First HETDEX spectroscopic determinations of Lyα and UV luminosity functions at z = 2–3: bridging a gap between faint AGNs and bright galaxies

Astrophysical Journal IOP Publishing 922:2 (2021) 167

Authors:

Yechi Zhang, Masami Ouchi, Karl Gebhardt, Erin Mentuch Cooper, Chenxu Liu, Dustin Davis, Donghui Jeong, Daniel J Farrow, Steven L Finkelstein, Eric Gawiser, Gary J Hill, Yuichi Harikane, Ryota Kakuma, Viviana Acquaviva, Caitlin M Casey, Maximilian Fabricius, Ulrich Hopp, Matt J Jarvis, Martin Landriau, Ken Mawatari, Shiro Mukae, Yoshiaki Ono, Nao Sakai, Donald P Schneider

Abstract:

We present Lyα and ultraviolet (UV)-continuum luminosity functions (LFs) of galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at z = 2.0-3.5 determined by the untargeted optical spectroscopic survey of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). We combine deep Subaru imaging with HETDEX spectra resulting in 11.4 deg2 of fiber spectra sky coverage, obtaining 18,320 galaxies spectroscopically identified with Lyα emission, 2126 of which host type 1 AGNs showing broad (FWHM > 1000 km s-1) Lyα emission lines. We derive the Lyα (UV) LF over 2 orders of magnitude covering bright galaxies and AGNs in (-27 < MUV < -20) by the 1/Vmax estimator. Our results reveal that the bright-end hump of the Lyα LF is composed of type 1 AGNs. In conjunction with previous spectroscopic results at the faint end, we measure a slope of the best-fit Schechter function to be αSch=-1.70-0.14+0.13, which indicates that αSch steepens from z = 2-3 toward high redshift. Our UV LF agrees well with previous AGN UV LFs and extends to faint-AGN and bright-galaxy regimes. The number fraction of Lyα-emitting objects (XLAE) increases from MUV∗ ∼ -21 to bright magnitude due to the contribution of type 1 AGNs, while previous studies claim that XLyα decreases from faint magnitudes to MUV∗, suggesting a valley in the XLyα-magnitude relation at MUV∗. Comparing our UV LF of type 1 AGNs at z = 2-3 with those at z = 0, we find that the number density of faint (MUV > -21) type 1 AGNs increases from z ∼ 2 to 0, as opposed to the evolution of bright (MUV < -21) type 1 AGNs, suggesting AGN downsizing in the rest-frame UV luminosity.

Search for dark matter produced in association with a Standard Model Higgs boson decaying into b-quarks using the full Run 2 dataset from the ATLAS detector

Journal of High Energy Physics Springer Nature 2021:11 (2021) 209

Authors:

G Aad, B Abbott, Dc Abbott, A Abed Abud, K Abeling, Dk Abhayasinghe, Sh Abidi, Os AbouZeid, H Abramowicz, H Abreu, Y Abulaiti, Ac Abusleme Hoffman, Bs Acharya, B Achkar, L Adam, C Adam Bourdarios, L Adamczyk, L Adamek, J Adelman, A Adiguzel, S Adorni, T Adye, Aa Affolder, Y Afik, C Agapopoulou, Mn Agaras, J Agarwala, A Aggarwal, C Agheorghiesei, Ja Aguilar-Saavedra, A Ahmad, F Ahmadov, Ws Ahmed, X Ai, G Aielli, S Akatsuka, M Akbiyik, Tpa Akesson, Av Akimov, K Al Khoury, Gl Alberghi, J Albert, Mj Alconada Verzini, S Alderweireldt, M Aleksa, In Aleksandrov, C Alexa, T Alexopoulos, A Alfonsi, F Alfonsi

Abstract:

The production of dark matter in association with Higgs bosons is predicted in several extensions of the Standard Model. An exploration of such scenarios is presented, considering final states with missing transverse momentum and b-tagged jets consistent with a Higgs boson. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during Run 2, amounting to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. The analysis, when compared with previous searches, benefits from a larger dataset, but also has further improvements providing sensitivity to a wider spectrum of signal scenarios. These improvements include both an optimised event selection and advances in the object identification, such as the use of the likelihood-based significance of the missing transverse momentum and variable-radius track-jets. No significant deviation from Standard Model expectations is observed. Limits are set, at 95% confidence level, in two benchmark models with two Higgs doublets extended by either a heavy vector boson Z′ or a pseudoscalar singlet a and which both provide a dark matter candidate χ. In the case of the two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional vector boson Z′, the observed limits extend up to a Z′ mass of 3 TeV for a mass of 100 GeV for the dark matter candidate. The two-Higgs-doublet model with a dark matter particle mass of 10 GeV and an additional pseudoscalar a is excluded for masses of the a up to 520 GeV and 240 GeV for tan β = 1 and tan β = 10 respectively. Limits on the visible cross-sections are set and range from to 0.05 fb to 3.26 fb, depending on the missing transverse momentum and b-quark jet multiplicity requirements.

The detection of radio emission from known X-ray flaring star EXO 040830-7134.7

(2021)

Authors:

LN Driessen, DRA Williams, I McDonald, BW Stappers, DAH Buckley, RP Fender, PA Woudt

MeerKAT discovery of radio emission from the Vela X-1 bow shock

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 510:1 (2021) 515-530

Authors:

J van den Eijnden, I Heywood, R Fender, S Mohamed, Gr Sivakoff, P Saikia, Td Russell, S Motta, Jca Miller-Jones, Pa Woudt

Abstract:

Vela X-1 is a runaway X-ray binary system hosting a massive donor star, whose strong stellar wind creates a bow shock as it interacts with the interstellar medium (ISM). This bow shock has previously been detected in H α and infrared, but, similar to all but one bow shock from a massive runaway star (BD+43o3654), has escaped detection in other wavebands. We report on the discovery of 1.3 GHz radio emission from the Vela X-1 bow shock with the MeerKAT telescope. The MeerKAT observations reveal how the radio emission closely traces the H α line emission, both in the bow shock and in the larger scale diffuse structures known from existing H α surveys. The Vela X-1 bow shock is the first stellar-wind-driven radio bow shock detected around an X-ray binary. In the absence of a radio spectral index measurement, we explore other avenues to constrain the radio emission mechanism. We find that thermal/free-free emission can account for the radio and H α properties, for a combination of electron temperature and density consistent with earlier estimates of ISM density and the shock enhancement. In this explanation, the presence of a local ISM overdensity is essential for the detection of radio emission. Alternatively, we consider a non-thermal/synchrotron scenario, evaluating the magnetic field and broad-band spectrum of the shock. However, we find that exceptionally high fractions (13 per cent) of the kinetic wind power would need to be injected into the relativistic electron population to explain the radio emission. Assuming lower fractions implies a hybrid scenario, dominated by free-free radio emission. Finally, we speculate about the detectability of radio bow shocks and whether it requires exceptional ISM or stellar wind properties.

MeerKAT discovery of radio emission from the Vela X-1 bow shock

(2021)

Authors:

J van den Eijnden, I Heywood, R Fender, S Mohamed, GR Sivakoff, P Saikia, TD Russell, S Motta, JCA Miller-Jones, PA Woudt