Showing papers in "The Astrophysical Journal in 2014"

The man behind the curtain: x-rays drive the uv through nir variability in the 2013 active galactic nucleus outburst in ngc 2617

Abstract: After the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae discovered a significant brightening of the inner region of NGC 2617, we began a ∼70 day photometric and spectroscopic monitoring campaign from the X-ray through near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. We report that NGC 2617 went through a dramatic outburst, during which its X-ray flux increased by over an order of magnitude followed by an increase of its optical/ultraviolet (UV) continuum flux by almost an order of magnitude. NGC 2617, classified as a Seyfert 1.8 galaxy in 2003, is now a Seyfert 1 due to the appearance of broad optical emission lines and a continuum blue bump. Such 'changing look active galactic nuclei (AGNs)' are rare and provide us with important insights about AGN physics. Based on the Hβ line width and the radius-luminosity relation, we estimate the mass of central black hole (BH) to be (4 ± 1) × 10{sup 7} M {sub ☉}. When we cross-correlate the light curves, we find that the disk emission lags the X-rays, with the lag becoming longer as we move from the UV (2-3 days) to the NIR (6-9 days). Also, the NIR is more heavily temporally smoothed than the UV. This can largely be explained bymore » a simple model of a thermally emitting thin disk around a BH of the estimated mass that is illuminated by the observed, variable X-ray fluxes.« less

Trigonometric parallaxes of high mass star forming regions: the structure and kinematics of the milky way

Abstract: Over 100 trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions for masers associated with young, high- mass stars have been measured with the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy Survey, a Very Long Baseline Array key science project, the European VLBI Network, and the Japanese VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry project. These measurements provide strong evidence for the existence of spiral arms in the MilkyWay, accurately locating many arm segments and yielding spiral pitch angles ranging from about 7 degrees to 20 degrees. The widths of spiral arms increase with distance from the Galactic center. Fitting axially symmetric models of the MilkyWay with the three- dimensional position and velocity information and conservative priors for the solar and average source peculiar motions, we estimate the distance to the Galactic center, R-0, to be 8.34 +/- 0.16 kpc, a circular rotation speed at the Sun, Theta(0), to be 240 +/- 8 km s(-1), and a rotation curve that is nearly flat ( i. e., a slope of -0.2 +/- 0.4 km s(-1) kpc(-1)) between Galactocentric radii of approximate to 5 and 16 kpc. Assuming a " universal" spiral galaxy form for the rotation curve, we estimate the thin disk scale length to be 2.44 +/- 0.16 kpc. With this large data set, the parameters R-0 and Theta(0) are no longer highly correlated and are relatively insensitive to different forms of the rotation curve. If one adopts a theoretically motivated prior that high- mass star forming regions are in nearly circular Galactic orbits, we estimate a global solar motion component in the direction of Galactic rotation, V-circle dot = 14.6 +/- 5.0 km s(-1). While Theta(0) and V-circle dot are significantly correlated, the sum of these parameters is well constrained, Theta(0) + V circle dot = 255.2 +/- 5.1 km s(-1), as is the angular speed of the Sun in its orbit about the Galactic center, ( Theta(0) + V-circle dot)/R-0 = 30.57 +/- 0.43 km s(-1) kpc(-1). These parameters improve the accuracy of estimates of the accelerations of the Sun and the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar in their Galactic orbits, significantly reducing the uncertainty in tests of gravitational radiation predicted by general relativity.

Overview of the SDSS-IV MaNGA Survey: Mapping nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory

Abstract: We present an overview of a new integral field spectroscopic survey called MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory), one of three core programs in the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) that began on 2014 July 1. MaNGA will investigate the internal kinematic structure and composition of gas and stars in an unprecedented sample of 10,000 nearby galaxies. We summarize essential characteristics of the instrument and survey design in the context of MaNGA's key science goals and present prototype observations to demonstrate MaNGA's scientific potential. MaNGA employs dithered observations with 17 fiber-bundle integral field units that vary in diameter from 12'' (19 fibers) to 32'' (127 fibers). Two dual-channel spectrographs provide simultaneous wavelength coverage over 3600-10300 A at R ~ 2000. With a typical integration time of 3 hr, MaNGA reaches a target r-band signal-to-noise ratio of 4-8 (A–1 per 2'' fiber) at 23 AB mag arcsec–2, which is typical for the outskirts of MaNGA galaxies. Targets are selected with M * 109 M ☉ using SDSS-I redshifts and i-band luminosity to achieve uniform radial coverage in terms of the effective radius, an approximately flat distribution in stellar mass, and a sample spanning a wide range of environments. Analysis of our prototype observations demonstrates MaNGA's ability to probe gas ionization, shed light on recent star formation and quenching, enable dynamical modeling, decompose constituent components, and map the composition of stellar populations. MaNGA's spatially resolved spectra will enable an unprecedented study of the astrophysics of nearby galaxies in the coming 6 yr.

