Papers for Monday, Jan 31 2022

We present an analysis of Hubble Space Telescope observations of globular clusters (GCs) in six ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in the Coma cluster, a sample that represents UDGs with large effective radii ($R_{\rm e}$), and use the results to evaluate competing formation models. We eliminate two significant sources of systematic uncertainty in the determination of the number of GCs, $N_{\rm GC}$ by using sufficiently deep observations that (i) reach the turnover of the GC luminosity function and (ii) provide a sufficient number of GCs with which to measure the GC number radial distribution. We find that $N_{\rm GC}$ for these galaxies is on average $\sim$20, which implies an average total mass, $M_{\rm total}$, $\sim$ $10^{11}$ $M_{\odot}$ when applying the relation between $N_{\rm GC}$ and $M_{\rm total}$. This value of $N_{\rm GC}$ lies at the upper end of the range observed for dwarf galaxies of the same stellar mass and is roughly a factor of two larger than the mean. The GC luminosity function, radial profile and average colour are more consistent with those observed for dwarf galaxies than with those observed for the more massive ($L^*$) galaxies, while both the radial and azimuthal GC distributions closely follow those of the stars in the host galaxy. Finally, we discuss why our observations, specifically the GC number and GC distribution around these six UDGs, pose challenges for several of the currently favoured UDG formation models.

Quasi-periodic X-ray eruptions (QPEs) are a recently discovered phenomenon, the nature of which remains unclear. Based on their discovery in active galactic nuclei (AGN), explanations related to an AGN accretion disk, or potentially stellar tidal disruption event (TDE), were put forward. Following the report of QPEs in apparently passive galaxies, alternatives including highly unequal mass compact object binaries have been proposed to explain their properties. We perform a systematic study of the five known QPE host galaxies with the aim of providing new insights into their nature. We analyse new and archival medium resolution optical spectroscopy of the QPE hosts. We measure emission (and absorption) line fluxes, their ratios and equivalent widths (EWs), to locate the QPE hosts on diagnostic diagrams. We also measure the velocity dispersion of the stellar absorption lines to estimate their black hole masses. All QPE host galaxies show emission lines in their optical spectra. Based on their ratios and EWs, we find evidence for the presence of an active galactic nucleus in all sources, including those previously reported as passive. We measure velocity dispersions between 36 and 90 km/s, implying the presence of low mass (10^5-6.7 solar masses) black holes, consistent with literature findings. Finally, we find a significant over-representation (2/5 sources, or a factor of 13 +13 -10.5) of quiescent, Balmer strong (post starburst) galaxies among QPE hosts. The presence of a narrow line region consistent with an AGN in all QPE host galaxies implies that a pre-existing accretion flow likely plays an integral part to the QPE phenomenon. The strong over-representation of quiescent Balmer strong galaxies among QPE hosts can be naturally explained in both the TDE and interacting extreme mass ratio inspiral hypotheses.

Dwarf galaxies are ideal laboratories to test dark matter models and alternative theories because their dynamical mass (from observed kinematics) largely outweighs their baryonic mass (from gas and stars). In most star-forming dwarfs, cold atomic gas forms regularly rotating disks extending beyond the stellar component, thus probing the gravitational potential out to the outermost regions. Here I review several aspects of gas dynamics in dwarf galaxies, such as rotation curves, mass models, and noncircular motions. Star-forming dwarfs extend the dynamical laws of spiral galaxies to lower masses, surface densities, and accelerations. The three main dynamical laws of rotation-supported galaxies point to three distinct acceleration scales, which play different physical roles but display the same value, within uncertainties. The small scatter around these dynamical laws implies a tight coupling between baryons and dark matter in galaxies, which will be better understood with next-generation surveys that will enlarge current sample sizes by orders of magnitude.

We have investigated electro-magnetic (EM) wave pulses in a jet from a neutrino driven accretion flow (NDAF) around a black hole (BH). NDAFs are massive accretion disks whose accretion rates of $\dot{M}\approx 0.01 - 10 \mathrm{M}_\odot/\mathrm{s}$ for stellar-mass BHs. Such an extreme accretion may produce a collimated relativistic outflow like a magnetically driven jet in active galactic nuclei and micro-quasars. When we consider strong toroidal magnetic field stranded in the inner-region of a NDAF disk and magnetic impulses on the jet, we find that they lead to the emanation of high energy emissions for gamma-ray bursts as well as high energy cosmic rays. When Alfv\'enic wave pulses are generated by episodic immense accretions, it propagates along the large-scale structured magnetic field in the jet. Once the Alfv\'enic wave pulses reach at nearly the speed of light in the underdense condition, it turns into EM wave pulses which produce plasma wakes behind them. These wakefields exert a collective accelerating force synchronous to the motion of particles. As a result, the wakefield acceleration premises various observational signatures, such as pulsating bursts of high energy gamma-rays from accelerated electrons, pulses of neutrinos from accelerated protons, and protons with maximum energies beyond $10^{20}~\mathrm{eV}$.

The extent of black hole growth during different galaxy evolution phases and the connection between galaxy compactness and AGN activity remain poorly understood. We use Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the CANDELS fields to identify star-forming and quiescent galaxies at z=0.5-3 in both compact and extended phases and use Chandra X-ray imaging to measure the distribution of AGN accretion rates and track black hole growth within these galaxies. Accounting for the impact of AGN light changes ~20% of the X-ray sources from compact to extended galaxy classifications. We find that ~10-25% of compact star-forming galaxies host an AGN, a mild enhancement (by a factor ~2) compared to extended star-forming galaxies or compact quiescent galaxies of equivalent stellar mass and redshift. However, AGN are not ubiquitous in compact star-forming galaxies and this is not the evolutionary phase, given its relatively short timescale, where the bulk of black hole mass growth takes place. Conversely, we measure the highest AGN fractions (~10-30%) within the relatively rare population of extended quiescent galaxies. For massive galaxies that quench at early cosmic epochs, substantial black hole growth in this extended phase is crucial to produce the elevated black hole mass-to-galaxy stellar mass scaling relation observed for quiescent galaxies at z~0. We also show that AGN fraction increases with compactness in star-forming galaxies and decreases in quiescent galaxies within both the compact and extended sub-populations, demonstrating that AGN activity depends closely on the structural properties of galaxies.

One of the most pressing questions in cosmology is how the black holes (BHs) inferred to power quasars at high redshift are able to grow to supermassive scales well within a billion years of the Big Bang. Here we show that sustained super-Eddington accretion can be achieved for BHs with Eddington fractions $f_{\rm Edd}$ $>$ 2/$\epsilon$, where $\epsilon$ is the efficiency with which radiation is generated in the accretion process. In this regime, the radiation carries too little momentum to halt the accretion flow and the infalling gas traps the radiation, carrying it into the BH. The BH growth then proceeds unimpeded until the gas supply in its vicinity is exhausted, in contrast to accretion at lower rates which is limited by the radiation generated in the accretion process. The large gas supply available in massive high redshift quasar host galaxies may be readily be accreted onto seed BHs via this supply-limited mode of accretion, providing an explanation for how such supermassive BHs are assembled in the early universe. This sustained super-Eddington growth may also explain the short lifetimes inferred for the H II regions surrounding high redshift quasars, if the bulk of the BH growth occurs without the radiation generated in the process escaping to ionize the intergalactic medium. It also implies that a population of obscured rapidly growing BHs may be difficult to detect, perhaps explaining why so few quasars with Eddington fractions higher than a few have been observed. Finally, this simple condition for sustained super-Eddington growth can easily be implemented in cosmological simulations which can be used to assess how often and in which environments it occurs.

