The 100 most-cited articles in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2021

ABSTRACT The ensemble of chemical element abundance measurements for stars, along with precision distances and orbit properties, provides high-dimensional data to study the evolution of the Milky Way. With this third data release of the Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey, we publish 678 423 spectra for 588 571 mostly nearby stars (81.2 per cent of stars are within <2 kpc), observed with the HERMES spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This release (hereafter GALAH+ DR3) includes all observations from GALAH Phase 1 (bright, main, and faint survey, 70 per cent), K2-HERMES (17 per cent), TESS-HERMES (5 per cent), and a subset of ancillary observations (8 per cent) including the bulge and >75 stellar clusters. We derive stellar parameters Teff, log g, [Fe/H], vmic, vbroad, and vrad using our modified version of the spectrum synthesis code Spectroscopy Made Easy (sme) and 1D marcs model atmospheres. We break spectroscopic degeneracies in our spectrum analysis with astrometry from Gaia DR2 and photometry from 2MASS. We report abundance ratios [X/Fe] for 30 different…

ABSTRACT We use the data from Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) to study the kinematic properties of Milky Way globular clusters. We measure the mean parallaxes and proper motions (PM) for 170 clusters, determine the PM dispersion profiles for more than 100 clusters, uncover rotation signatures in more than 20 objects, and find evidence for radial or tangential PM anisotropy in a dozen richest clusters. At the same time, we use the selection of cluster members to explore the reliability and limitations of the Gaia catalogue itself. We find that the formal uncertainties on parallax and PM are underestimated by $10{-}20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in dense central regions even for stars that pass numerous quality filters. We explore the spatial covariance function of systematic errors, and determine a lower limit on the uncertainty of average parallaxes and PM at the level 0.01 mas and 0.025 mas yr$^{-1}$ , respectively. Finally, a comparison of mean parallaxes of clusters with distances from various literature sources suggests that the parallaxes for stars with $G>13$ (after applying the…

ABSTRACT We construct from Gaia eDR3 an extensive catalogue of spatially resolved binary stars within ≈1 kpc of the Sun, with projected separations ranging from a few au to 1 pc. We estimate the probability that each pair is a chance alignment empirically, using the Gaia catalogue itself to calculate the rate of chance alignments as a function of observables. The catalogue contains 1.3 (1.1) million binaries with >90 per cent (>99 per cent) probability of being bound, including 16 000 white dwarf – main-sequence (WD + MS) binaries and 1400 WD + WD binaries. We make the full catalogue publicly available, as well as the queries and code to produce it. We then use this sample to calibrate the published Gaia DR3 parallax uncertainties, making use of the binary components’ near-identical parallaxes. We show that these uncertainties are generally reliable for faint stars (G ≳ 18), but are underestimated significantly for brighter stars. The underestimates are generally $\leq30{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ for isolated sources with well-behaved astrometry, but are larger (up to ∼80 per cent) for…

ABSTRACT Numerical methods have become a powerful tool for research in astrophysics, but their utility depends critically on the availability of suitable simulation codes. This calls for continuous efforts in code development, which is necessitated also by the rapidly evolving technology underlying today’s computing hardware. Here, we discuss recent methodological progress in the gadget code, which has been widely applied in cosmic structure formation over the past two decades. The new version offers improvements in force accuracy, in time-stepping, in adaptivity to a large dynamic range in time-scales, in computational efficiency, and in parallel scalability through a special MPI/shared-memory parallelization and communication strategy, and a more-sophisticated domain decomposition algorithm. A manifestly momentum conserving fast multipole method (FMM) can be employed as an alternative to the one-sided TreePM gravity solver introduced in earlier versions. Two different flavours of smoothed particle hydrodynamics, a classic entropy-conserving formulation and a pressure-based…

ABSTRACT We have derived accurate distances to Galactic globular clusters by combining data from the Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) with distances based on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data and literature-based distances. We determine distances either directly from the Gaia EDR3 parallaxes, or kinematically by combining line-of-sight velocity dispersion profiles with Gaia EDR3 and HST-based proper motion velocity dispersion profiles. We furthermore calculate cluster distances from fitting nearby subdwarfs, whose absolute luminosities we determine from their Gaia EDR3 parallaxes, to globular cluster main sequences. We finally use HST-based stellar number counts to determine distances. We find good agreement in the average distances derived from the different methods down to a level of about 2 per cent. Combining all available data, we are able to derive distances to 162 Galactic globular clusters, with the distances to about 20 nearby globular clusters determined with an accuracy of 1 per cent or better. We finally discuss the implications of our distances for the value of the…

ABSTRACT We present a catalogue of white dwarf candidates selected from Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3). We applied several selection criteria in absolute magnitude, colour, and Gaia quality flags to remove objects with unreliable measurements while preserving most stars compatible with the white dwarf locus in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. We then used a sample of over 30 000 spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs and contaminants from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to map the distribution of these objects in the Gaia absolute magnitude–colour space. Finally, we adopt the same method presented in our previous work on Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) to calculate a probability of being a white dwarf (PWD) for ≃1.3 million sources that passed our quality selection. The PWD values can be used to select a sample of ${\simeq} 359\,000$ high-confidence white dwarf candidates. We calculated stellar parameters (effective temperature, surface gravity, and mass) for all these stars by fitting Gaia astrometry and photometry with synthetic pure-H, pure-He, and mixed H–He atmospheric…

ABSTRACT We present an updated version of the hmcode augmented halo model that can be used to make accurate predictions of the non-linear matter power spectrum over a wide range of cosmologies. Major improvements include modelling of baryon-acoustic oscillation (BAO) damping in the power spectrum and an updated treatment of massive neutrinos. We fit our model to simulated power spectra and show that we can match the results with an root mean square (RMS) error of 2.5 per cent across a range of cosmologies, scales $k \lt 10\, h\, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, and redshifts z < 2. The error rarely exceeds 5 per cent and never exceeds 16 per cent. The worst-case errors occur at z ≃ 2, or for cosmologies with unusual dark energy equations of state. This represents a significant improvement over previous versions of hmcode, and over other popular fitting functions, particularly for massive-neutrino cosmologies with high neutrino mass. We also present a simple halo model that can be used to model the impact of baryonic feedback on the power spectrum. This six-parameter physical model includes gas…

ABSTRACT We searched for an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background in the second data release of the International Pulsar Timing Array, a global collaboration synthesizing decadal-length pulsar-timing campaigns in North America, Europe, and Australia. In our reference search for a power-law strain spectrum of the form $h_c = A(f/1\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1})^{\alpha }$, we found strong evidence for a spectrally similar low-frequency stochastic process of amplitude $A = 3.8^{+6.3}_{-2.5}\times 10^{-15}$ and spectral index α = −0.5 ± 0.5, where the uncertainties represent 95 per cent credible regions, using information from the auto- and cross-correlation terms between the pulsars in the array. For a spectral index of α = −2/3, as expected from a population of inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries, the recovered amplitude is $A = 2.8^{+1.2}_{-0.8}\times 10^{-15}$. None the less, no significant evidence of the Hellings–Downs correlations that would indicate a gravitational-wave origin was found. We also analysed the constituent data from the individual pulsar timing arrays…

ABSTRACT In this study, we follow up our recent paper (Monteiro et al. 2020) and present a homogeneous sample of fundamental parameters of open clusters in our Galaxy, entirely based on Gaia DR2 data. We used published membership probability of the stars derived from Gaia DR2 data and applied our isochrone fitting code, updated as in Monteiro et al. (2020), to GBP and GRPGaia DR2 data for member stars. In doing this, we take into account the nominal errors in the data and derive distance, age, and extinction of each cluster. This work therefore provides parameters for 1743 open clusters and, as a by-product, a list of likely not physical or dubious open clusters is provided as well for future investigations. Furthermore, it was possible to estimate the mean radial velocity of 831 clusters (198 of which are new and unpublished so far), using stellar radial velocities from Gaia DR2 catalogue. By comparing the open cluster distances obtained from isochrone fitting with those obtained from a maximum likelihood estimate of individual member parallaxes, we found a systematic offset of…

ABSTRACT We present results from the search for a stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) as predicted by the theory of General Relativity using six radio millisecond pulsars from the Data Release 2 (DR2) of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) covering a timespan up to 24 yr. A GWB manifests itself as a long-term low-frequency stochastic signal common to all pulsars, a common red signal (CRS), with the characteristic Hellings-Downs (HD) spatial correlation. Our analysis is performed with two independent pipelines, ENTERPRISE, and TEMPONEST+FORTYTWO, which produce consistent results. A search for a CRS with simultaneous estimation of its spatial correlations yields spectral properties compatible with theoretical GWB predictions, but does not result in the required measurement of the HD correlation, as required for GWB detection. Further Bayesian model comparison between different types of CRSs, including a GWB, finds the most favoured model to be the common uncorrelated red noise described by a power law with $A = 5.13_{-2.73}^{+4.20} \times 10^{-15}$ and $\gamma =…

ABSTRACT We introduce the Uchuu suite of large high-resolution cosmological N-body simulations. The largest simulation, named Uchuu, consists of 2.1 trillion (12 8003) dark matter particles in a box of side-length 2.0 $\, h^{-1} \, \rm Gpc$, with particle mass of 3.27 × 108$\, h^{-1}\, \rm M_{\odot }$. The highest resolution simulation, Shin-Uchuu, consists of 262 billion (64003) particles in a box of side-length 140 $\, h^{-1} \, \rm Mpc$, with particle mass of 8.97 × 105$\, h^{-1}\, \rm M_{\odot }$. Combining these simulations, we can follow the evolution of dark matter haloes and subhaloes spanning those hosting dwarf galaxies to massive galaxy clusters across an unprecedented volume. In this first paper, we present basic statistics, dark matter power spectra, and the halo and subhalo mass functions, which demonstrate the wide dynamic range and superb statistics of the Uchuu suite. From an analysis of the evolution of the power spectra, we conclude that our simulations remain accurate from the baryon acoustic oscillation scale down to the very small. We also provide parameters of…

ABSTRACT This paper investigates whether changes to late-time physics can resolve the ‘Hubble tension’. It is argued that many of the claims in the literature favouring such solutions are caused by a misunderstanding of how distance ladder measurements actually work and, in particular, by the inappropriate use of a distance ladder H0 prior. A dynamics-free inverse distance ladder shows that changes to late-time physics are strongly constrained observationally and cannot resolve the discrepancy between the SH0ES data and the base ΛCDM cosmology inferred from Planck. We propose a statistically rigorous scheme to replace the use of H0 priors.

