Nature Astronomy最新文献

{"title":"Strong spectral features from asymptotic giant branch stars in distant quiescent galaxies","authors":"Shiying Lu, Emanuele Daddi, Claudia Maraston, Mark Dickinson, Pablo Arrabal Haro, Raphael Gobat, Alvio Renzini, Mauro Giavalisco, Micaela B. Bagley, Antonello Calabrò, Yingjie Cheng, Alexander de la Vega, Chiara D’Eugenio, David Elbaz, Steven L. Finkelstein, Carlos Gómez-Guijarro, Qiusheng Gu, Nimish P. Hathi, Marc Huertas-Company, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Anton M. Koekemoer, Aurélien Henry, Yipeng Lyu, Benjamin Magnelli, Bahram Mobasher, Casey Papovich, Nor Pirzkal, R. Michael Rich, Sandro Tacchella, L. Y. Aaron Yung","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02391-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02391-9","url":null,"abstract":"Dating the ages and weighting the stellar populations in galaxies are essential steps when studying galaxy formation through cosmic times. Evolutionary population synthesis models with different input physics are used for this purpose. Moreover, the contribution from the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stellar phase, which peaks for intermediate-age 0.6–2 Gyr systems, has been debated for decades. Here we report the detection of strong cool-star signatures in the rest-frame near-infrared spectra of three young (~1 Gyr), massive (~1010 M⊙) quiescent galaxies at large look-back time, z = 1–2, using JWST/NIRSpec. The coexistence of oxygen- and carbon-type absorption features, spectral edges and features from rare species, such as vanadium and possibly zirconium, reveal a strong contribution from TP-AGB stars. Population synthesis models with a significant TP-AGB contribution reproduce the observations better than those with a weak TP-AGB, which are commonly used. These findings call for revisions of published stellar population fitting results, as they point to populations with lower masses and younger ages and have further implications for cosmic dust production and chemical enrichment. New generations of improved models are needed, informed by these and future observations. Strong near-infrared spectral features from asymptotic giant branch stars are detected by JWST in the integrated light from distant quiescent galaxies, clarifying their contribution to galaxy spectra and population synthesis models.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"9 1","pages":"128-140"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142486663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detection of strong spectral features from asymptotic-giant-branch stars in distant quiescent galaxies","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02392-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02392-8","url":null,"abstract":"Using JWST, spectral features have been detected in the near-infrared emission of distant galaxies. The observations address a long-standing controversy about the contribution of thermally pulsing asymptotic-giant-branch stars to galaxy emission, with implications for the calculation of galaxy ages and stellar masses, and for models of stellar population synthesis.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"9 1","pages":"34-35"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142486661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ryugu’s unexpected phosphorus materials","authors":"Matthew A. Pasek","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02387-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02387-5","url":null,"abstract":"Samples from asteroid Ryugu bear hydrated ammonium magnesium phosphorus (HAMP) grains, which have no known parallels to meteorite minerals but provide clues to the formation of Ryugu and suggest that asteroids supply bioessential elements.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"8 12","pages":"1506-1507"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142452342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Observation of super-Alfvénic slippage of reconnecting magnetic field lines on the Sun","authors":"Juraj Lörinčík, Jaroslav Dudík, Alberto Sainz Dalda, Guillaume Aulanier, Vanessa Polito, Bart De Pontieu","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02396-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02396-4","url":null,"abstract":"Slipping motions of magnetic field lines are a distinct signature of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection, a fundamental process driving solar and stellar flares. While being a key prediction of numerical experiments, the rapid super-Alfvénic field line slippage driven by the ‘slip-running’ reconnection has remained elusive in previous observations. New frontiers into exploring transient flare phenomena were introduced by recently designed high cadence observing programs of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). By exploiting high temporal resolution imagery (~2 s) of IRIS, here we reveal slipping motions of flare kernels at speeds reaching thousands of kilometres per second. The fast kernel motions are direct evidence of slip-running reconnection in quasi-separatrix layers, regions where magnetic field strongly changes its connectivity. Our results provide observational proof of theoretical predictions unaddressed for nearly two decades and extend the range of magnetic field configurations where reconnection-related phenomena can occur. High-resolution solar flare observations captured rapid brightening in the Sun’s lower atmosphere. Their speeds of thousands of kilometres per second provide a missing piece of evidence for magnetic reconnection in three dimensions.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"9 1","pages":"45-54"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02396-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142448320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Origin of life experiments onboard Tiangong","authors":"Yan Liu, Jianxi Ying, Kun Ding, Yuezhong Mao, Chaoxian Jia, Fangwu Liu, Xiaofan Guo, Hankun Nie, Min Zhang, Chuanyong Yan, Junwei Huang, Shiyi Tian, Tao Zhang, Yufen Zhao","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02368-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02368-8","url":null,"abstract":"The Origin of Life Space Experiment, conducted on China’s Space Station Tiangong, aims to investigate the origin of genetic codes and its relation with gravity effects.