Table of contents

We present spectra of 13 T Tauri stars in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region showing emission in Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph 5–7.5 μm spectra from water vapor and absorption from other gases in these stars' protoplanetary disks. Seven stars' spectra show an emission feature at 6.6 μm due to the ν₂ = 1–0 bending mode of water vapor, with the shape of the spectrum suggesting water vapor temperatures >500 K, though some of these spectra also show indications of an absorption band, likely from another molecule. This water vapor emission contrasts with the absorption from warm water vapor seen in the spectrum of the FU Orionis star V1057 Cyg. The other 6 of the 13 stars have spectra showing a strong absorption band, peaking in strength at 5.6–5.7 μm, which for some is consistent with gaseous formaldehyde (H₂CO) and for others is consistent with gaseous formic acid (HCOOH). There are indications that some of these six stars may also have weak water vapor emission. Modeling of these stars' spectra suggests these gases are present in the inner few AU of their host disks, consistent with recent studies of infrared spectra showing gas in protoplanetary disks.

Post-starbursts are galaxies in transition from the blue cloud to the red sequence. Although they are rare today, integrated over time they may be an important pathway to the red sequence. This work uses Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer observations to identify the evolutionary sequence from starbursts to fully quenched post-starbursts (QPSBs) in the narrow mass range log M(M_☉) = 10.3–10.7, and identifies "transiting" post-starbursts (TPSBs) which are intermediate between these two populations. In this mass range, ∼0.3% of galaxies are starbursts, ∼0.1% are QPSBs, and ∼0.5% are the transiting types in between. The TPSBs have stellar properties that are predicted for fast-quenching starbursts and morphological characteristics that are already typical of early-type galaxies. The active galactic nucleus (AGN) fraction, as estimated from optical line ratios, of these post-starbursts is about three times higher (≳ 36% ± 8%) than that of normal star forming galaxies of the same mass, but there is a significant delay between the starburst phase and the peak of nuclear optical AGN activity (median age difference of ≳ 200 ± 100 Myr), in agreement with previous studies. The time delay is inferred by comparing the broadband near–NUV-to-optical photometry with stellar population synthesis models. We also find that starbursts and post-starbursts are significantly more dust obscured than normal star forming galaxies in the same mass range. About 20% of the starbursts and 15% of the TPSBs can be classified as "dust-obscured galaxies" (DOGs), with a near–UV-to-mid–IR flux ratio of ≳ 900, while only 0.8% of normal galaxies are DOGs. The time delay between the starburst phase and AGN activity suggests that AGNs do not play a primary role in the original quenching of starbursts but may be responsible for quenching later low-level star formation by removing gas and dust during the post-starburst phase.

The cosmic ray mean free path in a large-scale nonuniform guide magnetic field with superposed magnetostatic turbulence is calculated to clarify some conflicting results in the literature. A new, exact integro-differential equation for the cosmic-ray anisotropy is derived from the Fokker–Planck transport equation. A perturbation analysis of this integro-differential equation leads to an analytical expression for the cosmic ray anisotropy and the focused transport equation for the isotropic part of the cosmic ray distribution function. The derived parallel spatial diffusion coefficient and the associated cosmic ray mean free path include the effect of adiabatic focusing and reduce to the standard forms in the limit of a uniform guide magnetic field. For the illustrative case of isotropic pitch angle scattering, the derived mean free path agrees with the earlier expressions of Beeck & Wibberenz, Bieber & Burger, Kota, and Litvinenko, but disagrees with the result of Shalchi. The disagreement with the expression of Shalchi is particularly strong in the limit of strong adiabatic focusing.

The streaming instability is a promising mechanism to overcome the barriers in direct dust growth and lead to the formation of planetesimals. Most previous studies of the streaming instability, however, were focused on a local region of a protoplanetary disk with a limited simulation domain such that only one filamentary concentration of solids has been observed. The characteristic separation between filaments is therefore not known. To address this, we conduct the largest-scale simulations of the streaming instability to date, with computational domains up to 1.6 gas scale heights both horizontally and vertically. The large dynamical range allows the effect of vertical gas stratification to become prominent. We observe more frequent merging and splitting of filaments in simulation boxes of high vertical extent. We find multiple filamentary concentrations of solids with an average separation of about 0.2 local gas scale heights, much higher than the most unstable wavelength from linear stability analysis. This measures the characteristic separation of planetesimal forming events driven by the streaming instability and thus the initial feeding zone of planetesimals.

We present a new numerical algorithm for the calculation of pulse profiles from spinning neutron stars in the Hartle–Thorne approximation. Our approach allows us to formally take into account the effects of Doppler shifts and aberration, of frame dragging, as well as of the oblateness of the stellar surface and of its quadrupole moment. We confirm an earlier result that neglecting the oblateness of the neutron-star surface leads to ≃ 5%–30% errors in the calculated profiles and further show that neglecting the quadrupole moment of its spacetime leads to ≃ 1%–5% errors at a spin frequency of ≃ 600 Hz. We discuss the implications of our results for the measurements of neutron-star masses and radii with upcoming X-ray missions, such as NASA's NICER and ESA's LOFT.

Recent general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations have suggested that relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been powered by the rotational energy of central black holes. Some mechanisms for extraction of black hole rotational energy have been proposed, like the Penrose process, Blandford–Znajek mechanism, MHD Penrose process, and superradiance. The Blandford–Znajek mechanism is the most promising mechanism for the engines of the relativistic jets from AGNs. However, an intuitive interpretation of this mechanism with causality is not yet clarified, while the Penrose process has a clear interpretation for causal energy extraction from a black hole with negative energy. In this paper, we present a formula to build physical intuition so that in the Blandford–Znajek mechanism, as well as in other electromagnetic processes, negative electromagnetic energy plays an important role in causal extraction of the rotational energy of black holes.

HNCS and NCSH molecules, recently discovered in the interstellar medium, are likely formed via the dissociative recombination of H₂NCS⁺ or HNCSH⁺ isomeric ions. Interstellar synthesis of the latter is discussed on theoretical grounds. The analysis of relevant potential energy surfaces suggests a key role for chemical processes in which CSH⁺ or HCS⁺ cations (most likely formed in $\mathrm{CS + H_3^{+}}$ collisions) react with NH₂ or NH₃. The astrochemical kinetic database (kida.uva.2011), appended with 7 sulfur-bearing molecules and 48 corresponding reactions, has been applied to model the evolution of HNCS, NCSH, and their cationic precursors in a quiescent molecular cloud. Based on the model and on spectroscopic predictions, for an object like TMC-1, we expect the total intensity of H₂NCS⁺ microwave lines to be comparable to that observed for HSCN. Theoretically derived molecular parameters, of interest for radio spectroscopy, are given for the most stable cations sharing the H₂NCS⁺ stoichiometry.

The search for life on planets outside our solar system will use spectroscopic identification of atmospheric biosignatures. The most robust remotely detectable potential biosignature is considered to be the detection of oxygen (O₂) or ozone (O₃) simultaneous to methane (CH₄) at levels indicating fluxes from the planetary surface in excess of those that could be produced abiotically. Here we use an altitude-dependent photochemical model with the enhanced lower boundary conditions necessary to carefully explore abiotic O₂ and O₃ production on lifeless planets with a wide variety of volcanic gas fluxes and stellar energy distributions. On some of these worlds, we predict limited O₂ and O₃ buildup, caused by fast chemical production of these gases. This results in detectable abiotic O₃ and CH₄ features in the UV-visible, but no detectable abiotic O₂ features. Thus, simultaneous detection of O₃ and CH₄ by a UV-visible mission is not a strong biosignature without proper contextual information. Discrimination between biological and abiotic sources of O₂ and O₃ is possible through analysis of the stellar and atmospheric context—particularly redox state and O atom inventory—of the planet in question. Specifically, understanding the spectral characteristics of the star and obtaining a broad wavelength range for planetary spectra should allow more robust identification of false positives for life. This highlights the importance of wide spectral coverage for future exoplanet characterization missions. Specifically, discrimination between true and false positives may require spectral observations that extend into infrared wavelengths and provide contextual information on the planet's atmospheric chemistry.

We present new formulae for the mass functions of the clusters and the isolated clusters with non-Gaussian initial conditions. For this study, we adopt the extended Zel'dovich (EZL) model as a basic framework, focusing on the case of primordial non-Gaussianity of the local type whose degree is quantified by a single parameter, f_nl. By making a quantitative comparison with the N-body results, we first demonstrate that the EZL formula with the constant values of three fitting parameters still works remarkably well for the local f_nl case. We also modify the EZL formula to find an analytic expression for the mass function of isolated clusters, which turns out to have only one fitting parameter other than the overall normalization factor and showed that the modified EZL formula with a constant value of the fitting parameter matches excellently the N-body results with various values of f_nl at various redshifts. Given the simplicity of the generalized EZL formulae and their good agreements with the numerical results, we finally conclude that the EZL mass functions of the massive clusters and isolated clusters should be useful as an analytic guideline to constrain the scale dependence of the primordial non-Gaussianity of the local type.