We present a spectral analysis of NuSTAR and NICER observations of the luminous, persistently accreting neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binary Cygnus X-2. The data were divided into different branches that the source traces out on the Z-track of the X-ray color-color diagram; namely the horizontal branch, normal branch, and the vertex between the two. The X-ray continuum spectrum was modeled in two different ways that produced a comparable quality fit. The spectra showed clear evidence of a reflection component in the form of a broadened Fe K line, as well as a lower energy emission feature near 1 keV likely due to an ionized plasma located far from the innermost accretion disk. We account for the reflection spectrum with two independent models (relxillns and rdblur*rfxconv). The inferred inclination is in agreement with earlier estimates from optical observations of ellipsoidal light curve modeling (relxillns: $i=67^{\circ}\pm4^{\circ}$, rdblur*rfxconv: $i=60^{\circ}\pm10^{\circ}$). The inner disk radius remains close to the NS ($R_{\rm in}\leq1.15\ R_{\mathrm{ISCO}}$) regardless of the source position along the Z-track or how the 1 keV feature is modeled. Given the optically determined NS mass of $1.71\pm0.21\ M_{\odot}$, this corresponds to a conservative upper limit of $R_{\rm in}\leq19.5$ km for $M=1.92\ M_{\odot}$ or $R_{\rm in}\leq15.3$ km for $M=1.5\ M_{\odot}$. We compare these radius constraints to those obtained from NS gravitational wave merger events and recent NICER pulsar light curve modeling measurements.

We present Keck/NIRC2 $K_{\rm p}L_{\rm p}$ high-contrast imaging observations of a J0337 protoplanetary disk. The data discover the spatially-resolved large cavity, which is the second report among protoplanetary disks in the Perseus star forming region after the LkH$\alpha$~330 system. Our data and forward modeling using RADMC-3D suggests $\sim80$~au for the cavity radius. There is discrepancy between J0337's SED and the modeled SED at $\sim10\micron$ and this suggests an unseen inner disk. We also searched for companions around J0337 but did not detect any companion candidates at separations between $0\farcs1$ and $2\farcs5$. The $L_{\rm p}$-band detection limit corresponds to $\sim20 M_{\rm Jup}$ at 60~au, $\sim9-10 M_{\rm Jup}$ at 90~au, and $\sim3 M_{\rm Jup}$ at $>120$~au. Compared with other young systems with large cavities such as PDS~70 and RX~J1604, multiple Jovian planets, a single eccentric Jovian planet, or a massive brown-dwarf at an inner separation could exist within the cavity.

Recent discovery of fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) as a new class of energetic transient sources can shed light on the long-standing problem of supernova-long gamma-ray burst connections. A distinctive feature of such objects is the presence of modestly relativistic outflows which place them in between the non-relativistic and relativistic supernovae-related events. Here we present the results of kinetic particle-in-cell and Monte Carlo simulations of particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification by shocks with the velocities in the interval between 0.1 and 0.7 c. These simulations are needed for the interpretation of the observed broad band radiation of FBOTs. Their fast, mildly to moderately relativistic outflows may efficiently accelerate relativistic particles. With particle-in-cell simulations we demonstrate that synchrotron radiation of accelerated relativistic electrons in the shock downstream may fit the observed radio fluxes. At longer timescales, well beyond those reachable within a particle-in-cell approach, our nonlinear Monte Carlo model predicts that protons and nuclei can be accelerated to petaelectronvolt (PeV) energies. Therefore, such fast and energetic transient sources can contribute to galactic populations of high energy cosmic rays.

Combining 66 ultraviolet (UV) spectra and ancillary data from the Low-Redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS) and 23 LyC observations by earlier studies, we form a statistical sample of star-forming galaxies at $z \sim 0.3$ to study the role of the cold interstellar medium (ISM) gas in the leakage of ionizing radiation. We first constrain the massive star content (ages and metallicities) and UV attenuation, by fitting the stellar continuum with a combination of simple stellar population models. The models, together with accurate LyC flux measurements, allow to determine the absolute LyC photon escape fraction for each galaxy ($f_{\rm esc}^{\rm abs}$). We measure the equivalent widths and residual fluxes of multiple HI and low-ionization state (LIS) lines, and the geometrical covering fraction adopting the picket-fence model. The $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm abs}$ spans a wide range, with a median (0.16, 0.84 quantiles) of 0.04 (0.02, 0.20), and 50 out of the 89 galaxies detected in the LyC. The HI and LIS line equivalent widths scale with the UV luminosity and attenuation, and inversely with the residual flux of the lines. The HI and LIS residual fluxes are correlated, indicating that the neutral gas is spatially traced by the LIS transitions. We find the observed trends of the absorption lines and the UV attenuation are primarily driven by the covering fraction. The non-uniform gas coverage demonstrates that LyC photons escape through low-column density channels in the ISM. The equivalent widths and residual fluxes of the UV lines strongly correlate with $f_{\rm esc}^{\rm abs}$: strong LyC leakers show weak absorption lines, low UV attenuation, and large Ly$\alpha$ equivalent widths. We finally show that simultaneous UV absorption line and dust attenuation measurements can predict, on average, the escape fraction of galaxies, and the method can be applied to galaxies across a wide redshift range.

Foreground mitigation is critical to all next-generation radio interferometers that target cosmology using theredshifted neutral hydrogen 21 cm emission line. Attempts to remove this foreground emission has led to newanalysis techniques as well as new developments in hardware specifically dedicated to instrument beam andgain calibration, including stabilized signal injection into the interferometric array and drone-based platforms forbeam mapping. The radio calibration sources currently used in the literature are broad-band incoherent sourcesthat can only be detected as excess power and with no direct sensitivity to phase information. In this paper,we describe a digital radio source which uses Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) derived time stamps to form adeterministic signal that can be broadcast from an aerial platform. A copy of this source can be deployed locallyat the instrument correlator such that the received signal from the aerial platform can be correlated with the localcopy, and the resulting correlation can be measured in both amplitude and phase for each interferometric element.We describe an initial implementation and verification of this source using commercial boards, and suggest afurther upgrade that takes advantage of new, fast Xilinx Radio Frequency System-on-a-Chip (RFSoCs).

Global coronal models seek to produce an accurate physical representation of the Sun's atmosphere which can be used, for example, to drive space weather models. Assessing their accuracy is a complex task and there are multiple observational pathways to provide constraints and tune model parameters. Here, we combine several such independent constraints, defining a model-agnostic framework for standardized comparison. We require models to predict the distribution of coronal holes at the photosphere, and neutral line topology at the model outer boundary. We compare these predictions to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) observations of coronal hole locations, white-light Carrington maps of the streamer belt and the magnetic sector structure measured \textit{in situ} by Parker Solar Probe and 1AU spacecraft. We study these metrics for Potential Field Source Surface (PFSS) models as a function of source surface height and magnetogram choice, as well as comparing to the more physical Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA) and the Magnetohydrodynamics Algorithm outside a Sphere (MAS) models. We find that simultaneous optimization of PFSS models to all three metrics is not currently possible, implying a trade-off between the quality of representation of coronal holes and streamer belt topology. WSA and MAS results show the additional physics they include addresses this by flattening the streamer belt while maintaining coronal hole sizes, with MAS also improving coronal hole representation relative to WSA. We conclude that this framework is highly useful for inter- and intra-model comparisons. Integral to the framework is the standardization of observables required of each model, evaluating different model aspects.

