- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/876/85
- Title:
- HST observations for LMC Cepheids
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/876/85
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an improved determination of the Hubble constant from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of 70 long-period Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). These were obtained with the same WFC3 photometric system used to measure extragalactic Cepheids in the hosts of SNe Ia. Gyroscopic control of HST was employed to reduce overheads while collecting a large sample of widely separated Cepheids. The Cepheid period-luminosity relation provides a zero-point-independent link with 0.4% precision between the new 1.2% geometric distance to the LMC from detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) measured by Pietrzynski+ (2019Natur.567..200P) and the luminosity of SNe Ia. Measurements and analysis of the LMC Cepheids were completed prior to knowledge of the new DEB LMC distance. Combined with a refined calibration of the count-rate linearity of WFC3-IR with 0.1% precision, these three improved elements together reduce the overall uncertainty in the geometric calibration of the Cepheid distance ladder based on the LMC from 2.5% to 1.3%. Using only the LMC DEBs to calibrate the ladder, we find H_0_=74.22+/-1.82km/s/Mpc including systematic uncertainties, 3% higher than before for this particular anchor. Combining the LMC DEBs, masers in NGC 4258, and Milky Way parallaxes yields our best estimate: H_0_=74.03+/-1.42km/s/Mpc, including systematics, an uncertainty of 1.91%-15% lower than our best previous result. Removing any one of these anchors changes H0 by less than 0.7%. The difference between H0 measured locally and the value inferred from Planck CMB and {Lambda}CDM is 6.6+/-1.5km/s/Mpc or 4.4{sigma} (P=99.999% for Gaussian errors) in significance, raising the discrepancy beyond a plausible level of chance. We summarize independent tests showing that this discrepancy is not attributable to an error in any one source or measurement, increasing the odds that it results from a cosmological feature beyond {Lambda}CDM.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/161/51
- Title:
- HST spectral light curve of HAT-P-41
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/161/51
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a comprehensive analysis of the 0.3-5{mu}m transit spectrum for the inflated hot Jupiter HAT-P-41b. The planet was observed in transit with Hubble STIS and WFC3 as part of the Hubble Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanet Treasury (PanCET) program, and we combine those data with warm Spitzer transit observations. We extract transit depths from each of the data sets, presenting the STIS transit spectrum (0.29-0.93{mu}m) for the first time. We retrieve the transit spectrum both with a free-chemistry retrieval suite (AURA) and a complementary chemical equilibrium retrieval suite (PLATON) to constrain the atmospheric properties at the day-night terminator. Both methods provide an excellent fit to the observed spectrum. Both AURA and PLATON retrieve a metal-rich atmosphere for almost all model assumptions (most likely O/H ratio of log_10_Z/Z{odot}=1.46_-0.68_^+0.53^ and log_10_Z/Z{odot}=2.33_-0.25_^+0.23^, respectively); this is driven by a 4.9{sigma} detection of H_2_O as well as evidence of gas absorption in the optical (>2.7{sigma} detection) due to Na, AlO, and/or VO/TiO, though no individual species is strongly detected. Both retrievals determine the transit spectrum to be consistent with a clear atmosphere, with no evidence of haze or high-altitude clouds. Interior modeling constraints on the maximum atmospheric metallicity (log_10_Z/Z{odot}<1.7) favor the AURA results. The inferred elemental oxygen abundance suggests that HAT-P-41b has one of the most metal-rich atmospheres of any hot Jupiters known to date. Overall, the inferred high metallicity and high inflation make HAT-P-41b an interesting test case for planet formation theories.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/159/57
- Title:
- HST spectroscopic LCs of Kepler 51b & 51d
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/159/57
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The Kepler mission revealed a class of planets known as "super-puffs," with masses only a few times larger than Earth's but radii larger than Neptune, giving them very low mean densities. All three of the known planets orbiting the young solar-type star Kepler 51 are super-puffs. The Kepler 51 system thereby provides an opportunity for a comparative study of the structures and atmospheres of this mysterious class of planets, which may provide clues about their formation and evolution. We observed two transits each of Kepler 51b and 51d with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope. Combining new WFC3 transit times with reanalyzed Kepler data and updated stellar parameters, we confirmed that all three planets have densities lower than 0.1g/cm^3^. We measured the WFC3 transmission spectra to be featureless between 1.15 and 1.63{mu}m, ruling out any variations greater than 0.6 scale heights (assuming a H/He-dominated atmosphere), thus showing no significant water absorption features. We interpreted the flat spectra as the result of a high-altitude aerosol layer (pressure <3mbar) on each planet. Adding this new result to the collection of flat spectra that have been observed for other sub-Neptune planets, we find support for one of the two hypotheses introduced by Crossfield & Kreidberg (2017AJ....154..261C), that planets with cooler equilibrium temperatures have more high-altitude aerosols. We strongly disfavor their other hypothesis that the H/He mass fraction drives the appearance of large-amplitude transmission features.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/730/119
