Papers for Monday, Feb 10 2025

Solar inertial modes are quasi-toroidal modes of the Sun that are of practical interest as they allow probing the deep convection zone. Since 2010, solar images of the photospheric magnetic field are made available by HMI onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. In this work, we track the motion of the small magnetic features using a cross correlation technique. Under the assumption that these features are passive tracers, we obtain time series of the horizontal flow field on the solar surface. A Singular Value Decomposition is then applied to these data to extract the latitudinal profile as well as the time modulation of the modes of oscillation.

We examine the power-law Starobinsky model, a generalized version of the Starobinsky inflation model, characterized by a power-law correction to Einstein gravity. Employing the $f(R)$ formalism, the scalar and tensor power spectra were numerically computed as functions of the dimensionless parameters $M$ and $\beta$. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis was conducted using Planck-2018, BICEP3 and BAO observational data, yielding precise constraints on $\beta = 1.987^{+0.013}_{-0.016},\, 95\%\, C.\, L.$. and $ \log_{10}M = -4.72^{+0.21}_{-0.20}$. The derived scalar spectral index $n_s=0.9676^{+0.0069}_{-0.0068}$ and tensor-to-scalar ratio $r=0.0074^{+0.0061}_{-0.0044}$ lie within the bounds set by Planck observations. We analyse a general reheating scenario while keeping the number of e-folds during inflation, $N_{pivot}$, fixed. The analysis confirms that deviations from the Starobinsky $R^2$ model are observationaly viable, with implications for high-energy physics and supergravity-based inflationary models.

The Page time marks the moment when the von Neumann entropy of the emitted Hawking radiation equals the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of an evaporating black hole, which is assumed to quantify its degrees of freedom as seen from the outside. Beyond this point, from unitarity we would expect that the entropy of the radiation begins to decrease, ensuring that information is eventually recovered. In this work, we investigate the dependence of the Page time on black hole properties and the particle content of nature. Specifically, we analyze its sensitivity to the Standard Model (SM) and potential Beyond-the-SM degrees of freedom, incorporating the effects of particle masses. We find that a Schwarzschild primordial black hole (PBH) with an initial mass of $6.23\times 10^{14}~{\rm g}$ would have a Page time equal to the age of the Universe, assuming emission of SM particles only. We further explore the impact of a non-negligible PBH angular momentum, finding that light spin-2 particles are predominantly emitted before the Page time for Kerr black holes. For For initial angular momenta values exceeding $a_\star > 0.5$, approximately $70\%$ of the total graviton emission occurs prior to the Page time for PBHs with an initial mass $M_{\rm BH} \lesssim 10^{10}~{\rm g}$. Finally, we discuss the implications for PBH phenomenology, particularly regarding potential constraints from $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$ measurements.

JWST's MIRI LRS provides the first opportunity to spectroscopically characterize the surface compositions of close-in terrestrial exoplanets. Models for the bare-rock spectra of these planets often utilize a spectral library from R. Hu et al., which is based on room temperature reflectance measurements of materials that represent archetypes of rocky planet surfaces. Here we present an expanded library that includes hemispherical reflectance measurements for a greater variety of compositions, varying textures (solid slab, coarsely crushed, and fine powder), as well as high temperature (500-800 K) emissivity measurements for select samples. We incorporate this new library into version 6.3 of the retrieval package PLATON and use it to show that surfaces with similar compositions can have widely varying albedos and surface temperatures. We additionally demonstrate that changing the texture of a material can significantly alter its albedo, making albedo a poor proxy for surface composition. We identify key spectral features -- the 5.6 \textmu{m} olivine feature, the transparency feature, the Si-O stretching feature, and the Christiansen feature -- that indicate silicate abundance and surface texture. We quantify the number of JWST observations needed to detect these features in the spectrum of the most favorable super-Earth target, LHS 3844 b, and revisit the interpretation of its Spitzer photometry. Lastly, we show that temperature-dependent changes in spectral features are likely undetectable at the precision of current exoplanet observations. Our results illustrate the importance of spectroscopically-resolved thermal emission measurements, as distinct from surface albedo constraints, for characterizing the surface compositions of hot, rocky exoplanets.

The primordial four-point function encodes a wealth of information about the inflationary Universe. Despite extensive theoretical work, most models of four-point physics have never been compared to data. In this series, we conduct a detailed analysis of Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarization trispectra, searching for a wide variety of phenomena including local effects, self-interactions, curvatons, DBI inflation, gauge fields, solid inflation, scalar field exchange, spinning massive field exchange, chiral physics, point sources, and gravitational lensing. After presenting a suite of separable primordial templates, we derive thirteen quasi-optimal estimators that directly estimate the underlying template amplitudes. These are unbiased, minimum variance, mask-deconvolved, and account for correlations between templates (including with lensing). Each estimator can be efficiently implemented using spherical harmonic transforms, Monte Carlo methods, and optimization techniques, and asymptotes to standard forms in certain limits. In Paper 2, we implement these estimators in public code, and in Paper 3, use them to constrain primordial trispectra with Planck data. This enables a wide variety of tests of inflation, including some of the first direct constraints on cosmological collider physics.

The advent of the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a wealth of new galaxies just a few hundred Myr after the Big Bang. Some of these galaxies exhibit unusual elemental abundances that are difficult to explain with stellar populations today. While Wolf-Rayet stars in multiple-burst populations, very massive or rapidly-rotating primordial stars, general relativistic explosions of metal-enriched supermassive stars, or the precursors of globular clusters can in principle account for the supersolar nitrogen to oxygen ratios in the galaxies GN-z11 and CEERS 1019, no known stars or supernovae can explain the far higher N/O ratio of 0.46 in GS 3073 at redshift $z =$ 5.55. Here we show that the extreme nitrogen abundances in GS 3073 can be produced by 1000 - 10,000 M$_{\odot}$ primordial (Pop III) stars. We find that these are the only candidates that can account for its large N/O ratios and its C/O and Ne/O ratios. GS 3073 is thus the first conclusive evidence in the fossil abundance record of the existence of supermassive Pop III stars at cosmic Dawn.

The Herschel open-time key program Disc Emission via a Bias-free Reconnaissance in the Infrared and Sub-millimeter (DEBRIS) is an unbiased survey of the nearest ~100 stars for each stellar type A-M observed with a uniform photometric sensitivity to search for cold debris disks around them. The analysis of the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) photometric observations of the 94 DEBRIS M dwarfs of this program is presented in this paper, following upon two companion papers on the DEBRIS A-star and FGK-star subsamples. In the M-dwarf subsample, two debris disks have been detected, around the M3V dwarf GJ581 and the M4V dwarf FomalhautC (LP876-10). This result gives a disk detection rate of 2.1^{+2.7}_{-0.7}% at the 68% confidence level, significantly less than measured for earlier stellar types in the DEBRIS program. However, we show that the survey of the DEBRIS M-dwarf subsample is about ten times shallower than the surveys of the DEBRIS FGK subsamples when studied in the physical parameter space of the disk's fractional dust luminosity versus blackbody radius. Furthermore, had the DEBRIS K-star subsample been observed at the same shallower depth in this parameter space, its measured disk detection rate would have been statistically consistent with the one found for the M-dwarf subsample. Hence, the incidence of debris disks does not appear to drop from the K subsample to the M subsample of the DEBRIS program, when considering disks in the same region of physical parameter space. An alternative explanation is that the only two bright disks discovered in the M-dwarf subsample would not, in fact, be statistically representative of the whole population.

Studies of galaxy populations classified according to their kinematic behaviours and dynamical state using the Projected Phase Space Diagram (PPSD) are affected by misclassification and contamination, leading to systematic errors in determining the characteristics of the different galaxy classes. We propose a method to statistically correct the determination of galaxy properties' distributions accounting for the contamination caused by misclassified galaxies from other classes. Using a sample of massive clusters and galaxies in their surroundings taken from the MultiDark Planck 2 simulation combined with the semi-analytic model of galaxy formation SAG, we compute the confusion matrix associated to a classification scheme in the PPSD. Based on positions in the PPSD, galaxies are classified as cluster members, backsplash galaxies, recent infallers, infalling galaxies, and interlopers. This classification is determined using probabilities calculated by the code ROGER, along with a threshold criterion. By inverting the confusion matrix, we are able to get better determinations of distributions of galaxy properties such as colour. Compared to a direct estimation based solely on the predicted galaxy classes, our method provides better estimates of the mass-dependent colour distribution for the galaxy classes most affected by misclassification: cluster members, backsplash galaxies, and recent infallers. We apply the method to a sample of observed X-ray clusters and galaxies. Our method can be applied to any classification of galaxies in the PPSD, and to any other galaxy property besides colour, provided an estimation of the confusion matrix. Blue, low-mass galaxies in clusters are almost exclusively recent infaller galaxies that have not yet been quenched by the environmental action of the cluster. Backsplash galaxies are on average redder than expected.

