Table of contents

We present estimates of intrinsic scatter in the star formation rate (SFR)–stellar mass (M_*) correlation in the redshift range $0.5\lt z\lt 3.0$ and in the mass range ${10}^{7}\lt {M}_{*}\lt {10}^{11}$M_⊙. We utilize photometry in the Hubble Ultradeep Field (HUDF12) and Ultraviolet Ultra Deep Field (UVUDF) campaigns and CANDELS/GOODS-S and estimate SFR, M_* from broadband spectral energy distributions and the best-available redshifts. The maximum depth of the UDF photometry (F160W 29.9 AB, 5σ depth) probes the SFR–M_* correlation down to ${M}_{*}\quad \sim$ 10⁷M_⊙, a factor of 10–100× lower in M_* than previous studies, and comparable to dwarf galaxies in the local universe. We find the slope of the SFR–M_* relationship to be near unity at all redshifts and the normalization to decrease with cosmic time. We find a moderate increase in intrinsic scatter with cosmic time from 0.2 to 0.4 dex across the epoch of peak cosmic star formation. None of our redshift bins show a statistically significant increase in intrinsic scatter at low mass. However, it remains possible that intrinsic scatter increases at low mass on timescales shorter than ∼100 Myr. Our results are consistent with a picture of gradual and self-similar assembly of galaxies across more than three orders of magnitude in stellar mass from as low as 10⁷M_⊙.

We investigate the alignment between outflow axes in nine of the youngest binary/multiple systems in the Perseus Molecular Cloud. These systems have typical member spacing larger than 1000 au. For outflow identification, we use ¹²CO(2-1) and ¹²CO(3-2) data from a large survey with the Submillimeter Array: Mass Assembly of Stellar Systems and their Evolution with the SMA. The distribution of outflow orientations in the binary pairs is consistent with random or preferentially anti-aligned distributions, demonstrating that these outflows are misaligned. This result suggests that these systems are possibly formed in environments where the distribution of angular momentum is complex and disordered, and these systems do not come from the same co-rotating structures or from an initial cloud with aligned vectors of angular momentum.

A precise measurement of shock velocities is crucial for constraining the mechanism and efficiency of cosmic-ray (CR) acceleration at supernova remnant (SNR) shock fronts. The northeastern rim of the SNR RCW 86 is thought to be a particularly efficient CR acceleration site, owing to the recent result in which an extremely high shock velocity of ∼6000 km s⁻¹ was claimed. Here, we revisit the same SNR rim with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, 11 years after the first observation. This longer baseline than previously available allows us to determine a more accurate proper motion of the nonthermal X-ray filament, revealing a much lower velocity of 3000 ± 340 km s⁻¹ (and even slower at a brighter region). Although the value has dropped to one-half of that from the previous X-ray measurement, it is still higher than the mean velocity of the Hα filaments in this region (∼1200 km s⁻¹). This discrepancy implies that the filaments bright in nonthermal X-rays and Hα emission trace different velocity components, and thus a CR pressure constrained by combining the X-ray kinematics and the Hα spectroscopy can easily be overestimated. We also measure the proper motion of the thermal X-ray filament immediately to the south of the nonthermal one. The inferred velocity (720 ± 360 km s⁻¹) is significantly lower than that of the nonthermal filament, suggesting the presence of denser ambient material, possibly a wall formed by a wind from the progenitor, which has drastically slowed down the shock.

Pure disk galaxies without any bulge component, i.e., bulges that are neither classical nor pseudo, seem to have escaped the effects of merger activity that are inherent to hierarchical galaxy formation models as well as strong internal secular evolution. We discover that a significant fraction (∼15%–18%) of disk galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field ($0.4\lt z\lt 1.0$) and in the local universe ($0.02\lt z\lt 0.05$) are such pure disk systems (PDSs). The spatial distribution of light in these PDSs is well-described by a single exponential function from the outskirts to the center and appears to have remained intact over the last 8 billion years, keeping the mean central surface brightness and scale-length nearly constant. These two disk parameters of PDSs are brighter and shorter, respectively, than those of disks which are part of disk galaxies with bulges. Since the fraction of PDSs, as well as their profile-defining parameters, do not change, this indicates that these galaxies have not witnessed either major mergers or multiple minor mergers since $z\sim 1$. However, there is a substantial increase in their total stellar mass and total size over the same time range. This suggests that smooth accretion of cold gas via cosmic filaments is the most probable mode of their evolutions. We speculate that PDSs are dynamically hotter and cushioned in massive dark matter halos, which may prevent them from undergoing strong secular evolution.

