adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Spatially Resolving the Kinematics of the ≲100 μas Quasar Broad-line Region Using Spectroastrometry. II. The First Tentative Detection in a Luminous Quasar at z = 2.3

Direct measurements of the masses of supermassive black holes are key to understanding their growth and constraining their symbiotic relationship to their host galaxies. However, current methods used to directly measure black hole masses in active quasars become challenging or impossible beyond z ≳ 0.2. Spectroastrometry (SA) measures the spatial centroid of an object's spectrum as a function of wavelength, delivering angular resolution far better than the point-spread function (PSF) for high signal-to-noise ratio observations. We observed the luminous quasar SDSS J212329.47-005052.9 at z = 2.279 with the aim of resolving its ~100 μas Hα broad emission-line region (BLR) and present the first SA constraints on the size and kinematic structure of the BLR. Using a novel pipeline to extract the SA signal and reliable uncertainties, we achieved a centroiding precision of ≃100 μas, or >2000× smaller than the K-band AO-corrected PSF, yielding a tentative 3.2σ detection of an SA signal from the BLR. Modeling the BLR emission as arising from an inclined rotating disk with a mixture of coherent and random motions we constrain ${r}_{\mathrm{BLR}}={454}_{-162}^{+565}\,\mu \mathrm{as}$ ( ${3.71}_{-1.28}^{+4.65}\,\mathrm{pc}$ ), providing a 95% confidence upper limit on the black hole mass ${M}_{\mathrm{BH}}\,{\sin }^{2}i\leqslant 1.8\times {10}^{9}\,{M}_{\odot }$ . Our results agree with the rBLR-L relation measured for lower-z quasars but expands its dynamic range by an order of magnitude in luminosity. We did not detect the potentially stronger SA signal from the narrow-line region but discuss in detail why it may be absent. Already with existing instrumentation, SA can deliver ~6× smaller uncertainties (~15 μas) than achieved here, enabling ~10% measurements of supermassive black hole masses in high-z quasars.

Keywords: quasars; active galactic nuclei; supermassive black holes; astronomical techniques; high angular resolution
H-α Variability of V1298 Tau c

The 23 Myr system V1298 Tau hosts four transiting planets and is a valuable laboratory for exploring the early stages of planet evolution soon after formation of the star. We observe the innermost planet, V1298 Tau c, during transit using LBT PEPSI to obtain high spectral resolution characterization of escaping material near the H-α line. We find no strong evidence for atmospheric material escaping at the orbital velocity of the planet. Instead, we find a deep stellar feature that is variable on the few percent level, similar to a previous observation of the planet and can be explained by stellar activity. We attempted to monitor the broadband optical transit with LBT MODS but do not achieve the precision needed to characterize the atmosphere or improve the ephemeris.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres; stellar activity; exoplanet astronomy
SOFIA and ALMA Investigate Magnetic Fields and Gas Structures in Massive Star Formation: The Case of the Masquerading Monster in BYF 73

We present Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) + Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) continuum and spectral-line polarization data on the massive molecular cloud BYF 73, revealing important details about the magnetic field morphology, gas structures, and energetics in this unusual massive star formation laboratory. The 154 μm HAWC+ polarization map finds a highly organized magnetic field in the densest, inner 0.55 × 0.40 pc portion of the cloud, compared to an unremarkable morphology in the cloud's outer layers. The 3 mm continuum ALMA polarization data reveal several more structures in the inner domain, including a parsec-long, ~500 M ⊙ "Streamer" around the central massive protostellar object MIR 2, with magnetic fields mostly parallel to the east-west Streamer but oriented north-south across MIR 2. The magnetic field orientation changes from mostly parallel to the column density structures to mostly perpendicular, at thresholds N crit = 6.6 × 1026 m-2, n crit = 2.5 × 1011 m-3, and B crit = 42 ± 7 nT. ALMA also mapped Goldreich-Kylafis polarization in 12CO across the cloud, which traces, in both total intensity and polarized flux, a powerful bipolar outflow from MIR 2 that interacts strongly with the Streamer. The magnetic field is also strongly aligned along the outflow direction; energetically, it may dominate the outflow near MIR 2, comprising rare evidence for a magnetocentrifugal origin to such outflows. A portion of the Streamer may be in Keplerian rotation around MIR 2, implying a gravitating mass 1350 ± 50 M ⊙ for the protostar+disk+envelope; alternatively, these kinematics can be explained by gas in free-fall toward a 950 ± 35 M ⊙ object. The high accretion rate onto MIR 2 apparently occurs through the Streamer/disk, and could account for ~33% of MIR 2's total luminosity via gravitational energy release.

