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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Observing correlations between dark matter accretion and galaxy growth: II. testing the impact of galaxy mass, star formation indicator, and neighbour colours

A crucial question in galaxy formation is what role new accretion has in star formation. Theoretical models have predicted a wide range of correlation strengths between halo accretion and galaxy star formation. Previously, we presented a technique to observationally constrain this correlation strength for isolated Milky Way mass galaxies at z ~ 0.12, based on the correlation between halo accretion and the density profile of neighbouring galaxies. By applying this technique to both observational data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and simulation data from the UNIVERSEMACHINE , where we can test different correlation strengths, we ruled out positive correlations between dark matter accretion and recent star formation activity. In this work, we expand our analysis by (1) applying our technique separately to red and blue neighbouring galaxies, which trace different infall populations, (2) correlating dark matter accretion rates with D n 4000 measurements as a longer-term quiescence indicator than instantaneous star-formation rates, and (3) analysing higher-mass isolated central galaxies with 10 11.0 < M * /M ⊙ < 10 11.5 out to z ~ 0.18. Finally, in all cases, our results are consistent with non-positive correlation strengths with ≳ 85 percent confidence, which is most consistent with models where processes such as gas recycling dominate star formation in massive z = 0 galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Spallation-altered Accreted Compositions for X-Ray Bursts: Impact on Ignition Conditions and Burst Ashes

Model predictions of X-ray burst ashes and light curves depend on the composition of the material accreted from the companion star, in particular the abundance of CNO elements. It has previously been pointed out that spallation in the atmosphere of the accreting neutron star can destroy heavy elements efficiently. In this work we study this spallation using a realistic reaction network that follows the complete spallation cascade and takes into account not only destruction, but also production of elements by the spallation of heavier species. We find an increased survival probability of heavier elements compared to previous studies, resulting in significantly higher CNO abundances.We provide resulting compositions as a function of accretion rate, and explore their impact on 1D multi-zone X-ray burst models. Finally, we find significant changes in the composition of the burst ashes, which will affect the thermal and compositional structure of accreted neutron star crusts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Chemical Composition of Extreme-velocity Stars* †

Abstract Little is known about the origin of the fastest stars in the Galaxy. Our understanding of the chemical evolution history of the Milky Way and surrounding dwarf galaxies allows us to use the chemical composition of a star to investigate its origin and to say whether it was formed in situ or was accreted. However, the fastest stars, the hypervelocity stars, are young and massive and their chemical composition has not yet been analyzed. Though it is difficult to analyze the chemical composition of a massive young star, we are well versed in the analysis of late-type stars. We have used high-resolution ARCES/3.5 m Apache Point Observatory, MIKE/Magellan spectra to study the chemical details of 15 late-type hypervelocity star candidates. With Gaia EDR3 astrometry and spectroscopically determined radial velocities we found total velocities with a range of 274–520 km s −1 and mean value of 381 km s −1 . Therefore, our sample stars are not fast enough to be classified as hypervelocity stars, and are what is known as extreme-velocity stars. Our sample has a wide iron abundance range of −2.5 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ −0.9. Their chemistry indicates that at least 50% of them are accreted extragalactic stars, with iron-peak elements consistent with prior enrichment by sub-Chandrasekhar mass Type Ia supernovae. Without indication of binary companions, their chemical abundances and orbital parameters indicate that they are the accelerated tidal debris of disrupted dwarf galaxies.

Reggiani, Henrique (ORCID:0000000165336179)↗
DOE OSTI2024

From Feast to Famine: A Systematic Study of Accretion onto Oblique Pulsars with 3D GRMHD Simulations

