adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Star Formation Traced by Optical and Millimeter Hydrogen Recombination Lines and Free-Free Emissions in the Dusty Merging Galaxy NGC 3256—MUSE/VLT and ALMA Synergy

A galaxy-galaxy merger and the subsequent triggering of starburst activity are fundamental processes linked to the morphological transformation of galaxies and the evolution of star formation across the history of the universe. Both nuclear and disk-wide starbursts are assumed to occur during the merger process. However, quantifying both nuclear and disk-wide star formation activity is nontrivial because the nuclear starburst is dusty in the most active merging starburst galaxies. This paper presents a new approach to this problem: combining hydrogen recombination lines in optical, millimeter, and free-free emission. Using NGC 3256 as a case study, Hβ, H40α, and free-free emissions are investigated using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer at the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (MUSE) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The Hβ image obtained by MUSE identifies star-forming regions outside the nuclear regions, suggesting a disk-wide starburst. In contrast, the H40α image obtained by ALMA identifies a nuclear starburst where optical lines are undetected due to dust extinction (AV ∼ 25). Combining both MUSE and ALMA observations, we conclude that the total star formation rate (SFR) is 49 ± 2 M⊙ yr-1 and the contributions from nuclear and disk-wide starbursts are ∼34% and ∼66%, respectively. This suggests the dominance of disk-wide star formation in NGC 3256. In addition, pixel-by-pixel analyses for disk-wide star-forming regions suggest that shock gas tracers (e.g., CH3OH) are enhanced where gas depletion time (τgas = Mgas/SFR) is long. This possibly means that merger-induced shocks regulate disk-wide star formation activities.

Keywords: starburst galaxies; interacting galaxies; luminous infrared galaxies; submillimeter astronomy; very large telescope
Linear Stability Analysis of a Magnetic Rotating Disk with Ohmic Dissipation and Ambipolar Diffusion

We perform a linear analysis of the stability of isothermal, rotating, magnetic, self-gravitating sheets that are weakly ionized. The magnetic field and rotation axis are perpendicular to the sheet. We include a self-consistent treatment of thermal pressure, gravitational, rotational, and magnetic (pressure and tension) forces together with two nonideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects (ohmic dissipation and ambipolar diffusion) that are treated together for their influence on the properties of gravitational instability for a rotating sheetlike cloud or disk. Our results show that there is always a preferred length scale and associated minimum timescale for gravitational instability. We investigate their dependence on important dimensionless free parameters of the problem: the initial normalized mass-to-flux ratio μ0, the rotational Toomre parameter Q, the dimensionless ohmic diffusivity ${\tilde{\eta }}_{\mathrm{OD},0}$ , and the dimensionless neutral-ion collision time ${\tilde{\tau }}_{\mathrm{ni},0}$ , which is a measure of the ambipolar diffusivity. One consequence of ${\tilde{\eta }}_{\mathrm{OD},0}$ is that there is a maximum preferred length scale of instability that occurs in the transcritical (μ0 ≳ 1) regime, qualitatively similar to the effect of ${\tilde{\tau }}_{\mathrm{ni},0}$ , but with quantitative differences. The addition of rotation leads to a generalized Toomre criterion (that includes a magnetic dependence) and modified length scales and timescales for collapse. When nonideal MHD effects are also included, the Toomre criterion reverts back to the hydrodynamic value. We apply our results to protostellar disk properties in the early embedded phase and find that the preferred scale of instability can significantly exceed the thermal (Jeans) scale and the peak preferred fragmentation mass is likely to be ∼10-90 MJup.

Keywords: magnetohydrodynamics; interstellar magnetic fields; circumstellar disks; interstellar clouds; gravitational instability
The Extended Tidal Tails of NGC 7089 (M2)

Using photometry and proper motions from Gaia Early Data Release 3, we detect a 45° long trailing stellar debris stream associated with the old, metal-poor globular cluster NGC 7089. With a width on the order of 100 pc, the extended stream appears to be as dynamically cold as the coldest known streams found to date. There is some evidence for an extended leading tail extending between 28° and 37° from the cluster, though the greater distance of this tail, combined with proper motions that are virtually indistinguishable from those of foreground stars, make the detection much less certain. The proper motion profile and the path on the sky of the trailing tail are not well matched using a simple Galactic potential composed purely of a disk, bulge, and spherical halo. However, the addition of a moving, massive (M = 1.88 × 1011 M ⊙) Large Magellanic Cloud brings the model predictions into much better agreement with the observables. We provide tables of the most highly ranked candidate stream stars for follow-up by ongoing and future spectroscopic surveys.