Exact luminosity distance and apparent magnitude formulae are applied to the Union2 557 supernovae sample in order to constrain the possible position of an observer outside of the center of symmetry in spherically symmetric inhomogeneous pressure Stephani universes, which are complementary to inhomogeneous density Lemaître–Tolman–Bondi (LTB) void models. Two specific models are investigated. The first allows a barotropic equation of state at the center of symmetry without the need to specify a scale factor function (model IIA). The second has no barotropic equation of state at the center, but has an explicit dust-like scale factor evolution (model IIB). It is shown that even at 3σ CL, an off-center observer cannot be further than about 4.4 Gpc away from the center of symmetry, which is comparable to the reported size of a void in LTB models with the most likely value of the distance from the center at about 341 Mpc for model IIA and 68 Mpc for model IIB. The off-center observer cannot be farther away from the center than about 577 Mpc for model IIB at 3σ CL. It is determined that the best-fit parameters which characterize inhomogeneity are Ω_inh = 0.77 (dimensionless: model IIA) and α = 7.31 × 10⁻⁹ (s km⁻¹)^2/3 Mpc^−4/3 (model IIB).

The first spectroscopic observations of cool Mg ii loops above the solar limb observed by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) are presented. During the observation period, IRIS is pointed off-limb, allowing the observation of high-lying loops, which reach over 70 Mm in height. Low-lying cool loops were observed by the IRIS slit-jaw camera for the entire four-hour observing window. There is no evidence of a central reversal in the line profiles, and the Mg ii h/k ratio is approximately two. The Mg ii spectral lines show evidence of complex dynamics in the loops with Doppler velocities reaching ±40 km s⁻¹. The complex motions seen indicate the presence of multiple threads in the loops and separate blobs. Toward the end of the observing period, a filament eruption occurs that forms the core of a coronal mass ejection. As the filament erupts, it impacts these high-lying loops, temporarily impeding these complex flows, most likely due to compression. This causes the plasma motions in the loops to become blueshifted and then redshifted. The plasma motions are seen before the loops themselves start to oscillate as they reach equilibrium following the impact. The ratio of the Mg h/k lines also increases following the impact of the filament.

An ALMA observation of the early-type galaxy NGC 5044, which resides at the center of an X-ray bright group with a moderate cooling flow, detected 24 molecular structures within the central 2.5 kpc. The masses of the molecular structures vary from 3 × 10⁵ M_☉ to 10⁷ M_☉ and the CO(2–1) linewidths vary from 15 to 65 km s⁻¹. Given the large CO(2–1) linewidths, the observed structures are likely giant molecular associations (GMAs) and not individual giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Only a few of the GMAs are spatially resolved and the average density of these GMAs yields a GMC volume filling factor of about 15%. The masses of the resolved GMAs are insufficient for them to be gravitationally bound, however, the most massive GMA does contain a less massive component with a linewidth of 5.5 km s⁻¹ (typical of an individual virialized GMC). We also show that the GMAs cannot be pressure confined by the hot gas. Given the CO(2–1) linewidths of the GMAs (i.e., the velocity dispersion of the embedded GMCs) they should disperse on a timescale of about 12 Myr. No disk-like molecular structures are detected and all indications suggest that the molecular gas follows ballistic trajectories after condensing out of the thermally unstable hot gas. The 230 GHz luminosity of the central continuum source is 500 times greater than its low frequency radio luminosity and probably reflects a recent accretion event. The spectrum of the central continuum source also exhibits an absorption feature with a linewidth typical of an individual GMC and an infalling velocity of 250 km s⁻¹.

We present results from modeling the optical spectra of a large sample of quiescent galaxies between 0.1 < z < 0.7 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the AGN and Galaxy Evolution Survey (AGES). We examine how the stellar ages and abundance patterns of galaxies evolve over time as a function of stellar mass from 10^9.6–10^11.8 M_☉. Galaxy spectra are stacked in bins of mass and redshift and modeled over a wavelength range from 4000 Å to 5500 Å. Full spectrum stellar population synthesis modeling provides estimates of the age and the abundances of the elements Fe, Mg, C, N, and Ca. We find negligible evolution in elemental abundances at fixed stellar mass over roughly 7 Gyr of cosmic time. In addition, the increase in stellar ages with time for massive galaxies is consistent with passive evolution since z = 0.7. Taken together, these results favor a scenario in which the inner ∼0.3–3 R_e of massive quiescent galaxies have been passively evolving over the last half of cosmic time. Interestingly, the derived stellar ages are considerably younger than the age of the universe at all epochs, consistent with an equivalent single-burst star formation epoch of z ≲ 1.5. These young stellar population ages coupled with the existence of massive quiescent galaxies at z > 1 indicate the inhomogeneous nature of the z ≲ 0.7 quiescent population. The data also permit the addition of newly quenched galaxies at masses below ∼10^10.5 M_☉ at z < 0.7. Additionally, we analyze very deep Keck DEIMOS spectra of the two brightest quiescent galaxies in a cluster at z = 0.83. There is tentative evidence that these galaxies are older than their counterparts in low-density environments. In the Appendix, we demonstrate that our full spectrum modeling technique allows for accurate and reliable modeling of galaxy spectra to low S/N (∼20 Å⁻¹) and/or low spectral resolution (R ∼ 500).

During the stalled-shock phase of our three-dimensional, hydrodynamical core-collapse simulations with energy-dependent, three-flavor neutrino transport, the lepton-number flux (ν_e minus $\bar{\nu }_e$) emerges predominantly in one hemisphere. This novel, spherical-symmetry breaking neutrino-hydrodynamical instability is termed LESA for "Lepton-number Emission Self-sustained Asymmetry." While the individual ν_e and $\bar{\nu }_e$ fluxes show a pronounced dipole pattern, the heavy-flavor neutrino fluxes and the overall luminosity are almost spherically symmetric. Initially, LESA seems to develop stochastically from convective fluctuations. It exists for hundreds of milliseconds or more and persists during violent shock sloshing associated with the standing accretion shock instability. The ν_e minus $\bar{\nu }_e$ flux asymmetry originates predominantly below the neutrinosphere in a region of pronounced proto-neutron star (PNS) convection, which is stronger in the hemisphere of enhanced lepton-number flux. On this side of the PNS, the mass accretion rate of lepton-rich matter is larger, amplifying the lepton-emission asymmetry, because the spherical stellar infall deflects on a dipolar deformation of the stalled shock. The increased shock radius in the hemisphere of less mass accretion and minimal lepton-number flux ($\bar{\nu }_e$ flux maximum) is sustained by stronger convection on this side, which is boosted by stronger neutrino heating due to $\langle \epsilon _{\bar{\nu }_e}\rangle \gt \langle \epsilon _{\nu _e}\rangle$. Asymmetric heating thus supports the global deformation despite extremely nonstationary convective overturn behind the shock. While these different elements of the LESA phenomenon form a consistent picture, a full understanding remains elusive at present. There may be important implications for neutrino-flavor oscillations, the neutron-to-proton ratio in the neutrino-heated supernova ejecta, and neutron-star kicks, which remain to be explored.

In this paper, we review the impact of small sample statistics on detection thresholds and corresponding confidence levels (CLs) in high-contrast imaging at small angles. When looking close to the star, the number of resolution elements decreases rapidly toward small angles. This reduction of the number of degrees of freedom dramatically affects CLs and false alarm probabilities. Naively using the same ideal hypothesis and methods as for larger separations, which are well understood and commonly assume Gaussian noise, can yield up to one order of magnitude error in contrast estimations at fixed CL. The statistical penalty exponentially increases toward very small inner working angles. Even at 5–10 resolution elements from the star, false alarm probabilities can be significantly higher than expected. Here we present a rigorous statistical analysis that ensures robustness of the CL, but also imposes a substantial limitation on corresponding achievable detection limits (thus contrast) at small angles. This unavoidable fundamental statistical effect has a significant impact on current coronagraphic and future high-contrast imagers. Finally, the paper concludes with practical recommendations to account for small number statistics when computing the sensitivity to companions at small angles and when exploiting the results of direct imaging planet surveys.

