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Physics Astrophysics High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

astro-ph.HE Watch High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Sunday 13 September

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

First results on the search for the Galactic Center Excess in the sub-GeV band with the emulsion telescope in GRAINE 2023

Yuya Nakamura, Shigeki Aoki, Takashi Azuma et al. (+34 more)

(Please check the paper for full abstract.) The Galactic Center Excess (GCE) is an unexplained excess of gamma-ray emission from the Galactic Center. The GRAINE experiment aims to reveal the origin of the GCE using an emulsion gamma-ray telescope with high angular resolutions of 1 deg at 100 MeV and 0.1 deg at 1 GeV. In this study, we search for the GCE in a small region near the Galactic Center using the GRAINE 2023 flight data. In particular, rather than focusing on the spectral peak of the GCE at 2 GeV, we focused on the energy range below 300 MeV, where the spectral differences between the dark matter annihilation and millisecond pulsar scenarios are more pronounced. We searched for the GCE within 1 deg of the Galactic Center in the 75–300 MeV energy range. Although no significant excess was observed, we obtained an upper limit on the GCE flux of 1.70*10^-7 GeV cm^-2 s^-1 at the 2 sigma confidence level for the 1deg-radius ROI centered on the Galactic Center, based on a direct observation of the narrow region around the Galactic Center. This observation requires high angular resolution and represents a unique result from GRAINE. The obtained upper limit is consistent with the GCE flux near the Galactic Center, which was estimated from existing Fermi-LAT observations using a wide ROI and assuming an NFW profile. Although the current upper limit constrains some models, the available statistics are still insufficient to distinguish between the dark matter annihilation and millisecond pulsar scenarios, and both remain consistent with the current results. We also estimated the projected sensitivity of future GRAINE experiments based on the present observation and demonstrated their potential to probe the origin of the GCE by comparing the projected sensitivity with the predicted GCE spectra.
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All authors Yuya Nakamura, Shigeki Aoki, Takashi Azuma, Hirotaka Hayashi, Yudai Isayama, Atsushi Iyono, Takumi Kato, Tsuyoshi Kawahara, Kohichi Kodama, Ryosuke Komatani, Masahiro Komatsu, Masahiro Komiyama, Hideyuki Minami, Kunihiro Morishima, Fumiya Murakami, Shogo Nagahara, Naotaka Naganawa, Mitsuhiro Nakamura, Tomoaki Nakamura, Noboru Nakano, Toshiyuki Nakano, Kazuma Nakazawa, Miyuki Oda, Kazuhiro Okamoto, Hiroki Rokujo, Osamu Sato, Kai Shimizu, Amon Suganami, Yuki Sugi, Kou Sugimura, Satoru Takahashi, Ikuya Usuda, Saya Yamamoto, Jun Yamashita, Mayu Yamashita, Shoma Yoneno, Masahiro Yoshimoto

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

First Light of Neutron Star Mergers: Off-axis Cocoon Cooling X-ray Emission from Short Gamma-Ray Burst Jets

Jian-He Zheng and Wenbin Lu

Neutron star mergers (NSMs) are confirmed gravitational wave sources. Identifying an early electromagnetic counterpart for these events is therefore crucial for rapid localization and multimessenger follow-up. However, the associated Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are highly collimated and are therefore easily missed by off-axis observers. An early, less beamed counterpart is essential for identifying the majority of mergers. In this Letter, we investigate the cooling emission from jet-driven cocoons produced by short gamma-ray burst jets propagating through merger ejecta. We perform hydrodynamic simulations and radiative post-processing to calculate the early X-ray emission over a wide range of viewing angles. We find that the mildly relativistic cocoon produces bright soft X-ray transients for off-axis observers, with luminosities of $10^{46-48}{\rm erg\,s^{-1}}$ and durations of a few to ten seconds. The X-ray spectra are quasi-thermal with characteristic temperatures of $0.1$–$1\,{\rm keV}$. For observers at $\theta_{\rm v}=10^{\circ}$, the cocoon emission is detectable by Einstein Probe (EP) out to $z\simeq 0.3$. For nearby events like GW170817, it remains detectable up to $\theta_{\rm v}\simeq 45^{\circ}$. The predicted detection rate for EP is $0.5\,{\rm yr^{-1}}$ in the canonical model. In future multimessenger campaigns, rapid UV/optical/IR follow-up of such X-ray triggers can subsequently identify the associated kilonova and jet afterglow emission, which will confirm the origin.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

NICER neutron stars with dark energy and dark matter: effects on the inferred equation of state

Nathan Rutherford, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and Anna Watts

[Abridged] In this work, we compare neutron stars where dark energy or dark matter are present in the core, contrasting them against purely baryonic stars with the same central energy density. From this comparison, we find that the dark energy models are more constrained by neutron star observations than the dark matter models, suggesting that neutron stars can place strong constraints on dark energy parameters. We consider four configurations: purely baryonic neutron stars described by a piecewise polytropic (PP) equation of state (EoS), baryonic stars admixed with bosonic or fermionic asymmetric dark matter (ADM) cores, and stars with a dark energy core and baryonic shell, where the dark energy is described by the modified Chaplygin dark fluid (MCDF). Using the masses and radii of PSR J0740$+$6620, PSR J0437$-$4715, and PSR J0030$+$0451, we employ Bayesian inference to investigate how accounting for bosonic/fermionic ADM and MCDF cores affects the inferred neutron star properties. We find that MCDF cores, more than PP and ADM admixed models, substantially broaden neutron star mass-radius and pressure-energy density posterior distributions. Moreover, the MCDF EoS parameters can be tightly constrained. While bosonic and fermionic ADM cores decrease the inferred maximum mass, their posteriors strongly coincide with those of the PP model for ADM mass-fractions $F_\chi \leq 5\%$. These results demonstrate that current mass-radius observations cannot rule out MCDF cores, but they can constrain the MCDF parameter space to narrow regions. ADM admixed neutron stars, however, remain observationally identical to purely baryonic stars for all explored mass-fractions, even with improved mass-radius uncertainties. This suggests that mass-radius measurements alone are insufficient to detect ADM core inside neutron stars and that independent astrophysical or particle physics probes will be required.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Evolution of the High-Energy Excess in Swift J1727.8-1613 during Its 2023 Flare State

