| 1. |
- Bedell, Megan, et al.
(författare)
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Kepler-11 is a Solar Twin : Revising the Masses and Radii of Benchmark Planets via Precise Stellar Characterization
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 839:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The six planets of the Kepler-11 system are the archetypal example of a population of surprisingly low-density transiting planets revealed by the Kepler mission. We have determined the fundamental parameters and chemical composition of the Kepler-11 host star to unprecedented precision using an extremely high-quality spectrum from Keck-HIRES (R ≃ 67,000, S/N per pixel at 600 nm). Contrary to previously published results, our spectroscopic constraints indicate that Kepler-11 is a young main-sequence solar twin. The revised stellar parameters and new analysis raise the densities of the Kepler-11 planets by between 20% and 95% per planet, making them more typical of the emerging class of "puffy" close-in exoplanets. We obtain photospheric abundances of 22 elements and find that Kepler-11 has an abundance pattern similar to that of the Sun with a slightly higher overall metallicity. We additionally analyze the Kepler light curves using a photodynamical model and discuss the tension between spectroscopic and transit/TTV-based estimates of stellar density.
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| 2. |
- Bergemann, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Non-local Thermodynamic Equilibrium Stellar Spectroscopy with 1D and 3D Models. II. Chemical Properties of the Galactic Metal-poor Disk and the Halo
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 847:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- From exploratory studies and theoretical expectations it is known that simplifying approximations in spectroscopic analysis (local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), 1D) lead to systematic biases of stellar parameters and abundances. These biases depend strongly on surface gravity, temperature and, in particular, for LTE versus non-LTE (NLTE), on metallicity of the stars. Here we analyze the [Mg/Fe] and [Fe/H] plane of a sample of 326 stars, comparing LTE and NLTE results obtained using 1D hydrostatic models and averaged models. We show that compared to the NLTE benchmark, the other three methods display increasing biases toward lower metallicities, resulting in false trends of [Mg/Fe] against [Fe/H], which have profound implications for interpretations by chemical evolution models. In our best NLTE model, the halo and disk stars show a clearer behavior in the [Mg/Fe]-[Fe/H] plane, from the knee in abundance space down to the lowest metallicities. Our sample has a large fraction of thick disk stars and this population extends down to at least [Fe/H] ∼ -1.6 dex, further than previously proven. The thick disk stars display a constant [Mg/Fe] ≈ 0.3 dex, with a small intrinsic dispersion in [Mg/Fe] that suggests that a fast SN Ia channel is not relevant for the disk formation. The halo stars reach higher [Mg/Fe] ratios and display a net trend of [Mg/Fe] at low metallicities, paired with a large dispersion in [Mg/Fe]. These indicate the diverse origin of halo stars from accreted low-mass systems to stochastic/inhomogeneous chemical evolution in the Galactic halo.
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| 3. |
- Ahrens, Maryon, et al.
(författare)
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Search for Sources of Astrophysical Neutrinos Using Seven Years of IceCube Cascade Events
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 886:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Low-background searches for astrophysical neutrino sources anywhere in the sky can be performed using cascade events induced by neutrinos of all flavors interacting in IceCube with energies as low as similar to 1 TeV. Previously we showed that, even with just two years of data, the resulting sensitivity to sources in the southern sky is competitive with IceCube and ANTARES analyses using muon tracks induced by charge current muon neutrino interactions-especially if the neutrino emission follows a soft energy spectrum or originates from an extended angular region. Here, we extend that work by adding five more years of data, significantly improving the cascade angular resolution, and including tests for point-like or diffuse Galactic emission to which this data set is particularly well suited. For many of the signal candidates considered, this analysis is the most sensitive of any experiment to date. No significant clustering was observed, and thus many of the resulting constraints are the most stringent to date. In this paper we will describe the improvements introduced in this analysis and discuss our results in the context of other recent work in neutrino astronomy.
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| 4. |
- Kim, Ji Hoon, et al.
(författare)
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THE AGORA HIGH-RESOLUTION GALAXY SIMULATIONS COMPARISON PROJECT. II. ISOLATED DISK TEST
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 833:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using an isolated Milky Way-mass galaxy simulation, we compare results from nine state-of-the-art gravito-hydrodynamics codes widely used in the numerical community. We utilize the infrastructure we have built for the AGORA High-resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project. This includes the common disk initial conditions, common physics models (e.g., radiative cooling and UV background by the standardized package Grackle) and common analysis toolkit yt, all of which are publicly available. Subgrid physics models such as Jeans pressure floor, star formation, supernova feedback energy, and metal production are carefully constrained across code platforms. With numerical accuracy that resolves the disk scale height, we find that the codes overall agree well with one another in many dimensions including: gas and stellar surface densities, rotation curves, velocity dispersions, density and temperature distribution functions, disk vertical heights, stellar clumps, star formation rates, and Kennicutt-Schmidt relations. Quantities such as velocity dispersions are very robust (agreement within a few tens of percent at all radii) while measures like newly formed stellar clump mass functions show more significant variation (difference by up to a factor of ∼3). Systematic differences exist, for example, between mesh-based and particle-based codes in the low-density region, and between more diffusive and less diffusive schemes in the high-density tail of the density distribution. Yet intrinsic code differences are generally small compared to the variations in numerical implementations of the common subgrid physics such as supernova feedback. Our experiment reassures that, if adequately designed in accordance with our proposed common parameters, results of a modern high-resolution galaxy formation simulation are more sensitive to input physics than to intrinsic differences in numerical schemes.
