adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Magnetic Reconnection in Black Hole Magnetospheres: Lepton Loading into Jets, Superluminal Radio Blobs, and Multiwavelength Flares

Supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei launch relativistic jets, as indicated by observed superluminal radio blobs. The energy source of these jets is widely discussed in the theoretical framework of the Blandford-Znajek process, the electromagnetic energy extraction from rotating black holes (BHs), while the formation mechanism of the radio blobs in the electromagnetically dominated jets has been a long-standing problem. Recent high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic simulations of magnetically arrested disks exhibited magnetic reconnection in a transient magnetically dominated part of the equatorial disk near the BH horizon, which led to a promising scenario of efficient MeV gamma-ray production and subsequent electron-positron pair loading into the BH magnetosphere. We develop this scenario to build a theoretical framework on energetics, timescales, and particle number density of the superluminal radio blobs and discuss observable signatures in other wave bands. We analytically show that the nonthermal electrons emit broadband photons from optical to multi-MeV bands. The electron-positron pairs produced in the magnetosphere are optically thick for synchrotron self-absorption, so that the injected energy is stored in the plasma. The stored energy is enough to power the superluminal radio blobs observed in M87. This scenario predicts rather dim radio blobs around Sgr A*, which are consistent with no clear detection by current facilities. In addition, this scenario inevitably produces strong X-ray flares in a short timescale, which will be detectable by future X-ray satellites.

Keywords: relativistic jets; radio active galactic nuclei; low-luminosity active galactic nuclei; gamma-rays; non-thermal radiation sources
The MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey (MALS) Data Release. I. Stokes I Image Catalogs at 1–1.4 GHz

The MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey (MALS) has observed 391 telescope pointings at the L band (900–1670 MHz) at δ ≲ +20°. We present radio continuum images and a catalog of 495,325 (240,321) radio sources detected at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) > 5 over an area of 2289 deg2 (1132 deg2) at 1006 MHz (1381 MHz). Every MALS pointing contains a central bright radio source (S 1 GHz ≳ 0.2 Jy). The median spatial resolution is 12″ (8″). The median rms noise away from the pointing center is 25 μJy beam‑1 (22 μJy beam‑1) and is within ∼15% of the achievable theoretical sensitivity. The flux density scale ratio and astrometric accuracy deduced from multiply observed sources in MALS are <1% (8% scatter) and 1″, respectively. Through comparisons with NVSS and FIRST at 1.4 GHz, we establish the catalog's accuracy in the flux density scale and astrometry to be better than 6% (15% scatter) and 0.″8, respectively. The median flux density offset is higher (9%) for an alternate beam model based on holographic measurements. The MALS radio source counts at 1.4 GHz are in agreement with literature. We estimate spectral indices (α) of a subset of 125,621 sources (S/N > 8), confirm the flattening of spectral indices with decreasing flux density, and identify 140 ultra-steep-spectrum (α < ‑1.3) sources as prospective high-z radio galaxies (z > 2). We have identified 1308 variable and 122 transient radio sources comprising primarily active galactic nuclei that demonstrate long-term (26 yr) variability in their observed flux densities. The MALS catalogs and images are publicly available at https://mals.iucaa.in.

Keywords: active galaxies; radio interferometry; surveys; radio source catalogs
The Macroporosity of Rubble Pile Asteroid Ryugu and Implications for the Origin of Chondrules

We use the known surface boulder-size distribution of the C-type rubble pile asteroid Ryugu (NEA 162173) to determine its macroporosity, assuming it is a homogeneous granular aggregate. We show that the volume-frequency distribution of its boulders, cobbles, and pebbles, is well-represented by a lognormal function with σ = 2.4 ± 0.1 and μ = 0.2 ± 0.05. Application of linear-mixture packing theory yields a value for the macroporosity of φ = 0.14 ± 0.04. Given its low bulk density of 1.19 gm cm-3, this implies an average density for Ryugu's rocks of 1.38 ± 0.07 gm cm-3 throughout its volume, consistent with a recent determination for surface boulders based on their thermal properties. This supports the spectrum-based argument that interplanetary dust particles may be the best analog material available on Earth, and it suggests that high-density, well-lithified objects such as chondrules and chondrule-bearing chondrites may be rare on Ryugu. Implications of this result for the origin of chondrules, a long-standing problem in cosmochemistry, are discussed. We propose that chondrules and most chondrites formed together in rare lithification events, which occurred during the accretion of chondritic envelopes to large, differentiated planetesimals at a time when they were still hot from 26Al decay.

