# Posts Tagged irradiation

## Recent Postings from irradiation

### Unveiling the Surface Structure of Amorphous Solid Water via Selective Infrared Irradiation of OH Stretching Modes [Cross-Listing]

In the quest to understand the formation of the building blocks of life, amorphous solid water (ASW) is one of the most widely studied molecular systems. Indeed, ASW is ubiquitous in the cold interstellar medium (ISM), where ASW-coated dust grains provide a catalytic surface for solid phase chemistry, and is believed to be present in the Earth’s atmosphere at high altitudes. It has been shown that the ice surface adsorbs small molecules such as CO, N$_2$, or CH$_4$, most likely at OH groups dangling from the surface. Our study presents completely new insights concerning the behaviour of ASW upon selective infrared (IR) irradiation of its dangling modes. When irradiated, these surface H$_2$O molecules reorganise, predominantly forming a stabilised monomer-like water mode on the ice surface. We show that we systematically provoke "hole-burning" effects (or net loss of oscillators) at the wavelength of irradiation and reproduce the same absorbed water monomer on the ASW surface. Our study suggests that all dangling modes share one common channel of vibrational relaxation; the ice remains amorphous but with a reduced range of binding sites, and thus an altered catalytic capacity.

### Warm gas towards young stellar objects in Corona Australis - Herschel/PACS observations from the DIGIT key programme

The effects of external irradiation on the chemistry and physics in the protostellar envelope around low-mass young stellar objects are poorly understood. The Corona Australis star-forming region contains the R CrA dark cloud, comprising several low-mass protostellar cores irradiated by an intermediate-mass young star. We study the effects on the warm gas and dust in a group of low-mass young stellar objects from the irradiation by the young luminous Herbig Be star R CrA. Herschel/PACS far-infrared datacubes of two low-mass star-forming regions in the R CrA dark cloud are presented. The distribution of CO, OH, H2O, [C II], [O I], and continuum emission is investigated. We have developed a deconvolution algorithm which we use to deconvolve the maps, separating the point-source emission from the extended emission. We also construct rotational diagrams of the molecular species. By deconvolution of the Herschel data, we find large-scale (several thousand AU) dust continuum and spectral line emission not associated with the point sources. Similar rotational temperatures are found for the warm CO ($282\pm4$ K), hot CO ($890\pm84$ K), OH ($79\pm4$ K), and H2O ($197\pm7$ K) emission, respectively, in the point sources and the extended emission. The rotational temperatures are also similar to what is found in other more isolated cores. The extended dust continuum emission is found in two ridges similar in extent and temperature to molecular mm emission, indicative of external heating from the Herbig Be star R CrA. Our results show that a nearby luminous star does not increase the molecular excitation temperatures in the warm gas around a young stellar object (YSO). However, the emission from photodissociation products of H2O, such as OH and O, is enhanced in the warm gas associated with these protostars and their surroundings compared to similar objects not suffering from external irradiation.

### The Influence of Differential Irradiation and Circulation on the Thermal Evolution of Gas Giant Planets. I. Upper Limits from Radiative Equilibrium

As a planet ages it cools and its radius shrinks, at a rate set by the efficiency with which heat is transported from the interior out to space. The bottleneck for this transport is at the boundary between the convective interior and the radiative atmosphere; the opacity there sets the global cooling rate. Models of planetary evolution are often one-dimensional, such that the radiative-convective boundary (RCB) is defined by a single temperature, pressure, and opacity. In reality the spatially inhomogenous stellar heating pattern and circulation in the atmosphere could deform the RCB, allowing heat from the interior to escape more efficiently through regions with lower opacity. We present an analysis of the degree to which the RCB could be deformed and the resultant change in the evolutionary cooling rate. In this initial work we calculate the upper limit for this effect by comparing an atmospheric structure in local radiative equilibrium to its 1D equivalent. We find that the cooling through an uneven RCB could be enhanced over cooling through a uniform RCB by as much as 10-50%. We also show that the deformation of the RCB (and the enhancement of the cooling rate) increases with a greater incident stellar flux or a lower inner entropy. Our results indicate that this mechanism could significantly change a planet’s thermal evolution, causing it to cool and shrink more quickly than would otherwise be expected. This may exacerbate the well known difficulty in explaining the very large radii observed for some hot Jupiters.

### The long-term evolution of the X-ray pulsar XTE J1814-338: a receding jet contribution to the quiescent optical emission?

We present a study of the quiescent optical counterpart of the Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsar XTE J1814-338, carrying out multiband (BVR) orbital phase-resolved photometry using the ESO VLT/FORS2. The optical light curves are consistent with a sinusoidal variability modulated with the orbital period, showing evidence for a strongly irradiated companion star, in agreement with previous findings. The observed colours cannot be accounted for by the companion star alone, suggesting the presence of an accretion disc during quiescence. The system is fainter in all analysed bands compared to previous observations. The R band light curve displays a possible phase offset with respect to the B and V band. Through a combined fit of the multi-band light curves we derive constraints on the companion star and disc fluxes, on the system distance and on the companion star mass. The irradiation luminosity required to account for the observed day-side temperature of the companion star is consistent with the spin-down luminosity of a millisecond radio pulsar. The flux decrease and spectral evolution of the quiescent optical emission observed comparing our data with previous observations, collected over 5 years, cannot be well explained with the contribution of an irradiated companion star and an accretion disc alone. The progressive flux decrease as the system gets bluer could be due to a continuum component evolving towards a lower, bluer spectrum. While most of the continuum component is likely due to the disc, we do not expect it to become bluer in quiescence. Hence we hypothesize that an additional component, such as synchrotron emission from a jet was contributing significantly in the earlier data obtained during quiescence and then progressively fading or moving its break frequency toward longer wavelengths.

### Radiation hydrodynamics integrated in the code PLUTO

The transport of energy through radiation is very important in many astrophysical phenomena. In dynamical problems the time-dependent equations of radiation hydrodynamics have to be solved. We present a newly developed radiation-hydrodynamics module specifically designed for the versatile MHD code PLUTO. The solver is based on the flux-limited diffusion approximation in the two-temperature approach. All equations are solved in the co-moving frame in the frequency independent (grey) approximation. The hydrodynamics is solved by the different Godunov schemes implemented in PLUTO, and for the radiation transport we use a fully implicit scheme. The resulting system of linear equations is solved either using the successive over-relaxation (SOR) method (for testing purposes), or matrix solvers that are available in the PETSc library. We state in detail the methodology and describe several test cases in order to verify the correctness of our implementation. The solver works in standard coordinate systems, such as Cartesian, cylindrical and spherical, and also for non-equidistant grids. We have presented a new radiation-hydrodynamics solver coupled to the MHD-code \PLUTO that is a modern, versatile and efficient new module for treating complex radiation hydrodynamical problems in astrophysics. As test cases, either purely radiative situations, or full radiation-hydrodynamical setups (including radiative shocks and convection in accretion discs) have been studied successfully. The new module scales very well on parallel computers using MPI. For problems in star or planet formation, we have added the possibility of irradiation by a central source.

### Wavelength-dependent UV photodesorption of pure N2 and O2 ices

Ultraviolet photodesorption of molecules from icy interstellar grains can explain observations of cold gas in regions where thermal desorption is negligible. This non-thermal desorption mechanism should be especially important where UV fluxes are high. N2 and O2 are expected to play key roles in astrochemical reaction networks, both in the solid state and in the gas phase. Measurements of the wavelength-dependent photodesorption rates of these two infrared-inactive molecules provide astronomical and physical-chemical insights into the conditions required for their photodesorption. Tunable radiation from the DESIRS beamline at the SOLEIL synchrotron in the astrophysically relevant 7 to 13.6 eV range is used to irradiate pure N2 and O2 thin ice films. Photodesorption of molecules is monitored through quadrupole mass spectrometry. Absolute rates are calculated by using the well-calibrated CO photodesorption rates. Strategic N2 and O2 isotopolog mixtures are used to investigate the importance of dissociation upon irradiation. N2 photodesorption mainly occurs through excitation of the b^1Pi_u state and subsequent desorption of surface molecules. The observed vibronic structure in the N2 photodesorption spectrum, together with the absence of N3 formation, supports that the photodesorption mechanism of N2 is similar to CO, i.e., an indirect DIET (Desorption Induced by Electronic Transition) process without dissociation of the desorbing molecule. In contrast, O2 photodesorption in the 7 – 13.6 eV range occurs through dissociation and presents no vibrational structure. Photodesorption rates of N2 and O2 integrated over the far-UV field from various star-forming environments are lower than for CO. Rates vary between 10E-3 and 10E-2 photodesorbed molecules per incoming photon.

