Table of contents

Analysis of the IBEX-Hi Energetic Neutral Atom spectra reveals, for the first time, the sky map of the source ion temperatures. The solar wind exists in non-equilibrium stationary states and can be described by kappa distributions. The high-energy asymptotic behavior of kappa distributions leads to a power law of the flux versus energy spectrum, while its specific formulation derives the temperature and kappa index that govern these distributions. We find that the observed temperature in most directions is about a million degrees, in agreement with most heliospheric models for the inner heliosheath. Thus, the termination shock is stronger in most places than revealed by the Voyagers' observations at their two unique crossing points. The global sky maps indicate low-temperature regions in various directions, including toward Voyager 2 where the temperature is an order of magnitude lower, consistent with in situ Voyager observations. Interestingly, the vast majority of measured kappa indices are between ∼1.5 and ∼2.5, consistent with the far-equilibrium "cavity" of minimum entropy discovered by Livadiotis & McComas. The sky maps suggest that the Ribbon is a string of localized regions, while its thermodynamical behavior differentiates it from the global distributed flux. A simple model is developed to derive the density, heliosheath thickness, and thermal pressure. We find that the Ribbon thermal pressure is ∼3.5 pDyn cm⁻², roughly equal to the mechanical pressure exerted by the Local Interstellar Medium.

Theoretical dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficient calculations can be sensitive to configuration interaction (CI) between resonances with different captured electron principle quantum numbers n. Here we explore the importance of this multi-n CI process for DR via 2l → 3l' core excitations and its effect on the total DR rate coefficient. Results are presented for selected Na-like ions from Ca^{9 +} to Zn^{19 +}. We find that including this multi-n CI can reduce the DR rate coefficient by up to ∼10% at temperatures where an ion is predicted to form in collisional ionization equilibrium and up to ∼15% at higher temperatures. To a first approximation, this will translate into a corresponding increase in the ion abundance. Charge state distributions calculation seeking to be accurate to better than 10% will thus need to take this effect into account. We also present simple fits to the calculated rate coefficients for ease of incorporation into plasma models.

We present first results of an examination of the optical properties of the galaxy populations in Sunyaev–Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) selected galaxy clusters. Using clusters selected by the South Pole Telescope survey and deep multiband optical data from the Blanco Cosmology Survey, we measure the radial profile, the luminosity function (LF), the blue fraction, and the halo occupation number (HON) of the galaxy populations of these four clusters with redshifts ranging from 0.3 to 1. Our goal is to understand whether there are differences among the galaxy populations of these SZE-selected clusters and previously studied clusters selected in the optical and the X-ray. The radial distributions of galaxies in the four systems are consistent with Navarro–Frenk–White profiles with a galaxy concentration of 3 to 6. We show that the characteristic luminosities in griz bands are consistent with passively evolving populations emerging from a single burst at redshift z = 3. The faint-end power-law slope of the LF is found to be on average α ≈ −1.2 in griz. HONs (to m* + 2) for these systems appear to be consistent with those based on X-ray-selected clusters. The blue fraction estimated to 0.36 L*, for the three lower redshift systems, suggests an increase with redshift, although with the current sample the uncertainties are still large. Overall, this pilot study of the first four clusters provides no evidence that the galaxy populations in these systems differ significantly from those in previously studied cluster populations selected in the X-ray or the optical.

We use absolutely calibrated data from the ARCADE 2 flight in 2006 July to model Galactic emission at frequencies 3, 8, and 10 GHz. The spatial structure in the data is consistent with a superposition of free–free and synchrotron emission. Emission with spatial morphology traced by the Haslam 408 MHz survey has spectral index β_synch = −2.5 ± 0.1, with free–free emission contributing 0.10 ± 0.01 of the total Galactic plane emission in the lowest ARCADE 2 band at 3.15 GHz. We estimate the total Galactic emission toward the polar caps using either a simple plane-parallel model with csc |b| dependence or a model of high-latitude radio emission traced by the COBE/FIRAS map of C ii emission. Both methods are consistent with a single power law over the frequency range 22 MHz to 10 GHz, with total Galactic emission toward the north polar cap T_Gal = 10.12 ± 0.90 K and spectral index β = −2.55 ± 0.03 at reference frequency 0.31 GHz. Emission associated with the plane-parallel structure accounts for only 30% of the observed high-latitude sky temperature, with the residual in either a Galactic halo or an isotropic extragalactic background. The well-calibrated ARCADE 2 maps provide a new test for spinning dust emission, based on the integrated intensity of emission from the Galactic plane instead of cross-correlations with the thermal dust spatial morphology. The Galactic plane intensity measured by ARCADE 2 is fainter than predicted by models without spinning dust and is consistent with spinning dust contributing 0.4 ± 0.1 of the Galactic plane emission at 23 GHz.

The ARCADE 2 instrument has measured the absolute temperature of the sky at frequencies 3, 8, 10, 30, and 90 GHz, using an open-aperture cryogenic instrument observing at balloon altitudes with no emissive windows between the beam-forming optics and the sky. An external blackbody calibrator provides an in situ reference. Systematic errors were greatly reduced by using differential radiometers and cooling all critical components to physical temperatures approximating the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature. A linear model is used to compare the output of each radiometer to a set of thermometers on the instrument. Small corrections are made for the residual emission from the flight train, balloon, atmosphere, and foreground Galactic emission. The ARCADE 2 data alone show an excess radio rise of 54 ± 6 mK at 3.3 GHz in addition to a CMB temperature of 2.731 ± 0.004 K. Combining the ARCADE 2 data with data from the literature shows an excess power-law spectrum of T = 24.1 ± 2.1 (K) (ν/ν₀)^{−2.599 ± 0.036} from 22 MHz to 10 GHz (ν₀ = 310 MHz) in addition to a CMB temperature of 2.725 ± 0.001 K.

We use absolutely calibrated data between 3 and 90 GHz from the 2006 balloon flight of the ARCADE 2 instrument, along with previous measurements at other frequencies, to constrain models of extragalactic emission. Such emission is a combination of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) monopole, Galactic foreground emission, the integrated contribution of radio emission from external galaxies, any spectral distortions present in the CMB, and any other extragalactic source. After removal of estimates of foreground emission from our own Galaxy, and an estimated contribution of external galaxies, we present fits to a combination of the flat-spectrum CMB and potential spectral distortions in the CMB. We find 2σ upper limits to CMB spectral distortions of μ < 6 × 10⁻⁴ and |Y_ff| < 1 × 10⁻⁴. We also find a significant detection of a residual signal beyond that, which can be explained by the CMB plus the integrated radio emission from galaxies estimated from existing surveys. This residual signal may be due to an underestimated galactic foreground contribution, an unaccounted for contribution of a background of radio sources, or some combination of both. The residual signal is consistent with emission in the form of a power law with amplitude 18.4 ± 2.1 K at 0.31 GHz and a spectral index of −2.57 ± 0.05.

In this paper, we present evidence for magnetic transients with small radial extents ranging from 0.025 to 0.118 AU measured in situ by the Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and the near-Earth Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and Wind spacecraft. The transients considered in this study are much smaller (<0.12 AU) than the typical sizes of magnetic clouds measured near 1 AU (∼0.23 AU). They are marked by low plasma beta values, generally lower magnetic field variance, short timescale magnetic field rotations, and are all entrained by high-speed streams by the time they reach 1 AU. We use this entrainment to trace the origin of these small interplanetary transients in coronagraph images. We demonstrate that these magnetic field structures originate as either small or large mass ejecta. The small mass ejecta often appear from the tip of helmet streamers as arch-like structures and other poorly defined white-light features (the so-called blobs). However, we have found a case of a small magnetic transient tracing back to a small and narrow mass ejection erupting from below helmet streamers. Surprisingly, one of the small magnetic structures traces back to a large mass ejection; in this case, we show that the central axis of the coronal mass ejection is along a different latitude and longitude to that of the in situ spacecraft. The small size of the transient is related to the in situ measurements being taken on the edges or periphery of a larger magnetic structure. In the last part of the paper, an ejection with an arch-like aspect is tracked continuously to 1 AU in the STEREO images. The associated in situ signature is not that of a magnetic field rotation but rather of a temporary reversal of the magnetic field direction. Due to its "open-field topology," we speculate that this structure is partly formed near helmet streamers due to reconnection between closed and open magnetic field lines. The implications of these observations for our understanding of the variability of the slow solar wind are discussed.

The Sun is located inside an extremely low density region called the Local Bubble (LB). Although they have been studied through a large variety of techniques, the contours of its neutral boundary, defined by a dense wall of interstellar gas and dust, are still an open issue. Our aim is to determine the interstellar reddening in the LB region by means of Strömgren photometry, validating the conclusions through a comparison with high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamical models of the Local and Loop I bubbles' formation and evolution. We have obtained color excesses and distances using the uvbyHβ data of the General Catalogue of Photometric Data, complemented by 820 stars from more recent catalogs, for ∣b∣ ⩽ 60°. A set of restrictive exclusion criteria has been applied to eliminate E(b − y) values inappropriate for the study of the interstellar medium (ISM). The final sample has 8492 stars located up to 500 pc from the Sun. Our main results are as follows: (1) the large-scale distribution of the interstellar dust in the LB is highly inhomogeneous; (2) on the Galactic plane, E(b − y) ⩾ 0040 is observed at a distance of d ≈ 80–100 pc from l ⩾ 270° until l ⩽ 45°; (3) the color excess suggests that there are many tunnels and holes in the LB wall; and (4) there is a clear correlation between E(b − y) and the spatial density distribution of the interstellar gas inferred from the simulations.

We determine the magnetic helicity, along with the magnetic energy, at high latitudes using data from the Ulysses mission. The data set spans the time period from 1993 to 1996. The basic assumption of the analysis is that the solar wind is homogeneous. Because the solar wind speed is high, we follow the approach first pioneered by Matthaeus et al. by which, under the assumption of spatial homogeneity, one can use Fourier transforms of the magnetic field time series to construct one-dimensional spectra of the magnetic energy and magnetic helicity under the assumption that the Taylor frozen-in-flow hypothesis is valid. That is a well-satisfied assumption for the data used in this study. The magnetic helicity derives from the skew-symmetric terms of the three-dimensional magnetic correlation tensor, while the symmetric terms of the tensor are used to determine the magnetic energy spectrum. Our results show a sign change of magnetic helicity at wavenumber k ≈ 2 AU⁻¹ (or frequency ν ≈ 2 μHz) at distances below 2.8 AU and at k ≈ 30 AU⁻¹ (or ν ≈ 25 μHz) at larger distances. At small scales the magnetic helicity is positive at northern heliographic latitudes and negative at southern latitudes. The positive magnetic helicity at small scales is argued to be the result of turbulent diffusion reversing the sign relative to what is seen at small scales at the solar surface. Furthermore, the magnetic helicity declines toward solar minimum in 1996. The magnetic helicity flux integrated separately over one hemisphere amounts to about 10⁴⁵ Mx² cycle⁻¹ at large scales and to a three times lower value at smaller scales.

