Papers for Wednesday, Aug 23 2023

A major question in $\Lambda$CDM is what this theory actually predicts for the properties of subhalo populations. Subhalos are difficult to simulate and to find within simulations, and this propagates into uncertainty in theoretical predictions for satellite galaxies. We present Symfind, a new particle-tracking-based subhalo finder, and demonstrate that it can track subhalos to orders-of-magnitude lower masses than commonly used halo-finding tools, with a focus on Rockstar and consistent-trees. These longer survival mean that at a fixed peak subhalo mass, we find $\approx 15\%{-}40\%$ more subhalos within the virial radius, $R_\textrm{vir}$, and $\approx 35\%-120\%$ more subhalos within $R_\textrm{vir}/4$ in the Symphony dark-matter-only simulation suite. More subhalos are found as resolution is increased. We perform extensive numerical testing. In agreement with idealized simulations, we show that the $v_{\rm max}$ of subhalos is only resolved at high resolutions ($n_\textrm{peak}\gtrsim3\times 10^4$), but that mass loss itself can be resolved at much more modest particle counts ($n_\textrm{peak}\gtrsim4\times 10^3$). We show that Rockstar converges to false solutions for the mass function, radial distribution, and disruption masses of subhalos. We argue that our new method can trace resolved subhalos until the point of typical galaxy disruption without invoking ``orphan'' modeling. We outline a concrete set of steps for determining whether other subhalo finders meet the same criteria. We publicly release Symfind catalogs and particle data for the Symphony simulation suite at \url{this http URL}.

Studying the galaxies responsible for reionization is often conducted through local reionization-era analogs; however, many of these local analogs are too massive to be representative of the low-mass star-forming galaxies that are thought to play a dominant role in reionization. The local, low-mass dwarf starburst galaxy Pox 186 is one such system with physical conditions representative of a reionization-era starburst galaxy. We present deep ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy of Pox 186 to study its stellar population and ionization conditions and to compare these conditions to other local starburst galaxies. The new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph data are combined with archival observations to cover $\sim$1150-2000 A and allow for an assessment of Pox 186's stellar population, the relative enrichment of C and O, and the escape of ionizing photons. We detect significant Ly$\alpha$ and low-ionization state absorption features, indicative of previously undetected neutral gas in Pox 186. The C/O relative abundance, log(C/O) = -0.62$\pm$0.02, is consistent with other low-metallicity dwarf galaxies and suggests a comparable star formation history in these systems. We compare UV line ratios in Pox 186 to those of dwarf galaxies and photoionization models, and we find excellent agreement for the ratios utilizing the intense C III], O III], and double-peaked C IV lines. However, the UV and optical He II emission is faint and distinguishes Pox 186 from other local starburst dwarf galaxies. We explore mechanisms that could produce faint He II, which have implications for the low-mass reionization-era galaxies which may have similar ionization conditions.

Since fast radio bursts (FRBs) were discovered, their precise origins have remained a mystery. Multiwavelength observations of nearby FRB sources provide one of the best ways to make rapid progress in our understanding of the enigmatic FRB phenomenon. We present results from a sensitive, broadband multiwavelength X-ray and radio observational campaign of FRB 20200120E, the closest known extragalactic repeating FRB source. At a distance of 3.63 Mpc, FRB 20200120E resides in an exceptional location, within a ~10 Gyr-old globular cluster in the M81 galactic system. We place deep limits on both the persistent X-ray luminosity and prompt X-ray emission at the time of radio bursts from FRB 20200120E, which we use to constrain possible progenitors for the source. We compare our results to various classes of X-ray sources and transients. In particular, we find that FRB 20200120E is unlikely to be associated with: ultraluminous X-ray bursts (ULXBs), similar to those observed from objects of unknown origin in other extragalactic globular clusters; giant flares, like those observed from Galactic and extragalactic magnetars; or most intermediate flares and very bright short X-ray bursts, similar to those seen from magnetars in the Milky Way. We show that FRB 20200120E is also unlikely to be powered by a persistent or transient ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) source or a young, extragalactic pulsar embedded in a Crab-like nebula. We also provide new constraints on the compatibility of FRB 20200120E with accretion-based FRB models involving X-ray binaries and models that require a synchrotron maser process from relativistic shocks to generate FRB emission. These results highlight the power that multiwavelength observations of nearby FRBs can provide for discriminating between potential FRB progenitor models.

We report the discovery of 15 exceptionally luminous $10\lesssim z\lesssim14$ candidate galaxies discovered in the first 0.28 deg$^2$ of JWST/NIRCam imaging from the COSMOS-Web Survey. These sources span rest-frame UV magnitudes of $-20.5>M_{\rm UV}>-22$, and thus constitute the most intrinsically luminous $z\gtrsim10$ candidates identified by JWST to-date. Selected via NIRCam imaging with Hubble ACS/F814W, deep ground-based observations corroborate their detection and help significantly constrain their photometric redshifts. We analyze their spectral energy distributions using multiple open-source codes and evaluate the probability of low-redshift solutions; we conclude that 12/15 (80%) are likely genuine $z\gtrsim10$ sources and 3/15 (20%) likely low-redshift contaminants. Three of our $z\sim12$ candidates push the limits of early stellar mass assembly: they have estimated stellar masses $\sim5\times10^{9}\,M_\odot$, implying an effective stellar baryon fraction of $\epsilon_{\star}\sim0.2-0.5$, where $\epsilon_{\star}\equiv M_{\star}/(f_{b}M_{halo})$. The assembly of such stellar reservoirs is made possible due to rapid, burst-driven star formation on timescales $<$100\,Myr where the star-formation rate may far outpace the growth of the underlying dark matter halos. This is supported by the similar volume densities inferred for $M_\star\sim10^{10}\,M_\odot$ galaxies relative to $M_\star\sim10^{9}\,M_\odot$ -- both about $10^{-6}$ Mpc$^{-3}$ -- implying they live in halos of comparable mass. At such high redshifts, the duty cycle for starbursts would be of order unity, which could cause the observed change in the shape of the UVLF from a double powerlaw to Schechter at $z\approx8$. Spectroscopic redshift confirmation and ensuing constraints of their masses will be critical to understanding how, and if, such early massive galaxies push the limits of galaxy formation in $\Lambda$CDM.

We present the discovery of the radio afterglow of the short $\gamma$-ray burst (GRB) 210726A, localized to a galaxy at a photometric redshift of $z\sim 2.4$. While radio observations commenced $\lesssim 1~$day after the burst, no radio emission was detected until $\sim11$~days. The radio afterglow subsequently brightened by a factor of $\sim 3$ in the span of a week, followed by a rapid decay (a ``radio flare''). We find that a forward shock afterglow model cannot self-consistently describe the multi-wavelength X-ray and radio data, and underpredicts the flux of the radio flare by a factor of $\approx 5$. We find that the addition of substantial energy injection, which increases the isotropic kinetic energy of the burst by a factor of $\approx 4$, or a reverse shock from a shell collision are viable solutions to match the broad-band behavior. At $z\sim 2.4$, GRB\,210726A is among the highest redshift short GRBs discovered to date as well as the most luminous in radio and X-rays. Combining and comparing all previous radio afterglow observations of short GRBs, we find that the majority of published radio searches conclude by $\lesssim 10~$days after the burst, potentially missing these late rising, luminous radio afterglows.

Extreme precision radial-velocity spectrometers enable extreme precision stellar spectroscopy. Searches for low-mass exoplanets around solar-type stars are limited by the physical variability in stellar spectra, such as the short-term jittering of apparent radial velocities. To understand the physical origins of such jittering, the solar spectrum is assembled, as far as possible, from basic principles. Surface convection is modeled with time-dependent 3D hydrodynamics, followed by the computation of hyper-high resolution spectra during numerous instances of the simulation sequences. The behavior of different classes of photospheric absorption lines is monitored to identify commonalities or differences between different classes of lines: weak or strong, neutral or ionized, high- or low-excitation, atomic or molecular. For Fe I and Fe II lines, the radial-velocity jittering over the small simulation area typically amounts to +-150 m/s, scaling to about 2 m/s for the full solar disk. Most photospheric lines vary in phase but with different amplitudes among different classes of lines. Radial-velocity excursions are greater for stronger and for ionized lines, decreasing at longer wavelengths. The differences between various line-groups are about one order of magnitude less than the full jittering amplitudes. By matching very precisely measured radial velocities to the characteristic jittering patterns between different line-groups should enable to identify and to remove a significant component of the stellar noise originating in granulation. To verify the modeling toward such a filter, predictions of solar center-to-limb dependences of jittering amplitudes are presented for different classes of lines, testable with spatially resolving solar telescopes connected to existing radial-velocity instruments.

