Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DARK STARS: IMPROVED MODELS AND FIRST PULSATION RESULTS

We use the stellar evolution code MESA to study dark stars (DSs). DSs, which are powered by dark matter (DM) self-annihilation rather than by nuclear fusion, may be the first stars to form in the universe. We compute stellar models for accreting DSs with masses up to 106 M☉. The heating due to DM annihilation is self-consistently included, assuming extended adiabatic contraction of DM within the minihalos in which DSs form. We find remarkably good overall agreement with previous models, which assumed polytropic interiors. There are some differences in the details, with positive implications for observability. We found that, in the mass range of 104–105M☉, our DSs are hotter by a factor of 1.5 than those in Freese et al., are smaller in radius by a factor of 0.6, denser by a factor of three to four, and more luminous by a factor of two. Our models also confirm previous results, according to which supermassive DSs are very well approximated by (n = 3)-polytropes. We also perform a first study of DS pulsations. Our DS models have pulsation modes with timescales ranging from less than a day to more than two years in their rest frames, at z ∼ 15, depending on DM particle mass and overtone number. Such pulsations may someday be used to identify bright, cool objects uniquely as DSs; if properly calibrated, they might, in principle, also supply novel standard candles for cosmological studies.
Causal nature and dynamics of trapping horizons in black hole collapse

In calculations of gravitational collapse to form black holes, trapping horizons (foliated by marginally trapped surfaces) make their first appearance either within the collapsing matter or where it joins on to a vacuum exterior. Those which then move outwards with respect to the matter have been proposed for use in defining black holes, replacing the global concept of an ‘event horizon’ which has some serious drawbacks for practical applications. We here present results from a study of the properties of both outgoing and ingoing trapping horizons, assuming strict spherical symmetry throughout. We have investigated their causal nature (i.e. whether they are spacelike, timelike or null), making contact with the Misner–Sharp–Hernandez formalism, which has often been used for numerical calculations of spherical collapse. We follow two different approaches, one using a geometrical quantity related to expansions of null geodesic congruences, and the other using the horizon velocity measured with respect to the collapsing matter. After an introduction to these concepts, we then implement them within numerical simulations of stellar collapse, revisiting pioneering calculations from the 1960s where some features of the emergence and subsequent behaviour of trapping horizons could already be seen. Our presentation here is aimed firmly at ‘real world’ applications of interest to astrophysicists and includes the effects of pressure, which may be important for the asymptotic behaviour of the ingoing horizon.
DECAY-PHASE COOLING AND INFERRED HEATING OF M- AND X-CLASS SOLAR FLARES

In this paper, the cooling of 72 M- and X-class flares is examined using GOES/XRS and SDO/EVE. The observed cooling rates are quantified and the observed total cooling times are compared with the predictions of an analytical zero-dimensional hydrodynamic model. We find that the model does not fit the observations well, but does provide a well-defined lower limit on a flare's total cooling time. The discrepancy between observations and the model is then assumed to be primarily due to heating during the decay phase. The decay-phase heating necessary to account for the discrepancy is quantified and found be ∼50% of the total thermally radiated energy, as calculated with GOES. This decay-phase heating is found to scale with the observed peak thermal energy. It is predicted that approximating the total thermal energy from the peak is minimally affected by the decay-phase heating in small flares. However, in the most energetic flares the decay-phase heating inferred from the model can be several times greater than the peak thermal energy.
Core shifts, magnetic fields and magnetization of extragalactic jets

