adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
JWST-TST High Contrast: JWST/NIRCam Observations of the Young Giant Planet β Pic b

We present the first JWST/NIRCam observations of the directly imaged gas giant exoplanet β Pic b. Observations in six filters using NIRCam's round coronagraphic masks provide a high-signal-to-noise-ratio detection of β Pic b and the archetypal debris disk around β Pic over a wavelength range of ∼1.7–5 μm. This paper focuses on the detection of β Pic b and other potential point sources in the NIRCam data, following a paper by Rebollido et al. that presented the NIRCam and MIRI view of the debris disk around β Pic. We develop and validate approaches to obtaining accurate photometry of planets in the presence of bright, complex circumstellar backgrounds. By simultaneously fitting the planet's point-spread function and a geometric model for the disk, we obtain planet photometry that is in good agreement with previous measurements from the ground. The NIRCam data support the cloudy nature of β Pic b's atmosphere and the discrepancy between its mass as inferred from evolutionary models and the dynamical mass reported in the literature. We further identify five additional localized sources in the data, but all of them are found to be background stars or galaxies based on their color or spatial extent. We can rule out additional planets in the disk midplane above 1 M Jup outward of 2″ (∼40 au) and away from the disk midplane above 0.05 M Jup outward of 4″ (∼80 au). The inner giant planet β Pic c remains undetected behind the coronagraphic masks of NIRCam in our observations.

Keywords: extrasolar gaseous planets; exoplanet atmospheric composition; exoplanet formation; high contrast techniques; coronagraphic imaging
Analytical Study of Damped Standing Longitudinal MHD Waves in Flowing Coronal Loops: The Effect of Thermal Conduction

The longitudinal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) oscillations of coronal loops have been investigated in dissipative flowing loops. Thermal conduction has been considered as the damping mechanism of the wave. We aim to construct the damped longitudinal waves by superposing two propagating waves that propagate in opposite directions. The two propagating components must have the same oscillation frequencies and damping rates, which has been described impossible by some authors, but we have used a technique to overcome this difficulty. The equations of motion are combined to obtain a differential equation for the velocity perturbation. Using the weak damping condition, the perturbation method is used to solve the dispersion relation. In the leading order approximation, the oscillation frequency of the standing waves is determined. In the first-order approximation, we let both the oscillation frequency and wavelength of the propagating waves be perturbed due to the presence of thermal conduction, which enables us to determine the damping rate of the standing waves. Our results show that the plasma flow is an essential parameter in determining the effectiveness of the damping mechanism. Also, the exact solutions of the dispersion relation have been determined without using weak damping assumption. Interestingly the two solutions are the same. Introducing plasma flow to the coronal loop causes the period ratio of the fundamental mode to the first overtone to decrease more.

Keywords: stellar atmospheres; solar physics; solar corona; solar atmosphere; solar coronal waves
Modeling MMS Observations at the Earth's Magnetopause with Hybrid Simulations of Alfvénic Turbulence

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations of plasma turbulence generated by a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) event at the Earth's magnetopause are compared with a high-resolution two-dimensional (2D) hybrid direct numerical simulation of decaying plasma turbulence driven by large-scale balanced Alfvénic fluctuations. The simulation, set up with four observation-driven physical parameters (ion and electron betas, turbulence strength, and injection scale), exhibits a quantitative agreement on the spectral, intermittency, and cascade-rate properties with in situ observations, despite the different driving mechanisms. Such agreement demonstrates a certain universality of the turbulent cascade from magnetohydrodynamic to sub-ion scales, whose properties are mainly determined by the selected parameters, also indicating that the KH instability-driven turbulence has a quasi-2D nature. The fact that our results are compatible with the validity of the Taylor hypothesis, in the whole range of scales investigated numerically, suggests that the fluctuations at sub-ion scales might have predominantly low frequencies. This would be consistent with a kinetic Alfvén wave-like nature and/or with the presence of quasi-static structures. Finally, the third-order structure function analysis indicates that the cascade rate of the turbulence generated by a KH event at the magnetopause is an order of magnitude larger than in the ambient magnetosheath.

