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1. On the Unusual Variability of 2MASS J06195260–2903592: A Long-lived Disk around a Young Ultracool Dwarf

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ac8cee  

   Liu, Michael C. ; Magnier, Eugene A. ; Zhang, Zhoujian ; Gaidos, Eric ; Dupuy, Trent J. ; Liu, Pengyu ; Biller, Beth A. ; Vos, Johanna M. ; Allers, Katelyn N. ; Hinkle, Jason T. ; et al ( September 2022 , The Astronomical Journal)

   We present the characterization of the low-gravity M6 dwarf 2MASS J06195260-2903592, previously identified as an unusual field object based on its strong IR excess and variable near-IR spectrum. Multiple epochs of low-resolution (R≈ 150) near-IR spectra show large-amplitude (≈0.1–0.5 mag) continuum variations on timescales of days to 12 yr, unlike the small-amplitude variability typical for field ultracool dwarfs. The variations between epochs are well-modeled as changes in the relative extinction (ΔA_V≈ 2 mag). Similarly, Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 optical photometry varies on timescales as long as 11 yr (and possibly as short as an hour) and implies comparableA_Vchanges. Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mid-IR light curves also suggest changes on 6 month timescales, with amplitudes consistent with the optical/near-IR extinction variations. However, near-IR spectra, near-IR photometry, and optical photometry obtained in the past year indicate that the source can also be stable on hourly and monthly timescales. From comparison to objects of similar spectral type, the total extinction of 2MASS J0619-2903 seems to beA_V≈ 4–6 mag, with perhaps epochs of lower extinction. Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) finds that 2MASS J0619-2903 has a wide-separation (1.′2 = 10,450 au) stellar companion, with anmore »isochronal age of${31}_{-10}^{+22}$Myr and a mass of${0.30}_{-0.03}^{+0.04}$M_☉. Adopting this companion’s age and EDR3 distance (145.2 ± 0.6 pc), we estimate a mass of 0.11–0.17M_☉for 2MASS J0619-2903. Altogether, 2MASS J0619-2903 appears to possess an unusually long-lived primordial circumstellar disk, perhaps making it a more obscured analog to the “Peter Pan” disks found around a few M dwarfs in nearby young moving groups.

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2. Searching for Stellar and Planetary Emission in Large Field-of-view Radio Sky Surveys

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac4514  

   Ling, Jason ; Isella, Andrea ; Johns-Krull, Christopher ; W. Lazio, T. Joseph ( February 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Detection of low-frequency (≤1.4 GHz) radio emission from stellar and planetary systems can lead to new insights into stellar activity, extrasolar space weather, and planetary magnetic fields. In this work, we investigate three large field-of-view surveys at 74 MHz, 150 MHz, and 1.4 GHz, as well as a myriad of multiwavelength ancillary data, to search for radio emission from about 2600 stellar objects, including about 800 exoplanetary systems, 600 nearby low-mass stars, and 1200 young stellar objects located in the Taurus and Upper Scorpius star-forming regions. The selected sample encompasses stellar spectral types from B to L and distances between 5 and 300 pc. We report the redetection of five stars at 1.4 GHz, one of which also shows emission at 150 MHz. Four of these are low- and intermediate-mass young stars, and one is the evolved starαSco. We also observe radio emission at the position of a young brown dwarf at 1.4 GHz and 150 MHz. However, due to the large astrometric uncertainty of radio observations, a follow-up study at higher angular resolution would be required to confirm whether the observed emission originates from the brown dwarf itself or a background object. Notably, all of the selected radiomore »sources are located in nearby star-forming regions. Furthermore, we use image stacking and statistical methods to derive upper limits on the average quiescent radio luminosity of the families of objects under investigation. These analyses provide observational constraints for large-scale searches for current and ongoing low-frequency radio emissions from stars and planets.

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3. A Wide Planetary Mass Companion Discovered through the Citizen Science Project Backyard Worlds: Planet 9

