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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

VarIabiLity seLection of AstrophysIcal sources iN PTF (VILLAIN): I. Structure function fits to 71 million objects

Light-curve variability is well-suited to characterizing objects in surveys with high cadence and a long baseline. This is especially relevant in view of the large datasets to be produced by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). We aim to determine variability parameters for objects in the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and explore differences between quasars (QSOs), stars, and galaxies. We relate variability and colour information in preparation for future surveys. We fit joint likelihoods to structure functions (SFs) of 71 million PTF light curves with a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. For each object, we assume a power-law SF and extract two parameters: the amplitude on timescales of one year, A, and a power-law index, γ. With these parameters and colours in the optical (Pan-STARRS1) and mid-infrared (WISE), we identify regions of parameter space dominated by different types of spectroscopically confirmed objects from SDSS. Candidate QSOs, stars, and galaxies are selected to show their parameter distributions. QSOs show high-amplitude variations in the R band, and the highest γ values. Galaxies have a broader range of amplitudes and their variability shows relatively little dependency on timescale. With variability and colours, we achieve a photometric selection purity of 99.3% for QSOs. Even though hard cuts in monochromatic variability alone are not as effective as seven-band magnitude cuts, variability is useful in characterizing object subclasses. Through variability, we also find QSOs that were erroneously classified as stars in the SDSS. We discuss perspectives and computational solutions in view of the upcoming LSST.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1986

Modeling of infrared flux spectra from disk-shaped interstellar dust clouds

Although there is growing observational and theoretical evidence for many disk-shaped objects of astrophysical interest, spherical geometry is assumed in most radiative transfer models. Recently we generalized the quasi-diffusion method developed by Leung (1975, 1976) for spherical geometry to solve the problem of scattering, absorption, and reemission by dust grains in a medium of disk geometry. The method is applicable to a variety of astronomical sources whose dynamics are angular-momentum dominated and hence not accurately treated by spherical geometry, e.g., protoplanetary nebulae, circumstellar disks, bipolar-flow molecular clouds, accretion disks and disk galaxies. Using this technique and realistic grain opacities we construct theoretical models to determine self-consistently the dust temperature distribution and infrared emission from disk-shaped, quiescent dark globules heated externally by the intersteller radiation field. The effects of the following parameters on the temperature structure and the emergent spectrum are studied: grain type (graphite and silicate), optical depth, density inhomogeneity, and degree of disk flattening. The disk models are characterized by an aspect ratio and an optical depth at 0.55 microns. For inhomogeneous models, a gaussian density distribution is assumed such that the ratio of central to surface density is 100. To study the effects of source geometry, we also compare results for models with spherical and disk geometry. In this case both models have the same radius and central optical depth, the disk models having a 1:1 aspect ratio. While the dust temperature distributions in the two cases are very similar, the emergent flux for the disk model depends sensitively on the viewing angle. For clouds which are unresolved, one would expect, since the thermal emission is isotropic in the neighborhood of an emitting grain, and since the emission (in the far infrared) is optically thin, that the emergent flux spectrum should be characteristic only of the dust temperature, and independent of viewing angle. However, because of the lack of complete symmetry and the resulting radiation anisotropy, this is found not to be the case for the disk models. Angle is that it implies a large uncertainty in estimating the radiation dust mass.

Spagna, G. F., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1996

The Non-Axisymmetric Milky Way

The Dwek et al. model represents the current state-of-the-art model for the stellar structure of our Galaxy. The improvements we have made to this model take a number of forms: (1) the construction of a more detailed dust model so that we can extend our modeling to the galactic plane; (2) simultaneous fits to the bulge and the disk; (3) the construction of the first self-consistent model for a galactic bar; and (4) the development and application of algorithms for constructing nonparametric bar models. The improved Galaxy model has enabled a number of exciting science projects. In Zhao et al., we show that the number and duration of microlensing events seen by the OGLE and MACHO collaborations towards the bulge were consistent with the predictions of our bar model. In Malhotra et al., we constructed an infrared Tully-Fisher (TF) relation for the local group. We found the tightest TF relation ever seen in any band and in any group of galaxies. The tightness of the correlation places strong constraints on galaxy formation models and provides a independent check of the Cepheid distance scale.