We present the JWST discovery of a highly-extincted ($A_V\sim52$) candidate brown dwarf ($\sim0.018$M$_\odot$) in the outskirts of the Trapezium Cluster that appears to be coincident with the end of a $\sim 1700\,$au long, remarkably uniformly wide, dark trail that broadens only slightly at the end opposite the point source. We examine whether a dusty trail associated with a highly-extincted brown dwarf could plausibly be detected with JWST and explore possible origins. We show that a dusty trail associated with the brown dwarf could be observable if dust within it is larger than that in the ambient molecular cloud. For example, if the ambient cloud has a standard $\sim0.25$$\mu$m maximum grain size and the trail contains micron-sized grains, then the trail will have a scattering opacity over an order of magnitude larger compared to the surroundings in NIRCam short-wavelength filters. We use a simple model to show that a change in maximum grain size can reproduce the high $A_V$ and the multi-filter NIRCam contrast seen between the trail and its surroundings. We propose and explore two possible mechanisms that could be responsible for the trail: i) a weak FUV radiation-driven wind from the circum-brown dwarf disc due to the O stars in the region and ii) a Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion wake. The former would be the most distant known case of the Trapezium stars' radiation driving winds from a disc, and the latter would be the first known example of ``late'' infall from the interstellar medium onto a low mass object in a high-mass star-forming region.

The ZTF SN Ia Data Release 2 provides a perfect opportunity to perform a thorough search for, and subsequent analysis of, high-velocity components in the Si II $\lambda$6355 feature in the pre-peak regime. The source of such features remains unclear, with potential origins in circumstellar material or density/abundance enhancements intrinsic to the SN ejecta. Therefore, they may provide clues to the elusive progenitor and explosion scenarios of SNe Ia. We employ a MCMC fitting method followed by BIC testing to classify single and double Si II $\lambda$6355 components in the DR2. The detection efficiency of our classification method is investigated through the fitting of simulated features, allowing us to place cuts upon spectral quality required for reliable classification. These simulations were also used to perform an analysis of the recovered parameter uncertainties and potential biases in the measurements. Within the 329 spectra sample that we investigate, we identify 85 spectra exhibiting Si II $\lambda$6355 HVFs. We find that HVFs decrease in strength with phase relative to their photospheric counterparts - however, this decrease can occur at different phases for different objects. HVFs with larger velocity separations from the photosphere are seen to fade earlier leaving only the double components with smaller separations as we move towards maximum light. Our findings suggest that around three quarters of SN Ia spectra before -11 d show high-velocity components in the Si II $\lambda$6355 with this dropping to around one third in the six days before maximum light. We observe no difference between the populations of SNe Ia that do and do not form Si II $\lambda$6355 HVFs in terms of SALT2 light-curve parameter x1, peak magnitude, decline rate, host mass, or host colour, supporting the idea that these features are ubiquitous across the SN Ia population.

Model uncertainties in the nonlinear structure growth limit current probes of cosmological parameters. To shed more light on the physics of nonlinear scales, we reconstruct the finely binned three-dimensional power-spectrum from lensing data of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), relying solely on the background cosmology, source redshift distributions, and the intrinsic alignment (IA) amplitude of sources (and their uncertainties). The adopted Tikhonov regularisation stabilises the deprojection, enabling a Bayesian reconstruction in separate $z$-bins. Following a detailed description of the algorithm and performance tests with mock data, we present our results for the power spectrum as relative deviations from a $\Lambda\rm CDM$ reference spectrum that includes only structure growth by cold dark matter. Averaged over the full range $z\lesssim1$, a \emph{Planck}-consistent reference then requires a significant suppression on nonlinear scales, $k=0.05$--$10\,h\,\rm Mpc^{-1}$, of up to $20\%$--$30\%$ to match KiDS-1000 ($68\%$ credible interval, CI). Conversely, a reference with a lower $S_8\approx0.73$ avoids suppression and matches the KiDS-1000 spectrum within a $20\%$ tolerance. When resolved into three $z$-bins, however, and regardless of the reference, we detect structure growth only between $z\approx0.4$--$0.13$, but not between $z\approx0.7$--$0.4$. This could indicate spurious systematic errors in KiDS-1000, inaccuracies in the intrinsic alignment (IA) model, or potentially a non-standard cosmological model with delayed structure growth. In the near future, analysing data from stage-IV surveys with our algorithm promises a substantially more precise reconstruction of the power spectrum.

The recent prediction and discovery of hypervelocity supernova survivors has provided strong evidence that the "dynamically driven double-degenerate double-detonation" (D6) Type Ia supernova scenario occurs in Nature. In this model, the accretion stream from the secondary white dwarf in a double white dwarf binary strikes the primary white dwarf violently enough to trigger a helium shell detonation, which in turn triggers a carbon/oxygen core detonation. If the secondary white dwarf survives the primary's explosion, it will be flung away as a hypervelocity star. While previous work has shown that the hotter observed D6 stars can be broadly understood as secondaries whose outer layers have been heated by their primaries' explosions, the properties of the cooler D6 stars have proven difficult to reproduce. In this paper, we show that the cool D6 stars can be explained by the Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction of helium or carbon/oxygen white dwarfs that underwent significant mass loss and core heating prior to and during the explosion of their white dwarf companions. We find that the current population of known D6 candidates is consistent with ~2% of Type Ia supernovae leaving behind a hypervelocity surviving companion. We also calculate the evolution of hot, low-mass oxygen/neon stars and find reasonable agreement with the properties of the LP 40-365 class of hypervelocity survivors, suggesting that these stars are the kicked remnants of near-Chandrasekhar-mass oxygen/neon white dwarfs that were partially disrupted by oxygen deflagrations. We use these results as motivation for schematic diagrams showing speculative outcomes of interacting double white dwarf binaries, including long-lived merger remnants, Type Ia supernovae, and several kinds of peculiar transients.

Radially compact protoplanetary discs (<=50 au) are ubiquitous in nearby star-forming regions. Multiple mechanisms have been invoked to interpret various compact discs. In this paper, we propose that fragmentation of fragile dust grains in moderate turbulence, as expected beyond the dead zone, provides an effective alternative mechanism to form compact discs which are consistent with current observations. We run 1-D dust transport and collision models with DustPy and generate synthetic observations, and find that discs formed by this mechanism have sizes determined by the extent of their dead zones. Accounting for dust porosity, and considering less fragile dust, do not change disc sizes significantly. The smooth dust morphology can be altered only when pressure bumps are present in the dead zone. However, when present at small radii (<=10 au), pressure bumps cannot effectively trap dust. Dust in these bumps fragments and replenishes the inner discs, effectively hiding dust traps in the optically thick inner disc from observations. We note a striking resemblance in the radial intensity profile between our synthetic observations and some recent high-resolution observations of compact discs. We discuss how such observations can inform our understanding of the underlying disc physics.

Using Gaia DR3 we derive new distances and luminosities for a sample of Galactic B supergiants which were thought to be post main-sequence (MS) objects from their HR diagram location beyond the terminal-age MS (TAMS). When applying the newer Gaia distances in addition to enhanced amounts of core-boundary mixing, aka convective overshooting, we show that these Galactic B supergiants are likely enclosed within the MS band, indicating an evolutionary stage of steady core hydrogen burning. We discuss the importance of considering enhanced overshooting and how vectors in the mass-luminosity plane (ML-plane) can be used to disentangle the effects of wind mass loss from interior mixing. We finish with the key message that any proposed solution to the BSG problem should consider not only an explanation for the sheer number of B supergiants inside the Hertzsprung gap, but should at the same time also account for the steep drop in rotation rates identified at spectral type B1 -- corresponding to an effective temperature of $\sim$21 kK, and for which two distinct families of solutions have been proposed.

Strong gravitational lensing of variable sources, such as quasars or supernovae, can be used to constrain cosmological parameters through a technique known as "time-delay cosmography''. Competitive constraints on the Hubble constant have been achieved with electromagnetic observations of lensed quasars and lensed supernovae. Gravitational wave (GW) astronomy may open up a new channel for time-delay cosmography with GW signal replacing the electromagnetic (EM) one. We highlight the similarities of using GW signals to be applied to time-delay cosmography compared to EM signal. We then discuss key differences between GW and EM signals and their resulting advantages and inconveniences from the angle of the current state-of-the-art using quasars and lensed supernovae for time-delay cosmography. We identify the astrometric precision requirement of the images as a key challenge to overcome and highlight the potentially significant impact that near-perfect time-delay measurements of lensed GWs can bring to the table.

