arXiv subjects

Susana Lizano

Publications and source records attributed to Susana Lizano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tidal disruption of stellar binaries as a pathway to exotic transients

Tidal disruption event (TDE) progenitors are commonly modelled as single stars on parabolic orbits around a supermassive black hole (SMBH), yet observations reveal a richer diversity of dynamical pathways. We show that tidal separation of stellar binaries by a $10^6\,M_\odot$ SMBH provides a natural mechanism for producing eccentric TDEs. Using restricted three-body and SPH simulations, we model a solar-like star (SLS)--white dwarf (WD) binary on a parabolic orbit. The binary orbital phase governs the outcome: one component is captured onto a tightly bound orbit while the other is ejected as a hypervelocity object, naturally producing TDEs with eccentricities $e \neq 1$. We classify these into Elliptical TDEs (eTDEs) and Hyperbolic TDEs (hTDEs), occurring with equal probability. For $\sim 88\%$ of orientations the disruption is clean, with no mass accreted by the WD. The remaining $\sim 12\%$, in two narrow phase windows, leaves the WD with a captured debris envelope (WDDE). About a third of that, $\sim 4\%$ of orientations, involves a direct WD--SLS collision near pericenter, with fallback peaking up to five times earlier and twenty times higher than for a single star; for the innermost $\sim 1.5\%$ the total WDDE mass exceeds $1.4\,M_\odot$, though the degenerate core does not, since the captured material forms a non-degenerate envelope, suggesting outcomes ranging from nova-like events to peculiar red giant-like objects. Depending on the phase, the mechanism may also produce repeating partial TDEs (rTDEs) and quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs). Binary--SMBH encounters provide a robust channel for generating diverse TDEs with distinct observational signatures.

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arXiv2025

ngVLA Synthetic Observations of Ionized Gas in Massive Protostars

Massive star formation involves significant ionization in the innermost regions near the central object, such as gravitationally trapped H II regions, jets, ionized disks, or winds. Resolved observations of the associated continuum and recombination line emission are crucial for guiding theory. The next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) will enable unprecedented observations of thermal emission with 1 mas resolution, providing a new perspective on massive star formation at scales down to a few astronomical units at kiloparsec distances. This work presents synthetic interferometric ngVLA observations of the free-free continuum (93-GHz band), $\mathrm{H41α}$, and $\mathrm{H38α}$ recombination lines from ionized jets and disks around massive protostars. Using the sf3dmodels Python package, we generate gas distributions based on analytical models, which are then processed through the RADMC-3D radiative transfer code. Our results indicate that the ngVLA can easily resolve, both spatially and spectrally, the ionized jet from a 15 $\mathrm{M_\odot}$ protostar at 700 pc, distinguishing between collimated jets and wide-angle winds, and resolving their launching radii, widths, and any substructure down to a few astronomical units. Detailed studies of radio jets launched by massive protostars will be feasible up to distances of $\sim 2$ kpc. Furthermore, ngVLA will be able to study in detail the ionized disks around massive ($> 10~\mathrm{M_\odot}$) protostars up to distances from 4 to 12 kpc, resolving their kinematics and enabling the measurement of their central masses across the Galaxy. These observations can be conducted with on-source integrations of only a few hours.

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arXiv2024

Understanding the Radio Emission from the $β$ Cep star V2187 Cyg

We analyze the radio emission from the $β$ Cep star V2187 Cyg using archive data from the Jansky Very Large Array. The observations were made in ten epochs at 1.39 and 4.96 GHz in the highest angular resolution A configuration. We determine a spectral index of of $α= 0.6\pm0.2$ ($S_ν \propto ν^α$), consistent with an ionized wind or a partially optically-thick synchrotron or gyrosynchrotron source. The emission is spatially unresolved at both frequencies. The 4.96 GHz data shows a radio pulse with a duration of about one month that can be modeled in terms of an internal shock in the stellar wind produced by a sudden increase in the mass-loss rate and the terminal velocity. The quiescent radio emission of V2187 Cyg at 4.96 GHz (with a flux density of $\simeq 150~μJy$), cannot be explained in terms of an internally (by V2187 Cyg) or externally (by a nearby O star) photoionized wind. We conclude that, despite the spectral index suggestive of free-free emission from an ionized wind, the radio emission of V2187 Cyg most likely has a magnetic origin, a possibility that can be tested with a sensitive search for circular polarization in the radio, as expected from gyro-synchrotron radiation, and also by trying to measure the stellar magnetic field, that is expected to be in the range of several kGauss.

