National Geographic Institute (Spain)

Miller-Jones J.C., Bahramian A., Orosz J.A., Mandel I., Gou L., Maccarone T.J., Neijssel C.J., Zhao X., Ziółkowski J., Reid M.J., Uttley P., Zheng X., Byun D., Dodson R., Grinberg V., et. al.

A heavy black hole in an x-ray binary If a black hole interacts with a binary companion star, the system emits x-rays and can form a radio jet. The masses of black holes in these x-ray binaries are all lower than those detected using gravitational waves, challenging models of black hole formation from massive stars. Miller-Jones et al. used radio astrometry to refine the distance to Cygnus X-1, a well-studied x-ray binary. They found a larger distance than previous estimates, raising the mass of the black hole in the system to 21 solar masses. The results challenge the wind mass loss rates implemented in stellar evolution models. Science , this issue p. 1046

Tercero F., López-Pérez J.A., Gallego J.D., Beltrán F., García O., Patino-Esteban M., López-Fernández I., Gómez-Molina G., Diez M., García-Carreño P., Malo I., Amils R., Serna J.M., Albo C., Hernández J.M., et. al.

Context. Yebes 40 m radio telescope is the main and largest observing instrument at Yebes Observatory and is devoted to very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) and single-dish observations since 2010. It has been covering frequency bands between 2 GHz and 90 GHz in discontinuous and narrow windows in most cases in order to match the current needs of the European VLBI Network (EVN) and the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA). Aims. The Nanocosmos project, a European Union-funded synergy grant, has enabled an increase in the instantaneous frequency coverage of the Yebes 40 m radio telescope, making it possible to observe many molecular transitions with single tunings in single-dish mode. This reduces the observing time and maximises the output from the telescope. Methods. We present technical specifications of the recently installed 31.5−50 GHz (Q band) and 72−90.5 GHz (W band) receivers along with the main characteristics of the telescope at these frequency ranges. We observed IRC+10216, CRL 2688, and CRL 618, which harbour a rich molecular chemistry, to demonstrate the capabilities of the new instrumentation for spectral observations in single-dish mode. Results. Our results show the high sensitivity of the telescope in the Q band. The spectrum of IRC+10126 offers an unprecedented signal-to-noise ratio for this source in this band. On the other hand, the spectrum normalised by the continuum flux towards CRL 618 in the W band demonstrates that the 40 m radio telescope produces comparable results to those from the IRAM 30 m radio telescope, although with a lower sensitivity. The new receivers fulfil one of the main goals of Nanocosmos and open up the possibility to study the spectrum of different astrophysical media with unprecedented sensitivity.

García-Burillo S., Alonso-Herrero A., Ramos Almeida C., González-Martín O., Combes F., Usero A., Hönig S., Querejeta M., Hicks E.K., Hunt L.K., Rosario D., Davies R., Boorman P.G., Bunker A.J., Burtscher L., et. al.

We present the first results of the Galaxy Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS), a project aimed at understanding the properties of the dusty molecular tori and their connection to the host galaxy in nearby Seyfert galaxies. Our project expands the range of active galactic nuclei (AGN) luminosities and Eddington ratios covered by previous surveys of Seyferts conducted by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), allowing us to study the gas feeding and feedback cycle in a combined sample of 19 Seyferts. We used ALMA to obtain new images of the emission of molecular gas and dust using the CO(3–2) and HCO+(4–3) lines as well as their underlying continuum emission at 870 μm with high spatial resolutions (0.1″ ∼ 7 − 13 pc) in the circumnuclear disks (CND) of ten nearby (D < 28 Mpc) Seyfert galaxies selected from an ultra-hard X-ray survey. Our new ALMA observations detect 870 μm continuum and CO line emission from spatially resolved disks located around the AGN in all the sources. The bulk of the 870 μm continuum flux can be accounted for by thermal emission from dust in the majority of the targets. For most of the sources, the disks show a preponderant orientation perpendicular to the AGN wind axes, as expected for dusty molecular tori. The median diameters and molecular gas masses of the tori are ∼42 pc and ∼6 × 105 M⊙, respectively. We also detected the emission of the 4–3 line of HCO+in four GATOS targets. The order of magnitude differences found in the CO/HCO+ratios within our combined sample point to a very different density radial stratification inside the dusty molecular tori of these Seyferts. We find a positive correlation between the line-of-sight gas column densities responsible for the absorption of X-rays and the molecular gas column densities derived from CO toward the AGN in our sources. Furthermore, the median values of both column densities are similar. This suggests that the neutral gas line-of-sight column densities of the dusty molecular tori imaged by ALMA significantly contribute to the obscuration of X-rays. The radial distributions of molecular gas in the CND of our combined sample show signs of nuclear-scale molecular gas deficits. We also detect molecular outflows in the sources that show the most extreme nuclear-scale gas deficits in our sample. These observations find for the first time supporting evidence that the imprint of AGN feedback is more extreme in higher luminosity and/or higher Eddington ratio Seyfert galaxies.

