adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Spherical Harmonics for the 1D Radiative Transfer Equation. II. Thermal Emission

Approximate methods for radiative transfer equations that are fast, reliable, and accurate are essential for the understanding of atmospheres of exoplanets and brown dwarfs. The simplest and most popular choice is the "two-stream method," which is often used to produce simple yet effective models for radiative transfer in scattering and absorbing media. Toon et al. (hereafter, Toon89) outlined a two-stream method for computing reflected light and thermal spectra that was later implemented in the open-source radiative transfer model PICASO. In Part I of this series, we developed an analytical spherical harmonics method for solving the radiative transfer equation for reflected solar radiation that was implemented in PICASO to increase the accuracy of the code by offering a higher-order approximation. This work is an extension of this spherical harmonics derivation, to study thermal emission spectroscopy. We highlight the model differences in the approach for thermal emission and benchmark the four-term method (SH4) against Toon89 and a high-stream discrete-ordinates method, CDISORT. By comparing the spectra produced by each model, we demonstrate that the SH4 method provides a significant increase in accuracy, compared to Toon89, which can be attributed to the increased order of approximation and to the choice of phase function. We also explore the trade-off between computational time and model accuracy. We find that our four-term method is twice as slow as our two-term method, but is up to five times more accurate, when compared with CDISORT. Therefore, SH4 provides excellent improvement in model accuracy with minimal sacrifice in numerical expense.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres; exoplanets; radiative transfer equation; radiative transfer
Signs of Similar Stellar Obliquity Distributions for Hot and Warm Jupiters Orbiting Cool Stars

Transiting giant planets provide a natural opportunity to examine stellar obliquities, which offer clues about the origin and dynamical histories of close-in planets. Hot Jupiters orbiting Sun-like stars show a tendency for obliquity alignment, which suggests that obliquities are rarely excited or that tidal realignment is common. However, the stellar obliquity distribution is less clear for giant planets at wider separations where realignment mechanisms are not expected to operate. In this work, we uniformly derive line-of-sight inclinations for 47 cool stars (T eff < 6200 K) harboring transiting hot and warm giant planets by combining rotation periods, stellar radii, and $v\sin i$ measurements. Among the systems that show signs of spin-orbit misalignment in our sample, three are identified as being misaligned here for the first time. Of particular interest are Kepler-1654, one of the longest-period (1047 days; 2.0 au) giant planets in a misaligned system, and Kepler-30, a multiplanet misaligned system. By comparing the reconstructed underlying inclination distributions, we find that the inferred minimum misalignment distributions of hot Jupiters spanning a/R * = 3-20 (≈0.01-0.1 au) and warm Jupiters spanning a/R * = 20-400 (≈0.1-1.9 au) are in good agreement. With 90% confidence, at least ${24}_{-10}^{+7} \% $ of warm Jupiters and ${14}_{-8}^{+5} \% $ of hot Jupiters around cool stars are misaligned by at least 10°. Most stars harboring warm Jupiters are therefore consistent with spin-orbit alignment. The similarity of the hot and warm Jupiter misalignment rates suggests that either the occasional misalignments are primordial and originate in misaligned disks, or the same underlying processes that create misaligned hot Jupiters also lead to misaligned warm Jupiters.

Keywords: exoplanets; exoplanet formation; exoplanet migration
LISA Galactic Binaries with Astrometry from Gaia DR3

Galactic compact binaries with orbital periods shorter than a few hours emit detectable gravitational waves (GWs) at low frequencies. Their GW signals can be detected with the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Crucially, they may be useful in the early months of the mission operation in helping to validate LISA's performance in comparison to prelaunch expectations. We present an updated list of 55 candidate LISA-detectable binaries with measured properties, for which we derive distances based on Gaia Data Release 3 astrometry. Based on the known properties from electromagnetic observations, we predict the LISA detectability after 1, 3, 6, and 48 months using Bayesian analysis methods. We distinguish between verification and detectable binaries as being detectable after 3 and 48 months, respectively. We find 18 verification binaries and 22 detectable sources, which triples the number of known LISA binaries over the last few years. These include detached double white dwarfs, AM CVn binaries, one ultracompact X-ray binary, and two hot subdwarf binaries. We find that across this sample the GW amplitude is expected to be measured to ≈10% on average, while the inclination is expected to be determined with ≈15° precision. For detectable binaries, these average errors increase to ≈50% and ≈40°, respectively.