ABSTRACT We introduce the thesan project, a suite of large volume ($L_\mathrm{box} = 95.5 \, \mathrm{cMpc}$) radiation-magnetohydrodynamic simulations that simultaneously model the large-scale statistical properties of the intergalactic medium during reionization and the resolved characteristics of the galaxies responsible for it. The flagship simulation has dark matter and baryonic mass resolutions of $3.1 \times 10^6\, {\rm M_\odot }$ and $5.8 \times 10^5\, {\rm M_\odot }$, respectively. The gravitational forces are softened on scales of 2.2 ckpc with the smallest cell sizes reaching 10 pc at z = 5.5, enabling predictions down to the atomic cooling limit. The simulations use an efficient radiation hydrodynamics solver (arepo-rt) that precisely captures the interaction between ionizing photons and gas, coupled to well-tested galaxy formation (IllustrisTNG) and dust models to accurately predict the properties of galaxies. Through a complementary set of medium resolution simulations we investigate the changes to reionization introduced by different assumptions for ionizing escape…

ABSTRACT We present the public data release of the AbacusSummit cosmological N-body simulation suite, produced with the Abacus N-body code on the Summit supercomputer of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. Abacus achieves $\mathcal {O}(10^{-5})$ median fractional force error at superlative speeds, calculating 70M particle updates per second per node at early times, and 45M particle updates per second per node at late times. The simulation suite totals roughly 60 trillion particles, the core of which is a set of 139 simulations with particle mass $2\times 10^{9}\, h^{-1}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ in box size $2\, h^{-1}\, \mathrm{Gpc}$. The suite spans 97 cosmological models, including Planck 2018, previous flagship simulation cosmologies, and a linear derivative and cosmic emulator grid. A subsuite of 1883 boxes of size $500\, h^{-1}\, \mathrm{Mpc}$ is available for covariance estimation. AbacusSummit data products span 33 epochs from z = 8 to 0.1 and include light cones, full particle snapshots, halo catalogues, and particle subsets sampled consistently across redshift.…

ABSTRACT The recently obtained hairy Kerr black holes, due to additional sources or surrounding fluid, like dark matter, with conserved energy-momentum tensor, have a deviation α and primary hair l0, apart from rotation parameter a and mass M. In the wake of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of the supermassive black hole M87*, a recent surge in interest in black hole shadows suggests comparing the black holes in general relativity and modified theories of gravity to assess these models’ differences. Motivated by this, we take on an extensive study of the rotating hairy Kerr black holes, which encompasses, in particular cases, the Kerr black hole (α = 0). We investigate ergosphere and shadows of the black holes to infer that their size and shape are affected due to the l0 and are found to harbour a richer chaotic structure. In particular, the hairy Kerr black holes possess smaller size but more distorted shadows when compared with Kerr black holes. We also estimate the parameters l0 and a associated with hairy Kerr black holes using the shadow observables. The inferred…

ABSTRACT We present Galaxy Zoo DECaLS: detailed visual morphological classifications for Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey images of galaxies within the SDSS DR8 footprint. Deeper DECaLS images (r = 23.6 versus r = 22.2 from SDSS) reveal spiral arms, weak bars, and tidal features not previously visible in SDSS imaging. To best exploit the greater depth of DECaLS images, volunteers select from a new set of answers designed to improve our sensitivity to mergers and bars. Galaxy Zoo volunteers provide 7.5 million individual classifications over 314 000 galaxies. 140 000 galaxies receive at least 30 classifications, sufficient to accurately measure detailed morphology like bars, and the remainder receive approximately 5. All classifications are used to train an ensemble of Bayesian convolutional neural networks (a state-of-the-art deep learning method) to predict posteriors for the detailed morphology of all 314 000 galaxies. We use active learning to focus our volunteer effort on the galaxies which, if labelled, would be most informative for training our ensemble. When measured against…

ABSTRACT We present the BACCO project, a simulation framework specially designed to provide highly-accurate predictions for the distribution of mass, galaxies, and gas as a function of cosmological parameters. In this paper, we describe our main suite of gravity-only simulations ($L\sim 2\,$ Gpc and 43203 particles) and present various validation tests. Using a cosmology-rescaling technique, we predict the non-linear mass power spectrum over the redshift range 0 < z < 1.5 and over scales $10^{-2} \lt k/(\, h\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}) \lt 5$ for 800 points in an eight-dimensional cosmological parameter space. For an efficient interpolation of the results, we build an emulator and compare its predictions against several widely-used methods. Over the whole range of scales considered, we expect our predictions to be accurate at the $2{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ level for parameters in the minimal Lambda cold dark matter model and to $3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ when extended to dynamical dark energy and massive neutrinos. We make our emulator publicly available under http://www.dipc.org/bacco

ABSTRACT A dark-energy, which behaves as the cosmological constant until a sudden phantom transition at very low redshift (z < 0.1), seems to solve the >4σ disagreement between the local and high-redshift determinations of the Hubble constant, while maintaining the phenomenological success of the Λ cold dark matter model with respect to the other observables. Here, we show that such a hockey-stick dark energy cannot solve the H0 crisis. The basic reason is that the supernova absolute magnitude MB that is used to derive the local H0 constraint is not compatible with the MB that is necessary to fit supernova, baryon acoustic oscillation, and cosmic microwave background data, and this disagreement is not solved by a sudden phantom transition at very low redshift. We make use of this example to show why it is preferable to adopt in the statistical analyses the prior on MB as an alternative to the prior on H0. The three reasons are: (i) one avoids potential double counting of low-redshift supernovae, (ii) one avoids assuming the validity of cosmography, in particular, fixing the…

ABSTRACT Within the Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, measurements from recent cosmic microwave background (CMB) and weak lensing (WL) surveys have uncovered a ∼3σ disagreement in the inferred value of the parameter $S_8 \equiv \sigma _8\sqrt{\Omega _\mathrm{ m}/0.3}$, quantifying the amplitude of late-time matter fluctuations. Before questioning whether the S8 discrepancy calls for new physics, it is important to assess the view of measurements other than CMB and WL ones on the discrepancy. Here, we examine the role of measurements of the growth rate f(z) in arbitrating the S8 discrepancy, considering measurements of fσ8(z) from redshift-space distortions (RSDs). Our baseline analysis combines RSD measurements with geometrical measurements from baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and Type Ia Supernovae (SNeIa), given the key role of the latter in constraining Ωm. From this combination and within the ΛCDM model, we find $S_8 = 0.762^{+0.030}_{-0.025}$, and quantify the agreement between RSD + BAO + SNeIa and Planck to be at the 2.2σ level: the mild disagreement is therefore…

ABSTRACT We present STARFORGE (STAR FORmation in Gaseous Environments): a new numerical framework for 3D radiation magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of star formation that simultaneously follow the formation, accretion, evolution, and dynamics of individual stars in massive giant molecular clouds (GMCs), while accounting for stellar feedback, including jets, radiative heating and momentum, stellar winds, and supernovae. We use the gizmo code with the MFM mesh-free Lagrangian MHD method, augmented with new algorithms for gravity, time-stepping, sink particle formation and accretion, stellar dynamics, and feedback coupling. We survey a wide range of numerical parameters/prescriptions for sink formation and accretion and find very small variations in star formation history and the IMF (except for intentionally unphysical variations). Modules for mass-injecting feedback (winds, SNe, and jets) inject new gas elements on the fly, eliminating the lack of resolution in diffuse feedback cavities otherwise inherent in Lagrangian methods. The treatment of radiation uses GIZMO’s radiative…

ABSTRACT We present and characterize the galaxy shape catalogue from the first 3 yr of Dark Energy Survey (DES) observations, over an effective area of 4143 deg2 of the southern sky. We describe our data analysis process and our self-calibrating shear measurement pipeline metacalibration, which builds and improves upon the pipeline used in the DES Year 1 analysis in several aspects. The DES Year 3 weak-lensing shape catalogue consists of 100 204 026 galaxies, measured in the riz bands, resulting in a weighted source number density of neff = 5.59 gal arcmin−2 and corresponding shape noise σe = 0.261. We perform a battery of internal null tests on the catalogue, including tests on systematics related to the point spread function (PSF) modelling, spurious catalogue B-mode signals, catalogue contamination, and galaxy properties.

ABSTRACT Determining the distribution of redshifts of galaxies observed by wide-field photometric experiments like the Dark Energy Survey (DES) is an essential component to mapping the matter density field with gravitational lensing. In this work we describe the methods used to assign individual weak lensing source galaxies from the DES Year 3 Weak Lensing Source Catalogue to four tomographic bins and to estimate the redshift distributions in these bins. As the first application of these methods to data, we validate that the assumptions made apply to the DES Y3 weak lensing source galaxies and develop a full treatment of systematic uncertainties. Our method consists of combining information from three independent likelihood functions: self-organizing map p(z) (sompz), a method for constraining redshifts from galaxy photometry; clustering redshifts (WZ), constraints on redshifts from cross-correlations of galaxy density functions; and shear ratios (SRs), which provide constraints on redshifts from the ratios of the galaxy-shear correlation functions at small scales. Finally, we…

ABSTRACT Spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way’s stars have revealed spatial, chemical, and kinematical structures that encode its history. In this work, we study their origins using a cosmological zoom simulation, VINTERGATAN, of a Milky Way-mass disc galaxy. We find that in connection to the last major merger at z ∼ 1.5, cosmological accretion leads to the rapid formation of an outer, metal-poor, low-[α/Fe] gas disc around the inner, metal-rich galaxy containing the old high-[α/Fe] stars. This event leads to a bimodality in [α/Fe] over a range of [Fe/H]. A detailed analysis of how the galaxy evolves since z ∼ 1 is presented. We demonstrate the way in which inside-out growth shapes the radial surface density and metallicity profile and how radial migration preferentially relocates stars from the inner disc to the outer disc. Secular disc heating is found to give rise to increasing velocity dispersions and scale heights with stellar age, which together with disc flaring explains several trends observed in the Milky Way, including shallower radial [Fe/H] profiles above the…

ABSTRACT The past decade has seen significant progress in understanding galaxy formation and evolution using large-scale cosmological simulations. While these simulations produce galaxies in overall good agreement with observations, they employ different sub-grid models for galaxies and supermassive black holes (BHs). We investigate the impact of the sub-grid models on the BH mass properties of the Illustris, TNG100, TNG300, Horizon-AGN, EAGLE, and SIMBA simulations, focusing on the MBH − M⋆ relation and the BH mass function. All simulations predict tight MBH − M⋆ relations, and struggle to produce BHs of $M_{\rm BH}\leqslant 10^{7.5}\, \rm M_{\odot }$ in galaxies of $M_{\star }\sim 10^{10.5}\!-\!10^{11.5}\, \rm M_{\odot }$. While the time evolution of the mean MBH − M⋆ relation is mild ($\rm \Delta M_{\rm BH}\leqslant 1\, dex$ for 0 $\leqslant z \leqslant$ 5) for all the simulations, its linearity (shape) and normalization varies from simulation to simulation. The strength of SN feedback has a large impact on the linearity and time evolution for $M_{\star }\leqslant 10^{10.5}\, \rm…

ABSTRACT We evaluate the redshift distribution of binary black hole (BBH), black hole–neutron star binary (BHNS), and binary neutron star (BNS) mergers, exploring the main sources of uncertainty: star formation rate (SFR) density, metallicity evolution, common envelope, mass transfer via Roche lobe overflow, natal kicks, core-collapse supernova model, and initial mass function. Among binary evolution processes, uncertainties on common envelope ejection have a major impact: the local merger rate density of BNSs varies from ∼103 to ∼20 Gpc−3 yr−1 if we change the common envelope efficiency parameter from αCE = 7 to 0.5, while the local merger rates of BBHs and BHNSs vary by a factor of ∼2–3. The BBH merger rate changes by one order of magnitude, when 1σ uncertainties on metallicity evolution are taken into account. In contrast, the BNS merger rate is almost insensitive to metallicity. Hence, BNSs are the ideal test bed to put constraints on uncertain binary evolution processes, such as common envelope and natal kicks. Only models assuming values of αCE ≳ 2 and moderately low natal…

