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E. Churazov

Publications and source records attributed to E. Churazov.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The 700 ks Chandra Spiderweb Field II: Evidence for inverse-Compton and thermal diffuse emission in the Spiderweb galaxy

We present the X-ray imaging and spectral analysis of the diffuse emission around the Spiderweb galaxy at z=2.16 and of its nuclear emission, based on a deep (700 ks) Chandra observation. We characterize the nuclear emission and computed the contamination in the surrounding regions due to the wings of the instrument PSF. Then, we quantified the extended emission within 12". We find that the Spiderweb galaxy hosts a mildly absorbed quasar, with modest yet significant variability on a timescale of ~1 year. We find that the emission in the jet regions is well described by a power law with Gamma~2-2.5, and it is consistent with IC upscattering of the CMB photons by the relativistic electrons. We also find a roughly symmetric, diffuse emission within a radius of ~100 kpc. This emission is consistent with thermal bremsstrahlung from a hot ICM with a temperature of kT=2.0_{-0.4}^{+0.7} keV, and a metallicity of Z<1.6Z_sun. The average electron density within 100 kpc is n_e=(1.51+-0.24+-0.14)E-2 cm^{-3}, corresponding to an upper limit for the total ICM mass of <=(1.76+-0.30+-0.17)E+12 M_sun (where error bars are 1 sigma statistical and systematic, respectively). If we apply hydrostatic equilibrium to the ICM, we measure a total gravitational mass M(<100 kpc)=(1.5^{+0.5}_{-0.3})E+13 M_sun and, extrapolating at larger radii, we estimate a total mass M_{500}=(3.2^{+1.1}_{-0.6})E+13 M_sun within a radius of r_{500}=(220+-30) kpc. We conclude that the Spiderweb protocluster shows significant diffuse emission within a radius of 12 arcsec, whose major contribution is provided by IC scattering associated with the radio jets. Outside the jet regions, we also identified thermal emission within a radius of ~100 kpc, revealing the presence of hot, diffuse baryons that may represent the embryonic virialized halo of the forming cluster.

astro-ph.GA↗

AGN Feedback in Groups and Clusters of Galaxies

AGN feedback stands for the dramatic impact that a SMBH can make on its environment. It has become an essential element of models that describe the formation and evolution of baryons in massive virialized halos. The baryons' radiative losses in the cores of these halos might lead to massive cooling and vigorous star formation on the order of 10-1000 Msun/yr, whereas observations show that the star formation rates are considerably less. It has now become clear from an observational, theoretical and simulation perspective that the activity of the central SMBH compensates for gas cooling losses and prevents very high star formation rates in massive galaxies, which otherwise would be much brighter than observed today. While AGN feedback is important over a broad range of halo masses, the most massive objects like galaxy groups and clusters truly provide outstanding laboratories for understanding the intrinsic details of AGN feedback. Partly, this is because in the nearby massive objects we can directly see what AGN feedback is doing to its surrounding hot halo in exquisite details, as opposed to less massive systems. Yet another reason is that in the most massive objects, the magnitude of AGN feedback has to be extremely large, providing the most stringent constraints. In a nutshell, the AGN feedback paradigm in groups and clusters postulates that (i) a SMBH in the center of a halo can release a vast amount of energy, (ii) this energy can be intercepted and thermalized by the gaseous atmosphere and (iii) the system self-regulates so that the energy released scales with the properties of the halo. A combination of multi-wavelength observations provides compelling evidence of the AGN feedback importance. Similarly, theoretical arguments suggest that self-regulation might be a natural property of a system consisting of a gaseous atmosphere and a SMBH at the bottom of the potential well.