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arXiv2023

Exploring the Formation of Resistive Pseudodisks with the GPU Code Astaroth

Pseudodisks are dense structures formed perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field during the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud core. Numerical simulations of the formation of pseudodisks are usually computationally expensive with conventional CPU codes. To demonstrate the proof-of-concept of a fast computing method for this numerically costly problem, we explore the GPU-powered MHD code Astaroth, a 6th-order finite difference method with low adjustable finite resistivity implemented with sink particles. The formation of pseudodisks is physically and numerically robust and can be achieved with a simple and clean setup for this newly adopted numerical approach for science verification. The method's potential is illustrated by evidencing the dependence on the initial magnetic field strength of specific physical features accompanying the formation of pseudodisks, e.g. the occurrence of infall shocks and the variable behavior of the mass and magnetic flux accreted on the central object. As a performance test, we measure both weak and strong scaling of our implementation to find most efficient way to use the code on a multi-GPU system. Once suitable physics and problem-specific implementations are realized, the GPU-accelerated code is an efficient option for 3-D magnetized collapse problems.

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arXiv2023

Understanding the Radio Emission from $ε$ Eridani

Some solar-type stars are known to present faint, time-variable radio continuum emission whose nature is not clearly established. We report on Jansky Very Large Array observations of the nearby star $ε$ Eridani at 10.0 and 33.0 GHz. We find that this star has flux density variations on scales down to days, hours and minutes. On 2020 Apr 15 it exhibited a radio pulse at 10.0 GHz with a total duration of about 20 minutes and a peak four times larger than the plateau of 40 $μ$Jy present in that epoch. We were able to model the time behavior of this radio pulse in terms of the radiation from shocks ramming into the stellar wind. Such shocks can be produced by the wind interaction of violently expanding gas heated suddenly by energetic electrons from a stellar flare, similar to the observed solar flares. Because of the large temperature needed in the working surface to produce the observed emission, this has to be non thermal. It could be gyrosynchrotron or synchrotron emission. Unfortunately, the spectral index or polarization measurements from the radio pulse do not have enough signal-to-noise ratio to determine its nature.

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arXiv2022

Resolving the collimation zone of an intermediate-mass protostar

We report new VLA and e-MERLIN high resolution and sensitivity images of the Triple Radio continuum Source in the Serpens star forming region. These observations allowed us to perform a deep multi-frequency, multi-epoch study by exploring the innermost regions (<~100 au) of an intermediate-mass YSO for the first time, with a physical resolution of ~15 au. The kinematic analysis of knots recently ejected by the protostar indicates that the jet is undergoing episodic variations in velocity. In addition, our multi-frequency images reveal striking characteristics, e.g., a highly collimated ionized stream that would be launched at a radial distance of ~0.4 au from the protostar, and a narrow (~28 au wide) ionized cavity that would be excited by the interaction of a wide-angle component with the surrounding toroid of infalling material. In light of these results, we propose the scenario in which both a highly-collimated jet and a wide-angle wind coexist to be the most plausible to explain our observations, either launched by the X-wind or X- plus Disk-wind mechanism.

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arXiv2020

Modelling the prompt optical emission of GRB 180325A: the evolution of a spike from the optical to gamma-rays

The transition from prompt to the afterglow emission is one of the most exciting and least understood phases in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Correlations among optical, X-ray and gamma-ray emission in GRBs have been explored, to attempt to answer whether the earliest optical emission comes from internal and/or external shocks. We present optical photometric observations of GRB 180325A collected with the TAROT and RATIR ground-based telescopes. These observations show two strong optical flashes with separate peaks at $\sim50\;$s and $\sim120\;$s, followed by a temporally extended optical emission. We also present X-rays and gamma-ray observations of GRB 180325A, detected by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and X-ray Telescope (XRT), on the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory, which both observed a narrow flash at $\sim80\;$s. We show that the prompt gamma- and X-ray early emission shares similar temporal and spectral features consistent with internal dissipation within the relativistic outflow (e.g. by internal shocks or magnetic reconnection), while the early optical flashes are likely generated by the reverse shock that decelerates the ejecta as it sweeps up the external medium.

