ALBERT

Description: The concept of stars being tidally ripped apart and consumed by a massive black hole (MBH) lurking in the center of a galaxy first captivated theorists in the late 1970s. The observational evidence for these rare but illuminating phenomena for probing otherwise dormant MBHs first emerged in archival searches of the soft X-ray ROSAT All-Sky Survey in the 1990s, but has recently accelerated with the increasing survey power in the optical time domain, with tidal disruption events (TDEs) now regarded as a class of optical nuclear transients with distinct spectroscopic features. Multiwavelength observations of TDEs have revealed panchromatic emission, probing a wide range of scales, from the innermost regions of the accretion flow to the surrounding circumnuclear medium. I review the current census of 56 TDEs reported in the literature, and their observed properties can be summarized as follows: ▪ The optical light curves follow a power-law decline from peak that scales with the inferred central black hole mass as expected for the fallback rate of the stellar debris, but the rise time does not. ▪ The UV-optical and soft X-ray thermal emission come from different spatial scales, and their intensity ratio has a large dynamic range and is highly variable, providing important clues as to what is powering the two components. ▪ They can be grouped into three spectral classes, and those with Bowen fluorescence line emission show a preference for a hotter and more compact line-emitting region, whereas those with only Heii emission lines are the rarest class. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 59 is August 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Description: In this autobiographical account, I first describe my family, then childhood and education in India. During 1953–55, I worked in the new field of radio astronomy at the Division of Radiophysics of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia. During 1956–57, I worked at the Radio Astronomy Station of Harvard University at Fort Davis, Texas, where I made observations of solar radio bursts at decimeter wavelengths. I then joined Stanford University as a graduate student in 1957. I contributed to the successful operation of the Stanford Cross Antenna and then used it for studying microwave radio emission from the Sun. I was awarded the Ph.D. degree by Stanford University in 1960 and was then appointed as an Assistant Professor for three years. With an urge to contribute to evolving scientific endeavors in India, I joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) at Mumbai, India, in April 1963. In my stay of more than three decades at TIFR, I conceived of, and guided, construction of two of the world's largest radio telescopes, namely the Ooty Radio Telescope and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. These instruments have led to several outstanding contributions and discoveries in the areas of radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and cosmology. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 59 is August 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Description: We describe ongoing searches for intermediate-mass black holes with MBH ≈ 10–105 M⊙. We review a range of search mechanisms, both dynamical and those that rely on accretion signatures. We find the following conclusions: ▪  Dynamical and accretion signatures alike point to a high fraction of 109–1010 M⊙ galaxies hosting black holes with MBH∼ 105 M⊙. In contrast, there are no solid detections of black holes in globular clusters. ▪  There are few observational constraints on black holes in any environment with MBH ≈ 100–104 M⊙. ▪  Considering low-mass galaxies with dynamical black hole masses and constraining limits, we find that the MBH–σ* relation continues unbroken to MBH ∼105 M⊙, albeit with large scatter. We believe the scatter is at least partially driven by a broad range in black hole masses, because the occupation fraction appears to be relatively high in these galaxies. ▪  We fold the observed scaling relations with our empirical limits on occupation fraction and the galaxy mass function to put observational bounds on the black hole mass function in galaxy nuclei. ▪  We are pessimistic that local demographic observations of galaxy nuclei alone could constrain seeding mechanisms, although either high-redshift luminosity functions or robust measurements of off-nuclear black holes could begin to discriminate models.

