adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Asteroseismic Inversions for Internal Sound Speed Profiles of Main-sequence Stars with Radiative Cores

The theoretical oscillation frequencies of even the best asteroseismic models of solar-like oscillators show significant differences from observed oscillation frequencies. Structure inversions seek to use these frequency differences to infer the underlying differences in stellar structure. While used extensively to study the Sun, structure inversion results for other stars have so far been limited. Applying sound speed inversions to more stars allows us to probe stellar theory over a larger range of conditions, as well as look for overall patterns that may hint at deficits in our current understanding. To that end, we present structure inversion results for 12 main-sequence solar-type stars with masses between 1 and 1.15 M ⊙. Our inversions are able to infer differences in the isothermal sound speed in the innermost 30% by radius of our target stars. In half of our target stars, the structure of our best-fit model fully agrees with the observations. In the remainder, the inversions reveal significant differences between the sound speed profile of the star and that of the model. We find five stars where the sound speed in the core of our stellar models is too low and one star showing the opposite behavior. For the two stars in which our inversions reveal the most significant differences, we examine whether changing the microphysics of our models improves them and find that changes to nuclear reaction rates or core opacities can reduce, but do not fully resolve, the differences.

Keywords: low mass stars; stellar physics; stellar oscillations; stellar structures; stellar evolutionary models
Streams on FIRE: Populations of Detectable Stellar Streams in the Milky Way and FIRE

We present the first detailed comparison of populations of dwarf galaxy stellar streams in cosmological simulations and the Milky Way. In particular, we compare streams identified around 13 Milky Way analogs in the FIRE-2 simulations to streams observed by the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey (S 5). For an accurate comparison, we produce mock Dark Energy Survey (DES) observations of the FIRE streams and estimate the detectability of their tidal tails and progenitors. The number and stellar mass distributions of detectable stellar streams is consistent between observations and simulations. However, there are discrepancies in the distributions of pericenters and apocenters, with the detectable FIRE streams, on average, forming at larger pericenters (out to >110 kpc) and surviving only at larger apocenters (≳40 kpc) than those observed in the Milky Way. We find that the population of high-stellar-mass dwarf galaxy streams in the Milky Way is incomplete. Interestingly, a large fraction of the FIRE streams would only be detected as intact satellites in DES-like observations, since their tidal tails have too low surface brightness to be detectable. We thus predict a population of yet-undetected tidal tails around Milky Way satellites, as well as a population of fully undetected low-surface-brightness stellar streams, and estimate their detectability with the Rubin Observatory. Finally, we discuss the causes and implications of the discrepancies between the stream populations in FIRE and the Milky Way, and explore future avenues for tests of satellite disruption in cosmological simulations.

Keywords: stellar streams; milky way galaxy; milky way dynamics; astronomical simulations; dwarf galaxies; tidal disruption
A Physical Model for a Radiative, Convective Dusty Disk in AGN

An accretion disk in an Active Galactic Nucleus harbors and shields dust from external illumination. Our model shows that, at the midplane of the disk around an MBH = 107M⊙ black hole, dust can exist at 0.1 pc from the black hole, compared to 0.5 pc outside of the disk where such self-shielding is constrained. We construct a physical model of a disk region approximately located between the radius of dust sublimation at the disk midplane and the radius at which dust sublimes at the disk surface. Our main conclusion is that, for a wide range of model parameters such as local accretion rate and/or opacity, the accretion disk's own radiation pressure on dust significantly influences its vertical structure. In this region, convection plays important role in the vertical transport of energy. When the local accretion rate exceeds 2.5M⊙ yr, the 10-2 pc scale disk is supercritical with respect to dust opacity. Such a disk puffs up and transforms from geometrically thin to slim. Our model fits into the narrative of a "failed wind" scenario of Czerny & Hryniewicz and the "compact torus" model of Baskin & Laor, incorporating them as variations of the radiative dusty disk model.

