Table of contents

Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are usually observed in spectra of hot stars, where interstellar lines are rarely blended with stellar ones. The need for hot stars is a strong limitation in the number of sightlines we can observe and their distribution in the Galaxy, as hot stars are rare and concentrated in the Galactic plane. We are introducing a new method, where interstellar lines can be observed in spectra of cool stars in large spectroscopic surveys. The method is completely automated and does not require prior knowledge of the stellar parameters. The main step is a construction of the stellar spectrum, which is done by finding other observed spectra that lack interstellar features and are otherwise very similar to the spectrum in question. Such spectra are then combined into a single stellar spectrum template, matching the stellar component of the observed spectrum. We demonstrate the performance of this new method on a sample of 482,430 Radial Velocity Experiment survey spectra. However, many spectra have to be combined (48 on average) in order to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio high enough to measure the profile of the DIB at 8620 Å, hence limiting the spatial information about the interstellar medium. We compare its equivalent width with extinction maps and with Bayesian reddening, calculated for individual stars, and provide a linear relation between the equivalent width and reddening. Separately from the introduced method, we calculate equivalent widths of the DIB in spectra of hot stars with known extinction and compare all three linear relations.

Measurements of cosmic-ray abundances on balloons are affected by interactions in the residual atmosphere above the balloon. Corrections for such interactions are particularly important for observations of rare secondary particles such as boron, antiprotons, and positrons. These corrections either can be calculated if the relevant cross sections in the atmosphere are known or may be empirically determined by extrapolation of the "growth curves," i.e., the individual particle intensities as functions of atmospheric depth. The growth-curve technique is particularly attractive for long-duration balloon flights where the periodic daily altitude variations permit rather precise determinations of the corresponding particle intensity variations. We determine growth curves for nuclei from boron (Z = 5) to iron (Z = 26) using data from the 2006 Arctic balloon flight of the TRACER detector for cosmic-ray nuclei, and we compare the growth curves with predictions from published cross section values. In general, good agreement is observed. We then study the boron/carbon abundance ratio and derive a simple and energy-independent correction term for this ratio. We emphasize that the growth-curve technique can be developed further to provide highly accurate tests of published interaction cross section values.

Supersonic turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) is believed to decay rapidly within a flow crossing time irrespective of the degree of magnetization. However, this general consensus of decaying magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence relies on local isothermal simulations, which are unable to take into account the roles of the global structures of magnetic fields and the ISM. Utilizing three-dimensional MHD simulations including interstellar cooling and heating, we investigate decaying MHD turbulence within cold neutral medium sheets embedded in a warm neutral medium. The early evolution of turbulent kinetic energy is consistent with previous results for decaying compressible MHD turbulence characterized by rapid energy decay with a power-law form of E∝t⁻¹ and by a short decay time compared with the flow crossing time. If initial magnetic fields are strong and perpendicular to the sheet, however, long-term evolution of the kinetic energy shows that a significant amount of turbulent energy (∼0.2E₀) still remains even after 10 flow crossing times for models with periodic boundary conditions. The decay rate is also greatly reduced as the field strength increases for such initial and boundary conditions, but not if the boundary conditions are those for a completely isolated sheet. We analyze velocity power spectra of the remaining turbulence to show that in-plane, incompressible motions parallel to the sheet dominate at later times.

Based on high-quality observations of multiplet V1 of O ii and the NLTE atomic computations of O ii, we study the density and temperature of a sample of H ii regions. We find that the signature for oxygen-rich clumps of high density and low temperature is absent in all objects of our sample: one extragalactic and eight Galactic H ii regions. The temperatures derived from (1) recombination lines (RLs) of O ii, and (2) RLs of H i together with Balmer continua are lower than those derived from forbidden lines, while the densities derived from RLs of O ii are similar or smaller than densities derived from forbidden lines. Electron pressures derived from collisionally excited lines are about two times larger than those derived from RLs. These results imply that the proper abundances are those derived from RLs and suggest that other processes in addition to direct photoionization, such as dissipation of turbulent energy in shocks, magnetic reconnection, and shadowed regions, might be responsible for the large abundance discrepancy factor and t² values observed in H ii regions.

Minimal observational evidence exists for fast transition region (TR) upflows in the presence of cool loops. Observations of such occurrences challenge notions of standard solar atmospheric heating models as well as their description of bright TR emission. Using the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on board Hinode, we observe fast upflows (v_λ ⩽ −10 km s⁻¹) over multiple TR temperatures (5.8 ⩽log T ⩽ 6.0) at the footpoint sites of a cool loop (log T ⩽ 6.0). Prior to cool loop energizing, asymmetric flows of +5 km s⁻¹ and −60 km s⁻¹ are observed at footpoint sites. These flows, speeds, and patterns occur simultaneously with both magnetic flux cancellation (at the site of upflows only) derived from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Helioseismic Magnetic Imager's line-of-sight magnetogram images, and a 30% mass influx at coronal heights. The incurred non-equilibrium structure of the cool loop leads to a catastrophic cooling event, with subsequent plasma evaporation indicating that the TR is the heating site. From the magnetic flux evolution, we conclude that magnetic reconnection between the footpoint and background field is responsible for the observed fast TR plasma upflows.

With multiband photometric data in public archives, we detected four intracluster star-forming regions in the Virgo Cluster. Two of them were at a projected distance of 35 kpc from NGC 4388 and the other two were 66 kpc away. Our new spectroscopic observations revealed that their recessional velocities were comparable to the ram-pressure-stripped tail of NGC 4388 and confirmed the association. The stellar mass of the star-forming regions ranged from 10⁴ to 10^4.5 M_☉ except for that of the faintest one, which was <10³ M_☉. The metallicity was comparable to a solar abundance and the age of the stars was ∼10^6.8 yr. Their young stellar age meant that the star formation should have started after the gas was stripped from NGC 4388. This implied in situ condensation of the stripped gas. We also found that two star-forming regions were located near the leading edge of a filamentary dark cloud. The extinction of the filament was smaller than that derived from the Balmer decrement of the star-forming regions, implying that the dust in the filament would be locally dense around the star-forming regions.

We have carried out adaptive-optics assisted observations at the Subaru Telescope and have found 11 intrinsically polarized sources in the central parsec of our Galaxy. They are selected from 318 point sources with K_S < 15.5, and their interstellar polarizations are corrected using a Stokes Q/I–U/I diagram. Considering brightness, near-infrared color excess, and the amount of intrinsic polarization, two of them are good young stellar object (YSO) candidates with an age of ∼10⁵ yr. If they are genuine YSOs, their existence provides strong constraints on star formation mechanisms in this region. In the remaining sources, two are known as bow-shock sources in the Northern Arm. One other is also located in the Northern Arm and shows very similar properties, and thus it is likely to be a so far unknown bow-shock source. The origin of the intrinsic polarization of the other sources is as yet uncertain.

We use measurements of the stellar mass function, galaxy clustering, and galaxy–galaxy lensing within the COSMOS survey to constrain the stellar-to-halo mass relation (SHMR) of star forming and quiescent galaxies over the redshift range z = [0.2, 1.0]. For massive galaxies, M_* ≳ 10^10.6 M_☉, our results indicate that star-forming galaxies grow proportionately as fast as their dark matter halos while quiescent galaxies are outpaced by dark matter growth. At lower masses, there is minimal difference in the SHMRs, implying that the majority low-mass quiescent galaxies have only recently been quenched of their star formation. Our analysis also affords a breakdown of all COSMOS galaxies into the relative numbers of central and satellite galaxies for both populations. At z = 1, satellite galaxies dominate the red sequence below the knee in the stellar mass function. But the number of quiescent satellites exhibits minimal redshift evolution; all evolution in the red sequence is due to low-mass central galaxies being quenched of their star formation. At M_* ∼ 10¹⁰ M_☉, the fraction of central galaxies on the red sequence increases by a factor of 10 over our redshift baseline, while the fraction of quenched satellite galaxies at that mass is constant with redshift. We define a "migration rate" to the red sequence as the time derivative of the passive galaxy abundances. We find that the migration rate of central galaxies to the red sequence increases by nearly an order of magnitude from z = 1 to z = 0. These results imply that the efficiency of quenching star formation for centrals is increasing with cosmic time, while the mechanisms that quench the star formation of satellite galaxies in groups and clusters is losing efficiency.

We explore the nature of the long-wavelength mid-infrared (MIR) emission of a sample of 13,000 local Type II (narrow-line) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) using 12 μm and 22 μm photometry from the WISE all-sky survey. In combination with FIRST 1.4 GHz photometry, we show that AGNs divide into two relatively distinct populations or "branches" in the plane of MIR and radio luminosity. Seyfert galaxies lie almost exclusively on an MIR-bright branch (Branch A), while low-ionization nuclear emission line galaxies (LINERs) are split evenly into Branch A and the MIR-faint Branch B. We devise various tests to constrain the processes that define the branches, including a comparison to the properties of pure star-forming inactive galaxies on the MIR–radio plane. We demonstrate that the total MIR emission of objects on Branch A, including most Seyfert galaxies, is governed primarily by host star formation, with ≈15% of the 22 μm luminosity coming from AGN-heated dust. This implies that ongoing dusty star formation is a general property of Seyfert host galaxies. We show that the 12 μm broadband luminosity of AGNs on Branch A is suppressed with respect to star-forming galaxies, possibly due to the destruction of PAHs or deeper 10 μm Si absorption in AGNs. We uncover a correlation between the MIR luminosity and [O iii] λ5007 luminosity in AGNs. This suggests a relationship between the star formation rate and nuclear luminosity in the AGN population, but we caution on the importance of selection effects inherent to such AGN-dominated emission-line galaxies in driving such a correlation. We highlight the MIR–radio plane as a useful tool in comparative studies of star formation and nuclear activity in AGNs.

In order to understand the rates and properties of Type Ia and Type Ib/c supernovae, X-ray binaries, gravitational wave sources, and gamma-ray bursts as a function of galactic environment and cosmic age, it is imperative that we measure how the close binary properties of O- and B-type stars vary with metallicity. We have studied eclipsing binaries with early B main-sequence primaries in three galaxies with different metallicities: the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC, respectively) and the Milky Way (MW). The observed fractions of early B stars that exhibit deep eclipses 0.25 < Δm (mag) < 0.65 and orbital periods 2 < P (days) < 20 in the MW, LMC, and SMC span a narrow range of (0.7–1.0)%, which is a model-independent result. After correcting for geometrical selection effects and incompleteness toward low-mass companions, we find for early B stars in all three environments (1) a close binary fraction of (22 ± 5)% across orbital periods 2 < P (days) < 20 and mass ratios q = M₂/M₁ > 0.1, (2) an intrinsic orbital period distribution slightly skewed toward shorter periods relative to a distribution that is uniform in log P, (3) a mass-ratio distribution weighted toward low-mass companions, and (4) a small, nearly negligible excess fraction of twins with q > 0.9. Our fitted parameters derived for the MW eclipsing binaries match the properties inferred from nearby, early-type spectroscopic binaries, which further validates our results. There are no statistically significant trends with metallicity, demonstrating that the close binary properties of massive stars do not vary across metallicities −0.7 < log(Z/Z_☉) < 0.0 beyond the measured uncertainties.

This paper presents a study of the rate and efficiency of star formation in the NGC 6334 star-forming region. We obtained observations at J, H, and K_s taken with the NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Imager and combined them with observations taken with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope at wavelengths = 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm. We also analyzed previous observations taken at 24 μm using the Spitzer MIPS camera as part of the MIPSGAL survey. We have produced a point source catalog with >700, 000 entries. We have identified 2283 young stellar object (YSO) candidates, 375 Class I YSOs, and 1908 Class II YSOs using a combination of existing IRAC-based color classification schemes that we have extended and validated to the near-IR for use with warm Spitzer data. We have identified multiple new sites of ongoing star formation activity along filamentary structures extending tens of parsecs beyond the central molecular ridge of NGC 6334. By mapping the extinction, we derived an estimate for the gas mass, 2.2 × 10⁵ M_☉. The heavy concentration of protostars along the dense filamentary structures indicates that NGC 6334 may be undergoing a "mini-starburst" event with Σ_SFR > 8.2 M_☉ Myr⁻¹ pc⁻² and SFE > 0.10. We have used these estimates to place NGC 6334 in the Kennicutt–Schmidt diagram to help bridge the gap between observations of local low-mass star-forming regions and star formation in other galaxies.

Directly imaged exoplanets are unexplored laboratories for the application of the spectral and temperature retrieval method, where the chemistry and composition of their atmospheres are inferred from inverse modeling of the available data. As a pilot study, we focus on the extrasolar gas giant HR 8799b, for which more than 50 data points are available. We upgrade our non-linear optimal estimation retrieval method to include a phenomenological model of clouds that requires the cloud optical depth and monodisperse particle size to be specified. Previous studies have focused on forward models with assumed values of the exoplanetary properties; there is no consensus on the best-fit values of the radius, mass, surface gravity, and effective temperature of HR 8799b. We show that cloud-free models produce reasonable fits to the data if the atmosphere is of super-solar metallicity and non-solar elemental abundances. Intermediate cloudy models with moderate values of the cloud optical depth and micron-sized particles provide an equally reasonable fit to the data and require a lower mean molecular weight. We report our best-fit values for the radius, mass, surface gravity, and effective temperature of HR 8799b. The mean molecular weight is about 3.8, while the carbon-to-oxygen ratio is about unity due to the prevalence of carbon monoxide. Our study emphasizes the need for robust claims about the nature of an exoplanetary atmosphere to be based on analyses involving both photometry and spectroscopy and inferred from beyond a few photometric data points, such as are typically reported for hot Jupiters.

We present the measurement of the two-point cross-correlation function (CCF) of 8198 Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 quasars and 349,608 Data Release 10 CMASS galaxies from the Baryonic Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey at 0.3 < z < 0.9. The CCF can be reasonably well fit by a power-law model ξ_QG(r) = (r/r₀)^−γ on projected scales of r_p = 2–25 h⁻¹ Mpc with r₀ = 6.61 ± 0.25 h⁻¹ Mpc and γ = 1.69 ± 0.07. We estimate a quasar linear bias of b_Q = 1.38 ± 0.10 at 〈z〉 = 0.53 from the CCF measurements, which corresponds to a characteristic host halo mass of ∼4 × 10¹² h⁻¹M_☉, compared with a ∼10¹³ h⁻¹ M_☉ characteristic host halo mass for CMASS galaxies. Based on the clustering measurements, most quasars at $\bar{z}\sim 0.5$ are not the descendants of their higher luminosity counterparts at higher redshift, which would have evolved into more massive and more biased systems at low redshift. We divide the quasar sample in luminosity and constrain the luminosity dependence of quasar bias to be db_Q/dlog L = 0.20 ± 0.34 or 0.11 ± 0.32 (depending on different luminosity divisions) for quasar luminosities −23.5 > M_i(z = 2) > −25.5, implying a weak luminosity dependence of clustering for luminous quasars at $\bar{z}\sim 0.5$. We compare our measurements with theoretical predictions, halo occupation distribution (HOD) models, and mock catalogs. These comparisons suggest that quasars reside in a broad range of host halos. The host halo mass distributions significantly overlap with each other for quasars at different luminosities, implying a poor correlation between halo mass and instantaneous quasar luminosity. We also find that the quasar HOD parameterization is largely degenerate such that different HODs can reproduce the CCF equally well, but with different satellite fractions and host halo mass distributions. These results highlight the limitations and ambiguities in modeling the distribution of quasars with the standard HOD approach.

