Search

The anomalous increase in the area of the 23rd solar cycle detected by galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) was a precursor of failure of the 11-year cyclicity: in accordance with the author’s hypothesis about the invariant of the 22-year cycle, an increase in the area of the 23rd cycle was followed by a decrease in the area (energy intensity) of the next 24th cycle. A decrease in energy intensity is accompanied by a decrease (relative variation) in the luminosity of the Sun, which in the 24th cycle has decreased to the level of the average value of the three previous cycles, i.e., almost twice. If the invariant of the 22-year cycle is preserved, the restoration of the 11-year cyclicity in the 25th cycle should be expected. If the invariant of the 22-year cycle is violated, the level of the GCR radiation background at the maximum of the forthcoming 25th cycle (from 2024 to 2025) should not be lower than the background radiation level at the maximum of the 24th cycle (2014). In this case, the state of the 23rd–24th–25th cycle unusual failure will change from local to global.

We present a semi-analytic model of isolated dwarf galaxy evolution and use it to study the build-up of observed correlations between dwarf galaxy properties. We analyse the evolution using models with averaged and individual halo mass assembly histories in order to determine the importance of stochasticity on the present-day properties of dwarf galaxies. The model has a few free parameters, but when these are calibrated using the halo mass - stellar mass and stellar mass-metallicity relations, the results agree with other observed dwarf galaxy properties remarkably well. Redshift evolution shows that even isolated galaxies change significantly over the Hubble time and that 'fossil dwarf galaxies' with properties equivalent to those of high-redshift analogues should be extremely rare, or non-existent, in the Local Universe. A break in most galaxy property correlations develops over time, at a stellar mass $M_* \simeq 10^7 M_\odot$. It is caused predominantly by the ionizing background radiation and can therefore in principle be used to constrain the properties of reionization., 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

SABRE (Sodium-iodide with Active Background REjection) is a direct dark matter search experiment based on an array of radio-pure NaI(Tl) crystals surrounded by a liquid scintillator veto. Twin SABRE experiments in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres will differentiate a dark matter signal from seasonal and local effects. The experiment is currently in a Proof-of-Principle (PoP) phase, whose goal is to demonstrate that the background rate is low enough to carry out an independent search for a dark matter signal, with sufficient sensitivity to confirm or refute the DAMA result during the following full-scale experimental phase. The impact of background radiation from the detector materials and the experimental site needs to be carefully investigated, including both intrinsic and cosmogenically activated radioactivity. Based on the best knowledge of the most relevant sources of background, we have performed a detailed Monte Carlo study evaluating the expected background in the dark matter search spectral region. The simulation model described in this paper guides the design of the full-scale experiment and will be fundamental for the interpretation of the measured background and hence for the extraction of a possible dark matter signal., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures

A group of successive evolutionary images of a sunspot were observed on 4th March 2014 at the Ca II H (396.85 nm) line by the telescope on board of the Hinode satellite. The calculated oscillation period of the sample point in the umbra is 149.75 s by using the Jurkevich (JK) method. A proper averaged value of the intensity profile is selected as the steady background radiation, then the distribution of the extreme values of oscillations in the umbra is analyzed by a statistical method. The results show that the valley values follow a normal distribution, while the peak values satisfy a partial normal distribution. The distribution of these extreme values indicates that the 3 min oscillation of the umbra may be caused by the propagation of a traveling wave with a period of about 5 min in the umbra. The variation of light intensity caused by the traveling wave may be proportional to the square of the displacement of the traveling wave, resulting in a 3 min period of the light intensity, which is one half of the period of traveling wave.

Quantitative estimates of the basic properties of the circumgalactic medium(CGM), such as its density and metallicity, depend on the spectrum of incident UV background radiation. Models of UV background are known to have large variations, mainly because they are synthesized using poorly constrained parameters, which introduce uncertainty in the inferred properties of the CGM. Here, we quantify this uncertainty using a large set of new UV background models with physically motivated toy models of metal-enriched CGM. We find that, the inferred density and metallicity of low-density ($10^{-5}$ cm$^{-3}$) gas is uncertain by factors of 6.3 and 3.2, whereas high density ($10^{-3}$ cm$^{-3}$) gas by factors of 4 and 1.6, respectively. The variation in the shape of the UV background models is entirely responsible for such a variation in the metallicity while variation in the density arises from both normalization and shape of the UV background. Moreover, we find a harder (softer) UV background infers higher (lower) density and metallicity. We also study warm-hot gas at $T= 10^{5.5}$ K and find that metallicity is robustly estimated but the inferred density is uncertain by a factor of 3 to 5.4 for low to high-density gas. Such large uncertainties in density and metallicity may severely limit the studies of the CGM and demand better observational constraints on the input parameters used in synthesizing UV background., 19 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables: accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS)

The Mars radiation environment, both in past and at present, plays a vital role in the evolution of Martian atmosphere, so it is necessary to detect the background radiation environment both in the Martian atmosphere and the transfer orbit from Earth to Mars. The Tianwen-1 Energetic Particle Analyzer (EPA) is designed to measure and analyze the energetic charged particles emitted to the Martian atmosphere. Mars-EPA consists of two parts: one is the Mars-EPA sensor head and the other is the Mars-EPA electronics system. This paper begins with an introduction of Mars-EPA structure and function of each part, followed by a simulation of how sensor head structure is designed. It then evaluates the performance of detection system using Geant4 software, to whether this sensor is capable of identifying the target particle and proposes a reasonable ground calibration procedure, which allows on overall detection performance to some degree. This Mars-EPA has demonstrated a potentially high capability and configurability which hopefully will shed light on future development of compact energetic detectors in deep space exploration.

The effects of high radiation as a biological extreme have historically been, and continue to be, extensively researched in the fields of radiation biology and astrobiology. However, the absence of radiation as an extreme has received relatively limited attention from the scientific community, with its effects on life remaining unclear. The currently accepted model of the radiation dose-damage relationship for organisms is the linear no-threshold (LNT) model, which predicts a positive linear correlation between dose and damage that intercepts at zero dose corresponding to zero damage. Despite its wide-spread implementation, the LNT model is continuously being challenged by various new models, with the hormesis model as one of its main competitors. This model also postulates damage at high doses but, in contrast to the LNT model, it predicts beneficial stimulation of growth at low doses. Experiments to date have not yet been able to conclusively validate or dismiss either of these models. The aim of the collaborative Subsurface Experiment of Life in Low Radiation (SELLR) project was to test these competing models on prokaryotes in a well-characterised environment and provide a robust experimental set up to investigate low radiation in terrestrial and non-terrestrial environments. Bacterial growth assays using Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli were performed under ultra low ionising radiation in the Boulby International Subsurface Astrobiology Laboratory (BISAL) facilities of the Boulby Underground Laboratory at Boulby mine (Redcar & Cleveland, UK) and were used to investigate effects on viability and signs of preconditioning. No significant effect on bacterial growth was observed from exposure to radiation doses ranging from 0.01 times the levels of background radiation typically found in terrestrial surface environments to 100 times that background. Additionally, no preconditioned susceptibility to stress was observed in the bacterial strains grown in sustained low radiation. These data suggest that the extremes of low radiation do not alter growth parameters of these two organisms and that an improved model should be considered for prokaryotes, consisting of a dose-damage response with a threshold at ultra low radiation. We discuss the implications of these data for low radiation as a novel microbiological “extreme”.

