The photosynthetic amoeba, Paulinella provides a recent (ca. 120 Mya) example of primary plastid endosymbiosis. Given the extensive data demonstrating host lineage-driven endosymbiont integration, we analysed nuclear genome and transcriptome data to investigate mechanisms that may have evolved in Paulinella micropora KR01 (hereinafter, KR01) to maintain photosynthetic function in the novel organelle, the chromatophore. The chromatophore is of alpha-cyanobacterial provenance and has undergone massive gene loss due to Muller's ratchet, but still retains genes that encode the ancestral alpha-carboxysome and the shell carbonic anhydrase, two critical components of the biophysical CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM) in cyanobacteria. We identified KR01 nuclear genes potentially involved in the CCM that arose via duplication and divergence and are upregulated in response to high light and downregulated under elevated CO2. We speculate that these genes may comprise a novel CO2 delivery system (i.e., a biochemical CCM) to promote the turnover of the RuBisCO carboxylation reaction and counteract photorespiration. We posit that KR01 has an inefficient photorespiratory system that cannot fully recycle the C-2 product of RuBisCO oxygenation back to the Calvin-Benson cycle. Nonetheless, both these systems appear to be sufficient to allow Paulinella to persist in environments dominated by faster-growing phototrophs.

The signal from a transiting planet can be diluted by astrophysical contamination. In the case of circumstellar debris disks, this contamination could start in the mid-infrared and vary as a function of wavelength, which would then change the observed transmission spectrum for any planet in the system. The MIRI/Low Resolution Spectrometer WASP-39b transmission spectrum shows an unexplained dip starting at similar to 10 mu m that could be caused by astrophysical contamination. The spectral energy distribution displays excess flux at similar levels to that which are needed to create the dip in the transmission spectrum. In this Letter, we show that this dip is consistent with the presence of a bright circumstellar debris disk, at a distance of >2 au. We discuss how a circumstellar debris disk like that could affect the atmosphere of WASP-39b. We also show that even faint debris disks can be a source of contamination in MIRI exoplanet spectra.

Context. Long-period transiting exoplanets bridge the gap between the bulk of transit- and Doppler-based exoplanet discoveries, providing key insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems. The wider separation between these planets and their host stars results in the exoplanets typically experiencing less radiation from their host stars; hence, they should maintain more of their original atmospheres, which can be probed during transit via transmission spectroscopy. Although the known population of long-period transiting exoplanets is relatively sparse, surveys performed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) are now discovering new exoplanets to fill in this crucial region of the exoplanetary parameter space.

The kinematics of the stellar halo hold important clues to the assembly history and mass distribution of the Galaxy. In this study, we map the kinematics of stars across the Galactic halo with the H3 Survey. We find a complex distribution that breaks both azimuthal symmetry about the Z -axis and mirror symmetry about the Galactic plane. This asymmetry manifests as large variations in the radial velocity dispersion Gr r from as “cold” as 70 km s − 1 to as “hot” as 160 km s − 1 . We use stellar chemistry to distinguish accreted stars from in-situ stars in the halo, and find that the accreted population has higher σr and radially biased orbits, while the in-situ population has lower Gr r and isotropic orbits. As a result, the Galactic halo kinematics are highly heterogeneous and poorly approximated as being spherical or axisymmetric. We measure radial profiles of σr and the anisotropy parameter [3 over Galactocentric radii 10 −80 kpc, and find that discrepancies in the literature are due to the nonspherical geometry and heterogeneous nature of the halo. Investigating the effect of strongly asymmetric σr and [3 on equilibrium models is a path forward to accurately constraining the Galactic gravitational field, including its total mass.

Stellar streams are sensitive tracers of the gravitational potential, which is typically assumed to be static in the inner Galaxy. However, massive mergers like Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus can impart torques on the stellar disk of the Milky Way that result in the disk tilting at rates of up to 10 degrees-20 degrees Gyr-1. Here, we demonstrate the effects of disk tilting on the morphology and kinematics of stellar streams. Through a series of numerical experiments, we find that streams with nearby apocenters (r apo less than or similar to 20 kpc) are sensitive to disk tilting, with the primary effect being changes to the stream's on-sky track and width. Interestingly, disk tilting can produce both more diffuse streams and more narrow streams, depending on the orbital inclination of the progenitor and the direction in which the disk is tilting. Our model of Pal 5's tidal tails for a tilting rate of 15 degrees Gyr-1 is in excellent agreement with the observed stream's track and width, and reproduces the extreme narrowing of the trailing tail. We also find that failure to account for a tilting disk can bias constraints on shape parameters of the Milky Way's local dark matter distribution at the level of 5%-10%, with the direction of the bias changing for different streams. Disk tilting could therefore explain discrepancies in the Milky Way's dark matter halo shape inferred using different streams.

The PHANGS survey uses Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, Hubble Space Telescope, Very Large Telescope, and JWST to obtain an unprecedented high-resolution view of nearby galaxies, covering millions of spatially independent regions. The high dimensionality of such a diverse multiwavelength data set makes it challenging to identify new trends, particularly when they connect observables from different wavelengths. Here, we use unsupervised machine-learning algorithms to mine this information-rich data set to identify novel patterns. We focus on three of the PHANGS-JWST galaxies, for which we extract properties pertaining to their stellar populations; warm ionized and cold molecular gas; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as measured over 150 pc scale regions. We show that we can divide the regions into groups with distinct multiphase gas and PAH properties. In the process, we identify previously unknown galaxy-wide correlations between PAH band and optical line ratios and use our identified groups to interpret them. The correlations we measure can be naturally explained in a scenario where the PAHs and the ionized gas are exposed to different parts of the same radiation field that varies spatially across the galaxies. This scenario has several implications for nearby galaxies: (i) The uniform PAH ionized fraction on 150 pc scales suggests significant self-regulation in the interstellar medium, (ii) the PAH 11.3/7.7 mu m band ratio may be used to constrain the shape of the non-ionizing far-ultraviolet to optical part of the radiation field, and (iii) the varying radiation field affects line ratios that are commonly used as PAH size diagnostics. Neglecting this effect leads to incorrect or biased PAH sizes.

