star-formation history and present-day baryonic and CDM distributions.

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S. Roy, X. Shen, M. Lisanti, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
2/60

Comments: 9 pages, 4 figures, 12 pages of appendices and supplementary figures

Constraining the Molecular Gas Content of Fast Radio Burst (FRB) Host Galaxies [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10377


We used Bands 6 and 7 of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Cycles 7 and 8 to search for $\mathrm{CO}\,(3-2)$ emission from a sample of five fast radio burst (FRB) host galaxies discovered by the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients (CRAFT) survey and the Fast and Fortunate for FRB Follow-up (F$^4$) team. These galaxies have redshifts $z \approx 0.16-0.48$, masses log$(M_{\rm star}/M_{\odot})\approx 9.30-10.4$ characteristic of field galaxies, and emission lines indicative of ongoing star formation. We detected three of the five galaxies with luminosities $L'(3-2)\approx0.2-4\times10^8\,\rm K\,km \, s^{-1}\,pc^2$ and set upper limits for the other two. Adopting standard metallicity-dependent CO-to-H$2$ conversion factors, we estimate molecular gas masses $M{\rm gas}\approx 0.2-3\times 10^9 \, M_{\odot}$. As a population, FRB host galaxies track the main $M_{\rm star}-M_{\rm gas}$ locus of star-forming galaxies in the present-day universe, with gas fractions of $\mu_{\rm gas}\approx0.1$ and gas depletion times $t_{\rm dep} \gtrapprox 1\,$Gyr. We employ the Kaplan-Meier estimator to compare the redshift-corrected $\mu_{\rm gas}$ and $t_{\rm dep}$ for all known FRB hosts with measurements or upper limits with those from the xCOLD GASS survey and find statistically different gas fractions. The difference is not statistically significant when we consider only the five hosts studied here with consistently determined properties, suggesting more FRB hosts with measured molecular gas masses are needed to robustly study the population. Lastly, we present a multi-wavelength analysis of one host (HG20180924B) combining high-spatial resolution imaging and integral field spectroscopy to demonstrate that future high-resolution observations will allow us to study the host galaxy environments local to the FRBs.

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J. Chittidi, G. Stolle-McAllister, R. Jorgenson, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
4/60

Comments: 12 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables

Better Together: The Complex Interplay Between Radiative Cooling and Magnetic Draping [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09897


Rapidly outflowing cold H-I gas is ubiquitously observed to be co-spatial with a hot phase in galactic winds, yet the ablation time of cold gas by the hot phase should be much shorter than the acceleration time. Previous work showed efficient radiative cooling enables clouds to survive in hot galactic winds, as can magnetic fields even in purely adiabatic simulations for sufficiently small density contrasts between the wind and cloud. In this work, we study the interplay between radiative cooling and magnetic draping via three dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We find magnetic fields decrease the critical cloud radius for survival by two orders of magnitude (i.e., to sub-pc scales) in the strongly magnetized ($\beta_{\rm wind}=1$) case. Our results show magnetic fields (i) accelerate cloud entrainment through magnetic draping, (ii) can cause faster cloud destruction in cases of inefficient radiative cooling, (iii) do not significantly suppress mass growth for efficiently cooling clouds, and, crucially, in combination with radiative cooling (iv) reduce the average overdensity by providing non-thermal pressure support of the cold gas. This substantially reduces the acceleration time compared to the destruction time (more than due to draping alone), enhancing cloud survival. Our results may help to explain the cold, tiny, rapidly outflowing cold gas observed in galactic winds and the subsequent high covering fraction of cold material in galactic halos.

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F. Hidalgo-Pineda, R. Farber and M. Gronke
Fri, 21 Apr 23
5/60

Comments: N/A

Galaxy Morphology Classification Using Multi-Scale Convolution Capsule Network [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10081


The classification of galaxy morphology is a hot issue in astronomical research. Although significant progress has been made in the last decade in classifying galaxy morphology using deep learning technology, there are still some deficiencies in spatial feature representation and classification accuracy. In this study, we present a multi-scale convolutional capsule network (MSCCN) model for the classification of galaxy morphology. First, this model improves the convolutional layers through using a multi-branch structure to extract multi-scale hidden features of galaxy images. In order to further explore the hidden information in the features, the multi-scale features are encapsulated and fed into the capsule layer. Second, we use a sigmoid function to replace the softmax function in dynamic routing, which can enhance the robustness of MSCCN. Finally, the classification model achieving 97% accuracy, 96% precision, 98% recall, and 97% F1-score under macroscopic averaging. In addition, a more comprehensive model evaluation were accomplished in this study. We visualized the morphological features for the part of sample set, which using the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) algorithm. The results shows that the model has the better generalization ability and robustness, it can be effectively used in the galaxy morphological classification.

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G. Li, T. Xu, L. Li, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
9/60

Comments: N/A

Dust attenuation in galaxies at cosmic dawn from the FirstLight simulations [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10150


We study the behaviour of dust in galaxies at cosmic dawn, z=6-8, by coupling the FirstLight simulations with the radiative transfer code POLARIS. The starburst nature of these galaxies and their complex distribution of dust lead to a large diversity of attenuation curves. These follow the Calzetti model only for relatively massive galaxies, Mstars=10^9 Msun. Galaxies with lower masses have steeper curves, consistent with the model for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The ultraviolet and optical slopes of the attenuation curves are closer to the modified Calzetti model, with a slight preference for the power-law model for galaxies with the highest values of attenuation. We have also examined the relation between the slope in the far-ultraviolet, beta_UV , and the infrared excess, IRX. At z=6, it follows the Calzetti model with a shift to slightly lower beta_UV values due to lower metallicities at lower attenuation. The same relation at z=8 shows a shift to higher IRX values due to a stronger CMB radiation at high-z.

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M. Mushtaq, D. Ceverino, R. Klessen, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
12/60

Comments: 9 pages, 6 figues, submitted to MNRAS

Massive black holes in galactic nuclei: Observations [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10233


Since a black hole does not emit light from its interior, nor does it have a surface on which light from nearby sources can be reflected, observational study of black hole physics requires observing the gravitational impact of the black hole on its surroundings. A massive black hole leaves a dynamical imprint on stars and gas close by. Gas in the immediate vicinity of an accreting massive black hole can, due to the presence of the black hole, shine so brightly that it outshines the light of the billions of stars in its host galaxy and be detected across the Universe. By observing the emission from stars and gas and determining their kinematics scientists can extract vital information not only on the fundamental properties of the black holes themselves but also the impact they have on their surroundings. As it turns out, supermassive black holes appear to play a vital role in shaping the Universe as we know it, as they can profoundly impact the star formation history in galaxies. As a consequence, these black holes indirectly impact the cosmic build up of chemical elements heavier than Helium and thus affect when and where life can form. For these reasons alone, observations of massive black holes constitute a very active research area of modern astrophysics.
In this chapter we aim to provide a general overview — fit for a non-expert — of what scientists have learned, and hope to learn, from analyzing observations of massive black holes and the material around them.

