adsabs/SciX_UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Cosmic-Ray Acceleration and Nonthermal Radiation at Accretion Shocks in the Outer Regions of Galaxy Clusters

Cosmology models predict that external accretion shocks form in the outer region of galaxy clusters owing to supersonic gas infall from filaments and voids in the cosmic web. They are characterized by high sonic and Alfvénic Mach numbers, M s ~ 10-102 and M A ~ 102-103, and propagate into weakly magnetized plasmas of β ≡ P g /P B ≳ 102. Although strong accretion shocks are expected to be efficient accelerators of cosmic rays (CRs), nonthermal signatures of shock-accelerated CRs around clusters have not been confirmed, and detailed acceleration physics at such shocks has yet to be understood. In this study, we first establish through two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that at strong high-β shocks electrons can be pre-energized via stochastic Fermi acceleration owing to the ion Weibel instability in the shock transition region, possibly followed by injection into diffusive shock acceleration. Hence, we propose that the models derived from conventional thermal leakage injection may be employed for the acceleration of electrons and ions at accretion shocks as well. Applying these analytic models to numerical shock zones identified in structure formation simulations, we estimate nonthermal radiation, such as synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) emission due to CR electrons and π 0-decay γ-rays due to CR protons, around simulated clusters. Our models with injection parameter Q ≈ 3.5-3.8 predict synthetic synchrotron maps, which seem consistent with recent radio observations of the Coma Cluster. However, the detection of nonthermal IC X-rays and γ-rays from accretion shocks would be quite challenging. We suggest that the proposed analytic models may be adopted as generic recipes for CR production at cosmological shocks.

Keywords: cosmic rays; shocks; galaxy clusters; non-thermal radiation sources
No Need for an Extreme Jet Energy in the Black Hole X-Ray Binary MAXI J1348-630

We model interaction with the surrounding medium of the main discrete jet ejection in the accreting black hole binary MAXI J1348-630. The kinetic energy in the ejection of that jet was estimated before to be >1046 erg. That energy requires that the jet power was about 2 orders of magnitude above the limit corresponding to a magnetically arrested accretion onto a maximally rotating black hole. That large estimate was obtained by considering the initial ballistic jet propagation in a surrounding cavity followed by a sudden deceleration in interstellar medium under the assumption of its standard density of ~1 cm-3. Such densities are likely in the surrounding of this source given its location in the Galactic plane. Here, we show that the estimate of the kinetic energy can be reduced to realistic values of ~1044 erg by considering the presence of a transition layer with an exponential density growth separating the cavity and the interstellar medium. In that case, the jet is found to decelerate mostly in the transition layer, in regions with densities ≪1 cm-3, which strongly reduces the energy requirement. Still, the required jet masses are large, ruling out the presence of a significant number of electron-positron pairs.

Keywords: relativistic jets; x-ray binary stars; accretion; galactic radio sources
Color Gradients along the Quiescent Galaxy Sequence: Clues to Quenching and Structural Growth

This Letter examines how the sizes, structures, and color gradients of galaxies change along the quiescent sequence. Our sample consists of ∼400 quiescent galaxies at 1.0 ≤ z ≤ 2.5 and $10.1\leqslant \mathrm{log}{M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot }\leqslant 11.6$ in three CANDELS fields. We exploit deep multi-band Hubble Space Telescope imaging to derive accurate mass profiles and color gradients, then use an empirical calibration from rest-frame UVJ colors to estimate galaxy ages. We find that—contrary to previous results—the youngest quiescent galaxies are not significantly smaller than older quiescent galaxies at fixed stellar mass. These "post-starburst" galaxies only appear smaller in half-light radii because they have systematically flatter color gradients. The strength of color gradients in quiescent galaxies is a clear function of age, with older galaxies exhibiting stronger negative color gradients (i.e., redder centers). Furthermore, we find that the central mass surface density Σ1 is independent of age at fixed stellar mass, and only weakly depends on redshift. This finding implies that the central mass profiles of quiescent galaxies do not significantly change with age; however, we find that older quiescent galaxies have additional mass at large radii. Our results support the idea that building a massive core is a necessary requirement for quenching beyond z = 1, and indicate that post-starburst galaxies are the result of a rapid quenching process that requires structural change. Furthermore, our observed color gradient and mass profile evolution supports a scenario where quiescent galaxies grow inside-out via minor mergers.

