| 1. |
- Galluccio, L., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia Data Release 3: Reflectance spectra of Solar System small bodies
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The Gaia mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) has been routinely observing Solar System objects (SSOs) since the beginning of its operations in August 2014. The Gaia data release three (DR3) includes, for the first time, the mean reflectance spectra of a selected sample of 60 518 SSOs, primarily asteroids, observed between August 5, 2014, and May 28, 2017. Each reflectance spectrum was derived from measurements obtained by means of the Blue and Red photometers (BP/RP), which were binned in 16 discrete wavelength bands. For every spectrum, the DR3 also contains additional information about the data quality for each band.Aims. We describe the processing of the Gaia spectral data of SSOs, explaining both the criteria used to select the subset of asteroid spectra published in Gaia DR3, and the different steps of our internal validation procedures. In order to further assess the quality of Gaia SSO reflectance spectra, we carried out external validation against SSO reflectance spectra obtained from ground-based and space-borne telescopes and available in the literature; we present our validation approach.Methods. For each selected SSO, an epoch reflectance was computed by dividing the calibrated spectrum observed by the BP/RP at each transit on the focal plane by the mean spectrum of a solar analogue. The latter was obtained by averaging the Gaia spectral measurements of a selected sample of stars known to have very similar spectra to that of the Sun. Finally, a mean of the epoch reflectance spectra was calculated in 16 spectral bands for each SSO.Results. Gaia SSO reflectance spectra are in general agreement with those obtained from a ground-based spectroscopic campaign specifically designed to cover the same spectral interval as Gaia and mimic the illumination and observing geometry characterising Gaia SSO observations. In addition, the agreement between Gaia mean reflectance spectra and those available in the literature is good for bright SSOs, regardless of their taxonomic spectral class. We identify an increase in the spectral slope of S-type SSOs with increasing phase angle. Moreover, we show that the spectral slope increases and the depth of the 1 μm absorption band decreases for increasing ages of S-type asteroid families. The latter can be interpreted as proof of progressive ageing of S-type asteroid surfaces due to their exposure to space weathering effects.
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| 2. |
- Marconi, A., et al.
(författare)
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ANDES, the high resolution spectrograph for the ELT : science case, baseline design and path to construction
- 2022
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY IX. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9781510653504 - 9781510653498
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first generation of ELT instruments includes an optical-infrared high resolution spectrograph, indicated as ELT-HIRES and recently christened ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph). ANDES consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs (UBV, RIZ, YJH) providing a spectral resolution of similar to 100,000 with a minimum simultaneous wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 mu m with the goal of extending it to 0.35-2.4 mu m with the addition of a K band spectrograph. It operates both in seeing- and diffraction-limited conditions and the fibre-feeding allows several, interchangeable observing modes including a single conjugated adaptive optics module and a small diffraction-limited integral field unit in the NIR. Its modularity will ensure that ANDES can be placed entirely on the ELT Nasmyth platform, if enough mass and volume is available, or partly in the Coude room. ANDES has a wide range of groundbreaking science cases spanning nearly all areas of research in astrophysics and even fundamental physics. Among the top science cases there are the detection of biosignatures from exoplanet atmospheres, finding the fingerprints of the first generation of stars, tests on the stability of Nature's fundamental couplings, and the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. The ANDES project is carried forward by a large international consortium, composed of 35 Institutes from 13 countries, forming a team of more than 200 scientists and engineers which represent the majority of the scientific and technical expertise in the field among ESO member states.
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| 3. |
- Bourrier, V., et al.
(författare)
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A CHEOPS-enhanced view of the HD 3167 system
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 668
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Much remains to be understood about the nature of exoplanets smaller than Neptune, most of which have been discovered in compact multi-planet systems. With its inner ultra-short period planet b aligned with the star and two larger outer planets d-c on polar orbits, the multi-planet system HD 3167 features a peculiar architecture and offers the possibility to investigate both dynamical and atmospheric evolution processes. To this purpose we combined multiple datasets of transit photometry and radial velocimetry (RV) to revise the properties of the system and inform models of its planets. This effort was spearheaded by CHEOPS observations of HD 3167b, which appear inconsistent with a purely rocky composition despite its extreme irradiation. Overall the precision on the planetary orbital periods are improved by an order of magnitude, and the uncertainties on the densities of the transiting planets b and c are decreased by a factor of 3. Internal structure and atmospheric simulations draw a contrasting picture between HD 3167d, likely a rocky super-Earth that lost its atmosphere through photo-evaporation, and HD 3167c, a mini-Neptune that kept a substantial primordial gaseous envelope. We detect a fourth, more massive planet on a larger orbit, likely coplanar with HD 3167d-c. Dynamical simulations indeed show that the outer planetary system d-c-e was tilted, as a whole, early in the system history, when HD 3167b was still dominated by the star influence and maintained its aligned orbit. RV data and direct imaging rule out that the companion that could be responsible for the present-day architecture is still bound to the HD 3167 system. Similar global studies of multi-planet systems will tell how many share the peculiar properties of the HD 3167 system, which remains a target of choice for follow-up observations and simulations.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Maes, S.L., et al.
