Papers for Wednesday, Aug 24 2022

Cosmological constraints from key probes of the Euclid imaging survey rely critically on the accurate determination of the true redshift distributions $n(z)$ of tomographic redshift bins. We determine whether the mean redshift $<z>$ of ten Euclid tomographic redshift bins can be calibrated to the Euclid target uncertainties of $\sigma(<z>)<0.002\,(1+z)$ via cross-correlation, with spectroscopic samples akin to those from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), and Euclid's NISP spectroscopic survey. We construct mock Euclid and spectroscopic galaxy samples from the Flagship simulation and measure small-scale clustering redshifts up to redshift $z<1.8$ with an algorithm that performs well on current galaxy survey data. The clustering measurements are then fitted to two $n(z)$ models: one is the true $n(z)$ with a free mean; the other a Gaussian Process modified to be restricted to non-negative values. We show that $<z>$ is measured in each tomographic redshift bin to an accuracy of order 0.01 or better. By measuring the clustering redshifts on subsets of the full Flagship area, we construct scaling relations that allow us to extrapolate the method performance to larger sky areas than are currently available in the mock. For the full expected Euclid, BOSS, and DESI overlap region of approximately 6000 deg$^{2}$, the uncertainties attainable by clustering redshifts exceeds the Euclid requirement by at least a factor of three for both $n(z)$ models considered, although systematic biases limit the accuracy. Clustering redshifts are an extremely effective method for redshift calibration for Euclid if the sources of systematic biases can be determined and removed, or calibrated-out with sufficiently realistic simulations. We outline possible future work, in particular an extension to higher redshifts with quasar reference samples.

In this work, we model the collisional evolution of the Jupiter Trojans and determined under which conditions the Eurybates-Queta system survives. We show that the collisional strength of the Jupiter Trojans and the age of the Eurybates family and by extension Queta are correlated. The collisional grinding of the Jupiter Trojan population over 4.5 Gy results in a size-frequency distribution (SFD) that remains largely unaltered at large sizes (>10 km) but is depleted at small sizes (10 m to 1 km). This results in a turnover in the SFD, the location of which depends on the collisional strength of the material. It is to be expected that the Trojan SFD bends between 1 and 10 km. Based on the SFD of the Eurybates family, we find that the family was likely the result of a catastrophic impact onto a 100 km rubble pile target. This corresponds to objects with a rather low collisional strength (10 times weaker than that of basaltic material studied in Benz & Asphaug1999). Assuming this weak strength, and an initial cumulative slope of the size frequency distribution of 2.1 between diameters of 2 m and 100 km when the Trojans were captured, the existence of Queta, the satellite of Eurybates, implies an upper limit for the family age of 3.7 Gy. Alternatively, we demonstrate that an unconventional collisional strength with a minimum at 20 m is a plausible candidate to ensure the survival of Queta over the age of the Solar System. Finally, we show how different collisional histories change the expected number of craters on the targets of the Lucy mission and that Lucy will be able to differentiate between them.

Ongoing and future redshift surveys have the capability to measure the growth rate of large scale structure at the percent level over a broad range of redshifts, tightly constraining cosmological parameters. Beyond general relativity, however, the growth rate in the linear density perturbation regime can be not only redshift dependent but scale dependent, revealing important clues to modified gravity. We demonstrate that a fully model independent approach of binning the gravitational strength $G_{\rm eff}(k,z)$ matches scalar-tensor results for the growth rate $f\sigma_8(k,z)$ to $0.02\%$-$0.27\%$ rms accuracy. For data of the quality of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) we find the bin values can be constrained to 1.4\%-28\%. We also explore the general scalar-tensor form, constraining the amplitude and past and future scalaron mass/shape parameters. Perhaps most interesting is the strong complementarity of low redshift peculiar velocity data with DESI-like redshift space distortion measurements, enabling improvements up to a factor 6-7 on 2D joint confidence contour areas. Finally, we quantify some issues with gravity parametrizations that do not include all the key physics.

Well-characterised M-dwarfs are rare, particularly with respect to effective temperature. In this letter we re-analyse two benchmark M-dwarfs in eclipsing binaries from Kepler/K2: KIC 1571511AB and HD 24465AB. Both have temperatures reported to be hotter or colder by approximately 1000 K in comparison with both models and the majority of the literature. By modelling the secondary eclipses with both the original data and new data from TESS we derive significantly different temperatures which are not outliers. Removing this discrepancy allows these M-dwarfs to be truly benchmarks. Our work also provides relief to stellar modellers. We encourage more measurements of M-dwarf effective temperatures with robust methods.

The formation of extremely hot outer atmospheres is one of the most prominent manifestations of magnetic activity common to the late-type dwarf stars, including the Sun. It is widely believed that these atmospheric layers, the corona, transition region, and chromosphere, are heated by the dissipation of energy transported upwards from the stellar surface by the magnetic field. This is signified by the spectral line fluxes at various wavelengths, scaled with power-law relationships against the surface magnetic flux over a wide range of formation temperatures, which are universal to the Sun and Sun-like stars of different ages and activity levels. This study describes a catalog of power-law indices between solar activity proxies and various spectral line fluxes. Compared to previous studies, we expanded the number of proxies, which now includes the total magnetic flux, total sunspot number, total sunspot area, and the F10.7 cm radio flux, and further enhances the number of spectral lines by a factor of two. This provides the data to study in detail the flux-flux scaling laws from the regions specified by the temperatures of the corona (log(T/K)=6-7) to those of the chromosphere (log(T/K)~4), as well as the reconstruction of various spectral line fluxes of the Sun in the past, F-, G-, and K-type dwarfs, and the modeled stars.

Shear estimation bias from galaxy detection and blending identification is now recognized as an issue for ongoing and future weak lensing surveys. Currently, the empirical approach to correcting for this bias involves numerically shearing every observed galaxy and rerunning the detection and selection process. In this work, we provide an analytical correction for this bias that is accurate to subpercent level and far simpler to use. With the interpretation that smoothed image pixel values and galaxy properties are projections of the image signal onto a set of basis functions, we analytically derive the linear shear responses of both the pixel values and the galaxy properties (i.e., magnitude, size and shape) using the shear responses of the basis functions. With these derived shear responses, we correct for biases from shear-dependent galaxy detection and galaxy sample selection. With the analytical covariance matrix of measurement errors caused by image noise on pixel values and galaxy properties, we correct for the noise biases in galaxy shape measurement and the detection/selection process to the second-order in noise. The code used for this paper can carry out the detection, selection, and shear measurement for ~1000 galaxies per CPU second. The algorithm is tested with realistic image simulations, and we find, after the analytical correction (without relying on external image calibration) for the detection/selection bias of about $-4\%$, the multiplicative shear bias is $-0.12 \pm 0.10\%$ for isolated galaxies; and $-0.52 \pm 0.11\%$ for blended galaxies.

We present a study of the orbits, environments and morphologies of 13 ram-pressure stripped galaxies in the massive, intermediate redshift (z$\sim0.3-0.4$) galaxy clusters A2744 and A370, using MUSE integral-field spectroscopy and HST imaging from the Frontier Fields Program. We compare different measures of the locations and morphologies of the stripped sample with a sample of 6 poststarburst galaxies identified within the same clusters, as well as the general cluster population. We calculate the phase space locations of all cluster galaxies and carry out a substructure analysis, finding that the ram-pressure stripped galaxies in A370 are not associated with any substructures, but are likely isolated infalling galaxies. In contrast, the ram-pressure stripped galaxies in A2744 are strictly located within a high-velocity substructure, moving through a region of dense X-ray emitting gas. We conclude that their ram-pressure interactions are likely to be the direct result of the merger between two components of the cluster. Finally, we study the morphologies of the stripped and poststarburst galaxies, using numerical measures to quantify the level of visual disturbances. We explore any morphological deviations of these galaxies from the cluster population, particularly the weaker cases which have been confirmed via the presence of ionised gas tails to be undergoing ram-pressure stripping, but are not strongly visually disturbed in the broad-band data. We find that the stripped sample galaxies are generally divergent from the general cluster sample, with poststarburst galaxies being intermediary in morphology between stripped galaxies and red passive cluster members.

We present new observations of MRG-M2129, a quiescent galaxy at z = 2.15 with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). With the combination of the gravitational lensing effect by the foreground cluster and the angular resolution provided by ALMA, our data reveal 1.2 mm continuum emission at $\sim130$ pc angular resolution. Compact dust continuum is detected at 7.9 $\sigma$ in the target but displaced from its stellar peak position by $62 \pm 38$ mas, or $\sim169 \pm 105$ pc in the source plane. We find considerably high dust-to-stellar mass ratio, $4 \times 10^{-4}$. From non-detection of the [C i] 3P2 -> 3P1 line, we then derive $3 \sigma$ upper limits on the molecular gas-to-dust mass ratio $\delta_\mathrm{GDR} < 60$ and the molecular gas-to-stellar mass ratio fH2 < 2.3%. The derived $\delta_\mathrm{GDR}$ is $>2\times$ smaller than the typical value assumed for quiescent galaxies in the literature. Our study supports that there exists a broad range of $\delta_\mathrm{GDR}$ and urges submillimeter follow-up observations of quenching/recently quenched galaxies at similar redshifts. Based on the derived low $\delta_\mathrm{GDR}$ and other observed dust properties, we argue that the central black hole is still active and regulates star formation in the system. Our study exhibits a rare case of a gravitationally lensed type 2 QSO harbored by a quiescent galaxy.

