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DOE OSTI2021

Physical and Visual Evaluation of Filters for Direct Observation of the Sun and the International Standard ISO 12312-2:2015

We investigated the compliance of 43 commercially available solar filters (eclipse glasses) with the ISO 12312-2:2015 standard by measuring their spectral transmittances (280–2000 nm) and calculating their luminous, solar ultraviolet A, ultraviolet B, and infrared (IR) transmittances. We also evaluated the filters for usability by observing the full midday Sun and rating the view on a seven-point balanced scale, from “far too dark, details seen only with great difficulty” to “far too light, uncomfortable to view the Sun.” The mean ratings of two observers, one experienced and one inexperienced in solar observing, differed by 0.28 (95% confidence interval of the mean = 0.26). The inexperienced observer tended to be less accepting of high transmittances. All 43 solar filters complied with the UV and IR requirements. Eighteen filters passed the luminous transmittance requirements, and 24 were borderline too light or too dark. Seven of the 15 solar filters with a luminous transmittance darker than the requirement were rated as acceptable. One filter that passed and another that was borderline too light were rated as too light or far too light. The ISO 12312-2 limits derive from welding filter standards and do not represent an appropriate evidence base for direct solar viewing. This work provides the evidence base for a maximum 0.0012% and a minimum 0.00004% luminous transmittance for solar filters. The results of this study also support the use of welding filters between shades 12 and 16. Lighter welding filters are more acceptable than solar filters of the same luminous transmittance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

An Analysis of the Statistics and Systematics of Limb Anomaly Detections in HST/STIS Transit Images of Europa

Several recent studies derived the existence of plumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa. The only technique that provided multiple detections is the far-ultraviolet imaging observations of Europa in transit of Jupiter taken by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). In this study, we reanalyze the three HST/STIS transit images in which Sparks et al. identified limb anomalies as evidence for Europa’s plume activity. After reproducing the results of Sparks et al., we find that positive outliers are similarly present in the images as the negative outliers that were attributed to plume absorption. A physical explanation for the positive outliers is missing. We then investigate the systematic uncertainties and statistics in the images and identify two factors that are crucial when searching for anomalies around the limb. One factor is the alignment between the actual and assumed locations of Europa on the detector. A misalignment introduces distorted statistics, most strongly affecting the limb above the darker trailing hemisphere where the plumes were detected. The second factor is a discrepancy between the observation and the model used for comparison, adding uncertainty in the statistics. When accounting for these two factors, the limb minima (and maxima) are consistent with random statistical occurrence in a sample size given by the number of pixels in the analyzed limb region. The plume candidate features in the three analyzed images can be explained by purely statistical fluctuations and do not provide evidence for absorption by plumes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Jupiter in the Ultraviolet: Acetylene and Ethane Abundances in the Stratosphere of Jupiter from Cassini Observations between 0.15 and 0.19 μm

At wavelengths between 0.15 and 0.19 μm, the far-ultraviolet spectrum of Jupiter is dominated by the scattered solar spectrum, attenuated by molecular absorptions primarily by acetylene and ethane, and to a lesser extent ammonia and phosphine. We describe the development of our radiative transfer code that enables the retrieval of abundances of these molecular species from ultraviolet reflectance spectra. As a proof-of-concept we present an analysis of Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observations of the disk of Jupiter during the 2000/2001 flyby. The ultraviolet-retrieved acetylene abundances in the upper stratosphere are lower than those predicted by models based solely on infrared thermal emission from the mid-stratosphere observed by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), requiring an adjustment to the vertical profiles above 1 mbar. We produce a vertical acetylene abundance profile that is compatible with both CIRS and UVIS, with reduced abundances at pressures <1 mbar: the 0.1 mbar abundances are 1.21 ± 0.07 ppm for acetylene and 20.8 ± 5.1 ppm for ethane. Finally, we perform a sensitivity study for the JUICE ultraviolet spectrograph, which has extended wavelength coverage out to 0.21 μm, enabling the retrieval of ammonia and phosphine abundances, in addition to acetylene and ethane.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

The High-energy Radiation Environment around a 10 Gyr M Dwarf: Habitable at Last?