We present a beam pattern measurement of the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) made using the Sun as a calibration source. As CHIME is a pure drift scan instrument, we rely on the seasonal North-South motion of the Sun to probe the beam at different elevations. This semiannual range in elevation, combined with the radio brightness of the Sun, enables a beam measurement which spans ~7,200 square degrees on the sky without the need to move the telescope. We take advantage of observations made near solar minimum to minimize the impact of solar variability, which is observed to be <10% in intensity over the observation period. The resulting data set is highly complementary to other CHIME beam measurements -- both in terms of angular coverage and systematics -- and plays an important role in the ongoing program to characterize the CHIME primary beam.

We describe realistic observing scenarios for early warning detection of binary neutron star mergers with the current generation of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors as these approach design sensitivity. Using Fisher analysis, we estimate that Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo will detect one signal before merger in their fourth observing run provided they maintain a 70\% duty cycle. 60\% of all observations and 8\% of those detectable 20 seconds before merger will be localized to $\lesssim 100 \thinspace \mathrm{deg}^2$. If KAGRA is able to achieve a 25 Mpc horizon, these prospects increase to $\lesssim 2$ early detections with 70\% of all BNS localized to $\lesssim 100 \thinspace \mathrm{deg}^2$ by merger. As the AHKLV network approaches design sensitivity over the next $\sim10$ years, we expect up to 1 (14) detections made 100 (10) seconds before merger. Although adding detectors to the HLV network impacts the detection rate at $\lesssim 50\%$ level, it improves localization prospects and increases the completeness of compact binary surveys. Given uncertainties in sensitivities, participating detectors, and duty cycles, we consider 103 future detector configurations so electromagnetic observers can tailor preparations towards their preferred models.

Blue Large Amplitude Pulsators (BLAPs) are hot, subluminous stars undergoing rapid variability with periods of under 60 mins. They have been linked with the early stages of pre-white dwarfs and hot subdwarfs. They are a rare class of variable star due to their evolutionary history within interacting binary systems and the short timescales relative to their lifetime in which they are pulsationally unstable. All currently known BLAPs are relatively faint (15-19 mag) and are located in the Galactic plane. These stars have intrinsically blue colours but the large interstellar extinction in the Galactic plane prevents them from swift identification using colour-based selection criteria. In this paper, we correct the Gaia $G$-band apparent magnitude and $G_{\mathrm{BP}}-G_{\mathrm{RP}}$ colours of 89.6 million sources brighter than 19 mag in the Galactic plane with good quality photometry combined with supplementary all-sky data totalling 162.3 million sources. Selecting sources with colours consistent with the known population of BLAPs and performing a cross-match with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) DR3, we identify 98 short period candidate variables. Manual inspection of the period-folded light curves reveals 22 candidate BLAPs. Of these targets, 6 are consistent with the observed periods and light curves of the known BLAPs, 10 are within the theoretical period range of BLAPs and 6 are candidate high-gravity BLAPs. We present follow-up spectra of 21 of these candidate sources and propose to classify 1 of them as a BLAP, and tentatively assign an additional 8 of them as BLAPs for future population studies.

Thanks to ground-based infrared and sub-mm observations the study of the dusty torus of nearby AGN has greatly advanced in the last years. With the aim of further investigating the nuclear mid-infrared emission of the archetypal Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC1068, here we present a fitting to the N- and Q-band Michelle/Gemini spectra. We initially test several available SED libraries, including a smooth, clumpy and two phase torus models, and a clumpy disk plus wind model. Although, the smooth torus model describe the spectra of NGC1068 if we allow to vary some model parameters among the two spectral bands. Motivated by this result, we produced new SEDs using the radiative transfer code SKIRT. We use two concentric tori that allow us to test a more complex geometry. We test different values for the inner and outer radii, half opening angle, radial and polar exponent of the power-law density profile, opacity, and viewing angle. Furthermore, we also test the dust grains size and different optical and calorimetric properties of silicate grains. The best fitting model consists of two concentric components with outer radii of 1.8 and 28 pc, respectively. We find that the size and the optical and calorimetric properties of graphite and silicate grains in the dust structure are key to reproduce the spectra of NGC1068. We conclude that the dust in NGC1068 reaches different scales, where the highest contribution to the mid-infrared is given by a central and compact component. A less dense and extended component is present, which can be either part of the same torus (conforming a flared disk) or can represent the emission of a polar dust component, as already suggested from interferometric observations.

The Spitzer Space Telescope operated for over 16 years in an Earth-trailing solar orbit, returning not only a wealth of scientific data but, as a by-product, spacecraft and instrument engineering data which will be of interest to future mission planners. These data will be particularly useful because Spitzer operated in an environment essentially identical to that at the L2 LaGrange point where many future astrophysics missions will operate. In particular, the radiative cooling demonstrated by Spitzer has been adopted by other infrared space missions, from JWST to SPHEREx. This paper aims to facilitate the utility of the Spitzer engineering data by collecting the more unique and potentially useful portions into a single, readily-accessible publication. We avoid discussion of less unique systems, such as the telecom, flight software, and electronics systems and do not address the innovations in mission and science operations which the Spitzer team initiated. These and other items of potential interest are addressed in references supplied in an appendix to this paper.

We present multi-epoch observations of the RY~Tau jet for H$\alpha$ and [\ion{Fe}{2}] 1.644 \micron~emission lines obtained with Subaru/SCExAO+VAMPIRES, Gemini/NIFS, and Keck/OSIRIS in 2019--2021. These data show a series of four knots within 1$\arcsec$ consistent with the proper motion of $\sim0\farcs3$~yr$^{-1}$. The spatial intervals between the knots suggest the time intervals of the ejections of about 1.2, 0.7, and 0.7 years, significantly shorter than those observed for other few active young stars. These H$\alpha$ images contrast with the archival VLT/SPHERE/ZIMPOL observations from 2015, which showed only a single knot-like feature at $\sim0\farcs25$. The difference between the 2015 and 2019--2021 epochs suggests an irregular ejection interval within the six-year range. Such variations of the jet ejection may be related to a short-term ($<$1 year) variability of the mass accretion rate. We compared the peaks of the H$\alpha$ emissions with the ZIMPOL data taken in 2015, showing the brighter profile at the base ($<0\farcs3$) than the 2020--2021 VAMPIRES profiles due to time-variable mass ejection rates or the heating-cooling balance in the jet. This emission may be alternatively attributed to stationary shock related to outflow collimation, but a higher angular resolution is required to confirm its detailed origin.