### Neutral and Ionized Hydrides in Star-forming Regions -- Observations with Herschel/HIFI

The cosmic abundance of hydrides depends critically on high-energy UV, X-ray, and particle irradiation. Here we study hydrides in star-forming regions where irradiation by the young stellar object can be substantial, and density and temperature can be much enhanced over interstellar values. Lines of OH, CH, NH, SH and their ions OH+, CH+, NH+, SH+, H2O+, and H3O+ were observed in star-forming regions by the HIFI spectrometer onboard the Herschel Space Observatory. Molecular column densities are derived from observed ground-state lines, models, or rotational diagrams. We report here on two prototypical high-mass regions, AFGL 2591 and W3 IRS5, and compare them to chemical calculations making assumptions on the high-energy irradiation. A model assuming no ionizing protostellar emission is compared with (i) a model assuming strong protostellar X-ray emission and (ii) a two-dimensional (2D) model including emission in the far UV (FUV, 6 — 13.6 eV) irradiating the outflow walls that separate the outflowing gas and infalling envelope material. We confirm that the effect of FUV in two dimensional models with enlarged irradiated surfaces is clearly noticeable. A molecule that is very sensitive to FUV irradiation is CH+, enhanced in abundance by more than 5 orders of magnitude. The HIFI observations of CH+ lines agree with the two-dimensional FUV model by Bruderer et al. which computes abundances, non-LTE excitation and line radiative transfer.{Ref 20} It is concluded that CH+ is a good FUV tracer in star-forming regions. The effect of potential X-ray irradiation is not excluded, but cannot be demonstrated by the present data.

### Formation of black widows and redbacks -- two distinct populations of eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars

Eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars (the so-called black widows and redbacks) can provide important information about accretion history, pulsar irradiation of their companion stars and the evolutionary link between accreting X-ray pulsars and isolated millisecond pulsars. However, the formation of such systems is not well understood, nor the difference in progenitor evolution between the two populations of black widows and redbacks. Whereas both populations have orbital periods between $0.1-1.0\;{\rm days}$ their companion masses differ by an order of magnitude. In this paper, we investigate the formation of these systems via evolution of converging low-mass X-ray binaries by employing the MESA stellar evolution code. Our results confirm that one can explain the formation of most of these eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars using this scenario. More notably, we find that the determining factor for producing either black widows or redbacks is the efficiency of the irradiation process, such that the redbacks absorb a larger fraction of the emitted spin-down energy of the radio pulsar (resulting in more efficient mass loss via evaporation) compared to that of the black widow systems. We argue that geometric effects (beaming) is responsible for the strong bimodality of these two populations. Finally, we conclude that redback systems do not evolve into black widow systems with time.

### Formation of black widows and redbacks -- two distinct populations of eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars [Replacement]

Eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars (the so-called black widows and redbacks) can provide important information about accretion history, pulsar irradiation of their companion stars and the evolutionary link between accreting X-ray pulsars and isolated millisecond pulsars. However, the formation of such systems is not well understood, nor the difference in progenitor evolution between the two populations of black widows and redbacks. Whereas both populations have orbital periods between $0.1-1.0\;{\rm days}$ their companion masses differ by an order of magnitude. In this paper, we investigate the formation of these systems via evolution of converging low-mass X-ray binaries by employing the MESA stellar evolution code. Our results confirm that one can explain the formation of most of these eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars using this scenario. More notably, we find that the determining factor for producing either black widows or redbacks is the efficiency of the irradiation process, such that the redbacks absorb a larger fraction of the emitted spin-down energy of the radio pulsar (resulting in more efficient mass loss via evaporation) compared to that of the black widow systems. We argue that geometric effects (beaming) is responsible for the strong bimodality of these two populations. Finally, we conclude that redback systems do not evolve into black widow systems with time.

### AD 775 Pulse of Cosmogenic Radionuclides Production as Imprint of a Galactic Gamma-Ray Burst

We suggest an explanation of a sharp increase in the abundance of cosmogenic radiocarbon found in tree rings dated AD 775. The increase could originate from high-energy irradiation of the atmosphere by a galactic gamma-ray burst. We argue that, unlike a cosmic ray event, a gamma-ray burst does not necessarily result in a substantial increase in long-lived 10Be atmospheric production. At the same time, the 36Cl nuclide would be generated in the amounts detectable in the corresponding ice core samples from Greenland and Antarctica. These peculiar features allow experimental discrimination of nuclide effects caused by gamma-ray bursts and by powerful proton events.

### Towards a dynamical mass of the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 5408 X-1

We obtained multi-epoch Very Large Telescope (VLT) optical spectroscopic data in 2011 and 2012 on the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5408 X-1. We confirm that the HeII\lambda4686 line has a broad component with an average FWHM of v=780\pm64 km/s with a variation of ~13% during observations spanning over 4 years, and is consistent with the origin in the accretion disc. The deepest optical spectrum does not reveal any absorption line from a donor star. Our aim was to measure the radial velocity curve and estimate the parameters of the binary system. We find an upper limit on the semi-amplitude of the radial velocity of K=132\pm42 km/s. A search for a periodic signal in the data resulted in no statistically significant period. The mass function and constraints on the binary system imply a black hole mass of less than ~510 M_sun. Whilst, a disc irradiation model may imply a black hole mass smaller than ~431-1985 M_sun, depending on inclination. Our data can also be consistent with an unexplored orbital period range from a couple of hours to a few days, thus with a stellar-mass black hole and a subgiant companion.

### Orbital, Superhump, and Superorbital Periods in the Cataclysmic Variables AQ Mensae and IM Eridani

We report photometric detections of orbital and superorbital signals, and negative orbital sidebands, in the light curves of the nova-like cataclysmic variables AQ Mensae and IM Eridani. The frequencies of the orbital, superorbital, and sideband signals are 7.0686 (3), 0.263 (3), and 7.332 (3) cycles per day (c/d) in AQ Mensae, and 6.870 (1), 0.354 (7), and 7.226 (1) c/d in IM Eridani. We also find a spectroscopic orbital frequency in IM Eridani of 6.86649 (2) c/d. These observations can be reproduced by invoking an accretion disc that is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. This model works well for X-ray binaries, in which irradiation by a primary neutron star can account for the disc’s tilt. A likely tilt mechanism has yet to be identified in CVs, yet the growing collection of observational evidence indicates that the phenomenon of tilt is indeed at work in this class of object. The results presented in this paper bring the number of CVs known to display signals associated with retrograde disc precession to twelve. We also find AQ Mensae to be an eclipsing system. The eclipse depths are highly variable, which suggests that the eclipses are grazing. This finding raises the possibility of probing variations in disc tilt by studying systematic variations in the eclipse profile.

### Orbital, Superhump, and Superorbital Periods in the Cataclysmic Variables AQ Mensae and IM Eridani [Replacement]

We report photometric detections of orbital and superorbital signals, and negative orbital sidebands, in the light curves of the nova-like cataclysmic variables AQ Mensae and IM Eridani. The frequencies of the orbital, superorbital, and sideband signals are 7.0686 (3), 0.263 (3), and 7.332 (3) cycles per day (c/d) in AQ Mensae, and 6.870 (1), 0.354 (7), and 7.226 (1) c/d in IM Eridani. We also find a spectroscopic orbital frequency in IM Eridani of 6.86649 (2) c/d. These observations can be reproduced by invoking an accretion disc that is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. This model works well for X-ray binaries, in which irradiation by a primary neutron star can account for the disc’s tilt. A likely tilt mechanism has yet to be identified in CVs, yet the growing collection of observational evidence indicates that the phenomenon of tilt is indeed at work in this class of object. The results presented in this paper bring the number of CVs known to display signals associated with retrograde disc precession to twelve. We also find AQ Mensae to be an eclipsing system. The eclipse depths are highly variable, which suggests that the eclipses are grazing. This finding raises the possibility of probing variations in disc tilt by studying systematic variations in the eclipse profile.

