Astronomy

First of all, we show that any spherically symmetric galactic model with integrated mass profile $M\left(r\right)\to 0$ as $r\to 0$ is physically correct close to the centre only provided that the circular velocity $v_c\left(r\right)\to 0$ and the gravitational field $g\left(r\right)\to 0$ as $r\to 0$. Next, we apply this statement to a broad class of five-parameter spherical galactic models, including most of those used in astrophysics and cosmology. Specifically, we show that the Jaffe and Hernquist models can be trusted only for $r\gtrsim 0.2R_e$ ($R_e$ being the effective radius), while the Navarro–Frank–White (NFW) model cannot describe galaxies in the central region of regular clusters. We also briefly discuss the relevance of our result for the NFW profile of pure dark matter halos. However, we are unable to tell at which central distance the NFW model breaks down in either case, and this is a challenge for future investigations. Full article

Twenty years ago, we started to apply quantum optics to the astronomical research carried out inside the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the INAF Astronomical Observatory in Padova, Italy. The initial activities were stimulated by the project of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to build a 100 m diameter telescope, the Overwhelmingly Large (OWL) telescope. The enormous photon flux expected from such an aperture suggested that quantum optics concepts be utilized in order to obtain novel astrophysical results. Following initial successful attempts to utilize the orbital angular momentum of the light beam to enhance the visibility of faint companions to bright stars, the Padova team concentrated its efforts on very high time resolution, in order to measure and store the arrival time of celestial photons to better than one nanosecond. To obtain observational results, we built two photon counting photometers (AquEye and IquEye) to be used with our telescopes of the Asiago Observatory and with 4 m class telescopes such as the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) in Chile. This paper firstly describes these two instruments and then expounds the results obtained on pulsar light curves, lunar occultations and the first photon counting intensity interferometry measurements of the bright star Vega. Indeed, the correlation of photon arrival times on two or more apertures can lead to extremely high angular resolutions, as shown around 1970 by Hanbury Brown and Twiss. Prospects for quantum intensity interferometry with arrays of Cherenkov light telescopes will also be described. Full article

The study presents a concise overview on the main effects on satellites due to space weather drivers compared to the well-known interplanetary, magnetospheric and ground-based consequences. The solar-activity-driven influences include specific physics-based effects on the spacecraft surface and on-board electronics due to electromagnetic emission and energetic particles as well as complex effects due to geomagnetic storms which may endanger the mission performance and spacecraft longevity. We select as test examples the Starlink satellites in the period 2019–2022 and present the temporal correspondence between their launches and the space weather phenomena. Based on comparative analysis, we discuss whether the occurrence vs. the intensity of solar and interplanetary drivers of space weather can be considered as a cause for orbital stability problems and satellite loss. The results suggest that a sequence of geomagnetic disturbances together with multiple weak space weather events could lead to severe levels of atmospheric drag ending in a service or satellite loss. Full article

The distribution of energetic ion flux in the ring current region, such as a meteorological cumulonimbus cloud, stores up the particle energy for a geomagnetic substorm. It is helpful to study the geomagnetic substorm mechanism by using a lunar base ENA imaging simulation of the dynamic evolution of the ring current, and establishing the corresponding relationship between key node events of the substorm. Based on the previous observation experience and our simulation results of the dynamic evolution of the ring current, we propose a macroscopic model of substorms related to the dynamic evolution of ring currents and present the possibility of confirming the causal sequence of some of those critical node events of substorms with the lunar base ENA imaging measurement. IBEX, operating in the ecliptic plane, may even give examples of the telemetry of ring current ion fluxes through ENA measurements during substorms/quiets. Full article

We reconstructed dark spots in the images of supermassive black holes SgrA* and M87* provided by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration by using the geometrically thin accretion disk model. In this model, the black hole is highlighted by the hot accretion matter up to the very vicinity of the black hole event horizon. The existence of hot accretion matter in the vicinity of black hole event horizons is predicted by the Blandford–Znajek mechanism, which is confirmed by recent general relativistic MHD simulations in supercomputers. A dark spot in the black hole image in the described model is a gravitationally lensed image of an event horizon globe. The lensed images of event horizons are always projected at the celestial sphere inside the awaited positions of the classical black hole shadows, which are invisible in both cases of M87* and SgrA*. We used the sizes of dark spots in the images of SgrA* and M87* for inferring their spins, $0.65<a<0.9$ and $a>0.75$, accordingly. Full article

Generalized symmetrons are models that have qualitatively similar features to the archetypal symmetron, but have barely been studied. In this article, we investigate for what parameter values the fifth forces induced by disformally coupling generalized symmetrons can provide an explanation for the difference between baryonic and lens masses of galaxies. While it is known that the standard symmetron struggles to provide an alternative source for the lensing otherwise attributed to particle dark matter, we show that some generalized symmetron models are more suitable for complying with existing constraints on disformal couplings. This motivates future studies of these only little-explored models. Full article