A historical problem for indirect exoplanet detection has been contending with the intrinsic variability of the host star. If the variability is periodic, it can easily mimic various exoplanet signatures, such as radial velocity (RV) variations that originate with the stellar surface rather than the presence of a planet. Here we present an update for the HD 99492 planetary system, using new RV and photometric measurements from the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Our extended time series and subsequent analyses of the Ca ii H&K emission lines show that the host star has an activity cycle of ∼13 years. The activity cycle correlates with the purported orbital period of the outer planet, the signature of which is thus likely due to the host star activity. We further include a revised Keplerian orbital solution for the remaining planet, along with a new transit ephemeris. Our transit-search observations were inconclusive.

At the highest redshifts, $z\gt 6$, several tens of luminous quasars have been detected. The search for fainter active galactic nucleus (AGN), in deep X-ray surveys, has proven less successful, with few candidates to date. An extrapolation of the relationship between black hole (BH) and bulge mass would predict that the sample of $z\gt 6$ galaxies host relatively massive BHs ($\gt {10}^{6}\;{M}_{\odot }$), if one assumes that total stellar mass is a good proxy for bulge mass. At least a few of these BHs should be luminous enough to be detectable in the 4Ms CDFS. The relation between BH and stellar mass defined by local moderate-luminosity AGNs in low-mass galaxies, however, has a normalization that is lower by approximately an order of magnitude compared to the BH–bulge mass relation. We explore how this scaling changes the interpretation of AGNs in the high-z universe. Despite large uncertainties, driven by those in the stellar mass function, and in the extrapolation of local relations, one can explain the current non-detection of moderate-luminosity AGNs in Lyman Break Galaxies if galaxies below ${10}^{11}\;{M}_{\odot }$ are characterized by the low-normalization scaling, and, even more so, if their Eddington ratio is also typical of moderate-luminosity AGNs rather than luminous quasars. AGNs being missed by X-ray searches due to obscuration or instrinsic X-ray weakness also remain a possibility.

Combining galaxy cluster and void abundances breaks the degeneracy between mean matter density ${{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\rm{m}}}$ and power-spectrum normalization ${\sigma }_{8}$. For the first time for voids, we constrain ${{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\rm{m}}}=0.21\pm 0.10$ and ${\sigma }_{8}=0.95\pm 0.21$ for a flat Λ CDM universe, using extreme-value statistics on the claimed largest cluster and void. The Planck-consistent results detect dark energy with two objects, independently of other dark energy probes. Cluster–void studies are also complementary in scale, density, and nonlinearity, and are of particular interest for testing modified-gravity models.

Transit and radial velocity observations indicate a dearth of sub-Jupiter-mass planets on short-period orbits, outlined roughly by two oppositely sloped lines in the period–mass plane. We interpret this feature in terms of high-eccentricity migration of planets that arrive in the vicinity of the Roche limit, where their orbits are tidally circularized, long after the dispersal of their natal disk. We demonstrate that the two distinct segments of the boundary are a direct consequence of the different slopes of the empirical mass–radius relation for small and large planets, and show that this relation also fixes the mass coordinate of the intersection point. The period coordinate of this point, as well as the detailed shape of the lower boundary, can be reproduced with a plausible choice of a key parameter in the underlying migration model. The detailed shape of the upper boundary, on the other hand, is determined by the post-circularization tidal exchange of angular momentum with the star and can be reproduced with a stellar tidal quality factor ${Q}_{*}^{\prime }\sim {10}^{6}$.

Inverse Compton cooling limits the brightness temperature of the radiating plasma to a maximum of 10^11.5 K. Relativistic boosting can increase its observed value, but apparent brightness temperatures much in excess of 10¹³ K are inaccessible using ground-based very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) at any wavelength. We present observations of the quasar 3C 273, made with the space VLBI mission RadioAstron on baselines up to 171,000 km, which directly reveal the presence of angular structure as small as 26 μas (2.7 light months) and brightness temperature in excess of 10¹³ K. These measurements challenge our understanding of the non-thermal continuum emission in the vicinity of supermassive black holes and require a much higher Doppler factor than what is determined from jet apparent kinematics.

