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N. J. Miller

Publications and source records attributed to N. J. Miller.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars - VII. The solar twin in LL Aquarii

The eclipsing binary LL Aqr is a bright V = 9.32, detached system consisting of two solar-type stars in an eccentric orbit (P = 20.2 d). The secondary component, LL Aqr B, was previously found to have physical and atmospheric parameters very similar to the Sun. Using high-precision photometry from TESS along with previously published orbital solutions, we obtain updated model-independent stellar radii and masses: $R_A = 1.3180 \pm 0.0013~R_{\odot}$, $R_B = 0.9927 \pm 0.0008~R_{\odot}$, $M_A = 1.1947 \pm 0.0009~M_{\odot}$, and $M_B = 1.0334 \pm 0.0006~M_{\odot}$. We derive the bolometric flux and fundamental effective temperature for each component using observed magnitudes, flux ratios from light curves in multiple bands and angular diameters derived from the radii and parallax from long baseline interferometry, measuring the following values: $T_{\rm eff,A} = 6242 \pm 50$ K, $T_{\rm eff,B} = 5839 \pm 44$ K, with an additional 9 K systematic error from the flux scale zero-point. We confirm that LL Aqr displays low stellar activity by obtaining $2σ$ upper limits on the mean surface magnetic field strengths of 78 G and 96 G. Our results suggest an age of 2.67 - 3.01 Gyr, which is consistent with previous studies. LL Aqr now joins an ever-growing sample of well-characterised benchmark stars that can be used to test and calibrate a wide variety of methods and techniques in stellar astrophysics.

astro-ph.SR

Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars -- VI. Improved methodology and application to the circumbinary planet host star BEBOP-3

BEBOP-3 is detached eclipsing binary star that shows total eclipses of a faint M~dwarf every 13.2 days by a 9$^{\rm th}$-magnitude F9V star. High precision radial velocity measurements have recently shown that this binary star is orbited by a planet with an orbital period $\approx 550$ days. The extensive spectroscopy used to detect this circumbinary planet has also been used to directly measure the masses of the stars in the eclipsing binary. We have used light curves from the TESS mission combined with these mass measurements to directly measure the following radii and surface gravities for the stars in this system: $R_1 = 1.386 \pm 0.010\,R_{\odot}$, $\log g_1 = 4.190 \pm 0.004$, $R_2 = 0.274 \pm 0.002\,R_{\odot}$, $\log g_2 = 4.979 \pm 0.002$. We describe an improved version of our method to measure the effective temperatures (T$_{\rm eff}$) of stars in binary systems directly from their angular diameters and bolometric fluxes. We measure T$_{\rm eff,1} = 6065{\rm\,K} \pm 44\,{\rm K}$ and T$_{\rm eff,2} = 3191{\rm\,K} \pm 40\,{\rm K}$ for the stars in BEBOP-3 using this method. BEBOP-3 can be added to our growing sample of stars that can be used test the accuracy of spectroscopic and photometric methods to estimate T$_{\rm eff}$ and $\log g$ for solar-type stars.

astro-ph.SR

Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars -- V. The circumbinary planet system EBLM J0608-59

EBLM J0608-59 / TOI-1338 / BEBOP-1 is a 12th-magnitude, F9V star in an eclipsing binary with a much fainter M-dwarf companion on a wide, eccentric orbit (P=14.6 d). The binary is orbited by two circumbinary planets: one transiting on a 95-day orbit and one non-transiting on a 215-day orbit. We have used high-precision photometry from the TESS mission combined with direct mass measurements for the two stars published recently to measure the following model-independent radii: $R_1 = 1.32 \pm 0.02 R_{\odot}$, $R_2 = 0.309 \pm 0.004 R_{\odot}$. Using $R_1$ and the parallax from Gaia EDR3 we find that this star's angular diameter is $θ= 0.0309 \pm 0.0005$ mas. The apparent bolometric flux of the primary star corrected for both extinction and the contribution from the M-dwarf ($<0.4$%) is ${\mathcal F}_{\oplus,0} = (0.417\pm 0.005)\times10^{-9} {\rm \,erg\,cm}^{-2} {\rm \,s}^{-1}$. Hence, this F9V star has an effective temperature $T_{\rm eff,1} = 6031{\rm\,K} \pm 46{\rm \,K\,(rnd.)} \pm 10 {\rm \,K\,(sys.)}$. EBLM J0608-59 is an ideal benchmark star that can be added to the sample of such systems we are establishing for "end-to-end" tests of the stellar parameters measured by large-scale spectroscopic surveys.

