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Physics Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies

astro-ph.GA Watch Astrophysics of Galaxies

Monday 14 September

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.SR

Results on young stellar clusters with the WEAVE LIFU

J. Maíz Apellániz, G. Holgado, C. Fariña et al. (+1 more)

We present the first results of two Spanish TAC programs using the WEAVE LIFU that have been obtaining data since October 2023. The first one is obtaining high-resolution multi-epoch spectroscopy of the nine stellar clusters that contain a minimum number of 3 O-type stars (and many more B stars) within the field of view of the WEAVE LIFU and that are accessible from La Palma with the purpose of studying the spectroscopic multiplicity of the OB stars. The second program is obtaining single-shot low-resolution spectroscopy of as many stellar clusters with OB stars as possible with the purpose of characterizing the OB-star population in those regions that are too crowded to be properly studied with the guaranteed time SCIP program. That program has already observed 54 clusters in a wide range of environments, from H II regions to gas-free clusters, and distances, from clusters in the solar neighbourhood to (nearby) extragalactic systems. We also present the tools developed for this program, which include a data cube processing and visualisation utility and UNWIND, a code that fits and subtracts the ISM signature in the observed spectra.
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All authors J. Maíz Apellániz, G. Holgado, C. Fariña, S. R. Berlanas

Astrophysics of Galaxies

A comparative analysis of the long-term optical variability characteristics of narrow and broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies at z > 0.8

Aratrika Dey, Stalin C.S., Akshith S. et al. (+1 more)

We present the results on a comparative analysis of the long-term optical variability characteristics of high-redshift narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxies and broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLSy1) galaxies. Our sample spanning the redshift range of $0.8 < z < 2.6$, comprises 2490 NLSy1 and 2490 BLSy1 galaxies matched in the optical brightness$-$redshift plane. We used V-band data from the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey covering a baseline of 5$-$9 years, and g, r, and i-band data from the Zwicky Transient Facility spanning 5 to 6 years. To characterise variability we estimated the amplitude of variability ($\sigma_m$). We found that NLSy1 galaxies generally exhibit lower $\sigma_m$ compared to BLSy1 galaxies. In both the NLSy1 and BLSy1 galaxy samples, we observed a wavelength dependent variability using data from Zwicky Transient Facility, with $\sigma_m$ gradually increasing towards shorter wavelengths. We found an anti-correlation between $\sigma_m$ and Eddington ratio in the g, r, and i bands for BLSy1 galaxies, whereas this anti-correlation is observed only in the r and i bands for NLSy1 galaxies. For both NLSy1 and BLSy1 galaxies, we found no correlation between $\sigma_m$ in g, r, and i bands and black hole mass. In both the samples, we found that $\sim$90% of the sources showed a bluer when brighter trend. We found no significant time lag between variations in g and r bands in both BLSy1 and NLSy1 galaxies. The observed long-term trends in the optical light curves of our high redshift sample of BLSy1 and NLSy1 galaxies could be driven by variations in the accretion disk.
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All authors Aratrika Dey, Stalin C.S., Akshith S., Suvendu Rakshit

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The driving mode of turbulence in disc galaxy simulations with adaptive mesh refinement

James Watt, Christoph Federrath, Thorsten Tepper-Garcia et al. (+2 more)

Turbulence is a key ingredient in controlling the structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) and star formation, yet we still lack a detailed understanding of its drivers in galaxies. Previous idealised simulations of turbulence employ a stochastic forcing field to drive turbulence. The geometry of this forcing field - whether it is predominantly solenoidal or compressive - is a key parameter governing how turbulence shapes the ISM density distribution and regulates the star formation rate. The turbulence driving parameter ($b$) quantifies the relative contribution of compressive versus solenoidal driving.. Therefore, accurate knowledge of the driving parameter is essential for understanding and predicting star formation, and for sub-grid modelling of ISM physics and the star formation rate. In this work, we introduce an algorithm to measure the turbulence driving parameter in adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) simulations of galaxies. We focus our analysis on a synthetic Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), present-day analogue with a total mass $M \approx 10^{11}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$. We find that turbulence is driven primarily solenoidally ($b<0.4$) within the inner $\sim4\,\mathrm{kpc}$ of the galaxy, and becomes increasingly compressive with $b>0.4$ towards the outskirts, $R\gtrsim4.5\,\mathrm{kpc}$. The volume-weighted median across the disc, $b\simeq0.4$, is consistent with the natural mixture of driving modes. We further find that $b$ is weakly correlated with the strength of shear, in that solenoidal driving tends to be associated with regions of higher shear, as expected for the more central parts of galaxies. These trends persist over $\sim\!2\,\mathrm{Gyr}$ of the galaxy's evolution.
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All authors James Watt, Christoph Federrath, Thorsten Tepper-Garcia, Oscar Agertz, Joss Bland-Hawthorn

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Nexus-CDM: Isolated Galaxy Simulations with Cosmologically Evolving Dark-Matter Halos I. Method and Validation

Thor Tepper-García, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Oscar Agertz et al. (+1 more)

Galaxy evolution can be modelled in two complementary ways. Standalone simulations place a single galaxy in isolation, evolving it under controlled initial conditions without the surrounding cosmic web. This approach offers high resolution and computational efficiency, making it well suited to disentangle specific physical processes (e.g. feedback and disc instabilities) and testing them cleanly, though at the cost of ignoring environmental context, gas accretion from the broader large-scale structure, and the hierarchical assembly that feeds real galaxies over cosmic time. Cosmological simulations, by contrast, form galaxies self-consistently within an expanding universe, capturing large-scale structure formation, mergers, gas inflows, and environmental effects such as tidal stripping and ram-pressure. This realism comes at a steep computational cost, requiring coarser resolution or simplified sub-grid physics for star formation and feedback. Here, we explore a new paradigm that combines the relative merits of both methods – what we call the Nexus-CDM framework. This approach naturally incorporates galaxy mass growth, which is absent from existing standalone simulations, reinforcing the limitations of static halo models used in galaxy formation and evolution research. The viability of the framework is demonstrated in an idealised setup, where it successfully reproduces the formation and subsequent evolution of a realistic stellar disc. We present some early results, in particular, discs form readily in a gravitational potential with a shallow central gradient, contrary to recent claims.
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All authors Thor Tepper-García, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Oscar Agertz, Christoph Federrath

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Tracing Stellar Populations through the Mg-Al Anti-Correlation in Gaia-ESO Globular Clusters

