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At least 109 records · Page 6

Quantifying the line-of-sight halo contribution to the dark matter convergence power spectrum from strong gravitational lenses

Galaxy-galaxy strong gravitational lenses have become a popular probe of dark matter (DM) by providing a window into structure formation on the smallest scales. In particular, the convergence power spectrum of subhalos within lensing galaxies has been suggested as a promising observable to study DM. However, the distances involved in strong-lensing systems are vast, and we expect the relevant volume to contain line-of-sight (LOS) halos that are not associated with the main lens. We develop a formalism to calculate the effect of LOS halos as an effective convergence power spectrum. Here, the multilens plane equation couples the angular deflections of consecutive lens planes, but by assuming that the perturbations due to the LOS halos are small, we show that they can be projected onto the main-lens plane as effective subhalos. We test our formalism by simulating lensing systems using the full multiplane lens equation and find excellent agreement. We show how the relative contribution of LOS halos and subhalos depends on the source and lens redshift, as well as the assumed halo and subhalo mass functions. For a fiducial system with fraction of DM halo mass in substructure f sub = 0.4% for subhalo masses [10 5 –10 8 ]M ⊙ , the interloper contribution to the power spectrum is at least several times greater than that of subhalos for source redshifts z s ≳ 0.5. Furthermore, it is likely that for the SLACS and BELLS lenses the interloper contribution dominates: f sub ≳ 2% (4%) is needed for subhalos to dominate in SLACS (BELLS), which is higher than current upper bounds on f sub for our mass range. Since the halo mass function is better understood from first principles, the dominance of interlopers in galaxy-galaxy lenses with high-quality imaging can be seen as a significant advantage when translating this observable into a constraint on DM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Construction of wave dark matter halos: Numerical algorithm and analytical constraints

Here we present a wave generalization of the classic Schwarzschild method for constructing self-consistent halos—such a halo consists of a suitable superposition of waves instead of particle orbits, chosen to yield a desired mean density profile. As an illustration, the method is applied to spherically symmetric halos. We derive an analytic relation between the particle distribution function and the wave superposition amplitudes and show how it simplifies in the high-energy (WKB) limit. We verify the stability of such constructed halos by numerically evolving the Schrödinger-Poisson system. The algorithm provides an efficient and accurate way to simulate the time-dependent halo substructures from wave interference. We use this method to construct halos with a variety of density profiles, all of which have a core from the ground-state wave function, though the core-halo relation need not be the standard one.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

BASS. XXXVI. Constraining the Local Supermassive Black Hole–Halo Connection with BASS DR2 AGNs

We investigate the connection between supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host dark matter halos in the local universe using the clustering statistics and luminosity function of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Swift/BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS DR2). By forward-modeling AGN activity into snapshot halo catalogs from N -body simulations, we test a scenario in which SMBH mass correlates with dark matter (sub)halo mass for fixed stellar mass. We compare this to a model absent of this correlation, where stellar mass alone determines the SMBH mass. We find that while both simple models are able to largely reproduce the abundance and overall clustering of AGNs, the model in which black hole mass is tightly correlated with halo mass is preferred by the data by 1.8 σ . When including an independent measurement on the black hole mass–halo mass correlation, this model is preferred by 4.6 σ . We show that the clustering trends with black hole mass can further break the degeneracies between the two scenarios and that our preferred model reproduces the measured clustering differences on one-halo scales between large and small black hole masses. These results indicate that the halo binding energy is fundamentally connected to the growth of SMBHs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cosmic Reionization on Computers: Baryonic Effects on Halo Concentrations during the Epoch of Reionization

Baryons both increase halo concentration through adiabatic contraction and expel mass through feedback processes. However, it is not well understood how the radiation fields prevalent during the epoch of reionization affect the evolution of concentration in dark matter halos. We investigate how baryonic physics during the epoch of reionization modify the structure of dark matter halos in the Cosmic Reionization On Computers (CROC) simulations. We use two different measures of halo concentration to quantify the effects. We compare concentrations of halos matched between full-physics simulations and dark-matter-only simulations with identical initial conditions between 5 ≤ z ≤ 9. Baryons in full-physics simulations do pull matter toward the center, increasing the maximum circular velocity compared to dark-matter-only simulations. However, their overall effects are much less than if all the baryons were simply centrally concentrated indicating that heating processes efficiently counteract cooling effects. Finally, we show that the baryonic effects on halo concentrations at z ≈ 5 are relatively insensitive to environmental variations of reionization history. These results are pertinent to models of galaxy–halo connection during the epoch of reionization.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ELG×LRG Distribution through Dark Matter Halo Dynamics