Rivilla V.M., Jiménez-Serra I., Martín-Pintado J., Briones C., Rodríguez-Almeida L.F., Rico-Villas F., Tercero B., Zeng S., Colzi L., de Vicente P., Martín S., Requena-Torres M.A.

Significance The detection of ethanolamine ( N H 2 C H 2 C H 2 OH) in a molecular cloud in the interstellar medium confirms that a precursor of phospholipids is efficiently formed by interstellar chemistry. Hence, ethanolamine could have been transferred from the proto-Solar nebula to planetesimals and minor bodies of the Solar System and thereafter to our planet. The prebiotic availability of ethanolamine on early Earth could have triggered the formation of efficient and permeable amphiphilic molecules such as phospholipids, thus playing a relevant role in the evolution of the first cellular membranes needed for the emergence of life.

Giudicepietro F., López C., Macedonio G., Alparone S., Bianco F., Calvari S., De Cesare W., Delle Donne D., Di Lieto B., Esposito A.M., Orazi M., Peluso R., Privitera E., Romano P., Scarpato G., et. al.

Two paroxysmal explosions occurred at Stromboli volcano in the Summer 2019, the first of which, on July 3, caused one fatality and some injuries. Within the 56 days between the two paroxysmal explosions, effusive activity from vents located in the summit area of the volcano occurred. No significant changes in routinely monitored parameters were detected before the paroxysmal explosions. However, we have calculated the polarization and the fractal dimension time series of the seismic signals from November 15, 2018 to September 15, 2019 and we have recognized variations that preceded the paroxysmal activity. In addition, we have defined a new parameter, based on RSAM estimation, related to the Very Long Period events, called VLP size, by means of which we have noticed significant variations through the whole month preceding the paroxysm of July 3. In the short term, we have analyzed the signals of a borehole strainmeter installed on the island, obtaining automatic triggers 10 minutes and 7.5 minutes before the July 3 and the August 28 paroxysms, respectively. The results of this study highlight mid-term seismic precursors of paroxysmal activity and provide valuable evidence for the development of an early warning system for paroxysmal explosions based on strainmeter measurements.

Torres-González P.A., Luengo-Oroz N., Lamolda H., D'Alessandro W., Albert H., Iribarren I., Moure-García D., Soler V.

Monogenetic eruptions are the most common volcanic activity in the world. However, unrest monitoring data are scarce due to the long intervening quiescence periods. This study analyzes unrest signals recorded in one of the largest monogenetic fields in the Canary Islands, Cumbre Vieja (La Palma). Two seismic swarms were registered in October 2017 and February 2018 with b-values of 1.6 ± 0.1 and 2.3 ± 0.2 respectively suggesting an intense magmatic fluids contribution, gas and/or magma. Both swarms were linked to changes in gas emissions. Increases in hydrogen concentration, and (R/Ra)c up to 7.52 ± 0.05, were recorded before the first swarm, at the sampling point closest to where seismicity was located, indicating a deep gas input. After the second swarm, increases in (R/Ra)c and thoron soil concentration were recorded at two locations. This dataset is compatible with a stalled magmatic intrusion at ca. 25 km depth, with an estimated volume between 5.5·10−4 km3 and 3·10−2 km3.