(författare)
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Environmental drivers of increased ecosystem respiration in a warming tundra
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 629:8010, s. 105-113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems are large reservoirs of organic carbon. Climate warming may stimulate ecosystem respiration and release carbon into the atmosphere. The magnitude and persistency of this stimulation and the environmental mechanisms that drive its variation remain uncertain. This hampers the accuracy of global land carbon–climate feedback projections. Here we synthesize 136 datasets from 56 open-top chamber in situ warming experiments located at 28 arctic and alpine tundra sites which have been running for less than 1 year up to 25 years. We show that a mean rise of 1.4 °C [confidence interval (CI) 0.9–2.0 °C] in air and 0.4 °C [CI 0.2–0.7 °C] in soil temperature results in an increase in growing season ecosystem respiration by 30% [CI 22–38%] (n = 136). Our findings indicate that the stimulation of ecosystem respiration was due to increases in both plant-related and microbial respiration (n = 9) and continued for at least 25 years (n = 136). The magnitude of the warming effects on respiration was driven by variation in warming-induced changes in local soil conditions, that is, changes in total nitrogen concentration and pH and by context-dependent spatial variation in these conditions, in particular total nitrogen concentration and the carbon:nitrogen ratio. Tundra sites with stronger nitrogen limitations and sites in which warming had stimulated plant and microbial nutrient turnover seemed particularly sensitive in their respiration response to warming. The results highlight the importance of local soil conditions and warming-induced changes therein for future climatic impacts on respiration.
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| 6. |
- Ginski, C., et al.
(författare)
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An extended scattered light disk around AT Pyx. Possible planet formation in a cometary globule
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 662
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. To understand how the multitude of planetary systems that have been discovered come to be, we need to study systems at different evolutionary stages, with different central stars but also in different environments. The most challenging environment for planet formation may be the harsh UV radiation field of nearby massive stars which quickly erodes disks by external photo-evaporation. We observed the AT Pyx system, located in the head of a cometary globule in the Gum Nebula, to search for signs of ongoing planet formation.Methods. We used the extreme adaptive optics imager VLT/SPHERE in Dual Beam Polarization Imaging Mode in H-band as well as in IRDIFS Extended mode (K12-band imaging and Y-H integral field spectroscopy) to observe AT Pyx in polarized light and total intensity. Additionally, we employed VLT/NACO to observe the system in the L-band.Results. We resolve the disk around AT Pyx for the first time in scattered light across multiple wavelengths in polarized light and total intensity. We find an extended (≥126 au) disk, with an intermediate inclination of between 35° and 42°. The disk shows a complex substructure and we identify two or possibly three spiral-like features. Depending on the precise geometry of the disk (which we cannot unambiguously infer from our data), the disk may be eccentric with an eccentricity of ~0.16 or partially self-shadowed. The spiral features and possible eccentricity are both consistent with signatures of an embedded gas giant planet with a mass of ~1 MJup. Our own observations can rule out brown dwarf companions embedded in the resolved disk, but are nevertheless not sensitive enough to confirm or rule out the presence of a gas giant.Conclusions. AT Pyx is the first disk to be spatially resolved in a cometary globule in the Gum Nebula. By comparison with disks in the Orion Nebula Cluster we note that the extension of the disk may be exceptional for this environment if the external UV radiation field is indeed comparable to other cometary globules in the region. The signposts of ongoing planet formation are intriguing and need to be followed up with either higher sensitivity or at different wavelengths.
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| 7. |
- Bellotti, S., et al.