Keywords: galaxy evolution; galaxy quenching; galaxy formation; galaxy structure
The Evolution of the Lyman-alpha Luminosity Function during Reionization

The time frame in which hydrogen reionization occurred is highly uncertain, but can be constrained by observations of Lyman-alpha (Lyα) emission from distant sources. Neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) attenuates Lyα photons emitted by galaxies. As reionization progressed the IGM opacity decreased, increasing Lyα visibility. The galaxy Lyα luminosity function (LF) is thus a useful tool to constrain the timeline of reionization. In this work, we model the Lyα LF as a function of redshift, z = 5-10, and average IGM neutral hydrogen fraction, ${\overline{x}}_{{\rm\small{H\unicode{x0026A}}}}$ . We combine the Lyα luminosity probability distribution obtained from inhomogeneous reionization simulations with a model for the UV LF to model the Lyα LF. As the neutral fraction increases, the average number density of Lyα emitting galaxies decreases, and are less luminous, though for ${\overline{x}}_{{\rm\small{H\unicode{x0026A}}}}\lesssim 0.4$ there is only a small decrease in the Lyα LF. We use our model to infer the IGM neutral fraction at z = 6.6, 7.0, and 7.3 from observed Lyα LFs. We conclude that there is a significant increase in the neutral fraction with increasing redshift: ${\overline{x}}_{{\rm\small{H\unicode{x0026A}}}}(z=6.6)={0.08}_{-0.05}^{+0.08},{\overline{x}}_{{\rm\small{H\unicode{x0026A}}}}(z=7.0)=0.28\pm 0.05$ and ${\overline{x}}_{{\rm\small{H\unicode{x0026A}}}}(z=7.3)={0.83}_{-0.07}^{+0.06}$ . We predict trends in the Lyα luminosity density and Schechter parameters as a function of redshift and the neutral fraction. We find that the Lyα luminosity density decreases as the universe becomes more neutral. Furthermore, as the neutral fraction increases, the faint-end slope of the Lyα LF steepens, and the characteristic Lyα luminosity shifts to lower values; hence, we conclude that the evolving shape of the Lyα LF-not just its integral-is an important tool to study reionization.

Keywords: reionization; early universe; intergalactic medium; galaxy evolution; lyman-break galaxies; luminosity function
A Search for IceCube Sub-TeV Neutrinos Correlated with Gravitational-wave Events Detected By LIGO/Virgo

The LIGO/Virgo collaboration published the catalogs GWTC-1, GWTC-2.1, and GWTC-3 containing candidate gravitational-wave (GW) events detected during its runs O1, O2, and O3. These GW events can be possible sites of neutrino emission. In this paper, we present a search for neutrino counterparts of 90 GW candidates using IceCube DeepCore, the low-energy infill array of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The search is conducted using an unbinned maximum likelihood method, within a time window of 1000 s, and uses the spatial and timing information from the GW events. The neutrinos used for the search have energies ranging from a few GeV to several tens of TeV. We do not find any significant emission of neutrinos, and place upper limits on the flux and the isotropic-equivalent energy emitted in low-energy neutrinos. We also conduct a binomial test to search for source populations potentially contributing to neutrino emission. We report a nondetection of a significant neutrino-source population with this test.

Keywords: neutrino astronomy; neutrino telescopes; gravitational waves; gravitational wave astronomy; particle astrophysics
The Evaporating Massive Embedded Stellar Cluster IRS 13 Close to Sgr A*. II. Kinematic Structure