Earth–space interferometry with RadioAstron provides the highest direct angular resolution ever achieved in astronomy at any wavelength. RadioAstron detections of the classic quasar 3C 273 on interferometric baselines up to 171,000 km suggest brightness temperatures exceeding expected limits from the "inverse-Compton catastrophe" by two orders of magnitude. We show that at 18 cm, these estimates most likely arise from refractive substructure introduced by scattering in the interstellar medium. We use the scattering properties to estimate an intrinsic brightness temperature of $7\times {10}^{12}\;{\rm{K}}$, which is consistent with expected theoretical limits, but which is ∼15 times lower than estimates that neglect substructure. At 6.2 cm, the substructure influences the measured values appreciably but gives an estimated brightness temperature that is comparable to models that do not account for the substructure. At $1.35\;{\rm{cm}}$, the substructure does not affect the extremely high inferred brightness temperatures, in excess of ${10}^{13}\;{\rm{K}}$. We also demonstrate that for a source having a Gaussian surface brightness profile, a single long-baseline estimate of refractive substructure determines an absolute minimum brightness temperature, if the scattering properties along a given line of sight are known, and that this minimum accurately approximates the apparent brightness temperature over a wide range of total flux densities.

The purpose of this Letter is to address a blindspot in our knowledge of solar active region (AR) statistics. To the best of our knowledge, there are no published results showing the variation of the Mount Wilson magnetic classifications as a function of solar cycle based on modern observations. We show statistics for all ARs reported in the daily Solar Region Summary from 1992 January 1 to 2015 December 31. We find that the α and β class ARs (including all sub-groups, e.g., βγ, βδ) make up fractions of approximately 20% and 80% of the sample, respectively. This fraction is relatively constant during high levels of activity; however, an increase in the α fraction to about 35% and and a decrease in the β fraction to about 65% can be seen near each solar minimum and are statistically significant at the 2σ level. Over 30% of all ARs observed during the years of solar maxima were appended with the classifications γ and/or δ, while these classifications account for only a fraction of a percent during the years near the solar minima. This variation in the AR types indicates that the formation of complex ARs may be due to the pileup of frequent emergence of magnetic flux during solar maximum, rather than the emergence of complex, monolithic flux structures.

Chondritic meteorites provide valuable opportunities to investigate the origins of the solar system. We explore impact jetting as a mechanism of chondrule formation and subsequent pebble accretion as a mechanism of accreting chondrules onto parent bodies of chondrites, and investigate how these two processes can account for the currently available meteoritic data. We find that when the solar nebula is ≤5 times more massive than the minimum-mass solar nebula at a ≃ 2–3 au and parent bodies of chondrites are ≤10²⁴ g (≤500 km in radius) in the solar nebula, impact jetting and subsequent pebble accretion can reproduce a number of properties of the meteoritic data. The properties include the present asteroid belt mass, the formation timescale of chondrules, and the magnetic field strength of the nebula derived from chondrules in Semarkona. Since this scenario requires a first generation of planetesimals that trigger impact jetting and serve as parent bodies to accrete chondrules, the upper limit of parent bodies' masses leads to the following implications: primordial asteroids that were originally ≥10²⁴ g in mass were unlikely to contain chondrules, while less massive primordial asteroids likely had a chondrule-rich surface layer. The scenario developed from impact jetting and pebble accretion can therefore provide new insights into the origins of the solar system.

Although most of the solar surface outside active regions (ARs) is pervaded by small-scale fields of mixed polarity, this magnetic "carpet" or "junkyard" is thought to be largely absent inside AR plages and strong network. However, using extreme-ultraviolet images and line-of-sight magnetograms from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we find that unipolar flux concentrations, both inside and outside ARs, often have small, loop-shaped Fe ix 17.1 and Fe xii 19.3 nm features embedded within them, even though no minority-polarity flux is visible in the corresponding magnetograms. Such looplike structures, characterized by horizontal sizes of ∼3–5 Mm and varying on timescales of minutes or less, are seen inside bright 17.1 nm moss, as well as in fainter moss-like regions associated with weaker network outside ARs. We also note a tendency for bright coronal loops to show compact, looplike features at their footpoints. Based on these observations, we suggest that present-day magnetograms may be substantially underrepresenting the amount of minority-polarity flux inside plages and strong network, and that reconnection between small bipoles and the overlying large-scale field could be a major source of coronal heating both in ARs and in the quiet Sun.

We present the first observations of quiescent active regions (ARs) using the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), a focusing hard X-ray telescope capable of studying faint solar emission from high-temperature and non-thermal sources. We analyze the first directly imaged and spectrally resolved X-rays above 2 keV from non-flaring ARs, observed near the west limb on 2014 November 1. The NuSTAR X-ray images match bright features seen in extreme ultraviolet and soft X-rays. The NuSTAR imaging spectroscopy is consistent with isothermal emission of temperatures 3.1–4.4 MK and emission measures 1–8 × 10⁴⁶ cm⁻³. We do not observe emission above 5 MK, but our short effective exposure times restrict the spectral dynamic range. With few counts above 6 keV, we can place constraints on the presence of an additional hotter component between 5 and 12 MK of $\sim {10}^{46}$ cm⁻³ and $\sim {10}^{43}$ cm⁻³, respectively, at least an order of magnitude stricter than previous limits. With longer duration observations and a weakening solar cycle (resulting in an increased livetime), future NuSTAR observations will have sensitivity to a wider range of temperatures as well as possible non-thermal emission.