H. Sinclair-Wentworth, C. C. Worley, P. Jofre et al. (+2 more)

Context. Globular clusters (GCs) are fragments of the chemical history and evolution of the Milky Way. Their notable intra-cluster abundance variations have been used to characterise chemical trends and stellar populations. However, the origins of these populations and GCs in general are still largely unknown. Aims. Our aim is to explore the origin of the stellar populations belonging to 14 GCs making use of their abundances derived from the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) spectra. In particular, we use the Mg-Al anti-correlation to separate the populations. Methods. The GES spectra were revisited to derive additional homogenous chemical abundances for Mg and Al. A Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) was applied to the [Mg/Al] distribution for each cluster to define a threshold between the two main populations. Results. Eight clusters imply the presence of Mg-Al anti-correlations and dual populations. We find there is a regime transition near [Fe/H] approximately -1.4, where, the Mg-Al anti-correlation disappears at higher metallicity. Several clusters, regardless of their Mg-Al anti- correlation behaviour, exhibit metallicity spreads (e.g., NGC 2808, NGC 6752) and s-process variations (e.g., NGC 7078, NGC 1851), suggesting complex enrichment histories. Conclusions. The presence and spread of the Mg-Al anti-correlation depend on cluster mass and metallicity, with metal poor and/or massive clusters exhibiting the clearest anti-correlation. This work demonstrates additional abundances that can be retrieved from Gaia-ESO Survey spectra and provides further insight into the chemistry of multiple stellar populations within GCs. These findings highlight the chemical complexity of GCs and the need for large, homogeneous datasets to trace their formation histories.
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All authors H. Sinclair-Wentworth, C. C. Worley, P. Jofre, J. Schiappacasse-Ulloa, L. Magrini

Sunday 13 September

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.CO

Bayesian Inference of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch: I. One-Dimensional Analysis

James D. Gibbon and Daniel J. Mortlock

The tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) is a relative distance measure that can be used, as part of a cosmic distance ladder, to infer the Hubble constant. We present a Bayesian framework for TRGB inference that incorporates selection effects and propagates per-star flux uncertainties, modelling the observed catalogue as a realisation of an inhomogeneous Poisson point process which includes the RGB and contamination from the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). We derive expressions for the predicted TRGB uncertainty in terms of the photometric noise, stellar density fainter than the tip, and the ratio of the AGB to AGB+RGB number densities, $r$. We validate these results using synthetic data from a simplified luminosity function. Applying the full model to synthetic catalogues, we find that the dependence on $r$ is the strongest of the three, and that reliable inference requires $r\lesssim0.5$; otherwise, the posterior can be multimodal, and the TRGB cannot reliably be identified. We then fit data from 11 Hubble Space Telescope fields of the calibrator galaxy NGC 4258. We find intrinsic field-to-field scatter of $\tau=0.067^{+0.023}_{-0.017}$ mag (beyond the measurement noise), and a galaxy-level, extinction-corrected TRGB magnitude of $25.324 \pm 0.026$ in the F814W filter. Combining this with the maser distance modulus to NGC 4258 of $29.397 \pm 0.032$ mag, we determine the absolute magnitude of the TRGB to be $M_{\mathrm{F814W}}^{\mathrm{TRGB}} = -4.073 \pm 0.026$ (tip) $\pm 0.032$ (dist), consistent with, but brighter than, other recent analyses of the same data.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

PRISMS. GHZ1. A standard tale of galaxy evolution with atypical ionizing conditions at $z=9.878$

Borja Pérez-Díaz, Marco Castellano, Javier Álvarez-Márquez et al. (+33 more)

[Abridged] The first operating years of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed a surprising number of $z \gtrsim 10$ UV-bright objects, many of them characterized by their compactness, anomalous chemical abundance patterns and complex ISM physics (e.g. N-enhanced systems). To assess whether these objects are a phase of early galaxy evolution or a peculiar population, it is essential to understand the physics of systems without anomalous abundance patterns in this epoch. We present a detailed analysis of GHZ1 ($z=9.878$), a moderately ($\mu = 1.715$) lensed UV-bright ($M_{UV} = -20.07$) galaxy in the Abell2744 field, characterized by an extended size ($R_{e} \sim 410$ pc). These properties, which contrast with the properties of many of the N-enhanced galaxies, make GHZ1 an excellent laboratory to assess what are the major drivers of early galaxy evolution and the origin of the differences. By means of JWST spectroscopic observations from NIRSpec (PRISM-CLEAR configuration) and the MIR/LRS, we analyzed the full UV and optical emission from GHZ1. We used a spectro-photometric SED fitting to characterize the stellar evolution and the emission line spectra to constrain its chemical enrichment. We find that GHZ1 is among the most massive systems at $z\sim 10$ (log(M$_{\star}$ [M$_{\odot}$]) = 9.17$_{-0.26}^{+0.27}$), with a moderate amount of dust attenuation ($A_{V} = 0.21_{-0.12}^{+0.12}$~mag) and ongoing star formation (with a median SFR $= 8.75_{-1.72}^{+1.71}$ M$_{\odot}\cdot$yr$^{-1}$ over the last 10 Myr). Its chemical enrichment patterns (12+log(O/H) = $7.81_{-0.11}^{+0.12}$, log(C/O) = $-0.66_{-0.13}^{+0.13}$, log(N/O)$< -1.04$) are consistent with a standard evolution dominated by primary production from massive stars. We also derive an H$\alpha$/H$\beta$ Balmer ratio below Case B predictions. We speculate that [...].
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All authors Borja Pérez-Díaz, Marco Castellano, Javier Álvarez-Márquez, Luis Colina, Lorenzo Napolitano, Sarah Kendrew, Alejandro Crespo Gómez, Stefano Carniani, Shouyi Wang, Fan Zou, Abdurro'uf, Arjan Bik, Karina Caputi, Román Fernández-Aranda, Adriano Fontana, Yoshinobu Fudamoto, Macarena García-Marín, Mahmoud Hamed, Yuichi Harikane, Takuya Hashimoto, Jakob M. Helton, Tiger Y.-Y. Hsiao, Danial Langeroodi, Ruqiu Lin, Rui Marques-Chaves, Göran Östlin, Pablo G. Pérez-González, Enrico Piconcelli, Carlota Prieto-Jiménez, Pierluigi Rinaldi, Guido Roberts-Borsani, Bruno Rodríguez del Pino, Paola Santini, Tommaso Treu, Ana Varo-O'Ferrall, Jorge Zavala

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Euclid: Data Release 1 (DR1) – Fornax-7, an ultra-faint companion to the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy? A remote star cluster or dwarf satellite of the Fornax dSph