We present resolved images of four massive clusters of galaxies through the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect (SZE). These measurements, made at 90 GHz with the MUSTANG receiver on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), reveal pressure substructure to the intracluster medium (ICM) in three of the four systems. The SZE and X-ray morphology of MACS0744.8+3927 are suggestive of the presence of a weak shock outside the cluster core. By fitting the Rankine–Hugoniot density jump conditions in a complementary SZE/X-ray analysis, we asses the feasibility of this interpretation. We conclude that a weak shock with a Mach number of $\mathcal {M} = 1.2^{+0.2}_{-0.2}$ and a shock velocity of 1827⁺²⁶⁷_{− 195} km s⁻¹ adequately describes the observed phenomenology. Deeper Chandra data are needed for confirmation. In RXJ1347.5−1145, we present a new reduction of previously reported data and confirm the presence of a southeast SZE enhancement with a significance of 13.9σ when smoothed to 18'' resolution. This too is likely caused by shock-heated gas produced in a recent merger. In our highest redshift system, CL1226.9+3332, we detect substructure at a peak significance of 4.6σ in the form of a ridge oriented orthogonally to the vector connecting the main mass peak and a subclump revealed by weak lensing. We also conclude that the gas distribution is elongated in a southwest direction, consistent with a previously proposed merger scenario. The SZE image of the cool core cluster A1835 is, in contrast, consistent with azimuthally symmetric signal only. This pilot study demonstrates the potential of high-resolution SZE images to complement X-ray data and probe the dynamics of galaxy clusters.

We re-examine the age distribution of star clusters in the Antennae in the context of N-body+hydrodynamical simulations of these interacting galaxies. All of the simulations that account for the observed morphology and other properties of the Antennae have star formation rates that vary relatively slowly with time, by factors of only 1.3–2.5 in the past 10⁸ yr. In contrast, the observed age distribution of the clusters declines approximately as a power law, dN/dτ∝τ^γ with γ = −1.0, for ages 10⁶ yr ≲ τ ≲ 10⁹ yr. These two facts can only be reconciled if the clusters are disrupted progressively for at least ∼10⁸ yr and possibly ∼10⁹ yr. When we combine the simulated formation rates with a power-law model, f_surv∝τ^δ, for the fraction of clusters that survive to each age τ, we match the observed age distribution with exponents in the range −0.9 ≲ δ ≲ −0.6 (with a slightly different δ for each simulation). The similarity between δ and γ indicates that dN/dτ is shaped mainly by the disruption of clusters rather than variations in their formation rate. Thus, the situation in the interacting Antennae resembles that in relatively quiescent galaxies such as the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds.

We report the results of a multi-year spectroscopic and photometric survey of novae in M31 that resulted in a total of 53 spectra of 48 individual nova candidates. Two of these, M31N 1995-11e and M31N 2007-11g, were revealed to be long-period Mira variables, not novae. These data double the number of spectra extant for novae in M31 through the end of 2009 and bring to 91 the number of M31 novae with known spectroscopic classifications. We find that 75 novae (82%) are confirmed or likely members of the Fe ii spectroscopic class, with the remaining 16 novae (18%) belonging to the He/N (and related) classes. These numbers are consistent with those found for Galactic novae. We find no compelling evidence that spectroscopic class depends sensitively on spatial position or population within M31 (i.e., bulge versus disk), although the distribution for He/N systems appears slightly more extended than that for the Fe ii class. We confirm the existence of a correlation between speed class and ejection velocity (based on line width), as in the case of Galactic novae. Follow-up photometry allowed us to determine light-curve parameters for a total of 47 of the 91 novae with known spectroscopic class. We confirm that more luminous novae generally fade the fastest and that He/N novae are typically faster and brighter than their Fe ii counterparts. In addition, we find a weak dependence of nova speed class on position in M31, with the spatial distribution of the fastest novae being slightly more extended than that of slower novae.

We have discovered ultraviolet (UV) halos extending as far as 5° around four (of six) bright UV stars using data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite. These halos are due to scattering of the starlight from nearby thin, foreground dust clouds. We have placed limits of 0.58 ± 0.12 and 0.72 ± 0.06 on the phase function asymmetry factor (g) in the FUV (1521 Å) and NUV (2320 Å) bands, respectively. We suggest that these halos are a common feature around bright stars and may be used to explore the scattering function of interstellar grains at small angles.

We investigate X-ray emission properties of the peculiar X-ray source θ² Ori A in the Orion Trapezium region using more than 500 ks of HETGS spectral data in the quiescent state. The amount of exposure provides tight constraints on several important diagnostics involving O, Ne, Mg, and Si line flux ratios from He-like ion triplets, resonance line ratios of the H- and He-like lines, and line widths. Accounting for the influence of the strong UV radiation field of the O9.5V star, we can now place the He-like line origin well within two stellar radii of the O-star's surface. The lines are resolved with average line widths of 341 ± 38 km s⁻¹. In the framework of standard wind models, this likely implies a rather weak wind with moderate post-shock velocities. The emission measure distribution of the X-ray spectrum, as reported previously, includes very high temperature components which are not easily explained in this framework. The X-ray properties are also not consistent with coronal emissions from an unseen low-mass companion nor with typical signatures from colliding wind interactions. The properties are more consistent with X-ray signatures observed in the massive Trapezium star θ¹ Ori C which has recently been successfully modeled with a magnetically confined wind model.

Magnetic field data acquired by the Ulysses spacecraft in high-speed streams over the poles of the Sun are used to investigate the normalized magnetic helicity spectrum σ_m as a function of the angle θ between the local mean magnetic field and the flow direction of the solar wind. This spectrum provides important information about the constituent modes at the transition to kinetic scales that occurs near the spectral break separating the inertial range from the dissipation range. The energetically dominant signal at scales near the thermal proton gyroradius k_⊥ρ_i ∼ 1 often covers a wide band of propagation angles centered about the perpendicular direction, θ ≃ 90° ± 30°. This signal is consistent with a spectrum of obliquely propagating kinetic Alfvén waves with k_⊥ ≫ k_∥ in which there is more energy in waves propagating away from the Sun and along the direction of the local mean magnetic field than toward the Sun. Moreover, this signal is principally responsible for the reduced magnetic helicity spectrum measured using Fourier transform techniques. The observations also reveal a subdominant population of nearly parallel propagating electromagnetic waves near the proton inertial scale k_∥c/ω_pi ∼ 1 that often exhibit high magnetic helicity |σ_m| ≃ 1. These waves are believed to be caused by proton pressure anisotropy instabilities that regulate distribution functions in the collisionless solar wind. Because of the existence of a drift of alpha particles with respect to the protons, the proton temperature anisotropy instability that operates when T_p⊥/T_p∥ > 1 preferentially generates outward propagating ion-cyclotron waves and the fire-hose instability that operates when T_p⊥/T_p∥ < 1 preferentially generates inward propagating whistler waves. These kinetic processes provide a natural explanation for the magnetic field observations.

Solar type III and type II radio bursts suffer severe bending and group delay due to refraction while escaping from the source where the refractive index μ can be as low as ∼0 to the observer where μ ∼ 1. These propagation effects can manifest themselves as errors in the observed directions and times of arrival at the telescope. We describe a ray-tracing technique that can be used to estimate these errors. By applying this technique to the spherically symmetric density model derived using the data from the WIND/Waves experiment, we show that (1) the fundamental and harmonic emissions escape the solar atmosphere in narrow cones (at 625 kHz the widths of these escape cones are ∼11 and ∼8°, respectively), (2) the errors in the angles as well as the times of arrival increase monotonically with the angle of arrival (at 625 kHz these errors are 026 and ∼17.2 s for the fundamental and ∼052 and ∼7.6 s for the harmonic at the maximum possible angles of arrival of ∼055 and ∼4°, respectively), and (3) the lower the frequencies are, the higher the errors in both the angles and times of arrival are. This implies that at 625 kHz the measured arrival angles and arrival times of the fundamental and harmonic are off by ∼50% and ∼13%, and ∼3.4% and ∼1.5%, respectively.

We present and interpret simultaneous new photometric and spectroscopic observations of the peculiar magnetic white dwarf WD 1953−011. The flux in the V-band filter and intensity of the Balmer spectral lines demonstrate variability with the rotation period of about 1.45 days. According to previous studies, this variability can be explained by the presence of a dark spot having a magnetic nature, analogous to a sunspot. Motivated by this idea, we examine possible physical relationships between the suggested dark spot and the strong-field magnetic structure (magnetic "spot" or "tube") recently identified on the surface of this star. Comparing the rotationally modulated flux with the variable spectral observables related to the magnetic "spot," we establish their correlation and therefore their physical relationship. Modeling the variable photometric flux assuming that it is associated with temperature variations in the stellar photosphere, we argue that the strong-field area and dark, low-temperature spot are comparable in size and located at the same latitudes, essentially overlapping each other with a possible slight longitudinal shift. In this paper, we also present a new, improved value of the star's rotational period and constrain the characteristics of the thermal inhomogeneity over the degenerate's surface.

We examine diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) of the pre-existing as well as freshly injected populations of non-thermal, cosmic-ray (CR) particles at weak cosmological shocks. Assuming simple models for thermal leakage injection and Alfvénic drift, we derive analytic, time-dependent solutions for the two populations of CRs accelerated in the test-particle regime. We then compare them with the results from kinetic DSA simulations for shock waves that are expected to form in intracluster media and cluster outskirts in the course of large-scale structure formation. We show that the test-particle solutions provide a good approximation for the pressure and spectrum of CRs accelerated at these weak shocks. Since the injection is extremely inefficient at weak shocks, the pre-existing CR population dominates over the injected population. If the pressure due to pre-existing CR protons is about 5% of the gas thermal pressure in the upstream flow, the downstream CR pressure can absorb typically a few to 10% of the shock ram pressure at shocks with a Mach number M ≲ 3, yet the re-acceleration of CR electrons can result in a substantial synchrotron emission behind the shock. The enhancement in synchrotron radiation across the shock is estimated to be about a few to several for M ∼ 1.5 and 10²–10³ for M ∼ 3, depending on the detail model parameters. The implication of our findings for observed bright radio relics is discussed.

