Astrophysical Processes Research Articles

Industrial Applications of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics was created by Gingold and Monaghan (1977) and Lucy (1977) to address the challenges of computational modelling of astrophysical processes. These usually involve mat...

The astrophysical S-factor of proton radiative capture on triton

The proton capture on 3H is important to understand various physical and astrophysical processes. In this study, the cross section and astrophysical S-factor of the proton radiative capture on triton were taken into account at low energies. The 3H(p,γ)4He reaction was studied using the E1 transition. The gamma-ray transition is dominated by the E1 multipolarity and by incoming p-waves. The non-resonant astrophysical S-factors for the E1 transition were calculated using the potential model. The results were satisfactorily in good agreement with the corresponding experimental data.

Viscous heating in the disk of the outbursting star FU Orionis

Context. FU Orionis is the archetypal FUor star, a subclass of young stellar objects (YSOs) that undergo rapid brightening events, often gaining between four and six magnitudes on timescales of days. This brightening is often associated with a massive increase in accretion, which is one of the most ubiquitous processes in astrophysics for bodies ranging from planets and stars to super-massive black holes. We present multi-band interferometric observations of the FU Ori circumstellar environment, including the first J-band interferometric observations of a YSO. Aims. We investigate the morphology and temperature gradient of the innermost regions of the accretion disk around FU Orionis. We aim to characterise the heating mechanisms of the disk and comment on potential outburst-triggering processes. Methods. Recent upgrades to the MIRC-X instrument at the CHARA array have allowed for the first dual-band J and H observations of YSOs. Using baselines up to 331 m, we present high-angular-resolution data of a YSO covering the near-infrared bands J, H, and K. The unprecedented spectral range of the data allowed us to apply temperature gradient models to the innermost regions of FU Ori. Results. We spatially resolved the innermost astronomical unit of the disk and determine the exponent of the temperature gradient of the inner disk to T ∝ r−0.74 ± 0.02. This agrees with theoretical works that predict T ∝ r−0.75 for actively accreting, steady-state disks, which is a value only obtainable through viscous heating within the disk. We found a disk that extends down to the stellar surface at 0.015 ± 0.007 au, where the temperature is found to be 5800 ± 700 K. We found a disk inclined at 32 ± 4° with a minor-axis position angle of 34 ± 11°. Conclusions. We demonstrate that J-band interferometric observations of YSOs are feasible with the MIRC-X instrument at CHARA. The temperature gradient power-law derived for the inner disk is consistent with theoretical predictions for steady-state, optically thick, viciously heated accretion disks.

Origin of the heaviest elements: The rapid neutron-capture process

The production of about half of the heavy elements found in nature is assigned to a specific astrophysical nucleosynthesis process: the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). Although this idea has been postulated more than six decades ago, the full understanding faces two types of uncertainties/open questions: (a) The nucleosynthesis path in the nuclear chart runs close to the neutron-drip line, where presently only limited experimental information is available, and one has to rely strongly on theoretical predictions for nuclear properties. (b) While for many years the occurrence of the r-process has been associated with supernovae, more recent studies have cast substantial doubts on this environment. Alternative scenarios include the mergers of neutron stars, neutron-star black hole mergers, but possibly also rare classes of supernovae as well as hypernovae/collapsars with polar jet ejecta and also accretion disk outflows related to the collapse of fast rotating massive stars with high magnetic fields. Stellar r-process abundance observations, have provided insights into, and constraints on the frequency of and conditions in the responsible stellar production sites. One of them, neutron star mergers, was just identified and related to the Gravitational Wave event GW170817. High resolution observations, increasingly more precise due to improved experimental atomic data, have been particularly important in defining the heavy element abundance patterns of the old halo stars, and thus determining the extent, and nature, of the earliest nucleosynthesis in our Galaxy. Combining new results and important breakthroughs in the related nuclear, atomic and astronomical fields of science, this review attempts to provide an answer to the question "How Were the Elements from Iron to Uranium Made?" (Abridged)