ABSTRACT We present a new, updated version of the EuclidEmulator (called EuclidEmulator2), a fast and accurate predictor for the nonlinear correction of the matter power spectrum. 2 per cent level accurate emulation is now supported in the eight-dimensional parameter space of w0waCDM+∑mν models between redshift z = 0 and z = 3 for spatial scales within the range $0.01 \, h\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}\le k \le 10\, h\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$. In order to achieve this level of accuracy, we have had to improve the quality of the underlying N-body simulations used as training data: (i) we use self-consistent linear evolution of non-dark matter species such as massive neutrinos, photons, dark energy, and the metric field, (ii) we perform the simulations in the so-called N-body gauge, which allows one to interpret the results in the framework of general relativity, (iii) we run over 250 high-resolution simulations with 30003 particles in boxes of 1(h−1 Gpc)3 volumes based on paired-and-fixed initial conditions, and (iv) we provide a resolution correction that can be applied to emulated results as a…

ABSTRACT In this paper, we investigate how massive central galaxies cease their star formation by comparing theoretical predictions from cosmological simulations: EAGLE, Illustris, and IllustrisTNG with observations of the local Universe from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our machine learning (ML) classification reveals supermassive black hole mass (MBH) as the most predictive parameter in determining whether a galaxy is star forming or quenched at redshift z = 0 in all three simulations. This predicted consequence of active galactic nucleus (AGN) quenching is reflected in the observations, where it is true for a range of indirect estimates of MBH via proxies as well as its dynamical measurements. Our partial correlation analysis shows that other galactic parameters lose their strong association with quiescence, once their correlations with MBH are accounted for. In simulations, we demonstrate that it is the integrated power output of the AGN, rather than its instantaneous activity, which causes galaxies to quench. Finally, we analyse the change in molecular gas content of…

ABSTRACT We present the first sample of tidal disruption events (TDEs) discovered during the SRG all-sky survey. These 13 events were selected among X-ray transients detected in the 0° < l < 180° hemisphere by eROSITA during its second sky survey (2020 June 10 to December 14) and confirmed by optical follow-up observations. The most distant event occurred at z = 0.581. One TDE continued to brighten at least 6 months. The X-ray spectra are consistent with nearly critical accretion on to black holes of a few ×103 to $10^8\, \mathrm{ M}_\odot$, although supercritical accretion is possibly taking place. In two TDEs, a spectral hardening is observed 6 months after the discovery. Four TDEs showed an optical brightening apart from the X-ray outburst. The other nine TDEs demonstrate no optical activity. All 13 TDEs are optically faint, with Lg/LX < 0.3 (Lg and LX being the g band and 0.2–6 keV luminosity, respectively). We have constructed a TDE X-ray luminosity function, which can be fit by a power law with a slope of −0.6 ± 0.2, similar to the trend observed for optically selected TDEs.…

ABSTRACT The mean free path of ionizing photons, λmfp, is a key factor in the photoionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM). At z ≳ 5, however, λmfp may be short enough that measurements towards QSOs are biased by the QSO proximity effect. We present new direct measurements of λmfp that address this bias and extend up to z ∼ 6 for the first time. Our measurements at z ∼ 5 are based on data from the Giant Gemini GMOS survey and new Keck LRIS observations of low-luminosity QSOs. At z ∼ 6 we use QSO spectra from Keck ESI and VLT X-Shooter. We measure $\lambda _{\rm mfp} = 9.09^{+1.62}_{-1.28}$ proper Mpc and $0.75^{+0.65}_{-0.45}$ proper Mpc (68 per cent confidence) at z = 5.1 and 6.0, respectively. The results at z = 5.1 are consistent with existing measurements, suggesting that bias from the proximity effect is minor at this redshift. At z = 6.0, however, we find that neglecting the proximity effect biases the result high by a factor of two or more. Our measurement at z = 6.0 falls well below extrapolations from lower redshifts, indicating rapid evolution in λmfp over 5 < z < 6.…

ABSTRACT We make an in-depth comparison of the IllustrisTNG cosmological simulations with observed quenched fractions of central and satellite galaxies, for Mstars = 109–12 M⊙ at 0 ≤ z ≤ 3. We show how measurement choices [aperture, quenched definition, and star formation rate (SFR) indicator time-scale], as well as sample selection issues (projection effects, satellite/central misclassification, and host mass distribution sampling), impact this comparison. The quenched definition produces differences of up to 70 (30) percentage points for centrals (satellites) above ∼1010.5 M⊙. At z ≳ 2, a larger aperture within which SFR is measured suppresses the quenched fractions by up to ∼50 percentage points. Proper consideration of the stellar and host mass distributions is crucial: Naive comparisons to volume-limited samples from simulations lead to misinterpretation of the quenched fractions as a function of redshift by up to 20 percentage points. Including observational uncertainties to theoretical values of Mstars and SFR changes the quenched fraction values and their trend and/or slope…

ABSTRACT Close binaries suppress the formation of circumstellar (S-type) planets and therefore significantly bias the inferred planet occurrence rates and statistical trends. After compiling various radial velocity and high-resolution imaging surveys, we determine that binaries with a < 1 au fully suppress S-type planets, binaries with a = 10 au host close planets at 15$_{-12}^{+17}$ per cent the occurrence rate of single stars, and wide binaries with a > 200 au have a negligible effect on close planet formation. We show that F = 43 ± 7 per cent of solar-type primaries in magnitude-limited samples do not host close planets due to suppression by close stellar companions. By removing spectroscopic binaries from their samples, radial velocity surveys for giant planets boost their detection rates by a factor of 1/(1-F) = 1.8 ± 0.2 compared to transiting surveys. This selection bias fully accounts for the discrepancy in hot Jupiter and close Neptune occurrence rates inferred from these two detection methods. Correcting for both planet suppression by close binaries and transit dilution by…

ABSTRACT There is a large consensus that gas in high-z galaxies is highly turbulent, because of a combination of stellar feedback processes and gravitational instabilities driven by mergers and gas accretion. In this paper, we present the analysis of a sample of five Dusty Star Forming Galaxies (DSFGs) at 4 ≲ z ≲ 5. Taking advantage of the magnifying power of strong gravitational lensing, we quantified their kinematic and dynamical properties from ALMA observations of their [C ii] emission line. We combined the dynamical measurements obtained for these galaxies with those obtained from previous studies to build the largest sample of z ∼ 4.5 galaxies with high-quality data and sub-kpc spatial resolutions, so far. We found that all galaxies in the sample are dynamically cold, with rotation-to-random motion ratios, V/σ, between 7 and 15. The relation between their velocity dispersions and their star formation rates indicates that stellar feedback is sufficient to sustain the turbulence within these galaxies and no further mechanisms are needed. In addition, we performed a rotation…

ABSTRACT Mergers of black hole–neutron star (BHNS) binaries have now been observed by gravitational wave (GW) detectors with the recent announcement of GW200105 and GW200115. Such observations not only provide confirmation that these systems exist but will also give unique insights into the death of massive stars, the evolution of binary systems and their possible association with gamma-ray bursts, r-process enrichment, and kilonovae. Here, we perform binary population synthesis of isolated BHNS systems in order to present their merger rate and characteristics for ground-based GW observatories. We present the results for 420 different model permutations that explore key uncertainties in our assumptions about massive binary star evolution (e.g. mass transfer, common-envelope evolution, supernovae), and the metallicity-specific star formation rate density, and characterize their relative impacts on our predictions. We find intrinsic local BHNS merger rates spanning $\mathcal {R}_{\rm {m}}^0 \approx$ 4–830 $\, \rm {Gpc}^{-3}$$\, \rm {yr}^{-1}$ for our full range of assumptions. This…

ABSTRACT We explore hierarchical black hole (BH) mergers in nuclear star clusters (NSCs), globular clusters (GCs) and young star clusters (YSCs), accounting for both original and dynamically assembled binary BHs (BBHs). We find that the median mass of both first- and nth-generation dynamical mergers is larger in GCs and YSCs with respect to NSCs because the lighter BHs are ejected by supernova kicks from the lower mass clusters. Also, first- and nth-generation BH masses are strongly affected by the metallicity of the progenitor stars: the median mass of the primary BH of a nth-generation merger is ∼24–38 M⊙ (∼9–15 M⊙) in metal-poor (metal-rich) NSCs. The maximum BH mass mainly depends on the escape velocity: BHs with mass up to several thousand M⊙ form in NSCs, while YSCs and GCs host BHs with mass up to several hundred M⊙. Furthermore, we calculate the fraction of mergers with at least one component in the pair-instability mass gap (fPI) and in the intermediate-mass BH regime (fIMBH). In the fiducial model for dynamical BBHs with metallicity Z = 0.002, we find fPI ≈ 0.05, 0.02 and…

ABSTRACT We present improved methods for segmenting CO emission from galaxies into individual molecular clouds, providing an update to the cprops algorithms presented by Rosolowsky & Leroy. The new code enables both homogenization of the noise and spatial resolution among data, which allows for rigorous comparative analysis. The code also models the completeness of the data via false source injection and includes an updated segmentation approach to better deal with blended emission. These improved algorithms are implemented in a publicly available Python package, pycprops. We apply these methods to 10 of the nearest galaxies in the PHANGS-ALMA survey, cataloguing CO emission at a common 90 pc resolution and a matched noise level. We measure the properties of 4986 individual clouds identified in these targets. We investigate the scaling relations among cloud properties and the cloud mass distributions in each galaxy. The physical properties of clouds vary among galaxies, both as a function of galactocentric radius and as a function of dynamical environment. Overall, the clouds in our…

ABSTRACT We characterize mass, momentum, energy, and metal outflow rates of multiphase galactic winds in a suite of FIRE-2 cosmological ‘zoom-in’ simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) project. We analyse simulations of low-mass dwarfs, intermediate-mass dwarfs, Milky Way-mass haloes, and high-redshift massive haloes. Consistent with previous work, we find that dwarfs eject about 100 times more gas from their interstellar medium (ISM) than they form in stars, while this mass ‘loading factor’ drops below one in massive galaxies. Most of the mass is carried by the hot phase (>105 K) in massive haloes and the warm phase (103−105 K) in dwarfs; cold outflows (<103 K) are negligible except in high-redshift dwarfs. Energy, momentum, and metal loading factors from the ISM are of order unity in dwarfs and significantly lower in more massive haloes. Hot outflows have 2−5 × higher specific energy than needed to escape from the gravitational potential of dwarf haloes; indeed, in dwarfs, the mass, momentum, and metal outflow rates increase with radius whereas energy is…

ABSTRACT We present sofia 2, the fully automated 3D source finding pipeline for the WALLABY extragalactic H i survey with the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). sofia 2 is a reimplementation of parts of the original sofia pipeline in the c programming language and makes use of OpenMP for multithreading of the most time-critical algorithms. In addition, we have developed a parallel framework called sofia-X that allows the processing of large data cubes to be split across multiple computing nodes. As a result of these efforts, sofia 2 is substantially faster and comes with a much reduced memory footprint compared to its predecessor, thus allowing the large WALLABY data volumes of hundreds of gigabytes of imaging data per epoch to be processed in real time. The source code has been made publicly available to the entire community under an open-source licence. Performance tests using mock galaxies injected into genuine ASKAP data suggest that in the absence of significant imaging artefacts sofia 2 is capable of achieving near-100 per cent completeness and reliability above an integrated…

ABSTRACT We present observations with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope of nine low-mass star-forming galaxies at redshifts, z, in the range 0.3179–0.4524, with stellar masses $M_\star \, \lt $ 108 M⊙ and very high specific star-formation rates sSFR ∼150–630 Gyr−1, aiming to study the dependence of leaking Lyman continuum (LyC) emission on stellar mass and some other characteristics of the galaxy. We detect LyC emission in four out of nine galaxies with escape fractions, fesc(LyC), in the range of 11–35 per cent, and establish upper limits for fesc(LyC) in the remaining five galaxies. We observe a narrow Ly α emission line with two peaks in seven galaxies and likely more complex Ly α profiles in the two remaining galaxies. The velocity separation between the peaks Vsep varies in the range from ∼229 to ∼512 km s−1. Our additional data on low-mass galaxies confirm and strengthen the tight anticorrelation between fesc(LyC) and Vsep found for previous low-redshift galaxy samples with higher stellar masses. Vsep remains the best indirect indicator of LyC…

ABSTRACT We combine 23 Hubble constant measurements based on Cepheids-SN Ia, TRGB-SN Ia, Miras-SN Ia, Masers, Tully Fisher, Surface Brightness Fluctuations, SN II, Time-delay Lensing, Standard Sirens and γ-ray Attenuation, obtaining our best optimistic H0 estimate, that is H0 = 72.94 ± 0.75 km s–1 Mpc–1 at 68 per cent CL. This is in 5.9σ tension with the ΛCDM model, therefore we evaluate its impact on the extended Dark Energy cosmological models that can alleviate the tension. We find more than 4.9σ evidence for a phantom Dark Energy equation of state in the wCDM scenario, the cosmological constant ruled out at more than 3σ in a w0waCDM model and more than 5.7σ evidence for a coupling between Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the IDE scenario. Finally, we check the robustness of our results; and we quote two additional combinations of the Hubble constant. The ultra-conservative estimate, H0 = 72.7 ± 1.1 km s–1 Mpc–1 at 68 per cent CL, is obtained removing the Cepheids-SN Ia and the Time-Delay Lensing based measurements, and confirms the evidence for new physics.

