Astronomy and astrophysics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pulsar timing arrays enable the search for the isotropic gravitational-wave (GW) background originating from super massive black hole binary populations, but impose a stringent upper limit on the GW characteristic amplitude. Here, the authors use Bayesian hierarchical modelling applied to a range of astrophysical scenarios to revisit the implications of this upper limit.

    • Hannah Middleton
    • , Siyuan Chen
    •  & Alberto Vecchio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A short-duration gamma-ray burst was detected along with a double neutron start merger gravitational wave by LIGO-Virgo on August 17th 2017. Here, the authors show that the fluence and spectral peak energy of this event fall into the lower portion of the distribution of known short-duration gamma-ray bursts.

    • B.-B. Zhang
    • , B. Zhang
    •  & E.-W. Liang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    White-light flares are rare solar events entailing emission in the optical continuum. Here, the authors report a nearly circular white-light flare observed on March 10th 2015 that contains simultaneously both impulsive and gradual white-light kernels.

    • Q. Hao
    • , K. Yang
    •  & Z. Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Winged radio galaxies possess wing features detectable at radio wavelengths, yet the physical interpretation of such extragalactic radio sources remains elusive. Here, the authors report the observation of a downsized Z-shaped radio emission from the Galactic microquasar GRS 1758-258, shedding light on the formation of wings in radio galaxies given its strongly  reminiscent winged morphology.

    • Josep Martí
    • , Pedro L. Luque-Escamilla
    •  & Josep M. Paredes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Radio observations of the solar atmosphere provide a unique view on the non-thermal processes in the outer atmosphere. Here the authors use LOFAR observations to demonstrate that the observed radio burst characteristics are dominated by propagation effects rather than underlying emission variations.

    • E. P. Kontar
    • , S. Yu
    •  & P. Subramanian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    14C can be absorbed by trees as a result of the interaction of cosmic rays produced by high-energy phenomena with the Earth’s atmosphere. Here, the authors observe a rapid increase of 14C in an ancient buried tree from BC 3372 to BC 3371, and suggest that it could originate from a large solar proton event.

    • F. Y. Wang
    • , H. Yu
    •  & K. S. Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solar eruptions provide opportunities to study magnetic flux ropes, a structure of fundamental importance for both plasma physics and space weather. Here the authors reveal the dynamic formation of a flux rope through its footprint on the solar surface, revealing a highly twisted core structure.

    • Wensi Wang
    • , Rui Liu
    •  & Chunming Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The composition of dark matter in the universe remains a mystery, with one hypothetical form being topological defects. Here the authors determine a stronger constraint on the coupling of this dark matter to atomic clocks on board global positioning satellites through the analysis of 16 years of archival data.

    • Benjamin M. Roberts
    • , Geoffrey Blewitt
    •  & Andrei Derevianko

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gravitational wave sources can be used as cosmological probes through a direct distance luminosity relation. Here, the authors demonstrate that the time delay between lensed gravitational wave signals and their electromagnetic counterparts can reduce the uncertainty in the Hubble constant.

    • Kai Liao
    • , Xi-Long Fan
    •  & Zong-Hong Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Sun’s elemental composition is a vital part of understanding the processes that transport energy from the interior to the outer atmosphere. Here, the authors show that if the Sun is observed as a star, then the variation of coronal composition is highly correlated with the F10.7cm radio flux.

    • David H. Brooks
    • , Deborah Baker
    •  & Harry P. Warren

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Advanced LIGO has detected gravitational waves from two binary black hole mergers, plus a merger candidate. Here the authors use the COMPAS code to show that all three events can be explained by a single evolutionary channel via a common envelope phase, and characterize the progenitor metallicity and masses.

    • Simon Stevenson
    • , Alejandro Vigna-Gómez
    •  & Selma E. de Mink

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Extremely metal-poor galaxies in the local universe are the best analogues to investigating the interstellar medium at a quasi-primitive environment in the early universe. Here, the authors detect CO emission in a galaxy at 7% solar metallicity, offering direct evidence for the presence of molecular gas.

    • Yong Shi
    • , Junzhi Wang
    •  & Qiusheng Gu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    One hypothesis for solar system formation is gas compression by a nearby supernova, whose traces should be found in isotopic anomalies. Here the authors show that this mechanism is viable only if the triggering event was a low-mass supernova, looking at short-lived 10Be and lack of anomalies in stable isotopes.

    • Projjwal Banerjee
    • , Yong-Zhong Qian
    •  & W C Haxton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In the weak field limit, boson star evolution is governed by the Newton-Schrödinger equation. Here the authors report an optical setup that provides a formal analogue of such dynamics via the interaction between vortex beams and a medium with positive thermo-optical nonlinearity.

