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Physics Astrophysics

astro-ph Watch Astrophysics

Friday 16 January

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Investigating Pulsar Wind Nebula DA 495: Insights from LHAASO and Multi-Wavelength Observations

The LHAASO Collaboration

Pulsar wind nebula DA~495 (G65.7+1.2) has been extensively observed from radio to TeV $\gamma$-ray bands. We present LHAASO observations of DA~495, revealing an energy-dependent morphology, where an extended source with $r_{39}=0.19^{\circ}\pm0.02^{\circ}$ is detected by WCDA (0.4-15~TeV), and a point-like source with a 95% upper limit of $r_{39}=0.11^{\circ}$ is observed by KM2A ($>25~\mathrm{TeV}$). The spectrum of the source extends beyond 100~TeV with a break or cutoff at a few tens of TeV. Our X-ray data analysis, based on Chandra and XMM-Newton observations, shows that the X-ray emission of DA~495 extends well to $\sim 6^{\prime}$, significantly larger than the size previously reported. The broadband spectral energy distribution across radio, X-ray and TeV $\gamma$-ray bands is phenomenologically described by a one-zone leptonic model, yielding an average magnetic field of $\sim$ 5 $\mathrm{\mu G}$, while Fermi-LAT spectral analysis indicates a likely presence of a $\gamma$-ray pulsar within the system. A time-dependent model, in which particle transport is convection-dominated in the inner region (within $\sim100^{\prime\prime}$) and diffusion-dominated in the outer region, successfully reproduces the observed radial profiles of X-ray surface brightness and spectral index, and also accounts for the TeV $\gamma$-ray emission detected by LHAASO, suggesting that DA~495 represents an evolved PWN with ongoing particle escape that gives rise to a TeV halo component – that is, a PWN+halo system.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Multifrequency evolution of the Integrated pulse profile of radio pulsars by implementing the inverse Compton mechanism

Tridib Roy, Mayuresh Surnis, Mageshwaran Tamilan et al. (+2 more)

The Main Aim of this paper is to explain the emergence of new components of pulsars at higher radio bands by implementing the Inverse Compton Scattering Mechanism. From pulsar radio observation, it is seen that a couple of pulsars reveal new emission components at higher radio frequencies, although they show single-component emission at lower frequencies. We develop a brief outline, fostering inverse Compton scattering (ICS) of the low-frequency radio photons as a vulnerable source of scattering, susceptible to explaining the evolution of new components of some radio pulsars at higher bands. We couple the conventional curvature radiation (CR) mechanism and ICS, and suggest that the spectral convolution of the flux component individually from CR and the modulated template due to the ICS scattered component can be combined to reproduce such signatures associated with the diverse morphology of the integrated pulse profile. We reproduce the beam frequency diagram, the geometrical variation of different parameters of the emission geometry, as well as the multi-frequency evolution from theory. We have suitably tuned the input parameter space and given the combination of parameters that can tune to a particular scattered frequency in tabulated form. We conclude that ICS may be a responsible process for describing the emergence of new components in higher radio emission bands.
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All authors Tridib Roy, Mayuresh Surnis, Mageshwaran Tamilan, Monalisa Halder, Siddhartha Biswas

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

A Portrait of the Cosmic Reionisation History in the Context of the Early Dark Energy Model

Weiyang Liu, Xin Wang, Hu Zhan et al. (+3 more)

Recent JWST observations of Lyman-$\alpha$ emission at $z \sim 11-6$ indicate a rapid reionization of the intergalactic medium within the first $\sim700$ Myr. The required Lyman continuum (LyC) photon budget may naturally arise from the unexpectedly high galaxy number densities revealed by JWST, reducing the need for scenarios invoking very high LyC escape fractions ($f_{\rm esc}\gtrsim0.2$) or dominant contributions from ultra-faint galaxies ($M_{\rm UV}>-15$) in the standard $\Lambda$CDM framework. In this work, we model the reionization history under the Early Dark Energy (EDE) paradigm – originally proposed to ease the Hubble tension – which also explains the observed over-abundance of high-$z$ galaxies without extreme star formation efficiencies. The EDE model yields reionization histories consistent with current constraints while requiring only moderate LyC escape fractions and UV luminosity densities ($f_{\rm esc}\sim 0.05-0.1$, $M_{\rm UV}\lesssim -17$ to $-15$). Our results suggest that, once key astrophysical parameters are better constrained, the reionization history could serve as an independent and complementary probe of EDE cosmologies.
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All authors Weiyang Liu, Xin Wang, Hu Zhan, Karl Glazebrook, Mengtao Tang, Michele Trenti

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Searching for Galaxy Cluster-Scale Strong lenses from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys

Zhejian Zhang, Nan Li, Shude Mao et al. (+4 more)