The New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST) has been releasing its novel winged Ha data (WHD) since April 2021, namely the Ha imaging spectroscopic data. Compared with the prior released version, the new data are further co-aligned among the off-band images and packaged into a standard solar physics community format. In this study, we illustrate the alignment algorithm used by the novel WHD, which is mainly based on the optical flow method to obtain the translation offset between the winged images. To quantitatively evaluate the alignment results of two images with different similarities, we calculate the alignment accuracies between the images of different off-band and line center, respectively. The result shows that our alignment algorithm could reach up to the accuracy of about 0.1 "when the off-band of winged image is lower than 0.6 \.A. In addition, we introduce the final product of the WHD in detail, which can provide convenience for the solar physicists to use high-resolution H{\alpha} imaging spectroscopic data of NVST.

Star formation primarily occurs in filaments where magnetic fields are expected to be dynamically important. The largest and densest filaments trace spiral structure within galaxies. Over a dozen of these dense ($\sim$10$^4$\,cm$^{-3}$) and long ($>$10\,pc) filaments have been found within the Milky Way, and they are often referred to as ``bones." Until now, none of these bones have had their magnetic field resolved and mapped in their entirety. We introduce the SOFIA legacy project FIELDMAPS which has begun mapping $\sim$10 of these Milky Way bones using the HAWC+ instrument at 214\,$\mu$m and 18$\farcs$2 resolution. Here we present a first result from this survey on the $\sim$60\,pc long bone G47. Contrary to some studies of dense filaments in the Galactic plane, we find that the magnetic field is often not perpendicular to the spine (i.e., the center-line of the bone). Fields tend to be perpendicular in the densest areas of active star formation and more parallel or random in other areas. The average field is neither parallel or perpendicular to the Galactic plane nor the bone. The magnetic field strengths along the spine typically vary from $\sim$20 to $\sim$100\,$\mu$G. Magnetic fields tend to be strong enough to suppress collapse along much of the bone, but for areas that are most active in star formation, the fields are notably less able to resist gravitational collapse.

Heating signatures from small-scale magnetic reconnection events in the solar atmosphere have proven to be difficult to detect through observations. Numerical models that reproduce flaring conditions are essential in the understanding of how nanoflares may act as a heating mechanism of the corona. We study the effects of non-thermal electrons in synthetic spectra from 1D hydrodynamic RADYN simulations of nanoflare heated loops to investigate the diagnostic potential of chromospheric emission from small-scale events. The Mg II h and k, Ca II H and K, Ca II 854.2 nm, H-alpha and H-beta chromospheric lines were synthesised from various RADYN models of coronal loops subject to electron beams of nanoflare energies. The contribution function to the line intensity was computed to better understand how the atmospheric response to the non-thermal electrons affects the formation of spectral lines and the detailed shape of their spectral profiles. The spectral line signatures arising from the electron beams highly depend on the density of the loop and the lower cutoff energy of the electrons. Low-energy (5 keV) electrons deposit their energy in the corona and transition region, producing strong plasma flows that cause both redshifts and blueshifts of the chromospheric spectra. Higher-energy (10 and 15 keV) electrons deposit their energy in the lower transition region and chromosphere, resulting in increased emission from local heating. Our results indicate that effects from small-scale events can be observed with ground-based telescopes, expanding the list of possible diagnostics for the presence and properties of nanoflares.

Acoustic peaks in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature spectrum as observed by the Planck satellite appear to be smoother than our expectation from the standard model lensing effect. This anomalous effect can be also mimicked by a spatially closed Universe with a very low value of Hubble constant that consequently aggravates the already existing discordance between cosmological observations. We reconstruct a signature from the early Universe, a particular form of oscillation in the primordial spectrum of quantum fluctuations with a characteristic frequency, that solves all these anomalies. Interestingly, we find this form of the primordial spectrum resolves or substantially subsides, various tensions in the standard model of cosmology in fitting different observations, namely Planck CMB, clustering and weak lensing shear measurements from several large scale structure surveys, local measurements of Hubble constant, and recently estimated age of the Universe from globular clusters. We support our findings phenomenologically, by proposing an analytical form of the primordial spectrum with similar features and demonstrate that it agrees remarkably well with various combinations of cosmological observations. We support further our findings theoretically, by introducing a single scalar field potential for inflation that can generate such a form of the primordial spectrum.

Over the past two decades the echelle spectrograph NES of the 6-m telescope was used to perform high resolution spectroscopy of far evolved stars spanning a wide range of initial masses. The studies cover a diversity of stars with high mass-loss rates during the preceding and current stages of evolution. All these stars have extended atmospheres and structured circumstellar envelopes produced by strong stellar winds. We have studied luminous blue variables near the Eddington limit; hot supergiants with B[e] phenomenon in spectra, which are very likely intermediate-mass binary systems soon after the fast mass exchange stage; a group of yellow hypergiants, as well as an extensive sample of low-mass post-AGB supergiants. The diverse nature of the types of these stars whose common feature is the presence of a circumstellar envelope makes the spectroscopy of such objects a comprehensive task. Such studies consist of many etapes, which include not only determining the peculiarities of their atmospheric chemical composition and understanding the role of supergiants in the enrichment of the interstellar medium with freshly synthesized elements, but also the determination of the evolution status of the objects considered, as well as search for and analysis of spectroscopic manifestations of kinematic processes in their extended and unstable atmospheres and gas-dust envelopes. We spectroscopically monitored selected objects to study in detail the instability of the kinematic state of the atmospheres of the stars considered. This review reports briefly the most significant observational obtained within the framework of the programs in 1998--2021.

The purpose of the present work is a detailed investigation of the dynamical evolutionof Collinder 135 and UBC 7 star clusters. We present a set of dynamical numerical simulationsusing realistic star clusterN-body modeling technique with the forward integration of thestar-by-star cluster models to the present day, based on best-available 3D coordinates and velocitiesobtained from the latest Gaia EDR3 data release. We have established that Collinder 135 and UBC 7 are probably a binary star cluster and have common origin. We carried out a full star-by-star N-body simulation of the stellar population of both clusters using the new algorithm of Single Stellar Evolution and performed a comparison of the results obtained in the observational data (like cumulative number counts), which showed a fairly good agreement.

Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are at present well confirmed sites of acceleration of particles to relativistic energies due to observations of gamma-ray emission in the GeV-TeV energy range. We consider a scenario in which the mechanism accelerating electrons is also responsible for acceleration of hadrons in the GRB jets to multi-PeV energies. Since progenitors of long GRBs are massive stars still immersed in dense stellar clusters, these hadrons can efficiently interact with the matter after escaping from the jet. We calculate the spectra of neutrinos from the interaction of those hadrons with the matter of a huge cloud surrounding GRB. Those neutrinos form an afterglow on a time scale determined by their diffusion time scale in the cloud. Due to this long delay, their identification with any specific GRB is not possible. We estimate contribution of neutrinos from such afterglows to the extragalactic neutrino background recently reported by the IceCube Observatory.