T. Saifollahi, A. Lançon, A. M. N. Ferguson et al. (+165 more)

We report the discovery of an ultra-faint stellar system in the vicinity of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy in Euclid DR1. This system, which we designate Fornax-7, is located $1.1$ deg from the centre of the Fornax dSph at about $145$ kpc, corresponding to a projected distance of $\sim 2.8$ kpc assuming the distance of the Fornax dSph. We characterise Fornax-7 using constraints from its colour-magnitude diagram (CMD), luminosity function (LF), and integrated optical colours from ground-based data. These observables are modelled jointly through a forward-modelling framework to constrain its distance modulus, stellar population properties, and total stellar mass. Assuming a low metallicity of $-2.2 \leq {\rm [M/H]} \leq -2.0$, similar to known ultra-faint systems around the Milky Way and the LMC, we derive a distance modulus consistent with that of the Fornax dSph. We estimate an age of $(10.4\pm1.9)$ Gyr and infer a stellar mass of $170^{+50}_{-62}$ solar masses. Relaxing the metallicity constraint and allowing for a wider range that covers the metallicity of the known old Fornax globular clusters (GCs), we find a metal-poor population but with a higher metallicity ${\rm [M/H]}=-1.4\pm0.3$, while the age, distance modulus, and mass remain mostly the same. These results suggest a likely physical association with the Fornax dSph. Fornax-7 may represent either an extremely remote star cluster associated with Fornax, a dwarf satellite of Fornax (i.e., a "satellite of a satellite"), or an independent ultra-faint satellite in the outer halo of the Milky Way. In all cases, it constitutes an exceptional system probing the lowest-mass regime of galaxy and star cluster formation, and the structure of dwarf galaxy haloes. Deeper photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations are required to confirm both the nature of the system and its dynamical connection to Fornax.
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All authors T. Saifollahi, A. Lançon, A. M. N. Ferguson, P. Boldrini, M. Gatto, J. M. Howell, N. F. Martin, A. C. Robin, F. Annibali, M. Baes, E. Balbinot, G. Battaglia, M. Bellazzini, Michele Cantiello, M.-R. L. Cioni, C. Crociati, V. Dornan, P.-A. Duc, A. Genina, C. M. Gutierrez, R. Habas, P. Jablonka, S. S. Larsen, M. Libralato, F. R. Marleau, D. Martínez-Delgado, S. Martocchia, D. Massari, F. Niederhofer, J. D. Sakowska, M. Urbano, L. R. Bedin, M. Griggio, A. Mohandasan, B. Altieri, S. Andreon, N. Auricchio, C. Baccigalupi, M. Baldi, S. Bardelli, P. Battaglia, A. Biviano, M. Bolzonella, E. Branchini, M. Brescia, S. Camera, V. Capobianco, C. Carbone, J. Carretero, M. Castellano, G. Castignani, S. Cavuoti, K. C. Chambers, A. Cimatti, C. Colodro-Conde, G. Congedo, C. J. Conselice, L. Conversi, Y. Copin, A. Costille, F. Courbin, H. M. Courtois, M. Cropper, H. Degaudenzi, G. De Lucia, H. Dole, F. Dubath, X. Dupac, M. Farina, R. Farinelli, F. Faustini, S. Ferriol, M. Frailis, E. Franceschi, M. Fumana, L. Gabarra, S. Galeotta, K. George, B. Gillis, C. Giocoli, J. Gracia-Carpio, A. Grazian, F. Grupp, S. V. H. Haugan, H. Hoekstra, W. Holmes, I. M. Hook, F. Hormuth, A. Hornstrup, K. Jahnke, M. Jhabvala, S. Kermiche, A. Kiessling, B. Kubik, K. Kuijken, M. Kümmel, M. Kunz, H. Kurki-Suonio, A. M. C. Le Brun, S. Ligori, P. B. Lilje, V. Lindholm, I. Lloro, M. Magliocchetti, G. Mainetti, O. Mansutti, O. Marggraf, M. Martinelli, N. Martinet, F. Marulli, R. J. Massey, E. Medinaceli, M. Meneghetti, E. Merlin, G. Meylan, P. Monaco, A. Mora, M. Moresco, C. Moretti, L. Moscardini, R. Nakajima, C. Neissner, S.-M. Niemi, C. Padilla, S. Paltani, F. Pasian, W. J. Percival, V. Pettorino, A. Pezzotta, G. Polenta, M. Poncet, L. A. Popa, F. Raison, A. Renzi, J. Rhodes, G. Riccio, I. Risso, E. Romelli, M. Roncarelli, B. Rusholme, R. Saglia, Z. Sakr, D. Sapone, M. Schirmer, P. Schneider, A. Secroun, E. Sihvola, C. Sirignano, G. Sirri, L. Stanco, P. Tallada-Crespí, A. N. Taylor, I. Tereno, S. Toft, R. Toledo-Moreo, F. Torradeflot, A. Tsyganov, I. Tutusaus, J. Valiviita, T. Vassallo, Y. Wang, J. Weller, A. Zacchei, F. M. Zerbi, I. A. Zinchenko, E. Zucca, J. García-Bellido, K. Tanidis

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.SR

Stripped helium stars in UV

L.R. Yungelson, A.G. Kuranov and A.V. Mishakina

The model of Galactic population of stripped helium stars, the remnants of $5 \lesssim M/M_\odot \lesssim 24$ primary components of close binaries after RLOF is presented. These stars emit in the UV range of the spectrum and may be observed by detectors aboard planned "Spektr-UV" (WSO-UV) space telescope. For the current star formation rate in the Galaxy 2$\mathrm {M_\odot yr^{-1}}$, the estimate of the number of 1 to 7 $M_\odot$ objects with $T_{\rm eff} \gtrsim$25,000\,K ranges from 14700 to 28500. The number of 2 to 7 $M_\odot$ objects is 3200 to 5500. The main evolutionary factor influencing the estimate is possible formation of common envelopes and merger of components in them. Detection of candidate stripped helium stars by UV-excess is hampered by the dominance of main-sequence companions to stripped helium stars in the combined spectra of binaries. This effect of observational selection may reduce the number of candidate stripped helium stars potentially detectable by photometry to $\lesssim 1000$.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

The Connection between Halo Assembly History and the Stellar Distribution I: The Central Stellar Mass - Richness Plane

Shuo Xu, Song Huang, Alexie Leauthaud et al. (+4 more)

Recent observations suggest intrinsic links between the stellar components of massive halos and their assembly histories. Using massive halos with $\log[M_{\rm halo}/M_\odot] \geq 13.0$ from the IllustrisTNG-300 simulation, we explore differences in secondary halo properties between samples selected by central galaxy stellar mass and satellite richness. For group-like masses, we find that halos selected by the outskirts stellar mass of their central galaxies between 50 and 100 kpc ($M_{\star,[50,100]}$) have similar halo mass distributions to those selected by intrinsic satellite richness ($\lambda_{10, R_{200}}$), but differ significantly in assembly history: $M_{\star,[50,100]}$-selected halos are more concentrated and formed earlier. At higher masses ($\sim10^{14}~M_\odot$), intrinsic richness becomes the better halo-mass proxy, but only when projection effects are ignored. We find that the difference-set test selects comparable halo-mass samples most effectively when the two proxies have similar scatter. Projection effects and baryonic physics do not alter the main trends but remain important caveats for observational applications. Our findings show that the central stellar mass-richness plane is a powerful tool for selecting halos with particular accretion histories, offering new insights into the galaxy-halo connection in the era of deep imaging and precision lensing surveys such as Euclid and LSST.
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All authors Shuo Xu, Song Huang, Alexie Leauthaud, Benedikt Diemer, Katya Leidig, Conghao Zhou, Carlo Cannarozzo