The "foamy" nature of spacetime at the Planck scale was an idea first introduced by John Wheeler in the 1950s. And for the last twenty years or so it has been debated whether those inherent uncertainties in time and path-length might also accumulate in transiting electromagnetic wavefronts, resulting in measurable blurring for images of distant galaxies and quasars. A confusing aspect is that "pointlike" objects will always be blurred out somewhat by the optics of a telescope, especially in the optical. But it turns out that Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are more useful to test this, and have been observed by a host of ground-based and space-based telescopes, including by the Fermi observatory for well over a decade. And a recent one was unprecedented: GRB221009A was extremely bright, allowing follow-up from the infrared through the ultraviolet to X-rays and gamma-rays, including a first association with photons at high TeV energies. I will discuss how that observation is in direct tension with the calculus of how spacetime "foaminess" can add up in an image of a pointsource at cosmological distances, which at high-enough energy could spread these out over the whole sky without resulting in photon loss. A simple multiwavelength average of foam-induced blurring consistent with holographic quantum gravity is described, analogous to atmospheric seeing from the ground. This fits with measured instrumental point-spread functions and with the highest-energy localization of GRB221009A, resolving the observational issues and pointing to a key physical implication: spacetime does not look smooth.

In this paper, we describe an algorithm and associated software package (sfit_minimize) for maximizing the likelihood function of a set of parameters by minimizing $\chi^2$. The key element of this method is that the algorithm estimates the second derivative of the $\chi^2$ function using first derivatives of the function to be fitted. These same derivatives can also be used to calculate the uncertainties in each parameter. We test this algorithm against several standard minimization algorithms in this http URL() by fitting point lens models to light curves from the 2018 Korea Microlensing Telescope Network event database. We show that for fitting microlensing events, SFit works faster than the Nelder-Mead simplex method and is more reliable than the BFGS gradient method; we also find that the Newton-CG method is not effective for fitting microlensing events.

KM3NET has reported the detection of a remarkably high-energy through-going muon. Lighting up about a third of the detector, this muon could originate from a neutrino exceeding 10 PeV energy. The crucial question we need to answer is where this event comes from and what its source is. Intriguingly, IceCube has been running with a much larger effective area for a much longer time, and yet it has not reported neutrinos above 10 PeV. We quantify the tension between the KM3NeT event with the absence of similar high-energy events in IceCube. Through a detailed analysis, we determine the most likely neutrino energy to be in the range 23-2400 PeV. We find a $3.8\sigma$ tension between the two experiments assuming the neutrino to be from the diffuse isotropic neutrino background. Alternatively, assuming the event is of cosmogenic origin and considering three representative models, this tension still falls within 3.2-3.9$\sigma$. The least disfavored scenario is a steady or transient point source, though still leading to $2.9\sigma$ and $2.1\sigma$ tensions, respectively. The lack of observation of high-energy events in IceCube seriously challenges the explanation of this event coming from any known diffuse fluxes. Our results indicate the KM3NeT event is likely the first observation of a new astrophysical source.

A dedicated search for upward-going air showers at zenith angles exceeding $110^\circ$ and energies $E>0.1$ EeV has been performed using the Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The search is motivated by two "anomalous" radio pulses observed by the ANITA flights I and III which appear inconsistent with the Standard Model of particle physics. Using simulations of both regular cosmic ray showers and upward-going events, a selection procedure has been defined to separate potential upward-going candidate events and the corresponding exposure has been calculated in the energy range [0.1-33] EeV. One event has been found in the search period between 1 Jan 2004 and 31 Dec 2018, consistent with an expected background of $0.27 \pm 0.12$ events from mis-reconstructed cosmic ray showers. This translates to an upper bound on the integral flux of $(7.2 \pm 0.2) \times 10^{-21}$ cm$^{-2}$ sr$^{-1}$ y$^{-1}$ and $(3.6 \pm 0.2) \times 10^{-20}$ cm$^{-2}$ sr$^{-1}$ y$^{-1}$ for an $E^{-1}$ and $E^{-2}$ spectrum, respectively. An upward-going flux of showers normalized to the ANITA observations is shown to predict over 34 events for an $E^{-3}$ spectrum and over 8.1 events for a conservative $E^{-5}$ spectrum, in strong disagreement with the interpretation of the anomalous events as upward-going showers.

We present 18 pulsar discoveries from the AO327 pulsar survey, along with their timing solutions and those for an additional 31 AO327-discovered pulsars. Timing solutions were constructed using observations from a follow-up timing campaign taken between the periods of 2013 -- 2019 using the Arecibo Observatory's 327-MHz receiver. Aside from PSR J0916+0658, an isolated pulsar that shows evidence for partial recycling, the remaining discoveries are non-recycled pulsars. We present a brief census of emission features for all pulsars with the following standouts. PSR~J1942+0142 is found to exhibit the very rare phenomenon of subpulse bi-drifting and PSR~J0225+1727 has an interpulse. We also report distance estimates using the NE2001 and YMW16 Galactic electron density models, and identify at least 10 sources where either one or both models underestimate the maximum Galactic line of sight dispersion measure.

In this paper, we focus on the study of starburst galaxies in their final billion years. Our galaxy selection is based solely on the presence of the H${\delta}$ absorption line, which permits tracing the later evolution of starburst galaxies, coinciding with the emergence of A-type stars in these galaxies. We propose a novel method that utilizes star formation rate and UVJ colors to classify galaxies in the sample, and use the spectral features to mark their evolution stages. Our in-depth analysis of the MgII line indicates the substantial increasing of F- and G-type stars when a galaxy evolves from star forming to quiescent phase. Furthermore, we identify AGNs in this sample to explore their roles in the later stage of galaxy star formation history.

M17 is a well-known massive star-forming region, and its Gas-to-Dust Ratio (GDR) may vary significantly compared to the other areas. The mass of gas can be traced by the ${\rm CO}$ emission observed in the \emph{Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting (MWISP) project}. The dust mass can be traced by analyzing the interstellar extinction magnitude obtained from the \emph{United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT)}. We computed the ratio ${W({\rm CO})/A_V}$: for ${A_V \le }$ 10 mag, ${{ W(^{12}{\rm CO})/ A_V}= (6.27 \pm 0.19)}$ ${\mathrm{{K \cdot km/s} \cdot mag^{-1}}}$ and ${{ W(^{13}{\rm CO})/ A_V} = (0.75 \pm 0.72)}$ ${ \mathrm{{K \cdot km/s} \cdot mag^{-1}}}$; whereas for ${{A_V} \ge 10}$ mag, ${{ W(^{12}{\rm CO})/ A_V} = (15.8 \pm 0.06) }$ ${\mathrm{{K \cdot km/s} \cdot mag^{-1}}}$ and ${{ W(^{13}{\rm CO})/ A_V} = (3.11 \pm 0.25)}$ ${ \mathrm{{K \cdot km/s} \cdot mag^{-1}}}$. Then, we converted the ${W({\rm CO})/A_V}$ into ${N(\rm H)/A_V}$. Using the WD01 model, we derived the GDR: for ${A_V \le }$ 10 mag, the GDRs were ${118 \pm 9}$ for ${^{12}{\rm CO}}$ and ${83 \pm 62}$ for ${^{13}{\rm CO}}$, comparable to those of the Milky Way; however, for ${A_V \ge }$ 10 mag, the GDRs increased significantly to ${296 \pm 3}$ for ${^{12}{\rm CO}}$ and ${387 \pm 40}$ for ${^{13}{\rm CO}}$, approximately three times higher than those of the Milky Way. In the discussion, we compared the results of this work with previous studies and provided a detailed discussion of the influence of massive stars and other factors on GDR.

In this paper, we investigate the impact of the lensing anomaly in Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) data on the nature of dark energy (DE). We constrain the state equation ($w_0,w_a$) of DE with the lensing scaling parameter $A_L=1$ and varying $A_L$, using the Planck PR3 and two updated Planck PR4 likelihoods, CamSpec and HiLLiPoP respectively, combined with DESI baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and Pantheon+ supernova data. As expected, when $A_L$ is allowed to vary, the evolving DE is not preferred due to the degeneracy between $w_0,w_a$ and $A_L$. In particular, we also consider replacing DESI BAO data with pre-DESI BAO in our analysis, and observe that DESI BAO appears to exacerbate the lensing anomaly, which is caused by the smaller matter density $\Omega_m$ it prefers, however, this effect can be offset by the shifts in $w_0$ and $w_a$ preferring the evolving DE. Our work indicates that the lensing anomaly in Planck data is worth carefully reconsidering when one combined new cosmological survey data with CMB.

Venus exhibits strong and changing contrasts at ultraviolet wavelengths apparently related to the clouds and the dynamics in the cloud layer, but to date their origin continues to be unknown. We investigate the nature of the UV contrasts exhibited by Venus clouds by examining possible correlations between the thermal structure inferred from radio occultation data and UV brightness from imagery data, both observed with Venus Express. We analyse Venus Express images obtained from 11 hours before to a few hours after the time of radio occultation measurements of the same area. We account for the advection of clouds by zonal and meridional winds and apply a phase angle correction to compensate for the changing viewing geometry. We find a possible anti-correlation between UV-brightness and atmospheric temperature in the 65-70 km altitude range for low latitudes. Heating in this altitude and latitude region due to an increase in the UV-absorber has been predicted by radiative forcing studies. The predictions roughly match our observed temperature amplitude between UV-dark and UV-bright regions. We find no evidence for any correlation between UV-brightness and static stability in the atmosphere in the 50-80 km altitude region. This could be the first observational evidence for a direct link between UV-brightness and atmospheric temperature in the 65-70km altitude region in the clouds of Venus.

