Decomposition of the central structure of NGC 2273 in the NIR: A case study

The Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 2273 is a prime target to explore how active nuclei can be fed. It has a star-forming innermost nuclear ring with a radius of 0.33kpc from where material may be funneled to the supermassive black hole in its center. In this article, we discuss high-resolution adaptive optics aided JHKs images of NGC 2273 taken with the Large Binocular Telescope. Using Galfit we decomposed the innermost part of NGC 2273 into a core, a disk, and a ring using 58 parameters, 44 of them were used to describe the ring. The stellar mass of the ring was found to be 12 $\times 10^8{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$, a factor of 10 higher than its molecular gas mass. A continuous gas flow via the main stellar bar of NGC 2273 during the lifetime of the bar of up to 10 ${\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }{\text{yr}}^{-1}$ is required to provide the fuel for the formation of the stars unless the star formation efficiency is on the order of 10%. This does not affect the fueling of the nuclear source as the amount of molecular gas required for this low-luminosity active galaxy to achieve this is on the order of $10^4{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ only.     

Waves in Cassini UVIS stellar occultations: 2. The C ring

We performed a complete wavelet analysis of Saturn’s C ring on 62 stellar occultation profiles. These profiles were obtained by Cassini’s Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph High Speed Photometer. We used a WWZ wavelet power transform to analyze them. With a co-adding process, we found evidence of 40 wavelike structures, 18 of which are reported here for the first time. Seventeen of these appear to be propagating waves (wavelength changing systematically with distance from Saturn). The longest new wavetrain in the C ring is a 52-km-long wave in a plateau at 86,397 km. We produced a complete map of resonances with external satellites and possible structures rotating with Saturn’s rotation period up to the eighth order, allowing us to associate a previously observed wave with the Atlas 2:1 inner Lindblad resonance (ILR) and newly detected waves with the Mimas 6:2 ILR and the Pandora 4:2 ILR. We derived surface mass densities and mass extinction coefficients, finding σ = 0.22(±0.03) g cm⁻² for the Atlas 2:1 ILR, σ = 1.31(±0.20) g cm⁻² for the Mimas 6:2 ILR, and σ = 1.42(±0.21) g cm⁻² for the Pandora 4:2 ILR. We determined a range of mass extinction coefficients (κ = τ/σ) for the waves associated with resonances with κ = 0.13 (±0.03) to 0.28(±0.06) cm² g⁻¹, where τ is the optical depth. These values are higher than the reported values for the A ring (0.01-0.02 cm² g⁻¹) and the Cassini Division (0.07-0.12 cm² g⁻¹ from Colwell et al. (Colwell, J.E., Cooney, J.H., Esposito, L.W., Srem?evi?, M. [2009]. Icarus 200, 574-580)). We also note that the mass extinction coefficient is probably not constant across the C ring (in contrast to the A ring and the Cassini Division): it is systematically higher in the plateaus than elsewhere, suggesting smaller particles in the plateaus. We present the results of our analysis of these waves in the C ring and estimate the mass of the C ring to be between3.7(±0.9) × 10¹⁶ kg and 7.9(±2.0) × 10¹⁶ kg (equivalent to an icy satellite of radius between 28.0(±2.3) km and 36.2(±3.0) km with a density of 400 kg m⁻³, close to that of Pan or Atlas). Using the ring viscosity derived from the wave damping length, we also estimate the vertical thickness of the C ring between 1.9(±0.4) m and 5.6(±1.4) m, comparable to the vertical thickness of the Cassini Division.     

Morphology and variability of the Titan ringlet and Huygens ringlet edges

We present a forward modeling approach for determining, in part, the ring particle spatial distribution in the vicinity of sharp ring or ringlet edges. Synthetic edge occultation profiles are computed based on a two-parameter particle spatial distribution model. One parameter, h, characterizes the vertical extent of the ring and the other, δ, characterizes the radial scale over which the ring optical depth transitions from the background ring value to zero. We compare our synthetic occultation profiles to high resolution stellar occultation light curves observed by the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) High Speed Photometer (HSP) for occultations by the Titan ringlet and Huygens ringlet edges.More than 100 stellar occultations of the Huygens ringlet and Titan ringlet edges were studied, comprising 343 independent occultation cuts of the edges of these two ringlets. In 237 of these profiles the measured light-curve was fit well with our two-parameter edge model. Of the remaining edge occultations, 69 contained structure that could only be fit with extremely large values of the ring-plane vertical thickness (h > 1 km) or by adopting a different model for the radial profile of the ring optical depth. An additional 37 could not be fit by our two-parameter model.Certain occultations at low ring-plane incidence angles as well as occultations nearly tangent to the ring edge allow the direct measurement of the radial scale over which the particle packing varies at the edge of the ringlet. In 24 occultations with these particular viewing geometries, we find a wide variation in the radial scale of the edge. We are able to constrain the vertical extent of the rings at the edge to less than ∼300 m in the 70% of the occultations with appropriate viewing geometry, however tighter constraints could not be placed on h due to the weaker sensitivity of the occultation profile to vertical thickness compared to its sensitivity to δ.Many occultations of a single edge could not be fit to a single value of δ, indicating large temporal or azimuthal variability, although the azimuthal variation in δ with respect to the longitudes of various moons in the system did not show any discernible pattern.     