Keywords: stellar streams; galaxy structure
Deep Chandra Observations of A2495: A Possible Sloshing-regulated Feedback Cycle in a Triple-offset Galaxy Cluster

We present the analysis of new, deep Chandra observations (130 ks) of the galaxy cluster A2495. This object is known for the presence of a triple offset between the peaks of the intracluster medium (ICM), the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG), and the warm gas glowing in Hα line. The new Chandra data confirm that the X-ray emission peak is located at a distance of ∼6.2 kpc from the BCG, and at ∼3.9 kpc from the Hα emission peak. Moreover, we identify two generations of X-ray cavities in the ICM, likely inflated by the central radio galaxy activity. Through a detailed morphological and spectral analysis, we determine that the power of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) outbursts (P cav = 4.7 ± 1.3 × 1043 erg s‑1) is enough to counterbalance the radiative losses from ICM cooling (L cool = 5.7 ± 0.1 × 1043 erg s‑1). This indicates that, despite a fragmented cooling core, A2495 still harbors an effective feedback cycle. We argue that the offsets are most likely caused by sloshing of the ICM, supported by the presence of spiral structures and a probable cold front in the gas at ∼58 kpc east of the center. Ultimately, we find that the outburst interval between the two generations of X-ray cavities is of the order of the dynamical sloshing timescale, as already hinted from the previous Chandra snapshot. We thus speculate that sloshing may be able to regulate the timescales of AGN feedback in A2495, by periodically fueling the central AGN.

Keywords: galaxy clusters; abell clusters; active galactic nuclei; cooling flows; intracluster medium
Three-dimensional MHD Simulations of the Magnetic Pileup at Mars

In this study, we introduced a quantitative parameter, the magnetic field strength difference, to denote the intensity of the magnetic pileup effect at Mars. Using a three-dimensional multispecies MHD model, the effects of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and the solar wind dynamic pressure (P d ) constituted with different densities and velocities on the magnetic pileup were examined. Our results show that: (1) the magnetic pileup at Mars mainly occurs at the dayside region and its magnitude is generally decreasing with increasing solar zenith angle. The magnetic pileup is generally weak in the intense crustal field region, while it is strong in the weak crustal field region. (2) The perpendicular IMF components, B Y and B Z , dominate the magnetic pileup, while the radial IMF component, B X , has little effect. In the intense crustal field region, when the IMF and crustal field are primarily in the same direction, the magnetic field is piled up and the pileup magnitude is generally strong. While the directions of the crustal field and IMF are opposite, the occurrence of magnetic reconnection can weaken the local magnetic pileup. (3) Under the same P d , a higher solar wind velocity results in a higher intensity and a larger region of the magnetic pileup. When P d increases, the magnitude of the magnetic pileup is enhanced, but the pileup region shrinks. In addition, for an increasing P d , at the center of the induced magnetotail, the asymmetric current sheet can lead to similar asymmetries of the pileup.

Keywords: interplanetary magnetic fields; planetary magnetospheres; mars; solar wind
Interpretation of Radio Wave Scintillation Observed through LOFAR Radio Telescopes

