Papers for Monday, Mar 15 2021

In this paper, as the third part of the third step of our study on developing data analysis procedures for using 3-dimensional information offered by directional direct Dark Matter detection experiments in the future, we introduce a 3-dimensional effective velocity distribution of halo Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), which, instead of the theoretically prediction of the entire Galactic Dark Matter particles, describes the actual velocity distribution of WIMPs scattering off (specified) target nuclei in an underground detector. Its target and WIMP-mass dependences as well as ("annual" modulations of) its "anisotropy" in the Equatorial/laboratory and even the Galactic coordinate systems will be demonstrated and discussed in detail. For readers' reference, all simulation plots presented in this paper (and more) can be found "in animation" on our online (interactive) demonstration webpage (this http URL).

Dust is an essential ingredient of galaxies, determining the physical and chemical conditions in the interstellar medium. Several complementary observational evidences indicate that the cosmic dust mass density significantly drops from redshift $z=1$ to $z=0$. Clearly, and for the first time during cosmic evolution, dust must be destroyed more rapidly than it is formed. By considering the dust production/destruction processes acting in this cosmic time lapse, we find that the drop can be explained if dust is mainly destroyed by astration (49\% contribution in the fiducial case) and supernova shocks within galaxies (42\%). Our results further imply that on average each supernova destroys only $M_{d,sn} =0.45\, M_\odot$ of dust, i.e. $5-10$ times less than usually assumed, with a hard upper limit of $M_{d,sn} < {3.0} M_\odot$ set by the available metal budget and maximal grain growth. The lower efficiency might be explained by effective shielding of dust against shock processing in pre-supernova wind shells.

Close white dwarf binaries play an important role across a range of astrophysics, including thermonuclear supernovae, the Galactic low-frequency gravitational wave signal, and the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. Progress in developing a detailed understanding of the complex, multi-threaded evolutionary pathways of these systems is limited by the lack of statistically sound observational constraints on the relative fractions of various sub-populations, and their physical properties. The available samples are small, heterogeneous, and subject to a multitude of observational biases. Our overarching goal is to establish a volume-limited sample of all types of white dwarf binaries that is representative of the underlying population as well as sufficiently large to serve as a benchmark for future binary population models. In this first paper, we provide an overview of the project, and assemble reference samples within a distance limit of 300\,pc of known white dwarf binaries spanning the most common sub-classes: post-common envelope binaries containing a white dwarf plus a main sequence star, cataclysmic variables and double-degenerate binaries. We carefully vet the members of these "Gold" Samples, which span most of the evolutionary parameter space of close white dwarf binary evolution. We also explore the differences between magnitude and volume limited close white dwarf binary samples, and discuss how these systems evolve in their observational properties across the Gaia Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.

We report the direct imaging discovery of a low-mass companion to the nearby accelerating A star, HIP 109427, with the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument coupled with the MKID Exoplanet Camera (MEC) and CHARIS integral field spectrograph. CHARIS data reduced with reference star PSF subtraction yield 1.1-2.4 $\mu$m spectra. MEC reveals the companion in $Y$ and $J$ band at a comparable signal-to-noise ratio using stochastic speckle discrimination, with no PSF subtraction techniques. Combined with complementary follow-up $L_{\rm p}$ photometry from Keck/NIRC2, the SCExAO data favors a spectral type, effective temperature, and luminosity of M4-M5.5, 3000-3200 $K$, and $\log_{10}(L/L_{\rm \odot}) = -2.28^{+0.04}_{-0.04}$, respectively. Relative astrometry of HIP 109427 B from SCExAO/CHARIS and Keck/NIRC2, and complementary Gaia-Hipparcos absolute astrometry of the primary favor a semimajor axis of $6.55^{+3.0}_{-0.48}$ au, an eccentricity of $0.54^{+0.28}_{-0.15}$, an inclination of $66.7^{+8.5}_{-14}$ degrees, and a dynamical mass of $0.280^{+0.18}_{-0.059}$ $M_{\odot}$. This work shows the potential for extreme AO systems to utilize speckle statistics in addition to widely-used post-processing methods to directly image faint companions to nearby stars near the telescope diffraction limit.

Variability is a general property of accretion discs and their associated jets. We introduce a semi-analytic model for particle acceleration and radio jet/lobe evolution and explore the effect of Myr timescale jet variability on the particles accelerated by an AGN jet. Our work is motivated by the need for local powerful ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (UHECR) sources and evidence for variability in AGN and radio galaxies. Our main results are: i) UHECR and nonthermal radiative luminosities track the jet power but with a response set by the escape and cooling times, respectively; ii) jet variability produces structure in the electron, synchrotron and UHECR spectra that deviates from that produced for a constant jet power - in particular, spectral hardening features may be signatures of variability; iii) the cutoff in the integrated CR spectrum is stretched out due to the variation in jet power (and, consequently, maximum CR energy). The resulting spectrum is the convolution of the jet power distribution and the source term. We derive an approximate form for a log-normal distribution of powers; iv) we introduce the idea of $\sim 10$ GeV 'proxy electrons' that are cooling at the same rate that UHECRs of rigidity 10 EV are escaping from the source, and determine the corresponding photon frequencies that probe escaping UHECRs. Our results demonstrate the link between the history of an astrophysical particle accelerator and its particle contents, nonthermal emission and UHECR spectrum, with consequences for observations of radio galaxies and UHECR source models.

