adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Acceleration Mechanisms for Particle Injection and Power-law Formation during Transrelativistic Magnetic Reconnection

Magnetic reconnection in the relativistic and transrelativistic regimes is able to accelerate particles to hard power-law energy spectra f ∝ γ-p (approaching p = 1). The underlying acceleration mechanism that determines the spectral shape is currently a topic of intense investigation. By means of fully kinetic plasma simulations, we carry out a study of particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection in the transrelativistic regime of a proton-electron plasma. While earlier work in this parameter regime has focused on the effects of electric field parallel to the local magnetic field on the particle injection (from thermal energy to the lower-energy bound of the power-law spectrum), here we examine the roles of both parallel and perpendicular electric fields to gain a more complete understanding on the injection process and further development of a power-law spectrum. We show that the parallel electric field does contribute significantly to particle injection, and is more important in the initial phase of magnetic reconnection. However, as the simulation proceeds, the acceleration by the perpendicular electric field becomes more important for particle injection and completely dominates the acceleration responsible for the high-energy power-law spectrum. This holds robustly, in particular for longer reconnection times and larger systems, i.e., in simulations that are more indicative of the processes in astrophysical sources.

Keywords: non-thermal radiation sources; magnetic fields
Interplanetary Magnetic Flux Rope Observed at Ground Level by HAWC

We report the ground-level detection of a Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) flux enhancement lasting ∼17 hr and associated with the passage of a magnetic flux rope (MFR) over the Earth. The MFR was associated with a slow coronal mass ejection (CME) caused by the eruption of a filament on 2016 October 9. Due to the quiet conditions during the eruption and the lack of interactions during the interplanetary CME transport to the Earth, the associated MFR preserved its configuration and reached the Earth with a strong magnetic field, low density, and a very low turbulence level compared to local background, thus generating the ideal conditions to redirect and guide GCRs (in the ∼8-60 GV rigidity range) along the magnetic field of the MFR. An important negative BZ component inside the MFR caused large disturbances in the geomagnetic field and a relatively strong geomagnetic storm. However, these disturbances are not the main factors behind the GCR enhancement. Instead, we found that the major factor was the alignment between the MFR axis and the asymptotic direction of the observer.

Keywords: cosmic rays; solar coronal mass ejections; interplanetary medium; interplanetary magnetic fields; interplanetary particle acceleration
A Spectral Analysis of Fermi-LLE Gamma-Ray Bursts

The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts remains mysterious since the mechanism is difficult to understand even though there are many more observations with the development of detection technology. Most of the gamma-ray bursts spectra show the Band shape, which consists of the low-energy spectral index α, the high-energy spectral index β, the peak energy Ep, and the normalization of the spectrum. We present a systematic analysis of the spectral properties of 36 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which were detected by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and simultaneously were also observed by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the LAT Low Energy (LLE) detector on the Fermi satellite. We performed a detailed time-resolved spectral analysis for all of the bursts in our sample. We found that the time-resolved spectrum at peak flux can be well fitted by the empirical Band function for each burst in our sample. Moreover, the evolution patterns of α and Ep have been carried for statistical analysis and the parameter correlations have been obtained such as Ep-F, α-F, and Ep-α, all of them are presented by performing a detailed time-resolved spectral analysis. We also demonstrated that the two strong positive correlations α-F and Ep-α for some bursts originate from nonphysical selection effects through simulation.

Keywords: high-energy cosmic radiation; astronomy data analysis; gamma-ray bursts
ALMA Measurement of 10 kpc Scale Lensing-power Spectra toward the Lensed Quasar MG J0414+0534

The lensing power spectra for gravitational potential, astrometric shift, and convergence perturbations are powerful probes to investigate dark matter structures on small scales. We report the first lower and upper bounds of these lensing power spectra on angular scale ~1″ toward the anomalous quadruply lensed quasar MG J0414+0534 at a redshift z = 2.639. To obtain the spectra, we conducted observations of MG J0414+0534 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array with high angular resolution (0.″02-0.″05). We developed a new partially nonparametric method in which Fourier coefficients of potential perturbation are adjusted to minimize the difference between linear combinations of weighted mean de-lensed images. Using positions of radio-jet components, extended dust emission on scales >1 kpc, and mid-infrared flux ratios, the range of measured convergence, astrometric shift, and potential powers at an angular scale of ~1.″1 (corresponding to an angular wavenumber of l = 1.2 × 106 or ~9 kpc in the primary lens plane) within 1σ are Δ κ = 0.021-0.028, Δ α = 7-9 mas, and Δ ψ = 1.2-1.6 mas2, respectively. Our result is consistent with the predicted abundance of halos in the line of sight and subhalos in cold dark matter models. Our partially nonparametric lens models suggest the presence of a clump in the vicinity of object Y, a possible dusty dwarf galaxy, and some small clumps in the vicinity of other lensed quadruple images. Although much fainter than the previous report, we detected weak continuum emission possibly from object Y with a peak flux of ~100 μJy beam-1 at the ~4σ level.

