adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Constraints on the Optical Depth to Reionization from Balloon-borne Cosmic Microwave Background Measurements

We assess the uncertainty with which a balloon-borne experiment, nominally called Tau Surveyor (τS), can measure the optical depth to reionization σ(τ) with given realistic constraints of instrument noise and foreground emissions. Using a τS fiducial design with six frequency bands between 150 and 380 GHz, with white and uniform map noise of 7 μK arcmin, achievable with a single midlatitude flight, and including Planck's 30 and 44 GHz data, we assess the error σ(τ) obtained with three foreground models and as a function of sky fraction f sky between 40% and 54%. We carry out the analysis using both parametric and blind foreground separation techniques. We compare the σ(τ) values to those obtained with low-frequency and high-frequency versions of the experiment called τS-lf and τS-hf, which have only four and up to eight frequency bands with narrower and wider frequency coverage, respectively. We find that with τS, the lowest constraint is σ(τ) = 0.0034, obtained for one of the foreground models with f sky = 54%. σ(τ) is larger, in some cases by more than a factor of 2, for smaller sky fractions, with τS-lf, or as a function of foreground model. The τS-hf configuration does not lead to significantly tighter constraints. The exclusion of the 30 and 44 GHz data, which give information about synchrotron emission, leads to significant τ misestimates. Decreasing noise by an ambitious factor of 10, while keeping f sky = 40%, gives σ(τ) = 0.0031. The combination of σ(τ) = 0.0034, baryon acoustic oscillation data from DESI, and future cosmic microwave background B-mode lensing data from the CMB-S3/CMB-S4 experiments could give σ(∑m ν ) = 17 meV.

Keywords: cosmic microwave background radiation; reionization; neutrino masses; high altitude balloons
The Milky Way's Shell Structure Reveals the Time of a Radial Collision

We identify shell structures in the Milky Way for the first time. We find two shells in the Virgo Overdensity region and two shells in the Hercules Aquila Cloud region using Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Gaia, and LAMOST data. These shell stars are a subset of the substructure previously identified as the Virgo Radial Merger (VRM). Timing arguments for these shells indicate that their progenitor dwarf galaxy passed through the Galactic center 2.7 ± 0.2 Gyr ago. Based on the time of collision, it is also possible that the VRM is related to the phenomenon that created phase-space spirals in the vertical motion of the disk and/or the Splash and could have caused a burst of star formation in the inner disk. We analyze phase mixing in a collection of radial merger N-body simulations and find that shell structure similar to that observed in Milky Way data disappears by 5 Gyr after collision with the Galactic center. The method used to calculate the merger time of the VRM was able to reliably recover the correct merger times for these simulations. Previous work supports the idea that the VRM and the Gaia Sausage/Gaia-Enceladus Merger are the same. However, the Gaia Sausage is widely believed to be 8-11 Gyr old. The disparate ages could be reconciled if the larger age is associated with an infall time when the progenitor crossed the virial radius; we do not constrain the time at which the progenitor became bound to the Milky Way. Alternatively, the Gaia Sausage could be younger than previously thought.

Keywords: milky way galaxy; galaxy stellar halos; galaxy dynamics
The First Supermassive Black Hole Mass Measurement in Active Galactic Nuclei Using the Polarization of Broad Emission Line Mg II

Spectropolarimetric efforts in the last few years have developed an efficient method that is based on the profiles of the polarization plane position angle of broad emission lines in active galactic nuclei. Here we present black hole measurements of SBS 1419+538 using spectropolarimetric observations in the Mg II spectral band. The observations are performed by the 6 m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO RAS) using SCORPIO-2. We found good agreement for this object's estimated supermassive black hole mass using spectropolarimetry compared with the mass obtained using other methods.