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M. Vestergaard and K. Gültekin
Fri, 21 Apr 23
13/60

Comments: This chapter is the pre-print of the version currently in production. Please cite this chapter as the following: M. Vestergaard and K. G\”ultekin. “Massive black holes in galactic nuclei: observations,” in The Encyclopedia of Cosmology (Set 2): Black Holes, edited by Z. Haiman (World Scientific, New Jersey, 2023). 77 pages, 21 figures

The evolution of radial gradients of MaNGA quiescent elliptical galaxies: inside-out quenching or outer mass growth? [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09967


Using spatially-resolved fossil record analysis on a large sample of ‘red and dead’ elliptical galaxies (classical ellipticals, CLEs) from the MaNGA/SDSS-IV DR15 survey, we reconstruct the archaeological evolution of their radial gradients in mass-to-luminosity ratio ($M/L$), $g-r$ color, and specific star formation (SF) rate. We also calculate other metrics that quantify the inside-out SF quenching and external mass growth processes. The $M/L$ gradients, $\nabla\Upsilon_{\star}$, are approximately flat at high look-back times ($t_{\rm lb}$), but then they become negative and steeper until an epoch, when this trend reverses. These trends are shifted to later epochs the less massive the galaxies are. Color gradients follow qualitatively similar trends. We find that these trends are mainly driven by strong inside-out quenching, without significant outer growth or structural changes overall. Our results suggest a scenario where the main progenitors of local CLE galaxies evolved quasi-passively after an early dissipative phase, but underwent radial photometric changes due to the inside-out quenching that led to the systematic decrease of $\nabla\Upsilon_{\star}$ and to an increase of the light-weighted radius. The late reversing of $\nabla\Upsilon_{\star}$, $t_{\rm lb}\approx2-4$ Gyr, roughly coincides with the global quenching of the CLE galaxies. We have pushed archaeological inferences to the limit, but thanks to the large number of objects and an understanding of how the caveats and assumptions affect our results, we conclude that they offer an average description of evolutionary behaviors of CLE progenitors that is valid at least qualitatively.

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V. Avila-Reese, H. Ibarra-Medel, I. Lacerna, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
14/60

Comments: 17 pages, 14 figures. Submitted to MNRAS, after Referee Report

WISDOM Project — XIV. Giant Molecular Clouds in the Central Region of the Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 5806 [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10471


We present high spatial resolution ($\approx24$ pc) Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array $^{12}$CO(2-1) observations of the central region of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 5806. NGC 5806 has a highly structured molecular gas distribution with a clear nucleus, a nuclear ring and offset dust lanes. We identify $170$ spatially- and spectrally-resolved giant molecular clouds (GMCs). These clouds have comparable sizes ($R_{\mathrm{c}}$) and larger gas masses, observed linewidths ($\sigma_{\mathrm{obs,los}}$) and gas mass surface densities than those of clouds in the Milky Way disc. The size — linewidth relation of the clouds is one of the steepest reported so far ($\sigma_{\mathrm{obs,los}}\propto R_{\mathrm{c}}^{1.20}$), the clouds are on average only marginally bound (with a mean virial parameter $\langle\alpha_{\mathrm{vir}}\rangle\approx2$), and high velocity dispersions are observed in the nuclear ring. These behaviours are likely due to bar-driven gas shocks and inflows along the offset dust lanes, and we infer an inflow velocity of $\approx120$ kms$^{-1}$ and a total molecular gas mass inflow rate of $\approx5$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ into the nuclear ring. The observed internal velocity gradients of the clouds are consistent with internal turbulence. The number of clouds in the nuclear ring decreases with azimuthal angle downstream from the dust lanes without clear variation of cloud properties. This is likely due to the estimated short lifetime of the clouds ($\approx6$ Myr), which appears to be mainly regulated by cloud-cloud collision and/or shear processes. Overall, it thus seems that the presence of the large-scale bar and gas inflows to the centre of NGC 5806 affect cloud properties.

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W. Choi, L. Liu, M. Bureau, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
16/60

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 20 pages, 16 figures

3D spectroscopy with GTC-MEGARA of the triple AGN candidate in SDSS J102700.40+174900.8 [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09968


Triple AGN systems are expected to be the result of the hierarchical model of galaxy formation. Since there are very few of them confirmed as such, we present the results of a new study of the triple-AGN candidate SDSS J102700.40+174900.8 (center nucleus) through observations with $\it{GTC}$-$\it{MEGARA}$ Integral Field Unit. 1D and 2D analysis of the line ratios of the three nuclei allow us to locate them in the EW(H$\alpha$) vs. [Nii] /H$\alpha$ diagram. The central nucleus is found to be a retired galaxy (or fake AGN). The neighbors are found to be a strong AGN (southeastern nucleus, J102700.55+174900.2) compatible with a Sy2 galaxy, and a weak AGN (northern nucleus, J102700.38+174902.6) compatible with a LINER2. We find evidence that the neighbors constitute a dual AGN system (Sy2-LINER2) with a projected separation of 3.98 kpc in the optical bands. The H$\alpha$ velocity map shows that the northern nucleus has an H$\alpha$ emission with a velocity offset of $\sim$-500 km s$^{-1}$, whereas the southeastern nucleus has a rotating disk and H$\alpha$ extended emission at kpc scales. Chandra archival data confirm that the neighbors have X-ray (0.5-2) keV and (2-7) keV emission, whereas the center nucleus shows no X-ray emission. A collisional ring with knots is observed in the HST images of the southeastern nucleus. These knots coincide with star formation regions that along with the ring are predicted in a head-on collision. In this case, the morphology changes are probably due to a minor merger that was produced by the passing of the northern through the southeastern nucleus.

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E. Benítez, H. Ibarra-Medel, C. Negrete, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
17/60

Comments: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 20 pages, 9 figures, 7 tables

VarIabiLity seLection of AstrophysIcal sources iN PTF (VILLAIN) I. Structure function fits to 71 million objects [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09903


Context. Lightcurve variability is well-suited for characterising objects in surveys with high cadence and long baseline. This is especially relevant in view of the large datasets to be produced by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
Aims. We aim to determine variability parameters for objects in the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and explore differences between quasars (QSOs), stars and galaxies. We will relate variability and colour information in preparation for future surveys.
Methods. We fit joint likelihoods to structure functions (SFs) of 71 million PTF lightcurves with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. For each object, we assume a power law SF and extract two parameters: the amplitude on timescales of one year, $A$, and a power law index, $\gamma$. With these parameters and colours in the optical (Pan-STARRS1) and mid infrared (WISE), we identify regions of parameter space dominated by different types of spectroscopically confirmed objects from SDSS. Candidate QSOs, stars and galaxies are selected to show their parameter distributions.
Results. QSOs have high amplitude variations in the $R$ band, and the strongest timescale dependence of variability. Galaxies have a broader range of amplitudes and low timescale dependency. With variability and colours, we achieve a photometric selection purity of 99.3 % for QSOs. Even though hard cuts in monochromatic variability alone are not as effective as seven-band magnitude cuts, variability is useful in characterising object sub-classes. Through variability, we also find QSOs that were erroneously classified as stars in the SDSS. We discuss perspectives and computational solutions in view of the upcoming LSST.

