adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Keck/NIRSPEC Studies of He I in the Atmospheres of Two Inflated Hot Gas Giants Orbiting K Dwarfs: WASP-52b and WASP-177b

We present the detection of neutral helium at 10833 Å in the atmosphere of WASP-52b and tentative evidence of helium in the atmosphere of the grazing WASP-177b, using high-resolution observations acquired with the NIRSPEC instrument on the Keck II telescope. We detect excess absorption by helium in WASP-52b's atmosphere of 3.44% ± 0.31% (11σ), or equivalently 66 ± 5 atmospheric scale heights. This absorption is centered on the planet's rest frame (Δv = 0.00 ± 1.19 km s-1). We model the planet's escape using a 1D Parker wind model and calculate its mass-loss rate to be ~1.4 × 1011 g s-1, or equivalently 0.5% of its mass per gigayear. For WASP-177b, we see evidence for redshifted (Δv = 6.02 ± 1.88 km s-1) helium-like absorption of 1.28% ± 0.29% (equal to 23 ± 5 atmospheric scale heights). However, due to residual systematics in the transmission spectrum of similar amplitude, we do not interpret this as significant evidence for He absorption in the planet's atmosphere. Using a 1D Parker wind model, we set a 3σ upper limit on WASP-177b's escape rate of 7.9 × 1010 g s-1. Our results, taken together with recent literature detections, suggest the tentative relation between XUV irradiation and He I absorption amplitude may be shallower than previously suggested. Our results highlight how metastable helium can advance our understanding of atmospheric loss and its role in shaping the exoplanet population.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres; exoplanet astronomy
A High Angular Resolution Survey of Massive Stars in Cygnus OB2: JHK Adaptive Optics Results from the Gemini Near-Infrared Imager

We present results of a high angular resolution survey of massive OB stars in the Cygnus OB2 association that we conducted with the Near-Infrared Imager camera and ALTAIR adaptive optics system of the Gemini North telescope. We observed 74 O- and early-B-type stars in Cyg OB2 in the JHK infrared bands in order to detect binary and multiple companions. The observations are sensitive to equal-brightness pairs at separations as small as $0\buildrel{\prime\prime}\over{.} 08$ , and progressively fainter companions are detectable out to $\bigtriangleup K=9$ mag at a separation of 2″. This faint contrast limit due to read noise continues out to 10″ near the edge of the detector. We assigned a simple probability of chance alignment to each companion based upon its separation and magnitude difference from the central target star and upon areal star counts for the general star field of Cyg OB2. Companion stars with a field membership probability of less than 1% are assumed to be physical companions. This assessment indicates that 47% of the targets have at least one resolved companion that is probably gravitationally bound. Including known spectroscopic binaries, our sample includes 27 binary, 12 triple, and 9 systems with 4 or more components. These results confirm studies of high-mass stars in other environments that find that massive stars are born with a high-multiplicity fraction. The results are important for the placement of the stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the interpretation of their spectroscopic analyses, and for future mass determinations through measurement of orbital motion.

Keywords: massive stars; early-type stars; wide binary stars; ob associations; ob stars
Magnitude-squared Coherence: A Powerful Tool for Disentangling Doppler Planet Discoveries from Stellar Activity

If Doppler searches for Earth-mass, habitable planets are to succeed, observers must be able to identify and model out stellar activity signals. Here we demonstrate how to diagnose activity signals by calculating the magnitude-squared coherence ${\hat{C}}_{{xy}}^{2}(f)$ between an activity-indicator time series x t and the radial-velocity (RV) time series y t . Since planets only cause modulation in RV, not in activity indicators, a high value of ${\hat{C}}_{{xy}}^{2}(f)$ indicates that the signal at frequency f has a stellar origin. We use Welch's method to measure coherence between activity indicators and RVs in archival observations of GJ 581, α Cen B, and GJ 3998. High RV-Hα coherence at the frequency of GJ 3998 b and high RV-S index coherence at the frequency of GJ 3998c, indicate that the planets may actually be stellar signals. We also replicate previous results showing that GJ 581 d and g are rotation harmonics and demonstrate that α Cen B has activity signals that are not associated with rotation. Welch's power spectrum estimates have cleaner spectral windows than Lomb-Scargle periodograms, improving our ability to estimate rotation periods. We find that the rotation period of GJ 581 is 132 days, with no evidence of differential rotation. Welch's method may yield unacceptably large bias for data sets with N < 75 observations and works best on data sets with N > 100. Tapering the time-domain data can reduce the bias of the Welch's power spectrum estimator, but observers should not apply tapers to data sets with extremely uneven observing cadence. A software package for calculating magnitude-squared coherence and Welch's power spectrum estimates is available on github.

