Search

We present tomographic measurements of structure growth using cross-correlations of Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR6 and Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing maps with the unWISE Blue and Green galaxy samples, which span the redshift ranges 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.1 and 0.3 ≲ z ≲ 1.8, respectively. We improve on prior unWISE cross-correlations not just by making use of the new, high-precision ACT DR6 lensing maps, but also by including additional spectroscopic data for redshift calibration and by analyzing our measurements with a more flexible theoretical model. We determine the amplitude of matter fluctuations at low redshifts (z ≃ 0.2-1.6), finding S 8 ≡ σ 8 ( Ω m / 0.3 ) 0.5 = 0.813 ± 0.021 using the ACT cross-correlation alone and S 8 = 0.810 ± 0.015 with a combination of Planck and ACT cross-correlations; these measurements are fully consistent with the predictions from primary CMB measurements assuming standard structure growth. The addition of baryon acoustic oscillation data breaks the degeneracy between σ 8 and Ωm , allowing us to measure σ 8 = 0.813 ± 0.020 from the cross-correlation of unWISE with ACT and σ 8 = 0.813 ± 0.015 from the combination of cross-correlations with ACT and Planck. These results also agree with the expectations from primary CMB extrapolations in ΛCDM cosmology; the consistency of σ 8 derived from our two redshift samples at z ∼ 0.6 and 1.1 provides a further check of our cosmological model. Our results suggest that structure formation on linear scales is well described by ΛCDM even down to low redshifts z ≲ 1.

The cosmic web contains filamentary structure on a wide range of scales. On the largest scales, superclustering aligns multiple galaxy clusters along intercluster bridges, visible through their thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signal in the cosmic microwave background. We demonstrate a new, flexible method to analyze the hot gas signal from multiscale extended structures. We use a Compton y-map from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) stacked on redMaPPer cluster positions from the optical Dark Energy Survey (DES). Cutout images from the y-map are oriented with large-scale structure information from DES galaxy data such that the superclustering signal is aligned before being overlaid. We find evidence of an extended quadrupole moment of the stacked y signal at the 3.5σ level, demonstrating that the large-scale thermal energy surrounding galaxy clusters is anisotropically distributed. We compare our ACT × DES results with the Buzzard simulations, finding broad agreement. Using simulations, we highlight the promise of this novel technique for constraining the evolution of anisotropic, non-Gaussian structure using future combinations of microwave and optical surveys.

CMB-S4 - the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment - is set to significantly advance the sensitivity of CMB measurements and enhance our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. Among the science cases pursued with CMB-S4, the quest for detecting primordial gravitational waves is a central driver of the experimental design. This work details the development of a forecasting framework that includes a power-spectrum-based semianalytic projection tool, targeted explicitly toward optimizing constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r, in the presence of Galactic foregrounds and gravitational lensing of the CMB. This framework is unique in its direct use of information from the achieved performance of current Stage 2-3 CMB experiments to robustly forecast the science reach of upcoming CMB-polarization endeavors. The methodology allows for rapid iteration over experimental configurations and offers a flexible way to optimize the design of future experiments, given a desired scientific goal. To form a closed-loop process, we couple this semianalytic tool with map-based validation studies, which allow for the injection of additional complexity and verification of our forecasts with several independent analysis methods. We document multiple rounds of forecasts for CMB-S4 using this process and the resulting establishment of the current reference design of the primordial gravitational-wave component of the Stage-4 experiment, optimized to achieve our science goals of detecting primordial gravitational waves for r > 0.003 at greater than 5σ, or in the absence of a detection, of reaching an upper limit of r < 0.001 at 95% CL.