The discovery of hundreds of QSOs in the first Gyr of the Universe powered by already grown SMBHs challenges our knowledge of SMBH formation. In particular, investigations of $z>6$ QSOs presenting notable properties can provide unique information on the physics of fast SMBH growth in the early universe. We present the results of follow-up observations of the $z=6.515$ radio-quiet QSO PSO167-13, which is interacting with a close companion galaxy. The PSO167-13 system has been recently proposed to host the first heavily obscured X-ray source at high redshift. We observed PSO167-13 with Chandra/ACIS-S (177 ks), and obtained new spectroscopic observations (7.2 h) with Magellan/FIRE. No significant X-ray emission is detected from the PSO167-13 system, suggesting that the obscured X-ray source previously tentatively detected was either due to a strong background fluctuation or is highly variable. The upper limit (90% confidence level) on the X-ray emission of PSO167-13 ($L_{2-10\,\mathrm{keV}}<8.3\times10^{43}\,\mathrm{erg s^{-1}}$) is the lowest available for a $z>6$ QSO. The ratio between the X-ray and UV luminosity of $\alpha_{ox}<-1.95$ makes PSO167-13 a strong outlier from the $\alpha_{ox}-L_{UV}$ and $L_X-L_{\mathrm{bol}}$ relations. In particular, its X-ray emission is $>6$ times weaker than the expectation based on its UV luminosity. The new Magellan/FIRE spectrum of PSO167-13 is strongly affected by the unfavorable sky conditions, but the tentatively detected C IV and Mg II emission lines appear strongly blueshifted. The most plausible explanations for the X-ray weakness of PSO167-13 are intrinsic weakness or small-scale absorption by Compton-thick material. The possible strong blueshift of its emission lines hints at the presence of nuclear winds, which could be related to its X-ray weakness.

We present an analysis of the most massive white dwarf candidates in the Montreal White Dwarf Database 100 pc sample. We identify 25 objects that would be more massive than $1.3~M_{\odot}$ if they had pure H atmospheres and CO cores, including two outliers with unusually high photometric mass estimates near the Chandrasekhar limit. We provide follow-up spectroscopy of these two white dwarfs and show that they are indeed significantly below this limit. We expand our model calculations for CO core white dwarfs up to $M=1.334\ M_\odot$, which corresponds to the high-density limit of our equation-of-state tables, $\rho = 10^9$ g cm$^{-3}$. We find many objects close to this maximum mass of our CO core models. A significant fraction of ultramassive white dwarfs are predicted to form through binary mergers. Merger populations can reveal themselves through their kinematics, magnetism, or rapid rotation rates. We identify four outliers in transverse velocity, four likely magnetic white dwarfs (one of which is also an outlier in transverse velocity), and one with rapid rotation, indicating that at least 8 of the 25 ultramassive white dwarfs in our sample are likely merger products.

We use a time-dependent hydrodynamic code and a non-LTE Monte Carlo code to model disk dissipation for the Be star 66 Ophiuchi. We compiled 63 years of observations from 1957 to 2020 to encompass the complete history of the growth and subsequent dissipation of the star's disk. Our models are constrained by new and archival photometry, spectroscopy and polarization observations, allowing us to model the disk dissipation event. Using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, we find 66 Oph is consistent with standard B2Ve stellar properties. We computed a grid of 61568 Be star disk models to constrain the density profile of the disk before dissipation using observations of the H$\alpha$ line profile and SED. We find at the onset of dissipation the disk has a base density of $2.5\times10^{-11}\ \rm{g\ cm^{-3}}$ with a radial power-law index of $n=2.6$. Our models indicate that after 21 years of disk dissipation 66 Oph's outer disk remained present and bright in the radio. We find an isothermal disk with constant viscosity with an $\alpha = 0.4$ and an outer disk radius of $\sim$115 stellar radii best reproduces the rate of 66 Oph's disk dissipation. We determined the interstellar polarization in the direction of the star in the V-band is $p=0.63 \pm 0.02\%$ with a polarization position angle of $\theta_{IS}\approx85.7 \pm 0.7^\circ$. Using the Stokes QU diagram, we find the intrinsic polarization position angle of 66 Oph's disk is $\theta_{int}\approx98 \pm 3^\circ$.

