adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Wavelength-dependent Image Quality Predictions and Other Considerations for Site Selection and Instrument Design

Stellar image motion measured differentially with small telescopes can be converted to image quality predictions for large telescopes at the same site. To demonstrate this methodology, multi-wavelength seeing distributions are predicted for Las Campanas Observatory based on the Differential Image Motion Monitor (DIMM) results from the Giant Magellan Telescope site survey. The observed seeing distribution at 0.5 μm is used to compute a family of predicted seeing distributions from 0.32 to 4.7 μm. Tokovinin's formula is used to transform the DIMM seeing distributions (based on Kolmogorov theory) to the large telescope image sizes expected in the von Karman theory. The latter framework includes an outer scale, or largest size, for the turbulent eddies above a telescope. The impact of seeing distributions on site selection and on telescope and instrument design are discussed. Other considerations in selecting an excellent site are also listed and explained.

Keywords: astronomical instrumentation; astronomical seeing; observatories
Detecting Kozai-Lidov Imprints on the Gravitational Waves of Intermediate-mass Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei

A third object in the vicinity of a binary system causes variations in the eccentricity and the inclination of the binary through the Kozai-Lidov (KL) effect. We examine if such variations leave a detectable imprint on the gravitational waves of a binary consisting of intermediate-mass black holes and stellar-mass objects. As a proof of concept, we present an example where LISA may detect the KL-modulated gravitational wave signals of such sources from at least a distance of 1 Mpc if the perturbation is caused by a supermassive black hole tertiary. Although the quick pericenter precession induced by general relativity significantly reduces the appropriate parameter space for this effect by quenching the KL oscillations, we still find reasonable parameters where the KL effect may be detected with high signal-to-noise ratios.

Keywords: intermediate-mass black holes; gravitational wave sources
Patches of Magnetic Switchbacks and Their Origins

Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has shown that the solar wind in the inner heliosphere is characterized by the quasi omnipresence of magnetic switchbacks ("switchback" hereinafter), local backward bends of magnetic field lines. Switchbacks also tend to come in patches, with a large-scale modulation that appears to have a spatial scale size comparable to supergranulation on the Sun. Here we inspect data from the first 10 encounters of PSP focusing on different time intervals when clear switchback patches were observed by PSP. We show that the switchbacks modulation, on a timescale of several hours, seems to be independent of whether PSP is near perihelion, when it rapidly traverses large swaths of longitude remaining at the same heliocentric distance, or near the radial-scan part of its orbit, when PSP hovers over the same longitude on the Sun while rapidly moving radially inwards or outwards. This implies that switchback patches must also have an intrinsically temporal modulation most probably originating at the Sun. Between two consecutive patches, the magnetic field is usually very quiescent with weak fluctuations. We compare various parameters between the quiescent intervals and the switchback intervals. The results show that the quiescent intervals are typically less Alfvénic than switchback intervals, and the magnetic power spectrum is usually shallower in quiescent intervals. We propose that the temporal modulation of switchback patches may be related to the "breathing" of emerging flux that appears in images as the formation of "bubbles" below prominences in the Hinode/SOT observations.

Keywords: solar wind; solar corona; solar prominences; interplanetary turbulence
How to Detect an Astrophysical Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Background

Analyses of pulsar timing data have provided evidence for a stochastic gravitational wave background in the nanohertz frequency band. The most plausible source of this background is the superposition of signals from millions of supermassive black hole binaries. The standard statistical techniques used to search for this background and assess its significance make several simplifying assumptions, namely (i) Gaussianity, (ii) isotropy, and most often, (iii) a power-law spectrum. However, a stochastic background from a finite collection of binaries does not exactly satisfy any of these assumptions. To understand the effect of these assumptions, we test standard analysis techniques on a large collection of realistic simulated data sets. The data-set length, observing schedule, and noise levels were chosen to emulate the NANOGrav 15 yr data set. Simulated signals from millions of binaries drawn from models based on the Illustris cosmological hydrodynamical simulation were added to the data. We find that the standard statistical methods perform remarkably well on these simulated data sets, even though their fundamental assumptions are not strictly met. They are able to achieve a confident detection of the background. However, even for a fixed set of astrophysical parameters, different realizations of the universe result in a large variance in the significance and recovered parameters of the background. We also find that the presence of loud individual binaries can bias the spectral recovery of the background if we do not account for them.