### Time-resolved multicolour photometry of bright B-type variable stars in Scorpius

The first two of a total of six nano-satellites that will constitute the BRITE-Constellation space photometry mission have recently been launched successfully. In preparation for this project, we carried out time-resolved colour photometry in a field that is an excellent candidate for BRITE measurements from space. We acquired 117 h of Stromgren uvy data during 19 nights. Our targets comprised the Beta Cephei stars Kappa and Lambda Sco, the eclipsing binary Mu 1 Sco, and the variable super/hypergiant Zeta 1 Sco. For Kappa Sco, a photometric mode identification in combination with results from the spectroscopic literature suggests a dominant (l, m) = (1, -1) Beta Cephei-type pulsation mode of the primary star. The longer period of the star may be a rotational variation or a g-mode pulsation. For Lambda Sco, we recover the known dominant Beta Cephei pulsation, a longer-period variation, and observed part of an eclipse. Lack of ultraviolet data precludes mode identification for this star. We noticed that the spectroscopic orbital ephemeris of the closer pair in this triple system is inconsistent with eclipse timings and propose a refined value for the orbital period of the closer pair of 5.95189 +/- 0.00003 d. We also argue that the components of the Lambda Sco system are some 30% more massive than previously thought. The binary light curve solution of Mu 1 Sco requires inclusion of the irradiation effect to explain the u light curve, and the system could show additional low amplitude variations on top of the orbital light changes. Zeta 1 Sco shows long-term variability on a time scale of at least two weeks that we prefer to interpret in terms of a variable wind or strange mode pulsations.

### Testing protoplanetary disc dispersal with radio emission

We consider continuum free-free radio emission from the upper atmosphere of protoplanetary discs as a probe of the ionized luminosity impinging upon the disc. Making use of previously computed hydrodynamic models of disc photoevaporation within the framework of EUV and X-ray irradiation, we use radiative transfer post-processing techniques to predict the expected free-free emission from protoplanetary discs. In general, the free-free luminosity scales roughly linearly with ionizing luminosity in both EUV and X-ray driven scenarios, where the emission dominates over the dust tail of the disc and is partial optically thin at cm wavelengths. We perform a test observation of GM Aur at 14-18 Ghz and detect an excess of radio emission above the dust tail to a very high level of confidence. The observed flux density and spectral index are consistent with free-free emission from the ionized disc in either the EUV or X-ray driven scenario. Finally, we suggest a possible route to testing the EUV and X-ray driven dispersal model of protoplanetary discs, by combing observed free-free flux densities with measurements of mass-accretion rates. On the point of disc dispersal one would expect to find a M_dot^2 scaling with free-free flux in the case of EUV driven disc dispersal or a M_dot scaling in the case of X-ray driven disc dispersal.

### Testing protoplanetary disc dispersal with radio emission [Replacement]

We consider continuum free-free radio emission from the upper atmosphere of protoplanetary discs as a probe of the ionized luminosity impinging upon the disc. Making use of previously computed hydrodynamic models of disc photoevaporation within the framework of EUV and X-ray irradiation, we use radiative transfer post-processing techniques to predict the expected free-free emission from protoplanetary discs. In general, the free-free luminosity scales roughly linearly with ionizing luminosity in both EUV and X-ray driven scenarios, where the emission dominates over the dust tail of the disc and is partial optically thin at cm wavelengths. We perform a test observation of GM Aur at 14-18 Ghz and detect an excess of radio emission above the dust tail to a very high level of confidence. The observed flux density and spectral index are consistent with free-free emission from the ionized disc in either the EUV or X-ray driven scenario. Finally, we suggest a possible route to testing the EUV and X-ray driven dispersal model of protoplanetary discs, by combining observed free-free flux densities with measurements of mass-accretion rates. On the point of disc dispersal one would expect to find a M_dot^2 scaling with free-free flux in the case of EUV driven disc dispersal or a M_dot scaling in the case of X-ray driven disc dispersal.

### Measurement of a Phase of a Radio Wave Reflected from Rock Salt and Ice Irradiated by an Electron Beam for Detection of Ultra-High-Energy Neutrinos

We have found a radio-wave-reflection effect in rock salt for the detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos which are expected to be generated in Greisen, Zatsepin, and Kuzmin (GZK) processes in the universe. When an UHE neutrino interacts with rock salt or ice as a detection medium, a shower is generated. That shower is formed by hadronic and electromagnetic avalanche processes. The energy of the UHE neutrino shower converts to thermal energy through ionization processes. Consequently, the temperature rises along the shower produced by the UHE neutrino. The refractive index of the medium rises with temperature. The irregularity of the refractive index in the medium leads to a reflection of radio waves. This reflection effect combined with the long attenuation length of radio waves in rock salt and ice would yield a new method to detect UHE neutrinos. We measured the phase of the reflected radio wave under irradiation with an electron beam on ice and rock salt powder. The measured phase showed excellent consistence with the power reflection fraction which was measured directly. A model taking into account the temperature change explained the phase and the amplitude of the reflected wave. Therefore the reflection mechanism was confirmed. The power reflection fraction was compared with that calculated with the Fresnel equations, the ratio between the measured result and that obtained with the Fresnel equations in ice was larger than that of rock salt.

### Multi-periodic pulsations of a stripped red giant star in an eclipsing binary

Low mass white dwarfs are the remnants of disrupted red giant stars in binary millisecond pulsars and other exotic binary star systems. Some low mass white dwarfs cool rapidly, while others stay bright for millions of years due to stable fusion in thick surface hydrogen layers. This dichotomy is not well understood so their potential use as independent clocks to test the spin-down ages of pulsars or as probes of the extreme environments in which low mass white dwarfs form cannot be fully exploited. Here we present precise mass and radius measurements for the precursor to a low mass white dwarf. We find that only models in which this star has a thick hydrogen envelope can match the strong constraints provided by our new observations. Very cool low mass white dwarfs must therefore have lost their thick hydrogen envelopes by irradiation from pulsar companions or by episodes of unstable hydrogen fusion (shell flashes). We also find that this low mass white dwarf precursor is a new type of pulsating star. The observed pulsation frequencies are sensitive to internal processes that determine whether this star will undergo shell flashes.

### On the Nature of Superhumps

Further evidence is presented supporting the alternative interpretation of superhumps as being due to irradiation modulated periodically variable mass transfer rate. NZ Boo, HT Cas and PU UMa are added to the sample of high inclination dwarf novae showing — during their superoutbursts — modulation of the observed brightness of the disk with beat period. Simple model calculations confirm earlier hypothesis that this modulation is due to a non-axisymmetric structure of the outer parts of the disk, involving the azimuthal dependence of their geometrical thickness, rotating with the beat period. The modulation amplitude $A_{mod}$ is found to decrease during superoutbursts. In particular, it is found that during two superoutbursts of OY Car the rate of decline of the superhump amplitude $dA_{SH}/dt$ was correlated with the rate of decline $dA_{mod}/dt$. This leads to a simple explanation for the decreasing amplitudes of superhumps: it is a consequence of the decreasing modulation amplitude.