Keywords: cosmology
Comparisons of Different Fitting Methods for the Physical Parameters of a Star Cluster Sample of M33 with Spectroscopy and Photometry

Star clusters are good tracers for formation and evolution of galaxies. We compared different fitting methods by using spectra (or by combining photometry) to determine the physical parameters. We choose a sample of 17 star clusters in M33, which previously lacked spectroscopic observations. The low-resolution spectra were taken with the Xinglong 2.16 m reflector of NAOC. The photometry used in the fitting includes uSC and vSAGE bands from the SAGE survey, as well as the published UBVRI and ugriz photometry. We first derived ages and metallicities with the ULYSS (Vazdekis et al. and PEGASE-HR) simple stellar population model and the Bruzual & Charlot stellar population synthesis models for the full-spectrum fitting. The fitting results of both the BC03 and ULYSS models seem consistent with those of previous works as well. Then, we add the SAGE uSC and vSAGE photometry in the spectroscopic fitting with the BC03 models. It seems that the results become much better, especially for the Padova 2000+Chabrier initial mass function set. Finally, we add more photometry data, UBVRI and ugriz, in the fitting, and we found that the results do not improve significantly. Therefore, we conclude that the photometry is useful for improving the fitting results, especially for the blue bands (λ < 4000 Å), e.g., uSC and vSAGE band. At last, we discuss the "UV excess" for the star clusters, and we find that five star clusters have UV excess, based on the GALEX far-UV and near-UV photometry.

Keywords: sky surveys; star clusters; andromeda galaxy; spectral energy distribution
"Extended Emission" from Fallback Accretion onto Merger Remnants

Using a set of general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics simulations that include proper neutrino transfer, we assess for the first time the role played by the fallback accretion onto the remnant from a binary neutron star merger over a timescale of hundreds of seconds. In particular, we find that, independently of the equation of state, the properties of the binary, and the fate of the remnant, the fallback material reaches a total mass of ≳10‑3 M ⊙, i.e., about 50% of the unbound matter, and that the fallback accretion rate follows a power law in time with slope ∼t ‑5/3. Interestingly, the timescale of the fallback and the corresponding accretion luminosity are in good agreement with the so-called "extended emission" observed in short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Using a simple electromagnetic emission model based on the self-consistent thermodynamical state of the fallback material heated by r-process nucleosynthesis, we show that this fallback material can shine in gamma and X-rays with luminosities ≳1048 erg s‑1 for hundreds of seconds, thus making it a good and natural candidate to explain the extended emission in short GRBs. Additionally, our model for fallback emission reproduces well and rather naturally some of the phenomenological traits of extended emission, such as its softer spectra with respect to the prompt emission and the presence of exponential cutoffs in time. Our results clearly highlight that fallback flows onto merger remnants cannot be neglected, and the corresponding emission represents a very promising and largely unexplored avenue to explain the complex phenomenology of GRBs.

Keywords: gamma-ray bursts; neutron stars; compact objects; magnetohydrodynamical simulations
Ly Halo Properties and Dust in the Circumgalactic Medium of z ∼ 2 Star-forming Galaxies

We present Keck Cosmic Web Imager integral-field unit observations around extended Lyα halos of 27 typical star-forming galaxies with redshifts 2.0 < z < 3.2 drawn from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field survey. We examine the average Lyα surface brightness profiles in bins of star formation rate (SFR), stellar mass (M *), age, stellar continuum reddening, SFR surface density (ΣSFR), and ΣSFR normalized by stellar mass (ΣsSFR). The scale lengths of the halos correlate with stellar mass, age, and stellar continuum reddening and anticorrelate with SFR, ΣSFR, and ΣsSFR. These results are consistent with a scenario in which the down-the-barrel fraction of Lyα emission is modulated by the low-column-density channels in the interstellar medium, and in which the neutral gas covering fraction is related to the physical properties of the galaxies. Specifically, we find that this covering fraction increases with stellar mass, age, and E(B ‑ V) and decreases with SFR, ΣSFR, and ΣsSFR. We also find that the resonantly scattered Lyα emission suffers greater attenuation than the (nonresonant) stellar continuum emission, and that the difference in attenuation increases with stellar mass, age, and stellar continuum reddening, and decreases with ΣsSFR. These results imply that more reddened galaxies have more dust in their circumgalactic medium.

