arXiv subjects

Jialian Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Jialian Liu.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Minute-Cadence Observations of the LAMOST Fields with the TMTS V. Machine Learning Classification of TMTS Catalogues of Periodic Variable Stars

Periodic variables are always of great scientific interest in astrophysics. Thanks to the rapid advancement of modern large-scale time-domain surveys, the number of reported variable stars has experienced substantial growth for several decades, which significantly deepened our comprehension of stellar structure and binary evolution. The Tsinghua University-Ma Huateng Telescopes for Survey (TMTS) has started to monitor the LAMOST sky areas since 2020, with a cadence of 1 minute. During the period from 2020 to 2022, this survey has resulted in densely sampled light curves for ~ 30,000 variables of the maximum powers in the Lomb-Scargle periodogram above the 5sigma threshold. In this paper, we classified 11,638 variable stars into 6 main types using XGBoost and Random Forest classifiers with accuracies of 98.83% and 98.73%, respectively. Among them, 5301 (45.55%) variables are newly discovered, primarily consisting of Delta Scuti stars, demonstrating the capability of TMTS in searching for short-period variables. We cross-matched the catalogue with Gaia's second Data Release (DR2) and LAMOST's seventh Data Release (DR7) to obtain important physical parameters of the variables. We identified 5504 Delta Scuti stars (including 4876 typical Delta Scuti stars and 628 high-amplitude Delta Scuti stars), 5899 eclipsing binaries (including EA-, EB- and EW-type) and 226 candidates of RS Canum Venaticorum. Leveraging the metal abundance data provided by LAMOST and the Galactic latitude, we discovered 8 candidates of SX Phe stars within the class of "Delta Scuti stars". Moreover, with the help of Gaia color-magnitude diagram, we identified 9 ZZ ceti stars.

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arXiv2023

SN 2022vqz: A Peculiar Subluminous Type Ia Supernova with Prominent Early Excess Emission

We present extensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of the peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2022vqz. It shares many similarities with the SN 2002es-like SNe Ia, such as low luminosity ($M_{B,\rm max}=-18.11\pm0.16$ mag) and moderate post-peak decline rate ($Δm_{15,B}=1.33\pm0.11$ mag). The nickel mass synthesised in the explosion is estimated as $0.20\pm0.04~{\rm M}_\odot$ from the bolometric light curve, which is obviously lower than that of normal SNe Ia. SN 2022vqz is also characterised by slowly expanding ejecta, with Si II velocities persisting around 7000 km s$^{-1}$ since 16 days before peak brightness, unique among all known SNe Ia. While all of these properties imply a lower-energy thermonuclear explosion that should leave a considerable amount of unburnt materials, the absent signature of unburnt carbon in spectra of SN 2022vqz is puzzling. A prominent early peak is clearly detected in the ATLAS $c$- and $o$-band light curves and in the ZTF $gr$-band data within days after the explosion. Possible mechanisms for the early peak are discussed, including the sub-Chandrasekhar-mass double-detonation model and interaction of SN ejecta with circumstellar material. We find that both models face some difficulties in replicating all aspects of the observed data. As an alternative, we propose a hybrid C-O-Ne white dwarf as the progenitor of SN 2022vqz; it can simultaneously reconcile the tension between low ejecta velocity and the absence of carbon. We further discuss the diversity of SN 2002es-like objects and their origin in the context of different scenarios.

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arXiv2023

Circumstellar Material Ejected Violently by A Massive Star Immediately before its Death

Type II supernovae represent the most common stellar explosions in the Universe, for which the final stage evolution of their hydrogen-rich massive progenitors towards core-collapse explosion are elusive. The recent explosion of SN 2023ixf in a very nearby galaxy, Messier 101, provides a rare opportunity to explore this longstanding issue. With the timely high-cadence flash spectra taken within 1-5 days after the explosion, we can put stringent constraints on the properties of the surrounding circumstellar material around this supernova. Based on the rapid fading of the narrow emission lines and luminosity/profile of $\rm Hα$ emission at very early times, we estimate that the progenitor of SN 2023ixf lost material at a mass-loss rate $\dot{\rm M} \approx 6 \times 10^{-4}\, \rm M_{\odot}\,a^{-1}$ over the last 2-3 years before explosion. This close-by material, moving at a velocity $v_{\rm w} \approx 55\rm \, km\,s^{-1}$, accumulates a compact CSM shell at the radius smaller than $7 \times 10^{14}$ cm from the progenitor. Given the high mass-loss rate and relatively large wind velocity presented here, together with the pre-explosion observations made about two decades ago, the progenitor of SN 2023ixf could be a short-lived yellow hypergiant that evolved from a red supergiant shortly before the explosion.