The existence of two distinct and apparently unrelated populations of dusty stellar objects in the Nuclear Stellar Cluster of the Milky Way, namely IRS 13 and the S-cluster, are potentially prone to a general process describing the star formation history in the Galactic center (GC). The former cluster is thought to be entangled in the clockwise and counterclockwise disks, a large-scale stellar distribution revealed by the analysis of stars at different distances from Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in the GC. Recently, this large-scale distribution was reported to exhibit a multidisk structure with at least four components. Motivated by this finding, we revisit the anisotropic IRS 13 cluster and find strong evidence for a disk-like structure. An examination of about 50 individual stellar orbits reveals a new structure that does not follow any trend known in the literature. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of an inspiral cluster undergoing star formation processes, as proposed by several authors. Using a simplified N-body simulation to reproduce our observational results, we conclude that, under certain conditions, a massive cluster can migrate from the Circum Nuclear Disk toward the inner parsec. Based on this classification, we revisit the large-scale NACO Very Large Telescope (VLT) observations of IRS 13 and find evidence for a separation of the cluster into a gravitationally stable core remnant and a dissipating part. With the velocity-resolved H30α line and the broadband spectral energy distribution of IRS 13 E3, we provide tentative support for the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole of ∼3 × 104 M ⊙ surrounded by a hot gaseous stream.

Keywords: supermassive black holes; galactic center; young stellar objects; young massive clusters; intermediate-mass black holes
The White Dwarfs of the Old, Solar-metallicity Open Star Cluster Messier 67: Properties and Progenitors

The old, solar-metallicity open cluster Messier 67 has long been considered a lynchpin in the study and understanding of the structure and evolution of solar-type stars. The same is arguably true for stellar remnants; the white dwarf population of M67 provides crucial observational data for understanding and interpreting white dwarf populations and evolution. In this work, we determine the white dwarf masses and derive their progenitor star masses using high signal-to-noise spectroscopy of warm (≳10,000 K) DA white dwarfs in the cluster. From this, we are able to derive each white dwarf's position on the initial-final mass relation (IFMR), with an average MWD = 0.60 ± 0.01 M⊙ and progenitor mass Mi = 1.52 ± 0.04 M⊙. These values are fully consistent with recently published linear and piecewise linear fits to the semiempirical IFMR and provide a crucial, precise anchor point for the IFMR for solar-metallicity, low-mass stars. The mean mass of M67 white dwarfs is also consistent with the sharp narrow peak in the local field white dwarf mass distribution, indicating that a majority of recently formed field white dwarfs come from stars with progenitor masses of ≈1.5 M⊙. Our results enable more precise modeling of the Galactic star formation rate encoded in the field white dwarf mass distribution. * Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Keywords: white dwarf stars; open star clusters; stellar evolution
Chemistry in Externally FUV-irradiated Disks in the Outskirts of the Orion Nebula Cluster

Most stars are born in stellar clusters, and their protoplanetary disks, which are the birthplaces of planets, can, therefore, be affected by the radiation of nearby massive stars. However, little is known about the chemistry of externally irradiated disks, including whether or not their properties are similar to the so-far better-studied isolated disks. Motivated by this question, we present ALMA Band 6 observations of two irradiated Class II protoplanetary disks in the outskirts of the Orion Nebula Cluster to explore the chemical composition of disks exposed to (external) far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation fields: the 216-0939 disk and the binary system 253-1536A/B, which are exposed to radiation fields of 102–103 times the average interstellar radiation field. We detect lines from CO isotopologues, HCN, H2CO, and C2H toward both protoplanetary disks. Based on the observed disk-integrated line fluxes and flux ratios, we do not find significant differences between isolated and irradiated disks. The observed differences seem to be more closely related to the different stellar masses than to the external radiation field. This suggests that these disks are far enough away from the massive Trapezium stars, that their chemistry is no longer affected by external FUV radiation. Additional observations toward lower-mass disks and disks closer to the massive Trapezium stars are required to elucidate the level of external radiation required to make an impact on the chemistry of planet formation in different kinds of disks.

Keywords: astrochemistry; circumstellar matter; interstellar molecules; protoplanetary disks; submillimeter astronomy
Different Degrees of Nitrogen and Carbon Depletion in the Warm Molecular Layers of Protoplanetary Disks