Keywords: active galactic nuclei; galaxy accretion disks; astrophysical dust processes
Classification of Photospheric Emission in Short GRBs

In order to better understand the physical origin of short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), we perform a time-resolved spectral analysis on a sample of 70 pulses in 68 short GRBs with burst durations T90 ≲ 2 s detected by the Fermi/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor. We apply a Bayesian analysis to all spectra that have statistical significance S ≥ 15 within each pulse and apply a cutoff power-law model. We then select in each pulse the time bin that has the maximum value of the low-energy spectral index for further analysis. Under the assumption that the main emission mechanism is the same throughout each pulse, this analysis is indicative of pulse emission. We find that about 1/3 of the short GRBs are consistent with a pure, nondissipative photospheric model, at least around the peak of the pulse. This fraction is larger than the corresponding fraction (1/4) obtained for long GRBs. For these bursts, we find (I) a bimodal distribution in the values of the Lorentz factors and the hardness ratios and (II) an anticorrelation between T90 and the peak energy, Epk: ${T}_{90}\propto {E}_{\mathrm{pk}}^{-0.50\pm 0.19}$ . This correlation disappears when we consider the entire sample. Our results thus imply that the short GRB population may in fact be composed of two separate populations: one that is a continuation of the long GRB population to shorter durations, and another that is distinctly separate with different physical properties. Furthermore, thermal emission is initially ubiquitous, but is accompanied at longer times by additional radiation (likely synchrotron).

Keywords: gamma-ray astronomy; astronomy data analysis; gamma-ray bursts
The EXPRES Stellar-signals Project. I. Description of Data

The EXPRES Stellar-Signals Project is providing sets of high-fidelity, spectroscopic and photometric observations to enable direct comparisons of various approaches for disentangling stellar signals and true radial velocities (RVs). We will provide all EXPRES RVs, meta data, and activity indicators as well as high-precision photometric data from the Fairborn Automatic Photoelectric Telescopes (APTs) for HD 101501, HD 34411, HD 217014, and HD 10700. Intrinsic stellar variability and the resulting apparent RVs are widely believed to dominate the error budget for extremely precise radial-velocity (EPRV) measurements. Several new methods to disentangle photospheric velocities from Keplerian velocities are being developed throughout the EPRV community. In addition to releasing data sets for testing these methods, the EXPRES Stellar-Signals Project will publish a summary of the current state of the field circa 2020 to guide next steps toward mitigating photospheric velocities in EPRV data. More information can be found on http://exoplanets.astro.yale.edu/science/activity.php.

Keywords: exoplanet detection methods; radial velocity; planet hosting stars; stellar activity; spectrometers
Modeling the Gamma-Ray Burst Jet Properties with 3D General Relativistic Simulations of Magnetically Arrested Accretion Flows

We investigate the dependence of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) jet structure and its evolution on the properties of the accreting torus in the central engine. Our models numerically evolve the accretion disk around a Kerr black hole using three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We use two different analytical hydrodynamical models of the accretion disk, based on the Fishbone-Moncrief and Chakrabarti solutions, as our initial states for the structure of the collapsar disk and the remnant after a binary neutron star (BNS) merger, respectively. We impose poloidal magnetic fields of two different geometries upon the initial stable solutions. We study the formation and evolution of the magnetically arrested disk state and its effect on the properties of the emitted jet. The jets produced in our models are structured and have a relatively hollow core and reach higher Lorentz factors at an angle ≳9° from the axis. The jet in our short GRB model has an opening angle of up to ~25° while our long GRB engine produces a narrower jet, of up to ~11°. We also study the time variability of the jets and provide an estimate of the minimum variability timescale in our models. The application of our models to the GRB jets in the BNS postmerger system and to the ultrarelativistic jets launched from collapsing stars are briefly discussed.