Ngo P.T., Pham T.D., Nhu V., Le T.T., Tran D.A., Phan D.C., Hoa P.V., Amaro-Mellado J.L., Bui D.T.

• A new QPSO-CDTreeEns is proposed for flash flood modeling. • Ten flash flood indicators were considered. • QPSO-CDTreeEns has a high performance and better than benchmarks SVM, CART, and LR. • LULC, slope, curvature, and TWI are the most important indicators. • QPSO-CDTreeEns is a new tool for flash flood study. Flash flood is considered as one of the most destructive natural hazards worldwide, especially in tropical countries, where tropical cyclones with torrential rains are recurrent problems yearly. Therefore, an accurate prediction of susceptible areas to flash floods is crucial for developing measures to prevent, avoid, and minimize damages associated with flash floods. The aim of this research is to propose a new state-of-the-art model based on hybridizing Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO) and the Credal Decision Tree (CDT) ensemble, namely the QPSO-CDTreeEns model, for spatial prediction of the flash flood. The concept of the proposed model is to build a forest tree of the CDT established through the Random Subspace ensemble. Therein, QPSO is integrated to optimize the three parameters, the subspace size, number of trees, and the maximum depth of trees. A district suffered from a high frequency of flash floods in the north-western mountainous area of Vietnam was selected as a case study. In this regard, a geospatial database that includes a total of 1698 flash flood and inundation polygons derived from Sentinel-1 C-band SAR images and ten input indicators were used to construct and to verify the proposed model. The result shows that the QPSO-CDT-Ens model performed well (Overall accuracy = 90.4, Kappa coefficient = 0.807) and outperformed the five machine learning algorithms in flash flood susceptibility mapping. Among the ten factors, the land-use/land-cover (LULC), the slope, the curvature, and the TWI are the most important indicators. We conclude that the proposed model is a promising tool for flash flood susceptibility mapping in the tropics and may assist decision-makers in sustainable land-use planning in the national disaster mitigation strategies.

del Fresno C., Cesca S., Klügel A., Domínguez Cerdeña I., Díaz-Suárez E.A., Dahm T., García-Cañada L., Meletlidis S., Milkereit C., Valenzuela-Malebrán C., López-Díaz R., López C.

AbstractThe 2021 volcanic eruption at La Palma, Canary Islands, was the island’s most voluminous historical eruption. Little is known about this volcano’s feeding system. During the eruption, seismicity was distributed in two clusters at ~10-14 km and ~33-39 km depth, separated by an aseismic zone. This gap coincides with the location of weak seismic swarms in 2017-2021 and where petrological data have implied pre-eruptive magma storage. Here we use seismological methods to understand the seismic response to magma transfer, with 8,488 hypocentral relocations resolving small-scale seismogenic structures, and 156 moment tensors identifying stress heterogeneities and principal axes flips. Results suggest a long-lasting preparatory stage with the progressive destabilisation of an intermediate, mushy reservoir, and a co-eruptive stage with seismicity controlled by the drainage and interplay of two localised reservoirs. Our study provides new insights into the plumbing system that will improve the monitoring of future eruptions in the island.

Longpré M., Felpeto A.