Recent work has demonstrated that high levels of X-ray and UV activity on young M dwarfs may drive rapid atmospheric escape on temperate, terrestrial planets orbiting within the habitable zone. However, secondary atmospheres on planets orbiting older, less active M dwarfs may be stable and present more promising candidates for biomarker searches. In order to evaluate the potential habitability of Earth-like planets around old, inactive M dwarfs, we present new Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of Barnard’s Star (GJ 699), a 10 Gyr old M3.5 dwarf, acquired as part of the Mega-MUSCLES program. Despite the old age and long rotation period of Barnard’s Star, we observe two FUV (δ 130 ≈ 5000 s; E 130 ≈ 10 29.5 erg each) and one X-ray (E X ≈ 10 29.2 erg) flares, and we estimate a high-energy flare duty cycle (defined here as the fraction of the time the star is in a flare state) of ~25%. A publicly available 5 Å to 10 μm spectral energy distribution of GJ 699 is created and used to evaluate the atmospheric stability of a hypothetical, unmagnetized terrestrial planet in the habitable zone (r HZ ~ 0.1 au). Both thermal and nonthermal escape modeling indicate (1) the quiescent stellar XUV flux does not lead to strong atmospheric escape: atmospheric heating rates are comparable to periods of high solar activity on modern Earth, and (2) the flare environment could drive the atmosphere into a hydrodynamic loss regime at the observed flare duty cycle: sustained exposure to the flare environment of GJ 699 results in the loss of ≈87 Earth atmospheres Gyr -1 through thermal processes and ≈3 Earth atmospheres Gyr -1 through ion loss processes. These results suggest that if rocky planet atmospheres can survive the initial ~5 Gyr of high stellar activity, or if a second-generation atmosphere can be formed or acquired, the flare duty cycle may be the controlling stellar parameter for the stability of Earth-like atmospheres around old M stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

The Detection and Characterization of Be+sdO Binaries from HST/STIS FUV Spectroscopy

The B emission-line stars are rapid rotators that were probably spun up by mass and angular momentum accretion through mass transfer in an interacting binary. Mass transfer will strip the donor star of its envelope to create a small and hot subdwarf remnant. Here we report on Hubble Space Telescope/STIS far-ultraviolet spectroscopy of a sample of Be stars that reveals the presence of the hot sdO companion through the calculation of cross-correlation functions of the observed and model spectra. We clearly detect the spectral signature of the sdO star in 10 of the 13 stars in the sample, and the spectral signals indicate that the sdO stars are hot, relatively faint, and slowly rotating as predicted by models. A comparison of their temperatures and radii with evolutionary tracks indicates that the sdO stars occupy the relatively long-lived, He-core burning stage. Only 1 of the 10 detections was a known binary prior to this investigation, which emphasizes the difficulty of finding such Be+sdO binaries through optical spectroscopy. However, these results and others indicate that many Be stars probably host hot subdwarf companions.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2020

Radial Star Formation Histories in 32 Nearby Galaxies

The spatially resolved star formation histories are studied for 32 normal star-forming galaxies drawn from the Spitzer Extended Disk Galaxy Exploration Science survey. At surface brightness sensitivities fainter than 28 mag arcsec{sup −2}, the new optical photometry is deep enough to complement archival ultraviolet and infrared imaging and to explore the properties of the emission well beyond the traditional optical extents of these nearby galaxies. Fits to the spectral energy distributions using a delayed star formation history model indicate a subtle but interesting average radial trend for the spiral galaxies: the inner stellar systems decrease in age with increasing radius, consistent with inside-out disk formation, but the trend reverses in the outermost regions with the stellar age nearly as old as the innermost stars. These results suggest an old stellar outer disk population formed through radial migration and/or the cumulative history of minor mergers and accretions of satellite dwarf galaxies. The subset of S0 galaxies studied here show the opposite trend compared to what is inferred for spirals: characteristic stellar ages that are increasingly older with radius for the inner portions of the galaxies, and increasingly younger stellar ages for the outer portions. This result suggests that either S0 galaxies are not well modeled by a delayed-τ model, and/or that S0 galaxies have a more complicated formation history than spiral galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Photometric Redshifts with the LSST. II. The Impact of Near-infrared and Near-ultraviolet Photometry

