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At least 1,117 records · Page 62

Observation of the Crab Nebula with the HAWC Gamma-Ray Observatory

The Crab Nebula is the brightest TeV gamma-ray source in the sky and has been used for the past 25 years as a reference source in TeV astronomy, for calibration and verification of new TeV instruments. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC), completed in early 2015, has been used to observe the Crab Nebula at high significance across nearly the full spectrum of energies to which HAWC is sensitive. HAWC is unique for its wide field of view, nearly 2 sr at any instant, and its high-energy reach, up to 100 TeV. HAWC’s sensitivity improves with the gamma-ray energy. Above ∼1 TeV the sensitivity is driven by the best background rejection and angular resolution ever achieved for a wide-field ground array. We present a time-integrated analysis of the Crab using 507 live days of HAWC data from 2014 November to 2016 June. The spectrum of the Crab is fit to a function of the form ϕ(E)=ϕ{sub 0}(E/E{sub 0}){sup −α−β⋅ln(E/E{sub 0})}. The data is well fitted with values of α = 2.63 ± 0.03, β = 0.15 ± 0.03, and log{sub 10}(ϕ{sub 0} cm{sup 2} s TeV)=−12.60±0.02 when E {sub 0} is fixed at 7 TeV and the fit applies between 1 and 37 TeV. Study of the systematic errors in this HAWC measurement is discussed and estimated to be ±50% in the photon flux between 1 and 37 TeV. Confirmation of the Crab flux serves to establish the HAWC instrument’s sensitivity for surveys of the sky. The HAWC all-sky survey will be the deepest survey of the northern sky ever conducted in the multi-TeV band.

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The SAMI Galaxy Survey: Mass as the Driver of the Kinematic Morphology–Density Relation in Clusters

We examine the kinematic morphology of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in eight galaxy clusters in the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral-field spectrograph Galaxy Survey. The clusters cover a mass range of 14.2 <log(M{sub 200}/M{sub ⊙})<15.2 and we measure spatially resolved stellar kinematics for 315 member galaxies with stellar masses 10.0<log(M{sub ∗}/M{sub ⊙})⩽11.7 within 1 R {sub 200} of the cluster centers. We calculate the spin parameter, λ {sub R}, and use this to classify the kinematic morphology of the galaxies as fast or slow rotators (SRs). The total fraction of SRs in the ETG population is F {sub SR} = 0.14 ± 0.02 and does not depend on host cluster mass. Across the eight clusters, the fraction of SRs increases with increasing local overdensity. We also find that the slow-rotator fraction increases at small clustercentric radii (R {sub cl} < 0.3 R {sub 200}), and note that there is also an increase in the slow-rotator fraction at R {sub cl} ∼ 0.6 R {sub 200}. The SRs at these larger radii reside in the cluster substructure. We find that the strongest increase in the slow-rotator fraction occurs with increasing stellar mass. After accounting for the strong correlation with stellar mass, we find no significant relationship between spin parameter and local overdensity in the cluster environment. We conclude that the primary driver for the kinematic morphology–density relationship in galaxy clusters is the changing distribution of galaxy stellar mass with the local environment. The presence of SRs in the substructure suggests that the cluster kinematic morphology–density relationship is a result of mass segregation of slow-rotating galaxies forming in groups that later merge with clusters and sink to the cluster center via dynamical friction.

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A Search for Fast Radio Bursts with the GBNCC Pulsar Survey

We report on a search for fast radio bursts (FRBs) with the Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap (GBNCC) Pulsar Survey at 350 MHz. Pointings amounting to a total on-sky time of 61 days were searched to a dispersion measure (DM) of 3000 pc cm{sup −3}, while the rest (23 days; 29% of the total time) were searched to a DM of 500 pc cm{sup −3}. No FRBs were detected in the pointings observed through 2016 May. We estimate a 95% confidence upper limit on the FRB rate of 3.6×10{sup 3} FRBs sky{sup −1} day{sup −1} above a peak flux density of 0.63 Jy at 350 MHz for an intrinsic pulse width of 5 ms. We place constraints on the spectral index α by running simulations for different astrophysical scenarios and cumulative flux density distributions. The nondetection with GBNCC is consistent with the 1.4 GHz rate reported for the Parkes surveys for α > +0.35 in the absence of scattering and free–free absorption and α > −0.3 in the presence of scattering, for a Euclidean flux distribution. The constraints imply that FRBs exhibit either a flat spectrum or a spectral turnover at frequencies above 400 MHz. These constraints also allow estimation of the number of bursts that can be detected with current and upcoming surveys. We predict that CHIME may detect anywhere from several to ∼50 FRBs per day (depending on model assumptions), making it well suited for interesting constraints on spectral index, the log N–log S slope, and pulse profile evolution across its bandwidth (400–800 MHz).

