Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local and global dynamics of warped astrophysical discs

Astrophysical discs are warped whenever a misalignment is present in the system, or when a flat disc is made unstable by external forces. The evolution of the shape and mass distribution of a warped disc is driven not only by external influences but also by an internal torque, which transports angular momentum through the disc. This torque depends on internal flows driven by the oscillating pressure gradient associated with the warp, and on physical processes operating on smaller scales, which may include instability and turbulence. We introduce a local model for the detailed study of warped discs. Starting from the shearing sheet of Goldreich & Lynden-Bell, we impose the oscillating geometry of the orbital plane by means of a coordinate transformation. This warped shearing sheet (or box) is suitable for analytical and computational treatments of fluid dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, etc., and it can be used to compute the internal torque that drives the large-scale evolution of the disc. The simplest hydrodynamic states in the local model are horizontally uniform laminar flows that oscillate at the orbital frequency. These correspond to the nonlinear solutions for warped discs found in previous work by Ogilvie, and we present an alternative derivation and generalization of that theory. In a companion paper we show that these laminar flows are often linearly unstable, especially if the disc is nearly Keplerian and of low viscosity. The local model can be used in future work to determine the nonlinear outcome of the hydrodynamic instability of warped discs, and its interaction with others such as the magnetorotational instability.
DENSE MOLECULAR CORES BEING EXTERNALLY HEATED

We present results of our study of eight dense cores, previously classified as starless, using infrared (3–160 μm) imaging observations with the AKARI telescope and molecular line (HCN and N2H+) mapping observations with the KVN telescope. Combining our results with the archival IR to millimeter continuum data, we examined the starless nature of these eight cores. Two of the eight cores are found to harbor faint protostars having luminosities of ∼0.3–4.4 L⊙. The other six cores are found to remain starless and probably are in a dynamically transitional state. The temperature maps produced using multi-wavelength images show an enhancement of about 3–6 K toward the outer boundary of these cores, suggesting that they are most likely being heated externally by nearby stars and/or interstellar radiation fields. Large virial parameters and an overdominance of red asymmetric line profiles over the cores may indicate that the cores are set into either an expansion or an oscillatory motion, probably due to the external heating. Most of the starless cores show a coreshine effect due to the scattering of light by the micron-sized dust grains. This may imply that the age of the cores is of the order of ∼105 years, which is consistent with the timescale required for the cores to evolve into an oscillatory stage due to external perturbation. Our observational results support the idea that the external feedback from nearby stars and/or interstellar radiation fields may play an important role in the dynamical evolution of the cores.
CP-violation for electroweak baryogenesis from dynamical CKM matrix

We show that the CKM matrix can be the source of CP violation for electroweak baryogenesis if Yukawa couplings vary at the same time as the Higgs acquires its vacuum expectation value. This offers new avenues for explaining the baryon asymmetry of the universe. These ideas apply if the mechanism explaining the flavour structure of the Standard Model is connected to electroweak symmetry breaking. We compute the resulting baryon asymmetry for various low-scale flavour models and different configurations of the Yukawa coupling variation across the bubble wall, and show that it can naturally be of the right order.
Physical conditions in nearby active galaxies correlated with ultra-high-energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

We analyze the active-galaxy correlation reported in 2007 by the Pierre Auger Collaboration. The signal diminishes if the correlation-function approach (counting all "source–event" pairs and not only "nearest neighbors") is used, suggesting that the correlation may reveal individual sources and not their population. We analyze available data on physical conditions in these individual correlated sources and conclude that acceleration of protons to the observed energies is hardly possible in any of these galaxies, while heavier nuclei would be deflected by the Galactic magnetic field thus spoiling the correlation. Our results question the Auger interpretation of the reported anisotropy signal but do not contradict to its explanation with intermediate-mass nuclei accelerated in Cen A.
SPECTROPOLARIMETRY WITH THE ALLEN TELESCOPE ARRAY: FARADAY ROTATION TOWARD BRIGHT POLARIZED RADIO GALAXIES