The center of the Milky Way contains stellar populations spanning a range in age and metallicity, with a recent star formation burst producing young and massive stars. Chemical abundances in the most luminous stellar member of the Nuclear Star Cluster (NSC), IRS 7, are presented for $^{19}$F, $^{12}$C, $^{13}$C, $^{14}$N, $^{16}$O, $^{17}$O, and Fe from an LTE analysis based on spherical modeling and radiative transfer with a 25M$_{\odot}$ model atmosphere, whose chemistry was tailored to the derived photospheric abundances. We find IRS 7 to be depleted heavily in both $^{12}$C (~-0.8 dex) and $^{16}$O (~-0.4 dex), while exhibiting an extremely enhanced $^{14}$N abundance (~+1.1 dex), which are isotopic signatures of the deep mixing of CNO-cycled material to the stellar surface. The $^{19}$F abundance is also heavily depleted by ~1 dex relative to the baseline fluorine of the Nuclear Star Cluster, providing evidence that fluorine along with carbon constrain the nature of the deep mixing in this very luminous supergiant. The abundances of the minor isotopes $^{13}$C and $^{17}$O are also derived, with ratios of $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C~5.3 and $^{16}$O/$^{17}$O~525. The derived abundances for IRS 7, in conjunction with previous abundance results for massive stars in the NSC, are compared with rotating and non-rotating models of massive stars and it is found that the IRS 7 abundances overall follow the behavior predicted by stellar models. The depleted fluorine abundance in IRS 7 illustrates, for the first time, the potential of using the $^{19}$F abundance as a mixing probe in luminous red giants.

We conduct the first systematic survey of a comprehensive set of the twenty optical coronal lines in the spectra of nearly 1 million galaxies observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 8 catalog. This includes often overlooked high ionization-potential (IP) lines such as [Ar X] $\lambda$5533, [S XII] $\lambda$7609, [Fe XI] $\lambda$7892, and [Fe XIV] $\lambda$5303. We find that, given the limited sensitivity of SDSS, strong coronal line emission is extremely rare, with only $\sim 0.03$% of the sample showing at least one coronal line, significantly lower than the fraction of galaxies showing optical narrow line ratios ($\sim 17$%) or mid-infrared colors ($\sim 2$%) indicative of nuclear activity. The coronal line luminosities exhibit a large dynamic range, with values ranging from $\sim10^{34}$ to $10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$. We find that a vast majority ($\sim 80$%) of coronal line emitters in dwarf galaxies ($M_* < {9.6} \times 10^9$ M$_\odot$) do not display optical narrow line ratios indicative of nuclear activity, in contrast to higher mass galaxies ($\sim 17$%). Moreover, we find that the highest ionization potential lines are preferentially found in lower mass galaxies. These findings are consistent with the theory that lower mass black holes found in lower mass galaxies produce a hotter accretion disk, which in turn enhances the higher ionization coronal line spectrum. Future coronal line searches with 30 m class telescopes or JWST may provide a pathway into uncovering the intermediate mass black hole population.

M-dwarfs are the most abundant stars in the galaxy and popular targets for exoplanet searches. However, their intrinsic faintness and complex spectra inhibit precise characterisation. We only know of dozens of M-dwarfs with fundamental parameters of mass, radius and effective temperature characterised to better than a few per cent. Eclipsing binaries remain the most robust means of stellar characterisation. Here we present two targets from the Eclipsing Binary Low Mass (EBLM) survey that were observed with K2: EBLM J0055-00 and EBLM J2217-04. Combined with HARPS and CORALIE spectroscopy, we measure M-dwarf masses with precisions better than 5%, radii better than 3% and effective temperatures on order 1%. However, our fits require invoking a model to derive parameters for the primary star. By investigating three popular models, we determine that the model uncertainty is of similar magnitude to the statistical uncertainty in the model fits. Therefore, whilst these can be considered benchmark M-dwarfs, we caution the community to consider model uncertainty when pushing the limits of precise stellar characterisation.

Relativistic and free-streaming particles like neutrinos leave imprints in large scale structures (LSS), providing probes of the effective number of neutrino species $N_{\rm eff}$. In this paper, we use the Fisher formalism to forecast $N_{\rm eff}$ constraints from the bispectrum (B) of LSS for current and future galaxy redshift surveys, specifically using information from the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs). Modeling the galaxy bispectrum at the tree-level, we find that adding the bispectrum constraints to current CMB constraints from Planck can improve upon the Planck-only constraints on $N_{\rm eff}$ by about 10\% -- 40\% depending on the survey. Compared to the Planck + power spectrum (P) constraints previously explored in the literature, using Planck+P+B provides a further improvement of about 5\% -- 30\%. Besides using BAO wiggles alone, we also explore using the total information which includes both the wiggles and the broadband information (which is subject to systematics challenges), generally yielding better results. Finally, we exploit the interference feature of the BAOs in the bispectrum to select a subset of triangles with the most information on $N_{\rm eff}$. This allows for the reduction of computational cost while keeping most of the information, as well as for circumventing some of the shortcomings of applying directly to the bispectrum the current wiggle extraction algorithm valid for the power spectrum. In sum, our study validates that the current Planck constraint on $N_{\rm eff}$ can be significantly improved with the aid of galaxy surveys before the next-generation CMB experiments like CMB-Stage 4.

The photonic lantern (PL) is a tapered waveguide that can efficiently couple light into multiple single-mode optical fibers. Such devices are currently being considered for a number of tasks, including the coupling of telescopes and high-resolution, fiber-fed spectrometers, coherent detection, nulling interferometry, and vortex-fiber nulling (VFN). In conjunction with these use cases, PLs can simultaneously perform low-order focal-plane wavefront sensing. In this work, we provide a mathematical framework for the analysis of the photonic lantern wavefront sensor (PLWFS), deriving linear and higher-order reconstruction models as well as metrics through which sensing performance -- both in the linear and nonlinear regimes -- can be quantified. This framework can be extended to account for additional optics such as beam-shaping optics and vortex masks, and is generalizable to other wavefront sensing architectures. Lastly, we provide initial numerical verification of our mathematical models, by simulating a 6-port PLWFS. In a companion paper, we provide a more comprehensive numerical characterization of few-port PLWFSs, and consider how the sensing properties of these devices can be controlled and optimized.

Recently, under the standard cosmological model, a new growth tension between the Planck-2018 observation and the combined observation of cosmic microwave background lensing and galaxy clustering at $z\sim4$ emerges over the $1\,\sigma$ confidence level. We demonstrate that dynamical dark energy can well solve this tension within the $1\,\sigma$ confidence level. This implies that the new measurement of large scale structure at high redshift may give the evidence of evolution of dark energy over time.

Grating-based spectrographs suffer from smile and keystone distortion, which are problematic for hyperspectral data applications. Due to this, spectral lines will appear curved and roughly parabola-shaped. Smile and keystone need to be measured and corrected for accurate spectral and spatial calibration. In this paper, we present a novel method to accurately identify and correct curved spectral lines in an image of a spectrum, using a clustering algorithm we developed specifically for grating spectrographs, inspired by K-means clustering. Our algorithm will be used for calibrating a multi-object spectrograph (MOS) based on a digital micromirror device (DMD). For each spectral line in a spectrum image, our algorithm automatically finds the equation of the parabola which models it. Firstly, the positions of spectral peaks are identified by fitting Gaussian functions to the spectrum image. The peaks are then grouped into a given number of parabola-shaped clusters: each peak is iteratively assigned to the nearest parabola-shaped cluster, such that the orthogonal distances from the parabola are minimized. Smile can then be measured from the parabolas, and keystone as well if a marked slit is used. Our method has been verified on real-world data from a long-slit grating spectrograph with sub-pixel error, and on simulated data from a DMD-based MOS. Compared to traditional approaches, our method can measure distortions automatically and accurately while making use of more spectral lines. With a precise model and measurement of distortion, a corrected hyperspectral data cube can be created, which can be applied for real-time data processing.

