Tag Archives: Astrophysics of Galaxies

The ALMA REBELS Survey: Discovery of a massive, highly star-forming and morphologically complex ULIRG at $z =7.31$ [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09206


We present Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) [CII] and $\sim158$ $\rm\mu m$ continuum observations of REBELS-25, a massive, morphologically complex ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG; $L_{\rm IR}=1.5^{+0.8}{-0.5}\times10^{12}$ L$\odot$) at $z=7.31$, spectroscopically confirmed by the Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey (REBELS) ALMA Large Programme. REBELS-25 has a significant stellar mass of $M_{*}=8^{+4}_{-2}\times10^{9}$ M$_\odot$. From dust-continuum and ultraviolet observations, we determine a total obscured + unobscured star formation rate of SFR $=199^{+101}_{-63}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. This is about four times the SFR estimated from an extrapolated main-sequence. We also infer a [CII]-based molecular gas mass of $M_{\rm H_2}=5.1^{+5.1}_{-2.6}\times10^{10}$ $M_\odot$, implying a molecular gas depletion time of $ t_{\rm depl, H_2}=0.3^{+0.3}_{-0.2}$ Gyr. We observe a [CII] velocity gradient consistent with disc rotation, but given the current resolution we cannot rule out a more complex velocity structure such as a merger. The spectrum exhibits excess [CII] emission at large positive velocities ($\sim500$ km s$^{-1}$), which we interpret as either a merging companion or an outflow. In the outflow scenario, we derive a lower limit of the mass outflow rate of 200 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, which is consistent with expectations for a star formation-driven outflow. Given its large stellar mass, SFR and molecular gas reservoir $\sim700$ Myr after the Big Bang, we explore the future evolution of REBELS-25. Considering a simple, conservative model assuming an exponentially declining star formation history, constant star formation efficiency, and no additional gas inflow, we find that REBELS-25 has the potential to evolve into a galaxy consistent with the properties of high-mass quiescent galaxies recently observed at $z\sim4$.

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A. Hygate, J. Hodge, E. Cunha, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
32/57

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 21 pages, 8 figures

Jellyfish galaxies with the IllustrisTNG simulations — No enhanced population-wide star formation according to TNG50 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09199


Due to ram-pressure stripping, jellyfish galaxies are thought to lose large amounts, if not all, of their interstellar medium. Nevertheless, some, but not all, observations suggest that jellyfish galaxies exhibit enhanced star formation compared to control samples, even in their ram pressure-stripped tails. We use the TNG50 cosmological gravity+magnetohydrodynamical simulation, with an average spatial resolution of 50-200 pc in the star-forming regions of galaxies, to quantify the star formation activity and rates (SFRs) of more than 700 jellyfish galaxies at $z=0-1$ with stellar masses $10^{8.3-11}\,\mathrm{M}\odot$ in hosts with mass $10^{11.5-14.3}\,\mathrm{M}\odot$. We extract their global SFRs, the SFRs within their main stellar body vs. within the tails, and we follow the evolution of the star formation along their individual evolutionary tracks. We compare the findings for jellyfish galaxies to those of diversely-constructed control samples, including against satellite and field galaxies with matched redshift, stellar mass, gas fraction and host halo mass. According to TNG50, star formation and ram-pressure stripping can indeed occur simultaneously within any given galaxy, and frequently do so. Moreover, star formation can also take place within the ram pressure-stripped tails, even though the latter is typically subdominant. However, TNG50 does not predict elevated population-wide SFRs in jellyfish compared to analog satellite galaxies with the same stellar mass or gas fraction. Simulated jellyfish galaxies do undergo bursts of elevated star formation along their history but, at least according to TNG50, these do not translate into a population-wide enhancement at any given epoch.

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J. Göller, G. Joshi, E. Rohr, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
34/57

Comments: 20 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, submitted to MNRAS. See additional jellyfish companion papers today on astro-ph: Zinger et al. and Rohr et al

3D simulations of AGB stellar winds — II. Ray-tracer implementation and impact of radiation on the outflow morphology [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09786


Stars with an initial mass below ~ 8 Msun evolve through the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase, during which they develop strong stellar winds. Recent observations have revealed significant morphological complexities in their outflows, most likely caused by a companion. We study the impact of the radiation force on such companion-perturbed AGB outflows. We present the implementation of a ray tracer for radiative transfer in smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and compared four different descriptions of radiative transfer: the free-wind, the geometrical, the Lucy, and the attenuation approximation. For both low and high mass-loss rates, the velocity profile of the outflow is modified when going from the free-wind to the geometrical approximation, also resulting in a different morphology. In the case of a low mass-loss rate, the effect of the Lucy and attenuation approximation is negligible due to the low densities but morphological differences appear in the high mass-loss rate regime. By comparing the radiative equilibrium temperature and radiation force to full 3D radiative transfer, we show that the Lucy approximation works best. Although, close to the companion, artificial heating occurs and it fails to simulate the shadow cast by the companion. The attenuation approximation produces a lower equilibrium temperature and weaker radiation force, but it produces the shadow cast by the companion. From the predictions of the 3D radiative transfer, we also conclude that a radially directed radiation force is a reasonable assumption. The radiation force thus plays a critical role in dust-driven AGB winds, impacting the velocity profile and morphological structures. For low mass-loss rates, the geometrical approximation suffices, while high mass-loss rates require a more rigorous method, where the Lucy approximation provides the most accurate results although not accounting for all effects.

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M. Esseldeurs, L. Siess, F. Ceuster, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
35/57

Comments: N/A

Investigation of Stellar Kinematics and Ionized gas Outflows in Local [U]LIRGs [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09425


We explore properties of stellar kinematics and ionized gas in a sample of 1106 local [U]LIRGs from the AKARI telescope. We combine data from $Wide-field\ Infrared\ Survey\ Explorer$ (WISE) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 13 (DR13) to fit the spectral energy distribution (SED) of each source to constrain the contribution of AGN to the total IR luminosity and estimate physical parameters such as stellar mass and star-formation rate (SFR). We split our sample into AGNs and weak/non-AGNs. We find that our sample is considerably above the main sequence. The highest SFRs and stellar masses are associated with ULIRGs. We also fit the H$\beta$ and H$\alpha$ regions to characterize the outflows. We find that the incidence of ionized gas outflows in AGN [U]LIRGs ($\sim$ 72\%) is much higher than that in weak/non-AGN ones ($\sim$ 39\%). The AGN ULIRGs have extreme outflow velocities (up to $\sim$ 2300 km s$^{-1}$) and high mass outflow rates (up to $\sim$ 60 \solarm~yr$^{-1}$). Our results suggest that starbursts are insufficient to produce such powerful outflows. We explore the correlations of SFR and specific SFR (sSFR) with ionized gas outflows. We find that AGN hosts with the highest SFRs exhibit a negative correlation between outflow velocity and sSFR. Therefore, in AGNs containing large amounts of gas, the negative feedback scenario might be suggested.

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A. Ayubinia, Y. Xue, H. Le, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
39/57

Comments: 20 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Does Feedback from Supermassive Blackhole Co-evolve With Host In Type 2 Quasars? [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09450


The feedback from accretion of central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is a hot topic in the co-evolution of the SMBHs and their host galaxies. By tracing the large scale outflow by the line profile and bulk velocity shift of $[ \rm O~{\scriptsize III}]~ \lambda 5007$, the evolutionary role of outflow is studied here on a large sample of 221 type 2 quasars (QSO2s) extracted from Reyes et al.
By following our previous study on local Seyfert 2 galaxies, the current spectral analysis on the SDSS spectroscopic database enables us to arrive at following results: (1) by using the Lick indices, we confirm that QSO2s are on average associated with younger stellar populations than Seyfert galaxies; (2) QSO2s with a stronger outflow are tend to be associated with a younger stellar population, which implies a coevolution between the feedback from SMBH and the host in QSO2s; (3) although an occupation at the high $L_{\rm bol}/L_{\rm Edd}$ end, the QSO2s follow the $L_{\rm bol}/L_{\rm Edd}$-$D_{n}(4000)$ sequence established from local, less-luminous Seyfert galaxies, which suggests a decrease of accretion activity of SMBH and feedback as the circumnuclear stellar population continuously ages.

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S. Jin, J. Wang, M. Kong, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
40/57

Comments: 15 pages, 8 figures, and 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

Efficient simulations of ionized ISM emission lines: A detailed comparison between the FIRE high-redshift suite and observations [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09261


The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the sub-millimeter and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in the infrared have achieved robust spectroscopic detections of emission lines from the interstellar medium (ISM) in some of the first galaxies. These unprecedented measurements provide valuable information regarding the ISM properties, stellar populations, galaxy morphologies, and kinematics in these high-redshift galaxies and, in principle, offer powerful tests of state-of-the-art galaxy formation models, as implemented in hydrodynamical simulations. To facilitate direct comparisons between simulations and observations, we develop a fast post-processing pipeline for predicting the line emission from the HII regions around simulated star particles, accounting for spatial variations in the surrounding gas density, metallicity, temperature, and incident radiation spectrum. Our ISM line emission model currently captures H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, and all of the [OIII] and [OII] lines targeted by ALMA and the JWST at $z>6$. We illustrate the power of this approach by applying our line emission model to the publicly available FIRE high-$z$ simulation suite and perform a detailed comparison with current observations. We show that the FIRE mass–metallicity relation is in $1\sigma$ agreement with ALMA/JWST measurements after accounting for the inhomogeneities in ISM properties. We also quantitatively validate the one-zone model description, which is widely used for interpreting [OIII] and H$\beta$ line luminosity measurements. This model is publicly available and can be implemented on top of a broad range of galaxy formation simulations for comparison with JWST and ALMA measurements.

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S. Yang, A. Lidz, A. Smith, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
41/57

Comments: 15 pages, 13 figures

Detection of a Super-Virial Hot Component in the Milky Way Circumgalactic Medium Along Multiple Sight-Lines by Using the Stacking Technique [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09641


The study of the elusive hot component ($T \gtrsim 10^7$ K) of the Milky Way circumgalactic medium (CGM) is a novel topic to understand Galactic formation and evolution. In this work, we use the stacking technique through 46 lines of sight with Chandra ACIS-S HETG totaling over 10Ms of exposure time and 9 lines of sight with ACIS-S LETG observations totaling over 1Ms of exposure time, to study in absorption the presence of highly ionized metals arising from the super-virial temperature phase of the CGM. Focusing in the spectral range $4 – 8$ $\r{A}$, we were able to confirm the presence of this hot phase with high significance. We detected transitions of Si XIV K$\alpha$ (with total significance of 6.0$\sigma$) and, for the first time, SXVI K (total significance 4.8$\sigma$) in the rest frame of our own Galaxy. For S XVI K$\alpha$ we found a column density of $1.50^{+0.44}_{-0.38} \times 10^{16} \mathrm{cm}^{-2}$. For Si XIV K$\alpha$ we measured a column density of $0.87\pm{0.16} \times 10^{16} \mathrm{cm}^{-2}$. The lines of sight used in this work are spread across the sky, probing widely separated regions of the CGM. Therefore, our results indicate that this newly discovered hot medium extends throughout the halo, and is not related only to the Galactic Bubbles. The hot gas location, distribution, and covering factor, however, remain unknown. This component might contribute significantly to the missing baryons and metals in the Milky Way.

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A. Lara-DI, S. Mathur, Y. Krongold, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
42/57

Comments: N/A

Investigating the large-scale environment of wide-angle tailed radio galaxies in the local Universe [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09192


We present a statistical analysis of the large-scale (up to 2 Mpc) environment of an homogeneous and complete sample, both in radio and optical selection, of wide-angle tailed radio galaxies (WATs) in the local Universe (i.e., with redshifts $z\lesssim$ 0.15). The analysis is carried out using the parameters obtained from cosmological neighbors within 2 Mpc of the target source. Results on WATs large-scale environments are then compared with that of Fanaroff-Riley type I (FR Is) and type II (FR IIs) radio galaxies, listed in two others homogeneous and complete catalogs, and selected with the same criterion adopted for the WATs catalog. We obtain indication that at low redshift WATs inhabit environments with a larger number of galaxies than that of FR Is and FR IIs. In the explored redshift range, the physical size of the galaxy group/cluster in which WATs reside appears to be almost constant with respect to FR Is and FR IIs, being around 1 Mpc. From the distribution of the concentration parameter, defined as the ratio between the number of cosmological neighbors lying within 500 kpc and within 1 Mpc, we conclude that WATs tend to inhabit the central region of the group/cluster in which they reside, in agreement with the general paradigm that WATs are the cluster BCG.

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V. Missaglia, A. Paggi, F. Massaro, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
43/57

Comments: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication on A&A

Jellyfish galaxies with the IllustrisTNG simulations — Citizen-science results towards large distances, low-mass hosts, and high redshifts [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09202


We present the “Cosmological Jellyfish” project – a citizen-science classification program to identify jellyfish galaxies within the IllustrisTNG cosmological simulations. Jellyfish (JF) are satellite galaxies that exhibit long trailing gas features — `tails’ — extending from their stellar body. Their distinctive morphology arises due to ram-pressure stripping (RPS) as they move through the background gaseous medium. Using the TNG50 and TNG100 simulations, we construct a sample of $\sim 80,000$ satellite galaxies spanning an unprecedented range of stellar masses, $10^{8.3-12.3}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$, and host masses of $M_\mathrm{200,c}=10^{10.4-14.6}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$ back to $z=2$ \citep[extending the work of][]{yun_jellyfish_2019}. Based on this sample, $\sim 90,000$ galaxy images were presented to volunteers in a citizen-science project on the Zooniverse platform who were asked to determine if each galaxy image resembles a jellyfish. Based on volunteer votes, each galaxy was assigned a score determining if it is a JF or not. This paper describes the project, the inspected satellite sample, the methodology, and the classification process that resulted in a dataset of $5,307$ visually-identified jellyfish galaxies. We find that JF galaxies are common in nearly all group- and cluster-sized systems, with the JF fraction increasing with host mass and decreasing with satellite stellar mass. We highlight JF galaxies in three relatively unexplored regimes: low-mass hosts of $M_\mathrm{200,c}\sim10^{11.5-13}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$, radial positions within hosts exceeding the virial radius $R_\mathrm{200,c}$, and at high redshift up to $z=2$. The full dataset of our jellyfish scores is publicly available and can be used to select and study JF galaxies in the IllustrisTNG simulations.

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E. Zinger, G. Joshi, A. Pillepich, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
45/57

Comments: submitted to MNRAS ; See additional jellyfish companion papers today on astro-ph: Rohr et al. and Goeller et al.; Jellyfish image gallery: this https URL

POLAR — I: linking the 21-cm signal from the epoch of reionization to galaxy formation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09508


To self-consistently model galactic properties, reionization of the intergalactic medium, and the associated 21-cm signal, we have developed the algorithm polar by integrating the one-dimensional radiative transfer code grizzly with the semi-analytical galaxy formation code L-Galaxies 2020. Our proof-of-concept results are consistent with observations of the star formation rate history, UV luminosity function and the CMB Thomson scattering optical depth. We then investigate how different galaxy formation models affect UV luminosity functions and 21-cm power spectra, and find that while the former are most sensitive to the parameters describing the merger of halos, the latter have a stronger dependence on the supernovae feedback parameters, and both are affected by the escape fraction model.

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Q. Ma, R. Ghara, B. Ciardi, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
46/57

Comments: MNRAS accepted

The [OIII] profiles of far-infrared active and non-active optically-selected green valley galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09284


We present a study of the $\rm{[OIII]\lambda\,5007}$ line profile in a sub-sample of 8 active galactic nuclei (AGN) and 6 non-AGN in the optically-selected green valley at $\rm{z\,<\,0.5}$ using long-slit spectroscopic observations with the 11 m Southern African Large Telescope. Gaussian decomposition of the line profile was performed to study its different components. We observe that the AGN profile is more complex than the non-AGN one. In particular, in most AGN (5/8) we detect a blue wing of the line. We derive the FWHM velocities of the wing and systemic component, and find that AGN show higher FWHM velocity than non-AGN in their core component. We also find that the AGN show blue wings with a median velocity width of approximately 600 $\rm{km\,s^{-1}}$, and a velocity offset from the core component in the range -90 to -350 $\rm{km\,s^{-1}}$, in contrast to the non-AGN galaxies, where we do not detect blue wings in any of their $\rm{[OIII]\lambda\,5007}$ line profiles. Using spatial information in our spectra, we show that at least three of the outflow candidate galaxies have centrally driven gas outflows extending across the whole galaxy. Moreover, these are also the galaxies which are located on the main sequence of star formation, raising the possibility that the AGN in our sample are influencing SF of their host galaxies (such as positive feedback). This is in agreement with our previous work where we studied SF, morphology, and stellar population properties of a sample of green valley AGN and non-AGN galaxies.

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A. Mahoro, P. Väisänen, M. Pović, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
50/57

Comments: 15 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

COMAP Early Science: VIII. A Joint Stacking Analysis with eBOSS Quasars [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09832


We present a new upper limit on the cosmic molecular gas density at $z=2.4-3.4$ obtained using the first year of observations from the CO Mapping Array Project (COMAP). COMAP data cubes are stacked on the 3D positions of 282 quasars selected from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) catalog, yielding a 95% upper limit for flux from CO(1-0) line emission of 0.210 Jy km/s. Depending on the assumptions made, this value can be interpreted as either an average CO line luminosity $L’\mathrm{CO}$ of eBOSS quasars of $\leq 7.30\times10^{10}$ K km pc$^2$ s$^{-1}$, or an average molecular gas density $\rho\mathrm{H_2}$ in regions of the universe containing a quasar of $\leq 2.02\times10^8$ M$\odot$ cMpc$^{-3}$. The $L’\mathrm{CO}$ upper limit falls among CO line luminosities obtained from individually-targeted quasars in the COMAP redshift range, and the $\rho_\mathrm{H_2}$ value is comparable to upper limits obtained from other Line Intensity Mapping (LIM) surveys and their joint analyses. Further, we forecast the values obtainable with the COMAP/eBOSS stack after the full 5-year COMAP Pathfinder survey. We predict that a detection is probable with this method, depending on the CO properties of the quasar sample. Based on these achieved sensitivities, we believe that this technique of stacking LIM data on the positions of traditional galaxy or quasar catalogs is extremely promising, both as a technique for investigating large galaxy catalogs efficiently at high redshift and as a technique for bolstering the sensitivity of LIM experiments, even with a fraction of their total expected survey data.

