Table of contents

The porous nature of amorphous solid water (ASW) can significantly effect the chemical evolution of any planetary or astrophysical surface it forms on due to its ability to trap and retain volatiles. The amount of volatiles that can enter an ASW grain or mantle is limited by how interconnected the pores are to each other and to the exterior surface. Previous laboratory studies examined the interconnectivity of ASW pores in thin ASW films relevant to ice mantles on interstellar grains. Here, we investigate to what extent the interconnectivity of pores and subsequent gas absorption properties of ASW change as one moves toward thicker samples (up to ∼10¹⁹ H₂O cm⁻² or ∼4 μm) more representative of icy material found in the outer solar system. We find that for all film thicknesses studied, the internal pores are accessible from the sample's surface, and the amount of gas needed to fill the pores increases linearly with the ASW column density. This linear relation supports that the interconnectivity to the surface will persist in ices that are much thicker than those we were able to study, suggesting that the amount of contaminant gas trapped within ASW can significantly alter the chemical evolution of a variety of ASW-rich surfaces in the outer solar system.

A challenge in characterizing active region (AR) coronal heating is in separating transient (bursty) loop heating from the diffuse background (steady) heating. We present a method of quantifying coronal heating's bursty and steady components in ARs, applying it to Fe xviii (hot 94) emission of an AR observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The maximum-, minimum-, and average-brightness values for each pixel, over a 24 hr period, yield a maximum-brightness map, a minimum-brightness map, and an average-brightness map of the AR. Running sets of such three maps come from repeating this process for each time step of running windows of 20, 16, 12, 8, 5, 3, 1, and 0.5 hr. From each running window's set of three maps, we obtain the AR's three corresponding luminosity light curves. We find (1) the time-averaged ratio of minimum-brightness-map luminosity to average-brightness-map luminosity increases as the time window decreases, and the time-averaged ratio of maximum-brightness-map luminosity to average-brightness-map luminosity decreases as the window decreases; (2) for the 24 hr window, the minimum-brightness map's luminosity is 5% of the average-brightness map's luminosity, indicating that at most 5% of the AR's hot 94 luminosity is from heating that is steady for 24 hr; (3) this upper limit on the fraction of the hot 94 luminosity from steady heating increases to 33% for the 30 minute running window. This requires that the heating of the 4–8 MK plasma in this AR is mostly in bursts lasting less than 30 minutes: at most a third of the heating is steady for 30 minutes.

Stealthy coronal mass ejections (CMEs), lacking low coronal signatures, may result in significant geomagnetic storms. However, the mechanism of stealthy CMEs is still highly debated. In this work, we investigate whether there are differences between stealthy and standard CMEs in terms of their dynamic behaviors. Seven stealthy and eight standard CMEs with low speeds are selected. We calculate two-dimensional speed distributions of CMEs based on the cross-correlation method, rather than the unidimensional speed, and further obtain more accurate distributions and evolution of CME mechanical energies. Then we derive the CME driving powers and correlate them with CME parameters (total mass, average speed, and acceleration) for standard and stealthy CMEs. Besides, we study the forces that drive CMEs, namely, the Lorentz force, gravitational force, and drag force due to the ambient solar wind near the Sun. The results reveal that both standard and stealthy CMEs are propelled by the combined action of those forces in the inner corona. The drag force and gravitational force are comparable with the Lorentz force. However, the impact of the drag and Lorentz forces on the global evolution of stealthy CMEs is significantly weaker than that on standard CMEs.

Accurate disk mass measurements are necessary to constrain disk evolution and the timescale of planet formation, but such measurements are difficult to make and are very dependent on assumptions. Here, we look at the assumption that the disk is optically thin at radio wavelengths and the effect of this assumption on measurements of disk dust mass. We model the optical to radio spectral energy distributions of 41 protoplanetary disks located in the young (∼1–3 Myr old) Lupus star-forming region, including 0.89 1.33 and 3 mm flux densities when available. We measure disk dust masses that are ∼1.5–6 times higher than when using the commonly adopted disk dust mass equation under the assumption of optically thin emission in the (sub)millimeter range. The cause of this discrepancy is that most disks are optically thick at millimeter wavelengths, even up to 3 mm, demonstrating that observations at longer wavelengths are needed to trace the fully optically thin emission of disks.

The presence of neutral C₆₀ fullerenes in circumstellar environments has been firmly established by astronomical observations as well as laboratory experiments and quantum-chemistry calculations. However, the large variations observed in the C₆₀ 17.4 μm/18.9 μm band ratios indicate that either additional emitters should contribute to the astronomical infrared (IR) spectra or unknown physical processes exist besides thermal and UV excitation. Fullerene-based molecules such as metallofullerenes and fullerene-adducts are natural candidate species as potential additional emitters, but no specific specie has been identified to date. Here we report a model based on quantum-chemistry calculations and IR spectra simulation of neutral and charged endo(exo)hedral metallofullerenes, showing that they have a significant contribution to the four strongest IR bands commonly attributed to neutral C₆₀. These simulations may explain the large range of 17.4 μm/18.9 μm band ratios observed in very different fullerene-rich circumstellar environments like those around planetary nebulae and chemically peculiar R Coronae Borealis stars. Our proposed model also reveals that the 17.4 μm/18.9 μm band ratio in the metallofullerenes simulated IR spectra mainly depends on the metal abundances, ionization level, and endo/exoconcentration in the circumstellar envelopes. We conclude that metallofullerenes are potential emitters contributing to the observed IR spectra in fullerene-rich circumstellar envelopes. Our simulated IR spectra indicate also that the James Webb Space Telescope has the potential to confirm or refute the presence of metallofullerenes (or even other fullerene-based species) in circumstellar environments.

The optical study of the heated substellar companions of black widow (BW) millisecond pulsars (MSPs) provides unique information on the MSP particle and radiation output and on the neutron star mass. Here we present an analysis of optical photometry and spectroscopy of a set of relatively bright BWs, many newly discovered in association with Fermi γ-ray sources. Interpreting the optical data requires sophisticated models of the companion heating. We provide a uniform analysis, selecting the preferred heating model and reporting on the companion masses and radii, the pulsar heating power, and neutron star mass. The substellar companions are substantially degenerate, with average densities 15–30× Solar, but are inflated above their zero temperature radii. We find evidence that the most extreme recycled BW pulsars have both large >0.8M_⊙ accreted mass and low <10⁸G magnetic fields. Examining a set of heavy BWs, we infer that neutron star masses larger than 2.19M_⊙ (1σ confidence) or 2.08M_⊙ (3σ confidence) are required; these bounds exclude all but the stiffest equations of state in standard tabulations.

We present ∼10–40 μm SOFIA-FORCAST images of 11 isolated protostars as part of the SOFIA Massive (SOMA) Star Formation Survey, with this morphological classification based on 37 μm imaging. We develop an automated method to define source aperture size using the gradient of its background-subtracted enclosed flux and apply this to build spectral energy distributions (SEDs). We fit the SEDs with radiative transfer models, developed within the framework of turbulent core accretion (TCA) theory, to estimate key protostellar properties. Here, we release the sedcreator python package that carries out these methods. The SEDs are generally well fitted by the TCA models, from which we infer initial core masses M_c ranging from 20–430 M_⊙, clump mass surface densities Σ_cl ∼ 0.3–1.7 g cm⁻², and current protostellar masses m_* ∼ 3–50 M_⊙. From a uniform analysis of the 40 sources in the full SOMA survey to date, we find that massive protostars form across a wide range of clump mass surface density environments, placing constraints on theories that predict a minimum threshold Σ_cl for massive star formation. However, the upper end of the m_*−Σ_cl distribution follows trends predicted by models of internal protostellar feedback that find greater star formation efficiency in higher Σ_cl conditions. We also investigate protostellar far-IR variability by comparison with IRAS data, finding no significant variation over an ∼40 yr baseline.

