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Physics Astrophysics

astro-ph Watch Astrophysics

Saturday 20 December

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Standard Sirens in 2040s: Probing the Cosmic Expansion History with Gravitational Waves and Spectroscopic Galaxy Surveys

Nicola Borghi, Michele Moresco, Richard I. Anderson et al. (+11 more)

Gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary coalescences have matured into a robust cosmological probe, providing self-calibrated luminosity distance measurements independent of any cosmic distance ladder, hence the term "standard sirens". The binary neutron star merger GW170817 delivered the first such measurement of the Hubble constant, demonstrating that GWs offer a path to precision cosmology with systematics orthogonal to standard cosmological probes. To convert GW distances into cosmological parameters, redshift information is essential. To maximize the scientific potential, the redshift must be obtained from individual galaxies, either by identifying electromagnetic counterparts of GW events (bright sirens) or by statistically associating potential hosts within the GW localization volume (dark sirens). The precision of these redshifts sets the achievable accuracy. Forecasts show that photometric uncertainties degrade cosmological constraints by up to an order of magnitude compared to spectroscopic ones. Wide-field, high-multiplex spectroscopic facilities will therefore be an essential infrastructure for GW cosmology in the 2040s.
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All authors Nicola Borghi, Michele Moresco, Richard I. Anderson, Carmelita Carbone, Andrea Cimatti, Stephanie Escoffier, Carlo Giocoli, Sean MacBride, Fatemeh Zahra Majidi, Dinko Milaković, Lauro Moscardini, Lucia Pozzetti, Margherita Talia, Elena Tomasetti

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

The size of 3I/ATLAS from non-gravitational acceleration

John C. Forbes and Harvey Butler

The third macroscopic interstellar object detected in the solar system recently passed through perihelion, with the best-fitting models of its trajectory now featuring non-gravitational accelerations. We assess how much mass loss is required to produce plausible non-gravitational acceleration solutions and compare with estimates of the mass loss. We find that they are consistent when the nucleus of 3I/ATLAS is around 1 km in diameter. For a recent solution with a time lag in the acceleration from Eubanks et al, we find diameters between 820 meters and 1050 meters, assuming an outgassing asymmetry factor $\zeta=0.5$ and a density of the comet nucleus $\rho=0.5$ g cm$^{-3}$. The limits on the diameter scale as $(\zeta/\rho)^{1/3}$. Substantial extrapolation is required in general to compare non-gravitational accelerations to mass loss rates, so reliable estimates of the mass loss rate at other stages of the comet's trajectory will substantially reduce the systematic uncertainty in this estimate.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

On Lorentz Variability of Magnetically Dominated Relativistic Outflows

V. I. Berezhiani, N. L. Shatashvili and A. G. Tevzadze

We show that magnetized relativistic outflows can exhibit a relativistic effect in which Lorentz transformation maps spatially extended magnetic field structure into apparent temporal variability in the observer's frame. Using a force-free Beltrami configurations as representative equilibria of magnetically dominated outflows, we demonstrate that Lorentz mapping of stationary helical magnetic field produces quasi-periodic modulation of observable electromagnetic signatures, without invoking intrinsic plasma variability. The same mechanism naturally generates temporal evolution of the observed polarization properties, producing smooth, generally aperiodic polarization-angle swings in the observer's frame. This effect may be described as an aberration of force-free magnetic fields under Lorentz transformation. The characteristic frequency of the time variability is determined by the helical wave-number of the magnetic field, the viewing angle, and the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet outflow, and scales linearly with $\Gamma$. This establishes a purely kinematic relativistic origin of variability and introduces the concept of magnetic Lorentz seismology: the inference of magnetic field structure in relativistic outflows directly from observed temporal variability.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Robust and scalable simulation-based inference for gravitational wave signals with gaps

Ruiting Mao, Jeong Eun Lee and Matthew C. Edwards

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) data stream will inevitably contain gaps due to maintenance and environmental disturbances, introducing nonstationarities and spectral leakage that compromise standard frequency-domain likelihood evaluations. We present a scalable Simulation-Based Inference (SBI) framework capable of robust parameter estimation directly from gapped time-series data. We employ Flow Matching Posterior Estimation (FMPE) conditioned on a learned summary of the data, optimized through an end-to-end training strategy. To address the computational challenges of long-duration signals, we propose a dual-pathway summarizer architecture: a 1D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) operating on the time domain for high precision, and a novel wavelet-based 2D CNN utilizing asymmetric, dilated kernels to achieve scalability for datasets spanning months. We demonstrate the efficacy of this framework on simulated Galactic Binary-like signals, showing that our joint training approach yields tighter, unbiased posteriors compared to two-stage reconstruction pipelines. Furthermore, we provide the first systematic comparison showing that FMPE offers superior stability and coverage calibration over conventional Normalizing Flows in the presence of severe data artifacts.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Measurements of quasar proximity zones with the Ly$\alpha$ forest of DESI Y1 quasars

Ryuichiro Hada, Paul Martini, David H. Weinberg et al. (+41 more)

The intergalactic medium (IGM) around quasars is shaped by their dense environments and by their excess ionizing radiation, forming a "quasar proximity zone" whose size and anisotropy depend on the quasar's halo mass, luminosity, age, and radiation geometry. Using over 10,000 quasar pairs from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Year 1 data, with projected comoving separations $r_{\perp} < 2\,h^{-1}{\rm Mpc}$, we investigate how the proximity zone of foreground quasars at $z\sim2{\rm-}3.5$ affects Lyman-alpha absorption in their background quasars. The large DESI sample enables unprecedented precision in measuring this "transverse proximity" effect, allowing a detailed investigation of the signal's dependence on the projected separation of quasar pairs and the luminosity of the foreground quasar. We find that enhanced gas clustering near quasars dominates over their ionizing effect, leading to stronger absorption on neighboring sightlines. Under the assumption that quasar ionizing luminosity is isotropic and steady, we infer the IGM overdensity profile in the vicinity of quasars, finding overdensities as high as $\Delta \sim 10$ at comoving distance $\sim 1\,h^{-1}{\rm Mpc}$ from the most luminous systems. Surprisingly, however, we find no significant dependence of the proximity profile on the luminosity of the foreground quasar. This lack of luminosity dependence could reflect a cancellation between higher ionizing flux and higher gas overdensity, or it could indicate that quasar emission is highly time variable or anisotropic, so that the observed luminosity does not trace the ionizing flux on nearby sightlines.
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All authors Ryuichiro Hada, Paul Martini, David H. Weinberg, Zheng Zheng, J. Aguilar, S. Ahlen, D. Bianchi, D. Brooks, T. Claybaugh, A. Cuceu, A. de la Macorra, S. Ferraro, A. Font-Ribera, J. E. Forero-Romero, E. Gaztañaga, G. Gutierrez, J. Guy, H. K. Herrera-Alcantar, K. Honscheid, M. Ishak, R. Joyce, D. Kirkby, T. Kisner, A. Kremin, C. Lamman, M. Landriau, L. Le Guillou, A. Meisner, R. Miquel, A. Muñoz-Gutiérrez, N. Palanque-Delabrouille, W. J. Percival, C. Poppett, F. Prada, I. Pérez-Ràfols, G. Rossi, E. Sanchez, D. Schlegel, M. Schubnell, J. Silber, D. Sprayberry, G. Tarlé, B. A. Weaver, H. Zou

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Discovery of a Luminosity-dependent Continuum Lag in NGC 4151 from Photometric and Spectroscopic Continuum Reverberation Mapping

Hai-Cheng Feng, Sha-Sha Li, Mouyuan Sun et al. (+17 more)

Accretion onto supermassive black holes (SMBHs) powers active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and drives feedback that shapes galaxy evolution. Constraining AGN accretion disk structure is therefore essential for understanding black hole growth and feedback processes. However, direct constraints on disk size remain rare – particularly from long-term, multi-season spectroscopic reverberation mapping (RM), which is critical for isolating the intrinsic disk response from the broad-line region (BLR). We present results from an intensive multi-wavelength RM campaign of NGC 4151 during its brightest state in nearly two decades. This represents the third high-cadence monitoring over the past decade, capturing accretion states spanning the transitional regime between thin and thick disks, making NGC 4151 the only AGN with continuum RM observations across such a wide range in accretion states. Combining spectroscopy from the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope with coordinated Swift UV/X-ray monitoring, we measure inter-band continuum lags from UV to optical. The wavelength-dependent lags follow a tight $\tau \propto \lambda^{4/3}$ relation, consistent with reprocessing in a thin disk, but exceed theoretical predictions by a factor of 6.6. Our lag spectrum reveals clear excesses near the Balmer and possibly Paschen jumps, confirming diffuse continuum (DC) contamination from the BLR. By comparing the three campaigns, we discover a non-monotonic lag-luminosity trend ($>3\sigma$), which cannot be explained by DC emission alone. We propose the lags reflect combined disk and BLR contributions, and present the first evidence that the DC component follows an intrinsic Baldwin effect. These results offer new insights into SMBH mass measurements and theoretical models of AGN inner structure.
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All authors Hai-Cheng Feng, Sha-Sha Li, Mouyuan Sun, Ciro Pinto, Shuying Zhou, Yerong Xu, J. M. Bai, Elena Dalla Bontà, ZhongNan Dong, Neeraj Kumari, Jiaqi Lin, H. T. Liu, Kai-Xing Lu, Bin Ma, Ji-Rong Mao, Emanuele Nardini, Enrico Piconcelli, Fabio Pintore, Jian-Guo Wang, Ding-Rong Xiong

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Unlocking the physics of dwarf galaxies in the 2040s: The case for a next-generation wide-field spectroscopic facility with fibres and IFUs

Crescenzo Tortora, Daniela Carollo, Leslie Hunt et al. (+25 more)