We have investigated the influence of a velocity shear surface on the linear and nonlinear development of the current-driven (CD) kink instability of force-free helical magnetic equilibria in three dimensions. In this study, we follow the temporal development within a periodic computational box and concentrate on flows that are sub-Alfvénic on the cylindrical jet's axis. Displacement of the initial force-free helical magnetic field leads to the growth of CD kink instability. We find that helically distorted density structure propagates along the jet with speed and flow structure dependent on the radius of the velocity shear surface relative to the characteristic radius of the helically twisted force-free magnetic field. At small velocity shear surface radius, the plasma flows through the kink with minimal kink propagation speed. The kink propagation speed increases as the velocity shear radius increases and the kink becomes more embedded in the plasma flow. A decreasing magnetic pitch profile and faster flow enhance the influence of velocity shear. Simulations show continuous transverse growth in the nonlinear phase of the instability. The growth rate of the CD kink instability and the nonlinear behavior also depend on the velocity shear surface radius and flow speed, and the magnetic pitch radial profile. Larger velocity shear radius leads to slower linear growth, makes a later transition to the nonlinear stage, and with larger maximum amplitude than that occuring for a static plasma column. However, when the velocity shear radius is much greater than the characteristic radius of the helical magnetic field, linear and nonlinear development can be similar to the development of a static plasma column.

We relate the underlying properties of a population of fast radio-emitting transient events to its expected detection rate in a survey of finite sensitivity. The distribution of the distances of the detected events is determined in terms of the population luminosity distribution and survey parameters, for both extragalactic and Galactic populations. The detection rate as a function of Galactic position is examined to identify regions that optimize survey efficiency in a survey whose field of view is limited. The impact of temporal smearing caused by scattering in the interstellar medium has a large and direction-dependent bearing on the detection of impulsive signals, and we present a model for the effects of scattering on the detection rate. We show that the detection rate scales as ΩS^{−3/2 + δ}₀, where Ω is the field of view, S₀ is the minimum detectable flux density, and 0 < δ ⩽ 3/2 for a survey of Galactic transients in which interstellar scattering or the finite volume of the Galaxy is important. We derive formal conditions on the optimal survey strategy to adopt under different circumstances for fast transient surveys on next generation large-element, wide-field arrays, such as ASKAP, LOFAR, the MWA, and the SKA, and show how interstellar scattering and the finite spatial extent of a Galactic population modify the choice of optimal strategy.

We introduce to astrophysics the threshold probability functions S₂, C₂, and D₂ first derived by Torquato et al., which effectively samples the flux probability distribution function (PDF) of the Lyα forest at different spatial scales. These statistics are tested on mock Lyα forest spectra based on various toy models for He ii reionization, with homogeneous models with various temperature–density relations as well as models with temperature inhomogeneities. These mock samples have systematics and noise added to simulate the latest Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS DR7) data. We find that the flux PDF from SDSS DR7 can be used to constrain the temperature–density relation γ (where T∝(1 + Δ)^{γ − 1}) of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z = 2.5 to a precision of Δγ = 0.2 at ∼4σ confidence. The flux PDF is degenerate to temperature inhomogeneities in the IGM arising from He ii reionization, but we find S₂ can detect these inhomogeneities at ∼3σ, with the assumption that the flux continuum of the Lyα forest can be determined to 9% accuracy, approximately the error from current fitting methods. If the flux continuum can be determined to 3% accuracy, then S₂ is capable of constraining the characteristic scale of temperature inhomogeneities, with ∼4σ differentiation between toy models with hot bubble radii of 50  h⁻¹ Mpc and 25  h⁻¹ Mpc.

Using the KOSMA 3 m telescope, 54 Herbig Ae/Be (HAe/Be) stars were surveyed in CO and ¹³CO emission lines. The properties of the stars and their circumstellar environments were studied by fitting spectral energy distributions (SEDs). The mean line width of ¹³CO (2−1) lines of this sample is 1.87 km s⁻¹. The average column density of H₂ is found to be 4.9 × 10²¹ cm⁻² for stars younger than 10⁶ yr, while this drops to 2.5 × 10²¹ cm⁻² for those older than 10⁶ yr. No significant difference is found among the SEDs of HAe and HBe stars of the same age. Infrared excess decreases with age, envelope masses and envelope accretion rates decease with age after 10⁵ yr, the average disk mass of the sample is 3.3 × 10⁻² M_☉, the disk accretion rate decreases more slowly than the envelope accretion rate, and a strong correlation between the CO line intensity and the envelope mass is found.

Holmberg IX X-1 is an archetypal ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX). Here we study the properties of the optical counterpart and of its stellar environment using optical data from SUBARU/Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph, GEMINI/GMOS-N and Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Advanced Camera for Surveys, as well as simultaneous Chandra X-ray data. The V ∼ 22.6 spectroscopically identified optical counterpart is part of a loose cluster with an age ≲ 20 Myr. Consequently, the mass upper limit on individual stars in the association is about 20 M_☉. The counterpart is more luminous than the other stars of the association, suggesting a non-negligible optical contribution from the accretion disk. An observed UV excess also points to non-stellar light similar to X-ray active low-mass X-ray binaries. A broad He ii λ4686 emission line identified in the optical spectrum of the ULX further suggests optical light from X-ray reprocessing in the accretion disk. Using stellar evolutionary tracks, we have constrained the mass of the counterpart to be ≳ 10 M_☉, even if the accretion disk contributes significantly to the optical luminosity. Comparison of the photometric properties of the counterpart with binary models show that the donor may be more massive, ≳ 25 M_☉, with the ULX system likely undergoing case AB mass transfer. Finally, the counterpart exhibits photometric variability of 0.14 mag between two HST observations separated by 50 days which could be due to ellipsoidal variations and/or disk reprocessing of variable X-ray emission.

We analyze the absorption and emission-line profiles produced by a set of simple, cool gas wind models motivated by galactic-scale outflow observations. We implement Monte Carlo radiative transfer techniques that track the propagation of scattered and fluorescent photons to generate one-dimensional spectra and two-dimensional spectral images. We focus on the Mg ii λλ2796, 2803 doublet and Fe ii UV1 multiplet at λ ≈ 2600 Å, but the results are applicable to other transitions that trace outflows (e.g., Na i, H i Lyα, Si ii). By design, the resonance transitions show blueshifted absorption but one also predicts strong resonance and fine-structure line emission at roughly the systemic velocity. This line-emission "fills in" the absorption, reducing the equivalent width by up to 50%, shifting the absorption-line centroid by tens of km s⁻¹, and reducing the effective opacity near systemic. Analysis of cool gas outflows that ignores this line emission may incorrectly infer that the gas is partially covered, measure a significantly lower peak optical depth, and/or conclude that gas at systemic velocity is absent (e.g., an interstellar or slowly infalling component). Because the Fe ii lines are connected by optically thin transitions to fine-structure levels, their profiles more closely reproduce the intrinsic opacity of the wind. Together these results naturally explain the absorption and emission-line characteristics observed for star-forming galaxies at z < 1. We also study a scenario promoted to describe the outflows of z ∼ 3 Lyman break galaxies and find profiles inconsistent with the observations due to scattered photon emission. Although line emission complicates the analysis of absorption-line profiles, the surface brightness profiles offer a unique means of assessing the morphology and size of galactic-scale winds. Furthermore, the kinematics and line ratios offer powerful diagnostics of outflows, motivating deep, spatially extended spectroscopic observations.

The shaping of the nebula is currently one of the outstanding unsolved problems in planetary nebula (PN) research. Several mechanisms have been proposed, most of which require a binary companion. However, direct evidence for a binary companion is lacking in most PNs. We have addressed this problem by obtaining precise radial velocities of seven bright proto-planetary nebulae (PPNs), objects in transition from the asymptotic giant branch to the PN phases of stellar evolution. These have F–G spectral types and have the advantage over PNs of having more and sharper spectral lines, leading to better precision. Our observations were made in two observing intervals, 1991–1995 and 2007–2010, and we have included in our analysis some additional published and unpublished data. Only one of the PPNs, IRAS 22272+5435, shows a long-term variation that might tentatively be attributed to a binary companion, with P > 22 yr, and from this, limiting binary parameters are calculated. Selection effects are also discussed. These results set significant restrictions on the range of possible physical and orbital properties of any binary companions: they have periods greater than 25 yr or masses of brown dwarfs or super-Jupiters. While not ruling out the binary hypothesis, it seems fair to say that these results do not support it.

Observations with the Swift satellite of X-ray afterglows of more than a hundred gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with known redshift reveal ubiquitous soft X-ray absorption. The directly measured optical depth τ at a given observed energy is found to be constant on average at redshift z > 2, i.e., 〈τ(0.5 keV)〉_{z > 2} = 0.40 ± 0.02. Such an asymptotic optical depth is expected if the foreground diffuse intergalactic medium (IGM) dominates the absorption effect and if the metallicity of the diffuse IGM reaches 0.2–0.4 solar at z = 0. To further test the IGM absorption hypothesis, we analyze the 12 highest signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) (>5000 photons) z > 2 quasar spectra from the XMM-Newton archive, which are all extremely radio loud. The quasar optical depths are found to be consistent with the mean GRB value. The four lowest-z quasars (2 < z < 2.5), however, do not show significant absorption. The best X-ray spectra of radio-quiet quasars at z > 2 provide only upper limits to the absorption, which are still consistent with the radio-loud quasers (RLQs), albeit with much lower S/N (≲ 1000 photons at z ≈ 4). Lack of quasar absorption poses a challenge to the smooth IGM interpretation and could allude to the opacity being rather due to the jets in RLQs and GRBs. However, the jet absorbing column would need to appear in RLQs only at z ≳ 2.5 and in GRBs to strongly increase with z in order to produce the observed tendency to a constant mean τ. High X-ray spectral resolution can differentiate between an absorber intrinsic to the source that produces discernible spectral lines, and the diffuse IGM that produces significant absorption, but no discrete features.