Disk-fed accretion onto neutron stars can power a wide range of astrophysical sources ranging from X-ray binaries, to accretion-powered millisecond pulsars, ultraluminous X-ray sources, and gamma-ray bursts. A crucial parameter controlling the gas–magnetosphere interaction is the strength of the stellar dipole. In addition, coherent X-ray pulsations in many neutron star systems indicate that the star's dipole moment is oblique relative to its rotation axis. Therefore, it is critical to systematically explore the 2D parameter space of the star's magnetic field strength and obliquity, which is what this work does, for the first time, in the framework of 3D general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics. If the accretion disk carries its own vertical magnetic field, this introduces an additional factor: the relative polarity of the disk and stellar magnetic fields. We find that depending on the strength of the stellar dipole and the star–disk relative polarity, the neutron star's jet power can either increase or decrease with increasing obliquity. For weak dipole strength (equivalently, high accretion rate), the parallel polarity results in a positive correlation between jet power and obliquity, whereas the antiparallel orientation displays the opposite trend. For stronger dipoles, the relative-polarity effect disappears, and jet power always decreases with increasing obliquity. The influence of the relative polarity gradually disappears as obliquity increases. Highly oblique pulsars tend to have an increased magnetospheric radius, a lower mass accretion rate, and enter the propeller regime at lower magnetic moments than aligned stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Anatomy of an Unusual Edge-on Protoplanetary Disk. II. Gas Temperature and a Warm Outer Region

We present high-resolution {sup 12}CO and {sup 13}CO 2–1 ALMA observations, as well as optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, of the highly inclined protoplanetary disk around SSTC2D J163131.2–242627. The spectral type we derive for the source is consistent with a 1.2 M {sub ⊙} star inferred from the ALMA observations. Despite its massive circumstellar disk, we find little to no evidence for ongoing accretion on the star. The CO maps reveal a disk that is unusually compact along the vertical direction, consistent with its appearance in scattered light images. The gas disk extends about twice as far away as both the submillimeter continuum and the optical scattered light. CO is detected from two surface layers separated by a midplane region in which CO emission is suppressed, as expected from freeze-out in the cold midplane. We apply a modified version of the tomographically reconstructed distribution method presented by Dutrey et al. to derive the temperature structure of the disk. We find a temperature in the CO-emitting layers and the midplane of ∼33 K and ∼20 K at R < 200 au, respectively. Outside of R > 200 au, the disk’s midplane temperature increases to ∼30 K, with a nearly vertically isothermal profile. The transition in CO temperature coincides with a dramatic reduction in the submicron and submillimeter emission from the disk. We interpret this as interstellar UV radiation providing an additional source of heating to the outer part of the disk.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Probing the Wind Component of Radio Emission in Luminous High-redshift Quasars

We discuss a probe of the contribution of wind-related shocks to the radio emission in otherwise radio-quiet quasars. Given (1) the nonlinear correlation between UV and X-ray luminosity in quasars, (2) that such a correlation leads to higher likelihood of radiation-line-driven winds in more luminous quasars, and (3) that luminous quasars are more abundant at high redshift, deep radio observations of high-redshift quasars are needed to probe potential contributions from accretion disk winds. We target a sample of 50 z ≃ 1.65 color-selected quasars that span the range of expected accretion disk wind properties as traced by broad C iv emission. 3 GHz observations with the Very Large Array to an rms of ≈10 μJy beam -1 probe to star formation rates of ~400 M ⊙ yr -1 , leading to 22 detections. Supplementing these pointed observations are survey data of 388 sources from the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey Data Release 1 that reach comparable depth (for a typical radio spectral index), where 123 sources are detected. These combined observations reveal a radio detection fraction that is a nonlinear function of C iv emission-line properties and suggest that the data may require multiple origins of radio emission in radio-quiet quasars. We find evidence for radio emission from weak jets or coronae in radio-quiet quasars with low Eddington ratios, with either (or both) star formation and accretion disk winds playing an important role in optically luminous quasars and correlated with increasing Eddington ratio. Additional pointed radio observations are needed to fully establish the nature of radio emission in radio-quiet quasars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rejuvenating Star Formation Activity in an Early-type Dwarf Galaxy, LEDA 1915372, with Accreted H i Gas

