Papers for Wednesday, Jun 04 2025

Our understanding of the physical properties of star-forming galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR, at $z > 6$) suffers from degeneracies among the apparent properties of the stars, the nebular gas, and the dust. These degeneracies are most prominent with photometry, which has insufficient (1) spectral resolution and (2) rest-frame spectral coverage. We explore ways to break these degeneracies with a sample of $N = 22$ high-redshift star-forming galaxies at $7 < z_{\mathrm{phot}} \leq 9$, using some of the deepest existing imaging from JWST/NIRCam and JWST/MIRI with JADES. Key to this study is the imaging from JWST/MIRI at $7.7\ \mu\mathrm{m}$, which provides coverage of the rest-frame $I$-band at the observed redshifts. We infer stellar population properties and rest-frame colors using a variety of filter sets and star formation history assumptions to explore the impact of these choices. Evaluating these quantities both with and without the $7.7\ \mu\mathrm{m}$ data point shows that dense spectral coverage with JWST/NIRCam (eight or more filters, including at least one medium-band) can compensate for lacking the rest-frame $I$-band coverage for the vast majority ($\approx 80\%$) of our sample. Furthermore, these galaxy properties are most consistently determined by assuming the delayed-tau star formation history, which provides the smallest offsets and scatters around these offsets when including JWST/MIRI. Within extragalactic surveys like JADES and CEERS, our findings suggest that robust characterization of the stellar population properties and rest-frame colors for high-redshift star-forming galaxies is possible with JWST/NIRCam alone at $z \approx 8$.

Magnetic reconnection -- a fundamental plasma physics process, where magnetic field lines of opposite polarity annihilate -- is invoked in astrophysical plasmas as a powerful mechanism of nonthermal particle acceleration, able to explain fast-evolving, bright high-energy flares. Near black holes and neutron stars, reconnection occurs in the ``relativistic'' regime, in which the mean magnetic energy per particle exceeds the rest mass energy. This review reports recent advances in our understanding of the kinetic physics of relativistic reconnection: (1) Kinetic simulations have elucidated the physics of plasma heating and nonthermal particle acceleration in relativistic reconnection; (2) The physics of radiative relativistic reconnection, with its self-consistent interplay between photons and reconnection-accelerated particles -- a peculiarity of luminous, high-energy astrophysical sources -- is the new frontier of research; (3) Relativistic reconnection plays a key role in global models of high-energy sources, both in terms of global-scale layers, as well as of reconnection sites generated as a byproduct of local magnetohydrodynamic instabilities. We summarize themes of active investigation and future directions, emphasizing the role of upcoming observational capabilities, laboratory experiments, and new computational tools.

The airglow continuum in the near infrared is a challenge to quantify due to its faintness, and the grating scattered light from atmospheric hydroxyl (OH) emission lines. Despite its faintness, the airglow continuum sets the fundamental limits for ground-based spectroscopy of faint targets, and makes the difference between ground and space-based observation in the interline regions between atmospheric emission lines. We aim to quantify the level of airglow continuum radiance in the VIS -- NIR wavelength range observable with silicon photodetectors for the site Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in a way that our measurement will not be biased by the grating scattered light. We aim to do this by measuring the airglow continuum radiance with a minimal and controlled contamination from the broad instrumental scattering wings caused by the bright atmospheric OH lines. We measure the airglow continuum radiance with longslit $\lambda/\Delta\lambda\sim4000$ spectrograph in $\sim$100Å wide narrow band passes centered at 6720, 7700, 8700 and 10500Å (in line with the R, I, and Z broadbands) with the 2.5-meter Nordic Optical Telescope under photometric dark sky conditions. The bandpasses are chosen to be as clean as possible from atmospheric absorption and the OH line emission keeping the radiation reaching the grating surface at minimum. We observe the zenith equivalent airglow continuum to be 22.5mag/arcsec2 at 6720Å band, and 22mag/arcsec2 at 8700Å. We derive upper limits of 22mag/arcsec2 at 7700Å due to difficulty to find a clean part of spectrum for measurement, and 20.8mag/arcsec2 at 10500Å due to low system sensitivity. Within measurement errors and the natural variability expected for the airglow emission our results for the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos are comparable to values reported for other major observatory sites. (abridged)

Inferences on the properties Type II supernovae (SNe) can provide significant insights into the lives and deaths of the astrophysical population of massive stars and potentially provide measurements of luminosity distance, independent of the distance ladder. Here, we introduce surrogate models for the photospheric properties and lightcurves of Type II SNe trained on a large grid of simulations from the radiation hydrodynamics code, {\sc stella}. The trained model can accurately and efficiently ($\sim 30$ms) predict the lightcurves and properties of Type II SNe within a large parameter space of progenitor ($10-18 M_{\odot}$ at ZAMS) and nickel masses ($0.001-0.3M_{\odot}$), progenitor mass-loss rate ($10^{-5}-10^{-1}~M_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$), CSM radius ($1-10\times10^{14}$cm), and SN explosion energies ($0.5-5 \times 10^{51}$erg). We validate this model through inference on lightcurves and photosphere properties drawn directly from the original {\sc stella} simulations not included in training. In particular, for a synthetic Type II SNe observed within the 10-year LSST survey, we find we can measure the progenitor and nickel masses with $\approx 9\%$ and $\approx 25\%$ precision, respectively, when fitting the photometric data while accounting for the uncertainty in the surrogate model itself. Meanwhile, from real observations of SN~2004et, SN~2012aw, and SN~2017gmr we infer a progenitor ZAMS mass of $12.15_{-1.06}^{+1.03} M_{\odot}$, $10.61_{-0.32}^{+0.37} M_{\odot}$, $10.4 \pm 0.3 M_{\odot}$, respectively. We discuss systematic uncertainties from our surrogate modelling approach and likelihood approaches to account for these uncertainties. We further discuss future extensions to the model to enable stronger constraints on properties of Type II SNe and their progenitors, for cosmological applications, and applications of our surrogate modelling approach to other transients.

The impending discovery and monitoring of hundreds of new gravitationally lensed quasars and supernovae from upcoming ground and space based large area surveys such as LSST, \textit{Euclid}, and \textit{Roman} necessitates the development of improved numerical methods for studying gravitational microlensing. We present in this work the fastest microlensing map generation code currently publicly available. We utilize graphics processing units to take advantage of the inherent parallelizable nature of creating magnification maps, in addition to using 1) the fast multipole method to reduce the runtime dependence on the number of microlenses and 2) inverse polygon mapping to reduce the number of rays required. The code is available at this https URL.

We study primordial gravitational waves (GWs) generated from first-order phase transitions (PTs) during cosmic reheating. Using a minimal particle physics model, and a general parametrization of the inflaton energy density and the evolution of the Standard Model temperature, we explore the conditions under which PTs occur and determine the corresponding PT parameters (the PT temperature, duration and strength), which depend on the evolution of the background during reheating. We find that, in certain cosmological scenarios, PTs can be delayed and prolonged compared to the standard post-inflationary evolution. Incorporating these PT parameters, we compute the resulting GW spectrum generated from the various processes occurring during a first-order PT: bubble collisions, sound waves, and magneto-hydrodynamic turbulence. We find that, in comparison to the standard cosmological history, the GW amplitude and peak frequency can be modified by several orders of magnitude due to the additional enhancement or suppression arising from the cosmological evolution during reheating. In particular, the GW spectra could be within the reach of next-generation GW and CMB observatories.

Type Iax supernovae (SNe Iax) are perhaps the most numerous class of peculiar thermonuclear supernova and yet their sample size, particularly those observed shortly after explosion, remains relatively small. In this paper we present photometric and spectroscopic observations of two SNe Iax discovered shortly after explosion, SN 2024bfu and SN 2025qe. Both SNe were observed by multiple all-sky surveys, enabling tight constraints on the moment of first light and the shape of the early light curve. Our observations of SN 2025qe begin <2 d after the estimated time of first light and represent some of the earliest observations of any SN Iax. We identify features consistent with carbon absorption throughout the spectroscopic evolution of SN 2025qe, potentially indicating the presence of unburned material throughout the ejecta. Inspired by our early light curve coverage, we gather a sample of SNe Iax observed by ATLAS, GOTO, and ZTF, and measure their rise times and early light curve power-law rise indices. We compare our findings to a sample of normal SNe Ia and find indications that SNe Iax show systematically shorter rise times, but the small sample size and relatively large uncertainties prevent us from identifying statistically significant differences in most bands. We find some indication that SNe Iax show systematically lower rise indices than normal SNe Ia in all bands. The low rise indices observed among SNe Iax is qualitatively consistent with extended $^{56}$Ni distributions and more thoroughly-mixed ejecta compared to normal SNe Ia, similar to predictions from pure deflagration explosions.

Advancements in analyses of caustic crossing events in gravitationally microlensed quasars and supernovae can benefit from numerical simulations which locate the caustics in conjunction with the creation of magnification maps. We present a GPU code which efficiently solves this problem; the code is available at this https URL. We discuss how the locations of the microcaustics can be used to determine the number of caustic crossings and the distances to caustics, both of which can be used to constrain the space of nuisance parameters such as source position and velocity within magnification maps.

Current data in the form of baryon acoustic oscillation, supernova, and cosmic microwave background distances prefer a cosmology that accelerates more strongly than $\Lambda$CDM at $z\approx0.5-1.5$, and more weakly at $z\lesssim0.5$. We examine dark energy physics that can accommodate this, showing that interactions (decays, coupling to matter, nonminimal coupling to gravity) fairly generically tend not to give a satisfactory solution (in terms of fitting both distances and growth) even if they enable the effective dark energy equation of state to cross $w=-1$. To fit the cosmological data it appears the dark energy by itself must cross $w=-1$, a highly unusual physical behavior.

The simple stellar population models produced by stellar population and spectral synthesis (SPS) codes are used as spectral templates in a variety of astrophysical contexts. In this paper, we test the predictions of four commonly used stellar population synthesis codes (YGGDRASIL, BPASS, FSPS, and a modified form of GALAXEV which we call GALAXEVneb) by using them as spectral templates for photometric SED fitting with a sample of 18 young stellar clusters. All clusters have existing HST COS FUV spectroscopy that provide constraints on their ages as well as broadband photometry from HST ACS and WFC3. We use model spectra that account for both nebular and stellar emission, and additionally test four extinction curves at different values of $R_V$. We find that for individual clusters, choice of extinction curve and SPS model can introduce significant scatter into the results of SED fitting. Model choice can introduce scatter of 34.8 Myr in age, a factor of 9.5 in mass, and 0.40mag in extinction. Extinction curve choice can introduce scatter of up to a factor of 32.3 Myr in age, a factor of 10.4 in mass, and 0.41mag in extinction. We caution that because of this scatter, one-to-one comparisons between the properties of individual objects derived using different SED fitting setups may not be meaningful. However, our results also suggest that SPS model and extinction curve choice do not introduce major systematic differences into SED fitting results when the entire cluster population is considered. The distribution of cluster properties for a large enough sample is relatively robust to user choice of SPS code and extinction curve.

The local X-ray AGN population appears to follow a growth cycle regulated by the AGN's own radiation, marked by changes in their obscuration and Eddington ratio during accretion events. Because AGN in infrared-selected galaxies are more likely to be Compton-thick and have evidence for over-massive black holes, we explore whether infrared-selected AGN follow the radiation-regulated AGN growth scheme. We calculate the Eddington ratios of nine U/LIRG AGN with dynamical BH mass measurements, finding that though the number of objects is limited, AGN in IR-selected galaxies appear consistent with radiation pressure-regulated growth. We suggest that enlarging the sample of dynamical BH mass measurements in IR-selected systems will provide more stringent tests of whether their AGN are primarily regulated by radiation pressure.

The detection and characterization of the 21cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) demands extraordinary precision in radio interferometric observations and analysis. For modern low-frequency arrays, achieving the dynamic range necessary to detect this signal requires simulation frameworks to validate analysis techniques and characterize systematic effects. However, the computational expense of direct visibility calculations grows rapidly with sky model complexity and array size, posing a potential bottleneck for scalable forward modeling. In this paper, we present fftvis, a high-performance visibility simulator built on the Flatiron Non-Uniform Fast-Fourier Transform (finufft) algorithm. We show that fftvis matches the well-validated matvis simulator to near numerical precision while delivering substantial runtime reductions, up to two orders of magnitude for dense, many-element arrays. We provide a detailed description of the fftvis algorithm and benchmark its computational performance, memory footprint, and numerical accuracy against matvis, including a validation study against analytic solutions for diffuse sky models. We further assess the utility of fftvis in validating 21cm analysis pipelines through a study of the dynamic range in simulated delay and fringe-rate spectra. Our results establish fftvis as a fast, precise, and scalable simulation tool for 21cm cosmology experiments, enabling end-to-end validation of analysis pipelines.