Interstellar dust grains are non-spherical and, in some environments, partially aligned along the direction of the interstellar magnetic field. Numerous alignment theories have been proposed, all of which examine the grain rotational dynamics. In 1999, Lazarian & Draine introduced the important concept of thermal flipping, in which internal relaxation processes induce the grain body to flip while its angular momentum remains fixed. Through detailed numerical simulations, we study the role of thermal flipping on the grain dynamics during periods of relatively slow rotation, known as `crossovers', for the special case of a spheroidal grain with a non-uniform mass distribution. Lazarian & Draine proposed that rapid flipping during a crossover would lead to `thermal trapping', in which a systematic torque, fixed relative to the grain body, would time average to zero, delaying spin-up to larger rotational speeds. We find that the time-averaged systematic torque is not zero during the crossover and that thermal trapping is not prevalent. As an application, we examine whether the classic Davis-Greenstein alignment mechanism is viable, for grains residing in the cold neutral medium and lacking superparamagnetic inclusions. We find that Davis-Greenstein alignment is not hindered by thermal trapping, but argue that it is, nevertheless, too inefficient to yield the alignment of large grains responsible for optical and infrared starlight polarization. Davis-Greenstein alignment of small grains could potentially contribute to the observed ultraviolet polarization. The theoretical and computational tools developed here can also be applied to analyses of alignment via radiative torques and rotational disruption of grains.

We present Tully-Fisher distances for 24 AGN host galaxies with black hole mass ($M_\textrm{{BH}}$) measurements from reverberation mapping, as well as the first calibration of the $V-$band Tully-Fisher relation. Combining our measurements of HI 21cm emission with $HST$ and ground-based optical and near-infrared images allows multiple distance measurements for 19 galaxies and single measurements for the remaining 5. Separation of the nucleus from its host galaxy via surface brightness decomposition yields galaxy-only luminosities, thus allowing measurements of the distance moduli free of contamination from the AGN. For 14 AGN hosts, these are the first reported distances independent of redshift, and hence independent of peculiar velocities. For the remaining galaxies, we show good agreement between our distances and those previously reported from surface brightness fluctuations (SBF) and Cepheids. We also determine the total galaxy mass enclosed within the estimated HI radius, which when compared to the baryonic content allows for constraints on the dark matter masses. We find a typical mass fraction of $M_{\textrm{DM}}$/$M_{\textrm{DYN}}$ = 62\%, and find significant correlations between $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ $-$ $M_{\textrm{DYN}}$ and $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ $-$ $M_{\textrm{DM}}$. Finally, we scale our galaxy radii based on estimated relationships between visible and halo radii and assume a flat rotation curve out to the halo radius to approximate $M_{\textrm{HALO}}$. Over the range of $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ and $M_{\textrm{HALO}}$ in this sample, we find good agreement with observationally-constrained relationships between $M_{\textrm{BH}}$ and $M_{\textrm{HALO}}$ and with hydrodynamical simulations.

Globular Clusters are among the oldest objects in the Galaxy, thus their researchers are key to understanding the processes of evolution and formation that the galaxy has experienced in early stages. Spectroscopic studies allow us to carry out detailed analyzes on the chemical composition of Globular Clusters. The aim of our research is to perform a detailed analysis of chemical abundances to a sample of stars of the Bulge Globular Cluster NGC 6553, in order to determine chemical patterns that allow us to appreciate the phenomenon of Multiple Population in one of the most metal-rich Globular Clusters in the Galaxy. This analysis is being carried out with data obtained by FLAMES/GIRAFFE spectrograph, VVV Survey and DR2 of Gaia Mission. We analyzed 20 Red Horizontal Branch Stars, being the first extensive spectroscopic abundance analysis for this cluster and measured 8 chemical elements (O, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr and Ni), deriving a mean iron content of $[Fe/H] = -0.10\pm0.01$ and a mean of $[\alpha/Fe] = 0.21\pm0.02$, considering Mg, Si, Ca and Ti (errors on the mean). We found a significant spread in the content of Na but a small or negligible in O. We did not find an intrinsic variation in the content of $\alpha$ and iron-peak elements, showing a good agreement with the trend of the Bulge field stars, suggesting a similar origin and evolution.

Using 2D thermal structure models and pseudo-2D chemical kinetics models, we explore how atmospheric temperatures and composition change as a function of altitude and longitude within the equatorial regions of close-in transiting Neptune-class exoplanets at different distances from their host stars. Our models predict that the day-night stratospheric temperature contrasts increase with increasing planetary effective temperatures T_eff; atmospheric composition also changes significantly with T_eff. Horizontal transport-induced quenching is very effective in our simulated exo-Neptune atmospheres, acting to homogenize the vertical profiles of species abundances with longitude at stratospheric pressures where infrared observations are sensitive. Our models have important implications for planetary emission observations as a function of orbital phase with the Ariel mission. Cooler solar-composition exo-Neptunes with T_eff = 500-700 K are predicted to have small variations in infrared emission spectra with orbital phase, making them less robust phase-curve targets for Ariel. Hot solar-composition exo-Neptunes with T_eff > 1300 K exhibit strong variations in infrared emission with orbital phase but are arguably less interesting from an atmospheric chemistry standpoint, with spectral signatures being dominated by a small number of species whose abundances are expected to be constant with longitude and consistent with thermochemical equilibrium. Solar-composition exo-Neptunes with T_eff = 900-1100 K reside in an interesting intermediate regime, with infrared phase curve variations being affected by both temperature and composition variations. This interesting intermediate regime shifts to smaller temperatures as atmospheric metallicity is increased, making cool higher-metallicity Neptune-class planets appropriate targets for Ariel phase-curve observations.