Keywords: near-earth objects; asteroids; small solar system bodies; chondrites; chondrules
Monte Carlo Simulations of Electron Acceleration at Bow Waves Driven by Fast Jets in the Earth's Magnetosheath

The shocked solar wind flows around the Earth's magnetosphere in the magnetosheath downstream of the Earth's bow shock. Within this region, faster flows of plasma, called magnetosheath jets, are frequently observed. These jets have been shown to sometimes exhibit supermagnetosonic speeds relative to the magnetosheath flow and to develop bow waves or shocks of their own. Such jet-driven bow waves have been observed to accelerate ions and electrons. We model electron acceleration by magnetosheath jet-driven bow waves using test-particle Monte Carlo simulations. Our simulations suggest that the energy increase of electrons with energies of a few hundred eV to 10 keV can be explained by a collapsing magnetic trap forming between the bow wave and the magnetopause with shock drift acceleration at the moving bow wave. Our simulations allow us to estimate the efficiency of acceleration as a function of different jet and magnetosheath parameters. Electron acceleration by jet-driven bow waves can increase the total acceleration in the parent shock environment, most likely also at shocks other than the Earth's bow shock.

Keywords: planetary bow shocks; planetary magnetospheres; solar-terrestrial interactions
Mass and Radius Relations of Quarkyonic Stars Using an Excluded-volume Model

Inspired by the excluded-volume model for isospin symmetric quarkyonic matter of Jeong et al., we construct an excluded-volume model for a charge-neutral quarkyonic phase whose hadronic sector contains only neutrons. We refer to this model as quarkyonic neutron matter. We compute the equation of state for this model and solve the Tolman-Oppenhermer-Volkoff equations to obtain mass and radius relations relevant for neutron stars. The most straightforward extension of the model for symmetric quarkyonic matter of Jeong et al. to quarkyonic neutron matter does not satisfy the mass-radius constraints from neutron star measurements. However, we show that by incorporating appropriate nuclear interactions in the excluded-volume model, one can produce mass-radius relations that lie within the constraints obtained from gravitational waves of binary neutron star mergers and maximum-mass measurements of neutron stars.

Keywords: neutron stars; nuclear physics; high energy astrophysics
Machine-learning Approach to Identification of Coronal Holes in Solar Disk Images and Synoptic Maps

Identification of solar coronal holes (CHs) provides information both for operational space weather forecasting and long-term investigation of solar activity. Source data for the first problem are typically from the most recent solar disk observations, while for the second problem it is convenient to consider solar synoptic maps. Motivated by the idea that the concept of CHs should be similar for both cases we investigate universal models that can learn CH segmentation in disk images and reproduce the same segmentation in synoptic maps. We demonstrate that convolutional neural networks trained on daily disk images provide an accurate CH segmentation in synoptic maps and their pole-centric projections. Using this approach we construct a catalog of synoptic maps for the period of 2010-20 based on SDO/AIA observations in the 193 Å wavelength. The obtained CH synoptic maps are compared with magnetic synoptic maps in the time-latitude and time-longitude diagrams. The initial results demonstrate that while in some cases the CHs are associated with magnetic flux-transport events there are other mechanisms contributing to the CH formation and evolution. To stimulate further investigations the catalog of synoptic maps is published in open access.