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Detection of Low-energy Breaks in Gamma-Ray Burst Prompt Emission Spectra

The radiative process responsible for gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission has not been identified yet. If dominated by fast-cooling synchrotron radiation, the part of the spectrum immediately below the νF{sub ν} peak energy should display a power-law behavior with slope α{sub 2}=−3/2, which breaks to a higher value α{sub 1}=−2/3 (i.e., to a harder spectral shape) at lower energies. Prompt emission spectral data (usually available down to ∼10--20 keV) are consistent with one single power-law behavior below the peak, with typical slope 〈α〉=−1, higher than (and then inconsistent with) the expected value α{sub 2}=−3/2. To better characterize the spectral shape at low energy, we analyzed 14 GRBs for which the Swift X-ray Telescope started observations during the prompt. When available, Fermi-GBM observations have been included in the analysis. For 67% of the spectra, models that usually give a satisfactory description of the prompt (e.g., the Band model) fail to reproduce the 0.5–1000 keV spectra: low-energy data outline the presence of a spectral break around a few keV. We then introduce an empirical fitting function that includes a low-energy power law α{sub 1}, a break energy E{sub break}, a second power law α{sub 2}, and a peak energy E{sub peak}. We find 〈α{sub 1}〉=−0.66 (σ=0.35), 〈log(E{sub break}/ keV)〉=0.63 (σ=0.20), 〈α{sub 2}〉=−1.46 (σ=0.31), and 〈log(E{sub peak}/ keV)〉=2.1 (σ=0.56). The values 〈α{sub 1}〉 and 〈α{sub 2}〉 are very close to expectations from synchrotron radiation. In this context, E{sub break} corresponds to the cooling break frequency. The relatively small ratio E{sub peak}/E{sub break}∼30 suggests a regime of moderately fast cooling, which might solve the long-lasting problem of the apparent inconsistency between measured and predicted low-energy spectral index.

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Spectroscopic Inversions of the Ca ii 8542 Å Line in a C-class Solar Flare

We study the C8.4-class solar flare SOL2016-05-14T11:34 UT using high-resolution spectral imaging in the Ca ii 8542 Å line obtained with the CRISP imaging spectropolarimeter on the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope. Spectroscopic inversions of the Ca ii 8542 Å line using the non-LTE code NICOLE are used to investigate the evolution of the temperature and velocity structure in the flaring chromosphere. A comparison of the temperature stratification in flaring and non-flaring areas reveals strong footpoint heating during the flare peak in the lower atmosphere. The temperature of the flaring footpoints between log τ{sub 500} ≈−2.5 and −3.5, where τ {sub 500} is the continuum optical depth at 500 nm, is ∼5--6.5 kK close to the flare peak, reducing gradually to ∼5 kK. The temperature in the middle and upper chromosphere, between log τ{sub 500}≈−3.5 and −5.5, is estimated to be ∼6.5–20 kK, decreasing to preflare temperatures, ∼5–10 kK, after approximately 15 minutes. However, the temperature stratification of the non-flaring areas is unchanged. The inverted velocity fields show that the flaring chromosphere is dominated by weak downflowing condensations at the formation height of Ca ii 8542 Å.

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Blueberry Galaxies: The Lowest Mass Young Starbursts

Searching for extreme emission line galaxies allows us to find low-mass metal-poor galaxies that are good analogs of high redshift Lyα emitting galaxies. These low-mass extreme emission line galaxies are also potential Lyman-continuum leakers. Finding them at very low redshifts (z≲0.05) allows us to be sensitive to even lower stellar masses and metallicities. We report on a sample of extreme emission line galaxies at z≲0.05 (blueberry galaxies). We selected them from SDSS broadband images on the basis of their broadband colors and studied their properties with MMT spectroscopy. From the entire SDSS DR12 photometric catalog, we found 51 photometric candidates. We spectroscopically confirm 40 as blueberry galaxies. (An additional seven candidates are contaminants, and four remain without spectra.) These blueberries are dwarf starburst galaxies with very small sizes (<1 kpc) and very high ionization ([O iii]/[O ii] ∼ 10–60). They also have some of the lowest stellar masses (log(M/M{sub ⊙})∼6.5--7.5) and lowest metallicities (7.1<12+log(O/H)<7.8) of starburst galaxies. Thus, they are small counterparts to green pea galaxies and high redshift Lyα emitting galaxies.