- Title:
- HST/WFC3 observations of Cepheids in SN Ia hosts
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/730/119
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We use the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to determine the Hubble constant from optical and infrared observations of over 600 Cepheid variables in the host galaxies of eight recent Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), providing the calibration for a magnitude-redshift relation based on 253 SNe Ia.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/810/42
- Title:
- Hydrogen RRL parameters of H II regions
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/810/42
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- H II regions are the ionized spheres surrounding high-mass stars. They are ideal targets for tracing Galactic structure because they are predominantly found in spiral arms and have high luminosities at infrared and radio wavelengths. In the Green Bank Telescope H II Region Discovery Survey (GBT HRDS), we found that >30% of first Galactic quadrant H II regions have multiple hydrogen radio recombination line (RRL) velocities, which makes determining their Galactic locations and physical properties impossible. Here we make additional GBT RRL observations to determine the discrete H II region velocity for all 117 multiple-velocity sources within 18{deg}<l<65{deg}. The multiple-velocity sources are concentrated in the zone 22{deg}<l<32{deg}, coinciding with the largest regions of massive star formation, which implies that the diffuse emission is caused by leaked ionizing photons. We combine our observations with analyses of the electron temperature, molecular gas, and carbon recombination lines to determine the source velocities for 103 discrete H II regions (88% of the sample). With the source velocities known, we resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity for 47 regions, and thus determine their heliocentric distances.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/478/3674
- Title:
- IC 348 circumstellar discs ALMA data
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/478/3674
- Date:
- 10 Dec 2021 00:10:52
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a 1.3mm continuum survey of the young (2-3Myr) stellar cluster IC 348 that lies at a distance of 310pc and is dominated by low-mass stars (M*~0.1-0.6M_{sun}_). We observed 136 Class II sources (discs that are optically thick in the infrared) at 0.8arcsec (200au) resolution with a 3{sigma} sensitivity of ~0.45mJy (M_dust_~1.3M_{Earth}_). We detect 40 of the targets and construct a mm-continuum luminosity function. We compare the disc mass distribution in IC 348 to those of younger and older regions, taking into account the dependence on stellar mass. We find a clear evolution in disc masses from 1 to 5-10Myr. The disc masses in IC 348 are significantly lower than those in Taurus (1-3Myr) and Lupus (1-3Myr), similar to those of Chamaleon I, (2-3Myr) and {sigma} Ori (3-5Myr) and significantly higher than in Upper Scorpiusrpius (5-10Myr). About 20 discs in our sample (~5 percent of the cluster members) have estimated masses (dust+gas)>1M_Jup_ and hence might be the precursors of giant planets in the cluster. Some of the most massive discs include transition objects with inner opacity holes based on their infrared Spectral Energy Distribution (SEDs). From a stacking analysis of the 96 non-detections, we find that these discs have a typical dust mass of just <=0.4M_{Earth}_, even though the vast majority of their infrared SEDs remain optically thick and show little signs of evolution. Such low-mass discs may be the precursors of the small rocky planets found by Kepler around M-type stars.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/371/1744
- Title:
- Identification of nitride dust
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/371/1744
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Nitride dust is predicted to form in small amounts around carbon stars, but the most likely candidate species such as aluminium nitride (AlN) have not yet been detected. Recently, {alpha}-Si_3_N_4_ was inferred to be the main carrier of the 8.5-12.5um absorption band(s) of an extreme carbon star (AFGL 5625), based on comparison with laboratory KBr dispersion spectra. However, this absorption band has also been attributed to silicon carbide (SiC) and C_3_. To investigate whether or not nitride dust has truly been detected and if it is present in other extreme carbon stars, we (i) gathered new laboratory infrared (IR) absorbance spectra from a suite of nitride compounds, including Si_3_N_4_, using the thin film technique which provides correct relative intensities of weak and strong peaks, and (ii) compared these data to Infrared Space Observatory Short Wavelength Spectrometer (ISO SWS) spectra of seven different extreme carbon stars which also show broad absorption features around ~11m.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/238/29