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac2499  

   Faherty, Jacqueline K. ; Gagné, Jonathan ; Popinchalk, Mark ; Vos, Johanna M. ; Burgasser, Adam J. ; Schümann, Jörg ; Schneider, Adam C. ; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy ; Meisner, Aaron M. ; Kuchner, Marc J. ; et al ( December 2021 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Through the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project we discovered a late-type L dwarf co-moving with the young K0 star BD+60 1417 at a projected separation of 37″ or 1662 au. The secondary—CWISER J124332.12+600126.2 (W1243)—is detected in both the CatWISE2020 and 2MASS reject tables. The photometric distance and CatWISE proper motion both match that of the primary within ∼1 σ and our estimates for a chance alignment yield a zero probability. Follow-up near-infrared spectroscopy reveals W1243 to be a very red 2MASS ( J – K s = 2.72), low surface gravity source that we classify as L6–L8 γ . Its spectral morphology strongly resembles that of confirmed late-type L dwarfs in 10–150 Myr moving groups as well as that of planetary mass companions. The position on near- and mid-infrared color–magnitude diagrams indicates the source is redder and fainter than the field sequence, a telltale sign of an object with thick clouds and a complex atmosphere. For the primary we obtained new optical spectroscopy and analyzed all available literature information for youth indicators. We conclude that the Li i abundance, its loci on color–magnitude and color–color diagrams, and the rotation rate revealed in multiple TESS sectors are allmore »consistent with an age of 50–150 Myr. Using our re-evaluated age of the primary and the Gaia parallax, along with the photometry and spectrum for W1243, we find T eff = 1303 ± 31 K, log g = 4.3 ± 0.17 cm s −2 , and a mass of 15 ± 5 M Jup . We find a physical separation of ∼1662 au and a mass ratio of ∼0.01 for this system. Placing it in the context of the diverse collection of binary stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary companions, the BD+60 1417 system falls in a sparsely sampled area where the formation pathway is difficult to assess.« less
4. RTD Light Emission around 1550 nm with IQE up to 6% at 300 K

   https://doi.org/10.1109/DRC50226.2020.9135175  

   Brown, E. R. ; Zhang, W-D. ; Fakhimi, P. ; Growden, T. A. ; Berger, P.R. ( June 2020 , IEEE Device Research Conference (DRC), Columbus, OH (June 22-24, 2020))

   Resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) have come full-circle in the past 10 years after their demonstration in the early 1990s as the fastest room-temperature semiconductor oscillator, displaying experimental results up to 712 GHz and fmax values exceeding 1.0 THz [1]. Now the RTD is once again the preeminent electronic oscillator above 1.0 THz and is being implemented as a coherent source [2] and a self-oscillating mixer [3], amongst other applications. This paper concerns RTD electroluminescence – an effect that has been studied very little in the past 30+ years of RTD development, and not at room temperature. We present experiments and modeling of an n-type In0.53Ga0.47As/AlAs double-barrier RTD operating as a cross-gap light emitter at ~300K. The MBE-growth stack is shown in Fig. 1(a). A 15-μm-diam-mesa device was defined by standard planar processing including a top annular ohmic contact with a 5-μm-diam pinhole in the center to couple out enough of the internal emission for accurate free-space power measurements [4]. The emission spectra have the behavior displayed in Fig. 1(b), parameterized by bias voltage (VB). The long wavelength emission edge is at  = 1684 nm - close to the In0.53Ga0.47As bandgap energy of Ug ≈ 0.75 eV at 300 K.more »The spectral peaks for VB = 2.8 and 3.0 V both occur around  = 1550 nm (h = 0.75 eV), so blue-shifted relative to the peak of the “ideal”, bulk InGaAs emission spectrum shown in Fig. 1(b) [5]. These results are consistent with the model displayed in Fig. 1(c), whereby the broad emission peak is attributed to the radiative recombination between electrons accumulated on the emitter side, and holes generated on the emitter side by interband tunneling with current density Jinter. The blue-shifted main peak is attributed to the quantum-size effect on the emitter side, which creates a radiative recombination rate RN,2 comparable to the band-edge cross-gap rate RN,1. Further support for this model is provided by the shorter wavelength and weaker emission peak shown in Fig. 1(b) around = 1148 nm. Our quantum mechanical calculations attribute this to radiative recombination RR,3 in the RTD quantum well between the electron ground-state level E1,e, and the hole level E1,h. To further test the model and estimate quantum efficiencies, we conducted optical power measurements using a large-area Ge photodiode located ≈3 mm away from the RTD pinhole, and having spectral response between 800 and 1800 nm with a peak responsivity of ≈0.85 A/W at  =1550 nm. Simultaneous I-V and L-V plots were obtained and are plotted in Fig. 2(a) with positive bias on the top contact (emitter on the bottom). The I-V curve displays a pronounced NDR region having a current peak-to-valley current ratio of 10.7 (typical for In0.53Ga0.47As RTDs). The external quantum efficiency (EQE) was calculated from EQE = e∙IP/(∙IE∙h) where IP is the photodiode dc current and IE the RTD current. The plot of EQE is shown in Fig. 2(b) where we see a very rapid rise with VB, but a maximum value (at VB= 3.0 V) of only ≈2×10-5. To extract the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), we use the expression EQE= c ∙i ∙r ≡ c∙IQE where ci, and r are the optical-coupling, electrical-injection, and radiative recombination efficiencies, respectively [6]. Our separate optical calculations yield c≈3.4×10-4 (limited primarily by the small pinhole) from which we obtain the curve of IQE plotted in Fig. 2(b) (right-hand scale). The maximum value of IQE (again at VB = 3.0 V) is 6.0%. From the implicit definition of IQE in terms of i and r given above, and the fact that the recombination efficiency in In0.53Ga0.47As is likely limited by Auger scattering, this result for IQE suggests that i might be significantly high. To estimate i, we have used the experimental total current of Fig. 2(a), the Kane two-band model of interband tunneling [7] computed in conjunction with a solution to Poisson’s equation across the entire structure, and a rate-equation model of Auger recombination on the emitter side [6] assuming a free-electron density of 2×1018 cm3. We focus on the high-bias regime above VB = 2.5 V of Fig. 2(a) where most of the interband tunneling should occur in the depletion region on the collector side [Jinter,2 in Fig. 1(c)]. And because of the high-quality of the InGaAs/AlAs heterostructure (very few traps or deep levels), most of the holes should reach the emitter side by some combination of drift, diffusion, and tunneling through the valence-band double barriers (Type-I offset) between InGaAs and AlAs. The computed interband current density Jinter is shown in Fig. 3(a) along with the total current density Jtot. At the maximum Jinter (at VB=3.0 V) of 7.4×102 A/cm2, we get i = Jinter/Jtot = 0.18, which is surprisingly high considering there is no p-type doping in the device. When combined with the Auger-limited r of 0.41 and c ≈ 3.4×10-4, we find a model value of IQE = 7.4% in good agreement with experiment. This leads to the model values for EQE plotted in Fig. 2(b) - also in good agreement with experiment. Finally, we address the high Jinter and consider a possible universal nature of the light-emission mechanism. Fig. 3(b) shows the tunneling probability T according to the Kane two-band model in the three materials, In0.53Ga0.47As, GaAs, and GaN, following our observation of a similar electroluminescence mechanism in GaN/AlN RTDs (due to strong polarization field of wurtzite structures) [8]. The expression is Tinter = (2/9)∙exp[(-2 ∙Ug 2 ∙me)/(2h∙P∙E)], where Ug is the bandgap energy, P is the valence-to-conduction-band momentum matrix element, and E is the electric field. Values for the highest calculated internal E fields for the InGaAs and GaN are also shown, indicating that Tinter in those structures approaches values of ~10-5. As shown, a GaAs RTD would require an internal field of ~6×105 V/cm, which is rarely realized in standard GaAs RTDs, perhaps explaining why there have been few if any reports of room-temperature electroluminescence in the GaAs devices. [1] E.R. Brown,et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 58, 2291, 1991. [5] S. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Ed. 12.2.1 (Wiley, 1981). [2] M. Feiginov et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 99, 233506, 2011. [6] L. Coldren, Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits, (Wiley, 1995). [3] Y. Nishida et al., Nature Sci. Reports, 9, 18125, 2019. [7] E.O. Kane, J. of Appl. Phy 32, 83 (1961). [4] P. Fakhimi, et al., 2019 DRC Conference Digest. [8] T. Growden, et al., Nature Light: Science & Applications 7, 17150 (2018). [5] S. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Ed. 12.2.1 (Wiley, 1981). [6] L. Coldren, Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits, (Wiley, 1995). [7] E.O. Kane, J. of Appl. Phy 32, 83 (1961). [8] T. Growden, et al., Nature Light: Science & Applications 7, 17150 (2018).« less
5. From downtown to the outskirts: a radio survey of the Orion Nebula Cluster

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab1826  

   Vargas-González, J ; Forbrich, J ; Dzib, S A ; Bally, J ( July 2021 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT We present a newly enlarged census of the compact radio population towards the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) using high-sensitivity continuum maps (3–10 $\mu$Jy beam−1) from a total of ∼30-h centimetre-wavelength observations over an area of ∼20 × 20 arcmin2 obtained in the C-band (4–8 GHz) with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in its high-resolution A-configuration. We thus complement our previous deep survey of the innermost areas of the ONC, now covering the field of view of the Chandra Orion Ultra-deep Project (COUP). Our catalogue contains 521 compact radio sources of which 198 are new detections. Overall, we find that 17 per cent of the (mostly stellar) COUP sources have radio counterparts, while 53 per cent of the radio sources have COUP counterparts. Most notably, the radio detection fraction of X-ray sources is higher in the inner cluster and almost constant for r > 3 arcmin (0.36 pc) from θ1 Ori C, suggesting a correlation between the radio emission mechanism of these sources and their distance from the most massive stars at the centre of the cluster, e.g. due to increased photoionisation of circumstellar discs. The combination with our previous observations 4 yr prior lead to the discovery of fast proper motions of up tomore »∼373 km s−1 from faint radio sources associated with ejecta of the OMC1 explosion. Finally, we search for strong radio variability. We found changes in flux density by a factor of ≲5 within our observations and a few sources with changes by a factor >10 on long time-scales of a few years.« less