We present a mathematical framework to produce a numerical estimation to the distribution of the lifetime of bubbles emerging from first order cosmological phase transitions. In a precedent work, we have implemented the Sound Shell model to predict the power spectra of gravitational waves arising from the decay of scalar fields. The model depends on the lifetime distribution of bubbles before collision, which in turn depends on the transition rate $\beta$ and the speed of the bubble wall $v$. Empirical exponential laws were used to describe the lifetime distribution and the resultant power spectra. For detonations, the results show a good agreement with simulations where the bubbles have nucleated simultaneously with a mean separation distance. However, for deflagrations, the results show that the amplitude of gravitational waves is higher at longer wavelength than simultaneous nucleation, indicating the importance of having a more accurate description of the lifetime distribution of bubble lifetime.

We present gravitational wave emission predictions based on three core collapse supernova simulations corresponding to three different progenitor masses. The masses span a large range, between 9.6 and 25 Solar masses, are all initially non-rotating, and are of two metallicities: zero and Solar. We compute both the temporal evolution of the gravitational wave strains for both the plus and the cross polarizations, as well as their spectral decomposition and characteristic strains.

We have used the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to obtain the first spatially resolved, mid-infrared (mid-IR) images of IIZw096, a merging luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) at $z = 0.036$. Previous observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope suggested that the vast majority of the total IR luminosity (LIR) of the system originated from a small region outside of the two merging nuclei. New observations with JWST/MIRI now allow an accurate measurement of the location and luminosity density of the source that is responsible for the bulk of the IR emission. We estimate that 40-70% of the IR bolometric luminosity, or $3-5 \times 10^{11}\,{\rm{L_{\odot}}}$, arises from a source no larger than 175pc in radius, suggesting a luminosity density of at least $3-5 \times 10^{12} \, {\rm{L_{\odot} \, kpc^{-2}}}$. In addition, we detect 11 other star forming sources, five of which were previously unknown. The MIRI F1500W/F560W colors of most of these sources, including the source responsible for the bulk of the far-IR emission, are much redder than the nuclei of local LIRGs. These observations reveal the power of JWST to disentangle the complex regions at the hearts of merging, dusty galaxies.

Hotspots observed at the edges of extended radio lobes in high-power radio galaxies and quasars mark the position of mildly-relativistic termination shock, where the jet bulk kinetic energy is converted to the internal energy of the jet particles. These are the only astrophysical systems where mildly-relativistic shocks can be directly resolved at various wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. The western hotspot in the radio galaxy Pictor\,A is an exceptionally good target in this respect, due to the combination of its angular size and high surface brightness. In our previous work, after a careful {\it Chandra} image deconvolution, we resolved this hotspot into a disk-like feature perpendicular to the jet axis, and identified this as the front of the jet termination shock. We argued for a synchrotron origin of the observed X-ray photons, which implied maximum electron energies of the order of 10--100\,TeV. Here we present a follow-up on that analysis, proposing in particular a novel method for constraining the shape of the X-ray continuum emission with sub-arcsec resolution. The method is based on a {\it Chandra} hardness map analysis, using separately de-convolved maps in the soft and hard X-ray bands. In this way, we have found there is a systematic, yet statistically significant gradient in the hardness ratio across the shock, such that the implied electron energy index ranges from $s\leq 2.2$ at the shock front to $s> 2.7$ in the near downstream. We discuss the implications of the obtained results for a general understanding of particle acceleration at mildly-relativistic shocks.

We propose a regularization-based deblurring method that works efficiently for galaxy images. The spatial resolution of a ground-based telescope is generally limited by seeing conditions and much worse than space-based telescopes. This circumstance has generated considerable research interest in restoration of spatial resolution. Since image deblurring is a typical inverse problem and often ill-posed, solutions tend to be unstable. To obtain a stable solution, much research has adopted regularization-based methods for image deblurring, but the regularization term is not necessarily appropriate for galaxy images. Although galaxies have an exponential or Sersic profile, the conventional regularization assumes the image profiles to behave linear in space. The significant deviation between the assumption and real situation leads to blurring the images and smoothing out the detailed structures. Clearly, regularization on logarithmic, i.e. magnitude domain, should provide a more appropriate assumption, which we explore in this study. We formulate a problem of deblurring galaxy images by an objective function with a Tikhonov regularization term on magnitude domain. We introduce an iterative algorithm minimizing the objective function with a primal-dual splitting method. We investigate the feasibility of the proposed method using simulation and observation images. In the simulation, we blur galaxy images with a realistic point spread function and add both Gaussian and Poisson noises. For the evaluation with the observed images, we use galaxy images taken by the Subaru HSC-SSP. Both of these evaluations show that our method successfully recovers the spatial resolution of the images and significantly outperforms the conventional methods. The code is publicly available from the Github ( https://github.com/kzmurata-astro/PSFdeconv_amag ).

The origin of complex organic molecules (COMs) in young Class 0 protostars has been one of the major questions in astrochemistry and star formation. While COMs are thought to form on icy dust grains via gas-grain chemistry, observational constraints on their formation pathways have been limited to gas-phase detection. Sensitive mid-infrared spectroscopy with JWST enables unprecedented investigation of COM formation by measuring their ice absorption features. We present an overview of JWST/MIRI MRS spectroscopy and imaging of a young Class 0 protostar, IRAS 15398-3359, and identify several major solid-state absorption features in the 4.9-28 $\mu$m wavelength range. These can be attributed to common ice species, such as H$_2$O, CH$_3$OH, NH$_3$, and CH$_4$, and may have contributions from more complex organic species, such as C$_2$H$_5$OH and CH$_3$CHO. The MRS spectra show many weaker emission lines at 6-8 $\mu$m, which are due to warm CO gas and water vapor, possibly from a young embedded disk previously unseen. Finally, we detect emission lines from [Fe II], [Ne II], [S I], and H$_2$, tracing a bipolar jet and outflow cavities. MIRI imaging serendipitously covers the south-western (blue-shifted) outflow lobe of IRAS 15398-3359, showing four shell-like structures similar to the outflows traced by molecular emission at sub-mm wavelengths. This overview analysis highlights the vast potential of JWST/MIRI observations and previews scientific discoveries in the coming years.

Formamide (NH2CHO) is considered an important prebiotic molecule because of its potential to form peptide bonds. It was recently detected in the atmosphere of the HH 212 protostellar disk on the Solar-System scale where planets will form. Here we have mapped it and its potential parent molecules HNCO and H2CO, along with other molecules CH3OH and CH3CHO, in the disk atmosphere, studying its formation mechanism. Interestingly, we find a stratified distribution of these molecules, with the outer emission radius increasing from ~ 24 au for NH2CHO and HNCO, to 36 au for CH3CHO, to 40 au for CH3OH, and then to 48 au for H2CO. More importantly, we find that the increasing order of the outer emission radius of NH2CHO, CH3OH, and H2CO is consistent with the decreasing order of their binding energies, supporting that they are thermally desorbed from the ice mantle on dust grains. We also find that HNCO, which has much lower binding energy than NH2CHO, has almost the same spatial distribution, kinematics, and temperature as NH2CHO, and is thus more likely a daughter species of desorbed NH2CHO. On the other hand, we find that H2CO has a more extended spatial distribution with different kinematics from NH2CHO, thus questioning whether it can be the gas-phase parent molecule of NH2CHO.

The Tandem Etalon Magnetograph (TEM) is one of the instruments of the Solar Magnetic Activity Research Telescope of Hida Observatory. The TEM is a partial disk (320" x240") filter magnetograph which scans the wavelength around a Fe I line at 6303 angstrom and achieves polarimetric sensitivity of < 5x10^-4 for each wavelength. To obtain the polarimeter response matrix of the instrument, we have carried out end-to-end polarization calibrations of the instrument. We have also measured the polarization characteristics of the polarization beam splitter (PBS), which is a crucial component of the instrument. As a result of end-to-end calibration, we found significant spatial variation in the response matrix across the field of view. From a laboratory test, we found that 1% of the magnitude of a circular diattenuation of the PBS was due to the retardation caused by the stress in the cube and the linear diattenuation of the film. Although the spatial variation across the field of view is more than ten times larger, to achieve the polarimetric sensitivity of < 5x10^-4, this can be well explained by the polarization characteristic of the PBS and corrected by using the response matrix obtained in the end-to-end calibration. In addition, we also obtained the daily variation of the polarization property of the TEM. We found that the crosstalk from Stokes Q to V changes an amount comparable to the tolerance through a day. In the present configuration, we require a pixel-by-pixel calibration every 100 minutes to meet the accuracy requirement.

We present the design of SCALES (Slicer Combined with Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy) a new 2-5 micron coronagraphic integral field spectrograph under construction for Keck Observatory. SCALES enables low-resolution (R~50) spectroscopy, as well as medium-resolution (R~4,000) spectroscopy with the goal of discovering and characterizing cold exoplanets that are brightest in the thermal infrared. Additionally, SCALES has a 12x12" field-of-view imager that will be used for general adaptive optics science at Keck. We present SCALES's specifications, its science case, its overall design, and simulations of its expected performance. Additionally, we present progress on procuring, fabricating and testing long lead-time components.