3D-HST+CANDELS: THE EVOLUTION OF THE GALAXY SIZE–MASS DISTRIBUTION SINCE z = 3

Abstract: Spectroscopic+photometric redshifts, stellar mass estimates, and rest-frame colors from the 3D-HST survey are combined with structural parameter measurements from CANDELS imaging to determine the galaxy size-mass distribution over the redshift range 0 3 × 10{sup 9} M {sub ☉}, and steep, R{sub eff}∝M{sub ∗}{sup 0.75}, for early-type galaxies with stellar mass >2 × 10{sup 10} M {sub ☉}. The intrinsic scattermore » is ≲0.2 dex for all galaxy types and redshifts. For late-type galaxies, the logarithmic size distribution is not symmetric but is skewed toward small sizes: at all redshifts and masses, a tail of small late-type galaxies exists that overlaps in size with the early-type galaxy population. The number density of massive (∼10{sup 11} M {sub ☉}), compact (R {sub eff} < 2 kpc) early-type galaxies increases from z = 3 to z = 1.5-2 and then strongly decreases at later cosmic times.« less

Detection of an unidentified emission line in the stacked X-ray spectrum of galaxy clusters

Abstract: We detect a weak unidentified emission line at E = (3.55-3.57) ± 0.03 keV in a stacked XMM-Newton spectrum of 73 galaxy clusters spanning a redshift range 0.01-0.35. When the full sample is divided into three subsamples (Perseus, Centaurus+Ophiuchus+Coma, and all others), the line is seen at >3σ statistical significance in all three independent MOS spectra and the PN "all others" spectrum. It is also detected in the Chandra spectra of the Perseus Cluster. However, it is very weak and located within 50-110 eV of several known lines. The detection is at the limit of the current instrument capabilities. We argue that there should be no atomic transitions in thermal plasma at this energy. An intriguing possibility is the decay of sterile neutrino, a long-sought dark matter particle candidate. Assuming that all dark matter is in sterile neutrinos with ms = 2E = 7.1 keV, our detection corresponds to a neutrino decay rate consistent with previous upper limits. However, based on the cluster masses and distances, the line in Perseus is much brighter than expected in this model, significantly deviating from other subsamples. This appears to be because of an anomalously bright line at E = 3.62 keV in Perseus, which could be an Ar XVII dielectronic recombination line, although its emissivity would have to be 30 times the expected value and physically difficult to understand. Another alternative is the above anomaly in the Ar line combined with the nearby 3.51 keV K line also exceeding expectation by a factor of 10-20. Confirmation with Astro-H will be critical to determine the nature of this new line.

Architecture of Kepler's multi-transiting systems. II. New investigations with twice as many candidates

Abstract: We report on the orbital architectures of Kepler systems having multiple-planet candidates identified in the analysis of data from the first six quarters of Kepler data and reported by Batalha et al. (2013). These data show 899 transiting planet candidates in 365 multiple-planet systems and provide a powerful means to study the statistical properties of planetary systems. Using a generic mass–radius relationship, we find that only two pairs of planets in these candidate systems (out of 761 pairs total) appear to be on Hill-unstable orbits, indicating ~96% of the candidate planetary systems are correctly interpreted as true systems. We find that planet pairs show little statistical preference to be near mean-motion resonances. We identify an asymmetry in the distribution of period ratios near first-order resonances (e.g., 2:1, 3:2), with an excess of planet pairs lying wide of resonance and relatively few lying narrow of resonance. Finally, based upon the transit duration ratios of adjacent planets in each system, we find that the interior planet tends to have a smaller transit impact parameter than the exterior planet does. This finding suggests that the mode of the mutual inclinations of planetary orbital planes is in the range 1°.0–2°.2, for the packed systems of small planets probed by these observations.

CONSTRAINING THE LOW-MASS SLOPE OF THE STAR FORMATION SEQUENCE AT 0.5 < z < 2.5

Abstract: We constrain the slope of the star formation rate (log�) to stellar mass (logM⋆) relation down to log(M⋆/M⊙) = 8.4 (log(M⋆/M⊙) = 9.2) at z = 0.5 (z = 2.5) with a mass-complete sample of 39,106 star-forming galaxies selected from the 3D-HST photometric catalogs, using deep photometry in the CANDELS fields. For the first time, we find that the slope is dependent on stellar mass, such that it is steeper at low masses (log� ∝ logM⋆) than at high masses (log� ∝ (0.3 − 0.6)logM⋆). These steeper low mass slopes are found for three different star formation indicators: the combination of the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR), calibrated from a stacking analysis of Spitzer/MIPS 24µm

The mass-radius relation for 65 exoplanets smaller than 4 earth radii

Abstract: We study the masses and radii of 65 exoplanets smaller than 4 R ⊕ with orbital periods shorter than 100 days. We calculate the weighted mean densities of planets in bins of 0.5 R ⊕ and identify a density maximum of 7.6 g cm–3 at 1.4 R ⊕. On average, planets with radii up to R P = 1.5 R ⊕ increase in density with increasing radius. Above 1.5 R ⊕, the average planet density rapidly decreases with increasing radius, indicating that these planets have a large fraction of volatiles by volume overlying a rocky core. Including the solar system terrestrial planets with the exoplanets below 1.5 R ⊕, we find ρP = 2.43 + 3.39(R P/R ⊕) g cm–3 for R P < 1.5 R ⊕, which is consistent with rocky compositions. For 1.5 ≤ R P/R ⊕ < 4, we find M P/M ⊕ = 2.69(R P/R ⊕)0.93. The rms of planet masses to the fit between 1.5 and 4 R ⊕ is 4.3 M ⊕ with reduced χ2 = 6.2. The large scatter indicates a diversity in planet composition at a given radius. The compositional diversity can be due to planets of a given volume (as determined by their large H/He envelopes) containing rocky cores of different masses or compositions.