Keywords: gravitational waves; gravitational wave sources; gravitational wave astronomy; supermassive black holes; astronomy data analysis; bayesian statistics; millisecond pulsars
A Bias-free Cosmological Analysis with Quasars Alleviating H 0 Tension

Cosmological models and their parameters are widely debated because of theoretical and observational mismatches of the standard cosmological model, especially the current discrepancy between the value of the Hubble constant, H 0, obtained by Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), and the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). Thus, considering high-redshift probes like quasars (QSOs), having intermediate redshifts between SNe Ia and CMB, is a necessary step. In this work, we use SNe Ia and the most updated QSO sample, reaching redshifts up to z ~ 7.5, applying the Risaliti-Lusso QSO relation based on a nonlinear relation between ultraviolet and X-ray luminosities. We consider this relation both in its original form and corrected for selection biases and evolution in redshift through a reliable statistical method also accounting for the circularity problem. We also explore two approaches: with and without calibration on SNe Ia. We then investigate flat and nonflat standard cosmological models and a flat wCDM model, with a constant dark energy equation-of-state parameter w. Remarkably, when correcting for the evolution as a function of cosmology, we obtain closed constraints on Ω M using only noncalibrated QSOs. We find that considering noncalibrated QSOs combined with SNe Ia and accounting for the same correction, our results are compatible with a flat ΛCDM model with Ω M = 0.3 and H 0 = 70 km s-1 Mpc-1. Intriguingly, the H 0 values obtained are placed halfway between the one from SNe Ia and CMB, paving the way for new insights into the H 0 tension.

Keywords: quasars; cosmological parameters; dark energy; cosmology; cosmological models
Separating Accretion and Mergers in the Cosmic Growth of Black Holes with X-Ray and Gravitational-wave Observations

Black holes across a broad range of masses play a key role in the evolution of galaxies. The initial seeds of black holes formed at z ∼ 30 and grew over cosmic time by gas accretion and mergers. Using observational data for quasars and theoretical models for the hierarchical assembly of dark matter halos, we study the relative importance of gas accretion and mergers for black hole growth, as a function of redshift (0 < z < 10) and black hole mass ( ${10}^{3}\,{M}_{\odot }\lt {M}_{\bullet }\lt {10}^{10}\,{M}_{\odot }$ ). We find that (I) growth by accretion is dominant in a large fraction of the parameter space, especially at ${M}_{\bullet }\gt {10}^{8}\,{M}_{\odot }$ and z > 6; and (II) growth by mergers is dominant at ${M}_{\bullet }\lt {10}^{5}\,{M}_{\odot }$ and z > 5.5, and at ${M}_{\bullet }\gt {10}^{8}\,{M}_{\odot }$ and z < 2. As the growth channel has direct implications for the black hole spin (with gas accretion leading to higher spin values), we test our model against ∼20 robust spin measurements available thus far. As expected, the spin tends to decline toward the merger-dominated regime, thereby supporting our model. The next generation of X-ray and gravitational-wave observatories (e.g., Lynx, AXIS, Athena, and LISA) will map out populations of black holes up to very high redshift (z ∼ 20), covering the parameter space investigated here in almost its entirety. Their data will be instrumental to providing a clear picture of how black holes grew across cosmic time.

