National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
We present observations and analysis of the starburst, PACS-819, at z=1.45 (M=1010.7M_*=10^{10.7} M_{ \odot}), using high-resolution (0.10^{\prime \prime}.1; 0.8 kpc) ALMA and multi-wavelength JWST images from the COSMOS-Web program. Dissimilar to HST/ACS images in the rest-frame UV, the redder NIRCam and MIRI images reveal a smooth central mass concentration and spiral-like features, atypical for such an intense starburst. Through dynamical modeling of the CO J=5--4 emission with ALMA, PACS-819 is rotation-dominated thus has a disk-like nature. However, kinematic anomalies in CO and asymmetric features in the bluer JWST bands (e.g., F150W) support a more disturbed nature likely due to interactions. The JWST imaging further enables us to map the distribution of stellar mass and dust attenuation, thus clarifying the relationships between different structural components, not discernable in the previous HST images. The CO J = 5 -- 4 and FIR dust continuum emission are co-spatial with a heavily-obscured starbursting core (<1 kpc) which is partially surrounded by much less obscured star-forming structures including a prominent arc, possibly a tidally-distorted dwarf galaxy, and a clump, either a sign of an ongoing violent disk instability or a recently accreted low-mass satellite. With spatially-resolved maps, we find a high molecular gas fraction in the central area reaching 3\sim3 (MgasM_{\text{gas}}/MM_*) and short depletion times (Mgas/SFRM_{\text{gas}}/SFR\sim 120 Myrs) across the entire system. These observations provide insights into the complex nature of starbursts in the distant universe and underscore the wealth of complementary information from high-resolution observations with both ALMA and JWST.
One of the most remarkable discoveries of JWST is a population of compact, red sources at z > 4, commonly referred to as Little Red Dots (LRDs). Spectroscopic identifications reported that most LRDs are active galactic nuclei (AGNs), which are preferentially found around z~6 and could imply a key phase in the formation and growth of black holes (BHs) in the early universe. Photometric surveys at lower redshift have recently been carried out to trace their evolution across cosmic time, and a small number of LRDs have been spectroscopically identified at both Cosmic Noon and in the local universe. Here we report the discovery of one of the lowest-z analogs of LRDs, J204837.26-002437.2 (hereafter J2048) at z = 0.4332, using new Gemini-N/GMOS IFU observations combined with archival multi-band photometric SED data. The GMOS data reveal extended blue emission from starburst with a star formation rate of 400 Msun yr-1, together with an extended, highly fast ionized outflow. This is the first spectroscopic confirmation of extended host emission and outflow in an LRD-like galaxy, providing a unique laboratory for understanding the nature of their high-redshift counterparts. Moreover, J2048 would host an extremely overmassive BH with a BH-to-stellar mass ratio of 0.6, with the BH mass and host stellar mass estimated to be 10^10.2 and 10^10.4 Msun, respectively. We discuss the origin and evolutionary fate of J2048, and the implications that such low-z analogs have for interpreting the properties of high-z LRDs.
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The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration conducted the first multi-epoch polarimetric imaging of M87* at event-horizon scales, observing a stable black hole shadow diameter while detecting substantial year-to-year variability in the ring's azimuthal brightness and linear polarization patterns, along with initial constraints on extended jet emission.
