Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series最新文献

This paper defines and discusses a set of rectangular all-sky projections that have no singular points, notably the Tesselated Octahedral Adaptive Spherical Transformation (or TOAST) developed initially for the WorldWide Telescope. These have proven to be useful as intermediate representations for imaging data where the application transforms dynamically from a standardized internal format to a specific format (projection, scaling, orientation, etc.) requested by the user. TOAST is strongly related to the Hierarchical Triangular Mesh pixelization and is particularly well adapted to situations where one wishes to traverse a hierarchy of images increasing in resolution. Because it can be recursively computed using a very simple algorithm it is particularly adaptable to use with graphical processing units.

We present a large ensemble of simulations of an Earth-like world with increasing insolation and rotation rate. Unlike previous work utilizing idealized aquaplanet configurations we focus our simulations on modern Earth-like topography. The orbital period is the same as modern Earth, but with zero obliquity and eccentricity. The atmosphere is 1 bar N₂-dominated with CO₂=400 ppmv and CH₄=1 ppmv. The simulations include two types of oceans; one without ocean heat transport (OHT) between grid cells as has been commonly used in the exoplanet literature, while the other is a fully coupled dynamic bathtub type ocean. The dynamical regime transitions that occur as day length increases induce climate feedbacks producing cooler temperatures, first via the reduction of water vapor with increasing rotation period despite decreasing shortwave cooling by clouds, and then via decreasing water vapor and increasing shortwave cloud cooling, except at the highest insolations. Simulations without OHT are more sensitive to insolation changes for fast rotations while slower rotations are relatively insensitive to ocean choice. OHT runs with faster rotations tend to be similar with gyres transporting heat poleward making them warmer than those without OHT. For slower rotations OHT is directed equator-ward and no high latitude gyres are apparent. Uncertainties in cloud parameterization preclude a precise determination of habitability but do not affect robust aspects of exoplanet climate sensitivity. This is the first paper in a series that will investigate aspects of habitability in the simulations presented herein. The datasets from this study are opensource and publicly available.

Calculated level energies for valence and K-vacancy states are provided for the ion series S VII - S XIV and Ar IX - Ar XVI. The calculations were performed with the relativistic Multi-Reference Mxller-Plesset Perturbation Theory method (MR-MP). The data set includes all the level energies with configurations 1s ²2(s, p) ^q , 1s ²2(s, p) ^q-1 nl, 1s ¹2(s, p) ^q+1, 1s ¹2(s, p) ^q nl, 2(s, p) ^q+2 and 2(s, p) ^q+1 nl, where 1 ≤ q ≤ 8, n ≤ 5 and l ≤ 3. We have compared our results with data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on-line database and with previous calculations. The average deviation of valence level energies ranges from 0.16 eV in Ne-like ions to 0.01 eV in Li-like ions, showing that the present MR-MP valence level energies are highly accurate. In the case of K-vacancy states, the deviation is generally below 0.3 eV for Li-like S XIV and Ar XVI. The deviation for K-vacancy energies in other L-shell ions (Be-, B-, C-, N- and O-like Ar ions) is higher but likely because the NIST-recommended values have a higher uncertainty. The data set includes many n = 4 and n = 5 valence and K-vacancy levels in L-shell ions of S and Ar not previously reported. The data can be used for line identification and modeling of L-shell ions of S and Ar in astrophysical and laboratory-generated plasmas, and as energy references in the absence of more accurate laboratory measurements.

We present results from a systematic selection of tidal disruption events (TDEs) in a wide-area (4800 deg²), g + R band, Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) experiment. Our selection targets typical optically-selected TDEs: bright (>60% flux increase) and blue transients residing in the center of red galaxies. Using photometric selection criteria to down-select from a total of 493 nuclear transients to a sample of 26 sources, we then use follow-up UV imaging with the Neil Gehrels Swift Telescope, ground-based optical spectroscopy, and light curve fitting to classify them as 14 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), 9 highly variable active galactic nuclei (AGNs), 2 confirmed TDEs, and 1 potential core-collapse supernova. We find it possible to filter AGNs by employing a more stringent transient color cut (g - r < -0.2 mag); further, UV imaging is the best discriminator for filtering SNe, since SNe Ia can appear as blue, optically, as TDEs in their early phases. However, when UV-optical color is unavailable, higher precision astrometry can also effectively reduce SNe contamination in the optical. Our most stringent optical photometric selection criteria yields a 4.5:1 contamination rate, allowing for a manageable number of TDE candidates for complete spectroscopic follow-up and real-time classification in the ZTF era. We measure a TDE per galaxy rate of ${1.7}_{-1.3}^{+2.9}\times {10}^{-4}{\text{gal}}^{-1}{\text{yr}}^{-1}$ (90% CL in Poisson statistics). This does not account for TDEs outside our selection criteria, thus may not reflect the total TDE population, which is yet to be fully mapped.

