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1. Photo response of 164Dy

   O. Papst, V. Werner ( September 2020 , Physical review)

   Background: Little data is available for the pygmy dipole resonance (PDR) in axially deformed nuclei. Photon scattering experiments are complicated by high level densities in the PDR region and the small energy difference of transitions to the ground state and to excited states. Purpose: We report on an experimental study of the low-energy dipole strength distribution of the well-deformed nucleus 164Dy between 4.0–7.7 MeV. Methods: The low-lying photoresponse of 164Dy has been investigated using the method of nuclear resonance fluorescence using a quasimonochromatic linearly polarized γ -ray beam in the energy range of 4.0–7.7 MeV in steps of 0.2 MeV. Results: For excitation energies between 4 MeV and 5 MeV, sufficiently low level densities allow for the identification of individual states, including level energies, reduced transition widths and branching ratios. Energy-averaged mean decay branching ratios, mean population ratios and partial absorption cross sections were determined above 5 MeV up to the neutron-separation threshold at 7.7 MeV. A Lorentzian-shaped enhancement of the partial photo absorption cross section followed by decays back to the ground-state band is found at 6.10(5) MeV with a width of 0.77(23) MeV. A comparison with results from complementary measurements is performed using the framework of the statisticalmore »model. Conclusions: The experimental results for the mean population ratios deviate systematically from the statistical model simulation by 30(6)%. However, they are in agreement within one standard deviation of the simulation.« less
2. Gas inflows in the polar ring of NGC 4111: the birth of an AGN

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac634  

   Hauschild Roier, Gabriel R. ; Storchi-Bergmann, Thaisa ; McDermid, Richard M. ; Walsh, Jonelle L. ; Tan, Joanne ; Cohn, Jonathan ; Krajnovic, Davor ; Greene, Jenny ; Valluri, Monica ; Gültekin, Kayhan ; et al ( March 2022 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   We have used Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, SAURON Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS), and adaptative optics assisted Gemini NIFS near-infrared K-band IFS to map the stellar and gas distribution, excitation and kinematics of the inner few kpc of the nearby edge-on S0 galaxy NGC 4111. The HST images map its ≈450 pc diameter dusty polar ring, with an estimated gas mass ≥107 M⊙. The NIFS data cube maps the inner 110 pc radius at ≈7 pc spatial resolution, revealing a ≈220 pc diameter polar ring in hot (2267 ± 166 K) molecular H2 1–0 S(1) gas embedded in the polar ring. The stellar velocity field shows disc-dominated kinematics along the galaxy plane both in the SAURON large scale and in the NIFS nuclear-scale data. The large-scale [O iii] λ5007 Å velocity field shows a superposition of two disc kinematics: one similar to that of the stars and another along the polar ring, showing non-circular motions that seem to connect with the velocity field of the nuclear H2 ring, whose kinematics indicate accelerated inflow to the nucleus. The estimated mass inflow rate is enough not only to feed an active galactic nucleus (AGN) but also to trigger circumnuclear star formation in the near future. We propose a scenario in which gasmore »from the polar ring, which probably originated from the capture of a dwarf galaxy, is moving inwards and triggering an AGN, as supported by the local X-ray emission, which seems to be the source of the H2 1–0 S(1) excitation. The fact that we see neither near-UV nor Br γ emission suggests that the nascent AGN is still deeply buried under the optically thick dust of the polar ring.

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3. Molecular Gas within the Milky Way's Nuclear Wind

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac3cbc  

   Cashman, Frances H. ; Fox, Andrew J. ; Savage, Blair D. ; Wakker, Bart P. ; Krishnarao, Dhanesh ; Benjamin, Robert A. ; Richter, Philipp ; Ashley, Trisha ; Jenkins, Edward B. ; Lockman, Felix J. ; et al ( December 2021 , The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract We report the first direct detection of molecular hydrogen associated with the Galactic nuclear wind. The Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer spectrum of LS 4825, a B1 Ib–II star at l , b = 1.67°,−6.63° lying d = 9.9 − 0.8 + 1.4 kpc from the Sun, ∼1 kpc below the Galactic plane near the Galactic center, shows two high-velocity H 2 components at v LSR = −79 and −108 km s −1 . In contrast, the FUSE spectrum of the nearby (∼0.6° away) foreground star HD 167402 at d = 4.9 − 0.7 + 0.8 kpc reveals no H 2 absorption at these velocities. Over 60 lines of H 2 from rotational levels J = 0 to 5 are identified in the high-velocity clouds. For the v LSR = −79 km s −1 cloud we measure total log N (H 2 ) ≥ 16.75 cm −2 , molecular fraction f H 2 ≥ 0.8%, and T 01 ≥ 97 and T 25 ≤ 439 K for the ground- and excited-state rotational excitation temperatures. At v LSR = −108 km s −1 , we measure log N (H 2 ) = 16.13 ± 0.10 cm −2 , f H 2 ≥more »0.5%, and T 01 = 77 − 18 + 34 and T 25 = 1092 − 117 + 149 K, for which the excited-state ortho- to para-H 2 is 1.0 − 0.1 + 0.3 , much less than the equilibrium value of 3 expected for gas at this temperature. This nonequilibrium ratio suggests that the −108 km s −1 cloud has been recently excited and has not yet had time to equilibrate. As the LS 4825 sight line passes close by a tilted section of the Galactic disk, we propose that we are probing a boundary region where the nuclear wind is removing gas from the disk.« less
4. Resolving the F ₂ bond energy discrepancy using coincidence ion pair production (cipp) spectroscopy

