UMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) / Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences & Technology II (CRSST II)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/7798

The Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) is the administrative unit for UMBC’s participation in the CRESST consortium. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), The University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), Catholic University, Howard University and Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) are our partners in the consortium.

The Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science & Technology (CRESST), is a cooperative agreement between the partner institutions. The CRESST consortium currently has over 120 PhD astronomers and astrophysicists working within the Astrophysics Science Division at GSFC.

CSST was formed in 2006 and currently has over 20 UMBC research faculty, several of which are affiliated to the physics department. The research conducted by the members of CSST focuses on (i) Astrophysical Data Reduction, Interpretation & Archiving, (ii) Space Science Technology: Development & Calibration, and (iii) Theoretical Astrophysics: Simulations & Software.

CSST maintains close relations with (and is housed within) the Physics Department at UMBC. Combined, UMBC astrophysics faculty and CSST scientists contribute to the Undergraduate & Graduate activities (including the Undergrad & Grad internships) by teaching & mentoring students.

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The CLASS Quasar Catalog: Coronal Line Activity in Type 1 SDSS Quasars
(2025-01-28) Doan, Sara; Satyapal, Shobita; Reefe, Michael; Sexton, Remington O.; Matzko, William; McKaig, Jeffrey D.; Secrest, Nathan J.; Cann, Jenna; Laor, Ari; Canalizo, Gabriela
We conduct the first systematic survey of a total of eleven optical coronal lines in the spectra of a large sample of low redshift (z < 0.8) Type 1 quasars observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We find that strong coronal line emission is rare in SDSS even in Type 1 quasars; only 885 out of 19,508 (4.5%) galaxies show at least one coronal line, with higher ionization potential lines (>100eV) being even rarer. The [Ne V] λ3426 line, which constitutes the majority of detections, is strongly correlated with the bolometric luminosity. These findings suggest that the optical coronal lines are significantly suppressed in the majority of local AGNs, possibly as a result of the presence of dust in the emitting regions. We find that the incidence of ionized outflows is significantly higher in coronal line emitters compared with non-coronal line emitters, possibly suggesting that dust destruction in outflows enhances coronal line emission in AGNs. Many coronal lines show line profiles that are broader than those of narrow lines, and are blue-shifted relative the lower ionization potential lines, suggesting outflows in the highly ionized gas. Given the limited number of detections, we do not find any statistically significant trends of detection statistics, or line ratios with black hole mass, Eddington ratio, or AGN bolometric luminosity. The catalog is publicly available and can provide a useful database of the coronal line properties of low redshift quasars that can be compared to the growing number of high-z AGNs discovered by JWST.
VERITAS and multiwavelength observations of the Blazar B3 2247+381 in response to an IceCube neutrino alert
(2025-02-06) Acharyya, Atreya; Adams, Colin B.; Bangale, Priyadarshini; Bartkoske, J. T.; Benbow, Wystan; Buckley, James H.; Chen, Yu; Christiansen, Jodi; Chromey, Alisha; Duerr, Anne; Errando, Manel; Godoy, Miguel E.; Falcone, Abe; Feng, Qi; Foote, Juniper; Fortson, Lucy; Furniss, Amy; Hanlon, William; Hanna, David; Hervet, Olivier; Hinrichs, Claire E.; Holder, Jamie; Humensky, Thomas B.; Jin, Weidong; Johnson, Madalyn N.; Kaaret, Philip; Kertzman, Mary P.; Kherlakian, Maria; Kieda, David; Kleiner, Tobias K.; Korzoun, Mx Nikolas; Krennrich, Frank; Kumar, Sajan; Lang, Mark J.; Lundy, Matthew; McGrath, Conor; Meyer, Eileen T.; Millard, Matthew J.; Millis, John; Mooney, Connor; Moriarty, Patrick; Mukherjee, Reshmi; Ning, Wenmeng; O'Brien, Stephan; Ong, Rene A.; Pohl, Martin; Pueschel, Elisa; Quinn, John; Rabinowitz, Pazit L.; Ragan, Ken; Reynolds, Paul; Ribeiro, Deivid; Roache, Emmet Thomas; Ryan, Jamie L.; Sadeh, Iftach; Sadun, Alberto; Saha, Lab; Santander, Marcos; Sembroski, Glenn H.; Shang, Ruo-Yu; Splettstoesser, Megan; Tak, Donggeun; Talluri, Anjana K.; Tucci, James V.; Valverde, Janeth; Williams, David A.; Wong, Sam L.; Woo, Jooyun; Abbasi, R.; Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Agarwalla, S. K.