arXiv subjects

Marcus Brüggen

Publications and source records attributed to Marcus Brüggen.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Absorption spectra from galactic wind models: a framework to link PLUTO simulations to TRIDENT

Galactic winds probe how feedback regulates the mass and metallicity of galaxies. Galactic winds have cold gas, which is mainly observable with absorption and emission lines. Theoretically studying how absorption lines are produced requires numerical simulations and realistic starburst UV backgrounds. We use outputs from a suite of 3D PLUTO simulations of wind-cloud interactions to first estimate column densities and temperatures. Then, to create synthetic spectra, we developed a python interface to link our PLUTO simulations to TRIDENT via the YT-package infrastructure. First we produce UV backgrounds accounting for the star formation rate of starbursts. For this purpose, we use fluxes generated by STARBURST99, which are then processed through CLOUDY to create customised ion tables. Such tables are subsequently read into TRIDENT to generate absorption spectra. We explain how the various packages and tools communicate with each other to create ion spectra consistent with spectral energy distributions of starburst systems.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Evolution of primordial magnetic fields during large-scale structure formation

Primordial magnetic fields could explain the large-scale magnetic fields present in the Universe. Inflation and phase transitions in the early Universe could give rise to such fields with unique characteristics. We investigate the magneto-hydrodynamic evolution of these magnetogenesis scenarios with cosmological simulations. We evolve inflation-generated magnetic fields either as (i) uniform (homogeneous) or as (ii) scale-invariant stochastic fields, and phase transition-generated ones either as (iii) helical or as (iv) non-helical fields from the radiation-dominated epoch. We find that the final distribution of magnetic fields in the simulated cosmic web shows a dependence on the initial strength and the topology of the seed field. Thus, the observed field configuration retains information on the initial conditions at the moment of the field generation. If detected, primordial magnetic field observations would open a new window for indirect probes of the early universe. The differences between the competing models are revealed on the scale of galaxy clusters, bridges, as well as filaments and voids. The distinctive spectral evolution of different seed fields produces imprints on the correlation length today. We discuss how the differences between rotation measures from highly ionized regions can potentially be probed with forthcoming surveys.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Deep Learning-based Imaging in Radio Interferometry

The sparse layouts of radio interferometers result in an incomplete sampling of the sky in Fourier space which leads to artifacts in the reconstructed images. Cleaning these systematic effects is essential for the scientific use of radiointerferometric images. Established reconstruction methods are often time-consuming, require expert-knowledge, and suffer from a lack of reproducibility. We have developed a prototype Deep Learning-based method that generates reproducible images in an expedient fashion. To this end, we take advantage of the efficiency of Convolutional Neural Networks to reconstruct image data from incomplete information in Fourier space. The Neural Network architecture is inspired by super-resolution models that utilize residual blocks. Using simulated data of radio galaxies that are composed of Gaussian components we train Deep Learning models whose reconstruction capability is quantified using various measures. The reconstruction performance is evaluated on clean and noisy input data by comparing the resulting predictions with the true source images. We find that source angles and sizes are well reproduced, while the recovered fluxes show substantial scatter, albeit not worse than existing methods without fine-tuning. Finally, we propose more advanced approaches using Deep Learning that include uncertainty estimates and a concept to analyze larger images.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Pulsar scintillation studies with LOFAR. I. The census