Keywords: spectropolarimetry; supermassive black holes; active galaxies; seyfert galaxies; quasars; polarimetry
Effects of Nonzero-frequency Fluctuations on Turbulence Spectral Observations

In situ observations of turbulence spectra in space plasmas are usually interpreted as wavenumber spectra, assuming that the fluctuation frequency is negligible in the plasma flow frame. We explore the effects of nonzero frequency in the plasma flow frame on turbulence spectral observations. The finite frequency can be caused by either propagating waves or nonlinear broadening of nonpropagating structures. We show that the observed frequency spectrum can be modified by the nonzero frequency of turbulent fluctuations in several ways. Specifically, (i) frequency broadening results in a minor modification to the observed spectrum, primarily acting as a smoothing kernel of the spectrum near the spectral break, while the asymptotic spectral index remains unchanged; (ii) wave propagation can affect the observed spectral index for anisotropic turbulence. The effect is significant at low frequencies and weaker at high frequencies, leading to a "concave" shape of the observed perpendicular spectrum; (iii) the Doppler shift for forward- and backward-propagating Elsasser modes can result in a nonzero cross helicity for critical-balanced turbulence since the effect of the Doppler shift favors outward-propagating waves systematically, resulting in an observed imbalance. These results may have important implications for the interpretation of solar wind flows observed by Parker Solar Probe.

Keywords: solar wind; interplanetary turbulence
Untangling the Galaxy. II. Structure within 3 kpc

We present the results of the hierarchical clustering analysis of the Gaia DR2 data to search for clusters, comoving groups, and other stellar structures. The current paper builds on the sample from the previous work, extending it in distance from 1 to 3 kpc and increasing the number of identified structures up to 8292. To aid in the analysis of the population properties, we developed a neural network called Auriga to robustly estimate the age, extinction, and distance of a stellar group based on the input photometry and parallaxes of the individual members. We apply Auriga to derive the properties of not only the structures found in this paper, but also previously identified open clusters. Through this work, we examine the temporal structure of the spiral arms. Specifically, we find that the Sagittarius Arm has moved by >500 pc in the last 100 Myr and the Perseus Arm has been experiencing a relative lull in star formation activity over the last 25 Myr. We confirm the findings of the previous paper on the transient nature of the spiral arms, with the timescale of transition of a few 100 Myr. Finally, we find a peculiar ∼1 Gyr old stream of stars that appears to be heliocentric. Its origin is unclear.

Keywords: milky way dynamics; galaxy structure; stellar kinematics; star clusters; stellar associations; stellar ages
Spectroscopic Time Series Performance of the Mid-infrared Instrument on the JWST

We present here the first ever mid-infrared spectroscopic time series observation of the transiting exoplanet L 168-9 b with the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained as part of the MIRI commissioning activities, to characterize the performance of the Low Resolution Spectroscopy (LRS) mode for these challenging observations. To assess the MIRI LRS performance, we performed two independent analyses of the data. We find that with a single transit observation we reached a spectro-photometric precision of ~50 ppm in the 7-8 μm range at R = 50, consistent with ~25 ppm systematic noise. The derived band averaged transit depth is 524 ± 15 ppm and 547 ± 13 ppm for the two applied analysis methods, respectively, recovering the known transit depth to within 1σ. The measured noise in the planet's transmission spectrum is approximately 15%-20% higher than random noise simulations over wavelengths 6.8 ≲ λ ≲ 11 μm. We observed an larger excess noise at the shortest wavelengths of up to a factor of two, for which possible causes are discussed. This performance was achieved with limited in-flight calibration data, demonstrating the future potential of MIRI for the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres.

Keywords: transits; astronomical instrumentation; space observatories
Large Photospheric Doppler Shift in Solar Active Region 12673. I. Field-aligned Flows

Delta (δ) sunspots sometimes host fast photospheric flows along the central magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL). Here we study the strong Doppler shift signature in the central penumbral light bridge of solar active region NOAA 12673. Observations from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) indicate highly sheared and strong magnetic fields. Large Doppler shifts up to 3.2 km s-1 appeared during the formation of the light bridge and persisted for about 16 hr. A new velocity estimator, called DAVE4VMwDV, reveals fast converging and shearing motion along the PIL from HMI vector magnetograms, and recovers the observed Doppler signal much better than an old version of the algorithm. The inferred velocity vectors are largely (anti-)parallel to the inclined magnetic fields, suggesting that the observed Doppler shift contains a significant contribution from the projected field-aligned flows. High-resolution observations from the Hinode/Spectro-Polarimeter further exhibit a clear correlation between the Doppler velocity and the cosine of the magnetic inclination, which is in agreement with HMI results and consistent with a field-aligned flow of about 9.6 km s-1. The complex Stokes profiles suggest significant gradients of physical variables along the line of sight. We discuss the implications on the δ-spot magnetic structure and the flow-driving mechanism.