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The Star Formation Main Sequence in the Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields

We investigate the relation between star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass (M), i.e., the main sequence (MS) relation of star-forming galaxies, at 1.3⩽z<6 in the first four Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Frontier Fields, on the basis of rest-frame UV observations. Gravitational lensing combined with deep HST observations allows us to extend the analysis of the MS down to log M/M{sub ⊙}∼7.5 at z≲4 and log M/M{sub ⊙}∼8 at higher redshifts, a factor of ∼10 below most previous results. We perform an accurate simulation to take into account the effect of observational uncertainties and correct for the Eddington bias. This step allows us to reliably measure the MS and in particular its slope. While the normalization increases with redshift, we fit an unevolving and approximately linear slope. We nicely extend to lower masses the results of brighter surveys. Thanks to the large dynamic range in mass and by making use of the simulation, we analyzed any possible mass dependence of the dispersion around the MS. We find tentative evidence that the scatter decreases with increasing mass, suggesting a larger variety of star formation histories in low-mass galaxies. This trend agrees with theoretical predictions and is explained as either a consequence of the smaller number of progenitors of low-mass galaxies in a hierarchical scenario and/or of the efficient but intermittent stellar feedback processes in low-mass halos. Finally, we observe an increase in the SFR per unit stellar mass with redshift milder than predicted by theoretical models, implying a still incomplete understanding of the processes responsible for galaxy growth.

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Non-local Thermodynamic Equilibrium Abundance Analyses of the Extreme Helium Stars V652 Her and HD 144941

Optical high-resolution spectra of V652 Her and HD 144941, the two extreme helium stars with exceptionally low C/He ratios, have been subjected to a non-LTE abundance analysis using the tools TLUSTY and SYNSPEC. Defining atmospheric parameters were obtained from a grid of non-LTE atmospheres and a variety of spectroscopic indicators including He i and He ii line profiles, and the ionization equilibrium of ion pairs such as C ii/C iii and N ii/N iii. The various indicators provide a consistent set of atmospheric parameters: T {sub eff} = 25,000 ± 300 K, log g = 3.10 ± 0.12(cgs), and ξ = 13 ± 2 km s{sup −1} are provided for V652 Her, and T {sub eff} = 22,000 ± 600 K, log g = 3.45 ± 0.15 (cgs), and ξ = 10 km s{sup −1} are provided for HD 144941. In contrast to the non-LTE analyses, the LTE analyses—LTE atmospheres and an LTE line analysis—with the available indicators do not provide a consistent set of atmospheric parameters. The principal non-LTE effect on the elemental abundances is on the neon abundance. It is generally considered that these extreme helium stars with their very low C/He ratio result from the merger of two helium white dwarfs. Indeed, the derived composition of V652 Her is in excellent agreement with predictions by Zhang and Jeffery, who model the slow merger of helium white dwarfs; a slow merger results in the merged star having the composition of the accreted white dwarf. In the case of HD 144941, which appears to have evolved from metal-poor stars, a slow merger is incompatible with the observed composition but variations of the merger rate may account for the observed composition. More detailed theoretical studies of the merger of a pair of helium white dwarfs are to be encouraged.

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The Clustering of Luminous Red Galaxies at z ∼ 0.7 from EBOSS and BOSS Data

We present the first scientific results from the luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample of the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) combined with the high-redshift galaxies of the previous BOSS sample. We measure the small- and intermediate-scale clustering from a sample of more than 97,000 galaxies in the redshift range 0.6<z<0.9. We interpret these measurements in the framework of the Halo Occupation Distribution. The bias of this sample of LRGs is 2.30 ± 0.03, with a satellite fraction of 13% ± 3% and a mean halo mass of 2.5×10{sup 13} h{sup −1} M{sub ⊙}. These results are consistent with expectations, demonstrating that these LRGs will be reliable tracers of large-scale structure at z∼0.7. The galaxy bias implies a scatter of luminosity at fixed halo mass, σ{sub logL}, of 0.19 dex. Using the clustering of massive galaxies from BOSS CMASS, BOSS LOWZ, and SDSS, we find that σ{sub logL}=0.19 is consistent with observations over the full redshift range that these samples cover. The addition of eBOSS to previous surveys allows the investigation of the evolution of massive galaxies over the past ∼7 Gyr.