Keywords: solar coronal holes; astronomy data analysis; solar magnetic fields
Ground-based and JWST Observations of SN 2022pul. II. Evidence from Nebular Spectroscopy for a Violent Merger in a Peculiar Type Ia Supernova

We present an analysis of ground-based and JWST observations of SN 2022pul, a peculiar "03fg-like" (or "super-Chandrasekhar") Type Ia supernova (SN Ia), in the nebular phase at 338 days postexplosion. Our combined spectrum continuously covers 0.4–14 μm and includes the first mid-infrared spectrum of a 03fg-like SN Ia. Compared to normal SN Ia 2021aefx, SN 2022pul exhibits a lower mean ionization state, asymmetric emission-line profiles, stronger emission from the intermediate-mass elements (IMEs) argon and calcium, weaker emission from iron-group elements (IGEs), and the first unambiguous detection of neon in a SN Ia. A strong, broad, centrally peaked [Ne II] line at 12.81 μm was previously predicted as a hallmark of "violent merger" SN Ia models, where dynamical interaction between two sub-M Ch white dwarfs (WDs) causes disruption of the lower-mass WD and detonation of the other. The violent merger scenario was already a leading hypothesis for 03fg-like SNe Ia; in SN 2022pul it can explain the large-scale ejecta asymmetries seen between the IMEs and IGEs and the central location of narrow oxygen and broad neon. We modify extant models to add clumping of the ejecta to reproduce the optical iron emission better, and add mass in the innermost region (<2000 km s‑1) to account for the observed narrow [O I] λ λ6300, 6364 emission. A violent WD–WD merger explains many of the observations of SN 2022pul, and our results favor this model interpretation for the subclass of 03fg-like SNe Ia.

Keywords: supernovae; type ia supernovae; white dwarf stars
Cratering and Tectonic History of the Largest Uranian Satellite, Titania: New Insights Enabled by Image Reprocessing

From heavily cratered Umbriel to extensively tectonized Miranda, Titania is an intermediary of the Uranian system: heavily cratered, yet tectonically modified. An outstanding mystery in Titania's crater population is its apparent relative lack of large (>30 km) craters. However, progress has been limited by the coverage and quality of images available. Here, we present a new map of Titania enabled by reprocessing Voyager images to reduce the effects of motion blur. Of note, we identify a network of fractures, a set of lineaments that may represent a large multi-ring impact structure, and newly identified catenae. These findings suggest Titania's crater population is missing large craters due to viscous relaxation, tectonic resurfacing, and/or planetocentric debris, and does not necessarily require cryovolcanic resurfacing. In preparation for future missions to the Uranian system, this work presents foundations for identifying imaging targets that can contribute to furthering our understanding of the history and evolution of the Uranian system in a broader context of icy satellite evolution.

Keywords: uranian satellites; planetary science; astronomy image processing; tectonics; craters
Dust around Massive Stars Is Agnostic to Galactic Environment: New Insights from PHAT/BEAST

Resolving the environments of massive stars is crucial for understanding their formation mechanisms and their impact on galaxy evolution. An important open question is whether massive stars found in diffuse regions outside spiral arms formed in situ or migrated there after forming in denser environments. To address this question, we use multiresolution measurements of extinction in the Andromeda galaxy (M31) to probe the interstellar medium surrounding massive stars across galactic environments. We construct a catalog of 42,107 main-sequence massive star candidates (M ≥ 8 M ⊙) using resolved stellar photometry from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) program, plus stellar and dust model fits from the Bayesian Extinction and Stellar Tool (BEAST). We quantify galactic environments by computing surrounding stellar densities of massive stars using kernel density estimation. We then compare high-resolution line-of-sight extinction estimates from the BEAST with 25 pc resolution dust maps from PHAT, measuring the total column density distribution of extinction. Our key finding is that, although the average total column density of dust increases with the density of massive stars, the average line-of-sight extinction toward massive stars remains constant across all environments. This suggests that massive stars have a uniform amount of dust in their immediate environment, regardless of their location in the galaxy. One possible explanation for these findings is that small molecular clouds are still capable of forming massive stars, even if they are not resolvable at 25 pc. These results indicate that massive stars are forming in the sparse regions of M31, as opposed to migrating there.