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Alameddine, J. M.; Amin, N. M.; Andeen, K.; Argüelles, C.; Ashida, Y.; Athanasiadou, S.; Axani, S. N.; Babu, R.; Bai, X.; V, A. Balagopal; Baricevic, M.; Barwick, S. W.; Bash, S.; Basu, V.; Bay, R.; Beatty, J. J.; Tjus, J. Becker; Beise, J.; Bellenghi, C.; BenZvi, S.; Berley, D.; Bernardini, E.; Besson, D. Z.; Blaufuss, E.; Bloom, L.; Blot, S.; Bontempo, F.; Motzkin, J. Y. Book; Meneguolo, C. Boscolo; Böser, S.; Botner, O.; Böttcher, J.; Braun, J.; Brinson, B.; Brisson-Tsavoussis, Z.; Brostean-Kaiser, J.; Brusa, L.; Burley, R. T.; Butterfield, D.; Campana, M. A.; Caracas, I.; Carloni, K.; Carpio, J.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chau, N.; Chen, Z.; Chirkin, D.; Choi, S.; Clark, B. A.; Coleman, A.; Coleman, P.; Collin, G. H.; Connolly, A.; Conrad, J. M.; Corley, R.; Cowen, D. F.; Clercq, C. De; DeLaunay, J. J.; Delgado, D.; Deng, S.; Desai, A.; Desiati, P.; Vries, K. D. de; Wasseige, G. de; DeYoung, T.; Diaz, A.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Dierichs, P.; Dittmer, M.; Domi, A.; Draper, L.; Dujmovic, H.; Durnford, D.; Dutta, K.; DuVernois, M. A.; Ehrhardt, T.; Eidenschink, L.; Eimer, A.; Eller, P.; Ellinger, E.; Mentawi, S. El; Elsässer, D.; Engel, R.; Erpenbeck, H.; Esmail, W.; Evans, J.; Evenson, P. A.; Fan, K. L.; Fang, K.; Farrag, K.; Fazely, A. R.; Fedynitch, A.; Feigl, N.; Fiedlschuster, S.; Finley, C.; Fischer, L.; Fox, D.; Franckowiak, A.; Fukami, S.; Fürst, P.; Gallagher, J.; Ganster, E.; Garcia, A.; Garcia, M.; Garg, G.; Genton, E.; Gerhardt, L.; Ghadimi, A.; Girard-Carillo, C.; Glaser, C.; Glüsenkamp, T.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Goswami, S.; Granados, A.; Grant, D.; Gray, S. J.; Griffin, S.; Griswold, S.; Groth, K. M.; Guevel, D.; Günther, C.; Gutjahr, P.; Ha, C.; Haack, C.; Hallgren, A.; Halve, L.; Halzen, F.; Hamacher, L.; Hamdaoui, H.; Minh, M. Ha; Handt, M.; Hanson, K.; Hardin, J.; Harnisch, A. A.; Hatch, P.; Haungs, A.; Häußler, J.; Helbing, K.; Hellrung, J.; Hermannsgabner, J.; Heuermann, L.; Heyer, N.; Hickford, S.; Hidvegi, A.; Hill, C.; Hill, G. C.; Hmaid, R.; Hoffman, K. D.; Hori, S.; Hoshina, K.; Hostert, M.; Hou, W.; Huber, T.; Hultqvist, K.; Hünnefeld, M.; Hussain, R.; Hymon, K.; Ishihara, A.; Iwakiri, W.; Jacquart, M.; Jain, S.; Janik, O.; Jansson, M.; Jeong, M.; Jin, M.; Jones, B. J. P.; Kamp, N.; Kang, D.; Kang, W.; Kang, X.; Kappes, A.; Kappesser, D.; Kardum, L.; Karg, T.; Karl, M.; Karle, A.; Katil, A.; Katz, U.; Kauer, M.; Kelley, J. L.; Khanal, M.; Zathul, A. Khatee; Kheirandish, A.; Kiryluk, J.; Klein, S. R.; Kobayashi, Y.; Kochocki, A.; Koirala, R.; Kolanoski, H.; Kontrimas, T.; Köpke, L.; Kopper, C.; Koskinen, D. J.; Koundal, P.; Kowalski, M.; Kozynets, T.; Krieger, N.; Krishnamoorthi, J.; Krishnan, T.; Kruiswijk, K.; Krupczak, E.; Kumar, A.; Kun, E.; Kurahashi, N.; Lad, N.; Gualda, C. Lagunas; Lamoureux, M.; Larson, M. J.; Lauber, F.; Lazar, J. P.; DeHolton, K. Leonard; Leszczy?ska, A.; Liao, J.; Lincetto, M.; Liu, Y. T.; Liubarska, M.; Love, C.; Lu, L.; Lucarelli, F.; Luszczak, W.; Lyu, Y.; Madsen, J.; Magnus, E.; Mahn, K. B. M.; Makino, Y.; Manao, E.; Mancina, S.; Mand, A.; Sainte, W. Marie; Mari?, I. C.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Marsee, M.; Martinez-Soler, I.; Maruyama, R.; Mayhew, F.; McNally, F.; Mead, J. V.; Meagher, K.; Mechbal, S.; Medina, A.; Meier, M.; Merckx, Y.; Merten, L.; Mitchell, J.; Montaruli, T.; Moore, R. W.; Morii, Y.; Morse, R.; Moulai, M.; Mukherjee, T.; Naab, R.; Nakos, M.; Naumann, U.; Necker, J.; Negi, A.; Neste, L.; Neumann, M.; Niederhausen, H.; Nisa, M. U.; Noda, K.; Noell, A.; Novikov, A.; Pollmann, A. Obertacke; O'Dell, V.; Olivas, A.; Orsoe, R.; Osborn, J.; O'Sullivan, E.; Palusova, V.; Pandya, H.; Park, N.; Parker, G. K.; Parrish, V.; Paudel, E. N.; Paul, L.; Heros, C. Pérez de