### The Curious Case of Glass I: High Ionization and Variability of Different Types

Our Spitzer IRS observation of the infrared companion Glass Ib revealed fine structure emission with high ionization ([NeIII]/[NeII]=2.1 and [SIV]/[SIII]=0.6) that indicates the gas is likely illuminated by hard radiation. While models suggest extreme ultraviolet radiation could be present in T Tauri stars (Hollenbach & Gorti 2009 and references therein), this is the first detection of [SIV] and such a high [NeIII]/[NeII] ratio in a young star. We also find that Glass Ib displays the molecules HCN, CO2, and H2O in emission. Here we investigate the Glass I binary system and consider possible mechanisms that may have caused the high ionization, whether from an outflow or disk irradiation. We also model the spectral energy distributions of Glass Ia and Ib to test if the system is a young member of the Chameleon I star-forming region, and consider other possible classifications for the system. We find Glass Ib is highly variable, showing changes in continuum strength and emission features at optical, near-infrared, and mid-infrared wavelengths. The optical light curve indicates that a central stellar component in Glass Ib became entirely visible for 2.5 years beginning in mid-2002, and that possibly displayed periodic variability with repeated, short-period dimming during that time. As the fine structure emission was not detected in observations before or after our Spitzer IRS observation, we explore whether the variable nature of Glass Ib is related to the gas being highly ionized, possibly due to variable accretion or an X-ray flare.

### The Role of Core Mass in Controlling Evaporation: the Kepler Radius Distribution and the Kepler-36 Density Dichotomy

We use models of coupled thermal evolution and photo-evaporative mass loss to understand the formation and evolution of the Kepler-36 system. We show that the large contrast in mean planetary density observed by Carter et al. (2012) can be explained as a natural consequence of photo-evaporation from planets that formed with similar initial compositions. However, rather than being due to differences in XUV irradiation between the planets, we find that this contrast is due to the difference in the masses of the planets’ rock/iron cores and the impact that this has on mass loss evolution. We explore in detail how our coupled models depend on irradiation, mass, age, composition, and the efficiency of mass loss. Based on fits to large numbers of coupled evolution and mass loss runs, we provide analytic fits to understand threshold XUV fluxes for significant atmospheric loss, as a function of core mass and mass loss efficiency. Finally we discuss these results in the context of recent studies of the radius distribution of Kepler candidates. Using our parameter study, we make testable predictions for the frequency of sub-Neptune sized planets. We show that 1.8-4.0 R_earth planets should become significantly less common on orbits within 10 days and discuss the possibility of a narrow gap in the radius-flux distribution. Moreover, we describe how photo-evaporation provides a natural explanation for the recent observations of Ciardi et al. (2013) that inner planets are preferentially smaller within the systems.

### The Role of Core Mass in Controlling Evaporation: the Kepler Radius Distribution and the Kepler-36 Density Dichotomy [Replacement]

We use models of coupled thermal evolution and photo-evaporative mass loss to understand the formation and evolution of the Kepler-36 system. We show that the large contrast in mean planetary density observed by Carter et al. (2012) can be explained as a natural consequence of photo-evaporation from planets that formed with similar initial compositions. However, rather than being due to differences in XUV irradiation between the planets, we find that this contrast is due to the difference in the masses of the planets’ rock/iron cores and the impact that this has on mass loss evolution. We explore in detail how our coupled models depend on irradiation, mass, age, composition, and the efficiency of mass loss. Based on fits to large numbers of coupled evolution and mass loss runs, we provide analytic fits to understand threshold XUV fluxes for significant atmospheric loss, as a function of core mass and mass loss efficiency. Finally we discuss these results in the context of recent studies of the radius distribution of Kepler candidates. Using our parameter study, we make testable predictions for the frequency of sub-Neptune sized planets. We show that 1.8-4.0 R_earth planets should become significantly less common on orbits within 10 days and discuss the possibility of a narrow "occurrence valley" in the radius-flux distribution. Moreover, we describe how photo-evaporation provides a natural explanation for the recent observations of Ciardi et al. (2013) that inner planets are preferentially smaller within the systems.

### A Self-Gravitating Disc Around L1527 IRS?

Recent observations of the Class 0 protostar L1527 IRS have revealed a rotationally supported disc with an outer radius of at least 100 au. Measurements of the integrated flux at 870 microns suggest a disc mass that is too low for gravitational instability to govern angular momentum transport. However, if parts of the disc are optically thick at sub-mm wavelengths, the sub-mm fluxes will underestimate the disc mass, and the disc’s actual mass may be substantially larger, potentially sufficient to be self-gravitating. We investigate this possibility using simple self-gravitating disc models. To match the observed mass accretion rates requires a disc-to-star mass ratio of at least ~0.5, which produces sub-mm fluxes that are similar to those observed for L1527 IRS in the absence of irradiation from the envelope or central star. If irradiation is significant, then the predicted fluxes exceed the observed fluxes by around an order of magnitude. Our model also indicates that the stresses produced by the gravitational instability are low enough to prevent disc fragmentation. As such, we conclude that observations do not rule out the possibility that the disc around L1527 IRS is self-gravitating, but it is more likely that despite being a very young system, this disc may already have left the self-gravitating phase.

### Delayed outflows from black hole accretion tori following neutron star binary coalescence [Replacement]

Expulsion of neutron-rich matter following the merger of neutron star (NS) binaries is crucial to the radioactively-powered electromagnetic counterparts of these events and to their relevance as sources of r-process nucleosynthesis. Here we explore the long-term (viscous) evolution of remnant black hole accretion disks formed in such mergers by means of two-dimensional, time-dependent hydrodynamical simulations. The evolution of the electron fraction due to charged-current weak interactions is included, and neutrino self-irradiation is modeled as a lightbulb that accounts for the disk geometry and moderate optical depth effects. Over several viscous times (~1s), a fraction ~10% of the initial disk mass is ejected as a moderately neutron-rich wind (Y_e ~ 0.2) powered by viscous heating and nuclear recombination, with neutrino self-irradiation playing a sub-dominant role. Although the properties of the outflow vary in time and direction, their mean values in the heavy-element production region are relatively robust to variations in the initial conditions of the disk and the magnitude of its viscosity. The outflow is sufficiently neutron-rich that most of the ejecta forms heavy r-process elements with mass number A >130, thus representing a new astrophysical source of r-process nucleosynthesis, distinct from that produced in the dynamical ejecta. Due to its moderately high entropy, disk outflows contain a small residual fraction ~1% of helium, which could produce a unique spectroscopic signature.

### Delayed outflows from black hole accretion tori following neutron star binary coalescence

Expulsion of neutron-rich matter following the merger of neutron star (NS) binaries is crucial to the radioactively-powered electromagnetic counterparts of these events and to their relevance as sources of r-process nucleosynthesis. Numerical simulations of NS-NS coalescence find, however, a wide range in the quantity of prompt dynamically-ejected mass. Here we explore the long-term (viscous) evolution of remnant black hole accretion disks formed in such mergers by means of two-dimensional, time-dependent hydrodynamical simulations. The evolution of the electron fraction due to charged-current weak interactions is included, and neutrino self-irradiation is modeled as a lightbulb that accounts for the disk geometry and moderate optical depth effects. Over several viscous times (~1s), a fraction ~10% of the initial disk mass is ejected as a moderately neutron-rich wind (Y_e ~ 0.2) powered by viscous heating and nuclear recombination, with neutrino self-irradiation playing a sub-dominant role. Although the properties of the outflow vary in time and direction, their mean values in the heavy-element production region are relatively robust to variations in the initial conditions of the disk and the magnitude of its viscosity. The outflow is sufficiently neutron-rich that most of the ejecta forms heavy r-process elements with mass number A >130, thus representing a new astrophysical source of r-process nucleosynthesis, distinct from that produced in the dynamical ejecta. Due to its moderately high entropy, disk outflows contain a small residual fraction ~1% of helium, which could produce a unique spectroscopic signature.

### Mining the Aql X-1 long term X-ray light curve

Aql X-1 is the prototypical low mass X-ray binary transient. The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer All Sky Monitor provided a ~16 yr coverage revealing 20 outbursts. This is by far the most extensive legacy of outbursts from the same source. We investigated the outbursts characteristics in terms of energetics, peak luminosities, durations, decays and recurrence times. We found that bright outbursts (peak luminosity >10^{37} erg s^-1) equal in number dimmer outbursts (<10^{36.6} erg s^-1). The peak luminosity does not correlate with outburst energetics, durations or quiescent times. We analysed the latest stages of the outbursts searching for exponential and/or linear decays. Light curve modeling led to constraints on the outer disk radius and enabled us to estimate the viscosity and the irradiation parameters. The former is larger than what has been obtained for other, shorter orbital period, transients, while the latter is somewhat smaller. This might be related to the longer orbital period of Aql X-1 with respect to other transient X-ray binaries.

