Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Infrared astronomy”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Detailed Chemical Abundances for a Benchmark Sample of M Dwarfs from the APOGEE Survey

Individual chemical abundances for 14 elements (C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni) are derived for a sample of M dwarfs using high-resolution, near-infrared H-band spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. The quantitative analysis included synthetic spectra computed with 1D LTE plane-parallel MARCS models using the APOGEE Data Release 17 line list to determine chemical abundances. The sample consists of 11 M dwarfs in binary systems with warmer FGK dwarf primaries and 10 measured interferometric angular diameters. To minimize atomic diffusion effects, [X/Fe] ratios are used to compare M dwarfs in binary systems and literature results for their warmer primary stars, indicating good agreement (<0.08 dex) for all studied elements. The mean abundance difference in primaries minus this work's M dwarfs is –0.05 ± 0.03 dex. It indicates that M dwarfs in binary systems are a reliable way to calibrate empirical relationships. A comparison with abundance, effective temperature, and surface gravity results from the APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundances Pipeline (ASPCAP) Data Release 16 finds a systematic offset of [M/H], T eff , log g = +0.21 dex, –50 K, and 0.30 dex, respectively, although ASPCAP [X/Fe] ratios are generally consistent with this study. The metallicities of the M dwarfs cover the range of [Fe/H] = –0.9 to +0.4 and are used to investigate Galactic chemical evolution via trends of [X/Fe] as a function of [Fe/H]. The behavior of the various elemental abundances [X/Fe] versus [Fe/H] agrees well with the corresponding trends derived from warmer FGK dwarfs, demonstrating that the APOGEE spectra can be used to examine Galactic chemical evolution using large samples of selected M dwarfs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Giant topological longitudinal circular photo-galvanic effect in the chiral multifold semimetal CoSi

The absence of mirror symmetry, or chirality, is behind striking natural phenomena found in systems as diverse as DNA and crystalline solids. A remarkable example occurs when chiral semimetals with topologically protected band degeneracies are illuminated with circularly polarized light. Under the right conditions, the part of the generated photocurrent that switches sign upon reversal of the light’s polarization, known as the circular photo-galvanic effect, is predicted to depend only on fundamental constants. The conditions to observe quantization are non-universal, and depend on material parameters and the incident frequency. In this work, we perform terahertz emission spectroscopy with tunable photon energy from 0.2 –1.1 eV in the chiral topological semimetal CoSi. We identify a large longitudinal photocurrent peaked at 0.4 eV reaching ~550 μ A/V 2 , which is much larger than the photocurrent in any chiral crystal reported in the literature. Using first-principles calculations we establish that the peak originates only from topological band crossings, reaching 3.3 ± 0.3 in units of the quantization constant. Our calculations indicate that the quantized circular photo-galvanic effect is within reach in CoSi upon doping and increase of the hot-carrier lifetime. The large photo-conductivity suggests that topological semimetals could potentially be used as novel mid-infrared detectors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Searching for Active Low-mass Stars in the CMa Star-forming Region: Multi-band Photometry with T80S

An exotic environment surrounds the young stellar groups associated with the Canis Major (CMa) OB1/R1 region, which probably was formed under feedback from at least three supernova events having occurred a few million years ago. We use astrometric data from the Gaia-DR2 to confirm the membership of the stars in CMa R1, based on proper motion and parallax, which revealed 514 new members and candidates. The mean age of 5 Myr estimated from the color–magnitude diagram characterizes the sources as likely pre-main-sequence candidates. In total, a sample of 694 stars detected with the T80-South telescope was analyzed according to different color–color diagrams, which were compared with theoretical colors from evolutionary models, aiming to reveal the objects that exhibit color excess due to accretion processes. Accretion and magnetic activity were also explored on the basis of empirical flux–flux relation, such as F {sub 660} and F {sub 861} that are related to Hα and Ca ii triplet emission, respectively. A low fraction (∼3 percent) of the sample have Hα excess and other colors expected for stars exhibiting chromospheric activity. The number of Class I and Class II objects, identified by the infrared (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) colors, indicates a disk fraction of ∼6 percent, which is lower than that expected for stellar clusters with a similar age. Such a large sample of objects associated with CMa R1 without evidences of circumstellar accretion can be interpreted as a lack of disk-bearing stars, unusual for young star-forming regions. However, this may be explained as the result of supernova events.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Probing Intra-Halo Light with Galaxy Stacking in CIBER Images

