Papers for Thursday, Jan 09 2025

Direct searches of dark matter candidates with mass energies less than 1 GeV is an active research field. The energy depositions are comparable to the scale of atomic, molecular, or condensed matter systems, therefore many-body physics plays an important role in understanding the detector's response in dark matter scattering. We present in this work a comprehensive data set of atomic response functions for xenon and germanium with 12.2 and 80 eV energy thresholds, respectively, using the (multiconfiguration) relativistic random phase approximation. This approach takes into account the relativistic, exchange, and correlation effects in one self-consistent framework, and is benchmarked successfully by photoabsorption data from thresholds to 30 keV with $\lesssim5\%$ errors. Comparisons with our previous and some other independent particle approaches in literature are made. It is also found that the spin-dependent (SD) response has significant difference from the spin-independent (SI) one such that the dark matter SD and SI interactions with electrons can be distinguished in unpolarized scattering, which is typical for direct search detectors. Finally, the exclusion limits set by current experiments are updated with our new results.

Observations of the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest in distant quasar spectra with upcoming surveys are expected to provide significantly larger and higher-quality datasets. To interpret these datasets, it is imperative to develop efficient simulations. One such approach is based on the assumption that baryonic densities in the intergalactic medium (IGM) follow a lognormal distribution. We know from our previous work that while scaling the linear density contrast by parameter $\nu$ can recover the thermal parameters within $\sim 1-\sigma$ of best-fit values, the recovery of $\Gamma_{12}$ remains discrepant at $\gtrsim 3-\sigma$ for $z > 2.2$. Keeping this in mind, we extend our earlier work to improve the lognormal model of the Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) forest in recovering the parameters characterizing IGM state, particularly the hydrogen photoionization rate ($\Gamma_{12}$), between $2.2 \leq z \leq 2.7$, by simulating the model spectra at a slightly lower redshift than the Sherwood smooth particle hydrodynamical simulations (SPH) data. The recovery of thermal parameters, namely, the mean-density IGM temperature ($T_0$) and the slope of the temperature-density relation ($\gamma$) is also alleviated. These parameters are estimated through a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique, using the mean and power spectrum of the transmitted flux. We find that the usual lognormal distribution of IGM densities tend to over-predict the number of Ly$\alpha$ absorbers seen in SPH simulation. A lognormal model simulated at a lower redshift than SPH data can address this limitation to a certain extent. We show that with such a "trailing" model of lognormal distribution, values of $\Gamma_{12}$ are recovered at $\lesssim 1-\sigma$. We argue that this model can be useful for constraining cosmological parameters.

The Gaia mission has triggered major developments in the field of Galactic dynamics in recent years, which we discuss in this review. The structure and kinematics of all Galactic components - disc, bar/bulge and halo - are now mapped in great detail not only in the Solar neighbourhood, but across a large part of the Milky Way. The dramatic improvements in the coverage and precision of observations revealed various disequilibrium processes, such as perturbations in the Galactic disc and the deformations of the outer halo, which are partly attributed to the interaction with satellite galaxies. The knowledge of the gravitational potential at all scales has also advanced considerably, but we are still far from having a consistent view on the key properties of the Galaxy, such as the bar pattern speed or the mass profile and shape of the dark halo. The complexity and interplay of several dynamical processes makes the interpretation of observational data challenging, and it is fair to say that more theoretical effort is needed to fully reap the fruit of the Gaia revolution.

The observed Lyman-Alpha (Lya) line profile is a convolution of the complex Lya radiative transfer taking place in the interstellar, circumgalactic and intergalactic medium (ISM, CGM, and IGM, respectively). Discerning the different components of the Lya line is crucial in order to use it as a probe of galaxy formation or the evolution of the IGM. We present the second version of zELDA (redshift Estimator for Line profiles of Distant Lyman-Alpha emitters), an open-source Python module focused on modeling and fitting observed Lya line profiles. This new version of zELDA focuses on disentangling the galactic from the IGM effects. We build realistic Lya line profiles that include the ISM and IGM contributions, by combining the Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations for the so called "shell model" (ISM) and IGM transmission curves generated from IllustrisTNG100. We use these mock line profiles to train different artificial neural networks. These use as input the observed spectrum and output the outflow parameters of the best fitting "shell model" along with the redshift and Lya emission IGM escape fraction of the source. We measure the accuracy of zELDA on mock Lya line profiles. We find that zELDA is capable of reconstructing the ISM emerging Lya line profile with high accuracy (Kolmogorov-Smirnov<0.1) for 95% of the cases for HST COS-like observations and 80% for MUSE-WIDE-like. zELDA is able to measure the IGM transmission with the typical uncertainties below 10% for HST-COS and MUSE-WIDE data. This work represents a step forward in the high-precision reconstruction of IGM attenuated Lya line profiles. zELDA allows the disentanglement of the galactic and IGM contribution shaping the Lya line shape, and thus allows us to use Lya as a tool to study galaxy and ISM evolution.

This study investigates the structural parameters of the thin-disk population by analyzing the spatial distribution of evolved stars in the solar neighbourhood. From the $\it Gaia$ Data Release 3 database, about 39.1 million stars within 1 kpc and with relative parallax errors $\sigma_{\varpi}/\varpi\leq 0.10$ were selected. The photometric data was corrected for extinction using a Galactic dust map. The sample was refined by considering the color-magnitude region $M_{\rm G}\times (G_{\rm BP}-G_{\rm RP})_0$ associated with evolved stars, applying a stricter parallax error limit of $\sigma_{\varpi}/\varpi\leq 0.02$, and yielding 671,600 stars. The star sample was divided into 36 regions based on their Galactic coordinates, with evolved stars in the absolute magnitude range of $-1< M_{\rm G}~{\rm (mag)}\leq 4$ further split into five one-unit magnitude intervals. This led to 180 subgroups whose space density profiles were modelled using a single-component Galaxy model. The analysis shows that the space densities are in agreement with the literature and that the scale heights vary with $200<H~{\rm (pc)}<600$ interval to their absolute magnitudes. Red clump stars in the solar neighbourhood were also estimated to have a scale height of $295\pm10$ pc. These findings indicate that evolved stars with bright absolute magnitudes originate from the evolution of the early spectral-type stars with short scale height, while fainter ones come from the evolution of the intermediate spectral-type stars with large scale height, suggesting variations in scale height reflect the contribution of Galactic evolution processes.

We present a complete set of physical parameters for three early-type eclipsing binary systems in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC): OGLE LMC-ECL-17660, OGLE LMC-ECL-18794, and HV 2274, together with the orbital solutions. The first and third systems comprise B-type stars, while the second has O-type components and exhibits a total eclipse. We performed a complex analysis that included modeling light and radial velocity curves, O-C analysis, and additional non-LTE spectroscopic analysis for the O-type system. We found that OGLE LMC-ECL-17660 is at least a triple and, tentatively, a quadruple. A significant non-linear period decrease was determined for HV 2274. Its origin is unclear, possibly due to a faint, low-mass companion on a wide orbit. The analyzed components have masses ranging from 11.7 M$_\odot$ to 22.1 M$_\odot$, radii from 7.0 R$_\odot$ to 14.2 R$_\odot$, and temperatures between 22500 K and 36000 K. For HV 2274, the precision of our masses and radii is about six times higher than in previous studies. The position of the components of all six systems analyzed in this series on the mass-luminosity and mass-radius diagrams indicates they are evolutionarily advanced on the main sequence. Our sample contributes significantly to the knowledge of physical parameters of early-type stars in the mass range of 11 M$_\odot$ to 23 M$_\odot$. A new mass-luminosity relation for O and B-type stars in the LMC is provided. Additionally, we used the measured apsidal motion of the systems to compare the observational and theoretical internal structure constant.

We present an analysis of the X-ray properties of the galaxy cluster population in the z=0 snapshot of the IllustrisTNG simulations, utilizing machine learning techniques to perform clustering and regression tasks. We examine five properties of the hot gas (the central cooling time, the central electron density, the central entropy excess, the concentration parameter, and the cuspiness) which are commonly used as classification metrics to identify cool core (CC), weak cool core (WCC) and non cool core (NCC) clusters of galaxies. Using mock Chandra X-ray images as inputs, we first explore an unsupervised clustering scheme to see how the resulting groups correlate with the CC/WCC/NCC classification based on the different criteria. We observe that the groups replicate almost exactly the separation of the galaxy cluster images when classifying them based on the concentration parameter. We then move on to a regression task, utilizing a ResNet model to predict the value of all five properties. The network is able to achieve a mean percentage error of 1.8% for the central cooling time, and a balanced accuracy of 0.83 on the concentration parameter, making them the best-performing metrics. Finally, we use simulation-based inference (SBI) to extract posterior distributions for the network predictions. Our neural network simultaneously predicts all five classification metrics using only mock Chandra X-ray images. This study demonstrates that machine learning is a viable approach for analyzing and classifying the large galaxy cluster datasets that will soon become available through current and upcoming X-ray surveys, such as eROSITA.