Radio waves propagating through a medium containing irregularities in the spatial distribution of the electron density develop fluctuations in their intensities and phases. In the case of radio waves emitted from astronomical objects, they propagate through electron density irregularities in the interstellar medium, the interplanetary medium, and Earth's ionosphere. The LOFAR radio telescope, with stations across Europe, can measure intensity across the VHF radio band and thus intensity scintillation on the signals received from compact astronomical objects. Modeling intensity scintillation allows the estimate of various parameters of the propagation medium, for example, its drift velocity and its turbulent power spectrum. However, these estimates are based on the assumptions of ergodicity of the observed intensity fluctuations and, typically, of weak scattering. A case study of single-station LOFAR observations of the strong astronomical source Cassiopeia A in the VHF range is utilized to illustrate deviations from ergodicity, as well as the presence of both weak and strong scattering. Here it is demonstrated how these aspects can lead to misleading estimates of the propagation medium properties, for example, in the solar wind. This analysis provides a method to model errors in these estimates, which can be used in the characterization of both the interplanetary medium and Earth's ionosphere. Although the discussion is limited to the case of the interplanetary medium and Earth's ionosphere, its ideas are also applicable to the case of the interstellar medium.

Keywords: interplanetary scintillation; ionospheric scintillation; radio telescopes
Propagation of a Realistic Magnetar Jet through a Binary Neutron Star Merger Medium and Implications for Short Gamma-Ray Bursts

The origin of short gamma-ray bursts is associated with outflows powered by the remnant of a binary neutron star merger. This remnant can be either a black hole or a highly magnetized, fast-spinning neutron star, also known as a magnetar. Here we present the results of two relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations aimed at investigating the large-scale dynamics and propagation of magnetar collimated outflows through the medium surrounding the remnant. The first simulation evolves a realistic jet by injecting external simulation data, while the second evolves an analytical model jet with similar properties for comparison. We find that both outflows remain collimated and successfully emerge through the static medium surrounding the remnant. However, they fail to attain relativistic velocities and only reach a mean maximum speed of ~0.7c for the realistic jet and ~0.6c for the analytical jet. We also find that the realistic jet has a much more complex structure. The lack of highly relativistic speeds, which makes these jets unsuitable as short gamma-ray burst sources, is due to numerical limitations and is not general to all possible magnetar outflows. A jet like the one we study, however, could give rise to or augment a blue kilonova component. In addition, it would make the propagation of a relativistic jet easier, should one be launched after the neutron star collapses into a black hole.

Keywords: gamma-ray bursts; neutron stars; relativistic jets; magnetohydrodynamical simulations
Observation of Energy Conversion Near the X-line in Asymmetric Guide-field Reconnection

With high-resolution data of the recently launched Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, the present study reports an asymmetric guide-field reconnection at the dayside magnetopause, which has a density asymmetry NMSP/NMSH ∼ 15 on the two sides of the current sheet and a guide field Bg ∼ 1.4BL, MSH in the out-of-plane direction, exhibiting all the two-fluid features including Alfvénic plasma jets and Hall field systems. Using the First Order Taylor Expansion method, we identify the X-line of this reconnection. Different from previous observations, the energy conversion dominantly occurs sunward of the X-line, while the local waves arise simultaneously. The qualitative analysis about the electron energization in this reconnection is proposed, suggesting that the guide field may play an important role in modifying the location where the energy conversion occurs together with the electric field near the X-line.

Keywords: magnetic fields; plasma physics; planetary magnetospheres; space plasmas; magnetohydrodynamics
Hα and Continuum Sizes with the HST/WFC3 G141 GRISM: Outside-in Quenching for z = 1.0-1.4 Fast Quenchers

We investigate the evolution of the physical extent of star formation of M ⋆ > 109 M ⊙ rapidly quenching galaxies at z = 1.0-1.4. We measure the galaxy Hα and stellar continuum sizes from their HST/WFC3 G141 grism spectroscopy and connect the galaxy sizes to time on their evolutionary delayed-τ tracks determined in Noirot et al. Most galaxies (10/13) have non-evolving Hα-to-continuum size-ratios consistent with unity within the measurement uncertainties, suggesting an homogeneous decline of star formation in these galaxies despite a rapid shut-down of their star formation. On the other hand, a handful (3/13) show statistically smaller Hα sizes compared to the stellar continuum as they age and approach the blue-cloud/red-sequence transition region. This suggests an outside-in shut-down of the star formation (potentially driven by environmental mechanisms) in these rapidly evolving galaxies as they move from the blue cloud toward the red sequence.