Resonant absorption is considered as a crucial mechanism for the damping of the coronal loop oscillations and plasma heating. We study resonant absorption of the coronal loop kink oscillations excited by such external drivers as flares on the assumption that there is an intermediate shear flow region surrounding the loop. We find that for long coronal loops resonant absorption can be highly enhanced or reduced depending sensitively on the magnitude and direction of the flow and the spatial extent of the flow region when the transitional layer is thin. For short coronal loops, high flow speed and thick transitional layer are needed to have a substantial resonant absorption. We provide a potential picture to explain the results where the external Alfv\'{e}n speed and phase speed of the wave are important parameters. These results imply that the transport of the external wave energy into the loop is significantly changed by the shear flow region, which may cause the selective excitation of the coronal loop oscillations.

We present a new overview of the life of very massive stars (VMS) in terms of neutrino emission from thermal processes: pair annihilation, plasmon decay, photoneutrino process, bremsstrahlung and recombination processes in burning stages of selected VMS models. We use the realistic conditions of temperature, density, electron fraction and nuclear isotropic composition of the VMS. Results are presented for a set of progenitor stars with mass of 150, 200 and 300 M$_\odot$ Z=0.002 and 500 M$_\odot$ Z=0.006 rotating models which are expected to explode as a pair instability supernova at the end of their life except the 300 M$_\odot$ would end up as a black hole. It is found that for VMS, thermal neutrino emission occurs as early as towards the end of hydrogen burning stage due to the high initial temperature and density of these VMS. We calculate the total neutrino emissivity, $Q_\nu$ and luminosity, $L_\nu$ using the structure profile of each burning stages of the models and observed the contribution of photoneutrino at early burning stages (H and He) and pair annihilation at the advanced stages. Pair annihilation and photoneutrino processes are the most dominant neutrino energy loss mechanisms throughout the evolutionary track of the VMS. At the O-burning stage, the neutrino luminosity $\sim 10^{47-48}$ erg/s depending on their initial mass and metallicity are slightly higher than the neutrino luminosity from massive stars. This could shed light on the possibility of using detection of neutrinos to locate the candidates for pair instability supernova in our local universe.

We present elemental abundance results for HE 2148-2039 and HE 2155-2043 based on a detailed high-resolution spectroscopic analysis. The high-resolution SUBARU/HDS spectra used for our analysis have a resolution of R~60 000. Although limited information based on photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy are available, we present for the first time an abundance analysis based on high-resolution spectra for both the objects. Our analysis shows that the two objects are extremely metal-poor with [Fe/H]< -3. Among the neutron-capture elements, abundances of only Sr and Ba could be determined in our programme stars. For both the objects [Ba/Fe] is found to be < 0. While strontium is under abundant in HE 2148-2039 with [Sr/Fe]~ -2.02, Sr is near solar in HE 2155-2043. The locations of the programme stars in the absolute carbon abundance, A(C) vs. [Fe/H] diagram show that HE 2148-2039 is a CEMP-no Group II object and HE 2155-2043 is a CEMP-no Group III object. Observed [Sr/Ba] ratios are characteristics of a fast rotating massive star progenitor for HE 2155-2043 and a metal-poor Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star for HE 2148-2039. The estimated [Sc/Mn] as well as [C/Cr] ratios in HE 2155-2043 show that the surface chemical composition of this object is mono-enriched. The surface chemical composition of HE 2148-2039 is also found to be mono-enriched based on [Mg/C] ratio. With respect to their locations in the [C/N] vs. T eff diagram, HE 2148-2039 shows signatures of mixing, and HE 2155-2043 falls in the unmixed region of [C/N] vs. Teff plot. Kinematic analysis shows that both the objects belong to Galactic halo population.

Although the real shapes and trajectories of erupting solar prominences in three dimensions have been intensively studied, the three-dimensional (3D) shapes of stable prominences before eruptions have not been measured accurately so far. We intend to make such a measurement to constrain 3D prominence models and to extend our knowledge of prominences. Using multiperspective observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board SDO and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board STEREO, we reconstructed 3D coordinates of three stable prominences: a quiescent, an intermediate, and a mixed type. Based on the 3D coordinates, we measured the height, length, and inclination angle of the legs of these prominences. To study the spatial relationship between the footpoints of prominences and photospheric magnetic structures, we also used the Global Oscillation Network Group H alpha images and magnetograms from the HMI on board the SDO. In three stable prominences, we find that the axes of the prominence legs are inclined by 68 degrees on average to the solar surface. Legs at different locations along a prominence axis have different heights with a two- to threefold difference. Our investigation suggests that over 96% of prominence footpoints in a sample of 70 footpoints are located at supergranular boundaries. The widths of two legs have similar values measured in two orthogonal lines of sight. We also find that a prominence leg above the solar limb showed horizontal oscillations with larger amplitudes at higher locations. With a limited image resolution and number of cases, our measurement suggests that the legs of prominences may have various orientations and do not always stand vertically on the surface of the sun. Moreover, the locations of prominence legs are closely related to supergranules.