Keywords: plasma astrophysics; space plasmas; interplanetary turbulence; astronomical simulations
Spectral Modeling of Charge Exchange in the Central Region of M51

Charge exchange (CX) emission reveals the significant interaction between neutral and ionized interstellar medium components of the dense, multiphase, circumnuclear region of a galaxy. We use a model including a thermal and CX components to describe the high-resolution XMM-Newton/RGS spectrum of the diffuse emission in the central region of M51. Representative signatures of CX emission—especially the prominent O VII forbidden line and the excess emission in the O VIII Lyγ lines—can be explained by the model. Combined with Chandra images in the O VIII and the O VII bands, we find soft X-ray emission is dominated by the jet-driven outflow and its interaction with the ambient neutral material. The jet-driven outflow itself is likely a thermal plasma of ∼0.59 keV, with mostly sub-solar abundances. It runs into the ambient neutral gas, and produces significant CX emission that accounts for one-fifth of the diffuse X-ray emission in the 7-28 Å band. The effective interface area in the CX process is one order of magnitude greater than the geometrical surface area of the jet-driven outflow. The tenuous outflow driven by the nuclear star formation may also contribute a small portion to both the diffuse thermal and CX emission. The photoionization by the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and the resonance scattering by the hot gas itself are disfavored, though the effects from past AGN events may not be ruled out.

Keywords: galaxies; interstellar medium; plasma jets; x-ray sources
Scattering of Giant Planets and Implications for the Origin of the Hierarchical and Eccentric Two-planet System GJ 1148

The GJ 1148 system has two Saturn-mass planets orbiting around an M dwarf star on hierarchical and eccentric orbits, with orbital period ratio of 13 and eccentricities of both planets of 0.375. The inner planet is in the regime of eccentric warm Jupiters. We perform numerical experiments to study the planet–planet scattering scenario for the origin of this orbital architecture. We consider a third planet of 0.1M J (Jupiter's mass) in the initial GJ 1148 system with initial orbital separations of 3.5, 4, and 4.5 mutual Hill radii and initial semimajor axis of the innermost planet in the range of 0.10–0.50 au. The majority of scattering results in planet–planet collisions, followed by planet ejections, and planet–star close approaches. Among them, only planet ejections produce eccentric and widely separated two-planet systems, with some having similar orbital properties to the GJ 1148 system. We also examine the effects of general relativistic apsidal precession and a higher mass of 0.227M J for the third planet. The simulation results suggest that the GJ 1148 system may have lost a giant planet. We also perform simulations of the general problem of the origin of warm Jupiters by planet–planet scattering. As in the GJ 1148 simulations, a nontrivial number of stable two-planet systems are produced by ejection, which disagrees with the result from a previous study showing that two-planet systems arise exclusively through planet–planet collisions.

Keywords: celestial mechanics; exoplanet dynamics; planetary dynamics; planetary system evolution
Stellar Flyby Analysis for Spiral Arm Hosts with Gaia DR3

Scattered-light imaging studies have detected nearly two dozen spiral arm systems in circumstellar disks, yet the formation mechanisms for most of them are still under debate. Although existing studies can use motion measurements to distinguish leading mechanisms such as planet-disk interaction and disk self-gravity, close-in stellar flybys can induce short-lived spirals and even excite arm-driving planets into highly eccentric orbits. With unprecedented stellar location and proper-motion measurements from Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3), here we study for known spiral arm systems their flyby history with their stellar neighbors by formulating an analytical on-sky flyby framework. For stellar neighbors currently located within 10 pc of the spiral hosts, we restrict the flyby time to within the past 104 yr and the flyby distance to within 10 times the disk extent in scattered light. Among a total of 12,570 neighbors that are identified in Gaia DR3 for 20 spiral systems, we do not identify credible flyby candidates for isolated systems. Our analysis suggests that a close-in recent flyby is not the dominant formation mechanism for isolated spiral systems in scattered light.

Keywords: protoplanetary disks; coronagraphic imaging; planetary system formation
The Discovery of the Largest Gas Filament in Our Galaxy, or a New Spiral Arm?

Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we detect a giant H I filamentary structure in the sky region of 307°7 < α < 311°0 and 40°9 < δ < 43°4. The structure has a velocity range of -170 to -130 km s-1, and a mean velocity of -150 km s-1, putting it at a Galactocentric distance of 22 kpc. The H I structure, which we name Cattail, has a length of 1.1 kpc, which so far appears to be the furthest and largest giant filament in the Galaxy. Its mass is calculated to be 6.5 × 104 M⊙ and the linear mass density is 60 M⊙ pc-1. Its width is 207 pc, corresponding to an aspect ratio of 5:1. Cattail possesses a small velocity gradient (0.02 km s-1 pc-1) along its major axis. Together with the HI4PI data, we find that Cattail could be even longer, up to 5 kpc. We also identify another new elongated structure as the extension into the Galactic first quadrant of the Outer Scutum-Centaurus (OSC) arm, and Cattail appears to be located far behind the OSC arm. The question about how such a huge filament is produced at this extreme Galactic location remains open. Alternatively, Cattail might be part of a new arm beyond the OSC arm, though it is puzzling that the structure does not fully follow the warp of the Galactic disk.

Keywords: interstellar filaments; interstellar atomic gas
Transit Timing Variations for AU Microscopii b and c

We explore the transit timing variations (TTVs) of the young (22 Myr) nearby AU Mic planetary system. For AU Mic b, we introduce three Spitzer (4.5 μm) transits, five TESS transits, 11 LCO transits, one PEST transit, one Brierfield transit, and two transit timing measurements from Rossiter-McLaughlin observations; for AU Mic c, we introduce three TESS transits. We present two independent TTV analyses. First, we use EXOFASTv2 to jointly model the Spitzer and ground-based transits and obtain the midpoint transit times. We then construct an O - C diagram and model the TTVs with Exo-Striker. Second, we reproduce our results with an independent photodynamical analysis. We recover a TTV mass for AU Mic c of ${10.8}_{-2.2}^{+2.3}$ M ⊕. We compare the TTV-derived constraints to a recent radial velocity (RV) mass determination. We also observe excess TTVs that do not appear to be consistent with the dynamical interactions of b and c alone or due to spots or flares. Thus, we present a hypothetical nontransiting "middle-d" candidate exoplanet that is consistent with the observed TTVs and candidate RV signal and would establish the AU Mic system as a compact resonant multiplanet chain in a 4:6:9 period commensurability. These results demonstrate that the AU Mic planetary system is dynamically interacting, producing detectable TTVs, and the implied orbital dynamics may inform the formation mechanisms for this young system. We recommend future RV and TTV observations of AU Mic b and c to further constrain the masses and confirm the existence of possible additional planet(s).

Keywords: exoplanets; exoplanet astronomy
Backscattering and Line Broadening in Orion

Examination of emission lines in high-velocity-resolution optical spectra of the Orion Nebula confirms that the velocity component on the red wing of the main ionization front emission line is due to backscattering in the Photon Dominated Region. This scattered light component has a weak wavelength dependence that is consistent with either general interstellar medium particles or particles in the foreground of the Orion Nebula Cluster. An anomalous line-broadening component that has been known for 60+ years is characterized in unprecedented detail. Although this extra broadening may be due to turbulence along the line of sight of our spectra, we explore the possibility that it is due to Alfvén waves in conditions where the ratio of magnetic and thermal energies are about equal and constant throughout the ionized gas.

Keywords: emission nebulae; h ii regions
Infrared Excesses Around Bright White Dwarfs from Gaia and unWISE. II

Infrared excesses around white dwarf stars indicate the presence of various astrophysical objects of interest, including companions and debris disks. In this second paper of a series, we present follow-up observations of infrared excess candidates from Gaia and unWISE discussed in the first paper, Paper I. We report space-based infrared photometry at 3.6 and 4.5 micron for 174 white dwarfs from the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground-based near-infrared J, H, and K photometry of 235 white dwarfs from Gemini Observatory with significant overlap between Spitzer and Gemini observations. These data are used to confirm or rule out the observed unWISE infrared excess. From the unWISE-selected candidate sample, the most promising infrared excess sample comes from both color and flux excess, which has a Spitzer confirmation rate of 95%. We also discuss a method to distinguish infrared excess caused by stellar or sub-stellar companions from potential dust disks. In total, we confirm the infrared excess around 62 white dwarfs, 10 of which are likely to be stellar companions. The remaining 52 bright white dwarfs with infrared excess beyond two microns has the potential to double the known sample of white dwarfs with dusty exoplanetary debris disks. Follow-up high-resolution spectroscopic studies of a fraction of confirmed excess white dwarfs in this sample have discovered emission from gaseous dust disks. Additional investigations will be able to expand the parameter space from which dust disks around white dwarfs are found.

