Papers for Tuesday, Jun 27 2023

We present one of the first cosmic ray muon flux-angle variation experiments on the QuarkNet Cosmic Ray Detector (QNCRD). We first describe QNCRD and its calibration. The main focus is then quantifying muon flux decrease as a function of angle from the zenith. The angle of counters of QNCRD were incremented 15 degrees on average every $3.1$ days over the range of 0 degrees to 90 degrees for a period of approximately one month. Results showed that as the angle of the detector increased from the zenith, muon flux decreased, which agrees with previous studies. An estimate for the flux based on the model $I(\theta)=I_0cos(\theta)^n$ had an exponent value of $n=1.39 \pm 0.01$ for $\theta < 75$ degrees, an underestimate of values in other literature. These findings provided a reasonable, although not entirely accurate, estimate for the value of $n$ considering the duration of the study and sensitivity of the instrument. Our results constrain the accuracy of QNCRD and provide a source for future long-term experiments. This study also demonstrates the feasibility of conducting science experiments in high school classrooms, increasing science accessibility.

The 4K$\times$4K CCD Imager is the first light instrument for the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope and is producing broad-band imaging observations of many Galactic and extra-galactic sources since 2015-2016. Capabilities of the CCD Imager are demonstrated recently through several publications using the well-calibrated multi-band deep photometric results as expected from other similar facilities globally. In this article, we summarize some of the recent up-gradations made to improve the Imager, i.e., mounting the new filter wheel casing, replacing stray light baffles and discussing the fringe pattern corrections in redder filters. Some of the new science initiatives like galaxy-embedded faint point sources including WR stars and the observations of low surface brightness galaxy clusters are also discussed.

Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has been predominantly focused on rocky exoplanets. Hycean worlds are a class of habitable sub-Neptunes with planet-wide oceans and H2-rich atmospheres. Their broad range of possible sizes and temperatures lead to a wide habitable zone and high potential for discovery and atmospheric characterization using transit spectroscopy. Over a dozen candidate Hycean planets are already known to be transiting nearby M dwarfs, making them promising targets for atmospheric characterization with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In this work, we investigate possible chemical conditions on a canonical Hycean world, focusing on (a) the present and primordial molecular composition of the atmosphere, and (b) the inventory of bioessential elements for the origin and sustenance of life in the ocean. Based on photochemical and kinetic modeling for a range of conditions, we discuss the possible chemical evolution and observable present-day composition of its atmosphere. In particular, for reduced primordial conditions the early atmospheric evolution passes through a phase that is rich in organic molecules that could provide important feedstock for prebiotic chemistry. We investigate avenues for delivering bioessential metals to the ocean, considering the challenging lack of weathering from a rocky surface and the ocean separated from the rocky core by a thick icy mantle. Based on ocean depths from internal structure modelling and elemental estimates for the early Earth's oceans, we estimate the requirements for bioessential metals in such a planet. We find that the requirements can be met for plausible assumptions about impact history and atmospheric sedimentation, and supplemented by other steady state sources. We discuss the observational prospects for atmospheric characterisation of Hycean worlds.

We perform the first 3D ab-initio general-relativistic neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics of a long-lived neutron star merger remnant spanning a fraction of its cooling time scale. We find that neutrino cooling becomes the dominant energy loss mechanism after the gravitational-wave dominated phase (${\sim}20\ {\rm ms}$ postmerger). Electron flavor neutrino luminosity dominates over anti-electron flavor neutrino luminosity at early times, resulting in a secular increase of the electron fraction in the outer layers of the remnant. However, the two luminosities become comparable ${\sim}20{-}40\ {\rm ms}$ postmerger. A dense gas of anti-electron neutrinos is formed in the outer core of the remnant at densities ${\sim}10^{14.5}\ {\rm g}\ {\rm cm}^{-3}$, corresponding to temperature hot spots. The neutrinos account for ${\sim}10\%$ of the lepton number in this region. Despite the negative radial temperature gradient, the radial entropy gradient remains positive and the remnant is stably stratified according to the Ledoux criterion for convection. A massive accretion disk is formed from the material squeezed out of the collisional interface between the stars. The disk carries a large fraction of the angular momentum of the system, allowing the remnant massive neutron star to settle to a quasi-steady equilibrium within the region of possible stable rigidly rotating configurations. The remnant is differentially rotating, but it is stable against the magnetorotational instability. Other MHD mechanisms operating on longer timescales are likely responsible for the removal of the differential rotation. Our results indicate the remnant massive neutron star is thus qualitatively different from a protoneutron stars formed in core-collapse supernovae.

Planets form in dusty, gas-rich disks around young stars, while at the same time, the planet formation process alters the physical and chemical structure of the disk itself. Embedded planets will locally heat the disk and sublimate volatile-rich ices, or in extreme cases, result in shocks that sputter heavy atoms such as Si from dust grains. This should cause chemical asymmetries detectable in molecular gas observations. Using high-angular-resolution ALMA archival data of the HD 169142 disk, we identify compact SO J=8$_8$-7$_7$ and SiS J=19-18 emission coincident with the position of a ${\sim}$2 M$_{\rm{Jup}}$ planet seen as a localized, Keplerian NIR feature within a gas-depleted, annular dust gap at ${\approx}$38 au. The SiS emission is located along an azimuthal arc and has a similar morphology as a known $^{12}$CO kinematic excess. This is the first tentative detection of SiS emission in a protoplanetary disk and suggests that the planet is driving sufficiently strong shocks to produce gas-phase SiS. We also report the discovery of compact $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO J=3-2 emission coincident with the planet location. Taken together, a planet-driven outflow provides the best explanation for the properties of the observed chemical asymmetries. We also resolve a bright, azimuthally-asymmetric SO ring at ${\approx}$24 au. While most of this SO emission originates from ice sublimation, its asymmetric distribution implies azimuthal temperature variations driven by a misaligned inner disk or planet-disk interactions. Overall, the HD 169142 disk shows several distinct chemical signatures related to giant planet formation and presents a powerful template for future searches of planet-related chemical asymmetries in protoplanetary disks.

We present the results from a multi-year radio campaign of the superluminous supernova (SLSN) 2017ens, which yielded the earliest radio detection of a SLSN to date at the age of $\sim$3.3 years after explosion. SN2017ens was not detected at radio frequencies in the first $\sim$300\,d of evolution but reached $L_{\nu}\approx 10^{28}\,\rm{erg\,s^{-1}\,cm^{-2}}$ at $\nu\sim 6$ GHz, $\sim1250$ days post-explosion. Interpreting the radio observations in the context of synchrotron radiation from the supernova shock interaction with the circumstellar medium (CSM), we infer an effective mass-loss rate of $\approx 10^{-4}\,\rm{M_{\odot}yr^{-1}}$ at $r\sim 10^{17}$ cm from the explosion's site, for a wind speed of $v_w=50-60\,\rm{km\,s^{-1}}$ measured from optical spectra. These findings are consistent with the spectroscopic metamorphosis of SN2017ens from hydrogen-poor to hydrogen-rich $\sim190$ d after explosion reported by Chen et al., 2018. SN2017ens is thus an addition to the sample of hydrogen-poor massive progenitors that explode shortly after having lost their hydrogen envelope. The inferred circumstellar densities, implying a CSM mass up to $\sim0.5\,\rm{M_{\odot}}$, and low velocity of the ejection point at binary interactions (in the form of common envelope evolution and subsequent envelope ejection) playing a role in shaping the evolution of the stellar progenitors of SLSNe in the $\lesssim 500$ yr preceding core collapse.

Gravitational-wave astronomy has revolutionized humanity's view of the universe, a revolution driven by observations that no other field can make. This white paper describes an observatory that builds on decades of investment by the National Science Foundation and that will drive discovery for decades to come: Cosmic Explorer. Major discoveries in astronomy are driven by three related improvements: better sensitivity, higher precision, and opening new observational windows. Cosmic Explorer promises all three and will deliver an order-of-magnitude greater sensitivity than LIGO. Cosmic Explorer will push the gravitational-wave frontier to almost the edge of the observable universe using technologies that have been proven by LIGO during its development. With the unprecedented sensitivity that only a new facility can deliver, Cosmic Explorer will make discoveries that cannot yet be anticipated, especially since gravitational waves are both synergistic with electromagnetic observations and can reach into regions of the universe that electromagnetic observations cannot explore. With Cosmic Explorer, scientists can use the universe as a laboratory to test the laws of physics and study the nature of matter. Cosmic Explorer allows the United States to continue its leading role in gravitational-wave science and the international network of next-generation observatories. With its extraordinary discovery potential, Cosmic Explorer will deliver revolutionary observations across astronomy, physics, and cosmology including: Black Holes and Neutron Stars Throughout Cosmic Time, Multi-Messenger Astrophysics and Dynamics of Dense Matter, New Probes of Extreme Astrophysics, Fundamental Physics and Precision Cosmology, Dark Matter and the Early Universe.