We report a rare astrophysical phenomenon, in which an early-type dwarf galaxy (dE), LEDA 1915372, is accreting gas from a nearby star-forming dwarf galaxy, MRK 0689, and is rejuvenating star formation activity at the center. Both LEDA 1915372 and MRK 0689 have similar brightness of M r = -16.99 and -16.78 mag, respectively. They are located in a small group environment, separated by a sky-projected distance of 20.27 kpc (up to 70 kpc in three dimension), and have a relative line-of-sight radial velocity of 6 km s -1 . The observation of 21 cm emission with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope provides strong evidence of interaction between the pair of dwarf galaxies in terms of neutral hydrogen (Hi) morphology and kinematics. In particular, the Hi map reveals that the two galaxies are clearly connected by a gas bridge, and the gas components of both LEDA 1915372 and MRK 0689 share a common direction of rotation. We also find that the Hi emission peak deviates from LEDA 1915372 toward its optical blue plume, suggesting a tidal origin of ongoing central star formation. Our findings provide a new path to the formation of blue-cored dEs.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

MASCOT: molecular gas depletion times and metallicity gradients – evidence for feedback in quenching active galaxies

ABSTRACT We present results from the first public data release of the MaNGA-ARO Survey of CO Targets (MASCOT), focusing our study on galaxies whose star formation rates and stellar masses place them below the ridge of the star-forming main sequence. In optically selected type 2 AGN/low-ionization nuclear emission regions (LINERs)/Composites, we find an empirical relation between gas-phase metallicity gradients ∇Z and global molecular gas depletion times $t_{\rm dep} = M_{\rm H_2} /{\rm SFR}$ with ‘more quenched’ systems showing flatter/positive gradients. Our results are based on the O3N2 metallicity diagnostic (applied to star-forming regions within a given galaxy), which was recently suggested to also be robust against emission by diffuse ionized gas (DIG) and LINERs. We conduct a systematic investigation into possible drivers of the observed ∇Z − tdep relation (ouflows, gas accretion, in situ star formation, mergers, and morphology). We find a strong relation between ∇Z or tdep and centralized outflow strength traced by the [O iii] velocity broadening. We also find signatures of suppressed star formation in the outskirts in AGN-like galaxies with long depletion times and an enhancement of metals in the outer regions. We find no evidence of inflows impacting the metallicity gradients, and none of our results are found to be significantly affected by merger activity or morphology. We thus conclude that the observed ∇Z–tdep relation may stem from a combination of metal redistribution via weak feedback, and a connection to in situ star formation via a resolved mass-metallicity–SFR relation.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamics of Laterally Propagating Flames in X-Ray Bursts. II. Realistic Burning and Rotation

In this work, we continue to investigate two-dimensional laterally propagating flames in type I X-ray bursts using fully compressible hydrodynamics simulations. In the current study we relax previous approximations where we artificially boosted the flames. We now use more physically realistic reaction rates, thermal conductivities, and rotation rates, exploring the effects of neutron star rotation rate and thermal structure on the flame. We find that at lower rotation rates the flame becomes harder to ignite, whereas at higher rotation rates the nuclear burning is enhanced by increased confinement from the Coriolis force and the flame propagates steadily. At higher crustal temperatures, the flame moves more quickly and accelerates as it propagates through the atmosphere. If the temperature is too high, instead of a flame propagating across the surface the entire atmosphere burns uniformly. Our findings could have implications for the relationship between observed burst rise times and neutron star rotation and accretion rates. All of the software used for these simulations is freely available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Reionization with galaxies and active galactic nuclei

