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1. 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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2. The EDGE-CALIFA Survey: Spatially Resolved ¹³ CO(1–0) Observations and Variations in ¹² CO(1–0)/ ¹³ CO(1–0) in Nearby Galaxies on Kiloparsec Scales

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/acd840  

   Cao, Yixian; Wong, Tony; Bolatto, Alberto D.; Leroy, Adam K.; Rosolowsky, Erik; Utomo, Dyas; Sánchez, Sebastián F.; Barrera-Ballesteros, Jorge K.; Levy, Rebecca C.; Colombo, Dario; et al (August 2023, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series)

   Abstract We present¹³CO(J= 1 → 0) observations for the EDGE-CALIFA survey, which is a mapping survey of 126 nearby galaxies at a typical spatial resolution of 1.5 kpc. Using detected¹²CO emission as a prior, we detect¹³CO in 41 galaxies via integrated line flux over the entire galaxy and in 30 galaxies via integrated line intensity in resolved synthesized beams. Incorporating our CO observations and optical IFU spectroscopy, we perform a systematic comparison between the line ratio ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}\equiv I{[}^{12}\mathrm{CO}(J=1\to 0)\left]/I{[}^{13}\mathrm{CO}\right(J=1\to 0\left)\right]$and the properties of the stars and ionized gas. Higher ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$values are found in interacting galaxies compared to those in noninteracting galaxies. The global ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$slightly increases with infrared colorF₆₀/F₁₀₀but appears insensitive to other host-galaxy properties such as morphology, stellar mass, or galaxy size. We also present azimuthally averaged ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$profiles for our sample up to a galactocentric radius of 0.4r₂₅(∼6 kpc), taking into account the¹³CO nondetections by spectral stacking. The radial profiles of ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$are quite flat across our sample. Within galactocentric distances of 0.2r₂₅, the azimuthally averaged ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$increases with the star formation rate. However, Spearman rank correlation tests show the azimuthally averaged ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$does not strongly correlate with any other gas or stellar properties in general, especially beyond 0.2r₂₅from the galaxy centers. Our findings suggest that in the complex environments in galaxy disks, ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$is not a sensitive tracer for ISM properties. Dynamical disturbances, like galaxy interactions or the presence of a bar, also have an overall impact on ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$, which further complicates the interpretations of ${\mathit{}}_{12/13}$variations. 

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3. Characterizing the fundamental bending vibration of a linear polyatomic molecule for symmetry violation searches

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ace471  

   Jadbabaie, Arian; Takahashi, Yuiki; Pilgram, Nickolas H; Conn, Chandler J; Zeng, Yi; Zhang, Chi; Hutzler, Nicholas R (July 2023, New Journal of Physics)

   Abstract Polyatomic molecules have been identified as sensitive probes of charge-parity violating and parity violating physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM). For example, many linear triatomic molecules are both laser-coolable and have parity doublets in the ground electronic $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state arising from the bending vibration, both features that can greatly aid BSM searches. Understanding the $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state is a crucial prerequisite to precision measurements with linear polyatomic molecules. Here, we characterize the fundamental bending vibration of ${}^{174}$YbOH using high-resolution optical spectroscopy on the nominally forbidden $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$ $\to \tilde{A}{}^2{\mathrm{\Pi }}_{1/2}\left(000\right)$transition at 588 nm. We assign 39 transitions originating from the lowest rotational levels of the $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state, and accurately model the state’s structure with an effective Hamiltonian using best-fit parameters. Additionally, we perform Stark and Zeeman spectroscopy on the $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state and fit the molecule-frame dipole moment to $D_{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{l}}=2.16\left(1\right)$Dand the effective electrong-factor to $g_S=2.07\left(2\right)$. Further, we use an empirical model to explain observed anomalous line intensities in terms of interference from spin–orbit and vibronic perturbations in the excited $\tilde{A}{}^2{\mathrm{\Pi }}_{1/2}\left(000\right)$state. Our work is an essential step toward searches for BSM physics in YbOH and other linear polyatomic molecules. 

