Papers for Wednesday, Jan 13 2021

We propose a new algorithm for computing the luminosity distance in the flat universe with a cosmological constant based on Shchigolev's homotopy perturbation method, where the optimization idea is applied to prevent the arbitrariness of initial value choice in Shchigolev's homotopy. Compared with the some existing numerical methods, the result of numerical simulation shows that our algorithm is a very promising and powerful technique for computing the luminosity distance, which has obvious advantages in computational accuracy,computing efficiency and robustness for a given {\Omega_m}.

Many of observed hot Jupiters are subject to atmospheric outflows. Numerical simulations have shown that the matter escaping from the atmosphere can accumulate outside the orbit of the planet, forming a torus. In a few 10^8 yr, the mass of the torus can become large enough to exert a significant gravitational effect on the planet. Accumulation of mass, in its own turn, is hindered by the activity of the star, which leads to the photoevaporation of the torus matter. We explore the role of these and other factors in the planet's migration in the epoch when the protoplanetary disk has already disappeared. Using HD209458 system as an example, we show that the gravitational interaction with the torus leads to the possibility of migration of the planet to its observable position, starting from an orbit >= 0.3 AU.

The Kepler and TESS missions delivered high-precision, long-duration photometric time series for hundreds of main-sequence stars with gravito-inertial (g) pulsation modes. This high precision allows us to evaluate increasingly detailed theoretical stellar models. Recent theoretical work extended the traditional approximation of rotation (TAR), a framework to evaluate the effect of the Coriolis acceleration on g-modes, to include the effects of the centrifugal acceleration in the approximation of slightly deformed stars, which so far had mostly been neglected in asteroseismology. This extension of the TAR was conceived by rederiving the TAR in a centrifugally deformed, spheroidal coordinate system. We explore the effect of the centrifugal acceleration on g modes and assess its detectability in space-based photometry. We implement the new framework to calculate the centrifugal deformation of precomputed 1D spherical stellar structure models and compute the corresponding g-mode frequencies, assuming uniform rotation. The framework is evaluated for a grid of stellar structure models covering a relevant parameter space for observed g-mode pulsators. The centrifugal acceleration modifies the effect of the Coriolis acceleration on g modes, narrowing the equatorial band in which they are trapped. Furthermore, the centrifugal acceleration causes the pulsation periods and period spacings of the most common g modes (prograde dipole modes and r modes) to increase with values similar to the observational uncertainties in Kepler and TESS data. The effect of the centrifugal acceleration on g~modes is formally detectable in modern space photometry. Implementation of the new theoretical framework in stellar structure and pulsation codes will allow for more precise asteroseismic modelling of centrifugally deformed stars, to assess its effect on mode excitation, -trapping and -damping.

A promising method for measuring the cosmological parameter combination fsigma_8 is to compare observed peculiar velocities with peculiar velocities predicted from a galaxy density field using perturbation theory. We use N-body simulations and semi-analytic galaxy formation models to quantify the accuracy and precision of this method. Specifically, we examine a number of technical aspects, including the optimal smoothing length applied to the density field, the use of dark matter halos or galaxies as tracers of the density field, the effect of noise in the halo mass estimates or in the stellar-to-halo mass relation, and the effect of finite survey volumes. We find that for a Gaussian smoothing of 4 Mpc/h, the method has only small systematic biases at the level of 5%. Cosmic variance affects current measurements at the 5% level due to the volume of current redshift data sets.

A necessary first step for dust removal in protoplanetary disc winds is the delivery of dust from the disc to the wind. In the case of ionized winds, the disc and wind are sharply delineated by a narrow ionization front where the gas density and temperature vary by more than an order of magnitude. Using a novel method that is able to model the transport of dust across the ionization front in the presence of disc turbulence, we revisit the problem of dust delivery. Our results show that the delivery of dust to the wind is determined by the vertical gas flow through the disc induced by the mass loss, rather than turbulent diffusion (unless the turbulence is strong, i.e. $\alpha \gtrsim 0.01$). Using these results we provide a simple relation between the maximum size of particle that can be delivered to the wind and the local mass-loss rate per unit area from the wind. This relation is independent of the physical origin of the wind and predicts typical sizes in the 0.01 -- $1\,\mu m$ range for EUV or X-ray driven winds. These values are a factor $\sim 10$ smaller than those obtained when considering only whether the wind is able to carry away the grains.

We compare the molecular and ionized gas velocity dispersion of 9 nearby turbulent disks, analogues to high-redshift galaxies, from the DYNAMO sample using new ALMA and GMOS/Gemini observations. We combine our sample with 12 galaxies at $z\sim $0.5-2.5 from the literature. We find that the resolved velocity dispersion is systematically lower by a factor $2.45\pm0.38$ for the molecular gas compared to the ionized gas, after correcting for thermal broadening. This offset is constant within the galaxy disks and indicates the co-existence of a thin molecular and thick ionized gas disks. This result has a direct impact on the Toomre $Q$ and pressure derived in galaxies. We obtain pressures $\sim0.22$ dex lower on average when using the molecular gas velocity dispersion, $\sigma_{0,mol}$. We find that $\sigma_{0,mol}$ increases with gas fraction and star formation rate. We also obtain an increase with redshift and show that the EAGLE and FIRE simulations overall overestimate $\sigma_{0,mol}$ at high redshift. Our results suggest that efforts to compare the kinematics of gas using ionized gas as a proxy for the total gas may overestimate the velocity dispersion by a significant amount in galaxies at the peak of cosmic star formation. When using the molecular gas as a tracer, our sample is not consistent with predictions from constant efficiency star formation models, even when including transport as a source of turbulence. Feedback models with variable star formation efficiency, $\epsilon_{ff}$, and/or feedback efficiency, $p_*/m_*$, better predict our observations.

We conduct X-ray spectral fits on 184 likely counterparts to Fermi-LAT 3FGL unassociated sources. Characterization and classification of these sources allows for more complete population studies of the high-energy sky. Most of these X-ray spectra are well fit by an absorbed power law model, as expected for a population dominated by blazars and pulsars. A small subset of 7 X-ray sources have spectra unlike the power law expected from a blazar or pulsar and may be linked to coincident stars or background emission. We develop a multiwavelength machine learning classifier to categorize unassociated sources into pulsars and blazars using gamma- and X-ray observations. Training a random forest procedure with known pulsars and blazars, we achieve a cross-validated classification accuracy of 98.6%. Applying the random forest routine to the unassociated sources returned 126 likely blazar candidates (defined as $ P_{bzr} > 90 \% $) and 5 likely pulsar candidates ($ P_{bzr} < 10 \% $). Our new X-ray spectral analysis does not drastically alter the random forest classifications of these sources compared to previous works, but it builds a more robust classification scheme and highlights the importance of X-ray spectral fitting. Our procedure can be further expanded with UV, visual, or radio spectral parameters or by measuring flux variability.

We investigate and discuss protostellar discs in terms of where the various non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) processes are important. We find that the traditional picture of a magnetised disc (where Ohmic resistivity is dominant near the mid-plane, surrounded by a region dominated by the Hall effect, with the remainder of the disc dominated by ambipolar diffusion) is a great oversimplification. In simple parameterised discs, we find that the Hall effect is typically the dominant term throughout the majority of the disc. More importantly, we find that in much of our parameterised discs, at least two non-ideal processes have coefficients within a factor of 10 of one another, indicating that both are important and that naming a dominant term underplays the importance of the other terms. Discs that were self-consistently formed in our previous studies are also dominated by the Hall effect, and the ratio of ambipolar diffusion and Hall coefficients is typically less than 10, suggesting that both terms are equally important and listing a dominant term is misleading. These conclusions become more robust once the magnetic field geometry is taken into account. In agreement with the literature we review, we conclude that non-ideal MHD processes are important for the formation and evolution of protostellar discs. Ignoring any of the non-ideal processes, especially ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect, yields an incorrect description of disc evolution.

The first stages of planet formation usually occur when the host star is still in a (relatively) dense star-forming region, where the effects of the external environment may be important for understanding the outcome of the planet formation process. In particular, star-forming regions that contain massive stars have strong far ultraviolet (FUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation fields, which can induce mass-loss from protoplanetary discs due to photoevaporation. In this paper we present a parameter-space study of the expected FUV and EUV fields in N-body simulations of star-forming regions with a range of initial conditions. We then use recently published models to determine the mass-loss due to photoevaporation from protoplanetary discs. In particular, we focus on the effects of changing the initial degree of spatial structure and initial virial ratio in the star-forming regions, as well as the initial stellar density. We find that the FUV fields in star-forming regions are much higher than in the interstellar medium, even when the regions have stellar densities as low as in the Galactic field, due to the presence of intermediate-mass, and massive, stars (>5Msun). These strong radiation fields lead to the destruction of the gas component in protoplanetary discs within 1 Myr, implying that gas giant planets must either form extremely rapidly (<1 Myr), or that they exclusively form in star-forming regions like Taurus, which contain no intermediate-mass or massive stars. The latter scenario is in direct tension with meteoritic evidence from the Solar system that suggests the Sun and its protoplanetary disc was born in close proximity to massive stars.