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Probing Blazar Emission Processes with Optical/Gamma-Ray Flare Correlations

We report that even with several thousand Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) blazar detections, the γ-ray emission mechanism is poorly understood. We explore correlated optical/γ-ray flux variations for 178 Fermi-LAT blazars regularly monitored by the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope, the Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System, and the Steward Observatory. Out of the 178 sources, 121 show a measurable (>1σ) discrete correlation function peak. Using the derived time lags and Bayesian block light-curve decompositions, we measure the fraction of common and orphan flares between the two bands. After accounting for sampling and sensitivity limitations we quantify for the first time the true orphan flare rates of optical and γ-ray flares: 54.5% of optical and 20% of γ-ray flares are orphan events. Both the intraband temporal relation and the small orphan γ-ray flare fraction point toward leptonic processes as the likely mechanisms for the high-energy emission. Motivated to discriminate between synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) and external-Compton dominance in individual sources, we use the flux–flux variations to determine the slope m of the log f opt –log f γ dependence. The slope distribution suggests a bimodal population with high and intermediate synchrotron peak objects showing larger m than low synchrotron peak objects. We find that m is naturally decreased through pollution from the orphan (typically optical) flares and develop a method to statistically recover, given the sources' measured orphan flare rate, the intrinsic m. Finally, while source classes show composite behavior, the majority of BL Lac objects favor m = 2, indicating an SSC origin for the γ-rays. No preference for either m is found in flat spectrum radio quasars.

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The Effect of Bars on the Ionized ISM: Optical Emission Lines from Milky Way Analogs

Gas interior to the bar of the Milky Way has recently been shown to be the closest example of a low-ionization (nuclear) emission region (LI(N)ER) in the universe. To better understand the nature of this gas, a sample of face-on galaxies with integral field spectroscopy is used to study the ionized gas conditions of 240 barred and 250 nonbarred galaxies, focusing on those that are most similar to the Milky Way. Strong optical line emission of [N ii] λ6584, Hα, [O iii] λ5007, and Hβ are used to diagnose the dominant ionization mechanisms of gas across galaxies and the Galaxy via Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagrams. Barred galaxies show a strong suppression of star formation and an increase in composite and LI(N)ER-like spectra in their inner regions when compared with similar nonbarred counterparts. This effect is lessened in galaxies of very low (log 10 (M * /M ⊙ ) ≲ 10.4) or very high (log 10 (M * /M ⊙ ) ≳ 11.1) total stellar mass. Bar masks from Galaxy Zoo:3D show the bar's nonaxisymmetric effect on the ionized gas and help predict the face-on distribution of ionized gas conditions near the bar of the Milky Way.

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The Distant, Galaxy Cluster Environment of the Short GRB 161104A at $z\sim 0.8$ and a Comparison to the Short GRB Host Population

We present optical observations of the Swift short-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 161104A and its host galaxy at z = 0.793 ± 0.003. We model the multiband photometry and spectroscopy with the stellar population inference code Prospector and explore the posterior using nested sampling. We find a mass-weighted age of $t_m = 2.12^{+0.23}_{-0.21}$ Gyr, stellar mass of log(M/M ⊙ ), metallicity of log(Z/Z ⊙ ), dust extinction of $A_V = 0.08^{+0.08}_{-0.05}$, and low star formation rate of 9.9 × 10 -2 M ⊙ yr -1 . These properties, along with a prominent 4000 Å break and optical absorption lines, classify this host as an early-type, quiescent galaxy. Using Dark Energy Survey galaxy catalogs, we demonstrate that the host of GRB 161104A resides on the outskirts of a galaxy cluster at z ≈ 0.8, situated ≈1 Mpc from the likely brightest cluster galaxy. We also present new modeling for 20 additional short GRB hosts (≈33% of which are early-type galaxies), finding population medians of and $t_m = 1.07^{+1.98}_{-0.67}$ Gyr (68% confidence). We further find that the host of GRB 161104A is more distant, less massive, and younger than the four other short GRB hosts known to be associated with galaxy clusters. Cluster short GRBs have faint afterglows, in the lower ≈11% (≈30%) of observed X-ray (optical) luminosities. We place a lower limit on the fraction of short GRBs in galaxy clusters versus those in the field of ≈5%–13%, consistent with the fraction of stellar mass of ≈10%–20% in galaxy clusters at redshifts 0.1 ≤ z ≤ 0.8. Future studies that take advantage of wider-field and deeper cluster surveys are needed to understand the true rate of short GRBs in clusters and their effect on heavy-element enrichment in the intracluster medium.

