adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Ultracool Dwarf Absolute Magnitude versus Spectral Type Relations for JWST NIRCam Filters

We synthesize JWST NIRCam photometry for a range of narrow, medium, and wide filters using SpeX prism spectra and parallaxes of 688 field-age and 151 young (≲200 Myr) ultracool dwarfs (spectral types M6-T9). We derive absolute magnitude-spectral type polynomial relations for the F164N, F187N, and F212N narrow filters; the F140M, F162M, F182M, and F210M medium filters; and the F115W, F150W, and F200W wide filters. Our relations enable the calculation of photometric distances for ultracool dwarfs observed with JWST in the absence of parallax measurements. Additionally, using the synthesized photometry to generate color-color figures can help distinguish high-redshift galaxies from brown dwarf interlopers.

Keywords: brown dwarfs; photometry; absolute magnitude; stellar classification; james webb space telescope
Confirmation of a Dynamical Model for the TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanetary System

We present a new transit of TRAPPIST-1 d from 2021 August 25. The measured mid-point of this transit agrees with the prediction from a recently published dynamical model for the TRAPPIST-1 system and differs significantly from a naive prediction from a simple linear ephemeris. This difference underlines the importance for using dynamical models to predict future transit times in the TRAPPIST-1 system.

Keywords: exoplanet astronomy; transit photometry
Gigayear-timescale Destruction of High-eccentricity Asteroids by Spin and Why 2006 HY51 Has Been Spared

Asteroids and other small celestial bodies have markedly prolate shapes, and the perturbative triaxial torques that are applied during pericenter passages in highly eccentric orbits trigger and sustain a state of chaotic rotation. Because the prograde spin rate around the principal axis of inertia is not bounded from above, it can accidentally reach the threshold value corresponding to rotational breakup. Previous investigations of this process were limited to integrations of ∼103 orbits because of the stiff equation of motion. We present here a fast 1D simulation method to compute the evolution of this spin rate over ∼109 orbits. We apply the method to the most eccentric solar system asteroid known, 2006 HY51 (with e = 0.9684), and find that for any reasonably expected shape parameters it can never be accelerated to breakup speed. However, primordial solar system asteroids on more eccentric orbits may have already broken up from this type of rotational fission. The method also represents a promising opportunity to investigate the long-term evolution of extremely eccentric triaxial exo-asteroids (e > 0.99), which are thought to be common in white dwarf planetary systems.

Keywords: asteroids; celestial mechanics; small solar system bodies; computational methods; eccentricity; astronomical simulations
Optical to Near-infrared Transmission Spectrum of the Warm Sub-Saturn HAT-P-12b

We present the transmission spectrum of HAT-P-12b through a joint analysis of data obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and Wide Field Camera 3 and Spitzer, covering the wavelength range 0.3-5.0 μm. We detect a muted water vapor absorption feature at 1.4 μm attenuated by clouds, as well as a Rayleigh scattering slope in the optical indicative of small particles. We interpret the transmission spectrum using both the state-of-the-art atmospheric retrieval code SCARLET and the aerosol microphysics model CARMA. These models indicate that the atmosphere of HAT-P-12b is consistent with a broad range of metallicities between several tens to a few hundred times solar, a roughly solar C/O ratio, and moderately efficient vertical mixing. Cloud models that include condensate clouds do not readily generate the submicron particles necessary to reproduce the observed Rayleigh scattering slope, while models that incorporate photochemical hazes composed of soot or tholins are able to match the full transmission spectrum. From a complementary analysis of secondary eclipses by Spitzer, we obtain measured depths of 0.042% ± 0.013% and 0.045% ± 0.018% at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, respectively, which are consistent with a blackbody temperature of 890+60-70 K and indicate efficient day-night heat recirculation. HAT-P-12b joins the growing number of well-characterized warm planets that underscore the importance of clouds and hazes in our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres; exoplanet astronomy
A Two-Component Probability Distribution Function Describes the Mid-IR Emission from the Disks of Star-forming Galaxies