The general-relativistic (GR) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations for a conductive plasma fluid are derived and discussed in the curved spacetime described by Thorne’s metric tensor, i.e., a family of cosmological models with inherent anisotropy due to the existence of an ambient, large-scale magnetic field. In this framework, it is examined whether the magnetized plasma fluid that drives the evolution of such a model can be subsequently excited by a transient, plane-polarized gravitational wave (GW) or not. To do so, we consider the associated set of the perturbed equations of motion and integrate them numerically in order to study the evolution of instabilities triggered by the GW propagation. In particular, we examine to what extend perturbations of the electric and/or the magnetic field can be amplified due to a potential energy transfer from the GW to the electromagnetic (EM) degrees of freedom. The evolution of the perturbed quantities depends on four free parameters, namely, the conductivity of the fluid, $\sigma$; the speed of sound square, $\frac{1}{3}<{\left(\frac{C_s}{c}\right)}^2\equiv \gamma <1$, which in this model may serve also as a measure of the inherent anisotropy; the GW frequency, ${\omega }_g$; and the associated angle of propagation with respect to the direction of the magnetic field, $\theta$. We find that GW propagation in the anisotropic magnetized medium under consideration does excite several MHD modes; in other words, there is energy transfer from the gravitational to the EM degrees of freedom that can result in the acceleration of charged particles at the spot and in the subsequent damping of the GW. Full article

The phenomenon of the Dark matter baffles the researchers: the underlying dark particle has escaped so far the detection and its astrophysical role appears complex and entangled with that of the standard luminous particles. We propose that, in order to act efficiently, alongside with abandoning the current $\mathrm{\Lambda }CDM$ scenario, we need also to shift the Paradigm from which it emerged. Full article

Applying the ideas from microscopic objects to macroscopic stellar and galactic systems, the evolution of compact di-stars and di-galaxies is studied in the mass asymmetry coordinate. The formation of stable binary systems is analyzed. The role of symmetrization of an initially asymmetric binary system is revealed in the transformation of gravitational energy into internal energy of stars or galaxies accompanied by the release of a huge amount of energy. For the contact binary stars, the change of the orbital period is explained by evolution to symmetry in mass asymmetry coordinates. The matter transfer in binary black holes is studied. The conditions for the merger of black holes in a binary system are analyzed regarding the radiation of gravitational waves. Using the model based on the Regge-like laws, the Darwin instability effect in binary systems is discussed. New analytical formulas are derived for the period of orbital rotation and the relative distance between the components of a binary system. The impossibility of the appearance of a binary cosmic object from a single cosmic object is revealed. Full article

A simple phenomenological fit for the power spectrum of scalar (curvature) perturbations during inflation is proposed to analytically describe slow roll of inflaton and formation of primordial black holes (PBH) in the early universe, in the framework of single-field models. The fit is given by a sum of the power spectrum of slow-roll inflation, needed for a viable description of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation in agreement with Planck/BICEP/Keck measurements, and the log-normal (Gaussian) fit for the power spectrum enhancement (peak) needed for efficient PBH production, in the leading (model-independent) approximation. The T-type $\alpha$-attractor models are used to get the simple CMB power spectrum depending upon the e-folds as the running variable. The location and height of the peak are chosen to yield the PBH masses in the asteroid-size window allowed for the whole (current) dark matter. We find the restrictions on the peak width. Full article

In this note, I derive the Chandrasekhar instability of a fluid sphere in (N + 1)-dimensional Schwarzschild–Tangherlini spacetime and take the homogeneous (uniform energy density) solution for illustration. Qualitatively, the effect of a positive (negative) cosmological constant tends to destabilize (stabilize) the sphere. In the absence of a cosmological constant, the privileged position of (3 + 1)-dimensional spacetime is manifest in its own right. As it is, the marginal dimensionality in which a monatomic ideal fluid sphere is stable but not too stable to trigger the onset of gravitational collapse. Furthermore, it is the unique dimensionality that can accommodate stable hydrostatic equilibrium with a positive cosmological constant. However, given the current cosmological constant observed, no stable configuration can be larger than ${10}^{21}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$. On the other hand, in (2 + 1) dimensions, it is too stable either in the context of Newtonian Gravity (NG) or Einstein’s General Relativity (GR). In GR, the role of negative cosmological constant is crucial not only to guarantee fluid equilibrium (decreasing monotonicity of pressure) but also to have the Bañados–Teitelboim–Zanelli (BTZ) black hole solution. Owing to the negativeness of the cosmological constant, there is no unstable configuration for a homogeneous fluid disk with mass $0<\mathcal{M}\le 0.5$ to collapse into a naked singularity, which supports the Cosmic Censorship Conjecture. However, the relativistic instability can be triggered for a homogeneous disk with mass $0.5<\mathcal{M}\lesssim 0.518$ under causal limit, which implies that BTZ holes of mass ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{BTZ}}>0$ could emerge from collapsing fluid disks under proper conditions. The implicit assumptions and implications are also discussed. Full article

