Galaxies

The DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese, outer space gravitational wave detector. We previously set the default design parameters to provide a good target sensitivity to detect the primordial gravitational waves (GWs). However, the updated upper limit of the primordial GWs by the Planck observations motivated us toward further optimization of the target sensitivity. Previously, we had not considered optical diffraction loss due to the very long cavity length. In this paper, we optimize various DECIGO parameters by maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the primordial GWs to quantum noise, including the effects of diffraction loss. We evaluated the power spectrum density for one cluster in DECIGO utilizing the quantum noise of one differential Fabry–Perot interferometer. Then we calculated the SNR by correlating two clusters in the same position. We performed the optimization for two cases: the constant mirror-thickness case and the constant mirror-mass case. As a result, we obtained the SNR dependence on the mirror radius, which also determines various DECIGO parameters. This result is the first step toward optimizing the DECIGO design by considering the practical constraints on the mirror dimensions and implementing other noise sources. Full article

Fine structure of the density distribution in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) around W43 (G31+00+90 km s${}^{-1}$at ∼5.5 kpc) was analyzed using the FUGIN${}^{*}$ CO-line survey at high-angular (20”∼0.5 pc) and velocity (1.3 km s${}^{-1}$) resolutions (${}^{*}$Four-receiver-system Unbiased Galactic Imaging survey with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope). The GMCs show highly turbulent structures, and the eddies are found to exhibit spherical bubble morphology appearing in narrow ranges of velocity channels. The bubbles are dark in radio continuum emission, unlike usual supernova remnants (SNR) or HII regions, and in infrared dust emission, unlike molecular bubbles around young stellar objects. The CO bubbles are interpreted as due to fully evolved buried SNRs in molecular clouds after rapid exhaustion of the released energy in dense molecular clouds. Then, the CO bubbles may be a direct evidence for exciting and maintaining the turbulence in GMCs by SN origin. Search for CO bubbles as “dark SNRs” (dSNR) will have implication to estimate the supernova rate more accurately, and hence the star formation activity in the Milky Way. Full article

We studied the effects of the Lorentz invariance violation on the rotation of neutron stars (NSs) in the minimal gravitational Standard-Model Extension framework, and calculated the quadrupole radiation generated by them. Aiming at testing Lorentz invariance with observations of continuous gravitational waves (GWs) from rotating NSs in the future, we compared the GW spectra of a rotating ellipsoidal NS under Lorentz-violating gravity with those of a Lorentz-invariant one. The former were found to possess frequency components higher than the second harmonic, which does not happen for the latter, indicating those higher frequency components to be potential signatures of Lorentz violation in continuous GW spectra of rotating NSs. Full article

In the past few decades, many studies have analyzed the data of gamma-rays, X-rays, radio waves, electrons, positrons, anti-protons, and neutrinos to search for the signal of dark matter annihilation. In particular, analyzing radio data has been one of the most important and effective ways to constrain dark matter. In this article, we review the physics and the theoretical framework of using radio data to constrain annihilating dark matter. We also review some important radio constraints of annihilating dark matter and discuss the future perspectives of using radio detection to reveal the nature of dark matter. Full article

The discovery of 3C 273 in 1963, and the emergence of the Kerr solution shortly thereafter, precipitated the current era in astrophysics focused on using black holes to explain active galactic nuclei (AGN). But while partial success was achieved in separately explaining the bright nuclei of some AGN via thin disks, as well as powerful jets with thick disks, the combination of both powerful jets in an AGN with a bright nucleus, such as in 3C 273, remained elusive. Although numerical simulations have taken center stage in the last 25 years, they have struggled to produce the conditions that explain them. This is because radiatively efficient disks have proved a challenge to simulate. Radio quasars have thus been the least understood objects in high energy astrophysics. But recent simulations have begun to change this. We explore this milestone in light of scale-invariance and show that transitory jets, possibly related to the jets seen in these recent simulations, as some have proposed, cannot explain radio quasars. We then provide a road map for a resolution. Full article

The DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is designed to detect gravitational waves at frequencies between 0.1 and 10 Hz. In this frequency band, one of the most important science targets is the detection of primordial gravitational waves. DECIGO plans to use a space interferometer with optical cavities to increase its sensitivity. For evaluating its sensitivity, diffraction of the laser light has to be adequately considered. There are two kinds of diffraction loss: leakage loss outside the mirror and higher-order mode loss. These effects are treated differently inside and outside of the Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity. We estimated them under the conditions that the FP cavity has a relatively high finesse and the higher-order modes do not resonate. As a result, we found that the effects can be represented as a reduction of the effective finesse of the cavity with regard to quantum noise. This result is useful for optimization of the design of DECIGO. This method is also applicable to any FP cavities with a relatively small beam cut and the finesse sufficiently higher than 1. Full article

