Constraining Protoplanetary Disk Winds from Forbidden Line Profiles with Simulation-based Inference Ahmad Nemer, ChangHoon Hahn, Jiaxuan Li, Peter Melchior, Jeremy Goodman arXiv:2403.10243v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Protoplanetary disks are the sites of vigorous hydrodynamic processes, such as accretion and outflows, and ultimately establish the conditions for the formation of planets. The properties of disk outflows are often inferred through analysis of forbidden emission lines. These lines contain multiple overlapping components, tracing different emission regions with different processes that excite them: a high-velocity component (tracing a jet), a broad low-velocity component (tracing inner disk wind), and a narrow low-velocity component (tracing outer disk wind). They areRead More →

Asteroid reflectance spectra from Gaia DR3: Near-UV in primitive asteroids F. Tinaut-Ruano, J. de Le’on, E. Tatsumi, D. Morate, M. Mahlke, P. Tanga, J. Licandro arXiv:2403.10321v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: In the context of charge-coupled devices (CCDs), the ultraviolet (UV) region has mostly remained unexplored after the 1990s. Gaia DR3 offers the community a unique opportunity to explore tens of thousands of asteroids in the near-UV as a proxy of the UV absorption. This absorption has been proposed in previous works as a diagnostic of hydration, organics, and space weathering. Aims. In this work, we aim to explore the potential of the NUV as aRead More →

Spectroscopic Observations of the Solar Corona during the 2017 August 21 Total Solar Eclipse: Comparison of Spectral Line Widths and Doppler Shifts Between Open and Closed Magnetic Structures Yingjie Zhu, Shadia R. Habbal, Adalbert Ding, Bryan Yamashiro, Enrico Landi, Benjamin Boe, Sage Constantinou, Michael Nassir arXiv:2403.10363v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The spectroscopic observations presented here were acquired during the 2017 August 21 total solar eclipse with a three-channel partially multiplexed imaging spectrometer (3PAMIS) operating at extremely high orders ($>$ 50). The 4 $R_odot$ extent of the slit in the North-South direction scanned the corona starting from the central meridian out to approximately 1.0 $R_odot$ offRead More →

Peak energy–Isotropic Luminosity Correlation and Jet Opening Angle Evolution in Swift-BAT Short GRBs with Soft Tail Emission Naoki Ogino, Daisuke Yonetoku, Makoto Arimoto, Tatsuya Sawano, Hamid Hamidani arXiv:2403.10386v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Some short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) exhibit a short duration and spectral hard emission (referred to as a “hard spike”) followed by a slightly longer soft emission (known as a “soft tail”). We identified nine SGRBs with known redshift in the textit{Swift}/BAT gamma-ray burst catalog by specifically searching for the soft tail. We found that spectra of these SGRBs can be described as a cutoff power-law model for both hard spike and soft tail,Read More →

Consistent extinction model for type Ia supernovae in Cepheid-based calibration galaxies and its impact on $H_{0}$ Rados{l}aw Wojtak, Jens Hjorth arXiv:2403.10388v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The most recent SH0ES measurement of the Hubble constant, based on type Ia supernovae from the Pantheon+ compilation, employs corrections of supernova peak magnitudes which effectively accounts for extinction in the supernova host galaxies. These corrections are estimated using a probabilistic model which is trained on Hubble flow (z>0.03) supernovae and extrapolated to the calibration galaxies (those with observed Cepheid distances). By comparing the corrected peak magnitudes to distance moduli from Cepheids, we show that this standard approach underestimates theRead More →

Statistical investigation of wave propagation in the quiet-Sun using IRIS spectroscopic observations Kartika Sangal, A. K. Srivastava, P. Kayshap, Ding Yuan, E. Scullion arXiv:2403.10392v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: In the current analysis, we use spectroscopic observations of the quiet-Sun made by IRIS instrument, and investigate wave propagation. We analyze various spectral lines formed in different atmospheric layers such as the photosphere, chromosphere, and transition region. We examine Doppler velocity time-series at various locations in the quiet-Sun to determine the dominant oscillation periods. Our results executing statistical analysis resemble those of the classical physical scenario, indicating that the photosphere is mainly characterized by the dominant 5-minuteRead More →