We report magnetic field measurements for κ¹ Cet, a proxy of the young Sun when life arose on Earth. We carry out an analysis of the magnetic properties determined from spectropolarimetric observations and reconstruct the large-scale surface magnetic field to derive the magnetic environment, stellar winds, and particle flux permeating the interplanetary medium around ${\kappa }^{1}$ Cet. Our results show a closer magnetosphere and mass-loss rate of $\dot{M}=9.7\times {10}^{-13}\;{M}_{\odot }\quad {{\rm{yr}}}^{-1}$, i.e., a factor of 50 times larger than the current solar wind mass-loss rate, resulting in a larger interaction via space weather disturbances between the stellar wind and a hypothetical young-Earth analogue, potentially affecting the planet's habitability. Interaction of the wind from the young Sun with the planetary ancient magnetic field may have affected the young Earth and its life conditions.

Using the far-infrared (IR) data obtained by the Herschel Space Observatory, we study the relation between the IR luminosity (L_IR) and the dust temperature (T) of dusty starbursting galaxies at high redshifts (high-z). We focus on the total IR luminosity from the cold-dust component (${L}_{\mathrm{IR}}^{(\mathrm{cd})}$), whose emission can be described by a modified blackbody (MBB) of a single temperature (T_mbb). An object on the (${L}_{\mathrm{IR}}^{(\mathrm{cd})}$, T_mbb) plane can be explained by the equivalent of the Stefan–Boltzmann law for an MBB with an effective radius of R_eff. We show that R_eff is a good measure of the combined size of the dusty starbursting regions (DSBRs) of the host galaxy. In at least one case where the individual DSBRs are well resolved through strong gravitational lensing, R_eff is consistent with the direct size measurement. We show that the observed L_IR–T relation is simply due to the limited R_eff (≲2 kpc). The small R_eff values also agree with the compact sizes of the DSBRs seen in the local universe. However, previous interferometric observations to resolve high-z dusty starbursting galaxies often quote much larger sizes. This inconsistency can be reconciled by the blending effect when considering that the current interferometry might still not be of sufficient resolution. From R_eff we infer the lower limits to the volume densities of the star formation rate (minSFR3D) in the DSBRs, and find that the L_IR–T relation outlines a boundary on the (${L}_{\mathrm{IR}}^{(\mathrm{cd})}$, T_mbb) plane, below which is the "zone of avoidance" in terms of minSFR3D.

Magnetic reconnection is a rapid energy release process that is believed to be responsible for flares on the Sun and stars. Nevertheless, such flare-related reconnection is mostly detected to occur in the corona, while there have been few studies concerning the reconnection in the chromosphere or photosphere. Here, we present both spectroscopic and imaging observations of magnetic reconnection in the chromosphere leading to a microflare. During the flare peak time, chromospheric line profiles show significant blueshifted/redshifted components on the two sides of the flaring site, corresponding to upflows and downflows with velocities of ±(70–80) km s⁻¹, comparable with the local Alfvén speed as expected by the reconnection in the chromosphere. The three-dimensional nonlinear force-free field configuration further discloses twisted field lines (a flux rope) at a low altitude, cospatial with the dark threads in He i 10830 Å images. The instability of the flux rope may initiate the flare-related reconnection. These observations provide clear evidence of magnetic reconnection in the chromosphere and show the similar mechanisms of a microflare to those of major flares.

With the Keck I Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer we have observed nine white dwarf candidates in the very rich open cluster NGC 2099 (M37). The spectroscopy shows seven to be DA white dwarfs, one to be a DB white dwarf, and one to be a DZ white dwarf. Three of these DA white dwarfs are consistent with singly evolved cluster membership: an ultramassive (1.28${}_{-0.08}^{+0.05}$${M}_{\odot }$) and two intermediate-mass (0.70 and 0.75 ${M}_{\odot }$) white dwarfs. Analysis of their cooling ages allows us to calculate their progenitor masses and establish new constraints on the initial–final mass relation. The intermediate-mass white dwarfs are in strong agreement with previous work over this mass regime. The ultramassive white dwarf has V = 24.5, ∼2 mag fainter than the other two remnants. The spectrum of this star has lower quality, so the derived stellar properties (e.g., ${T}_{{\rm{eff}}}$, log g) have uncertainties that are several times higher than the brighter counterparts. We measure these uncertainties and establish the star's final mass as the highest-mass white dwarf discovered thus far in a cluster, but we are unable to calculate its progenitor mass because at this high mass and cooler ${T}_{{\rm{eff}}}$ its inferred cooling age is highly sensitive to its mass. At the highest temperatures, however, this sensitivity of cooling age to an ultramassive white dwarf's mass is only moderate. This demonstrates that future investigations of the upper-mass end of the initial–final mass relation must identify massive, newly formed white dwarfs (i.e., in young clusters with ages 50–150 Myr).