In this work we investigate the properties of the sources that reionized the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the high-redshift Universe. Using a semi-analytical model aimed at reproducing galaxies and black holes in the first ~1.5 Gyr of the Universe, we revisit the relative role of star formation and black hole accretion in producing ionizing photons that can escape into the IGM. Both star formation and black hole accretion are regulated by supernova feedback, resulting in black hole accretion being stunted in low-mass haloes. We explore a wide range of combinations for the escape fraction of ionizing photons (redshift-dependent, constant, and scaling with stellar mass) from both star formation ( |$\langle f_{\rm esc}^{\rm sf} \rangle$| ) and AGN ( |$f_{\rm esc}^{\rm bh}$| ) to find: (i) the ionizing budget is dominated by stellar radiation from low stellar mass ( |$M_*\lt 10^9 \, {\rm \rm M_\odot }$| ) galaxies at z > 6 with the AGN contribution (driven by |$M_{bh}\gt 10^6 \, {\rm \rm M_\odot }$| black holes in |$M_* \gtrsim 10^9\, {\rm \rm M_\odot}$| galaxies) dominating at lower redshifts; (ii) AGN only contribute |$10-25{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| to the cumulative ionizing emissivity by z = 4 for the models that match the observed reionization constraints; (iii) if the stellar mass dependence of |$\langle f_{\rm esc}^{\rm sf} \rangle$| is shallower than |$f_{\rm esc}^{\rm bh}$| , at z < 7 a transition stellar mass exists above which AGN dominate the escaping ionizing photon production rate; (iv) the transition stellar mass decreases with decreasing redshift. While AGN dominate the escaping emissivity above the knee of the stellar mass function at z ~ 6.8, they take-over at stellar masses that are a tenth of the knee mass by z = 4.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

r -process Nucleosynthesis from Hyperaccreting Neutron Stars in Common Envelopes

We investigate nuclear reactions and feedback in hyperaccreting neutron star environments, considering accretion rates in the range 0.3–3 × 10 4 M ⊙ yr −1 , typical of short-period compact-object binaries in common envelopes. Our models account for weak reactions, neutrino energy loss, nuclear energy release, pair production, degenerate equations of state, and general relativistic hydrodynamics. Depending on the accretion rates, these systems can develop both proton- and neutron-rich atmospheres with strong convective instabilities linking the neutrino sphere to the outgoing accretion shock inside the radiation trapping zone. Convection drives nucleons through multiple heating and cooling cycles, with photodisintegration dominating during the heating phase and heavy element synthesis during the cooling phase, ejecting material with abundances that depend on the accretion rate and depth of the final decompression trajectory. The turbulent nature of convective currents is conducive to creating a wide range of nuclear products through a variety of effects, including nuclear statistical equilibrium freeze-out and the r-, p-, and γ-processes. We also observe a novel multistep process in reheated trajectories, consisting of proton-capture and photodissociation reactions operating on r-process seeds, producing overall neutron-deficient isotopes. A significant amount of infalling gas experiences high entropy and short (millisecond) freeze-out timescales capable of making r-process elements with high overabundances through a disequilibrium effect between neutrons and α-particles that does not require an excess of neutrons.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey – XV. Properties of ionized outflows

ABSTRACT Powerful outflows are thought to play a critical role in galaxy evolution and black hole growth. We present the first large-scale systematic study of ionized outflows in paired galaxies and post-mergers compared to a robust control sample of isolated galaxies. We isolate the impact of the merger environment to determine if outflow properties depend on merger stage. Our sample contains ∼4000 paired galaxies and ∼250 post-mergers in the local universe (0.02 ≤ z ≤ 0.2) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS DR 7) matched in stellar mass, redshift, local density of galaxies, and [O iii] λ5007 luminosity to a control sample of isolated galaxies. By fitting the [O iii] λ5007 line, we find ionized outflows in ∼15 per cent of our entire sample. Outflows are much rarer in star-forming galaxies compared to active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and outflow incidence and velocity increase with [O iii] λ5007 luminosity. Outflow incidence is significantly elevated in the optical + mid-infrared selected AGN compared to purely optical AGN; over 60 per cent show outflows at the highest luminosities ($L_{\mathrm{[OIII]~\lambda 5007}}\, \gtrsim$ 1042 erg s−1), suggesting mid-infrared AGN selection favours galaxies with powerful outflows, at least for higher [O iii] λ5007 luminosities. However, we find no statistically significant difference in outflow incidence, velocity, and luminosity in mergers compared to isolated galaxies, and there is no dependence on merger stage. Therefore, while interactions are predicted to drive gas inflows and subsequently trigger nuclear star formation and accretion activity, when the power source of the outflow is controlled for, the merging environment has no further impact on the large-scale ionized outflows as traced by [O iii] λ5007.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparison of momentum transport models for numerical relativity

