In this licentiate thesis, I consider debris disks from an observational, astronomical viewpoint, but also discuss a potential astrobiological application. Debris disks are essentially disks of dust and rocks around main-sequence stars, analogue to the Kuiper- or the asteroid belt in our solar system. Their observation and theoretical modeling can help to constrain planet formation models and help in the understanding of the history of the solar system. After a general introduction into the field of debris disks and some basic debris disk physics, the thesis concentrates on the observation of gas in debris disks. The possible origins of this gas and its dynamics are discussed and it is considered what it can tell us about the physical conditions in the disk and possibly about the dust composition. In this way, the paper associated with this thesis (dealing with the gas in the β Pic debris disk) is set into context. More in detail, we observed the CII emission originating from the carbon-rich β Pic disk with Herschel HIFI and attempted to constrain the spatial distribution of the gas from the shape of the emission line. This is necessary since the gas production mechanism is currently unknown, but can be constraint by obtaining information about the spatial profile of the gas. The last part of the thesis describes our preliminary studies of the possibility of a debris disk containing biomarkers, created by a giant impact on a life-bearing exoplanet.

Dark matter has a long history, but it was not until modern times that we have a chance of detecting it. This thesis focuses on the velocity distribution and its effect on indirect WIMP detection. Recently a new velocity distribution, based on data from SDSS and GAIA, was proposed. For this reason simulation of capture, annihilation and resulting flux of neutrinos from the Sun and Earth has been made both for the new and Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution. The newly proposed velocity can reduce the annihilation rate in Earth by two thirds. For the Sun the effect depends on the mass of the WIMPs. For 50 GeV WIMPs the newly proposed velocity distribution could increase the annihilation rate by 5%, while for 3 TeV WIMPs it could decrease the annihilation rate by 28%. For Earth and high mass WIMPs the low velocity tail is the important part and the low resolution of this region in the new velocity distribution result in some uncertainties.

Within this past decade, advances in spectropolarimetric analyses allowed mapping surface characteristics of nearby non-resolved stars with unique characteristics. In this study, we attempt mapping of the magnetic field structure and surface distribution of elements for such a star, the magnetic Ap star phi Dra. Using high-precision photometric data from TESS satellite, we improve its rotation period. Spectrum synthesis calculations allow compilation of a list of lines present in its spectrum. The resulting synthetic spectrum and observed NARVAL spectra are used to re-estimate element abundances. Least-squares deconvolved (LSD) intensity and circular polarisation profiles are then computed from a sample of 1260 metal lines. To determine which element(s) are most suitable for in-depth analysis, variability of LSD profiles is studied qualitatively for Fe, Cr and Si. The longitudinal magnetic field of phi Dra is calculated from LSD circular polarisation profiles. Stellar magnetic field maps and distributions of Fe concentration are derived through Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI). The resulting maps of this study show five areas of high Fe concentrations, in the Northern stellar hemisphere. The magnetic field topology of phi Dra resulting from our analysis is that of an offset dipole with small quadrupole contributions. Our abundance and magnetic maps suggest correlation between high concentrations of Fe and high magnetic field strength. The field is primarily radial in 4 out of 5 such regions, contrary to theoretical expectations.

Neutrino telescopes such as IceCube monitor for low-energy neutrinos O(10 MeV) produced in nuclear processes during core-collapse in supernovae. The detection horizon to the neutrino burst is 50 kpc, the distance to the Magellanic Clouds. However, this limits the number of supernovae accessible through low-energy neutrino detection, as the Galactic rate is only <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?%5Csim" data-classname="equation" data-title="" />2 per century. Some models predict the production of high-energy O(&gt;GeV) neutrinos through acceleration mechanisms, such as the ejecta colliding with the circumstellar material or relativistic jets in the stellar envelope. This thesis examines how these high-energy neutrinos could be exploited with neutrino telescopes like IceCube to extend the detection horizon to core-collapse supernovae past the Magellanic clouds. To examine the detection horizon for IceCube, we use two data samples, one utilizing muon tracks which provide good sensitivity in the northern sky, and the other all flavor starting events, which provide good sensitivity in the southern sky. We demonstrate that extending the reach past 50 kpc and well into the 10s of Mpc is possible, where the expected rate is more than two core-collapse supernovae per year.

