Papers for Monday, Nov 13 2023

The high-energy radiation emitted by young stars can have a strong influence on their rotational evolution at later stages. This is because internal photoevaporation is one of the major drivers of the dispersal of circumstellar disks, which surround all newly born low-mass stars during the first few million years of their evolution. Employing an internal EUV/X-ray photoevaporation model, we have derived a simple recipe for calculating realistic inner disk lifetimes of protoplanetary disks. This prescription was implemented into a magnetic morphology-driven rotational evolution model and is used to investigate the impact of disk-locking on the spin evolution of low-mass stars. We find that the length of the disk-locking phase has a profound impact on the subsequent rotational evolution of a young star, and the implementation of realistic disk lifetimes leads to an improved agreement of model outcomes with observed rotation period distributions for open clusters of various ages. However, for both young star-forming regions tested in our model, the strong bimodality in rotation periods that is observed in hPer could not be recovered. hPer is only successfully recovered, if the model is started from a double-peaked distribution with an initial disk fraction of $65\,\%$. However, at an age of only $\sim 1\,\mathrm{Myr}$, such a low disk fraction can only be achieved if an additional disk dispersal process, such as external photoevaporation, is invoked. These results therefore highlight the importance of including realistic disk dispersal mechanisms in rotational evolution models of young stars.

We study how structural properties of globular clusters and dwarf galaxies are linked to their orbits in the Milky Way halo. From the inner to the outer halo, orbital energy increases and stellar-systems gradually move out of internal equilibrium: in the inner halo, high-surface brightness globular clusters are at pseudo-equilibrium, while further away, low-surface brightness clusters and dwarfs appear more tidally disturbed. Dwarf galaxies are the latest to arrive into the halo as indicated by their large orbital energies and pericenters, and have no time for more than one orbit. Their (gas-rich) progenitors likely lost their gas during their recent arrival in the Galactic halo. If dwarfs are at equilibrium with their dark matter (DM) content, the DM density should anti-correlate with pericenter. However, the transformation of DM dominated dwarfs from gas-rich rotation-supported into gas-poor dispersion-supported systems is unlikely accomplished during a single orbit. We suggest instead that the above anti-correlation is brought by the combination of ram-pressure stripping and of Galactic tidal shocks. Recent gas removal leads to an expansion of their stellar content caused by the associated gravity loss, making them sufficiently fragile to be transformed near pericenter passage. Out of equilibrium dwarfs would explain the observed anti-correlation of kinematics-based DM density with pericenter without invoking DM density itself, questioning its previous estimates. Ram-pressure stripping and tidal shocks may contribute to the dwarf velocity dispersion excess. It predicts the presence of numerous stars in their outskirts and a few young stars in their cores.

We investigate a cosmological model in which a fraction of the dark matter is atomic dark matter (ADM). This ADM consists of dark versions of the electron and of the proton, interacting with each other and with dark photons just as their light sector versions do, but interacting with everything else only gravitationally. We find constraints given current cosmic microwave background (CMB) and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data, with and without an $H_0$ prior, and with and without enforcing a big bang nucleosynthesis consistent helium abundance. We find that, at low dark photon temperature, one can have consistency with BAO and CMB data, with a fraction of dark matter that is ADM ($f_{\rm adm}$) as large as $\sim 0.1$. Such a large $f_{\rm adm}$ leads to a suppression of density fluctuations today on scales below about 60 Mpc that may be of relevance to the $\sigma_8$ tension. Our work motivates calculation of nonlinear corrections to matter power spectrum predictions in the ADM model. We forecast parameter constraints to come from future ground-based CMB surveys, and find that if ADM is indeed the cause of the $\sigma_8$ tension, the influence of the ADM, primarily on CMB lensing, will likely be detectable at high significance.

Jellyfish galaxies are promising laboratories for studying radiative cooling and magnetic fields in multiphase gas flows. Their long, dense tails are observed to be magnetised, and they extend up to 100 kpc into the intracluster medium (ICM), suggesting that their gas is thermally unstable so that the cold gas mass grows with time rather than being fully dissolved in the hot wind as a result of hydrodynamical interface instabilities. In this paper we use the AREPO code to perform magnetohydrodynamical windtunnel simulations of a jellyfish galaxy experiencing ram-pressure stripping by interacting with an ICM wind. The ICM density, temperature and velocity that the galaxy encounters are time-dependent and comparable to what a real jellyfish galaxy experiences while orbiting the ICM. In simulations with a turbulent magnetised wind we reproduce observations, which show that the magnetic field is aligned with the jellyfish tails. During the galaxy infall into the cluster with a near edge-on geometry, the gas flow in the tail is fountain-like, implying preferential stripping of gas where the rotational velocity vectors add up with the ram pressure while fall-back occurs in the opposite case. Hence, the tail velocity shows a memory of the rotation pattern of the disc. At the time of the nearest cluster passage, ram-pressure stripping is so strong that the fountain flow is destroyed and instead the tail is dominated by removal of gas. We show that gas in the tail is very fragmentative, which is a prediction of shattering due to radiative cooling.

We explore the impact of a magnetar giant flare (GF) on the neutron star (NS) crust, and the associated potential baryon mass ejection. We consider that sudden magnetic energy dissipation creates a thin high-pressure shell above a portion of the NS surface, which drives a relativistic shockwave into the crust, heating a fraction of these layers to sufficiently high energies to become unbound along directions unconfined by the magnetic field. We explore this process by means of spherically-symmetric relativistic hydrodynamical simulations. For an initial shell pressure $P_{\rm GF}$ we find that the total unbound ejecta mass roughly obeys the relation $M_{\rm ej}\sim4-9\times 10^{24}$ g $(P_{\rm GF}/10^{30}$ ergs cm$^{-3})^{1.43}$. For $P_{\rm GF}\sim10^{30}-10^{31}$ ergs cm$^{-3}$ corresponding to the dissipation of a magnetic field of strength $\sim10^{15.5}-10^{16}$ G, we find $M_{\rm ej}\sim10^{25}-10^{26}$ g with asymptotic velocities $v_{\rm ej}/c\sim 0.3-0.6$ compatible with the ejecta properties inferred from the radio afterglow of the GF from SGR 1806-20. Because the flare excavates crustal material to a depth characterized by an electron fraction $Y_e \approx 0.40-0.46$, and is ejected with high entropy and rapid expansion timescale, the conditions are met for heavy element $r$-process nucleosynthesis via the alpha-rich freeze-out mechanism. Given an energetic GF rate of roughly once per century in the Milky Way, we find that GFs could contribute an appreciable heavy $r$-process source that tracks star formation. We predict that GFs are accompanied by short minutes long, luminous $\sim 10^{39}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ optical transients powered by $r$-process decay ("nova brevis"), akin to scaled-down kilonovae. Our findings also have implications for FRBs from repeating magnetar flares, particularly the high rotation measures of the synchrotron nebulae surrounding these sources.