Keywords: black holes; black hole physics; gravitational waves; early universe; galaxy evolution
K-band High-resolution Spectroscopy of Embedded High-mass Protostars

A classical paradox in high-mass star formation is that powerful radiation pressure can halt accretion, preventing further growth of a central star. Disk accretion has been proposed to solve this problem, but the disks and the accretion process in high-mass star formation are poorly understood. We executed high-resolution (R = 35,000-70,000) iSHELL spectroscopy in K-band for 11 high-mass protostars. Br-γ emission was observed toward eight sources, and the line profiles for most of these sources are similar to those of low-mass PMS stars. Using an empirical relationship between the Br-γ and accretion luminosities, we tentatively estimate disk accretion rates ranging from ≲10-8 and ∼10-4 M⊙ yr-1. These low-mass-accretion rates suggest that high-mass protostars gain more mass via episodic accretion as proposed for low-mass protostars. Given the detection limits, CO overtone emission (v = 2-0 and 3-1), likely associated with the inner disk region (r ≪ 100 au), was found toward two sources. This low-detection rate compared with Br-γ emission is consistent with previous observations. Ten out of the 11 sources show absorption at the v = 0-2 R(7) - R(14) CO R-branch. Most of them are either blueshifted or redshifted, indicating that the absorption is associated with an outflow or an inflow with a velocity of up to ∼50 km s-1. Our analysis indicates that the absorption layer is well thermalized (and therefore ${n}_{{{\rm{H}}}_{2}}\gtrsim {10}^{6}$ cm-3) at a single temperature of typically 100-200 K, and located within 200-600 au of the star.

Keywords: star formation; infrared astronomy; stellar accretion disks
The Lyα Emission in a C1.4 Solar Flare Observed by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager aboard Solar Orbiter

The hydrogen Lyα (H I Lyα) emission during solar flares has rarely been studied in spatially resolved images, and its physical origin has not been fully understood. In this paper, we present novel Lyα images for a C1.4 solar flare (SOL2021-08-20T22:00) from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager aboard Solar Orbiter, together with multi-wave-band and multiperspective observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Ahead and the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. It is found that the Lyα emission has a good temporal correlation with the thermal emissions at 1-8 Å and 5-7 keV, indicating that the flaring Lyα is mainly produced by a thermal process in this small event. However, nonthermal electrons play a minor role in generating Lyα at flare ribbons during the rise phase of the flare, as revealed by the hard X-ray imaging and spectral fitting. Besides originating from flare ribbons, the Lyα emission can come from flare loops, likely caused by plasma heating and also cooling that happen in different flare phases. It is also found that the Lyα emission shows fairly similar features to the He II λ304 emission in light curve and spatiotemporal variation, along with small differences. These observational results improve our understanding of the Lyα emission in solar flares and also provide some insights for investigating the Lyα emission in stellar flares.

Keywords: solar activity; solar chromosphere; solar corona; solar flares; solar ultraviolet emission
"Beads-on-a-string" Star Formation Tied to One of the Most Powerful Active Galactic Nucleus Outbursts Observed in a Cool-core Galaxy Cluster

With two central galaxies engaged in a major merger and a remarkable chain of 19 young stellar superclusters wound around them in projection, the galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 (z = 0.335) offers an excellent laboratory to study the interplay between mergers, active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, and star formation. New Chandra X-ray imaging reveals rapidly cooling hot (T ∼ 106 K) intracluster gas, with two "wings" forming a concave density discontinuity near the edge of the cool core. LOFAR 144 MHz observations uncover diffuse radio emission strikingly aligned with the "wings," suggesting that the "wings" are actually the opening to a giant X-ray supercavity. The steep radio emission is likely an ancient relic of one of the most energetic AGN outbursts observed, with 4pV > 1061 erg. To the north of the supercavity, GMOS detects warm (T ∼ 104 K) ionized gas that enshrouds the stellar superclusters but is redshifted up to +800 km s‑1 with respect to the southern central galaxy. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detects a similarly redshifted ∼1010 M ⊙ reservoir of cold (T ∼ 102 K) molecular gas, but it is offset from the young stars by ∼1–3 kpc. We propose that the multiphase gas originated from low-entropy gas entrained by the X-ray supercavity, attribute the offset between the young stars and the molecular gas to turbulent intracluster gas motions, and suggest that tidal interactions stimulated the "beads-on-a-string" star formation morphology.