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D. Dunne, K. Cleary, P. Breysse, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
52/57

Comments: 15 pages, 8 figures. To be submitted to ApJ

FAST-ASKAP Synergy: Quantifying Coexistent Tidal and Ram-Pressure Strippings in the NGC 4636 Group [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09795


Combining new HI data from a synergetic survey of ASKAP WALLABY and FAST with the ALFALFA data, we study the effect of ram-pressure and tidal interactions in the NGC 4636 group. We develop two parameters to quantify and disentangle these two effects on gas stripping in HI-bearing galaxies: the strength of external forces at the optical-disk edge, and the outside-in extents of HI-disk stripping. We find that gas stripping is widespread in this group, affecting 80% of HI-detected non-merging galaxies, and that 34% are experiencing both types of stripping. Among the galaxies experiencing both effects, the strengths (and extents) of ram-pressure and tidal stripping are independent of each other. Both strengths are correlated with HI-disk shrinkage. The tidal strength is related to a rather uniform reddening of low-mass galaxies ($M_*<10^9\,\text{M}_\odot$) when tidal stripping is the dominating effect. In contrast, ram pressure is not clearly linked to the color-changing patterns of galaxies in the group. Combining these two stripping extents, we estimate the total stripping extent, and put forward an empirical model that can describe the decrease of HI richness as galaxies fall toward the group center. The stripping timescale we derived decreases with distance to the center, from $\mathord{\sim}1\,\text{Gyr}$ around $R_{200}$ to $\mathord{\lesssim}10\,\text{Myr}$ near the center. Gas-depletion happens $\mathord{\sim}3\,\text{Gyr}$ since crossing $2R_{200}$ for HI-rich galaxies, but much quicker for HI-poor ones. Our results quantify in a physically motivated way the details and processes of environmental-effects-driven galaxy evolution, and might assist in analyzing hydrodynamic simulations in an observational way.

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X. Lin, J. Wang, V. Kilborn, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
54/57

Comments: 44 pages, 22 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ. Tables 4 and 5 are also available in machine-readable form

The First Quiescent Galaxies in TNG300 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09392


We identify the first quiescent galaxies in TNG300, the largest volume of the IllustrisTNG cosmological simulation suite, and explore their quenching processes and time evolution to z=0. We find that the first quiescent galaxies with stellar masses M_* > 3 x 10^{10} M_sun and specific star formation rates sSFR < 10^{-11} yr^{-1} emerge at z~4.2 in TNG300. Suppression of star formation in these galaxies begins with a thermal mode of AGN feedback at z~6, and a kinetic feedback mode acts in each galaxy by z~4.7 to complete the quenching process, which occurs on a time-scale of ~0.35 Gyr. Surprisingly, we find that the majority of these galaxies are not the main progenitors of their z=0 descendants; instead, four of the five galaxies fall into more massive galaxies in subsequent mergers at a range of redshifts 2.5 < z < 0.2. By z=0, these descendants are the centres of galaxy clusters with average stellar masses of 8 x 10^{11} M_sun. We make predictions for the first quenched galaxies to be located by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

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A. Hartley, E. Nelson, K. Suess, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
55/57

Comments: 6 pages, 4 figures

Reionization history as a probe of primordial fluctuations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09474


We argue that observations of the reionization history such as the luminosity function of the Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters can be used as a probe of primordial density fluctuations, particularly on small scales. Although the primordial curvature perturbations are well constrained from measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies and large-scale structure, these observational data probe the curvature perturbations only on large scales, and hence its information on smaller scales will give us further insight on primordial fluctuations. Since the formation of early galaxies is sensitive to the amplitude of small-scale perturbations, and then, in turn, gives an impact on the reionization history, one can probe the primordial power spectrum on small scales through observations of reionization. In this work, we focus on the running spectral indices of the primordial power spectrum to characterize the small-scale perturbations, and investigate their constraints from observations of the luminosity function of the Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters. We show that the reionization, in combination with large-scale observations such as CMB, would be a useful tool to investigate primordial density fluctuations.

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T. Minoda, S. Yoshiura and T. Takahashi
Thu, 20 Apr 23
56/57

Comments: 20 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Comment welcome

JWST/NIRSpec Measurements of Extremely Low Metallicities in High Equivalent Width Lyman-$α$ Emitters [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08511


Deep VLT/MUSE optical integral field spectroscopy has recently revealed an abundant population of ultra-faint galaxies ($M_{UV} = -$15; 0.01 $L_{\star}$) at $z=$2.9$-$6.7 due to their strong Lyman-$\alpha$ emission. The implied Lyman-$\alpha$ equivalent widths are in excess of 100-200 Angstrom, challenging existing models of normal star formation and implying extremely young ages, small stellar masses, and a very low amount of metal enrichment. We use JWST/NIRSpec’s microshutter array to follow-up 45 of these galaxies (11h in G235M/F170LP and 7h in G395M/F290LP), as well as 45 lower-equivalent width Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters. Our spectroscopy covers the range 1.7$-$5.1 micron in order to target strong optical emission lines: H$\alpha$, [OIII], H$\beta$, and [NII]. Individual measurements as well as stacks reveal line ratios consistent with a metal poor nature (2$-$30% $Z_{\odot}$) and intense ionizing radiation fields. The galaxies with the highest equivalent widths of Lyman-$\alpha$, in excess of 120 Angstrom, have lower gas-phase metallicities than those with lower equivalent widths. This implies a selection based on Lyman-$\alpha$ equivalent width is an efficient technique for identifying younger, less chemically enriched systems.

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M. Maseda, Z. Lewis, J. Matthee, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
1/58

Comments: 13 pages, 4 appendices; submitted to AAS Journals

JWST CEERS probes the role of stellar mass and morphology in obscuring galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08517


A population of massive galaxies invisible or very faint in deep optical/near-infrared surveys, but brighter at longer wavelengths has been uncovered in the past years. However, the nature of these optically dark/faint galaxies (OFGs, among other nomenclatures) is highly uncertain. In this work, we investigate the drivers of dust attenuation in the JWST era. Particularly, we study the role of stellar mass, size, and orientation in obscuring star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at $3 < z < 7.5$, focusing on understanding why galaxies like OFGs are so faint at optical/near-infrared wavelengths. We find that stellar mass is the primary proxy of dust attenuation among those studied. Effective radius and axis ratio do not show a clear link with dust attenuation, with the effect of orientation close to random. However, there is a subset of highly dust attenuated ($A_V > 1$, typically) SFGs, of which OFGs are a specific case. For this subset, we find that the key distinctive feature is their compact size (for massive systems with $\log (M_{*}/M_{\odot}) > 10$), exhibiting 30% smaller effective radius than the average SFGs at the same stellar mass and redshift. On the contrary, they do not exhibit a preference for low axis ratios (i.e., edge-on disks). The results in this work show stellar mass as a primary proxy of dust attenuation and compact stellar light profiles behind thick dust columns obscuring typical massive SFGs.

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C. Gómez-Guijarro, B. Magnelli, D. Elbaz, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
3/58

Comments: Submitted to A&A. 13 pages, 9 figures

JADES: Insights on the low-mass end of the mass–metallicity–star-formation rate relation at $3 < z < 10$ from deep JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08516


We analyse the gas-phase metallicity properties of a sample of 66 low stellar mass (log M/M_sun < 8.5) galaxies at 3<z<10, observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the JADES programme in its deep GOODS-S tier. By combining this sample with more massive galaxies at similar redshifts from other programmes, we study the scaling relations between stellar mass (M), oxygen abundance (O/H), and star-formation rate (SFR) across three orders of magnitude in mass out to the epoch of early galaxy assembly. We find evidence for a shallower slope at the low-mass-end of the mass-metallicity relation (MZR), with 12 + log(O/H) = (7.88 +- 0.03) + (0.17 +- 0.04) log(M/10^8 M_sun), in good agreement with the MZR probed by local analogues of high-redshift systems like green pea' andblueberry’ galaxies. The inferred slope is well matched by models including `momentum-driven’ SNe winds, suggesting that feedback mechanisms in dwarf galaxies (and at high-z) might be different from those in place at higher masses. The evolution in the normalisation is instead observed to be relatively mild compared to previous determinations of the MZR at z~3 (~0.1-0.2 dex on average). We also find a progressive deviation from the local fundamental metallicity relation (FMR) as a function of redshift, especially at z>6, with galaxies significantly less enriched (by ~0.4 dex on average) than predicted given their M and SFR. These observations are consistent with an enhanced stochasticity in the accretion rate from the cosmic web, and/or with an increased efficiency in metal removals by outflows, prompting us to reconsider the nature of the relationship between M*, O/H, and SFR in the early Universe.

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M. Curti, R. Maiolino, S. Carniani, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
7/58

Comments: Submitted to A&A. Comments are welcome

A Sun-like star orbiting a boson star [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09140


The high-precision astrometric mission GAIA recently reported the remarkable discovery of a Sun-like star closely orbiting a dark object, with a semi-major axis and period of $1.4\, \rm{AU}$ and $187.8$ days respectively. While the plausible expectation for the central dark object is a black hole, the evolutionary mechanism leading to the formation of such a two-body system is highly challenging. Here, we challenge the scenario of a central black hole and show that the observed orbital dynamics can be explained under fairly general assumptions if the central dark object is a stable clump of bosonic particles of spin-0, or spin-1, known as a boson star. We further explain how future astrometric measurements of similar systems will provide an exciting opportunity to probe the fundamental nature of compact objects and test compact alternatives to black holes.

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A. Pombo and I. Saltas
Wed, 19 Apr 23
8/58

Comments: 11 pages, 4 figures. Comments are very welcome

The Way of Water: ALMA resolves H2O emission lines in a strongly lensed dusty star-forming galaxy at z $\sim$ 3.1 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08563


We report ALMA high-resolution observations of water emission lines $p-{\rm{H_2O}} (2_{02}-1_{11}$), $o-{\rm{H_2O}} (3_{21}-3_{12})$, $p-{\rm{H_2O}} (4_{22}-4_{13})$, in the strongly lensed galaxy HATLASJ113526.2-01460 at redshift z $\sim$ 3.1. From the lensing-reconstructed maps of water emission and line profiles, we infer the general physical properties of the ISM in the molecular clouds where the lines arise. We find that the water vapor lines $o-{\rm{H_2O}} (3_{21}-3_{12})$, $p-{\rm{H_2O}} (4_{22}-4_{13})$ are mainly excited by FIR pumping from dust radiation in a warm and dense environment, with dust temperatures ranging from 70 K to $\sim 100$ K, as suggested by the line ratios. The $p-{\rm{H_2O}} (2_{02}-1_{11})$ line instead, is excited by a complex interplay between FIR pumping and collisional excitation in the dense core of the star-forming region. This scenario is also supported by the detection of the medium-level excitation of CO resulting in the line emission CO (J=8-7). Thanks to the unprecedented high resolution offered by the combination of ALMA capabilities and gravitational lensing, we discern the different phases of the ISM and locate the hot molecular clouds into a physical scale of $\sim$ 500 pc. We discuss the possibility of J1135 hosting an AGN in its accretion phase. Finally, we determine the relation between the water emission lines and the total IR luminosity of J1135, as well as the SFR as a function of water emission intensities, comparing the outcomes to local and high-$z$ galactic samples from the literature.

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F. Perrotta, M. Giulietti, M. Massardi, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
9/58

Comments: 23 pages, 13 figures, to be published in Astrophysical Journal

Cosmo-tomography toward PKS1830-211: Variability of the quasar and of its foreground molecular absorption monitored with ALMA [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09002


Time variability of astronomical sources provides crude information on their typical size and on the implied physical mechanisms. PKS1830-211 is a remarkable radio-bright lensed quasar with a foreground molecular absorber at z=0.89. Small-scale morphological changes in the core-jet structure of the quasar — which is magnified by the lensing — result in a varying illumination of the absorber screen, which in turn causes variations in the absorption profile. We aim to study the time variations of the system […] in order to obtain constraints on both the quasar activity and small-scale structures in the ISM of the absorber. We used ALMA to monitor the submm continuum emission, together with the absorption spectra of the H2O and CH molecules, with 17 visits spread over six months in 2016. […] From the continuum data, we followed the evolution of the flux density, flux-density ratio, spectral index, and differential polarization between the two lensed images of the quasar; all quantities show significant variations related to the intrinsic activity of the quasar. We propose a simple parametric model of a core plus a ballistic plasmon to account for the continuum evolution, from which we constrain a time delay of 25+/-3~days between lensed images. The spectral lines reveal significant variations in the foreground absorption. A PCA highlights apparent wavy time variations, possibly linked to the helical jet precession period of the quasar. From the deep averaged spectra towards the SW image, we detect the absorption of 13CH and estimate an abundance ratio of 12CH/13CH~150. We also measure the oxygen isotopic ratios, 16O/18O=65.3+/-0.7 and 18O/17O=11.5+/-0.5. Finally, we find a remarkable continuous shallow trough in the water absorption spanning a velocity interval of nearly 500 km/s. This broad absorption could be the signature of an extra-planar molecular component. [Abridged]

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S. Muller, I. Marti-Vidal, F. Combes, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
10/58

Comments: Accepted for publication in A&A

An Updated Dust-to-Star Geometry: Dust Attenuation Does Not Depend on Inclination in $1.3\leq z\leq 2.6$ Star-Forming Galaxies from MOSDEF [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08521


We investigate dust attenuation and its dependence on viewing angle for 308 star-forming galaxies at $1.3\leq z\leq2.6$ from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey. We divide galaxies with a detected H$\alpha$ emission line and coverage of H$\beta$ into eight groups by stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), and inclination (i.e., axis ratio), then stack their spectra. From each stack, we measure Balmer decrement and gas-phase metallicity, then we compute median \AV and UV continuum spectral slope ($\beta$). First, we find that none of the dust properties (Balmer decrement, \AV, $\beta$) vary with axis ratio. Second, both stellar and nebular attenuation increase with increasing galaxy mass, showing little residual dependence on SFR or metallicity. Third, nebular emission is more attenuated than stellar emission, and this difference grows even larger at higher galaxy masses and SFRs. Based on these results, we propose a three-component dust model where attenuation predominantly occurs in star-forming regions and large, dusty star-forming clumps, with minimal attenuation in the diffuse ISM. In this model, nebular attenuation primarily originates in clumps, while stellar attenuation is dominated by star-forming regions. Clumps become larger and more common with increasing galaxy mass, creating the above mass trends. Finally, we argue that a fixed metal yield naturally leads to mass regulating dust attenuation. Infall of low-metallicity gas increases SFR and lowers metallicity, but leaves dust column density mostly unchanged. We quantify this idea using the Kennicutt-Schmidt and fundamental metallicity relations, showing that galaxy mass is indeed the primary driver of dust attenuation.

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B. Lorenz, M. Kriek, A. Shapley, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
13/58

Comments: 19 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The Physics of Indirect Estimators of Lyman Continuum Escape and their Application to High-Redshift JWST Galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08526


Reliable indirect diagnostics of LyC photon escape from galaxies are required to understand which sources were the dominant contributors to reionization. While multiple escape fraction ($f_{\rm esc}$) indicators have been proposed to trace favourable conditions for LyC leakage from the interstellar medium of low-redshift “analog” galaxies, it remains unclear whether these are applicable at high redshifts where LyC emission cannot be directly observed. Using a library of 14,120 mock spectra of star-forming galaxies with redshifts $4.64 \leq z \leq 10$ from the SPHINX$^{20}$ cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulation, we develop a framework for the physics that leads to high $f_{\rm esc}$. We investigate LyC leakage from our galaxies based on the criteria that successful LyC escape diagnostics must \textit{i)} track a high specific star formation rate, \textit{ii)} be sensitive to stellar population age in the range $3.5-10$~Myr representing the times when supernova first explode to when LyC production significantly drops, and \textit{iii)} include a proxy for neutral gas content and gas density in the interstellar medium. ${\rm O}{32}$, $\Sigma{\rm SFR}$, M${\rm UV}$, and H$\beta$ equivalent width select for one or fewer of our criteria, rendering them either necessary but insufficient or generally poor diagnostics. In contrast, UV slope ($\beta$), and ${\rm E(B-V)}$ match two or more of our criteria, rendering them good $f{\rm esc}$ diagnostics (albeit with significant scatter). Using our library, we build a quantitative model for predicting $f_{\rm esc}$ based on $\beta$, ${\rm E(B-V)}$, H$\beta$, M${\rm UV}$, ${\rm R{23}}$, and ${\rm O_{32}}$. When applied to bright $z > 6$ Ly$\alpha$ emitters observed with JWST, we find that the majority of them have $f_{\rm esc} \lesssim 10\%$.

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N. Choustikov, H. Katz, A. Saxena, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
15/58

Comments: 16 pages, 15 figures, 1 table, submitted to MNRAS

The role of mass and environment in the build up of the quenched galaxy population since cosmic noon [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09169


We conduct the first study of how the relative quenching probability of galaxies depends on environment over the redshift range $0.5 < z < 3$, using data from the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey. By constructing the stellar mass functions for quiescent and post-starburst (PSB) galaxies in high, medium and low density environments to $z = 3$, we find an excess of quenched galaxies in dense environments out to at least $z \sim 2$. Using the growth rate in the number of quenched galaxies, combined with the star-forming galaxy mass function, we calculate the probability that a given star-forming galaxy is quenched per unit time. We find a significantly higher quenching rate in dense environments (at a given stellar mass) at all redshifts. Massive galaxies (M$* > 10^{10.7}$ M${\odot}$) are on average 1.7 $\pm$ 0.2 times more likely to quench per Gyr in the densest third of environments compared to the sparsest third. Finally, we compare the quiescent galaxy growth rate to the rate at which galaxies pass through a PSB phase. Assuming a visibility timescale of 500 Myr, we find that the PSB route can explain $\sim$ 50\% of the growth in the quiescent population at high stellar mass (M$* > 10^{10.7}$ M${\odot}$) in the redshift range $0.5 < z < 3$, and potentially all of the growth at lower stellar masses.