Variable features in black hole X-ray Binaries (BH-XRBs) are observed in different energy ranges and time scales. The physical origin of different spectral states in BH-XRBs and their relations with the underlying accretion disc are still elusive. To investigate the intermediate state of BH-XRBs during outburst, we simulate a truncated accretion disc around a Kerr black hole using a general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamical (GRMHD) framework under axisymmetry with adaptively refined mesh. Additionally, we have also carried out radiative transfer calculations for understanding the implications of disc dynamics on emission. Dynamically, the inner edge of the truncated accretion disc oscillates in a quasi-periodic fashion (QPO). The QPO frequency of oscillations $(\nu_{\rm QPO, max})$ increases as the magnetic field strength and magnetic resistivity increase. However, as the truncation radius increases, $\nu_{\rm QPO, max}$ decreases. In our simulation models, frequency varies between $7\times(10M_{\odot}/M_{\rm BH})$ Hz $\lesssim\nu_{\rm QPO, max}\lesssim20 \times (10M_{\odot}/M_{\rm BH})$ Hz, which is in the range of low-frequency QPOs. We further find evidence of transient shocks in the highly accreting stage during oscillation. Such a transient shock acts as an extended hot post-shock corona around the black hole that has an impact on its radiative properties. The radiative transfer calculations show signatures of these oscillations in the form of modulation in the edge-brightened structure of the accretion disc.

Many forefront observatories are located in remote areas and are difficult to visit, and the global pandemic made visits even harder. Several virtual tours have been executed on YouTube or Facebook Live, however, it is difficult to feel a sense of immersion and these are far from the actual experience of visiting a site. To solve this problem, we pursued an astronomy outreach event on the virtual reality social platform VRChat. To provide an experience similar to visiting the site, we performed a virtual tour of the ALMA Observatory in VRChat guided by an ALMA staff member. 47 guests participated in the tour. The post-event survey showed that the overall lecture and guided tour were very positively accepted by the participants. Respondents answered that the communication in the VRChat was more intensive than in other online outreach events or on-site public talks. The ratio of respondents who answered that they were able to communicate well with the guide was higher for those who used head mounted displays than for those who participated in other ways. 40 answered that the tour increased their interest in astronomy, and this did not show a clear difference depending on how they participated. In the free descriptions in the responses, there were noticeable mentions of the physical sensations received from the realistic 3D space, which left a positive and strong impression on the participants. The responses show that VRChat has the potential to be a strong tool for astronomy communication in the pandemic and post-pandemic eras.

We study the alignments of galaxy spin axes with respect to cosmic web filaments as a function of various properties of the galaxies and their constituent bulges and discs. We exploit the SAMI Galaxy Survey to identify 3D spin axes from spatially-resolved stellar kinematics and to decompose the galaxy into the kinematic bulge and disc components. The GAMA survey is used to reconstruct the cosmic filaments. The mass of the bulge, defined as the product of stellar mass and bulge-to-total flux ratio M_bulge=M_star x (B/T), is the primary parameter of correlation with spin-filament alignments: galaxies with lower bulge masses tend to have their spins parallel to the closest filament, while galaxies with higher bulge masses are more perpendicularly aligned. M_star and B/T separately show correlations, but they do not fully unravel spin-filament alignments. Other galaxy properties, such as visual morphology, stellar age, star formation activity, kinematic parameters and local environment, are secondary tracers. Focusing on S0 galaxies, we find preferentially perpendicular alignments, with the signal dominated by high-mass S0 galaxies. Studying bulge and disc spin-filament alignments separately reveals additional information about the formation pathways of the corresponding galaxies: bulges tend to have more perpendicular alignments, while discs show different tendencies according to their kinematic features and the mass of the associated bulge. The observed correlation between the flipping of spin-filament alignments and the growth of the bulge can be explained by mergers, which drive both alignment flips and bulge formation.

It has been argued that the low-mass primordial stars ($m_{\rm Pop III}\,\leq 0.8\,M_\odot$) are likely to enter the main sequence and hence possibly be found in the present-day Galaxy. However, due to limitations in existing numerical capabilities, current three-dimensional (3D) simulations of disk fragmentation are capable of following only a few thousands of years of evolution after the formation of the first protostar. In this work we use a modified version of {\sc Gadget}-2 smoothed particle hydrodynamics(SPH) code to present the results of non-linear collapse of the gas clouds associated with various degrees of initial solid body rotation (parameterized by $\beta$) using a piecewise polytropic equation of state. The 3D simulations are followed till the epoch when 50$M_{\odot}$ of mass has been accreted in protostellar objects, which is adequate enough to investigate the dynamics of the protostars with the surrounding gaseous medium and to determine the mass function, accretion rate and survival possibility of these protostellar objects till present epoch. We found that evolving protostars that stay within slow-rotating parent clouds can become massive enough due to accretion in the absence of radiative feedback, whereas $10-20 \%$ of those formed within a fast-rotating clouds ($\beta \ge 0.1$) have the possibility to get ejected from the gravitational bound cluster as low mass stars.

The cosmological principle states that our Universe is statistically homogeneous and isotropic at large scales. However, due to the relative motion of the Solar System, an additional kinematic dipole can be detected in the distribution of galaxies, which should be consistent with the dipole observed in the cosmic microwave background temperature. In this paper, we forecast the mock number count maps from the China Space Station Telescope photometric survey to reconstruct the kinematic dipole. Using the whole photometric mock data, we obtain a positive evidence for the dipole signal detection at 3 sigma confidence level, and the significance would be increased to 4 sigma when we only use the high-redshift samples with z = 1.8 to 4. This result can provide a good consistency check between the kinematic dipoles measured in the CMB and that from the large scale structure, which can help us to verify the basic cosmological principle.

In addition to the extended main-sequence turnoffs widely found in young and intermediate-age (~ 600 Myr-2 Gyr-old) star clusters, some younger clusters even exhibit split main sequences (MSs). Different stellar rotation rates are proposed to account for the bifurcated MS pattern, with red and blue MSs (rMS and bMS) populated by fast and slowly rotating stars, respectively. Using photometry from Gaia Early Data Release 3, we report a Galactic open cluster with a bifurcated MS, NGC 2422 ( ~ 90 Myr). We exclude the possibilities that the bifurcated MS pattern is caused by photometric noise or differential reddening. We aim to examine if stellar rotation can account for the split MSs. We use spectra observed with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope, and directly measured v sin i, the projected rotational velocities, for stars populating the bMS and rMS. We find that their v sin i values are weakly correlated with their loci in the color-magnitude diagram because of contamination caused by a large fraction of rMS stars with low projected rotational velocities. Based on the spectral energy distribution fitting method, we suggest that these slowly rotating stars at the rMS may hide a binary companion, which breaks the expected v sin i-color correlation. Future time-domain studies focusing on whether these slowly rotating stars are radial velocity variables are crucial to test the roles of stellar rotation and binarity in generating the split MSs.

AGB stars are one of the main sources of dust production in the Galaxy. However, it is not clear what this process looks like and where the dust is condensing in the circumstellar environment. By characterizing the location of the dust and the molecules in the close environment of an AGB star, we aim to achieve a better understanding the history of the dust formation process. We observed the carbon star R Scl with the VLTI-MATISSE instrument in L- and N-bands. The high angular resolution of the VLTI observations, combined with a large uv-plane coverage allowed us to use image reconstruction methods. To constrain the dust and molecules' location, we used two different methods: MIRA image reconstruction and the 1D code RHAPSODY. We found evidence of C2H2 and HCN molecules between 1 and 3.4 Rstar which is much closer to the star than the location of the dust (between 3.8 and 17.0 Rstar). We also estimated a mass-loss rate of 1.2+-0.4x10-6 Msun per yr. In the meantime, we confirmed the previously published characteristics of a thin dust shell, composed of amorphous carbon (amC) and silicon carbide (SiC). However, no clear SiC feature has been detected in the MATISSE visibilities. This might be caused by molecular absorption that can affect the shape of the SiC band at 11.3 micron. The appearance of the molecular shells is in good agreement with predictions from dynamical atmosphere models. For the first time, we co-located dust and molecules in the environment of an AGB star. We confirm that the molecules are located closer to the star than the dust. The MIRA images unveil the presence of a clumpy environment in the fuzzy emission region beyond 4.0 Rstar. Furthermore, with the available dynamic range and angular resolution, we did not detect the presence of a binary companion. Additional observations combining MATISSE and SAM-VISIR instrument should enable this detection in future studies.