We investigate the clustering and halo occupation distribution (HOD) of DESI Y1 emission-line (ELGs) and luminous red (LRGs) galaxies at 0.8 < z < 1.1, including their cross-correlation (ELG×LRG), using the A BACUS S UMMIT suite and a new Halo Occupation Model (H OME ) for galaxy multitracers. This integrates intrahalo dynamics, halo exclusion, and quenching, bridging insights from hydrodynamical, HOD, abundance-matching, and semianalytic studies. Leveraging full phase-space information from the Uchuu N-body simulation, and sampling satellites from dark-matter particle positions via physically motivated prescriptions, Home reproduces the anisotropic clustering down to s = 200 h −1 kpc with unprecedented accuracy. Model parameters are inferred solely from two-point statistics using a two-level Bayesian framework, yielding high-fidelity ELG, LRG, and cross-reference catalogs. We find that satellite ELGs behave as incoherent flows within their parent halos, dominating the clustering below 4 h −1 Mpc. The HOD from the best-fit Home has the following properties: (i) 90.50% (85.91%) of ELGs (LRGs) are central galaxies without satellites, residing in halos of M vir ∼ 6.6 × 10 11 (1.2 × 10 13 ) h −1 M ⊙ ; (ii) the ELG×LRG cross-correlation is governed by central-central pairs and shaped by halo exclusion on 2–5 h −1 Mpc scales; (iii) 9.50% (14.09%) of ELGs (LRGs) are satellites, of which 1.09% (3.52%) inhabit halos with a central galaxy of the same species in a maximally conformal configuration, 7.02% (0.005%) orbit complementary hosts in a minimally conformal state, and 0.58% (10.57%) are orphans. The high sensitivity of Home precisely captures the dynamics of satellites in different host environments, opening a promising avenue for understanding systematics and the dynamical nature of dark matter, potentially distinguishing gravity models.

Favole, Ginevra [Universidad de La Laguna (Spain);↗

Discovery of solar system-size halos around young stars

Near-infrared speckle interferometric observations of five pre-main-sequence stars reveal a core-halo structure around two of these stars: HL Tau and R Mon. The halo light distribution is shown to arise from scattered light from small circumstellar particles. Halo sizes of 320 x 200 AU (alpha x delta FWHM) and 1300 x 1300 AU are deduced for HL Tau and R Mon, respectively, and the halo light is substantially bluer than the stellar light. The minimum mass of small particles in the scattering regions is comparable to the earth's mass in HL Tau and ten times greater in R Mon. Mass loss from the stars is almost certainly insufficient to produce the halo matter. The halos probably consist of relatively slowly moving matter bound gravitationally to the stars. From the size and mass of the circumstellar matter, it appears likely that these halos are in the early stage in the formation of planet-forming disks around the young stars.

Beckwith, S.↗

Measuring interstellar grains from the haloes of binary X-ray sources

Coherent forward scattering of X-rays by interstellar grains creates a halo around the X-ray image of a compact source. The fractional halo brightness at 2 keV is typically of order 10% moderately reddened galactic sources. The angular brightness distribution of the halo, which extends over several arcminutes, indicates the size distribution of the grains, and the spectrum of the halo indicates the composition of the grains. The halo will persist for several hours after the point source vanishes during an eclipse of a binary source; this provides a way to avoid systematic errors in measuring halo brightness due to an extended point response function of the X-ray telescope. Indeed, it is possilbe to infer the size distribution and composition of the grains without an imaging X-ray telescope by observing the time-dependence of the halo spectrum during eclipse.

Xu, Y.↗

Brown dwarfs as dark galactic halos

The possibility that the dark matter in galactic halos can consist of brown dwarf stars is considered. The radiative signature for such halos consisting solely of brown dwarfs is calculated, and the allowed range of brown dwarf masses, the initial mass function (IMF), the stellar properties, and the density distribution of the galactic halo are discussed. The prediction emission from the halo is compared with existing observations. It is found that, for any IMF of brown dwarfs below the deuterium burning limit, brown dwarf halos are consistent with observations. Brown dwarf halos cannot, however, explain the recently observed near-IR background. It is shown that future satellite missions will either detect brown dwarf halos or place tight constraints on the allowed range of the IMF.