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E. Taylor, O. Almaini, M. Merrifield, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
16/58

Comments: 12 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Galaxy pairs in The Three Hundred simulations II: studying bound ones and identifying them via machine learning [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08898


Using the data set of The Three Hundred project, i.e. 324 hydrodynamical resimulations of cluster-sized haloes and the regions of radius 15 $h^{-1}$Mpc around them, we study galaxy pairs in high-density environments. By projecting the galaxies’ 3D coordinates onto a 2D plane, we apply observational techniques to find galaxy pairs. Based on a previous theoretical study on galaxy groups in the same simulations, we are able to classify the observed pairs into “true” or “false”, depending on whether they are gravitationally bound or not. We find that the fraction of true pairs (purity) crucially depends on the specific thresholds used to find the pairs, ranging from around 30 to more than 80 per cent in the most restrictive case. Nevertheless, in these very restrictive cases, we see that the completeness of the sample is low, failing to find a significant number of true pairs. Therefore, we train a machine learning algorithm to help us to identify these true pairs based on the properties of the galaxies that constitute them. With the aid of the machine learning model trained with a set of properties of all the objects, we show that purity and completeness can be boosted significantly using the default observational thresholds. Furthermore, this machine learning model also reveals the properties that are most important when distinguishing true pairs, mainly the size and mass of the galaxies, their spin parameter, gas content and shape of their stellar components.

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A. Contreras-Santos, A. Knebe, W. Cui, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
18/58

Comments: 20 pages, 8 figures. Published in MNRAS

First constraints of dense molecular gas at z~7.5 from the quasar Pōniuā'ena [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09129


We report the detection of CO(6-5) and CO(7-6) and their underlying continua from the host galaxy of quasar J100758.264+211529.207 (P\=oniu\=a’ena) at z=7.5419, obtained with the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA). P\=oniu\=a’ena belongs to the HYPerluminous quasars at the Epoch of ReionizatION (HYPERION) sample of 17 $z>6$ quasars selected to be powered by supermassive black holes (SMBH) which experienced the fastest mass growth in the first Gyr of the Universe. The one reported here is the highest-redshift measurement of the cold and dense molecular gas to date. The host galaxy is unresolved and the line luminosity implies a molecular reservoir of $\rm M(H_2)=(2.2\pm0.2)\times 10^{10}$ $\rm M_\odot$, assuming a CO spectral line energy distribution typical of high-redshift quasars and a conversion factor $\alpha=0.8$ $\rm M_{\odot} (K\,km \, s^{-1} \,pc^{2})^{-1} $. We model the cold dust spectral energy distribution (SED) to derive a dust mass of M${\rm dust} =(2.1\pm 0.7)\times 10^8$ $\rm M\odot$, and thus a gas to dust ratio $\sim100$. Both the gas and dust mass are not dissimilar from the reservoir found for luminous quasars at $z\sim6$. We use the CO detection to derive an estimate of the cosmic mass density of $\rm H_2$, $\Omega_{H_2} \simeq 1.31 \times 10^{-5}$. This value is in line with the general trend suggested by literature estimates at $ z < 7 $ and agrees fairly well with the latest theoretical expectations of non-equilibrium molecular-chemistry cosmological simulations of cold gas at early times.

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C. Feruglio, U. Maio, R. Tripodi, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
20/58

Comments: Submitted to ApJ Letters

Current and Future constraints on Very-Light Axion-Like Particles from X-ray observations of cluster-hosted Active Galaxies [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08513


We discuss our recent constraints on the coupling of Very-Light Axion-Like Particles (of masses $<$$ 10^{-12} \ \mathrm{eV}$) to electromagnetism from $Chandra$ observations of the cluster-hosted Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) H1821+643 and NGC1275. In both cases, the inferred high-quality AGN spectra excluded all photon-ALP couplings $g_\mathrm{a\gamma} > (6.3 – 8.0) \times 10^{-13} \ {\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$ at the $99.7\%$ level, respectively, based on the non-detection of spectral distortions attributed to photon-ALP inter-conversion along the cluster line-of-sight. Finally, we present the prospects of tightening current bounds on such ALPs by up to a factor of 10 with next-generation X-ray observatories such as $Athena$, $AXIS$ and $LEM$ given their improved spectral and spatial resolution and collecting area compared to current missions.

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J. Sisk-Reynes, C. Reynolds and J. Matthews
Wed, 19 Apr 23
22/58

Comments: 4 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication to Memorie della SAIt for the Proceedings of the European Astronomical Society 2022 (EAS 2022) Annual Meeting Symposium S3 “The Dark matter multi-messenger challenge”

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury XX: The Disk of M31 is Thick [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08613


We present a new approach to measuring the thickness of a partially face-on stellar disk, using dust geometry. In a moderately-inclined disk galaxy, the fraction of reddened stars is expected to be 50% everywhere, assuming that dust lies in a thin midplane. In a thickened disk, however, a wide range of radii project onto the line of sight. Assuming stellar density declines with radius, this geometrical projection leads to differences in the numbers of stars on the near and far sides of the thin dust layer. The fraction of reddened stars will thus differ from the 50% prediction, with a deviation that becomes larger for puffier disks. We map the fraction of reddened red giant branch (RGB) stars across M31, which shows prominent dust lanes on only one side of the major axis. The fraction of reddened stars varies systematically from 20% to 80%, which requires that these stars have an exponential scale height h_z that is 0.14+/-0.015 times the exponential scale length (h_r~5.5kpc). M31’s RGB stars must therefore have h_z=770+/-80pc, which is far thicker than the Milky Way’s thin disk, but comparable to its thick disk. The lack of a significant thin disk in M31 is unexpected, but consistent with its interaction history and high disk velocity dispersion. We suggest that asymmetric reddening be used as a generic criteria for identifying “thick disk” dominated systems, and discuss prospects for future 3-dimensional tomographic mapping of the gas and stars in M31.

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J. Dalcanton, E. Bell, Y. Choi, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
32/58

Comments: 22 pages. Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal

Physical cool-core condensation radius in massive galaxy clusters [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08810


We investigate the properties of cool cores in an optimally selected sample of 37 massive and X-ray-bright galaxy clusters, with regular morphologies, observed with Chandra. We measured the density, temperature, and abundance radial profiles of their intracluster medium (ICM). From these independent quantities, we computed the cooling (tcool) free-fall (tff), and turbulence (teddy) timescales as a function of radius. By requiring the profile-crossing condition, tcool=teddy=1, we measured the cool-core condensation radius Rccc, within which the balancing feeding and feedback processes generate the turbulent condensation rain and related chaotic cold accretion (CCA). We also constrained the complementary (quenched) cooling flow radius Rqcf, obtained via the condition tcool=25Xtff, that encompasses the region of thermally unstable cooling. We find that in our cluster sample and in the limited redshift range considered (1.3E14<M500<16.6E14 Msun, 0.03<z<0.29), the distribution of Rccc peaks at 0.01r500 and the entire range remains below 0.07r500, with a very weak increase with redshift and no dependence on the cluster mass. We find that Rqcf is typically 3 times larger than Rccc, with a wider distribution, and growing more slowly along Rccc, according to an average relation Rqcf~Rccc^(0.46), with a large intrinsic scatter. We suggest that this sublinear relation can be understood as an effect of the micro rain of pockets of cooled gas flickering in the turbulent ICM, whose dynamical and thermodynamical properties are referred to as “macro weather”. Substituting the classical cool-core radius R(7.7Gyr), we propose that Rqcf is an indicator of the size of the global cores tied to the long-term macro weather, with the inner Rccc closely tracing the effective condensation rain and chaotic cold accretion (CCA) zone that feeds the central supermassive black hole.

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L. Wang, P. Tozzi, H. Yu, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
33/58

Comments: A&A, in press, 25 pages, 8 figures

Persistent and occasional: searching for the variable population of the ZTF/4MOST sky using ZTF data release 11 [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08519


We present a variability, color and morphology based classifier, designed to identify transients, persistently variable, and non-variable sources, from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Data Release 11 (DR11) light curves of extended and point sources. The main motivation to develop this model was to identify active galactic nuclei (AGN) at different redshift ranges to be observed by the 4MOST ChANGES project. Still, it serves as a more general time-domain astronomy study. The model uses nine colors computed from CatWISE and PS1, a morphology score from PS1, and 61 single-band variability features computed from the ZTF DR11 g and r light curves. We trained two versions of the model, one for each ZTF band. We used a hierarchical local classifier per parent node approach, where each node was composed of a balanced random forest model. We adopted a 17-class taxonomy, including non-variable stars and galaxies, three transient classes, five classes of stochastic variables, and seven classes of periodic variables. The macro averaged precision, recall and F1-score are 0.61, 0.75, and 0.62 for the g-band model, and 0.60, 0.74, and 0.61, for the r-band model. When grouping the four AGN classes into one single class, its precision, recall, and F1-score are 1.00, 0.95, and 0.97, respectively, for both the g and r bands. We applied the model to all the sources in the ZTF/4MOST overlapping sky, avoiding ZTF fields covering the Galactic bulge, including 86,576,577 light curves in the g-band and 140,409,824 in the r-band. Only 0.73\% of the g-band light curves and 2.62\% of the r-band light curves were classified as stochastic, periodic, or transient with high probability ($P_{init}\geq0.9$). We found that, in general, more reliable results are obtained when using the g-band model. Using the latter, we identified 384,242 AGN candidates, 287,156 of which have $P_{init}\geq0.9$.

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P. Sánchez-Sáez, J. Arredondo, A. Bayo, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
35/58

Comments: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Abstract shortened for arXiv. Tables containing the classifications and features for the ZTF g and r bands, and the labeled sets will be available at CDS. Individual catalogs per class and band, as well as the labeled set catalogs, can be downloaded at Zenodo DOI:10.5281/zenodo.7826045

Catching Tidal Dwarf Galaxies at a Later Evolutionary Stage with ALFALFA [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08552


We present deep optical imaging and photometry of four objects classified as “Almost-Dark” galaxies in the ALFALFA survey because of their gas-rich nature and extremely faint or missing optical emission in existing catalogs. They have HI masses of $10^7$-$10^9$ $M_{\odot}$ and distances of $\sim$9-100 Mpc. Observations with the WIYN 3.5m telescope and One Degree Imager reveal faint stellar components with central surface brightnesses of $\sim$24-25 $\mathrm{mag}\,\mathrm{arcsec}^{-2}$ in the g-band. We also present the results of HI synthesis observations with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. These Almost-Dark galaxies have been identified as possible tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) based on their proximity to one or more massive galaxies. We demonstrate that AGC 229398 and AGC 333576 likely have the low dark matter content and large effective radii representative of TDGs. They are located much farther from their progenitors than previously studied TDGs, suggesting they are older and more evolved. AGC 219369 is likely dark matter dominated, while AGC 123216 has a dark matter content that is unusually high for a TDG, but low for a normal dwarf galaxy. We consider possible mechanisms for the formation of the TDG candidates such as a traditional major merger scenario and gas ejection from a high velocity fly-by. Blind HI surveys like ALFALFA enable the detection of gas-rich, optically faint TDGs that can be overlooked in other surveys, thereby providing a more complete census of the low-mass galaxy population and an opportunity to study TDGs at a more advanced stage of their life cycle.

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L. Gray, K. Rhode, L. Leisman, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
39/58

Comments: 38 pages, 26 figures. Accepted by AJ

Star formation in the dwarf Seyfert galaxy NGC 4395: Evidence for both AGN and SNe feedback? [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08986


We present a detailed multi-wavelength study of star formation in the dwarf galaxy NGC 4395 which hosts an active galactic nucleus (AGN). From our observations with the Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope, we have compiled a catalogue of 284 star forming (SF) regions, out of which we could detect 120 SF regions in H$\alpha$ observations. Across the entire galaxy, we found the extinction corrected star formation rate (SFR) in the far ultra-violet (FUV) to range from 2.0 $\times$ 10$^{-5}$ M$\odot$yr$^{-1}$ to 1.5 $\times$ 10$^{-2}$ M$\odot$yr$^{-1}$ with a median of 3.0 $\times$ 10$^{-4}$ M$\odot$yr$^{-1}$ and age to lie in the range of $\sim$ 1 to 98 Myr with a median of 14 Myr. In H$\alpha$ we found the SFR to range from 7.2 $\times$ 10$^{-6}$ M$\odot$yr$^{-1}$ to 2.7 $\times$ 10$^{-2}$ M$\odot$yr$^{-1}$ with a median of 1.7 $\times$ 10$^{-4}$ M$\odot$yr$^{-1}$ and age to lie between 3 to 6 Myr with a median of 5 Myr. The stellar ages derived from H$\alpha$ show a gradual decline with galactocentric distance. We found three SF regions close to the center of NGC~4395 with high SFR both from H$\alpha$ and UV which could be attributed to feedback effects from the AGN. We also found six other SF regions in one of the spiral arms having higher SFR. These are very close to supernovae remnants which could have enhanced the SFR locally. We obtained a specific SFR (SFR per unit mass) for the whole galaxy 4.64 $\times$ 10$^{-10}$ yr$^{-1}$.

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P. Nandi, C. Stalin, D. Saikia, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
47/58

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

Emerging planetary nebulae within 3D spiral patterns [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08668


We present the first 3D radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of the formation of planetary nebulae (PNe) emerging from 3D spiral patterns. We use the GUACHO code to create 3D spiral structures as a consequence of the distortions on the geometry of the intrinsically isotropic wind of an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star produced by a companion star in a circular orbit. We found that the orbital period of the binary producing the 3D spiral pattern has consequences on the formation and shaping of the PN itself. Stellar systems with longer period create less entwined 3D spirals, producing PNe with rounder inner cavities, and prevent the expansion of jet towards the polar directions. The spiral fitting procedure used in the literature to predict the binary’s orbital period may be misleading in the case of proto-PNe and PNe as spiral patterns are diluted by their own thermal expansion down to the average AGB density profile within a few hundred years and are further disrupted by the action of jets. By adopting a phase of jet ejections between the AGB and post-AGB stages, we are able to recover the morphologies of proto-PNe and PNe that exhibit ring-like structures in their halos.

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V. Lora, J. Toalá, J. González-Carbajal, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
54/58

Comments: 12 pages, 12 figures, 1 table; Accepted to MNRAS

The effect of the LMC on the Milky Way system [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09136


We review the recent theoretical and observational developments concerning the interaction of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with the Milky Way and its neighbourhood. An emerging picture is that the LMC is a fairly massive companion (10-20% of the Milky Way mass) and just passed the pericentre of its orbit, likely for the first time. The gravitational perturbation caused by the LMC is manifested at different levels. The most immediate effect is the deflection of orbits of stars, stellar streams or satellite galaxies passing in the vicinity of the LMC. Less well known but equally important is the displacement (reflex motion) of central regions of the Milky Way about the centre of mass of both galaxies. Since the Milky Way is not a rigid body, this displacement varies with the distance from the LMC, and as a result, the Galaxy is deformed and its outer regions (beyond a few tens kpc) acquire a net velocity with respect to its centre. These phenomena need to be taken into account at the level of precision warranted by current and future observational data, and improvements on the modelling side are also necessary for an adequate interpretation of these data.

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E. Vasiliev
Wed, 19 Apr 23
57/58

Comments: review article (30 pages)

The cosmic waltz of Coma Berenices and Latyshev 2 (Group X). Membership, phase-space structure, mass, and energy distributions [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08618


Context. Open clusters (OCs) are fundamental benchmarks where theories of star formation and stellar evolution can be tested and validated. Coma Ber and Latyshev 2 (Group X) are the second and third OCs closest to the Sun, making them excellent targets to search for low-mass stars and ultra-cool dwarfs. In addition, this pair will experience a flyby in 10-16 Myr which makes it a benchmark to test OCs pair interactions. Aims. We aim at analysing the membership, luminosity, mass, phase-space (i.e., positions and velocities), and energy distributions for Coma Ber and Latyshev 2 and test the hypothesis of the mixing of their populations at the encounter time. Methods. We develop a new phase-space membership methodology and apply it to Gaia data. With the recovered members we infer the phase-space, luminosity and mass distributions using publicly available Bayesian inference codes. Then, with a publicly available orbit integration code and members’ positions and velocities, we integrate their orbits 20 Myr into the future. Results. In Coma Ber, we identify 302 candidate members distributed in the core and tidal tails. The tails are dynamically cold and asymmetrically populated. The stellar system called Group X is made of two structures: the disrupted OC Latyshev 2 (186 candidate members) and a loose stellar association called Mecayotl 1 (146 candidate members), both of them will fly by Coma Ber in $11.3\pm0.5$ Myr and $14.0\pm0.6$ Myr, respectively, and each other in $8.1\pm1.3$ Myr. Conclusions. We study the dynamical properties of the core and tails of Coma Ber and also confirm the existence of the OC Latyshev 2 and its neighbour stellar association Mecayotl 1. Although these three systems will experience encounters we find no evidence supporting the mixing of their populations.

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J. Olivares, N. Lodieu, V. Béjar, et. al.
Wed, 19 Apr 23
58/58

Comments: 25 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Toward a 3D kinetic tomography of Taurus clouds: II. A new automated technique and its validation [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07785


Three-dimensional (3D) kinetic maps of the Milky Way interstellar medium are an essential tool in studies of its structure and of star formation. We aim to assign radial velocities to Galactic interstellar clouds now spatially localized based on starlight extinction and star distances from Gaia and stellar surveys. We developed an automated search for coherent projections on the sky of clouds isolated in 3D extinction density maps on the one hand, and regions responsible for CO radio emissions at specific Doppler shifts on the other hand. The discrete dust structures were obtained by application of the Fellwalker algorithm to a recent 3D extinction density map. For each extinction cloud, a technique using a narrow sliding spectral window moved along the contour-bounded CO spectrum and geometrical criteria was used to select the most likely velocity interval. We applied the new contour-based technique to the 3D extinction density distribution within the volume encompassing the Taurus, Auriga, Perseus and California molecular complexes. From the 45 clouds issued from the decomposition, 42 were assigned a velocity. The remaining structures correspond to very weak CO emission or extinction. We used the non-automated assignments of radial velocities to clouds of the same region presented in paper I and based on KI absorption spectra as a validation test. The new fully automated determinations were found in good agreement with these previous measurements. Our results show that an automated search based on cloud contour morphology can be efficient and that this novel technique may be extended to wider regions of the Milky Way and at larger distance. We discuss its limitations and potential improvements after combination with other techniques.