We employ the SIMBA-C cosmological simulation to study the impact of its upgraded chemical enrichment model (Chem5) on the distribution of metals in the intragroup medium (IGrM). We investigate the projected X-ray emission-weighted abundance profiles of key elements over two decades in halo mass ($10^{13} \leq M_{500}/\mathrm{M_\odot} \leq 10^{15}$). Typically, SIMBA-C generates lower-amplitude abundance profiles than SIMBA with flatter cores, in better agreement with observations. For low-mass groups, both simulations over-enrich the IGrM with Si, S, Ca, and Fe compared to observations, a trend likely related to inadequate modeling of metal dispersal and mixing. We analyze the 3D mass-weighted abundance profiles, concluding that the lower SIMBA-C IGrM abundances are primarily a consequence of fewer metals in the IGrM, driven by reduced metal yields in Chem5, and the removal of the instantaneous recycling of metals approximation employed by SIMBA. Additionally, an increased IGrM mass in low-mass SIMBA-C groups is likely triggered by changes to the AGN and stellar feedback models. Our study suggests that a more realistic chemical enrichment model broadly improves agreement with observations, but physically motivated sub-grid models for other key processes, like AGN and stellar feedback and turbulent diffusion, are required to realistically reproduce observed group environments.

Post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) binaries are surrounded by dusty circumbinary disks, and exhibit unexpected orbital properties resulting from poorly understood binary interaction processes. Re-accreted gas from the circumbinary disk alters the photospheric chemistry of the post-AGB star, producing a characteristic underabundance of refractory elements that correlates with condensation temperature $\unicode{x2013}$a phenomenon known as chemical depletion. This work investigates how re-accretion from a disk drives chemical depletion, and the impact accreted matter has on post-AGB evolution. We used the MESA code to evolve 0.55 and 0.60 M$_{\odot}$ post-AGB stars with the accretion of refractory element-depleted gas from a circumbinary disk. Our study adopts observationally-constrained initial accretion rates and disk masses to reproduce the chemical depletion patterns of six well-studied post-AGB binary stars: EP Lyr, HP Lyr, IRAS 17038-4815, IRAS 09144-4933, HD 131356, and SX Cen. We find high accretion rates ($>\,$10$^{-7}$ M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$) and large disk masses ($\geq\,$10$^{-2}$ M$_{\odot}$) necessary to reproduce observed depletion, particularly in higher-mass, hotter post-AGB stars (T$_{\textrm{eff}}\geq$ 6000 K). A slower evolution (lower core mass) is required to reproduce cooler (T$_{\textrm{eff}}\leq$ 5000 K) depleted post-AGB stars. Rapid accretion significantly impacts post-AGB evolution, stalling stars at cooler effective temperatures and extending post-AGB lifetimes by factors of around 3 to 10. Despite this, extended post-AGB timescales remain within or below the planetary nebula (PN) visibility timescale, suggesting accretion cannot account for the observed lack of ionised PNe in post-AGB binaries. Our findings constrain accretion-flow parameters and advance our understanding of disk-binary interactions in post-AGB systems.

We examine Be star discs in highly eccentric Be/X-ray systems. We use a three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code to model the structure of the Be star disc and investigate its interactions with the secondary star over time. We use system parameters consistent with the eccentric, short-period (P $\approx$ 16 d) Be/X-ray binary A0538-66 as the basis for our models. We explore a range of system geometries by incrementally varying the misalignment angle of the neutron star's orbital plane with respect to the primary star's equatorial plane to cover a complete range from coplanar prograde to coplanar retrograde. For all simulations, we follow the evolution of the disc's total mass and angular momentum as well as the average eccentricity and inclination with respect to the equatorial planes of both the primary and secondary. We also determine the neutron star accretion rates. We find that the high eccentricity of the binary orbit causes all calculated disc parameters to vary with orbital phase in all models. The amplitude of these variations is negatively correlated with misalignment angle for models with misalignment angles less than 90°, and positively correlated for models with misalignment angles greater than 90°. Accretion rates are affected by the number of particles the neutron star interacts with as well as the length of the interaction time between the particles and the neutron star. We find that accretion rates are largest for models with misalignment angles less than 90°, and smaller for models with those greater than 90°.

Bombagcino investigated the role of Immirzi parameter when promoted to a field in Einstein-Cartan-Holst black hole and they found that the Immirzi field acts similar to the axion field, as both axial pseudo-vector and vectorial torsion trace appear to be expressed in terms of the 4-gradient of the Immirzi parameter. In this paper we introduced two important ingredients absent in the previous work: the torsion mass, significant for the torsion detection the Large Hadron Collider, and the quantum correction proportional to the 4-divergent of torsion squared. Without the quantum correction, a simple analytical solution is obtained, while the more complicated field equations incorporating the BI field are obtained also analytically. The lower bound of quantum correction parameter is determined in terms of the torsion trace mass squared and axial torsion squared. Our findings reveal that in the late universe, the BI parameter approaches infinity restoring to the Einstein-Cartan theory in the early universe with the dynamical reduction of the Immirzi parameter to a constant BI parameter. Additionally, we derive analytical solutions for magnetic dynamos in the early universe, demonstrating that magnetic helicity is proportional to chiral chemical potential. A magnetic field at the QCD phase is found out of $10^{17}$ G, without quantum correction. Furthermore, from this dark magnetogenesis, we estimate light torsion with mass of the order of 1 TeV, An example of unitary preserved Lagrangian with axion as an Immirzi field is obtained. In the present universe we find a magnetic field strength of approximately $10^{-12}$ G which is quite close to the range found by Miniati at the QCD threshold, between $10^{-18}-10^{-15}$ G. Given that unitary violation on theoretical grounds may indicate new physics, exploring unitary violations in dark magnetogenesis could be particularly intriguing.

A major open issue concerning the active Sun is the effectiveness with which magnetic reconnection accelerates electrons in flares. A paper published by {\em{Nature}} in 2022 used microwave observations to conclude that the Sun is an almost ideal accelerator, energizing nearly all electrons within a coronal volume to nonthermal energies. Shortly thereafter, a paper published in {\em{Astrophysical Journal Letters}} used hard X-ray measurements \emph{of the same event} to reach the contradictory conclusion that less than 1\% of the available electrons were accelerated. Here we address this controversy by using spatially resolved observations of hard X-ray emission and a spectral inversion method to determine the evolution of the electron spectrum throughout the flare. So we estimated the density of the medium where electrons accelerate and, from this, the ratio of accelerated to ambient electron densities. Results show that this ratio never exceeds a percent or so in the cases analyzed.

Giant impacts dominate the late stages of accretion of rocky planets. They contribute to the heating, melting, and sometimes vaporizing of the bodies involved in the impacts. Due to fractionation during melting and vaporization, planet-building impacts can significantly change the composition and geochemical signatures of rocky objects. Using first-principles molecular dynamics simulations, we analyze the shock behavior of complex realistic silicate systems, representative of both rocky bodies. We introduce a novel criterion for vapor formation that uses entropy calculations to determine the minimum impact velocity required to pass the threshold for vapor production. We derive impact velocity criteria for vapor formation (7.1 km per s for chondritic bodies) and show that this threshold is reached in 61 and 89 percent of impacts in dynamical simulations of the late stages of accretion with classical and annulus starting configuration (respectively) for analogs of Earth. These outcomes should be nuanced by factors such as the impact angle and the mass of the impacting bodies, which further influence the vaporization dynamics and the resultant material distribution. Our findings indicate that vaporization was common during accretion and likely played a crucial role in shaping the early environments and material properties of terrestrial planets.

The overlap between the GAMA spectroscopic survey and the XXL X-ray survey was used to study the X-ray properties of optically-selected groups of galaxies. Forced X-ray aperture photometry was applied to an optically-selected sample of 235 groups (containing at least five member galaxies) to measure their X-ray luminosities in the regime of low signal to noise X-ray data. The sample encompasses X-ray luminosities over an order of magnitude fainter than typical X-ray selected samples, and avoids X-ray selection biases. This gives access to low mass groups where the effects of non-gravitational processes, such as AGN-feedback, should be most apparent and could inhibit their detection in an X-ray survey. We measured the X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of the sample, and found it to be consistent with the extrapolation of the XLF from X-ray selected samples at higher luminosities. The XLF was combined with a theoretical halo mass function to infer the form of the scaling relation between X-ray luminosity and mass (LM relation) for the GAMA groups. We found a slope of $1.87 \pm 0.12$, which is steeper than self similarity in this mass regime. When comparing with other measurements of the LM relation, we find evidence for a steepening of the slope in the low mass regime, likely due to the impact of non-gravitational processes. Our approach can be translated to eROSITA data using multi-wavelength surveys to constrain the X-ray properties of galaxy groups in the limits of high redshift and low mass.

