{"title":"Revealing the Accretion Flow in M87*: Insights from Faraday Rotation","authors":"Constanza Echiburú-Trujillo and Jason Dexter","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adcec1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcec1","url":null,"abstract":"The Faraday rotation measure (RM) is a commonly used tool to trace electron number density and magnetic fields in hot accretion flows, particularly in low-luminosity accreting supermassive black holes. We focus on the nuclear region of M87, which was observed at 230 GHz (1.3 mm) by the Event Horizon Telescope in 2019. It remains unclear whether this emission originates from the accretion flow, the jet base, or both. To probe the presence of an accretion flow, we explore the scenario where the linearly polarized emission from the counter jet, visible at 43 GHz (7 mm), is Faraday-rotated by the accretion flow. We calculate theoretical predictions for counter-jet polarization using analytical and numerical models. In all cases, we find a Faraday-thick flow at 43 GHz (7 mm), with RM ∼ 106 rad m−2, and a polarization angle that follows a linear relationship with wavelength squared, consistent with external Faraday rotation. The more realistic model, which includes turbulence and magnetic field fluctuations, predicts that the polarization pattern should be time-dependent, and that the counter-jet emission is depolarized due to Faraday depth fluctuations across the accretion flow. Despite the Faraday thick regime and strong depolarization, the linear relationship persists, enabling us to constrain the flow’s physical properties. Comparing the counter-jet and forward-jet linear polarization states should enable detection of M87’s accretion flow and provide lower limits on electron density, magnetic field strength, and mass accretion rate.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144165494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Renjing Xie, Haining Li, Ruizhi Zhang, Yin Wu, Xiang-Xiang Xue, Gang Zhao, Shi-Lin Zhang and Xiao-Jin Xie
{"title":"Main-sequence Turnoff Stars as Probes of the Ancient Galactic Relic: Chemo-dynamical Analysis of a Pilot Sample","authors":"Renjing Xie, Haining Li, Ruizhi Zhang, Yin Wu, Xiang-Xiang Xue, Gang Zhao, Shi-Lin Zhang and Xiao-Jin Xie","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adcba6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcba6","url":null,"abstract":"The main-sequence turnoff (MSTO) stars well preserve the chemical properties where they were born, making them ideal tracers for studying the stellar population. We perform a detailed chemo-dynamical analysis on moderately metal-poor (−2.0 < [Fe/H] < −1.0) MSTO stars to explore the early accretion history of the Milky Way. Our sample includes four stars observed with high-resolution spectroscopy using ESPaDOnS at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope and 163 nearby MSTO stars selected from the SAGA database with high-resolution results. Within the action-angle spaces, we identified Gaia–Sausage–Enceladus (GSE, 35 objects), stars born in the Milky Way (in situ, 31 objects), and other substructures (21 objects). We find that both GSE and in situ stars present a similar Li plateau around A(Li) ∼ 2.17. GSE shows a clear α-knee feature in Mg at [Fe/H] ∼ −1.60 ± 0.06, while the α-elements of in situ stars remain nearly constant within this metallicity range. The iron-peak elements show little difference between GSE and in situ stars except for Zn and Ni, which decrease in GSE at [Fe/H] > −1.6, while they remain constant for in situ stars. Among heavy elements, GSE shows overall enhancement in Eu, with [Ba/Eu] increasing with the metallicity, while this ratio remains almost constant for in situ stars, suggesting the contribution of longer timescale sources to the s-process in GSE. Moreover, for the first time, we present the r-process abundance pattern for an extremely r-process enhanced (r-II) GSE star, which appears consistent with the solar r-process pattern except for Pr. Further investigation of larger GSE samples using high-resolution spectra is required to explore the reason for the significantly higher Pr in the GSE r-II star.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144165301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Philipp Weber, Silvio Ulloa, Sebastián Pérez, James Miley, Lucas Cieza, Sergei Nayakshin, Alice Zurlo, Hauyu Baobab Liu, Fernando Cruz-Sáenz de Miera, Antonio Hales, Antonio Garufi, Dimitris Stamatellos, Ágnes Kóspál and Viviana Guzmán
