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C. Buemi

Publications and source records attributed to C. Buemi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Discovery of sulfur oxides in the ejecta of a B[e] supergiant

B[e] supergiants represent a rare class of luminous, evolved massive stars surrounded by dusty circumstellar disks. Since their intense UV fields were long thought to sterilize their surroundings, molecular detections beyond carbon monoxide have remained elusive, leaving their chemical reservoirs largely unexplored. Whether these environments can sustain a complex molecular chemistry is a fundamental question with significant astrochemical implications. Here we report the detection of chemically rich molecular gas surrounding the B[e] supergiant HD~87643, using ALMA observations. Our data reveal the presence of the sulfur oxides SO and SO$_2$ and other sulfur-bearing species, marking the first detection of these molecules in an early-type evolved massive star. We find a high fractional abundance of SO$_2$ relative to H$_2$, which our chemical modelling can reproduce in timescales as short as $\sim$10$^4$ yr in an oxygen-rich environment. These results indicate that the detected molecules trace a short-lived, rapidly evolving phase of out-of-equilibrium chemistry. Furthermore, we measure an anomalously low $^{32}$SO/$^{33}$SO, that we attribute to mass-independent fractionation driven by intense photochemistry. This mechanism mirrors processes proposed to explain the $^{33}$S excesses in the atmosphere of the Archaean Earth. Our findings suggest that B[e] supergiants could serve as unique laboratories for studying sulfur chemistry under extreme radiation conditions, opening potential avenues to investigate the fractionation processes that shaped the isotopic signatures found in the early geological record.

astro-ph.SR

Supernova remnants in the new radio astronomy era

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are what is left after stellar explosions, when the stellar ejecta, the explosion shock and the circumstellar medium interact. Despite being among the first objects studied in radio astronomy, observational difficulties have so far prevented a definitive characterisation, which would help answer open questions related to these sources. It is debated which is the contribution of SNRs to Galactic cosmic rays, or how the interaction with the surrounding environments influences the particle energetics. The SKA precursors are providing valuable and unexpected discoveries on SNRs, thanks to their unique capabilities to probe spatial scales from a few arcseconds to a few degrees with a sensitivity of tens of microjansky. Accurate integrated flux density measurements and arcsecond-scale spectral-index maps are now possible for tens of SNRs, substantially expanding the small subset of remnants traditionally studied in great detail. SKA will markedly enhance current observations by providing: higher sensitivity, enabling the detection of fainter SNRs also in polarisation, revealing diffuse structures and the underlying magnetic field configuration; higher angular resolution, allowing detailed mapping of compact remnants and reducing depolarisation in fine structures, tracing filaments and shocks fronts; wider frequency coverage to probe unexplored spectral windows, where spectral turnovers and breaks or cut-off may occur, establishing a direct connection to X-ray and {\gamma}-ray emission that constrains the electron population, and enabling accurate modelling of the non-thermal emission across the electromagnetic spectrum; improved image fidelity for more reliable cross-matching with other wavelengths, leading to a better understanding of the SNR-interstellar medium interplay.

astro-ph.HE

MeerKAT discovery of 164 compact radio rings toward the Galactic Plane

We report the discovery of 164 compact (radius < 1 arcmin) radio rings using MeerKAT 1.3 GHz data from the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey (l=2-60deg, 252-358deg, |b|<1.5deg) and the Galactic Centre mosaic, from a search aimed at identifying previously uncatalogued radio sources. Within this sample, approximately 19 per cent of the rings contain a central point radio source. A multiwavelength analysis reveals a striking diversity: about 40 per cent of the rings enclose an isolated infrared point source, 50 per cent exhibit an extended counterpart in the mid- or far-infrared, and several are only detected in the radio band. We found that 17 per cent of the rings in the sample are positionally coincident (within 5 arcsec) with known entries in SIMBAD, including unclassified infrared sources, spiral galaxies, young stellar objects and long-period variable candidates. Based on these matches and exploiting ancillary multiwavelength data and catalogues, we explore several formation scenarios for the rings, such as HII regions, planetary nebulae, mass-loss relics from evolved massive stars, supernova remnants, nova shells, galaxies, galaxy cluster lenses and odd radio circles. Tentative classifications are proposed for nearly 60 per cent of the sample. These results highlight the potential of MeerKAT to uncover previously undetected compact radio structures and, particularly, recover missing Galactic radio-emitting objects.