Keywords: interstellar magnetic fields; star forming regions; protostars; interstellar dynamics; interstellar molecules
Radio Emission and Electric Gaps in Pulsar Magnetospheres

The origin of pulsar radio emission is one of the old puzzles in theoretical astrophysics. In this Letter, we present a global kinetic plasma simulation that shows from first principles how and where radio emission can be produced in pulsar magnetospheres. We observe the self-consistent formation of electric gaps that periodically ignite electron-positron discharge. The gaps form above the polar cap and in the bulk return current. Discharge of the gaps excites electromagnetic modes, which share several features with the radio emission of real pulsars. We also observe the excitation of plasma waves and charge bunches by beam instabilities in the outer magnetosphere. Our numerical experiment demonstrates that global kinetic models can provide deep insight into the emission physics of pulsars and may help interpret their multiwavelength observations.

Keywords: radio pulsars; gamma-rays; plasma astrophysics; magnetic fields
STITCH: A Subgrid-scale Model for Energy Buildup in the Solar Corona

The solar corona routinely exhibits explosive activity, in particular coronal mass ejections and their accompanying eruptive flares, which have global-scale consequences. These events and their smaller counterparts, coronal jets, originate in narrow, sinuous filament channels. The key processes that form and evolve the channels operate on still smaller spatial scales and much longer timescales, culminating in a vast separation of characteristic lengths and times that govern these explosive phenomena. In this article, we describe implementation and tests of an efficient subgrid-scale model for generating eruptive structures in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) coronal simulations. STITCH-STatistical InjecTion of Condensed Helicity-is a physics-based, reduced representation of helicity condensation: a process wherein small-scale vortical surface convection forms ubiquitous current sheets and pervasive reconnection across the sheets mediates an inverse cascade of magnetic helicity and free energy, thereby forming the filament channels. We have developed a formalism, STITCH, that abstracts these complex processes into a single term in Ohm's law and the induction equation that directly injects tangential magnetic flux into the low corona. We show that our approach is in very good agreement with a full helicity condensation calculation that treats all of the dynamics explicitly, while enabling substantial reductions in temporal duration and spatial resolution. In addition, we illustrate the flexibility of STITCH at forming localized filament channels and at energizing complex surface flux distributions that have sinuous boundaries. STITCH is simple to implement and computationally efficient, making it a powerful technique for physics-based modeling of solar eruptive events.

Keywords: solar magnetic reconnection; solar corona; solar filament eruptions; solar coronal mass ejections; solar flares; magnetohydrodynamical simulations
The Variability of the Star Formation Rate in Galaxies. I. Star Formation Histories Traced by EW(Hα) and EW(HδA)