Synthetic datasets generated from large-volume gravity-only simulations are an important tool in the calibration of cosmological analyses. Their creation often requires accurate inference of baryonic observables from the dark matter field. We explore the effectiveness of a baryon pasting algorithm in providing precise estimations of three-dimensional gas thermodynamic properties based on gravity-only simulations. We use the Borg Cube, a pair of simulations originating from identical initial conditions, with one run evolved as a gravity-only simulation, and the other incorporating non-radiative hydrodynamics. Matching halos in both simulations enables comparisons of gas properties on an individual halo basis. This comparative analysis allows us to fit for the model parameters that yield the closest agreement between the gas properties in both runs. To capture the redshift evolution of these parameters, we perform the analysis at five distinct redshift steps, spanning from $z=0$ to $2$. We find that the investigated algorithm, utilizing information solely from the gravity-only simulation, achieves few-percent accuracy in reproducing the median intracluster gas pressure and density, albeit with a scatter of approximately 20%, for cluster-scale objects up to $z=2$. We measure the scaling relation between integrated Compton parameter and cluster mass ($Y_{500c} | M_{500c}$), and find that the imprecision of baryon pasting adds less than 5% to the intrinsic scatter measured in the hydrodynamic simulation. We provide best-fitting values and their redshift evolution, and discuss future investigations that will be undertaken to extend this work.

We present second epoch optical spectra for 30 changing-look (CL) candidates found by searching for Type-1 optical variability in a sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) spectroscopically classified as Type 2. We use a random-forest-based light curve classifier and spectroscopic follow-up, confirming 50 per cent of candidates as turning-on CLs. In order to improve this selection method and to better understand the nature of the not-confirmed CL candidates, we perform a multi-wavelength variability analysis including optical, mid-infrared (MIR) and X-ray data, and compare the results from the confirmed and not-confirmed CLs identified in this work. We find that most of the not-confirmed CLs are consistent with weak Type 1s dominated by host-galaxy contributions, showing weaker optical and MIR variability. On the contrary, the confirmed CLs present stronger optical fluctuations and experience a long (from five to ten years) increase in their MIR fluxes and the colour W1-W2 over time. In the 0.2-2.3 keV band, at least four out of 11 CLs with available SRG/eROSITA detections have increased their flux in comparison with archival upper limits. These common features allow us to select the most promising CLs from our list of candidates, leading to nine sources with similar multi-wavelength photometric properties to our CL sample. The use of machine learning algorithms with optical and MIR light curves will be very useful to identify CLs in future large-scale surveys.

In the previous studies, from the Fokker-Planck equation the general spatial transport equation, which contains an infinite number of spatial derivative terms $T_n=\kappa_{nz}\partial^n{F}/ \partial{z^n}$ with $n=1, 2, 3, \cdots$, was derived. Due to the complexity of the general equation, some simplified equations with finite spatial derivative terms have been used in astrophysical researches, e.g., the diffusion equation, the hyperdiffusion one, subdiffusion transport one, etc. In this paper, the simplified equations with the highest order spatial derivative terms up to the first-, second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-order are listed, and their transport coefficient formulas are derived, respectively. We find that most of the transport coefficients are determined by the corresponding statistical quantities. In addition, we find that the well-known statistical quantities, skewness $\mathcal{S}$ and kurtosis $\mathcal{K}$, are determined by some transport coefficients. The results can help one to use different transport coefficients determined by the statistical quantities, including many that are relatively new found in this paper, to study charged particle parallel transport processes.

The formation mechanism of massive stars remains one of the main open problem in astrophysics, in particular the relationship between the mass of the most massive stars, and that of the cores in which they form. Numerical simulations of the formation and evolution of large molecular clouds, within which dense cores and stars form self-consistently, show in general that the cores' masses increase in time, and also that the most massive stars tend to appear later (by a few to several Myr) than lower-mass stars. Here we present a model that incorporates accretion onto the cores as well as onto the stars, in which the core's mass grows by a ``gravitational choking'' mechanism that does not involve any form of support. This process is of purely gravitational origin, and causes some of the mass accreted onto the core to stagnate there, rather than being transferred to the central stars. Thus, the simultaneous mass growth of the core and of the stellar mass can be computed. In addition, we estimate the mass of the most massive allowed star before its photoionizing radiation is capable of overcoming the accretion flow onto the core. This model constitutes a proof-of-concept for the simultaneous growth of the gas reservoir and the stellar mass, the delay in the formation of massive stars observed in cloud-scale numerical simulations, the need for massive, dense cores in order to form massive stars, and the observed correlation between the mass of the most massive star and the mass of the cluster it resides in. Also, our model implies that by the time massive stars begin to form in a core, a number of low-mass stars are expected to have already formed.

Artificial light at night is a pollutant that is rising fast, as demonstrated by Kyba et al. (1) work by analyzing ten of thousands observations by citizen scientists in the last 12 years. The study found that the dimmest stars are vanishing, progressively hidden by a 10 percent yearly increase of the sky background due to artificial lights. This increase is difficult to be detected by the global coverage satellites now in operation, due to detector's blindness to the blue peak of white LEDs that are progressively replacing older technology lamps. This shows the need for a satellite with nighttime multi band capability in the visible light to study and control future evolution. More importantly, a call for a strong reverse in the light pollution rising trend is extremely urgent to avoid all the cultural, scientific, energetic, ecological and health negative effects of artificial nightlights.

Radio astronomy is currently thriving with new large ground-based radio telescopes coming online in preparation for the upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Facilities like LOFAR, MeerKAT/SKA, ASKAP/SKA, and the future SKA-LOW bring tremendous sensitivity in time and frequency, improved angular resolution, and also high-rate data streams that need to be processed. They enable advanced studies of radio transients, volatile by nature, that can be detected or missed in the data. These transients are markers of high-energy accelerations of electrons and manifest in a wide range of temporal scales. Usually studied with dynamic spectroscopy of time series analysis, there is a motivation to search for such sources in large interferometric datasets. This requires efficient and robust signal reconstruction algorithms. To correctly account for the temporal dependency of the data, we improve the classical image deconvolution inverse problem by adding the temporal dependency in the reconstruction problem. Then, we introduce two novel neural network architectures that can do both spatial and temporal modeling of the data and the instrumental response. Then, we simulate representative time-dependent image cubes of point source distributions and realistic telescope pointings of MeerKAT to generate toy models to build the training, validation, and test datasets. Finally, based on the test data, we evaluate the source profile reconstruction performance of the proposed methods and classical image deconvolution algorithm CLEAN applied frame-by-frame. In the presence of increasing noise level in data frame, the proposed methods display a high level of robustness compared to frame-by-frame imaging with CLEAN. The deconvolved image cubes bring a factor of 3 improvement in fidelity of the recovered temporal profiles and a factor of 2 improvement in background denoising.

In this paper we calculate the linear perturbations of the cosmological redshift drift. We show explicitly that our expressions are gauge-invariant and compute the power spectrum of the redshift drift perturbations and its correlations with galaxy number counts within linear perturbation theory. Our findings show that the perturbations are small, and that the peculiar velocity and acceleration terms are dominating and cannot be neglected when modeling the full perturbative expression for the redshift drift. We also find that the cross-correlations with galaxy number count fluctuations might increase the detectability of the effect and can help to separate the perturbative effects from the background cosmological redshift drift signal.

The physical origins of components in the unified model of quasars such as broad line region (BLR), dust torus, and narrow line region are unresolved. To learn more about them, we focus on studying Changing-State Quasars (also known as Changing-Look Quasars) as they offer the opportunity to observe structural changes associated with state transitions. This can give us insight into the origins of each quasar structure. We aimed to understand the central core structure of one of the most variable Changing-State Quasars, SDSS J125809.31+351943.0, and how it changes before and after the state transition. We performed reverberation mapping with optical spectroscopy to investigate the structure of the BLR and to measure the black hole mass. The results of the reverberation mapping show that the Eddington ratio crossed the value of 0.01 before and after state transition for the black hole mass of $10^{9.46^{+0.15}_{-0.19}}\rm{M_\odot}$. In addition, we compared optical to X-ray spectral indices ($\alpha_{\rm{ox}}$) before and after the state transition to investigate the structure difference of the accretion disk. These variations in $\alpha_{\rm{ox}}$ and the Eddington ratio were found to behave similarly to the state transition seen in X-ray binary systems. We also measured the time-lag between the mid-IR and the optical light curve to estimate the size of the dust torus. From all the acquired information about the BLR and dust torus, we confirmed the existence of two distinct rotating/inflowing BLR components located near the dust torus, probably generated by different processes, which are the origins of the BLRs.

We present the timing analysis results of MAXI J1803$-$298, a black hole candidate, during its 2021 outburst using data obtained from the \textit{Insight-}HXMT and \textit{NICER} telescopes. Our analysis reveals that the source undergoes a state transition from the low/hard state to the hard intermediate state, followed by the soft intermediate state, and ultimately reaching the high/soft state. We searched for the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) and studied the characteristics of the outburst. At the beginning of the outburst, the source was in the hard state, many type-C QPOs were seen in the \textit{Insight-}HXMT data, and the frequency of these QPOs increased from $\sim 0.16$ to $2.6$ Hz. Our analysis of the type-C QPOs' rms-frequency relationship indicates a turning point in the frequency. We also analyzed the phase lag versus frequency and energy relationship and deduced that the source likely has a high inclination angle, consistent with previous research. The observed rms and phase lag features in type-C QPOs could be explained by the Lense-Thirring precession model, while the alternatives would be still viable. The lag spectrum of type-B QPO exhibits a "\textit{U-shaped}" pattern similar to many other sources, and the type-B QPOs' rms increase as the energy rises. This phenomenon can be explained by the dual-corona model.