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arXiv2023

Implications for the Explosion Mechanism of Type Ia Supernovae from their Late-time Spectra

Late-time spectra of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are important in clarifying the physics of their explosions, as they provide key clues to the inner structure of the exploding white dwarfs. We examined late-time optical spectra of 36 SNe Ia, including five from our own project (SNe 2019np, 2019ein, 2021hpr, 2021wuf, and 2022hrs), with phase coverage of $\sim 200$ to $\sim 400$ days after maximum light. At this late phase, the outer ejecta have become transparent and the features of inner iron-group elements emerge in the spectra. Based on multicomponent Gaussian fits and reasonable choices for the pseudocontinuum around Ni and Fe emission features, we get reliable estimates of the Ni to Fe ratio, which is sensitive to the explosion models of SNe Ia. Our results show that the majority (about 67%) of our SNe Ia are more consistent with the sub-Chandrasekhar-mass (i.e., double-detonation) model, although they could be affected by evolutionary or ionisation effects. Moreover, we find that the Si II $λ$6355 velocity measured around the time of maximum light tends to increase with the Ni to Fe ratio for the subsample with either redshifted or blueshifted nebular velocities, suggesting that progenitor metallicity might play an important role in accounting for the observed velocity diversity of SNe Ia.

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arXiv2023

Minute-cadence Observations of the LAMOST Fields with the TMTS: III. Statistic Study of the Flare Stars from the First Two Years

Tsinghua University-Ma Huateng Telescopes for Survey (TMTS) aims to detect fast-evolving transients in the Universe, which has led to the discovery of thousands of short-period variables and eclipsing binaries since 2020. In this paper, we present the observed properties of 125 flare stars identified by the TMTS within the first two years, with an attempt to constrain their eruption physics. As expected, most of these flares were recorded in late-type red stars with $G_{\rm BP}-G_{\rm RP}$ > 2.0 mag, however, the flares associated with bluer stars tend to be on average more energetic and have broader profiles. The peak flux (F_peak) of the flare is found to depend strongly on the equivalent duration (ED) of the energy release, i.e., $F_{\rm peak} \propto {\rm ED}^{0.72\pm0.04}$, which is consistent with results derived from the Kepler and Evryscope samples. This relation is likely related to the magnetic loop emission, while -- for the more popular non-thermal electron heating model -- a specific time evolution may be required to generate this relation. We notice that flares produced by hotter stars have a flatter $F_{\rm peak} \propto {\rm ED}$ relation compared to that from cooler stars. This is related to the statistical discrepancy in light-curve shape of flare events with different colors. In spectra from LAMOST, we find that flare stars have apparently stronger H alpha emission than inactive stars, especially at the low temperature end, suggesting that chromospheric activity plays an important role in producing flares. On the other hand, the subclass having frequent flares are found to show H alpha emission of similar strength in their spectra to that recorded with only a single flare but similar effective temperature, implying that the chromospheric activity may not be the only trigger for eruptions.

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arXiv2023

Minute-Cadence Observations of the LAMOST Fields with the TMTS: II. Catalogues of Short-Period Variable Stars from the First Two-Year Surveys