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arXiv2020

ALMA observations and modeling of the rotating outflow in Orion Source I

We present $^{29}$SiO(J=8--7) $ν$=0, SiS (J=19--18) $ν$=0, and $^{28}$SiO (J=8--7) $ν$=1 molecular line archive observations made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) of the molecular outflow associated with Orion Source I. The observations show velocity asymmetries about the flow axis which are interpreted as outflow rotation. We find that the rotation velocity ($\sim$4--8 km s$^{-1}$) decreases with the vertical distance to the disk. In contrast, the cylindrical radius ($\sim$100--300 au), the expansion velocity ($\sim$2--15 km s$^{-1}$), and the axial velocity $v_{\rm z}$ ($\sim$-1--10 km s$^{-1}$) increase with the vertical distance. The mass estimated of the molecular outflow $\mathrm{M}_{\rm outflow}\sim$0.66--1.3 M$_\odot$. Given a kinematic time $\sim$130 yr, this implies a mass loss rate $\dot{\mathrm{M}}_{\rm outflow} \sim 5.1-10 \times 10^{-3}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. This massive outflow sets important contraints on disk wind models. We compare the observations with a model of a shell produced by the interaction between an anisotropic stellar wind and an Ulrich accretion flow that corresponds to a rotating molecular envelope in collapse. We find that the model cylindrical radii are consistent with the $^{29}$SiO(J=8--7) $ν$=0 data. The expansion velocities and the axial velocities of the model are similar the observed values, except close to the disk ($z\sim\pm$150 au) for the expansion velocity. Nevertheless, the rotation velocities of the model are a factor $\sim$3--10 lower than the observed values. We conclude that the Ulrich flow alone cannot explain the rotation observed and other possibilities should be explored, like the inclusion of the angular momentum of a disk wind.

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arXiv2020

The Evolution Of The Inner Regions of Protoplanetary Disks

We present a study of the evolution of the inner few astronomical units of protoplanetary disks around low-mass stars. We consider nearby stellar groups with ages spanning from 1 to 11 Myr, distributed into four age bins. Combining PANSTARSS photometry with spectral types, we derive the reddening consistently for each star, which we use (1) to measure the excess emission above the photosphere with a new indicator of IR excess and (2) to estimate the mass accretion rate ($\dot{M}$) from the equivalent width of the H$α$ line. Using the observed decay of $\dot{M}$ as a constrain to fix the initial conditions and the viscosity parameter of viscous evolutionary models, we use approximate Bayesian modeling to infer the dust properties that produce the observed decrease of the IR excess with age, in the range between 4.5 and $24\,μ$m. We calculate an extensive grid of irradiated disk models with a two-layered wall to emulate a curved dust inner edge and obtain the vertical structure consistent with the surface density predicted by viscous evolution. We find that the median dust depletion in the disk upper layers is $ε\sim 3 \times 10^{-3}$ at 1.5 Myr, consistent with previous studies, and it decreases to $ε\sim 3 \times 10^{-4}$ by 7.5 Myr. We include photoevaporation in a simple model of the disk evolution and find that a photoevaporative wind mass-loss rate of $\sim 1 -3 \times 10 ^{-9} \, M_{\odot}yr^{-1}$ agrees with the decrease of the disk fraction with age reasonably well. The models show the inward evolution of the H$_2$O and CO snowlines.

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arXiv2020

Effects of scattering, temperature gradients, and settling on the derived dust properties of observed protoplanetary disks

It is known that the millimeter dust thermal emission of protoplanetary disks is affected by scattering, such that for optically thick disks the emission decreases with respect to the pure absorption case and the spectral indices can reach values below 2. The latter can also be obtained with temperature gradients. Using simple analytical models of radiative transfer in thin slabs, we quantify the effect of scattering, vertical temperature gradients, and dust settling on the emission and spectral indices of geometrically thin face-on accretion disks around young stars. We find that in vertically isothermal disks with large albedo ($ω_ν \gtrsim 0.6$), the emergent intensity can increase at optical depths between $10^{-2}$ and $10^{-1}$. We show that dust settling has important effects on the spectral indices in the optically thick regime, since the disk emission mainly traces small dust grains in the upper layers of the disk. The $λ= 870 \ μ$m emission of these small grains can hide large grains at the disk mid plane when the dust surface density is larger than $\sim$ 3.21 g cm$^{-2}$. Finally, because of the change of the shape of the spectral energy distribution, optically thick disks at 1.3 mm and grains with sizes between 300 $μ$m $< a_{\rm max} <$ 1 mm have a 7 mm flux $\sim 60$\% higher than the extrapolation from higher millimeter frequencies, assumed when scattering is neglected. This effect could provide an explanation to the excess emission at $λ= 7$ mm reported in several disks.