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Nitrogen-Loud Quasars from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. II. Broad-Line Region Metallicity and Relative Nitrogen Enrichment

Shuo Zhai, Wei-jian Guo, Yong-Jie Chen et al. (+3 more)

Whether the unusually strong nitrogen emission in nitrogen-loud (N-loud) quasars reflects high overall metallicity, enhanced nitrogen abundance relative to other elements, or both has long been debated. We analyze the broad-line region (BLR) abundances of 121 N-loud quasars at $2.13 \leq z \leq 3.90$ selected from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Data Release 1 and construct a control sample of normal quasars matched in redshift, continuum luminosity, and virial black hole mass. Within the N-loud sample, metallicities inferred from N V/C IV span $\sim 3$-$50\,Z_\odot$ and are systematically higher than those inferred from the nitrogen-independent (Si IV+O IV])/C IV and Al III/C IV diagnostics, which agree closely and mainly span $\sim 1$-$20\,Z_\odot$. Compared with the matched controls, the N-loud quasars show systematically higher metallicities in both N V/C IV and (Si IV+O IV])/C IV, with median values approximately three times those of the controls. Notably, the discrepancy between the metallicities inferred from N V/C IV and (Si IV+O IV])/C IV becomes more pronounced toward the high-metallicity end of the N-loud sample, suggesting additional nitrogen enrichment beyond the overall metal enrichment. Together, these results indicate that N-loud quasars have both high overall BLR metallicity and enhanced relative nitrogen abundance, suggesting that relative nitrogen abundance is at least partially decoupled from overall metallicity. N-loud quasars therefore provide a high-metallicity laboratory for understanding how nuclear environments can produce unusual abundance patterns and offer a complementary view of how nitrogen enrichment arises across cosmic time.
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All authors Shuo Zhai, Wei-jian Guo, Yong-Jie Chen, Haining Li, Jian-Min Wang, Gang Zhao

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.SR

Thermodynamic exchange and mode stability in strongly nonadiabatic radial pulsations

Jan Zalewski

We apply the quadratic balance relation for linear nonadiabatic pulsations to radial modes of a sequence of post-AGB envelope models covering $3.52\leq\log(T_{\rm eff})\leq4.6$. The relation separates the thermodynamic exchange power $\mathcal{P}_{\rm ex}$, response power $\mathcal{P}_{\rm rsp}$, and surface contribution $\Delta B$, and introduces an effective norm through $\mathcal{P}_{\rm ex}+\Delta B=2\gamma\chi_{\rm eff}\mathcal{E}_{\rm kin}$, where $\gamma$ is the mode growth rate. For nearly adiabatic modes $\chi_{\rm eff}$ is close to unity, whereas in strongly nonadiabatic pulsations the compression and horizontal area deformation contributions can make it change magnitude or even reverse its sign. In the cooler models, a broad family of overtone modes has $\chi_{\rm eff}<0$ and is damped despite positive thermodynamic exchange power. For these modes the response power supplies the opposing damping. Conversely, two low frequency modes in the hotter models are excited over a range of effective temperatures, even though their thermodynamic exchange power is negative. Their instability is produced by the positive response power. Strange modes generally have $\chi_{\rm eff}>0$, apart from a narrow boundary-sensitive transition during which a cold strange mode transforms into an ordinary p-mode. The excited low frequency solution with $\chi_{\rm eff}<0$ persists with a finer numerical mesh and such modes are found under the alternative outer boundary formulations examined, although their frequencies are boundary condition dependent. Thus, for strongly nonadiabatic pulsations, the sign of the thermodynamic exchange power alone does not determine mode stability.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Decoding RR Lyrae light curves with deep learning for accurate absolute magnitude estimation

Shunxuan He, Huiwen Wu, Yang Huang et al. (+6 more)

RR Lyrae stars are essential standard candles for distance measurements in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. Traditional estimates rely on the Period–Absolute Magnitude–Metallicity relation but are limited by uncertainties in metallicity determinations. We present a deep learning approach that directly predicts absolute magnitudes from RRab and RRc light curves, eliminating the need for metallicity estimates. Our model achieves validation precisions of 0.053 mag and 0.036 mag (approximately 2.5% and 1.7% in distance) for individual RRab and RRc stars, respectively. Tests on globular clusters yield typical distance precisions of 1.0% for RRab and 1.7% for RRc stars. For the benchmark systems, combining the RRab- and RRc-based models yields distance moduli of 18.498 $\pm$ 0.001$_{\text{stat}}$ $\pm$ 0.018$_{\text{sys}}$ mag for the Large Magellanic Cloud and 19.564 $\pm$ 0.003$_{\text{stat}}$ $\pm$ 0.019$_{\text{sys}}$ mag for the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. These measurements are in excellent agreement with previous results, achieve a distance precision of approximately 1%, and represent a 1.8-fold improvement over traditional RR Lyrae calibration relations. Our approach showcases the ability of AI to directly extract key physical parameters from complex, information-rich light curves, resolve degeneracies, and scale to broader applications.
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All authors Shunxuan He, Huiwen Wu, Yang Huang, Deyi Zhang, Guirong Xue, Jifeng Liu, Xiaodian Chen, Xinyu Qi, Xiaoyu Tang

Saturday 12 September

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The New Dark Matter Density Profile from JWST JADES Galaxies

Aritra Sanyal and Farook Rahaman

We present the first dark matter density profile derived directly from James Webb Space Telescope JADES Data Release~3 NIRSpec observations of $N = 587$ galaxies spanning the cosmic noon epoch $1.5 \leq z \leq 3.5$. From each NIRSpec G235M/G395M spectrum we extract the H$\alpha$ emission-line velocity dispersion $\sigma_{\rm ha}$, stack galaxies in four redshift bins of $\Delta z = 0.5$, and reconstruct representative group rotation curves within the General Theory of Relativity. Fitting the four-parameter modified exponential model and deriving the exact GTR energy density, we reduce the profile to a compact $[2/3]$ Padé approximant with all coefficients determined in closed form from JWST observations. The profile is cusp-free, fully analytic, and redshift-dependent. Energy conditions, causality, and orbital stability are all satisfied. Most strikingly, the central density $\rho(0)$ varies by less than $15\%$ across $z = 1.5$–$3.5$ despite a $35\%$ decline in the asymptotic rotation velocity, revealing a universal dark matter core saturation density at cosmic noon decoupled from baryonic evolution.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Recovering turbulent velocity statistics from noisy integral-field spectroscopy

