StarXiv: a podcast discussing the latest astronomy papers
Hello! Welcome to the StarXiv, hosted by Dr Michelle Collins and Dr Payel Das. This is a biweekly podcast that delves into the latest astronomy papers & results from the arXiv. Michelle and Payel are astronomers at the University of Surrey. They love research, but struggle to find time to read a lot of papers. They’re hoping this podcast fixes that. The beautiful logo is designed by Izzy Gray, a PhD student currently studying at the University of Surrey.
Episode 33 - Bananas, blueberries, planet eating stars and the fate of the Milky Way
In this episode, Michelle and Payel delve into the story of UV bright galaxies at high redshifts, hints of population III stars, black hole binaries, planet eating stars, pulsars in Omega Centauri and whether or not the Milky Way and Andromeda will merge. Find all the links to the papers at Starxiv.com.
Episode 32 - Ancient star clusters and growing black holes
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole were on-theme with their paper choices. They discuss whether and how stars from ancient globular clusters populate the stellar halo of the Milky Way, and look into research on growing massive black hole seeds in the smallest dwarf galaxies. Tune in here, on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts
Episode 31 - Near Earth Objects, Little Red Dots, bursty star formation and life around massive stars
In this episode, Michelle and Payel discuss the latest theories of little red dot formation, bursty star formation at high redshift, triple-double radio galaxies, where asteroids like Apophis come from, and how likely life might be around massive stars. Check out the episode below, on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 30 - Direct collapse black holes, nuclear stellar discs, and machine learning merger histories
In this episode, Payel and Nicole delve into more JWST discoveries and the frontier of machine learning in astronomy - an ultra-deep view of the cosmic web, machine-learning deep images to look for mergers, a direct collapse black hole explanation to Little Red Dots, machine-learning the Milky Way to reveal complex star formation histories of accreted systems, and the earliest nuclear stellar disc observed to date. Check out the papers below.
An ultra-high-resolution map of (dark) matter - Diana Scognamiglio et al.
Convolutional Neural Networks for classifying galaxy mergers: Can faint tidal features aid in...
Episode 29 - Exploding stars, carbon stars, and starbursting pseudo little red dots
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole hit the arXiv and dig into the latest on Thamnos - an ancient Milky Way merger, carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Stars, Supernova Type Ia as cosmic probes, and a little red dot that isn't a little red dot. Tune in here, on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. And check out the papers below
Episode 28 - Fading stars, digesting planets and dark matter conundrums
In this episode, Michelle and Payel both dissect interesting results from varying stars, including follow up on Betelgeuse's elusive companion. They also talk about the imprints of digested and transiting stars on their hosts spectra, and an unusual lensing signal that could pose difficult questions for warm and cold dark matter. Listen below, on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 27: Making a Milky Way, searching for dwarfs, and elusive black holes
This episode, Payel and Nicole discuss how to generate alpha-bimodalities in Milky-Way-like galaxies without major mergers or radial migration, a new search for radio emission from the elusive intermediate-mass black hole of Omega Centauri , detailed chemical DNA measurements of the oldest stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud, and searching for dwarfs using HI measurements.
Check out the papers we discussed below:
Portrait of a Galaxy on FIRE: Is the $α$-bimodality a natural consequence of inside-out disc growth in a hierarchical formation scenario? - Maria Benito
No evidence for accretion around the intermediate-mass black h...
Episode 26: A tail of tales, little galaxies, and starspots
This episode, Payel and Nicole discuss streamer-like structures around protostellar sources, a multiply imaged Little Red Dot with an apparent blue companion, age and metallicity of low-mass galaxies, starspots and flares, and exploring the ultra-faint dwarf Bootes I using JWST and HST.
Check out the papers we discussed below:
A tale of three tails: A misaligned streamer and mysterious structures around [BHB2007]1 - Aashish Gupta
VENUS: When Red meets Blue -- A multiply imaged Little Red Dot with an apparent blue companion behind the galaxy cluster Abell 383 - Miriam Golubchik
Age...
Episode 25: Extragalactic exoplanets, simulating individual stars, and galaxy mergers as cosmic ray factories
This episode, Michelle, Payel, and Nicole discuss simulating individual stars, exoplanets born outside of the Milky Way, the intracluster medium as a window to past merging activity, the chemical versus kinematic thin and thick discs of the Milky Way, early formation of supermassive black holes, and galaxy mergers as cosmic ray sources.