Keywords: massive stars; interstellar medium; hubble space telescope; interstellar dust; stellar populations
The Optical Luminosity-Time Correlation for More than 100 Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are fascinating events due to their panchromatic nature. Their afterglow emission is observed from sub-TeV energies to radio wavelengths. We investigate GRBs that present an optical plateau, leveraging on the resemblance with the X-ray plateau shown in many GRB light curves (LCs). We comprehensively analyze all published GRBs with known redshifts and optical plateau observed mostly by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift). We fit 267 optical LCs and show the existence of the plateau in 102 cases, which is the largest compilation so far of optical plateaus. For 56 Swift GRBs with optical and X-ray plateaus, we compare the rest-frame end time at both wavelengths ( ${T}_{\mathrm{opt}}^{* }$, ${T}_{{\rm{X}}}^{* }$ ), and conclude that the plateau is achromatic between ${T}_{\mathrm{opt}}^{* }$ and ${T}_{{\rm{X}}}^{* }$ . We also confirm the existence of the two-dimensional relations between ${T}_{\mathrm{opt}}^{* }$ and the optical luminosity at the end of the plateau emission, which resembles the same luminosity-time correlation in X-rays (Dainotti et al. 2013). The existence of this optical correlation has been demonstrated for the largest sample of optical plateaus in the literature to date. The squared scatter in this optical correlation is smallest for the subset of the Gold GRBs with a decrease in the scatter equivalent to 52.4% when compared to the scatter of the entire GRB sample.

Keywords: gamma-ray bursts
Thermodynamically Governed Interior Models of Uranus and Neptune

Interior models of Uranus and Neptune often assume discrete layers, but sharp interfaces are expected only if major constituents are immiscible. Diffuse interfaces could arise if accretion favored a central concentration of the least volatile constituents (also, incidentally, the most dense); compositional gradients arising in such a structure would likely inhibit convection. Currently, two lines of evidence suggest possible hydrogen-water immiscibility in ice giant interiors. The first arises from crude extrapolation of the experimental H2-H2O critical curve to ∼3 GPa. The data are obtained for an impure system containing silicates, though Uranus and Neptune could also be "dirty." Current ab initio models disagree (Soubiran & Militzer 2015), though hydrogen and water are difficult to model from first-principles quantum mechanics with the necessary precision. The second argument for H2-H2O immiscibility in ice giants, outlined herein, invokes reasoning about the gravitational and magnetic fields. While consensus remains lacking, here we examine the immiscible case. Applying the resulting thermodynamic constraints, we find that Neptune models with envelopes containing a substantial water mole fraction, as much as ${\chi }_{\mathrm{env}}^{{\prime} }\gtrsim 0.1$ relative to hydrogen, can satisfy observations. In contrast, Uranus models appear to require ${\chi }_{\mathrm{env}}^{{\prime} }\lesssim 0.01$ , potentially suggestive of fully demixed hydrogen and water. Enough gravitational potential energy would be available from gradual hydrogen-water demixing to supply Neptune's present-day heat flow for roughly 10 solar system lifetimes. Hydrogen-water demixing could slow Neptune's cooling rate by an order of magnitude; different hydrogen-water demixing states could account for the different heat flows of Uranus and Neptune.

Keywords: uranus; planetary interior; neptune; planetary structure
An Origin of Narrow Extended Structure in the Interstellar Medium: An Interstellar Contrail Created by a Fast-moving Massive Object

We investigate the thermal condensation caused by a massive object that passes through the interstellar medium with high velocity, and propose a mechanism for creating a filamentary gaseous object, or interstellar contrail. Our main result shows that a long interstellar contrail can form with a certain parameter; a compact object more massive than 104 M ☉ can make a filament whose length is larger than 100 pc. Observation of interstellar contrails may provide information on the number, masses, and velocities of fast-moving massive objects, and can be a new method for probing invisible gravitating sources such as intermediate-mass black holes.

Keywords: interstellar filaments; intermediate-mass black holes
The Role of Core-collapse Physics in the Observability of Black Hole Neutron Star Mergers as Multimessenger Sources