J. García-Vázquez, William J. Henney and S. Jane Arthur

Turbulence plays a critical role in the evolution of H II regions, yet recovering its statistical properties from observations remains challenging, particularly when centroid velocities are affected by instrumental noise. We present a methodology for recovering the second-order velocity structure function from intermediate spectral-resolution integral-field spectroscopy and apply it to VLT MUSE observations of the Orion Nebula. The plane-of-sky velocity field is characterized by fitting a simple parametric model to the observed structure function, allowing the turbulent velocity variance, correlation length, power-law slope, and noise level to be estimated simultaneously. We investigate the trade-off between instrumental noise and spatial resolution through systematic spatial binning and validate the recovered turbulent parameters against previously analyzed high spectral-resolution KPNO echelle observations. We find that spatial binning improves the empirical structure function provided that the bin size remains below approximately $0.05 r_0$, while the fitted model recovers consistent turbulent parameters across all binning levels. The MUSE results agree closely with those from the KPNO data, demonstrating that intermediate-resolution integral-field spectroscopy can recover reliable turbulence statistics despite its relatively poor velocity resolution. We also identify modest but systematic differences in the turbulent properties traced by emission lines of different ionization potential, reflecting the geometric and ionization structure of the nebula. Our methodology provides a robust framework for extracting turbulent velocity statistics from noisy integral-field spectroscopic observations.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.SR

Investigating r-Process Diversity in Mildly Metal-Poor Stars Using the Th II 5989 Angstrom Line

Kurumi Furutsuka and Satoshi Honda

The origin of the heaviest elements remains a fundamental mystery, with the "actinide-boost" (Thorium overabundance) serving as a critical diagnostic of r-process nucleosynthesis conditions. While this diversity is well documented in extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars, its frequency in the mildly metal-poor (MMP) regime ($-2.0 < $ [Fe/H] $< -0.5$) is poorly constrained due to blending issues in the commonly used 4019 angstrom line. We present a systematic abundance analysis of mildly metal-poor stars, exploiting the relatively unblended Th II 5989 angstrom line. High-dispersion spectra were obtained using the 1.5 m telescope at Gunma Astronomical Observatory with GAOES, complemented by archival data from the Subaru Telescope/HDS retrieved via SMOKA. We successfully detected Th in 32 out of 42 sample stars. Our analysis demonstrates that the 5989 angstrom line is a useful diagnostic for Th abundance measurements in cool red giants. The mean [Th/Eu] ratio remains nearly constant over the MMP metallicity range, suggesting that progressive homogenization of the interstellar medium during Galactic chemical evolution would reduce abundance variations inherited from individual r-process events, or the dominant r-process events may share similar initial Th/Eu production ratios. While the [Th/Eu] ratio is nearly constant overall in the MMP regime, its dispersion appears to increase toward the metal-rich end of this regime and reaches approximately 1 dex near solar metallicity. This behavior may reflect the combined effects of variations in the initial Th/Eu production ratios of the progenitor objects, the mixing of r-process products in the interstellar medium, and the radioactive decay of Th over stellar lifetimes.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from hep-ph

A Unified Numerical Study of Axion Stars: From the Nonrelativistic Regime to General Relativity

Parisa Arabameri, Paola Arias, Francisco Colipí-Marchant et al. (+1 more)

Axion-star mass-radius relations are commonly computed using different orders of relativistic approximation, making it important to determine where these descriptions remain reliable. We perform a unified numerical comparison of axion-star ground-state configurations in the Newtonian Schrödinger-Poisson description, first- and second-order relativistic effective field theories, and the full Einstein-Klein-Gordon system for a real scalar field. Using the same attractive quartic self-interaction in all four descriptions, we scan $|\widetilde{\lambda}|=(M_{\rm Pl}/f_a)^2$ and determine the maximum masses and corresponding enclosed-mass radii. All descriptions recover the common large-$|\widetilde{\lambda}|$ dilute-star scaling, while substantial differences appear at weak and moderate coupling. The relativistic EFTs interpolate systematically between the Newtonian and full-GR results. For part of the maximum-mass sequence where $\max|\phi|/f_a=O(1)$, we test the temporal-harmonic and potential truncations explicitly in full GR. The higher-harmonic expansion shows rapid convergence, while restoring the complete single-cosine potential changes the maximum mass only at the percent level and $R_{95}$ at the several-percent level. Together with the systematic convergence of the relativistic EFT descriptions toward full GR, these results show that the large weak-coupling departure from the Schrödinger-Poisson prediction reflects the breakdown of the nonrelativistic structural description. Our results provide a systematic benchmark for determining when Newtonian, relativistically corrected, or fully general-relativistic descriptions are required for axion-star structure. The numerical implementation used in this work is available in the Axion Star Solvers repository at https://github.com/Parisa-Arabameri/AxionStar.
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All authors Parisa Arabameri, Paola Arias, Francisco Colipí-Marchant, Enrico D. Schiappacasse

Friday 11 September

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.SR

SDSS-IV MaStar: Determination of Stellar Parameters Using Bayesian Averaging

Yan-Ping Chen, Renbin Yan, Szabolcs Mészáros et al. (+12 more)

We present the stellar parameters for 59,266 high-quality spectra of 24,130 unique stars from the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 17 (DR17). The median signal-to noise ratio per pixel of the spectra is 96. We derive four stellar parameters, effective temperature (Teff), surface gravity (log g), metallicity ([M/H]), and {$\alpha$}-enhancement ratio ($\rm [\alpha/M]$), by comparing the data with BOSZ (ATLAS-9 based) and MARCS theoretical atmospheric models. We adopt a Bayesian method and use color and absolute magnitude derived from Gaia to select a subset of theoretical models for each star. We then perform full-spectrum fitting to estimate the likelihood of each model in the subset and then compute their likelihood-weighted mean parameters as the final parameters. We set stellar-parameter quality flags to facilitate the use of the derived stellar parameters. The MaStar stellar parameters derived herein span an effective temperature range of $\rm 2,600 \leq T_{eff} \leq 29,861 K$, a surface gravity range of $0 \leq \log g \leq 5.5$, a metallicity range of $-4.9 \leq \rm[M/H] \leq 1.0$, and an {$\alpha$}-abundance range of $\rm -0.98 \leq [\alpha/M] \leq 1.0$. We compare these parameters with those from APOGEE and Gaia for stars in common, finding general consistency within the uncertainties. However, some artifacts and systematic differences are present, and we discuss their potential causes. These new stellar parameters are available through the MaStar SDSS-IV DR17 value-added catalog (https://www.sdss4.org/dr17/mastar/mastar-stellar-parameters/).
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All authors Yan-Ping Chen, Renbin Yan, Szabolcs Mészáros, Claudia Maraston, Daniel Thomas, Daniel Lazarz, Guy S. Stringfellow, Lewis Hill, Julie Imig, Joseph D. Gelfand, Jon A. Holtzman, Matthew Bershady, Dmitry Bizyaev, Niv Drory, Keivan G. Stassun

