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1. High-angular-resolution Imaging of the V892 Tau Binary System: A New Circumprimary Disk Detection and Updated Orbital Constraints

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfda6  

   Vides, Christina L.; Sallum, Steph; Eisner, Josh; Skemer, Andy; Murray-Clay, Ruth (November 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present a direct imaging study of V892 Tau, a young Herbig Ae/Be star with a close-in stellar companion and circumbinary disk. Our observations consist of images acquired via Keck II/NIRC2 with nonredundant masking and the pyramid wavefront sensor at $K\prime$band (2.12μm) and $L\prime$band (3.78μm). Sensitivity to low-mass accreting companions and cool disk material is high at $L\prime$band, while complimentary observations at $K\prime$band probe hotter material with higher angular resolution. These multiwavelength, multiepoch data allow us to differentiate the secondary stellar emission from disk emission and deeply probe the structure of the circumbinary disk at small angular separations. We constrain architectural properties of the system by fitting geometric disk and companion models to the $K\prime$- and $L\prime$-band data. From these models, we constrain the astrometric and photometric properties of the stellar binary and update the orbit, placing the tightest estimates to date on the V892 Tau orbital parameters. We also constrain the geometric structure of the circumbinary disk, and resolve a circumprimary disk for the first time. 

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2. In vivo estimation of anisotropic mechanical properties of the gastrocnemius during functional loading with MR elastography

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/acb482  

   Smith, Daniel R; Caban-Rivera, Diego A; Williams, L Tyler; Van_Houten, Elijah_E W; Bayly, Phil V; Paulsen, Keith D; McGarry, Matthew_D J; Johnson, Curtis L (February 2023, Physics in Medicine & Biology)

   Abstract Objective.In vivoimaging assessments of skeletal muscle structure and function allow for longitudinal quantification of tissue health. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) non-invasively quantifies tissue mechanical properties, allowing for evaluation of skeletal muscle biomechanics in response to loading, creating a better understanding of muscle functional health.Approach. In this study, we analyze the anisotropic mechanical response of calf muscles using MRE with a transversely isotropic, nonlinear inversion algorithm (TI-NLI) to investigate the role of muscle fiber stiffening under load. We estimate anisotropic material parameters including fiber shear stiffness ( ${\mu }_1$), substrate shear stiffness ( ${\mu }_2$), shear anisotropy ( $\varphi$), and tensile anisotropy ( $\zeta$) of the gastrocnemius muscle in response to both passive and active tension.Main results. In passive tension, we found a significant increase in ${\mu }_1,$ $\varphi ,$and $\zeta$with increasing muscle length. While in active tension, we observed increasing ${\mu }_2$and decreasing $\varphi$and $\zeta$during active dorsiflexion and plantarflexion—indicating less anisotropy—with greater effects when the muscles act as agonist.Significance. The study demonstrates the ability of this anisotropic MRE method to capture the multifaceted mechanical response of skeletal muscle to tissue loading from muscle lengthening and contraction. 

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3. Mapping the Growth of Supermassive Black Holes as a Function of Galaxy Stellar Mass and Redshift

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad27cc  

   Zou, Fan; Yu, Zhibo; Brandt, W N; Tak, Hyungsuk; Yang, Guang; Ni, Qingling (March 2024, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract The growth of supermassive black holes is strongly linked to their galaxies. It has been shown that the population mean black hole accretion rate ( $\overline{\mathrm{BHAR}}$) primarily correlates with the galaxy stellar mass (M_⋆) and redshift for the general galaxy population. This work aims to provide the best measurements of $\overline{\mathrm{BHAR}}$as a function ofM_⋆and redshift over ranges of 10^9.5<M_⋆< 10¹²M_⊙andz< 4. We compile an unprecedentedly large sample with 8000 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and 1.3 million normal galaxies from nine high-quality survey fields following a wedding cake design. We further develop a semiparametric Bayesian method that can reasonably estimate $\overline{\mathrm{BHAR}}$and the corresponding uncertainties, even for sparsely populated regions in the parameter space. $\overline{\mathrm{BHAR}}$is constrained by X-ray surveys sampling the AGN accretion power and UV-to-infrared multiwavelength surveys sampling the galaxy population. Our results can independently predict the X-ray luminosity function (XLF) from the galaxy stellar mass function (SMF), and the prediction is consistent with the observed XLF. We also try adding external constraints from the observed SMF and XLF. We further measure $\overline{\mathrm{BHAR}}$for star-forming and quiescent galaxies and show that star-forming $\overline{\mathrm{BHAR}}$is generally larger than or at least comparable to the quiescent $\overline{\mathrm{BHAR}}$. 