We present analyses of a nitrogen-enriched star-forming galaxy, ID60001, at $z=4.6928$ based on JWST/NIRSpec MSA spectroscopy and NIRCam photometry. From rest-frame optical emission lines we derive the nitrogen-to-oxygen (N/O) abundance ratio of ID60001 to be $\log({\rm N/O})=-0.76_{-0.03}^{+0.03}$ ($[{\rm N/O}]=0.10_{-0.03}^{+0.03}$), which is significantly elevated at the corresponding metallicity $12+\log({\rm O/H})=7.75_{-0.01}^{+0.01}$ ($Z/Z_\odot = 0.12$) compared to local counterparts. We discuss possible scenarios for elevated N/O abundance in ID60001, including pristine gas inflow, Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, and Oxygen depletion by Type II supernova winds. Based on the moderately broadened He{\sc ii}$\lambda$4686 emission line, galaxy morphology, and star-formation history, we conclude that the elevated N/O abundance of ID60001 is likely originated from massive ($>25\,M_\odot$) WR stars that directly collapse into a black hole. We also stress the importance of reliable electron density measurements when deriving N/O abundance with rest-frame optical emission lines.

Aims. We aim to understand the nature of the diffuse radio emission surrounding the massive galaxy cluster PSZ2 G083.29-31.03, at z=0.412, already known to host a radio halo. Our investigation was triggered by Radio U-Net, a novel machine learning algorithm for detecting diffuse radio emission, which was previously applied to the LOFAR Two Meter Sky Survey (LoTSS). Methods. We re-processed LoTSS (120-168 MHz) data and analyzed archival XMM-Newton (0.7-1.2 keV) observations. We also analyzed optical and near-infrared data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys and asses the mass distribution with weak-lensing analysis based on archival Subaru Suprime-Cam and CFHT MegaPrime/MegaCam observations. Results. We report the discovery of large-scale diffuse radio emission around PSZ2 G083.29-31.03, with a projected largest linear size of 5 Mpc at 144 MHz. The radio emission is aligned with the thermal X-ray emission and the distribution of galaxies, unveiling the presence of two low-mass systems, at similar redshifts on either side of the central cluster. The weak lensing analysis supports this scenario, demonstrating the presence of an extended and complex mass distribution. Conclusions. We propose to interpret the two faint radio sources as connected to the central cluster, thus illuminating the presence of two substructures merging into a massive node of the cosmic web. However, because of uncertainties in redshift and mass estimates, combined with the low resolution required to detect these sources, the classification of the two sources as independent radio halos associated with nearby low-mass clusters or even as a mixture of different types of diffuse radio emission cannot be definitively ruled out.

The canonical cosmological model to explain the recent acceleration of the universe relies on a cosmological constant, and most dynamical dark energy and modified gravity model alternatives are based on scalar fields. Still, further alternatives are possible. One of these involves vector fields: under certain conditions, they can lead to accelerating universes while preserving large-scale homogeneity and isotropy. We report quantitative observational constraints on a model previously proposed by Armendáriz-Picón and known as the cosmic triad. We consider several subclasses of the model, which generically is a parametric extension of the canonical $\Lambda$CDM model, as well as two possible choices of the triad's potential. Our analysis shows that any deviations from this limit are constrained to be small. In particular the preferred present-day values of the matter density and the dark energy equation of state are fully consistent with those obtained, for the same datasets, in flat $\Lambda$CDM and $w_0$CDM. The constraints mildly depend on the priors on the dark energy equation of state, specifically on whether phantom values thereof are allowed, while the choice of potential does not play a significant role since any such potential is constrained to be relatively flat.

The recent discovery of the most extended ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG), Nube, has raised yet another question about the validity of the cold dark matter (CDM) model. The studies using cosmological and zoom-in simulations, which assume CDM, failed to replicate galaxies with the structural properties of Nube. However, the simulation box or the examined population of UDGs may be too narrow to fully capture the range of effects that can lead to the formation of such extraordinary galaxies. In this work we present a case study of a Nube-like galaxy from TNG100, the most extended simulated UDG examined to date that closely mirrors the structural properties of the observed Nube galaxy. Since its formation, the simulated Nube-like galaxy has already been ultra-diffuse and evolved mainly in isolated regions with occasional interactions. Its last major merger was finalized about 1.336 Gyr ago and left no trace of interaction apart from further extending the stellar size. This evolutionary pathway, featuring a recent merger that expanded an already ultra-diffuse stellar system, is unique and innovative compared to previous studies. We argue that multiple proposed formation mechanisms can operate simultaneously, further expanding the UDGs and making them extreme outliers of the mass-size relation under favorable conditions. Therefore, it is essential to study these simulated extreme outliers, their formation, and, more importantly, their evolution. We also highlight the necessity of carefully analyzing and interpreting the simulated data and better understanding the limitations of a chosen simulation. Thus, if Nube is considered an extreme outlier, its properties are not in tension with the standard cosmological model.

Fuzzy Dark Matter with an explicitly non-zero quartic self-interaction (gFDM) is shown to be a viable model for simultaneously fitting 17 dark-matter-dominated galaxies from the SPARC database, constraining both the boson mass, $m$, and the self-coupling constant, $g$, to values within the range $\log_{10}\left(\frac{m}{\mathrm{eV}/c^2}\right) = \log_{10}(1.98)-22^{+0.8}_{-0.6}$ and $\log_{10}\left(\frac{g}{\mathrm{Jm}^3/kg}\right) = \log_{10}(1.45)-28^{+0.4}_{-1.2}$; this is based on the combination of an appropriately constructed static super-Gaussian profile for the inner galactic core (`soliton') region, and a Navarro-Frenk-White profile for the surrounding halo region. Identification of these parameters enables the explicit {\em dynamical} reconstruction of potential host halos for such galaxies, for which we outline a procedure with a proof-of-principle demonstration for two galaxies (UGCA444, UGC07866) shown to yield viable rotation curves over a dynamical period of $O(1) \, Gyr$.

The first in-depth photometric study of four Delta Scuti stars was performed. We used time series data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) that is available in different sectors. According to the extracted maxima from TESS space-based observations, we calculated an ephemeris for each star. We estimated the physical parameters of the target stars based on the Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) parallax method. The results obtained for the surface gravity of the stars are consistent with the reports of the TESS Input Catalog and Gaia DR3. We estimated the pulsating constant based on the physical parameters and period of the stars. Therefore, we found that the stars 2MASS 15515693-7759002 and 2MASS 07513202+0526526 belong to the fundamental, while 2MASS 00044615+4936439 and 2MASS 10215638-3326137 relate to the first overtone. The Fourier analysis using the Period04 program was done for each star. As we showed in the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram, the stars are located in the instability strip of the Delta Scuti stars region. Four target stars were found to be of the low-amplitude Delta Scuti star type.

Wide-field high-precision photometric observations such as \textit{Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)} allowed the investigation of the stellar magnetic activity of cool stars. M-dwarf's starspots and stellar flares are the main indicators of magnetic activity. The present study focuses on modeling light curves (LCs) to analyze the distribution and characteristics of starspots e.g., location, temperature, and spot size. The \textit{TESS} light curves of two selected young M-dwarfs i.e. GJ~182 and 2MASS~J05160212+2214528 were reconstructed using the \textsc{BASSMAN} software, obtaining a three-spot model for GJ~182 and two-spot model for 2MASS~J05160212+2214528, describing their light curves. For GJ~182, the mean spot temperature was estimated to be approximately 3279~K, covering 5-8.5\% of the stellar surface while for 2MASS~J05160212+2214528 the average spot temperature was approximately 2631~K, with a mean spottedness of about 5.4\%. Using the 2-min cadence LC data, we identified and analyzed 48 flare events from GJ~182, while no flares were detected in 2MASS~J05160212+2214528. The estimated bolometric flare energy ranged from $10^{32} - 10^{35}$ erg, and 10$^{31}$ - 10$^{33}$ erg in the TESS bandpass. We derived the power-law index of -1.53 $\pm$ 0.12 and -1.86 $\pm$ 0.22 for flare frequency distribution in sectors 5 and 32 respectively in the flare energy 10$^{33}$ to 10$^{35}$ erg, consistent with previous studies for M-dwarfs. A positive linear correlation between flare energy and duration was found with a slope of $0.67 \pm 0.02$, suggesting a similar mechanism followed by stellar superflares and solar flares. By assuming the similarities with solar flares, we also estimated the lower limit of the magnetic field strength around 12 - 232~G to produce such superflare events.

