Search Publications
Cross-checking SMBH mass estimates in NGC 6958 - I. Stellar dynamics from adaptive optics-assisted MUSE observations
Weilbacher, Peter M.; Krajnović, Davor; van de Ven, Glenn +9 more
Supermassive black hole masses (MBH) can dynamically be estimated with various methods and using different kinematic tracers. Different methods have only been cross-checked for a small number of galaxies and often show discrepancies. To understand these discrepancies, detailed cross-comparisons of additional galaxies are needed. We pres…
Acceleration and cooling of the corona during X-ray flares from the Seyfert galaxy I Zw 1
Brandt, W. N.; Costantini, E.; Blandford, R. D. +2 more
We report on X-ray flares that were observed from the active galactic nucleus I Zwicky 1 (I Zw 1) in 2020 January by the NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observatories. The X-ray spectrum is well-described by a model comprised of the continuum emission from the corona and its reflection from the accretion disc around a rapidly spinning (a > 0.94) black ho…
Completeness of the Gaia verse - V. Astrometry and radial velocity sample selection functions in Gaia EDR3
Everall, Andrew; Boubert, Douglas
We risk reaching false scientific conclusions if we test our physical theories against subsets of the Gaia catalogue without correcting for the biased process by which stars make it into our sample. In this paper, we produce selection functions for three Gaia science samples to enable the community to correct for this bias. We estimate the probabi…
Information content of BP/RP spectra in Gaia DR3
Belokurov, Vasily; Aguado, David S.; Evans, N. Wyn +6 more
Gaia Data Release 3 has provided the astronomical community with the largest stellar spectroscopic survey to date (> 220 million sources). The low resolution (R~50) blue photometer (BP) and red photometer (RP) spectra will allow for the estimation of stellar atmospheric parameters such as effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity.…
Pilot-WINGS: An extended MUSE view of the structure of Abell 370
Koekemoer, Anton M.; Mahler, Guillaume; Richard, Johan +22 more
We investigate the strong-lensing cluster Abell 370 (A370) using a wide Integral Field Unit (IFU) spectroscopic mosaic from the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). IFU spectroscopy provides significant insight into the structure and mass content of galaxy clusters, yet IFU-based cluster studies focus almost exclusively on the central Einstei…
Rapid build-up of the stellar content in the protocluster core SPT2349-56 at z = 4.3
Rennehan, Douglas; Greve, Thomas R.; Phadke, Kedar A. +22 more
The protocluster SPT2349-56 at $z = 4.3$ contains one of the most actively star-forming cores known, yet constraints on the total stellar mass of this system are highly uncertain. We have therefore carried out deep optical and infrared observations of this system, probing rest-frame ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths. Using the positions of the s…
Constraining the initial conditions of NGC 2264 using ejected stars found in Gaia DR2
Parker, Richard J.; Schoettler, Christina; de Bruijne, Jos
Fast, ejected stars have been found around several young star-forming regions, such as the Orion Nebula Cluster. These ejected stars can be used to constrain the initial density, spatial and kinematic substructure when compared to predictions from N-body simulations. We search for runaway and slower walkaway stars using Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) w…
A tale of caution: the tails of NGC 752 are much longer than claimed
Wang, Long; Boffin, Henri M. J.; Jerabkova, Tereza +1 more
Understanding the exact extent and content of tidal tails of open clusters provides useful clues on how field stars populate the Milky Way. We reanalyse, using Gaia EDR3 data, the tails around the open cluster NGC 752. Compared to previous analyses, we look at a much wider region around the cluster and use first the convergent point method, couple…
A NICER look at thermonuclear X-ray bursts from Aql X-1
Göğüş, Ersin; Chakrabarty, Deepto; Guillot, Sebastien +8 more
We present spectral and temporal properties of all the thermonuclear X-ray bursts observed from Aql X-1 by the Neutron Star Interior and Composition Explorer (NICER) between 2017 July and 2021 April. This is the first systematic investigation of a large sample of type I X-ray bursts from Aql X-1 with improved sensitivity at low energies. We detect…
Can Gaia find planets around white dwarfs?
Bonsor, Amy; Sanderson, Hannah; Mustill, Alexander
The Gaia spacecraft presents an unprecedented opportunity to reveal the population of long period (a > 1 au) exoplanets orbiting stars across the H-R diagram, including white dwarfs. White dwarf planetary systems have played an important role in the study of planetary compositions, from their unique ability to provide bulk elemental abundances …