We have observed 37 bright, polarized radio sources with the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) to present a novel analysis of their Faraday rotation properties. Each source was observed during the commissioning phase with two to four 100 MHz bands at frequencies ranging from 1 to 2 GHz. These observations demonstrate how the continuous frequency coverage of the ATA's log-periodic receiver can be applied to the study of Faraday rotation measures (RMs). We use RM synthesis to show that wide-bandwidth data can find multiple RM components toward a single source. Roughly a quarter of the sources studied have extra RM components with high confidence (brighter than ≈40 mJy), when observing with an RM resolution of roughly 100 rad m−2. These extra components contribute 10%–70% of the total polarized flux. This is the first time multiple RM components have been identified in a large sample of point sources. For our observing configuration, these extra RM components bias the measurement of the peak RM by 10–15 rad m−2; more generally, the peak RM cannot be determined more precisely than the RM beam size. Comparing our 1–2 GHz RM spectra to Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) polarimetric maps shows that both techniques can identify complicated Faraday structures in the sources. However, the RM values and fractional polarization are generally smaller at lower frequencies than in the higher frequency VLBA maps. With a few exceptions, the RMs from this work are consistent with that of earlier, narrow-bandwidth, all-sky surveys. This work also describes the polarimetry calibration procedure and that on-axis ATA observations of linear polarization can be calibrated to an accuracy of 0.2% of Stokes I. Future research directions include studying the time-dependent RM structure in active galactic nuclei and enabling accurate, wide-area RM surveys to test models of Galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields.
Simulation of structural and electronic properties of amorphous tungsten oxycarbides

Electron beam-induced deposition with tungsten hexacarbonyl W(CO)6 as precursors leads to granular deposits with varying compositions of tungsten, carbon and oxygen. Depending on the deposition conditions, the deposits are insulating or metallic. We employ an evolutionary algorithm to predict the crystal structures starting from a series of chemical compositions that were determined experimentally. We show that this method leads to better structures than structural relaxation based on estimated initial structures. We approximate the expected amorphous structures by reasonably large unit cells that can accommodate local structural environments that resemble the true amorphous structure. Our predicted structures show an insulator-to-metal transition close to the experimental composition at which this transition is actually observed and they also allow comparison with experimental electron diffraction patterns.
The Effect of Irradiation on the Jeans Mass in Fragmenting Self-Gravitating Protostellar Discs

When a self-gravitating disc is subject to irradiation, its propensity to fragmentation will be affected. The strength of self-gravitating disc stresses i s expected to dictate disc fragmentation: as the strength of these torques typically decrease with increasing sound speed, it is reasonable to assume, to first-order, that disc fragmentati on is suppressed when compared to the non-irradiated case, although previous work has shown that the details are complicated by the source of the irradiation. We expand on previous analysis of the Jeans mass inside spiral structures in self-gravitating discs, incorporati ng the effects of stellar irradiation and background irradiation. If irradiation is present, fragme ntation is suppressed for marginally unstable discs at low accretion rates (compared to the no-irradiation case), but these lower accretion rates correspond to higher mass discs. Fragmentation can still occur for high accretion rates, but is consequently suppressed at lower disc surface densities, and the subsequent Jeans mass is boosted. These results further bolster the consensu s that, without subsequent fragment disruption or mass loss, the gravitational instability is m ore likely to form brown dwarfs and low-mass stars than gas giant planets.
Problems for the WELS classification of planetary nebula central stars: Self-consistent nebular modelling of four candidates