Sorcha is a solar system survey simulator built for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) and future large-scale wide-field surveys. Over the ten-year survey, the LSST is expected to collect roughly a billion observations of minor planets. The task of a solar system survey simulator is to take a set of input objects (described by orbits and physical properties) and determine what a real or hypothetical survey would have discovered. Existing survey simulators have a computational bottleneck in determining which input objects lie in each survey field, making them infeasible for LSST data scales. Sorcha can swiftly, efficiently, and accurately calculate the on-sky positions for sets of millions of input orbits and surveys with millions of visits, identifying which exposures these objects cross, in order for later stages of the software to make detailed estimates of the apparent magnitude and detectability of those input small bodies. In this paper, we provide the full details of the algorithm and software behind Sorcha's ephemeris generator. Like many of Sorcha's components, its ephemeris generator can be easily used for other surveys.

Inflation is known to produce large infrared scalar fluctuations. Further, if a scalar field $(\chi)$ is non-minimally coupled with gravity through $\xi \chi^2 R$, those infrared modes experience \textit{tachyonic instability} during and after inflation. Those large non-perturbative infrared modes can collectively produce hot Big Bang universe upon their horizon entry during the post-inflationary period. We indeed find that for reheating equation of state (EoS), $w_{\phi} > 1/3$, and coupling strength, $\xi>1/6$, large infrared fluctuations lead to successful reheating. We further analyze perturbative reheating by solving the standard Boltzmann equation in both Jordan and Einstein frames, and compare the results with the non-perturbative ones. Finally, embedding this infrared reheating scenario into the well-known $\alpha-$attractor inflationary model, we examine possible constraints on the model parameters in light of the latest ACT, DESI results. To arrive at the constraints, we take into account the latest bounds on tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r_{0.05}\leq 0.038$, isocurvature power spectrum, $\mathcal{P}_{\mathcal{S}} \lesssim 8.3\times 10^{-11}$, and effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom, $\Delta N_{\rm eff} \lesssim 0.17 $. Subject to these constraints, we find successful reheating to occur only for EoS $w_{\phi}\gtrsim 0.6$, which translates to a sub-class of $\alpha-$attractor models being favored and placing them within the 2$\sigma$ region in the $ n_s-r$ plane of the latest ACT, DESI data. In this range of EoS, we find that the coupling strength should lie within $2.11\lesssim\xi\lesssim 2.95$ for $w_{\phi}=0.6$. Finally, we compute secondary gravitational wave signals induced by the scalar infrared modes, which are found to be strong enough to be detected by future GW observatories, namely BBO, DECIGO, LISA, and ET.

We present a search for distant planets in Pan-STARRS1. We calibrated our search by injecting an isotropic control population of synthetic detections into Pan-STARRS1 source catalogs, providing a high-fidelity alternative to injecting synthetic sources at the image level. We found that our method is sensitive to a wide range of distances, as well as all rates and directions of motion. We identified 692 solar system objects (109 of which are not yet listed in the Minor Planet Center's database), including 642 TNOs, 23 of which are dwarf planets. By raw number of detections, this makes our search the third most productive Kuiper Belt survey to date, in spite of the fact that we did not explicitly search for objects closer than 80 au. Although we did not find Planet Nine or any other planetary objects, we were able to show that the remaining parameter space for Planet Nine is highly concentrated in the galactic plane.

The scintillation of pulsars reveals small-scale structure of the interstellar medium. A powerful technique for characterizing the scintillating structures (screens) combines analysis of scintillation arcs and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). We present the results of a VLBI analysis of the scintillation arcs of PSR B1133+16 from simultaneous observations with Arecibo, VLA, Jodrell Bank, Effelsberg, and Westerbork. Three arcs appear in the data set, all of which appear consistent with being the result of very anisotropic scattering screens. We are able to measure their orientations on the sky, down to uncertainties of $3^\circ$ for the two stronger screens, and measure distances, of $140\pm30$, $180\pm20$, and $280\pm50{\rm\,pc}$, consistent with, but substantially more precise than what was inferred previously from annual modulation patterns in the scintillation. Comparing with the differential dust extinction with distance in this direction, the two nearer screens appear associated with the wall of the Local Bubble.

We investigate how AGN disk turbulence affects the orbital dynamics of a stellar-mass black hole (BH) initially located at a migration trap, focusing on the long-term behavior of eccentricity and inclination in the quasi-embedded regime. We develop a semi-analytical framework in which turbulence is modeled as a stochastic velocity field acting through a modified drag force. We integrate the resulting stochastic differential equations both in Cartesian coordinates and in orbital elements using a linearized perturbative approach, and compare these results with full numerical simulations. Eccentricity and inclination evolve toward steady-state Rayleigh distributions, with variances determined by the local disk properties and the ratio of the gas damping rate to the orbital frequency. The analytical predictions agree well with the numerical simulations. We provide closed-form expressions for the variances in both the fast and slow damping regimes. These results are directly applicable to Monte Carlo population models and can serve as physically motivated initial conditions for hydrodynamical simulations. Turbulent forcing prevents full circularization and alignment of BH orbits in AGN disks, even in the presence of strong gas drag. This has important implications for BH merger and binary formation rates, which are sensitive to the residual eccentricity and inclination. Our results highlight the need to account for turbulence-induced stochastic heating when modeling the dynamical evolution of compact objects in AGN environments.

Recent advances in space and ground-based facilities now enable atmospheric characterization of a selected sample of rocky exoplanets. These atmospheres offer key insights into planetary formation and evolution, but their interpretation requires models that couple atmospheric processes with both the planetary interior and the surrounding space environment. This work focuses on the Earth-size planet LP791 18d, which is estimated to receive continuous tidal heating due to the orbital configuration of the system; thus, it is expected to exhibit volcanic activity. We estimate the mantle temperature of 1680-1880 K. Our results show that the atmospheric mean molecular weight gradient is controlled by oxygen fugacity rather than bulk metallicity. Furthermore, we use the atmospheric steady-state solutions produced from the interior redox state versus surface pressure parameter space and explore their atmospheric stability. We find that stability is achieved only in highly oxidized scenarios while reduced interior states fall into the hydrodynamic escape regime with mass loss rates on the order of 10^5-10^8 kg/s. We argue that scenarios with reduced interior states are likely to have exhausted their volatile budget during the planets lifetime. Furthermore, we predict the atmospheric footprint of the planets interior based on its oxidation state and assess its detectability using current or forthcoming tools to constrain the internal and atmospheric composition. We show that the degeneracy between bare rock surfaces and thick atmospheres can be resolved by using three photometric bands to construct a color-color diagram that accounts for potential effects from photochemical hazes and clouds. Our modeling approach connects interior and atmospheric processes, providing a basis to explore volatile evolution and potential habitability.

The development of large-aperture submillimeter telescopes, such as the Large Submillimeter Telescope (LST) and the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), is essential to overcome the limitations of current observational capabilities in submillimeter astronomy. These telescopes face challenges related to maintaining high surface accuracy of the main reflector while minimizing the weight of the telescope structure. This study introduces a genetic algorithm (GA)-based structural optimization, previously applied in related works, to 50 m-class backup structures (BUSes) with a variable focal position, addressing the challenge of achieving both lightweight construction and high surface accuracy through the consideration of homologous deformation. We model the BUS as a truss structure and perform multi-objective optimization using a GA. The optimization process considers two structures: axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric between the top and bottom. The optimization aims to find structures that simultaneously minimize the maximum stroke length of actuators and the mass of the BUS under practical constraints. The optimized structures show improved surface accuracy, primarily due to the minimization of the maximum actuator stroke length, and reduced weight, both achieved under the imposed constraints. Notably, we find a homologous BUS solution that achieves a surface error of down to $\sim 5\,\mu\mathrm{m}$ RMS with a tiny portion of the truss nodes being actively controlled. The results highlight the potential of GA-based optimization in the design of next-generation submillimeter telescopes, suggesting that further exploration of non-axisymmetric structures could yield even more effective solutions. Our findings support the application of advanced optimization techniques to achieve high-performance and cost-effective telescope designs.

WASP-121b has been established as a benchmark ultrahot Jupiter, serving as a laboratory for the atmospheric chemistry and dynamics of strongly irradiated extrasolar gas giants. Here, we present and analyze WASP-121b's transmission spectrum observed with NIRSpec G395H on board the James Webb Space Telescope and find evidence for the thermal dissociation of H$_2$O and H$_2$ on the planet's permanent dayside. Additionally, we detect SiO at a statistical significance of $5.2\sigma$ which is compatible with chemical equilibrium in the atmosphere. Constraining the abundance of SiO and abundance ratios between silicon and volatile atoms in WASP-121b's atmosphere could help discriminate between possible migration histories of the planet. The three-dimensional nature of thermal dissociation on WASP-121b's dayside and of recombination on its nightside, however, poses a challenge to constraining molecular abundances and elemental abundance ratios from the transmission spectrum. To account for this, we implemented an atmospheric model in the NEMESIS framework that splits the planet's atmosphere into dayside and nightside. A retrieval applying our atmospheric model to WASP-121b's transmission spectrum favors a higher H$_2$O abundance on the nightside than on the dayside, demonstrating the impact of hemispheric heterogeneity when attempting to constrain WASP-121b's bulk H$_2$O inventory.

The majority of gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaboration originate from binary black hole (BBH) mergers, for which no confirmed electromagnetic counterparts have been identified to date. However, if such mergers occur within the disk of an active galactic nucleus (AGN), they may generate observable optical flares induced by relativistic jet activity and shock-heated gas. We present results from a long-term optical follow-up of the gravitational wave event S231206cc, conducted with the T80-South telescope as part of the S-PLUS Transient Extension Program (STEP). Our search prioritized AGN-hosted environments by crossmatching the gravitational wave localization with known AGN catalogs. No candidate met the criteria for a viable optical counterpart. We explored three BBH merger scenarios predicting optical emission in AGN disks: (i) ram pressure stripping, (ii) long-term emission from an emerging jet cocoon, and (iii) jet breakout followed by shock cooling. Using our observational cadence and depth, we constrained the BBH parameter space, including the remnant's location within the AGN disk, kick velocity, and supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass. Detectable flares are most likely when mergers occur at 0.01-0.1 parsecs from SMBHs with masses between 10^7 and 10^8 solar masses, where short delay times and long durations best align with our follow-up strategy. These results provide a framework for identifying AGN-hosted BBH counterparts and guiding future multimessenger efforts.

We investigate the Barrow-Tsallis Holographic Dark Energy (BTHDE) model using both traditional Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods and a Bayesian Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) framework, employing a range of cosmological observations. Our analysis incorporates data from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), CMB lensing, Cosmic Chronometers (CC), and the Pantheon+ Type Ia supernova compilation. We focus on constraining the Hubble constant $ H_0 $, the nonextensive entropy index $ q $, the Barrow exponent $ \Delta $, and the Granda-Oliveros parameters $ \alpha $ and $ \beta $, along with the total neutrino mass $ \Sigma m_\nu $. The Bayesian PINN approach yields more precise constraints than MCMC, particularly for $ \beta $, and tighter upper bounds on $ \Sigma m_\nu $. The inferred values of $ H_0 $ from both methods lie between those from Planck 2018 and SH$_0$ES (R22), alleviating the Hubble tension to within $ 1.3\sigma $-$2.1\sigma $ depending on the dataset combination. Notably, the Bayesian PINN achieves consistent results across CC and Pantheon+ datasets, while maintaining physical consistency via embedded differential constraints. The combination of CMB and late-time probes leads to the most stringent constraints, with $ \Sigma m_\nu < 0.114 $ eV and $ H_0 = 70.6 \pm 1.35 $ km/s/Mpc. These findings suggest that the BTHDE model provides a viable framework for addressing cosmological tensions and probing modified entropy scenarios, while highlighting the complementary strengths of machine learning and traditional Bayesian inference in cosmological modeling.