Tidal synchronization plays a fundamental role in the evolution of binary star systems. However, key details such as the timescale of synchronization, efficiency of tidal dissipation, final rotational period, and dependence on stellar mass are not well constrained. We present a catalog of rotation periods, orbital periods, and eccentricities from eclipsing binaries (EBs) that can be used to study the role of tides in the rotational evolution of low-mass dwarf (FGKM spectral type) binaries. This study presents the largest catalog of EB orbital and rotational periods (Porb and Prot) measured from the Transiting Exoplanet Satellite Survey (TESS). We first classify 4584 light curves from the TESS Eclipsing Binary Catalog according to out-of-eclipse stellar variability type: starspot modulation, ellipsoidal variability, non-periodic variability, and "other" variability (e.g. pulsations). We then manually validate each light curve classification, resulting in a sample of 1039 candidates with 584 high confidence EBs that exhibit detectable star-spot modulation. From there, we measure and compare the rotation period of each starspot-modulated EB using three methods: Lomb-Scargle periodograms, autocorrelation function, and phase dispersion minimization. We find that our period distributions are consistent with previous work that used a sample of 816 starspot EBs from Kepler to identify two populations: a synchronous population (with Porb \approx Prot) and a subsynchronous population (with 8Porb \approx 7Prot). Using Bayesian model comparison, we find that a bimodal distribution is a significantly better fit than a unimodal distribution for Kepler and TESS samples, both individually or combined, confirming that the subsynchronous population is statistically significant.

When a planet is ejected from its star-planet system due to dynamical interactions, its satellite may remain gravitationally bound to the planet. The Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) will be capable of detecting a large number of low-mass free-floating planet events (FFPs) from a bulge microlensing survey. We assess the feasibility of detecting satellites (a.k.a., exomoons) orbiting FFPs by simulating CSST light curves and calculating the detection efficiency as a function of satellite-to-planet mass ratios (q) and projected separations (s) in units of the Einstein radius. For a Neptune-class FFP in the Galactic disk with a Sun-like star as the microlensed source, CSST can detect Earth-mass satellites over a decade of separations (from ~0.01 to ~0.1 AU) and has sensitivity down to Moon-mass satellites (q~1e-3) at s~1. CSST also has some sensitivity to detect Moon-mass satellites at s~2 (~0.02 AU) orbiting an Earth-mass FFP in the disk. CSST has substantially reduced sensitivity for detecting satellites when the source star is an M dwarf, compared to a Sun-like source. We also calculate the satellite detection efficiency for the dedicated microlensing survey of the Roman Space Telescope (Roman), which demonstrates greater sensitivity than CSST, particularly for M-dwarf sources. Notably, some of the Neptune-Earth systems detectable by CSST and Roman may exhibit significant tidal heating.

We utilize the cosmological volume simulation, FIREbox, to investigate how a galaxy's environment influences its size and dark matter content. Our study focuses on approximately 1,200 galaxies (886 central and 332 satellite halos) in the low-mass regime, with stellar masses between $10^6$ to $10^9$ $M_{\odot}$. We analyze the size-mass relation ($r_{50} - M_{\star}$), inner dark matter mass-stellar mass ($M^{50}_{\rm DM} - M_{\star}$) relation, and the halo mass-stellar mass ($M_{\rm halo} - M_{\star}$) relation. At fixed stellar mass, we find the galaxies experiencing stronger tidal influences, indicated by higher Perturbation Indices (PI $>$ 1) are generally larger and have lower masses relative to their counterparts with lower Perturbation Indices (PI $<$ 1). Applying a Random Forest regression model, we show that both the environment (PI) and halo mass ($M_{rm halo}$) are significant predictors of a galaxy's relative size and dark matter content. Notably, because $M_{\rm halo}$ is also strongly affected by the environment, our findings indicate that environmental conditions not only influence galactic sizes and relative inner dark matter content directly, but also indirectly through their impact on halo mass. Our results highlight a critical interplay between environmental factors and halo mass in shaping galaxy properties, affirming the environment as a fundamental driver in galaxy formation and evolution.

We present optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the peculiar Type Ia supernova ASASSN-20jq/SN 2020qxp. It is a low-luminosity object with a peak absolute magnitude of $M_B=-17.1\pm0.5$ mag. Despite its low luminosity, its post-peak light-curve decline rate ($\Delta m_{15}(B)=1.35\pm0.09$ mag) and color-stretch parameter (sBV>0.82) are similar to normal SNe Ia, making it an outlier in the luminosity-width and luminosity-color-stretch relations. Early light curves suggest a "bump" during the first 1.4 days of explosion. ASASSN-20jq synthesized a low radioactive $^{56}$Ni mass of $0.09\pm0.01M_\odot$. Near-maximum light spectra reveal strong Si II absorption lines, indicating a cooler photosphere than normal SNe Ia, but lack Ti II absorption lines. Unusually strong O I $\lambda$7773 and Ca II near-infrared triplet absorption features are present. Nebular spectra show a strong, narrow forbidden [Ca II] $\lambda\lambda$7291,7324 doublet emission, rarely seen in SNe Ia except in some Type Iax events. Marginal detection of [O I] $\lambda\lambda$6300,6364 doublet emission, which is extremely rare, is observed. Both [Ca II] and [O I] lines are redshifted by $\sim2000$ km/s. A strong [Fe II] $\lambda$7155 emission line with a tilted-top profile, identical to the [Fe II] $\lambda$16433 profile, is also observed. These asymmetric [Fe II] profiles and redshifted [Ca II] and [O I] emissions suggest a high central density white dwarf progenitor undergoing an off-center delayed-detonation explosion mechanism, producing roughly equal amounts of $^{56}$Ni in deflagration and detonation phases. This distinguishes ASASSN-20jq from normal and subluminous SNe Ia. ASASSN-20jq's light curve and spectra do not align with any single SNe Ia subclass but show similarities to 2002es-like objects. Thus, we add it as an extreme candidate within the heterogeneous parameter space of 2002es-like SNe Ia.

Quantifying the variability, measured as the root mean square (rms), of accreting systems as a function of energy is a powerful tool for constraining the physical properties of these objects. Here, we present the first application of this method to optical spectra of low-mass X-ray binaries. We use high-time-resolution data of the black hole transient V404 Cygni, obtained with the \textit{Gran Telescopio Canarias} during its 2015 outburst. During this event, conspicuous wind-related features, such as P-Cygni profiles, were detected in the flux spectra. We find that rms spectra are rich in spectral features, although they are typically morphologically different from their flux counterparts. Specifically, we typically observe absorption components in correspondence to the presence of emission lines in the flux spectra. Similarly, when analysing segments with significant variability in the optical flux, P-Cygni line profiles appear inverted in the rms spectra (i.e., enhanced variability in the blue-shifted region, accompanied by a decrease in that associated with the red component). We discuss the possible origin of these features, which resemble those found in other objects, such as active galactic nuclei. Finally, we highlight the potential of this technique for future searches for wind-type outflows in accreting compact objects.

Only two ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) have spatially resolved stellar population properties, both showing radially flat-to-rising metallicity profiles, indicative of a different formation pathway to most dwarf galaxies. The scarcity of other low surface brightness (LSB) dwarfs with a similar analysis prevents a deeper understanding on this behaviour. We investigate the radial profiles of the ages, metallicities and star formation histories of four globular cluster (GC) rich LSB dwarfs, newly observed within the 'Analysis of Galaxies At The Extremes' (AGATE) collaboration. DFX1 and DF07 are bona-fide UDGs, while PUDG-R27 and VCC1448 are nearly UDGs (NUDGes). Comparing their and DF44's results to simulations, we aim to reveal their formation pathways. We use pPXF to fit different spectra extracted in annular apertures to recover the stellar population properties and compute their gradients. We compare those with a sample of literature classical dwarfs and simulations, in particular with simulated UDGs. Our five LSB dwarfs present flat age and flat-to-rising metallicity profiles. The flat age gradients are compatible with those of classical dwarfs (both observed and from cosmological simulations), but the metallicity gradient diverges. All of our LSB dwarfs (except for PUDG-R27, showing a pronounced increasing metallicity profile) are compatible with being the extreme tail of the age-metallicity gradient relation, with a preference to co-eval formation forming the galaxy all at once. This sample of GC-rich LSB dwarfs with spatially resolved properties confirms that they seem to follow a different formation path than classical dwarfs. However, larger samples with higher S/N spectra and varying amounts of GC richness are required to set robust constraints on the formation pathways of LSB dwarf galaxies.

