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R. Adam

Publications and source records attributed to R. Adam.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2024

Toward the first cosmological results of the NIKA2 Sunyaev-Zeldovich Large Program: The SZ-Mass scaling relation

In Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) cluster cosmology, two tools are needed to be able to exploit data from large scale surveys in the millimeter-wave domain. An accurate description of the IntraCluster Medium (ICM) pressure profile is needed along with the scaling relation connecting the SZ brightness to the mass. With its high angular resolution and large field of view, The NIKA2 camera, operating at 150 and 260 GHz, is perfectly suited for precise cluster SZ mapping. The SZ Large Program (LPSZ) of the NIKA2 collaboration is dedicated to the observation of a sample of 38 SZ-selected clusters at intermediate to high redshift and observed both in SZ and X-ray. The current status is that all LPSZ clusters have been observed and the analysis toward the final results is ongoing. We present in detail how NIKA2-LPSZ will obtain a robust estimation of the SZ-Mass scaling relation and how it will be used to obtain cosmological constraints.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2024

Dark Matter Line Searches with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Monochromatic gamma-ray signals constitute a potential smoking gun signature for annihilating or decaying dark matter particles that could relatively easily be distinguished from astrophysical or instrumental backgrounds. We provide an updated assessment of the sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to such signals, based on observations of the Galactic centre region as well as of selected dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We find that current limits and detection prospects for dark matter masses above 300 GeV will be significantly improved, by up to an order of magnitude in the multi-TeV range. This demonstrates that CTA will set a new standard for gamma-ray astronomy also in this respect, as the world's largest and most sensitive high-energy gamma-ray observatory, in particular due to its exquisite energy resolution at TeV energies and the adopted observational strategy focussing on regions with large dark matter densities. Throughout our analysis, we use up-to-date instrument response functions, and we thoroughly model the effect of instrumental systematic uncertainties in our statistical treatment. We further present results for other potential signatures with sharp spectral features, e.g.~box-shaped spectra, that would likewise very clearly point to a particle dark matter origin.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2024

Probing particle acceleration in Abell 2256: from to 16 MHz to gamma rays

Merging galaxy clusters often host spectacular diffuse radio synchrotron sources. These sources can be explained by a non-thermal pool of relativistic electrons accelerated by shocks and turbulence in the intracluster medium. The origin of the pool and details of the cosmic ray transport and acceleration mechanisms in clusters are still open questions. Due to the often extremely steep spectral indices of diffuse radio emission, it is best studied at low frequencies. However, the lowest frequency window available to ground-based telescopes (10-30 MHz) has remained largely unexplored, as radio frequency interference and calibration problems related to the ionosphere become severe. Here, we present LOFAR observations from 16 to 168 MHz targeting the famous cluster Abell 2256. In the deepest-ever images at decametre wavelengths, we detect and resolve the radio halo, radio shock and various steep spectrum sources. We measure standard single power-law behaviour for the radio halo and radio shock spectra and find significant spectral index and curvature fluctuations across the radio halo, indicating an inhomogeneous emitting volume. In contrast to the straight power-law spectra of the large-scale diffuse sources, the various AGN-related sources often show extreme steepening towards higher frequencies and flattening towards low frequencies. We also discover a new fossil plasma source with a steep spectrum between 23 and 144 MHz, with $α=-1.9\pm 0.1$. Finally, by comparing radio and gamma-ray observations, we rule out purely hadronic models for the radio halo origin in Abell 2256, unless the magnetic field strength in the cluster is exceptionally high, which is unsupportable by energetic arguments and inconsistent with the knowledge of other cluster magnetic fields.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2024

The XXL Survey LI. Pressure profile and $Y_{\rm SZ}$-$M$ scaling relation in three low-mass galaxy clusters at $z\sim1$ observed with NIKA2

The thermodynamical properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) are driven by scale-free gravitational collapse, but they also reflect the rich astrophysical processes at play in galaxy clusters. At low masses ($\sim 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$) and high redshift ($z \gtrsim 1$), these properties remain poorly constrained observationally, due to the difficulty in obtaining resolved and sensitive data. This paper aims at investigating the inner structure of the ICM as seen through the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect in this regime of mass and redshift. Focus is set on the thermal pressure profile and the scaling relation between SZ flux and mass, namely the $Y_{\rm SZ} - M$ scaling relation. The three galaxy clusters XLSSC~072 ($z=1.002$), XLSSC~100 ($z=0.915$), and XLSSC~102 ($z=0.969$), with $M_{500} \sim 2 \times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$, were selected from the XXL X-ray survey and observed with the NIKA2 millimeter camera to image their SZ signal. XMM-Newton X-ray data were used in complement to the NIKA2 data to derive masses based on the $Y_X - M$ relation and the hydrostatic equilibrium. The SZ images of the three clusters, along with the X-ray and optical data, indicate dynamical activity related to merging events. The pressure profile is consistent with that expected for morphologically disturbed systems, with a relatively flat core and a shallow outer slope. Despite significant disturbances in the ICM, the three high-redshift low-mass clusters follow remarkably well the $Y_{\rm SZ}-M$ relation expected from standard evolution. These results indicate that the dominant physics that drives cluster evolution is already in place by $z \sim 1$, at least for systems with masses above $M_{500} \sim 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2024