los; Pernice, T.; Peterson, J.; Pizzuto, A.; Plum, M.; Pontén, A.; Popovych, Y.; Rodriguez, M. Prado; Pries, B.; Procter-Murphy, R.; Przybylski, G. T.; Pyras, L.; Raab, C.; Rack-Helleis, J.; Rad, N.; Ravn, M.; Rawlins, K.; Rechav, Z.; Rehman, A.; Resconi, E.; Reusch, S.; Rhode, W.; Riedel, B.; Rifaie, A.; Roberts, E. J.; Robertson, S.; Rodan, S.; Rongen, M.; Rosted, A.; Rott, C.; Ruhe, T.; Ruohan, L.; Safa, I.; Saffer, J.; Salazar-Gallegos, D.; Sampathkumar, P.; Sandrock, A.; Santander, M.; Sarkar, S.; Sarkar, S.; Savelberg, J.; Savina, P.; Schaile, P.; Schaufel, M.; Schieler, H.; Schindler, S.; Schlickmann, L.; Schlüter, B.; Schlüter, F.; Schmeisser, N.; Schmidt, T.; Schneider, J.; Schröder, F. G.; Schumacher, L.; Schwirn, S.; Sclafani, S.; Seckel, D.; Seen, L.; Seikh, M.; Seo, M.; Seunarine, S.; Myhr, P. A. Sevle; Shah, R.; Shefali, S.; Shimizu, N.; Silva, M.; Skrzypek, B.; Smithers, B.; Snihur, R.; Soedingrekso, J.; Søgaard, A.; Soldin, D.; Soldin, P.; Sommani, G.; Spannfellner, C.; Spiczak, G. M.; Spiering, C.; Stachurska, J.; Stamatikos, M.; Stanev, T.; Stezelberger, T.; Stürwald, T.; Stuttard, T.; Sullivan, G. W.; Taboada, I.; Ter-Antonyan, S.; Terliuk, A.; Thiesmeyer, M.; Thompson, W. G.; Thwaites, J.; Tilav, S.; Tollefson, K.; Tönnis, C.; Toscano, S.; Tosi, D.; Trettin, A.; Elorrieta, M. A. Unland; Upadhyay, A. K.; Upshaw, K.; Vaidyanathan, A.; Valtonen-Mattila, N.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Eijndhoven, N. van; Vannerom, D.; Santen, J. van; Vara, J.; Varsi, F.; Veitch-Michaelis, J.; Venugopal, M.; Vereecken, M.; Carrasco, S. Vergara; Verpoest, S.; Veske, D.; Vijai, A.; Walck, C.; Wang, A.; Weaver, C.; Weigel, P.; Weindl, A.; Weldert, J.; Wen, A. Y.; Wendt, C.; Werthebach, J.; Weyrauch, M.; Whitehorn, N.; Wiebusch, C. H.; Williams, D. R.; Witthaus, L.; Wolf, M.; Wrede, G.; Xu, X. W.; Yanez, J. P.; Yildizci, E.; Yoshida, S.; Young, R.; Yu, F.; Yu, S.; Yuan, T.; Zegarelli, A.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, Z.; Zhelnin, P.; Zilberman, P.; Zimmerman, M.; Drake, Pablo; Spira-Savett, Elizabeth; Lusen, Piatra; Mori, Kaya
While the sources of the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory are still largely unknown, one of the promising methods used towards understanding this is investigating the potential temporal and spatial correlations between neutrino alerts and the electromagnetic radiation from blazars. We report on the multiwavelength target-of-opportunity observations of the blazar B3 2247+381, taken in response to an IceCube multiplet alert for a cluster of muon neutrino events compatible with the source location between May 20, 2022 and November 10, 2022. B3 2247+381 was not detected with VERITAS during this time period. The source was found to be in a low-flux state in the optical, ultraviolet and gamma-ray bands for the time interval corresponding to the neutrino event, but was detected in the hard X-ray band with NuSTAR during this period. We find the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution is well described using a simple one-zone leptonic synchrotron self-Compton radiation model. Moreover, assuming the neutrinos originate from hadronic processes within the jet, the neutrino flux would be accompanied by a photon flux from the cascade emission, and the integrated photon flux required in such a case would significantly exceed the total multiwavelength fluxes and the VERITAS upper limits presented here. The lack of flaring activity observed with VERITAS, combined with the low multiwavelength flux levels, and given the significance of the neutrino excess is at 3σ level (uncorrected for trials), makes B3 2247+381 an unlikely source of the IceCube multiplet. We conclude that the neutrino excess is likely a background fluctuation.
Abundant ammonia and nitrogen-rich soluble organic matter in samples from asteroid (101955) Bennu
(Springer Nature, 2025-01-29) Glavin, Daniel P.; Dworkin, Jason P.; Alexander, Conel M. O’D; Aponte, José C.; Baczynski, Allison A.; Barnes, Jessica J.; Bechtel, Hans A.; Berger, Eve L.; Burton, Aaron S.; Caselli, Paola; Chung, Angela H.; Clemett, Simon J.; Cody, George D.; Dominguez, Gerardo; Elsila, Jamie E.; Farnsworth, Kendra; Foustoukos, Dionysis I.; Freeman, Katherine H.; Furukawa, Yoshihiro; Gainsforth, Zack; Graham, Heather V.; Grassi, Tommaso; Giuliano, Barbara Michela; Hamilton, Victoria E.; Haenecour, Pierre; Heck, Philipp R.; Hofmann, Amy E.; House, Christopher H.; Huang, Yongsong; Kaplan, Hannah H.; Keller, Lindsay P.; Kim, Bumsoo; Koga, Toshiki; Liss, Michael; McLain, Hannah L.; Marcus, Matthew A.; Matney, Mila; McCoy, Timothy J.; McIntosh, Ophélie M.; Mojarro, Angel; Naraoka, Hiroshi; Nguyen, Ann N.; Nuevo, Michel; Nuth, Joseph A.; Oba, Yasuhiro; Parker, Eric T.; Peretyazhko, Tanya S.; Sandford, Scott A.; Santos, Ewerton; Schmitt-Kopplin, Philippe; Seguin, Frederic; Simkus, Danielle N.; Shahid, Anique; Takano, Yoshinori; Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.; Tripathi, Havishk; Weiss, Gabriella; Zheng, Yuke; Lunning, Nicole G.; Righter, Kevin; Connolly, Harold C.; Lauretta, Dante S.