Xiao Fan, Bei You, Yi Long et al. (+2 more)

We investigate the evolution of the high-energy excess in Swift J1727.8-1613 during its 2023 flare state using joint Insight-HXMT and INTEGRAL/ISGRI observations covering 2-500 keV. Fits to the broadband spectra with a model including thermal Comptonization and disk reflection leave systematic positive residuals above ~150 keV. Adding a power-law component improves the fits and yields photon indices of 2.08-2.61, demonstrating that the high-energy excess beyond the thermal Comptonization continuum is present throughout the flare state. We also show that all spectra can be well described by the hybrid Comptonization model eqpair, without requiring any additional high-energy component. The fitting results indicate that the energy supply to the electrons transitions from predominantly thermal heating to non-thermal acceleration, and that the electron injection spectrum steepens abruptly near the onset of the flare state. During this evolution, the radio spectral index changes from approximately zero to negative values, accompanied by the ejection of three transient jet knots. Based on this temporal association, we discuss a possible connection between the increase in non-thermal power indicated by our spectral analysis and the ejection of the transient jet.
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All authors Xiao Fan, Bei You, Yi Long, Han He, Liang Chen

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

High-energy spectral cutoffs in the prompt emission of Fermi gamma-ray bursts: bulk Lorentz factors, emission radii, and a cutoff-peak energy relation

Yuan-Yuan Zuo and Yuan-Chuan Zou

The high-energy end of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt spectrum carries information on the physical conditions of the relativistic outflow, but the number of well-characterized spectral cutoffs is small. We present a systematic search for high-energy spectral cutoffs in the time-integrated prompt spectra of 139 GRBs observed by Fermi between 2008 July and 2025 December, selected to have broadband coverage either through a LAT detection or through bright BGO emission. Joint GBM, LLE, and LAT spectra over $T_{90}$ are fitted with four empirical models and compared using the Bayesian information criterion, yielding 106 bursts with well-constrained cutoff energies $E_c$. An empirical two-component Gaussian mixture model applied to $\log_{10}(E_c/\mathrm{MeV})$ separates a low-$E_c$ group from the main distribution at $E_c=2.12$ MeV; the 77 bursts lying firmly above this boundary are interpreted within the internal $\gamma\gamma$ pair-opacity framework. Combining $E_c$ with wavelet-based minimum variability timescales (median $0.119$ s), we infer bulk Lorentz factors of $11.7$ to $2.78\times10^{3}$ (median 145) and emission radii of $\sim10^{13}$ to $10^{15}\,\mathrm{cm}$. Neither the $\Gamma$-$L_{\mathrm{iso}}$ nor the $\Gamma$-$E_{\mathrm{iso}}$ relation is statistically significant for the full sample, whereas the 27 bursts with measured redshifts show a moderate $\Gamma$-$L_{\mathrm{iso}}$ correlation with a slope of $0.36_{-0.23}^{+0.22}$. We further find a strong rest-frame correlation between the cutoff and peak energies, $E_{c,z}\propto E_{p,z}^{2.15_{-0.97}^{+0.96}}$, for the 26 bursts with measured redshifts, which persists after controlling for redshift.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · 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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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Parameter Estimation of Ringdown Quasinormal Modes with Autoencoder

Momoka Iida, Hayato Motohashi and Hirotaka Takahashi

Ringdown gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers can be modeled as superpositions of quasinormal modes (QNMs), whose frequencies and excitation factors encode properties of the remnant Kerr black hole. Reliable extraction of multiple QNM components is challenging because of mode overlap and noise. We develop an autoencoder-based framework for multi-component QNM analysis, in which the latent space is trained to represent the physical parameters of individual modes, enabling waveform denoising and parameter estimation within a common framework. Using controlled model waveforms constructed as finite sums of Kerr QNMs with recently established high-precision frequencies and excitation factors, including their nontrivial spin dependence near resonant excitation, we assess the method across partitioned spin intervals. The model achieves good in-domain waveform reconstruction and parameter recovery for the two longest-lived components of eight-component input waveforms, while its performance degrades when the validation spins lie far outside the training range. In a selected spin interval, the framework also recovers the 32 parameters of an eight-component waveform with good overall agreement. These results demonstrate the feasibility of physics-informed autoencoder-based inference for a prescribed multi-component ringdown waveform family and motivate further tests with progressively more realistic signals.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Exploring the dynamics of the Coma galaxy cluster by mapping its X-ray emission line profiles with XRISM

Kosei Sakai, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Maxim Markevitch et al. (+17 more)