Dwarf galaxies ($M_{\star} \lesssim 10^{9} M_{\odot}$) are the most numerous galaxies in the Universe and critical probes of dark matter, baryonic feedback, and galaxy formation. Despite significant progress from wide-field imaging surveys, the majority of dwarf candidates beyond the Local Group will lack spectroscopic follow-up, leaving fundamental questions about their internal kinematics, stellar populations, chemical enrichment, and dark matter content unresolved. Existing and planned facilities cannot efficiently provide the necessary spectroscopy for low-surface-brightness dwarfs over wide areas. We advocate for a dedicated large-aperture ($\geq 20$ m), wide-field, highly multiplexed spectroscopic facility with deployable or monolithic IFUs, capable of high signal-to-noise observations down to $I_{\rm E} \gtrsim 22-23$ mag. Such a facility would enable transformative studies of dark matter cores, baryonic feedback, tidal interactions, environmental effects, and stellar populations, extending the spectroscopic exploration of low-mass galaxies to $z \sim 1.5$, and providing decisive tests of $\Lambda$CDM and alternative dark matter models. Beyond dwarfs, this capability would impact galaxy evolution, strong and weak lensing studies, and cosmology, ensuring that imaging data from the 2030s and 2040s can be fully exploited.
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All authors Crescenzo Tortora, Daniela Carollo, Leslie Hunt, Francine Marleau, Rossella Ragusa, Teymoor Saifollahi, Fernando Buitrago, Michele Cantiello, Christopher Conselice, Francesco De Paolis, Sven De Rijcke, Pierre-Alain Duc, Anna Gallazzi, Pavel E. Mancera Piña, Anna Ferre Mateu, Garreth Martin, Mar Mezcua, Nicola R. Napolitano, Lucia Pozzetti, Justin Read, Marina Rejkuba, Joanna Sakowska, Paolo Salucci, Elham Saremi, Diana Scognamiglio, Francesco Shankar, Marilena Spavone, the Euclid Local Universe SWG

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Red noise-based false alarm thresholds for astrophysical periodograms via Whittle's approximation to the likelihood

Amna Ejaz, Sarah Dodson-Robinson and Charlotte Haley

Astronomers who search for periodic signals using Lomb-Scargle periodograms rely on false alarm level (FAL) estimates to identify statistically significant peaks. Although FALs are often calculated from white noise models, many astronomical time series suffer from red noise. Prewhitening is a statistical technique in which a continuum model is subtracted from log power spectrum estimate, after which the observer can proceed with a white-noise treatment. Here we present a prewhitening-based method of calculating frequency-dependent FALs. We fit power laws and autoregressive models of order 1 to each Lomb-Scargle periodogram by minimizing the Whittle approximation to the negative log-likelihood (NLL), then calculate FALs based on the best-fit model power spectrum. Our technique is a novel extension of the Whittle NLL to datasets with uneven time sampling. We demonstrate FAL calculations using observations of $\alpha$~Cen~B, GJ~581, HD 192310, synthetic data from the radial velocity (RV) Fitting Challenge, and Kepler observations of a differential rotator. The Kepler data analysis shows that only true rotation signals are detected by red-noise FALs, while white-noise FALs suggest all spurious peaks in the low-frequency range are significant. A high-frequency sinusoid injected into $\alpha$~Cen~B $\log R^{\prime}_{HK}$ observations exceeds the 1% red-noise FAL despite having only 8.9% of the power of the dominant rotation signal. In a periodogram of HD 192310 RVs, peaks associated with differential rotation and planets are detected against the 5% red-noise FAL without iterative model fitting or subtraction. Software for calculating red noise-based FALs is available on GitHub.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Continuous Wide-Field Optical Monitoring for Very Early-Phase Transient Discovery

Massimo Della Valle, Maria Teresa Botticella, Enrico Cappellaro et al. (+40 more)

The study of transient phenomena in a multimessenger context is expected to remain a major pillar of astrophysical discovery in the decades ahead. Supernovae, Kilonovae, Black-Hole formation, Novae, GRBs, and tidal disruption events are prime examples, as their earliest phases link electromagnetic radiation to gravitational waves, neutrinos, and high-energy emission. Yet, the physics connecting these messengers unfolds within minutes to hours, while traditional surveys revisit the same region of the sky on the scale of days/weeks, missing when the event begins. Current survey facilities excel at answering what happened and how often, but essentially fail in addressing how it happened and how it couples to gravitational waves, neutrinos, or high-energy emission. Continuous wide-area optical monitoring, as proposed here, removes this limitation. The traditional approach, where a GW or neutrino alert triggers electromagnetic follow-up, is now complemented, and sometimes reversed: early electromagnetic discoveries can prompt searches for weaker gravitational waves or neutrino signals that would otherwise be missed. In the Einstein Telescope era, wide-field optical monitoring will allow us to find the optical counterparts of gravitational-wave events and understand their physics. At the same time, a telescope capable of continuous monitoring provides immediate scientific value for planetary defense, space-debris tracking, stellar variability, exoplanets transit monitoring, accretion-driven activity, and when we step into a new observational territory, the true discoveries are often the ones we did not expect. In this vision, continuous time-domain astronomy does not replace classical surveys: it completes them by supplying the missing temporal dimension. Follow-up observations remain essential, but they now begin at the physical onset of the event rather than after its evolution is underway.
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All authors Massimo Della Valle, Maria Teresa Botticella, Enrico Cappellaro, Roberto Ragazzoni, Matteo Aliverti, Carmelo Arcidiacono, Lorenzo Amati, Andrea Baruffolo, Maria Grazia Bernardini, Giovanni Boato, Fabrizio Bocchino, Francesco Borsa, Mohamed Yahia Bournane, Enzo Brocato, Giovanni Bruno, Paolo D'Avanzo, Nancy Elias-Rosa, Silvio Di Rosa, Diego Farias, Jacopo Farinato, Davide Greggio, Adriano Ingallinera, Luca Izzo, Marco Limongi, Demetrio Magrin, Marco Marongiu, Andrea Melandri, Giusi Micela, Matteo Murgia, Valerio Nascimbeni, Salvatore Orlando, Antonino Petralia, Vincenzo Petrecca, Maura Pilia, Silvia Piranomonte, Andrea Possenti, Kalyan Radhakrishnan, Oleksandra Rebrysh, Simone Riggi, Irene Salmaso, Giovanni Scandariato, Corrado Trigilio, Simone Zaggia

Friday 19 December

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Cross-listed from math-ph

Pair Space in Classical Mechanics III. Some Four-Body Central Configurations

Alon Drory

We study central configurations in the four body problem, i.e., configurations in which the forces on all the bodies point to a fixed, single point in space. The newly formulated pair-space formalism yields a set of vectorial equations that fully characterize such configurations. We investigate a sub-class of solutions in which at least two pairs of inter-body distances are equal. The only such non-collinear configurations are the tetrahedron (the unique non-planar configuration), kites and the isosceles trapezium. The specific shapes (internal angles) are determined by the ratio of the masses of the bodies. Mathematical expression are given for all these relations.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

A Search for Radio Technosignatures from Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS with the Allen Telescope Array

Sofia Z. Sheikh, Valeria Garcia Lopez, Isabel Gerrard et al. (+12 more)

In 2025 July, the third-ever interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, was discovered on its ingress into the Solar System. Similar to the NASA Voyager missions sent in 1977, science probes by extraterrestrial life ("artifact technosignatures") could be sent to explore other stellar systems like our own. In this campaign, we used the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array to observe 3I/ATLAS from 1-9 GHz. We detected nearly 74 million narrowband hits in 7.25\,hr of data using the newly-developed search pipeline bliss. We then blanked hits by frequency and drift rate to mitigate radio frequency interference in our dataset, narrowing the dataset down to ~2 million hits. These hits were further filtered by the localization code NBeamAnalysis, and the remaining 211 hits were visually inspected in the time-frequency domain. We did not find any signals worthy of additional follow-up. Accounting for the Doppler drift correction and given the non-detection, we are able to set an effective isotropic radiated power upper limit of 10-110 W on radio technosignatures from 3I/ATLAS across the frequency and drift rate ranges covered by our survey.
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All authors Sofia Z. Sheikh, Valeria Garcia Lopez, Isabel Gerrard, James R. A. Davenport, Wael Farah, Blayne Griffin, Steve Croft, Luigi F. Cruz, Imke de Pater, Ben Jacobson-Bell, Mark Masters, Karen I. Perez, Alexander W. Pollak, Carol Shumaker, Andrew Siemion

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Double Hot Jupiter Formation through Mirrored ZLK Migration in Binary Star Systems: The Case of WASP-94

Yurou Liu, Tiger Lu and Malena Rice

To date, only a handful of binary star systems are known with at least one confirmed planet orbiting each star. Such systems, however, offer a unique perspective on the stochasticity intrinsic to planet formation and evolution – particularly in twin binary star systems, which consist of near-equal-mass stars formed contemporaneously in the same birth environment. The WASP-94 system, which includes twin F-type stars, is a striking exemplar of such systems, containing two hot Jupiters: WASP-94 Ab is a transiting, spin-orbit misaligned giant planet with a 4-day orbital period, while WASP-94 Bb is non-transiting and has a tighter 2-day orbital period. In this work, we leverage N-body simulations to show that the current double hot Jupiter configuration of the WASP-94 system can be reproduced through mirrored von Zeipel-Lidov-Kozai migration. The upcoming Gaia astrometric data releases offer the potential to search for additional twin planetary systems, including double cold Jupiter systems that may serve as the progenitors for WASP-94-like configurations.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

The Impact of the MAST Data Archive

Richard A. Shaw, Jenny L. Novacescu, Sarah Weissman et al. (+31 more)

The Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) hosts science-ready data products from over twenty NASA missions, plus community-contributed data collections, and other select surveys. The data support forefront research in the ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared wavelength bands. We have constructed bibliographies for each mission from publications in nearly 40 professional journals, and have identified more than 37,000 refereed articles where investigators made a science usage of data hosted in MAST. The publication rate over the last 50 years shows that most MAST missions have had very high productivity during their in-service lifetimes, and have remained so for years or decades afterward. Annual citations to these publications, a measure of impact on research, are robust for most missions, with citations that grow over more than a decade. Most of the citations come from about 10% of articles within each mission. We examined the bibliographies of the active missions HST and JWST in greater detail. For HST the rate of archival publications exceeded those authored by the original observing teams within a decade of launch, and is now more than 3 times higher. Early indications hint that JWST archival articles could dominate the publication rate even sooner. The production of articles resulting from any given observing program can extend for decades. Programs with small and very large allocations of observing time tend to be particularly productive per unit of observing time. For HST in general, a first publication appears within 1.5 yr for 50% of observing programs, and within 3.8 yr for 80% of programs. We discuss various external factors that affect publication metrics, their strengths and limitations for measuring scientific impact, and the challenges of making meaningful comparisons of publication metrics across missions.
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All authors Richard A. Shaw, Jenny L. Novacescu, Sarah Weissman, Travis A. Berger, Clara E. Brasseur, Jeff Chamblee, Brian Cherinka, Zachary R. Claytor, Theresa Dower, Chinwe Edeani, Scott W. Fleming, Jonathan R. Hargis, Julie Imig, Tim Januario, Karen Levay, Tim Kimball, Jenn Kotler, Hannah M. Lewis, Steve Lubow, Adrian Lucy, Brian McLean, Sunita G. Malla, Jacob Matuskey, Sophie J. Miller, Susan E. Mullally, Claire E. Murray, J. E. G. Peek, Carlita Phillip, Marc Rafelski, David R. Rodriguez, Gregory F. Snyder, Achu J. Usha, Richard L. White, Jinmi Yoon

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

The rotation-magnetism relationship in solar-type stars. Constraining magnetic flux emergence rates

Emre Isik, Sami K. Solanki, Natalie A. Krivova et al. (+1 more)

The rotation-activity relationship of G-type stars results from surface magnetic fields emerging from the interior. How the magnetic flux and its emergence rate scale with rotation rate are not well understood, both observationally and theoretically. We aim to constrain the emerging magnetic flux as a function of the rotation rate in solar-type stars by numerical simulations compared to empirical constraints set by direct measurements of stellar magnetic fields. We used our flux emergence and transport (FEAT) model for stars with a range of power-law slopes for the dependence of the emerging flux on rotation. Complementing this with a heuristic account of the main flux components, we modelled the resulting mean unsigned field strength as a function of the rotation rate. We compared the results with the Zeeman-intensification measurements and spectropolarimetric data of solar-type stars. Deviations of the model from observations of G stars correlate strongly with stellar metallicity (r=0.83) and effective temperature (r=-0.76), with a combined coefficient of 0.90, reflecting the dependence of magnetic activity on these two parameters. Correcting for these effects with multilinear regression, we find that magnetic flux emergence rates must scale steeply with rotation (power-law exponent of ~1.9) to reproduce observed field strengths, significantly exceeding the estimates in the literature. We provide correction factors for metallicity and temperature for measurements of early-G-type stellar magnetic fields. Stellar magnetic flux emergence rates scale steeply with rotation, requiring active-region fields to dominate the total surface flux on rapid rotators, whereas small-scale-dynamo fields dominate for slow rotators such as the Sun. Metallicity significantly influences the rotation-magnetism relationship, necessitating sample-dependent corrections for accurate stellar dynamo modelling.
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All authors Emre Isik, Sami K. Solanki, Natalie A. Krivova, Alexander I. Shapiro

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

New Multi-messenger Probe of Dark Matter-Nucleon Interactions from Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Ray Acceleration

Stephan A. Meighen-Berger, P. S. Bhupal Dev and Matheus Hostert

It has been suggested that the density of dark matter (DM) halo can be highly enhanced around supermassive black holes at the centers of massive galaxies. If real, these DM spikes would offer new opportunities to probe the properties of DM. In this work, we point out that DM spikes can significantly impact the composition and survivability of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays accelerated near supermassive black holes. A large DM-nucleon cross section would fragment heavy nuclei into lighter elements and prevent them from attaining the energies observed at Earth. While the origin of cosmic rays remains a mystery, we show that if the highest-energy cosmic rays on Earth come from sources like NGC 1068, then cross sections of size $\sigma_{\chi p} \leq 10^{-33} \left( \frac{m_\chi}{\mathrm{GeV}}\right)\;\mathrm{cm^{2}}$ would be excluded by cosmic ray data. These bounds can be competitive with other existing probes and rule out new parameter space in the DM mass region $m_\chi\in [3\;\mathrm{MeV}, 30\;\mathrm{MeV}]$. While the uncertainties on the acceleration mechanism of cosmic rays prevent us from setting robust limits, our study highlights an important connection between DM spikes and cosmic ray physics that is complementary to existing cosmological and direct detection constraints.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

A recurrent 70-100 minute quasi-periodic pulsation in the intermediate-aged mid-M dwarf GJ 3512

J. López-Santiago, F. Reale, G. Micela et al. (+3 more)

We report the discovery of a {recurrent} quasi-periodic pulsation (QPP) in the late-M dwarf GJ 3512 (M5.5V) using multiple TESS datasets. A strong signal with a period of 70-100 minutes was detected in wavelet analyses of the two-minute cadence light curve from Sector 20. This signal was detected also in observations from Sectors 47 and 60. The QPP persisted for weeks in sector 20 and spanned nearly three years of TESS coverage. There was no significant damping between major flares. This behavior contrasts with that of previously reported stellar QPPs, which are confined to individual flares and decay on timescales of minutes to hours. The oscillation amplitude is at the milli-magnitude level. A pulsation origin is discarded since theoretical instability strips for 100-minute pulsations are restricted to pre-main sequence stars, while GJ 3512 is an intermediate age (2-8 Gyr) main-sequence dwarf. The persistence across independent TESS sectors discards an instrumental artifact origin and points to a likely coronal origin instead, such as oscillatory reconnection or thermal non-equilibrium cycles in large active regions. This represents the first detection of a likely sustained QPP with these characteristics in a late-type star, highlighting the need for further investigation into physical mechanisms behind such variability.
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All authors J. López-Santiago, F. Reale, G. Micela, L. Martino, G. Vázquez-Vilar, J. Miguez

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Precision Spectroscopy for 1.7 Million Galaxies from SDSS-IV: Improved Spectral Measurements and Catalogs for eBOSS

Owen S. Matthews Acuña, Christy A. Tremonti, Kyle B. Westfall et al. (+6 more)

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV DR17 Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) consists of 2,233,939 high-quality optical galaxy spectra obtained through 2" fibers, providing a rich spectroscopic resource for studying galaxy evolution across a broad redshift range. eBOSS was designed primarily for large-scale structure and BAO measurements and, as such, focused on galaxy redshifts, leaving much of the information contained in the spectra unexplored. In addition to the trove of spectra, the large number of repeat observations (197,521 duplicate spectra) enables evaluation of the survey's spectrophotometric quality. To unlock this potential, we introduce the eBOSS Data Analysis Pipeline (eBOSS-DAP), adapted from the MaNGA-DAP, which delivers uniform measurements of emission-line fluxes and equivalent widths, stellar and gas kinematics, continuum spectral indices, and stellar population fits. Using the eBOSS-DAP, we successfully analyze 1,899,553 high-quality galaxy spectra below a redshift of $z < 1.12$ to produce an extensive spectroscopic catalog for the eBOSS galaxy sample. We characterize the calibration performance, quantify the reliability of the derived measurements, and release a suite of data products that fully exploit the power of the eBOSS dataset. These catalogs open the door to a new generation of studies in galaxy evolution and cosmology.
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All authors Owen S. Matthews Acuña, Christy A. Tremonti, Kyle B. Westfall, Shea DeFour-Remy, Aleksandar M. Diamond-Stanic, Zach J. Lewis, Britt Lundgren, Drake Miller III, Lizhou Sha

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Designing the Community Infrastructure for ESO's Next Transformational Facility. Equitable Governance and Sustainable Teams for 2040s Astronomy

Annagrazia Puglisi, Amelia Bayo, Laurane Freour et al. (+7 more)

The scientific ambitions of the 2040s will require large, interdisciplinary teams operating across continents, institutions, and increasingly heterogeneous political and funding landscapes. While significant effort is devoted to advancing the technical capabilities of future astronomical facilities, frameworks for coordinating and sustaining the associated community systems are often developed in parallel rather than embedded as coherent, long-term structures at the scale needed to fully realise this ambition. In this white paper, submitted as part of the ESO Expanding Horizons initiative, we draw on experience from established observatories and emerging collaborations to identify key community-level challenges. We argue that a central and transversal scientific challenge for the 2040s is to operate a flagship observatory in which access to telescope time, data, leadership, training, and career development is equitable across institutions, member states, and beyond. We propose that access and participation be treated as integral design parameters, embedded from the conceptual stage and sustained throughout the facility lifecycle, in order to ensure long-term scientific excellence, sustainability, and societal return.
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All authors Annagrazia Puglisi, Amelia Bayo, Laurane Freour, Daniela Iglesias, Akhil Krishna, Fatemeh Zahra Majidi, Umberto Rescigno, Sabine Thater, Laurence Tresse, Tanya Urrutia

2512.18047 · 19 Dec · Submitted to the ESO Expanding Horizons initiative and posted on arXiv to encourage community discussion. Comments are welcome via email; voluntary endorsement of the general principles may be expressed via this google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6B-7kSdwb7v4eyi5zRAVbgUZ3Y43dpPrTCNfPHff6Hm4PWg/viewform