The detection of magnetar-like bursts from highly magnetic (B > 10¹³ G) rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs) opened the magnetar population to yet another group of neutron stars. At the same time the question arose as to whether magnetar-like bursts from high-B RPPs have similar characteristics to bursts from known magnetar sources. We present here our analyses of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) data from two magnetar candidates, Swift J1818.0−1607 (a radio-loud magnetar) and PSR J1846.4−0258. Both sources entered active bursting episodes in 2020 triggering Fermi-GBM in 2020 and in early 2021. We searched for untriggered bursts from both sources and performed temporal and spectral analyses on all events. Here, we present the results of our comprehensive burst search and analyses. We identified 37 and 58 bursts that likely originated from Swift J1818.0−1607 and PSR J1846.4−0258, respectively. We find that the bursts from these sources are shorter on average than typical magnetar bursts. In addition, their spectra are best described with a single blackbody function with kT ∼ 10–11 keV; several relatively bright events, however, show higher energy emission that could be modeled with a cutoff power-law model. We find that the correlation between the blackbody emitting area and the spectral temperature for the burst ensemble of each pulsar deviates from the ideal Stefan–Boltzmann law, as it does for some burst-active magnetars. We interpret this characteristic as being due to the significant radiation anisotropy expected from optically thick plasmas in very strong magnetic fields.

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) offer a unique way to study dormant black holes. While the number of observed TDEs has grown thanks to the emergence of wide-field surveys in the past few decades, questions regarding the nature of the observed optical, UV, and X-ray emission remain. We present a uniformly selected sample of 30 spectroscopically classified TDEs from the Zwicky Transient Facility Phase I survey operations with follow-up Swift UV and X-ray observations. Through our investigation into correlations between light-curve properties, we recover a shallow positive correlation between the peak bolometric luminosity and decay timescales. We introduce a new spectroscopic class of TDE, TDE-featureless, which are characterized by featureless optical spectra. The new TDE-featureless class shows larger peak bolometric luminosities, peak blackbody temperatures, and peak blackbody radii. We examine the differences between the X-ray bright and X-ray faint populations of TDEs in this sample, finding that X-ray bright TDEs show higher peak blackbody luminosities than the X-ray faint subsample. This sample of optically selected TDEs is the largest sample of TDEs from a single survey yet, and the systematic discovery, classification, and follow-up of this sample allows for robust characterization of TDE properties, an important stepping stone looking forward toward the Rubin era.

It is extremely difficult to simulate the details of coronal heating and also make meaningful predictions of the emitted radiation. Thus, testing realistic models with observations is a major challenge. Observational signatures of coronal heating depend crucially on radiation, thermal conduction, and the exchange of mass and energy with the transition region and chromosphere below. Many magnetohydrodynamic simulation studies do not include these effects, opting instead to devote computational resources to the magnetic aspects of the problem. We have developed a simple method of accounting approximately for the missing effects. It is applied to the simulation output ex post facto and therefore may be a valuable tool for many studies. We have used it to predict the emission from a model corona that is driven by vortical boundary motions meant to represent photospheric convection. We find that individual magnetic strands experience short-term brightenings, both scattered throughout the computational volume and in localized clusters. The former may explain the diffuse component of the observed corona, while the latter may explain bright coronal loops. Several observed properties of loops are reproduced reasonably well: width, lifetime, and quasi-circular cross section (aspect ratio not high). Our results lend support to the idea that loops are multistranded structures heated by "storms" of nanoflares.

Cosmic dust plays a dominant role in the universe, especially in the formation of stars and planetary systems. Furthermore, the surface of cosmic dust grains is the benchwork where molecular hydrogen and simple organic compounds are formed. We manipulate individual dust particles in a water solution by contactless and noninvasive techniques such as standard optical and Raman tweezers, to characterize their response to mechanical effects of light (optical forces and torques) and to determine their mineral compositions. Moreover, we show accurate optical force calculations in the T-matrix formalism highlighting the key role of composition and complex morphology in the optical trapping of cosmic dust particles. This opens perspectives for future applications of optical tweezers in curation facilities for sample-return missions or in extraterrestrial environments.

We apply a statistical deconvolution of the parallax errors based on Lucy's inversion method (LIM) to the Gaia DR3 sources to measure their 3D velocity components in the range of Galactocentric distances R between 8 and 30 kpc with their corresponding errors and rms values. We find results that are consistent with those obtained by applying LIM to the Gaia DR2 sources, and we conclude that the method gives convergent and more accurate results by improving the statistics of the data set and lowering observational errors. The kinematic maps reconstructed with LIM up to R ≈ 30 kpc show that the Milky Way is characterized by asymmetrical motions with significant gradients in all velocity components. Furthermore, we determine the Galaxy rotation curve V_C(R) up to ≈27.5 kpc with the cylindrical Jeans equation assuming an axisymmetric gravitational potential. We find that V_C(R) is significantly declining up to the largest radius investigated. Finally, we also measure V_C(R) at different vertical heights, showing that, for R < 15 kpc, there is a marked dependence on Z, whereas at larger R the dependence on Z is negligible.

Energy spectra and anisotropies are very important probes of the origin of cosmic rays. Recent measurements show that complicated but very interesting structures exist at similar energies in both the spectra and energy-dependent anisotropies, indicating a common origin of these structures. A particularly interesting phenomenon is that there is a reversal of the phase of the dipole anisotropies, which challenges theoretical modeling. In this work, for the first time, we identify that there might be an additional phase reversal at ∼100 GeV energies of the dipole anisotropies as indicated by a few underground muon detectors and the first direct measurement by the Fermi satellite, coincident with the hundreds of GV hardening of the spectra. We propose that these two phase reversals, together with the energy evolution of the amplitudes and spectra, can be naturally explained with a nearby source overlapping onto the diffuse background. As a consequence, the spectra and anisotropies can be understood as the scalar and vector components of this model, and the two reversals of the phases characterize just the competition of the cosmic-ray streamings between the nearby source and the background. The alignment of the cosmic-ray streamings along the local large-scale magnetic field may play an important but subdominant role in regulating the cosmic-ray propagation. More precise measurements of the anisotropy evolution at both low energies by space detectors and high energies by air shower experiments for individual species will be essential to further test this scenario.

The young and well-studied planetary nebula (PN) NGC 7027 harbors significant molecular gas that is irradiated by luminous, pointlike UV (central star) and diffuse (shocked nebular) X-ray emission. This nebula represents an excellent subject to investigate the molecular chemistry and physical conditions within photon- and X-ray-dominated regions (PDRs and XDRs). As yet, the exact formation routes of CO⁺ and HCO⁺ in PN environments remain uncertain. Here we present ∼2'' resolution maps of NGC 7027 in the irradiation tracers CO⁺ and HCO⁺ obtained with the IRAM NOEMA interferometer, along with SMA CO and HST 2.12 μm H₂ data for context. The CO⁺ map constitutes the first interferometric map of this molecular ion in any PN. Comparison of CO⁺ and HCO⁺ maps reveals strikingly different emission morphologies, as well as a systematic spatial displacement between the two molecules; the regions of brightest HCO⁺, found along the central waist of the nebula, are radially offset by ∼1'' (∼900 au) outside the corresponding CO⁺ emission peaks. The CO⁺ emission furthermore precisely traces the inner boundaries of the nebula's PDR (as delineated by near-IR H₂ emission), suggesting that central star UV emission drives CO⁺ formation. The displacement of HCO⁺ radially outward with respect to CO⁺ is indicative that dust-penetrating soft X-rays are responsible for enhancing the HCO⁺ abundance in the surrounding molecular envelope, forming an XDR. These interferometric CO⁺ and HCO⁺ observations of NGC 7027 thus clearly establish the spatial distinction between the PDR and XDR formed (respectively) by intense UV and X-ray irradiation of molecular gas.