We present integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopy and self-consistent photoionisation modelling for a sample of four southern Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) with supposed weak emission-line (WEL) central stars. The Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) on the ANU 2.3 m telescope has been used to provide IFU spectroscopy for NGC 3211, NGC 5979, My 60, and M 4-2 covering the spectral range of 3400-7000{\AA}. All objects are high excitation non-Type I PNe, with strong He II emission, strong [Ne V] emission, and weak low-excitation lines. They all appear to be predominantly optically-thin nebulae excited by central stars with $T_{\rm eff} > 10^5$K. Three PNe of the sample have central stars which have been previously classified as weak emission-line stars (WELS), and the fourth also shows the characteristic recombination lines of a WELS. However, the spatially-resolved spectroscopy shows that rather than arising in the central star, the C IV and N III recombination line emission is distributed in the nebula, and in some cases concentrated in discrete nebular knots. This may suggest that the WELS classification is spurious, and that, rather, these lines arise from (possibly chemically enriched) pockets of nebular gas. Indeed, from careful background subtraction we were able to identify three of the sample as being hydrogen rich O(H)-Type. We have constructed fully self-consistent photoionization models for each object. This allows us to independently determine the chemical abundances in the nebulae, to provide new model-dependent distance estimates, and to place the central stars on the H-R diagram. All four PNe have similar initial mass ($1.5 < M/M_{\odot} <2.0$) and are at a similar evolutionary stage.
The Remarkable Be+sdOB Binary HD 55606. I. Orbital and Stellar Parameters

Prompted by peculiar spectroscopic variability observed in SDSS/APOGEE H-band spectra, we monitored the Be star HD 55606 using optical spectroscopy and found that it is an exotic double-lined spectroscopic binary (SB2) consisting of a Be star and a hot, compact companion that is probably an OB subdwarf (sdOB) star. The motion of the sdOB star is traced by its impact on the strong He i lines, observed as radial velocity (Vr) variable, double-peaked emission profiles with narrow central absorption cores. Weak He ii 4686 Å absorption associated with the companion star is detected in most spectra. Use of the emission peaks of low-ionization emission lines to trace the Be star Vr and the He i lines to trace the companion star Vr yields a circular orbital solution with a 93.8 day period and masses of MBe = 6.2 M⊙ and MsdOB = 0.9 M⊙ in the case of i = 80°. HD 55606 exhibits a variety of phase-locked variability, including the development of shell lines twice per orbit. The shell phases coincide with variation in the double emission peak separations, and both forms of variability are likely caused by a two-armed spiral density perturbation in the Be disk. The intensity ratios of the double emission peaks are also phase-locked, possibly indicating heating by the sdOB star of the side of the Be disk facing it. HD 55606 is a new member of the growing sample of Be+sdOB binaries, in which the Be star’s rapid rotation and ability to form a disk can be attributed to past mass-transfer.
Quadrant asymmetry in the angular distribution of cosmic microwave background in the Planck satellite data

Some peculiar features found in the angular distribution of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) measured by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) deserve further investigation. Among these peculiar features is the quadrant asymmetry, which is likely related to the north-south asymmetry. In this paper, we aim to extend the analysis of the quadrant asymmetry in the ΛCDM framework to the Planck foreground-cleaned maps, using the mask provided by Planck team. We compute the two-point correlation function (TPCF) from each quadrant of the Planck CMB sky maps, and compare the result with 1000 Monte Carlo (MC) simulations generated assuming the ΛCDM best-fit power spectrum. We detect the presence of an excess of power in the southeastern quadrant (SEQ) and a significant lack of power in the northeastern quadrant (NEQ) in the Planck data. Asymmetries between the SEQ and the other three quadrants (southwestern quadrant (SWQ), northwestern quadrant (NWQ), and NEQ) are each in disagreement with an isotropic sky at a 95% confidence level. Furthermore, by rotating the Planck temperature sky map with respect to z direction, we showed the rotation angle where the TPCF of the SEQ has its maximal power. Our analysis of the Planck foreground-cleaned maps shows that there is an excess of power in the TPCF in the SEQ and a significant lack of power in the NEQ when compared with simulations. This asymmetry is anomalous when considering the ΛCDM framework.
GAMMA-RAY BURSTS ARE OBSERVED OFF-AXIS

