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  1. Abstract

    The Punta del Cobre district near Copiapó is a center of iron oxide-copper–gold (IOCG) mineralization spatially and temporally associated with regional sodic-calcic hydrothermal alteration, the Atacama fault system (AFS), and two phases of Early Cretaceous magmatism. Here, we investigate the spatiotemporal and geochemical relationships between magmatism, ductile deformation, and hydrothermal alteration along the ~ 200 to 300-m-thick steeply NW-dipping Sierra Chicharra shear zone, interpreted to be the major strand of the AFS. Mylonitic fabrics and oblique sinistral-reverse kinematic indicators together record coaxial flattening in a transpressional regime. Deformation on the AFS took place before, during, and after intrusion of the synkinematic Sierra Chicharra quartz diorite of the Coastal Cordillera arc at ~ 122 Ma and terminated before intrusion of the unstrained ~ 114 Ma Sierra Atacama diorite of the Copiapó batholith. Geochemical data show that the Copiapó batholith was more mafic and more K-rich than the calc-alkaline Coastal Cordillera arc. This time period thus overlaps IOCG mineralization in the Punta del Cobre district (~ 120 to 110 Ma). Multiple phases of sodic-calcic alteration in and around the AFS shear zone are recognized. Textures of altered rock in the shear zone show both synkinematic assemblages and post-kinematic hydrothermal oligoclase. A ~ 775-m-long andradite vein that cuts the shear zone formed broadly at the end of magmatism in the district (~ 95 Ma). Oxygen isotope ratios from the vein indicate that hydrothermal fluids were likely magmatically derived. Together, this work shows the AFS-related shear zone and nearby IOCG mineralization developed in a regional transpressional regime produced by SE-directed oblique convergence across a NE-striking shear zone. IOCG-related magmatic-hydrothermal fluids exploited this transcrustal shear zone to produce multiple episodes of regional sodic-calcic alteration formed from fluids exsolved from magmas or driven by the heat of the Coastal Cordillera arc and Copiapó batholith.

     
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  2. ABSTRACT

    This paper presents the results of 475h of interferometric observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array towards the Spiderweb protocluster at z=2.16. We search for large, extended molecular gas reservoirs among 46 previously detected CO(1−0) emitters, employing a customised method we developed. Based on the CO emission images and position–velocity diagrams, as well as the ranking of sources using a binary weighting of six different criteria, we have identified 14 robust and 7 tentative candidates that exhibit large extended molecular gas reservoirs. These extended reservoirs are defined as having sizes greater than 40 kpc or supergalactic scale. This result suggests a high frequency of extended gas reservoirs, comprising at least 30 percent of our CO-selected sample. An environmental study of the candidates is carried out based on Nth nearest neighbour and we find that the large molecular gas reservoirs tend to exist in denser regions. The spatial distribution of our candidates is mainly centred on the core region of the Spiderweb protocluster. The performance and adaptability of our method are discussed. We found 13 (potentially) extended gas reservoirs located in eight galaxy (proto)clusters from the literature. We noticed that large extended molecular gas reservoirs surrounding (normal) star-forming galaxies in protoclusters are rare. This may be attributable to the lack of observations low-J CO transitions and the lack of quantitative analyses of molecular gas morphologies. The large gas reservoirs in the Spiderweb protocluster are potential sources of the intracluster medium seen in low redshift Virgo- or Coma-like galaxy clusters.