Galaxy cluster-scale strong gravitational lensing systems are rare yet valuable tools for investigating the properties of dark matter and dark energy, as well as providing the opportunity to study the distant universe at flux levels and spatial resolutions that would otherwise be unavailable. Large-scale imaging surveys present unprecedented opportunities to expand the sample of cluster lenses. In this study, we adopt a deep learning-based approach to identify cluster lenses from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, utilizing the catalog of galaxy cluster candidates identified by Zou et al. (2021). Our lens-finder employs a ResNet-18 architecture, trained with mock images of cluster lenses as positives and observational images of cluster scale non-lenses as negatives. We do an iterative operation to increase the completeness of our work, namely adding the found true positive samples back to the training set and training again for several times. Human inspection is conducted to further refine the candidates, categorizing them into grades (A, B, C) according to the significance of the strongly lensed arcs. Reviewing all 540,432 objects in Zou's catalog, we discover 485 high-confidence cluster lens candidates with a cluster $M_{500}$ range of $10^{13.67\sim14.97}M_{\odot}$ and a Brightest Central Galaxy (BCG) redshift range of $0.04\sim0.89$. After excluding the lens candidates listed in previous studies, we identify 247 newly discovered cluster lens candidates, including 16 grade A, 90 grade B, and 141 grade C. This catalog of cluster lens candidates is publicly available online, and follow-up observations are encouraged to confirm and conduct thorough investigations of these systems.
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All authors Zhejian Zhang, Nan Li, Shude Mao, Hu Zou, Zizhao He, Mingxiang Fu, Shenzhe Cui

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

An 11-Year Catalog of Gamma-Ray Transients: A Comprehensive Search with Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor Data

Yuki Kaneko, Ozge Keskin, Can Gungor et al. (+3 more)

The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has produced the largest database of all-sky observations in gamma rays with its continuous data with high time and energy resolutions. These data contain a wealth of unidentified transient events that did not trigger the detectors for various reasons. We conducted extensive searches to identify such untriggered transient events observed with GBM in 11 years (July 2010 - June 2021). In particular, we employed four different search modes with various energy ranges (mainly below 300 keV) and time resolutions (from 8 ms to 2 s), utilizing three statistical methods (signal-to-noise ratio, Poisson, and Bayesian statistics), each with different effectiveness in identifying specific classes of transients. Moreover, we developed algorithms for known-event flagging as well as unknown-event classification for our candidate events found in the searches. In this paper, we present our search methodologies, event flagging and classification algorithms and the resulting comprehensive event catalog. The catalog contains more than a million events in total, including known events such as gamma-ray bursts, soft-gamma repeater bursts, galactic X-ray source activities, terrestrial gamma flashes, and solar flares. For each candidate event, the catalog presents the event time, detection significance, event duration, hardness ratios, known-event flagging results, and classification probabilities. Our short-transient catalog significantly expands the currently-existing list of known events and complements the GBM trigger catalog. The event database with filtering capabilities is also publicly available at https://magnetars.sabanciuniv.edu/gbm, which allows users to retrieve event information based on their input queries along with the event lightcurves.
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All authors Yuki Kaneko, Ozge Keskin, Can Gungor, Ersin Gogus, Mete Uzuner, Aslihan M. Unsal

Astrophysics of Galaxies

CHILES XI: Resolved HI morphologies and the evolution of the H2/HI ratio over the last five billion years

J. Blue Bird, N. Luber, H. B. Gim et al. (+8 more)

We present the neutral gas morphology of four galaxies from z = 0.22 to 0.47 obtained with the COSMOS HI Large Extragalactic Survey (CHILES). The HI is resolved at the highest redshift with the 7.5 arcsec beam of CHILES and 43 kpc linear scale, with all four galaxies having extended HI. Three are massive galaxies (Mstellar > 3 e10 Mo), with HI masses of 1.6 - 6.7 e10 Mo, and active star formation (3 - 30 Mo/yr). The morphology and kinematics of the galaxies vary from regular to disturbed, including an asymmetric HI disk surrounding the fourth smaller galaxy (Mstellar ~ e9 Mo). CO(1-0) observations of the sample, obtained with the LMT, confirm the redshifts of three of the four galaxies and we derive H2 masses of 0.4 - 5.2 e10 Mo. JWST imaging with four combined NIRCam filters reveals disturbed stellar components with compact knots in two of the galaxies. We combine our new higher-redshift galaxies with previously published observations to conduct a more complete study of HI and H2 evolution in the redshift range 0 - 0.5. With our HI flux-limited observations compared to similar lower redshift galaxies with high stellar mass (Mstellar > e10 Mo), the results show the mean H2/HI ratio at the highest redshift is 10.3 +- 3.4 larger than the mean H2/HI ratio in the local Universe.
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All authors J. Blue Bird, N. Luber, H. B. Gim, J. H. van Gorkom, D. J. Pisano, Min S. Yun, E. Momjian, K. M. Hess, D. Lucero, J. Donovan Meyer, A. Chung

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Curvature Effect on the Speed of Sound

Anshuman Verma, Asim Kumar Saha and Ritam Mallick

The speed of sound refers to the rate at which information travels from one point to another. It is a positive quantity and bounded by causality. It is defined as the rate of change of pressure with respect to the system's density. In this article, we derive a covariant equation for the sound wave and demonstrate how the wave equation is modified in the general relativistic formalism. One can then define an effective speed of sound by attenuating the usual definition of sound speed with the gravitational metric potential. The general relativistic curvature effect is observed to reduce the speed of sound when computed inside a neutron star. This effectively makes the star relatively softer (according to the equation of state). The change in the effective sound speed can be easily visualised if one redefines the non-radial modes in terms of it. The modes do not change, but the space-time curvature reduces the amplitude of the oscillation modes. The formalism is suited for studying astrophysical compact objects.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

How To Use Thermal Dust Continuum Emission To Measure The Physical Properties Of Dusty Astrophysical Objects