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Host Galaxy UV Emission and Dust Reddening in Little Red Dots

Emmanuel Durodola, Ryan C. Hickox, Jonathan Cohn et al. (+1 more)

Little Red Dots (LRDs) have been the subject of extensive analysis to place them within the context of galaxy and black hole evolution. Despite several proposed scenarios for the nature of the rest optical emission in LRDs, our understanding of the UV emission remains a matter of debate. Here, we aim to study the origin of the UV emission in LRDs. We conduct emission-line and continuum fitting analysis of thirteen LRDs using a combination of NIRSpec PRISM and medium-resolution G235M and G395M spectroscopy. We isolate and analyze the narrow-line emission arising from larger physical scales in LRDs. We observe that the narrow-line Balmer decrements are typically greater than those predicted for case B recombination and broadly correlated with both the UV slope and the break strength, providing clear evidence that the UV emission originates from galaxy scales and its slope is significantly affected by dust reddening. SED fitting analysis further shows that the UV continuum of LRDs is consistent with a dust attenuated stellar template. Finally, we show through a comparison of the UV slope and the Balmer break strength, that LRDs can be further divided based on break strength, such that the canonical LRD spectral shape (strong break strength ($>$ 3) and flat rest UV continuum) represents the most extreme sub-population. Our results imply that for most LRDs, the UV emission originates primarily from the young host galaxy, and that the characteristic optical emission may be due to a combination of dust reddening and intrinsically red accretion processes.
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All authors Emmanuel Durodola, Ryan C. Hickox, Jonathan Cohn, David M. Alexander

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Mapping parameters of idealised hydrodynamic galaxy simulations to bar properties: a case study with the RAMSES code

Srikanth T. Nagesh, Benoit Famaey, Jonathan Freundlich et al. (+4 more)

Cosmological simulations with high spatial resolution often struggle to reproduce the observed fraction of galactic bars across redshift and may produce bars that are too short. To investigate these issues from a purely Newtonian dynamical perspective, we run a grid of idealised hydrodynamic simulations of disc galaxies with stellar masses of $\sim10^{10},{\rm M}_\odot$ using RAMSES. Without cooling, star formation, or feedback, we vary the resolution, gas mass, stellar velocity dispersion, bulge mass, halo mass, and concentration to identify the conditions that inhibit bar formation. We test whether initially axisymmetric discs form bars over the typical time elapsed between $z\sim1$ and $z\sim0.2$. We find that most diagnostics proposed in the literature are too simplistic to reliably predict bar formation. However, a region of parameter space that strongly inhibits bar formation is identified: a high Romeo-Falstad stability parameter, with a threshold that decreases quadratically with bulge mass, combined with a high generalised Efstathiou-Lake-Negroponte (ELN) parameter that accounts for the bulge. Lower gas fractions and larger numbers of dark matter particles also tend to reduce the bar growth rate. We argue that if a bar is destroyed, for example by bulge formation, after the galaxy enters this bar-inhibiting region, re-formation may be difficult. This suggests that a modern version of the angular momentum catastrophe may persist in large-volume cosmological simulations. Finally, we confirm that only baryon-dominated discs lying away from the stellar-to-halo-mass relation expected from abundance matching can form bars sufficiently large relative to their corotation radius.
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All authors Srikanth T. Nagesh, Benoit Famaey, Jonathan Freundlich, Yves Revaz, Giacomo Monari, Arnaud Siebert, Rodrigo Ibata

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The GMRT CAT$z$1-COSMOS Survey: HI 21 cm emission from star-forming galaxies at $z\approx1$ in the COSMOS field

Balpreet Kaur, Nissim Kanekar, Aditya Chowdhury et al. (+1 more)

We report a 216-hr upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) Band-4 $550-850$ MHz observation of the COSMOS field, using 7 GMRT pointings to cover an area of $2.4$ sq. deg., with on-source times of $67$ hrs in the central pointing, and $89$ hrs distributed across the other six pointings. We stacked, at a spatial resolution of 90 kpc, the HI 21 cm emission signals from 8,122 star-forming galaxies with accurate spectroscopic redshifts and lying within the FWHM of the GMRT primary beam at their redshifted HI 21 cm frequencies. We detect the stacked HI 21 cm signal from the 8,122 galaxies at $4.2\sigma$ significance, obtaining an average HI mass of $\langle{M_{\scriptsize{\textrm{HI}}}}\rangle=(15.5\pm3.7)\times10^9 \textrm{M}_\odot$. This is only the second galaxy population at $z\approx1$ with a measurement of the average HI content; the other being the blue star-forming galaxies in the DEEP2 fields. We also detected the median 1.4 GHz radio continuum emission signal from the 8,122 galaxies by stacking the GMRT 680 MHz continuum images, obtaining a weighted-median star-formation rate (SFR) of ${8.90\pm0.92}~M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. We measure a characteristic HI-to-stellar mass ratio of $\langle{M_{\scriptsize{{\textrm{HI}}}}}\rangle/\langle{M_\star}\rangle=(1.15\pm0.27)$ and a characteristic HI depletion timescale of $\langle{M_{\scriptsize{{\textrm{HI}}}}}\rangle/\textrm{SFR}=(1.74\pm0.45)$ Gyr for star-forming galaxies at $\langle{z}\rangle=1.081$ in COSMOS, both consistent with earlier measurements for the blue, star-forming DEEP2 galaxies at $z\approx1$. Our results support the evidence from the DEEP2 survey that the observed decline in the SFR density at $z<1$ is due to insufficient accretion of atomic gas from the intergalactic medium to replenish the gas reservoir consumed in the process of star-formation.
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All authors Balpreet Kaur, Nissim Kanekar, Aditya Chowdhury, Jayaram N. Chengalur

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Chemo-dynamical Analysis of a CNO-Enhanced Ultra Metal-poor Star ($\rm[Fe/H] < -4$): Insights into Early Enrichment by Faint Population III Supernova

Guilherme Limberg, Vinicius M. Placco, Alexander P. Ji et al. (+10 more)