Faint millimeter NIKA2 dusty star-forming galaxies: finding the high-redshift population

We develop a new framework to constrain the source redshift. The method jointly accounts for the detection/non-detection of spectral lines and the prior information from the photometric redshift and total infrared luminosity from spectral energy distribution analysis. The method uses the estimated total infrared luminosity to predict the line fluxes at given redshifts and generates model spectra. The redshift-dependent spectral models are then compared with the observed spectra to find the redshift. Results. We apply the aforementioned joint redshift analysis method to four high-z dusty star-forming galaxy candidates selected from the NIKA2 observations of the HLSJ091828.6+514223 (HLS) field, and further observed by NOEMA with blind spectral scans. These sources only have SPIRE/Herschel photometry as ancillary data. They were selected because of very faint or no SPIRE counterparts, as to bias the sample towards the highest redshift candidates. The method finds the spectroscopic redshift of 4 in the 5 NOEMA-counterpart detected sources, with z>3. Based on these measurements, we derive the CO/[CI] lines and millimeter continuum fluxes from the NOEMA data and study their ISM and star-formation properties. We find cold dust temperatures in some of the HLS sources compared to the general population of sub-millimeter galaxies, which might be related to the bias introduced by the SPIRE-dropout selection. Our sources, but one, have short gas depletion time of a few hundred Myrs, which is typical among high-z sub-millimeter galaxies. The only exception shows a longer gas depletion time, up to a few Gyrs, comparable to that of main-sequence galaxies at the same redshift. Furthermore, we identify a possible over-density of dusty star-forming galaxies at z=5.2, traced by two sources in our sample, as well as the lensed galaxy HLSJ091828.6+514223. (abridged)

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

Towards the first mean pressure profile estimate with the NIKA2 Sunyaev-Zeldovich Large Program

High-resolution mapping of the hot gas in galaxy clusters is a key tool for cluster-based cosmological analyses. Taking advantage of the NIKA2 millimeter camera operated at the IRAM 30-m telescope, the NIKA2 SZ Large Program seeks to get a high-resolution follow-up of 38 galaxy clusters covering a wide mass range at intermediate to high redshift. The measured SZ fluxes will be essential to calibrate the SZ scaling relation and the galaxy clusters mean pressure profile, needed for the cosmological exploitation of SZ surveys. We present in this study a method to infer a mean pressure profile from cluster observations. We have designed a pipeline encompassing the map-making and the thermodynamical properties estimates from maps. We then combine all the individual fits, propagating the uncertainties on integrated quantities, such as $R_{500}$ or $P_{500}$, and the intrinsic scatter coming from the deviation to the standard self-similar model. We validate the proposed method on realistic LPSZ-like cluster simulations.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2023

Systematic effects on the upcoming NIKA2 LPSZ scaling relation

In cluster cosmology, cluster masses are the main parameter of interest. They are needed to constrain cosmological parameters through the cluster number count. As the mass is not an observable, a scaling relation is needed to link cluster masses to the integrated Compton parameters Y, i.e. the Sunyaev-Zeldovich observable (SZ). Planck cosmological results obtained with cluster number counts are based on a scaling relation measured with clusters at low redshift ($z$<0.5) observed in SZ and X-ray. In the SZ Large Program (LPSZ) of the NIKA2 collaboration, the scaling relation will be obtained with a sample of 38 clusters at intermediate to high redshift ($0.5<z<0.9$) and observed at high angular resolution in both SZ and X-ray. Thanks to analytical simulation of LPSZ-like samples, we take into account the LPSZ selection function and correct for its effects. Besides, we show that white and correlated noises in the SZ maps do not affect the scaling relation estimation.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2023

NIKA2 observations of dust grain evolution from star-forming filament to T-Tauri disk: Preliminary results from NIKA2 observations of the Taurus B211/B213 filament