We study the stellar halos of 0.2 ≲ $z$ ≲ 0.5 galaxies with stellar masses spanning $M$* ~ 10 10.5 to 10 12 $M$ ⊙ (approximately $L$* galaxies at this redshift) using imaging data from the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER). A previous CIBER fluctuation analysis suggested that intra-halo light (IHL) contributes a significant portion of the near-infrared extragalactic background light (EBL), the integrated emission from all sources throughout cosmic history. In this work, we carry out a stacking analysis with a sample of ~30,000 Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometric galaxies from CIBER images in two near-infrared bands (1.1 and 1.8 $μ$m) to directly probe the IHL associated with these galaxies. We stack galaxies in five sub-samples split by brightness and detect an extended galaxy profile beyond the instrument point-spread function (PSF) derived by stacking stars. We jointly fit a model for the inherent galaxy light profile plus large-scale one- and two-halo clustering to measure the extended galaxy IHL. We detect nonlinear one-halo clustering in the 1.8 $μ$m band at a level consistent with numerical simulations. Furthermore, by extrapolating the fraction of extended galaxy light, we measure to all galaxy mass scales, we find ~30%/15% of the total galaxy light budget from galaxies is at radius $r$ > 10/20 kpc, respectively. These results are new at near-infrared wavelengths at the $L$* mass scale and suggest that the IHL emission and one-halo clustering could have appreciable contributions to the amplitude of large-scale EBL background fluctuations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Near-infrared Look at AGN Feedback in Bulgeless Galaxies

While it is generally believed that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) lie in most galaxies with bulges, few SMBHs have been confirmed in bulgeless galaxies. Identifying such a population could provide important insights to the BH seed population and secular BH growth. To this end, we obtained near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic observations of a sample of low-redshift bulgeless galaxies with mid-infrared colors suggestive of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We find additional evidence of AGN activity (such as coronal lines and broad permitted lines) in 69% (9/13) of the sample, demonstrating that mid-infrared selection is a powerful tool to detect AGNs. More than half of the galaxies with confirmed AGN activity show fast outflows in [O III ] in the optical and/or [Si vi] in the NIR, with the latter generally having much faster velocities that are also correlated to their spatial extent. We are also able to obtain virial BH masses for some targets and find they fall within the scatter of other late-type galaxies in the M BH –M stellar relation. The fact that they lack a significant bulge component indicates that secular processes, likely independent of major mergers, grew these BHs to supermassive sizes. Finally, we analyze the rotational gas kinematics and find two notable exceptions: two AGN hosts with outflows that appear to be rotating faster than expected. There is an indication that these two galaxies have stellar masses significantly lower than expected from their dark matter halo masses. This, combined with the observed AGN activity and strong gas outflows, may be evidence of the effects of AGN feedback.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

The CatWISE2020 Catalog

The CatWISE2020 Catalog consists of 1,890,715,640 sources over the entire sky selected from Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and NEOWISE survey data at 3.4 and 4.6 μm (W1 and W2) collected from 2010 January 7 to 2018 December 13. This data set adds two years to that used for the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog, bringing the total to six times as many exposures spanning over 16 times as large a time baseline as the AllWISE catalog. The other major change from the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog is that the detection list for the CatWISE2020 Catalog was generated using crowdsource from Schlafly et al., while the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog used the detection software used for AllWISE. These two factors result in roughly twice as many sources in the CatWISE2020 Catalog. The scatter with respect to Spitzer photometry at faint magnitudes in the COSMOS field, which is out of the Galactic Plane and at low ecliptic latitude (corresponding to lower WISE coverage depth) is similar to that for the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog. The 90% completeness depth for the CatWISE2020 Catalog is at W1 = 17.7 mag and W2 = 17.5 mag, 1.7 mag deeper than in the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog. In comparison to Gaia, CatWISE2020 motions are accurate at the 20 mas yr-1 level for W1~15 mag sources and at the ~100 mas yr-1 level for W1~17 mag sources. This level of accuracy represents a 12 improvement over AllWISE. Finally, the CatWISE catalogs are available in the WISE/NEOWISE Enhanced and Contributed Products area of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Detecting Sub-Micron Space Weathering Effects in Lunar Grains With Synchrotron Infrared Nanospectroscopy

