Astronomy Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2746
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Item ABOVE THE CLOUDS: 1-D MODELING OF OBSERVATIONS OF TIDALLY LOCKED EXTRASOLAR WORLDS(2019) Afrin Badhan, Mahmuda; Deming, L. Drake; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn D.; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Unique and exotic planetary environments give us an opportunity to understand how planetary systems form and evolve over their lifetime, by placing our planetary system in the context of vastly different extrasolar systems. With orbital separations a fraction of the Mercury-Sun distance, these close-in planets provide us with valuable insights regarding interactions between the stellar and planetary atmospheres. Further, observational biases actually allow such planets to be the first to be observed via transit spectroscopy. Observed spectrophotometric signatures from transit measurements can reveal spectrally active species in a planet’s atmosphere. Present observational technologies can also shed light on the atmosphere’s structure and dynamics. Future missions will allow us to constrain these properties with unprecedented accuracy, and are also being designed to observe increasingly smaller, cooler and less extreme planets. The eventual goal, after all, is to identify a world like our own. To interpret the observations with any certainty, however, we must build robust atmospheric models that sufficiently factor both physical and chemical processes expected in those atmospheres. 3-D climate modeling has shown that tidally-locked Earth-like planets, at the inner edge of M dwarf habitable zones, may retain water-vapor-rich stratospheres. However, flaring M dwarfs have strong UV activity, which may photodisassociate H2O. Using synthetical stellar UV within a 1-D photochemical model, I assess whether water vapor loss driven by high stellar UV would affect its detectability in JWST/MIRI transmission spectroscopy. I pseudo-couple a 3-D climate model to our 1-D model to achieve this. In a follow-up study, I also compute 125 additional atmospheric states by varying the Earth-like planet’s orbital distance (thus moistness) and methane production rates. I check for and quantify the simultaneous presence of detectable ozone and methane in an otherwise abiotic anoxic atmosphere. I have also implemented techniques to robustly quantify atmospheric properties of hot Jupiters from data-driven retrievals and built a versatile template for hot Jupiter atmospheres within our 1-D photochemical modeling tool, which was previously only valid for cool rocky worlds. I sketch out a plan for using this work towards mapping non-equilibrated (non-LTE) emissions from methane in the upper atmospheres of observable giants.Item Shocks and Cold Fronts in Galaxy Clusters --- Probing the Microphysics of the Intracluster Medium(2018) Wang, Qian; Mushotzky, Richard; Markevitch, Maxim; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Shocks and cold fronts in galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound systems in the universe, are astrophysical laboratories where we can study the microphysics of the intracluster medium (ICM), a very hot ($T\sim10^7$--$10^8$~K) plasma. Being the main baryon content of galaxy clusters, the ICM plays an important role in mediating the energy cascade from gravitational collapse during cosmological structure formation. It is also intricately linked to the evolution of the galaxies within. The scientific enquiries concerning the ICM range from fundamental physics questions to cosmological measurements. In this dissertation, I demonstrate probing ICM microphysics by studying deep X-ray observations of two galaxy clusters, A520 and A2142. For A520, tests for thermal conduction, electron--ion equilibration timescale, and particle acceleration at the shock were carried out. For A2142, a test for the effective viscosity was performed using two apparent Kelvin-Helmholtz eddies along its southern cold front. Other interesting features were discovered and analyzed, such as a low gas fraction subcluster in the A520 outskirts, and X-ray deficient channels that could be plasma depletion sheets in both clusters.Item The Search for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in the Time Domain(2018) Liu, Tingting; Gezari, Suvi; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are expected due to galaxy mergers and the ubiquity of central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galaxies, but direct evidence for close-separation SMBHBs has been elusive. This thesis presents my search for SMBHBs in the optical time domain, {\it i.e.