adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
The NICER "Reverberation Machine": A Systematic Study of Time Lags in Black Hole X-Ray Binaries

We perform the first systematic search of all NICER archival observations of black hole (and candidate) low-mass X-ray binaries for signatures of reverberation. Reverberation lags result from the light travel time difference between the direct coronal emission and the reflected disk component, and therefore their properties are a useful probe of the disk-corona geometry. We detect new signatures of reverberation lags in eight sources, increasing the total sample from three to 11, and study the evolution of reverberation lag properties as the sources evolve in outbursts. We find that in all of the nine sources with more than one reverberation lag detection, the reverberation lags become longer and dominate at lower Fourier frequencies during the hard-to-soft state transition. This result shows that the evolution in reverberation lags is a global property of the state transitions of black hole low-mass X-ray binaries, which is valuable in constraining models of such state transitions. The reverberation lag evolution suggests that the corona is the base of a jet that vertically expands and/or gets ejected during state transition. We also discover that in the hard state, the reverberation lags get shorter, just as the quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) move to higher frequencies, but then in the state transition, while the QPOs continue to higher frequencies, the lags get longer. We discuss the implications of the coronal geometry and physical models of QPOs in light of this new finding.

Keywords: stellar mass black holes; astrophysical black holes; accretion
Autoencoding Galaxy Spectra. II. Redshift Invariance and Outlier Detection

We present an unsupervised outlier detection method for galaxy spectra based on the spectrum autoencoder architecture SPENDER, which reliably captures spectral features and provides highly realistic reconstructions for SDSS galaxy spectra. We interpret the sample density in the autoencoder latent space as a probability distribution, and identify outliers as low-probability objects with a normalizing flow. However, we found that the latent-space position is not, as expected from the architecture, redshift invariant, which introduces stochasticity into the latent space and the outlier detection method. We solve this problem by adding two novel loss terms during training, which explicitly link latent-space distances to data-space distances, preserving locality in the autoencoding process. Minimizing the additional losses leads to a redshift-invariant, nondegenerate latent-space distribution with clear separations between common and anomalous data. We inspect the spectra with the lowest probability and find them to include blends with foreground stars, extremely reddened galaxies, galaxy pairs and triples, and stars that are misclassified as galaxies. We release the newly trained SPENDER model and the latent-space probability for the entire SDSS-I galaxy sample to aid further investigations.

Keywords: galaxies; spectroscopy; astrostatistics
Orientale Ejecta at the Apollo 14 Landing Site Implies a 200-million-year Stratigraphic Time Shift on the Moon

Detailed spectral mapping, cratering statistics, and impact basin ejecta column estimates document a new and very different stratigraphic relationship for the Apollo 14 landing site. We observe a resurfacing event in the crater size-frequency distribution in agreement with a single blanketing layer. Using the crater size-frequency distribution, we determine two relative ages (cumulative crater frequencies) that match those observed for the Imbrium and Orientale basins, respectively. The pattern and strength of resurfacing and morphological distinction by spectral features suggest the top layer to be about 10-25 m thick. We propose that this top layer at the Apollo 14 landing site is Orientale basin ejecta above Imbrium basin ejecta. Such stratigraphy reattributes the (majority of) Apollo 14 samples to Orientale rather than to Imbrium basin and implies that Orientale basin is about 3.92 Gyr old, 200 million years older than previously suggested. The youngest lunar basin thus formed at the onset, rather than amid, of recorded mare volcanism. This time shift also changes constraints on early planetary and solar system processes, such as the intensity of impact bombardment, and pleads for revision of the crater-statistics-based surface ages of other planetary bodies.

Keywords: selenology; lunar impacts; lunar surface; lunar mineralogy
SN 2022joj: A Potential Double Detonation with a Thin Helium Shell

We present photometric and spectroscopic data for SN 2022joj, a nearby peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) with a fast decline rate (Δm 15,B = 1.4 mag). SN 2022joj shows exceedingly red colors, with a value of approximately B ‑ V ≈ 1.1 mag during its initial stages, beginning from 11 days before maximum brightness. As it evolves, the flux shifts toward the blue end of the spectrum, approaching B ‑ V ≈ 0 mag around maximum light. Furthermore, at maximum light and beyond, the photometry is consistent with that of typical SNe Ia. This unusual behavior extends to its spectral characteristics, which initially displayed a red spectrum and later evolved to exhibit greater consistency with typical SNe Ia. Spectroscopically, we find strong agreement between SN 2022joj and double detonation models with white dwarf masses of around 1 M ⊙ and a thin He shell between 0.01 and 0.05 M ⊙. Moreover, the early red colors are explained by line-blanketing absorption from iron peak elements created by the double detonation scenario in similar mass ranges. The nebular spectra in SN 2022joj deviate from expectations for double detonation, as we observe strong [Fe III] emission instead of [Ca II] lines as anticipated, though this is not as robust a prediction as early red colors and spectra. The fact that as He shells get thinner these SNe start to look more like normal SNe Ia raises the possibility that this is the triggering mechanism for the majority of SNe Ia, though evidence would be missed if the SNe are not observed early enough.