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The SRG X-ray orbital observatory, its telescopes and first scientific results

The orbital observatory Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG), equipped with the grazing-incidence X-ray telescopes Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC and eROSITA, was launched by Roscosmos to the Lagrange L2 point of the Sun-Earth system on July 13, 2019. The launch was carried out from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Proton-M rocket with a DM-03 upper stage. The German telescope eROSITA was installed on SRG under an agreement between Roskosmos and the DLR, the German Aerospace Agency. In December 2019, SRG started to perform its main scientific task: scanning the celestial sphere to obtain X-ray maps of the entire sky in several energy ranges (from 0.2 to 8 keV with eROSITA, and from 4 to 30 keV with ART-XC). By mid-June 2021, the third six-month all-sky survey had been completed. Over a period of four years, it is planned to obtain eight independent maps of the entire sky in each of the energy ranges. The sum of these maps will provide high sensitivity and reveal more than three million quasars and over one hundred thousand massive galaxy clusters and galaxy groups. The availability of eight sky maps will enable monitoring of long-term variability (every six months) of a huge number of extragalactic and Galactic X-ray sources, including hundreds of thousands of stars with hot coronae. The rotation of the satellite around the axis directed toward the Sun with a period of four hours enables tracking the faster variability of bright X-ray sources during one day every half year. The chosen strategy of scanning the sky leads to the formation of deep survey zones near both ecliptic poles. The paper presents sky maps obtained by the telescopes on board SRG during the first survey of the entire sky and a number of results of deep observations performed during the flight to the L2 point in the frame of the performance verification program.(Abriged)

astro-ph.HE↗

A snapshot of the oldest AGN feedback phases

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) inject large amounts of energy into their host galaxies and surrounding environment, shaping their properties and evolution. In particular, AGN jets inflate cosmic-ray lobes, which can rise buoyantly as light `bubbles' in the surrounding medium, displacing and heating the encountered thermal gas and thus halting its spontaneous cooling. These bubbles have been identified in a wide range of systems. However, due to the short synchrotron lifetime of electrons, the most advanced phases of their evolution have remained observationally unconstrained, preventing us to fully understand their coupling with the external medium, and thus AGN feedback. Simple subsonic hydrodynamic models predict that the pressure gradients, naturally present around the buoyantly rising bubbles, transform them into toroidal structures, resembling mushroom clouds in a stratified atmosphere. The way and timescales on which these tori will eventually disrupt depend on various factors including magnetic fields and plasma viscosity. Here we report LOFAR observations below 200 MHz, sensitive to the oldest radio-emitting particles, showing the late evolution of multiple generations of cosmic-ray AGN bubbles in a galaxy group with unprecedented level of detail. The bubbles' buoyancy power can efficiently offset the radiative cooling of the intragroup medium. However, the bubbles have still not thoroughly mixed with the thermal gas, after hundreds of million years, likely under the action of magnetic fields.

astro-ph.HE↗

Tempestuous life beyond R_500: X-ray view on the Coma cluster with SRG/eROSITA. I. X-ray morphology, recent merger, and radio halo connection

This is the first paper in a series of studies of the Coma cluster using the SRG/eROSITA X-ray data obtained in course of the Calibration and Performance Verification observations. The data cover $\sim3^\circ\times 3^\circ$ area around the cluster with a typical exposure time of more than 20 ks. The stability of the instrumental background and operation of the SRG Observatory in the scanning mode provided us with an excellent data set for studies of the diffuse emission up to a distance of $\sim 1.5R_{200}$ from the Coma center. In this study, we discuss the rich morphology revealed by the X-ray observations (also in combination with the SZ data) and argue that the most salient features can be naturally explained by a recent (on-going) merger with the NGC 4839 group. In particular, we identify a faint X-ray bridge connecting the group with the cluster, which is convincing proof that NGC 4839 has already crossed the main cluster. The gas in the Coma core went through two shocks, first through the shock driven by NGC 4839 during its first passage through the cluster some Gyr ago, and, more recently, through the "mini-accretion shock" associated with the gas settling back to quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium in the core. After passing through the primary shock, the gas should spend much of the time in a rarefaction region, where radiative losses of electrons are small, until the gas is compressed again by the mini-accretion shock. Unlike "runway" merger shocks, the mini-accretion shock does not feature a rarefaction region downstream and, therefore, the radio emission can survive longer. Such a two-stage process might explain the formation of the radio halo in the Coma cluster.

astro-ph.HE↗

The Galactic center chimneys: The base of the multiphase outflow of the Milky Way