Keywords: accretion; gamma-ray bursts; magnetohydrodynamics; jets; relativistic jets; magnetohydrodynamical simulations; black hole physics; stellar mass black holes
How Magnetic Activity Alters What We Learn from Stellar Spectra

Magnetic fields and stellar spots can alter the equivalent widths of absorption lines in stellar spectra, varying during the activity cycle. This also influences the information that we derive through spectroscopic analysis. In this study, we analyze high-resolution spectra of 211 sunlike stars observed at different phases of their activity cycles, in order to investigate how stellar activity affects the spectroscopic determination of stellar parameters and chemical abundances. We observe that the equivalent widths of lines can increase as a function of the activity index log R ${}_{\mathrm{HK}}^{{\prime} }$ during the stellar cycle, which also produces an artificial growth of the stellar microturbulence and a decrease in effective temperature and metallicity. This effect is visible for stars with activity indexes log R ${}_{\mathrm{HK}}^{{\prime} }\geqslant -5.0$ (I.e., younger than 4-5 Gyr), and it is more significant at higher activity levels. These results have fundamental implications on several topics in astrophysics that are discussed in the paper, including stellar nucleosynthesis, chemical tagging, the study of Galactic chemical evolution, chemically anomalous stars, the structure of the Milky Way disk, stellar formation rates, photoevaporation of circumstellar disks, and planet hunting.

Keywords: solar analogs; exoplanets; stellar magnetic fields; stellar activity; spectroscopy; stellar abundances; solar atmosphere; stellar atmospheres; stellar astronomy; young stellar objects; galaxy chemical evolution; chemical enrichment
Predicting Spectral Parameters in the Backscattering-dominated Model for the Prompt Phase of GRBs

We present new results of the backscattering-dominated prompt emission model in which the photons generated through pair annihilation at the center of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) are backscattered through Compton scattering by an outflowing stellar cork. Using a Comptonized pair annihilation spectrum accompanied by bremsstrahlung radiation for seed photons, we show that the obtained spectra produce a low-energy photon index in the range α ~ -1.95 to -1.1, steeper high-energy slopes β ~ -3.5 to -2.4, and spectral peak energies approximately a few KeV to a few tens of MeV. These findings are consistent with the values covered in GRB prompt phase observations.

Keywords: high energy astrophysics; gamma-ray bursts; relativistic jets; theoretical models
Proton Heating by a Proton-Alpha Drift Instability with an Anisotropic Alpha-particle Temperature in a Turbulent Solar-wind Plasma

The proton-alpha drift instability is a possible mechanism of the alpha-particle deceleration and the resulting proton heating in the solar wind. We present hybrid numerical simulations of this instability with particle-in-cell ions and a quasi-neutralizing electron fluid for typical conditions at 1 au. For the parameters used in this paper, we find that fast magnetosonic unstable modes propagate only in the direction opposite to the alpha-particle drift and do not produce the perpendicular proton heating necessary to accelerate the solar wind. Alfvén modes propagate in both directions and heat the protons perpendicularly to the mean magnetic field. Despite being driven by the alpha temperature anisotropy, the Alfvén instability also extracts the energy from the bulk motion of the alpha particles. In the solar wind, the instabilities operate in a turbulent ambient medium. We show that the turbulence suppresses the Alfvén instability but the perpendicular proton heating persists. Unlike a static nonuniform background, the turbulence does not invert the sense of the proton heating associated with the fast magnetosonic instability and it remains preferentially parallel.

Keywords: space plasmas; interplanetary turbulence; solar wind
Kinematic Decomposition of the H I Gaseous Component in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We perform a profile analysis of the combined H I data cube of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) from observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Parkes radio telescope. For the profile analysis, we use a newly developed algorithm that decomposes individual line profiles into an optimal number of Gaussian components based on a Bayesian nested sampling. The decomposed Gaussian components are then classified into kinematically cold, warm, and hot gas components based on their velocity dispersion. The estimated masses of the kinematically cold, warm, and hot gas components are ~12.2%, ~58.3%, and ~29.5% of the total H I mass of the LMC, respectively. Our analysis reveals the highly complex H I structure and kinematics of the LMC that are seen in previous studies but in a more quantitative manner. We also extract the undisturbed H I gas bulk motions and derive new H I gas bulk rotation curves of the LMC by applying a 2D tilted-ring analysis. In contrast to previously derived H I rotation curves, the newly derived bulk rotation curves are much more consistent with the carbon star kinematics, with rotation velocity linearly increasing in the inner part and reaching a maximum of ~60 km s-1 at the outermost measured radius. By comparing the lower bulk rotation curves with previous studies, we conclude that there is a lower dynamical contribution of dark matter in the central part of the LMC.