The recent boom in 21cm astronomy has piqued the interest of many, especially cosmologists realizing its applications in their field. This study aims to determine if 21cm astronomy is a good tool for testing the validity of keV WDM models, as well as creating a code capable of simulating keV WDM models from an existing CDM code. The assumed WDM models vary only in dark matter particle mass and assume a single-species dark matter case as well as totally thermalized particles, such as gravitinos. Small-scale simulations of approximately 183Mpc3, as well as large-scale simulations of approximately 1503Mpc3-1793Mpc3, indicated that the CDM code was successfully modified to simulate WDM through the total dark matter power spectrum and the halo-mass function. Additionally, the large-scale simulations hinted at a positive use of 21cm astronomy for the restriction of keV WDM models, due to the existence of a distinct CDM HI power spectrum as compared to the 0.5keV WDMHI power spectrum. A discernable difference between CDM and keV WDM galactic HI power spectra would provide a step towards a confirmation or falsification of keV WDM models if supplied with a large-scale galactic HI power spectrum study

The ejecta following the collision and merging of two neutron stars (kilonova) are currently considered promising sites for nucleosynthesis of r-process elements. Since the observed kilonova in 2017, GW2017817, astrophysicists have been working to analyze the collected electromagnetic spectra, trying to identify r-process elements. However, a lack of fundamental atomic data has been holding the efforts back. Motivated by spectral modelling of kilonovae out of equilibrium, this project aims to create a tool that uses line lists of spectroscopic accuracy from the Vienna Atomic Line Database (VALD) to generate energy level lists automatically for any ion. VALD in particular is used because it has wavelengths accurate enough for line identification purposes. The resulting level lists are compared to equivalent level lists from the database managed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), in order to both ensure that the tool worked, and identify discrepancies between the databases. A number of problems with the VALD data were identified, mostly resulting in duplicate and missing energy levels. Finally, we also test the data in computations of kilonova expansion opacities in a complete solar r-process abundance mixture. Further work is needed to evaluate how damaging these problems are when modelling kilonovae, and when necessary remedy said problems. / Ejektat från en kollision och sammanslagning av två neutronstjärnor (kilonova) betraktas som lovande platser för nukleosyntes av r-processämnena. Sedan den observerade kilonovan år 2017, GW2017817, har astrofysiker försökt analysera de insamlade elektromagnetiska spektrumen för att försöka identifiera r-processämnen. Denna analys har dock hindrats på grund av en brist på fundamental atomisk data. Motiverat av spektralmodellering av kilonovor utanför ekvilibrium, syftar detta projekt på att utveckla ett verktyg för att utifrån spektroskopiskt noggranna linjelistor från Vienna Atomic Line Database (VALD) gererera listor över energinivåer automatiskt för godtycklig jon. VALD används på grund av att den har våglänger som är noggranna nog för linjeidentifiering. De resulterande nivålistorna jämförs med motsvarande nivålistor från databasen som sköts av National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), detta för att dels säkerställa att verktyget fungerade, dels identifiera skillnader mellan databaserna. Ett antal problem med VALD identifierades, vilka oftast resulterade i dubbletter eller avsaknad av energinivåer. Slutligen testades datan i beräkningar av kilonova-expansionsopaciteter i en komplett solär r-process-ämnesblandning. Vidare arbete krävs för att evaluera hur skadliga dessa problem är för modellering av kilonovor, och vid behov åtgärda problemen.