FRBs constitute a unique probe of various astrophysical and cosmological environments via their characteristic dispersion and rotation (RM) measures that encode information about the ionized gas traversed by the FRB sightlines. In this work, we analyse observed RM measured for 14 localized FRBs at 0.05z0.50.05 \lesssim z \lesssim 0.5, to infer total magnetic fields in various galactic environments. Additionally, we calculate fgasf_{\rm gas} - the average fraction of halo baryons in the ionized CGM. We build a spectroscopic dataset of FRB foreground galaxy halos, acquired with VLT/MUSE and FLIMFLAM survey. We develop a novel Bayesian algorithm and use it to correlate the individual intervening halos with the observed RM. This approach allows us to disentangle the magnetic fields present in various environments traversed by the FRB. Our analysis yields the first direct FRB constraints on the strength of magnetic fields in the ISM and halos of the FRB host galaxies, as well as in halos of foreground galaxies. We find that the average magnetic field in the ISM of FRB hosts is Bhostlocal=5.440.87+1.13μGB_{\rm host}^{\rm local} = 5.44^{+1.13}_{-0.87}\mu{\rm G}. Additionally, we place upper limits on average magnetic field in FRB host halos, B_{\rm host}^{\rm halo} &lt; 4.81\mu{\rm G}, and in foreground intervening halos, B_{\rm f/g}^{\rm halo} &lt; 4.31\mu{\rm G}. Moreover, we estimate the average fraction of cosmic baryons inside 10log10(Mhalo/M)13.110 \lesssim \log_{10} \left( M_{\rm halo} / M_{\odot}\right) \lesssim 13.1 halos fgas=0.450.19+0.21f_{\rm gas} = 0.45^{+0.21}_{-0.19}. We find that the magnetic fields inferred in this work are in good agreement with previous measurements. In contrast to previous studies that analysed FRB RMs and have not considered contributions from the halos of the foreground and/or FRB host galaxies, we show that they can contribute a non-negligible amount of RM and must be taken into account when analysing future FRB samples.
We estimate ([M/H], [α\alpha/M]) for 48 million giants and dwarfs in low-dust extinction regions from the Gaia DR3 XP spectra by using tree-based machine-learning models trained on APOGEE DR17 and metal-poor star sample \revise{from} Li et al. The root mean square error of our estimation is 0.0890 dex for [M/H] and 0.0436 dex for [α\alpha/M], when we evaluate our models \revise{on} the test data that are not used in training the models. Because the training data is dominated by giants, our estimation is most reliable for giants. The high-[α\alpha/M] stars and low-[α\alpha/M] stars selected by our ([M/H], [α\alpha/M]) show different kinematical properties for giants and low-temperature dwarfs. We further investigate how our machine-learning models extract information on ([M/H], [α\alpha/M]). Intriguingly, we find that our models seem to extract information on [α\alpha/M] from Na D lines (589 nm) and Mg I line (516 nm). This result is understandable given the observed correlation between Na and Mg abundances in the literature. The catalog of ([M/H], [α\alpha/M]) as well as their associated uncertainties are publicly available online.
The discovery of wide-orbit giant exoplanets has posed a challenge to our conventional understanding of planet formation by coagulation of dust grains and planetesimals, and subsequent accretion of protoplanetary disk gas. As an alternative mechanism, the direct in-situ formation of planets or planetary cores by gravitational instability (GI) in protoplanetary disks has been proposed. However, observational evidence for GI in regions where wide-orbit planets are formed is still lacking. Theoretical studies predict that GI induces spiral arms moving at the local Keplerian speed in a disk. Here, with multiple high angular resolution observations over a seven-year time baseline using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), we report the evidence for spiral arms following the Keplerian rotation in the dust continuum disk around the young star IM Lup. This demonstrates that GI can operate in wide-orbit planet-formation regions, establishing it as a plausible formation mechanism for such planets.
ExoJAX2 is presented as an updated differentiable spectral modeling framework for exoplanet and substellar atmospheres, enabling efficient and memory-optimized high-resolution emission, transmission, and reflection spectroscopy. It successfully performs Bayesian retrievals on JWST and ground-based data, yielding detailed atmospheric compositions and properties without requiring data binning.
We present the discovery of a large gradual apparent fading event in optical and near-infrared wavelengths in a quasar at z=1.767 by a factor of 20-30 (in optical) over a period of ~20 years in the observed frame. This pronounced fading trend in brightness was first identified by comparing the magnitudes measured in the Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) images with those in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) images for ~3x10^4 quasars spectroscopically identified by SDSS. We performed follow-up observations, including optical imaging and spectroscopy as well as near-infrared imaging, with >4m-class telescopes such as Subaru, GTC, Keck, and SOAR telescopes. We combine these new data with the archival data to examine the variability behavior over ~20 years in detail and even the longer-term trend of the variability over ~70 years in the observed frame. We find that (i) the AGN component likely faded by a factor of ~50 from the early 2000s to 2023 and (ii) the observed brightness decline is best explained by a substantial decrease in accretion rate rather than time-varying line-of-sight dust obscuration. These findings are derived from multi-component (time-varying AGN + constant galaxy) spectral energy distribution fitting over multi-epochs, which is well consistent with the optical spectra. The Eddington ratio decreases by a factor of ~50, from ~0.4 to ~0.008 if we use the black hole mass measured with the SDSS spectrum, which could be highly uncertain because of the very large variability. The total brightness is dominated by the host galaxy in the rest-frame optical wavelength rather than the AGN as of 2023.