Context. Interstellar scintillation (ISS) of pulsar emission can be used both as a probe of the ionised interstellar medium (IISM) and cause corruptions in pulsar timing experiments. Of particular interest are so-called scintillation arcs which can be used to measure time-variable interstellar scattering delays directly, potentially allowing high-precision improvements to timing precision. Aims. The primary aim of this study is to carry out the first sizeable and self-consistent census of diffractive pulsar scintillation and scintillation-arc detectability at low frequencies, as a primer for larger-scale IISM studies and pulsar-timing related propagation studies with the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) High Band Antennae (HBA). Results. In this initial set of 31 sources, 15 allow full determination of the scintillation properties; nine of these show detectable scintillation arcs at 120-180 MHz. Eight of the observed sources show unresolved scintillation; and the final eight don't display diffractive scintillation. Some correlation between scintillation detectability and pulsar brightness and dispersion measure is apparent, although no clear cut-off values can be determined. Our measurements across a large fractional bandwidth allow a meaningful test of the frequency scaling of scintillation parameters, uncorrupted by influences from refractive scintillation variations. Conclusions. Our results indicate the powerful advantage and great potential of ISS studies at low frequencies and the complex dependence of scintillation detectability on parameters like pulsar brightness and interstellar dispersion. This work provides the first installment of a larger-scale census and longer-term monitoring of interstellar scintillation effects at low frequencies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

A New Model For Including Galactic Winds in Simulations of Galaxy Formation I: Introducing the Physically Evolved Winds (PhEW) Model

The propagation and evolution of cold galactic winds in galactic haloes is crucial to galaxy formation models. However, modelling of this process in hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation is over-simplified owing to a lack of numerical resolution and often neglects critical physical processes such as hydrodynamic instabilities and thermal conduction. We propose an analytic model, Physically Evolved Winds (PhEW), that calculates the evolution of individual clouds moving supersonically through a uniform ambient medium. Our model reproduces predictions from very high resolution cloud-crushing simulations that include isotropic thermal conduction over a wide range of physical conditions. We discuss the implementation of this model into cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation as a sub-grid prescription to model galactic winds more robustly both physically and numerically.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The discovery of a radio galaxy of at least 5 Mpc

We discover what is in projection the largest known structure of galactic origin: a giant radio galaxy with a projected proper length of $4.99 \pm 0.04\ \mathrm{Mpc}$. The source, named Alcyoneus, was first identified in low-resolution LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey images from which angularly compact sources had been removed. Being an extreme example in its class, Alcyoneus could shed light on the main mechanisms that drive radio galaxy growth. We find that - beyond geometry - Alcyoneus and its host galaxy appear suspiciously ordinary: the total low-frequency luminosity density, stellar mass and supermassive black hole mass are all lower than, though similar to, those of the medial giant radio galaxy (percentiles $45 \pm 3\%$, $25 \pm 9 \%$ and $23 \pm 11 \%$, respectively). The source resides in a filament of the Cosmic Web, with which it might have significant thermodynamic interaction. At $5 \cdot 10^{-16}\ \mathrm{Pa}$, the pressures in the lobes are the lowest hitherto found, and Alcyoneus therefore represents one of the most promising radio galaxies yet to probe the warm-hot intergalactic medium.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Unequal-mass mergers of dark matter haloes with rare and frequent self-interactions

Dark matter (DM) self-interactions have been proposed to solve problems on small length scales within the standard cold DM cosmology. Here, we investigate the effects of DM self-interactions in merging systems of galaxies and galaxy clusters with equal and unequal mass ratios. We perform N-body DM-only simulations of idealized setups to study the effects of DM self-interactions that are elastic and velocity-independent. We go beyond the commonly adopted assumption of large-angle (rare) DM scatterings, paying attention to the impact of small-angle (frequent) scatterings on astrophysical observables and related quantities. Specifically, we focus on DM-galaxy offsets, galaxy--galaxy distances, halo shapes, morphology, and the phase--space distribution. Moreover, we compare two methods to identify peaks: one based on the gravitational potential and one based on isodensity contours. We find that the results are sensitive to the peak finding method, which poses a challenge for the analysis of merging systems in simulations and observations, especially for minor mergers. Large DM-galaxy offsets can occur in minor mergers, especially with frequent self-interactions. The subhalo tends to dissolve quickly for these cases. While clusters in late merger phases lead to potentially large differences between rare and frequent scatterings, we believe that these differences are non-trivial to extract from observations. We therefore study the galaxy/star populations which remain distinct even after the DM haloes have coalesced. We find that these collisionless tracers behave differently for rare and frequent scatterings, potentially giving a handle to learn about the micro-physics of DM.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Modelling the Energy Spectra of Radio Relics