The density distribution of the inter-galactic medium is an uncertain but highly important issue in the study of cosmic reionization. It is expected that there are abundant gas clouds hosted by low-mass "minihalos" in the early universe, which act as photon sinks until photoevaporated by the emerging ultra-violet background (UVB) radiation. We perform a suite of radiation hydrodynamics simulations to study the photoevaporation of minihalos. Our simulations follow hydrodynamics, non-equilibrium chemistry, and the associated cooling processes in a self-consistent manner. We conduct a parametric study by considering a wide range of gas metallicity ($0\,Z_\odot \leq Z \leq 10^{-3}\,Z_\odot$), halo mass ($10^3 M_\odot \leq M \leq 10^8 M_\odot$), UVB intensity ($0.01 \leq J_{21} \leq 1$), and turn-on redshift of ionizing sources ($10\leq z_{\rm IN} \leq 20$). We show that small halos are evaporated in a few tens million years, whereas larger mass halos survive for ten times longer. We show that the gas mass evolution of a minihalo can be characterized by a scaling parameter that is given by a combination of the halo mass, background radiation intensity, and redshift. Efficient radiative cooling in metal-enriched halos induces fast condensation of the gas to form a dense, self-shielded core. The cold, dense core can become gravitationally unstable in halos with high metallicities. Early metal enrichment may allow star formation in minihalos during cosmic reionization.

The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter search aims to achieve a sensitivity to the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross-section down to (1--2)$\times10^{-12}$\,pb at a WIMP mass of 40 GeV/$c^2$. This paper describes the simulations framework that, along with radioactivity measurements, was used to support this projection, and also to provide mock data for validating reconstruction and analysis software. Of particular note are the event generators, which allow us to model the background radiation, and the detector response physics used in the production of raw signals, which can be converted into digitized waveforms similar to data from the operational detector. Inclusion of the detector response allows us to process simulated data using the same analysis routines as developed to process the experimental data., Comment: 24 pages, 19 figures; Corresponding Authors: A. Cottle, V. Kudryavtsev, D. Woodward

We report, for the first time, a synchronized velocity shift of Mg II and Al III broad absorption lines (BALs) in quasar SDSS J134444.33+315007.6 (hereafter J1344+3150). We found this quasar from a sample of 134 Mg II BAL quasars with multi-epoch observations. This quasar contains three low-ionization BAL systems, the fastest of which at $\sim$$-17, 000\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ shows a kinematic shift of $\sim$$-1101\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ and $\sim$$-1170\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ in its Mg II and Al III ions, respectively, during a rest-frame time of about 3.21 yr. Meanwhile, this quasar also shows other various variation characteristics, including an obvious weakening in its continuum, a coordinated enhancement in multiple emission lines (Mg II, C III and Al III), and a coordinated enhancement in three Al III absorption troughs. These variation characteristics convincingly indicate that the BAL outflows of J1344+3150 are under the influence from the background radiation energy. Thus, we infer that the velocity shift displayed in system A in the quasar J1344+3150 may indicate an actual line-of-sight acceleration of an outflow due to the radiation pressure from the central source., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

We present a new X-ray luminosity function of flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) utilizing the latest {\it Swift}/BAT 105-month X-ray source catalog. Contrary to previous studies of FSRQs in the X-ray band, using the luminosity-dependent density evolution model, we find that FSRQs show evolutionary peaks at $z\sim1-2$ depending on luminosities. Our result is rather consistent with the evolution of FSRQs seen in the radio and GeV bands, although the number density is a factor of 5--10 smaller. We further explore the contribution of FSRQs to the cosmic MeV gamma-ray background radiation. We find that FSRQs can explain only $\sim3$\% of the observed MeV gamma-ray background fluxes around 1 MeV, indicating other populations are required. Future MeV gamma-ray observations will be keys for understanding the origin of the MeV gamma-ray background radiation., Comment: Accepted for ApJ

In observations of diffuse emissions like, e.g., the Lyman-$\alpha$ heliospheric glow, contributions to the observed signal from point sources (e.g., stars) are considered as a contamination. There are relatively few brightest point sources that are usually properly resolved and can be subtracted or masked. We present results of analysis of the distribution of point sources using UV sky-survey maps from the SOHO/SWAN instrument and spectrophotometry data from the IUE satellite. The estimated distribution suggests that the number of these sources increases with decreasing intensity. Below a certain threshold, these sources cannot be resolved against the diffuse signal from the backscatter glow, that results in a certain physical background from unresolved point sources. Detection, understanding and subtraction of the point-source background has implications for proper characterization of diffuse emissions and accurate comparison with models. Stars are also often used as standard candles for in-flight calibration of satellite UV observations, thus proper understanding of signal contributions from the point sources is important for the calibration process. We present a general approach to quantify the background radiation level from unresolved point sources in UV sky-survey maps. In the proposed method, a distribution of point sources as a function of their intensity is properly integrated to compute the background signal level. These general considerations are applied to estimate the unresolved-point-sources background in the SOHO/SWAN observations that on average amounts to $28.9$ R. We discuss also the background radiation anisotropies and general questions related to modeling the point-source contributions to diffuse UV-emission observations., Comment: To appear in Astrophysical Journal, 21 pages, 12 figures