Adams, Fred C.↗

Solar wind halo electrons from 1-4 AU

Observations from the Ulysses solar wind electron spectrometer are used to make a first examination of the evolution of the solar wind suprathermal or halo electron population as a function of heliocentric distance beyond 1 AU. As the core population cools with increasing heliocentric distance, no gap is formed between the core and halo populations. Rather, the halo electrons extend to increasingly lower energies. As predicted previously on theoretical grounds, the ratio of the core electron temperature to the low energy cutoff of the halo population appears to be roughly constant with a value of about 7.5. The total integrated heat flux drops rapidly with increasing heliocentric distance; a best fit power law of R exp -2.36 is found. In addition, it is found that the ratio of the halo to core densities is roughly constant over heliocentric distance with the halo representing 4 percent of the total electron distribution. These results suggest that the halo population may not consist of truly noninteractive test particles over the heliocentric range of 1-4 AU.

Mccomas, D. J.↗

Large-scale gas dynamical processes affecting the origin and evolution of gaseous galactic halos

Observations of galactic halo gas are consistent with an interpretation in terms of the galactic fountain model in which supernova heated gas in the galactic disk escapes into the halo, radiatively cools and forms clouds which fall back to the disk. The results of a new study of several large-scale gas dynamical effects which are expected to occur in such a model for the origin and evolution of galactic halo gas will be summarized, including the following: (1) nonequilibrium absorption line and emission spectrum diagnostics for radiatively cooling halo gas in our own galaxy, as well the implications of such absorption line diagnostics for the origin of quasar absorption lines in galactic halo clouds of high redshift galaxies; (2) numerical MHD simulations and analytical analysis of large-scale explosions ad superbubbles in the galactic disk and halo; (3) numerical MHD simulations of halo cloud formation by thermal instability, with and without magnetic field; and (4) the effect of the galactic fountain on the galactic dynamo.

Shapiro, Paul R.↗

Can MACHOs probe the shape of the galaxy halo ?

Microlensing searches in our galaxy have recently discovered several candidates in the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We study the prospects for such searches to yield useful information about the flattening of the Galaxy dark matter halo, using a self-consistent oblate halo model and allowing for the possibility of misalignment between the disk and halo symmetry axes. The microlensing optical depth for the LMC, tau(LMC), depends sensitively on the disk-halo tilt angle in the Milky Way, as does the ratio tau(SMC)/tau(LMC). If the tilt angle is as large as 30 deg, a much larger spread in values for tau(LMC) is consistent with rotation curve constraints than previously thought. Disk-halo tilt and halo flattening do not significantly affect the massive compact halo object (MACHO) masses inferred from event durations.

Frieman, Joshua↗

Design of a Flush Airdata System (FADS) for the Hypersonic Air Launched Option (HALO) Vehicle

This paper presents a design study for a pressure based Flush airdata system (FADS) on the Hypersonic Air Launched Option (HALO) Vehicle. The analysis will demonstrate the feasibility of using a pressure based airdata system for the HALO and provide measurement uncertainty estimates along a candidate trajectory. The HALO is a conceived as a man-rated vehicle to be air launched from an SR-71 platform and is proposed as a testbed for an airbreathing hydrogen scramjet. A feasibility study has been performed and indicates that the proposed trajectory is possible with minimal modifications to the existing SR71 vehicle. The mission consists of launching the HALO off the top of an SR-71 at Mach 3 and 80,000 ft. A rocket motor is then used to accelerate the vehicle to the test condition. After the scramjet test is completed the vehicle will glide to a lakebed runway landing. This option provides reusability of the vehicle and scramjet engine. The HALO design will also allow for various scramjet engine and flowpath designs to be flight tested. For the HALO flights, measurements of freestream airdata are considered to be a mission critical to perform gain scheduling and trajectory optimization. One approach taken to obtaining airdata involves measurement of certain parameters such as external atmospheric winds, temperature, etc to estimate the airdata quantities. This study takes an alternate approach. Here the feasibility of obtaining airdata using a pressure-based flush airdata system (FADS) methods is assessed. The analysis, although it is performed using the HALO configuration and trajectory, is generally applicable to other hypersonic vehicles. The method to be presented offers the distinct advantage of inferring total pressure, Mach number, and flow incidence angles, without stagnating the freestream flow. This approach allows for airdata measurements to be made using blunt surfaces and significantly diminishes the heating load at the sensor. In the FADS concept a matrix of flush ports is placed in the vicinity of the aircraft nose, and the airdata are inferred indirectly from the measured pressures.