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4. What Does the Geometry of the Hβ BLR Depend On?

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/accc84  

   Villafaña, Lizvette; Williams, Peter R.; Treu, Tommaso; Brewer, Brendon J.; Barth, Aaron J.; U, Vivian; Bennert, Vardha N.; Guo, Hengxiao; Bentz, Misty C.; Canalizo, Gabriela; et al (May 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We combine our dynamical modeling black-hole mass measurements from the Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2016 sample with measured cross-correlation time lags and line widths to recover individual scale factors,f, used in traditional reverberation-mapping analyses. We extend our sample by including prior results from Code for AGN Reverberation and Modeling of Emission Lines (caramel) studies that have utilized our methods. Aiming to improve the precision of black-hole mass estimates, as well as uncover any regularities in the behavior of the broad-line region (BLR), we search for correlations betweenfand other AGN/BLR parameters. We find (i) evidence for a correlation between the virial coefficient ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\sigma }\right)$and black-hole mass, (ii) marginal evidence for a similar correlation between ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\sigma }\right)$and black-hole mass, (iii) marginal evidence for an anticorrelation of BLR disk thickness with ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\mathrm{FWHM}}\right)$and ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\mathrm{FWHM}}\right)$, and (iv) marginal evidence for an anticorrelation of inclination angle with ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\mathrm{FWHM}}\right)$, ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\sigma }\right)$, and ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\sigma }\right)$. Last, we find marginal evidence for a correlation between line-profile shape, when using the root-mean-square spectrum, ${\log }_{10}{\left(\mathrm{FWHM}/\sigma \right)}_{\mathrm{rms}}$, and the virial coefficient, ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\sigma }\right)$, and investigate how BLR properties might be related to line-profile shape usingcaramelmodels. 

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5. Length and Velocity Scales in Protoplanetary Disk Turbulence

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad2c89  

   Sengupta, Debanjan; Cuzzi, Jeffrey N; Umurhan, Orkan M; Lyra, Wladimir (April 2024, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract In the theory of protoplanetary disk turbulence, a widely adopted ansatz, or assumption, is that the turnover frequency of the largest turbulent eddy, Ω_L, is the local Keplerian frequency Ω_K. In terms of the standard dimensionless Shakura–Sunyaevαparameter that quantifies turbulent viscosity or diffusivity, this assumption leads to characteristic length and velocity scales given respectively by $\sqrt{\alpha }H$and $\sqrt{\alpha }c$, in whichHandcare the local gas scale height and sound speed. However, this assumption is not applicable in cases when turbulence is forced numerically or driven by some natural processes such as vertical shear instability. Here, we explore the more general case where Ω_L≥ Ω_Kand show that, under these conditions, the characteristic length and velocity scales are respectively $\sqrt{\alpha /R\prime }H$and $\sqrt{\alpha R\prime }c$, where $R\prime \equiv {\mathrm{\Omega }}_L/{\mathrm{\Omega }}_K$is twice the Rossby number. It follows that $\alpha =\tilde{\alpha }/R\prime$, where $\sqrt{\tilde{\alpha }}c$is the root-mean-square average of the turbulent velocities. Properly allowing for this effect naturally explains the reduced particle scale heights produced in shearing box simulations of particles in forced turbulence, and it may help with interpreting recent edge-on disk observations; more general implications for observations are also presented. For $R\prime >1$, the effective particle Stokes numbers are increased, which has implications for particle collision dynamics and growth, as well as for planetesimal formation. 

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