Stripped-envelope supernovae were thought to be the explosions of very massive stars (&amp; 20 M) that lost their outer layers of hydrogen and/or helium in strong stellar winds. However, recent studies have highlighted that most stripped-envelope supernovae seem to be arising from rela- tively lower-mass progenitor stars in the 12 20 M(sun) range, creating a mystery about the fate of the higher-mass stars. In this licentiate thesis, we review our knowledge of stripped-envelope supernovae, and present the astrophysical problem of their missing high-mass progenitors. The thesis focuses on observations of unique and rare stripped-envelope supernovae classified with modern optical surveys such as the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) and the Public European Southern Observatory Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO). In these surveys we have discovered stripped-envelope supernovae with long-lasting broad lightcurves, which are thought to be a marker for highly massive (&amp; 20 M[sun]) progenitor stars. Despite this exciting association, there are only a handful of existing examples of stripped- envelope supernovae with broad lightcurves published in the literature, not numerous enough to account for the missing high-mass stars. During our efforts, the first object we focused on was OGLE-2014-SN-131, a long-lasting supernova in the southern sky initially classified by PESSTO. We re-classified it as a supernova Type Ibn interacting with a helium-rich circumstellar environment. Unlike all other Type Ibn’s in the literature, OGLE-2014-SN-131 was found to have a long rise-time and large lightcurve broadness. By modeling its bolometric lightcurve, we concluded that OGLE-2014-SN-131 must have had an unusually massive progenitor star. Furthermore, since an ordinary radioactive- decay model could not reproduce the lightcurve, we investigated both a magnetar and circum- stellar interaction as potential powering scenarios and favored the latter due to the signatures of interaction present in the spectra. Next, we looked for similar objects in the supernova dataset of the iPTF, which contains over 200 stripped-envelope supernovae. Searching in a sub-sample of 100 well-observed supernovae, we identified 11 to have unusually broad lightcurves. We also constrained the distribution of lightcurve broadness for iPTF stripped-envelope supernovae. The 11 with broad lightcurves will be studied carefully in a forthcoming paper. The first part of this forthcoming paper, which describes the careful statistical identification of these super-novae, is included in this thesis. In it we identify that 10% of the iPTF stripped-envelope supernova sample have broad lightcurves, which a surprisingly high fraction given their rarity in the published literature. Finally, we evaluate whether our estimate of the fraction of broad stripped-envelope supernovae could help explain the missing high-mass progenitors, and con- clude that they can only be a small fraction of the missing high-mass progenitors.

Besides being sources of gravitational waves, there has been evidence that neutron starmergers release neutron-rich material suitable for the production of heavy r-process nuclei.The radioactive decay of these freshly synthesised elements powers a rapidly evolvingthermal transient, the “macronova” (also known as “kilonova”). Its spectral propertiesstrongly depend on the ejecta composition, since neutron rich material synthesises heavyr-process elements that can efficiently trap radiation inside the ejecta producing a longlasting signal peaking in the red part of the spectrum. The first detection of a binaryneutron star merger was also accompanied by the evidence of a relativistic jet. Despitebeing ascertained the presence of these two dynamical components, neutron-rich ejectaand ultra-relativistic jet, the observational consequences of the interplay between the twois still unclear. In the paper we investigate such interaction through dedicated specialrelativistic hydrodynamic simulations, starting from a realistic environment obtained byprevious works. Light curves are then constructed up to the time scale of days by postprocessing the hydrodynamic results adopting proper radiative transfer. I show thatjet propagation within such environment can significantly affect the observation of theradioactive transient. A relativistic outflow can in fact “punch-away” a fraction of highopacity material before the brightening of the macronova, resulting in the transient beingbrighter and bluer for on-axis observers in the first few days. In this way the jet impactsboth time scale and luminosity of the macronova peak, that are the two main observablesallowing the estimate of the ejecta properties.

This projects studies which early galaxy populations will be visible using the telescopes JWST and Euclid. Galaxy luminosity functions are calculated for different redshifts, with the galaxy number density as a function of apparent magnitude. The apparent magnitude is used to enable easy comparisons with the observational limits of JWST and Euclid. Added to the calculations were also the impact of gravitational lensing and how it may magnify the flux of the galaxies.  Another part of the project studied the impact of a lowest DM halo mass, the limit of the halo mass needed to create a galaxy. The existence of such a limit changes the luminosity function at low luminosities. The aim was to study if this change will be visible using the telescopes. The studies was done using a semi-analytical model of high-redshift galaxies with a Python interface.  The results showed that the visible galaxy populations varies significantly with both redshift and magnification. For lower redshifts and higher magnification more galaxies, mostly for low luminosities, are visible. The lowest DM halo masses needed to be noticeable by the telescopes was between Mmin = 2.0 × 1010 − 1.6 × 1011 M⊙. With a magnification of factor ten or 100 they instead lay between Mmin = 2.2 × 109 − 2.8 × 1010 M⊙. Compared to previous studies the effect from the limiting mass will most probably be visible by JWST with the magnification, while the values without magnification are close to the limit. For Euclid deep field the effects are not predicted to be visible even with a magnification of factor ten, but they will probably be visible with a higher magnification of a factor 100. / I detta projekt studeras vilka tidiga galaxpopulationer som kommer vara synliga med teleskopen JWST och Euclid. Galaxluminositetsfunktioner beräknas för olika rödförskjtningar med galaxtätheten som en funktion av apparent magnitud. Just apparent magnitud används för att jämförelser med de observationella gränserna för JWST och Euclid ska vara enkla att genomföra. Gravitationslinser och hur de kan förstärka galaxers luminositet lades även till beräkningarna.  I projektet studerades även hur en lägsta massa för mörk materia halos kan påverka beräkningarna. Denna massa är då gränsen för halomassan som behövs för att en galax ska kunna skapas. Ifall en sådan begränsning finns så ändras luminositetsfunktionerna för låga luminositeter. I detta projekt undersöktes det ifall denna förändring kommer vara synlig med teleskopen. Fo ̈r att utföra projektet användes en semi-analytisk modell av galaxer med hög rödförskjutning, med ett gränssnitt i Python.  Resultaten visar att de synliga galaxpopulationerna varierade starkt när förstärkning av galaxluminositet eller rödförskjutning ändrades. Med lägre rödförskjutning och högre magnifikation syntes fler galaxer, och de främsta förändringarna skedde för låga lumi- nositeter. De halomassor som behövdes för att vara synliga med teleskopen var mellan Mmin = 2.0 × 1010 − 1.6 × 1011 M⊙ utan förstärkning av luminositeten och mellan Mmin = 2.2 × 109 − 2.8 × 1010 M⊙ med en förstärkning av faktor tio eller 100. Jämfört med tidigare studier så kommer förändringarna troligtvis vara synliga med JWST ifall en förstärkning inkluderas. Utan magnifikation ligger massorna precis på gränsen. För Euclid deep field kommer effekterna ej vara synliga ens med en förstärkning av faktor tio, men de kommer troligtvis vara synliga med en högre magnifikation av faktor 100.