We explore the extent to which Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectra taken at low spectral resolution can be used in quantitative studies of organic molecular emission from disks surrounding low-mass young stars. We use Spitzer IRS spectra taken in both the high- and low-resolution modules for the same sources to investigate whether it is possible to define line indices that can measure trends in the strength of the molecular features in low-resolution data. We find that trends in the HCN emission strength seen in the high-resolution data can be recovered in low-resolution data. In examining the factors that influence the HCN emission strength, we find that the low-resolution HCN flux is modestly correlated with stellar accretion rate and X-ray luminosity. Correlations of this kind are perhaps expected based on recent observational and theoretical studies of inner disk atmospheres. Our results demonstrate the potential of using the large number of low-resolution disk spectra that reside in the Spitzer archive to study the factors that influence the strength of molecular emission from disks. Such studies would complement results for the much smaller number of circumstellar disks that have been observed at high resolution with IRS.

We present observations of the young supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7−3946 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). We clearly detect a source positionally coincident with the SNR. The source is extended with a best-fit extension of 055 ± 004 matching the size of the non-thermal X-ray and TeV gamma-ray emission from the remnant. The positional coincidence and the matching extended emission allow us to identify the LAT source with SNR RX J1713.7−3946. The spectrum of the source can be described by a very hard power law with a photon index of Γ = 1.5 ± 0.1 that coincides in normalization with the steeper H.E.S.S.-detected gamma-ray spectrum at higher energies. The broadband gamma-ray emission is consistent with a leptonic origin as the dominant mechanism for the gamma-ray emission.

We study the spectral properties of different regions and structures in the energetic neutral atom (ENA) maps at energies from ∼0.5 keV to ∼6 keV from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission. We find that (1) an ankle-shaped break (spectrum hardens) between ∼1 keV and ∼2 keV characterizes the polar spectra and the right flank, while a knee-shaped break (spectrum softens) describes the ribbon, nose, and the front region spectra; (2) the spectral indices across full latitudinal range (tail and poles) comprise a dependence reflecting a knee break at mid latitudes and an ankle break at high latitudes. This latitudinal evolution has inflection points at ∼40°S and ∼36°N, and is strongly correlated with the solar wind speed structure obtained by the Ulysses/SWOOPS instrument during its fast latitude scan in 2007. Our study confirms that the ecliptic latitude predominantly orders the spectral signatures of ENA distributions. This ordering may reflect the average solar wind properties that vary characteristically with latitude around solar minimum. We report on the spectral analyses of six regions and two structures in the IBEX maps. We also discuss the spectral asymmetries between the north and the south polar regions, their correlation with solar wind measurements, and the implications of these observations. Thus, we show detailed connections between the IBEX energy spectra and latitudinal properties of solar wind.

We present the results of a time-dependent 2.5-dimensional three-fluid magnetohydrodynamic model of the coronal streamer belt, which is compared with the slow solar wind plasma parameters obtained in the extended corona by the UV spectroscopic data from the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) on board SOHO during the past minimum of solar activity (Carrington Rotation 1913). Our previous three-fluid streamer model has been improved by considering the solar magnetic field configuration relevant for solar minimum conditions, and preferential heating for O^{5 +} ions. The model was run until a fully self-consistent streamer solution was obtained in the quasi-steady state. The plasma parameters from the multi-fluid model were used to compute the expected UV observables from H i Lyα 1216 Å and O vi 1032 Å spectral lines, and the results were compared in detail with the UVCS measurements. A good agreement between the model and the data was found. The results of the study provide insight into the acceleration and heating of the multi-ion slow solar wind.

We exploit the high sensitivity and moderate spectral resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to detect far-ultraviolet (UV) spectral features of carbon monoxide (CO) present in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks for the first time. We present spectra of the classical T Tauri stars HN Tau, RECX-11, and V4046 Sgr, representative of a range of CO radiative processes. HN Tau shows CO bands in absorption against the accretion continuum. The CO absorption most likely arises in warm inner disk gas. We measure a CO column density and rotational excitation temperature of N(CO) = (2 ± 1) × 10¹⁷ cm⁻² and T_rot(CO) 500 ± 200 K for the absorbing gas. We also detect CO A–X band emission in RECX-11 and V4046 Sgr, excited by UV line photons, predominantly H i Lyα. All three objects show emission from CO bands at λ > 1560 Å, which may be excited by a combination of UV photons and collisions with non-thermal electrons. In previous observations these emission processes were not accounted for due to blending with emission from the accretion shock, collisionally excited H₂, and photo-excited H₂, all of which appeared as a "continuum" whose components could not be separated. The CO emission spectrum is strongly dependent upon the shape of the incident stellar Lyα emission profile. We find CO parameters in the range: N(CO) ∼ 10¹⁸–10¹⁹ cm⁻², T_rot(CO) ≳ 300 K for the Lyα-pumped emission. We combine these results with recent work on photo-excited and collisionally excited H₂ emission, concluding that the observations of UV-emitting CO and H₂ are consistent with a common spatial origin. We suggest that the CO/H₂ ratio (≡ N(CO)/N(H₂)) in the inner disk is ∼1, a transition between the much lower interstellar value and the higher value observed in solar system comets today, a result that will require future observational and theoretical study to confirm.

Spatially resolved spectroscopy has been obtained for a sample of 27 star-forming (SF) galaxies selected from our deep Hα survey of the Hercules cluster. We have applied spectral synthesis models to all emission-line spectra of this sample using the population synthesis code STARLIGHT and have obtained fundamental parameters of stellar components such as mean metallicity and age. The emission-line spectra were corrected for underlying stellar absorption using these spectral synthesis models. Line fluxes were measured and O/H and N/O gas chemical abundances were obtained using the latest empirical calibrations. We have derived the masses and total luminosities of the galaxies using available Sloan Digital Sky Survey broadband photometry. The effects of cluster environment on the chemical evolution of galaxies and on their mass–metallicity (MZ) and luminosity–metallicity (LZ) relations were studied by combining the derived gas metallicities, the mean stellar metallicities and ages, the masses and luminosities of the galaxies, and their existing H i data. Our Hercules SF galaxies are divided into three main subgroups: (1) chemically evolved spirals with truncated ionized-gas disks and nearly flat oxygen gradients, demonstrating the effect of ram-pressure stripping; (2) chemically evolved dwarfs/irregulars populating the highest local densities, possible products of tidal interactions in preprocessing events; and (3) less metallic dwarf galaxies that appear to be "newcomers" to the cluster and are experiencing pressure-triggered star formation. Most Hercules SF galaxies follow well-defined MZ and LZ sequences (for both O/H and N/O), though the dwarf/irregular galaxies located at the densest regions appear to be outliers to these global relations, suggesting a physical reason for the dispersion in these fundamental relations. The Hercules cluster appears to be currently assembling via the merger of smaller substructures, providing an ideal laboratory where the local environment has been found to be a key parameter in understanding the chemical history of galaxies.

We have performed an X-ray study of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672, primarily to ascertain the effect of the bar on its nuclear activity. We use both Chandra and XMM-Newton observations to investigate its X-ray properties, together with supporting high-resolution optical imaging data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), infrared imaging from the Spitzer Space Telescope, and Australia Telescope Compact Array ground-based radio data. We detect 28 X-ray sources within the D₂₅ area of the galaxy; many are spatially correlated with star formation in the bar and spiral arms, and two are identified as background galaxies in the HST images. Nine of the X-ray sources are ultraluminous X-ray sources, with the three brightest (L_X > 5 × 10³⁹ erg s⁻¹) located at the ends of the bar. With the spatial resolution of Chandra, we are able to show for the first time that NGC 1672 possesses a hard (Γ ∼ 1.5) nuclear X-ray source with a 2–10 keV luminosity of 4 × 10³⁸ erg s⁻¹. This is surrounded by an X-ray-bright circumnuclear star-forming ring, comprised of point sources and hot gas, which dominates the 2–10 keV emission in the central region of the galaxy. The spatially resolved multiwavelength photometry indicates that the nuclear source is a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN), but with star formation activity close to the central black hole. A high-resolution multiwavelength survey is required to fully assess the impact of both large-scale bars and smaller-scale phenomena such as nuclear bars, rings, and nuclear spirals on the fueling of LLAGN.

We report on Transition Region And Coronal Explorer 171 Å observations of the GOES X20 class flare on 2001 April 2 that shows EUV flare ribbons with intense diffraction patterns. Between the 11th to 14th order, the diffraction patterns of the compact flare ribbon are dispersed into two sources. The two sources are identified as emission from the Fe ix line at 171.1 Å and the combined emission from Fe x lines at 174.5, 175.3, and 177.2 Å. The prominent emission of the Fe ix line indicates that the EUV-emitting ribbon has a strong temperature component near the lower end of the 171 Å temperature response (∼0.6−1.5 MK). Fitting the observation with an isothermal model, the derived temperature is around 0.65 MK. However, the low sensitivity of the 171 Å filter to high-temperature plasma does not provide estimates of the emission measure for temperatures above ∼1.5 MK. Using the derived temperature of 0.65 MK, the observed 171 Å flux gives a density of the EUV ribbon of 3 × 10¹¹ cm⁻³. This density is much lower than the density of the hard X-ray producing region (∼10¹³ to 10¹⁴ cm⁻³) suggesting that the EUV sources, though closely related spatially, lie at higher altitudes.

We present time-dependent numerical calculations for fall-back disks relevant to gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in which the disk of material surrounding the black hole powering the GRB jet modulates the mass flow and hence the strength of the jet. Given the initial existence of a small mass ≲ 10⁻⁴ M_☉ near the progenitor with a circularization radius ∼10¹⁰–10¹¹ cm, an unavoidable consequence will be the formation of an "external disk" whose outer edge continually moves to larger radii due to angular momentum transport and lack of a confining torque. For long GRBs, if the mass distribution in the initial fall-back disk traces the progenitor envelope, then a radius ∼10¹¹ cm gives a timescale ∼10⁴ s for the X-ray plateau. For late times t > 10⁷ s a steepening due to a cooling front in the disk may have observational support in GRB 060729. For short GRBs, one expects most of the mass initially to lie at small radii <10⁸ cm; however, the presence of even a trace amount ∼10⁻⁹ M_☉ of high angular material can give a brief plateau in the light curve. By studying the plateaus in the X-ray decay of GRBs, which can last up to ∼10⁴ s after the prompt emission, Dainotti et al. find an apparent inverse relation between the X-ray luminosity at the end of the plateau and the duration of the plateau. We show that this relation may simply represent the fact that one is biased against detecting faint plateaus and therefore preferentially sampling the more energetic GRBs. If, however, there were a standard reservoir in fall-back mass, our model could reproduce the inverse X-ray luminosity–duration relation. We emphasize that we do not address the very steep, initial decays immediately following the prompt emission, which have been modeled by Lindner et al. as fall back of the progenitor core, and may entail the accretion of ≳ 1 M_☉.