Outflows and feedback are key ingredients of galaxy evolution. Evidence for an outflow arising from the Galactic center (GC) has recently been discovered at different wavelength. We show that the X-ray, radio, and infrared emissions are deeply interconnected, affecting one another and forming coherent features on scales of hundreds of parsecs, therefore indicating a common physical link associated with the GC outflow. We debate the location of the northern chimney and suggest that it might be located on the front side of the GC because of a significant tilt of the chimneys toward us. We report the presence of strong shocks at the interface between the chimneys and the interstellar medium, which are traced by radio and warm dust emission. We observe entrained molecular gas outflowing within the chimneys, revealing the multiphase nature of the outflow. In particular, the molecular outflow produces a long, strong, and structured shock along the northwestern wall of the chimney. Because of the different dynamical times of the various components of the outflow, the chimneys appear to be shaped by directed large-scale winds launched at different epochs. The data support the idea that the chimneys are embedded in an (often dominant) vertical magnetic field, which likely diverges with increasing latitude. We observe that the thermal pressure associated with the hot plasma appears to be smaller than the ram pressure of the molecular outflow and the magnetic pressure. This leaves open the possibility that either the main driver of the outflow is more powerful than the observed hot plasma, or the chimneys represent a "relic" of past and more powerful activity. These multiwavelength observations corroborate the idea that the chimneys represent the channel connecting the quasi-continuous, but intermittent, activity at the GC with the base of the Fermi bubbles.

astro-ph.GA↗

Detection of large-scale X-ray bubbles in the Milky Way halo

The halo of the Milky Way provides a laboratory to study the properties of the shocked hot gas that is predicted by models of galaxy formation. There is observational evidence of energy injection into the halo from past activity in the nucleus of the Milky Way; however, the origin of this energy (star formation or supermassive-black-hole activity) is uncertain, and the causal connection between nuclear structures and large-scale features has not been established unequivocally. Here we report soft-X-ray-emitting bubbles that extend approximately 14 kiloparsecs above and below the Galactic centre and include a structure in the southern sky analogous to the North Polar Spur. The sharp boundaries of these bubbles trace collisionless and non-radiative shocks, and corroborate the idea that the bubbles are not a remnant of a local supernova but part of a vast Galaxy-scale structure closely related to features seen in gamma-rays. Large energy injections from the Galactic centre are the most likely cause of both the γ-ray and X-ray bubbles. The latter have an estimated energy of around 10$^{56}$ erg, which is sufficient to perturb the structure, energy content and chemical enrichment of the circumgalactic medium of the Milky Way.

astro-ph.GA↗

The eROSITA X-ray telescope on SRG

eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) is the primary instrument on the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission, which was successfully launched on July 13, 2019, from the Baikonour cosmodrome. After the commissioning of the instrument and a subsequent calibration and performance verification phase, eROSITA started a survey of the entire sky on December 13, 2019. By the end of 2023, eight complete scans of the celestial sphere will have been performed, each lasting six months. At the end of this program, the eROSITA all-sky survey in the soft X-ray band (0.2--2.3\,keV) will be about 25 times more sensitive than the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, while in the hard band (2.3--8\,keV) it will provide the first ever true imaging survey of the sky. The eROSITA design driving science is the detection of large samples of galaxy clusters up to redshifts $z>1$ in order to study the large-scale structure of the universe and test cosmological models including Dark Energy. In addition, eROSITA is expected to yield a sample of a few million AGNs, including obscured objects, revolutionizing our view of the evolution of supermassive black holes. The survey will also provide new insights into a wide range of astrophysical phenomena, including X-ray binaries, active stars, and diffuse emission within the Galaxy. Results from early observations, some of which are presented here, confirm that the performance of the instrument is able to fulfil its scientific promise. With this paper, we aim to give a concise description of the instrument, its performance as measured on ground, its operation in space, and also the first results from in-orbit measurements.

astro-ph.HE↗

Propagation of weak shocks in cool-core galaxy clusters in two-temperature magnetohydrodynamics with anisotropic thermal conduction

