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1. ESPRESSO Observations of Gaia BH1: High-precision Orbital Constraints and no Evidence for an Inner Binary

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ad1ba7  

   Nagarajan, Pranav; El-Badry, Kareem; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.; Baycroft, Thomas A.; Latham, David; Bieryla, Allyson; Buchhave, Lars A.; Rix, Hans-Walter; Quataert, Eliot; Howard, Andrew; et al (January 2024, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific)

   Abstract We present high-precision radial velocity observations of Gaia BH1, the nearest known black hole (BH). The system contains a solar-type G star orbiting a massive dark companion, which could be either a single BH or an inner BH + BH binary. A BH + BH binary is expected in some models where Gaia BH1 formed as a hierarchical triple, which is attractive because they avoid many of the difficulties associated with forming the system through isolated binary evolution. Our observations test the inner binary scenario. We have measured 115 precise RVs of the G star, including 40 from ESPRESSO with a precision of 3–5 m s⁻¹, and 75 from other instruments with a typical precision of 30–100 m s⁻¹. Our observations span 2.33 orbits of the G star and are concentrated near a periastron passage, when perturbations due to an inner binary would be largest. The RVs are well-fit by a Keplerian two-body orbit and show no convincing evidence of an inner binary. UsingREBOUNDsimulations of hierarchical triples with a range of inner periods, mass ratios, eccentricities, and orientations, we show that plausible inner binaries with periodsP_inner≳ 1.5 days would have produced larger deviations from a Keplerian orbit than observed. Binaries withP_inner≲ 1.5 days are consistent with the data, but these would merge within a Hubble time and would thus imply fine-tuning. We present updated parameters of Gaia BH1's orbit. The RVs yield a spectroscopic mass function $f\left(M_{\mathrm{BH}}\right)=3.9358\pm 0.0002M_{\odot }$—about 7000σabove the ∼2.5M_⊙maximum neutron star mass. Including the inclination constraint from Gaia astrometry, this implies a BH mass ofM_BH= 9.27 ± 0.10M_⊙. 

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2. Planck Dust Polarization Power Spectra Are Consistent with Strongly Supersonic Turbulence

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad571b  

   Stalpes, Kye_A; Collins, David_C; Huffenberger, Kevin_M (August 2024, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract The polarization of the cosmic microwave background is rich in information but obscured by foreground emission from the Milky Way’s interstellar medium (ISM). To uncover relationships between the underlying turbulent ISM and the foreground power spectra, we simulated a suite of driven, magnetized, turbulent models of the ISM, varying the fluid properties via the sonic Mach number, ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathcal{S}}$, and magnetic (Alfvén) Mach number, ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{A}}$. We measure the power spectra of density (ρ), velocity (v), magnetic field (H), total projected intensity (T), parity-even polarization (E), and parity-odd polarization (B). We find that the slopes of all six quantities increase with ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathcal{S}}$. Most increase with ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{A}}$, while the magnetic field spectrum steepens with ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{A}}$. By comparing spectral slopes ofEandBto those measured by Planck, we infer typical values of ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathcal{S}}$and ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{A}}$for the ISM. As the fluid velocity increases, ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathcal{S}}>4$, the ratio of BB power to EE power increases to approach a constant value near the Planck-observed value of ∼0.5, regardless of the magnetic field strength. We also examine correlation coefficients between projected quantities, and find thatr^TE≈ 0.3, in agreement with Planck, for appropriate combinations of ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathcal{S}}$and ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{A}}$. Finally, we consider parity-violating correlationsr^TBandr^EB. 

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3. Wide post-common envelope binaries containing ultramassive white dwarfs: evidence for efficient envelope ejection in massive asymptotic giant branch stars

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad4005  

   Yamaguchi, Natsuko; El-Badry, Kareem; Fuller, Jim; Latham, David W.; Cargile, Phillip A.; Mazeh, Tsevi; Shahaf, Sahar; Bieryla, Allyson; Buchhave, Lars A.; Hobson, Melissa (December 2023, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT Post-common envelope binaries (PCEBs) containing a white dwarf (WD) and a main-sequence (MS) star can constrain the physics of common envelope evolution and calibrate binary evolution models. Most PCEBs studied to date have short orbital periods (Porb ≲ 1 d), implying relatively inefficient harnessing of binaries’ orbital energy for envelope expulsion. Here, we present follow-up observations of five binaries from 3rd data release of Gaia mission containing solar-type MS stars and probable ultramassive WDs ($$M\gtrsim 1.2\ {\rm M}_{\odot}$$) with significantly wider orbits than previously known PCEBs, Porb = 18–49 d. The WD masses are much higher than expected for systems formed via stable mass transfer at these periods, and their near-circular orbits suggest partial tidal circularization when the WD progenitors were giants. These properties strongly suggest that the binaries are PCEBs. Forming PCEBs at such wide separations requires highly efficient envelope ejection, and we find that the observed periods can only be explained if a significant fraction of the energy released when the envelope recombines goes into ejecting it. Our one-dimensional stellar models including recombination energy confirm prior predictions that a wide range of PCEB orbital periods, extending up to months or years, can potentially result from Roche lobe overflow of a luminous asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. This evolutionary scenario may also explain the formation of several wide WD + MS binaries discovered via self-lensing, as well as a significant fraction of post-AGB binaries and barium stars. 

