adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Two Steps Forward and One Step Sideways: The Propagation of Relativistic Jets in Realistic Binary Neutron Star Merger Ejecta

The association of GRB170817A with GW170817 has confirmed the long-standing hypothesis that binary neutron star (BNS) mergers are the progenitors of at least some short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs). This connection has ushered in an era in which broadband observations of SGRBs, together with measurements of the time delay between the gravitational waves and the electromagnetic radiation, allow for probing the properties of the emitting outflow and its engine to an unprecedented detail. Because the structure of the radiating outflow is molded by the interaction of a relativistic jet with the binary ejecta, it is of paramount importance to study the system in a realistic setting. Here we present a three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation of a relativistic jet propagating in the ejecta of a BNS merger, which were computed with a general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulation. We find that the jet's centroid oscillates around the axis of the system, due to inhomogeneities encountered in the propagation. These oscillations allow the jet to find the path of least resistance and travel faster than an identical jet in smooth ejecta. In our setup the breakout time is ~0.6 s, which is comparable to the expected central engine duration in SGRBs and possibly a non-negligible fraction of the total delay between the gravitational and gamma-ray signals. Our simulation also shows that energy is carried in roughly equal amounts by the jet and by the cocoon, and that about 20% of the injected energy is transferred to the ejecta via mechanical work.

Keywords: gamma-ray bursts; neutron stars; relativistic jets
Low-frequency Waves Due to Newborn Interstellar Pickup Ions Observed from 43 to 47 au by the Voyager 1 Spacecraft

Interstellar neutral atoms enter the heliosphere at a relatively slow speed corresponding to the motion of the Sun through the local interstellar medium, which is approximately 25 km s-1. Neutral hydrogen atoms enter from the approximate location of the Voyager spacecraft and are eventually ionized primarily by collision with thermal solar wind ions. An earlier analysis by Hollick et al. examined low-frequency magnetic waves observed by the Voyager spacecraft from launch through 1990 that are thought to arise from the scattering of newborn interstellar pickup H+ and He+. We report an analysis of Voyager 1 observations in 1991, which is the last year of high-resolution magnetic field data that are publicly available, and find 70 examples of low-frequency waves with the characteristics that suggest excitation by pickup H+ and 10 examples of waves consistent with excitation by pickup He+. We find a particularly dense cluster of observations at the tail end of what is thought to be a Merged Interaction Region (MIR) that was previously studied by Burlaga & Ness using Voyager 2 observations. This is not unexpected if the MIR is followed by a large rarefaction region, as they tend to be regions of reduced turbulence levels that permit the growth of the waves over the long time periods that are generally required of this instability.

Keywords: pickup ions; solar wind; interplanetary turbulence; interplanetary magnetic fields
Quasi-periodic Oscillations in the TESS Light Curve of TX Col, a Diskless Intermediate Polar on the Precipice of Forming an Accretion Disk

One of the fundamental properties of an intermediate polar is the dynamical nature of the accretion flow as it encounters the white dwarf's (WD's) magnetosphere. Many works have presumed a dichotomy between disk-fed accretion, in which the WD accretes from a Keplerian disk, and stream-fed accretion, in which the matter stream from the donor star directly impacts the WD's magnetosphere without forming a disk. However, there is also a third, poorly understood regime in which the accretion flow consists of a torus of diamagnetic blobs that encircles the WD. This mode of accretion is expected to exist at mass-transfer rates below those observed during disk-fed accretion, but above those observed during pure stream-fed accretion. We invoke the diamagnetic-blob regime to explain the exceptional Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite light curve of the intermediate polar TX Col, which transitioned into and out of states of enhanced accretion during Cycles 1 and 3. Power-spectral analysis reveals that the accretion was principally stream fed. However, when the mass-transfer rate spiked, large-amplitude quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) abruptly appeared and dominated the light curve for weeks. The QPOs have two striking properties: they appear in a stream-fed geometry at elevated accretion rates, and they occur preferentially within a well-defined range of frequencies (~10-25 cycle day-1). We propose that during episodes of enhanced accretion, a torus of diamagnetic blobs forms near the binary's circularization radius and that the QPOs are beats between the white dwarf's spin frequency and unstable blob orbits within the WD's magnetosphere. We discuss how such a torus could be a critical step in producing an accretion disk in a formerly diskless system.