The iconic planetary nebula (PN) NGC 7027 is bright, nearby (D ∼ 1 kpc), highly ionized, intricately structured, and well observed. This nebula is hence an ideal case study for understanding PN shaping and evolution processes. Accordingly, we have conducted a comprehensive imaging survey of NGC 7027 comprised of 12 HST Wide Field Camera 3 images in narrow-band and continuum filters spanning the wavelength range 0.243–1.67 μm. The resulting panchromatic image suite reveals the spatial distributions of emission lines covering low-ionization species such as singly ionized Fe, N, and Si, through H recombination lines, to more highly ionized O and Ne. These images, combined with available X-ray and radio data, provide the most extensive view of the structure of NGC 7027 obtained to date. Among other findings, we have traced the ionization structure and dust extinction within the nebula in subarcsecond detail; uncovered multipolar structures actively driven by collimated winds that protrude through and beyond the PN's bright inner core; compared the ionization patterns in the WFC3 images to X-ray and radio images of its interior hot gas and to its molecular outflows; pinpointed the loci of thin, shocked interfaces deep inside the nebula; and more precisely characterized the central star. We use these results to describe the recent history of this young and rapidly evolving PN in terms of a series of shaping events. This evolutionary sequence involves both thermal and ram pressures, and is far more complex than predicted by extant models of UV photoionization or winds from a single central progenitor star, thereby highlighting the likely influence of an unseen binary companion.

Some massive stars end their lives as failed core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and become black holes (BHs). Although in this class of phenomena the stalled supernova (SN) shock is not revived, the outer stellar envelope can still be partially ejected. This occurs because the hydrodynamic equilibrium of the star is disrupted by the gravitational mass loss of the protoneutron star (PNS) due to neutrino emission. We develop a simple parameterized model that emulates PNS evolution and its neutrino emission and use it to simulate failed CCSNe in spherical symmetry for a wide range of progenitor stars. Our model allows us to study mass ejection of failed CCSNe where the PNS collapses into a BH within ∼100 ms and up to ∼10⁶ s. We perform failed CCSNe simulations for 262 different pre-SN progenitors and determine how the energy and mass of the ejecta depend on progenitor properties and the equation of state (EOS) of dense matter. In the case of a future failed CCSN observation, the trends obtained in our simulations can be used to place constraints on the pre-SN progenitor characteristics, the EOS, and on PNS properties at BH formation time.

SN 2018ivc is an unusual Type II supernova (SN II). It is a variant of SNe IIL, which might represent a transitional case between SNe IIP with a massive H-rich envelope and SNe IIb with only a small amount of the H-rich envelope. However, SN 2018ivc shows an optical light-curve evolution more complicated than that of canonical SNe IIL. In this paper, we present the results of prompt follow-up observations of SN 2018ivc with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. Its synchrotron emission is similar to that of SN IIb 1993J, suggesting that it is intrinsically an SN IIb–like explosion of an He star with a modest (∼0.5–1M_⊙) extended H-rich envelope. Its radio, optical, and X-ray light curves are explained primarily by the interaction between the SN ejecta and the circumstellar material (CSM); we thus suggest that it is a rare example (and the first involving the "canonical" SN IIb ejecta) for which the multiwavelength emission is powered mainly by the SN–CSM interaction. The inner CSM density, reflecting the progenitor activity in the final decade, is comparable to that of SN IIb 2013cu, which shows a flash spectral feature. The outer CSM density, and therefore the mass-loss rate in the final ∼200 yr, is higher than that of SN 1993J by a factor of ∼5. We suggest that SN 2018ivc represents a missing link between SNe IIP and SNe IIb/Ib/Ic in the binary evolution scenario.

The total mass of the Local Group (LG) is a fundamental quantity that enables interpreting the orbits of its constituent galaxies and placing the LG in a cosmological context. One of the few methods that allows inferring the total mass directly is the "Timing Argument," which models the relative orbit of the Milky Way (MW) and M31 in equilibrium. The MW itself is not in equilibrium, a byproduct of its merger history and including the recent pericentric passage of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and recent work has found that the MW disk is moving with a lower bound "travel velocity" of ∼32 km s⁻¹ with respect to the outer stellar halo. Previous Timing Argument measurements have attempted to account for this nonequilibrium state, but have been restricted to theoretical predictions for the impact of the LMC specifically. In this paper, we quantify the impact of a travel velocity on recovered LG mass estimates using several different compilations of recent kinematic measurements of M31. We find that incorporating the measured value of the travel velocity lowers the inferred LG mass by 10%–12% compared to a static MW halo. Measurements of the travel velocity with more distant tracers could yield even larger values, which would further decrease the inferred LG mass. Therefore, the newly measured travel velocity directly implies a lower LG mass than from a model with a static MW halo and must be considered in future dynamical studies of the Local Volume.

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) result from eruptions of magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) and can possess a three-part structure in white-light coronagraphs, including a bright front, dark cavity, and bright core. In traditional opinion, the bright front forms due to the plasma pileup along the MFR border, the cavity represents the cross section of the MFR, and the bright core corresponds to the erupted prominence. However, this explanation on the nature of the three-part structure is being challenged. In this paper, we report an intriguing event that occurred on 2014 June 14 that was recorded by multiple space- and ground-based instruments seamlessly, clearly showing that the CME front originates from the plasma pileup along the magnetic arcades overlying the MFR, and the core corresponds to a hot-channel MFR. Thus the dark cavity is not an MFR; instead it is a low-density zone between the CME front and a trailing MFR. These observations are consistent with a new explanation on the CME structure. If the new explanation is correct, most (if not all) CMEs should exhibit the three-part appearance in their early eruption stage. To examine this prediction, we make a survey of all CMEs in 2011 and find that all limb events have the three-part feature in the low corona, regardless of their appearances in the high corona. Our studies suggest that the three-part structure is the intrinsic structure of CMEs, which has fundamental importance for understanding CMEs.

An important parameter in the theory of hot accretion flows around black holes is δ, which describes the fraction of "viscously" dissipated energy in the accretion flow that goes directly into heating electrons. For a given mass accretion rate, the radiative efficiency of a hot accretion flow is determined by δ. Unfortunately, the value of δ is hard to determine from first principles. The recent Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHTC) results on M87* and Sgr A* provide us with a different way of constraining δ. By combining the mass accretion rates in M87* and Sgr A* estimated by the EHTC with the measured bolometric luminosities of the two sources, we derive good constraints on the radiative efficiencies of the respective accretion flows. In parallel, we use a theoretical model of hot magnetically arrested disks (MADs) to calculate the expected radiative efficiency as a function of δ (and accretion rate). By comparing the EHTC-derived radiative efficiencies with the theoretical results from MAD models, we find that Sgr A* requires δ ≳ 0.3. A similar comparison in the case of M87* gives inconclusive results as there is still a large uncertainty in the accretion rate in this source.

The ubiquitous turbulence in astrophysical plasmas is important for both magnetic reconnection and reconnection acceleration. We study the particle acceleration during fast 3D turbulent reconnection with reconnection-driven turbulence. Particles bounce back and forth between the reconnection-driven inflows due to the mirror reflection and convergence of strong magnetic fields. Via successive head-on collisions, the kinetic energy of the inflows is converted into accelerated particles. Turbulence not only regulates the inflow speed but also introduces various inflow obliquities with respect to the local turbulent magnetic fields. As both the energy gain and probability of the escape of particles depend on the inflow speed, the spectral index of particle energy spectrum is not universal. We find it in the range of ≈2.5–4, with the steepest spectrum expected at a strong guide field, i.e., a small angle between the total incoming magnetic field and the guide field. Without scattering diffusion needed for confining particles, the reconnection acceleration can be very efficient at a large inflow speed and a weak guide field.