High-resolution JWST-MIRI images of nearby spiral galaxies reveal emission with complex substructures that trace dust heated both by massive young stars and the diffuse interstellar radiation field. We present high angular (0.″85) and physical resolution (20-80 pc) measurements of the probability distribution function (PDF) of mid-infrared (mid-IR) emission (7.7-21 μm) from 19 nearby star-forming galaxies from the PHANGS-JWST Cycle 1 Treasury. The PDFs of mid-IR emission from the disks of all 19 galaxies consistently show two distinct components: an approximately lognormal distribution at lower intensities and a high-intensity power law component. These two components only emerge once individual star-forming regions are resolved. Comparing with locations of H II regions identified from Very Large Telescope/MUSE Hα mapping, we infer that the power-law component arises from star-forming regions and thus primarily traces dust heated by young stars. In the continuum-dominated 21 μm band, the power law is more prominent and contains roughly half of the total flux. At 7.7-11.3 μm, the power law is suppressed by the destruction of small grains (including PAHs) close to H II regions, while the lognormal component tracing the dust column in diffuse regions appears more prominent. The width and shape of the lognormal diffuse emission PDFs in galactic disks remain consistent across our sample, implying a lognormal gas column density N(H) ≈ 1021 cm-2 shaped by supersonic turbulence with typical (isothermal) turbulent Mach numbers ≈5-15. Finally, we describe how the PDFs of galactic disks are assembled from dusty H II regions and diffuse gas and discuss how the measured PDF parameters correlate with global properties such as star formation rate and gas surface density.

Keywords: interstellar medium; extragalactic astronomy; dust physics; h ii regions; infrared astronomy; stellar feedback
A JWST/MIRI and NIRCam Analysis of the Young Stellar Object Population in the Spitzer I Region of NGC 6822

We present an imaging survey of the Spitzer I star-forming region in NGC 6822 conducted with the NIRCam and MIRI instruments on board JWST. Located at a distance of 490 kpc, NGC 6822 is the nearest non-interacting low-metallicity (∼0.2 Z ⊙) dwarf galaxy. It hosts some of the brightest known H II regions in the local universe, including recently discovered sites of highly embedded active star formation. Of these, Spitzer I is the youngest and most active, and houses 90 color-selected candidate young stellar objects (YSOs) identified from Spitzer Space Telescope observations. We revisit the YSO population of Spitzer I with these new JWST observations. By analyzing color–magnitude diagrams constructed with NIRCam and MIRI data, we establish color selection criteria and construct spectral energy distributions to identify candidate YSOs and characterize the full population of young stars, from the most embedded phase to the more evolved stages. In this way, we have identified 140 YSOs in Spitzer I. Comparing to previous Spitzer studies of the NGC 6822 YSO population, we find that the YSOs we identify are fainter and less massive, indicating that the improved resolution of JWST allows us to resolve previously blended sources into multiple objects.

Keywords: dwarf galaxies; dwarf irregular galaxies; protostars; young stellar objects
Tropospheric Composition and Circulation of Uranus with ALMA and the VLA

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Very Large Array (VLA) spatial maps of the Uranian atmosphere taken between 2015 and 2018 at wavelengths from 1.3 mm to 10 cm, probing pressures from ∼1 to ∼50 bar at spatial resolutions from 0"1 to 0"8. Radiative transfer modeling was performed to determine the physical origin of the brightness variations across Uranus's disk. The radio-dark equator and midlatitudes of the planet (south of ∼50°N) are well fit by a deep H2S mixing ratio of ${8.7}_{-1.5}^{+3.1}\times {10}^{-4}$ ( ${37}_{-6}^{+13}\times $ solar) and a deep NH3 mixing ratio of ${1.7}_{-0.4}^{+0.7}\times {10}^{-4}$ ( ${1.4}_{-0.3}^{+0.5}\times $ solar), in good agreement with models of Uranus's disk-averaged spectrum from the literature. The north polar region is very bright at all frequencies northward of ∼50°N, which we attribute to strong depletions extending down to the NH4SH layer in both NH3 and H2S relative to the equatorial region; the model is consistent with an NH3 abundance of ${4.7}_{-1.8}^{+2.1}\times {10}^{-7}$ and an H2S abundance of <1.9 × 10-7 between ∼20 and ∼50 bar. Combining this observed depletion in condensible molecules with methane-sensitive near-infrared observations from the literature suggests large-scale downwelling in the north polar vortex region from ∼0.1 to ∼50 bar. The highest-resolution maps reveal zonal radio-dark and radio-bright bands at 20°S, 0°, and 20°N, as well as zonal banding within the north polar region. The difference in brightness is a factor of ∼10 less pronounced in these bands than the difference between the north pole and equator, and additional observations are required to determine the temperature, composition, and vertical extent of these features.