We use Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) observations at 98 GHz (2015–2019), 150 GHz (2013–2019), and 229 GHz (2017–2019) to perform a blind shift-and-stack search for Planet 9. The search explores distances from 300 au to 2000 au and velocities up to 6.′3 per year, depending on the distance (r). For a 5 Earth-mass Planet 9 the detection limit varies from 325 au to 625 au, depending on the sky location. For a 10 Earth-mass planet the corresponding range is 425 au to 775 au. The predicted aphelion and most likely location of the planet corresponds to the shallower end of these ranges. The search covers the whole 18,000 square degrees of the ACT survey. No significant detections are found, which is used to place limits on the millimeter-wave flux density of Planet 9 over much of its orbit. Overall we eliminate roughly 17% and 9% of the parameter space for a 5 and 10 Earth-mass Planet 9, respectively. These bounds approach those of a recent INPOP19a ephemeris-based analysis, but do not exceed it. We also provide a list of the 10 strongest candidates from the search for possible follow-up. More generally, we exclude (at 95% confidence) the presence of an unknown solar system object within our survey area brighter than 4–12 mJy (depending on position) at 150 GHz with current distance 300 au < r < 600 au and heliocentric angular velocity , corresponding to low-to-moderate eccentricities. These limits worsen gradually beyond 600 au, reaching 5–15 mJy by 1500 au.

The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect introduces a specific distortion of the blackbody spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation when it scatters off hot gas in clusters of galaxies. The frequency dependence of the distortion is only independent of the cluster redshift when the evolution of the CMB radiation is adiabatic. Using 370 clusters within the redshift range 0.07 ≲ z ≲ 1.4 from the largest SZ-selected cluster sample to date from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, we provide new constraints on the deviation of CMB temperature evolution from the standard model α =0.017-0.032+0.029, where T(z)=T0(1+z)1-α. This result is consistent with no deviation from the standard adiabatic model. Combining it with previous, independent data sets we obtain a joint constraint of α = -0.001 ± 0.012. Attributing deviation from adiabaticity to the decay of dark energy, this result constrains its effective equation of state weff=-0.998-0.010+0.008.

We present arcminute-resolution intensity and polarization maps of the Galactic center made with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The maps cover a 32 deg2 field at 98, 150, and 224 GHz with |l| ≤ 4 , |b| ≤ 2 . We combine these data with Planck observations at similar frequencies to create coadded maps with increased sensitivity at large angular scales. With the coadded maps, we are able to resolve many known features of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) in both total intensity and polarization. We map the orientation of the plane-of-sky component of the Galactic magnetic field inferred from the polarization angle in the CMZ, finding significant changes in morphology in the three frequency bands as the underlying dominant emission mechanism changes from synchrotron to dust emission. Selected Galactic center sources, including Sgr A∗, the Brick molecular cloud (G0.253+0.016), the Mouse pulsar wind nebula (G359.23-0.82), and the Tornado supernova remnant candidate (G357.7-0.1), are examined in detail. These data illustrate the potential for leveraging ground-based cosmic microwave background polarization experiments for Galactic science.

As the signal-to-noise of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) cross-correlation measurements of galaxies improves our ability to infer properties about the circumgalactic medium (CGM), we will transition from being limited by statistical uncertainties to systematic uncertainties. Using thermodynamic profiles of the CGM created from the IllustrisTNG (The Next Generation) simulations we investigate the importance of specific choices in modeling the galaxy sample. These choices include different sample selections in the simulation (stellar versus halo mass, color selections) and different fitting models (matching by the shape of the mass distribution, inclusion of a two-halo term).We forward model a mock galaxy sample into projected SZ observable profiles and fit these profiles to a generalized Navarro-Frenk-White profile using forecasted errors of the upcoming Simons Observatory experiment. We test the number of free parameters in the fits and show that this is another modeling choice that yields different results. Finally, we show how different fitting models can reproduce parameters of a fiducial profile, and show that the addition of a two-halo term and matching by the mass distribution of the sample are extremely important modeling choices to consider.

We study the cross-correlation of damped Lyα systems (DLAs) and their background quasars, using the most updated DLA catalog and the Planck 2018 CMB lensing convergence field. Our measurement suggests that the DLA bias bDLA is smaller than 3.1, corresponding to at a confidence of 90%. These constraints are broadly consistent with Alonso et al. and previous measurements by cross-correlation between DLAs and the Lyα forest (e.g., Font-Ribera et al.; Prez-Rfols et al.). Further, our results demonstrate the potential of obtaining a more precise measurement of the halo mass of the high-redshift sources using next generation CMB experiments with a higher angular resolution. The python-based codes and data products of our analysis are available at https://github.com/LittleLin1999/CMB-lensingxDLA.