{"title":"A Multiwavelength Study of the Dynamic Environment Surrounding the FUor V960 Mon","authors":"Philipp Weber, Silvio Ulloa, Sebastián Pérez, James Miley, Lucas Cieza, Sergei Nayakshin, Alice Zurlo, Hauyu Baobab Liu, Fernando Cruz-Sáenz de Miera, Antonio Hales, Antonio Garufi, Dimitris Stamatellos, Ágnes Kóspál and Viviana Guzmán","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adc9a2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc9a2","url":null,"abstract":"The evolution of young stars and planet-forming environments is intrinsically linked to their nascent surroundings. This is particularly evident for FU Orionis (FUor) objects—a class of young protostars known for dramatic outbursts resulting in significant increases in brightness. We present a case study of V960 Mon, an FUor that has recently been found to show signs of a fragmenting spiral arm, potentially connected to planet formation. Our study explores the large-scale environment (103–104 au) and incorporates Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array band 3, band 4, and band 6 continuum data, molecular emissions from 12CO, 13CO, C18O, SiO, DCO+, N2D+, and DCN, alongside optical and near-infrared observations from Very Large Telescope (VLT) Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) and VLT Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch instrument (SPHERE). We map a region of 20″ across where we find tantalizing emissions that provide a unique view of a young group of protostars, including the discovery of a class-0 protostar to the east of the FUor. The 12CO and SiO tracers suggest that this object is at the base of an outflow, potentially impacting the surrounding medium. The MUSE and SPHERE observations indicate the presence of an elongated feature towards a prominent source to the southeast that may represent interaction between V960 Mon and its surroundings. Moreover, the C18O emission overlaps with the clumps of the detected fragmenting spiral arm. These findings provide the strongest evidence to date for a connection between infalling material, fragmentation, and the intensity outburst of a protostar. Our case study highlights the complex interactions between young stars and their surroundings that drive the evolution of the planet forming environment.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Lavanya, L. Giridharan, Neal Titus Thomas, Khushi Jirawala, M. Varun, S. B. Gudennavar and S. G. Bubbly
{"title":"First Polarimetric View of GX 349+2 with the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer","authors":"S. Lavanya, L. Giridharan, Neal Titus Thomas, Khushi Jirawala, M. Varun, S. B. Gudennavar and S. G. Bubbly","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/add330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add330","url":null,"abstract":"We conducted a spectropolarimetric study of the bright Z source GX 349+2 using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) observation. Our findings reveal a significant polarization degree (PD) of 1.1% ± 0.3% in the 2.0–8.0 keV energy range. Spectropolarimetric analysis was performed by modeling the source spectra with an absorbed multicolor disk component and a blackbody. This allowed us to constrain the polarization contributions from the disk and boundary/spreading layer. The results indicate that the observed polarization signal primarily originates from the disk and the spreading layer at the neutron star’s surface, rather than the boundary layer. Additionally, we detect an excess polarization component, which we attribute to either an outflow or reflection processes within the system, indicating the presence of a third component, albeit not observed in the IXPE spectra. Furthermore, energy-resolved polarization analysis in the 2.0–4.0 and 4.0–8.0 keV energy ranges hinted at a marginal increase of PD with energy and rotation of polarization angle (PA). This also pointed to an energy-dependent dominance of emission and indicated that the variation in PA with energy (∼17∘ in the 2.0–4.0 keV energy range and ∼48∘ in the 4.0–8.0 keV energy range) is likely associated with the different nonorthogonal PAs of the disk and spreading layer components, which peak at different energies.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin M. Tofflemire, Carlo F. Manara, Andrea Banzatti, Klaus M. Pontoppidan, Joan Najita, Brunella Nisini, Emma T. Whelan, Justyn Campbell-White, Hala Alqubelat, Adam L. Kraus, Christian Rab, Adrien Houge, Sebastiaan Krijt, James Muzerolle, Eleonora Fiorellino, Myriam Benisty, Lukasz Tychoniec, Colette Salyk, Guillaume Bourdarot and Jacob Hyden
{"title":"Coordinated Space- and Ground-based Monitoring of Accretion Bursts in a Protoplanetary Disk: Establishing Mid-infrared Hydrogen Lines as Accretion Diagnostics for JWST/MIRI","authors":"Benjamin M. Tofflemire, Carlo F. Manara, Andrea Banzatti, Klaus M. Pontoppidan, Joan Najita, Brunella Nisini, Emma T. Whelan, Justyn Campbell-White, Hala Alqubelat, Adam L. Kraus, Christian Rab, Adrien Houge, Sebastiaan Krijt, James Muzerolle, Eleonora Fiorellino, Myriam Benisty, Lukasz Tychoniec, Colette Salyk, Guillaume Bourdarot and Jacob Hyden","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adcc23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcc23","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we establish and calibrate mid-infrared (MIR) hydrogen recombination lines observed with the James Webb Space Telescope as accretion tracers for pre-main-sequence stars that accrete from circumstellar disks. This work is part of a coordinated, multi-observatory effort that monitored the well-known binary system DQ Tau over three orbital periods, capturing its periodic accretion bursts. In this first paper, we present nine epochs of Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) spectra with near-simultaneous Las Cumbres Observatories (LCO) photometry and Very Large Telescope X-shooter spectroscopy. This program caught exceptional accretion variability, spanning almost 2 orders of magnitude between the peak of the first periastron accretion