Keywords: uranus; solar system planets; solar system gas giant planets
Toward the Gravitational Redshift Detection in NGC 4258 and the Estimation of Its Black Hole Mass-to-distance Ratio

We construct from first principles a general relativistic approach to study Schwarzschild black hole (BH) rotation curves and estimate the mass-to-distance ratio of the active galactic nucleus of NGC 4258 in terms of astrophysical observable quantities. The presented method allows one to clearly distinguish and quantify the general and special relativistic contributions to the total redshift expression. The total relativistic redshift/blueshift comprises three components: the gravitational redshift due to the spacetime curvature generated by the mass of the BH in its vicinity, the kinematic shift, originated by the photons' local Doppler effect, and the redshift due to a special relativistic boost that describes the motion of a galaxy from a distant observer. We apply our method to the largest data set of highly redshifted water megamaser measurements on the accretion disk of the NGC 4258 active galaxy and use this general relativistic method to estimate its BH mass-to-distance ratio: M/D = (0.5326 ± 0.00022) × 107 M⊙ Mpc-1.

Keywords: supermassive black holes; schwarzschild metric; galaxy accretion disks; megamasers
TOI-1994b: A Low-mass Eccentric Brown Dwarf Transiting A Subgiant Star

We present the discovery of TOI-1994b, a low-mass brown dwarf transiting a hot subgiant star on a moderately eccentric orbit. TOI-1994 has an effective temperature of ${7700}_{-410}^{+720}$ K, V magnitude of 10.51 mag and log(g) of ${3.982}_{-0.065}^{+0.067}$ . The brown dwarf has a mass of ${22.1}_{-2.5}^{+2.6}$ M J, a period of 4.034 days, an eccentricity of ${0.341}_{-0.059}^{+0.054}$ , and a radius of ${1.220}_{-0.071}^{+0.082}$ R J. TOI-1994b is more eccentric than other transiting brown dwarfs with similar masses and periods. The population of low-mass brown dwarfs may have properties similar to planetary systems if they were formed in the same way, but the short orbital period and high eccentricity of TOI-1994b may contrast this theory. An evolved host provides a valuable opportunity to understand the influence stellar evolution has on the substellar companion's fundamental properties. With precise age, mass, and radius, the global analysis and characterization of TOI-1994b augments the small number of transiting brown dwarfs and allows the testing of substellar evolution models.

Keywords: brown dwarfs; photometry; radial velocity; substellar companion stars
Kepler-1661 b: A Neptune-sized Kepler Transiting Circumbinary Planet around a Grazing Eclipsing Binary

We report the discovery of a Neptune-sized ( ${R}_{p}=3.87\pm 0.06{R}_{\oplus }$ ) transiting circumbinary planet, Kepler-1661 b, found in the Kepler photometry. The planet has a period of ∼175 days and its orbit precesses with a period of only 35 yr. The precession causes the alignment of the orbital planes to vary, and the planet is in a transiting configuration only ∼7% of the time as seen from Earth. As with several other Kepler circumbinary planets, Kepler-1661 b orbits close to the stability radius, and is near the (hot) edge of the habitable zone. The planet orbits a single-lined, grazing eclipsing binary, containing a 0.84 ${M}_{\odot }$ and 0.26 ${M}_{\odot }$ pair of stars in a mildly eccentric (e = 0.11), 28.2 day orbit. The system is fairly young, with an estimated age of ∼1-3 Gyr, and exhibits significant starspot modulations. The grazing eclipse configuration means the system is very sensitive to changes in the binary inclination, which manifests itself as a change in the eclipse depth. The starspots contaminate the eclipse photometry, but not in the usual way of inducing spurious eclipse timing variations. Rather, the starspots alter the normalization of the light curve, and hence the eclipse depths. This can lead to spurious eclipse depth variations, which are then incorrectly ascribed to binary orbital precession.