We report an independent identification of the ultra metal-poor (UMP) star ($\rm[Fe/H] =-4.06$) $Gaia$ DR3 $\texttt{source_id}$ 4795913112968206720 (GDR3_479591) in the $Gaia$ mission's Blue and Red Photometer 'XP' spectro-photometric catalog. We combine multi-band photometry, astrometry, and high-resolution spectroscopy to confirm GDR3_479591 as a red giant-branch (RGB) star located at ${\sim} 6\,{\rm kpc}$ from the Sun. Abundance analysis under local thermodynamic equilibrium reveals significant enhancements, relative to the solar level, in carbon ($\rm[C/Fe] = +1.54$, after evolutionary correction for depletion in the RGB), nitrogen ($\rm[N/Fe] = +2.64$), and oxygen ($\rm[O/Fe] = +2.62$). The CNO-enhanced GDR3_479591 is thus one of only 5 UMP stars with a detected oxygen abundance. The CNO excess is accompanied by enhancements in several other light elements, such as Na, Mg, Al, and Si. We demonstrate that the chemical pattern of GDR3_479591 can be reproduced by the yields of a single Population~III 'faint' supernova with progenitor mass of $\sim$21-to-28$\,M_\odot$ and a low explosion energy of ($0.3 \leq E_{\rm SN}/(10^{51}\,{\rm erg}) \leq 0.9$). Additionally, we use literature metal-poor stars to show that, contrary to recent propositions for high-redshift galaxies, a mild enhancement in [C/O] does not automatically translate to the high [C/Fe] typically observed in UMP stars in the Milky Way and its satellites. GDR3_479591 could not be dynamically associated with any of the most relevant accreted substructures in the Galactic halo, and we speculate that it was formed in an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy environment that later merged with the Milky Way.
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All authors Guilherme Limberg, Vinicius M. Placco, Alexander P. Ji, Yupeng Yao, Friedrich Anders, Wendy Q. Sun, Anna de Graaff, Rohan P. Naidu, Harley Katz, Pierre N. Thibodeaux, Anirudh Chiti, Mohammad K. Mardini, Anna Frebel

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Reigniting the FUSE II: O VI Emission in Massive Elliptical Galaxies

Michael Reefe, Michael McDonald, Greg L. Bryan et al. (+6 more)

This is the second paper in a series where we examine archival far-ultraviolet spectroscopy of 29 massive elliptical galaxies from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) with modern methods. In the first paper, we performed SED modeling with aperture-matched photometry and analyzed the young and old stellar populations in these galaxies. In this paper, we report extinction-corrected O VI $\lambda\lambda$1032,1038 $\mathring{\rm A}$ fluxes and upper limits for each galaxy, which we use to infer the rate at which gas is cooling through $10^{5.5}$ K via multiphase condensation of the galaxy's CGM ($\dot{M}_{\rm O\,VI}$) under the assumption of steady radiative cooling. By considering both Galactic and intrinsic extinction, we overwhelmingly find $\dot{M}_{\rm O\,VI}$ to be larger than values found previously in the literature by a median of $\sim 80\%$. Additionally, we quantify correlations between $\dot{M}_{\rm O\,VI}$ and star formation rates, classical luminosity-based X-ray cooling rates, and X-ray spectroscopic cooling rates. The results suggest that the efficiency of cooling from the $\gtrsim 10^7$ K circumgalactic medium evolves with host mass, being suppressed by a factor of $\sim 4$-$5$ more at the cluster scale than it is at the group and elliptical scales. In contrast, under the steady cooling assumption, cooling from $10^{5.5}$ K to the molecular phase appears to be suppressed by an order of magnitude, independent of mass, requiring turbulent mixing layers, thermal conduction, multiphase recycling, a bottom-heavy initial mass function, or some other additional physics to explain.
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All authors Michael Reefe, Michael McDonald, Greg L. Bryan, Megan Donahue, Andrew C. Fabian, Massimo Gaspari, Eric Miller, Valeria Olivares, G. Mark Voit

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The Nature of Small-Scale Perturbation Modes in a Nonstationary Self-Gravitating Disk

K.T.Mirtadjieva, J.M.Ganiev and S.N.Nuritdinov

In this work, we investigate the nature of gravitational instability of small-scale perturbation modes during the early nonstationary stages of the evolution of disk-like galaxies. To this end, we study the gravitational instability of small-scale horizontal perturbation modes, such as $(m;N) = (12;20)$, $(14;20)$, $(16;20)$, and $(18;20)$, in the framework of a nonlinear nonstationary anisotropic model of a self-gravitating disk. The corresponding nonstationary analogues of the dispersion equation for these perturbation modes are derived, and their numerical analysis is performed. The results are presented in the form of critical dependences of the initial virial ratio on the disk rotation parameter. The nature of the instability of small-scale perturbation modes in a nonlinear nonstationary self-gravitating disk is determined, and a comparative analysis of their instability increments is carried out.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

High-redshift supermassive black hole population from core-collapse in self-interacting dark matter halos

Sambo Sarkar and Ujjal Kumar Dey

Self-interactions between dark matter (DM) particles facilitate the inter-particle redistribution of energy within the central region of DM halos. Recent studies of dark matter spikes around massive black holes, and the diversity in rotation curves of dark matter rich low-mass galaxies motivate the exploration of self-interaction cross-section $\mathcal{O}(10)\,\rm cm^2/gm$. At such high scattering rates, DM can lead to the formation of supermassive black hole seeds, through the gravothermal collapse of halo cores, under certain cosmological conditions. Quasars near cosmic dawn are powerful probes for examining the formation scenario of high redshift supermassive black holes, and their connection to structure formation. In this work we point out the favorable initial cosmological conditions that are likely to provide the black hole seeds resulting in supermassive black holes, mediated by core-collapse in self-interacting dark matter halos. Employing a semi-analytic prescription of core formation, and realistic mass accretion and halo merger histories, we compare the existing observations of high-redshift supermassive black holes with those predicted for our core-collapse framework. We find the median values of velocity-dependent self-interacting dark matter parameter space $\sigma/m_{\chi}\sim 56\, \rm cm^2/gm$, and $\omega=101\,\rm km/s$, assuming an Eddington accretion rate of unity. Sub-leading values are also presented for sub and super-Eddington accretion rates. We also report the derived self-interacting dark matter model parameters to account for the observed binned supermassive black hole mass functions at high-redshifts.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Magnetized interstellar molecular clouds - III. Filament Collisions and Core Formation: Insights into Substructures and Evolution

Pak Shing Li, Christopher F. McKee and Richard I. Klein

We present the results of a driven, ideal magnetohydrodynamics simulation of a molecular cloud to study the formation of filamentary structures in molecular clouds and their fragmentation into dense cloud cores. Shock compression results in the formation of sub-parsec long filamentary structures. Large-scale supersonic flows push these small filaments together and form massive filamentary clouds. The main filament that forms stretches across the full 4.4 pc length of the simulation and has a median FWHM of 0.075 pc, similar to that observed in many molecular clouds. Subfilaments inside the main filament have a median FWHM of 0.03-0.04 pc, similar to the “fibers" observed in molecular lines. The collision and merger of subcritical subfilaments is an important mechanism for the formation of prestellar cores. Colliding subfilaments and the resulting core at their intersection is a hub-filament system similar to that associated with massive star formation, but on a smaller scale. Core mergers can be significant in the growth of pre-stellar cores and may play a role in the formation of binary stars.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.SR

Late-Time Evolution of the Massive Stellar Merger M101 OT2015-1

Marco A. Gómez-Muñoz, Nadejda Blagorodnova, Tomasz Kamiński et al. (+6 more)

