Search Publications
Asymmetrical tidal tails of open star clusters: stars crossing their cluster's práh† challenge Newtonian gravitation
Famaey, Benoit; Kroupa, Pavel; Boffin, Henri M. J. +14 more
After their birth a significant fraction of all stars pass through the tidal threshold (práh) of their cluster of origin into the classical tidal tails. The asymmetry between the number of stars in the leading and trailing tails tests gravitational theory. All five open clusters with tail data (Hyades, Praesepe, Coma Berenices, COIN-Gaia 13, NGC 7…
Relentless and complex transits from a planetesimal debris disc
Mustill, A. J.; Hermes, J. J.; Gänsicke, B. T. +12 more
This article reports quasi-continuous transiting events towards WD 1054-226 at d = 36.2 pc and V = 16.0 mag, based on simultaneous, high-cadence, multiwavelength imaging photometry using ULTRACAM over 18 nights from 2019 to 2020 March. The predominant period is 25.02 h and corresponds to a circular orbit with blackbody Teq = 323 K, wher…
Dwarf AGNs from Optical Variability for the Origins of Seeds (DAVOS): insights from the dark energy survey deep fields
Bacon, D.; Shen, Yue; Smith, M. +69 more
We present a sample of 706, z < 1.5 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from optical photometric variability in three of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) deep fields (E2, C3, and X3) over an area of 4.64 deg2. We construct light curves using difference imaging aperture photometry for resolved sources and non-difference imaging PSF pho…
The 2021 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi observed in X-rays by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory: a comparative study
Ness, J. -U.; Munari, U.; Orio, M. +12 more
On 2021 August 8, the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) erupted again, after an interval of 15.5 yr. Regular monitoring by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory began promptly, on August 9.9 (0.37 d after the optical peak), and continued until the source passed behind the Sun at the start of November, 86 d later. Observations then restarted on day …
Revisiting bright δ Scuti stars and their period-luminosity relation with TESS and Gaia DR3
Bedding, Timothy R.; Murphy, Simon J.; Hey, Daniel R. +1 more
We have used NASA's TESS mission to study catalogued δ Scuti stars. We examined TESS light curves for 434 stars, including many for which few previous observations exist. We found that 62 are not δ Scuti pulsators, with most instead showing variability from binarity. For the 372 δ Scuti stars, we provide a catalogue of the period and amplitude of …
Prospects for multimessenger detection of binary neutron star mergers in the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run
Patricelli, Barbara; Bernardini, Maria Grazia; Mapelli, Michela +5 more
The joint detection of GW170817 and GRB 170817A opened the era of multimessenger astronomy with gravitational waves (GWs) and provided the first direct probe that at least some binary neutron star (BNS) mergers are progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts (S-GRBs). In the next years, we expect to have more multimessenger detections of BNS mergers, th…
Substructure detection reanalysed: dark perturber shown to be a line-of-sight halo
Dvorkin, Cora; Ostdiek, Bryan; Sengül, Atinç Çagan +1 more
Observations of structure at subgalactic scales are crucial for probing the properties of dark matter, which is the dominant source of gravity in the universe. It will become increasingly important for future surveys to distinguish between line-of-sight haloes and subhalos to avoid wrong inferences on the nature of dark matter. We reanalyse a subg…
On the inconsistency of [C/Fe] abundances and the fractions of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars among various stellar surveys
Yoon, Jinmi; Lee, Young Sun; Placco, Vinicius M. +4 more
Carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars are a unique resource for Galactic archaeology because they probe the properties of the First Stars, early chemical evolution, and binary interactions at very low metallicity. Comparing the fractions and properties of CEMP stars in different Galactic environments can provide us with unique insights into the …
The primordial matter power spectrum on sub-galactic scales
Treu, Tommaso; Bovy, Jo; Birrer, Simon +3 more
The primordial matter power spectrum quantifies fluctuations in the distribution of dark matter immediately following inflation. Over cosmic time, overdense regions of the primordial density field grow and collapse into dark matter haloes, whose abundance and density profiles retain memory of the initial conditions. By analysing the image magnific…
Magnetic braking saturates: evidence from the orbital period distribution of low-mass detached eclipsing binaries from ZTF
Conroy, Charlie; Kiman, Rocio; El-Badry, Kareem +4 more
We constrain the orbital period (Porb) distribution of low-mass detached main-sequence eclipsing binaries (EBs) with light-curves from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), which provides a well-understood selection function and sensitivity to faint stars. At short periods (Porb ≲ 2 d), binaries are predicted to evolve signifi…