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S. Bruun, A. Agnello and J. Hjorth
Fri, 21 Apr 23
19/60

Comments: Accepted by A&A on 11/04/2023, 16 pages, 14 figures

Identification and Characterization of a Large Sample of Distant Active Dwarf Galaxies in XMM-SERVS [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09904


Active dwarf galaxies are important because they contribute to the evolution of dwarf galaxies and can reveal their hosted massive black holes. However, the sample size of such sources beyond the local universe is still highly limited. In this work, we search for active dwarf galaxies in the recently completed XMM-Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (XMM-SERVS). XMM-SERVS is currently the largest medium-depth X-ray survey covering 13 $\mathrm{deg}^2$ in three extragalactic fields, which all have well-characterized multi-wavelength information. After considering several factors that may lead to misidentifications, we identify 73 active dwarf galaxies at $z<1$, which constitutes the currently largest X-ray-selected sample beyond the local universe. Our sources are generally less obscured than predictions based on the massive-AGN (active galactic nucleus) X-ray luminosity function and have a low radio-excess fraction. We find that our sources reside in similar environments to inactive dwarf galaxies. We further quantify the accretion distribution of the dwarf-galaxy population after considering various selection effects and find that it decreases with X-ray luminosity, but redshift evolution cannot be statistically confirmed. Depending upon how we define an AGN, the active fraction may or may not show a strong dependence on stellar mass. Their Eddington ratios and X-ray bolometric corrections significantly deviate from the expected relation, which is likely caused by several large underlying systematic biases when estimating the relevant parameters for dwarf galaxies. Throughout this work, we also highlight problems in reliably measuring photometric redshifts and overcoming strong selection effects for distant active dwarf galaxies.

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F. Zou, W. Brandt, Q. Ni, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
20/60

Comments: 34 pages, 21 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

A large bubble around the AGB star R Dor detected in the UV [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10173


Many asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and supergiant stars exhibit extended detached shells in the far-infrared, resembling rings or arcs. These structures have long been interpreted as the bow shock formed in the interface between the stellar wind and the interstellar medium, the astrosphere. To date, only a few AGB stars have been observed showing an extended shell in the ultraviolet: the cometary tail drifting away from $o$ Ceti, and a bubble around IRC+10216, CIT6, and U Hya. This paper describes a search of UV extended shells around AGB stars using archival GALEX far-UV images. After inspecting visually 282 GALEX images, we identified the fourth discovery of a UV bubble around the AGB star R Dor. The bubble is seen as a 26’x29′ ring, corresponding to an actual diameter of 0.41×0.46 parsec$^2$. The mass of the thin UV bubble is estimated to be $\simeq$0.003 $M_{\odot}$. The morphological asymmetry (less than $\sim 20$\%) and brightness variations of this shell are uncorrelated with the stellar proper motion and thus they can rather be ascribed to inhomogeneities in the ISM. Archival \emph{IRAS} 60 and 100$\mu$m images reveal that the bubble is filled with cold (i.e. < 32 K) dust. All UV bubbles known to date are limited to be within a distance < 350 pc and at high Galactic latitudes (|b| > 35 degree), which suggests that their detection is hampered in most cases by the strong UV interstellar extinction.

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R. Ortiz and M. Guerrero
Fri, 21 Apr 23
22/60

Comments: 8 pages, 5 figures, to be published in MNRAS

No evidence for p- or d-wave dark matter annihilation from local large-scale structure [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10301


If dark matter annihilates into standard model particles with a cross-section which is velocity dependent, then Local Group dwarf galaxies will not be the best place to search for the resulting gamma ray emission. A greater flux would be produced by more distant and massive halos, with larger velocity dispersions. We construct full-sky predictions for the gamma-ray emission from galaxy- and cluster-mass halos within $\sim 200 \, {\mathrm{Mpc}}$ using a suite of constrained $N$-body simulations (CSiBORG) based on the Bayesian Origin Reconstruction from Galaxies algorithm. Comparing to observations from the Fermi Large Area Telescope and marginalising over reconstruction uncertainties and other astrophysical contributions to the flux, we obtain constraints on the cross-section which are two (seven) orders of magnitude tighter than those obtained from dwarf spheroidals for $p$-wave ($d$-wave) annihilation. We find no evidence for either type of annihilation from dark matter particles with masses in the range $m_\chi = 2-500 \, {\mathrm{GeV}}/c^2$, for any channel. As an example, for annihilations producing bottom quarks with $m_\chi = 10 \, {\mathrm{GeV}}/c^2$, we find $a_{1} < 2.4 \times 10^{-21} \, {\mathrm{cm^3 s^{-1}}}$ and $a_{2} < 3.0 \times 10^{-18} \, {\mathrm{cm^3 s^{-1}}}$ at 95% confidence, where the product of the cross-section, $\sigma$, and relative particle velocity, $v$, is given by $\sigma v = a_\ell (v/c)^{2\ell}$ and $\ell=1, 2$ for $p$-, $d$-wave annihilation, respectively. Our bounds, although failing to exclude the thermal relic cross-section for velocity-dependent annihilation channels, are among the tightest to date.

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A. Kostić, D. Bartlett and H. Desmond
Fri, 21 Apr 23
26/60

Comments: 15 pages, 5 figures; submitted to Physical Review D

The statistical analysis of the dynamical evolution of the open clusters [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10138


We present the dynamical evolution of ten open clusters which were part of our previous studies. These clusters include both young and intermediate-age open clusters with ages ranging from 25$\pm$19 Myr to 1.78$\pm$0.20 Gyr. The total mass of these clusters ranges from 356.18$\pm$142.90 to 1811.75$\pm$901.03 M${\odot}$. The Galactocentric distances to the clusters are in the range of 8.91$\pm$0.02 to 11.74$\pm$0.18 kpc. The study is based on the ground-based UBVRI data supplemented by the astrometric data from the Gaia archive. We studied the minimum spanning tree of the member stars for these clusters. The mass segregation in these clusters was quantified by mass segregation ratios calculated from the mean edge length obtained through the minimum spanning tree. The clusters NGC 2360, NGC 1960, IC 1442, King 21, and SAI 35 have ${\Gamma}{MSR}$ to be 1.65$\pm$0.18, 1.94$\pm$0.22, 2.21$\pm$0.20, 1.84$\pm$0.23, and 1.96$\pm$0.25, respectively which indicate moderate mass segregation in these clusters. The remaining five clusters are found to exhibit weak or no mass segregation. We used the ratio of half mass radius to the tidal radius i.e. R${h}$/R${t}$ to investigate the effect of the tidal interactions on the cluster structure and dynamics. The ratios of half mass radii to tidal radii are found to be positively correlated with the Galactocentric distances with a linear slope of 0.06$\pm$0.01 having linear regression coefficient r-square = 0.93 for the clusters.

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J. Maurya, Y. Joshi, M. Samal, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
27/60

Comments: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

NGTS clusters survey IV. Search for Dipper stars in the Orion Nebular Cluster [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09942


The dipper is a novel class of young stellar object associated with large drops in flux on the order of 10 to 50 per cent lasting for hours to days. Too significant to arise from intrinsic stellar variability, these flux drops are currently attributed to disk warps, accretion streams, and/or transiting circumstellar dust. Dippers have been previously studied in young star forming regions including the Orion Complex. Using Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) data, we identified variable stars from their lightcurves. We then applied a machine learning random forest classifier for the identification of new dipper stars in Orion using previous variable classifications as a training set. We discover 120 new dippers, of which 83 are known members of the Complex. We also investigated the occurrence rate of disks in our targets, again using a machine learning approach. We find that all dippers have disks, and most of these are full disks. We use dipper periodicity and model-derived stellar masses to identify the orbital distance to the inner disk edge for dipper objects, confirming that dipper stars exhibit strongly extended sublimation radii, adding weight to arguments that the inner disk edge is further out than predicted by simple models. Finally, we determine a dipper fraction (the fraction of stars with disks which are dippers) for known members of 27.8 plus minus 2.9 per cent. Our findings represent the largest population of dippers identified in a single cluster to date.