Electron-positron pair creation near sub-Eddington accretion rate black holes is believed to be dominated by the Breit-Wheeler process (photon-photon collisions). The interacting high energy photons are produced when unscreened electric fields accelerate leptons either in coherent, macroscopic gaps or in incoherent structures embedded in the turbulent plasma flow. The latter type of acceleration results in a drizzle of pair production sourced by photons from the background radiation field whose energies are near the pair-production threshold. In this work, we use radiation GRMHD simulations to extend an earlier study of pair drizzle by Moscibrodzka et al. We focus on low-magnetization (SANE) accretion onto supermassive Kerr black holes and consider radiation due to synchrotron, bremsstrahlung, and Compton upscattering processes. We confirm that pair drizzle in M87 is sufficient to keep the magnetospheric charge density orders of magnitude above the Goldreich-Julian density. We also find that pair production peaks along the jet-disk boundary., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We simulate maser flares by varying either the pump rate or the background level of radiation in a 3D model of a maser cloud. We investigate the effect of different cloud shapes, saturation levels and viewpoints. Results are considered for clouds with both uniform and internally variable unsaturated inversion. Pumping and background variations are represented by several different driving functions, some of which are light curves drawn from observations. We summarise the pumping variability results in terms of three observable parameters, the maximum flux density achieved, a variability index and duty cycle. We demonstrate typical ranges of the flux density that may result from viewing an aspherical object from random viewpoints. The best object for a flare is a prolate cloud, viewed close to its long axis and driven from unsaturated conditions to at least modest saturation. Results for variation of the background level are qualitatively different from the variable pumping results in that they tend to produce short intervals of low flux density under conditions of moderate saturation and sufficient variability to be consistent with strong flaring. Variable background models typically have a significantly higher duty cycle than those with variable pumping., Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The diffuse ultraviolet background radiation has been mapped over most of the sky with 2\arcmin \ resolution using data from the \textit{GALEX} survey. We utilize this map to study the correlation between the UV background and clusters of galaxies discovered via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect in the \textit{Planck} survey. We use only high Galactic latitude ($|b| > 60^{\circ} $) galaxy clusters to avoid contamination by Galactic foregrounds, and we only analyze clusters with a measured redshift. This leaves us with a sample of 142 clusters over the redshift range $0.02 \leq z \leq 0.72$, which we further subdivide into four redshift bins. In analysing our stacked samples binned by redshift, we find evidence for a central excess of UV background light compared to local backgrounds for clusters with $z, 9 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in AJ

The shape of the ionising spectra of galaxies is a key ingredient to reveal their physical properties and to our understanding of the ionising background radiation. A long-standing unsolved problem is the presence of HeII nebular emission in many low-metallicity star-forming galaxies. This emission requires ionising photons with energy >54 eV, which are not produced in sufficient amounts by normal stellar populations. To examine if high mass X-ray binaries and ultra-luminous X-ray sources (HMXB/ULX) can explain the observed HeII nebular emission and how their presence alters other emission lines, we compute photoionisation models of galaxies including such sources. We combine spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of integrated stellar populations with constrained SEDs of ULXs to obtain composite spectra with varying amounts of X-ray luminosity, parameterised by Lx/SFR. With these we compute photoionisation models to predict the emission line fluxes of the optical recombination lines of H and He+, and the main metal lines of OIII, OII, OI, and NII. The predictions are then compared to a large sample of low-metallicity galaxies. We find that it is possible to reproduce the nebular HeII and other line observations with our spectra and with amounts of Lx/SFR compatible with the observations. Our work suggests that HMBX/ULX could be responsible for the observed nebular HeII emission. However, the strengths of the high and low ionisation lines, such as HeII and OI, depend strongly on the X-ray contribution and on the assumed SEDs of the high energy source(s); the latter are poorly known., Accepted by A&A on 13/09/2021

Soft protons constitute an important source of background in focusing X-ray telescopes, as Chandra and XMM-Newton experience has shown. The optics in fact transmit them to the focal plane with efficiency similar to the X-ray photon one. This effect is a good opportunity to study the environment of the Earth magnetosphere crossed by the X-ray satellite orbits, provided that we can link the spectra detected by the instruments with the ones impacting on the optics. For X-ray photons this link has the form of the so-called response matrix that includes the optics effective area and the energy redistribution in the detectors. Here we present a first attempt to produce a proton response matrix exploiting ray-tracing and GEANT4 simulations with the final aim to be able to analyse XMM-Newton soft proton data and link them to the external environment. If the procedure is found to be reliable, it can be applied to any future X-ray missions to predict the soft particles spectra impacting on the focal plane instruments.

The spectrum of cosmic ultraviolet background radiation at He II ionizing energies (E > 4 Ryd) is important to study the He II reionization, thermal history of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and metal lines observed in QSO absorption spectra. It is determined by the emissivity of QSOs at E > 4 Ryd obtained from their observed luminosity functions and the mean spectral energy distribution (SED). The SED is approximated as a power-law at energies E > 1 Ryd, $f_E \propto E^{\alpha}$, where the existing observations constrain the power-law index $\alpha$ only up to ~2.3 Ryd. Here, we constrain $\alpha$ for E > 4 Ryd using recently measured He II Lyman-alpha effective optical depths ($\tau_{HeII}$), H I photoionization rates and updated H I distribution in the IGM. We find that -1.6 > $\alpha$ > -2 is required to reproduce the $\tau_{HeII}$ measurements when we use QSO emissivity obtained from their luminosity function using optical surveys. We also find that the models where QSOs can alone reionize H I can not reproduce the $\tau_{HeII}$ measurements. These models need modifications, such as a break in mean QSO SED at energies greater than 4 Ryd. Even after such modifications the predicted He II reionization history, showing that the He II is highly ionized even at z~5, is significantly different from the standard models. Therefore, the thermal history of the IGM will be crucial to distinguish these models. We also provide the He II photoionization rates obtained from binned $\tau_{HeII}$ measurements.

Historical aspects of sky surveys carried out on the RATAN-600 radio telescope and studies of radio sources and background radiation detected in these surveys are considered.

In the extragalactic sky, microquasars and ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are known as energetic compact objects locating at off-nucleus positions in galaxies. Some of these objects are associated with expanding bubbles with a velocity of 80-250 ${\rm km~s^{-1}}$. We investigate the shock acceleration of particles in those expanding nebulae. The nebulae having fast expansion velocity $\gtrsim120~{\rm km~s^{-1}}$ are able to accelerate cosmic rays up to $\sim100$ TeV. If 10% of the shock kinetic energy goes into particle acceleration, powerful nebulae such as the microquasar S26 in NGC 7793 would emit gamma rays up to several tens TeV with a photon index of $\sim2$. These nebulae will be good targets for future Cherenkov Telescope Array observations given its sensitivity and angular resolution. They would also contribute to $\sim7$% of the unresolved cosmic gamma-ray background radiation at $\ge0.1~{\rm GeV}$. In contrast, particle acceleration in slowly expanding nebulae $\lesssim120~{\rm km~s^{-1}}$ would be less efficient due to ion-neutral collisions and result in softer spectra at $\gtrsim10$ GeV., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics

Star forming galaxies have long been considered the dominant sources of the cosmic ultraviolet background radiation at early epochs. However, observing and characterizing the galaxy population with significant ionizing emission has proven to be challenging. In particular, the fraction of ionizing radiation that escapes the local environment to the intergalactic medium is poorly known. We investigate the relation between the escape fraction and galaxy luminosity. We combine the deep ultraviolet observations of Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UVUDF) with the deep Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of the same field, collecting a sample of 165 faint star forming galaxies in the $3 < z < 4$ redshift range with deep rest-frame observations of the Lyman continuum. In our sample, we do not find any galaxy with significant emission of LyC radiation. We bin the galaxies in various redshift and brightness intervals and stack their images. From stacked images we estimate the relative escape fraction upper limits as a function of the luminosity. Thanks to the depth of the sample we measure meaningful 1$��$ upper limits of $f_{esc,rel} < 0.07, 0.2$ and 0.6 at $L \sim L_{\rm z=3}^{*}, 0.5L_{\rm z=3}^{*}$ and $0.1L_{\rm z=3}^{*}$, respectively. We use our estimates and theoretical predictions from the literature to study a possible dependence of the escape fraction on galaxy luminosity by modelling the ionizing background with different prescriptions of $f_{\rm esc} (M_{\rm UV})$. We show that the understanding of the luminosity dependence hinges on the ability to constrain the escape fraction down to $M_{\rm UV} \sim -18$ mag in the future., 16 pages, 15 figures, minor changes with respect to the previous version, accepted to MNRAS

We explore the possibility of the formation of globular clusters under ultraviolet (UV) background radiation. One-dimensional spherical symmetric radiation hydrodynamics (RHD) simulations by Hasegawa et al. have demonstrated that the collapse of low-mass (10^6-10^7 solar masses) gas clouds exposed to intense UV radiation can lead to the formation of compact star clusters like globular clusters (GCs) if gas clouds contract with supersonic infall velocities. However, three-dimensional effects, such as the anisotropy of background radiation and the inhomogeneity in gas clouds, have not been studied so far. In this paper, we perform three-dimensional RHD simulations in a semi-cosmological context, and reconsider the formation of compact star clusters in strong UV radiation fields. As a result, we find that although anisotropic radiation fields bring an elongated shadow of neutral gas, almost spherical compact star clusters can be procreated from a "supersonic infall" cloud, since photo-dissociating radiation suppresses the formation of hydrogen molecules in the shadowed regions and the regions are compressed by UV heated ambient gas. The properties of resultant star clusters match those of GCs. On the other hand, in weak UV radiation fields, dark matter-dominated star clusters with low stellar density form due to the self-shielding effect as well as the positive feedback by ionizing photons. Thus, we conclude that the "supersonic infall" under a strong UV background is a potential mechanism to form GCs., 16 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We study chaotic and runaway potential inflationary models in the curvaton scenario. In particular, we address the issue of large tensor-to-scalar ratio and red-tilted spectrum in chaotic models and reheating in runaway model in the light of latest Planck results. We show that curvaton can easily circumvent these problems and is well applicable to both type of models. For chaotic models, the observable non-Gaussianity put strong constraints on the decay epoch of curvaton as well as on its field value around the horizon exit. Besides, it can also explain the observed red-tilt in the spectrum as a consequence of its negative mass-squared value. As for the runaway inflationary models, curvaton by sudden decay into the background radiation provides an efficient reheating mechanism, whereas the inflaton rolls down from its potential and enters into the kinetic regime. To this effect, we consider the generalized exponential potential and obtain the allowed parametric space for model parameters. From the estimates on inflaton parameters, we constrained the curvaton mass and then the reheating temperature. We constrained the latter for both dominating and sub-dominating case and show that it agrees with the nucleosynthesis constraint., Accepted for publication in MPLA

Several detections of wide-orbit planet-mass/sub-stellar companions around young solar-like stars were reported in the last decade. The origin of those possible planets is still unclear but accretion tracers and VLT/SPHERE observations indicate that they are surrounded by circumplanetary material or even a circumplanetary disk. We want to investigate if the gas component of disks around wide-orbit companions is detectable with current and future (sub)mm telescopes and what constraints such gas observations can provide on the nature of the circumplanetary material and on the mass of the companion. We applied the radiation thermo-chemical disk code ProDiMo to model the dust and gas component of passive circumplanetary disks and produced realistic synthetic observables. We considered different companion properties, disk parameters and radiative environments and compared the resulting synthetic observables to telescope sensitivities and to existing dust observations. The main criterion for a successful detection is the size of the circumplanetary disk. At a distance of about 150 pc, a circumplanetary disk with an outer radius of about 10 au is detectable with ALMA in about 6 hours in optically thick CO lines. Other aspects such as the companion's luminosity, disk inclination and background radiation fields are also relevant and should be considered to optimize the observing strategy for detection experiments. For most of the known wide-orbit planet-mass companions, their maximum theoretical disk size of one third of the Hill radius would be sufficient to allow detection of CO lines. It is therefore feasible to detect their gas disks and constrain the mass of the companion through the kinematic signature. Even in the case of non-detections such observations will provide stringent constraints on disk size and gas mass, information crucial for formation theories., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

The Axion Like Particle (ALP) is a hypothetical pseudo-scalar particle beyond the Standard Model, with a compelling possible connection to dark matter and early universe physics. ALPs can be converted into photons via interactions with magnetic fields in the universe, i.e., the so-called inverse Primakoff effect. In this paper, we propose a novel method to explore ALP-induced photons from X-ray data obtained from the {\it Suzaku} satellite, arising from a possible interaction of ALPs with the direction-dependent Earth's magnetic field viewed from the satellite. {\it Suzaku} data is suitable for this purpose because its low-altitude Earth orbit result in intrinsically low cosmic-ray background radiation. We study whether the X-ray diffuse background (XDB) spectra estimated from the four deep fields collected over eight years, vary with the integrated Earth's magnetic strength in the direction of each target field at each observation epoch, which amounts to $10^2$ Tm-a value greater than that achieved by terrestrial experiments due to the large coherent length. From the detailed analysis, we did not find evidence of the XDB confidence level spectra having dependence on the Earth's magnetic strength. We obtained 99 % confidence level upper limit on a possible residual contribution to the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) surface brightness to be $1.6\times 10^{-9}~{\rm ergs~s}^{-1}{\rm cm}^{-2}{\rm sr}^{-1}$ normalized at $10^4$ T${}^2$ m${}^2$ in the 2-6 keV range, which corresponds to 6-15 % of the observed CXB brightness, depending on which model of unresolved point sources are used in the interpretation. It is consistent with 80-90 % of the CXB now being resolved into point sources., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Prepared for submission to JCAP

Radio and $\gamma$-ray measurements of large lobes of several radio galaxies provide adequate basis for determining whether emission in these widely separated spectral regions is largely by energetic electrons. This is very much of interest as there is of yet no unequivocal evidence for a significant energetic proton component to account for $\gamma$-ray emission by neutral pion decay. A quantitative assessment of the proton spectral distribution necessitates full accounting of the local and background radiation fields in the lobes; indeed, doing so in our recent analysis of the spectral energy distribution of the Fornax A lobes considerably weakened previous conclusions on the hadronic origin of the emission measured by the Fermi satellite. We present the results of similar analyses of the measured radio, X-ray and $\gamma$-ray emission from the lobes of Centaurus A, Centaurus B, and NGC 6251. The results indicate that the measured $\gamma$-ray emission from these lobes can be accounted for by Compton scattering of the radio-emitting electrons off the superposed radiation fields in the lobes; consequently, we set upper bounds on the energetic proton contents of the lobes., Comment: MNRAS, in press. 10 pages, 7 figures