Abstract PDF $TSCP ×1

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Constrained Gaussian-process bridge prior for neutron-star equation-of-state inference

Tyler Gorda, Oleg Komoltsev, Aleksi Kurkela et al. (+1 more)

We set forth a new method for generating model-agnostic, nonparametric priors for neutron star equation-of-state inference that are stable, causal and thermodynamically consistent by construction. This generalizes Gaussian processes to include global thermodynamic constraints, specifically allowing the inclusion of any number of training points in the form $(\mu, n, p)$ while retaining thermodynamic consistency between them. The method is based on constructing constrained Gaussian-process bridges, whose correlation properties can be tuned at will allowing flexibility between a conservative prior and a theory-informed prior. The method does not require any shooting to obey multiple constraints and provides an efficient and informed way to include both chiral effective field theory and perturbative quantum chromodynamics constraints within the same framework.
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All authors Tyler Gorda, Oleg Komoltsev, Aleksi Kurkela, Eirik Sunde

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Characterization of telecentric dual-etalon Fabry-Pérot systems from observational data. Properties of the CRISP2 instrument at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope

J. de la Cruz Rodríguez, G. B. Scharmer, P. Sütterlin et al. (+5 more)

Imaging Fabry-Pérot Interferometer (FPI) observations are commonly used in solar physics to infer physical parameters in the photosphere and chromosphere through modeling of the observations. Such techniques require detailed knowledge of the spectral instrumental profile in order to produce accurate results. In this study we present a method to characterize the spatial variation of parameters of dual-etalon FPI instruments mounted in telecentric configuration: spatially-resolved cavity separation and reflectivities of both etalons, as well as the prefilter variation across the field-of-view. Here, we aim at characterizing the field-of-view dependence of the parameters of the new CRISP2 FPI. We have implemented a forward model of the FPI instrumental degradation combined with a template average quiet-Sun spectrum at disk center in order to model two sets of observational data. Our method does not require any change in the optical setup or the utilization of external sources of illumination. We assess the validity of several functional forms in the calculation of the FPI transmission profiles. Our results show that (generally) the inclusion of the secondary transmission peaks at 1 FSR and a detailed estimate of the prefilter curve is necessary to obtain accurate values of both etalon reflectivities. Our results show that the cavity separation of CRISP2 is very flat, with an RMS variation below 2 nm over the entire field-of-view for both etalons. Reflectivity RMS variations are 0.4% and 0.3% for the primary and secondary etalons at 617.3 nm. The methods described in this paper are relevant for the characterization of present and future FPI instruments and we have made them publicly available to the solar community.
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All authors J. de la Cruz Rodríguez, G. B. Scharmer, P. Sütterlin, J. Leenaarts, M. G. Löfdahl, D. Kiselman, T. Hillberg, O. Andriienko

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Monitoring and Evaluating Astronomy-for-Development Initiatives

Joyful E. Mdhluli

This paper serves as a practical guide for individuals and organisations seeking to design, implement, and evaluate astronomy-for-development initiatives, as well as those preparing proposals for the International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Development (IAU OAD) annual Call for Proposals. The paper aims to outline how systematic evidence collection can strengthen project design, enhance accountability, and increase the likelihood of measurable impact. It explains the distinction between monitoring and evaluation, provides guidance on when and how evaluation should be undertaken, and summarises key evaluation types - process, feasibility, impact, outcome, economic, and summative, relevant to astronomy-based interventions. In addition to conceptual discussion, the paper presents a set of practical steps, reflective questions, and examples to help project teams develop a clear theory of change, define appropriate indicators, and anticipate risks and unintended consequences. By contextualising M&E within the broader goals of the OAD and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this work aims to empower practitioners to create evidence-informed, community-driven, and sustainable astronomy-for-development projects that deliver both local and global benefit.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

A Shocked Wind Interpretation of an Odd Radio Circle

Alison L. Coil, David S. N. Rupke, Serena Perrotta et al. (+2 more)

Odd Radio Circles (ORCs) are a new class of extragalactic object, with large rings of faint radio continuum emission typically spanning 100s of kpc; their origins are unknown. Previous optical spectroscopy of the central galaxy in ORC4, a classic isolated ORC, revealed spatially-extended ionized gas with strong [OII] emission and line ratios consistent with LINER emission. We present new Keck/KCWI+KCRM integral field spectroscopy covering multiple strong optical emission lines to measure the extent, morphology, and spatially-resolved kinematics and line ratios of the ionized and neutral gas in the ORC4 central galaxy. We find that [OII] is the strongest optical emission line in this massive, old galaxy, and the [OII] emission is detected to larger radial extent than the other optical lines. The gas kinematics show strong spatial asymmetries, high velocity gradients (>100 km/s), and high velocity dispersion (~200 km/s). The emission line ratios are most consistent with shock models with shock velocities of ~200-300 km/s and are not fit well by stellar or AGN photoionization models. These findings are consistent with a model in which the gas in the ORC4 central galaxy is the result of shock ionization in and around the central galaxy, likely due to mixing and cooling of gas associated with the event that created the large-scale radio ring of emission that identified this source as an ORC.
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All authors Alison L. Coil, David S. N. Rupke, Serena Perrotta, Saloni Agrawal, Cassandra Lochhaas

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Time-resolved X-ray spectra of Proxima Centauri as seen by XMM-Newton

A. Damonte, I. Pillitteri, A. Maggio et al. (+2 more)

Stellar soft X-ray ([1, 100] Angstrom) and Extreme Ultraviolet (also EUV, [100, 920] Angstrom; jointly, XUV) radiation affects the evolution and chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres. It is however uncertain to what extent the radiation's short-term variability contributes to these effects. We are interested in what this variability might imply for planets around M dwarf stars, and focus on Proxima Centauri (Prox Cen) for three reasons: it is an active M dwarf with high levels of variability; it hosts a likely terrestrial exoplanet within its habitable zone (HZ) that will be a prime target for future direct imaging; its proximity has led to extensive observations. We set out to produce time-resolved XUV spectra of Prox Cen that will serve as input to atmospheric models, and to characterize the intrinsic variability of the star. We analyzed the entire dataset of archival XMM-Newton observations for Prox Cen. To derive the time-resolved X-ray spectra, we implemented a new pile-up correction, a new adaptive time-binning algorithm, and a time-dependent plasma model selection. The estimated EUV spectrum is based on a published template, that we scale with proposed relationships between X-ray and EUV fluxes. We produced spectra of Prox Cen from 1 to 920 Angstrom over ~260 ks of observations with unprecedented time resolution. The instantaneous X-ray flux of Prox Cen varies between about 20 times and one-fifth of the average value over the available baseline, with significant differences between wavelengths. We further quantify how variability affects the estimated average flux when a limited number of snapshots (each typically of 30 ks exposure) are available, as is common in X-ray surveys. Future investigations of the atmospheres of Prox Cen b should fold in the time variability and uncertainties described here.
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All authors A. Damonte, I. Pillitteri, A. Maggio, A. García Muñoz, G. Micela

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

The Clustering of Little Red Dots from Ultra-Strongly Self-Interacting Dark Matter

M. Grant Roberts, Aarna Garg, Tesla Jeltema et al. (+1 more)

We predict the effective clustering bias parameter, $b_{\rm{eff}}$, at $z\sim5$ for Little Red Dots (LRDs) seeded by Ultra-Strongly Self-Interacting Dark Matter (uSIDM). From our model, we find that $b_{\rm{eff}}\sim3.6$, thus we infer that LRDs seeded by uSIDM would populate halos of typical masses $\sim 6.3\times10^{10}~M_{\odot}$; this bias factor is consistent with LRDs being a distinct population from high redshift quasars. To the extent that we are aware, this is the first formation-based theoretical prediction of LRD clustering from a model consistent with the LRD mass function. We find that this bias and clustering is insensitive to a wide range of the underlying uSIDM microphysics parameters, including the uSIDM cross-section $\sigma/m$ and uSIDM fraction $f$. This is therefore a robust prediction from the uSIDM model, and will allow for direct probes of the uSIDM paradigm as the origin of LRDs in the next few years. Upcoming JWST observations will constrain the population of LRDs, including directly measuring their clustering.
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All authors M. Grant Roberts, Aarna Garg, Tesla Jeltema, Stefano Profumo

Astrophysics of Galaxies

First-Principles Formalism for Simulating Self-Interacting Dark Matter

Maria Ramos, Timothy Cohen and Mariangela Lisanti

It is plausible that the dark matter particles have non-gravitational interactions among themselves. If such self interactions are large enough, they could leave an imprint on the morphology of galaxies. These effects can be studied with numerical simulations, which serve as the primary tool to predict the non-linear evolution of galactic structure. A standard assumption is that the course-grained phase-space distribution of the macroscopic simulation particles follows the same evolution equation as that of the fundamental dark matter particles. This Letter tests this assumption directly for the case of frequent dark matter scatterings, demonstrating that this is not generically true. Specifically, we develop a first-principles map from a microscopic particle physics description of self-interacting dark matter to a representation of macroscopic simulation particles for theories in the short-mean-free-path regime. Using this procedure, we show the emergence of an effective force between the simulation particles and derive their interaction cross section, which depends on the one from fundamental particle physics. This work provides the first explicit map from particle physics to simulation, which will facilitate exploring the phenomenological implications for galactic dynamics.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Pulsational Instability of Quasi-Stars: Interpreting the Variability of Little Red Dots

Matteo Cantiello, Jake B. Hassan, Rosalba Perna et al. (+5 more)

