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The study of transient and variable events, including novae, active galactic nuclei, and black hole binaries, has historically been a fruitful path for elucidating the evolutionary mechanisms of our universe. The study of such events in the millimeter and submillimeter is, however, still in its infancy. Submillimeter observations probe a variety of materials, such as optically thick dust, which are hard to study in other wavelengths. Submillimeter observations are sensitive to a number of emission mechanisms, from the aforementioned cold dust, to hot free-free emission, and synchrotron emission from energetic particles. Study of these phenomena has been hampered by a lack of prompt, high sensitivity submillimeter follow-up, as well as by a lack of high-sky-coverage submillimeter surveys. In this paper, we describe how the proposed Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) could fill in these gaps in our understanding of the transient universe. We discuss a number of science cases that would benefit from AtLAST observations, and detail how AtLAST is uniquely suited to contributing to them. In particular, AtLAST’s large field of view will enable serendipitous detections of transient events, while its anticipated ability to get on source quickly and observe simultaneously in multiple bands make it also ideally suited for transient follow-up. We make theoretical predictions for the instrumental and observatory properties required to significantly contribute to these science cases, and compare them to the projected AtLAST capabilities. Finally, we consider the unique ways in which transient science cases constrain the observational strategies of AtLAST, and make prescriptions for how AtLAST should observe in order to maximize its transient science output without impinging on other science cases.

Observations at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths offer a complementary perspective on our Sun and other stars, offering significant insights into both the thermal and magnetic composition of their chromospheres. Despite the fundamental progress in (sub-)millimeter observations of the Sun, some important aspects require diagnostic capabilities that are not offered by existing observatories. In particular, simultaneous observations of the radiation continuum across an extended frequency range would facilitate the mapping of different layers and thus ultimately the 3D structure of the solar atmosphere. Mapping large regions on the Sun or even the whole solar disk at a very high temporal cadence would be crucial for systematically detecting and following the temporal evolution of flares, while synoptic observations, i.e., daily maps, over periods of years would provide an unprecedented view of the solar activity cycle in this wavelength regime. As our Sun is a fundamental reference for studying the atmospheres of active main sequence stars, observing the Sun and other stars with the same instrument would unlock the enormous diagnostic potential for understanding stellar activity and its impact on exoplanets. The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a single-dish telescope with 50m aperture proposed to be built in the Atacama desert in Chile, would be able to provide these observational capabilities. Equipped with a large number of detector elements for probing the radiation continuum across a wide frequency range, AtLAST would address a wide range of scientific topics including the thermal structure and heating of the solar chromosphere, flares and prominences, and the solar activity cycle. In this white paper, the key science cases and their technical requirements for AtLAST are discussed.

The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is fundamental for understanding the formation and evolution of the Earth and other planets. Compositional and meteorological studies of the giant planets provide a foundation for understanding the nature of the most commonly observed exoplanets, while spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, moons, and comets provide insights into the past and present-day habitability of planetary environments, and the availability of the chemical ingredients for life. While prior and existing (sub)millimeter observations have led to major advances in these areas, progress is hindered by limitations in the dynamic range, spatial and temporal coverage, as well as sensitivity of existing telescopes and interferometers. Here, we summarize some of the key planetary science use cases that factor into the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a proposed 50-m class single dish facility: (1) to more fully characterize planetary wind fields and atmospheric thermal structures, (2) to measure the compositions of icy moon atmospheres and plumes, (3) to obtain detections of new, astrobiologically relevant gases and perform isotopic surveys of comets, and (4) to perform synergistic, temporally-resolved measurements in support of dedicated interplanetary space missions. The improved spatial coverage (several arcminutes), resolution (~ 1.2″ − 12″), bandwidth (several tens of GHz), dynamic range (~ 105) and sensitivity (~ 1 mK km s−1) required by these science cases would enable new insights into the chemistry and physics of planetary environments, the origins of prebiotic molecules and the habitability of planetary systems in general.

The rheological properties of BAS (BaAl2Si2O8) slurries are investigated in order to optimize the impregnation of an alumina preform to manufacture oxide/oxide composite materials. The fiber preform morphology has been deeply investigated, especially the fiber to fiber gap within tows and compared to the grain size of the matrix powder. The slurry viscosity is measured as a function of powder and organic additives concentration to find the best combination. The optimal combination is evaluated by different measurements including: zeta potential, sedimentation and wettability to verify the slurry behavior for the fibers infiltration. An aqueous slurry containing 20–25 vol% of BAS with 1 wt% of dispersing agent (Darvan 821-A™) improved the rheological properties for fibers infiltration. Finally, characterizations of the composite show a good infiltration in the fiber tows spaces and indicate a mean porosity of 37 vol%, including 9 vol% of macroporosity.