The uncertainty in the redshift distributions of galaxies has a significant potential impact on the cosmological parameter values inferred from multi-band imaging surveys. The accuracy of the photometric redshifts measured in these surveys depends not only on the quality of the flux data, but also on a number of modeling assumptions that enter into both the training set and spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting methods of photometric redshift estimation. In this work we focus on the latter, considering two types of modeling uncertainties: uncertainties in the SED template set and uncertainties in the magnitude and type priors used in a Bayesian photometric redshift estimation method. We find that SED template selection effects dominate over magnitude prior errors. We introduce a method for parameterizing the resulting ignorance of the redshift distributions, and for propagating these uncertainties to uncertainties in cosmological parameters.

The flame in a Type Ia supernova is a conglomerate structure that, depending on density, may involve separate regions of carbon, oxygen, and silicon burning, all propagating in a self-similar, subsonic front. The separation between these three burning regions increases as the density declines until eventually, below about 2 × 10⁷ g cm⁻³, only carbon burning remains active, the other two burning phases having "frozen out" on stellar scales. Between 2 and 3 × 10⁷ g cm⁻³, however, there remains an energetic oxygen-burning region that trails the carbon burning by an amount that is sensitive to the turbulence intensity. As the carbon flame makes a transition to the distributed regime (Karlovitz number ≳ 10), the characteristic separation between the carbon- and oxygen-burning regions increases dramatically, from a fraction of a meter to many kilometers. The oxygen-rich mixture between the two flames is created at a nearly constant temperature, and turbulence helps to maintain islands of well-mixed isothermal fuel as the temperature increases. The delayed burning of these regions can be supersonic and could initiate a detonation.

For carbon–oxygen white dwarfs accreting hydrogen or helium at rates in the range ∼(1–10) × 10⁻⁸ M_☉ yr⁻¹, a variety of explosive outcomes is possible well before the star reaches the Chandrasekhar mass. These outcomes are surveyed for a range of white dwarf masses (0.7–1.1 M_☉), accretion rates ((1–7) × 10⁻⁸ M_☉ yr⁻¹), and initial white dwarf temperatures (0.01 and 1 L_☉). The results are particularly sensitive to the convection that goes on during the last few minutes before the explosion. Unless this convection maintains a shallow temperature gradient and unless the density is sufficiently high, the accreted helium does not detonate. Below a critical helium ignition density, which we estimate to be (5–10) × 10⁵ g cm⁻³, either helium novae or helium deflagrations result. The hydrodynamics, nucleosynthesis, light curves, and spectra of a representative sample of detonating and deflagrating models are explored. Some can be quite faint indeed, powered at peak for a few days by the decay of ⁴⁸Cr and ⁴⁸V. Only the hottest, most massive white dwarfs considered with the smallest helium layers, show reasonable agreement with the light curves and spectra of common Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). For the other models, especially those involving lighter white dwarfs, the helium shell mass exceeds 0.05 M_☉ and the mass of the ⁵⁶Ni that is synthesized exceeds 0.01 M_☉. These explosions do not look like ordinary SNe Ia or any other frequently observed transient.

We report observations of circularly polarized emission from the solar corona at 77 MHz during the periods 2006 August 11–18, 2006 August 23–29, and 2007 May 16–22 in the minimum phase between the sunspot cycles 23 and 24. The observations were carried out with the east–west one-dimensional radio polarimeter at the Gauribidanur observatory located about 100 km north of Bangalore. Two-dimensional imaging observations at 77 MHz during the same period with the radioheliograph at the same observatory revealed that the emission region co-rotated with the Sun during the three aforementioned periods. Their rotation rates, close to the central meridian on the Sun, are 46, 52, and 49 ± 05 per day, respectively. We derived the radial distance of the region from the above observed rotation rates and the corresponding values are ≈1.24 ± 0.03 R_☉ (2006 August 11–18), ≈1.40 ± 0.03 R_☉ (2006 August 23–29), and ≈1.32 ± 0.03 R_☉ (2007 May 16–22). The estimated lower limit for the magnetic field strength at the above radial distances and periods are ≈1.1, 0.6, and 0.9 G, respectively.

We present rest-frame 15 and 24 μm luminosity functions (LFs) and the corresponding star-forming LFs at z < 0.3 derived from the 5MUSES sample. Spectroscopic redshifts have been obtained for ∼98% of the objects and the median redshift is ∼0.12. The 5–35 μm Infrared Spectrograph spectra allow us to estimate accurately the luminosities and build the LFs. Using a combination of starburst and quasar templates, we quantify the star formation (SF) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) contributions in the mid-IR spectral energy distribution. We then compute the SF LFs at 15 and 24 μm, and compare with the total 15 and 24 μm LFs. When we remove the contribution of AGNs, the bright end of the LF exhibits a strong decline, consistent with the exponential cutoff of a Schechter function. Integrating the differential LF, we find that the fractional contribution by SF to the energy density is 58% at 15 μm and 78% at 24 μm, while it goes up to ∼86% when we extrapolate our mid-IR results to the total IR luminosity density. We confirm that the AGNs play more important roles energetically at high luminosities. Finally, we compare our results with work at z ∼ 0.7 and confirm that evolution on both luminosity and density is required to explain the difference in the LFs at different redshifts.

We present an analytical model of a magnetar as a high-density magnetized quark bag. The effect of strong magnetic fields (B > 5 × 10¹⁶ G) in the equation of state is considered. An analytic expression for the mass–radius relationship is found from the energy variational principle in general relativity. Our results are compared with observational evidence of possible quark and/or hybrid stars.

We study the pseudo-equivalent width of the Si ii λ4000 feature of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the redshift range 0.0024 ⩽ z ⩽ 0.634. We find that this spectral indicator correlates with the light curve color excess (SALT2c) as well as previously defined spectroscopic subclasses (Branch types) and the evolution of the Si ii λ6150 velocity, i.e., the so-called velocity gradient. Based on our study of 55 objects from different surveys, we find indications that the Si ii λ4000 spectral indicator could provide important information to improve cosmological distance measurements with SNe Ia.

We present the results of extensive multi-frequency monitoring of the radio galaxy 3C 111 between 2004 and 2010 at X-ray (2.4–10 keV), optical (R band), and radio (14.5, 37, and 230 GHz) wave bands, as well as multi-epoch imaging with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 43 GHz. Over the six years of observation, significant dips in the X-ray light curve are followed by ejections of bright superluminal knots in the VLBA images. This shows a clear connection between the radiative state near the black hole, where the X-rays are produced, and events in the jet. The X-ray continuum flux and Fe line intensity are strongly correlated, with a time lag shorter than 90 days and consistent with zero. This implies that the Fe line is generated within 90 lt-day of the source of the X-ray continuum. The power spectral density function of X-ray variations contains a break, with a steeper slope at shorter timescales. The break timescale of 13⁺¹²_{− 6} days is commensurate with scaling according to the mass of the central black hole based on observations of Seyfert galaxies and black hole X-ray binaries (BHXRBs). The data are consistent with the standard paradigm, in which the X-rays are predominantly produced by inverse Compton scattering of thermal optical/UV seed photons from the accretion disk by a distribution of hot electrons—the corona—situated near the disk. Most of the optical emission is generated in the accretion disk due to reprocessing of the X-ray emission. The relationships that we have uncovered between the accretion disk and the jet in 3C 111, as well as in the Fanaroff–Riley class I radio galaxy 3C 120 in a previous paper, support the paradigm that active galactic nuclei and Galactic BHXRBs are fundamentally similar, with characteristic time and size scales proportional to the mass of the central black hole.

High-magnetic-field pulsars represent an important class of objects for studying the relationship between magnetars and radio pulsars. Here we report on four Chandra observations of the high-magnetic-field pulsar J1718−3718 (B = 7.4 × 10¹³ G) taken in 2009 as well as a reanalysis of 2002 Chandra observations of the region. We also report an improved radio position for this pulsar based on ATCA observations. We detect X-ray pulsations at the pulsar's period in the 2009 data, with a pulsed fraction of 52% ± 13% in the 0.8–2.0 keV band. We find that the X-ray pulse is aligned with the radio pulse. The data from 2002 and 2009 show consistent spectra and fluxes: a merged overall spectrum is well fit by a blackbody of temperature 186⁺¹⁹_{− 18} eV, slightly higher than predicted by standard cooling models; however, the best-fit neutron star atmosphere model is consistent with standard cooling. We find the bolometric luminosity L^∞_bb = 4⁺⁵_{− 2} × 10³² erg s⁻¹$\sim 0.3\,\dot{E}$ for a distance of 4.5 kpc. We compile measurements of the temperatures of all X-ray-detected high-B pulsars as well as those of low-B radio pulsars and find evidence for the former being hotter on average than the latter.

We present a new three-dimensional (3D) self-consistent two-component (plasma and neutral hydrogen) model of the solar wind interaction with the local interstellar medium (LISM). This model (K-MHD) combines the magnetohydrodynamic treatment of the solar wind and the ionized LISM component with a kinetic model of neutral interstellar hydrogen (LISH). The local interstellar magnetic field (B_LISM) intensity and orientation are chosen based on an early analysis of the heliosheath flows. The properties of the plasma and neutrals obtained using the K-MHD model are compared to previous multi-fluid and kinetic models. The new treatment of LISH revealed important changes in the heliospheric properties not captured by the multi-fluid model. These include a decrease in the heliocentric distance to the termination shock (TS), a thinner heliosheath, and a reduced deflection angle (θ) of the heliosheath flows. The asymmetry of the TS, however, seems to be unchanged by the kinetic aspect of the LISH.