Description: Ever deeper and wider look-back surveys have led to a fairly robust outline of the cosmic star-formation history, which culminated around [Formula: see text]; this period is often nicknamed “cosmic noon.” Our knowledge about star-forming galaxies at these epochs has dramatically advanced from increasingly complete population censuses and detailed views of individual galaxies. We highlight some of the key observational insights that influenced our current understanding of galaxy evolution in the equilibrium growth picture: ▪  Scaling relations between galaxy properties are fairly well established among massive galaxies at least out to [Formula: see text], pointing to regulating mechanisms already acting on galaxy growth. ▪  Resolved views reveal that gravitational instabilities and efficient secular processes within the gas- and baryon-rich galaxies at [Formula: see text] play an important role in the early buildup of galactic structure. ▪  Ever more sensitive observations of kinematics at [Formula: see text] are probing the baryon and dark matter budget on galactic scales and the links between star-forming galaxies and their likely descendants. ▪  Toward higher masses, massive bulges, dense cores, and powerful AGNs and AGN-driven outflows are more prevalent and likely play a role in quenching star formation. We outline emerging questions and exciting prospects for the next decade with upcoming instrumentation, including the James Webb Space Telescope and the next generation of extremely large telescopes.

Description: The existence of ∼109M⊙ supermassive black holes (SMBHs) within the first billion years of the Universe has stimulated numerous ideas for the prompt formation and rapid growth of black holes (BHs) in the early Universe. Here, we review ways in which the seeds of massive BHs may have first assembled, how they may have subsequently grown as massive as ∼109M⊙, and how multimessenger observations could distinguish between different SMBH assembly scenarios. We conclude the following: ▪  The ultrarare ∼109 M⊙ SMBHs represent only the tip of the iceberg. Early BHs likely fill a continuum from the stellar-mass (∼10M⊙) to the supermassive (∼109) regimes, reflecting a range of initial masses and growth histories. ▪  Stellar-mass BHs were likely left behind by the first generation of stars at redshifts as high as ∼30, but their initial growth typically was stunted due to the shallow potential wells of their host galaxies. ▪  Conditions in some larger, metal-poor galaxies soon became conducive to the rapid formation and growth of massive seed holes, via gas accretion and by mergers in dense stellar clusters. ▪  BH masses depend on the environment (such as the number and properties of nearby radiation sources and the local baryonic streaming velocity) and on the metal enrichment and assembly history of the host galaxy. ▪  Distinguishing between assembly mechanisms will be difficult, but a combination of observations by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (probing massive BH growth via mergers) and by deep multiwavelength electromagnetic observations (probing growth via gas accretion) is particularly promising.

Description: Star-forming regions show a rich and varied chemistry, including the presence of complex organic molecules—in both the cold gas distributed on large scales and the hot regions close to young stars where protoplanetary disks arise. Recent advances in observational techniques have opened new possibilities for studying this chemistry. In particular, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array has made it possible to study astrochemistry down to Solar System–size scales while also revealing molecules of increasing variety and complexity. In this review, we discuss recent observations of the chemistry of star-forming environments, with a particular focus on complex organic molecules, taking context from the laboratory experiments and chemical models that they have stimulated. The key takeaway points include the following: ▪  The physical evolution of individual sources plays a crucial role in their inferred chemical signatures and remains an important area for observations and models to elucidate. ▪  Comparisons of the abundances measured toward different star-forming environments (high-mass versus low-mass, Galactic Center versus Galactic disk) reveal a remarkable similarity, which is an indication that the underlying chemistry is relatively independent of variations in their physical conditions. ▪  Studies of molecular isotopologues in star-forming regions provide a link with measurements in our own Solar System, and thus may shed light on the chemical similarities and differences expected in other planetary systems.

Description: The corona of the Sun is a unique environment in which magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, one of the fundamental processes of plasma astrophysics, are open to a direct study. There is striking progress in both observational and theoretical research of MHD wave processes in the corona, with the main recent achievements summarized as follows: ▪  Both periods and wavelengths of the principal MHD modes of coronal plasma structures, such as kink, slow and sausage modes, are confidently resolved. ▪  Scalings of various parameters of detected waves and waveguiding plasma structures allow for the validation of theoretical models. In particular, kink oscillation period scales linearly with the length of the oscillating coronal loop, clearly indicating that they are eigenmodes of the loop. Damping of decaying kink and standing slow oscillations depends on the oscillation amplitudes, demonstrating the importance of nonlinear damping. ▪  The dominant excitation mechanism for decaying kink oscillations is associated with magnetized plasma eruptions. Propagating slow waves are caused by the leakage of chromospheric oscillations. Fast wave trains could be formed by waveguide dispersion. ▪  The knowledge gained in the study of coronal MHD waves provides ground for seismological probing of coronal plasma parameters, such as the Alfvén speed, the magnetic field and its topology, stratification, temperature, fine structuring, polytropic index, and transport coefficients.