The intracluster medium (ICM) in merging galaxy clusters exhibits turbulence and bulk flows. Unraveling these components is crucial not only for elucidating the geometry of the cluster mergers, but also for understanding the physics of magnetic field amplification and relativistic particle acceleration. XRISM/Resolve data for two $3'\times3'$ fields in the core of the Coma cluster reveales that the ICM in the central field moves with $\Delta cz = -430$~km~s$^{-1}$ relative to the cluster galaxy average, while that in the southern field moves with $\Delta cz = -730$~km~s$^{-1}$ (see \cite{2025ApJ...985L..20X}, hereinafter “Paper I”). In this paper, we perform a more detailed analysis of these data sets to search for non-Gaussian features in the Fe-K line complex profiles. In the spectra from the northwest (NW) quadrant of the central field, in addition to the main and redshifted ICM components ($\Delta cz = -40$ km s$^{-1}$) reported in Paper I, we find evidence of another, blueshifted component, moving with $\Delta cz = -1250$ km s$^{-1}$. For a systematic search for other significant velocity components, we perform a bias-free 3 eV step multi-component fit to the Resolve full-array spectra from the central and southern fields. This search uncovers another redshifted component in the southern field, moving with $\Delta cz \sim +1230$ km s$^{-1}$. We estimate the energy densities of the ICM turbulence and bulk motion to be similar to each other and several times greater than the energy density of the cluster's $B\sim 5~\mu$G magnetic field.
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All authors Kosei Sakai, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Maxim Markevitch, Dominique Eckert, Yuichiro Ezoe, Yuto Ichinohe, Richard Kelley, Richard Mushotzky, Nobuhiro Okabe, Yuki Omiya, Naomi Ota, Cicely Potter, Andrew Szymkowiak, Shunsuke Torii, Nhut Truong, Ayşegül Tümer, Yuusuke Uchida, Dan Wik, Irina Zhuravleva, John ZuHone

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The LGRBs Redshift and Jet Opening Angle Distributions and the Hubble Constant $H_0$

Truong Le and Joseph Chromicz

Using the Swift-Perley sample, Le, Ratke, & Mehta performed a study of the rate density of LGRBs with an assumed broken power-law GRB spectrum. They obtained a GRB-burst-rate functional form that fits the preSwift~and Swift~redshift cumulative distributions at all redshifts with an assumed Hubble constant of $H_0 = 72 \, {\rm km \, s^{-1} \, Mpc^{-1}}$. Further analysis indicated that the cumulative redshift distribution is weakly sensitive to variations in the Hubble constant $H_0$, whereas the corresponding differential burst-rate distribution exhibits greater sensitivity. In this paper, we extend this analysis by comparing model predictions for different values of $H_0$ with the observed cumulative and differential redshift and jet-opening angle distributions, while adopting the same GRB framework and observational samples. We find that both the cumulative and differential distributions depend only weakly on variations in $H_0$, and the model predictions using $H_0 \approx 68 - 80 \, {\rm km \, s^{-1} \, Mpc^{-1}}$ provide agreement with the observed LGRB distributions.
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Saturday 12 September

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Quantum black hole ringdown

Konstantinos Topaloglou, Elena Cuoco and Roberto Casadio

The ringdown of a black hole following a merger is a potential candidate for revealing the signatures of quantum gravity in the emerging gravitational waves. In quantum theory, black holes are expected to have a discrete area and energy spectrum, which conflicts with the classical notion of an horizon that absorbs all infalling perturbations. We propose that the quantum black hole dissipates the energy it cannot absorb by emitting “soft” gravitons that carry away the energy difference between the energy of the infalling perturbation and the quantum transition energy. We find that the ringdown spectrum is consequently enriched with low-frequency components, and that there exists a weak low-frequency flux that persists for a timescale much longer than the ringdown itself.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The Galactic Black Hole mass distribution

L S. Rocha, N. Pires, L. M. de Sá et al. (+8 more)

The population of extragalactic black holes has been significantly expanded and better understood since the first detection of gravitational waves. Over the past decade, approximately 290 events have been confirmed to involve at least one black hole. In contrast, the galactic black hole population has grown at a much slower pace, with only 42 systems possessing mass estimates, while the vast majority remain as candidates. In this work, we present the first update of a Bayesian analysis of the mass distribution of galactic black holes since 2011, previously based on a sample of 15 low-mass X-ray binaries and 5 high-mass X-ray binaries. Our update includes 28 low-mass X-ray binaries, 6 high-mass X-ray binaries, 7 detached binaries and 1 isolated black hole, also present in the living catalog CatNoir which we introduce. We apply a Bayesian framework using five parametric models – Gaussian, two-Gaussian, log-normal, power-law, and decaying exponential – and compare their performance in fitting the observed data. Furthermore, we inspect the effect of removing model-dependent systems from the sample. Our results suggest that the power law better describes the Combined sample, while the Gaussian is preferred for the LMXB-only sample, closely followed by the two-Gaussian and log-normal. We derive the $1\%$-quantile of the preferred model's posterior predictive distribution to access information about the lower mass gap. For the Combined and LMXB Samples, we find $M_{1\%} > 4.06\,M_\odot$ and $M_{1\%} > 2.56\,M_\odot$ (at $90\%$ C.I.), respectively. The LMXB result allows for the existence of a sparsely populated Gap, instead of a completely empty one.
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All authors L S. Rocha, N. Pires, L. M. de Sá, B. B. Martins, L. G. Barão, G. R. C. Sampaio, D. V. Rodrigues, R. M. G. Takahashi, M. G. B. de Avellar, J.E. Horvath, A. Bernardo

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Examining Temporal Characteristics of GCRs in the AMS-02 era

Cheng-Rui Zhu, Yu-Lu Liu, Mei-Juan Wang et al. (+3 more)