Spergel, David N.↗
DOE OSTI2024

The rate of extreme coronal line emitting galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and their relation to tidal disruption events

High-ionization iron coronal lines (CLs) are a rare phenomenon observed in galaxy and quasi-stellar object spectra that are thought to be created by high-energy emission from active galactic nuclei and certain types of transients. In cases known as extreme coronal line emitting galaxies (ECLEs), these CLs are strong and fade away on a time-scale of years. The most likely progenitors of these variable CLs are tidal disruption events (TDEs), which produce sufficient high-energy emission to create and sustain the CLs over these time-scales. To test the possible connection between ECLEs and TDEs, we present the most complete variable ECLE rate calculation to date and compare the results to TDE rates from the literature. To achieve this, we search for ECLEs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We detect sufficiently strong CLs in 16 galaxies, more than doubling the number previously found in SDSS. Using follow-up spectra from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mid-infrared observations, and Liverpool Telescope optical photometry, we find that none of the nine new ECLEs evolve in a manner consistent with that of the five previously discovered variable ECLEs. Using this sample of five variable ECLEs, we calculate the galaxy-normalized rate of variable ECLEs in SDSS to be $R_\mathrm{G}=3.6~^{+2.6}_{-1.8}~(\mathrm{statistical})~^{+5.1}_{-0.0}~(\mathrm{systematic})\times 10^{-6}~\mathrm{galaxy}^{-1}~\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. The mass-normalized rate is $R_\mathrm{M}=3.1~^{+2.3}_{-1.5}~(\mathrm{statistical})~^{+4.4}_{-0.0}~(\mathrm{systematic})\times 10^{-17}~\mathrm{M_\odot ^{-1}}~\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$ and the volumetric rate is $R_\mathrm{V}=7~^{+20}_{-5}~(\mathrm{statistical})~^{+10}_{-0.0}~(\mathrm{systematic})\times 10^{-9}~\mathrm{Mpc}^{-3}~\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. Our rates are one to two orders of magnitude lower than TDE rates from the literature, which suggests that only 10–40 per cent of all TDEs produce variable ECLEs. Additional uncertainties in the rates arising from the structure of the interstellar medium have yet to be included.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

J-PLUS: Uncovering a large population of extreme [OIII] emitters in the local Universe

Over the past decades, several studies have discovered a population of galaxies that undergo very strong star formation events. They are called extreme emission line galaxies (EELGs). We exploit the capabilities of the Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS), a wide-field multifilter survey, with which 2000 square degrees of the northern sky are already observed. We use it to identify EELGs at low redshift by their [OIII]5007 emission line. We intend to provide a more complete, deep, and less biased sample of local EELGs. We selected objects with an excess of flux in the J-PLUS medium-band J0515 filter, which covers the [OIII] line at z < 0.06. We removed contaminants (stars and higher-redshift systems) using J-PLUS and WISE infrared photometry, with SDSS spectra as a benchmark. We performed spectral energy distribution fitting to estimate the physical properties of the galaxies: line fluxes, equivalent widths (EWs), masses, stellar population ages, and so on. We identify 466 EELGs at z < 0.06 with [OIII] EW over 300 Å and an r-band magnitude below 20, of which 411 were previously unknown. Most show compact morphologies, low stellar masses (log(M • /M ⊙ ) ~ 8.13 –0.58 +0.61 ), low dust extinction (E( B–V ) ~ 0.1 –0.1 +0.2 ), and very young bursts of star formation (3.0 –2.0 +2.7 Myr). Our method is up to ~20 times more efficient in detecting EELGs per Mpc 3 than broadband surveys, and it is as complete as magnitude-limited spectroscopic surveys (but reaches fainter objects). The sample is not directly biased against strong Hα emitters, in contrast with works using broadband surveys. We demonstrate that J-PLUS can identify a large sample of previously unknown EELGs showing unique properties following a clear selection process. A fraction of the EELGs are probably similar to the first galaxies in the Universe, but they are at a much lower redshift, which makes them ideal targets for follow-up studies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1988