Keywords: dq herculis stars; cataclysmic variable stars; white dwarf stars; stellar magnetic fields
KODIAQ-Z: Metals and Baryons in the Cool Intergalactic and Circumgalactic Gas at 2.2 ≲ z ≲ 3.6

We present the KODIAQ-Z survey aimed to characterize the cool, photoionized gas at 2.2 ≲ z ≲ 3.6 in 202 H I-selected absorbers with 14.6 ≤ $\mathrm{log}{N}_{{\rm{H}}\,{\rm\small{I}}}$ < 20 that probe the interface between galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM). We find that gas with $14.6\leqslant \mathrm{log}{N}_{{\rm{H}}\,{\rm\small{I}}}\lt 20$ at 2.2 ≲ z ≲ 3.6 can be metal-rich (-1.6 ≲ [X/H] ≲ - 0.2) as seen in damped Lyα absorbers (DLAs); it can also be very metal-poor ([X/H] < - 2.4) or even pristine ([X/H] < - 3.8), which is not observed in DLAs but is common in the IGM. For $16\lt \mathrm{log}{N}_{{\rm{H}}\,{\rm\small{I}}}\lt 20$ absorbers, the frequency of pristine absorbers is about 1%-10%, while for $14.6\leqslant \mathrm{log}{N}_{{\rm{H}}\,{\rm\small{I}}}\leqslant 16$ absorbers it is 10%-20%, similar to the diffuse IGM. Supersolar gas is extremely rare (<1%) at these redshifts. The factor of several thousand spread from the lowest to highest metallicities and large metallicity variations (a factor of a few to >100) between absorbers separated by less than Δv < 500 km s-1 imply that the metals are poorly mixed in $14.6\leqslant \mathrm{log}{N}_{{\rm{H}}\,{\rm\small{I}}}\lt 20$ gas. We show that these photoionized absorbers contribute to about 14% of the cosmic baryons and 45% of the cosmic metals at 2.2 ≲ z ≲ 3.6. We find that the mean metallicity increases with N H I , consistent with what is found in z < 1 gas. The metallicity of gas in this column density regime has increased by a factor ~8 from 2.2 ≲ z ≲ 3.6 to z < 1, but the contribution of the $14.6\leqslant \mathrm{log}{N}_{{\rm{H}}\,{\rm\small{I}}}\lt 19$ absorbers to the total metal budget of the universe at z < 1 is a quarter of that at 2.2 ≲ z ≲ 3.6. We show that FOGGIE cosmological zoom-in simulations have a similar evolution of [X/H] with N H I , which is not observed in lower-resolution simulations. In these simulations, very metal-poor absorbers with [X/H] < - 2.4 at z ~ 2-3 are tracers of inflows, while higher-metallicity absorbers are a mixture of inflows and outflows.

Keywords: circumgalactic medium; damped lyman-alpha systems; cool intergalactic medium; lyman limit systems; quasar absorption line spectroscopy; metallicity
PAC. V. The Roles of Mass and Environment in the Quenching of Galaxies

The roles that mass and environment play in galaxy quenching are still under debate. Leveraging the Photometric objects Around Cosmic webs method, we analyze the excess surface distribution of photometric galaxies in different colors (rest-frame u ‑ r) within the stellar mass range of 109.0 ∼ 1011.0 M ⊙ around spectroscopic massive central galaxies (1010.9 ∼ 1011.7 M ⊙) at the redshift interval of 0 < z s < 0.7, utilizing data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program and the spectroscopic samples of Slogan Digital Sky Survey (i.e., Main, LOWZ, and CMASS samples). We find that both mass and environmental quenching contribute to the evolution of companion galaxies. To isolate the environmental effect, we quantify the quenched fraction excess (QFE) of companion galaxies encircling massive central galaxies within 0.01h ‑1 Mpc < r p < 20h ‑1 Mpc, representing the surplus quenched fraction relative to the average. We find that the high-density halo environment affects star formation quenching up to about three times the virial radius, and this effect becomes stronger at lower redshift. We also find that even after being scaled by the virial radius, the environmental quenching efficiency is higher for more massive halos or for companion galaxies of higher stellar mass, though the trends are quite weak. We present a fitting formula that comprehensively captures the QFE across central and companion stellar mass bins, halo-centric distance bins, and redshift bins, offering a valuable tool for constraining galaxy formation models. Furthermore, we have made a quantitative comparison with IllustrisTNG that underscores some important differences, particularly in the excessive quenching of low-mass companion galaxies (<109.5 M ⊙) in the simulation.