Keywords: white dwarf stars; stellar accretion disks; brown dwarfs; m dwarf stars; debris disks; near infrared astronomy; infrared astronomy; infrared excess
Stellar Parameters and Chemical Abundances Estimated from LAMOST-II DR8 MRS Based on Cycle-StarNet

Deriving stellar atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances from stellar spectra is crucial for understanding the evolution of the Milky Way. By performing a fitting with MARCS model atmospheric theoretical synthetic spectra combined with a domain-adaptation method, we estimate the fundamental stellar parameters (T eff, log g, [Fe/H], v mic, and v mac) and 11 chemical abundances for 1.38 million FGKM-type stars of the Medium-Resolution Spectroscopic Survey (MRS) from LAMOST-II DR8. The domain-adaptation method, CYCLE-STARNET, is employed to reduce the gap between observed and synthetic spectra, and the L-BFGS algorithm is used to search the best-fit synthetic spectra. By combining the Two Micron All Sky Survey photometric survey data, Gaia EDR3 parallax, and MIST isochrones, the surface gravities of the stars are constrained after estimating their bolometric luminosities. The accuracy of T eff, log g, and [Fe/H] can reach 150 K, 0.11 dex, and 0.15 dex, evaluated by the PASTEL catalog, asteroseismic samples, and other spectroscopic surveys. The precision of these parameters and elemental abundances ([C/Fe], [Na/Fe], [Mg/Fe], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], [Ti/Fe], [Cr/Fe], [Mn/Fe], [Co/Fe], [Ni/Fe], and [Cu/Fe]) is assessed by repeated observations and validated by cluster members. For spectra with signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns) greater than 10, the precision of the three stellar parameters and elemental abundances can achieve 76 K, 0.014 dex, 0.096 dex, and 0.04-0.15 dex. For spectra with S/Ns higher than 100, the precision stabilizes at 22 K, 0.006 dex, 0.043 dex, and 0.01-0.06 dex. The full LAMOST MRS stellar properties catalog is available at doi: 10.12149/101242.

Keywords: stellar astronomy; stellar physics; stellar atmospheres; fundamental parameters of stars; chemical abundances
GW190814: Gravitational Waves from the Coalescence of a 23 Solar Mass Black Hole with a 2.6 Solar Mass Compact Object

We report the observation of a compact binary coalescence involving a 22.2-24.3 M⊙ black hole and a compact object with a mass of 2.50-2.67 M⊙ (all measurements quoted at the 90% credible level). The gravitational-wave signal, GW190814, was observed during LIGO's and Virgo's third observing run on 2019 August 14 at 21:10:39 UTC and has a signal-to-noise ratio of 25 in the three-detector network. The source was localized to 18.5 deg2 at a distance of ${241}_{-45}^{+41}$ Mpc; no electromagnetic counterpart has been confirmed to date. The source has the most unequal mass ratio yet measured with gravitational waves, ${0.112}_{-0.009}^{+0.008}$ , and its secondary component is either the lightest black hole or the heaviest neutron star ever discovered in a double compact-object system. The dimensionless spin of the primary black hole is tightly constrained to ≤0.07. Tests of general relativity reveal no measurable deviations from the theory, and its prediction of higher-multipole emission is confirmed at high confidence. We estimate a merger rate density of 1-23 Gpc-3 yr-1 for the new class of binary coalescence sources that GW190814 represents. Astrophysical models predict that binaries with mass ratios similar to this event can form through several channels, but are unlikely to have formed in globular clusters. However, the combination of mass ratio, component masses, and the inferred merger rate for this event challenges all current models of the formation and mass distribution of compact-object binaries.