Observations at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths offer a complementary perspective on our Sun and other stars, offering significant insights into both the thermal and magnetic composition of their chromospheres. Despite the fundamental progress in (sub-)millimeter observations of the Sun, some important aspects require diagnostic capabilities that are not offered by existing observatories. In particular, simultaneously observations of the radiation continuum across an extended frequency range would facilitate the mapping of different layers and thus ultimately the 3D structure of the solar atmosphere. Mapping large regions on the Sun or even the whole solar disk at a very high temporal cadence would be crucial for systematically detecting and following the temporal evolution of flares, while synoptic observations, i.e., daily maps, over periods of years would provide an unprecedented view of the solar activity cycle in this wavelength regime. As our Sun is a fundamental reference for studying the atmospheres of active main sequence stars, observing the Sun and other stars with the same instrument would unlock the enormous diagnostic potential for understanding stellar activity and its impact on exoplanets. The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a single-dish telescope with 50m aperture proposed to be built in the Atacama desert in Chile, would be able to provide these observational capabilities. Equipped with a large number of detector elements for probing the radiation continuum across a wide frequency range, AtLAST would address a wide range of scientific topics including the thermal structure and heating of the solar chromosphere, flares and prominences, and the solar activity cycle. In this white paper, the key science cases and their technical requirements for AtLAST are discussed.

As we learn more about the multi-scale interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy, we develop a greater understanding for the complex relationships between the large-scale diffuse gas and dust in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), how it moves, how it is affected by the nearby massive stars, and which portions of those GMCs eventually collapse into star forming regions. The complex interactions of those gas, dust and stellar populations form what has come to be known as the ecology of our Galaxy. Because we are deeply embedded in the plane of our Galaxy, it takes up a significant fraction of the sky, with complex dust lanes scattered throughout the optically recognizable bands of the Milky Way. These bands become bright at (sub-)millimetre wavelengths, where we can study dust thermal emission and the chemical and kinematic signatures of the gas. To properly study such large-scale environments, requires deep, large area surveys that are not possible with current facilities. Moreover, where stars form, so too do planetary systems, growing from the dust and gas in circumstellar discs, to planets and planetesimal belts. Understanding the evolution of these belts requires deep imaging capable of studying belts around young stellar objects to Kuiper belt analogues around the nearest stars. Here we present a plan for observing the Galactic Plane and circumstellar environments to quantify the physical structure, the magnetic fields, the dynamics, chemistry, star formation, and planetary system evolution of the galaxy in which we live with AtLAST; a concept for a new, 50m single-dish sub-mm telescope with a large field of view which is the only type of facility that will allow us to observe our Galaxy deeply and widely enough to make a leap forward in our understanding of our local ecology.

During the most active period of star formation in galaxies, which occurs in the redshift range 1 < z < 3, strong bursts of star formation result in significant quantities of dust, which obscures new stars being formed as their UV/optical light is absorbed and then re-emitted in the infrared, which redshifts into the mm/sub-mm bands for these early times. To get a complete picture of the high-z galaxy population, we need to survey a large patch of the sky in the sub-mm with sufficient angular resolution to resolve all galaxies, but we also need the depth to fully sample their cosmic evolution, and therefore obtain their redshifts using direct mm spectroscopy with a very wide frequency coverage. This requires a large single-dish sub-mm telescope with fast mapping speeds at high sensitivity and angular resolution, a large bandwidth with good spectral resolution and multiplex spectroscopic capabilities. The proposed 50-m Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) will deliver these specifications. We discuss how AtLAST allows us to study the whole population of high-z galaxies, including the dusty star-forming ones which can only be detected and studied in the sub-mm, and obtain a wealth of information for each of these up to z ∼ 7: gas content, cooling budget, star formation rate, dust mass, and dust temperature. We present worked examples of surveys that AtLAST can perform, both deep and wide, and also focused on galaxies in proto-clusters. In addition we show how such surveys with AtLAST can measure the growth rate fσ 8 and the Hubble constant with high accuracy, and demonstrate the power of the line-intensity mapping method in the mm/sub-mm wavebands to constrain the cosmic expansion history at high redshifts, as good examples of what can uniquely be done by AtLAST in this research field.

Our knowledge of galaxy formation and evolution has incredibly progressed through multi-wavelength observational constraints of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies at all cosmic epochs. However, little is known about the physical properties of the more diffuse and lower surface brightness reservoir of gas and dust that extends beyond ISM scales and fills dark matter haloes of galaxies up to their virial radii, the circumgalactic medium (CGM). New theoretical studies increasingly stress the relevance of the latter for understanding the feedback and feeding mechanisms that shape galaxies across cosmic times, whose cumulative effects leave clear imprints into the CGM. Recent studies are showing that a – so far unconstrained – fraction of the CGM mass may reside in the cold (T < 104 K) molecular and atomic phase, especially in high-redshift dense environments. These gas phases, together with the warmer ionised phase, can be studied in galaxies from z ∼ 0 to z ∼ 10 through bright far-infrared and sub-millimeter emission lines such as [C ii] 158µm, [O iii] 88 µm, [C I] 609µm, [C i] 370µm, and the rotational transitions of CO. Imaging such hidden cold CGM can lead to a breakthrough in galaxy evolution studies but requires a new facility with the specifications of the proposed Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST). In this paper, we use theoretical and empirical arguments to motivate future ambitious CGM observations with AtLAST and describe the technical requirements needed for the telescope and its instrumentation to perform such science.