Organic matter in meteorites reveals clues about early Solar System chemistry and the origin of molecules important to life, but terrestrial exposure complicates interpretation. Samples returned from the B-type asteroid Bennu by the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer mission enabled us to study pristine carbonaceous astromaterial without uncontrolled exposure to Earth’s biosphere. Here we show that Bennu samples are volatile rich, with more carbon, nitrogen and ammonia than samples from asteroid Ryugu and most meteorites. Nitrogen-15 isotopic enrichments indicate that ammonia and other N-containing soluble molecules formed in a cold molecular cloud or the outer protoplanetary disk. We detected amino acids (including 14 of the 20 used in terrestrial biology), amines, formaldehyde, carboxylic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and N-heterocycles (including all five nucleobases found in DNA and RNA), along with ~10,000 N-bearing chemical species. All chiral non-protein amino acids were racemic or nearly so, implying that terrestrial life’s left-handed chirality may not be due to bias in prebiotic molecules delivered by impacts. The relative abundances of amino acids and other soluble organics suggest formation and alteration by low-temperature reactions, possibly in NH3-rich fluids. Bennu’s parent asteroid developed in or accreted ices from a reservoir in the outer Solar System where ammonia ice was stable.
Looking at infrared background radiation anisotropies with Spitzer: large scale anisotropies and their implications
(AAS, 2025-02-06) Kashlinsky, A.; Arendt, Richard; Ashby, M. L. N.; Kruk, J.; Odegard, N.
We use Spitzer/IRAC deep exposure data covering two significantly larger than before sky areas to construct maps suitable for evaluating source-subtracted fluctuations in the cosmic infrared background (CIB). The maps are constructed using the self-calibration methodology eliminating artifacts to sufficient accuracy and subset maps are selected in each area containing approximately uniform exposures. These maps are clipped and removed of known sources and then Fourier transformed to probe the CIB anisotropies to new larger scales. The power spectrum of the resultant CIB anisotropies is measured from the data to >1 degree revealing the component well above that from remaining known galaxies on scales >1 arcmin. The fluctuations are demonstrated to be free of Galactic and Solar System foreground contributions out to the largest scales measured. We discuss the proposed theories for the origin of the excess CIB anisotropies in light of the new data. Out of these, the model where the CIB fluctuation excess originates from the granulation power due to LIGO-observed primordial black holes as dark matter appears most successful in accounting for all observations related to the measured CIB power amplitude and spatial structure, including the measured coherence between the CIB and unresolved cosmic X-ray background (CXB). Finally we point out the use of the data to probe the CIB-CXB cross-power to new scales and higher accuracy. We also discuss the synergy of these data with future CIB programs at shorter near-IR wavelengths with deep wide surveys and sub-arcsecond angular resolution as provided by Euclid and Roman space missions.
BatAnalysis -- A Comprehensive Python Pipeline for Swift BAT Time-Tagged Event Data Analysis
(2025-02-01) Parsotan, Tyler; Palmer, David M.; Ronchini, Samuele; Delaunay, James; Tohuvavohu, Aaron; Laha, Sibasish; Lien, Amy; Cenko, S. Bradley; Krimm, Hans; Markwardt, Craig
The Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) is a coded aperture gamma-ray instrument with a large field of view that was designed to detect and localize transient events. When a transient is detected, either on-board or externally, the BAT saves time-tagged event (TTE) data which provides the highest quality information of the locations of the photons on the detector plane and their energies. This data can be used to produce spectra, lightcurves, and sky images of a transient event. While these data products are produced by the Swift Data Center and can be produced by current software, they are often preset to certain time and energy intervals which has limited their use in the current time domain and multi-messenger environment. Here, we introduce a new capability for the BatAnalysis python package to download and process TTE data under an open-source pythonic framework that allows for easy interfacing with other python packages. The new capabilities of the BatAnalysis software allows for TTE data to be used by the community in a variety of advanced customized analyses of astrophysical sources which BAT may have TTE data for, such as Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs), Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXB), Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters, magnetars, and many other sources. We highlight the usefulness of the BatAnalysis package in analyzing TTE data produced by an on-board GRB trigger, a FRB external trigger, a sub-threshold detection of the LMXB EXO 0748-676, and an external trigger of a GRB that BAT detected during a slew.
Real-Time Pulse Processing on the Time-Division Multiplex Readout Electronics of the Transition Edge Sensor for the Line Emission Mapper (LEM)
(IEEE, 2025-01-27) Sakai, Kazuhiro; Adams, Joseph S.; Bandler, S. R.; Chervenak, J. A.; Cumbee, R. S.; Finkbeiner, F. M.; Fuhrman, Joshua; Hull, S. V.; Kelley, R. L.; Kilbourne, C. A.; Muramatsu, H.; Porter, F. S.; Smith, S. J.; Wakeham, Nicholas; Wassell, E. J.