We present deep optical observations of the stellar halo of NGC 300, an LMC-mass galaxy, acquired with the DEEP sub-component of the DECam Local Volume Exploration survey (DELVE) using the 4 m Blanco Telescope. Our resolved star analysis reveals a large, low surface brightness stellar stream ($M_{V}\sim-8.5$; [Fe/H] $= -1.4\pm0.15$) extending more than 40 kpc north from the galaxy's center. We also find other halo structures, including potentially an additional stream wrap to the south, which may be associated with the main stream. The morphology and derived low metallicities of the streams and shells discovered surrounding NGC 300 are highly suggestive of a past accretion event. Assuming a single progenitor, the accreted system is approximately Fornax-like in luminosity, with an inferred mass ratio to NGC 300 of approximately $1:15$. We also present the discovery of a metal-poor globular cluster ($R_{\rm{proj}}=23.3$~kpc; $M_{V}=-8.99\pm0.16$; [Fe/H] $\approx-1.6\pm0.6$) in the halo of NGC 300, the furthest identified globular cluster associated with NGC 300. The stellar structures around NGC 300 represent the richest features observed in a Magellanic Cloud analog to date, strongly supporting the idea that accretion and subsequent disruption is an important mechanism in the assembly of dwarf galaxy stellar halos.

We present 2D particle-in-cell simulations of a magnetized, collisionless, relativistic pair plasma subjected to combined velocity and magnetic-field shear, a scenario typical for astrophysical black-hole jet-wind boundaries. We create conditions where only the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) and Drift-Kink (DK) instabilities can develop, while tearing modes are forbidden. We find that DKI can effectively disrupt the cats-eye vortices generated by KHI, creating a turbulent shear layer on the DK timescale. This interplay leads to a significant enhancement of dissipation over cases with only velocity shear or only magnetic shear. Moreover, we observe efficient nonthermal particle acceleration caused by the alignment of the instability-driven electric fields with Speiser-like motion of particles close to the shear interface. This study highlights the sensitivity of dissipation to multiple simultaneous instabilities, thus providing a strong motivation for further studies of their nonlinear interaction at the kinetic level.

We present the final 6'' resolution data release of the ELAIS-N1 field from the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) Two-metre Sky Survey Deep Fields project (LoTSS Deep). The 144MHz images are the most sensitive achieved to date at this frequency and were created from 290 TB of data obtained from 505 hrs on-source observations taken over 7.5 years. The data were processed following the strategies developed for previous LoTSS and LoTSS Deep data releases. The resulting images span 24.53 square degrees and, using a refined source detection approach, we identified 154,952 radio sources formed from 182,184 Gaussian components within this area. The maps reach a noise level of 10.7 $\mu$Jy/beam at 6'' resolution where approximately half of the noise is due to source confusion. In about 7.4% of the image our limited dynamic range around bright sources results in a further > 5% increase in the noise. The images have a flux density scale accuracy of about 9% and the standard deviation of offsets between our source positions and those from Pan-STARRS is 0.2'' in RA and Dec for high significance detections. We searched individual epoch images for variable sources, identifying 39 objects with considerable variation. We also searched for circularly polarised sources achieving three detections of previously known emitters (two stars and one pulsar) whilst constraining the typical polarisation fraction plus leakage to be less than 0.045%.

Data from the Gaia mission shows prominent phase-space spirals that are the signatures of disequilibrium in the Milky Way (MW) disc. In this work, we present a novel perspective on the phase-space spiral in angular momentum (AM) space. Using Gaia DR3, we detect a prominent AM spiral in the solar neighbourhood. We demonstrate the relation of AM to the $z-v_z$ spiral and show that we can map to this space from angular momentum through simplifying assumptions. By modelling the orbit of stars in AM, we develop a generative model for the spiral where the disc is perturbed by a bulk tilt at an earlier time. Our model successfully describes the salient features of the AM spiral in the data. Modelling the phase spiral in AM is a promising method to constrain both perturbation and MW potential parameters. Our AM framework simplifies the interpretation of the spiral and offers a robust approach to modelling disequilibrium in the MW disc using all six dimensions of phase space simultaneously.

We present first results of JWST Cycle 1 and 2 observations of Sgr A* using NIRCam taken simultaneously at 2.1 and 4.8 micron for a total of ~48 hours over seven different epochs in 2023 and 2024. We find correlated variability at 2.1 and 4.8 micron in all epochs, continual short-time scale (a few seconds) variability and epoch-to-epoch variable emission implying long-term ( ~days to months) variability of Sgr A*. A highlight of this analysis is the evidence for sub-minute, horizon-scale time variability of Sgr A*, probing inner accretion disk size scales. The power spectra of the light curves in each observing epoch also indicate long-term variable emission. With continuous observations, JWST data suggest that the flux of Sgr A* is fluctuating constantly. The flux density correlation exhibits a distinct break in the slope at ~3 mJy at 2.1 micron. The analysis indicates two different processes contributing to the variability of Sgr A*. Brighter emission trends towards shallower spectral indices than the fainter emission. Cross correlation of the light curves indicates for the first time, a time delay of 3 - 40 sec in the 4.8 micron variability with respect to 2.1 micron. This phase shift leads to loops in plots of flux density vs spectral index as the emission rises and falls. Modeling suggests that the synchrotron emission from the evolving, age-stratified electron population reproduces the shape of the observed light curves with a direct estimate of the magnetic field strengths in the range between 40-90 G, and upper cutoff energy, E_c, between 420 and 720 MeV.

While nova eruptions produce some of the most common and dramatic dust formation episodes among astrophysical transients, the demographics of dust-forming novae remain poorly understood. Here, we present a statistical study of dust formation in 40 novae with high-quality optical/IR light curves, quantitatively distinguishing dust-forming from non-dust-forming novae while exploring the properties of the dust events. We find that 50-70% of novae produce dust, significantly higher than previous estimates. Dust-forming novae can be separated from those that do not show dust formation by using the largest redward ($V-K$) colour change from peak visible brightness; ($V-J$) or ($V-H$) offer useful but less sensitive constraints. This makes optical+IR photometry a powerful tool to quantify dust formation in novae. We find that novae detected in GeV $\gamma$-rays by \emph{Fermi}-LAT appear to form dust more often than novae not detected by \emph{Fermi}, implying a possible connection between $\gamma$-ray producing shocks and dust production. We also find that novae that evolve very quickly ($t_2 < 10$ days) are much less likely to form dust, in agreement with previous findings. We confirm a correlation between $t_2$ and the time of the onset of dust formation (which occurs $\sim$1 week--3 months after maximum light), but conclude that it is primarily an observational artifact driven by dust formation determining when a nova drops 2 mag below peak. The significant fraction of novae that form dust make them ideal laboratories in our Galactic backyard to tackle the puzzle of dust formation around explosive transients.