ABSTRACT The diffuse extragalactic background light (EBL) is formed by ultraviolet (UV), optical, and infrared (IR) photons mainly produced by star formation processes over the history of the Universe and contains essential information about galaxy evolution and cosmology. Here, we present a new determination of the evolving EBL spectral energy distribution using a novel approach purely based on galaxy data aiming to reduce current uncertainties on the higher redshifts and IR intensities. Our calculations use multiwavelength observations from the UV to the far-IR of a sample of approximately 150 000 galaxies detected up to z ∼ 6 in the five fields of the Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey from the Hubble Space Telescope. This is one of the most comprehensive and deepest multiwavelength galaxy data sets ever obtained. These unprecedented resources allow us to derive the overall EBL evolution up to z ∼ 6 and its uncertainties. Our results agree with cosmic observables estimated from galaxy surveys and γ-ray attenuation such as monochromatic luminosity…

ABSTRACT Recent observations of Sgr A* by the GRAVITY instrument have astrometrically tracked infrared (IR) flares at distances of ∼10 gravitational radii (rg). In this paper, we study a model for the flares based on 3D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of magnetically arrested accretion discs (MADs) that exhibit violent episodes of flux escape from the black hole magnetosphere. These events are attractive for flare modelling for several reasons: (i) the magnetically dominant regions can resist being disrupted via magnetorotational turbulence and shear; (ii) the orientation of the magnetic field is predominantly vertical as suggested by the GRAVITY data; and (iii) the magnetic reconnection associated with the flux eruptions could yield a self-consistent means of particle heating/acceleration during the flare events. In this analysis, we track erupted flux bundles and provide distributions of sizes, energies, and plasma parameter. In our simulations, the orbits tend to circularize at a range of radii from ${\sim} 5\hbox{ to }40\, r_{\rm g}$. The magnetic…

ABSTRACT Both the CO(2–1) and CO(1–0) lines are used to trace the mass of molecular gas in galaxies. Translating the molecular gas mass estimates between studies using different lines requires a good understanding of the behaviour of the CO(2–1)-to-CO(1–0) ratio, R21. We compare new, high-quality CO(1–0) data from the IRAM 30-m EMIR MultiLine Probe of the ISM Regulating Galaxy Evolution survey to the latest available CO(2–1) maps from HERA CO-Line Extragalactic Survey, Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies-ALMA, and a new IRAM 30-m M51 Large Program. This allows us to measure R21 across the full star-forming disc of nine nearby, massive, star-forming spiral galaxies at 27 arcsec (∼1–2 kpc) resolution. We find an average R21 = 0.64 ± 0.09 when we take the luminosity-weighted mean of all individual galaxies. This result is consistent with the mean ratio for disc galaxies that we derive from single-pointing measurements in the literature, $R_{\rm 21, lit}~=~0.59^{+0.18}_{-0.09}$. The ratio shows weak radial variations compared to the point-to-point scatter in the data.…

ABSTRACT The ionizing photon escape fraction [Lyman continuum (LyC) fesc] of star-forming galaxies is the single greatest unknown in the reionization budget. Stochastic sightline effects prohibit the direct separation of LyC leakers from non-leakers at significant redshifts. Here we circumvent this uncertainty by inferring fesc using resolved (R > 4000) Lyman α (Lyα) profiles from the X-SHOOTER Lyα survey at z = 2 (XLS-z2). With empirically motivated criteria, we use Lyα profiles to select leakers ($f_{\mathrm{ esc}} > 20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) and non-leakers ($f_{\mathrm{ esc}} < 5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) from a representative sample of >0.2L* Lyman α emitters (LAEs). We use median stacked spectra of these subsets over λrest ≈ 1000–8000 Å to investigate the conditions for LyC fesc. Our stacks show similar mass, metallicity, MUV, and βUV. We find the following differences between leakers versus non-leakers: (i) strong nebular C iv and He ii emission versus non-detections; (ii) [O iii]/[O ii] ≈ 8.5 versus ≈3; (iii) Hα/Hβ indicating no dust versus E(B − V) ≈ 0.3; (iv) Mg ii emission close…

ABSTRACT We present abacus, a fast and accurate cosmological N-body code based on a new method for calculating the gravitational potential from a static multipole mesh. The method analytically separates the near- and far-field forces, reducing the former to direct 1/r2 summation and the latter to a discrete convolution over multipoles. The method achieves 70 million particle updates per second per node of the Summit supercomputer, while maintaining a median fractional force error of 10−5. We express the simulation time-step as an event-driven ‘pipeline’, incorporating asynchronous events such as completion of co-processor work, input/output, and network communication. abacus has been used to produce the largest suite of N-body simulations to date, the abacussummit suite of 60 trillion particles, incorporating on-the-fly halo finding. abacus enables the production of mock catalogues of the volume and resolution required by the coming generation of cosmological surveys.

ABSTRACT The origin of cosmic rays in our Galaxy remains a subject of active debate. While supernova remnant (SNR) shocks are often invoked as the sites of acceleration, it is now widely accepted that the difficulties of such sources in reaching PeV energies are daunting and it seems likely that only a subclass of rare remnants can satisfy the necessary conditions. Moreover, the spectra of cosmic rays escaping the remnants have a complex shape that is not obviously the same as the spectra observed at the Earth. Here, we investigate the process of particle acceleration at the termination shock that develops in the bubble excavated by star clusters’ winds in the interstellar medium. While the main limitation to the maximum energy in SNRs comes from the need for effective wave excitation upstream so as to confine particles in the near-shock region and speed up the acceleration process, at the termination shock of star clusters the confinement of particles upstream is guaranteed by the geometry of the problem. We develop a theory of diffusive shock acceleration at such shock and we find…

ABSTRACT Galactic outflows are known to consist of several gas phases; however, the connection between these phases has been investigated little and only in a few objects. In this paper, we analyse Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE)/Very Large Telescope (VLT) data of 26 local (U)LIRGs and study their ionized and neutral atomic phases. We also include objects from the literature to obtain a sample of 31 galaxies with spatially resolved multiphase outflow information. We find that the ionized phase of the outflows has on average an electron density three times higher than the disc (ne,disc ∼ 145 cm−3 versus ne,outflow ∼ 500 cm−3), suggesting that cloud compression in the outflow is more important than cloud dissipation. We find that the difference in extinction between outflow and disc correlates with the outflow gas mass. Together with the analysis of the outflow velocities, this suggests that at least some of the outflows are associated with the ejection of dusty clouds from the disc. This may support models where radiation pressure on dust contributes to driving galactic…

ABSTRACT As the statistical power of galaxy weak lensing reaches per cent level precision, large, realistic, and robust simulations are required to calibrate observational systematics, especially given the increased importance of object blending as survey depths increase. To capture the coupled effects of blending in both shear and photometric redshift calibration, we define the effective redshift distribution for lensing, nγ(z), and describe how to estimate it using image simulations. We use an extensive suite of tailored image simulations to characterize the performance of the shear estimation pipeline applied to the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 3 data set. We describe the multiband, multi-epoch simulations, and demonstrate their high level of realism through comparisons to the real DES data. We isolate the effects that generate shear calibration biases by running variations on our fiducial simulation, and find that blending-related effects are the dominant contribution to the mean multiplicative bias of approximately $-2{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. By generating simulations with input…

ABSTRACT We investigate the internal structure of elliptical galaxies at z ∼ 0.2 from a joint lensing–dynamics analysis. We model Hubble Space Telescope images of a sample of 23 galaxy–galaxy lenses selected from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) survey. Whereas the original SLACS analysis estimated the logarithmic slopes by combining the kinematics with the imaging data, we estimate the logarithmic slopes only from the imaging data. We find that the distribution of the lensing-only logarithmic slopes has a median 2.08c ± 0.03 and intrinsic scatter 0.13 ± 0.02, consistent with the original SLACS analysis. We combine the lensing constraints with the stellar kinematics and weak lensing measurements, and constrain the amount of adiabatic contraction in the dark matter (DM) haloes. We find that the DM haloes are well described by a standard Navarro–Frenk–White halo with no contraction on average for both of a constant stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) model and a stellar M/L gradient model. For the M/L gradient model, we find that most galaxies are consistent with no M/L gradient. Comparison…

ABSTRACT The Gaia early Data Release 3 has delivered exquisite astrometric data for 1.47 billion sources, which is revolutionizing many fields in astronomy. For a small fraction of these sources, the astrometric solutions are poor, and the reported values and uncertainties may not apply. Before any analysis, it is important to recognize and excise these spurious results – this is commonly done by means of quality flags in the Gaia catalogue. Here, we devise a means of separating ‘good’ from ‘bad’ astrometric solutions that is an order of magnitude cleaner than any single flag: 99.3 per cent pure and 97.3 per cent complete, as validated on our test data. We devise an extensive sample of manifestly bad astrometric solutions, with parallax that is negative at ≥4.5σ; and a corresponding sample of presumably good solutions, including sources in healpix pixels on the sky that do not contain such negative parallaxes, and sources that fall on the main sequence in a colour–absolute magnitude diagram. We then train a neural network that uses 17 pertinent Gaia catalogue entries and information…

ABSTRACT We report the discovery of the closest known black hole candidate as a binary companion to V723 Mon. V723 Mon is a nearby ($d\sim 460\, \rm pc$), bright (V ≃ 8.3 mag), evolved (Teff, giant ≃ 4440 K, and Lgiant ≃ 173 L⊙) red giant in a high mass function, f(M) = 1.72 ± 0.01 M⊙, nearly circular binary (P = 59.9 d, e ≃ 0). V723 Mon is a known variable star, previously classified as an eclipsing binary, but its All-Sky Automated Survey, Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope, and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite light curves are those of a nearly edge-on ellipsoidal variable. Detailed models of the light curves constrained by the period, radial velocities, and stellar temperature give an inclination of $87.0^{\circ ^{+1.7^\circ }}_{-1.4^\circ }$, a mass ratio of q ≃ 0.33 ± 0.02, a companion mass of Mcomp = 3.04 ± 0.06 M⊙, a stellar radius of Rgiant = 24.9 ± 0.7 R⊙, and a giant mass of Mgiant = 1.00 ± 0.07 M⊙. We identify a likely non-stellar, diffuse veiling component with contributions in the B and V band of ${\sim }63{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ and ${\sim }24{{\ \rm per\…