(Abridged) Context. To directly image rocky exoplanets in reflected (polarized) light, future space- and ground-based high-contrast imagers and telescopes aim to reach extreme contrasts at close separations from the star. However, the achievable contrast will be limited by reflection-induced polarization aberrations. While polarization aberrations can be modeled numerically, such computations provide little insight into the full range of effects, their origin and characteristics, and possible ways to mitigate them. Aims. We aim to understand polarization aberrations produced by reflection off flat metallic mirrors at the fundamental level. Methods. We used polarization ray tracing to numerically compute polarization aberrations and interpret the results in terms of the polarization-dependent spatial and angular Goos-H\"anchen and Imbert-Federov shifts of the beam of light as described with closed-form mathematical expressions in the physics literature. Results. We find that all four beam shifts are fully reproduced by polarization ray tracing and study the origin, characteristics, sizes, and directions of the shifts. Of the four beam shifts, only the spatial Goos-H\"anchen and Imbert-Federov shifts are relevant for high-contrast imagers and telescopes because these shifts are visible in the focal plane and create a polarization structure in the PSF that reduces the performance of coronagraphs and the polarimetric speckle suppression close to the star. Conclusions. The beam shifts in an optical system can be mitigated by keeping the f-numbers large and angles of incidence small. Most importantly, mirror coatings should not be optimized for maximum reflectivity, but should be designed to have a retardance close to 180{\deg}. The insights from our study can be applied to improve the performance of current and future high-contrast imagers, especially those in space and on the ELTs.

The most massive stars provide an essential source of recycled material for young clusters and galaxies. While very massive stars (VMS, M>100M) are relatively rare compared to O stars, they lose disproportionately large amounts of mass already from the onset of core H-burning. VMS have optically thick winds with elevated mass-loss rates in comparison to optically thin standard O-star winds. We compute wind yields and ejected masses on the main sequence, and we compare enhanced mass-loss rates to standard ones. We calculate solar metallicity wind yields from MESA stellar evolution models in the range 50 - 500M, including a large nuclear network of 92 isotopes, investigating not only the CNO-cycle, but also the Ne-Na and Mg-Al cycles. VMS with enhanced winds eject 5-10 times more H-processed elements (N, Ne, Na, Al) on the main sequence in comparison to standard winds, with possible consequences for observed anti-correlations, such as C-N and Na-O, in globular clusters. We find that for VMS 95% of the total wind yields is produced on the main sequence, while only ~5% is supplied by the post-main sequence. This implies that VMS with enhanced winds are the primary source of 26Al, contrasting previous works where classical Wolf-Rayet winds had been suggested to be responsible for Galactic 26Al enrichment. Finally, 200M stars eject 100 times more of each heavy element in their winds than 50M stars, and even when weighted by an IMF their wind contribution is still an order of magnitude higher than that of 50M stars.

We study how environment regulates the star formation cycle of 33 Virgo Cluster satellite galaxies on 720 parsec scales. We present the first resolved star-forming main sequence for cluster galaxies, dividing the sample based on their global HI properties and comparing to a control sample of field galaxies. HI-poor cluster galaxies have reduced star formation rate (SFR) surface densities with respect to both HI-normal cluster and field galaxies (0.5 dex), suggesting that mechanisms regulating the global HI content are responsible for quenching local star formation. We demonstrate that the observed quenching in HI-poor galaxies is caused by environmental processes such as ram pressure stripping (RPS) simultaneously reducing molecular gas surface density and star formation efficiency (SFE), compared to regions in HI-normal systems (by 0.38 and 0.22 dex, respectively). We observe systematically elevated SFRs that are driven by increased molecular gas surface densities at fixed stellar mass surface density in the outskirts of early-stage RPS galaxies, while SFE remains unchanged with respect to the field sample. We quantify how RPS and starvation affect the star formation cycle of inner and outer galaxy discs as they are processed by the cluster. We show both are effective quenching mechanisms with the key difference being that RPS acts upon the galaxy outskirts while starvation regulates the star formation cycle throughout disc, including within the truncation radius. For both processes, the quenching is caused by a simultaneous reduction in molecular gas surface densities and SFE at fixed stellar mass surface density.

Rapid strides are currently being made in the field of artificial intelligence using Transformer-based models like Large Language Models (LLMs). The potential of these methods for creating a single, large, versatile model in astronomy has not yet been explored. In this work, we propose a framework for data-driven astronomy that uses the same core techniques and architecture as used by LLMs. Using a variety of observations and labels of stars as an example, we build a Transformer-based model and train it in a self-supervised manner with cross-survey data sets to perform a variety of inference tasks. In particular, we demonstrate that a $\textit{single}$ model can perform both discriminative and generative tasks even if the model was not trained or fine-tuned to do any specific task. For example, on the discriminative task of deriving stellar parameters from Gaia XP spectra, we achieve an accuracy of 47 K in $T_\mathrm{eff}$, 0.11 dex in $\log{g}$, and 0.07 dex in $[\mathrm{M/H}]$, outperforming an expert $\texttt{XGBoost}$ model in the same setting. But the same model can also generate XP spectra from stellar parameters, inpaint unobserved spectral regions, extract empirical stellar loci, and even determine the interstellar extinction curve. Our framework demonstrates that building and training a $\textit{single}$ foundation model without fine-tuning using data and parameters from multiple surveys to predict unmeasured observations and parameters is well within reach. Such "Large Astronomy Models" trained on large quantities of observational data will play a large role in the analysis of current and future large surveys.

One of the challenges related to stellar bars is to determine accurately the length of the bar in a disc galaxy. In past literature, a wide variety of methods has been employed to measure the extent of a bar. However, a systematic study on determining the robustness and accuracy of different bar length estimators is still beyond our grasp. Here, we investigate the accuracy and the correlation (if any) between different bar length measurement methods while using an $N$-body model of a barred galaxy where the bar evolves self-consistently in presence of a live dark matter halo. We investigate the temporal evolution of the bar length, using different estimators (involving isophotal analysis of de-projected surface brightness distribution and Fourier decomposition of surface density), and study their robustness and accuracy. Further attempts have been made towards determining correlation between any two of these bar length estimators used here. In presence of spirals, the bar length estimators which only consider the amplitudes of different Fourier moments (and do not take into account the phase-angle of $m=2$ Fourier moment), systematically overestimate the length of the bar. The strength dark-gaps (produced by bars) correlates strongly with the bar length in early rapid growth phase, and is only weakly anti-correlated during subsequent quiescent phase of bar evolution. However, the location of dark-gaps correlates only weakly with the bar length, hence can not be used as a robust proxy for determining the bar length. In addition, the bar length estimators, obtained using isophotal analysis of de-projected surface brightness distribution, systematically overestimate the bar length. The implications of bar length over(under)estimation in the context of determining fast/slow bars are further discussed.

We present the first measurements of Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) forest correlations using early data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We measure the auto-correlation of Ly$\alpha$ absorption using 88,509 quasars at $z>2$, and its cross-correlation with quasars using a further 147,899 tracer quasars at $z\gtrsim1.77$. Then, we fit these correlations using a 13-parameter model based on linear perturbation theory and find that it provides a good description of the data across a broad range of scales. We detect the BAO peak with a signal-to-noise ratio of $3.8\sigma$, and show that our measurements of the auto- and cross-correlations are fully-consistent with previous measurements by the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS). Even though we only use here a small fraction of the final DESI dataset, our uncertainties are only a factor of 1.7 larger than those from the final eBOSS measurement. We validate the existing analysis methods of Ly$\alpha$ correlations in preparation for making a robust measurement of the BAO scale with the first year of DESI data.

The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) aims to be the premier next generation large diameter (50 meter) single dish observatory capable of observations across the millimeter/submillimeter spectrum, from 30~GHz to 1~THz. AtLAST will be sited in Chile at approximately 5100 meters above sea level, high in the Atacama Desert near Llano de Chajnantor. The novel rocking-chair telescope design allows for a unprecedentedly wide field of view (FoV) of 1-2$^\circ$ diameter, a large receiver cabin housing six major instruments, and high structural stability during fast scanning operations (up to $\sim 3^\circ$ per second in azimuth). Here we describe the current status of, and expected outcomes for, the antenna design study, which will be completed in 2024.

We review the local determination of the Hubble constant, H$_0$, focusing on recent measurements of a distance ladder constructed from geometry, Cepheid variables and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We explain in some detail the components of the ladder: (1) geometry from Milky Way parallaxes, masers in NGC 4258 and detached eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud; (2) measurements of Cepheids with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in these anchors and in the hosts of 42 SNe Ia; and (3) SNe Ia in the Hubble flow. Great attention to negating systematic uncertainties through the use of differential measurements is reviewed. A wide array of tests are discussed. The measurements provide a strong indication of a discrepancy between the local measure of H$_0$ and its value predicted by $\Lambda$CDM theory, calibrated by the cosmic microwave background ($Planck$), a decade-long challenge known as the `Hubble Tension'. We present new measurements with the James Webb Space Telescope of $>$320 Cepheids on both rungs of the distance ladder, in a SN Ia host and the geometric calibrator NGC 4258, showing reduced noise and good agreement with the same as measured with HST. This provides strong evidence that systematic errors in HST Cepheid photometry do not play a significant role in the present Hubble Tension. Future measurements are expected to refine the local determination of the Hubble constant.