Keywords: white dwarf stars; compact binary stars; semi-detached binary stars; gravitational wave sources
Bayesian Characterization of Main-sequence Binaries in the Old Open Cluster NGC 188

The binary fractions of open and globular clusters yield powerful constraints on their dynamical state and evolutionary history. We apply publicly available Bayesian analysis tools to a UBV RIJHK S photometric catalog of the open cluster NGC 188 to detect and characterize photometric binaries along the cluster main sequence. This technique has the advantage of self-consistently handling photometric errors, missing data in various bandpasses, and star-by-star prior constraints on cluster membership. Simulations are used to verify uncertainties and quantify selection biases in our analysis, illustrating that among binaries with mass ratios >0.5, we recover the binary fraction to better than 7% in the mean, with no significant dependence on binary fraction and a mild dependence on assumed mass-ratio distribution. Using our photometric catalog, we recover the majority (65% ± 11%) of spectroscopically identified main-sequence binaries, including eight of the nine with spectroscopically measured mass ratios. Accounting for incompleteness and systematics, we derive a mass-ratio distribution that rises toward lower mass ratios (within our q > 0.5 analysis domain). We observe a raw binary fraction for solar-type main-sequence stars with mass ratios q > 0.5 of 42% ± 4%, independent of the assumed mass-ratio distribution to within its uncertainties, consistent with literature values for old open clusters but significantly higher than the field solar-type binary fraction. We confirm that the binaries identified by our method are more concentrated than single stars, in agreement with previous studies, and we demonstrate that the binary nature of those candidates that remain unidentified spectroscopically is strongly supported by photometry from Gaia DR2.

Keywords: binary stars; open star clusters; bayesian statistics
The Design, Verification, and Performance of the James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is NASA's flagship mission successor to the highly successful Hubble Space Telescope. It is an infrared observatory featuring a cryogenic 6.6 m aperture, deployable Optical Telescope Element (OTE) with a payload of four science instruments (SIs) assembled into an Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) that provide imagery and spectroscopy in the near-infrared band between 0.6 and 5 μm and in the mid-infrared band between 5 and 28.1 μm. JWST was successfully launched on 2021 December 25 aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. All 50 major deployments were successfully completed on 2022 January 8. The observatory performed all midcourse correction maneuvers and achieved its operational mission orbit around the Sun-Earth second Lagrange point (L2). All commissioning and calibration activities have been completed, and JWST has begun its science mission. This paper will provide a description of the driving requirements and their technical challenges, the engineering processes involved in the design formulation, the resulting observatory design, the verification programs that proved it to be flightworthy, and the measured on-orbit performance of the observatory. Since companion papers will describe the details of the OTE and SIs, this paper will concentrate on describing the key features of the observatory architecture that accommodates these elements, particularly those features and capabilities associated with accommodating the radiometric and image-quality performance.

Keywords: initial conditions of the universe; galaxy evolution; early universe; infrared sources; observational cosmology; reionization; astronomical optics; infrared astronomy; infrared observatories; space observatories
Insights from Snapshot Spectroscopic Radio Observations of a Weak Type I Solar Noise Storm

We present a high-fidelity snapshot spectroscopic radio imaging study of a weak type I solar noise storm that took place during an otherwise exceptionally quiet time. Using high-fidelity images from the Murchison Widefield Array, we track the observed morphology of the burst source for 70 minutes and identify multiple instances where its integrated flux density and area are strongly anticorrelated with each other. The type I radio emission is believed to arise due to electron beams energized during magnetic reconnection activity. The observed anticorrelation is interpreted as evidence for presence of MHD sausage wave modes in the magnetic loops and strands along which these electron beams are propagating. Our observations suggest that the sites of these small scale reconnections are distributed along the magnetic flux tube. We hypothesize that small scale reconnections produces electron beams which quickly get collisionally damped. Hence, the plasma emission produced by them span only a narrow bandwidth and the features seen even a few mehahertz apart must arise from independent electron beams.