We undertake a new test of the metallicity sensitivity of the Leavitt Law for classical Cepheids. We derive an empirical calibration of the apparent luminosities of Cepheids as measured from the optical through the mid-infrared (0.45–8.0 μm) as a function of spectroscopic [Fe/H] abundances of individual Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) from Romaniello et al. The cumulative trend over the entire wavelength range shows a nearly monotonic behavior. The sense of the trend is consistent with differential line blanketing in the optical, leading to stars of high metallicity being fainter in the optical. This is followed by a reversal in the trend at longer wavelengths, with the crossover occurring near the K band at about 2.2 μm, consistent with a subsequent redistribution of energy resulting in a mild brightening of Cepheids (with increased metallicity) at mid-infrared wavelengths. This conclusion agrees with that of Romaniello et al. based on a differential comparison of the mean V- and K-band Leavitt Laws for the Galaxy, Small Magellanic Cloud, and LMC, but is opposite in sign to most other empirical tests of the sensitivity of Cepheid distances to mean [O/H] H ii region abundances. We also search for a correlation of Cepheid host-galaxy metallicity with deviations of the galaxy's Cepheid distance from that predicted from a pure Hubble flow. Based on Cepheid distances to 26 nearby galaxies in the local flow, only a very weak signal is detected giving δμ_o = −0.17(± 0.31)([O/H] − 8.80) − 0.21(± 0.10). This is in agreement with previous determinations, but statistically inconclusive.

Oscillations were observed across the whole solar disk using the Doppler shift and line center intensity of spectral lines from the CO molecule near 4666 nm with the National Solar Observatory's McMath/Pierce solar telescope. Power, coherence, and phase spectra were examined, and diagnostic diagrams reveal power ridges at the solar global mode frequencies to show that these oscillations are solar p-modes. The phase was used to determine the height of formation of the CO lines by comparison with the IR continuum intensity phase shifts as measured in Kopp et al.; we find that the CO line formation height varies from 425 km < z < 560 km as we move from disk center toward the solar limb 1.0 > μ > 0.5. The velocity power spectra show that while the sum of the background and p-mode power increases with height in the solar atmosphere as seen in previous work, the power in the p-modes only (background subtracted) decreases with height. The CO line center intensity weakens in regions of stronger magnetic fields, as does the p-mode oscillation power. Across most of the solar surface the phase shift is larger than the expected value of 90° for an adiabatic atmosphere. We fit the phase spectra at different disk positions with a simple atmospheric model to determine that the acoustic cutoff frequency is about 4.5 mHz with only small variations, but that the thermal relaxation frequency drops significantly from 2.7 to 0 mHz at these heights in the solar atmosphere.

We examine the importance of secular stellar mass loss for fueling ongoing star formation in disk galaxies during the late stages of their evolution. For a galaxy of a given stellar mass, we calculate the total mass loss rate of its entire stellar population using star formation histories derived from the observed evolution of the M_*–star formation rate (SFR) relation, along with the predictions of standard stellar evolution models for stellar mass loss for a variety of initial stellar mass functions. Our model shows that recycled gas from stellar mass loss can provide most or all of the fuel required to sustain the current level of star formation in late-type galaxies. Stellar mass loss can therefore remove the tension between the low gas infall rates that are derived from observations and the relatively rapid star formation occurring in disk galaxies. For galaxies where cold gas infall rates have been estimated, we demonstrate explicitly that stellar mass loss can account for most of the deficit between their SFR and infall rate.

We determine the average metallicities of the elements of cold halo substructure (ECHOS) that we previously identified in the inner halo of the Milky Way within 17.5 kpc of the Sun. As a population, we find that stars kinematically associated with ECHOS are chemically distinct from the background kinematically smooth inner halo stellar population along the same Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) line of sight. ECHOS are systematically more iron-rich, but less α-enhanced than the kinematically smooth component of the inner halo. ECHOS are also chemically distinct from other Milky Way components: more iron-poor than typical thick-disk stars and both more iron-poor and α-enhanced than typical thin-disk stars. In addition, the radial velocity dispersion distribution of ECHOS extends beyond σ ∼ 20 km s⁻¹. Globular clusters are unlikely ECHOS progenitors, as ECHOS have large velocity dispersions and are found in a region of the Galaxy in which iron-rich globular clusters are very rare. Likewise, the chemical composition of stars in ECHOS does not match predictions for stars formed in the Milky Way and subsequently scattered into the inner halo. Dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies are possible ECHOS progenitors, and if ECHOS are formed through the tidal disruption of one or more dSph galaxies, the typical ECHOS [Fe/H] ∼ − 1.0 and radial velocity dispersion σ ∼ 20 km s⁻¹ implies a dSph with M_tot ≳ 10⁹ M_☉. Our observations confirm the predictions of theoretical models of Milky Way halo formation that suggest that prominent substructures are likely to be metal-rich, and our result implies that the most likely metallicity for a recently accreted star currently in the inner halo is [Fe/H] ∼ − 1.0.

A hybrid three-dimensional (3D) MHD model for solar wind study is proposed in the present paper with combined grid systems and solvers. The computational domain from the Sun to Earth space is decomposed into the near-Sun and off-Sun domains, which are respectively constructed with a Yin–Yang overset grid system and a Cartesian adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) grid system and coupled with a domain connection interface in the overlapping region between the near-Sun and off-Sun domains. The space-time conservation element and solution element method is used in the near-Sun domain, while the Harten–Lax–Leer method is employed in the off-Sun domain. The Yin–Yang overset grid can avoid well-known singularity and polar grid convergence problems and its body-fitting property helps achieve high-quality resolution near the solar surface. The block structured AMR Cartesian grid can automatically capture far-field plasma flow features, such as heliospheric current sheets and shock waves, and at the same time, it can save significant computational resources compared to the uniformly structured Cartesian grid. A numerical study of the solar wind structure for Carrington rotation 2069 shows that the newly developed hybrid MHD solar wind model successfully produces many realistic features of the background solar wind, in both the solar corona and interplanetary space, by comparisons with multiple solar and interplanetary observations.

Mineralogical studies of silicate features emitted by dust grains in protoplanetary disks and solar system bodies can shed light on the progress of planet formation. The significant fraction of crystalline material in comets, chondritic meteorites, and interplanetary dust particles indicates a modification of the almost completely amorphous interstellar medium dust from which they formed. The production of crystalline silicates, thus, must happen in protoplanetary disks, where dust evolves to build planets and planetesimals. Different scenarios have been proposed, but it is still unclear how and when this happens. This paper presents dust grain mineralogy (composition, crystallinity, and grain size distribution) of a complete sample of protoplanetary disks in the young Serpens cluster. These results are compared to those in the young Taurus region and to sources that have retained their protoplanetary disks in the older Upper Scorpius and η Chamaeleontis stellar clusters, using the same analysis technique for all samples. This comparison allows an investigation of the grain mineralogy evolution with time for a total sample of 139 disks. The mean cluster age and disk fraction are used as indicators of the evolutionary stage of the different populations. Our results show that the disks in the different regions have similar distributions of mean grain sizes and crystallinity fractions (∼10%–20%) despite the spread in mean ages. Furthermore, there is no evidence of preferential grain sizes for any given disk geometry nor for the mean cluster crystallinity fraction to increase with mean age in the 1–8 Myr range. The main implication is that a modest level of crystallinity is established in the disk surface early on (⩽1 Myr), reaching an equilibrium that is independent of what may be happening in the disk midplane. These results are discussed in the context of planet formation, in comparison with mineralogical results from small bodies in our own solar system.

We study the effects of strong lensing on the observed number counts of millimeter sources using a ray-tracing simulation and two number count models of unlensed sources. We employ a quantitative treatment of maximum attainable magnification factor depending on the physical size of the sources, also accounting for effects of lens halo ellipticity. We calculate predicted number counts and redshift distributions of millimeter galaxies including the effects of strong lensing and compare with the recent source count measurements of the South Pole Telescope (SPT). The predictions have large uncertainties, especially the details of the mass distribution in lens galaxies and the finite extent of sources, but the SPT observations are in good agreement with predictions. The sources detected by SPT are predicted to largely consist of strongly lensed galaxies at z > 2. The typical magnifications of these sources strongly depend on both the assumed unlensed source counts and the flux of the observed sources.

We present a study of the flare/coronal mass ejection event that occurred in Active Region 11060 on 2010 April 8. This event also involves a filament eruption, EIT wave, and coronal dimming. Prior to the flare onset and filament eruption, both SDO/AIA and STEREO/EUVI observe a nearly horizontal filament ejection along the internal polarity inversion line, where flux cancellations frequently occur as observed by SDO/HMI. Using the flux-rope insertion method developed by van Ballegooijen, we construct a grid of magnetic field models using two magneto-frictional relaxation methods. We find that the poloidal flux is significantly reduced during the relaxation process, though one relaxation method preserves the poloidal flux better than the other. The best-fit pre-flare NLFFF model is constrained by matching the coronal loops observed by SDO/AIA and Hinode/XRT. We find that the axial flux in this model is very close to the threshold of instability. For the model that becomes unstable due to an increase of the axial flux, the reconnected field lines below the X-point closely match the observed highly sheared flare loops at the event onset. The footpoints of the erupting flux rope are located around the coronal dimming regions. Both observational and modeling results support the premise that this event may be initiated by catastrophic loss of equilibrium caused by an increase of the axial flux in the flux rope, which is driven by flux cancellations.

We present results of 2 mm observations of the Crab Nebula, obtained using the Goddard-IRAM Superconducting 2 Millimeter Observer (GISMO) bolometer camera on the IRAM 30 m telescope. Additional 3.3 mm observations with the MUSTANG bolometer array on the Green Bank Telescope are also presented. The integrated 2 mm flux density of the Crab Nebula provides no evidence for the emergence of a second synchrotron component that has been proposed. It is consistent with the radio power-law spectrum, extrapolated up to a break frequency of log (ν_b[GHz]) = 2.84 ± 0.29 or ν_b = 695⁺⁶⁵¹_{− 336} GHz. The Crab Nebula is well resolved by the ∼167 beam (FWHM) of GISMO. Comparison to radio data at comparable spatial resolution enables us to confirm significant spatial variation of the spectral index between 21 cm and 2 mm. The main effect is a spectral flattening in the inner region of the Crab Nebula, correlated with the toroidal structure at the center of the nebula that is prominent in the near-IR through X-ray regime.

