Earth, Sun, and Venus

The approximation of real non-spherical scatterers by spheroids is used in various applications. It often requires fast massive calculations of the optical properties of spheroids. The most powerful approach to that is known to be a field expansion in terms of spheroidal wave functions, in particular, in the way suggested by Farafonov over 30 years ago. We improve the main shortcomings of such an approach. Our solution is formulated in terms of normalised spheroidal functions, and firstly for their definition given by Meixner & Schafke, which is computationally favourable and is required by the unique subroutines recently created to compute these functions. By means of T-matrix transformations we solve a long-standing major problem of Farafonov's version, namely the accuracy and time losses for one kind (TE mode) of the incident wave polarisation. Apart from this and other improvements of this solution, for the first time we relate its single particle spheroidal T-matrix to the standard spherical one which is widely employed for particle ensembles. The constructed algorithm has been extensively numerically tested. It is found to be very accurate for dielectric spheroids with the aspect ratio a/b reaching 100 and the diffraction (size) parameter xa = 2za/angstrom as large as 300, where a and b are the major and minor semi-axes, respectively, angstrom is the wavelength. The algorithm is supplied with a program interface to the free package CosTuuM to perform parallel computations of various optical properties for ensembles of spheroids with different distributions over orientation (alignment) and shape.

We present 0.'' 22-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of CO(2-1) emission from the circumnuclear gas disk in the red nugget relic galaxy PGC 11179. The disk shows regular rotation, with projected velocities near the center of 400 km s-1. We assume the CO emission originates from a dynamically cold, thin disk and fit gas-dynamical models directly to the ALMA data. In addition, we explore systematic uncertainties by testing the impacts of various model assumptions on our results. The supermassive black hole (BH) mass (M BH) is measured to be M BH = (1.91 +/- 0.04 [1 sigma statistical] -0.51+0.11 [systematic]) x 109 M circle dot, and the H-band stellar mass-to-light ratio M/L H = 1.620 +/- 0.004 [1 sigma statistical] -0.107+0.211 [systematic] M circle dot/L circle dot. This M BH is consistent with the BH mass-stellar velocity dispersion relation but over-massive compared to the BH mass-bulge luminosity relation by a factor of 3.7. PGC 11179 is part of a sample of local compact early-type galaxies that are plausible relics of z similar to 2 red nuggets, and its behavior relative to the scaling relations echoes that of three relic galaxy BHs previously measured with stellar dynamics. These over-massive BHs could suggest that BHs gain most of their mass before their host galaxies do. However, our results could also be explained by greater intrinsic scatter at the high-mass end of the scaling relations, or by systematic differences in gas- and stellar-dynamical methods. Additional M BH measurements in the sample, including independent cross-checks between molecular gas- and stellar-dynamical methods, will advance our understanding of the co-evolution of BHs and their host galaxies.

The AGN STORM 2 campaign is a large, multiwavelength reverberation mapping project designed to trace out the structure of Mrk 817 from the inner accretion disk to the broad emission line region and out to the dusty torus. As part of this campaign, Swift performed daily monitoring of Mrk 817 for approximately 15 months, obtaining observations in X-rays and six UV/optical filters. The X-ray monitoring shows that Mrk 817 was in a significantly fainter state than in previous observations, with only a brief flare where it reached prior flux levels. The X-ray spectrum is heavily obscured. The UV/optical light curves show significant variability throughout the campaign and are well correlated with one another, but uncorrelated with the X-rays. Combining the Swift UV/optical light curves with Hubble Space Telescope UV continuum light curves, we measure interband continuum lags, tau(lambda), that increase with increasing wavelength roughly following tau(lambda) proportional to lambda 4/3, the dependence expected for a geometrically thin, optically thick, centrally illuminated disk. Modeling of the light curves reveals a period at the beginning of the campaign where the response of the continuum is suppressed compared to later in the light curve-the light curves are not simple shifted and scaled versions of each other. The interval of suppressed response corresponds to a period of high UV line and X-ray absorption, and reduced emission line variability amplitudes. We suggest that this indicates a significant contribution to the continuum from the broad-line region gas that sees an absorbed ionizing continuum.

To improve acoustical models of super heavy-lift launch vehicles, this Letter reports Space Launch System's (SLS's) overall sound power level (OAPWL) and compares it to NASA's past lunar rocket, the Saturn V. Measurements made 1.4–1.8 km from the launchpad indicate that SLS produced an OAPWL of 202.4 (⁠ 

0.5) dB re 1 pW and acoustic efficiency of about 0.33%. Adjustment of a static-fire sound power spectrum for launch conditions implies Saturn V was at least 2 dB louder than SLS with approximately twice the acoustic efficiency.

Polar-ring galaxies (PRGs) are an outstanding example of galaxies with misaligned kinematics where a typically red central galaxy is surrounded by a large-scale ring or disc of stars, gas, and dust oriented almost perpendicular to the main body. It is believed that polar structures (PSs) are formed in a secondary event after the assembly of a central galaxy, but due to their scarcity, their formation paths are not well constrained yet. We present a study of PRGs from TNG50 cosmological simulations, focusing on the origin of their PSs. Based on the synthetic images and baryonic mass distribution, we found six galaxies with stellar polar rings. Using Supplementary Data Catalogues and available particle data, we confirm that the selected galaxies are direct analogues of real PRGs. In our sample, the PSs are a result of the close interaction between the host galaxy and its companion. We track two formation paths for the stellar polar rings in our sample: (i) star formation in the accreted gas and (ii) tidal disruption of the satellite's stellar component. Rings formed during the first scenario are, on average, bluer and younger than ones formed due to the satellite disruption. We report a steady increase of the ring's inclination around the two most massive galaxies across a few billion years with a rate of approximate to 8(degrees) Gyr(-1). The formation of a PS in some cases can increase the nuclear activity of the central galaxy and/or turn the active nucleus off completely.

The National Transportation Noise Map (NTNM) gives time-averaged traffic noise across the continental United States (CONUS) using annual average daily traffic. However, traffic noise varies significantly with time. This paper outlines the development and utility of a traffic volume model which is part of VROOM, the Vehicular Reduced-Order Observation-based model, which, using hourly traffic volume data from thousands of traffic monitoring stations across CONUS, predicts nationwide hourly varying traffic source noise. Fourier analysis finds daily, weekly, and yearly temporal traffic volume cycles at individual traffic monitoring stations. Then, principal component analysis uses denoised Fourier spectra to find the most widespread cyclic traffic patterns. VROOM uses nine principal components to represent hourly traffic characteristics for any location, encapsulating daily, weekly, and yearly variation. The principal component coefficients are predicted across CONUS using location-specific features. Expected traffic volume model sound level errors—obtained by comparing predicted traffic counts to measured traffic counts—and expected NTNM-like errors, are presented. VROOM errors are typically within a couple of decibels, whereas NTNM-like errors are often inaccurate, even exceeding 10 decibels. This work details the first steps towards creation of a temporally and spectrally variable national transportation noise map.