redMaPPer I: Algorithm and SDSS DR8 Catalog

Abstract: We describe redMaPPer, a new red sequence cluster finder specifically designed to make optimal use of ongoing and near-future large photometric surveys. The algorithm has multiple attractive features: (1) it can iteratively self-train the red sequence model based on a minimal spectroscopic training sample, an important feature for high-redshift surveys. (2) It can handle complex masks with varying depth. (3) It produces cluster-appropriate random points to enable large-scale structure studies. (4) All clusters are assigned a full redshift probability distribution P(z). (5) Similarly, clusters can have multiple candidate central galaxies, each with corresponding centering probabilities. (6) The algorithm is parallel and numerically efficient: it can run a Dark Energy Survey-like catalog in ~500 CPU hours. (7) The algorithm exhibits excellent photometric redshift performance, the richness estimates are tightly correlated with external mass proxies, and the completeness and purity of the corresponding catalogs are superb. We apply the redMaPPer algorithm to ~10, 000 deg2 of SDSS DR8 data and present the resulting catalog of ~25,000 clusters over the redshift range z [0.08, 0.55]. The redMaPPer photometric redshifts are nearly Gaussian, with a scatter σ z ≈ 0.006 at z ≈ 0.1, increasing to σ z ≈ 0.02 at z ≈ 0.5 due to increased photometric noise near the survey limit. The median value for |Δz|/(1 + z) for the full sample is 0.006. The incidence of projection effects is low (≤5%). Detailed performance comparisons of the redMaPPer DR8 cluster catalog to X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich catalogs are presented in a companion paper.

STRONG NEBULAR LINE RATIOS IN THE SPECTRA of z ∼ 2-3 STAR FORMING GALAXIES: FIRST RESULTS FROM KBSS-MOSFIRE*

Abstract: We present initial results of a deep near-IR spectroscopic survey covering the 15 fields of the Keck Baryonic Structure Survey using the recently commissioned MOSFIRE spectrometer on the Keck 1 telescope. We focus on a sample of 251 galaxies with redshifts 2.0 < z < 2.6, star formation rates (SFRs) 2 ≾ SFR ≾ 200 M_☉ yr^(–1), and stellar masses 8.6 < log (M_*/M_☉) < 11.4, with high-quality spectra in both H- and K-band atmospheric windows. We show unambiguously that the locus of z ~ 2.3 galaxies in the "BPT" nebular diagnostic diagram exhibits an almost entirely disjointed, yet similarly tight, relationship between the line ratios [N II] λ6585/Hα and [O III]/Hβ as compared to local galaxies. Using photoionization models, we argue that the offset of the z ~ 2.3 BPT locus relative to that at z ~ 0 is caused by a combination of harder stellar ionizing radiation field, higher ionization parameter, and higher N/O at a given O/H compared to most local galaxies, and that the position of a galaxy along the z ~ 2.3 star-forming BPT locus is surprisingly insensitive to gas-phase oxygen abundance. The observed nebular emission line ratios are most easily reproduced by models in which the net stellar ionizing radiation field resembles a blackbody with effective temperature T_(eff) = 50, 000-60, 000 K, the gas-phase oxygen abundances lie in the range 0.2 < Z/Z_☉ < 1.0, and the ratio of gas-phase N/O is close to the solar value. We critically assess the applicability at high redshift of commonly used strong line indices for estimating gas-phase metallicity, and consider the implications of the small intrinsic scatter of the empirical relationship between excitation-sensitive line indices and M_* (i.e., the "mass-metallicity" relation) at z ≃ 2.3.

Understanding the mass-radius relation for sub-neptunes: radius as a proxy for composition

Abstract: Transiting planet surveys like Kepler have provided a wealth of information on the distribution of planetary radii, particularly for the new populations of super-Earth- and sub-Neptune-sized planets. In order to aid in the physical interpretation of these radii, we compute model radii for low-mass rocky planets with hydrogen-helium envelopes. We provide model radii for planets 1-20 M ⊕, with envelope fractions 0.01%-20%, levels of irradiation 0.1-1000 times Earth's, and ages from 100 Myr to 10 Gyr. In addition we provide simple analytic fits that summarize how radius depends on each of these parameters. Most importantly, we show that at fixed H/He envelope fraction, radii show little dependence on mass for planets with more than 1% of their mass in their envelope. Consequently, planetary radius is to a first order a proxy for planetary composition, i.e., H/He envelope fraction, for Neptune- and sub-Neptune-sized planets. We recast the observed mass-radius relationship as a mass-composition relationship and discuss it in light of traditional core accretion theory. We discuss the transition from rocky super-Earths to sub-Neptune planets with large volatile envelopes. We suggest 1.75 R ⊕ as a physically motivated dividing line between these two populations of planets. Finally, we discuss these results in light of the observed radius occurrence distribution found by Kepler. © 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Improved Reflection Models of Black Hole Accretion Disks: Treating the Angular Distribution of X-Rays