Recently, two classes of quasar samples were identified, which are promising as new cosmological probes extending to higher redshifts. The first sample uses the nonlinear relation between the ultraviolet and X-ray luminosities of quasars to derive luminosity distances, whereas the linear sizes of compact radio quasars in the second sample can serve as standardized rulers, providing angular-diameter distances. In this study, under the assumption of a flat universe, we refreshed the calibration of multiple measurements of high-redshift quasars (in the framework of a cosmological-model-independent method with the newest Hubble parameters data). Furthermore, we placed constraints on four models that characterize the cosmic equation of state ($w$). The obtained results show that: 1) the two quasar samples could provide promising complementary probes at much higher redshifts, whereas compact radio quasars perform better than ultraviolet and X-ray quasars at the current observational level; 2) strong degeneracy between the cosmic equation of state ($w$) and Hubble constant ($H_0$) is revealed, which highlights the importance of independent determination of $H_0$ from time-delay measurements of strongly lensed Quasars; 3)together with other standard ruler probes, such as baryon acoustic oscillation distance measurements, the combined QSO+BAO measurements are consistent with the standard $\Lambda$CDM model at a constant equation of state $w=-1$; 4) ranking the cosmological models, the polynomial parametrization gives a rather good fit among the four cosmic-equation-of-state models, whereas the Jassal-Bagla-Padmanabhan (JBP) parametrization is substantially penalized by the Akaike Information Criterion and Bayesian Information Criterion criterion.

We present the flux tables of the spectro-photometric standard stars (SPSS) used to calibrate in flux the Gaia DR2 and (E)DR3 data releases. The latest SPSS grid version contains 112 stars, whose flux tables agree to better than 1% with the CALSPEC spectra of 11 flux standards for the calibration of the Hubble Space Telescope. The synthetic magnitudes computed on the SPSS spectra also agree to better than 1% with the Landolt magnitudes of 37 stars in common. The typical spreads in both comparisons are of the order of 1%. These uncertainties already meet the initial requirements for the Gaia SPSS project, but further improvements are expected in the next SPSS versions, that will be used to calibrate future Gaia releases. We complement the SPSS flux tables with literature spectra of 60 additional stars that did not pass all the criteria to be SPSS, the Passband Validation Library (PVL). The PVL contains stars of extreme spectral types, such as bright O and B stars and late M stars and brown dwarfs, and was useful to investigate systematic effects in the previous Gaia DR2 release and to minimize them in the EDR3 one. The PVL literature spectra are recalibrated as accurately as possible onto the SPSS reference scale, so that the two sets together can be used in a variety of validation and comparison studies.

The currently developing space-based gamma-ray telescope GAMMA-400 will measure the gamma-ray and electrons + positrons fluxes using the main top-down aperture in the energy range from ~20 MeV to several TeV in the highly elliptic orbit (without shadowing the telescope by the Earth and outside the radiation belts) continuously for a long time. The instrument will provide fundamentally new data on discrete gamma-ray sources, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), sources and propagation of Galactic cosmic rays and signatures of dark matter due to its unique angular and energy resolutions in the wide energy range. The gamma-ray telescope consists of the anticoincidence system (AC), the converter-tracker (C), the time-of-flight system (S1 and S2), the position-sensitive and electromagnetic calorimeters (CC1 and CC2), the top and bottom scintillation detectors of the calorimeter (S3 and S4) and lateral detectors of the calorimeter (LD). In this paper, the capabilities of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope to measure fluxes of GRBs from lateral directions of CC2 are analyzed using Monte-Carlo simulations. The analysis is based on second-level trigger construction using signals from S3, CC2, S4 and LD detectors. For checking the numerical algorithm the data from space-based GBM and LAT instruments of the Fermi experiment are used, namely, three long bursts: GRB 080916C, GRB 090902B, GRB 090926A and one short burst GRB 090510A. The obtained results allow us to conclude that from lateral directions the GAMMA-400 space-based gamma-ray telescope will reliably measure the spectra of bright GRBs in the energy range from ~10 to ~100 MeV with the effective area of about 0.13 m2 (for each of the four sides of CC2) and total field of view of about 6 sr.

A study of the gravitationally lensed blazar PKS 1830-211 was carried out using multi waveband data collected by Fermi-LAT, Swift-XRT and Swift-UVOT telescopes between MJD 58400 to MJD 58800 (9 Oct 2018 to 13 Nov 2019). Flaring states were identified by analysing the gamma-ray light curve. Simultaneous multi-waveband SED were obtained for those flaring periods. A cross-correlation analysis of the multi-waveband data was carried out, which suggested a common origin of the gamma-ray and X-ray emission. The broadband emission mechanism was studied by modelling the SED using a leptonic model. Physical parameters of the blazar were estimated from the broadband SED modelling. The blazar PKS 1830-211 is gravitationally lensed by at least two galaxies and has been extensively studied in the literature because of this property. The self-correlation of the gamma-ray light curve was studied to identify the signature of lensing, but no conclusive evidence of correlation was found at the expected time delay of 26 days.