Despite decadal–millennial repose periods, volcanoes of the Canary Islands pose significant, though poorly understood hazards to local communities and infrastructure. At least 13 volcanic eruptions forming monogenetic cones and lava flows have occurred in the archipelago since 1500 CE: six on the island of La Palma (in 1585, 1646, 1677–1678, 1712, 1949 and 1971), four on Tenerife (1704–1705, 1706, 1798 and 1909), two on Lanzarote (1730–1736 and 1824) and one on the submarine flank of El Hierro (2011–2012). In this paper, we synthesize available data on these historical eruptions, focusing on their physical characteristics and chronological development, and provide new estimates of eruption parameters, such as lava flow runout, area and volume, to inform volcanic hazard assessment in the archipelago. While incomplete and imprecise, historical records indicate that precursory seismicity began days to years prior to eruption onset, consistent with the three months of well-documented unrest for the 2011–2012 eruption. Excluding the atypical 1730–1736 event, eruptions lasted from ten days to a little under five months. Initial eruptive phases usually involved the opening of multiple vents along dike-fed fissures, with Strombolian explosive activity forming monogenetic cones. Lava flow emission generally quickly followed, and later eruptive phases were typically dominated by effusive behavior. Some eruptions (1704–1705, 1824 and 1949), however, had a complex evolution punctuated by the sequential opening of distinct vents several kilometers apart. Total lengths of vent-defined fissures range from 0.2 to 14.0 km, and maximum lava flow runout is 2.7–9.4 km, extending to the coastline in 75% of eruptions. Proximal eruptive deposits cover 1.8–7.8 km 2 . Published estimates of subaerial eruptive volumes average between 11 and 66 × 10 6 m 3 . In comparison, a new empirical relationship based on well-constrained lava flow area and volume data at other basaltic volcanoes yields volumes of 10–76 × 10 6 m 3 for Canary Island eruptions. The 1730–1736 Timanfaya eruption on Lanzarote represents an outlier in the context of historical Canary Island volcanism, with a duration of 2055 days, a total fissure length ≥ 14.4 km defined by at least ten main emission centers, a maximum lava flow length of 21.7 km, a lava flow field area of 146 km 2 and volume of at least 2.2–3.7 km 3 . Historical eruptive rates are low, at 1.0–2.1 × 10 6 m 3 /year or 7.3–11.0 × 10 6 m 3 /year including the 1730–1736 eruption, in agreement with long-term volcano growth rates based on geologic data. We find no evidence for time-predictable or volume-predictable behavior of the historical eruptive sequence, which has a mean recurrence interval of 39 ± 24 years. Our analysis outlines a useful framework for forecasting the onset, development and style of future eruptions in the archipelago. Further work, particularly detailed field-based studies of eruption deposits and petrologic reconstructions of eruption run-up processes, will help refine our understanding of historical volcanism and associated hazards in the Canary Islands. • 13 historical Canary Island eruptions formed monogenetic cinder cones and lava flows. • Precursory activity may begin days to years prior to eruption, but is poorly constrained. • Eruptions, 10–80 × 10 6 m 3 in volume, commonly show a complex, multi-vent evolution. • An empirical relationship allows estimating volume of basaltic lava flows from their areal extent. • Historical data provide a framework for forecasting future eruption scenarios.

Abdalmalak K.A., Santamaria Botello G., Llorente-Romano S., Rivera-Lavado A., Flygare J., Lopez Fernandez J.A., Serna Puente J.M., Garcia-Castillo L.E., Segovia-Vargas D., Pantaleev M., Garcia-Munoz L.E.

In order to meet the requirements of the new generation of radio telescopes, we have developed a new topology called DYQSA, which stands for DYson Quad-Spiral Array. The design exhibits dual circular polarization contrary to dual linear polarization of state-of-the-art feeds. It covers the required ultrawideband (UWB) from 2 to 14 GHz with an almost constant and real input impedance which facilitates the design of the feeding structure and the low-noise amplifiers (LNAs). Different versions are investigated for enhancing feed performance, ensuring higher aperture efficiencies and mechanical stability. The simulation results of the reflector loaded by the proposed feed show an aperture efficiency of 65%±5% with a noise antenna temperature around 14 K and a system equivalent flux density (SEFD) of about 1300 Jy, both averaged over the required bandwidth at zenith. Measurements of the single-element and the four-element feeds are presented. Comparisons with other state-of-the-art feeds are shown in terms of total aperture efficiencies, design adaptability to different reflectors, calibration signal injection, and the required number of LNAs per feed, cost, and physical volume.