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4. Tip of the Iceberg: Overmassive Black Holes at 4 < z < 7 Found by JWST Are Not Inconsistent with the Local $M_{\mathrm{BH}}-M_{\star }$ Relation

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada603  

   Li, Junyao; Silverman, John D; Shen, Yue; Volonteri, Marta; Jahnke, Knud; Zhuang, Ming-Yang; Scoggins, Matthew T; Ding, Xuheng; Harikane, Yuichi; Onoue, Masafusa; et al (February 2025, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract JWST is revealing a remarkable new population of high-redshift (z ≳ 4), low-luminosity active galactic nuclei in deep surveys and detecting the host galaxy's stellar light in the most luminous and massive quasars atz ∼ 6 for the first time. Recent findings claim that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in these systems are significantly more massive than predicted by the local black hole (BH) mass–stellar mass ( ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{BH}}-{\mathcal{M}}_{\star }$) relation and that this is not due to sample selection effects. Through detailed statistical modeling, we demonstrate that the coupled effects of selection biases (i.e., finite detection limit and requirements for detecting broad lines) and measurement uncertainties can largely explain the reported offset and flattening in the observed ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{BH}}-{\mathcal{M}}_{\star }$relation toward the upper envelope of the local relation, even for those at ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{BH}}<10^8{M}_{\odot }$. We further investigate the possible evolution of the ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{BH}}-{\mathcal{M}}_{\star }$relation atz ≳ 4 with careful treatment of observational biases and consideration of the degeneracy between intrinsic evolution and dispersion in this relation. The bias-corrected intrinsic ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{BH}}-{\mathcal{M}}_{\star }$relation in the low-mass regime ( ${\mathcal{M}}_{\star }\lesssim 10^{10}{M}_{\odot }$) suggests a large population of low-mass BHs ( ${\mathcal{M}}_{\mathrm{BH}}\lesssim 10^5{M}_{\odot }$), possibly originating from lighter seeds, may remain undetected or unidentified. These results underscore the importance of forward modeling observational biases to better understand BH seeding and SMBH–galaxy coevolution mechanisms in the early universe, even with the deepest JWST surveys. 

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5. The Symbiotic X-Ray Binary IGR J16194-2810: A Window on the Future Evolution of Wide Neutron Star Binaries From Gaia

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ad5dfd  

   Nagarajan, Pranav; El-Badry, Kareem; Lam, Casey; Reggiani, Henrique (July 2024, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific)

   Abstract We present optical follow-up of IGR J16194-2810, a hard X-ray source discovered by the INTEGRAL mission. The optical counterpart is a ∼500L_⊙red giant at a distance of 2.1 kpc. We measured 17 radial velocities (RVs) of the giant over a period of 271 days. Fitting these RVs with a Keplerian model, we find an orbital period ofP_orb= 192.73 ± 0.01 days and a companion mass functionf(M₂) = 0.365 ± 0.003M_⊙. We detect ellipsoidal variability with the same period in optical light curves from the ASAS-SN survey. Joint fitting of the RVs, light curves, and the broadband spectral energy distribution allows us to robustly constrain the masses of both components. We find a giant mass of $M_{\star }={0.99}_{-0.03}^{+0.02}{M}_{\odot }$and a companion mass of $M_2={1.23}_{-0.03}^{+0.05}{M}_{\odot }$, implying that the companion is a neutron star (NS). We recover a 4.06 hr period in the system’s TESS light curve, which we tentatively associate with the NS spin period. The giant does not yet fill its Roche lobe, suggesting that current mass transfer is primarily via winds. Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics evolutionary models predict that the giant will overflow its Roche lobe in 5–10 Myr, eventually forming a recycled pulsar + white dwarf binary with a ∼900 days period. IGR J16194-2810 provides a window on the future evolution of wide NS + main sequence binaries recently discovered via Gaia astrometry. As with those systems, the binary’s formation history is uncertain. Before the formation of the NS, it likely survived a common envelope episode with a donor-to-accretor mass ratio ≳10 and emerged in a wide orbit. The NS likely formed with a weak kick (v_kick≲ 50 km s⁻¹), as stronger kicks would have disrupted the orbit. 

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