Searching for precursor activity of Type IIn Supernovae A. Reguitti, G. Pignata, A. Pastorello, R. Dastidar, D. E. Reichart, J. B. Haislip, V. V. Kouprianov arXiv:2403.10398v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We conducted a search for luminous outbursts prior to the explosion of Type IIn Supernovae (SNe IIn). We built a sample of 27 objects spectroscopically classified as SNe IIn, all located at $zarXiv:2403.10398v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We conducted a search for luminous outbursts prior to the explosion of Type IIn Supernovae (SNe IIn). We built a sample of 27 objects spectroscopically classified as SNe IIn, all located at $zRead More →

High-speed Readout System of X-ray CMOS Image Sensor for Time Domain Astronomy Naoki Ogino, Makoto Arimoto, Tatsuya Sawano, Daisuke Yonetoku, Hsien-chieh Shen, Takanori Sakamoto, Junko S. Hiraga, Yoichi Yatsu, Tatehiro Mihara arXiv:2403.10409v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We developed an FPGA-based high-speed readout system for a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to observe soft X-ray transients in future satellite missions, such as HiZ-GUNDAM. Our previous research revealed that the CMOS image sensor has low-energy X-ray detection capability (0.4-4 keV) and strong radiation tolerance, which satisfies the requirements of the HiZ-GUNDAM mission. However, CMOS sensors typically have small pixel sizes (e.g., $sim$10 ${rm mu m}$), resulting inRead More →

The role of heating on the formation and the dynamics of YSO jets : I. A parametric study C. Meskini, C. Sauty, A. Marcowith, N. Vlahakis, V. Brunn arXiv:2403.10475v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Theoretical arguments as well as observations of young stellar objects (YSO) support the presence of a diversified circumstellar environment. A stellar jet is thought to account for most of the stellar spin down and disk wind outflow for the observed high mass loss rate, thus playing a major role in the launching of powerful jets. RY Tau, for instance, is an extensively studied intermediate mass pre-main sequence star. Observational data reveal aRead More →

Comparative study of the kinetic properties of proton and alpha beams in the Alfv’enic wind observed by SWA-PAS onboard Solar Orbiter Roberto Bruno (INAF-IAPS), Rossana DeMarco (INAF-IAPS), Raffaella ‘D Amicis (INAF-IAPS), Denise Perrone (ASI), Maria Federica Marcucci (INAF-IAPS), Daniele Telloni (INAF-OATO), Raffaele Marino (Univ Lyon, CNRS), Luca Sorriso Valvo (CNR-ISTP), Vito Fortunato (Planetek), Gennaro Mele (Leonardo), Francesco Monti (Leonardo), Andrei Fedorov (TSD), Philippe Louarn (TSD), Chris Owen (UCL-MSSL), Stefano Livi (SwRI) arXiv:2403.10489v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The problems of heating and acceleration of solar wind particles are of significant and enduring interest in astrophysics. The interactions between waves and particles are crucial in determining theRead More →

Does the Correlation between 2MRS Galaxies and the CMB Indicate an Unmodeled CMB Foreground? Graeme E. Addison arXiv:2403.10490v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We revisit the claimed detection of a new cosmic microwave background (CMB) foreground based on the correlation between low-redshift 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) galaxies and CMB temperature maps from the Planck and WMAP missions. We reproduce the reported measurements but argue that the original analysis significantly underestimated the uncertainties. We cross-correlate the 2MRS galaxy positions with simulated CMB maps and show that the correlation measured with the real data for late-type spiral galaxies at angular scales $thetageq0.1^{circ}$ and redshift $czarXiv:2403.10490v1 Announce Type: newRead More →

Detection of ionized hydrogen and oxygen from a very luminous and young galaxy 13.4 billion years ago Jorge A. Zavala, Marco Castellano, Hollis B. Akins, Tom J. L. C. Bakx, Denis Burgarella, Caitlin M. Casey, ‘Oscar A. Ch’avez Ortiz, Mark Dickinson, Steven L. Finkelstein, Ikki Mitsuhashi, Kimihiko Nakajima, Pablo G. P’erez-Gonz’alez, Pablo Arrabal Haro, Veronique Buat, Bren Backhaus, Antonello Calabr`o, Nikko J. Cleri, David Fern’andez-Arenas, Adriano Fontana, Maximilien Franco, Mauro Giavalisco, Norman A. Grogin, Nimish Hathi, Michaela Hirschmann, Ryota Ikeda, Intae Jung, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Anton M. Koekemoer, Rebeca L. Larson, Jed McKinney, Casey Papovich, Toshiki Saito, Paola Santini, Roberto Terlevich, Elena Terlevich, Tommaso Treu,Read More →