We present the first detailed observational picture of a possible ongoing massive cluster hierarchical assembly in the Galactic disk as revealed by the analysis of the stellar full phase-space (3D positions and kinematics and spectro-photometric properties) of an extended area ($6^{\circ}$ diameter) surrounding the well-known $\it h$ and $\chi$ Persei double stellar cluster in the Perseus Arm. Gaia-EDR3 shows that the area is populated by seven co-moving clusters, three of which were previously unknown, and by an extended and quite massive ($M\sim10^5 M_{\odot}$) halo. All stars and clusters define a complex structure with evidence of possible mutual interactions in the form of intra-cluster over-densities and/or bridges. They share the same chemical abundances (half-solar metallicity) and age ($t\sim20$ Myr) within a small confidence interval and the stellar density distribution of the surrounding diffuse stellar halo resembles that of a cluster-like stellar system. The combination of these evidences suggests that stars distributed within a few degrees from $\it h$ and $\chi$ Persei are part of a common, sub-structured stellar complex that we named LISCA I. Comparison with results obtained through direct $N$-body simulations suggest that LISCA I may be at an intermediate stage of an ongoing cluster assembly that can eventually evolve in a relatively massive (a few $10^5 M_{\odot}$) stellar system. We argue that such cluster formation mechanism may be quite efficient in the Milky Way and disk-like galaxies and, as a consequence, it has a relevant impact on our understanding of cluster formation efficiency as a function of the environment and redshift.

A number of transiting, potentially habitable Earth-sized exoplanets have recently been detected around several nearby M dwarf stars. These worlds represent important targets for atmospheric characterization for the upcoming NASA James Webb Space Telescope. Given that available time for exoplanet characterization will be limited, it is critically important to first understand the capabilities and limitations of JWST when attempting to detect atmospheric constituents for potentially Earth-like worlds orbiting cool stars. Here, we explore coupled climate-chemistry atmospheric models for Earth-like planets orbiting a grid of M dwarf hosts. Using a newly-developed and validated JWST instrument model - the JWST Exoplanet Transit Simulator (JETS) - we investigate the detectability of key biosignature and habitability indicator gaseous species for a variety of relevant instruments and observing modes. Spectrally-resolved detection scenarios as well as cases where the spectral impact of a given species is integrated across the entire range of an instrument/mode are considered and serve to highlight the importance of considering information gained over an entire observable spectral range. When considering the entire spectral coverage of an instrument/mode, detections of methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen and water at signal-to-noise ratio 5 could be achieved with observations of several tens of transits (or less) for cloud-free Earth-like worlds orbiting mid- to late-type M dwarfs at system distances of up to 10-15 pc. When compared to previous results, requisite exposure times for gas species detection depend on approaches to quantifying the spectral impact of the species as well as underlying photochemical model assumptions. Thus, constraints on atmospheric abundances, even if just upper limits, by JWST have the potential to further our understanding of terrestrial atmospheric chemistry.

Between the base of the solar corona and the Alfven critical point, the solar-wind density decreases by approximately five orders of magnitude, but the temperature varies by a factor of only a few. In this paper, I show that such quasi-isothermal evolution out to the Alfven critical point is a generic property of outflows powered by reflection-driven Alfven-wave (AW) turbulence, in which outward-propagating AWs partially reflect, and counter-propagating AWs interact to produce a cascade of fluctuation energy to small scales, which leads to turbulent heating. Approximating the sub-Alfvenic region as isothermal, I first present a simplified calculation of the mass outflow rate, asymptotic wind speed, and coronal temperature that neglects conductive losses and the wave pressure force. I then develop a more detailed model of the transition region, corona, and solar wind that accounts for the heat flux from the coronal base into the transition region and momentum deposition by AWs. I solve analytically for this heat flux by balancing, within the transition region, conductive heating against internal-energy losses from radiation, pdV work, and advection. The density at the coronal base is determined by locally balancing turbulent heating and radiative cooling. I solve the equations of the model analytically in two different parameter regimes. Analytic and numerical solutions to the model equations agree with a number of observations.

Over half of disk galaxies are barred, yet the mechanisms for bar formation and the life-time of bar buckling remain poorly understood. In simulations, a thin bar undergoes a rapid (<1 Gyr) event called "buckling," during which the inner part of the bar is asymmetrically bent out of the galaxy plane and eventually thickens, developing a peanut/X-shaped profile when viewed side-on. Through analyzing stellar kinematics of N-body model snapshots of a galaxy before, during, and after the buckling phase, we confirm a distinct quadrupolar pattern of out-of-plane stellar velocities in nearly face-on galaxies. This kinematic signature of buckling allows us to identify five candidates of currently buckling bars among 434 barred galaxies in the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) Survey, an integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopic survey that measures the composition and kinematic structure of nearby galaxies. The frequency of buckling events detected is consistent with the 0.5-1 Gyr timescale predicted by simulations. The five candidates we present more than double the total number of candidate buckling bars, and are the only ones found using the kinematic signature.

We present the results of imaging photometric and long-slit spectroscopic observations of comet 2P/Encke performed at the heliocentric distance 0.56 au, geocentric distance 0.65 au, and phase angle 109.2 deg on November 4, 2013 and at 1.05 au, 1.34 au, and 46.8 deg on January 23, 2017. Observations were carried out at the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory (Russia) with the multimode focal reducer SCORPIO-2. In 2013, the direct images of comet Encke were obtained with the broad-band V filters, whereas in 2017 the narrow-band cometary BC, RC, and NH2 filters as well as the medium-band SED500 and broad-band r-sdss filters were used for observations. About 60 emissions belonging to the CN, C2, C3, NH2, CH, and CO+ molecules were identified within the range 3750-7100 {\AA}. The ratios of the production rates C2/CN and C3/CN correspond to the typical comets, not depleted in the carbon-chain. A complex structure of the coma was detected in both observational periods. In January 2017, the dust was in general concentrated near the nucleus, the dust/gas ratio was 2.9 in the r-sdss filter, however, this ratio was larger than 1 at distances 3000-40000 km from the nucleus. We found that about 75% of the flux of the reflected light in the central pixel was due to the nucleus, whereas the nucleus's flux contributed 48% in the total intensity of the 2000 km area of the coma. We found that after correction for the dust coma contamination the nucleus magnitude is 18.8m+/-0.2m.

This review paper discusses the science of astrometric catalogs, their current applications and future prospects for making progress in fundamental astronomy, astrophysics and gravitational physics. We discuss the concept of fundamental catalogs, their practical realizations, and future prospects. Particular attention is paid to the astrophysical implementations of the catalogs such as the measurement of the Oort constants, the secular aberration and parallax, and asteroseismology. We also consider the use of the fundamental catalogs in gravitational physics for testing general theory of relativity and detection of ultra-long gravitational waves of cosmological origin.

The axion, motivated as a solution to the strong CP problem, is also a viable dark matter candidate. We use N-body simulations to study the formation of substructures from white-noise density fluctuations. The density profiles of our relaxed axion minihalos can be described by the Navarro-Frenk-White profile, and the minihalos' concentration number agrees well with a simple, physically-motivated model. We develop a semi-analytic formula to fit the mass function from our simulation, which agrees broadly at different redshifts and only differs at factor of two level from classic halo mass functions. This analytic mass function allows us to consider uncertainties in the post-inflation axion scenario, as well as extrapolate our high-redshift simulations results to the present. Our work estimates the present-day abundance of axion substructures, as is necessary for predicting their effect on cosmological microlensing caustics and pulsar timing. Our calculations suggest that if pulsar timing and microlensing probes can reach recent sensitivity forecasts, they may be sensitive to the post-inflation axion dark matter scenario, even when accounting for uncertainties pertaining to axion strings. For pulsar timing, the most significant caveat is whether axion minihalos are disrupted by stars, which our estimates show is mildly important at the most relevant masses. Finally, as our gravitational simulations are scale invariant, the results can be extended to models where the dark matter is comprised of other axion-like particles and even clusters of primordial black holes.

Gas infalling into the gravitational potential wells of massive galaxy clusters is expected to experience one or more shocks on its journey to becoming part of the intracluster medium (ICM). These shocks are important for setting the thermodynamic properties of the ICM and can therefore impact cluster observables such as X-ray emission and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect. We investigate the possibility of detecting signals from cluster shocks in the averaged thermal SZ profiles of galaxy clusters. Using zoom-in hydrodynamic simulations of massive clusters from the Three Hundred Project, we show that if cluster SZ profiles are stacked as a function of $R/R_{200m}$, shock-induced features appear in the averaged SZ profile. These features are not accounted for in standard fitting formulae for the SZ profiles of galaxy clusters. We show that the shock features should be detectable with samples of clusters from ongoing and future SZ surveys. We also demonstrate that the location of these features is correlated with the cluster accretion rate, as well as the location of the cluster splashback radius. Analyses of ongoing and future surveys, such as SPT-3g, AdvACT, Simons Observatory and CMB-S4, that include gas shocks will gain a new handle on the properties and dynamics of the outskirts of massive halos, both in gas and in mass.

We present K-band interferometric observations of the PDS 70 protoplanets along with their host star using VLTI/GRAVITY. We obtained K-band spectra and 100 $\mu$as precision astrometry of both PDS 70 b and c in two epochs, as well as spatially resolving the hot inner disk around the star. Rejecting unstable orbits, we found a nonzero eccentricity for PDS 70 b of $0.17 \pm 0.06$, a near-circular orbit for PDS 70 c, and an orbital configuration that is consistent with the planets migrating into a 2:1 mean motion resonance. Enforcing dynamical stability, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the mass of PDS 70 b of 10 $M_\textrm{Jup}$, while the mass of PDS 70 c was unconstrained. The GRAVITY K-band spectra rules out pure blackbody models for the photospheres of both planets. Instead, the models with the most support from the data are planetary atmospheres that are dusty, but the nature of the dust is unclear. Any circumplanetary dust around these planets is not well constrained by the planets' 1-5 $\mu$m spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and requires longer wavelength data to probe with SED analysis. However with VLTI/GRAVITY, we made the first observations of a circumplanetary environment with sub-au spatial resolution, placing an upper limit of 0.3~au on the size of a bright disk around PDS 70 b.