Timing Calibration of the NuSTAR X-Ray Telescope

Abstract The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission is the first focusing X-ray telescope in the hard X-ray (3–79 keV) band. Among the phenomena that can be studied in this energy band, some require high time resolution and stability: rotation-powered and accreting millisecond pulsars, fast variability from black holes and neutron stars, X-ray bursts, and more. Moreover, a good alignment of the timestamps of X-ray photons to UTC is key for multi-instrument studies of fast astrophysical processes. In this paper, we describe the timing calibration of the NuSTAR mission. In particular, we present a method to correct the temperature-dependent frequency response of the on-board temperature-compensated crystal oscillator. Together with measurements of the spacecraft clock offsets obtained during downlinks passes, this allows a precise characterization of the behavior of the oscillator. The calibrated NuSTAR event timestamps for a typical observation are shown to be accurate to a precision of ∼65 μs.

Electromagnetic Signal from a Circumbinary Gas Disk Around Merging Binary Black Holes

The detection of gravitational waves (GW) is a major achievement in physics and astrophysics. Up to now, more than 30 GW events resulting from the merger of compact celestial bodies have been observed by LIGO and VIRGO. Because electromagnetic radiation is the main method for studying astrophysical processes, whether physics can be combined with astronomy depends on whether the corresponding body of gravitational wave events can be found on electromagnetic radiation. Unfortunately, only the electromagnetic counterparts of the twin neutron star merger are currently seen. In gravitational wave astronomy, a very important subject is: Is it possible to generate electromagnetic radiation when the two black holes’ merge? In this essay, the dynamic process of the gas disk surrounding the binary black hole is studied through numerical simulation, and the long-term evolution process of these gases on the cosmological time scale is studied at the same time. The evolution process of the gas disk of the ring binary black hole can be obtained, which provides a theoretical limit on whether the electromagnetic counterpart of the merger of the binary black hole can be seen in the future.

On the halo-mass and radial scale dependence of the lensing is low effect

ABSTRACT The canonical Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmological model makes precise predictions for the clustering and lensing properties of galaxies. It has been shown that the lensing amplitude of galaxies in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is lower than expected given their clustering properties. We present new measurements and modelling of galaxies in the BOSS LOWZ sample. We focus on the radial and stellar mass dependence of the lensing amplitude mismatch. We find an amplitude mismatch of around $35{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ when assuming ΛCDM with Planck Cosmological Microwave Background (CMB) constraints. This offset is independent of halo mass and radial scale in the range Mhalo ∼ 1013.3−1013.9h−1 M⊙ and $r=0.1\!-\!60 \, h^{-1} \mathrm{Mpc}$ ($k \approx 0.05\!-\!20 \, h \, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$). The observation that the offset is both mass and scale independent places important constraints on the degree to which astrophysical processes (baryonic effects, assembly bias) can fully explain the effect. This scale independence also suggests that the ‘lensing is low’ effect on small and large radial scales probably have the same physical origin. Resolutions based on new physics require a nearly uniform suppression, relative to ΛCDM predictions, of the amplitude of matter fluctuations on these scales. The possible causes of this are tightly constrained by measurements of the CMB and of the low-redshift expansion history.

The Astrophysical Processes of Cosmological Hydrogen that Generate the Chemical Elements that Make up the Universe