We study the effect of radio-jet core shift, which is a dependence of the position of the jet radio core on the observational frequency. We derive a new method of measuring the jet magnetic field based on both the value of the shift and the observed radio flux, which complements the standard method that assumes equipartition. Using both methods, we re-analyse the blazar sample of Zamaninasab et al. We find that equipartition is satisfied only if the jet opening angle in the radio core region is close to the values found observationally, $\simeq$0.1--0.2 divided by the bulk Lorentz factor, $\Gamma_{\rm j}$. Larger values, e.g., $1/\Gamma_{\rm j}$, would imply magnetic fields much above equipartition. A small jet opening angle implies in turn the magnetization parameter of $\ll 1$. We determine the jet magnetic flux taking into account this effect. We find that the transverse-averaged jet magnetic flux is fully compatible with the model of jet formation due to BH spin energy extraction and the accretion being a magnetically arrested disc (MAD). We calculate the jet average mass-flow rate corresponding to this model and find it consists of a substantial fraction of the mass accretion rate. This suggests the jet composition with a large fraction of baryons. We also calculate the average jet power, and find it moderately exceeds the accretion power, $\dot M c^2$, reflecting BH spin energy extraction. We find our results for radio galaxies at low Eddington ratios are compatible with MADs but require a low radiative efficiency, as predicted by standard accretion models.
Upper limits on the mass of supermassive black holes from HST/STIS archival data

Abstract The growth of supermassive black holes (SBHs) appears to be closely linked with the formation of spheroids. There is a pressing need to acquire better statistics on SBH masses, since the existing samples are preferentially weighted toward early-type galaxies with very massive SBHs. With this motivation we started a project aimed at measuring upper limits on the mass of the SBHs in the center of all the nearby galaxies (D < 100 Mpc) for which STIS/G750M spectra are available in the HST archive. These upper limits will be derived by modeling the central emission-line widths observed in the Hα region over an aperture of ∼0.1″. Here we present our results for a subsample of 22 S0-Sb galaxies within 20 Mpc.
Observational detection of eclipses of J5 Amalthea by the Galilean satellites

Aims. We carried out observations of the small jovian satellite Amalthea (J5) as it was being eclipsed by the Galilean satellites near the 2009 equinox of Jupiter in order to apply the technique of mutual event photometry to the astrometric determination of this satellite’s position. Methods. The observations were carried out during the period 06/2009−09/2009 from the island of Maui, Hawaii and Siding Spring, Australia with the 2m Faulkes Telescopes North and South respectively. We observed in the near-infrared part of the spectrum using a PanStarrs-Z filter with Jupiter near the edge of the field in order to mitigate against the glare from the planet. Frames were acquired at rates >1/min during eclipse times predicted using recent JPL ephemerides for the satellites. Following subtraction of the sky background from these frames, differential aperture photometry was carried out on Amalthea and a nearby field star. Results. We have obtained three lightcurves which show a clear drop in the flux from Amalthea, indicating that an eclipse took place as predicted. These were model-fitted to yield best estimates of the time of maximum flux drop and the impact parameter. These are consistent with Amalthea’s ephemeris but indicate that Amalthea is slightly ahead of, and closer to Jupiter than, its predicted position by approximately half the ephemeris uncertainty in these directions. We argue that a ground-based campaign of higher-cadence photometry accurate at the 5% level or better during the next season of eclipses in 2014-15 should yield positions to within 0. �� 05 and affect a corresponding improvement in Amalthea’s ephemeris.
AN ALL-SKY CATALOG OF BRIGHT M DWARFS

We present an all-sky catalog of M dwarf stars with apparent infrared magnitude J < 10. The 8889 stars are selected from the ongoing SUPERBLINK survey of stars with proper motion μ > 40 mas yr−1, supplemented on the bright end with the Tycho-2 catalog. Completeness tests which account for kinematic (proper motion) bias suggest that our catalog represents ≈75% of the estimated ∼11, 900 M dwarfs with J < 10 expected to populate the entire sky. Our catalog is, however, significantly more complete for the northern sky (≈90%) than it is for the south (≈60%). Stars are identified as cool, red M dwarfs from a combination of optical and infrared color cuts, and are distinguished from background M giants and highly reddened stars using either existing parallax measurements or, if such measurements are lacking, using their location in an optical-to-infrared reduced proper motion diagram. These bright M dwarfs are all prime targets for exoplanet surveys using the Doppler radial velocity or transit methods; the combination of low-mass and bright apparent magnitude should make possible the detection of Earth-size planets on short-period orbits using currently available techniques. Parallax measurements, when available, and photometric distance estimates are provided for all stars, and these place most systems within 60 pc of the Sun. Spectral type estimated from V − J color shows that most of the stars range from K7 to M4, with only a few late M dwarfs, all within 20 pc. Proximity to the Sun also makes these stars good targets for high-resolution exoplanet imaging searches, especially if younger objects can be identified on the basis of X-ray or UV excess. For that purpose, we include X-ray flux from ROSAT and FUV/NUV ultraviolet magnitudes from GALEX for all stars for which a counterpart can be identified in those catalogs. Additional photometric data include optical magnitudes from Digitized Sky Survey plates and infrared magnitudes from the Two Micron All Sky Survey.
Properties of molecular gas in galaxies in the early and mid stages of interaction. II. Molecular gas fraction