Umbral flashes are sudden brightenings commonly visible in the core of chromospheric lines. Theoretical and numerical modeling suggest that they are produced by the propagation of shock waves. According to these models and early observations, umbral flashes are associated with upflows. However, recent studies have reported umbral flashes in downflowing atmospheres. We aim to understand the origin of downflowing umbral flashes. We explore how the existence of standing waves in the umbral chromosphere impacts the generation of flashed profiles. We performed numerical simulations of wave propagation in a sunspot umbra with the code MANCHA. The Stokes profiles of the Ca II 8542 \AA\ line were synthesized with NICOLE. For freely-propagating waves, the chromospheric temperature enhancements of the oscillations are in phase with velocity upflows. In this case, the intensity core of the Ca II 8542 \AA\ atmosphere is heated during the upflowing stage of the oscillation. If we consider a different scenario with a resonant cavity, the wave reflections at the sharp temperature gradient of the transition region lead to standing oscillations. In this situation, temperature fluctuations are shifted backward and temperature enhancements partially coincide with the downflowing stage of the oscillation. In umbral flashes produced by standing oscillations, the reversal of the emission feature is produced when the oscillation is downflowing. The chromospheric temperature keeps increasing while the atmosphere is changing from a downflow to an upflow. During the appearance of flashed Ca II 8542 \AA\ cores, the atmosphere is upflowing most of the time, and only 38\% of the flashed profiles are associated with downflows. We find a scenario that remarkably explains the recent empirical findings of downflowing umbral flashes as a natural consequence of the presence of standing oscillations above sunspot umbrae.

The spectra and images obtained through broadband BVR filters for Jupiter famaly comet P/2011 P1 were analyzed. We observed the comet on November 24, 2011, when its heliocentric distance was 5.43 AU. Two dimensional long slit spectra and photometric images were obtained using the focal reducer SCORPIO attached to the prime focus of the 6-m telescope BTA (SAO RAS, Russia). The spectra cover the wavelength range of 4200-7000 {\AA}. No emissions of C2 and CO+, which are expected in this wavelength region, were detected above 3 sigma level. An upper limit in gas production rate of C2 is expected to be 1.1*10^24 mol*s^-1. The continuum shows a reddening effect with the normalized gradient of reflectivity along dispersion of 5.1% per 1000 {\AA}. The color indices (B-V)=0.89 and (V-R) = 0.42 for the nucleus region or (B-V)=0.68 and (V-R)=0.39 for the coma region, which are derived from the photometric data, also evidence that the color of the cometary nucleus and dust are redder with respect to the Sun. The dust coma like a spiral galaxy adge on was fitted using a Monte Carlo model.

We present results of imaging polarimetry of comet 2P/Encke performed on January 23, 2017 at the heliocentric (1.052 au) and geocentric (1.336 au) distances and phase angle 46.8 deg, 46 days before perihelion. Observations were made through the medium-band SED500 ({\lambda}5019/246 {\AA}) and broadband r-sdss ({\lambda}6200/1200 {\AA}) filters with the multimode focal reducer SCORPIO-2 at the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory (Russia). Dust in comet 2P/Encke was mainly concentrated in the near-nucleus region of the coma: the maximum dust/gas ratios were 1.5 and 2.9 in the SED500 and the r-sdss filters near the nucleus but dropped sharply to ~0.2 and ~1 at the distance ~2500 km, respectively. Then these ratios began to increase at distances ~12000 km from the nucleus, the ratio was ~0.3 (SED500) and ~1.3 (r-sdds). There were significant variations of polarization over the coma, which correlated with the variations in the dust color and dust/gas ratio. Changes in polarization and color across the 2P/Encke coma indicate changes in physical properties of the dust particles with the distance from the nucleus. Our Sh-matrix computer simulations of light scattering by Gaussian particles allow us to suggest that the observed trends in color and polarization are mainly result from changing particle size.

Similar to black-hole X-ray binary (BHXRB) transients, hysteresis-like state transitions are also seen in some neutron-star X-ray binaries (NSXRBs). Using a method based on wavelets and lightcurves constructed from archival RXTE observations, we extract a minimal timescale over the complete range of transitions for 4U 1608-52 during the 2002 and 2007 outbursts and the 1999 and 2000 outbursts for Aql X-1. We present evidence for a strong positive correlation between this minimal timescale and a similar timescale extracted from the corresponding power spectra of these sources.

We report the discovery of a likely outbursting Class I young stellar object, associated with the star-forming region NGC 281-W (distance $\sim 2.8$ kpc). The source is currently seen only at infrared wavelengths, appearing in both the Palomar Gattini InfraRed ($1.2~\mu$m) and the Near Earth Object Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer ($3.4$ and $4.6~\mu$m) photometric time-domain surveys. Recent near-infrared imaging reveals a new, extended scattered light nebula. Recent near-infrared spectroscopy confirms the similarity of PGIR 20dci to FU Ori type sources, based on strong molecular absorption in $CO$, $H_2O$, and $OH$, weak absorption in several atomic lines, and a warm wind/outflow as indicated by a P Cygni profile in the HeI 10830 A line. This is a rare case of an FU Ori star with a well-measured long term photometric rise before a sharper outburst, and the second instance of an FU Ori star with a documented two-step brightening in the mid-infrared.

We present thermal observations of Ganymede from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in 2016-2019 at a spatial resolution of 300-900 km (0.1-0.2'' angular resolution) and frequencies of 97.5, 233, and 343.5 GHz (wavelengths of 3, 1.3, and 0.87 mm); the observations collectively covered all Ganymede longitudes. We determine the global thermophysical properties using a thermal model that considers subsurface emission and depth- and temperature-dependent thermophysical and dielectric properties, in combination with a retrieval algorithm. The data are sensitive to emission from the upper $\sim$0.5 meter of the surface, and we find a millimeter emissivity of 0.75-0.78 and (sub)surface porosities of 10-40%, corresponding to effective thermal inertias of 400-800 J m^{-2} K^{-1} s^{-1/2}. Combined with past infrared results, as well as modeling presented here of a previously-unpublished Galileo PPR nighttime infrared observation, the multi-wavelength constraints are consistent with a compaction profile whereby the porosity drops from ~85% at the surface to 10{+30/-10}% at depth over a compaction length scale of tens of cm. We present maps of temperature residuals from the best-fit global models which indicate localized variations in thermal surface properties at some (but not all) dark terrains and at impact craters, which appear 5-8 K colder than the model. Equatorial regions are warmer than predicted by the model, in particular near the centers of the leading and trailing hemispheres, while the mid-latitudes (~30-60 degrees) are generally colder than predicted; these trends are suggestive of an exogenic origin.

We present the first visual orbit for the nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet binary, WR 133 (WN5o + O9I) based on observations made with the CHARA Array and the MIRC-X combiner. This orbit represents the first visual orbit for a WN star and only the third Wolf-Rayet star with a visual orbit. The orbit has a period of 112.8 d, a moderate eccentricity of 0.36, and a separation of $a$= 0.79 mas on the sky. We combine the visual orbit with an SB2 orbit and Gaia parallax to find that the derived masses of the component stars are $M_{\rm WR}$ = $9.3\pm1.6 M_\odot$ and $M_{\rm O}$ = $22.6\pm 3.2 M_\odot$, with the large errors owing to the nearly face-on geometry of the system combined with errors in the spectroscopic parameters. We also derive an orbital parallax that is identical to the {\it Gaia}-determined distance. We present a preliminary spectral analysis and atmosphere models of the component stars, and find the mass-loss rate in agreement with polarization variability and our orbit. However, the derived masses are low compared to the spectral types and spectral model. Given the close binary nature, we suspect that WR 133 should have formed through binary interactions, and represents an ideal target for testing evolutionary models given its membership in the cluster NGC 6871.

We present a new empirical model to predict solar energetic particle (SEP) event-integrated and peak intensity spectra between 10 and 130 MeV at 1 AU, based on multi-point spacecraft measurements from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO), the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) and the Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA) satellite experiment. The analyzed data sample includes 32 SEP events occurring between 2010 and 2014, with a statistically significant proton signal at energies in excess of a few tens of MeV, unambiguously recorded at three spacecraft locations. The spatial distributions of SEP intensities are reconstructed by assuming an energy-dependent 2D Gaussian functional form, and accounting for the correlation between the intensity and the speed of the parent coronal mass ejection (CME), and the magnetic field line connection angle. The CME measurements used are from the SpaceWeather Database Of Notifications, Knowledge, Information (DONKI). The model performance, including its extrapolations to lower/higher energies, is tested by comparing with the spectra of 20 SEP events not used to derive the model parameters. Despite the simplicity of the model, the observed and predicted event-integrated and peak intensities at Earth and at the STEREO spacecraft for these events show remarkable agreement, both in the spectral shapes and their absolute values.