Keywords: large magellanic cloud
Cosmologically Coupled Compact Objects: A Single-parameter Model for LIGO-Virgo Mass and Redshift Distributions

We demonstrate a single-parameter route for reproducing higher mass objects as observed in the LIGO-Virgo mass distribution, using only the isolated-binary stellar evolution channel. This single parameter encodes the cosmological mass growth of compact stellar remnants that exceed the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit. Cosmological mass growth appears in known solutions to General Relativity with cosmological boundary conditions. We consider the possibility of solutions with cosmological boundary conditions, which reduce to Kerr on timescales short compared to the Hubble time. We discuss complementary observational signatures of these solutions that can confirm or invalidate their astrophysical relevance.

Keywords: astrophysical black holes; supernova remnants; compact objects; cosmological evolution; gravitational wave astronomy
Does the Correlation between 2MRS Galaxies and the CMB Indicate an Unmodeled CMB Foreground?

We revisit the claimed detection of a new cosmic microwave background (CMB) foreground based on the correlation between low-redshift Two Micron All Sky Survey Redshift Survey (2MRS) galaxies and CMB temperature maps from the Planck and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe missions. We reproduce the reported measurements but argue that the original analysis significantly underestimated the uncertainties. We cross-correlate the 2MRS galaxy positions with simulated CMB maps and show that the correlation measured with the real data for late-type spiral galaxies at angular scales θ ≥ 0.°1 and redshift cz < 4500 km s‑1 is consistent with zero at the 1.7σ level or less, depending on the exact CMB map and simulation construction. This was the sample that formed the basis for the original detection claim. For smaller angular separations the results are not robust to galaxy type or CMB cleaning method, and we are unable to draw firm conclusions. The original analysis did not propose a specific, falsifiable physical correlation mechanism, and it is impossible to rule out any contribution from an underlying physical effect. However, given our calculations, the lack of signal from expanding the redshift range, and the lack of corroboration from other galaxy surveys, we do not find the evidence for a new CMB foreground signal compelling.

Keywords: cosmic microwave background radiation; observational cosmology
2D Retrieval Frameworks for Hot Jupiter Phase Curves

Spectroscopic phase curves provide unique access to the three-dimensional properties of transiting exoplanet atmospheres. However, a modeling framework must be developed to deliver accurate inferences of atmospheric properties for these complex data sets. Here, we develop an approach to retrieve temperature structures and molecular abundances from phase curve spectra at any orbital phase. In the context of a representative hot Jupiter with a large day-night temperature contrast, we examine the biases in typical one-dimensional (1D) retrievals as a function of orbital phase/geometry, compared to two-dimensional (2D) models that appropriately capture the disk-integrated phase geometry. We guide our intuition by applying our new framework on a simulated Hubble Space Telescope (HST)+Spitzer phase curve data set in which the "truth" is known, followed by an application to the spectroscopic phase curve of the canonical hot Jupiter, WASP-43b. We also demonstrate the retrieval framework on simulated James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) phase curve observations. We apply our new geometric framework to a joint fit of all spectroscopic phases, assuming longitudinal molecular abundance homogeneity, resulting in an a factor of 2 improvement in abundances precision when compared to individual phase constraints. With a 1D retrieval model on simulated HST+Spitzer data, we find strongly biased molecular abundances for CH4 and CO2 at most orbital phases. With 2D, the day and night profiles retrieved from WASP-43b remain consistent throughout the orbit. JWST retrievals show that a 2D model is strongly favored at all orbital phases. Based on our new 2D retrieval implementation, we provide recommendations on when 1D models are appropriate and when more complex phase geometries involving multiple TP profiles are required to obtain an unbiased view of tidally locked planetary atmospheres.