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arXiv2020

Proper Motions of the Radio Source Orion MR, Formerly Known as Orion n, and New Sources with Large Proper Motions in Orion BN/KL

The infrared source known as Orion n was detected in 1980 with observations made with the 3.8-m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. About two decades later, sensitive observations made with the Very Large Array revealed the presence of a mJy double radio source apparently coincident in position with the infrared source n. The radio source was assumed to be the counterpart of the infrared source. However, over the years it has been concluded that the radio source shows large proper motions to the south while the infrared source n is stationary. Here we reanalyze the proper motions of the radio source adding both older and newer VLA observations than previously used. We confirm the proper motions of the radio source that at present no longer coincides positionally with the infrared source. The solution to this problem is, most probably, that the infrared source n and the radio source are not the same object: the infrared source is a stationary object in the region while the radio counterpart is moving as a result of the explosion that took place in this region some 500 years ago and that expelled large amounts of molecular gas as well as several compact sources. Considering the paper where it was first reported, we refer to this double radio source as Orion MR. In addition, we use these new observations to fully confirm the large proper motions of the sources IRc23 and Zapata 11. Together with sources BN, I, Orion MR, and x, there are at least six compact sources that recede from a point in common in Orion BN/KL. However, IRc23 is peculiar in that its ejection age appears to be only $\sim$300 years. The relatively large number of sources rules out as a possible mechanism the classic three-body scenario since then only two escaping bodies are expected: a tight binary plus the third star involved in the encounter.

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arXiv2019

Exploring the Grain Properties in the Disk of HL Tau with an Evolutionary Model

We model the ALMA and VLA millimeter radial profiles of the disk around HL Tau to constrain the properties of the dust grains. We adopt the disk evolutionary models of Lynden-Bell \& Pringle and calculate their temperature and density structure and emission. These disks are heated by the internal viscosity and irradiated by the central star and a warm envelope. We consider a dust size distribution $n(a) da \propto a^{-3.5} da $, and vary the maximum grain size in the atmosphere and the midplane, $a_{\rm max}=100\ μ$m, 1 mm, and 1cm. We also include dust settling and vary the dust-to-gas mass ratio from 1 to 9 times the ISM value. We find that the models that can fit the observed level of emission along the profiles at all wavelengths have an atmosphere with a maximum grain size $a_{\rm max} = 100 \ μ$m, and a midplane with $a_{\rm max}=1$ cm. The disk substructure, with a deficit of emission in the gaps, can be due to dust properties in these regions that are different from those in the rings. We test an opacity effect (different $a_{\rm max}$) and a dust mass deficit (smaller dust-to-gas mass ratio) in the gaps. We find that the emission profiles are better reproduced by models with a dust deficit in the gaps, although a combined effect is also possible. These models have a global dust-to-gas mass ratio twice the ISM value, needed to reach the level of emission of the 7.8 mm VLA profile.

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arXiv2019

An analytical model of radial dust trapping in protoplanetary disks

We study dust concentration in axisymmetric gas rings in protoplanetary disks. Given the gas surface density, we derived an analytical total dust surface density by taking into account the differential concentration of all the grain sizes. This model allows us to predict the local dust-to-gas mass ratio and the slope of the particle size distribution, as a function of radius. We test this analytical model comparing it with a 3D magneto-hydrodynamical simulation of dust evolution in an accretion disk. The model is also applied to the disk around HD 169142. By fitting the disk continuum observations simultaneously at $λ= 0.87$, 1.3, 3.0 mm, we obtain a global dust-to-gas mass ratio $ε_{\rm global} = 1.05 \times 10^{-2}$ and a viscosity coefficient $α= 1.35 \times 10^{-2}$. This model can be easily implemented in numerical simulations of accretion disks.

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arXiv2019

Flat Spectrum Radio Continuum Emission Associated with $ε$ Eridani

We present Very Large Array observations at 33.0 GHz that detect emission coincident with $ε$ Eridani to within $0\rlap.{"}07$ (0.2 AU at the distance of this star), with a positional accuracy of $0\rlap.{"}05$. This result strongly supports the suggestion of previous authors that the quiescent centimeter emission comes from the star and not from a proposed giant exoplanet with a semi-major axis of $\sim1\rlap.{"}0$ (3.4 AU). The centimeter emission is remarkably flat and is consistent with optically thin free-free emission. In particular, it can be modeled as a stellar wind with a mass loss rate of the order of $6.6 \times 10^{-11}~ M_\odot ~yr^{-1}$, which is 3,300 times the solar value, exceeding other estimates of this star's wind. However, interpretation of the emission in terms of other thermal mechanisms like coronal free-free and gyroresonance emission cannot be discarded.