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Q. Duchêne, C. Hottier, R. Lallement, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
3/80

Comments: 20 pages, 15 figures, accepted in A&A

Radio AGN Selection and Characterization in Three Deep-Drilling Fields of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07864


The Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) and the VLA survey in the XMM-LSS/VIDEO deep field provide deep ($\approx 15$ ${\mu}$Jybeam$^{-1}$) and high-resolution ($\approx$ 4.5–8 arcsec) radio coverage of the three XMM-SERVS fields (W-CDF-S, ELAIS-S1, and XMM-LSS). These data cover a total sky area of 11.3 deg$^2$ and contain $\approx 11000$ radio components. Furthermore, about 3~deg$^2$ of the XMM-LSS field also has deeper MIGHTEE data that achieve a median RMS of 5.6 ${\mu}$Jy beam$^{-1}$ and detect more than 20000 radio sources. We analyze all these radio data and find source counterparts at other wavebands utilizing deep optical and IR surveys. The nature of these radio sources is studied using radio-band properties (spectral slope and morphology), and the IR-radio correlation. %and spectral energy distribution. Radio AGNs are selected and compared with those selected using other methods (e.g. X-ray). We found 1765 new AGNs that were not selected using X-ray and/or MIR methods. We constrain the FIR-to-UV SEDs of radio AGNs using {\sc cigale} and investigate the dependence of radio AGN fraction upon galaxy stellar mass and star-formation rate.

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S. Zhu, W. Brandt, F. Zou, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
4/80

Comments: 25 pages, 21+3 figures, 8+1 tables, MNRAS accepted. The catalogues are available from this https URL

Saying Hallo to M94's Stellar Halo: Investigating the Accretion History of the Largest Pseudobulge Host in the Local Universe [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08436


It is not yet settled how the combination of secular processes and merging gives rise to the bulges and pseudobulges of galaxies. The nearby ($D\sim$ 4.2 Mpc) disk galaxy M94 (NGC 4736) has the largest pseudobulge in the local universe, and offers a unique opportunity for investigating the role of merging in the formation of its pseudobulge. We present a first ever look at M94’s stellar halo, which we expect to contain a fossil record of M94’s past mergers. Using Subaru’s Hyper Suprime-Cam, we resolve and identify red giant branch (RGB) stars in M94’s halo, finding two distinct populations. After correcting for completeness through artificial star tests, we can measure the radial profile of each RGB population. The metal-rich RGB stars show an unbroken exponential profile to a radius of 30 kpc that is a clear continuation of M94’s outer disk. M94’s metal poor stellar halo is detectable over a wider area and clearly separates from its metal-rich disk. By integrating the halo density profile, we infer a total accreted stellar mass of $\sim 2.8 \times 10^8 M_\odot$, with a median metallicity of [M/H] $=-$1.4. This indicates that M94’s most-massive past merger was with a galaxy similar to, or less massive than, the Small Magellanic Cloud. Few nearby galaxies have had such a low-mass dominant merger; therefore we suggest that M94’s pseudobulge was not significantly impacted by merging.

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K. Gozman, E. Bell, A. Smercina, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
6/80

Comments: 19 pages, 12 figures, 1 table; Published in ApJ on April 14, 2023

Spectral classification of young stars using conditional invertible neural networks I. Introducing and validating the method [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08398


Aims. We introduce a new deep learning tool that estimates stellar parameters (such as effective temperature, surface gravity, and extinction) of young low-mass stars by coupling the Phoenix stellar atmosphere model with a conditional invertible neural network (cINN). Our networks allow us to infer the posterior distribution of each stellar parameter from the optical spectrum.
Methods. We discuss cINNs trained on three different Phoenix grids: Settl, NextGen, and Dusty. We evaluate the performance of these cINNs on unlearned Phoenix synthetic spectra and on the spectra of 36 Class III template stars with well-characterised stellar parameters.
Results. We confirm that the cINNs estimate the considered stellar parameters almost perfectly when tested on unlearned Phoenix synthetic spectra. Applying our networks to Class III stars, we find good agreement with deviations of at most 5–10 per cent. The cINNs perform slightly better for earlier-type stars than for later-type stars like late M-type stars, but we conclude that estimations of effective temperature and surface gravity are reliable for all spectral types within the network’s training range.
Conclusions. Our networks are time-efficient tools applicable to large amounts of observations. Among the three networks, we recommend using the cINN trained on the Settl library (Settl-Net), as it provides the best performance across the largest range of temperature and gravity.

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D. Kang, V. Ksoll, D. Itrich, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
8/80

Comments: 29 pages, 19 figures, Accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysics on 10. April

Spectroscopic follow-up of black hole and neutron star candidates in ellipsoidal variables from Gaia DR3 [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07324


We present multi-epoch spectroscopic follow-up of a sample of ellipsoidal variables selected from Gaia DR3 as candidates for hosting quiescent black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs). Our targets were identified as BH/NS candidates because their optical light curves — when interpreted with models that attribute variability to tidal distortion of a star by a companion that contributes negligible light — suggest that the companions are compact objects. From the likely BH/NS candidates identified in recent work accompanying Gaia DR3, we select 14 of the most promising targets for follow-up. We obtained spectra for each object at 2-10 epochs, strategically observing near conjunction to best-constrain the radial velocity semi-amplitude. From the measured semi-amplitudes of the radial velocity curves, we derive minimum companion masses of $M_{2,\min} \leq 0.5 ~ M_{\odot}$ in all cases. Assuming random inclinations, the typical inferred companion mass is $M_2 \sim 0.15 ~ M_{\odot}$. This makes it unlikely that any of these systems contain a BH or NS, and we consider alternative explanations for the observed variability. We can best reproduce the observed light curves and radial velocities with models for unequal-mass contact binaries with starspots. Some of the objects in our sample may also be detached main-sequence binaries, or even single stars with pulsations or starspot variability masquerading as ellipsoidal variation. We provide recommendations for future spectroscopic efforts to further characterize this sample and more generally to search for compact object companions in close binaries.

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P. Nagarajan, K. El-Badry, A. Rodriguez, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
12/80

Comments: 18 pages, 12 figures

Stability of galaxies across morphological sequence [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07734


We investigate the stability of nearby disc galaxies and galaxies at redshift ($z$) equal to 4.5. We explore the connection between the stability parameter $(Q_{RW})$, star formation rate ($SFR$), gas fraction $(f^{Gas})$, and the time scale for growth of gravitational instabilities $(\tau)$. We find that, despite differences in morphology $91$ $\%$ of the nearby galaxies have a minimum value of stability parameter ($Q^{Min}{RW}$) greater than $1$ indicating stability against the growth of axisymmetric instabilities. The spirals in our sample have higher median star formation rate, lower median $Q{RW}$, a lower $f^{Gas}$ and small time scale for growth of gravitational instabilities than irregular galaxies. We find that the gravitational instabilities in spirals convert a large fraction of gas into stars quickly, depleting the gas reservoirs. On the other hand, star formation occurs more gradually over longer timescales in irregulars with a higher gas fraction. We then compare the stability of the nearby galaxies with galaxies at $z\,=\,4.5$. We find that net stability levels in the nearby galaxies and the galaxies at $z\,=\,4.5$ are primarily driven by the stellar disc suggesting the presence of an inherent mechanism that self-regulates the stability. Finally, upon removing the contribution of the dark matter to the total potential, the median $Q_{RW}$ for the nearby galaxies and galaxies at $z \,= \,4.5$ remains unchanged indicating that the baryons can self-regulate the stability levels, at least in a statistical sense.

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K. Aditya
Tue, 18 Apr 23
13/80

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Model of a `Warm Corona' as the Origin of the Soft X-ray Excess of Active Galactic Nuclei [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07463


The soft X-ray excess in the spectra of active galactic nuclei is characterized by similar electron temperatures of 0.1 — 0.3 keV and similar photon indices around 2.2 — 3. It remains a puzzle why both values are not sensitive to the black hole mass nor accretion rate. Supposing that the scattering-dominated surface layer of an accretion disk can act as a warm corona, we construct a vertically one-zone model to understand what determines its temperature. By solving the equations of (1) the condition for the effective optical depth, (2) the energy balance, and (3) dominance of the Compton cooling over the bound-free cooling, we could reproduce the basic observational features of the soft excess, provided that anomalous heating takes place in the warm corona. The similar temperatures can be understood, since both of the anomalous heating and Compton cooling rates are proportional to the dissipation rate of the accretion energy, while similar photon indices are a natural consequence of the fact that observed photons are finally emitted from the layer of Compton $y\sim 1$. The warm corona solutions only exist at smaller radii, indicating the structure of a warm corona inside and a hot corona outside. The soft excess is not observed in black hole binaries, since disk temperatures are too high for the Compton scattering to work as cooling. The derived temperatures are somewhat underestimation, however. This may indicate a necessity of multi-zone corona structure. The stability of the warm corona and its consequences are briefly discussed.

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N. Kawanaka and S. Mineshige
Tue, 18 Apr 23
19/80

Comments: 21 pages, 4 figures, Comments welcome

The role of impact parameter in typical close galaxy flybys [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07751


Close galaxy flybys, interactions during which two galaxies inter-penetrate, are frequent and can significantly affect the evolution of individual galaxies. Equal-mass flybys are extremely rare and almost exclusively distant, while frequent flybys have mass ratios 0.1 or lower, with a secondary galaxy penetrating deep into the primary. This can result in comparable strengths of interaction S between the two classes of flybys and lead to essentially the same effects. To demonstrate this, emphasize and explore the role of the impact parameter $b$, we performed a series of N-body simulations of flybys with varying relative $b$ ranging from 0.114 to 0.272 of the virial radius of the primary. Two-armed spirals form during flybys, with radii of origin correlated with $b$ and strengths well approximated with an inverted S-curve. The impact parameter does not affect the shape of induced spirals, and the lifetimes of a distinguished spiral structure appear to be constant, 2 Gyr. Bars, with strengths anti-correlated with $b$, form after the encounter is over in simulations with interaction strengths $S\geq0.076$, but they are short-lived except for the stronger ones with $S\geq0.129$. We showcase an occurrence of double bar that survives for a long time in one of the simulations. Effects on the pre-existing bar instability are diverse. There is no uniform correlation between these effects and $b$, as they are secondary effects, happening later in a post-flyby stage. Bulges are resilient to flybys, while dark matter halos can significantly spin up in the amount anti-correlated with $b$. There is an offset angle between the angular momentum vector of the dark matter halo and that of a disc, and it correlates linearly with b. Flybys remain an important pathway for structural evolution within galaxies in the local Universe.

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A. Mitrašinović and M. Micic
Tue, 18 Apr 23
21/80

Comments: 21 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in PASA

Observability of Low-Luminosity AGN in the Early Universe with JWST [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07369


Active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the early Universe are thought to be prominent sources of energy and ionizing photons that affected the growth of their host galaxy and their environment. However, it is still unclear how the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) that fuel these AGN grew to the observed high masses already at high redshifts. Observations of high-redshift SMBH progenitors or lower-mass AGN will thus help characterize the evolution of SMBHs and their impact on the surroundings. With the launch of the JWST, fainter objects at high redshifts can now be detected, including lower-mass AGN. We assess the observability of such low luminosity AGN, using the cosmological simulation code GIZMO to provide a realistic environment for black hole growth in the early Universe. Soon after the first stars are born in the simulation run, we insert stellar-remnant black hole seeds of various initial masses, between $300$ and $10^4 {\rm \ M}_{\odot}$, at the center of a dark matter halo and follow their growth until $z\sim6$. Such stellar black hole seeds placed in a typical high-$z$ environment do not significantly accrete and grow to reach masses that can be observed with the JWST under conditions of standard Bondi-Hoyle accretion, as energy input from stellar feedback and chaotic dynamics prevent efficient gas accretion onto the black holes. To be observed with the JWST, rarer but still physically feasible growth regimes, involving Eddington or super-Eddington accretion, would be required. Alternatively, AGN observability may be boosted under even rarer conditions of extreme gravitational lensing.

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J. Jeon, B. Liu, V. Bromm, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
24/80

Comments: 11 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Variable stars in the residual light curves of OGLE-IV eclipsing binaries towards the Galactic Bulge [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08394


Context. The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) observed around 450,000 eclipsing binaries (EBs) towards the Galactic Bulge. Decade-long photometric observations such as these provide an exceptional opportunity to thoroughly examine the targets. However, observing dense stellar fields such as the Bulge may result in blends and contamination by close objects.
Aims. We searched for periodic variations in the residual light curves of EBs in OGLE-IV and created a new catalogue for the EBs that contain `background’ signals after the investigation of the source of the signal.
Methods. From the about half a million EB systems, we selected those that contain more than 4000 data points. We fitted the EB signal with a simple model and subtracted it. To identify periodical signals in the residuals, we used a GPU-based phase dispersion minimisation python algorithm called cuvarbase and validated the found periods with Lomb-Scargle periodograms. We tested the reliability of our method with artificial light curves.
Results. We identified 354 systems where short-period background variation was significant. In these cases, we determined whether it is a new variable or just the result of contamination by an already catalogued nearby one. We classified 292 newly found variables into EB, $\delta$ Scuti, or RR Lyrae categories, or their sub-classes, and collected them in a catalogue. We also discovered four new doubly eclipsing systems and one eclipsing multiple system with a $\delta$ Scuti variable, and modelled the outer orbits of the components.

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R. Ádám, T. Hajdu, A. Bódi, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
30/80

Comments: 22 pages, 17 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Empirical measurement of the dynamical ages of three globular clusters and some considerations on the use of the dynamical clock [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08140


We have used the “dynamical clock” to measure the level of dynamical evolution reached by three Galactic globular clusters (namely, NGC 3201, NGC 6316 and NGC 6440). This is an empirical method that quantifies the level of central segregation of blue stragglers stars (BSSs) within the cluster half-mass radius by means of the $A^+{rh}$ parameter, defined as the area enclosed between the cumulative radial distribution of BSSs and that of a lighter population. The total sample with homogeneous determinations of $A^+{rh}$ now counts a gran-total of 59 clusters: 52 old GCs in the Milky Way (including the three investigated here), 5 old clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and 2 young systems in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The three objects studied here nicely nest into the correlation between $A^+_{rh}$ and the central relaxation time defined by the previous sample, thus proving and consolidating the use of the dynamical clock as an excellent tracer of the stage of star cluster dynamical evolution in different galactic environments. Finally, we discuss the advantages of using the dynamical clock as an indicator of star cluster dynamical ages, compared to the present-day central relaxation time.

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F. Ferraro, B. Lanzoni, E. Vesperini, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
33/80

Comments: 16 pages and 8 figures, in press in the ApJ

Using Dark Energy Explorers and Machine Learning to Enhance the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07348


We present analysis using a citizen science campaign to improve the cosmological measures from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). The goal of HETDEX is to measure the Hubble expansion rate, $H(z)$, and angular diameter distance, $D_A(z)$, at $z =$ 2.4, each to percent-level accuracy. This accuracy is determined primarily from the total number of detected Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters (LAEs), the false positive rate due to noise, and the contamination due to [O II] emitting galaxies. This paper presents the citizen science project, Dark Energy Explorers, with the goal of increasing the number of LAEs, decreasing the number of false positives due to noise and the [O II] galaxies. Initial analysis shows that citizen science is an efficient and effective tool for classification most accurately done by the human eye, especially in combination with unsupervised machine learning. Three aspects from the citizen science campaign that have the most impact are 1) identifying individual problems with detections, 2) providing a clean sample with 100% visual identification above a signal-to-noise cut, and 3) providing labels for machine learning efforts. Since the end of 2022, Dark Energy Explorers has collected over three and a half million classifications by 11,000 volunteers in over 85 different countries around the world. By incorporating the results of the Dark Energy Explorers we expect to improve the accuracy on the $D_A(z)$ and $H(z)$ parameters at $z =$ 2.4 by 10 – 30%. While the primary goal is to improve on HETDEX, Dark Energy Explorers has already proven to be a uniquely powerful tool for science advancement and increasing accessibility to science worldwide.

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L. House, K. Gebhardt, K. Finkelstein, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
35/80

Comments: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Multiple Stellar Populations in Globular Clusters with JWST [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07770


I present the first evidence of multiple populations in the globular cluster (GCs) 47Tucanae based on images collected with the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). While NIRCam photometry is poorly sensitive to multiple populations among stars brighter than the main-sequence (MS) knee, the M-dwarfs more-massive than 0.1 solar masses define a wide F115W-F322W2 color range due to multiple populations. The star-to-star color differences are mostly due to the different amounts of water vapor (hence oxygen) that affect the spectra of M-dwarfs. The chromosome map unveils an extended first population (1P) composed of M-dwarfs with different metallicities and three main groups of second-population (2P) stars that are depleted in oxygen with respect to the 1P. I present the discovery of an MS of very-low-mass stars (masses smaller than 0.1 solar masses) and tentatively associated it with a sequence composed of O-rich stars alone.

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A. Milone
Tue, 18 Apr 23
38/80

Comments: Four pages and two figures. Proceedings of the IAUS 377: Early Disk-Galaxy Formation from JWST to the Milky Way. Kuala-Lumpur,February 6-10, 2023

Chemical Compositions of Red Giant Stars in the Old Open Cluster NGC 7789 [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07359


We have gathered optical-region spectra, derived model atmosphere parameters, and computed elemental abundances for 15 red giant stars in the open cluster NGC 7789. We focus on the light element group CNOLi that provides clues to evolutionary changes associated with internal fusion events and chemical mixing. We confirm and extend an early report that NGC 7789 stars 193 and 301 have anomalously large Li abundances, and that these values are apparently unconnected to any other elements’ abundances in these stars. A companion study of He I lambda 10830 lines in both field stars and cluster members shows that star 301 has a strong He feature while star 193 does not. Possible explanations for the large Li abundances of these stars include helium flash-induced mixing events and binary interactions at some past or present times. In either case an internal eruption of energy could cause fresh synthesis of lithium via the Cameron-Fowler Beryllium transport mechanism. Rapid transport of lithium to the outer layers may have created significant chromospheric transient disturbances, producing enough helium ionization to allow for the strong lambda 10830 absorption in star 301.

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N. Nagarajan, C. Sneden, M. Afsar, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
42/80

Comments: AJ, in press

New variable sources revealed by DECam toward the LMC: the first 15 deg2 [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08133


The Dark Energy Camera (DECam) is a sensitive, wide field instrument mounted at the prime focus of the 4 m V. Blanco Telescope in Chile. Beside its main objectives, i.e. understanding the growth and evolution of structures in the Universe, the camera offers the opportunity to observe a 3 deg2 field of view in one single pointing and, with an adequate cadence, to identify the variable sources contained. In this paper, we present the result of a DECam observational campaign toward the LMC and give a catalogue of the observed variable sources. We considered all the available DECam observations of the LMC, acquired during 32 nights over a period of two years (from February 2018 to January 2020), and set up a specific pipeline for detecting and characterizing variable sources in the observed fields. Here, we report on the first 15 deg2 in and around the LMC as observed by DECam, testing the capabilities of our pipeline. Since many of the observed fields cover a rather crowded region of the sky, we adopted the ISIS subtraction package which, even in these conditions, can detect variables at a very low signal to noise ratio. All the potentially identified variable sources were then analyzed and each light curve tested for periodicity by using the Lomb-Scargle and Schwarzenberg-Czerny algorithms. Furthermore, we classified the identified sources by using the UPSILoN neural network. This analysis allowed us to find 70 981 variable stars, 1266 of which were previously unknown. We estimated the period of the variables and compared it with the available values in the catalogues. Moreover, for the 1266 newly detected objects, an attempted classification based on light curve analysis is presented.