astro-ph.SR

CHEOPS in-flight performance: A comprehensive look at the first 3.5 years of operations

CHEOPS is a space telescope specifically designed to monitor transiting exoplanets orbiting bright stars. In September 2023, CHEOPS completed its nominal mission and remains in excellent operational conditions. The mission has been extended until the end of 2026. Scientific and instrumental data have been collected throughout in-orbit commissioning and nominal operations, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the mission's performance. In this article, we present the results of this analysis with a twofold goal. First, we aim to inform the scientific community about the present status of the mission and what can be expected as the instrument ages. Secondly, we intend for this publication to serve as a legacy document for future missions, providing insights and lessons learned from the successful operation of CHEOPS. To evaluate the instrument performance in flight, we developed a comprehensive monitoring and characterisation programme. It consists of dedicated observations that allow us to characterise the instrument's response. In addition to the standard collection of nominal science and housekeeping data, these observations provide input for detecting, modelling, and correcting instrument systematics, discovering and addressing anomalies, and comparing the instrument's actual performance with expectations. The precision of the CHEOPS measurements has enabled the mission objectives to be met and exceeded. Careful modelling of the instrumental systematics allows the data quality to be significantly improved during the light curve analysis phase, resulting in more precise scientific measurements. CHEOPS is compliant with the driving scientific requirements of the mission. Although visible, the ageing of the instrument has not affected the mission's performance.

astro-ph.IM

The EBLM Project XI. Mass, radius and effective temperature measurements for 23 M-dwarf companions to solar-type stars observed with CHEOPS

Observations of low-mass stars have frequently shown a disagreement between observed stellar radii and radii predicted by theoretical stellar structure models. This ``radius inflation'' problem could have an impact on both stellar and exoplanetary science. We present the final results of our observation programme with the CHEOPS satellite to obtain high-precision light curves of eclipsing binaries with low mass stellar companions (EBLMs). Combined with the spectroscopic orbits of the solar-type companion, we can derive the masses, radii and effective temperatures of 23 M-dwarf stars. We use the PYCHEOPS data analysis software to analyse their primary and secondary occultations. For all but one target, we also perform analyses with TESS light curves for comparison. We have assessed the impact of starspot-induced variation on our derived parameters and account for this in our radius and effective temperature uncertainties using simulated light curves. We observe trends for inflation with both metallicity and orbital separation. We also observe a strong trend in the difference between theoretical and observational effective temperatures with metallicity. There is no such trend with orbital separation. These results are not consistent with the idea that observed inflation in stellar radius combines with lower effective temperature to preserve the luminosity predicted by low-mass stellar models. Our EBLM systems are high-quality and homogeneous measurements that can be used in further studies into radius inflation.

astro-ph.SR

Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars -- II. The detached F-type eclipsing binary CPD-54 810

CPD-54 810 is a double-lined detached eclipsing binary containing two mid-F type dwarfs on an eccentric 26-day orbit. We perform a combined analysis of the extensive photometry obtained by the TESS space mission along with previously published observations to obtain a full orbital and physical solution for the system. We measure the following model-independent masses and radii: M1 = 1.3094+/-0.0051 Msun, M2 = 1.0896+/-0.0034 Msun, R1 = 1.9288+/-0.0030 Rsun, and R2 = 1.1815+/-0.0037 Rsun. We employ a Bayesian approach to obtain the bolometric flux for both stars from observed magnitudes, colours, and flux ratios. These bolometric fluxes combined with the stars' angular diameters (from R1, R2 and the parallax from Gaia EDR3) lead directly to the stars' effective temperatures: Teff,1 = 6462+/-43 K, and Teff,2 = 6331+/-43 K, with an additional systematic error of 0.8% (13 K) from the uncertainty in the zero-point of the flux scale. Our results are robust against the choice of model spectra and other details of the analysis. CPD-54 810 is an ideal benchmark system that can be used to test stellar parameters measured by large spectroscopic surveys or derived from asteroseismology, and calibrate stellar models by providing robust constraints on the measured parameters. The methods presented here can be applied to many other detached eclipsing binary systems to build a catalogue of well-measured benchmark stars.