We investigate how different magnetohydrodynamic models of propagation of a weak (Mach number ~1.2) shock in the core of a galaxy cluster affect its observational appearance, using the Perseus cluster as our fiducial model. In particular, we study how thermal conduction, both isotropic and anisotropic, and ion-electron temperature equilibration modify a weak shock. Strong thermal conduction is expected to produce an electron temperature precursor. Less prominent pressure and density precursors are formed as well. A longer equilibration time largely reduces the density precursor, but does not change the electron temperature precursor much. When thermal conduction becomes anisotropic, the intracluster magnetic field imprints its characteristic spatial scale on the distortions of the shock induced by heat fluxes.

astro-ph.HE↗

X-raying molecular clouds with a short flare: probing statistics of gas density and velocity fields

We take advantage of a set of molecular cloud simulations to demonstrate a possibility to uncover statistical properties of the gas density and velocity fields using reflected emission of a short (with duration much less than the cloud's light-crossing time) X-ray flare. Such situation is relevant for the Central Molecular Zone of our Galaxy where several clouds get illuminated by a $\sim110$ yr-old flare from the supermassive black hole Sgr A*. Due to shortness of the flare ($Δt\lesssim1.6$ yrs), only a thin slice ($Δz\lesssim0.5$ pc) of the molecular gas contributes to the X-ray reflection signal at any given moment, and its surface brightness effectively probes the local gas density. This allows reconstructing the density probability distribution function over a broad range of scales with virtually no influence of attenuation, chemo-dynamical biases and projection effects. Such measurement is key to understanding the structure and star-formation potential of the clouds evolving under extreme conditions in the CMZ. For cloud parameters similar to the currently brightest in X-ray reflection molecular complex Sgr A, the sensitivity level of the best available data is sufficient only for marginal distinction between solenoidal and compressive forcing of turbulence. Future-generation X-ray observatories with large effective area and high spectral resolution will dramatically improve on that by minimising systematic uncertainties due to contaminating signals. Furthermore, measurement of the iron fluorescent line centroid with sub-eV accuracy in combination with the data on molecular line emission will allow direct investigation of the gas velocity field.

astro-ph.HE↗

The discovery of radio halos in the Frontier Fields clusters Abell S1063 and Abell 370

Massive merging galaxy clusters often host diffuse Mpc-scale radio synchrotron emission. This emission originates from relativistic electrons in the ionized intracluster medium (ICM). An important question is how these synchrotron emitting relativistic electrons are accelerated. Our aim is to search for diffuse emission in the Frontier Fields clusters Abell S1063 and Abell 370 and characterize its properties. While these clusters are very massive and well studied at some other wavelengths, no diffuse emission has been reported for these clusters so far. We obtained 325 MHz Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and 1--4 GHz Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations of Abell S1063 and Abell 370. We complement these data with Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations. In our sensitive images, we discover radio halos in both clusters. In Abell S1063, a giant radio halo is found with a size of $\sim 1.2$ Mpc. The integrated spectral index between 325 MHz and 1.5 GHz is $-0.94\pm0.08$ and it steepens to $-1.77 \pm 0.20$ between 1.5 and 3.0 GHz. This spectral steepening provides support for the turbulent re-acceleration model for radio halo formation. Abell 370 hosts a faint radio halo mostly centred on the southern part of this binary merging cluster, with a size of $\sim 500-700$ kpc. The spectral index between 325 MHz and 1.5 GHz is $-1.10\pm0.09$. Both radio halos follow the known scaling relation between the cluster mass proxy $Y_{500}$ and radio power, consistent with the idea that they are related to ongoing cluster merger events.

astro-ph.HE↗

The Voyage of Metals in the Universe from Cosmological to Planetary Scales: the need for a Very High-Resolution, High Throughput Soft X-ray Spectrometer

Metals form an essential part of the Universe at all scales. Without metals we would not exist, and the Cosmos would look completely different. Metals are primarily born through nuclear processes in stars. They leave their cradles through winds or explosions, and then start their journey through space. This can lead them in and out of astronomical objects on all scales, ranging from comets, planets, stars, entire galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies to the largest structures of the Universe. Their wanderings are fundamental in determining how these objects, and the entire universe, evolve. In addition, their bare presence can be used to trace what these structures look like. The scope of this paper is to highlight the most important open astrophysical problems that will be central in the next decades and for which a deep understanding of the Universe-wandering metals, their physical and kinematical states and their chemical composition represents the only viable solution. The majority of these studies can only be efficiently performed through High Resolution Spectroscopy in the soft X-ray band.