Check out the papers we discussed below
EDGE-INFERNO: How chemical enrichment assumptions impact the individual stars of a simulated ultra-faint dwarf galaxy - Eric Anderson
Searching for Exoplanets Born Outside the Milky Way: VOYAGERS Survey Design - Robert Aloisi
...
Episode 24 - Strong lenses, Solar Flares and young, high alpha stars
This episode, Michelle and Payel discuss the Solar birth cluster, young stars with high alpha abundances, the formation of intermediate mass black holes, decelerated expansion of the Universe, strong lens detection in Euclid and predicting solar flares. Check out the papers we discussed below:
Spectroscopic Follow-up of Young High-α Dwarf Star Candidates: Still Likely Genuinely Young - Yuxi Lu
Limits on Stellar Flybys in the Solar Birth Cluster - Amir Siraj, Christopher F. Chyba, Scott Tremaine
Strong Progenitor Age-bias in Supernova Cosmology. II. Alignment with DESI BAO and Signs of a Non-Accelerating Universe...
Episode 23 - Failed galaxies, faint galaxies, and the proto-Galaxy
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole discuss what sets the chemistry of the faintest galaxies and RR-Lyrae stars, how to trace the proto-Galaxy, why some galaxies fail to thrive, can quasi-stars can explain Little Red Dots, and whether UNIONS 1 is a galaxy or a star cluster. Tune in below, on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 22 - ORCs, rings, and Galactic histories
In this episode, Payel and Nicole discuss what happens to the metallicity gradient of a satellite galaxy after it merges with its host, the existence of intermediate-age RR lyrae and radio rings, the possibility of determining the history of the inner Milky Way from radially migrated stars, and the possibility of finding more Einstein rings using a new approach that utilises both spectra and images.
From order to chaos: the blurred out metallicity gradient of the Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage progenitor - Andreia Carillo et al.
First direct detection of an RR Lyrae star conclusively associated with...
Episode 21 - Mercury, chemistry and quasi periodic eruptionsÂ
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole discuss merger debris around a distant spiral galaxy, metal-mixing around pop III stars, quasi-periodic eruptions in Ansky, relic galaxies, Mercury's magnetosphere and second generation stars in globular clusters. Listen below, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 20 - Dark galaxies, black holes, star formation and life in the faintest galaxies?
In this episode of the StarXiv Michelle and Payel talk about very massive and less massive black holes, the possibility of feedback free star formation, dark galaxies, runaway dwarf galaxies and the chance of life in the faintest galaxies.
Check out the papers below!
AGN-heated dust revealed in "Little Red Dots - I Delvecchio et al.
Is feedback-free star formation possible? - A. Ferrara et al.
The First RELHIC? Cloud-9 is a Starless Gas Cloud - Gangadeep Anand et al.
An isolated early-type dwarf galaxy that ran away from...
Episode 19 - Peering into the Local Universe, distant black holes, forming planets and alien signatures
This episode, Michelle and Payel reunite to discuss the chemistry of nearby M-dwarf stars, where the majority of stars form in the Milky Way, whether giant planets naturally form at large distances from their hosts, extending the search for supermassive black holes and the search for alien technosignatures. Check out the papers we discussed below!
The origin of extreme N-emitters in star-forming galaxies at z
Episode 18 - disks, disks and more disks!
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole dissect 5 papers, and accidentally find a common theme: disks! Whether in low mass galaxies, giant low surface brightness galaxies, the rotation curves of spirals or the natal environment of planetary systems, disks really are all around us. They also discuss the differences in chemistries between globular clusters that have been accreted or formed in-situ, just for a little bit of balance. Check out the episode below, on Spotify, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 17 - detecting dark matter, unusual black holes and speedy stars
In this episode, Michelle and Payel discuss the claimed detection of a starless dark matter subhalo, speedy, puffy white dwarfs, super massive black holes and how to form and grow them, smaller black holes and how to merge them, and star clusters in the Sparkler galaxy. Listen below, on Spotify, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Episode 16 - interstellar visitors, molten planets and faint, dark galaxies
In this episode, Michelle and Payel squash in more papers than ever, as Michelle delves into a flurry of papers about new newly discovered interstellar comet: 3I/ATLAS. They also discuss what sets the metallicities of the faintest galaxies, how nitrogen enrichment relates to gas density, the molten properties of a new ultra-short period planets, and how to find 'dak' galaxies!
Find the papers we discuss in this episode below!
What Sets the Metallicity of Ultra-Faint Dwarfs? - Vance Wheeler et al
CLASSY XIV: Nitrogen Enrichment Shaped by Gas Density and Feedback...