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CLASSY III. The Properties of Starburst-driven Warm Ionized Outflows

We report the results of analyses of galactic outflows in a sample of 45 low-redshift starburst galaxies in the COS Legacy Archive Spectroscopic SurveY (CLASSY), augmented by five additional similar starbursts with Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) data. The outflows are traced by blueshifted absorption lines of metals spanning a wide range of ionization potential. The high quality and broad spectral coverage of CLASSY data enable us to disentangle the absorption due to the static interstellar medium (ISM) from that due to outflows. We further use different line multiplets and doublets to determine the covering fraction, column density, and ionization state as a function of velocity for each outflow. We measure the outflow's mean velocity and velocity width, and find that both correlate in a highly significant way with the star formation rate, galaxy mass, and circular velocity over ranges of four orders of magnitude for the first two properties. We also estimate outflow rates of metals, mass, momentum, and kinetic energy. We find that, at most, only about 20% of silicon created and ejected by supernovae in the starburst is carried out in the warm phase we observe. The outflows' mass-loading factor increases steeply and inversely with both circular and outflow velocity (log–log slope ~–1.6), and reaches ~10 for dwarf galaxies. We find that the outflows typically carry about 10%–100% of the momentum injected by massive stars and about 1%–20% of the kinetic energy. We show that these results place interesting constraints on, and new insights into, models and simulations of galactic winds.

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The SDSS-Gaia View of the Color–Magnitude Relation for Blue Horizontal-branch Stars

We present an updated sample of blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars selected from the photometric and spectroscopic data from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and its associated project Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE). With these data, we selected candidates for A-type stars in the color–color space and then a mixture modeling technique was implemented in order to distinguish between BHB and main-sequence/blue-straggler stars based on their surface gravity values (log g) estimated by the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline. Our robust approach allows us to attribute individual probabilities of each star truly being in the BHB stage. Hence, our method is advantageous in comparison to previous SEGUE BHB selections that adopted simple log g cuts. We also revisit the color–magnitude relation for these stars and propose two calibrations, based on updated distances for Galactic globular clusters, to estimate absolute magnitudes with (g – r) 0 and (u – r) 0 colors.

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A Multiwavelength Study of Active Galactic Nuclei in Post-merger Remnants

Here, we investigate the role of galaxy mergers in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the nearby universe. Our analysis is based on a sample of 79 post-merger remnant galaxies with deep X-ray observations from Chandra/XMM-Newton capable of detecting a low-luminosity AGN of ≥10 40.5 erg s -1 . This sample is derived from a visually classified, volume-limited sample of 807 post-mergers identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14 with log M * /M ⊙ ≥ 10.5 and 0.02 ≤ z ≤ 0.06. We find that the X-ray AGN fraction in this sample is 55.7% ± 5.6% compared to 23.6% ± 2.8% for a mass- and redshift-matched noninteracting control sample. The multiwavelength AGN fraction (identified as an AGN in one of X-ray, IR, radio or optical diagnostics) for post-mergers is 76.6% ± 4.8% compared to 39.1% ± 3.2% for controls. Thus post-mergers exhibit a high overall AGN fraction with an excess between 2 and 4 depending on the AGN diagnostics used. In addition, we find most optical, IR, and radio AGN are also identified as X-ray AGN while a large fraction of X-ray AGN are not identified in any other diagnostic. This highlights the importance of deep X-ray imaging to identify AGN. We find that the X-ray AGN fraction of post-mergers is independent of the stellar mass above log M * /M ⊙ ≥ 10.5 unlike the trend seen in control galaxies. Overall, our results show that post-merger galaxies are a good tracer of the merger–AGN connection and strongly support the theoretical expectations that mergers trigger AGN.