Keywords: time series analysis; period search; astrostatistics techniques; radial velocity; stellar activity; stellar rotation
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): The Weak Environmental Dependence of Quasar Activity at 0.1 < z < 0.35

Understanding the connection between nuclear activity and galaxy environment remains critical in constraining models of galaxy evolution. By exploiting the extensive cataloged data from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey, we identify a representative sample of 205 quasars at 0.1 < z < 0.35 and establish a comparison sample of galaxies, closely matched to the quasar sample in terms of both stellar mass and redshift. On scales <1 Mpc, the galaxy number counts and group membership of quasars appear entirely consistent with those of the matched galaxy sample. Despite this, we find that quasars are ~1.5 times more likely to be classified as the group center, indicating a potential link between quasar activity and cold gas flows or galaxy interactions associated with rich group environments. On scales of ~a few Mpc, the clustering strengths of both samples are statistically consistent, and beyond 10 Mpc, we find no evidence that quasars trace large-scale structures any more than the galaxy control sample. Both populations are found to prefer intermediate-density sheets and filaments to either very high-density environments or very low-density environments. This weak dependence of quasar activity on galaxy environment supports a paradigm in which quasars represent a phase in the lifetime of all massive galaxies and in which secular processes and a group-centric location are the dominant triggers of quasars at low redshift.

Keywords: quasars; galaxy evolution; active galaxies
SNIa Cosmology Analysis Results from Simulated LSST Images: From Difference Imaging to Constraints on Dark Energy

The Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is expected to process ~106 transient detections per night. For precision measurements of cosmological parameters and rates, it is critical to understand the detection efficiency, magnitude limits, artifact contamination levels, and biases in the selection and photometry. Here we rigorously test the LSST Difference Image Analysis (DIA) pipeline using simulated images from the Rubin Observatory LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration Data Challenge (DC2) simulation for the Wide-Fast-Deep survey area. DC2 is the first large-scale (300 deg2) image simulation of a transient survey that includes realistic cadence, variable observing conditions, and CCD image artifacts. We analyze ~15 deg2 of DC2 over a 5 yr time span in which artificial point sources from Type Ia supernova (SNIa) light curves have been overlaid onto the images. The magnitude limits per filter are u = 23.66 mag, g = 24.69 mag, r = 24.06 mag, i = 23.45 mag, z = 22.54 mag, and y = 21.62 mag. The artifact contamination levels are ~90% of all detections, corresponding to ~1000 artifacts deg-2 in g band, and falling to 300 deg-2 in y band. The photometry has biases <1% for magnitudes 19.5 < m < 23. Our DIA performance on simulated images is similar to that of the Dark Energy Survey difference-imaging pipeline on real images. We also characterize DC2 image properties to produce catalog-level simulations needed for distance bias corrections. We find good agreement between DC2 data and simulations for distributions of signal-to-noise ratio, redshift, and fitted light-curve properties. Applying a realistic SNIa cosmology analysis for redshifts z < 1, we recover the input cosmology parameters to within statistical uncertainties.

Keywords: time domain astronomy; transient detection; type ia supernovae; observational cosmology; dark energy
The Bulge Radial Velocity Assay for RR Lyrae Stars (BRAVA-RR) DR2: A Bimodal Bulge?