Whitmore, Stephen A.↗

Characterization of Polar Mesospheric Clouds Using Infrared Measurements from HALOE

Measurements from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) revealed the infrared signature of polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), for the first time, HALOE PMC observations at eight wavelengths (2.45 - 10 microns) show remarkable agreement with model PMC spectra based on ice particle extinction, and thus provide the first confirmation that water ice is the primary component of PMCs. Because PMCs respond to changes in temperature and water vapor, they are considered an indicator of global climate change. We propose to further the understanding of PMCs using a decade of infrared measurements form HALOE. This effort will characterize PMC spectral properties, extinction profiles, and size distributions. Using this information, HALOE measurements will be used to make simultaneous retrievals of H2O3, and temperature, in the presence of PMCs. The simultaneous retrievals of particle properties, H2O3, and temperature will be used with HALOE NO data to provide a significant step forward in the knowledge of PMC characteristics and formation conditions. We will challenge fundamental theories of PMC formation, and investigate changes in PMC properties and related conditions over the length of the HALOE measurement record. HALOE has been operating without flaw since it was launched on October 11, 1991. Consequently, ten southern and ten northern PMC seasons have been observed thus far, providing a wealth of data for the study of PMC and related parameters.

Hervig, Mark E.↗

Characterization of Polar Mesospheric Clouds Using Infrared Measurements From HALOE

Measurements from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) revealed the infrared signature of polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), for the first time, HALOE PMC observations at eight wavelengths (2.45 - 10 microns) show remarkable agreement with model PMC spectra based on ice particle extinction, and thus provide the first confirmation that water ice is the primary component of PMCs. Because PMCs respond to changes in temperature and water vapor, they are considered an indicator of global climate change. We propose to further the understanding of PMCs using a decade of infrared measurements form HALOE. This effort will characterize PMC spectral properties, extinction profiles, and size distributions. Using this information, HALOE measurements will be used to make simultaneous retrievals of H2O, O3, and temperature, in the presence of PMCs. The simultaneous retrievals of particle properties, H2O, O3, and temperature will be used with HALOE NO data to provide a significant step forward in the knowledge of PMC characteristics and formation conditions. We will challenge fundamental theories of PMC formation, and investigate changes in PMC properties and related conditions over the length of the HALOE measurement record. HALOE has been operating without flaw since it was launched on October 11, 1991. Consequently, ten southern and ten northern PMC seasons have been observed thus far, providing a wealth of data for the study of PMCs and related parameters.

Hervig, Mark E.↗

A New Method to Resolve X-Ray Halos around Point Sources with Chandra Data and Its Application to Cygnus X-1

With excellent angular resolution, good energy resolution, and a broad energy band, the Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) is the best instrument for studying the X-ray halos around some Galactic X-ray point sources caused by the dust scattering of X-rays in the interstellar medium. However, the direct images of bright sources obtained with the ACIS usually suffer from severe pileup. Making use of the fact that an isotropic image could be reconstructed from its projection in to any direction, we can reconstruct the images of the X-ray halos from the data obtained with the High Energy Transition Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) and/or in continuos clocking (CC) mode. These data have no or less serious pileup and enable us to take full advantage of the excellent angular resolution of Chandra. With the reconstructed high-resolution images, we can probe the X-ray halos as close as 1" to their associated point sources. Applying this method to Cygnus X-1 observed with the Chandra HETGS in CC mode, we derived an energy-dependent radial halo flux distribution and concluded that in a circular region (2' in radius) centered a the point source: (1) relative to the total intensity, the fractional halo intensity is about 15% at keV and drops to aboout 5% at approximately 6 keV (2) about 50% of the halo photons are within the region of a radius less than 40 inches and (3) the spectrum of the pooint source is slightly distorted by the halo contamination.

