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At least 1,099 records · Page 61

The Origin and Evolution of the Normal Type Ia SN 2018aoz with Infant-phase Reddening and Excess Emission

SN 2018aoz is a Type Ia SN with a B-band plateau and excess emission in infant-phase light curves ≲1 day after the first light, evidencing an over-density of surface iron-peak elements as shown in our previous study. Here, we advance the constraints on the nature and origin of SN 2018aoz based on its evolution until the nebular phase. Near-peak spectroscopic features show that the SN is intermediate between two subtypes of normal Type Ia: core normal and broad line. The excess emission may be attributable to the radioactive decay of surface iron-peak elements as well as the interaction of ejecta with either the binary companion or a small torus of circumstellar material. Nebular-phase limits on Hα and He ι favor a white dwarf companion, consistent with the small companion size constrained by the low early SN luminosity, while the absence of [O ι] and He ι disfavors a violent merger of the progenitor. Of the two main explosion mechanisms proposed to explain the distribution of surface iron-peak elements in SN 2018aoz, the asymmetric Chandrasekhar-mass explosion is less consistent with the progenitor constraints and the observed blueshifts of nebular-phase [Fe ιι] and [Ni ιι]. The helium-shell double-detonation explosion is compatible with the observed lack of C spectral features, but current 1D models are incompatible with the infant-phase excess emission, $B_{max}$--$V_{max}$ color, and weak strength of nebular-phase [Ca ιι]. Although the explosion processes of SN 2018aoz still need to be more precisely understood, the same processes could produce a significant fraction of Type Ia SNe that appear to be normal after ~1 day.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Common Origin of Normal Type Ia Supernovae Suggested by the Photometric Diversity

In recent years, with the increasing number of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered soon after their explosions, a nonnegligible fraction of SNe Ia with early-excess emissions (EExSNe Ia) have been confirmed. In this paper, we present a total of 67 early-phase normal SNe Ia from published papers and ongoing transient survey projects to systematically investigate their photometric behaviors from very early time. We found that EExSNe Ia in our sample have longer rise and brighter peak luminosities compared to non-EExSNe Ia. Moreover, EExSNe Ia commonly have “tiny red bump” or “blue plateau” features in the early B − V color while non-EExSNe Ia show blueward evolution from the very beginning. Here, we propose that the thin He-shell double detonation scenario can phenomenologically explain the photometric diversities of normal SNe Ia considering different white dwarf–He-shell mass combinations and the viewing angle effect, implying a unified explosion mechanism of normal-type SNe Ia. To further verify the possible common origin of normal SNe Ia, systematical studies of multiband photometric and spectral properties of early-phase SNe Ia through the new-generation wide-field time-domain survey facilities and global real-time follow-up networks are highly needed.

Wu, Weiyu↗

Probing the γ -Ray Emission Origin of Two Star-forming Galaxies NGC 2403 and NGC 3424 with the Fermi-LAT

Star-forming galaxies (SFGs) are a subclass of γ-ray emitters, and a correlation between their γ-ray luminosity (L γ ) and the total infrared (IR) luminosity (L IR ) has been established based on the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data. NGC 2403 and NGC 3424 have been reported as outliers in the L γ –L IR correlation with light curves showing significant variability, which contrasts with the temporally stable γ-ray emission in other SFGs, originating primarily from cosmic rays interacting with interstellar medium. In this study, we reanalyze the γ-ray emission in the directions of NGC 2403 and NGC 3424 using more than 16.5 yr Fermi-LAT data. NGC 3424 is found to be spatially coincident with the detected γ-ray source, while NGC 2403 is significantly offset from the nearest γ-ray source, suggesting an implausible association. We confirm the previously reported variability of both γ-ray sources and the significant deviation from the L γ –L IR correlation when assuming an association of both γ-ray sources with the two galaxies. Our findings lend further support to the interpretation that their γ-ray emission is driven primarily by alternative radiative processes—rather than by star formation activity—such as the ejecta of the Type IIP supernova SN 2004dj in NGC 2403 interacting with a surrounding high-density shell and an obscured active galactic nucleus in NGC 3424.