$BV$ observations of an approximately ${68}^{\prime }\times {48}^{\prime }$ field centered on the open cluster NGC 2281 and covering more than 400 nights from 2013 to 2018 are presented. The photometric observations were transformed to the standard system using standards from the American Association of Variable Star Observers Photometric All-sky Survey (APASS) DR10 and analyzed with Gaia DR2 parallaxes and proper motions to determine the distance, age, and metallicity of the cluster. The discovery of an eclipsing binary in the field is discussed. Full article

In this paper, we consider the relativistic effects of rotation in the magnetospheres of $\gamma$-ray pulsars. The paper reviews the progress achieved in this field during the last three decades. For this purpose, we examine the direct centrifugal acceleration of particles and the corresponding limiting factors: the constraints due to the curvature radiation and the inverse Compton scattering of electrons against soft photons. Based on the obtained results, the generation of parametrically excited Langmuir waves and the corresponding Landau–Langmuir centrifugal drive are studied. Full article

In the field of astrobiology, the precise location, prevalence, and age of potential extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) have not been explicitly explored. Here, we address these inquiries using an empirical galactic simulation model to analyze the spatial–temporal variations and the prevalence of potential ETI within the Galaxy. This model estimates the occurrence of ETI, providing guidance on where to look for intelligent life in the Search for ETI (SETI) with a set of criteria, including well-established astrophysical properties of the Milky Way. Further, typically overlooked factors such as the process of abiogenesis, different evolutionary timescales, and potential self-annihilation are incorporated to explore the growth propensity of ETI. We examine three major parameters: (1) the likelihood rate of abiogenesis (λ_A); (2) evolutionary timescales (T_evo); and (3) probability of self-annihilation of complex life (P_ann). We found P_ann to be the most influential parameter determining the quantity and age of galactic intelligent life. Our model simulation also identified a peak location for ETI at an annular region approximately 4 kpc from the galactic center around 8 billion years (Gyrs), with complex life decreasing temporally and spatially from the peak point, asserting a high likelihood of intelligent life in the galactic inner disk. The simulated age distributions also suggest that most of the intelligent life in our galaxy are young, thus making observation or detection difficult. Full article

We attempt to study three significant tests of general relativity in higher dimensions, both in commutative and non-commutative spaces. In the context of non-commutative geometry, we will consider a solution of Einstein’s equation in higher dimensions, with a source given by a static, spherically symmetric Gaussian distribution of mass. The resulting metric would describe a regular or curvature singularity free black hole in higher dimensions. The metric should smoothly interpolate between Schwarzschild geometry at large distance, and de-Sitter spacetime at short distance. We will consider gravitational redshift, lensing, and time delay in each sector. It will be shown that, compared to the four-dimensional spacetime, there can be significant modifications due to the presence of extra dimensions and the non-commutative corrected black holes. Finally, we shall attempt to obtain a lower bound on the size of the extra dimensions and on the mass needed to form a black hole in different dimensions. Full article

Quantum noise limits the sensitivity of laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. Given the state-of-the-art optics, the optical losses define the lower bound of the best possible quantum-limited detector sensitivity. In this work, we come up with a broadband signal recycling scheme which gives a potential solution to approaching this lower bound by converting the signal recycling cavity to be a broadband signal amplifier using an active optomechanical filter. We will show the difference and advantage of such a scheme compared with the previous white light cavity scheme using the optomechanical filter in [Phys.Rev.Lett.115.211104 (2015)]. The drawback is that the new scheme is more susceptible to the thermal noise of the mechanical oscillator. Full article

Cosmic rays were discovered over one hundred years ago but there are still unsolved problems. One of the hot problems is the origin of cosmic rays of the highest energies. Sources are still unclear and it is neither clear how particles gain ultra-high energies. Possible sources of cosmic rays at the highest energies are supermassive black holes. From this perspective we discuss in a popular form some recent developments in cosmic ray studies along with author’s recent results. The paper also offers materials for further reading. Full article