To constrain for the first time the mean mass and extent of the molecular gas of a mass-complete sample of $>10^{10}$M$_{\odot}$ main-sequence (MS) galaxies at $0.4<z<3.6$. We apply an innovative $uv$-based stacking analysis to a large set of archival Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations. This stacking analysis provides measurements of the mean mass and extent of the molecular gas of galaxy populations. The molecular gas mass of MS galaxies evolves with redshift and stellar mass. At all stellar masses, the molecular gas fraction decreases by a factor of 24 from $z\sim3.2$ to $z\sim0$. At a given redshift, the molecular gas fraction of MS galaxies decreases with stellar mass, at roughly the same rate as their specific star formation rate decreases. The molecular gas depletion time of MS galaxies remains roughly constant at $z>0.5$ with a value of 300--500 Myr, but increases by a factor of 3 from $z\sim0.5$ to $z\sim0$. This evolution of the molecular gas depletion time of MS galaxies can be predicted from the evolution of their molecular gas surface density and a seemingly universal MS-only $\Sigma_{M_{\rm mol}}-\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ relation with an inferred slope of 1.13, i.e., the so-called KS relation. The far-infrared size of MS galaxies shows no significant evolution with redshift or stellar mass, with a mean circularized half-light radius of 2.2 kpc. Finally, our mean molecular gas masses are lower than previous estimates, likely caused by the fact that literature studies were biased towards individually-detected MS galaxies with massive gas reservoirs. To first order, the molecular gas content of MS galaxies regulates their star formation across cosmic time, while variation of their star formation efficiency plays a secondary role. Despite a large evolution of their gas content and SFRs, MS galaxies evolved along a seemingly universal MS-only KS relation.

We present the most complete to date interferometric study of the centimeter wavelength methanol masers detected in G358.93-0.03 at the burst and post-burst epochs. A unique, NIR/(sub)mm-dark and FIR-loud MYSO accretion burst was recently discovered in G358.93-0.03. The event was accompanied by flares of an unprecedented number of rare methanol maser transitions. The first images of three of the newly-discovered methanol masers at 6.18, 12.23, and 20.97 GHz are presented in this work. The spatial structure evolution of the methanol masers at 6.67, 12.18, and 23.12 GHz is studied at two epochs. The maser emission in all detected transitions resides in a region of $\sim$0.2$^{\prime\prime}$ around the bursting source and shows a clear velocity gradient in the north-south direction, with red-shifted features to the north and blue-shifted features to the south. A drastic change in the spatial morphology of the masing region is found: a dense and compact "spiral" cluster detected at epoch I evolved into a disperse, "round" structure at epoch II. During the transition from the first epoch to the second, the region traced by masers expanded. The comparison of our results with the complementary VLA, VLBI, SMA, and ALMA maser data is conducted. The obtained methanol maser data support the hypothesis of the presence of spiral-arm structures within the accretion disk, which was suggested in previous studies of the source.

X-ray- and extreme-ultraviolet- (XEUV-) driven photoevaporative winds acting on protoplanetary disks around young T-Tauri stars may strongly impact disk evolution, affecting both gas and dust distributions. We compute dust densities for the wind regions of XEUV-irradiated transition disks with gap sizes of 20 and 30 AU, and determine whether they can be observed at wavelengths $0.7 \lesssim \lambda_\mathrm{obs} [\mu\mathrm{m}] \lesssim 1.8$ in scattered and polarised light with current instrumentation. For an XEUV-driven outflow around a $M_* = 0.7 \mathrm{M}_\odot$ T-Tauri star with $L_X = 2 \cdot 10^{30} \mathrm{erg/s}$, we find dust mass-loss rates $\dot{M}_\mathrm{dust} \lesssim 2.0 \cdot 10^{-3} \dot{M}_\mathrm{gas}$, and if we invoke vertical settling, the outflow is quite collimated. The synthesised images exhibit a distinct chimney-like structure. The relative intensity of these chimneys is low, but under optimal conditions, their detection may still be feasible with current instrumentation such as JWST NIRCam and SPHERE IRDIS.

The characterization of exoplanets, their formation, evolution and chemical changes is tightly linked to the knowledge of their host stars. In particular stellar X-rays and UV emission have strong impact on the dynamical and chemical evolution of planetary atmospheres. We analyzed 25 XMM-Newton observations encompassing about eight years and totaling to about 958 ks in order to study the X-ray emission of HD 189733 A. We find that the corona of HD 189733 A has an average temperature of 0.4 keV and only during flares the mean temperature increases to 0.9 keV. Except for flares, there is no significant change in the flux and hardness of the coronal emission on a time scale of several months to years, from this we conclude that there is no detectable activity cycle on such a time scale. We identified the flares and built their energy distribution. The number of flares observed around the phases of the planetary eclipses is not statistically different from the number of flares during transit phases. However, we do find a hint of a difference in the flare-energy distributions as the flares observed around the planetary eclipses tend to be more energetic than the flares observed around the primary transits of the planet. The distribution of the number of flares per day is modeled with a power law, and it results steeper than the one observed in the Sun and in other Main Sequence stars. The steepness hints a significant fraction of undetected micro-flares. Altogether, the plasma temperatures below 1 keV observed during the flares and the slightly larger fraction of energetic flares seen at the secondary transits highlight a peculiarity of the corona of HD 189733 A and point to an origin of its X-ray emission partly due to star-planet interaction. However, more observational and modeling efforts are required to confirm or disprove this scenario.

DAMPE is a space-borne experiment for the measurement of the cosmic-ray fluxes at energies up to around 100 TeV per nucleon. At energies above several tens of TeV, the electronics of DAMPE calorimeter would saturate, leaving certain bars with no energy recorded. In the present work we discuss the application of machine learning techniques for the treatment of DAMPE data, to compensate the calorimeter energy lost by saturation.

The absence of Type IIP core-collapse supernovae arising from progenitors above 17 solar masses suggests the existence of another evolutionary path by which massive stars end their lives. The direct collapse of a stellar core to a black hole without the production of a bright, explosive transient is expected to produce a long-lived, dim, red transient known as a failed supernova. Despite the detection of a number of candidates for disappearing massive stars in recent years, conclusive observational evidence for failed supernovae remains elusive. A custom-built pipeline designed for the detection of faint transients is used to re-analyse 10 years of observations of 231 nearby galaxies from the PTF/ZTF surveys. This analysis recovers known supernovae, and yields a number of interesting transients. However, none of these are consistent with a failed supernova. Through Monte Carlo tests the recovery efficiency of our pipeline is quantified. By assuming failed supernovae occur as a Poissonian process with zero detections in the data set, 95 per cent upper limits to the rate of failed supernovae are calculated as a function of failed supernova absolute magnitude. We estimate failed supernovae to be less than 0.61, 0.33, 0.26, or 0.23 of the core-collapse SN rate for absolute magnitudes of $-11$, $-12$, $-13$, and $-14$ respectively. Finally, we show that if they exist, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will find 1.7 - 3.7 failed SNe per year for an absolute bolometric luminosity of $\sim 6 \times 10^{39} \textrm{ erg s}^{-1}$ out to distances of 33 - 43 Mpc, depending on their assumed spectral energy distribution.