Dense cores in massive, parsec-scale molecular clumps are sites that harbor protocluster formation. We present results from observations towards a hub-filament structure of a massive Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G14.225-0.506 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The dense cores are revealed by the 1.3 mm dust continuum emission at an angular resolution of \sim 1.5'' and are identified through the hierarchical Dendrogram technique. Combining with the N2_2D+^+ 3-2 spectral line emission and gas temperatures derived from a previous NH3_3 study, we analyze the thermodynamic properties of the dense cores. The results show transonic and supersonic-dominated turbulent motions. There is an inverse correlation between the virial parameter and the column density, which implies that denser regions may undergo stronger gravitational collapse. Molecular outflows are identified in the CO 2-1 and SiO 5-4 emission, indicating active protostellar activities in some cores. Besides these star formation signatures revealed by molecular outflows in the dense cores, previous studies in the infrared, X-ray, and radio wavelengths also found a rich and wide-spread population of young stellar objects (YSOs), showing active star formation both inside and outside of the dense cloud.
We present our photometric method, which combines Subaru/HSC NB515NB515, g, and i band filters to distinguish giant stars in Local Group galaxies from Milky Way dwarf contamination. The NB515NB515 filter is a narrow-band filter that covers the MgI+MgH features at 51505150 Å, and is sensitive to stellar surface gravity. Using synthetic photometry derived from large empirical stellar spectral libraries, we model the NB515NB515 filter's sensitivity to stellar atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances. Our results demonstrate that the NB515NB515 filter effectively separates dwarfs from giants, even for the reddest and coolest M-type stars. To further enhance this separation, we develop machine learning models that improve the classification on the two-color (gig-i, NB515gNB515-g) diagram. We apply these models to photometric data from the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy and two fields of M31, successfully identifying red giant branch stars in these galaxies.
Naonori Sugiyama, an independent researcher affiliated with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, developed a renormalization-free framework for modeling galaxy bias within the Unified Lagrangian Perturbation Theory (ULPT). This framework achieves sub-percent accuracy when reproducing halo clustering statistics from N-body simulations, eliminating the need for ad hoc renormalization procedures and yielding physically interpretable bias parameters.
The rate at which giant planets accumulate solids and gas is a critical component of planet formation models, yet it is extremely challenging to predict from first principles. Characterizing the heavy element (everything other than hydrogen and helium) content of giant planets provides important clues about their provenance. Using thermal evolution models with updated H-He EOS and atmospheric boundary condition that varies with envelope metallicity, we quantify the bulk heavy element content of 147 warm (&lt; 1000 K) giant planets with well-measured masses and radii, more than tripling the sample size studied in Thorngren et al. 2016. These measurements reveal that the population's heavy element mass follows the relation MZ=Mcore+fZ(MpMcore)M_{\rm Z} = M_{\rm core} + f_Z (M_{\rm p} - M_{\rm core}), with Mcore=14.71.6+1.8M_{\rm core} = 14.7^{+1.8}_{-1.6} Earth masses (M_\oplus), fZ=0.09±0.01f_Z = 0.09 \pm 0.01, and an astrophysical scatter of 0.66±0.08×MZ0.66 \pm 0.08 \times M_Z. The classical core-accretion scenario (Zp=1Z_{\rm p} = 1 at 10 M_\oplus and Zp=0.5Z_{\rm p} = 0.5 at 20 M_\oplus) is inconsistent with the population. At low planet masses (&lt;&lt; 150 M_\oplus), MZMcoreM_{\rm Z} \sim M_{\rm core} and as a result, Zp=MZ/MpZ_{\rm p} = M_{\rm Z} / M_{\rm p} declines linearly with MpM_{\rm p}. However, bulk metallicity does not continue to decline with planet mass and instead flattens out at fZ0.09f_Z \sim 0.09 (7×\sim 7 \times solar metallicity). When normalized by stellar metallicity, Zp/ZZ_{\rm p} / Z_\star flattens out at 3.3±0.53.3 \pm 0.5 at high planet masses. This explicitly shows that giant planets continue to accrete material enriched in heavy elements during the gas accretion phase.