ABSTRACT We introduce a new self-consistent model of galaxy evolution and reionization, astraeus (seminumerical rAdiative tranSfer coupling of galaxy formaTion and Reionization in N-body dArk mattEr simUlationS), which couples a state-of-the-art N-body simulation with the semi-analytical galaxy evolution delphi and the seminumerical reionization scheme cifog. astraeus includes all the key processes of galaxy formation and evolution (including accretion, mergers, supernova, and radiative feedback) and follows the time and spatial evolution of the ionized regions in the intergalactic medium (IGM). Importantly, it explores different radiative feedback models that cover the physically plausible parameter space, ranging from a weak and delayed to a strong and immediate reduction of gas mass available for star formation. From our simulation suite that covers the different radiative feedback prescriptions and ionization topologies, we find that radiative feedback continuously reduces star formation in galaxies with $M_\mathrm{ h}\lesssim 10^{9.5}\, {\rm \rm M_\odot }$ upon local…

ABSTRACT The transmission of Lyman α (Ly α) in the spectra of distant quasars depends on the density, temperature, and ionization state of the intergalactic medium. Therefore, high-redshift (z > 5) Ly α forests could be invaluable in studying the late stages of the epoch of reionization (EoR), as well as properties of the sources that drive it. Indeed, high-quality quasar spectra have now firmly established the existence of large-scale opacity fluctuations at z > 5, whose physical origins are still debated. Here, we introduce a Bayesian framework capable of constraining the EoR and galaxy properties by forward-modelling the high-z Ly α forest. Using priors from galaxy and cosmic microwave background observations, we demonstrate that the final overlap stages of the EoR (when >95 per cent of the volume was ionized) should occur at z < 5.6, in order to reproduce the large-scale opacity fluctuations seen in forest spectra. However, it is the combination of patchy reionization and the inhomogeneous ultraviolet background that produces the longest Gunn–Peterson troughs. Ly α forest…

ABSTRACT We present a neural network emulator for baryonic effects in the non-linear matter power spectrum. We calibrate this emulator using more than 50 000 measurements in a 15D parameter space, varying cosmology and baryonic physics. Baryonic physics is described through a baryonification algorithm, which has been shown to accurately capture the relevant effects on the power spectrum and bispectrum in state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations. Cosmological parameters are sampled using a cosmology-rescaling approach including massive neutrinos and dynamical dark energy. The specific quantity we emulate is the ratio between matter power spectrum with baryons and gravity only, and we estimate the overall precision of the emulator to be $2\!-\!3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, at scales $k \lt 5 \, h\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ and redshifts 0 < z < 1.5. We obtain an accuracy of $1\!-\!2{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, when testing the emulator against a collection of 74 different cosmological hydrodynamical simulations and their respective gravity-only counterparts. We also show that only one baryonic parameter,…

ABSTRACT We report on the masses (MWD), effective temperatures ($\rm{T_\mathrm{eff}}$), and secular mean accretion rates ($\langle \dot{M} \rangle$) of 43 cataclysmic variable (CV) white dwarfs, 42 of which were obtained from the combined analysis of their Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet data with the parallaxes provided by the Early Third Data Release of the Gaia space mission, and one from the white dwarf gravitational redshift. Our results double the number of CV white dwarfs with an accurate mass measurement, bringing the total census to 89 systems. From the study of the mass distribution, we derive $\langle M_\mathrm{WD} \rangle = 0.81^{+0.16}_{-0.20}\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$, in perfect agreement with previous results, and find no evidence of any evolution of the mass with orbital period. Moreover, we identify five systems with MWD < 0.5 M⊙, which are most likely representative of helium-core white dwarfs, showing that these CVs are present in the overall population. We reveal the presence of an anticorrelation between the average accretion rates and the white dwarf masses for…

ABSTRACT We derive joint constraints on the warm dark matter (WDM) half-mode scale by combining the analyses of a selection of astrophysical probes: strong gravitational lensing with extended sources, the Ly α forest, and the number of luminous satellites in the Milky Way. We derive an upper limit of λhm = 0.089 Mpc h−1 at the 95 per cent confidence level, which we show to be stable for a broad range of prior choices. Assuming a Planck cosmology and that WDM particles are thermal relics, this corresponds to an upper limit on the half-mode mass of Mhm < 3 × 107 M⊙ h−1, and a lower limit on the particle mass of mth > 6.048 keV, both at the 95 per cent confidence level. We find that models with λhm > 0.223 Mpc h−1 (corresponding to mth > 2.552 keV and Mhm < 4.8 × 108 M⊙ h−1) are ruled out with respect to the maximum likelihood model by a factor ≤1/20. For lepton asymmetries L6 > 10, we rule out the 7.1 keV sterile neutrino dark matter model, which presents a possible explanation to the unidentified 3.55 keV line in the Milky Way and clusters of galaxies. The inferred 95 percentiles…

ABSTRACT We present catalogues of stellar masses, star formation rates (SFRs), and ancillary stellar population parameters for galaxies spanning 0 < z < 9 from the Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS). DEVILS is a deep spectroscopic redshift survey with very high completeness, covering several premier deep fields including COSMOS (D10). Our stellar mass and SFR estimates are self-consistently derived using the spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling code ProSpect, using well-motivated parametrizations for dust attenuation, star formation histories, and metallicity evolution. We show how these improvements, and especially our physically motivated assumptions about metallicity evolution, have an appreciable systematic effect on the inferred stellar masses, at the level of ∼0.2 dex. To illustrate the scientific value of these data, we map the evolving galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) and the SFR–M⋆ relation for 0 < z < 4.25. In agreement with past studies, we find that most of the evolution in the SMF is driven by the characteristic density parameter, with little…

ABSTRACT Open clusters are unique tracers of the history of our own Galaxy’s disc. According to our membership analysis based on Gaia astrometry, out of the 226 potential clusters falling in the footprint of the GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey or the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey, we find that 205 have secure members that were observed by at least one of the surveys. Furthermore, members of 134 clusters have high-quality spectroscopic data that we use to determine their chemical composition. We leverage this information to study the chemical distribution throughout the Galactic disc of 21 elements, from C to Eu. The radial metallicity gradient obtained from our analysis is −0.076 ± 0.009 dex kpc−1, which is in agreement with previous works based on smaller samples. Furthermore, the gradient in the [Fe/H]–guiding radius (rguid) plane is −0.073 ± 0.008 dex kpc−1. We show consistently that open clusters trace the distribution of chemical elements throughout the Galactic disc differently than field stars. In particular, at the…

ABSTRACT The merging black hole (BH) binaries GW190412, GW190814, and GW190521 from the third LIGO/VIRGO observing run exhibit some extraordinary properties, including highly asymmetric masses, significant spin, and component mass in the ‘mass gap’. These features can be explained if one or both components of the binary are the remnants of previous mergers. In this paper, we explore hierarchical mergers in multiple stellar systems, taking into account the natal kick and mass-loss due to the supernova explosion (SN) on each component, as well as the merger kick received by the merger remnant. The binaries that have survived the SNe and kicks generally have too wide orbital separations to merge by themselves, but can merge with the aid of an external companion that gives rise to Lidov–Kozai oscillations. The BH binaries that consist of second-generation BHs can also be assembled in dense star clusters through binary interactions. We characterize the parameter space of these BH binaries by merger fractions in an analytical approach. Combining the distributions of the survived binaries,…

ABSTRACT We develop a sophisticated model of fast radio burst (FRB) observations, accounting for the intrinsic cosmological gas distribution and host galaxy contributions, and give the most detailed account yet of observational biases due to burst width, dispersion measure, and the exact telescope beamshape. Our results offer a significant increase in both accuracy and precision beyond those previously obtained. Using results from ASKAP and Parkes, we present our best-fitting FRB population parameters in a companion paper. Here, we consider in detail the expected and fitted distributions in redshift, dispersion measure, and signal to noise. We estimate that the unlocalized ASKAP FRBs arise from z < 0.5, with between a third and a half within z < 0.1. Our predicted source-counts (‘logN–logS’) distribution confirms previous indications of a steepening index near the Parkes detection threshold of 1 Jy ms. We find no evidence for a minimum FRB energy, and rule out Emin > 1039.0 erg at 90 per cent C.L. Importantly, we find that above a certain DM, observational biases cause the Macquart…

ABSTRACT The evolution of protoplanetary discs and the related process of planet formation is regulated by angular momentum transport and mass-loss processes. Over the past decade, the paradigm of viscosity has been challenged and MHD disc winds appear as a compelling scenario to account for disc accretion. In this work, we aim to construct the equivalent of the widely used analytical description of viscous evolution for the MHD wind case. The transport of angular momentum and mass induced by the wind is parametrized by an α-like parameter and by the magnetic lever arm parameter λ. Extensions of the paradigmatic Lynden-Bell and Pringle similarity solutions to the wind case are presented. We show that wind-driven accretion leads to a steeper decrease in the disc mass and accretion rate than in viscous models due to the absence of disc spreading. If the decline of the magnetic field strength is slower than that of the gas surface density, the disc is dispersed after a finite time. The evolution of the disc in the $\dot{M}_*-M_{D}$ plane is sensitive to the wind and turbulence…

ABSTRACT An ultralight bosonic particle of mass around $10^{-22}\, \mathrm{eV}/c^2$ is of special interest as a dark matter candidate, as it both has particle physics motivations, and may give rise to notable differences in the structures on highly non-linear scales due to the manifestation of quantum-physical wave effects on macroscopic scales, which could address a number of contentious small-scale tensions in the standard cosmological model, ΛCDM. Using a spectral technique, we here discuss simulations of such fuzzy dark matter (FDM), including the full non-linear wave dynamics, with a comparatively large dynamic range and for larger box sizes than considered previously. While the impact of suppressed small-scale power in the initial conditions associated with FDM has been studied before, the characteristic FDM dynamics are often neglected; in our simulations, we instead show the impact of the full non-linear dynamics on physical observables. We focus on the evolution of the matter power spectrum, give first results for the FDM halo mass function directly based on full FDM…

ABSTRACT At the end of its life, a very massive star is expected to collapse into a black hole (BH). The recent detection of an 85 M⊙ BH from the gravitational wave event GW 190521 appears to present a fundamental problem as to how such heavy BHs exist above the approximately 50 M⊙ pair-instability (PI) limit where stars are expected to be blown to pieces with no remnant left. Using mesa, we show that for stellar models with non-extreme assumptions, 90–100 M⊙ stars at reduced metallicity ($Z/\mbox{ $\mathrm{Z}_{\odot }$}\le 0.1$) can produce blue supergiant progenitors with core masses sufficiently small to remain below the fundamental PI limit, yet at the same time lose an amount of mass via stellar winds that is small enough to end up in the range of an ‘impossible’ 85 M⊙ BH. The two key points are the proper consideration of core overshooting and stellar wind physics with an improved scaling of mass-loss with iron (Fe) contents characteristic for the host galaxy metallicity. Our modelling provides a robust scenario that not only doubles the maximum BH mass set by PI, but also…