We present results from three-dimensional visco-resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the emergence of a convection zone magnetic flux tube into a solar atmosphere containing a pre-existing dipole coronal field, which is orientated to minimize reconnection with the emerging field. We observe that the emergence process is capable of producing a coronal flux rope by the transfer of twist from the convection zone, as found in previous simulations. We find that this flux rope is stable, with no evidence of a fast rise, and that its ultimate height in the corona is determined by the strength of the pre-existing dipole field. We also find that although the electric currents in the initial convection zone flux tube are almost perfectly neutralized, the resultant coronal flux rope carries a significant net current. These results suggest that flux tube emergence is capable of creating non-current-neutralized stable flux ropes in the corona, tethered by overlying potential fields, a magnetic configuration that is believed to be the source of coronal mass ejections.

Giant gaseous planets often reside on orbits in sufficient proximity to their host stars for the planetary quadrupole gravitational field to become non-negligible. In presence of an additional planetary companion, a precise characterization of the system's orbital state can yield meaningful constraints on the transiting planet's interior structure. However, such methods can require a very specific type of system. This paper explores the dynamic range of applicability of these methods and shows that interior structure calculations are possible for a wide array of orbital architectures. The HAT-P-13 system is used as a case study, and the implications of perturbations arising from a third distant companion on the feasibility of an interior calculation are discussed. We find that the method discussed here is likely to be useful in studying other planetary systems, allowing the possibility of an expanded survey of the interiors of exoplanets.

Photophoresis is a physical process that transports particles in optically thin parts of protoplanetary disks, especially at the inner edge and at the optical surface. To model the transport and resulting effects in detail, it is necessary to quantify the strength of photophoresis for different particle classes as a fundamental input. Here, we explore photophoresis for a set of chondrules. The composition and surface morphology of these chondrules were measured by X-ray tomography. Based on the three-dimensional models, heat transfer through illuminated chondrules was calculated. The resulting surface temperature map was then used to calculate the photophoretic strength. We found that irregularities in particle shape and variations in composition induce variations in the photophoretic force. These depend on the orientation of a particle with respect to the light source. The variation of the absolute value of the photophoretic force on average over all chondrules is 4.17%. The deviation between the direction of the photophoretic force and illumination is 30 ± 15. The average photophoretic force can be well approximated and calculated analytically assuming a homogeneous sphere with a volume equivalent mean radius and an effective thermal conductivity. We found an analytic expression for the effective thermal conductivity. The expression depends on the two main phases of a chondrule and decreases with the amount of fine-grained devitrified, plagioclase-normative mesostasis up to factor of three. For the chondrule sample studied (Bjurböle chondrite), we found a dependence of the photophoretic force on chondrule size.

We report deep ALMA observations complemented by associated Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging for a luminous (m_UV = 25) galaxy, "Himiko," at a redshift of z = 6.595. The galaxy is remarkable for its high star formation rate, 100 M_☉ yr⁻¹, which has been securely estimated from our deep HST and Spitzer photometry, and the absence of any evidence for strong active galactic nucleus activity or gravitational lensing magnification. Our ALMA observations probe an order of magnitude deeper than previous IRAM observations, yet fail to detect a 1.2 mm dust continuum, indicating a flux of <52 μJy, which is comparable to or weaker than that of local dwarf irregulars with much lower star formation rates. We likewise provide a strong upper limit for the flux of [C ii] 158 μm, $L_{{\rm [C\,\scriptsize{II}]}} < 5.4\times 10^{7} \ L_\odot$, which is a diagnostic of the hot interstellar gas that is often described as a valuable probe for early galaxies. In fact, our observations indicate that Himiko lies off the local $L_{{\rm [C\,\scriptsize{II}]}}$–star formation rate scaling relation by a factor of more than 30. Both aspects of our ALMA observations suggest that Himiko is a unique object with a very low dust content and perhaps nearly primordial interstellar gas. Our HST images provide unique insight into the morphology of this remarkable source, highlighting an extremely blue core of activity and two less extreme associated clumps. Himiko is undergoing a triple major merger event whose extensive ionized nebula of Lyα emitting gas, discovered in our earlier work with Subaru, is powered by star formation and the dense circumgalactic gas. We are likely witnessing an early massive galaxy during a key period of its mass assembly close to the end of the reionization era.

Based on Hubble Space Telescope observations from the Local Cosmology from Isolated Dwarfs project, we present the star formation histories, as a function of galactocentric radius, of four isolated Local Group dwarf galaxies: two dSph galaxies, Cetus and Tucana, and two transition galaxies (dTrs), LGS-3 and Phoenix. The oldest stellar populations of the dSphs and dTrs are, within the uncertainties, coeval (∼13 Gyr) at all galactocentric radii. We find that there are no significative differences between the four galaxies in the fundamental properties (such as the normalized star formation rate or age–metallicity relation) of their outer regions (radii greater than four exponential scale lengths); at large radii, these galaxies consist exclusively of old (≳ 10.5 Gyr) metal-poor stars. The duration of star formation in the inner regions varies from galaxy to galaxy, and the extended central star formation in the dTrs produces the dichotomy between dSph and dTr galaxy types. The dTr galaxies show prominent radial stellar population gradients: The centers of these galaxies host young (≲ 1 Gyr) populations, while the age of the last formation event increases smoothly with increasing radius. This contrasts with the two dSph galaxies. Tucana shows a similar, but milder, gradient, but no gradient in age is detected Cetus. For the three galaxies with significant stellar population gradients, the exponential scale length decreases with time. These results are in agreement with outside-in scenarios of dwarf galaxy evolution, in which a quenching of the star formation toward the center occurs as the galaxy runs out of gas in the outskirts.

Using deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, color–magnitude diagrams are constructed for the globular clusters 47 Tuc and NGC 6397. As expected, because of its lower metal abundance, the main sequence of NGC 6397 lies well to the blue of that of 47 Tuc. A comparison of the white dwarf cooling sequences of the two clusters, however, demonstrates that these sequences are indistinguishable over most of their loci—a consequence of the settling out of heavy elements in the dense white dwarf atmosphere and the near equality of their masses. Lower quality data on M4 continues this trend to a third cluster whose metallicity is intermediate between these two. While the path of the white dwarfs in the color–magnitude diagram is nearly identical in 47 Tuc and NGC 6397, the numbers of white dwarfs along the path are not. This results from the relatively rapid relaxation in NGC 6397 compared to 47 Tuc and provides a cautionary note that simply counting objects in star clusters in random locations as a method of testing stellar evolutionary theory is likely dangerous unless dynamical considerations are included.

We applied the Bayesian blocks representation technique to search for the dimmest bursts from two magnetars: we identified 320 events from SGR J0501+4516 using a deep XMM-Newton observation and 404 bursts from SGR J1550−5418 using two Swift/X-Ray Telescope pointings. The fluence level of our sample for both sources is about one to two orders of magnitude lower than earlier studies. We systematically investigated the morphological characteristics and duration distributions of these bursts, as these properties are directly obtained from their Bayesian blocks profiles. We also studied the spectral behavior of the dimmest bursts, which were grouped based on the morphological types and fluences. Our results helped us further differentiate the spectral nature of very dim bursts from that of the persistent emission, both fitted with physically motivated continuum emission models. Moreover, we generated the differential burst fluence distribution for these two magnetars in the lowest fluence regime.

We report a 5.4σ detection of pulsed gamma rays from PSR B1821−24 in the globular cluster M28 using ∼44 months of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data that have been reprocessed with improved instrument calibration constants. We constructed a phase-coherent ephemeris, with post-fit residual rms of 3 μs, using radio data spanning ∼23.2 yr, enabling measurements of the multi-wavelength light-curve properties of PSR B1821−24 at the milliperiod level. We fold RXTE observations of PSR B1821−24 from 1996 to 2007 and discuss implications on the emission zones. The gamma-ray light curve consists of two peaks separated by 0.41 ± 0.02 in phase, with the first gamma-ray peak lagging behind the first radio peak by 0.05 ± 0.02 in phase, consistent with the phase of giant radio pulses. We observe significant emission in the off-peak interval of PSR B1821−24 with a best-fit LAT position inconsistent with the core of M28. We do not detect significant gamma-ray pulsations at the spin or orbital periods from any other known pulsar in M28, and we place limits on the number of energetic pulsars in the cluster. The derived gamma-ray efficiency, ∼2%, is typical of other gamma-ray pulsars with comparable spin-down power, suggesting that the measured spin-down rate (2.2 × 10³⁶ erg s⁻¹) is not appreciably distorted by acceleration in the cluster potential. This confirms PSR B1821−24 as the second very energetic millisecond pulsar in a globular cluster and raises the question of whether these represent a separate class of objects that only form in regions of very high stellar density.

The afterglow emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is usually interpreted as synchrotron radiation from relativistic electrons accelerated at the GRB external shock. We investigate the temporal decay of the afterglow emission at late times, when the bulk of the shock-accelerated electrons are non-relativistic (the "deep Newtonian phase," as denoted by Huang and Cheng). We assume that the electron spectrum in the deep Newtonian phase is a power-law distribution in momentum with slope p, as dictated by the theory of Fermi acceleration in non-relativistic shocks. For a uniform circumburst medium, the deep Newtonian phase begins at $t{_{\scriptsize {\rm {DN}}}}\sim 3\,\epsilon _{e,-1}^{5/6}t{_{\scriptsize {\rm {ST}}}}$, where t_ST marks the transition of the blast wave to the non-relativistic, spherically symmetric Sedov–Taylor (ST) solution, and _e = 0.1 _{e, −1} quantifies the amount of shock energy transferred to the electrons. For typical parameters, the deep Newtonian stage starts ∼0.5 to several years after the GRB. The radio flux in this phase decays as F_ν∝t^{−3(p + 1)/10}∝t^{−(0.9÷1.2)}, for a power-law slope 2 < p < 3. This is shallower than the scaling F_ν∝t^{−3(5p − 7)/10}∝t^{−(0.9÷2.4)} derived by Frail et al., which only applies if the GRB shock is non-relativistic, but the electron distribution still peaks at ultra-relativistic energies (a regime that is relevant for a narrow time interval, and only if t_DN ≳ t_ST, namely, _e ≳ 0.03). We discuss how the deep Newtonian phase can be reliably used for GRB calorimetry, and we comment on the good detection prospects of trans-relativistic blast waves at 0.1÷10 GHz with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and LOw-Frequency ARray.

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) has recently completed its science verification (SV) phase, collecting data over 150 deg² of sky. In this work we analyze to what extent it is beneficial to supplement the analysis of DES data with cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing data. We provide forecasts for both DES-SV and for the full survey covering 5000 deg². We show that data presently available from DES-SV and SPT-SZ would allow a ∼8% measurement of the linear galaxy bias in three out of four redshift bins. We further show that a joint analysis of cosmic shear, galaxy density, and CMB lensing data allows to break the degeneracy between the shear multiplicative bias, the linear galaxy bias, and the normalization of the matter power spectrum. We show that these observables can thus be self-calibrated to the percent or sub-percent level, depending on the quality of available data and the fraction of overlap of the footprints and priors included in the analysis.

We explore the minimum distance from a host star where an exoplanet could potentially be habitable in order not to discard close-in rocky exoplanets for follow-up observations. We find that the inner edge of the Habitable Zone for hot desert worlds can be as close as 0.38 AU around a solar-like star, if the greenhouse effect is reduced (∼1% relative humidity) and the surface albedo is increased. We consider a wide range of atmospheric and planetary parameters such as the mixing ratios of greenhouse gases (water vapor and CO₂), surface albedo, pressure, and gravity. Intermediate surface pressure (∼1–10 bars) is necessary to limit water loss and to simultaneously sustain an active water cycle. We additionally find that the water loss timescale is influenced by the atmospheric CO₂ level, because it indirectly influences the stratospheric water mixing ratio. If the CO₂ mixing ratio of dry planets at the inner edge is smaller than 10⁻⁴, the water loss timescale is ∼1 billion years, which is considered here too short for life to evolve. We also show that the expected transmission spectra of hot desert worlds are similar to an Earth-like planet. Therefore, an instrument designed to identify biosignature gases in an Earth-like atmosphere can also identify similarly abundant gases in the atmospheres of dry planets. Our inner edge limit is closer to the host star than previous estimates. As a consequence, the occurrence rate of potentially habitable planets is larger than previously thought.

Analysis of the transit timing variations (TTVs) of candidate pairs near mean-motion resonances (MMRs) is an effective method to confirm planets. Hitherto, 68 planets in 34 multi-planet systems have been confirmed via TTVs. We analyze the TTVs of all candidates from the most recent Kepler data with a time span of upto about 1350 days (Q0–Q15). The anti-correlations of TTV signals and the mass upper limits of candidate pairs in the same system are calculated using an improved method suitable for long-period TTVs. If the false alarm probability of a candidate pair is less than 10⁻³ and the mass upper limit for each candidate is less than 13 M_J, we confirm them as planets in the same system. Finally, eight planets in four multi-planet systems are confirmed via analysis of their TTVs. All of the four planet pairs are near first-order MMRs, including KOI-2672 near 2:1 MMR and KOI-1236, KOI-1563, and KOI-2038 near 3:2 MMR. Four planets have relatively long orbital periods (>35 days). KOI-2672.01 has an orbital period of 88.51658 days and a fit mass of 17 M_⊕. To date, it is the longest-period planet confirmed near a first-order MMR via TTVs.

Observations performed in the solar wind by different satellites show that electron beams accelerated in the low corona during solar flares can propagate up to distances around 1 AU, that Langmuir waves' packets can be clumped into spikes with peak amplitudes three orders of magnitude above the mean, and that the average level of density fluctuations can reach several percents. A Hamiltonian model is built describing the properties of Langmuir waves propagating in a plasma with random density fluctuations by the Zakharov's equations and the beam by means of particles moving self-consistently in the fields of the waves. Numerical simulations, performed using parameters relevant to solar type III conditions at 1 AU, show that when the average level of density fluctuations is sufficiently low, the beam relaxation and the wave excitation processes are very similar to those in a homogeneous plasma and can be described by the quasilinear equations of the weak turbulence theory. On the contrary, when the average level of density fluctuations overcomes some threshold depending on the ratio of the thermal velocity to the beam velocity, the plasma inhomogeneities crucially influence the characteristics of the Langmuir turbulence and the beam–plasma interaction.

The Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX), launched in 2008 October, has improved our understanding of the solar wind–local interstellar medium interaction through its detection of neutral atoms, particularly that of hydrogen (H). IBEX is able to create full maps of the sky in six-month intervals as the Earth orbits the Sun, detecting H with energies between ∼0.01 and 6 keV. Due to the relative motion of IBEX to the solar inertial frame, measurements made in the spacecraft frame introduce a Compton–Getting (CG) effect, complicating measurements at the lowest energies. In this paper we provide results from a numerical simulation that calculates fluxes of H atoms at 1 AU in the inertial and spacecraft frames (both ram and anti-ram), at energies relevant to IBEX-Hi and -Lo. We show theory behind the numerical simulations, applying a simple frame transformation to derived flux equations that provides a straightforward way to simulate fluxes in the spacecraft frame. We then show results of H energetic neutral atom fluxes simulated at IBEX-Hi energy passbands 2–6 in all frames, comparing with IBEX-Hi data along selected directions, and also show results simulated at energies relevant to IBEX-Lo. Although simulations at IBEX-Hi energies agree reasonably well with the CG correction method used for IBEX-Hi data, we demonstrate the importance of properly modeling low energy H fluxes due to inherent complexities involved with measurements made in moving frames, as well as dynamic radiation pressure effects close to the Sun.

We present WISE All-Sky mid-infrared (IR) survey detections of 55% (17/31) of the known QSOs at z > 6 from a range of surveys: the SDSS, the CFHT-LS, FIRST, Spitzer, and UKIDSS. The WISE catalog thus provides a substantial increase in the quantity of IR data available for these sources: 17 are detected in the WISE W1 (3.4 μm) band, 16 in W2 (4.6 μm), 3 in W3 (12 μm), and 0 in W4 (22 μm). This is particularly important with Spitzer in its warm-mission phase and no faint follow-up capability at wavelengths longward of 5 μm until the launch of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). WISE thus provides a useful tool for understanding QSOs found in forthcoming large-area optical/IR sky surveys using PanSTARRS, SkyMapper, VISTA, DES, and LSST. The rest-UV properties of the WISE-detected and the WISE-non-detected samples differ: the detections have brighter i/z-band magnitudes and redder rest-UV colors. This suggests that a more aggressive hunt for very high redshift QSOs by combining WISE W1 and W2 data with red, observed optical colors could be effective at least for a subset of dusty candidate QSOs. Stacking the WISE images of the WISE-non-detected QSOs indicates that they are, on average, significantly fainter than the WISE-detected examples, and are thus not narrowly missing detection in the WISE catalog. The WISE catalog detection of three of our sample in the W3 band indicates that their mid-IR flux can be detected individually, although there is no stacked W3 detection of sources detected in W1 but not W3. Stacking analyses of WISE data for large active galactic nucleus samples will be a useful tool, and high-redshift QSOs of all types will be easy targets for JWST.

We present the results from our narrow-band imaging surveys of Hα emitters (HAEs) at z = 2.2 and z = 2.5 in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep survey Field with near-infrared camera MOIRCS on the Subaru Telescope. We have constructed a clean sample of 63 star-forming galaxies at z = 2.2 and 46 at z = 2.5. For 12 (or ∼92%) out of 13 HAEs at z = 2.2, their Hα emission lines have been successfully detected by the spectroscopy. While about 42% of the red, massive HAEs with M_* > 10^10.8M_☉ contain active galactic nuclei (AGNs), most of the blue, less massive ones are likely to be star-forming galaxies. This suggests that the AGN may play an important role in galaxy evolution at the late stage of truncation. For the HAEs excluding possible AGNs, we estimate the gas-phase metallicities on the basis of [N ii]/Hα ratios, and find that the metallicities of the Hα selected galaxies at z = 2.2 are lower than those of local star-forming galaxies at fixed stellar mass, as shown by previous studies. Moreover, we present and discuss the so-called main sequence of star-forming galaxies at z > 2 based on our unique sample of HAEs. By correlating the level of dust extinction with the location on the main sequence, we find that there are two kinds/modes of dusty star-forming galaxies: starbursting galaxies and metal-rich normal star-forming galaxies.

We follow the structural evolution of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) like the Milky Way by selecting progenitors to z ∼ 1.3 based on the stellar mass growth inferred from the evolution of the star-forming sequence. We select our sample from the 3D-HST survey, which utilizes spectroscopy from the HST/WFC3 G141 near-IR grism and enables precise redshift measurements for our sample of SFGs. Structural properties are obtained from Sérsic profile fits to CANDELS WFC3 imaging. The progenitors of z = 0 SFGs with stellar mass M = 10^10.5 M_☉ are typically half as massive at z ∼ 1. This late-time stellar mass growth is consistent with recent studies that employ abundance matching techniques. The descendant SFGs at z ∼ 0 have grown in half-light radius by a factor of ∼1.4 since z ∼ 1. The half-light radius grows with stellar mass as r_e∝M^0.29. While most of the stellar mass is clearly assembling at large radii, the mass surface density profiles reveal ongoing mass growth also in the central regions where bulges and pseudobulges are common features in present day late-type galaxies. Some portion of this growth in the central regions is due to star formation as recent observations of Hα maps for SFGs at z ∼ 1 are found to be extended but centrally peaked. Connecting our lookback study with galactic archeology, we find the stellar mass surface density at R = 8 kpc to have increased by a factor of ∼2 since z ∼ 1, in good agreement with measurements derived for the solar neighborhood of the Milky Way.

We present a detailed study of McNeil's nebula (V1647 Ori) in its ongoing outburst phase starting from 2008 September to 2013 March. Our 124 nights of photometric observations were carried out in optical V, R, I, and near-infrared J, H, K bands, and 59 nights of medium-resolution spectroscopic observations were done in the 5200–9000 Å wavelength range. All observations were carried out with the 2 m Himalayan Chandra Telescope and 2 m IUCAA Girawali Telescope. Our observations show that over the past four and a half years, V1647 Ori and region C near the Herbig–Haro object HH 22A have been undergoing a slow dimming at a rate of ∼0.04 mag yr⁻¹ and ∼0.05 mag yr⁻¹, respectively, in R band, which is six times slower than the rate during a similar stage of V1647 Ori in the 2003 outburst. We detected change in flux distribution over the reflection nebula, implying changes in circumstellar matter distribution between the 2003 and 2008 outbursts. Apart from steady wind of velocity ∼350 km s⁻¹, we detected two episodic magnetic reconnection driven winds. Forbidden [O i] λ6300 and [Fe ii] λ7155 lines were also detected, implying shock regions probably from jets. We tried to explain the outburst timescales of V1647 Ori using the standard models of the FUors kind of outburst and found that pure thermal instability models like Bell and Lin cannot explain the variations in timescales. In the framework of various instability models we conclude that one possible reason for the sudden ending of the 2003 outburst in 2005 November was a low-density region or gap in the inner region (∼1 AU) of the disk.

We investigate the effect of helium abundance and α-element enhancement on the properties of convection in envelopes of solar-like main-sequence stars using a grid of three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations. Helium abundance increases the mean molecular weight of the gas and alters opacity by displacing hydrogen. Since the scale of the effect of helium may depend on the metallicity, the grid consists of simulations with three helium abundances (Y = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3), each with two metallicities (Z = 0.001, 0.020). We find that changing the helium mass fraction generally affects structure and convective dynamics in a way opposite to that of metallicity. Furthermore, the effect is considerably smaller than that of metallicity. The signature of helium differs from that of metallicity in the manner in which the photospheric velocity distribution is affected. We also find that helium abundance and surface gravity behave largely in similar ways, but differ in the way they affect the mean molecular weight. A simple model for spectral line formation suggests that the bisectors and absolute Doppler shifts of spectral lines depend on the helium abundance. We look at the effect of α-element enhancement and find that it has a considerably smaller effect on the convective dynamics in the superadiabatic layer compared to that of helium abundance.

We perform a series of simulations of evolving star clusters using the Astrophysical Multipurpose Software Environment (AMUSE), a new community-based multi-physics simulation package, and compare our results to existing work. These simulations model a star cluster beginning with a King model distribution and a selection of power-law initial mass functions and contain a tidal cutoff. They are evolved using collisional stellar dynamics and include mass loss due to stellar evolution. After studying and understanding that the differences between AMUSE results and results from previous studies are understood, we explored the variation in cluster lifetimes due to the random realization noise introduced by transforming a King model to specific initial conditions. This random realization noise can affect the lifetime of a simulated star cluster by up to 30%. Two modes of star cluster dissolution were identified: a mass evolution curve that contains a runaway cluster dissolution with a sudden loss of mass, and a dissolution mode that does not contain this feature. We refer to these dissolution modes as "dynamical" and "relaxation" dominated, respectively. For Salpeter-like initial mass functions, we determined the boundary between these two modes in terms of the dynamical and relaxation timescales.

We investigate the X-ray enhancement and the long-term evolution of the recently discovered second "low-B magnetar" Swift J1822.3–1606 in the frame of the fallback disk model. During a soft gamma burst episode, the inner disk matter is pushed back to larger radii, forming a density gradient at the inner disk. Subsequent relaxation of the inner disk could account for the observed X-ray enhancement light curve of Swift J1822.3–1606. We obtain model fits to the X-ray data with basic disk parameters similar to those employed to explain the X-ray outburst light curves of other anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters. The long period (8.4 s) of the neutron star can be reached by the effect of the disk torques in the long-term accretion phase ((1–3) × 10⁵ yr). The currently ongoing X-ray enhancement could be due to a transient accretion epoch, or the source could still be in the accretion phase in quiescence. Considering these different possibilities, we determine the model curves that could represent the long-term rotational and the X-ray luminosity evolution of Swift J1822.3–1606, which constrain the strength of the magnetic dipole field to the range of (1–2) × 10¹² G on the surface of the neutron star.

We measure spin-down of the 59 ms X-ray pulsar Calvera by comparing the XMM-Newton discovery data from 2009 with new Chandra timing observations taken in 2013. Its period derivative is $\dot{P}=(3.19\pm \,0.08)\times 10^{-15}$, which corresponds to spin-down luminosity $\dot{E}=6.1\times 10^{35}$ erg s⁻¹, characteristic age $\tau _c\equiv P/2\dot{P}=2.9\times 10^5$ yr, and surface dipole magnetic field strength B_s = 4.4 × 10¹¹ G. These values rule out a mildly recycled pulsar, but Calvera could be an orphaned central compact object (anti-magnetar), with a magnetic field that was initially buried by supernova debris and is now reemerging and approaching normal strength. We also performed unsuccessful searches for high-energy γ-rays from Calvera in both imaging and timing of >100 MeV Fermi photons. Even though the distance to Calvera is uncertain by an order of magnitude, an upper limit of d < 2 kpc inferred from X-ray spectra implies a γ-ray luminosity limit of <3.3 × 10³² erg s⁻¹, which is less than that of any pulsar of comparable $\dot{E}$. Calvera shares some properties with PSR J1740+1000, a young radio pulsar that we show by virtue of its lack of proper motion was born outside of the Galactic disk. As an energetic, high-Galactic-latitude pulsar, Calvera is unique in being undetected in both radio and γ-rays to faint limits, which should place interesting constraints on models for particle acceleration and beam patterns in pulsar magnetospheres.

The most favored progenitor scenarios for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) involve the single-degenerate (SD) scenario and the double-degenerate scenario. The absence of stripped hydrogen (H) in the nebular spectra of SNe Ia challenges the SD progenitor models. Recently, it was shown that pure deflagration explosion models of Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs, ignited off-center, reproduce the characteristic observational features of 2002cx-like SNe Ia very well. In this work we predict, for the first time, the amount of stripped H for the off-center, pure deflagration explosions. We find that their low kinetic energies lead to inefficient H mass stripping (≲ 0.01 M_☉), indicating that the stripped H may be hidden in (observed) late-time spectra of SN 2002cx-like SNe Ia.

Historically, anomalous cosmic rays (ACRs) were thought to be accelerated at the solar-wind termination shock (TS) by the diffusive shock acceleration process. When Voyager 1 crossed the TS in 2004, the measured ACR spectra did not match the theoretical prediction of a continuous power law, and the source of the high-energy ACRs was not observed. When the Voyager 2 crossed the TS in 2007, it produced similar results. Several possible explanations have since appeared in the literature, but we follow the suggestion that ACRs are still accelerated at the shock, only away from the Voyager crossing points. To investigate this hypothesis closer, we study ACR acceleration using a three-dimensional, non-spherical model of the heliosphere that is axisymmetric with respect to the interstellar flow direction. We then compare the results with those obtained for a spherical TS. A semi-analytic model of the plasma and magnetic field backgrounds is developed to permit an investigation over a wide range of parameters under controlled conditions. The model is applied to helium ACRs, whose phase-space trajectories are stochastically integrated backward in time until a pre-specified, low-energy boundary, taken to be 0.5 MeV n⁻¹ (the so-called injection energy), is reached. Our results show that ACR acceleration is quite efficient on the heliotail-facing part of the TS. For small values of the perpendicular diffusion coefficient, our model yields a positive intensity gradient between the TS and about midway through the heliosheath, in agreement with the Voyager observations.

We measure the differential microlensing of the UV Fe ii and Fe iii emission line blends between 14 quasar image pairs in 13 gravitational lenses. We find that the UV iron emission is strongly microlensed in four cases with amplitudes comparable to that of the continuum. Statistically modeling the magnifications, we infer a typical size of $r_s\sim 4\sqrt{M/M_\odot }$ light-days for the Fe line-emitting regions, which is comparable to the size of the region generating the UV continuum (∼3–7 light-days). This may indicate that a significant part of the UV Fe ii and Fe iii emission originates in the quasar accretion disk.

We use a sample of 39 galaxy clusters at redshift z < 0.1 observed by XMM-Newton to investigate the relations between X-ray observables and total mass. Based on central cooling time and central temperature drop, the clusters in this sample are divided into two groups: 25 cool core clusters and 14 non-cool core clusters, respectively. We study the scaling relations of L_bol–M₅₀₀, M₅₀₀–T, M₅₀₀–M_g, and M₅₀₀–Y_X, and also the influences of cool core on these relations. The results show that the M₅₀₀–Y_X relation has a slope close to the standard self-similar value, has the smallest scatter and does not vary with the cluster sample. Moreover, the M₅₀₀–Y_X relation is not affected by the cool core. Thus, the parameter of Y_X may be the best mass indicator.