The distribution of close-in exoplanets is shaped by the interplay between atmospheric and dynamical processes. The Neptunian Desert, Ridge, and Savanna illustrate the sensitivity of these worlds to such processes, making them ideal to disentangle their roles. Determining how many Neptunes were brought close-in by early disk-driven migration (DDM; maintaining primordial spin-orbit alignment) or late high-eccentricity migration (HEM; generating large misalignments) is essential to understand how much atmosphere they lost. We propose a unified view of the Neptunian landscape to guide its exploration, speculating that the Ridge is a hot spot for evolutionary processes. Low-density Neptunes would mainly undergo DDM, getting fully eroded at shorter periods than the Ridge, while denser Neptunes would be brought to the Ridge and Desert by HEM. We embark on this exploration via ATREIDES, which relies on spectroscopy and photometry of 60 close-in Neptunes, their reduction with robust pipelines, and their interpretation through internal structure, atmospheric, and evolutionary models. We carried out a systematic RM census with VLT/ESPRESSO to measure the distribution of 3D spin-orbit angles, correlate its shape with system properties and thus relate the fraction of aligned-misaligned systems to DDM, HEM, and atmospheric erosion. Our first target, TOI-421c, lies in the Savanna with a neighboring sub-Neptune TOI-421b. We measured their 3D spin-orbit angles (Psib = 57+11-15 deg; Psic = 44.9+4.4-4.1 deg). Together with the eccentricity and possibly large mutual inclination of their orbits, this hints at a chaotic dynamical origin that could result from DDM followed by HEM. ATREIDES will provide the community with a wealth of constraints for formation and evolution models. We welcome collaborations that will contribute to pushing our understanding of the Neptunian landscape forward.
This paper synthesizes current astrophysical understanding to provide a comprehensive framework for the origins and characteristics of exocomet reservoirs across diverse planetary systems. It integrates theories of star and planet formation with observational data, demonstrating that planetesimal reservoirs are likely widespread beyond the Solar System and outlining their evolutionary pathways.
We present the COSMOS Spectroscopic Redshift Compilation encompassing ~ 20 years of spectroscopic redshifts within a 10 deg2^2 area centered on the 2 deg2^2 COSMOS legacy field. This compilation contains 487,666 redshifts of 266,284 unique objects from 138 individual observing programs up to z8z \sim 8 with median stellar mass 108.4\sim 10^{8.4} to 101010^{10} M_\odot (redshift dependent). Rest-frame NUVrJNUVrJ colors and SFR -- stellar mass correlations show the compilation primarily contains low- to intermediate-mass star-forming and massive, quiescent galaxies at z &lt; 1.25 and mostly low-mass bursty star-forming galaxies at z &gt; 2. Sources in the compilation cover a diverse range of environments, including protoclusters such as ``Hyperion''. The full compilation is 50\% spectroscopically complete by i23.4i \sim 23.4 and Ks21.6K_s \sim 21.6 mag; however, this is redshift dependent. Spatially, the compilation is &gt;50\% (&gt;30\%) complete within the central (outer) region limited to i &lt; 24 mag and K_s &lt; 22.5 mag, separately. We demonstrate how the compilation can be used to validate photometric redshifts and investigate calibration metrics. By training self-organizing maps on COSMOS2020/Classic and projecting the compilation onto it, we find key galaxy subpopulations that currently lack spectroscopic coverage including z &lt; 1 intermediate-mass quiescent galaxies and low-/intermediate-mass bursty star-forming galaxies, z2z \sim 2 massive quiescent galaxies, and z &gt; 3 massive star-forming galaxies. This highlights how combining self-organizing maps with our compilation can provide guidance for future spectroscopic observations to get a complete spectroscopic view of galaxy populations. Lastly, the compilation will undergo periodic data releases that incorporate new spectroscopic redshift measurements, providing a lasting legacy resource for the community.