astro-ph.IM↗

Suppressed effective viscosity in the bulk intergalactic plasma

Transport properties, such as viscosity and thermal conduction, of the hot intergalactic plasma in clusters of galaxies, are largely unknown. While for laboratory plasmas these characteristics are derived from the gas density and temperature, such recipes can be fundamentally different for the intergalactic plasma due to a low rate of particle collisions and a weak magnetic field. In numerical simulations, one often cuts through these unknowns by modeling these plasmas as hydrodynamic fluids, even though local, non-hydrodynamic features observed in clusters contradict this assumption. Using deep Chandra observations of the Coma Cluster, we probe gas fluctuations in intergalactic medium down to spatial scales where the transport processes should prominently manifest themselves - at least if hydrodynamic models with pure Coulomb collision rates were indeed adequate. We find that they do not, implying that the effective isotropic viscosity is orders of magnitude smaller than naively expected. This indicates an enhanced collision rate in the plasma due to particle scattering off microfluctuations caused by plasma instabilities, or that the transport processes are anisotropic with respect to local magnetic field. For that reason, numerical models with high Reynolds number appear more consistent with observations. Our results also demonstrate that observations of turbulence in clusters are becoming a branch of astrophysics that can sharpen theoretical views on such plasmas.

astro-ph.HE↗

Extended X-ray study of M49: the frontier of the Virgo Cluster

The M49 group, resident outside the virial radius of the Virgo cluster, is falling onto the cluster from the south. We report results from deep {\sl XMM-Newton} mosaic observations of M49. Its hot gas temperature is 0.8\,keV at the group center and rises to 1.5\,keV beyond the brightest group galaxy (BGG). The group gas extends to radii of $\sim300$\,kpc to the north and south. The observations reveal a cold front $\sim20$\,kpc north of the BGG center and an X-ray bright stripped tail 70\,kpc long and 10\,kpc wide to the southwest of the BGG. We argue that the atmosphere of the infalling group was slowed by its encounter with the Virgo cluster gas, causing the BGG to move forward subsonically relative to the group gas. We measure declining temperature and metallicity gradients along the stripped tail. The tail gas can be traced back to the cooler and enriched gas uplifted from the BGG center by buoyant bubbles, implying that AGN outbursts may have intensified the stripping process. We extrapolate to a virial radius of 740\,kpc and derive a virial mass of $4.6\times10^{13}\,M_\odot$ for the M49 group. Its group atmosphere appears truncated and deficient when compared with isolated galaxy groups of similar temperatures. If M49 is on its first infall to Virgo, the infall region of a cluster could have profound impacts on galaxies and groups that are being accreted onto galaxy clusters. Alternatively, M49 may have already passed through Virgo once.

astro-ph.GA↗

Reply to comment on: "An X-ray chimney extending hundreds of parsecs above and below the Galactic Centre"

In response to the comment posted by Nakashima et al. (arXiv:1903.1176), regarding prior claims for the features that we referred to as the Galactic Center Chimneys (2019, Nature, 567, 347), we point out the following: 1) The Nakashima et al. 2019 paper appeared in the arXiv on March 8th (1903.02571), after our paper was in the final stage of printing (accepted on January 30th). It is however interesting to see that the morphology of the brightest portions of the two results are in broad agreement (compare their Fig. 1 to our Extended Data Figs. 1 and 2). 2) Nakashima et al. 2013 ApJ 773, 20 claim the discovery of a blob of recombining plasma ~1deg south of Sgr A*, implying peculiar abundances. Again, their image (Fig. 1) agrees with the brightest portions of our images, although it does not show any direct connection between the plasma blob and the central parsec (e.g., such as the quasi-continuous chimney that we reported), nor evidence for an outflow from the center. We apologize for overlooking an appropriate citation to this contribution by Nakashima et al. 3) We fitted the XMM-Newton and Chandra data at the same position of the claimed recombining plasma and we did not find any clear-cut evidence for the presence of either an over-ionised plasma or peculiar abundances. Future X-ray calorimetric observations will presumably clarify this disagreement. 4) The continuity of the Chimney features, their quasi-symmetrical placement relative to Sgr A*, and their relatively sharp and well-defined edges are the essential features of our data that have led us to propose that the Chimneys are a unified columnar structure that represents a channel for the outflow of energy from the central region, possibly contributing to the stocking of the relativistic particle population manifested in the Fermi Bubbles.