Keywords: galaxy formation; galaxy evolution; galaxy quenching
Fleeting Small-scale Surface Magnetic Fields Build the Quiet-Sun Corona

Arch-like loop structures filled with million Kelvin hot plasma form the building blocks of the quiet-Sun corona. Both high-resolution observations and magnetoconvection simulations show the ubiquitous presence of magnetic fields on the solar surface on small spatial scales of ~100 km. However, the question of how exactly these quiet-Sun coronal loops originate from the photosphere and how the magnetic energy from the surface is channeled to heat the overlying atmosphere is a long-standing puzzle. Here we report high-resolution photospheric magnetic field and coronal data acquired during the second science perihelion of Solar Orbiter that reveal a highly dynamic magnetic landscape underlying the observed quiet-Sun corona. We found that coronal loops often connect to surface regions that harbor fleeting weaker, mixed-polarity magnetic field patches structured on small spatial scales, and that coronal disturbances could emerge from these areas. We suggest that weaker magnetic fields with fluxes as low as 1015 Mx and/or those that evolve on timescales less than 5 minutes are crucial to understanding the coronal structuring and dynamics.

Keywords: solar extreme ultraviolet emission; solar photosphere; solar coronal heating; solar magnetic fields; solar magnetic reconnection; magnetohydrodynamics; solar coronal loops
Discovery of the Black Hole X-Ray Binary Transient MAXI J1348-630

We report the first half-year monitoring of the new Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J1348-630, discovered on 2019 January 26 with the Gas Slit Camera on board the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). During the monitoring period, the source exhibited two outburst peaks, where the first peak flux (at T = 14 days from the discovery of T = 0) was ∼4 Crab (2-20 keV) and the second one (at T = 132 days) was ∼0.4 Crab (2-20 keV). The source exhibited distinct spectral transitions between the high/soft and low/hard states and an apparent "q"-shape curve on the hardness-intensity diagram, both of which are well-known characteristics of black hole binaries (BHBs). Compared to other bright black hole transients, MAXI J1348-630 is characterized by its low disk temperature (∼0.75 keV at the maximum) and high peak flux in the high/soft state. The low peak temperature leads to a large innermost radius that is identified as the innermost stable circular orbit, determined by the black hole mass and spin. Assuming the empirical relation between the soft-to-hard transition luminosity (Ltrans) and the Eddington luminosity (LEdd), Ltrans/LEdd ≈ 0.02, and a face-on disk around a non-spinning black hole, the source distance and the black hole mass are estimated to be D ≈ 4 kpc and $\sim 7\left(D/4\,\mathrm{kpc}\right){M}_{\odot }$ , respectively. The black hole is more massive if the disk is inclined and the black hole is spinning. These results suggest that MAXI J1348-630 may host a relatively massive black hole among the known BHBs in our Galaxy.

Keywords: black holes; compact objects; high energy astrophysics; x-ray novae; stellar accretion disks
Extending a Physics-informed Machine-learning Network for Superresolution Studies of Rayleigh–Bénard Convection

Advancing our understanding of astrophysical turbulence is bottlenecked by the limited resolution of numerical simulations that may not fully sample scales in the inertial range. Machine-learning (ML) techniques have demonstrated promise in upscaling resolution in both image analysis and numerical simulations (i.e., superresolution). Here we employ and further develop a physics-constrained convolutional neural network ML model called "MeshFreeFlowNet" (MFFN) for superresolution studies of turbulent systems. The model is trained on both the simulation images and the evaluated partial differential equations (PDEs), making it sensitive to the underlying physics of a particular fluid system. We develop a framework for 2D turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection generated with the DEDALUS code by modifying the MFFN architecture to include the full set of simulation PDEs and the boundary conditions. Our training set includes fully developed turbulence sampling Rayleigh numbers (Ra) of Ra = 106–1010. We evaluate the success of the learned simulations by comparing the power spectra of the direct DEDALUS simulation to the predicted model output and compare both ground-truth and predicted power spectral inertial range scalings to theoretical predictions. We find that the updated network performs well at all Ra studied here in recovering large-scale information, including the inertial range slopes. The superresolution prediction is overly dissipative at smaller scales than that of the inertial range in all cases, but the smaller scales are better recovered in more turbulent than laminar regimes. This is likely because more turbulent systems have a rich variety of structures at many length scales compared to laminar flows.