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A. Franco, A. Nucita, F. Paolis, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
51/80

Comments: 11 pages, 7 figures

Strong and Rapid X-ray Variability of the Super-Eddington Accreting Quasar SDSS J081456.10+532533.5 [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07323


We report strong and rapid X-ray variability found from the super-Eddington accreting quasar SDSS J081456.10+532533.5 at $z=0.1197$. It has a black-hole mass of $2.7\times10^{7}{M_{\odot}}$ and a dimensionless accretion rate of $\approx4$ measured from reverberation-mapping observations. It showed weak X-ray emission in the 2021 February Chandra observation, with the 2 keV flux density being $9.6^{+11.6}{-4.6}$ times lower compared to an archival Swift observation. The 2 keV flux density is also $11.7^{+9.6}{-6.3}$ times weaker compared to the expectation from its optical/UV emission. In a follow-up XMM-Newton observation 32 days later, the 2 keV flux density increased by a factor of $5.3^{+6.4}_{-2.4}$, and the spectra are best described by a power law modified with partial-covering absorption; the absorption-corrected intrinsic continuum is at a nominal flux level. Nearly simultaneous optical spectra reveal no variability, and there is only mild long-term optical/infrared variability from archival data (with a maximum variability amplitude of $\approx50\%$). We interpret the X-ray variability with an obscuration scenario, where the intrinsic X-ray continuum does not vary but the absorber has variable column density and covering factor along the line of sight. The absorber is likely the small-scale clumpy accretion wind that has been proposed to be responsible for similar X-ray variability in other super-Eddington accreting quasars.

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J. Huang, B. Luo, W. Brandt, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
55/80

Comments: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Internal kinematics of {\it GAIA} DR3 wide binaries: anomalous behaviour in the low acceleration regime [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07322


The {\it Gaia} eDR3 catalogue has recently been used to construct samples of nearby wide binaries to study the internal kinematics of these objects using relative velocities of the two component stars, $\Delta V$, total binary masses, $m_{B}$, and separations, $s$. For $s \gtrsim 0.035$ pc, these binaries probe the low acceleration $a<a_{0}$ regime over which the gravitational anomalies usually attributed to dark matter are observed in the flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies, where $a_{0}\approx 1.2\times 10^{10}$ is the acceleration scale of MOND. Such experiments test the degree of generality of these anomalies, by exploring the same acceleration regime using independent astronomical systems of vastly smaller mass and size. A signal above Newtonian expectations has been observed when $a<a_{0}$, alternatively interpreted as evidence of a modification in the relevant fundamental physics, or as being due to kinematic contaminants affecting the experiment; the presence of undetected stellar components, unbound encounters and spurious projection effects. Here I take advantage of the enhanced DR3 {\it Gaia} catalogue to perform a more rigorous and detailed study of the internal kinematics of wide binaries than what has previously been possible. Having internally determined accurate {\it Gaia} stellar masses and estimates of binary probabilities for each star using spectroscopic information, together with a larger sample of radial velocities, allows for a significant improvement in the analysis of wide binaries and careful exclusion of possible kinematic contaminants. Resulting $\Delta V$ vs. $s$ and $\Delta V$ vs. $m_{B}$ scalings accurately tracing Newtonian expectations for the high acceleration regime, but consistent with the distance and mass velocity scalings observed in spiral galaxies in the low acceleration one, are obtained.

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X. Hernandez
Tue, 18 Apr 23
59/80

Comments: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables

Spectroscopic age estimates for 180 000 APOGEE red-giant stars: Precise spatial and kinematic trends with age in the Galactic disc [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08276


Over the last few years, many studies have found an empirical relationship between the abundance of a star and its age. Here we estimate spectroscopic stellar ages for 178 825 red-giant stars observed by the APOGEE survey with a median statistical uncertainty of 17%. To this end, we use the supervised machine learning technique XGBoost, trained on a high-quality dataset of 3 060 red-giant and red-clump stars with asteroseismic ages observed by both APOGEE and Kepler. After verifying the obtained age estimates with independent catalogues, we investigate some of the classical chemical, positional, and kinematic relationships of the stars as a function of their age. We find a very clear imprint of the outer-disc flare in the age maps and confirm the recently found split in the local age-metallicity relation. We present new and precise measurements of the Galactic radial metallicity gradient in small age bins between 0.5 and 12 Gyr, confirming a steeper metallicity gradient for 2-5 Gyr old populations and a subsequent flattening for older populations mostly produced by radial migration. In addition, we analyse the dispersion about the abundance gradient as a function of age. We find a clear power-law trend (with an exponent $\beta\approx0.15$) for this relation, indicating a smooth radial migration history in the Galactic disc over the past 7-9 Gyr. Departures from this power law are detected at ages of 8 Gyr (possibly related to the Gaia Sausage/Enceladus merger) and 2.75 Gyr (possibly related to an enhancement of the star-formation rate in the Galactic disc). Finally, we confirm previous measurements showing a steepening in the age-velocity dispersion relation at around 9 Gyr, but now extending it over a large extent of the Galactic disc (5 kpc < RGal < 13 kpc). [Abridged]

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F. Anders, P. Gispert, B. Ratcliffe, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
62/80

Comments: 14 pages + appendix, submitted to A&A. Data and analysis code available at this https URL Comments very welcome

Mapping the distribution of OB stars and associations in Auriga [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08370


OB associations are important probes of recent star formation and Galactic structure. In this study, we focus on the Auriga constellation, an important region of star formation due to its numerous young stars, star-forming regions and open clusters. We show using \textit{Gaia} data that its two previously documented OB associations, Aur OB1 and OB2, are too extended in proper motion and distance to be genuine associations, encouraging us to revisit the census of OB associations in Auriga with modern techniques. We identify 5617 candidate OB stars across the region using photometry, astrometry and our SED fitting code, grouping these into 5 high-confidence OB associations using HDBSCAN. Three of these are replacements to the historical pair of associations – Aur OB2 is divided between a foreground and a background association – while the other two associations are completely new. We connect these OB associations to the surrounding open clusters and star-forming regions, analyse them physically and kinematically, constraining their ages through a combination of 3D kinematic traceback, the position of their members in the HR diagram and their connection to clusters of known age. Four of these OB associations are expanding, with kinematic ages up to a few tens of Myr. Finally, we identify an age gradient in the region spanning several associations that coincides with the motion of the Perseus spiral arm over the last $\sim$20 Myr across the field of view.

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A. Quintana, N. Wright and R. Jeffries
Tue, 18 Apr 23
63/80

Comments: 14 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Discovery of Five Green Pea Galaxies with Double-peaked Narrow [OIII] Lines [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08284


Although double-peaked narrow emission-line galaxies have been studied extensively in the past years, only a few are reported with the green pea galaxies (GPs). Here we present our discovery of five GPs with double-peaked narrow [OIII] emission lines, referred to as DPGPs, selected from the LAMOST and SDSS spectroscopic surveys. We find that these five DPGPs have blueshifted narrow components more prominent than the redshifted components, with velocity offsets of [OIII]$\lambda$5007 lines ranging from 306 to 518 $\rm km\, s^{-1}$ and full widths at half maximums (FWHMs) of individual components ranging from 263 to 441 $\rm km\, s^{-1}$. By analyzing the spectra and the spectral energy distributions (SEDs), we find that they have larger metallicities and stellar masses compared with other GPs. The H$\alpha$ line width, emission-line diagnostic, mid-infrared color, radio emission, and SED fitting provide evidence of the AGN activities in these DPGPs. They have the same spectral properties of Type 2 quasars. Furthermore, we discuss the possible nature of the double-peaked narrow emission-line profiles of these DPGPs and find that they are more likely to be dual AGN. These DPGP galaxies are ideal laboratories for exploring the growth mode of AGN in the extremely luminous emission-line galaxies, the co-evolution between AGN and host galaxies, and the evolution of high-redshift galaxies in the early Universe.

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R. Lin, Z. Zheng, J. Wang, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
66/80

Comments: 12 pages, 8 figues, 3 tables; Comments welcome!

On the hosts of neutron star mergers in the nearby Universe [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08129


Recently, the characterisation of binary systems of neutron stars has become central in various fields such as gravitational waves, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and the chemical evolution of galaxies. In this work, we explore possible observational proxies that can be used to infer some characteristics of the delay time distribution (DTD) of neutron star mergers (NSMs). We construct a sample of model galaxies that fulfils the observed galaxy stellar mass function, star formation rate versus mass relation, and the cosmic star formation rate density. The star formation history of galaxies is described with a log-normal function characterised by two parameters: the position of the maximum and the width of the distribution. We assume a theoretical DTD that mainly depends on the lower limit and the slope of the distribution of the separations of the binary neutron stars systems at birth. We find that the current rate of NSMs ($\mathcal{R}=320^{+490}_{-240}$ Gpc$^{-3}$yr$^{-1}$) requires that $\sim0.3$ per cent of neutron star progenitors lives in binary systems with the right characteristics to lead to a NSM within a Hubble time. We explore the expected relations between the rate of NSMs and the properties of the host galaxy. We find that the most effective proxy for the shape of the DTD of NSMs is the current star formation activity of the typical host. At present, the fraction of short-GRBs observed in star-forming galaxies favours DTDs with at least $\sim40\%$ of mergers within $100$ Myr. This conclusion will be put on a stronger basis with larger samples of short-GRBs with host association (e.g. $600$ events at $z \leq 1$)

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L. Cavallo and L. Greggio
Tue, 18 Apr 23
67/80

Comments: 20 pages, 18 Figures, To appear on MNRAS

Mock X-ray observations of hot gas with L-Galaxies semi-analytic models of galaxy formation [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08010


We create mock X-ray observations of hot gas in galaxy clusters with a new extension of L-Galaxies semi-analytic model of galaxy formation, which includes the radial distribution of hot gas in each halo. Based on the model outputs, we first build some mock light cones, then generate mock spectra with SOXS package and derive the mock images in the light cones. Using the mock data, we simulate the mock X-ray spectra for ROSAT all-sky survey, and compare the mock spectra with the observational results. Then, we consider the design parameters of HUBS mission and simulate the observation of the halo hot gas for HUBS as an important application of our mock work. We find: (1) Our mock data match the observations by current X-ray telescopes. (2) The survey of hot baryons in resolved clusters by HUBS is effective below redshift 0.5, and the observations of the emission lines in point-like sources at z>0.5 by HUBS help us understand the hot baryons in the early universe. (3) By taking the advantage of the large simulation box and flexibility in semi-analytic models, our mock X-ray observations provide the opportunity to make target selection and observation strategies for forthcoming X-ray facilities.

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W. Zhong, J. Fu, S. Shiyin, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
69/80

Comments: 15 pages, 11 figures

Far-infrared line emission from the outer Galaxy cluster Gy 3-7 with SOFIA/FIFI-LS: Physical conditions and UV fields [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08127


(abridged) Far-infrared (FIR) line emission provides key information about the gas cooling and heating due to shocks and UV radiation associated with the early stages of star formation. Gas cooling via FIR lines might, however, depend on metallicity. We aim to quantify the FIR line emission and determine the spatial distribution of the CO rotational temperature, ultraviolet (UV) radiation field, and H2 number density toward the embedded cluster Gy 3-7 in the CMa-l224 star-forming region, whose metallicity is expected to be intermediate between that of the LMC and the Solar neighborhood. By comparing the total luminosities of CO and [O I] toward Gy 3-7 with values found for low- and high-mass protostars extending over a broad range of metallicities, we also aim to identify the possible effects of metallicity on the FIR line cooling within our Galaxy. We studied SOFIA/FIFI-LS spectra of Gy 3-7 covering several FIR lines. The spatial extent of CO high-J (J>14) emission resembles that of the elongated 160 um continuum emission detected with Herschel. The CO transitions from J=14-13 to J=16-15 are detected throughout the cluster and show a median rotational temperature of 170+/-30 K on Boltzmann diagrams. Comparisons to other protostars observed with Herschel show a good agreement with intermediate-mass sources in the inner Galaxy. Assuming an origin of the [O I] and high-J CO emission in UV-irradiated C-shocks, we obtained pre-shock H2 number densities of 10^4-5 cm-3 and UV radiation field strengths of 0.1-10 Habing fields. Far-IR line observations reveal ongoing star formation in Gy 3-7, dominated by intermediate-mass Class 0/I young stellar objects. The ratio of molecular-to-atomic far-IR line emission shows a decreasing trend with bolometric luminosities of the protostars. However, it does not indicate that the low-metallicity has an impact on the line cooling in Gy 3-7.

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N. Le, A. Karska, M. Figueira, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
71/80

Comments: 26 pages, 23 figures

Outflows in the Gaseous Discs of Active Galaxies and their impact on Black Hole Scaling Relations [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08273


To tackle the still unsolved and fundamental problem of the role of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback in shaping galaxies, in this work we implement a new physical treatment of AGN-driven winds into our semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. To each galaxy in our model, we associate solutions for the outflow expansion and the mass outflow rates in different directions, depending on the AGN luminosity, on the circular velocity of the host halo, and on gas content of the considered galaxy. To each galaxy we also assign an effective radius derived from energy conservation during merger events, and a stellar velocity dispersion self-consistently computed via Jeans modelling. We derive all the main scaling relations between Black hole (BH) mass and total/bulge stellar mass, velocity dispersion, host halo dark matter mass, and star formation efficiency. We find that our improved AGN feedback mostly controls the dispersion around the relations but plays a subdominant role in shaping slopes and/or normalizations of the scaling relations. Including possible limited-resolution selection biases in the model provides better agreement with the available data. The model does not point to any more fundamental galactic property linked to BH mass, with velocity dispersion playing a similar role with respect to stellar mass, in tension with present data. In line with other independent studies carried out on comprehensive semi-analytic and hydrodynamic galaxy-BH evolution models, our current results signal either an inadequacy of present cosmological models of galaxy formation in fully reproducing the local scaling relations, in terms of both shape and residuals, and/or point to an incompleteness issue affecting the local sample of dynamically-measured BHs.

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N. Menci, F. Fiore, F. Shankar, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
72/80

Comments: 21 pages, accepted for publications in Astronomy & Astrophysics

A Near-Infrared Faint, Far-Infrared-Luminous Dusty Galaxy at z~5 in COSMOS-Web [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07316


A growing number of far-infrared bright sources completely invisible in deep extragalactic optical surveys hint at an elusive population of z>4 dusty, star-forming galaxies. Cycle 1 JWST surveys are now detecting their rest-frame optical light, which provides key insight into their stellar properties and statistical constraints on the population as a whole. This work presents the JWST/NIRCam counterpart from the COSMOS-Web survey to a far-infrared SCUBA-2 and ALMA source, AzTECC71, which was previously undetected at wavelengths shorter than 850 microns. AzTECC71, amongst the reddest galaxies in COSMOS-Web with F277W – F444W~0.9, is undetected in NIRCam/F150W and F115W and fainter in F444W than other sub-millimeter galaxies identified in COSMOS-Web by 2-4 magnitudes. This is consistent with the system having both a lower stellar mass and higher redshift than the median dusty, star-forming galaxy. With deep ground- and space-based upper limits combined with detections in F277W, F444W and the far-IR including ALMA Band 6, we find a high probability (99%) that AzTECC71 is at z>4 with z_phot=5.7(+0.8,-0.7). This galaxy is massive (logM*/Msun~10.7) and IR-luminous (logLIR/Lsun~12.7), comparable to other optically-undetected but far-IR bright dusty, star-forming galaxies at z>4. This population of luminous, infrared galaxies at z>4 is largely unconstrained but comprises an important bridge between the most extreme dust-obscured galaxies and more typical high-redshift star-forming galaxies. If further far-IR-selected galaxies that drop out of the F150W filter in COSMOS-Web have redshifts z>4 like AzTECC71, then the volume density of such sources may be ~3-10x greater than previously estimated.

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J. McKinney, S. Manning, O. Cooper, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
76/80

Comments: 13 pages, 7 figures, submitted to ApJ

GREX-PLUS Science Book [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08104


GREX-PLUS (Galaxy Reionization EXplorer and PLanetary Universe Spectrometer) is a mission candidate for a JAXA’s strategic L-class mission to be launched in the 2030s. Its primary sciences are two-fold: galaxy formation and evolution and planetary system formation and evolution. The GREX-PLUS spacecraft will carry a 1.2 m primary mirror aperture telescope cooled down to 50 K. The two science instruments will be onboard: a wide-field camera in the 2-8 $\mu$m wavelength band and a high resolution spectrometer with a wavelength resolution of 30,000 in the 10-18 $\mu$m band. The GREX-PLUS wide-field camera aims to detect the first generation of galaxies at redshift $z>15$. The GREX-PLUS high resolution spectrometer aims to identify the location of the water “snow line” in proto-planetary disks. Both instruments will provide unique data sets for a broad range of scientific topics including galaxy mass assembly, origin of supermassive blackholes, infrared background radiation, molecular spectroscopy in the interstellar medium, transit spectroscopy for exoplanet atmosphere, planetary atmosphere in the Solar system, and so on.

