# Filters ​

• Article |

### Carbon star formation as seen through the non-monotonic initial–final mass relation

An analysis of the relation between a star’s initial mass and its final mass (as a white dwarf) reveals a kink in the initial mass range 1.65–2.10 M. This kink appears to correspond to the minimum mass required for carbon star formation in the Milky Way at solar metallicity.

• Paola Marigo
• , Jeffrey D. Cummings
• , Jason Lee Curtis
• , Jason Kalirai
• , Yang Chen
• , Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay
• , Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
• , Pierre Bergeron
• , Alessandro Bressan
• , Léo Girardi
• , Michele Trabucchi
• , Sihao Cheng
• , Bernhard Aringer
•  & Piero Dal Tio
• Article |

### Evidence for a vast prograde stellar stream in the solar vicinity

Analysis of a catalogue of accreted stars by their radial and prograde motions has identified a 200-plus-member coherent stellar stream (called Nyx) that is likely to be the remnant of a dwarf galaxy that merged with the Milky Way.

• Lina Necib
• , Bryan Ostdiek
• , Mariangela Lisanti
• , Timothy Cohen
• , Marat Freytsis
• , Shea Garrison-Kimmel
• , Philip F. Hopkins
• , Andrew Wetzel
•  & Robyn Sanderson
• Article |

### A plague of magnetic spots among the hot stars of globular clusters

Two sources of variability are reported in extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars found in globular clusters, both related to the action of weak magnetic fields: large surface spots and very energetic flares. EHB stars in clusters can thus be linked to EHB field stars, and beyond, to other stars with radiative envelopes.

• Y. Momany
• , S. Zaggia
• , M. Montalto
• , D. Jones
• , H. M. J. Boffin
• , S. Cassisi
• , C. Moni Bidin
• , M. Gullieuszik
• , I. Saviane
• , L. Monaco
• , E. Mason
• , L. Girardi
• , V. D’Orazi
• , G. Piotto
• , A. P. Milone
• , H. Lala
• , P. B. Stetson
•  & Y. Beletsky
• Article |

### Identification of plasma modes in Galactic turbulence with synchrotron polarization

Different plasma modes in various Galactic environments are identified on the basis of a synchrotron polarization analysis. These results open up the study of interstellar turbulence and demonstrate its importance in all relevant processes including cosmic ray transport and star formation.

• Heshou Zhang
• , Alexey Chepurnov
• , Huirong Yan
• , Kirit Makwana
• , Reinaldo Santos-Lima
•  & Sarah Appleby
• Article |

### Simulations of solar filament fine structures and their counterstreaming flows

Simulations show that turbulent heating at the solar surface randomly evaporates material to the corona, naturally reproducing the formation of long, fibril-like threads within solar filaments in the solar corona and their counterstreamings.

• Y. H. Zhou
• , P. F. Chen
• , J. Hong
•  & C. Fang
• Article |

### The global current systems of the Martian induced magnetosphere

Without an intrinsic magnetic field, Mars’s magnetosphere is induced by direct interaction between its atmosphere and the solar wind. The mapping of the associated current system, obtained by the MAVEN spacecraft, unveils its convective-driven nature and displays various structural differences compared to Earth.

• , David A. Brain
• , Yaxue Dong
• , Jared Espley
• , Jasper Halekas
•  & Bruce Jakosky
• Article |

### The recurrent impact of the Sagittarius dwarf on the star formation history of the Milky Way

Galactic close encounters can induce gravitational effects in the participants. Here Ruiz-Lara et al. have reconstructed the star formation history of the region of our Galaxy close to the Sun, finding that three recent visits of the neighbouring Sagittarius dwarf galaxy have resulted in well-defined episodes of star formation.

• Tomás Ruiz-Lara
• , Carme Gallart
• , Edouard J. Bernard
•  & Santi Cassisi
• Article |

### Evidence of extensive lunar crust formation in impact melt sheets 4,330 Myr ago

A zirconium-based crystal (baddeleyite) found embedded in a sample brought to Earth by Apollo 17 provides evidence of large-scale impact bombardment of the Moon about 4.33 Gyr ago, when the baddeleyite grain was formed. This result points to the importance of impacts in the early evolution of planetary crusts.