We constrain the jet opening angle and, for the first time, the off-axis observer angle for gamma-ray bursts in the Swift-XRT catalog by using the ScaleFit package to fit afterglow light curves directly to hydrodynamic simulations. The ScaleFit model uses scaling relations in the hydrodynamic and radiation equations to compute synthetic light curves directly from a set of high-resolution two-dimensional relativistic blast wave simulations. The data sample consists of all Swift-XRT afterglows from 2005 to 2012 with sufficient coverage and a known redshift, 226 bursts in total. We find that the jet half-opening angle varies widely but is commonly less than 0.1 rad. The distribution of the electron spectral index is also broad, with a median at 2.30. We find the observer angle to have a median value of 0.57 of the jet opening angle over our sample, which has profound consequences for the predicted rate of observed jet breaks and affects the beaming-corrected total energies of gamma-ray bursts.
Evidence for a metal-poor population in the inner Galactic Bulge

The inner Galactic Bulge has, until recently, been avoided in chemical evolution studies due to extreme extinction and stellar crowding. Large, near-IR spectroscopic surveys, such as APOGEE, allow for the first time the measurement of metallicities in the inner region of our Galaxy. We study metallicities of 33 K/M giants situated in the Galactic Center region from observations obtained with the APOGEE survey. We selected K/M giants with reliable stellar parameters from the APOGEE/ASPCAP pipeline. Distances, interstellar extinction values, and radial velocities were checked to confirm that these stars are indeed situated in the inner Galactic Bulge. We find a metal-rich population centered at [M/H] = +0.4 dex, in agreement with earlier studies of other bulge regions, but also a peak at low metallicity around $\rm [M/H] = -1.0\,dex$, suggesting the presence of a metal-poor population which has not previously been detected in the central region. Our results indicate a dominant metal-rich population with a metal-poor component that is enhanced in the $\alpha$-elements. This metal-poor population may be associated with the classical bulge and a fast formation scenario.
A Multi-year Search for Transits of Proxima Centauri. I. Light Curves Corresponding to Published Ephemerides

Proxima Centauri has become the subject of intense study since the radial-velocity (RV) discovery by Anglada-Escudé et al. of a planet orbiting this nearby M dwarf every ∼11.2 days. If Proxima Centauri b transits its host star, independent confirmation of its existence is possible, and its mass and radius can be measured in units of the stellar host mass and radius. To date, there have been three independent claims of possible transit-like event detections in light curve observations obtained by the MOST satellite (in 2014–15), the Bright Star Survey Telescope telescope in Antarctica (in 2016), and the Las Campanas Observatory (in 2016). The claimed possible detections are tentative, due in part to the variability intrinsic to the host star, and in the case of the ground-based observations, also due to the limited duration of the light curve observations. Here, we present preliminary results from an extensive photometric monitoring campaign of Proxima Centauri, using telescopes around the globe and spanning from 2006 to 2017, comprising a total of 329 observations. Considering our data that coincide directly and/or phased with the previously published tentative transit detections, we are unable to independently verify those claims. We do, however, verify the previously reported ubiquitous and complex variability of the host star. We discuss possible interpretations of the data in light of the previous claims, and we discuss future analyses of these data that could more definitively verify or refute the presence of transits associated with the RV-discovered planet.
Gabor Frames and Totally Positive Functions

Let g be a totally positive function of finite type, i.e., ĝ(ξ) = ∏M ν=1(1 + 2πiδνξ) −1 for δν ∈ R and M ≥ 2. Then the set {eg(t − αk) : k, l ∈ Z} is a frame for L(R), if and only if αβ < 1. This result is a first positive contribution to a conjecture of I. Daubechies from 1990. So far the complete characterization of lattice parameters α, β that generate a frame has been known for only six window functions g. Our main result now provides an uncountable class of functions. As a byproduct of the proof method we derive new sampling theorems in shift-invariant spaces and obtain the correct Nyquist rate.
The Structure of Galaxies: II. Fitting Functions and Scaling Relations for Ellipticals