Astrometry from the Gaia mission was recently used to discover the two nearest known stellar-mass black holes (BHs), Gaia BH1 and Gaia BH2. Both systems contain $\sim 1\,M_{\odot}$ stars in wide orbits ($a\approx$1.4 AU, 4.96 AU) around $\sim9\,M_{\odot}$ BHs. These objects are among the first stellar-mass BHs not discovered via X-rays or gravitational waves. The companion stars -- a solar-type main sequence star in Gaia BH1 and a low-luminosity red giant in Gaia BH2 -- are well within their Roche lobes. However, the BHs are still expected to accrete stellar winds, leading to potentially detectable X-ray or radio emission. Here, we report observations of both systems with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio observations with the Very Large Array (for Gaia BH1) and MeerKAT (for Gaia BH2). We did not detect either system, leading to X-ray upper limits of $L_X < 10^{29.4}$ and $L_X < 10^{30.1}\,\rm erg\,s^{-1}$ and radio upper limits of $L_r < 10^{25.2}$ and $L_r < 10^{25.9}\,\rm erg\,s^{-1}$. For Gaia BH2, the non-detection implies that the the accretion rate near the horizon is much lower than the Bondi rate, consistent with recent models for hot accretion flows. We discuss implications of these non-detections for broader BH searches, concluding that it is unlikely that isolated BHs will be detected via ISM accretion in the near future. We also calculate evolutionary models for the binaries' future evolution using Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). We find that Gaia BH1 will be X-ray bright for 5--50 Myr when the star is a red giant, including 5 Myr of stable Roche lobe overflow. Since no symbiotic BH X-ray binaries are known, this implies either that fewer than $\sim 10^4$ Gaia BH1-like binaries exist in the Milky Way, or that they are common but have evaded detection, perhaps due to very long outburst recurrence timescales.

Most Milky Way dwarf galaxies are much less bound to their host than are relics of Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus and Sgr. These dwarfs are expected to have fallen into the Galactic halo less than 3 Gyr ago, and will therefore have undergone no more than one full orbit. Here, we have performed hydrodynamical simulations of this process, assuming that their progenitors are gas-rich, rotation-supported dwarfs. We follow their transformation through interactions with the hot corona and gravitational field of the Galaxy. Our dedicated simulations reproduce the structural properties of three dwarf galaxies: Sculptor, Antlia II and, with somewhat a lower accuracy, Crater II. This includes reproducing their large velocity dispersions, which are caused by ram-pressure stripping and Galactic tidal shocks. Differences between dwarfs can be interpreted as due to different orbital paths, as well as to different initial conditions for their progenitor gas and stellar contents. However, we failed to suppress in a single orbit the rotational support of our Sculptor analog if it is fully dark-matter dominated. In addition, we have found that classical dwarf galaxies like Sculptor may have stellar cores sufficiently dense to survive the pericenter passage through adiabatic contraction. On the contrary, our Antlia II and Crater II analogs are tidally stripped, explaining their large sizes, extremely low surface brightnesses, and velocity dispersion. This modeling explains differences between dwarf galaxies by reproducing them as being at different stages of out-of-equilibrium stellar systems.

We present CloudFlex, a new open-source tool for predicting the absorption-line signatures of cool gas in galaxy halos with complex small-scale structure. Motivated by analyses of cool material in hydrodynamical simulations of turbulent, multiphase media, we model individual cool gas structures as assemblies of cloudlets with a power-law distribution of cloudlet mass $\propto m_{\rm cl}^{-\alpha}$ and relative velocities drawn from a turbulent velocity field. The user may specify $\alpha$, the lower limit of the cloudlet mass distribution ($m_{\rm cl,min}$), and several other parameters that set the total mass, size, and velocity distribution of the complex. We then calculate the MgII 2796 absorption profiles induced by the cloudlets along pencil-beam lines of sight. We demonstrate that at fixed metallicity, the covering fraction of sightlines with equivalent widths $W_{2796} < 0.3$ Ang increases significantly with decreasing $m_{\rm cl,min}$, cool cloudlet number density ($n_{\rm cl}$), and cloudlet complex size. We then present a first application, using this framework to predict the projected $W_{2796}$ distribution around ${\sim}L^*$ galaxies. We show that the observed incidences of $W_{2796}>0.3$ Ang sightlines within 10 kpc < $R_{\perp}$ < 50 kpc are consistent with our model over much of parameter space. However, they are underpredicted by models with $m_{\rm cl,min}\ge100M_{\odot}$ and $n_{\rm cl}\ge0.03$ $\rm cm^{-3}$, in keeping with a picture in which the inner cool circumgalactic medium (CGM) is dominated by numerous low-mass cloudlets ($m_{\rm cl}\lesssim100M_{\odot}$) with a volume filling factor ${\lesssim}1\%$. When used to simultaneously model absorption-line datasets built from multi-sightline and/or spatially-extended background probes, CloudFlex will enable detailed constraints on the size and velocity distributions of structures comprising the photoionized CGM.

This paper provides an overview of genetic algorithms as a powerful tool in optimization for single and multi-modal functions. We illustrate this technique using analytical examples and then, we explore how genetic algorithms can be used as a parameter estimation tool in cosmological models to maximize the likelihood function. Finally, we discuss potential future applications of these algorithms in the cosmological field.

Context: CO is an abundant species in comets, creating CO$^+$ ion with emission lines that can be observed in the optical spectral range. A good modeling of its fluorescence spectrum is important for a better measurement of the CO$^+$ abundance. Such a species, if abundant enough, can also be used to measure the $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C isotopic ratio. Aims: This study uses the opportunity of a high CO content observed in the comet C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS), that created bright CO$^{+}$ emission lines in the optical range, to build and test a new fluorescence model of this species and to measure for the first time the $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C isotopic ratio in this chemical species with ground-based observations. Methods: Thanks to laboratory data and theoretical works available in the scientific literature we developed a new fluorescence model both for $^{12}$CO$^+$ and $^{13}$CO$^+$ ions. The $^{13}$CO$^+$ model can be used for coadding faint emission lines and obtain a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to detect this isotopologue. Results: Our fluorescence model provides a good modeling of the $^{12}$CO$^+$ emission lines, allowing to publish revised fluorescence efficiencies. Based on similar transition probabilities for $^{12}$CO$^+$ and $^{13}$CO$^+$ we derive a $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C isotopic ratio of 73$\pm$20 for CO$^+$ in comet C/2016 R2. This value is in agreement with the solar system ratio of 89$\pm$2 within the error bars, making the possibility that this comet was an interstellar object unlikely.