ABSTRACT We produce 1000 realizations of synthetic clustering catalogues for each type of the tracers used for the baryon acoustic oscillation and redshift space distortion analysis of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys-iv extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey final data release (eBOSS DR16), covering the redshift range from 0.6 to 2.2, to provide reliable estimates of covariance matrices and test the robustness of the analysis pipeline with respect to observational systematics. By extending the Zel’dovich approximation density field with an effective tracer bias model calibrated with the clustering measurements from the observational data, we accurately reproduce the two- and three-point clustering statistics of the eBOSS DR16 tracers, including their cross-correlations in redshift space with very low computational costs. In addition, we include the gravitational evolution of structures and sample selection biases at different redshifts, as well as various photometric and spectroscopic systematic effects. The agreements on the auto-clustering statistics between the data and…

ABSTRACT The observed anticorrelation between the central dark matter (DM) densities of the bright Milky Way (MW) dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) and their orbital pericentre distances poses a potential signature of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM). In this work, we investigate this possibility by analysing the range of SIDM scattering cross-section per unit mass, σ/mχ, able to explain such anticorrelation. We simulate the orbital evolution of dSphs subhaloes around the MW assuming an analytical form for the gravitational potential, adopting the proper motions from the Gaia mission and including a consistent characterization of gravitational tidal stripping. The evolution of subhalo density profiles is modelled using the gravothermal fluid formalism, where DM particle collisions induce thermal conduction that depends on σ/mχ. We find that models of dSphs, such as Carina and Fornax, reproduce the observed central DM densities with fixed σ/mχ ranging between 30 and 50 cm2 g−1, whereas other dSphs prefer larger values ranging between 70 and 100 cm2 g−1. These cross-sections…

ABSTRACT We present the joint analysis of Neutral Hydrogen (H i) Intensity Mapping observations with three galaxy samples: the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) and Emission Line Galaxy (ELG) samples from the eBOSS survey, and the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey sample. The H i intensity maps are Green Bank Telescope observations of the redshifted $21\rm cm$ emission on $100 \, {\rm deg}^2$ covering the redshift range 0.6 < z < 1.0. We process the data by separating and removing the foregrounds present in the radio frequencies with FastI ICA. We verify the quality of the foreground separation with mock realizations, and construct a transfer function to correct for the effects of foreground removal on the H i signal. We cross-correlate the cleaned H i data with the galaxy samples and study the overall amplitude as well as the scale dependence of the power spectrum. We also qualitatively compare our findings with the predictions by a semianalytical galaxy evolution simulation. The cross-correlations constrain the quantity $\Omega _{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} b_{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} r_{\rm {H\,\small…

ABSTRACT We study star cluster formation in a low-metallicity environment using three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Starting from a turbulent cloud core, we follow the formation and growth of protostellar systems with different metallicities ranging from 10−6 to 0.1 Z⊙. The cooling induced by dust grains promotes fragmentation at small scales and the formation of low-mass stars with M* ∼ 0.01–0.1 M⊙. While the number of low-mass stars increases with metallicity, when Z/Z⊙ ≳ 10−5, the stellar mass distribution is still top-heavy for Z/Z⊙ ≲ 10−2 compared to the Chabrier initial mass function (IMF). In these cases, star formation begins after the turbulent motion decays and a single massive cloud core monolithically collapses to form a central massive stellar system. The circumstellar disc preferentially feeds the mass to the central massive stars, making the mass distribution top-heavy. When Z/Z⊙ = 0.1, collisions of the turbulent flows promote the onset of the star formation and a highly filamentary structure develops owing to efficient fine-structure line cooling. In this…

ABSTRACT We present the MaNGA PyMorph photometric Value Added Catalogue (MPP-VAC-DR17) and the MaNGA Deep Learning Morphological VAC (MDLM-VAC-DR17) for the final data release of the MaNGA survey, which is part of the SDSS Data Release 17 (DR17). The MPP-VAC-DR17 provides photometric parameters from Sérsic and Sérsic+Exponential fits to the two-dimensional surface brightness profiles of the MaNGA DR17 galaxy sample in the g, r, and i bands (e.g. total fluxes, half-light radii, bulge-disc fractions, ellipticities, position angles, etc.). The MDLM-VAC-DR17 provides deep-learning-based morphological classifications for the same galaxies. The MDLM-VAC-DR17 includes a number of morphological properties, for example, a T-Type, a finer separation between elliptical and S0, as well as the identification of edge-on and barred galaxies. While the MPP-VAC-DR17 simply extends the MaNGA PyMorph photometric VAC published in the SDSS Data Release 15 (MPP-VAC-DR15) to now include galaxies that were added to make the final DR17, the MDLM-VAC-DR17 implements some changes and improvements compared to…

ABSTRACT We simulate the scientific performance of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope High Latitude Survey (HLS) on dark energy and modified gravity. The 1.6-yr HLS Reference survey is currently envisioned to image 2000 deg2 in multiple bands to a depth of ∼26.5 in Y, J, H and to cover the same area with slit-less spectroscopy beyond z = 3. The combination of deep, multiband photometry and deep spectroscopy will allow scientists to measure the growth and geometry of the Universe through a variety of cosmological probes (e.g. weak lensing, galaxy clusters, galaxy clustering, BAO, Type Ia supernova) and, equally, it will allow an exquisite control of observational and astrophysical systematic effects. In this paper, we explore multiprobe strategies that can be implemented, given the telescope’s instrument capabilities. We model cosmological probes individually and jointly and account for correlated systematics and statistical uncertainties due to the higher order moments of the density field. We explore different levels of observational systematics for the HLS survey (photo-z and…

ABSTRACT The extreme ultraviolet (EUV)/X-ray photoevaporation and core-powered mass-loss models are both capable of reproducing the bimodality in the sizes of small, close-in exoplanets observed by the Kepler space mission, often referred to as the ‘radius gap’. However, it is unclear which of these two mechanisms dominates the atmospheric mass-loss that is likely sculpting the radius gap. In this work, we propose a new method of differentiating between the two models, which relies on analysing the radius gap in 3D parameter space. Using models for both mechanisms, and by performing synthetic transit surveys we predict the size and characteristics of a survey capable of discriminating between the two models. We find that a survey of ≳5000 planets, with a wide range in stellar mass and measurement uncertainties at a ${\lesssim}5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ level is sufficient. Our methodology is robust against moderate false positive contamination of ${\lesssim}10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. We perform our analysis on two surveys (which do not satisfy our requirements): the California-KeplerSurvey…

ABSTRACT We present a new determination of the galaxy stellar-mass function (GSMF) over the redshift interval 0.25 ≤ z ≤ 3.75, derived from a combination of ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging surveys. Based on a near-IR-selected galaxy sample selected over a raw survey area of 3 deg2 and spanning ≥4 dex in stellar mass, we fit the GSMF with both single and double Schechter functions, carefully accounting for Eddington bias to derive both observed and intrinsic parameter values. We find that a double Schechter function is a better fit to the GSMF at all redshifts, although the single and double Schechter function fits are statistically indistinguishable by z = 3.25. We find no evidence for significant evolution in M⋆, with the intrinsic value consistent with $\log _{10}(M^{\star }/\hbox{$\rm \, M_{\odot }$})=10.55\pm {0.1}$ over the full redshift range. Overall, our determination of the GSMF is in good agreement with recent simulation results, although differences persist at the highest stellar masses. Splitting our sample according to location on the UVJ plane, we…

ABSTRACT We present simulations of the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) at solar neighbourhood conditions including thermal and non-thermal ISM processes, star cluster formation, and feedback from massive stars: stellar winds, hydrogen ionizing radiation computed with the novel treeray radiative transfer method, supernovae (SN), and the injection of cosmic rays (CR). N-body dynamics is computed with a 4th-order Hermite integrator. We systematically investigate the impact of stellar feedback on the self-gravitating ISM with magnetic fields, CR advection and diffusion, and non-equilibrium chemical evolution. SN-only feedback results in strongly clustered star formation with very high star cluster masses, a bi-modal distribution of the ambient SN densities, and low volume-filling factors (VFF) of warm gas, typically inconsistent with local conditions. Early radiative feedback prevents an initial starburst, reduces star cluster masses and outflow rates. Furthermore, star formation rate surface densities of $\Sigma _{\dot{M}_\star } = 1.4-5.9 \times 10^{-3}$$\mathrm{M}_\odot \,…

ABSTRACT In 2018, the ESA Gaia satellite discovered a remarkable spiral pattern (‘phase spiral’) in the z − Vz phase plane throughout the solar neighbourhood, where z and Vz are the displacement and velocity of a star perpendicular to the Galactic disc. In response to Binney & Schönrich’s analytic model of a disc-crossing satellite to explain the Gaia data, we carry out a high-resolution, N-body simulation (N ≈ 108 particles) of an impulsive mass (2 × 1010 M⊙) that interacts with a cold stellar disc at a single transit point. The disc response is complex since the impulse triggers a superposition of two distinct bisymmetric (m = 2) modes − a density wave and a corrugated bending wave − that wrap up at different rates. Stars in the faster density wave wrap up with time T according to ϕD(R, T) = (ΩD(R) + Ωo) T, where ϕD describes the spiral pattern and ΩD = Ω(R) − κ(R)/2, where κ is the epicyclic frequency. While the pattern speed Ωo is small, it is non-zero. The slower bending wave wraps up according to ΩB ≈ ΩD/2 producing a corrugated wave. The bunching effect of the density wave…

ABSTRACT We have entered a new era where integral-field spectroscopic surveys of galaxies are sufficiently large to adequately sample large-scale structure over a cosmologically significant volume. This was the primary design goal of the SAMI Galaxy Survey. Here, in Data Release 3, we release data for the full sample of 3068 unique galaxies observed. This includes the SAMI cluster sample of 888 unique galaxies for the first time. For each galaxy, there are two primary spectral cubes covering the blue (370–570 nm) and red (630–740 nm) optical wavelength ranges at spectral resolving power of R = 1808 and 4304, respectively. For each primary cube, we also provide three spatially binned spectral cubes and a set of standardized aperture spectra. For each galaxy, we include complete 2D maps from parametrized fitting to the emission-line and absorption-line spectral data. These maps provide information on the gas ionization and kinematics, stellar kinematics and populations, and more. All data are available online through Australian Astronomical Optics Data Central.