     
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  3. null (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT In this paper, we present the identification of five previously unknown giant radio galaxies (GRGs) using Data Release 1 of the Radio Galaxy Zoo citizen science project and a selection method appropriate to the training and validation of deep learning algorithms for new radio surveys. We associate one of these new GRGs with the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in the galaxy cluster GMBCG J251.67741+36.45295 and use literature data to identify a further 13 previously known GRGs as BCG candidates, increasing the number of known BCG GRGs by $\gt 60$ per cent. By examining local galaxy number densities for the number of all known BCG GRGs, we suggest that the existence of this growing number implies that GRGs are able to reside in the centres of rich (∼1014 M⊙) galaxy clusters and challenges the hypothesis that GRGs grow to such sizes only in locally underdense environments. 
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  4. ABSTRACT We present multiwavelength spectral and temporal variability analysis of PKS 0027-426 using optical griz observations from Dark Energy Survey between 2013 and 2018 and VEILS Optical Light curves of Extragalactic TransienT Events (VOILETTE) between 2018 and 2019 and near-infrared (NIR) JKs observations from Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy Extragalactic Infrared Legacy Survey (VEILS) between 2017 and 2019. Multiple methods of cross-correlation of each combination of light curve provides measurements of possible lags between optical–optical, optical–NIR, and NIR–NIR emission, for each observation season and for the entire observational period. Inter-band time lag measurements consistently suggest either simultaneous emission or delays between emission regions on time-scales smaller than the cadences of observations. The colour–magnitude relation between each combination of filters was also studied to determine the spectral behaviour of PKS 0027-426. Our results demonstrate complex colour behaviour that changes between bluer when brighter, stable when brighter, and redder when brighter trends over different time-scales and using different combinations of optical filters. Additional analysis of the optical spectra is performed to provide further understanding of this complex spectral behaviour. 
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  5. Abstract We present a detailed analysis of the radio galaxy PKS $2250{-}351$ , a giant of 1.2 Mpc projected size, its host galaxy, and its environment. We use radio data from the Murchison Widefield Array, the upgraded Giant Metre-wavelength Radio Telescope, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, and the Australia Telescope Compact Array to model the jet power and age. Optical and IR data come from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey and provide information on the host galaxy and environment. GAMA spectroscopy confirms that PKS $2250{-}351$ lies at $z=0.2115$ in the irregular, and likely unrelaxed, cluster Abell 3936. We find its host is a massive, ‘red and dead’ elliptical galaxy with negligible star formation but with a highly obscured active galactic nucleus dominating the mid-IR emission. Assuming it lies on the local M – $\sigma$ relation, it has an Eddington accretion rate of $\lambda_{\rm EDD}\sim 0.014$ . We find that the lobe-derived jet power (a time-averaged measure) is an order of magnitude greater than the hotspot-derived jet power (an instantaneous measure). We propose that over the lifetime of the observed radio emission ( ${\sim} 300\,$ Myr), the accretion has switched from an inefficient advection-dominated mode to a thin disc efficient mode, consistent with the decrease in jet power. We also suggest that the asymmetric radio morphology is due to its environment, with the host of PKS $2250{-}351$ lying to the west of the densest concentration of galaxies in Abell 3936. 
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  6. Abstract

    Magmatic arcs may play a major role in the initiation, behavior, and abandonment of intra‐arc strike‐slip systems. Here we present zircon U‐Pb and (U‐Th)/He geochronology/thermochronology with new mapping to relate Coastal Cordillera arc magmatism to sinistral shear along the Atacama fault system (AFS) in northern Chile. New dates from 18 intrusions along the AFS between 24.6°S and 27°S compiled with published data record a minor Early Jurassic magmatic pulse (195–175 Ma), broad latest Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (150–120 Ma) pulse, and a minor younger (120–105 Ma) pulse. Mylonitization occurred only along the margins of Early Cretaceous plutons and surrounding Paleozoic metasedimentary rock, whereas Jurassic plutons and metasedimentary rocks away from Early Cretaceous plutons lack mylonitic fabrics. Early Cretaceous magmatism facilitated AFS deformation by thermally weakening the crust with elevated geothermal gradients that enabled mylonitization to take place at ~5‐ to 7‐km depths and low stresses. Spatial variability of pluton emplacement produced significant rheological heterogeneity, giving rise to a highly segmented fault system that did not originate as a regional‐scale shear zone. Synkinematic dikes (~120–117 Ma) cut mylonitic fabrics, and a postkinematic dike (~110 Ma) records the end stages of slip. The cessation of slip coincided with cooling below ~180 °C at ~116–99 Ma as arc magmatism migrated eastward and geothermal gradients relaxed, coeval with a major reorganization in plate motion and the onset of seafloor spreading in the south Atlantic.