The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is fundamental for understanding the formation and evolution of the Earth and other planets. Compositional and meteorological studies of the giant planets provide a foundation for understanding the nature of the most commonly observed exoplanets, while spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, moons, and comets provide insights into the past and present-day habitability of planetary environments, and the availability of the chemical ingredients for life. While prior and existing (sub)millimeter observations have led to major advances in these areas, progress is hindered by limitations in the dynamic range, spatial and temporal coverage, as well as sensitivity of existing telescopes and interferometers. Here, we summarize some of the key planetary science use cases that factor into the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a proposed 50-m class single dish facility: (1) to more fully characterize planetary wind fields and atmospheric thermal structures, (2) to measure the compositions of icy moon atmospheres and plumes, (3) to obtain detections of new, astrobiologically relevant gases and perform isotopic surveys of comets, and (4) to perform synergistic, temporally-resolved measurements in support of dedicated interplanetary space missions. The improved spatial coverage (several arcminutes), resolution (~ 1.2′′ − 12′′), bandwidth (several tens of GHz), dynamic range (~ 105) and sensitivity (~ 1 mK km s−1) required by these science cases would enable new insights into the chemistry and physics of planetary environments, the origins of prebiotic molecules and the habitability of planetary systems in general.

Galaxy scaling relations provide insights into the processes that drive galaxy evolution. The extension of these scaling relations into the dwarf galaxy regime is of particular interest. This is because dwarf galaxies represent a crucial stage in galaxy evolution, and understanding them could also shed light on their role in reionizing the early Universe. There is currently no consensus on the processes that dominate the evolution of dwarfs. In this work, we constrain the atomic gas sequence (stellar mass versus atomic gas fraction) and mass–metallicity relation (stellar mass versus gas-phase metallicity) from dwarf (⁠|$10^{6.5} \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$|⁠) to massive (⁠|$10^{11.5} \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$|⁠) galaxies in the local Universe. The combined optical and 21-cm spectroscopic observations of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA surveys allow us to constrain both scaling relations simultaneously. We find a slope change of the atomic gas sequence at a stellar mass of |${\sim} 10^{9} \, \textrm{M}_{\odot }$|⁠. We also find that the shape and scatter of the atomic gas sequence and mass–metallicity relation are strongly linked for both dwarfs and more massive galaxies. Consequently, the low-mass slope change of the atomic gas sequence is imprinted onto the mass–metallicity relation of dwarf galaxies. The mass scale of the measured slope change is consistent with a predicted escape velocity threshold below which low-mass galaxies experience significant supernova-driven gas loss, as well as with a reduction in cold gas accretion onto more massive galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) was designed to conduct a survey covering 14,000 deg ^2 over 5 yr to constrain the cosmic expansion history through precise measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO). The scientific program for DESI was evaluated during a 5 month survey validation (SV) campaign before beginning full operations. This program produced deep spectra of tens of thousands of objects from each of the stellar Milky Way Survey (MWS), Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), luminous red galaxy (LRG), emission line galaxy (ELG), and quasar target classes. These SV spectra were used to optimize redshift distributions, characterize exposure times, determine calibration procedures, and assess observational overheads for the 5 yr program. In this paper, we present the final target selection algorithms, redshift distributions, and projected cosmology constraints resulting from those studies. We also present a One-Percent Survey conducted at the conclusion of SV covering 140 deg ^2 using the final target selection algorithms with exposures of a depth typical of the main survey. The SV indicates that DESI will be able to complete the full 14,000 deg ^2 program with spectroscopically confirmed targets from the MWS, BGS, LRG, ELG, and quasar programs with total sample sizes of 7.2, 13.8, 7.46, 15.7, and 2.87 million, respectively. These samples will allow exploration of the Milky Way halo, clustering on all scales, and BAO measurements with a statistical precision of 0.28% over the redshift interval z < 1.1, 0.39% over the redshift interval 1.1 < z < 1.9, and 0.46% over the redshift interval 1.9 < z < 3.5.