Yao, Yangsen↗

The Geographic Distribution of Boulder Halo Craters at Mid-to-High Latitudes on Mars

Extensive evidence exists for ground ice at mid-to-high latitudes on Mars, including results from neutron spectroscopy [1-3], thermal properties [4-5], geomorphology [e.g., 6-9], and the in situ observations of Mars Phoenix [10]. This ground ice has been hypothesized to be emplaced diffusively and fill pores [11], or to have accumulated by ice and dust deposition that draped or mantled the terrain [7, 12]. These two processes are not mutually exclusive; both potentially have occurred on Mars [5]. One of the landforms found in areas where ground ice is common on Mars are boulder halo craters [e.g., 13-15] (Figure 1), which are topographically muted impact craters that are filled by ice-rich regolith. They are outlined by boulders that trace a circular outline of the original crater rim. Boulder halos generally have distinctly higher boulder densities than the surrounding background plains and have few boulders in their interiors. The mechanism of boulder halo crater formation is somewhat uncertain. Our working model is that an impact event occurs with sufficient size to excavate to a depth greater than the boulder-poor, ice-rich soils. Excavated boulders are deposited around the crater's rim and in its proximal ejecta. Quite rapidly [14], the crater becomes infilled by icy soil. Rather than being buried, boulders in the halo remain at the surface, perhaps be-cause they 'float' relative to finer-grained materials [14, 16]. Regardless of the details of this process, the life-time of boulders at the surface is much greater than the timescale needed to remove most of the craters' topography. Physical weathering of rocks must be greatly out-paced by crater infilling (the opposite of what is typical, e.g., on the Moon [17]). The rapidity of this infilling is easiest to understand if icy mantling material is deposited and accumulates, rather than simply being added by pore filling of soils. If this model is correct, boulder halos only form when they excavate rock-producing materials from beneath the upper surface. Thus, the distribution and size of craters that result in boulders halos may provide in-sight into the thickness of the ice-rich surface layer in different locations. Note that this thickness is necessarily that of the ice-rich layer at the time of impact, not at present. This study is an initial survey of boulder halo crater locations in the 50deg to 80degN and 50deg to 80degS latitude bands on Mars.

Ice↗

Observation and Attribution of Temperature Trends near the Stratopause from HALOE

This study considers time series of temperature versus pressure, T(p), from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) across the stratopause region, where the effects of radiative forcings from the greenhouse gases (CO2 and H2O) and from ozone are most pronounced. Trend analyses are from 1993-2005 for HALOE T(p) values at seven levels from 3.0 to 0.3 hPa with a vertical resolution of about 4 km and for eight latitude zones from 65°S to 65°N. The HALOE trends at 2.0 hPa are of the order of -1.0 K/decade across the tropics and subtropics, but then become smaller (-0.5 K/decade) at the middle latitudes. The near-global HALOE trend profile has a minimum cooling rate of -0.2 K/decade at 1.0 hPa, although it is more negative in the southern hemisphere and slightly positive in the northern hemisphere. The combined radiative forcings from CO2, H2O, and ozone are from -0.4 to -0.6 K/decade for 1993-2005 and are hemispherically symmetric. HALOE temperature trend and total radiative cooling profiles differ from those reported from observations and calculations for 1980-2000, mainly because the ozone trends changed from clearly negative in the 1980s through mid-1990s to slightly positive during the time of HALOE. Trends for the tracer, HALOE methane (CH4), increase from 2 to 4 %/decade from 50 hPa to 10 hPa, indicating an acceleration of the Brewer/Dobson circulation. Analyses of time series of CH4 across the stratopause reveal more variability in the northern hemisphere, where wave dissipation likely contributes to the heating.

Remsberg, Ellis↗

Mergers Matter: Gravothermal Collapse in Dwarf Halos with Self-Interacting Dark Matter

Self-Interacting Dark Matter (SIDM) models with large cross sections at relative velocities below $\sim100\,{\rm km \, s}^{-1}$ can be tested with dwarf galaxy observations. We analyze six dark-matter-only zoom-in $\sim10^{10}\,{\rm M}_\odot$ halos with diverse assembly histories, adopting a cross section over mass of $σ/m = 70\,cm^2 \, g^{-1}$. We find that mergers inject orbital kinetic energy into the halo, altering the heat transport and the gravothermal evolution of the core. Three of the six halos -- those with the most quiescent merger histories -- show clear signs of core collapse in these simulations. Halos with sustained mergers do not collapse. Furthermore, merger-induced heat transport drives two non-collapsing halos to central densities well below the predictions of the gravothermal fluid model. These findings suggest a novel mechanism for producing dark-matter-deficient galaxies and expanding the diversity of rotation curves beyond what halo concentration alone predicts. Merger histories are thus essential for understanding central density distributions of dwarf galaxy halos in SIDM.

Silverman, Maya [UC, Irvine; Bohr Inst.] (ORCID:00↗