Highly reliable molecular properties have been computed for AlCH₂ and AlCH$_{2}^{+}$ at the CCSD(T)/cc-pwCVQZ level of theory. These simple aluminum species are relevant to the chemistry of the interstellar medium (ISM) and circumstellar medium, and are proposed to form in regions where aluminum and methylene exist in appreciable concentrations because AlCH₂ and AlCH$_2^+$ are thermodynamically stable with respect to dissociation. Herein, dissociation energies were computed for both species through extrapolation to the complete basis set limit using focal point analysis. For the neutral species, 86 kcal mol⁻¹ is required to heterolytically cleave the Al–C single bond, while the cationic species requires 38 kcal mol⁻¹. To aid in identification within the ISM, the anharmonic (fundamental) frequencies, spectroscopic constants, and vibrationally averaged properties for AlCH₂ and the corresponding cation are also reported.

We combine Hubble Space Telescope (HST) G102 and G141 near-IR (NIR) grism spectroscopy with HST/WFC3-UVIS, HST/WFC3-IR, and Spitzer/IRAC [3.6 μm] photometry to assemble a sample of massive (log (M_star/M_☉) ∼ 11.0) and quenched (specific star formation rate <0.01 Gyr⁻¹) galaxies at z ∼ 1.5. Our sample of 41 galaxies is the largest with G102+G141 NIR spectroscopy for quenched sources at these redshifts. In contrast to the local universe, z ∼ 1.5 quenched galaxies in the high-mass range have a wide range of stellar population properties. We find that their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are well fitted with exponentially decreasing star formation histories and short star formation timescales (τ ⩽ 100 Myr). Quenched galaxies also show a wide distribution in ages, between 1 and 4 Gyr. In the (u − r)₀-versus-mass space quenched galaxies have a large spread in rest-frame color at a given mass. Most quenched galaxies populate the z ∼ 1.5 red sequence (RS), but an important fraction of them (32%) have substantially bluer colors. Although with a large spread, we find that the quenched galaxies on the RS have older median ages (3.1 Gyr) than the quenched galaxies off the RS (1.5 Gyr). We also show that a rejuvenated SED cannot reproduce the observed stacked spectra of (the bluer) quenched galaxies off the RS. We derive the upper limit on the fraction of massive galaxies on the RS at z ∼ 1.5 to be <43%. We speculate that the young quenched galaxies off the RS are in a transition phase between vigorous star formation at z > 2 and the z ∼ 1.5 RS. According to their estimated ages, the time required for quenched galaxies off the RS to join their counterparts on the z ∼ 1.5 RS is of the order of ∼1 Gyr.

We present the results of a pilot survey to find dust-reddened quasars by matching the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) radio catalog to the UKIDSS near-infrared survey and using optical data from Sloan Digital Sky Survey to select objects with very red colors. The deep K-band limit provided by UKIDSS allows for finding more heavily reddened quasars at higher redshifts as compared with previous work using FIRST and Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). We selected 87 candidates with K ⩽ 17.0 from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey (LAS) First Data Release (DR1), which covers 190 deg². These candidates reach up to ∼1.5 mag below the 2MASS limit and obey the color criteria developed to identify dust-reddened quasars. We have obtained 61 spectroscopic observations in the optical and/or near-infrared, as well as classifications in the literature, and have identified 14 reddened quasars with E(B − V) > 0.1, including 3 at z > 2. We study the infrared properties of the sample using photometry from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer and find that infrared colors improve the efficiency of red quasar selection, removing many contaminants in an infrared-to-optical color-selected sample alone. The highest-redshift quasars (z ≳ 2) are only moderately reddened, with E(B − V) ∼ 0.2–0.3. We find that the surface density of red quasars rises sharply with faintness, comprising up to 17% of blue quasars at the same apparent K-band flux limit. We estimate that to reach more heavily reddened quasars (i.e., E(B − V) ≳ 0.5) at z > 2 and a depth of K = 17, we would need to survey at least ∼2.5 times more area.

We present observations and analysis of the host galaxies of 23 heavily dust-obscured gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by the Swift satellite during the years 2005–2009, representing all GRBs with an unambiguous host-frame extinction of A_V > 1 mag from this period. Deep observations with Keck, Gemini, Very Large Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer successfully detect the host galaxies and establish spectroscopic or photometric redshifts for all 23 events, enabling us to provide measurements of the intrinsic host star formation rates, stellar masses, and mean extinctions. Compared to the hosts of unobscured GRBs at similar redshifts, we find that the hosts of dust-obscured GRBs are (on average) more massive by about an order of magnitude and also more rapidly star forming and dust obscured. While this demonstrates that GRBs populate all types of star-forming galaxies, including the most massive, luminous systems at z ≈ 2, at redshifts below 1.5 the overall GRB population continues to show a highly significant aversion to massive galaxies and a preference for low-mass systems relative to what would be expected given a purely star-formation-rate-selected galaxy sample. This supports the notion that the GRB rate is strongly dependent on metallicity, and may suggest that the most massive galaxies in the universe underwent a transition in their chemical properties ∼9 Gyr ago. We also conclude that, based on the absence of unobscured GRBs in massive galaxies and the absence of obscured GRBs in low-mass galaxies, the dust distributions of the lowest-mass and the highest-mass galaxies are relatively homogeneous, while intermediate-mass galaxies (∼10⁹ M_☉) have diverse internal properties.

Galaxy interactions/mergers have been shown to dominate the population of IR-luminous galaxies (L_IR ≳ 10^11.6 L_☉) in the local universe (z ≲ 0.25). Recent studies based on the relation between galaxies' star formation rates and stellar mass (the SFR–M_* relation or the "galaxy main sequence") have suggested that galaxy interaction/mergers may only become significant when galaxies fall well above the galaxy main sequence. Since the typical SFR at a given M_* increases with redshift, the existence of the galaxy main sequence implies that massive, IR-luminous galaxies at high z may not necessarily be driven by galaxy interactions. We examine the role of galaxy interactions in the SFR–M_* relation by carrying out a morphological analysis of 2084 Herschel-selected galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5 in the COSMOS field. Using a detailed visual classification scheme, we show that the fraction of "disk galaxies" decreases and the fraction of "irregular" galaxies increases systematically with increasing L_IR out to z ≲ 1.5 and z ≲ 1.0, respectively. At L_IR >10^11.5  L_☉, ≳ 50% of the objects show evident features of strongly interacting/merger systems, where this percentage is similar to the studies of local IR-luminous galaxies. The fraction of interacting/merger systems also systematically increases with the deviation from the SFR–M_* relation, supporting the view that galaxies falling above the main sequence are more dominated by mergers than the main-sequence galaxies. Meanwhile, we find that ≳ 18% of massive IR-luminous "main-sequence galaxies" are classified as interacting systems, where this population may not evolve through the evolutionary track predicted by a simple gas exhaustion model.

We constrain the total accreted mass density in supermassive black holes at z > 6, inferred via the upper limit derived from the integrated X-ray emission from a sample of photometrically selected galaxy candidates. Studying galaxies obtained from the deepest Hubble Space Telescope images combined with the Chandra 4 Ms observations of the Chandra Deep Field–South, we achieve the most restrictive constraints on total black hole growth in the early universe. We estimate an accreted mass density <1000 M_☉ Mpc⁻³ at z ∼ 6, significantly lower than the previous predictions from some existing models of early black hole growth and earlier prior observations. These results place interesting constraints on early black hole growth and mass assembly by accretion and imply one or more of the following: (1) only a fraction of the luminous galaxies at this epoch contain active black holes; (2) most black hole growth at early epochs happens in dusty and/or less massive—as yet undetected—host galaxies; (3) there is a significant fraction of low-z interlopers in the galaxy sample; (4) early black hole growth is radiatively inefficient, heavily obscured, and/or due to black hole mergers as opposed to accretion; or (5) the bulk of the black hole growth occurs at late times. All of these possibilities have important implications for our understanding of high-redshift seed formation models.

We combine Herschel Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer and Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver maps of the full 2 deg² Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field with existing multi-wavelength data to obtain template and model-independent optical-to-far-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 4218 Herschel-selected sources with log(L_IR/L_☉) = 9.4–13.6 and z = 0.02–3.54. Median SEDs are created by binning the optical to far-infrared (FIR) bands available in COSMOS as a function of infrared luminosity. Herschel probes rest-frame wavelengths where the bulk of the infrared radiation is emitted, allowing us to more accurately determine fundamental dust properties of our sample of infrared luminous galaxies. We find that the SED peak wavelength (λ_peak) decreases and the dust mass (M_dust) increases with increasing total infrared luminosity (L_IR). In the lowest infrared luminosity galaxies (log(L_IR/L_☉) = 10.0–11.5), we see evidence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features (λ ∼ 7–9 μm), while in the highest infrared luminosity galaxies (L_IR > 10¹² L_☉) we see an increasing contribution of hot dust and/or power-law emission, consistent with the presence of heating from an active galactic nucleus (AGN). We study the relationship between stellar mass and star formation rate of our sample of infrared luminous galaxies and find no evidence that Herschel-selected galaxies follow the SFR/M_* "main sequence" as previously determined from studies of optically selected, star-forming galaxies. Finally, we compare the mid-infrared to FIR properties of our infrared luminous galaxies using the previously defined diagnostic, IR8 ≡ L_IR/L₈, and find that galaxies with L_IR ≳ 10^11.3 L_☉ tend to systematically lie above (× 3–5) the IR8 "infrared main sequence," suggesting either suppressed PAH emission or an increasing contribution from AGN heating.

The super-Earth exoplanet 55 Cnc e, the smallest member of a five-planet system, has recently been observed to transit its host star. The radius estimates from transit observations, coupled with spectroscopic determinations of mass, provide constraints on its interior composition. The composition of exoplanetary interiors and atmospheres are particularly sensitive to elemental C/O ratio, which to first order can be estimated from the host stars. Results from a recent spectroscopic study analyzing the 6300 Å [O i] line and two C i lines suggest that 55 Cnc has a carbon-rich composition (C/O = 1.12 ± 0.09). However, oxygen abundances derived using the 6300 Å [O i] line are highly sensitive to a Ni i blend, particularly in metal-rich stars such as 55 Cnc ([Fe/H] =0.34 ± 0.18). Here, we further investigate 55 Cnc's composition by deriving the carbon and oxygen abundances from these and additional C and O absorption features. We find that the measured C/O ratio depends on the oxygen lines used. The C/O ratio that we derive based on the 6300 Å [O i] line alone is consistent with the previous value. Yet, our investigation of additional abundance indicators results in a mean C/O ratio of 0.78 ± 0.08. The lower C/O ratio of 55 Cnc determined here may place this system at the sensitive boundary between protoplanetary disk compositions giving rise to planets with high (>0.8) versus low (<0.8) C/O ratios. This study illustrates the caution that must applied when determining planet host star C/O ratios, particularly in cool, metal-rich stars.

We investigate Schmidt's conjecture (i.e., that the star formation rate (SFR) scales in a power-law fashion with the gas density) for four well-studied local molecular clouds (giant molecular clouds, GMCs). Using the Bayesian methodology, we show that a local Schmidt scaling relation of the form $\Sigma _{*}({A}_{\mathrm{K}}) = \kappa {A}_{\mathrm{K}}^{\beta }$ (protostars pc⁻²) exists within (but not between) GMCs. Further, we find that the Schmidt scaling law does not by itself provide an adequate description of star formation activity in GMCs. Because the total number of protostars produced by a cloud is given by the product of Σ_*(A_K) and S'(> A_K), the differential surface area distribution function, integrated over the entire cloud, the cloud's structure plays a fundamental role in setting the level of its star formation activity. For clouds with similar functional forms of Σ_*(A_K), observed differences in their total SFRs are primarily due to the differences in S'(> A_K) between the clouds. The coupling of Σ_*(A_K) with the measured S'(> A_K) in these clouds also produces a steep jump in the SFR and protostellar production above A_K ∼ 0.8 mag. Finally, we show that there is no global Schmidt law that relates the SFR and gas mass surface densities between GMCs. Consequently, the observed Kennicutt–Schmidt scaling relation for disk galaxies is likely an artifact of unresolved measurements of GMCs and not a result of any underlying physical law of star formation characterizing the molecular gas.

Gravitational microlensing events produced by lenses composed of binary masses are important because they provide a major channel for determining physical parameters of lenses. In this work, we analyze the light curves of two binary-lens events, OGLE-2006-BLG-277 and OGLE-2012-BLG-0031, for which the light curves exhibit strong deviations from standard models. From modeling considering various second-order effects, we find that the deviations are mostly explained by the effect of the lens orbital motion. We also find that lens parallax effects can mimic orbital effects to some extent. This implies that modeling light curves of binary-lens events not considering orbital effects can result in lens parallaxes that are substantially different from actual values and thus wrong determinations of physical lens parameters. This demonstrates the importance of routine consideration of orbital effects in interpreting light curves of binary-lens events. It is found that the lens of OGLE-2006-BLG-277 is a binary composed of a low-mass star and a brown dwarf companion.

We used high-quality images acquired with the Wide Field Camera 3 on board the Hubble Space Telescope to probe the blue straggler star (BSS) population of the galactic globular cluster NGC 362. We have found two distinct sequences of BSSs: this is the second case, after M30, where such a feature has been observed. Indeed, the BSS location, their extension in magnitude and color, and their radial distribution within the cluster nicely resemble those observed in M30, thus suggesting that the same interpretative scenario can be applied: the red BSS sub-population is generated by mass-transfer binaries, the blue one by collisions. The discovery of four new W UMa stars, three of which lie along the red BSS sequence, further supports this scenario. We also found that the inner portion of the density profile deviates from a King model and is well reproduced by either a mild power law (α ∼ −0.2) or a double King profile. This feature supports the hypothesis that the cluster is currently undergoing the core-collapse phase. Moreover, the BSS radial distribution shows a central peak and monotonically decreases outward without any evidence of an external rising branch. This evidence is a further indication of the advanced dynamical age of NGC 362; in fact, together with M30, NGC 362 belongs to the family of dynamically old clusters (Family III) in the "dynamical clock" classification proposed by Ferraro et al. The observational evidence presented here strengthens the possible connection between the existence of a double BSS sequence and a quite advanced dynamical status of the parent cluster.

We investigate the complex behavior of energy- and frequency-dependent time/phase lags in the plateau state and the radio-quiet hard (χ) state of GRS 1915+105. In our timing analysis, we find that when the source is faint in the radio, quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are observed above 2 Hz and typically exhibit soft lags (soft photons lag hard photons), whereas QPOs in the radio-bright plateau state are found below 2.2 Hz and consistently show hard lags. The phase lag at the QPO frequency is strongly anti-correlated with that frequency, changing sign at 2.2 Hz. However, the phase lag at the frequency of the first harmonic is positive and nearly independent of that frequency at ∼0.172 rad, regardless of the radio emission. The lag energy dependence at the first harmonic is also independent of radio flux. However, the lags at the QPO frequency are negative at all energies during the radio-quiet state, but lags at the QPO frequency during the plateau state are positive at all energies and show a "reflection-type" evolution of the lag energy spectra with respect to the radio-quiet state. The lag energy dependence is roughly logarithmic, but there is some evidence for a break around 4–6 keV. Finally, the Fourier-frequency-dependent phase lag spectra are fairly flat during the plateau state, but increase from negative to positive during the radio-quiet state. We discuss the implications of our results in light of some generic models.