To investigate the variability of the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies, we define a star formation change parameter, SFR5 Myr/SFR800 Myr, which is the ratio of the SFR averaged within the last 5 Myr to the SFR averaged within the last 800 Myr. We show that this parameter can be determined from a combination of Hα emission and Hδ absorption, plus the 4000 Å break, with an uncertainty of ∼0.07 dex for star-forming galaxies. We then apply this estimator to MaNGA galaxies, both globally within Re and within radial annuli. We find that the global SFR5 Myr/SFR800 Myr, which indicates by how much a galaxy has changed its specific SFR (sSFR), is nearly independent of its sSFR, I.e., of its position relative to the star formation main sequence (SFMS) as defined by SFR800 Myr. Also, at any sSFR, there are as many galaxies increasing their sSFR as decreasing it, as required if the dispersion in the SFMS is to stay the same. The SFR5 Myr/SFR800 Myr of the overall galaxy population is very close to that expected for the evolving main sequence. Both of these provide a reassuring check on the validity of our calibration of the estimator. We find that galaxies with higher global SFR5 Myr/SFR800 Myr appear to have higher SFR5 Myr/SFR800 Myr at all galactic radii, I.e., that galaxies with a recent temporal enhancement in overall SFR have enhanced star formation at all galactic radii. The dispersion of the SFR5 Myr/SFR800 Myr at a given relative galactic radius and a given stellar mass decreases with the (indirectly inferred) gas depletion time: locations with short gas depletion time appear to undergo bigger variations in their star formation rates on Gyr or less timescales. In Wang et al., we showed that the dispersion in star formation rate surface densities σSFR in the galaxy population appears to be inversely correlated with the inferred gas depletion timescale and interpreted this in terms of the dynamical response of a gas-regulator system to changes in the gas inflow rate. In this paper, we can now prove directly with SFR5 Myr/SFR800 Myr that these effects are indeed due to genuine temporal variations in the SFR of individual galaxies on timescales between 107 and 109 yr rather than possibly reflecting intrinsic, non-temporal, differences between different galaxies.

Keywords: galaxies; galaxy evolution; star formation
Relativistic Reflection in NGC 4151

We investigate the X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 using the simultaneous Suzaku/NuSTAR observation and flux-resolved INTEGRAL spectra supplemented by Suzaku and XMM observations. Our best spectral solution indicates that the narrow Fe Kα line is produced in Compton-thin matter at a distance of several hundred gravitational radii. In such a model, we find a weak but significant relativistic reflection from a disk truncated at about 10 gravitational radii when the source is in bright X-ray states. We do not find evidence either for or against the presence of relativistic reflection in the dim X-ray state. We also rule out models with X-ray emission dominated by a source located very close to the black hole horizon, which was proposed in previous works implementing the lamppost geometry for this source. We point out that accurate computation of the thermal Comptonization spectrum and its distortion by strong gravity is crucial in applications of the lamppost geometry to the NuSTAR data.

Keywords: x-ray active galactic nuclei; seyfert galaxies; relativistic disks; accretion
MHD Simulation of a Solar Eruption from Active Region 11429 Driven by a Photospheric Velocity Field

Data-driven simulation is becoming an important approach for realistically characterizing the configuration and evolution of solar active regions, revealing the onset mechanism of solar eruption events, and hopefully achieving the goal of accurate space weather forecasting, which is beyond the scope of any existing theoretical modeling. Here we performed a full 3D MHD simulation using the data-driven approach and followed the whole evolution process from the quasi-static phase to eruption successfully for solar active region (AR) NOAA 11429. The MHD system was driven at the bottom boundary by a photospheric velocity field, which is derived by the DAVE4VM method from the observed vector magnetograms. The simulation shows that a magnetic flux rope was generated by a persistent photospheric flow before the flare onset and then triggered to erupt by torus instability. Our simulation demonstrates a high degree of consistency with observations in the preeruption magnetic structure, the timescale of the quasi-static stage, the pattern of flare ribbons, as well as the time evolution of the magnetic energy injection and total unsigned magnetic flux. We further found that an eruption can also be initiated in the simulation driven by only the horizontal components of the photospheric flow, but a comparison of the different simulations indicates that the vertical flow at the bottom boundary is necessary for reproducing more realistically these observed features, emphasizing the importance of flux emergence during the development of this AR.

Keywords: solar coronal mass ejections; solar flares; solar active region magnetic fields; magnetohydrodynamics; magnetohydrodynamical simulations
Lightning: An X-Ray to Submillimeter Galaxy SED-fitting Code with Physically Motivated Stellar, Dust, and AGN Models