astro-ph.SR

The POLARBEAR-2 and Simons Array Focal Plane Fabrication Status

We present on the status of POLARBEAR-2 A (PB2-A) focal plane fabrication. The PB2-A is the first of three telescopes in the Simon Array (SA), which is an array of three cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization sensitive telescopes located at the POLARBEAR (PB) site in Northern Chile. As the successor to the PB experiment, each telescope and receiver combination is named as PB2-A, PB2-B, and PB2-C. PB2-A and -B will have nearly identical receivers operating at 90 and 150 GHz while PB2-C will house a receiver operating at 220 and 270 GHz. Each receiver contains a focal plane consisting of seven close-hex packed lenslet coupled sinuous antenna transition edge sensor bolometer arrays. Each array contains 271 di-chroic optical pixels each of which have four TES bolometers for a total of 7588 detectors per receiver. We have produced a set of two types of candidate arrays for PB2-A. The first we call Version 11 (V11) and uses a silicon oxide (SiOx) for the transmission lines and cross-over process for orthogonal polarizations. The second we call Version 13 (V13) and uses silicon nitride (SiNx) for the transmission lines and cross-under process for orthogonal polarizations. We have produced enough of each type of array to fully populate the focal plane of the PB2-A receiver. The average wirebond yield for V11 and V13 arrays is 93.2% and 95.6% respectively. The V11 arrays had a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 452 +/- 15 mK, a normal resistance (Rn) of 1.25 +/- 0.20 Ohms, and saturations powers of 5.2 +/- 1.0 pW and 13 +/- 1.2 pW for the 90 and 150 GHz bands respectively. The V13 arrays had a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 456 +/-6 mK, a normal resistance (Rn) of 1.1 +/- 0.2 Ohms, and saturations powers of 10.8 +/- 1.8 pW and 22.9 +/- 2.6 pW for the 90 and 150 GHz bands respectively.

astro-ph.IM

The EBLM project -- IX. Five fully convective M-dwarfs, precisely measured with CHEOPS and TESS light curves

Eclipsing binaries are important benchmark objects to test and calibrate stellar structure and evolution models. This is especially true for binaries with a fully convective M-dwarf component for which direct measurements of these stars' masses and radii are difficult using other techniques. Within the potential of M-dwarfs to be exoplanet host stars, the accuracy of theoretical predictions of their radius and effective temperature as a function of their mass is an active topic of discussion. Not only the parameters of transiting exoplanets but also the success of future atmospheric characterisation rely on accurate theoretical predictions. We present the analysis of five eclipsing binaries with low-mass stellar companions out of a sub-sample of 23, for which we obtained ultra high-precision light curves using the CHEOPS satellite. The observation of their primary and secondary eclipses are combined with spectroscopic measurements to precisely model the primary parameters and derive the M-dwarfs mass, radius, surface gravity, and effective temperature estimates using the PYCHEOPS data analysis software. Combining these results to the same set of parameters derived from TESS light curves, we find very good agreement (better than 1\% for radius and better than 0.2% for surface gravity). We also analyse the importance of precise orbits from radial velocity measurements and find them to be crucial to derive M-dwarf radii in a regime below 5% accuracy. These results add five valuable data points to the mass-radius diagram of fully-convective M-dwarfs.

astro-ph.SR

Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars -- III. SPIRou near-infrared spectroscopy and CHEOPS photometry of the benchmark G0V star EBLM J0113+31