We present a detailed photometric study of the bright cataclysmic variable BG Tri using ground-based observations mainly from Rozhen Observatory, ASAS-SN, TESS, and WASP sky surveys. We report the discovery of a negative superhump with P$_{-sh}$ = 0.1515(2) days and a co-existing superorbital variation with P=3.94(53) days in data from 2019 and 2020. A positive superhump with P$_{+sh}$ = 0.1727(14) days is also discovered in data from 2006. The obtained negative superhump deficit $\varepsilon_{-}$=0.044(1) and the positive superhump excess $\varepsilon_+$=0.090(9) give us an independent photometric evaluation of the mass ratio (q) of the system, which we find to be q$_-$ = 0.37(2) and q$_+$ = 0.40(5) respectively. We also present a study of the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) and stochastic variability (flickering) in BG Tri. The light curves show a rich mixture of simultaneously overlapping quasi-periods ranging from 5 to 25 minutes. The multi-color (UBVRI) photometric observations from Rozhen Observatory reveal the typical increase of the flickering amplitudes to the shorter wavelengths. The recently introduced A$_{60}$ amplitude of the flickering light source in all studied photometric bands is systematically lower when the negative superhump is gone in season 2021.

Recurrent, arc-shaped intensity disturbances were detected by EUV channels in an active region. The fronts were observed to propagate along a coronal loop bundle rooted in a small area within a sunspot umbra. Previous works have linked these intensity disturbances to slow magnetoacoustic waves that propagate from the lower atmosphere to the corona along the magnetic field. The slow magnetoacoustic waves propagate at the local cusp speed. However, the measured propagation speeds from the intensity images are usually smaller as they are subject to projection effects due to the inclination of the magnetic field with respect to the line-of-sight. Here, we aim to understand the effect of projection by comparing observed speeds with those from a numerical model. Using multi-wavelength data we determine the periods present in the observations at different heights of the solar atmosphere through Fourier analysis. We calculate the plane-of-sky speeds along one of the loops from the cross-correlation time lags obtained as a function of distance along the loop. We perform a 2D ideal MHD simulation of an active region embedded in a stratified atmosphere. We drive slow waves from the photosphere with a 3 minutes periodicity. Synthetic time-distance maps are generated from the forward-modelled intensities in coronal wavelengths and the projected propagation speeds are calculated. The intensity disturbances show a dominant period between [2-3] minutes at different heights of the atmosphere. The apparent propagation speeds calculated for coronal channels exhibit an accelerated pattern with values increasing from 40 to 120 km/s as the distance along the loop rises. The propagation speeds obtained from the synthetic time-distance maps also exhibit accelerated profiles within a similar range of speeds. We conclude that the accelerated propagation in our observations is due to the projection effect.

The kinematics of galaxies provide valuable insights in their physics and assembly history. Kinematics are governed not only by the gravitational potential, but also by merger events and stellar feedback processes such as stellar winds and supernova explosions. Aims. We aim at identifying what governs the kinematics in a sample of SDSS selected nearby starburst galaxies, by obtaining spatially resolved measurements of the gas and stellar kinematics. We obtain near-infrared integral field K-band spectroscopy with VLT/SINFONI of 15 compact starburst galaxies. We derive the integrated as well as spatially resolved stellar and gas kinematics. The stellar kinematics are derived from the CO absorption bands, and Pa$\alpha$ and Br$\gamma$ emission lines are used for the gas kinematics. Based on the integrated spectra we find that the majority of galaxies have gas and stellar velocity dispersion that are comparable. A spatially resolved comparison shows that the six galaxies that deviate show evidence for a bulge or stellar feedback. Two galaxies are identified as mergers based on their double peaked emission lines. In our sample, we find a negative correlation between the ratio of the rotational velocity over the velocity dispersion (vrot/$\sigma$) and the star formation rate surface density. We propose a scenario where the global kinematics of the galaxies are determined by gravitational instabilities that affect both the stars and gas. This process could be driven by mergers or accretion events. Effects of stellar feedback on the ionised gas are more localised and detected only in the spatially resolved analysis. The mass derived from the velocity dispersion provides a reliable mass even if the galaxy cannot be spatially resolved. The technique used in this paper is applicable to galaxies at low and high redshift with the next generation of infrared focussed telescopes (JWST, ELT).

From the early radiation of type II-P supernovae (SNe), it has been claimed that the majority of their red supergiant (RSG) progenitors are enshrouded by large amounts of circumstellar material (CSM) at the point of explosion. The inferred density of this CSM is orders of magnitude above that seen around RSGs in the field, and is therefore indicative of a short phase of elevated mass-loss prior to explosion. It is not known over what timescale this material gets there: is it formed over several decades by a `superwind' with mass-loss rate $\dot{M} \sim10^{-3}\,{\rm M_\odot\,yr^{-1}}$; or is it formed in less than a year by a brief `outburst' with $\dot{M}\sim10^{-1}\,{\rm M_\odot\,yr^{-1}}$? In this paper, we simulate spectra for RSGs undergoing such mass-loss events, and demonstrate that in either scenario the CSM suppresses the optical flux by over a factor of 100, and that of the near-IR by a factor of 10. We argue that the `superwind' model can be excluded as it causes the progenitor to be heavily obscured for decades before explosion, and is strongly at odds with observations of II-P progenitors taken within 10 years of core-collapse. Instead, our results favour abrupt outbursts $<$1 year before explosion as the explanation for the early optical radiation of II-P SNe. We therefore predict that RSGs will undergo dramatic photometric variability in the optical and infrared in the weeks-to-months before core-collapse.

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are very energetic cosmological transients. Long GRBs are usually associated with Type Ib/c Supernovae (SNe), and we refer to them as GRB-SNe. Since the associated SN for a given GRB is observed only at low redshift, a possible selection effect exists when we consider intrinsically faint sources which cannot be observed at high redshift. Thus, it is important to explore the possible relationships between GRB and SN parameters after these have been corrected for astrophysical biases due to the instrumental selection effects and redshift evolution of the variables involved. So far, only GRB prompt emission properties have been checked against the SNe Ib/c properties without considering the afterglow (AG). This work investigates the existence of relationships among GRB's prompt and AG and associated SN properties. We investigate 91 bidimensional correlations among the SN and GRB observables before and after their correction for selection biases and evolutionary effects. As a result of this investigation, we find hints of a new correlation with a Pearson correlation coefficient > 0.50 and a probability of being drawn by chance < 0.05. This correlation is between the luminosity at the end of the GRB optical plateau emission and the rest-frame peak time of the SN. According to this relation, the brightest optical plateaus are accompanied by the largest peak times. This correlation is corrected for selection biases and redshift evolution and may provide new constraints for the astrophysical models associated with the GRB-SNe connection.

We present the results of our identification of 17 X-ray sources detected in the 4-12 keV energy range by the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope during the first year of the SRG all-sky survey. Three of them have been discovered by the ART-XC telescopes, while the remaining ones have already been known previously as X-ray sources, but their nature has remained unknown. We took optical spectra for nine sources located in the northern sky $\delta > -20$ deg with the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope at the Sayan Observatory (the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish telescope at the TUBITAK National Observatory. For the remaining objects we have analyzed the archival optical spectra taken during the 6dF survey. All of the investigated objects have turned out to be Seyfert galaxies (eight of type 1, seven of type 2, and two of intermediate type 1.8) at redshifts up to $z\approx 0.15$. Based on data from the eROSITA and ART-XC telescopes onboard the SRG observatory, we have obtained X-ray spectra in the energy range 0.2-20 keV for eight sources. A significant intrinsic absorption ($N_H > 10^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$) has been detected in three of them, with two of them being probably strongly absorbed ($N_H \sim 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$). This paper is a continuation of the series of publications on the optical identification of active galactic nuclei detected by the ART-XC telescope.

Modern sky surveys are producing ever larger amounts of observational data, which makes the application of classical approaches for the classification and analysis of objects challenging and time-consuming. However, this issue may be significantly mitigated by the application of automatic machine and deep learning methods. We propose ULISSE, a new deep learning tool that, starting from a single prototype object, is capable of identifying objects sharing the same morphological and photometric properties, and hence of creating a list of candidate sosia. In this work, we focus on applying our method to the detection of AGN candidates in a Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxy sample, since the identification and classification of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in the optical band still remains a challenging task in extragalactic astronomy. Intended for the initial exploration of large sky surveys, ULISSE directly uses features extracted from the ImageNet dataset to perform a similarity search. The method is capable of rapidly identifying a list of candidates, starting from only a single image of a given prototype, without the need for any time-consuming neural network training. Our experiments show ULISSE is able to identify AGN candidates based on a combination of host galaxy morphology, color and the presence of a central nuclear source, with a retrieval efficiency ranging from 21% to 65% (including composite sources) depending on the prototype, where the random guess baseline is 12%. We find ULISSE to be most effective in retrieving AGN in early-type host galaxies, as opposed to prototypes with spiral- or late-type properties. Based on the results described in this work, ULISSE can be a promising tool for selecting different types of astrophysical objects in current and future wide-field surveys (e.g. Euclid, LSST etc.) that target millions of sources every single night.