The Magellanic Stream (MS) might have grown out of tidal interactions at high redshift, when the young galaxies were close together, rather than from later interactions among the Magellanic Clouds and Milky Way (MW). This is illustrated in solutions for the orbits of Local Group (LG) galaxies under the cosmological condition of growing peculiar velocities at high redshift. Massless test particles initially near and moving with the Large Magellanic Cloud in these solutions end up with distributions in angular position and redshift similar to the MS, though with the usual overly prominent leading component that the MW corona might have suppressed. Another possible example of the effect of conditions at high redshift is a model primeval stream around the LG galaxy NGC 6822. Depending on the solution for LG dynamics, this primeval stream can end up with a position angle similar to the H i around this galaxy and a redshift gradient in the observed direction. The gradient is much smaller than observed but might have been increased by dissipative contraction. Presented also is an even more speculative illustration of the possible effect of initial conditions, primeval stellar streams around M31.

Stellar clusters are regularly used to study the evolution of their host galaxy. Except for a few nearby galaxies, these studies rely on the interpretation of integrated cluster properties, especially integrated photometry observed using multiple filters (i.e., the spectral energy distribution, SED). To allow interpretation of such observations, we present a large set of GALEV cluster models using the realistic approach of adopting stochastically sampled stellar initial mass functions. We provide models for a wide range of cluster masses (10³–2 × 10⁵ M_☉), metallicities (−2.3 ⩽ [Fe/H] ⩽ +0.18 dex), foreground extinction, and 184 regularly used filters. We analyze various sets of stochastic cluster SEDs by fitting them with non-stochastic models, which is the procedure commonly used in this field. We identify caveats and quantify the fitting uncertainties associated with this standard procedure. We show that this can yield highly unreliable fitting results, especially for low-mass clusters.

The fan-spine magnetic topology is believed to be responsible for many curious features in solar explosive events. A spine field line links distinct flux domains, but direct observation of such a feature has been rare. Here we report a unique event observed by the Solar Dynamic Observatory where a set of hot coronal loops (over 10 MK) connected to a quasi-circular chromospheric ribbon at one end and a remote brightening at the other. Magnetic field extrapolation suggests that these loops are partly tracers of the evolving spine field line. Continuous slipping- and null-point-type reconnections were likely at work, energizing the loop plasma and transferring magnetic flux within and across the fan quasi-separatrix layer. We argue that the initial reconnection is of the "breakout" type, which then transitioned to a more violent flare reconnection with an eruption from the fan dome. Significant magnetic field changes are expected and indeed ensued. This event also features an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) late phase, i.e., a delayed secondary emission peak in warm EUV lines (about 2–7 MK). We show that this peak comes from the cooling of large post-reconnection loops beside and above the compact fan, a direct product of eruption in such topological settings. The long cooling time of the large arcades contributes to the long delay; additional heating may also be required. Our result demonstrates the critical nature of cross-scale magnetic coupling—topological change in a sub-system may lead to explosions on a much larger scale.

We examine the spatial distribution of C₂, C₃, and NH radicals in the coma of comet Encke in order to understand their abundances and distributions in the coma. The observations were obtained from 2003 October 22–24, using the 2.7 m telescope at McDonald Observatory. Building on our original study of CN and OH, we have used our modified version of the vectorial model, which treats the coma as one large cone, in order to reproduce Encke's highly aspherical and asymmetric coma. Our results suggest that NH can be explained by the photodissociation of NH₂, assuming that NH₂ is produced rapidly from NH₃ in the innermost coma. Our modeling of C₂ and C₃ suggests a multi-generational photodissociation process may be required for their production. Using the results of our previous study, we also obtain abundance ratios with respect to OH and CN. Overall, we find that Encke exhibits typical carbon-chain abundances, and the results are consistent with other studies of comet Encke.

We report on the results of four convective dynamo simulations with an outer coronal layer. The magnetic field is self-consistently generated by the convective motions beneath the surface. Above the convection zone, we include a polytropic layer that extends to 1.6 solar radii. The temperature increases in this region to ≈8 times the value at the surface, corresponding to ≈1.2 times the value at the bottom of the spherical shell. We associate this region with the solar corona. We find solar-like differential rotation with radial contours of constant rotation rate, together with a near-surface shear layer. This non-cylindrical rotation profile is caused by a non-zero latitudinal entropy gradient that offsets the Taylor–Proudman balance through the baroclinic term. The meridional circulation is multi-cellular with a solar-like poleward flow near the surface at low latitudes. In most of the cases, the mean magnetic field is oscillatory with equatorward migration in two cases. In other cases, the equatorward migration is overlaid by stationary or even poleward migrating mean fields.

We report an observation of a partially erupting prominence and its associated dynamical plasma processes based on observations recorded by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The prominence first went through a slow rise (SR) phase followed by a fast rise (FR) phase. The SR phase began after a couple of small brightenings were seen toward the footpoints. When the prominence had transitioned from SR to FR, it had already become kinked. The prominence shows strong brightening at the central kink location during the start of FR. We interpret this as an internal magnetic reconnection occurring at a vertical current sheet forming between the two legs of the erupting prominence (flux rope). The brightening at the central kink location is seen in all EUV channels of AIA. The contributions of differential emission at higher temperatures are larger compared to that for typical coronal temperatures supporting a reconnection scenario at the central kink location. The plasma above the brightening location is ejected as a hot plasmoid-like structure embedded in a coronal mass ejection, and those below the brightening move down in the form of blobs moving toward the Sun's surface. The unique time resolution of the AIA has allowed these eruptive aspects, including SR-to-FR, kinking, central current sheet formation, plasmoid-like eruption, and filament "splitting," to be observed in a single event, providing strong and comprehensive evidence in favor of the model of partially erupting flux ropes.

The Mg ii h&k lines are the prime chromospheric diagnostics of NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). In the previous papers of this series, we used a realistic three-dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamics model to calculate the h&k lines in detail and investigated how their spectral features relate to the underlying atmosphere. In this work, we employ the same approach to investigate how the h&k diagnostics fare when taking into account the finite resolution of IRIS and different noise levels. In addition, we investigate the diagnostic potential of several other photospheric lines and near-continuum regions present in the near-ultraviolet (NUV) window of IRIS and study the formation of the NUV slit-jaw images. We find that the instrumental resolution of IRIS has a small effect on the quality of the h&k diagnostics; the relations between the spectral features and atmospheric properties are mostly unchanged. The peak separation is the most affected diagnostic, but mainly due to limitations of the simulation. The effects of noise start to be noticeable at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 20, but we show that with noise filtering one can obtain reliable diagnostics at least down to a S/N of 5. The many photospheric lines present in the NUV window provide velocity information for at least eight distinct photospheric heights. Using line-free regions in the h&k far wings, we derive good estimates of photospheric temperature for at least three heights. Both of these diagnostics, in particular the latter, can be obtained even at S/Ns as low as 5.

In observations of flare-heated electrons in the solar corona, a longstanding problem is the unexplained prolonged lifetime of the electrons compared to their transit time across the source. This suggests confinement. Recent particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, which explored the transport of pre-accelerated hot electrons through ambient cold plasma, showed that the formation of a highly localized electrostatic potential drop, in the form of a double layer (DL), significantly inhibited the transport of hot electrons. The effectiveness of confinement by a DL is linked to the strength of the DL as defined by its potential drop. In this work, we investigate the scaling of the DL strength with the hot electron temperature by PIC simulations and find a linear scaling. We demonstrate that the strength is limited by the formation of parallel shocks. Based on this, we analytically determine the maximum DL strength, and also find a linear scaling with the hot electron temperature. The DL strength obtained from the analytic calculation is comparable to that from the simulations. At the maximum strength, the DL is capable of confining a significant fraction of hot electrons in the source.

Some Galactic models predict a significant population of radio pulsars close to the Galactic center. Beams from these pulsars could be strongly deflected by the supermassive black hole (SMBH) believed to reside at the Galactic center and as a result reach Earth. Earlier work assuming a Schwarzschild SMBH gave marginal chances of observing this exotic phenomenon with current telescopes and good chances with future telescopes. Here we study whether those estimates are significantly affected by SMBH spin. We find that spin effects make a negligible difference in detectability, but the pattern of pulse arrival times is clearly affected. In particular, if strongly deflected beams are detected, the SMBH spin signature could be extracted from pulsar beam times of arrival.

We performed detailed chemical abundance analysis of the extremely metal-poor ([Ar/H] ∼ −2) halo planetary nebula (PN) H4-1 based on the multi-wavelength spectra from Subaru/HDS, GALEX, SDSS, and Spitzer/IRS and determined the abundances of 10 elements. The C and O abundances were derived from collisionally excited lines (CELs) and are almost consistent with abundances from recombination lines (RLs). We demonstrated that the large discrepancy in the C abundance between CEL and RL in H4-1 can be solved using the temperature fluctuation model. We reported the first detection of the [Xe iii] λ5846 line in H4-1 and determination of its elemental abundance ([Xe/H] > +0.48). H4-1 is the most Xe-rich PN among the Xe-detected PNe. The observed abundances are close to the theoretical prediction by a 2.0 M_☉ single star model with an initially element rich ([r/Fe] = +2.0 dex) rapid neutron-capture process (r-process). The observed Xe abundance would be a product of the r-process in primordial supernovae. The [C/O]–[Ba/(Eu or Xe)] diagram suggests that the progenitor of H4-1 shares the evolution with carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP)-r/s and CEMP-no stars. The progenitor of H4-1 is presumably a binary formed in an r-process-rich environment.

Until now, double mode Cepheids (or beat Cepheids) were known only in the Galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds, and M33. Curiously, none of the more than 2000 Cepheids in M31 was claimed to show two pulsation modes. We conducted a systematic search for double mode Cepheids in the archival data of M31 and discovered four such objects. We identify one of the stars as a first and second overtone pulsator even though its secondary period is subject to strong aliasing. Two stars pulsate in the fundamental mode and the first overtone. Their fundamental periods are 9.392 days and 9.163 days. This makes them the first candidates for fundamental mode and first overtone Cepheids, of which double mode pulsations are caused by the 2:1 resonance of the fundamental mode and the second overtone.

In accreting young stars, one of the prominent spectral features in the near-infrared is the Paschen and Brackett series in emission. We examine hydrogen line ratios for 16 classical T Tauri stars from SpeX spectra and assess the trends with veiling and accretion. The observed line ratios are compared with two theoretical models for line formation: (1) Baker & Menzel's Case B for radiative ionization and recombination and (2) a set of local line excitation calculations designed to replicate the conditions in T Tauri winds and magnetic accretion columns (KF). While the comparison between Case B and observed line ratios implies a wide range in electron density and temperature among the hydrogen line formation regions in T Tauri stars, the predictions of the local line excitation models give consistent results across multiple diagnostics. Under the assumptions of the local line excitation calculations, we find that n_H in the hydrogen line formation region is constrained to 2 × 10¹⁰–2 × 10¹¹ cm⁻³, where stars with higher accretion rates have densities at the higher end of this range. Because of uncertainties in extinction, temperature is not well delineated, but falls within the range expected for collisional excitation to produce the line photons. We introduce new diagnostics for assessing extinction based on near-infrared hydrogen line ratios from the local line excitation calculations.

From chemical abundance analysis of stars in the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr), we conclude that the α-element deficiencies cannot be due to the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) time-delay scenario of Tinsley. Instead, the evidence points to low [α/Fe] ratios resulting from an initial mass function (IMF) deficient in the highest mass stars. The critical evidence is the 0.4 dex deficiency of [O/Fe], [Mg/Fe], and other hydrostatic elements, contrasting with the normal trend of r-process [Eu/Fe]_r with [Fe/H]. Supporting evidence comes from the hydrostatic element (O, Mg, Na, Al, Cu) [X/Fe] ratios, which are inconsistent with iron added to the Milky Way (MW) disk trends. Also, the ratio of hydrostatic to explosive (Si, Ca, Ti) element abundances suggests a relatively top-light IMF. Abundance similarities with the LMC, Fornax, and IC 1613 suggest that their α-element deficiencies also resulted from IMFs lacking the most massive SNe II. The top-light IMF, as well as the normal trend of r-process [Eu/Fe]_r with [Fe/H] in Sgr, indicates that massive SNe II (≳30 M_☉) are not major sources of r-process elements. High [La/Y] ratios, consistent with leaky-box chemical evolution, are confirmed but ∼0.3 dex larger than theoretical asymptotic giant branch (AGB) predictions. This suggests that a substantial increase in the theoretical ¹³C pocket in low-mass AGB stars is required. Sgr has the lowest [Rb/Zr] ratios known, consistent with pollution by low-mass (≲2 M_☉) AGB stars near [Fe/H] = −0.6, likely resulting from leaky-box chemical evolution. The [Cu/O] trends in Sgr and the MW suggest that Cu yields increase with both metallicity and stellar mass, as expected from Cu production by the weak s-process in massive stars. Finally, we present an updated hyperfine splitting line list, an abundance analysis of Arcturus, and further develop our error analysis formalism.

We present measurements of the microlensing optical depth and event rate toward the Galactic Bulge (GB) based on two years of the MOA-II survey. This sample contains ∼1000 microlensing events, with an Einstein radius crossing time of t_E ⩽ 200 days in 22 bulge fields covering ∼42 deg² between −5° < l < 10° and −7° < b < −1°. Our event rate and optical depth analysis uses 474 events with well-defined microlensing parameters. In the central fields with |l| < 5°, we find an event rate of Γ = [2.39 ± 1.1]e^{[0.60 ± 0.05](3 − |b|)} × 10⁻⁵ star⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and an optical depth (for events with t_E ⩽ 200 days) of τ₂₀₀ = [2.35 ± 0.18]e^{[0.51 ± 0.07](3 − |b|)} × 10⁻⁶ for the 427 events, using all sources brighter than I_s ⩽ 20 mag. The distribution of observed fields is centered at (l, b) = (038, −372). We find that the event rate is maximized at low latitudes and a longitude of l ≈ 1°. For the 111 events in 3.2 deg² of the central GB at |b| ⩽ 30 and 00 ⩽ l ⩽ 20, centered at (l, b) = (097, −226), we find $\Gamma = 4.57_{-0.46}^{+0.51} \times 10^{-5}$ star⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and $\tau _{200} = 3.64_{ -0.45}^{+ 0.51} \times 10^{-6}$. We also consider a red clump giant (RCG) star sample with I_s < 17.5, and we find that the event rate for the RCG sample is slightly lower than but consistent with the all-source event rate. The main difference is the lack of long duration events in the RCG sample due to a known selection effect. Our results are consistent with previous optical depth measurements, but they are somewhat lower than previous all-source measurements, and slightly higher than previous RCG optical depth measurements. This suggests that the previously observed difference in optical depth measurements between all-source and RCG samples may largely be due to statistical fluctuations. These event rate measurements toward the central GB are necessary to predict the microlensing event rate and to optimize the survey fields in future space missions such as Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope.