Liu, Linjie [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ku↗

ON THE ORIGIN OF INNER COMA STRUCTURES OBSERVED BY ROSETTA DURING A DIURNAL ROTATION OF COMET 67P/CHURYUMOV–GERASIMENKO

The Rosetta probe around comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P) reveals an anisotropic dust distribution of the inner coma with jet-like structures. The physical processes leading to jet formation are under debate, with most models for cometary activity focusing on localized emission sources, such as cliffs or terraced regions. Here we suggest, by correlating high-resolution simulations of the dust environment around 67P with observations, that the anisotropy and the background dust density of 67P originate from dust released across the entire sunlit surface of the nucleus rather than from few isolated sources. We trace back trajectories from coma regions with high local dust density in space to the non-spherical nucleus and identify two mechanisms of jet formation: areas with local concavity in either two dimensions or only one. Pits and craters are examples of the first case; the neck region of the bi-lobed nucleus of 67P is an example of the latter case. The conjunction of multiple sources, in addition to dust released from all other sunlit areas, results in a high correlation coefficient (∼0.8) of the predictions with observations during a complete diurnal rotation period of 67P.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE TURBULENT ORIGIN OF OUTFLOW AND SPIN MISALIGNMENT IN MULTIPLE STAR SYSTEMS

The protostellar outflows of wide-separation forming binaries frequently appear misaligned. We use magneto-hydrodynamic simulations to investigate the alignment of protostellar spin and molecular outflows for forming binary pairs. We show that the protostellar pairs, which form from turbulent fragmentation within a single parent core, have randomly oriented angular momentum. Although the pairs migrate to closer separations, their spins remain partially misaligned. We produce {sup 12}CO(2-1) synthetic observations of the simulations and characterize the outflow orientation in the emission maps. The CO-identified outflows exhibit a similar random distribution and are also statistically consistent with the observed distribution of molecular outflows. We conclude that the observed misalignment provides a clear signature of binary formation via turbulent fragmentation. The persistence of misaligned outflows and stellar spins following dynamical evolution may provide a signature of binary origins for more evolved multiple star systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On the Origin of the Spiral Morphology in the Elias 2–27 Circumstellar Disk

The young star Elias 2–27 has recently been observed to posses a massive circumstellar disk with two prominent large-scale spiral arms. In this Letter, we perform three-dimensional Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations, radiative transfer modeling, synthetic ALMA imaging, and an unsharped masking technique to explore three possibilities for the origin of the observed structures—an undetected companion either internal or external to the spirals, and a self-gravitating disk. We find that a gravitationally unstable disk and a disk with an external companion can produce morphology that is consistent with the observations. In addition, for the latter, we find that the companion could be a relatively massive planetary-mass companion (≲10–13 M {sub Jup}) and located at large radial distances (between ≈300–700 au). We therefore suggest that Elias 2–27 may be one of the first detections of a disk undergoing gravitational instabilities, or a disk that has recently undergone fragmentation to produce a massive companion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Origin of the Differential Fluxes of Low-energy Electrons in the Inner Heliosheath

The study addresses the question of the origin of low-energy electrons measured by Voyager 1 in the multi-keV range in the inner heliosheath. It intends to demonstrate that the observed keV-fluxes of electrons are consistent with their transmission through the termination shock under the influence of the associated electrostatic field. A power-law representation of the electron velocity distribution just downstream of the solar wind termination shock is motivated and formulated in terms of a so-called κ -distribution function. From this initial function spectral electron fluxes in the range 40–70 keV are derived and compared to the data. It is shown that with κ -values between 7 and 8 the data can be satisfactorily explained. Given these comparatively high κ -values, it is concluded that the electron distribution just downstream of the termination shock relaxes toward but does not reach a Maxwellian shape in the inner heliosheath.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Axion-mediated Transport of Fast Radio Bursts Originating in Inner Magnetospheres of Magnetars

Abstract Among magnetar models of fast radio bursts (FRBs), there is ongoing debate about whether the site of coherent radio emission lies within or beyond the light cylinder. We propose a mechanism by which FRBs produced near the magnetar surface are transported out of the magnetosphere by axions, which are hypothetical particles that couple to photons. If the emission site hosts strong accelerating electric fields, a considerable fraction of the FRB energy budget is converted to an axion burst. Once produced, the axion burst free streams out of the magnetosphere due to the rapidly decreasing magnetic field. The burst may escape through either the open or closed magnetosphere while retaining the temporal signature of the original FRB. In the wind region, axions resonantly excite ordinary (O) modes that escape as the plasma density decreases. The radio efficiency of this mechanism satisfies energetics constraints from FRB 121102 for axion−photon coupling strengths that have not been excluded by other astrophysical probes.