We present strong constraints on the spacetime variation of the fine-structure constant α using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). In this pilot work, we utilize ∼110,000 galaxies with strong and narrow [O iii ] λ λ 4959, 5007 emission lines to measure the relative variation Δ α / α in space and time. The [O iii ] doublet is arguably the best choice for this purpose owing to its wide wavelength separation between the two lines and its strong emission in many galaxies. Our galaxy sample spans a redshift range of 0 < z < 0.95, covering half of all cosmic time. We divide the sample into subsamples in 10 redshift bins (Δ z = 0.1), and calculate Δ α / α for the individual subsamples. The uncertainties of the measured Δ α / α are roughly between 2 × 10 ^−6 and 2 × 10 ^−5 . We find an apparent α variation with redshift at a level of Δ α / α = (2–3) × 10 ^−5 . This is highly likely to be caused by systematics associated with wavelength calibration, since such small systematics can be caused by a wavelength distortion of 0.002–0.003 Å, which is beyond the accuracy that the current DESI data can achieve. We refine the wavelength calibration using sky lines for a small fraction of the galaxies, but this does not change our main results. We further probe the spatial variation of α in small redshift ranges, and do not find obvious, large-scale structures in the spatial distribution of Δ α / α . As DESI is ongoing, we will include more galaxies, and by improving the wavelength calibration, we expect to obtain a better constraint that is comparable to the strongest current constraint.

We recently introduced three new parameters that describe the shape of the normalized cumulative radial distribution (nCRD) of the innermost stars in globular clusters (GCs) and trace the clusters’ dynamical evolution. Here, we extend our previous investigations to the case of a large set of Monte Carlo simulations of GCs, started from a broad range of initial conditions. All the models are analyzed at the same age of 13 Gyr when they have reached different evolutionary phases. The sample of models is well representative of the structural properties of the observed population of Galactic GCs. We confirm that the three nCRD parameters are powerful tools to distinguish systems in the early stages of dynamical evolution from those that have already experienced core collapse. They might also help disentangle clusters hosting a low-mass intermediate-mass black hole of a few hundred solar masses from cases with large concentrations of dark remnants in their centers. With respect to other dynamical indicators, the nCRD parameters offer the advantage of being fully empirical and easier to measure from observational data.

We present tomographic measurements of structure growth using cross-correlations of Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR6 and Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing maps with the unWISE Blue and Green galaxy samples, which span the redshift ranges 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.1 and 0.3 ≲ z ≲ 1.8, respectively. We improve on prior unWISE cross-correlations not just by making use of the new, high-precision ACT DR6 lensing maps, but also by including additional spectroscopic data for redshift calibration and by analyzing our measurements with a more flexible theoretical model. We determine the amplitude of matter fluctuations at low redshifts ( z ≃ 0.2–1.6), finding ${S}_{8}\equiv {\sigma }_{8}{({{\rm{\Omega }}}_{m}/0.3)}^{0.5}=0.813\pm 0.021$ using the ACT cross-correlation alone and S _8 = 0.810 ± 0.015 with a combination of Planck and ACT cross-correlations; these measurements are fully consistent with the predictions from primary CMB measurements assuming standard structure growth. The addition of baryon acoustic oscillation data breaks the degeneracy between σ _8 and Ω _m , allowing us to measure σ _8 = 0.813 ± 0.020 from the cross-correlation of unWISE with ACT and σ _8 = 0.813 ± 0.015 from the combination of cross-correlations with ACT and Planck. These results also agree with the expectations from primary CMB extrapolations in ΛCDM cosmology; the consistency of σ _8 derived from our two redshift samples at z ∼ 0.6 and 1.1 provides a further check of our cosmological model. Our results suggest that structure formation on linear scales is well described by ΛCDM even down to low redshifts z ≲ 1.