Keywords: galaxy evolution; interstellar medium; high-redshift galaxies
Satellite Galaxies' Drag on Field Stars in the Milky Way

With Gaia EDR3 data, velocity dispersion of Milky Way field stars around satellite galaxies has been investigated. We have fitted velocity dispersion against the distance to the satellite galaxy and found the gradient of velocity dispersion is related to the mass of the satellite galaxy. With order-of-magnitude approximations, a linear correlation has been fitted between the mass of the satellite galaxy and the gradient of velocity dispersion caused by its gravitational drag. Though our result is an observational qualitative result, it shows a better relation could be obtained with more observations in the future.

Keywords: dwarf galaxies; stellar kinematics; galaxy masses
BICEP/Keck. XVI. Characterizing Dust Polarization through Correlations with Neutral Hydrogen

We characterize Galactic dust filaments by correlating BICEP/Keck and Planck data with polarization templates based on neutral hydrogen (H I) observations. Dust polarization is important for both our understanding of astrophysical processes in the interstellar medium (ISM) and the search for primordial gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the diffuse ISM, H I is strongly correlated with the dust and partly organized into filaments that are aligned with the local magnetic field. We analyze the deep BICEP/Keck data at 95, 150, and 220 GHz, over the low-column-density region of sky where BICEP/Keck has set the best limits on primordial gravitational waves. We separate the H I emission into distinct velocity components and detect dust polarization correlated with the local Galactic H I but not with the H I associated with Magellanic Stream I. We present a robust, multifrequency detection of polarized dust emission correlated with the filamentary H I morphology template down to 95 GHz. For assessing its utility for foreground cleaning, we report that the HI morphology template correlates in B modes at a ~10%-65% level over the multipole range 20 < ℓ < 200 with the BICEP/Keck maps, which contain contributions from dust, CMB, and noise components. We measure the spectral index of the filamentary dust component spectral energy distribution to be β = 1.54 ± 0.13. We find no evidence for decorrelation in this region between the filaments and the rest of the dust field or from the inclusion of dust associated with the intermediate velocity H I. Finally, we explore the morphological parameter space in the H I-based filamentary model.

Keywords: interstellar dust; interstellar filaments; neutral hydrogen clouds; cosmic microwave background radiation; interstellar magnetic fields; interstellar medium; interstellar atomic gas; galaxy magnetic fields; milky way magnetic fields; magnetic fields; interstellar phases
An Examination of Polarization Mode Transitions in Pulsar Radio Emission

A statistical model is used to determine how stochastic fluctuations in the intensities of orthogonal polarization modes contribute to the modulation and depolarization of pulsar radio emission. General expressions for the distributions of the Stokes parameters, linear polarization, polarization position angle, and fractional polarization are derived when the mode intensities follow the same or different probability distributions. The transition between modes is examined. When the mode intensities follow the same distribution, the fractional linear polarization and modulation index are symmetric about the transition. The symmetry is disrupted when the mode intensities follow different distributions. The fractional linear polarization is minimum and the mode frequency of occurrence changes rapidly at transitions where the mode intensity distributions are the same and the modulation index is small. A lower limit on the fractional linear polarization that can be attained via the simultaneous occurrence of the modes as a function of modulation index is quantified.

Keywords: radio pulsars
The Application of the Filtered Backprojection Algorithm to Solar Rotational Tomography

Solar rotational tomography (SRT) is an important method to reconstruct the physical parameters of the three-dimensional solar corona. Here we propose an approach to apply the filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm to the SRT. The FBP algorithm is generally not suitable for SRT due to the several issues with solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) observations—in particular, a problem caused by missing data because of the unobserved back side of corona hidden behind the Sun. We developed a method to generate a modified sinogram that resolves the blocking problem. The modified sinogram is generated by combining the EUV data at two opposite sites observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We generated the modified sinogram for about one month in 2019 February and reconstructed the three-dimensional corona under the static state assumption. In order to obtain the physical parameters of the corona, we employed a differential emission measure inversion method. We tested the performance of the FBP algorithm with the modified sinogram by comparing the reconstructed data with the observed EUV image, electron density models, previous studies of electron temperature, and an observed coronagraph image. The results illustrate that the FBP algorithm reasonably reconstructs the bright regions and the coronal holes and can reproduce their physical parameters. The main advantage of the FBP algorithm is that it is easy to understand and computationally efficient. Thus, it enables us to easily probe the inhomogeneous coronal electron density and temperature distribution of the solar corona.

Keywords: solar corona; astronomy data analysis
The Game of Life on a Magnetar Crust: From Gamma-Ray Flares to FRBs

This Letter presents a model to unify the diverse range of magnetar activity, through the building and release of elastic stress from the crust. A cellular automaton drives both local and global yielding of the crust, leading to braiding of coronal loops and energy release. The model behaves like a real magnetar in many ways: giant flares and small bursts both occur, as well as periods of quiescence whose typical duration is either ≲1 yr or ~10-30 yr. The burst energy distribution broadly follows an earthquake-like power law over the energy range 1040-1045 erg. The local nature of coronal loops allows for the possibility of high-energy and fast radio bursts from the same magnetar. Within this paradigm, magnetar observations can be used to constrain the poorly understood mechanical properties of the neutron-star crust.