burst and the following quiescent phases. The MIRI spectra show H i line luminosities that vary in step with the accretion-luminosity time series measured with LCO and X-shooter. The tight correlation with accretion and the large line widths, which MIRI resolves for the first time, support an accretion-flow origin for MIR H i transitions. Combining these three exceptional data sets, we derive accurate relations between MIR line and accretion luminosities for three H i transitions (10–7, 7–6, and 8–7), and improve upon a previous relation based on Spitzer spectra. These new relations equip the community with a direct measurement of the accretion luminosity from MIRI-MRS spectra. A MIRI-derived accretion luminosity is fundamental for time-domain chemistry studies, as well as for studies of accretion in embedded/distant sources that are currently inaccessible in the optical. With these new relations, we provide accretion luminosities for an archival sample of 38 MRS spectra of protoplanetary disks published to date.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Peter J. Barnes, Stuart D. Ryder, Giles Novak and Laura M. Fissel
{"title":"The Magnetic Keys to Massive Star Formation: The Western η Carinae Giant Molecular Cloud","authors":"Peter J. Barnes, Stuart D. Ryder, Giles Novak and Laura M. Fissel","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adcedf","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcedf","url":null,"abstract":"We present SOFIA/HAWC+ continuum polarization data on the magnetic fields (B fields) threading 17 pc-scale massive molecular clumps at the western end of the η Carinae giant molecular cloud (Region 9 of the Galactic Census of High- and Medium-mass Protostars, or CHaMP, representing all stages of star formation from pre-stellar to dispersing via feedback), revealing important details about the field morphology and role in the gas structures of this clump sample. We performed Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi (DCF) and histogram of relative orientation (HRO) analyses tracing column densities 25.0 < log(N/m−2) < 27.2. With HRO, B fields change from mostly parallel to column density structures to mostly perpendicular at a threshold Ncrit = (3.7 ± 0.6) × 1026 m−2, indicating that gravitational forces exceed magnetic forces above this value. The same analysis in 10 individual clumps gives similar results, with the same clear trend in alignments and a threshold Ncrit = (1.9 ) × 1026 m−2. In the other seven clumps, the alignment trend with N is much flatter or even reversed, inconsistent with the usual HRO pattern. Instead, these clumps’ fields reflect external environmental forces from the nearby H ii region NGC 3324. DCF analysis reveals field strengths somewhat higher than typical of nearby clouds, with the B–n data lying mostly above the R. M. Crutcher relation. The mass-to-flux ratio λ across all clumps has a Gaussian distribution, logλDCF = –0.75 ± 0.45; only small areas are dominated by gravity. However, a significant trend of rising logλ with falling Tdust parallels R. L. Pitts et al.’s result: Tdust falls as rises toward clump centres. In this massive clump sample, B fields provide enough support against gravity to explain their overall low star formation rate.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicholas Luber, D. J. Pisano, J. H. van Gorkom, Julia Blue Bird, Richard Dodson, Hansung B. Gim, Kelley M. Hess, Lucas R. Hunt, Danielle Lucero, Martin Meyer, Emmanuel Momjian and Min S. Yun
{"title":"CHILES. VIII. Probing the Evolution of Average H I Content in Star-forming Galaxies over the Past 5 Gyr","authors":"Nicholas Luber, D. J. Pisano, J. H. van Gorkom, Julia Blue Bird, Richard Dodson, Hansung B. Gim, Kelley M. Hess, Lucas R. Hunt, Danielle Lucero, Martin Meyer, Emmanuel Momjian and Min S. Yun","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adc715","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc715","url":null,"abstract":"Utilizing the COSMOS H I Large Extragalactic Survey (CHILES) data set, we investigate the evolution of the average atomic neutral hydrogen (H I) properties of galaxies over the continuous redshift range 0.09 < z < 0.47. First, we introduce a simple multistep, multiscale imaging and continuum subtraction process that we apply to each observing session. These sessions are then averaged onto a common uv-grid and run through a Fourier filtering artifact mitigation technique. We then demonstrate how this process results in science quality data products by comparing to the expected noise and image-cube kurtosis. This work offers the first-look description and scientific analysis after the processing of the entire CHILES database. These data are used to measure the average H I mass in four redshift bins, out to a redshift 0.47, by separately stacking blue cloud (near-UV, NUV-r = −1 to 3) and red sequence (NUV-r = 3–6) galaxies. We find little-to-no change in gas fraction for the total ensemble of blue galaxies and make no detection for red galaxies. Additionally, we split up our sample of blue galaxies into an intermediate stellar mass bin (M* = 109−10M⊙) and a high stellar mass bin (M* = 1010−12.5M⊙). We find that in the high-mass bin galaxies are becoming increasingly H I poor with decreasing redshift, while the intermediate-mass galaxies maintain a constant H I gas mass. We place these results in the context of the star-forming main sequence of galaxies and hypothesize about the different mechanisms responsible for their different evolutionary tracks.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Weibing Zhang, Ruiyang Zhao, Xiaoyong Mu, Kazuya Koyama, Ryuichi Takahashi, Yuting Wang and Gong-Bo Zhao