Small grains and IRAS colors

The paper studies how infrared colors of dust emission from the interstellar medium vary with the energy density of the radiation field on the basis of IRAS observation of the California Nebula. The data suggest that color variations result from a combinatin of equilibrium emission from large grains, and nonequilibrium emission from small grains, with destruction of the small grains emitting at 12 microns at high energy density; it is estimated that 80 percent of these small particles are destroyed for an energy density in ultraviolet photons larger than 50 times that of the average interstellar radiation field in the solar neighborhood. In a color-color diagram, I(v)(60 microns)/I(v)(100 microns) versus I(v)(12 microns)/I(v)(25 microns), the California Nebula measurements at various distances to the ionizing star Zeta Per follow a sequence similar to that of galaxies. This result shows that the position of a galaxy along this sequence is a measure of the intensity of the radiation field in the regions responsible for the infrared emission.

Boulanger, F.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Molecular hydrogen in the Galaxy and galactic gamma rays

Recent surveys of 2.6-cm CO emission and 100-MeV gamma-radiation in the galactic plane reveal a striking correlation suggesting that both emissions may be primarily proportional to the line-of-sight column density of H2 in the inner Galaxy. Both the gamma-ray and CO data suggest a prominent ring or arm consisting of cool clouds of H2 at a galactocentric distance of about 5 kpc with a mean total hydrogen density equivalent to approximately 5 atoms per cu cm. Estimates are made of column densities of H2 at 0 deg galactic longitude and are compared with estimates from infrared and X-ray absorption measurements. These estimates are all consistent, indicating that H2 is far more abundant than H I in the inner Galaxy and is the key to a more satisfactory explanation of the gamma-ray observations than previous suggestions. The importance of H2 in understanding galactic gamma-ray observations is also reflected in the correlation of galactic-latitude distribution of gamma-rays and dense dust clouds. The deduced cosmic-ray distribution inferred from the calculations is similar to that of galactic supernova remnants, suggesting a galactic origin for most cosmic rays.

Stecker, F. W.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Gravitational Lenses in UNIONS and Euclid (GLUE). I. A Search for Strong Gravitational Lenses in UNIONS with Subaru, CFHT, and Pan-STARRS Data

We present the results of our pipeline for discovering strong gravitational lenses in the ongoing Ultraviolet Near-Infrared Optical Northern Survey (UNIONS). We successfully train a deep residual convolutional neural network based on CMU-Deeplens architecture, which is designed to detect strong lenses in ground-based imaging surveys. We train on images of real strong lenses and deploy on a sample of 8 million galaxies in areas with full coverage in the g, r, and i filters—the first multiband search for strong gravitational lenses in UNIONS. Following human inspection and grading, we report the discovery of a total of 1346 new strong-lens candidates, of which 146 are Grade A, 199 are Grade B, and 1001 are Grade C. Of these candidates, 283 have lens galaxy spectroscopic redshifts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and an additional 297 have them from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Data Release 1. We find 15 of these systems display evidence of both lens and source galaxy redshifts in spectral superposition. We also report the spectroscopic confirmation of seven lensed sources in high-quality systems, all with z > 2.1, using the Keck Near Infrared Echellette Spectrograph and the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph.

Storfer, Christopher J. [University of Hawaii, Hon↗
NASA NTRS2013

SEDS: The Spitzer Extended Deep Survey. Survey Design, Photometry, and Deep IRAC Source Counts