The objective of the present article is to explain how all the chemical elements were formed from the big bang generated element: hydrogen. The methodology used was to analyze the main cosmological and astrophysical processes in order to explain the origin of all the known chemical elements. The main results are: Hydrogen cannot be formed in any part of the actual universe; it must come from the Big Bang. Helium and a little bit of lithium can have a cosmological origin associated to the Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the recombination process. The elements with an atomic number between 3 and 26 were, and continue to be, synthetized by nuclear fusion reactions inside the core of massive stars and liberated by explosion when the stars go supernovae, at the end of their lives. In the process of going supernova, elements with a medium atomic number, between 27 and 40, are created. All the elements with an atomic number larger than 40 were generated by neutron star collisions. When Mendeleev and Lothar Meyer designed an ordered arrangement of chemical elements, their tables included the 63 chemical elements known in 1869. A century and a half later, the known elements are 118. By studying different topics related to the elements, it was possible to uncover fundamental particles, such as quarks and leptons, and the strong and weak nuclear forces that form the baryonic part of the universe. The Sun was formed 6000 million years ago and its planets, including earth, were formed 4600 million years ago when and where there were debris of different stars that went supernova, in particular 1A type, and also debris, of at least one of a binary neutron star collision, so to attain, all the elements that have been identified in the solar system, and especially in earth. In addition, the current “periodic table” includes 26 synthetic elements that were produced in neutron star collisions but, because of their short lifetimes, they are not found, on earth. The vast quantities of the elements, produced during the aforementioned astrophysical processes, clustered into planets, stars and galaxies; and at least in one planet, our earth, some chemical elements organized themselves into living creatures.

Removing Astrophysics in 21 cm Maps with Neural Networks

Abstract Measuring temperature fluctuations in the 21 cm signal from the epoch of reionization and the cosmic dawn is one of the most promising ways to study the universe at high redshifts. Unfortunately, the 21 cm signal is affected by both cosmology and astrophysics processes in a nontrivial manner. We run a suite of 1000 numerical simulations with different values of the main astrophysical parameters. From these simulations we produce tens of thousands of 21 cm maps at redshifts 10 ≤ z ≤ 20. We train a convolutional neural network to remove the effects of astrophysics from the 21 cm maps and output maps of the underlying matter field. We show that our model is able to generate 2D matter fields not only that resemble the true ones visually but whose statistical properties agree with the true ones within a few percent down to scales ≃2 Mpc−1. We demonstrate that our neural network retains astrophysical information that can be used to constrain the value of the astrophysical parameters. Finally, we use saliency maps to try to understand which features of the 21 cm maps the network is using in order to determine the value of the astrophysical parameters.

The radioactive nuclei and in the Cosmos and in the solar system

AbstractThe cosmic evolution of the chemical elements from the Big Bang to the present time is driven by nuclear fusion reactions inside stars and stellar explosions. A cycle of matter recurrently re-processes metal-enriched stellar ejecta into the next generation of stars. The study of cosmic nucleosynthesis and this matter cycle requires the understanding of the physics of nuclear reactions, of the conditions at which the nuclear reactions are activated inside the stars and stellar explosions, of the stellar ejection mechanisms through winds and explosions, and of the transport of the ejecta towards the next cycle, from hot plasma to cold, star-forming gas. Due to the long timescales of stellar evolution, and because of the infrequent occurrence of stellar explosions, observational studies are challenging, as they have biases in time and space as well as different sensitivities related to the various astronomical methods. Here, we describe in detail the astrophysical and nuclear-physical processes involved in creating two radioactive isotopes useful in such studies,$^{26}\mathrm{Al}$and$^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$. Due to their radioactive lifetime of the order of a million years, these isotopes are suitable to characterise simultaneously the processes of nuclear fusion reactions and of interstellar transport. We describe and discuss the nuclear reactions involved in the production and destruction of$^{26}\mathrm{Al}$and$^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$, the key characteristics of the stellar sites of their nucleosynthesis and their interstellar journey after ejection from the nucleosynthesis sites. This allows us to connect the theoretical astrophysical aspects to the variety of astronomical messengers presented here, from stardust and cosmic-ray composition measurements, through observation of$\gamma$rays produced by radioactivity, to material deposited in deep-sea ocean crusts and to the inferred composition of the first solids that have formed in the Solar System. We show that considering measurements of the isotopic ratio of$^{26}\mathrm{Al}$to$^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$eliminate some of the unknowns when interpreting astronomical results, and discuss the lessons learned from these two isotopes on cosmic chemical evolution. This review paper has emerged from an ISSI-BJ Team project in 2017–2019, bringing together nuclear physicists, astronomers, and astrophysicists in this inter-disciplinary discussion.