The energy spectra of Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) serve as critical probes of their astrophysical origins and propagation mechanisms through the interstellar medium. Among the key physical processes shaping the observed spectra, solar modulation, driven by turbulent heliospheric magnetic fields and the variability of the solar wind, plays a dominant role in modifying GCR fluxes within the inner heliosphere. The recent release of time-dependent flux measurements for He, Li, Be, B, C, N, and O by AMS-02 provides unprecedented precision to investigate solar modulation phenomena. In this study, we demonstrate that Li, Be, B, C, N, and O nuclei exhibit solar modulation parameters consistent with those of protons (p) and He within a modified force-field approximation (FFA) framework incorporating rigidity-dependent modulation potentials. By positing that GCRs with the same charge-sign sharing the solar modulation parameters, we further forecast daily fluxes of Ne, Mg and Si from 2011 to 2020.
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All authors Cheng-Rui Zhu, Yu-Lu Liu, Mei-Juan Wang, Tian-Hao Li, Yi-Hua Zhu, Kai-Kai Duan

Friday 11 September

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Observable Signatures of Supernova Shock Breakout in Confined Circumstellar Medium

Wun-Yi Chen, Ke-Jung Chen, Keiichi Maeda et al. (+1 more)

Supernova shock breakout encodes rich information about stellar explosions, including the properties of the progenitor, the explosion mechanism, and the circumstellar environment. We present the first two-dimensional multigroup radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of shock breakout from Red Supergiant (RSG) progenitor stars embedded in confined circumstellar medium (CSM) produced shortly before core collapse. Our simulations reveal that radiation escaping ahead of the shock forms a radiative precursor that pre-accelerates the CSM and induces strong hydrodynamic mixing. This mixing substantially modifies the structure and evolution of the breakout photosphere and, consequently, the emergent radiation. The resulting bolometric light curves reach peak luminosities of $1.43$-$3.15 \times 10^{44}\ \mathrm{erg\ s^{-1}}$ with duration of $4.1\text{--}35.4$~hr, with these signatures controlled by the CSM mass and the confined radius. Our multiwavelength calculations further reveal a pronounced extreme-ultraviolet emission, where ionizing photons of energies ${\ge}54.4$~eV can sustain flash-ionized He-II and power strong emission from its recombination line of $\lambda 4686$ angstrom. Furthermore, we identify diagnostic signatures of shock breakout with dense CSM and assess their detectability with Einstein Probe and ULTRASAT. Our models and predictions provide promising diagnostics of shock breakout in CSM that may be detectable by current and forthcoming high-cadence ultraviolet and X-ray space telescopes.
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All authors Wun-Yi Chen, Ke-Jung Chen, Keiichi Maeda, Friedrich K. Röpke

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Gas absorption of soft X-rays strongly impacts the redshift distribution of dark Fast X-ray Transients

Javier Sánchez-Sierras, Peter G. Jonker, Jonathan Quirola-Vásquez et al. (+25 more)

The progenitors of many Fast X-ray Transients (FXTs) and those of $\gamma$-ray bursts (GRBs) are strongly linked. Given that "dark" GRBs are typically found to be events suffering from enhanced extinction in the host galaxy, we investigate the nature of "dark" FXTs. However, unlike $\gamma$-rays, soft X-rays are strongly affected by absorption, implying that dark FXTs discovered by Einstein Probe's Wide-field X-ray Telescope (EP-WXT) have to be emitted at energies $>$2–3 keV restframe hence at a redshift $z\gtrsim2$. To illustrate this we present two dark FXTs, EP241103a and EP260409a, discovered by EP-WXT. For EP241103a, the high extinction precluded the detection of the optical counterpart, while for a probable source redshift of $\sim2.5$, the rest-frame X-ray photons are not severely affected. For EP260409a no counterpart is detected in the optical, but we do detect a near-infrared counterpart. A plausible scenario for EP260409a is that it lies at a redshift $z \gtrsim 4$. Additionally, we conduct simulations of FXTs observed with EP-WXT, showing that the detected counts for absorbed events ($N_{\mathrm{H}}\gtrsim10^{22}$~cm$^{-2}$) strongly decrease at low redshifts, hindering their detection. These results support the theoretical prediction that dark FXTs have an intermediate to high redshift and a different selection function from those of dark GRBs.
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All authors Javier Sánchez-Sierras, Peter G. Jonker, Jonathan Quirola-Vásquez, Agnes P. C. van Hoof, Andrew J. Levan, Maria E. Ravasio, Joyce N. D. van Dalen, Franz E. Bauer, Jia-Ying Cao, Francesco Carotenuto, Jennifer A. Chacón, Ashley A. Chrimes, Laura Cotter, Gregory Corcoran, Rob A. J. Eyles-Ferris, Guoli Huang, Shuai-Qing Jiang, Zexi Li, Yifang Liang, He-Yang Liu, Daniele B. Malesani, Antonio Martin-Carrillo, Daniel Mata Sánchez, Nikhil Sarin, Manuel A. P. Torres, Qinyu Wu, Tong Zhao, Wen-Da Zhang

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Spinning Between Models: Continuum and Reflection Constraints in the Intermediate States of GRS 1716-249 and GRS 1739-278

Tiffany Tausch, Paul A. Draghis, Erin Kara et al. (+7 more)