- Title:
- IGRINS spectral library
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/238/29
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a library of high-resolution (R~45000) and high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N>=200) near-infrared spectra for stars of a wide range of spectral types and luminosity classes. The spectra were obtained with the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph covering the full range of the H (1.496-1.780{mu}m) and K (2.080-2.460{mu}m) atmospheric windows. The targets were primarily selected for being MK standard stars covering a wide range of effective temperatures and surface gravities, with metallicities close to the solar value. Currently, the library includes flux-calibrated and telluric-absorption-corrected spectra of 84 stars, with prospects for expansion to provide denser coverage of the parametric space. Throughout the H and K atmospheric windows, we identified spectral lines that are sensitive to Teff or logg and defined corresponding spectral indices. We also provide their equivalent widths (EWs). For those indices, we derive empirical relations between the measured EWs and the stellar atmospheric parameters. Therefore, the derived empirical equations can be used to calculate the Teff and logg of a star without requiring stellar atmospheric models.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/845/157
- Title:
- IMF in 3 low-redshift strong lenses from SNELLS
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/845/157
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present new observations of the three nearest early-type galaxy (ETG) strong lenses discovered in the SINFONI Nearby Elliptical Lens Locator Survey (SNELLS). Based on their lensing masses, these ETGs were inferred to have a stellar initial mass function (IMF) consistent with that of the Milky Way, not the bottom-heavy IMF that has been reported as typical for high-{sigma} ETGs based on lensing, dynamical, and stellar population synthesis techniques. We use these unique systems to test the consistency of IMF estimates derived from different methods. We first estimate the stellar M*/L using lensing and stellar dynamics. We then fit high-quality optical spectra of the lenses using an updated version of the stellar population synthesis models developed by Conroy & van Dokkum. When examined individually, we find good agreement among these methods for one galaxy. The other two galaxies show 2-3{sigma} tension with lensing estimates, depending on the dark matter contribution, when considering IMFs that extend to 0.08M_{sun}_. Allowing a variable low-mass cutoff or a nonparametric form of the IMF reduces the tension among the IMF estimates to <2{sigma}. There is moderate evidence for a reduced number of low-mass stars in the SNELLS spectra, but no such evidence in a composite spectrum of matched-{sigma} ETGs drawn from the SDSS. Such variation in the form of the IMF at low stellar masses (m<~0.3M_{sun}_), if present, could reconcile lensing/dynamical and spectroscopic IMF estimates for the SNELLS lenses and account for their lighter M*/L relative to the mean matched-{sigma} ETG. We provide the spectra used in this study to facilitate future comparisons.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/743/131
- Title:
- Infrared absorbance of water H_2_O/H_2_O_2_ ice
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/743/131
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Recent surface chemistry experiments have shown that the hydrogenation of molecular oxygen on interstellar dust grains is a plausible formation mechanism, via hydrogen peroxide (H_2_O_2_), for the production of water (H_2_O) ice mantles in the dense interstellar medium. Theoretical chemistry models also predict the formation of a significant abundance of H_2_O_2_ ice in grain mantles by this route. At their upper limits, the predicted and experimental abundances are sufficiently high that H_2_O_2_ should be detectable in molecular cloud ice spectra. To investigate this further, laboratory spectra have been obtained for H_2_O_2_/H_2_O ice films between 2.5 and 200um, from 10 to 180K, containing 3%, 30%, and 97% H_2_O_2_ ice. Integrated absorbances for all the absorption features in low-temperature H_2_O_2_ ice have been derived from these spectra. For identifying H_2_O_2_ ice, the key results are the presence of unique features near 3.5, 7.0, and 11.3um. Comparing the laboratory spectra with the spectra of a group of 24 protostars and field stars, all of which have strong H_2_O ice absorption bands, no absorption features are found that can definitely be identified with H_2_O_2_ ice. In the absence of definite H_2_O_2_ features, the H_2_O_2_ abundance is constrained by its possible contribution to the weak absorption feature near 3.47um found on the long-wavelength wing of the 3um H_2_O ice band. This gives an average upper limit for H_2_O_2_, as a percentage of H_2_O, of 9%+/-4%. This is a strong constraint on parameters for surface chemistry experiments and dense cloud chemistry models.