We present graphics processing unit (GPU) implementations of two fast force calculation methods based on series expansions of the Poisson equation. One method is the self-consistent field (SCF) method, which is a Fourier-like expansion of the density field in some basis set; the other method is the multipole expansion (MEX) method, which is a Taylor-like expansion of the Green's function. MEX, which has been advocated in the past, has not gained as much popularity as SCF. Both are particle-field methods and optimized for collisionless galactic dynamics, but while SCF is a "pure" expansion, MEX is an expansion in just the angular part; thus, MEX is capable of capturing radial structure easily, while SCF needs a large number of radial terms. We show that despite the expansion bias, these methods are more accurate than direct techniques for the same number of particles. The performance of our GPU code, which we call ETICS, is profiled and compared to a CPU implementation. On the tested GPU hardware, a full force calculation for one million particles took ∼0.1 s (depending on expansion cutoff), making simulations with as many as 10⁸ particles fast for a comparatively small number of nodes.

We present results from a fully cosmological, very high-resolution, ΛCDM simulation of a group of seven field dwarf galaxies with present-day virial masses in the range M_vir = 4.4 × 10⁸–3.6 × 10¹⁰ M_☉. The simulation includes a blastwave scheme for supernova feedback, a star-formation recipe based on a high gas density threshold, metal-dependent radiative cooling, a scheme for the turbulent diffusion of metals and thermal energy, and a uniform UV background. The properties of the simulated dwarfs are strongly modulated by the depth of the gravitational potential well. All three halos with M_vir < 10⁹ M_☉ are devoid of stars, as they never reach the density threshold for star formation of 100 atoms cm⁻³. The other four, M_vir > 10⁹ M_☉ dwarfs have blue colors, low star-formation efficiencies, high cold gas-to-stellar mass ratios, and low stellar metallicities. Their bursty star-formation histories are characterized by peak specific star-formation rates in excess of 50–100 Gyr⁻¹, far outside the realm of normal, more massive galaxies. The median stellar age of the simulated galaxies decreases with decreasing halo mass, with the two M_vir ≃ 2–3 × 10⁹ M_☉ dwarfs being predominantly young, and the two more massive systems hosting intermediate and older populations. The cosmologically young dwarfs are lit up by tidal interactions, have compact morphologies, and have metallicities and cold gas fractions similar to the relatively quiescent, extremely metal-deficient dwarf population. Metal-enriched galactic outflows produce sub-solar effective yields and pollute with heavy elements a megaparsec-size region of the intergalactic medium, but are not sufficient to completely quench star-formation activity and are absent in the faintest dwarfs.

Supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) with sub-pc separations form in the course of galaxy mergers, if both galaxies harbor massive black holes. Clear observational evidence for them however still eludes us. We propose a novel method of identifying these systems by means of reverberation mapping their circumbinary disk after a tidal disruption event has ionized it. The tidal disruption of a star at the secondary leads to strong asymmetries in the disk response. We model the shape of the velocity-delay maps for various toy disk models and more realistic gas distributions obtained by smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. The emissivity of the ionized disk is calculated with Cloudy. We find peculiar asymmetries in the maps for off center ionizing sources that may help us constrain geometrical parameters of a circumbinary disk such as semimajor axis and orbital phase of the secondary, as well as help strengthen the observational evidence for sub-parsec SMBBHs as such.

We analyze the two-dimensional distribution and kinematics of the stars as well as molecular and ionized gas in the central few hundred parsecs of five active and five matched inactive galaxies. The equivalent widths of the Brγ line indicate that there is no ongoing star formation in their nuclei, although recent (terminated) starbursts are possible in the active galaxies. The stellar velocity fields show no signs of non-circular motions, while the 1-0 S(1) H₂ kinematics exhibit significant deviations from simple circular rotation. In the active galaxies the H₂ kinematics reveal inflow and outflow superimposed on disk rotation. Steady-state circumnuclear inflow is seen in three active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and hydrodynamical models indicate it can be driven by a large-scale bar. In three of the five AGNs, molecular outflows are spatially resolved. The outflows are oriented such that they intersect, or have an edge close to, the disk, which may be the source of molecular gas in the outflow. The relatively low speeds imply the gas will fall back onto the disk, and with moderate outflow rates, they will have only a local impact on the host galaxy. H₂ was detected in two inactive galaxies. These exhibit chaotic circumnuclear dust morphologies and have molecular structures that are counter-rotating with respect to the main gas component, which could lead to gas inflow in the near future. In our sample, all four galaxies with chaotic dust morphology in the circumnuclear region exist in moderately dense groups with 10–15 members where accretion of stripped gas can easily occur.

Large direct imaging surveys usually use a template-fitting technique to estimate photometric redshifts for galaxies, which are then applied to derive important galaxy properties such as luminosities and stellar masses. These estimates can be noisy and suffer from systematic biases because of the possible mis-selection of templates and the propagation of the photometric redshift uncertainty. We introduce an algorithm, the Direct Empirical Photometric method (DEmP), that can be used to directly estimate these quantities using training sets, bypassing photometric redshift determination. DEmP also applies two techniques to minimize the effects arising from the non-uniform distribution of training set galaxy redshifts from a flux-limited sample. First, for each input galaxy, fitting is performed using a subset of the training set galaxies with photometry and colors closest to those of the input galaxy. Second, the training set is artificially resampled to produce a flat distribution in redshift or other properties, e.g., luminosity. To test the performance of DEmP, we use a four filter-band mock catalog to examine its ability to recover redshift, luminosity, stellar mass, and luminosity and stellar mass functions. We also compare the results to those from two publicly available template-fitting methods, finding that the DEmP algorithm outperforms both. We find that resampling the training set to have a uniform redshift distribution produces the best results not only in photometric redshift, but also in estimating luminosity and stellar mass. The DEmP method is especially powerful in estimating quantities such as near-IR luminosities and stellar mass using only data from a small number of optical bands.

We study the statistical distribution of satellites around star-forming and quiescent central galaxies at 1 < z < 3 using imaging from the FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey and the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. The deep near-IR data select satellites down to log (M/M_☉) > 9 at z < 3. The radial satellite distribution around centrals is consistent with a projected Navarro–Frenk–White profile. Massive quiescent centrals, log (M/M_☉) > 10.78, have ∼2 times the number of satellites compared to star-forming centrals with a significance of 2.7σ even after accounting for differences in the centrals' stellar-mass distributions. We find no statistical difference in the satellite distributions of intermediate-mass quiescent and star-forming centrals, 10.48 < log (M/M_☉) < 10.78. Compared to the Guo et al. semi-analytic model, the excess number of satellites indicates that quiescent centrals have halo masses 0.3 dex larger than star-forming centrals, even when the stellar-mass distributions are fixed. We use a simple toy model that relates halo mass and quenching, which roughly reproduces the observed quenched fractions and the differences in halo mass between star-forming and quenched galaxies only if galaxies have a quenching probability that increases with halo mass from ∼0 for log (M_h/M_☉) ∼ 11 to ∼1 for log (M_h/M_☉) ∼ 13.5. A single halo-mass quenching threshold is unable to reproduce the quiescent fraction and satellite distribution of centrals. Therefore, while halo quenching may be an important mechanism, it is unlikely to be the only factor driving quenching. It remains unclear why a high fraction of centrals remain star-forming even in relatively massive halos.

Highly accurate weak lensing analysis is urgently required for planned cosmic shear observations. For this purpose we have eliminated various systematic noises in the measurement. The point-spread function (PSF) effect is one of them. A perturbative approach for correcting the PSF effect on the observed image ellipticities has been previously employed. Here we propose a new non-perturbative approach for PSF correction that avoids the systematic error associated with the perturbative approach. The new method uses an artificial image for measuring shear which has the same ellipticity as the lensed image. This is done by re-smearing the observed galaxy images and observed star images (PSF) with an additional smearing function to obtain the original lensed galaxy images. We tested the new method with simple simulated objects that have Gaussian or Sérsic profiles smeared by a Gaussian PSF with sufficiently large size to neglect pixelization. Under the condition of no pixel noise, it is confirmed that the new method has no systematic error even if the PSF is large and has a high ellipticity.

Here we consider the strong evolution experienced by the matter reinserted by massive stars, both in giant star-forming regions driven by a constant star formation rate and in massive and coeval superstar clusters. In both cases we take into consideration the changes induced by stellar evolution on the number of massive stars, the number of ionizing photons, and the integrated mechanical luminosity of the star-forming regions. The latter is at all times compared with the critical luminosity that defines, for a given size, the lower mechanical luminosity limit above which the matter reinserted via strong winds and supernova explosions suffers frequent and recurrent thermal instabilities that reduce its temperature and pressure and inhibit its exit as part of a global wind. Instead, the unstable reinserted matter is compressed by the pervasive hot gas, and photoionization maintains its temperature at T ∼ 10⁴ K. As the evolution proceeds, more unstable matter accumulates and the unstable clumps grow in size. Here we evaluate the possible self-shielding of thermally unstable clumps against the UV radiation field. Self-shielding allows for a further compression of the reinserted matter, which rapidly develops a high-density neutral core able to absorb in its outer skin the incoming UV radiation. Under such conditions the cold (T ∼ 10 K) neutral cores soon surpass the Jeans limit and become gravitationally unstable, creating a new stellar generation with the matter reinserted by former massive stars. We present the results of several calculations of this positive star formation feedback scenario promoted by strong radiative cooling and mass loading.