Description: The initial mass function (IMF), describing the distribution of birth masses of stars, plays a pivotal role in establishing the observable properties of galaxies. This article reviews the evidence for variation in the IMF of massive early-type galaxies (ETGs), especially from spectroscopic studies and from dynamical and gravitational lensing measurements over the past decade. The principal conclusions are as follows: ▪  The spectra of massive ETGs depart from the predictions of models with Milky Way–like IMFs in a way that is best reproduced by assuming a steeper (bottom-heavy) IMF below ∼1 M⊙. ▪  Lensing and dynamical models, assuming a constant mass-to-light ratio for the stellar component, infer heavy IMFs, superficially supporting the result from spectra. ▪  The spectroscopic signal exhibits a steep gradient, however, and may be confined to the innermost region with scales ≲2 kpc; such internal variation in the stellar mass-to-light ratio would invalidate a key assumption of most dynamics and lensing studies. ▪  For masses above the main sequence turnoff in ancient populations (≳1 M⊙), there is little evidence for a steeper IMF in massive ETGs or their high-redshift progenitors; rather, a slightly shallower slope is preferred in this regime from several different arguments. ▪  Steep internal gradients may be responsible for some of the apparent discrepancies between different methods and also point to the cause of the IMF variation being restricted to conditions specific to the in situ formation phase of ETG cores.

Description: The disks that orbit young stars are the essential conduits and reservoirs of material for star and planet formation. Their structures, meaning the spatial variations of the disk physical conditions, reflect the underlying mechanisms that drive those formation processes. Observations of the solids and gas in these disks, particularly at high resolution, provide fundamental insights on their mass distributions, dynamical states, and evolutionary behaviors. Over the past decade, rapid developments in these areas have largely been driven by observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This review highlights the state of observational research on disk structures, emphasizing the following three key conclusions that reflect the main branches of the field: ▪  Relationships among disk structure properties are also linked to the masses, environments, and evolutionary states of their stellar hosts. ▪  There is clear, qualitative evidence for the growth and migration of disk solids, although the implied evolutionary timescales suggest the classical assumption of a smooth gas disk is inappropriate. ▪  Small-scale substructures with a variety of morphologies, locations, scales, and amplitudes—presumably tracing local gas pressure maxima—broadly influence the physical and observational properties of disks. The last point especially is reshaping the field, with the recognition that these disk substructures likely trace active sites of planetesimal growth or are the hallmarks of planetary systems at their formation epoch.

Description: Understanding the properties of dust attenuation curves in galaxies and the physical mechanisms that shape them are among the fundamental questions of extragalactic astrophysics, with great practical significance for deriving the physical properties of galaxies. Attenuation curves result from a combination of dust grain properties, dust content, and the spatial arrangement of dust and different populations of stars. In this review, we assess the state of the field, paying particular attention to extinction curves as the building blocks of attenuation laws. We introduce a quantitative framework to characterize extinction and attenuation curves, present a theoretical foundation for interpreting empirical results, overview an array of observational methods, and review observational results at low and high redshifts. Our main conclusions include the following: ▪  Attenuation curves exhibit a wide range of UV-through-optical slopes, from curves with shallow (Milky Way–like) slopes to those exceeding the slope of the Small Magellanic Cloud extinction curve. ▪  The slopes of the curves correlate strongly with the effective optical opacities, in the sense that galaxies with lower dust column density (lower visual attenuation) tend to have steeper slopes, whereas the galaxies with higher dust column density have shallower (grayer) slopes. ▪  Galaxies exhibit a range of 2175-Å UV bump strengths, including no bump, but, on average, are suppressed compared with the average Milky Way extinction curve. ▪  Theoretical studies indicate that both the correlation between the slope and the dust column as well as variations in bump strength may result from geometric and radiative transfer effects.