The interaction between the supersonic motion of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) is expected to result in a bow shock that leads the LMC's gaseous disk. In this letter, we use hydrodynamic simulations of the LMC's recent infall to predict the extent of this shock and its effect on the Milky Way's (MW) CGM. The simulations clearly predict the existence of an asymmetric shock with a present day stand-off radius of $\sim6.7$ kpc and a transverse diameter of $\sim30$ kpc. Over the past 500 Myr, $\sim8\%$ of the MW's CGM in the southern hemisphere should have interacted with the shock front. This interaction may have had the effect of smoothing over inhomogeneities and increasing mixing in the MW CGM. We find observational evidence of the existence of the bow shock in recent $H\alpha$ maps of the LMC, providing a potential explanation for the envelope of ionized gas surrounding the LMC. Furthermore, the interaction of the bow shock with the MW CGM may also explain observations of ionized gas surrounding the Magellanic Stream. Using recent orbital histories of MW satellites, we find that many satellites have likely interacted with the LMC shock. Additionally, the dwarf galaxy Ret2 is currently sitting inside the shock, which may impact the interpretation of reported gamma ray excess in Ret2. This work highlights bow shocks associated with infalling satellites are an under-explored, yet potentially very important dynamical mixing process in the circumgalactic and intracluster media.

The proximity and duration of the tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-14li led to the discovery of narrow, blue-shifted absorption lines in X-rays and UV. The gas seen in X-ray absorption is consistent with bound material close to the apocenter of elliptical orbital paths, or with a disk wind similar to those seen in Seyfert-1 active galactic nuclei. We present a new analysis of the deepest high-resolution XMM-Newton and Chandra spectra of ASASSN-14li. Driven by the relative strengths of He-like and H-like charge states, the data require [N/C] > 2.4, in qualitative agreement with UV spectral results. Flows of the kind seen in the X-ray spectrum of ASASSN-14li were not clearly predicted in simulations of TDEs; this left open the possibility that the observed absorption might be tied to gas released in prior AGN activity. However, the abundance pattern revealed in this analysis points to a single star rather than a standard AGN accretion flow comprised of myriad gas contributions. The simplest explanation of the data is likely that a moderately massive star (M ~ 3 Msun) with significant CNO processing was disrupted. An alternative explanation is that a lower mass star was disrupted that had previously been stripped of its envelope. We discuss the strengths and limitations of our analysis and these interpretations.

TU Tau (= HD 38218 = HIP 27135) is a binary system consisting of a C-N carbon star primary and an A-type secondary. We report on new photometry and spectroscopy which tracked the recent disappearance of the A-star secondary. The dimming of the A-star was gradual and irregular, with one or more brief brightenings, implying the presence of nonhomogeneities in the carbon star outflow. We also present evidence that the A-star is actively accreting s-process enriched material from the carbon star and suggest that it will therefore eventually evolve into a Barium giant. This is an important system as well because the A-type star can serve as a probe of the outer atmosphere of the carbon star.

Whereas light element abundance variations are a hallmark of globular clusters, there is little evidence for variation in neutron-capture elements. A significant exception is M15, which shows a star-to-star dispersion in neutron-capture abundances of at least one order of magnitude. The literature contains evidence both for and against a neutron-capture dispersion in M92. We conducted an analysis of archival Keck/HIRES spectra of 35 stars in M92, 29 of which are giants, which we use exclusively for our conclusions. M92 conforms to the light element abundance variations typical of massive clusters. Like other globular clusters, its neutron-capture abundances were generated by the r-process. We confirm a star-to-star dispersion in the r-process. Unlike M15, the dispersion is limited to "first-generation" (low Na, high Mg) stars, and the dispersion is smaller for Sr, Y, and Zr than for Ba and the lanthanides. This is the first detection of a relation between light element and neutron-capture abundances in a globular cluster. We propose that a source of the main r-process polluted the cluster shortly before or concurrently with the first generation of star formation. The heavier r-process abundances were inhomogeneously distributed while the first-generation stars were forming. The second-generation stars formed after several crossing times (~0.8 Myr); hence, the second generation shows no r-process dispersion. This scenario imposes a minimum temporal separation of 0.8 Myr between the first and second generations.

Arch-like loop structures filled with million Kelvin hot plasma form the building blocks of the quiet-Sun corona. Both high-resolution observations and magnetoconvection simulations show the ubiquitous presence of magnetic fields on the solar surface on small spatial scales of $\sim$100\,km. However, the question of how exactly these quiet-Sun coronal loops originate from the photosphere and how the magnetic energy from the surface is channeled to heat the overlying atmosphere is a long-standing puzzle. Here we report high-resolution photospheric magnetic field and coronal data acquired during the second science perihelion of Solar Orbiter that reveal a highly dynamic magnetic landscape underlying the observed quiet-Sun corona. We found that coronal loops often connect to surface regions that harbor fleeting weaker, mixed-polarity magnetic field patches structured on small spatial scales, and that coronal disturbances could emerge from these areas. We suggest that weaker magnetic fields with fluxes as low as $10^{15}$\,Mx and or those that evolve on timescales less than 5\,minutes, are crucial to understand the coronal structuring and dynamics.

Plage regions are patches of concentrated magnetic field in the Sun's atmosphere where hot coronal loops are rooted. While previous studies have shed light on the properties of plage magnetic fields in the photosphere, there are still challenges in measuring the overlying chromospheric magnetic fields, which are crucial to understanding the overall heating and dynamics. Here, we utilize high-sensitivity, spectropolarimetric data obtained by the four-meter Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) to investigate the dynamic environment and magnetic field stratification of an extended, decaying plage region. The data show strong circular polarization signals in both plage cores and surrounding fibrils. Notably, weak linear polarization signals clearly differentiate between plage patches and the fibril canopy, where they are relatively stronger. Inversions of the Ca II 8542 $\mathring{A}$ spectra show an imprint of the fibrils in the chromospheric magnetic field, with typical field strength values ranging from $\sim$ 200-300 G in fibrils. We confirm the weak correlation between field strength and cooling rates in the lower chromosphere. Additionally, we observe supersonic downflows and strong velocity gradients in the plage periphery, indicating dynamical processes occurring in the chromosphere. These findings contribute to our understanding of the magnetic field and dynamics within plages, emphasizing the need for further research to explore the expansion of magnetic fields with height and the three-dimensional distribution of heating rates in the lower chromosphere.

We analyze the cool gas in and around 14 nearby galaxies (at $z$$<$0.1) mapped with the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey by measuring absorption lines produced by gas in spectra of background quasars/AGN at impact parameters of 0-25 effective radii from the galaxy center. Using HST/COS, we detect absorption at the galaxy redshift and measure or constrain column densities of neutral (H I, N I, O I, Ar I), low-ionization (Si II, S II, C II, N II Fe II), and high-ionization (Si III, Fe III, N V, O VI) species for 11 galaxies. We derive the ionization parameter and ionization-corrected metallicity using CLOUDY photo-ionization models. The H I column density ranges from $\sim$$10^{13}$ to $\sim$$10^{20}\,{\rm cm^{-2}}$ and decreases with impact parameter for $r \ge R_{e}$. Galaxies with higher stellar mass have weaker H I absorption. Comparing absorption velocities with MaNGA radial velocity maps of ionized gas line emissions in galactic disks, we find that the neutral gas seen in absorption co-rotates with the disk out to $\sim$10 $R_{e}$. Sight lines with lower elevation angles show lower metallicities, consistent with the metallicity gradient in the disk derived from MaNGA maps. Higher elevation angle sight lines show higher ionization, lower H I-column density, super-solar metallicity, and velocities consistent with the direction of galactic outflow. Our data offer the first detailed comparisons of CGM properties (kinematics and metallicity) with extrapolations of detailed galaxy maps from integral field spectroscopy; similar studies for larger samples are needed to more fully understand how galaxies interact with their CGM.

Galaxy morphologies and their relation with physical properties have been a relevant subject of study in the past. Most galaxy morphology catalogs have been labelled by human annotators or by machine learning models trained on human labelled data. Human generated labels have been shown to contain biases in terms of the observational properties of the data, such as image resolution. These biases are independent of the annotators, that is, are present even in catalogs labelled by experts. In this work, we demonstrate that training deep learning models on biased galaxy data produce biased models, meaning that the biases in the training data are transferred to the predictions of the new models. We also propose a method to train deep learning models that considers this inherent labelling bias, to obtain a de-biased model even when training on biased data. We show that models trained using our deep de-biasing method are capable of reducing the bias of human labelled datasets.

Understanding the physical processes that trigger solar flares is paramount to help with forecasting space weather and mitigating the effects on our technological infrastructure. A previously unknown phenomenon was recently identified in solar flares: the plasma temperature, derived from soft X-ray (SXR) data, at the onset of four flares, was revealed to be in the range 10-15 MK, without evidence of gradual heating. To investigate how common the hot-onset phenomenon may be, we extend this investigation to solar flares of B1.2- X6.9 classes recorded by the X-ray Sensor (XRS) on-board the GOES-14 and GOES-15 satellites between 2010 and 2011. For this statistical study, we employed the same methodology as in recent work, where the pre-flare SXR flux of each flare is obtained manually, and the temperature and emission measure values are obtained by the flux ratio of the two GOES/XRS channels using the standard software. From 3224 events listed in the GOES flare catalog for 2010-2011, we have selected and analyzed 745 events for which the flare heliographic location was provided in the list, to investigate center-to-limb effects of the hot-onset phenomenon. Our results show that 559 out of 745 flares (75%) exhibit an onset temperature above 8.6 MK (the first quartile), with respective log10 of the emission measure values between 46.0 - 47.25 cm-3, indicating that small amounts of plasma are quickly heated to high temperatures. These results suggest that the hot-onset phenomenon is very common in solar flares.