We use collisionless N-body simulations to determine how the growth of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) influences the nuclear kinematics in both barred and unbarred galaxies. In the presence of a bar, the increase in the velocity dispersion σ (within the effective radius) due to the growth of an SMBH is on average ≲ 10%, whereas the increase is only ≲ 4% in an unbarred galaxy. In a barred galaxy, the increase results from a combination of three separate factors: (1) orientation and inclination effects; (2) angular momentum transport by the bar that results in an increase in the central mass density; and (3) an increase in the vertical and radial velocity anisotropy of stars in the vicinity of the SMBH. In contrast, the growth of the SMBH in an unbarred galaxy causes the velocity distribution in the inner part of the nucleus to become less radially anisotropic. The increase in σ following the growth of the SMBH is insensitive to a variation of a factor of 10 in the final mass of the SMBH, showing that it is the growth process rather than the actual SMBH mass that alters bar evolution in a way that increases σ. We argue that using an axisymmetric stellar dynamical modeling code to measure SMBH masses in barred galaxies could result in a slight overestimate of the derived M_BH, especially if a constant M/L ratio is assumed. We conclude that the growth of a black hole in the presence of a bar could result in an increase in σ that is roughly 4%–8% larger than the increase that occurs in an axisymmetric system. While the increase in σ due to SMBH growth in a barred galaxy might partially account for the claimed offset of barred galaxies and pseudo bulges from the M_BH–σ relation obtained for elliptical galaxies and classical bulges in unbarred galaxies, it is inadequate to account for all of the offset.

Simulations of galaxy clusters have a difficult time reproducing the radial gas-property gradients and red central galaxies observed to exist in the cores of galaxy clusters. Thermal conduction has been suggested as a mechanism that can help bring simulations of cluster cores into better alignment with observations by stabilizing the feedback processes that regulate gas cooling, but this idea has not yet been well tested with cosmological numerical simulations. Here we present cosmological simulations of 10 galaxy clusters performed with five different levels of isotropic Spitzer conduction, which alters both the cores and outskirts of clusters, though not dramatically. In the cores, conduction flattens central temperature gradients, making them nearly isothermal and slightly lowering the central density, but failing to prevent a cooling catastrophe there. Conduction has little effect on temperature gradients outside of cluster cores because outward conductive heat flow tends to inflate the outer parts of the intracluster medium (ICM), instead of raising its temperature. In general, conduction tends reduce temperature inhomogeneity in the ICM, but our simulations indicate that those homogenizing effects would be extremely difficult to observe in ∼5 keV clusters. Outside the virial radius, our conduction implementation lowers the gas densities and temperatures because it reduces the Mach numbers of accretion shocks. We conclude that, despite the numerous small ways in which conduction alters the structure of galaxy clusters, none of these effects are significant enough to make the efficiency of conduction easily measurable, unless its effects are more pronounced in clusters hotter than those we have simulated.

One of the most profound questions about the newly discovered class of low-density super-Earths is whether these exoplanets are predominately H₂-dominated mini-Neptunes or volatile-rich worlds with gas envelopes dominated by H₂O, CO₂, CO, CH₄, or N₂. Transit observations of the super-Earth GJ 1214b rule out cloud-free H₂-dominated scenarios, but are not able to determine whether the lack of deep spectral features is due to high-altitude clouds or the presence of a high mean molecular mass atmosphere. Here, we demonstrate that one can unambiguously distinguish between cloudy mini-Neptunes and volatile-dominated worlds based on wing steepness and relative depths of absorption features in moderate-resolution near-infrared transmission spectra (R ∼ 100). In a numerical retrieval study, we show for GJ 1214b that an unambiguous distinction between a cloudy H₂-dominated atmosphere and cloud-free H₂O atmosphere will be possible if the uncertainties in the spectral transit depth measurements can be reduced by a factor of ∼3 compared to the published Hubble Space Telescope Wide-Field Camera 3 and Very Large Telescope transit observations by Berta et al. and Bean et al. We argue that the required precision for the distinction may be achievable with currently available instrumentation by stacking 10–15 repeated transit observations. We provide a scaling law that scales our quantitative results to other transiting super-Earths and Neptunes such as HD 97658b, 55 Cnc e, GJ 3470b and GJ 436b. The analysis in this work is performed using an improved version of our Bayesian atmospheric retrieval framework. The new framework not only constrains the gas composition and cloud/haze parameters, but also determines our confidence in having detected molecules and cloud/haze species through Bayesian model comparison. Using the Bayesian tool, we demonstrate quantitatively that the subtle transit depth variation in the Berta et al. data is not sufficient to claim the detection of water absorption.

Water photolysis and hydrogen loss from the upper atmospheres of terrestrial planets is of fundamental importance to climate evolution but remains poorly understood in general. Here we present a range of calculations we performed to study the dependence of water loss rates from terrestrial planets on a range of atmospheric and external parameters. We show that CO₂ can only cause significant water loss by increasing surface temperatures over a narrow range of conditions, with cooling of the middle and upper atmosphere acting as a bottleneck on escape in other circumstances. Around G-stars, efficient loss only occurs on planets with intermediate CO₂ atmospheric partial pressures (0.1–1 bar) that receive a net flux close to the critical runaway greenhouse limit. Because G-star total luminosity increases with time but X-ray and ultraviolet/ultravoilet luminosity decreases, this places strong limits on water loss for planets like Earth. In contrast, for a CO₂-rich early Venus, diffusion limits on water loss are only important if clouds caused strong cooling, implying that scenarios where the planet never had surface liquid water are indeed plausible. Around M-stars, water loss is primarily a function of orbital distance, with planets that absorb less flux than ∼270 W m⁻² (global mean) unlikely to lose more than one Earth ocean of H₂O over their lifetimes unless they lose all their atmospheric N₂/CO₂ early on. Because of the variability of H₂O delivery during accretion, our results suggest that many "Earth-like" exoplanets in the habitable zone may have ocean-covered surfaces, stable CO₂/H₂O-rich atmospheres, and high mean surface temperatures.

We present the first results from a long (51 ks) XMM-Newton observation of the Galactic X-ray binary SWIFT J1910.2–0546 in an intermediate state, obtained during its 2012 outburst. A clear, asymmetric iron emission line is observed and physically motivated models are used to fully describe the emission-line profile. Unlike other sources in their intermediate spectral states, the inner accretion disk in SWIFT J1910.2–0546 appears to be truncated, with an inner radius of r_in $=9.4^{+1.7}_{-1.3}$r_g at a 90% confidence limit. Quasi-periodic oscillations are also found at approximately 4.5 and 6 Hz, which correlates well with the break frequency of the underlying broad-band noise. Assuming that the line emission traces the innermost stable circular orbit, as would generally be expected for an intermediate state, the current observation of SWIFT J1910.2–0546 may offer the best evidence for a possible retrograde stellar mass black hole with a spin parameter a < − 0.32cJ/GM² (90% confidence). Although this is an intriguing possibility, there are also a number of alternative scenarios which do not require a retrograde spin. For example, the inner accretion disk may be truncated at an unusually high luminosity in this case, potentially suffering frequent evaporation/condensation, or it could instead be persistently evacuated through mass loss in a relativistic jet. Further observations are required to distinguish between these different interpretations.

We present the results of our detailed timing studies of an anomalous X-ray pulsar, 1RXS J170849.0−400910, using Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations spanning over ∼6 yr from 2005 until the end of the RXTE mission. We constructed the long-term spin characteristics of the source and investigated the time and energy dependence of the pulse profile and pulsed count rates. We find that the pulse profile and pulsed count rates in the 2–10 keV band do not show any significant variations in ∼6 yr. 1RXS J170849.0−400910 has been the most frequently glitching anomalous X-ray pulsar: three spin-up glitches and three candidate glitches were observed prior to 2005. Our extensive search for glitches later in the timeline resulted in no unambiguous glitches, though we identified two glitch candidates (with Δν/ν ∼ 10⁻⁶) in two data gaps: a strong candidate around MJD 55532 and another one around MJD 54819, which is slightly less robust. We discuss our results in the context of pulsar glitch models and expectancy of glitches within the vortex unpinning model.

Following the recent report of the first identification of methyl acetate (CH₃COOCH₃) in the interstellar medium (ISM), we have carried out vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy studies on methyl acetate from 10 K until sublimation in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber simulating astrochemical conditions. We present the first VUV and IR spectra of methyl acetate relevant to ISM conditions. Spectral signatures clearly showed molecular reorientation to have started in the ice by annealing the amorphous ice formed at 10 K. An irreversible phase change from amorphous to crystalline methyl acetate ice was found to occur between 110 K and 120 K.

The first off-lattice Monte Carlo kinetics model of interstellar dust grain surface chemistry is presented. The positions of all surface particles are determined explicitly, according to the local potential minima resulting from the pair-wise interactions of contiguous atoms and molecules, rather than by a pre-defined lattice structure. The model is capable of simulating chemical kinetics on any arbitrary dust grain morphology, as determined by the user-defined positions of each individual dust grain atom. A simple method is devised for the determination of the most likely diffusion pathways and their associated energy barriers for surface species. The model is applied to a small, idealized dust grain, adopting various gas densities and using a small chemical network. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms accrete onto the grain to produce H₂O, H₂, O₂, and H₂O₂. The off-lattice method allows the ice structure to evolve freely; the ice mantle porosity is found to be dependent on the gas density, which controls the accretion rate. A gas density of 2 × 10⁴ cm⁻³, appropriate for dark interstellar clouds, is found to produce a fairly smooth and non-porous ice mantle. At all densities, H₂ molecules formed on the grains collect within the crevices that divide nodules of ice and within micropores (whose extreme inward curvature produces strong local potential minima). The larger pores produced in the high-density models are not typically filled with H₂. Direct deposition of water molecules onto the grain indicates that amorphous ices formed in this way may be significantly more porous than interstellar ices that are formed by surface chemistry.

Following the observational and theoretical evidence that points at core-collapse supernovae (SNe) as major producers of dust, here we calculate the hydrodynamics of the matter reinserted within young and massive super stellar clusters under the assumption of gas and dust radiative cooling. The large SN rate expected in massive clusters allows for a continuous replenishment of dust immersed in the high temperature thermalized reinserted matter and warrants a stationary presence of dust within the cluster volume during the type II SN era. We first show that such a balance determines the range of the dust-to-gas-mass ratio, and thus the dust cooling law. We then search for the critical line that separates stationary cluster winds from the bimodal cases in the cluster mechanical luminosity (or cluster mass) versus cluster size parameter space. In the latter, strong radiative cooling reduces considerably the cluster wind mechanical energy output and affects particularly the cluster central regions, leading to frequent thermal instabilities that diminish the pressure and inhibit the exit of the reinserted matter. Instead, matter accumulates there and is expected to eventually lead to gravitational instabilities and to further stellar formation with the matter reinserted by former massive stars. The main outcome of the calculations is that the critical line is almost two orders of magnitude or more, depending on the assumed value of V_A∞, lower than when only gas radiative cooling is applied. And thus, many massive clusters are predicted to enter the bimodal regime.

Through established, highly accurate ab initio quartic force fields, a complete set of fundamental vibrational frequencies, rotational constants, and rovibrational coupling and centrifugal distortion constants have been determined for both the cyclic 1 ¹A' and bent 2 ¹A' DCCN, H¹³CCN, HC¹³CN, and HCC¹⁵N isotopologues of HCCN. Spectroscopic constants are computed for all isotopologues using second-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2), and the fundamental vibrational frequencies are computed with VPT2 and vibrational configuration interaction (VCI) theory. Agreement between VPT2 and VCI results is quite good, with the fundamental vibrational frequencies of the bent isomer isotopologues in accord to within a 0.1–3.2 cm⁻¹ range. Similar accuracies are present for the cyclic isomer isotopologues. The data generated here serve as a reference for astronomical observations of these closed-shell, highly dipolar molecules using new, high-resolution telescopes and as reference for laboratory studies where isotopic labeling may lead to elucidation of the formation mechanism for the known interstellar molecule: X ³A' HCCN.

Dust grains are sputtered away in the hot gas behind shock fronts in supernova remnants (SNRs), gradually enriching the gas phase with refractory elements. We have measured emission in C iv λ1550 from C atoms sputtered from dust in the gas behind a non-radiative shock wave in the northern Cygnus Loop. Overall, the intensity observed behind the shock agrees approximately with predictions from model calculations that match the Spitzer 24 μm and the X-ray intensity profiles. Thus, these observations confirm the overall picture of dust destruction in SNR shocks and the sputtering rates used in models. However, there is a discrepancy in that the C iv intensity 10'' behind the shock is too high compared with the intensities at the shock and 25'' behind it. Variations in the density, hydrogen neutral fraction, and the dust properties over parsec scales in the pre-shock medium limit our ability to test dust destruction models in detail.

Pure methanol ices have been irradiated with monochromatic soft X-rays of 300 and 550 eV close to the 1s resonance edges of C and O, respectively, and with a broadband spectrum (250–1200 eV). The infrared (IR) spectra of the irradiated ices show several new products of astrophysical interest such as CH₂OH, H₂CO, CH₄, HCOOH, HCOCH₂OH, CH₃COOH, CH₃OCH₃, HCOOCH₃, and (CH₂OH)₂, as well as HCO, CO, and CO₂. The effect of X-rays is the result of the combined interactions of photons and electrons with the ice. A significant contribution to the formation and growth of new species in the CH₃OH ice irradiated with X-rays is given by secondary electrons, whose energy distribution depends on the energy of X-ray photons. Within a single experiment, the abundances of the new products increase with the absorbed energy. Monochromatic experiments show that product abundances also increase with the photon energy. However, the abundances per unit energy of newly formed species show a marked decrease in the broadband experiment as compared to irradiations with monochromatic photons, suggesting a possible regulatory role of the energy deposition rate. The number of new molecules produced per absorbed eV in the X-ray experiments has been compared to those obtained with electron and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation experiments.

We present the results of NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of the two ultraluminous X-ray sources: NGC 1313 X-1 and X-2. The combined spectral bandpass of the two satellites enables us to produce the first spectrum of X-1 between 0.3 and 30 keV, while X-2 is not significantly detected by NuSTAR above 10 keV. The NuSTAR data demonstrate that X-1 has a clear cutoff above 10 keV, whose presence was only marginally detectable with previous X-ray observations. This cutoff rules out the interpretation of X-1 as a black hole in a standard low/hard state, and it is deeper than predicted for the downturn of a broadened iron line in a reflection-dominated regime. The cutoff differs from the prediction of a single-temperature Comptonization model. Further, a cold disk-like blackbody component at ∼0.3 keV is required by the data, confirming previous measurements by XMM-Newton only. We observe a spectral transition in X-2, from a state with high luminosity and strong variability to a lower-luminosity state with no detectable variability, and we link this behavior to a transition from a super-Eddington to a sub-Eddington regime.