Extremely metal-poor galaxies (XMPGs) at relatively low redshift are excellent laboratories for studying galaxy formation and evolution in the early universe. Much effort has been spent on identifying them from large-scale spectroscopic surveys or spectroscopic follow-up observations. Previous work has identified a few hundred XMPGs. In this work, we obtain a large sample of 223 XMPGs at z < 1 from the early data of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). The oxygen abundance is determined using the direct T _e method based on the detection of the [O iii ] λ 4363 line. The sample includes 95 confirmed XMPGs based on the oxygen abundance uncertainty; the remaining 128 galaxies are regarded as XMPG candidates. These XMPGs are only 0.01% of the total DESI observed galaxies. Their coordinates and other properties are provided in the paper. The most XMPGs have an oxygen abundance of ∼1/34 Z _⊙ , a stellar mass of about 1.5 × 10 ^7 M _⊙, and a star formation rate of 0.22 M _⊙ yr ^−1 . The two most XMPGs present distinct morphologies suggesting different formation mechanisms. The local environmental investigation shows that XMPGs preferentially reside in relatively low-density regions. Many of them fall below the stellar mass–metallicity relations (MZRs) of normal star-forming galaxies. From a comparison of the MZR with theoretical simulations, it appears that XMPGs are good analogs to high-redshift star-forming galaxies. The nature of these XMPG populations will be further investigated in detail with larger and more complete samples from the ongoing DESI survey.

We present the probabilistic stellar mass function (pSMF) of galaxies in the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), observed during the One-percent Survey. The One-percent Survey was one of DESI’s survey validation programs conducted from 2021 April to May, before the start of the main survey. It used the same target selection and similar observing strategy as the main survey and successfully observed the spectra and redshifts of 143,017 galaxies in the r < 19.5 magnitude-limited BGS Bright sample and 95,499 galaxies in the fainter surface-brightness- and color-selected BGS Faint sample over z < 0.6. We derive pSMFs from posteriors of stellar mass, M _* , inferred from DESI photometry and spectroscopy using the Hahn et al. PRObabilistic Value-Added BGS (PROVABGS) Bayesian spectral energy distribution modeling framework. We use a hierarchical population inference framework that statistically and rigorously propagates the M _* uncertainties. Furthermore, we include correction weights that account for the selection effects and incompleteness of the BGS observations. We present the redshift evolution of the pSMF in BGS, as well as the pSMFs of star-forming and quiescent galaxies classified using average specific star formation rates from PROVABGS. Overall, the pSMFs show good agreement with previous stellar mass function measurements in the literature. Our pSMFs showcase the potential and statistical power of BGS, which in its main survey will observe >100 × more galaxies. Moreover, we present the statistical framework for subsequent population statistics measurements using BGS, which will characterize the global galaxy population and scaling relations at low redshifts with unprecedented precision.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) completed its 5 month Survey Validation in 2021 May. Spectra of stellar and extragalactic targets from Survey Validation constitute the first major data sample from the DESI survey. This paper describes the public release of those spectra, the catalogs of derived properties, and the intermediate data products. In total, the public release includes good-quality spectral information from 466,447 objects targeted as part of the Milky Way Survey, 428,758 as part of the Bright Galaxy Survey, 227,318 as part of the Luminous Red Galaxy sample, 437,664 as part of the Emission Line Galaxy sample, and 76,079 as part of the Quasar sample. In addition, the release includes spectral information from 137,148 objects that expand the scope beyond the primary samples as part of a series of secondary programs. Here, we describe the spectral data, data quality, data products, Large-Scale Structure science catalogs, access to the data, and references that provide relevant background to using these spectra.

Mapping stars and gas in nearby galaxies is fundamental for understanding their growth and the impact of their environment. This issue is addressed by comparing the stellar “edges” of galaxies D _stellar , defined as the outermost diameter where in situ star formation significantly drops, with the gaseous distribution parameterized by the neutral atomic hydrogen diameter measured at 1 M _⊙ pc ^−2 , D _HI . By sampling a broad H i mass range 10 ^5 M _⊙ < M _HI < 10 ^11 M _⊙ , we find several dwarf galaxies with M _HI < 10 ^9 M _⊙ from the field and Fornax Cluster that are distinguished by D _stellar ≫ D _HI . For the cluster dwarfs, the average H i surface density near D _stellar is ∼0.3 M _⊙ pc ^−2 , reflecting the impact of quenching and outside-in gas removal from ram pressure and tidal interactions. In comparison, D _stellar / D _HI ranges between 0.5 and 2 in dwarf field galaxies, consistent with the expectations from stellar feedback. Only more massive disk galaxies in the field can thus be characterized by the common assumption that D _stellar ≲ D _HI . We discover a break in the D _stellar – M _⋆ relation at m _break ∼ 4 × 10 ^8 M _⊙ that potentially differentiates the low-mass regime, where the influence of stellar feedback and environmental processes more prominently regulates the sizes of nearby galaxies. Our results highlight the importance of combining deep optical and H i imaging for understanding galaxy evolution.