astro-ph.GA

Broadband radio study of the supernova remnant Kes 73

Strong shocks occurring in supernova remnants (SNRs), and their interaction with an often anisotropic surrounding medium, make SNRs ideal laboratories for studying the production and acceleration of cosmic rays (CRs). Due to their complex morphology and phenomenology, different CR populations are expected to exist throughout the remnants, each characterized by its own energy spectrum. A comprehensive understanding of particle acceleration mechanisms and energetics in SNRs requires spatially resolved spectral and morphological studies. We want to highlight the crucial role of high-resolution radio images at high frequencies (> 10 GHz) for studying the spectral properties of different remnant regions and better constraining the models that describe their non-thermal emission from radio to $\gamma$-ray wavelengths. We studied the integrated radio spectrum of the SNR Kes 73 using single-dish observations performed with the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) between 6.9 and 24.8 GHz, complemented by published data. The high-resolution map at 24.8 GHz was used to search for spatial variations in the spectral index across the remnant. We present the SRT images of Kes 73, providing the highest-frequency morphological and spectral characterization ever obtained for this source. By combining our 18.7 and 24.8 GHz maps with previously published interferometric images at 1.4 and 5 GHz, we identify a flatter spectrum in the western bright region compared to the rest of the shell. In the same region, we detect overlapping $^12$CO molecular emission and $\gamma$-ray radiation, providing strong evidence of SNR-molecular cloud interaction and enhanced CR production. We modelled the non-thermal radio to $\gamma$-ray emission from this region, favouring a lepto-hadronic scenario with a maximum electron energy of 1.1 TeV and a magnetic field strength of 25 $\mu$G.

astro-ph.HE

MeerKAT reveals a ghostly thermal radio ring towards the Galactic Centre

We present the serendipitous discovery of a new radio-continuum ring-like object nicknamed Kyklos (J1802-3353), with MeerKAT UHF and L-band observations. The radio ring, which resembles the recently discovered odd radio circles (ORCs), has a diameter of 80 arcsec and is located just 6 deg from the Galactic plane. However, Kyklos exhibits an atypical thermal radio-continuum spectrum (α = -0.1 +/- 0.3), which led us to explore different possible formation scenarios. We concluded that a circumstellar shell around an evolved massive star, possibly a Wolf-Rayet, is the most convincing explanation with the present data.

astro-ph.GA

Self-supervised contrastive learning of radio data for source detection, classification and peculiar object discovery

New advancements in radio data post-processing are underway within the SKA precursor community, aiming to facilitate the extraction of scientific results from survey images through a semi-automated approach. Several of these developments leverage deep learning (DL) methodologies for diverse tasks, including source detection, object or morphology classification, and anomaly detection. Despite substantial progress, the full potential of these methods often remains untapped due to challenges associated with training large supervised models, particularly in the presence of small and class-unbalanced labelled datasets. Self-supervised learning has recently established itself as a powerful methodology to deal with some of the aforementioned challenges, by directly learning a lower-dimensional representation from large samples of unlabelled data. The resulting model and data representation can then be used for data inspection and various downstream tasks if a small subset of labelled data is available. In this work, we explored contrastive learning methods to learn suitable radio data representation from unlabelled images taken from the ASKAP EMU and SARAO MeerKAT GPS surveys. We evaluated trained models and the obtained data representation over smaller labelled datasets, also taken from different radio surveys, in selected analysis tasks: source detection and classification, and search for objects with peculiar morphology. For all explored downstream tasks, we reported and discussed the benefits brought by self-supervised foundational models built on radio data.

astro-ph.IM

Classification of compact radio sources in the Galactic plane with supervised machine learning