We present a statistical algorithm for predicting the [CII] emission from Herschel and Spitzer continuum images using probability density functions between the [CII] emission and continuum emission. The [CII] emission at 158 $\mu$m is a critical tracer in studying the life cycle of interstellar medium and galaxy evolution. Unfortunately, its frequency is in the far infrared (FIR), which is opaque through the troposphere and cannot be observed from the ground except for highly red-shifted sources (z $\gtrsim$ 2). Typically [CII] observations of closer regions have been carried out using suborbital or space observatories. Given the high cost of these facilities and limited time availability, it is important to have highly efficient observations/operations in terms of maximizing science returns. This requires accurate prediction of the strength of emission lines and, therefore, the time required for their observation. However, [CII] emission has been hard to predict due to a lack of strong correlations with other observables. Here we adopt a new approach to making accurate predictions of [CII] emission by relating this emission simultaneously to several tracers of dust emission in the same region. This is done using a statistical methodology utilizing probability density functions (PDFs) among [CII] emission and Spitzer IRAC and Herschel PACS/SPIRE images. Our test result toward a star-forming region, RCW 120, demonstrates that our methodology delivers high-quality predictions with less than 30\% uncertainties over 80\% of the entire observation area, which is more than sufficient to test observation feasibility and maximize science return. The {\it pickle} dump files storing the PDFs and trained neural network module are accessible upon request and will support future far-infrared missions, for example, GUSTO and FIR Probe.

Mapping the large-scale subsurface plasma flow profile within the Sun has been attempted using various methods for several decades. One such flow in particular is the meridional circulation, for which numerous studies have been published. However, such studies often show disagreement in structure. In an effort to constrain the flow profile from the data, a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo framework has been developed to take advantage of the advances in computing power that allow for the efficient exploration of high-dimensional parameter spaces. This study utilizes helioseismic travel-time difference data covering a span of twenty-one years and a parametrized model of the meridional circulation to find the most likely flow profiles. Tests were carried out on artificial data to determine the ability of this method to recover expected solar-like flow profiles as well as a few extreme cases. We find the method capable of recovering the input flows of both single- and double-cell flow structures. Some inversion results indicate potential differences in meridional circulation between the two solar cycles in terms of both magnitude and morphology, in particular in the mid convection zone. Of these, the most likely solutions show that solar cycle 23 has a large, single-celled profile, while cycle 24 shows weaker flows in general and hints towards a double-celled structure.

We report on the closest view of a coronal mass ejection observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP)/Wide-field Imager for {Parker} Solar PRobe (WISPR) instrument on September 05, 2022, when PSP was traversing from a distance of 15.3~to~13.5~R$_\odot$ from the Sun. The CME leading edge and an arc-shaped {\emph{concave-up} structure near the core} was tracked in WISPR~field of view using the polar coordinate system, for the first time. Using the impact distance on Thomson surface, we measured average speeds of CME leading edge and concave-up structure as $\approx$2500~$\pm$~270\,km\,s$^{-1}$ and $\approx$400~$\pm$~70\,km\,s$^{-1}$ with a deceleration of $\approx$20~m~s$^{-2}$ for the later. {The use of the plane-of-sky approach yielded an unrealistic speed of more than three times of this estimate.} We also used single viewpoint STEREO/COR-2A images to fit the Graduated Cylindrical Shell (GCS) model to the CME while incorporating the source region location from EUI of Solar Orbiter and estimated a 3D speed of $\approx$2700\,km\,s$^{-1}$. We conclude that this CME exhibits the highest speed during the ascending phase of solar cycle 25. This places it in the category of extreme speed CMEs, which account for only 0.15\% of all CMEs listed in the CDAW CME catalog.

The Scattered Disk Objects (SDOs) are a population of trans-Neptunian bodies with semimajor axes $50< a \lesssim 1000$ au and perihelion distances $q \gtrsim 30$ au. The detached SDOs with orbits beyond the reach of Neptune (roughly $q>35$~au) are of special interest here as an important constraint on the early evolution of the outer Solar System. The semimajor axis profile of detached SDOs at 50--500~au, as characterized from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), is radially extended, but previous dynamical models of Neptune's early migration produce a relatively compact profile. This problem is most likely related to Sun's birth environment in a stellar cluster. We perform new dynamical simulations that account for cluster effects and show that the orbital distribution of SDOs can be explained if a particularly close stellar encounter occurred early on (e.g., M dwarf with the mass $\simeq 0.2$ $M_\odot$ approaching the Sun at $\simeq 200$ au). For such an encounter to happen with a reasonably high probability the Sun must have formed in a stellar cluster with $\eta T \gtrsim 10^4$ Myr pc$^{-3}$, where $\eta$ is the stellar number density and $T$ is the Sun's residence time in the cluster.

By analyzing data from the Gaia Space Observatory, we have obtained precise basic characteristics of the collective motion of stars in a part of our galaxy. Our research is based on a statistical analysis of the motion of $33~146~122$ selected stars at a distance $\lesssim6$ kpc from the Sun. Up to this distance, Gaia provides high statistics of stars with well-measured proper motion and parallax needed to determine the corresponding transverse velocity with sufficient precision. We obtained the velocity of the Sun $\left( U_{\odot},V_{\odot},W_{\odot}\right) =(10.5\pm1,22.5\pm3,7.5\pm0.5)$ relative to a set of nearby stars and the rotation velocity of the galaxy at different radii. For the radius of the Sun's orbit, we obtained the velocity$\ V_{0}\approx225$ km/s. We have shown that the various kinematic characteristics and distributions, which depend on the position in the galaxy, can be very well described in the studied region by a simple Monte-Carlo simulation model based on five parameters in the galactocentric reference frame. The optimal values of these parameters were determined by comparison with the data.

Photometric observations spanning the UV to the near IR during the nine most recent eruptions (2014-2022) of the extragalactic nova M31N 2008-12a are presented and analyzed in order to explore whether the lightcurve properties for a given eruption, specifically the peak magnitudes and fade rates, are correlated with the time interval since the previous eruption. No significant correlation between the pre-eruption interval and the rate of decline was found, however it appears that the brightness at the peak of an outburst may be positively correlated with the time interval since the previous eruption.

Galactic dark matter halos may be composed of ultralight axions (ULAs) ($m_a \lesssim 1$ eV) with wave functions that satisfy nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger-Poisson equations (SPA). We find eigenstates of SPA in WKB approximation. The expansion parameter of the WKB approximation is $\delta=1/\sqrt{S}$, where $S=2 M R G m_a^{2}$, with $M$ being the total mass, $R$ the radius of the halo, and $G$ the gravitational constant. $S\gg 1$ for almost all galaxies, even if the ULA mass is as small as $m_a=10^{-22} $ eV, making the leading order WKB approximation almost exact. As the level spacing of bound states is roughly proportional to $\delta$, the number of states in the gravitational well is huge. We do not see a reason why not all or most of them contribute to the halo. Using an appropriate distribution function allows the summation of states to construct the profile of the halo as a function of the gravitational potential, which can be found solving the Poisson equation. Using various energy distribution functions, we obtain results similar to those in simulations. Future plans include investigations of collapse through time dependent generalizations, and inclusion of self-interactions, which also induce decay processes of the halo.

We analyse the forces that control the dynamic evolution of a flux rope eruption in a three-dimensional (3D) radiative magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) simulation. The confined eruption of the flux rope gives rise to a C8.5 flare. The flux rope rises slowly with an almost constant velocity of a few km/s in the early stage, when the gravity and Lorentz force are nearly counterbalanced. After the flux rope rises to the height at which the decay index of the external poloidal field satisfies the torus instability criterion, the significantly enhanced Lorentz force breaks the force balance and drives rapid acceleration of the flux rope. Fast magnetic reconnection is immediately induced within the current sheet under the erupting flux rope, which provides a strong positive feedback to the eruption. The eruption is eventually confined due to the tension force from the strong external toroidal field. Our results suggest that the gravity of plasma plays an important role in sustaining the quasi-static evolution of the pre-eruptive flux rope. The Lorentz force, which is contributed from both the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability and magnetic reconnection, dominates the dynamic evolution during the eruption process.