Background: Quantification of aortic morphology plays an important role in the evaluation and follow‐up assessment of patients with aortic diseases, but often requires labor‐intensive and operator‐dependent measurements. Automatic solutions would help enhance their quality and reproducibility. Purpose: To design a deep learning (DL)‐based automated approach for aortic landmarks and lumen detection derived from three‐dimensional (3D) MRI. Study Type: Retrospective. Population: Three hundred ninety‐one individuals (female: 47%, age = 51.9 ± 18.4) from three sites, including healthy subjects and patients (hypertension, aortic dilation, Turner syndrome), randomly divided into training/validation/test datasets (N = 236/77/78). Twenty‐five subjects were randomly selected and analyzed by three operators with different levels of expertise. Field Strength/Sequence: 1.5‐T and 3‐T, 3D spoiled gradient‐recalled or steady‐state free precession sequences. Assessment: Reinforcement learning and a two‐stage network trained using reference landmarks and segmentation from an existing semi‐automatic software were used for aortic landmark detection and segmentation from sinotubular junction to coeliac trunk. Aortic segments were defined using the detected landmarks while the aortic centerline was extracted from the segmentation and morphological indices (length, aortic diameter, and volume) were computed for both the reference and the proposed segmentations. Statistical Tests: Segmentation: Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Hausdorff distance (HD), average symmetrical surface distance (ASSD); landmark detection: Euclidian distance (ED); model robustness: Spearman correlation, Bland–Altman analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test for comparisons between reference and DL‐derived aortic indices; inter‐observer study: Williams index (WI). A WI 95% confidence interval (CI) lower bound >1 indicates that the method is within the inter‐observer variability. A P‐value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: DSC was 0.90 ± 0.05, HD was 12.11 ± 7.79 mm, and ASSD was 1.07 ± 0.63 mm. ED was 5.0 ± 6.1 mm. A good agreement was found between all DL‐derived and reference aortic indices (r >0.95, mean bias <7%). Our segmentation and landmark detection performances were within the inter‐observer variability except the sinotubular junction landmark (CI = 0.96;1.04). Data Conclusion: A DL‐based aortic segmentation and anatomical landmark detection approach was developed and applied to 3D MRI data for achieve aortic morphology evaluation. Evidence Level: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derived molecular gas fractions (fmol = Mmol/M*) and depletion times (τmol = Mmol/SFR) for 353 galaxies representative of the local star-forming population with 108.5 M⊙ < M* < 1010.5 M⊙ drawn from the ALLSMOG and xCOLDGASS surveys of CO(2−1) and CO(1−0) line emission. By adding constraints from low-mass galaxies and upper limits for CO non-detections, we find the median molecular gas fraction of the local star-forming population to be constant at log fmol = −0.99−0.19+0.22 log f mol = − 0. 99 − 0.19 + 0.22 $ \log f_{\mathrm{mol}}=-0.99^{+0.22}_{-0.19} $ , challenging previous reports of increased molecular gas fractions in low-mass galaxies. Above M* ∼ 1010.5 M⊙, we find the fmol versus M* relation to be sensitive to the selection criteria for star-forming galaxies. We tested the robustness of our results against different prescriptions for the CO-to-H2 conversion factor and different selection criteria for star-forming galaxies. The depletion timescale τmol weakly depends on M*, following a power law with a best-fit slope of 0.16 ± 0.03. This suggests that small variations in specific star formation rate (sSFR = SFR/M*) across the local main sequence of star-forming galaxies with M* < 1010.5 M⊙ are mainly driven by differences in the efficiency of converting the available molecular gas into stars. We tested these results against a possible dependence of fmol and τmol on the surrounding (group) environment of the targets by splitting them into centrals, satellites, and isolated galaxies, and find no significant variation between these populations. We conclude that the group environment is unlikely to have a large systematic effect on the molecular gas content of star-forming galaxies in the local Universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Star formation histories (SFHs) of galaxies are affected by a variety of factors, both external (field versus cluster/group) and internal [presence of a bar and active galactic nucleus (AGN), morphological type]. In this work, we extend our previous study and apply the |$\langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {5}} \rangle \big / \langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {200}} \rangle$|  metric to a sample of 11 nearby galaxies with Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer observations. Based on a combination of H α and ultraviolet photometry, |$\langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {5}} \rangle \big / \langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {200}} \rangle$| is sensitive to star formation time-scales of ∼5–200 Myr and therefore measures the present-day rate of change in the star formation rate (SFR), dSFR/d t. Within this limited galaxy sample, we do not observe systematic variations between the global value of |$\langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {5}} \rangle \big / \langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {200}} \rangle$| and the presence of an AGN, stellar bar, or group or cluster membership. Within some of the individual galaxies, we, however, observe significant differences in |$\langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {5}} \rangle \big / \langle \mathrm{SFR}_{\textnormal {200}} \rangle$| between the arm and interarm regions. In half of the galaxies, the recent SFH of both arm and interarm regions has been very similar. However, in the galaxies with higher bulge-to-total light ratios and earlier morphological type, the SFR is declining more rapidly in the interarm regions. This decline in SFR is not a result of low molecular gas surface density or a decrease in the star formation efficiency, implying that other factors are responsible for this SFR decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV) is associated with increased mortality in aging and disease. Several studies have shown the accuracy of applanation tonometry carotid-femoral PWV (Cf-PWV) and the relevance of evaluating central aorta stiffness using 2D cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to estimate PWV, and aortic distensibility-derived PWV through the theoretical Bramwell-Hill model (BH-PWV). Our aim was to compare various methods of aortic PWV (aoPWV) estimation from 4D flow CMR, in terms of associations with age, Cf-PWV, BH-PWV and left ventricular (LV) mass-to-volume ratio while evaluating inter-observer reproducibility and robustness to temporal resolution. Methods We studied 47 healthy subjects (49.5 ± 18 years) who underwent Cf-PWV and CMR including aortic 4D flow CMR as well as 2D cine SSFP for BH-PWV and LV mass-to-volume ratio estimation. The aorta was semi-automatically segmented from 4D flow data, and mean velocity waveforms were estimated in 25 planes perpendicular to the aortic centerline. 4D flow CMR aoPWV was calculated: using velocity curves at two locations, namely ascending aorta (AAo) and distal descending aorta (DAo) aorta (S1, 2D-like strategy), or using all velocity curves along the entire aortic centreline (3D-like strategies) with iterative transit time (TT) estimates (S2) or a plane fitting of velocity curves systolic upslope (S3). For S1 and S2, TT was calculated using three approaches: cross-correlation (TTc), wavelets (TTw) and Fourier transforms (TTf). Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman biases (BA) were used to evaluate inter-observer reproducibility and effect of lower temporal resolution. Results 4D flow CMR aoPWV estimates were significantly (p