Yancy L. Shirley, Jeffrey G. Mangum, Desika Narayanan et al. (+1 more)

Dust grains in the interstellar medium interact with photons across the electromagnetic spectrum. They are generally photon energy converters, absorbing short wavelength radiation and emitting long wavelength radiation. Sixty years ago in 1965, thermal emission from dust grains in the interstellar medium was discovered. This tutorial is a summary of the physics of thermal dust continuum emission and how to use observations of the intensity and flux density of dusty objects to calculate physical properties such as mass, column density, luminosity, dust temperature, and dust opacity spectral index. Equations are derived, when feasible, from first principles with all limits and assumptions explicitly stated. Properties of dust opacities appropriate for different astrophysical environments (e.g. diffuse ISM, dense cores, protoplanetary disks) are discussed and tabulated for the wavelengths of past, current, and future bolometer cameras. Corrections for observations at high redshift as well as the effects of telescope measurement limitations are derived. We also update the calculation of the mean molecular weight in different ISM environments and find that it is 1.404 per H atom, 2.809 per H2 molecule, and 2.351 per gas particle assuming protosolar metallicity and the latest values of the ISM gas phase abundances of metals.
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All authors Yancy L. Shirley, Jeffrey G. Mangum, Desika Narayanan, James Di Francesco

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

A Novel, Beam-based Formalism for Active Impedance of Phased Arrays

M. Deng and J. Wu

The active impedance is a fundamental parameter for characterizing the behavior of large, uniform phased array antennas. However, its conventional calculation via the mutual impedance matrix (or the scattering matrix) offers limited physical intuition and can be computationally intensive. This paper presents a novel derivation of the active impedance directly from the radiated beam pattern of such arrays. This approach maps the scan-angle variation of the active impedance directly to the intrinsic angular variation of the beam, providing a more intuitive physical interpretation. The theoretical derivation is straightforward and rigorous. The validity of the proposed equation is conclusively confirmed through full-wave simulations of a prototype array. This work establishes a new and more intuitive framework for understanding, analyzing and accurately measuring the scan-dependent variations in phased arrays, which is one of the main challenges in modern phased array designs. Consequently, this novel formalism is expected to expedite and simplify the overall design and optimization process for next-generation, large-scale uniform phased arrays.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Radiative Cooling Effects on Plasmoid Formation in Black Hole Accretion Flows with Multiple Magnetic Loops

Jing-Ze Xia, Hong-Xuan Jiang, Yosuke Mizuno et al. (+2 more)

We investigate the influence of radiative cooling on plasmoid formation in black hole accretion flows using 2D and 3D two-temperature GRMHD simulations with multi-loop magnetic fields. Our results show that radiative cooling suppresses the transition to a MAD state by reducing magnetic flux accumulation near the horizon, modifies the disk structure via lower electron temperatures and increased equatorial density, and alters reconnection properties:compressing current sheets, shortening plasmoid lifetimes, and increasing their frequency. We also find enhanced negative energy-at-infinity density in plasmoids near the ergosphere. These findings indicate that radiative cooling critically shapes both large scale accretion dynamics and small-scale reconnection phenomena, potentially modulating black hole energy extraction through reconnection-driven Penrose processes.
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All authors Jing-Ze Xia, Hong-Xuan Jiang, Yosuke Mizuno, Antonios Nathanail, M. Christian Fromm

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

X-ray and radio observations of the AMXP MAXI J1957+032 covering the 2022-2025 outbursts

Zhaosheng Li, Lucien Kuiper, Yuanyue Pan et al. (+12 more)

We presented a comprehensive multi-epoch timing and multiwavelength analysis of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar MAXI J1957+032, covering two major outbursts in 2022 and 2025. By reanalyzing the 2022 outburst data from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), we found the spin frequency and orbital parameters from the observations in 0.3-5 keV. For the 2025 outburst, we reported the detection of pulsations with the Einstein Probe (EP). Based on the $\sim$3-year baseline between these two outbursts, we measured a significant long-term spin-down rate of $\dot\nu = (-5.73 \pm 0.28) \times 10^{-14}~{\rm Hz~s^{-1}}$. Assuming that the quiescent spin-down is driven by magnetic dipole radiation, we inferred a spin-down luminosity of $L \approx 1.1 \times 10^{36}~{\rm erg~s^{-1}}$ and a surface dipolar magnetic field of $B \approx (7.3 - 10.4) \times 10^8$ G. Furthermore, we conducted a deep radio pulsation search with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) during the X-ray quiescent state in 2024, resulting in a non-detection with a 7$\sigma$ flux density upper limit of 12.3 $\mu$Jy. This corresponds to a radio efficiency upper limit of $\xi < 2.8 \times 10^{-10}$, which is significantly lower than that of typical millisecond pulsars with a similar spin-down power. This profound radio pulsation faintness can be explained by two primary scenarios: either a geometric effect, wherein the pulsar's radio beam is directed away from our line of sight, or a physical suppression of the emission mechanism, potentially caused by a persistent low-level accretion flow during the X-ray quiescent state.
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All authors Zhaosheng Li, Lucien Kuiper, Yuanyue Pan, Renxin Xu, Mingyu Ge, Shanshan Weng, Long Peng, Wenhui Yu, Yue Huang, Liang Zhang, Liming Song, Sergey V. Molkov, Alexander A. Lutovinov, Shu Zhang, Shuang-Nan Zhang