} by searching for their optical variability signatures. It is a novel approach that can potentially yield SMBHBs in close, sub-pc orbits, a population of SMBH pairs or binaries that can not be directly imaged or resolved by current telescopes or techniques. Further, searches in the optical time domain are sensitive to SMBHBs in the low-frequency gravitational wave-emitting regime, opening up the possibility of studying them in the era of multi-messenger astronomy. I developed a custom pipeline to systematically search in the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey (PS1 MDS) for periodically varying quasars, which have been predicted as the manifestations of SMBHBs at close separations. I constructed a spectroscopically-complete sample of SMBHB candidates using observations with the Gemini Telescope or the Discovery Channel Telescope and measured their black hole masses and redshifts. I also followed up the candidates with a dedicated monitoring program on the Las Cumbres Observatory telescopes, in order to put their periodicity to the test and identify false positives that are due to the stochastic variability of regular quasars that do not host SMBHBs. I set up the expectations for a true periodic signal by modeling normal quasar variability and showed that evidence for a true signal should strengthen over a longer temporal baseline. I then used the expectations as a guide and applied a range of statistical criteria to select more robust candidates from PS1 MDS. From this down-selected sample, I was able to determine an upper limit on the SMBHB rate. I also discussed the search for SMBHBs in the era of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and SMBHB candidates as possible gravitational wave sources for the pulsar timing arrays.Item SIFTING FOR SAPPHIRES IN THE TRANSIENT SKY: THE SEARCH FOR TIDAL DISRUPTION EVENTS IN THE OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN(2018) HUNG, TZU-YU; Gezari, Suvi; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Tidal disruption events (TDEs) refer to the scenario where a star passes within the tidal disruption sphere of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) and becomes torn apart by tidal stresses. In the classical picture, a thermal flare is expected once the bound stellar debris circularize to form an accretion disk that feeds onto the black hole. This flare of radiation provides a unique window to study the demographics of black holes within distant and quiescent galaxies that cannot be probed by other means. In addition, TDEs serve as a powerful probe of the accretion process, where the mass fallback rate can be super-Eddington for \Mbh{} $<$ a few $\times$ 10$^7$ \Msun{}. In recent years, ground-based wide-field optical surveys have successfully detected about a dozen of TDEs. Yet our knowledge of these events is still limited due to their low occurrence rate ($\approx$ 10$^{-4}$--10$^{-5}$ gal$^{-1}$ yr$^{-1}$). In the first part of this thesis, we present results from a systematic selection of TDEs in the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF). Our selection targets typical optically-selected TDEs: blue transients ($g-r$ $<$ 0 mag) residing in the center of resolved red galaxies that are absent of previous nuclear activity. Our photometric selection has led to discoveries of two TDEs in $\sim$4 months, iPTF16axa and iPTF16fnl, in 2016. With the most stringent criteria, we significantly reduced the contamination rate from SN Ia and AGN from 200:1 to 4.5:1. We derived a TDE rate of 1.7$^{+2.9}_{-1.3}$ $\times$ 10$^{-4}$ gal$^{-1}$ yr$^{-1}$ and forecast a discovery rate of 32$^{+41}_{-25}$ TDEs per year for ZTF. The second part of this thesis features a detailed analysis of the photometric and spectroscopic observations on iPTF16axa. We compared iPTF16axa with 11 other TDEs in the literature with well-sampled optical light curves. We concluded that most of these TDE candidates have peak luminosities confined between log(L [erg s$^{-1}$]) = 43.4--44.4, with constant temperatures of a few $\times$ 10$^4$ K during their power-law declines, implying blackbody radii on the order of ten times the tidal disruption radius, that decrease monotonically with time. For TDE candidates with hydrogen and helium emission, the high helium-to-hydrogen ratios suggest that the emission arises from high-density gas, where nebular arguments break down. In the last part of this thesis, I present statistical analyses on the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) data and comments on the TDE rate from the first few months of the survey. Finally, I close this chapter with an analysis on the optical spectra of the first ZTF TDE -- AT2018zr.Item Connecting Molecular Clouds to Clustered Star Formation using Interferometry(2018) Dhabal, Arnab; Mundy, Lee G.; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Stars are commonly formed in clusters in dense regions of interstellar medium called molecular clouds. In this thesis, we improve our understanding of the physics of star formation through multiple experiments involving interferometry. We use