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) embarked on an ambitious 5 yr survey in 2021 May to explore the nature of dark energy with spectroscopic measurements of 40 million galaxies and quasars. DESI will determine precise redshifts and employ the baryon acoustic oscillation method to measure distances from the nearby universe to beyond redshift z > 3.5, and employ redshift space distortions to measure the growth of structure and probe potential modifications to general relativity. We describe the significant instrumentation we developed to conduct the DESI survey. This includes: a wide-field, 3.°2 diameter prime-focus corrector; a focal plane system with 5020 fiber positioners on the 0.812 m diameter, aspheric focal surface; 10 continuous, high-efficiency fiber cable bundles that connect the focal plane to the spectrographs; and 10 identical spectrographs. Each spectrograph employs a pair of dichroics to split the light into three channels that together record the light from 360–980 nm with a spectral resolution that ranges from 2000–5000. We describe the science requirements, their connection to the technical requirements, the management of the project, and interfaces between subsystems. DESI was installed at the 4 m Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and has achieved all of its performance goals. Some performance highlights include an rms positioner accuracy of better than 0.″1 and a median signal-to-noise ratio of 7 of the [O ii ] doublet at 8 × 10 ^−17 erg s ^−1 cm ^−2 in 1000 s for galaxies at z = 1.4–1.6. We conclude with additional highlights from the on-sky validation and commissioning, key successes, and lessons learned.

We investigate whether barred galaxies are statistically more likely to harbour radial molecular gas flows and what effect those flows have on their global properties. Using 46 galaxies from the ALMA-MaNGA QUEnching and STar formation (ALMaQUEST) survey, we identify galaxies hosting optical bars using a combination of the morphological classifications in Galaxy Zoo 2 and HyperLEDA. In order to detect radial molecular gas flows, we employ full 3D kinematic modelling of the ALMaQUEST 12CO(1–0) data cubes. By combining our bar classifications with our radial bar-driven flow detections, we find that galaxies classed as barred are statistically more likely to host large-scale radial gas motions compared to their un-barred and edge-on galaxy counterparts. Moreover, the majority of barred galaxies require multicomponent surface brightness profiles in their best-fitting models, indicative of the presence of resonance systems. We find that galaxies classed as barred with radial bar-driven flows ('barred + radial flow' subset) have significantly suppressed global star-formation efficiencies compared to barred galaxies without radial bar-driven flows and galaxies in the other morphological sub-samples. Our 'barred + radial flow' subset galaxies also possess consistently centrally concentrated molecular gas distributions, with no indication of depleted gas mass fractions, suggesting that gas exhaustion is not the cause of their suppressed star formation. Furthermore, these objects have higher median gas mass surface densities in their central 1 kpc, implying that central gas enhancements do not fuel central starbursts in these objects. We propose that dynamical effects, such as shear caused by large-scale inflows of gas, act to gravitationally stabilize the inner gas reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Understanding and prediction of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (ATAA) progression are not well established yet and aortic dissection is frequently occurring on normally sized and mildly dilated aortas. Despite known theoretical associations between pressures and blood flow patterns there are no studies focusing on their simultaneous evaluation. Our aim was to propose a comprehensive and quantitative evaluation of pressure-flow-wall interplay from 4D flow MRI in the setting of aortic dilation. Methods: We studied 12 patients with ATAA (67 ± 14 years, 7 males) and 12 healthy subjects (63 ± 12 years, 8 males) who underwent 4D flow MRI. The segmented velocity fields were used to estimate: 1) local ascending aorta (AA) pressure changes from Navier-Stokes-derived relative pressure maps (AADP, mmHg), 2) AA wall shear stress (AAWSS, Pa) by estimating local velocity derivatives at the aortic borders, 3) aortic flow vorticity using the λ2 method (AAV, s-1). Results: AA local pressure change (AADP) was significantly associated with both AAV (r = 0.55, p = 0.006) and AAWSS (r = 0.69, p < 0.001) and both associations remained significant after adjustment for diameter, age and BSA (p = 0.007 and p = 0.003 respectively). Such positive associations indicate that local pressure variations affect local blood flow, generating flow current from high to low pressures and subsequently vortices with the underlying stress exerted on the AA wall. Conclusion: Local variations in aortic pressures, measured using 4D flow MRI, are associated with flow disorganization as quantified by vorticity and with the increase in the stress exerted on the aortic wall, as quantified by wall shear stress.