### The Response of Metal Rich Gas to X-Ray Irradiation from a Massive Black Hole at High Redshift: Proof of Concept

Observational studies show that there is a strong link between the formation and evolution of galaxies and the growth of supermassive black holes (SMBH) at their centers. However, the underlying physics of this observed relation is poorly understood. In order to study the effects of X-ray radiation on the surroundings of the black hole, we implement X-ray Dominated Region (XDR) physics into Enzo and use the radiation transport module Moray to calculate the radiative transfer for a polychromatic spectrum. In this work, we investigate the effects of X-ray irradiation, produced by a central massive black hole (MBH) with a mass of M = 5×10^4 M_(solar), on ambient gas with solar and zero metallicity. We find that in the solar metallicity case, due to high opacity of the metals, the energy deposition rate in the central region (< 20 pc) is high and hence the temperatures in the center are on the order of 10^(5-7) K. Moreover, due to the cooling ability and high intrinsic opacity of solar metallicity gas, column densities of 10^(24) cm^(-2) are reached at a radius of 20 pc from the MBH. These column densities are about 3 orders of magnitudes higher than in the zero metallicity case. Furthermore, in the zero metallicity case an X-ray induced H II region is formed already after 5.8 Myr. This causes a significant outflow of gas (~8×10^6 M_(solar) from the central region, with the gas reaching outflow velocities up to ~100 km s^(-1). At later times, ~23 Myr after we insert the MBH, we find that the solar metallicity case also develops an X-ray induced H II region, but delayed by ~17 Myr.

### A 420 day X-ray/optical modulation and extended X-ray dips in the short-period transient Swift J1753.5-0127 [Replacement]

We have discovered a \sim420d modulation, with associated X-ray dips, in RXTE-ASM/MAXI/Swift-BAT archival light-curves of the short-period (3.2h) black-hole X-ray transient, Swift J1753.5-0127. This modulation only appeared at the end of a gradual rebrightening, approximately 3 years after the initial X-ray outburst in mid-2005. The same periodicity is present in both the 2-20 keV and 15-50 keV bands, but with a \sim0.1 phase offset (\sim40d). Contemporaneous photometry in the optical and near-IR reveals a weaker modulation, but consistent with the X-ray period. There are two substantial X-ray dips (very strong in the 15-50 keV band, weaker at lower energies) that are separated by an interval equal to the X-ray period. This likely indicates two physically separated emitting regions for the hard X-ray and lower energy emission. We interpret this periodicity as a property of the accretion disc, most likely a long-term precession, where the disc edge structure and X-ray irradiation is responsible for the hard X-ray dips and modulation, although we discuss other possible explanations, including Lense-Thirring precession in the inner disc region and spectral state variations. Such precession indicates a very high mass ratio LMXB, which even for a \sim10M_sun BH requires a brown dwarf donor (\sim0.02M_sun), making Swift J1753.5-0127 a possible analogue of millisecond X-ray pulsars.We compare the properties of Swift J1753.5-0127 with other recently discovered short-period transients, which are now forming a separate population of high latitude BH transients located in the galactic halo.

### A 420 day X-ray/optical modulation and extended X-ray dips in the short-period transient Swift J1753.5-0127

We have discovered a \sim420d modulation, with associated X-ray dips, in RXTE-ASM/MAXI/Swift-BAT archival light-curves of the short-period (3.2h) black-hole X-ray transient, Swift J1753.5-0127. This modulation only appeared at the end of a gradual rebrightening, approximately 3 years after the initial X-ray outburst in mid-2005. The same periodicity is present in both the 2-20 keV and 15-50 keV bands, but with a \sim0.1 phase offset (\sim40d). Contemporaneous photometry in the optical and near-IR reveals a weaker modulation, but consistent with the X-ray period. There are two substantial X-ray dips (very strong in the 15-50 keV band, weaker at lower energies) that are separated by an interval equal to the X-ray period. This likely indicates two physically separated emitting regions for the hard X-ray and lower energy emission. We interpret this periodicity as a property of the accretion disc, most likely a long-term precession, where the disc edge structure and X-ray irradiation is responsible for the hard X-ray dips and modulation, although we discuss other possible explanations, including Lense-Thirring precession in the inner disc region and spectral state variations. Such precession indicates a very high mass ratio LMXB, which even for a \sim10M_sun BH requires a brown dwarf donor (\sim0.02M_sun), making Swift J1753.5-0127 a possible analogue of millisecond X-ray pulsars.We compare the properties of Swift J1753.5-0127 with other recently discovered short-period transients, which are now forming a separate population of high latitude BH transients located in the galactic halo.

### Prototyping non-equilibrium viscous-timescale accretion theory using LMC X-3

Explaining variability observed in the accretion flows of black hole X-ray binary systems remains challenging, especially concerning timescales less than, or comparable to, the viscous timescale but much larger than the inner orbital period despite decades of research identifying numerous relevant physical mechanisms. We take a simplified but broad approach to study several mechanisms likely relevant to patterns of variability observed in the persistently high-soft Roche-lobe overflow system LMC X-3. Based on simple estimates and upper bounds, we find that physics beyond varying disk/corona bifurcation at the disk edge, Compton-heated winds, modulation of total supply rate via irradiation of the companion, and the likely extent of the partial hydrogen ionization instability is needed to explain the degree, and especially the pattern, of variability in LMC X-3 largely due to viscous dampening. We then show how evaporation–condensation may resolve or compound the problem given the uncertainties associated with this complex mechanism and our current implementation. We briefly mention our plans to resolve the question, refine and extend our model, and alternatives we have not yet explored.

### Ultra-luminous X-ray Sources as Supercritical Accretion Disks: Spectral Energy Distributions

We describe a model of spectral energy distribution in supercritical accretion disks (SCAD) based on the SCAD conception by Shakura and Sunyaev (1973). We apply this model to ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs). In this approach, the disk becomes thick at distances to the center less than the spherization radius, and the temperature dependence is T \propto r^{-1/2}. In this region the disk luminosity is L_bol ~ L_Edd ln(Mdot/Mdot_Edd), and strong wind arises forming a wind funnel above the disk. Outside the spherization radius, the disk is thin and its total luminosity is Eddington, L_Edd. The thin disk heats the wind from below. From the inner side of the funnel the wind is heated by the supercritical disk. In this paper we do not consider Comptonization in the inner hot winds which cover the deep supercritical disk regions. Our model is technically similar to the DISKIR model of Gierlinski et al. (2008, 2009). The models differ in disk type (standard – supercritical) and irradiation (disk – wind). We propose to distinguish between these two models in the soft X-ray region (~0.3 – 1 keV), where the SCAD model has a flat (nu F_nu) spectrum, and the DISKIR model never has a flat part, as it is based on the standard alpha-disk. An important difference between the models can be found in their resulting black hole masses. In application to the ULX spectra, the DISKIR model yields black hole masses of a few hundred solar masses, whereas the SCAD model produces stellar-mass black holes ~10 M_sun.

### Ultra-luminous X-ray Sources as Supercritical Accretion Disks: Spectral Energy Distributions [Replacement]

We describe a model of spectral energy distribution in supercritical accretion disks (SCAD) based on the conception by Shakura and Sunyaev. We apply this model to five ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs). In this approach, the disk becomes thick at distances to the center less than the spherization radius, and the temperature dependence is T \propto r^{-1/2}. In this region the disk luminosity is L_bol ~ L_Edd ln(Mdot/Mdot_Edd), and strong wind arises forming a wind funnel above the disk. Outside the spherization radius, the disk is thin and its total luminosity is Eddington, L_Edd. The thin disk heats the wind from below. From the inner side of the funnel the wind is heated by the supercritical disk. In this paper we do not consider Comptonization in the inner hot winds which must cover the deep supercritical disk regions. Our model is technically similar to the DISKIR model of Gierlinski et al. The models differ in disk type (standard – supercritical) and irradiation (disk – wind). We propose to distinguish between these two models in the X-ray region, ~0.3 – 1 keV, where the SCAD model has a flat nu F_nu spectrum, and the DISKIR model never has a flat part, as it is based on the standard alpha-disk. An important difference between the models can be found in their resulting black hole masses. In application to the ULX spectra, the DISKIR model yields black hole masses of a few hundred solar masses, whereas the SCAD model produces stellar-mass black holes ~10 M_sun.