We discuss the absorption due to various constituents of the interstellar medium (ISM) of M82 seen in moderately high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra of SN 2014J. Complex absorption from M82 is seen, at velocities 45 ≲ v_LSR ≲ 260 km s⁻¹, for Na i, K i, Ca i, Ca ii, CH, CH⁺, and CN; many of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are also detected. Comparisons of the column densities of the atomic and molecular species and the equivalent widths of the DIBs reveal both similarities and differences in relative abundances, compared to trends seen in the ISM of our Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. Of the 10 relatively strong DIBs considered here, 6 (including λ5780.5) have strengths within ±20% of the mean values seen in the local Galactic ISM, for comparable N(K i); 2 are weaker by 20%–45% and 2 (including λ5797.1) are stronger by 25%–40%. Weaker than "expected" DIBs (relative to N(K i), N(Na i), and E(B − V)) in some Galactic sight lines and toward several other extragalactic supernovae appear to be associated with strong CN absorption and/or significant molecular fractions. While the N(CH)/N(K i) and N(CN)/N(CH) ratios seen toward SN 2014J are similar to those found in the local Galactic ISM, the combination of high N(CH⁺)/N(CH) and high W(5797.1)/W(5780.5) ratios has not been seen elsewhere. The centroids of many of the M82 DIBs are shifted relative to the envelope of the K i profile—likely due to component-to-component variations in W(DIB)/N(K i) that may reflect the molecular content of the individual components. We compare estimates for the host galaxy reddening E(B − V) and visual extinction A_V derived from the various interstellar species with the values estimated from optical and near-IR photometry of SN 2014J.

Force-free equilibria containing two vertically arranged magnetic flux ropes of like chirality and current direction are considered as a model for split filaments/prominences and filament-sigmoid systems. Such equilibria are constructed analytically through an extension of the methods developed in Titov & Démoulin and numerically through an evolutionary sequence including shear flows, flux emergence, and flux cancellation in the photospheric boundary. It is demonstrated that the analytical equilibria are stable if an external toroidal (shear) field component exceeding a threshold value is included. If this component decreases sufficiently, then both flux ropes turn unstable for conditions typical of solar active regions, with the lower rope typically becoming unstable first. Either both flux ropes erupt upward, or only the upper rope erupts while the lower rope reconnects with the ambient flux low in the corona and is destroyed. However, for shear field strengths staying somewhat above the threshold value, the configuration also admits evolutions which lead to partial eruptions with only the upper flux rope becoming unstable and the lower one remaining in place. This can be triggered by a transfer of flux and current from the lower to the upper rope, as suggested by the observations of a split filament in Paper I. It can also result from tether-cutting reconnection with the ambient flux at the X-type structure between the flux ropes, which similarly influences their stability properties in opposite ways. This is demonstrated for the numerically constructed equilibrium.

GRO J1008−57 is a high-mass X-ray binary for which several claims of a cyclotron resonance scattering feature near 80 keV have been reported. We use NuSTAR, Suzaku, and Swift data from its giant outburst of 2012 November to confirm the existence of the 80 keV feature and perform the most sensitive search to date for cyclotron scattering features at lower energies. We find evidence for a 78$^{+3}_{-2}$ keV line in the NuSTAR and Suzaku data at >4σ significance, confirming the detection using Suzaku alone by Yamamoto et al. A search of both the phase-averaged and phase-resolved data rules out a fundamental at lower energies with optical depth larger than 5% of the 78 keV line. These results indicate that GRO J1008−57 has a magnetic field of 6.7 × 10¹²(1 + z) G, the highest among known accreting pulsars.

The recent discovery of a millisecond radio pulsar experiencing an accretion outburst similar to those seen in low mass X-ray binaries, has opened up a new opportunity to investigate the evolutionary link between these two different neutron star manifestations. The remarkable X-ray variability and hard X-ray spectrum of this object can potentially serve as a template to search for other X-ray binary/radio pulsar transitional objects. Here we demonstrate that the transient X-ray source XMM J174457–2850.3 near the Galactic center displays similar X-ray properties. We report on the detection of an energetic thermonuclear burst with an estimated duration of ≃2 hr and a radiated energy output of ≃ 5 × 10⁴⁰ erg, which unambiguously demonstrates that the source harbors an accreting neutron star. It has a quiescent X-ray luminosity of L_X ≃ 5 × 10³²(D/6.5 kpc)² erg s⁻¹ and exhibits occasional accretion outbursts during which it brightens to L_X ≃ 10³⁵–10³⁶(D/6.5 kpc)² erg s⁻¹ for a few weeks (2–10 keV). However, the source often lingers in between outburst and quiescence at L_X ≃ 10³³–10³⁴(D/6.5 kpc)² erg s⁻¹. This peculiar X-ray flux behavior and its relatively hard X-ray spectrum, a power law with an index of Γ ≃ 1.4, could possibly be explained in terms of the interaction between the accretion flow and the magnetic field of the neutron star.

The most accurate ages for the oldest stars are those obtained for nearby halo subgiants because they depend almost entirely on just the measured parallaxes and absolute oxygen abundances. In this study, we have used the Fine Guidance Sensors on the Hubble Space Telescope to determine trigonometric parallaxes, with precisions of 2.1% or better, for the Population II subgiants HD 84937, HD 132475, and HD 140283. High quality spectra have been used to derive their surface abundances of O, Fe, Mg, Si, and Ca, which are assumed to be 0.1–0.15 dex less than their initial abundances due to the effects of diffusion. Comparisons of isochrones with the three subgiants on the (log T_eff, M_V) diagram yielded ages of 12.08 ± 0.14, 12.56 ± 0.46, and 14.27 ± 0.38 Gyr for HD 84937, HD 132475, and HD 140283, in turn, where each error bar includes only the parallax uncertainty. The total uncertainty is estimated to be ∼ ± 0.8 Gyr (larger in the case of the near-turnoff star HD 84937). Although the age of HD 140283 is greater than the age of the universe as inferred from the cosmic microwave background by ∼0.4–0.5 Gyr, this discrepancy is at a level of <1σ. Nevertheless, the first Population II stars apparently formed very soon after the Big Bang. (Stellar models that neglect diffusive processes seem to be ruled out as they would predict that HD 140283 is ∼1.5 Gyr older than the universe.) The field halo subgiants appear to be older than globular clusters of similar metallicities: if distances close to those implied by the RR Lyrae standard candle are assumed, M 92 and M 5 are younger than HD 140283 and HD 132475 by ∼1.5 and ∼1.0 Gyr, respectively.

There are numerous multi-planet systems that have now been detected via a variety of techniques. These systems exhibit a range of both planetary properties and orbital configurations. For those systems without detected planetary transits, a significant unknown factor is the orbital inclination. This produces an uncertainty in the mass of the planets and their related properties, such as atmospheric scale height. Here we investigate the HD 10180 system, which was discovered using the radial velocity technique. We provide a new orbital solution for the system which allows for eccentric orbits for all planets. We show how the inclination of the system affects the mass/radius properties of the planets and how the detection of phase signatures may resolve the inclination ambiguity. We finally evaluate the Habitable Zone properties of the system and show that the g planet spends 100% of an eccentric orbit within the Habitable Zone.

We have measured the alignment between the orbit of HATS-3b (a recently discovered, slightly inflated Hot Jupiter) and the spin axis of its host star. Data were obtained using the CYCLOPS2 optical-fiber bundle and its simultaneous calibration system feeding the UCLES spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The sky-projected spin–orbit angle of λ = 3° ± 25° was determined from spectroscopic measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. This is the first exoplanet discovered through the HATSouth transit survey to have its spin–orbit angle measured. Our results indicate that the orbital plane of HATS-3b is consistent with being aligned to the spin axis of its host star. The low obliquity of the HATS-3 system, which has a relatively hot mid F-type host star, agrees with the general trend observed for Hot Jupiter host stars with effective temperatures >6250 K to have randomly distributed spin–orbit angles.