CARMA observations of filaments in Serpens and Perseus molecular clouds to study their morphology and kinematics using dense gas tracers. The observations are compared against predictions from simulations to explain how filaments form and evolve to form stars. Ammonia inversion transitions data is obtained from VLA observations of the NGC 1333 molecular cloud. From this data, we derive temperature, structural and kinematic information about the gas participating in star formation on scales from 2 parsec to 0.01 parsec, thereby connecting the large scale gas and dust structure to individual protostellar envelopes. These observations from ground-based arrays are complemented by the development of the Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infra-red Interferometry (BETTII). This pioneering instrument performs Michelson interferometry along with Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, thereby providing sub-arcsecond angular resolution and spectroscopic capabilities at far-infrared wavelengths 30-100 microns. Using this capability, BETTII will study the dusty envelopes around protostars in clustered star forming regions. The instrument development is a component of the thesis with focus on the optics designing, evaluation and alignment for the completed and upcoming flights. We discuss how the optical system mitigates the challenges of phase control for such a balloon borne interferometer. Further, interferometric simulations of BETTII observations are carried out to investigate how well these observations can constrain the defining parameters of protostars.Item Accretion Physics Through the Lens of the Observer: Connecting Fundamental Theory with Variability from Black Holes(2018) Hogg, James Andrew; Reynolds, Christopher S; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Variability is a generic feature of accretion onto black holes. In both X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei, variability is observed on nearly all accessible timescales and across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. On different timescales and at different wavelengths it has unique signatures that can be used to characterize the accretion processes generating the emission and probe the accretion disks, which would otherwise be impossible. Despite having been observed for over fifty years, interpreting this variability is difficult. Simple phenomenological models have been used to explain the behaviors and geometries of the observed accretion disk, but they have yet to be rigorously tested in a full magnetohydrodynamic framework. In this dissertation we use high-resolution numerical models to investigate: (1) ``propagating fluctuations" in mass accretion rate that give rise to the nonlinear signatures of accretion on viscous timescales, (2) the dynamics of truncated accretion disks which are invoked to explain the spectral variation of outbursting X-ray binaries and the bifurcation of AGN accretion states, and (3) the large-scale magnetic dynamo behavior in thick and thin accretion disks. We find that the structured variability readily seen in the light curves from accreting black holes (i.e. log-normal flux distributions, linear relations between the RMS and the flux, and radial coherence) quickly and naturally grows from the MRI-driven turbulence and that these properties translate into photometric variability. For the first time, we identify the large-scale magnetic dynamo as the source of the low-frequency modulations of the disk stress that cause this structure. We introduce a bistable cooling law into hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study the manifestation of a truncated accretion disk in each regime. We find that rather than a truncation edge, the transition is better described by a ``truncation zone" when the angular momentum transport and heating is governed by MRI-driven turbulence instead of a true viscosity. Additionally, we find that the hot gas in the simulation buoyantly rises in a gentle outflow and eventually fills the entire volume, instead of simply being confined to the innermost region. The outflow interacts with the disk body and enhances the magnetic stresses, which could produce stronger quasiperiodic variability. Finally, we conduct an investigation of the large-scale magnetic dynamo using a suite of four global magnetohydrodynamic disk simulations with scaleheight ratios of $h/r=\{0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4\}$. Most notably, the organization that is prevalent in accretion disk simulations and described as a ``butterfly pattern" does not occur when $h/r \ge 0.2$, despite the dynamo action still operating efficiently.Item ATMOSPHERIC CHARACTERIZATION OF GIANT EXOPLANETS IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS(2017) Wilkins, Ashlee Noelle; Deming, Leo D; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The