Massive stars can explode in powerful supernovae (SNe) forming neutron stars but they may also collapse directly into black holes (BHs). Understanding and predicting their final fate is increasingly important, e.g, in the context of gravitational-wave astronomy. The interior mixing of stars in general and convective boundary mixing remain some of the largest uncertainties in their evolution. Here, we investigate the influence of convective boundary mixing on the pre-SN structure and explosion properties of massive stars. Using the 1D stellar evolution code Mesa, we model single, non-rotating stars of solar metallicity with initial masses of $5-70\mathrm{M_\odot}$ and convective core step-overshooting of $0.05-0.50H_\mathrm{P}$. Stars are evolved until the onset of iron core collapse, and the pre-SN models are exploded using a parametric, semi-analytic SN code. We use the compactness parameter to describe the interior structure of stars at core collapse. Larger convective core overshooting shifts the location of the compactness peak by $1-2\mathrm{M_\odot}$ to higher $M_\mathrm{CO}$. As the luminosity of the pre-SN progenitor is determined by $M_\mathrm{CO}$, we predict BH formation for progenitors with luminosities $5.35<\log(L/\mathrm{L_\odot})<5.50$ and $\log(L/\mathrm{L_\odot})>5.80$. The luminosity range of BH formation agrees well with the observed luminosity of the red supergiant star N6946BH1 that disappeared without a bright SN and likely collapsed into a BH. While some of our models in the luminosity range $\log(L/\mathrm{L_\odot})=5.1-5.5$ indeed collapse to form BHs, this does not fully explain the lack of observed SN~IIP progenitors at these luminosities, ie the missing red-supergiant problem. Convective core overshooting affects the BH masses, the pre-SN location of stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the plateau luminosity and duration of SN~IIP lightcurves.[Abridged]

Radiative cooling and AGN heating are thought to form a feedback loop that regulates the evolution of low redshift cool-core galaxy clusters. Numerical simulations suggest that formation of multiphase gas in the cluster core imposes a floor on the ratio of cooling time ($t_{\rm cool}$) to free-fall time ($t_{\rm ff}$) at $\min ( t_{\rm cool} / t_{\rm ff} ) \approx 10$. Observations of galaxy clusters show evidence for such a floor, and usually the cluster cores with $\min ( t_{\rm cool} / t_{\rm ff} ) \lesssim 30$ contain abundant multiphase gas. However, there are important outliers. One of them is Abell 2029, a massive galaxy cluster ($M_{200} \gtrsim 10^{15}$ M$_\odot$) with $\min( t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm ff}) \sim 20$, but little apparent multiphase gas. In this paper, we present high resolution 3D hydrodynamic AMR simulations of a cluster similar to A2029 and study how it evolves over a period of 1-2 Gyr. Those simulations suggest that Abell 2029 self-regulates without producing multiphase gas because the mass of its central black hole ($\sim 5\times 10^{10} \, M_\odot$) is great enough for Bondi accretion of hot ambient gas to produce enough feedback energy to compensate for radiative cooling.

The sensitivity of aLIGO detectors is adversely affected by the presence of noise caused by light scattering. Low frequency seismic disturbances can create higher frequency scattering noise adversely impacting the frequency band in which we detect gravitational waves. In this paper, we analyze instances of a type of scattered light noise we call "Fast Scatter" that is produced by motion at frequencies greater than 1 Hz, to locate surfaces in the detector that may be responsible for the noise. We model the phase noise to better understand the relationship between increases in seismic noise near the site and the resulting Fast Scatter observed. We find that mechanical damping of the Arm Cavity Baffles (ACBs) led to a significant reduction of this noise in recent data. For a similar degree of seismic motion in the 1-3 Hz range, the rate of noise transients is reduced by a factor of ~ 50.

Collisionless shock waves have long been considered amongst the most prolific particle accelerators in the universe. Shocks alter the plasma they propagate through and often exhibit complex evolution across multiple scales. Interplanetary (IP) traveling shocks have been recorded in-situ for over half a century and act as a natural laboratory for experimentally verifying various aspects of large-scale collisionless shocks. A fundamentally interesting problem in both helio and astrophysics is the acceleration of electrons to relativistic energies (more than 300 keV) by traveling shocks. This letter presents first observations of field-aligned beams of relativistic electrons upstream of an IP shock observed thanks to the instrumental capabilities of Solar Orbiter. This study aims to present the characteristics of the electron beams close to the source and contribute towards understanding their acceleration mechanism. On 25 July 2022, Solar Orbiter encountered an IP shock at 0.98 AU. The shock was associated with an energetic storm particle event which also featured upstream field-aligned relativistic electron beams observed 14 minutes prior to the actual shock crossing. The distance of the beam's origin was investigated using a velocity dispersion analysis (VDA). Peak-intensity energy spectra were anaylzed and compared with those obtained from a semi-analytical fast-Fermi acceleration model. By leveraging Solar Orbiter's high-time resolution Energetic Particle Detector (EPD), we have successfully showcased an IP shock's ability to accelerate relativistic electron beams. Our proposed acceleration mechanism offers an explanation for the observed electron beam and its characteristics, while we also explore the potential contributions of more complex mechanisms.

Transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers are broadly used for background-limited astrophysical measurements from the far-infrared to mm-waves. Many planned future instruments require increasingly large detector arrays, but their scalability is limited by their cryogenic readout electronics. Microwave SQUID multiplexing offers a highly capable scaling solution through the use of inherently broadband circuitry, enabling readout of hundreds to thousands of channels per microwave line. As with any multiplexing technique, the channelization mechanism gives rise to electrical crosstalk which must be understood and controlled so as to not degrade the instrument sensitivity. Here, we explore implications relevant for TES bolometer array applications, focusing in particular on upcoming mm-wave observatories such as the Simons Observatory and AliCPT. We model the relative contributions of the various underlying crosstalk mechanisms, evaluate the difference between fixed-tone and tone-tracking readout systems, and discuss ways in which crosstalk nonlinearity will complicate on-sky measurements.

Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence drives the central engine of post-merger remnants, potentially powering both a nucleosynthetically active disk wind and the relativistic jet behind a short gamma ray burst. We explore the impact of the magnetic field on this engine by simulating three post-merger black hole accretion disks using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics with Monte Carlo neutrino transport, in each case varying the initial magnetic field strength. We find increasing ejecta masses associated with increasing magnetic field strength. We find that a fairly robust main r -process pattern is produced in all three cases, scaled by the ejected mass. Changing the initial magnetic field strength has a considerable effect on the geometry of the outflow and hints at complex central engine dynamics influencing lanthanide outflows. We find that actinide production is especially sensitive to magnetic field strength, with overall actinide mass fraction calculated at 1 Gyr post-merger increasing by more than a factor of six with a tenfold increase in magnetic field strength. This hints at a possible connection to the variability in actinide enhancements exhibited by metal poor, r -process-enhanced stars.