Keywords: interstellar medium
CLEAR: The Ionization and Chemical-enrichment Properties of Galaxies at 1.1 < z < 2.3

We use deep spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope Wide-Field-Camera 3 IR grisms combined with broadband photometry to study the stellar populations, gas ionization and chemical abundances in star-forming galaxies at z ~ 1.1-2.3. The data stem from the CANDELS Lyα Emission At Reionization (CLEAR) survey. At these redshifts, the grism spectroscopy measure the [O II] λ λ3727, 3729, [O III]λ λ4959, 5008, and Hβ strong emission features, which constrain the ionization parameter and oxygen abundance of the nebular gas. We compare the line-flux measurements to predictions from updated photoionization models (MAPPINGS V; Kewley et al.), which include an updated treatment of nebular gas pressure, $\mathrm{log}P/k={n}_{e}{T}_{e}$ . Compared to low-redshift samples (z ~ 0.2) at fixed stellar mass, $\mathrm{log}{M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot }\,=$ 9.4-9.8, the CLEAR galaxies at z = 1.35 (1.90) have lower gas-phase metallicity, ${\rm{\Delta }}(\mathrm{log}Z)$ = 0.25 (0.35) dex, and higher ionization parameters, ${\rm{\Delta }}(\mathrm{log}q)$ = 0.25 (0.35) dex, where U ≡ q/c. We provide updated analytic calibrations between the [O III], [O II], and Hβ emission-line ratios, metallicity, and ionization parameter. The CLEAR galaxies show that at fixed stellar mass, the gas ionization parameter is correlated with the galaxy specific star formation rates, where ${\rm{\Delta }}\mathrm{log}q\simeq 0.4\times {\rm{\Delta }}(\mathrm{log}\,\mathrm{sSFR})$ , derived from changes in the strength of galaxy Hβ equivalent width. We interpret this as a consequence of higher gas densities, lower gas covering fractions, combined with a higher escape fraction of H-ionizing photons. We discuss both tests to confirm these assertions and implications this has for future observations of galaxies at higher redshifts.

Keywords: high-redshift galaxies; emission line galaxies; galaxy evolution; galaxy chemical evolution; galaxy formation; spectroscopy; interstellar medium
Kinematics and Dynamics of Multiphase Outflows in Simulations of the Star-forming Galactic Interstellar Medium

Galactic outflows produced by stellar feedback are known to be multiphase in nature. Observations and simulations indicate that the material within several kiloparsecs of galactic disk midplanes consists of warm clouds embedded within a hot wind. A theoretical understanding of the outflow phenomenon, including both winds and fountain flows, requires study of the interactions among thermal phases. We develop a method to quantify these interactions via measurements of mass, momentum, and energy flux exchanges using temporally and spatially averaged quantities and conservation laws. We apply this method to a star-forming interstellar medium simulation based on the TIGRESS framework, for solar neighborhood conditions. To evaluate the extent of interactions among the phases, we examine the validity of the "ballistic model," which predicts the trajectories of the warm phase (5050 K < T < 2 × 104 K) treated as non-interacting clouds. This model is successful at intermediate vertical velocities ( $50\,\mathrm{km}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}\lesssim | {V}_{z}| \lesssim 100\,\mathrm{km}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}$ ), but at higher velocities, we observe an excess in simulated warm outflow compared to the ballistic model. This discrepancy cannot be fully accounted for by cooling of high-velocity, intermediate-temperature (2 × 104 K < T < 5 × 105 K) gas. We examine the fluxes of mass, momentum, and energy and conclude that the warm phase gains mass via cooling of the intermediate phase and momentum from the hot (T > 5 × 105 K) phase. The large energy flux from the hot outflow, transferred to the warm and intermediate phases, is quickly radiated away. A simple interaction model implies an effective warm cloud size in the fountain flow of a few 100 pc, showing that warm-hot flux exchange mainly involves a few large clouds rather than many small ones.