We use existing light weight balloon facility of Indian Centre for Space Physics to detect the X-ray radiation from Crab pulsar with a phoswich detector. We present the design considerations and characterization of the detector used for this purpose. We model the background radiation in the detector environment at various altitudes and use this in spectral analysis. The background radiation level and limitations on the detector allowed us to calculate minimum detection limit for extrasolar radiation sources with our set up., Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures

The problem of scattering of the background radiation on relic cosmological wormholes is considered. It is shown that static wormholes do not perturb the spectrum at all. The presence of peculiar velocities of wormholes results in a distortion of the CMB spectrum which is analogous to the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. In the first order in $v/c$ the distortion of CMB cannot be separated from from the Compton scattering on electrons. In next orders the scattering on wormholes exhibits some difference from the Compton scattering. High-energy cosmic-ray particles spectrum does not change the form by KSZ, but undergoes a common Doppler shift. Such features may give a new tool to detect the presence of relic wormholes in our Universe., accepted in Astrophysics and Space Science

Measurement of fluctuations in diffuse HI 21 cm background radiation from the post-reionization epoch (z < 6) is a promising avenue to probe the large-scale structure of the Universe and understand the evolution of galaxies. We observe the European Large-Area ISO Survey-North 1 (ELAIS-N1) field at 300-500 MHz using the upgraded Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) and employ the 'foreground avoidance' technique to estimate the HI 21 cm power spectrum in the redshift range z = 1.96-3.58. Given the possible systematics that may remain in the data, we find the most stringent upper limits on the spherically averaged 21 cm power spectra at k~1.0 Mpc$^{-1}$ are (58.87 mK)$^2$, (61.49 mK)$^2$, (60.89 mK)$^2$, (105.85 mK)$^2$ at z = 1.96,2.19,2.62 and 3.58, respectively. We use this to constrain the product of neutral HI mass density (Omega_HI) and HI bias (b_HI) to the underlying dark matter density field, [Omega_HI*b_HI], as 0.09,0.11,0.12,0.24 at z=1.96,2.19,2.62,3.58, respectively. To the best of our knowledge these are the first limits on the HI 21 cm power spectra at the redshift range z = 1.96 - 3.58 and would play a significant role to constrain the models of galaxy formation and evolution., Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters (APJL)

Lunar neutron flux data measured by the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) on board NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) were analyzed for the period 2009-2014.We have re-evaluated the instrument's collimation capability and re-estimated the neutron counting rate measured in the Field of View (FOV) of the LEND collimated detectors, and found it to be 1.070.1counts per second. We derived the spectral density of the neutron flux for various lunar regions using our comprehensive numerical model of orbital measurements. This model takes into account the location of the LEND instrument onboard LRO to calculate the surface leakage neutron flux and its propagation to the instrument detectors. Based on this we have determined the lunar neutron flux at the surface to be approx. 2 neutrons/ [sq cm/ sec] in the epithermal energy range, 0.4e V to 1keV. We have also found variations of the lunar neutron leakage flux with amplitude as large as a factor of two, by using multi-year observations to explore variations in the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) flux during the 23rd-24th solar cycles.

We present an IGM H I tomographic map in a survey volume of 16 x 19 x 131 h(-3) comoving Mpc(3) (cMpc(3)) centered at MAMMOTH-1 nebula and three neighboring quasars at z = 2.3. The MAMMOTH-1 nebula is an enormous Ly alpha nebula (ELAN), hosted by a type-II quasar dubbed MAMMOTH1-QSO, that extends over 1 h(-1) cMpc with no clear physical origin. Here we investigate the H I-gas distribution around MAMMOTH1-QSO with the ELAN and three neighboring type-I quasars, making the IGM H I tomographic map with a spatial resolution of 2.6 h(-1) cMpc. Our H I tomographic map is reconstructed with H I Lya forest absorption of bright background objects at z = 2.4-2.9: one eBOSS quasar and 16 Keck/LRIS galaxy spectra. We estimate the radial profile of H I overdensity for MAMMOTH1-QSO, and find that MAMMOTH1-QSO resides in a volume with fairly weak H I absorption. This suggests that MAMMOTH1-QSO may have a proximity zone where quasar illuminates and photoionizes the surrounding H I gas and suppresses H I absorption, and that the ELAN is probably a photoionized cloud embedded in the cosmic web. The H I radial profile of MAMMOTH1-QSO is very similar to those of three neighboring type-I quasars at z = 2.3, which is compatible with the AGN unification model. We compare the distributions of the H I absorption and star-forming galaxies in our survey volume, and identify a spatial offset between density peaks of star-forming galaxies and H I gas. This segregation may suggest anisotropic UV background radiation created by star-forming galaxy density fluctuations. (© 2020 The American Astronomical Society). ISSN:0004-637X ISSN:2041-8213

We present cosmological hydrodynamical simulations including atomic and molecular non-equilibrium chemistry, multi-frequency radiative transfer (0.7-100 eV sampled over 150 frequency bins) and stellar population evolution to investigate the host candidates of the seeds of supermassive black holes coming from direct collapse of gas in primordial haloes (direct-collapse black holes, DCBHs). We consistently address the role played by atomic and molecular cooling, stellar radiation and metal spreading of C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Fe, etc. from primordial sources, as well as their implications for nearby quiescent proto-galaxies under different assumptions for early source emissivity, initial mass function and metal yields. We find that putative DCBH host candidates need powerful primordial stellar generations, since common solar-like stars and hot OB-type stars are neither able to determine the conditions for direct collapse nor capable of building up a dissociating Lyman-Werner background radiation field. Thermal and molecular features of the identified DCBH host candidates in the scenario with very massive primordial stars seem favourable, with illuminating Lyman-Werner intensities featuring values of 1-50 J21. Nevertheless, additional non-linear processes, such as merger events, substructure formation, rotational motions and photo-evaporation, should inhibit pure DCBH formation in 2/3 of the cases. Local turbulence may delay gas direct collapse almost irrespectively from other environmental conditions. The impact of large Lyman-Werner fluxes at distances smaller than 5 kpc is severely limited by metal pollution., references added

We have considered the formation of the luminescent subordinate HeI lines by the absorption of continuum radiation from a source in the lines of the main HeI series in the expanding Universe. It is suggested that at some moment of time, corresponding to the redshift z0, a burst of superequilibrium blackbody radiation with a temperature T + ΔT occurs. This radiation is partially absorbed at different z < z0 in the lines of the main HeI series and then converted into the radiation of subordinate lines. If νij is the laboratory frequency of the transition of some subordinate line originating at some z, then in the present time its frequency will be ν = νij/(1 + z). For different z (and, consequently, for different ν), the quantum yield for the subordinate lines of para- and orthohelium - the number of photons emitted in the subordinate line, per one initial excited atom and line profiles are calculated. Different pumping channels were considered. Spatial and angular distributions of radiation intensity of luminescent lines for the spherically symmetric radiation sources are presented. It is shown that for sufficiently large ΔT/T, the luminescent lines can be very noticeable in the spectrum of blackbody background radiation.