Attempts to understand the formation of binary black hole (BBH) systems detected via gravitational wave (GW) emission are affected by many unknowns and uncertainties, from both the observational and theoretical (astrophysical modelling) sides. Binary component spins have been proposed as a means to investigate formation channels, however obtaining clear inferences is challenging, given the apparently low magnitude of almost all merging BH spins and their high measurement uncertainties. Even for the effective aligned spin $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$ which is more precisely measured than component spins, specific model assumptions have been required to identify any clear trends. Here, we reconstruct the joint component mass and $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$ distribution of BBH mergers with minimal assumptions using the GWTC-3 catalog, using an iterative kernel density estimation (KDE)-based method. We reproduce some features seen in previous analyses, for instance a small but preferentially positive $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$ for low-mass mergers; we also identify a possible subpopulation of higher-spin BBH with $|\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}|$ up to $\sim\! 0.75$ for primary masses $m_1 \gtrsim 40\,M_\odot$, in addition to the bulk of the distribution with $|\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}| \lesssim 0.2$. This finding is consistent with previous studies indicating a broader spin distribution at high mass, suggesting a distinct origin for the high-spin systems. We also identify a previously-unnoticed trend at lower masses: the population mean of $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$ increases (decreases) with $m_1$ ($m_2$) \emph{within} the overdensity around $m_1 \sim 10 M_\odot$. This ``spin fine structure'' may partly explain a previously reported anticorrelation between mass ratio and $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$.

HR~8799 is a planetary system with four planets potentially in a mean-motion resonance chain. It is unclear from the observations if they are in mean-motion resonance. Similarly, PDS~70 has two observed planets also potentially in mean-motion resonance. We simulate HR~8799 and PDS~70 under external perturbations to study their responds if in resonance or mean-motion resonance. We integrate the equations of motion for HR~8799 and PDS~70 starting with either in resonance or in mean-motion resonance and study their in isolation and in a star cluster. In the star cluster, we take the effects of passing stars into account. The dynamics of the star cluster is resolved using the Lonely Planets module in AMUSE. HR~8799 and PDS~70 in mean-motion resonance are stable, whereas in non-resonance they dissolve in $0.303\pm0.042$Myr and $1.26\pm0.25$Myr, respectively. In a cluster, the non-resonant HR~8799 is slightly more stable than in isolation, but still dissolves in $0.300\pm0.043$Myr, whereas the resonant planetary system remains stable for at least $0.71$Myr. In contrast, a non-resonant PDS~70 system is approximately equally stable in a cluster compared to isolation, and dissolves in $1.03\pm0.20$Myr, whereas the resonant PDS~70 system remains stable for at least $0.83$Myr. Considering the more stable solutions of mean-motion resonance for HR~8799, we argue that the planetary system was born in mean-motion resonance and that the mean-motion resonance was preserved. If HR~8799 was not born in resonance, the probability that it survived until the present day is negligible. Similarly, we argue that PDS~70 was probably born in mean-motion resonance and that its state was preserved. We also find that it is almost possible for planetary systems with a broken mean-motion resonance chain to survive longer in a perturbing cluster environment compared to isolation.

SVOM, the Space-based Variable astronomical Object Monitor, launched on June 22nd 2024, is a Chinese-French mission focused on exploring the brightest phenomena in the cosmos - Gamma-Ray Bursts. Among the four instruments on board is the Micro-channel X-ray Telescope (MXT). The MXT camera features a 256x256 pixel pnCCD detector to perform X-ray imaging and spectroscopy in the 0.2-10 keV energy range. Cruising in a low-Earth orbit (600 km) that crosses the South Atlantic Anomaly, the MXT focal plane is exposed to radiation, primarily protons, that will lead to performance degradation over time. The challenge for MXT, and possibly for future missions with similar mass and mechanical constraints, is to maintain spectral performance all along the mission duration. To assess the expected radiation-induced performance degradation, a spare flight model of MXT focal plane underwent an irradiation campaign with 50 MeV protons at the Arronax cyclotron facility in June 2022. Then, the proton irradiated spare model was characterized in detail at the X-ray Metrology beamline of the SOLEIL Synchrotron facility in June 2023, as well as with a laboratory X-ray fluorescence source. We find through the evaluation of key indicators of performance such as the charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) and the low energy threshold, that MXT will remain compliant to its requirements over the SVOM mission lifetime. We also report an unexpected effect of proton irradiation that is the inversion of the trend of CTI with energy, recovered with two different sources illuminating the detector, and never reported in literature so far.

A dataset of 23,351 globular clusters (GCs) and ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) in the Coma cluster of galaxies was built using Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys data. Based on the standard magnitude cut of $M_V \leq -11$, a total of 523 UCD candidates are found within this dataset of Compact Stellar Systems (CSS). From a color-magnitude diagram (CMD) analysis built using this catalog, we find a clear mass-magnitude relation extending marginally into the UCD parameter space. The luminosity function defined by this dataset, shows an excess of sources at bright magnitudes, suggesting a bimodal formation scenario for UCDs. We estimate the number of UCDs with a different origin than GC to be $N_{UCD} \geq 32 \pm 1$. We derive the total number of CSS within the core (1 Mpc) of Coma to be $N_{CSS} \approx 69,400 \pm 1400$. The radial distribution of UCDs in Coma shows that, like GCs, UCDs agglomerate around three giant ellipticals: NGC 4874, NGC 4889, and IC 4051. We find UCDs are more centrally concentrated around these three ellipticals than GCs. IC 4051 has a satellite population of UCDs similar to NGC 4874 and NGC 4889. We estimate only ~14% of UCDs, inhabit the intracluster space (ICUCD) between galaxies in the region, in comparison to ~24% for GCs (ICGC). We find red (metal-rich) UCDs are more likely located closer to a host galaxy, with blue (metal-poor) UCDs showing a greater dispersion and lower average density in the region.

The COMPAS public rapid binary population synthesis code has undergone a number of key improvements since the original COMPAS methods paper (Team COMPAS: Riley et al., 2022) was published. These include more sophisticated and robust treatments of binary interactions: mass transfer physics, common-envelope events, tides and gravitational-wave radiation reaction; and updated prescriptions for stellar evolution, winds and supernovae. The code structure and outputs have also been updated, with a focus on improving resolution without sacrificing computational speed. This paper describes the substantive changes in the code between the previous methods paper and COMPAS v03.20.02.

Potassium was first detected in spectra of the sungrazer comet Ikeya-Seki at the heliocentric distance rh = 0.15 au and, 48 years later, in comets PanSTARRS and ISON at rh = 0.46 au. The alkali tail photoionization model provides a Na/K ratio close to the solar value. No lithium was detected in any comet: the lower limit of the Na/Li ratio was almost one order of magnitude greater than the solar ratio. Here we searched for the emissions of the alkali NaI, KI, and LiI in Comets C/2020 F3 and C/2024 G3. High-resolution spectra of the comets were taken with the 0.84 m telescope at the Schiaparelli Observatory at rh = 0.36 and 0.15 au, the observations closest to the Sun since Ikeya-Seki. To model the data, we assumed that alkali phenoxides are present in the aromatic fraction of organic dust at the nucleus surface where they react with carbon dioxide ejecting alkali atoms. NaI and KI were detected in emission lines of exceptional intensity in both comets, with no evidence of LiI emission. The NaI/KI ratios were determined: 31 +/- 5 and 26 +/- 8, whereas solar Na/K = 15. This excess and its observed trend with the heliocentric distance are consistent with chemistry between CO2 and alkali phenoxides at the nucleus surface. The Li upper limit for comet C/2020 F3 is very stringent at Na/Li > 3.4 10^4, a factor of 34 greater than the solar value. This Li depletion is consistent with the reaction rate of lithium phenoxides, which is a factor of 10^4 slower than sodium phenoxides. The widespread chemistry of carbon dioxide with organic dust may provide a significant energy and mass sink of carbon dioxide in all comets also at rh > 1 au, reconciling recent models of cometary activity with Rosetta CO2 measurements. At rh < 0.5 au potassium was observed in all comets, so that we predict the formation of a KI tail spatially resolved from the NaI tail.

We present new astrometric observations of the Galactic Center magnetar, PSR J1745-2900, with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). Combined with previously published measurements in 10 epochs that spanned 477 days, the complete data set consists of 25 epochs and 41 independent measurements that span 1984 days. These data constrain the proper motion to an accuracy of $\lesssim 2\%$ and set an upper limit on the absolute value of the magnetar's acceleration of $\lesssim (0.4, 0.2)\, {\rm mas\,y^{-2}}$ in the two celestial coordinates, consistent with the maximum value of $\sim 0.03\,{\rm mas\,y^{-2}}$ expected for an orbit around Sgr A*. Future measurements have the potential to detect the acceleration of PSR J1745-2900 due to Sgr A* should PSR J1745-2900 re-brighten. We consider several potential sources of systematic variations in the astrometric residuals after fitting for standard parameters, including refractive wander, changes in the structure of Sgr A*, and the presence of an unseen binary companion. While a stellar companion model can be fit to the astrometric data, pulse period measurements are inconsistent with that model. No changes in the apparent image size of the magnetar were detected over the duration of these observations, indicating a lack of change in the properties of the line-of-sight scattering during this period. We also show that the upper limit to the mean core shift of Sgr A* is consistent with expectations for a compact jet or symmetric accretion flow.

Wave dark matter is composed of particles sufficiently light that their de Broglie wavelength exceeds the average inter-particle separation. A typical wave dark matter halo exhibits granular substructures due to wave interference. In this paper, we explore the wave interference effects around caustics. These are locations of formally divergent density in cold collisionless systems. Examples include splashback in galaxy clusters, and tidal shells in merging galaxies, where the pile-up of dark matter close to apogee gives rise to caustics. We show that wave interference modifies the density profile in the vicinity of the caustics, giving rise to a fringe pattern well-described by the Airy function. This follows from approximating the gravitational potential as linear close to apogee. This prediction is verified in a series of numerical simulations in which the gravitational potential is computed exactly. We provide a formula expressing the fringe separation in terms of the wave dark matter mass and halo parameters, which is useful for interpreting and stacking data. The fringe separation near caustics can be significantly larger than the naive de Broglie scale (the latter set by the system's velocity dispersion). This opens up the possibility of detecting caustic fringes for a wide range of wave dark matter masses.

We present the chemical composition of a sample of 37 red giant branch (RGB) stars belonging to the main body of the remnant of the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf spheroidal galaxy. All stars were observed with the FLAMES-UVES high-resolution spectrograph. Twenty-three new targets are selected along the blue side of the RGB of Sgr, but outside the galaxy stellar nucleus, in order to avoid contamination by the stars of the metal-poor globular cluster M54. Additionally, we re-analyzed archival spectra of fourteen targets located on the red RGB. For this sample, we derive the abundances of 21 chemical species (from Oxygen to Europium) representing different nucleosynthetic sites. The sample covers a large range of metallicity, from [Fe/H]~-2 to ~ -0.4 dex and we can identify the transition between the enrichment phases dominated by core-collapse (CC-SNe) and Type Ia (SNe-Ia) supernovae. The observed [{\alpha}/Fe] trend suggests a knee occurring at [Fe/H]~-1.5/-1.3 dex, compatible with the rather low star formation efficiency of Sgr. At lower [Fe/H], Sgr stars exhibit a chemical composition compatible with Milky Way stars of similar [Fe/H]. The only relevant exceptions are [Mn/Fe], [Zn/Fe], and [Eu/Fe]. At [Fe/H] higher than ~ -1.5/-1.3 dex, instead, the chemical pattern of Sgr significantly deviates from that of the Milky Way for almost all the elements analyzed in this study. Some of the abundance patterns reveal a lower contribution by very massive stars exploding as hypernovae (e.g. [Mn/Fe], [Zn/Fe]), a higher contribution by sub-Chandrasekhar progenitors of SNe Ia (e.g. [Ni/Fe]) and a high production efficiency of rapid neutron-capture elements ([Eu/Fe]).

The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a new 8m-class survey facility presently being commissioned in Chile, expected to begin the 10yr-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) by the end of 2025. Using the purpose-built Sorcha survey simulator (Merritt et al. In Press), and near-final observing cadence, we perform the first high-fidelity simulation of LSST's solar system catalog for key small body populations. We show that the final LSST catalog will deliver over 1.1 billion observations of small bodies and raise the number of known objects to 1.27E5 near-Earth objects, 5.09E6 main belt asteroids, 1.09E5 Jupiter Trojans, and 3.70E4 trans-Neptunian objects. These represent 4-9x more objects than are presently known in each class, making LSST the largest source of data for small body science in this and the following decade. We characterize the measurements available for these populations, including orbits, griz colors, and lightcurves, and point out science opportunities they open. Importantly, we show that ~70% of the main asteroid belt and more distant populations will be discovered in the first two years of the survey, making high-impact solar system science possible from very early on. We make our simulated LSST catalog publicly available, allowing researchers to test their methods on an up-to-date, representative, full-scale simulation of LSST data.