The swampland criteria in string theory assert the no eternal inflation scenario. This work studied the impact of generic gravitational quantum corrections on eternal inflation. In particular, we find that the Starobinsky model of inflation should receive higher-order corrections stemming from quantum gravity. In this work, we studied the effect of the $R^{3/2}$ and $R^4$ corrections on the eternal inflation conditions for the Starobinsky model. Full article

The incompressibility of both nuclear matter and finite nuclei is estimated by the monopole compression modes in nuclei in the framework of a nonrelativistic Hartree–Fock–Bogoliyubov method and the coherent density fluctuation model. The monopole states originate from vibrations of the nuclear density. The calculations in the model for the incompressibility in finite nuclei are based on the Brueckner energy–density functional for nuclear matter. Results for the energies of the breathing vibrational states and finite nuclei incompressibilities are obtained for various nuclei and their values are compared with recent experimental data. The evolution of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR) along Ni, Sn, and Pb isotopic chains is discussed. This approach can be applied to analyses of neutron stars properties, such as incompressibility, symmetry energy, slope parameter, and other astrophysical quantities, as well as for modelling dynamical behaviors within stellar environments. Full article

We present the geometric optics expansion for circularly polarized gravitational waves on a curved spacetime background, to subleading order. We call spin optics to the subleading order geometric optics expansion, which involves modifying the standard eikonal function by including a specially chosen helicity-dependent correction. We show that the techniques developed for the propagation of electromagnetic waves can also be applied to gravitational waves in the limit of spin optics. However, one needs to account for the difference in the photon and graviton helicity, which we do here. Full article

Atomic and molecular data are required to conduct the detailed calculations of microphysical processes performed by cloudy to predict the spectra of a theoretical model. cloudy now utilizes three atomic and molecular databases, one of which is CHIANTI version 7.1. CHIANTI version 10.0.1 is available, but its format has changed. cloudy is incompatible with the newer version. We have developed a script to convert the version 10.0.1 database into its version 7.1 format so that cloudy does not have to change every time there is a new CHIANTI version with an evolved format. This study outlines the steps taken by the script for this version format change. We have also found a modest number of significant changes to spectral line intensities/luminosities calculated by cloudy with the adoption of CHIANTI version 10.0.1. These changes are a result of improvements to collision strength data. Full article

A comparison of gravitational forces and a space probe’s trajectory parameters is made for two different models of the sun’s field, expressed in Schwarzschild and isotropic coordinates. It is shown that these two representations of a single Schwarzschild solution give, in the tangent space format, different deflections from classical finite trajectories and, hence, from one other; greatly amplified by a planet’s (Venus’) gravity assist, this effect renders it possible to experimentally specify the format of the gravity law that dominates the solar system. Full article

We doubt whether the “Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) ribbon” signals, especially the peak ones, scanned remotely by IBEX-Hi at the lunar resonance orbit, are really from the heliopause, which involves assessing the scale of solar wind particle energy loss throughout the solar system. The ENA imaging simulation results at the Earth’s orbit show that the scale of the planetary magnetosphere with a telemetry distance of AU magnitude is too small to contribute to the IBEX-Hi ribbon. However, the simulated effective ENA differential fluxes provide a reference for the physical scale evaluation of the huge magnetic structure in the heliopause. The ENA differential flux of the “ENA emission cone” generated by the charge exchange between the solar wind ion flow and local neutral gas near the Earth’s orbit is also comparable to the measured peak of the IBEX-Hi ribbon, which may be the main ENA emission source of the ribbon’s measured peak. The 2D ENA imaging measurements at the Lagrange points proposed here can be used to investigate the ENA ribbon origination by using the energy spectral lag vs the disparity of the ENA images. Full article

After their initial formation, disk galaxies are observed to be rotationally stable over periods of >6 Gyr, implying that any large velocity disturbances of stars and gas clouds are damped rapidly on the timescale of their rotation. However, it is also known that despite this damping, there must be a degree of random local motion to stabilize the orbits against degenerate collapse. A mechanism for such damping is proposed by a combination of inter-stellar gravitational interactions, and interactions with the Oort clouds and exo-Oort objects associated with each star. These mechanisms may produce rapid damping of large perturbations within a time period that is short on the scale of observational look-back time, but long on the scale of the disk rotational period for stars with small perturbations. This mechanism may also account for the locally observed mean perturbations in the Milky Way of 8–15 km/s for younger stars and 20–30 km/s for older stars. Full article