We have investigated properties of interstellar medium in interacting galaxies in early and mid stages using mapping data of 12CO(J =1-0) and HI. Total gas mass (a sum of atomic and molecular gas mass) in interacting galaxies slightly reduced with large dispersion in the comparison with field galaxies. We found that molecular gas mass is enhanced in interacting galaxies assuming the standard CO-H2 conversion factor, while atomic gas mass is reduced. These results are reinforced by the fact that interacting galaxies have higher molecular gas fraction (fmol), a ratio of the surface density of molecular gas to that of total gas, (0.71 +- 0.15) than isolated galaxies (0.52 +- 0.18) and this indicates that an efficient transition from atomic gas to molecular gas is induced by the interaction. Isolated spiral galaxies show monotonically and gradually increase of fmol along the surface density of total gas. Contrary to isolated galaxies, interacting galaxies show high fmol (>0.8) even at low surface density of total gas of ~20 Msun pc^2. In most extreme case, NGC 5395 have a trend that fmol monotonically decreases as the surface density of total gas increases. To investigate the origin of high fmol in the interacting galaxies, we performed theoretical model fitting varying metallicity and external pressure. According to the model fitting, external pressure can explain high fmol in the interacting galaxies. We conclude that high external pressure which is occurred by the shock prevailing over whole galaxies even in the early stage of the interaction.
On the risk-sensitive escape control for diffusion processes pertaining to an expanding construction of distributed control systems

In this paper, we consider an expanding construction of a distributed control system, which is obtained by adding a new subsystem one after the other, until all $n$ subsystems, where $n \ge 2$, are included in the distributed control system. It is assumed that a small random perturbation enters only into the first subsystem and is then subsequently transmitted to the other subsystems. Moreover, for any $\ell \in \{2, . , n\}$, the distributed control system, compatible with the expanding construction, which is obtained from the first $\ell$ subsystems, satisfies an appropriate H\"{o}rmander condition. As a result of this, the diffusion process is degenerate, i.e., the backward operator associated with it is a degenerate parabolic equation. Our main interest here is to prevent the diffusion process (that corresponds to a particular subsystem) from leaving a given bounded open domain. In particular, we consider a risk-sensitive version of the mean escape time criterion with respect to each of the subsystems. Using a variational representation, we characterize the risk-sensitive escape control for the diffusion process as the lower and upper values of an associated stochastic differential game. Finally, we comment on the implication of our results, where one is also interested in evaluating the performance of the risk-sensitive escape control, when there is some modeling error in the distributed control system.
Comparing electron-phonon coupling strength in diamond, silicon, and silicon carbide: First-principles study

Renormalization of the electronic band gap due to electron-phonon coupling in the tetrahedral semiconductors diamond, silicon, and cubic silicon carbide is studied from first principles. There is a marked difference between the coupling of the vibrational state to the valence band maximum and to the conduction band minimum. The strength of phonon coupling to the valence band maximum is similar between the three systems and is dominated by vibrations that change the bond length. The coupling strength to the conduction band minimum differs significantly in diamond, silicon carbide, and silicon. In diamond, the coupling is dominated by six small pockets of vibrational states in the phonon Brillouin zone that are ultimately responsible for the stronger electron-phonon coupling in this material. Our results represent a first step towards the development of an a priori understanding of electron-phonon coupling in semiconductors and insulators that should aid the design of materials with tailored electron-phonon coupling properties.
The gauge fixing theorem with applications to the Yang-Mills flow over Riemannian manifolds