On September 24, 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission dropped a capsule to Earth containing similar to 120 g of pristine carbonaceous regolith from Bennu. We describe the delivery and initial allocation of this asteroid sample and introduce its bulk physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties from early analyses. The regolith is very dark overall, with higher-reflectance inclusions and particles interspersed. Particle sizes range from submicron dust to a stone similar to 3.5 cm long. Millimeter-scale and larger stones typically have hummocky or angular morphologies. Some stones appear mottled by brighter material that occurs as veins and crusts. Hummocky stones have the lowest densities and mottled stones have the highest. Remote sensing of Bennu's surface detected hydrated phyllosilicates, magnetite, organic compounds, carbonates, and scarce anhydrous silicates, all of which the sample confirms. We also find sulfides, presolar grains, and, less expectedly, Mg,Na-rich phosphates, as well as other trace phases. The sample's composition and mineralogy indicate substantial aqueous alteration and resemble those of Ryugu and the most chemically primitive, low-petrologic-type carbonaceous chondrites. Nevertheless, we find distinct hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions, and some of the material we analyzed is enriched in fluid-mobile elements. Our findings underscore the value of sample return-especially for low-density material that may not readily survive atmospheric entry-and lay the groundwork for more comprehensive analyses.

The continental crust is produced by the solidification of aluminosilicate-rich magmas which are sourced from deep below the surface. Migration of the magma depends on the density (rho) contrast to source rocks and the melt viscosity (eta). At the surface, these silica-rich melts are typically sluggish due to high eta > 1,000 Pa s. Yet at their source regions, the melt properties are complexly influenced by pressure (P), temperature (T), and water contents (X-H2O). In this study, we examined the combined P-T-X-H2O effects on the behavior of melts with an albite stoichiometry (NaAlSi3O8). We used first-principles molecular dynamics simulations to examine anhydrous (0 wt % H2O) and hydrous (5 wt % H2O) melts. To constrain the P and T effects, we explored P <= 25 GPa across several isotherms between 2500 and 4000 K. The melts show anomalous P-rho relationships at low P similar to 0 GPa and high T >= 2500 K, consistent with vaporization. At lithospheric conditions, melt rho increases with compression and is well described by a finite-strain formalism. Water lowers the melt density (rho(hydrous) < rho(anhydrous)) but increases the compressibility, that is, 1/K-hydrous >1/K-anhydrous or K-hydrous < K-anhydrous. We also find that the melt eta decreases with pressure and then increases with further compression. Water decreases the viscosity (eta(hydrous) < eta(anhydrous)) by depolymerizing the melt structure. The ionic self-diffusivities are increased by the presence of water. The decreased rho and eta by H2O increase the mobility of magma at crustal conditions, which could explain the rapid eruption and migration timescales for rhyolitic magmas as observed in the Chaiten volcano in Chile. Plain Language Summary The continental crust is produced by solidifying aluminosilicate-rich magmas. Such magmas are known to be highly viscous at the surface. It is expected that the magmas will become more viscous due to increasing pressure at the deep crustal depths near their sources. However, observations contrast the expectations. Some volcanic eruptions indicate rapid movement of the aluminosilicate-rich magmas before the eruption. The movement of magma is influenced by its density and viscosity. These properties are influenced by pressure, temperature, and the water contents of the magma. To better understand how these parameters affect magmas in the crust, we performed computer simulations on molten albite with and without water. The albite chemistry mimics the chemistry of aluminosilicate-rich magmas in the crust. At conditions of the deep crust where magmas originate, the densities of the magmas increase with compression. The magma viscosities also decrease under the same pressure. Our results provide, in part, a plausible explanation for a surprisingly rapid eruption of the Chaiten volcano in Chile. Water lowers both the magma density and viscosity which helps to explain the rapid eruption of the hydrous aluminosilicate-rich lavas.

Irrigation is a land management practice with major environmental impacts. However, global energy consumption and carbon emissions resulting from irrigation remain unknown. We assess the worldwide energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with irrigation, while also measuring the potential energy and carbon reductions achievable through the adoption of efficient and low-carbon irrigation practices. Currently, irrigation contributes 216 million metric tons of CO2 emissions and consumes 1896 petajoules of energy annually, representing 15% of greenhouse gas emissions and energy utilized in agricultural operations. Despite only 40% of irrigated agriculture relies on groundwater sources, groundwater pumping accounts for 89% of the total energy consumption in irrigation. Projections indicate that future expansion of irrigation could lead to a 28% increase in energy usage. Embracing highly efficient, low-carbon irrigation methods has the potential to cut energy consumption in half and reduce CO2 emissions by 90%. However, considering country-specific feasibility of mitigation options, global CO2 emissions may only see a 55% reduction. Our research offers comprehensive insights into the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with irrigation, contributing valuable information that can guide assessments of the viability of irrigation in enhancing adaptive capacity within the agricultural sector.