The empirical relationship between the non-thermal 5GHz radio luminosity and the soft X-ray luminosity of active stellar coronae, canonically called the G\"udel-Benz relationship (G\"udel & Benz 1993), has been a cornerstone of stellar radio astronomy as it explicitly ties the radio emission to the coronal heating mechanisms. The relationship extends from microflares on the Sun to the coronae of the most active stars suggesting that active coronae are heated by a flare-like process (Benz & G\"udel 1994). The relationship is thought to originate from a consistent partition of the available flare energy into relativistic charges, that emit in the radio-band via the incoherent gyrosynchrotron mechanism, and heating of the bulk coronal plasma, that emits in the X-ray band via the Bremsstrahlung mechanism. Consequently, coherent emission from stellar and sub-stellar objects is not expected to adhere to this empirical relationship, as is observed in ultracool dwarf stars and brown dwarfs. Here we report a population of radio-detected chromospherically active stars that surprisingly follows the G\"udel-Benz relationship despite their radio emission being classified as coherent emission by virtue of its high circularly polarised fraction and high brightness temperature. Our results prompt a re-examination of the physics behind the G\"udel-Benz relationship, its implication for the mechanism of coronal heating and particle acceleration in active stars and the phenomenological connection between solar and stellar flares.

On April 13, 2029, asteroid \Apophis will pass within {six} Earth radii ($\sim$31000 km above surface), in what will be the closest approach of this asteroid in recorded history. This event provides unique scientific opportunities to study the asteroid, its orbit, and surface characteristics at an exceptionally close distance. In this paper we perform a synthetic geometrical, geographical and temporal analysis of the conditions under which the asteroid can be observed from Earth, with a particular emphasis on the conditions and scientific opportunities for bistatic radar observations, the only feasible radar technique applicable in such a close approach. For this purpose, we compile a list of present and future radio observatories around the globe which could participate in bistatic radar observation campaigns during the closest approach of Apophis. We estimate power, signal-to-noise ratios, surface coverage and other observing conditions. We find that a global collaboration of observatories in Australia, Africa, Europe and America might produce high-resolution delay-radar images with unprecedented signal-to-noise ratios and potential spatial resolution down to several meters, covering $\sim$87\% of the asteroid surface. Moreover, if properly coordinated, the extreme approach of the asteroid might allow for radio amateur detection of the signals sent by large radio observatories and citizen science projects could then be organized. We also find that for visual observations, the mountain tops of Canary Islands will offer the best observing conditions during the closest approach, both for professionals as well as for amateurs. The apparent size of \Apophis will be 2-3 times larger than typical seeing, allowing for resolved images of the surface.

The galaxy cluster Abell 523 (A523) hosts an extended diffuse synchrotron source historically classified as a radio halo. Its radio power at 1.4 GHz makes it one of the most significant outliers in the scaling relations between observables derived from multi-wavelength observations of galaxy clusters: it has a morphology that is different and offset from the thermal gas, and it has polarized emission at 1.4 GHz typically difficult to observe for this class of sources. A magnetic field fluctuating on large spatial scales (~ 1 Mpc) can explain these peculiarities but the formation mechanism for this source is not yet completely clear. To investigate its formation mechanism, we present new observations obtained with the LOw Frequency ARray at 120-168 MHz and the Jansky Very Large Array at 1-2 GHz, which allow us to study the spectral index distribution of this source. According to our data the source is observed to be more extended at 144 MHz than previously inferred at 1.4 GHz, with a total size of about 1.8 Mpc and a flux density S_144MHz = (1.52 +- 0.31) Jy. The spectral index distribution of the source is patchy with an average spectral index alpha ~ 1.2 between 144 MHz and 1.410 GHz, while an integrated spectral index alpha ~ 2.1 has been obtained between 1.410 GHz and 1.782 GHz. A previously unseen patch of steep spectrum emission is clearly detected at 144 MHz in the south of the cluster. Overall, our findings suggest that we are observing an overlapping of different structures, powered by the turbulence associated with the primary and a possible secondary merger.

Gravitational microlensing method is a powerful method to detect isolated black holes in the Milky Way. During a microlensing event brightness of the source increases and this feature is used by many photometric surveys to alert on potential events. A typical microlensing event shows a characteristic light curve, however, some outbursting variable stars may show similar light curves to microlensing events especially when the cadence of observations is not dense enough. Our aim is to device a method for distinguishing candidates for microlensing events from any other types of alerts using solely their archival photometric multi-wavelength data. The most common contaminants in the microlensing event search are Classical Be-type stars, Young Stellar Objects and Asymptotic Giant Branch stars such as Miras. We build a training set using thousands of examples for the main classes of alerting stars combining optical to mid-infrared magnitudes from Gaia, 2MASS and AllWISE catalogues. We used supervised machine learning techniques to build models for classification of alerts. We verified our method on 120 microlensing events reported by Gaia Science Alerts which were studied spectroscopically and photometrically. With the use of only archival information at 90% probability threshold we correctly identified one-third of the microlensing events. We also run our classifier on positions of 368 Gaia alerts which were flagged as potential candidates for microlensing events. At the 90% probability threshold we classified 38 microlensing events and 29 other types of variables. The machine learning supported method we developed can be universally used for current and future alerting surveys in order to quickly assess the classification of galactic transients and help decide on further follow-up observations.

Inflation and quintessence can both be described by a single scalar field. The cosmic time evolution of this cosmon field realizes a crossover from the region of an ultraviolet fixed point in the infinite past to an infrared fixed point in the infinite future. This amounts to a transition from early inflation to late dynamical dark energy, with intermediate radiation and matter domination. The scaling solution of the renormalization flow in quantum gravity connects the two fixed points. It provides for the essential characteristics of the scalar potential needed for the crossover cosmology and solves the cosmological constant problem dynamically. The quantum scale symmetry at the infrared fixed point protects the tiny mass of the cosmon and suppresses the cosmon coupling to atoms without the need of a non-linear screening mechanism, thereby explaining apparent issues of fine tuning. For a given content of particles the scaling solution of quantum gravity is a predictive framework for the properties of inflation and dynamical dark energy.

Black holes binaries coming from a distribution of primordial black holes might exhibit a large merger rate up to large redshifts. Using a phenomenological model for the merger rate, we show that changes in its slope, up to redshifts $z\sim 4$, are constrained by current limits on the amplitude of the stochastic gravitational wave background from LIGO/Virgo O3 run. This shows that the stochastic background constrains the merger rate for redshifts larger than the single event horizon of detection ($z\simeq 1$ for the same detector). Moreover, we show that for steep merger rates the shape of the stochastic gravitational wave signal at intermediate frequencies differs from the usual $2/3$ IR scaling. We discuss the implications of our model for future experiments in a wide range of frequencies, as the design LIGO/Virgo array, Einstein Telescope, LISA and PTA. Additionally, we show that i) the stochastic background and the present merger rate provide equally constraining bounds on the abundance of PBHs arising from a Gaussian distribution of inhomogeneities and ii) Degeneracies at the level of the stochastic background (i.e. different merger histories leading to a similar stochastic background) can be broken by considering the complementary direct observation of the merger rate from number counts by future detectors such as the Einstein Telescope.

Compilation of papers presented by the JEM-EUSO Collaboration at the 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC), held on July 12-23, 2021 (online) in Berlin, Germany.