Galaxy formation is a continuous process that started only a few hundred million yearsafter the Big Bang. The first galaxies were very volatile, with bursts of star formationand disorganised gas motions. However, even as these galaxies evolved to have orderlyrotating gas discs, the gas within the disc, referred to as the interstellar medium (ISM),still remained highly turbulent. In fact, the ISM is supersonically turbulent, meaning thatthe disorganised gas motion exceeds the speed of sound in the medium. This supersonicturbulence has been connected to several crucial properties related to galaxy evolution; forexample, increasing (and decreasing in some regions) the ISM gas density, star formation,and gas mixing. Many observation have shown that all of the gas phases in the ISM experience su-personic levels of turbulence, with line widths (an observational method to quantify theamount of turbulence) as high as σg ≲ 100 km s−1 in high-redshift (younger) disc galaxies,while local quiescent discs have σg ≲ 40 km s−1 . However, the ISM contains a variety ofgas phases that cover a wide range of temperatures and densities, which exhibit differentlevels of turbulence. For example, the warm ionised gas phase represents the upper limitsquoted above, while colder denser gas only reaches σg ≲ 40 km s−1 and σg ≲ 15 km s−1 inhigh-redshift and local galaxies, respectively. The physical processes driving this turbulence are not fully understood, but a combi-nation of stellar feedback (e.g. supernova) and gravitational instability (e.g. during cloudcollapse) have been suggested to provide a majority of the turbulent energy. In particular,stellar feedback is crucial in the formation of warm ionised gas and may therefore have asignificant contribution on the turbulence within ionised gas. Furthermore, heterogeneousdata of widely different galaxies (in terms of e.g. mass and size) at different resolutions(which causes artificial line broadening) complicates understanding the underlying cause. A commonly used tracer of ionised gas is the Hα emission line and has been usedextensively in high-redshift surveys. However, the contribution of the Hα signal comesfrom two primary sources: the radiatively ionised regions around massive newborn starsembedded in molecular gas (called H II regions) and diffuse ionised gas (DIG) filling theentire galactic disc. Observations have found that these two sources contribute, on average,roughly the same amount to the Hα signal (although with a large spread), but the levelsof turbulence is starkly different; with the DIG being roughly 2-3 times more turbulethan the gas in H II regions. Numerical simulations have come a long way and are now able to simulate entire discgalaxies at parsec-scale resolution (in regions of interest). Furthermore, galaxy simulationshave been able to reproduce the level of turbulence observed in local and high-redshiftgalaxies. Direct comparisons between numerical and observational studies are crucial tounderstand the relevant physics driving observed correlations. However, numerical andobservational work have different data available and the reduction/analysis varies betweenauthors, and so diligence is required to perform qualitative comparisons. In this work, I perform numerical simulations to investigate ISM turbulence in differentgas phases. My simulations model a Milky Way-like galaxy at two different redshifts(using gas fraction as a proxy for redshift) and with/without stellar feedback physics, toevaluate its impact. I perform mock observations to explore the relation between the starformation rate and turbulence, and investigate what is driving this relation. Additionally, Ianalyse the Hα emission line and