### X-ray Irradiation of the LkCa 15 Protoplanetary Disk

LkCa 15 in the Taurus star-forming region has recently gained attention as the first accreting T Tauri star likely to host a young protoplanet. High spatial resolution infrared observations have detected the suspected protoplanet within a dust-depleted inner gap of the LkCa 15 transition disk at a distance of 15 AU from the star. If this object’s status as a protoplanet is confirmed, LkCa 15 will serve as a unique laboratory for constraining physical conditions within a planet-forming disk. Previous models of the LkCa 15 disk have accounted for disk heating by the stellar photosphere but have ignored the potential importance of X-ray ionization and heating. We report here the detection of LkCa 15 as a bright X-ray source with Chandra. The X-ray emission is characterized by a cool heavily-absorbed plasma component at kT_cool ~0.3 keV and a harder component at kT_hot ~5 keV. We use the observed X-ray properties to provide initial estimates of the X-ray ionization and heating rates within the tenuous inner disk. These estimates and the observed X-ray properties of LkCa 15 can be used as a starting point for developing more realistic disk models of this benchmark system.

### Irradiation of an Accretion Disc by a Jet: General Properties and Implications for Spin Measurements of Black Holes [Replacement]

X-ray irradiation of the accretion disc leads to strong reflection features, which are then broadened and distorted by relativistic effects. We present a detailed, general relativistic approach to model this irradiation for different geometries of the primary X-ray source. These geometries include the standard point source on the rotational axis as well as more jet-like sources, which are radially elongated and accelerating. Incorporating this code in the relline model for relativistic line emission, the line shape for any configuration can be predicted. We study how different irradiation geometries affect the determination of the spin of the black hole. Broad emission lines are produced only for compact irradiating sources situated close to the black hole. This is the only case where the black hole spin can be unambiguously determined. In all other cases the line shape is narrower, which could either be explained by a low spin or an elongated source. We conclude that for all those cases and independent of the quality of the data, no unique solution for the spin exists and therefore only a lower limit of the spin value can be given.

### Irradiation of an Accretion Disc by a Jet: General Properties and Implications for Spin Measurements of Black Holes

X-ray irradiation of the accretion disc leads to strong reflection features, which are then broadened and distorted by relativistic effects. We present a detailed, general relativistic approach to model this irradiation for different geometries of the primary X-ray source. These geometries include the standard point source on the rotational axis as well as more jet-like sources, which are radially elongated and accelerating. Incorporating this code in the relline model for relativistic line emission, the line shape for any configuration can be predicted. We study how different irradiation geometries affect the determination of the spin of the black hole. Broad emission lines are produced only for compact irradiating sources situated close to the black hole. This is the only case where the black hole spin can be unambiguously determined. In all other cases the line shape is narrower, which could either be explained by a low spin or an elongated source. We conclude that for all those cases and independent of the quality of the data, no unique solution for the spin value exists.

### CO bandhead emission of massive young stellar objects: determining disc properties

Massive stars play an important role in many areas of astrophysics, but numerous details regarding their formation remain unclear. In this paper we present and analyse high resolution (R ~ 30,000) near-infrared 2.3 micron spectra of 20 massive young stellar objects from the RMS database, in the largest such study of CO first overtone bandhead emission to date. We fit the emission under the assumption it originates from a circumstellar disc in Keplerian rotation. We explore three approaches to modelling the physical conditions within the disc – a disc heated mainly via irradiation from the central star, a disc heated mainly via viscosity, and a disc in which the temperature and density are described analytically. We find that the models described by heating mechanisms are inappropriate because they do not provide good fits to the CO emission spectra. We therefore restrict our analysis to the analytic model, and obtain good fits to all objects that possess sufficiently strong CO emission, suggesting circumstellar discs are the source of this emission. On average, the temperature and density structure of the discs correspond to geometrically thin discs, spread across a wide range of inclinations. Essentially all the discs are located within the dust sublimation radius, providing strong evidence that the CO emission originates close to the central protostar, on astronomical unit scales. In addition, we show that the objects in our sample appear no different to the general population of MYSOs in the RMS database, based on their near- and mid-infrared colours. The combination of observations of a large sample of MYSOs with CO bandhead emission and our detailed modelling provide compelling evidence of the presence of small scale gaseous discs around such objects, supporting the scenario in which massive stars form via disc accretion.

### Evidence for CO shock excitation in NGC 6240 from Herschel SPIRE spectroscopy

We present Herschel SPIRE FTS spectroscopy of the nearby luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240. In total 20 lines are detected, including CO J=4-3 through J=13-12, 6 H2O rotational lines, and [CI] and [NII] fine-structure lines. The CO to continuum luminosity ratio is 10 times higher in NGC 6240 than Mrk 231. Although the CO ladders of NGC 6240 and Mrk 231 are very similar, UV and/or X-ray irradiation are unlikely to be responsible for the excitation of the gas in NGC 6240. We applied both C and J shock models to the H2 v=1-0 S(1) and v=2-1 S(1) lines and the CO rotational ladder. The CO ladder is best reproduced by a model with shock velocity v_s=10 km s^-1 and a pre-shock density n_H=5 * 10^4 cm^-3. We find that the solution best fitting the H2 lines is degenerate: The shock velocities and number densities range between v_s = 17 – 47 km s^-1 and n_H=10^7 – 5 * 10^4 cm^-3, respectively. The H2 lines thus need a much more powerful shock than the CO lines. We deduce that most of the gas is currently moderately stirred up by slow (10 km s^-1) shocks while only a small fraction (< 1 percent) of the ISM is exposed to the high velocity shocks. This implies that the gas is rapidly loosing its highly turbulent motions. We argue that a high CO line-to-continuum ratio is a key diagnostic for the presence of shocks.

### Search for gamma-ray emission from four accreting millisecond pulsars with Fermi/LAT [Replacement]

We report our search for \gamma-ray emission in the energy range from 100 MeV to 300 GeV from four Accreting Millisecond Pulsars (AMPs), SAX J1808.4-3658, IGR J00291+5934, XTE J1814-338, and XTE J0929-314. The data are from four-year observations carried out by Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi \gamma-ray Space Telescope. The AMPs were not detected, and their \gamma-ray luminosity upper limits we obtain are 5.1*10^33 ergs/s for SAX J1808.4-3658, 2.1*10^33 ergs/s for IGR J00291+5934, 1.2*10^34 ergs/s for XTE J1814-338, and 2.2*10^33 ergs/s for XTE J0929-314. We compare our results with \gamma-ray irradiation luminosities required for producing optical modulations seen from the companions in the AMPs, which has been suggested by Takata et al. (2012), and our upper limits have excluded \gamma-ray emission as the heating source in these systems except XTE J0929-314, the upper limit of which is not deep enough. Our results also do not support the model proposed by Takata et al. (2012) that relatively strong \gamma-ray emission could arise from the outer gap of a high-mass neutron star controlled by the photon-photon pair-creation for the AMPs. Two AMPs, SAX J1808.4-3658 and IGR J00291+5934, have the measurements of their spin-down rates, and we derive the upper limits of their \gamma-ray conversion efficiencies, which are 57% and 3%, respectively. We discuss the implications to the AMP systems by comparing the efficiency upper limit values with that of 20 \gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSP) detected by Fermi and the newly discovered transitional MSP binary J1023+0038.