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arXiv2018

On the Effects of Self-Obscuration in the (Sub-)Millimeter Spectral Indices and Appearance of Protostellar Disks

In this paper we explore the effects of self-obscuration in protostellar disks with a radially decreasing temperature gradient and a colder midplane. We are motivated by recent reports of resolved dark lanes (`hamburgers') and (sub)mm spectral indices systematically below the ISM value for optically thin dust $α_{\rm ISM} =3.7$. We explore several model grids, scaling disk mass and varying inclination angle $i$ and observing frequency $ν$ from the VLA Ka band ($\sim 37$ GHz) to ALMA Band 8 ($\sim 405$ GHz). We also consider the effects of decreasing the index of the (sub-)mm dust opacity power law $β$ from 1.7 to 1. We find that a distribution of disk masses in the range $M_{\rm disk} = 0.01-2~M_\odot$ is needed to reproduce the observed distribution of spectral indices, and that assuming a fixed $β=1.7$ gives better results than $β=1$. A wide distribution of disk masses is also needed to produce some cases with $α<2$, as reported for some sources in the literature. Such extremely low spectral indices arise naturally when the selected observing frequencies sample the appropriate change in the temperature structure of the optically thick model disk. Our results show that protostellar disk masses could often be underestimated by $> \times10$, and are consistent with recent hydrodynamical simulations. Although we do not rule out the possibility of some grain growth occurring within the short protostellar timescales, we conclude that self-obscuration needs to be taken into account.

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arXiv2017

Dust concentration and emission in protoplanetary disks vortices

We study the dust concentration and emission in protoplanetary disks vortices. We extend the Lyra-Lin solution for the dust concentration of a single grain size to a power-law distribution of grain sizes $n(a) \propto a^{-p}$. Assuming dust conservation in the disk, we find an analytic dust surface density as a function of the grain radius. We calculate the increase of the dust to gas mass ratio $ε$ and the slope $p$ of the dust size distribution due to grain segregation within the vortex. We apply this model to a numerical simulation of a disk containing a persistent vortex. Due to the accumulation of large grains towards the vortex center, $ε$ increases by a factor of 10 from the background disk value, and $p$ decreases from 3.5 to 3.0. We find the disk emission at millimeter wavelengths corresponding to synthetic observations with ALMA and VLA. The simulated maps at 7 mm and 1 cm show a strong azimuthal asymmetry. This happens because, at these wavelengths, the disk becomes optically thin while the vortex remains optically thick. The large vortex opacity is mainly due to an increase in the dust to gas mass ratio. In addition, the change in the slope of the dust size distribution increases the opacity by a factor of 2. We also show that the inclusion of the dust scattering opacity substantially changes the disks images.

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arXiv2016

The Proper Motions of the Double Radio Source n in the Orion BN/KL Region

We have extended the time baseline for observations of the proper motions of radio sources in the Orion BN/KL region from 14.7 to 22.5 years. We present improved determinations for the sources BN and I. In addition, we address the proper motions of the double radio source n, that have been questioned in the literature. We confirm that all three sources are moving away at transverse velocities of tens of km s$^{-1}$ from a region in-between them, where they were located about 500 years ago. Source n exhibits a new component that we interpret as due to a one-sided ejection of free-free emitting plasma that took place after 2006.36. We used the highly accurate relative proper motions between sources BN and I to determine that their closest separation took place in the year 1475$\pm$6, when they were within $\sim$100 AU or less from each other in the plane of the sky.

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arXiv2016

Imaging the photoevaporating disk and radio jet of GM Aur

Photoevaporation is probably the main agent for gas dispersal during the last stages of protoplanetary disk evolution. However, the overall mass loss rate in the photoevaporative wind and its driving mechanism are still not well understood. Here we report multi-configuration Very Large Array observations at 0.7, 3, and 5 cm towards the transitional disk of GM Aur. Our radio continuum observations allow us to image and spatially resolve, for the first time, the three main components at work in this stage of the disk evolution: the disk of dust, the ionized radio jet perpendicular to it, and the photoevaporative wind arising from the disk. The mass loss rate inferred from the flux density of the radio jet is consistent with the ratio between ejection and accretion rates found in younger objects, suggesting that transitional disks can power collimated ejections of material apparently following the same physical mechanisms as much younger protostars. Our results indicate that extreme-UV (EUV) radiation is the main ionizing mechanism of the photoevaporative wind traced by the free-free emission. The required low EUV photon luminosity of $\sim6\times10^{40}$ s$^{-1}$ would produce a photoevaporation rate of only $\dot{M}_{\rm w,EUV}\simeq1.3\times10^{-10}~M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. Therefore, other mechanisms are required to disperse the disk in the timescale imposed by observations.

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