We investigate the impact and mitigation of extragalactic foregrounds for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing power spectrum analysis of Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) data release 6 (DR6) data. Two independent microwave sky simulations are used to test a range of mitigation strategies. We demonstrate that finding and then subtracting point sources, finding and then subtracting models of clusters, and using a profile bias-hardened lensing estimator together reduce the fractional biases to well below statistical uncertainties, with the inferred lensing amplitude, A _lens , biased by less than 0.2 σ . We also show that another method where a model for the cosmic infrared background (CIB) contribution is deprojected and high-frequency data from Planck is included has similar performance. Other frequency-cleaned options do not perform as well, either incurring a large noise cost or resulting in biased recovery of the lensing spectrum. In addition to these simulation-based tests, we also present null tests on the ACT DR6 data for sensitivity of our lensing spectrum estimation to differences in foreground levels between the two ACT frequencies used, while nulling the CMB lensing signal. These tests pass whether the nulling is performed at the map or bandpower level. The CIB-deprojected measurement performed on the DR6 data is consistent with our baseline measurement, implying that contamination from the CIB is unlikely to significantly bias the DR6 lensing spectrum. This collection of tests gives confidence that the ACT DR6 lensing measurements and cosmological constraints presented in companion papers to this work are robust to extragalactic foregrounds.

We present cosmological constraints from a gravitational lensing mass map covering 9400 deg ^2 reconstructed from measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) from 2017 to 2021. In combination with measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations and big bang nucleosynthesis, we obtain the clustering amplitude σ _8 = 0.819 ± 0.015 at 1.8% precision, ${S}_{8}\equiv {\sigma }_{8}{({{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\rm{m}}}/0.3)}^{0.5}=0.840\pm 0.028$ , and the Hubble constant H _0 = (68.3 ± 1.1) km s ^−1 Mpc ^−1 at 1.6% precision. A joint constraint with Planck CMB lensing yields σ _8 = 0.812 ± 0.013, ${S}_{8}\equiv {\sigma }_{8}{({{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\rm{m}}}/0.3)}^{0.5}=0.831\pm 0.023$ , and H _0 = (68.1 ± 1.0) km s ^−1 Mpc ^−1 . These measurements agree with ΛCDM extrapolations from the CMB anisotropies measured by Planck. We revisit constraints from the KiDS, DES, and HSC galaxy surveys with a uniform set of assumptions and find that S _8 from all three are lower than that from ACT+Planck lensing by levels ranging from 1.7 σ to 2.1 σ . This motivates further measurements and comparison, not just between the CMB anisotropies and galaxy lensing but also between CMB lensing probing z ∼ 0.5–5 on mostly linear scales and galaxy lensing at z ∼ 0.5 on smaller scales. We combine with CMB anisotropies to constrain extensions of ΛCDM, limiting neutrino masses to ∑ m _ν < 0.13 eV (95% c.l.), for example. We describe the mass map and related data products that will enable a wide array of cross-correlation science. Our results provide independent confirmation that the universe is spatially flat, conforms with general relativity, and is described remarkably well by the ΛCDM model, while paving a promising path for neutrino physics with lensing from upcoming ground-based CMB surveys.