    • Thomas Roger
    • , Calum Maitland
    •  & Daniele Faccio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Counter-rotating gases demonstrate external gas acquisition in galaxies, but their presence in blue, star-forming galaxies has not been studied systematically. Here, the authors analyse the MaNGA survey data to find a fraction of counter-rotators among blue galaxies whose central regions show ongoing growth.

    • Yan-Mei Chen
    • , Yong Shi
    •  & Ren-Bin Yan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A macronova is a clear signature that a short gamma-ray burst has been emitted by a compact-binary merger, but evidence of these events is so far scarce. Here, the authors report signs of a macronova in the optical afterglow of GRB050709, and find similar evidence in other three short bursts.

    • Zhi-Ping Jin
    • , Kenta Hotokezaka
    •  & Tsvi Piran

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stationary radiative shocks are expected to form above the surface of highly-magnetized white dwarves in binary systems, but this cannot be resolved by telescopes. Here, the authors report a laboratory experiment showing the evolution of a reverse shock when both ionization and radiative losses are important.

    • J. E. Cross
    • , G. Gregori
    •  & É. Falize

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Superflares are large explosive events on stellar surfaces, much larger than solar flares, but it remains unclear whether they share the same origin. Here, the authors analysed 48 superflare stars and determine the relation between their chromospheric activity and the occurrence of superflares.

    • Christoffer Karoff
    • , Mads Faurschou Knudsen
    •  & Wei Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Van Allen radiation belts are two zones of energetic particles encircling the Earth, but how electrons are accelerated to relativistic energies remains unclear. Here, the authors analyse a radiation belt event and provide evidence in favour of the ULF wave-driven radial diffusion mechanism.

    • Zhenpeng Su
    • , Hui Zhu
    •  & J. R. Wygant

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Natural spikes in radiocarbon have been identified at AD 774/5 and 993/4 and attributed to exceptional cosmic-ray events, although the cause remains uncertain. Here, the authors analyse records recovered from ice cores and suggest these spikes originated from extreme solar particle events.

    • Florian Mekhaldi
    • , Raimund Muscheler
    •  & Thomas E. Woodruff

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The luminosity of ultraviolet light emitted by the first galaxies in the universe traces the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies which led to the epoch of reionization. Here the authors use data from the Hubble Space Telescope and through a model provide a bound for the total luminosity.

    • Ketron Mitchell-Wynne
    • , Asantha Cooray
    •  & Joseph Smidt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alfvénic waves are oscillations that occur in a plasma threaded by a magnetic field and their propagation, reflection and dissipation is believed to be partly responsible for the solar wind. Here, the authors observe the counter-propagating Alfvénic waves that most models require for solar-wind acceleration.

    • R. J. Morton
    • , S. Tomczyk
    •  & R. Pinto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The cold dark matter paradigm predicts that Milky Way-like galaxies should have dwarf galaxies with dark matter halos as satellites. Ural et al.present a new model, independent of cosmological simulations, that constrains the pre-infall mass of the Milky Way satellite Carina to a value lower than expected.

    • Uğur Ural
    • , Mark I. Wilkinson
    •  & Matthew G. Walker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The gamma-ray burst GRB 060614 was an unusual astrophysical event whose origins are still unclear. This study re-examines the burst’s afterglow data and finds an excess in the spectrum that appears to be consistent with a weak macronova, suggesting that GRB 060614 originated from a compact binary merger.

    • Bin Yang
    • , Zhi-Ping Jin
    •  & Da-Ming Wei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the behaviour of magnetic flux ropes in the Sun is crucial for explaining solar phenomena such as flares and space weather. Exploiting the high resolution available in the 1.6 m New Solar Telescope, Wang et al.capture the evolution of a flaring twisted flux rope in the low solar corona.

    • Haimin Wang
    • , Wenda Cao
    •  & Haisheng Ji

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In astronomy, interferometry between telescopes enables high-resolution imaging but optical links are limited by atmospheric turbulence. Here, the authors show how this can be circumvented, producing diffraction-limited images using an array of electronically connected optical telescopes.

    • Dainis Dravins
    • , Tiphaine Lagadec
    •  & Paul D. Nuñez

  • Article |

    Gamma-ray bursts are short-lived luminous explosions at cosmological distances caused by jets from the deaths of massive stars. Bustamante et al. study neutrino, gamma-ray and cosmic-ray production by internal shocks, and find that multi-messenger observations are crucial to understand the evolving outflows.