### Search for gamma-ray emission from four accreting millisecond pulsars with Fermi/LAT

We report our search for \gamma-ray emission in the energy range from 100 MeV to 300 GeV from four Accreting Millisecond Pulsars (AMPs), SAX J1808.4-3658, IGR J00291+5934, XTE J1814-338, and XTE J0929-314. The data are from four-year observations carried out by Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi \gamma-ray Space Telescope. The AMPs were not detected, and their \gamma-ray luminosity upper limits we obtain are 5.1*10^33 ergs/s for SAX J1808.4-3658, 2.1*10^33 ergs/s for IGR J00291+5934, 1.2*10^34 ergs/s for XTE J1814-338, and 2.2*10^33 ergs/s for XTE J0929-314. We compare our results with \gamma-ray irradiation luminosities required for producing optical modulations seen from the companions in the AMPs, which has been suggested by Takata et al. (2012), and our upper limits have excluded \gamma-ray emission as the heating source in these systems except XTE J0929-314, the upper limit of which is not deep enough. Our results also do not support the model proposed by Takata et al. (2012) that relatively strong \gamma-ray emission could arise from the outer gap of a high-mass neutron star controlled by the photon-photon pair-creation for the AMPs. Two AMPs, SAX J1808.4-3658 and IGR J00291+5934, have the measurements of their spin-down rates, and we derive the upper limits of their \gamma-ray conversion efficiencies, which are 57% and 3%, respectively. We discuss the implications to the AMP systems by comparing the efficiency upper limit values with that of 20 \gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSP) detected by Fermi and the newly discovered transitional MSP binary J1023+0038.

### WASP-64b and WASP-72b: two new transiting highly irradiated giant planets [Replacement]

We report the discovery by the WASP transit survey of two new highly irradiated giant planets transiting moderately bright stars. WASP-64b is slightly more massive (1.271+-0.068 M_Jup) and larger (1.271+-0.039 R_Jup) than Jupiter, and is in very-short (a=0.02648+-0.00024 AU, P=1.5732918+-0.0000015 days) circular orbit around a V=12.3 G7-type dwarf (1.004+-0.028 M_Sun, 1.058+-0.025 R_Sun, Teff=5500+-150 K). Its size is typical of hot Jupiters with similar masses. WASP-72b has also a mass a bit higher than Jupiter’s (1.461-0.056+0.059 M_Jup) and orbits very close (0.03708+-0.00050 AU, P=2.2167421+-0.0000081 days) to a bright (V=9.6) and moderately evolved F7-type star (1.386+-0.055 M_Sun, 1.98+-0.24 R_Sun, Teff=6250+-100 K). Despite its extreme irradiation (about 5.5 10^9 erg/s/cm^2), WASP-72b has a moderate size (1.27+-0.20 R_Jup) that could suggest a significant enrichment in heavy elements. Nevertheless, the errors on its physical parameters are still too high to draw any strong inference on its internal structure or its possible peculiarity.

### WASP-64b and WASP-72b: two new transiting highly irradiated giant planets

We report the discovery by the WASP transit survey of two new highly irradiated giant planets transiting moderately bright stars. WASP-64b is slightly more massive (1.271+-0.068 M_Jup) and larger (1.271+-0.039 R_Jup) than Jupiter, and is in very-short (a=0.02648+-0.00024 AU) circular orbit around a V=12.3 G7-type dwarf (1.004+-0.028 M_Sun, 1.058+-0.025 R_Sun, Teff=5500+-150 K). Its size is typical of hot Jupiters with similar masses. WASP-72b has also a mass a bit larger than Jupiter’s (1.410-0.050+0.045 M_Jup) and orbits very close (0.03655-0.00032+0.00039 AU) to a slightly evolved V=9.6 F7-type star (1.327-0.035+0.043 M_Sun, 1.71-0.09+0.16 R_Sun, Teff=6250+-100 K). Despite its extreme irradiation (about 4 10^9 erg/s/cm^2), WASP-72b has a size consistent with Jupiter’s (1.01-0.08+0.12 R_Jup) that makes it a possible outlier among the hot Jupiters of similar masses, suggesting a significant enrichment in heavy elements.

### Long-term photometric and spectroscopic observations of the near-contact binary KR Cygni

We present the multi-color, five-year light curves and the first radial velocities of the near-contact binary system KR Cyg. We derived the masses of the components as 2.88$\pm$0.20 M$_{\odot}$ and 1.26$\pm$0.07 M$_{\odot}$ and the radii as 2.59$\pm$0.06 R$_{\odot}$ and 1.80$\pm$0.04 R$_{\odot}$. Analyses of the UBVR light curves and the radial velocities indicate that none of the components exactly fill their corresponding Roche lobes. We have calculated the distance to the system of KR Cyg as {411$\pm$12} pc using the observed apparent UBV magnitudes and the bolometric corrections for the component stars. We also searched for the empirical determination of albedo and effective temperature of the cooler, less massive star of KR Cyg, and of two similar near contact binaries AK CMi, and DO Cas. The residuals between the observed and computed fluxes are attributed to the effect of mutual illumination which heats the surface layers of the illuminated star and does vary not only its bolometric albedo but also its limb-darkening coefficient and gravity-brightening exponent. The analysis of the light curves shows that the effective albedos are generally smaller than that expected from an envelope of convective star, being mostly departed from the theoretical value at the B passband. As the reflected light diminishes the effective temperature and, therefore, the luminosity of the irradiated star increase. The observed bluer U-B colors during primary minimum are attributed to the effects of mutual irradiation and multiple scattering processes which may alter several characteristics of these systems.

### The earliest phases of star formation observed with Herschel (EPoS): The dust temperature and density distributions of B68

(Abriged) In the framework of the Herschel GTKP "The earliest phases of star formation", we have imaged B68 between 100 and 500 um. Ancillary (sub)mm data, spectral line maps of the 12/13CO(2-1) transitions as well as a NIR extinction map were added to the analysis. We employed a ray-tracing algorithm to derive the 2D mid-plane dust temperature and volume density distribution without suffering from LoS averaging effects of simple SED fitting procedures. Additional 3D radiative transfer calculations were employed to investigate the connection between the external irradiation and the peculiar crescent shaped morphology found in the FIR maps. For the first time, we spatially resolve the dust temperature and density distribution of B68. We find T_dust dropping from 16.7 K at the edge to 8.2 K in the centre, which is about 4 K lower than the result of the simple SED fitting approach. N_H peaks at 4.3×10^22 cm^-2 and n_H at 3.4×10^5 cm^-3 in the centre. B68 has a mass of 3.1 M_sun of material with A_K > 0.2 mag for an assumed distance of 150 pc. We detect a compact source in the southeastern trunk, which is also seen in extinction and CO. We find the radial density distribution from the edge of the inner plateau outward to be n_H ~ r^-3.5. Such a steep profile can arise from either or both of the following: external irradiation with a significant UV contribution or the fragmentation of filamentary structures. Our 3D radiative transfer model of an externally irradiated core by an anisotropic ISRF reproduces the crescent morphology. Our CO observations show that B68 is part of a chain of globules in both space and velocity, which may indicate that it was once part of a filament which dispersed. We also resolve a new compact source in the SE trunk and find that it is slightly shifted in centroid velocity from B68, lending qualitative support to core collision scenarios.

### The earliest phases of star formation observed with Herschel (EPoS): The dust temperature and density distributions of B68 [Replacement]

(Abriged) In the framework of the Herschel GTKP "The earliest phases of star formation", we have imaged B68 between 100 and 500 um. Ancillary (sub)mm data, spectral line maps of the 12/13CO(2-1) transitions as well as a NIR extinction map were added to the analysis. We employed a ray-tracing algorithm to derive the 2D mid-plane dust temperature and volume density distribution without suffering from LoS averaging effects of simple SED fitting procedures. Additional 3D radiative transfer calculations were employed to investigate the connection between the external irradiation and the peculiar crescent shaped morphology found in the FIR maps. For the first time, we spatially resolve the dust temperature and density distribution of B68. We find T_dust dropping from 16.7 K at the edge to 8.2 K in the centre, which is about 4 K lower than the result of the simple SED fitting approach. N_H peaks at 4.3×10^22 cm^-2 and n_H at 3.4×10^5 cm^-3 in the centre. B68 has a mass of 3.1 M_sun of material with A_K > 0.2 mag for an assumed distance of 150 pc. We detect a compact source in the southeastern trunk, which is also seen in extinction and CO. We find the radial density distribution from the edge of the inner plateau outward to be n_H ~ r^-3.5. Such a steep profile can arise from either or both of the following: external irradiation with a significant UV contribution or the fragmentation of filamentary structures. Our 3D radiative transfer model of an externally irradiated core by an anisotropic ISRF reproduces the crescent morphology. Our CO observations show that B68 is part of a chain of globules in both space and velocity, which may indicate that it was once part of a filament which dispersed. We also resolve a new compact source in the SE trunk and find that it is slightly shifted in centroid velocity from B68, lending qualitative support to core collision scenarios.