We present new observations concerning the procedure for the reconstruction of the lost eclipse events engraved in the Saros spiral cells of the Antikythera Mechanism. For the reconstructed eclipse events we applied the assumed, albeit missing, Draconic gearing of the Antikythera Mechanism, which was probably a part of the Mechanism gearing, representing the fourth lunar motion, the Draconic cycle. The Draconic gearing is very critical for the eclipse prediction and defines whether an eclipse will occur. For our research we created a program which presents the phase of the four lunar cycles and the position of the Draconic pointer relative to the ecliptic limits. After calibrating the software according to the preserved eclipse events, the lost eclipse events of the Saros spiral were calculated and discussed. The procedure for the calculation of the events times by using solely the Mechanism is also presented. The eccentricity error of a gear which is preserved on the ancient prototype is discussed. An experimental setup facilitated the analysis of the mechanical characteristics of gears with triangular teeth and the errors. The experimental study of the gears errors revealed the strong impact the Antikythera Mechanism pointers have on the results.

Shock metamorphism in ordinary chondrites allows for reconstructing impact events between asteroids in the main asteroid belt. Shock-darkening of ordinary chondrites occurs at the onset of complete shock melting of the rock (>70 GPa) or injection of sulfide and metal melt into the cracks within solid silicates (\sim 50 GPa). Darkening of ordinary chondrites masks diagnostic silicate features observed in the reflectance spectrum of S-complex asteroids so they appear similar to C/X-complex asteroids. In this work, we investigate the shock pressure and associated metamorphism pattern in rubble-pile asteroids at impact velocities of 4-10 km/s. We use the iSALE shock physics code and implement two-dimensional models with simplified properties in order to quantify the influence of the following parameters on shock-darkening efficiency: impact velocity, porosity within the asteroid, impactor size, and ejection efficiency. We observe that, in rubble-pile asteroids, the velocity and size of the impactor are the constraining parameters in recording high-grade shock metamorphism. Yet, the recorded fraction of higher shock stages remains low (<0.2). Varying the porosity of the boulders from 10% to 30% does not significantly affect the distribution of pressure and fraction of shock-darkened material. The pressure distribution in rubble-pile asteroids is very similar to that of monolithic asteroids with the same porosity. Thus, producing significant volumes of high-degree shocked ordinary chondrites requires strong collision events (impact velocities above 8 km/s and/or large sizes of impactors). A large amount of asteroid material escapes during an impact event (up to 90%); however, only a small portion of the escaping material is shock-darkened (6%).

Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) bursts are localised features thought to be driven by magnetic reconnection. Although these events are well-studied, it remains unknown whether their properties vary as their host active regions (ARs) evolve. Here, we aim to understand whether the measurable properties of IRIS bursts are consistent during the evolution of their host ARs. We study 42 dense 400-step rasters sampled by IRIS. These rasters each covered one of seven ARs, with each AR being sampled at least four times over a minimum of 48 hours. An automated detection algorithm is used to identify IRIS burst profiles. Data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager are also used to provide context about the co-spatial line-of-sight magnetic field. Of the rasters studied, 36 were found to contain IRIS burst profiles. Five ARs (11850, 11909, 11916, 12104, and 12139) contained IRIS burst profiles in each raster that sampled them whilst one AR (11871) was found to contain no such spectra at any time. A total of 4019 IRIS burst profiles belonging to 752 connected objects, which we define as parent IRIS bursts, were identified. IRIS burst profiles were only detected within compact regions in each raster, with these regions appearing to increase in size as the host ARs aged. No systematic changes in the frequency of IRIS burst profiles or the spectral characteristic of IRIS burst profiles through time were found for these ARs. Finally, 93 % of parent IRIS bursts with areas between 1 arcsec^2 and 4 arcsec^2 occurred co-spatial to bi-poles in the photosphere. Overall, IRIS bursts have remarkably consistent spectral and spatial properties throughout the evolution of ARs. These events predominantly form within the cores of larger and more complex ARs, with the regions containing these events appearing to increase in size as the host region itself evolves.

Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe), structures powered by energetic pulsars, are known for their detection across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, with diverse morphologies and spectral behaviour between these bands. The temporal evolution of the morphology and spectrum of a PWN depends strongly on the properties of the associated neutron star, the relativistic outflow powered by its rotational energy, and surrounding medium, and thereby can vary markedly between objects. Due the continuous, but decreasing, injection of electrons and positrons into the PWN by the pulsar, the brightness and spectral variation within and amongst their wind nebulae reflect the magnetic field structure and particle transport within the PWN. This can include complex motions such as reverse flows or turbulence due to shock interactions and disruption to the nebula. During the last stage of the PWN's evolution, when the neutron star moves supersonically with respect to its environment, the escape of accelerated particles into the surrounding medium creates an extensive halo evident in very-high-energy gamma-rays. This chapter describes some of the identifying characteristics and key aspects of pulsar wind nebulae through their several evolutionary stages.

We study the star formation history (SFH) of the ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) Dragonfly 44 (DF44) based on the simultaneous fit to near-ultraviolet to near-infrared photometry and high signal-to-noise optical spectroscopy. In fitting the observations we adopt an advanced physical model with a flexible SFH, and we discuss the results in the context of the degeneracies between stellar population parameters. Through reconstructing the mass-assembly history with a prior for extended star formation (akin to methods in the literature) we find that DF44 formed 90 per cent of its stellar mass by $z\sim 0.9$ ($\sim 7.2$ Gyr ago). In comparison, using a prior that prefers concentrated star formation (as informed by previous studies of DF44's stellar populations) suggests that DF44 formed as early as $z\sim 8$ ($\sim 12.9$ Gyr ago). Regardless of whether DF44 is old or very old, the SFHs imply early star formation and rapid quenching. This result, together with DF44's large size and evidence that it is on its first infall into the Coma cluster, challenges UDG formation scenarios from simulations that treat all UDGs as contiguous with the canonical dwarf population. While our results cannot confirm any particular formation scenario, we can conclude from this that DF44 experienced a rare quenching event.

The large icy moons of Jupiter formed in a circumplanetary disk (CPD). CPDs are fed by infalling circumstellar gas and dust which may be shock-heated upon accretion or sublimated while passing through an optically thin gap. Accreted material is then either incorporated into moons, falls into the planet, or is lost beyond the disk edge on relatively short timescales. If ices are sublimated during accretion onto the CPD we know there must be sufficient time for them to recondense or moons such as Ganymede or Callisto could not form. The chemical timescale to form sufficiently icy solids places a novel constraint on the dynamical behaviour and properties of CPDs. We use the radiation thermochemical code ProDiMo to analyze how the radial ice abundance evolves in CPDs. We consider different initial chemical conditions of the disk to explore the consequences of infalling material being inherited from the circumstellar disk or being reset to atomic conditions by shock-heating. We contrast the timescales of ice formation with those of viscous evolution and radial dust drift. Water ice can form very efficiently in the CPD from initially atomic conditions, as a significant fraction is efficiently re-deposited on dust grains within < 1 yr. Radial grain drift timescales are in general longer than those of ice formation on grains. Icy grains of size $a < 3$ mm retain their icy mantles while crossing an optically thin circumstellar disk gap at 5 au for $L_* < 10 $ L$_{\odot}$. Three-body reactions play an important role in water formation in the dense midplane condition of CPDs. The CPD midplane must be depleted in dust relative to the circumstellar disk by a factor 10-50 to produce solids with the ice to rock ratio of the icy Galilean satellites. The CPD snowline is not erased by radial grain drift, which is consistent with the compositional gradient of the Galilean satellites being primordial.

Momentum feedback from isolated supernova remnants (SNRs) have been increasingly recognized by modern cosmological simulations as a resolution-independent means to implement the effects of feedback in galaxies, such as turbulence and winds. However, the integrated momentum yield from SNRs is uncertain due to the effects of SN clustering and interstellar medium (ISM) inhomogeneities. In this paper, we use spatially-resolved observations of the prominent 10-kpc star-forming ring of M31 to test models of mass-weighted ISM turbulence driven by momentum feedback from isolated, non-overlapping SNRs. We use a detailed stellar-age distribution (SAD) map from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey, observationally-constrained SN delay-time distributions, and maps of the atomic and molecular hydrogen to estimate the mass-weighted velocity dispersion using the Martizzi et al. ISM turbulence model. Our estimates are within a factor of 2 of the observed mass-weighted velocity dispersion in most of the ring, but exceed observations at densities $\lesssim 0.2$ cm$^{-3}$ and SN rates $>2.1\times 10^{-4}$ SN yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$, even after accounting for plausible variations in stellar-age distribution models and ISM scale height assumptions. We conclude that at high SN rates the momentum deposited is most likely suppressed by the non-linear effects of SN clustering, while at low densities, SNRs reach pressure equilibrium before the cooling phase. These corrections should be introduced in models of momentum-driven feedback and ISM turbulence.