    • Mauricio Bustamante
    • , Philipp Baerwald
    •  & Walter Winter

  • Article |

    Interpreting astronomical observations relies on accurate rate coefficients for molecular vibrational transitions caused by collisions with H2. Yang et al. exploit state-of-the-art inelastic quantum dynamic simulations to provide a full-dimensional computation for rovibrational quenching of CO by H2.

    • Benhui Yang
    • , P. Zhang
    •  & R.C. Forrey

  • Article |

    Lunar swirls are high-albedo features on the Moon whose origins are widely debated. Using observations from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer, Glotch et al. present evidence supporting the idea that the swirls arise from abnormal space weathering caused by local magnetic field deflection of solar wind.

    • Timothy D. Glotch
    • , Joshua L. Bandfield
    •  & David A. Paige

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Astrophysical masers are interstellar sources of stimulated spectral line emission, with most SiO masers in the Milky Way existing around evolved stars. Here, Wang et al. report detections of millimetre SiO and Class I CH3OH mega-masers in NGC 1068.

    • Junzhi Wang
    • , Jiangshui Zhang
    •  & Yong Shi

  • Article |

    Optical light from many stars is known to pulsate and degenerate objects, like neutron stars, are known to emit pulses of X-rays, but X-ray pulsations have yet to be associated with non-degenerate objects. Here, Oskinova et al. find X-ray pulsations from a non-degenerate object: the massive B-type star ξ1CMa.

    • Lidia M. Oskinova
    • , Yael Nazé
    •  & Wolf-Rainer Hamann

  • Article |

    Recently, the NASA MESSENGER mission reported signatures of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in the magnetic environment of Mercury. Using global hybrid kinetic simulations, Paral and Rankin reproduce these observations, revealing a dawn–dusk asymmetry in the instability.

    • Jan Paral
    •  & Robert Rankin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Measuring atomic spectra in high magnetic fields is important for understanding astrophysical objects such as white dwarfs, but laboratory fields are too small to do so. Murdin et al. study the analogous spectra of phosphorous-doped silicon, whose material properties scale the equivalent field to far lower values.

    • B.N. Murdin
    • , Juerong Li
    •  & P.G. Murdin

  • Review Article |

    Between low-end stellar-mass black holes and top-end supermassive black holes, lie the elusive intermediate black holes. Jenny Greene reviews the search for these black holes in galaxy centres, which should indicate if supermassive black holes grew from stellar-mass ones or if a more complex process was needed.

    • Jenny E. Greene

  • Article |

    Recent observations have uncovered a cloud of ionized gas falling into the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Murray-Clay and Loeb present a model that may explain these observations, in which the cloud is produced from the proto-planetary disc around a low-mass star orbiting the black hole.

    • Ruth A. Murray-Clay
    •  & Abraham Loeb

  • Article |

    The night sky viewed from Earth is very bright at infrared wavelengths due to atmospheric emission, making land-based astronomy difficult in this spectral region. Here, a photonic filter is demonstrated to suppress this unwanted light, opening new paths to infrared astronomy with current and future telescopes.

    • J. Bland-Hawthorn
    • , S.C. Ellis
    •  & C. Trinh

  • Review Article |

    Type Ia supernovae are thought to result from the explosion of white dwarf stars but a full understanding of their formation is lacking. In this review, Howell describes how large surveys are generating sufficient data to challenge and refine existing theories.

    • D. Andrew Howell

  • Article |

    TheFermispacecraft recently observed gamma-ray emission from supernova remnant W44, however, the mechanism is unclear. Here, the authors show that strong ion-neutral collisions in the remnant surrounding lead to the steepening of the energy spectrum of accelerated particles by one power.

    • M. A. Malkov
    • , P. H. Diamond
    •  & R. Z. Sagdeev

  • Article |

    The origin of the highest energy cosmic rays is still unknown. Here, Chakraborti and colleagues show that a recently discovered sub-population of type Ibc supernovae with mildly relativistic outflows can satisfy all required characteristics for an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray source.

    • S. Chakraborti
    • , A. Ray
    •  & P. Chandra

  • Review Article |

    Gravitational waves are predicted by general relativity, but their direct observation from astronomical sources hinges on large improvements in detection sensitivity. The authors review how squeezed light and other quantum optical concepts are being applied in the development of next generation interferometric detectors.

    • Roman Schnabel
    • , Nergis Mavalvala
    •  & Ping K. Lam

  • Article |

    The physics governing the propagation of solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs), an important cause of bad space weather on Earth, is poorly understood. The authors model a CME's three-dimensional propagation and determine accurate arrival times near the Earth's surface.

    • Jason P. Byrne
    • , Shane A. Maloney
    •  & Peter T. Gallagher

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