The main problems of nonvacuum numerical relativity, compact binary mergers and stellar collapse, involve hydromagnetic instabilities and turbulent flows, so that kinetic energy at small scales leads to mean effects at large scale that drive the secular evolution. Notable among these effects is momentum transport. We investigate two models of this transport effect, a relativistic Navier-Stokes system and a turbulent mean stress model, that are similar to all of the prescriptions that have been attempted to date for treating subgrid effects on binary neutron star mergers and their aftermath. Our investigation involves both stability analysis and numerical experimentation on star and disk systems. We also begin the investigation of the effects of particle and heat transport on postmerger simulations. Here, we find that correct handling of turbulent heating is crucial for avoiding unphysical instabilities. Given such appropriate handling, the evolution of a differentially rotating star and the accretion rate of a disk are reassuringly insensitive to the choice of prescription. However, disk outflows can be sensitive to the choice of method, even for the same effective viscous strength. We also consider the effects of eddy diffusion in the evolution of an accretion disk and show that it can interestingly affect the composition of outflows.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hubble Space Telescope UV and Hα Measurements of the Accretion Excess Emission from the Young Giant Planet PDS 70 b

Recent discoveries of young exoplanets within their natal disks offer exciting opportunities to study ongoing planet formation. In particular, a planet’s mass accretion rate can be constrained by observing the accretion-induced excess emission. So far, planetary accretion is only probed by the Hα line, which is then converted to a total accretion luminosity using correlations derived for stars. However, the majority of the accretion luminosity is expected to emerge from hydrogen continuum emission, and is best measured in the ultraviolet (UV). In this paper, we present HST/WFC3/UVIS F336W (UV) and F656N (Hα) high-contrast imaging observations of PDS 70. Applying a suite of novel observational techniques, we detect the planet PDS 70 b with signal-to-noise ratios of 5.3 and 7.8 in the F336W and F656N bands, respectively. This is the first time that an exoplanet has been directly imaged in the UV. Our observed Hα flux of PDS 70 b is higher by 3.5σ than the most recent published result. However, the light curve retrieved from our observations does not support greater than 30% variability in the planet’s Hα emission in six epochs over a five month timescale. We estimate a mass accretion rate of 1.4±0.2×10{sup −8}M{sub Jup} yr{sup −1}. Hα accounts for 36% of the total accretion luminosity. Such a high proportion of energy released in line emission suggests efficient production of Hα emission in planetary accretion, and motivates using the Hα band for searches of accreting planets. These results demonstrate HST/WFC3/UVIS’s excellent high-contrast imaging performance and highlight its potential for planet formation studies.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Dependence of the Fraction of Radio Luminous Quasars on Redshift and its Theoretical Implications

While radio emission in quasars can be contributed to by a variety of processes (involving star-forming regions, accretion disk coronas and winds, and jets), the powering of the radio loudest quasars must involve very strong jets, presumably launched by the Blandford–Znajek mechanism incorporating the magnetically arrested disk (MAD) scenario. Here, we focus on the latter and investigate the dependence of their fraction on redshift. We also examine the dependence of the radio-loud fraction (RLF) on BH mass ( M BH ) and Eddington ratio (λ Edd ), while excluding the redshift bias by narrowing its range. In both of these investigations, we remove the bias associated with: (1) the diversity of source selection by constructing two well-defined, homogeneous samples of quasars (first within 0.7 ≤ z ≤ 1.9, second within 0.5 ≤ z ≤ 0.7); and (2) a strong drop in the RLF of quasars at smaller BH masses by choosing those with BH masses larger than 10 8.5 M ⊙ . We confirm some of the previous results showing the increase in the fraction of radio-loud quasars with cosmic time and that this trend can be even steeper if we account for the bias introduced by the dependence of the RLF on BH mass, whereas the bias introduced by the dependence of the RLF on Eddington ratio is shown to be negligible. Assuming that quasar activities are triggered by galaxy mergers, we argue that such an increase can result from the slower drop with cosmic time of mixed mergers than of wet mergers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Probing the Extragalactic Mid-infrared Background with HAWC

