Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We revisit Bondi accretion - steady-state, adiabatic, spherical gas flow on to a Schwarzschild black hole at rest in an asymptotically homogeneous medium - for stiff polytropic equations of state (EOSs) with adiabatic indices Γ > 5/3. A general relativistic treatment is required to determine their accretion rates, for which we provide exact expressions. We discuss several qualitative differences between results for soft and stiff EOSs - including the appearance of a minimum steady-state accretion rate for EOSs with Γ ≥ 5/3 - and explore limiting cases in order to examine these differences...

Accurately known stellar lithium abundances may be used to shed light on a variety of astrophysical phenomena such as big bang nucleosynthesis, radial migration, ages of stars and stellar clusters, and planet engulfment events. We present a grid of synthetic lithium spectra that are computed in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) across the stagger grid of three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic stellar atmosphere models. This grid covers three Li lines at 610.4, 670.8, and 812.6 nm for stellar parameters representative of FGK-type dwarfs and giants, spanning T eff = 4000-7000 K, log  g = 1...

PSR J1813-1749 is one of the most energetic rotation-powered pulsars known, producing a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and gamma-ray and TeV emission, but whose spin period is only measurable in X-ray. We present analysis of two Chandra datasets that are separated by more than ten years and recent NICER data. The long baseline of the Chandra data allows us to derive a pulsar proper motion <mml:math xmlns:mml="https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>μ</mml:mi> <mml:mtext>R...

PSR J0537-6910, also known as the Big Glitcher, is the most prolific glitching pulsar known, and its spin-induced pulsations are only detectable in X-ray. We present results from analysis of 2.7 years of NICER timing observations, from 2017 August to 2020 April. We obtain a rotation phase-connected timing model for the entire timespan, which overlaps with the third observing run of LIGO/Virgo, thus enabling the most sensitive gravitational wave searches of this potentially strong gravitational wave-emitting pulsar...

The cyano radical (CN) is a key molecule across many different factions of astronomy and chemistry. Accurate, empirical rovibronic energy levels with uncertainties are determined for eight doublet states of CN using the marvel (Measured Active Rotational-Vibrational Energy Levels) algorithm. 40 333 transitions were validated from 22 different published sources to generate 8083 spin-rovibronic energy levels. The empirical energy levels obtained from the marvel analysis are compared to current energy levels from the mollist line list...

G+0.693-0.03 is a quiescent molecular cloud located within the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) star-forming complex. Recent spectral surveys have shown that it represents one of the most prolific repositories of complex organic species in the Galaxy. The origin of such chemical complexity, along with the small-scale physical structure and properties of G+0.693-0.03, remains a mystery. In this paper, we report the study of multiple molecules with interferometric observations in combination with single-dish data in G+0...

In the outer solar system, the Kuiper Belt contains dynamical sub-populations sculpted by a combination of planet formation and migration and gravitational perturbations from the present-day giant planet configuration. The subdivision of observed Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) into Different dynamical classes is based on their current orbital evolution in numerical integrations of their orbits. Here we demonstrate that machine learning algorithms are a promising tool for reducing both the computational time and human effort required for this classification...

26 Al is a short-lived radioactive isotope thought to be injected into the interstellar medium (ISM) by massive stellar winds and supernovae (SNe). However, all-sky maps of 26 Al emission show a distribution with a much larger scale height and faster rotation speed than either massive stars or the cold ISM. We investigate the origin of this discrepancy using an N -body + hydrodynamics simulation of a Milky-Way-like galaxy, self-consistently including self-gravity, star formation, stellar feedback, and 26 Al production...

We present multiwavelength light curves and polarimetric data of the Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar 3C 273 over 8 yr. The wavelength range of our data set extends from radio to gamma-rays. We found that the optical emission in this source is dominated by the accretion disc during the entire time-frame of study. We additionally find that in contrast with the observed behaviour in other blazars, 3C 273 does not show a correlation between the gamma-ray spectral index and the gamma-ray luminosity. Finally, we identified an anticorrelation between the 15 GHz and V -band light curves for the time-range JD 245  = 4860-5760, which we speculate is the consequence of the inner part of the accretion disc falling into the black hole, followed by the ejection of a component into the jet...

We introduce a new discrete-ordinate scheme for solving the general relativistic (GR) Boltzmann transport equation in the context of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). Our algorithm avoids the need to spell out the complicated advection terms in energy and angle that arise when the transport equation is formulated in spherical polar coordinates, in the comoving frame, or in a GR space-time. We instead approach the problem by calculating the advection of neutrinos across momentum space using an intuitive particle-like approach that has excellent conservation properties and fully accounts for Lorentz boosts, GR effects, and grid geometry terms...