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"8 10","pages":"1343-1343"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142447901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fresh perspectives for Mars exploration","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02404-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02404-7","url":null,"abstract":"Is Mars exploration stalling? The unused 2022 and 2024 launch windows send some warning signs. A revitalized approach could orient a new phase of exploration and complement the long-awaited sample return process.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"8 10","pages":"1207-1207"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02404-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142447880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The bubbling surface of a stellar crucible","authors":"Paul Woods","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02395-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02395-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"8 10","pages":"1215-1215"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142447890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evidence of a 4.33 billion year age for the Moon’s South Pole–Aitken basin","authors":"K. H. Joy, N. Wang, J. F. Snape, A. Goodwin, J. F. Pernet-Fisher, M. J. Whitehouse, Y. Liu, Y. T. Lin, J. R. Darling, P. Tar, R. Tartèse","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02380-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02380-y","url":null,"abstract":"The Moon’s farside South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin is the largest and oldest visible impact basin in the inner Solar System. Determining the timing of this catastrophic event is key to understanding the onset of the lunar basin-forming epoch, with implications for understanding the impact bombardment history of the inner Solar System. Despite this, the formation age of the SPA basin remains poorly constrained. Here we show that the chemical composition of the lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 2995 is in good agreement with lithologies exposed within the southern region of the SPA basin. Radiometric dating of a range of mineral and rock components in Northwest Africa 2995 yielded consistent dates of ~4.32–4.33 billion years old. We interpret these dates as the age of SPA basin formation, inferring that this event occurred ~120 million years before the formation of the main cluster of lunar impact basins between ~4.2 Ga and 3.8 Ga. This weakens support for a narrow period of lunar late heavy impact bombardment and also implies that the earliest formed impact basins on the Moon (that is, >4.33–4.5 Ga old) were erased either by the SPA impact itself when its formation caused massive resurfacing of the lunar surface or through other geological processes. A lunar meteorite sample called Northwest Africa 2995 probably originated from the South Pole–Aitken basin on the Moon’s farside. Minerals in the meteorite date basin formation to 4.32–4.33 billion years ago.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"9 1","pages":"55-65"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02380-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142440177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How massive ellipticals become dark matter deficient","authors":"Lindsay Oldham","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02398-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02398-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"8 10","pages":"1211-1211"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142405480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A core in a star-forming disc as evidence of inside-out growth in the early Universe","authors":"William M. Baker, Sandro Tacchella, Benjamin D. Johnson, Erica Nelson, Katherine A. Suess, Francesco D’Eugenio, Mirko Curti, Anna de Graaff, Zhiyuan Ji, Roberto Maiolino, Brant Robertson, Jan Scholtz, Stacey Alberts, Santiago Arribas, Kristan Boyett, Andrew J. Bunker, Stefano Carniani, Stephane Charlot, Zuyi Chen, Jacopo Chevallard, Emma Curtis-Lake, A. Lola Danhaive, Christa DeCoursey, Eiichi Egami, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Ryan Endsley, Ryan Hausen, Jakob M. Helton, Nimisha Kumari, Tobias J. Looser, Michael V. Maseda, Dávid Puskás, Marcia Rieke, Lester Sandles, Fengwu Sun, Hannah Übler, Christina C. Williams, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Joris Witstok","doi":"10.1038/s41550-024-02384-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-024-02384-8","url":null,"abstract":"The physical processes that establish the morphological evolution and the structural diversity of galaxies are key unknowns in extragalactic astrophysics. Here we report the finding of the morphologically mature galaxy JADES-GS+53.18343−27.79097, which existed within the first 700 million years of the Universe’s history. This star-forming galaxy with a stellar mass of 400 million solar masses consists of three components: a highly compact core with a half-light radius of less than 100 pc, an actively star-forming disc with a radius of about 400 pc and a star-forming clump, all of which show distinctive star-formation histories. The central stellar mass density of this galaxy is within a factor of 2 of the most massive present-day ellipticals, while being globally 1,000 times less massive. The radial profile of the specific star-formation rate is rising towards the outskirts. This evidence suggests a detection of the inside-out growth of a galaxy as a proto-bulge and a star-forming disc in the epoch of reionization. Evidence is found for a distant galaxy growing inside-out within the first 700 million years of the Universe. The galaxy has a dense central core comparable in mass density to local massive ellipticals, and an extended star-forming disc.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"9 1","pages":"141-154"},"PeriodicalIF":12.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02384-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142405481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}