The radial velocities of 2768 fundamental-mode RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) toward the southern Galactic bulge are presented, spanning the southern bulge from -8° < l < + 8° and -3° < b < -6°. Distances derived from the pulsation properties of the RRLs are combined with Gaia proper motions to give constraints on the orbital motions of 1389 RRLs. The majority (∼75%) of the bulge RRLs have orbits consistent with these stars being permanently bound to <3.5 kpc from the Galactic Center, similar to the bar. However, unlike the bulge giants, the RRLs exhibit slower rotation and a higher velocity dispersion. The higher velocity dispersion arises almost exclusively from halo interlopers passing through the inner Galaxy. We present 82 stars with space velocities ≳500 km s-1 and find that the majority of these high-velocity stars are halo interlopers; it is unclear if a subsample of these stars with similar space velocities has a common origin. Once the 25% of the sample represented by halo interlopers is cleaned, we can clearly discern two populations of bulge RRLs in the inner Galaxy. The first population of RRLs is not as tightly bound to the Galaxy (but is still confined to the inner ∼3.5 kpc) and is both spatially and kinematically consistent with the barred bulge. The second population is more centrally concentrated and does not trace the bar. One possible interpretation is that this population was born prior to bar formation, as their spatial location, kinematics, and pulsation properties suggest, possibly from an accretion event at high redshift.

Keywords: galactic bulge; stellar populations; milky way formation; rr lyrae variable stars; stellar kinematics; galaxy radial velocities; halo stars
Investigations of Massive Filaments and Star Formation (INFANT). I. Core Identification and Core Mass Function

Filamentary structures are ubiquitously found in high-mass star-forming clouds. To investigate the relationship between filaments and star formation, we carry out the INFANT (Investigations of Massive Filaments and Sar Formation) survey, a multiscale, multiwavelength survey of massive filamentary clouds with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) band 3/band 6 and Very Large Array K band. In this first paper, we present the ALMA band 6 continuum observations toward a sample of eight high-mass star-forming filaments. We covered each target with an approximately rectangular mosaic field of view with two 12 m array configurations, achieving an angular resolution of ∼0.″6 (2700 au at 4.5 kpc) and a continuum rms of ∼0.1 mJy beam‑1 (∼0.06 M ⊙ in gas mass assuming 15 K). We identify cores using the getsf and astrodendro and find the former is more robust in terms of both identification and measuring flux densities. We identify in total 183 dense cores (15–36 cores in each cloud) and classify their star formation states via outflow and warm gas tracers. The protostellar cores are statistically more massive than the prestellar cores, possibly indicating further accretion onto cores after the formation of protostars. For the high-mass end ( ${M}_{\mathrm{core}}$ > 1.5 M ⊙) of the core mass function (CMF) we derive a power-law index of ‑1.15 ± 0.12 for the whole sample and ‑1.70 ± 0.25 for the prestellar population. We also find a steepening trend in CMF with cloud evolution (‑0.89 ± 0.15 for the young group versus. ‑1.44 ± 0.25 for the evolved group) and discuss its implications for cluster formation.

Keywords: star formation; initial mass function; interstellar filaments; surveys; molecular clouds
A Model for Pair Production Limit Cycles in Pulsar Magnetospheres

It was recently proposed that the electric field oscillation as a result of self-consistent e ± pair production may be the source of coherent radio emission from pulsars. Direct particle-in-cell simulations of this process have shown that the screening of the parallel electric field by this pair cascade manifests as a limit cycle, as the parallel electric field is recurrently induced when pairs produced in the cascade escape from the gap region. In this work, we develop a simplified time-dependent kinetic model of e ± pair cascades in pulsar magnetospheres that can reproduce the limit-cycle behavior of pair production and electric field screening. This model includes the effects of a magnetospheric current, the escape of e ±, as well as the dynamic dependence of pair production rate on the plasma density and energy. Using this simple theoretical model, we show that the power spectrum of electric field oscillations averaged over many limit cycles is compatible with the observed pulsar radio spectrum.