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T. Moulton, S. Hodgkin, G. Smith, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
30/60

Comments: 28 pages, 34 figures

A Mixture of LBG Overdensities in the Fields of Three $6 < z < 7$ Quasars: Implications for the Robustness of Photometric Selection [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10437


The most luminous quasars at $z > 6$ are suspected to be both highly clustered and reside in the most massive dark matter halos in the early Universe, making them prime targets to search for galaxy overdensities and/or protoclusters. We search for Lyman-break dropout-selected galaxies using HST WFC3/ACS broadband imaging in the fields of three $6 < z < 7$ quasars, as well as their simultaneously observed coordinated-parallel fields, and constrain their photometric redshifts using EAZY. One field, J0305-3150, shows a volume density 10$\times$ higher than the blank-field UV luminosity function (UVLF) at M$_{UV} < -20$, with tentative evidence of a 3$\sigma$ overdensity in its parallel field located 15 cMpc away. Another field, J2054-0005, shows an angular overdensity within 500 ckpc from the quasar but still consistent with UVLF predictions within 3$\sigma$, while the last field, J2348-3054, shows no enhancement. We discuss methods for reducing uncertainty in overdensity measurements when using photometric selection and show that we can robustly select LBGs consistent with being physically associated with the quasar, corroborated by existing JWST/NIRCam WFSS data in the J0305 field. Even accounting for incompleteness, the overdensities in J0305 and J2054 are higher for brighter galaxies at short angular separations, suggesting preferential enhancement of more massive galaxies in the immediate vicinity of the quasar. Finally, we compare the LBG population with previously-identified [CII] and mm-continuum companions; the LBG overdensities are not accompanied by an enhanced number of dusty galaxies, suggesting that the overdense quasar fields are not in the bursty star-forming phase sometimes seen in high-redshift protoclusters.

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J. Champagne, C. Casey, S. Finkelstein, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
31/60

Comments: 22 pages (main text), 12 figures, 10 tables, 2 appendices. Submitted to ApJ March 2023 – comments welcome! See F. Wang et al. (2023) today for a companion JWST paper

VarIabiLity seLection of AstrophysIcal sources iN PTF (VILLAIN) II. Supervised classification of variable sources [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09905


Context. Large, high-dimensional astronomical surveys require efficient data analysis. Automatic fitting of lightcurve variability and machine learning may assist in identification of sources including candidate quasars.
Aims. We aim to classify sources from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) as quasars, stars or galaxies, and to examine model performance using variability and colours. We determine the added value of variability information as well as quantifying the performance when colours are not available.
Methods. We use supervised learning in the form of a histogram-based gradient boosting classifier to predict spectroscopic SDSS classes using photometry. For comparison, we create models with structure function variability parameters only, magnitudes only and using all parameters.
Results. We achieve highly accurate predictions for 71 million sources with lightcurves in PTF. The full model correctly identifies 92.49 % of spectroscopically confirmed quasars from the SDSS with a purity of 95.64 %. With only variability, the completeness is 34.97 % and the purity is 58.71 % for quasars. The predictions and probabilities of PTF objects belonging to each class are made available in a catalogue, VILLAIN-Cat, including magnitudes and variability parameters.
Conclusions. We have developed a method for automatic and effective classification of PTF sources using magnitudes and variability. For similar supervised models, we recommend using at least 100,000 labeled objects, and we show how performance scales with data volume.

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S. Bruun, J. Hjorth and A. Agnello
Fri, 21 Apr 23
33/60

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures

Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph — Distant Quasar Survey: Augmented Spectroscopic Catalog and a Prescription for Correcting UV-Based Quasar Redshifts [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09964


Quasars at $z~{\gtrsim}~1$ most often have redshifts measured from rest-frame ultraviolet emission lines. One of the most common such lines, C IV ${\lambda}1549$, shows blueshifts up to ${\approx}~5000~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, and in rare cases even higher. This blueshifting results in highly uncertain redshifts when compared to redshift determinations from rest-frame optical emission lines, e.g., from the narrow [O III] ${\lambda}5007$ feature. We present spectroscopic measurements for 260 sources at $1.55~{\lesssim}~z~{\lesssim}~3.50$ having $-28.0~{\lesssim}~M_i~{\lesssim}~-30.0$ mag from the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph – Distant Quasar Survey (GNIRS-DQS) catalog, augmenting the previous iteration which contained 226 of the 260 sources whose measurements are improved upon in this work. We obtain reliable systemic redshifts based on [O III] ${\lambda}5007$ for a subset of 121 sources which we use to calibrate prescriptions for correcting UV-based redshifts. These prescriptions are based on a regression analysis involving C IV full-width-at-half-maximum intensity and equivalent width, along with the UV continuum luminosity at a rest-frame wavelength of 1350 A. Applying these corrections can improve the accuracy and the precision in the C IV-based redshift by up to ${\sim}~850~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$ and ${\sim}~150~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, respectively, which correspond to ${\sim}~8.5$ Mpc and ${\sim}~1.5$ Mpc in comoving distance at $z~=~2.5$. Our prescriptions also improve the accuracy of the best available multi-feature redshift determination algorithm by ${\sim}~100~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, indicating that the spectroscopic properties of the C IV emission line can provide robust redshift estimates for high-redshift quasars. We discuss the prospects of our prescriptions for cosmological and quasar studies utilizing upcoming large spectroscopic surveys.

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B. Matthews, C. Dix, O. Shemmer, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
34/60

Comments: 20 pages (AASTeX 6.3.1), 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Fading AGN in Post-Starburst Galaxies [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10419


The role of AGN in quenching galaxies and driving the evolution from star-forming to quiescent remains a key question in galaxy evolution. We present evidence from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey for fading AGN activity in 6/93 post-starburst galaxies. These six galaxies show extended emission line regions (EELRs) consistent with ionization from past AGN activity, analogous to “Hanny’s voorwerp” and other systems where the OIII5007 emission is bright enough to be visible in broadband imaging. Using the infrared luminosities from IRAS to estimate the current AGN luminosity, we find that 5/6 of the post-starburst galaxies have current AGN which have faded from the peak luminosity required to have ionized the EELRs. Given the rate at which we observe EELRs, the typical EELR visibility timescale, and an estimate of how often EELRs would be visible, we estimate the duty cycle of AGN activity during the post-starburst phase. The timescale for the galaxy to cycle between peaks in AGN luminosity is $t_{\rm EELR}\sim1.1-2.3\times10^5$ yr. Given the rate at which we observe current AGN activity during this phase, we estimate that the AGN spends only 5.3% of this time (or $t_{\rm ON} = 0.6-1.3\times10^4$ yr) in its luminous phase, with the rest of the time spent “off” or in a low-luminosity phase. The length of this duty cycle may explain why so few luminous AGN have been observed during the post-starburst phase, despite evidence for AGN feedback at work.