EBLM J0113+31 is moderately bright (V=10.1), metal-poor ([Fe/H]$\approx-0.3$) G0V star with a much fainter M dwarf companion on a wide, eccentric orbit (=14.3 d). We have used near-infrared spectroscopy obtained with the SPIRou spectrograph to measure the semi-amplitude of the M dwarf's spectroscopic orbit, and high-precision photometry of the eclipse and transit from the CHEOPS and TESS space missions to measure the geometry of this binary system. From the combined analysis of these data together with previously published observations we obtain the following model-independent masses and radii: $M_1 = 1.029 \pm 0.025 M_{\odot}$, $M_2 = 0.197 \pm 0.003 M_{\odot}$, $R_1 = 1.417 \pm 0.014 R_{\odot}$, $R_2 = 0.215 \pm 0.002 R_{\odot}$. Using $R_1$ and the parallax from Gaia EDR3 we find that this star's angular diameter is $θ= 0.0745 \pm 0.0007$ mas. The apparent bolometric flux of the G0V star corrected for both extinction and the contribution from the M dwarf ($<0.2$ per cent) is ${\mathcal F}_{\oplus,0} = (2.62\pm 0.05)\times10^{-9}$ erg.cm$^{-2}$.s$^{-1}$. Hence, this G0V star has an effective temperature $T_{\rm eff,1} = 6124{\rm\,K} \pm 40{\rm \,K\,(rnd.)} \pm 10 {\rm \,K\,(sys.)}$. EBLM J0113+31 is an ideal benchmark star that can be used for "end-to-end" tests of the stellar parameters measured by large-scale spectroscopic surveys, or stellar parameters derived from asteroseismology with PLATO. The techniques developed here can be applied to many other eclipsing binaries in order to create a network of such benchmark stars.

astro-ph.SR

Suppressing Frequency Fluctuations of Self-Sustained Vibrations in Underdamped Nonlinear Resonators

We consider frequency fluctuations in self-sustained oscillators based on nonlinear underdamped resonators. An important type of such resonators are nano- and micro-electro-mechanical systems. Various noise sources are considered, with the emphasis on the fundamentally unavoidable noise that comes along with dissipation from the coupling to a thermal reservoir. The formulation in terms of the action-angle variables of the resonator allows us to study a deeply nonlinear regime. In this regime the vibration frequency as a function of the action can have an extremum. We show that frequency fluctuations can be strongly reduced by choosing the operation point at this extremum. We suggest a practical implementation of a nanoresonator that has the appropriate property and show explicit results for the corresponding model.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars I. Development of the method and application to AI Phoenicis

Stars with accurate and precise effective temperature (T$_{\rm eff}$) measurements are needed to test stellar atmosphere models and calibrate empirical methods to determine T$_{\rm eff}$. There are few standard stars currently available to calibrate temperature indicators for dwarf stars. Gaia parallaxes now make it possible, in principle, to measure T$_{\rm eff}$ for many dwarf stars in eclipsing binaries. We aim to develop a method that uses high-precision measurements of detached eclipsing binary stars, Gaia parallaxes and multi-wavelength photometry to obtain accurate and precise fundamental effective temperatures that can be used to establish a set of benchmark stars. We select the well-studied binary AI Phoenicis to test our method, since it has very precise absolute parameters and extensive archival photometry. The method uses the stellar radii and parallax for stars in eclipsing binaries. We use a Bayesian approach to obtain the integrated bolometric fluxes for the two stars from observed magnitudes, colours and flux ratios. The fundamental effective temperature of two stars in AI Phoenicis are $6199\pm22$ K for the F7V component and $5094\pm16$ K for the K0IV component. The zero-point error in the flux scale leads to a systematic error of only 0.2% ($\approx$ 11K) in T$_{\rm eff}$. We find that these results are robust against the details of the analysis, such as the choice of model spectra. Our method can be applied to eclipsing binary stars with radius, parallax and photometric measurements across a range of wavelengths. Stars with fundamental effective temperatures determined with this method can be used as benchmarks in future surveys.

astro-ph.SR

A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background B-Mode Polarization Power Spectrum at Sub-Degree Scales with POLARBEAR