Observations have revealed that the elemental abundances of carbon and oxygen in the warm molecular layers of some protoplanetary disks are depleted compared to those in the interstellar medium by a factor of ~10-100. Meanwhile, little is known about nitrogen. To investigate the time evolution of nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen elemental abundances in disks, we develop a one-dimensional plane-parallel model that incorporates dust settling, turbulent diffusion of dust and ices, as well as gas-ice chemistry including the chemistry driven by stellar UV/X-rays and galactic cosmic rays. We find that gaseous CO in the warm molecular layer is converted to CO2 ice and locked up near the midplane via the combination of turbulent mixing (i.e., the vertical cold finger effect) and ice chemistry driven by stellar UV photons. On the other hand, gaseous N2, the main nitrogen reservoir in the warm molecular layer, is less processed by ice chemistry and exists as it is. Then, nitrogen depletion occurs solely through the vertical cold finger effect of N2. As the binding energy of N2 is lower than that of CO and CO2, the degree of nitrogen depletion is smaller than that of carbon and oxygen depletion, leading to higher elemental abundance of nitrogen than that of carbon and oxygen. This evolution occurs within 1 Myr and proceeds further, when the α parameter for the diffusion coefficient is ≳10-3. Consequently, the N2H+/CO column density ratio increases with time. How the vertical transport affects the midplane ice composition is briefly discussed.

Keywords: astrochemistry; protoplanetary disks; interstellar molecules
The Geometry of Cold, Metal-enriched Gas around Galaxies at z ∼ 1.2

We present the first results from a Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3/Infrared program, which obtained direct imaging and grism observations of galaxies near quasar sightlines with a high frequency of uncorrelated foreground Mg II absorption. These highly efficient observations targeted 54 Mg II absorbers along the line of sight to nine quasars at z(qso ∼ 2. We find that 89% of the absorbers in the range of 0.64 < z < 1.6 can be spectroscopically matched to at least one galaxy with an impact parameter of less than 200 kpc and ∣Δz∣/(1 + z) < 0.006. We have estimated the star formation rates and measured structural parameters for all detected galaxies with impact parameters in the range of 7-200 kpc and star formation rates greater than 1.3 M⊙ yr-1. We find that galaxies associated with Mg II absorption have significantly higher mean star formation rates and marginally higher mean star formation rate surface densities compared to galaxies with no detected Mg II. Nearly half of the Mg II absorbers match more than one galaxy, and the mean equivalent width of the Mg II absorption is found to be greater for groups, compared to isolated galaxies. Additionally, we observe a significant redshift evolution in the physical extent of Mg II-absorbing gas around galaxies and evidence of an enhancement of Mg II within 50° of the minor axis, characteristic of outflows, which persists to 80 kpc around the galaxies, in agreement with recent predictions from simulations.

Keywords: quasar absorption line spectroscopy; galaxy evolution; galaxy winds; circumgalactic medium
The Ionizing Spectra of Extremely Metal-poor O Stars: Constraints from the Only H II Region in Leo P

Metal-poor, star-forming dwarf galaxies produce extreme nebular emission and likely played a major role in cosmic reionization. Yet, determining their contribution to the high-redshift ionizing photon budget is hampered by the lack of observations constraining the ionizing spectra of individual massive stars more metal-poor than the Magellanic Clouds (20%-50% Z ⊙). We present new Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) optical integral field unit spectroscopy of the only H II region in Leo P (3% Z ⊙), which is powered by a single O star. We calculate the required production rate of photons capable of ionizing hydrogen and helium from the observed Hβ and He I λ4471 emission-line fluxes. Remarkably, we find that the ionizing photon production rate and spectral hardness predicted by a TLUSTY model fit to the stellar spectral energy distribution agrees with our observational measurements within the uncertainties. We then fit CLOUDY photoionization models to the full suite of optical emission lines in the KCWI data and show that the shape of the same TLUSTY ionizing continuum simultaneously matches lines across a wide range of ionization energies. Finally, we detect O III] and N III] nebular emission in the Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet spectrum of the Leo P H II region, and highlight that the rarely observed N III] emission cannot be explained by our CLOUDY models. These results provide the first observational evidence that widely used, yet purely theoretical, model spectra accurately predict the ionizing photon production rate from late-O stars at very low metallicity, validating their use to model metal-poor galaxies both locally and at high redshift.