Recent 1D core-collapse simulations indicate a nonmonotonicity of the explodability of massive stars with respect to their precollapse core masses, which is in contrast to commonly used prescriptions. In this work, we explore the implications of these results on the formation of coalescing black hole (BH)-neutron star (NS) binaries. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of natal kicks and the NS's radius on the synthesis of such systems and potential electromagnetic counterparts (EMCs) linked to them. Models based on 1D core-collapse simulations result in a BH-NS merger detection rate ( ∼ 2.3 yr-1), 5-10 times larger than the predictions of "standard" prescriptions. This is primarily due to the formation of low-mass BHs via direct collapse, and hence no natal kicks, favored by the 1D simulations. The fraction of observed systems that will produce an EMC, with the supernova engine from 1D simulations, ranges from 2% to 25%, depending on the NS equation of state. Notably, in most merging systems with EMCs, the NS is the first-born compact object, as long as the NS's radius is ≲ 12 km. Furthermore, models with negligible kicks for low-mass BHs increase the detection rate of GW190426_152155-like events to ∼ 0.6 yr-1, with an associated probability of EMC ≤10% for all supernova engines. Finally, models based on 1D core-collapse simulations predict a ratio of BH-NSs to binary BHs' merger rate density that is at least twice as high as other prescriptions, but at the same time overpredicting the measured local merger density rate of binary black holes.

Keywords: gravitational waves; black holes; neutron stars; binary stars
The Poor Old Heart of the Milky Way

Our Milky Way should host an ancient, metal-poor, and centrally concentrated stellar population, which reflects the star formation and enrichment in the few most massive progenitors that coalesced at high redshift to form the proto-Galaxy. While metal-poor stars are known to reside in the inner few kiloparsecs of our Galaxy, current data do not yet provide a comprehensive picture of such a metal-poor "heart" of the Milky Way. We use information from Gaia Data Release 3, especially the XP spectra, to construct a sample of 2 million bright (G BP < 15.5 mag) giant stars within 30° of the Galactic center (GC) with robust [M/H] estimates, δ[M/H] ≲ 0.1. For ~1.25 million stars we calculate orbits from Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrometer velocities and astrometry. This sample reveals an extensive, ancient, and metal-poor population that includes ~18,000 stars with -2.7 < [M/H] < -1.5, representing a stellar mass of ≳5 × 107 M ⊙. The spatial distribution of these [M/H] < -1.5 stars has a Gaussian extent of only ${\sigma }_{{{R}}_{{\rm{GC}}}}\sim 2.7\,\mathrm{kpc}$ around the GC, with most orbits confined to the inner Galaxy. At high orbital eccentricities, there is clear evidence for accreted halo stars in their pericentral orbit phase. Most stars show [α/Fe] enhancement and [Al/Fe]-[Mn/Fe] abundances expected for an origin in the more massive portions of the proto-Galaxy. Stars with [M/H] < -2 show no net rotation, whereas those with [M/H] ~ -1 are rotation dominated. These central, metal-poor stars most likely predate the oldest disk population (τ age ≈ 12.5 Gyr), which implies that they formed at z ≳ 5, forging the proto-Milky Way.

Keywords: milky way formation; metallicity; gaia; chemical enrichment; galaxy formation; milky way dynamics
Line Identification and Excitation of Autoionizing States in a Late-type, Low-mass Wolf-Rayet Star

Identifications of a large fraction of previously unidentified lines in the complex spectrum of the low mass, late-type LMC [WC11] star J060819.93-715737.4 have been made utilizing electronic databases. There are an exceptionally large number of C II emission lines originating from autoionizing (AI) levels. Resonance fluorescence between the C II ground state and excited AI levels is shown to be an important photoabsorption process that is competitive with dielectronic recombination in exciting AI emission lines in stellar winds, and has broad application to many types of emission-line stars. In addition, numerous C II quartet multiplets appear in emission that are not excited directly by recombination or resonance fluorescence, signifying high wind densities in the emission region that enhance collisional transfer between doublet and quartet states.

Keywords: wc stars; stellar spectral lines
Properties of High-redshift Gamma-Ray Bursts

The immense power of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) makes them ideal probes of the early universe. By using absorption lines in the afterglows of high-redshift GRBs, astronomers can study the evolution of metals in the early universe. With an understanding of the nature of GRB progenitors, the rate and properties of GRBs observed at high redshift can probe the star formation history and the initial mass function of stars at high redshift. This paper presents a detailed study of the dependence on metallicity and mass of the properties of long-duration GRBs under the black hole accretion disk paradigm to predict the evolution of these properties with redshift. These models are calibrated on the current GRB observations and then used to make predictions for new observations and new missions (e.g., the proposed Gamow mission) studying high-redshift GRBs.

Keywords: gamma-ray bursts