Very young (t ≲ 10 Myr) stars possess strong magnetic fields that channel ionized gas from the interiors of their circumstellar disks to the surface of the star. Upon impacting the stellar surface, the shocked gas recombines and emits hydrogen spectral lines. To characterize the density and temperature of the gas within these accretion streams, we measure equivalent widths of Brackett (Br) 11–20 emission lines detected in 1101 APOGEE spectra of 326 likely pre-main-sequence accretors. For sources with multiple observations, we measure median epoch-to-epoch line strength variations of 10% in Br11 and 20% in Br20. We also fit the measured line ratios to predictions of radiative transfer models by Kwan & Fischer. We find characteristic best-fit electron densities of n_e = 10¹¹–10¹² cm⁻³, and excitation temperatures that are inversely correlated with electron density (from T ∼ 5000 K for n_e ∼ 10¹² cm⁻³ to T ∼ 12,500 K at n_e ∼ 10¹¹ cm⁻³). These physical parameters are in good agreement with predictions from modeling of accretion streams that account for the hydrodynamics and radiative transfer within the accretion stream. We also present a supplementary catalog of line measurements from 9733 spectra of 4255 Brackett emission-line sources in the APOGEE Data Release 17 data set.

A dissociative merger is formed by the interplay of ram pressure and gravitational forces, which can lead to a spatial displacement of the dark matter and baryonic components of the recently collided subclusters. CIZA J0107.7+5408 is a nearby (z = 0.105) dissociative merger that hosts two X-ray brightness peaks and a bimodal galaxy distribution. Analyzing MMT/Hectospec observations, we investigate the line-of-sight and spatial distribution of cluster galaxies. Utilizing deep, high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging and large field-of-view Subaru Hyper-Suprime-Cam observations, we perform a weak-lensing analysis of CIZA J0107.7+5408. Our weak-lensing analysis detects a bimodal mass distribution that is spatially consistent with the cluster galaxies but significantly offset from the X-ray brightness peaks. Fitting two Navarro–Frenk–White halos to the lensing signal, we find an equal-mass merger with subcluster masses of ${M}_{200,\mathrm{NE}}={2.8}_{-1.1}^{+1.1}\times {10}^{14}$M_⊙ and ${M}_{200,{SW}}={3.1}_{-1.2}^{+1.2}\times {10}^{14}$M_⊙. Moreover, the mass-to-light ratios of the subclusters, ${(M/L)}_{\mathrm{NE}}={571}_{-91}^{+89}\ {M}_{\odot }/{L}_{\odot ,B}$ and ${(M/L)}_{\mathrm{SW}}={564}_{-89}^{+87}\ {M}_{\odot }/{L}_{\odot ,B}$, are found to be consistent with each other and within the range of mass-to-light ratios found for galaxy clusters.

We present observations of CO(3−2) in 13 main-sequence z = 2.0–2.5 star-forming galaxies at $\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot })=10.2\mbox{--}10.6$ that span a wide range in metallicity (O/H) based on rest-optical spectroscopy. We find that ${L}_{\mathrm{CO}(3-2)}^{{\prime} }$/SFR decreases with decreasing metallicity, implying that the CO luminosity per unit gas mass is lower in low-metallicity galaxies at z ∼ 2. We constrain the CO-to-H₂ conversion factor (α_CO) and find that α_CO inversely correlates with metallicity at z ∼ 2. We derive molecular gas masses (M_mol) and characterize the relations among M_*, SFR, M_mol, and metallicity. At z ∼ 2, M_mol increases and the molecular gas fraction (M_mol/M_*) decreases with increasing M_*, with a significant secondary dependence on SFR. Galaxies at z ∼ 2 lie on a near-linear molecular KS law that is well-described by a constant depletion time of 700 Myr. We find that the scatter about the mean SFR−M_*, O/H−M_*, and M_mol−M_* relations is correlated such that, at fixed M_*, z ∼ 2 galaxies with larger M_mol have higher SFR and lower O/H. We thus confirm the existence of a fundamental metallicity relation at z ∼ 2, where O/H is inversely correlated with both SFR and M_mol at fixed M_*. These results suggest that the scatter of the z ∼ 2 star-forming main sequence, mass–metallicity relation, and M_mol–M_* relation are primarily driven by stochastic variations in gas inflow rates. We place constraints on the mass loading of galactic outflows and perform a metal budget analysis, finding that massive z ∼ 2 star-forming galaxies retain only 30% of metals produced, implying that a large mass of metals resides in the circumgalactic medium.

The molecular gas in galaxies traces both the fuel for star formation and the processes that can enhance or suppress star formation. Observations of the molecular gas state can thus point to when and why galaxies stop forming stars. In this study, we present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the molecular gas in galaxies evolving through the post-starburst phase. These galaxies have low current star formation rates (SFRs), regardless of the SFR tracer used, with recent starbursts ending within the last 600 Myr. We present CO (3–2) observations for three post-starburst galaxies, and dense gas HCN/HCO⁺/HNC (1–0) observations for six (four new) post-starburst galaxies. The post-starbursts have low excitation traced by the CO spectral-line energy distribution up to CO (3–2), more similar to early-type than starburst galaxies. The low excitation indicates that lower density rather than high temperatures may suppress star formation during the post-starburst phase. One galaxy displays a blueshifted outflow traced by CO (3–2). MaNGA observations show that the ionized gas velocity is disturbed relative to the stellar velocity field, with a blueshifted component aligned with the molecular gas outflow, suggestive of a multiphase outflow. Low ratios of HCO⁺/CO, indicating low fractions of dense molecular gas relative to the total molecular gas, are seen throughout post-starburst phase, except for the youngest post-starburst galaxy considered here. These observations indicate that the impact of any feedback or quenching processes may be limited to low excitation and weak outflows in the cold molecular gas during the post-starburst phase.

One of the major goals of the field of Milky Way dynamics is to recover the gravitational potential field. Mapping the potential would allow us to determine the spatial distribution of matter—both baryonic and dark—throughout the galaxy. We present a novel method for determining the gravitational field from a snapshot of the phase-space positions of stars, based only on minimal physical assumptions, which makes use of recently developed tools from the field of deep learning. We first train a normalizing flow on a sample of observed six-dimensional phase-space coordinates of stars, obtaining a smooth, differentiable approximation of the distribution function. Using the collisionless Boltzmann equation, we then find the gravitational potential—represented by a feed-forward neural network—that renders this distribution function stationary. This method, which we term "Deep Potential," is more flexible than previous parametric methods, which fit restricted classes of analytic models of the distribution function and potential to the data. We demonstrate Deep Potential on mock data sets and demonstrate its robustness under various nonideal conditions. Deep Potential is a promising approach to mapping the density of the Milky Way and other stellar systems, using rich data sets of stellar positions and kinematics now being provided by Gaia and ground-based spectroscopic surveys.

Magnetic free energy powers solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and the buildup of magnetic helicity might play a role in the development of unstable structures that subsequently erupt. To better understand the roles of energy and helicity in large flares and eruptions, we have characterized the evolution of magnetic energy and helicity associated with 21 X-class flares from 2010 to 2017. Our sample includes both confined and eruptive events, with 6 and 15 in each category, respectively. Using the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager vector magnetic field observations from several hours before to several hours after each event, we employ (a) the Differential Affine Velocity Estimator for Vector Magnetograms to determine the photospheric fluxes of energy and helicity, and (b) nonlinear force-free field extrapolations to estimate the coronal content of energy and helicity in source-region fields. Using superposed epoch analysis, we find, on average, the following: (1) decreases in both magnetic energy and helicity, in both photospheric fluxes and coronal content, that persist for a few hours after eruptions, but no clear changes, notably in relative helicity, for confined events; (2) significant increases in the twist of photospheric fields in eruptive events, with twist uncertainties too large in confined events to constrain twist changes (and lower overall twist in confined events); and (3) on longer timescales (event time +12 hr), replenishment of free magnetic energy and helicity content to near preevent levels for eruptive events. For eruptive events, magnetic helicity and free energy in coronal models clearly decrease after flares, with the amounts of decrease proportional to each region's pre-flare content.