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Redshift Evolution of the Feedback–Cooling Equilibrium in the Core of 48 SPT Galaxy Clusters: A Joint Chandra–SPT–ATCA Analysis

We analyze the cooling and feedback properties of 48 galaxy clusters at redshifts 0.4 < z < 1.3 selected from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) catalogs to evolve like the progenitors of massive and well-studied systems at z ~ 0. We estimate the radio power at the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) location of each cluster from an analysis of Australia Telescope Compact Array data. Assuming that the scaling relation between the radio power and active galactic nucleus (AGN) cavity power P cav observed at low redshift does not evolve with redshift, we use these measurements in order to estimate the expected AGN cavity power in the core of each system. We estimate the X-ray luminosity within the cooling radius L cool of each cluster from a joint analysis of the available Chandra X-ray and SPT Sunyaev–Zel'dovich (SZ) data. This allows us to characterize the redshift evolution of the P cav /L cool ratio. When combined with low-redshift results, these constraints enable investigations of the properties of the feedback–cooling cycle across 9 Gyr of cluster growth. We model the redshift evolution of this ratio measured for cool-core clusters by a log-normal distribution Log-N (α + βz, σ 2 ) and constrain the slope of the mean evolution to β = -0.05 ± 0.47. This analysis improves the constraints on the slope of this relation by a factor of two. We find no evidence of redshift evolution of the feedback–cooling equilibrium in these clusters, which suggests that the onset of radio-mode feedback took place at an early stage of cluster formation. High values of P cav /L cool are found at the BCG location of noncool-core clusters, which might suggest that the timescales of the AGN feedback cycle and the cool core–noncool core transition are different. This work demonstrates that the joint analysis of radio, SZ, and X-ray data solidifies the investigation of AGN feedback at high redshifts.

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COOL-LAMPS. IV. A Sample of Bright Strongly Lensed Galaxies at 3 < z < 4

We report the discovery of five bright, strong gravitationally lensed galaxies at 3 < z < 4: COOL J0101+2055 (z = 3.459), COOL J0104–0757 (z = 3.480), COOL J0145+1018 (z = 3.310), COOL J0516–2208 (z = 3.549), and COOL J1356+0339 (z = 3.753). These galaxies have magnitudes of r AB , z AB < 21.81 mag and are lensed by galaxy clusters at 0.26 < z < 1. This sample nearly doubles the number of known bright lensed galaxies with extended arcs at 3 < z < 4. We characterize the lensed galaxies using ground-based grz/giy imaging and optical spectroscopy. We report model-based magnitudes and derive stellar masses, dust content, and star formation rates via stellar population synthesis modeling. Building lens models based on ground-based imaging, we estimate source magnifications ranging from ~29 to ~180. Combining these analyses, we derive demagnified stellar masses in the range log 10 (M * /M ⊙ ) ~ 9.69 – 10.75 and star formation rates in the youngest age bin in the range log 10 (SFR/(M ⊙ yr -1 )) ~ 0.39 – 1.46, placing the sample galaxies on the massive end of the star-forming main sequence in this redshift interval. In addition, three of the five galaxies have strong Lyα emissions, offering unique opportunities to study Lyα emitters at high redshift in future work.

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Constraining AGN Torus Sizes with Optical and Mid-infrared Ensemble Structure Functions

We propose a new method to constrain the size of the dusty torus in broad-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using optical and mid-infrared (MIR) ensemble structure functions (SFs). Because of the geometric dilution of the torus, the MIR response to optical continuum variations has suppressed variability with respect to the optical that depends on the geometry (e.g., size, orientation, opening angle) of the torus. More extended tori have steeper MIR SFs with respect to the optical SFs. We demonstrate the feasibility of this SF approach using simulated AGN light curves and a geometric torus model. While it is difficult to use SFs to constrain the orientation and opening angle due to the insensitivity of the SF on these parameters, the size of the torus can be well determined. Applying this method to the ensemble SFs measured for 587 SDSS quasars, we measure a torus R–L relation of $\mathrm{log}\,{R}_{\mathrm{eff}}(\mathrm{pc})={0.51}_{-0.04}^{+0.04}\times \mathrm{log}({{L}}_{\mathrm{bol}}/{10}^{46}\,\mathrm{erg}\ {{\rm{s}}}^{-1})-{0.38}_{-0.01}^{+0.01}$ in the WISE W1 band and sizes ~1.4 times larger in the W2 band, which are in good agreement with dust reverberation mapping measurements. Compared with the reverberation mapping technique, the SF method is much less demanding in data quality and can be applied to any optical+MIR light curves for which a lag measurement may not be possible, as long as the variability process and torus structure are stationary. While this SF method does not extract all information contained in the light curves (i.e., the transfer function), it provides an intuitive interpretation for the observed trends of AGN MIR SFs compared with optical SFs.

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