Keywords: solar coronal waves; active solar corona; solar coronal radio emission; solar radio flares
Knowledge Gaps in the Cometary Spectra of Oxygen-bearing Molecular Cations

Molecular cations are present in various astronomical environments, most notably in cometary atmospheres and tails where sunlight produces exceptionally bright near-UV to visible transitions. Such cations typically have longer-wavelength and brighter electronic emission than their corresponding neutrals. A robust understanding of their near-UV to visible properties would allow these cations to be used as tools for probing the local plasma environments or as tracers of neutral gas in cometary environments. However, full spectral models are not possible for characterization of small, oxygen-containing molecular cations given the body of molecular data currently available. The five simplest such species (H2O+, CO2+, CO+, OH+, and ${{\rm{O}}}_{2}^{+}$ ) are well characterized in some spectral regions but are lacking robust reference data in others. Such knowledge gaps hinder fully quantitative models of cometary spectra, specifically hindering accurate estimates of physical-chemical processes originating with the most common molecules in comets. Herein, the existing spectral data are collected for these molecules, and the places where future work is needed are highlighted, specifically where the lack of such data would greatly enhance the understanding of cometary evolution.

Keywords: molecular spectroscopy; catalogs; surveys; comets
Metastable Helium Reveals an Extended Atmosphere for the Gas Giant HAT-P-18b

The metastable helium line at 1083 nm can be used to probe the extended upper atmospheres of close-in exoplanets and thus provide insight into their atmospheric mass loss, which is likely to be significant in sculpting their population. We used an ultra-narrow band filter centered on this line to observe two transits of the low-density gas giant HAT-P-18b, using the 200″ Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, and report the detection of its extended upper atmosphere. We constrain the excess absorption to be 0.46% ± 0.12% in our 0.635 nm bandpass, exceeding the transit depth from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) by 3.9σ. If we fit this signal with a 1D Parker wind model, we find that it corresponds to an atmospheric mass loss rate between ${8.3}_{-1.9}^{+2.8}\times {10}^{-5}\,{M}_{{\rm{J}}}$ Gyr-1 and ${2.63}_{-0.64}^{+0.46}\times {10}^{-3}\,{M}_{{\rm{J}}}$ Gyr-1 for thermosphere temperatures ranging from 4000 K to 13,000 K, respectively. With a J magnitude of 10.8, this is the faintest system for which such a measurement has been made to date, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach for surveying mass loss on a diverse sample of close-in gas giant planets.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres; narrow band photometry; transits; exoplanets; extrasolar gaseous giant planets; extrasolar gaseous planets
GRB 211227A as a Peculiar Long Gamma-Ray Burst from a Compact Star Merger

Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) associated with supernovae (SNe) are believed to originate from massive star core-collapse events, whereas short-duration GRBs that are related to compact star mergers are expected to be accompanied by kilonovae. GRB 211227A, which lasted about 84 s, had an initial short/hard spike followed by a series of soft gamma-ray extended emission at redshift z = 0.228. We performed follow-up observations of the optical emission using BOOTES, LCOGT, and the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope, but we detected no associated supernova signature, even down to very stringent limits at such a low redshift. We observed the host galaxy within a large error circle and roughly estimated the physical offset of GRB 211227A as 20.47 ± 14.47 kpc from the galaxy center. These properties are similar to those of GRB 060614, and suggest that the progenitor of GRB 211227A is not favored to be associated with the death of massive stars. Hence, we propose that GRB 211227A originates from a compact star merger. Calculating pseudo-kilonova emission for this case by adopting the typical parameters, we find that any associated pseudo-kilonova is too faint to be detected. If this is the case, it explains naturally the characteristics of the prompt emission, the lack of SN and kilonova emission, and the large physical offset from the galaxy center.