Keywords: galaxy evolution; galaxy quenching; galaxy spectroscopy
Kinetic Scale Slow Solar Wind Turbulence in the Inner Heliosphere: Coexistence of Kinetic Alfvén Waves and Alfvén Ion Cyclotron Waves

The nature of the plasma wave modes around the ion kinetic scales in highly Alfvénic slow solar wind turbulence is investigated using data from the NASA's Parker Solar Probe taken in the inner heliosphere, at 0.18 au from the Sun. The joint distribution of the normalized reduced magnetic helicity σm (θRB, τ) is obtained, where θRB is the angle between the local mean magnetic field and the radial direction and τ is the temporal scale. Two populations around ion scales are identified: the first population has σm (θRB, τ) < 0 for frequencies (in the spacecraft frame) ranging from 2.1 to 26 Hz for 60° < θRB < 130°, corresponding to kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs), and the second population has σm (θRB, τ) > 0 in the frequency range [1.4, 4.9] Hz for θRB > 150°, corresponding to Alfvén ion cyclotron waves (ACWs). This demonstrates for the first time the coexistence of KAWs and ACWs in the slow solar wind in the inner heliosphere, which contrasts with previous observations in the slow solar wind at 1 au. This discrepancy between 0.18 and 1 au could be explained either by (I) a dissipation of ACWs via cyclotron resonance during their outward journey, or by (II) the high Alfvénicity of the slow solar wind at 0.18 au that may be favorable for the excitation of ACWs.

Keywords: interplanetary turbulence; the sun; space plasmas; solar wind; heliosphere; slow solar wind; alfven waves; plasma astrophysics; interplanetary magnetic fields
An Archival Search for Neutron-star Mergers in Gravitational Waves and Very-high-energy Gamma Rays

The recent discovery of electromagnetic signals in coincidence with neutron-star mergers has solidified the importance of multimessenger campaigns in studying the most energetic astrophysical events. Pioneering multimessenger observatories, such as LIGO/Virgo and IceCube, record many candidate signals below the detection significance threshold. These sub-threshold event candidates are promising targets for multimessenger studies, as the information provided by them may, when combined with contemporaneous gamma-ray observations, lead to significant detections. Here we describe a new method that uses such candidates to search for transient events using archival very-high-energy gamma-ray data from imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). We demonstrate the application of this method to sub-threshold binary neutron star (BNS) merger candidates identified in Advanced LIGO's first observing run. We identify eight hours of archival VERITAS observations coincident with seven BNS merger candidates and search them for TeV emission. No gamma-ray emission is detected; we calculate upper limits on the integral flux and compare them to a short gamma-ray burst model. We anticipate this search method to serve as a starting point for IACT searches with future LIGO/Virgo data releases as well as in other sub-threshold studies for multimessenger transients, such as IceCube neutrinos. Furthermore, it can be deployed immediately with other current-generation IACTs, and has the potential for real-time use that places a minimal burden on experimental operations. Lastly, this method may serve as a pilot for studies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array, which has the potential to observe even larger fields of view in its divergent pointing mode.

Keywords: gamma-ray transient sources; gamma-ray astronomy; gamma-ray bursts; stellar mergers; gamma-ray bursters; gamma-ray observatories; gamma-ray telescopes; gamma-rays
Impact of the Accretion Disk Thickness on the Polarization of the Thermal Emission from Stellar Mass Black Holes

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, launched in 2021 December, enables precision measurements of the energy-dependent polarization of the X-ray emission from stellar mass and supermassive black holes. In this paper, we study the impact of the accretion disk geometry on the polarization of the thermal emission of mass-accreting stellar-mass black holes. We present a ray-tracing code that allows us to predict how the X-ray polarization energy spectra change as we dial up the thickness of the accretion disk from a geometrically thin accretion disk to a torus-shaped geometrically thick accretion disk. The results show that thicker disks can produce higher polarization degrees as the thick disk geometries lead to a larger fraction of X-rays reflecting off portions of the disk. We study the observational degeneracies between the disk shape on the one hand and the black hole spin and disk inclination on the other hand. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our studies for black hole spin measurements.