PKS\,1510$-$089 is one of the most peculiar sources among the FSRQs, exhibiting a notable big blue bump (BBB). This provides an unique opportunity to explore the coupling between the activity of the central engine and the relativistic jet, offering further insight into the origin of the multiwavelength emissions. To this end, we collected multiwavelength data spanning four periods from 2008 to 2015 and performed the spectral energy distribution (SED) modeling using a one-zone homogeneous leptonic model. In the model, a multichromatic accretion disk (AD) is used to fit the optical/UV data sets, while the external radiation fields from the broad-line region (BLR) and dusty torus (DT) are properly considered to produce the high-energy $\gamma$-ray emissions. Our best fit to 12 SEDs yields the following results: (i) The innermost stable orbit ($R_{\rm ISO}$) of the AD is not stable but varies between $3\,R_{\rm S}$ and $18\,R_{\rm S}$ during these observations. (ii) The high-energy hump of the SED is well dominated by Compton scattering of the BLR photons, while the X-ray flux may be comprised of multiple radiation components. (iii) The $\gamma$-ray emitting regions are generally matter-dominated, with low magnetization, and are located beyond the BLR but within the DT. At such distance, the multiwavelength emissions are likely to originate from shock accelerations; (iv) For the energization of the relativistic jet, our study supports the Blandford$-$Znajek (BZ) mechanism, instead of the Blandford$-$Payne (BP) mechanism, as the latter fails to power the jet.

The single-degenerate (SD) model is one of the principal models for the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). However, it faces some challenges, the primary being its inability to account for the observed SN Ia birth rate. Many studies have attempted to address this issue by expanding the parameter space, defined by the initial donor star mass and orbital period, that can lead to SNe Ia, as well as by improving binary population synthesis. While these efforts have led to significant progress, many uncertainties in stellar physics persist, which influences the outcomes of such studies. Convective overshooting, which can significantly affect the internal structure of a star and subsequently its evolution within a binary system, is one of the most significant sources of uncertainty in stellar physics. We investigate the effect of convective overshooting on the parameter space and birth rate of SNe Ia within the SD model. We employed the common-envelope wind (CEW) model, a new version of the SD model, as our progenitor model. Using MESA, we obtained the parameter space that leads to SNe Ia for three different convective overshooting parameters and calculated the corresponding SN Ia birth rate. Convective overshooting expands the upper boundaries (corresponding to a larger initial donor mass) and right boundaries (corresponding to a longer initial orbital period) of the parameter space for systems with massive white dwarfs (WDs; >= 0.75Msun). However, the minimum WD mass and the parameter space for low-mass WDs - and, consequently, the calculated SN Ia birth rate - vary non-monotonically with convective overshooting parameters. The CEW model may explain the SNe Ia that interact with the circumstellar medium (CSM), i.e., SNe Ia-CSM. We find that the parameter space for SNe Ia-CSM increases with convective overshooting parameters, as does their birth rate.

Magnetograms acquired with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) were used to calculate and analyze time variations of turbulence and multifractality in the photosphere during the development and flaring of a mature active region NOAA 13354 during its passage across the solar disk. Turbulence was explored with 2D magnetic power spectra from magnetograms, and multifractality was analyzed using the structure functions of magnetograms. Time variations of the magnetic power spectrum exponent $\alpha$ and of the multifractalty exponent $\kappa$ demonstrate no pre-flare or post-flare abrupt peculiarities, instead, long periods of stability with smooth transitions into other conditions were observed. A conclusion was inferred that the turbulence and multifractality time path in the photospheric magnetic field does not follow the timing of single flares, however, it tends to correspond to the levels of the magneto-morphological complexity and flaring productivity of an AR. So, in the sense of self-organized criticality (SOC), the photosphere, being in the state of self-organization, evolves independently from the highly intermittent, SOC-state corona.

We reconsider the 680 million year old Elatina series of sedimentary laminae from South Australia that show a remarkably stable periodicity with a main period of around 12 years, which is close to the Schwabe cycle, and a second period of 314 years that has been coined Elatina cycle. By analyzing the residuals of the series' minima from a linear trend, and deriving Dicke's ratio, we first show that the series exhibits a high degree of phase stability, except one single break point which may indicate a 90° phase jump. We discuss the data in terms of a recently developed synchronization model of the solar dynamo. This model is then employed to infer those orbital periods of Venus, Earth, Jupiter and Saturn that would be required to jointly explain the moderately changed Schwabe cycle, and the Elatina cycle when interpreted as a prolonged Suess-de Vries cycle. Assuming pairwise conservations of the sum of the angular momenta of Jupiter/Saturn and Venus/Earth, respectively, we find solutions of the underlying inverse problem which amount to approximately 1 percent angular momentum increase of Jupiter and a 0.005 per cent angular momentum increase of Earth. The plausibility of such changes over a period of seven hundred million years is discussed in light of solar system dynamics.

The field of astrochemistry has seen major advances triggered by the completion of new powerful radio telescopes, with gains in sensitivity of receivers and in bandwidth. To date, about 330 molecular species are detected, in interstellar clouds, circumstellar shells and even extragalactic sources. The first interstellar molecules were first discovered through their electronic transitions in the visual and near UV regions of the spectra in the 1930s. Then the discovery of (pure) rotational transitions of interstellar molecules dates back to the late 1960s. The improvement of detectors and the increase in telescope sizes really opened up the submillimeter sky. The radio and submillimeter ranges cover the lowest rotational lines of molecular species. The bigger the molecule, the more spectral lines at different frequencies it produces, with weaker line intensities. Over the past 30 years, we have discovered that we live in a molecular universe, where molecules are abundant and widespread, probing the structure and evolution of galaxies, as well as the temperature and density of the observed medium, opening a new field called astrochemistry. The progress has been dramatic, since the discovery of the first molecules about 100 years ago. We present in this review, the detection techniques that led to the discovery of the simple molecules in the gas phase and the methodology that lead to the abundances determinations and the comparison with chemical modelling.

The rapid rotation of Be stars is supposed to mainly originate from binary evolution. In recent years, more and more Be stars with helium (He) star companions have been discovered, which provides a significant opportunity to study binary interaction physics. In this work, we perform binary population synthesis with an updated binary mass transfer stability criterion and try to understand the details of mass transfer processes by constructing a series of Be star + He star (BeHe) binary populations. We found that the simulations and the observations can be divided into two groups according to the masses of components, corresponding to the two distinct evolutionary processes during the mass transfer. In particular, we found that the mass ratios of BeHe binaries may be taken as a probe of the initial mass ratios of the primordial binaries. Moreover, the results suggest that a higher mass transfer efficiency ($\gtrsim 0.5$) supports the observations better. The simulations predicted too many Be star binaries experiencing Case B mass transfer, which conflicts with the observations. The reason is due to either observational selection effects or unclear physical factors.

This technical note describes the design and modular implementation of a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D CNN) adapted from residual networks (ResNet), developed for photometric regression tasks with an emphasis on low star formation rate surface density ($\Sigma_{\mathrm{SFR}}$) inference. The model features residual block structures optimized for sparse targets, with optional loss weighting and diagnostic tools for analyzing residual behavior. The implementation (version \texttt{v1.4}) originated during a collaborative project and is documented here independently. No external data are reproduced or analyzed. This note provides a reusable architectural reference for scalar regression problems in astronomy and related domains.

Understanding the origin of comets requires knowledge of how the Solar System formed from a cloud of dust and gas 4.567 Gyr ago. Here, a review is presented of how the remnants of this formation process, meteorites and to a lesser extent comets, shed light on Solar System evolution. The planets formed by a process of collisional agglomeration during the first hundred million years of Solar System history. The vast majority of the original population of planetary building blocks (~100 km-scale planetesimals) was either incorporated into the planets or removed from the system, via dynamical ejection or through a collision with the Sun. Only a small fraction of the original rocky planetesimals survive to this day in the form of asteroids (which represent a total of ~0.05% of Earth's mass) and comets. Meteorites are fragments of asteroids that have fallen to Earth, thereby providing scientists with samples of Solar System-scale processes for laboratory-based analysis. Meteorite datasets complement cometary datasets, which are predominantly obtained via remote observation as there are few cometary samples currently available for laboratory-based measurements. This chapter discusses how analysis of the mineralogical, elemental, and isotopic characteristics of meteorites provides insight into (i) the origin of matter that formed planets, (ii) the pressure, temperature, and chemical conditions that prevailed during planet formation, and (iii) a precise chronological framework of planetary accretion. Also examined is the use of stable isotope variations and nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies as constraints on the dynamics of the disk and planet formation, and how these data are integrated into new models of Solar System formation. It concludes with a discussion of Earth's accretion and its source of volatile elements, including water and organic species.

We present an exploratory framework to test whether noise-like input can induce structured responses in language models. Instead of assuming that extraterrestrial signals must be decoded, we evaluate whether inputs can trigger linguistic behavior in generative systems. This shifts the focus from decoding to viewing structured output as a sign of underlying regularity in the input. We tested GPT-2 small, a 117M-parameter model trained on English text, using four types of acoustic input: human speech, humpback whale vocalizations, Phylloscopus trochilus birdsong, and algorithmically generated white noise. All inputs were treated as noise-like, without any assumed symbolic encoding. To assess reactivity, we defined a composite score called Semantic Induction Potential (SIP), combining entropy, syntax coherence, compression gain, and repetition penalty. Results showed that whale and bird vocalizations had higher SIP scores than white noise, while human speech triggered only moderate responses. This suggests that language models may detect latent structure even in data without conventional semantics. We propose that this approach could complement traditional SETI methods, especially in cases where communicative intent is unknown. Generative reactivity may offer a different way to identify data worth closer attention.

We present high-frequency (18-24 GHz) radio continuum observations towards 335 methanol masers, excellent signposts for young, embedded high-mass protostars. These complete the search for hypercompact HII (HCHII) regions towards young high-mass star-forming clumps within the fourth quadrant of the Galactic plane. HCHII regions are the earliest observable signatures of radio continuum emission from high-mass stars ionizing their surroundings, though their rarity and short lifetimes make them challenging to study. We have observed methanol maser sites at 20-arcsec resolution and identified 121 discrete high-frequency radio sources. Of these, 42 compact sources are embedded in dense clumps and coincide with methanol masers, making them as excellent HCHII region candidates. These sources were followed up at higher resolution (0.5-arcsec) for confirmation. We constructed spectral energy distributions across 5-24 GHz to determine their physical properties, fitting either a simple HII region model or a power-law as needed. This analysis identified 20 HCHII regions, 9 intermediate objects, 3 UCHII regions, and 3 radio jet candidates. Combining these results with previous findings, the SCOTCH survey has identified 33 HCHII regions, 15 intermediate objects, 9 UCHII regions, and 4 radio jet candidates, tripling the known number of HCHII regions. Eleven of these sources remain optically thick at 24 GHz. This survey provides a valuable sample of the youngest HII regions and insights into early massive star formation.

The Perseus field captured by Euclid as part of its Early Release Observations provides a unique opportunity to study cluster environment ranging from outskirts to dense regions. Leveraging unprecedented optical and near-infrared depths, we investigate the stellar structure of massive disc galaxies in this field. This study focuses on outer disc profiles, including simple exponential (Type I), down- (Type II) and up-bending break (Type III) profiles, and their associated colour gradients, to trace late assembly processes across various environments. Type II profiles, though relatively rare in high dense environments, appear stabilised by internal mechanisms like bars and resonances, even within dense cluster cores. Simulations suggest that in dense environments, Type II profiles tend to evolve into Type I profiles over time. Type III profiles often exhibit small colour gradients beyond the break, hinting at older stellar populations, potentially due to radial migration or accretion events. We analyse correlations between galaxy mass, morphology, and profile types. Mass distributions show weak trends of decreasing mass from the centre to the outskirts of the Perseus cluster. Type III profiles become more prevalent, while Type I profiles decrease in lower-mass galaxies with cluster centric distance. Type I profiles dominate in spiral galaxies, while Type III profiles are more common in S0 galaxies. Type II profiles are consistently observed across all morphological types. While the limited sample size restricts statistical power, our findings shed light on the mechanisms shaping galaxy profiles in cluster environments. Future work should extend observations to the cluster outskirts to enhance statistical significance. Additionally, 3D velocity maps are needed to achieve a non-projected view of galaxy positions, offering deeper insights into spatial distribution and dynamics.