We report the discovery of the massive hot Jupiter NGTS-13b by the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). The V = 12.7 host star is likely in the subgiant evolutionary phase with log g$_{*}$ = 4.04 $\pm$ 0.05, T$_{eff}$ = 5819 $\pm$ 73 K, M$_{*}$ = 1.30$^{+0.11}_{-0.18}$ M$_{\odot}$, and R$_{*}$ = 1.79 $\pm$ 0.06 R$_{\odot}$. NGTS detected a transiting planet with a period of P = 4.12 days around the star, which was later validated with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS; TIC 454069765). We confirm the planet using radial velocities from the CORALIE spectrograph. Using NGTS and TESS full-frame image photometry combined with CORALIE radial velocities we determine NGTS-13b to have a radius of R$_{P}$ = 1.142 $\pm$ 0.046 R$_{Jup}$, mass of M$_{P}$ = 4.84 $\pm$ 0.44 M$_{Jup}$ and eccentricity e = 0.086 $\pm$ 0.034. Some previous studies suggest that $\sim$4 M$_{Jup}$ may be a border between two separate formation scenarios (e.g., core accretion and disk instability) and that massive giant planets share similar formation mechanisms as lower-mass brown dwarfs. NGTS-13b is just above 4 M$_{Jup}$ making it an important addition to the statistical sample needed to understand the differences between various classes of substellar companions. The high metallicity, [Fe/H] = 0.25 $\pm$ 0.17, of NGTS-13 does not support previous suggestions that massive giants are found preferentially around lower metallicity host stars, but NGTS-13b does support findings that more massive and evolved hosts may have a higher occurrence of close-in massive planets than lower-mass unevolved stars.

Olivine and pyroxene are important mineral end-members for studying the sur-face material compositions of mafic bodies. The profiles of visible and near-infraredspectra of olivine-orthopyroxene mixtures systematically varied with their compositionratios. In our experiments, we combine the RELAB spectral database with a new spec-tral data obtained from some assembled olivine-orthopyroxene mixtures. We found thatthe commonly-used band area ratio (BAR, Cloutis et al. 1986) does not work well onour newly obtained spectral data. To investigate this issue, an empirical procedure basedon fitted results by modified Gaussian model is proposed to analyze the spectral curves.Following the new empirical procedure, the end-member abundances can be estimatedwith a 15% accuracy with some prior mineral absorption features. In addition, the mix-ture samples configured in our experiments are also irradiated by pulsed lasers to simulateand investigate the space weathering effects. Spectral deconvolution results confirm thatlow-content olivine on celestial bodies are difficult to measure and estimate. Therefore,the olivine abundance of space weathered materials may be underestimated from remotesensing data. This study may be used to quantify the spectral relationship of olivine-orthopyroxene mixtures and further reveal their correlation between the spectra of ordi-nary chondrites and silicate asteroids.

The Cygnus Superbubble (CSB) is a region of soft X-ray emission approximately 13 degrees wide in the direction of the local spiral arm. Such a large region might be the result of strong stellar winds and supernovae from nearby stellar nurseries, or it could be the result of a single event - a hypernova. HaloSat observed 4 non-overlapping 10 degree diameter fields in the CSB region over the 0.4-7 keV band. The CSB absorption and temperature was found to be consistent over all 4 fields, with a weighted average of 6.1x10^21 cm^-2 and 0.190 keV, respectively. These observations suggest that the CSB is a cohesive object with a singular origin. The total thermal energy for the CSB is estimated at 4x10^52 erg, based upon a shell-like physical model of the CSB. Absorption and distance estimates to Cyg OB associations are examined. The CSB absorption is found to be most consistent with the absorption seen in Cyg OB1, implying that the CSB lies at a similar distance of 1.1-1.4 kpc.

The second Gaia data release (DR2) delivers accurate and homogeneous photometry data of the whole sky to an exquisite quality, reaching down to the unprecedented milli-magnitude (mmag) level for the G, GRP, and GBP passbands. However, the presence of magnitude-dependent systematic effects at the 10 mmag level limits its power in scientific exploitation. In this work, using about half-million stars in common with the LAMOST DR5, we apply the spectroscopy-based stellar color regression method to calibrate the Gaia G-GRP and GBP-GRP colors. With an unprecedented precision of about 1 mmag, systematic trends with G magnitude are revealed for both colors in great detail, reflecting changes in instrument configurations. Color dependent trends are found for the GBP-GRP color and for stars brighter than G~11.5 mag. The calibration is up to 20 mmag in general and varies a few mmag/mag. A revised color-color diagram of Gaia DR2 is given, and some applications are briefly discussed.

We use a contrastive self-supervised learning framework to estimate distances to galaxies from their photometric images. We incorporate data augmentations from computer vision as well as an application-specific augmentation accounting for galactic dust. We find that the resulting visual representations of galaxy images are semantically useful and allow for fast similarity searches, and can be successfully fine-tuned for the task of redshift estimation. We show that (1) pretraining on a large corpus of unlabeled data followed by fine-tuning on some labels can attain the accuracy of a fully-supervised model which requires 2-4x more labeled data, and (2) that by fine-tuning our self-supervised representations using all available data labels in the Main Galaxy Sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we outperform the state-of-the-art supervised learning method.

Adaptive optics (AO) systems using tomographic estimation of three-dimensional structure of atmospheric turbulence requires vertical atmospheric turbulence profile, which describes turbulence strength as a function of altitude as a prior information. We propose a novel method to reconstruct the profile by applying Multi Aperture Scintillation Sensor (MASS) method to scintillation data obtained by a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SH-WFS). Compared to the traditional MASS, which uses atmospheric scintillation within 4 concentric annular apertures, the new method utilizes scintillation in several hundreds of spatial patterns, which are created by combinations of SH-WFS subapertures. Accuracy of the turbulence profile reconstruction is evaluated with Bayesian inference, and it is confirmed that turbulence profile with more than 10 layers can be reconstructed thanks to the large number of constraints. We demonstrate the new method with a SH-WFS attached to the 50 cm telescope at Tohoku university and confirm that general characteristics of atmospheric turbulence profile is reproduced.

When a GRB emitter stops emission abruptly, the observer would receive rapidly fading emission from high latitudes with respect to the line of sight, known as the "curvature effect". Identifying such emission from GRB prompt emission lightcurves would constrain the radius of prompt emission from the central engine and the composition of GRB jets. We perform a dedicated search of high-latitude emission (HLE) through spectral and temporal analyses of a sample of single-pulse bursts detected by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor on-board the {\it Fermi} satellite. We identify HLE from a sub-sample of bursts and constrain the emission radius to be $R_{\rm GRB} \sim (10^{15}-10^{16})$ cm from the central engine. Some bursts have the HLE decays faster than predicted by a constant Lorentz factor jet, suggesting that the emission region is undergoing acceleration during prompt emission. This supports the Poynting-flux-dominated jet composition for these bursts. The conclusion is consistent with previous results drawn from spectral-lag modeling of prompt emission and HLE analysis of X-ray flares.

Dynamical studies of asteroid populations in retrograde orbits, that is with orbital inclinations greater than 90 degrees, are interesting because the origin of such orbits is still unexplained. Generally, the population of retrograde asteroids includes mostly Centaurs and transneptunian objects (TNOs). A special case is the near-Earth object (343158) 2009 HC82 from the Apollo group. Another interesting object is the comet 333P/LINEAR, which for several years was considered the second retrograde object approaching Earth. Another comet in retrograde orbit, 161P Hartley/IRAS appears to be an object of similar type. Thanks to the large amount of observational data for these two comets, we tested various models of cometary non-gravitational forces applied to their dynamics. The goal was to estimate which of non-gravitational perturbations could affect the stability of retrograde bodies. In principle, we study the local stability by measuring the divergence of nearby orbits. We numerically determined Lyapunov characteristic indicators (LCI) and the associated Lyapunov times (LT). This time, our calculations were extended by more advanced models of non-gravitational perturbations (i.e. Yarkovsky drift and in selected cases cometary forces). This allowed us to estimate chaos in the Lyapunov sense. We found that the Yarkovsky effect for obliquities of $\gamma=0^{\circ}$ and $\gamma=180^{\circ}$ can change the LT substantially. In most cases, for the prograde rotation, we received more stable solutions. Moreover, we confirmed the role of retrograde resonances in this process. Additionally, the studied cometary effects also significantly influence the long-term behaviour of the selected comets. The LT can reach values from 100 to over 1000 years. Conclusions. All of our results indicate that the use of models with non-gravitational effects for retrograde bodies is clearly justified.

Galaxies have different morphology, gas content, and star formation rate (SFR) in dense environments like galaxy clusters. The impact of environmental density extends to several virial radii, and galaxies are pre-processed in filaments and groups, before falling into the cluster. Our goal is to quantify this pre-processing, in terms of gas content and SFR, as a function of density in cosmic filaments. We have observed the two first CO transitions in 163 galaxies with the IRAM-30m telescope, and added 82 measurements from the literature, for a sample of 245 galaxies in the filaments around Virgo. We gathered HI-21cm measurements from the literature, and observed 69 galaxies with the Nan\c{c}ay telescope, to complete our sample. We compare our filament galaxies with comparable samples from the Virgo cluster and with the isolated galaxies of the AMIGA sample. We find a clear progression from field, to filament, and cluster galaxies for decreasing SFR, increasing fraction of galaxies in the quenching phase, increasing proportion of early-type galaxies and decreasing gas content. Galaxies in the quenching phase, defined as having SFR below 1/3 of the main sequence rate, are between 0-20\% in the isolated sample, while they are 20-60\% in the filaments and 30-80\% in the Virgo cluster. Processes that lead to star formation quenching are already at play in filaments. They depend mostly on the local galaxy density, while the distance to filament spine is a secondary parameter. While the HI to stellar mass ratio decreases with local density by ~1 dex in the filaments, and ~2 dex in the Virgo cluster with respect to the field, the decrease is much less for the H$_2$ to stellar mass ratio. As the environmental density increases, the gas depletion time decreases, since the gas content decreases faster than the SFR. This suggests that gas depletion significantly precedes star formation quenching.