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G. Team, A. Inoue, Y. Harikane, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
77/80

Comments: This document is the first version of a collection of scientific themes which can be achieved with GREX-PLUS. Each section in Chapters 2 and 3 is based on the presentation at the GREX-PLUS Science Workshop held on 24-25 March, 2022 at Waseda University

The Gaia-ESO Survey: homogenisation of stellar parameters and elemental abundances [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07720


The Gaia-ESO Survey is a public spectroscopic survey that has targeted $\gtrsim10^5$ stars covering all major components of the Milky Way from the end of 2011 to 2018, delivering its public final release in May 2022. Unlike other spectroscopic surveys, Gaia-ESO is the only survey that observed stars across all spectral types with dedicated, specialised analyses: from O ($T_\mathrm{eff} \sim 30,000-52,000$~K) all the way to K-M ($\gtrsim$3,500~K). The physics throughout these stellar regimes varies significantly, which has previously prohibited any detailed comparisons between stars of significantly different type. In the final data release (internal data release 6) of the Gaia-ESO Survey, we provide the final database containing a large number of products such as radial velocities, stellar parameters and elemental abundances, rotational velocity, and also, e.g., activity and accretion indicators in young stars and membership probability in star clusters for more than 114,000 stars. The spectral analysis is coordinated by a number of Working Groups (WGs) within the Survey, which specialise in the various stellar samples. Common targets are analysed across WGs to allow for comparisons (and calibrations) amongst instrumental setups and spectral types. Here we describe the procedures employed to ensure all Survey results are placed on a common scale to arrive at a single set of recommended results for all Survey collaborators to use. We also present some general quality and consistency checks performed over all Survey results.

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A. Hourihane, P. Francois, C. Worley, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
78/80

Comments: A&A accepted, minor revision, 36 pages, 38 figures

Physical and chemical complexity in high-mass star-forming regions with ALMA. I. Overview and evolutionary trends of physical properties [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07237


In this study, we investigate how physical properties, such as the density and temperature profiles, evolve on core scales through the evolutionary sequence during high-mass star formation ranging from protostars in cold infrared dark clouds to evolved UCHII regions. We observed 11 high-mass star-forming regions with ALMA at 3 mm wavelengths. Based on the 3 mm continuum morphology and recombination line emission, tracing locations with free-free (ff) emission, the fragmented cores analyzed in this study are classified into either dust or dust+ff cores. In addition, we resolve three cometary UCHII regions with extended 3 mm emission that is dominated by free-free emission. The temperature structure and radial profiles (T~r^-q ) are determined by modeling molecular emission of CH3CN and CH313CN with XCLASS and by using the HCN-to- HNC intensity ratio as probes for the gas kinetic temperature. The density profiles (n~r^-p ) are estimated from the 3 mm continuum visibility profiles. The masses M and H2 column densities N(H2) are then calculated from the 3 mm dust continuum emission. Results. We find a large spread in mass and peak H2 column density in the detected sources ranging from 0.1-150 Msun and 10^23 – 10^26 cm-2 , respectively. Including the results of the CORE and CORE-extension studies (Gieser et al. 2021, 2022) to increase the sample size, we find evolutionary trends on core scales for the temperature power-~law index q increasing from 0.1 to 0.7 from infrared dark clouds to UCHII regions, while for the the density power-law index p on core scales, we do not find strong evidence for an evolutionary trend. However, we find that on the larger clump scales throughout these evolutionary phases the density profile flattens from p = 2.2 to p = 1.2. (abridged)

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C. Gieser, H. Beuther, D. Semenov, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
1/51

Comments: 21 pages, 10 figures, submitted to A&A

Signatures of Cosmic Ray Heating in 21-cm Observables [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07201


Cosmic rays generated by supernovae carry away a significant portion of the lifetime energy emission of their parent star, making them a plausible mechanism for heating the early universe intergalactic medium (IGM). Following a review of the existing literature on cosmic ray heating, we develop a flexible model of this heating mechanism for use in semi-numerical 21-cm signal simulations and conduct the first investigations of the signatures it imprints on the 21-cm power spectrum and tomographic maps. We find that cosmic ray heating of the IGM is short-ranged, leading to heating clustered around star-forming sites, and a sharp contrast between heated regions of 21-cm emission and unheated regions of absorption. This contrast results in greater small-scale power for cosmic ray heated scenarios compared to what is found for X-ray heating, thus suggesting a way to test the nature of IGM heating with future 21-cm observations. Finally, we find an unexpectedly rich thermal history in models where cosmic rays can only escape efficiently from low-mass halos, such as in scenarios where these energetic particles originate from population III star supernovae remnants. The interplay of heating and the Lyman-Werner feedback in these models can produce a local peak in the IGM kinetic temperature and, for a limited parameter range, a flattened absorption trough in the global 21-cm signal.

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T. Gessey-Jones, A. Fialkov, E. Acedo, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
3/51

Comments: 21 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to MNRAS

Radio Galaxy Zoo EMU: Towards a Semantic Radio Galaxy Morphology Taxonomy [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07171


We present a novel natural language processing (NLP) approach to deriving plain English descriptors for science cases otherwise restricted by obfuscating technical terminology. We address the limitations of common radio galaxy morphology classifications by applying this approach. We experimentally derive a set of semantic tags for the Radio Galaxy Zoo EMU (Evolutionary Map of the Universe) project and the wider astronomical community. We collect 8,486 plain English annotations of radio galaxy morphology, from which we derive a taxonomy of tags. The tags are plain English. The result is an extensible framework which is more flexible, more easily communicated, and more sensitive to rare feature combinations which are indescribable using the current framework of radio astronomy classifications.

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M. Bowles, H. Tang, E. Vardoulaki, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
4/51

Comments: 17 pages, 11 Figures, Accepted at MNRAS

Shaken or stirred: the diffuse interstellar medium with exceptionally high SiO abundance [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06741


Interstellar shocks, a key element of stellar feedback processes, shape the structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) and are essential for the chemistry, thermodynamics, and kinematics of interstellar gas. Powerful, high-velocity shocks are driven by stellar winds, young supernova explosions, more evolved supernova remnants, cloud-cloud collisions, and protostellar outflows, whereas the existence and origin of much-lower-velocity shocks ($\lesssim $ 10 km$~$s$^{-1}$) are not understood. Direct observational evidence for interstellar shocks in diffuse and translucent ISM environments have been especially lacking. We present the most sensitive survey to date of SiO — often considered an unambiguous tracer of interstellar shocks — in absorption, obtained with the Northern Extended Millimeter Array interferometer. We detect SiO in 5/8 directions probing diffuse and translucent environments without ongoing star formation. Our results demonstrate that SiO formation in the diffuse ISM (i.e., in the absence of significant star formation and stellar feedback) is more widespread and effective than previously reported. The observed SiO linewidths are all $\lesssim$ 4 km$~$s$^{-1}$, excluding high-velocity shocks as a formation mechanism. Yet, the SiO abundances we detect are mostly 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher than typically assumed in quiescent environments and are often accompanied with other molecular transitions whose column densities cannot be explained with UV-dominated chemical models. Our results challenge the traditional view of SiO production via stellar-feedback sources and emphasize the need for observational constraints on the distribution of Si in the gas phase and grain mantles, which are crucial for understanding the physics of grain processing and diffuse interstellar chemistry.

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D. Rybarczyk, S. Stanimirovic and A. Gusdorf
Mon, 17 Apr 23
10/51

Comments: 19 pages, 6 figures. Accepted to ApJ

The power spectrum of extended [C II] halos around high redshift galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07023


ALMA observations have detected extended ($\simeq 10$ kpc) [C II] halos around high-redshift ($z \gtrsim 5$) star-forming galaxies. If such extended structures are common, they may have an impact on the line intensity mapping (LIM) signal. We compute the LIM power spectrum including both the central galaxy and the [C II] halo, and study the detectability of such signal in an ALMA LIM survey. We model the central galaxy and the [C II] halo brightness with a S\’ersic+exponential profile. The model has two free parameters: the effective radius ratio $f_{R_e}$, and the central surface brightness ratio, $f_{\Sigma}$, between the two components. [C II] halos can significantly boost the LIM power spectrum signal. For example, for relatively compact [C II] halos ($f_\Sigma=0.4$, $f_{R_{\rm e}}=2.0$), the signal is boosted by $\simeq 20$ times; for more extended and diffuse halos ($f_\Sigma=0.1, f_{R_{\rm e}}=6.0$), the signal is boosted by $\simeq 100$ times. For the ALMA ASPECS survey (resolution $\theta_{\rm beam} = 1.13”$, survey area $\Omega_{\rm survey}=2.9\,\rm arcmin^{2}$), the [C II] power spectrum is detectable only if the deL14d [C II] – SFR relation holds. However, with an optimized survey ($\theta_{\rm beam} = 0.232”$, $\Omega_{\rm survey}=2.0\,\rm deg^{2}$), the power spectrum is detectable for almost all the [C II] – SFR relations considered in this paper. Such a survey can constrain $f_\Sigma$ ($f_{R_{\rm e}}$) with a relative uncertainty of $60\%$ ($20\%$). A successful LIM experiment will provide unique constraints on the nature, origin, and frequency of extended [C II] halos, and the [C II] – SFR relation at early times.

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M. Zhang, A. Ferrara and B. Yue
Mon, 17 Apr 23
12/51

Comments: 12 pages, 8 figures

The Kinematics, Metallicities, and Orbits of Six Recently Discovered Galactic Star Clusters with Magellan/M2FS Spectroscopy [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06904


We present Magellan/M2FS spectroscopy of four recently discovered Milky Way star clusters (Gran 3, Gran 4, Garro 01, LP 866) and two newly discovered open clusters (Gaia 9, Gaia 10) at low Galactic latitudes. We measure line-of-sight velocities and stellar parameters ([Fe/H], $\log{g}$, $T_{\rm eff}$, [Mg/Fe]) from high resolution spectroscopy centered on the Mg triplet and identify 20-80 members per star cluster. We determine the kinematics and chemical properties of each cluster and measure the systemic proper motion and orbital properties by utilizing Gaia astrometry. We find Gran 3 to be an old, metal-poor (mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.84) globular cluster located in the Galactic bulge on a retrograde orbit. Gran 4 is an old, metal-poor ([Fe/H]}=-1.84) globular cluster with a halo-like orbit that happens to be passing through the Galactic plane. The orbital properties of Gran 4 are consistent with the proposed LMS-1/Wukong and/or Helmi streams merger events. Garro 01 is an old, metal-rich ([Fe/H]=-0.30) globular cluster on a near circular orbit in the outer disk. Gaia 9 and Gaia 10 are among the most distant known open clusters at $R_{GC}\sim 18, 21.2~kpc$ and most metal-poor with [Fe/H]~-0.50,-0.46 for Gaia 9 and Gaia 10, respectively. LP 866 is a nearby, metal-rich open cluster ([Fe/H]$=+0.1$). The discovery and confirmation of multiple star clusters in the Galactic plane shows the power of {\it Gaia} astrometry and the star cluster census remains incomplete.

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A. Pace, S. Koposov, M. Walker, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
13/51

Comments: 19 pages, 15 figures, submitted to MNRAS, associated data products available at this https URL

THESAN-HR: Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization in warm dark matter, fuzzy dark matter and interacting dark matter [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06742


Using high-resolution cosmological radiation-hydrodynamic (RHD) simulations (THESAN-HR), we explore the impact of alternative dark matter (altDM) models on galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization. The simulations adopt the IllustrisTNG galaxy formation model. We focus on altDM models that exhibit small-scale suppression of the matter power spectrum, namely warm dark matter (WDM), fuzzy dark matter (FDM), and interacting dark matter (IDM) with strong dark acoustic oscillations (sDAO). In altDM scenarios, both the halo mass functions and the UV luminosity functions at $z\gtrsim 6$ are suppressed at the low-mass/faint end, leading to delayed global star formation and reionization histories. However, strong non-linear effects enable altDM models to “catch up” with cold dark matter (CDM) in terms of star formation and reionization. The specific star formation rates are enhanced in halos below the half-power mass in altDM models. This enhancement coincides with increased gas abundance, reduced gas depletion times, more compact galaxy sizes, and steeper metallicity gradients at the outskirts of the galaxies. These changes in galaxy properties can help disentangle altDM signatures from a range of astrophysical uncertainties. Meanwhile, it is the first time that altDM models have been studied in RHD simulations of galaxy formation. We uncover significant systematic uncertainties in reionization assumptions on the faint-end luminosity function. This underscores the necessity of accurately modeling the small-scale morphology of reionization in making predictions for the low-mass galaxy population. Upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) imaging surveys of deep, lensed fields hold potential for uncovering the faint, low-mass galaxy population, which could provide constraints on altDM models.

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X. Shen, J. Borrow, M. Vogelsberger, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
14/51

Comments: To be submitted to MNRAS 22 pages, 12 Figures

The linear response of stellar systems does not diverge at marginal stability [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07275


The linear response of a stellar system’s gravitational potential to a perturbing mass comprises two distinct contributions. Most famously, the system will respond by forming a polarization wake' around the perturber. At the same time, the perturber may also excite one or morenormal modes’, i.e. coherent oscillations of the entire stellar system which are either stable or unstable depending on the system parameters. The amplitude of the first (wake) contribution is known to diverge as a system approaches marginal stability. In this paper we consider the linear response of a homogeneous stellar system to a point mass moving on a straight line orbit. We prove analytically that the divergence of the wake response is in fact cancelled by a corresponding divergence in the normal mode response, rendering the total response finite. We demonstrate this cancellation explicitly for a box of stars with Maxwellian velocity distribution. Our results imply that polarization wakes may be much less efficient drivers of secular evolution than previously thought. More generally, any prior calculation that accounted for wakes but ignored modes may need to be revised.

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C. Hamilton and T. Heinemann
Mon, 17 Apr 23
15/51

Comments: 5 pages, 2 figures

Revisiting the trajectory of the interstellar object 'Oumuamua: preference for a radially directed non-gravitational acceleration? [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06964


I present a re-analysis of the available observational constraints on the trajectory of ‘Oumuamua, the first confirmed interstellar object discovered in the solar system. ‘Oumuamua passed through the inner solar system on a hyperbolic (i.e., unbound) trajectory. Its discovery occurred after perihelion passage, and near the time of its closest approach to Earth. After being observable for approximately four months, the object became too faint and was lost at a heliocentric distance of around 3 au. Intriguingly, analysis of the trajectory of ‘Oumuamua revealed that a dynamical model including only gravitational accelerations does not provide a satisfactory fit of the data, and a non-gravitational term must be included. The detected non-gravitational acceleration is compatible with either solar radiation pressure or recoil due to outgassing. It has, however, proved challenging to reconcile either interpretation with the existing quantitative models of such effects without postulating unusual physical properties for ‘Oumuamua (such as extremely low density and/or unusual geometry, non-standard chemistry). My analysis independently confirms the detection of the non-gravitational acceleration. After comparing several possible parametrizations for this effects, I find a strong preference for a radially directed non-gravitational acceleration, pointing away from the Sun, and a moderate preference for a power-law scaling with the heliocentric distance, with an exponent between 1 and 2. These results provide valuable constraints on the physical mechanism behind the effect; a conclusive identification, however, is probably not possible on the basis of dynamical arguments alone.

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F. Spada
Mon, 17 Apr 23
16/51

Comments: MATLAB code will be shared upon reasonable request to the author. Comments are welcome!

X-ray polarization evidence for a 200 years-old flare of Sgr A$^*$ [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06967


The center of the Milky Way Galaxy hosts a $\sim$4 million solar mass black hole (Sgr A$^$) that is currently very quiescent with a luminosity many orders of magnitude below those of active galactic nuclei. Reflection of X-rays from Sgr A$^$ by dense gas in the Galactic Center region offers a means to study its past flaring activity on times scales of hundreds and thousands of years. The shape of the X-ray continuum and the strong fluorescent iron line observed from giant molecular clouds in the vicinity of Sgr A$^$ are consistent with the reflection scenario. If this interpretation is correct, the reflected continuum emission should be polarized. Here we report observations of polarized X-ray emission in the direction of the Galactic center molecular clouds using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). We measure a polarization degree of 31\% $\pm$ 11\%, and a polarization angle of $-$48$^\circ$ $\pm$ 11$^\circ$. The polarization angle is consistent with Sgr A$^$ being the primary source of the emission, while the polarization degree implies that some 200 years ago the X-ray luminosity of Sgr A$^*$ was briefly comparable to a Seyfert galaxy.

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F. Marin, E. Churazov, I. Khabibullin, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
20/51

Comments: 24 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, author’s version of the paper accepted for publication in Nature

The Strength of the Sheared Magnetic Field in the Galactic's Circum-Nuclear Disk [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06823


Recent high-resolution 53-$\mu$m polarimetric observations from SOFIA/HAWC+ revealed the inferred plane-of-the-sky magnetic field (B-field) orientation in the Galactic center’s Circum-Nuclear Disk (CND). The B-field is mostly aligned with the steamers of ionized material falling onto Sgr A* at large, differential velocities (shear). In such conditions, estimating the B-field strength with the classical" Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi (DCF) method does not provide accurate results. We derive amodified” DCF method by solving the ideal MHD equations from first principles considering the effects of a large-scale, shear flow on the propagation of a fast magnetosonic wave. In the context of the DCF approximation, both the value of the shear and its Laplacian affect the inferred B-field strength. Using synthetic polarization data from MHD simulations for a medium dominated by shear flows, we find that the classical'' DCF determines B-field strengths only within $&gt;50$\% of the true value where themodified” DCF results are improved significantly ($\sim$3-22\%). Applying our “modified” DCF method to the CND revealed B-field strengths of $\sim1 – 16$ mG in the northern arm, $\sim1 – 13$ mG in the eastern arm, and $\sim3 – 27$ mG in the western arm at spatial scales $\lesssim1$ pc. The balance between turbulent gas energy (kinetic + hydrostatic) and turbulent magnetic energy densities suggest that, along the magnetic-field-flow direction, magnetic effects become less dominant as the shear flow increases and weakens the B-field via magnetic convection. Our results indicate that the transition from magnetically to gravitationally dominated accretion of material onto Sgr A* starts at distances $\sim$ 1 pc.

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J. Guerra, E. Lopez-Rodriguez, D. Chuss, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
24/51

Comments: Submitted to ApJ; Under review

Galaxy clusters in the Vela supercluster. — I. Deep NIR catalogues [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07208


We present six deep Near-InfraRed (JHK_s) photometric catalogues of galaxies identified in six cluster candidates (VC02, VC04, VC05, VC08, VC10, VC11) within the Vela Supercluster (VSCL) as part of our efforts to learn more about this large supercluster which extends across the zone of avoidance (l=272.5 \pm 20 deg, b= \pm 10 deg, at cz~ 18000 km/s). The observations were conducted with the InfraRed Survey Facility (IRSF), a 1.4m telescope situated at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Sutherland. The images in each cluster cover ~ 80% of their respective Abell radii. We identified a total number of 1715 galaxies distributed over the six cluster candidates, of which only ~ 15% were previously known. We study the structures and richnesses of the six clusters out to the cluster-centric completeness radius of r_c<1.5 Mpc and magnitude completeness limit of K_s^0<15.5 mag, using their iso-density contour maps and radial density profiles. The analysis shows VC04 to be the richest of the six. It is a massive cluster comparable to the Coma and Norma clusters, although its velocity dispersion, sigma=455 km/s, seems rather low for a rich cluster. VC02 and VC05 are found to be relatively rich clusters while VC08 is rather poor. Also, VC05 has the highest central number density among the six. VC11 is an intermediate cluster that contains two major subclusters while VC10 has a filament-like structure and is likely not to be a cluster after all.