The JWST discovery of "Little Red Dots" (LRDs) has revealed a population of compact, red sources at $z \sim 5-10$ that likely host supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Recent observations of the gravitationally lensed LRD R2211-RX1 reveal century-scale photometric variability and a hysteresis loop in the luminosity-temperature plane, strongly suggesting that the optical emission originates from a pulsating, stellar-like photosphere rather than an accretion disk. This supports the "quasi-star" hypothesis, where a rapidly growing black hole seed is embedded within a massive, radiation-pressure supported envelope. In this work, we investigate the stability of these envelopes using the stellar evolution code MESA coupled with the non-adiabatic oscillation code GYRE. We identify a theoretical "Quasi-Star Instability Strip" with a blue edge at $T_{\mathrm{eff}} \approx 5000-5200$ K. Models hotter than this threshold are stable, consistent with the non-variable LRD R2211-RX2 ($T_{\mathrm{eff}} \approx 5000$ K), while cooler models are unstable to radial pulsations driven by the $\kappa$-mechanism in helium and hydrogen ionization zones. For quasi-star masses in the range $M_\star \sim 10^4-10^5 M_\odot$, we find that the unstable fundamental radial modes ($\ell =0$, n$_{\rm p}=1$) have periods in the range $\sim 20-180$ years. The first overtone ($\ell =0$, n$_{\rm p}=2$) is also unstable or marginally stable in some of our models, with typical pulsation timescales $\sim 10-30$ years. These oscillations match the co-moving frame variability timescale of RX1. We argue that these violent pulsations likely drive enhanced mass loss analogous to super-AGB winds, which could affect the duration of the quasi-star phase and regulate the final mass of the seeded black hole.
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All authors Matteo Cantiello, Jake B. Hassan, Rosalba Perna, Philip J. Armitage, Mitchell C. Begelman, Yan-Fei Jiang, Taeho Ryu, Richard H. D. Townsend

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Diffusive or Ballistic? Distributions and Spectra of PeV Cosmic Rays around Microquasars

Yutaka Fujita, Rohta Takahashi and Norita Kawanaka

In the standard Galactic cosmic-ray (CR) paradigm, protons are accelerated up to ~1 PeV by Galactic sources. While supernova remnants (SNRs) have been traditionally considered as the primary accelerators, recent observations by LHAASO and HAWC have detected very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays exceeding 100 TeV from several microquasars, suggesting that these X-ray binaries can accelerate CRs beyond 1 PeV. We investigate the escape process of CRs from microquasars, focusing on the energy-dependent transport mechanisms. High-energy CRs are likely to have long mean free paths and move ballistically on scales smaller than their mean free path, while lower-energy CRs undergo diffusive propagation. This transition results in a spectral break in the CR distribution around the microquasar. We calculate CR energy spectra within a 10-30 pc radius for various diffusion coefficients and timescales. Our model predicts a spectral break and hardening at E_p ~10-100 TeV when the standard diffusion coefficient for the interstellar space is assumed. However, current VHE gamma-ray observations do not show clear spectral breaks, suggesting that the diffusion coefficient may be significantly reduced near microquasars, possibly due to magnetic field amplification by CR-driven turbulence.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Constraints on gravitational waves from the 2024 Vela pulsar glitch

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, the KAGRA Collaboration: A. G. Abac et al. (+1773 more)