astro-ph.HE↗

The Galactic Centre Chimney

Evidence has increasingly mounted in recent decades that outflows of matter and energy from the central parsecs of our Galaxy have shaped the observed structure of the Milky Way on a variety of larger scales. On scales of ~15 pc, the Galactic centre has bipolar lobes that can be seen in both X-rays and radio, indicating broadly collimated outflows from the centre, directed perpendicular to the Galactic plane. On far larger scales approaching the size of the Galaxy itself, gamma-ray observations have identified the so-called Fermi Bubble features, implying that our Galactic centre has, or has recently had, a period of active energy release leading to a production of relativistic particles that now populate huge cavities on both sides of the Galactic plane. The X-ray maps from the ROSAT all-sky survey show that the edges of these cavities close to the Galactic plane are bright in X-rays. At intermediate scales (~150 pc), radio astronomers have found the Galactic Centre Lobe, an apparent bubble of emission seen only at positive Galactic latitudes, but again indicative of energy injection from near the Galactic centre. Here we report the discovery of prominent X-ray structures on these intermediate (hundred-parsec) scales above and below the plane, which appear to connect the Galactic centre region to the Fermi bubbles. We propose that these newly-discovered structures, which we term the Galactic Centre Chimneys, constitute a channel through which energy and mass, injected by a quasi-continuous train of episodic events at the Galactic centre, are transported from the central parsecs to the base of the Fermi bubbles.

astro-ph.HE↗

Probing 3D Density and Velocity Fields of ISM in Centers of Galaxies with Future X-Ray Observations

Observations of bright and variable "reflected" X-ray emission from molecular clouds located within inner hundred parsec of our Galaxy have demonstrated that the central supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, experienced short and powerful flares in the past few hundred years. These flares offer a truly unique opportunity to determine 3D location of the illuminated clouds (with ~10 pc accuracy) and to reveal their internal structure (down to 0.1 pc scales). Short duration of the flare(s), combined with X-rays high penetration power and insensitivity of the reflection signal to thermo- and chemo-dynamical state of the gas, ensures that the provided diagnostics of the density and velocity fields is unbiased and almost free of the projection and opacity effects. Sharp and sensitive snapshots of molecular gas accessible with aid of future X-ray observatories featuring large collecting area and high angular (arcsec-level) and spectral (eV-level) resolution cryogenic bolometers will present invaluable information on properties of the supersonic turbulence inside the illuminated clouds, map their shear velocity field and allow cross-matching between X-ray data and velocity-resolved emission of various molecular species provided by ALMA and other ground-based facilities. This will highlight large and small-scale dynamics of the dense gas and help uncovering specifics of the ISM lifecycle and high-mass star formation under very extreme conditions of galactic centers. While the former is of particular importance for the SMBH feeding and triggering AGN feedback, the latter might be an excellent test case for star formation taking place in high-redshift galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

[Plasma 2020 Decadal] The Material Properties of Weakly Collisional, High-Beta Plasmas

This white paper, submitted for the Plasma 2020 Decadal Survey, concerns the physics of weakly collisional, high-beta plasmas -- plasmas in which the thermal pressure dominates over the magnetic pressure and in which the inter-particle collision time is comparable to the characteristic timescales of bulk motions. This state of matter, although widespread in the Universe, remains poorly understood: we lack a predictive theory for how it responds to perturbations, how it transports momentum and energy, and how it generates and amplifies magnetic fields. Such topics are foundational to the scientific study of plasmas, and are of intrinsic interest to those who regard plasma physics as a fundamental physics discipline. But these topics are also of extrinsic interest: addressing them directly informs upon our understanding of a wide variety of space and astrophysical systems, including accretion flows around supermassive black holes, the intracluster medium (ICM) between galaxies in clusters, and regions of the near-Earth solar wind. Specific recommendations to advance this field of study are discussed.

physics.plasm-ph↗