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N. Hatamkhani, R. Kraan-Korteweg, S. Blyth, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
26/51

Comments: 18 pages, 10 Figures, 13 Tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Late-formed halos prefer to host quiescent central galaxies. I. Observational results [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07189


The star formation and quenching of central galaxies are regulated by the assembly histories of their host halos. In this work, we use the central stellar mass to halo mass ratio as a proxy of halo formation time, and we devise three different models, from the physical hydrodynamical simulation to the empirical statistical model, to demonstrate its robustness. With this proxy, we inferred the dependence of the central galaxy properties on the formation time of their host halos using the SDSS main galaxy sample, where central galaxies are identified with the halo-based group finder. We found that central galaxies living in late-formed halos have higher quiescent fractions and lower spiral fractions than their early-formed counterparts by $\lesssim$ 8%. Finally, we demonstrate that the group finding algorithm has a negligible impact on our results.

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K. Wang, Y. Chen, Q. Li, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
27/51

Comments: 14 pages, 7 + 5 figures, MNRAS accepted

$\texttt{LIMpy}$: A Semi-analytic Approach to Simulating Multi-line Intensity Maps at Millimetre Wavelengths [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06748


Mapping of multiple lines such as the fine-structure emission from [CII] (157.7 $\mu \text{m}$), [OIII] (52 \& 88.4 $\mu \text{m}$), and rotational emission lines from CO are of particular interest for upcoming line intensity mapping (LIM) experiments at millimetre wavelengths, due to their brightness features. Several upcoming experiments aim to cover a broad range of scientific goals, from detecting signatures of the epoch of reionization to the physics of star formation and its role in galaxy evolution. In this paper, we develop a semi-analytic approach to modelling line strengths as functions of the star formation rate (SFR) or infrared (IR) luminosity based on observations of local and high-z galaxies. This package, $\texttt{LIMpy}$ (Line Intensity Mapping in Python), estimates the intensity and power spectra of [CII], [OIII], and CO rotational transition lines up to the $J$-levels (1-0) to (13-12) based both on analytic formalism and on simulations. We develop a relation among halo mass, SFR, and multi-line intensities that permits us to construct a generic formula for the evolution of several line strengths up to $z \sim 10$. We implement a variety of star formation models and multi-line luminosity relations to estimate the astrophysical uncertainties on the intensity power spectrum of these lines. As a demonstration, we predict the signal-to-noise ratio of [CII] detection for an EoR-Spec-like instrument on the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST). Furthermore, the ability to use any halo catalogue allows the $\texttt{LIMpy}$ code to be easily integrated into existing simulation pipelines, providing a flexible tool to study intensity mapping in the context of complex galaxy formation physics.

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A. Roy, D. Valentín-Martínez, K. Wang, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
29/51

Comments: 19 pages, 10 figures, comments are welcome

What Does the Virial Coefficient of the \Hb Broad-Line Region Depend On? [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06764


We combine our dynamical modeling black hole mass measurements from the Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2016 sample with measured cross-correlation time lags and line widths to recover individual scale factors, f, used in traditional reverberation mapping analyses. We extend our sample by including prior results from Code for AGN Reverberation and Modeling of Emission Lines (caramel) studies that have utilized our methods. Aiming to improve the precision of black hole mass estimates, as well as uncover any regularities in the behavior of the broad-line region (BLR), we search for correlations between f and other AGN/BLR parameters. We find (i) evidence for a correlation between the virial coefficient log10(fmean,{\sigma}) and black hole mass, (ii) marginal evidence for a similar correlation between log10(frms,{\sigma}) and black hole mass, (iii) marginal evidence for an anti-correlation of BLR disk thickness with log10(fmean,FWHM)and log10(frms,FWHM), and (iv) marginal evidence for an anti-correlation of inclination angle with log10(fmean,FWHM), log10(frms,{\sigma}), and log10(fmean,{\sigma}). Lastly, we find marginal evidence for a correlation between line-profile shape, when using the root-meansquare spectrum, log10(FWHM/{\sigma})rms, and the virial coefficient, log10(frms,{\sigma}), and investigate how BLR properties might be related to line-profile shape using caramel models.

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L. Villafaña, P. Williams, T. Treu, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
31/51

Comments: 17 pages, 10 figures

Iron-Peak Element Abundances in Warm Very Metal-Poor Stars [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06899


We have derived new detailed abundances of Mg, Ca, and the Fe-group elements Sc through Zn (Z = 21-30) for 37 main sequence turnoff very metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] <= -2.1). We analyzed Keck HIRES optical and near-UV high signal-to-noise spectra originally gathered for a beryllium abundance survey. Using typically about 400 Fe-group lines with accurate laboratory transition probabilities for each star, we have determined accurate LTE metallicities and abundance ratios for neutral and ionized species of the 10 Fe-group elements as well as alpha elements Mg and Ca. We find good neutral/ion abundance agreement for the 6 elements that have detectable transitions of both species in our stars in the 3100-5800 Angstrom range. Earlier reports of correlated Sc-Ti-V relative overabundances are confirmed, and appear to slowly increase with decreasing metallicity. To this element trio we add Zn; it also appears to be increasingly overabundant in the lowest metallicity regimes. Co appears to mimic the behavior of Zn, but issues surrounding its abundance reliability cloud its interpretation.

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C. Sneden, A. Boesgaard, J. Cowan, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
35/51

Comments: ApJ, in press

The ultradense, interacting environment of a dual AGN at z $\sim$ 3.3 revealed by JWST/NIRSpec IFS [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06756


LBQS 0302-0019 is a blue quasar (QSO) at z $\sim$ 3.3, hosting powerful outflows, and residing in a complex environment consisting of an obscured AGN candidate, and multiple companions, all within 30 kpc in projection. We use JWST NIRSpec IFS observations to characterise the ionized gas in this complex system. We develop a procedure to correct for the spurious oscillations (or ‘wiggles’) in NIRSpec single-spaxel spectra, due to the spatial under-sampling of the point spread function. We perform a quasar-host decomposition with the QDeblend3D tools, and use multi-component kinematic decomposition of the optical emission line profiles to infer the physical properties of the emitting gas. The quasar-host decomposition allows us to identify i) a low-velocity component possibly tracing a warm rotating disk, with a dynamical mass Mdyn $\sim 10^{11}$ Msun and a rotation-to-random motion ratio $v_{rot}$/$\sigma_0 \sim 2$; ii) a spatially unresolved ionised outflow, with a velocity of $\sim$ 1000 km/s and an outflow mass rate of $\sim 10^4$ Msun/yr. We also detect eight interacting companion objects close to LBQS 0302-0019. Optical line ratios confirm the presence of a second, obscured AGN at $\sim 20$ kpc of the primary QSO; the dual AGN dominates the ionization state of the gas in the entire NIRSpec field-of-view. This work has unveiled with unprecedented detail the complex environment of this dual AGN, which includes nine interacting companions (five of which were previously unknown), all within 30 kpc of the QSO. Our results support a scenario where mergers can trigger dual AGN, and can be important drivers for rapid early SMBH growth.

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M. Perna, S. Arribas, M. Marshall, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
36/51

Comments: 23 pages, 23 figures; Submitted to A&A; Comments welcome!

Observational constraints on the metagalactic Ly$α$ photon scattering rate at high redshift [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07085


The scattering of Ly$\alpha$ photons from the first radiating sources in the Universe plays a pivotal role in 21-cm radio detections of Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization through the Wouthuysen-Field effect. New data from JWST show the Ly$\alpha$ photon scattering rate exceeds that required to decouple the intergalactic hydrogen spin temperature from that of the Cosmic Microwave Background up to $z\sim14$ and render the neutral hydrogen visible over the main redshift range expected for the Epoch of Reionization.

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A. Meiksin
Mon, 17 Apr 23
37/51

Comments: Published in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society; 3 pages, 1 figure

The distance to the Serpens South Cluster from H2O masers [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07270


In this Letter, we report Very Long Baseline Array observations of 22 GHz water masers toward the protostar CARMA-6, located at the center of the Serpens South young cluster. From the astrometric fits to maser spots, we derive a distance of 440.7+/-3.5 pc for the protostar (1% error). This represents the best direct distance determination obtained so far for an object this young and deeply embedded in this highly obscured region. Taking into account depth effects, we obtain a distance to the cluster of 440.7+/-4.6 pc. Stars visible in the optical that have astrometric solutions in the Gaia Data Release 3 are, on the other hand, all located in the periphery of the cluster. Their mean distance of 437 (+51, -41) pc is consistent within 1-sigma with the value derived from maser astrometry. As the maser source is just at the center of Serpens South, we finally solve the ambiguity of the distance to this region that has prevailed over the years.

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G. Ortiz-Leon, S. Dzib, L. Loinard, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
39/51

Comments: Accepted to A&A Letters

UVIT view of NGC 5291: Ongoing star formation in tidal dwarf galaxies at ~ 0.35 kpc resolution [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07244


NGC 5291, an early-type galaxy surrounded by a giant HI ring, is believed to be formed from collision with another galaxy. Several star forming complexes and tidal dwarf galaxies are distributed along the collisional ring which are sites of star formation in environments where extreme dynamical effects are involved. Dynamical effects can affect the star formation properties and the spatial distribution of star forming complexes along the tidal features. To study and quantify the star formation activity in the main body and in the ring structure of the NGC 5291 system, we use high spatial resolution FUV and NUV imaging observations from the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope onboard AstroSat. A total of 57 star-forming knots are identified to be part of this interacting system out of which 12 are new detections (star forming complexes that lie inside the HI contour) compared to the previous measurements from lower resolution UV imaging. We estimate the attenuation in UV for each of the resolved star-forming knots using the UV spectral slope $\beta$, derived from the FUV-NUV colour. Using the extinction corrected UV fluxes, we derive the star formation rate of the resolved star forming complexes. The extinction corrected total star formation rate of this system is estimated as 1.75 $\pm$ 0.04 $M_{\odot}/yr$. The comparison with dwarf galaxy populations (BCD, Sm and dIm galaxies) in the nearby Universe shows that many of the knots in the NGC 5291 system have SFR values comparable to the SFR of BCD galaxies.

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R. R, G. Santhosh, P. Joseph, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
42/51

Comments: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Appendix table can be found in published version

A catalogue of cataclysmic variables from 20 years of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with new classifications, periods, trends and oddities [SSA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06749


We present a catalogue of 507 cataclysmic variables (CVs) observed in SDSS I to IV including 70 new classifications collated from multiple archival data sets. This represents the largest sample of CVs with high-quality and homogeneous optical spectroscopy. We have used this sample to derive unbiased space densities and period distributions for the major sub-types of CVs. We also report on some peculiar CVs, period bouncers and also CVs exhibiting large changes in accretion rates. We report 70 new CVs, 59 new periods, 178 unpublished spectra and 262 new or updated classifications. From the SDSS spectroscopy, we also identified 18 systems incorrectly identified as CVs in the literature. We discuss the observed properties of 13 peculiar CVS, and we identify a small set of eight CVs that defy the standard classification scheme. We use this sample to investigate the distribution of different CV sub-types, and we estimate their individual space densities, as well as that of the entire CV population. The SDSS I to IV sample includes 14 period bounce CVs or candidates. We discuss the variability of CVs across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, highlighting selection biases of variability-based CV detection. Finally, we searched for, and found eight tertiary companions to the SDSS CVs. We anticipate that this catalogue and the extensive material included in the Supplementary Data will be useful for a range of observational population studies of CVs.

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K. Inight, B. Gänsicke, E. Breedt, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
43/51

Comments: Submitted to MNRAS. Supplementary information available at this https URL

Dissect two-halo galactic conformity effect for central galaxies: The dependence of star formation activities on the large-scale environment [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06886


We investigate the two-halo galactic conformity effect for central galaxies, which is the spatial correlation of the star formation activities for central galaxies to several Mpcs, by studying the dependence of the star formation activities of central galaxies on their large-scale structure in our local Universe using the SDSS data. Here we adopt a novel environment metric using only central galaxies quantified by the distance to the $n$-th nearest central galaxy. This metric measures the environment within an aperture from $\sim$ 1 Mpc to $\gtrsim$ 10 Mpc, with a median value of $\sim$ 4 Mpc. We found that two kinds of conformity effects in our local Universe. The first one is that low-mass central galaxies are more quenched in high-density regions, and we found that this effect mainly comes from low-mass centrals that are close to a more massive halo. A similar trend is also found in the IllustrisTNG simulation, which can be entirely explained by backsplash galaxies. The second conformity effect is that massive central galaxies in low-density regions are more star-forming. This population of galaxies also possesses a higher fraction of spiral morphology and lower central stellar velocity dispersion, suggesting that their low quiescent fraction is due to less-frequent major merger events experienced in the low-density regions, and as a consequence, less-massive bulges and central black holes.

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K. Wang, Y. Peng and Y. Chen
Mon, 17 Apr 23
44/51

Comments: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted by MNRAS

Lightning: An X-ray to Submillimeter Galaxy SED Fitting Code With Physically-Motivated Stellar, Dust, and AGN Models [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06753


We present an updated version of Lightning, a galaxy spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting code that can model X-ray to submillimeter observations. The models in Lightning include the options to contain contributions from stellar populations, dust attenuation and emission, and active galactic nuclei (AGN). X-ray emission, when utilized, can be modeled as originating from stellar compact binary populations with the option to include emission from AGN. We have also included a variety of algorithms to fit the models to observations and sample parameter posteriors; these include an adaptive Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC), affine-invariant MCMC, and Levenberg-Marquardt gradient decent (MPFIT) algorithms. To demonstrate some of the capabilities of Lightning, we present several examples using a variety of observational data. These examples include (1) deriving the spatially resolved stellar properties of the nearby galaxy M81, (2) demonstrating how X-ray emission can provide constrains on the properties of the supermassive black hole of a distant AGN, (3) exploring how to rectify the attenuation effects of inclination on the derived the star formation rate of the edge-on galaxy NGC 4631, (4) comparing the performance of Lightning to similar Bayesian SED fitting codes when deriving physical properties of the star-forming galaxy NGC 628, and (5) comparing the derived X-ray and UV-to-IR AGN properties from Lightning and CIGALE for a distant AGN. Lightning is an open-source application developed in the Interactive Data Language (IDL) and is available at https://github.com/rafaeleufrasio/lightning.

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K. Doore, E. Monson, R. Eufrasio, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
47/51

Comments: 34 pages, 17 figures. Accepted to ApJ

HI 21 cm Extended Structures to the North-East, and South-West of NGC 5595: VLA Observations of the Disk Galaxy Pair NGC 5595 and NGC 5597 [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06272


We report VLA B-configuration observations of the HI 21 cm line on the close disk galaxy pair NGC 5595 and NGC 5597. At the angular resolution of the observations, $\sim7.1” \times 4.2”$, while most of the HI 21 cm in NGC 5595 and in NGC 5597 has the same extent as the optical disk, we have detected for the first time extended structures (streamers) to the north-east (NE), and south-west (SW) of NGC 5595 with no counterparts in blue, red optical (continuum), 20 cm radio continuum, or H$\alpha$ spectral-line emission. One structure is extended by $\sim 45”$ to the NE with blue-shifted velocities, and the other by $\sim 20”$ to the SW with red-shifted velocities with respect to the systemic velocity. No HI 21 cm emission is detected from the innermost central (nuclear) regions of either galaxy. Lower angular resolution HI 21 cm imaging indicates the non-existence of any intergalactic HI 21 cm gas as tails or bridges between the two galaxies. Our new 20 cm radio continuum emission image of NGC 5597 shows a strong unresolved elongated structure at the central region, in the north-east south-west direction, very similar to the spatial location of the innermost H$\alpha$ spectral line emission. There is no 20 cm continuum emission from its north spiral arm. In NGC 5595, the 20 cm radio continuum image shows no continuum emission from the NE nor the SW extended structures with HI 21 cm emission.

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J. Garcia-Barreto and E. Momjian
Fri, 14 Apr 23
1/64

Comments: 22 pages, 14 figures. AJ accepted

UM 462, a local Green Pea galaxy analog under the MUSE magnifying glass [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06096


[ABRIGED] Stellar feedback in high-redshift galaxies plays an important role in the re-ionization epoch of the Universe. Green Pea galaxies (GPs) postulate as favorite local laboratories. However, at their typical redshift of $z\sim0.2$, the most intimate interaction between stars and surrounding ISM cannot be disentangled. Detailed studies of Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies (BCDs) are necessary to anchor our investigations on them. We present here a study in detail UM 462, a BCD with similar properties to GPs uisng high quality optical IFS data with MUSE. Total oxygen abundance by means of the direct method is 12+$\log$(O/H)$\sim$8.02 and homogenous all over the galaxy, in stark contrast with the metallicities derived from several strong line methods. The velocity field for the ionised gas presents a velocity stratification in the area towards the north with redder velocities in the high ionisation lines and bluer velocities in the low ionisation lines. This is the only area with velocity dispersions clearly above the MUSE instrumental width, and it is surrounded by two $\sim$1 kpc-long structures nicknamed \emph{the horns}. We interpret the observational evidence in that area as a fragmented super-bubble fruit of the stellar feedback and it may constitute a preferred channel for LyC photons from the youngest generation of stars to escape. The most recent SF seems to propagate from the outer to the inner parts of the galaxy, and then from east to west. We identified a supernova remnant and Wolf-Rayet stars – as traced by the red bump – that support this picture. The direction of the propagation implies the presence of younger Wolf-Rayet stars at the maximum in H$\alpha$. The ensemble of results exemplifies the potential of 2D detailed spectroscopic studies of dwarf star-forming galaxies at high spatial resolution as key reference for similar studies on primeval galaxies.