To understand the evolution of dust properties in molecular clouds in the course of the star formation process, we constrain the changes in the dust emissivity index from star-forming filaments to prestellar and protostellar cores to T Tauri stars. Using the NIKA2 continuum camera on the IRAM 30~m telescope, we observed the Taurus B211/B213 filament at 1.2\,mm and 2\,mm with unprecedented sensitivity and used the resulting maps to derive the dust emissivity index $β$. Our sample of 105 objects detected in the $β$ map of the B211/B213 filament indicates that, overall, $β$ decreases from filament and prestellar cores ($β\sim 2\pm0.5$) to protostellar cores ($β\sim 1.2 \pm 0.2$) to T-Tauri protoplanetary disk ($β< 1$). The averaged dust emissivity index $β$ across the B211/B213 filament exhibits a flat ($β\sim 2\pm0.3$) profile. This may imply that dust grain sizes are rather homogeneous in the filament, start to grow significantly in size only after the onset of the gravitational contraction/collapse of prestellar cores to protostars, reaching big sizes in T Tauri protoplanetary disks. This evolution from the parent filament to T-Tauri disks happens on a timescale of about 1-2~Myr.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2023

NIKA2 observations of 3 low-mass galaxy clusters at $z \sim 1$: pressure profile and $Y_{\rm SZ}$-$M$ relation

Three galaxy clusters selected from the XXL X-ray survey at high redshift and low mass ($z\sim1$ and $M_{500} \sim 1-2 \times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$) were observed with NIKA2 to image their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZ) signal. They all present an SZ morphology, together with the comparison with X-ray and optical data, that indicates dynamical activity related to merging events. Despite their disturbed intracluster medium, their high redshifts, and their low masses, the three clusters follow remarkably well the pressure profile and the SZ flux-mass relation expected from standard evolution. This suggests that the physics that drives cluster formation is already in place at $z \sim 1$ down to $M_{500} \sim 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2023

IAS/CEA Evolution of Dust in Nearby Galaxies (ICED): the spatially-resolved dust properties of NGC4254

We present the first preliminary results of the project \textit{ICED}, focusing on the face-on galaxy NGC4254. We use the millimetre maps observed with NIKA2 at IRAM-30m, as part of the IMEGIN Guaranteed Time Large Program, and of a wide collection of ancillary data (multi-wavelength photometry and gas phase spectral lines) that are publicly available. We derive the global and local properties of interstellar dust grains through infrared-to-radio spectral energy distribution fitting, using the hierarchical Bayesian code HerBIE, which includes the grain properties of the state-of-the-art dust model, THEMIS. Our method allows us to get the following dust parameters: dust mass, average interstellar radiation field, and fraction of small grains. Also, it is effective in retrieving the intrinsic correlations between dust parameters and interstellar medium properties. We find an evident anti-correlation between the interstellar radiation field and the fraction of small grains in the centre of NGC4254, meaning that, at strong radiation field intensities, very small amorphous carbon grains are efficiently destroyed by the ultra-violet photons coming from newly formed stars, through photo-desorption and sublimation. We observe a flattening of the anti-correlation at larger radial distances, which may be driven by the steep metallicity gradient measured in NGC4254.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

Exploring the interstellar medium of NGC 891 at millimeter wavelengths using the NIKA2 camera

In the framework of the IMEGIN Large Program, we used the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30-m telescope to observe the edge-on galaxy NGC 891 at 1.15 mm and 2 mm and at a FWHM of 11.1" and 17.6", respectively. Multiwavelength data enriched with the new NIKA2 observations fitted by the HerBIE SED code (coupled with the THEMIS dust model) were used to constrain the physical properties of the ISM. Emission originating from the diffuse dust disk is detected at all wavelengths from mid-IR to mm, while mid-IR observations reveal warm dust emission from compact HII regions. Indications of mm excess emission have also been found in the outer parts of the galactic disk. Furthermore, our SED fitting analysis constrained the mass fraction of the small (< 15 Angstrom) dust grains. We found that small grains constitute 9.5% of the total dust mass in the galactic plane, but this fraction increases up to ~ 20% at large distances (|z| > 3 kpc) from the galactic plane.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

The NIKA2 Sunyaev-Zeldovich Large Program: Sample and upcoming product public release

