Kinematics of the Milky Way Thick disk in solar neighborhood

Using GAIA EDR3 catalog, we present the detailed analysis of the two-component Milky Way stellar disk in the solar neighborhood. To determine the kinematical properties of the thin and of the Thick disks, we select the complete sample of about 278,000 evolved red giant branch (RGB) stars distributed in the cylinder of 1 kpc radius and 0.5 kpc height centered at the Sun. We measured the following mean velocities and dispersions for the thin and the Thick disks, respectively: [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]km s[Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]km s[Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]km s[Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]km s[Formula: see text]. Errors in mean velocities and dispersions are all less than 1[Formula: see text]km s[Formula: see text]. Same values were computed on much smaller subsamples of our Gaia data with RAVE DR5 [Fe/H] values, from which a metallicity selection was added. Results are basically the same. We find that up to 500 pc height above/below the galactic plane, Thick disk stars comprise about half the stars of the disk. We also find evidence of a substructure in [Formula: see text] versus [Formula: see text] in the thick disk population mostly that would give support to the accretion scenario for the formation of the thick disk.

Dust Properties of Two New Cavity Structures Nearby Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars: The IRAS Survey

We studied the dust properties of two cavity structures (namely FIC21+54 and FIC16-56) nearby Asymptotic Giant Branch stars using Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) maps. Dust color temperature, Planck function, dust mass, and visual extinction with their distribution within the region of interest were examined. The temperature of dust was found to lie in the range of 22.24 ± 0.81 K to 23.27 ± 0.21 K, and 25.12 ± 0.43 K to 26.17 ± 0.62 K, and the mass of dust was obtained within the range of 4.21 × 1026 kg to 3.6 × 1027 kg, and 2.1 × 1027 kg to 3.31 × 1028 kg, for FIC21+54 and FIC16-56, respectively. Some unusual behaviors on the distribution of dust temperature indicated the effect of nearby sources within the studied structures. Moreover, we observed the trend of dust particles along the major and minor diameters, and plots represented that the particles were oscillating with a sinusoidal pattern in both cavities. The negative slope between 25 µm and 60 µm in far-infrared spectral distribution was encountered for both structures, which portrayed less number density of particles in 60 µm band; interaction between AGB wind and the ambient interstellar medium could be the possible reason behind this. These findings support the prior results for two new cavity structures nearby AGB stars within the galactic plane -10° < b < +10°.

Preparing to Discover the Unknown with Rubin LSST: Time Domain

Perhaps the most exciting promise of the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is its capability to discover phenomena never before seen or predicted: true astrophysical novelties; but the ability of LSST to make these discoveries will depend on the survey strategy. Evaluating candidate strategies for true novelties is a challenge both practically and conceptually. Unlike traditional astrophysical tracers like supernovae or exoplanets, for anomalous objects, the template signal is by definition unknown. We approach this problem by assessing survey completeness in a phase space defined by object color and flux (and their evolution), and considering the volume explored by integrating metrics within this space with the observation depth, survey footprint, and stellar density. With these metrics, we explore recent simulations of the Rubin LSST observing strategy across the entire observed spatial footprint and in specific Local Volume regions: the Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds. Under our metrics, observing strategies with greater diversity of exposures and time gaps tend to be more sensitive to genuinely new transients, particularly over time-gap ranges left relatively unexplored by previous surveys. To assist the community, we have made all of the tools developed publicly available. While here we focus on transients, an extension of the scheme to include proper motions and the detection of associations or populations of interest will be communicated in Paper II of this series. This paper was written with the support of the Vera C. Rubin LSST Transients and Variable Stars and Stars, Milky Way, Local Volume Science Collaborations.

G17.8+16.7: A New Supernova Remnant

Non-thermal radio emission is detected in the region of the gamma-ray source FHES J1723.5 − 0501. The emission has an approximately circular shape 0.8○ in diameter. The observations confirm its nature as a new supernova remnant, We derive constraints on the source parameters using the radio data and gamma-ray observations of the region. The distance to the object is possibly in the range 1.4–3.5 kpc. An SNR age of the order of 10 kyr is compatible with the radio and GeV features, but an older or younger SNR cannot be ruled out. A simple one-zone leptonic model naturally explains the multi-wavelength non-thermal fluxes of the source at its location outside the Galactic plane.

Chapter 2 Galactic Gamma-ray Sources

In the gamma-ray sky, the highest fluxes come from Galactic sources: supernova remnants (SNRs), pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae, star forming regions, binaries and micro-quasars, giant molecular clouds, Galactic center, and the large extended area around the Galactic plane. The radiation mechanisms of -ray emission and the physics of the emitting particles, such as the origin, acceleration, and propagation, are of very high astrophysical significance. A variety of theoretical models have been suggested for the relevant physics and emission with energies E_1014 eV are expected to be crucial in testing them. In particular, this energy band is a direct window to test at which maximum energy a particle can be accelerated in the Galactic sources and whether the most probable source candidates such as Galactic center and SNRs are “PeVatrons”. Designed aiming at the very high energy (VHE, >100 GeV) observation, LHAASO will be a very powerful instrument in these astrophysical studies. Over the past decade, great advances have been made in the VHE -ray astronomy. More than 170 VHE -ray sources have been observed, and among them, 42 Galactic sources fall in the LHAASO field-of-view. With a sensitivity of 10 milli-Crab, LHAASO can not only provide accurate spectrum for the known -ray sources, but also search new TeV -ray sources. In the following sub-sections, the observation of all the Galactic sources with LHAASO will be discussed in details.