Generation of science-ready data from processed data products is one of the major challenges in next-generation radio continuum surveys with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and its precursors, due to the expected data volume and the need to achieve a high degree of automated processing. Source extraction, characterization, and classification are the major stages involved in this process. In this work we focus on the classification of compact radio sources in the Galactic plane using both radio and infrared images as inputs. To this aim, we produced a curated dataset of ~20,000 images of compact sources of different astronomical classes, obtained from past radio and infrared surveys, and novel radio data from pilot surveys carried out with the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). Radio spectral index information was also obtained for a subset of the data. We then trained two different classifiers on the produced dataset. The first model uses gradient-boosted decision trees and is trained on a set of pre-computed features derived from the data, which include radio-infrared colour indices and the radio spectral index. The second model is trained directly on multi-channel images, employing convolutional neural networks. Using a completely supervised procedure, we obtained a high classification accuracy (F1-score>90%) for separating Galactic objects from the extragalactic background. Individual class discrimination performances, ranging from 60% to 75%, increased by 10% when adding far-infrared and spectral index information, with extragalactic objects, PNe and HII regions identified with higher accuracies. The implemented tools and trained models were publicly released, and made available to the radioastronomical community for future application on new radio data.

astro-ph.IM

The rich molecular environment of the luminous blue variable star AFGL 2298

We investigated the molecular environment of AFGL 2298, an obscured Galactic Luminous blue variable (LBV) star which hosts a highly structured circumstellar environment with hints of multiple mass-loss events in the last few $10^4$ a. We present spectral line observations of AFGL 2298 at 1 and 3 mm performed with the IRAM 30m radio telescope. Furthermore, we report the detection of several carbon- and nitrogen- bearing species (CO, $^{13}$CO, C$^{18}$O, C$^{17}$O, HCO$^+$, HCN, HNC, H$^{13}$CO$^+$, CN, N$_2$H$^+$, and C$_2$H) in the surroundings of AFGL 2298. In addition, we identified three velocity components that clearly stand out from the Galactic background. The morphology, kinematics, masses and isotopic ratios, together with a comparative study of the fractional abundances, lead us to suggest that two of these components (36 and 70 km/s) have a stellar origin. The other component (46 km/s) most likely traces swept-up interstellar material, probably harbouring also a photon-dominated region. The first inventory of the circumstellar molecular gas around AFGL 2298 is provided. The results are compatible with the hypothesis of former mass-loss events, produced before the one that created the infrared nebula. There are chemical hints of the presence of ejected stellar material, and also swept up gas. These findings will help to better understand the mass-loss history of this class of evolved massive stars, which heavily influence the overall chemical evolution of the Galaxy.

astro-ph.SR

First detection of silicon-bearing molecules in $η$ Car

We present ALMA band 6 observations of the luminous blue variable Eta Car, obtained within the ALMAGAL program. We report SiO J=5-4, SiS J=12-11 and SiN N=5-4 emission in the equatorial region of the Homunculus nebula, constituting the first detection of silicon- and sulphur-bearing molecules in the outskirts of a highly evolved, early-type massive star. SiO, SiS and SiN trace a clumpy equatorial ring that surrounds the central binary at a projected distance of 2 arcsec, delineating the inner rims of the butterfly-shaped dusty region. The formation of silicon-bearing compounds is presumably related to the continuous recycling of dust due to the variable wind regime of Eta Car, that destroys grains and releases silicon back to gas phase. We discuss possible formation routes for the observed species, contextualizing them within the current molecular inventory of Eta Car. We find that the SiO and SiS fractional abundances in localised clumps of the ring, $6.7\times10^{-9}$ and $1.2\times10^{-8}$ respectively, are exceptionally lower than those measured in C- and O-rich AGB stars and cool supergiants; while the higher SiN abundance, $3.6\times10^{-8}$, evidences the nitrogen-rich chemistry of the ejecta. These abundances must be regarded as strict upper limits, since the distribution of H2 in the Homunculus is unknown. In any case, these findings shed new light onto the peculiar molecular ecosystem of Eta Car, and establish its surroundings as a new laboratory to investigate the lifecycle of silicate dust in extreme astrophysical conditions.