Head-tail radio galaxies are characterized by a head, corresponding to an elliptical galaxy, and two radio jets sweeping back from the head, forming an extended structure behind the host galaxy that is moving through the intracluster medium (ICM). This morphology arises from the interaction between the diffuse radio-emitting plasma and the surrounding environment. Sometimes revived fossil plasma is found in galaxy clusters, tracing old active galactic nucleus ejecta with a very steep spectrum re-energized through processes in the ICM, unrelated to the progenitor galaxy. We aim to study the central region of Abell 1775, a galaxy cluster in an unclear dynamical state at z = 0.072. It hosts two giant radio-loud elliptical galaxies, the head-tail radio galaxy that "breaks" at the position of a cold front detected in the X-rays, filamentary revived fossil plasma, and central diffuse emission. This study aims to investigate and constrain the spectral properties and trends along the head-tail, as well as the revived fossil plasma, to better understand the formation process of the non-thermal phenomena in A1775. We make use of LOFAR (144 MHz), and new deep uGMRT observations (400 and 650 MHz). We observe an overall steepening along the tail of the head-tail radio galaxy. In the radio colour-colour diagram, ageing models reproduce the emission of the head-tail. An unexpected brightness increase at the head of the tail suggests a complex bending of the jets. We derived the equipartition magnetic field and minimum pressure along the tail. We recovered the structure of the revived fossil plasma, which appears as thin filaments with ultra-steep spectra. We show that high-sensitivity, high-resolution observations at low frequencies are essential for detecting the full extent of the tail, enabling a deeper spectral analysis and resolving the structure and spectral properties of revived fossil plasma.

In recent years, the tribocharging of colliding and bouncing submillimeter (submm) particles has been studied as a possible mechanism promoting the formation of large pebbles on centimeter (cm) to decimeter (dm) scales in protoplanetary disks. Here, we observe, for the first time, that it is not only monolithic, spherical particles, but also real dust aggregates, that become tribocharged and end up forming large clusters. For aggregates of $\sim 0.4$ mm consisting of $\rm \sim$ 1 $\rm \mu m$ sized dust, we determined net charge densities up to $10^{-7}$ C/$\rm m^2$ during our drop tower experiments. These charged aggregates form compact clusters up to 2 cm in size via collisions with other clusters and aggregates at collision velocities on the order of 1 cm/s. Size and speed are the only lower limits for growth, currently set by the limits of the experiment. However, these clusters already form under conditions that are well beyond the expected transition to bouncing for uncharged aggregates and clusters. Our findings further support the idea that collisional charging can leapfrog the traditional bouncing barrier and form larger clusters that then serve as large pebbles. These cm-sized clusters are more susceptible to further evolutionary steps via particle trapping, concentration, and planetesimal formation.

The recent evidence for dynamical dark energy from DESI, in combination with other cosmological data, has generated significant interest in understanding the nature of dark energy and its underlying microphysics. However, interpreting these results critically depends on how dark energy is parameterized. This paper examines the robustness of conclusions about the viability of particular kinds of dynamical dark energy models to the choice of parameterization, focusing on four popular two-parameter families: the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder (CPL), Jassal-Bagla-Padmanabhan (JBP), Barboza-Alcaniz (BA), and exponential (EXP) parameterizations. We find that conclusions regarding the viability of minimally and non-minimally coupled quintessence models are independent of the parameterization adopted. We demonstrate this both by mapping these dark energy models into the $(w_0, w_a)$ parameter space defined by these various parameterizations and by showing that all of these parameterizations can equivalently account for the phenomenology predicted by these dark energy models to a high degree of accuracy.

The universal relations in neutron stars form an essential entity to understand their properties. The moment of inertia, compactness, love number, mass quadrupole moment, and oscillation modes are some of the properties that have been studied previously in the context of universal relations. All of these quantities are measurable; thus, analyzing them is of utmost importance. This article analyzes the universal relations in the context of a neutron star's gravitational redshift. Using the redshift measurements of RBS 1223, RX J0720.4-3125, and RX J1856.5-3754, we provide theoretical estimates of compactness, the inverse of compactness, the moment of inertia, dimensionless tidal love number, mass quadrupole moment, the mass of the star times the ratio of angular frequency over the spin angular moment, and the average of the speed of sound squared. In the case of the redshift measurement of RX J0720.4-3125, we found that the theoretical estimate using universal relations aligns closely with the Bayesian estimate. Our findings indicate that such theoretical predictions are highly reliable for observations with low uncertainty and can be used as an alternative for statistical analysis. Additionally, we report a violation of the universality of the tidal love number and average of the speed of sound squared with respect to the gravitational redshift. Our calculations also show that the maximum redshift value for neutron stars following the current astrophysical constraints cannot exceed a value of $\le 0.763$.

Methanol (CH$_3$OH) and formaldehyde (H$_2$CO) are chemically coupled organic molecules proposed to act as an intermediate step between simple molecules and more complex prebiotic compounds. Their abundance distributions across disks regulate the prebiotic potential of material at different disk radii. We present observations of multiple methanol and formaldehyde transitions toward the Herbig Ae disk HD 100546 obtained with ALMA, building upon the previous serendipitous detection of methanol in this source. We find that methanol has a higher rotational temperature ($T_\mathrm{rot}$) than formaldehyde towards both the centrally concentrated emission component in the inner disk ($0-110$ au) and a radially separate dust ring farther out in the disk ($180-260$ au). $T_\mathrm{rot}$ decreases for methanol and formaldehyde from the inner ($152^{+35}_{-27}$ K and $76^{+9}_{-8}$ K) to the outer disk ($52^{+8}_{-6}$ K and $31^{+2}_{-2}$ K), suggesting that we are tracing two different chemical environments. $T_\mathrm{rot}$ for both species in the inner disk is consistent with thermal desorption as the origin, while the outer disk reservoir is driven by non-thermal desorption. The CH$_3$OH/H$_2$CO column density ratio decreases from 14.6$^{+5.2}_{-4.6}$ in the inner disk to $1.3^{+0.3}_{-0.2}$ in the outer disk, consistent with modelling predictions. The CH$_3$OH/H$_2$CO column density ratio for the inner disk is consistent with the median value in the range of column density ratios compiled from Solar System comets which would have formed at a similar distance. This supports the notion that interstellar ice is inherited and preserved by protoplanetary disks around solar-mass and intermediate-mass stars as we are seeing 'fresh' ice sublimation, as well as providing more evidence for the presence of prebiotic precursor molecules in planet-forming regions.

With its peculiar appearance, I Zw 18 has long been considered a unique example of a young galaxy in the nearby Universe. In this paper, we summarize the observational history of this famous galaxy, discuss the controversies surrounding its evolutionary state, and present new insights gained from JWST/NIRCam observations. These recent findings shed light on one of the most intriguing mysteries in extragalactic astronomy.

Centaurus A (Cen A) is the closest radio galaxy and a prime example of a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN), exhibiting complex emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum. The nature of its continuum emission, particularly the mechanisms powering it, has been a subject of considerable debate due to the fact that the AGN is deeply buried in dust. This study aims to elucidate the origin of the continuum emission in Cen A and determine the geometrical arrangement of matter in the nuclear region by the mean of optical and near-infrared spectropolarimetry. We obtained spectropolarimetric data of Cen A using the VLT/FORS2. The analysis revealed a region showing strong and narrow emission lines associated with AGN activity. After correction for interstellar polarization in the dust lane (but not for starlight), the intrinsic polarization of the scattered AGN light exhibits a polarization degree of 2-4%, decreasing from optical to near-infrared, associated with a polarization position angle perpendicular to the radio jet axis. We exclude the presence of hidden broad line in our polarized flux spectrum at more than 99% probability. Narrow emission lines are found to be strongly polarized and orthogonal to the jet position angle. We demonstrate that a beamed synchrotron jet, scattering onto the narrow line region (NLR) best fits all the observational properties reported in this paper and the literature. In this model, the base of the NLR is obscured by a giant circumnuclear region and can only become visible through perpendicular scattering onto the outermost part of the NLR, naturally producing high polarization degrees and polarization angles perpendicular to the radio structure. This study provides strong evidence that Cen A defines a new class of hidden-NLR AGNs and supports old predictions that beamed synchrotron jets can be observed in reflection.

Neutrino emission offers a direct probe into the hydrodynamics and energy transport processes within a supernova. Fast-time variations in the neutrino luminosity and mean energy can provide insights into phenomena like turbulence, convection, and shock revival. In this paper, we explore the detection capabilities of large-volume neutrino telescopes such as the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the planned IceCube-Gen2 detector in identifying generic fast-time features in the neutrino light curve. We also investigate the potential enhancement in detection sensitivity using wavelength shifters, which can improve light collection efficiency. By employing a Short-Time Fourier Transform analysis, we quantify the excess power in the frequency spectrum arising from fast-time modulations and compute the detection horizon for a range of generic models. We find that with IceCube we can already see the strongest modulation models (>50% amplitude) for progenitors located anywhere in the Milky Way. Sensitivity to weaker modulations (>20% amplitude) is possible in future detectors like IceCube-Gen2, in particular with the use of wavelength shifters. For all detector configurations, the frequency and central time of the fast-time feature at the 5$\sigma$ detection horizon can be measured with a resolution of 7.0 Hz and 17 ms respectively.

