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Abstract Compact steep spectrum (CSS) radio sources are active galactic nuclei (AGN) that have radio jets propagating only on galactic scales, defined as having projected linear size (LS) of up to 20 kpc. CSS sources are generally hosted by massive early-type galaxies with little ongoing star formation; however, a small fraction are known to have enhanced star formation. Using archival data from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm survey, the Very Large Array Sky Survey, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we identify a volume-limited sample of 166 CSS sources at z < 0.2 with L 1.4 GHz > 10 24 W Hz −1 . Comparing the star formation rates and linear sizes of these CSS sources, we find that the ≈14% of CSS sources with specific star formation rates above 0.01 Gyr −1 all have LS < 10 kpc. We discuss the possible mechanisms driving this result, concluding that it is likely the excess star formation in these sources occurred in multiple bursts and ceased prior to the AGN jet being triggered. 

The ultra-faint dwarf galaxy Reticulum II (Ret II) exhibits a unique chemical evolution history, with${72}_{-12}^{+10}$% of its stars strongly enhanced inr-process elements. We present deep Hubble Space Telescope photometry of Ret II and analyze its star formation history. As in other ultra-faint dwarfs, the color–magnitude diagram is best fit by a model consisting of two bursts of star formation. If we assume that the bursts were instantaneous, then the older burst occurred around the epoch of reionization, forming ∼80% of the stars in the galaxy, while the remainder of the stars formed ∼3 Gyr later. When the bursts are allowed to have nonzero durations, we obtain slightly better fits. The best-fitting model in this case consists of two bursts beginning before reionization, with approximately half the stars formed in a short (100 Myr) burst and the other half in a more extended period lasting 2.6 Gyr. Considering the full set of viable star formation history models, we find that 28% of the stars formed within 500 ± 200 Myr of the onset of star formation. The combination of the star formation history and the prevalence ofr-process-enhanced stars demonstrates that ther-process elements in Ret II must have been synthesized early in its initial star-forming phase. We therefore constrain the delay time between the formation of the first stars in Ret II and ther-process nucleosynthesis to be less than 500 Myr. This measurement rules out anr-process source with a delay time of several Gyr or more, such as GW170817.

 

Abstract Binary supermassive black holes (BSBHs) are expected to be a generic byproduct from hierarchical galaxy formation. The final coalescence of BSBHs is thought to be the loudest gravitational wave (GW) siren, yet no confirmed BSBH is known in the GW-dominated regime. While periodic quasars have been proposed as BSBH candidates, the physical origin of the periodicity has been largely uncertain. Here we report discovery of a periodicity (P=1607±7 days) at 99.95% significance (with a global p-value of ∼10−3 accounting for the look elsewhere effect) in the optical light curves of a redshift 1.53 quasar, SDSS J025214.67−002813.7. Combining archival Sloan Digital Sky Survey data with new, sensitive imaging from the Dark Energy Survey, the total ∼20-yr time baseline spans ∼4.6 cycles of the observed 4.4-yr (restframe 1.7-yr) periodicity. The light curves are best fit by a bursty model predicted by hydrodynamic simulations of circumbinary accretion disks. The periodicity is likely caused by accretion rate modulation by a milli-parsec BSBH emitting GWs, dynamically coupled to the circumbinary accretion disk. A bursty hydrodynamic variability model is statistically preferred over a smooth, sinusoidal model expected from relativistic Doppler boost, a kinematic effect proposed for PG1302−102. Furthermore, the frequency dependence of the variability amplitudes disfavors Doppler boost, lending independent support to the circumbinary accretion variability hypothesis. Given our detection rate of one BSBH candidate from circumbinary accretion variability out of 625 quasars, it suggests that future large, sensitive synoptic surveys such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time may be able to detect hundreds to thousands of candidate BSBHs from circumbinary accretion with direct implications for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.