We report the discovery of two binary systems, each consisting of a slightly bloated G-type main-sequence star and an unseen companion, identified through photometric data from TESS and radial velocity variation from Gaia. High-resolution spectroscopy confirms orbital periods of 1.37 and 2.67 days with circular orbits. The visible components have masses of 0.9M\sim 0.9\,M_\odot, while the minimum masses of the unseen companions are 1.0730.060+0.058M1.073^{+0.058}_{-0.060} M_\odot and 0.9190.051+0.049M0.919^{+0.049}_{-0.051} M_\odot, respectively. Assuming tidal synchronization, we estimate the companion masses to be 1.120.08+0.10M1.12^{+0.10}_{-0.08} M_\odot and 1.020.10+0.15M1.02^{+0.15}_{-0.10} M_\odot. The absence of detectable spectral features from the companions rules out main-sequence stars of these masses, suggesting that the unseen companions are likely O/Ne or C/O massive white dwarfs. The short orbital periods imply that these systems are post-common envelope binaries. Their subsequent evolution is uncertain, with possible outcomes including cataclysmic variables, Type Ia supernovae, or accretion-induced collapse, depending on the nature of future mass transfer.
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We describe updated scientific goals for the wide-field, millimeter-wave survey that will be produced by the Simons Observatory (SO). Significant upgrades to the 6-meter SO Large Aperture Telescope (LAT) are expected to be complete by 2028, and will include a doubled mapping speed with 30,000 new detectors and an automated data reduction pipeline. In addition, a new photovoltaic array will supply most of the observatory's power. The LAT survey will cover about 60% of the sky at a regular observing cadence, with five times the angular resolution and ten times the map depth of Planck. The science goals are to: (1) determine the physical conditions in the early universe and constrain the existence of new light particles; (2) measure the integrated distribution of mass, electron pressure, and electron momentum in the late-time universe, and, in combination with optical surveys, determine the neutrino mass and the effects of dark energy via tomographic measurements of the growth of structure at z &lt; 3; (3) measure the distribution of electron density and pressure around galaxy groups and clusters, and calibrate the effects of energy input from galaxy formation on the surrounding environment; (4) produce a sample of more than 30,000 galaxy clusters, and more than 100,000 extragalactic millimeter sources, including regularly sampled AGN light-curves, to study these sources and their emission physics; (5) measure the polarized emission from magnetically aligned dust grains in our Galaxy, to study the properties of dust and the role of magnetic fields in star formation; (6) constrain asteroid regoliths, search for Trans-Neptunian Objects, and either detect or eliminate large portions of the phase space in the search for Planet 9; and (7) provide a powerful new window into the transient universe on time scales of minutes to years, concurrent with observations from Rubin of overlapping sky.
Rest-frame optical observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have uncovered a population of massive galaxies, exceeding 101010^{10} solar masses, present less than a billion years after the Big Bang. The large stellar masses of these galaxies require an efficient conversion of baryons into stars, which may exceed theoretical expectations. However, the formation process of massive galaxies so early in the Universe's history is perplexing, as observations provide limited information to constrain their evolutionary pathways. Here, we present multi-wavelength observations of a galaxy complex consisting of at least five galaxies within a 10kpc\sim10\,{\rm kpc} region, referred to as the \quintet, using JWST and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. This system, located in the core of a galaxy protocluster at approximately 650 million years after the Big Bang, reveals the detailed physical processes involved in the formation of massive galaxies. These processes include a dynamic cycles of merger induced gas stripping, leading the temporal termination of star formation, and recycling of the stripped gas, with subsequent enhancement of star formation in other galaxies of the system, which is expected to evolve into massive galaxies that host more than 101010^{10} solar masses of stars. The new observations represent the first comprehensive evidence of a massive galaxy formation through gas-rich, multiple-galaxy mergers induced by a dense protocluster environment in the 650Myrs650\,{\rm Myrs} after the Big Bang. Our results suggest that the protocluster core is indeed one of the main drivers of efficient galaxy formation and rapid evolution in the early Universe, as predicted by theoretical studies.
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