• L. F. White
• , A. Černok
• , J. R. Darling
• , M. J. Whitehouse
• , K. H. Joy
• , C. Cayron
• , J. Dunlop
• , K. T. Tait
•  & M. Anand
• Article |

### Laboratory studies on the viability of life in H2-dominated exoplanet atmospheres

Escherichia coli bacteria and yeast cultures (representative prokaryotes and eukaryotes) have been tested under laboratory conditions in a 100% H2 atmosphere. They can reproduce normally, with lower growth rates, producing a range of biosignature gases. Exoplanets with a H2-dominated atmosphere might thus not be totally hostile to some forms of life.

• S. Seager
• , J. Huang
• , J. J. Petkowski
•  & M. Pajusalu
• Article |

### An experimental study of the surface formation of methane in interstellar molecular clouds

Methane ice has been presumed to form via the sequential hydrogenation of carbon atoms on dust grains for many years, but now Qasim et al. have performed the experiment, with and without the presence of water. Methane forms more rapidly in the polar ice phase.

• D. Qasim
• , G. Fedoseev
• , K.-J. Chuang
• , J. He
• , S. Ioppolo
• , E. F. van Dishoeck
•  & H. Linnartz
• Article |

### Distributed peer review enhanced with natural language processing and machine learning

The European Southern Observatory trialled a distributed peer-review system—augmented by automated reviewer assignment—for its telescope time allocation process, finding that it worked as well as the standard process but resulted in a smaller burden on reviewers.

• Wolfgang E. Kerzendorf
• , Ferdinando Patat
• , Dominic Bordelon
• , Glenn van de Ven
•  & Tyler A. Pritchard
• Article |

### Sulfur-driven haze formation in warm CO2-rich exoplanet atmospheres

Laboratory experiments show that the inclusion of even small quantities of sulfur in the atmospheres of exoplanets at 800 K significantly increases photochemical complexity, both in the vapour and in the solid phase: many sulfur gas products are created (including potential biosignature gases) and the production of organic haze particles increases threefold.

• Chao He
• , Sarah M. Hörst
• , Nikole K. Lewis
• , Xinting Yu
• , Julianne I. Moses
• , Patricia McGuiggan
• , Mark S. Marley
• , Eliza M.-R. Kempton
• , Sarah E. Moran
• , Caroline V. Morley
•  & Véronique Vuitton
• Article |

### A pulsating white dwarf in an eclipsing binary

Parsons et al. calculate masses and radii for both members of a double white dwarf system, where the less-massive member is exhibiting non-radial g-mode pulsations, making it a prime target for asteroseismic analyses.

• Steven G. Parsons
• , Alexander J. Brown
• , Stuart P. Littlefair
• , Vikram S. Dhillon
• , Thomas R. Marsh
• , J. J. Hermes
• , Alina G. Istrate
• , Elmé Breedt
• , Martin J. Dyer
• , Matthew J. Green
•  & David I. Sahman
• Article |

### A small and round heliosphere suggested by magnetohydrodynamic modelling of pick-up ions

A magnetohydrodynamic model of the interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium shows that our heliosphere has a round shape, not a tail-like shape as usually assumed. The model reproduces the observations from Cassini, New Horizons and the two Voyager probes.

• Merav Opher
• , Abraham Loeb
• , James Drake
•  & Gabor Toth
• Article |

### Tidally trapped pulsations in a close binary star system discovered by TESS

HD 74423 is an unusual binary star system containing two λ Boötis pulsators. TESS photometry reveals that one of the pair is pulsating along its tidal axis—but only in one hemisphere. Such an odd arrangement provides an interesting laboratory in which to study stellar pulsations and tidal distortion.

• G. Handler
• , D. W. Kurtz
• , S. A. Rappaport
• , H. Saio
• , J. Fuller
• , D. Jones
• , Z. Guo
• , S. Chowdhury
• , P. Sowicka
• , F. Kahraman Aliçavuş
• , M. Streamer
• , S. J. Murphy
• , R. Gagliano
• , T. L. Jacobs
•  & A. Vanderburg
• Article |

### Stringent constraints on neutron-star radii from multimessenger observations and nuclear theory

The combination of electromagnetic and gravitational-wave observations of binary neutron-star merger GW170817 with systematic sets of neutron-star equations of state has produced a tightly constrained radius of 11 km for a 1.4 M neutron star. This constraint suggests that a neutron star–black hole merger is unlikely to produce an electromagnetic counterpart.

