Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Mu'allim Yakubu

Publications and source records attributed to Mu'allim Yakubu.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Using High-Resolution Spectroscopy to Study the Composition, Temperature, and Dynamics of Exoplanet Atmospheres

High-resolution spectroscopy, typically operating at resolving powers R greater or equal to 25,000, has matured into one of the primary techniques for characterising the atmospheres of extrasolar planets. The ability of HRS to resolve individual rotational-vibrational lines of molecular bands, combined with the large Doppler shifts experienced by close-in planets during their orbits, allows planetary signals to be separated from quasi-stationary telluric and stellar contamination. Since the pioneering detection of carbon monoxide in the transmission spectrum of HD 209458b, HRS has enabled the identification of more than a dozen chemical species, including H2O, CH4, HCN, TiO, VO, Na, K, Li, H-alpha, He I, Mg, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Ti, in a wide variety of transiting, non-transiting and directly imaged exoplanets . In addition to chemical abundances, HRS constrains the vertical temperature structure through the pressure dependence of line depths, and reveals atmospheric dynamics through Doppler shifts and asymmetries imprinted on the planetary cross-correlation function. This review synthesises observational and methodological progress from the past fifteen years with a focus on how current and forthcoming high-resolution facilities HARPS, ESPRESSO, NIRPS, CARMENES, CRIRES+, SPIRou, GIANO, and ultimately the ANDES, METIS and HARMONI instruments on the Extremely Large Telescope are reshaping our empirical view of exoplanet atmospheres.

astro-ph.EP↗

A Review of How Supermassive Black Hole Binaries Can Be Detected and Characterized through Gravitational Lensing of Background Stars

Supermassive black hole binaries are an inevitable outcome of hierarchical galaxy mergers, but their sub-parsec evolutionary phase between the kpc separations resolvable by direct imaging and the millihertz gravitational-wave regime targeted by LISA remains observationally elusive. Gravitational lensing of background stars by SMBH binaries has emerged as a powerful complement to periodic variability searches, periodic Doppler-boost signals, and circumbinary accretion hydrodynamic models. Two distinct lensing channels are reviewed: (i) the gravitational lensing of Milky Way bulge stars by the central Sgr A-star binary, whose secondary image is now within reach of ELT-class instruments; and (ii) the recently introduced Quasi-Periodic Lensing of Starlight (QPLS) mechanism, in which the rotation of caustics produced by a non-active SMBH binary magnifies individual bright stars in its host galaxy on the orbital period of the binary. The QPLS framework predicts 1-50 (190-5000) binaries per cubic parsec with periods below 10 yr and redshift z less than 0.3, opening a multimessenger window onto pulsar timing array sources and LISA-band events. After outlining the theoretical foundation, microlensing formalism, observational status, and the synergy with pulsar timing arrays and LISA, we identify outstanding challenges and project the field into the LSST era.

astro-ph.GA↗