Chemical transport mechanisms are fundamental processes in stellar evolution models. They are responsible for the chemical distribution, and their impact determines how accurately we can characterize stars. Radiative accelerations are one of these processes. They allow the accumulation of elements at different depths in the star. We aim to assess the impact of radiative accelerations on the modeling of FGK-type stars and their impact on the prediction of surface abundances. To reduce the cost of the computation of radiative accelerations, we implemented the single-valued parameters (SVP) method in the stellar evolution code MESA. The SVP method is more efficient in calculating radiative accelerations, which enables computations of large enough grids of models for stellar characterization. Compared to models that include atomic diffusion (with only gravitational settling), the inclusion of radiative accelerations has a small effect on the inference of fundamental properties, with an impact of 2\%, 0.7\%, and 5\% for mass, radius, and age. However, the treatment of radiative accelerations is necessary to predict the chemical composition of and accurately characterize stars.

Understanding the co-evolution between supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host galaxies provides crucial insights into SMBH formation and galaxy assembly in these cosmic ecosystems. However, measuring this co-evolution, as traced by the black hole mass - stellar mass relation towards the early Universe, often suffers from significant sample selection biases. Samples selected based on the luminosity of the SMBH would preferentially find overly massive black holes relative to their host stellar mass, missing the population of lower-mass SMBHs that are underrepresented. Here we report the discovery of 13 moderate-luminosity broad-line Active Galactic Nuclei from a galaxy-based selection of 52 massive galaxies at z~3-5. The derived SMBH masses for these AGNs yield a mean SMBH-to-stellar mass ratio of ~0.1%, consistent with the local value. There is limited evolution in this mean mass ratio traced back to z~6, indicating that a significant population of ''normal'' SMBHs already existed within the first billion years of the Universe. Combined with the previous sample of overmassive black holes, there must be diverse pathways for SMBH formation in high-redshift galaxies. Most of these galaxies are experiencing star formation quenching by the observed epoch, suggesting the formation of massive quiescent galaxies does not necessarily require an overly massive black hole, contrary to some theoretical predictions.

Expanding the number of hot giant planets with atmospheric characterisation can improve our understanding of their atmospheres as well as their formation and evolution mechanisms. In this work, we use high-resolution spectroscopy in the near-infrared (NIR) to search for chemical signatures in the atmospheres of the two hot Jupiters KELT-8 b and KELT-23 Ab, and perform a first characterisation of their atmospheric properties. We measured the transmission spectrum of each target with the NIR high-resolution spectrograph GIANO-B at the TNG and searched for atmospheric signals by cross-correlating the data with synthetic transmission spectra. In order to characterise the chemical-physical properties of the two atmospheres, we ran two different atmospheric retrievals for each dataset: a retrieval assuming chemical equilibrium and a ``free-chemistry'' retrieval, in which the abundance of each molecule could vary freely. We detect $H_2O$ in the atmospheres of KELT-8 b and KELT-23 Ab with an S/N = 6.6 and S/N = 4.2, respectively. The two retrievals indicate a water-rich atmosphere for both targets. For KELT-8 b, we determine a water volume mixing ratio of log$_{10}$(VMR$_{\rm H_2O})=-2.07^{+0.53}_{-0.72}$, a metallicity [M/H] $=0.77^{+0.61}_{-0.89}$ dex, and a sub-solar C/O ratio (C/O $\leq0.30$, at $2\,\sigma$). For KELT-23 Ab, we find log$_{10}$(VMR$_{\rm H_2O})=-2.26^{+0.75}_{-1.24}$, [M/H] $=-0.42^{+1.56}_{-1.35}$ dex, and a C/O ratio $\leq0.78$ (at $2\,\sigma$). Comparing these chemical properties with those of the host stars, we suggest that, for both planets, the accretion of gaseous material occurred within the $H_2O$ snowline in a pebble-rich disk enriched in oxygen due to sublimation of water ice from the inward-drifting pebbles. In conclusion, we measure the atmospheric signals of KELT-8 b and KELT-23 Ab for the first time and place first constraints on their properties.

We present a MIRI-MRS spectrum of the high-inclination protoplanetary disk around the solar-mass (K0) star MY Lup, obtained as part of the JWST Disk Infrared Spectral Chemistry Survey (JDISCS). The spectrum shows an unusually weak water emission spectrum for a disk around a star of its spectral type, but strong emission from CO$_2$, HCN, and isotopologues of both molecules. This includes the first ever detection of C$^{18}$O$^{16}$O and H$^{13}$CN in an inner disk, as well as tentative detections of C$^{17}$O$^{16}$O and HC$^{15}$N. Slab modeling provides molecular temperatures, column densities and emitting areas of the detected molecules. The emitting molecular gas is cold compared to that of other observed protoplanetary disk spectra. We estimate the isotopologue ratios of CO$_2$ and HCN, albeit with significant uncertainty. We suggest that the unusual spectrum of MY Lup arises from a combination of inner disk clearing, which removes emission from warm water, and its nearly edge-on inclination, which enhances line-of-sight column densities, although unusual chemistry may also be required. MY Lup's spectrum highlights the potential to detect and measure trace isotopologues to study isotopic fractionation in protoplanetary disks; observations at higher spectral resolving power is needed to constrain the isotopologue ratios to greater precision.

Recent studies suggest that the stars in the outer regions of massive galaxies trace halo mass better than the inner regions and that an annular stellar mass provides a low scatter method of selecting galaxy clusters. However, we can only observe galaxies as projected two-dimensional objects on the sky. In this paper, we use a sample of simulated galaxies to study how well galaxy stellar mass profiles in three dimensions correlate with halo mass, and what effects arise when observationally projecting stellar profiles into two dimensions. We compare 2D and 3D outer stellar mass selections and find that they have similar performance as halo mass proxies and that, surprisingly, a 2D selection sometimes has marginally better performance. We also investigate whether the weak lensing profiles around galaxies selected by 2D outer stellar mass suffer from projection effects. We find that the lensing profiles of samples selected by 2D and 3D definitions are nearly identical, suggesting that the 2D selection does not create a bias. These findings underscore the promise of using outer stellar mass as a tool for identifying galaxy clusters.

Unsupervised machine learning methods are well suited to searching for anomalies at scale but can struggle with the high-dimensional representation of many modern datasets, hence dimensionality reduction (DR) is often performed first. In this paper we analyse unsupervised anomaly detection (AD) from the perspective of the manifold created in DR. We present an idealised illustration, "Finding Pegasus", and a novel formal framework with which we categorise AD methods and their results into "on manifold" and "off manifold". We define these terms and show how they differ. We then use this insight to develop an approach of combining AD methods which significantly boosts AD recall without sacrificing precision in situations employing high DR. When tested on MNIST data, our approach of combining AD methods improves recall by as much as 16 percent compared with simply combining with the best standalone AD method (Isolation Forest), a result which shows great promise for its application to real-world data.

Since the last nuclear atmospheric test carried out by the People Republic of China in 1980 and since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, the plutonium hasn't been directly released into the atmosphere. However, nowadays, it is still present in the troposphere. This is due to plutonium-bearing soil particles physical resuspension processes. In this work, we study for the first time the temporal variation of plutonium isotopes, 239Pu and 240Pu, baseline concentrations on a monthly basis in surface air from Seville (Spain), and their correlation with some tracers of mineral dust, during 2001 and 2002. The Pu analyses were performed by low-energy Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The 239Pu plus 240Pu (239+240Pu) activity levels achieved maximums during the summer period, characterized by the absence of rains, and minimums during the rainy seasons, laying in the range 1-20 nBq per cubic meter. The 240Pu/239Pu two-year average atomic ratio was 0.18(0.03), in agreement with the fallout plutonium. A good correlation with Pu and Al and Ti levels is observed. They are crustal components usually used as tracers of African dust over European countries. The hypothesis of the influence of the Saharan dust intrusions is supported as well through the study of Total Ozone Mass Spectrometer (TOMS) daily images.

VMEC++ is a Python-friendly, from-scratch reimplementation in C++ of the Variational Moments Equilibrium Code (VMEC), a fixed- and free-boundary ideal-MHD equilibrium solver for stellarators and tokamaks. The first VMEC implementation was written by Steven P. Hirshman and colleagues in the 1980s and 1990s and its latest Fortran incarnation (PARVMEC, this https URL) is widely used in stellarator optimization systems. Our work improves on previous implementations with regard to various critical aspects: special care has been put in providing an idiomatic Python experience, from installation to actual usage; VMEC++ has a zero-crash policy; it supports inputs in the classic INDATA format as well as friendlier JSON files. VMEC++ execution times are typically less than or equal to previous implementations, and time to convergence can be decreased dramatically by leveraging its hot-restart feature: by providing the output of a VMEC++ run as initial state for a subsequent one, VMEC++ is initialized using the previously converged equilibrium. This can dramatically decrease runtimes when running on many similar magnetic configurations as it typically happens in stellarator optimization pipelines. On the flip side, some features of the original Fortran VMEC implementation are not yet available in VMEC++, such as support for non-stellarator-symmetric configurations. This contribution presents the internal numerics of the open-source VMEC++ package publicly for the first time.