A new outburst of GX 339$-$4 in 2021 was monitored by the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (\textit{Insight}-HXMT). By using the data of \textit{Insight}-HXMT from February to March 2021, we make the X-ray timing analysis of this new outburst. Based on the results of count rates, hardness-intensity diagram (HID) and power density spectrum (PDS), we confirm that the source exhibits spectral transitions from the low-hard state (LHS) to the hard-intermediate state (HIMS). During the transition from the LHS to the HIMS, Low-frequency Quasi-periodic oscillations (LFQPOs) are detected in the PDS. We found that these QPOs are all type-C QPOs with centroid frequencies evolving from $0.1 -0.6$ Hz in the LHS and in the $1 -3$ Hz frequency range in HIMS. The QPO features above 50 keV are reported for the first time in this black hole by \textit{Insight}-HXMT. The QPO rms stays stable with time but decreases with energy at higher energy above $\sim 10$ keV. We also find that the phase lag of the type-C QPO is close to zero in the early outburst stage, but becomes positive as the outburst evolves, with a hard lag of $\sim$ 0.6-1.2 rad in $50 -100 $ keV. The implications of the phase lag in high energy bands and possible physical mechanisms to explain those observations are also discussed.

In this work we extend our earlier phenomenological model for a gravitational phase transition (GPT) and its generalization to early times by letting the modifications in the linearly-perturbed Einstein equations be scale-dependent. These modifications are characterized as deviations of the parameters $\mu(z,k)$ and $\gamma(z,k)$ from their values in general relativity (GR). The scale-dependent amplitudes of modified $\mu(z,k)$ and $\gamma(z,k)$ and the parameters defining the phase transition, along with the standard cosmological parameters, are measured by various data combinations. Out of the perturbation parameters, we construct gravity eigenmodes which represent patterns of perturbations best detectable by data. We detect no significant deviation from GR in these parameters. However, the larger parameter space produced due to the new degrees of freedom allows for the reconciliation of various datasets which are in tension in $\Lambda$CDM. In particular, we find $H_0=71.9\pm 9.2$ from anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background as measured by Planck and various measurements of the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations, in agreement with local Hubble measurements. We also find that the $\sigma_8$ tension between the measurements of Dark Energy Survey and Planck is reduced to less than $1\sigma$.

Stellar variability impacts radial velocities at various timescales and therefore the detectability of exoplanets and the mass determination based on this technique. It is necessary to implement systematic studies, to delineate the current limitations of RV techniques to detect Earth-like planets. This paper aims are to investigate whether the targeted 10% mass uncertainty from RV follow-up of transits detected by PLATO can be reached, and to analyse and quantify Earth-like planet detectability for various spectral types. We implemented blind tests based on a large data set of realistic synthetic time series reproducing different phenomena leading to stellar variability such as complex magnetic activity patterns as well as flows, covering F6-K4 stars and a wide range of activity levels. The 10% mass uncertainty for a 1 MEarth in the habitable zone of a G2 star cannot be reached, even with an improved version of a usual correction of stellar activity and even for long-duration (ten years) well-sampled observations. This level can be reached for masses above 3 MEarth or for K4 stars alone. We quantify the maximum dispersion of the RV residuals needed to reach this 10% level, assuming the correction method and models do not affect the planetary signal. Several other methods were tested and do not allow a significantly improvement of this limited performance. Similarly, such low-mass planets in the habitable zone cannot be detected with a similar correction: blind tests lead to very low detection rates for 1 MEarth and a very high level of false positives. Very significant and new improvements with respect to methods based on activity indicators to correct for stellar activity must be devised at all timescales to reach the objective of 10% uncertainty on the mass or to detect such planets in RV. Methods based on the correlation with activity indicators are unlikely to be sufficient.

Using the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT), we have obtained multi-epoch photometry of the young cluster Mon R2. We have monitored over 6000 sources with $i$-band between 13 and 23 mag within a $ 26'x26'$ field of view. For each star, we collected $\sim1500$ photometric points covering a temporal window of 23 days. Based on these data, we have measured rotation-modulated of 136 stars and identified around 90 additional variables, including 14 eclipsing binary candidates. Moreover, we found 298 other variables with photometric high-scatter. In addition, we have obtained $r$-band and H${\alpha}$ narrow-band photometry of the cluster with LCOGT and low-resolution optical spectroscopy of 229 stars with GMOS-Gemini. We used the \textit{Gaia} data from the periodic stars and objects with H$\alpha$ or IR-excesses, which are mostly low-mass pre-main sequence stars ($<1$M$_{sun}$) in the cluster to estimate the distance ($825 \pm 51$ pc) and the mean proper motions ($\mu_{\alpha}cos(\delta)=-2.75$mas yr$^{-1}$ and $\mu_{\delta}=1.15$mas yr$^{-1}$) of its members. This allows us to use the \textit{Gaia} data to identify additional Mon R2 member candidates. We also used Pan-STARRS photometry from our LCOGT sources to construct a more precise H-R diagram, from which we estimate the mean age of the cluster and identify other possible members including eleven spectroscopy brown dwarf with M7 to M9 GMOS spectral types. Finally, we combined our membership lists with \textit{Spitzer} infrared photometry to investigate the incidence of stars with discs and the effect these have on stellar rotation.

The heavy element abundance profiles in galaxies place stringent constraint on galaxy growth and assembly history. Low-redshift galaxies generally have a negative metallicity gradient in their gas and stars. Such gradients are thought to be a natural manifestation of galaxy inside-out formation. As the Milky Way is currently the only spiral galaxy in which we can measure temporally-resolved chemical abundances, it enables unique insights into the origin of metallicity gradients and their correlation with the growth history of galaxies. However, until now, these unique abundance profiles had not been translated into the integrated-light measurements needed to seamlessly compare with the general galaxy population. Here we report the first measurement of the light-weighted, integrated stellar metallicity profile of our Galaxy. We find that the integrated metallicity profile of the Milky Way has a '$\wedge$'-shape broken metallicity profile, with a mildly positive gradient inside a Galactocentric radius of 7 kpc and a steep negative gradient outside. This metallicity profile appears unusual when compared to Milky Way-mass star-forming galaxies observed in the MaNGA survey and simulated in the TNG50 cosmological simulation. The analysis of the TNG50 simulated galaxies suggests that the Milky Way's positive inner gradient may be due to an inside-out quenching process. The steep negative gradient in the outer disc, however, is challenging to explain in the simulations. Our results suggest the Milky Way may not be a typical spiral galaxy for its mass regarding metallicity distribution and thus offers insight into the variety of galaxy enrichment processes.

Co-phase and co-focus detection is one of the key technologies for large-aperture segmented mirror telescopes. In this paper, a new edge sensor based on fringes of equal thickness is developed, which can detect each segment's relative piston, tilt, and tip errors from the interferograms. Based on the co-focus demand for many ground-based seeing limited segmented mirror telescopes, an edge sensor prototype based on such a principle is built and applied in the indoor segmented mirror experiment system in the lab. According to the co-focus requirement of the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, many simulations and experiments are carried out for co-focus error detection of the segmented mirror system. Experiment results show that the co-focus accuracy is better than 0."02 rms, which can meet the co-focus requirements of most large or extremely large segmented mirror astronomical telescopes.

The rise and fall in the number of sunspots have served as a lynchpin in many investigations on solar dynamics. Arising from magnetic disturbances in the sun, variations in sunspot numbers have helped define a solar cycle of around eleven years which to date is yet to be fully understood. We model the fluctuation of sunspot numbers as a modulated Brownian motion characterized by a memory parameter {\mu} and a decay parameter \b{eta}. By matching the theoretical and empirical mean square deviation of the sunspot numbers, the values of {\mu} and \b{eta} are determined for each solar cycle. This allows us to obtain an exact form of a probability density function (PDF) which closely matches the dataset for sunspots. This novel PDF for sunspot numbers exhibit a memory behavior from which some insights could be obtained. In particular, the values of {\mu} indicate that consecutive sunspot numbers are negatively correlated for large times. The values of \b{eta}, on the other hand, when viewed as a time series from one solar cycle to another, indicate a positive trend towards increasing values which could possibly suggest a diminishing solar activity.

We report the analysis of high-precision space-based photometric and high-resolution spectroscopic observations of HD 180347. The high-quality light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) under sectors 14, 15, and 26 were used. By visual inspection of the light curves and the Fourier transforms, only low-frequency signals (less than 1 d$^{-1}$) were detected. After using wavelet, autocorrelation, and composite spectrum analyses, HD 180347 is classified as a rotational variable with a period of about 4.1 $\pm$ 0.2 days. In reference to the observation limit of TESS, no pulsations were detected. For the spectroscopic analysis, we used data collected with the High Efficiency and Resolution Mercator \'{E}chelle Spectrograph (HERMES). We determined the spectral type of this star and obtained atmospheric parameters such as the effective temperature, the surface gravity, and the projected rotational, microturbulent, and radial velocities. We performed a detailed chemical abundance analysis. The LTE abundances were derived for 25 chemical elements. For 13 of them, including Ca, Sc, Sr, Zr, and Ba, which are important for the characterisation of chemical peculiarity, we also present the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) abundances. NLTE improves the accuracy of the derived abundances and confirms that Ca and Sc are depleted in HD 180347 relative to their solar abundances, while the heavy elements beyond Sr are enhanced, by more than 0.7 dex. Based on the spectral class and the element abundance pattern, we classify this star as Am (kA1hA8mA8).