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K. French, N. Earl, A. Novack, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
39/60

Comments: Re-submitted to ApJ after referee report. 20 pages, 13 figures

A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era (ASPIRE): JWST Reveals a Filamentary Structure around a z=6.61 Quasar [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09894


We present the first results from the JWST ASPIRE program (A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era). This program represents an imaging and spectroscopic survey of 25 reionization-era quasars and their environments by utilizing the unprecedented capabilities of NIRCam Wide Field Slitless Spectroscopy (WFSS) mode. ASPIRE will deliver the largest ($\sim280~{\rm arcmin}^2$) galaxy redshift survey at 3-4 $\mu$m among JWST Cycle-1 programs and provide extensive legacy values for studying the formation of the earliest supermassive black holes (SMBHs), the assembly of galaxies, early metal enrichment, and cosmic reionization. In this first ASPIRE paper, we report the discovery of a filamentary structure traced by the luminous quasar J0305-3150 and ten [OIII] emitters at $z=6.6$. This structure has a 3D galaxy overdensity of $\delta_{\rm gal}=12.6$ over 637 cMpc$^3$, one of the most overdense structures known in the early universe, and could eventually evolve into a massive galaxy cluster. Together with existing VLT/MUSE and ALMA observations of this field, our JWST observations reveal that J0305-3150 traces a complex environment where both UV-bright and dusty galaxies are present, and indicate that the early evolution of galaxies around the quasar is not simultaneous. In addition, we discovered 31 [OIII] emitters in this field at other redshifts, $5.3<z<6.7$, with half of them situated at $z\sim5.4$ and $z\sim6.2$. This indicates that star-forming galaxies, such as [OIII] emitters, are generally clustered at high redshifts. These discoveries demonstrate the unparalleled redshift survey capabilities of NIRCam WFSS and the potential of the full ASPIRE survey dataset.

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F. Wang, J. Yang, J. Hennawi, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
42/60

Comments: accepted for publication in ApJL

The Launching of Cold Clouds by Galaxy Outflows V:The Role of Anisotropic Thermal Conduction [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09881


Motivated by observations of multiphase galaxy outflows, we explore the impact of isotropic and anisotropic electron thermal conduction on the evolution of radiatively-cooled, cold clouds embedded in hot, magnetized winds. Using the adaptive mesh refinement code AthenaPK, we conduct simulations of clouds impacted by supersonic and transonic flows with magnetic fields initially aligned parallel and perpendicular to the flow direction. In cases with isotropic thermal conduction, an evaporative wind forms, stabilizing against instabilities and leading to a mass loss rate that matches the hydrodynamic case. In anisotropic cases, the impact of conduction is more limited and strongly dependent on the field orientation. In runs with initially transverse fields, the field lines are folded back into the tail, strongly limiting conduction, but magnetic fields act to dampen instabilities and slow the stretching of the cloud in the flow direction. In the aligned case, anisotropic conduction aids cloud survival by forming a radiative wind near the front of the cloud, which suppresses instabilities with minimal mass loss. In all cases, anisotropic conduction has a minimal impact on the acceleration of the cloud.

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M. Brüggen, E. Scannapieco and P. Grete
Fri, 21 Apr 23
46/60

Comments: submitted to ApJ

Accurate Oxygen Abundance of Interstellar Gas in Mrk 71 from Optical and Infrared Spectra [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09898


The heavy element content (“metallicity”) of the Universe is a record of the total star formation history. Gas-phase metallicity in galaxies, as well as its evolution with time, is of particular interest as a tracer of accretion and outflow processes. However, metallicities from the widely-used electron temperature ($T_e$) method are typically ~2x lower than the values based on the recombination line method. This “abundance discrepancy factor” (ADF) is well known and is commonly ascribed to bias due to temperature fluctuations. We present a measurement of oxygen abundance in the nearby (3.4 Mpc) system, Mrk 71, using a combination of optical and far-IR emission lines to measure and correct for temperature fluctuation effects. Our far-IR result is inconsistent ($> 2 \sigma$ significance) with the metallicity from recombination lines and instead indicates little to no bias in the standard $T_e$ method, ruling out the long-standing hypothesis that the ADF is explained by temperature fluctuations for this object. Our results provide a framework to accurately measure metallicity across cosmic history, including with recent data reaching within the first billion years with JWST and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA).

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Y. Chen, T. Jones, R. Sanders, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
49/60

Comments: 26 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication

Compact Steep Spectrum Radio Sources with Enhanced Star Formation are Smaller than $10\,$kpc [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10538


Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) radio sources are active galactic nuclei that have radio jets propagating only on galactic scales, defined as having projected linear sizes (LS) of up to $20\,$kpc. CSS sources are generally hosted by massive early-type galaxies with little on-going star formation, however a small fraction are known to have enhanced star formation. Using archival data from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm survey, the Very Large Array Sky Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey we identify a volume-limited sample of $166$ CSS sources at $z<0.2$ with $L_{1.4\,\text{GHz}}>10^{24}\,\text{W}\,\text{Hz}^{-1}$. Comparing the star formation rates and linear sizes of these CSS sources, we find that the $\approx14\,\%$ of CSS sources with specific star formation rates above $0.01\,\text{Gyr}^{-1}$ all have $\text{LS}<10\,$kpc. We discuss the possible mechanisms driving this result, concluding that it is likely the excess star formation in these sources occurred in multiple bursts and ceased prior to the AGN jet being triggered.

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Y. Gordon, C. O’Dea, S. Baum, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
50/60

Comments: Accepted for publication in ApJL. 9 pages, 5 figures

The Chemodynamics of the Stellar Populations in M31 from APOGEE Integrated Light Spectroscopy [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09901


We present analysis of nearly 1,000 near-infrared, integrated light spectra from APOGEE in the inner $\sim$7 kpc of M31. We utilize full spectrum fitting with A-LIST simple stellar population spectral templates that represent a population of stars with the same age, [M/H], and [$\alpha$/M]. With this, we determine the mean kinematics, metallicities, $\alpha$ abundances, and ages of the stellar populations of M31’s bar, bulge, and inner disk ($\sim$4-7 kpc). We find a non-axisymmetric velocity field in M31 resulting from the presence of a bar. The bulge of M31 is metal-poor relative to the disk ([M/H] = $-0.149^{+0.067}{-0.081}$ dex), features minima in metallicity on either side of the bar ([M/H] $\sim$ -0.2), and is enhanced in $\alpha$ abundance ([$\alpha$/M] = $0.281^{+0.035}{-0.038}$). The disk of M31 within $\sim$7 kpc is enhanced in both metallicity ([M/H] = $-0.023^{+0.050}{-0.052}$) and $\alpha$ abundance ([$\alpha$/M] = $0.274^{+0.020}{-0.025}$). Both of these structural components are uniformly old at $\simeq$ 12 Gyr. We find the metallicity increases with distance from the center of M31, with the steepest gradient along the disk major axis ($0.043\pm0.021$ dex/kpc). This gradient is the result of changing light contributions from the metal-poor bulge and metal-rich disk. The chemodynamics of stellar populations encodes information about a galaxy’s chemical enrichment, star formation history, and merger history, allowing us to discuss new constraints on M31’s formation. Our results provide a stepping stone between our understanding of the Milky Way and other external galaxies.