Studies of star formation in various galaxy cluster mergers have reached apparently contradictory conclusions regarding whether mergers stimulate star formation, quench it, or have no effect. Because the mergers studied span a range of time since pericenter (TSP), it is possible that the apparent effect on star formation is a function of TSP. We use a sample of 12 bimodal mergers to assess the star formation as a function of TSP. We measure the equivalent width of the H-alpha emission line in ${\sim}100$ member galaxies in each merger, classify galaxies as emitters or non-emitters, and then classify emitters as star-forming galaxies (SFG) or active galactic nucleus (AGN) based on the [NII] $\lambda6583$ line. We quantify the distribution of SFG and AGN relative to non-emitters along the spatial axis defined by the subcluster separation. The SFG and AGN fractions vary from merger to merger, but show no trend with TSP. The spatial distribution of SFG is consistent with that of non-emitters in eight mergers, but show significant avoidance of the system center in the remaining four mergers, including the three with the lowest TSP. If there is a connection between star formation activity and TSP, probing it further will require more precise TSP estimates and more mergers with TSP in the range of 0-400 Myr.

We present a framework for modeling astrophysical pulses from radio pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs). This framework, called fitburst, generates synthetic representations of dynamic spectra that are functions of several physical and heuristic parameters; the heuristic parameters can nonetheless accommodate a vast range of distributions in spectral energy. fitburst is designed to optimize the modeling of features induced by effects that are intrinsic and extrinsic to the emission mechanism, including the magnitude and frequency dependence of pulse dispersion and scatter-broadening. fitburst removes intra-channel smearing through two-dimensional upsampling, and can account for phase wrapping of "folded" signals that are typically acquired during pulsar-timing observations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of fitburst in modeling data containing pulsars and FRBs observed with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) telescope.

Theoretical models struggle to reproduce dynamically cold disks with significant rotation-to-dispersion support($V_{\rm{rot}}/\sigma$) observed in star-forming galaxies in the early Universe, at redshift $z>4$. We aim to explore the possible emergence of dynamically cold disks in cosmological simulations and to understand if different kinematic tracers can help reconcile the tension between theory and observations. We use 3218 galaxies from the SERRA suite of zoom-in simulations, with $8<\log(M_*/M_{\odot})<10.3$ and SFR$<128\,M_{\odot}{yr}^{-1}$, within $4<z<9$ range. We generate hyper-spectral data cubes for 6436 synthetic observations of H$\alpha$ and [CII]. We find that the choice of kinematic tracer strongly influences gas velocity dispersion estimates. When using H$\alpha$ ([CII]) synthetic observations, we observe a strong (mild) correlation between $\sigma$ and $M_*$. Such a difference arises mostly for $M_*>10^9\,M_{\odot}$ galaxies, for which $\sigma_{H\alpha}>2\sigma_{CII}$ for a significant fraction of the sample. Regardless of the tracer, our predictions suggest the existence of massive ($M_*>10^{10}M_{\odot}$) galaxies with $V_{rot}/\sigma>10$ at $z>4$, maintaining cold disks for >10 orbital periods (200Myr). Furthermore, we do not find any significant redshift dependence for $V_{rot}/\sigma$ ratio in our sample. Our simulations predict the existence of dynamically cold disks in the early Universe. However, different tracers are sensitive to different kinematic properties. While [CII] effectively traces the thin, gaseous disk of galaxies, H$\alpha$ includes the contribution from ionized gas beyond the disk, characterized by prevalent vertical or radial motions that may be associated with outflows. The presence of H$\alpha$ halos could be a signature of such galactic outflows. This emphasizes the importance of combining ALMA and JWST/NIRspec studies of high-z galaxies.

The small-scale linear information in galaxy samples typically lost during non-linear growth can be restored to a certain level by the density field reconstruction, which has been demonstrated for improving the precision of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) measurements. As proposed in the literature, a joint analysis of the power spectrum before and after the reconstruction enables an efficient extraction of information carried by high-order statistics. However, the statistics of the post-reconstruction density field are difficult to model. In this work, we circumvent this issue by developing an accurate emulator for the pre-reconstructed, post-reconstructed, and cross power spectra ($P_{\rm pre}$, $P_{\rm post}$, $P_{\rm cross}$) up to $k=0.5~h~{\rm Mpc^{-1}}$ based on the \textsc{Dark Quest} N-body simulations. The accuracy of the emulator is at percent level, namely, the error of the emulated monopole and quadrupole of the power spectra is less than $1\%$ and $5\%$ of the ground truth, respectively. A fit to an example power spectra using the emulator shows that the constraints on cosmological parameters get largely improved using $P_{\rm pre}$+$P_{\rm post}$+$P_{\rm cross}$ with $k_{\rm max}=0.25~h~{\rm Mpc^{-1}}$, compared to that derived from $P_{\rm pre}$ alone, namely, the constraints on ($\Omega_m$, $H_0$, $\sigma_8$) are tightened by $\sim41 \%-55\%$, and the uncertainties of the derived BAO and RSD parameters ($\alpha_{\perp}$, $\alpha_{||}$, $f\sigma_8$) shrink by $\sim 28\%-54\%$, respectively. This highlights the complementarity among $P_{\rm pre}$, $P_{\rm post}$ and $P_{\rm cross}$, which demonstrates the efficiency and practicability of a joint $P_{\rm pre}$, $P_{\rm post}$ and $P_{\rm cross}$ analysis for cosmological implications.

Using publicly available gamma-ray observations of Saggitarius A* (Sgr A*), we constructed its ~6 months (from 2022 June 22 to 2022 December 19) light curve and subsequently we built its associated periodogram to search for a clear periodical signal. The lightcurve was constructed using the Fermitools package from observations of the Fermi satellite. The associated periodogram was built using the R-package RobPer algorithm, through a two-step model-fitting procedure employing the unweighted tau-regression method. To reduce the likelihood of false positive detections, we incorporated a Window Function method into our analysis. We identify a clear significant peak on the periodogram at 76.32 minutes. The found periodicity is consistent with two other works in the literature at different wavelengths, supporting the idea of a unique oscillatory physical mechanism.

Intensity mapping of 21cm emission from neutral hydrogen (HI) promises to be a powerful probe of large-scale structure in the post-reionisation epoch. However, HI intensity mapping (IM) experiments will suffer the loss of long-wavelength line-of-sight HI modes in the galactic foreground subtraction process. The loss of these modes is particularly problematic for detecting HI IM cross-correlations with projected large-scale structure tracers, such as CMB secondary anisotropies. Here, we propose a cross-bispectrum estimator to recover the cross-correlation of the HI IM field, $\delta T_{21},$ with the CMB lensing field, $\kappa,$ constructed by correlating the position-dependent HI power spectrum with the mean overdensity traced by CMB lensing. We study the cross-bispectrum estimator, $B^{\bar \kappa \delta T_{21} \delta T_{21}},$ in the squeezed limit and forecast its detectability based on HI IM measurements from HIRAX and CMB lensing measurements from AdvACT. The cross-bispectrum improves constraints on cosmological parameters; in particular, the constraint on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, $w_0,$ improves on the HI IM auto-power spectra constraint by 44\% (to 0.014), while the constraint on $w_a$ improves by 33\% (to 0.08), assuming Planck priors in each case. These results are robust to HI IM foreground removal because they largely derive from small-scale HI modes. The HI-HI-$\kappa$ cross-bispectrum thus provides a novel way to recover HI correlations with CMB lensing and constrain cosmological parameters at a level that is competitive with next-generation galaxy redshift surveys. As a striking example of this, we find that the combined constraint on the sum of the neutrino masses, while varying all redshift and standard cosmological parameters within a $w_0w_a\Omega_K$CDM model, is 5.5 meV.