Abstract: X-ray reflection models are used to constrain the properties of the accretion disk, such as the degree of ionization of the gas and the elemental abundances. In combination with general relativistic ray tracing codes, additional parameters like the spin of the black hole and the inclination to the system can be determined. However, current reflection models used for such studies only provide angle-averaged solutions for the flux reflected at the surface of the disk. Moreover, the emission angle of the photons changes over the disk due to relativistic light bending. To overcome this simplification, we have constructed an angle-dependent reflection model with the XILLVER code and self-consistently connected it with the relativistic blurring code RELLINE. The new model, relxill, calculates the proper emission angle of the radiation at each point on the accretion disk and then takes the corresponding reflection spectrum into account. We show that the reflected spectra from illuminated disks follow a limb-brightening law highly dependent on the ionization of disk and yet different from the commonly assumed form Iln (1 + 1/μ). A detailed comparison with the angle-averaged model is carried out in order to determine the bias in the parameters obtained by fitting a typical relativistic reflection spectrum. These simulations reveal that although the spin and inclination are mildly affected, the Fe abundance can be overestimated by up to a factor of two when derived from angle-averaged models. The fit of the new model to the Suzaku observation of the Seyfert galaxy Ark 120 clearly shows a significant improvement in the constraint of the physical parameters, in particular by enhancing the accuracy in the inclination angle and the spin determinations.

Relativistic reconnection: an efficient source of non-thermal particles

Abstract: In magnetized astrophysical outflows, the dissipation of field energy into particle energy via magnetic reconnection is often invoked to explain the observed non-thermal signatures. By means of two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate anti-parallel reconnection in magnetically dominated electron-positron plasmas. Our simulations extend to unprecedentedly long temporal and spatial scales, so we can capture the asymptotic state of the system beyond the initial transients, and without any artificial limitation by the boundary conditions. At late times, the reconnection layer is organized into a chain of large magnetic islands connected by thin X-lines. The plasmoid instability further fragments each X-line into a series of smaller islands, separated by X-points. At the X-points, the particles become unmagnetized and they get accelerated along the reconnection electric field. We provide definitive evidence that the late-time particle spectrum integrated over the whole reconnection region is a power law whose slope is harder than –2 for magnetizations σ 10. Efficient particle acceleration to non-thermal energies is a generic by-product of the long-term evolution of relativistic reconnection in both two and three dimensions. In three dimensions, the drift-kink mode corrugates the reconnection layer at early times, but the long-term evolution is controlled by the plasmoid instability which facilitates efficient particle acceleration, analogous to the two-dimensional physics. Our findings have important implications for the generation of hard photon spectra in pulsar winds and relativistic astrophysical jets.

Habitable zones around main-sequence stars: Dependence on planetary mass

Abstract: The ongoing discoveries of extra-solar planets are unveiling a wide range of terrestrial mass (size) planets around their host stars. In this Letter, we present estimates of habitable zones (HZs) around stars with stellar effective temperatures in the range 2600 K-7200 K, for planetary masses between 0.1M and 5M. Assuming H2O-(inner HZ) and CO2-(outer HZ) dominated atmospheres, and scaling the background N2 atmospheric pressure with the radius of the planet, our results indicate that larger planets have wider HZs than do smaller ones. Specifically, with the assumption that smaller planets will have less dense atmospheres, the inner edge of the HZ (runaway greenhouse limit) moves outward (approx.10% lower than Earth flux) for low mass planets due to larger greenhouse effect arising from the increased H2O column depth. For larger planets, the H2O column depth is smaller, and higher temperatures are needed before water vapor completely dominates the outgoing long-wave radiation. Hence the inner edge moves inward (approx.7% higher than Earth's flux). The outer HZ changes little due to the competing effects of the greenhouse effect and an increase in albedo. New, three-dimensional climate model results from other groups are also summarized, and we argue that further, independent studies are needed to verify their predictions. Combined with our previous work, the results presented here provide refined estimates of HZs around main-sequence stars and provide a step toward a more comprehensive analysis of HZs.

Validation of kepler's multiple planet candidates. iii. light curve analysis and announcement of hundreds of new multi-planet systems

Abstract: The Kepler mission has discovered more than 2500 exoplanet candidates in the first two years of spacecraft data, with approximately 40% of those in candidate multi-planet systems. The high rate of multiplicity combined with the low rate of identified false positives indicates that the multiplanet systems contain very few false positive signals due to other systems not gravitationally bound to the target star. False positives in the multi-planet systems are identified and removed, leaving behind a residual population of candidate multi-planet transiting systems expected to have a false positive rate less than 1%. We present a sample of 340 planetary systems that contain 851 planets that are validated to substantially better than the 99% confidence level; the vast majority of these have not been previously verified as planets. We expect ~two unidentified false positives making our sample of planet very reliable. We present fundamental planetary properties of our sample based on a comprehensive analysis of Kepler light curves, ground-based spectroscopy, and high-resolution imaging. Since we do not require spectroscopy or high-resolution imaging for validation, some of our derived parameters for a planetary system may be systematically incorrect due to dilution from light due to additional stars in the photometric aperture. Nonetheless, our result nearly doubles the number verified exoplanets.