Keywords: radio pulsars; plasma astrophysics; neutron stars; radio sources
On the Origin of a Rotating Metal-poor Stellar Population in the Milky Way Nuclear Cluster

We explore the origin of a population of stars recently detected in the inner parsec of the Milky Way (MW) nuclear cluster, which exhibits subsolar metallicity and a higher rotation compared to the dominant population. Using state-of-the-art N-body simulations, we model the infall of massive stellar systems into the Galactic center, both of Galactic and extragalactic origin. We show that the newly discovered population can either be the remnant of a massive star cluster formed a few kiloparsecs away from the Galactic center (Galactic scenario) or be accreted from a dwarf galaxy originally located at 10-100 kpc (extragalactic scenario) and that reached the Galactic center 3-5 Gyr ago. A comparison between our models and characteristic Galactocentric distance and metallicity distributions of MW satellites and globular clusters favors the Galactic scenario. A comparison with clusters associated with the Enceladus-Sausage, Sequoia, Sagittarius, and Canis Major structures suggests that the progenitor of the observed metal-poor substructure formed in situ rather than being accreted.

Keywords: supermassive black holes; galactic center; globular star clusters; dwarf galaxies; galaxy dynamics; stellar populations; very large telescope
The Statistics of Extended Debris Disks Measured with Gaia and Planck

Thermal emission from debris disks around stars has been measured using targeted and resolved observations. We present an alternative likelihood-based approach in which temperature maps from the Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) survey at 857 and 545 GHz are analyzed in conjunction with stellar positions from Gaia to estimate the fraction of stars hosting disks and the thermal emission from the disks. The debris disks are not resolved (or even necessarily detected individually), but their statistical properties and the correlations with stellar properties are measured for several thousand stars. We compare our findings with higher sensitivity surveys of smaller samples of stars. For dimmer stars, in particular K and M dwarfs, we find that about 10% of stars within 80 pc have emission consistent with debris disks. We also report on 80 candidate disks, the majority of which are not previously identified. We have previously constrained the properties of Exo-Oort clouds using Planck data -- with future CMB surveys, both components can be measured for different stellar types, providing a new avenue to study the outer parts of planetary systems.

Keywords: debris disks; circumstellar disks; cosmic background radiation; submillimeter astronomy
Periodic Fast Radio Bursts from Young Neutron Stars

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are highly energetic radio pulses from cosmological origins. Despite an abundance of detections, their nature remains elusive. At least a subset of FRBs is expected to repeat, as the volumetric FRB rate surpasses that of any known cataclysmic event, which has been confirmed by observations. One of the proposed mechanisms to generate repeating FRBs is supergiant pulses from young and highly spinning neutron stars (NSs), in which case FRBs could inherit the periodicity of their parent NS. Here we examine the consequences of such a population of periodic fast radio bursts (PFRBs). We calculate the rate and lifetime of PFRB progenitors, and find that each newly born highly spinning NS has to emit a number ${N}_{\mathrm{PFRB}}\sim {10}^{2}$ of detectable bursts during its active lifetime of $\tau \sim 100$ yr, after which it becomes too dim and crosses a PFRB "death line" analogous to the pulsar one. We propose several tests of this hypothesis. First, the period of PFRBs would increase over time, and their luminosity would decrease, due to the NS spin-down. Second, PFRBs may show modest amounts of rotation measure, given the lack of expelled matter from the pulsar, as opposed to the magnetar-sourced FRBs proposed to explain the first repeater FRB 121102. As an example, we study whether the second confirmed repeater (FRB 180814) is a PFRB, given the preference for an inter-pulse separation of 13 ms within its sub-bursts. We show that, if confirmed, this period would place FRB 180814 in a different category as FRB 121102. We develop tests that would identify—and characterize—the prospective population of PFRBs.