ABSTRACT The ([α/Fe], [Fe/H]) distribution of Milky Way stars shows at least two distinct sequences, which have traditionally been associated with the thin and thick disc components. The abundance distribution varies systematically with location R and |z| across the Galaxy. We reproduce this using an analytical chemodynamical model that includes the effects of radial migration and kinematic heating. Unlike some earlier models, our scheme does not require a distinct thick disc component emerging from a separate evolutionary path. The proposed model has a continuous star formation history and a continuous age velocity dispersion relation. Moreover, [α/Fe] is constant for stellar ages less than 8 Gyr, but increases sharply for older stars over a time-scale of 1.5 Gyr. The gap between the two sequences is due to this sharp transition. We show that the high-[α/Fe] sequence at the low-metallicity end is simply a pile-up of old stars, but towards the high-metallicity end, the age progressively decreases and stars have small birth radii. Our model successfully explains the uniformity of the…

ABSTRACT Observations of reionization-era analogues at z ∼ 3 are a powerful tool for constraining reionization. Rest-ultraviolet observations are particularly useful, in which both direct and indirect tracers of ionizing-photon production and escape can be observed. We analyse a sample of 124 z ∼ 3 galaxies from the Keck Lyman Continuum Spectroscopic Survey, with sensitive spectroscopic measurements of the Lyman continuum region. We present a method of removing foreground contamination from our sample using high-resolution, multiband Hubble Space Telescope imaging. We re-measure the global properties of the cleaned sample of 13 individually detected Lyman continuum sources and 107 individually undetected sources, including a sample-averaged absolute escape fraction of fesc, abs = 0.06 ± 0.01 and a sample-averaged ratio of ionizing to non-ionizing ultraviolet flux density of 〈f900/f1500〉out = 0.040 ± 0.006, corrected for attenuation from the intergalactic and circumgalactic media. Based on composite spectra, we also recover a strong positive correlation between 〈f900/f1500〉out and…

ABSTRACT We present the results of a multicomponent kinematic model of a large sample of RR Lyrae detected by Gaia. By imposing a fourfold symmetry and employing Gaia proper motions, we are able to infer the behaviour of the velocity ellipsoid between ≈3 and ≈30 kpc from the centre of the Galaxy. We detect the presence of two distinct components: a dominant non-rotating halo-like population and a much smaller rotating disc-like population. We demonstrate that the halo RR Lyrae can be described as a superposition of an isotropic and radially biased parts. The radially biased portion of the halo is characterized by a high orbital anisotropy β ≈ 0.9 and contributes between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of the halo RR Lyrae at 5 < R(kpc)<25. In line with previous studies, we interpret this high-β component as the debris cloud of the ancient massive merger also known as the Gaia Sausage (GS) whose orbital extrema we constrain. The light-curve properties of the RR Lyrae support the kinematic decomposition: the GS stars are more metal-rich and boast higher fractions of Oosterhoff Type 1 and…

ABSTRACT Axion-like particles (ALPs) are predicted by several Beyond the Standard Model theories, in particular, string theory. In the presence of an external magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of propagation, ALPs can couple to photons. Therefore, if an X-ray source is viewed through a magnetized plasma, such as a luminous quasar in a galaxy cluster, we may expect spectral distortions that are well described by photon–ALP oscillations. We present a 571 ks combined high- and low-energy transmission grating Chandra observation of the powerful radio-quiet quasar H1821+643, hosted by a cool-core cluster at redshift 0.3. The spectrum is well described by a double power-law continuum and broad+narrow iron line emission typical of type-1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs), with remaining spectral features ${\lt}2.5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Using a cell-based approach to describe the turbulent cluster magnetic field, we compare our spectrum with photon–ALP mixing curves for 500 field realizations, assuming that the thermal-to-magnetic pressure ratio β remains constant up to the virial…

ABSTRACT We compare the star-forming main sequence (SFMS) of galaxies – both integrated and resolved on 1 kpc scales – between the high-resolution TNG50 simulation of IllustrisTNG and observations from the 3D-HST slitless spectroscopic survey at z ∼ 1. Contrasting integrated star formation rates (SFRs), we find that the slope and normalization of the star-forming main sequence in TNG50 are quantitatively consistent with values derived by fitting observations from 3D-HST with the Prospector Bayesian inference framework. The previous offsets of 0.2–1 dex between observed and simulated main-sequence normalizations are resolved when using the updated masses and SFRs from Prospector. The scatter is generically smaller in TNG50 than in 3D-HST for more massive galaxies with M*> 1010 M⊙, by ∼10–40 per cent, after accounting for observational uncertainties. When comparing resolved star formation, we also find good agreement between TNG50 and 3D-HST: average specific star formation rate (sSFR) radial profiles of galaxies at all masses and radii below, on, and above the SFMS are similar in…

ABSTRACT We present the 360° catalogue of physical properties of Hi-GAL compact sources, detected between 70 and 500 $\mu$m. This release not only completes the analogous catalogue previously produced by the Hi-GAL collaboration for −71° ≲ ℓ ≲ 67°, but also meaningfully improves it because of a new set of heliocentric distances, 120 808 in total. About a third of the 150 223 entries are located in the newly added portion of the Galactic plane. A first classification based on detection at 70 $\mu$m as a signature of ongoing star-forming activity distinguishes between protostellar sources (23 per cent of the total) and starless sources, with the latter further classified as gravitationally bound (pre-stellar) or unbound. The integral of the spectral energy distribution, including ancillary photometry from λ = 21 to 1100 $\mu$m, gives the source luminosity and other bolometric quantities, while a modified blackbody fitted to data for $\lambda \ge 160~\mu$m yields mass and temperature. All tabulated clump properties are then derived using photometry and heliocentric distance, where…

ABSTRACT Astrophysical gases are commonly multiphase and highly turbulent. In this work, we investigate the survival and growth of cold gas in such a turbulent, multiphase medium using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. Similar to previous work simulating coherent flow (winds), we find that cold gas survives if the cooling time of the mixed gas is shorter than the Kelvin–Helmholtz time of the cold gas clump (with some weak additional Mach number dependence). However, there are important differences. Near the survival threshold, the long-term evolution is highly stochastic, and subject to the existence of sufficiently large clumps. In a turbulent flow, the cold gas continuously fragments, enhancing its surface area. This leads to exponential mass growth, with a growth time given by the geometric mean of the cooling and the mixing time. The fragmentation process leads to a large number of small droplets which follow a scale-free dN/dm ∝ m−2 mass distribution, and dominate the area covering fraction. Thus, whilst survival depends on the presence of large ‘clouds’, these in…

ABSTRACT Mass-loss rates and terminal wind velocities are key parameters that determine the kinetic wind energy and momenta of massive stars. Furthermore, accurate mass-loss rates determine the mass and rotational velocity evolution of mass stars, and their fates as neutron stars and black holes in function of metallicity (Z). Here, we update our Monte Carlo mass-loss Recipe with new dynamically consistent computations of the terminal wind velocity – as a function of Z. These predictions are particularly timely as the Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards (ULLYSES) project will observe ultraviolet spectra with blue-shifted P Cygni lines of hundreds of massive stars in the low-Z Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (SMC), as well as sub-SMC metallicity hosts. Around 35 000 K, we uncover a weak-wind ‘dip’ and we present diagnostics to investigate its physics with ULLYSES and X-Shooter data. We discuss how the dip may provide important information on wind-driving physics, and how this is of key relevance towards finding a new gold-standard…

ABSTRACT Recent measurements of the D(p,γ)3He nuclear reaction cross-section and of the neutron lifetime, along with the reevaluation of the cosmological baryon abundance from cosmic microwave background (CMB) analysis, call for an update of abundance predictions for light elements produced during the big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). While considered as a pillar of the hot big-bang model in its early days, BBN constraining power mostly rests on deuterium abundance. We point out a new ≃1.8σ tension on the baryonic density, or equivalently on the D/H abundance, between the value inferred on one hand from the analysis of the primordial abundances of light elements and, on the other hand, from the combination of CMB and baryonic oscillation data. This draws the attention on this sector of the theory and gives us the opportunity to reevaluate the status of BBN in the context of precision cosmology. Finally, this paper presents an upgrade of the BBN code primat.

ABSTRACT The two most successful methods for exoplanet detection rely on the detection of planetary signals in photometric and radial velocity time-series. This depends on numerical techniques that exploit the synergy between data and theory to estimate planetary, orbital, and/or stellar parameters. In this work, we present a new version of the exoplanet modelling code pyaneti. This new release has a special emphasis on the modelling of stellar signals in radial velocity time-series. The code has a built-in multidimensional Gaussian process approach to modelling radial velocity and activity indicator time-series with different underlying covariance functions. This new version of the code also allows multiband and single transit modelling; it runs on Python 3, and features overall improvements in performance. We describe the new implementation and provide tests to validate the new routines that have direct application to exoplanet detection and characterization. We have made the code public and freely available at https://github.com/oscaribv/pyaneti. We also present the codes…

ABSTRACT Identifying stars found in the Milky Way as having formed in situ or accreted can be a complex and uncertain undertaking. We use Gaia kinematics and APOGEE elemental abundances to select stars belonging to the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE) and Sequoia accretion events. These samples are used to characterize the GSE and Sequoia population metallicity distribution functions, elemental abundance patterns, age distributions, and progenitor masses. We find that the GSE population has a mean [Fe/H] ∼ −1.15 and a mean age of 10–12 Gyr. GSE has a single sequence in [Mg/Fe] versus [Fe/H] consistent with the onset of SN Ia Fe contributions and uniformly low [Al/Fe] of ∼−0.25 dex. The derived properties of the Sequoia population are strongly dependent on the kinematic selection. We argue the selection with the least contamination is Jϕ/Jtot < −0.6 and (Jz − JR)/Jtot < 0.1. This results in a mean [Fe/H] ∼ −1.3 and a mean age of 12–14 Gyr. The Sequoia population has a complex elemental abundance distribution with mainly high-[Mg/Fe] stars. We use the GSE [Al/Fe] versus [Mg/H] abundance…

ABSTRACT A wealth of recent studies have shown that the LMC is likely massive, with a halo mass >1011 M⊙. One consequence of having such a nearby and massive neighbour is that the inner Milky Way is expected to be accelerated with respect to our Galaxy’s outskirts (beyond ∼30 kpc). In this work, we compile a sample of ∼500 stars with radial velocities in the distant stellar halo, rGC > 50 kpc, to test this hypothesis. These stars span a large fraction of the sky and thus give a global view of the stellar halo. We find that stars in the Southern hemisphere are on average blueshifted, while stars in the North are redshifted, consistent with the expected, mostly downwards acceleration of the inner halo due to the LMC. We compare these results with simulations and find the signal is consistent with the infall of a 1.5 × 1011 M⊙ LMC. We cross-match our stellar sample with Gaia DR2 and find that the mean proper motions are not yet precise enough to discern the LMC’s effect. Our results show that the Milky Way is significantly out of equilibrium and that the LMC has a substantial effect on…

ABSTRACT We characterize the thermal state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in 10 redshift bins in the range 2 ≤ z ≤ 4 with a sample of 103 high-resolution, high S/N Ly α forest spectra using four different flux distribution statistics. Our measurements are calibrated with mock spectra from a large suite of hydrodynamical simulations post-processed with our thermal IGM evolution code cite, finely sampling amplitude, and slope of the expected temperature–density relation. The thermal parameters inferred from our measurements of the flux power spectrum, Doppler parameter distribution, as well as wavelet and curvature statistics agree well within their respective errors and all clearly show the peak in temperature and minimum in slope of the temperature density relation expected from He ii reionization. Combining our measurements from the different flux statistics gives T0 = (14 750 ± 1322) K for the peak temperature at mean density and a corresponding minimum slope γ = 1.225 ± 0.120. The peak in the temperature evolution occurs around z ≈ 3, in agreement with previous measurements…

ABSTRACT We present a novel set of stellar feedback models, implemented in the moving-mesh code arepo, designed for galaxy formation simulations with near-parsec (or better) resolution. These include explicit sampling of stars from the IMF, allowing feedback to be linked to individual massive stars, an improved method for the modelling of H ii regions, photoelectric (PE) heating from a spatially varying FUV field and supernova feedback. We perform a suite of 32 simulations of isolated $M_\mathrm{vir} = 10^{10}\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$ galaxies with a baryonic mass resolution of $20\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$ in order to study the non-linear coupling of the different feedback channels. We find that photoionization (PI) and supernova feedback are both independently capable of regulating star formation to the same level, while PE heating is inefficient. PI produces a considerably smoother star formation history than supernovae. When all feedback channels are combined, the additional suppression of star formation rates is minor. However, outflow rates are substantially reduced relative to the…