Planet-forming disks around brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars (VLMS) are on average less massive and are expected to undergo faster radial solid transport than their higher mass counterparts. Spitzer had detected C$_2$H$_2$, CO$_2$ and HCN around these objects. With better sensitivity and spectral resolving power, JWST recently revealed incredibly carbon-rich spectra from such disks. A study of a larger sample of objects is necessary to understand how common such carbon-rich inner disk regions are and to put constraints on their evolution. We present and analyze MIRI observations of 10 disks around VLMS from the MIRI GTO program. This sample is diverse, with the central object ranging in mass from 0.02 to 0.14 $M_{\odot}$. They are located in three star-forming regions and a moving group (1-10 Myr). We identify molecular emission in all sources and report detection rates. We compare the molecular flux ratios between different species and to dust emission strengths. We also compare the flux ratios with the stellar and disk properties. The spectra of these VLMS disks are extremely molecular rich, and we detect the 10 $\mu$m silicate dust emission feature in 70% of the sample. We detect C$_2$H$_2$ and HCN in all of the sources and find larger hydrocarbons such as C$_4$H$_2$ and C$_6$H$_6$ in nearly all sources. Among O-bearing molecules, we find firm detections of CO$_2$, H$_2$O, and CO in 90%, 50%, and 20% of the sample, respectively. We find that the detection rates of organic molecules correlate with other organic molecules and anti-correlate with inorganic molecules. Hydrocarbon-rich sources show a weaker 10$\mu$m dust strength as well as lower disk dust mass than the oxygen-rich sources. We find potential evidence for C/O enhancement with disk age. The observed trends are consistent with models that suggest rapid inward solid material transport and grain growth.

A deep understanding of our Galaxy desires detailed decomposition of its stellar populations via their chemical fingerprints. This requires precise stellar abundances of many elements for a large number of stars. Here we present an updated catalog of stellar labels derived from LAMOST low-resolution spectra in a physics-sensible and rigorous manner with DD-Payne, taking labels from high-resolution spectroscopy as training set. The catalog contains atmospheric parameters for 6.4 million stars released in LAMOST DR9, and abundances for 22 elements, namely, C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Eu, for nearly 3.6 million stars with spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) higher than 20. The [Fe/H] is valid down to $\sim$-4.0, while elemental abundance ratios [X/Fe] are mostly valid for stars with [Fe/H] $\gtrsim-2.0$. Measurement errors in these labels are sensitive to and almost inversely proportional with SNR. For stars with S/N>50, we achieved a typical error of 30 K in Teff, 0.07 dex in $\log g$, $\sim0.05$ dex in abundances for most elements with atomic number smaller than Sr, and 0.1--0.2 dex for heavier elements. Homogenization to the label estimates is carried out via dedicated internal and external calibration. In particular, the non-local thermal equilibrium effect is corrected for the [Fe/H] estimates, the Teff is calibrated to the infrared flux method scale, and the $\log~g$ is validated with asteroseismic measurements. The elemental abundances are internally calibrated using wide binaries, eliminating systematic trend with effective temperature. The catalog is publicly available.

Large-format infrared detectors are at the heart of major ground and space-based astronomical instruments, and the HgCdTe HxRG is the most widely used. The Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) of the ESA's Euclid mission launched in July 2023 hosts 16 H2RG detectors in the focal plane. Their performance relies heavily on the effect of image persistence, which results in residual images that can remain in the detector for a long time contaminating any subsequent observations. Deriving a precise model of image persistence is challenging due to the sensitivity of this effect to observation history going back hours or even days. Nevertheless, persistence removal is a critical part of image processing because it limits the accuracy of the derived cosmological parameters. We will present the empirical model of image persistence derived from ground characterization data, adapted to the Euclid observation sequence and compared with the data obtained during the in-orbit calibrations of the satellite.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will start by the end of 2025 and operate for ten years, offering billions of observations of the southern night sky. One of its main science goals is to create an inventory of the Solar System, allowing for a more detailed understanding of small body populations including the Centaurs, which will benefit from the survey's high cadence and depth. In this paper, we establish the first discovery limits for Centaurs throughout the LSST's decade-long operation using the best available dynamical models. Using the survey simulator $\texttt{Sorcha}$, we predict a $\sim$7-12 fold increase in Centaurs in the Minor Planet Center (MPC) database, reaching $\sim$1200-2000 (dependent on definition) by the end of the survey - about 50$\%$ of which are expected within the first 2 years. Approximately 30-50 Centaurs will be observed twice as frequently as they fall within one of the LSST's Deep Drilling Fields (DDF) for on average only up to two months. Outside of the DDFs, Centaurs will receive $\sim$200 observations across the $\textit{ugrizy}$ filter range, facilitating searches for cometary-like activity through PSF extension analysis, as well as fitting light-curves and phase curves for color determination. Regardless of definition, over 200 Centaurs will achieve high-quality color measurements across at least three filters in the LSST's six filters. These observations will also provide over 300 well-defined phase curves in the $\textit{griz}$ bands, improving absolute magnitude measurements to a precision of 0.2 mags.

Using archival data, we have made an HI absorption study of the 7$^\prime$ halo surrounding the Sgr A complex, observed towards the Galactic centre (GC) region. We find strong HI absorption near velocities of $-$53 km s$^{-1}$, which is due to the 3-kpc arm, placing it beyond 5 kpc from us. We further examined the HI absorption properties towards 5 different parts of the 7$^\prime$ halo. Absorption by +50 km s$^{-1}$ GC cloud is seen towards only 3 parts of the halo, but not towards the other 2 regions. Strong emissions in CO and CS are, however, identified toward all the above 5 parts of the halo by the +50 km s$^{-1}$ GC molecular cloud. This does show that the 7$^\prime$ halo is partly behind, and partly in front of the +50 km s$^{-1}$ cloud. To our knowledge, this, for the first time clearly shows the 7$^\prime$ halo to be located at the same distance as the +50 km s$^{-1}$ molecular cloud, i.e., at the GC region.

The upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is expected to revolutionize solar system astronomy. Unprecedented in scale, this ten-year wide-field survey will collect billions of observations and discover a predicted $\sim$5 million new solar system objects. Like all astronomical surveys, its results will be affected by a complex system of intertwined detection biases. Survey simulators have long been used to forward-model the effects of these biases on a given population, allowing for a direct comparison to real discoveries. However, the scale and tremendous scope of the LSST requires the development of new tools. In this paper we present Sorcha, an open-source survey simulator written in Python. Designed with the scale of LSST in mind, Sorcha is a comprehensive survey simulator to cover all solar system small-body populations. Its flexible, modular design allows Sorcha to be easily adapted to other surveys by the user. The simulator is built to run both locally and on high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, allowing for repeated simulation of millions to billions of objects (both real and synthetic).

V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) erupted in 2002 as a luminous red nova after which it cooled and began to form dust. The remnant is predicted to become a blue straggler. Interferometric observations in the HKLM bands have uncovered a stable bipolar feature in the closest vicinity of the remnant star. We aim to constrain the physical structure and nature of the circumstellar material immediately surrounding V838 Mon. Using the radiative-transfer code RADMC3D we managed to constrain the dust density distribution that best represents recent VLTI and CHARA interferometric imaging experiments. We also present recent SAAO-HIPPO polarimetric measurements which further test dust distribution models. We find that a multi-component model consisting of jets, a torus, and an ellipsoid provides an adequate fit to H band interferometric observables, however, it struggles to reproduce the extremely small closure phase deviations in the K band. The jets in our model are vital to produce nonzero closure phases, as they help to produce a gap in the torus, which is the sole source of asymmetry. The polarimetric measurements show that the intrinsic linear polarization is currently very low, with degree of polarization < 2%, consistent with our model. Although not unique, our dust model suggests a persistent torus-like structure and jet or jets in the remnant, in agreement with several predictions for an intermediate-mass merger product. However, even though these features may be important signposts of the evolution of V838 Mon to the blue straggler phase, the origin of these features, remains largely unclear.

We present 14.5-year multi-wavelength analysis of flat-spectrum radio quasar B2 1348+30B using Swift-UVOT, Swift-XRT, and Fermi-LAT observations. In the gamma-ray band, the 3 day bin lightcurve reveals two major flaring events on 2010-09-19 (55458 MJD) and 2022-05-26 (59725 MJD) detected at flux levels $(2.5\pm 0.5) \times 10^{-7}\,\rm{ph\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$ and $(5.2\pm 0.6) \times 10^{-7}\,\rm{ph\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$. The Bayesian block analysis of the flares suggested the variability timescale to be $\leq$ 3\,day. To study the dynamic nature of the source, multi-wavelength spectrum was obtained for three flux states which includes the two flaring state and a relative low state. The $\gamma$-ray spectra of the source in all the states are well fitted by a power-law model with maximum photon energy < 20 GeV. In X-ray, a power-law model can explain the flaring state spectra while a broken power-law with extremely hard high energy component was required to model the low flux state. This indicates the presence of the low energy cutoff in the Compton spectral component. A simple one-zone leptonic model involving synchrotron, synchrotron self Compton and external Compton mechanism can successfully reproduce the broad-band spectral energy distribution of all the flux states. The model parameters suggest significant increase in the jet Lorentz factor during the high flux states. Further, the best fit parameters are used to constrain the minimum energy of the emitting electron distribution from the hard high energy spectrum of the low flux state. This analysis was extended to draw limits on the kinetic power of the blazar jet and was compared with the Eddington luminosity of the central black hole.

Excess over the stellar photospheric emission of main-sequence stars has been found in interferometric near-infrared observations, and is attributed to the presence of hot exozodiacal dust (HEZD). As part of our effort to detect and characterize HEZD around the nearby A3 V star Fomalhaut, we carried out the first interferometric observations with the MATISSE instrument at the VLTI in the photometric bands L and M for the Fomalhaut system. Assuming a dust distribution either as a narrow ring or spherical shell for modeling the HEZD, we aim to constrain the HEZD parameters by generating visibilities and fitting them to the MATISSE data using different approaches. The L band data provide a marginal detection of circumstellar radiation, potentially caused by the presence of HEZD, which is only the second detection of HEZD emission in the L band. An analysis of the data with different fitting approaches showed that the best-fit values for the HEZD parameters are consistent with those of previous Fomalhaut observations, which underlines the functionality of MATISSE. Assuming a dust ring, it would have an inner ring radius of \(0.11\ \mathrm{au}\), an outer ring radius of \(0.12\ \mathrm{au}\), a narrow dust grain size distribution around a dust grain radius constrained by \(0.53\ \mu\mathrm{m}\), and a total dust mass of \(3.25\times 10^{-10}\ \rm{M}_{\oplus}\). Finally, the results indicate that the choice of the geometric model has a more significant impact on the derived dust-to-star flux ratio than the specific fitting approach applied. Since different dust-to-star flux ratios can result from the applied fitting approaches, this also has an impact on the parameter values of the HEZD around Fomalhaut and most likely for other HEZD systems. Moreover, further NIR and MIR data are required for a more comprehensive description of the emission originating in the vicinity of Fomalhaut.

We present the largest survey to date characterising intended and unintended emission from Starlink satellites across the SKA-Low frequency range. This survey analyses ~76 million full sky images captured over ~29 days of observing with an SKA-Low prototype station - the Engineering Development Array 2 - at the site of SKA-Low. We report 112,534 individual detections of 1,806 unique Starlink satellites, some emitting broadband emission and others narrowband emission. Our analysis compares observations across different models of Starlink satellite, with 76% of all v2-mini Ku and 71% of all v2-mini Direct to Cell satellites identified. It is shown that in the worst cases, some datasets have a detectable Starlink satellite in ~30% of all images acquired. Emission from Starlink satellites is detected in primary and secondary frequency ranges protected by the International Telecommunication Union, with 13 satellites identified between 73.00 - 74.60 MHz and 703 identified between 150.05 - 153.00 MHz. We also detect the reflections of terrestrial FM radio off different models of Starlink satellites at 99.70 MHz. The polarisation of the broadband emission shows the flux density of two orthogonal polarisations is anti-correlated with temporally shifting spectral structure observed. We compare our results to previous EDA2 and LOFAR results and provide open public access to our final data products to assist in quantifying future changes in this emission.