Keywords: gravitational wave astronomy; gravitational wave sources; astrophysical black holes; compact binary stars; gravitational waves; gravitational wave detectors
TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). IX. A 27 Myr Extended Population of Lower Centaurus Crux with a Transiting Two-planet System

We report the discovery and characterization of a nearby (~85 pc), older (27 ± 3 Myr), distributed stellar population near Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC), initially identified by searching for stars comoving with a candidate transiting planet from TESS (HD 109833; TOI 1097). We determine the association membership using Gaia kinematics, color-magnitude information, and rotation periods of candidate members. We measure its age using isochrones, gyrochronology, and Li depletion. While the association is near known populations of LCC, we find that it is older than any previously found LCC subgroup (10-16 Myr), and distinct in both position and velocity. In addition to the candidate planets around HD 109833, the association contains four directly imaged planetary-mass companions around three stars, YSES-1, YSES-2, and HD 95086, all of which were previously assigned membership in the younger LCC. Using the Notch pipeline, we identify a second candidate transiting planet around HD 109833. We use a suite of ground-based follow-up observations to validate the two transit signals as planetary in nature. HD 109833 b and c join the small but growing population of <100 Myr transiting planets from TESS. HD 109833 has a rotation period and Li abundance indicative of a young age (≲100 Myr), but a position and velocity on the outskirts of the new population, lower Li levels than similar members, and a color-magnitude diagram position below model predictions for 27 Myr. So, we cannot reject the possibility that HD 109833 is a young field star coincidentally nearby the population.

Keywords: stellar ages; transit photometry; exoplanets; stellar associations; stellar kinematics
The Twisted Magnetic Field of the Protobinary L483

We present H-band (1.65 μm) and SOFIA HAWC+ 154 μm polarization observations of the low-mass core L483. Our H-band observations reveal a magnetic field that is overwhelmingly in the E-W direction, which is approximately parallel to the bipolar outflow that is observed in scattered IR light and in single-dish 12CO observations. From our 154 μm data, we infer a ~45° twist in the magnetic field within the inner 5″ (1000 au) of L483. We compare these new observations with published single-dish 350 μm polarimetry and find that the 10,000 au scale H-band data match the smaller-scale 350 μm data, indicating that the collapse of L483 is magnetically regulated on these larger scales. We also present high-resolution 1.3 mm Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data of L483 that reveals it is a close binary star with a separation of 34 au. The plane of the binary of L483 is observed to be approximately parallel to the twisted field in the inner 1000 au. Comparing this result to the ~1000 au protostellar envelope, we find that the envelope is roughly perpendicular to the 1000 au HAWC+ field. Using the data presented, we speculate that L483 initially formed as a wide binary and the companion star migrated to its current position, causing an extreme shift in angular momentum thereby producing the twisted magnetic field morphology observed. More observations are needed to further test this scenario.

Keywords: star formation; protostars; magnetic fields
Parker Solar Probe Encounters the Leg of a Coronal Mass Ejection at 14 Solar Radii

We use Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observations to report the first direct measurements of the particle and field environments while crossing the leg of a coronal mass ejection (CME) very close to the Sun (~14 Rs). An analysis that combines imaging from 1 au and PSP with a CME model, predicts an encounter time and duration that correspond to an unusual, complete dropout in low-energy solar energetic ions from H-Fe, observed by the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (IS⊙IS). The surrounding regions are populated with low-intensity protons and heavy ions from 10s to 100 keV, typical of some quiet times close in to the Sun. In contrast, the magnetic field and solar wind plasma show no similarly abrupt changes at the boundaries of the dropout. Together, the IS⊙IS energetic particle observations, combined with remote sensing of the CME and a dearth of other "typical" CME signatures, indicate that this CME leg is significantly different from the magnetic and plasma structure normally assumed for CMEs near the Sun and observed in interplanetary CMEs farther out in the solar wind. The dropout in low-energy energetic ions may be due to the cooling of suprathermal ions at the base of the CME leg flux tube, owing to the rapid outward expansion during the release of the CME.

Keywords: solar coronal mass ejections; interplanetary magnetic fields; interplanetary medium; interplanetary particle acceleration; solar energetic particles; solar wind; solar coronal heating; solar magnetic flux emergence