Keywords: solar active region magnetic fields; solar active region velocity fields; delta sunspots
Three-dimensional Multispecies Simulation of the Solar Wind Interaction with Mars Under Different Interplanetary Magnetic Field Orientations

Without the intrinsic magnetic field, the solar wind interaction with Mars can be significantly different from the interaction with Earth and other magnetized planets. In this paper, we investigate how a global configuration of the magnetic structures, consisting of the bow shock, the induced magnetosphere, and the magnetotail, is modulated by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation. A 3D multispecies numerical model is established to simulate the interaction of solar wind with Mars under different IMF directions. The results show that the shock size including the subsolar distance and the terminator radius increases with Parker spiral angle, as is the same case with the magnetotail radius. The location and shape of the polarity reversal layer and inverse polarity reversal layer in the induced magnetotail are displaced to the y < 0 sector for a nonzero flow-aligned IMF component, consistent with previous analytical solutions and observations. The responses of the Martian global magnetic configuration to the different IMF directions suggest that the external magnetic field plays an important role in the solar wind interaction with unmagnetized planets.

Keywords: mars; solar-planetary interactions; magnetohydrodynamics
SN 2023emq: A Flash-ionized Ibn Supernova with Possible C III Emission

SN 2023emq is a fast-evolving transient initially classified as a rare Type Icn supernova (SN), interacting with a H- and He-free circumstellar medium (CSM) around maximum light. Subsequent spectroscopy revealed the unambiguous emergence of narrow He lines, confidently placing SN 2023emq in the more common Type Ibn class. Photometrically, SN 2023emq has several uncommon properties regardless of its class, including its extreme initial decay (faster than >90% of Type Ibn/Icn SNe) and sharp transition in the decline rate from 0.20 to 0.07 mag day-1 at +20 days. The bolometric light curve can be modeled as CSM interaction with 0.32M ⊙ of ejecta and 0.12M ⊙ of CSM, with 0.006M ⊙ of nickel, as expected of fast, interacting SNe. Furthermore, broadband polarimetry at +8.7 days (P = 0.55% ± 0.30%) is consistent with spherical symmetry. A discovery of a transitional Type Icn/Ibn SN would be unprecedented and would give valuable insights into the nature of mass loss suffered by the progenitor just before death, but we favor an interpretation that SN 2023emq is a Type Ibn SN that exhibited flash-ionized features in the earliest spectrum, as the features are not an exact match with other Type Icn SNe to date. However, the feature at 5700 Å, in the region of C III and N II emission, is significantly stronger in SN 2023emq than in the few other flash-ionized Type Ibn SNe, and if it is related to C III, it possibly implies a continuum of properties between the two classes.

Keywords: supernovae
Scaling K2. III. Comparable Planet Occurrence in the FGK Samples of Campaign 5 and Kepler

Using our K2 Campaign 5 fully automated planet-detection data set (43 planets), which has corresponding measures of completeness and reliability, we infer an underlying planet population model for the FGK dwarf sample (9257 stars). Implementing a broken power law for both the period and radius distributions, we find an overall planet occurrence of ${1.00}_{-0.51}^{+1.07}$ planets per star within a period range of 0.5-38 days. Making similar cuts and running a comparable analysis on the Kepler sample (2318 planets; 94,222 stars), we find an overall occurrence of 1.10 ± 0.05 planets per star. Since the Campaign 5 field is nearly 120 angular degrees away from the Kepler field, this occurrence similarity offers evidence that the Kepler sample may provide a good baseline for Galactic inferences. Furthermore, the Kepler stellar sample is metal-rich compared to the K2 Campaign 5 sample, so a finding of occurrence parity may reduce the role of metallicity in planet formation. However, a weak (1.5σ) difference, in agreement with metal-driven formation, is found when assuming the Kepler model power laws for the K2 Campaign 5 sample and optimizing only the planet occurrence factor. This weak trend indicates that further investigation of metallicity-dependent occurrence is warranted once a larger sample of uniformly vetted K2 planet candidates is made available.