Inversion techniques applied to the radiative transfer equation for polarized light are capable of inferring the physical parameters in the solar atmosphere (temperature $T$, magnetic field ${\bf B}$, and line-of-sight velocity $v_{\rm los}$) from observations of the Stokes vector (i.e., spectropolarimetric observations) in spectral lines. Inferences are usually performed in the $(x,y,\tau_c)$ domain, where $\tau_c$ refers to the optical-depth scale. Generally, their determination in the $(x,y,z)$ volume is not possible due to the lack of a reliable estimation of the gas pressure, particularly in regions of the solar surface harboring strong magnetic fields. We aim to develop a new inversion code capable of reliably inferring the physical parameters in the $(x,y,z)$ domain. We combine, in a self-consistent way, an inverse solver for the radiative transfer equation (Firtez-DZ) with a solver for the magneto-hydrostatic (MHS) equilibrium, which derives realistic values of the gas pressure by taking the magnetic pressure and tension into account. We test the correct behavior of the newly developed code with spectropolarimetric observations of two sunspots recorded with the spectropolarimeter (SP) instrument on board the Hinode spacecraft, and we show how the physical parameters are inferred in the $(x,y,z)$ domain, with the Wilson depression of the sunspots arising as a natural consequence of the force balance. In particular, our approach significantly improves upon previous determinations that were based on semiempirical models. Our results open the door for the possibility of calculating reliable electric currents in three dimensions, ${\bf j}(x,y,z)$, in the solar photosphere. Further consistency checks would include a comparison with other methods that have recently been proposed and which achieve similar goals.

Context: Asteroids up to a few tens of meters in diameter may spin very fast, completing an entire rotation in a period of few minutes. These small and fast rotating bodies are thought to be monolithic objects, since the weak gravitational force due to their small size is not strong enough to counteract the large centripetal force caused by the fast rotation. Additionally, it is not clear whether the fast spin prevents dust and small particles (regolith) to be kept on their surface. Aims: We aim to develop a model to constrain the thermal conductivity of the surface of the small, fast-rotating near-Earth asteroids. This model may suggest whether the presence of regolith is likely or not. Methods: Our approach is based on the comparison between the measured Yarkovsky drift and a predicted value using a theoretical model, which depends on the orbital, physical and thermal parameters of the object. The necessary parameters are either deduced from statistical distribution derived for near-Earth asteroids population or determined from observations with associated uncertainty. With that information available, we perform Monte Carlo simulations, producing a probability density distribution for the thermal conductivity. Results: Applying our model to the super-fast rotator asteroid (499998) 2011 PT, we find that the measured Yarkovsky drift can be achieved only if the thermal conductivity $K$ of the surface is low. The resulting probability density function for the conductivity is bimodal, with two most likely values being around 0.0001 and 0.005 W m$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$. Based on this, we find that the probability of $K$ being smaller than 0.1 W m$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$ is at least 95 per cent. This low thermal conductivity could be a clue that the surface of 2011 PT is covered with a thermal insulating layer, composed by a regolith-like material similar to lunar dust.

Aims. To explore the chemical pattern of early-type stars with planets, searching for a possible signature of planet formation. In particular, we study a likely relation between the lambda Bootis chemical pattern and the presence of giant planets. Methods. We performed a detailed abundance determination in a sample of early-type stars with and without planets via spectral synthesis. Results. We compared the chemical pattern of the stars in our sample (13 stars with planets and 24 stars without detected planets) with those of lambda Bootis and other chemically peculiar stars. We have found four lambda Bootis stars in our sample, two of which present planets and circumstellar disks (HR 8799 and HD 169142) and one without planets detected (HD 110058). We have also identified the first lambda Bootis star orbited by a brown dwarf (zeta Del). This interesting pair lambda Bootis star + brown dwarf could help to test stellar formation scenarios. We found no unique chemical pattern for the group of early-type stars bearing giant planets. However, our results support, in principle, a suggested scenario in which giant planets orbiting pre-main-sequence stars possibly block the dust of the disk and result in a lambda Bootis-like pattern. On the other hand, we do not find a lambda Bootis pattern in different hot-Jupiter planet host stars, which do not support the idea of possible accretion from the winds of hot-Jupiters, recently proposed in the literature. Then, other mechanisms should account for the presence of the lambda Bootis pattern between main-sequence stars. Finally, we suggest that the formation of planets around lambda Bootis stars such as HR 8799 and HD 169142 is also possible through the core accretion process and not only gravitational instability [abridged]

Brown dwarfs and directly imaged exoplanets exhibit observational evidence for active atmospheric circulation, raising critical questions about mechanisms driving the circulation, its fundamental nature, and time variability. Our previous work demonstrated the crucial role of cloud radiative feedback on driving a vigorous atmospheric circulation using local models that assume a Cartesian geometry and constant Coriolis parameters. In this study, we explore the properties of the global dynamics. We show that, under relatively strong dissipation in the bottom layers of the model, horizontally isotropic vortices are prevalent at mid-to-high latitudes while large-scale zonally propagating waves are dominant at low latitudes near the observable layers. The equatorial waves have both eastward and westward phase speeds, and the eastward components with typical speeds of a few hundred m/s usually dominate the equatorial time variability. Lightcurves of the global simulations show variability with amplitudes from 0.5 percent to a few percent depending on the rotation period and viewing angle. The time evolution of simulated lightcurves is critically affected by the equatorial waves, showing wave beating effects and differences in the lightcurve periodicity to the intrinsic rotation period. The vertical extent of clouds is the largest at the equator and decreases poleward due to the increasing influence of rotation with increasing latitude. Under weaker bottom dissipation, strong and broad zonal jets develop and modify wave propagation and lightcurve variability. Our modeling results help to explain the puzzling time evolution of observed lightcurves, a slightly shorter period of variability in IR than in radio wavelengths, and the viewing angle dependence of variability amplitude and IR colors.

The sizable linear polarization signals produced by the scattering of anisotropic radiation in the core of the Ca I 4227 $\mathrm{\r{A}}$ line constitute an important observable for probing the inhomogeneous and dynamic plasma of the lower solar chromosphere. Here we show the results of a three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer complete frequency redistribution (CRD) investigation of the line's scattering polarization in a magneto-hydrodynamical 3D model of the solar atmosphere. We take into account not only the Hanle effect produced by the model's magnetic field, but also the symmetry breaking caused by the horizontal inhomogeneities and macroscopic velocity gradients. The spatial gradients of the horizontal components of the macroscopic velocities produce very significant forward scattering polarization signals without the need of magnetic fields, while the Hanle effect tends to depolarize them at the locations where the model's magnetic field is stronger than about 5 G. The standard 1.5D approximation is found to be unsuitable for understanding the line's scattering polarization, but we introduce a novel improvement to this approximation that produces results in qualitative agreement with the full 3D results. The instrumental degradation of the calculated polarization signals is also investigated, showing what can we expect to observe with the Visible Spectro-Polarimeter at the upcoming Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope.

The use of abundance ratios involving Y, or other slow-neutron capture elements, are routinely used to infer stellar ages.Aims.We aim to explain the observed [Y/H] and [Y/Mg] abundance ratios of star clusters located in the inner disc with a new prescription for mixing in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars. In a Galactic chemical evolution model, we adopt a new set of AGB stellar yields in which magnetic mixing is included. We compare the results of the model with a sample of abundances and ages of open clusters located at different Galactocentric distances. The magnetic mixing causes a less efficient production of Y at high metallicity. A non-negligible fraction of stars with super-solar metallicity is produced in the inner disc, and their Y abundances are affected by the reduced yields. The results of the new AGB model qualitatively reproduce the observed trends for both [Y/H] and [Y/Mg] vs age at different Galactocetric distances. Our results confirm from a theoretical point of view that the relationship between [Y/Mg] and stellar age cannot be universal, i.e., the same in every part of the Galaxy. It has a strong dependence on the star formation rate, on the s-process yields and their relation with metallicity, and thus it varies across the Galactic disc.

In a few years, space telescopes will investigate our Galaxy to detect evidence of life, mainly by observing rocky planets. In the last decade, the observation of exoplanet atmospheres and the theoretical works on biosignature gasses have experienced a considerable acceleration. The~most attractive feature of the realm of exoplanets is that 40\% of M dwarfs host super-Earths with a minimum mass between 1 and 30 Earth masses, orbital periods shorter than 50 days, and radii between those of the Earth and Neptune (1--3.8 R$_\oplus$). Moreover, the recent finding of cyanobacteria able to use far-red (FR) light for oxygenic photosynthesis due to the synthesis of chlorophylls $d$ and $f$, extending in vivo light absorption up to 750\ nm, suggests the possibility of exotic photosynthesis in planets around M dwarfs. Using innovative laboratory instrumentation, we exposed different cyanobacteria to an M dwarf star simulated irradiation, comparing their responses to those under solar and FR simulated lights.~As expected, in FR light, only the cyanobacteria able to synthesize chlorophyll $d$ and $f$ could grow. Surprisingly, all strains, both able or unable to use FR light, grew and photosynthesized under the M dwarf generated spectrum in a similar way to the solar light and much more efficiently than under the FR one. Our findings highlight the importance of simulating both the visible and FR light components of an M dwarf spectrum to correctly evaluate the photosynthetic performances of oxygenic organisms exposed under such an exotic light~condition.