Stars' chemical signatures provide invaluable insights into stellar cluster formation. This study utilized the Weisfeiler-Lehman (WL) Graph Kernel to examine a 15-dimensional elemental abundance space. Through simulating chemical distributions using normalizing flows, the effectiveness of our algorithm was affirmed. The results highlight the capability of the WL algorithm, coupled with Gaussian Process Regression, to identify patterns within elemental abundance point clouds correlated with various cluster mass functions. Notably, the WL algorithm exhibits superior interpretability, efficacy and robustness compared to deep sets and graph convolutional neural networks and enables optimal training with significantly fewer simulations (O(10)), a reduction of at least two orders of magnitude relative to graph neural networks.

We conducted a benchmarking analysis of the semi-regular pulsator and red supergiant $\alpha$ Ori. In its dimming episode last 2020, our observational results include the binned measurements from the space-based telescope SMEI collated. We report a long secondary period of \textit{P}\textsubscript{LSP} = 2350 $\pm$ 10 d and a fundamental pulse of \textit{P}\textsubscript{0} = 415 d $\pm$ 30 d for the interest. Meanwhile, we also detected the first overtone component of \textit{P}\textsubscript{1} = 185 d which supports the current literature's standing for this newly acquired pulse. At $~$2.20 $\pm$ 0.10 $\mu$m, we acquired Near-Infrared \textit{K}-band photometric measurements from several catalogues and surveys in accordance of the calibration. Our assigned inherent color plays at the middle of the extremes from the existing literature. Likewise, we attained a weighted excess color index of \textit{E}\textsubscript{\textit{(B-V)}} = 0.340 and using a \textit{K}-extinction factor of \textit{R}\textsubscript{\textit{K}} = 0.382 yields an extinction of \textit{A}\textsubscript{\textit{K}} = 0.130. By subtracting extinction to all \textit{K}-band photometry, using the linearity, and newly derived distance from previous literatures, our effort results to a log(\textit{L}/\textit{L}\textsubscript{\(\odot\)}) = 5.00 $\pm$ $0.15_{(-0.45)}^{(+0.48)}$ for $\alpha$ Ori. In turn, this allowed us to conduct the benchmarking scheme alongside the data from existing reports that are stitched together using Period-Luminosity Relationship. This results to a best-fit of log(\textit{L}/\textit{L}\textsubscript{\(\odot\)}) = 7.26 $\pm$ 0.10 x log \textit{P} + (-14.10 $\pm$ 0.25) and reveals that $\alpha$ Ori can be situated in the lower bound 18 \textit{M}\textsubscript{\(\odot\)} regime caused by current pulsation trends.

Black hole and neutron star environments often comprise collisionless plasmas immersed in strong magnetic fields and intense baths of low-frequency radiation. In such conditions, relativistic magnetic reconnection can tap the magnetic field energy, accelerating high-energy particles that rapidly cool by inverse Compton (IC) scattering the dense photon background. At the highest particle energies reached in bright gamma-ray sources, IC scattering can stray into the Klein-Nishina regime. Here, the Comptonized photons exceed pair-production threshold with the radiation background and may thus return their energy to the reconnecting plasma as fresh electron-positron pairs. To reliably characterize observable signatures of such Klein-Nishina reconnection, in this work, we present first-principles particle-in-cell simulations of pair-plasma relativistic reconnection coupled to Klein-Nishina and pair-production physics. The simulations show substantial differences between the observable signatures of Klein-Nishina reconnection and reconnection coupled only to low-energy Thomson IC cooling (without pair production). The latter regime exhibits strong harder-when-brighter behaviour; the former involves a stable spectral shape independent of overall brightness. This spectral stability is reminiscent of flat-spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) GeV high states, furnishing evidence that Klein-Nishina radiative physics operates in FSRQs. The simulated Klein-Nishina reconnection pair yield spans from low to order-unity and follows an exponential scaling law in a single governing parameter. Pushing this parameter beyond its range studied here might give way to a copious pair-creation regime. Besides FSRQs, we discuss potential applications to accreting black hole X-ray binaries, the M87$^*$ magnetosphere, and gamma-ray binaries.

A critical review of the evidence for the interstellar origin for the USG 20140108 fireball is presented. Examining USG fireball velocities where independent data are available shows the former to have significant (10-15 km/s) uncertainties at large speeds and highly variable radiant accuracy, with average errors in excess of ten degrees. Ablation model fits to the observed lightcurve are possible for normal chondritic impactors only assuming low speeds. To match the high speed and low fragmentation height of the USG 20140108 fireball would require a high density/strength object with low drag and highly aerodynamic shape not made of iron. We suggest the simpliest explanation for the unusual characteristics of USG 20140108 is that the speed, in particular, is substantially overestimated.

We investigate the origin of star formation activity in early-type galaxies with current star formation using spatially resolved spectroscopic data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We first identify star-forming early-type galaxies from the SDSS sample, which are morphologically early-type but show current star formation activity in their optical spectra. We then construct comparison samples with different combinations of star formation activity and morphology, which include star-forming late-type galaxies, quiescent early-type galaxies and quiescent late-type galaxies. Our analysis of the optical spectra reveals that the star-forming early-type galaxies have two distinctive episodes of star formation, which is similar to late-type galaxies but different from quiescent early-type galaxies with a single star formation episode. Star-forming early-type galaxies have properties in common with star-forming late-type galaxies, which include stellar population, gas and dust content, mass and environment. However, the physical properties of star-forming early-type galaxies derived from spatially resolved spectroscopy differ from those of star-forming late-type galaxies in the sense that the gas in star-forming early-type galaxies is more concentrated than their stars, and is often kinematically misaligned with stars. The age gradient of star-forming early-type galaxies also differs from those of star-forming late-type galaxies. Our findings suggest that the current star formation in star-forming early-type galaxies has an external origin including galaxy mergers or accretion gas from the cosmic web.

The more gravitational wave sources are detected, the better the mass distribution of binary black holes (BBHs) becomes known. This stellar graveyard shows several features, including an apparent mass gap which makes the distribution bimodal. The observed chirp mass distribution, in turn, appears to be trimodal. We aim to investigate to which extend we can explain the observed mass distribution with stellar evolution, specifically with the hypothesis that the mass gap is caused by the difference between successful and failed supernovae (SNe). We pose a hypothetical remnant function, based on literature of stellar evolution simulations, which relates initial mass to remnant mass, includes a black hole island and produces a bimodal remnant distribution. Moreover, we look at observed type II SN rates in an attempt to detect the effect of failed SNe. Finally, using a simplified estimation of binary evolution, we determine the remnant distribution resulting from our remnant function and compare it to observation. We find that failed SNe lower type II SN rates by approximately 25%, but the inferred rate from SN surveys is not accurate enough to confirm this. Furthermore, our estimation based on the remnant function produces a mass distribution that matches the general shape of the observed distributions of individual as well as chirp masses. Based on our research, we conclude that the failed SNe mechanism and the presence of the black hole island are a natural hypothesis for explaining the individual BBH mass distribution and chirp mass distribution. However, for a more firm conclusion more detailed simulations are needed.

Cool ($T\sim10^4$~K) gas is commonly observed around $z>2$ quasars as traced by extended Ly$\alpha$ emission. These large-scale nebulae are usually studied using circularly averaged surface brightness profiles, which suppress information on morphological differences. Here, we revisit the Ly$\alpha$ nebulae around 78 $z\sim2-3$ quasars to obtain a novel estimate of their area and asymmetry using a common redshift-corrected surface-brightness threshold. We find a luminosity-area relation of the form ${{\rm log}(L_{\rm Ly\alpha}^{\rm Neb})=a_1 log({\rm Area^{Neb})+a_0}}$. Most nebulae are symmetric and bright, the most lopsided ones being the faintest and the less extended. The Enormous Lyman-Alpha Nebulae, asymmetric due to the presence of active companions, are the exceptions to this trend. By using simulations able to reproduce $z\sim6$ quasar's nebulae, we show that the observed relation should not vary with redshift. Finally, we discuss possible mechanisms that drive the relation and future work needed to constrain them.

The \textit{Swift} Deep Galactic Plane Survey is a \textit{Swift} Key Project consisting of 380 tiled pointings covering 40 deg$^{2}$ of the Galactic Plane between longitude $10$\,$<$\,$|l|$\,$<$\,$30$ deg and latitude $|b|$\,$<$\,$0.5$ deg. Each pointing has a $5$ ks exposure, yielding a total of 1.9 Ms spread across the entire survey footprint. Phase-I observations were carried out between March 2017 and May 2021. The Survey is complete to depth $L_X$\,$>$\,$10^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$ to the edge of the Galaxy. The main Survey goal is to produce a rich sample of new X-ray sources and transients, while also covering a broad discovery space. Here, we introduce the Survey strategy and present a catalog of sources detected during Phase-I observations. In total, we identify 928 X-ray sources, of which 348 are unique to our X-ray catalog. We report on the characteristics of sources in our catalog and highlight sources newly classified and published by the DGPS team.