We present new measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing over 9400 deg ^2 of the sky. These lensing measurements are derived from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) Data Release 6 (DR6) CMB data set, which consists of five seasons of ACT CMB temperature and polarization observations. We determine the amplitude of the CMB lensing power spectrum at 2.3% precision (43 σ significance) using a novel pipeline that minimizes sensitivity to foregrounds and to noise properties. To ensure that our results are robust, we analyze an extensive set of null tests, consistency tests, and systematic error estimates and employ a blinded analysis framework. Our CMB lensing power spectrum measurement provides constraints on the amplitude of cosmic structure that do not depend on Planck or galaxy survey data, thus giving independent information about large-scale structure growth and potential tensions in structure measurements. The baseline spectrum is well fit by a lensing amplitude of A _lens = 1.013 ± 0.023 relative to the Planck 2018 CMB power spectra best-fit ΛCDM model and A _lens = 1.005 ± 0.023 relative to the ACT DR4 + WMAP best-fit model. From our lensing power spectrum measurement, we derive constraints on the parameter combination ${S}_{8}^{\mathrm{CMBL}}\equiv {\sigma }_{8}{\left({{\rm{\Omega }}}_{m}/0.3\right)}^{0.25}$ of ${S}_{8}^{\mathrm{CMBL}}=0.818\pm 0.022$ from ACT DR6 CMB lensing alone and ${S}_{8}^{\mathrm{CMBL}}=0.813\pm 0.018$ when combining ACT DR6 and Planck NPIPE CMB lensing power spectra. These results are in excellent agreement with ΛCDM model constraints from Planck or ACT DR4 + WMAP CMB power spectrum measurements. Our lensing measurements from redshifts z ∼ 0.5–5 are thus fully consistent with ΛCDM structure growth predictions based on CMB anisotropies probing primarily z ∼ 1100. We find no evidence for a suppression of the amplitude of cosmic structure at low redshifts.

We used high-resolution spectra acquired with the Magellan Telescope to measure radial and rotational velocities of approximately 200 stars in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 3201. The surveyed sample includes blue straggler stars (BSSs) and reference stars in different evolutionary stages (main-sequence turnoff, subgiant, red giant, and asymptotic giant branches). The average radial velocity value (〈 V _r 〉 = 494.5 ± 0.5 km s ^−1 ) confirms a large systemic velocity for this cluster and was used to distinguish 33 residual field interlopers. The final sample of member stars has 67 BSSs and 114 reference stars. Similarly to what is found in other clusters, the totality of the reference stars has negligible rotation (< 20 km s ^−1 ), while the BSS rotational velocity distribution shows a long tail extending up to ∼200 km s ^−1 , with 19 BSSs (out of 67) spinning faster than 40 km s ^−1 . This sets the percentage of fast-rotating BSSs to ∼28%. Such a percentage is roughly comparable to that measured in other loose systems ( ω Centauri, M4, and M55) and significantly larger than that measured in high-density clusters (as 47 Tucanae, NGC 6397, NGC 6752, and M30). This evidence supports a scenario where recent BSS formation (mainly from the evolution of binary systems) is occurring in low-density environments. We also find that the BSS rotational velocity tends to decrease for decreasing luminosity and surface temperature, similarly to what is observed in main-sequence stars. Hence, further investigations are needed to understand the impact of BSS internal structure on the observed rotational velocities.

In the context of a project aimed at characterizing the dynamical evolution of old globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud, we have secured deep HST/WFC3 images of the massive cluster NGC 1835. In the field of view of the acquired images, at a projected angular separation of approximately 2′ from the cluster, we detected the small stellar system KMK 88-10. The observations provided the deepest color–magnitude diagram ever obtained for this cluster, revealing that it hosts a young stellar population with an age of 600–1000 Myr. The cluster surface brightness profile is nicely reproduced by a King model with a core radius r _c = 4″ (0.97 pc), a half-mass radius r _hm = 12″ (2.9 pc), and a concentration parameter c ∼ 1.3 corresponding to a truncation radius r _t ∼ 81″ (19.5 pc). We also derived its integrated absolute magnitude ( M _V = −0.71) and total mass ( M ∼ 80–160 M _⊙ ). The most intriguing feature emerging from this analysis is that KMK 88-10 presents a structure elongated in the direction of NGC 1835, with an intracluster overdensity that suggests the presence of a tidal bridge between the two systems. If confirmed, this would be the first evidence of a tidal capture of a small star cluster by a massive globular.