A reliable model of galaxy bias is necessary for interpreting data from future dense galaxy surveys. Conventional linear and quadratic bias models are unphysical, often predicting negative galaxy densities ( δ g < -1) in voids, which potentially contain half of a survey's available cosmological information. Here we present a physically motivated alternative by assuming two energetically distinct subhalo states. Our approximations - namely, local galaxy formation, rough equivalence of galaxy-hosting subhaloes, and universal energetic favourability for the galaxy-hosting state - result in a bias model with only two free parameters; mathematically, the model (in the correct variables) yields a Fermi-Dirac distribution or (equivalently) an interactionless Ising model with an external field...

We use the hydrodynamical simulation of our inner Galaxy presented in Armillotta et al. to study the gas distribution and kinematics within the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). We use a resolution high enough to capture the gas emitting in dense molecular tracers such as NH3 and HCN, and simulate a time window of 50 Myr, long enough to capture phases during which the CMZ experiences both quiescent and intense star formation. We then post-process the simulated CMZ to calculate its spatially dependent chemical and thermal state, producing synthetic emission data cubes and maps of both H i and the molecular gas tracers CO, NH3 , and HCN...

Most of the major planets in the Solar System support populations of co-orbiting bodies, known as Trojans, at their L4 and L5 Lagrange points. In contrast, Earth has only one known co-orbiting companion. This paper presents the results from a search for Earth Trojans using the DECam instrument on the Blanco Telescope at CTIO. This search found no additional Trojans in spite of greater coverage compared to previous surveys of the L5 point. Therefore, the main result of this work is to place the most stringent constraints to date on the population of Earth Trojans...

Acetaldehyde is of interest to astrochemists for its relevance to both interstellar and cometary chemistry, but little infrared (IR) spectral data have been published for the solid phases of this compound. Here we present IR spectra of three forms of solid acetaldehyde, with spectra for one form being published for the first time. Direct measurements of band strengths and absorption coefficients also are reported for the first time for amorphous aldehyde, the form of greatest interest for astrochemical work...

We present X-ray spectra spanning 18 yr of evolution for SN 1996cr, one of the five nearest SNe detected in the modern era. Chandra HETG exposures in 2000, 2004, and 2009 allow us to resolve spectrally the velocity profiles of Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Fe emission lines and monitor their evolution as tracers of the ejecta-circumstellar medium interaction. To explain the diversity of X-ray line profiles, we explore several possible geometrical models. Based on the highest signal-to-noise 2009 epoch, we find that a polar geometry with two distinct opening angle configurations and internal obscuration can successfully reproduce all of the observed line profiles...

It is well known that the polarized continuum emission from magnetically aligned dust grains is determined to a large extent by local magnetic field structure. However, the observed significant anticorrelation between polarization fraction and column density may be strongly affected, perhaps even dominated by variations in grain alignment efficiency with local conditions, in contrast to standard assumptions of a spatially homogeneous grain alignment efficiency. Here we introduce a generic way to incorporate heterogeneous grain alignment into synthetic polarization observations of molecular clouds (MCs), through a simple model where the grain alignment efficiency depends on the local gas density as a power law...

The possible presence of graphene in the interstellar medium (ISM) is examined by comparing the interstellar extinction curve with the ultraviolet absorption of graphene calculated from its dielectric functions experimentally obtained with the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) method. Based on the absence in the interstellar extinction curve of the [Formula: see text] π-π* electronic interband transition of graphene, we place an upper limit of [Formula: see text] of C/H on the interstellar graphene abundance, exceeding the previous estimate by a factor of [Formula: see text]3 which made use of the dielectric functions measured with the spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) method...

In this work, we present the results of 1 yr of upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope timing measurements of PSR J0514-4002A, a 4.99-ms pulsar in a 18.8-d eccentric ([Formula: see text]) orbit with a massive companion located in the globular cluster NGC 1851. Combining these data with earlier Green Bank Telescope data, we greatly improve the precision of the rate of advance of periastron, [Formula: see text] which, assuming the validity of general relativity, results in a much refined measurement of the total mass of the binary, [Formula: see text]...

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) B -mode signal is potentially weaker than the diffuse Galactic foregrounds over most of the sky at any frequency. A common method of separating the CMB from these foregrounds is via pixel-based parametric-model fitting. There are not currently enough all-sky maps to fit anything more than the most simple models of the sky. By simulating the emission in seven representative pixels, we demonstrate that the inclusion of a 5 GHz data point allows for more complex models of low-frequency foregrounds to be fitted than at present...

In many astrophysical problems involving discs (gaseous or particulate) orbiting a dominant central mass, gravitational potential of the disc plays an important dynamical role. Its impact on the motion of external objects, as well as on the dynamics of the disc itself, can usually be studied using secular approximation. This is often done using softened gravity to avoid singularities arising in calculation of the orbit-averaged potential - disturbing function - of a razor-thin disc using classical Laplace-Lagrange theory...