Keywords: supernovae; type ia supernovae
Magnetic Helicity Dissipation and Production in an Ideal MHD Code

We study a turbulent helical dynamo in a periodic domain by solving the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations with the FLASH code using the divergence-cleaning eight-wave method and compare our results with direct numerical simulations (DNS) using the Pencil Code. At low resolution, FLASH reproduces the DNS results qualitatively by developing the large-scale magnetic field expected from DNS, but at higher resolution, no large-scale magnetic field is obtained. In all those cases in which a large-scale magnetic field is generated, the ideal MHD results yield too little power at small scales. As a consequence, the small-scale current helicity is too small compared with that of the DNS. The resulting net current helicity has then always the wrong sign, and its statistical average also does not approach zero at late times, as expected from the DNS. Our results have implications for astrophysical dynamo simulations of stellar and galactic magnetism using ideal MHD codes.

Keywords: solar dynamo; magnetohydrodynamical simulations; interplanetary turbulence
Early Mass-varying Neutrino Dark Energy: Nugget Formation and Hubble Anomaly

We present a novel scenario in which light (~few eV) dark fermions (sterile neutrinos) interact with a scalar field as in mass-varying neutrino dark energy theories. As the eV sterile states naturally become nonrelativistic before the matter-radiation equality (MRE), we show that the neutrino-scalar fluid develops strong perturbative instability followed by the formation of neutrino nuggets, and the early dark energy (EDE) behavior disappears around MRE. The stability of the nugget is achieved when the Fermi pressure balances the attractive scalar force, and we numerically find the mass and radius of heavy cold nuggets by solving for the static configuration for the scalar field. We find that for the case when dark matter nugget density is subdominant and most of the EDE go into scalar field dynamics, it can in principle relax the Hubble anomaly. Especially when a kinetic-energy-dominated phase appears after the phase transition, the DE density dilutes faster than radiation and satisfies the requirements for solving the H0 anomaly. In our scenario, unlike in originally proposed early DE theory, the DE density is controlled by (eV) neutrino mass and it does not require a fine-tuned EDE scale. We perform a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis and confront our model with Planck + SHOES and baryon acoustic oscillation data and find evidence for a nonzero neutrino-scalar EDE density during MRE. Our analysis shows that this model is in agreement to nearly 1.3σ with SHOES measurement, which is H0 = 74.03 ± 1.42 km s-1 Mpc-1.

Keywords: hubble constant; dark energy
Surface Reaction of Methyl Mercaptan (CH3SH) with Hydrogen Atoms on Amorphous Solid Water

Methyl mercaptan (CH3SH) is one of the S-bearing organic compounds found in the interstellar medium (ISM). In this study, we investigated the surface reactions of solid CH3SH with H atoms on amorphous solid water using experimental and computational methods to examine their physicochemical behavior in the ISM. Consequently, the primary product was discovered to be CH4. As the computational studies show that the dominant reaction pathway is H + CH3SH → CH3 + H2S, the observed CH4 would result from H addition to CH3. As relatively minor routes, the H abstraction processes from the -CH3 and -SH functional groups of CH3SH, giving rise to CH2SH and CH3S radicals, are confirmed. Although these radicals may form CH3SH again by reactions with H atoms, the loss of CH3SH from the ice surface by chemical desorption would be minor.

Keywords: astrochemistry; pre-biotic astrochemistry
The BLUEDISK Survey: Thickness of H I Layers in Gas-rich Spiral Galaxies

We use an empirical relation to measure the H I scale height of relatively H I-rich galaxies using 21 cm observations. The galaxies were selected from the BLUEDISK, THINGS, and VIVA surveys. We aim to compare the thickness of the H I layer of unusually H I-rich galaxies with that of normal spiral galaxies and find any correlation between the H I scale height and other galaxies' properties. We found that on average the unusually H I-rich galaxies have H I disk thickness similar to that of the control sample and the galaxies selected from the THINGS and VIVA surveys within their uncertainties. Our results also show that the average thickness of the neutral hydrogen inside the optical disk is correlated with the atomic gas fraction inside the optical disk with a scatter of ~0.22 dex. A correlation is also found between the H I scale height with the atomic-to-molecular hydrogen ratio, which indicates a link between star formation and the vertical distribution of H I, which is consistent with previous studies. This new scaling relation between the H I scale height and atomic gas fraction will allow us to predict the H I scale heights of a large number of galaxies, but a larger sample is needed to decrease the scatter.