     
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  7. ABSTRACT We present two new radio continuum images from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) survey in the direction of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). These images are part of the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) Early Science Project (ESP) survey of the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. The two new source lists produced from these images contain radio continuum sources observed at 960 MHz (4489 sources) and 1320 MHz (5954 sources) with a bandwidth of 192 MHz and beam sizes of 30.0 × 30.0 arcsec2 and 16.3 × 15.1 arcsec2, respectively. The median root mean square (RMS) noise values are 186 $\mu$Jy beam−1 (960 MHz) and 165 $\mu$Jy beam−1 (1320 MHz). To create point source catalogues, we use these two source lists, together with the previously published Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) point source catalogues to estimate spectral indices for the whole population of radio point sources found in the survey region. Combining our ASKAP catalogues with these radio continuum surveys, we found 7736 point-like sources in common over an area of 30 deg2. In addition, we report the detection of two new, low surface brightness supernova remnant candidates in the SMC. The high sensitivity of the new ASKAP ESP survey also enabled us to detect the bright end of the SMC planetary nebula sample, with 22 out of 102 optically known planetary nebulae showing point-like radio continuum emission. Lastly, we present several morphologically interesting background radio galaxies. 
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  8. Abstract

    An extensive system of NW striking faults constitutes a major tectonic feature of the Coastal Cordillera in northern Chile, but fundamental questions remain about timing and kinematics of these structures. We present new geologic mapping and geochronology that provide insight into the structural evolution and tectonic significance of the Taltal fault system (TFS). The TFS displaces the Early Cretaceous arc‐parallel Atacama fault system (AFS) with ~10.6 km cumulative offset across a ~15 km wide zone. Brittle fault data demonstrate that the TFS is vertical to steeply NE dipping with an average sinistral slip vector plunging 11° from the NW, compatible with E‐W shortening. Two late Early Cretaceous dikes cut the AFS but are cut by TFS faults, and synkinematic calcite on a TFS strand yielded a U‐Pb calcite date of 114.1 ± 7.0 Ma. These data demonstrate that the AFS was abandoned and deformation (re) initiated on the TFS between ~114–107 Ma, with continued slip after intrusion of the Tropezón (~110 Ma) and Librillo (106–101 Ma) plutonic complexes. Emplacement of a ~146 Ma rhyolite dike along the main Taltal fault and 141 ± 11 Ma calcite mineralization in the fault core suggests that a precursor structure influenced magma emplacement and fluid flow in the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous, supporting the hypothesis that the TFS reactivated long‐lived inherited crustal weaknesses. The Early Cretaceous shift from arc‐parallel shear to slip on the TFS and E‐W shortening shortly preceded migration of the magmatic arc and records a change in the Chilean margin subduction dynamics.

     
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  9. Abstract The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is an open access telescope dedicated to studying the low-frequency (80–300 MHz) southern sky. Since beginning operations in mid-2013, the MWA has opened a new observational window in the southern hemisphere enabling many science areas. The driving science objectives of the original design were to observe 21 cm radiation from the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR), explore the radio time domain, perform Galactic and extragalactic surveys, and monitor solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric phenomena. All together $60+$ programs recorded 20 000 h producing 146 papers to date. In 2016, the telescope underwent a major upgrade resulting in alternating compact and extended configurations. Other upgrades, including digital back-ends and a rapid-response triggering system, have been developed since the original array was commissioned. In this paper, we review the major results from the prior operation of the MWA and then discuss the new science paths enabled by the improved capabilities. We group these science opportunities by the four original science themes but also include ideas for directions outside these categories. 
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