Keywords: galaxy clusters; galaxy interactions; active galactic nuclei; star formation
Spectroscopic and Photometric Redshift Estimation by Neural Networks for the China Space Station Optical Survey (CSS-OS)

The estimation of spectroscopic and photometric redshifts (spec-z and photo-z) is crucial for future cosmological surveys. It can directly affect several powerful measurements of the universe, such as weak lensing and galaxy clustering. In this work, we explore the accuracies of spec-z and photo-z that can be obtained by the China Space Station Optical Surveys, which is a next-generation space survey, using a neural network. The one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP, the simplest form of an artificial neural network) are employed to derive spec-z and photo-z, respectively. The mock spectral and photometric data used for training and testing the networks are generated based on the COSMOS catalog. The networks have been trained with noisy data by creating Gaussian random realizations to reduce the statistical effects, resulting in a similar redshift accuracy for data with both high and low signal-to-noise ratios. The probability distribution functions of the predicted redshifts are also derived via Gaussian random realizations of the testing data, and then the best-fit redshifts and 1σ errors also can be obtained. We find that our networks can provide excellent redshift estimates with accuracies of ∼0.001 and 0.01 on spec-z and photo-z, respectively. Compared to existing photo-z codes, our MLP has a similar accuracy but is more efficient in the training process. The fractions of catastrophic redshifts or outliers can be dramatically suppressed compared to the ordinary template-fitting method. This indicates that the neural network method is feasible and powerful for spec-z and photo-z estimations in future cosmological surveys.

Keywords: cosmology; large-scale structure of the universe
Nonresonant Instability of Kinetic Alfvén Waves with κ-electrons

A nonresonant instability of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) is studied in a three-component plasma system consisting of background cold ions, an ion beam, and hot electrons with a κ-distribution. The nonresonant KAW instability is produced by the combined sources of ion beam and velocity shear. It is found that the wave excitation by velocity shear alone will give rise to purely growing KAWs, whereas the ion beam velocity alone as a source cannot excite the waves for the considered plasma parameters. It is also observed that the combined sources of ion beam and velocity shear can excite the KAWs in nonresonant instability with finite wave frequency (the mode is not a purely growing mode). Also note that κ-electrons restrict the wave propagation very close to 90°, whereas the Maxwellian electrons permit the wave to propagate a few degrees away from 90°. It is inferred that the presence of κ-electrons shrinks the wave-unstable region of a KAW's nonresonant instability. The coupling between KAWs and ion-acoustic waves occurs at a lower value of βI for Maxwellian electrons as compared to κ-electrons.

Keywords: space plasmas; solar wind
The Quest for New Correlations in the Realm of the Gamma-Ray Burst-Supernova Connection

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are very energetic cosmological transients. Long GRBs are usually associated with Type Ib/c supernovae (SNe), and we refer to them as GRB-SNe. Since the associated SN for a given GRB is observed only at low redshift, a possible selection effect exists when we consider intrinsically faint sources that cannot be observed at high redshift. Thus, it is important to explore the possible relationships between GRB and SN parameters after these have been corrected for astrophysical biases due to the instrumental selection effects and redshift evolution of the variables involved. So far, only GRB prompt emission properties have been checked against the SN Ib/c properties without considering the afterglow (AG). This work investigates the existence of relationships among GRBs' prompt and AG and associated SN properties. We investigate 91 bidimensional correlations among the SN and GRB observables before and after their correction for selection biases and evolutionary effects. As a result of this investigation, we find hints of a new correlation with a Pearson correlation coefficient >0.50 and a probability of being drawn by chance <0.05. This correlation is between the luminosity at the end of the GRB optical plateau emission and the rest-frame peak time of the SN. According to this relation, the brightest optical plateaus are accompanied by the largest peak times. This correlation is corrected for selection biases and redshift evolution and may provide new constraints for the astrophysical models associated with the GRB-SN connection.