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4. (Nearly) Model-independent Constraints on the Neutral Hydrogen Fraction in the Intergalactic Medium at z ∼ 5–7 Using Dark Pixel Fractions in Lyα and Lyβ Forests

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca678  

   Jin, Xiangyu; Yang, Jinyi; Fan, Xiaohui; Wang, Feige; Bañados, Eduardo; Bian, Fuyan; Davies, Frederick B.; Eilers, Anna-Christina; Farina, Emanuele Paolo; Hennawi, Joseph F.; et al (January 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Cosmic reionization was the last major phase transition of hydrogen from neutral to highly ionized in the intergalactic medium (IGM). Current observations show that the IGM is significantly neutral atz> 7 and largely ionized byz∼ 5.5. However, most methods to measure the IGM neutral fraction are highly model dependent and are limited to when the volume-averaged neutral fraction of the IGM is either relatively low ( ${\overline{x}}_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}\lesssim {10}^{-3}$) or close to unity ( ${\overline{x}}_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}\sim 1$). In particular, the neutral fraction evolution of the IGM at the critical redshift range ofz= 6–7 is poorly constrained. We present new constraints on ${\overline{x}}_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}$atz∼ 5.1–6.8 by analyzing deep optical spectra of 53 quasars at 5.73 <z< 7.09. We derive model-independent upper limits on the neutral hydrogen fraction based on the fraction of “dark” pixels identified in the Lyαand Lyβforests, without any assumptions on the IGM model or the intrinsic shape of the quasar continuum. They are the first model-independent constraints on the IGM neutral hydrogen fraction atz∼ 6.2–6.8 using quasar absorption measurements. Our results give upper limits of ${\overline{x}}_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}(z=6.3)<0.79\pm 0.04$(1σ), ${\overline{x}}_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}(z=6.5)<0.87\pm 0.03$(1σ), and ${\overline{x}}_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}(z=6.7)<{0.94}_{-0.09}^{+0.06}$(1σ). The dark pixel fractions atz> 6.1 are consistent with the redshift evolution of the neutral fraction of the IGM derived from Planck 2018. 

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5. Deciphering the sensitivity of urban canopy air temperature to anthropogenic heat flux with a forcing-feedback framework

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ace7e0  

   Wang, Linying; Sun, Ting; Zhou, Wenyu; Liu, Maofeng; Li, Dan (August 2023, Environmental Research Letters)

   Abstract The sensitivity of urban canopy air temperature ( $T_a$) to anthropogenic heat flux ( $Q_{AH}$) is known to vary with space and time, but the key factors controlling such spatiotemporal variabilities remain elusive. To quantify the contributions of different physical processes to the magnitude and variability of $\mathrm{\Delta }{T}_a/\mathrm{\Delta }{Q}_{AH}$(where $\mathrm{\Delta }$represents a change), we develop a forcing-feedback framework based on the energy budget of air within the urban canopy layer and apply it to diagnosing $\mathrm{\Delta }{T}_a/\mathrm{\Delta }{Q}_{AH}$simulated by the Community Land Model Urban over the contiguous United States (CONUS). In summer, the median $\mathrm{\Delta }{T}_a/\mathrm{\Delta }{Q}_{AH}$is around 0.01 $\text{K\hspace{0.17em}}{\left(\text{W\hspace{0.17em}}{\text{m}}^{-\text{2}}\right)}^{-1}$over the CONUS. Besides the direct effect of $Q_{AH}$on $T_a$, there are important feedbacks through changes in the surface temperature, the atmosphere–canopy air heat conductance ( $c_a$), and the surface–canopy air heat conductance. The positive and negative feedbacks nearly cancel each other out and $\mathrm{\Delta }{T}_a/\mathrm{\Delta }{Q}_{AH}$is mostly controlled by the direct effect in summer. In winter, $\mathrm{\Delta }{T}_a/\mathrm{\Delta }{Q}_{AH}$becomes stronger, with the median value increased by about 20% due to weakened negative feedback associated with $c_a$. The spatial and temporal (both seasonal and diurnal) variability of $\mathrm{\Delta }{T}_a/\mathrm{\Delta }{Q}_{AH}$as well as the nonlinear response of $\mathrm{\Delta }{T}_a$to $\mathrm{\Delta }{Q}_{AH}$are strongly related to the variability of $c_a$, highlighting the importance of correctly parameterizing convective heat transfer in urban canopy models. 

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