Thursday 15 January

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Cross-listed from physics.chem-ph

CO$_2$ collision-induced line parameters for the $\nu_3$ band of $^{12}$CH$_4$ measured using a hard-collision speed-dependent line shape and the relaxation matrix formalism

Thibault Bertin and Jean Vander Auwera

Ten high resolution Fourier transform spectra of the pentad region near 3.3 {\mu}m of methane diluted in carbon dioxide at total pressures up to 800 hPa have been recorded at 296.5(5) K. Including a high resolution spectrum of pure methane at low pressure, these spectra have been analyzed using multi-spectrum fitting techniques. The methane lines were modeled using hard-collision speed-dependent line profiles and line mixing was included in the strongest absorption regions, considering the first order Rosenkranz approximation and the relaxation matrix formalism. CO$_2$ broadening and shift coefficients have been measured, together with the speed dependence of broadening. Results obtained using the two line mixing models are intercompared and compared with previous work.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Pink Dwarfs and the Paths to Stardom: How Brown Dwarfs Pushed Above the Hydrogen Burning Limit Evolve

Jaime Luisi, John C. Forbes, Heather V. Rusk et al. (+1 more)

Brown dwarfs that gain mass through binary interactions may be pushed above the boundary that divides brown dwarfs from low-mass stars: the hydrogen burning limit (HBL). Some of these objects will make their way to the main sequence and may eventually be indistinguishable from ordinary low-mass stars, while others will remain brown dwarf-like, unable to burn hydrogen at a high enough rate to power their surface luminosity. We study the evolution of both types of object to provide a taxonomy and testable observational predictions for these objects depending on their evolutionary path. Using MESA simulations, we find that a subset of the objects that will eventually become stars experience an extended luminosity plateau, where their surface luminosity remains nearly constant on 100 Myr - Gyr timescales. We find that the plateau timescale is set by the amount of energy required to re-heat the cores of these objects to a level sufficient to sustain convection. The timescales required for the cores of these objects to "unfreeze" and arrive at the main sequence is long enough that surveys may be able to find objects in this evolutionary stage. These objects, along with those that never reach the main sequence, occupy a unique space in a mass-luminosity diagram, and would provide a unique constraint on binary mass transfer physics.
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All authors Jaime Luisi, John C. Forbes, Heather V. Rusk, Benjamin Gullick

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The Deeper, Wider, Faster programme's first DECam optical data release

James Freeburn, Jeff Cooke, Anais Möller et al. (+17 more)

The transient and variable optical sky is relatively poorly characterised on fast ($<$1$\,$hr) timescales. With the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), the Deeper, Wider, Faster programme (DWF) probes a unique parameter space with its deep (median of $g\sim22.2$ AB mag), minute-cadence imaging. In this work, we present DWF's first data release which comprises high cadence photometry extracted from $\sim$12000 images and 166 hours of telescope time. We present a novel data processing pipeline, $\texttt{dwf-postpipe}$, developed to identify sources and extract their light curves. The accuracy of the photometry is assessed by cross-matching to public catalogues. In addition, we injected a population of synthetic GRB afterglows into a subset of the DWF DECam imaging to compare the efficiency of our pipeline with a standard difference imaging approach. Both pipelines show performance and reliably recover injected transients with peak magnitudes $g<22$ AB mag with an efficiency of $97.24^{+0.7}_{-1.0}$ percent for dwf-postpipe and $96.14^{+0.9}_{-1.1}$ percent for a difference imaging approach. However, we find that $\texttt{dwf-postpipe}$ is less likely to recover transients appearing in galaxies that are brighter or comparable in brightness to the transient itself. To demonstrate the power of the data in this release, we conduct a search for uncatalogued variable stars in a single night of DWF DECam imaging and find ten pulsating variables, two eclipsing binaries and one ZZ ceti. We also conduct a search for variable phenomena in the Chandra Deep Field South, a Rubin deep drilling field, and identify two flares from likely UV ceti type stars.
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All authors James Freeburn, Jeff Cooke, Anais Möller, Jielai Zhang, Dougal Dobie, Brent Miszalski, Simon O'Toole, James Tocknell, Sam Huynh, Sara Webb, Igor Andreoni, Natasha Van Bemmel, Timothy M. C. Abbott, Rebecca Allen, Stephanie Bernard, Simon Goode, Sarah Hegarty, J. Chuck Horst, Cassidy Mihalenko, Mark Suhr

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

From a Network to a Networking: The Evolution of the Latin American Giant Observatory

C. Sarmiento-Cano, H. Asorey, M. Audelo et al. (+11 more)

The Latin American Giant Observatory (LAGO) is a collaborative initiative that deploys a network of low-cost, autonomous Water Cherenkov Detectors across Latin America and Spain. Initially focused on detecting gamma-ray bursts at high-altitude sites, LAGO has evolved into a multidisciplinary forum for astroparticle physics, space weather studies, and environmental monitoring. Its detectors operate from sea level to over 4300 meters above sea level (m a.s.l.) in diverse geomagnetic and atmospheric conditions. The ARTI-MEIGA simulation framework is a key development that models the entire cosmic-ray interaction chain, enabling site-specific simulations to be integrated into FAIR-compliant workflows. LAGO also plays a significant role in regional education and training through partnerships with ERASMUS+ projects, positioning itself as a hub for research capacity building. New contributions emerging from the collaboration include volcano muography, neutron hydrometry for precision agriculture, and space weather monitoring in the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly. LAGO demonstrates how Cherenkov-based detection and open science can drive scientific discovery and practical innovation.
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All authors C. Sarmiento-Cano, H. Asorey, M. Audelo, A. Campos Fauth, D. Cazar-Ramirez, A.M. Gulisano, J.A. Lopez-Rodriguez, R. Mayo-Garcia, J. Molina, L. Otiniano, J.R. Sacahui, G. Secchia-Gonzalez, I. Sidelnik, L.A. Nunez