HR~6819 is the first post-mass transfer binary system composed of a classical Be star and a bloated pre-subdwarf stripped star directly confirmed by interferometry. While the Be star is already spun up to near-critical rotation and possesses a self-ejected viscous Keplerian disk, the stripped star is found in a short-lived evolutionary stage, in which it retains the spectral appearance of a B-type main-sequence star while contracting into a faint subdwarf OB-type star. In order to understand the evolution of intermediate-mass interacting binaries, the fundamental parameters of cornerstone objects such as HR~6819 need to be known. We aim to obtain orbital parameters and model-independent dynamical masses of this binary system to quantitatively characterize this rarely observed evolutionary stage. We analyzed a time series of 12 interferometric near-IR $K$-band observations from VLTI/GRAVITY with the help of the geometrical model-fitting tool PMOIRED. We included recently published radial velocities based on FEROS high-resolution spectroscopy for the binary orbital solution. With the GRAVITY data, we obtained the astrometric orbit, relative fluxes of the components, and parameters of the circumstellar disk of the Be star; we also detected helium line signatures from the stripped star. Using the published radial velocities enabled us to obtain the dynamical masses of the components as well as the dynamical parallax. The Be star is the slightly brighter component in the $K$ band and is almost 16 times as massive as the bloated stripped star, with the individual dynamical masses being $4.24\pm0.31 {\rm M}_{\odot}$ for the Be star and $0.270\pm0.056 {\rm M}_{\odot}$ for the stripped star. The orbit is slightly eccentric, with $e=0.0289\pm0.0058$, and the semimajor axis of the orbit is $0.3800\pm0.0093$ AU. (Abstract continues but does not fit here)

The photometric redshift estimation (photo-z) has been developed over the years with various methods. In this work, we analyse four different photo-z estimators using the Dark Energy Survey Y3 BAO Sample: \texttt{ANNz2}, \texttt{BPZ}, \texttt{ENF}, and \texttt{DNF}. Unlike what is usually found in the literature, we investigate the possibility of selecting the best galaxies according to their redshift Probability Distribution Function (PDF). We selected 25,760 galaxies from four different spectroscopic surveys and cross-matched them with the photo-z sample. These galaxies served to understand the redshift bias and its 68th percentile $\sigma_{68}$. We found that within a range of $0.79<z_p<0.85$ there is the lowest $\sigma$ for all the estimators we analysed. \texttt{DNF} has the biggest absolute value of the bias ($\sigma$), while \texttt{ENF}, \texttt{ANNz2} and \texttt{BPZ} lose precision for a redshift range below 0.7 and higher than 0.9. If one wants to pick the best galaxies by removing the bins with the worst bias, one will find that \texttt{ANNz2} is the most robust algorithm for all chosen criteria. When selecting the best PDFs, the resulting sub-samples gave \texttt{BPZ} with more selected objects. \texttt{ANNz2} shows better precision, \texttt{ENF} has the worst selection of Gaussian PDFs, with very few galaxies left for an LSS study. We also showed that even though the PDFs are smooth, there are catastrophic redshift results. Lastly, \texttt{DNF} is the worst in precision but with sufficient galaxies for cosmological analysis. We also selected galaxies whose PDFs have only secondary peaks not bigger than 30\% of the main peak height, called Small Peaks. For these sub-samples, \texttt{ANNz2} outperformed the other algorithms. We will make all catalogs publicly available through the package \texttt{Pz Cats}.

Many of the current problems related to the evolution of cataclysmic variables revolve around the magnetic nature of the main sequence secondary. It is known that magnetic fields alter the structure of low mass stars. In particular, they inhibit convection, leading to inflated radii. Here we present a simple model to demonstrate the impact of magneto-convection on the evolution of short period cataclysmic variables. We find that the inclusion of magneto-convection leads to larger secondaries, longer orbital periods and smaller mass-loss rates. When including magnetic effects, the minimum orbital period is increased by 14 minutes, indicating that this could help alleviate the period minimum problem in cataclysmic variable evolution. We also examine the effect of the white dwarf mass on the minimum period. While increasing the white dwarf mass does increase the minimum period, it is not substantial. Therefore it is unlikely that the period minimum problem can be solved with a larger white dwarf mass or with mass growth of white dwarf.

An excellent estimate of the lensing signal is expected from the availability of deep and high-resolution polarization data in the near future. This is most important to allow for efficient delensing, needed to detect the primordial B-mode power and with it the famous tensor-to-scalar ratio. Here we discuss in a joint manner estimators of the rotation of polarization, of the second order lensing field rotation, and standard gradient lensing reconstruction. All are most efficient when able to probe the EB power created locally, have comparable reconstruction noise in this regime, and can benefit substantially from delensing. We discuss several ongoing and planned CMB experiments. We determine their noise for lensing field rotation and polarization rotation and discuss their prospects for measuring these effects. There is an on-going controversy on whether the lensing field rotation also rotates the polarization -- if so this will be observed at high significance soon with already on going observations of the South Pole Telescope, SPT-3G, in cross-correlation with tracers of large scale structure, as we show in this paper.

After decades of searching, cosmological time dilation was recently identified in the timescale of variability seen in distant quasars. Here, we expand on the previous analysis to disentangle this cosmological signal from the influence of the properties of the source population, specifically the quasar bolometric luminosity and the rest-frame emission wavelength at which the variability was observed. Furthermore, we consider the potential influence of the evolution of the quasar population over cosmic time. We find that a significant intrinsic scatter of 0.288 +- 0.021 dex in the variability timescales, which was not considered in the previous analysis, is favoured by the data. This slightly increases the uncertainty in the results. However, the expected cosmological dependence of the variability timescales is confirmed to be robust to changes in the underlying assumptions. We find that the variability timescales increase smoothly with both wavelength and bolometric luminosity, and that black hole mass has no effect on the variability timescale once rest wavelength and bolometric luminosity are accounted for. Moreover, if the standard cosmological model is correct, governed by relativistic expansion, we also find very little cosmological evolution in the intrinsic variability timescales of distant quasars.

(Abridged) While previous X-ray studies showed the dominance of regular active galactic nuclei (AGN) variability, a small fraction of sources arise from more exotic phenomena such as tidal disruption events (TDEs), quasi-periodic eruptions, or other short-lived events associated with supermassive black hole accretion. This paper describes the systematic selection of X-ray extragalactic transients found in the first two eROSITA all-sky surveys (eRASS) that are not associated with known AGN prior to eROSITA observations. We generated a variability sample from eRASS1 and eRASS2 (Dec. 2019-Dec. 2020), which includes sources with a variability significance and a fractional amplitude larger than four, located in the Legacy Survey DR10 (LS10) footprint. The properties of LS10 counterparts were used to exclude stars and known AGN. The sample was additionally cleaned using pre-eROSITA classifications, archival optical spectra, and archival X-ray data. The final catalog eRO-ExTra includes 304 extragalactic eROSITA transients and variables not associated with known AGN. More than 90% of sources have reliable LS10 optical counterparts. For each source, we provide archival X-ray data from Swift, ROSAT, and XMM-Newton; the eROSITA long-term light curve (2-2.5 years) with a light curve classification; as well as the best power law fit spectral results at the peak eROSITA epoch. Reliable spectroscopic and photometric redshifts are provided for more than 80% of the sample. Several sources in the catalog are known TDE candidates discovered by eROSITA. In addition, 31 sources are radio detected. The eRO-ExTra transients constitute a relatively clean parent sample of non-AGN variability phenomena associated with massive black holes. More than 95% of eRO-ExTra sources were discovered in X-rays with eROSITA for the first time, which makes it a valuable resource for studying unique nuclear transients.

Transient astrophysical events are characterized by short timescales, high energy, and multi-wavelength radiation, often accompanied by violent energy releases. These phenomena are a major focus of modern astronomical research. To reveal their underlying physical mechanisms, near-real-time, multi-wavelength, and multi-messenger follow-up observations are essential. However, current transient alert systems face multiple challenges, including fragmented messages, inconsistent formats, and difficulties in retrospective analysis, all of which hinder the efficiency of triggering observations. This paper presents \textbf{TransientVerse}, an innovative real-time database platform to integrate and disseminate transient alerts. The platform uses an automated pipeline to integrate real-time alerts from multiple sources (e.g., ATel, VOEvent, and GCN). It structures unstructured text data into a dual-format database for transient alerts by using open-source large language models. TransientVerse offers retrospective searches, data visualization, literature reviews, and customized subscriptions for efficient event tracking and analysis. Additionally, for Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), the platform provides real-time statistics on repeat burst rates across different time intervals and alerts astronomers about high-frequency burst sources, enabling rapid follow-up observations and optimizing the use of limited observation windows. TransientVerse improves the efficiency of acquiring transient events in real time, lowers the technical barriers for simultaneous observations, and provides robust technical support for multi-wavelength, multi-messenger time-domain astronomy and astrophysics studies.

Thanks to the rapid follow-up observations by \textit{Swift}/XRT, a good part of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) high latitude emission have been observed in X-ray band. Some of them even show a dropdown decay after this period, which strongly indicates the edge of the jet is corresponding to the breaking time. This study constrains the jet opening angles of GRBs by analyzing the very steep decay phase in the early X-ray afterglow. Using data from \textit{Swift}/XRT, we identified GRBs with significant breaks in their light curves and applied a broken power-law model to describe the decay phases. Assuming a spherical and isotropic emitting surface, we set constraints on the radiation radius ($R_{\gamma}$) to estimate jet opening angles ($\theta_{\rm jet}$) from the breaking time. Our results indicate that jet opening angles can be constrained, although they are sensitive to the assumed radiation radius. This approach provides yet another method for estimating GRB jet opening angles.