We describe a new method (Poisson probability method, PPM) to search for high-redshift galaxy clusters and groups by using photometric redshift information and galaxy number counts. The method relies on Poisson statistics and is primarily introduced to search for megaparsec-scale environments around a specific beacon. The PPM is tailored to both the properties of the FR I radio galaxies in the Chiaberge et al. sample, which are selected within the COSMOS survey, and to the specific data set used. We test the efficiency of our method of searching for cluster candidates against simulations. Two different approaches are adopted. (1) We use two z ∼ 1 X-ray detected cluster candidates found in the COSMOS survey and we shift them to higher redshift up to z = 2. We find that the PPM detects the cluster candidates up to z = 1.5, and it correctly estimates both the redshift and size of the two clusters. (2) We simulate spherically symmetric clusters of different size and richness, and we locate them at different redshifts (i.e., z = 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0) in the COSMOS field. We find that the PPM detects the simulated clusters within the considered redshift range with a statistical 1σ redshift accuracy of ∼0.05. The PPM is an efficient alternative method for high-redshift cluster searches that may also be applied to both present and future wide field surveys such as SDSS Stripe 82, LSST, and Euclid. Accurate photometric redshifts and a survey depth similar or better than that of COSMOS (e.g., I < 25) are required.

We search for high-redshift (z ∼1–2) galaxy clusters using low power radio galaxies (FR I) as beacons and our newly developed Poisson probability method based on photometric redshift information and galaxy number counts. We use a sample of 32 FR Is within the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field from the Chiaberge et al. catalog. We derive a reliable subsample of 21 bona fide low luminosity radio galaxies (LLRGs) and a subsample of 11 high luminosity radio galaxies (HLRGs), on the basis of photometric redshift information and NRAO VLA Sky Survey radio fluxes. The LLRGs are selected to have 1.4 GHz rest frame luminosities lower than the fiducial FR I/FR II divide. This also allows us to estimate the comoving space density of sources with L_1.4 ≃ 10^32.3 erg s⁻¹ Hz⁻¹ at z ≃ 1.1, which strengthens the case for a strong cosmological evolution of these sources. In the fields of the LLRGs and HLRGs we find evidence that 14 and 8 of them reside in rich groups or galaxy clusters, respectively. Thus, overdensities are found around ∼70% of the FR Is, independently of the considered subsample. This rate is in agreement with the fraction found for low redshift FR Is and it is significantly higher than that for FR IIs at all redshifts. Although our method is primarily introduced for the COSMOS survey, it may be applied to both present and future wide field surveys such as Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82, LSST, and Euclid. Furthermore, cluster candidates found with our method are excellent targets for next generation space telescopes such as James Webb Space Telescope.

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the exceptionally bright and luminous Swift gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 130427A. At z = 0.34, this burst affords an excellent opportunity to study the supernova (SN) and host galaxy associated with an intrinsically extremely luminous burst (E_iso > 10⁵⁴ erg): more luminous than any previous GRB with a spectroscopically associated SN. We use the combination of the image quality, UV capability, and invariant point-spread function of HST to provide the best possible separation of the afterglow, host, and SN contributions to the observed light ∼17 rest-frame days after the burst, utilizing a host subtraction spectrum obtained one year later. Advanced Camera for Surveys grism observations show that the associated SN, SN 2013cq, has an overall spectral shape and luminosity similar to SN 1998bw (with a photospheric velocity, v_ph ∼ 15, 000 km s⁻¹). The positions of the bluer features are better matched by the higher velocity SN 2010bh (v_ph ∼ 30, 000 km s⁻¹), but this SN is significantly fainter and fails to reproduce the overall spectral shape, perhaps indicative of velocity structure in the ejecta. We find that the burst originated ∼4 kpc from the nucleus of a moderately star forming (1 M_☉ yr⁻¹), possibly interacting disk galaxy. The absolute magnitude, physical size, and morphology of this galaxy, as well as the location of the GRB within it, are also strikingly similar to those of GRB 980425/SN 1998bw. The similarity of the SNe and environment from both the most luminous and least luminous GRBs suggests that broadly similar progenitor stars can create GRBs across six orders of magnitude in isotropic energy.

Massive stars (M > 8 M_☉) typically form in parsec-scale molecular clumps that collapse and fragment, leading to the birth of a cluster of stellar objects. We investigate the role of magnetic fields in this process through dust polarization at 870 μm obtained with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). The SMA observations reveal polarization at scales of ≲0.1 pc. The polarization pattern in these objects ranges from ordered hour-glass configurations to more chaotic distributions. By comparing the SMA data with the single dish data at parsec scales, we found that magnetic fields at dense core scales are either aligned within 40° of or perpendicular to the parsec-scale magnetic fields. This finding indicates that magnetic fields play an important role during the collapse and fragmentation of massive molecular clumps and the formation of dense cores. We further compare magnetic fields in dense cores with the major axis of molecular outflows. Despite a limited number of outflows, we found that the outflow axis appears to be randomly oriented with respect to the magnetic field in the core. This result suggests that at the scale of accretion disks (≲ 10³ AU), angular momentum and dynamic interactions possibly due to close binary or multiple systems dominate over magnetic fields. With this unprecedentedly large sample of massive clumps, we argue on a statistical basis that magnetic fields play an important role during the formation of dense cores at spatial scales of 0.01–0.1 pc in the context of massive star and cluster star formation.

We present Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) 3–40 keV observations of the optically selected Type 2 quasar (QSO2) SDSS J1034+6001 or Mrk 34. The high-quality hard X-ray spectrum and archival XMM-Newton data can be fitted self-consistently with a reflection-dominated continuum and a strong Fe Kα fluorescence line with equivalent width >1 keV. Prior X-ray spectral fitting below 10 keV showed the source to be consistent with being obscured by Compton-thin column densities of gas along the line of sight, despite evidence for much higher columns from multiwavelength data. NuSTAR now enables a direct measurement of this column and shows that N_H lies in the Compton-thick (CT) regime. The new data also show a high intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosity of L_2–10 ∼ 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹, in contrast to previous low-energy X-ray measurements where L_2–10 ≲ 10⁴³ erg s⁻¹ (i.e., X-ray selection below 10 keV does not pick up this source as an intrinsically luminous obscured quasar). Both the obscuring column and the intrinsic power are about an order of magnitude (or more) larger than inferred from pre-NuSTAR X-ray spectral fitting. Mrk 34 is thus a "gold standard" CT QSO2 and is the nearest non-merging system in this class, in contrast to the other local CT quasar NGC 6240, which is currently undergoing a major merger coupled with strong star formation. For typical X-ray bolometric correction factors, the accretion luminosity of Mrk 34 is high enough to potentially power the total infrared luminosity. X-ray spectral fitting also shows that thermal emission related to star formation is unlikely to drive the observed bright soft component below ∼3 keV, favoring photoionization instead.

An accurate spectroscopic characterization of protonated oxirane has been carried out by means of state-of-the-art computational methods and approaches. The calculated spectroscopic parameters from our recent computational investigation of oxirane together with the corresponding experimental data available were used to assess the accuracy of our predicted rotational and IR spectra of protonated oxirane. We found an accuracy of about 10 cm⁻¹ for vibrational transitions (fundamentals as well as overtones and combination bands) and, in relative terms, of 0.1% for rotational transitions. We are therefore confident that the spectroscopic data provided herein are a valuable support for the detection of protonated oxirane not only in Titan's atmosphere but also in the interstellar medium.

We present the discovery of 57 wide (>5'') separation, low-mass (stellar and substellar) companions to stars in the solar neighborhood identified from Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) data and the spectral classification of 31 previously known companions. Our companions represent a selective subsample of promising candidates and span a range in spectral type of K7–L9 with the addition of one DA white dwarf. These were identified primarily from a dedicated common proper motion search around nearby stars, along with a few as serendipitous discoveries from our Pan-STARRS 1 brown dwarf search. Our discoveries include 23 new L dwarf companions and one known L dwarf not previously identified as a companion. The primary stars around which we searched for companions come from a list of bright stars with well-measured parallaxes and large proper motions from the Hipparcos catalog (8583 stars, mostly A–K dwarfs) and fainter stars from other proper motion catalogs (79170 stars, mostly M dwarfs). We examine the likelihood that our companions are chance alignments between unrelated stars and conclude that this is unlikely for the majority of the objects that we have followed-up spectroscopically. We also examine the entire population of ultracool (>M7) dwarf companions and conclude that while some are loosely bound, most are unlikely to be disrupted over the course of ∼10 Gyr. Our search increases the number of ultracool M dwarf companions wider than 300 AU by 88% and increases the number of L dwarf companions in the same separation range by 82%. Finally, we resolve our new L dwarf companion to HIP 6407 into a tight (013, 7.4 AU) L1+T3 binary, making the system a hierarchical triple. Our search for these key benchmarks against which brown dwarf and exoplanet atmosphere models are tested has yielded the largest number of discoveries to date.