We deliberately select three flares to investigate heating effects of supra-arcade downflows (SADs) on the surrounding fan plasma. Prior work found in one flare that the plasma around most SADs tends to heat up or stay the same temperature, accompanied by discernible signatures of the adiabatic heating due to plasma compression as well as viscous heating due to viscous motions of plasma. We extend this work to more flares and find that the heating effects of the SADs are also present in these events. The adiabatic heating is dominant over the viscous heating in each event. The adiabatic heating in the two M1.3 flares, being on the order of about 0.02–0.18 MK s⁻¹, is fairly comparable. In the more energetic X1.7 flare, the adiabatic heating is on the order of 0.02–0.3 MK s⁻¹, where we observe a more pronounced temperature increase during which dozens of SADs descend through the fan. As SADs constantly contribute to the heating of the surrounding fan plasma, the areas where SADs travel through tend to cool much slower than the areas without SADs, and the plasma of higher temperature ends up concentrating in areas where SADs frequently travel through. We also find that the cooling rate of areas without SADs is ∼1000 K s⁻¹, much slower than would be expected from normal conductive cooling. Instead, the cooling rate can be interpreted nicely by a process where conductive cooling is suppressed by turbulence.

The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will discover tens of thousands of extragalactic transients each night. The high volume of alerts demands immediate classification of transient types in order to prioritize observational follow-ups before events fade away. We use host galaxy features to classify transients, thereby providing classification upon discovery. In contrast to past work that focused on distinguishing Type Ia and core-collapse supernovae (SNe) using host galaxy features that are not always accessible (e.g., morphology), we determine the relative likelihood across 12 transient classes based on only 19 host apparent magnitudes and colors from 10 optical and IR photometric bands. We develop both binary and multiclass classifiers, using kernel density estimation to estimate the underlying distribution of host galaxy properties for each transient class. Even in this pilot study, and ignoring relative differences in transient class frequencies, we distinguish eight transient classes at purities significantly above the 8.3% baseline (based on a classifier that assigns labels uniformly and at random): tidal disruption events (TDEs; 48% ± 27%, where ± indicates the 95% confidence limit), SNe Ia-91bg (32% ± 18%), SNe Ia-91T (23% ± 11%), SNe Ib (23% ± 13%), SNe II (17% ± 2%), SNe IIn (17% ± 6%), SNe II P (16% ± 4%), and SNe Ia (10% ± 1%). We demonstrate that our model is applicable to LSST and estimate that our approach can accurately classify 59% of LSST alerts expected each year for SNe Ia, Ia-91bg, II, Ibc, SLSN-I, and TDEs. Our code and data set are publicly available.

Based on Van Allen Probes observations, we report a prompt enhancement event of radiation belt electrons over a wide energy range from tens of keV to multiple meV spanning 2013 January 13–15. During this period, we also observe prolonged moderate substorm activities and intense whistler-mode chorus emissions. To differentiate the underlying mechanisms responsible for this prompt electron enhancement process, we investigate in detail the evolution of electron phase space densities (PSDs) for various values of the first and second adiabatic invariants (μ and K). The results show that tens to hundreds of keV electrons rapidly penetrated to L* < 4 during the substorm period, with the corresponding PSDs increasing by more than 3 orders of magnitude within about 1 day. Comparatively, the PSD enhancements of higher energy electrons are less significant and shift to higher L*. We find that the fast acceleration of hundreds of keV seed electrons to multi-meV electrons may be reasonably attributed to interactions with the concurrent chorus waves. Specifically, the electron PSD increases for μ≥ 300 MeV G⁻¹ become less pronounced as K increases, consistent with the pitch angle dependence of chorus-induced electron energy diffusion at high energies. Our results therefore provide clear observational evidence for the combined effect of substorm-induced injection and chorus wave scattering on the prompt enhancements of radiation belt electrons over a wide energy range within a couple of days.

We developed a novel global coronal COCONUT (Coolfluid Corona Unstructured) model based on the COOLFluiD code. The steady-state model is predetermined by magnetograms set as boundary conditions, while inside the numerical domain the corona is described by MHD equations. This set of equations is solved with the use of an implicit solver on unstructured grids. Here we present numerically obtained results for two extremes of the solar activity cycle represented by CR 2161 and CR 2219 for solar maximum and minimum, respectively. We discuss the impact of reconstruction level on representative solar corona solutions and thus also the impact of small magnetic structures on the overall structure of the solar wind. Moreover, both cases correspond to particular solar eclipses, namely those in 2015 March and 2019 July, to allow us the direct comparison of simulations with observed coronal features. We use a validation scheme proposed by Wagner et al. (from less to more sophisticated methods, i.e., visual classification, feature matching, streamer direction and width, brute force matching, topology classification). The detailed comparison with observations reveals that our model recreates relevant features such as the position, direction, and shape of the streamers (by comparison with white-light images) and the coronal holes (by comparison with extreme ultraviolet images) for both cases of minimum and maximum solar activity. We conclude that an unprecedented combination of accuracy, computational speed and robustness even in the case of maximum activity is accomplished at this stage, with possible further improvements in a foreseeable perspective.

To study the transportation of magnetic flux from large to small scales in protostellar sources, we analyzed the Nobeyama 45 m N₂H⁺ (1–0), JCMT 850 μm polarization, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) C¹⁸O (2–1) and 1.3 and 0.8 mm (polarized) continuum data of the Class 0 protostar HH 211. The magnetic field strength in the dense core on a 0.1 pc scale was estimated with the single-dish line and polarization data using the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi method, and that in the protostellar envelope on a 600 au scale was estimated from the force balance between the gravity and magnetic field tension by analyzing the gas kinematics and magnetic field structures with the ALMA data. Our analysis suggests that from 0.1 pc–600 au scales, the magnetic field strength increases from 40–107 μG to 0.3–1.2 mG with a scaling relation between the magnetic field strength and density of B ∝ ρ^0.36±0.08, and the mass-to-flux ratio increases from 1.2–3.7 to 9.1–32.3. The increase in the mass-to-flux ratio could suggest that the magnetic field is partially decoupled from the neutral matter between 0.1 pc and 600 au scales, and hint at efficient ambipolar diffusion in the infalling protostellar envelope in HH 211, which is the dominant nonideal magnetohydrodynamic effect considering the density on these scales. Thus, our results could support the scenario of efficient ambipolar diffusion enabling the formation of the 20 au Keplerian disk in HH 211.

We conducted an optical monitoring survey of the Sagittarius dwarf irregular galaxy (SagDIG) during the period of 2016 June–2017 October, using the 2.5 m Isaac Newton Telescopeat La Palama. Our goal was to identify long-period variable stars (LPVs), namely, asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs) and red supergiant stars, to obtain the star formation history of isolated, metal-poor SagDIG. For our purpose, we used a method that relies on evaluating the relation between luminosity and the birth mass of these most evolved stars. We found 27 LPV candidates within 2 half-light radii of SagDIG. 10 LPV candidates were in common with previous studies, including one extreme-AGB (x-AGB). By adopting the metallicity Z = 0.0002 for older populations and Z = 0.0004 for younger ages, we estimated that the star formation rate changes from 0.0005 ± 0.0002 M_⊙ yr⁻¹ kpc⁻² (13 Gyr ago) to 0.0021 ± 0.0010 M_⊙ yr⁻¹ kpc⁻² (0.06 Gyr ago). Like many dwarf irregular galaxies, SagDIG has had continuous star formation activity across its lifetime, though with different rates, and experiences an enhancement of star formation since z ≃ 1. We also evaluated the total stellar mass within 2 half-light radii of SagDIG for three choices of metallicities. For metallicity Z = 0.0002 and 0.0004, we estimated the stellar mass M_* = (5.4 ± 2.3) × 10⁶ and (3.0 ± 1.3) × 10⁶M_⊙, respectively. Additionally, we determined a distance modulus of μ = 25.27 ± 0.05 mag, using the tip of the red giant branch.