• Collin D. Capano
• , Ingo Tews
• , Stephanie M. Brown
• , Ben Margalit
• , Soumi De
• , Sumit Kumar
• , Duncan A. Brown
•  & Sanjay Reddy
• Article |

### An extremely powerful long-lived superluminal ejection from the black hole MAXI J1820+070

Radio observations of black hole MAXI J1820+070’s 2018 outburst captured an isolated radio flare that the authors connect with the launch of bipolar relativistic ejecta. Following the oncoming ejecta for more than half a year reveals that black hole jet energetics have been systematically underestimated.

• J. S. Bright
• , R. P. Fender
• , S. E. Motta
• , D. R. A. Williams
• , J. Moldon
• , R. M. Plotkin
• , J. C. A. Miller-Jones
• , I. Heywood
• , E. Tremou
• , R. Beswick
• , G. R. Sivakoff
• , S. Corbel
• , D. A. H. Buckley
• , J. Homan
• , E. Gallo
• , A. J. Tetarenko
• , T. D. Russell
• , D. A. Green
• , D. Titterington
• , P. A. Woudt
• , R. P. Armstrong
• , P. J. Groot
• , A. Horesh
• , A. J. van der Horst
• , E. G. Körding
• , V. A. McBride
• , A. Rowlinson
•  & R. A. M. J. Wijers
• Article |

### Constraints on the magnetic field in the Galactic halo from globular cluster pulsars

Observations of the Faraday rotation towards pulsars in the halo globular cluster 47 Tucanae have been used to constrain the magnetic field strength in the Galactic halo, finding that it is unexpectedly strong.

• Federico Abbate
• , Andrea Possenti
• , Caterina Tiburzi
• , Ewan Barr
• , Willem van Straten
• , Alessandro Ridolfi
•  & Paulo Freire
• Article |

### The water abundance in Jupiter’s equatorial zone

Juno’s microwave radiometer data could measure the water concentration in the deep atmosphere of Jupiter (0.7 to 30 bar) at the equator: \$\$2.7^{+2.4}_{-1.7}\$\$$2.7−1.7+2.4$ times the solar O/H abundance, with a thermal vertical structure compatible with a moist adiabat.

• Cheng Li
• , Andrew Ingersoll
• , Scott Bolton
• , Steven Levin
• , Michael Janssen
• , Sushil Atreya
• , Jonathan Lunine
• , Paul Steffes
• , Shannon Brown
• , Tristan Guillot
• , Michael Allison
• , John Arballo
• , Samuel Gulkis
• , Amoree Hodges
• , Liming Li
• , Sidharth Misra
• , Glenn Orton
• , Fabiano Oyafuso
• , Daniel Santos-Costa
• , Hunter Waite
•  & Zhimeng Zhang
• Article |

### Evidence of presolar SiC in the Allende Curious Marie calcium–aluminium-rich inclusion

A commonly held view is that presolar grains could not survive the high temperatures of the protoplanetary disk close to the Sun, where calcium–aluminium-rich inclusions (CAI) formed. Yet a detailed noble gas isotopic composition analysis of a CAI shows evidence of presolar SiC incorporated in it that could withstand high-temperature processing.

• O. Pravdivtseva
• , F. L. H. Tissot
• , N. Dauphas
•  & S. Amari
• Article |

### Indigenous and exogenous organics and surface–atmosphere cycling inferred from carbon and oxygen isotopes at Gale crater

The pyrolysis experiments of the SAM instrument on board the Curiosity rover reconstruct the origin of organics at Gale crater. Some of them come from meteorites, but others have been formed in situ, with widespread past formation of carbonates via cryogenesis. More than 0.5 bar of CO2 might have precipitated from the atmosphere.