We are developing a real-time X-ray pulse processor for the Line Emission Mapper (LEM) mission, a NASA X-ray probe concept for imaging and spectroscopy in the 0.2 to 2 keV range. The main detector is a hybrid Transition Edge Sensor (TES) array with a 33' outer array with ‘Hydra’ multiplexing and a 7' × 7' inner subarray. The ∼4,000 TES sensors are read out using time-division multiplexing (TDM) technology. We are developing room-temperature digital readout electronics based on laboratory TDM electronics, where all X-ray pulses are processed in real-time to reduce the size of the data transmission. The process includes pulse triggering, grading, extraction, and optimal filtering performed in the FPGA of the TDM column electronics. In this paper we describe the real-time pulse processing firmware for a LEM flight-like prototype electronics and demonstrate count rate capability. We also demonstrate that it provides identical performance compared to conventional offline pulse-processing.
The Magnetically Induced Radial Velocity Variation of Gliese 341 and an Upper Limit to the Mass of Its Transiting Earth-sized Planet
(AAS, 2025-01-28) DiTomasso, Victoria; López-Morales, Mercedes; Peacock, Sarah; Malavolta, Luca; Kirk, James; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Fu, Guangwei; Lustig-Yaeger, Jacob
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission identified a potential 0.88R⊕ planet with a period of 7.577 days, orbiting the nearby M1V star GJ 341 (TOI 741.01). This system has already been observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to search for presence of an atmosphere on this planet. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of the GJ 341 system using all available public data. We provide improved parameters for the host star, an updated value of the planet radius, and support the planetary nature of the object (now GJ 341 b). We use 57 HARPS radial velocities to model the magnetic cycle and activity of the host star, and constrain the mass of GJ 341 b to upper limits of 4.0 M⊕ (3σ) and 2.9 M⊕ (1σ). We also rule out the presence of additional companions with M sin i > 15.1 M⊕, and P < 1750 days, and the presence of contaminating background objects during the TESS and JWST observations. These results provide key information to aid the interpretation of the recent JWST atmospheric observations and other future observations of this planet.
The S-PLUS 12-band photometry as a powerful tool for discovery and classification: ten cataclysmic variables in a proof-of-concept study
(2025-01-27) Oliveira, Raimundo Lopes de; Araujo, Amanda S. de; Krabbe, Angela C.; Oliveira, Claudia L. Mendes de; Mukai, Koji; Gutierrez-Soto, Luis A.; Kanaan, Antonio; Eleuterio, Romualdo; Fernandes, Marcelo Borges; Quispe-Huaynasi, Fredi; Schoenell, William; Ribeiro, Tiago
Multi-band photometric surveys provide a straightforward way to discover and classify astrophysical objects systematically, enabling the study of a large number of targets at relatively low cost. Here we introduce an alternative approach to select Accreting White Dwarf (AWD) candidates following their spectral energy distribution, entirely supported by the twelve photometric bands of the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS). The method was validated with optical spectroscopic follow-up with the Gemini South telescope which unambiguously established ten systems as cataclysmic variables (CVs), alongside Swift X-ray observations of four of them. Among the ten CVs presented here are those that may be low-luminosity intermediate polars or WZ Sge-type dwarf novae with rare outbursts, two subclasses that can be easily missed in time-domain and X-ray surveys, the two methods currently dominating the discovery of new CVs. Our approach based on S-PLUS provides an important, complementary tool to uncover the total population of CVs and the complete set of its subclasses, which is an important step towards a full understanding of close binary evolution, including the origin of magnetic fields in white dwarfs and the physics of accretion. Finally, we highlight the potential of S-PLUS beyond AWDs, serving other surveys in the characterization of their sources.
Integration and testing of a cryogenic receiver for the Exoplanet Climate Infrared Telescope (EXCITE)
(SPIE, 2024-07-18) Kleyheeg, Annalies; Bernard, Lee; Bocchieri, Andrea; Butler, Nat; Changeat, Quentin; D'Alessandro, Azzurra; Edwards, Billy; Gamaunt, John; Gong, Qian; Hartley, John; Helson, Kyle; Jensen, Logan; Kelly, Daniel P.; Klangboonkrong, Kanchita; Leong, Ed; Lewis, Nikole; Li, Steven; Line, Michael; Maher, Stephen F.; McClelland, Ryan; Miko, Laddawan R.; Mugnai, Lorenzo; Nagler, Peter; Netterfield, Barth; Parmentier, Vivien; Pascale, Enzo; Patience, Jennifer; Rehm, Tim; Romualdez, Javier; Sarkar, Subhajit; Scowen, Paul; Tucker, Gregory S.; Waczynski, Augustyn; Waldmann, Ingo
The EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE) is an instrument designed to measure spectroscopic phase curves of extrasolar hot Jupiters from a long duration balloon platform. EXCITE will fly a moderate resolution spectrometer housed inside of a cryogenic receiver actively cooled by two linear pulse tube cryocoolers. Here we provide the current status of the design and performance of the cryogenic receiver, its heat rejection mechanism, and associated control electronics. A recirculating methanol fluid loop rejects heat from the cryocoolers and transports it to sky-facing radiator panels mounted to the gondola. The cryocoolers are controlled by drive electronics with active vibration reduction functionality to minimize the impact of vibrations on pointing stability. We discuss the thermal and vibrational performance of the cryogenic receiver during ground-based pointing tests in its 2023 field campaign in Ft. Sumner, NM and present its current status as EXCITE prepares for its 2024 test flight campaign.