astro-ph.GA

Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU):Compact radio sources in the SCORPIO field towards the Galactic plane

We present observations of a region of the Galactic plane taken during the Early Science Program of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). In this context, we observed the SCORPIO field at 912 MHz with an uncompleted array consisting of 15 commissioned antennas. The resulting map covers a square region of ~40 deg^2, centred on (l, b)=(343.5°, 0.75°), with a synthesized beam of 24"x21" and a background rms noise of 150-200 μJy/beam, increasing to 500-600 μJy/beam close to the Galactic plane. A total of 3963 radio sources were detected and characterized in the field using the CAESAR source finder. We obtained differential source counts in agreement with previously published data after correction for source extraction and characterization uncertainties, estimated from simulated data. The ASKAP positional and flux density scale accuracy were also investigated through comparison with previous surveys (MGPS, NVSS) and additional observations of the SCORPIO field, carried out with ATCA at 2.1 GHz and 10" spatial resolution. These allowed us to obtain a measurement of the spectral index for a subset of the catalogued sources and an estimated fraction of (at least) 8% of resolved sources in the reported catalogue. We cross-matched our catalogued sources with different astronomical databases to search for possible counterparts, finding ~150 associations to known Galactic objects. Finally, we explored a multiparametric approach for classifying previously unreported Galactic sources based on their radio-infrared colors.

astro-ph.GA

New high-frequency radio observations of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant with the Italian radio telescopes

Supernova remnants (SNRs) represent a powerful laboratory to study the Cosmic-Ray acceleration processes at the shocks, and their relation to the properties of the circumstellar medium. With the aim of studying the high-frequency radio emission and investigating the energy distribution of accelerated electrons and the magnetic field conditions, we performed single-dish observations of the large and complex Cygnus Loop SNR from 7.0 to 24.8 GHz with the Medicina and the Sardinia Radio Telescope, focusing on the northern filament (NGC 6992) and the southern shell. Both regions show a spectrum well fitted by a power-law function ($S\proptoν^{-α}$), with spectral index $α=0.45\pm0.05$ for NGC 6992 and $α=0.49\pm0.01$ for the southern shell and without any indication of a spectral break. The spectra are significantly flatter than the whole Cygnus Loop spectrum ($α=0.54\pm0.01$), suggesting a departure from the plain shock acceleration mechanisms, which for NGC 6992 could be related to the ongoing transition towards a radiative shock. We model the integrated spectrum of the whole SNR considering the evolution of the maximum energy and magnetic field amplification. Through the radio spectral parameters, we infer a magnetic field at the shock of 10 $μ$G. This value is compatible with a pure adiabatic compression of the interstellar magnetic field, suggesting that the amplification process is currently inefficient.

astro-ph.HE

CAESAR source finder: recent developments and testing

A new era in radioastronomy will begin with the upcoming large-scale surveys planned at the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). ASKAP started its Early Science program in October 2017 and several target fields were observed during the array commissioning phase. The SCORPIO field was the first observed in the Galactic Plane in Band 1 (792-1032 MHz) using 15 commissioned antennas. The achieved sensitivity and large field of view already allow to discover new sources and survey thousands of existing ones with improved precision with respect to previous surveys. Data analysis is currently ongoing to deliver the first source catalogue. Given the increased scale of the data, source extraction and characterization, even in this Early Science phase, have to be carried out in a mostly automated way. This process presents significant challenges due to the presence of extended objects and diffuse emission close to the Galactic Plane. In this context we have extended and optimized a novel source finding tool, named CAESAR , to allow extraction of both compact and extended sources from radio maps. A number of developments have been done driven by the analysis of the SCORPIO map and in view of the future ASKAP Galactic Plane survey. The main goals are the improvement of algorithm performances and scalability as well as of software maintainability and usability within the radio community. In this paper we present the current status of CAESAR and report a first systematic characterization of its performance for both compact and extended sources using simulated maps. Future prospects are discussed in light of the obtained results.