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Optimal and Unbiased Fluxes from Up-the-Ramp Detectors under Variable Illumination

Bowen Li, Kevin A. McKinnon, Andrew K. Saydjari et al. (+6 more)

Near-infrared (NIR) detectors – which use non-destructive readouts to measure time-series counts-per-pixel – play a crucial role in modern astrophysics. Standard NIR flux extraction techniques were developed for space-based observations and assume that source fluxes are constant over an observation. However, ground-based telescopes often see short-timescale atmospheric variations that can dramatically change the number of photons arriving at a pixel. This work presents a new statistical model that shares information between neighboring spectral pixels to characterize time-variable observations and extract unbiased fluxes with optimal uncertainties. We generate realistic synthetic data using a variety of flux and amplitude-of-time-variability conditions to confirm that our model recovers unbiased and optimal estimates of both the true flux and the time-variable signal. We find that the time-variable model should be favored over a constant-flux model when the observed count rates change by more than 3.5%. Ignoring time variability in the data can result in flux-dependent, unknown-sign biases that are as large as ~120% of the flux uncertainty. Using real APOGEE spectra, we find empirical evidence for approximately wavelength-independent, time-dependent variations in count rates with amplitudes much greater than the 3.5% threshold. Our model can robustly measure and remove the time-dependence in real data, improving the quality of data-model comparison. We show several examples where the observed time-dependence quantitatively agrees with independent measurements of observing conditions, such as variable cloud cover and seeing.
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All authors Bowen Li, Kevin A. McKinnon, Andrew K. Saydjari, Conor Sayres, Gwendolyn M. Eadie, Andrew R. Casey, Jon A. Holtzman, Timothy D. Brandt, Jose G. Fernandez-Trincado

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Rotation Period of 3I/ATLAS After Perihelion from Jet Position Angle Wobble and Photometric Variability

Toni Scarmato and Abraham Loeb

We determine the post-perihelion rotation period of 3I/ATLAS using two independent diagnostics: the temporal modulation of the position angle (PA) of a persistent jet-like feature, and a time-series photometric light curve in the Gr (R) band. For the jet morphology, we measure the PA at multiple epochs by applying the Larson-Sekanina Rotational Gradient filter to Hubble Space Telescope images between November 20, 2025 and December 27, 2025, and model the phase-folded PA curve with weighted least-squares Fourier series up to two harmonics while scanning trial periods P to identify minima in ḩi}2(P). For the photometry, we adopt the best-fit period from an independent 30-minute binned analysis (from a 0.25 meter telescope MPC L92) based on a refined ḩi}2(P) profile for a sinusoidal model with nightly offsets. We find that the jet-PA modulation gives a period Pjet = 7.20 +/-0.05 h (adopting a conservative uncertainty dominated by sparse sampling and systematics), while the photometry yields Pphot = 7.136+/-0.001 h (formal 1{\sigma} uncertainty). Although the periods differ slightly, the offset is plausibly attributable to non-Gaussian systematics and aliasing. The combined data supports a post-perihelion rotation period of 7.1 h associated with precession of the jet structure around the rotation axis by 20{\deg}. The rotation axis is aligned with the sunward direction to within 20{\deg}
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Asteroseismology of the ZZ Ceti star WD 1310+583 using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

Zs. Bognár, M. Uzundag, F. C. De Gerónimo et al. (+4 more)

Aims. By analysing the light curves of the ZZ Ceti star WD 1310+583, we aim to determine its pulsational frequencies and to give constraints on the main stellar parameters using the tools of asteroseismology. Methods. We performed the Fourier analysis of the TESS light curves of WD 1310+583 and selected the possible pulsational modes. We also used spectroscopic data collected with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph of the Hubble Space Telescope to give constraints for the asteroseismic analysis. We perform the latter with period-to-period fits using fully evolutionary white dwarf models. Results. The star presented in this paper shows a particularly large number (41) of pulsational frequencies, which provides a potential opportunity for detailed asteroseismic investigations. We found a mean period spacing of ~40.5 seconds, which allows us to state that the stellar mass of WD 1310+583 would be larger than ~0.57 M_Sun. We also attempted an asteroseismological analysis by performing period-to-period fits, but we were unable to find a single statistically significant asteroseismological solution. We adopted a tentative solution consisting of a white dwarf model with M* = 0.632 M_Sun, Teff = 11 702 K, and an asteroseismic distance d = 27.75 +0.17/-0.15 pc, which is significantly smaller than the one predicted by Gaia (d = 30.79 +/- 0.2 pc). We also determined that the rotational period of our target is 1.18 d.
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All authors Zs. Bognár, M. Uzundag, F. C. De Gerónimo, A. H. Córsico, J. Munday, Á. Sódor, S. D. Barber