Among known neutron stars, the Vela pulsar is one of the best targets for gravitational-wave searches. It is also one of the most prolific in terms of glitches, sudden frequency changes in a pulsar's rotation. Such glitches could cause a variety of transient gravitational-wave signals. Here we search for signals associated with a Vela glitch on 29 April 2024 in data of the two LIGO detectors from the fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA observing run. We search both for seconds-scale burst-like emission, primarily from fundamental (f-)mode oscillations, and for longer quasi-monochromatic transients up to four months in duration, primarily from quasi-static quadrupolar deformations. We find no significant detection candidates, but for the first time we set direct observational upper limits on gravitational strain amplitude that are stricter than what can be indirectly inferred from the overall glitch energy scale. We discuss the short- and long-duration observational constraints in the context of specific emission models. These results demonstrate the potential of gravitational-wave probes of glitching pulsars as detector sensitivity continues to improve.
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All authors The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, the KAGRA Collaboration: A. G. Abac, I. Abouelfettouh, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adamcewicz, S. Adhicary, D. Adhikari, N. Adhikari, R. X. Adhikari, V. K. Adkins, S. Afroz, A. Agapito, D. Agarwal, M. Agathos, N. Aggarwal, S. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, I.-L. Ahrend, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, T. Akutsu, S. Albanesi, W. Ali, S. Al-Kershi, C. Alléné, A. Allocca, S. Al-Shammari, P. A. Altin, S. Alvarez-Lopez, O. Amarasinghe, A. Amato, F. Amicucci, C. Amra, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. Andia, M. Ando, M. Andrés-Carcasona, T. Andrić, J. Anglin, S. Ansoldi, J. M. Antelis, S. Antier, M. Aoumi, E. Z. Appavuravther, S. Appert, S. K. Apple, K. Arai, A. Araya, M. C. Araya, M. Arca Sedda, J. S. Areeda, N. Aritomi, F. Armato, S. Armstrong, N. Arnaud, M. Arogeti, S. M. Aronson, G. Ashton, Y. Aso, L. Asprea, M. Assiduo, S. Assis de Souza Melo, S. M. Aston, P. Astone, F. Attadio, F. Aubin, K. AultONeal, G. Avallone, E. A. Avila, S. Babak, C. Badger, S. Bae, S. Bagnasco, L. Baiotti, R. Bajpai, T. Baka, A. M. Baker, K. A. Baker, T. Baker, G. Baldi, N. Baldicchi, M. Ball, G. Ballardin, S. W. Ballmer, S. Banagiri, B. Banerjee, D. Bankar, T. M. Baptiste, P. Baral, M. Baratti, J. C. Barayoga, B. C. Barish, D. Barker, N. Barman, P. Barneo, F. Barone, B. Barr, L. Barsotti, M. Barsuglia, D. Barta, A. M. Bartoletti, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, A. Basalaev, R. Bassiri, A. Basti, M. Bawaj, P. Baxi, J. C. Bayley, A. C. Baylor, P. A. Baynard II, M. Bazzan, V. M. Bedakihale, F. Beirnaert, M. Bejger, D. Belardinelli, A. S. Bell, D. S. Bellie, L. Bellizzi, W. Benoit, I. Bentara, J. D. Bentley, M. Ben Yaala, S. Bera, F. Bergamin, B. K. Berger, S. Bernuzzi, M. Beroiz, D. Bersanetti, T. Bertheas, A. Bertolini, J. Betzwieser, D. Beveridge, G. Bevilacqua, N. Bevins, R. Bhandare, R. Bhatt, D. Bhattacharjee, S. Bhattacharyya, S. Bhaumik, V. Biancalana, A. Bianchi, I. A. Bilenko, G. Billingsley, A. Binetti, S. Bini, C. Binu, S. Biot, O. Birnholtz, S. Biscoveanu, A. Bisht, M. Bitossi, M.-A. Bizouard, S. Blaber, J. K. Blackburn, L. A. Blagg, C. D. Blair, D. G. Blair, N. Bode, N. Boettner, G. Boileau, M. Boldrini, G. N. Bolingbroke, A. Bolliand, L. D. Bonavena, R. Bondarescu, F. Bondu, E. Bonilla, M. S. Bonilla, A. Bonino, R. Bonnand, A. Borchers, V. Boschi, S. Bose, V. Bossilkov, Y. Bothra, A. Boudon, L. Bourg, M. Boyle, A. Bozzi, C. Bradaschia, P. R. Brady, A. Branch, M. Branchesi, I. Braun, T. Briant, A. Brillet, M. Brinkmann, P. Brockill, E. Brockmueller, A. F. Brooks, B. C. Brown, D. D. Brown, M. L. Brozzetti, S. Brunett, G. Bruno, R. Bruntz, J. Bryant, Y. Bu, F. Bucci, J. Buchanan, O. Bulashenko, T. Bulik, H. J. Bulten, A. Buonanno, K. Burtnyk, R. Buscicchio, D. Buskulic, C. Buy, R. L. Byer, G. S. Cabourn Davies, R. Cabrita, V. Cáceres-Barbosa, L. Cadonati, G. Cagnoli, C. Cahillane, A. Calafat, T. A. Callister, E. Calloni, S. R. Callos, M. Canepa, G. Caneva Santoro, K. C. Cannon, H. Cao, L. A. Capistran, E. Capocasa, E. Capote, G. Capurri, G. Carapella, F. Carbognani, M. Carlassara, J. B. Carlin, T. K. Carlson, M. F. Carney, M. Carpinelli, G. Carrillo, J. J. Carter, G. Carullo, A. Casallas-Lagos, J. Casanueva Diaz, C. Casentini, S. Y. Castro-Lucas, S. Caudill, M. Cavaglià, R. Cavalieri, A. Ceja, G. Cella, P. Cerdá-Durán, E. Cesarini, N. Chabbra, W. Chaibi, A. Chakraborty, P. Chakraborty, S. Chakraborty, S. Chalathadka Subrahmanya, J. C. L. Chan, M. Chan, K. Chang, S. Chao, P. Charlton, E. Chassande-Mottin, C. Chatterjee, Debarati Chatterjee, Deep Chatterjee, M. Chaturvedi, S. Chaty, A. Chen, A. H.-Y. Chen, D. Chen, H. Chen, H. Y. Chen, S. Chen, Yanbei Chen, Yitian Chen, H. P. Cheng, P. Chessa, H. T. Cheung, S. Y. Cheung, F. Chiadini, G. Chiarini, A. Chiba, A. Chincarini, M. L. Chiofalo, A. Chiummo, C. Chou, S. Choudhary, N. Christensen, S. S. Y. Chua, G. Ciani, P. Ciecielag, M. Cieślar, M. Cifaldi, B. Cirok, F. Clara, J. A. Clark, T. A. Clarke, P. Clearwater, S. Clesse, F. Cleva, E. Coccia, E. Codazzo, P.-F. Cohadon, S. Colace, E. Colangeli, M. Colleoni, C. G. Collette, J. Collins, S. Colloms, A. Colombo, C. M. Compton, G. Connolly, L. Conti, T. R. Corbitt, I. Cordero-Carrión, S. Corezzi, N. J. Cornish, I. Coronado, A. Corsi, R. Cottingham, M. W. Coughlin, A. Couineaux, P. Couvares, D. M. Coward, R. Coyne, A. Cozzumbo, J. D. E. Creighton, T. D. Creighton, P. Cremonese, S. Crook, R. Crouch, J. Csizmazia, J. R. Cudell, T. J. Cullen, A. Cumming, E. Cuoco, M. Cusinato, L. V. Da Conceição, T. Dal Canton, S. Dal Pra, G. Dálya, B. D'Angelo, S. Danilishin, S. D'Antonio, K. Danzmann, K. E. Darroch, L. P. Dartez, R. Das, A. Dasgupta, V. Dattilo, A. Daumas, N. Davari, I. Dave, A. Davenport, M. Davier, T. F. Davies, D. Davis, L. Davis, M. C. Davis, P. Davis, E. J. Daw, M. Dax, J. De Bolle, M. Deenadayalan, J. Degallaix, M. De Laurentis, F. De Lillo, S. Della Torre, W. Del Pozzo, A. Demagny, F. De Marco, G. Demasi, F. De Matteis, N. Demos, T. Dent, A. Depasse, N. DePergola, R. De Pietri, R. De Rosa, C. De Rossi, M. Desai, R. DeSalvo, A. DeSimone, R. De Simone, A. Dhani, R. Diab, M. C. Díaz, M. Di Cesare, G. Dideron, T. Dietrich, L. Di Fiore, C. Di Fronzo, M. Di Giovanni, T. Di Girolamo, D. Diksha, J. Ding, S. Di Pace, I. Di Palma, D. Di Piero, F. Di Renzo, Divyajyoti, A. Dmitriev, J. P. Docherty, Z. Doctor, N. Doerksen, E. Dohmen, A. Doke, A. Domiciano De Souza, L. D'Onofrio, F. Donovan, K. L. Dooley, T. Dooney, S. Doravari, O. Dorosh, W. J. D. Doyle, M. Drago, J. C. Driggers, L. Dunn, U. Dupletsa, P.-A. Duverne, D. D'Urso, P. Dutta Roy, H. Duval, S. E. Dwyer, C. Eassa, M. Ebersold, T. Eckhardt, G. Eddolls, A. Effler, J. Eichholz, H. Einsle, M. Eisenmann, M. Emma, K. Endo, R. Enficiaud, L. Errico, R. Espinosa, M. Esposito, R. C. Essick, H. Estellés, T. Etzel, M. Evans, T. Evstafyeva, B. E. Ewing, J. M. Ezquiaga, F. Fabrizi, V. Fafone, S. Fairhurst, A. M. Farah, B. Farr, W. M. Farr, G. Favaro, M. Favata, M. Fays, M. Fazio, J. Feicht, M. M. Fejer, R. Felicetti, E. Fenyvesi, J. Fernandes, T. Fernandes, D. Fernando, S. Ferraiuolo, T. A. Ferreira, M. Ferrer, F. Fidecaro, P. Figura, A. Fiori, I. Fiori, M. Fishbach, R. P. Fisher, R. Fittipaldi, V. Fiumara, R. Flaminio, S. M. Fleischer, L. S. Fleming, E. Floden, H. Fong, J. A. Font, F. Fontinele-Nunes, C. Foo, B. Fornal, K. Franceschetti, F. Frappez, S. Frasca, F. Frasconi, J. P. Freed, Z. Frei, A. Freise, O. Freitas, R. Frey, W. Frischhertz, P. Fritschel, V. V. Frolov, G. G. Fronzé, M. Fuentes-Garcia, S. Fujii, T. Fujimori, P. Fulda, M. Fyffe, B. Gadre, J. R. Gair, S. Galaudage, V. Galdi, R. Gamba, A. Gamboa, S. Gamoji, D. Ganapathy, A. Ganguly, B. Garaventa, J. García-Bellido, C. García-Quirós, J. W. Gardner, K. A. Gardner, S. Garg, J. Gargiulo, X. Garrido, A. Garron, F. Garufi, P. A. Garver, C. Gasbarra, B. Gateley, F. Gautier, V. Gayathri, T. Gayer, G. Gemme, A. Gennai, V. Gennari, J. George, R. George, O. Gerberding, L. Gergely, Archisman Ghosh, Sayantan Ghosh, Shaon Ghosh, Shrobana Ghosh, Suprovo Ghosh, Tathagata Ghosh, J. A. Giaime, K. D. Giardina, D. R. Gibson, C. Gier, S. Gkaitatzis, J. Glanzer, F. Glotin, J. Godfrey, R. V. Godley, P. Godwin, A. S. Goettel, E. Goetz, J. Golomb, S. Gomez Lopez, B. Goncharov, G. González, P. Goodarzi, S. Goode, A. W. Goodwin-Jones, M. Gosselin, R. Gouaty, D. W. Gould, K. Govorkova, A. Grado, V. Graham, A. E. Granados, M. Granata, V. Granata, S. Gras, P. Grassia, J. Graves, C. Gray, R. Gray, G. Greco, A. C. Green, L. Green, S. M. Green, S. R. Green, C. Greenberg, A. M. Gretarsson, H. K. Griffin, D. Griffith, H. L. Griggs, G. Grignani, C. Grimaud, H. Grote, S. Grunewald, D. Guerra, D. Guetta, G. M. Guidi, A. R. Guimaraes, H. K. Gulati, F. Gulminelli, H. Guo, W. Guo, Y. Guo, Anuradha Gupta, I. Gupta, N. C. Gupta, S. K. Gupta, V. Gupta, N. Gupte, J. Gurs, N. Gutierrez, N. Guttman, F. Guzman, D. Haba, M. Haberland, S. Haino, E. D. Hall, E. Z. Hamilton, G. Hammond, M. Haney, J. Hanks, C. Hanna, M. D. Hannam, O. A. Hannuksela, A. G. Hanselman, H. Hansen, J. Hanson, S. Hanumasagar, R. Harada, A. R. Hardison, S. Harikumar, K. Haris, I. Harley-Trochimczyk, T. Harmark, J. Harms, G. M. Harry, I. W. Harry, J. Hart, B. Haskell, C.-J. Haster, K. Haughian, H. Hayakawa, K. Hayama, M. C. Heintze, J. Heinze, J. Heinzel, H. Heitmann, F. Hellman, A. F. Helmling-Cornell, G. Hemming, O. Henderson-Sapir, M. Hendry, I. S. Heng, M. H. Hennig, C. Henshaw, M. Heurs, A. L. Hewitt, J. Heynen, J. Heyns, S. Higginbotham, S. Hild, S. Hill, Y. Himemoto, N. Hirata, C. Hirose, W. C. G. Ho, D. Hofman, B. E. Hogan, N. A. Holland, K. Holley-Bockelmann, I. J. Hollows, D. E. Holz, L. Honet, D. J. Horton-Bailey, J. Hough, S. Hourihane, N. T. Howard, E. J. Howell, C. G. Hoy, C. A. Hrishikesh, P. Hsi, H.-F. Hsieh, H.-Y. Hsieh, C. Hsiung, S.-H. Hsu, W.-F. Hsu, Q. Hu, H. Y. Huang, Y. Huang, Y. T. Huang, A. D. Huddart, B. Hughey, V. Hui, S. Husa, R. Huxford, L. Iampieri, G. A. Iandolo, M. Ianni, G. Iannone, J. Iascau, K. Ide, R. Iden, A. Ierardi, S. Ikeda, H. Imafuku, Y. Inoue, G. Iorio, P. Iosif, M. H. Iqbal, J. Irwin, R. Ishikawa, M. Isi, K. S. Isleif, Y. Itoh, M. Iwaya, B. R. Iyer, C. Jacquet, P.-E. Jacquet, T. Jacquot, S. J. Jadhav, S. P. Jadhav, M. Jain, T. Jain, A. L. James, K. Jani, J. Janquart, N. N. Janthalur, S. Jaraba, P. Jaranowski, R. Jaume, W. Javed, A. Jennings, M. Jensen, W. Jia, J. Jiang, H.