Prabhu, Anirudh (ORCID:0000000191157844)↗

Origin of Pulsed Radio Emission from Magnetars

Extended periods of radio pulsations have been observed for six magnetars, displaying characteristics different from those of ordinary pulsars. In this Letter, we argue that radio emission is generated in a closed, twisted magnetic flux bundle originating near the magnetic pole and extending beyond 100 km from the magnetar. The electron–positron flow in the twisted bundle has to carry electric current and, at the same time, experiences a strong drag from the radiation field of the magnetar. This combination forces the plasma into a “radiatively locked” state with a sustained two-stream instability, generating radio emission. We demonstrate this mechanism using novel first-principles simulations that follow the plasma behavior by solving the relativistic Vlasov equation with the discontinuous Galerkin method. First, using one-dimensional simulations, we demonstrate how radiative drag induces the two-stream instability, sustaining turbulent electric fields. When extended to two dimensions, the system produces electromagnetic waves, including superluminal modes capable of escaping the magnetosphere. We measure their frequency and emitted power and incorporate the local simulation results into a global magnetospheric model. The model explains key features of the observed radio emission from magnetars: its appearance after an X-ray outburst, wide pulse profiles, luminosities ∼10 30 erg s −1 , and a broad range of frequencies extending up to ∼100 GHz.

Astronomical simulations↗

ATOMIC AND MICROSTRUCTURAL ORIGINS OF STORED ENERGY RELEASE IN NEUTRON-IRRADIATED SILICON CARBIDE

Here, we employ a combination of advanced synchrotron-based scattering characterization techniques to understand and unravel the atomic origins of the colossal stored energy release in neutron irradiated silicon carbide. The quantification of the neutron irradiation-induced defects, and their impact on the structureproperty relationship is important for the design and safe operation of advanced fission and fusion reactors. Our experimental results show that the atomic structure in the as irradiated samples is significantly perturbed due to a large fraction of vacancy and interstitial type defects that lead to complex microstructures and additional components in the x-ray diffraction and pair distribution function results. We directly correlate the stored energy release to the recovery of the sub-lattices, with pair distribution function analysis highlighting that the carbon interstitial and vacancy-type defects contribute to stored energy more than those of silicon. We find these results to be striking and believe our discoveries to be timely and noteworthy given the technological importance of silicon carbide to the nuclear fission and fusion communities.

Sprouster, D.J.↗

Observations of supermicron-sized aerosols originating from biomass burning in southern Central Africa

During the 3 years of the ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) campaign, the NASA Orion P-3 was equipped with a 2D stereo (2D-S) probe that imaged particles with maximum dimension (D) ranging from 10 < D < 1280 µm. The 2D-S recorded supermicron-sized aerosol particles (SAPs) outside of clouds within biomass burning plumes during flights over the southeastern Atlantic off Africa's coast. Numerous SAPs with 10 < D < 1520 µm were observed in 2017 and 2018 at altitudes between 1230 and 4000 m, 1000 km from the coastline, mostly between 7–11° S. No SAPs were observed in 2016 as flights were conducted further south and further from the coastline. Number concentrations of refractory black carbon (rBC) measured by a single particle soot photometer ranged from 200 to 1200 cm –3 when SAPs were observed. Transmission electron microscopy images of submicron particulates, collected on Holey carbon grid filters, revealed particles with potassium salts, black carbon (BC), and organics. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra also detected potassium, a tracer for biomass burning. These measurements provided evidence that the submicron particles originated from biomass burning. NOAA Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) 3 d back trajectories show a source in northern Angola for times when large SAPs were observed. Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 6 active fire maps showed extensive biomass burning at these locations. Given the back trajectories, the high number concentrations of rBC, and the presence of elemental tracers indicative of biomass burning, it is hypothesized that the SAPs imaged by the 2D-S are examples of BC aerosol, ash, or unburned plant material.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Comment on “The origin of methane in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf unraveled with triple isotope analysis” by Sapart et al. (2017)

In this comment, we outline two major concerns regarding some of the key data presented in this paper. Both of these concerns are associated with the natural abundance radiocarbon-methane ( 14 C-CH 4 ) data. First, no systematic methodology is presented, nor previous peer-reviewed publication referenced, for how these samples were collected, prepared, and ultimately analyzed for 14 C-CH 4 . Not only are these procedural details missing, but the critical evaluation of them using gaseous and aqueous blanks and standards was omitted although these details are essential for any reader to evaluate the quality of data and subsequent interpretations. Second, due to the lack of methodological details, the source of the sporadic anthropogenic contamination cannot be determined and thus it is premature for the authors to suggest it was in the natural environment prior to sample collection. As the natural 14 C-CH 4 data are necessary for the authors' stated scientific objectives of understanding the origin of methane in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, our comment serves to highlight that the study's objectives have not been met.

Sparrow, Katy J. (ORCID:0000000226775272)↗