### The Earliest Phases of Star formation observed with Herschel (EPoS): The dust temperature and density distributions of B68 [Replacement]

(Abriged) In the framework of the Herschel GTKP "The earliest phases of star formation", we have imaged B68 between 100 and 500 um. Ancillary (sub)mm data, spectral line maps of the 12/13CO(2-1) transitions as well as a NIR extinction map were added to the analysis. We employed a ray-tracing algorithm to derive the 2D mid-plane dust temperature and volume density distribution without suffering from LoS averaging effects of simple SED fitting procedures. Additional 3D radiative transfer calculations were employed to investigate the connection between the external irradiation and the peculiar crescent shaped morphology found in the FIR maps. For the first time, we spatially resolve the dust temperature and density distribution of B68. We find T_dust dropping from 16.7 K at the edge to 8.2 K in the centre, which is about 4 K lower than the result of the simple SED fitting approach. N_H peaks at 4.3×10^22 cm^-2 and n_H at 3.4×10^5 cm^-3 in the centre. B68 has a mass of 3.1 M_sun of material with A_K > 0.2 mag for an assumed distance of 150 pc. We detect a compact source in the southeastern trunk, which is also seen in extinction and CO. We find the radial density distribution from the edge of the inner plateau outward to be n_H ~ r^-3.5. Such a steep profile can arise from either or both of the following: external irradiation with a significant UV contribution or the fragmentation of filamentary structures. Our 3D radiative transfer model of an externally irradiated core by an anisotropic ISRF reproduces the crescent morphology. Our CO observations show that B68 is part of a chain of globules in both space and velocity, which may indicate that it was once part of a filament which dispersed. We also resolve a new compact source in the SE trunk and find that it is slightly shifted in centroid velocity from B68, lending qualitative support to core collision scenarios.

### Coronae above accretion disks around black holes: The effect of Compton cooling

The geometry of the accretion flow around stellar mass and supermassive black holes depends on the accretion rate. Broad iron emission lines originating from the irradiation of cool matter can indicate that there is an inner disk below a hot coronal flow.These emission lines have been detected in X-ray binaries. Observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, XMM Newton and Suzaku have confirmed the presence of these emission lines also in a large fraction of Seyfert-1 active galactic nuclei (AGN). We investigate the accretion flow geometry for which broad iron emission lines can arise in hard and soft spectral state. We study an ADAF-type coronal flow, where the ions are viscously heated and electrons receive their heat only by collisions from the ions and are Compton cooled by photons from an underlying cool disk. For a strong mass flow in the disk and the resulting strong Compton cooling only a very weak coronal flow is possible. This limitation allows the formation of ADAF-type coronae above weak inner disks in the hard state, but almost rules them out in the soft state. The observed hard X-ray luminosity in the soft state, of up to 10% or more of the total flux, indicates that there is a heating process that directly accelerates the electrons. This might point to the action of magnetic flares of disk magnetic fields reaching into the corona. Such flares have also been proposed by observations of the spectra of X-ray black hole binaries without a thermal cut-off around 200 keV.

### Polysulfanes on interstellar grains as a possible reservoir of interstellar sulphur

The form of depleted sulphur in dense clouds is still unknown. Until now, only two molecules, OCS and SO2, have been detected in interstellar ices but cannot account for the elemental abundance of sulphur observed in diffuse medium. Chemical models suggest that solid H2S is the main form of sulphur in denser sources but observational constraints exist that infirm this hypothesis. We have used the Nautilus gas-grain code in which new chemical reactions have been added, based on recent experiments of H2S ice irradiation with UV photons and high energy protons. In particular, we included the new species Sn, H2Sn and C2S. We found that at the low temperature observed in dense clouds, i.e. 10 K, these new molecules are not efficiently produced and our modifications of the network do not change the previous pre- dictions. At slightly higher temperature, 20 K in less dense clouds or in the proximity of protostars, H2S abundance on the surfaces is strongly decreased in favor of the polysulfanes H2S3. Such a result can also be obtained if the diffusion barriers on the grains are less im- portant. In the context of the life cycle of interstellar clouds and the mixing between diffuse and denser parts of the clouds, the depletion of sulphur in the form of polysulfanes or other sulphur polymers, may have occurred in regions where the temperature is slightly higher than the cold inner parts of the clouds.

### Ohmic Dissipation in the Interiors of Hot Jupiters

We present models of ohmic heating in the interiors of hot jupiters in which we decouple the interior and the wind zone by replacing the wind zone with a boundary temperature Tiso and magnetic field Bphi0. Ohmic heating influences the contraction of gas giants in two ways: by direct heating within the convection zone, and by heating outside the convection zone which increases the effective insulation of the interior. We calculate these effects, and show that internal ohmic heating is only able to slow the contraction rate of a cooling gas giant once the planet reaches a critical value of internal entropy. We determine the age of the gas giant when ohmic heating becomes important as a function of mass, Tiso and induced Bphi0. With this survey of parameter space complete, we then adopt the wind zone scalings of Menou (2012) and calculate the expected evolution of gas giants with different levels of irradiation. We find that,with this prescription of magnetic drag, it is difficult to inflate massive planets or those with strong irradiation using ohmic heating, meaning that we are unable to account for many of the observed hot jupiter radii. This is in contrast to previous evolutionary models that assumed that a constant fraction of the irradiation is transformed into ohmic power.

### Evolutionary trajectories of ultra-compact "black widow" pulsars with very low mass companions

The existence of millisecond pulsars with planet-mass companions (Bailes et al., 2011) in close orbits is challenging from the stellar evolution point of view. We calculate in detail the evolution of binary systems self-consistently, including mass transfer, evaporation and irradiation of the donor by X-rays feedback, demonstrating the existence of a new evolutionary path leading to short periods and compact donors as required by the observations of PSR J1719-1438. We also point out the alternative of an exotic nature of the companion planet-mass star.

### Models of AM~CVn stars outbursts

Outbursting AM CVn stars exhibit outbursts similar to those observed in different types of dwarf novae. Their light-curves combine the characteristic features of SU UMa, ER UMa, Z Cam and WZ Sge-type systems but also show a variety of properties never observed in dwarf novae. The compactness of AM CVn orbits and their unusual chemical composition make these systems valuable test-beds for outburst models. Understanding the role of helium in the accretion disc instability mechanism, testing the model for dwarf novae outbursts in the case of AM CVn stars, and the explanation of the outburst light-curves of these ultra-compact binaries. We calculate the properties of the hydrogen-free AM CVn stars using the Hameury et al. (1998) numerical code adapted to the different chemical composition of these systems and supplemented with formulae accounting for mass transfer rate variations, additional sources of the disc heating and the primary’s magnetic field. We find how helium-dominated discs react to the thermal-viscous instability and reproduce various features of the outburst cycles in the light-curves of AM CVn stars. The AM CVn outbursts can be explained by the suitably adapted dwarf-nova disc instability model but, as in case of its application to hydrogen-dominated cataclysmic variables, one has to resort to additional mechanisms to account for the observed superoutbursts, dips, cycling states and standstills. We show that enhanced mass-transfer rate, due presumably to variable irradiation of the secondary, must not only be taken into account but is a determinant factor that shapes AM CVn star outbursts. The cause of variable secondary’s irradiation has still to be understood; the best candidate being the precession of a tilted/warped disc.

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