We present near-infrared synthetic spectra of a delayed-detonation hydrodynamical model and compare them to observed spectra of four normal Type Ia supernovae ranging from day +56.5 to day +85. This is the epoch during which supernovae are believed to be undergoing the transition from the photospheric phase, where spectra are characterized by line scattering above an optically thick photosphere, to the nebular phase, where spectra consist of optically thin emission from forbidden lines. We find that most spectral features in the near-infrared can be accounted for by permitted lines of Fe ii and Co ii. In addition, we find that [Ni ii] fits the emission feature near 1.98 μm, suggesting that a substantial mass of ⁵⁸Ni exists near the center of the ejecta in these objects, arising from nuclear burning at high density.

We search the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 broadband imaging data from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey to identify detections of cataloged planetary nebulae (PNs). Of the 711 PNs currently in the literature within the PHAT footprint, we find 467 detected in the broadband. For these 467, we are able to refine their astrometric accuracy from ∼03 to 005. Using the resolution of the HST, we are able to show that 152 objects currently in the catalogs are definitively not PNs, and we show that 32 objects thought to be extended in ground-based images are actually point-like and therefore good PN candidates. We also find one PN candidate that is marginally resolved. If this is a PN, it is up to 0.7 pc in diameter. With our new photometric data, we develop a method of measuring the level of excitation in individual PNs by comparing broadband and narrowband imaging and describe the effects of excitation on a PN's photometric signature. Using the photometric properties of the known PNs in the PHAT catalogs, we search for more PNs, but do not find any new candidates, suggesting that ground-based emission-line surveys are complete in the PHAT footprint to F475W ≃ 24.

We report the results of a parameter study of the feathering stability in the galactic spiral arms. A two-dimensional, razor-thin magnetized self-gravitating gas disk with an imposed two-armed stellar spiral structure is considered. Using the formulation developed previously by Lee & Shu, a linear stability analysis of the spiral shock is performed in a localized Cartesian geometry. Results of the parameter study of the base state with a spiral shock are also presented. The single-mode feathering instability that leads to growing perturbations may explain the feathering phenomenon found in nearby spiral galaxies. The self-gravity of the gas, characterized by its average surface density, is an important parameter that (1) shifts the spiral shock farther downstream and (2) increases the growth rate and decreases the characteristic spacing of the feathering structure due to the instability. On the other hand, while the magnetic field suppresses the velocity fluctuation associated with the feathers, it does not strongly affect their growth rate. Using a set of typical parameters of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 at 2 kpc from the center, the spacing of the feathers with the maximum growth rate is found to be 530 pc, which agrees with the previous observational studies.

Nearly 20% of short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) have no observed host galaxies. Combining this finding with constraints on galaxies' dark matter halo potential wells gives strong limits on the natal kick velocity distribution for sGRB progenitors. For the best-fitting velocity distribution, one in five sGRB progenitors receives a natal kick above 150 km s⁻¹, consistent with merging neutron star models but not with merging white dwarf binary models. This progenitor model constraint is robust to a wide variety of systematic uncertainties, including the sGRB progenitor time-delay model, the Swift redshift sensitivity, and the shape of the natal kick velocity distribution. We also use constraints on the galaxy–halo connection to determine the host halo and host galaxy demographics for sGRBs, which match extremely well with available data. Most sGRBs are expected to occur in halos near 10¹² M_☉ and in galaxies near 5 × 10¹⁰ M_☉ (L_*); unobserved faint and high-redshift host galaxies contribute a small minority of the observed hostless sGRB fraction. We find that sGRB redshift distributions and host galaxy stellar masses weakly constrain the progenitor time-delay model; the active versus passive fraction of sGRB host galaxies may offer a stronger constraint. Finally, we discuss how searches for gravitational wave optical counterparts in the local universe can reduce follow-up times using these findings.

It is common practice to describe formal size and mass scales of dark matter halos as spherical overdensities with respect to an evolving density threshold. Here, we critically investigate the evolutionary effects of several such commonly used definitions and compare them to the halo evolution within fixed physical scales as well as to the evolution of other intrinsic physical properties of dark matter halos. It is shown that, in general, the traditional way of characterizing sizes and masses of halos dramatically overpredicts the degree of evolution in the last 10 Gyr, especially for low-mass halos. This pseudo-evolution leads to the illusion of growth even though there are no major changes within fixed physical scales. Such formal size definitions also serve as proxies for the virialized region of a halo in the literature. In general, those spherical overdensity scales do not coincide with the virialized region. A physically more precise nomenclature would be to simply characterize them by their very definition instead of calling such formal size and mass definitions "virial." In general, we find a discrepancy between the evolution of the underlying physical structure of dark matter halos seen in cosmological structure formation simulations and pseudo-evolving formal virial quantities. We question the importance of the role of formal virial quantities currently ubiquitously used in descriptions, models, and relations that involve properties of dark matter structures. Concepts and relations based on pseudo-evolving formal virial quantities do not properly reflect the actual evolution of dark matter halos and lead to an inaccurate picture of the physical evolution of our universe.

In this work, we study the transport of methane in the external water envelopes surrounding water-rich super-Earths. We investigate the influence of methane on the thermodynamics and mechanics of the water mantle. We find that including methane in the water matrix introduces a new phase (filled ice), resulting in hotter planetary interiors. This effect renders the super-ionic and reticulating phases accessible to the lower ice mantle of relatively low-mass planets (∼5 M_E) lacking a H/He atmosphere. We model the thermal and structural profile of the planetary crust and discuss five possible crustal regimes which depend on the surface temperature and heat flux. We demonstrate that the planetary crust can be conductive throughout or partly confined to the dissociation curve of methane clathrate hydrate. The formation of methane clathrate in the subsurface is shown to inhibit the formation of a subterranean ocean. This effect results in increased stresses on the lithosphere, making modes of ice plate tectonics possible. The dynamic character of the tectonic plates is analyzed and the ability of this tectonic mode to cool the planet is estimated. The icy tectonic plates are found to be faster than those on a silicate super-Earth. A mid-layer of low viscosity is found to exist between the lithosphere and the lower mantle. Its existence results in a large difference between ice mantle overturn timescales and resurfacing timescales. Resurfacing timescales are found to be 1 Ma for fast plates and 100 Ma for sluggish plates, depending on the viscosity profile and ice mass fraction. Melting beneath spreading centers is required in order to account for the planetary radiogenic heating. The melt fraction is quantified for the various tectonic solutions explored, ranging from a few percent for the fast and thin plates to total melting of the upwelled material for the thick and sluggish plates. Ice mantle dynamics is found to be important for assessing the composition of the atmosphere. We propose a mechanism for methane release into the atmosphere, where freshly exposed reservoirs of methane clathrate hydrate at the ridge dissociate under surface conditions. We formulate the relation between the outgassing flux and the tectonic mode dynamical characteristics. We give numerical estimates for the global outgassing rate of methane into the atmosphere. We find, for example, that for a 2 M_E planet outgassing can release 10²⁷–10²⁹ molecules s⁻¹ of methane to the atmosphere. We suggest a qualitative explanation for how the same outgassing mechanism may result in either a stable or a runaway volatile release, depending on the specifics of a given planet. Finally, we integrate the global outgassing rate for a few cases and quantify how the surface atmospheric pressure of methane evolves over time. We find that methane is likely an important constituent of water planets' atmospheres.

Voyager 2 has crossed through 20 AU of the heliosheath; assuming the same heliosheath thickness as at Voyager 1, it is now two-thirds of the way to the heliopause. The plasma data are generally of good quality, although the increasing flow angle of the plasma makes analysis more difficult. The average plasma speed has remained constant but the flow angles have increased to almost 60° in the RT plane and to almost 30° in the RN plane. The average density and thermal speed have been constant since a density increase observed in 2011. Comparison of V2 plasma flows derived from plasma science experiment (PLS) data and Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) proton anisotropies give good agreement except when heavy ion contributions or non-convective proton anisotropies are observed in the LECP data.

Iapetus, the outermost regular satellite of Saturn, has a drastic albedo dichotomy and an equatorial circumferential ridge that reaches heights of 20 km and widths of 70 km. This moon is thought to have formed concurrently with Saturn, and so would have experienced an intense bombardment after its formation. The ridge, which has been inferred to be one of the most ancient features on Iapetus' surface, could reasonably be expected to have been eroded by impacts; however, it has retained long continuous sections and a nearly pristine triangular shape with ridge slopes reaching ∼40°. We use these observations, along with crater counts on Iapetus' surface, to constrain the total bombardment mass experienced by the satellite since its formation. The ridge morphology and the global crater population recorded on Iapetus both suggest similar bombardment masses, indicating the ridge is indeed ancient. We find that the inferred total bombardment mass incident on Iapetus is less than 20% of the bombardment predicted by the classic Nice model for early solar system evolution. Our results, though, support the recently proposed scenarios of planetesimal-driven migration of the young outer planets including more realistic disk conditions.