Keywords: neutron stars; x-ray bursts; radio bursts; magnetars
Search for Extremely Metal-poor Stars with Gemini-N/Graces. I. Chemical-abundance Analysis

We present stellar parameters and abundances of 13 elements for 18 very metal-poor (VMP; [Fe/H] < –2.0) stars, selected as extremely metal-poor (EMP; [Fe/H] < –3.0) candidates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Large sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope survey. High-resolution spectroscopic observations were performed using GEMINI-N/GRACES. We find 10 EMP stars among our candidates, and we newly identify three carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars with [Ba/Fe] < 0. Although chemical abundances of our VMP/EMP stars generally follow the overall trend of other Galactic halo stars, there are a few exceptions. One Na-rich star ([Na/Fe] = +1.14) with low [Mg/Fe] suggests a possible chemical connection with second-generation stars in a globular cluster. The progenitor of an extremely Na-poor star ([Na/Fe] = –1.02) with high K- and Ni-abundance ratios may have undergone a distinct nucleosynthesis episode, associated with core-collapse supernovae (SNe) having a high explosion energy. We have also found a Mg-rich star ([Mg/Fe] = +0.73) with slightly enhanced Na and extremely low [Ba/Fe], indicating that its origin is not associated with neutron-capture events. On the other hand, the origin of the lowest Mg abundance ([Mg/Fe] = –0.61) star could be explained by accretion from a dwarf galaxy, or formation in a gas cloud largely polluted by SNe Ia. We have also explored the progenitor masses of our EMP stars by comparing their chemical-abundance patterns with those predicted by Population III SNe models, and find a mass range of 10–26 M ⊙, suggesting that such stars were primarily responsible for the chemical enrichment of the early Milky Way.

Keywords: chemical abundances; galaxy chemical evolution; milky way galaxy; interstellar abundances; galaxy stellar content
TPHO: A Time-dependent Photoionization Model for AGN Outflows

Outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are considered a promising candidate for driving AGN feedback at large scales. However, without information on the density of these outflows we cannot determine how much kinetic power they are imparting to the surrounding medium. Monitoring the response of the ionization state of the absorbing outflows to changes in the ionizing continuum provides the recombination timescale of the outflow, which is a function of the electron density. We have developed a new self-consistent time-dependent photoionization model, tpho, enabling the measurement of the plasma density through time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy. The algorithm solves the full time-dependent energy and ionization balance equations in a self-consistent fashion for all the ionic species. The model can therefore reproduce the time-dependent absorption spectrum of ionized outflows responding to changes in the ionizing radiation of the AGN. We find that when the ionized gas is in a nonequilibrium state its transmitted spectra are not accurately reproduced by standard photoionization models. Our simulations with the current X-ray grating observations show that the spectral features identified as multicomponent warm absorbers, might in fact be features of a time-changing warm absorber and not distinctive components. The tpho model facilitates accurate photoionization modeling in the presence of a variable ionizing source, thus providing constraints on the density and in turn the location of the AGN outflows. Ascertaining these two parameters will provide important insight into the role and impact of ionized outflows in AGN feedback. *Released on ...

Keywords: photoionization; x-ray active galactic nuclei; plasma astrophysics
Polarized X-Rays Detected from the Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 1E 2259+586

Anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) are believed to be associated with magnetars, which have extremely strong magnetic fields. Recently, with the operation of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), the polarization information of two AXPs and one SGR have been investigated. In this work, we report the observational results of the fourth magnetar, 1E 2259+586, with IXPE, and perform a joint analysis with observations from Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer. We find that the emission from 1E 2259+586 is linearly polarized, with a polarization degree (5.3% ± 1.3%) and a polarization angle -77° ± 7° in the 2-8 keV energy range. Additionally, both the polarization degree and polarization angle exhibit variability with the pulse phase, and there is a hint of anticorrelation between the polarization degree and the flux, which is similar to AXP 1RXS J170849.0-400910. The phase-dependent polarization angle displays a sinusoidal profile and can be well fitted with the rotating vector model, indicating that the magnetic dipole field dominated the magnetic structure of the pulsar, and the variation in the polarization angle was modulated by the pulsar's rotation.

Keywords: magnetars
Photometry of 10 Million Stars from the First Two Years of TESS Full Frame Images: Part I

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is the first high-precision full-sky photometric survey in space. We extracted light curves from a magnitude limited set of stars and other stationary luminous objects from the TESS Full Frame Images using the MIT Quick Look Pipeline. Here, we describe the techniques used to create light curves.

Keywords: space observatories; astronomy data analysis