arXiv subjects

Maya Beleznay

Publications and source records attributed to Maya Beleznay.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

PSR J0952-0607: Tightening a Record-High Neutron Star Mass

We report on new orbit-minimum photometry and revised radial-velocity fitting that provide an improved measurement of the mass of the neutron star (NS) in pulsar PSR~J0952$-$0607 at $M_NS = 2.35\pm 0.11 M_\odot$. With its fast spin and unusually low magnetic field, this NS has evidently experienced unusual evolution, likely connected with its high mass, which is now $2.5\sigma$ above that of the heaviest pulsar with a white dwarf companion, as measured by Shapiro delay techniques. By tightening the mass measurement, we also raise the maximum (commonly called Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff) NS mass to $M_{\rm TOV} > 2.27\,M_\odot$$(2.12\,M_\odot)$ at $1\sigma$$(3\sigma)$ confidence, which improves bounds on the dense-matter equation of state. While the statistical error decreases and systematic issues should be modest, uncertainties remain; we comment briefly on these factors and prospects for further improvement.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

A carbon-rich atmosphere on a windy pulsar planet

A handful of enigmatic Jupiter-mass objects have been discovered orbiting pulsars. One such object, PSR\,J2322-2650b, uniquely resembles a hot Jupiter exoplanet due to its minimum density of 1.8 g/cm^3 and its ~1900 K equilibrium temperature. We use JWST to observe PSR J2322-2650b's emission spectrum across an entire orbit. In stark contrast to every known exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence star, we find an atmosphere rich in molecular carbon (C3, C2) with strong westward winds. Our observations open up new exoplanetary chemical (ultra-high C/O and C/N ratios of >100 and >10,000, respectively) and dynamical regimes (ultra-fast rotation with external irradiation) to observational study. The extreme carbon enrichment poses a severe challenge to the current understanding of ``black widow'' companions, which were expected to consist of a wider range of elements due to their origins as stripped stellar cores.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

'Weather' in the LSST Camera: Investigating Patterns in Differenced Flat Images

During electro-optical testing of the camera for the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a unique low-signal pattern was found in differenced pairs of flat images used to create photon transfer curves, with peak-to-peak variations of a factor of 10^-3. A turbulent pattern of this amplitude was apparent in many differenced flat-fielded images. The pattern changes from image to image and shares similarities with atmospheric 'weather' turbulence patterns. We applied several strategies to determine the source of the turbulent pattern and found that it is representative of the mixing of the air and index of refraction variations caused by the internal camera purge system displacing air, which we are sensitive to due to our flat field project setup. Characterizing this changing environment with 2-D correlation functions of the 'weather' patterns provides evidence that the images reflect the changes in the camera environment due to the internal camera purge system. Simulations of the full optical system using the galsim and batoid codes show that the weather pattern affects the dispersion of the camera point-spread function at only the one part in 10^-4 level

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Exploring the Dependence of Hot Jupiter Occurrence Rates on Stellar Mass with TESS

We present estimates for the occurrence rates of hot Jupiters around dwarf stars based on data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Prime Mission. We take 97 hot Jupiters orbiting 198,721 AFG dwarf stars (ranging in mass from $0.8M_{\odot}$ to $2.3M_{\odot}$) from an independent search for hot Jupiters using TESS Prime Mission data. We estimate our planet sample's false positive rates as $14\pm7\%$ for A stars, $16\pm6\%$ for F stars, and $0\%$ for G stars. We find hot Jupiter occurrence rates of $0.29 \pm 0.05\%$ for A stars, $0.36 \pm 0.06\%$ for F stars and $0.55 \pm 0.14\%$ for G stars, with a weighted average across AFG stars of $0.33\pm0.04\%$. Our results show a correlation between higher hot Jupiter abundance and lower stellar mass, and are in good agreement with occurrence rates found by Kepler. After correcting for the presence of binaries in the TESS stellar sample, we estimate a single-star hot Jupiter occurrence rate of $0.98\pm0.36\%$ for G stars. This is in agreement with results from radial velocity (RV) surveys, indicating that stellar multiplicity correction is able to resolve the discrepancy between hot Jupiter occurrence rates based on transits and RVs.

astro-ph.EP↗