RR Lyrae stars have long been popular standard candles, but significant advances in methodology and technology have been made in recent years to increase their precision as distance indicators. We present multiwavelength (optical UBVRcIc and Gaia G, BP, RP; near-infrared JHK(s); mid-infrared [3.6], [4.5]) period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ), period-Wesenheit-metallicity (PWZ) relations, calibrated using photometry obtained from the Carnegie RR Lyrae Program and parallaxes from the Gaia second data release for 55 Galactic field RR Lyrae stars. The metallicity slope, which has long been predicted by theoretical relations, can now be measured in all passbands. The scatter in the PLZ relations is on the order of 0.2 mag, and is still dominated by uncertainties in the parallaxes. As a consistency check of our PLZ relations, we also measure the distance modulus to the globular cluster M4, the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, and our results are in excellent agreement with estimates from previous studies.

The tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) method provides one of the most accurate and precise means of measuring the distances to nearby galaxies. Here we present a multi-wavelength, VIJHK absolute calibration of the TRGB based on observations of TRGB stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), grounded on a geometric distance, determined by detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs). This paper presents a more detailed description of the method first presented by Freedman et al. for measuring corrections for the total line-of-sight extinction and reddening to the LMC. In this method, we use a differential comparison of the red giant population in the LMC, first with red giants in the Local Group galaxy IC 1613, and then with those in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). As a consistency check, we derive an independent calibration of the TRGB sequence using the SMC alone, invoking its geometric distance also calibrated by DEBs. An additional consistency check comes from near-infrared observations of Galactic globular clusters covering a wide range of metallicities. In all cases we find excellent agreement in the zero-point calibration. We then examine the recent claims by Yuan et al., demonstrating that, in the case of the SMC, they corrected for extinction alone while neglecting the essential correction for reddening. In the case of IC 1613, we show that their analysis contains an incorrect treatment of (over-correction for) metallicity. Using our revised (and direct) measurement of the LMC TRGB extinction, we find a value of H-0 = 69.6 0.8 (1.1% stat) 1.7 (2.4% sys) km s(-1) Mpc(-1).

In the nearby galaxy NGC 4258, the well-modeled orbital motion of H2O masers about its supermassive black hole provides the means to measure a precise geometric distance. As a result, NGC 4258 is one of a few "geometric anchors" available to calibrate the true luminosities of stellar distance indicators such as the Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) or the Cepheid Leavitt law. In this paper, we present a detailed study of the apparent magnitude of the TRGB within NGC 4258, using publicly available HST observations optimally situated in the unreddened stellar halo along the minor axis, spanning distances ranging from 8 to 22 kpc in projected galactocentric radius, or 6' (13 kpc) to 30' (66 kpc) in distance along the semimajor axis. We undertake a systematic evaluation of the uncertainties associated with measuring the TRGB in this galaxy, based on an analysis of 54 arcmin(2) of HST/ACS imaging. After quantifying these uncertainties, we measure the TRGB in NGC 4258 to be F814W(0).=.25.347 +/- 0.014 (stat) +/- 0.042 (sys) mag. Combined with a recent 1.5% megamaser distance to NGC 4258, we determine the absolute luminosity of the TRGB to be M-F814W(TRGB) = - 4.050 .+/- 0.028(stat).+/-.0.048 (sys) mag. This new calibration agrees to better than 1% with an independent calibration presented in Freedman et al. that was based on detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) located in the LMC.

The primary goal of the Carnegie Chicago Hubble Program (CCHP) is to calibrate the zero-point of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) Hubble Diagram through the use of Population II standard candles. So far, the CCHP has measured direct distances to 11 SNe Ia, and here we increase that number to 15 with two new Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) distances measured to NGC 5643 and NGC 1404. We present resolved, point-source photometry from new Hubble Space Telescope imaging of these two galaxies in the F814W and F606W bandpasses. From each galaxy's stellar halo, we construct an F814W-band luminosity function in which we detect an unambiguous edge feature identified as the TRGB. For NGC 5643, we find mu (0) = 30.48 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.07(sys) mag, and for NGC 1404 we find mu (0) = 31.36 +/- 0.04(stat) +/- 0.05(sys) mag. From a preliminary consideration of the SNe Ia in these galaxies, we find increased confidence in the results presented in Paper VIII. The high precision of our TRGB distances enables a significant measurement of the 3D displacement between the Fornax cluster galaxies NGC 1404 and NGC 1316 (Fornax A) equal to 1.50-0.39+0.25

