Search Publications

On the Spectral Evolution of Hot White Dwarf Stars. II. Time-dependent Simulations of Element Transport in Evolving White Dwarfs with STELUM
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac4497 Bibcode: 2022ApJ...927..128B

Bergeron, P.; Blouin, S.; Bédard, A. +1 more

White dwarf stars are subject to various element transport mechanisms that can cause their surface composition to change radically as they cool, a phenomenon known as spectral evolution. In this paper, we undertake a comprehensive theoretical investigation of the spectral evolution of white dwarfs. First, we introduce STELUM, a new implementation …

2022 The Astrophysical Journal
Gaia 33
Resolving the Core of R136 in the Optical
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac8424 Bibcode: 2022ApJ...935..162K

Rubio, Monica; Horch, Elliott P.; Vink, Jorick S. +4 more

The sharpest optical images of the R136 cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud are presented, allowing us for the first time to resolve members of the central core, including R136a1, the most-massive star known. These data were taken using the Gemini speckle imager Zorro in medium-band filters with effective wavelengths similar to BVRI achieving an…

2022 The Astrophysical Journal
eHST 33
The 2021 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi observed in X-rays by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory: a comparative study
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac1295 Bibcode: 2022MNRAS.514.1557P

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 …

2022 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Exosat Gaia 33
A New Flaring Black Widow Candidate and Demographics of Black Widow Millisecond Pulsars in the Galactic Field
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aca2ac Bibcode: 2022ApJ...941..199S

Strader, Jay; Ray, Paul S.; Kerr, Matthew +4 more

We present the discovery of a new optical/X-ray source likely associated with the Fermi γ-ray source 4FGL J1408.6-2917. Its high-amplitude periodic optical variability, large spectroscopic radial-velocity semiamplitude, evidence for optical emission lines and flaring, and X-ray properties together imply the source is probably a new black widow mil…

2022 The Astrophysical Journal
Gaia XMM-Newton 33
Tidal Distortions in NGC1052-DF2 and NGC1052-DF4: Independent Evidence for a Lack of Dark Matter
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac7dab Bibcode: 2022ApJ...935..160K

van Dokkum, Pieter; Abraham, Roberto; Pasha, Imad +11 more

Two ultra-diffuse galaxies in the same group, NGC1052-DF2 and NGC1052-DF4, have been found to have little or no dark matter and to host unusually luminous globular cluster populations. Such low-mass diffuse objects in a group environment are easily disrupted and are expected to show evidence of tidal distortions. In this work, we present deep new …

2022 The Astrophysical Journal
eHST 33
An elliptical accretion disk following the tidal disruption event AT 2020zso
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202142616 Bibcode: 2022A&A...666A...6W

Gromadzki, M.; Young, D.; Inserra, C. +25 more


Aims: The modelling of spectroscopic observations of tidal disruption events (TDEs) to date suggests that the newly formed accretion disks are mostly quasi-circular. In this work we study the transient event AT 2020zso, hosted by an active galactic nucleus (AGN; as inferred from narrow emission line diagnostics), with the aim of characterisin…

2022 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Gaia 33
Revisiting bright δ Scuti stars and their period-luminosity relation with TESS and Gaia DR3
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac2132 Bibcode: 2022MNRAS.516.2080B

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 …

2022 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gaia 33
Slow Star Formation in the Milky Way: Theory Meets Observations
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ac6427 Bibcode: 2022ApJ...929L..18E

Ostriker, Eve C.; Evans, Neal J.; Kim, Jeong-Gyu

The observed star formation rate of the Milky Way can be explained by applying a metallicity-dependent factor to convert CO luminosity to molecular gas mass and a star formation efficiency per freefall time that depends on the virial parameter of a molecular cloud. These procedures also predict the trend of star formation rate surface density with…

2022 The Astrophysical Journal
Gaia 33
Post-starburst Galaxies in the Centers of Intermediate-redshift Clusters
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac5f06 Bibcode: 2022ApJ...930...43W

Richard, Johan; Mingozzi, Matilde; Fritz, Jacopo +17 more

We present results from MUSE spatially resolved spectroscopy of 21 post-starburst galaxies in the centers of eight clusters from z ~ 0.3 to z ~ 0.4. We measure spatially resolved star formation histories (SFHs), the time since quenching (t Q ), and the fraction of stellar mass assembled in the past 1.5 Gyr (µ 1.5). The…

2022 The Astrophysical Journal
eHST 33
The GAPS Programme at TNG. XXXII. The revealing non-detection of metastable He I in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter WASP-80b
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202142336 Bibcode: 2022A&A...658A.136F

Scandariato, G.; Pagano, I.; Khodachenko, M. L. +38 more

Context. Because of its proximity to an active K-type star, the hot Jupiter WASP-80b has been identified as a possible excellent target for detecting and measuring He I absorption in the upper atmosphere.
Aims: Our aim was to look for, and eventually measure and model, metastable He I atmospheric absorption.
Methods: We observed four pri…

2022 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Gaia 33