We present an updated version of Lightning, a galaxy spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting code that can model X-ray to submillimeter observations. The models in Lightning include the options to contain contributions from stellar populations, dust attenuation and emission, and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). X-ray emission, when utilized, can be modeled as originating from stellar compact binary populations with the option to include emission from AGNs. We have also included a variety of algorithms to fit the models to observations and sample parameter posteriors; these include adaptive Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), affine-invariant MCMC, and Levenberg-Marquardt gradient-descent (MPFIT) algorithms. To demonstrate some of the capabilities of Lightning, we present several examples using a variety of observational data. These examples include (1) deriving the spatially resolved stellar properties of the nearby galaxy M81, (2) demonstrating how X-ray emission can provide constraints on the properties of the supermassive black hole of a distant AGN, (3) exploring how to rectify the attenuation effects of inclination on the derived the star formation rate of the edge-on galaxy NGC 4631, (4) comparing the performance of Lightning to similar Bayesian SED-fitting codes when deriving physical properties of the star-forming galaxy NGC 628, and (5) comparing the derived X-ray and UV-to-IR AGN properties from Lightning and CIGALE for a distant AGN. Lightning is an open-source application developed in IDL and is available at https://github.com/rafaeleufrasio/lightning.

Keywords: extragalactic astronomy; galaxy properties; star formation; spectral energy distribution
Small-scale Turbulent Motion of the Plasma in a Solar Filament as the Precursor of Eruption

A filament, a dense cool plasma supported by the magnetic fields in the solar corona, often becomes unstable and erupts. It is empirically known that the filament often demonstrates some activations such as a turbulent motion prior to eruption. In our previous study, we analyzed the Doppler velocity of an Hα filament and found that the standard deviation of the line-of-sight velocity distribution in a filament, which indicates the increasing amplitude of the small-scale motions, increased prior to the onset of the eruption. Here, we present a further analysis on this filament eruption, which initiated approximately at 03:40 UT on 2016 November 5 in the vicinity of NOAA Active Region 12605. It includes a coronal line observation and the extrapolation of the surrounding magnetic fields. We found that both the spatially averaged microturbulence inside the filament and the nearby coronal line emission increased 6 and 10 hr prior to eruption, respectively. In this event, we did not find any significant changes in the global potential field configuration preceding the eruption for the past 2 days, which indicates that there is a case in which it is difficult to predict the eruption only by tracking the extrapolated global magnetic fields. In terms of space weather prediction, our result on the turbulent motions in a filament could be used as the useful precursor of a filament eruption.

Keywords: solar filament eruptions; quiet solar corona; solar coronal mass ejections; solar magnetic fields; solar filaments
Burst Properties of the Most Recurring Transient Magnetar SGR J1935+2154

We present timing and time-integrated spectral analysis of 127 bursts from SGR J1935+2154. These bursts were observed with the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the Burst Alert Telescope on the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory during the source's four active episodes from 2014 to 2016. This activation frequency makes SGR J1935+2154 the most burst prolific transient magnetar. We find the average duration of all the detected bursts to be much shorter than the typical, anticipated value. We fit the burst time-integrated spectra with two blackbody functions, a Comptonized model and three other simpler models. Bursts from SGR J1935+2154 exhibit similar spectral properties to other magnetars, with the exception of the power-law index from the Comptonized model, which correlates with burst fluence. We find that the durations and both blackbody temperatures of the bursts have significantly evolved across the four active episodes. We also find that the burst time history exhibits two trends, which are strongly correlated with the decay of the persistent emission in each outburst.

Keywords: magnetars; soft gamma-ray repeaters; neutron stars; transient sources; gamma-ray transient sources; x-ray transient sources
Spatially Resolved Ionized Outflows Extending to 2 kpc in Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 7469 Revealed by the Very Large Telescope/MUSE

The Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 7469 possesses a prominent nuclear starburst ring and a luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). Evidence of an outflow in the innermost nuclear region has been found in previous works. We detect the ionized gas outflow on a larger scale in the galaxy using the archival Very Large Telescope/MUSE and Chandra observations. The optical emission lines are modeled using two Gaussian components, and a nonparametric approach is applied to measure the kinematics of [O III] and Hα emitting gas. Line ratio diagnostics and spatially resolved maps are derived to examine the origin of the outflow. The kiloparsec-scale kinematics of [O III] are dominated by a blueshifted component whereas the velocity map of Hα shows a rotational disk with a complex nonrotational substructure. The starburst wind around the circumnuclear ring is confirmed, and we find evidence of an AGN-driven outflow extending to a radial distance of ~ 2 kpc from the nucleus, with a morphology consistent with a nearly face-on ionization cone. The previously reported circumnuclear outflow resembles part of the bright base. We derive mass and energy outflow rates for both the starburst wind and the AGN-driven outflow. The estimated kinetic coupling efficiency of the kiloparsec-scale AGN outflow is ${\dot{E}}_{\mathrm{out}}/{L}_{\mathrm{bol}}\sim 0.1 \% $ Ėout/Lbol~0.1% , lower than the threshold predicted by the "two-stage" theoretical model for effective feedback. Our results reinforce the importance of spatially resolved study to disentangle feedback where AGNs and starbursts coexist, which may be common during the cosmic noon of black hole and galaxy growth.