The Spitzer Extended Deep Survey (SEDS) is a very deep infrared survey within five well-known extragalactic science fields: the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey, the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, COSMOS, the Hubble Deep Field North, and the Extended Groth Strip. SEDS covers a total area of 1.46 deg(exp 2) to a depth of 26 AB mag (3sigma) in both of the warm Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) bands at 3.6 and 4.5 micron. Because of its uniform depth of coverage in so many widely-separated fields, SEDS is subject to roughly 25% smaller errors due to cosmic variance than a single-field survey of the same size. SEDS was designed to detect and characterize galaxies from intermediate to high redshifts (z = 2-7) with a built-in means of assessing the impact of cosmic variance on the individual fields. Because the full SEDS depth was accumulated in at least three separate visits to each field, typically with six-month intervals between visits, SEDS also furnishes an opportunity to assess the infrared variability of faint objects. This paper describes the SEDS survey design, processing, and publicly-available data products. Deep IRAC counts for the more than 300,000 galaxies detected by SEDS are consistent with models based on known galaxy populations. Discrete IRAC sources contribute 5.6 +/- 1.0 and 4.4 +/- 0.8 nW / square m/sr at 3.6 and 4.5 micron to the diffuse cosmic infrared background (CIB). IRAC sources cannot contribute more than half of the total CIB flux estimated from DIRBE data. Barring an unexpected error in the DIRBE flux estimates, half the CIB flux must therefore come from a diffuse component.

Spitzer↗
DOE OSTI2021

Probing gravity and growth of structure with gravitational waves and galaxies’ peculiar velocity

The low-redshift velocity field is a unique probe of the growth of cosmic structure and gravity. Here, we propose to use distances from gravitational wave (GW) detections, in conjunction with the redshifts of their host galaxies from wide field spectroscopic surveys (e.g., DESI, 4MOST, TAIPAN), to measure peculiar motions within the local Universe. Such measurement has the potential to constrain the growth rate f σ 8 and test gravity through determination of the gravitational growth index γ , complementing constraints from other peculiar velocity measurements. We find that binary neutron star mergers with associated counterpart at z ≲ 0.2 that will be detected by the Einstein Telescope (ET) will be able to constrain f σ 8 to ~ 3 % precision after 10 years of operations when combined with galaxy overdensities from DESI and TAIPAN. If a larger network of third generation GW detectors is available (e.g., including the Cosmic Explorer), the same constraints can be reached over a shorter timescale ( ~ 5 years for a 3 detectors network). The same events (plus information from their hosts’ redshifts) can constrain γ to σ γ ≲ 0.04 . This constraint is precise enough to discern general relativity from other popular gravity models at 3 σ . This constraint is improved to σ γ ~ 0.02 – 0.03 when combined with galaxy overdensities. The potential of combining galaxies’ peculiar velocities with gravitational wave detections for cosmology highlights the need for extensive optical to near-infrared follow-up of nearby gravitational wave events, or exquisite GW localization, in the next decade.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

UPCluster-SZ: The Updated Catalog of Galaxy Clusters from the List of Planck Sunyaev–Zel’dovich Sources

Abstract We present the updated galaxy cluster catalog of the second Planck catalog of Sunyaev–Zel’dovich sources (PSZ2) through the compilation of the data for clusters and galaxies with spectroscopically measured redshifts in the literature. The original version of PSZ2 comprises 1653 Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) sources, of which 1203 have been validated as genuine galaxy clusters, while the remaining 450 sources are yet to be validated. To increase the number of genuine clusters in PSZ2, we first update the validations of the cluster candidates and their redshift information using the data compiled for the confirmed clusters and the member galaxies in the literature. We then use the galaxy redshift data in the fields of the remaining cluster candidates by searching for possible member galaxies with measured spectroscopic redshifts around the SZ centroids. In this search process, we classify clusters as strong candidates if they contain more than nine galaxies within a 4500 km s −1 velocity range and within 15′ around the SZ centroids. This process results in the validation of 139 new genuine clusters, the update of redshift information on 399 clusters, and the identification of 10 strong candidates, which increases the number of validated clusters up to 1334 among the 1653 SZ sources. Our updated galaxy cluster catalog will be very useful for studies of galaxy formation and cosmology through a combination with other all-sky surveys including the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and SPHEREx.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
NASA NTRS1987

Physical conditions, dynamics and mass distribution in the center of the galaxy

Investigations of the central 10 pc of the Galaxy, and conclusions on energetics, dynamics, and mass distribution derived from X and gamma ray measurements and from infrared and microwave studies, especially from spectroscopy, high resolution imaging, and interferometry are reviewed. Evidence for and against a massive black hole is analyzed.