We present a detailed prompt emission and early optical afterglow analysis of the two very-high-energy (VHE) detected bursts GRB 201015A and GRB 201216C, and their comparison with a subset of similar bursts. Time-resolved spectral analysis of multistructured GRB 201216C using the Bayesian binning algorithm revealed that during the entire duration of the burst, the low-energy spectral index (α_pt) remained below the limit of the synchrotron line of death. However, statistically some of the bins supported the additional thermal component. Additionally, the evolution of spectral parameters showed that both the peak energy (E_p) and α_pt tracked the flux. These results were further strengthened using the values of the physical parameters obtained by synchrotron modeling of the data. Our earliest optical observations of both bursts using the F/Photometric Robotic Atmospheric Monitor Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos and Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System robotic telescopes displayed a smooth bump in their early optical light curves, consistent with the onset of the afterglow due to synchrotron emission from an external forward shock. Using the observed optical peak, we constrained the initial bulk Lorentz factors of GRB 201015A and GRB 201216C to Γ₀ = 204 and Γ₀ = 310, respectively. The present early optical observations are the earliest known observations constraining outflow parameters and our analysis indicate that VHE detected bursts could have a diverse range of observed luminosity within the detectable redshift range of present VHE facilities.

Observations of the Milky Way's low-α disk show that several element abundances correlate with age at fixed metallicity, with unique slopes and small scatters around the age–[X/Fe] relations. In this study, we turn to simulations to explore the age–[X/Fe] relations for the elements C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, and Ca that are traced in a FIRE-2 cosmological zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way–like galaxy, m12i, and understand what physical conditions give rise to the observed age–[X/Fe] trends. We first explore the distributions of mono-age populations in their birth and current locations, [Fe/H], and [X/Fe], and find evidence for inside-out radial growth for stars with ages <7 Gyr. We then examine the age–[X/Fe] relations across m12i's disk and find that the direction of the trends agrees with observations, apart from C, O, and Ca, with remarkably small intrinsic scatters, σ_int (0.01 − 0.04 dex). This σ_int measured in the simulations is also metallicity dependent, with σ_int ≈ 0.025 dex at [Fe/H] = −0.25 dex versus σ_int ≈ 0.015 dex at [Fe/H] = 0 dex, and a similar metallicity dependence is seen in the GALAH survey for the elements in common. Additionally, we find that σ_int is higher in the inner galaxy, where stars are older and formed in less chemically homogeneous environments. The age–[X/Fe] relations and the small scatter around them indicate that simulations capture similar chemical enrichment variance as observed in the Milky Way, arising from stars sharing similar element abundances at a given birth place and time.

We present the first comprehensive release of photometric redshifts (photo-z's) from the Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) team. We use statistics based upon the Quantile–Quantile (Q–Q) plot to identify biases and signatures of underestimated or overestimated errors in photo-z probability density functions (PDFs) produced by six groups in the collaboration; correcting for these effects makes the resulting PDFs better match the statistical definition of a PDF. After correcting each group's PDF, we explore three methods of combining the different groups' PDFs for a given object into a consensus curve. Two of these methods are based on identifying the minimum f-divergence curve, i.e., the PDF that is closest in aggregate to the other PDFs in a set (analogous to the median of an array of numbers). We demonstrate that these techniques yield improved results using sets of spectroscopic redshifts independent of those used to optimize PDF modifications. The best photo-z PDFs and point estimates are achieved with the minimum f-divergence using the best four PDFs for each object (mFDa4) and the hierarchical Bayesian (HB4) methods, respectively. The HB4 photo-z point estimates produced σ_NMAD = 0.0227/0.0189 and ∣Δz/(1 + z)∣ > 0.15 outlier fraction = 0.067/0.019 for spectroscopic and 3D Hubble Space Telescope redshifts, respectively. Finally, we describe the structure and provide guidance for the use of the CANDELS photo-z catalogs, which are available at https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/candels/.

We present a bottom-up calculation of the flux of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and high-energy neutrinos produced by powerful jets of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). By propagating test particles in 3D relativistic magnetohydrodynamic jet simulations, including a Monte Carlo treatment of sub-grid pitch-angle scattering and attenuation losses due to realistic photon fields, we study the spectrum and composition of the accelerated UHECRs and estimate the amount of neutrinos produced in such sources. We find that UHECRs may not be significantly affected by photodisintegration in AGN jets where the espresso mechanism efficiently accelerates particles, consistent with Auger's results that favor a heavy composition at the highest energies. Moreover, we present estimates and upper bounds for the flux of high-energy neutrinos expected from AGN jets. In particular, we find that (i) source neutrinos may account for a sizable fraction, or even dominate, the expected flux of cosmogenic neutrinos; (ii) neutrinos from the β-decay of secondary neutrons produced in nucleus photodisintegration end up in the teraelectronvolt to petaelectronvolt band observed by IceCube, but can hardly account for the observed flux; (iii) UHECRs accelerated via the espresso mechanism lead to nearly isotropic neutrino emission, which suggests that nearby radio galaxies may be more promising as potential sources. We discuss our results in light of multimessenger astronomy and current/future neutrino experiments.

W present the results of our work testing a version of the Expanding Photosphere Method (EPM) used by Hamuy et al. and Dessart & Hillier to calculate distances to Type II-P supernovae, accounting for the deviations of their luminosities from those of true blackbodies. This method was applied to a sample of supernovae with data sets covering different postexplosion time periods. Different spectral lines in visible wavelengths—Hβ, He i, Fe ii, Sc ii, Na i, and Ba ii—are used to measure the expansion velocity with the goal of determining the species that produces the most reliable distance determination when combined with the blackbody temperature of the effective photosphere. This research suggests that Hβ, Fe ii, and Ba ii lines are most likely to yield accurate distances when combined with blackbody temperature, and provides further evidence of EPM's effectiveness as an indicator of distance, provided we have a minimum of three data sets covering a broad range of postexplosion phases of the supernova.

By performing general relativistic hydrodynamics simulations with an approximate neutrino radiation transfer, the properties of ejecta in the dynamical and post-merger phases are investigated in the cases in which the remnant massive neutron star collapses into a black hole in ≲20 ms after the onset of the merger. The dynamical mass ejection is investigated in three-dimensional simulations. The post-merger mass ejection is investigated in two-dimensional axisymmetric simulations with viscosity using the three-dimensional post-merger systems as the initial conditions. We show that the typical neutron richness of the dynamical ejecta is higher for the merger of more asymmetric binaries; hence, heavier r-process nuclei are dominantly synthesized. The post-merger ejecta are shown to have only mild neutron richness, which results in the production of lighter r-process nuclei, irrespective of the binary mass ratios. Because of the larger disk mass, the post-merger ejecta mass is larger for more asymmetric binary mergers. Thus, the post-merger ejecta can compensate for the underproduced lighter r-process nuclei for asymmetric merger cases. As a result, by summing up both ejecta components, the solar residual r-process pattern is reproduced within the average deviation of a factor of three, irrespective of the binary mass ratio. Our result also indicates that the (about a factor of a few) light-to-heavy abundance scatter observed in r-process-enhanced stars can be attributed to variation in the binary mass ratio and total mass. Implications of our results associated with the mass distribution of compact neutron star binaries and the magnetar scenario of short gamma-ray bursts are discussed.

To understand the parameter degeneracy of M subdwarf spectra at low resolution, we assemble a large number of spectral features in the wavelength range 0.6–2.5 μm with band strength quantified by narrowband indices. Based on the index trends of BT-Settl model sequences, we illustrate how the main atmospheric parameters (T_eff, log g, [M/H], and [α/Fe]) affect each spectral feature differently. Furthermore, we propose a four-step process to determine the four parameters sequentially, which extends the basic idea proposed by Jao et al. Each step contains several spectral features that break the degeneracy effect when determining a specific stellar parameter. Finally, the feasibility of each spectroscopic diagnostic with different spectral quality is investigated. The result is resolution-independent down to R ∼ 200.