Although the star formation process has been studied for decades, many important aspects of the physics involved remain unsolved. Recent advancement of instrumentation in the infrared, far-infrared and sub-millimetre wavelength regimes have contributed to a significantly improved understanding of processes in the interstellar medium (ISM) leading to star formation. The future of research on the ISM and star formation looks exciting with instruments like the JWST, ALMA, etc., already contributing to the topic by gathering high-resolution high-sensitivity data and with several larger ground- and space-bound facilities either being planned or constructed. India has a sizable number of astronomers engaged in research on topics related to the ISM and star formation. In this white paper invited by the Astronomical Society of India to prepare a vision document for Indian astronomy, we review the Indian contributions to the global understanding of the star formation process and suggest areas that require focused efforts both in creating observing facilities and in theoretical front in India, in order to improve the impact of our research in the coming decades.

While both observations and theories demonstrate that protoplanetary disks are not expected to live much longer than $\sim$10 Myr, several examples of prolonged disks have been observed in the past. In this work, we perform a systematic search for aged YSOs still surrounded by protoplanetary disks in the M star catalog from the LAMOST archive. We identify 14 sources older than 10 Myr, still surrounded by protoplanetary disks and with ongoing accretion activities, significantly improving the census of the category known as the Peter Pan disks. The stellar parameters, variability and accretion properties of these objects, as well as their spatial distribution, are investigated. Nearly all of these objects are distributed far away from nearby associations and star forming regions, but show evidence of being members of open clusters. Investigating the correlation between mass accretion rates and stellar masses, we find these long-lived disks accrete at systematically lower levels, compared to their younger counterparts with similar stellar masses. Studying the evolution of mass accretion rates with stellar ages, we find these aged disks follow similar trend as young ones.

Contributions from the Indian gravity community have played a significant role in shaping several branches of astronomy and astrophysics. This document reviews some of the most important contributions and presents a vision for gravity research in the context of astronomy \& astrophysics in India. This is an expanded version of one of the chapters in the recently released Vision Document of the Astronomical Society of India.

The study of lava planets has attracted significant attention recently because of their close proximity to their host stars, which enhances their detectability for atmospheric characterization. Previous studies showed that the atmospheric flow becomes supersonic if the atmosphere was dominated by rocky vapor evaporated from the magma ocean around the substellar point of small lava planets. These studies often assumed an axisymmetric flow about the axis from the substellar point to the antistellar point but ignored the effect of planetary rotation on the climate. The spin rate of lava planets can be rather fast due to their close-in orbits, which can break the aforementioned symmetry and induce the asymmetric flow component. Here, we introduce a two-dimensional framework to explore the influence of planetary rotation on the atmospheric dynamics of these lava planets for the first time, and assess the sensitivity and range of application of our model. Starting from the established one-dimensional axisymmetric atmospheric solution, we obtain the governing equation for the asymmetric flow by expanding with respect to 1/Ro (Ro denotes Rossby number and exceeds unity for typical lava planets). The asymmetric component of supersonic flow is pivotal for future research on the observation of these atmospheres, flow patterns of the magma ocean currents driven by atmospheric winds, and deformation of the planetary shape over long timescales.

In this paper we study the evolution of radiative fluxes, flux radii and observable dust masses in protoplanetary discs, in order to understand how these depend on the angular momentum budget and on the assumed heat sources. We use a model that includes the formation and viscous evolution of protoplanetary gas discs, together with the growth and radial drift of the dust component. We find that we are best able to match the observed fluxes and radii of class 0/I discs when we assume (i) an initial total angular momentum budget corresponding to a centrifugal radius of 40 au around solar-like stars, and (ii) inefficient viscous heating. Fluxes and radii of class II discs appear consistent with disc models with angular momentum budgets equivalent to centrifugal radii of both 40 au or 10 au for solar like stars, and with models where viscous heating occurs at either full efficiency or at reduced efficiency. During the first 0.5 Myr of their evolution discs are generally optically thick at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. However, after this discs are optically thin at mm-wavelengths, supporting standard means of dust mass estimates. Using a disc population synthesis model, we then show that the evolution of the cumulative evolution of the observable dust masses agrees well with that observed in young star forming clusters of different ages.

Using JWST Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) images of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae (or NGC 104), taken at two epochs just 7 months apart, we derived proper-motion membership down to $m_{\rm F322W2} \sim 27$. We identified an intriguing feature at the very low-mass end of the main sequence, around $\sim$ 0.08 solar masses, at magnitudes $m_{\rm F322W2} \sim 24$ and $m_{\rm F150W2} \sim 25$. This feature, dubbed "kink", is characterized by a prominent discontinuity in the slope of the main sequence. A similar discontinuity is seen in theoretical isochrones with oxygen-poor chemistries, related to the rapid onset of CH$_4$ absorption. We therefore hypothesize that the cluster hosts disproportionately more oxygen-poor stars near the bottom of the main sequence compared to the upper main sequence and the red giant branch. Our results show no strong or conclusive evidence of a rise in the brown dwarf luminosity function at faint magnitudes, in contrast to previous findings likely affected by faint red background galaxies. In our analysis, we accounted for this contamination by using proper motion membership.

Despite widespread adoption of deep learning models to address a variety of computer vision tasks, planetary science has yet to see extensive utilization of such tools to address its unique problems. On Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, tracking seasonal trends and weather patterns of clouds provides crucial insights into one of the most complex climates in the Solar System, yet much of the available image data are still analyzed in a conventional way. In this work, we apply a Mask R-CNN trained via transfer learning to perform instance segmentation of clouds in Titan images acquired by the Cassini spacecraft - a previously unexplored approach to a big data problem in planetary science. We demonstrate that an automated technique can provide quantitative measures for clouds, such as areas and centroids, that may otherwise be prohibitively time-intensive to produce by human mapping. Furthermore, despite Titan specific challenges, our approach yields accuracy comparable to contemporary cloud identification studies on Earth and other worlds. We compare the efficiencies of human-driven versus algorithmic approaches, showing that transfer learning provides speed-ups that may open new horizons for data investigation for Titan. Moreover, we suggest that such approaches have broad potential for application to similar problems in planetary science where they are currently under-utilized. Future planned missions to the planets and remote sensing initiatives for the Earth promise to provide a deluge of image data in the coming years that will benefit strongly from leveraging machine learning approaches to perform the analysis.

Low- and intermediate-mass stars evolve through the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), when an efficient mass-loss process removes a significant fraction of their initial mass. A substantial increase in the mass-loss rate at the end of the AGB is observed for at least some stars for unknown reasons. This creates post-AGB objects that are completely enshrouded in thick dusty envelopes and might be associated with binary interactions. We observed the $J=2-1$ line of $^{13}$CO, C$^{17}$O, and C$^{18}$O with the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA) towards six obscured post-AGB stars (four C-rich and two O-rich sources) to constrain the properties of their circumstellar envelopes, recent mass-loss histories, and initial mass of the central stars. Based on the inferred $^{17}$O/$^{18}$O isotopic ratios, we find all stars to have relatively low initial masses ($< 2~M_\odot$) contrary to suggestions in the literature of higher masses for some sources. We infer a mass for HD~187885 $\sim 1.15~M_\odot$, which is relatively low for a carbon star. For all but one source (GLMP~950), we observe kinematic components with velocities $\gtrsim 30$~km~s$^{-1}$, which are faster than typical AGB wind expansion velocities. For most sources, these higher-velocity outflows display point-symmetric morphologies. The case of Hen~3-1475 is particularly spectacular, with the high-velocity molecular outflow interleaved with the high-velocity outflow of ionised gas observed at optical wavelengths. Based on the size of the emission regions of the slow components of the outflows, we derive typical kinematic ages associated with the C$^{18}$O~$J=2-1$ emission $\lesssim 1500$~years and obtain relatively high associated mass-loss rates ($\gtrsim10^{-4}~M_\odot~{\rm yr}^{-1}$). The sources with known spectral types are found to have evolved faster than expected based on stellar evolutionary models.

eROSITA is the soft X-ray instrument aboard the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) satellite that is most sensitive in the energy range between 0.2 and 2.3 keV. Between December 2019 and December 2021, eROSITA completed four all-sky surveys producing all-sky X-ray source lists and sky maps of unprecedented depth. In the energy range between 0.2 keV and 1 keV, we detected about 38,000 sources with a hardness ratio below -0.94, covering a small sample of known white dwarfs found with eROSITA in the dataset to which the German eROSITA consortium has rights (half sky). 264 of these soft sources have a probability of more than 90 % to be a white dwarf. This is more than the 175 white dwarfs ROSAT found in the whole sky. Here we present the results of a pilot study to increase the sensitivity of eROSITA for soft sources by extending the detection threshold down to 0.1 keV. First tests with dedicated sky regions are promising.