The Exoplanet Climate Infrared Telescope (EXCITE): gondola pointing and stabilization qualification
(SPIE, 2024-09-11) Romualdez, Javier L.; Bernard, Lee; Bocchieri, Andrea; Butler, Nathaniel; Changeat, Quentin; D'Alessandro, Azzurra; Edwards, Billy; Gamaunt, Johnathan; Gong, Qian; Hartley, John; Helson, Kyle R.; Jensen, Logan; Kelly, Daniel P.; Klangboonkrong, Kanchita; Kleyheeg, Annalies; Leong, Ed; Lewis, Nikole; Li, Steven; Line, Michael; Maher, Stephen; McClelland, Ryan; Miko, Laddawan R.; Mugnai, Lorenzo V.; Nagler, Peter C.; Netterfield, C. Barth; Parmentier, Vivien; Pascale, Enzo; Patience, Jennifer; Rehm, Tim; Sarkar, Subhajit; Scowen, Paul; Tucker, Gregory; Waczynski, Augustyn; Waldmann, Ingo
High precision sub-arcsecond pointing stability has become a capability widely utilized in the balloon-borne community, in particular for high resolution optical systems. However, many of these applications are also pushing the state-of-the-art with regards to detector technology, many forms of which require some level of cryogenic cooling and active dissipative cooling systems to achieve target performance specifications. Built on the success of the Super-pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) experiment, we present the results of improved technologies and design methodologies applied to the EXoplanet Infrared TElescope (EXCITE), which uses active cryogenic systems to achieve detector performance while requiring pointing stability at the 100 milliarcsecond level. Results from EXCITE's recent balloon-borne campaign are presented within the context of Super-pressure Balloon (SPB) and Long Duration Balloon (LDB) applications.
Assembly, integration, and laboratory testing of the EXCITE spectrograph
(SPIE, 2024-07-30) Bernard, Lee; Gamaunt, Johnathan; Jensen, Logan; Bocchieri, Andrea; Butler, Nat; Changeat, Quentin; D'Alessandro, Azzurra; Edwards, Billy; Earley, Conor; Gong, Qian; Hartley, John; Helson, Kyle; Kelly, Daniel P.; Klangboonkrong, Kanchita; Kleyheeg, Annalies; Lewis, Nikole; Li, Steven; Line, Michael; Maher, Stephen F.; McClelland, Ryan; Miko, Laddawan R.; Mugnai, Lorenzo V.; Nagler, Peter; Netterfield, C. Barth; Parmentier, Vivien; Pascale, Enzo; Patience, Jennifer; Rehm, Tim; Romualdez, Javier; Sarkar, Subhajit; Scowen, Paul; Tucker, Greg; Waczynski, Augustyn; Waldmann, Ingo
The EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE) is a near-infrared spectrograph (0.8-3.5 µm, R∼50) designed for measuring spectroscopic phase curves of transiting hot Jupiter-type exoplanets that operates off a high-altitude balloon platform. Phase curves produce a combination of phase curve and transit/eclipse spectroscopy, providing a wealth of information for characterizing exoplanet atmospheres. EXCITE will be a firstof- kind dedicated telescope uniquely able to observe a target nearly uninterrupted for tens of hours, enabling phase curve measurements, and complementing JWST. The spectrometer has two channels, a 0.8-2.5 µm band and a 2.5-3.5 µm band, providing a spectrum with a spectral resolution of R≥50. Two Off-Axis Parabolic (OAP) mirrors reimage the telescope focal plane to provide on-axis, diffraction-limited performance, wth a CaF2 prism providing dispersion. The spectrum is imaged with a single JWST flight spare Teledyne H2RG detector, providing Nyquist sampling of each channel. Here, we discuss the spectrograph’s mechanical design, acceptance testing, assembly, and cryostat integration.
A Measurement of the Largest-Scale CMB E-mode Polarization with CLASS
(2025-01-21) Li, Yunyang; Eimer, Joseph; Appel, John; Bennett, Charles; Brewer, Michael; Bruno, Sarah Marie; Bustos, Ricardo; Chan, Carol; Chuss, David; Cleary, Joseph; Dahal, Sumit; Datta, Rahul; Couto, Jullianna Denes; Denis, Kevin; Dunner, Rolando; Essinger-Hileman, Thomas; Harrington, Kathleen; Helson, Kyle; Hubmayr, Johannes; Iuliano, Jeffrey; Karakla, John; Marriage, Tobias; Miller, Nathan; Perez, Carolina; Morales; Parker, Lucas; Petroff, Matthew; Reeves, Rodrigo; Rostem, Karwan; Ryan, Caleigh; Shi, Rui; Shukawa, Koji; Valle, Deniz; Watts, Duncan; Weiland, J.; Wollack, Edward; Xu, Zhilei; Zeng, Lingzhen
We present measurements of large-scale cosmic microwave background (CMB) E-mode polarization from the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) 90 GHz data. Using 115 det-yr of observations collected through 2024 with a variable-delay polarization modulator, we achieved a polarization sensitivity of 78 µK arcmin, comparable to Planck at similar frequencies (100 and 143 GHz). The analysis demonstrates effective mitigation of systematic errors and addresses challenges to large-angular-scale power recovery posed by time-domain filtering in maximum-likelihood map-making. A novel implementation of the pixel-space transfer matrix is introduced, which enables efficient filtering simulations and bias correction in the power spectrum using the quadratic cross-spectrum estimator. Overall, we achieved an unbiased time-domain filtering correction to recover the largest angular scale polarization, with the only power deficit, arising from map-making non-linearity, being characterized as less than 3%. Through cross-correlation with Planck, we detected the cosmic reionization at 99.4% significance and measured the reionization optical depth τ = 0.053⁺⁰˙⁰¹⁸₋₀.₀₁₉, marking the first ground-based attempt at such a measurement. At intermediate angular scales (ℓ>30), our results, both independently and in cross-correlation with Planck, remain fully consistent with Planck's measurements.