The extragalactic background light (EBL) contains all the radiation emitted by nuclear and accretion processes in stars and compact objects since the epoch of recombination. Measuring the EBL density directly is challenging, especially in the near-to-far-infrared wave band, mainly due to the zodiacal light foreground. Instead, gamma-ray astronomy offers the possibility to indirectly set limits on the EBL by studying the effects of gamma-ray absorption in the very high energy (VHE: >100 GeV) spectra of distant blazars. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma Ray Observatory (HAWC) is one of the few instruments sensitive to gamma rays with energies above 10 TeV. This offers the opportunity to probe the EBL in the near/mid-IR region: λ = 1–100 μm. In this study, we fit physically motivated emission models to Fermi-LAT gigaelectronvolt data to extrapolate the intrinsic teraelectronvolt spectra of blazars. We then simulate a large number of absorbed spectra for different randomly generated EBL model shapes and calculate Bayesian credible bands in the EBL intensity space by comparing and testing the agreement between the absorbed spectra and HAWC extragalactic observations of two blazars. The resulting bands are in agreement with current EBL lower and upper limits, showing a downward trend toward higher wavelength values λ > 10 μm also observed in previous measurements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Safety First: Stability and Dissipation of Line-tied Force-free Flux Tubes in Magnetized Coronae

Abstract Magnetized plasma columns and extended magnetic structures with both footpoints anchored to a surface layer are an important building block of astrophysical dissipation models. Current loops shining in X-rays during the growth of plasma instabilities are observed in the corona of the Sun and are expected to exist in highly magnetized neutron star magnetospheres and accretion disk coronae. For varying twist and system sizes, we investigate the stability of line-tied force-free flux tubes and the dissipation of twist energy during instabilities using linear analysis and time-dependent force-free electrodynamics simulations. Kink modes ( m = 1) and efficient magnetic energy dissipation develop for plasma safety factors q ≲ 1, where q is the inverse of the number of magnetic field line windings per column length. Higher-order fluting modes ( m > 1) can distort equilibrium flux tubes for q > 1 but induce significantly less dissipation. In our analysis, the characteristic pitch μ ˜ 0 of flux-tube field lines determines the growth rate ( ∝ μ ˜ 0 3 ) and minimum wavelength of the kink instability ( ∝ μ ˜ 0 − 1 ). We use these scalings to determine a minimum flux tube length for the growth of the kink instability for any given μ ˜ 0 . By drawing analogies to idealized magnetar magnetospheres with varying regimes of boundary shearing rates, we discuss the expected impact of the pitch-dependent growth rates for magnetospheric dissipation in magnetar conditions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

J01020100−7122208: an accreted evolved blue straggler that was not ejected from a supermassive black hole

ABSTRACT J01020100−7122208 is a star whose origin and nature still challenges us. It was first believed to be a yellow supergiant ejected from the Small Magellanic Cloud, but it was more recently claimed to be a red giant accelerated by the Milky Way’s central black hole. In order to unveil its nature, we analysed photometric, astrometric, and high-resolution spectroscopic observations to estimate the orbit, age, and 16 elemental abundances. Our results show that this star has a retrograde and highly-eccentric orbit, $e=0.914_{-0.020}^{+0.016}$. Correspondingly, it likely crossed the Galactic disc at 550 pc from the Galactic Centre. We obtained a spectroscopic mass and age of $1.09\pm 0.10\, {\rm M}_\odot$ and 4.51 ± 1.44 Gyr, respectively. Its chemical composition is similar to the abundance of other retrograde halo stars. We found that the star is enriched in europium, having [Eu/Fe] = 0.93 ± 0.24, and is more metal-poor than reported in the literature, with [Fe/H] = −1.30 ± 0.10. This information was used to conclude that J01020100−7122208 is likely not a star ejected from the central black of the Milky Way or from the Small Magellanic Cloud. Instead, we propose that it is simply a halo star that was likely accreted by the Milky Way in the distant past, but its mass and age suggest it is probably an evolved blue straggler.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