Radiative diffusion in a time-dependent outflow: a model for fast blue optical transients

Fast Blue Optical Transients (FBOTs) are luminous transients with fast evolving (typically trise < 12 days) light curve and blue color (usually−0.2 > g−r > −0.3)that cannot be explained by a supernova-like explosion. We propose a radiative diffusion in a time-dependent outflow model to interpret such special transients. In this model, we assume a stellar-mass black hole is formed from stellar core-collapse. As a central engine, the black hole accretes the infalling stellar envelope material via an accretion disk. Due to the extremely super- Eddington accretion rate, the disk ejects continuous outflow during a few days. We consider the ejection of the outflow to be time-dependent. The outflow is optically thick initially and photons are frozen in it. As the outflow expands over time, photons gradually escape, and our work is to model such an evolution. Numerical and analytical calculations are considered separately, and the results are consistent. We apply the model to three typical FBOTs: PS1-10bjp, ZTF18abukavn, and ATLAS19dqr. The modeling finds the total mass of the outflow (∼ 1M⊙), and the total time of the ejection (∼ a few days) for them, leading us to speculate that they may be the result of the collapse of massive stars.

Final Moments. I. Precursor Emission, Envelope Inflation, and Enhanced Mass Loss Preceding the Luminous Type II Supernova 2020tlf

We present panchromatic observations and modeling of supernova (SN) 2020tlf, the first normal Type II-P/L SN with confirmed precursor emission, as detected by the Young Supernova Experiment transient survey. Pre-SN activity was detected in riz-bands at −130 days and persisted at relatively constant flux until first light. Soon after discovery, “flash” spectroscopy of SN 2020tlf revealed narrow, symmetric emission lines that resulted from the photoionization of circumstellar material (CSM) shed in progenitor mass-loss episodes before explosion. Surprisingly, this novel display of pre-SN emission and associated mass loss occurred in a red supergiant (RSG) progenitor with zero-age main-sequence mass of only 10–12 M ⊙, as inferred from nebular spectra. Modeling of the light curve and multi-epoch spectra with the non-LTE radiative-transfer code CMFGEN and radiation-hydrodynamical code HERACLES suggests a dense CSM limited to r ≈ 1015 cm, and mass-loss rate of 10−2 M ⊙ yr−1. The luminous light-curve plateau and persistent blue excess indicates an extended progenitor, compatible with an RSG model with R ⋆ = 1100 R ⊙. Limits on the shock-powered X-ray and radio luminosity are consistent with model conclusions and suggest a CSM density of ρ < 2 × 10−16 g cm−3 for distances from the progenitor star of r ≈ 5 × 1015 cm, as well as a mass-loss rate of M ̇ < 1.3 × 10 − 5 M ☉ yr − 1 at larger distances. A promising power source for the observed precursor emission is the ejection of stellar material following energy disposition into the stellar envelope as a result of gravity waves emitted during either neon/oxygen burning or a nuclear flash from silicon combustion.

Stochastic Low-frequency Variability in Three-dimensional Radiation Hydrodynamical Models of Massive Star Envelopes

Increasing main-sequence stellar luminosity with stellar mass leads to the eventual dominance of radiation pressure in stellar-envelope hydrostatic balance. As the luminosity approaches the Eddington limit, additional instabilities (beyond conventional convection) can occur. These instabilities readily manifest in the outer envelopes of OB stars, where the opacity increase associated with iron yields density and gas-pressure inversions in 1D models. Additionally, recent photometric surveys (e.g., TESS) have detected excess broadband low-frequency variability in power spectra of OB star lightcurves, called stochastic low-frequency variability (SLFV). This motivates our novel 3D Athena++ radiation hydrodynamical (RHD) simulations of two 35 M ⊙ star envelopes (the outer ≈15% of the stellar radial extent), one on the zero-age main sequence and the other in the middle of the main sequence. Both models exhibit turbulent motion far above and below the conventional iron-opacity peak convection zone (FeCZ), obliterating any “quiet” part of the near-surface region and leading to velocities at the photosphere of 10–100 km s−1, directly agreeing with spectroscopic data. Surface turbulence also produces SLFV in model lightcurves with amplitudes and power-law slopes that are strikingly similar to those of observed stars. The characteristic frequencies associated with SLFV in our models are comparable to the thermal time in the FeCZ (≈3–7 day−1). These ab initio simulations are directly validated by observations and, though more models are needed, we remain optimistic that 3D RHD models of main-sequence O-star envelopes exhibit SLFV originating from the FeCZ.