Detailed measurements of the spectral structure of cosmic-ray electrons and positrons from 10.6 GeV to 7.5 TeV are presented from over 7 years of observations with the CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) on the International Space Station. Because of the excellent energy resolution (a few percent above 10 GeV) and the outstanding e/p separation (10$^5$), CALET provides optimal performance for a detailed search of structures in the energy spectrum. The analysis uses data up to the end of 2022, and the statistics of observed electron candidates has increased more than 3 times since the last publication in 2018. By adopting an updated boosted decision tree analysis, a sufficient proton rejection power up to 7.5 TeV is achieved, with a residual proton contamination less than 10%. The observed energy spectrum becomes gradually harder in the lower energy region from around 30 GeV, consistently with AMS-02, but from 300 to 600 GeV it is considerably softer than the spectra measured by DAMPE and Fermi-LAT. At high energies, the spectrum presents a sharp break around 1 TeV, with a spectral index change from -3.15 to -3.91, and a broken power law fitting the data in the energy range from 30 GeV to 4.8 TeV better than a single power law with 6.9 sigma significance, which is compatible with the DAMPE results. The break is consistent with the expected effects of radiation loss during the propagation from distant sources (except the highest energy bin). We have fitted the spectrum with a model consistent with the positron flux measured by AMS-02 below 1 TeV and interpreted the electron + positron spectrum with possible contributions from pulsars and nearby sources. Above 4.8 TeV, a possible contribution from known nearby supernova remnants, including Vela, is addressed by an event-by-event analysis providing a higher proton-rejection power than a purely statistical analysis.

In this proceeding we consider primordial black holes (PBHs) as a dark matter candidate. We discuss the existing limits on the fraction $f_{pbh}$ of the dark matter constituting of PBHs as a function of PBHs mass. The discussed limits cover almost all possible mass range with the currently only open window in $3\cdot 10^{16}-10^{18}$ g in which the PBHs can make up to 100% of the dark matter content of the universe. We present the estimates of the capabilities of the near-future instruments (Einstein Probe/WXT, SVOM/MXT) and discuss the potential of next-generation missions(Athena, THESEUS, eXTP) to probe this mass range. We discuss the targets most suitable for the PBH dark matter searches with these missions and the potential limiting factor of the systematics on the derived results.

We reveal properties of global modes of linear buoyancy instability in stars, characterised by the celebrated Schwarzschild criterion, using non-Hermitian topology. We identify a ring of Exceptional Points of order 4 that originates from the pseudo-Hermitian and pseudo-chiral symmetries of the system. The ring results from the merging of a dipole of degeneracy points in the Hermitian stablystratified counterpart of the problem. Its existence is related to spherically symmetric unstable modes. We obtain the conditions for which convection grows over such radial modes. Those are met at early stages of low-mass stars formation. We finally show that a topological wave is robust to the presence of convective regions by reporting the presence of a mode transiting between the wavebands in the non-Hermitian problem, strengthening their relevance for asteroseismology.

This is the fourth paper of our new release of the BaSTI (a Bag of Stellar Tracks and Isochrones) stellar model and isochrone library. Following the updated solar-scaled, alpha-enhanced, and white dwarf model libraries, we present here alpha-depleted ([alpha/Fe] = -0.2) evolutionary tracks and isochrones, suitable to study the alpha-depleted stars discovered in Local Group dwarf galaxies and in the Milky Way. These calculations include all improvements and updates of the solar-scaled and alpha-enhanced models, and span a mass range between 0.1 and 15 Msun, 21 metallicities between [Fe/H] = -3.20 and +0.45 with a helium-to-metal enrichment ratio dY/dZ = 1.31, homogeneous with the solar-scaled and alpha-enhanced models. The isochrones -- available in several photometric filters -- cover an age range between 20 Myr and 14.5 Gyr, including the pre-main-sequence phase. We have compared our isochrones with independent calculations of alpha-depleted stellar models, available for the same alpha-element depletion adopted in present investigation. We have also discussed the effect of an alpha-depleted heavy element distribution on the bolometric corrections in different wavelength regimes. Our alpha-depleted evolutionary tracks and isochrones are publicly available at the BaSTI website.

Results of surface photometry of 50 galaxies in the Local Volume based on archived images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope are presented. Integrated magnitudes in the V and I bands are introduced for the sample galaxies, along with brightness and color profiles. The obtained photometric parameters are compared with the measurements of other authors.

We compare the properties of the stellar populations of the globular clusters and field stars in two dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs): ESO269-66, a near neighbor of the giant S0 galaxy NGC 5128, and KKs3, one of the few extremely isolated dSphs within 10 Mpc. The histories of star formation in these galaxies are known from previous work on deep stellar photometry using images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The age and metal content for the nuclear globular clusters in KKs3 and ESO269-66 are known from literature spectroscopic studies: T=12.6 billion years, [Fe/H]=-1.5 and -1.55 dex. We use the Sersic function to construct and analyze the profiles of the surface density of the stars with high and low metallicities (red and blue) in KKs3 and ESO269-66, and show that (1) the profiles of the density of red stars are steeper than those of blue stars, which is indicative of gradients of metallicity and age in the galaxies, and (2) the globular clusters in KKs3 and ESO269-66 contain roughly 4 and 40%, respectively, of all the old stars in the galaxies with metallicities [Fe/H]~-1.5 to -1.6 dex and ages of 12-14 billion years. The globular clusters are, therefore, relicts of the first, most powerful bursts of star formation in the central regions of these objects. It is probable that, because of its isolation, KKs3 has lost a smaller fraction of old low-metallicity stars than ESO269-66.

Surface photometry data on 90 dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrrs) in a wide vicinity of the Virgo cluster and 30 isolated dIrrs are presented. Images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) are used. The following mean photometric characteristics (color and central surface brightness) are obtained for objects in the two samples:(V-I)o=0.75 mag (sigma=0.19 mag), (B-V)o=0.51 mag (sigma=0.13 mag), SBv=22.16 mag/sq.arcsec (sigma=1.02 mag/sq.arcsec) for the dIrrs in the vicinity of the Virgo cluster and (V-I)o=0.66 mag (sigma=0.43 mag), (B-V)o=0.57 mag (sigma=0.16 mag), SBv=22.82 mag/sq.arcsec (sigma=0.73 mag/sq.arcsec) for the isolated galaxies. The mean central surface brightnesses for the isolated galaxies in this sample is lower than for the dIrrs in a denser environment. The average color characteristics of the dIrrs in the different environments are the same to within ~0.2 mag.