In 1982, Uhlenbeck \cite {U2} established the well-known gauge fixing theorem, which has played a fundamental role for Yang-Mills theory. In this paper, we apply the idea of Uhlenbeck to establish a parabolic type of gauge fixing theorems for the Yang-Mills flow and prove existence of a weak solution of the Yang-Mills flow on a compact $n$-dimensional manifold with initial value $A_0$ in $W^{1,n/2}(M)$. When $n=4$, we improve a key lemma of Uhlenbeck (Lemma 2.7 of \cite {U2}) to prove uniqueness of weak solutions of the Yang-Mills flow on a four dimensional manifold.
Socioeconomic factors influencing farmers’ willingness to replant trees: evidence from smallholder rubber farming in Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT Planting trees is a source of income for many smallholders worldwide and is critical for providing a range of ecosystem services. The effectiveness of the policies and incentives to encourage tree farming by smallholder farmers depends on the socioeconomic context of the farm households. The study investigates smallholder farmers’ willingness to replant rubber after reaching its economic lifespan while also examining the impact of farm households’ socioeconomic factors on willingness to replant. Using the utility maximization theory and logit model, the paper analyses household-level data collected from 404 smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka. The empirical findings show that about 71% of farmers are willing to replant rubber. Socioeconomic characteristics of farm households are significantly associated with the willingness to replant rubber. Considering the increase in the probability of willingness, factors such as education level of household head, share-cropping, family labour, income generation from rubber farming, non-farm income, other agricultural income, farmers group participation, and institutional support, positively affect farmers’ willingness to replant rubber. The findings suggest that considering these factors in the formulation of appropriate incentives and strategies for rubber farm diversification would foster a beneficial environment for smallholder rubber farming.
SOMBI: Bayesian identification of parameter relations in unstructured cosmological data

This work describes the implementation and application of a correlation determination method based on Self Organizing Maps and Bayesian Inference (SOMBI). SOMBI aims to automatically identify relations between different observed parameters in unstructured cosmological or astrophysical surveys by automatically identifying data clusters in high-dimensional datasets via the Self Organizing Map neural network algorithm. Parameter relations are then revealed by means of a Bayesian inference within respective identified data clusters. Specifically such relations are assumed to be parametrized as a polynomial of unknown order. The Bayesian approach results in a posterior probability distribution function for respective polynomial coefficients. To decide which polynomial order suffices to describe correlation structures in data, we include a method for model selection, the Bayesian Information Criterion, to the analysis. The performance of the SOMBI algorithm is tested with mock data. As illustration we also provide applications of our method to cosmological data. In particular, we present results of a correlation analysis between galaxy and AGN properties provided by the SDSS catalog with the cosmic large-scale-structure (LSS). The results indicate that the combined galaxy and LSS dataset indeed is clustered into several sub-samples of data with different average properties (for example different stellar masses or web-type classifications). The majority of data clusters appear to have a similar correlation structure between galaxy properties and the LSS. In particular we revealed a positive and linear dependency between the stellar mass, the absolute magnitude and the color of a galaxy with the corresponding cosmic density field. A remaining subset of data shows inverted correlations, which might be an artifact of non-linear redshift distortions.
Pebble accretion in Class 0/I YSOs as a possible pathway for early planet formation