AT 2018lqh and the Nature of the Emerging Population of Day-scale Duration Optical Transients

We report on the discovery of AT 2018lqh (ZTF 18abfzgpl)—a rapidly evolving extragalactic transient in a star-forming host at 242 Mpc. The transient g-band light curve’s duration above a half-maximum light is about 2.1 days, where 0.4/1.7 days are spent on the rise/decay, respectively. The estimated bolometric light curve of this object peaked at about 7 × 1042erg s−1—roughly 7 times brighter than the neutron star (NS)–NS merger event AT 2017gfo. We show that this event can be explained by an explosion with a fast (v ∼ 0.08 c) low-mass (≈0.07 M ⊙) ejecta, composed mostly of radioactive elements. For example, ejecta dominated by 56Ni with a timescale of t 0 ≅ 1.6 days for the ejecta to become optically thin for γ-rays fits the data well. Such a scenario requires burning at densities that are typically found in the envelopes of neutron stars or the cores of white dwarfs. A combination of circumstellar material (CSM) interaction power at early times and shock cooling at late times is consistent with the photometric observations, but the observed spectrum of the event may pose some challenges for this scenario. We argue that the observations are not consistent with a shock breakout from a stellar envelope, while a model involving a low-mass ejecta ramming into low-mass CSM cannot explain both the early- and late-time observations.

Giant Planets, Tiny Stars: Producing Short-period Planets around White Dwarfs with the Eccentric Kozai–Lidov Mechanism

The recent discoveries of WD J091405.30+191412.25 (WD J0914 hereafter), a white dwarf (WD) likely accreting material from an ice-giant planet, and WD 1856+534 b (WD 1856 b hereafter), a Jupiter-sized planet transiting a WD, are the first direct evidence of giant planets orbiting WDs. However, for both systems, the observations indicate that the planets’ current orbital distances would have put them inside the stellar envelope during the red-giant phase, implying that the planets must have migrated to their current orbits after their host stars became WDs. Furthermore, WD J0914 is a very hot WD with a short cooling time that indicates a fast migration mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that the Eccentric Kozai–Lidov Mechanism, combined with stellar evolution and tidal effects, can naturally produce the observed orbital configurations, assuming that the WDs have distant stellar companions. Indeed, WD 1856 is part of a stellar triple system, being a distant companion to a stellar binary. We provide constraints for the orbital and physical characteristics for the potential stellar companion of WD J0914 and determine the initial orbital parameters of the WD 1856 system.

Velocity dispersion of brightest cluster galaxies in cosmological simulations

ABSTRACT Using the DIANOGA hydrodynamical zoom-in simulation set of galaxy clusters, we analyse the dynamics traced by stars belonging to the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and their surrounding diffuse component, forming the intracluster light (ICL), and compare it to the dynamics traced by dark matter and galaxies identified in the simulations. We compute scaling relations between the BCG and cluster velocity dispersions and their corresponding masses (i.e. $M_\mathrm{BCG}^{\star }$–$\sigma _\mathrm{BCG}^{\star }$, M200–σ200, $M_\mathrm{BCG}^{\star }$–M200, and $\sigma _\mathrm{BCG}^{\star }$–σ200), we find in general a good agreement with observational results. Our simulations also predict $\sigma _\mathrm{BCG}^{\star }$–σ200 relation to not change significantly up to redshift z = 1, in line with a relatively slow accretion of the BCG stellar mass at late times. We analyse the main features of the velocity dispersion profiles, as traced by stars, dark matter, and galaxies. As a result, we discuss that observed stellar velocity dispersion profiles in the inner cluster regions are in excellent agreement with simulations. We also report that the slopes of the BCG velocity dispersion profile from simulations agree with what is measured in observations, confirming the existence of a robust correlation between the stellar velocity dispersion slope and the cluster velocity dispersion (thus, cluster mass) when the former is computed within 0.1R500. Our results demonstrate that simulations can correctly describe the dynamics of BCGs and their surrounding stellar envelope, as determined by the past star formation and assembly histories of the most massive galaxies of the Universe.