We report on the discovery of a significant and compact over-density of old and metal-poor stars in the KiDS survey (data release 4). The discovery is confirmed by deeper HSC-SSC data revealing the old Main Sequence Turn-Off of a stellar system located at a distance from the sun of $D_{\sun}=145^{+14}_{-13}$~kpc in the direction of the Sextans constellation. The system has absolute integrated magnitude ($M_V=-3.9^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$), half-light radius ($r_h=193^{+61}_{-46}$~pc), and ellipticity ($e=0.46^{+0.11}_{-0.15}$) typical of Ultra Faint Dwarf galaxies (UFDs). The central surface brightness is near the lower limits of known local dwarf galaxies of similar integrated luminosity, as expected for stellar systems that escaped detection until now. The distance of the newly found system suggests that it is likely a satellite of our own Milky Way, consequently, we tentatively baptise it Sextans~II (KiDS-UFD-1).

Chemical disequilibrium quantified via available free energy has previously been proposed as a potential biosignature. However, exoplanet biosignature remote sensing work has not yet investigated how observational uncertainties impact the ability to infer a life-generated available free energy. We pair an atmospheric retrieval tool to a thermodynamics model to assess the detectability of chemical disequilibrium signatures of Earth-like exoplanets, emphasizing the Proterozoic Eon where atmospheric abundances of oxygen-methane disequilibrium pairs may have been relatively high. Retrieval model studies applied across a range of gas abundances revealed that order-of-magnitude constraints on disequilibrium energy are achieved with simulated reflected-light observations at the high abundance scenario and signal-to-noise ratios (50) while weak constraints are found at moderate SNRs (20\,--\,30) for med\,--\,low abundance cases. Furthermore, the disequilibrium energy constraints are improved by modest thermal information encoded in water vapor opacities at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. These results highlight how remotely detecting chemical disequilibrium biosignatures can be a useful and metabolism-agnostic approach to biosignature detection.

M60, an elliptical galaxy located 16.5~Mpc away, has an active nucleus with a very low luminosity and an extremely low accretion rate. Its central supermassive black hole has a mass of $M_{\rm BH}\sim4.5\times10^{9}\, M_{\odot}$ and a Schwarzschild radii corresponding to $R_{\rm S}\sim5.4\,\mu\mathrm{as}$. To investigate the nature of its innermost radio nucleus, data from the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 4.4 and 7.6~GHz were reduced. The VLBA images reveal a compact component with total flux densities of $\sim$20~mJy at both frequencies, a size of $\leq$0.27~mas (99.7$\%$ confidence level), about 0.022~pc ($50\,R_{\rm S}$) at 7.6~GHz, and a brightness temperature of $\geq6\times10^{9}$~K. This suggests that the observed centi-parsec-scale compact core could be attributed to a nonthermal jet base or an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) with nonthermal electrons. The extremely compact structure also supports the presence of an SMBH in the center. Our results indicate that M60 is a promising target for broad-band VLBI observations at millimeter wavelengths to probe ADAF scenarios and tightly constrain the potential photon ring (about 28\,$\mu$as) around its SMBH.

Given the high incidence of binaries among mature field massive stars, it is clear that multiplicity is an inevitable outcome of high-mass star formation. Understanding how massive multiples form requires the study of the birth environments of massive stars, covering the innermost to outermost regions. We aim to detect and characterise low-mass companions around massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) during and shortly after their formation phase. To investigate large spatial scales, we carried out an $L'$-band high-contrast direct imaging survey seeking low-mass companions (down to $L_{\text{bol}}\approx 10 L_{\odot}$, or late A-type) around thirteen previously identified MYSOs using the VLT/NACO instrument. From those images, we looked for the presence of companions on a wide orbit, covering scales from 300 to 56,000 au. Detection limits were determined for all targets and we tested the gravitational binding to the central object based on chance projection probabilities. We have discovered a total of thirty-nine potential companions around eight MYSOs, the large majority of which have never been reported to date. We derived a multiplicity frequency (MF) of $62\pm13$% and a companion fraction (CF) of $3.0\pm0.5$. The derived MF and CF are compared to other studies for similar separation ranges. The comparisons are effective for a fixed evolutionary stage spanning a wide range of masses and vice versa. We find an increased MF and CF compared to the previous studies targeting MYSOs, showing that the statement in which multiplicity scales with primary mass also extends to younger evolutionary stages. The separations at which the companions are found and their location with relation to the primary star allow us to discuss the implications for the massive star formation theories.

ASTRI-Horn is the prototype of the nine telescopes that form the ASTRI Mini-Array, under construction at the Teide Observatory in Spain, devoted to observe the sky above 10 TeV. It adopts an innovative optical design based on a dual-mirror Schwarzschild-Couder configuration, and the camera, composed by a matrix of monolithic multipixel silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) is managed by ad-hoc tailored front-end electronics based on a peak-detector operation mode. During the Crab Nebula campaign in 2018-2019, ASTRI-Horn was affected by gain variations induced by high levels of night sky background. This paper reports the work performed to detect and quantify the effects of these gain variations in shower images. The analysis requested the use of simultaneous observations of the night sky background flux in the wavelength band 300-650 nm performed with the auxiliary instrument UVscope, a calibrated multi-anode photomultiplier working in single counting mode. As results, a maximum gain reduction of 15% was obtained, in agreement with the value previously computed from the variance of the background level in each image. This ASTRI-Horn gain reduction was caused by current limitation of the voltage supply. The analysis presented in this paper provides a method to evaluate possible variations in the nominal response of SiPMs when scientific observations are performed in the presence of high night sky background as in dark or gray conditions.

Numerical models allow the investigation of phenomena that cannot exist in a laboratory. Computational simulations are therefore essential for advancing our knowledge of astrophysics, however, the very nature of simulation requires making assumptions that can substantially affect their outcome. Here, we present the challenges faced when simulating dim thermonuclear explosions, Type Iax supernovae. This class of dim events produce a slow moving, sparse ejecta that presents challenges for simulation. We investigate the limitations of the equation of state and its applicability to the expanding, cooling ejecta. We also discuss how the "fluff", i.e. the low-density gas on the grid in lieu of vacuum, inhibits the ejecta as it expands. We explore how the final state of the simulation changes as we vary the character of the burning, which influences the outcome of the explosion. These challenges are applicable to a wide range of astrophysical simulations, and are important to discuss and overcome as a community.