Keywords: eclipsing binary stars; exoplanet astronomy; exoplanet detection methods; timing variation methods; transit photometry
The Destiny of the Open Cluster NGC 6530: Past and Future

Studying the structures of open clusters is crucial for understanding stellar evolution and galactic dynamics. Based on Gaia DR3 data, we apply the hierarchical clustering algorithm to the young open cluster NGC 6530 and group its members into five substructures. By linear tracing with the kinematic information of their members, we find that sub 1 is the core of the cluster. It is expanding slowly. Sub 2 consists of less-bound members, which began escaping from the core about 0.78 Myr ago. Sub 3 is associated with a young star-forming region. It will merge with the core after 0.72 Myr. Sub 4, as an outskirts group, is also moving toward the core but will not end up falling in. Sub 5 is composed of less-bound members with field contamination. This work reveals the complex internal structure and evolutionary trends of the cluster NGC 6530. It also shows the potential of the hierarchical clustering algorithm in star cluster structure analysis.

Keywords: open star clusters; single-linkage hierarchical clustering; stellar kinematics; astronomy data analysis
A Search for Correlations between Turbulence and Star Formation in THINGS Galaxies

The spatial range for feedback from star formation varies from molecular cloud disruption on parsec scales to supershells and disk blowout on kiloparsec scales. The relative amounts of energy and momentum given to these scales are important for understanding the termination of star formation in any one region and the origin of interstellar turbulence and disk stability in galaxies as a whole. Here, we measure, for 11 THINGS galaxies, the excess kinetic energy, velocity dispersion, and surface density of H I gas associated with regions of excess star formation, where the excess is determined from the difference between the observed local value and the azimuthal average. We find small decreases in the excess kinetic energy and velocity dispersion in regions of excess star formation rate density, suggesting that most of the feedback energy does not go into local H I motion. Most likely, it disrupts molecular clouds and dissipates rapidly at high gas density. Some could also be distributed over larger regions, filling in spaces between the peaks of star formation and contributing to other energy sources from self-gravity and spiral arm shocks.

Keywords: interstellar atomic gas; star forming regions; stellar feedback
MEGASIM: Distribution and Detection of Earth Trojan Asteroids

Using N-body simulation results from the MEGASIM data set, we present spatial distributions of Earth Trojan Asteroids and assess the detectability of the population in current and next-generation ground-based astronomical surveys. Our high-fidelity Earth Trojan Asteroid (ETA) distribution maps show never-before-seen high-resolution spatial features that evolve over timescales up to 1 Gyr. The simulation was synchronized to start times and timelines of two observational astronomy surveys: (1) the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) and (2) the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). We calculate upper limits for the number of ETAs potentially observable with both the ZTF and LSST surveys. Due to the Yarkovsky Effect, we find no stable ETAs on billion-year timescales likely to be detected by any ETA survey, as no C-type or S-type ETAs (with H < 22 and H < 24, respectively) are likely to be stable on billion-year timescales, and ETAs large enough to remain stable on billion-year timescales are very rare relative to the rest of the ETA population. We find that a twilight ETA survey will not drastically increase the likelihood of individual ETA detection, but it would provide orders of magnitude more observations of select ETA populations. The null detection to date from ZTF restricts the potential ETA population to hundreds of objects larger than 100 m (at H ≈ 22), while a null detection by LSST will further restrict the ETA population to tens of objects larger than 100 m.