Keywords: exoplanet atmospheres; exoplanet atmospheric composition; bayesian statistics; planetary atmospheres
NuSTAR Observations of Abell 2163: Constraints on Non-thermal Emission

Since the first non-thermal reports of inverse Compton (IC) emission from the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters at hard X-ray energies, we have yet to unambiguously confirm IC emission in observations with newer facilities. RXTE detected IC emission in one of the hottest known clusters, Abell 2163 (A2163), a massive merging cluster with a giant radio halo—the presumed source of relativistic electrons IC scattering CMB photons to X-ray energies. The cluster's redshift (z ∼ 0.2) allows its thermal and non-thermal radio emission to fit the field of view of the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), permitting a deep observation capable of confirming or ruling out the RXTE report. The IC flux provides constraints on the average magnetic field strength in a cluster. To determine the global diffuse IC emission in A2163, we fit its global NuSTAR spectrum with four models: single- (1T) and two-temperature (2T), 1T+power-law component (T+IC), and multi-temperature+power law (9T+IC). Each represents different characterizations of the thermal ICM emission, with power-law components added to represent IC emission. We find that the 3-30 keV spectrum can be described by purely thermal emission, with a global average temperature of kT = (11.8 ± 0.2) keV. The IC flux is constrained to <4.0 × 10-12 erg s-1 cm-2 using the 1T+IC model and <1.6 × 10-12 erg s-1 cm-2 with the more physical 9T+IC model, both to 90% confidence levels. Combining these limits with 1.4 GHz diffuse radio data from the VLA, we find the average magnetic field strength to be >0.22 μG and >0.35 μG, respectively, providing the strongest constraints on these values in A2163 to date.

Keywords: galaxy clusters; abell clusters; non-thermal radiation sources; x-ray sources
Detection of Galactic and Extragalactic Millimeter-wavelength Transient Sources with SPT-3G

High angular resolution cosmic microwave background experiments provide a unique opportunity to conduct a survey of time-variable sources at millimeter wavelengths, a population that has primarily been understood through follow-up measurements of detections in other bands. Here we report the first results of an astronomical transient survey with the South Pole Telescope (SPT) using the SPT-3G camera to observe 1500 deg2 of the southern sky. The observations took place from 2020 March to November in three bands centered at 95, 150, and 220 GHz. This survey yielded the detection of 15 transient events from sources not previously detected by the SPT. The majority are associated with variable stars of different types, expanding the number of such detected flares by more than a factor of two. The stellar flares are unpolarized and bright, in some cases exceeding 1 Jy, and have durations from a few minutes to several hours. Another population of detected events last for 2-3 weeks and appear to be extragalactic in origin. Though data availability at other wavelengths is limited, we find evidence for concurrent optical activity for two of the stellar flares. Future data from SPT-3G and forthcoming instruments will provide real-time detection of millimeter-wave transients on timescales of minutes to months.

Keywords: stellar flares; active galactic nuclei; high energy astrophysics; transient detection; transient sources; millimeter astronomy; surveys
High-energy Neutrinos from Choked Gamma-Ray Bursts in Active Galactic Nucleus Accretion Disks

Both long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) from the core collapse of massive stars and short-duration GRBs (SGRBs) from mergers of a binary neutron star or a neutron star-black hole are expected to occur in the accretion disk of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We show that GRB jets embedded in the migration traps of AGN disks are promised to be choked by the dense disk material. Efficient shock acceleration of cosmic rays at the reverse shock is expected, and high-energy neutrinos would be produced. We find that these sources can effectively produce detectable TeV-PeV neutrinos through pγ interactions. From a choked LGRB jet with isotropic equivalent energy of 1053 erg at 100 Mpc, one expects ∼2(7) neutrino events detectable by IceCube (IceCube-Gen2). The contribution from choked LGRBs to the observed diffuse neutrino background depends on the unknown local event rate density of these GRBs in AGN disks. For example, if the local event rate density of choked LGRBs in an AGN disk is ∼5% that of low-luminosity GRBs (∼10 Gpc-3 yr-1), the neutrinos from these events would contribute to ∼10% of the observed diffuse neutrino background. Choked SGRBs in AGN disks are potential sources for future joint electromagnetic, neutrino, and gravitational wave multimessenger observations.

Keywords: cosmological neutrinos; gamma-ray bursts; neutron stars; black holes; active galactic nuclei; gravitational waves