We introduce a two-particle correlation function (2PCF) for the Milky Way, constructed to probe spatial correlations in the orthogonal directions of the stellar disk in the Galactic cylindrical coordinates of R, ϕ, and z. We use this new tool to probe the structure and dynamics of the Galaxy using the carefully selected set of solar neighborhood stars (d ≲ 3 kpc) from Gaia Data Release 2 that we previously employed for studies of axial symmetry breaking in stellar number counts. We make additional, extensive tests, comparing to reference numerical simulations, to ensure our control over possibly confounding systematic effects. Supposing either axial or north–south symmetry, we divide this data set into two nominally symmetric sectors and construct the 2PCF, in the manner of the Landy–Szalay estimator, from the Gaia data. In so doing, working well away from the midplane region in which the spiral arms appear, we have discovered distinct symmetry-breaking patterns in the 2PCF in its orthogonal directions, thus establishing the existence of correlations in stellar number counts alone at subkiloparsec length scales for the very first time. In particular, we observe extensive wavelike structures of amplitude greatly in excess of what we would estimate if the system were in a steady state. We study the variations in these patterns across the Galactic disk, and with increasing ∣z∣, and we show how our results complement other observations of non-steady-state effects near the Sun, such as vertical asymmetries in stellar number counts and the Gaia snail.

We report the first laboratory experiment dealing with the interaction of a cosmic dust simulant with positrons emitted from a ²²Na radioisotope. Measurements of a charge of micrometer SiO₂ dust grains with an accuracy of one elementary charge e revealed +1 e steps due to positron annihilation inside the grain. The observed average rate of these charging events agrees well with prediction of a model based on the continuous slowing down approximation of energetic of positrons inside the grain. Less frequent charge steps larger than +1 e were attributed to emission of secondary electrons during positron slowing down. The determined coefficient of secondary electron emission is approximately inversely proportional to the grain radius. The experimental results led us to the formulation of a possible scenario of interstellar dark clouds charging.

The formation of complex organic molecules by simulated secondary electrons generated in the track of galactic cosmic rays was investigated in interstellar ice analogs composed of methanol and carbon dioxide. The processed ices were subjected to temperature-programmed desorption to mimic the transition of a cold molecular cloud to a warmer star-forming region. Reaction products were detected as they sublime using photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry. By employing isotopic labeling, tunable photoionization and computed adiabatic ionization energies isomers of C₂H₄O₃ were investigated. Product molecules carbonic acid monomethyl ester (CH₃OCOOH) and glycolic acid (HOCH₂COOH) were identified. The abundance of the reactants detected in analog interstellar ices and the low irradiation dose necessary to form these products indicates that these molecules are exemplary candidates for interstellar detection. Molecules sharing a tautomeric relationship with glycolic acid, dihydroxyacetaldehyde ((OH)₂CCHO), and the enol ethenetriol (HOCHC(OH)₂), were not found to form despite ices being subjected to conditions that have successfully produced tautomerization in other ice analog systems.

Using the IllustrisTNG simulation, we study the interaction of large-scale shocks with the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and interstellar medium (ISM) of star-forming (SF) satellite galaxies in galaxy clusters. These shocks are usually produced by mergers and massive accretion. Our visual inspection shows that approximately half of SF satellites have encountered shocks in their host clusters at z ≤ 0.11. After a satellite crosses a shock front and enters the post-shock region, the ram pressure on it is boosted significantly. Both the CGM and ISM can be severely impacted, either by stripping or compression. The stripping of the ISM is particularly important for low-mass galaxies with $\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/\,{h}^{-1}{M}_{\odot })\lt 10$ and can occur even in the outskirts of galaxy clusters. In comparison, satellites that do not interact with shocks lose their ISM only in the inner regions of clusters. About half of the ISM is stripped within about 0.6 Gyr after it crosses the shock front. Our results show that shock-induced stripping plays an important role in quenching satellite galaxies in clusters.

The Voyager spacecraft are providing the first in situ measurements of physical properties in the outer heliosphere beyond the heliopause. These data, together with data from the IBEX and Hubble Space Telescope and physical models consistent with these data, now provide critical measurements of pressures in the heliosphere and surrounding interstellar medium. Using these data, we assemble the first comprehensive survey of total pressures inside and outside of the heliopause, in the interstellar gas surrounding the heliosphere, and in the surrounding Local Cavity to determine whether the total pressures in each region are in balance with each other and with the gravitational pressure exerted by the galaxy. We intercompare total pressures in each region that include thermal, nonthermal, plasma, ram, and magnetic pressure components. An important result is the role of dynamic (ram) pressure. Total pressure balance at the heliopause can only be maintained with a substantial contribution of dynamic pressure from the inside. Also, total pressure balance between the outer heliosphere and pristine very local interstellar medium (VLISM) and between the pristine VLISM and the Local Cavity requires large dynamic pressure contributions.

In this paper, we report the discovery of an isolated, peculiar compact cloud with a steep velocity gradient at 26 northwest of Sgr A*. This "Tadpole" molecular cloud is unique owing to its characteristic head-tail structure in the position–velocity space. By tracing the CO J = 3–2 intensity peak in each velocity channel, we noticed that the kinematics of the Tadpole can be well reproduced by a Keplerian motion around a point-like object with a mass of 1 × 10⁵M_⊙. Changes in line intensity ratios along the orbit are consistent with the Keplerian orbit model. The spatial compactness of the Tadpole and absence of bright counterparts in other wavelengths indicate that the object could be an intermediate-mass black hole.

The images of supermassive black holes surrounded by optically thin, radiatively inefficient accretion flows, like those observed with the Event Horizon Telescope, are characterized by a bright ring of emission surrounding the black hole shadow. In the Kerr spacetime, this bright ring, when narrow, closely traces the boundary of the shadow and can, with appropriate calibration, serve as its proxy. The present paper expands the validity of this statement by considering two particular spacetime geometries: a solution to the field equations of a modified gravity theory and another that parametrically deviates from Kerr but recovers the Kerr spacetime when its deviation parameters vanish. A covariant, axisymmetric analytic model of the accretion flow based on conservation laws and spanning a broad range of plasma conditions is utilized to calculate synthetic non-Kerr black hole images, which are then analyzed and characterized. We find that in all spacetimes: (i) it is the gravitationally lensed unstable photon orbit that plays the critical role in establishing the diameter of the rings observed in black hole images, not the event horizon or the innermost stable circular orbit, (ii) bright rings in these images scale in size with, and encompass, the boundaries of the black hole shadows, even when deviating significantly from Kerr, and (iii) uncertainties in the physical properties of the accreting plasma introduce subdominant corrections to the relation between the diameter of the image and the diameter of the black hole shadow. These results provide important new theoretical justification for using black hole images to probe and test the spacetimes of supermassive black holes.

Spatially resolved integral field spectroscopic maps in a sample of 532 S0 galaxies from the MaNGA survey have unveiled the existence of inner rings (〈R〉 ∼ 1 R_e) betraying ongoing star formation in a number of these objects. Activity gradients averaged over bins of galactocentric radius up to ∼1.5 R_e have been measured in the subspace defined by the first two principal components of the optical spectra of these galaxies. We find that the sign of the gradients is closely related to the presence of such rings in the spectral maps, which are especially conspicuous in the equivalent width of the Hα emission line, EW(Hα), with a fractional abundance—21%–34%—notably larger than that inferred from optical images. While the numbers of S0s with positive, negative, and flat activity gradients are comparable, star-forming rings are largely found in objects for which quenching proceeds from the inside out, in good agreement with predictions from cosmological simulations studying S0 buildup. Assessment of these ringed structures indicates that their frequency increases with the mass of their hosts, that they have shorter lifetimes in galaxies with ongoing star formation, that they may feed on gas from the disks, and that the local environment does not play a relevant role in their formation. We conclude that the presence of inner rings in EW(Hα) is a common phenomenon in fully formed S0s, possibly associated with annular disk resonances driven by weakly disruptive mergers preferentially involving a relatively massive primary galaxy and a tiny satellite strongly bound to the former.