Keywords: gamma-ray bursts
Analytic Estimates of the Achievable Precision on the Physical Properties of Transiting Planets Using Purely Empirical Measurements

We present analytic estimates of the fractional uncertainties on the mass, radius, surface gravity, and density of a transiting planet, using only empirical or semi-empirical measurements. We first express these parameters in terms of transit photometry and radial velocity (RV) observables, as well as the stellar radius R⋆, if required. In agreement with previous results, we find that, assuming a circular orbit, the surface gravity of the planet (gp) depends only on empirical transit and RV parameters, namely the planet period P, the transit depth δ, the RV semi-amplitude K⋆, the transit duration T, and the ingress/egress duration τ. However, the planet mass and density depend on all these quantities, plus R⋆. Thus, an inference about the planet mass, radius, and density must rely upon an external constraint such as the stellar radius. For bright stars, stellar radii can now be measured nearly empirically by using measurements of the stellar bolometric flux, the effective temperature, and the distance to the star via its parallax, with the extinction AV being the only free parameter. For any given system, there is a hierarchy of achievable precisions on the planetary parameters, such that the planetary surface gravity is more accurately measured than the density, which in turn is more accurately measured than the mass. We find that surface gravity provides a strong constraint on the core mass fraction of terrestrial planets. This is useful, given that the surface gravity may be one of the best measured properties of a terrestrial planet.

Keywords: exoplanets; exoplanet surface composition
Illuminating the Dark Side of Cosmic Star Formation Two Billion Years after the Big Bang

How and when did galaxies form and assemble their stars and stellar mass? The answer to these questions, so crucial to astrophysics and cosmology, requires the full reconstruction of the so-called cosmic star formation rate density (SFRD), i.e., the evolution of the average star formation rate per unit volume of the universe. While the SFRD has been reliably traced back to 10-11 billion years ago, its evolution is still poorly constrained at earlier cosmic epochs, and its estimate is mainly based on galaxies luminous in the ultraviolet and with low obscuration by dust. This limited knowledge is largely due to the lack of an unbiased census of all types of star-forming galaxies in the early universe. We present a new approach to finding dust-obscured star-forming galaxies based on their emission at radio wavelengths coupled with the lack of optical counterparts. Here, we present a sample of 197 galaxies selected with this method. These systems were missed by previous surveys at optical and near-infrared wavelengths, and 22 of them are at very high redshift (i.e., z > 4.5). The contribution of these elusive systems to the SFRD is substantial and can be as high as 40% of the previously known SFRD based on UV-luminous galaxies. The mere existence of such heavily obscured galaxies in the first two billion years after the Big Bang opens new avenues to investigate the early phases of galaxy formation and evolution, and to understand the links between these systems and the massive galaxies that ceased their star formation at later cosmic times.

Keywords: galaxy evolution; galaxy formation; high-redshift galaxies; star formation
The Dimorphos Boulder Swarm

We present deep Hubble Space Telescope images taken to examine the ejecta from the DART spacecraft impact into asteroid Dimorphos. The images reveal an extensive population of comoving boulders, the largest of which is ~7 m in diameter (geometric albedo 0.15 assumed). Measurements of 37 boulders show a mean sky-plane velocity dispersion of 0.30 ± 0.03 m s-1, only slightly larger than the 0.24 m s-1 gravitational escape velocity from the Didymos-Dimorphos binary system. The total boulder mass, M b ~ 5 × 106 kg (density 2200 kg m-3 assumed), corresponds to about 0.1% of the mass of Dimorphos, and the boulders collectively carry about 3 × 10-5 of the kinetic energy delivered by the DART spacecraft impact. The sky-plane distribution of the boulders is asymmetric, consistent with impact into an inhomogeneous, likely rubble-pile, body. Surface boulder counts on Didymos show that the observed boulder swarm could be ejected from as little as 2% of the surface of Dimorphos (for example, a circular crater at the impact point about 50 m in diameter). The large, slow-moving boulders are potential targets to be investigated in situ by the upcoming ESA HERA mission.