The millisecond pulsar (MSP) J1903+0327 is accompanied by an ordinary G dwarf star in an unusually wide (P_orb ≃ 95.2 days) and eccentric (e ≃ 0.44) orbit. The standard model for producing MSPs fails to explain the orbital characteristics of this extraordinary binary, and alternative binary models are unable to explain the observables. We present a triple-star model for producing MSPs in relatively wide eccentric binaries with a normal (main-sequence) stellar companion. We start from a stable triple system consisting of a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) with an orbital period of at least 1 day, accompanied by a G dwarf in a wide and possibly eccentric orbit. Variations in the initial conditions naturally provide a satisfactory explanation for the unexplained triple component in the eclipsing soft X-ray transient 4U 2129+47 or the cataclysmic variable EC 19314−5915. The best explanation for J1903+0327, however, results from the expansion of the orbit of the LMXB, driven by the mass transfer from the evolving donor star to its neutron star companion, which causes the triple eventually to become dynamically unstable. Using numerical computations we show that, depending on the precise system configuration at the moment the triple becomes dynamically unstable, the ejection of each of the three components is possible. If the donor star of the LMXB is ejected, a system resembling J1903+0327 will result. If the neutron star is ejected, a single MSP results. This model therefore also provides a straightforward mechanism for forming a single MSP in the Galactic disk. We conclude that the Galaxy contains some 30–300 binaries with characteristics similar to J1903+0327 and about an order of magnitude fewer single MSPs produced with the proposed triple scenario.

We investigate the evolution of grains composed of an ice shell surrounding an olivine core as they pass through a spiral shock in a protoplanetary disk. We use published three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of massive self-gravitating protoplanetary disks to extract the thermodynamics of spiral shocks in the region between 10 and 20 AU from the central star. As the density wave passes, it heats the grains, causing them to lose their ice shell and resulting in a lowering of the grain opacity. In addition, since grains of different sizes will have slightly different temperatures, there will be a migration of ice from hotter grains to cooler ones. The rate of migration depends on the temperature of the background gas, so a grain distribution that is effectively stable for low temperatures can undergo an irreversible change in opacity if the gas is temporarily heated to above ∼150 K. We find that the opacity can drop more and at a significantly faster rate throughout the spiral shocks relative to the prediction of the standard dust grain model adopted in hydrodynamical calculations of protoplanetary disks. This would lead to faster gas cooling within spiral arms. We discuss the implications of our results on the susceptibility of disks to fragment into sub-stellar objects at distances of a few tens of astronomical units.

We carried out three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations (employing the yguazú-a code) of a precessing jet launched by a star in a binary system. Synthetic scattered light intensity maps were generated in order to compare them with images of the Red Rectangle proto-planetary nebula (PPN), which contains the binary system HD 44179. Our results show that the angular size, the global biconical or hourglass morphology, and the existence of its "ladder rungs" features can be explained in terms of a jet precessing with a period 20 times the orbital period of the HD 44179 system, a semi-angle of 30° (of the precession cone), and a velocity of 300 km s⁻¹. In addition, we calculated the flux predicted from the models, which is of the same order of magnitude as the observed flux in the outer regions of the nebula. Finally, the orbital motion was found to have a negligible influence on the large-scale morphology of the PPN.

We present single-epoch radio afterglow observations of 24 long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) on a timescale of ≳ 100 days after the burst. These observations trace the afterglow evolution when the blast wave has decelerated to mildly or non-relativistic velocities and has roughly isotropized. We infer beaming-independent kinetic energies using the Sedov–Taylor self-similar solution, and find a median value for the sample of detected bursts of about 7 × 10⁵¹ erg, with a 90% confidence range of 1.1 × 10⁵⁰–3.3 × 10⁵³ erg. Both the median and 90% confidence range are somewhat larger than the results of multi-wavelength, multi-epoch afterglow modeling (including large beaming corrections), and the distribution of beaming-corrected γ-ray energies. This is due to bursts in our sample with only a single-frequency observation for which we can only determine an upper bound on the peak of the synchrotron spectrum. This limitation leads to a wider range of allowed energies than for bursts with a well-measured spectral peak. Our study indicates that single-epoch centimeter-band observations covering the spectral peak on a timescale of δt ∼ 1 yr can provide a robust estimate of the total kinetic energy distribution with a small investment of telescope time. The substantial increase in bandwidth of the Expanded Very Large Array (up to 8 GHz simultaneously with full coverage at 1–40 GHz) will provide the opportunity to estimate the kinetic energy distribution of GRBs with only a few hours of data per burst.

We first present the results of follow-up photometric observations of the He-rich hot B subdwarf LS IV−14°116, which confirm the presence of multiperiodic luminosity variations in the light curve of this star. Rather surprisingly, no other follow-up observations of this kind seem to have been published after the initial suggestion in 2005 that LS IV−14°116 could be a pulsating star of a new kind. We were able to extract from our data at least six significant periodicities ranging from 1954 s to 5084 s, including the two oscillations uncovered previously. We also present the results of an analysis combining a high signal-to-noise optical spectrum of LS IV−14°116 with recently developed non-local thermodynamic equilibrium model atmospheres and synthetic spectra. Our best estimates of the atmospheric parameters of this star are T_eff = 34950 ± 250 K, log g = 5.93 ± 0.04, and log N(He)/N(H) = −0.62 ± 0.03 (formal fitting errors only). These place LS IV−14°116 very near the region of maximum instability in the T_eff–log g plane for short-period p-mode pulsators of the hot subdwarf type. If the luminosity variations are indeed due to pulsations, then LS IV−14°116 poses a real challenge to current theory: how can such long observed periods (which would have to be associated with medium- to high-order g-modes) be excited at such a high effective temperature and surface gravity, while the short-period p-modes, more typically excited in this domain, are not observed in this particular star?

This paper discusses the statistics of internal motions in starless dense cores and the relation of these motions to core density and evolution. Four spectral lines from three molecular species are analyzed from single-pointing and mapped observations of several tens of starless cores. Blue asymmetric profiles are dominant, indicating that inward motions are prevalent in sufficiently dense starless cores. These blue profiles are found to be more abundant, and their asymmetry is bluer, at core positions with stronger N₂H⁺ line emission or higher column density. Thirty-three starless cores are classified into four different types according to the blueshift and redshift of the lines in their molecular line maps. Among these cores, contracting motions dominate: 19 are classified as contracting, 3 as oscillating, 3 as expanding, and 8 as static. Contracting cores have inward motions all over the core with those motions predominating near the region of peak density. Cores with the bluest asymmetry tend to have greater column density than other cores and all five cores with peak column density >6 × 10²¹ cm⁻² are found to be contracting. This suggests that starless cores are likely to have contracting motions if they are sufficiently condensed. Our classification of the starless cores may indicate a sequence of core evolution in the sense that column density increases from static to contracting cores: the static cores in the earliest stage, the expanding and/or the oscillating cores in the next, and the contracting cores in the latest stage.

Conventional interpretation of the observed cosmic microwave background (CMB) dipole is that all of it is produced by local peculiar motions. Alternative explanations requiring part of the dipole to be primordial have received support from measurements of large-scale bulk flows. A test of the two hypotheses is whether other cosmic dipoles produced by collapsed structures later than the last scattering coincide with the CMB dipole. One background is the cosmic infrared background (CIB) whose absolute spectrum was measured to ∼30% by the COBE satellite. Over the 100–500 μm wavelength range its spectral energy distribution can provide a probe of its alignment with the CMB. This is tested with the COBE FIRAS data set which is available for such a measurement because of its low noise and frequency resolution which are important for Galaxy subtraction. Although the FIRAS instrument noise is in principle low enough to determine the CIB dipole, the Galactic foreground is sufficiently close spectrally to keep the CIB dipole hidden. A similar analysis is performed with DIRBE, which—because of the limited frequency coverage—provides a poorer data set. We discuss strategies for measuring the CIB dipole with future instruments to probe the tilt and apply it to the Planck, Herschel, and the proposed Pixie missions. We demonstrate that a future FIRAS-like instrument with instrument noise a factor of ∼10 lower than FIRAS would make a statistically significant measurement of the CIB dipole. We find that the Planck and Herschel data sets will not allow a robust CIB dipole measurement. The Pixie instrument promises a determination of the CIB dipole and its alignment with either the CMB dipole or the dipole galaxy acceleration vector.

The temperature profile of hot gas in galaxies and galaxy clusters is largely determined by the depth of the total gravitational potential and thereby by the dark matter (DM) distribution. We use high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation to derive a surprisingly simple relation between the gas temperature and DM properties. We show that this relation holds not just for galaxy clusters but also for equilibrated and relaxed galaxies at radii beyond the central stellar-dominated region of typically a few kpc. It is then clarified how a measurement of the temperature and density of the hot gas component can lead to an indirect measurement of the DM velocity anisotropy in galaxies. We also study the temperature relation for galaxy clusters in the presence of self-regulated, recurrent active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and demonstrate that this temperature relation even holds outside the inner region of ≈30 kpc in clusters with an active AGN.

The Serpens South embedded cluster, which is located in the constricted part of a long, filamentary, infrared dark cloud, is believed to be in a very early stage of cluster formation. We present results of near-infrared (JHKs) polarization observations of the filamentary cloud. Our polarization measurements of near-infrared point sources indicate a well-ordered global magnetic field that is perpendicular to the main filament, implying that the magnetic field is likely to have controlled the formation of the main filament. On the other hand, the sub-filaments, which converge on the central part of the cluster, tend to run along the magnetic field. The global magnetic field appears to be curved in the southern part of the main filament. Such morphology is consistent with the idea that the global magnetic field is distorted by gravitational contraction along the main filament toward the northern part, which contains larger mass. Applying the Chandrasekhar–Fermi method, the magnetic field strength is roughly estimated to be a few ×100 μG, suggesting that the filamentary cloud is close to magnetically critical.