The widely adopted ``lamppost'' thermal reprocessing model, in which the variable UV/optical emission is a result of the accretion disk reprocessing of the highly fluctuating X-ray emission, can be tested by measuring inter-band time lags in quasars spanning a range of X-ray power. This work reports the inter-band time lag in an apparently X-ray weak quasar, SDSS J153913.47+395423.4. A significant cross-correlation with a time delay of $\sim 33$ days (observed-frame) is detected in the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) $g$ and $r$ light curves of SDSS J153913.47+395423.4. The observed X-ray power seems to be too weak to account for the observed inter-band cross-correlation with time delay. Hence the X-ray weak quasar SDSS J153913.47+395423.4 is either intrinsically X-ray normal (but observationally X-ray weak), or the X-ray emission is not the only mechanism to drive UV/optical variability. In the former case, the required X-ray power is at least 19 times stronger than observed, which requires either an exceptionally anisotropic corona or Compton-thick obscuration. Alternatively, the Corona-heated Accretion disk Reprocessing (CHAR) or the EUV torus models may account for the observed time lags.

The detection of astrophysical neutrinos from transient sources can help to understand the origin of the neutrino diffuse flux and to constrain the underlying production mechanisms. In particular, proton-neutron collisions may produce GeV neutrinos. However, at these energies, neutrino data from large water Cherenkov telescopes, like KM3NeT and IceCube, are dominated by the well-known atmospheric neutrino flux. It is then necessary to identify a sub-dominant component due to an astrophysical emission based on time correlation across messengers. The contribution covers several methods to search for such a signal in short time windows centered on observed transient sources, including a novel approach based on the distribution of time differences. Their performance is compared in the context of subpopulations of astrophysical sources that may show prompt or delayed neutrino emissions. The outlook for the usage of such techniques in actual analyses is also presented.

We present a variability study of the blazar PKS 0346-27 from December 2018 to January 2022 in its archival $\gamma$-ray observation by Fermi-LAT. We use the Lomb-Scargle periodogram and the weighted wavelet transform methods in order to detect the presence of periodicity/quasi-periodicity and localize this feature in time and frequency space. The significance of the periodicity feature has been estimated using the Monte-Carlo simulation approach. We have also determined the global significance of the periodicity to test the robustness of our claim. To explore the most probable scenario, we modeled the light curve with both a straight jet and a curved jet model. We detect a periodicity feature of $\sim$ 100 days duration for the entire period of observation with a statistical significance of $3\sigma$, which amounts to a 99.7\% confidence level. The global significance of this feature is found to be 96.96\%. Based on the Akaike Information Criteria, the most probable explanation is that the observed emission is enhanced due to the helical motion of a blob within a curved jet. The origin of this QPO is very likely a region of enhanced emission moving helically inside a curved jet. This work presents strong evidence for jet curvature in the source and an independent (albeit a little serendipitous) procedure to estimate the curvature in blazar jets.

In order to understand the origin and evolution of comets, one must decipher the processes that formed and processed cometary ice and dust. Cometary materials have diverse physical and chemical properties and are mixed in various ways. Laboratory experiments are capable of producing simple to complex analogues of comet-like materials, measuring their properties, and simulating the processes by which their compositions and structures may evolve. The results of laboratory experiments are essential for the interpretations of comet observations and complement theoretical models. They are also necessary for planning future missions to comets. This chapter presents an overview of past and ongoing laboratory experiments exploring how comets were formed and transformed, from the nucleus interior and surface, to the coma. Throughout these sections, the pending questions are highlighted, and the perspectives and prospects for future experiments are discussed.

We present the results for orbital period analysis of 9 contact binaries (CBs). The photometric data analyzed in this work is collected using ARIES 1-m and 1.3-m telescopes as well as many ground and space-based photometric surveys. The precise orbital periods of the binary systems are studied using the long temporal baseline of data acquired over the last 12-15 years. The changes in the times of minimum brightness are calculated using (O-C) diagram. Out of these 9 CBs, four systems show no change in the orbital period with time while the remaining five systems show non-linear (O-C) variations with time. We derive mass transfer rates for these five CBs which suggests mass is being transferred from secondary to primary components in three systems while it is from primary to secondary components in the other two systems.

We present the physical parameters of an eclipsing binary system EPIC 211982753 derived through photometric and radial velocity data modeling. We make use of photometric data from NASA's K2 mission, ASAS-SN, and 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) while spectroscopic data have been acquired from the HERMES spectrograph at the 1.2-m Mercator telescope. The linear ephemeris for the system is updated using the K2 mission data. The synthetic light curve and radial velocity curves are generated with the help of eclipsing binary modeling package PHOEBE 1.0. The masses of primary and secondary components are determined as 1.64 $\pm$0.02 and 1.55 $\pm$0.01 $M_{\odot}$, respectively. The radius for primary and secondary components are estimated as 1.73 $\pm$0.02 and 1.47 $\pm$0.02 $R_{\odot}$, respectively. The distance of the system is calculated as 238 $\pm$ 4 pc. The eclipsing binary is found to be a total eclipsing system with a high mass ratio of q=0.94.

As a new member of the Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) after GECAM-A and GECAM-B, GECAM-C (originally called HEBS), which was launched on board the SATech-01 satellite on July 27, 2022, aims to monitor and localize X-ray and gamma-ray transients from $\sim$ 6 keV to 6 MeV. GECAM-C utilizes a similar design to GECAM but operates in a more complex orbital environment. In this work, we utilize the secondary particles simultaneously produced by the cosmic-ray events on orbit and recorded by multiple detectors, to calibrate the relative timing accuracy between all detectors of GECAM-C. We find the result is 0.1 $\mu \rm s$, which is the highest time resolution among all GRB detectors ever flown and very helpful in timing analyses such as minimum variable timescale and spectral lags, as well as in time delay localization. Besides, we calibrate the absolute time accuracy using the one-year Crab pulsar data observed by GECAM-C and Fermi/GBM, as well as GECAM-C and GECAM-B. The results are $2.02\pm 2.26\ \mu \rm s$ and $5.82\pm 3.59\ \mu \rm s$, respectively. Finally, we investigate the spectral lag between the different energy bands of Crab pulsar observed by GECAM and GBM, which is $\sim -0.2\ {\rm \mu s\ keV^{-1}}$.

Shear particle acceleration is a promising candidate for the origin of extended high-energy emission in extra-galactic jets. In this paper, we explore the applicability of a shear model to 24 X-ray knots in the large-scale jets of FR II radio galaxies, and study the jet properties by modeling the multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in a leptonic framework including synchrotron and inverse Compton - CMB processes. In order to improve spectral modelling, we analyze Fermi-LAT data for five sources and reanalyzed archival data of Chandra on 15 knots, exploring the radio to X-ray connection. We show that the X-ray SEDs of these knots can be satisfactorily modelled by synchrotron radiation from a second, shear-accelerated electron population reaching multi-TeV energies. The inferred flow speeds are compatible with large-scale jets being mildly relativistic. We explore two different shear flow profiles (i.e., linearly decreasing and power-law) and find that the required spine speeds differ only slightly, supporting the notion that for higher flow speeds the variations in particle spectral indices are less dependent on the presumed velocity profile. The derived magnetic field strengths are in the range of a few to ten microGauss, and the required power in non-thermal particles typically well below the Eddington constraint. Finally, the inferred parameters are used to constrain the potential of FR II jets as possible UHECR accelerators.

SNRs are likely to be significant sources of Galactic cosmic rays up to the knee. They produce gamma rays in the very-high-energy (E>100 GeV) range mainly via two mechanisms: hadronic interactions of accelerated protons with the interstellar medium and leptonic interactions of accelerated electrons with soft photons. Observations with current instruments have lead to the detection of about a dozen SNRs in VHE gamma rays and future instruments will help significantly increase this number. Yet, the details of particle acceleration at SNRs, and of the mechanisms producing VHE gamma-ray at SNRs remain poorly understood: What is the spectrum of accelerated particles? What is the efficiency of particle acceleration? Is the gamma-ray emission dominated by hadronic or leptonic origin? To address these questions, we simulate the population of SNRs in the gamma-ray domain, and confront it to the current population of TeV SNRs. This method allows us to investigate several crucial aspects of particle acceleration at SNRs, such as the level of magnetic field around SNR shocks or scanning the parameter space of the accelerated particles (spectral index, electron to proton ratio and the acceleration efficiency of the shock) with the possibility to constrain some of the parameters.

The detection and study of magnetic fields surrounding galaxies is important to understand galaxy evolution since magnetic fields are tracers for dynamical processes in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and can have a significant impact on the evolution of the CGM. The Faraday rotation measure (RM) of the polarized light of background radio sources passing through the magnetized CGM of intervening galaxies can be used as a tracer for the strength and extent of magnetic fields around galaxies. We use rotation measures observed by the MIGHTEE-POL (MeerKAT International GHz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration POLarisation) survey by MeerKAT in the XMM-LSS and COSMOS fields to investigate the RM around foreground star-forming galaxies. We use spectroscopic catalogs of star-forming and blue cloud galaxies to measure the RM of MIGHTEE-POL sources as a function of the impact parameter from the intervening galaxy. We then repeat this procedure using a deeper galaxy catalog with photometric redshifts. For the spectroscopic star-forming sample we find a redshift-corrected |RM| excess of 5.6 +/- 2.3 rad m-2 which corresponds to a 2.5 sigma significance around galaxies with a median redshift of z = 0.46 for impact parameters below 130 kpc only selecting the intervenor with the smallest impact parameter. Making use of a photometric galaxy catalog and taking into account all intervenors with Mg < -13.6 mag, the signal disappears. We find no indication for a correlation between redshift and RM, nor do we find a connection between the total number of intervenors to the total |RM| . We have presented tentative evidence that the CGM of star-forming galaxies is permeated by coherent magnetic fields within the virial radius. We conclude that mostly bright, star-forming galaxies with impact parameters less than 130 kpc significantly contribute to the RM of the background radio source.