-B. Jin, G. R. Johns, N. A. Johnson, M. C. Johnston, R. Johnston, N. Johny, D. H. Jones, D. I. Jones, R. Jones, H. E. Jose, P. Joshi, S. K. Joshi, G. Joubert, J. Ju, L. Ju, K. Jung, J. Junker, V. Juste, H. B. Kabagoz, T. Kajita, I. Kaku, V. Kalogera, M. Kalomenopoulos, M. Kamiizumi, N. Kanda, S. Kandhasamy, G. Kang, N. C. Kannachel, J. B. Kanner, S. A. KantiMahanty, S. J. Kapadia, D. P. Kapasi, M. Karthikeyan, M. Kasprzack, H. Kato, T. Kato, E. Katsavounidis, W. Katzman, R. Kaushik, K. Kawabe, R. Kawamoto, D. Keitel, L. J. Kemperman, J. Kennington, F. A. Kerkow, R. Kesharwani, J. S. Key, R. Khadela, S. Khadka, S. S. Khadkikar, F. Y. Khalili, F. Khan, T. Khanam, M. Khursheed, N. M. Khusid, W. Kiendrebeogo, N. Kijbunchoo, C. Kim, J. C. Kim, K. Kim, M. H. Kim, S. Kim, Y.-M. Kim, C. Kimball, K. Kimes, M. Kinnear, J. S. Kissel, S. Klimenko, A. M. Knee, E. J. Knox, N. Knust, K. Kobayashi, S. M. Koehlenbeck, G. Koekoek, K. Kohri, K. Kokeyama, S. Koley, P. Kolitsidou, A. E. Koloniari, K. Komori, A. K. H. Kong, A. Kontos, L. M. Koponen, M. Korobko, X. Kou, A. Koushik, N. Kouvatsos, M. Kovalam, T. Koyama, D. B. Kozak, S. L. Kranzhoff, V. Kringel, N. V. Krishnendu, S. Kroker, A. Królak, K. Kruska, J. Kubisz, G. Kuehn, S. Kulkarni, A. Kulur Ramamohan, Achal Kumar, Anil Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Prayush Kumar, Rahul Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, J. Kume, K. Kuns, N. Kuntimaddi, S. Kuroyanagi, S. Kuwahara, K. Kwak, K. Kwan, S. Kwon, G. Lacaille, D. Laghi, A. H. Laity, E. Lalande, M. Lalleman, P. C. Lalremruati, M. Landry, B. B. Lane, R. N. Lang, J. Lange, R. Langgin, B. Lantz, I. La Rosa, J. Larsen, A. Lartaux-Vollard, P. D. Lasky, J. Lawrence, M. Laxen, C. Lazarte, A. Lazzarini, C. Lazzaro, P. Leaci, L. Leali, Y. K. Lecoeuche, H. M. Lee, H. W. Lee, J. Lee, K. Lee, R.-K. Lee, R. Lee, Sungho Lee, Sunjae Lee, Y. Lee, I. N. Legred, J. Lehmann, L. Lehner, M. Le Jean, A. Lemaître, M. Lenti, M. Leonardi, M. Lequime, N. Leroy, M. Lesovsky, N. Letendre, M. Lethuillier, Y. Levin, K. Leyde, A. K. Y. Li, K. L. Li, T. G. F. Li, X. Li, Y. Li, Z. Li, A. Lihos, E. T. Lin, F. Lin, L. C.-C. Lin, Y.-C. Lin, C. Lindsay, S. D. Linker, A. Liu, G. C. Liu, Jian Liu, F. Llamas Villarreal, J. Llobera-Querol, R. K. L. Lo, J.-P. Locquet, S. C. G. Loggins, M. R. Loizou, L. T. London, A. Longo, D. Lopez, M. Lopez Portilla, M. Lorenzini, A. Lorenzo-Medina, V. Loriette, M. Lormand, G. Losurdo, E. Lotti, T. P. Lott IV, J. D. Lough, H. A. Loughlin, C. O. Lousto, N. Low, N. Lu, L. Lucchesi, H. Lück, D. Lumaca, A. P. Lundgren, A. W. Lussier, R. Macas, M. MacInnis, D. M. Macleod, I. A. 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Mungioli, M. Murakoshi, P. G. Murray, D. Nabari, S. L. Nadji, A. Nagar, N. Nagarajan, K. Nakagaki, K. Nakamura, H. Nakano, M. Nakano, D. Nanadoumgar-Lacroze, D. Nandi, V. Napolano, P. Narayan, I. Nardecchia, T. Narikawa, H. Narola, L. Naticchioni, R. K. Nayak, L. Negri, A. Nela, C. Nelle, A. Nelson, T. J. N. Nelson, M. Nery, A. Neunzert, S. Ng, L. Nguyen Quynh, S. A. Nichols, A. B. Nielsen, Y. Nishino, A. Nishizawa, S. Nissanke, W. Niu, F. Nocera, J. Noller, M. Norman, C. North, J. Novak, R. Nowicki, J. F. Nuño Siles, L. K. Nuttall, K. Obayashi, J. Oberling, J. O'Dell, E. Oelker, M. Oertel, G. Oganesyan, T. O'Hanlon, M. Ohashi, F. Ohme, R. Oliveri, R. Omer, B. O'Neal, M. Onishi, K. Oohara, B. O'Reilly, M. Orselli, R. O'Shaughnessy, S. O'Shea, S. Oshino, C. Osthelder, I. Ota, D. J. Ottaway, A. Ouzriat, H. Overmier, B. J. Owen, R. Ozaki, A. E. Pace, R. Pagano, M. A. Page, A. Pai, L. Paiella, A. Pal, S. Pal, M. A. Palaia, M. Pálfi, P. P. Palma, C. Palomba, P. Palud, H. Pan, J. Pan, K. C. Pan, P. K. Panda, Shiksha Pandey, Swadha Pandey, P. T. H. Pang, F. Pannarale, K. A. Pannone, B. C. Pant, F. H. Panther, M. Panzeri, F. Paoletti, A. Paolone, A. Papadopoulos, E. E. Papalexakis, L. Papalini, G. Papigkiotis, A. Paquis, A. Parisi, B.-J. Park, J. Park, W. Parker, G. Pascale, D. Pascucci, A. Pasqualetti, R. Passaquieti, L. Passenger, D. Passuello, O. Patane, A. V. Patel, D. Pathak, A. Patra, B. Patricelli, B. G. Patterson, K. Paul, S. Paul, E. Payne, T. Pearce, M. Pedraza, A. Pele, F. E. Peña Arellano, X. Peng, Y. Peng, S. Penn, M. D. Penuliar, A. Perego, Z. Pereira, C. Périgois, G. Perna, A. Perreca, J. Perret, S. Perriès, J. W. Perry, D. Pesios, S. Peters, S. Petracca, C. Petrillo, H. P. Pfeiffer, H. Pham, K. A. Pham, K. S. Phukon, H. Phurailatpam, M. Piarulli, L. Piccari, O. J. Piccinni, M. Pichot, M. Piendibene, F. Piergiovanni, L. Pierini, G. Pierra, V. Pierro, M. Pietrzak, M. Pillas, F. Pilo, L. Pinard, I. M. Pinto, M. Pinto, B. J. Piotrzkowski, M. Pirello, M. D. Pitkin, A. Placidi, E. Placidi, M. L. Planas, W. Plastino, C. Plunkett, R. Poggiani, E. Polini, J. Pomper, L. Pompili, J. Poon, E. Porcelli, E. K. Porter, C. Posnansky, R. Poulton, J. Powell, G. S. Prabhu, M. Pracchia, B. K. Pradhan, T. Pradier, A. K. Prajapati, K. Prasai, R. Prasanna, P. Prasia, G. Pratten, G. Principe, G. A. Prodi, P. Prosperi, P. Prosposito, A. C. Providence, A. Puecher, J. Pullin, P. Puppo, M. Pürrer, H. Qi, J. Qin, G. Quéméner, V. Quetschke, P. J. Quinonez, N. Qutob, R. Rading, I. Rainho, S. Raja, C. Rajan, B. Rajbhandari, K. E. Ramirez, F. A. Ramis Vidal, M. Ramos Arevalo, A. Ramos-Buades, S. Ranjan, K. Ransom, P. Rapagnani, B. Ratto, A. Ravichandran, A. Ray, V. Raymond, M. Razzano, J. Read, T. Regimbau, S. Reid, C. Reissel, D. H. Reitze, A. I. Renzini, B. Revenu, A. Revilla Peña, R. Reyes, L. Ricca, F. Ricci, M. Ricci, A. Ricciardone, J. Rice, J. W. Richardson, M. L. Richardson, A. Rijal, K. Riles, H. K. Riley, S. Rinaldi, J. Rittmeyer, C. Robertson, F. Robinet, M. Robinson, A. Rocchi, L. Rolland, J. G. Rollins, A. E. Romano, R. Romano, A. Romero, I. M. Romero-Shaw, J. H. Romie, S. Ronchini, T. J. Roocke, L. Rosa, T. J. Rosauer, C. A. Rose, D. Rosińska, M. P. Ross, M. Rossello-Sastre, S. Rowan, S. K. Roy, S. Roy, D. Rozza, P. Ruggi, N. Ruhama, E. Ruiz Morales, K. Ruiz-Rocha, S. Sachdev, T. Sadecki, P. Saffarieh, S. Safi-Harb, M. R. Sah, S. Saha, T. Sainrat, S. Sajith Menon, K. Sakai, Y. Sakai, M. Sakellariadou, S. Sakon, O. S. Salafia, F. Salces-Carcoba, L. Salconi, M. Saleem, F. Salemi, M. Sallé, S. U. Salunkhe, S. Salvador, A. Salvarese, A. Samajdar, A. Sanchez, E. J. Sanchez, L. E. Sanchez, N. Sanchis-Gual, J. R. Sanders, E. M. Sänger, F. Santoliquido, F. Sarandrea, T. R. Saravanan, N. Sarin, P. Sarkar, A. Sasli, P. Sassi, B. Sassolas, R. Sato, S. Sato, Yukino Sato, Yu Sato, O. Sauter, R. L. Savage, T. Sawada, H. L. Sawant, S. Sayah, V. Scacco, D. Schaetzl, M. Scheel, A. Schiebelbein, M. G. Schiworski, P. Schmidt, S. Schmidt, R. Schnabel, M. Schneewind, R. M. S. Schofield, K. Schouteden, B. W. Schulte, B. F. Schutz, E. Schwartz, M. Scialpi, J. Scott, S. M. Scott, R. M. Sedas, T. C. Seetharamu, M. Seglar-Arroyo, Y. Sekiguchi, D. Sellers, N. Sembo, A. S. Sengupta, E. G. Seo, J. W. Seo, V. Sequino, M. Serra, A. Sevrin, T. Shaffer, U. S. Shah, M. A. Shaikh, L. Shao, A. K. Sharma, Preeti Sharma, Prianka Sharma, Ritwik Sharma, S. Sharma Chaudhary, P. Shawhan, N. S. Shcheblanov, E. Sheridan, Z.-H. Shi, M. Shikauchi, R. Shimomura, H. Shinkai, S. Shirke, D. H. Shoemaker, D. M. Shoemaker, R. W. Short, S. ShyamSundar, A. Sider, H. Siegel, D. Sigg, L. Silenzi, L. Silvestri, M. Simmonds, L. P. Singer, Amitesh Singh, Anika Singh, D. Singh, N. Singh, S. Singh, A. M. Sintes, V. Sipala, V. Skliris, B. J. J. Slagmolen, D. A. Slater, T. J. Slaven-Blair, J. Smetana, J. R. Smith, L. Smith, R. J. E. Smith, W. J. Smith, S. Soares de Albuquerque Filho, M. Soares-Santos, K. Somiya, I. Song, S. Soni, V. Sordini, F. Sorrentino, H. Sotani, F. Spada, V. Spagnuolo, A. P. Spencer, P. Spinicelli, A. K. Srivastava, F. Stachurski, C. J. Stark, D. A. Steer, N. Steinle, J. Steinlechner, S. Steinlechner, N. Stergioulas, P. Stevens, M. StPierre, M. D. Strong, A. Strunk, A. L. Stuver, M. Suchenek, S. Sudhagar, Y. Sudo, N. Sueltmann, L. Suleiman, K. D. Sullivan, J. Sun, L. Sun, S. Sunil, J. Suresh, B. J. Sutton, P. J. Sutton, K. Suzuki, M. Suzuki, B. L. Swinkels, A. Syx, M. J. Szczepańczyk, P. Szewczyk, M. Tacca, H. Tagoshi, S. C. Tait, K. Takada, H. Takahashi, R. Takahashi, A. Takamori, S. Takano, H. Takeda, K. Takeshita, I. Takimoto Schmiegelow, M. Takou-Ayaoh, C. Talbot, M. Tamaki, N. Tamanini, D. Tanabe, K. Tanaka, S. J. Tanaka, S. Tanioka, D. B. Tanner, W. Tanner, L. Tao, R. D. Tapia, E. N. Tapia San Martín, C. Taranto, A. Taruya, J. D. Tasson, J. G. Tau, D. Tellez, R. Tenorio, H. Themann, A. Theodoropoulos, M. P. Thirugnanasambandam, L. M. Thomas, M. Thomas, P. Thomas, J. E. Thompson, S. R. Thondapu, K. A. Thorne, E. Thrane, J. Tissino, A. Tiwari, Pawan Tiwari, Praveer Tiwari, S. Tiwari, V. Tiwari, M. R. Todd, M. Toffano, A. M. Toivonen, K. Toland, A. E. Tolley, T. Tomaru, V. Tommasini, T. Tomura, H. Tong, C. Tong-Yu, A. Torres-Forné, C. I. Torrie, I. Tosta e Melo, E. Tournefier, M. Trad Nery, K. Tran, A. Trapananti, R. Travaglini, F. Travasso, G. Traylor, M. Trevor, M. C. Tringali, A. Tripathee, G. Troian, A. Trovato, L. Trozzo, R. J. Trudeau, T. Tsang, S. Tsuchida, L. Tsukada, K. Turbang, M. Turconi, C. Turski, H. Ubach, N. Uchikata, T. Uchiyama, R. P. Udall, T. Uehara, K. Ueno, V. Undheim, L. E. Uronen, T. Ushiba, M. Vacatello, H. Vahlbruch, N. Vaidya, G. Vajente, A. Vajpeyi, J. Valencia, M. Valentini, S. A. Vallejo-Peña, S. Vallero, V. Valsan, M. van Dael, E. Van den Bossche, J. F. J. van den Brand, C. Van Den Broeck, M. van der Sluys, A. Van de Walle, J. van Dongen, K. Vandra, M. VanDyke, H. van Haevermaet, J. V. van Heijningen, P. Van Hove, J. Vanier, M. VanKeuren, J. Vanosky, N. van Remortel, M. Vardaro, A. F. Vargas, V. Varma, A. N. Vazquez, A. Vecchio, G. Vedovato, J. Veitch, P. J. Veitch, S. Venikoudis, R. C. Venterea, P. Verdier, M. Vereecken, D. Verkindt, B. Verma, Y. Verma, S. M. Vermeulen, F. Vetrano, A. Veutro, A. Viceré, S. Vidyant, A. D. Viets, A. Vijaykumar, A. Vilkha, N. Villanueva Espinosa, V. Villa-Ortega, E. T. Vincent, J.-Y. Vinet, S. Viret, S. Vitale, H. Vocca, D. Voigt, E. R. G. von Reis, J. S. A. von Wrangel, W. E. Vossius, L. Vujeva, S. P. Vyatchanin, J. Wack, L. E. Wade, M. Wade, K. J. Wagner, L. Wallace, E. J. Wang, H. Wang, J. Z. Wang, W. H. Wang, Y. F. Wang, G. Waratkar, J. Warner, M. Was, T. Washimi, N. Y. Washington, D. Watarai, B. Weaver, S. A. Webster, N. L. Weickhardt, M. Weinert, A. J. Weinstein, R. Weiss, L. Wen, K. Wette, J. T. Whelan, B. F. Whiting, C. Whittle, E. G. Wickens, D. Wilken, A. T. Wilkin, B. M. Williams, D. Williams, M. J. Williams, N. S. Williams, J. L. Willis, B. Willke, M. Wils, L. Wilson, C. W. Winborn, J. Winterflood, C. C. Wipf, G. Woan, J. Woehler, N. E. Wolfe, H. T. Wong, I. C. F. Wong, K. Wong, T. Wouters, J. L. Wright, M. Wright, B. Wu, C. Wu, D. S. Wu, H. Wu, K. Wu, Q. Wu, Y. Wu, Z. Wu, E. Wuchner, D. M. Wysocki, V. A. Xu, Y. Xu, N. Yadav, H. Yamamoto, K. Yamamoto, T. S. Yamamoto, T. Yamamoto, R. Yamazaki, T. Yan, K. Z. Yang, Y. Yang, Z. Yarbrough, J. Yebana, S.-W. Yeh, A. B. Yelikar, X. Yin, J. Yokoyama, T. Yokozawa, S. Yuan, H. Yuzurihara, M. Zanolin, M. Zeeshan, T. Zelenova, J.-P. Zendri, M. Zeoli, M. Zerrad, M. Zevin, L. Zhang, N. Zhang, R. Zhang, T. Zhang, C. Zhao, Yue Zhao, Yuhang Zhao, Z.-C. Zhao, Y. Zheng, H. Zhong, H. Zhou, H. O. Zhu, Z.-H. Zhu, A. B. Zimmerman, L. Zimmermann, M. E. Zucker, J. Zweizig, J. Palfreyman, S.B. Araujo Furlan, S. del Palacio, G. Gancio, F. García, G. E. Romero, E. Zubieta

