Search Publications

Multitemperature mapping of dust structures throughout the Galactic Plane using the PPMAP tool with Herschel Hi-GAL data
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stx1723 Bibcode: 2017MNRAS.471.2730M

Palmeirim, P.; Schneider, N.; Becciani, U. +13 more

We describe new Hi-GAL based maps of the entire Galactic Plane, obtained using continuum data in the wavelength range 70-500 µm. These maps are derived with the PPMAP procedure, and therefore represent a significant improvement over those obtained with standard analysis techniques. Specifically they have greatly improved resolution (12 arcse…

2017 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Herschel 116
HELP: XID+, the probabilistic de-blender for Herschel SPIRE maps
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stw2375 Bibcode: 2017MNRAS.464..885H

Le Floc'h, E.; Valtchanov, I.; Wang, L. +13 more

We have developed a new prior-based source extraction tool, XID+, to carry out photometry in the Herschel SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver) maps at the positions of known sources. XID+ is developed using a probabilistic Bayesian framework that provides a natural framework in which to include prior information, and uses the Bayesian…

2017 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Herschel 115
Planck constraint on relic primordial black holes
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.083006 Bibcode: 2017PhRvD..95h3006C

Gao, Yu; Dutta, Bhaskar; Strigari, Louis E. +2 more

We investigate constraints on the abundance of primordial black holes (PBHs) in the mass range 1015- 1017 g using data from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and MeV extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB). Hawking radiation from PBHs with lifetime greater than the age of the Universe leaves an imprint on the CMB through…

2017 Physical Review D
Planck 115
Diverse stellar haloes in nearby Milky Way mass disc galaxies
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stw2992 Bibcode: 2017MNRAS.466.1491H

Bell, Eric F.; Holwerda, Benne W.; Monachesi, Antonela +4 more

We have examined the resolved stellar populations at large galactocentric distances along the minor axis (from 10 kpc up to between 40 and 75 kpc), with limited major axis coverage, of six nearby highly inclined Milky Way (MW) mass disc galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope data from the Galaxy haloes, Outer discs, Substructure, Thick discs, and S…

2017 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
eHST 114
The long egress of GJ 436b's giant exosphere
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201731340 Bibcode: 2017A&A...605L...7L

Heng, K.; Thomas, N.; Ehrenreich, D. +8 more

The M dwarf GJ 436 hosts a transiting warm Neptune known to experience atmospheric escape. Previous observations revealed the presence of a giant hydrogen exosphere transiting the star for more than 5 h, and absorbing up to 56% of the flux in the blue wing of the stellar Lyman-α line of neutral hydrogen (H I Lyα). The unexpected size of this comet…

2017 Astronomy and Astrophysics
eHST 114
DustPedia: A Definitive Study of Cosmic Dust in the Local Universe
DOI: 10.1088/1538-3873/129/974/044102 Bibcode: 2017PASP..129d4102D

Bianchi, S.; Smith, M.; Fritz, J. +20 more

The European Space Agency has invested heavily in two cornerstones missions: Herschel and Planck. The legacy data from these missions provides an unprecedented opportunity to study cosmic dust in galaxies so that we can, for example, answer fundamental questions about the origin of the chemical elements, physical processes in the interstellar medi…

2017 Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Herschel Planck 113
The Galactic Center Molecular Cloud Survey. I. A steep linewidth-size relation and suppression of star formation
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201628088 Bibcode: 2017A&A...603A..89K

Lu, Xing; Menten, Karl M.; Zhang, Qizhou +4 more

The central molecular zone (CMZ; inner 200 pc) of the Milky Way is a star formation (SF) environment with very extreme physical properties. Exploration of SF in this region is important because (I) this region allows us to test models of star formation under exceptional conditions; and (II) the CMZ clouds might be suitable to serve as templates to…

2017 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Herschel 113
Host galaxies of luminous z ∼ 0.6 quasars: major mergers are not prevalent at the highest AGN luminosities
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stw3037 Bibcode: 2017MNRAS.466..812V

Wuyts, S.; Fontana, A.; Trump, J. +10 more

Galaxy interactions are thought to be one of the main triggers of active galactic nuclei (AGN), especially at high luminosities, where the accreted gas mass during the AGN lifetime is substantial. Evidence for a connection between mergers and AGN, however, remains mixed. Possible triggering mechanisms remain particularly poorly understood for lumi…

2017 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
eHST 113
Forward and Inverse Modeling of the Emission and Transmission Spectrum of GJ 436b: Investigating Metal Enrichment, Tidal Heating, and Clouds
DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/153/2/86 Bibcode: 2017AJ....153...86M

Knutson, Heather; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Marley, Mark S. +5 more

The Neptune-mass GJ 436b is one of the most studied transiting exoplanets with repeated measurements of its thermal emission and transmission spectra. We build on previous studies to answer outstanding questions about this planet, including its potentially high metallicity and tidal heating of its interior. We present new observations of GJ 436b’s…

2017 The Astronomical Journal
eHST 112
Revisiting the Tale of Hercules: How Stars Orbiting the Lagrange Points Visit the Sun
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa6c26 Bibcode: 2017ApJ...840L...2P

Gerhard, Ortwin; Pérez-Villegas, Angeles; Wegg, Christopher +1 more

We propose a novel explanation for the Hercules stream consistent with recent measurements of the extent and pattern speed of the Galactic bar. We have adapted a made-to-measure dynamical model tailored for the Milky Way to investigate the kinematics of the solar neighborhood (SNd). The model matches the 3D density of the red clump giant stars (RC…

2017 The Astrophysical Journal
Gaia 112