(författare)
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Monitoring the large-scale magnetic field of AD Leo with SPIRou, ESPaDOnS, and Narval : Towards a magnetic polarity reversal?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 676
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: One clear manifestation of dynamo action on the Sun is the 22-yr magnetic cycle, exhibiting a polarity reversal and a periodic conversion between poloidal and toroidal fields. For M dwarfs, several authors claim evidence of activity cycles from photometry and analyses of spectroscopic indices, but no clear polarity reversal has been identified from spectropolarimetric observations. These stars are excellent laboratories to investigate dynamo-powered magnetic fields under different stellar interior conditions, that is partly or fully convective.Aims: Our aim is to monitor the evolution of the large-scale field of AD Leo, which has shown hints of a secular evolution from past dedicated spectropolarimetric campaigns. This is of central interest to inform distinct dynamo theories, contextualise the evolution of the solar magnetic field, and explain the variety of magnetic field geometries observed in the past.Methods: We analysed near-infrared spectropolarimetric observations of the active M dwarf AD Leo taken with SPIRou between 2019 and 2020 and archival optical data collected with ESPaDOnS and Narval between 2006 and 2019. We searched for long-term variability in the longitudinal field, the width of unpolarised Stokes profiles, the unsigned magnetic flux derived from Zeeman broadening, and the geometry of the large-scale magnetic field using both Zeeman-Doppler imaging and principal component analysis.Results: We found evidence of a long-term evolution of the magnetic field, featuring a decrease in axisymmetry (from 99% to 60%). This is accompanied by a weakening of the longitudinal field (-300 to -50 G) and a correlated increase in the unsigned magnetic flux (2.8-3.6 kG). Likewise, the width of the mean profile computed with selected near-infrared lines manifests a long-term evolution corresponding to field strength changes over the full time series, but does not exhibit modulation with the stellar rotation of AD Leo in individual epochs.Conclusions: The large-scale magnetic field of AD Leo manifested first hints of a polarity reversal in late 2020 in the form of a substantially increased dipole obliquity, while the topology remained predominantly poloidal and dipolar for 14 yr. This suggests that low-mass M dwarfs with a dipole-dominated magnetic field can undergo magnetic cycles.
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| 8. |
- Berne, Olivier, et al.
(författare)
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PDRs4All : A JWST Early Release Science Program on Radiative Feedback from Massive Stars
- 2022
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Ingår i: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. - : IOP Publishing. - 0004-6280 .- 1538-3873. ; 134:1035
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Massive stars disrupt their natal molecular cloud material through radiative and mechanical feedback processes. These processes have profound effects on the evolution of interstellar matter in our Galaxy and throughout the universe, from the era of vigorous star formation at redshifts of 1-3 to the present day. The dominant feedback processes can be probed by observations of the Photo-Dissociation Regions (PDRs) where the far-ultraviolet photons of massive stars create warm regions of gas and dust in the neutral atomic and molecular gas. PDR emission provides a unique tool to study in detail the physical and chemical processes that are relevant for most of the mass in inter- and circumstellar media including diffuse clouds, proto-planetary disks, and molecular cloud surfaces, globules, planetary nebulae, and star-forming regions. PDR emission dominates the infrared (IR) spectra of star-forming galaxies. Most of the Galactic and extragalactic observations obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will therefore arise in PDR emission. In this paper we present an Early Release Science program using the MIRI, NIRSpec, and NIRCam instruments dedicated to the observations of an emblematic and nearby PDR: the Orion Bar. These early JWST observations will provide template data sets designed to identify key PDR characteristics in JWST observations. These data will serve to benchmark PDR models and extend them into the JWST era. We also present the Science-Enabling products that we will provide to the community. These template data sets and Science-Enabling products will guide the preparation of future proposals on star-forming regions in our Galaxy and beyond and will facilitate data analysis and interpretation of forthcoming JWST observations.
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| 9. |
- Chown, Ryan, et al.