• H. B. Franz
• , P. R. Mahaffy
• , C. R. Webster
• , G. J. Flesch
• , E. Raaen
• , C. Freissinet
• , S. K. Atreya
• , C. H. House
• , C. A. Knudson
• , P. D. Archer Jr.
• , J. C. Stern
• , A. Steele
• , B. Sutter
• , J. L. Eigenbrode
• , D. P. Glavin
• , J. M. T. Lewis
• , C. A. Malespin
• , M. Millan
• , D. W. Ming
• , R. Navarro-González
•  & R. E. Summons
• Article |

### Evidence of ammonium salts in comet 67P as explanation for the nitrogen depletion in cometary comae

A dust impact event detected by the ROSINA mass spectrometer towards the end of the Rosetta mission brings evidence of the presence of ammonium salts in comets. Ammonium salts can store enough nitrogen to explain the observed nitrogen depletion in comets and may have a role in amino acid formation.

• Kathrin Altwegg
• , Hans Balsiger
• , Nora Hänni
• , Martin Rubin
• , Markus Schuhmann
• , Isaac Schroeder
• , Thierry Sémon
• , Susanne Wampfler
• , Jean-Jacques Berthelier
• , Christelle Briois
• , Mike Combi
• , Tamas I. Gombosi
• , Hervé Cottin
• , Johan De Keyser
• , Frederik Dhooghe
• , Björn Fiethe
•  & Steven A. Fuselier
• Article |

### Interactions of type I X-ray bursts with thin accretion disks

Fragile et al. study the physics of accretion onto a neutron star from a thin accretion disk when interacting with an X-ray burst. A number of processes occur in the inner disk, including a reflexive retreat of the inner edge of the disk from the star, on the timescale of the burst.

• P. Chris Fragile
• , David R. Ballantyne
•  & Aidan Blankenship
• Article |

### Dispersed Matter Planet Project discoveries of ablating planets orbiting nearby bright stars

This Article provides an overview of the Dispersed Matter Planet Project, a programme to discover close-in exoplanets being ablated by their host stars by means of the stars’ anomalously low chromospheric emission. One example is presented here: DMPP-2 hosts a sub-Jupiter-mass planet around a γ Doradus pulsator.

• Carole A. Haswell
• , Daniel Staab
• , John R. Barnes
• , Luca Fossati
• , James S. Jenkins
• , Andrew J. Norton
• , James P. J. Doherty
•  & Joseph Cooper
• Article |

### A compact multi-planet system around a bright nearby star from the Dispersed Matter Planet Project

Star DMPP-1 hosts a compact, four-planet system comprising three irradiated super-Earth-mass planets and one Neptune-mass planet, discovered through radial velocity measurements and the star’s anomalously low chromospheric emission.

• D. Staab
• , C. A. Haswell
• , J. R. Barnes
• , L. Fossati
• , J. P. J. Doherty
• , J. Cooper
• , J. S. Jenkins
• , M. R. Díaz
•  & M. G. Soto
• Article |

### An ablating 2.6 M⊕ planet in an eccentric binary from the Dispersed Matter Planet Project

The third target of the Dispersed Matter Planet Project, DMPP-3, is an unusual binary system containing a solar-type star ablating a super-Earth-mass planet, along with a very low mass secondary.

• John R. Barnes
• , Carole A. Haswell
• , Daniel Staab
• , Luca Fossati
• , James P. J. Doherty
• , Joseph Cooper
• , James S. Jenkins
• , Matías R. Díaz
• , Maritza G. Soto
•  & Pablo A. Peña Rojas
• Article |

### The origin of s-process isotope heterogeneity in the solar protoplanetary disk

Dust in the Solar System originates primarily in two locations: the interstellar medium and stellar outflows. On the basis of measurements of palladium isotopes in iron meteorites, Ek et al. suggest that the interstellar component was destroyed in the inner Solar System, revealing an enhancement of s-process isotopes from stardust.

• Mattias Ek
• , Alison C. Hunt
• , Maria Lugaro
•  & Maria Schönbächler
• Article |

### Titan’s climate patterns and surface methane distribution due to the coupling of land hydrology and atmosphere

Coupling a global surface hydrology model to an existing atmospheric model of Titan reproduces the observed variable climate and distribution of surface liquid, with possible implications for an unobserved methane reservoir on Titan.