Episode 15 – Flare-inducing planets, avoiding catastrophe, and accreted star clusters
This episode, Michelle is back and she and Payel discuss long period pulsars, population III galaxies, latent variables in Galactic archaeology, accreted globular clusters, planets that cause their star to flare and avoiding photo0z catastrophes.
Check out the papers we discussed this episode below!
Metal-polluted PopIII galaxies and How to Find Them – Elka Rusta et al.
Close-in planet induces flares on its host star – Ekaterina Ilin et al.
Accreted Globular Clusters and Horizontal Branch Morphology in the Outer Halo of M31 – Gracie McGill et al.
A binary origin of ult...
Episode 14 - A cosmic owl, misaligned planetary systems, and the Milky Way as an outlier
In this episode, we had Payel and Nicole filling in for Michelle who’s away on holiday. Nicole is a PhD student, also at the University of Surrey Astrophysics research group. They discuss the direct detection of HI beyond the local universe, how the Milky Way seems unusually cold, a planetary system with two misaligned planets, detecting stars of common origin through the ratio of alpha elements produced through hydrostatic channels to those produced through explosive ones, twin collisional-ring galaxies, and the impact of the initial mass function on chemical evolution at high redshift.
Read this episode's pa...
Episode 13 - Missing Europium, Pluto's craters, 43,000 Goblins and some Pop III stars
In this episode, Michelle and Payel discuss why dark matter halos have a Universal density profile, how to age-date Pluto's surface with craters, delayed Pop III star formation, dwarf candidates in the UNIONS survey, a problem with Europium and whether Little Red Dots are really AGN. Listen below, on Spotify, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts!
Read this episodes papers through the links below!
Collisionless relaxation to quasi-steady state attractors in cold dark matter halos: origin of the universal NFW profile - Uddipan Banik, Amitava Bhattacharjee
Pluto Geologic Map: Use of...
Episode 12 - Signs of life, little red dots and the links between star clusters and high redshift galaxies
This episode, Michelle and Payel are very on-theme as they discuss whether Little Red Dots can be explained by super Eddington accretion; the high abundances of nitrogen to oxygen in the most distant galaxies and whether this is tied to globular cluster formation; the stellar graveyard in galaxies, and claims of signs of life in distant world. Listen below, on Spotify, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts!
Check out this episode's papers on the arXiv below!
Super-Eddington accretion in high-redshift quasar hosts: black-hole driven outflows, galaxy quenching, and the nature of Little Red...
Episode 11 - Whirling planes, wandering black holes and alien supernovae
In this episode, Michelle and Payel discuss whether wandering intermediate black holes are mythical or not, how planes of satellites may form from cosmic accretion, how to form double hot Jupiters, whether Kelper's supernova remnant is an 'alien', whether Unions I is the faintest star cluster or the faintest galaxy, and just how old our globular clusters are. Listen below or check us out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can check out all the papers we discuss this episode using the links below!
Wandering intermediate-mass black holes in Milky...
Episode 10 - Mixing dark matter, surviving black holes and hunting for planets
This episode, Michelle and Payel delve into the latest constraints on mixed dark matter from the Lyman alpha forest, what happens to stars that get a little too close to a black hole, how machine learning can help identify stars likely to host an Earth-like planet, studying the dark ages from the Moon and witnessing the birth of nuclear star clusters! Check out the episode and papers below!
Constraining Mixed Dark Matter models with high redshift Lyman-alpha forest data - Olga Garcia-Gallego et al.
Black Hole Survival Guide: Searching for Stars in the Galactic Center...
Episode 9 – Slowing bars, growing black holes, pasta sauces and AI
In this episode, Payel and Michelle discuss how you can slow down a galaxy’s bar, scaling relations for black holes, whether we can use intracluster light to learn about dark matter, little red dots, AI cosmologists and pasta sauce for all your plotting needs! Check out our episode – and the papers that inspired it – below.
Tidal interaction can stop galactic bars: on the LMC non-rotating bar– Óscar Jiménez-Arranz & Santi Roca-Fabrega
Evidence for evolutionary pathway-dependent black hole scaling relations – Jonathan Cohn et al.
pastamarkers 2: pasta sauce colormaps for your flavorful results – The PASTA collaborat...
Episode 8 – Cosmology, pulsars and dark matter in disk galaxies
In this episode, Payel and Michelle discuss the longest period pulsar, the formation of nuclear star clusters, the recent data releases from ACT and DESI, dark spiral arms and the problem with rotation curves.
Papers in this episode:
The discovery of a 41-second radio pulsar PSR J0311+1402 with ASKAP – Yuanming Wang et al.