Space weathering processes induce changes to the physical, chemical, and optical properties of space-exposed soil grains. For the Moon, space weathering causes reddening, darkening, and diminished contrast in reflectance spectra over visible and near-infrared wavelengths. The physical and chemical changes responsible for these optical effects occur on scales below the diffraction limit of traditional far-field spectroscopic techniques. Recently developed super-resolution spectroscopic techniques provide an opportunity to understand better the optical effects of space weathering on the sub-micrometer length scale. This paper uses synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy to examine depth-profile samples from two mature lunar soils in the mid-infrared, 1,500 –700 cm -1 (6.7–14.3 μm). Overall, our findings are broadly consistent with prior bulk observations and theoretical models of space weathered spectra of lunar materials. These results provide a direct spatial link between the physical/chemical changes in space-exposed grain surfaces and spectral changes of space weathered bodies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Molecular Gas Ring Hidden in the Sombrero Galaxy

We present Herschel, ALMA, and MUSE observations of the molecular ring of Messier 104, also known as the Sombrero galaxy. These previously unpublished archival data shed new light on the content of the interstellar medium of M104. In particular, molecular hydrogen measured by CO emission and dust measured by far-infrared light are uniformly distributed along the ring. The ionized gas revealed by Hα and [C II] emission is distributed in knots along the ring. Despite being classified as an SAa galaxy, M104 displays features typical of early-type galaxies. We therefore compared its [C II] and dust emission to a sample of early-type galaxies observed with Herschel and SOFIA. The [C II]/FIR ratio of M104 is much lower than that of typical star-forming galaxies and is instead much more similar to that of early-type galaxies. By classifying regions using optical emission line diagnostics, we also find that regions classified as H II lie closer to star-forming galaxies in the [C II]/FIR diagram than those classified as low-ionization emission regions. The good match between [C II] and Hα emission, in conjunction with the lack of correlation between CO emission and star formation, suggests that there is very limited active star formation along the ring and that most of the [C II] emission is from ionized and neutral atomic gas rather than molecular gas. From the total intensity of the CO line, we estimate a molecular hydrogen mass of 0.9 × 10 9 M ⊙ , a value intermediate between those of early-type galaxies and the content of the molecular ring of our galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Infrared Observations of 2I/Borisov near Perihelion

As the first interstellar comet, 2I/Borisov provides a unique opportunity to study the surface composition of a comet from another stellar system, particularly whether it has water ice. In order to investigate the nature of 2I/Borisov, we conducted infrared observations close to perihelion. The water ice, if present, is expected to be revealed by absorption features at 1.5 and 2 micron. We therefore used FLAMINGOS-2 mounted on the Gemini south telescope, to carry out deep imaging on 2019 November 30 UT and spectroscopy on 2019 December 7 UT. At first glance, our imaging did not reveal an apparent coma or a cometary tail. This is due to the bright sky background and our short exposure times. Nevertheless we were able to put an upper limit of the size of the nucleus, as well as provide high-precision astrometry that can be used to investigate nongravitational acceleration in the future. Our infrared spectra showed a negative slope, contrary to the results by Yang et al. It is not unheard of for a comet to show a negative slope, and to progressively exhibit a spectrum with decreasing slope. Possible causes of the decreasing slope are an increase in water ice and/or decrease in dust size. Given the fact that our observations were carried out close to perihelion, it is likely that both factors contribute to the decreasing, negative slope of the infrared spectrum.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Light-tight Skipper-CCDs for X-Ray Detection in Space

Skipper Charge-Coupled Devices (skipper-CCDs) are pixelated silicon detectors with deep sub-electron resolution. Their radiation hardness and capability to reconstruct energy deposits with unprecedented precision make them a promising technology for space-based X-ray astronomy. In this scenario, optical and near-infrared photons may saturate the sensor, distorting the reconstructed signal. We present a light-tight shield for skipper-CCDs to suppress optical backgrounds while preserving X-ray detection efficiency. We deposited thin aluminum layers on the CCD surface using an e-beam evaporator and evaluated their blinding performance across wavelengths from 650 to 1000 nm using a monochromator, as well as the X-ray transmission using an 55 Fe source. We find that 50 and 100 nm layers provide >99.6% light suppression, with no efficiency loss for 5.9 and 6.4 keV X-rays. In addition, we used Geant4 simulations to extend these results to a broader energy range and quantify the efficiency loss for different aluminum thicknesses. Results show that thin aluminum coatings are an effective, low-cost solution for optical suppression in skipper-CCDs intended for X-ray detection and space instrumentation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Kilonova Detectability with Wide-Field Instruments