We report a measurement of the B-mode polarization power spectrum in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using the POLARBEAR experiment in Chile. The faint B-mode polarization signature carries information about the Universe's entire history of gravitational structure formation, and the cosmic inflation that may have occurred in the very early Universe. Our measurement covers the angular multipole range 500 < l < 2100 and is based on observations of an effective sky area of 25 square degrees with 3.5 arcmin resolution at 150 GHz. On these angular scales, gravitational lensing of the CMB by intervening structure in the Universe is expected to be the dominant source of B-mode polarization. Including both systematic and statistical uncertainties, the hypothesis of no B-mode polarization power from gravitational lensing is rejected at 97.1% confidence. The band powers are consistent with the standard cosmological model. Fitting a single lensing amplitude parameter A_BB to the measured band powers, A_BB = 1.12 +/- 0.61 (stat) +0.04/-0.12 (sys) +/- 0.07 (multi), where A_BB = 1 is the fiducial WMAP-9 LCDM value. In this expression, "stat" refers to the statistical uncertainty, "sys" to the systematic uncertainty associated with possible biases from the instrument and astrophysical foregrounds, and "multi" to the calibration uncertainties that have a multiplicative effect on the measured amplitude A_BB.

astro-ph.CO

Assessment of Models of Galactic Thermal Dust Emission Using COBE/FIRAS and COBE/DIRBE Observations

Accurate modeling of the spectrum of thermal dust emission at millimeter wavelengths is important for improving the accuracy of foreground subtraction for CMB measurements, for improving the accuracy with which the contributions of different foreground emission components can be determined, and for improving our understanding of dust composition and dust physics. We fit four models of dust emission to high Galactic latitude COBE/FIRAS and COBE/DIRBE observations from 3 millimeters to 100 microns and compare the quality of the fits. We consider the two-level systems model because it provides a physically motivated explanation for the observed long wavelength flattening of the dust spectrum and the anticorrelation between emissivity index and dust temperature. We consider the model of Finkbeiner, Davis, and Schlegel because it has been widely used for CMB studies, and the generalized version of this model recently applied to Planck data by Meisner and Finkbeiner. For comparison we have also fit a phenomenological model consisting of the sum of two graybody components. We find that the two-graybody model gives the best fit and the FDS model gives a significantly poorer fit than the other models. The Meisner and Finkbeiner model and the two-level systems model remain viable for use in Galactic foreground subtraction, but the FIRAS data do not have sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to provide a strong test of the predicted spectrum at millimeter wavelengths.

astro-ph.GA

Recovery of Large Angular Scale CMB Polarization for Instruments Employing Variable-delay Polarization Modulators

Variable-delay Polarization Modulators (VPMs) are currently being implemented in experiments designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background on large angular scales because of their capability for providing rapid, front-end polarization modulation and control over systematic errors. Despite the advantages provided by the VPM, it is important to identify and mitigate any time-varying effects that leak into the synchronously modulated component of the signal. In this paper, the effect of emission from a $300$ K VPM on the system performance is considered and addressed. Though instrument design can greatly reduce the influence of modulated VPM emission, some residual modulated signal is expected. VPM emission is treated in the presence of rotational misalignments and temperature variation. Simulations of time-ordered data are used to evaluate the effect of these residual errors on the power spectrum. The analysis and modeling in this paper guides experimentalists on the critical aspects of observations using VPMs as front-end modulators. By implementing the characterizations and controls as described, front-end VPM modulation can be very powerful for mitigating $1/f$ noise in large angular scale polarimetric surveys. None of the systematic errors studied fundamentally limit the detection and characterization of B-modes on large scales for a tensor-to-scalar ratio of $r=0.01$. Indeed, $r<0.01$ is achievable with commensurately improved characterizations and controls.

astro-ph.IM

Modeling atmospheric emission for CMB ground-based observations

Atmosphere is one of the most important noise sources for ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. By increasing optical loading on the detectors, it amplifies their effective noise, while its fluctuations introduce spatial and temporal correlations between detected signals. We present a physically motivated 3d-model of the atmosphere total intensity emission in the millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths. We derive a new analytical estimate for the correlation between detectors time-ordered data as a function of the instrument and survey design, as well as several atmospheric parameters such as wind, relative humidity, temperature and turbulence characteristics. Using an original numerical computation, we examine the effect of each physical parameter on the correlations in the time series of a given experiment. We then use a parametric-likelihood approach to validate the modeling and estimate atmosphere parameters from the POLARBEAR-I project first season data set. We derive a new 1.0% upper limit on the linear polarization fraction of atmospheric emission. We also compare our results to previous studies and weather station measurements. The proposed model can be used for realistic simulations of future ground-based CMB observations.