Measurements of stellar-mass black hole spin probe accretion under strong gravity and constrain black hole formation and evolution. Intermediate states, in which thermal disk, coronal, and reflection emission all contribute significantly, are particularly complex environments for spin measurements and useful for probing spectral-modeling systematics. We investigate these effects using paired, non-simultaneous Swift/XRT and NuSTAR observations of GRS 1716-249 and GRS 1739-278. We jointly model the spectra with kerrbb and relxillCp, linking or separately varying their spin parameters, and explore the parameter space with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis. Within the adopted model, GRS 1716 strongly favors a high spin, whereas the GRS 1739 data allow high- and low-spin solutions with nearly identical fit statistics. Parameter-stepping experiments show that coordinated changes among parameters allow substantially different physical configurations to produce nearly indistinguishable spectra. For these datasets and within the adopted model, energy-band tests show that the Fe band provides the strongest direct sensitivity to the inferred spin, while the Compton hump helps constrain reflection parameters and the soft X-ray band characterizes the underlying continuum. When both the disk continuum and reflection components are adequately constrained, their associated spin parameters can favor a common solution within the joint model. With weaker constraints, the model permits statistically comparable solutions spanning nearly the full range of spins. Robust joint continuum and reflection spin inference requires broadband coverage, independent binary constraints, physically self-consistent models, and thorough exploration of parameter space.
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All authors Tiffany Tausch, Paul A. Draghis, Erin Kara, Abderahmen Zoghbi, Laura Brenneman, Anna Ogorzalek, John A. Tomsick, Mark Reynolds, Javier Garcia, Riley Connors

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from astro-ph.CO

The Loud Tail of the Supermassive Black Hole Binary Population: Multimessenger Candidates and Prospects for SKAO

Juhan Raidal, Ville Vaskonen, Juan Urrutia et al. (+1 more)

We assess whether electromagnetically identified supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary candidates populate the rare, high-amplitude tail of the gravitational wave (GW) amplitude distribution. Using an SMBH binary population model fitted to the NANOGrav 15-year data, we find that 3C~66B and Mrk~501 are likely to stand out from the GW background, making them promising targets for individual-source searches. Furthermore, we show that individual detections can probe the binary hardening mechanism, as models with strong environmental hardening predict a higher abundance of individually resolvable binaries than purely GW-driven models. Applying the same population fits and accounting for the confusion noise from the unresolved population, we forecast that the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will resolve tens of individual binaries, with 3C~66B robustly detectable.
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All authors Juhan Raidal, Ville Vaskonen, Juan Urrutia, Hardi Veermäe

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

An efficient approach to resistive GRMHD simulations of binary neutron star mergers

Miquel Miravet-Tenés, Ian Hawke, Rahime Matur et al. (+1 more)

Astrophysical plasmas are often highly conducting, but finite resistivity can nevertheless influence the evolution of strongly magnetised systems. Capturing these effects in general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics is computationally challenging because high conductivity leads to stiff source terms in the evolution equations. Standard numerical approaches rely on implicit-explicit (IMEX) time integration to maintain stability, but this substantially increases the complexity and computational cost of the simulations. Building upon the previously developed Resistive Extension upGrade for Ideal MagnEtohydrodynamics (REGIME), we present a new fluid-frame formulation that simplifies the incorporation of leading-order resistive effects by avoiding matrix inversions required in previous approaches. The method is implemented in a general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics code and validated through one-dimensional current-sheet tests and simulations of isolated magnetised neutron stars and binary neutron star mergers. We find that the new formulation reproduces the expected resistive behaviour with accuracy comparable to IMEX-based methods, while substantially reducing the computational cost and complexity of the simulations. In binary neutron star mergers, finite resistivity leads to measurable differences in the post-merger gravitational-wave signal and remnant structure, showing that resistive effects can produce measurable changes in the post-merger dynamics even in the high-conductivity regime.
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All authors Miquel Miravet-Tenés, Ian Hawke, Rahime Matur, Alexander J. Wright

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The influence of free-free absorption on the radio spectrum of Particle-Accelerating Colliding-Wind Binaries

Michaël De Becker, Agustina Belen Blanco, Mathilde Tasseroul et al. (+4 more)

The study of massive stars in binary and higher-multiplicity systems that participate in particle acceleration is a key topic at the crossroads of massive star physics, shock physics, and galactic cosmic ray astrophysics. From an observational perspective, radio measurements are our pri- mary tool for identifying these systems through their synchrotron radio emission. Out of the 54 such systems known to date, all but two have been discovered via their non-thermal radio emission. However, identifying these systems is not straightforward. The main challenge lies in free-free absorption, which can obscure the synchrotron signature and hinder detection. This paper summarizes recent developments in our understanding of these systems, with a particular focus on the strong observational bias introduced by free-free absorption. This bias significantly limits our ability to determine the true fraction of particle accelerators among colliding-wind binaries.
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All authors Michaël De Becker, Agustina Belen Blanco, Mathilde Tasseroul, Anandmayee Tej, Anindya Saha, Paula Benaglia, Santiago del Palacio

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from hep-ph

Reconstructing the Dark Matter Equation of State with Compact Object Inspirals

Boris Betancourt Kamenetskaia, Qianhang Ding and Hui-Yu Zhu

We investigate the gravitational wave (GW) signatures of compact binaries embedded in extended dark matter (DM) configurations in hydrostatic equilibrium. If a neutron star is surrounded by a sufficiently massive and extended envelope, an inspiraling companion experiences dynamical friction (DF) in addition to the standard GW energy loss. We show that this environmental effect can be isolated through a GW observable, the $D$-function, which directly characterizes the additional dissipative power induced by the surrounding medium. Since the density of the envelope is directly determined by the DM equation of state together with the stellar boundary conditions, the frequency dependence of the $D$-function provides direct information about the macroscopic properties of the dark sector. We develop a regression-based framework to reconstruct both the density profile and the DM equation of state over the density range probed by observations of the GW inspiral. Using representative DM models as benchmarks, we demonstrate that the method accurately recovers the input equation of state while remaining largely independent of the microscopic realization of DM. Our results show that future GW observations of compact binaries can provide a probe of the equation of state of DM.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Intrinsic pressure anisotropy in spherical Proca stars