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| 5. |
- Arabsalmani, M., et al.
(författare)
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A Superluminous Supernova in High Surface Density Molecular Gas within the Bar of a Metal-rich Galaxy
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 882:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the metal-rich host galaxy of superluminous supernova (SLSN) PTF10tpz, a barred spiral galaxy at z = 0.03994. We find the CO(1-0) emission to be confined within the bar of the galaxy. The distribution and kinematics of molecular gas in the host galaxy resemble gas flows along two lanes running from the tips of the bar toward the galaxy center. These gas lanes end in a gaseous structure in the inner region of the galaxy, likely associated with an inner Lindblad resonance. The interaction between the large-scale gas flows in the bar and the gas in the inner region plausibly leads to the formation of massive molecular clouds and consequently massive clusters. This in turn can result in formation of massive stars, and thus the likely progenitor of the SLSN in a young, massive cluster. This picture is consistent with SLSN PTF10tpz being located near the intersection regions of the gas lanes and the inner structure. It is also supported by the high molecular gas surface densities that we find in the vicinity of the SLSN, surface densities that are comparable with those in interacting galaxies or starburst regions in nearby galaxies. Our findings therefore suggest in situ formation of massive stars due to the internal dynamics of the host galaxy and also lend support to high densities being favorable conditions for formation of SLSN progenitors.
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| 6. |
- Bergemann, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Non-local Thermodynamic Equilibrium Stellar Spectroscopy with 1D and 〈3〉 Models. I. Methods and Application to Magnesium Abundances in Standard Stars
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 847:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We determine Mg abundances in six Gaia benchmark stars using theoretical one-dimensional (1D) hydrostatic model atmospheres, as well as temporally and spatially averaged three-dimensional (〈3D〉) model atmospheres. The stars cover a range of Teff from 4700 to 6500 K, log g from 1.6 to 4.4 dex, and [Fe H] from -3.0 dex to solar. Spectrum synthesis calculations are performed in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and in non-LTE (NLTE) using the oscillator strengths recently published by Pehlivan Rhodin et al. We find that: (a) Mg abundances determined from the infrared spectra are as accurate as the optical diagnostics, (b) the NLTE effects on Mg I line strengths and abundances in this sample of stars are minor (although for a few Mg I lines the NLTE effects on abundance exceed 0.6 dex in 〈3D〉 and 0.1 dex in 1D, (c) the solar Mg abundance is 7.56 ± 0.05 dex (total error), in excellent agreement with the Mg abundance measured in CI chondritic meteorites, (d) the 1D NLTE and 〈3D〉 NLTE approaches can be used with confidence to analyze optical Mg I lines in spectra of dwarfs and sub-giants, but for red giants the Mg I 5711 line should be preferred, (e) low-excitation Mg I lines are sensitive to the atmospheric structure; for these lines, LTE calculations with 〈3D〉 models lead to significant systematic abundance errors. The methods developed in this work will be used to study Mg abundances of a large sample of stars in the next paper in the series.
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| 7. |
- Buchhave, Lars A., et al.
(författare)
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Jupiter Analogs Orbit Stars with an Average Metallicity Close to That of the Sun
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 856:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Jupiter played an important role in determining the structure and configuration of the Solar System. Whereas hot-Jupiter type exoplanets preferentially form around metal-rich stars, the conditions required for the formation of planets with masses, orbits, and eccentricities comparable to Jupiter (Jupiter analogs) are unknown. Using spectroscopic metallicities, we show that stars hosting Jupiter analogs have an average metallicity close to solar, in contrast to their hot-Jupiter and eccentric cool-Jupiter counterparts, which orbit stars with super-solar metallicities. Furthermore, the eccentricities of Jupiter analogs increase with host-star metallicity, suggesting that planet-planet scatterings producing highly eccentric cool Jupiters could be more common in metal-rich environments. To investigate a possible explanation for these metallicity trends, we compare the observations to numerical simulations, which indicate that metal-rich stars typically form multiple Jupiters, leading to planet-planet interactions and, hence, a prevalence of either eccentric cool Jupiters or hot Jupiters with circularized orbits. Although the samples are small and exhibit variations in their metallicities, suggesting that numerous processes other than metallicity affect the formation of planetary systems, the data in hand suggests that Jupiter analogs and terrestrial-sized planets form around stars with average metallicities close to solar, whereas high-metallicity systems preferentially host eccentric cool Jupiter or hot Jupiters, indicating that higher metallicity systems may not be favorable for the formation of planetary systems akin to the Solar System.