We present the Kepler Object of Interest (KOI) catalog of transiting exoplanets based on searching four years of Kepler time series photometry (Data Release 25, Q1-Q17). The catalog contains 8054 KOIs of which 4034 are planet candidates with periods between 0.25 and 632 days. Of these candidates, 219 are new in this catalog and include two new candidates in multi-planet systems (KOI-82.06 and KOI-2926.05), and ten new high-reliability, terrestrial-size, habitable zone candidates. This catalog was created using a tool called the Robovetter which automatically vets the DR25 Threshold Crossing Events (TCEs) found by the Kepler Pipeline (Twicken et al. 2016). Because of this automation, we were also able to vet simulated data sets and therefore measure how well the Robovetter separates those TCEs caused by noise from those caused by low signal-to-noise transits. Because of these measurements we fully expect that this catalog can be used to accurately calculate the frequency of planets out to Kepler's detection limit, which includes temperate, super-Earth size planets around GK dwarf stars in our Galaxy. This paper discusses the Robovetter and the metrics it uses to decide which TCEs are called planet candidates in the DR25 KOI catalog. We also discuss the simulated transits, simulated systematic noise, and simulated astrophysical false positives created in order to characterize the properties of the final catalog. For orbital periods less than 100 d the Robovetter completeness (the fraction of simulated transits that are determined to be planet candidates) across all observed stars is greater than 85%. For the same period range, the catalog reliability (the fraction of candidates that are not due to instrumental or stellar noise) is greater than 98%. However, for low signal-to-noise candidates found between 200 and 500 days, our measurements indicate that the Robovetter is 73.5% complete and 37.2% reliable across all searched stars (or 76.7% complete and 50.5% reliable when considering just the FGK dwarf stars). We describe how the measured completeness and reliability varies with period, signal-to-noise, number of transits, and stellar type. Also, we discuss a value called the disposition score which provides an easy way to select a more reliable, albeit less complete, sample of candidates. The entire KOI catalog, the transit fits using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, and all of the simulated data used to characterize this catalog are available at the NASA Exoplanet Archive.

The only known phosphorus-containing organic compounds of extraterrestrial origin, alkylphosphonic acids, were discovered in the Murchison meteorite and have accelerated the hypothesis that reduced oxidation states of phosphorus were delivered to early Earth and served as a prebiotic source of phosphorus. While previous studies looking into the formation of these alkylphosphonic acids have focused on the iron-nickel phosphide mineral schreibersite and phosphorous acid as a source of phosphorus, this work utilizes phosphine (PH₃), which has been discovered in the circumstellar envelope of IRC +10216, in the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn, and believed to be the phosphorus carrier in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Phosphine ices prepared with interstellar molecules such as carbon dioxide, water, and methane were subjected to electron irradiation, which simulates the secondary electrons produced from galactic cosmic rays penetrating the ice, and probed using infrared spectroscopy to understand the possible formation of alkylphosphonic acids and their precursors on interstellar icy grains that could become incorporated into meteorites such as Murchison. We present the first study and results on the possible synthesis of alkylphosphonic acids produced from phosphine-mixed ices under interstellar conditions. All functional groups of alkylphosphonic acids were detected through infrared spectroscopically, suggesting that this class of molecules can be formed in interstellar ices.

Level energies are reported for Si V, Si VI, Si VII, Si VIII, Si IX, Si X, Si XI and Si XII. The energies have been calculated with the relativistic Multi-Reference Møller-Plesset Perturbation Theory method and include valence and K-vacancy states with nl up to 5f. The accuracy of the calculated level energies is established by comparison with the recommended data listed in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on-line database. The average deviation of valence level energies ranges from 0.20 eV in Si V to 0.04 eV in Si XII. For K-vacancy states, the available values recommended in the NIST database are limited to Si XII and Si XIII. The average energy deviation is below 0.3 eV for K-vacancy states. The extensive and accurate dataset presented here greatly augments the amount of available reference level energies. We expect our data to ease the line identification of L-shell ions of Si in celestial sources and laboratory generated plasmas, and to serve as energy references in the absence of more accurate laboratory measurements.

We perform a comprehensive analysis of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC 6781 to investigate the physical conditions of each of its ionized, atomic, and molecular gas and dust components and the object's evolution, based on panchromatic observational data ranging from UV to radio. Empirical nebular elemental abundances, compared with theoretical predictions via nucleosynthesis models of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, indicate that the progenitor is a solar-metallicity, 2.25-3.0 M_⊙ initial-mass star. We derive the best-fit distance of 0.46 kpc by fitting the stellar luminosity (as a function of the distance and effective temperature of the central star) with the adopted post-AGB evolutionary tracks. Our excitation energy diagram analysis indicates high-excitation temperatures in the photodissociation region (PDR) beyond the ionized part of the nebula, suggesting extra heating by shock interactions between the slow AGB wind and the fast PN wind. Through iterative fitting using the Cloudy code with empirically derived constraints, we find the best-fit dusty photoionization model of the object that would inclusively reproduce all of the adopted panchromatic observational data. The estimated total gas mass (0.41 M_⊙) corresponds to the mass ejected during the last AGB thermal pulse event predicted for a 2.5 M_⊙ initial-mass star. A significant fraction of the total mass (about 70%) is found to exist in the PDR, demonstrating the critical importance of the PDR in PNe that are generally recognized as the hallmark of ionized/H⁺ regions.