Informed Design of a Gravity Science Experiment for the Future Geophysical Investigation of the Uranian Moons
(IOP, 2025-02-07) Filice, Valerio; Cascioli, Gael; Maistre, Sébastien Le; Baland, Rose-Marie; Trinh, Antony; Mazarico, Erwan; Goossens, Sander
The outer solar system beyond Saturn remains unexplored by dedicated orbital missions. With a launch window opening in 2029, the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) mission has been prioritized as a NASA Flagship mission for the next decade (2023–2032) to comprehensively study Uranus and its major moons—Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. We define and apply novel mission design principles centered on scientific objectives to UOP's gravity science (GS) experiment. Using a combination of Bayesian and Precise Orbit Determination inversions, it is possible to determine mission requirements ensuring the achievement of scientific goals. Our methodology involves building measurement-to-interior parameter maps via extensive Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations, linking geodetic measurements' precisions to uncertainties in key interior parameters of the Uranian moons. We show how this mapping approach allows for the rapid evaluation of the ability of a GS experiment design to constrain interior parameters. We conduct a covariance analysis of two orbital tours, multiple measurement strategies, and inversion settings. The tested cases enable the satisfactory determination of Ariel's ice shell thickness (to about 16%), as well as its rock-to-ice mass ratio (≈28%). None of the solutions were able to constrain its ocean thickness. This reverse approach allows for the rapid and scientifically informed adjustment of mission design, thereby demonstrating its potential applicability to other planetary science experiments.
Development and Initial Testing of XR-Based Fence Diagrams for Polar Science
(IEEE, 2023-07) Tack, Naomi; Holschuh, Nicholas; Sharma, Sharad; Williams, Rebecca M.; Engel, Don
Earth’s ice sheets are the largest contributor to sea level rise. For this reason, understanding the flow and topology of ice sheets is crucial for the development of accurate models and predictions. In order to aid in the generation of such models, ice penetrating radar is used to collect images of the ice sheet through both airborne and ground-based platforms. Glaciologists then take these images and visualize them in 3D fence diagrams on a flat 2D screen. We aim to consider the benefits that an XR visualization of these diagrams may provide to enable better data comprehension, annotation, and collaborative work. In this paper, we discuss our initial development and evaluation of such an XR system.
Visualizing the Greenland Ice Sheet in VR using Immersive Fence Diagrams
(ACM, 2023-09-10) Tack, Naomi; Williams, Rebecca M.; Holschuh, Nicholas; Sharma, Sharad; Engel, Don
The melting of the ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica are primary drivers of sea level rise. Predicting the rate of ice loss depends on modeling the ice dynamics. Ice penetrating radar provides the ability to capture images through the ice sheet, down to the bedrock. Historical environmental and climate perturbations cause small changes to the dielectric constant of ice, which are visually manifested as layers of varying brightness in the radar imagery. To understand how the flow of ice has progressed between neighboring image slices, glaciologists use Fence Diagrams to visualize several cross-sections at once. Here, we describe the immersive virtual reality (VR) fence diagrams we have developed. The goal of our system is to enable glaciologists to make sense of these data and thereby predict future ice loss.
The timing and spectral properties of the 2022 outburst of SGR J1935+2154 observed with NICER
(APJ, 2025-01-13) Yu-Cong, Fu; Lin, Lin; Ming-Yu, Ge; Teruaki, Enoto; Chin-Ping, Hu; George, Younes; Ersin, Göğüş; Christian, Malacaria
The magnetar SGR J1935+2154 entered a new active episode on October 10, 2022, with X-ray bursts and enhanced persistent emission. At the tail of high burst rate interval, lasting several hours, radio bursts were detected, revealing the connection between the X-ray activities and radio emissions. We analyzed observations of SGR J1935+2154 for nearly three months, using data from Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). We report the timing and spectral results following the onset of this outburst. In general, the X-ray flux of the persistent emission decays exponentially. While a flare is evident on the light curve, a fast radio burst (FRB) was detected immediately following the peak of this flare. We found a phase jump of pulse profile, with a deviation of $0.16\pm0.03$ phase, which is related to the glitch. The spectra are well fit with the combination of a blackbody and a power law model. The decay of the outburst is dominated by the drop of the non-thermal component, which also leads to the increase of thermal proportion. The photon index of the power law is inversely correlated with both the unabsorbed flux and the burst rate. We find that unlike the large variety of the persistent emission around FRB 221014, the X-ray properties are very stable when FRBs 221021 and 221201 happened. These results manifest the connection between glitch, phase jump, X-ray burst, and radio burst, crucial for studying the mutation in twisted magnetic fields and constraining the trigger mechanism of radio bursts.
High-Frequency Power Spectrum of AGN NGC 4051 Revealed by NICER
(AAS, 2025-02-27) Rani, Bindu; Kim, Jungeun; Papadakis, I.; Gendreau, K. C.; Masterson, M.; Hamaguchi, K.; Kara, E.; Lee, S.-S.; Mushotzky, R.