Using the data set of The Three Hundred project, i.e. a suite of 324 hydrodynamical resimulations of cluster-sized haloes, we study galaxy cluster mergers and their effect on colour and luminosity changes of their brightest cluster galaxies (BCG). We track the main progenitor of each halo at z=0 and search for merger situations based on its mass accretion history, defining mergers as very rapid increases in the halo mass. Based upon the evolution of the dynamical state of the cluster we define a pre- and post-merger phase. We create a list of all these events and statistically study their mass ratio and timescales, with the former verifying that all instances are in fact major mergers. By comparing to a control sample of clusters without mergers, we study the effect mergers have on the stellar component of the BCG. Analysing the mass, age and metallicity of the BCG stellar particles, we find that the stellar content of BCGs grows significantly during mergers and, even though the main growth mechanism is the accretion of older stars, there is even a burst in star formation induced by the merger. In our simulations, BCGs in mergers form in median around 70 per cent more stars than those normally growing, although this depends on the radius considered for defining the BCG. Regarding observable properties, we see an increase in SDSS-u luminosity of 20 per cent during mergers, accompanied by a slightly slower increase of the galaxy g-r colour as compared to the control sample.

Context: Grids of stellar models, computed with the same physical ingredients, allow one to study the impact of a given physics on a broad range of initial conditions and are a key ingredient for modeling the evolution of galaxies. Aims: We present a grid of single star models for masses between 0.8 and 120 $M_\odot$, with and without rotation for a mass fraction of heavy element Z=0.006, representative of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Methods: We used the Geneva stellar evolution code. The evolution was computed until the end of the central carbon-burning phase, the early asymptotic giant branch phase, or the core helium-flash for massive, intermediate, and low mass stars, respectively. Results: The outputs of the present stellar models are well framed by the outputs of the two grids obtained by our group for metallicities above and below the one considered here. The models of the present work provide a good fit to the nitrogen surface enrichments observed during the main sequence for stars in the LMC with initial masses around 15 $M_\odot$. They also reproduce the slope of the luminosity function of red supergiants of the LMC well, which is a feature that is sensitive to the time-averaged mass loss rate over the red supergiant phase. The most massive black hole that can be formed from the present models at Z=0.006 is around 55 $M_\odot$. No model in the range of mass considered will enter into the pair-instability supernova regime, while the minimal mass to enter the region of pair pulsation instability is around 60 $M_\odot$ for the rotating models and 85 $M_\odot$ for the nonrotating ones. Conclusions: The present models are of particular interest for comparisons with observations in the LMC and also in the outer regions of the Milky Way. We provide public access to numerical tables that can be used for computing interpolated tracks and for population synthesis studies.

The visual inspection of image and catalog data continues to be a valuable aspect of astronomical data analysis. As the scale of astronomical image and catalog data continues to grow, visualizing the data becomes increasingly difficult. In this work, we introduce FitsMap, a simple, lightweight tool for visualizing astronomical image and catalog data. FitsMap only requires a simple web server and can scale to over gigapixel images with tens of millions of sources. Further, the web-based visualizations can be viewed performantly on mobile devices. FitsMap is implemented in Python and is open source (https://github.com/ryanhausen/fitsmap).

The INTEGRAL satellite, in orbit since October 2002, has significantly contributed to the study of magnetars and, thanks to its unique capabilities for the study of transient gamma-ray phenomena, it is now playing an important role in multimessenger astrophysics. The most recent results include the discovery of a peculiar burst from SGR J1935+2154, which gave the first observational evidence for the connection between magnetars and fast radio bursts, and extensive searches for bursting activity in peculiar sources, such as the repeating FRB 20200120E in M81 and the ultra-long period magnetar candidate GLEAMX J162759.5--523504.3.

Saturn has a dynamically rich satellite system, which includes at least three orbital resonances between three pairs of moons: Mimas-Tethys 4:2, Enceladus-Dione 2:1, and Titan-Hyperion 4:3 mean-motion resonances. Studies of the orbital history of Saturn's moons usually assume that their past dynamics was also dominated solely by two-body resonances. Using direct numerical integrations, we find that three-body resonances among Saturnian satellites were quite common in the past, and could result in a relatively long-term, but finite capture time (10 Myr or longer). We find that these three-body resonances are invariably of the eccentricity type, and do not appear to affect the moons' inclinations. While some three-body resonances are located close to two-body resonances (but involve the orbital precession of the third body), others are isolated, with no two-body arguments being near resonance. We conclude that future studies of the system's past must take full account of three-body resonances, which have been overlooked in the past work.

We examine 21 solar polar coronal jets that we identify in soft X-ray images obtained from the Hinode/X-ray telescope (XRT). We identify 11 of these jets as blowout jets and four as standard jets (with six uncertain), based on their X-ray-spire widths being respectively wide or narrow (compared to the jet's base) in the XRT images. From corresponding Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), essentially all (at least 20 of 21) of the jets are made by minifilament eruptions, consistent with other recent studies. Here, we examine the detailed nature of the erupting minifilaments (EMFs) in the jet bases. Wide-spire ("blowout") jets often have ejective EMFs, but sometimes they instead have an EMF that is mostly confined to the jet's base rather than ejected. We also demonstrate that narrow-spire ("standard") jets can have either a confined EMF, or a partially confined EMF where some of the cool minifilament leaks into the jet's spire. Regarding EMF visibility: we find that in some cases the minifilament is apparent in as few as one of the four EUV channels we examined, being essentially invisible in the other channels; thus it is necessary to examine images from multiple EUV channels before concluding that a jet does not have an EMF at its base. The size of the EMFs, measured projected against the sky and early in their eruption, is 14'' +- 7'', which is within a factor of two of other measured sizes of coronal-jet EMFs.

The trajectories since z=4 of systems of galaxies (`halos') with cz < 8,000 km/s are found through Numerical Action reconstructions. A set of 9,719 halos from a 2MASS group catalog and Cosmicflows-3 catalogs are given attention. Present distances are adjusted to minimize departures from observed redshifts. For those with the most precisely determined distances, compromises are made between distance and redshift agreement. $H_0$ is varied from 69 to 77 km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ with $\Omega_m$ set by the baryon acoustic oscillation constraint from the Planck Satellite. A best fitting amplitude of the mass-to-light relation is found. A uniform density associated with the interhalo medium accounts for the matter not in halos. The solution paths provide the histories of the formation of the nearby large structures and depict how the voids emptied. Assuming no local over/underdensity, the best model has $H_0=73$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ with nearly the same density arising from interhalo matter (IHM) as from halos. We examine local over/underdensities by varying the IHM density and find a valley of best fit models along $H_0 = 73.0 (1 + 0.165\delta)$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$. Friedmann models with distinct densities internal and external to the study region give a similar relationship. The fraction of matter in the IHM seen in n-body simulations roughly matches that in our $H_0=72$ scenario. Videos have been created to visualize the complexities of formation of large-scale structures. Standard n-body calculations starting from the first time-steps as tests of the NAM solutions, and continue until cosmic scale factor $a=2$ provide glimpses into the future.