Luminous red novae (LRNe) are astronomical transients arising from unstable mass transfer and common envelope phases in close binary systems, culminating in stellar mergers. Their cold, expanding ejecta provide the ideal conditions for molecule and dust formation. We investigate the late-time dust and molecular evolution of the LRN M101 OT2015-1, a high-mass LRN progenitor ($18\pm 1$M$_\odot$), using multi-band near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) observations spanning up to ~5 years post-outburst. Archival and unpublished photometry from NEOWISE, Spitzer, Keck NIRC2 and MOSFIRE, are interpolated via 2D Gaussian process regression. Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are modelled with 1D spherical radiative transfer models to track the evolution of dust mass, dust temperature, and central source properties. At +150d post-peak, the SED is well-fit by a pure stellar blackbody ($T_{\rm eff}=3330$K) with negligible dust (log$M_{\rm dust}/$M$_\odot<-6.36$). Rapid dust condensation begins around day +200 ($T_{\rm dust}=1591$K), with dust mass increasing to log$M_{\rm dust}/$M$_\odot =-3.65$ and optical depth reaching $\tau_V =64$ by +1300d. A prominent NIR re-brightening at ~600d ($M_K=-12.04$), accompanied by a dust reheating bump ($T_{\rm dust}=1567$K), highlights a second phase of dust nucleation likely driven by shock interactions. Low-resolution NIR MOSFIRE spectra are analysed for line identification and also using an LTE isothermal slab model to characterise CO molecular features. The MOSFIRE spectra reveal an O-rich environment with photospheric expansion velocities of ~$430-530$km s$^{-1}$, as measured in the Pa$\beta$ emission line, and high CO column densities (log$N_{\rm CO}$/cm$^{-2}=20.9$ and $20.7$ at +142d and +197d, respectively). These results confirm that LRNe from massive progenitors are prolific producers of cosmic dust and are efficient molecular factories.
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All authors Marco A. Gómez-Muñoz, Nadejda Blagorodnova, Tomasz Kamiński, Gerard Garcia-Moreno, Maxime Wavasseur, Hugo Tranin, Grace Katusiime, Jacob E. Jencson, Mansi M. Kasliwal

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The Infrared Glow of Galactic Outskirts: A New Window with NASIM

Elham Saremi, Ignacio Trujillo, Mohammad Akhlaghi et al. (+5 more)

The outskirts of galaxies retain fossil records of their assembly history and are dominated by old stellar populations shaped by tidal interactions, accretion events, and environmental processes. Observing these low-surface-brightness (LSB) regions in the near-infrared (NIR), particularly in the $K_s$ band, is crucial for tracing evolved stars and minimising the effects of dust. Yet, ground-based NIR studies of faint extended structures remain challenging because of the bright and variable sky background and complex detector systematics. To overcome these limitations, we developed NASIM, the Near-infrared Automated low Surface brightness reduction In Maneage pipeline, a fully automated and reproducible framework designed to recover faint structures in VISTA/VIRCAM data. Using GNU Astronomy Utilities (Gnuastro), NASIM corrects large-scale flat-field patterns and instrumental signatures across the VIRCAM detectors while preserving LSB emission that can be strongly suppressed in conventional NIR reductions. We apply NASIM to $K_s$-band imaging of the Euclid Deep Field South through the KEDFS programme, a key region also targeted by Rubin/LSST and Euclid. The final reduction reaches a surface-brightness limit of $\mu_{K_s} \simeq 27.7$ mag arcsec$^{-2}$, measured at $3\sigma$ over 100 arcsec$^2$, approximately 67 times deeper than 2MASS and 11 times deeper than VHS in surface-brightness sensitivity. Direct comparisons with publicly available VISTA products show that NASIM preserves diffuse emission without substantially compromising compact-source depth. These results open a deep NIR view of faint galaxy outskirts, LSB galaxies, and intracluster light, providing a reproducible ground-based foundation for future studies of the faint Universe.
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All authors Elham Saremi, Ignacio Trujillo, Mohammad Akhlaghi, Zohreh Ghaffari, Johan H. Knapen, Manda Banerji, Helmut Dannerbauer, Sébastien Comerón

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from astro-ph.EP

Limits on a Host Star around a Saturn-mass Free-floating Planet Candidate KMT-2024-BLG-0792/OGLE-2024-BLG-0516

Przemek Mróz, Klara Piotrowska, Antoine Mérand et al. (+2 more)

Recent studies found a number of short-timescale microlensing events that are thought to be produced by free-floating or wide-orbit planets. The microlensing event KMT-2024-BLG-0792/OGLE-2024-BLG-0516 is currently the only free-floating planet candidate with a directly measured mass ($0.73^{+0.25}_{-0.15}$ Saturn masses), derived from joint ground-based and Gaia satellite observations. However, it remains unclear whether the lens is truly isolated or bound to a widely separated host star. Here, we report high-angular-resolution interferometric observations of the event obtained with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer/GRAVITY instrument two years after peak magnification. We detect no luminous host star up to a projected separation of 90 au, supporting the hypothesis that the lens is indeed a free-floating planet. We derive a 5 sigma upper limit on the mass of a putative host star of approximately 0.5-0.6 M_solar. This work demonstrates that interferometry provides a powerful method for directly searching for or constraining host stars in short-duration and planetary microlensing events.
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All authors Przemek Mróz, Klara Piotrowska, Antoine Mérand, Subo Dong, Zexuan Wu

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Identification of Cosmic Chronometers in the GAMA Survey

Laura J. Hunt, Kevin A. Pimbblet and David M. Benoit

We present a pure sample of 231 massive, passively evolving elliptical galaxies as cosmic chronometer candidates selected from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey between $0.03<z<0.4$. The goal of this work is to increase the pool of high-purity cosmic chronometer candidates available in the literature and assess the effect of purity on statistical uncertainty to make $H(z)$ and $H_0$ calculations more robust in future studies. We use traditional selection criteria to identify cosmic chronometers using photometry and spectroscopy in conjunction with modelled parameters such as stellar mass and velocity dispersion. We use an NUVrJ photometric selection to identify quiescent galaxies and identify a number of spectral features, including H$\alpha$, [OII] and H$\delta$ to use as tracers for ongoing or recently halted star formation. Additionally, as part of the selection, we calculate the ratio between the Ca II H and K lines to determine whether a galaxy's stellar population is dominated by older or younger stars. We confirm CC candidacy by selecting only the most massive galaxies and perform a visual inspection of the spectra and images of CC candidates. We provide an analysis of the parent sample in comparison to the CC sample and confirm CCs have much lower sSFR, with a median sSFR of $10^{-12}~\text{Myr}^{-1}$. Additionally, we find their median ages are $\sim2~\text{Gyr}$ older than the parent sample.
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