The work presented in this thesis is focused on the interacting supernova remnants (iSNRs), a class of gamma-ray emitting SNR where the radiation arise from the interaction of the SNR with a massive molecular cloud. At the moment only 16 iSNR are known. Before this work, there was not any population study of these sources. Here is proposed a model for the Galactic population of iSNRs which can be used in order to predict the number of these systems in the Galaxy and how many of these will be detectable by the next generation of {\gamma}-ray instruments. iSNRs are of particular interest for the particle acceleration study because these objects have been proved to be sites of acceleration of protons up to high energies. Furthermore, high-energy $\gamma$-ray emission can pinpoint the presence of energetic leptons or ions and help to constraint the acceleration efficiency and maximum energy of accelerated particles The model presented her was only achievable through the creation of a complete catalog of {\gamma}-ray (both GeV and TeV) supernova remnants that for each supernova remnants gives collect the physical and spectral information available in litterature. Simulating and analyzing the synthetic population, it was found that the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be able to duplicate the number of detected interacting systems in its survey of the Galactic plane.

Oxygen isotope compositions of chondrules reflect the environment of chondrule formation and its spatial and temporal variations. Here, we present a theoretical model of oxygen isotope exchange reaction between molten silicate spherules and ambient water vapor with finite relative velocity. We found a new phenomenon, that is, mass-dependent fractionation caused by isotope exchange with ambient vapor moving with nonzero relative velocity. We also discussed the plausible condition for chondrule formation from the point of view of oxygen isotope compositions. Our findings indicate that the relative velocity between chondrules and ambient vapor would be lower than several 100 m/s when chondrules crystallized.

Using observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's Atmosphere Imaging Assembly and the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, we present novel measurements of the shear of post-reconnection flare loops (PRFLs) in SOL20141218T21:40 and study its evolution with respect to magnetic reconnection and flare emission. Two quasi-parallel ribbons form adjacent to the magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL), spreading in time first parallel to the PIL and then mostly in a perpendicular direction. We measure magnetic reconnection rate from the ribbon evolution, and also the shear angle of a large number of PRFLs observed in extreme ultraviolet passbands ($\lesssim$1 MK). For the first time, the shear angle measurements are conducted using several complementary techniques allowing for a cross-validation of the results. In this flare, the total reconnection rate is much enhanced before a sharp increase of the hard X-ray emission, and the median shear decreases from 60$^\circ$-70$^\circ$ to 20$^\circ$, on a time scale of ten minutes. We find a correlation between the shear-modulated total reconnection rate and the non-thermal electron flux. These results confirm the strong-to-weak shear evolution suggested in previous observational studies and reproduced in numerical models, and also confirm that, in this flare, reconnection is not an efficient producer of energetic non-thermal electrons during the first ten minutes when the strongly sheared PRFLs are formed. We conclude that an intermediate shear angle, $\le 40^\circ$, is needed for efficient particle acceleration via reconnection, and we propose a theoretical interpretation.

We present the properties of relativistic, inviscid, low angular momentum, advective accretion flow in the framework of modified theory of gravity. We adopt a $f(R)$ gravity model that satisfactorily mimics the asymptotically flat vacuum solutions of the Einstein's equations, where $R$ is the scalar curvature. With this, we solve the governing equations that describe the accretion flow and obtain the transonic global accretion solutions in terms of the input parameters, namely energy (${\cal E}$), angular momentum ($\lambda$) and gravity parameter ($A$) that determines the gravity effect. We carry out the critical point analysis and find that depending on the input parameters, flow may contain either single or multiple critical points. In addition, we examine the role of input parameters in obtaining the accretion solutions in modified gravity and observe that gravity parameter ($A$) regulates the overall character of the accretion solutions. We separate the effective domain of the parameter space in $\lambda-{\cal E}$ plane that admits accretion solutions possessing multiple critical points and observe that solution of this kind continues to form for wide range of the flow parameters. We examine the modification of the parameter space and reveal that it gradually shrinks with the decrease of $A$, and ultimately disappears for $A=-2.34$. Finally, we calculate the disk luminosity ($L$) considering bremsstrahlung emission process and find that global accretion solutions passing through the inner critical point are more luminous compared to the outer critical point solutions.

We report a rare astrophysical phenomenon, in which an early-type dwarf galaxy (dE), LEDA 1915372, is accreting gas from a nearby star-forming dwarf galaxy, MRK 0689, and is rejuvenating star-formation activity at the center. Both LEDA 1915372 and MRK 0689 have similar brightness of $M_{r}$ = $-$16.99 and $-$16.78 mag, respectively. They are located in a small group environment, separated by a sky-projected distance of 20.27 kpc (up to 70 kpc in three dimension), and have a relative line-of-sight radial velocity of 6 km/s. The observation of 21 cm emission with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope provides strong evidence of interaction between the pair dwarf galaxies in terms of neutral hydrogen (HI) morphology and kinematics. In particular, the HI map reveals that the two galaxies are clearly connected by a gas bridge, and the gas components of both LEDA 1915372 and MRK 0689 share a common direction of rotation. We also find that the HI emission peak deviates from LEDA 1915372 toward its optical blue plume, suggesting a tidal origin of ongoing central star formation. Our findings provide a new path to the formation of blue-cored dEs.

Previous observations of B335 have presented evidence of ongoing infall in various molecular lines, e.g., HCO$^+$, HCN, CO. There have been no confirmed observations of a rotationally supported disk on scales greater than ~12~au. The presence of an outflow in B335 suggests that also a disk should be present or in formation. To constrain the earliest stages of protostellar evolution and disk formation, we aim to map the region where gas falls inwards and observationally constrain its kinematics. Furthermore, we aim to put strong limits on the size and orientation of any disk-like structure in B335. We use high angular resolution $^{13}$CO data from ALMA, and combine it with shorter-baseline archival data to produce a high-fidelity image of the infall in B335. We also revisit the imaging of high-angular resolution Band 6 continuum data to study the dust distribution in the immediate vicinity of B335. Continuum emission shows an elliptical structure (10 by 7 au) with a position angle 5 degrees east of north, consistent with the expectation for a forming disk in B335. A map of the infall velocity (as estimated from the $^{13}$CO emission), shows evidence of asymmetric infall, predominantly from the north and south. Close to the protostar, infall velocities appear to exceed free-fall velocities. 3D radiative transfer models, where the infall velocity is allowed to vary within the infall region, can explain the observed kinematics. The data suggests that a disk has started to form in B335 and that gas is falling towards that disk. However, kinematically-resolved line data towards the disk itself is needed to confirm the presence of a rotationally supported disk around this young protostar. The measured high infall velocities are not easily reconcilable with a magnetic braking scenario and suggest that there is a pressure gradient that allows the infall velocity to vary in the region.

In this work, we characterize the properties of HB stars in the GCs $\omega$ Cen and NGC 6752. We use dedicated model atmospheres and synthetic spectra grids computed using a hybrid LTE/NLTE modeling approach to fit the MUSE spectra of HB stars hotter than 8000 K in both clusters. The spectral fits provide estimates of the effective temperature, surface gravity, and helium abundance of the stars. The model grids are further used to fit the HST magnitudes, meaning the spectral energy distributions (SED), of the stars. From the SED fits, we derive the average reddening, radius, luminosity, and mass of the stars in our sample. The atmospheric and stellar properties that we derive for the stars in our sample are in good agreement with the theoretical expectations. In particular, the stars cooler than $\sim$15 000 K follow neatly the theoretical predictions on the radius, log $g$, and luminosity for helium-normal models. In $\omega$ Cen, we show that the majority of these cooler HB stars cannot originate from a helium-enriched population with $Y>$0.35. The properties of the hotter stars (radii and luminosities) are still in reasonable agreement with theoretical expectations, but the individual measurements have a large scatter. We use three different diagnostics, namely the position of the G-jump and changes in metallicity and helium abundances to place the onset of diffusion in the stellar atmospheres at Teff between 11 and 11.5 kK. Our sample includes two stars known as photometric variables, we confirm one to be a bona fide extreme HB object but the other is a blue straggler star. Finally, unlike what has been reported in the literature, we do not find significant differences between the properties of the stars in both clusters. We showed that our analysis method combining MUSE spectra and HST photometry of HB stars in GC is a powerful tool to characterize their stellar properties.

Big science projects and facilities can move towards a less self-centered frame of reference as they strive to better identify and serve educational audiences. By doing this, their science education efforts will be more productive in general, and their service to local schools will be more effective. By developing an enlarged awareness of local educational needs, they will become better stewards and partners in their roles in the science education system. They will also become more valued and trustworthy neighbours to their local and cultural communities. We propose a practical way for large science organisations to organise their budgets and their allocation of staff time to greatly increase the effectiveness of their organisation in its contribution to local science education.