The astrophysical journal / Supplement series 237(2), 32 (2018). doi:10.3847/1538-4365/aacdf7, We present a search for spatial extension in high-latitude ($| b| \gt 5^\circ $) sources in recent Fermi point source catalogs. The result is the Fermi High-Latitude Extended Sources Catalog, which provides source extensions (or upper limits thereof) and likelihood profiles for a suite of tested source morphologies. We find 24 extended sources, 19 of which were not previously characterized as extended. These include sources that are potentially associated with supernova remnants and star-forming regions. We also found extended $γ$-ray emission in the vicinity of the Cen A radio lobes and—at GeV energies for the first time—spatially coincident with the radio emission of the SNR CTA 1, as well as from the Crab Nebula. We also searched for halos around active galactic nuclei, which are predicted from electromagnetic cascades induced by the $e^+ e^−$ pairs that are deflected in intergalactic magnetic fields. These pairs are produced when γ-rays interact with background radiation fields. We do not find evidence for extension in individual sources or in stacked source samples. This enables us to place limits on the flux of the extended source components, which are then used to constrain the intergalactic magnetic field to be stronger than $3 × 10^{−16} G$ for a coherence length $λ \gtrsim$ 10 kpc, even when conservative assumptions on the source duty cycle are made. This improves previous limits by several orders of magnitude., Published by IOP, Chicago, Ill. [u.a.]

Ground-based observations at thermal infrared wavelengths suffer from large background radiation due to the sky, telescope and warm surfaces in the instrument. This significantly limits the sensitivity of ground-based observations at wavelengths longer than 3 microns. We analyzed this background emission in infrared high contrast imaging data, show how it can be modelled and subtracted and demonstrate that it can improve the detection of faint sources, such as exoplanets. We applied principal component analysis to model and subtract the thermal background emission in three archival high contrast angular differential imaging datasets in the M and L filter. We describe how the algorithm works and explain how it can be applied. The results of the background subtraction are compared to the results from a conventional mean background subtraction scheme. Finally, both methods for background subtraction are also compared by performing complete data reductions. We analyze the results from the M dataset of HD100546 qualitatively. For the M band dataset of beta Pic and the L band dataset of HD169142, which was obtained with an annular groove phase mask vortex vector coronagraph, we also calculate and analyze the achieved signal to noise (S/N). We show that applying PCA is an effective way to remove spatially and temporarily varying thermal background emission down to close to the background limit. The procedure also proves to be very successful at reconstructing the background that is hidden behind the PSF. In the complete data reductions, we find at least qualitative improvements for HD100546 and HD169142, however, we fail to find a significant increase in S/N of beta Pic b. We discuss these findings and argue that in particular datasets with strongly varying observing conditions or infrequently sampled sky background will benefit from the new approach., 12 pages, 17 figures, 1 table, Accepted for publication in A&A

We present new synthesis models of the extragalactic background light (EBL) from far infra-red (FIR) to TeV gamma-rays, with an emphasis on the extreme ultraviolet (UV) background which is responsible for the observed ionization and thermal state of the intergalactic medium across the cosmic time. Our models use updated values of the star formation rate density and dust attenuation in galaxies, QSO emissivity, and the distribution of H I gas in the IGM. Two of the most uncertain parameters in these models, the escape fraction of H I ionizing photons from galaxies and the spectral energy distribution (SED) of QSOs, are determined to be consistent with the latest measurements of H I and He II photoionization rates, the He II Lyman-alpha effective optical depths, various constraints on H I and He II reionization history and many measurements of the local EBL from soft X-rays till gamma-rays. We calculate the EBL from FIR to TeV gamma-rays by using FIR emissivities from our previous work and constructing an average SED of high-energy emitting QSOs, i.e, type-2 QSOs and blazars. For public use, we also provide the EBL models obtained using different QSO SEDs at extreme-UV energies over a wide range of redshifts. These can be used to quantify uncertainties in the parameters derived from photoionization models and numerical simulations originating from the allowed variations in the UV background radiation., 29 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, all EBL tables are available online and included in the latest versions of cloudy software

We analyze hydrodynamic simulations of turbulent, star-forming molecular clouds that are post-processed with the photo-dissociation region astrochemistry code 3D-PDR. We investigate the sensitivity of 15 commonly applied turbulence statistics to post-processing assumptions, namely variations in gas temperature, abundance and external radiation field. We produce synthetic $^{12}$CO(1-0) and CI($^{3}$P$_{1}$-$^{3}$P$_{0}$) observations and examine how the variations influence the resulting emission distributions. To characterize differences between the datasets, we perform statistical measurements, identify diagnostics sensitive to our chemistry parameters, and quantify the statistic responses by using a variety of distance metrics. We find that multiple turbulent statistics are sensitive not only to the chemical complexity but also to the strength of the background radiation field. The statistics with meaningful responses include principal component analysis, spatial power spectrum and bicoherence. A few of the statistics, such as the velocity coordinate spectrum, are primarily sensitive to the type of tracer being utilized, while others, like the delta-variance, strongly respond to the background radiation field. Collectively, these findings indicate that more realistic chemistry impacts the responses of turbulent statistics and is necessary for accurate statistical comparisons between models and observed molecular clouds., Comment: 27 pages, 21 figures, accepted to ApJ

We consider cosmic string cusp annihilations as a possible source of enhancement to the global background radiation temperature in $21$-cm photons at reionization. A soft photon spectrum is induced via the Bremsstrahlung and Synchrotron emission of electrons borne out of QCD jets formed off the cusp. The maximal energy density background comes from synchrotron induced photons with a string tension of $G\mu \sim 10^{-18}$. In this instance, the radiation background at reionization is heated up by $5\cdot 10^{-3} \,\, K$. We find that the depth of the absorption trough ($\delta T_b$) in $21$-cm at reionization is altered by one part in $10^4$ from the strings, requiring high precision measurements to be detectable. This mechanism cannot explain the $\delta T_b$ observed by the EDGES experiment., Comment: 9 Pages, comments welcome