No supernova (SN) in the Milky Way has been observed since the invention of the optical telescope, instruments for other wavelengths, neutrino detectors, or gravitational wave observatories. It would be a tragedy to miss the opportunity to fully characterize the next one. To aid preparations for its observations, we model the distance, extinction, and magnitude probability distributions of a successful Galactic core-collapse supernova (ccSN), its shock breakout radiation, and its massive star progenitor. We find, at very high probability (≃ 100%), that the next Galactic SN will easily be detectable in the near-IR and that near-IR photometry of the progenitor star very likely (≃ 92%) already exists in the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Most ccSNe (98%) will be easily observed in the optical, but a significant fraction (43%) will lack observations of the progenitor due to a combination of survey sensitivity and confusion. If neutrino detection experiments can quickly disseminate a likely position (∼3°), we show that a modestly priced IR camera system can probably detect the shock breakout radiation pulse even in daytime (64% for the cheapest design). Neutrino experiments should seriously consider adding such systems, both for their scientific return and as an added and internal layer of protection against false triggers. We find that shock breakouts from failed ccSNe of red supergiants may be more observable than those of successful SNe due to their lower radiation temperatures. We review the process by which neutrinos from a Galactic ccSN would be detected and announced. We provide new information on the EGADS system and its potential for providing instant neutrino alerts. We also discuss the distance, extinction, and magnitude probability distributions for the next Galactic Type Ia supernova (SN Ia). Based on our modeled observability, we find a Galactic ccSN rate of $3.2^{+7.3}_{-2.6}$ per century and a Galactic SN Ia rate of $1.4^{+1.4}_{-0.8}$ per century for a total Galactic SN rate of $4.6^{+7.4}_{-2.7}$ per century is needed to account for the SNe observed over the last millennium, which implies a Galactic star formation rate of $3.6^{+8.3}_{-3.0}$ M_☉ yr⁻¹.

Recent observations of accreting black holes reveal the presence of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) in the optical power density spectra. The corresponding oscillation periods match those found in X-rays, implying a common origin. Among the numerous suggested X-ray QPO mechanisms, some may also work in the optical. However, their relevance to the broadband—optical through X-ray—spectral properties have not been investigated. For the first time, we discuss the QPO mechanism in the context of the self-consistent spectral model. We propose that the QPOs are produced by Lense–Thirring precession of the hot accretion flow, whose outer parts radiate in optical wavelengths. At the same time, its innermost parts are emitting X-rays, which explains the observed connection of QPO periods. We predict that the X-ray and optical QPOs should be either in phase or shifted by half a period, depending on the observer position. We investigate the QPO harmonic content and find that the variability amplitudes at the fundamental frequency are larger in the optical, while the X-rays are expected to have strong harmonics. We then discuss the QPO spectral dependence and compare the expectations to the existing data.

It has long been known that solar-type stars undergo significant spin-down, via magnetic braking, during their main-sequence lifetimes. However, magnetic braking only operates on the surface layers; it is not yet completely understood how angular momentum is transported within the star and how rapidly the spin-down information is communicated to the deep interior. In this work, we use insight from recent progress in understanding internal solar dynamics to model the interior of other solar-type stars. We assume, following Gough & McIntyre, that the bulk of the radiation zone of these stars is held in uniform rotation by the presence of an embedded large-scale primordial field, confined below a stably stratified, magnetic-free tachocline by large-scale meridional flows downwelling from the convection zone. We derive simple equations to describe the response of this model interior to spin-down of the surface layers, which are identical to the two-zone model of MacGregor & Brenner, with a coupling timescale proportional to the local Eddington–Sweet timescale across the tachocline. This timescale depends both on the rotation rate of the star and on the thickness of the tachocline, and it can vary from a few hundred thousand years to a few Gyr, depending on stellar properties. Qualitative predictions of the model appear to be consistent with observations, although they depend sensitively on the assumed functional dependence of the tachocline thickness on the stellar rotation rate.

We present a new method for probabilistically classifying supernovae (SNe) without using SN spectral or photometric data. Unlike all previous studies to classify SNe without spectra, this technique does not use any SN photometry. Instead, the method relies on host-galaxy data. We build upon the well-known correlations between SN classes and host-galaxy properties, specifically that core-collapse SNe rarely occur in red, luminous, or early-type galaxies. Using the nearly spectroscopically complete Lick Observatory Supernova Search sample of SNe, we determine SN fractions as a function of host-galaxy properties. Using these data as inputs, we construct a Bayesian method for determining the probability that an SN is of a particular class. This method improves a common classification figure of merit by a factor of >2, comparable to the best light-curve classification techniques. Of the galaxy properties examined, morphology provides the most discriminating information. We further validate this method using SN samples from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Palomar Transient Factory. We demonstrate that this method has wide-ranging applications, including separating different subclasses of SNe and determining the probability that an SN is of a particular class before photometry or even spectra can. Since this method uses completely independent data from light-curve techniques, there is potential to further improve the overall purity and completeness of SN samples and to test systematic biases of the light-curve techniques. Further enhancements to the host-galaxy method, including additional host-galaxy properties, combination with light-curve methods, and hybrid methods, should further improve the quality of SN samples from past, current, and future transient surveys.

We present the discovery of a plausible super-luminous supernova (SLSN), found in the archival data of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82, called PSN 000123+000504. The supernova (SN) peaked at m_g < 19.4 mag in the second half of 2005 September, but was missed by the real-time SN hunt. The observed part of the light curve (17 epochs) showed that the rise to the maximum took over 30 days, while the decline time lasted at least 70 days (observed frame), closely resembling other SLSNe of SN 2007bi type. The spectrum of the host galaxy reveals a redshift of z = 0.281 and the distance modulus of μ = 40.77 mag. Combining this information with the SDSS photometry, we found the host galaxy to be an LMC-like irregular dwarf galaxy with an absolute magnitude of M_B = −18.2 ± 0.2 mag and an oxygen abundance of ${\rm 12+\log [O/H]}=8.3\pm 0.2$; hence, the SN peaked at M_g < −21.3 mag. Our SLSN follows the relation for the most energetic/super-luminous SNe exploding in low-metallicity environments, but we found no clear evidence for SLSNe to explode in low-luminosity (dwarf) galaxies only. The available information on the PSN 000123+000504 light curve suggests the magnetar-powered model as a likely scenario of this event. This SLSN is a new addition to a quickly growing family of super-luminous SNe.

The presence of giant gaseous planets that reside in close proximity to their host stars, i.e., hot Jupiters, may be a consequence of large-scale radial migration through the protoplanetary nebulae. Within the framework of this picture, significant orbital obliquities characteristic of a substantial fraction of such planets can be attributed to external torques that perturb the natal disks out of alignment with the spin axes of their host stars. Therefore, the acquisition of orbital obliquity likely exhibits sensitive dependence on the physics of disk–star interactions. Here, we analyze the primordial excitation of spin–orbit misalignment of Sun-like stars in light of disk–star angular momentum transfer. We begin by calculating the stellar pre-main-sequence rotational evolution, accounting for spin-up due to gravitational contraction and accretion as well as spin-down due to magnetic star–disk coupling. We devote particular attention to angular momentum transfer by accretion, and show that while generally subdominant to gravitational contraction, this process is largely controlled by the morphology of the stellar magnetic field (that is, specific angular momentum accreted by stars with octupole-dominated surface fields is smaller than that accreted by dipole-dominated stars by an order of magnitude). Subsequently, we examine the secular spin-axis dynamics of disk-bearing stars, accounting for the time-evolution of stellar and disk properties, and demonstrate that misalignments are preferentially excited in systems where stellar rotation is not overwhelmingly rapid. Moreover, we show that the excitation of spin–orbit misalignment occurs impulsively through an encounter with a resonance between the stellar precession frequency and the disk-torquing frequency. Cumulatively, the model developed herein opens up a previously unexplored avenue toward understanding star–disk evolution and its consequences in a unified manner.

We study the properties of K-band-selected galaxies (K_AB < 24) in the z = 3.09 SSA22 protocluster field. 430 galaxies at 2.6 < z_phot < 3.6 are selected as potential protocluster members in a 112 arcmin² area based on their photometric redshifts. We find that ≈20% of the massive galaxies with stellar masses >10¹¹ M_☉ at z_phot ∼ 3.1 have colors consistent with those of quiescent galaxies with ages >0.5 Gyr. This fraction increases to ≈50% after correcting for unrelated foreground/background objects. We also find that 30% of the massive galaxies are heavily reddened, dusty, star-forming galaxies. Few such quiescent galaxies at similar redshifts are seen in typical survey fields. An excess surface density of 24 μm sources at z_phot ∼ 3.1 is also observed, implying the presence of dusty star-formation activity in the protocluster. Cross-correlation with the X-ray data indicates that the fraction of K-band-selected protocluster galaxies hosting active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is also high compared with the field. The sky distribution of the quiescent galaxies, the 24 μm sources, and the X-ray AGNs show clustering around a density peak of z = 3.1 Lyα emitters. A significant fraction of the massive galaxies have already become quiescent, while dusty star-formation is still active in the SSA22 protocluster. These findings indicate that we are witnessing the formation epoch of massive early-type galaxies in the centers of the predecessors to present-day rich galaxy clusters.

Using the VIMOS integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope, we have spatially mapped the kinematic properties of 10 nearby brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and 4 BCG companion galaxies located within a redshift of z = 0.1. In the hierarchical formation model, these massive galaxies (10^10.5 M_☉ < M_dyn < 10^11.9 M_☉) are expected to undergo more mergers than lower mass galaxies, and simulations show that dry minor mergers can remove angular momentum. We test whether BCGs have low angular momenta by using the λ_Re parameter developed by the SAURON and ATLAS^3D teams and combine our kinematics with Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry to analyze the BCGs' merger status. We find that 30% (3/10) of the BCGs and 100% of the companion galaxies (4/4) are fast rotators as defined by the ATLAS^3D criteria. Our fastest rotating BCG has a λ_Re = 0.35 ± 0.05. We increase the number of BCGs analyzed from 1 in the combined SAURON and ATLAS^3D surveys to 11 BCGs total and find that above M_dyn ∼ 11.5 M_☉, virtually all galaxies, regardless of environment, are slow rotators. To search for signs of recent merging, we analyze the photometry of each system and use the G − M₂₀ selection criteria to identify mergers. We find that 40% ± 20% of our BCGs are currently undergoing or have recently undergone a merger (within 0.2 Gyr). Surprisingly, we find no correlation between galaxies with high angular momentum and morphological signatures of merging.

Highly dust-obscured starbursting galaxies (submillimeter galaxies and their ilk) represent the most extreme sites of star formation in the distant universe and contribute significantly to overall cosmic star formation beyond z > 1.5. Some stars formed in these environments may also explode as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and contribute to the population of "dark" bursts. Here we present Very Large Array wideband radio-continuum observations of 15 heavily dust-obscured Swift GRBs to search for radio synchrotron emission associated with intense star formation in their host galaxies. Most of these targets (11) are not detected. Of the remaining four objects, one detection is marginal, and for two others we cannot yet rule out the contribution of a long-lived radio afterglow. The final detection is secure, but indicates a star formation rate (SFR) roughly consistent with the dust-corrected UV-inferred value. Most galaxies hosting obscured GRBs are therefore not forming stars at extreme rates, and the amount of optical extinction seen along a GRB afterglow sightline does not clearly correlate with the likelihood that the host has a sufficiently high SFR to be radio-detectable. While some submillimeter galaxies do readily produce GRBs, these GRBs are often not heavily obscured—suggesting that the outer (modestly obscured) parts of these galaxies overproduce GRBs and the inner (heavily obscured) parts underproduce GRBs relative to their respective contributions to star formation, hinting at strong chemical or initial mass function gradients within these systems.

Recent quasar spectroscopy from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and Keck suggests that fundamental constants may not actually be constant. To better confirm or refute this result, systematic errors between telescopes must be minimized. We present a new method to directly compare spectra of the same object and measure any velocity shifts between them. This method allows for the discovery of wavelength-dependent velocity shifts between spectra, i.e., velocity distortions, that could produce spurious detections of cosmological variations in fundamental constants. This "direct comparison" method has several advantages over alternative techniques: it is model-independent (cf. line-fitting approaches), blind, in that spectral features do not need to be identified beforehand, and it produces meaningful uncertainty estimates for the velocity shift measurements. In particular, we demonstrate that, when comparing echelle-resolution spectra with unresolved absorption features, the uncertainty estimates are reliable for signal-to-noise ratios ≳7 per pixel. We apply this method to spectra of quasar J2123−0050 observed with Keck and the VLT and find no significant distortions over long wavelength ranges (∼1050 Å) greater than ≈180 m s⁻¹. We also find no evidence for systematic velocity distortions within echelle orders greater than 500 m s⁻¹. Moreover, previous constraints on cosmological variations in the proton–electron mass ratio should not have been affected by velocity distortions in these spectra by more than 4.0 ± 4.2 parts per million. This technique may also find application in measuring stellar radial velocities in search of extra-solar planets and attempts to directly observe the expansion history of the universe using quasar absorption spectra.

We construct magnetostatic models of coronal loops in which the thermodynamics of the loop is fully consistent with the shape and geometry of the loop. This is achieved by treating the loop as a thin, compact, magnetic fibril that is a small departure from a force-free state. The density along the loop is related to the loop's curvature by requiring that the Lorentz force arising from this deviation is balanced by buoyancy. This equilibrium, coupled with hydrostatic balance and the ideal gas law, then connects the temperature of the loop with the curvature of the loop without resorting to a detailed treatment of heating and cooling. We present two example solutions: one with a spatially invariant magnetic Bond number (the dimensionless ratio of buoyancy to Lorentz forces) and the other with a constant radius of the curvature of the loop's axis. We find that the density and temperature profiles are quite sensitive to curvature variations along the loop, even for loops with similar aspect ratios.

NOAA 11429 was the source of an M7.9 X-ray flare at the western solar limb (N18° W63°) on 2012 March 13 at 17:12 UT. Observations of the line-of-sight magnetic flux and the Stokes I and V profiles from which it is derived were carried out by the Solar Dynamics Observatory Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (SDO/HMI) with a 45 s cadence over the full disk, at a spatial sampling of 05. During flare onset, a transient patch of negative flux can be observed in SDO/HMI magnetograms to rapidly appear within the positive polarity penumbra of NOAA 11429. We present here a detailed study of this magnetic transient and offer interpretations as to whether this highly debated phenomenon represents a "real" change in the structure of the magnetic field at the site of the flare, or is instead a product of instrumental/algorithmic artifacts related to particular SDO/HMI data reduction techniques.