The Cygnus-X complex is a massive, nearby (1.4 kpc) star-forming region with several OB associations. As part of the Cygnus Allscale Survey of Chemistry and Dynamical Environments (CASCADE) program, we carried out 3.6 millimeter (mm) continuum and spectral line high-resolution observations ($\sim$ 3 - 4$''$) toward DR18, covering several molecular species with the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) and the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30m telescope. In addition, multi-wavelength archival datasets were used to provide a comprehensive analysis of the region. A comparison of the 3.6mm and 6 cm continuum emission confirms that a B2 star (DR18-05) shapes the cometary HII region in the DR18 cavity, with ionized gas escaping toward the OB2 association. On the other hand, the extended 3.6mm and 6 cm continuum emission are likely to trace photoevaporating ionized gas from ultraviolet radiation from the Cyg OB2 association, not from DR18-05. The shell structure around DR18-05 indicates photodissociation regions (PDRs) formed by the expanding HII region and photo-erosion from DR18-05 and OB2 stars. We also identified 18 compact cores with N$_2$H$^+$ emission, half of which are gravitationally bound and mostly located in colder regions behind the PDRs. The SiO emission is found only in PDRs, with narrow-line widths ( 0.8 - 2.0 km s$^{-1}$) and lower abundances (X(SiO) $\sim$ 5$\times$10$^{-11}$ - 1$\times$10$^{-10}$). Comparing with the UV irradiated shock models, we suggest that the SiO emission partially encompassing the HII region arises from the molecular gas region, marginally compressed by low-velocity shocks with $\sim$ 5 km s$^{-1}$, irradiated by external UV radiation (G$_{\rm 0} \sim 10^{2} - 10^{3}$), as they traverse through a medium with $n_{\rm H} \sim 10^{4}$ to 10$^5$ cm$^{-3}$.

Despite being the most common types of stars in the Galaxy, the physical properties of late M dwarfs are often poorly constrained. A trend of radius inflation compared to evolutionary models has been observed for earlier type M dwarfs in eclipsing binaries, possibly caused by magnetic activity. It is currently unclear whether this trend also extends to later type M dwarfs below theconvective boundary. This makes the discovery of lower-mass, fully convective, M dwarfs in eclipsing binaries valuable for testing evolutionary models especially in longer-period binaries where tidal interaction between the primary and secondary is negligible. With this context, we present the discovery of the NGTS-EB-7 AB system, an eclipsing binary containing a late M dwarf secondary and an evolved G-type primary star. The secondary star has a radius of $0.125 \pm 0.006 R_\odot$ , a mass of $0.096 \pm 0.004 M_\odot$ and follows a highly eccentric $(e=0.71436 \pm 0.00085)$ orbit every $193.35875 \pm 0.00034$ days. This makes NGTS-EB-7 AB the third longest-period eclipsing binary system with a secondary smaller than $200 M_J$ with the mass and radius constrained to better than $5 \%$. In addition, NGTS-EB-7 is situated near the centre of the proposed LOPS2 southern field of the upcoming PLATO mission, allowing for detection of the secondary eclipse and measurement of the companion`s temperature. With its long-period and well-constrained physical properties - NGTS-EB-7 B will make a valuable addition to the sample of M dwarfs in eclipsing binaries and help in determining accurate empirical mass/radius relations for later M dwarf stars.

We present a detailed spectral study of an intermittent-AMXP Aql X-1 during the \textit{pulse-on} and \textit{pulse-off} stages by using the archival RXTE data. We first perform temporal analysis by using Z$_n^2$ technique in three different energy bands, 3.0 -- 13.0~keV, 13.0 -- 23.0~keV and 23.0 -- 33.0~keV, for the last 128~s time segment of the RXTE data including \textit{pulse-on} region. We show that the pulse is the most significant in the softest band. We, then, show that the spectrum is represented the best via combination of absorbed blackbody, disk blackbody and a gaussian line. We modeled the last four segments of the data 30188-03-05-00 to better compare \textit{pulse-on} and \textit{pulse-off} stages. We found a vague residual in the spectral fit of the \textit{pulse-on} segment between $\sim$3.0 -- 13.0~keV which agrees with the result of temporal analysis. We show that the residual may be represented with an extra blackbody component with the temperature of 1.75~keV and the radius of 0.75$\pm$0.49 km. For deeper analysis, we performed phase-resolved spectroscopy to the last 128~s, \textit{pulse-on}, segment. We obtain two separate spectra for the spin phase range of 0.75 -- 0.25, \textit{pulse-high} and 0.25 -- 0.75, \textit{pulse-low} and followed the same procedure. We display that the residual becomes more clear for \textit{pulse-high} compared to the \textit{pulse-low}. We report that the additional blackbody component, which models the residual, indicates a hotspot from the surface of the neutron star with the radius of 1.65$\pm$0.74 km whose temperature is 1.65 keV.

We measure the projected angle on the plane of the sky between adjacent symmetry axes of tens of multipolar planetary nebulae and find that the distribution of these misalignment angles implies a random three-dimensional angle distribution limited to <60 degrees. We identify a symmetry axis as a line connecting two opposite lobes (bubbles) or clumps. We build a cumulative distribution function of the projected angles (alpha) and find that an entirely random distribution of the three-dimensional angles (delta) between adjacent symmetry axes, namely, uncorrelated directions, does not fit the observed one. A good fit to the observed distribution is a limited random distribution of the three-dimensional angle between adjacent symmetry axes, i.e., random distribution in the range of 20<delta<60 degrees. We assume that a pair of jets along the angular momentum axis of an accretion disk around the companion shape each symmetry axis. The limited random distribution might result from two sources of angular momentum to the accretion disks with comparable magnitude: one with a fixed direction and one with a stochastic direction variation. We discuss a scenario where the fixed-axis angular momentum source is the binary orbital angular momentum, while the stochastic source of angular momentum is due to the vigorous envelope convection of the mass-losing giant progenitor.

The quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in the tails of magnetar giant $\gamma$-ray flares have long been interpreted as normal oscillation modes of these stars. However, most studies modelling QPOs have neglected some key features in the analyses of the signals, namely that QPOs appear to be detectable only intermittently and exhibit drifts in their frequencies. These are typical characteristics of nonlinear mode coupling, where, at leading order, the modes couple and evolve collectively as triplets. Using a representative triplet of modes we solve the system's nonlinear equations of motion analytically and argue that the coupling is likely axial-axial-polar in nature, with the observed intermittence and frequency drifts providing a way to infer details of the magnetar's internal magnetic-field geometry.

ALMA has revealed that the millimetre dust structures of protoplanetary discs are extremely diverse. It has been proposed that the strength of H$_2$O emission in the inner disc particularly depends on the influx of icy pebbles from the outer disc, a process that would correlate with the outer dust disc radius, and that could be prevented by pressure bumps. This work aims to assess the influence of pressure bumps on the inner disc's molecular reservoirs. Using JWST's MIRI/MRS, we compared the observational emission properties of H$_2$O, HCN, C$_2$H$_2$, and CO$_2$ with the outer dust disc structure from ALMA observations, in eight discs with confirmed gaps in ALMA observations, and two discs with gaps of tens of astronomical units in width, around stars with $M_\star \geq 0.45M_{\odot}$. We used new visibility plane fits of the ALMA data to determine the outer dust disc radius and identify substructures in the discs. We find that the presence of a dust gap does not necessarily result in weak H$_2$O emission. Furthermore, the relative lack of colder H$_2$O-emission seems to go hand in hand with elevated emission from carbon-bearing species. The discs with cavities and extremely wide gaps appear to behave as a somewhat separate group, with stronger cold H$_2$O emission and weak warm H$_2$O emission. We conclude that fully blocking radial dust drift from the outer disc seems difficult to achieve. However, there does seem to be a dichotomy between discs that show a strong cold H$_2$O excess and ones that show strong emission from HCN and C$_2$H$_2$. Better constraints on the influence of the outer dust disc structure and inner disc composition require more information on substructure formation timescales and disc ages, along with the importance of trapping of volatiles like CO and CO$_2$ into more strongly bound ices like H$_2$O and chemical transformation of CO into less volatile species.