Terzan 5 is a heavily obscured stellar system located in the inner Galaxy. It has been postulated to be a stellar relic, a bulge fossil fragment witnessing the complex history of the assembly of the Milky Way bulge. In this paper, we follow the chemical enrichment of a set of putative progenitors of Terzan 5 to assess whether the chemical properties of this cluster fit within a formation scenario in which it is the remnant of a primordial building block of the bulge. We can explain the metallicity distribution function and the runs of different element-to-iron abundance ratios as functions of [Fe/H] derived from optical-infrared spectroscopy of giant stars in Terzan 5 by assuming that the cluster experienced two major star formation bursts separated by a long quiescent phase. We further predict that the most metal-rich stars in Terzan 5 are moderately He-enhanced, and we predict a large spread of He abundances in the cluster, Y ≃ 0.26–0.335. We conclude that current observations fit within a formation scenario in which Terzan 5 originated from a pristine or slightly metal-enriched gas clump about one order of magnitude more massive than its present-day mass. Losses of gas and stars played a major role in shaping Terzan 5 the way we see it now. The iron content of the youngest stellar population is better explained if the white dwarfs that give rise to type Ia supernovae (the main Fe factories) sink toward the cluster center, rather than being stripped by the strong tidal forces exerted by the Milky Way in the outer regions.

In the context of a project aimed at characterizing the properties of the so-called Bulge Fossil Fragments (the fossil remnants of the bulge formation epoch), here we present the first determination of the metallicity distribution of Liller 1. For a sample of 64 individual member stars we used ESO-MUSE spectra to measure the equivalent width of the Ca II triplet and then derive the iron abundance. To test the validity of the adopted calibration in the metal-rich regime, the procedure was first applied to three reference bulge globular clusters (NGC 6569, NGC 6440, and NGC 6528). In all the three cases, we found single-component iron distributions, with abundance values fully in agreement with those reported in the literature. The application of the same methodology to Liller 1 yielded, instead, a clear bimodal iron distribution, with a subsolar component at [Fe/H] = −0.48 dex ( σ = 0.22) and a supersolar component at [Fe/H] = +0.26 dex ( σ = 0.17). The latter is found to be significantly more centrally concentrated than the metal-poor population, as expected in a self-enrichment scenario and in agreement with that found in another bulge system, Terzan 5. The obtained metallicity distribution is astonishingly similar to that predicted by the reconstructed star formation history of Liller 1, which is characterized by three main bursts and a low, but constant, activity of star formation over the entire lifetime. These findings provide further support to the possibility that, similar to Terzan 5, Liller 1 is also a Bulge Fossil Fragment.

Recently, slowly cooling white dwarfs (WDs) are a new class of WD that have been identified in two globular clusters (namely M13 and NGC 6752), showing a horizontal branch (HB) morphology with an extended blue tail. The cooling rate of these WDs is reduced by stable thermonuclear hydrogen burning in their residual envelope, and they are thought to originate by stars that populate the blue tail of the HB and then skip the asymptotic giant branch phase. Consistently, no evidence of such kind of WDs has been found in M3, a similar cluster with no blue extension of the HB. To further explore this phenomenon, we took advantage of deep photometric data acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope in the near-ultraviolet and investigated the bright portion of the WD cooling sequence in M5, another Galactic globular cluster with HB morphology similar to M3. The normalized WD luminosity function derived in M5 was found to be impressively similar to that observed in M3, in agreement with the fact that the stellar mass distribution along the HB of these two systems is almost identical. The comparison with theoretical predictions is consistent with the fact that the cooling sequence in this cluster is populated by canonical (fast cooling) WDs. Thus, the results presented in this paper provide further support to the scenario proposing a direct causal connection between the slow cooling WD phenomenon and the horizontal branch morphology of the host stellar cluster.

We have used the “dynamical clock” to measure the level of dynamical evolution reached by three Galactic globular clusters (namely, NGC 3201, NGC 6316, and NGC 6440). This is an empirical method that quantifies the level of central segregation of blue straggler stars (BSSs) within the cluster half-mass radius by means of the ${A}_{\mathrm{rh}}^{+}$ parameter, defined as the area enclosed between the cumulative radial distribution of BSSs and that of a lighter population. The total sample with homogeneous determinations of ${A}_{\mathrm{rh}}^{+}$ currently includes 59 clusters: 52 old GCs in the Milky Way (including the three investigated here), five old clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and two young systems in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The three objects studied here nicely nest into the correlation between ${A}_{\mathrm{rh}}^{+}$ and the central relaxation time defined by the previous sample, thus proving and consolidating the use of the dynamical clock as an excellent tracer of the stage of dynamical evolution of a star cluster in different galactic environments. Finally, we discuss the advantages of using the dynamical clock as an indicator of the dynamical ages of star clusters, compared to the present-day central relaxation time.