We describe, analyze, and validate the recently developed Alfvén Wave Solar Model, a three-dimensional global model starting from the top of the chromosphere and extending into interplanetary space (out to 1–2 AU). This model solves the extended, two-temperature magnetohydrodynamics equations coupled to a wave kinetic equation for low-frequency Alfvén waves. In this picture, heating and acceleration of the plasma are due to wave dissipation and to wave pressure gradients, respectively. The dissipation process is described by a fully developed turbulent cascade of counterpropagating waves. We adopt a unified approach for calculating the wave dissipation in both open and closed magnetic field lines, allowing for a self-consistent treatment in any magnetic topology. Wave dissipation is the only heating mechanism assumed in the model; no geometric heating functions are invoked. Electron heat conduction and radiative cooling are also included. We demonstrate that the large-scale, steady state (in the corotating frame) properties of the solar environment are reproduced, using three adjustable parameters: the Poynting flux of chromospheric Alfvén waves, the perpendicular correlation length of the turbulence, and a pseudoreflection coefficient. We compare model results for Carrington rotation 2063 (2007 November–December) with remote observations in the extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray ranges from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and Hinode spacecraft and with in situ measurements by Ulysses. The results are in good agreement with observations. This is the first global simulation that is simultaneously consistent with observations of both the thermal structure of the lower corona and the wind structure beyond Earth's orbit.

We show that the scaling of structure functions of magnetic and velocity fields in a mostly highly Alfvénic fast solar wind stream depends strongly on the joint distribution of the dimensionless measures of cross helicity and residual energy. Already at very low frequencies, fluctuations that are both more balanced (cross helicity ∼0) and equipartitioned (residual energy ∼0) have steep structure functions reminiscent of "turbulent" scalings usually associated with the inertial range. Fluctuations that are magnetically dominated (residual energy ∼−1), and so have closely anti-aligned Elsasser-field vectors, or are imbalanced (cross helicity ∼1), and so have closely aligned magnetic and velocity vectors, have wide "1/f" ranges typical of fast solar wind. We conclude that the strength of nonlinear interactions of individual fluctuations within a stream, diagnosed by the degree of correlation in direction and magnitude of magnetic and velocity fluctuations, determines the extent of the 1/f region observed, and thus the onset scale for the turbulent cascade.

Supermassive stars (SMSs) forming via very rapid mass accretion ($\dot{M}_*\gtrsim 0.1 \,M_\odot {\rm \,yr}^{-1}$) could be precursors of supermassive black holes observed beyond a redshift of about six. Extending our previous work, here we study the evolution of primordial stars growing under such rapid mass accretion until the stellar mass reaches 10^{4 − 5} M_☉. Our stellar evolution calculations show that a star becomes supermassive while passing through the "supergiant protostar" stage, whereby the star has a very bloated envelope and a contracting inner core. The stellar radius increases monotonically with the stellar mass until ≃ 100 AU for M_* ≳ 10⁴ M_☉, after which the star begins to slowly contract. Because of the large radius, the effective temperature is always less than 10⁴ K during rapid accretion. The accreting material is thus almost completely transparent to the stellar radiation. Only for M_* ≳ 10⁵ M_☉ can stellar UV feedback operate and disturb the mass accretion flow. We also examine the pulsation stability of accreting SMSs, showing that the pulsation-driven mass loss does not prevent stellar mass growth. Observational signatures of bloated SMSs should be detectable with future observational facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope. Our results predict that an inner core of the accreting SMS should suffer from the general relativistic instability soon after the stellar mass exceeds 10⁵ M_☉. An extremely massive black hole should form after the collapse of the inner core.

The large gas and dust reservoirs of submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) could potentially provide ample fuel to trigger an active galactic nucleus (AGN), but previous studies of the AGN fraction in SMGs have been controversial largely due to the inhomogeneity and limited angular resolution of the available submillimeter surveys. Here we set improved constraints on the AGN fraction and X-ray properties of the SMGs with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Chandra observations in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (E-CDF-S). This study is the first among similar works to have unambiguously identified the X-ray counterparts of SMGs; this is accomplished using the fully submillimeter-identified, statistically reliable SMG catalog with 99 SMGs from the ALMA LABOCA E-CDF-S Submillimeter Survey. We found 10 X-ray sources associated with SMGs (median redshift z = 2.3), of which eight were identified as AGNs using several techniques that enable cross-checking. The other two X-ray detected SMGs have levels of X-ray emission that can be plausibly explained by their star formation activity. Six of the eight SMG-AGNs are moderately/highly absorbed, with N_H > 10²³ cm⁻². An analysis of the AGN fraction, taking into account the spatial variation of X-ray sensitivity, yields an AGN fraction of $17^{+16}_{-6}\%$ for AGNs with rest-frame 0.5–8 keV absorption-corrected luminosity ⩾7.8 × 10⁴² erg s⁻¹; we provide estimated AGN fractions as a function of X-ray flux and luminosity. ALMA's high angular resolution also enables direct X-ray stacking at the precise positions of SMGs for the first time, and we found four potential SMG-AGNs in our stacking sample.

Magnetic field magnitude decreases (MDs) are observed in several regions of the interplanetary medium. In this paper, we characterize MDs observed by the Ulysses spacecraft instrumentation over the solar south pole by using magnetic field data to obtain the empirical size, magnetic field MD, and frequency of occurrence distribution functions. The interaction of energetic (100 keV to 2 MeV) protons with these MDs is investigated. Charged particle and MD interactions can be described by a geometrical model allowing the calculation of the guiding center shift after each interaction. Using the distribution functions for the MD characteristics, Monte Carlo simulations are used to obtain the cross-field diffusion coefficients as a function of particle kinetic energy. It is found that the protons under consideration cross-field diffuse at a rate of up to ≈11% of the Bohm rate. The same method used in this paper can be applied to other space regions where MDs are observed, once their local features are well known.

Self-gravity computation by multipole expansion is a common approach in problems such as core-collapse and Type Ia supernovae, where single large condensations of mass must be treated. The standard formulation of multipole self-gravity in arbitrary coordinate systems suffers from two significant sources of error, which we correct in the formulation presented in this article. The first source of error is due to the numerical approximation that effectively places grid cell mass at the central point of the cell, then computes the gravitational potential at that point, resulting in a convergence failure of the multipole expansion. We describe a new scheme that avoids this problem by computing gravitational potential at cell faces. The second source of error is due to sub-optimal choice of location for the expansion center, which results in angular power at high multipole l values in the gravitational field, requiring a high—and expensive—value of multipole cutoff l_max. By introducing a global measure of angular power in the gravitational field, we show that the optimal coordinate for the expansion is the square-density-weighted mean location. We subject our new multipole self-gravity algorithm, implemented in the FLASH simulation framework, to two rigorous test problems: MacLaurin spheroids for which exact analytic solutions are known, and core-collapse supernovae. We show that key observables of the core-collapse simulations, particularly shock expansion, proto-neutron star motion, and momentum conservation, are extremely sensitive to the accuracy of the multipole gravity, and the accuracy of their computation is greatly improved by our reformulated solver.

Although warm Jupiters are generally too far from their stars for tides to be important, the presence of an inner planetary companion to a warm Jupiter can result in tidal evolution of the system. Insight into the process and its effects comes form classical secular theory of planetary perturbations. The lifetime of the inner planet may be shorter than the age of the system, because the warm Jupiter maintains its eccentricity and hence promotes tidal migration into the star. Thus a warm Jupiter observed to be alone in its system might have previously cleared away any interior planets. Before its demise, even if an inner planet is of terrestrial scale, it may promote damping of the warm Jupiter's eccentricity. Thus any inferences of the initial orbit of an observed warm Jupiter must include the possibility of a greater initial eccentricity than would be estimated by assuming it had always been alone. Tidal evolution involving multiple planets also enhances the internal heating of the planets, which readily exceeds that of stellar radiation for the inner planet, and may be great enough to affect the internal structure of warm Jupiters. Secular theory gives insight into the tidal processes, providing, among other things, a way to constrain eccentricities of transiting planets based on estimates of the tidal parameter Q.

We present a Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera-3 (WFC3) transmission spectrum for the transiting exoplanet HAT-P-12b. This warm (1000 K) sub-Saturn-mass planet has a smaller mass and a lower temperature than the hot Jupiters that have been studied so far. We find that the planet's measured transmission spectrum lacks the expected water absorption feature for a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere and is instead best described by a model with high-altitude clouds. Using a frequentist hypothesis testing procedure, we can rule out a hydrogen-dominated cloud-free atmosphere to 4.9σ. When combined with other recent WFC3 studies, our observations suggest that clouds may be common in exoplanetary atmospheres.

We present a ground-based optical transmission spectrum of the inflated sub-Jupiter-mass planet WASP-6b. The spectrum was measured in 20 spectral channels from 480 nm to 860 nm using a series of 91 spectra over a complete transit event. The observations were carried out using multi-object differential spectrophotometry with the Inamori-Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph on the Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. We model systematic effects on the observed light curves using principal component analysis on the comparison stars and allow for the presence of short and long memory correlation structure in our Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis of the transit light curves for WASP-6. The measured transmission spectrum presents a general trend of decreasing apparent planetary size with wavelength and lacks evidence for broad spectral features of Na and K predicted by clear atmosphere models. The spectrum is consistent with that expected for scattering that is more efficient in the blue, as could be caused by hazes or condensates in the atmosphere of WASP-6b. WASP-6b therefore appears to be yet another massive exoplanet with evidence for a mostly featureless transmission spectrum, underscoring the importance that hazes and condensates can have in determining the transmission spectra of exoplanets.

The KOI-94 system is a closely packed, multi-transiting planetary system discovered by the Kepler space telescope. It is known as the first system that exhibited a rare event called a "planet–planet eclipse (PPE)," in which two planets partially overlap with each other in their double-transit phase. In this paper, we constrain the parameters of the KOI-94 system with an analysis of the transit timing variations (TTVs). Such constraints are independent of the radial velocity (RV) analysis recently performed by Weiss and coworkers, and valuable in examining the reliability of the parameter estimate using TTVs. We numerically fit the observed TTVs of KOI-94c, KOI-94d, and KOI-94e for their masses, eccentricities, and longitudes of periastrons, and obtain the best-fit parameters including $m_{\rm c} = 9.4_{-2.1}^{+2.4}\, M_{\oplus }$, $m_{\rm d} = 52.1_{-7.1}^{+6.9}\, M_{\oplus }$, $m_{\rm e} = 13.0_{-2.1}^{+2.5}\, M_{\oplus }$, and e ≲ 0.1 for all the three planets. While these values are mostly in agreement with the RV result, the mass of KOI-94d estimated from the TTV is significantly smaller than the RV value m_d = 106 ± 11 M_⊕. In addition, we find that the TTV of the outermost planet KOI-94e is not well reproduced in the current modeling. We also present analytic modeling of the PPE and derive a simple formula to reconstruct the mutual inclination of the two planets from the observed height, central time, and duration of the brightening caused by the PPE. Based on this model, the implication of the results of TTV analysis for the time of the next PPE is discussed.

All old Galactic globular clusters (GCs) studied in detail to date host at least two generations of stars, where the second is formed from gas polluted by processed material produced by massive stars of the first. This process can happen if the initial mass of the cluster exceeds a threshold above which ejecta are retained and a second generation is formed. A determination of this mass threshold is mandatory in order to understand how GCs form. We analyzed nine red giant branch stars belonging to the cluster Ruprecht 106. Targets were observed with the UVES@VLT2 spectrograph. Spectra cover a wide range and allowed us to measure abundances for light (O, Na, Mg, Al), α (Si, Ca, Ti), iron-peak (Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn), and neutron-capture (Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Dy, Pb) elements. Based on these abundances, we show that Ruprecht 106 is the first convincing example of a single-population GC (i.e., a true simple stellar population), although the sample is relatively small. This result is supported also by an independent photometric test and by the horizontal branch morphology and the dynamical state. It is old (∼12 Gyr) and, at odds with other GCs, has no α-enhancement. The material it formed from was contaminated by both s- and r-process elements. The abundance pattern points toward an extragalactic origin. Its present-day mass (M = 10^4.83 M_☉) can be assumed as a strong lower limit for the initial mass threshold below which no second generation is formed. Clearly, its initial mass must have been significantly greater, but we have no current constraints on the amount of mass loss during its evolution.

We study the high-ion content and kinematics of the circumgalactic medium around low-redshift galaxies using a sample of 23 Lyman limit systems (LLSs) at 0.08 < z < 0.93 observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. In Lehner et al., we recently showed that low-z LLSs have a bimodal metallicity distribution. Here we extend that analysis to search for differences between the high-ion and kinematic properties of the metal-poor and metal-rich branches. We find that metal-rich LLSs tend to show higher O vi columns and broader O vi profiles than metal-poor LLSs. The total H i line width (Δv₉₀ statistic) in LLSs is not correlated with metallicity, indicating that the H i kinematics alone cannot be used to distinguish inflow from outflow and gas recycling. Among the 17 LLSs with O vi detections, all but two show evidence of kinematic sub-structure, in the form of O vi–H i centroid offsets, multiple components, or both. Using various scenarios for how the metallicities in the high-ion and low-ion phases of each LLS compare, we constrain the ionized hydrogen column in the O vi phase to lie in the range log N(H ii) ∼ 17.6–20. The O vi phase of LLSs is a substantial baryon reservoir, with M(high-ion) ∼ 10^8.5–10.9 (r/150 kpc)² M_☉, similar to the mass in the low-ion phase. Accounting for the O vi phase approximately doubles the contribution of low-z LLSs to the cosmic baryon budget.

Striking similarities have been seen between accretion signatures of Galactic X-ray binary (XRB) systems and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). XRB spectral states show a V-shaped correlation between X-ray spectral hardness and Eddington ratio as they vary, and some AGN samples reveal a similar trend, implying analogous processes at vastly larger masses and timescales. To further investigate the analogies, we have matched 617 sources from the Chandra Source Catalog to Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopy, and uniformly measured both X-ray and optical spectral characteristics across a broad range of AGN and galaxy types. We provide useful tabulations of X-ray spectral slope for broad- and narrow-line AGNs, star-forming and passive galaxies, and composite systems, also updating relationships between optical (Hα and [O iii]) line emission and X-ray luminosity. We further fit broadband spectral energy distributions with a variety of templates to estimate bolometric luminosity. Our results confirm a significant trend in AGNs between X-ray spectral hardness and Eddington ratio expressed in X-ray luminosity, albeit with significant dispersion. The trend is not significant when expressed in the full bolometric or template-estimated AGN luminosity. We also confirm a relationship between the X-ray/optical spectral slope α_ox and Eddington ratio, but it may not follow the trend predicted by analogy with XRB accretion states.