Genzel, R.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Exploration an the Search for Origins: A Vision for Ultraviolet-Optical-Infrared Space Astronomy

Public support and enthusiasm for astronomy have been strong in the final decades of the twentieth century. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with the Hubble Space Telescope (HCT), a grand endeavor, which is enabling astronomers to make giant strides in understanding our universe, our place in it, and our relation to it. The NASAs first infrared observatory, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), promises to take the crucial next steps towards understanding the formation of stars and galaxies. Toward their completion, the HST and Beyond Committee identifies major goals, whose accomplishment will justify a commitment well into the next century: (1) the detailed study of the birth and evolution of normal galaxies such as the Milky Way; (2) the detection of Earth-like planets around other stars and the search for evidence of life on them; (3) NASA should develop a space observatory of aperture 4m or larger, optimized for imaging and spectroscopy over the wavelength range 1-5 microns; and (4) NASA should develop the capability for space interferometry.

Dressler, Alan↗
NASA NTRS2000

Optical Communications Study for the Next Generation Space Telescope

The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), part of NASA's Origins program, is a follow on to the Hubble Space Telescope expected to provide timely new science along with answering fundamental questions. NGST is a large diameter, infrared optimized telescope with imaging and spectrographic detectors which will be used to help study the origin of galaxies. Due to the large data NGST will collect, Goddard Space Flight Center has considered the use of optical communications for data downlink. The Optical Communications Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has performed a study on optical communications systems for NGST. The objective of the study was to evaluate the benefits gained through the use of optical communication technologies. Studies were performed for each of four proposed NGST orbits. The orbits considered were an elliptical orbit about the semi stable second Lagrangian point, a 1 by 3 AU elliptic orbit around the sun, a 1 AU drift orbit, and a 1 AU drift orbit at a 15 degree incline to the ecliptic plane. An appropriate optical communications system was determined for each orbit. Systems were evaluated in terms of mass, power consumption, size, and cost for each of the four proposed orbits.

Ceniceros, Juan M.↗
NASA NTRS2016

The Carnegie Hubble Program: The Distance and Structure of the SMC as Revealed by Mid-Infrared Observations of Cepheids

Using Spitzer observations of classical Cepheids we have measured the true average distance modulus of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) to be18.96 +/- 0.01 stat +/- 0.03sys mag (corresponding to 62+/- 0.3kpc), which is 0.48 +/- 0.01 mag more distant than the LMC. This is in agreement with previous results from Cepheid observations, as well as with measurements from other indicators such as RR Lyrae stars and the tip of the red giant branch. Utilizing the properties of the mid-infrared Leavitt Law we measured precise distances to individual Cepheids in the SMC, and have confirmed that the galaxy is tilted and elongated such that its eastern side is up to20 kpc closer than its western side. This is in agreement with the results from red clump stars and dynamical simulations of the Magellanic Clouds and Stream.

Scowcroft, Victoria↗
NASA NTRS2016

Optics of Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII): Delay Lines and Alignment

We present the optics of Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) as it gets ready for launch. BETTII is an 8-meter baseline far-infrared (30-90 microns) interferometer mission with capabilities of spatially resolved spectroscopy aimed at studying star formation and galaxy evolution. The instrument collects light from its two arms, makes them interfere, divides them into two science channels (30-50 microns and 60-90 microns), and focuses them onto the detectors. It also separates out the NIR light (1-2.5 microns) and uses it for tip-tilt corrections of the telescope pointing. Currently, all the optical elements have been fabricated, heat treated, coated appropriately and are mounted on their respective assemblies. We are presenting the optical design challenges for such a balloon borne spatio-spectral interferometer, and discuss how they have been mitigated. The warm and cold delay lines are an important part of this optics train. The warm delay line corrects for path length differences between the left and the right arm due to balloon pendulation, while the cold delay line is aimed at introducing a systematic path length difference, thereby generating our interferograms from where we can derive information about the spectra. The details of their design and the results of the testing of these opto-mechanical parts are also discussed. The sensitivities of different optical elements on the interferograms produced have been determined with the help of simulations using FRED software package. Accordingly, an alignment plan is drawn up which makes use of a laser tracker, a CMM, theodolites and a LUPI interferometer.

Dhabal, Arnab↗