Accurate photometric redshift (photo-z) estimates are essential to the cosmological science goals of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). In this work, we use simulated photometry for mock galaxy catalogs to explore how LSST photo-z estimates can be improved by the addition of near-infrared (NIR) and/or ultraviolet (UV) photometry from the Euclid, Wide-Field InfrarRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST), and/or Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and ultraviolet Research (CASTOR) space telescopes. Generally, we find that deeper optical photometry can reduce the standard deviation of the photo-z estimates more than adding NIR or UV filters but that additional filters are the only way to significantly lower the fraction of galaxies with catastrophically under- or overestimated photo-z. For Euclid, we find that the addition of JH 5σ photometric detections can reduce the standard deviation for galaxies with z > 1 (z > 0.3) by ∼20% (∼10%), and the fraction of outliers by ∼40% (∼25%). For WFIRST, we show how the addition of deep YJHK photometry could reduce the standard deviation by ≳50% at z > 1.5 and drastically reduce the fraction of outliers to just ∼2% overall. For CASTOR, we find that the addition of its UV- and u-band photometry could reduce the standard deviation by ∼30% and the fraction of outliers by ∼50% for galaxies with z < 0.5. We also evaluate the photo-z results within sky areas that overlap with both the NIR and UV surveys and when spectroscopic training sets built from the surveys’ small-area deep fields are used.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Active galactic nucleus feedback in NGC 3982

The energetic feedback from supermassive black holes can influence star formation at the centres of galaxies. Observational evidence for active galactic nucleus (AGN) impact on star formation can be searched for in galaxies by combining ultraviolet imaging and optical integral field unit data. The ultraviolet flux directly traces recent star formation, and the integral field unit data can reveal dust attenuation, gas ionisation mechanisms, and gas kinematics from the central regions of the galaxy disk. A pilot study on NGC 3982 shows star formation suppression in the central regions of the galaxy, likely due to negative AGN feedback, and enhanced star formation in the outer regions. The case of NGC 3982 could be observational evidence of AGN feedback operating in a Seyfert galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Multiwavelength Look at the GJ 9827 System: No Evidence of Extended Atmospheres in GJ 9827b and d from HST and CARMENES Data

GJ 9827 is a bright star hosting a planetary system with three transiting planets. As a multiplanet system with planets that sprawl within the boundaries of the radius gap between terrestrial and gaseous planets, GJ 9827 is an optimal target to study the evolution of the atmospheres of close-in planets with a common evolutionary history and their dependence from stellar irradiation. Here we report on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and CARMENES transit observations of GJ 9827 planets b and d. We performed a stellar and ISM characterization from the ultraviolet HST spectra, obtaining fluxes for Lyα and Mg ii of F(Lyα) = (5.42{sub −0.75}{sup +0.96}) × 10{sup −13} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} and F(Mgii) = (5.64 ± 0.24) × 10{sup −14} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}. We also investigated a possible absorption signature in Lyα in the atmosphere of GJ 9827b during a transit event from HST spectra, as well as Hα and He i signature for the atmosphere of GJ 9827b and d from CARMENES spectra. We found no evidence of an extended atmosphere in either of the planets. This result is also supported by our analytical estimations of mass loss based on the measured radiation fields for all three planets of this system, which led to a mass-loss rate of 0.4, 0.3, and 0.1 planetary masses per Gyr for GJ 9827b, c, and d, respectively. These values indicate that the planets could have lost their volatiles quickly in their evolution and probably do not retain an atmosphere at the current stage.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2021

Probing the Capability of Future Direct-imaging Missions to Spectrally Constrain the Frequency of Earth-like Planets