Ilídio Lopes

Pressure anisotropy in relativistic stars is commonly prescribed through a phenomenological closure, obscuring its microscopic origin and relation to stress-energy conservation. Here it is derived directly from the minimally coupled Einstein-complex-Proca theory. For spherical Proca stars, the principal-pressure difference admits an exact on-shell form whose sign is controlled solely by the local mass-shell threshold. The stress is radially dominated in the core, reverses on a surface of fixed gravitational redshift, and becomes tangentially dominated in the envelope. At the first mass maximum, the fractional anisotropy reaches about 21% near the density maximum, whilst the region beyond the reversal contains about 9% of the mass. Its exact atmospheric limit is approximately 24%, equal in magnitude and opposite in sign to the scalar-boson-star limit. Because the usual local fluid variables remain non-zero at the crossing, no sign-definite closure constructed from them can reproduce the profile. These results identify an intrinsically vectorial stress reversal, generated without additional interactions, and provide a first-principles benchmark for anisotropic bosonic compact objects.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from astro-ph.GA

Heavy Seed Black Hole Growth in Metal-Enriched Halos through Disk-Induced Stellar Disruptions: A Semi-Analytical Modelling

Zijian Wang, Zhili Wang, Yiqiu Ma et al. (+4 more)

Recent simulations suggest that heavy seed black holes may form in weakly metal-enriched atomic cooling halos, where the supermassive-star progenitor and small-scale stellar fragments emerge nearly coevally. In this picture, the newly born heavy seed is naturally embedded in a metal-enriched Pop~I/II nuclear star cluster rather than in an isolated pristine environment. We investigate whether disk-induced tidal disruption events (TDEs) from these Pop~I/II stars can provide an efficient and sustained growth channel for heavy seed black holes. We construct a semi-analytical model for stellar orbital damping, disk capture, migration, and tidal disruption around a heavy seed black hole, and incorporate the resulting disk-induced TDE contribution into cosmological merger trees with baryonic and metallicity evolution. Heavy seed host halos are selected from atomic cooling halos with $Z\lesssim10^{-3}Z_\odot$ that satisfy either a rapid gas-inflow criterion or a strong Lyman–Werner radiation criterion. We find that disk-induced Pop~I/II TDEs can dominate the early growth of heavy seeds: the median black hole mass grows from $\sim10^4\,M_\odot$ to $\sim10^5\,M_\odot$ within the first $\sim0.1$ Gyr after seed formation, and reaches several $10^5\,M_\odot$ by $\sim0.2$ Gyr. The cumulative mass supplied by TDEs initially exceeds that from gas accretion and remains comparable over the first $\sim200$ Myr. Including disk-induced TDEs shifts the black hole population toward higher masses, increases the abundance of massive black holes at $z\sim9$–10, and produces larger black hole-to-stellar mass ratios. This channel helps alleviate, but does not fully remove, the tension between heavy-seed models and the most extreme high-redshift black hole candidates, suggesting that additional growth mechanisms may still be required.
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All authors Zijian Wang, Zhili Wang, Yiqiu Ma, Boyuan Liu, Zheng Cai, Mengye Wang, Qingwen Wu

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Optical Follow-Up of Two Spider Pulsar Candidates: An Irradiated Redback and a Possible Double Giant Impostor

Bettina Due, Jundile Bridziute, Manuel Linares et al. (+2 more)

Compact binary millisecond pulsars (nicknamed "spiders") are a growing class of neutron stars: more than 100 systems are known in the Galactic field, including more than 30 candidates where pulsations have not been detected. Here we report the results of an optical follow-up of two spider pulsar candidates: 2FGL J0846.0+2820 (J0846, a huntsman candidate in an 8.1 d orbit) and 4FGL J0935.3+0901 (J0935, with a 2.4 h orbital period and proposed as a spider of either the transitional, black widow or redback sub-class). We also analyzed their multi-wavelength properties (infrared, X-ray and $\gamma$-ray bands), in order to assess their nature and current state. The optical orbital light curves of J0846 change from double-peaked in 2023 to single-peaked in 2024, but we argue they are not consistent with either irradiation-driven or ellipsoidal orbital modulation. Its spectral energy distribution shows evidence for two blackbody-like components with similar temperatures ($T$) and radii ($R$), which dominate the optical ($T_2\simeq6000$ K, $R_2\simeq1.8$ R$_\odot$) and infrared ($T_1\simeq3400$ K, $R_1\simeq5.2$ R$_\odot$) bands. Based on this, we argue that J0846 is not a bona fide pulsar candidate and propose an alternative identification: a detached double red giant. In J0935, we find a light curve with one flux maximum around superior conjunction of the companion, where the colors and inferred temperature increase, suggesting prominent irradiation from the pulsar. We place constraints on its companion base temperature ($4000\!-\!4600$ K), which support one of the three classifications proposed for J0935: a redback spider in the pulsar state.
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All authors Bettina Due, Jundile Bridziute, Manuel Linares, Marco Turchetta, Maksat Satybaldiev

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Spin-polarization of the neutron ocean in magnetar crusts