Hypothetical axion-like particles (ALPs) are of interest because of their potential to act as dark matter or to reveal information about yet undiscovered fundamental constituents of matter. Such particles can be created when photons traverse regions of magnetic fields. The conversion probability depends on both the magnetic field parameters and photon energy, leading to multiple spectral absorption features as light passes through magnetized regions. Traditionally, astrophysical searches have focused on detecting such features in individual objects. However, the limited understanding of properties of cosmic magnetic fields have hindered the progress. Here we introduce a new approach by analyzing stacked (rather than individual) spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) positioned behind galaxy clusters -- gigantic magnetic field reservoirs. Stacking efficiently averages over the uncertainties in magnetic fields, revealing a unique step-like spectral signature of photon-to-ALP conversion. With this approach we advance into previously inaccessible regions of the ALP parameter space for nano-electronvolt masses. Adopting this method will significantly improve existing bounds across a wide range of masses by using different telescopes and increasing the size of the stacked datasets. The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory, in particular, will extensively probe the parameter space where ALPs could serve as dark matter.

We study the velocity ellipsoids in an $N$-body$+$SPH simulation of a barred galaxy which forms a bar with a BP bulge. We focus on the 2D kinematics, and quantify the velocity ellipses by the anisotropy, $\beta_{ij}$, the correlation, $\rho_{ij}$, and the vertex deviation, $l_{\rm v}$. We explore the variations in these quantities based on stellar age within the bulge and compare these results with the Milky Way's bulge using data from APOGEE DR16 and {\it Gaia} DR3. We first explore the variation of the model's velocity ellipses in galactocentric velocities, $v_R$ and $v_\phi$, for two bulge populations, a (relatively) young one and an old one. The bar imprints quadrupoles on the distribution of ellipse properties, which are stronger in the young population, as expected from their stronger bar. The quadrupoles are distorted if we use heliocentric velocities $v_r$ and $v_l$. We then project these kinematics along the line of sight onto the $(l,b)$-plane. Along the minor axis $\beta_{rl}$ changes from positive at low $|b|$ to negative at large $|b|$, crossing over at lower $|b|$ in the young stars. Consequently the vertex deviation peaks at lower $|b|$ in the young population, but reaches similar peak values in the old. The $\rho_{rl}$ is much stronger in the young stars, and traces the bar strength. The APOGEE stars split by the median [Fe/H] follow the same trends. Lastly we explore the velocity ellipses across the entire bulge region in $(l,b)$ space, finding good qualitative agreement between the model and observations.

Modern spectroscopic surveys output large data volumes. Theoretical models provide a means to transform the information encoded in these data to measurements of physical stellar properties. However, in detail the models are incomplete and simplified, and prohibit interpretation of the fine details in spectra. Instead, the available data provide an opportunity to use data-driven, differential analysis techniques, as a means towards understanding spectral signatures. We deploy such an analysis to examine core helium-fusing red clump (RC) and shell hydrogen-fusing red giant branch (RGB) stars, to uncover signatures of evolutionary state imprinted in optical stellar spectra. We exploit 786 pairs of RC and RGB stars from the GALAH survey, chosen to minimise spectral differences, with evolutionary state classifications from TESS and K2 asteroseismology. We report sub-percent residual, systematic spectral differences between the two classes of stars, and show that these residuals are significant compared to a reference sample of RC$-$RC and RGB$-$RGB pairs selected using the same criteria. First, we report systematic differences in the Swan ($\rm{C}_2$) band and CN bands caused by stellar evolution and a difference in mass, where RGB stars at similar stellar parameters have higher masses than RC stars. Secondly, we observe systematic differences in the line-width of the H$_{\alpha}$ and H$_{\beta}$ lines caused by a difference in microturbulence, as measured by GALAH, where we measure higher microturbulence in RC stars than RGB stars. This work demonstrates the ability of large surveys to uncover the subtle spectroscopic signatures of stellar evolution using model-free, data-driven methods.

Imaging terrestrial exoplanets around nearby stars is a formidable technical challenge, requiring the development of coronagraphs to suppress the stellar halo of diffracted light at the location of the planet. In this review, we derive the science requirement for high-contrast imaging, present an overview of diffraction theory and the Lyot coronagraph, and define the parameters used in our optimization. We detail the working principles of coronagraphs both in the laboratory and on-sky with current high-contrast instruments, and we describe the required algorithms and processes necessary for terrestrial planet imaging with the extremely large telescopes and proposed space telescope missions: * Imaging terrestrial planets around nearby stars is possible with a combination of coronagraphs and active wavefront control using feedback from wavefront sensors. * Ground based 8-40m class telescopes can target the habitable zone around nearby M dwarf stars with contrasts of $10^{-7}$ and space telescopes can search around solar-type stars with contrasts of $10^{-10}$. * Focal plane wavefront sensing, hybrid coronagraph designs and multiple closed loops providing active correction are required to reach the highest sensitivities. * Polarization effects need to be mitigated for reaching $10^{-10}$ contrasts whilst keeping exoplanet yields as high as possible. * Recent technological developments, including photonics and microwave kinetic inductance detectors, will be folded into high-contrast instruments.

As the most extensively and continuously monitored neutron star, the Crab pulsar serves as representative of the earliest evolutionary stage. Its unique and complex glitch phenomenology provides an unparalleled testing ground for theoretical models of neutron star interior dynamics. Within the self-organized criticality paradigm, Crab pulsar glitch sizes are modeled by a power-law distribution and waiting times by an exponential distribution. However, this framework is incompatible with neutron-star microphysics and fails to account for the quasi-periodic glitch behavior. Using a glitch-clustering perspective, which is motivated by the hypothesis that each event releases only a fraction of the stored angular momentum, we merged small glitches occurring within short temporal separations. We reveal a correlation between glitch size and waiting time and uncover that the waiting-time cumulative distribution function follows a normal distribution. Crucially, without recourse to complex statistical models, this approach permits a reasonable forecast of the next glitch. From the perspective of the dense-glitch region, the Crab pulsar currently falls within the $3\sigma$-$4\sigma$ probability interval. For the existence of a long-term periodicity of 6.68 years, the $\pm1\sigma$ interval defines a time window extending from the present to approximately 387 days ahead, this implies the next glith would emerge at any time before MJD 61081 (February 2026).

Cold dark matter may form dense structures around supermassive black holes (SMBHs), significantly influencing their local environments. These dense regions are ideal sites for the formation of extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs), in which stellar-mass compact objects gradually spiral into SMBH, emitting gravitational waves (GWs). Space-based gravitational-wave (GW) observatories such as LISA and Taiji will be sensitive to these signals, including early-stage EMRIs (E-EMRIs) that persist in the low-frequency band for extended periods. In this work, we investigate the impact of dark matter-induced dynamical friction on E-EMRIs in the Milky Way Center, model its effect on the trajectory, and calculate the resulting modifications to the GW spectrum. Our analysis suggests that this influence might be sizable and lead to detectable deviations in the spectrum, namely suppression at low frequencies and enhancement at high frequencies, therefore providing a potential probe for dark matter with future GW detectors in space, such as LISA and Taiji.

Modern astrophysical surveys have produced a wealth of data on the positions and velocities of stars in the Milky Way with varying accuracies. An ever-increasing detail in observational data calls for more complex physical models and in turn more sophisticated statistical methods to extract information. We perform a vertical Jeans analysis, including a local approximation of the tilt term, using a sample of $200\,000$ K-dwarf stars from the Gaia DR3 catalogue. After combination with the Survey-of-Surveys (SoS) catalogue, $160\,888$ of those have radial velocity measurements. We use Gaussian processes as priors for the covariance matrix of radial and vertical velocities. Joint inference of the posterior distribution of the local dark matter density and the velocity moments is performed using geometric variational inference. We find a local dark matter density of ${\rho_\mathrm{dm} = 0.0131 \pm 0.0041\, \mathrm{M}_\odot\,\mathrm{pc}^{-3} = 0.50 \pm 0.15\, \mathrm{GeV}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-3}}$ at the Sun's position, which is in agreement with most other recent analyses. By comparing a ($z$-dependent) Gaussian process prior with a ($z$-independent) scalar prior for the tilt term, we quantify its impact on estimates of the local dark matter density and argue that careful modelling is required to mitigate systematic biases.

Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) have emerged as a powerful tool for solving differential equations by integrating physical laws into the learning process. This work leverages PINNs to simulate gravitational collapse, a critical phenomenon in astrophysics and cosmology. We introduce the Schrödinger-Poisson informed neural network (SPINN) which solve nonlinear Schrödinger-Poisson (SP) equations to simulate the gravitational collapse of Fuzzy Dark Matter (FDM) in both 1D and 3D settings. Results demonstrate accurate predictions of key metrics such as mass conservation, density profiles, and structure suppression, validating against known analytical or numerical benchmarks. This work highlights the potential of PINNs for efficient, possibly scalable modeling of FDM and other astrophysical systems, overcoming the challenges faced by traditional numerical solvers due to the non-linearity of the involved equations and the necessity to resolve multi-scale phenomena especially resolving the fine wave features of FDM on cosmological scales.

In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of a potential asteroid candidate, ISP0010, using images provided by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope as part of our participation in the International Astronomical Search Collaboration campaign. IASC is one of the leading contributors to the detection of various Near-Earth Objects and Main Belt asteroids. Using Astrometrica software we analysed those images and extracted their key parameters such as signal-to-noise ratio, right ascension, declination, flux, FWHM, RMS, and magnitude. Later, we analysed its trajectory, apparent angular speed, and error analyses using python and its libraries. In the end, we concluded that ISP0010 would be a potential candidate for an asteroid. However, on cross-verifying with the Minor Planet Centre database, we found that ISP0010 was already reported on February 27, 2021, and a total of 25 observations has been reported up to the date and currently the object has been designated as 2021 CP66. Our date of observation of 2021 CP66 was February 27, 2025. This study thus provides an independent confirmation and characterization of 2021 CP66, demonstrating the accuracy of our analysis and underscoring the importance of thorough database verification in asteroid detection.

We report the results from the ground and on-orbit verifications of the XRISM timing system when the satellite clock is not synchronized to the GPS time. In this case, the time is determined by a free-run quartz oscillator of the clock, whose frequency changes depending on its temperature. In the thermal vacuum test performed in 2022, we obtained the GPS unsynchronized mode data and the temperature-versus-clock frequency trend. Comparing the time values calculated from the data and the true GPS times when the data were obtained, we confirmed that the requirement (within a 350 $\mu$s error in the absolute time, accounting for both the spacecraft bus system and the ground system) was satisfied in the temperature conditions of the thermal vacuum test. We also simulated the variation of the timing accuracy in the on-orbit temperature conditions using the Hitomi on-orbit temperature data and found that the error remained within the requirement over $\sim 3 \times 10^{5}$ s. The on-orbit tests were conducted in 2023 September and October as part of the bus system checkout. The temperature versus clock frequency trend remained unchanged from that obtained in the thermal vacuum test and the observed time drift was consistent with that expected from the trend.

We use the IllustrisTNG cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to study the impact of secondary bias -- specifically, the correlation between star formation rate (SFR) and halo bias at fixed halo mass -- on the line-intensity mapping (LIM) power spectrum. In LIM, the galaxy contributions are flux-weighted, and for many emission lines (e.g., H$\alpha$), flux scales with SFR. We show that the (ensemble-averaged) large-scale two-halo term of the power spectrum depends only on the mean luminosity-halo mass relation if the scatter is uncorrelated with halo bias. However, when luminosity correlates with halo bias at fixed mass, this assumption breaks down. In IllustrisTNG, this secondary bias increases the two-halo term by 5 per cent at $z \sim 1.5$ compared to a model with random scatter. We also find that SFRs of central and satellite galaxies are correlated, enhancing the one-halo term -- sensitive to intra-halo SFR distribution -- by 10 per cent relative to random pairings. To mitigate secondary bias in the two-halo term, we identify halo concentration (for haloes with mass $\log M_h \lesssim 12$) and satellite mass (for $\log M_h \gtrsim 12$) as effective secondary parameters. These results highlight the need to account for secondary bias when building mock catalogues and interpreting LIM observations.