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CP00140J  

   Matthíasson, Kristján ; Kvaran, Ágúst ; Garcia, Gustavo A. ; Weidner, Peter ; Sztáray, Bálint ( April 2021 , Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   Coincidence ion pair production (cipp) spectra of F 2 were recorded on the DELICIOUS III coincidence spectrometer in the one-photon excitation region of 125 975–126 210 cm −1 . The F + + F − signal shows a rotational band head structure, corresponding to F 2 Rydberg states crossing over to the ion pair production surface. Spectral simulation and quantum defect analysis allowed the characterization of five new molecular Rydberg states (F 2 **): one Π and four Σ states. The lowest-energy Rydberg state spectrum observed ( T 0 = 125 999 cm −1 ) lacked some of the predicted rotational structure, which allowed an accurate determination of the ion pair production threshold of 15.6229 4 ± 0.0004 3 eV. Using the well-known atomic fluorine ionization energy and electron affinity, this number leads to a ground state F–F dissociation energy of 1.6012 9 ± 0.0004 4 eV. Photoelectron photoion coincidence (PEPICO) experiments were also carried out on F 2 and the dissociative photoionization threshold to F + + F was determined as 19.0242 ± 0.0006 eV. Using the atomic fluorine ionization energy, this can be converted to an F 2 dissociation energy of 1.6013 2 ± 0.0006 2 eV, further confirming the cipp-derivedmore »value above. Because the two experiments were independently energy-calibrated, they can be averaged to 1.6013 0 ± 0.0003 6 eV and this value can be used to derive the fluorine atom's 0 K heat of formation as 77.25 1 ± 0.01 7 kJ mol −1 . This latter is in excellent agreement with the latest Active Thermochemical Table (ATcT) value but improves its accuracy by almost a factor of three.« less
5. On the Photostability of Cyanuric Acid and Its Candidature as a Prebiotic Nucleobase

   https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27041184  

   Ortiz-Rodríguez, Luis A. ; Hoehn, Sean J. ; Crespo-Hernández, Carlos E. ( February 2022 , Molecules)

   Cyanuric acid is a triazine derivative that has been identified from reactions performed under prebiotic conditions and has been proposed as a prospective precursor of ancestral RNA. For cyanuric acid to have played a key role during the prebiotic era, it would have needed to survive the harsh electromagnetic radiation conditions reaching the Earth’s surface during prebiotic times (≥200 nm). Therefore, the photostability of cyanuric acid would have been crucial for its accumulation during the prebiotic era. To evaluate the putative photostability of cyanuric acid in water, in this contribution, we employed density functional theory (DFT) and its time-dependent variant (TD-DFT) including implicit and explicit solvent effects. The calculations predict that cyanuric acid has an absorption maximum at ca. 160 nm (7.73 eV), with the lowest-energy absorption band extending to ca. 200 nm in an aqueous solution and exhibiting negligible absorption at longer wavelengths. Excitation of cyanuric acid at 160 nm or longer wavelengths leads to the population of S5,6 singlet states, which have ππ* character and large oscillator strengths (0.8). The population reaching the S5,6 states is expected to internally convert to the S1,2 states in an ultrafast time scale. The S1,2 states, which have nπ* character, are predictedmore »to access a conical intersection with the ground state in a nearly barrierless fashion (ca. ≤ 0.13 eV), thus efficiently returning the population to the ground state. Furthermore, based on calculated spin–orbit coupling elements of ca. 6 to 8 cm−1, the calculations predict that intersystem crossing to the triplet manifold should play a minor role in the electronic relaxation of cyanuric acid. We have also calculated the vertical ionization energy of cyanuric acid at 8.2 eV, which predicts that direct one-photon ionization of cyanuric acid should occur at ca. 150 nm. Collectively, the quantum-chemical calculations predict that cyanuric acid would have been highly photostable under the solar radiation conditions reaching the Earth’s surface during the prebiotic era in an aqueous solution. Of relevance to the chemical origin of life and RNA-first theories, these observations lend support to the idea that cyanuric acid could have accumulated in large quantities during the prebiotic era and thus strengthens its candidature as a relevant prebiotic nucleobase.« less