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B. Gibson, G. Zasowski, A. Seth, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
52/60

Comments: N/A

The Nature of the Motions of Multiphase Filaments in the Centers of Galaxy Clusters [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09879


The intracluster medium (ICM) in the centers of galaxy clusters is heavily influenced by the “feedback” from supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Feedback can drive turbulence in the ICM and turbulent dissipation can potentially be an important source of heating. Due to the limited spatial and spectral resolutions of X-ray telescopes, direct observations of turbulence in the hot ICM have been challenging. Recently, we developed a new method to measure turbulence in the ICM using multiphase filaments as tracers. These filaments are ubiquitous in cluster centers and can be observed at very high resolution using optical and radio telescopes. We study the kinematics of the filaments by measuring their velocity structure functions (VSFs) over a wide range of scales in the centers of $\sim 10$ galaxy clusters. We find features of the VSFs that correlate with the SMBHs activities, suggesting that SMBHs are the main driver of gas motions in the centers of galaxy clusters. In all systems, the VSF is steeper than the classical Kolmogorov expectation and the slopes vary from system to system. One theoretical explanation is that the VSFs we have measured so far mostly reflect the motion of the driver (jets and bubbles) rather than the cascade of turbulence. We show that in Abell 1795, the VSF of the outer filaments far from the SMBH flattens on small scales to a Kolmogorov slope, suggesting that the cascade is only detectable farther out with the current telescope resolution. The level of turbulent heating computed at small scales is typically an order of magnitude lower than that estimated at the driving scale. Even though SMBH feedback heavily influences the kinematics of the ICM in cluster centers, the level of turbulence it drives is rather low, and turbulent heating can only offset $\lesssim10\%$ of the cooling loss, consistent with the findings of numerical simulations.

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S. Ganguly, Y. Li, V. Olivares, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
53/60

Comments: 21 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences: Thermal Imbalance and Multiphase Plasmas Across Scales: From the Solar Corona to the Intracluster Medium

The Detection of a Compact Radio Feature in a Seyfert Galaxy After an Accretion Rate Change [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10125


X-ray binaries are known to show state transitions related to accretion rate changes which are often accompanied with dramatic changes in the jet emission. However, it is not clear whether this characteristics of stellar-mass black hole systems can be scaled up to the accretion disk of active galactic nuclei. The Seyfert 1 galaxy, KUG 1141+371 has been showing a steadily increasing X-ray flux since 2007, and exhibited variability behaviour similar to the state transitions observed in X-ray binaries. It was hypothesised to undergo a rapid boost of mass accretion. If the X-ray binary analogy holds then the appearance of jet emission can also be expected in KUG 1141+371. While the source was not detected in the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-centimeters in 1994, it appears in the VLA Sky Survey in 2019 and at 22 GHz in a VLA observation in 2018 at mJy flux density level. Our VLBI observations revealed a compact, flat-spectrum radio feature. Its high brightness temperature indicates the radio emission originates from an AGN.

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K. Gabányi, K. Smith, S. Frey, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
54/60

Comments: 5 pages, 2 figures; to appear in the proceedings of the 15th European VLBI Network Symposium and Users’ Meeting (EVN2022), 11-15 July 2022, University College Cork, Ireland

A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era (ASPIRE): A First Look at the Rest-frame Optical Spectra of $z > 6.5$ Quasars Using JWST [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09888


Studies of rest-frame optical emission in quasars at $z>6$ have historically been limited by the wavelengths accessible by ground-based telescopes. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now offers the opportunity to probe this emission deep into the reionization epoch. We report the observations of eight quasars at $z>6.5$ using the JWST/NIRCam Wide Field Slitless Spectroscopy, as a part of the ”A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era (ASPIRE)” program. Our JWST spectra cover the quasars’ emission between rest frame $\sim$ 4100 and 5100 \r{A}. The profiles of these quasars’ broad H$\beta$ emission lines span a FWHM from 3000 to 6000 $\rm{km~s^{-1}}$. The H$\beta$-based virial black hole (BH) masses, ranging from 0.6 to 2.1 billion solar masses, are generally consistent with their MgII-based BH masses. The new measurements based on the more reliable H$\beta$ tracer thus confirm the existence of billion solar-mass BHs in the reionization epoch. In the observed [OIII] $\lambda\lambda$4960,5008 doublets of these luminous quasars, broad components are more common than narrow core components ($\le~1200~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$), and only one quasar shows stronger narrow components than broad. Two quasars exhibit significantly broad and blueshifted [OIII] emission, thought to trace galactic-scale outflows, with median velocities of $-610~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$ and $-1430~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$ relative to the [CII] $158\,\mu$m line. All eight quasars show strong optical FeII emission, and follow the Eigenvector 1 relations defined by low-redshift quasars. The entire ASPIRE program will eventually cover 25 quasars and provide a statistical sample for the studies of the BHs and quasar spectral properties.

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J. Yang, F. Wang, X. Fan, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
57/60

Comments: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

Accurate mass-radius ratios for Hyades white dwarfs [SSA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10485


We use the ESPRESSO spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope to measure velocity shifts and gravitational redshifts of eight bona fide Hyades white dwarfs, with an accuracy better than 1.5 percent. By comparing the gravitational redshift measurements of the mass-to-radius ratio with the same ratios derived by fitting the \textit{Gaia} photometry with theoretical models, we find an agreement to better than one per cent. It is possible to reproduce the observed white dwarf cooling sequence and the trend of the mass-to-radius ratios as a function of colour using isochrones with ages between 725 and 800 Myr, tuned for the Hyades. One star, EGGR\,29, consistently stands out in all diagrams, indicating that it is possibly the remnant of a blue straggler. We also computed mass-to-radius ratios from published gravities and masses, determined from spectroscopy. The comparison between photometric and spectroscopic stellar parameters reveals that spectroscopic effective temperature and gravity are systematically larger than the photometric values. Spectroscopic mass-to-radius ratios disagree with those measured from gravitational redshift, indicating the presence of systematics affecting the white dwarf parameters derived from the spectroscopic analysis.

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L. Pasquini, A. Pala, M. Salaris, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
58/60

Comments: MNRAS, accepted for pubblication

Anisotropic Satellite Galaxy Quenching: A Unique Signature of Energetic Feedback by Supermassive Black Holes? [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10403


The quenched fraction of satellite galaxies is aligned with the orientation of the halo’s central galaxy, such that on average, satellites form stars at a lower rate along the major axis of the central. This effect, called anisotropic satellite galaxy quenching (ASGQ), has been found in observational data and cosmological simulations. Analyzing the IllustrisTNG simulation, Mart\’in-Navarro et al. (2021) recently argued that ASGQ is caused by anisotropic energetic feedback and constitutes “compelling observational evidence for the role of black holes in regulating galaxy evolution.” In this letter, we study the causes of ASGQ in state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulations to evaluate this claim. We show that cosmological simulations predict that on average, satellite galaxies along the major axis of the dark matter halo tend to have been accreted at earlier cosmic times and are hosted by subhalos of larger peak halo masses. As a result, a modulation of the quenched fraction with respect to the major axis of the central galaxy is a natural prediction of hierarchical structure formation. We show that ASGQ is predicted by the UniverseMachine galaxy formation model, a model without anisotropic feedback. Furthermore, we demonstrate that even in the IllustrisTNG simulation, anisotropic satellite accretion properties are the main cause of ASGQ. Ultimately, we argue that ASGQ is not a reliable indicator of supermassive black hole feedback in galaxy formation simulations and, thus, should not be interpreted as such in observational data.

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J. Karp, J. Lange and R. Wechsler
Fri, 21 Apr 23
60/60

Comments: 7 pages, 4 figures; Submitted to ApJL; Comments welcome!