Keywords: seyfert galaxies; luminous infrared galaxies; interstellar medium wind
X-Ray Spectral Variations of Circinus X-1 Observed with NICER throughout an Entire Orbital Cycle

Circinus X-1 (Cir X-1) is a neutron star binary with an elliptical orbit of 16.6 days. The source is unique for its extreme youth, providing a key to understanding early binary evolution. However, its X-ray variability is too complex to reach a clear interpretation. We conducted the first high-cadence (every 4 hr, on average) observations covering one entire orbit using the NICER X-ray telescope. The X-ray flux behavior can be divided into stable, dip, and flaring phases. The X-ray spectra in all phases can be described by a common model consisting of a partially covered disk blackbody emission and the line features from a highly ionized photoionized plasma. The spectral change over the orbit is attributable to rapid changes of the partial covering medium in the line of sight and gradual changes of the disk blackbody emission. Emission lines of H- and He-like Mg, Si, S, and Fe are detected, most prominently in the dip phase. The Fe emission lines change to absorption in the course of the transition from the dip phase to the flaring phase. The estimated ionization degree indicates no significant changes, suggesting that the photoionized plasma is stable over the orbit. We propose a simple model in which the disk blackbody emission is partially blocked by a local medium in the line of sight that has spatial structures depending on the azimuth of the accretion disk. Emission lines upon the continuum emission are from the photoionized plasma located outside of the blocking material.

Keywords: x-ray binary stars; atomic spectroscopy; spectroscopy; ionization; plasma astrophysics; high energy astrophysics
VLTI/GRAVITY Provides Evidence the Young, Substellar Companion HD 136164 Ab Formed Like a "Failed Star"

Young, low-mass brown dwarfs orbiting early-type stars, with low mass ratios (q ≲ 0.01), appear to be intrinsically rare and present a formation dilemma: could a handful of these objects be the highest-mass outcomes of "planetary" formation channels (bottom up within a protoplanetary disk), or are they more representative of the lowest-mass "failed binaries" (formed via disk fragmentation or core fragmentation)? Additionally, their orbits can yield model-independent dynamical masses, and when paired with wide wavelength coverage and accurate system age estimates, can constrain evolutionary models in a regime where the models have a wide dispersion depending on the initial conditions. We present new interferometric observations of the 16 Myr substellar companion HD 136164 Ab (HIP 75056 Ab) made with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI)/GRAVITY and an updated orbit fit including proper motion measurements from the Hipparcos-Gaia Catalog of Accelerations. We estimate a dynamical mass of 35 ± 10 M J (q ~ 0.02), making HD 136164 Ab the youngest substellar companion with a dynamical mass estimate. The new mass and newly constrained orbital eccentricity (e = 0.44 ± 0.03) and separation (22.5 ± 1 au) could indicate that the companion formed via the low-mass tail of the initial mass function. Our atmospheric fit to a SPHINX M-dwarf model grid suggests a subsolar C/O ratio of 0.45 and 3 × solar metallicity, which could indicate formation in a circumstellar disk via disk fragmentation. Either way, the revised mass estimate likely excludes bottom-up formation via core accretion in a circumstellar disk. HD 136164 Ab joins a select group of young substellar objects with dynamical mass estimates; epoch astrometry from future Gaia data releases will constrain the dynamical mass of this crucial object further.

Keywords: brown dwarfs; substellar companion stars; orbit determination; orbits