Keywords: exoplanet catalogs; dwarf stars
Storms, Variability, and Multiple Equilibria on Hot Jupiters

Observations of hot-Jupiter atmospheres show large variations in the location of the "hot spot" and the amplitude of spectral features. Atmospheric flow simulations using the commonly employed forcing and initialization have generally produced a large, monolithic patch of nearly stationary hot area located eastward of the substellar point at high altitude. Here we perform high-resolution (T682) pseudospectral simulations that accurately capture small-scale eddies and waves inherent in hot-Jupiter atmospheres due to ageostrophy. The atmospheres contain a large number of intense storms over a wide range of scales, including the planetary scale. The latter sized storms dictate the large-scale spatial distribution and temporal variability of hot, as well as cold, regions over the planet. In addition, they exhibit quasi-periodic life cycles within multiple equilibrium states—all identifiable in the disk-integrated time series of the temperature flux.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres; exoplanet atmospheric variability; exoplanets; hydrodynamical simulations; planetary atmospheres; internal waves; exoplanet detection methods; hot jupiters; planetary climates
Constraining Type Ia Supernova Delay Time with Spatially Resolved Star Formation Histories

We present the delay time distribution (DTD) estimates of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) using spatially resolved SN Ia host galaxy spectra from MUSE and MaNGA. By employing a grouping algorithm based on k-means and earth mover's distances (EMDs), we separated the host galaxy stellar population age distributions (SPADs) into spatially distinct regions and used maximum likelihood method to constrain the DTD of SN Ia progenitors. When a power-law model of the form DTD(t) ∝ ts(t > τ) is used, we find an SN rate decay slope $s=-{1.41}_{-0.33}^{+0.32}$ and a delay time $\tau ={120}_{-83}^{+142}\mathrm{Myr}$ . Moreover, we tested other DTD models, such as a broken power-law model and a two-component power-law model, and found no statistically significant support for these alternative models.

Keywords: type ia supernovae
Evidence for Fine-grained Material at Lunar Red Spots: Insights from Thermal Infrared and Radar Data Sets

Lunar red spots are small spectrally red features that have been proposed to be the result of non-mare volcanism. Studies have shown that a number of red spots are silicic, and are spectrally distinct from both highlands and mare compositions. In this work, we use data from LRO Diviner, Mini-RF, and Arecibo to investigate the material properties of 10 red spots. We create albedo maps using Diviner daytime solar reflectance data to use as an input to our improved thermophysical model, and calculate the rock abundance (RA) and H-parameter values that best fit Diviner nighttime thermal infrared radiance measurements. The H-parameter can be considered analogous to the thermal inertia of the regolith, with a high H-parameter corresponding to low thermal inertia. We find that the red spots generally have low RA, and do not have a uniform H-parameter but contain localized regions of high H-parameter. We additionally find that the red spots have a low circular polarization ratio (CPR) in many of the same locations that show a low RA and high H-parameter. Low RA, high H-parameter, and low CPR indicate a relative lack of rocks larger than ~10 cm, which is consistent with previous findings of a mantling of fine-grained pyroclastic material for at least three red spots. Areas with high H-parameter but that do not show clear signs of pyroclastics in other data sets may be evidence of previously undiscovered pyroclastics, or could be due to the unique physical properties (e.g., porosity, rock strength/breakdown resistance) of the rocks that make up the red spots.