The NIKA2 camera operating at the IRAM 30 m telescope excels in high-angular resolution mapping of the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect towards galaxy clusters at intermediate and high-redshift. As part of the NIKA2 guaranteed time, the SZ Large Program (LPSZ) aims at tSZ-mapping a representative sample of SZ-selected galaxy clusters in the catalogues of the Planck satellite and of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, and also observed in X-ray with XMM Newton or Chandra. Having completed observations in January 2023, we present tSZ maps of 38 clusters spanning the targeted mass ($3 < M_{500}/10^{14} M_{\odot} < 10$) and redshift ($0.5 < z < 0.9$) ranges. The first in depth studies of individual clusters highlight the potential of combining tSZ and X-ray observations at similar angular resolution for accurate mass measurements. These were milestones for the development of a standard data analysis pipeline to go from NIKA2 raw data to the thermodynamic properties of galaxy clusters for the upcoming LPSZ data release. Final products will include unprecedented measurements of the mean pressure profile and mass observable scaling relation using a distinctive SZ-selected sample, which will be key for ultimately improving the accuracy of cluster based cosmology.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2023

Constraining Millimeter Dust Emission in Nearby Galaxies with NIKA2: the case of NGC2146 and NGC2976

This study presents the first millimeter continuum mapping observations of two nearby galaxies, the starburst spiral galaxy NGC2146 and the dwarf galaxy NGC2976, at 1.15 mm and 2 mm using the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30m telescope, as part of the Guaranteed Time Large Project IMEGIN. These observations provide robust resolved information about the physical properties of dust in nearby galaxies by constraining their FIR-radio SED in the millimeter domain. After subtracting the contribution from the CO line emission, the SEDs are modeled spatially using a Bayesian approach. Maps of dust mass surface density, temperature, emissivity index, and thermal radio component of the galaxies are presented, allowing for a study of the relations between the dust properties and star formation activity (using observations at 24$μ$m as a tracer). We report that dust temperature is correlated with star formation rate in both galaxies. The effect of star formation activity on dust temperature is stronger in NGC2976, an indication of the thinner interstellar medium of dwarf galaxies. Moreover, an anti-correlation trend is reported between the dust emissivity index and temperature in both galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

NIKA2 observations of starless cores in Taurus and Perseus

Dusty starless cores play an important role in regulating the initial phases of the formation of stars and planets. In their interiors, dust grains coagulate and ice mantles form, thereby changing the millimeter emissivities and hence the ability to cool. We mapped four regions with more than a dozen cores in the nearby Galactic filaments of Taurus and Perseus using the NIKA2 camera at the IRAM 30-meter telescope. Combining the 1mm to 2mm flux ratio maps with dust temperature maps from Herschel allowed to create maps of the dust emissivity index $β_{1,2}$ at resolutions of 2430 and 5600 a.u. in Taurus and Perseus, respectively. Here, we study the variation with total column densities and environment. $β_{1,2}$ values at the core centers ($A_V=12-19$mag) vary significantly between $\sim1.1$ and $2.3$. Several cores show a strong rise of $β_{1,2}$ from the outskirts at $\sim4$mag to the peaks of optical extinctions, consistent with the predictions of grain models and the gradual build-up of ice mantles on coagulated grains in the dense interiors of starless cores.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

The stratification of ISM properties in the edge-on galaxy NGC 891 revealed by NIKA2

As the millimeter wavelength range remains a largely unexplored spectral region for galaxies, the IMEGIN large program aims to map the millimeter continuum emission of 22 nearby galaxies at 1.15 and 2 mm. Using the high-resolution maps produced by the NIKA2 camera, we explore the existence of very cold dust and take possible contamination by free-free and synchrotron emission into account. We study the IR-to-radio emission coming from different regions along the galactic plane and at large vertical distances. New observations of NGC 891, using the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30m telescope, along with a suite of observations at other wavelengths were used to perform a multiwavelength study of the spectral energy distribution in the interstellar medium in this galaxy. This analysis was performed globally and locally, using the advanced hierarchical Bayesian fitting code, HerBIE, coupled with the THEMIS dust model. Our dust modeling is able to reproduce the near-IR to millimeter emission of NGC 891, with the exception of an excess at a level of 25% obtained by the NIKA2 observations in the outermost parts of the disk. The radio continuum and thermal dust emission are distributed differently in the disk and galaxy halo. Different dusty environments are also revealed by a multiwavelength investigation of the emission features. Our detailed decomposition at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths shows that emission at 1 mm is purely originated by dust. Radio components become progressively important with increasing wavelengths. Finally, we find that emission arising from small dust grains accounts for ~ 9.5% of the total dust mass, reaching up to 20% at large galactic latitudes. Shock waves in the outflows that shatter the dust grains might explain this higher fraction of small grains in the halo.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