Recent theoretical works suggest that the pebble accretion process is important for planet formation in protoplanetary disks, because it accelerates the growth of planetary cores. While several observations reveal axisymmetric sharp gaps in very young disks, which may be indicative of the existence of planets. We investigate the possibility of planet formation via pebble accretion in much earlier phases, the gravitationally unstable disks of class 0/I young stellar objects. We find that under the conditions of the class 0/I disks, the pebble accretion timescales can be shorter compared to the typical protoplanetary disks due to larger gas and dust accretion rate, but also find that the accretion timescale is not always a decreasing function of the gas accretion rate. By using estimated accretion timescales, we give a required initial mass to form cores of gas giants within the lifetime of class 0/I phases under several parameters, such as radial distances from the host star, gas accretion rates, and dust-to-gas mass ratio. In the most optimistic case, for example the dust-to-gas mass ratio is $f=3f_{\rm solar}$, $\sim10^{-4}M_{\oplus}$ objects at 10 au can grow to $10M_{\oplus}$ cores during the typical lifetime of the class 0/I phases, 0.5 Myr.
Approximating fractional time quantum evolution

An algorithm is presented for approximating the arbitrary powers of a black box unitary operation, , where t is a real number and is a black box implementing an unknown unitary. The complexity of this algorithm is calculated in terms of the number of calls to the black box, the errors in the approximation and a certain ‘gap’ parameter. For general and large t, one should apply a total of ⌊t⌋ times followed by our procedure for approximating the fractional power . An example is also given where for large integers t, this method is more efficient than direct application of t copies of . Further applications and related algorithms are also discussed.
Effects of Location on the Performance of Event Halls in Akure, Nigeria

Location and its elements such as ease of accessibility, efficiency of movement in terms of cost and time taken are crucial in determining the performance and returns inherent in every commercial investment. As a result, the effects of location on the performance of event halls in Akure were investigated in this study. The study’s sampled populations were the 30 owners/managers of event halls in Akure which were stratified based on the income zones into low, medium and high income zones. Data were gathered using structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, Trend and Regression Analysis. The findings revealed the price of the event halls in Akure varied between N 80,000 and N 300,000. The results also showed that the income zone, distance to road and capacity of the halls are statistically significant at p value ≤0.05 in affecting the performance of event halls in Akure. The study concluded that location is crucial in enhancing performance and recommended that investors should be encouraged to take into account the placement of the event halls, with a fundamental consideration of the income zone as it influences the performance of the event halls.
DISCOVERY OF A COMPACT COMPANION TO THE HOT SUBDWARF STAR BD +37° 442

We report the results of the first X-ray observation of the luminous and helium-rich O-type subdwarf BD +37° 442 carried out with the XMM-Newton satellite in 2011 August. X-ray emission is detected with a flux of about 3× 10−14 erg cm−2 s−1 (0.2–1 keV) and a very soft spectrum, well fit by the sum of a blackbody with temperature kTBB = 45+11− 9 eV, and a power law with a poorly constrained photon index. Significant pulsations with a period of 19.2 s are detected, indicating that the X-ray emission originates in a white dwarf or neutron star companion, most likely powered by accretion from the wind of BD +37° 442.
An uncertainty principle for star formation - I. Why galactic star formation relations break down below a certain spatial scale

Galactic scaling relations between the (surface densities of) the gas mass and the star formation (SF) rate are known to develop substantial scatter or even change form when considered below a certain spatial scale. We quantify how this behaviour should be expected due to the incomplete statistical sampling of independent star-forming regions. Other included limiting factors are the incomplete sampling of SF tracers from the stellar initial mass function and the spatial drift between gas and stars. We present a simple uncertainty principle for SF, which can be used to predict and interpret the failure of galactic SF relations on small spatial scales. This uncertainty principle explains how the scatter of SF relations depends on the spatial scale and predicts a scale-dependent bias of the gas depletion time-scale when centring an aperture on gas or SF tracer peaks. We show how the scatter and bias are sensitive to the physical size and time-scales involved in the SF process (such as its duration or the molecular cloud lifetime), and illustrate how our formalism provides a powerful tool to constrain these largely unknown quantities. Thanks to its general form, the uncertainty principle can also be applied to other astrophysical systems, e.g. addressing the time evolution of star-forming cores, protoplanetary discs or galaxies and their nuclei.