Near infrared (NIR) wavelength observations of Uranus have been unable to locate any infrared aurorae, despite many attempts to do so since the 1990s. While at Jupiter and Saturn, NIR investigations have redefined our understanding of magnetosphere ionosphere thermosphere coupling, the lack of NIR auroral detection at Uranus means that we have lacked a window through which to study these processes at Uranus. Here we present NIR Uranian observations with the Keck II telescope taken on the 5 September 2006 and detect enhanced $\text{H}_{\text{3}}^{\text{+}}$ emissions. Analysing temperatures and column densities, we identify an 88\% increase in localized $\text{H}_{\text{3}}^{\text{+}}$ column density, with no significant temperature increases, consistent with auroral activity generating increased ionization. By comparing these structures against the $\text{Q}_{\text{3}}^{\text{mp}}$ magnetic field model and the Voyager 2 ultraviolet observations, we suggest that these regions make up sections of the northern aurora.

The study of supernova siblings, supernovae with the same host galaxy, is an important avenue for understanding and measuring the properties of Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) light curves (LCs). Thus far, sibling analyses have mainly focused on optical LC data. Considering that LCs in the near-infrared (NIR) are expected to be better standard candles than those in the optical, we carry out the first analysis compiling SN siblings with only NIR data. We perform an extensive literature search of all SN siblings and find six sets of siblings with published NIR photometry. We calibrate each set of siblings ensuring they are on homogeneous photometric systems, fit the LCs with the SALT3-NIR and SNooPy models, and find median absolute differences in $\mu$ values between siblings of 0.248 mag and 0.186 mag, respectively. To evaluate the significance of these differences beyond measurement noise, we run simulations that mimic these LCs and provide an estimate for uncertainty on these median absolute differences of $\sim$0.052 mag, and we find that our analysis supports the existence of intrinsic scatter in the NIR at the 99% level. When comparing the same sets of SN siblings, we observe a median absolute difference in $\mu$ values between siblings of 0.177 mag when using optical data alone as compared to 0.186 mag when using NIR data alone. We attribute this to either limited statistics, poor quality NIR data, or poor reduction of the NIR data; all of which will be improved with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Jets from supermassive black holes in the centers of active galaxies are the most powerful persistent sources of electromagnetic radiation in the Universe. To infer the physical conditions in the otherwise out-of-reach regions of extragalactic jets we usually rely on fitting of their spectral energy distribution (SED). The calculation of radiative models for the jet non-thermal emission usually relies on numerical solvers of coupled partial differential equations. In this work machine learning is used to tackle the problem of high computational complexity in order to significantly reduce the SED model evaluation time, which is needed for SED fitting with Bayesian inference methods. We compute SEDs based on the synchrotron self-Compton model for blazar emission using the radiation code ATHE${\nu}$A, and use them to train Neural Networks exploring whether these can replace the original computational expensive code. We find that a Neural Network with Gated Recurrent Unit neurons can effectively replace the ATHE${\nu}$A leptonic code for this application, while it can be efficiently coupled with MCMC and nested sampling algorithms for fitting purposes. We demonstrate this through an application to simulated data sets and with an application to observational data. We offer this tool in the community through a public repository. We present a proof-of-concept application of neural networks to blazar science. This is the first step in a list of future applications involving hadronic processes and even larger parameter spaces.

We identify a new dust instability that occurs in warped discs. The instability is caused by the oscillatory gas motions induced by the warp in the bending wave regime. We first demonstrate the instability using a local 1D (vertical) toy model based on the warped shearing box coordinates and investigate the effects of the warp magnitude and dust Stokes number on the growth of the instability. We then run 3D SPH simulations and show that the instability is manifested globally by producing unique dust structures that do not correspond to gas pressure maxima. The 1D and SPH analysis suggest that the instability grows on dynamical timescales and hence is potentially significant for planet formation.

An accurate description of the center-to-limb variation (CLV) of stellar spectra is becoming an increasingly critical factor in both stellar and exoplanet characterization. In particular, the CLV of spectral lines is extremely challenging as its characterization requires highly detailed knowledge of the stellar physical conditions. To this end, we present the Numerical Empirical Sun-as-a-Star Integrator (NESSI) as a tool for translating high-resolution solar observations of a partial field of view into disk-integrated spectra that can be used to test common assumptions in stellar physics.

We present an analysis of the UV continuum slopes for a sample of $176$ galaxy candidates at $8 < z_{\mathrm{phot}} < 16$. Focusing primarily on a new sample of $125$ galaxies at $\langle z \rangle \simeq 11$ selected from $\simeq 320$ arcmin$^2$ of public JWST imaging data across $15$ independent datasets, we investigate the evolution of $\beta$ in the galaxy population at $z > 8$. In the redshift range $8 < z < 10$, we find evidence for a relationship between $\beta$ and $M_{\rm UV}$, such that galaxies with brighter UV luminosities display redder UV slopes, with $\rm{d}\beta/ \rm{d} M_{\rm UV} = -0.17 \pm 0.03$. A comparison with literature studies down to $z\simeq2$ suggests that a $\beta-M_{\rm UV}$ relation has been in place from at least $z\simeq10$, with a slope that does not evolve strongly with redshift, but with an evolving normalisation such that galaxies at higher redshifts become bluer at fixed $M_{\rm UV}$. We find a significant trend between $\beta$ and redshift, with the inverse-variance weighted mean value evolving from $\langle \beta \rangle = -2.17 \pm 0.05$ at $z = 9.5$ to $\langle \beta \rangle = -2.56 \pm 0.05$ at $z = 11.5$. Based on a comparison with stellar population models, we find that at $z>10.5$ the average UV continuum slope is consistent with the intrinsic blue limit of `dust-free' stellar populations $(\beta_{\mathrm{int}} \simeq -2.6)$. These results suggest that the moderately dust-reddened galaxy population at $z < 10$ was essentially dust free at $z \simeq 11$. The extremely blue galaxies being uncovered at $z>10$ place important constraints on the dust content of early galaxies, and imply that the already observed galaxy population is likely supplying an ionizing photon budget capable of maintaining ionized IGM fractions of $\gtrsim 5$ per cent at $z\simeq11$.

Core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) offer extremely valuable insights into the dynamics of galaxies. Neutrino time profiles from CCSNe, in particular, could reveal unique details about collapsing stars and particle behavior in dense environments. However, CCSNe in our galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud are rare and only one supernova neutrino observation has been made so far. To maximize the information obtained from the next Galactic CCSN, it is essential to combine analyses from multiple neutrino experiments in real time and transmit any relevant information to electromagnetic facilities within minutes. Locating the CCSN, in particular, is challenging, requiring disentangling CCSN localization information from observational features associated with the properties of the supernova progenitor and the physics of the neutrinos. Yet, being able to estimate the progenitor distance from the neutrino signal would be of great help for the optimisation of the electromagnetic follow-up campaign that will start soon after the propagation of the neutrino alert. Existing CCSN distance measurement algorithms based on neutrino observations hence rely on the assumption that neutrino properties can be described by the Standard Model. This paper presents a swift and robust approach to extract CCSN and neutrino physics information, leveraging diverse next-generation neutrino detectors to counteract potential measurement biases from Beyond the Standard Model effects.