We present the timing results of out-of-eclipse observations of Centaurus X-3 spanning half a binary orbit, performed on 12-13 December, 2016 with the Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) on-board AstroSat. The pulse profile was confirmed to exhibit a prominent pulse peak with a secondary inter-pulse. The systemic spin period of the pulsar was found to be $4.80188 \pm 0.000085$ s in agreement with its spin up trend. The spin up timescale seems to have increased to $7709 \pm 58$ yr that points to negative torque effects in the inner accretion disk. We also report the derived values of projected semi-major axis and orbital velocity of the neutron star.

Model of a partial current-carrying torus loop anchored to the photosphere is analyzed. Conditions of the catastrophic loss of equilibrium are considered and corresponding value of the critical decay index of external magnetic field is found. Taking into account line-tying conditions leads to non-monotonous dependence of the critical decay index on the height of the apex and length of the flux rope (its endpoints separation). For relatively short flux ropes, the critical decay index is significantly lower than unity, which is in contrast to widespread models with the typical critical decay index above unity. The steep decrease of the critical index with height at low heights is due to the sharp increase of the curvature of the flux-rope axis that transforms from a nearly straight line to a crescent.

We check the dynamical and observational features of four typologies of logotropic dark energy models, leading to a \emph{thermodynamic cosmic speed up} fueled by a single fluid that unifies dark energy and dark matter. We first present two principal Anton-Schmidt fluids where the Gr\"uneisen parameter $\gamma_{\rm G}$ is free to vary and then fixed to the special value $\gamma_{\rm G}=\tfrac{5}{6}$. We also investigate the pure logotropic model, corresponding to $\gamma_{\rm G}=-\frac{1}{6}$. Finally, we propose a new logotropic paradigm that works as a generalized logotropic fluid, in which we split the role of dark matter and baryons. We demonstrate that the logotropic paradigms may present drawbacks in perturbations, showing a negative adiabatic sound speed which make perturbations unstable. The Anton-Schmidt model with $\gamma_{\rm G}=\frac{5}{6}$ is ruled out while the generalized logotropic fluid seems to be the most suitable one, albeit weakly disfavored than the $\Lambda$CDM model. We combine low- and higher-redshift domains through experimental fits based on Monte Carlo Markov Chain procedures, taking into account supernovae Ia catalogue, Hubble measurements and $\sigma_8$ data points. We consider two model selection criteria to infer the statistical significance of the four models. We conclude there is statistical advantage to handle the Anton-Schmidt fluid with the Gr\"uneisen parameter free to vary and/or fixed to $\gamma_{\rm G}=-\frac{1}{6}$. The generalized logotropic fluid indicates suitable results, statistically favored than the other models, until the sound speed is positive, becoming unstable in perturbations elsewhere. We emphasize that the $\Lambda$CDM paradigm works statistically better than any kinds of logotropic and generalized logotropic models, while the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder parametrization is statistically comparable with logotropic scenarios.

We present X-ray through submillimeter observations of the classical RV Tauri (RVb-type) variable U Mon, a post-AGB binary with a circumbinary disk (CBD). Our SMA observations indicate a CBD diameter of $\lesssim$550 au. Our XMM-Newton observations make U Mon the first RV Tauri variable detected in X-rays. The X-ray emission is characteristic of a hot plasma ($\sim$10 MK), with L$_{X}=5\times10^{30}{\rm erg}~{\rm s}^{-1}$, and we consider its possible origin from U Mon, its companion, and/or binary system interactions. Combining DASCH and AAVSO data, we extend the time-series photometric baseline back to the late 1880s and find evidence that U Mon has secular changes that appear to recur on a timescale of $\sim$60 yr, possibly caused by a feature in the CBD. From literature radial velocities we find that the binary companion is a $\sim$2 M$_{\odot}$ A-type main-sequence star. The orientation of the binary's orbit lies along our line of sight ($\omega = 95^\circ$), such that apastron corresponds to photometric RVb minima, consistent with the post-AGB star becoming obscured by the near side of the CBD. In addition, we find the size of the inner-CBD hole ($\sim$4.5-9 au) to be comparable to the binary separation, implying that one or both stars may interact with the CBD at apastron. The obscuration of the post-AGB star implicates the companion as the likely source of the enhanced H$\alpha$ observed at RVb minima and of the X-ray emission that may arise from accreted material.

