First author: Lindsey A. Kwok
We present JWST near- and mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of the nearby normal Type Ia supernova SN 2021aefx in the nebular phase at $+255$ days past maximum light. Our Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) observations, combined with ground-based optical data from the South African Large Telescope (SALT), constitute the first complete optical $+$ NIR $+$ MIR nebular SN Ia spectrum covering 0.
First author: Kenji Bekki
We discuss the mechanism(s) of bar formation in isolated and tidally interacting disk galaxies using the results of idealized collisionless Nbody simulations of the galaxies. In order to better understand the mechanism, we investigate orbital eccentricities (e), epochs of apocenter passages (t_a), azimuthal angles at t_a (varphi_a), precession rates (Omega_pre), for individual stars, as well as bar strengths represented by relative m=2 Fourier amplitude (A_2) and bar pattern speeds (Omega_bar).
First author: Shin’ichirou Yoshida
Rotation may affect the occurrence of sustainable hydrogen burning in very low-mass stellar objects by the introduction of centrifugal force to the hydrostatic balance as well as by the appearance of rotational break-up of the objects (mass-shedding limit) for rapidly rotating cases. We numerically construct the models of rotating very low-mass stellar objects that may or may not experience sustained nuclear reaction (hydrogen-burning) as their energy source.
First author: Fabio Pacucci
A supermassive black hole (SMBH) of $\sim 3\times 10^6 , \rm M_\odot$ was recently detected via dynamical measurements at the center of the dwarf galaxy Leo I. Standing $\sim 2$ orders of magnitude above standard scaling relations, this SMBH is hosted by a galaxy devoid of gas and with no significant star formation in the last $\sim 1$ Gyr. This detection can profoundly impact the formation models for black holes and their hosts.
First author: Michael J. Wilensky
We present a Bayesian jackknife test for assessing the probability that a data set contains biased subsets, and, if so, which of the subsets are likely to be biased. The test can be used to assess the presence and likely source of statistical tension between different measurements of the same quantities in an automated manner. Under certain broadly applicable assumptions, the test is analytically tractable.
First author: Pablo G. Pérez-González
The new capabilities that JWST offers in the near- and mid-infrared (IR) are used to investigate in unprecedented detail the nature of optical/near-IR faint, mid-IR bright sources, the so-called HST-dark galaxies among them. We gather JWST data from the CEERS survey in the EGS, jointly with HST data, to face this task by analyzing spatially resolved optical-to-mid-IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to estimate both photometric redshifts and stellar populations properties in two dimensions.
First author: M. Schmassmann
We analyse a sunspot simulation in an effort to understand the origin of the convective instabilities giving rise to the penumbral and umbral distinct regimes. We applied the criterion from Gough & Tayler (1966), accounting for the stabilising effect of the vertical magnetic field to investigate the convective instabilities in a MURaM sunspot simulation. We find: (1) a highly unstable shallow layer right beneath the surface extending all over the simulation box in which convection is triggered by radiative cooling in the photosphere; (2) a deep umbral core (beneath -5 Mm) stabilised against overturning convection that underlies a region with stable background values permeated by slender instabilities coupled to umbral dots; (3) filamentary instabilities below the penumbra nearly parallel to the surface and undulating instabilities coupled to the penumbra which originate in the deep layers.
First author: Dong Lai
We review recent works on the dynamics of circumbinary accretion, including time variability, angular momentum transfer between the disk and the binary, and the secular evolution of accreting binaries. These dynamics can impact stellar binary formation/evolution, circumbinary planet formation/migration, and the evolution of (super)massive black-hole binaries. We discuss the dynamics and evolution of inclined/warped circumbinary disks and connect with recent observations of protoplanetary disks. A special kind of circumbinary accretion involves binaries embedded in “big” disks, which may contribute to the mergers of stellar-mass black holes in AGN disks.
First author: Sahl Rowther
We carry out three dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations to study the impact of planet-disc interactions on a gravitationally unstable protoplanetary disc. We find that the impact of a planet on the disc’s evolution can be described by three scenarios. If the planet is sufficiently massive, the spiral wakes generated by the planet dominate the evolution of the disc and gravitational instabilities are completely suppressed. If the planet’s mass is too small, then gravitational instabilities are unaffected.
First author: Iván Muñoz Rodríguez
This paper explores the role of small-scale environment ($<1$ Mpc) in modulating accretion events onto supermassive black holes by studying the incidence of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in massive clusters of galaxies. A flexible, data-driven semi-empirical model is developed based on a minimal set of parameters and under the zero order assumption that the incidence of AGN in galaxies is independent of environment. This is used to predict how the fraction of X-ray selected AGN among galaxies in massive dark matter halos ($\gtrsim 3\times 10^{14},M_{\odot}$) evolves with redshift and reveal tensions with observations.