We investigate the relationship between environment, morphology, and the star formation rate (SFR)–stellar mass relation derived from a sample of star-forming (SF) galaxies (commonly referred to as the "star formation main sequence", SFMS) in the COSMOS field from 0 < z < 3.5. We constructed and fit the far-UV–far-IR spectral energy distributions of our stellar-mass-selected sample of 111,537 galaxies with stellar and dust emission models using the public packages MAGPHYS and SED3FIT. From the best-fit parameter estimates, we construct the SFR–stellar mass relation as a function of redshift, local environment, NUVrJ color diagnostics, and morphology. We find that the shape of the main sequence derived from our color–color and specific-star-formation-rate-selected SF galaxy population, including the turnover at high stellar mass, does not exhibit an environmental dependence at any redshift from 0 < z < 3.5. We investigate the role of morphology in the high-mass end of the SFMS to determine whether bulge growth is driving the high-mass turnover. We find that SF galaxies experience this turnover independent of bulge-to-total ratio, strengthening the case that the turnover is due to the disk component's specific SFR evolving with stellar mass rather than bulge growth.

Prebiotic molecules, fundamental building blocks for the origin of life, have been found in carbonaceous chondrites. The exogenous delivery of these organic molecules onto the Hadean Earth could have sparked the polymerization of the first RNA molecules in Darwinian ponds during wet-dry cycles. Here, we investigate the formation of the RNA and DNA nucleobases adenine, uracil, cytosine, guanine, and thymine inside parent body planetesimals of carbonaceous chondrites. An up-to-date thermochemical equilibrium model coupled with a 1D thermodynamic planetesimal model is used to calculate the nucleobase concentrations. Different from previous studies, we assume the initial volatile concentrations more appropriate for the formation zone of carbonaceous chondrite parent bodies. This represents more accurately cosmochemical findings that these bodies have formed inside the inner, ∼2–5 au, warm region of the solar system. Due to these improvements, our model represents the concentrations of adenine and guanine measured in carbonaceous chondrites. Our model did not reproduce per se the measurements of uracil, cytosine, and thymine in these meteorites. This can be explained by transformation reactions between nucleobases and the potential decomposition of thymine. The synthesis of prebiotic organic matter in carbonaceous asteroids could be well explained by a combination of (i) radiogenic heating, (ii) aqueous chemistry involving a few key processes at a specific range of radii inside planetesimals where water can exist in the liquid phase, and (iii) a reduced initial volatile content (H₂, CO, $\mathrm{HCN}$, and CH₂O) of the protoplanetary disk material in the parent body region compared to the outer region of comets.

The radiation mechanism of Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (RL-NLS1) galaxies from X-ray to γ-ray bands remains an open question. While the leptonic model has been employed to explain the spectral energy distribution (SED), the hadronic process may potentially account for the high-energy radiation of some γ-ray-loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies as well. We study one of such RL-NLS1s, PKS 1502+036, comparing the theoretical SEDs predicted by the leptonic model and the lepto-hadronic model to the observed one. For the hadronic processes, we take into account the proton synchrotron radiation and proton–photon interactions (including the Bethe–Heitler process and the photopion process) including the emission of pairs generated in the electromagnetic cascade initiated by these processes. Our results show that the leptonic model can reproduce the SED of this source, in which the X-ray to γ-ray radiation can be interpreted as the inverse Compton scattering. On the other hand, the proton synchrotron radiation can also explain the high-energy component of SED although extreme parameters are needed. We also demonstrate that the pγ interactions as well as the cascade process cannot explain SED. Our results imply that a leptonic origin is favored for the multiwavelength emission of PKS 1502+036.

Baryons both increase halo concentration through adiabatic contraction and expel mass through feedback processes. However, it is not well understood how the radiation fields prevalent during the epoch of reionization affect the evolution of concentration in dark matter halos. We investigate how baryonic physics during the epoch of reionization modify the structure of dark matter halos in the Cosmic Reionization On Computers (CROC) simulations. We use two different measures of halo concentration to quantify the effects. We compare concentrations of halos matched between full-physics simulations and dark-matter-only simulations with identical initial conditions between 5 ≤ z ≤ 9. Baryons in full-physics simulations do pull matter toward the center, increasing the maximum circular velocity compared to dark-matter-only simulations. However, their overall effects are much less than if all the baryons were simply centrally concentrated indicating that heating processes efficiently counteract cooling effects. Finally, we show that the baryonic effects on halo concentrations at z ≈ 5 are relatively insensitive to environmental variations of reionization history. These results are pertinent to models of galaxy–halo connection during the epoch of reionization.

Internal gravity waves can cause mixing in the radiative interiors of stars. We study this mixing by introducing tracer particles into 2D hydrodynamic simulations. Following the work of Rogers & McElwaine, we extend our study to different masses (3, 7, and 20 M_⊙) and ages (ZAMS, midMS, and TAMS). The diffusion profiles of these models are influenced by various parameters such as the Brunt–Väisälä frequency, density, thermal damping, the geometric effect, and the frequencies of waves contributing to these mixing profiles. We find that the mixing profile changes dramatically across age. In younger stars, we noted that the diffusion coefficient increases toward the surface, whereas in older stars the initial increase in the diffusion profile is followed by a decreasing trend. We also find that mixing is stronger in more massive stars. Hence, future stellar evolution models should include this variation. In order to aid the inclusion of this mixing in 1D stellar evolution models, we determine the dominant waves contributing to these mixing profiles and present a prescription that can be included in 1D models.

Identifying merging galaxies is an important—but difficult—step in galaxy evolution studies. We present random forest (RF) classifications of galaxy mergers from simulated JWST images based on various standard morphological parameters. We describe (a) constructing the simulated images from IllustrisTNG and the Santa Cruz SAM and modifying them to mimic future CEERS observations and nearly noiseless observations, (b) measuring morphological parameters from these images, and (c) constructing and training the RFs using the merger history information for the simulated galaxies available from IllustrisTNG. The RFs correctly classify ∼60% of non-merging and merging galaxies across 0.5 < z < 4.0. Rest-frame asymmetry parameters appear more important for lower-redshift merger classifications, while rest-frame bulge and clump parameters appear more important for higher-redshift classifications. Adjusting the classification probability threshold does not improve the performance of the forests. Finally, the shape and slope of the resulting merger fraction and merger rate derived from the RF classifications match with theoretical Illustris predictions but are underestimated by a factor of ∼0.5.

Hyperons are essential constituents in the neutron star interior. The poorly known hyperonic interaction is a source of uncertainty for studying laboratory hypernuclei and neutron star observations. In this work, we perform Bayesian inference of phenomenological hyperon–nucleon interactions using the tidal deformability measurement of the GW170817 binary neutron star merger as detected by LIGO/Virgo and the mass–radius measurements of PSR J0030+0541 and PSR J0740+6620 as detected by NICER. The analysis is based on a set of stiff relativistic neutron star matter equation of states with hyperons from the relativistic mean-field theory, naturally fulfilling the causality requirement and empirical nuclear matter properties. We specifically utilize the strong correlation recently deduced between the scalar and vector meson–hyperon couplings, imposed by the measured Λ separation energy in single-Λ hypernuclei, and perform four different tests with or without the strong correlation. We find that the laboratory hypernuclear constraint ensures a large enough Λ–scalar–meson coupling to match the large vector coupling in hyperon star matter. When adopting the current most probable intervals of hyperon couplings from the joint analysis of laboratory and astrophysical data, we find the maximum mass of hyperon stars is at most ${2.176}_{-0.202}^{+0.085}{M}_{\odot }$ (68% credible interval) from the chosen set of stiff equation of states. The reduction of the stellar radius due to hyperons is quantified based on our analysis and various hyperon star properties are provided.