We propose the first practical method to detect atmospheric tau neutrino appearance at sub-GeV energies, which would be an important test of $\nu_\mu \rightarrow \nu_\tau$ oscillations and of new-physics scenarios. In the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO; starts in 2024), active-flavor neutrinos eject neutrons from carbon via neutral-current quasielastic scattering. This produces a two-part signal: the prompt part is caused by the scattering of the neutron in the scintillator, and the delayed part by its radiative capture. Such events have been observed in KamLAND, but only in small numbers and were treated as a background. With $\nu_\mu \rightarrow \nu_\tau$ oscillations, JUNO should measure a clean sample of 55 events/yr; with simple $\nu_\mu$ disappearance, this would instead be 41 events/yr, where the latter is determined from Super-Kamiokande charged-current measurements at similar neutrino energies. Implementing this method will require precise laboratory measurements of neutrino-nucleus cross sections or other developments. With those, JUNO will have $5\sigma$ sensitivity to tau-neutrino appearance in 5 years exposure, and likely sooner.

Dark Matter models that employ a vector portal to a dark sector are usually treated as an effective theory that incorporates kinetic mixing of the photon with a new U(1) gauge boson, with the $Z$ boson integrated out. However, a more complete theory must employ the full SU(2)$_L\times $U(1)$_Y \times $U(1)$_{Y^\prime}$ gauge group, in which kinetic mixing of the $Z$ boson with the new U(1) gauge boson is taken into account. The importance of the more complete analysis is demonstrated by an example where the parameter space of the effective theory that yields the observed dark matter relic density is in conflict with a suitably defined electroweak $\rho$-parameter that is deduced from a global fit to $Z$ physics data.

The Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background (DSNB) -- a probe of the core-collapse mechanism and the cosmic star-formation history -- has not been detected, but its discovery may be imminent. A significant obstacle for DSNB detection in Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) is detector backgrounds, especially due to atmospheric neutrinos (more precisely, these are foregrounds), which are not sufficiently understood. We perform the first detailed theoretical calculations of these foregrounds in the range 16--90 MeV in detected electron energy, taking into account several physical and detector effects, quantifying uncertainties, and comparing our predictions to the 15.9 livetime years of pre-gadolinium data from Super-K stages I--IV. We show that our modeling reasonably reproduces this low-energy data as well as the usual high-energy atmospheric-neutrino data. To accelerate progress on detecting the DSNB, we outline key actions to be taken in future theoretical and experimental work. In a forthcoming paper, we use our modeling to detail how low-energy atmospheric-neutrino events register in Super-K and suggest new cuts to reduce their impact.

Gravitational-wave (GW) observations of neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers are sensitive to the nuclear equation of state (EOS). Using realistic simulations of NSBH mergers, incorporating both GW and electromagnetic (EM) selection to ensure sample purity, we find that a GW detector network operating at O5-sensitivities will constrain the radius of a $1.4~M_{\odot}$ NS and the maximum NS mass with $1.6\%$ and $13\%$ precision, respectively. The results demonstrate strong potential for insights into the nuclear EOS, provided NSBH systems are robustly identified.

We present a framework for the efficient computation of optimal Bayesian decisions under intractable likelihoods, by learning a surrogate model for the expected utility (or its distribution) as a function of the action and data spaces. We leverage recent advances in simulation-based inference and Bayesian optimization to develop active learning schemes to choose where in parameter and action spaces to simulate. This allows us to learn the optimal action in as few simulations as possible. The resulting framework is extremely simulation efficient, typically requiring fewer model calls than the associated posterior inference task alone, and a factor of $100-1000$ more efficient than Monte-Carlo based methods. Our framework opens up new capabilities for performing Bayesian decision making, particularly in the previously challenging regime where likelihoods are intractable, and simulations expensive.

Dark matter is a popular candidate to a new source of primary-charged particles, especially positrons in cosmic rays, which are proposed to account for observable anomalies. While this hypothesis of decaying or annihilating DM is mostly applied for our Galaxy, it could possibly lead to some interesting phenomena when applied for the other ones. In this work, we look into the hypothetical asymmetry in gamma radiation from the upper and lower hemisphere of the dark matter halo of the Andromeda galaxy due to inverse Compton scattering of starlight on the DM-produced electrons and positrons. While our 2D toy model raises expectations for the possible effect, a more complex approach gives negligible effect for the dark halo case, but shows some prospects for a dark disk~model.

This paper investigates non-thermal leptogenesis from inflaton decays in the minimal extension of the canonical type-I seesaw model, where a complex singlet scalar $\phi$ is introduced to generate the Majorana masses of right-handed neutrinos (RHNs) and to play the role of inflaton. First, we systematically study non-thermal leptogenesis with the least model dependence. We give a general classification of the parameter space and find four characteristic limits by carefully examining the interplay between inflaton decay into RHNs and the decay of RHNs into the standard-model particles. Three of the four limits are truly non-thermal, with a final efficiency larger than that of thermal leptogenesis. Two analytic estimates for these three limits are provided with working conditions to examine the validity. In particular, we find that the {\it strongly non-thermal RHNs} scenario occupies a large parameter space, including the oscillation-preferred $K$ range, and works well for a relatively-low reheating temperature $T^{}_{\rm RH} \geq 10^3~{\rm GeV}$, extending the lower bound on the RHN mass to $2\times 10^{7}~{\rm GeV}$. The lepton flavor effects are discussed. Second, we demonstrate that such a unified picture for inflation, neutrino masses, and baryon number asymmetry can be realized by either a Coleman-Weinberg potential (for the real part of $\phi$) or a natural inflation potential (for the imaginary part of $\phi$). The allowed parameter ranges for successful inflation and non-thermal leptogenesis are much more constrained than those without inflationary observations. We find that non-thermal leptogenesis from inflaton decay offers a testable framework for the early Universe. It can be further tested with upcoming cosmological and neutrino data. The model-independent investigation of non-thermal leptogenesis should be useful in exploring this direction.

Direct detection of gravitational waves and binary black hole mergers have proven to be remarkable investigations of general relativity. In order to have a definitive answer as to whether the black hole spacetime under test is the Kerr or non-Kerr, one requires accurate mapping of the metric. Since EMRIs are perfect candidates for space-based detectors, Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) observations will serve a crucial purpose in mapping the spacetime metric. In this article, we consider such a study with the Johannsen spacetime that captures the deviations from the Kerr black hole and further discuss their detection prospects. We analytically derive the leading order post-Newtonian corrections in the average loss of energy and angular momentum fluxes generated by a stellar-mass object exhibiting eccentric equatorial motion in the Johannsen background. We further obtain the orbital evolution of the inspiralling object within the adiabatic approximation and estimate the orbital phase. We lastly provide the possible detectability of deviations from the Kerr black hole by estimating gravitational wave dephasing and highlight the crucial role of LISA observations.