Fast Radio Burst Discovered in the Arecibo Pulsar ALFA Survey

Abstract: Recent work has exploited pulsar survey data to identify temporally isolated, millisecond-duration radio bursts with large dispersion measures (DMs). These bursts have been interpreted as arising from a population of extragalactic sources, in which case they would provide unprecedented opportunities for probing the intergalactic medium; they may also be linked to new source classes. Until now, however, all so-called fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been detected with the Parkes radio telescope and its 13-beam receiver, casting some concern about the astrophysical nature of these signals. Here we present FRB 121102, the first FRB discovery from a geographic location other than Parkes. FRB 121102 was found in the Galactic anti-center region in the 1.4?GHz Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA) survey with the Arecibo Observatory with a DM = 557.4 ? 2.0 pc cm?3, pulse width of 3.0 ? 0.5 ms, and no evidence of interstellar scattering. The observed delay of the signal arrival time with frequency agrees precisely with the expectation of dispersion through an ionized medium. Despite its low Galactic latitude (b = ?0.?2), the burst has three times the maximum Galactic DM expected along this particular line of sight, suggesting an extragalactic origin. A peculiar aspect of the signal is an inverted spectrum; we interpret this as a consequence of being detected in a sidelobe of the ALFA receiver. FRB 121102's brightness, duration, and the inferred event rate are all consistent with the properties of the previously detected Parkes bursts.

The COS-Halos Survey: Physical Conditions and Baryonic Mass in the Low-redshift Circumgalactic Medium

Abstract: We analyze the physical conditions of the cool, photoionized (T ∼ 10 4 K) circumgalactic medium (CGM) using the COS-Halos suite of gas column density measurements for 44 gaseous halos within 160 kpc of L ∼ L ∗ galaxies at z ∼ 0.2. These data are well described by simple photoionization models, with the gas highly ionized (nHii/nH 99%) by the extragalactic ultraviolet background. Scaling by estimates for the virial radius, Rvir, we show that the ionization state (tracked by the dimensionless ionization parameter, U) increases with distance from the host galaxy. The ionization parameters imply a decreasing volume density profile nH = (10 −4.2±0.25 )(R/Rvir) −0.8±0.3 . Our derived gas volume densities are several orders of magnitude lower than predictions from standard two-phase models with a cool medium in pressure equilibrium with a hot, coronal medium expected in virialized halos at this mass scale. Applying the ionization corrections to the Hi column densities, we estimate a lower limit to the cool gas mass M cool CGM > 6.5 × 10

Production of all the r-process nuclides in the dynamical ejecta of neutron star mergers

Abstract: Recent studies suggest that binary neutron star (NS-NS) mergers robustly produce heavy r-process nuclei above the atomic mass number A ~ 130 because their ejecta consist of almost pure neutrons (electron fraction of Y e < 0.1). However, the production of a small amount of the lighter r-process nuclei (A ≈ 90-120) conflicts with the spectroscopic results of r-process-enhanced Galactic halo stars. We present, for the first time, the result of nucleosynthesis calculations based on the fully general relativistic simulation of a NS-NS merger with approximate neutrino transport. It is found that the bulk of the dynamical ejecta are appreciably shock-heated and neutrino processed, resulting in a wide range of Y e (≈0.09-0.45). The mass-averaged abundance distribution of calculated nucleosynthesis yields is in reasonable agreement with the full-mass range (A ≈ 90-240) of the solar r-process curve. This implies, if our model is representative of such events, that the dynamical ejecta of NS-NS mergers could be the origin of the Galactic r-process nuclei. Our result also shows that radioactive heating after ~1 day from the merging, which gives rise to r-process-powered transient emission, is dominated by the β-decays of several species close to stability with precisely measured half-lives. This implies that the total radioactive heating rate for such an event can be well constrained within about a factor of two if the ejected material has a solar-like r-process pattern.

Toward the standard population synthesis model of the x-ray background: evolution of x-ray luminosity and absorption functions of active galactic nuclei including compton-thick populations

Abstract: We present the most up-to-date X-ray luminosity function (XLF) and absorption function of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) over the redshift range from 0 to 5, utilizing the largest, highly complete sample ever available obtained from surveys performed with Swift/BAT, MAXI, ASCA, XMM-Newton, Chandra, and ROSAT. The combined sample, including that of the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey, consists of 4039 detections in the soft (0.5--2 keV) and/or hard ($>2$ keV) band. We utilize a maximum likelihood method to reproduce the count-rate versus redshift distribution for each survey, by taking into account the evolution of the absorbed fraction, the contribution from Compton-thick (CTK) AGNs, and broad band spectra of AGNs including reflection components from tori based on the luminosity and redshift dependent unified scheme. We find that the shape of the XLF at $z \sim 1-3$ is significantly different from that in the local universe, for which the luminosity dependent density evolution model gives much better description than the luminosity and density evolution model. These results establish the standard population synthesis model of the X-Ray Background (XRB), which well reproduces the source counts, the observed fractions of CTK AGNs, and the spectrum of the hard XRB. The number ratio of CTK AGNs to the absorbed Compton-thin (CTN) AGNs is constrained to be $\approx$0.5--1.6 to produce the 20--50 keV XRB intensity within present uncertainties, by assuming that they follow the same evolution as CTN AGNs. The growth history of supermassive black holes is discussed based on the new AGN bolometric luminosity function.