We present cosmological constraints from 8 strongly lensed quasars (hereafter, the TDCOSMO-2025 sample). Building on previous work, our analysis incorporated new deflector stellar velocity dispersions measured from spectra obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Keck Telescopes, and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), utilizing improved methods. We used integrated JWST stellar kinematics for 5 lenses, VLT-MUSE for 2, and resolved kinematics from Keck and JWST for RX J1131-1231. We also considered two samples of non-time-delay lenses: 11 from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) sample with Keck-KCWI resolved kinematics; and 4 from the Strong Lenses in the Legacy Survey (SL2S) sample. We improved our analysis of line-of-sight effects, the surface brightness profile of the lens galaxies, and orbital anisotropy, and corrected for projection effects in the dynamics. Our uncertainties are maximally conservative by accounting for the mass-sheet degeneracy in the deflectors' mass density profiles. The analysis was blinded to prevent experimenter bias. Our primary result is based on the TDCOSMO-2025 sample, in combination with $\Omega_{\rm m}$ constraints from the Pantheon+ Type Ia supernovae (SN) dataset. In the flat $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter (CDM), we find $H_0=72.1^{+4.0}_{-3.7}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$. The SLACS and SL2S samples are in excellent agreement with the TDCOSMO-2025 sample, improving the precision on $H_0$ in flat $\Lambda$CDM to 4.4%. Using the Dark Energy Survey SN Year-5 dataset (DES-SN5YR) or DESI-DR2 baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) likelihoods instead of Pantheon+ yields very similar results. We also present constraints in the open $\Lambda$CDM, $w$CDM, $w_0w_a$CDM, and $w_{\phi}$CDM cosmologies. The TDCOSMO $H_0$ inference is robust and consistent across all presented cosmological models, and our cosmological constraints in them agree with those from the BAO and SN.

Modelling the coherent pulsations observed during thermonuclear bursts offers a valuable method to probe the poorly understood equation of state of dense and cold matter. Here we apply the pulse profile modelling technique to the pulsations observed with RXTE during the 2001 superburst of 4U 1636$-$536. By employing a single, uniform-temperature hot spot model with varying size and temperature, along with various assumptions for background/accretion contribution, we find that each assumption leads to different inferred mass, radius, and compactness constraints. This highlights the critical need to better understand the mass accretion rate enhancement/reduction during thermonuclear bursts to accurately model burst oscillation sources using pulse profile modelling.

Changing-look AGNs (CLAGN) are accreting supermassive black hole systems that undergo variations in optical spectral type, driven by major changes in accretion rate. Mrk 1018 has undergone two transitions, a brightening event in the 1980s and a transition back to a faint state over the course of 2-3 years in the early 2010s. We characterize the evolving physical properties of the source's inner accretion flow, particularly during the bright-to-faint transition, as well as the morphological properties of its parsec-scale circumnuclear gas. We model archival X-ray spectra from XMM-Newton, Chandra, Suzaku, and Swift, using physically-motivated models to characterize X-ray spectral variations and track Fe Kalpha line flux. We also quantify Mrk 1018's long-term multi-wavelength spectral variability from optical/UV to the X-rays. Over the duration of the bright-to-faint transition, the UV and hard X-ray flux fell by differing factors, roughly 24 and 8, respectively. The soft X-ray excess faded, and was not detected by 2021. In the faint state, when the Eddington ratio drops to log Lbol/LEdd < -1.7, the hot X-ray corona photon index shows a 'softer-when-fainter' trend, similar to that seen in some black hole X-ray binaries and samples of low-luminosity AGNs. Finally, the Fe Kalpha line flux has dropped by only half the factor of the drop in the X-ray continuum. The transition from the bright state to the faint state is consistent with the inner accretion flow transitioning from a geometrically-thin disk to an ADAF-dominated state, with the warm corona disintegrating or becoming energetically negligible, while the X-ray-emitting hot flow becoming energetically dominant. Meanwhile, narrow Fe Kalpha emission has not yet fully responded to the drop in its driving continuum, likely because its emitter extends up to roughly 10 pc.

Coronal jets are ubiquitous, collimated million-degree ejections that contribute to the energy and mass supply of the upper solar atmosphere and the solar wind. Solar Orbiter provides an unprecedented opportunity to observe fine-scale jets from a unique vantage point close to the Sun. We aim to (1) uncover thin jets originating from Coronal Bright Points (CBPs), revealing previously unresolved contributions to coronal upflows; and (2) improve our understanding of plasmoid-mediated reconnection and its observable signatures. We analyze eleven datasets from the High Resolution Imager 174 Å of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (HRIEUV) onboard Solar Orbiter, focusing on narrow jets from CBPs and signatures of magnetic reconnection within current sheets and outflow regions. To support the observations, we compare with CBP simulations performed with the Bifrost code. We have identified thin coronal jets originating from CBPs with widths ranging from 253 km to 706 km: scales that could not be resolved with previous EUV imaging instruments. Remarkably, these jets are 30-85% brighter than their surroundings and can extend up to 22 Mm while maintaining their narrow form. In one of the datasets, we directly identify plasmoid-mediated reconnection through the development within the current sheet of a small-scale plasmoid that reaches a size of 332 km and propagates at 40 km/s. In another dataset, we infer plasmoid signatures through the intermittent boomerang-like pattern that appears in the outflow region. Both direct and indirect plasmoid-mediated reconnection signatures are supported by comparisons with the synthetic HRIEUV emission from the simulations.

We present a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM) during the late stages of cosmic reionization, based on the complete JWST EIGER dataset. Using deep NIRCam $3.5\,\mathrm{\mu m}$ slitless spectroscopy, we construct a sample of 948 [\OIII]$\lambda5008$-emitting galaxies with $-21.4\lesssim M_\mathrm{UV}\lesssim -17.2$ spanning $5.33<z<6.97$ along six quasar sightlines. We correlate these galaxies with \Lya\ and \Lyb\ transmission measured from high-resolution quasar spectra across multiple redshift intervals. We find clear redshift evolution in the correlation between galaxy density and transmission: it is suppressed in overdense regions at $z<5.50$, while enhanced at $5.70<z<6.15$. The intermediate range exhibits a transitional behavior. Cross-correlation measurements further reveal excess absorption within $\sim 8$\,cMpc of galaxies at low redshifts, and enhanced transmission at intermediate scales ($\sim$5--20\,cMpc) at $z>5.70$. Statistical tests using mock catalogs with realistic galaxy clustering but no correlation with the transmission field confirm that the observed correlations are unlikely to arise by chance. The evolving signals can be explained by stronger absorption in overdense regions, combined with the competing influences of local radiation fields and the rising background radiation. While local radiation dominates ionization of the surrounding IGM at earlier times, the background becomes increasingly important, eventually surpassing the impact of nearby galaxies. These results support an inside-out progression of reionization, with ionized regions originating around clustered, star-forming galaxies and gradually extending into underdense regions.

We present AGNBoost, a machine learning framework utilizing XGBoostLSS to identify AGN and estimate redshifts from JWST NIRCam and MIRI photometry. AGNBoost constructs 121 input features from 7 NIRCam and 4 MIRI bands-including magnitudes, colors, and squared color terms-to simultaneously predict the fraction of mid-IR $3-30\,\mu$m emission attributable to an AGN power law (frac$_\text{AGN}$) and photometric redshift. Each model is trained on a sample of $10^6$ simulated galaxies from CIGALE providing ground truth values of both frac$_\text{AGN}$ and redshift. Models are tested against both mock CIGALE galaxies set aside for testing and 698 observations from the JWST MIRI EGS Galaxy and AGN (MEGA) survey. On mock galaxies, AGNBoost achieves $15\%$ outlier fractions of $0.19\%$ (frac$_\text{AGN}$) and $0.63\%$ (redshift), with a root mean square error ($\sigma_\text{RMSE}$) of $0.027$ for frac$_\text{AGN}$ and a normalized mean absolute deviation ($\sigma_\text{NMAD}$) of 0.011 for redshift. On MEGA galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts, AGNBoost achieves $\sigma_\text{NMAD}$ = 0.074 and $17.05\%$ outliers, with most outliers at $z_\text{spec} > 2$. AGNBoost frac$_\text{AGN}$ estimates broadly agree with CIGALE fitting ($\sigma_\text{RMSE} = 0.183$, $20.41\%$ outliers), and AGNBoost finds a similar number of AGNs as CIGALE SED fitting. The flexible framework of AGNBoost allows straightforward incorporation of additional photometric bands and derived qualities, and simple re-training for other variables of interest. AGNBoost's computational efficiency makes it well-suited for wide-sky surveys requiring rapid AGN identification and redshift estimation.

Originally observed in isophotal density contours of elliptical galaxies, higher order perturbations in the form of Fourier modes, or multipoles, are becoming increasingly recognized as necessary to account for angular mass complexity in strong lensing analyses. When smooth, elliptical CDM mass models fail, multipoles often emerge as solutions. With the discovery of two radio jets in the source quasar, the strong gravitational lens HS 0810+2554 can no longer be well fit by elliptical mass models, suggesting perturbations on small-scales. In this paper, we investigate the efficacy of multipoles $m=1$ (lopsidedness), $m=3$ (triangleness), and $m=4$ (boxiness and diskiness) in addressing the image positional anomalies of the two radio quads of HS 0810+2554. Due to the exact pairing and arrival sequence of the images being unknown, we consider all feasible image configurations. With 64 unique best-fit models, we achieve a fit of $\chi=1.59$ ($\chi^2=2.53$), with $m=1,3,4$ multipole strengths of 0.9%, 0.4%, and 0.6%, respectively, with images in the reverse time ordering. Elliptical+shear models from previous works find $\chi\!\sim\!7\!-\!10$, for comparison. With the morphological (i.e., standard) arrival sequence, we achieve a fit of $\chi=2.95$ with two images being assigned to opposite sources. Therefore, CDM mass models with mass complexity in the form of multipoles are able to adequately explain the positional anomalies in HS 0810+2554. Alternative dark matter theories, like fuzzy dark matter, need not be invoked.

In this study, both the evolution of wormholes (by examining both the energy conditions and using the TOV equations) and the effects of the Karmarkar condition on the solutions obtained under certain specific cases were examined in the light of the $f(R,T)$ gravity theory, using two $f(R,T)$ functions predicted to describe the accelerated expansion of the universe. In this context, for the first time in the literature, a generalized shape function was obtained using the Karmarkar condition. It was observed that solutions of the type $R-a_{1}^2/R+a_{2}g(T)$ satisfy the energy conditions (with the dominant energy condition being partially satisfied), whereas solutions of the type $R+a_{1}^2R^2+a_{2}g(T)$ require the presence of exotic matter. In both cases, stable, static, and traversable wormhole solutions were obtained. By applying the Karmarkar condition to the $R+a_{1}^2R^2+a_{2}g(T)$ type solutions, which violate the energy conditions, the relationship between wormhole geometry and energy conditions was investigated. The study examined whether the Karmarkar condition eliminates the need for exotic matter, and it was found that the solutions do not remove the necessity of exotic matter. Additionally, it was demonstrated that a specific value of the parameter, ${\beta}$, which determines the radial variation of the shape function, could ensure the stability of the wormhole throat with the aid of Casimir energy. In other words, it is considered possible that the geometric evolution of the wormhole throat could trigger the transition from positive energy (baryonic matter) to negative energy (dark matter, dark energy, or other exotic matter) by inducing Casimir forces.

Numerical-relativity simulations offer a unique approach to investigating the dynamics of binary neutron star mergers and provide the most accurate predictions of waveforms in the late inspiral phase. However, the numerical predictions are prone to systematic biases originating from the construction of initial quasi-circular binary configurations, the numerical methods used to evolve them, and to extract gravitational signals. To assess uncertainties arising from these aspects, we analyze mergers of highly spinning neutron stars with dimensionless spin parameter $\chi=0.5$. The initial data are prepared by two solvers, \textsc{FUKA} and \textsc{SGRID}, which are then evolved by two independent codes, \textsc{SACRA} and \textsc{BAM}. We assess the impact of numerical discretizations, finite extraction radii, and differences in numerical frameworks on the resulting gravitational waveforms. Our analysis reveals that the primary source of uncertainty in numerical waveforms is the evolution code, while the initial data solver has a smaller impact. We also compare our numerical-relativity waveforms with state-of-the-art analytical models, finding that the discrepancies between them exceed the estimated numerical uncertainties. Few suggestions are offered: (i) the analytic waveform becomes an inadequate approximation after the two neutron stars come into contact and the binary enters the essentially-one-body phase, (ii) the analytical models may not capture finite-size effects beyond quadrupole moment, and (iii) the inconsistent use of the binary black hole baseline in the analytical models may also be contributing to these discrepancies. The presented results benchmark the error budget for numerical waveforms of binary neutron star mergers, and provide information for the analytic models to explore further the high spin parameter space of binary neutron star mergers.