The Kwee–van Woerden (KvW) method used for the determination of eclipse minimum times has been a staple in eclipsing binary research for decades, due its simplicity and the independence of external input parameters, which also makes it well-suited to obtaining timings of exoplanet transits. However, its estimates of the timing error have been known to have a low reliability. During the analysis of very precise photometry of CM Draconis eclipses from TESS space mission data, KvW’s original equation for the timing error estimate produced numerical errors, which evidenced a fundamental problem in this equation. This contribution introduces an improved approach for calculating the timing error with the KvW method. A code that implements this improved method, together with several further updates of the original method, are presented. An example of the application to CM Draconis light curves from TESS is given. The eclipse minimum times are derived with the KvW method’s three original light curve folds, but also with five and seven folds. The use of five or more folds produces minimum timings with a substantially better precision. The improved method of error calculation delivers consistent timing errors which are in excellent agreement with error estimates obtained by other means. In the case of TESS data from CM Draconis, minimum times with an average precision of 1.1 s are obtained. Reliable timing errors are also a valuable indicator for evaluating if a given scatter in an O-C diagram is caused by measurement errors or by a physical period variation. Full article

This study investigate the effectiveness of using Deep Learning (DL) for the classification of planetary nebulae (PNe). It focusses on distinguishing PNe from other types of objects, as well as their morphological classification. We adopted the deep transfer learning approach using three ImageNet pre-trained algorithms. This study was conducted using images from the Hong Kong/Australian Astronomical Observatory/Strasbourg Observatory H-alpha Planetary Nebula research platform database (HASH DB) and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS). We found that the algorithm has high success in distinguishing True PNe from other types of objects even without any parameter tuning. The Matthews correlation coefficient is 0.9. Our analysis shows that DenseNet201 is the most effective DL algorithm. For the morphological classification, we found for three classes, Bipolar, Elliptical and Round, half of objects are correctly classified. Further improvement may require more data and/or training. We discuss the trade-offs and potential avenues for future work and conclude that deep transfer learning can be utilized to classify wide-field astronomical images. Full article

After one year of data taking, the observing run three (O3), we are preparing for an improved version of the system, named the Advanced Virgo plus. One of the major upgrades will be the installation of the signal recycling mirror to form an additional optical cavity and improve the sensitivity of the interferometer. This also requires a change in the lock acquisition strategy. In particular, the arms will be locked at the beginning with lasers at a different wavelength from the main one. Such a strategy has already been implemented and tested in LIGO and KAGRA, and in this paper we will present how it has been conceived in Virgo. Full article

Advanced Virgo+ is a major upgrade of the Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detector aiming to increase sensitivity in terms of binary neutron star (BNS) range by a factor 3–5 in the next few years. In this work, we present an optimization of the mirror transmittances for the second phase of the project (to be implemented for the O5 observation run) using a random walk algorithm implemented with the advGWINC software. In addition to BNS range, a post merger (PM) SNR is also used as a figure of merit to identify configurations that fine-tune the sensitivity curve, as a function of arm-cavity round trip losses. Full article

Advanced Virgo is a 2nd-generation laser interferometer based in Cascina (Italy) aimed at the detection of gravitational waves (GW) from astrophysical sources. Together with the two USA-based LIGO interferometers they constitute a network which operates in coincidence. The three detectors observed the sky simultaneously during the last part of the second Observing Run (O2) in August 2017, and this led to two paramount discoveries: the first three-detector observation of gravitational waves emitted from the coalescence of a binary black hole system (GW170814), and the first detection ever of gravitational waves emitted from the coalescence of a binary neutron star system (GW170817). Coincident data taking was re-started for the third Observing Run (O3), which started on 1st April 2019 and lasted almost one year. This paper will describe the new techniques implemented for the longitudinal controls with respect to the ones already in use during O2. Then, it will present an extensive description of the full scheme of the angular controls of the interferometer, focusing on the different control strategies that are in place in the different stages of the lock acquisition procedure, which is the complex sequence of operations by which an uncontrolled, “free” laser interferometer is brought to the final working point, which allows the detector to reach the best sensitivity. Full article

The advanced LIGO gravitational wave detectors need high power laser sources with excellent beam quality and low-noise behavior. We present a pre-stabilized laser system with 70 $\mathrm{W}$ of output power that was used in the third observing run of the advanced LIGO detectors. Furthermore, the prototype of a 140 $\mathrm{W}$ pre-stabilized laser system for future use in the LIGO observatories is described and characterized. Full article