One Hundred First Stars : Protostellar Evolution and the Final Masses

Abstract: We perform a large set of radiation hydrodynamic simulations of primordial star formation in a fully cosmological context. Our statistical sample of 100 First Stars shows that the first generation of stars has a wide mass distribution M popIII = 10 ~ 1000 M ☉. We first run cosmological simulations to generate a set of primordial star-forming gas clouds. We then follow protostar formation in each gas cloud and the subsequent protostellar evolution until the gas mass accretion onto the protostar is halted by stellar radiative feedback. The accretion rates differ significantly among the primordial gas clouds that largely determine the final stellar masses. For low accretion rates, the growth of a protostar is self-regulated by radiative feedback effects, and the final mass is limited to several tens of solar masses. At high accretion rates the protostar's outer envelope continues to expand, and the effective surface temperature remains low; such protostars do not exert strong radiative feedback and can grow in excess of 100 solar masses. The obtained wide mass range suggests that the first stars play a variety of roles in the early universe, by triggering both core-collapse supernovae and pair-instability supernovae as well as by leaving stellar mass black holes. We find certain correlations between the final stellar mass and the physical properties of the star-forming cloud. These correlations can be used to estimate the mass of the first star from the properties of the parent cloud or of the host halo without following the detailed protostellar evolution.

Initial Performance of the NEOWISE Reactivation Mission

Abstract: NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft has been brought out of hibernation and has resumed surveying the sky at 3.4 and 4.6 μm. The scientific objectives of the NEOWISE reactivation mission are to detect, track, and characterize near-Earth asteroids and comets. The search for minor planets resumed on 2013 December 23, and the first new near-Earth object (NEO) was discovered 6 days later. As an infrared survey, NEOWISE detects asteroids based on their thermal emission and is equally sensitive to high and low albedo objects; consequently, NEOWISE-discovered NEOs tend to be large and dark. Over the course of its three-year mission, NEOWISE will determine radiometrically derived diameters and albedos for ~2000 NEOs and tens of thousands of Main Belt asteroids. The 32 months of hibernation have had no significant effect on the mission's performance. Image quality, sensitivity, photometric and astrometric accuracy, completeness, and the rate of minor planet detections are all essentially unchanged from the prime mission's post-cryogenic phase.

A continuum of H- to He-rich tidal disruption candidates with a preference for E+A galaxies

Abstract: We present the results of a Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) archival search for blue transients that lie in the magnitude range between "normal" core-collapse and superluminous supernovae (i.e., with –21 ≤ M_(R (peak)) ≤ – 19). Of the six events found after excluding all interacting Type IIn and Ia-CSM supernovae, three (PTF09ge, 09axc, and 09djl) are coincident with the centers of their hosts, one (10iam) is offset from the center, and a precise offset cannot be determined for two (10nuj and 11glr). All the central events have similar rise times to the He-rich tidal disruption candidate PS1-10jh, and the event with the best-sampled light curve also has similar colors and power-law decay. Spectroscopically, PTF09ge is He-rich, while PTF09axc and 09djl display broad hydrogen features around peak magnitude. All three central events are in low star formation hosts, two of which are E+A galaxies. Our spectrum of the host of PS1-10jh displays similar properties. PTF10iam, the one offset event, is different photometrically and spectroscopically from the central events, and its host displays a higher star formation rate. Finding no obvious evidence for ongoing galactic nuclei activity or recent star formation, we conclude that the three central transients likely arise from the tidal disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole. We compare the spectra of these events to tidal disruption candidates from the literature and find that all of these objects can be unified on a continuous scale of spectral properties. The accumulated evidence of this expanded sample strongly supports a tidal disruption origin for this class of nuclear transients.

GALAXY STELLAR MASS FUNCTIONS FROM ZFOURGE/CANDELS: AN EXCESS OF LOW-MASS GALAXIES SINCE z = 2 AND THE RAPID BUILDUP OF QUIESCENT GALAXIES*

Abstract: Using observations from the FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey (ZFOURGE), we obtain the deepest measurements to date of the galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) at 0.2 < z < 3. ZFOURGE provides well-constrained photometric redshifts made possible through deep medium-bandwidth imaging at 1-2 μm. We combine this with Hubble Space Telescope imaging from the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey, allowing for the efficient selection of both blue and red galaxies down to stellar masses of ~109.5 M ☉ at z ~ 2.5. The total surveyed area is 316 arcmin2 distributed over three independent fields. We supplement these data with the wider and shallower NEWFIRM Medium-Band Survey to provide stronger constraints at high masses. Several studies at z ≤ 1.5 have revealed a steepening of the slope at the low-mass end of the SMF, leading to an upturn at masses <1010 M ☉ that is not well described by a standard single-Schechter function. We find evidence that this feature extends to at least z ~ 2 and that it can be found in both the star-forming and quiescent populations individually. The characteristic mass (M*) and slope at the lowest masses (α) of a double-Schechter function fit to the SMF stay roughly constant at Log(M/M ☉) ~ 10.65 and ~ – 1.5, respectively. The SMF of star-forming galaxies has evolved primarily in normalization, while the change in shape is relatively minor. Our data allow us, for the first time, to observe a rapid buildup at the low-mass end of the quiescent SMF. Since z = 2.5, the total stellar mass density of quiescent galaxies (down to 109 M ☉) has increased by a factor of ~12, whereas the mass density of star-forming galaxies only increases by a factor of ~2.2.