The equatorial current sheets outside the light cylinder(LC) are thought as the promising site of the high energy emission based on the results of the recent numerical simulations. We explore the pulsar light curves and energy spectra by computing the curvature radiation based on the FIDO magnetospheres. The FIDO magnetospheres with a near force-free regime inside the LC and a finite but high conductivity outside the LC are constructed by a spectral algorithm. The pulsar high energy emission properties are explored by integrating the trajectories of the test particles under the influence of both the accelerating electric field and the curvature radiation losses. As an application, we compare the predicted energy-dependent light curves and energy spectra with those of the Crab and Vela pulsars published in Fermi 2PC catalog. We find that the observed characteristics of the light curves and energy spectra from Crab and Vela pulsars can be well reproduced by the FIDO model.

Eridanus II (EriII) is an ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxy (M_V=-7.1) located at a distance close to the Milky Way virial radius. Early shallow color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) indicated that it possibly hosted an intermediate-age or even young stellar population, which is unusual for a galaxy of this mass. In this paper, we present new ACS/HST CMDs reaching the oldest main sequence turnoff with excellent photometric precision, and derive a precise star formation history (SFH) for this galaxy through CMD-fitting. This SFH shows that the bulk of the stellar mass in Eri II formed in an extremely short star formation burst at the earliest possible time. The derived star formation rate profile has a width at half maximum of 500 Myr and reaches a value compatible with null star formation 13 Gyr ago. However, tests with mock stellar populations and with the CMD of the globular cluster M92 indicate that the star formation period could be shorter than 100 Myr. From the quantitative determination of the amount of mass turned into stars in this early star formation burst (~2x10^5 Msun) we infer the number of SNe events and the corresponding energy injected into the interstellar medium. For reasonable estimates of the EriII virial mass and values of the coupling efficiency of the SNe energy, we conclude that EriII could be quenched by SNe feedback alone, thus casting doubts on the need to invoke cosmic reionization as the preferred explanation for the early quenching of old UFD galaxies.

SPICA is a mid to far infra-red space mission to explore the processes that form galaxies, stars and planets. SPICA/SAFARI is the far infrared spectrometer that provides near-background limited observations between 34 and 230 micrometers. The core of SAFARI consists of 4 grating modules, dispersing light onto 5 arrays of TES detectors per module. The grating modules provide low resolution (250) instantaneous spectra over the entire wavelength range. The high resolution (1500 to 12000) mode is accomplished by placing a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) in front of the gratings. Each grating module detector sees an interferogram from which the high resolution spectrum can be constructed. SAFARI data will be a convolution of complex spectral, temporal and spatial information. Along with spectral calibration accuracy of <1%, a relative flux calibration of 1% and an absolute flux calibration accuracy of 10% are required. This paper will discuss the calibration strategy and its impact on the instrument design of SAFARI

One of the suggested thick disc formation mechanisms is that they were born fast and in-situ from a turbulent clumpy disc. Subsequently, thin discs formed slowly within them from left-overs of the turbulent phase and from material accreted through cold flows and minor mergers. In this letter, I propose an observational test to verify this hypothesis. By combining thick disc and total stellar masses of edge-on galaxies with galaxy stellar mass functions calculated in the redshift range $z\leq3.0$, I derive a positive correlation between the age of the youngest stars in thick discs and the stellar mass of the host galaxy; galaxies with a present-day stellar mass $\mathcal{M}_\star(z=0)<10^{10}\,\mathcal{M}_\odot$ have thick disc stars as young as $4-6\,{\rm Gyr}$, whereas the youngest stars in the thick discs of Milky-Way-like galaxies are $\sim10\,{\rm Gyr}$ old. I test this prediction against the scarce available thick disc age estimates, all of them of galaxies with $\mathcal{M}_\star(z=0)\gtrsim10^{10}\,\mathcal{M}_\odot$ and find that field spiral galaxies seem to follow the expectation. On the other hand, my derivation predicts too low ages for the thick discs in lenticular galaxies, indicating a fast early evolution for S0 galaxies. I propose to conclusively test whether thick discs formed fast and in-situ by obtaining the ages of thick discs in field galaxies with masses $\mathcal{M}_\star(z=0)\sim10^{9.5}\,\mathcal{M}_\odot$ and checking whether they contain $\sim5\,{\rm Gyr}$-old stars.

We study X-ray spectra acquired during the rise of the outburst of the accreting black-hole binary MAXI J1820+070. We find significant changes of the inner radius of the accretion disk within the luminous part of the hard spectral state, with the disk inner truncation radius changing from more than 100 gravitational radii to $\sim$10. The main trend is a decrease with the decreasing spectral hardness. We find the spectra at photon energies $>$3 keV require the accretion flow to be structured, with at least two components with different spectral slopes. The harder component both dominates the bolometric luminosity and forms a strong narrow core of the X-ray reflection features. The softer component is responsible for the underlying broader reflection features. The data are compatible with a hot Comptonizing plasma present downstream the disk truncation radius, which emits the harder spectral component. However, its reflection is from remote parts of the disk. The second Comptonizing component appears to form a corona above the truncated disk up to some transition radius. Our findings can readily explain the changes of the characteristic variability time scales, found in other works, being driven by the changes of the disk characteristic radii.

Using a sample of red giant stars from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) Data Release 16, we infer the conditional distribution $p([\alpha/\text{Fe}]\,|\,[\text{Fe/H}])$ in the Milky Way disk for the $\alpha$-elements Mg, O, Si, S, and Ca. In each bin of [Fe/H] and Galactocentric radius $R$, we model $p([\alpha/\text{Fe}])$ as a sum of two Gaussians, representing "low-$\alpha$" and "high-$\alpha$" populations with scale heights $z_1=0.45\,\text{kpc}$ and $z_2=0.95\,\text{kpc}$, respectively. By accounting for age-dependent and $z$-dependent selection effects in APOGEE, we infer the [$\alpha$/Fe] distributions that would be found for a fair sample of long-lived stars covering all $z$. Near the Solar circle, this distribution is clearly bimodal at sub-solar [Fe/H], with the low-$\alpha$ and high-$\alpha$ peaks separated by a valley that is $\sim 3$ times lower. In agreement with previous results, we find that the high-$\alpha$ population is more prominent at smaller $R$, lower [Fe/H], and larger $|z|$, and that the sequence separation is smaller for Si and Ca than for Mg, O, and S. We find significant intrinsic scatter in [$\alpha$/Fe] at fixed [Fe/H] for both the low-$\alpha$ and high-$\alpha$ populations, typically $\sim 0.04$-dex. The means, dispersions, and relative amplitudes of this two-Gaussian description, and the dependence of these parameters on $R$, [Fe/H], and $\alpha$-element, provide a quantitative target for chemical evolution models and a test for hydrodynamic simulations of disk galaxy formation. We argue that explaining the observed bimodality will probably require one or more sharp transitions in the disk's gas accretion, star formation, or outflow history in addition to radial mixing of stellar populations.

The modification of the rotating vector model in the case of magnetars are calculated. Magnetars may have twisted magnetic field compared with normal pulsars. The polarization position angle of magnetars will change in the case of a twisted magnetic field. For a twisted dipole field, we found that the position angle will change both vertically and horizontally. During the untwisting process of the magnetar magnetosphere, the modifications of the position angle will evolve with time monotonously. This may explain the evolution of the position angle in magnetar PSR J1622-4950 and XTE J1810-197. The relation between the emission point and the line of sight will also change. We suggest every magnetospheric models of magnetars also calculate the corresponding changes of position angle in their models. Order of magnitude estimation formula for doing this is given. This opens the possibility to extract the magnetic field geometry of magnetars from their radio polarization observations.

Low-mass stars show evidence of vigorous magnetic activity in the form of large flares and coronal mass ejections. Such space weather events may have important ramifications for the habitability and observational fingerprints of exoplanetary atmospheres. Here, using a suite of three-dimensional coupled chemistry-climate model (CCM) simulations, we explore effects of time-dependent stellar activity on rocky planet atmospheres orbiting G-, K-, and M-dwarf stars. We employ observed data from the MUSCLES campaign and Transiting Exoplanet Satellite Survey and test a range of rotation period, magnetic field strength, and flare frequency assumptions. We find that recurring flares drive K- and M-dwarf planet atmospheres into chemical equilibria that substantially deviate from their pre-flare regimes, whereas G-dwarf planet atmospheres quickly return to their baseline states. Interestingly, simulated O$_2$-poor and O$_2$-rich atmospheres experiencing flares produce similar mesospheric nitric oxide abundances, suggesting that stellar flares can highlight otherwise undetectable chemical species. Applying a radiative transfer model to our CCM results, we find that flare-driven transmission features of bio-indicating species, such as nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide, and nitric acid, show particular promise for detection by future instruments.

We present the global scaling relations between the neutral atomic hydrogen gas, the stellar disk and the star forming disk in a sample of 228 nearby galaxies that are both spatially and spectrally resolved in HI line emission. We have used HI data from the Westerbork survey of HI in Irregular and Spiral galaxies (WHISP) and Mid Infrared (3.4 $\mu m$, 11.6 $\mu m$) data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) survey, combining two datasets that are well-suited to such a study in terms of uniformity, resolution and sensitivity. We utilize the novel method of deriving scaling relations for quantities enclosed within the stellar disk rather than integrating over the HI disk and find the global scaling relations to be tighter when defined for enclosed quantities. We also present new HI intensity maps for the WHISP survey derived using a robust noise rejection technique along with corresponding velocity fields.