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Tracking the Evolution of Plasma Instabilities from the Prominence-Corona Transition Region into Interplanetary Space with Total Solar Eclipse and WISPR/PSP White Light Images

Shadia R. Habbal, Shaheda Begum Shaik, Zachary Bailey et al. (+5 more)

High-resolution total solar eclipse (TSE) white light (WL) images are the only observations at present to capture coronal structures over an uninterrupted field of view (FoV) of at least 10 solar radii (Rs) starting from the solar limb. They were the first to report the presence of vortex rings originating within the prominence-corona transition region (PCTR). They also captured CMEs and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instabilities at different phases of their evolution. While the evolution of CMEs and KH waves is relatively well-documented, little is known about the survivability of vortex rings beyond the FoV of the TSE images. In this study, we use seven TSE images and non-contemporaneous WL images acquired by the Wide-Field Imager for Parker Solar PRobe (WISPR) to track the spatial evolution of vortex rings, KH waves, and CMEs. The size trend versus radial distance for vortex rings and KH waves are found to be shallower below 1.5 Rs than beyond 3 Rs, while the CMEs observed beyond 3 Rs show a unique slope. The WISPR time series yield an average speed of 249.02 +/- 25.3 km/s for the vortex rings beyond 3 Rs, that when combined with their size yields a speed of 19.39 +/- 3.20 km/s below 1 Rs. These values are remarkably consistent with the acceleration profile of the slow solar wind over the same distance. This study provides strong empirical evidence that vortex rings, which originate at the PCTR with complex magnetic structures, do not dissipate as they expand away from the Sun with the solar wind.
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All authors Shadia R. Habbal, Shaheda Begum Shaik, Zachary Bailey, Nathalia Alzate, Riddhi Bandyopadhyay, Miloslav Druckmüller, Simone Di Matteo, Sage Constantinou

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

A Closer Look at the Dynamical State of the High-redshift Galaxy Cluster SPT-CL J2215-3537

Vinicius S. Bessa, Renato A. Dupke and Yolanda Jiménez-Teja

We present a comprehensive reanalysis of the dynamical state of the high-redshift galaxy cluster SPT-CL J2215-3537 (z = 1.16), using the full set of available Chandra observations to characterize the thermodynamic and morphological properties of the intracluster medium. Although previously identified as one of the most distant dynamically relaxed systems based on X-ray morphological statistics, we find compelling evidence that SPT-CL J2215-3537 displays some level of dynamical activity. This includes temperature anisotropies consistent with the first detection of a pair of core-sloshing cold fronts at z > 1. We identify a ghost cavity candidate and estimate its mechanical power as log10(Pcav/10^42 erg s^-1) = 2.66 +- 0.23, confirming that radiative cooling strongly exceeds active galactic nucleus feedback heating. We show that SPT-CL J2215-3537 is likely in a short transient phase preceding the onset of a self-regulated cooling-feedback cycle. We recalculate traditional X-ray morphological parameters and discuss how non-self-similar evolution of parameters sensitive to the surface brightness cuspiness can bias dynamical classifications at high redshift.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

The impact of disc photoevaporation on the long-term evolution of giant planets in mean motion resonances

Emmanuel J. Greenfield and James E. Owen

We investigate the long-term impact of disc photoevaporation on the dynamical stability and evolution of giant planet pairs in mean motion resonances. Using two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with FARGO3D, in which we have included mass-loss due to photoevaporation, we explore a parameter space covering disc mass, viscosity, planet mass, and resonance type. We find that strong photoevaporation depletes gas in the common gap between the planets, slowing migration and suppressing planet-disc interactions that typically lead to resonance breaking and eccentricity damping. This stabilising effect is most significant for 3:2 resonances, which are more prone to disruption due to the reduced planet spacing. In contrast, 2:1 resonances are generally more robust but can still be destabilised at high disc mass and moderate-to-strong photoevaporation due to asymmetric torques. Photoevaporation can therefore stabilise resonances that would otherwise break, or conversely disrupt resonances that are natively more stable. Even in cases where photoevaporation does not directly affect resonance stability, it typically results in increased planetary eccentricities. These results highlight the complex, system-dependent nature of resonance evolution, with implications for the final orbital architectures of giant planet systems and their detectability via astrometry from missions such as Gaia.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Shadow signatures and energy accumulation in Lorentzian-Euclidean black holes

Emmanuele Battista, Salvatore Capozziello and Che-Yu Chen

The Lorentzian-Euclidean black hole has been recently introduced as a geodesically complete spacetime featuring a signature shift at the event horizon where causal geodesics are precluded from reaching the central $r=0$ singularity. In this paper, we investigate the shadows produced by this geometry to identify deviations from the standard Schwarzschild solution. Our analysis reveals an excess intensity in the inner shadow region that points to a potential observational signature of the novel behavior of light rays propagating near the event horizon. This excess could be a probe for horizon-scale modifications of black hole geometries. Furthermore, although the horizon surface of the Lorentzian-Euclidean black hole continuously accumulates photons and energy, we show that its backreaction response differs from that of stable light rings found in various exotic compact objects.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

The impact of ram pressure on the radio spectral index and magnetic field of NGC 4522: A high-resolution VLA continuum study

Woorak Choi, Aeree Chung, Chang-Goo Kim et al. (+8 more)