We examine the wavelength dependence of radial light profiles based on S\'ersic index $n$ measurements of 1067 galaxies with M$_*\geq$ 10$^{9.5}$M$_\odot$ and in the redshift range $0.5 < z < 3$. The sample and rest-frame optical light profiles are drawn from CANDELS$+$3D-HST; rest-frame near-infrared light profiles are inferred from CEERS JWST/NIRCam imaging. $n$ shows only weak dependence on wavelength, regardless of redshift, galaxy mass and type: on average, star-forming galaxies have $n = 1-1.5$ and quiescent galaxies have $n = 3-4$ in the rest-frame optical and near-infrared. The strong correlation at all wavelengths between $n$ and star-formation activity implies a physical connection between the radial stellar mass profile and star-formation activity. The main caveat is that the current sample is too small to discern trends for the most massive galaxies (M$_* > 10^{11}M_\odot$).

The TOI-178 system consists of a nearby late K-dwarf transited by six planets in the super-Earth to mini-Neptune regime, with orbital periods between 1.9 and 20.7 days. All planets but the innermost one form a chain of Laplace resonances. Mass estimates derived from a preliminary radial velocity (RV) dataset suggest that the planetary densities do not decrease in a monotonic way with the orbital distance to the star, contrary to what one would expect based on simple formation and evolution models. To improve the characterisation of this key system and prepare for future studies (in particular with JWST), we perform a detailed photometric study based on 40 new CHEOPS visits, one new TESS sector, as well as previously published CHEOPS, TESS, and NGTS data. First we perform a global analysis of the 100 transits contained in our data to refine the transit parameters of the six planets and study their transit timing variations (TTVs). We then use our extensive dataset to place constraints on the radii and orbital periods of potential additional transiting planets in the system. Our analysis significantly refines the transit parameters of the six planets, most notably their radii, for which we now obtain relative precisions $\lesssim$3%, with the exception of the smallest planet $b$ for which the precision is 5.1%. Combined with the RV mass estimates, the measured TTVs allow us to constrain the eccentricities of planets $c$ to $g$, which are found to be all below 0.02, as expected from stability requirements. Taken alone, the TTVs also suggest a higher mass for planet $d$ than the one estimated from the RVs, which had been found to yield a surprisingly low density for this planet. However, the masses derived from the current TTV dataset are very prior-dependent and further observations, over a longer temporal baseline, are needed to deepen our understanding of this iconic planetary system.

The accretion of material from protoplanetary disks onto their central stars is a fundamental process in the evolution of these systems and a key diagnostic in constraining the disk lifetime. We analyze the relationship between the stellar accretion rate and the disk mass in 32 intermediate-mass Herbig Ae/Be systems and compare them to their lower-mass counterparts, T Tauri stars. We find that the $\dot{M}$--$M_{\rm{disk}}$ relationship for Herbig Ae/Be stars is largely flat at $\sim$10$^{-7}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ across over three orders of magnitude in dust mass. While most of the sample follows the T Tauri trend, a subset of objects with high accretion rates and low dust masses are identified. These outliers (12 out of 32 sources) have an inferred disk lifetime of less than 0.01 Myr and are dominated by objects with low infrared excess. This outlier sample is likely identified in part by the bias in classifying Herbig Ae/Be stars, which requires evidence of accretion that can only be reliably measured above a rate of $\sim$10$^{-9}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ for these spectral types. If the disk masses are not underestimated and the accretion rates are not overestimated, this implies that these disks may be on the verge of dispersal, which may be due to efficient radial drift of material or outer disk depletion by photoevaporation and/or truncation by companions. This outlier sample likely represents a small subset of the larger young, intermediate-mass stellar population, the majority of which would have already stopped accreting and cleared their disks.

VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) is the current-generation array comprising four 12-meter optical ground-based Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). Its primary goal is to indirectly observe gamma-ray emissions from the most violent astrophysical sources in the universe. Recent advancements in Machine Learning (ML) have sparked interest in utilizing neural networks (NNs) to directly infer properties from IACT images. However, the current training data for these NNs is generated through computationally expensive Monte Carlo (MC) simulation methods. This study presents a simulation method that employs conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGANs) to synthesize additional VERITAS data to facilitate training future NNs. In this test-of-concept study, we condition the GANs on five classes of simulated camera images consisting of circular muon showers and gamma-ray shower images in the first, second, third, and fourth quadrants of the camera. Our results demonstrate that by casting training data as time series, cGANs can 1) replicate shower morphologies based on the input class vectors and 2) generalize additional signals through interpolation in both the class and latent spaces. Leveraging GPUs strength, our method can synthesize novel signals at an impressive speed, generating over $10^6$ shower events in less than a minute.

The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) is a selected Small Explorer (SMEX) mission launching in 2027. It consists of a large field-of-view Compton telescope that will probe with increased sensitivity the under-explored MeV gamma-ray sky (0.2-5 MeV). We will present the current status of cosipy, a Python library that will perform spectral and polarization fits, image deconvolution, and all high-level analysis tasks required by COSI's broad science goals: uncovering the origin of the Galactic positrons, mapping the sites of Galactic nucleosynthesis, improving our models of the jet and emission mechanism of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and detecting and localizing gravitational wave and neutrino sources. The cosipy library builds on the experience gained during the COSI balloon campaigns and will bring the analysis of data in the Compton regime to a modern open-source likelihood-based code, capable of performing coherent joint fits with other instruments using the Multi-Mission Maximum Likelihood framework (3ML). In this contribution, we will also discuss our plans to receive feedback from the community by having yearly software releases accompanied by publicly-available data challenges.

We analyzed optical/X-ray quasi-simultaneous light curves of Aql X-1, obtained by MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image), ZTF (Zwicky Transient Facility) and LCO (Las Cumbres Observatory) in about 3.6 years from 2016, for understanding electromagnetic radiation mechanisms during its outbursts. As a result, we confirmed that 5 outbursts had detected in the epoch, and that 3 outbursts underwent the X-ray state transition across Low-Hard, In-Transition, and High-Soft state while remaining 2 outbursts stayed in the Low-Hard state. We found that the optical spectral energy distribution in the High-Soft state is consistent with a simplified irradiated disk model, and that the optical color/magnitude variation can be explained by variations in the X-ray luminosity and the disk geometrical thickness.

Looking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS) is an ESO large observing programme aimed at obtaining the first homogeneous integral-field spectroscopic survey of 30 extremely low-surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in the Hydra I cluster of galaxies, with MUSE at ESO-VLT. The majority of LSB galaxies in the sample (22 in total) are ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs). The distribution of systemic velocities Vsys ranges between 2317 km/s and 5198 km/s and is centred on the mean velocity of Hydra I (Vsys = 3683 $\pm$ 46 km/s). Considering the mean velocity and the velocity dispersion of the cluster, 17 out of 20 targets are confirmed cluster members. To assess the quality of the data and demonstrate the feasibility of the science goals, we report the preliminary results obtained for one of the sample galaxies, UDG11. For this target, we derived the stellar kinematics, including the 2-dimensional maps of line-of-sight velocity and velocity dispersion, constrained age and metallicity, and studied the globular cluster (GC) population hosted by the UDG. Results are compared with the available measurements for UDGs and dwarf galaxies in literature. By fitting the stacked spectrum inside one effective radius, we find that UDG11 has a velocity dispersion $\sigma = 20 \pm 8$ km/s, it is old ($10\pm1$ Gyr), metal-poor ([M/H]=-1.17$\pm$0.11 dex) and has a total dynamical mass-to-light ratio M$/L_V\sim 14$, comparable to those observed for classical dwarf galaxies. The spatially resolved stellar kinematics maps suggest that UDG11 does not show a significant velocity gradient along either major or minor photometric axes. We find two GCs kinematically associated with UDG11. The estimated total number of GCs in UDG11, corrected for the spectroscopic completeness limit, is $N_{GC}= 5.9^{+2.2}_ {-1.8}$, which corresponds to a GC specific frequency of $S_N = 8.4^{+3.2}_{-2.7}$.

We examine the gravitational wave frequencies of the fundamental ($f$-) and 1st pressure ($p_1$-) modes excited in the neutron star models constructed with the quark-hadron crossover (QHC) type equations of state (EOS). We find that the $f$-mode frequencies with QHC EOS basically are smaller and the $p_1$-mode frequencies with QHC EOS are larger than those with hadronic EOS, focusing on the neutron star model with a fixed mass. We also find that the universality in the $f$-mode frequencies multiplied by the stellar mass as a function of the stellar compactness or as a function of the dimensionless tidal deformability, which is derived with various hadronic EOSs, can keep even with QHC EOS. That is, using these universal relations, one cannot distinguish QHC EOS from hadronic EOSs. Instead, using the relations one can extract the stellar radii whose evolution from low to high mass neutron stars can differentiate QHC from hadronic EOSs. On the other hand, we find that the $p_1$-mode frequencies multiplied by the stellar mass with QHC EOS significantly deviate in a certain mass range from the corresponding empirical relations derived with various hadronic EOSs, with which one may distinguish QHC EOS from hadronic EOSs.