A critical question in astrobiology is whether exo-Earth candidates (EECs) are Earth-like, in that they originate life that progressively oxygenates their atmospheres similarly to Earth. We propose answering this question statistically by searching for O{sub 2} and O{sub 3} on EECs with missions such as HabEx or LUVOIR. We explore the ability of these missions to constrain the fraction, f {sub E}, of EECs that are Earth-like in the event of a null detection of O{sub 2} or O{sub 3} on all observed EECs. We use the Planetary Spectrum Generator to simulate observations of EECs with O{sub 2} and O{sub 3} levels based on Earth’s history. We consider four instrument designs—LUVOIR-A (15 m), LUVOIR-B (8 m), HabEx with a starshade (4 m, “HabEx/SS”), and HabEx without a starshade (4 m, “HabEx/no-SS”)—as well as three estimates of the occurrence rate of EECs (η {sub earth}): 24%, 5%, and 0.5%. In the case of a null detection, we find that for η {sub earth} = 24%, LUVOIR-A, LUVOIR-B, and HabEx/SS would constrain f {sub E} to ≤0.094, ≤0.18, and ≤0.56, respectively. This also indicates that if f {sub E} is greater than these upper limits, we are likely to detect O{sub 3} on at least one EEC. Conversely, we find that HabEx/no-SS cannot constrain f {sub E}, due to the lack of a coronagraph ultraviolet channel. For η {sub earth} = 5%, only LUVOIR-A and LUVOIR-B would be able to constrain f {sub E}, to ≤0.45 and ≤0.85, respectively. For η {sub earth} = 0.5%, none of the missions would allow us to constrain f {sub E}, due to the low number of detectable EECs. We conclude that the ability to constrain f {sub E} is more robust to uncertainties in η {sub earth} for missions with larger aperture mirrors. However, all missions are susceptible to an inconclusive null detection if η {sub earth} is sufficiently low.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

The High-energy Spectrum of the Nearby Planet-hosting Inactive Mid-M Dwarf LHS 3844

To fully characterize the atmospheres, or lack thereof, of terrestrial exoplanets, we must include the high-energy environments provided by their host stars. The nearby mid-M dwarf LHS 3844 hosts a terrestrial world that lacks a substantial atmosphere. We present a time-series UV spectrum of LHS 3844 from 1131 to 3215 Å captured by HST/COS. We detect one flare in the FUV that has an absolute energy of 8.96 ± 0.77 × 10{sup 28} erg and an equivalent duration of 355 ± 31 s. We extract the flare and quiescent UV spectra separately. For each spectrum, we estimate the Lyα flux using correlations between UV line strengths. We use Swift-XRT to place an upper limit on the soft X-ray flux and construct a differential emission model to estimate flux that is obscured by the interstellar medium. We compare the differential emission model flux estimates in the XUV to other methods that rely on scaling from the Lyα, Si iv, and N v lines in the UV. The XUV, FUV, and NUV flux of LHS 3844 relative to its bolometric luminosity is log{sub 10}(L {sub band}/L {sub Bol}) =−3.65, −4.16, and −4.48, respectively, for the quiescent state. These values agree with trends in high-energy flux as a function of stellar effective temperature found by the MUSCLES survey for a sample of early-M dwarfs. Many of the most spectroscopically accessible terrestrial exoplanets orbit inactive mid-to-late M dwarfs like LHS 3844. Measurements of M dwarf high-energy spectra are preferable for exoplanet characterization but are not always possible. The spectrum of LHS 3844 is a useful proxy for the current radiation environment for these worlds.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Intrinsic Color Indices of Early-type Dwarf Stars

Early-type stars are short lived and scarce in comparison with other types. Based on the recently released catalogs of early-type stars from the largest Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope spectroscopic survey, the intrinsic colors of the stars with effective temperature up to 32,000 K are determined for the bands from ultraviolet to infrared using the blue-edge method. Analytic relations are derived for the intrinsic color index with the effective temperature for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Two Micron All Sky Survey, Gaia, AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1, and Galaxy Evolution Explorer bands. The results are generally consistent with previous works. In addition, the intrinsic colors of O-type dwarfs and OB supergiants are roughly estimated.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Estimating the Ages of FGK Dwarf Stars through the Use of GALEX FUV Magnitudes