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A. Monreal-Ibero, P. Weilbacher, G. Micheva, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
11/64

Comments: 29 pages, 25 figures; resubmitted to A&A after taking the referee’s comments and suggestions into account

LeMMINGs. VI. Connecting nuclear activity to bulge properties of active and inactive galaxies: radio scaling relations and galaxy environment [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06642


Multiwavelength studies indicate that nuclear activity and bulge properties are closely related, but the details remain unclear. To study this further, we combine $Hubble~Space~Telescope$ bulge structural and photometric properties with 1.5 GHz, $e$-MERLIN nuclear radio continuum data from the LeMMINGs survey for a large sample of 173 active' galaxies (LINERs and Seyferts) andinactive’ galaxies (H IIs and absorption line galaxies, ALGs). Dividing our sample into active and inactive, they define distinct (radio core luminosity)$-$(bulge mass), L_R,core-M_,bulge, relations, with a mass turnover at M_, bulge ~ 10^(9.8 +- 0.3) M_sun (supermassive black hole mass M_BH ~ 10^(6.8 +- 0.3) M_sun), which marks the transition from AGN-dominated nuclear radio emission in more massive bulges to that mainly driven by stellar processes in low-mass bulges. None of our 10/173 bulgeless galaxies host an AGN. The AGN fraction increases with increasing M_*, bulge such that f_optical_AGN $\propto$ M_,bulge^(0.24 +- 0.06) and f_radio_AGN $\propto$ M_,bulge^(0.24 +- 0.05). Between M_*,bulge ~ 10^8.5 and 10^11.3 M_sun, f_optical_AGN steadily rises from 15 +- 4 to 80 +- 5 per cent. We find that at fixed bulge mass, the radio loudness, nuclear radio activity and the (optical and radio) AGN fraction exhibit no dependence on environment. Radio-loud hosts preferentially possess an early-type morphology than radio-quiet hosts, the two types are however indistinguishable in terms of bulge S\’ersic index and ellipticity, while results on the bulge inner logarithmic profile slope are inconclusive. We finally discuss the importance of bulge mass in determining the AGN triggering processes, including potential implications for the nuclear radio emission in nearby galaxies.

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B. Dullo, J. Knapen, R. Beswick, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
13/64

Comments: 27 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Origin of neutron capture elements with the Gaia-ESO survey: the evolution of s- and r-process elements across the Milky Way [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06452


We study the abundance patterns and the radial gradients of s-process elements (Y, Zr, Ba, La and Ce), r-process elements (Eu) and mixed-process elements (Mo, Nd and Pr) in the Galactic thin disc by means of a detailed two-infall chemical evolution model for the Milky Way with state-of-the-art nucleosynthesis prescriptions. We consider r-process nucleosynthesis from merging neutron stars (MNS), magneto-rotational supernovae (MR-SNe) and s-process synthesis from low- and intermediate- mass stars (LIMS) and rotating massive stars. The predictions of our model are compared with data from the sixth data release of the Gaia-ESO survey, from which we consider 62 open clusters with age > 0.1 Gyr and 1300 Milky Way disc field stars. We conclude that: i) the [Eu/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] is reproduced by both a prompt and a delayed source, but the quick source completely dominates the Eu production; ii) rotation in massive stars contribute substantially to the s-process elements of the first peak, but MNS and MR-SNe are necessary in order to reproduce the observations; iii) due to the adopted yields, our model overpredicts Pr and underpredicts Nd, while the [Mo/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] is nicely reproduced. For the radial gradients, we conclude that: i) our predicted slope of the [Fe/H] gradient is in agreement with the one observed in open clusters by Gaia-ESO and other high-resolution spectroscopic surveys. ii) The predicted slope of the [Eu/H] radial gradient is steeper than the observed one, independently on how quick the production of Eu is. We discuss the possible causes of this discrepancy in terms of both different Galaxy formation scenarios and stellar radial migration effects. iii) For all the elements belonging to the second s-process peak (Ba, La, Ce) as well as for Pr, we predict a plateau at low Galactocentric distances, which is probably due to the enhanced enrichment from LIMS in the inner regions.

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M. Molero, L. Magrini, F. Matteucci, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
14/64

Comments: 17 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to MNRAS

On the anti-correlation between pericentric distance and inner dark matter density of Milky Way's dwarf spheroidal galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06611


An anti-correlation between the central density of the dark matter halo ($\rho_{150,\ {\rm DM}}$) and the pericentric distances ($r_{p}$) of the Milky Way’s (MW’s) dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) has been reported in the literature. The existence and origin of such anti-correlation is however controversial, one possibility being that only the densest dSphs can survive the tidal field towards the centre of our Galaxy. In this work, we place particular emphasis on quantifying the statistical significance of such anti-correlation, by using available literature data in order to explore its robustness under different assumptions on the MW gravitational potential, and for various derivations of $\rho_{150}$ and $r_{p}$. We consider models in which the MW is isolated and has a low ($8.8\times10^{11}\,M_{\odot}$) and high ($1.6\times10^{12}\, M_{\odot}$) halo mass, respectively, as well as configurations in which the MW’s potential is perturbed by a Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) infall. We find that, while data generally support models in which the dSphs’ central DM density decreases as a function of their pericentric radius, this anti-correlation is statistically significant at $3\sigma$ level only in $\sim$12$\%$ of the combinations of $\rho_{150}$ and $r_{p}$ explored. Moreover, including the impact of the LMC’s infall onto the MW weakens or even washes away this anti-correlation, with respect to models in which the MW is isolated. Our results suggest that the strength and existence of such anti-correlation is still debatable: exploring it with high-resolution simulations including baryonic physics and different DM flavours will help us to understand its emergence.

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S. Cardona-Barrero, G. Battaglia, C. Nipoti, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
17/64

Comments: 10 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Direct observations of the atomic-molecular phase transition in the Milky Way's nuclear wind [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06356


Hundreds of high-velocity atomic gas clouds exist above and below the Galactic Centre, with some containing a molecular component. However, the origin of these clouds in the Milky Way’s wind is unclear. This paper presents new high-resolution MeerKAT observations of three atomic gas clouds and studies the relationship between the atomic and molecular phases at $\sim 1$ pc scales. The clouds’ atomic hydrogen column densities, $N_{\mathrm{HI}}$, are less than a $\mbox{few}\times 10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$, but the two clouds closest to the Galactic Centre nonetheless have detectable CO emission. This implies the presence of H${2}$ at levels of $N{\mathrm{HI}}$ at least a factor of ten lower than in the typical Galactic interstellar medium. For the cloud closest to the Galactic Centre, there is little correlation between the $N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ and the probability that it will harbour detectable CO emissions. In contrast, for the intermediate cloud, detectable CO is heavily biased toward the highest values of $N_{\mathrm{HI}}$. The cloud most distant from the Galactic Centre has no detectable CO at similar $N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ values. Moreover, we find that the two clouds with detectable CO are too molecule-rich to be in chemical equilibrium, given the depths of their atomic shielding layers, which suggests a scenario whereby these clouds consist of pre-existing molecular gas from the disc that the Galactic wind has swept up, and that is dissociating into atomic hydrogen as it flows away from the Galaxy. We estimate that entrained molecular material of this type has a $\sim \mathrm{few}-10$ Myr lifetime before photodissociating.

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K. Noon, M. Krumholz, E. Teodoro, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
18/64

Comments: 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to MNRAS

The Most Obscured AGNs in the XMM-SERVS Fields [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06065


We perform X-ray spectral analyses to derive characteristics (e.g., column density, X-ray luminosity) of $\approx$10,200 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the XMM-Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (XMM-SERVS), which was designed to investigate the growth of supermassive black holes across a wide dynamic range of cosmic environments. Using physical torus models (e.g., Borus02) and a Bayesian approach, we uncover 22 representative Compton-thick (CT; $N_{\rm H} \;>\; 1.5\times10^{24}\; \rm cm^{-2}$) AGN candidates with good signal-to-noise ratios as well as a large sample of 136 heavily obscured AGNs. We also find an increasing CT fraction (\fct ) from low ($z<0.75$) to high ($z>0.75$) redshift. Our CT candidates tend to show hard X-ray spectral shapes and dust extinction in their SED fits, which may shed light on the connection between AGN obscuration and host-galaxy evolution.

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W. Yan, W. Brandt, F. Zou, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
21/64

Comments: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Pure Spectroscopic Constraints on UV Luminosity Functions and Cosmic Star Formation History From 25 Galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=8.61-13.20$ Confirmed with JWST/NIRSpec [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06658


We present pure spectroscopic constraints on the UV luminosity functions and cosmic star formation rate (SFR) densities from 25 galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=8.61-13.20$. By reducing the JWST/NIRSpec spectra taken in multiple programs of ERO, ERS, GO, and DDT with our analysis technique, we independently confirm 16 galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=8.61-11.40$ including new redshift determinations, and a bright interloper at $z_\mathrm{spec}=4.91$ that was claimed as a photometric candidate at z~16. In conjunction with nine galaxies at redshifts up to $z_\mathrm{spec}=13.20$ in the literature, we make a sample of 25 spectroscopically-confirmed galaxies in total and carefully derive the best estimates and lower limits of the UV luminosity functions. These UV luminosity function constraints are consistent with the previous photometric estimates within the uncertainties and indicate mild redshift evolution towards z~12 showing tensions with some theoretical models of rapid evolution. With these spectroscopic constraints, we obtain firm lower limits of the cosmic SFR densities and spectroscopically confirm a high SFR density at z~12 beyond the constant star-formation efficiency models, which supports earlier claims from the photometric studies. While there are no spectroscopically-confirmed galaxies with very large stellar masses violating the $\Lambda$CDM model due to the removal of the bright interloper, we confirm star-forming galaxies at $z_\mathrm{spec}=11-13$ with stellar masses much higher than model predictions. Our results indicate possibilities of high star-formation efficiency (>5%), hidden AGN, top-heavy initial mass function (possibly with Pop-III), and large scatter/variance. Having these successful and unsuccessful spectroscopy results, we suggest observational strategies for efficiently removing low redshift interlopers for future JWST programs.

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Y. Harikane, K. Nakajima, M. Ouchi, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
22/64

Comments: 27 pages, 18 figures, submitted to ApJ

Morphological asymmetries of quasar host galaxies with Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06090


How does the host galaxy morphology influence a central quasar or vice versa? We address this question by measuring the asymmetries of 2424 SDSS quasar hosts at $0.2<z<0.8$ using broad-band ($grizy$) images from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program. Control galaxies (without quasars) are selected by matching the redshifts and stellar masses of the quasar hosts. A two-step pipeline is run to decompose the PSF and \sersic\ components, and then measure asymmetry indices ($A_{\rm CAS}$, $A_{\rm outer}$, and $A_{\rm shape}$) of each quasar host and control galaxy. We find a mild correlation between host asymmetry and AGN bolometric luminosity ($L_{\rm bol}$) for the full sample (spearman correlation of 0.37) while a stronger trend is evident at the highest luminosities ($L_{\rm bol}>45$). This then manifests itself into quasar hosts being more asymmetric, on average, when they harbor a more massive and highly accreting black hole. The merger fraction also positively correlates with $L_{\rm bol}$ and reaches up to 35\% for the most luminous. Compared to control galaxies, quasar hosts are marginally more asymmetric (excess of 0.017 in median at 9.4$\sigma$ level) and the merger fractions are similar ($\sim 16.5\%$). We quantify the dependence of asymmetry on optical band which demonstrates that mergers are more likely to be identified with the bluer bands and the correlation between $L_{\rm bol}$ and asymmetry is also stronger in such bands. We stress that the band dependence, indicative of a changing stellar population, is an important factor in considering the influence of mergers on AGN activity.

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S. Tang, J. Silverman, H. Yesuf, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
26/64

Comments: 27 pages, 28 figures

The role of previous generations of stars in triggering star formation and driving gas dynamics [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06659


We present hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of sub galactic regions including photoionising and supernova feedack. We aim to improve the initial conditions of our region extraction models by including an initial population of stars. We also investigate the reliability of extracting regions in simulations, and show that with a good choice of region, results are comparable with using a larger region for the duration of our simulations. Simulations of star formation on molecular cloud scales typically start with a turbulent cloud of gas, from which stars form and then undergo feedback. In reality, a typical cloud or region within a galaxy may already include, or reside near some population of stars containing massive stars undergoing feedback. We find the main role of a prior population is triggering star formation, and contributing to gas dynamics. Early time supernova from the initial population are important in triggering new star formation and driving gas motions on larger scales above 100 pc, whilst the ionising feedback contribution from the initial population has less impact, since many members of the initial population have cleared out gas around them in the prior model. In terms of overall star formation rates though, the initial population has a relatively small effect, and the feedback does not for example suppress subsequent star formation. We find that MHD has a relatively larger impact than initial conditions, reducing the star formation rate by a factor of 3 at later times.

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N. Herrington, C. Dobbs and T. Bending
Fri, 14 Apr 23
27/64

Comments: 12 pages, 10 figures

Rotation curves of galaxies in GR [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06151


It has been suggested that the observed flat rotation curves of disk galaxies can be a peculiar effect of General Relativity (GR) rather than evidence for the presence of dark matter (DM) halos in Newtonian gravity. In Ciotti (2022) the problem has been quantitatively addressed by using the well known weak-field, low-velocity gravitomagnetic limit of GR, for realistic exponential baryonic (stellar) disks. As expected, the resulting GR and Newtonian rotation curves are indistinguishable, with GR corrections at all radii of the order of $v^2/c^2\approx 10^{-6}$. Here we list some astrophysical problems that must be faced if the existence of DM halos is attributed to a misinterpretation of weak field effects of GR.

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L. Ciotti
Fri, 14 Apr 23
30/64

Comments: 4 pages, no figures, Proceedings of EAS2022, Symposium S3, to be published on Memorie della SAIt

Fermionic Dark Matter: Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06329


The nature of dark matter (DM) is one of the most relevant questions in modern astrophysics. We present a brief overview of recent results that inquire into a possible fermionic quantum nature of the DM particles, focusing mainly on the interconnection between the microphysics of the neutral fermions {and the macrophysical structure of galactic halos, including their formation both in the linear and non-linear cosmological regimes. We discuss the general relativistic Ruffini-Arg\”uelles-Rueda (RAR) model of fermionic DM in galaxies, its applications to the Milky Way, the possibility that the Galactic center harbors a DM core instead of a supermassive black hole (SMBH), the S-cluster stellar orbits with an in-depth analysis of the S2’s orbit including precession, the application of the RAR model to other galaxy types (dwarf, elliptic, big elliptic and galaxy clusters), and universal galaxy relations. All the above focusing on the model parameters constraints, most relevant to the fermion mass. We also connect the RAR model fermions with particle physics DM candidates, self-interactions, and galactic observables constraints. The formation and stability of core-halo galactic structures predicted by the RAR model and their relation to warm DM cosmologies are also treated. Finally, we briefly discuss how gravitational lensing, dynamical friction, and the formation of SMBHs can also probe the DM nature.

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C. Arguüelles, E. Becerra-Vergara, J. Rueda, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
33/64

Comments: Review paper to be published in Universe, Special Issue “Galactic Center with Gravity”

Cosmology with one galaxy? — The ASTRID model and robustness [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06084


Recent work has pointed out the potential existence of a tight relation between the cosmological parameter $\Omega_{\rm m}$, at fixed $\Omega_{\rm b}$, and the properties of individual galaxies in state-of-the-art cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. In this paper, we investigate whether such a relation also holds for galaxies from simulations run with a different code that made use of a distinct subgrid physics: Astrid. We find that also in this case, neural networks are able to infer the value of $\Omega_{\rm m}$ with a $\sim10\%$ precision from the properties of individual galaxies while accounting for astrophysics uncertainties as modeled in CAMELS. This tight relationship is present at all considered redshifts, $z\leq3$, and the stellar mass, the stellar metallicity, and the maximum circular velocity are among the most important galaxy properties behind the relation. In order to use this method with real galaxies, one needs to quantify its robustness: the accuracy of the model when tested on galaxies generated by codes different from the one used for training. We quantify the robustness of the models by testing them on galaxies from four different codes: IllustrisTNG, SIMBA, Astrid, and Magneticum. We show that the models perform well on a large fraction of the galaxies, but fail dramatically on a small fraction of them. Removing these outliers significantly improves the accuracy of the models across simulation codes.

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N. Echeverri, F. Villaescusa-Navarro, C. Chawak, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
34/64

Comments: 16 pages, 12 figures

Far-infrared Polarization of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A with SOFIA HAWC+ [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06291


We present polarization observations of the young supernova remnant (SNR) Cas A using the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera-Plus (HAWC+) instrument onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The polarization map at 154 microns reveals dust grains with strong polarization fractions (5 – 30 percent), supporting previous measurements made over a smaller region of the remnant at 850 microns. The 154 microns emission and the polarization signal is coincident with a region of cold dust observed in the southeastern shell and in the unshocked central ejecta. The highly polarized far-IR emission implies the grains are large (greater than 0.14 microns) and silicate-dominated. The polarization level varies across the SNR, with an inverse correlation between the polarization degree and the intensity and smaller polarization angle dispersion for brighter SNR emission. Stronger polarization is detected between the bright structures. This may result from a higher collision rate between the gas and dust producing a lower grain alignment efficiency where the gas density is higher. We use the dust emission to provide an estimate of the magnetic field strength in Cas A using the Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi method. The high polarization level is direct evidence that grains are highly elongated and strongly aligned with the magnetic field of the SNR. The dust mass from the polarized region is 0.14+-0.04 Msun, a lower limit of the amount of dust present within the ejecta of Cas A. This result strengthens the hypothesis that core-collapse SNe are an important contributor to the dust mass in high redshift galaxies.

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J. Rho, A. Ravi, L. Tram, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
36/64

Comments: MNRAS, accepted (18 pages with 14 figures)

Imprint of the galactic acceleration scale on globular cluster systems: Galaxies in the Fornax Cluster [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06092


Dark matter is required in galaxies at galactocentric radii that are larger than the $a_0$-radius, which is where the gravitational acceleration generated by baryons of the galaxy equals the constant $a_0=1.2\times 10^{-10}$ms$^{-2}$ known as the galactic acceleration scale. It was found previously for massive early-type galaxies that the radial number-density profiles of their globular cluster (GC) systems follow broken power laws and the breaks occur at the $a_0$-radii. We have newly analyzed the distribution of GCs around galaxies in the Fornax cluster in existing photometric catalogs. We found that 1) the coincidence between $a_0$-radii and the break radii of globular cluster systems is valid for early-type galaxies of all masses and, 2) this also applies to the red and blue sub-populations of GCs separately.

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M. Bílek, M. Hilker, F. Renaud, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
37/64

Comments: 3 pages, 1 figure. To be published in Memorie della SAIt