We studied a sample of 14 galaxies (0.1 < z < 0.7) using HST/WFPC2 imaging and high-resolution HST/COS or HST/STIS quasar spectroscopy of Lyα, Lyβ, and O vi λλ1031, 1037 absorption. The galaxies, having 10.8 ⩽ log (M_h/M_☉) ⩽ 12.2, lie within D = 300 kpc of quasar sightlines, probing out to D/R_vir = 3. When the full range of M_h and D/R_vir of the sample are examined, ∼40% of the H i absorbing clouds can be inferred to be escaping their host halo. The fraction of bound clouds decreases as D/R_vir increases such that the escaping fraction is ∼15% for D/R_vir < 1, ∼45% for 1 ⩽ D/R_vir < 2, and ∼90% for 2 ⩽ D/R_vir < 3. Adopting the median mass log M_h/M_☉ = 11.5 to divide the sample into "higher" and "lower" mass galaxies, we find a mass dependency for the hot circumgalactic medium kinematics. To our survey limits, O vi absorption is found in only ∼40% of the H i clouds in and around lower mass halos as compared to ∼85% around higher mass halos. For D/R_vir < 1, lower mass halos have an escape fraction of ∼65%, whereas higher mass halos have an escape fraction of ∼5%. For 1 ⩽ D/R_vir < 2, the escape fractions are ∼55% and ∼35% for lower mass and higher mass halos, respectively. For 2 ⩽ D/R_vir < 3, the escape fraction for lower mass halos is ∼90%. We show that it is highly likely that the absorbing clouds reside within 4R_vir of their host galaxies and that the kinematics are dominated by outflows. Our finding of "differential kinematics" is consistent with the scenario of "differential wind recycling" proposed by Oppenheimer et al. We discuss the implications for galaxy evolution, the stellar to halo mass function, and the mass–metallicity relationship of galaxies.

In order to explore local large-scale structures and velocity fields, accurate galaxy distance measures are needed. We now extend the well-tested recipe for calibrating the correlation between galaxy rotation rates and luminosities—capable of providing such distance measures—to the all-sky, space-based imaging data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) W1 (3.4 μm) and W2 (4.6 μm) filters. We find a correlation of line width to absolute magnitude (known as the Tully–Fisher relation, TFR) of $\mathcal {M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W1} = -20.35 - 9.56 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (0.54 mag rms) and $\mathcal {M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W2} = -19.76 - 9.74 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (0.56 mag rms) from 310 galaxies in 13 clusters. We update the I-band TFR using a sample 9% larger than in Tully & Courtois. We derive $\mathcal {M}^{b,i,k}_I = -21.34 - 8.95 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (0.46 mag rms). The WISE TFRs show evidence of curvature. Quadratic fits give $\mathcal {M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W1} = -20.48 - 8.36 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5) + 3.60 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)^2$ (0.52 mag rms) and $\mathcal {M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W2} = -19.91 - 8.40 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5) + 4.32 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)^2$ (0.55 mag rms). We apply an I-band −WISE color correction to lower the scatter and derive $\mathcal {M}_{C_{W1}} = -20.22 - 9.12 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ and $\mathcal {M}_{C_{W2}} = -19.63 - 9.11 (\log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (both 0.46 mag rms). Using our three independent TFRs (W1 curved, W2 curved, and I band), we calibrate the UNION2 Type Ia supernova sample distance scale and derive H₀ = 74.4 ± 1.4(stat) ± 2.4(sys) km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ with 4% total error.

The origin of two distinct pairs of conal emission components in pulsars, associated with the "outer" and the "inner" emission cones, as well as the marked difference in their observed spectral properties, is poorly understood. The sub-pulse modulation in the corresponding conal components, if mapped back to the underlying system of sub-beams rotating around the magnetic axis in the polar cap, as envisioned by Ruderman & Sutherland, provides a potential way to investigate the emission morphologies in the two conal regions, and more importantly, any inter-relationship between them. The bright pulsar B1237+25 with its special viewing geometry where the sightline traverses almost through the magnetic axis, along with a rich variety in pulse-to-pulse fluctuations, provides an excellent but challenging opportunity to map the underlying emission patterns across the full transverse slice of its polar emission region. We present here our analysis on a number of pulse sequences from this star to map and study any relationship between the underlying patterns responsible for emission in the two pairs of presumed conal components and a core component of this pulsar. The results from our correlation analysis of the two conal emission patterns strongly support the view that the two cones of this pulsar (the outer and the inner cone) originate from a common system of sub-beams. We also see evidence for a twist in the emission columns, most likely associated with a corresponding twist in the magnetic field structure. We discuss these results, and their implications, including a possibility that the core component of this pulsar shares its origin partly with the conal counterparts.

We have analyzed a ∼130 ks XMM-Newton observation of the dynamically confirmed black hole + Wolf–Rayet (BH+WR) X-ray binary (XB) IC10 X-1, covering ∼1 orbital cycle. This system experiences periodic intensity dips every ∼35 hr. We find that energy-independent evolution is rejected at a >5σ level. The spectral and timing evolution of IC10 X-1 are best explained by a compact disk blackbody and an extended Comptonized component, where the thermal component is completely absorbed and the Comptonized component is partially covered during the dip. We consider three possibilities for the absorber: cold material in the outer accretion disk, as is well documented for Galactic neutron star (NS) XBs at high inclination; a stream of stellar wind that is enhanced by traveling through the L1 point; and a spherical wind. We estimated the corona radius (r_ADC) for IC10 X-1 from the dip ingress to be ∼10⁶ km, assuming absorption from the outer disk, and found it to be consistent with the relation between r_ADC and 1–30 keV luminosity observed in Galactic NS XBs that spans two orders of magnitude. For the other two scenarios, the corona would be larger. Prior BH mass (M_BH) estimates range over 23–38 M_☉, depending on the inclination and WR mass. For disk absorption, the inclination, i, is likely to be ∼60–80°, with M_BH ∼ 24–41 M_☉. Alternatively, the L1-enhanced wind requires i ∼ 80°, suggesting ∼24–33 M_☉. For a spherical absorber, i ∼ 40°, and M_BH ∼ 50–65 M_☉.

We have investigated dissociative recombination (DR) of NH⁺ with electrons using a merged beams configuration at the TSR heavy-ion storage ring located at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. We present our measured absolute merged-beams recombination rate coefficient for collision energies from 0 to 12 eV. From these data, we have extracted a cross section, which we have transformed to a plasma rate coefficient for the collisional plasma temperature range from T_pl = 10 to 18,000 K. We show that the NH⁺ DR rate coefficient data in current astrochemical models are underestimated by up to a factor of approximately nine. Our new data will result in predicted NH⁺ abundances lower than those calculated by present models. This is in agreement with the sensitivity limits of all observations attempting to detect NH⁺ in interstellar clouds.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are believed to accelerate particles up to high energies through the mechanism of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). Except for direct plasma simulations, all modeling efforts must rely on a given form of the diffusion coefficient, a key parameter that embodies the interactions of energetic charged particles with magnetic turbulence. The so-called Bohm limit is commonly employed. In this paper, we revisit the question of acceleration at perpendicular shocks, by employing a realistic model of perpendicular diffusion. Our coefficient reduces to a power law in momentum for low momenta (of index α), but becomes independent of the particle momentum at high momenta (reaching a constant value κ_∞ above some characteristic momentum p_c). We first provide simple analytical expressions of the maximum momentum that can be reached at a given time with this coefficient. Then we perform time-dependent numerical simulations to investigate the shape of the particle distribution that can be obtained when the particle pressure back-reacts on the flow. We observe that for a given index α and injection level, the shock modifications are similar for different possible values of p_c, whereas the particle spectra differ markedly. Of particular interest, low values of p_c tend to remove the concavity once thought to be typical of non-linear DSA, and result in steep spectra, as required by recent high-energy observations of Galactic SNRs.