The post-reionization $(z \le 6)$ neutral hydrogen (HI) 21-cm intensity mapping signal holds the potential to probe the large scale structures, study the expansion history and constrain various cosmological parameters. Here we apply the Tapered Gridded Estimator (TGE) to estimate $P(k_{\perp},k_{\parallel})$ the power spectrum of the $z = 2.28$ $(432.8\, {\rm MHz})$ redshifted 21-cm signal using a $24.4\,{\rm MHz}$ sub-band drawn from uGMRT Band 3 observations of European Large-Area ISO Survey-North 1 (ELAIS-N1). The TGE allows us to taper the sky response which suppresses the foreground contribution from sources in the periphery of the telescope's field of view. We apply the TGE on the measured visibility data to estimate the multi-frequency angular power spectrum (MAPS) $C_{\ell}(\Delta\nu)$ from which we determine $P(k_{\perp},k_{\parallel})$ using maximum-likelihood which naturally overcomes the issue of missing frequency channels (55 \% here). The entire methodology is validated using simulations. For the data, using the foreground avoidance technique, we obtain a $2\,\sigma$ upper limit of $\Delta^2(k) \le (133.97)^2 \, {\rm mK}^{2}$ for the 21-cm brightness temperature fluctuation at $k = 0.347 \, \textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$. This corresponds to $[\Omega_{\rm HI}b_{\rm HI}] \le 0.23$, where $\Omega_{\rm HI}$ and $b_{\rm HI}$ respectively denote the cosmic \HI mass density and the \HI bias parameter. A previous work has analyzed $8 \, {\rm MHz}$ of the same data at $z=2.19$, and reported $\Delta^{2}(k) \le (61.49)^{2} \, {\rm mK}^{2}$ and $[\Omega_{\rm HI} b_{\rm HI}] \le 0.11$ at $k=1 \, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$. The upper limits presented here are still orders of magnitude larger than the expected signal corresponding to $\Omega_{\rm HI} \sim 10^{-3}$ and $b_{\rm HI} \sim 2 $.

Context. Magnetic fields are key to understand galaxy evolution, regulating stellar feedback and star formation in galaxies. Aims. We probe the origin of magnetic fields in late-type galaxies, measuring magnetic field strengths, exploring whether magnetic fields are only passive constituents of the interstellar medium, or whether they are active constituents being part of the local energy equilibrium. Methods. We measure equipartition magnetic field strengths in 39 galaxies from LoTSS-DR2 using LOFAR observations at 144 MHz with 6 arcsec angular resolution which (0.1-0.7 kpc). For a subset of 9 galaxies, we obtain atomic and molecular mass surface densities using HI and CO(2-1) data, from the THINGS and HERACLES surveys, respectively. These data are at 13 arcsec angular resolution, which corresponds to 0.3-1.2 kpc at the distances of our galaxies. We measure kinetic energy densities using HI and CO velocity dispersions. Results. We found a mean magnetic field strength of 3.6-12.5 $\mu$G with a mean of $7.9 \pm 2.0$ $\mu$G across the full sample. The magnetic field strength has the tightest and steepest relation with the total gas surface density with $B\propto \Sigma_{\rm HI+H2}^{0.309\pm0.006}$. The relation with the star-formation rate surface density and molecular gas surface density has significantly flatter slopes. After accounting for the influence of cosmic-ray transport, we found an even steeper relation of $B\propto \Sigma_{\rm HI+H2}^{0.393\pm0.009}$. Conclusions. These results suggest that the magnetic field is regulated by a $B$-$\rho$ relation, which has its origin in the saturation of the small-scale dynamo. This is borne out by an agreement of kinetic and magnetic energy densities although local deviations do exist in particular in areas of high kinetic energy densities where the magnetic field is sub-dominant.

Several types of inertial modes have been detected on the Sun. Properties of these inertial modes have been studied in the linear regime but have not been studied in nonlinear simulations of solar rotating convection. Comparing the nonlinear simulations, the linear theory, and the solar observations is important to better understand the differences between the models and the real Sun. We wish to detect and characterize the modes present in a nonlinear numerical simulation of solar convection, in particular to understand the amplitudes and lifetimes of the modes. We developed a code with a Yin-Yang grid to carry out fully-nonlinear numerical simulations of rotating convection in a spherical shell. The stratification is solar-like up to 0.96R. The simulations cover a duration of about 15 solar years. Various large-scale modes at low frequencies are extracted from the simulation. Their characteristics are compared to those from the linear model and to the observations. Among other modes, both the equatorial Rossby modes and the columnar convective modes are seen in the simulation. The columnar convective modes contain most of the large-scale velocity power outside the tangential cylinder and substantially contribute to the heat and angular momentum transport. Equatorial Rossby modes with no radial node (n=0) are also found: They have the same spatial structures as the linear eigenfunctions. They are stochastically excited by convection and have the amplitudes of a few m/s and mode linewidths of about 20-30 nHz, which are comparable to those observed on the Sun. We also confirm the existence of the mixed modes between the equatorial Rossby modes and the columnar convective modes in our nonlinear simulation, as predicted by the linear eigenmode analysis. We also see the high-latitude mode with m=1 in our nonlinear simulation but its amplitude is much weaker than that observed on the Sun.

The middle infrared (MIR) channel of the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) instrument onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) ESA-Roscosmos mission has performed Solar occultation measurements of the Martian atmosphere in the 2.3-4.2 $\mu$m spectral range since March 2018, which now covers two Martian Years (MY). We use the methodology previously developed for the study of the MY 34 Global Dust Storm (GDS) (Stcherbinine et al., 2020) to monitor the properties of the Martian water ice clouds over the first two Martian years covered by ACS-MIR (effective radii, extinction, altitude). The observations encompass the period $L_s$ = 163{\deg} in MY 34 to $L_s$ = 181{\deg} in MY 36. We determine that the typical altitude of the clouds varies by 20 to 40 km between the summer and winter, with a maximum extension up to 80 km during summer in the midlatitudes. Similarly, we also note that for a limited temporal range, the altitude of the clouds also varies by 20 to 40 km between the polar regions and the midlatitudes. We also compare observations acquired during the MY 34 GDS to observations from the same period in MY 35, using that latter as a reference to characterize the effects of this GDS on the clouds' properties. In addition, we compare our retrievals with the predictions of the Mars Planetary Climate Model (PCM), which shows a reasonable agreement overall for the altitude of the clouds, although the model usually predicts lower altitudes for the top of the clouds.

The ATLASGAL survey has characterised the properties of approximately 1000 embedded HII regions and found an empirical relationship between the clump mass and bolometric luminosity that covers 3-4 orders of magnitude. Comparing this relation with simulated clusters drawn from an initial mass function and using different star formation efficiencies we find that a single value is unable to fit the observed luminosity to mass ($L/M$) relation. We have used a Monte Carlo simulation to generate 200,000 clusters using the $L/M$-ratio as a constraint to investigate how the star formation efficiency changes as a function of clump mass. This has revealed that the star formation efficiency decreases with increasing clump mass with a value of 0.2 for clumps with masses of a few hundred solar masses and dropping to 0.08 for clumps with masses of a few thousand solar masses. We find good agreement between our results and star formation efficiencies determined from counts of embedded objects in nearby molecular clouds. Using the star formation efficiency relationship and the infrared excess time for embedded star formation of $2\pm1$, Myr we estimate the Galactic star formation rate to be approximately $0.9\pm0.45$ Msun yr$^{-1}$, which is in good agreement with previously reported values. This model has the advantage of providing a direct means of determining the star formation rate and avoids the difficulties encountered in converting infrared luminosities to stellar mass that affect previous galactic and extragalactic studies.

The quantum chromodynamics axion with a decay constant near the Grand Unification (GUT) scale has an ultralight mass near a neV. We show, however, that axion-like particles with masses near the keV - PeV range with GUT-scale decay constants are also well motivated in that they naturally arise from axiverse theories with dark non-abelian gauge groups. We demonstrate that the correct dark matter abundance may be achieved by the heavy axions in these models through the misalignment mechanism in combination with a period of early matter domination from the long-lived dark glueballs of the same gauge group. Heavy axion dark matter may decay to two photons, yielding mono-energetic electromagnetic signatures that may be detectable by current or next-generation space-based telescopes. We project the sensitivity of next-generation telescopes including $\textit {Athena,}$ AMEGO, and e-ASTROGAM to such decaying axion dark matter. If the dark sector contains multiple confining gauge groups, then the observed primordial baryon asymmetry may also be achieved in this scenario through spontaneous baryogenesis. We present explicit orbifold constructions where the dark gauge groups unify with the SM at the GUT scale and axions emerge as the fifth components of dark gauge fields with bulk Chern-Simons terms.