A PRECISE WATER ABUNDANCE MEASUREMENT FOR THE HOT JUPITER WASP-43b

Abstract: The water abundance in a planetary atmosphere provides a key constraint on the planet’s primordial origins because water ice is expected to play an important role in the core accretion model of planet formation. However, the water content of the Solar System giant planets is not well known because water is sequestered in clouds deep in their atmospheres. By contrast, short-period exoplanets have such high temperatures that their atmospheres have water in the gas phase, making it possible to measure the water abundance for these objects. We present a precise determination of the water abundance in the atmosphere of the 2 MJup short-period exoplanet WASP-43b based on thermal emission and transmission spectroscopy measurements obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. We nd the water content is consistent with the value expected in a solar composition gas at planetary temperatures (0:4 3:5 solar at 1 condence). The metallicity of WASP-43b’s atmosphere suggested by this result extends the trend observed in the Solar System of lower metal enrichment for higher planet masses. Subject headings: planets and satellites: atmospheres | planets and satellites: composition | planets and satellites: individual: WASP-43b

Alfvén wave solar model (AWSoM): Coronal heating

Abstract: We present a new version of the Alfven wave solar model, a global model from the upper chromosphere to the corona and the heliosphere. The coronal heating and solar wind acceleration are addressed with low-frequency Alfven wave turbulence. The injection of Alfven wave energy at the inner boundary is such that the Poynting flux is proportional to the magnetic field strength. The three-dimensional magnetic field topology is simulated using data from photospheric magnetic field measurements. This model does not impose open-closed magnetic field boundaries; those develop self-consistently. The physics include the following. (1) The model employs three different temperatures, namely the isotropic electron temperature and the parallel and perpendicular ion temperatures. The firehose, mirror, and ion-cyclotron instabilities due to the developing ion temperature anisotropy are accounted for. (2) The Alfven waves are partially reflected by the Alfven speed gradient and the vorticity along the field lines. The resulting counter-propagating waves are responsible for the nonlinear turbulent cascade. The balanced turbulence due to uncorrelated waves near the apex of the closed field lines and the resulting elevated temperatures are addressed. (3) To apportion the wave dissipation to the three temperatures, we employ the results of the theories of linear wave damping and nonlinear stochastic heating. (4) We have incorporated the collisional and collisionless electron heat conduction. We compare the simulated multi-wavelength extreme ultraviolet images of CR2107 with the observations from STEREO/EUVI and the Solar Dynamics Observatory/AIA instruments. We demonstrate that the reflection due to strong magnetic fields in the proximity of active regions sufficiently intensifies the dissipation and observable emission.

The 1% Concordance Hubble Constant

Abstract: The determination of the Hubble constant has been a central goal in observational astrophysics for nearly a hundred years. Extraordinary progress has occurred in recent years on two fronts: the cosmic distance ladder measurements at low redshift and cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements at high redshift. The CMB is used to predict the current expansion rate through a best-fit cosmological model. Complementary progress has been made with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements at relatively low redshifts. While BAO data do not independently determine a Hubble constant, they are important for constraints on possible solutions and checks on cosmic consistency. A precise determination of the Hubble constant is of great value, but it is more important to compare the high and low redshift measurements to test our cosmological model. Significant tension would suggest either uncertainties not accounted for in the experimental estimates or the discovery of new physics beyond the standard model of cosmology. In this paper we examine in detail the tension between the CMB, BAO, and cosmic distance ladder data sets. We find that these measurements are consistent within reasonable statistical expectations and we combine them to determine a best-fit Hubble constant of 69.6 ± 0.7 km s–1 Mpc–1. This value is based upon WMAP9+SPT+ACT+6dFGS+BOSS/DR11+H 0/Riess; we explore alternate data combinations in the text. The combined data constrain the Hubble constant to 1%, with no compelling evidence for new physics.

An optical spectroscopic study of t tauri stars. i. photospheric properties

Abstract: Estimates of the mass and age of young stars from their location in the H-R diagram are limited by not only the typical observational uncertainties that apply to field stars, but also by large systematic uncertainties related to circumstellar phenomena. In this paper, we analyze flux-calibrated optical spectra to measure accurate spectral types and extinctions of 281 nearby T Tauri stars (TTSs). The primary advances in this paper are (1) the incorporation of a simplistic accretion continuum in optical spectral type and extinction measurements calculated over the full optical wavelength range and (2) the uniform analysis of a large sample of stars, many of which are well known and can serve as benchmarks. Comparisons between the non-accreting TTS photospheric templates and stellar photosphere models are used to derive conversions from spectral type to temperature. Differences between spectral types can be subtle and difficult to discern, especially when accounting for accretion and extinction. The spectral types measured here are mostly consistent with spectral types measured over the past decade. However, our new spectral types are one to two subclasses later than literature spectral types for the original members of the TW Hya Association (TWA) and are discrepant with literature values for some well-known members of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Our extinction measurements are consistent with other optical extinction measurements but are typically 1 mag lower than near-IR measurements, likely the result of methodological differences and the presence of near-IR excesses in most CTTSs. As an illustration of the impact of accretion, spectral type, and extinction uncertainties on the H-R diagrams of young clusters, we find that the resulting luminosity spread of stars in the TWA is 15%-30%. The luminosity spread in the TWA and previously measured for binary stars in Taurus suggests that for a majority of stars, protostellar accretion rates are not large enough to significantly alter the subsequent evolution.