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| 8. |
- Carrera, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Planetesimal Formation by the Streaming Instability in a Photoevaporating Disk
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 839:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent years have seen growing interest in the streaming instability as a candidate mechanism to produce planetesimals. However, these investigations have been limited to small-scale simulations. We now present the results of a global protoplanetary disk evolution model that incorporates planetesimal formation by the streaming instability, along with viscous accretion, photoevaporation by EUV, FUV, and X-ray photons, dust evolution, the water ice line, and stratified turbulence. Our simulations produce massive (60-130 M ⊕) planetesimal belts beyond 100 au and up to ∼20 M ⊕ of planetesimals in the middle regions (3-100 au). Our most comprehensive model forms 8 M ⊕ of planetesimals inside 3 au, where they can give rise to terrestrial planets. The planetesimal mass formed in the inner disk depends critically on the timing of the formation of an inner cavity in the disk by high-energy photons. Our results show that the combination of photoevaporation and the streaming instability are efficient at converting the solid component of protoplanetary disks into planetesimals. Our model, however, does not form enough early planetesimals in the inner and middle regions of the disk to give rise to giant planets and super-Earths with gaseous envelopes. Additional processes such as particle pileups and mass loss driven by MHD winds may be needed to drive the formation of early planetesimal generations in the planet-forming regions of protoplanetary disks.
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| 9. |
- Finzell, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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A Detailed Observational Analysis of V1324 Sco, the Most Gamma-Ray-luminous Classical Nova to Date
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 852:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has recently been discovered that some, if not all, classical novae emit GeV gamma-rays during outburst, but the mechanisms involved in the production ofgamma-rays are still not well understood. We present here a comprehensive multiwavelength data set - from radio to X-rays - for the most gamma-ray-luminous classical nova to date, V1324 Sco. Using this data set, we show that V1324 Sco is a canonical dusty Fe ii-type nova, with a maximum ejecta velocity of 2600 km s-1 and an ejecta mass of a few × 10-5 M⊙. There is also evidence for complex shock interactions, including a double-peaked radio light curve which shows high brightness temperatures at early times. To explore why V1324 Sco was so gamma-ray luminous, we present a model of the nova ejecta featuring strong internal shocks and find that higher gamma-ray luminosities result from higher ejecta velocities and/or mass-loss rates. Comparison of V1324 Sco with other gamma-ray-detected novae does not show clear signatures of either, and we conclude that a larger sample of similarly well-observed novae is needed to understand the origin and variation of gamma-rays in novae.
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| 10. |
- Guerco, Rafael, et al.
(författare)
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Fluorine Abundances in the Galactic Disk
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 885:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The chemical evolution of fluorine is investigated in a sample of Milky Way red giant stars that span a significant range in metallicity from [Fe/H] ? ?1.3 to 0.0 dex. Fluorine abundances are derived from vibration-rotation lines of HF in high-resolution infrared spectra near 2.335 ?m. The red giants are members of the thin and thick disk/halo, with two stars being likely members of the outer disk Monoceros overdensity. At lower metallicities, with [Fe/H] < ?0.4 to ?0.5, the abundance of F varies as a primary element with respect to the Fe abundance, with a constant subsolar value of [F/Fe] ? ?0.3 to ?0.4 dex. At larger metallicities, however, [F/Fe] increases rapidly with [Fe/H] and displays a near-secondary behavior with respect to Fe. Comparisons with various models of chemical evolution suggest that in the low-metallicity regime (dominated here by thick-disk stars), a primary evolution of F-19 with Fe, with a subsolar [F/Fe] value that roughly matches the observed plateau, can be reproduced by a model incorporating neutrino nucleosynthesis in the aftermath of the core collapse in Type II supernovae. A primary behavior for [F/Fe] at low metallicity is also observed for a model including rapidly rotating low-metallicity massive stars, but this overproduces [F/Fe] at low metallicity. The thick-disk red giants in our sample span a large range of galactocentric distance (R-g ? 6?13.7 kpc) yet display a roughly constant value of [F/Fe], indicating a very flat gradient (with a slope of 0.02 0.03 dex kpc(?1)) of this elemental ratio over a significant portion of the Galaxy having ?Z? 300 pc away from the Galaxy midplane.
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