We investigate the evolution and origin of small-scale chromospheric swirls by analyzing numerical simulations of the quiet solar atmosphere, using the radiative magnetohydrodynamic code CO$5$BOLD. We are interested in finding their relation with magnetic field perturbations and in the processes driving their evolution. For the analysis, the swirling strength criterion and its evolution equation are applied in order to identify vortical motions and to study their dynamics. We introduce a new criterion, the magnetic swirling strength, which allows us to recognize torsional perturbations in the magnetic field. We find a strong correlation between swirling strength and magnetic swirling strength, in particular in intense magnetic flux concentrations, which suggests a tight relation between vortical motions and torsional magnetic field perturbations. Furthermore, we find that swirls propagate upward with the local Alfv\'en speed as unidirectional swirls, in the form of pulses, driven by magnetic tension forces alone. In the photosphere and low chromosphere, the rotation of the plasma co-occurs with a twist in the upwardly directed magnetic field that is in the opposite direction of the plasma flow. All together, these are characteristics of torsional Alfv\'en waves. We also find indications of an imbalance between the hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic baroclinic effects being at the origin of the swirls. At the base of the chromosphere, we find a net upwardly directed Poynting flux, which is mostly associated with large and complex swirling structures that we interpret as the superposition of various small-scale vortices. We conclude that the ubiquitous swirling events observed in simulations are tightly correlated with perturbations of the magnetic field. At photospheric and chromospheric levels, they form Alfv\'en pulses that propagate upward and may contribute to chromospheric heating.

In this study we extract the deep features and investigate the compression of the Mg II k spectral line profiles observed in quiet Sun regions by NASA's IRIS satellite. The data set of line profiles used for the analysis was obtained on April 20th, 2020, at the center of the solar disc, and contains almost 300,000 individual Mg II k line profiles after data cleaning. The data are separated into train and test subsets. The train subset was used to train the autoencoder of the varying embedding layer size. The early stopping criterion was implemented on the test subset to prevent the model from overfitting. Our results indicate that it is possible to compress the spectral line profiles more than 27 times (which corresponds to the reduction of the data dimensionality from 110 to 4) while having a 4 DN average reconstruction error, which is comparable to the variations in the line continuum. The mean squared error and the reconstruction error of even statistical moments sharply decrease when the dimensionality of the embedding layer increases from 1 to 4 and almost stop decreasing for higher numbers. The observed occasional improvements in training for values higher than 4 indicate that a better compact embedding may potentially be obtained if other training strategies and longer training times are used. The features learned for the critical four-dimensional case can be interpreted. In particular, three of these four features mainly control the line width, line asymmetry, and line dip formation respectively. The presented results are the first attempt to obtain a compact embedding for spectroscopic line profiles and confirm the value of this approach, in particular for feature extraction, data compression, and denoising.

New and existing rotational spectra of methyl cyanide were analyzed to extend the global model of low-lying vibrational states and their interactions to $v_4=1$ at 920 cm$^{-1}$. The rotational spectra cover large portions of the 36$-$1439 GHz region and reach quantum numbers $J$ and $K$ of 79 and 16, respectively. Information on the $K$ level structure of CH$_3$CN is obtained from IR spectra. A spectrum of $2\nu_8$ around 717 cm$^{-1}$, analyzed in our previous study, covered also the $\nu_4$ band. The assignments in this band cover 880$-$952 cm$^{-1}$, attaining quantum numbers $J$ and $K$ of 61 and 13, respectively. The most important interaction of $v_4=1$ appears to be with $v_8=3$, $\Delta K=0$, $\Delta l=+3$, a previously characterized anharmonic resonance. We report new analyses of interactions with $\Delta K=-2$ and $\Delta l=+1$, with $\Delta K=-4$ and $\Delta l=-1$, and with $\Delta K=-6$ and $\Delta l=-3$; these four types of interactions connect all $l$ substates of $v_8=3$ in energy to $v_4=1$. A known $\Delta K=-2$, $\Delta l=+1$ interaction with $v_7=1$ was also analyzed, and investigations of the $\Delta K=+1$, $\Delta l=-2$ and $\Delta K=+3$, $\Delta l=0$ resonances with $v_8=2$ were improved, as were interactions between successive states with $v_8\le 3$, mainly through new $v_8\le 2$ rotational data. A preliminary single state analysis of the $v_4=v_8=1$ state was carried out based on rotational transition frequencies and on $\nu_4+\nu_8-\nu_8$ hot band data. A considerable fraction of the $K$ levels was reproduced within uncertainties in its entirety or in part, despite obvious widespread perturbations in $v_4=v_8=1$. We detect rotational transitions of methyl cyanide from within all vibrational states up to $v_4=1$ and $v_4=v_8=1$ tentatively toward the hot molecular core of Sagittarius B2(N) employing the Atacama Large Millimeter Array.

The recent advent of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has made direct imaging of supermassive black holes a reality. Simulated images of black holes produced via general relativistic ray tracing and radiative transfer provide a key counterpart to these observational efforts. Black hole images have a wide range of physically interesting image structures, ranging from extremely fine scales in their lensed "photon rings" to the very large scales in their relativistic jets. The multi-scale nature of the black hole system is therefore suitable for a multi-scale approach to generating simulated images that capture all key elements of the system. Here, we present a prescription for adaptive ray tracing, which enables efficient computation of extremely high resolution images of black holes. Using the polarized ray-tracing code ipole, we image a combination of semi-analytic and GRMHD models, and we show that images can be reproduced with mean squared error of less than 0.1% even after tracing 12x fewer rays. We then use adaptive ray tracing to explore properties of the photon ring. We illustrate the behavior of individual subrings in GRMHD simulations, and we explore their signatures in interferometric visibilities.