• Sean P. Faulk
• , Juan M. Lora
• , Jonathan L. Mitchell
•  & P. C. D. Milly
• Article |

### Constraining black hole–galaxy scaling relations and radiative efficiency from galaxy clustering

The large-scale spatial distribution of local active galactic nuclei can constrain the black hole–stellar mass relation and their mean radiative efficiency to 10–20%, suggesting moderate to high spins for the vast majority of supermassive black holes.

• Francesco Shankar
• , Viola Allevato
• , Mariangela Bernardi
• , Christopher Marsden
• , Andrea Lapi
• , Nicola Menci
• , Philip J. Grylls
• , Mirko Krumpe
• , Lorenzo Zanisi
• , Federica Ricci
• , Fabio La Franca
• , Ranieri D. Baldi
• , Jorge Moreno
•  & Ravi K. Sheth
• Article |

### A measurement of water vapour amid a largely quiescent environment on Europa

16 out of 17 spectral observations of Europa, spanning from February 2016 to May 2017, did not see anything, but the one on 26 April 2016 shows evidence of a direct detection of water vapour, compatible with a column density of 1.4 ± 0.4 × 1019 H2O m−2. Whatever water activity there is on Europa, it is very sporadic.

• L. Paganini
• , G. L. Villanueva
• , L. Roth
• , A. M. Mandell
• , T. A. Hurford
• , K. D. Retherford
•  & M. J. Mumma
• Article |

### Voyager 2 plasma observations of the heliopause and interstellar medium

On its departure from the heliosphere, the plasma experiment on Voyager 2 observed changes corresponding to a 1.5-au-wide boundary region, followed by a much thinner boundary layer, before reaching the heliopause. Outside the heliopause, the very local interstellar medium is found to be hotter than expected. [The summary that originally appeared was incorrect and has been updated.]

• John D. Richardson
• , John W. Belcher
• , Paula Garcia-Galindo
•  & Leonard F. Burlaga
• Article |

### Magnetic field and particle measurements made by Voyager 2 at and near the heliopause

This paper reports measurements of the magnetic fields and energetic particles detected by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it passed from the heliosphere, through the heliosheath and heliopause, to the interstellar medium. As predicted by models, Voyager 2 encountered a ‘magnetic barrier’ before reaching the heliopause.

• L. F. Burlaga
• , N. F. Ness
• , D. B. Berdichevsky
• , J. Park
• , L. K. Jian
• , A. Szabo
• , E. C. Stone
•  & J. D. Richardson
• Article |

### Plasma densities near and beyond the heliopause from the Voyager 1 and 2 plasma wave instruments

This Article reports measurements from the plasma wave instruments of the Voyager spacecraft as they passed from the heliosphere into interstellar space. The Voyager 2 instrument recorded an electron density jump of a factor of 20, similar to that from Voyager 1 several years previously.

• D. A. Gurnett
•  & W. S. Kurth
• Article |

### Cosmic ray measurements from Voyager 2 as it crossed into interstellar space

As it crossed the heliopause, Voyager 2 observed a sharp decrease in measurements of the low-energy ions that originate within the heliosphere, and an increase in the cosmic rays from the Milky Way, without any of the precursor flux tubes that Voyager 1 experienced. Outside the heliopause, a boundary layer exists.

• Edward C. Stone
• , Alan C. Cummings
• , Bryant C. Heikkila
•  & Nand Lal
• Article |

### Energetic charged particle measurements from Voyager 2 at the heliopause and beyond

Measurements of energetic ions and electrons with the Low-Energy Charged Particle instrument on Voyager 2 are presented from the boundary of the heliosphere and from the interstellar medium. Voyager 2’s heliopause crossing bears some similarity to that of Voyager 1, despite differing solar wind conditions.

• Stamatios M. Krimigis
• , Robert B. Decker
• , Edmond C. Roelof
• , Matthew E. Hill
• , Carl O. Bostrom
• , Konstantinos Dialynas
• , George Gloeckler
• , Douglas C. Hamilton
• , Edward P. Keath
•  & Louis J. Lanzerotti
• Article |

### Planck evidence for a closed Universe and a possible crisis for cosmology

The standard cosmological model assumes a flat Universe, but some model inconsistencies appear when curvature is allowed, as supported by the latest Planck Legacy 2018 power spectra. Is it time to consider new physics?