Purpose: Referral to surgery in thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) is based on maximal diameter (Dmax) measured from imaging, which is known to have a high diagnosis failure rate. In addition to geometry, 4D flow MRI provides a comprehensive time-resolved flow imaging. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the ability of 4D flow MRI-derived quantitative flow indices to characterize TAA. Methods: We studied 20 patients with TAA and tricuspid valve (TAVd, Dmax = 43 ± 5 mm, Age = 66 ± 14 years) and 56 healthy controls (YC: 30 subjects, Age = 36 ± 9 years ≤50 years, OC: 26 subjects, Age = 65 ± 9 years > 50 years). All underwent 4D flow MRI. After aortic segmentation, ascending aorta (AA) backward flow volume (VBF) was calculated in addition to maximal velocity jet angle and eccentricity (Ecc). Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to assess the ability of flow indices to characterize AA = dilation. Results: While AA Dmax was 1.4-fold higher in TAVd than OC, VBF increased by 6.5 folds and Ecc and Angle varied by 1.3 to 1.7 folds between the two groups. Moreover, VBF changed by 12.7 folds between the aneurysmal AA as compared to TAVd descending aorta. Finally, VBF increased consistently with age in all controls and was able to detect AA dilation with a 0.98 accuracy. Conclusion: AA backward flow quantified from 4D flow MRI outperformed the previously described indices such as flow eccentricity and angle in the characterization of thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Purpose: To provide a comprehensive assessment of aortic stiffness, through both local and regional distensibility and pulse wave velocity (PWV), in patients with either a tricuspid (TAV) or bicuspid (BAV) aortic valve and/or aortic dilation using MRI. Methods: We included 18 patients with TAV and dilated ascending aorta (DTAV, 65 ± 14 years, 11 males), 19 patients with a non-stenotic BAV without severe regurgitation (55 ± 15 years, 17 males), both paired for age, gender and pressures to control groups. All subjects underwent thoracic aortic axial 2D+t and sagittal 3D+t velocity-encoded MRI and carotid applanation tonometry. Local ascending (AA) and descending (DA) aortic distensibility as well as aortic arch PWV were automatically measured from 2D+t data [1], while regional AA and DA PWV were calculated from 3D+t data [2]. Results: As expected, both DTAV and BAV groups showed significantly increased maximal aortic diameters when compared to their respective control group: 47 ± 5 vs 31 ± 3 mm and 44 ± 4 vs 31 ± 4 mm, respectively (p < 0.001). However, no significant changes were found in local and regional aortic stiffness indices between both patient groups and their matched controls (p ≥ 0.05). Conclusion: 2D or 3D data-derived distensibility or PWV concomitantly and unexpectedly indicate that aortic stiffness was unchanged in patients with aortopathy when compared to matched healthy controls. Since fundamental laminal flow conditions and elastic properties driving Moens-Korteweg models are not reached in highly dilated aortas, the associated turbulent flow, local flow disorganization, changes in derived pressure gradients and flow-wall forces might be more suitable for an early discrimination of patients with valve/aneurismal disease.