ABSTRACT We present the most detailed data-driven exploration of cloud opacity in a substellar object to-date. We have tested over 60 combinations of cloud composition and structure, particle-size distribution, scattering model, and gas phase composition assumptions against archival 1–15 μm spectroscopy for the unusually red L4.5 dwarf 2MASSW J2224438-015852 using the Brewster retrieval framework. We find that, within our framework, a model that includes enstatite and quartz cloud layers at shallow pressures, combined with a deep iron cloud deck fits the data best. This model assumes a Hansen distribution for particle sizes for each cloud, and Mie scattering. We retrieved particle effective radii of $\log _{10} a {\rm (\mu m)} = -1.41^{+0.18}_{-0.17}$ for enstatite, $-0.44^{+0.04}_{-0.20}$ for quartz, and $-0.77^{+0.05}_{-0.06}$ for iron. Our inferred cloud column densities suggest ${\rm (Mg/Si)} = 0.69^{+0.06}_{-0.08}$ if there are no other sinks for magnesium or silicon. Models that include forsterite alongside, or in place of, these cloud species are strongly rejected in favour…

ABSTRACT We introduce the AbacusHOD model and present two applications of AbacusHOD and the AbacusSummit simulations to observations. AbacusHOD is a Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) framework written in Python that is particle-based, multitracer, highly generalized, and highly efficient. It is designed specifically with multitracer/cosmology analyses for next-generation large-scale structure surveys in mind, and takes advantage of the volume and precision offered by the new state-of-the-art AbacusSummit cosmological simulations. The model is also highly customizable and should be broadly applicable to any upcoming surveys and a diverse range of cosmological analyses. In this paper, we demonstrate the capabilities of the AbacusHOD framework through two example applications. The first example demonstrates the high efficiency and the large HOD extension feature set through an analysis of full-shape redshift-space clustering of BOSS galaxies at intermediate to small scales ($\lt 30\, h^{-1}$ Mpc), assessing the necessity of introducing secondary galaxy biases (assembly bias). We find…

ABSTRACT Ultra-hot Jupiters are tidally locked gas giants with dayside temperatures high enough to dissociate hydrogen and other molecules. Their atmospheres are vastly non-uniform in terms of chemistry, temperature, and dynamics, and this makes their high-resolution transmission spectra and cross-correlation signal difficult to interpret. In this work, we use the SPARC/MITgcm global circulation model to simulate the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b under different conditions, such as atmospheric drag and the absence of TiO and VO. We then employ a 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code, hires-mcrt, to self-consistently model high-resolution transmission spectra with iron (Fe i) lines at different phases during the transit. To untangle the structure of the resulting cross-correlation map, we decompose the limb of the planet into four sectors, and we analyse each of their contributions separately. Our experiments demonstrate that the cross-correlation signal of an ultra-hot Jupiter is primarily driven by its temperature structure, rotation, and dynamics, while being less…

ABSTRACT We use Pantheon Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) apparent magnitude, DES-3 yr binned SN Ia apparent magnitude, Hubble parameter, and baryon acoustic oscillation measurements to constrain six spatially flat and non-flat cosmological models. These sets of data provide mutually consistent cosmological constraints in the six cosmological models we study. A joint analysis of these data sets provides model-independent estimates of the Hubble constant, $H_0=68.8\pm 1.8\ \rm {km \, s^{-1} \ Mpc^{-1}}$, and the non-relativistic matter density parameter, $\Omega _{\rm m_0}=0.294\pm 0.020$. Although the joint constraints prefer mild dark energy dynamics and a little spatial curvature, they do not rule out dark energy being a cosmological constant and flat spatial hypersurfaces. We also add quasar angular size and H ii starburst galaxy measurements to the combined data set and find more restrictive constraints.

ABSTRACT We explore the influence of non-axisymmetric modes on the dynamics of the collapsed core of rotating, magnetized high-mass stars in three-dimensional simulations of a rapidly rotating star with an initial mass of $M_{\rm {\small ZAMS}} = 35 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ endowed with four different pre-collapse configurations of the magnetic field, ranging from moderate to very strong field strength and including the field predicted by the stellar evolution model. The model with the weakest magnetic field achieves shock revival due to neutrino heating in a gain layer characterized by a large-scale, hydrodynamic m = 1 spiral mode. Later on, the growing magnetic field of the proto neutron star launches weak outflows into the early ejecta. Their orientation follows the evolution of the rotational axis of the proto neutron star, which starts to tilt from the original orientation due to the asymmetric accretion flows impinging on its surface. The models with stronger magnetization generate mildly relativistic, magnetically driven polar outflows propagating over a distance of 104 km…

ABSTRACT We use the romulus25 cosmological simulation volume to identify the largest-ever simulated sample of field ultradiffuse galaxies (UDGs). At z = 0, we find that isolated UDGs have average star formation rates (SFRs), colours, and virial masses for their stellar masses and environment. UDGs have moderately elevated H i masses, being 70 per cent (300 per cent) more H i rich than typical isolated dwarf galaxies at luminosities brighter (fainter) than MB = −14. However, UDGs are consistent with the general isolated dwarf galaxy population and make up ∼20 per cent of all field galaxies with 107 < M⋆/M⊙ < 109. The H i masses, effective radii, and overall appearances of our UDGs are consistent with existing observations of field UDGs, but we predict that many isolated UDGs have been missed by current surveys. Despite their isolation at z = 0, the UDGs in our sample are the products of major mergers. Mergers are no more common in UDG than non-UDG progenitors, but mergers that create UDGs tend to happen earlier – almost never occurring after z = 1, produce a temporary boost in spin,…

ABSTRACT We study the effect of magnetic fields on a simulated galaxy and its surrounding gaseous halo, or circumgalactic medium (CGM), within cosmological ‘zoom-in’ simulations of a Milky Way-mass galaxy as part of the Simulating the Universe with Refined Galaxy Environments (SURGE) project. We use three different galaxy formation models, each with and without magnetic fields, and include additional spatial refinement in the CGM to improve its resolution. The central galaxy’s star formation rate and stellar mass are not strongly affected by the presence of magnetic fields, but the galaxy is more disc dominated and its central black hole is more massive when B > 0. The physical properties of the CGM change significantly. With magnetic fields, the circumgalactic gas flows are slower, the atomic hydrogen-dominated extended discs around the galaxy are more massive and the densities in the inner CGM are therefore higher, the temperatures in the outer CGM are higher, and the pressure in the halo is higher and smoother. The total gas fraction and metal mass fraction in the halo are also…

ABSTRACT In order to accurately determine stellar properties, knowledge of the effective temperature of stars is vital. We implement Gaia and 2MASS photometry in the InfraRed Flux Method and apply it to over 360 000 stars across different evolutionary stages in the GALAH DR3 survey. We derive colour-effective temperature relations that take into account the effect of metallicity and surface gravity over the range $4000\, \rm {K}\lesssim T_{\rm {eff}}\lesssim 8000\, \rm {K}$, from very metal-poor stars to supersolar metallicities. The internal uncertainty of these calibrations is of order 40–80 K depending on the colour combination used. Comparison against solar-twins, Gaia benchmark stars, and the latest interferometric measurements validates the precision and accuracy of these calibrations from F to early M spectral types. We assess the impact of various sources of uncertainties, including the assumed extinction law, and provide guidelines to use our relations. Robust solar colours are also derived.

ABSTRACT HiPERCAM is a portable, quintuple-beam optical imager that saw first light on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) in 2018. The instrument uses re-imaging optics and four dichroic beamsplitters to record $u_{\rm s}\, g_{\rm s}\, r_{\rm s}\, i_{\rm s}\, z_{\rm s}$ (320–1060 nm) images simultaneously on its five CCD cameras, each of 3.1-arcmin (diagonal) field of view. The detectors in HiPERCAM are frame-transfer devices cooled thermo-electrically to 183 K, thereby allowing both long-exposure, deep imaging of faint targets, as well as high-speed (over 1000 windowed frames per second) imaging of rapidly varying targets. A comparison-star pick-off system in the telescope focal plane increases the effective field of view to 6.7 arcmin for differential photometry. Combining HiPERCAM with the world’s largest optical telescope enables the detection of astronomical sources to gs ∼ 23 in 1 s and gs ∼ 28 in 1 h. In this paper, we describe the scientific motivation behind HiPERCAM, present its design, report on its measured performance, and outline some planned enhancements.

ABSTRACT The first stars in the Universe, the so-called Population III stars, form in small dark matter minihaloes with virial temperatures Tvir < 104 K. Cooling in these minihaloes is dominated by molecular hydrogen (H2), and so Population III star formation is only possible in those minihaloes that form enough H2 to cool on a short timescale. As H2 cooling is more effective in more massive minihaloes, there is therefore a critical halo mass scale Mmin above which Population III star formation first becomes possible. Two important processes can alter this minimum mass scale: streaming of baryons relative to the dark matter and the photodissociation of H2 by a high redshift Lyman–Werner (LW) background. In this paper, we present results from a set of high resolution cosmological simulations that examine the impact of these processes on Mmin and on Mave (the average minihalo mass for star formation), both individually and in combination. We show that streaming has a bigger impact on Mmin than the LW background, but also that both effects are additive. We also provide a fitting…

ABSTRACT Stellar magnetic activity produces time-varying distortions in the photospheric line profiles of solar-type stars. These lead to systematic errors in high-precision radial-velocity measurements, which limit efforts to discover and measure the masses of low-mass exoplanets with orbital periods of more than a few tens of days. We present a new data-driven method for separating Doppler shifts of dynamical origin from apparent velocity variations arising from variability-induced changes in the stellar spectrum. We show that the autocorrelation function (ACF) of the cross-correlation function used to measure radial velocities is effectively invariant to translation. By projecting the radial velocities on to a subspace labelled by the observation identifiers and spanned by the amplitude coefficients of the ACF’s principal components, we can isolate and subtract velocity perturbations caused by stellar magnetic activity. We test the method on a 5-yr time sequence of 853 daily 15-min observations of the solar spectrum from the HARPS-N instrument and solar-telescope feed on the…

ABSTRACT We use N-body simulations to study the evolution of cuspy cold dark matter (CDM) haloes in the gravitational potential of a massive host. Tidal mass-losses reshape CDM haloes, leaving behind bound remnants whose characteristic densities are set by the mean density of the host at the pericentre of their respective orbit. The evolution to the final bound remnant state is essentially complete after ∼5 orbits for nearly circular orbits, while reaching the same remnant requires, for the same pericentre, ∼25 and ∼40 orbits for eccentric orbits with 1:5 and 1:20 pericentre-to-apocentre ratios, respectively. The density profile of tidal remnants is fully specified by the fraction of mass lost, and approaches an exponentially truncated Navarro–Frenk–White profile in the case of heavy mass-loss. Resolving tidal remnants requires excellent numerical resolution; poorly resolved subhaloes have systematically lower characteristic densities and are more easily disrupted. Even simulations with excellent spatial and time resolution fail when the final remnant is resolved with fewer than…

ABSTRACT Radiative mixing layers arise wherever multiphase gas, shear, and radiative cooling are present. Simulations show that in steady state, thermal advection from the hot phase balances radiative cooling. However, many features are puzzling. For instance, hot gas entrainment appears to be numerically converged despite the scale-free, fractal structure of such fronts being unresolved. Additionally, the hot gas heat flux has a characteristic velocity vin ≈ cs, cold(tcool/tsc, cold)−1/4 whose strength and scaling are not intuitive. We revisit these issues in 1D and 3D hydrodynamic simulations. We find that over-cooling only happens if numerical diffusion dominates thermal transport; convergence is still possible even when the Field length is unresolved. A deeper physical understanding of radiative fronts can be obtained by exploiting parallels between mixing layers and turbulent combustion, which has well-developed theory and abundant experimental data. A key parameter is the Damköhler number Da = τturb/tcool, the ratio of the outer eddy turnover time to the cooling time. Once Da…