Search Publications

Exploring the foundations of the physical universe with space tests of the equivalence principle
DOI: 10.1007/s10686-021-09718-8 Bibcode: 2021ExA....51.1695B

Métris, Gilles; Rodrigues, Manuel; Loriani, Sina +34 more

We present the scientific motivation for future space tests of the equivalence principle, and in particular the universality of free fall, at the 10− 17 level or better. Two possible mission scenarios, one based on quantum technologies, the other on electrostatic accelerometers, that could reach that goal are briefly discussed. This pub…

2021 Experimental Astronomy
MICROSCOPE 45
Spitzer Phase-curve Observations and Circulation Models of the Inflated Ultrahot Jupiter WASP-76b
DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ac0e30 Bibcode: 2021AJ....162..158M

Deming, Drake; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Stevenson, Kevin B. +15 more

The large radii of many hot Jupiters can only be matched by models that have hot interior adiabats, and recent theoretical work has shown that the interior evolution of hot Jupiters has a significant impact on their atmospheric structure. Due to its inflated radius, low gravity, and ultrahot equilibrium temperature, WASP-76b is an ideal case study…

2021 The Astronomical Journal
eHST 45
TIC 172900988: A Transiting Circumbinary Planet Detected in One Sector of TESS Data
DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ac223a Bibcode: 2021AJ....162..234K

Kostov, Veselin B.; Powell, Brian P.; Torres, Guillermo +85 more

We report the first discovery of a transiting circumbinary planet detected from a single sector of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data. During Sector 21, the planet TIC 172900988b transited the primary star and then five days later it transited the secondary star. The binary is itself eclipsing, with a period P ≈ 19.7 days and an ecc…

2021 The Astronomical Journal
CHEOPS Gaia 45
Ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves from cosmological and astrophysical processes
DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01489-8 Bibcode: 2021NatAs...5.1268M

Moore, Christopher J.; Vecchio, Alberto

Gravitational waves at ultra-low frequencies (≲100 nHz) are key to understanding the assembly and evolution of astrophysical black hole binaries with masses ~106-109 M at low redshifts1-3. These gravitational waves also offer a unique window into a wide variety of cosmological processes4-11. …

2021 Nature Astronomy
Gaia 45
Constraining the baryon abundance with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect: Projected-field detection using P l a n c k , W M A P , and u n W I S E
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.104.043518 Bibcode: 2021PhRvD.104d3518K

Ferraro, Simone; Hill, J. Colin; Kusiak, Aleksandra +2 more

The kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect—the Doppler boosting of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) photons scattering off free electrons with nonzero line-of-sight velocity—is an excellent probe of the distribution of baryons in the Universe. In this paper, we measure the kSZ effect due to ionized gas traced by infrared-selected galaxies from…

2021 Physical Review D
Gaia 45
CARMENES detection of the Ca II infrared triplet and possible evidence of He I in the atmosphere of WASP-76b
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202141669 Bibcode: 2021A&A...654A.163C

Sánchez-López, A.; Snellen, I. A. G.; López-Puertas, M. +25 more

Ultra-hot Jupiters are highly irradiated gas giants with equilibrium temperatures typically higher than 2000 K. Atmospheric studies of these planets have shown that their transmission spectra are rich in metal lines, with some of these metals being ionised due to the extreme temperatures. Here, we use two transit observations of WASP-76b obtained …

2021 Astronomy and Astrophysics
XMM-Newton 45
Discovery of Beryllium in White Dwarfs Polluted by Planetesimal Accretion
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abe40b Bibcode: 2021ApJ...914...61K

Weinberger, Alycia J.; Zuckerman, B.; Blouin, Simon +5 more

The element beryllium is detected for the first time in white dwarf stars. This discovery in the spectra of two helium-atmosphere white dwarfs was made possible only because of the remarkable overabundance of Be relative to all other elements, heavier than He, observed in these stars. The measured Be abundances, relative to chondritic, are by far …

2021 The Astrophysical Journal
Gaia 44
The COS Absorption Survey of Baryon Harbors: unveiling the physical conditions of circumgalactic gas through multiphase Bayesian ionization modelling
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa3544 Bibcode: 2021MNRAS.502.4993H

Tripp, Todd M.; Prochaska, J. Xavier; Burchett, Joseph N. +4 more

Quasar absorption systems encode a wealth of information about the abundances, ionization structure, and physical conditions in intergalactic and circumgalactic media. Simple (often single-phase) photoionization models are frequently used to decode such data. Using five discrete absorbers from the COS Absorption Survey of Baryon Harbors (CASBaH) t…

2021 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
eHST 44
The Strength and Structure of the Magnetic Field in the Galactic Outflow of Messier 82
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abf934 Bibcode: 2021ApJ...914...24L

Lopez-Rodriguez, Enrique; Guerra, Jordan A.; Asgari-Targhi, Mahboubeh +1 more

Galactic outflows driven by starbursts can modify the galactic magnetic fields and drive them away from the galactic planes. Here, we quantify how these fields may magnetize the intergalactic medium (IGM). We estimate the strength and structure of the fields in the starburst galaxy M82 using thermal polarized emission observations from the Stratos…

2021 The Astrophysical Journal
Herschel 44
On the radial abundance gradients of nitrogen and oxygen in the inner Galactic disc
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa3903 Bibcode: 2021MNRAS.502..225A

Méndez-Delgado, J. E.; Arellano-Córdova, K. Z.; García-Rojas, J. +1 more

We present optical spectra of nine Galactic H II regions observed with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias telescope and located at Galactocentric distances (RG) from 4 to 8 kpc. The distances of the objects have been revised using Gaia DR2 parallaxes. We determine the electron temperature for all the nebulae, which allows a precise com…

2021 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gaia 44