DUNE Software and Computing Challenges

The DUNE experiment will begin running in the late 2020’s. The goals of the experiment include 1) studying neutrino oscillations using a beam of neutrinos from Fermilab in Illinois to the Sanford Underground Research Facility, 2) studying astrophysical neutrino sources and rare processes and 3) understanding the physics of neutrino interactions in matter. The DUNE Far Detector, consisting of four 17 kt LArTPC modules, will produce “events” ranging in size from 6 GBs to more than 100 TBs, posing unique challenges for DUNE software and computing. The data processing algorithms, particularly for raw data, drive the requirements for the future DUNE software framework documented here.

A Cosmic Zevatron Based on Cyclotron Auto-resonance

Abstract A Zevatron is an accelerator scheme envisaged to accelerate particles to ZeV energies (1 ZeV = 1021 eV). Schemes, most notably the internal shock model, have been proposed to explain the acceleration of ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray particles that have been sporadically detected reaching Earth since 1962. Here, the cyclotron auto-resonance acceleration (CARA) mechanism is tailored and used to demonstrate the possible acceleration of particles ejected as a result of violent astrophysical processes such as the merger of a binary system or a supernova explosion. Such events result in emission of highly energetic particles and ultra-intense beamed radiation. In the simultaneous presence of a super-strong magnetic field, the condition for cyclotron auto-resonance may be met. Thus CARA can act like a booster for particles pre-accelerated inside their progenitor by shock waves, possibly among other means. As examples, it is shown that nuclei of hydrogen, helium, and iron-56, may reach ZeV energies by CARA, under which conditions the particles, while gyrating around the lines of an ultra-strong magnetic field, also surf on the waves of a super-intense radiation field. When radiation-reaction is taken into account, it is shown that the ZeV energy gained by a particle can fall off by less than an order of -magnitude if the resonance condition is missed by roughly less than 20%.

New Method to Study Astrophysical Processes

New Method to Study Astrophysical Processes

Auto-correlation functions of astrophysical processes, and their relation to Gaussian processes

Context. Accounting for the effects of stellar magnetic phenomena is indispensable to fully exploit radial velocities (RVs) obtained using modern exoplanet-hunting spectrometers. Correlated time variations are often mitigated by non-trivial noise models in the framework of Gaussian processes. These models rely on fitting kernel functions that are motivated on mathematical grounds, and whose physical interpretation is often elusive. Aims. We aim to establish a clear connection between stellar magnetic activity affecting RVs and their corresponding correlations with physical parameters, and compare this connection with kernels used in the literature. Methods. We use simple activity models to investigate the relationship between the physical processes generating the signals and the covariances typically found in data, and to demonstrate the qualitative behaviour of this relationship. We use the StarSim code to calculate RVs of an M dwarf with different realistic evolving spot configurations. The auto-correlation function (ACF) of a synthetic data set shows a very specific behaviour and is explicitly related to the kernel. Gaussian process regression is performed using the quasi-periodic (QP) and simple harmonic oscillator kernels of the george and celerite codes, respectively. Comparison of the resulting kernels with the exact ACFs allows us to cross-match the kernel hyper-parameters with the introduced physical values, study the overall capabilities of the kernels, and improve their definition. Results. We find that the QP kernel provides a more straightforward interpretation of the physics. It is able to consistently recover both the introduced rotation period Prot and the spot lifetime. Our study indicates that the performance can be enhanced by fixing the form factor w and adding a physically motivated cosine term with period Prot∕2, where the contribution to the ACF for the different spot configurations differs significantly. The newly proposed quasi-periodic with cosine (QPC) kernel leads to significantly better model likelihoods, can potentially distinguish between different spot configurations, and can thereby improve the sensitivity of RV exoplanet searches.