Keywords: asteroids; impact phenomena; near-earth objects; solar system astronomy
Flexible Models for Galaxy Star Formation Histories Both Shift and Scramble the Optical Color-Mass-to-light Ratio (M/L) Relationship

The remarkably tight relationship between galaxy optical color and stellar mass-to-light ratio (M */L) is widely used for efficient stellar mass estimates. However, it remains unclear whether this low scatter comes from a natural order in the galaxy population, or whether it is driven by simple relationships in the models used to describe them. In this work, we investigate the origins of the relationship by contrasting the derived relationship from a simple 4 parameter spectral energy distribution (SED) model with a more sophisticated 14D Prospector-α model including nonparametric star formation histories (SFHs). We apply these models to 63,430 galaxies at 0.5 < z < 3 and fit a hierarchical Bayesian model (HBM) to the population distribution in the (g - r)- $\mathrm{log}(M/{L}_{g})$ plane. We find that Prospector-α infers systematically higher M */L by 0.12 dex, a result of nonparametric SFHs producing older ages, and also systematically redder rest frame (g - r) by 0.06 mag owing to the contribution from nebular emission. Surprisingly, the combined effects of the M */L and (g - r) offsets produce a similar average relationship for the two models; though Prospector-α produces a higher scatter of 0.28 dex compared to the simple model of 0.12 dex. Also, unlike the simple model, the Prospector-α relationship shows substantial redshift evolution due to stellar aging. These expected and testable effects produce overall older and redder galaxies; though the color-M */L relationship is measured only at 0.5 < z < 3. Finally, we demonstrate that the HBM produces substantial shrinkage in the individual posteriors of faint galaxies, an important first step toward using the observed galaxy population directly to inform the SED-fitting priors.

Keywords: galaxy evolution; galaxy masses; galaxy colors; hierarchical models; spectral energy distribution
Implication of the Velocity Dispersion Scalings on High-mass Star Formation in Molecular Clouds

This paper is aimed at exploring the implications of velocity-dispersion scalings on high-mass star formation in molecular clouds, including the scalings of Larson's linewidth–size (σ– R) and ratio–mass surface density ( ${ \mathcal L }$ – Σ; here ${ \mathcal L }$ = σ/R 0.5). We have systematically analyzed the σ parameter of well-selected 221 massive clumps, complemented with published samples of other hierarchical density structures of molecular clouds over spatial scales of 0.01–10 pc. Those massive clumps are classified into four phases: quiescent, protostellar, H II region, and PDR clumps in an evolutionary sequence. The velocity dispersion of clumps increases overall with the evolutionary sequence, reflecting enhanced stellar feedback in more evolved phases. The relations of σ– R and ${ \mathcal L }$ – Σ are weak with the clump sample alone, but become evident when combined with others spanning a much wider spatial scales. For σ– R, its tight relation indicates a kinematic connection between hierarchical density structures, supporting theoretical models of multiscale high-mass star formation. From the ${ \mathcal L }$ – Σ relation, cloud structures can be found to transition from overvirial state (α vir > 2) to subvirial state (α vir < 2) as they become smaller and denser, indicating a possible shift in the governing force from turbulence to gravity. This implies that the multiscale physical process of high-mass star formation hinges on the self-gravity of subvirial molecular clouds. However, the influence of turbulence may not be dismissed until large-scale clouds attain a subvirial state. This is pending confirmation from future multiscale kinematic observations of molecular clouds with uniform observing settings.

Keywords: star formation; interstellar dynamics; interstellar medium