Stellar age cannot be directly measured, yet age determinations are fundamental to understanding the evolution of stars, planets, and galaxies. The work presented here builds upon the idea of a stellar-activity age. We utilized far-ultraviolet (FUV) photometry acquired by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) space telescope as an indicator of chromospheric activity to infer ages of late-F, G, and K type dwarf stars. We derived a purely empirical correlation between FUV magnitudes and stellar age in conjunction with (B − V) color. Our attention is restricted to Sun-like stars with color range 0.55⩽(B−V)⩽0.71 and absolute magnitude range 4.3 ≤ M {sub V} ≤ 5.3. The correlation is defined in terms of a FUV-excess parameter Q(FUV−B,B−V). We related stellar age, τ, to Q through the relation log{sub e}(τ)=log{sub e}(a)+bQ, where a and b are fit parameters and functions of (B − V). This correlation is functional up to 6 Gyr for FGK dwarfs. With such a correlation, one only needs Johnson (B − V) and FUV measurements to estimate the stellar age for Population i dwarf stars of solar-like temperature and metallicity. Such a calibration has utility in population studies of FGK dwarfs for further understanding of the chemical evolution of the Milky Way. As an illustration of one such application, we have constructed activity and FUV–age distributions for a sample of thin and thick disk stars, as distinguished by their chemical abundances. Considerable overlap is found between the activity distribution and age range of the two populations. We discuss the possibility that some high-[α/Fe] thick disk stars were formed as a result of the accretion of dwarf galaxies as recently as 4 Gyr ago.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2025

FORECASTOR – II. Simulating galaxy surveys with the Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research

The Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research (CASTOR) is a planned flagship space telescope, covering the blue-optical and UV part of the spectrum. Here, we introduce the CASTOR image simulator, a python GalSim package-based script capable of generating mock CASTOR images from an input catalogue. We generate example images from the CASTOR Wide, Deep, and Ultra-Deep surveys using simulated lightcones from the Santa Cruz semi-analytic model. We make predictions for the performance of these surveys by comparing galaxies that are extracted from each image using Source Extractor to the input catalogue. We find that the Wide, Deep, and Ultra-Deep surveys will be 75 per cent complete for point sources down to $\sim 27$, 29, and 30 mag, respectively, in the UV, u, and g filters, with the UV-split and u-split filters reaching a shallower depth. With a large area of $\sim 2200$ deg$^2$, the Wide survey will detect hundreds of millions of galaxies out to $z\sim 4$, mostly with $M_\ast \gtrsim 10^{9}\,{\rm M}_{\odot }$. The Ultra-Deep survey will probe to $z\sim 5$, detecting galaxies with $M_\ast \gtrsim 10^{7}{\rm M}_{\odot }$. These galaxy samples will enable precision measurements of the distribution of star formation in the cosmic web, connecting the growth of stellar mass to the assembly of dark matter haloes over two thirds of the history of the Universe, and other core goals of CASTOR’s legacy surveys. These image simulations and the tools developed to generate them will be a vital planning tool to estimate CASTOR’s performance and iterate the telescope and survey designs prior to launch.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Diffuse Bands 9577 and 9633: Relations to Other Interstellar Features

We study, for the first time, the relations of two strong diffuse bands (DIBs) at 9633 and 9577 Å, commonly attributed to C{sub 60}{sup +}, to other interstellar features seen in optical and UV spectra including H i, Ca i, Fe ii, Na i, Ti ii, CN, CH, CH{sup +}, and C{sub 2} and DIBs 5780, 5797, 6196, 6269, 6284, and 6614. We analyzed 62 lines of sight where the stellar contamination by Mg ii was corrected or found negligible for DIB 9633. Equivalent widths of DIB 9577 were measured in 62 lines of sight. Poor mutual correlation between the strengths of the above features and the major diffuse bands (5780 and 5797) as well as with other DIBs (with some exceptions) were revealed. The considered DIBs are also poorly correlated with the features of neutral hydrogen, molecular carbon, and those of simple interstellar radicals. Perhaps this phenomenon can be explained if the diffuse band 9577 is an unresolved blend of two or more interstellar features. There are indications that 9633 and 9577 diffuse bands are stronger in σ-type clouds, i.e., these features resemble the behavior of reasonably broad DIBs, which are strong in the lines of sight where the UV flux from the very hot nearby stars plays an important role.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2021