We report the discovery of a rare compact early-type galaxy, SDSS J085431.18+173730.5 (hereafter cE_AGN). It has a half-light radius of R_e = 490 pc and a brightness of M_r = −18.08 mag. Optical spectroscopy available from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) reveals the presence of prominent broad-line emissions with the Hα broad component width of FWHM = 2400 km s⁻¹. The black hole (BH) mass, as estimated from the luminosity and width of the broad Hα emission, is 2.1 × 10⁶$\;{M}_{\odot }$. With the help of surface photometry, we perform a detailed analysis of the structural properties. The observed light distribution is best modeled with a double Sérsic function. Fixing the outer component as an exponential disk, we find that the inner component has a Sérsic index of n = 1.4. Considering the inner component as bulge/spheroidal we find that cE_AGN remains consistent in both the BH mass–bulge mass relation and the BH mass–bulge Sérsic index relation. Given these observational properties, we discuss its possible origin investigating the surrounding environment where it is located.

Deep (103 ks) Chandra observations of Abell 665 have revealed rich structures in this merging galaxy cluster, including a strong shock and two cold fronts. The newly discovered shock has a Mach number of M = 3.0 ± 0.6, propagating in front of a cold disrupted cloud. This makes Abell 665 the second cluster, after the Bullet cluster, where a strong merger shock of $M\;\approx \;3$ has been detected. The shock velocity from jump conditions is consistent with (2.7 ± 0.7) × 10³ km s⁻¹. The new data also reveal a prominent southern cold front with potentially heated gas ahead of it. Abell 665 also hosts a giant radio halo. There is a hint of diffuse radio emission extending to the shock at the north, which needs to be examined with better radio data. This new strong shock provides a great opportunity to study the re-acceleration model with the X-ray and radio data combined.

We present observations of the violent changes in photospheric magnetic structures associated with an X1.1 flare, which occurred in a compact δ-configuration region in the following part of AR 11890 on 2013 November 8. In both central and peripheral penumbra regions of the small δ sunspot, these changes took place abruptly and permanently in the reverse direction during the flare: the inner/outer penumbra darkened/disappeared, where the magnetic fields became more horizontal/vertical. Particularly, the Lorentz force (LF) changes in the central/peripheral region had a downward/upward and inward direction, meaning that the local pressure from the upper atmosphere was enhanced/released. It indicates that the LF changes might be responsible for the penumbra changes. These observations can be well explained as the photospheric response to the coronal field reconstruction within the framework of the magnetic implosion theory and the back reaction model of flares.

High-precision kinematic studies of globular clusters (GCs) require an accurate knowledge of all possible sources of contamination. Among other sources, binary stars can introduce systematic biases in the kinematics. Using a set of Monte Carlo cluster simulations with different concentrations and binary fractions, we investigate the effect of unresolved binaries on proper-motion dispersion profiles, treating the simulations like Hubble Space Telescope proper-motion samples. Since GCs evolve toward a state of partial energy equipartition, more-massive stars lose energy and decrease their velocity dispersion. As a consequence, on average, binaries have a lower velocity dispersion, since they are more-massive kinematic tracers. We show that, in the case of clusters with high binary fractions (initial binary fractions of 50%) and high concentrations (i.e., closer to energy equipartition), unresolved binaries introduce a color-dependent bias in the velocity dispersion of main-sequence stars of the order of 0.1–0.3 km s⁻¹ (corresponding to 1%−6% of the velocity dispersion), with the reddest stars having a lower velocity dispersion, due to the higher fraction of contaminating binaries. This bias depends on the ability to distinguish binaries from single stars, on the details of the color–magnitude diagram and the photometric errors. We apply our analysis to the HSTPROMO data set of NGC 7078 (M15) and show that no effect ascribable to binaries is observed, consistent with the low binary fraction of the cluster. Our work indicates that binaries do not significantly bias proper-motion velocity-dispersion profiles, but should be taken into account in the error budget of kinematic analyses.