study of planets around other stars has entered a science-rich era of characterization, in which detailed information about individual planets can be inferred from observations beyond discovery and confirmation, which only yield bulk properties like mass or radius. Characterization probes more revealing quantities such as chemical abundances, albedo, and temperature/pressure profiles, allowing us to address larger questions of planet formation mechanisms, planetary evolution, and, eventually, presence of biosignature gases. The primary method for characterization of close-in planets is transit spectroscopy. My dissertation comprises transiting exoplanet case studies using the Hubble Space Telescopes Wide-Field Camera-3 (HST/WFC3) as a tool of exoplanet characterization in a near-infrared band dominated by broad water absorption. Much of my efforts went toward a characterization of the WFC3 systematic effects that must be mitigated to extract the incredibly small (tens to 200 parts per million) signals. The case study subjects in this dissertation are CoRoT-2b (in emission), WASP-18b (in transmission and emission), and HATS-7b (in transmission), along with some partial/preliminary analyses of HAT-p-3b and HD 149026b (both in transmission). I also present an analysis of transit timing of WASP-18b with HST and other observatories as another clue to its evolution as a close-in, extremely massive planet purported to be spiraling in to its host star. The five planets range from super Neptunes to Super-Jupiter in size/mass. The observability of such planets – i.e. giants across a continuum of mass/size in extreme local environments close to their respective host stars, – is a unique opportunity to probe planet formation and evolution, as well as atmospheric structures in a high-irradiation environment. This genre of observations reveal insights into aerosols in the atmosphere; clouds and/or hazes can significantly impact atmospheric chemistry and observational signatures, and the community must better understand the phenomenon of aerosols in advance of the next generation of space observatories, including JWST and WFIRST. In conducting these case studies as part of larger collaborations and HST observing campaigns, my work aids in the advancement of exoplanet atmosphere characterization from single, planetby-planet, case studies, to an understanding of the large, hot, gaseous planets as a population.Item Benchmarking Charge Exchange Theory in the Dawning Era of Space-Borne High-Resolution X-ray Spectrometers(2017) Betancourt-Martinez, Gabriele; Reynolds, Christopher; Porter, Frederick S; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Charge Exchange (CX) is a process in which a highly charged ion captures one or more electrons from a neutral atom or molecule into an excited state during a close interaction. The electron's subsequent radiative cascade to the ground state produces diagnostic line emission in the X-ray band. CX with solar wind ions occurs frequently in the solar system, and CX may also occur astrophysically. In order to properly identify CX in astrophysical spectra and make use of its diagnostic properties, we must be able to model the emission. Theoretical treatments of CX are often computationally expensive, experimental benchmarks at high resolution are fairly scarce, and there is often poor agreement between the two. This dissertation seeks to build a better understanding of the mechanics and spectral signatures of CX through high-resolution experimental data paired with theoretical calculations of CX. Chapter 1 outlines the necessary ingredients for modeling and identifying CX spectra, describes several astrophysical environments in which CX has been observed or postulated to occur, and presents some of the challenges we are facing in identifying and understanding this emission. Chapter 2 describes the theoretical and computational tools used in this work. Chapter 3 discusses the experimental tools and facilities we use, namely an Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) and an X-ray microcalorimeter. Chapter 4 presents experimental K-shell data that highlights both the subtle nature of the CX interaction and the difficulty in including those nuances in spectral synthesis codes. Chapter 5 presents the first high-resolution L-shell CX spectra of Ne-like Ni and describes what we can learn from these results. In Chapter 6, we take these data a step further and present a pipeline to calculate relative state-selective capture cross sections, previously only available from theoretical modeling. We then compare some of our results to theory. In Chapter 7, we discuss several future steps for our work.Item WATER IN THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM: INFRARED STUDIES OF AQUEOUSLY ALTERED AND MINIMALLY PROCESSED ASTEROIDS(2017) McAdam, Margaret; Sunshine, Jessica M; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis investigates connections between low albedo asteroids and carbonaceous chondrite meteorites using spectroscopy. Meteorites and asteroids preserve information about the early solar system including accretion processes and parent body processes active on asteroids at these early times. One process of interest is aqueous alteration. This is the chemical reaction between coaccreted water and silicates producing hydrated minerals. Some carbonaceous chondrites have experienced extensive interactions with water through this process. Since these meteorites and their parent bodies formed close to the beginning of the Solar System, these asteroids and meteorites may provide clues to the distribution, abundance and timing of water in the Solar nebula at these times. Chapter 2 of this thesis investigates the relationships between extensively aqueously altered meteorites and their visible, near and mid-infrared spectral features in a coordinated spectral-mineralogical study. Aqueous alteration is a parent body process where initially accreted anhydrous minerals are converted into hydrated minerals in the presence of coaccreted water. Using samples of meteorites with known bulk properties, it is possible to directly connect changes in mineralogy caused by aqueous alteration with spectral features. Spectral features in the mid-infrared are found to change continuously with increasing amount of hydrated minerals or degree of alteration. Building on this result, the degrees of alteration of asteroids are estimated in a survey of new asteroid data obtained from SOFIA and IRTF as well as archived the Spitzer Space Telescope data. 75 observations of 73 asteroids are analyzed and presented in Chapter 4. Asteroids with hydrated minerals are found throughout the main belt indicating that significant ice must have been present in the disk at the time of carbonaceous asteroid accretion. Finally, some carbonaceous chondrite meteorites preserve amorphous iron-bearing materials that formed through disequilibrium condensation in the disk. These materials are readily destroyed in parent body processes so their presence indicates the meteorite/asteroid has undergone minimal parent body processes since the time of accretion. Presented in Chapter 3 is the spectral signature of meteorites that preserve significant amorphous iron-bearing materials and the identification of an asteroid, (93) Minerva, that also appears to preserve these materials.Item Optical Time Domain and Radio Imaging Analyses of the Dynamic Hearts of AGN(2017) Smith, Krista Lynne; Mushotzky, Richard; Astronomy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are among the most extreme objects in the universe: galaxies with a central supermassive black hole feeding on gas from a hot accretion disk. Despite their potential as powerful tools to study topics ranging from relativity to cosmology, they remain quite mysterious. In the first portion of this thesis, we explore how an AGN may influence the formation of stars in its host galaxy. Using high-resolution 22 GHz radio imaging of an X-ray selected sample of radio-quiet AGN, we find that the far-infrared radio correlation for normal star forming galaxies remains valid within a few hundred parsecs of the central engine. Because the core flux is often spatially isolated from star formation, we can also determine that the radio emission in radio-quiet AGN is consistent with both coronal and disk-jet coupling models. Finally, we find that AGN with jet-like radio morphologies have suppressed star formation, possibly indicating ongoing feedback. The second portion of this thesis uses optical AGN light curves to study the physics of accretion. The Kepler spacecraft produces groundbreaking light curves, but its fixed field of view only contained a handful of known AGN. We conduct an X-ray survey of this field, yielding 93 unique X-ray sources identified by optical follow-up spectroscopy as a mixture of AGN and stars. For the AGN, we spectroscopically measure black hole masses and accretion rates. We then analyze a sample of 22 Kepler AGN light curves. We develop a customized pipeline for AGN science with Kepler, a necessary step since the initial data was optimized for the unique goal of exoplanet detection. The light curves display an astonishing variety of behaviors in a new regime of optical variability inaccessible with previous facilities. We find power spectral slopes inconsistent with the damped random walk model, characteristic variability timescales, correlations of variability properties with physical parameters, and bimodal flux distributions possibly consistent with passing obscuring material. We also conclude that this regime of optical variability is not produced by simple X-ray reprocessing. Finally, we explain how this work supports future robust accretion studies with upcoming large timing surveys.