Although ultra diffuse galaxies (UDGs) are found in large numbers in clusters of galaxies, the role of the cluster environment in shaping their low surface brightness and large sizes is still uncertain. Here we examine a sample of UDGs in the Hydra I cluster (D = 51 Mpc) with new radial velocities obtained as part of the LEWIS (Looking into the faintest with MUSE) project using VLT/MUSE data. Using a phase-space, or infall diagnostic, diagram we compare the UDGs to other known galaxies in the Hydra I cluster and to UDGs in other clusters. The UDGs, along with the bulk of regular Hydra I galaxies, have low relative velocities and are located near the cluster core, and thus consistent with very early infall into the cluster. Combining with literature data, we do not find the expected trend of GC-rich UDGs associated with earlier infall times. This result suggests that quenching mechanisms other than cluster infall should be further considered, e.g. quenching by strong feedback or in cosmic sheets and filaments. Tidal stripping of GCs in the cluster environment also warrants further modelling.

The star formation histories (SFHs) of galactic stellar haloes offer crucial insights into the merger history of the galaxy and the effects of those mergers on their hosts. Such measurements have revealed that while the Milky Way's most important merger was 8-10 Gyr ago, M31's largest merger was more recent, within the last few Gyr. Unfortunately, the required halo SFH measurements are extremely observationally expensive outside of the Local Group. Here we use asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars brighter than the tip of the red giant branch (RGB) to constrain stellar halo SFHs. Both stellar population models and archival datasets show that the AGB/RGB ratio constrains the time before which 90% of the stars formed, $t_{90}$. We find AGB stars in the haloes of three highly-inclined roughly Milky Way-mass galaxies with resolved star measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope; this population is most prominent in the stellar haloes of NGC 253 and NGC 891, suggesting that their stellar haloes contain stars born at relatively late times, with inferred $t_{90}\sim 6\pm1.5$Gyr. This ratio also varies from region to region, tending towards higher values along the major axis and in tidal streams or shells. By combining our measurements with previous constraints, we find a tentative anticorrelation between halo age and stellar halo mass, a trend that exists in models of galaxy formation but has never been elucidated before, i.e, the largest stellar haloes of Milky-Way mass galaxies were assembled more recently.

Correlated variability between coronal X-rays and disc optical/UV photons provides a very useful diagnostic of the interplay between the different regions around an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and how they interact. AGN that reveal strong X-ray reflection in their spectra should normally exhibit optical/UV to X-ray correlation consistent with reprocessing -- where the optical/UV emission lag behind the X-rays. While such correlated delay has been seen in some sources, it has been absent in others. \rm{Mrk~1044} is one such source that has been known to reveal strong X-ray reflection in its spectra. In our analysis of three long \textit{XMM-Newton} and several \textit{Swift} observations of the source, we found no strong evidence for correlation between its UV and X-ray lightcurves both on short and long time scales. Among other plausible causes for the non-detection, we posit that higher X-ray variability than UV and strong general relativistic effects close to the black hole may also be responsible. We also present results from the spectral analysis based on \textit{XMM-Newton} and \textit{NuSTAR} observations, which show the strong soft X-ray excess and iron K$\alpha$ line in the 0.3--50 keV spectrum that can be described by relativistic reflection.

Weak gravitational lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) changes CMB statistics in a nontrivial way, allowing for reconstruction of the lensing potential and the use of these reconstructed maps in determining cosmological parameters that affect the formation of intervening large-scale structures. Although in principle there are correlations between the primary CMB and the reconstructed lensing potential due to the lensing procedure itself, in practice CMB analyses treat these as negligible when combining these band powers in likelihoods. In this paper we quantify explicitly the impact on parameter constraints due to these cross-covariances between the lensed CMB and reconstructed lensing power, and we compare to the effect of including all lensing-induced non-Gaussian covariances, which have previously shown to impact parameter constraints on the order of 10%. We perform our analysis for a range of experimental setups, scanning over instrumental noise levels of 0.5 to 10.0 $\mu$K-arcmin in temperature assuming fully polarized detectors, and using a fixed beam size of 1.4 arcmin. When the correlations between the lensed CMB and lensing power are neglected, we find that forecasted constraints shift by at most 3% of the error bar for a 6-parameter $\Lambda$CDM model, and for the noise levels considered in this paper. For some of the $\Lambda$CDM extensions considered here, however, these correlations have a nontrivial impact, in some cases more than 10% of the error bar, even for current experimental noise levels.

We present a detailed analysis of the the structure of the Local Group flocculent spiral galaxy M33, as measured using the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury Triangulum Extended Region (PHATTER) survey. Leveraging the multiwavelength coverage of PHATTER, we find that the oldest populations are dominated by a smooth exponential disk with two distinct spiral arms and a classical central bar $-$ completely distinct from what is seen in broadband optical imaging, and the first-ever confirmation of a bar in M33. We estimate a bar extent of $\sim$1 kpc. The two spiral arms are asymmetric in orientation and strength, and likely represent the innermost impact of the recent tidal interaction responsible for M33's warp at larger scales. The flocculent multi-armed morphology for which M33 is known is only visible in the young upper main sequence population, which closely tracks the morphology of the ISM. We investigate the stability of M33's disk, finding $Q{\sim}1$ over the majority of the disk. We fit multiple components to the old stellar density distribution and find that, when considering recent stellar kinematics, M33's bulk structure favors the inclusion of an accreted halo component, modeled as a broken power-law. The best-fit halo model has an outer power-law index of $-$3 and accurately describes observational evidence of M33's stellar halo from both resolved stellar spectroscopy in the disk and its stellar populations at large radius. Integrating this profile yields a total halo stellar mass of ${\sim}5{\times}10^8\ M_{\odot}$, giving a total stellar halo mass fraction of 16%, most of which resides in the innermost 2.5 kpc.

We complete the kinetic theory of inhomogeneous systems with long-range interactions initiated in previous works. We use a simpler and more physical formalism. We consider a system of particles submitted to a small external stochastic perturbation and determine the response of the system to the perturbation. We derive the diffusion tensor and the friction by polarization of a test particle. We introduce a general Fokker-Planck equation involving a diffusion term and a friction term. When the friction by polarization can be neglected, we obtain a secular dressed diffusion (SDD) equation sourced by the external noise. When the external perturbation is created by a discrete collection of $N$ field particles, we obtain the inhomogeneous Lenard-Balescu kinetic equation reducing to the inhomogeneous Landau kinetic equation when collective effects are neglected. We consider a multi-species system of particles. When the field particles are at statistical equilibrium (thermal bath), we establish the proper expression of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem for systems with long-range interactions relating the power spectrum of the fluctuations to the response function of the system. In that case, the friction and diffusion coefficients satisfy the Einstein relation and the Fokker-Planck equation reduces to the inhomogeneous Kramers equation. We also consider a gas of Brownian particles with long-range interactions described by $N$ coupled stochastic Langevin equations and determine its mean and mesoscopic evolution. We discuss the notion of stochastic kinetic equations and the role of fluctuations possibly triggering random transitions from one equilibrium state to the other. Our presentation parallels the one given for two-dimensional point vortices in a previous paper [P.H. Chavanis, Eur. Phys. J. Plus 138, 136 (2023)].

We show that by allowing our Universe to merge with other universes one is lead to modified Friedmann equations that explain the present accelerated expansion of our Universe without the need of a cosmological constant.

A larger Planck scale during an early epoch leads to a smaller Hubble rate, which is the measure for efficiency of primordial processes. The resulting slower cosmic tempo can accommodate alternative cosmological histories. We consider this possibility in the context of extra dimensional theories, which can provide a natural setting for the scenario. If the fundamental scale of the theory is not too far above the weak scale, to alleviate the ``hierarchy problem," cosmological constraints imply that thermal relic dark matter would be at the GeV scale, which may be disfavored by cosmic microwave background measurements. Such dark matter becomes viable again in our proposal, due to smaller requisite annihilation cross section, further motivating ongoing low energy accelerator-based searches. Quantum gravity signatures associated with the extra dimensional setting can be probed at high energy colliders -- up to $\sim 13$ TeV at the LHC or $\sim 100$ TeV at FCC-hh. Searches for missing energy signals of dark sector states, with masses $\gtrsim 10$ GeV, can be pursued at a future circular lepton collider.