Tracing the Milky Way’s Vestigial Nuclear Jet

MeerKAT radio continuum and XMM-Newton X-ray images have recently revealed a spectacular bipolar channel at the Galactic Center that spans several degrees (∼0.5 kpc). An intermittent jet likely formed this channel and is consistent with earlier evidence of a sustained, Seyfert-level outburst fueled by black hole accretion onto Sgr A* several Myr ago. Therefore, to trace a now weak jet that perhaps penetrated, deflected, and percolated along multiple paths through the interstellar medium, relevant interactions are identified and quantified in archival X-ray images, Hubble Space Telescope Paschen α images and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array millimeter-wave spectra, and new SOAR telescope IR spectra. Hydrodynamical simulations are used to show how a nuclear jet can explain these structures and inflate the ROSAT/eROSITA X-ray and Fermi γ-ray bubbles that extend ± 75° from the Galactic plane. Thus, our Galactic outflow has features in common with energetic, jet-driven structures in the prototypical Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068.

Swift/XRT Deep Galactic Plane Survey Discovery of a New Intermediate Polar Cataclysmic Variable, Swift J183920.1-045350

We report on the Swift/XRT Deep Galactic Plane Survey discovery and multiwavelength follow-up observations of a new intermediate polar (IP) cataclysmic variable, Swift J183920.1-045350. A 449.7 s spin period is found in XMM-Newton and NuSTAR data, accompanied by a 459.9 s optical period that is most likely the synodic, or beat period, produced from a 5.6 hr orbital period. The orbital period is seen with moderate significance in independent long-baseline optical photometry observations taken with the ZTF and SAAO telescopes. We find that the X-ray pulse fraction of the source decreases with increasing energy. The X-ray spectra are consistent with the presence of an Fe emission line complex with both local and interstellar absorption. In the optical spectra, strong Hα, H i, He i, and He ii emission lines are observed, all common features in magnetic CVs. The source properties are thus typical of known IPs, with the exception of its estimated distance of 2.26 − 0.83 + 1.93 kpc, which is larger than typical, extending the reach of the CV population in our Galaxy.

Phases of Mass Transfer from Hot Subdwarfs to White Dwarf Companions and Their Photometric Properties

Binary systems of a hot subdwarf B (sdB) star + a white dwarf (WD) with orbital periods less than 2–3 hr can come into contact due to gravitational waves and transfer mass from the sdB star to the WD before the sdB star ceases nuclear burning and contracts to become a WD. Motivated by the growing class of observed systems in this category, we study the phases of mass transfer in these systems. We find that because the residual outer hydrogen envelope accounts for a large fraction of an sdB star’s radius, sdB stars can spend a significant amount of time (∼tens of megayears) transferring this small amount of material at low rates (∼10−10–10−9 M ⊙ yr−1) before transitioning to a phase where the bulk of their He transfers at much faster rates ( ≳10−8 M ⊙ yr−1). These systems therefore spend a surprising amount of time with Roche-filling sdB donors at orbital periods longer than the range associated with He star models without an envelope. We predict that the envelope transfer phase should be detectable by searching for ellipsoidal modulation of Roche-filling objects with P orb = 30–100 minutes and T eff = 20,000–30,000 K, and that many (≥10) such systems may be found in the Galactic plane after accounting for reddening. We also argue that many of these systems may go through a phase of He transfer that matches the signatures of AM CVn systems, and that some AM CVn systems associated with young stellar populations likely descend from this channel.

Galactic neutrino sources

Among the sources detected by the HAWC telescope in the galactic plane, we will consider the eHWC J1825-134 source and show the prospects to detect this source at the KM3NeT detector. Moreover, we consider the prospects to detect the source RX J1713.7-3946 in a fully hadronic and in a lepto-hadronic scenario. Considering the IceCube detector, instead, we present a detailed study of the gamma-ray sources eHWC J1907+063 and found that a detection at 3σ or more at the IceCube detector should be within reach of the next decade. We consider also the source 2HWC J1857+027, which is coincident with the location of an IceCube neutrino excess. For this source, a detection at 3σ will depend on the specific value of the flux, on the extension and on the cut-off energy.

Molecular Gas within the Milky Way's Nuclear Wind

We report the first direct detection of molecular hydrogen associated with the Galactic nuclear wind. The Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer spectrum of LS 4825, a B1 Ib–II star at l, b = 1.67°,−6.63° lying d = 9.9 − 0.8 + 1.4 kpc from the Sun, ∼1 kpc below the Galactic plane near the Galactic center, shows two high-velocity H2 components at v LSR = −79 and −108 km s−1. In contrast, the FUSE spectrum of the nearby (∼0.6° away) foreground star HD 167402 at d = 4.9 − 0.7 + 0.8 kpc reveals no H2 absorption at these velocities. Over 60 lines of H2 from rotational levels J = 0 to 5 are identified in the high-velocity clouds. For the v LSR = −79 km s−1 cloud we measure total log N(H2) ≥ 16.75 cm−2, molecular fraction f H 2 ≥ 0.8%, and T 01 ≥ 97 and T 25 ≤ 439 K for the ground- and excited-state rotational excitation temperatures. At v LSR = −108 km s−1, we measure log N(H2) = 16.13 ± 0.10 cm−2, f H 2 ≥ 0.5%, and T 01 = 77 − 18 + 34 and T 25 = 1092 − 117 + 149 K, for which the excited-state ortho- to para-H2 is 1.0 − 0.1 + 0.3 , much less than the equilibrium value of 3 expected for gas at this temperature. This nonequilibrium ratio suggests that the −108 km s−1 cloud has been recently excited and has not yet had time to equilibrate. As the LS 4825 sight line passes close by a tilted section of the Galactic disk, we propose that we are probing a boundary region where the nuclear wind is removing gas from the disk.