The redshifted 21 cm transition line of hydrogen tracks the thermal evolution of the neutral intergalactic medium (IGM) at "cosmic dawn," during the emergence of the first luminous astrophysical objects (~100 Myr after the Big Bang) but before these objects ionized the IGM (~400-800 Myr after the Big Bang). Because X-rays, in particular, are likely to be the chief energy courier for heating the IGM, measurements of the 21 cm signature can be used to infer knowledge about the first astrophysical X-ray sources. Using analytic arguments and a numerical population synthesis algorithm, we argue that the progenitors of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) should be the dominant source of hard astrophysical X-rays---and thus the primary driver of IGM heating and the 21 cm signature---at redshifts $z < 20$, if (i) they grow readily from the remnants of Population III stars and (ii) produce X-rays in quantities comparable to what is observed from active galactic nuclei and high-mass X-ray binaries. We show that models satisfying these assumptions dominate over contributions to IGM heating from stellar populations, and cause the 21 cm brightness temperature to rise at $z > 20$. An absence of such a signature in the forthcoming observational data would imply that SMBH formation occurred later (e.g. via so-called direct collapse scenarios), that it was not a common occurrence in early galaxies and protogalaxies, or that it produced far fewer X-rays than empirical trends at lower redshifts, either due to intrinsic dimness (radiative inefficiency) or Compton-thick obscuration close to the source., 9 pages, 2 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Newly born magnetars are promising sources for gravitational wave (GW) detection due to their ultra-strong magnetic fields and high spin frequencies. Within the scenario of a growing tilt angle between the star's spin and magnetic axis, due to the effect of internal viscosity, we obtain improved estimates of the stochastic gravitational wave backgrounds (SGWBs) from magnetic deformation of newly born magnetars. We find that the GW background spectra contributed by the magnetars with ultra-strong toroidal magnetic fields of 10^{17} G could roughly be divided into four segments. Most notably, in contrast to the background spectra calculated by assuming constant tilt angles \chi=\pi/2, the background radiation above 1000 Hz are seriously suppressed. However, the background radiation at the frequency band \sim100-1000 Hz are moderately enhanced, depending on the strengths of the dipole magnetic fields. We suggest that if all newly born magnetars indeed have toroidal magnetic fields of 10^{17} G, the produced SGWBs should show sharp variations with the observed frequency at several tens to about 100 hertz. If these features could be observed through sophisticated detection of the SGWB using the proposed Einstein Telescope, it will provide us a direct evidence of the tilt angle evolutions and further some deep understandings about the properties of newly born magnetars., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to be published in MNRAS

GRIS (Gamma and Roentgen Irradiation of the Sun) is a scientific instrument for detection of hard X-rays and gamma-rays of solar flares with the energies from 50 keV to 200 MeV and for registration of solar neutrons with energies above 30 MeV. The experiment will be performed since 2019 onboard the International Space Station. The instrument includes two spectrometers: the low energy spectrometer based on a fast scintillator with high energy resolution 3.5–4.5% at 662 keV (LaBr 3 (Ce) or CeBr 3 ) and dimensions o7.62 × 7.62 cm, and the high energy spectrometer based on CsI(Tl) scintillator o12 × 15 cm (which is also intended for neutron registration). The apparatus will be mounted on the oriented platform outside the Zvezda service module in 2019. Simulated response of the detectors to background radiation and to solar flares of different magnitudes and compositions obtained with GEANT4 toolkit confirms the instrument’s possibility to measure different components of the solar flares spectra: narrow gamma lines, pion decay component, etc. with a sufficient confidence due to the usage of two types of detectors.

The thermal and ionization evolution of the circumgalactic and intergalactic gas at the epoch of reionization of helium (HeII), is considered in a non-equilibrium(time-dependent) approach. The influence of line and continuum absorption by HeII ions on the ion states of metals and the ratios of their column densities in diffuse (with a temperature T ≲ 105 K) circumgalactic and intergalactic gas irradiated by ionizing radiation with a power-law spectrum, characteristic of quasars and distorted by HeII absorption, and the extragalactic background radiation. The ion states of nitrogen, oxygen, and neon can be used to study the possible distortion of the spectrum at ∼40–150 eV. The column-density ratios CIII/CIV and SiIII/SiIV are good indicators of absorption in resonance lines of helium (∼40–54 eV). The SiIV/CIV ratio depends only weakly on spectral variations in this energy range. The OIII/OIV ratio is most promising as an indicator of HeII continuum absorption (∼54–150 eV). Consequently, joint analyses of the OIII/OIV and CIII/CIV (or SiIII/SiIV) ratios aimed at studying the reionization of helium can be used to place better constraints on the shape of the ionizing radiation spectrum, both in the region of absorption resonance lines and in the continuum.

The extragalactic background radiation produced by distant galaxies emitting in the far infrared limits the sensitivity of telescopes operating in this range due to confusion. We have constructed a model of the infrared background based on numerical simulations of the large-scale structure of the Universe and the evolution of dark matter halos. The predictions of this model agree well with the existing data on source counts. We have constructed maps of a sky field with an area of 1 deg$^2$ directly from our simulated observations and measured the confusion limit. At wavelengths $100-300$ $\mu$m the confusion limit for a 10-m telescope has been shown to be at least an order of magnitude lower than that for a 3.5-m one. A spectral analysis of the simulated infrared background maps clearly reveals the large-scale structure of the Universe. The two-dimensional power spectrum of these maps has turned out to be close to that measured by space observatories in the infrared. However, the fluctuations in the number of intensity peaks observed in the simulated field show no clear correlation with superclusters of galaxies; the large-scale structure has virtually no effect on the confusion limit., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

I explore the thermal evolution and ionization states in gas cooling from an initially hot state in the presence of external photoionizing radiation. I compute the equilibrium and nonequilibrium cooling efficiencies, heating rates, and ion fractions for low-density gas cooling while exposed to the ionizing metagalactic background radiation at various redshifts (z=0 - 3), for a range of temperatures (1e8-1e4 K), densities (1e-7 - 1e3 cm^-3) and metallicities (1e-3 - 2 times solar). The results indicate the existence of a threshold ionization parameter, above which the cooling efficiencies are very close to those in photoionization equilibrium (so that departures from equilibrium may be neglected), and below which the cooling efficiencies resemble those in collisional time-dependent gas cooling with no external radiation (and are thus independent of density)