Ultralight dark matter (such as kinetically mixed dark-photon dark matter or axionlike dark matter) can source an oscillating magnetic-field signal at the Earth's surface, which can be measured by a synchronized array of ground-based magnetometers. The global signal of ultralight dark matter can be robustly predicted for low masses, when the wavelength of the dark matter is larger than the radius of the Earth, $\lambda_\mathrm{DM}\gg R$. However, at higher masses, environmental effects, such as the Schumann resonances, can become relevant, making the global magnetic-field signal $\mathbf B$ difficult to reliably model. In this work, we show that $\nabla\times\mathbf B$ is robust to global environmental details, and instead only depends on the local dark matter amplitude. We therefore propose to measure the local curl of the magnetic field at the Earth's surface, as a means for detecting ultralight dark matter with $\lambda_\mathrm{DM}\lesssim R$. As this measurement requires vertical gradients, it can be done near a hill/mountain. Our measurement scheme not only allows for a robust prediction, but also acts as a background rejection scheme for external noise sources. We show that our technique can be the most sensitive terrestrial probe of dark-photon dark matter for frequencies $10\,\mathrm{Hz}\leq f_{A'}\leq1\,\mathrm{kHz}$ (corresponding to masses $4\times10^{-14}\,\mathrm{eV}\leq m_{A'}\leq4\times10^{-12}\,\mathrm{eV}$). It can also achieve sensitivities to axionlike dark matter comparabe to the CAST helioscope, in the same frequency range.

We generalize the existing works on the way (generalized) LTB models can be embedded into polymerized spherically symmetric models in several aspects. We re-examine such an embedding at the classical level and show that a suitable LTB condition can only be treated as a gauge fixing in the non-marginally bound case, while in the marginally bound case it must be considered as an additional first class constraint. A novel aspect of our formalism, based on the effective equations of motion, is to derive compatible dynamics LTB conditions for polymerized models by using holonomy and inverse triad corrections simultaneously, whereas in earlier work these were only considered separately. Further, our formalism allows to derive compatible LTB conditions for a vast of class of polymerized models available in the current literature. Within this broader class of polymerizations there are effective models contained for which the classical LTB condition is a compatible one. Our results show that there exist a class of effective models for which the dynamics decouples completely along the radial direction. It turns out that this subsector is strongly linked to the property that in the temporally gauge fixed model, the algebra of the geometric contribution to the Hamiltonian constraint and the spatial diffeomorphism constraint is closed. We finally apply the formalism to existing models from the literature and compare our results to the existing ones.

Based on modifications inspired from loop quantum gravity (LQG), spherically symmetric models have recently been explored to understand the resolution of classical singularities and the fate of the spacetime beyond. While such phenomenological studies have provided useful insights, questions remain on whether such models exhibit some of the desired properties such as consistent LTB conditions, covariance and compatibility with the improved dynamics of loop quantum cosmology in the cosmological and LTB sectors. We provide a systematic procedure to construct effective spherically symmetric models encoding LQG modifications as a $1+1$ field theory models encoding these properties following the analysis in our companion paper. As concrete examples of our generalized strategy we obtain and compare with different phenomenological models which have been investigated recently and demonstrate resolution of singularity by quantum geometry effects via a bounce. These include models with areal gauge fixing, a polymerized vacuum solution, polymerized junction conditions and an Oppenheimer-Snyder dust collapse model. An important insight from our approach is that the dynamical equations care about the $\det(e)$ part rather than the square root of the determinant of the spatial metric. As a result, shock solutions which have been argued to exist in some models are found to be absent even if one considers coordinate transformations.

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are known as one of the potential candidates for dark matter. They are expected to have formed due to the direct gravitational collapse of density fluctuations in the early Universe. Therefore, the study of the merger rate of PBHs in modified theories of gravity can provide more detailed information about their abundance. In this work, we delve into the calculation of the merger rate of PBHs within the theoretical framework of $f(R)$ gravity. Our analysis reveals an enhancement in the merger rate of PBHs compared to that obtained from general relativity (GR). Additionally, modulating the field strength $f_{R0}$ induces shifts in the PBH merger rate, presenting a potential observational signature of modified gravity. We also find that the total merger rate of PBHs will be consistent with the merger rate of black holes estimated by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)-Virgo-KAGRA detectors if $f_{PBH}\gtrsim 0.1$. While further improvements might be required, relative enhancement of the merger rate of PBHs in the framework of $f(R)$ gravity and its consistency with gravitational wave data underscore the importance of employing modified theories of gravity to examine diverse scenarios related to the formation of black holes.

In this manuscript, I provide an updated interplanetary shock data base I published in previous works. This list has now 603 events. I also present and describe the data and methodologies used to compile this list. The main contribution of this work is to provide an updated end accurate interplanetary shock data base for future space physics and space weather investigations. The list has been uploaded to Zenodo, and a link is provided for accessing the data files. As for Frontiers requirements, the access of the list has kept to be restricted during the review process. The list will be made public if/when the manuscript is published.

Saddle-point configurations, such as the Euclidean bounce and sphalerons, are known to be difficult to find numerically. In this Letter we study a new method, Quartic Gradient Flow, to search for such configurations. The central idea is to introduce a gradient-flow-like equation in such a way that all the fluctuations around the saddle-point have eigenvalues that are square of the eigenvalues of the original quadratic operator. We illustrate how the method works for the Euclidean bounce and sphalerons.

Parity violation in the early universe holds great promise for uncovering new physics. In particular, the primordial scalar four-point correlation function is allowed to develop a parity-violating component when massive spinning particles coupled to a helical chemical potential are present during inflation. In this paper, we explore the rich physics of such a parity-violating trispectrum in the presence of a reduced speed of sound for the Goldstone boson of broken time translations. We show that this signal can be significantly large while remaining under perturbative control, offering promising observational prospects for future cosmological surveys. In the limit of a reduced sound speed, the dynamics admits an effective non-local description organized as a time-derivative expansion. This reveals that parity violation arises due to emergent non-locality in the single-field effective theory. At leading order, this effective theory yields a compact trispectrum template, written in terms of elementary functions. We then conduct a comprehensive analysis of the kinematic dependence of this parity-violating trispectrum and reveal new features. In addition to the low-speed collider resonance, we find a new class of signals lying in the internal soft-limit of the correlator. This signal is characterized by an oscillatory pattern periodic in the momentum ratio, with a frequency determined by the speed of sound and the chemical potential, making it drastically distinct from the conventional cosmological collider signal.

Curvilinear coordinate systems distinct from the rectangular Cartesian coordinate system are particularly valuable in the field calculations as they facilitate the expression of boundary conditions of differential equations in a reasonably simple way when the coordinate surfaces fit the physical boundaries of the problem. The recently finalized orthogonal similar oblate spheroidal (SOS) coordinate system can be particularly useful for a physical processes description inside or in the vicinity of the bodies with the geometry of an oblate spheroid. Such shape is aproximating well objects investigated within astrophysics. The solution of the azimuthally symmetric case of the Laplace equation was found for the interior space in the orthogonal SOS coordinates. In the frame of the derivation of the harmonic functions, the Laplace equation was separated by a special separation procedure. A generalized Legendre equation was introduced as the equation for the angular part of the separated Laplace equation. The harmonic functions were determined as relations involving generalized Legendre functions of the first and of the second kind. Several lower-degree functions are reported. Recursion formula facilitating determination of the higher-degree harmonic functions was found. The general solution of the azimuthally symmetric Laplace equation for the interior space in the SOS coordinates is reported.

We show that, when connected with monopoles, the \textit{flat} $D$-flat direction breaking the local $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry as an extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model can be responsible for the signal of a stochastic gravitational wave background recently reported by NANOGrav collaborations, while naturally satisfying constraints at high frequency band. Thanks to the flatness of the direction, a phase of thermal inflation arises naturally. The reheating temperature is quite low, and suppresses signals at frequencies higher than the characteristic frequency set by the reheating temperature. Notably, forthcoming spaced-based experiments such as LISA can probe the cutoff frequency, providing an indirect clue of the scale of soft SUSY-breaking mass parameter.

The idea of searching for gravitational waves using cavities in strong magnetic fields has recently received significant attention. Specifically, discussions focus on cavities with relatively small volumes, which are currently employed in the search for axions. In this context, we propose a novel experimental scheme that enables the detection of gravitational waves in the GHz regime, which could originate, for example, from primordial black hole mergers. The scheme is based on synchronous measurements of cavity signals from multiple devices operating in magnetic fields at distant locations. While gravitational wave signatures might be detectable in individual cavities, distinguishing them from noise is highly challenging. By analyzing the correlation among signals from several, possibly geographically separated cavities, it is not only possible to significantly enhance the signal-to-noise ratio but also to investigate the source of those gravitational wave signatures. In the context of this proposal, a first demonstration experiment with one superconducting cavity is currently conducted, which is the basis of the proposed data-analysis approaches. On this basis the prospects of GravNet (Global Network of Cavities to Search for Gravitational Waves) are outlined in the paper.

This paper introduces novel solutions for inflation and late-time cosmic acceleration within the framework of quantum Lovelock gravity, utilizing Friedmann equations. Furthermore, we demonstrate the hypergeometric states of cosmic acceleration through the Schr\"{o}dinger stationary equation. A physical interpretation is proposed, whereby the rescaled Lovelock couplings represent a topological mass that characterizes the Lovelock branch. This research holds the potential for an extension into the quantum description. Predictions for the spectral tilt and tensor-to-scalar ratio are depicted through plotted curves. By utilizing the rescaled Hubble parameter, the spectral index is determined in terms of the number of e-folds.