Keywords: magnetohydrodynamical simulations; interstellar medium; galaxy fountains; galaxy winds; stellar feedback
The Effects of Cosmic Rays on the Chemistry of Dense Cores

Cosmic rays are crucial to the chemistry of molecular clouds and their evolution. They provide essential ionizations, dissociations, heating, and energy to the cold, dense cores. As cosmic rays pierce through clouds they are attenuated and lose energy, which leads to a dependency on the column density of a system. The detailed effects these particles have on the central regions still need to be fully understood. Here, we revisit how cosmic rays are treated in the UCLCHEM chemical modeling code by including both ionization rate and H2 dissociation rate dependencies alongside the production of cosmic ray induced excited species and we study in detail the effects of these treatments on the chemistry of pre-stellar cores. We find that these treatments can have significant effects on chemical abundances, up to several orders of magnitude, depending on the physical conditions. The ionization dependency is the most significant treatment influencing chemical abundances through the increased presence of ionized species, grain desorptions, and enhanced chemical reactions. Comparisons to chemical abundances derived from observations show the new treatments reproduce these observations better than the standard handling. It is clear that more advanced treatments of cosmic rays are essential to chemical models and that including this type of dependency provides more accurate chemical representations.

Keywords: astrochemistry; chemical abundances; cosmic rays
Beyond Equilibrium Temperature: How the Atmosphere/Interior Connection Affects the Onset of Methane, Ammonia, and Clouds in Warm Transiting Giant Planets

The atmospheric pressure-temperature profiles for transiting giant planets cross a range of chemical transitions. Here we show that the particular shapes of these irradiated profiles for warm giant planets below ∼1300 K lead to striking differences in the behavior of nonequilibrium chemistry compared to brown dwarfs of similar temperatures. Our particular focus is H2O, CO, CH4, CO2, and NH3 in Jupiter- and Neptune-class planets. We show that the cooling history of a planet, which depends most significantly on planetary mass and age, can have a dominant effect on abundances in the visible atmosphere, often swamping trends one might expect based on Teq alone. The onset of detectable CH4 in spectra can be delayed to lower Teq for some planets compared to equilibrium, or pushed to higher Teq. The detectability of NH3 is typically enhanced compared to equilibrium expectations, which is opposite to the brown dwarf case. We find that both CH4 and NH3 can become detectable at around the same Teq (at Teq values that vary with mass and metallicity), whereas these "onset" temperatures are widely spaced for brown dwarfs. We suggest observational strategies to search for atmospheric trends and stress that nonequilibrium chemistry and clouds can serve as probes of atmospheric physics. As examples of atmospheric complexity, we assess three Neptune-class planets, GJ 436b, GJ 3470b, and WASP-107, all around Teq = 700 K. Tidal heating due to eccentricity damping in all three planets heats the deep atmosphere by thousands of degrees and may explain the absence of CH4 in these cool atmospheres. Atmospheric abundances must be interpreted in the context of physical characteristics of the planet.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres
Relative Occurrence Rate between Hot and Cold Jupiters as an Indicator to Probe Planet Migration

We propose a second-order statistic parameter ɛ, the relative occurrence rate between hot Jupiters (HJs) and cold Jupiters (CJs) (ɛ = η HJ/η CJ), to probe the migration of gas giants. Since the planet occurrence rate is the combined outcome of the formation and migration processes, a joint analysis of HJ and CJ frequency may shed light on the dynamical evolution of giant planet systems. We first investigate the behavior of ɛ as the stellar mass changes observationally. Based on the occurrence rate measurements of HJs (η HJ) from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite survey and CJs (η CJ) from the California Legacy Survey, we find a tentative trend (97% confidence) that ɛ drops when the stellar mass rises from 0.8 to 1.4 M ⊙, which can be explained by different giant planet growth and disk migration timescales around different stars. We carry out planetesimal and pebble accretion simulations, both of which can reproduce the results of η HJ, η CJ, and ɛ. Our findings indicate that the classical core accretion + disk migration model can explain the observed decreasing trend of ɛ. We propose two ways to increase the significance of the trend and verify the anticorrelation. Future works are required to better constrain ɛ, especially for M dwarfs and for more massive stars.

Keywords: extrasolar gaseous giant planets; exoplanet migration; astrostatistics; exoplanet formation; amateur astronomers