Keywords: black hole physics; astrophysical black holes; rotating black holes; stellar mass black holes
Phase-resolved Analyses of Millihertz Quasi-periodic Oscillations in 4U 1636-53 using the Hilbert-Huang Transform

We present phase-resolved spectroscopy based on the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) for millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations (mHz QPOs) in 4U 1636-53. The ∼8 mHz QPO can be detected approximately several thousand seconds before a type-I X-ray burst. It has been interpreted as marginally stable burning on the neutron-star surface. In this study, we use the HHT to analyze the data collected by XMM-Newton between 2007 and 2009. The HHT is a powerful tool that enables us to obtain instantaneous frequency, amplitude, and phase of phenomena with nonstationary periodicity, such as QPOs. With well-defined phases, the oscillation profile of the ∼8 mHz QPO for 4U 1636-53 can be precisely revealed. In addition to the oscillation profile, phase-resolved spectra for the complete cycle are constructed. From the correlation between spectral parameters and fluxes, we find that the oscillation is mainly attributed to variations in the area emitting blackbody radiation in three out of four observations with mHz QPO detections, whereas the other one shows a concurrent variation of temperature and flux with a constant emitting area. Although the cause of the difference is not clear, it might be related to the spectral state of the source that can be observed from a hard color difference in the color-color diagram.

Keywords: x-ray binary stars; x-ray bursts; accretion; neutron stars
Photometric Classifications of Evolved Massive Stars: Preparing for the Era of Webb and Roman with Machine Learning

In the coming years, next-generation space-based infrared observatories will significantly increase our samples of rare massive stars, representing a tremendous opportunity to leverage modern statistical tools and methods to test massive stellar evolution in entirely new environments. Such work is only possible if the observed objects can be reliably classified. Spectroscopic observations are infeasible with more distant targets, and so we wish to determine whether machine-learning methods can classify massive stars using broadband infrared photometry. We find that a Support Vector Machine classifier is capable of coarsely classifying massive stars with labels corresponding to hot, cool, and emission-line stars with high accuracy, while rejecting contaminating low-mass giants. Remarkably, 76% of emission-line stars can be recovered without the need for narrowband or spectroscopic observations. We classify a sample of ∼2500 objects with no existing labels and identify 14 candidate emission-line objects. Unfortunately, despite the high precision of the photometry in our sample, the heterogeneous origins of the labels for the stars in our sample severely inhibit our classifier from distinguishing classes of stars with more granularity. Ultimately, no large and homogeneously labeled sample of massive stars currently exists. Without significant efforts to robustly classify evolved massive stars—which is feasible given existing data from large all-sky spectroscopic surveys—shortcomings in the labeling of existing data sets will hinder efforts to leverage the next generation of space observatories.

Keywords: massive stars; stellar classification; support vector machine; infrared photometry; emission line stars
What's the Difference? The Potential for Convolutional Neural Networks for Transient Detection without Template Subtraction

We present a study of the potential for convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to enable separation of astrophysical transients from image artifacts, a task known as "real-bogus" classification, without requiring a template-subtracted (or difference) image, which requires a computationally expensive process to generate, involving image matching on small spatial scales in large volumes of data. Using data from the Dark Energy Survey, we explore the use of CNNs to (1) automate the real-bogus classification and (2) reduce the computational costs of transient discovery. We compare the efficiency of two CNNs with similar architectures, one that uses "image triplets" (templates, search, and difference image) and one that takes as input the template and search only. We measure the decrease in efficiency associated with the loss of information in input, finding that the testing accuracy is reduced from ~96% to ~91.1%. We further investigate how the latter model learns the required information from the template and search by exploring the saliency maps. Our work (1) confirms that CNNs are excellent models for real-bogus classification that rely exclusively on the imaging data and require no feature engineering task and (2) demonstrates that high-accuracy (>90%) models can be built without the need to construct difference images, but some accuracy is lost. Because, once trained, neural networks can generate predictions at minimal computational costs, we argue that future implementations of this methodology could dramatically reduce the computational costs in the detection of transients in synoptic surveys like Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time by bypassing the difference image analysis entirely.

Keywords: astronomical methods; convolutional neural networks; transient detection