Webb Reveals Secrets of Neptune’s Evolution A twinset of icy asteroids called Mors-Somnus is giving planetary scientists some clues about the origin and evolution of objects in the Kuiper Belt. JWST studied them during its first cycle of observations and revealed details about their surfaces, which gives hints at their origins. That information may also end up explaining how Neptune got to be the way it is today. The Mors-Somnus binary is part of a collection of objects beyond Neptune. They’re called, aptly enough, “Trans-Neptunian Objects” or TNOs, for short. About 3,000 are numbered and known, and many more aren’t yet surveyed. They all lieRead More →

Little Red Dots in Webb Photos Turned Out to Be Quasars In its first year of operation, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) made some profound discoveries. These included providing the sharpest views of iconic cosmic structures (like the Pillars of Creation), transmission spectra from exoplanet atmospheres, and breathtaking views of Jupiter, its largest moons, Saturn’s rings, its largest moon Titan, and Enceladus’ plumes. But Webb also made an unexpected find during its first year of observation that may prove to be a breakthrough: a series of little red dots in a tiny region of the night sky. These little red dots were observed asRead More →

The Maximum Mass of a Neutron Star is 2.25 Solar Masses When stars grow old and die, their mass determines their ultimate fate. Many supermassive stars have futures as neutron stars. But, the question is, how massive can their neutron stars get? That’s one that Professor Fan Yizhong and his team at Purple Mountain Observatory in China set out to answer. It turns out that a non-rotating neutron star can’t be much more than 2.25 solar masses. If it was more massive, it would face a much more dire fate: to become a black hole. To figure this out, the team at Purple Mountain lookedRead More →

Could Earth Life Survive on a Red Dwarf Planet? Even though exoplanet science has advanced significantly in the last decade or two, we’re still in an unfortunate situation. Scientists can only make educated guesses about which exoplanets may be habitable. Even the closest exoplanet is four light-years away, and though four is a small integer, the distance is enormous. That doesn’t stop scientists from trying to piece things together, though. One of the most consequential questions in exoplanet science and habitability concerns red dwarfs. Red dwarfs are plentiful, and research shows that they host multitudes of planets. While gas giants like Jupiter are comparatively rareRead More →

Webb Continues to Confirm That Universe is Behaving Strangely Over a century ago, astronomers Edwin Hubble and Georges Lemaitre independently discovered that the Universe was expanding. Since then, scientists have attempted to measure the rate of expansion (known as the Hubble-Lemaitre Constant) to determine the origin, age, and ultimate fate of the Universe. This has proved very daunting, as ground-based telescopes yielded huge uncertainties, leading to age estimates of anywhere between 10 and 20 billion years! This disparity between these measurements, produced by different techniques, gave rise to what is known as the Hubble Tension. It was hoped that the aptly named Hubble Space TelescopeRead More →

NASA is Fixing its Link to Voyager 1 Voyagers 1 and 2 were, to put it simply, incredible. They were true explorers and unveiled many mysteries of the outer Solar System, revealing the outer planets in all their glory. Communication with Voyager 1 has until recently been possible, slow but possible. More recently however, it has been sending home garbled data rendering communication to all intents impossible although messages can still be sent. Engineers at NASA have narrowed the problem down to an onboard computer, the Flight Data System (FDS). A dump of the entire memory of the FDS has now been received so thatRead More →

The Cosmic Neutrino Background Would Tell Us Plenty About the Universe Readers of Universe Today are probably already familiar with the concept of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Its serendipitous discovery by a pair of radio astronomers at Bell Labs is the stuff of astronomical legend. Over the past decades, it has offered plenty of insights into the Big Bang and the origins of our universe. But there is another, less well-known background signal that could be just as revolutionary – or at least we think there is. The Cosmic Neutrino Background (CvB) has been posited for years but has yet to be found, primarilyRead More →

Mars Was Hiding Another Giant Volcano Olympus Mons is well known for being the largest volcano in the Solar System. It’s joined on Mars by three other shield volcanoes; Ascraeus, Pavonis and Arsia but a recent discovery has revealed a fifth. Provisionally called Noctis volcano, this previously unknown Martian feature reaches 9,022 metres high and 450 kilometres across. Its presence has eluded planetary scientists because it has been heavily eroded and is on the boundary of the fractured maze-like terrain of Noctis Labyrinthus.  Mars seems to like shield volcanoes. They are a type of volcano that have a broad gently sloping profile and are generallyRead More →