{"title":"Measuring the Redshift-space Distortions by Cross-correlating the Density Fields Before and After Reconstruction","authors":"Weibing Zhang, Ruiyang Zhao, Xiaoyong Mu, Kazuya Koyama, Ryuichi Takahashi, Yuting Wang and Gong-Bo Zhao","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adcf21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcf21","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, we develop a theoretical model for the cross-power spectrum of the matter density field before and after standard baryonic acoustic oscillation reconstruction. Using this model, we extract the redshift-space distortion parameter from the cross-power spectrum. The model is validated against a suite of high-resolution N-body simulations, demonstrating its accuracy and robustness for cosmological analyses.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zackary L. Hutchens, Sheila J. Kannappan, Kelley M. Hess, Andrew J. Baker, Ming Sun, Derrick S. Carr, Kathleen D. Eckert and David V. Stark
{"title":"The RESOLVE and ECO G3 Initiative: Drivers of H i Content and X-Ray Emission in Galaxy Groups","authors":"Zackary L. Hutchens, Sheila J. Kannappan, Kelley M. Hess, Andrew J. Baker, Ming Sun, Derrick S. Carr, Kathleen D. Eckert and David V. Stark","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adc395","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc395","url":null,"abstract":"Adding to the RESOLVE and ECO Gas in Galaxy Groups (G3) initiative, we examine possible drivers of group-integrated H i-to-halo mass ratios (MHI,grp/Mhalo) and group X-ray emission, including group halo mass (Mhalo), virialization as probed by crossing time (tcross), presence of active galactic nuclei (AGN), and group-integrated fractional stellar mass growth rate (FSMGRgrp). G3 groups span Mhalo = 1011−1014.5M⊙ with comprehensive H i gas and AGN information, which we combine with X-ray stacking of ROSAT All-Sky data. We detect hot gas emission exceeding AGN and X-ray binary backgrounds confidently for Mhalo = 1012.6−1014M⊙ and unambiguously for Mhalo > 1014M⊙, reflecting an inverse dependence of MHI,grp/Mhalo and hot gas emission on halo mass. At fixed halo mass, MHI,grp/Mhalo transitions to greater spread below tcross ∼ 2 Gyr. Dividing groups across this transition, lower-tcross groups show elevated X-ray emission compared to higher-tcross groups for Mhalo > 1013.3M⊙, but this trend reverses for Mhalo = 1012.6−1013.3M⊙. Additionally, AGN-hosting halos below Mhalo ∼ 1012.1M⊙ exhibit a broad, ∼0.25 dex deep valley in MHI,grp/Mhalo compared to non-AGN-hosting halos with correspondingly reduced FSMGRgrp. When diluted by non-AGN-hosting halos, this valley becomes shallower and narrower, falling roughly between and in the overall MHI,grp/Mhalo vs. Mhalo relation. We may also detect a second, less easily interpreted valley at Mhalo ∼ 1013M⊙. Neither valley matches theoretical predictions of a deeper valley located at or above .","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Angus Beane, James W. Johnson, Vadim A. Semenov, Lars Hernquist, Vedant Chandra and Charlie Conroy
{"title":"Rising from the Ashes. II. The Bar-driven Abundance Bimodality of the Milky Way","authors":"Angus Beane, James W. Johnson, Vadim A. Semenov, Lars Hernquist, Vedant Chandra and Charlie Conroy","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/adceab","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adceab","url":null,"abstract":"The Milky Way hosts at least two modes in its present-day distribution of Fe and α-elements. The exact cause of this bimodality is disputed, but one class of explanations involves the merger between the Milky Way and a relatively massive satellite (Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus) at z ∼ 2. However, reproducing this bimodality in simulations is not straightforward, with conflicting results on the prevalence, morphology, and mechanism behind multimodality. We present a case study of a galaxy in the Illustris TNG50 simulation that undergoes sequential phases of starburst, brief quiescence, and then rejuvenation. This scenario results in a pronounced abundance bimodality after a post-processing adjustment of the [α/Fe] of old stars designed to mimic a higher star formation efficiency in dense gas. The high- and low-α sequences are separated in time by the brief quiescent period, which is associated not with a merger but with the formation of a bar followed by active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. This galaxy indicates a novel scenario in which the α-bimodality in the Milky Way is caused by the formation of the bar via AGN-induced quenching. In addition to a stellar age gap in the Milky Way, we predict that abundance bimodalities should be more common in barred as opposed to unbarred galaxies.","PeriodicalId":501813,"journal":{"name":"The Astrophysical Journal","volume":"239 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}