Variability studies offer a compelling glimpse into black hole dynamics, and Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer's (NICER's) remarkable temporal resolution propels us even further. NICER observations of an active galactic nucleus (AGN), NGC 4051, have charted the geometry of the emission region of the central supermassive black hole. Our investigation of X-ray variability in NGC 4051 has detected extreme variations spanning a factor of 40–50 over a mere 10–12 hr. For the first time, we have constrained the X-ray power spectral density (PSD) of the source to 0.1 Hz, corresponding to a temporal frequency of 10⁴ Hz in a galactic X-ray binary with a mass of 10 M⊙. No extra high-frequency break/bend or any quasiperiodic oscillations are found. Through detailed analysis of energy-dependent PSDs, we found that the PSD normalization, the high-frequency PSD slope, as well as the bending frequency remain consistent across all energies within the 0.3–3 keV band, revealing the presence of a constant temperature corona. These significant findings impose critical constraints on current models of X-ray emission and variability in AGN.
Performance of the 0-padding Optimal Filter Method in Non-linear Gain Calibration
(IEEE, 2025-01-22) Witthoeft, Michael; Smith, Stephen J.; Cucchettic, Edoardo; Cardiel, Nicolas; Ceballosf, M. Teresa; Cobo, Beatriz; Adams, Joseph S.; Bandler, Simon R.; Chervenak, James A.; Finkbeiner, Fred M.; Fuhrman, Joshua; Hull, Samuel V.; Kelley, Richard L.; Kilbourne, Caroline A.; Porter, F. Scott; Sakai, Kazuhiro; Wakeham, Nicholas
The focal-plane detector, the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), on-board ESA's Athena space telescope is a transition edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter array with 1.5k pixels, designed to provide spatially-resolved, high-resolution spectroscopy over the energy range 0.2-12 keV. The onboard event processor uses a digital optimal filter to determine the pulse-height of the measured current pulse from every X-ray photon striking the array. A modified optimal filter called the 0-padding filter has recently been proposed. This is a truncated version of the standard optimal filter and has been shown to provide comparable energy resolution but with the benefit of reduced computational expense. Whereas the standard optimal filter has zero integral and is not sensitive to variations in the DC level of the measured signal, the integral of the 0-padded version is non-zero and thus is more sensitive to fluctuations in DC signal over time. In this work, we explore the effect of 0-padding on the energy scale calibration using data from 250-pixels in a prototype Athena X-IFU array, measured over the range 1.3-12 keV.
AstroPix: A Pixelated HVCMOS Sensor for Space-Based Gamma-Ray Measurement
(2025-01-20) Steinhebel, Amanda L.; Caputo, Regina; Violette, Daniel P.; Affolder, Anthony; Bauman, Autumn; Chinatti, Carolyn; Deshmukh, Aware; Fadayev, Vitaliy; Fukazawa, Yasushi; Jadhav, Manoj; Kierans, Carolyn; Kim, Bobae; Kim, Jihee; Klest, Henry; Kroger, Olivia; Kumar, Kavic; Kushima, Shin; Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Leys, Richard; Martinez-Mckinney, Forest; Metcalfe, Jessica; Metzler, Zachary; Mitchell, John W.; Nakano, Norito; Ott, Jennifer; Peric, Ivan; Perkins, Jeremy S.; Rudin, Max R.; Taylor; Shin; Sommer, Grant; Striebig, Nicolas; Suda, Yusuke; Tajima, Hiroyasu; Valverde, Janeth; Zurek, Maria
A next-generation medium-energy gamma-ray telescope targeting the MeV range would address open questions in astrophysics regarding how extreme conditions accelerate cosmic-ray particles, produce relativistic jet outflows, and more. One concept, AMEGO-X, relies upon the mission-enabling CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor silicon chip AstroPix. AstroPix is designed for space-based use, featuring low noise, low power consumption, and high scalability. Desired performance of the device include an energy resolution of 5 keV (or 10% FWHM) at 122 keV and a dynamic range per-pixel of 25-700 keV, enabled by the addition of a high-voltage bias to each pixel which supports a depletion depth of 500 um. This work reports on the status of the AstroPix development process with emphasis on the current version under test, version three (v3), and highlights of version two (v2). Version 3 achieves energy resolution of 10.4 +\- 3.2 % at 59.5 keV and 94 +\- 6 um depletion in a low-resistivity test silicon substrate.
Mapping Venus’s Gravity Field with the VERITAS Mission
(AAS, 2025-01-16) Giuliani, Flavia; Durante, Daniele; Cascioli, Gael; Marchi, Fabrizio De; Iess, Luciano; Mazarico, Erwan; Smrekar, Suzanne
The Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography and Spectroscopy (VERITAS) mission, selected by the NASA Discovery program in 2021, addresses crucial scientific questions about Venus’s evolution, structure, and past and ongoing geological processes. The high-resolution mapping of the gravity field of the planet will give an essential contribution to meet the science objectives of the mission and to further our understanding of Venus. The VERITAS gravity science experiment will enable a gravity map of the planet with substantially higher and more uniform spatial resolution with respect to Magellan. This is achieved thanks to the near-polar, near-circular, lowaltitude orbit (~220 km), and the state-of-the-art quality of Doppler tracking data, collected from two separate and coherent radio links at X and Ka band. Our numerical simulations show that the VERITAS gravity science experiment can robustly fulfill the scientific requirements, achieving a gravity field spatial resolution ranging from 85 to 120 km. Across 90% of the planet, a spatial resolution better than 106 km is expected. Additionally, VERITAS can retrieve crucial parameters required to derive the tidal response and rotational state of Venus, thereby improving our understanding of the planet’s interior structure.

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