compare the contribution in intensity and line broadening(turbulence) from H II regions and DIG. / Galaxbildning är en kontinuerlig process som började bara några hundra miljoner år efterBig Bang. De första galaxerna var mycket volatila, med utbrott av stjärnbildning ochoorganiserade gasrörelser. Men även efter att dessa galaxer utvecklade ordnade roterandegasskivor, förblev gasen inom skivan, kallat det interstellära mediet (ISM), fortfarandehögt turbulent. Faktum är att ISM är supersoniskt turbulent, vilket innebär att de oorgan-iserade gasrörelserna överstiger ljudets hastighet i mediet. Denna supersoniska turbulenshar kopplats till flera avgörande egenskaper relaterade till galaxutveckling; till exempel,öka (och i vissa regioner minska) ISM:ets gas densitet, stjärnbildning och gasblandning. Många observationer har visat att alla gasfaser i ISM upplever supersoniska nivåer avturbulens, med linjebredder (en observationsmetod för att kvantifiera mängden turbulens)så höga som σg ≲ 100 km s−1 i hög-rödförskjutnings (dvs. yngre) skivgalaxer, medanlokala lugna skivor har σg ≲ 40 km s−1. Emellertid innehåller ISM olika gasfaser somtäcker ett brett spektrum av temperaturer och densiteter, vilka uppvisar olika nivåer avturbulens. Till exempel representerar den varma joniserade gasfasen de övre gränsernasom nämns ovan, medan kallare, tätare gas endast når σg ≲ 40 km s−1 och σg ≲ 15 km s−1i hög-rödförskjutnings och lokala galaxer, respektive. De fysikaliska processer som driver denna turbulens är inte fullt förstådda, men enkombination av stellär feedback (t.ex. supernova) och gravitationsinstabilitet (t.ex. undermolnkollaps) har föreslagits ge en majoritet av den turbulenta energin. I synnerhet ärstellär feedback avgörande för bildandet av varm joniserad gas och kan därför ha ettbetydande bidrag till turbulensen inom joniserad gas. Dessutom komplicerar heterogenadata från mycket olika galaxer (i termer av t.ex. massa och storlek) vid olika upplösningar(vilket orsakar konstgjord linjebreddning) förståelsen av den underliggande orsaken. En vanligt använd spårare av joniserad gas är Hα-emissionslinjen och har använts om-fattande i undersökningar vid hög rödförskjutning. Emellertid kommer bidraget från Hα-signalen från två primära källor: de strålningsjoniserade regionerna runt massiva nyföddastjärnor inbäddade i molekylär gas (kallade H II -regioner) och diffus joniserad gas (DIG) som fyller hela den galaktiska skivan. Observationer har funnit att dessa två källor bidrar,i genomsnitt, ungefär lika mycket till Hα-signalen (dock med en stor spridning), mennivåerna av turbulens är markant olika; med DIG ungefär 2-3 gånger mer turbulent ängasen i H II-regioner. Numeriska simuleringar har kommit långt och kan nu simulera hela skivgalaxer medparsec-skala upplösning (i områden av intresse). Dessutom har galaxsimuleringar kunnatåterskapa den nivå av turbulens som observerats i lokala och hög-rödförskjutningsgalaxer. Men numeriska och observationsbaserade arbeten har olika tillgängliga data och reduk-tion/analys varierar mellan författare, och därför krävs noggrannhet för att göra kvalita-tiva jämförelser. I detta arbete utför jag numeriska simuleringar för att undersöka ISM-turbulens i olikagasfaser. Mina simuleringar modellerar jag en Vintergatan-liknande galax vid två olikarödförskutningar (användande gasfraktion som en proxy för rödförskutning) och med/utanfysik för stellär feedback, för att utvärdera dess påverkan. Jag utforskar förhållandetmellan stjärnbildningshastigheten och turbulensen, och undersöker vad som driver dettaförhållande. Dessutom analyserar jag Hα-emissionslinjen och jämför bidraget i intensitetoch linjebreddning (turbulens) från H II-regioner och DIG.