Theoretical Predictions of Surface Light Element Abundances in Protostellar and Pre-Main Sequence Phase

Theoretical prediction of surface stellar abundances of light elements–lithium, beryllium, and boron–represents one of the most interesting open problems in astrophysics. As well known, several measurements of 7Li abundances in stellar atmospheres point out a disagreement between predictions and observations in different stellar evolutionary phases, rising doubts about the capability of present stellar models to precisely reproduce stellar envelope characteristics. The problem takes different aspects in the various evolutionary phases; the present analysis is restricted to protostellar and pre-Main Sequence phases. Light elements are burned at relatively low temperatures (T from ≈2 to ≈5 million degrees) and thus in the early evolutionary stages of a star they are gradually destroyed at different depths of stellar interior mainly by (p, α) burning reactions, in dependence on the stellar mass. Their surface abundances are strongly influenced by the nuclear cross sections, as well as by the extension toward the stellar interior of the convective envelope and by the temperature at its bottom, which depend on the characteristics of the star (mass and chemical composition) as well as on the energy transport in the convective stellar envelope. In recent years, a great effort has been made to improve the precision of light element burning cross sections. However, theoretical predictions surface light element abundance are challenging because they are also influenced by the uncertainties in the input physics adopted in the calculations as well as the efficiency of several standard and non-standard physical processes active in young stars (i.e. diffusion, radiative levitation, magnetic fields, rotation). Moreover, it is still not completely clear how much the previous protostellar evolution affects the pre-Main Sequence characteristics and thus the light element depletion. This paper presents the state-of-the-art of theoretical predictions for protostars and pre-Main Sequence stars and their light element surface abundances, discussing the role of (p, α) nuclear reaction rates and other input physics on the stellar evolution and on the temporal evolution of the predicted surface abundances.

Asteroseismic Observations of Hot Subdwarfs

There are a number of reasons for studying hot subdwarf pulsation; the most obvious being that these stars remain a poorly understood late-stage of stellar evolution and knowledge of their interior structure, which pulsation studies reveal, constrains evolution models. Of particular interest are the red giant progenitors as in looking at a hot subdwarf we are seeing a stripped-down red giant as it would have been just before the Helium Flash. Moreover, hot subdwarfs may have formed through the merger of two helium white dwarfs and their study gives insight into how such a merger may have happened. A less obvious reason for studying pulsation in hot subdwarfs is that they provide a critical test of stellar envelope opacities and the atomic physics upon which they depend.

Discovery of tidal debris stars from G1/Mayall-II in M31

The object Mayall II or G1 is the brightest globular cluster belonging to M31. Because of its extreme properties for a globular cluster, it has been speculated that G1 is the remnant nucleus of a dwarf galaxy that has been stripped by the tidal field of M31. Using the Keck DEIMOS spectrograph, we have conducted a survey for tidally stripped stars from G1, obtaining a sample of 351 stellar velocities over ∼ 320 sq. arcminutes of sky centered on G1. Thirteen are within $25~{\, \rm km\, s^{-1}\, }$ of the systemic velocity of G1, and exhibit spatial and velocity correlations consistent with being dynamically associated with G1, and all thirteen are well outside the tidal radius of the cluster. These thirteen stars could be either (i) the remnants of an almost completely evaporated stellar envelope, or (ii) G1 member stars lost through tidal interaction with M31. Estimates of the implied mass loss rate based on our data suggest a short dissolution time-scale for G1, thus favouring the stellar envelope hypothesis for the origin of the tidal tail stars, or, at the very least, an advanced stage of cluster dissolution. In either case, G1, and by extension compact stellar systems in general, have likely played a significant role in building the halo of M31.

A Photometric and Kinematic Analysis of UDG1137+16: Probing Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Formation in a Group Environment

The dominant physical formation mechanism(s) for ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) is still poorly understood. Here, we combine new, deep imaging from the Jeanne Rich Telescope with deep integral field spectroscopy from the Keck II telescope to investigate the formation of UDG1137+16. Our new analyses confirm both its environmental association with the low density UGC 6594 group, along with its large size of 3.3 kpc and status as a UDG. The new imaging reveals two distinct stellar components for UDG1137+16, indicating that a central stellar body is surrounded by an outer stellar envelope undergoing tidal interaction. Both the components have approximately similar stellar masses. From our integral field spectroscopy we measure a stellar velocity dispersion within the half-light radius (15 ± 4 km s−1) and find that UDG1137+16 is similar to some other UDGs in that it is likely dark matter dominated. Incorporating literature measurements, we also examine the current state of UDG observational kinematics. Placing these data on the central stellar velocity dispersion – stellar mass relation, we suggest there is little evidence for UDG1137+16 being created through a strong tidal interaction. Finally, we investigate the constraining power current dynamical mass estimates (from stellar and globular cluster velocity dispersions) have on the total halo mass of UDGs. As most are measured within the half-light radius, they are unable to accurately constrain UDG total halo masses.