Bounding the time delay between high-energy neutrinos and gravitational-wave transients from gamma-ray bursts

We derive a conservative coincidence time window for joint searches of gravitational-wave (GW) transients and high-energy neutrinos (HENs, with energies ?100 GeV), emitted by gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The last are among the most interesting astrophysical sources for coincident detections with current and near-future detectors. We take into account a broad range of emission mechanisms. We take the upper limit of GRB durations as the 95% quantile of the T₉₀’s of GRBs observed by BATSE, obtaining a GRB duration upper limit of ∼150 s. Using published results on high-energy (>100 MeV) photon light curves for 8 GRBs detected by Fermi LAT, we verify that most high-energy photons are expected to be observed within the first ∼150 s of the GRB. Taking into account the breakout-time of the relativistic jet produced by the central engine, we allow GW and HEN emission to begin up to 100 s before the onset of observable gamma photon production. Using published precursor time differences, we calculate a time upper bound for precursor activity, obtaining that 95% of precursors occur within ∼250 s prior to the onset of the GRB. Taking the above different processes into account, we arrive at a time window of t_HEN − t_GW ∈ [−500 s, +500 s]. Considering the above processes, an upper bound can also be determined for the expected time window of GW and/or HEN signals coincident with a detected GRB, t_GW − t_GRB ≈ t_HEN − t_GRB ∈ [−350 s, +150 s]. These upper bounds can be used to limit the coincidence time window in multimessenger searches, as well as aiding the interpretation of the times of arrival of measured signals.     

Topographic and stratification effects on shelf edge flows

Results are presented from two sets of laboratory model experiments on the effects of an isolated seamount upon the flow of an intermediate-water slope current along a continental shelf. The experimental results for initial ambient conditions of respectively two-layer and linearly stratified fluids show that the structure of such a boundary current depends primarily on the values of the appropriate set of dimensionless dynamical parameters (namely the Burger (Bu), Ekman (Ek) and Rossby (Ro) numbers), as well as the dimensionless lateral separation of the seamount and shelf and the proportional height of the seamount relative to the distance from the bottom at which the intermediate-water flows. Comparisons of the present results with those from a previous two-layer fluid study with no obstacle present reveals that the presence of the obstacle does not alter significantly the stability of the current even when situated close to the shelf. However, for such configurations, the density, velocity and vorticity fields in the local zone of interaction between the current and the obstacle are distorted significantly by the presence of the obstacle, provided that the summit of the obstacle penetrates the level of current flow. Measurements of density, velocity and vorticity fields show no significant dependence of the flow interaction upon the detailed bathymetry of the shelf-slope. For stable intermediate-water slope currents, the nature of the interaction with the obstacle is determined primarily by (i) the lateral separation of the obstacle and the shelf edge and (ii) the Ro of the flow. For sufficiently low values of the former and high values of the latter, the interaction results in a splitting of the incident flow around the obstacle, with cyclonic and anticyclonic eddy pairs being generated in the lee. Geostrophic equilibrium is seen to be maintained in the current, even in the near wake of the obstacle. For cases in which the summit of the seamount is below the initially-undisturbed intermediate water level, no Taylor column-like division of the slope current occurs and no significant distortion of the current structure (velocity and density) occurs for the parameter ranges investigated. For linearly stratified cases, measurements show that no significant local elevation or depression of the density interfaces is observed in the interaction zone. The distributions of the local buoyancy frequencies calculated from the density profiles reveal that the minimum value of the frequency upstream of the obstacle is smaller than that downstream, indicating that the flow interactions generate local mixing downstream, with consequent erosion of the density interfaces.     

Mapping and monitoring net primary productivity with AVHRR NDVI time-series: statistical equivalence of cumulative vegetation indices

In the last two decades, numerous investigators have proposed cumulative vegetation indices (i.e., functions which encode the cumulative effect of NDVI maximum value composite time-series into a single variable) for net primary productivity (NPP) mapping and monitoring on a regional to continental basis. In this paper, we investigate the relationships among three of the most commonly used cumulative vegetation indices, expanding on the definition of equivalence of remotely sensed vegetation indices for decision making. We consider two cumulative vegetation indices as equivalent, if the value of one index is statistically predictable from the value of the other index. Using an annual time-series of broad-scale AVHRR NDVI monthly maximum value composites of the island of Corsica (France), we show that the pairwise linear association among the analysed cumulative vegetation indices shows coefficients of determination (R²) higher than 0.99. That is, knowing the value of one index is statistically equivalent to knowing the value of the other indices for application purposes.