Keywords: disk galaxies; galaxy evolution; disk flaring
Understanding the Dust Environment at Mercury: From Surface to Exosphere

We provide an overview of our understanding of the dust environment at Mercury and the role that dust plays in shaping the planet's surface and exosphere. Our understanding of the role that dust impacts play in the generation of Mercury's atmosphere has evolved considerably with continued analysis of results from the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission. Recent models have provided evidence for the probable release of refractory species into Mercury's exosphere via impacts. However, there remain significant questions regarding the relative contributions of atoms released via impacts versus other mechanisms (e.g., photon-stimulated desorption) to the overall exospheric budget. We also discuss the state of observational and modeling efforts to constrain the dust environment at Mercury, including sources from the zodiacal cloud, cometary trails, and interstellar dust. We describe the advancements that will be made in our characterization of dust at Mercury with BepiColombo, providing observational constraints on the dust clouds themselves and the role that impacts play in exospheric generation. On Mercury's surface, there remain outstanding questions regarding the role that dust impacts play in the regolith cycling and development. We review how improved modeling efforts to understand grain lifetimes as a function of impactor flux will further our understanding of Mercury's regolith. Finally, there are few constraints on the role of dust impacts on the space weathering of Mercury's surface, particularly the expected chemical, physical, and spectral alterations to the regolith. Here we discuss the importance of laboratory experiments to simulate these processes for the interpretation of data from MESSENGER and BepiColombo.

Keywords: mercury (planet); zodiacal cloud; exosphere; impact gardening; dust composition
Reducing Ground-based Astrometric Errors with Gaia and Gaussian Processes

Stochastic field distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence are a fundamental limitation to the astrometric accuracy of ground-based imaging. This distortion field is measurable at the locations of stars with accurate positions provided by the Gaia DR2 catalog; we develop the use of Gaussian process regression (GPR) to interpolate the distortion field to arbitrary locations in each exposure. We introduce an extension to standard GPR techniques that exploits the knowledge that the 2D distortion field is curl-free. Applied to several hundred 90 s exposures from the Dark Energy Survey as a test bed, we find that the GPR correction reduces the variance of the turbulent astrometric distortions ≈12× , on average, with better performance in denser regions of the Gaia catalog. The rms per-coordinate distortion in the riz bands is typically ≈7 mas before any correction and ≈2 mas after application of the GPR model. The GPR astrometric corrections are validated by the observation that their use reduces, from 10 to 5 mas rms, the residuals to an orbit fit to riz-band observations over 5 yr of the r = 18.5 trans-Neptunian object Eris. We also propose a GPR method, not yet implemented, for simultaneously estimating the turbulence fields and the 5D stellar solutions in a stack of overlapping exposures, which should yield further turbulence reductions in future deep surveys.

Keywords: astrometry; sky noise; astronomy data analysis
The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Bayesian Limits on Gravitational Waves from Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Evidence for a low-frequency stochastic gravitational-wave background has recently been reported based on analyses of pulsar timing array data. The most likely source of such a background is a population of supermassive black hole binaries, the loudest of which may be individually detected in these data sets. Here we present the search for individual supermassive black hole binaries in the NANOGrav 15 yr data set. We introduce several new techniques, which enhance the efficiency and modeling accuracy of the analysis. The search uncovered weak evidence for two candidate signals, one with a gravitational-wave frequency of ~4 nHz, and another at ~170 nHz. The significance of the low-frequency candidate was greatly diminished when Hellings-Downs correlations were included in the background model. The high-frequency candidate was discounted due to the lack of a plausible host galaxy, the unlikely astrophysical prior odds of finding such a source, and since most of its support comes from a single pulsar with a commensurate binary period. Finding no compelling evidence for signals from individual binary systems, we place upper limits on the strain amplitude of gravitational waves emitted by such systems. At our most sensitive frequency of 6 nHz, we place a sky-averaged 95% upper limit of 8 × 10-15 on the strain amplitude. We also calculate an exclusion volume and a corresponding effective radius, within which we can rule out the presence of black hole binaries emitting at a given frequency.

Keywords: gravitational wave astronomy
The NANOGrav 11 yr Data Set: Evolution of Gravitational-wave Background Statistics

An ensemble of inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries should produce a stochastic background of very low frequency gravitational waves. This stochastic background is predicted to be a power law, with a gravitational-wave strain spectral index of -2/3, and it should be detectable by a network of precisely timed millisecond pulsars, widely distributed on the sky. This paper reports a new "time slicing" analysis of the 11 yr data release from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) using 34 millisecond pulsars. Methods to flag potential "false-positive" signatures are developed, including techniques to identify responsible pulsars. Mitigation strategies are then presented. We demonstrate how an incorrect noise model can lead to spurious signals, and we show how independently modeling noise across 30 Fourier components, spanning NANOGrav's frequency range, effectively diagnoses and absorbs the excess power in gravitational-wave searches. This results in a nominal, and expected, progression of our gravitational-wave statistics. Additionally, we show that the first interstellar medium event in PSR J1713+0747 pollutes the common red-noise process with low spectral index noise, and we use a tailored noise model to remove these effects.