(författare)
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PDRs4All: IV. An embarrassment of riches: Aromatic infrared bands in the Orion Bar
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 685
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Mid-infrared observations of photodissociation regions (PDRs) are dominated by strong emission features called aromatic infrared bands (AIBs). The most prominent AIBs are found at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.2 µm. The most sensitive, highest-resolution infrared spectral imaging data ever taken of the prototypical PDR, the Orion Bar, have been captured by JWST. These high-quality data allow for an unprecedentedly detailed view of AIBs. Aims. We provide an inventory of the AIBs found in the Orion Bar, along with mid-IR template spectra from five distinct regions in the Bar: the molecular PDR (i.e. the three H2 dissociation fronts), the atomic PDR, and the H II region. Methods. We used JWST NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS observations of the Orion Bar from the JWST Early Release Science Program, PDRs4All (ID: 1288). We extracted five template spectra to represent the morphology and environment of the Orion Bar PDR. We investigated and characterised the AIBs in these template spectra. We describe the variations among them here. Results. The superb sensitivity and the spectral and spatial resolution of these JWST observations reveal many details of the AIB emission and enable an improved characterization of their detailed profile shapes and sub-components. The Orion Bar spectra are dominated by the well-known AIBs at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.2, and 12.7 µm with well-defined profiles. In addition, the spectra display a wealth of weaker features and sub-components. The widths of many AIBs show clear and systematic variations, being narrowest in the atomic PDR template, but showing a clear broadening in the H II region template while the broadest bands are found in the three dissociation front templates. In addition, the relative strengths of AIB (sub-)components vary among the template spectra as well. All AIB profiles are characteristic of class A sources as designated by Peeters (2022, A&A, 390, 1089), except for the 11.2 µm AIB profile deep in the molecular zone, which belongs to class B11.2. Furthermore, the observations show that the sub-components that contribute to the 5.75, 7.7, and 11.2 µm AIBs become much weaker in the PDR surface layers. We attribute this to the presence of small, more labile carriers in the deeper PDR layers that are photolysed away in the harsh radiation field near the surface. The 3.3/11.2 AIB intensity ratio decreases by about 40% between the dissociation fronts and the H II region, indicating a shift in the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) size distribution to larger PAHs in the PDR surface layers, also likely due to the effects of photochemistry. The observed broadening of the bands in the molecular PDR is consistent with an enhanced importance of smaller PAHs since smaller PAHs attain a higher internal excitation energy at a fixed photon energy. Conclusions. Spectral-imaging observations of the Orion Bar using JWST yield key insights into the photochemical evolution of PAHs, such as the evolution responsible for the shift of 11.2 µm AIB emission from class B11.2 in the molecular PDR to class A11.2 in the PDR surface layers. This photochemical evolution is driven by the increased importance of FUV processing in the PDR surface layers, resulting in a “weeding out” of the weakest links of the PAH family in these layers. For now, these JWST observations are consistent with a model in which the underlying PAH family is composed of a few species: the so-called ‘grandPAHs’.
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| 10. |
- De Putte, Dries Van, et al.
(författare)
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PDRs4All VIII. Mid-infrared emission line inventory of the Orion Bar
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 687
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context . Mid-infrared emission features are important probes of the properties of ionized gas and hot or warm molecular gas, which are difficult to probe at other wavelengths. The Orion Bar photodissociation region (PDR) is a bright, nearby, and frequently studied target containing large amounts of gas under these conditions. Under the “PDRs4All” Early Release Science Program for JWST, a part of the Orion Bar was observed with MIRI integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopy, and these high-sensitivity IR spectroscopic images of very high angular resolution (0.2′′) provide a rich observational inventory of the mid-infrared (MIR) emission lines, while resolving the H II region, the ionization front, and multiple dissociation fronts. Aims . We list, identify, and measure the most prominent gas emission lines in the Orion Bar using the new MIRI IFU data. An initial analysis summarizes the physical conditions of the gas and demonstrates the potential of these new data and future IFU observations with JWST. Methods. The MIRI IFU mosaic spatially resolves the substructure of the PDR, its footprint cutting perpendicularly across the ionization front and three dissociation fronts. We performed an up-to-date data reduction, and extracted five spectra that represent the ionized, atomic, and molecular gas layers. We identified the observed lines through a comparison with theoretical line lists derived from atomic data and simulated PDR models. The identified species and transitions are summarized in the main table of this work, with measurements of the line intensities and central wavelengths. Results . We identified around 100 lines and report an additional 18 lines that remain unidentified. The majority consists of H I recombination lines arising from the ionized gas layer bordering the PDR. The H I line ratios are well matched by emissivity coefficients from H recombination theory, but deviate by up to 10% because of contamination by He I lines. We report the observed emission lines of various ionization stages of Ne, P, S, Cl, Ar, Fe, and Ni. We show how the Ne III/Ne II, S IV/S III, and Ar III/Ar II ratios trace the conditions in the ionized layer bordering the PDR, while Fe III/Fe II and Ni III/Ni II exhibit a different behavior, as there are significant contributions to Fe II and Ni II from the neutral PDR gas. We observe the pure-rotational H2 lines in the vibrational ground state from 0–0 S(1) to 0–0 S(8), and in the first vibrationally excited state from 1–1 S(5) to 1–1 S(9). We derive H2 excitation diagrams, and for the three observed dissociation fronts, the rotational excitation can be approximated with one thermal (∼700 K) component representative of an average gas temperature, and one nonthermal component (∼2700 K) probing the effect of UV pumping. We compare these results to an existing model of the Orion Bar PDR, and find that the predicted excitation matches the data qualitatively, while adjustments to the parameters of the PDR model are required to reproduce the intensity of the 0–0 S(6) to S(8) lines.
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