A diverse set of instruments increase the chances of detecting and identifying a kilonova. Early observations increase the probability of detection. More sensitive wide-field ultraviolet instruments are needed as GW detectors reach design sensitivity. There is a dearth of wide-field infrared instruments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multiband Polarimetric Imaging of HR 4796A with the Gemini Planet Imager

HR4796A hosts a well-studied debris disk with a long history due to its high fractional luminosity and favorable inclination, which facilitate both unresolved and resolved observations. We present new J- and K {sub 1}-band images of the resolved debris disk HR4796A taken in the polarimetric mode of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). The polarized intensity features a strongly forward-scattered brightness distribution and is undetected at the far side of the disk. The total intensity is detected at all scattering angles and also exhibits a strong forward-scattering peak. We use a forward-modeled geometric disk in order to extract geometric parameters, polarized fraction, and total intensity scattering phase functions for these data as well as H-band data previously taken by GPI. We find the polarized phase function becomes increasingly more forward-scattering as wavelength increases. We fit Mie and distribution of hollow spheres (DHS) grain models to the extracted functions. We find that it is possible to generate a satisfactory model for the total intensity using a DHS model, but not with a Mie model. We find that no single grain population of DHS or Mie grains of arbitrary composition can simultaneously reproduce the polarized fraction and total intensity scattering phase functions, indicating the need for more sophisticated grain models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
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 OSTI2020

Near-infrared Spectral Characterization of Solar-type Stars in the Northern Hemisphere

Although solar-analog stars have been studied extensively over the past few decades, most of these studies have focused on visible wavelengths, especially those identifying solar-analog stars to be used as calibration tools for observations. As a result, there is a dearth of well-characterized solar analogs for observations in the near-infrared, a wavelength range important for studying solar system objects. We present 184 stars selected based on solar-like spectral type and V−J and V−K colors whose spectra we have observed in the 0.8–4.2 μm range for calibrating our asteroid observations. Each star has been classified into one of three ranks based on spectral resemblance to vetted solar analogs. Of our set of 184 stars, we report 145 as reliable solar-analog stars, 21 as solar analogs usable after spectral corrections with low-order polynomial fitting, and 18 as unsuitable for use as calibration standards owing to spectral shape, variability, or features at low to medium resolution. We conclude that all but five of our candidates are reliable solar analogs in the longer wavelength range from 2.5 to 4.2 μm. The average colors of the stars classified as reliable or usable solar analogs are V−J = 1.148, V−H = 1.418, and V−K = 1.491, with the entire set being distributed fairly uniformly in R.A. across the sky between −27° and +67° in decl.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hunting for Planetary Nebulae toward the Galactic Center

We present near-infrared (IR) spectra of two planetary nebula (PN) candidates in close lines of sight toward the Galactic center (GC) using the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph at Gemini North. High-resolution images from radio continuum and narrowband IR observations reveal ringlike or barrel-shaped morphologies of these objects, and their mid-IR spectra from the Spitzer Space Telescope exhibit rich emission lines from highly-excited species such as [S iv], [Ne iii], [Ne v], and [O iv]. We also derive elemental abundances using the Cloudy synthetic models, and find an excess amount of the s-process element krypton in both targets, which supports their nature as PNe. We estimate foreground extinction toward each object using near-IR hydrogen recombination lines, and find significant visual extinctions (A {sub V} > 20). The distances inferred from the size versus surface brightness relation of other PNe are 9.0 ± 1.6 kpc and 7.6 ± 1.6 kpc for SSTGC 580183 and SSTGC 588220, respectively. These observed properties along with the abundance patterns and close proximity to Sgr A* (projected distances ≲20 pc) make it highly probable that these objects are the first confirmed PN objects in the nuclear stellar disk. The apparent scarcity of such objects resembles the extremely low rate of PN formation in old stellar systems, but is in line with the current rate of sustained star formation activity in the Central Molecular Zone.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Chemical abundances of the young inner-disc open cluster NGC 6705 observed by APOGEE: sodium-rich and not α-enhanced