[Abbreviated] Context: Studies of the LMC's internal kinematics have provided a detailed view of its structure, largely by the exquisite proper motion data supplied by Gaia. However, LoS velocities are only available for a small subset of Gaia data, limiting studies of the kinematics perpendicular to the LMC disc plane. Aims: We synergise new SDSS-IV/V LoS velocity measurements with Gaia data, increasing the 5D phase-space sample by almost a factor of three. We interpret and model the vertical structure and kinematics of the LMC disc. Methods: Split our sample into different stellar types. Then examine maps of vertical velocity moments perpendicular to the LMC disc. We interpret our results within three possible scenarios: 1) time-variability in the orientation of the disc symmetry axis; 2) use of an incorrect LMC disc plane orientation; or 3) the presence of warps or twists in the LMC disc. We also present a new method to construct a continuous 3D representation of the disc from spatially-resolved measurements of its viewing angles. Results: Using young stellar populations, we identify a region in the LMC arm with highly negative v_z'; this overlaps spatially with the supershell LMC 4. Our results indicate that: 1) the LMC viewing angles may vary with time, but this cannot explain most of the structure in v_z' maps; 2) when re-deriving the LMC disc plane by minimising the RMS vertical velocity v_z' across the disc, the inclination and line-of-nodes position angle are i ~ 24 degr and \Omega ~ 327 degr, respectively; 3) we obtain different inclinations for the inner and outer disc regions, and a quadrupolar variation with azimuth in outer the disc. We provide 3D models of the LMC disc shape. Conclusions: The combination of SDSS-IV/V and Gaia data reveal that the LMC disc is not a flat plane in equilibrium, but that the central bar region is tilted relative to a warped outer disc.

We investigate the influence of disruptive collisions on chondrule rim growth, emphasizing the role of kinetic energy in determining the outcomes of these interactions. We establish a threshold of approximately 10 cm/s for the "hit-and-stick" collision regime, beyond which significant changes occur in the structure of rimmed chondrules. Our findings highlight that at low collision energies (KE $< 10^{-12}$ J), minimal structural alteration takes place, while higher energies (KE up to $10^{-10}$ J) lead to compaction of the rim, reducing both its thickness and porosity. Collisions with energies exceeding $10^{-8}$ J result in the complete disruption of the rim, with particles being expelled from it. These results are correlated with the turbulence levels within the disk, as kinetic energy scales with the relative velocities of colliding particles. Leveraging machine learning models trained on our collision data, we predict changes in rim characteristics and employ these predictions in a Monte Carlo simulation to explore rim growth dynamics. Our simulations reveal that rim development is sustained in low-turbulence environments ($\alpha \leq 10^{-5}$), while intermediate turbulence levels ($\alpha$ = $10^{-3}$ to $10^{-4}$) lead to erosion, preventing further rim accumulation in high-turbulence contexts.

Resistive magnetohydrodynamics is thought to play a key role in transient astrophysical phenomena such as black hole flares and neutron star magnetospheres. When performing numerical simulations of resistive magnetohydrodynamics, one is faced with the issue that Amperes law becomes stiff in the high conductivity limit which poses challenges to the numerical evolution. We show that using a description of resistive magnetohydrodynamics based on higher form symmetry, one can perform simulations with a generalized dual Faraday tensor without having to use Amperes Law, thereby avoiding the stiffness problem. We also explain the relation of this dual model to a traditional description of resistive magnetohydrodynamics and how causality is guaranteed by introducing second order corrections.

We present the official release of the EFfective Field theORy surrogaTe (Effort), a novel and efficient emulator designed for the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure (EFTofLSS). This tool combines state-of-the-art numerical methods and clever preprocessing strategies to achieve exceptional computational performance without sacrificing accuracy. To validate the emulator reliability, we compare Bayesian posteriors sampled using Effort via Hamiltonian MonteCarlo methods to the ones sampled using the widely-used pybird code, via the Metropolis-Hastings sampler. On a large-volume set of simulations, and on the BOSS dataset, the comparison confirms excellent agreement, with deviations compatible with MonteCarlo noise. Looking ahead, Effort is poised to analyze next-generation cosmological datasets and to support joint analyses with complementary tools.

In a previous paper we proposed a new approach to the beginning of inflation -- a lingering universe. The universe begins in a lingering state with a nearly vanishing Hubble parameter. This calls into question the absolute age of the universe, as the Hubble time can be nearly infinite. It also provides promise for addressing the initial singularity of inflation and issues with quantum field theory in de Sitter space-time. Such models arise in classical cosmologies with non-vanishing spatial curvature (inspired by PLANCK 2018 data), and independently by models that arise in string cosmology. In this paper, we consider the importance of cosmological perturbations for the stability of the lingering phase and how this influences cosmological observations. Our goal is to establish observables in this new paradigm for the origin of inflation which is in contrast to eternal inflation and cyclic cosmologies. We also address questions of stability and the transition to inflation.

Observations of companions of solar-type stars in nearby young moving groups (NYMGs) show that they split into two groups: stellar and brown dwarf companions (mass ratio $q>0.05$) and Jupiter-like (JL) planets ($q<0.02$). The frequency of JL planets in NYMGs appears to be higher than that obtained from radial velocity (RV) surveys. We extended the search for companions to three nearby clusters of intermediate age: Hyades, Coma Berenices, and Ursa Major. They are older and formed in more massive events than the NYMGs. The sample of host stars is complete for the core of the clusters, while we considered only a fraction of the tidal tails. We used the same methods considered for the members of NYMGs. We obtained a fairly complete sample of stellar companions and detected six massive JL planets. We found a lower frequency of equal-mass companions than in the NYMGs; this might be related to how binaries form in these environments. We also observed a concentration of stellar binaries in the cores of Ursa Major and Coma Berenices; we attribute this to the selective loss of low-mass systems. The observed scarcity of wide companions in Hyades can be due to the destruction of binaries in close encounters. The frequency of JL planets is lower than in the NYMGs but similar to that obtained from RV surveys. This extends the correlation with age and mass previously found for NYMGs. Results of this study alone do not indicate whether age or mass are the factors driving the observed correlation. A comparison of the frequencies of free-floating planets from microlenses and in young associations favours mass as the main driving parameter. Once the initial cluster mass function is considered, the frequency of JL planets in NYMGs is consistent with the results obtained using RVs.

In many scenarios of interest, a quantum system interacts with an unknown environment, necessitating the use of open quantum system methods to capture dissipative effects and environmental noise. With the long-term goal of developing a perturbative theory for open quantum gravity, we take an important step by studying Abelian gauge theories within the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism. We begin with a pedagogical review of general results for open free theories, setting the stage for our primary focus: constructing the most general open effective field theory for electromagnetism in a medium. We assume locality in time and space, but allow for an arbitrary finite number of derivatives. Crucially, we demonstrate that the two copies of the gauge group associated with the two branches of the Schwinger-Keldysh contour are not broken but are instead deformed by dissipative effects. We provide a thorough discussion of gauge fixing, define covariant gauges, and calculate the photon propagators, proving that they yield gauge-invariant results. A notable result is the discovery that gauge invariance is accompanied by non-trivial constraints on noise fluctuations. We derive these constraints through three independent methods, highlighting their fundamental significance for the consistent formulation of open quantum gauge theories.

Many theoretical models were come up with to figure out the properties of magnetic reconnection process, among which the Sweet-Parker model is the most famous since it describes the magnetic reconnection in a concise way. However, the low reconnection rate expected by this model is generally not available in most astrophysical systems, which motivates people to seek fast reconnection models. Under the scheme of generalized magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for pair plasma, a fast magnetic reconnection model was established, in which the thermal electromotive force plays a key role to remarkably increase the reconnection rate. In this work, I would like to extend the discussions in my previous work, about the generally relativistic description of Sweet-Parker model, to the description of fast magnetic reconnection induced by thermal electromotive force. I will revisit the fast reconnection model briefly to initialize my discussions and show how the thermal electromotive force impacts the reconnection rate. Next, some basic setups will be exhibited before discussing specific examples about how the properties of fast magnetic reconnection are modified by gravitational effect or in observations. Results in this work consolidate my opinion reiterated in my previous work that properties of magnetic reconnection would never be modified by gravitational effect significantly if the magnetic reconnection process occurs in a local scale while the modifications of properties could not be neglected when the process is detected by an observer who is moving with respect to the laboratory, in the rest frame of which the magnetic reconnection occurs.