We compute the corrections to the primordial power spectrum that should arise in realistic inflationary scenarios if there exists a generic covariant ultraviolet (UV) cutoff, as commonly motivated by considerations of quantum gravity. The corrections to the spectrum consist of small superimposed oscillations whose frequency, phase, and amplitude are functions of the comoving wave number. For any given cosmological parameters that characterize the slow roll during inflation, the frequency predicted for these oscillations depends only on the value of the UV cutoff. The specificity of this prediction can be used to increase experimental sensitivity through the filtering for template signatures. This will allow experiments to put new bounds on where a natural UV cutoff can be located between the Planck scale and the Hubble scale during inflation. It may even bring imprints of Planck-scale physics in the cosmic microwave background and in structure formation within the range of observations.

We describe the newest generation of the SLAC Microresonator RF (SMuRF) electronics, a warm digital control and readout system for microwave-frequency resonator-based cryogenic detector and multiplexer systems such as microwave SQUID multiplexers ($\mu$mux) or microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs). Ultra-sensitive measurements in particle physics and astronomy increasingly rely on large arrays of cryogenic sensors, which in turn necessitate highly multiplexed readout and accompanying room-temperature electronics. Microwave-frequency resonators are a popular tool for cryogenic multiplexing, with the potential to multiplex thousands of detector channels on one readout line. The SMuRF system provides the capability for reading out up to 3328 channels across a 4-8 GHz bandwidth. Notably, the SMuRF system is unique in its implementation of a closed-loop tone-tracking algorithm that minimizes RF power transmitted to the cold amplifier, substantially relaxing system linearity requirements and effective noise from intermodulation products. Here we present a description of the hardware, firmware, and software systems of the SMuRF electronics, comparing achieved performance with science-driven design requirements. We focus in particular on the case of large channel count, low bandwidth applications, but the system has been easily reconfigured for high bandwidth applications. The system described here has been successfully deployed in lab settings and field sites around the world and is baselined for use on upcoming large-scale observatories.

All existing treatments of bimetric MOND (BIMOND) -- a class of relativistic versions of MOND -- have dealt with a rather restricted sub-class: The Lagrangian of the interaction between the gravitational degrees of freedom -- the two metrics -- is a function of a certain {\it single} scalar argument built from the difference in connections of the two metrics. I show that the scope of BIMOND is much richer: The two metrics can couple through several scalars to give theories that all have a ``good'' nonrelativistic (NR) limit -- one that accounts correctly, a-la MOND, for the dynamics of galactic systems, {\it including gravitational lensing}. This extended-BIMOND framework exhibits a qualitative departure from the way we think of MOND at present, as encapsulated, in all its aspects, by one ``interpolating function'' of one acceleration variable. After deriving the general field equations, I pinpoint the subclass of theories that satisfy the pivotal requirement of a good NR limit. These involve three independent, quadratic scalar variables. In the NR limit these scalars all reduce to the same acceleration scalar, and the NR theory then does hinge on one function of a {\it a single} acceleration variable -- representing the NR MOND ``interpolating function'', whose form is largely dictated by the observed NR galactic dynamics. However, these scalars behave differently, in different relativistic contexts. So, the full richness of the multi-variable Lagrangian, as it enters cosmology, for example, is hardly informed by what we learn from observations of galactic dynamics. In this paper, I present the formalism, with some generic examples. I also consider some cosmological solutions where the two metrics are small departures from one Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker metric. This may offer a framework for describing cosmology within the extended BIMOND.

This paper presents a study for the realization of a space mission which employs nanosatellites driven by an external laser source impinging on an optimized lightsail, as a valuable technology to launch swarms of spacecrafts into the Solar System. Nanosatellites propelled by laser can be useful for the heliosphere exploration and for planetary observation, if suitably equipped with sensors, or be adopted for the establishment of network systems when placed into specific orbits. By varying the area-to-mass ratio (i.e., the ratio between the sail area and the payload weight) and the laser power, it is possible to insert the spacecraft into different hyperbolic orbits with respect to Earth, thus reaching the target by means of controlled trajectories in a relatively short amount of time. A mission involving nanosatellites of the order of 1 kg of mass is envisioned, by describing all the on-board subsystems and satisfying all the requirements in term of power and mass budget. Particular attention is paid to the telecommunication subsystem, which must offer all the necessary functionalities. To fabricate the lightsail, the thin films technology has been considered, by verifying the sail thermal stability during the thrust phase. Moreover, the problem of mechanical stability of the lightsail has been tackled, showing that the distance between the ligthsail structure and the payload plays a pivotal role. Some potential applications of the proposed technology are discussed, such as the mapping of the heliospheric environment.

We present the general properties of dynamic dissipative fluid distribution endowed with hyperbolical symmetry. All the equations required for its analysis are exhibited and used to contrast the behavior of the system with the spherically symmetric case. Several exact solutions are exhibited and prospective applications to astrophysical and cosmological scenarios are discussed.

Eccentricity of the inspiraling compact binaries can greatly improve the distance inference and source localization of dark sirens. In this paper, we continue the research for the space-borne atom interferometric gravitational-wave detector AEDGE and investigate the effects of eccentricity on the dark sirens observed by AEDGE in the mid-band. We simulate five types of typical compact binaries with component mass ranging from $1-100~M_{\odot}$. The largest improvement for both distance inference and localization can be as much as 1.5--3 orders of magnitude. We then construct the catalogs of dark sirens observed by AEDGE in five years. We find eccentricity is very crucial to the detection of golden binary black holes (BBH) whose host galaxy can be uniquely identified. With only 5--10 golden dark BBHs one can obtain a 2 percent precision measurement of $H_0$ which is sufficient to arbitrate the Hubble tension. Regardless of eccentricity, AEDGE can also observe tens of golden binary neutron stars (BNS) and neutron star--black hole binaries (NSBH) with unique host galaxies. These golden dark sirens can serve as early warnings for the follow-up observations of gravitational waves in the high frequency band as well as the search of their electromagnetic counterparts. Our results show eccentricity is a crucial factor in the detection, data analysis, and application of GWs with the atom interferometers in the mid-band.

In this work, we study the inflationary cosmology in modified gravity theory $f(R, T) = R + 2 \lambda T$ ($\lambda$ is the modified gravity parameter) with three distinct class of inflation potentials (i) $\phi^p e^{-\alpha\phi}$, (ii) $(1-\phi^p)e^{-\alpha\phi}$ and (iii) $\frac{\alpha\phi^2}{1+\alpha\phi^2}$ where $\alpha$, $p$ are the potential parameters. We have derived the Einstein equation, potential slow-roll parameters, the scalar spectral index $n_s$, tensor to scalar ratio $r$, and tensor spectral index $n_T$ in modified gravity theory. We obtain the range of $\lambda$ using the spectral index constraints in the parameter space of the potentials. Comparing our results with PLANCK 2018 data and WMAP data, we found out the modified gravity parameter $\lambda$ lies between $-0.37<\lambda<1.483$.

Fast and collisional flavor instabilities possibly occur in the neutrino decoupling regions of core-collapse supernovae and neutron-star mergers. To gain a better understanding of the relevant flavor dynamics, we numerically solve for the collisionally unstable evolution in a homogeneous, anisotropic model. In these calculations collisional instability is precipitated by unequal neutrino and antineutrino scattering rates. We compare the solutions obtained using neutral-current and charged-current interactions. We study the nonlinear development of fast instabilities when subject to asymmetric scattering rates, finding evidence that the onset of collisional instability is hastened by fast oscillations. We discuss connections to other recent works on collision-affected fast flavor conversion.

We assess the capabilities of a ground-based gamma-ray observatory to detect astrophysical neutrinos with energies in the $100\,{\rm TeV}$ to $100\,{\rm PeV}$ range. The identification of these events would be done through the measurement of very inclined extensive air showers induced by downward-going and upward-going neutrinos. The discrimination of neutrino-induced showers in the overwhelming cosmic-ray background is achieved by analysing the balance of the total electromagnetic and muonic signals of the shower at the ground. We demonstrate that a ${\rm km^2}$-scale wide field-of-view ground-based gamma-ray observatory could detect a couple of Very-High to Ultra-High energy (VHE-UHE) neutrino events per year with a reasonable pointing accuracy, making it an interesting facility for multi-messenger studies with both photons and neutrinos.

A recent study established a correspondence between the Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) and Modified theories of gravity, particularly Stelle gravity. We investigate the consequences of this correspondence for inflation and cosmological observables by evaluating the power spectrum of the scalar and tensor perturbations using two distinct methods. First, we employ PLANCK observations to determine the GUP parameter $\gamma_0$. Then, we use the value of $\gamma_0$ to investigate the implications of quantum gravity on the power spectrum of primordial gravitational waves and their possible detectability in the next-generation detectors, like Einstein Telescope and Cosmic explorer.