The star formation histories of local group dwarf galaxies. I. Hubble space telescope/wide field planetary camera 2 observations

Abstract: We present uniformly measured star formation histories (SFHs) of 40 Local Group (LG) dwarf galaxies based on color-magnitude diagram (CMD) analysis from archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging. We demonstrate that accurate SFHs can be recovered from CMDs that do not reach the oldest main sequence turn-off (MSTO), but emphasize that the oldest MSTO is critical for precisely constraining the earliest epochs of star formation. We find that: (1) the average lifetime SFHs of dwarf spheroidals (dSphs) can be approximated by an exponentially declining SFH with τ ∼ 5 Gyr; (2) lower luminosity dSphs are less likely to have extended SFHs than more luminous dSphs; (3) the average SFHs of dwarf irregulars (dIrrs), transition dwarfs, and dwarf ellipticals can be approximated by the combination of an exponentially declining SFH (τ ∼ 3-4 Gyr) for lookback ages >10-12 Gyr ago and a constant SFH thereafter; (4) the observed fraction of stellar mass formed prior to z = 2 ranges considerably (80% for galaxies with M 10{sup 7} M{sub ☉}) and is largely explained by environment; (5) the distinction between 'ultra-faint' and 'classical' dSphs is arbitrary; (6) LG dIrrs formed amore » significantly higher fraction of stellar mass prior to z = 2 than the Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies from Leitner and the SFHs from the abundance matching models of Behroozi et al. This may indicate higher than expected star formation efficiencies at early times in low mass galaxies. Finally, we provide all the SFHs in tabulated electronic format for use by the community.« less

UV-CONTINUUM SLOPES OF >4000 z ∼ 4-8 GALAXIES FROM THE HUDF/XDF, HUDF09, ERS, CANDELS-SOUTH, AND CANDELS-NORTH FIELDS

Abstract: We measure the UV-continuum slope β for over 4000 high-redshift galaxies over a wide range of redshifts z ∼ 4-8 and luminosities from the HST HUDF/XDF, HUDF09-1, HUDF09-2, ERS, CANDELS-N, and CANDELS-S data sets. Our new β results reach very faint levels at z ∼ 4 (–15.5 mag: 0.006 L{sub z=3}{sup ∗}), z ∼ 5 (–16.5 mag: 0.014 L{sub z=3}{sup ∗}), and z ∼ 6 and z ∼ 7 (–17 mag: 0.025 L{sub z=3}{sup ∗}). Inconsistencies between previous studies led us to conduct a comprehensive review of systematic errors and develop a new technique for measuring β that is robust against biases that arise from the impact of noise. We demonstrate, by object-by-object comparisons, that all previous studies, including our own and those done on the latest HUDF12 data set, suffered from small systematic errors in β. We find that after correcting for the systematic errors (typically Δβ ∼ 0.1-0.2) all β results at z ∼ 7 from different groups are in excellent agreement. The mean β we measure for faint (–18 mag: 0.1 L{sub z=3}{sup ∗}) z ∼ 4, z ∼ 5, z ∼ 6, and z ∼ 7 galaxies is –2.03 ± 0.03 ± 0.06 (random and systematicmore » errors), –2.14 ± 0.06 ± 0.06, –2.24 ± 0.11 ± 0.08, and –2.30 ± 0.18 ± 0.13, respectively. Our new β values are redder than we have reported in the past, but bluer than other recent results. Our previously reported trend of bluer β's at lower luminosities is confirmed, as is the evolution to bluer β's at high redshifts. β appears to show only a mild luminosity dependence faintward of M {sub UV,AB} ∼ –19 mag, suggesting that the mean β asymptotes to ∼–2.2 to –2.4 for faint z ≥ 4 galaxies. At z ∼ 7, the observed β's suggest non-zero, but low dust extinction, and they agree well with values predicted in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations.« less

Cosmological Constraints from Measurements of Type Ia Supernovae Discovered During the First 1.5 Yr of the Pan-STARRS1 Survey

Abstract: We present griz P1 light curves of 146 spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia; 0.03 < z < 0.65) discovered during the first 1.5 yr of the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey. The Pan-STARRS1 natural photometric system is determined by a combination of on-site measurements of the instrument response function and observations of spectrophotometric standard stars. We find that the systematic uncertainties in the photometric system are currently 1.2% without accounting for the uncertainty in the Hubble Space Telescope Calspec definition of the AB system. A Hubble diagram is constructed with a subset of 113 out of 146 SNe Ia that pass our light curve quality cuts. The cosmological fit to 310 SNe Ia (113 PS1 SNe Ia + 222 light curves from 197 low-z SNe Ia), using only supernovae (SNe) and assuming a constant dark energy equation of state and flatness, yields $w=-1.120^{+0.360}_{-0.206}\hbox{(Stat)} ^{+0.269}_{-0.291}\hbox{(Sys)}$. When combined with BAO+CMB(Planck)+H 0, the analysis yields $\Omega _{\rm M}=0.280^{+0.013}_{-0.012}$ and $w=-1.166^{+0.072}_{-0.069}$ including all identified systematics. The value of w is inconsistent with the cosmological constant value of –1 at the 2.3σ level. Tension endures after removing either the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) or the H 0 constraint, though it is strongest when including the H 0 constraint. If we include WMAP9 cosmic microwave background (CMB) constraints instead of those from Planck, we find $w=-1.124^{+0.083}_{-0.065}$, which diminishes the discord to <2σ. We cannot conclude whether the tension with flat ΛCDM is a feature of dark energy, new physics, or a combination of chance and systematic errors. The full Pan-STARRS1 SN sample with ~three times as many SNe should provide more conclusive results.