We present results from Speckle inteferometric observations of fifteen visual binaries and one double-line spectroscopic binary, carried out with the HRCam Speckle camera of the SOAR 4.1 m telescope. These systems were observed as a part of an on-going survey to characterize the binary population in the solar vicinity, out to a distance of 250 parsec. We obtained orbital elements and mass sums for our sample of visual binaries. The orbits were computed using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm that delivers maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters, as well as posterior probability density functions that allow us to evaluate their uncertainty. Their periods cover a range from 5 yr to more than 500 yr; and their spectral types go from early A to mid M - implying total system masses from slightly more than 4 MSun down to 0.2 MSun. They are located at distances between approximately 12 and 200 pc, mostly at low Galactic latitude. For the double-line spectroscopic binary YSC8 we present the first combined astrometric/radial velocity orbit resulting from a self-consistent fit, leading to individual component masses of 0.897 +/- 0.027 MSun and 0.857 +/- 0.026 MSun; and an orbital parallax of 26.61 +/- 0.29 mas, which compares very well with the Gaia DR2 trigonometric parallax (26.55 +/- 0.27 mas). In combination with published photometry and trigonometric parallaxes, we place our objects on an H-R diagram and discuss their evolutionary status. We also present a thorough analysis of the precision and consistency of the photometry available for them.

Less than one percent of the discovered small solar system objects have highly inclined orbits ($i>60^{\circ}$), and revolve around the Sun on near-polar or retrograde orbits. The origin and evolutionary history of these objects are not yet clear. In this work we study the surface properties and orbital dynamics of selected high-inclination objects. BVRI photometric observations were performed in 2019-2020 using the 2.0m telescope at the Terskol Observatory and the 2.6m telescope at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. Additionally, we searched for high-inclination objects in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Pan-STARRS. The dynamics of the selected objects was studied using numerical simulations. We obtained new photometric observations of six high-inclination objects. All of the objects have similar $B-V$, $V-R$, $R-I$ colours, which are close to those of moderately red TNOs and grey Centaurs. The photometric data that were extracted from the all-sky surveys also correspond to moderately red surfaces of high-inclination objects. No signs of ultra-red material on the surface of high-inclination asteroids were found, which supports the results of previous works. The comet C/2018 DO4 (Lemmon) revealed some complex morphology with structures that could be associated with particles that were ejected from the cometary nucleus. For objects 2013 LU28, 2015 KZ120, and 2020 EP we estimated future and past lifetimes on their orbits. It appears that the orbits of considered objects are strongly chaotic, and with the available accuracy of the orbital elements no reliable predictions can be made about their distant past or future. The lifetimes of high-inclination objects turned out to be highly non-sensitive to the precision of the orbital elements, and to the Yarkovsky orbital drift.

We present a detailed timing and spectral study of an extremely variable narrow-line Seyfert~1 galaxy NGC 4748 using observations in the year 2017 and 2014 performed with AstroSat and XMM-Newton, respectively. Both observations show extremely variable soft and hard X-ray emission that are correlated with each other. In the 2014 data set, the source retains its general behaviour of "softer when brighter" while the 2017 observation exhibits a "harder when brighter" nature. Such changing behaviour is rare in AGNs and is usually observed in the black hole binary systems. The "harder when brighter" is confirmed with the anti-correlation between the photon index and the 0.3-10 keV power-law flux. This suggests a possible change in the accretion mode from standard to the advection-dominated flow. Additionally, both the observations show soft X-ray excess below 2 keV over the power-law continuum. This excess was fitted with a single or multiple blackbody component(s). The origin of soft excess during the 2017 observation is likely due to the cool Comptonization as the photon index changes with time. On the other hand, the broad iron line and delayed UV emission during the 2014 observation strongly suggest that X-ray illumination onto the accretion disk and reflection and reprocessing play a significant role in this AGN.

Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are atomic nuclei from space with vastly higher energies than any other particles ever observed. Their origin and chemical composition remain a mystery. As we show here, the large- and intermediate-angular-scale anisotropies observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory are a powerful tool for understanding not only the origin of UHECRs but also their composition and the properties of Galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. Without specifying any particular production mechanism or source location, but only postulating that the source distribution follows the matter distribution of the local Universe, a good accounting of the magnitude, direction and energy dependence of the dipole anisotropy at energies above $8 \times 10^{18}$ eV is obtained, after taking into account the impact of energy losses during propagation (the "GZK horizon") and deflections in the Galactic magnetic field (GMF). The observed dipole anisotropy is incompatible with a pure proton composition in this scenario. With a more accurate treatment of energy losses, it should be possible to constrain the UHECR composition and properties of the extragalactic magnetic field, self-consistently improve the GMF model, and potentially expose individual UHECR sources.

Context. The recent discovery of much greater magnetic flux cancellation taking place at the photosphere than previously realised has led us in our previous works to suggest magnetic reconnection driven by flux cancellation as the cause of a wide range of dynamic phenomena, including jets of various kinds and solar atmospheric heating. Aims. Previously, the theory considered energy release at a two-dimensional current sheet. Here we develop the theory further by extending it to an axisymmetric current sheet in three dimensions without resorting to complex variable theory. Methods. We analytically study reconnection and treat the current sheet as a three-dimensional structure. We apply the theory to the cancellation of two fragments of equal but opposite flux that approach each another and are located in an overlying horizontal magnetic field. Results. The energy release occurs in two phases. During Phase 1, a separator is formed and reconnection is driven at it as it rises to a maximum height and then moves back down to the photosphere, heating the plasma and accelerating a plasma jet as it does so. During Phase 2 the fluxes cancel in the photosphere and accelerate a mixture of cool and hot plasma upwards.

Jupiter has nearly 8000~known co-orbital asteroids orbiting in the L4 and L5 Lagrange points called Jupiter Trojan asteroids. Aside from the greater number density of the L4 cloud the two clouds are in many ways considered to be identical. Using sparse photometric data taken by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) for 863 L4 Trojans and 380 L5 Trojans we derive the shape distribution for each of the clouds and find that, on average, the L4 asteroids are more elongated than the L5 asteroids. This shape difference is most likely due to the greater collision rate in the L4 cloud that results from its larger population. We additionally present the phase functions and $c-o$ colours of 266~objects.

Using the Yebes 40m and IRAM 30m radiotelescopes, we detected two series of harmonically related lines in space that can be fitted to a symmetric rotor. The lines have been seen towards the cold dense cores TMC-1, L483, L1527, and L1544. High level of theory ab initio calculations indicate that the best possible candidate is the acetyl cation, CH3CO+, which is the most stable product resulting from the protonation of ketene. We have produced this species in the laboratory and observed its rotational transitions Ju = 10 up to Ju = 27. Hence, we report the discovery of CH3CO+ in space based on our observations, theoretical calculations, and laboratory experiments. The derived rotational and distortion constants allow us to predict the spectrum of CH3CO+ with high accuracy up to 500 GHz. We derive an abundance ratio N(H2CCO)/N(CH3CO+) = 44. The high abundance of the protonated form of H2CCO is due to the high proton affinity of the neutral species. The other isomer, H2CCOH+, is found to be 178.9 kJ/mol above CH3CO+. The observed intensity ratio between the K=0 and K=1 lines, 2.2, strongly suggests that the A and E symmetry states have suffered interconversion processes due to collisions with H and/or H2, or during their formation through the reaction of H3+ with H2CCO.

Broad Balmer emission lines in active galactic nuclei (AGN) may display dramatic changes in amplitude, even disappearance and re-appearance in some sources. As a nearby galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.0264, Mrk 590 suffered such a cycle of Seyfert type changes between 2006 and 2017. Over the last fifty years, Mrk 590 also underwent a powerful continuum outburst and a slow fading from X-rays to radio wavelengths with a peak bolometric luminosity reaching about ten per cent of the Eddington luminosity. To track its past accretion and ejection activity, we performed very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 1.6 GHz in 2015. The EVN observations reveal a faint (~1.7 mJy) radio jet extending up to ~2.8 mas (projected scale ~1.4 pc) toward north, and probably resulting from the very intensive AGN activity. To date, such a parsec-scale jet is rarely seen in the known changing-look AGN. The finding of the faint jet provides further strong support for variable accretion as the origin of the type changes in Mrk 590.

The parabolic structure of the secondary or conjugate spectra of pulsars is often the result of isolated one-dimensional (or at least highly anistropic) lenses in the ISM. The curvature of these features contains information about the velocities of the Earth, ISM, and pulsar along the primary axis of the lens. As a result, measuring variations in the curvature over the course of a year, or the orbital period for pulsars in binaries, can constrain properties of the screen and pulsar. In particular the pulsar distance and orbital inclination for binary systems can be found for multiple screens or systems with prior information on $\sin(i)$. By mapping the conjugate spectra into a space where the main arc and inverted arclets are straight lines, we extract the full coherent information content from the inverted arclet curvatures and phases using eigenvectors to uniquely and optimally retrieve phase information. This allows for a higher precision measurement than the standard Hough transform for systems where these features are available. Our technique also directly yields the best fit 1D impulse response function for the interstellar lens given in terms of the Doppler shift, time delay, and magnification of images on the sky as seen from a single observatory. This can be extended for use in holographic imaging of the lens by combining multiple telescopes. We present examples of this new method for both simulated data and actual observations of PSR B0834+06.