In this paper we characterize magnitude-dependent systematics in the proper motions of the Gaia EDR3 catalog and provide a prescription for their removal. The reference frame of bright stars (G<13) in EDR3 is known to rotate with respect to extragalactic objects, but this rotation has proven difficult to characterize and correct. We employ a sample of binary stars and a sample of open cluster members to characterize this proper motion bias as a magnitude-dependent spin of the reference frame. We show that the bias varies with G magnitude, reaching up to 80 {\mu}as/yr for sources in the range G = 11 - 13, several times the formal EDR3 proper motion uncertainties. We also show evidence for an additional dependence on the color of the source, with a magnitude up to 10 {\mu}as/yr. However, a color correction proportional to the effective wavenumber is unsatisfactory for very red or very blue stars and we do not recommend its use. We provide a recipe for a magnitude-dependent correction to align the proper motion of the Gaia EDR3 sources brighter than G=13 with the International Celestial Reference Frame.

We are approaching a new era to probe the 21-cm neutral hydrogen signal from the period of cosmic dawn. This signal offers a unique window to the virgin Universe, e.g., to study dark matter models with different small-scale behaviours. The EDGES collaboration has recently published the first results of the global 21-cm spectrum. We demonstrate that such a signal can be used to set, unlike most observations concerning dark matter, both lower and upper limits for the mass of dark matter particles. We study the 21-cm signal resulting from a simple warm dark matter model with a sharp-$k$ window function calibrated for high redshifts. We tie the PopIII star formation to Lyman-alpha and radio background production. Using MCMC to sample the parameter space we find that to match the EDGES signal, a warm dark matter particle must have a mass of $7.3^{+1.6}_{-3.3}$ keV at 68\% confidence interval. This translates to $2.2^{+1.4}_{-1.7} \times 10^{-20}$ eV for fuzzy dark matter and $63^{+19}_{-35}$ keV for Dodelson-Widrow sterile neutrinos. Cold dark matter is unable to reproduce the signal due to its slow structure growth.

Riroriro is a Python package to simulate the gravitational waveforms of binary mergers of black holes and/or neutron stars, and calculate several properties of these mergers and waveforms, specifically relating to their observability by gravitational wave detectors. The gravitational waveform simulation of Riroriro is based upon the methods of Buskirk and Babiuc-Hamilton (2019), a paper which describes a computational implementation of an earlier theoretical gravitational waveform model by Huerta et al. (2017), using post-Newtonian expansions and an approximation called the implicit rotating source to simplify the Einstein field equations and simulate gravitational waves. Riroriro's calculation of signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of gravitational wave events is based on the methods of Barrett et al. (2018), with the simpler gravitational wave model Findchirp (Allen et al. (2012)) being used for comparison and calibration in these calculations.

We use a 1030 nm laser with 7 ps pulse duration and average power up to 100 W to ablate pyramid-shape subwavelength structures (SWS) on alumina and sapphire. The SWS give an effective and cryogenically robust anti-reflection coating in the millimeter-wave band. We demonstrate average ablation rate of up to 34 mm$^3$/min and 20 mm$^3$/min for structure heights of 900 $\mu$m and 750 $\mu$m on alumina and sapphire, respectively. These rates are a factor of 34 and 9 higher than reported previously on similar structures. We propose a model that relates structure height to cumulative laser fluence. The model depends on the absorption length $\delta$, which is assumed to depend on peak fluence, and on the threshold fluence $\phi_{th}$. Using a best-fit procedure we find an average $\delta = 630$ nm and 650 nm, and $\phi_{th} = 2.0^{+0.5}_{-0.5}$ J/cm$^2$ and $2.3^{+0.1}_{-0.1}$ J/cm$^2$ for alumina and sapphire, respectively, for peak fluence values between 30 and 70 J/cm$^{2}$. With the best fit values, the model and data values for cumulative fluence agree to within 10%. Given inputs for $\delta$ and $\phi_{th}$ the model is used to predict average ablation rates as a function of SWS height and average laser power.

Here we extrapolate the idea of launching SpaceX's Starlink satellites and study the possibility of building planetary megastructures (either designed as solid objects or as a web of satellites) by Type-I civilizations and the consequent detection of their techno-signatures. We have shown that the instruments of The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) can potentially observe emission pattern of the huge constructions. Efficiency of the spectral variability method has been emphasized and the role of the FAST telescope was discussed.

Based on global hybrid simulation results, we predict that foreshock turbulence can cause magnetopause reconnection and Earth-sized indents equatorward of the cusps. The interplanetary magnetic field in the simulation is mostly Sun-Earth aligned with a weak northward and zero dawn-dusk component, such that subsolar magnetopause reconnection is not expected without foreshock turbulence modifying the magnetosheath fields. The turbulence can create large magnetic shear angles across the magnetopause and enable local bursty reconnection. Turbulence-caused reconnection and indents can potentially contribute to dayside loss of planetary plasmas through ionospheric field lines opened to the upstream solar wind and interception of the indented magnetopause with particle drift shells.