Radio relics are diffuse synchrotron sources that illuminate shock waves in the intracluster medium. In recent years, radio telescopes have provided detailed observations about relics. Consequently, cosmological simulations of radio relics need to provide a similar amount of detail. In this methodological work, we include information on adiabatic compression and expansion, which have been neglected in the past in the modelling of relics. In a cosmological simulation of a merging galaxy cluster, we follow the energy spectra of shock accelerated cosmic-ray electrons using Lagrangian tracer particles. On board of each tracer particle, we compute the temporal evolution of the energy spectrum under the influence of synchrotron radiation, inverse Compton scattering, and adiabatic compression and expansion. Exploratory tests show that the total radio power and, hence, the integrated radio spectrum are not sensitive to the adiabatic processes. This is attributed to small changes in the compression ratio over time.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Magnetogenesis and the Cosmic Web: a joint challenge for radio observations and numerical simulations

The detection of the radio signal from filaments in the cosmic web is crucial to distinguish possible magnetogenesis scenarios. We review the status of the different attempts to detect the cosmic web at radio wavelengths. This is put into the context of the advanced simulations of cosmic magnetism carried out in the last few years by our {\magcow} project. While first attempts of imaging the cosmic web with the MWA and LOFAR have been encouraging and could discard some magnetogenesis models, the complexity behind such observations makes a definitive answer still uncertain. A combination of total intensity and polarimetric data at low radio frequencies that the SKA and LOFAR2.0 will achieve is key to removing the existing uncertainties related to the contribution of many possible sources of signal along deep lines of sight. This will make it possible to isolate the contribution from filaments, and expose its deep physical connection with the origin of extragalactic magnetism.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

The EMU view of the Large Magellanic Cloud: Troubles for sub-TeV WIMPs

We present a radio search for WIMP dark matter in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We make use of a recent deep image of the LMC obtained from observations of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and processed as part of the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey. LMC is an extremely promising target for WIMP searches at radio frequencies because of the large J-factor and the presence of a substantial magnetic field. We detect no evidence for emission arising from WIMP annihilations and derive stringent bounds on the annihilation rate as a function of the WIMP mass, for different annihilation channels. This work excludes the thermal cross section for masses below 480 GeV and annihilation into quarks.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

The Galactic Faraday rotation sky 2020

This work gives an update to existing reconstructions of the Galactic Faraday rotation sky by processing almost all Faraday rotation data sets available at the end of the year 2020. Observations of extra-Galactic sources in recent years have, among other regions, further illuminated the previously under-constrained southern celestial sky, as well as parts of the inner disc of the Milky Way. This has culminated in an all-sky data set of 55,190 data points, which is a significant expansion on the 41,330 used in previous works, hence making an updated separation of the Galactic component a promising venture. The increased source density allows us to present our results in a resolution of about $1.3\cdot 10^{-2}\, \mathrm{deg}^2$ ($46.8\,\mathrm{arcmin}^2$), which is a twofold increase compared to previous works. As for previous Faraday rotation sky reconstructions, this work is based on information field theory, a Bayesian inference scheme for field-like quantities which handles noisy and incomplete data. In contrast to previous reconstructions, we find a significantly thinner and pronounced Galactic disc with small-scale structures exceeding values of several thousand $\mathrm{rad}\,\mathrm{m}^{-2}$. The improvements can mainly be attributed to the new catalog of Faraday data, but are also supported by advances in correlation structure modeling within numerical information field theory. We furthermore give a detailed discussion on statistical properties of the Faraday rotation sky and investigate correlations to other data sets.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Shock-multicloud interactions in galactic outflows -- II. Radiative fractal clouds and cold gas thermodynamics