Exploring the impact of IMF and binary parameter stochasticity with a binary population synthesis code [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09549


Low mass star formation regions are unlikely to fully populate their initial mass functions, leading to a deficit of massive stars. In binary stellar populations, the full range of binary separations and mass ratios will also be underpopulated. To explore the effects of stochastic sampling in the integrated light of stellar clusters, we calculate models at a broad range of cluster masses, from 10^2 to 10^7 M_sun, using a binary stellar population synthesis code. For clusters with stellar masses less than 10^5 M_sun, observable quantities show substantial scatter and their mean properties reflect the expected deficit of massive stars. In common with previous work, we find that purely stochastic sampling of the initial mass function appears to underestimate the mass of the most massive star in known clusters. However, even with this constraint, the majority of clusters likely inject sufficient kinetic energy to clear their birth clusters of gas. For quantities which directly measure the impact of the most massive stars, such as N_{ion}, xi_{ion} and beta_{UV}, uncertainties due to stochastic sampling dominate over those from the IMF shape or distribution of binary parameters, while stochastic sampling has a negligible effect on the stellar continuum luminosity density.

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E. Stanway and J. Eldridge
Thu, 20 Apr 23
1/57

Comments: 15 pages and 8 page appendix. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Comment on "Observational Evidence for Cosmological Coupling of Black Holes and its Implications for an Astrophysical Source of Dark Energy" [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09817


It was recently claimed that black holes can explain the accelerated expansion of the universe. Here we point out that this claim is based on a confusion about the principle of least action, undermining the link between black holes and dark energy.

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T. Mistele
Thu, 20 Apr 23
12/57

Comments: 5 pages

Steep Balmer decrement in weak AGNs may be not caused by dust extinction: clues from low-luminosity AGNs and changing-look AGNs [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09435


The hydrogen Balmer decrement (e.g., $\rm H\alpha/H\beta$) is widely adopted as an indicator of the internal reddening of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This is challenged by some low-luminosity AGNs (LLAGNs) and changing-look AGNs (CLAGNs), which have steep Balmer decrement but without strong evidence for absorption. We compile a sample of normal AGNs and CLAGNs with a wider distribution of bolometric Eddington ratio ($\lambda_{\rm Edd}=L_{\rm bol}/L_{\rm Edd}$) and find a strong negative correlation between $\rm H\alpha/H\beta$ and $\lambda_{\rm Edd}$, which suggests that the Balmer decrement is also accretion-rate dependent. We further explore the Balmer decrement based on the photoionization model using the Cloudy code by considering spectral energy distribution (SED) from the accretion disk with different accretion rates (e.g., disk/corona and truncated disk at high and low Eddington ratios, respectively). Both the standard disk and truncated disk predict a negative correlation of $\rm H\alpha/H\beta-\lambda_{\rm Edd}$, where the relation is steeper in the case of the truncated disk. The negative correlations are also explored in two single CLAGNs. The measured negative correlation of $\rm H\alpha/H\beta$ — $\lambda_{\rm Edd}$ is mainly caused by the lower responsivity $({\rm dlog}L_{\rm line}/{\rm dlog}L_{\rm cont})$ in $\rm H\alpha$ relative to that in $\rm H\beta$, due to the larger optical depth in the former. We propose that the steep Balmer decrements in low-Eddington-ratio AGNs (e.g., some Seyferts 1.5-1.9 and CLAGNs) are not simply caused by absorption but mainly caused by the relatively low flux of ionizing photons.

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J. Wu, Q. Wu, H. Xue, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
15/57

Comments: 13 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Jellyfish galaxies with the IllustrisTNG simulations — When, where, and for how long does ram pressure stripping of cold gas occur? [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09196


Jellyfish galaxies are the prototypical examples of satellite galaxies undergoing strong ram pressure stripping (RPS). We analyze the evolution of 535 unique, first-infalling jellyfish galaxies from the TNG50 cosmological hydrodynamical galaxy simulation. These have been visually inspected to be undergoing RPS sometime in the past 5 billion years (since $z=0.5$), have satellite stellar masses $M_{\star}^{\rm sat}\sim10^{8-10.5}{\rm M}\odot$, and live in hosts with $M{\rm 200c}\sim10^{12-14.3}{\rm M}\odot$ at $z=0$. We quantify the cold gas $(\leq10^{4.5}$K) removal using the tracer particles, confirming that for these jellyfish, RPS is the dominant driver of cold gas loss after infall. Half of these jellyfish are completely devoid of cold gas by $z=0$, and these galaxies have earlier infall times and smaller satellite-to-host mass ratios than those that still have some gas today. RPS can act on jellyfish galaxies over long timescales of $\approx1.5-8$Gyr. Jellyfish in more massive hosts are impacted by RPS for a shorter time span and, at a fixed host halo mass, jellyfish with lower stellar masses at $z=0$ have shorter RPS time spans. While RPS may act for long periods of time, the peak RPS period — where at least 50% of the total RPS occurs — begins within $\approx1$Gyr of infall and lasts $\lesssim2$Gyr. During this period, the jellyfish are at host-centric distances between $\sim0.2-2R{\rm 200c}$, illustrating that much of RPS occurs at large distances from the host galaxy. Jellyfish continue forming stars until they have lost $\approx98$% of their cold gas. For groups and clusters in TNG50 $(M_{\rm 200c}\sim10^{13-14.3}{\rm M}\odot)$, jellyfish galaxies deposit more cold gas ($\sim10^{11-12}{\rm M}\odot$) into halos than exist in them at $z=0$, demonstrating that jellyfish, and in general satellite galaxies, are a significant source of cold gas accretion.

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E. Rohr, A. Pillepich, D. Nelson, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
16/57

Comments: 20 pages, 11 figures + 3 appendices with 4 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. Key figures are 2, 8, 9, 11. See additional jellyfish companion papers today on astro-ph: Zinger+ and Goeller+. All data used in this publication, including the Cosmological Jellyfish Project results, are publicaly available

Toward a better understanding of the mid-infrared emission in the LMC [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09519


In this paper we aim to constrain for the first time the dust emission in the mid-to-far infrared domain, in the LMC, with the use of the Spitzer IRS and MIPS SED data, combined with Herschel data. We also consider UV extinction predictions derived from modeling. We selected 10 regions observed as part of the SAGE-Spec program, to probe dust properties in various environments (diffuse, molecular and ionized regions). All data were smoothed to the 40arcsec angular resolution. The SEDs were modeled with DustEM models, using the standard Mathis RF, as well as three additional RFs, with stellar clusters ages ranging from 4 Myr to 600 Myr. Standard dust models used to reproduce the Galactic diffuse medium are clearly not able to reproduce the dust emission in the MIR wavelength domain. This analysis evidences the need of adjusting parameters describing the dust size distribution and shows a clear distinct behavior according to the type of environments. In addition, whereas the small grain emission always seems to be negligible at long wavelengths in our Galaxy, the contribution of this small dust component could be more important than expected, in the submm-mm range, in the LMC averaged SED. Properties of the small dust component of the LMC are clearly different from those of our Galaxy. Its abundance, significantly enhanced, could be the result of large grains shattering due to strong shocks or turbulence. In addition, this grain component in the LMC systematically shows smaller grain size in the ionized regions compared to the diffuse medium. Predictions of extinction curves show significantly distinct behaviors depending on the dust models but also from one region to another. Comparison of model predictions with the LMC mean extinction curve shows that no model gives satisfactory agreement using the Mathis radiation field while using a harder radiation field tends to improve the agreement

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D. Paradis, C. Mény, K. Demyk, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
18/57

Comments: Accepted for publication in A&A

Detecting and Characterizing Young Quasars. III. The Impact of Gravitational Lensing Magnification [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09256