Seeding Cores: A Pathway for Nuclear Star Clusters from Bound Star Clusters in the First Billion Years – Fred Angelo Batan Garcia
Dark matter spiral arms in Milky Way-like halos – Marcel Benet et al.
Data Release 1 of the Da...
Episode 7 - Black holes, stealthy satellites and the distance to DF2
In this episode of The Starxiv, Michelle and Payel discuss a revised distance for the controversial ultra-diffuse galaxy, DF2; a discovery of a supermassive black hole in an ultra compact dwarf; 2 galaxies hiding in plain sight; and how statistical mechanics may help with dark matter's cusp-core problem. Michelle and Payel also have to put up with slightly inferior audio quality as the undergraduates reclaimed their recording equipment!
This episode's papers:
A new way to measure the distance to NGC1052-DF2 – Michael Beasley et al.
Revisiting the globular clusters of NGC1052-DF2 – Katja Fahrion et al...
Episode 6 - Einstein rings, black holes, and ringed galaxies
In this episode, Payel and Michelle delve into the arXiv and discuss standard sirens, gravitational lenses, a very metal poor stellar stream and a cosmic bullseye!
Candidate intermediate-mass black hole discovered in an extremely young low-metallicity cluster in the tadpole galaxy KUG 1138+327 – Wang & Ott
Spinning spectral sirens: Robust cosmological measurement using mass-spin correlations in the binary black hole population – Hui et al
Euclid: A complete Einstein ring in NGC 6505 – C. M. O’Riordan et al.
The Pristine survey: XXVIII. The extremely metal-poor stream C-19 stretches over more than 100 degrees – Zhen Yuan et al
Un...
Episode 5 - Galaxies, gas accretion, and aliens
Arriving in your ears on February 10th, our latest installment includes transfer learning to detect low surface brightness galaxies, hot and cold gas accretion, an unusual finding in a filament, details of our proto-Galaxy, and the search for intelligent life!
Papers discussed this month:
DES to HSC: Detecting low surface brightness galaxies in the Abell 194 cluster using transfer learning – Thuruthipilly et al.
Gas accretion at high redshift: cold flows all the way – Waterval et al.
Pearls on a string: Dark and bright galaxies on a strikingly straight and narrow filament – Arabsalmani et al.
Episode 4 - January
In this month’s edition, Michelle and Payel dive into the New Year with papers on machine learning, star formation in low mass galaxies and working out just how early in the Universe planets can form.
Papers discussed this month:
Habitable Worlds Formed at Cosmic Dawn Whalen et al.
The puzzle of isolated and quenched dwarf galaxies in cosmic voids Bidaran et al.
On the detection of stellar wakes in the Milky Way: a deep learning approach – Pöder et al
Episode 3 - December
In this episode, Payel and Michelle discuss six papers covering topics like ultra-diffuse galaxies, the Omega Centauri cluster, and insights from JWST. The extended podcast aims to explore diverse research while transitioning to biweekly episodes in the New Year, maintaining a 30-minute format. They’ll return in 2025.
Papers discussed this month:
The multiple classes of ultra-diffuse galaxies: Can we tell them apart? – Maria-Luisa Buzzo et al.Abundance ties: Nephele and the globular cluster population accreted with ω Cen. Based on APOGEE DR17 and Gaia EDR3 – Giulia Pagnini et al.A New Rarity Assessment of the `Disk of Satellites’...Episode 2 - October
This month, Payel and Michelle sit down to discuss a range of exciting new results, including a disappearing star, news moons of Uranus, star formation in extremely metal poor galaxies and unusual young stars in the Milky Way disk. Plus, we make a plug for the extremely useful local_volume_database project.
Papers discussed this month:
The disappearance of a massive star marking the birth of a black hole in M31 – Kishalay De et al.New Moons of Uranus and Neptune from Ultra-Deep Pencil Beam Surveys – Scott Sheppard et al.Molecular Hydrogen in the Extremely Metal-Poor, Star-Fo...Episode 1 - September
In our first podcast, we sit down to discuss a few papers from September, including a trio of new galaxies, the initial mass function, the building blocks of the Milky Way and are we alone in the Universe?
Papers in this month’s episode:
Three Quenched, Faint Dwarf Galaxies in the Direction of NGC 300: New Probes of Reionization and Internal Feedback, Sand et al Did WISE detect Dyson Spheres/Structures around Gaia-2MASS-selected stars? BlainLoki: an ancient system hidden in the Galactic plane? Sesito et al.Revealing Potential Initial Mass Function variations with metallicity: JWST observations of...