We present high-resolution Very Large Array (VLA) continuum observations at S-band ($3$ GHz, $560$ pc scale) and X-band ($10$ GHz, $200$ pc scale) of the ram-pressure-stripped Virgo galaxy NGC 4522, to investigate the characteristics of its radio continuum, spectral index, and magnetic field under the influence of the intracluster medium (ICM). The total radio continuum shows an asymmetry that extends northwest, mirroring the HI gas distribution, but showing distinct features in the extraplanar regions. The spectral index steepens systematically from $\alpha\sim-0.6$ in the main disk to $\alpha\sim-1.1$ in the outer disk. We find that the spectral index behavior of the outer disk is mainly due to an ICM shock that can re-accelerate electrons and a significant reduction of thermal emission. Intriguingly, extraplanar clouds exhibit exceptionally flat spectral indices ($\alpha\sim-0.2$ to $0$), resulting from a combination of significantly enhanced thermal emission and pronounced spectral aging of the non-thermal component. Although some of these regions correlate with H$\alpha$, others do not. We propose that the mixing between the ICM and interstellar medium (ISM) is an alternative mechanism that enhances thermal emission independently of star formation. Polarized continuum emissions are highly asymmetric, preferentially distributed along the ICM wind side, and the polarization fraction increases radially outward from the galactic midplane, indicating that the polarized emission is strongly influenced by the ICM wind. Our results show how and where the ICM substantially affects the ISM, and also demonstrate that high-frequency observations are crucial for analyzing the radio continuum of ram pressure stripping galaxies.
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All authors Woorak Choi, Aeree Chung, Chang-Goo Kim, Bumhyun Lee, Luca Cortese, Toby Brown, Barbara Catinella, Eric Emsellem, A. Fraser-McKelvie, Jiayi Sun, Adam Watts

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Checking It Twice: Using [C/N]-Masses and Asteroseismic Masses as a Diagnostic of Mass Loss and Transfer on the RGB

John D. Roberts, Marc H. Pinsonneault, Jennifer A. Johnson et al. (+1 more)

The surface [C/N] of red giants is correlated with birth mass, but not directly impacted by mass loss. Exploiting this, we compare asteroseismic masses of red giants with the same [C/N] and but different evolutionary states. We find bulk differences between stars at the beginning of the red giant branch and in the subsequent evolutionary phase, the red clump, providing a direct constraint on the strength of net RGB mass loss in field stars. We find that net mass loss decreases with metallicity and mass, matching recent studies for field giants, but contradicting expectations from the widely used Reimers' mass loss formula. We propose a mass- and metallicity-dependent Reimers' $\eta$ calibration that reproduces the empirical trends that we see. In addition, we identify 207 stars (3.33% of our sample) that are clear outliers from their population in these birth mass bins, which we believe are likely candidates for mass transfer events. These stars do not show any obvious discrepancies in abundances or binary properties from their counterparts. This population should be accounted for in Galactic archaeological studies. Further follow-up is required to quantify their occurrence rate and origin.
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All authors John D. Roberts, Marc H. Pinsonneault, Jennifer A. Johnson, Madeline Howell

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

POLAMI Multi-Wavelength Polarization Study of AGN Jets: A Millimeter-Optical Comparison

C. Casadio, D. Blinov, I. Agudo et al. (+20 more)

Millimeter-band polarimetry offers a powerful probe of AGN jets, accessing regions less affected by opacity and Faraday rotation than at longer radio wavelengths. As part of the POLAMI program, we have conducted 14 years of 1 mm and 3 mm polarization monitoring of a sample of gamma-ray-bright blazars with the IRAM 30-m telescope, complemented here with long-term optical polarimetric observations from multiple facilities. We aim to test whether current models of parsec-scale jet physics are consistent with observed multi-band polarization behavior. Using a Bayesian framework, we derive intrinsic mean flux densities and modulation indices for total flux and fractional polarization, and characterize EVPA variability using circular statistics. We then examine how these quantities reflecting variability properties across millimeter and optical bands relate to synchrotron peak frequency, jet orientation, and radio/gamma-ray luminosities. BL Lac objects exhibit, on average, higher fractional polarization and lower EVPA variability than FSRQs at all wavelengths. Fractional polarization increases with frequency, consistent with increasingly ordered magnetic fields at shorter wavelengths. BL Lacs also show more frequent alignment of EVPAs between optical and millimeter bands, whereas FSRQs display weaker coherence. EVPA variability correlates positively with radio and gamma-ray luminosities and negatively with synchrotron peak frequency, most strongly in the optical. We further find a positive correlation between EVPA spread and fractional polarization variability, suggesting a direct link between magnetic-field structure and polarization dynamics.
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All authors C. Casadio, D. Blinov, I. Agudo, I. Myserlis, C. Thum, S. Jorstad, A. Marscher, H. Zhang, J. Escudero Pedrosa, D. Álvarez-Ortega, Z. R. Weaver, M. Joshi, C. McCall, H. Jermak, I. A. Steele, G. A. Borman, T. S. Grishina, E. G. Larionova, D. A. Morozova, S. S. Savchenko, I. S. Troitskiy, Y. V. Troitskaya, A. A. Vasilyev

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Diagnosing the Effects of Spectroscopic Training Set Imperfection on Photometric Redshift Performance