• Eleonora Di Valentino
• , Alessandro Melchiorri
•  & Joseph Silk
• Article |

### Prevalence of non-aromatic carbonaceous molecules in the inner regions of circumstellar envelopes

Using an atomic gas aggregation process in the laboratory to simulate the conditions in the inner regions of a carbon-rich evolved star, Martínez, Santoro, Merino and colleagues. show that aromatic species and fullerenes form surprisingly inefficiently, and that amorphous carbon nanograins and aliphatic clusters dominate.

• Lidia Martínez
• , Gonzalo Santoro
• , Pablo Merino
• , Mario Accolla
• , Koen Lauwaet
• , Hassan Sabbah
• , Ramón J. Pelaez
• , Victor J. Herrero
• , Isabel Tanarro
• , Marcelino Agúndez
• , Alberto Martín-Jimenez
• , Roberto Otero
• , Gary J. Ellis
• , Christine Joblin
• , José Cernicharo
•  & José A. Martín-Gago
• Article |

### A complex storm system in Saturn’s north polar atmosphere in 2018

A series of four storms appeared on Saturn’s northern polar region in 2018, unusually close to each other in space and time. By their dimension and the energy needed to form them, they appear to be a hitherto unobserved kind of storm at Saturn, intermediate between the regional- and the global-sized ones.

• A. Sánchez-Lavega
• , E. García-Melendo
• , J. Legarreta
• , R. Hueso
• , T. del Río-Gaztelurrutia
• , J. F. Sanz-Requena
• , S. Pérez-Hoyos
• , A. A. Simon
• , M. H. Wong
• , M. Soria
• , T. Barry
• , M. Delcroix
• , K. M. Sayanagi
• , J. J. Blalock
• , J. L. Gunnarson
• , U. Dyudina
•  & S. Ewald
• Article |

### A year-long plateau in the late-time near-infrared light curves of type Ia supernovae

Graur et al. present near-infrared light curves of five type Ia supernovae based on Hubble Space Telescope data that show plateaux at late times (>150 days) rather than the expected ‘infrared catastrophe’. The authors suggest that the year-long plateaux are produced by the scattering of ultraviolet photons.

• O. Graur
• , K. Maguire
• , R. Ryan
• , M. Nicholl
• , A. Avelino
• , A. G. Riess
• , L. Shingles
• , I. R. Seitenzahl
•  & R. Fisher
• Article |

### The population of rotational fission clusters inside asteroid collisional families

Asteroid families created by collisions in the last ~100 Myr have a higher fraction of subfamilies than older ones. The impact produces highly rotating fragments that generate such subfamilies by fission and subsequently disperse. The final appearance of an asteroid family is thus the product of a drawn-out evolution.

• V. Carruba
• , F. Spoto
• , W. Barletta
• , S. Aljbaae
• , Á. L. Fazenda
•  & B. Martins
• Article |

### Size diversity of old Large Magellanic Cloud clusters as determined by internal dynamical evolution

The range of sizes of old star clusters in the LMC does not necessarily imply the presence of binary black holes within them; the spread can be explained as a consequence of internal dynamical evolution and formation conditions. Looking at five old LMC clusters, Ferraro et al. find signs of dynamical youth.

• F. R. Ferraro
• , B. Lanzoni
• , E. Dalessandro
• , S. Raso
• , A. Mucciarelli
• , G. Beccari
•  & C. Pallanca
• Article |

### A dearth of small members in the Haumea family revealed by OSSOS

An extensive survey to search for members of the only known Kuiper belt family, named after the parent body Haumea, found no family members fainter than absolute magnitude Hr = 7.9, significantly brighter than the detection limit (Hr = 9.5). This lack of small members is inconsistent with a catastrophic disruption as the origin of the Haumea family.