We test the impact of gravitational lensing on the lifetime estimates of seven high-redshift quasars at redshift $z\gtrsim6$. The targeted quasars are identified by their small observed proximity zone sizes, which indicate extremely short quasar lifetimes $(t_Q\lesssim10^5 \text{ yrs})$. However, these estimates of quasar lifetimes rely on the assumption that the observed luminosities of the quasars are intrinsic and not magnified by gravitational lensing, which would bias the lifetime estimates towards younger ages. In order to test possible effects of gravitational lensing, we obtain high-resolution images of the seven quasars with the {\em Hubble Space Telescope (HST)} and look for signs of strong lensing. We do not find any evidence of strong lensing, i.e., all quasars are well-described by point sources, and no foreground lensing galaxy is detected. We estimate that the strong lensing probabilities for these quasars are extremely small $(\sim1.4\times10^{-5})$, and show that weak lensing changes the estimated quasar lifetimes by only $\lesssim0.2$ dex. We thus confirm that the short lifetimes of these quasars are intrinsic. The existence of young quasars indicates a high obscured fraction, radiatively inefficient accretion, and/or flickering light curves for high-redshift quasars. We further discuss the impact of lensing magnification on measurements of black hole masses and Eddington ratios of quasars.

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M. Yue, A. Eilers, R. Simcoe, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
20/57

Comments: 14 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal

The formation of the first black holes [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09311


The most massive black holes at redshifts z = 6 were already over billion solar masses. In this chapter, we discuss the formation and growth of the first black holes in the Universe. The deaths of massive primordial stars provide potential seeds of supermassive black holes. Theoretical models predict that the seed black hole masses range from 10 to 100,000 solar masses. Their initial fueling may be limited by feedback from its progenitor star, the black hole itself, and nearby star formation. Once the halo and galaxy surpasses a critical mass, black hole growth may accelerate as the central gravitational potential deepens with strong ensuing star formation.

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J. Wise
Thu, 20 Apr 23
24/57

Comments: 30 pages, 7 figures. This chapter is the pre-print of the version currently in production. Please cite this chapter as the following: J. H. Wise, “The formation of the first black holes,” in The Encyclopedia of Cosmology (Set 2): Black Holes, edited by Z. Haiman (World Scientific, New Jersey, 2023)

Internal kinematics and structure of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6569 [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09472


In the context of a project aimed at characterizing the properties of star clusters in the Galactic bulge, here we present the determination of the internal kinematics and structure of the massive globular cluster NGC 6569. The kinematics has been studied by means of an unprecedented spectroscopic dataset acquired in the context of the ESO-VLT Multi-Instrument Kinematic Survey (MIKiS) of Galactic globular clusters, combining the observations from four different spectrographs. We measured the line-of-sight velocity of a sample of almost 1300 stars distributed between ~0.8″ and 770″ from the cluster center. From a sub-sample of high-quality measures, we determined the velocity dispersion profile of the system over its entire radial extension (from ~ 5″ to ~ 200″ from the center), finding the characteristic behavior usually observed in globular clusters, with a constant inner plateau and a declining trend at larger radii. The projected density profile of the cluster has been obtained from resolved star counts, by combining high-resolution photometric data in the center, and the Gaia EDR3 catalog radially extended out to ~20′ for a proper sampling of the Galactic field background. The two profiles are properly reproduced by the same King model, from which we estimated updated values of the central velocity dispersion, main structural parameters (such as the King concentration, the core, half-mass, and tidal radii), total mass, and relaxation times. Our analysis also reveals a hint of ordered rotation in an intermediate region of the cluster (40″<r<90″, corresponding to $ 2 r_c<r<4.5 r_c$), but additional data are required to properly assess this possibility.

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C. Pallanca, S. Leanza, F. Ferraro, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
28/57

Comments: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal; 21 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables

RadioAstron Space VLBI Imaging of the jet in M87: I. Detection of high brightness temperature at 22 GHz [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09816


We present results from the first 22 GHz space very-long-baseline interferometric (VLBI) imaging observations of M87 by RadioAstron. As a part of the Nearby AGN Key Science Program, the source was observed in Feb 2014 at 22 GHz with 21 ground stations, reaching projected $(u,v)$-spacings up to $\sim11\,$G$\lambda$. The imaging experiment was complemented by snapshot RadioAstron data of M87 obtained during 2013–2016 from the AGN Survey Key Science Program. Their longest baselines extend up to $\sim25\,$G$\lambda$. For all these measurements, fringes are detected only up to $\sim$2.8 Earth Diameter or $\sim$3 G$\lambda$ baseline lengths, resulting in a new image with angular resolution of $\sim150\,\mu$as or $\sim20$ Schwarzschild radii spatial resolution. The new image not only shows edge-brightened jet and counterjet structures down to submilliarcsecond scales but also clearly resolves the VLBI core region. While the overall size of the core is comparable to those reported in the literature, the ground-space fringe detection and slightly super-resolved RadioAstron image suggest the presence of substructures in the nucleus, whose minimum brightness temperature exceeds $T_{\rm B, min}\sim10^{12}\,$K. It is challenging to explain the origin of this record-high $T_{\rm B, min}$ value for M87 by pure Doppler boosting effect with a simple conical jet geometry and known jet speed. Therefore, this can be evidence for more extreme Doppler boosting due to a blazar-like small jet viewing angle or highly efficient particle acceleration processes occurring already at the base of the outflow.

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J. Kim, T. Savolainen, P. Voitsik, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
29/57

Comments: 27 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

BUFFALO/Flashlights: Constraints on the abundance of lensed supergiant stars in the Spock galaxy at redshift 1 [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09222


We present a constraint on the abundance of supergiant (SG) stars at redshift z approx. 1, based on recent observations of a strongly lensed arc at this redshift. First we derive a free-form model of MACS J0416.1-2403 using data from the BUFFALO program. The new lens model is based on 72 multiply lensed galaxies that produce 214 multiple images, making it the largest sample of spectroscopically confirmed lensed galaxies on this cluster. The larger coverage in BUFFALO allows us to measure the shear up to the outskirts of the cluster, and extend the range of lensing constraints up to ~ 1 Mpc from the central region, providing a mass estimate up to this radius. As an application, we make predictions for the number of high-redshift multiply-lensed galaxies detected in future observations with JWST. Then we focus on a previously known lensed galaxy at z=1.0054, nicknamed Spock, which contains four previously reported transients. We interpret these transients as microcaustic crossings of SG stars and compute the probability of such events. Based on simplifications regarding the stellar evolution, we find that microlensing (by stars in the intracluster medium) of SG stars at z=1.0054 can fully explain these events. The inferred abundance of SG stars is consistent with either (1) a number density of stars with bolometric luminosities beyond the Humphreys-Davidson (HD) limit (L ~ $6\times10^5 L_{\odot}$) that is below 400 stars per sq. kpc, or (2) the absence of stars beyond the HD limit but with a SG number density of ~ 9000 per sq. kpc for stars with luminosities between $10^5$ and $6\times10^5$. This is equivalent to one SG star per 10×10 pc$^2$. We finally make predictions for future observations with JWST’s NIRcam. We find that in observations made with the F200W filter that reach 29 mag AB, if cool red SG stars exist at z~1 beyond the HD limit, they should be easily detected in this arc

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J. Diego, S. Li, A. Meena, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
31/57

Comments: 24 pages & 18 figures