We discuss microscale fluctuations of the hour averages of the magnetic field B observed on a scale of one day by Voyager 1 (V1) from 2011.0 to 2012.3143 (when it was within the distant heliosheath, where the average magnetic field strength 〈B〉 = 0.17 nT) and during the interval from 2012.6503 to 2013.5855 (when it was within the interstellar plasma with 〈B〉 = 0.47 nT). In both regions, the fluctuations were primarily compressive fluctuations, varying along the average B (≈T direction in RTN coordinates). In the heliosheath, the average of the daily standard deviations (SDs) of the compressive and transverse components of B were 〈SD_c〉 = 0.010 nT and 〈SD_t〉 ⩽ 0.005 nT (which is the limit of the measurement). In the distant heliosheath 〈SD_c〉/〈B〉 = 0.06, and the distributions of SD were skewed and highly kurtotic. The interstellar magnetic field (ISMF) strength was B = 0.48 nT, but the fluctuations were below the limit of measurement: 〈SD_c〉 = 0.004 nT and 〈abs(SD_t)〉 = 0.004 nT. The distributions of these interstellar SDs have skewness and kurtosis consistent with a Gaussian noise distribution. We also discuss the fluctuations of 48 s averages of B on a scale of 1 day during a 30 day interval when V1 was observing the ISMF. For the fluctuations in all three components of B, SD = 0.010 nT, which gives an upper limit on the fluctuations of the ISMF on the scales observed by V1. This SD rules out the possibility that there is significant power in electromagnetic fluctuations generated by pickup ion ring instabilities at these scales, which strongly constrains models of the IBEX ribbon.

We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II Supernova Survey (SDSS-II SNS) data to measure the volumetric core collapse supernova (CCSN) rate in the redshift range (0.03 < z < 0.09). Using a sample of 89 CCSN, we find a volume-averaged rate of 1.06 ± 0.19 × 10⁻⁴((h/0.7)³/(yr Mpc³)) at a mean redshift of 0.072 ± 0.009. We measure the CCSN luminosity function from the data and consider the implications on the star formation history.

Glass with embedded metal and sulfides (GEMS) are amorphous silicates included in anhydrous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and can provide information about material evolution in our early solar system. Several formation processes for GEMS have been proposed so far, but these theories are still being debated. To investigate a possible GEMS origin by reduction of interstellar silicates, we synthesized amorphous silicates with a mean GEMS composition and performed heating experiments in a reducing atmosphere. FeO-bearing amorphous silicates were heated at 923 K and 973 K for 3 hr, and at 1023 K for 1–48 hr at ambient pressure in a reducing atmosphere. Fe grains formed at the interface between the silicate and the reducing gas through a reduction. In contrast, TEM observations of natural GEMS show that metallic grains are uniformly embedded in amorphous silicates. Therefore, the present study suggests that metallic inclusions in GEMS could not form as reduction products and that other formation process such as condensation or irradiation are more likely.

Tidal disruption of stars by super massive central black holes from dense star clusters is modeled by high-accuracy direct N-body simulation. The time evolution of the stellar tidal disruption rate, the effect of tidal disruption on the stellar density profile, and, for the first time, the detailed origin of tidally disrupted stars are carefully examined and compared with classic papers in the field. Up to 128k particles are used in simulation to model the star cluster around a super massive black hole, and we use the particle number and the tidal radius of the black hole as free parameters for a scaling analysis. The transition from full to empty loss-cone is analyzed in our data, and the tidal disruption rate scales with the particle number, N, in the expected way for both cases. For the first time in numerical simulations (under certain conditions) we can support the concept of a critical radius of Frank & Rees, which claims that most stars are tidally accreted on highly eccentric orbits originating from regions far outside the tidal radius. Due to the consumption of stars moving on radial orbits, a velocity anisotropy is found inside the cluster. Finally we estimate the real galactic center based on our simulation results and the scaling analysis.

Although not nearly as numerous as binaries with two white dwarfs, eccentric neutron star–white dwarf (NS–WD) binaries are important gravitational-wave (GW) sources for the next generation of space-based detectors sensitive to low frequency waves. Here we investigate periastron precession in these sources as a result of general relativistic, tidal, and rotational effects; such precession is expected to be detectable for at least some of the detected binaries of this type. Currently, two eccentric NS–WD binaries are known in the galactic field, PSR J1141−6545 and PSR B2303+46, both of which have orbits too wide to be relevant in their current state to GW observations. However, population synthesis studies predict the existence of a significant Galactic population of such systems. Though small in most of these systems, we find that tidally induced periastron precession becomes important when tides contribute to more than 3% of the total precession rate. For these systems, accounting for tides when analyzing periastron precession rate measurements can improve estimates of the inferred WD component mass and, in some cases, will prevent us from misclassifying the object. However, such systems are rare, due to rapid orbital decay. To aid the inclusion of tidal effects when using periastron precession as a mass measurement tool, we derive a function that relates the WD radius and periastron precession constant to the WD mass.

We present a statistical detection of 1.5 GHz radio continuum emission from a sample of faint z ∼ 4 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). To constrain their extinction and intrinsic star formation rate (SFR), we combine the latest ultradeep Very Large Array 1.5 GHz radio image and the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) optical images in the GOODS-N. We select a large sample of 1771 z ∼ 4 LBGs from the ACS catalog using B_F435W-dropout color criteria. Our LBG samples have I_F775W ∼ 25–28 (AB), ∼0–3 mag fainter than $M^\star _{\rm UV}$ at z ∼ 4. In our stacked radio images, we find the LBGs to be point-like under our 2'' angular resolution. We measure their mean 1.5 GHz flux by stacking the measurements on the individual objects. We achieve a statistical detection of S_1.5 GHz = 0.210 ± 0.075 μJy at ∼3σ for the first time on such a faint LBG population at z ∼ 4. The measurement takes into account the effects of source size and blending of multiple objects. The detection is visually confirmed by stacking the radio images of the LBGs, and the uncertainty is quantified with Monte Carlo simulations on the radio image. The stacked radio flux corresponds to an obscured SFR of 16.0 ± 5.7 M_☉ yr⁻¹, and implies a rest-frame UV extinction correction factor of 3.8. This extinction correction is in excellent agreement with that derived from the observed UV continuum spectral slope, using the local calibration of Meurer et al. This result supports the use of the local calibration on high-redshift LBGs to derive the extinction correction and SFR, and also disfavors a steep reddening curve such as that of the Small Magellanic Cloud.

We measure the gas-phase oxygen abundances in four Lyman break analogs using auroral emission lines to derive direct abundances. The direct method oxygen abundances of these objects are generally consistent with the empirically derived strong-line method values, confirming that these objects are low oxygen abundance outliers from the mass–metallicity (MZ) relation defined by star forming Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies. We find slightly anomalous excitation conditions (Wolf–Rayet features) that could potentially bias the empirical estimates toward high values if caution is not exercised in the selection of the strong-line calibration. The high rate of star formation and low oxygen abundance of these objects is consistent with the predictions of the fundamental metallicity relation, in which the infall of relatively unenriched gas simultaneously triggers an episode of star formation and dilutes the interstellar medium of the host galaxy.

We combine observations of the Local Group with data from the NASA-Sloan Atlas to show the variation in the quenched fraction of satellite galaxies from low-mass dwarf spheroidals and dwarf irregulars to more massive dwarfs similar to the Magellanic Clouds. While almost all of the low-mass (M_⋆ ≲ 10⁷ M_☉) dwarfs are quenched, at higher masses the quenched fraction decreases to approximately 40%–50%. This change in the quenched fraction is large and suggests a sudden change in the effectiveness of quenching that correlates with satellite mass. We combine this observation with models of satellite infall and ram pressure stripping to show that the low-mass satellites must quench within 1–2 Gyr of pericenter passage to maintain a high quenched fraction, but that many more massive dwarfs must continue to form stars today even though they likely fell into their host >5 Gyr ago. We also characterize how the susceptibility of dwarfs to ram pressure must vary as a function of mass if it is to account for the change in quenched fractions. Though neither model predicts the quenching effectiveness a priori, this modeling illustrates the physical requirements that the observed quenched fractions place on possible quenching mechanisms.

The faster meridional flow that preceded the solar cycle 23/24 minimum is thought to have led to weaker polar field strengths, producing the extended solar minimum and the unusually weak cycle 24. To determine the impact of meridional flow variations on the sunspot cycle, we have simulated the Sun's surface magnetic field evolution with our newly developed surface flux transport model. We investigate three different cases: a constant average meridional flow, the observed time-varying meridional flow, and a time-varying meridional flow in which the observed variations from the average have been doubled. Comparison of these simulations shows that the variations in the meridional flow over cycle 23 have a significant impact (∼20%) on the polar fields. However, the variations produced polar fields that were stronger than they would have been otherwise. We propose that the primary cause of the extended cycle 23/24 minimum and weak cycle 24 was the weakness of cycle 23 itself—with fewer sunspots, there was insufficient flux to build a big cycle. We also find that any polar counter-cells in the meridional flow (equatorward flow at high latitudes) produce flux concentrations at mid-to-high latitudes that are not consistent with observations.