Keywords: n-body simulations; n-body problem; earth trojans; trojan asteroids; sky surveys
Testing ΛCDM with Dwarf Galaxy Morphology

The leading tensions to the collisionless cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm are the "small-scale controversies," discrepancies between observations at the dwarf-galactic scale, and their simulational counterparts. In this work we consider methods to infer 3D morphological information on Local Group dwarf spheroidals and test the fitness of CDM+hydrodynamics simulations to the observed galaxy shapes. We find that the subpopulation of dwarf galaxies with mass-to-light ratio $\gtrsim 100{M}_{\odot }/{L}_{\odot }$ reflects an oblate morphology. This is discrepant with the dwarf galaxies with mass-to-light ratios $\lesssim 100{M}_{\odot }/{L}_{\odot }$ , which reflect prolate morphologies, as well as simulations of CDM-sourced bright isolated galaxies that are explicitly prolate. Although more simulations and data are called for if evidence of oblate pressure-supported stellar distributions persists in observed galaxies while being absent from simulations, we argue that an underlying oblate non-CDM dark matter halo may be required and present this as motivation for future studies.

Keywords: dwarf galaxies; galaxy dark matter halos; dwarf spheroidal galaxies; dark matter distribution; hydrodynamical simulations
9-yr Deep Sky unWISE Coadds

We present our most recent set of "full-depth" unWISE coadds, static sky stacks that combine nine years of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and NEOWISE exposures, resulting in the deepest ever 3-5 μm full-sky maps. Here, we publicly release these all-sky W1 (3.4 μm) and W2 (4.6 μm) coadded images.

Keywords: astronomy data analysis; infrared astronomy; astronomy image processing
Testing MOND on Small Bodies in the Remote Solar System

Modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), which postulates a breakdown of Newton's laws of gravity/dynamics below some critical acceleration threshold, can explain many otherwise puzzling observational phenomena on galactic scales. MOND competes with the hypothesis of dark matter, which successfully explains the cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure. Here we provide the first solar system test of MOND that probes the subcritical acceleration regime. Using the Bekenstein–Milgrom "aquadratic Lagrangian" (or AQUAL) formulation, we simulate the evolution of myriads of test particles (planetesimals or comets) born in the trans-Neptunian region and scattered by the giant planets over the lifetime of the Sun to heliocentric distances of 102–105 au. We include the effects of the Galactic tidal field and passing stars. While Newtonian simulations reproduce the distribution of binding energies of long-period and Oort-cloud comets detectable from Earth, MOND-based simulations do not. This conclusion is robust to plausible changes in the migration history of the planets, the migration history of the Sun, the MOND transition function, effects of the Sun's birth cluster, and the fading properties of long-period comets. For the most popular version of AQUAL, characterized by a gradual transition between the Newtonian and MOND regimes, our MOND-based simulations also fail to reproduce the orbital distribution of trans-Neptunian objects in the detached disk (perihelion q > 38 au). Our results do not rule out some MOND theories more elaborate than AQUAL, in which non-Newtonian effects are screened on small spatial scales, at small masses, or in external gravitational fields comparable in strength to the critical acceleration.

Keywords: gravitation; non-standard theories of gravity; modified newtonian dynamics; trans-neptunian objects; detached objects; oort cloud; comet dynamics
A Deficit of Massive White Dwarfs in Gaia Astrometric Binaries

The third data release of Gaia introduced a large catalog of astrometric binaries, out of which about 3200 are likely main-sequence stars with a white dwarf (WD) companion. These binaries are typically found with orbital separations of ∼1 au, a separation range that was largely unexplored due to observational challenges. Such systems are likely to have undergone a phase of stable mass transfer while the WD progenitor was on the asymptotic giant branch. Here we study the WD mass distribution of a volume-complete sample of binaries with K/M dwarf primaries and orbital separations of ∼1 au. We find that the number of massive WDs relative to the total number of WDs in these systems is smaller by an order of magnitude compared to their occurrence among single WDs in the field. One possible reason can be an implicit selection of the WD mass range if these are indeed post-stable-mass-transfer systems. Another reason can be the lack of merger products in our sample compared to the field, due to the relatively tight orbital separations of these systems. In addition, we find that about 14% of these systems have distant tertiary companions within 1 pc.

Keywords: white dwarf stars; astrometric binary stars; post-asymptotic giant branch stars; multiple star evolution; gaia; interacting binary stars; stellar mergers