In the context of a project aimed at characterizing the properties of star clusters in the Galactic bulge, here we present the determination of the internal kinematics and structure of the massive globular cluster NGC 6569. The kinematics has been studied by means of an unprecedented spectroscopic data set acquired in the context of the ESO-VLT Multi-Instrument Kinematic Survey of Galactic globular clusters, combining the observations from four different spectrographs. We measured the line-of-sight velocity of a sample of almost 1300 stars distributed between ∼0.″8 and 770″ from the cluster center. From a subsample of high-quality measures, we determined the velocity dispersion profile of the system over its entire radial extension (from ∼5″ to ∼200″ from the center), finding the characteristic behavior usually observed in globular clusters, with a constant inner plateau and a declining trend at larger radii. The projected density profile of the cluster has been obtained from resolved star counts, by combining high-resolution photometric data in the center, and the Gaia EDR3 catalog radially extended out to $\sim 20^{\prime} $ for a proper sampling of the Galactic field background. The two profiles are properly reproduced by the same King model, from which we estimated updated values of the central velocity dispersion, main structural parameters (such as the King concentration, the core, half mass, and tidal radii), total mass, and relaxation times. Our analysis also reveals a hint of ordered rotation in an intermediate region of the cluster (40″ < r < 90″, corresponding to 2 r _c < r < 4.5 r _c ), but additional data are required to properly assess this possibility.

We report on the discovery of the companion star to the millisecond pulsar PSR J1835−3259B in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6652. Taking advantage of deep photometric archival observations acquired through the Hubble Space Telescope in near-UV and optical bands, we identified a bright and blue object at a position compatible with that of the radio pulsar. The companion is located along the helium-core white dwarf cooling sequence, and the comparison with binary evolution models provides a mass of 0.17 ± 0.02 M _⊙ , a surface temperature of 11,500 ± 1900 K, and a very young cooling age of only 200 ± 100 Myr. The mass and the age of the companion are compatible with a progenitor star of about 0.87 M _⊙ , which started transferring mass to the primary during its evolution along the subgiant branch and stopped during the early red giant branch phase. Combining together the pulsar mass function and the companion mass, we found that this system is observed at an almost edge-on orbit and hosts a neutron star with a mass of 1.44 ± 0.06 M _⊙ , thus suggesting a highly nonconservative mass accretion phase. The young age of the WD companion is consistent with the scenario of a powerful, relatively young MSP indicated by the earlier detection of gamma-rays from this system.

In the context of the ESO-VLT Multi-Instrument Kinematic Survey of Galactic globular clusters, here we present the line-of-sight velocity dispersion profile of NGC 6440, a massive globular cluster located in the Galactic bulge. By combining the data acquired with four different spectrographs, we obtained the radial velocity of a sample of ∼1800 individual stars distributed over the entire cluster extension, from ∼0.″1 to 778″ from the center. Using a properly selected sample of member stars with the most reliable radial velocity measures, we derived the velocity dispersion profile up to 250″ from the center. The profile is well described by the same King model that best fits the projected star density distribution, with a constant inner plateau (at σ _0 ∼ 12 km s ^−1 ) and no evidence of a central cusp or other significant deviations. Our data allowed us to study the presence of rotation only in the innermost regions of the cluster ( r < 5″), revealing a well-defined pattern of ordered rotation with a position angle of the rotation axis of ∼132° ± 2° and an amplitude of ∼3 km s ^−1 (corresponding to V _rot / σ _0 ∼ 0.3). In addition, a flattening of the system qualitatively consistent with the rotation signal has been detected in the central region.