astro-ph.IM

Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Lensing Power Spectrum with the POLARBEAR experiment

Gravitational lensing due to the large-scale distribution of matter in the cosmos distorts the primordial Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and thereby induces new, small-scale $B$-mode polarization. This signal carries detailed information about the distribution of all the gravitating matter between the observer and CMB last scattering surface. We report the first direct evidence for polarization lensing based on purely CMB information, from using the four-point correlations of even- and odd-parity $E$- and $B$-mode polarization mapped over $\sim30$ square degrees of the sky measured by the POLARBEAR experiment. These data were analyzed using a blind analysis framework and checked for spurious systematic contamination using null tests and simulations. Evidence for the signal of polarization lensing and lensing $B$-modes is found at 4.2$σ$ (stat.+sys.) significance. The amplitude of matter fluctuations is measured with a precision of $27\%$, and is found to be consistent with the Lambda Cold Dark Matter ($Λ$CDM) cosmological model. This measurement demonstrates a new technique, capable of mapping all gravitating matter in the Universe, sensitive to the sum of neutrino masses, and essential for cleaning the lensing $B$-mode signal in searches for primordial gravitational waves.

astro-ph.CO

Evidence for Gravitational Lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization from Cross-correlation with the Cosmic Infrared Background

We reconstruct the gravitational lensing convergence signal from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization data taken by the POLARBEAR experiment and cross-correlate it with Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) maps from the Herschel satellite. From the cross-spectra, we obtain evidence for gravitational lensing of the CMB polarization at a statistical significance of 4.0$σ$ and evidence for the presence of a lensing $B$-mode signal at a significance of 2.3$σ$. We demonstrate that our results are not biased by instrumental and astrophysical systematic errors by performing null-tests, checks with simulated and real data, and analytical calculations. This measurement of polarization lensing, made via the robust cross-correlation channel, not only reinforces POLARBEAR auto-correlation measurements, but also represents one of the early steps towards establishing CMB polarization lensing as a powerful new probe of cosmology and astrophysics.

astro-ph.CO

Self-Calibration of BICEP1 Three-Year Data and Constraints on Astrophysical Polarization Rotation

Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarimeters aspire to measure the faint $B$-mode signature predicted to arise from inflationary gravitational waves. They also have the potential to constrain cosmic birefringence which would produce non-zero expectation values for the CMB's $TB$ and $EB$ spectra. However, instrumental systematic effects can also cause these $TB$ and $EB$ correlations to be non-zero. In particular, an overall miscalibration of the polarization orientation of the detectors produces $TB$ and $EB$ spectra which are degenerate with isotropic cosmological birefringence, while also introducing a small but predictable bias on the $BB$ spectrum. The \bicep three-year spectra, which use our standard calibration of detector polarization angles from a dielectric sheet, are consistent with a polarization rotation of $α= -2.77^\circ \pm 0.86^\circ \text{(statistical)} \pm 1.3^\circ \text{(systematic)}$. We revise the estimate of systematic error on the polarization rotation angle from the two-year analysis by comparing multiple calibration methods. We investigate the polarization rotation for the \bicep 100 GHz and 150 GHz bands separately to investigate theoretical models that produce frequency-dependent cosmic birefringence. We find no evidence in the data supporting either these models or Faraday rotation of the CMB polarization by the Milky Way galaxy's magnetic field. If we assume that there is no cosmic birefringence, we can use the $TB$ and $EB$ spectra to calibrate detector polarization orientations, thus reducing bias of the cosmological $B$-mode spectrum from leaked $E$-modes due to possible polarization orientation miscalibration. After applying this "self-calibration" process, we find that the upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio decreases slightly, from $r<0.70$ to $r<0.65$ at $95\%$ confidence.

astro-ph.IM