arXiv subjects

Braden Seefeldt-Gail

Publications and source records attributed to Braden Seefeldt-Gail.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Radiation pressure powers quasar broad absorption line winds but fails to drive galaxy feedback

Most cosmological simulations invoke quasar-driven winds as the primary mechanism quenching star formation in massive galaxies, assuming wind momentum flux approaches the radiation-pressure maximum, $L/c$. Using 81,388 broad absorption line troughs from the SDSS-IV DR16 quasar catalog and detailed mock trough spectra, we detect line locking, a spectral signature of radiation-pressure-driven outflows, in 60 to 70 percent of troughs, demonstrating that radiative line driving dominates wind acceleration and ruling out alternative mechanisms. Direct measurement of the wind energy budget yields a median kinetic luminosity of only 0.01 percent of bolometric luminosity, 50 times below the level required for effective feedback. Line-driven quasar winds are therefore insufficiently powerful to quench star formation, challenging the primary physical mechanism invoked for black hole feedback in galaxy formation models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

LUVCam: A high-performance, low-cost, UV/optical camera for the future of astronomy in space

Astronomy-grade cameras with robust performance and heritage in the space environment have long been costly, substantially limiting capacity for space-based astronomy and creating a resource barrier to access. Additionally, ultraviolet observations have historically been limited by the low quantum efficiency of most sensors in this wavelength range. The LUVCam program is designed to address both issues by providing a high-performance, low-cost, UV/optical camera system sufficiently capable to support a wide-array of space-based astronomy missions. LUVCam features a large format, low-noise, large pixel, and high quantum efficiency, commercial-off-the-shelf back(front)-side illuminated CMOS sensor, packaged with custom built readout electronics, firmware, and thermomechanical structure to provide both superlative science capability and precision on-sensor guidance at fast cadence to allow for stable high-resolution imaging. LUVCam is ITAR-free and cheap to fabricate, opening up new opportunities for access to space telescopes. Here we introduce LUVCam, describe its performance characteristics, and the rapid implementation of a technology demonstration for flight. LUVCam, coupled with a small aperture custom-built UV telescope, has been on orbit since July 2024 and has achieved Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7. LUVCam is manifested for several more near-term orbital missions, including a second technology demonstration CubeSat for launch in 2026, and will provide both focal plane cameras for QUVIK, a two-channel UV transient astronomy mission.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

First Mid-infrared Detection and Modeling of a Flare from Sgr A*. II. Mid-IR Spectral Energy Distribution and Millimeter Polarimetry

S. D. von Fellenberg et al. (2025a, Paper I) reported the first mid-infrared detection of a flare from Sgr A*. The JWST/MIRI/MRS observations were consistent with an orbiting hotspot undergoing electron injection with a spectrum that subsequently breaks from synchrotron cooling. However, mid-infrared extinction measurements appropriate for these data were not yet determined, and therefore the temporal evolution of the absolute spectral index remained unknown. This work applies new Galactic Center extinction measurements to the flare observations. The evolution of the spectral index after the peak is fully consistent with that reported in Paper I with a maximum absolute mid-infrared spectral index $α_{\rm{MIR}}=0.45\pm0.01_{\rm{stat}}\pm0.08_{\rm{sys}}$ during the second mid-infrared flare peak, matching the known near-infrared spectral index during bright states ($α_{\rm{NIR}}\approx0.5$). There was a near-instantaneous change in the mid-infrared spectral index of $Δα_{\rm{MIR}}=0.33\pm0.06_{\rm{stat}}\pm0.11_{\rm{sys}}$ at the flare onset. We propose this as a quantitative definition for this infrared flare's beginning, physically interpreted as the underlying electron distribution's transition into a hard power-law distribution. This paper also reports the SMA millimeter polarization during the flare, which shows a small, distorted, but overall clockwise-oriented Stokes Q--U loop during the third mid-infrared peak. Extrapolating the mid-infrared flux power law to the millimeter yields a variable flux consistent with the observed 220 GHz emission. These results, together with the Paper I modeling, plausibly suggest a single hotspot produced both the mid-infrared and millimeter variability during this event. However, additional flares are required to make a general statement about the millimeter and mid-infrared connection.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Mid-infrared extinction toward the Galactic center

We determine the mid-infrared (MIR, $\sim$5~μm--22~μm) extinction towards the Galactic center using MIRI/MRS integral field unit (IFU) observations of the central $3''\times3''$ region (near 5~μm) to $7''\times7''$ region (near 22~μm). To measure the MIR extinction, we employ two approaches: modeling the intrinsic-to-observed dust thermal spectrum and assessing the differential extinction between hydrogen recombination lines. Expanding on prior work, we directly model the dust-opacity distribution along the line of sight, and we make available a Python code that provides a flexible tool for deriving intrinsic dust emission spectra. We confirm the spatial variability of extinction across the field, demonstrating that dusty sources--such as IRS~29N--exhibit higher local extinction. Furthermore, we verify the absence of PAH emission features in the Galactic center MIR spectra. Using the two complementary methods, we derive a refined ``best guess'' MIR extinction law for Sgr A* and the surrounding Galactic-center region. By applying the extinction law to a MIR flare measurement discussed in a companion paper Michail et al. 2025, we estimate a residual relative extinction uncertainty for the short MIRI/MRS grating on the order of $0.2~\mathrm{mag}$ {from $\sim$5 to $\sim$18~μm\ and $\sim$0.3~mag from $\sim$18 to $\sim$22~μm}, consistent with our uncertainty estimate.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

First mid-infrared detection and modeling of a flare from Sgr A*

The time-variable emission from the accretion flow of Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center, has long been examined in the radio-to-mm, near-infrared (NIR), and X-ray regimes of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, until now, sensitivity and angular resolution have been insufficient in the crucial mid-infrared (MIR) regime. The MIRI instrument on JWST has changed that, and we report the first MIR detection of Sgr A*. The detection was during a flare that lasted about 40 minutes, a duration similar to NIR and X-ray flares, and the source's spectral index steepened as the flare ended. The steepening suggests synchrotron cooling is an important process for Sgr A*'s variability and implies magnetic field strengths $\sim$40--70 Gauss in the emission zone. Observations at $1.3~\mathrm{mm}$ with the Submillimeter Array revealed a counterpart flare lagging the MIR flare by $\approx$10 minutes. The observations can be self-consistently explained as synchrotron radiation from a single population of gradually cooling high-energy electrons accelerated through (a combination of) magnetic reconnection and/or magnetized turbulence.

astro-ph.HE↗