Keywords: gamma-ray bursts; core-collapse supernovae
The Crucial Role of Perpendicular Diffusion in the Longitude Distribution of >10 MeV Solar Energetic Protons

Gradual solar proton events are thought to consist of solar components originating near the Sun and interplanetary components associated with interplanetary shocks, and the role of interplanetary shocks is considered to be crucial in supplying particles to regions that are not magnetically connected to the solar source region. We calculate the ratios of the peak intensities for the four energy channels (13-16, 20-25, 32-40, and 40-64 MeV) and compare the ratios observed by multiple spacecraft at different locations. We often find that the ratio of peak intensities observed at different locations in the same event remains almost constant as the energy varies. In other words, the ratio of peak intensities from the different energy channels remains almost constant as the position of the spacecraft changes. The phenomenon implies that in many gradual events, energetic particles observed at different locations are mainly composed of solar components that undergo perpendicular diffusion in both the vicinity of the Sun and the interplanetary space, and that perpendicular diffusion is the main factor enabling energetic particles to be observed in regions without magnetic connection to the solar source region.

Keywords: solar energetic particles; interplanetary physics; solar particle emission; solar storm
Probing Supermassive Black Hole Seed Scenarios with Gravitational-wave Measurements

The process whereby the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) populating the centers of galaxies have been assembled remains to be established, with the relative importance of seeds provided by collapsed Population III stars, black holes formed in nuclear star clusters via repeated mergers, or direct collapses of protogalactic disks yet to be determined. In this paper we study the prospects for casting light on this issue by future measurements of gravitational waves emitted during the inspirals and mergers of pairs of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), discussing in particular the roles of prospective measurements by LISA and the proposed atom interferometers AION and AEDGE. We find that the expected number of detectable IMBH binaries is ${ \mathcal O }(100)$ for LISA and AEDGE and ${ \mathcal O }(10)$ for AION in low-mass seeds scenarios and goes down to ${ \mathcal O }(10)$ for LISA and below one for AEDGE and AION in high-mass seed scenarios. This allows all of these observatories to probe the parameters of the seed model, in particular, if at least a fraction of the SMBHs arises from a low-mass seed population. We also show that the measurement accuracy of the binary parameters is, in general, best for AEDGE, which sees very precisely the merger of the binary.

Keywords: intermediate-mass black holes; gravitational waves; cosmology; supermassive black holes
An Empirical Determination of the Dependence of the Circumgalactic Mass Cooling Rate and Feedback Mass Loading Factor on Galactic Stellar Mass

Using our measurements of the Hα emission line flux originating in the cool (T ~ 104 K) gas that populates the halos of galaxies, we build a joint model to describe the mass of the cool circumgalactic medium (CGM) as a function of galactic stellar mass ( ${10}^{9.5}\lt {M}_{\ast }/{M}_{\odot }\lt {10}^{11}$) and environment. Because the Hα emission correlates with the main cooling channel for this gas, we are able to estimate the rate at which the CGM cools and becomes fuel for star formation in the central galaxy. We describe this calculation, which uses our observations, previous measurements of some critical CGM properties, and modeling of the cooling mechanism using the CLOUDY modeling suite. We find that the mass cooling rate is larger than the star formation rates of the central galaxies by a factor of ~4-90, empirically confirming that there is sufficient fuel to resolve the gas consumption problem and that feedback is needed to avoid collecting too much cold gas in galaxies. We find excellent agreement between our estimates of both the mass cooling rates and mass loading factors and the predictions of independent theoretical studies. The convergence in results that we find from several completely different treatments of the problem, particularly at the lower end of the galactic mass range, is a strong indication that we have a relatively robust understanding of the quantitative effects of feedback across this mass range.

Keywords: cool intergalactic medium; cooling flows