Keywords: lunar domes; lunar regolith; lunar surface; lunar science; remote sensing; radar observations
Viability of Novae as Sources of Galactic Lithium

Of all the light elements, the evolution of lithium (Li) in the Milky Way is perhaps the most difficult to explain. Li is difficult to synthesize and is easily destroyed, making most stellar sites unsuitable for producing Li in sufficient quantities to account for the protosolar abundance. For decades, novae have been proposed as a potential explanation for this "Galactic Li problem," and the recent detection of 7Be in the ejecta of multiple nova eruptions has breathed new life into this theory. In this work, we assess the viability of novae as dominant producers of Li in the Milky Way. We present the most comprehensive treatment of novae in a galactic chemical evolution code to date, testing theoretically and observationally derived nova Li yields by integrating metallicity-dependent nova ejecta profiles computed using the binary population synthesis code binary_c with the galactic chemical evolution code OMEGA+. We find that our galactic chemical evolution models which use observationally derived Li yields account for the protosolar Li abundance very well, while models relying on theoretical nova yields cannot reproduce the protosolar observation. A brief exploration of physical uncertainties including single-stellar yields, the metallicity resolution of our nova treatment, common-envelope physics, and nova accretion efficiencies indicates that this result is robust to physical assumptions. Scatter within the observationally derived Li yields in novae is identified as the primary source of uncertainty, motivating further observations of 7Be in nova ejecta.

Keywords: classical novae; nucleosynthesis; stellar nucleosynthesis; galactic abundances
Investigating the Magnetic Structure of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections Using Simultaneous Multispacecraft In Situ Measurements

In situ measurements from spacecraft typically provide a time series at a single location through coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and they have been one of the main methods to investigate CMEs. The CME properties derived from these in situ measurements are affected by temporal changes that occur as the CME passes over the spacecraft, such as radial expansion and aging, as well as spatial variations within a CME. This study uses multispacecraft measurements of the same CME at close separations to investigate both the spatial variability (how different a CME profile is when probed by two spacecraft close to each other) and the so-called aging effect (the effect of the time evolution on in situ properties). We compile a database of 19 events from the past 4 decades measured by two spacecraft with a radial separation of <0.2 au and an angular separation of <10°. We find that the average magnetic field strength measured by the two spacecraft differs by 18% of the typical average value, which highlights nonnegligible spatial or temporal variations. For one particular event, measurements taken by the two spacecraft allow us to quantify and significantly reduce the aging effect to estimate the asymmetry of the magnetic field strength profile. This study reveals that single-spacecraft time series near 1 au can be strongly affected by aging and that correcting for self-similar expansion does not capture the whole aging effect.

Keywords: solar coronal mass ejections; heliosphere
The JWST Early-release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 μm Spectrum of the Planetary-mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b

We present the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a planetary-mass object. VHS 1256 b is a <20 M Jup widely separated (~8″, a = 150 au), young, planetary-mass companion that shares photometric colors and spectroscopic features with the directly imaged exoplanets HR 8799c, d, and e. As an L-to-T transition object, VHS 1256 b exists along the region of the color-magnitude diagram where substellar atmospheres transition from cloudy to clear. We observed VHS 1256 b with JWST's NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS modes for coverage from 1 to 20 μm at resolutions of ~1000-3700. Water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium are observed in several portions of the JWST spectrum based on comparisons from template brown dwarf spectra, molecular opacities, and atmospheric models. The spectral shape of VHS 1256 b is influenced by disequilibrium chemistry and clouds. We directly detect silicate clouds, the first such detection reported for a planetary-mass companion.

Keywords: brown dwarfs; exoplanet atmospheres; extrasolar gaseous giant planets
Release of TESS Objects of Interest from TESS-SPOC Sectors 48 to 50 Full Frame Images

We report 20 new potential transiting exoplanet candidates detected in 10 minutes full frame images from the first TESS Extended Mission. We searched the light curves produced by the TESS Science Processing Operations Center pipeline from Sectors 48 through 50 and uncovered 9257 Threshold Crossing Events. We used the program TESS-ExoClass, modeling, and catalog comparison to vet the detections and compile a list of 20 promising objects of interest. These exoplanet candidates will be submitted to the Exoplanet Follow-up Observing Program as Community TESS Objects of Interest. The target pixels, light curves, and data validation reports are available on the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.

Keywords: exoplanet astronomy; exoplanet catalogs; exoplanets; transits