Dynamical model for primordial black holes

Primordial black holes are analytically and numerically discussed based on the extended McVittie spacetime solution. By assuming that dark matter and radiation are the only sources of energy accreted by the forming central object, it is found that the black-hole mass evolution depends on the initial mass of the seed, the time in which the black hole emerges, and also on the average peculiar velocity of dark matter particles. Constraints on the initial conditions of the primordial black holes are derived from profiles of the black-hole accretion mechanism and cosmological environment. A large range of masses is compatible with our approach. In particular, masses of the order of $10^{10}M_{\odot}$ today may also be generated from small seeds. An incubation time for the emerging horizons is observed when the initial masses of the seeds are close to the particle-horizon mass. It is also argued that the McVittie-type description is consistent with the Schwarzschild solution as long as other astrophysical processes near the central object are neglected.

From universal profiles to universal scaling laws in X-ray galaxy clusters

As the end products of the hierarchical process of cosmic structure formation, galaxy clusters present some predictable properties, like those mostly driven by gravity, and some others more affected by astrophysical dissipative processes that can be recovered from observations and that show remarkable universal behaviour once rescaled by halo mass and redshift. However, a consistent picture that links these universal radial profiles and the integrated values of the thermodynamical quantities of the intracluster medium, also quantifying the deviations from the standard self-similar gravity-driven scenario, has to be demonstrated. In this work we use a semi-analytic model based on a universal pressure profile in hydrostatic equilibrium within a cold dark matter halo with a defined relation between mass and concentration to reconstruct the scaling laws between the X-ray properties of galaxy clusters. We also quantify any deviation from the self-similar predictions in terms of temperature dependence of a few physical quantities such as the gas mass fraction, the relation between spectroscopic temperature and its global value, and, if present, the hydrostatic mass bias. This model allows us to reconstruct both the observed profiles and the scaling laws between integrated quantities. We use the Planck Early Sunyaev-Zeldovich sample, a Planck-selected sample of objects homogeneously analysed in X-rays, to calibrate the predicted scaling laws between gas mass, temperature, luminosity, and total mass. Our universal model reproduces well the observed thermodynamic properties and provides a way to interpret the observed deviations from the standard self-similar behaviour, also allowing us to define a framework to modify accordingly the characteristic physical quantities that renormalise the observed profiles. By combining these results with the constraints on the observed YSZ − T relation we show how we can quantify the level of gas clumping affecting the studied sample, estimate the clumping-free gas mass fraction, and suggest the average level of hydrostatic bias present.

The Binary–Host Connection: Astrophysics of Gravitational-Wave Binaries from Host Galaxy Properties

Abstract Gravitational waves from the merger of binary neutron stars (BNSs) are accompanied by electromagnetic counterparts, making it possible to identify the associated host galaxy. In this work, we explore how properties of the hosts relate to the astrophysical processes leading to the mergers. It is thought that the BNS merger rate within a galaxy at a given epoch depends primarily on the galaxy’s star formation history, as well as the underlying merger time-delay distribution of the binary systems. The stellar history of a galaxy, meanwhile, depends on the cosmological evolution of the galaxy through time, and is tied to the growth of structure in the universe. We study the hosts of BNS mergers in the context of structure formation by populating the UniverseMachine simulations with gravitational wave (GW) events, based on a simple time-delay model. We find that different time-delay distributions predict different properties of the associated host galaxies, including the distributions of stellar mass, star formation rate, halo mass, and local and large-scale clustering of hosts. Moreover, BNSs merging today with short delay times occur preferentially in hosts with high star formation rates, while those with long delay times live in dense regions within massive halos that have low star formation. We show that with events from current GW detector networks, it is possible to make preliminary distinctions between formation channels which trace stellar mass, halo mass, or star formation rate. We also find that strategies to follow-up GW events with electromagnetic telescopes can be significantly optimized using the clustering properties of their hosts.