We present hydrodynamic simulations of the interstellar medium (ISM) within the circumnuclear disk (CND) of a typical AGN-dominated galaxy influenced by mechanical feedback from an active galactic nucleus(AGN). The simulations are coupled with the CHIMES non-equilibrium chemistry network to treat the radiative-cooling and AGN-heating. A focus is placed on the central 100 pc scale where AGN outflows are coupled to the ISM and constrained by observational Seyfert-2 galaxies. AGN-feedback models are implemented with different wind-velocity and mass-loading factors. We post-process the simulation snapshots with a radiative-transfer code to obtain the molecular emission lines. We find that the inclusion of an AGN promotes the formation of CO in clumpy and dense regions surrounding supermassive-blackholes (SMBH). The CO(1-0) intensity maps ($<$6 Myr) in the CND seem to match well with observations of NGC 1068 with a best match for a model with 5000 $\rm km/s$ wind-velocity and a high mass-loading factor. We attempt to discern between competing explanations for the apparent counter-rotating gas disk in the NGC 1068 through an analysis of kinematic maps of the CO line emission. We suggest that mechanical AGN-feedback could explain the alignment-stability of position-angle across the different CND radii around the SMBH through momentum and energy loading of the wind. It is the wind-velocity that drives the disk out of alignment on a 100 pc scale for a long period of time. The position-velocity diagrams are in broad agreement with the predicted Keplerian rotation-curve in the model without-AGN, but the AGN models exhibit a larger degree of scatter, in better agreement with NGC 1068 observations.

Large solar eruptions are often associated with long-duration gamma-ray emission extending well above 100 MeV. While this phenomenon is known to be caused by high-energy ions interacting with the solar atmosphere, the underlying dominant acceleration process remains under debate. Potential mechanisms include continuous acceleration of particles trapped within large coronal loops or acceleration at coronal mass ejection (CME)-driven shocks, with subsequent back-propagation towards the Sun. As a test of the latter scenario, previous studies have explored the relationship between the inferred particle population producing the high-energy gamma-rays, and the population of solar energetic particles (SEPs) measured in situ. However, given the significant limitations on available observations, these estimates unavoidably rely on a number of assumptions. In an effort to better constrain theories of the gamma-ray emission origin, we re-examine the calculation uncertainties and how they influence the comparison of these two proton populations. We show that, even accounting for conservative assumptions related to gamma-ray flare, SEP event and interplanetary scattering modeling, their statistical relationship is only poorly/moderately significant. However, though the level of correlation is of interest, it does not provide conclusive evidence for or against a causal connection. The main result of this investigation is that the fraction of the shock-accelerated protons required to account for the gamma-ray observations is >20-40% for six of the fourteen eruptions analyzed. Such high values argue against current CME-shock origin models, predicting a <2% back-precipitation, hence the computed numbers of high-energy SEPs appear to be greatly insufficient to sustain the measured gamma-ray emission.

$Gaia$ BH1, the first quiescent black hole (BH) detected from $Gaia$ data, poses a challenge to most binary evolution models: its current mass ratio is $\approx{0.1}$, and its orbital period seems to be too long for a post-common envelope system and too short for a non-interacting binary system. Here, we explore the hypothesis that $Gaia$ BH1 formed through dynamical interactions in a young star cluster (YSC). We study the properties of BH-main sequence (MS) binaries formed in YSCs with initial mass $3\times{}10^2-3\times{}10^4$ M$_\odot$ at solar metallicity, by means of $3.5\times{}10^4$ direct $N$-body simulations coupled with binary population synthesis. For comparison, we also run a sample of isolated binary stars with the same binary population synthesis code used in the dynamical models. We find that BH-MS systems that form via dynamical exchanges populate the region corresponding to the main orbital properties of $Gaia$ BH1 (period, eccentricity, and masses). In contrast, none of our isolated binary systems matches the orbital period and MS mass of $Gaia$ BH1. Our best matching $Gaia$ BH1--like system forms via repeated dynamical exchanges and collisions involving the BH progenitor star, before it undergoes core collapse. YSCs are at least two orders of magnitude more efficient in forming $Gaia$ BH1--like systems than isolated binary evolution.

ALMA-IMF is an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Large Program designed to measure the core mass function (CMF) of 15 protoclusters chosen to span their early evolutionary stages. It further aims to understand their kinematics, chemistry, and the impact of gas inflow, accretion, and dynamics on the CMF. We present here the first release of the ALMA-IMF line data cubes (DR1), produced from the combination of two ALMA 12m-array configurations. The data include 12 spectral windows, with eight at 1.3mm and four at 3mm. The broad spectral coverage of ALMA-IMF (~6.7 GHz bandwidth coverage per field) hosts a wealth of simple atomic, molecular, ionised, and complex organic molecular lines. We describe the line cube calibration done by ALMA and the subsequent calibration and imaging we performed. We discuss our choice of calibration parameters and optimisation of the cleaning parameters, and we demonstrate the utility and necessity of additional processing compared to the ALMA archive pipeline. As a demonstration of the scientific potential of these data, we present a first analysis of the DCN (3-2) line. We find that DCN traces a diversity of morphologies and complex velocity structures, which tend to be more filamentary and widespread in evolved regions and are more compact in the young and intermediate-stage protoclusters. Furthermore, we used the DCN (3-2) emission as a tracer of the gas associated with 595 continuum cores across the 15 protoclusters, providing the first estimates of the core systemic velocities and linewidths within the sample. We find that DCN (3-2) is detected towards a higher percentage of cores in evolved regions than the young and intermediate-stage protoclusters and is likely a more complete tracer of the core population in more evolved protoclusters. The full ALMA 12m-array cubes for the ALMA-IMF Large Program are provided with this DR1 release.

Supernova (SN) 2023ixf in M101 is the closest SN explosion observed in the last decade. Therefore it is a suitable test bed to study the role of jets in powering the SN ejecta. With this aim, we explored the idea that high-energy neutrinos could be produced during the interaction between the jets and the intense radiation field produced in the SN explosion and eventually be observed by the IceCube neutrino telescope. The lack of detection of such neutrinos has significantly constrained both the fraction of stellar collapses that produce jets and/or the theoretical models for neutrino production. Finally, we investigated the possibility of detecting low-energy neutrinos from SN 2023ixf with the Super- and Hyper-Kamiokande experiments, obtaining in both cases sub-threshold estimates.

Very-high-energy (VHE) photons around TeV energies from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) jet will play an essential role in the multi-messenger era, with a fair fraction of the events being observed off-axis to the jet. We show that different energy photons (MeV and TeV photons in particular) arrive from different emission zones for off-axis observers even if the emission radius is the same. The location of the emission region depends on the jet structure of the surface brightness, and the structures are generally different at different energies, mainly due to the attenuation of VHE photons by electron-positron pair creation. This off-axis zone-shift effect does not justify the usual one-zone approximation and also produces a time-delay of VHE photons comparable to the GRB duration, which is crucial for future VHE observations, such as by the Cherenkov Telescope Array.

The formation history of giant planets inside and outside the solar system remains unknown. We suggest that runaway gas accretion is initiated only at a mass of ~100 M_Earth and that this mass corresponds to the transition to a gas giant, a planet that its composition is dominated in hydrogen and helium. Delaying runaway accretion to later times (a few Myr) and higher masses is likely to be a result of an intermediate stage of efficient heavy-element accretion (at a rate of ~10^-5 M_Earth/yr) that provides sufficient energy to hinder rapid gas accretion. This may imply that Saturn has never reached runaway gas accretion, and that it is a "failed giant planet". The transition to a gas giant planet above Saturn's mass naturally explains the differences between the bulk metallicities and internal structures of Jupiter and Saturn. The transition mass to a gas giant planets strongly depends on the exact formation history and birth environment of the planets, which are still not well constrained for our Solar System. In terms of giant exoplanets, delaying runaway gas accretion to planets beyond Saturn's mass can explain the transitions in the mass-radius relations of observed exoplanets and the high metallicity of intermediate-mass exoplanets.

In this contribution, we outline the improvements on the strain h(t) reconstruction in preparation for the observing run O4 of AdvancedVirgo+. These improvements have the main goal to provide a h(t) with high precision and reduce its uncertainties on this quantity to a few percent. First, we describe how the reconstruction of the strain signal h(t) is performed in Virgo and its link to the interferometer and its calibration. We highlight how we plan to monitor the optical response of the interferometer and mirrors. We will describe how we plan to correct the bias of the reconstructed h(t) strain. We present the new online linear noise subtraction method, developed to successfully tackle correlated noise witness channels that are also present in h(t). We provide the status of the low-latency h(t) strain reconstruction, which has the main goal to reduce the latency in pre-merger early warning alerts.

In the standard model of structure formation, galaxies form in the centre of dark matter haloes that develop as a result of inhomogeneities in the primordial mass distribution of the Universe. Afterwards, galaxies grow by means of continuous accretion of gaseous material stemming from the intergalactic medium, both in diffuse form and through collisions with other systems. After an initial period of violent growth, the gas settles into a rotationally-supported structure where stars are born, giving birth to the stellar disc. The accretion of gaseous material onto the disc plays a fundamental role in its evolution as it can change its dynamical and morphological properties, generating gas flows within the disc. In this work, we use 30 galaxies from the Auriga Project, a set of cosmological magnetohydrodynamical simulations of disc galaxies, to study the temporal dependence of the gas accretion rates, focusing on the inflowing and outflowing fluxes.