astro-ph.IM

First Extended Catalogue of Galactic Bubbles InfraRed Fluxes from WISE and Herschel Surveys

In this paper, we present the first extended catalogue of far-infrared fluxes of Galactic bubbles. Fluxes were estimated for 1814 bubbles, defined here as the `golden sample', and were selected from the Milky Way Project First Data Release (Simpson et al.) The golden sample was comprised of bubbles identified within the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) dataset (using 12- and 22-$μ$m images) and Herschel data (using 70-, 160-, 250-, 350- and 500-$μ$m wavelength images). Flux estimation was achieved initially via classical aperture photometry and then by an alternative image analysis algorithm that used active contours. The accuracy of the two methods was tested by comparing the estimated fluxes for a sample of bubbles, made up of 126 H II regions and 43 planetary nebulae, which were identified by Anderson et al. The results of this paper demonstrate that a good agreement between the two was found. This is by far the largest and most homogeneous catalogue of infrared fluxes measured for Galactic bubbles and it is a step towards the fully automated analysis of astronomical datasets.

astro-ph.GA

Properties of Hi-GAL clumps in the inner Galaxy]{The Hi-GAL compact source catalogue. I. The physical properties of the clumps in the inner Galaxy ($-71.0^{\circ}< \ell < 67.0^{\circ}$)

Hi-GAL is a large-scale survey of the Galactic plane, performed with Herschel in five infrared continuum bands between 70 and 500 $μ$m. We present a band-merged catalogue of spatially matched sources and their properties derived from fits to the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and heliocentric distances, based on the photometric catalogs presented in Molinari et al. (2016a), covering the portion of Galactic plane $-71.0^{\circ}< \ell < 67.0^{\circ}$. The band-merged catalogue contains 100922 sources with a regular SED, 24584 of which show a 70 $μ$m counterpart and are thus considered proto-stellar, while the remainder are considered starless. Thanks to this huge number of sources, we are able to carry out a preliminary analysis of early stages of star formation, identifying the conditions that characterise different evolutionary phases on a statistically significant basis. We calculate surface densities to investigate the gravitational stability of clumps and their potential to form massive stars. We also explore evolutionary status metrics such as the dust temperature, luminosity and bolometric temperature, finding that these are higher in proto-stellar sources compared to pre-stellar ones. The surface density of sources follows an increasing trend as they evolve from pre-stellar to proto-stellar, but then it is found to decrease again in the majority of the most evolved clumps. Finally, we study the physical parameters of sources with respect to Galactic longitude and the association with spiral arms, finding only minor or no differences between the average evolutionary status of sources in the fourth and first Galactic quadrants, or between "on-arm" and "inter-arm" positions.

astro-ph.GA

Spatial distribution of star formation related to ionized regions throughout the inner Galactic plane

We present a comprehensive statistical analysis of star-forming objects located in the vicinities of 1 360 bubble structures throughout the Galactic Plane and their local environments. The compilation of ~70 000 star-forming sources, found in the proximity of the ionized (Hii) regions and detected in both Hi-GAL and GLIMPSE surveys, provided a broad overview of the different evolutionary stages of star-formation in bubbles, from prestellar objects to more evolved young stellar objects (YSOs). Surface density maps of star-forming objects clearly reveal an evolutionary trend where more evolved star-forming objects are found spatially located near the center, while younger star-forming objects are found at the edge of the bubbles. We derived dynamic ages for a subsample of 182 Hii regions for which kinematic distances and radio continuum flux measurements were available. We detect ~80% more star-forming sources per unit area in the direction of bubbles than in the surrounding fields. We estimate ~10% clump formation efficiency (CFE) of Hi-GAL clumps in bubbles, twice the CFE in fields not affected by feedback. We find higher CFE of protostellar clumps in younger bubbles, whose density of the bubble shells is higher. We argue that the formation rate from prestellar to protostellar phase is probably higher during the early stages of the bubble expansion. Evaluation of the fragmentation time inside the shell of bubbles advocates the preexistence of clumps in the medium before the bubble, as supported by numerical simulations. Approximately 23% of the Hi-GAL clumps are found located in the direction of a bubble, with 15% for prestellar clumps and 41% for protostellar clumps. We argue that the high fraction of protostellar clumps may be due to the acceleration of the star-formation process cause by the feedback of the (Hii) bubbles.