A simultaneous broadband analysis of X-ray data obtained with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observatories for the asynchronous polar source CD Ind is presented. The spin folded lightcurve in soft 0.3-3.0 keV band shows single broad hump-like structure superimposed with occasional narrow dips, indicating a single-pole accretion model with a complex intrinsic absorber. Lack of strong modulation in folded lightcurve above 3 keV reveals that emission from corresponding zone of post-shock region (PSR) remains in view throughout the spin phase. The broadband spectrum is modelled with a three-component absorbed plasma emission model and absorbed isobaric cooling flow model, both of which fit the data well with similar statistical significance. Presence of partial covering absorber is evident in the spectra with equivalent column density $\sim7\times10^{22}\;\text{cm}^{-2}$ and a covering fraction of $\sim 25\%$. Strong ionised oxygen K$_{\alpha}$ line emission is detected in the spectra. We notice spectral variability during spin phase 0.75-1.05, when there is a considerable increase in column density of overall absorber (from $\sim 1 \times 10^{20}\;\text{cm}^{-2}$ to $\sim 9 \times 10^{20}\;\text{cm}^{-2}$). We required at least three plasma temperatures to describe the multi-temperature nature of the PSR. The shock temperature $\sim 43.3_{-3.4}^{+3.8}$ keV, represented by the upper temperature of the cooling flow model, implies a white dwarf mass of $\sim 0.87^{+0.04}_{-0.03}\;M_{\odot}$. The iron K$_{\alpha}$ line complex shows a strong He-like and a weak neutral fluorescence line. We could not unambiguously detect the presence of Compton reflection in the spectra, which is probably very small and signifying a tall shock height.

Inspired by the excess soft X-ray emission recently detected in Green Pea galaxies, we model the soft X-ray emission (0.5 - 2.0 keV) of hot gas from star cluster winds. By combining individual star clusters, we estimate the soft X-ray emission expected from the typically unresolved diffuse hot gas in starburst galaxies, devoid of competing emission from e.g., AGN or other unresolved point sources. We use stellar models of sub-solar metallicities (0.02 $Z_{\odot}$ and 0.4 $Z_{\odot}$), and take into account supernova explosions for massive stars. For lower metallicities, we find that stellar winds do not contribute significantly ($\lesssim 3$ % of the mechanical energy) to the observed soft X-ray emission of normal star forming galaxies. For higher metallicities and possibly also for larger proportions of massive star clusters in the simulated starburst galaxies, we reproduce well the observed correlation between star formation rate and X-ray luminosity previously reported in the literature. However, we find that no combination of model assumptions is capable of reproducing the substantial soft X-ray emission observed from Green Pea galaxies, indicating that other emission mechanisms (i.e. unusually large quantities of High-/Low-Mass X-ray Binaries, Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources, a modified initial mass function, Intermediate-Mass Black Holes, or AGN) are more likely to be responsible for the X-ray excess.

Theories of large extra dimensions (LEDs) such as the Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos & Dvali scenario predict a ``true'' Planck scale $M_\star$ near the TeV scale, while the observed $M_{pl}$ is due to the geometric effect of compact extra dimensions. These theories allow for the creation of primordial black holes (PBHs) in the early Universe, from the collisional formation and subsequent accretion of black holes in the high-temperature plasma, leading to a novel cold dark matter (sub)component. Because of their existence in a higher-dimensional space, the usual relationship between mass, radius and temperature is modified, leading to distinct behaviour with respect to their 4-dimensional counterparts. Here, we derive the cosmological creation and evolution of such PBH candidates, including the greybody factors describing their evaporation, and obtain limits on LED PBHs from direct observation of evaporation products, effects on big bang nucleosynthesis, and the cosmic microwave background angular power spectrum. Our limits cover scenarios of 2 to 6 extra dimensions, and PBH masses ranging from 1 to $10^{22}$ g. We find that for two extra dimensions, LED PBHs represent a viable dark matter candidate with a range of possible black hole masses between $10^{18}$ and $10^{24}$ g depending on the Planck scale and reheating temperature. For $M_\star = 10$ TeV, this corresponds to PBH dark matter with a mass of $M \simeq 10^{22}$ g, unconstrained by current observations. We further refine and update constraints on ``ordinary'' four-dimension black holes.

In recent years, ensemble modeling has been widely employed in space weather to estimate uncertainties in forecasts. We here focus on the ensemble modeling of CME arrival times and arrival velocities using a drag-based model, which is well-suited for this purpose due to its simplicity and low computational cost. Although ensemble techniques have previously been applied to the drag-based model, it is still not clear how to best determine distributions for its input parameters, namely the drag parameter and the solar wind speed. The aim of this work is to evaluate statistical distributions for these model parameters starting from a list of past CME-ICME events. We employ LASCO coronagraph observations to measure initial CME position and speed, and in situ data to associate them with an arrival date and arrival speed. For each event we ran a statistical procedure to invert the model equations, producing parameters distributions as output. Our results indicate that the distributions employed in previous works were appropriately selected, even though they were based on restricted samples and heuristic considerations. On the other hand, possible refinements to the current method are also identified, such as the dependence of the drag parameter distribution on the CME being accelerated or decelerated by the solar wind, which deserve further investigation.

Numerical simulations demonstrate a link between dynamically cold initial solutions and self-similarity. However the nature of this link is not fully understood. Cold initial conditions alone without further symmetry do not lead to self-similarity. Here we show that when the system approaches equilibrium a new symmetry appears. The combination of this equilibrium symmetry with the cold symmetry in the initial conditions leads to full self-similarity. As a consequence for any initially cold system even if the initial spatial distribution is not self-similar we will observe an evolution towards self-similarity near equilibrium. The case of one dimensional systems or spherically symmetric systems in 3D are discussed in detail. Systems depending on the energy and other integrals are also considered. The problem of the degeneracy of the self-similar solutions at equilibrium is tackled. It is shown that very small perturbations at the center of the system have the ability to break this degeneracy and lead to the convergence towards a specific auto-similar solution.

We investigate entanglement production by inhomogeneous perturbations over a homogeneous and isotropic cosmic background, demonstrating that the interplay between quantum and geometric effects can have relevant consequences on entanglement entropy, with respect to homogeneous scenarios. To do so, we focus on a conformally coupled scalar field and discuss how geometric production of scalar particles leads to entanglement. Perturbatively, at first order we find oscillations in entropy correction, whereas at second order the underlying geometry induces mode-mixing on entanglement production. We thus quantify entanglement solely due to geometrical contribution and compare our outcomes with previous findings. We characterize the geometric contribution through geometric (quasi)-particles, interpreted as dark matter candidates.

We present the first conservative finite volume numerical scheme for the causal, stable relativistic Navier-Stokes equations developed by Bemfica, Disconzi, Noronha, and Kovtun (BDNK). BDNK theory has arisen very recently as a promising means of incorporating entropy-generating effects (viscosity, heat conduction) into relativistic fluid models, appearing as a possible alternative to the so-called M\"uller-Israel-Stewart (MIS) theory successfully used to model quark-gluon plasma. Both BDNK and MIS-type theories may be understood in terms of a gradient expansion about the perfect (ideal) fluid, wherein BDNK arises at first order and MIS at second order. As such, BDNK has vastly fewer terms and undetermined model coefficients (as is typical for an effective field theory appearing at lower order), allowing for rigorous proofs of stability, causality, and hyperbolicity in full generality which have as yet been impossible for MIS. To capitalize on these advantages, we present the first fully conservative multi-dimensional fluid solver for the BDNK equations suitable for physical applications. The scheme includes a flux-conservative discretization, non-oscillatory reconstruction, and a central-upwind numerical flux, and is designed to smoothly transition to a high-resolution shock-capturing perfect fluid solver in the inviscid limit. We assess the robustness of our new method in a series of flat-spacetime tests for a conformal fluid, and provide a detailed comparison with previous approaches of Pandya & Pretorius (2021).