We study the ionization and excitation structure of the interstellar medium in the late-stage gas-rich galaxy merger NGC 6240 using a suite of emission-line maps at similar to 25 pc resolution from the Hubble Space Telescope, Keck/NIRC2 with Adaptive Optics, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). NGC 6240 hosts a superwind driven by intense star formation and/or one or both of two active nuclei; the outflows produce bubbles and filaments seen in shock tracers from warm molecular gas (H-2 2.12 mu m) to optical ionized gas ([O iii], [N ii], [S ii], and [O i]) and hot plasma (Fe XXV). In the most distinct bubble, we see a clear shock front traced by high [O iii]/H beta and [O iii]/[O i]. Cool molecular gas (CO(2-1)) is only present near the base of the bubble, toward the nuclei launching the outflow. We interpret the lack of molecular gas outside the bubble to mean that the shock front is not responsible for dissociating molecular gas, and conclude that the molecular clouds are partly shielded and either entrained briefly in the outflow, or left undisturbed while the hot wind flows around them. Elsewhere in the galaxy, shock-excited H-2 extends at least similar to 4 kpc from the nuclei, tracing molecular gas even warmer than that between the nuclei, where the two galaxies' interstellar media are colliding. A ridgeline of high [O iii]/H beta emission along the eastern arm aligns with the southern nucleus' stellar disk minor axis; optical integral field spectroscopy from WiFeS suggests this highly ionized gas is centered at systemic velocity and likely photoionized by direct line of sight to the southern active galactic nucleus.

We present a spatially resolved H ii region study of the gas-phase metallicity, ionization parameter, and interstellar medium (ISM) pressure maps of six local star-forming and face-on spiral galaxies from the TYPHOON program. Self-consistent metallicity, ionization parameter, and pressure maps are calculated simultaneously through an iterative process to provide useful measures of the local chemical abundance and its relation to localized ISM properties. We constrain the presence of azimuthal variations in metallicity by measuring the residual metallicity offset Delta(O/H) after subtracting the linear fits to the radial metallicity profiles. We, however, find weak evidence of azimuthal variations in most of the galaxies, with small (mean 0.03 dex) scatter. The galaxies instead reveal that H ii regions with enhanced and reduced abundances are found distributed throughout the disk. While the spiral pattern plays a role in organizing the ISM, it alone does not establish the relatively uniform azimuthal variations we observe. Differences in the metal abundances are more likely driven by the strong correlations with the local physical conditions. We find a strong and positive correlation between the ionization parameter and the local abundances as measured by the relative metallicity offset Delta(O/H), indicating a tight relationship between local physical conditions and their localized enrichment of the ISM. Additionally, we demonstrate the impact of unresolved observations on the measured ISM properties by rebinning the data cubes to simulate low-resolution (1 kpc) observations, typical of large IFU surveys. We find that the ionization parameter and ISM pressure diagnostics are impacted by the loss of resolution such that their measured values are larger relative to the measured values on sub-H ii region scales.

Type Ia supernovae are thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars. They play a central role in the chemical evolution of the Universe and are an important measure of cosmological distances. However, outstanding questions remain about their origins. Despite extensive efforts to obtain natal information from their earliest signals, observations have thus far failed to identify how the majority of them explode. Here, we present infant-phase detections of SN 2018aoz from a very low brightness of -10.5 AB absolute magnitude, revealing a hitherto unseen plateau in the B band that results in a rapid redward colour evolution between 1.0 and 12.4 hours after the estimated epoch of first light. The missing B-band flux is best explained by line-blanket absorption from Fe-peak elements in the outer 1% of the ejected mass. The observed B - V colour evolution of the supernova also matches the prediction from an over-density of Fe-peak elements in the same outer 1% of the ejected mass, whereas bluer colours are expected from a purely monotonic distribution of Fe-peak elements. The presence of excess nucleosynthetic material in the extreme outer layers of the ejecta points to enhanced surface nuclear burning or extended subsonic mixing processes in some normal type Ia SN explosions.

Forest ecosystems store approximately 45% of the carbon found in terrestrial ecosystems, but they are sensitive to climate-induced dieback. Forest die-off constitutes a large uncertainty in projections of climate impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, climate-ecosystem interactions, and carbon-cycle feedbacks. Current understanding of the physiological mechanisms mediating climate-induced forest mortality limits the ability to model or project these threshold events. We report here a direct and in situ study of the mechanisms underlying recent widespread and climate-induced trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest mortality in western North America. We find substantial evidence of hydraulic failure of roots and branches linked to landscape patterns of canopy and root mortality in this species. On the contrary, we find no evidence that drought stress led to depletion of carbohydrate reserves. Our results illuminate proximate mechanisms underpinning recent aspen forest mortality and provide guidance for understanding and projecting forest die-offs under climate change.

An overriding interest in photosynthesis has propelled my wanderings from chemist to biochemist to plant physiologist and on to global topics. Equations and models have been organizing principles along the way. This fascination started as a reaction to difficulties with written communication, but it has proven to be quite useful in moving across different levels of organization. I conclude with some discussion of the importance of Earth system models for understanding and predicting how human activities may influence the climate, environment, and biota in the future, and some ideas about how disciplinary science might make larger contributions to this interdisciplinary problem.

Tree death from drought and heat stress is a critical and uncertain component in forest ecosystem responses to a changing climate. Recent research has illuminated how tree mortality is a complex cascade of changes involving interconnected plant systems over multiple timescales. Explicit consideration of the definitions, dynamics, and temporal and biological scales of tree mortality research can guide experimental and modeling approaches. In this review, we draw on the medical literature concerning human death to propose a water resource-based approach to tree mortality that considers the tree as a complex organism with a distinct growth strategy. This approach provides insight into mortality mechanisms at the tree and landscape scales and presents promising avenues into modeling tree death from drought and temperature stress.