Quantifying tidal interactions in close-in two-body systems is of prime interest since they have a crucial impact on the architecture and on the rotational history of the bodies. Various studies have shown that the dissipation of tides in either body is very sensitive to its structure and to its dynamics, like differential rotation which exists in the outer convective enveloppe of solar-like stars and giant gaseous planets. In particular, tidal waves may strongly interact with zonal flows at the so-called corotation resonances, where the wave's Doppler-shifted frequency cancels out. We aim to provide a deep physical understanding of the dynamics of tidal inertial waves at corotation resonances, in the presence of differential rotation profiles typical of low-mass stars and giant planets. By developping an inclined shearing box, we investigate the propagation and the transmission of free inertial waves at corotation, and more generally at critical levels, which are singularities in the governing wave differential equation. Through the construction of an invariant called the wave action flux, we identify different regimes of wave transmission at critical levels, which are confirmed with a one-dimensional three-layer numerical model. We find that inertial waves can be either fully transmitted, strongly damped, or even amplified after crossing a critical level. The occurrence of these regimes depends on the assumed profile of differential rotation, on the nature as well as the latitude of the critical level, and on wave parameters such as the inertial frequency and the longitudinal and vertical wavenumbers. Waves can thus either deposit their action flux to the fluid when damped at critical levels, or they can extract action flux to the fluid when amplified at critical levels. Both situations could lead to significant angular momentum exchange between the tidally interacting bodies.

We report the discovery of a luminous "yellow" post-asymptotic-giant-branch (PAGB) star in the globular cluster (GC) M19 (NGC 6273), identified during our uBVI survey of Galactic GCs. The uBVI photometric system is optimized to detect stars with large Balmer discontinuities, indicating very low surface gravities and high luminosities. The spectral-energy distribution (SED) of the star is consistent with an effective temperature of about 6250 K and a surface gravity of $\log g=0.5$. We use Gaia data to show that the star's proper motion and radial velocity are consistent with cluster membership. One aim of our program is to test yellow PAGB stars as candidate Population II standard candles for determining extragalactic distances. We derive a visual absolute magnitude of $M_V=-3.39\pm0.09$ for the M19 star. This is in close agreement with the $M_V$ values found for yellow PAGB stars in the GCs omega Cen, NGC 5986, and M79, indicating a very narrow luminosity function. These objects are four magnitudes brighter than RR Lyrae variables, and they can largely avoid the issues of interstellar extinction that are a problem for Population I distance indicators. We also identified a second luminous PAGB object in M19, this one a hotter "UV-bright" star. Its SED is consistent with an effective temperature of about 11,750 K and $\log g=2.0$. The two objects have nearly identical bolometric luminosities, $\log L/L_\odot=3.24$ and 3.22, respectively.

We present an Effective Field Theory based reconstruction of quintessence models of dark energy directly from cosmological data. We show that current cosmological data possess enough constraining power to test several quintessence model properties for redshifts $z\in [0,1.5]$ with no assumptions about the behavior of the scalar field potential. We use measurements of the cosmic microwave background, supernovae distances, and the clustering and lensing of galaxies to constrain the evolution of the dark energy equation of state, Swampland Conjectures, the shape of the scalar field reconstructed potential, and the structure of its phase space. The standard cosmological model still remains favored by data and, within quintessence models, deviations from its expansion history are bounded to be below the 10% level at 95% confidence at any redshift below $z=1.5$.

We use the wealth of deep archival optical spectroscopy on the GOODS-South field from Keck, the VLT, and other facilities to select candidate high-redshift Lyman continuum (LyC) leakers in the Hubble Deep UV Legacy Survey (HDUV) dataset. We select sources at $2.35 < z < 3.05$, where the HST/WFC3 F275W filter probes only the redshifted LyC. We find five moderately F275W-bright sources (four detected at $\gtrsim3\sigma$ significance) in this redshift range. However, two of these show evidence in their optical spectra for contamination by foreground galaxies along the line-of-sight. We then perform an F275W error-weighted sum of the fluxes of all 129 galaxies at $2.35 < z < 3.05$ in both the GOODS-N and GOODS-S HDUV areas to estimate the total ionizing flux. The result is dominated by just five candidate F275W-bright LyC sources. Lastly, we examine the contributions to the metagalactic ionizing background, finding that, at the sensitivity of the HDUV F275W data and allowing for the effects of LyC transmission in the intergalactic medium (IGM), star-forming galaxies can match the UV flux required to maintain an ionized IGM at $z \sim 2.5$.

The scientific impact of current and upcoming photometric galaxy surveys is contingent on our ability to obtain redshift estimates for large numbers of faint galaxies. In the absence of spectroscopically confirmed redshifts, broad-band photometric redshift point estimates (photo-$z$s) have been superseded by photo-$z$ probability density functions (PDFs) that encapsulate their nontrivial uncertainties. Initial applications of photo-$z$ PDFs in weak gravitational lensing studies of cosmology have obtained the redshift distribution function $\mathcal{N}(z)$ by employing computationally straightforward stacking methodologies that violate the laws of probability. In response, mathematically self-consistent models of varying complexity have been proposed in an effort to answer the question, "What is the right way to obtain the redshift distribution function $\mathcal{N}(z)$ from a catalog of photo-$z$ PDFs?" This letter aims to motivate adoption of such principled methods by addressing the contrapositive of the more common presentation of such models, answering the question, "Under what conditions do traditional stacking methods successfully recover the true redshift distribution function $\mathcal{N}(z)$?" By placing stacking in a rigorous mathematical environment, we identify two such conditions: those of perfectly informative data and perfectly informative prior information. Stacking has maintained its foothold in the astronomical community for so long because the conditions in question were only weakly violated in the past. These conditions, however, will be strongly violated by future galaxy surveys. We therefore conclude that stacking must be abandoned in favor of mathematically supported methods in order to advance observational cosmology.

The bright scintillation of pure CsI operated at liquid-nitrogen temperature makes of this material a promising dark matter and neutrino detector. We present the first measurement of its quenching factor for nuclear recoils. Our findings indicate it is indistinguishable from that for sodium-doped CsI at room temperature. Additional properties such as light yield, afterglow, scintillation decay properties for electron and nuclear recoils, and energy proportionality are studied over the \mbox{108-165 K} temperature range, confirming the vast potential of this medium for rare-event searches.

Without evidence for occupying a special time or location, we should not assume that we inhabit privileged circumstances in the Universe. As a result, within the context of all Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars, the origin of a technological civilization on Earth should be considered a single outcome of a random process. We show that in such a Copernican framework, which is inherently optimistic about the prevalence of life in the Universe, the likelihood of the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, hosting a radio-transmitting civilization is $\sim 10^{-8}$. This rules out, \textit{a priori}, Breakthrough Listen Candidate 1 (BLC1) as a technological radio signal from the Alpha Centauri system, as such a scenario would violate the Copernican principle by about eight orders of magnitude. We also show that the Copernican principle is consistent with the vast majority of Fast Radio Bursts being natural in origin.

We consider interior static and spherically symmetric solutions in a gravity theory that extends the standard Hilbert-Einstein action with a Lagrangian constructed from a three-form field $A_{\alpha \beta \gamma}$, which generates, via the field strength and a potential term, a new component in the total energy-momentum tensor of the gravitational system. We formulate the field equations in Schwarzschild coordinates and investigate their solutions numerically for different equations of state of neutron and quark matter, by assuming that the three field potential is either a constant or possesses a Higgs-like form. Moreover, stellar models, described by the stiff fluid, radiation-like, bag model and the Bose-Einstein condensate equations of state are explicitly obtained in both general relativity and three-form gravity, thus allowing an in-depth comparison between the astrophysical predictions of these two gravitational theories. As a general result we find that for all the considered equations of state, three-form field stars are more massive than their general relativistic counterparts. As a possible astrophysical application of the obtained results, we suggest that the 2.5$M_{\odot}$ mass compact object, associated with the GW190814 gravitational wave event, could be in fact a neutron or a quark star described by the three-form field gravity theory.

Much of the success of gravitational-wave astronomy rests on perturbation theory. Historically, perturbative analysis of gravitational-wave sources has largely focused on post-Newtonian theory. However, strong-field perturbation theory is essential in many cases such as the quasinormal ringdown following the merger of a binary system, tidally perturbed compact objects, and extreme-mass-ratio inspirals. In this review, motivated primarily by small-mass-ratio binaries but not limited to them, we provide an overview of essential methods in (i) black hole perturbation theory, (ii) orbital mechanics in Kerr spacetime, and (iii) gravitational self-force theory. Our treatment of black hole perturbation theory covers most common methods, including the Teukolsky and Regge-Wheeler-Zerilli equations, methods of metric reconstruction, and Lorenz-gauge formulations, casting them in a unified notation. Our treatment of orbital mechanics covers quasi-Keplerian and action-angle descriptions of bound geodesics and accelerated orbits, osculating geodesics, near-identity averaging transformations, multiscale expansions, and orbital resonances. Our summary of self-force theory's foundations is brief, covering the main ideas and results of matched asymptotic expansions, local expansion methods, puncture schemes, and point particle descriptions. We conclude by combining the above methods in a multiscale expansion of the perturbative Einstein equations, leading to adiabatic and post-adiabatic evolution and waveform-generation schemes. Our presentation includes some new results but is intended primarily as a reference for practitioners.