High-resolution Hubble Space Telescope optical observations have been used to analyze the stellar population and the structure of the poorly investigated bulge globular cluster NGC 6316. We constructed the first high-resolution reddening map in the cluster direction, which allowed us to correct the evolutionary sequences in the color–magnitude diagram (CMD) for the effects of differential reddening. A comparison between the CMDs of NGC 6316 and 47 Tucanae revealed strikingly similar stellar populations, with the two systems basically sharing the same turnoff, subgiant branch, and horizontal branch morphologies, indicating comparable ages. The red giant branch in NGC 6316 appears slightly bluer than in 47 Tucanae, suggesting a lower metal content. This has been confirmed by the isochrone fitting of the observed CMD, which provided us with updated values of the cluster age, distance, average color excess, and metallicity. We estimated an absolute age of 13.1 ± 0.5 Gyr, consistent with the age of 47 Tucanae, an average color excess E ( B − V ) = 0.64 ± 0.01, and a true distance modulus ( m − M ) _0 = 15.27 ± 0.03 that sets the cluster distance at 11.3 kpc from the Sun. In addition, the photometric estimate of the cluster metallicity suggests [Fe/H] ≈ −0.9, which is ∼0.2 dex smaller than that of 47 Tucanae. We also determined the gravitational center and the density profile of the system from resolved stars. The latter is well reproduced by a King model. Our results confirm that NGC 6316 is another extremely old relic of the assembly history of the Galaxy.

By studying the normalized cumulative radial distribution (nCRD) of the stars in the central region of a Monte Carlo-simulated globular cluster, we recently defined three parameters able to pinpoint the stage of internal dynamical evolution reached by the system: A _5 (i.e., the area subtended by the nCRD within 5% of the half-mass radius, r _h ), P _5 (the value of the nCRD at 5% r _h ), and S _2.5 (the slope of the nCRD at 2.5% r _h ). Here we extend the analysis and explore the effects that different fractions (0%, 10%, and 20%) of primordial binaries and stellar mass black holes (BHs) induce on the dynamical history of the system. As expected, the gradual contraction of the cluster becomes milder and core collapse shallower for an increasing binary fraction. Nevertheless, the cluster dynamical evolution is still properly traced by the three parameters. For models with a larger initial retention of stellar mass BHs, the evolution depends on the timescale of their subsequent dynamical ejection. An early dynamical ejection of BHs results in a long-term evolution of the three parameters similar to that found in systems without initial BH retention. Conversely, in the model that retains a large number of BHs for an extended time (slow dynamical ejection of BHs), the system is characterized by a less concentrated structure and by the lack of significant temporal evolution of the three parameters. The lower values of the three parameters found in this case might be used to indirectly infer the possible presence of BHs in the cluster.

We collected the largest spectroscopic catalog of RR Lyrae (RRLs) including ≈20,000 high-, medium-, and low-resolution spectra for ≈10,000 RRLs. We provide the analytical forms of radial velocity curve (RVC) templates. These were built using 36 RRLs (31 fundamental—split into three period bins—and five first-overtone pulsators) with well-sampled RVCs based on three groups of metallic lines (Fe, Mg, Na) and four Balmer lines (H _α , H _β , H _γ , H _δ ). We tackled the long-standing problem of the reference epoch to anchor light-curve and RVC templates. For the V -band, we found that the residuals of the templates anchored to the phase of the mean magnitude along the rising branch are ∼35% to ∼45% smaller than those anchored to the phase of maximum light. For the RVC, we used two independent reference epochs for metallic and Balmer lines and we verified that the residuals of the RVC templates anchored to the phase of mean RV are from 30% (metallic lines) up to 45% (Balmer lines) smaller than those anchored to the phase of minimum RV. We validated our RVC templates by using both the single-point and the three phase point approaches. We found that barycentric velocities based on our RVC templates are two to three times more accurate than those available in the literature. We applied the current RVC templates to Balmer lines RVs of RRLs in the globular NGC 3201 collected with MUSE at VLT. We found the cluster barycentric RV of V _γ = 496.89 ± 8.37(error) ± 3.43 (standard deviation) km s ^−1 , which agrees well with literature estimates.