Astrophysical $$\boldsymbol{S}$$-Factor Calculations under the Effects of Gamma-Ray Strength Functions for Some Alpha Capture Reactions

The reaction cross section and the energy, at which this value is obtained, are extremely important parameters in the calculation of astrophysical $$S$$ -factor. Astrophysical $$S$$ -factor values can be shown as one of the most notable values not only for nuclear reactions occurring at low energies but also for deeper understanding of astrophysical processes too. Considering the importance of this variable, it has been made possible to calculate it with theoretical methods when it cannot be measured experimentally. Theoretical calculations require the energy and the reaction cross section values. While the reaction cross section value, which can be explained as the probability of occurrence of a reaction, is obtained by theoretical calculations, the result can be affected by many parameters. In this study, it is aimed to investigate the effects of gamma-ray strength functions on the calculations of the astrophysical $$S$$ -factor values of $${}^{96}$$ Ru( $$\alpha$$ , $$\gamma$$ ) $${}^{100}$$ Pd, $${}^{106}$$ Cd( $$\alpha$$ , $$\gamma$$ ) $${}^{110}$$ Sn, $${}^{112}$$ Sn( $$\alpha$$ , $$\gamma$$ ) $${}^{116}$$ Te, $${}^{113}$$ In( $$\alpha$$ , $$\gamma$$ ) $${}^{117}$$ Sb, and $${}^{144}$$ Sm( $$\alpha$$ , $$\gamma$$ ) $${}^{148}$$ Gd reactions by using the cross section values obtained via utilizing different gamma-ray strength functions, which is one of the parameters known to have an effect on the cross section calculations. All calculation results were obtained using a well-known computation code TALYS, and the data obtained were analysed both graphically and statistically against available experimental data from the Experimental Nuclear Reaction Data (EXFOR) Library.

The lunar surface as a recorder of astrophysical processes.

The lunar surface has been exposed to the space environment for billions of years and during this time has accumulated records of a wide range of astrophysical phenomena. These include solar wind particles and the cosmogenic products of solar particle events which preserve a record of the past evolution of the Sun, and cosmogenic nuclides produced by high-energy galactic cosmic rays which potentially record the galactic environment of the Solar System through time. The lunar surface may also have accreted material from the local interstellar medium, including supernova ejecta and material from interstellar clouds encountered by the Solar System in the past. Owing to the Moon's relatively low level of geological activity, absence of an atmosphere, and, for much of its history, lack of a magnetic field, the lunar surface is ideally suited to collect these astronomical records. Moreover, the Moon exhibits geological processes able to bury and thus both preserve and 'time-stamp' these records, although gaining access to them is likely to require a significant scientific infrastructure on the lunar surface. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades'.

Gravitational wave background from extreme mass ratio inspirals

Extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs), i.e. binary systems comprised by a compact stellar-mass object orbiting a massive black hole, are expected to be among the primary gravitational wave (GW) sources for the forthcoming LISA mission. The astrophysical processes leading to the formation of such systems still remain poorly understood, resulting into large uncertainties in the predicted cosmic rate of these sources, spanning at least three orders of magnitude. As LISA can individually resolve mostly EMRIs up to $z\gtrsim1$, the ensemble of signals below its detection threshold will add up incoherently forming an unresolved confusion noise, which can be formally described as a stochastic background. We perform an extensive study of this background by considering a collection of astrophysically motivated EMRI formation scenarios, spanning current uncertainties. We find that, for most astrophysical models, this signal is easily detectable by LISA, with signal to noise ratios of several hundreds. In fiducial EMRI models -- predicting hundreds of EMRI detections during mission operations -- the background level is comparable to the LISA noise, affecting the performance of the instrument around 3 mHz. In extreme cases, this background can even "erase" the whole LISA sensitivity bucket in the 2-10 mHz frequency range. This points to the need of a better understanding of EMRIs' astrophysics for a full assessment of the LISA mission potential.