The discovery of dynamical models from data represents a crucial step in advancing our understanding of physical systems. Library-based sparse regression has emerged as a powerful method for inferring governing equations directly from spatiotemporal data, but current model-agnostic implementations remain computationally expensive, limiting their applicability to data that lack substantial complexity. To overcome these challenges, we introduce a scalable framework that enables efficient discovery of complex dynamical models across a wide range of applications. We demonstrate the capabilities of our approach, by ``discovering'' the equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) from synthetic data generated by high-resolution simulations of turbulent MHD flows with viscous and Ohmic dissipation. Using a library of candidate terms that is $\gtrsim 10$ times larger than those in previous studies, we accurately recover the full set of MHD equations, including the subtle dissipative terms that are critical to the dynamics of the system. Our results establish sparse regression as a practical tool for uncovering fundamental physical laws from complex, high-dimensional data without assumptions on the underlying symmetry or the form of any governing equation.

Electromagnetic waves in the magnetosphere scatter electrons, causing them to precipitate deep into Earth's atmosphere, where they impart their temporal characteristics to diffuse aurorae. Using radar-observations of the ionospheric E-region and satellite observations from the magnetosphere, we demonstrate a close and unprecedented association between enhanced electrostatic cyclotron harmonic wave activity in the magnetosphere and the appearance of meter-scale ionospheric plasma turbulence observed a few seconds later in the lower ionosphere on nearby magnetic field lines.

We consider the gravitational Vlasov-Poisson system linearized around steady states that are extensively used in galaxy dynamics. Namely, polytropes and King steady states. We develop a complete stationary scattering theory for the selfadjoint, strictly positive, Antonov operator that governs the plane-symmetric linearized dynamics. We identify the absolutely continuous spectrum of the Antonov operator. Namely, we prove that the absolutely continuous spectrum of the Antonov operator coincides with its essential spectrum and with the spectrum of the unperturbed Antonov operator. Moreover, we prove that the part of the singular spectrum of the Antonov operator that is embedded in its absolutely continuous spectrum is contained in a closed set of measure zero, that we characterize. We construct the generalized Fourier maps and we prove that they are partially isometric with initial subspace the absolutely continuous subspace of the Antonov operator and that they are onto the Hilbert space where the Antonov operator is defined. Furthermore, we prove that the wave operators exist, are isometric, and are complete. Moreover, we obtain stationary formulae for the wave operators and we prove that Birman's invariance principle this http URL, we prove that the gravitational Landau damping holds for the solutions to the linearized gravitational Vlasov-Poisson system with initial data in the absolutely continuous subspace of the Antonov operator. Namely, we prove that the gravitational force and its time derivative, as well as the gravitational potential and its time derivative, tend to zero as time tends to $\pm \infty.$ Furthermore, for these initial states the solutions to the linearized gravitational Vlasov-Poisson system are asymptotic, for large times, to the orbits of the gravitational potential of the steady state, in the sense that they are transported along these orbits.

In this paper we obtain logarithmic corrections to the black hole entropy. Motivated by our recent proposal concerning the nature of the degrees of freedom leading to the black hole entropy in terms of a Bose Einstein (BEC) condensate of gravitons, we study how to introduce logarithmic corrections. In fact we show that, after modifying the internal energy by means of simple by physically sound arguments dictated by ordinary quantum mechanics and possible non-commutative effects at Planckian scales, a logarithmic term does appear in the Bekenstein Hawking entropy law. We also obtain that the entropy $S_{BH}$ of a ball of Planckian areal radius is $2\pi K_B$, i.e. $S_{BH}(R=L_P)=2\pi K_B$. Our approach show that the possibility that the interior of a black hole is composed with a BEC of gravitons is a viable physically motivated possibility.

This article explores the motion of massive particles in the gravitational field of a modified gravity (MOG) black hole (BH), characterized by the parameter $\alpha$. Using the Hamiltonian formalism, the geodesic equations and the effective potential governing particle trajectories are derived. Key features, including the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) and the innermost bound circular orbit (IBCO), are analyzed, revealing their dependence on the particle's energy, angular momentum, and the MOG parameter. In the extremal case, where $\alpha=-1$, the event horizon merges with the Cauchy horizon, forming a distinctive BH configuration. Numerical methods are employed to compute periodic orbits in this spacetime, with a comparison drawn to the Schwarzschild BH. The findings indicate that for $\alpha>0$, periodic orbits around Schwarzschild-MOG BH exhibit lower energy requirements than those in Schwarzschild spacetime, whereas for $-1<\alpha<0$, the energy requirements are higher. Precessing orbits near periodic trajectories are also examined, offering insights into their complex dynamical behavior. Finally, the gravitational wave (GW) radiation from the periodic orbits of a test particle around the Schwarzschild-MOG BH is examined, generating intricate waveforms that provide insights into the gravitational structure of the system.

In this study, we begin by revisiting the oscillatory behavior of radiative quantities-energy, angular momentum, and linear momentum-linked with initial eccentricities in binary black hole (BBH) mergers. By varying the mean anomaly $l_0$ across the parameter range $[0,2\pi]$ from a post-Newtonian perspective, we establish an envelope that encapsulates the oscillations of these radiative quantities. Our analysis reveals that while the oscillations are influenced by the specific initial condition $l_0$, the effect of eccentricity contributes to the formation of this envelope. Subsequently, we model dynamical quantities such as peak luminosity $L_{\text{peak}}$, remnant mass $M_{\text{rem}}$, spin $\alpha_{\text{rem}}$, and recoil velocity $V_{\text{rem}}$ in circular orbits. Through polynomial modeling, we explore their relationships with mass ratios and correlations. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of these polynomials in capturing the intricate relationships and correlations among these quantities in circular orbits. Furthermore, we synthesize and analyze dynamical quantities for both circular and eccentric orbits, revealing continuous variations within specific ranges corresponding to distinct mass ratios. These variations are influenced by continuous changes in initial eccentricity and the associated envelope, which can be extrapolated to encompass other mass ratios. By interpolating the maximum and minimum values of these dynamical quantities, we unveil considerably broad domains relative to circular orbits in both orbital and non-orbital BBH mergers. These domains provide robust constraints on the relationships between dynamical quantities, mass ratios, and their correlations. Finally, we discuss the extension of this eccentricity effect to spin alignment and spin precession configurations of BBHs.

Scalar-tensor theories are promising dark energy models. A promising scalar-tensor theory, called Horndeski-like gravity, is coming from the application of the Horndeski gravity in string theory and cosmology that takes into account two dilaton fields. In this work we study the stability of the scalar sector of this theory and compare it with that coming from the previously studied tensor sector. Furthermore, the entropy coming from particle production $S_{in}$ and that of the apparent horizon $S$ will be studied, which translates into entropy bounds. The gravitational slip (minus one) to entropy ratio is also considered as a possible replacement for the usual shear viscosity to entropy ratio for black holes.

In this paper, we describe the Multi-Band Template Analysis (MBTA) search pipeline dedicated to the detection of compact binary coalescence (CBC) gravitational wave signals from the data obtained by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration (LVK) during the fourth observing run (O4), which started in May 2023. We give details on the configuration of the pipeline and its evolution compared to the third observing run (O3). We focus here on the configuration used for the offline results of the first part of the run (O4a), which are part of the GWTC-4 catalog (in preparation). We also give a brief summary of the online configuration and highlight some of the changes implemented or considered for the second part of O4 (O4b).

We extract elegant and concise analytic formulae for the mass and rotation parameters of the Kerr black hole as well as its distance from the Earth only in terms of directly measurable quantities of the accretion disk revolving in the black hole spacetime background. To this end, we consider massive geodesic particles circularly orbiting the Kerr black hole in the equatorial plane and emitting frequency-shifted photons toward a distant observer. We calculate the frequency shift and redshift rapidity at the detector location, and by solving an inverse problem, we express the Kerr black hole parameters and its distance from a distant observer in terms of a handful of observable elements, such as frequency shift, aperture angle of the telescope, and redshift rapidity, a newly introduced concept in [1]. The aperture angle of the telescope (angular distance) characterizes the emitter position on the sky, and the redshift rapidity is an observable relativistic invariant representing the proper time evolution of the frequency shift. The relations presented in this article allow us to disentangle mass, spin, and distance to the black holes in the Kerr spacetime background and obtain these parameters separately. Our analytic formulae are valid on the midline and close to the line of sight, and they can be directly applied to supermassive black holes hosted at the core of active galactic nuclei orbited by water vapor clouds within their accretion disks. The generic exact relations are valid for an arbitrary point of the emitter's orbit, and they can be employed in black hole parameter estimation studies.