Prospects for $γ$-ray observations of the Perseus galaxy cluster with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Galaxy clusters are expected to be dark matter (DM) reservoirs and storage rooms for the cosmic-ray protons (CRp) that accumulate along the cluster's formation history. Accordingly, they are excellent targets to search for signals of DM annihilation and decay at gamma-ray energies and are predicted to be sources of large-scale gamma-ray emission due to hadronic interactions in the intracluster medium. We estimate the sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to detect diffuse gamma-ray emission from the Perseus galaxy cluster. We perform a detailed spatial and spectral modelling of the expected signal for the DM and the CRp components. For each, we compute the expected CTA sensitivity. The observing strategy of Perseus is also discussed. In the absence of a diffuse signal (non-detection), CTA should constrain the CRp to thermal energy ratio within the radius $R_{500}$ down to about $X_{500}<3\times 10^{-3}$, for a spatial CRp distribution that follows the thermal gas and a CRp spectral index $α_{\rm CRp}=2.3$. Under the optimistic assumption of a pure hadronic origin of the Perseus radio mini-halo and depending on the assumed magnetic field profile, CTA should measure $α_{\rm CRp}$ down to about $Δα_{\rm CRp}\simeq 0.1$ and the CRp spatial distribution with 10% precision. Regarding DM, CTA should improve the current ground-based gamma-ray DM limits from clusters observations on the velocity-averaged annihilation cross-section by a factor of up to $\sim 5$, depending on the modelling of DM halo substructure. In the case of decay of DM particles, CTA will explore a new region of the parameter space, reaching models with $τ_χ>10^{27}$s for DM masses above 1 TeV. These constraints will provide unprecedented sensitivity to the physics of both CRp acceleration and transport at cluster scale and to TeV DM particle models, especially in the decay scenario.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2023

NIKA2 Cosmological Legacy Survey: Survey Description and Galaxy Number Counts

Aims. Deep millimeter surveys are necessary to probe the dust-obscured galaxies at high redshift. We conducted a large observing program at 1.2 and 2 mm with the NIKA2 camera installed on the IRAM 30-meter telescope. This NIKA2 Cosmological Legacy Survey (N2CLS) covers two emblematic fields: GOODS-N and COSMOS. We introduce the N2CLS survey and present new 1.2 and 2 mm number count measurements based on the tiered N2CLS observations from October 2017 to May 2021. Methods. We develop an end-to-end simulation that combines an input sky model with the instrument noise and data reduction pipeline artifacts. This simulation is used to compute the sample purity, flux boosting, pipeline transfer function, completeness, and effective area of the survey. We used the 117 deg$^2$ SIDES simulations as the sky model, which include the galaxy clustering. Our formalism allows us to correct the source number counts to obtain galaxy number counts, the difference between the two being due to resolution effects caused by the blending of several galaxies inside the large beam of single-dish instruments. Results. The N2CLS-May2021 survey reaches an average 1-$σ$ noise level of 0.17 and 0.048 mJy on GOODS-N over 159 arcmin$^2$, and 0.46 and 0.14 mJy on COSMOS over 1010 arcmin$^2$, at 1.2 and 2 mm, respectively. For a purity threshold of 80%, we detect 120 and 67 sources in GOODS-N and 195 and 76 sources in COSMOS, at 1.2 and 2 mm, respectively. Our measurement connects the bright single-dish to the deep interferometric number counts. After correcting for resolution effects, our results reconcile the single-dish and interferometric number counts and are further accurately compared with model predictions.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to spectral signatures of hadronic PeVatrons with application to Galactic Supernova Remnants

The local Cosmic Ray (CR) energy spectrum exhibits a spectral softening at energies around 3~PeV. Sources which are capable of accelerating hadrons to such energies are called hadronic PeVatrons. However, hadronic PeVatrons have not yet been firmly identified within the Galaxy. Several source classes, including Galactic Supernova Remnants (SNRs), have been proposed as PeVatron candidates. The potential to search for hadronic PeVatrons with the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is assessed. The focus is on the usage of very high energy $γ$-ray spectral signatures for the identification of PeVatrons. Assuming that SNRs can accelerate CRs up to knee energies, the number of Galactic SNRs which can be identified as PeVatrons with CTA is estimated within a model for the evolution of SNRs. Additionally, the potential of a follow-up observation strategy under moonlight conditions for PeVatron searches is investigated. Statistical methods for the identification of PeVatrons are introduced, and realistic Monte--Carlo simulations of the response of the CTA observatory to the emission spectra from hadronic PeVatrons are performed. Based on simulations of a simplified model for the evolution for SNRs, the detection of a $γ$-ray signal from in average 9 Galactic PeVatron SNRs is expected to result from the scan of the Galactic plane with CTA after 10 hours of exposure. CTA is also shown to have excellent potential to confirm these sources as PeVatrons in deep observations with $\mathcal{O}(100)$ hours of exposure per source.

astro-ph.HE↗