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Joshua D. Wing

Publications and source records attributed to Joshua D. Wing.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Pushing the Limit of Asteroseismic Detection for Cool Dwarfs using TESS and Deep Learning

Asteroseismology provides a powerful probe of stellar interiors by detecting stellar oscillations, including solar-like oscillations, which are stochastically excited by near-surface convection. While thousands of solar-like oscillators have been identified in evolved stars, only a limited number of main-sequence cool dwarfs have confirmed oscillations due to the low amplitudes of their signals. In this work, we train a convolutional autoencoder on TESS two-minute light curves to automatically identify solar-like oscillation features in cool dwarf main sequence and sub-giant stars. Using catalogs of confirmed oscillators for training and validation, our network achieves a classification accuracy of 99.8% on the test set, along with Precision of 0.945, Recall of 0.998, and F1 Score of 0.971. From the Asteroseismic Target List, our model identifies 3463 potential solar-like oscillators (probability greater than 0.5). After further analysis, we find a list of 24 candidate stars that have the potential to exhibit solar-like oscillations. Notably, several of these candidates occupy regions of the color-magnitude diagram that are accessible only through more resource-intensive radial velocity observations, thereby has the potential of extending the detection frontier of TESS-based asteroseismology. Our candidate catalog provides a valuable foundation for follow-up efforts aimed at expanding the sample of cool-dwarf solar-like oscillators. This will ultimately improve our understanding of stellar structure and evolution across the lower main sequence and strengthen the evidence for using deep learning techniques to study stellar light curves.

astro-ph.SR

On Convective Turnover Times and Dynamos In Low-Mass Stars

The relationship between magnetic activity and Rossby number is one way through which stellar dynamos can be understood. Using measured rotation rates and X-ray to bolometric luminosity ratios of an ensemble of stars, we derive empirical convective turnover times based on recent observations and re-evaluate the X-ray activity-Rossby number relationship. In doing so, we find a sharp rise in the convective turnover time for stars in the mass range of $0.35-0.4\ \rm M_{\odot}$, associated with the onset of a fully convective internal stellar structure. Using $\texttt{MESA}$ stellar evolution models, we infer the location of dynamo action implied by the empirical convective turnover time. The empirical convective turnover time is found to be indicative of dynamo action deep within the convective envelope in stars with masses $0.1-1.2\ \rm M_{\odot}$, crossing the fully convective boundary. Our results corroborate past works suggesting that partially and fully convective stars follow the same activity-Rossby relation, possibly owing to similar dynamo mechanisms. Our stellar models also give insight into the dynamo mechanism. We find that empirically determined convective turnover times correlate with properties of the deep stellar interior. These findings are in agreement with global dynamo models that see a reservoir of magnetic flux accumulate deep in the convection zone before buoyantly rising to the surface.

astro-ph.SR

Extragalactic Jets as Probes of Distant Clusters of Galaxies and the Clusters Occupied by Bent Radio AGN (COBRA) Survey

We are conducting a large survey of distant clusters of galaxies using radio sources with bent jets and lobes as tracers. These radio sources are driven by AGN and achieve their bent morphologies through interaction with the surrounding gas found in clusters of galaxies. Based on low-redshift studies, these types of sources can be used to identify clusters very efficiently. We present initial results from our survey of 653 bent-double radio sources with optical hosts too faint to appear in the SDSS. The sample was observed in the infrared with Spitzer, and it has revealed $\sim$200 distant clusters or proto-clusters in the redshift range $z\sim0.7 - 3.0$. The sample of bent-doubles contains both quasars and radio galaxies enabling us to study both radiative and kinetic mode feedback in cluster and group environments at a wide range of redshifts.

astro-ph.GA

An Examination of the Optical Substructure of Galaxy Clusters Hosting Radio Sources

Using radio sources from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm (FIRST) survey, and optical counterparts in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we have identified a large number of galaxy clusters. The radio sources within these clusters are driven by active galactic nuclei, and our cluster samples include clusters with bent, and straight, double-lobed radio sources. We also included a single-radio-component comparison sample. We examine these galaxy clusters for evidence of optical substructure, testing the possibility that bent double-lobed radio sources are formed as a result of large-scale cluster mergers. We use a suite of substructure analysis tools to determine the location and extent of substructure visible in the optical distribution of cluster galaxies, and compare the rates of substructure in clusters with different types of radio sources. We found no preference for significant substructure in clusters hosting bent double-lobed radio sources compared to those with other types of radio sources.

astro-ph.CO

Galaxy Cluster Environments of Radio Sources

Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the FIRST (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeters) catalogs, we examined the optical environments around double-lobed radio sources. Previous studies have shown that multi-component radio sources exhibiting some degree of bending between components are likely to be found in galaxy clusters. Often this radio emission is associated with a cD-type galaxy at the center of a cluster. We cross-correlated the SDSS and FIRST catalogs and measured the richness of the cluster environments surrounding both bent and straight multi-component radio sources. This led to the discovery and classification of a large number of galaxy clusters out to a redshift of z ~ 0.5. We divided our sample into smaller subgroups based on their optical and radio properties. We find that FR I radio sources are more likely to be found in galaxy clusters than FR II sources. Further, we find that bent radio sources are more often found in galaxy clusters than non-bent radio sources. We also examined the environments around single-component radio sources and find that single-component radio sources are less likely to be associated with galaxy clusters than extended, multi-component radio sources. Bent, visually-selected sources are found in clusters or rich groups ~78% of the time. Those without optical hosts in SDSS are likely associated with clusters at even higher redshifts, most with redshifts of z > 0.7.

astro-ph.CO

The Merger Environment of the WAT Hosting Cluster Abell 562

We present a Chandra X-ray observation and VLA radio observations of the nearby (z=0.11) galaxy cluster Abell 562 and the wide angle tail (WAT) radio source 0647+693. The cluster displays signatures of an ongoing merger leading to the bending of the WAT source including an elongation of the X-ray surface brightness distribution along the line that bisects the WAT, an excess of displaced gas found between the radio lobes, and anisotropies within the ICM projected temperature and abundance distributions. The most likely geometry of the ongoing interaction is a head-on merger occurring along the WAT bending axis. By combining observable properties of A562 and 0647+693 with common values for the conditions within merging clusters at the time of core crossing, we constrain the internal density (rho[ j ] = 0.001 rho[ICM]) of the jets and plasma flow velocity within the lobes (v = 0.02c - 0.03c) of the WAT source.

astro-ph.CO