Cosmological scalar fields coupled to the Standard Model drive temporal variations in the fundamental constants that grow with redshift, positioning the early Universe as a powerful tool to study such models. We investigate the dynamics and phenomenology of coupled scalars from the early Universe to the present to consistently leverage the myriad searches for time-varying constants and the cosmological signatures of scalars' gravitational effects. We compute the in-medium contribution from Standard Model particles to the scalar's dynamics and identify only a limited range of couplings for which the scalar has an observable impact on the fundamental constants without either evolving before recombination or gravitating nonnegligibly. We then extend existing laboratory and astrophysical bounds to the hyperlight scalar regime. We present joint limits from the early and late Universe, specializing to hyperlight, quadratically coupled scalars that modulate the mass of the electron or the strength of electromagnetism and make up a subcomponent of the dark matter today. Our dedicated analysis of observations of the cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations, and type Ia supernovae provides the most stringent constraints on quadratically coupled scalars with masses from $10^{-28.5}$ to $\sim 10^{-31}~\mathrm{eV}$, below which quasar absorption spectra yield stronger bounds. These results jointly limit hyperlight scalars that comprise a few percent of the current dark matter density to near- or subgravitational couplings to electrons or photons.

We explore a minimal scenario where the sole Standard-Model Higgs is responsible for reheating the Universe after inflation, produces a significant background of gravitational waves and maintains the full classical stability of the electroweak vacuum. As the Higgs self-coupling runs toward negative values at high energy scales, a non-minimal interaction with curvature during a stiff background expansion era drives the Higgs fluctuations closer to the instability scale. This curvature-induced tachyonic instability leads to an intense production of Higgs particles, accompanied by a stochastic gravitational-wave background. The characteristic features of such signal can be directly correlated to the inflationary scale, the non-minimal coupling parameter and the top quark Yukawa coupling. We distinguish between three possible scenarios: absolute stability with low top quark masses, potential vacuum instability, and absolute stability with new physics above the instability scale. Our findings suggest that the detection of a peaked background of gravitational waves together with its inflationary tail has the potential to unveil the features of the Higgs effective potential at very high energy scales while providing a minimal explanation for the reheating phase and the emergence of the Standard-Model plasma in the early Universe. Unlike other studies in the literature, the generation of gravitational waves in our scenario does not depend on the quantum instability of the Standard Model vacuum.

We investigate the implications of matter effects to searches for axion Dark Matter on Earth. The finite momentum of axion Dark Matter is crucial to elucidating the effects of Earth on both the axion Dark Matter field value and its gradient. We find that experiments targeting axion couplings compatible with canonical solutions of the strong CP puzzle are likely not affected by Earth's matter effects. However, experiments sensitive to lighter axions with stronger couplings can be significantly affected, with a significant part of the parameter space suffering from a reduced axion field value, and therefore decreased experimental sensitivity. In contrast, the spatial gradient of the axion field can be enhanced along Earth's radial direction, with important implications for ongoing and planned experiments searching for axion Dark Matter.

Several detection strategies for wave-like dark matter make use of gradients in the dark matter field, e.g. searches for spin-dependent derivative interactions in CASPEr-wind or experiments looking for oscillating forces. These gradients are usually suppressed by the local dark matter velocity $\sim 10^{-3}$. In this note we investigate how these gradients are modified in the presence of additional quadratic interactions of the dark matter field with ordinary matter. In this case the dark matter density and field are modified in the vicinity of Earth, affecting the detection sensitivity due to the change in the local field value at the Earth's surface but also due to the gradient of the field profile itself. We also use this opportunity to present results on the expected field profiles in presence of a non-vanishing relative velocity of the dark matter with respect to Earth. We also comment how this ameliorates the divergences that appear for certain attractive coupling values.

We investigate the correspondence between Myrzakulov $F(R,Q)$ gravity and Tsallis cosmology. The former is a modified gravity that uses both curvature and nonmetricity, while the latter is a modified cosmology arising from the gravity-thermodynamics conjecture, employing Tsallis entropy instead of the Bekenstein-Hawking one. By appropriately identifying the functional dependencies and the model parameters, we demonstrate that both frameworks can give identical background evolution, reproducing the standard cosmological sequence of matter and dark energy domination. However, their perturbation behavior exhibits differences, since the growth of density fluctuations and the effective Newton constant deviate between the two scenarios, indicating that perturbative observables, such as structure formation and weak-lensing ones, could serve as distinguishing factors between them.

We develop a phenomenological model of strong imbalanced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence that accounts for intermittency and the reflection of Alfven waves by spatial variations in the Alfven speed. Our model predicts the slopes of the inertial-range Elsasser power spectra, the scaling exponents of the higher-order Elsasser structure functions, and the way in which the parallel (to the magnetic field) length scale of the fluctuations varies with the perpendicular length scale. These predictions agree reasonably well with measurements of solar-wind turbulence from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP). In contrast to previous models of intermittency in balanced MHD turbulence, we find that intermittency in reflection-driven MHD turbulence increases the parallel wave numbers of the energetically dominant fluctuations at small perpendicular length scales. This, like the PSP measurements with which our model agrees, suggests that turbulence in the solar wind and solar corona may lead to more ion cyclotron heating than previously realized.

Accurately estimating the parameters of the nanohertz gravitational-wave background is essential for understanding its origin. The background is typically modeled with a power-law spectrum, parametrized with an amplitude $A$, which describes its intensity, and a spectral index $\gamma$, which describes how the background varies with frequency. Different collaborations have produced varied estimates of $\gamma$, some in tension with the value of $\gamma = 13/3$ expected for circular, gravitational-wave-driven binary black holes. However, estimates of $A$ and $\gamma$ can be affected by systematic errors and misspecified noise models. We investigate how systematic errors, which may plausibly be present in pulsar-timing analyses, can shift inferences about $A, \gamma$. We demonstrate that conservatively incorporating noise sources into the model that are not actually present in the data does not produce bias inferences in practice. This addresses concerns that an overly complex noise model might lead to bias from a needlessly conservative prior. Our results highlight the importance of using comprehensive noise models in pulsar timing analyses to ensure accurate and reliable parameter estimation of the gravitational-wave background.

We report observations of solar wind turbulence derived from measurements by the Parker Solar Probe. Our findings reveal the emergence of finite magnetic helicity within the transition range of the turbulence, aligning with signatures of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs). Notably, as the wave scale transitions from super-ion to sub-ion scales, the ratio of KAWs with opposing signs of magnetic helicity initially increases from approximately 1 to 6 before returning to 1. This observation provides, for the first time, compelling evidence for the transition from imbalanced kinetic Alfvénic turbulence to balanced kinetic Alfvénic turbulence.

Plasma spectroscopy is a fundamental tool for diagnosing laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Accurate interpretation of spectra depends upon precise modeling and comprehension of Stark-broadening and other mechanisms affecting spectral lines. In this context, computer simulations have emerged as invaluable tools, offering \textit{idealized experiments} with well-defined conditions. Molecular dynamics simulations, in particular, excel at replicating the particle interactions within the plasma and their impact on the state of a radiating atom or ion. However, these simulations present challenges in tracking electron capture processes, since setting an unambiguous criterion to distinguish between bound and free electrons is not trivial. In this paper we introduce a new algorithm that, within a classical framework, precisely identifies the scenario in which an electron is captured by an ion and then follows a stable orbit around it. The algorithm's applicability extends to emitters with charges Z >= 1. Importantly, the procedure enables the correct identification of valid time-histories of the electric microfield perturbing the emitting ion, which will be used for subsequent line shape calculations. As a result, our simulations naturally and accurately incorporate the effects of both strong collisions and electron capture phenomena on spectral line broadening.

A five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein spacetime model is considered, with one extra compactified spatial dimension. The equation of state of an electrically neutral, zero-temperature Fermi gas with a repulsive linear potential is described. From the equation of state, the speed of sound squared is calculated and shown for different model parameters. Its properties are studied from lower energies up to the conformal limit.

We outline the theory of spin QGP (quark-gluon plasma) magnetization. We explore the primordial epoch shortly after the Big-Bang within temperatures of 150 MeV to 500 MeV, also of interest to laboratory experiments. The ferro-magnetized fermion gas we consider consists of (light) quarks in laboratory QGP, and also leptons (electrons) for the case of the primordial Universe. We show that a fully spin-polarized up-quark gas could generate cosmic magnetic fields in excess of $10^{15}$ Tesla. We suggest that even a weakly spin-polarized gas would have a profound impact on properties of the primordial Universe which can be explored in laboratory QGP experiments. We present details of how the magnetization is obtained using a grand partition function approach. This requires evaluating slowly convergent magnetized Fermi-Dirac integrals.