astro-ph.GA

The Luminous Blue Variable RMC127 as seen with ALMA and ATCA

We present ALMA and ATCA observations of the luminous blue variable \rmc. The radio maps show for the first time the core of the nebula and evidence that the nebula is strongly asymmetric with a Z-pattern shape. Hints of this morphology are also visible in the archival \emph{HST} $\rm Hα$ image, which overall resembles the radio emission. The emission mechanism in the outer nebula is optically thin free-free in the radio. At high frequencies, a component of point-source emission appears at the position of the star, up to the ALMA frequencies. The rising flux density distribution ($S_ν\sim ν^{0.78\pm0.05}$) of this object suggests thermal emission from the ionized stellar wind and indicates a departure from spherical symmetry with $n_{e}(r)\propto r^{-2}$. We examine different scenarios to explain this excess of thermal emission from the wind and show that this can arise from a bipolar outflow, supporting the suggestion by other authors that the stellar wind of \rmc is aspherical. We fit the data with two collimated ionized wind models and we find that the mass-loss rate can be a factor of two or more smaller than in the spherical case. We also fit the photometry obtained by IR space telescopes and deduce that the mid- to far-IR emission must arise from extended, cool ($\sim80\,\rm K$) dust within the outer ionized nebula. Finally we discuss two possible scenarios for the nebular morphology: the canonical single star expanding shell geometry, and a precessing jet model assuming presence of a companion star.

astro-ph.SR

New ATCA, ALMA and VISIR observations of the candidate LBV SK-67266 (S61): the nebular mass from modelling 3D density distributions

We present new observations of the nebula around the Magellanic candidate Luminous Blue Variable S61. These comprise high-resolution data acquired with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), the Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimetre Array (ALMA), and VISIR at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The nebula was detected only in the radio, up to 17 GHz. The 17 GHz ATCA map, with 0.8 arcsec resolution, allowed a morphological comparison with the H$α$ Hubble Space Telescope image. The radio nebula resembles a spherical shell, as in the optical. The spectral index map indicates that the radio emission is due to free-free transitions in the ionised, optically thin gas, but there are hints of inhomogeneities. We present our new public code RHOCUBE to model 3D density distributions, and determine via Bayesian inference the nebula's geometric parameters. We applied the code to model the electron density distribution in the S61 nebula. We found that different distributions fit the data, but all of them converge to the same ionised mass, ~0.1 $\rm M\odot$, which is an order of magnitude smaller than previous estimates. We show how the nebula models can be used to derive the mass-loss history with high-temporal resolution. The nebula was probably formed through stellar winds, rather than eruptions. From the ALMA and VISIR non-detections, plus the derived extinction map, we deduce that the infrared emission observed by space telescopes must arise from extended, diffuse dust within the ionised region.

astro-ph.SR

Searching for OH maser emission towards the MIPSGAL compact Galactic bubbles

We conducted radio observations searching for OH 18-cm maser emission from a sample of 169 unclassified MIPSGAL compact Galactic bubbles. These sources are thought to be the circumstellar envelopes of different kinds of evolved stars. Our observations were aimed at shedding light on the nature of MIPSGAL bubbles, since their characterisation is a fundamental aid for the development of accurate physical models of stellar and Galaxy evolution. The maser emission is observatively linked to the last stages of the life of low- and intermediate-mass stars, which may constitute a significant fraction of the MIPSGAL bubbles. In particular OH masers are usually observed towards post-AGB stars. Our observations were performed with the Green Bank Telescope and, for each source, produced spectra around the four OH 18-cm transitions. The observations were compared with archive interferometer data in order to exclude possible contamination from nearby sources. The main result is that the OH maser emission is not a common feature among the MIPSGAL bubbles, with only one certain detection. We conclude that among the MIPSGAL bubbles the post-AGB stars could be very rare.

astro-ph.SR