Keywords: radio transient sources; transient sources; radio bursts; neutron stars; pulsars
Model-independent Reconstruction of the Cosmological Scale Factor as a Function of Lookback Time

We present a model-independent method of reconstructing scale factor against lookback time from the Observational Hubble parameter Data (OHD). The reconstruction method is independent of dynamical models and is only based on the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric. We also calculate the propagation of error in the reconstruction process. The reconstruction data errors mainly come from trapezoidal rule approximation and the uncertainty from OHD. Furthermore, the model discrimination ability of original OHD and reconstructed a-t data is discussed under a dimensionless standard method. The a-t data can present the differences between cosmology models more clearly than H-z data by comparing their coefficients of variations. Finally, we add 50 simulated H(z) data to estimate the influence of future observation. More Hubble measurements in the future will help constrain cosmological parameters more accurately.

Keywords: cosmological models; cosmological parameters; stellar distance; astronomy data analysis
Mutual Detectability: A Targeted SETI Strategy That Avoids the SETI Paradox

As our ability to undertake searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) grows, so does interest in the controversial endeavor of messaging extraterrestrial intelligence (METI). METI proponents point to the SETI Paradox—if all civilizations refrain from METI then SETI is futile. I introduce mutual detectability as a game-theoretic strategy to increase the success potential of targeted SETI. Mutual detectability comprises four laws that establish how SETI participants can engage each other based on mutual evidence of mutual existence. I argue that the party whom both SETI participants can judge to have better quality evidence, or common denominator information (CDI), has an onus to transmit to avoid the SETI Paradox. Transiting exoplanets within the Earth Transit Zone form a target subset that satisfies mutual detectability requirements. I identify the intrinsic time-integrated transit signal strength, which for Earth is 103 L⊙ ppm hours yr-1, as suitable CDI. Civilizations on habitable-zone planets of radius ${R}_{{\rm{p}}}/{R}_{\oplus }\lesssim {({L}_{* }/{L}_{\odot })}^{-1/7}$ have superior CDI on us, and so under the mutual detectability framework have game-theory incentive (onus) to transmit. While the onus to transmit falls on us for habitable planets around L* > L⊙ stars, considerations of relative stellar frequency, main-sequence lifetime and planet occurrence rates mean that such systems are likely to be in a small minority. Surveys of the Earth Transit Zone for Earth-analog transiting planets around subsolar luminosity hosts would facilitate targeted SETI programs for civilizations who have game-theory incentive to transmit signals to us. A choice to remain silent, by not engaging in METI toward such systems, does not in this case fuel concerns of a SETI Paradox.

Keywords: exoplanets; exoplanet astronomy; astrobiology; search for extraterrestrial intelligence; exoplanet detection methods
Framework for Coordinated Efforts in the Exploration of Volatiles in the South Polar Region of the Moon

The exploration of the lunar south polar region and the ground truthing of polar volatiles is one of the top priorities for several space agencies and private partners. Here we use Moon Mineralogy Mapper surficial water ice detections to investigate the location of water-ice-bearing permanently shaded regions (PSRs) near the south pole. We extract a variety of parameters such as their temperature regime, slope, hydrogen content, number of ice detections, depth stability for water ice and dry ice, and mobility aspects. We identify 169 water-ice-bearing PSRs and use their characteristics to identify sites that allow us to access the highest abundances of volatiles, sites that can be visited to characterize the lateral or vertical distribution of volatiles (water ice and dry ice), and sites that allow for the fastest recovery of a scientifically interesting sample. Collectively, 37 PSRs are identified as sites of interest, including 11 that would address more than one mission objective and may be, for that reason, higher-priority targets of exploration. These PSRs are found in Shoemaker, Faustini, Cabeus, Malapert, Nobile, Sverdrup, Wiechert J, and Haworth craters, as well as three unnamed craters (PSRs 57, 120, and 89). These sites are all located within 6° of the south pole. We present case studies for a relatively short traverse mission (20-50 km) to PSR 89, a medium-length traverse (∼100 km) to Sverdrup 1, and a longer traverse (∼300 km) to Cabeus that can serve as a guide in planning upcoming exploration missions.

Keywords: the moon; lunar science; lunar evolution; surface ices; polar caps