Juliette Servais and Nicolas Chamel

Magnetars, neutron stars harboring the strongest magnetic fields known in the Universe, are associated with a broad range of observational phenomena, from giant flares to fast radio bursts, and have also been proposed as potential sites of heavy-element nucleosynthesis. These phenomena are thought to be closely linked to the structure and composition of magnetar crusts. The outer crust consists of fully ionized nuclei embedded in a degenerate electron gas, while the inner crust additionally contains free neutrons. We investigate how strong magnetic fields modify magnetar crusts, accounting for the spin polarization of free neutrons. Arising from the coupling between the magnetic field and the neutron magnetic moment, neutron spin polarization lowers both the pressure and matter density marking the boundary between the outer and inner crusts for magnetic field strengths $B \gtrsim 10^{17}~\mathrm{G}$. As a consequence, the outer crust becomes thinner, the formation of the superheavy nuclei predicted in previous studies is suppressed, and the neutron ocean permeating the inner crust becomes spin-polarized. These effects may have important implications for the diverse manifestations of magnetars and for $r$-process nucleosynthesis in the ejecta of magnetar giant flares.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Evolution of first-interaction second-harmonic anisotropy in cosmic-ray air showers

Hao Sun and Cunfeng Feng

The longitudinal evolution of second-harmonic anisotropy inherited from the first interaction in extensive air showers is investigated with CORSIKA simulations. Events with large initial anisotropy are selected. Second-harmonic observables are evaluated separately using the coordinate and momentum azimuths at several atmospheric depths and compared with their corresponding initial harmonic orientations. More than 84% of the initial second-harmonic signal is attenuated within the first 20 g cm$^{-2}$ of shower development. In coordinate space, the second-harmonic correlation with the initial orientation persists to ground level at approximately 0.09% of its initial magnitude. This residual is evaluated against a matched source-isotropized reference, constructed for each selected event by independently randomizing the azimuths of the first-interaction final-state particles and simulating the shower under identical atmospheric conditions. The positive coordinate-space ensemble-mean difference at ground level is statistically resolved, and the two samples show little event-level separation. In momentum space, a weak ensemble-level residual remains at 200 g cm$^{-2}$, and the original and source-isotropized signals become statistically indistinguishable by 300 g cm$^{-2}$ and remain so at ground level.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A Localized Current-Sheet Magnetic-Diffusion and Heating Prescription for Ideal-GRMHD Simulations of M87*-like Accretion Flows

Songyan Dai and Renyue Cen

Ideal-GRMHD calculations provide the bulk accretion flows used in black-hole emission models. A localized dissipation prescription can add a resolved map of current-sheet activity while retaining that dynamical reference. We implement such a prescription in Athena++, using a smooth threshold on the dimensionless current proxy $\alpha_J$ to select the magnetic-diffusion coefficient. The constrained-transport update is coupled to a conservative energy-flux correction. Gas heating follows from primitive recovery; $q_{Ohm}=\eta J^2$ is recorded as a diagnostic, without a second energy source. Static Fourier and traveling Alfvén tests measure the evolved thermal gain, and an open-boundary Schwarzschild test closes the Killing-energy ledger. The relative total-energy residual is below $2\times10^{-15}$ in these tests. A two-resolution Harris matrix gives localized rate exponents $0.510\pm0.027$ and $0.488\pm0.028$, consistent with $1/2$ over the specified early interval. The $\eta=10^{-3}$ rate exceeds the same-resolution ideal control by a factor of 5.96. In matched axisymmetric M87*-like runs, localized diffusion changes the early mean magnetic flux, accretion rate, and normalized flux by less than $0.02\%$, with a radial-density distance of $0.005\%$. During the late active phase, a common-restart on/off comparison keeps these mean shifts below $1.6\%$, within the intrinsic temporal variability, and gives a density distance of $0.29\%$. Uniform diffusion at the tested coefficient reduces the raw flux and accretion rate by $85\%$ and $99.8\%$. These comparisons establish a spatially selective diffusion prescription with explicit energy accounting and a quantified, small bulk-flow response.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Electromagnetic Probes of the Supernova Engine

Chris L. Fryer

Explosions from stellar collapse are important in nearly all aspects of astronomy: formation of compact remnants (including the potential seeds of supermassive black holes), the production of compact binaries the produce X-ray binaries and radio pulsars, the origin of many of the heavy elements (a critical aspect of galactic chemical evolution), and as standard candles to probe the early universe (including the nature of star formation). Because these explosions occur in extreme conditions, if we can understand them, they can be used to probe fundamental physics: matter at extreme densities (exceeding nuclear densities, quark formation), neutrino physics (including neutrino oscillations) and, in black-hole forming systems, the nature of relativity. Gravitational waves and neutrinos provide the most direct probe of stellar collapse, but these diagnostics require nearby events. Electromagnetic probes, from shock breakout to observations of supernova remnants, can be much more common and provide complementary diagnostics of the explosive engines behind stellar collapse. In this review, we review these electromagnetic diagnostics, the physics behind them and the theory and modeling work we require to take advantage of these probes.
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Thursday 10 September

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from astro-ph.IM

An X-ray Data Primer: What I Wish I Knew When Starting X-ray Astronomy

Nicholas P. Lee, Jonathan C. McDowell, Evan D. Tingle et al. (+1 more)

This guide is intended for astronomers new to X-ray astronomy. It provides a brief overview of the data products typically encountered by the user and highlights analysis considerations usually not discussed in more formal introductions to the discipline. In X-ray and $\gamma$-ray astronomy the primary data set is an event list (a table of individually detected photons with position, arrival time, and an instrumental energy estimate) rather than the image or visibility array familiar from other wavelength bands. We describe the files a user typically encounters, including: event lists, the aspect solution, spectra, instrumental responses, exposure maps, lightcurves, source lists, and calibration databases. These data are generally photon-limited and follow Poisson rather than Gaussian statistics. Combined with the coarse energy resolution of X-ray instruments, this means physical models must be fitted by "forward-folding"; we outline this technique and the systematic uncertainties introduced by calibration. Additional topics include: point spread function morphology, cosmic and instrumental backgrounds, pileup, contamination, binning conventions, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory focal plane, and sub-pixel event repositioning. This primer is intended to be generalized, not specific to any telescope or science subject area, although examples draw on Chandra. It was inspired by interactions with the astronomical community over several conferences and through the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) HelpDesk.
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All authors Nicholas P. Lee, Jonathan C. McDowell, Evan D. Tingle, Karla M. Guardado