Identifying strong lensing gravitational wave (SLGW) events is of utmost importance in astrophysics as we approach the historic first detection of SLGW amidst the growing number of gravitational wave (GW) events. Currently, one crucial method for identifying SLGW signals involves assessing the overlap of parameters between two GWs. However, the distribution of discrete matter, such as stars and sub-halos, within the strong lensing galaxy can imprint a wave optical (WO) effect on the SLGW waveform. These frequency dependent imprints introduce biases in parameter estimation and impact SLGW identification. In this study, we assess the influence of the stellar microlensing field embedded in a strong lensing galaxy. Our finding demonstrate that the WO effect reduces the detection efficiency of SLGW by $5\%\sim 50\%$ for various false alarm probabilities per pair (${\rm FAP}_{\rm per~pair}$). Specifically, at an ${\rm FAP}_{\rm per~pair}$ of $10^{-5}$, the detection efficiency decreases from $\sim 10\%$ to $\sim 5\%$. Consequently, the presence of the microlensing field can result in missing half of the strong lensing candidates. Additionally, the microlensing WO effect introduces a noticeable bias in intrinsic parameters, particularly for chirp mass and mass ratio. However, it has tiny influence on extrinsic parameters. Considering all parameters, $\sim 30\%$ of events exhibit a $1\sigma$ parameter bias, $\sim 12\%$ exhibit a $2\sigma$ parameter bias, and $\sim 5\%$ exhibit a $3\sigma$ parameter bias.

The build up of heavy elements and the stellar mass assembly are fundamental processes in the formation and evolution of galaxies. Although they have been extensively studied through observations and simulations, the key elements that govern these processes, such as gas accretion and outflows, are not fully understood. This is especially true for luminous and massive galaxies, which usually suffer strong feedback in the form of massive outflows, and large-scale gas accretion triggered by galaxy interactions. For a sample of 77 luminous infrared (IR) galaxies, we derive chemical abundances using new diagnostics based on nebular IR lines, which peer through the dusty medium of these objects and allow us to include the obscured metals in our abundance determinations. In contrast to optical-based studies, our analysis reveals that most luminous IR galaxies remain close to the mass-metallicity relation. Nevertheless, four galaxies with extreme star-formation rates ($> 60$M$_{\odot }$yr$^{-1}$) in their late merger stages show heavily depressed metallicities of 12+log(O/H) $\sim 7.7$--$8.1$ along with solar-like N/O ratios, indicative of gas mixing processes affecting their chemical composition. This evidence suggests the action of a massive infall of metal-poor gas in a short phase during the late merger stages, eventually followed by a rapid enrichment. These results challenge the classical gas equilibrium scenario usually applied to main-sequence galaxies, suggesting that the chemical enrichment and stellar-mass growth in luminous IR galaxies are regulated by different processes.

One of the foundations of the Standard Model of Cosmology is statistical isotropy, which can be tested, among other probes, through the study of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). However, a hemispherical power asymmetry on large scales has been reported for WMAP and Planck data by different works. The statistical significance is above 3${\sigma}$ for temperature, suggesting a directional dependence of the local power spectrum, and thus a feature beyond the ${\Lambda}$CDM model. With the third release of the Planck data (PR3), a new analysis was performed including the E-mode polarization maps, finding an asymmetry at a modest level of significance. In this work, we perform an asymmetry analysis in intensity and polarization maps for the latest Planck processing pipeline (PR4). We obtain similar results to those obtained with PR3, with a slightly lower significance (2.8% for the Sevem method) for the amplitude of the E-mode local variance dipole as well as a significant variability with the considered mask. In addition, a hint of a possible T-E alignment between the asymmetry axes is found at the level of $\sim$ 5%. For the analysis, we have implemented an alternative inpainting approach in order to get an accurate reconstruction of the E-modes. More sensitive all-sky CMB polarization data, such as those expected from the future LiteBIRD experiment, are needed to reach a more robust conclusion on the possible existence of deviations from statistical isotropy in the form of a hemispherical power asymmetry.

Low-metallicity dwarf galaxies often show no or little CO emission, despite the intense star formation observed in local samples. Both simulations and resolved observations indicate that molecular gas in low-metallicity galaxies may reside in small dense clumps, surrounded by a substantial amount of more diffuse gas, not traced by CO. Constraining the relative importance of CO-bright versus CO-dark H2 star-forming reservoirs is crucial to understand how star formation proceeds at low metallicity. We put to the test classically used single component radiative transfer models and compare their results to those obtained assuming an increasingly complex structure of the interstellar gas, mimicking an inhomogeneous distribution of clouds with various physical properties. We compute representative models of the interstellar medium as combinations of several gas components, each with a specific set of physical parameters. We introduce physically-motivated models assuming power-law distributions for the density, ionization parameter, and the depth of molecular clouds. We confirm the presence of a predominantly CO-dark molecular reservoir in low-metallicity galaxies. The predicted total H2 mass is best traced by [C II]158um and, to a lesser extent, by [CI] 609um, rather than by CO(1-0). We examine the CO-to-H2 conversion factor vs. metallicity relation and find that its dispersion increases significantly when different geometries of the gas are considered. We define a clumpiness parameter that anti-correlates with [CII]/CO and explains the dispersion of the CO-to-H2 conversion factor vs. metallicity relation. We find that low-metallicity galaxies with high clumpiness may have CO-to-H2 conversion factor as low as the Galactic value. We identify the clumpiness of molecular gas as a key parameter to understand variations of geometry-sensitive quantities, such as CO-to-H2 conversion factor.

Hyperbolic inflation is an extension of the slow-roll inflation in multi-field models. We extend hyperbolic inflation by adding a gauge field and find four-type attractor solutions: slow-roll inflation, hyperbolic inflation, anisotropic slow roll inflation, and anisotropic hyperbolic inflation. We perform the stability analysis with the dynamical system method. We also study the transition behaviors of solutions between anisotropic slow roll inflation and anisotropic hyperbolic inflation. Our result indicates that destabilization of the standard slow-roll inflation ubiquitously occurs in multi-scalar-gauge field inflationary scenarios.

As-yet undiscovered light bosons may constitute all or part of the dark matter (DM) of our Universe, and are expected to have (weak) self-interactions. We show that the quartic self-interactions generically induce the capture of dark matter from the surrounding halo by external gravitational potentials such as those of stars, including the Sun. This leads to the subsequent formation of dark matter bound states supported by such external potentials, resembling gravitational atoms (e.g. a solar halo around our own Sun). Their growth is governed by the ratio $\xi_{\rm foc} \equiv \lambda_{\rm dB}/R_\star$ between the de Broglie wavelength of the incoming DM waves, $\lambda_{\rm dB}$, and the radius of the ground state $R_\star$. For $\xi_{\rm foc}\lesssim 1$, the gravitational atom grows to an (underdense) steady state that balances the capture of particles and the inverse (stripping) process. For $\xi_{\rm foc}\gtrsim 1$, a significant gravitational-focusing effect leads to exponential accumulation of mass from the galactic DM halo into the gravitational atom. For instance, a dark matter axion with mass of the order of $10^{-14}$ eV and decay constant between $10^{7}$ and $10^8$ GeV would form a dense halo around the Sun on a timescale comparable to the lifetime of the Solar System, leading to a local DM density at the position of the Earth $\mathcal{O}(10^4)$ times larger than that expected in the standard halo model. For attractive self-interactions, after its formation, the gravitational atom is destabilized at a large density, which leads to its collapse; this is likely to be accompanied by emission of relativistic bosons (a `Bosenova').

NASA commissioned a research team to study Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). The Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine conducts an independent study of UAP. A research team from San Diego also decided to conduct a study of UAP. Observations of events that cannot scientifically be identified as known natural phenomena established the existence of the UAP. However, their nature remains unclear. For UAP observations, we used a meteor station installed in Kyiv. We also present a new methodology for detecting UAPs using the latest smartphone technology in San Diego. We inform about discovering a new type of UAP.

A unified dynamical model of dark energy and inflation is presented, in which both phenomena are driven by axion-like fields-quintessences-of spontaneously broken global $U(1)_A$'s symmetries whose potentials are induced by instantons of the QCD gauge group $SU(3)_c$ for inflation and of a new strongly interacting gauge group $SU(2)_Z$ for dark energy. It is shown that $SU(3)_c$ and $SU(2)_Z$ fit snugly into a unified gauge group $SU(5)_Z$, {\em Ischyr$\acute{o}$s Unification Theory} or {\em IUT}, which is spontaneously broken down to $SU(3)_c \times SU(2)_Z \times U(1)_X$. A judicious choice of $SU(5)_Z$ representations leads to the $SU(3)_c$ and $SU(2)_Z$ couplings growing strong at $\Lambda_{QCD} \sim 200 \mev$ and $\Lambda_Z \sim 10^{-3} eV$ respectively. The model predicts particles carrying $SU(2)_Z$ quantum numbers which can be searched for at colliders such as the LHC and which, as a result, might indirectly reveal the nature of dark energy and perhaps inflation in a laboratory. In addition, the fermionic spectrum of the model contains a possible candidate for dark matter.