• Rosemary E. Pike
• , Benjamin C. N. Proudfoot
• , Darin Ragozzine
• , Mike Alexandersen
• , Steven Maggard
• , Michele T. Bannister
• , Ying-Tung Chen
• , J. J. Kavelaars
• , Stephen Gwyn
•  & Kathryn Volk
• Article |

### Evidence for an additional planet in the β Pictoris system

Radial velocity data of the young β Pictoris system acquired by HARPS and spanning 15 years show evidence of β Pic c, a gas giant of ~9 Jupiter masses orbiting on an eccentric orbit at ~2.4 au from the star, near the theoretical snowline. Both β Pic b and c, located close to the star, may have formed in situ by core accretion.

• A.-M. Lagrange
• , Pascal Rubini
• , Miriam Keppler
• , Franck Galland
• , Eric Chapellier
• , Eric Michel
• , Luis Balona
• , Hervé Beust
• , Tristan Guillot
• , Antoine Grandjean
• , Simon Borgniet
• , Djamel Mékarnia
• , Paul Anthony Wilson
• , Flavien Kiefer
• , Mickael Bonnefoy
• , Jorge Lillo-Box
• , Blake Pantoja
• , Matias Jones
• , Daniela Paz Iglesias
• , Laetitia Rodet
• , Matias Diaz
• , Abner Zapata
• , Lyu Abe
•  & François-Xavier Schmider
• Article |

### Rotational evolution of the Vela pulsar during the 2016 glitch

A glitch experienced by the Vela pulsar in 2016 has been studied in detail, revealing a curious slowdown of the neutron star’s rotation immediately before the event, and confirming some theoretical predictions of neutron-star physics.

• Gregory Ashton
• , Vanessa Graber
•  & Jim Palfreyman
• Article |

### Magnetic field strengths of hot Jupiters from signals of star–planet interactions

The measured magnetic field strengths of four close-in gas giant planets are reported, using a technique based on magnetic star–planet interactions. Values range from 20 G to 120 G, close to estimates based on planetary internal heat flux, but ~10–100 times larger than predicted by dynamo scaling laws.

• P. Wilson Cauley
• , Evgenya L. Shkolnik
• , Joe Llama
•  & Antonino F. Lanza
• Article |

### Realistic simulations of galaxy formation in f(R) modified gravity

Full cosmological hydrodynamical simulations employing modified gravity find that disk galaxies can form and their stellar properties are only mildly affected. Modified gravity leaves signatures on large-scale structure observable with the Square Kilometre Array.

• Christian Arnold
• , Matteo Leo
•  & Baojiu Li
• Article |

### The gravitational-wave detection of exoplanets orbiting white dwarf binaries using LISA

Tamanini and Danielski show that LISA will be sensitive enough to detect (massive) exoplanets orbiting double white-dwarf systems using gravitational waves. This population of exoplanets cannot be probed by other means, and detections will reveal potentially significant numbers of planets in the Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds.

• Nicola Tamanini
•  & Camilla Danielski
• Article |

### A high-mass planetary nebula in a Galactic open cluster

Fragkou et al. present multiple pieces of evidence for the association of planetary nebula BMP J1613-5406 with Galactic open star cluster NGC 6067. Stars in the cluster evolve off the main sequence at about 5 solar masses, suggesting that this planetary nebula had a massive progenitor and supporting theoretical predictions of the mass range of planetary nebula progenitors.

• V. Fragkou
• , Q. A. Parker
• , A. A. Zijlstra
• , L. Crause
•  & H. Barker
• Article |

### A stacked prism lens concept for next-generation hard X-ray telescopes

A stacked series of lithographed polymer disks could provide a lightweight and modular optics system for a future hard X-ray telescope, retaining the angular resolution of current telescopes, but improving on effective area.

• Wujun Mi
• , Peter Nillius
• , Mark Pearce
•  & Mats Danielsson
• Article |

### Magnetic field morphology in interstellar clouds with the velocity gradient technique

The velocity gradient technique is used to measure the magnetic field orientations and magnetization of five low-mass star-forming molecular clouds, also finding that collapsing regions constitute a small fraction of the volume in these clouds.

• Yue Hu
• , Ka Ho Yuen
• , Victor Lazarian
• , Ka Wai Ho
• , Robert A. Benjamin
• , Alex S. Hill
• , Felix J. Lockman
• , Paul F. Goldsmith
•  & Alex Lazarian