First-order phase transitions (FOPT) are ubiquitous in beyond the Standard Model physics and leave distinctive echoes in the history of early universe. We consider a FOPT serving the well-motivated role of dark matter mass generation and present {\it blast-frozen dark matter} (BFDM), which transitions from radiation to non-relativistic relic in a period much shorter than the corresponding Hubble time. Its cosmological imprint are strong oscillations in the dark matter density perturbations that seed structure formation on large and small scales. For a FOPT occurring not long before the matter-radiation equality, next generation cosmological surveys bear a strong potential to discover BFDM and in turn establish the origin of dark matter mass.

This anisotropy of kinetic coefficients in presence of a magnetic field is represented by so-called Hall currents, which appear in a collisional medium due to action of the Lorentz force on the charged particles between collisions. In many papers the Hall currents had been considered in different approximate approaches. We derive equations, describing dynamics of the magnetic field in presence of Hall currents, using a standard electrodynamic consideration. We consider collisional media, and take into account a temperature gradients, which create thermodiffusional electric current, in presence of the Hall component. The influence of the Hall currents on the magnetic field structure and damping is considered in simple models. In presence of thermodiffusion the condition for creation of the seed magnetic field in the non-magnetized media is found, which is needed for the action of the mechanism, known as "Biermann battery".

Gravitational-wave detectors use state-of-the-art quantum technologies to circumvent vacuum fluctuations via squeezed states of light. Future detectors such as Einstein Telescope may require the use of two filter cavities or a 3-mirror, coupled filter cavity to achieve a complex rotation of the squeezing ellipse in order to reduce the quantum noise over the whole detector bandwidth. In this work, we compare the theoretical feasibility and performances of these two systems and their resilience with respect to different degradation sources (optical losses, mismatching, locking precision). We provide both analytical models and numerical insights. We extend previous analysis on squeezing degradation and find that the coupled cavity scheme provides similar or better performances than the two-cavity option, in terms of resilience with respect to imperfections and optical losses. We propose a possible two-step implementation scheme for Einstein Telescope using a single filter cavity that can be possibly upgraded into a coupled filter cavity.

A class of viable $F(R)$ gravity models which can provide a unified description of inflation with the dark energy era is confronted with the latest observational data on the dark energy era. These models have the unique characteristic that the de Sitter scalaron mass in the Einstein frame counterpart theory is a monotonic function of the curvature, which renders them viable descriptions for both the inflationary and the late-time acceleration eras. We also compare these models with other well-known viable $F(R)$ gravity models and with the $\Lambda$-Cold-Dark-Matter model. As we show, the most phenomenologically successful models are those which deviate significantly from the $\Lambda$-Cold-Dark-Matter model. Also some of the models presented, provide a statistically favorable description of the dark energy eras, compared with the exponential $F(R)$ gravity model and of course compared with the $\Lambda$-Cold-Dark-Matter model. All the models we present in this article are confronted with the observational data from the Planck collaboration, the Pantheon plus data from Type Ia supernovae, the two rounds of observations of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, data from baryon acoustic oscillations and the Hubble constant measurements by SH0ES group. As we show, two of the models are statistically favorable by the data.

The fourth observing run of Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, and KAGRA has provided so far over 200 new gravitational-wave candidates, and it is still ongoing. A few results from this run are published and in this proceeding, we summarize the latest targeted search for GWs from SN 2023ixf and consider predictions for future searches. We also summarize the targeted search for GWs from a fast radio burst source SGR 1935+2154.

We investigate two classes of dark matter (DM) candidates, sub-GeV particles and primordial black holes (PBHs), that can inject low-energy electrons and positrons into the Milky Way and leave observable signatures in the X-ray sky. In the case of sub-GeV DM, annihilation or decay into $e^+e^-$ contributes to the diffuse sea of cosmic-ray (CR) leptons, which can generate bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton (IC) emission on Galactic photon fields, producing a broad spectrum from X-rays to $\gamma$-rays detectable by instruments such as eROSITA and XMM-Newton. For PBHs with masses below $\sim10^{17}$ g, Hawking evaporation similarly yields low-energy $e^\pm$, leading to comparable diffuse emission. Using the first data release from eROSITA and incorporating up-to-date CR propagation and diffusion parameters, we derive new constraints on both scenarios. For sub-GeV DM, we exclude thermally averaged annihilation cross sections in the range $\sim 10^{-27}-10^{-25} \ \mathrm{cm^3/s}$ and decay lifetimes of $\sim 10^{24}-10^{25}$ s for masses between 1 MeV and 1 GeV, with eROSITA outperforming previous X-ray constraints below $\sim$ 30 MeV. For asteroid-mass PBHs, we set new bounds on the DM fraction based on their Hawking-induced emission. Finally, we revisit earlier constraints from XMM-Newton, finding that they were approximately four orders of magnitude too stringent due to the use of the instrument's geometric solid angle rather than its exposure-weighted solid angle. Upon using the exposure-weighted solid angle, we show that the revised XMM-Newton limits are slightly weaker than those from eROSITA.

We study parity violation in the early universe by examining the four-point correlation function within the axion inflation model. Using an open quantum system formalism from our previous work, we calculate the influence functional to fourth order, from which we then derive the inflaton four-point correlation function. When we decompose this function using isotropic basis functions, the expansion coefficients $\zeta_{\ell',\ell'',\ell'''}$ naturally split into parity-even and parity-odd components. In the large $\xi$ approximation, which enhances the production of right-handed photons in the model, the derivation of these coefficients simplifies. We work out the lowest-order nonvanishing parity-odd $\zeta_{234}$ term which clearly indicates the presence of parity violation. Moreover, our derived values of the coefficients are consistent with recent observational data from galaxy surveys.

It is known that the amplification factor, defined as the ratio of the lensed to the unlensed waveform in the frequency domain, satisfies the Kramers-Kronig (KK) relation, which connects the real and imaginary parts of the amplification factor for any lensing signal. In this work, we reformulate the KK relation in terms of the magnitude and phase of the amplification factor. Unlike the original formulation, the phase cannot be uniquely determined from the magnitude alone due to the possible presence of a Blaschke product. While this ambiguity does not arise in the case of a point-mass lens, it can appear in more complex lens models, such as those with an NFW lens profile. As an application of our formulation, we demonstrate that the leading-order behavior of the phase in the low-frequency regime is completely determined by the leading-order behavior of the magnitude in the same regime. This reproduces known results from the literature, derived via low-frequency expansions for specific lens models. Importantly, our result does not rely on any particular lens model, highlighting a universal feature that the low-frequency behavior of the amplification factor is tightly constrained by the KK relation. As a further application, we present two examples in which the phase is constructed from a given analytic form of the magnitude using the newly derived KK relation. In particular, the second example allows for an analytic evaluation of the KK integral, yielding an explicit expression for the phase. This study offers a potentially powerful method for applying the KK relation in model-agnostic searches for lensing signals.

We propose the experimental simulation of cosmological perturbations governed by a Planck-scale induced Lorentz violating dispersion, aimed at distinguishing between early-universe models with similar power spectra. Employing a novel variant of the scaling approach for the evolution of a Bose-Einstein condensate with both contact and dipolar interactions, we show that scale invariance, and in turn, the duality of the power spectrum is broken at large momenta for an inflating gas, and at small momenta for a contracting gas. We thereby furnish a Planck-scale sensitive approach to analogue quantum cosmology that can readily be implemented in the quantum gas laboratory.

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are anticipated to detect continuous gravitational waves (GWs) from individual supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) in the near future. To identify the host galaxy of a GW source, PTAs require significantly improved angular resolution beyond the typical range of 100-1000 square degrees achieved by recent continuous GW searches. In this study, we investigate how precise pulsar distance measurements can enhance the localization of a single GW source. Accurate distance information, comparable to or better than the GW wavelength (typically 1~pc) can refine GW source localization. In the near future, with the advent of Square Kilometre Array (SKA), such high-precision distance measurements will be feasible for a few nearby pulsars. We focus on the relatively nearby pulsars J0437-4715 (156 pc) and J0030+0451 (331 pc), incorporating their actual distance uncertainties based on current VLBI measurements and the anticipated precision of the SKA-era. By simulating 87 pulsars with the GW signal and Gaussian white noise in the timing residuals, we assess the impact of the pulsar distance information on GW source localization. Our results show that without precise distance information, localization remains insufficient to identify host galaxies under 10 ns noise. However, incorporating SKA-era distance precision for nearby pulsars J0437-4715 and J0030+0451 can reduce localization uncertainties to the required level of $10^{-3}$ $\rm deg^{2}$. Localization accuracy strongly depends on the geometric configuration of pulsars with well-measured distances and improves notably near and between such pulsars. The improvement of the localization will greatly aid in identifying the host galaxy of a GW source and constructing an SMBHB catalog. It will further enable follow-up electromagnetic observations to investigate the SMBHB in greater detail.

In this work, we systematically investigate the capability of space-based gravitational wave detectors in constraining parameters of non-tensor polarization modes. Using Bayesian inference and Fisher Information Matrix methods, we analyze gravitational wave signals from the inspiral phase of supermassive binary black hole mergers. By starting with time-domain signals and applying Fourier transforms, we avoid the use of the stationary phase approximation. We found an asymmetry in the estimation of the vector-mode parameter $\alpha_x$ at inclination angles $\iota = 0$ and $\iota = \pi$, which has not been explicitly pointed out in previous studies. We also observe strong correlations between scalar-mode parameters, $\alpha_b$ and $\alpha_l$, which currently limit their independent estimation. These findings underscore the importance of using complete inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms to enhance the ability to distinguish the non-tensor polarization modes. Finally, we employ a new LISA-Taiji network configuration, in which the orientation of spacecrafts of Taiji maintains a fixed phase offset relative to these of LISA. Under the adiabatic approximation and the assumption of equal arms, this phase is found to have no significant effect on data analysis.

Some time ago it was claimed in "Spontaneous Breaking of Lepton Number and Cosmological Domain Wall Problem" (Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 151301 (2019)) that non perturbative instantons of the weak interaction $\text{SU}(2)_\text{W}$ lead to the formation of domain walls in Majoron models owing to the anomaly of the spontaneously broken global lepton number $L$ symmetry $\text{U}(1)_L$ with respect to $\text{SU}(2)_\text{W}$. We point out that it has long been known, that this effect can be completely rotated away unless there is a source of explicit $B+L$ breaking present, where $B$ denotes baryon number. We further estimate the tiny instanton induced Majoron mass from $B+L$ breaking and analyze the cosmological impact of such domain walls including possible finite temperature effects. In general this scenario does not lead to a cosmological catastrophe.

Axions are hypothetical pseudo-Nambu Goldstone bosons that could explain the observed cold dark matter density and solve the strong CP problem of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Haloscope experiments commonly employ resonant cavities to search for a conversion of axion dark matter into photons in external magnetic fields. As the expected signal power degrades with increasing frequency, this approach becomes challenging at frequencies beyond tens of Gigahertz. Here, we propose a novel haloscope design based on an open Fabry-Pérot resonator. Operating a small-scale resonator at cryogenic temperatures and at modest magnetic fields should already lead to an unparalleled sensitivity for photon-axion couplings $g_{a\gamma} \gtrsim 3\times10^{-12}\,\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$ at 35GHz. We demonstrate how this sensitivity could be further improved using graded-phase mirrors and sketch possibilities to probe benchmark models of the QCD axion.

This extensive survey seeks to analyze and contrast different phenomenological methods used to model the nuclear equation of state (EOS) for neutron star matter based on covariant energy density functionals (CEDF). Using two complementary methodologies, we seek to capture a comprehensive picture of the potential behaviors of ultra-dense nucleonic matter and identify the most plausible models based on current observational and experimental constraints. Observational data from radio pulsar timing, gravitational wave detection of GW170817, and X-ray timing provide critical benchmarks for testing the models. We have derived the EOS posteriors for various CEDF models within the $\texttt{CompactObject}$ package, utilizing recent observational data on neutron stars, state-of-the-art theoretical constraints from chiral effective field theory ($\chi$EFT) calculations for pure neutron matter at low densities, and pQCD-derived constraints at approximately $7 \times 0.16$ $ \mathrm{fm}^{-3}$. Our analysis has demonstrated that while all considered CEDF models broadly reproduce current astrophysical and theoretical constraints, subtle yet important differences persist among them, with each framework exhibiting distinct characteristics at supra-nuclear density. This is in particular true for the proton fraction inside neutron stars, but also supported by the models' behavior with respect to the pure neutron matter EOS and the density dependence of the speed of sound. Our study highlights the sensitivity of dense matter predictions to the underlying EOS parameterizations and the priors considered.