The current solar minimum has surprised the entire solar community because the spotless period is presently almost 2–3 years longer than the usual minima. To better understand this, we studied the variation of the solar radius and the polar limb brightening at 17 GHz, comparing the results from the minimum at the end of cycle XXIII with those of the previous one. Daily maps obtained by the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH) from 1992 through 2010 were analyzed. Whereas the variation of the solar radius at radio frequencies indicates the heating of the solar atmosphere due to solar activity, the limb brightening intensity depends on the organization of the polar magnetic field of the Sun, including the global dipole and the features formed around it. These features are more prominent during minima periods. As a common result, researchers have observed a decrease in both radius and limb brightness intensity at 17 GHz during the present minimum when compared with the previous one. The mean solar radius is 09 ± 06 smaller and the limb brightening reduced its intensity by around 20%. Both decrements are interpreted in terms of the weaker solar chromospheric activity of the present cycle. Measurement of the radius and limb brightening at 17 GHz can be used as an alternative solar activity index and should be included in the set of parameters used to predict future cycles.

We analyzed absorption features arising from interstellar neutral carbon that appeared in the UV spectra of 89 stars recorded in the highest resolution echelle modes of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope so that we could determine the relative populations of collisionally excited fine-structure levels in the atom's electronic ground state. From this information, in combination with molecular hydrogen rotation temperatures, we derive the distribution of thermal pressures in the diffuse, cold neutral medium (CNM). We find a lognormal pressure distribution (weighted by mass) with a mean in log (p/k) equal to 3.58 and an rms dispersion of at least 0.175 dex that plausibly arises from turbulence with a characteristic Mach number in the range 1 < M < 4. The extreme tails in the distribution are, however, above the lognormal function. Overall, pressures are well correlated with local starlight intensities and extreme kinematics, and they show some anticorrelation with kinetic temperatures. A subsample restricted to low ambient UV intensities reveals a mode in the distribution of log (p/k) that is nearly the same as the complete sample, but with a strong negative skewness created by a near absence of a tail at high pressures. Approximately 23% of this gas is at a pressure that is below that which is allowed for a static CNM. Accompanying nearly all of the gas is a small fraction (∼0.05%) that has an extraordinarily large pressure, log (p/k) > 5.5, and this condition is more prevalent at high velocities or for regions with enhanced starlight densities. This survey suggests that the dispersion of thermal pressures in the CNM is predominantly governed by microscopic turbulence driven by star-forming regions, with some additional effects from macroscopic events (e.g., supernova explosions), and these measurements provide constraints for future studies of the broader impact of turbulence on the ISM and star formation.

We present a wide-field Hα imaging survey of the rich cluster CL0939+4713 (A851) at z = 0.41 with Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope, using the narrow-band filter NB921. The survey is sensitive to active galaxies with star formation rates (SFRs) down to ∼0.3 M_☉ yr⁻¹ throughout the 27' × 27' field. We identified 445 Hα emitters along the large-scale structures around the cluster. Using this sample, we find that (1) the fraction of Hα emitters is a strong function of environment and shows a clear decline toward the cluster central region, and (2) the color of Hα emitters is clearly dependent on environment. The majority of the Hα emitters have blue colors with B − I < 2, but we find Hα emitters with red colors as well. Such red emitters are very rare in the cluster center or its immediate surrounding regions, while they are most frequently found in groups located far away from the cluster center. These groups coincide with the environment where a sharp transition in galaxy color distribution is seen. This may suggest that dusty star formation activity tends to be involved in galaxy truncation processes that are effective in groups, and that it is probably related to the "pre-processing" that generates present-day cluster S0 galaxies. Finally, we confirm that (3) the mass-normalized integrated SFR in clusters (i.e., the total SFR within 0.5 × R₂₀₀ from the cluster center divided by the cluster dynamical mass) rapidly increases with look-back time following approximately ∝(1 + z)⁶ and is also correlated with the cluster mass.

The Keck Interferometer Nuller (KIN) was used to survey 25 nearby main-sequence stars in the mid-infrared, in order to assess the prevalence of warm circumstellar (exozodiacal) dust around nearby solar-type stars. The KIN measures circumstellar emission by spatially blocking the star but transmitting the circumstellar flux in a region typically 0.1–4 AU from the star. We find one significant detection (η Crv), two marginal detections (γ Oph and α Aql), and 22 clear non-detections. Using a model of our own solar system's zodiacal cloud, scaled to the luminosity of each target star, we estimate the equivalent number of target zodis needed to match our observations. Our three zodi detections are η Crv (1250  ±  260), γ Oph (200  ±  80), and α Aql (600  ±  200), where the uncertainties are 1σ. The 22 non-detected targets have an ensemble weighted average consistent with zero, with an average individual uncertainty of 160 zodis (1σ). These measurements represent the best limits to date on exozodi levels for a sample of nearby main-sequence stars. A statistical analysis of the population of 23 stars not previously known to contain circumstellar dust (excluding η Crv and γ Oph) suggests that, if the measurement errors are uncorrelated (for which we provide evidence) and if these 23 stars are representative of a single class with respect to the level of exozodi brightness, the mean exozodi level for the class is <150 zodis (3σ upper limit, corresponding to 99% confidence under the additional assumption that the measurement errors are Gaussian). We also demonstrate that this conclusion is largely independent of the shape and mean level of the (unknown) true underlying exozodi distribution.

Identification of high-redshift clusters is important for studies of cosmology and cluster evolution. Using photometric redshifts of galaxies, we identify 631 clusters from the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) wide field, 202 clusters from the CFHT deep field, 187 clusters from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field, and 737 clusters from the Spitzer Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic Survey (SWIRE) field. The redshifts of these clusters are in the range 0.1 ≲ z ≲ 1.6. Merging these cluster samples gives 1644 clusters in the four survey fields, of which 1088 are newly identified and more than half are from the large SWIRE field. Among 228 clusters of z ⩾ 1, 191 clusters are newly identified, and most of them from the SWIRE field. With this large sample of high-redshift clusters, we study the color evolution of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). The r' − z' and r⁺ − m_3.6 μm colors of the BCGs are consistent with a stellar population synthesis model in which the BCGs are formed at redshift z_f ⩾ 2 and evolved passively. The g' − z' and B − m_3.6 μm colors of the BCGs at redshifts z > 0.8 are systematically bluer than the passive evolution model for galaxies formed at z_f ∼ 2, indicating star formation in high-redshift BCGs.

We report 10 lens candidates in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South from the GEMS survey. Nine of the systems are new detections and only one of the candidates is a known lens system. For the most promising five systems including the known lens system, we present results from preliminary lens mass modeling, which tests if the candidates are plausible lens systems. Photometric redshifts of the candidate lens galaxies are obtained from the COMBO-17 galaxy catalog. Stellar masses of the candidate lens galaxies within the Einstein radius are obtained by using the z-band luminosity and the V−z color-based stellar mass-to-light ratios. As expected, the lensing masses are found to be larger than the stellar masses of the candidate lens galaxies. These candidates have similar dark matter fractions as compared to lenses in SLACS and COSMOS. They also roughly follow the halo-mass–stellar-mass relation predicted by the subhalo abundance matching technique. One of the candidate lens galaxies qualifies as a luminous infrared galaxy and may not be a true lens because the arc-like feature in the system is likely to be an active region of star formation in the candidate lens galaxy. Among the five best candidates, one is a confirmed lens system, one is likely a lens system, two are less likely to be lenses, and the status of one of the candidates is ambiguous. Spectroscopic follow-up of these systems is still required to confirm lensing and/or for more accurate determination of the lens masses and mass density profiles.

I present chromospheric-activity measurements of ∼670 F, G, K, and M main-sequence stars in the Southern Hemisphere, from ∼8000 archival high-resolution echelle spectra taken at Las Campanas Observatory since 2004. These stars were targets from the Old Magellan Planet Search, and are now potential targets for the New Magellan Planet Search that will look for rocky and habitable planets. Activity indices (S values) are derived from Ca ii H and K line cores and then converted to the Mount Wilson system. From these measurements, chromospheric (log R'_HK) indices are derived, which are then used as indicators of the level of radial-velocity jitter, age, and rotation periods these stars present.

All current global models of the heliosphere are based on the assumption that the magnetic field in the heliosheath, in the region close to the heliopause (HP), is laminar. We argue that in that region the heliospheric magnetic field is not laminar but instead consists of magnetic bubbles. We refer to it as the bubble-dominated heliosheath region. Recently, we proposed that the annihilation of the "sectored" magnetic field within the heliosheath as it is compressed on its approach to the HP produces anomalous cosmic rays and also energetic electrons. As a product of the annihilation of the sectored magnetic field, densely packed magnetic islands (which further interact to form magnetic bubbles) are produced. These magnetic islands/bubbles will be convected with ambient flows as the sector region is carried to higher latitudes filling the heliosheath. We further argue that the magnetic islands/bubbles will develop upstream within the heliosheath. As a result, the magnetic field in the heliosheath sector region will be disordered well upstream of the HP. We present a three-dimensional MHD simulation with very high numerical resolution that captures the north–south boundaries of the sector region. We show that due to the high pressure of the interstellar magnetic field a north–south asymmetry develops such that the disordered sectored region fills a large portion of the northern part of the heliosphere with a smaller extension in the southern hemisphere. We suggest that this scenario is supported by the following changes that occurred around 2008 and from 2009.16 onward: (1) the sudden decrease in the intensity of low energy electrons (0.02–1.5 MeV) detected by Voyager 2, (2) a sharp reduction in the intensity of fluctuations of the radial flow, and (3) the dramatic differences in intensity trends between galactic cosmic ray electrons (3.8–59 MeV) at Voyager 1 and 2. We argue that these observations are a consequence of Voyager 2 leaving the sector region of disordered field during these periods and crossing into a region of unipolar laminar field.

It is widely accepted that individual Galactic globular clusters harbor two coeval generations of stars, the first one born with the "standard" α-enhanced metal mixture observed in field halo objects and the second one characterized by an anticorrelated CNONa abundance pattern overimposed on the first generation, α-enhanced metal mixture. We have investigated with appropriate stellar population synthesis models how this second generation of stars affects the integrated spectrum of a typical metal-rich Galactic globular cluster, like 47 Tuc, focusing our analysis on the widely used Lick-type indices. We find that the only indices appreciably affected by the abundance anticorrelations are Ca4227, G4300, CN₁, CN₂, and NaD. The age-sensitive Balmer line, Fe line, and the [MgFe] indices widely used to determine age, Fe, and total metallicity of extragalactic systems are largely insensitive to the second generation population. Enhanced He in second generation stars affects also the Balmer line indices of the integrated spectra, through the change of the turnoff temperature and—with the assumption that the mass-loss history of both stellar generations is the same—the horizontal branch morphology of the underlying isochrones.