Keywords: millisecond pulsars; pulsar timing method; radio pulsars; red noise; gravitational waves; gravitational wave detectors
The Sizes and Albedos of Centaurs 2014 YY49 and 2013 NL24 from Stellar Occultation Measurements by RECON

In 2019, the Research and Education Collaborative Occultation Network (RECON) obtained multiple-chord occultation measurements of two Centaur objects: 2014 YY49 on 2019 January 28 and 2013 NL24 on 2019 September 4. RECON is a citizen-science telescope network designed to observe high-uncertainty occultations by outer solar system objects. Adopting circular models for the object profiles, we derive a radius $r={16}_{-1}^{+2}$ km and a geometric albedo ${p}_{V}={0.13}_{-0.024}^{+0.015}$ for 2014 YY49 and a radius $r={66}_{-5}^{+5}$ km and a geometric albedo ${p}_{V}={0.045}_{-0.008}^{+0.006}$ for 2013 NL24. To the precision of these measurements, no atmosphere or rings are detected for either object. The two objects measured here are among the smallest distant objects measured with the stellar occultation technique. In addition to these geometric constraints, the occultation measurements provide astrometric constraints for these two Centaurs at a higher precision than has been feasible by direct imaging. To supplement the occultation results, we also present an analysis of color photometry from the Pan-STARRS surveys to constrain the rotational light curve amplitudes and spectral colors of these two Centaurs. We recommend that future work focus on photometry to more deliberately constrain the objects' colors and light curve amplitudes and on follow-on occultation efforts informed by this astrometry.

Keywords: stellar occultation; centaur group
Stellar Population Inference with Prospector

Inference of the physical properties of stellar populations from observed photometry and spectroscopy is a key goal in the study of galaxy evolution. In recent years, the quality and quantity of the available data have increased, and there have been corresponding efforts to increase the realism of the stellar population models used to interpret these observations. Describing the observed galaxy spectral energy distributions in detail now requires physical models with a large number of highly correlated parameters. These models do not fit easily on grids and necessitate a full exploration of the available parameter space. We present PROSPECTOR, a flexible code for inferring stellar population parameters from photometry and spectroscopy spanning UV through IR wavelengths. This code is based on forward modeling the data and Monte Carlo sampling the posterior parameter distribution, enabling complex models and exploration of moderate dimensional parameter spaces. We describe the key ingredients of the code and discuss the general philosophy driving the design of these ingredients. We demonstrate some capabilities of the code on several data sets, including mock and real data.

Keywords: galaxy evolution; spectral energy distribution; astronomy data modeling
A New Look into K-giants' Chromospheres

We report the preliminary modeling of archival Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA)/Visible spEctroGraph and polArimeter interferometric data of a K-giant star using the PHOENIX atmosphere code. We find that our preparatory model that includes only the chromospheric contribution closely reproduces the observed infrared Ca II triplet line profiles of a test star: the K-giant, β Cet. This preliminary work requires the additional modeling of the wind contribution to improve the agreement with observations. We plan to perform a systematic study of K-giants chromospheric emission with multi-wavelength and multi-technique observations and modeling. Our plans include extending the modeling work to include the underlying wind component for a larger set of stars. Stellar Parameters and Images with a Cophased Array, the second-generation instrument at CHARA, will be the ideal instrument to perform such observations and reveal the chromospheric activity of K-giants.

Keywords: stellar winds; stellar mass loss; evolved stars; late-type stars; optical interferometry; k giant stars; late-type giant stars; astronomy data modeling; k stars; giant stars; interstellar medium; astronomy data analysis
Dynamical Effects of Colliding Outflows in Binary Systems

The outflow of an object traveling in a fluid can shape the fluid morphology by forming a forward bow shock that accelerates the object via gravitational feedback. This dynamical effect, namely, dynamical antifriction, has been studied in idealized infinite uniform media, which suffers from the convergence problem due to the long-range nature of gravitation. In this work, we conduct global 3D hydrodynamic simulations to study this effect in the scenario of a binary system, where the collision of outflows from both stars creates a suitable configuration. We demonstrate with simulations that a dense and slow outflow can give rise to a positive torque on the binary and lead to the expansion of the orbit. As an application, we show that binaries consisting of an AGB star and an outflowing pulsar can experience ~10% orbital expansion during the AGB stage, in addition to the contribution from mass loss. We also prove that the gravitational force drops as O(r -3) from the center of mass in the binary scenarios, which guarantees a quick converge of the overall effect.

Keywords: hydrodynamical simulations; hydrodynamics; stellar winds; fast solar wind; pulsar wind nebulae; orbital evolution