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from astro-ph.IM

Astrophysics in the Era of Artificial Intelligence powered by Large Language Models

A. R. Rao

In recent times there is considerable unease about the way Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered by large language models is used to do astrophysics, and, assuming that these AIs will get far better in future, several alarming situations are also discussed. In a “white paper,” Hogg argues that extreme cases like allowing AI to write all astrophysics papers or strictly controlling AI are not good choices and posits that it is difficult to adopt moderate policies. I examine the impact of AI on astrophysics by making two rather extreme assumptions: first, that the modern astrophysicist has become increasingly preoccupied with the administrative task of publication over the act of physical discovery (astrophysicists are busy writing papers and have stopped doing astrophysics); and second, that while AI possesses the capacity to synthesize literature and generate manuscripts, they lack the intrinsic ability to perform original astrophysical inquiry (AI can write papers but cannot do astrophysics). I provide some plausible reasons for adopting these assumptions, but, more importantly, extrapolate the implications of these assumptions to argue that AI can have a very positive impact on astrophysics. By situating AI as agents of publication rather than discovery, the focus of the human researcher can be directed towards fundamental astrophysics, leading to very positive growth in the field.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Hidden structures in the UHE sky: unveiling potential sources via spectral signatures

Mateus Zeferino Rennó and Cainã de Oliveira

The search for the origin of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) typically relies on identifying directional excesses in the particle flux. While this approach is well established, it cannot detect localized spectral features, which could provide constraints on the sources of UHECRs if measured. In this work, we propose a complementary metric for directional searches, based on a functional $\mu_E$ of the energy spectrum in a given arrival direction. We demonstrate that $\mu_E$ mathematically decouples the flux normalization of a sky region from the spectral shape, providing a distinct probe for direction-dependent spectra. To assess the statistical significance of this metric, we derive a generalization of the Li-Ma significance formula for energy-weighted metrics. Using a maximum-likelihood analysis within an exploratory Monte-Carlo model, we show that $\mu_E$ can enhance discovery potential by identifying hard-spectrum regions that are not apparent in standard particle-flux maps, thereby providing a complementary probe of potential UHECR sources.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from astro-ph.IM

A Proliferated Space Architecture for Time-Domain Astrophysics

Daniel Kocevski, Eric Burns, Thomas Barclay et al. (+58 more)

Time-Domain and Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (TDAMM) is entering a discovery-rich but follow-up-limited era, creating an urgent need for responsive, multiwavelength space-based capabilities. The Hydra constellation is a concept for a proliferated space architecture for time-domain astrophysics. The constellation would act as a disaggregated observatory composed of coordinated, relatively low-cost spacecraft that collectively provide capabilities traditionally concentrated within a single large mission. The architecture would combine persistent wide-field gamma-ray monitoring, wide-field and focused X-ray observations, and rapid-response ultraviolet, optical, and infrared imaging and spectroscopy. The constellation would both discover high-energy transients and respond to external alerts from gravitational-wave detectors, neutrino observatories, and ground- and space-based surveys, using low-latency communications, automated event prioritization, and community coordination frameworks to rapidly assign observing resources. A proliferated architecture would offer operational advantages over a single larger mission, including simultaneous observations of multiple targets, graceful degradation following individual spacecraft failures, recurring technology refresh, and opportunities for commercial, international, and philanthropic contributed nodes to join the network. The constellation would address fundamental questions concerning cosmic accelerators, the origin and evolution of the elements, the behavior of matter at extreme density, and the nature of dark energy through gravitational-wave standard sirens. This white paper presents the Hydra concept description that was submitted to NASA's ASTRA initiative for consideration by the Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group (CoPAG) and Physics of the Cosmos Program Analysis Group (PhysPAG).
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All authors Daniel Kocevski, Eric Burns, Thomas Barclay, Nicholas E. White, Massimiliano Galeazzi, Brendan O'Connor, Amy Lien, Chris Fryer, Hallie Fausey, Fe McBride, Neil Cornish, Dheeraj Pasham, Kip Kuntz, Anya Nugent, Scott Porter, Tzu-Ching Chang, Adam Lidz, Alexander van der Horst, Sylvain Guiriec, Ed Cackett, Dieter Hartmann, Brad Cenko, C. Michelle Hui, Tyler Parsotan, Michael W. Coughlin, Eliza Neights, Zorawar Wadiasingh, Catherine Grant, Oindabi Mukherjee, Francesco Longo, Eric Bellm, Alec Habig, George Younes, Kim Page, Shivam Kumar Sharma, Oliver J. Roberts, Rachel Hamburg, Rahul Gupta, Colleen A. Wilson-Hodge, William Cleveland, Breann Sitarski, Vikas Chand, Raffaella Margutti, Adam Goldstein, Ryan J. Foley, Vidushi Sharma, Yi-Jung Yang, Elisabetta Bissaldi, M. Coleman Miller, T. A. Pritchard, D. J. Sand, Tomas Ahumada, Judith Racusin, Noah Franz, Kate D. Alexander, Brenna Mockler, D. Andrew Howell, Elisa Quintana, Chin-Ping Hu, Igor Andreoni, Boyan Hristov