Over the past few years, wide-field time-domain surveys like ZTF and OGLE have led to discoveries of various types of interesting short-period stellar variables, such as ultracompact eclipsing binary white dwarfs, rapidly rotating magnetised white dwarfs (WDs), transitional cataclysmic variables between hydrogen-rich and helium accretion, and blue large-amplitude pulsators (BLAPs), which greatly enrich our understandings of stellar physics under some extreme conditions. In this paper, we report the first-two-year discoveries of short-period variables (i.e., P<2 hr) by the Tsinghua University-Ma Huateng Telescopes for Survey (TMTS). TMTS is a multi-tube telescope system with a field of view up to 18 deg^2, which started to monitor the LAMOST sky areas since 2020 and generated uninterrupted minute-cadence light curves for about ten million sources within 2 years. Adopting the Lomb-Scargle periodogram with period-dependent thresholds for the maximum powers, we identify over 1 100 sources that exhibit a variation period shorter than 2 hr. Compiling the light curves with the Gaia magnitudes and colours, LAMOST spectral parameters, VSX classifications, and archived observations from other prevailing time-domain survey missions, we identified 1 076 as delta Scuti stars, which allows us study their populations and physical properties in the short-period regime. The other 31 sources include BLAPs, subdwarf B variables (sdBVs), pulsating WDs, ultracompact/short-period eclipsing/ellipsoidal binaries, cataclysmic variables below the period gap, etc., which are highly interesting and worthy of follow-up investigations.

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arXiv2022

SN 2019ein: A Type Ia Supernova Likely Originated from a Sub-Chandrasekhar-Mass Explosion

We present extensive optical photometric and spectroscopic observations for the nearby Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2019ein, spanning the phases from $\sim 3$ days to $\sim 330$ days after the explosion. This SN Ia is characterized by extremely fast expansion at early times, with initial velocities of Si II and Ca II being above ~ 25,000--30,000 km/s. After experiencing an unusually rapid velocity decay, the ejecta velocity dropped to ~ 13,000 km/s around maximum light. Photometrically, SN 2019ein has a moderate post-peak decline rate ($Δm_{15}(B) = 1.35 \pm 0.01$ mag), while being fainter than normal SNe Ia by about 40% (with $M^{\rm max}_{B} \approx -18.71 \pm 0.15$ mag). The nickel mass synthesized in the explosion is estimated to be 0.27--0.31 $M_{\odot}$ from the bolometric light curve. Given such a low nickel mass and a relatively high photospheric velocity, we propose that SN 2019ein likely had a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf (WD) progenitor, $M_{\rm WD} \lesssim 1.22 M_{\odot}$. In this case, the explosion could have been triggered by a double-detonation mechanism, for which 1- and 2-dimensional models with WD mass $M_{\rm WD} \approx 1 M_\odot$ and a helium shell of 0.01 $M_{\odot}$ can reasonably produce the observed bolometric light curve and spectra. The predicted asymmetry as a result of double detonation is also favored by the redshifted Fe II and Ni II lines observed in the nebular-phase spectrum. Possible diversity in origin of high velocity SNe Ia is also discussed.

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arXiv2021

SN 2017fgc: A Fast-Expanding Type Ia Supernova Exploded in Massive Shell Galaxy NGC 474

We present extensive optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the high-velocity (HV) Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2017fgc, covering the phase from $\sim$ 12 d before to $\sim 389$ d after maximum brightness. SN 2017fgc is similar to normal SNe Ia, with an absolute peak magnitude of $M_{\rm max}^{B} \approx$ $-19.32 \pm 0.13$ mag and a post-peak decline of $Δm_{15}(B)$ = $1.05 \pm 0.07$ mag. Its peak bolometric luminosity is derived as $1.32 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{43} $erg s$^{-1}$, corresponding to a $^{56}$Ni mass of $0.51 \pm 0.03 M_{\odot}$. The light curves of SN 2017fgc are found to exhibit excess emission in the $UBV$ bands in the early nebular phase and pronounced secondary shoulder/maximum features in the $RrIi$ bands. Its spectral evolution is similar to that of HV SNe Ia, with a maximum-light Si II velocity of $15,000 \pm 150 $km s$^{-1}$ and a post-peak velocity gradient of $\sim$ $120 \pm 10 $km s$^{-1} $d$^{-1}$. The Fe II and Mg II lines blended near 4300 Å and the Fe II, Si II, and Fe III lines blended near 4800 Å are obviously stronger than those of normal SNe Ia. Inspecting a large sample reveals that the strength of the two blends in the spectra, and the secondary peak in the $i/r$-band light curves, are found to be positively correlated with the maximum-light Si II velocity. Such correlations indicate that HV SNe~Ia may experience more complete burning in the ejecta and/or that their progenitors have higher metallicity. Examining the birthplace environment of SN 2017fgc suggests that it likely arose from a stellar environment with young and high-metallicity populations.

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