Gas metallicity is a key quantity used to determine the physical conditions of gaseous clouds in a wide range of astronomical environments, including interstellar and intergalactic space. In particular, considerable effort in circumgalactic medium (CGM) studies focuses on metallicity measurements, because gas metallicity serves as a critical discriminator for whether the observed heavy ions in the CGM originate in chemically-enriched outflows or in more chemically-pristine gas accreted from the intergalactic medium. However, because the gas is ionized, a necessary first step in determining CGM metallicity is to constrain the ionization state of the gas which, in addition to gas density, depends on the ultraviolet background radiation field (UVB). While it is generally acknowledged that both the intensity and spectral slope of the UVB are uncertain, the impact of an uncertain spectral slope has not been properly addressed in the literature. This Letter shows that adopting a different spectral slope can result in an order of magnitude difference in the inferred CGM metallicity. Specifically, a harder UVB spectrum leads to a higher estimated gas metallicity for a given set of observed ionic column densities . Therefore, such systematic uncertainties must be folded into the error budget for metallicity estimates of ionized gas. An initial study shows that empirical diagnostics are available for discriminating between hard and soft ionizing spectra. Applying these diagnostics helps reduce the systematic uncertainties in CGM metallicity estimates., 7 pages, 4 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

We assess the impact of trapped Lyman alpha cooling radiation on the formation of direct collapse black holes (DCBHs). We apply a one-zone chemical and thermal evolution model, accounting for the photodetachment of H- ions, precursors to the key coolant H2, by Lyman alpha photons produced during the collapse of a cloud of primordial gas in an atomic cooling halo at high redshift. We find that photodetachment of H- by trapped Lyman alpha photons may lower the level of the H2-dissociating background radiation field required for DCBH formation substantially, dropping the critical flux by up to a factor of a few. This translates into a potentially large increase in the expected number density of DCBHs in the early Universe, and supports the view that DCBHs may be the seeds for the BHs residing in the centers of a significant fraction of galaxies today. We find that detachment of H- by Lyman alpha has the strongest impact on the critical flux for the relatively high background radiation temperatures expected to characterize the emission from young, hot stars in the early Universe. This lends support to the DCBH origin of the highest redshift quasars., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; recommended by editor for publication in A&A

Using formula to describe the average spectrum of the extragalactic far infrared background (FIRB) radiation measured by the COBE FIRAS instrument in the 0.15–2.4 THz frequency interval at mean temperature T=18.5 K, the radiative and thermodynamic properties, such as the total emissivity, total radiation power per unit area, total energy density, number density of photons, Helmholtz free energy density, entropy density, heat capacity at constant volume, and pressure are calculated. The value for the total intensity received in the 0.15–2.4 THz frequency interval is equal to 13.6 nW m−2 sr−1. This value is about 19.4 % of the total intensity expected from the energy released by stellar nucleosynthesis over cosmic history. The radiative and thermodynamic functions of the extragalactic far infrared background (FIRB) radiation are calculated at redshift z=1.5.

"The investigation into the possible effects of cosmic rays on living organisms will also offer great interest." - Victor F. Hess, Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1936 High-energy radiation bursts are commonplace in our Universe. From nearby solar flares to distant gamma ray bursts, a variety of physical processes accelerate charged particles to a wide range of energies, which subsequently reach the Earth. Such particles contribute to a number of physical processes occurring in the Earth system. A large fraction of the energy of charged particles gets deposited in the atmosphere, ionizing the atmosphere, causing changes in its chemistry and affecting the global electric circuit. Remaining secondary particles contribute to the background dose of cosmic rays on the surface and parts of the subsurface region. Life has evolved over the past ~ 3 billion years in presence of this background radiation, which itself has varied considerably during the period. As demonstrated by the Miller-Urey experiment, lightning plays a very important role in the formation of complex organic molecules, which are the building blocks of more complex structures forming life. There is growing evidence of increase in the lightning rate with increasing flux of charged particles. Is there a connection between enhanced rate of cosmic rays and the origin of life? Cosmic ray secondaries are also known to damage DNA and cause mutations, leading to cancer and other diseases. It is now possible to compute radiation doses from secondary particles, in particular muons and neutrons. Have the variations in cosmic ray flux affected the evolution of life on earth? We describe the mechanisms of cosmic rays affecting terrestrial life and review the potential implications of the variation of high-energy astrophysical radiation on the history of life on earth., Published in Astroparticle Physics

The coded-mask spectrometer-telescope SPI on board the INTEGRAL observatory records photons in the energy range between 20 and 8000 keV. A robust and versatile method to model the dominating instrumental background (BG) radiation is difficult to establish for such a telescope in the rapidly changing space environment. From long-term monitoring of SPI's Germanium detectors, we built up a spectral parameter data base, which characterises the instrument response as well as the BG behaviour. We aim to build a self-consistent and broadly applicable BG model for typical science cases of INTEGRAL/SPI, based on this data base. The general analysis method for SPI relies on distinguishing between illumination patterns on the 19-element Germanium detector array from BG and sky in a maximum likelihood framework. We illustrate how the complete set of measurements, even including the exposures of the sources of interest, can be used to define a BG model. We apply our method to different science cases, including point-like, diffuse, continuum, and line emission, and evaluate the adequacy in each case. From likelihood values and the number of fitted parameters, we determine how strong the impact of the unknown BG variability is. We find that the number of fitted parameters, i.e. how often the BG has to be re-normalised, depends on the emission type (diffuse with many observations over a large sky region, or point-like with concentrated exposure around one source), and the spectral energy range and bandwidth. A unique time scale, valid for all analysis issues, is not applicable for INTEGRAL/SPI, but must and can be inferred from the chosen data set. We conclude that our BG modelling method is usable in a large variety of INTEGRAL/SPI science cases, and provides nearly systematics-free and robust results., Comment: 11 pages, 2 appendix pages, 9 figures, 4 appendix figures, 4 tables; based on the work of Diehl et al. (2018), Siegert (2017), and Siegert (2013)

The Juno Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Juno-UVS) is a remote-sensing science instrument onboard the Juno spacecraft that has been in polar orbit around Jupiter since July 2016. Juno-UVS measures photon events in the ultraviolet from 68 to 210 nm. It is primarily used to observe emission from the Jovian aurorae but is also sensitive to other sources, such as UV-bright stars, sky background Lyman-alpha emission, and reflected sunlight. However, Juno-UVS is also sensitive to the effects of penetrating high-energy radiation, which results in elevated count rates as measured by the instrument detector array. This radiation presents a challenge for efficiently planning the acquisition of mission science data, as data volume is a valuable (and finite) resource that can quickly be filled when the spacecraft periodically passes through regions of high radiation. This background radiation has been found to vary significantly on both short (spacecraft spin-modulated) timescales, as well as longer timescales from minutes to hours during each close approach to Jupiter. This variability has required a multipronged approach in the operation planning of hardware (such as, dynamic instrument voltage adjustment) as well as onboard software (such as, utilizing data quality factors for the selective storage of science data). We present an overview of these current mitigation/optimization techniques and planning strategies used for this instrument, which will likely also be useful for the development and operations of future instruments within high radiation space environments (e.g., the ESA JUICE mission or NASA’s Europa Clipper).