The Circumstellar Gas of Phi Leonis in the UV

HST UV spectra were obtained to study whether the φ Leo system has one or more stellar companions, as shown for the A-star dwarf, HR10, stellar pulsation, or transiting exocomets. During five partial HST observation sets spread over 13 months, redshifted gas with radial velocities up to +245 km s{sup -1} was observed on one occasion, with lower velocity infalling material seen twice. Blueshifted gas features with velocities as high as -150 km s{sup -1} with up to three features in two spectra were also seen. Low-mass stellar companions to late A stars are coronal sources. Assuming an age of 450 Myr, G-K companions to φ Leo, and multiple M-star companions would have been detected in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey data, but are not seen. Further, the star shows only 1 major pulsation component, suggesting it is single, excluding an A- or early F-star companion. Low covering factor absorption features with |v| ≤ 200 km s{sup -1} have been reported in optical spectra with variation on timescales consistent with nonradial pulsation. However, the highest velocity infall feature has a broader, continuous absorption profile extending from the stellar velocity to +245 km s{sup -1}, with a covering factor of ~25% which is more consistent with a transit by a body on a star-grazing orbit.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Redshifts of radio sources in the Million Quasars Catalogue from machine learning

ABSTRACT With the aim of using machine learning techniques to obtain photometric redshifts based upon a source’s radio spectrum alone, we have extracted the radio sources from the Million Quasars Catalogue. Of these, 44 119 have a spectroscopic redshift, required for model validation, and for which photometry could be obtained. Using the radio spectral properties as features, we fail to find a model which can reliably predict the redshifts, although there is the suggestion that the models improve with the size of the training sample. Using the near-infrared–optical–ultraviolet bands magnitudes, we obtain reliable predictions based on the 12 503 radio sources which have all of the required photometry. From the 80:20 training–validation split, this gives only 2501 validation sources, although training the sample upon our previous SDSS model gives comparable results for all 12 503 sources. This makes us confident that SkyMapper, which will survey southern sky in the u, v, g, r, i, z bands, can be used to predict the redshifts of radio sources detected with the Square Kilometre Array. By using machine learning to impute the magnitudes missing from much of the sample, we can predict the redshifts for 32 698 sources, an increase from 28 to 74 per cent of the sample, at the cost of increasing the outlier fraction by a factor of 1.4. While the ‘optical’ band data prove successful, at this stage we cannot rule out the possibility of a radio photometric redshift, given sufficient data which may be necessary to overcome the relatively featureless radio spectra.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Can the Distance–Redshift Relation be Determined from Correlations between Luminosities?

We explore whether an independent determination of the distance–redshift relation, and hence cosmological model parameters, can be obtained from the apparent correlations between two different wave-band luminosities or fluxes, as has been claimed in recent works using the X-ray and ultraviolet luminosities and fluxes of quasars. We show that such an independent determination is possible only if the correlation between luminosities is obtained independently of the cosmological model and measured fluxes and redshifts, for example, based on sound theoretical models or unrelated observations. In particular, we show that if the correlation is determined empirically for two luminosities obtained from fluxes and redshifts, then the method suffers from circularity. In the case where the observed correlation between fluxes in very narrow redshift bins is used as a proxy for the luminosity correlation, we show that one is dealing with a pure tautology with no information on distances and cosmological model. We argue that the problem arises because of the incomplete treatment of the correlation, and we use numerical methods with a joint X-ray and ultraviolet quasar data set to demonstrate this shortcoming.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