Abstract Surface photometry of 311 ellipticals from the 2MASS imaging database is analyzed with respect to the two most common fitting functions: the r 1/4 law and the Sérsic r 1/n model. The advantages and disadvantages of each fitting function are examined. In particular, the r 1/4 law performs well in the middle regions, but is inadequate for the core (inner 5 kpc) and the outer regions (beyond the half-light radius) which do not have r 1/4 shapes. It is found that the Sérsic r 1/n model produces good fits to the core regions of ellipticals (r<r half), but is an inadequate function for the entire profile of an elliptical from core to halo due to competing effects on the Sérsic n index and the fact that the interior shape of an elliptical is only weakly correlated with its halo shape. In addition, there are a wide range of Sérsic parameters that will equally describe the shape of the outer profile, degrading the Sérsic model's usefulness as a describer of the entire profile. Empirically determined parameters, such as half-light radius and total luminosity, have less scatter than fitting function variables. The scaling relations for ellipticals are often non-linear, but for ellipticals brighter than MJ < −23 the following structural relations are found: L ∝ r 0.8±0.1, L ∝ Σ−0.5±0.1, and Σ ∝ r −1.5±0.1.
THE EXTENSION OF THE TRANSITION TEMPERATURE PLASMA INTO THE LOWER GALACTIC HALO

Column densities for H i, Al iii, Si iv, C iv, and O vi toward 109 stars and 30 extragalactic objects have been assembled to study the extensions of these species away from the Galactic plane into the Galactic halo. H i and Al iii mostly trace the warm neutral and warm ionized medium, respectively, while Si iv, C iv, and O vi trace a combination of warm photoionized and collisionally ionized plasmas. The much larger object sample compared to previous studies allows us to consider and correct for the effects of the sample bias that has affected earlier but smaller surveys of the gas distributions. We find that Si iv and C iv have similar exponential scale heights of 3.2(+1.0, −0.6) and 3.6(+1.0, −0.8) kpc. The scale height of O vi is marginally smaller with h = 2.6 ± 0.6 kpc. The transition temperature gas is ∼3 times more extended than the warm ionized medium traced by Al iii with h = 0.90(+0.62, −0.33) kpc and ∼12 times more extended than the warm neutral medium traced by H i with h = 0.24 ± 0.06 kpc. There is a factor of 2 decrease in the dispersion of the log of the column density ratios for transition temperature gas for lines of sight in the Galactic disk compared to extragalactic lines of sight through the entire halo. The observations are compared to the predictions of the various models for the production of the transition temperature gas in the halo. The appendix presents a revision to the electron scale height of Gaensler et al.'s 2008 study based on electron dispersion measures.
On the role of wave-particle interactions in the macroscopic dynamics of collisionless plasmas

Here we present a commentary on the role of small-scale (e.g., few tens of meters) wave-particle interactions in large-scale (e.g., few tens of kilometers) processes and their capacity to accelerate particles from thermal to suprathermal or even to cosmic-ray energies. The purpose of this commentary is to provoke thought and further investigation into the relative importance of electromagnetic waves in the global dynamics of many macroscopic systems. We specifically focus on the terrestrial radiation belts and collisionless shock waves as examples.
Complexes of triggered star formation in supergiant shell of Holmberg II

We report a detailed analysis of all regions of current star formation in the walls of the supergiant HI shell (SGS) in the galaxy Holmberg II based on observations with a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer at the 6-m SAO RAS telescope. We compare the structure and kinematics of ionized gas with that of atomic hydrogen and with the stellar population of the SGS. Our deep H$\alpha$ images and archival images taken by the HST demonstrate that current star formation episodes are larger and more complicated than previously thought: they represent unified star-forming complexes with sizes of several hundred pc rather than 'chains' of separate bright nebulae in the walls of the SGS. The fact that we are dealing with unified complexes is evidenced by identified faint shell-like structures of ionized and neutral gas which connect several distinct bright HII regions. Formation of such complexes is due to the feedback of stars with very inhomogeneous ambient gas in the walls of the SGS. The arguments supporting an idea about the triggering of star formation in SGS by the HI supershells collision are presented. We also found a faint ionized supershell inside the HI SGS expanding with a velocity of no greater than 10-15 km/s. Five OB stars located inside the inner supershell are sufficient to account for its radiation, although a possibility of leakage of ionizing photons from bright HII regions is not ruled out as well.