We explore the chemical potential of a QCD-motivated van der Waals (VDW) phase change model for the six-quark color-singlet, strangeness S=-2 particle known as the hexaquark with quark content (uuddss). The hexaquark may have internal structure, indicated by short range correlations, that allow for non-color-singlet diquark and triquark configurations whose interactions will change the magnitude of the chemical potential. In the multicomponent VDW Equation of State (EoS), the quark-quark particle interaction terms are sensitive to the QCD color factor, causing the pairing of these terms to give different interaction strengths for their respective contributions to the chemical potential. This results in a critical temperature near 163 MeV for the color-singlet states and tens of MeV below this for various diquark and triquark states. The VDW chemical potential is also sensitive to the number density, leading to chemical potential isotherms that exhibit spinodal extrema, which also depend on the internal hexaquark configurations. These extrema determine regions of metastability for the mixed states near the critical point. We use this chemical potential with the chemical potential modified TOV equations to investigate the properties of hexaquark formation in cold compact stellar cores in beta equilibrium. We find thresholds for the hexaquark layers and changes in the maximum mass values that are consistent with observations from high mass compact stellar objects such as PSR 09043 + 10 and GW 190814. In general, we find that the VDW-TOV model has an upper stability mass and radius bound for a chemical potential of 1340 MeV with a compactness C~0.2.

Following the upgrades to Advanced LIGO (aLIGO), measurements were made of the detector suspensions' frequency response characteristics. While most resonant frequencies could be identified with simple mechanical models, such as the fiber vibration modes, some were unexplained. Using a finite element model of the quadruple pendulum suspension, we search for and identify these frequencies. By modeling these response frequencies we can suggest methods to reduce their amplitude, alter their frequency, or eliminate them in future gravitational wave detector designs.

We consider an extension of the Standard Model by three singlet fermions and one singlet real scalar field. The scalar is an ultralight dark matter candidate whose abundance is set by dynamically induced misalignment from the Higgs portal. We focus on parameter space where the Coleman-Weinberg potential both fixes the dark matter relic abundance, and predicts the mass scale of right-handed neutrinos. The model prefers scalar masses in the range of $10 ~{\rm {\mu}eV} \lesssim m_{\phi} \lesssim 10 ~{\rm meV}$, and can be tested via direct searches for a light scalar (e.g. fifth force tests), or by searching for right-handed neutrinos in laboratory experiments.

This review covers several recent developments in the physics of dense QCD with an emphasis on the impact of multiple phase transitions on astrophysical manifestations of compact stars. It is conjectured that pair-correlated quark matter in $\beta$-equilibrium is within the same universality class as spin-imbalanced cold atoms and the isospin asymmetrical nucleonic matter, which then implies the emergence of phases with broken space symmetries and tri-critical (Lifshitz) points. We construct an equation of state (EoS) which extends the two-phase EoS of dense quark matter within the constant speed of sound parameterization by adding a conformal fluid with a speed of sound $c_{\rm conf.}=1/\sqrt{3}$ at densities $\ge 10n_{\rm sat}$, where $n_{\rm sat}$ is the saturation density. With this input, we construct static, spherically symmetrical compact hybrid stars in the mass-radius diagram, recover such features as the twins and triplets, and show that the transition to conformal fluid leads to spiraling-in of the tracks in this diagram. Stars on the spirals are classically unstable with respect to the radial oscillations but can be stabilized if the conversion timescale between quark and nucleonic phases at their interface is larger than the oscillation period. Finally, we review the impact of a transition from high-temperature gapped to low-temperature gapless two-flavor phase on the thermal evolution of hybrid stars.

In this work, we explore the formalism of the irreversible thermodynamics of open systems and the possibility of gravitationally generated particle production in modified gravity. More specifically, we consider the scalar-tensor representation of $f(R,T)$ gravity, in which the matter energy-momentum tensor is not conserved due to a nonminimal curvature-matter coupling. In the context of the irreversible thermodynamics of open systems, this non-conservation of the energy-momentum tensor can be interpreted as an irreversible flow of energy from the gravitational sector to the matter sector, which, in general, could result in particle creation. We obtain and discuss the expressions for the particle creation rate, the creation pressure, and the entropy and temperature evolutions. Applied together with the modified field equations of scalar-tensor $f(R,T)$ gravity, the thermodynamics of open systems lead to a generalization of the $\Lambda$CDM cosmological paradigm, in which the particle creation rate and pressure are considered effectively as components of the cosmological fluid energy-momentum tensor. Thus, generally, modified theories of gravity in which these two quantities do not vanish provide a macroscopic phenomenological description of particle production in the cosmological fluid filling the Universe and also lead to the possibility of cosmological models that start from empty conditions and gradually build up matter and entropy.

A set of hadronic equations of states derived from covariant density functional theory and constrained by terrestrial experiments, and astrophysical observations, in particular by the NICER experiment inferences is used to explore the universal relations among the global properties of compact stars containing heavy baryons at high densities. We confirm the validity of universal $I$-Love-$Q$ relations connecting the moment of inertia $(I)$, the tidal deformability ($\Lambda$), and the spin-induced quadrupole moment ($Q$) for isolated non-rotating stars. We further confirm the validity of the $I$-$C$-$Q$ relations connecting the moment of inertia, compactness $(C)$, and quadrupole moment for uniformly and slowly rotating stars, and extend the validity of these relations to maximally rotating sequences. We then investigate the relations between integral parameters of maximally rotating and static compact stars. The universalities are shown to persist for equations of states and compositions containing hyperons and $\Delta$ degrees of freedom. When heavy baryons are included, however, the radial profiles of integrands in expressions of global properties exhibit ``bumps", which are not present in the case of nucleonic stars in which case the profiles are smooth. We determine the coefficients entering the universal relations in the case of hyperonic and $\Delta$-resonance containing stars.

The discrete symmetry $Z_4$ in the standard model (SM) with three right-handed neutrinos is free from the Dai-Freed anomaly. Motivated by this $Z_4$ symmetry, we constructed a topological inflation model consistent with all known constraints and observations. However, we assumed a specific inflaton potential in the previous work. In this paper we extend the inflaton potential in a more general form allowed by the discrete $Z_4$ gauge symmetry and show that consistent hilltop inflation is realized. We find that the Hubble parameter $H_\mathrm{inf}$ can be smaller than $\simeq 10^{9}$ GeV so that the isocurvature fluctuations of the axion dark matter are sufficiently suppressed. Furthermore, the running of the spectral index can be as large as $dn_s/\ln k \simeq 0.0018$ which will be tested in future CMB observations. Since this discrete $Z_4$ acts on the SM, the inflaton can couple to pairs of the right-handed neutrinos and hence the reheating temperature can be high as $\sim 10^{10}$ GeV, producing the cosmic baryon asymmetry naturally through the thermal leptogenesis.

The cores of neutron stars (NS) reach densities several times the nuclear saturation density and could contain strangeness containing exotic particles such as hyperons. During the binary inspiral, viscous processes inside the NS matter can damp out the tidal energy induced by the companion and convert this to thermal energy to heat up the star. We demonstrate that the bulk viscosity originating from the non-leptonic weak interactions involving hyperons is several orders of magnitude higher than the standard neutron matter shear viscosity in the relevant temperature range of $10^6-10^9$K and for heavier mass NSs ($M \geq 1.6M_{\odot}$) that contain a significant fraction of hyperons in their core, the bulk viscosity can heat up the stars upto $0.1 - 1$ MeV before the final merger. This "tidal heating" process also introduces a net phase shift of $10^{-3}-0.5$ rad, depending on the component mass, in the gravitational wave (GW) signal that can potentially be detected using current and future generation GW detectors. Such a detection would be the direct confirmation of the presence of hyperons inside the NS core, having a great significance for the study of dense matter under extreme condition.

In the context of the Fab-Four theory of gravity in a Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker background, in this work we use the cosmography approach to study a particular self-tuning filter solution focused on a zero-curvature fixed point to study the $H_0$ tension. In this scheme, the equations restrict the universe's evolution to certain scenarios, including radiation-like expansion, matter-like expansion, and late-time acceleration. Furthermore, we build the cosmographic series of the Fab-Four theory to obtain the kinematic parameters as the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the deceleration parameter $q_0$ for all the scenarios mentioned. Finally, we compare our results to find that it is possible to alleviate the current discrepancy on $H_0$ by considering specific requirements on the free parameters of the Fab-Four theory through a self-tuning filter.

In recent years, several pulsar timing array collaborations have reported first hints for a stochastic gravitational wave background at nano-Hertz frequencies. Here we elaborate on the possibility that this signal comes from new physics that leads to the generation of a primordial stochastic gravitational wave background. We propose a set of simple but concrete models that can serve as benchmarks for gravitational waves sourced by cosmological phase transitions, domain wall networks, cosmic strings, axion dynamics, or large scalar fluctuations. These models are then confronted with pulsar timing data and with cosmological constraints. With only a limited number of free parameters per model, we are able to identify viable regions of parameter space and also make predictions for future astrophysical and laboratory tests that can help with model identification and discrimination.