Previous results in the literature have found the young inner-disc open cluster NGC 6705 to be mildly α-enhanced. We examined this possibility via an independent chemical abundance analysis for 11 red-giant members of NGC 6705. The analysis is based on near-infrared APOGEE spectra and relies on LTE calculations using spherical model atmospheres and radiative transfer. We find a mean cluster metallicity of $\rm [Fe/H] = +0.13 \pm 0.04$, indicating that NGC 6705 is metal-rich, as may be expected for a young inner-disc cluster. The mean α-element abundance relative to iron is $\rm \langle [\alpha /Fe]\rangle =-0.03 \pm 0.05$, which is not at odds with expectations from general Galactic abundance trends. NGC 6705 also provides important probes for studying stellar mixing, given its turn-off mass of M ∼ 3.3 M ⊙ . Its red giants have low 12 C abundances ([ 12 C/Fe] = −0.16) and enhanced 14 N abundances ([ 14 N/Fe] = +0.51), which are key signatures of the first dredge-up on the red giant branch. An additional signature of dredge-up was found in the Na abundances, which are enhanced by [Na/Fe] = +0.29, with a very small non-LTE correction. The 16 O and Al abundances are found to be near-solar. All of the derived mixing-sensitive abundances are in agreement with stellar models of approximately 3.3 M ⊙ evolving along the red giant branch and onto the red clump. As found in young open clusters with similar metallicities, NGC 6705 exhibits a mild excess in the s-process element cerium with $\rm [Ce/Fe] = +0.13\pm 0.07$.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deep uGMRT observations of the ELAIS-North 1 field: statistical properties of radio–infrared relations up to z ∼ 2

ABSTRACT Comprehending the radio–infrared (IR) relations of the faint extragalactic radio sources is important for using radio emission as a tracer of star formation in high redshift (z) star-forming galaxies (SFGs). Using deep uGMRT observations of the ELAIS-N1 field in the 0.3–0.5 GHz range, we study the statistical properties of the radio–IR relations and the variation of the ‘q-parameter’ up to z = 2 after broadly classifying the faint sources as SFGs and AGN. We find the dust temperature (Tdust) to increase with z. This gives rise to $q_{\rm 24\,\mu m}$, measured at $24\, \mu$m, to increase with z as the peak of IR emission shifts towards shorter wavelengths, resulting in the largest scatter among different measures of q-parameters. $q_{\rm 70\,\mu m}$ measured at $70\, \mu$m, and qTIR using total-IR (TIR) emission are largely unaffected by Tdust. We observe strong, non-linear correlations between the radio luminosities at 0.4 and 1.4 GHz with $70\, \mu$m luminosity and TIR luminosity(LTIR). To assess the possible role of the radio-continuum spectrum in making the relations non-linear, for the first time we study them at high z using integrated radio luminosity (LRC) in the range 0.1–2 GHz. In SFGs, the LRC–LTIR relation remains non-linear with a slope of 1.07 ± 0.02, has a factor of 2 lower scatter compared to monochromatic radio luminosities, and $q^{\rm RC}_{\rm TIR}$ decreases with z as $q^{\rm RC}_{\rm TIR}= (2.27 \pm 0.03)\, (1+z)^{-0.12 \pm 0.03}$. A redshift variation of q is a natural consequence of non-linearity. We suggest that a redshift evolution of magnetic field strengths and/or cosmic ray acceleration efficiency in high-z SFGs could give rise to non-linear radio–IR relations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dust Reverberation Mapping in Distant Quasars from Optical and Mid-infrared Imaging Surveys

The size of the dust torus in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and their high-luminosity counterparts, quasars, can be inferred from the time delay between UV/optical accretion disk continuum variability and the response in the mid-infrared (MIR) torus emission. This dust reverberation mapping (RM) technique has been successfully applied to ~70 z ≲ 0.3 AGNs and quasars. Here we present first results of our dust RM program for distant quasars covered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 region combining ~20 yr ground-based optical light curves with 10 yr MIR light curves from the WISE satellite. Here, we measure a high-fidelity lag between W1 band (3.4 μm) and g band for 587 quasars over 0.3 ≲ z ≲ 2 () and two orders of magnitude in quasar luminosity. They tightly follow (intrinsic scatter ~0.17 dex in lag) the IR lag–luminosity relation observed for z < 0.3 AGNs, revealing a remarkable size–luminosity relation for the dust torus over more than four decades in AGN luminosity, with little dependence on additional quasar properties such as Eddington ratio and variability amplitude. This study motivates further investigations in the utility of dust RM for cosmology and strongly endorses a compelling science case for the combined 10 yr Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (optical) and 5 yr Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope 2 μm light curves in a deep survey for low-redshift AGN dust RM with much lower luminosities and shorter, measurable IR lags. The compiled optical and MIR light curves for 7384 quasars in our parent sample are made public with this work.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