The gas-phase metallicity of galaxies encodes important information about galaxy evolution processes, in particular star formation, feedback, outflows, and gas accretion, the relative importance of which can be extracted from systematic trends in the scatter of the mass–metallicity relation (MZR). Here, we use a sample of low-redshift (0.02 < z < 0.055) galaxies from SDSS to investigate the nature of the scatter around the MZR, the observables and physical processes causing it, and its dependence on galaxy mass. We use cold gas masses inferred from optical emission lines using the technique of Scholte & Saintonge (2023) to confirm that at fixed stellar mass, metallicity and gas mass are anticorrelated, but only for galaxies up to M * = 1010.5 M⊙. In that mass regime, we find a link between the offset of a galaxy from the MZR and halo mass, using the amplitude of the two-point correlation function as a proxy for halo mass; at fixed stellar mass, the most gas-poor galaxies reside in the most massive haloes. This observation is consistent with changes in gas accretion rates onto galaxies as a function of halo mass, with environmental effects acting on satellite galaxies also contributing. At higher stellar masses, the scatter of the MZR does no longer correlate with gas or halo mass. Instead, there is some indication of a link with AGN activity, as expected from models and simulations that metallicity is set by the interplay between gas in- and outflows, star formation, and AGN feedback, shaping the MZR and its scatter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical spectra contain a wealth of information about the physical properties and formation histories of galaxies. Often though, spectra are too noisy for this information to be accurately retrieved. In this study, we explore how machine learning methods can be used to de-noise spectra and increase the amount of information we can gain without having to turn to sample averaging methods such as spectral stacking. Using machine learning methods trained on noise-added spectra – Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra with Gaussian noise added – we investigate methods of maximizing the information we can gain from these spectra, in particular from emission lines, such that more detailed analysis can be performed. We produce a variational autoencoder (VAE) model, and apply it on a sample of noise-added spectra. Compared to the flux measured in the original SDSS spectra, the model values are accurate within 0.3–0.5 dex, depending on the specific spectral line and signal-to-noise ratio. Overall, the VAE performs better than a principal component analysis method, in terms of reconstruction loss and accuracy of the recovered line fluxes. To demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of the method in the context of large optical spectroscopy surveys, we simulate a population of spectra with noise similar to that in galaxies at z  = 0.1 observed by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We show that we can recover the shape and scatter of the mass–metallicity relation in this 'DESI-like' sample, in a way that is not possible without the VAE-assisted de-noising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Aortic stiffness can be evaluated by aortic distensibility or pulse wave velocity (PWV) using applanation tonometry, 2D phase contrast (PC) MRI and the emerging 4D flow MRI. However, such MRI tools may reach their technical limitations in populations with cardiovascular disease. Accordingly, this work focuses on the diagnostic value of aortic stiffness evaluated either by applanation tonometry or MRI in high-risk coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Methods: 35 patients with a multivessel CAD and a myocardial infarction treated 1 year before were prospectively recruited and compared with 18 controls with equivalent age and sex distribution. Ascending aorta distensibility and aortic arch 2D PWV were estimated along with 4D PWV. Furthermore, applanation tonometry carotid-to-femoral PWV (cf PWV) was recorded immediately after MRI. Results: While no significant changes were found for aortic distensibility; cf PWV, 2D PWV and 4D PWV were significantly higher in CAD patients than controls (12.7 ± 2.9 vs. 9.6 ± 1.1; 11.0 ± 3.4 vs. 8.0 ± 2.05 and 17.3 ± 4.0 vs. 8.7 ± 2.5 m·s−1 respectively, p < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis performed to assess the ability of stiffness indices to separate CAD subjects from controls revealed the highest area under the curve (AUC) for 4D PWV (0.97) with an optimal threshold of 12.9 m·s−1 (sensitivity of 88.6% and specificity of 94.4%). Conclusions: PWV estimated from 4D flow MRI showed the best diagnostic performances in identifying severe stable CAD patients from age and sex-matched controls, as compared to 2D flow MRI PWV, cf PWV and aortic distensibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OA17.04 T. Albritton (1); K.B. Coulibaly (2); I. Zoumenou (3); M. Paige (1); C. Davis (4); S. Carillon (5); D. Matthews (1); P. Saintonge Austin (6); L. Miles (1); V. [...], Background: HIV prevention research projects often apply "empowerment" approaches to achieve scientific goals and redress power imbalances between the study team and marginalized communities, particularly communities of color. Simultaneously, there have been calls for both scientific leadership and study methods that recognize the role of systemic racism within study team and the power differentials between study leadership and the communities. Methods: ETOILE, Experiences of Tensions in Organizations and Interventions Leveraged for Empowerment and Prevention, is a French-American cooperative project to explore and characterize how researchers in France and the US have addressed tensions related to race/racism-related power imbalances within two empowerment-based HIV prevention projects and how these tensions influence study implementation. Each project involved has predominately white leadership and predominately Black (US) or Black African/Black French (France) staff and community representatives. ETOILE applies reflexive, comparative, qualitative process evaluation methods to identify how tensions related to race/racism-related power imbalances manifest in various aspects of the study. Originally planned as a face-to-face intervisitation between French and US teams, we have conducted with three semi-structured, web-based group interviews, where study scientific leadership, staff, and community representatives, discussed within-project power relations, representation in study leadership and the role of race/racism, privilege and voice, related to community location, education and status. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and Skype and transcribed. Analysis is ongoing. Results: Preliminary analyses have identified several overarching themes, including racialized organization of labor within each team; resistance to sharing power; need for strategies and opportunities for Black scholars in HIV prevention research; the role of country-specific history and contexts; and need for white researchers to systematically undo marginalization of black researchers. Conclusions: Failing to reflexively consider the role of within study team-based, race/racism-related power imbalances in empowerment-based HIV prevention research may threaten the integrity and impact of the research and potentially reinforce the social conditions the research may be attempting to mitigate. Our hope is that by identifying how these tensions emerge in our own research and engaging in a structured analysis of the similarities and differences across contexts, we will identify best practices that reduce race/racism-related power imbalances and advance both in US and French HIV prevention research.