Galactic winds are crucial to the cosmic cycle of matter, transporting material out of the dense regions of galaxies. Observations show the coexistence of different temperature phases in such winds, which is not easy to explain. We present a set of 3D shock-multicloud simulations that account for radiative heating and cooling at temperatures between $10^2\,\rm K$ and $10^7\,\rm K$. The interplay between shock heating, dynamical instabilities, turbulence, and radiative heating and cooling creates a complex multi-phase flow with a rain-like morphology. Cloud gas fragments and is continuously eroded, becoming efficiently mixed and mass loaded. The resulting warm mixed gas then cools down and precipitates into new dense cloudlets, which repeat the process. Thus, radiative cooling is able to sustain fast-moving dense gas by aiding condensation of gas from warm clouds and the hot wind. In the ensuing outflow, hot gas with temperatures $\gtrsim 10^6\,\rm K$ outruns the warm and cold phases, which reach thermal equilibrium near $\approx 10^4\,\rm K$ and $\approx 10^2\,\rm K$, respectively. Although the volume filling factor of hot gas is higher in the outflow, most of the mass is concentrated in dense gas cloudlets and filaments with these temperatures. More porous multicloud layers result in more vertically extended outflows, and dense gas is more efficiently produced in more compact layers. The cold phase is not accelerated by ram-pressure, but, instead, precipitates from warm and mixed gas out of thermal equilibrium. This cycle can explain the presence of high-velocity H\,{\sc i} gas with $N_{\rm H\,{\scriptstyle I}}=10^{19-21}\,\rm cm^{-2}$ and $Δv_{\rm FWHM}\lesssim37\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ in the Galactic centre outflow.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

N-body simulations of dark matter with frequent self-interactions

Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) models have the potential to solve the small-scale problems that arise in the cold dark matter paradigm. Simulations are a powerful tool for studying SIDM in the context of astrophysics, but it is numerically challenging to study differential cross-sections that favour small-angle scattering, as in light-mediator models. Here, we present a novel approach to model frequent scattering based on an effective drag force, which we have implemented into the N-body code gadget-3. In a range of test problems, we demonstrate that our implementation accurately models frequent scattering. Our implementation can be used to study differences between SIDM models that predict rare and frequent scattering. We simulate core formation in isolated dark matter haloes, as well as major mergers of galaxy clusters and find that SIDM models with rare and frequent interactions make different predictions. In particular, frequent interactions are able to produce larger offsets between the distribution of galaxies and dark matter in equal-mass mergers.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Comment on "Constraining the annihilating dark matter mass by the radio continuum spectral data of NGC4214 galaxy"

In their recent paper, Chan and Lee discuss an interesting possibility: radio continuum emission from a dwarf irregular galaxy may be used to constrain upper limits on the cross section of annihilating dark matter. They claim that the contributions from nonthermal and thermal emission can be estimated with such accuracy that one can place new upper limits on the annihilation cross section. We argue that the observations presented can be explained entirely with a standard spectrum and no contribution from dark matter. As a result, the estimated upper limits of Chan and Lee are atleast by a factor of 100 too low.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

First constraints on the AGN X-ray luminosity function at $z \sim 6$ from an eROSITA-detected quasar