Keywords: h ii regions; massive stars; photoionization; stellar atmospheres; stellar abundances
Radio-only and Radio-to-far-ultraviolet Spectral Energy Distribution Modeling of 14 ULIRGs: Insights into the Global Properties of Infrared Bright Galaxies

We present detailed spectral energy distribution (SED) modeling of 14 local ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) with outstanding photometric data from the literature covering the ultraviolet–infrared (FIR) and radio bands (∼50 MHz to ∼30 GHz). We employ the CIGALE SED fitting code to model the ultraviolet–FIR–radio SED. For the radio-only SED modeling, we use the UltraNest package, leveraging its nested sampling algorithm. Combining the results from our previous study on 11 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), we discuss the global astrophysical properties of a sample of 25 starburst galaxies (z < 0.5). Their radio spectra are frequently characterized by bends and turnovers, with no indication of ULIRGs exhibiting more complicated SEDs than LIRGs despite showing more signs of interactions. Including radio measurements in the CIGALE modeling constrained the dust luminosity and star formation rate (SFR) estimates by more than 1 order of magnitude better than previously reported for starburst galaxies. We show that total and nonthermal radio luminosity at 1.4 and 4.8 GHz frequencies can be good estimators of recent SFRs for all LIRGs and those ULIRGS with an insignificant influence of active galactic nuclei. A weaker but still significant correlation is observed between radio SFRs at 1.4 GHz and old (averaged over 100 Myr) SFRs based on SED modeling, indicative of multiple episodes of starburst activity during their lifetime. The thermal radio luminosity at 4.8 GHz is a better tracer of recent star formation than the thermal luminosity at 1.4 GHz. Statistically, our modeled nonthermal radio spectral indices do not significantly correlate with redshift, stellar mass, SFR, specific SFR, and dust mass.

Keywords: radio continuum emission; ultraluminous infrared galaxies; spectral energy distribution; galaxy photometry; interstellar medium
HAWC Study of the Very-high-energy γ-Ray Spectrum of HAWC J1844-034

Recently, the region surrounding eHWC J1842-035 has been studied extensively by γ-ray observatories due to its extended emission reaching up to a few hundred TeV and potential as a hadronic accelerator. In this work, we use 1910 days of cumulative data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory to carry out a dedicated systematic source search of the eHWC J1842-035 region. During the search, we found three sources in the region, namely, HAWC J1844-034, HAWC J1843-032, and HAWC J1846-025. We have identified HAWC J1844-034 as the extended source that emits photons with energies up to 175 TeV. We compute the spectrum for HAWC J1844-034, and by comparing with the observational results from other experiments, we have identified HESS J1843-033, LHAASO J1843-0338, and TASG J1844-038 as very-high-energy γ-ray sources with a matching origin. Also, we present and use the multiwavelength data to fit the hadronic and leptonic particle spectra. We have identified four pulsar candidates in the nearby region in which PSR J1844-0346 is found to be the most likely candidate due to its proximity to HAWC J1844-034 and the computed energy budget. We have also found SNR G28.6-0.1 as a potential counterpart source of HAWC J1844-034 for which both leptonic and hadronic scenarios are feasible.

Keywords: gamma-ray sources; pulsars; supernova remnants
Compact Dust Emission in a Gravitationally Lensed Massive Quiescent Galaxy at z = 2.15 Revealed in 130 pc Resolution Observations by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array

We present new observations of MRG-M2129, a quiescent galaxy at z = 2.15, with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). With the combination of the effect of gravitational lensing by the foreground galaxy cluster and the angular resolution provided by ALMA, our data reveal 1.2 mm continuum emission at ~130 pc angular resolution. Compact dust continuum is detected at 7.9σ in the target but displaced from its stellar peak position by 62 ± 38 mas, or ~169 ± 105 pc in the source plane. We find a considerably high dust-to-stellar mass ratio, 4 × 10-4. From nondetection of the [C I] 3P2 → 3P1 line, we derive 3σ upper limits on the molecular gas-to-dust mass ratio δ GDR < 60 and the molecular gas-to-stellar mass ratio f H2 < 2.3%. The derived δ GDR is ≳2× smaller than the typical value assumed for quiescent galaxies in the literature. Our study supports the idea that there exists a broad range of δ GDR and urges submillimeter follow-up observations of quenching/recently quenched galaxies at similar redshifts. Based on the inferred low δ GDR and other observed properties, we argue that the central black hole is still active and regulates star formation in the system. Our study exhibits a rare case of a gravitationally lensed type 2 QSO harbored by a quiescent galaxy.

Keywords: galaxies; active galactic nuclei; gas-to-dust ratio; galaxy quenching