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Bridging stellar evolution and planet formation: from birth, to survivors of the fittest, to the second generation of planets

Akke Corporaal, Toon De Prins, Léa Planquart et al. (+10 more)

Stars and planets form, live, and evolve in unison. Throughout the life of a star, dusty circumstellar discs and stellar outflows influence the further evolution of both the star(s) and their orbiting planet(s). Planet-forming discs, winds of red giant branch (RGB) or asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, and post-RGB/post-AGB discs are examples of such host environments where dust physics plays a key role. The physical processes that occur during each of these stages establishes how the Solar System as well as exoplanetary systems were formed, are evolving, and will eventually die. This White Paper aims to bridge the fields of stellar evolution and planet formation by peering into the dust kinematics and macrostructure formation, and its effect on planet-host interaction, in dusty environments from stellar birth to death. Near-future advancements in the 2030s will enable the detection, orbital monitoring and atmospheric/mineralogical characterisation of close-in (proto)planets across diverse stages of stellar evolution. To take full advantage of these developments by the 2040s, we should develop the capabilities required to image the varied dusty environments in which planets are entrained over their lifetime. This will enable extensive testing of current theoretical understandings - from the micro-scales of dust assembly to the deeply interlinked macro-scales of planet-host interactions - across diverse settings often too small, distant, and faint to be resolved in the next decade, simultaneously providing valuable constraints on the two-way interplay of dusty host environments and planetary formation/evolution.
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All authors Akke Corporaal, Toon De Prins, Léa Planquart, Kateryna Andrych, Narsireddy Anugu, Devika Kamath, Jens Kammerer, Stefan Kraus, Foteini Lykou, Alexis Matter, Claudia Paladini, Marie M. Rodríguez S., Hans Van Winckel

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

CoBiTS: Single-detector discrimination of binary black hole signals from glitches using deep learning

Matthew VanDyke, Kexuan Wu and Sukanta Bose

We develop a Conformer neural network, called Conformer Binary neTwork Search, or CoBiTS, for distinguishing binary black hole (BBH) gravitational wave (GW) signals from non-Gaussian and non-stationary noise artifacts in the data from current generation LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA detectors. A large subset of these transient noise artifacts, termed as “glitches” for short, trigger BBH search templates. Some of them go on to produce detection candidates and require human vetting, supported by data quality tools, to be correctly identified and vetoed. In its current version, CoBiTS takes as inputs single-detector strain timeseries snippets, claimed by other search pipelines to be containing GW candidates, and outputs the significance of each snippet to contain a BBH signal and a glitch. CoBiTS is shown to be particularly effective in discriminating high-mass BBH signals from blips and scattered light glitches, even when a signal is near concurrent or overlapping with a glitch. The performance of CoBiTS gains from employing Conformer, which is a specialized model that combines convolutional layers and Transformer architecture for sequence modeling tasks. Conformer is especially good at leveraging the strengths of both convolutional layers – for local feature extraction – and self-attention layers – for capturing long-range dependencies.
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