We searched for high-z quasars within the X-ray source population detected in the contiguous $\sim 140^2$ eFEDS field observed by eROSITA during the performance verification phase. We collected the available spectroscopic information in the field, including the sample of all currently known optically selected z>5.5 quasars and cross-matched secure Legacy DR8 counterparts of eROSITA-detected X-ray point-like sources with this spectroscopic sample. We report the X-ray detection of an eROSITA source securely matched to the well-known quasar SDSS J083643.85+005453.3 (z=5.81). The soft X-ray flux of the source derived from eROSITA is consistent with previous Chandra observations. In addition, we report the detection of the quasar with LOFAR at 145 MHz and ASKAP at 888 MHz. The reported flux densities confirm a spectral flattening at lower frequencies in the emission of the radio core, indicating that the quasar could be a (sub-) gigahertz peaked spectrum source. The inferred spectral shape and the parsec-scale radio morphology of SDSS J083643.85+005453.3 suggest that it is in an early stage of its evolution into a large-scale radio source or confined in a dense environment. We find no indications for a strong jet contribution to the X-ray emission of the quasar, which is therefore likely to be linked to accretion processes. The detection of this source allows us to place the first constraints on the XLF at z>5.5 based on a secure spectroscopic redshift. Compared to extrapolations from lower-redshift observations, this favours a relatively flat slope for the XLF at $z\sim 6$ beyond $L_*$. The population of X-ray luminous AGNs at high redshift may be larger than previously thought. From our XLF constraints, we make the conservative prediction that eROSITA will detect $\sim 90$ X-ray luminous AGNs at redshifts 5.7<z<6.4 in the full-sky survey (De+RU).

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Joint inference on the redshift distribution of fast radio burst and on the intergalactic baryon content

Context: Fast radio bursts are transient radio pulses of extragalactic origin. Their dispersion measure is indicative of the baryon content in the ionized intergalactic medium between the source and the observer. However, inference using unlocalized fast radio bursts is degenerate to the distribution of redshifts of host galaxies. Method: We perform a joint inference of the intergalactic baryon content and the fast radio burst redshift distribution with the use of Bayesian statistics by comparing the likelihood of different models to reproduce the observed statistics in order to infer the most likely models. In addition to two models of the intergalactic medium, we consider contributions from the local environment of the source, assumed to be a magnetar, as well as a representative ensemble of host and intervening galaxies. Results: Assuming that the missing baryons reside in the ionized intergalactic medium, our results suggest that the redshift distribution of observed fast radio bursts peaks at $z \lesssim 0.6$. However, conclusions from different instruments regarding the intergalactic baryon content diverge and thus require additional changes to the observed distribution of host redshifts, beyond those caused by telescope selection effects.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Detection of gravitational waves in circular particle accelerators

Here we calculate the effects of astrophysical gravitational waves (GWs) on the travel times of proton bunch test masses in circular particle accelerators. We show that a high-precision proton bunch time-tagging detector could turn a circular particle accelerator facility into a GW observatory sensitive to millihertz (mHz) GWs. We comment on sources of noise and the technological feasibility of ultrafast single photon detectors by conducting a case study of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

Unveiling the rarest morphologies of the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey radio source population with self-organised maps

The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) is a low-frequency radio continuum survey of the Northern sky at an unparalleled resolution and sensitivity. In order to fully exploit this huge dataset and those produced by the Square Kilometre Array in the next decade, automated methods in machine learning and data-mining will be increasingly essential both for morphological classifications and for identifying optical counterparts to the radio sources. Using self-organising maps (SOMs), a form of unsupervised machine learning, we created a dimensionality reduction of the radio morphologies for the $\sim$25k extended radio continuum sources in the LoTSS first data release, which is only $\sim$2 percent of the final LoTSS survey. We made use of \textsc{PINK}, a code which extends the SOM algorithm with rotation and flipping invariance, increasing its suitability and effectiveness for training on astronomical sources. After training, the SOMs can be used for a wide range of science exploitation and we present an illustration of their potential by finding an arbitrary number of morphologically rare sources in our training data (424 square degrees) and subsequently in an area of the sky ($\sim$5300 square degrees) outside the training data. Objects found in this way span a wide range of morphological and physical categories: extended jets of radio active galactic nuclei, diffuse cluster haloes and relics, and nearby spiral galaxies. Finally, to enable accessible, interactive, and intuitive data exploration, we showcase the LOFAR-PyBDSF Visualisation Tool, which allows users to explore the LoTSS dataset through the trained SOMs.

astro-ph.IM↗