Alice Crafford, Alex I. Malz, Tianqing Zhang et al. (+11 more)

Most LSST extragalactic science will rely on photometric redshifts (photo-$z$) to extract distance information for the galaxies. However, an incomplete or non-representative training set can introduce bias into photo-$z$ estimation. It is necessary to understand how various forms of training set imperfection, such as incompleteness and non-trivial spectroscopic target selection, affect photo-$z$ estimation algorithms, and to identify metrics best-suited to quantify the impact. This work aims to systematically study metrics for diagnosing how various photo-$z$ methods react to certain types of training set incompleteness and non-representativeness. We use methods available through the open-source Python library Redshift Assessment Infrastructure Layers (RAIL) to systematically test the algorithms CMNN, GPz, FlexZBoost, and PZFlow on mock training data degraded in accordance with several existing spectroscopic sky surveys, as well as under conditions of inverse redshift incompleteness, which approximately mimics observed patterns of incompleteness at high redshift. We employ the algorithm TrainZ as a control. Finally, we quantify photo-$z$ algorithm performance using a variety of statistical metrics implemented externally to RAIL. We determine that the Kullback-Liebler Divergence, Wasserstein Distance, and Probability Integral Transform are particularly informative metrics with which to assess the impact of training set imperfection on algorithmic performance. We also find that inverse redshift incompleteness effects alone lack the complexity to realistically represent anticipated training data.
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All authors Alice Crafford, Alex I. Malz, Tianqing Zhang, Rachel Mandelbaum, Olivia Lynn, Federico Berlfein, Johann Cohen-Tanugi, John Franklin Crenshaw, Qianjun Hang, Irene Moskowitz, Drew Oldag, Samuel J. Schmidt, Ziang Yan, the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Euclid: Galaxy SED reconstruction in the PHZ processing function: impact on the PSF and the role of medium-band filters

Euclid Collaboration: F. Tarsitano, C. Schreiber, H. Miyatake et al. (+300 more)

Weak lensing surveys require accurate correction for the point spread function (PSF) when measuring galaxy shapes. For a diffraction-limited PSF, as arises in space-based missions, this correction depends on each galaxy SED. In the Euclid mission, galaxy SED reconstruction, a tasks of the photometric-redshift processing function (PHZ PF), relies on broad- and medium-band ancillary photometry. The limited wavelength sampling of the Euclid VIS passband and signal-to-noise ratio may affect the reconstruction accuracy and translate into biases in the weak lensing measurements. In this study, we present the methodology, which is employed in the Euclid PHZ PF, for reconstructing galaxy SEDs at 55 wavelengths, sampling the VIS passband every 10 nm, and we assess whether it fulfils the accuracy requirements imposed on the Euclid PSF model. We employ both physics- and data-driven methods, focusing on a new approach of template-based flux correction and Gaussian processes, and we introduce an SED metric whose bias propagates into PSF quadrupole moment errors. Our findings demonstrate that Gaussian processes and template fitting meet the requirements only in specific, but complementary, redshift intervals. We therefore propose a hybrid approach, which leverages both methods. This solution proves to be effective in meeting the Euclid accuracy requirements for most of the redshift range of the survey. Finally, we investigate the impact on the SED reconstruction of a new set of 16 evenly-spaced medium-band filters for the Subaru telescope, providing quasi-spectroscopic coverage of the VIS passband. This study shows promising results, ensuring accurate SED reconstruction and meeting the mission PSF requirements. This work thus provides not only the methodological foundation of galaxy SED reconstruction in the Euclid PHZ PF, but also a roadmap for future improvements using a new medium-band survey.
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All authors Euclid Collaboration: F. Tarsitano, C. Schreiber, H. Miyatake, A. J. Nishizawa, W. G. Hartley, L. Miller, C. Cragg, B. Csizi, H. Hildebrandt, B. Altieri, A. Amara, S. Andreon, N. Auricchio, C. Baccigalupi, M. Baldi, A. Balestra, S. Bardelli, A. Biviano, E. Branchini, M. Brescia, J. Brinchmann, S. Camera, G. Cañas-Herrera, V. Capobianco, C. Carbone, V. F. Cardone, J. Carretero, S. Casas, F. J. Castander, M. Castellano, G. Castignani, S. Cavuoti, K. C. Chambers, A. Cimatti, C. Colodro-Conde, G. Congedo, C. J. Conselice, L. Conversi, Y. Copin, F. Courbin, H. M. Courtois, M. Cropper, H. Degaudenzi, G. De Lucia, H. Dole, F. Dubath, C. A. J. Duncan, X. Dupac, S. Escoffier, M. Farina, R. Farinelli, S. Farrens, F. Faustini, S. Ferriol, F. Finelli, N. Fourmanoit, M. Frailis, E. Franceschi, M. Fumana, S. Galeotta, K. George, W. Gillard, B. Gillis, C. Giocoli, J. Gracia-Carpio, A. Grazian, F. Grupp, S. V. H. Haugan, H. Hoekstra, W. Holmes, F. Hormuth, A. Hornstrup, K. Jahnke, M. Jhabvala, B. Joachimi, E. Keihänen, S. Kermiche, A. Kiessling, B. Kubik, M. Kümmel, M. Kunz, H. Kurki-Suonio, R. Laureijs, A. M. C. Le Brun, S. Ligori, P. B. Lilje, V. Lindholm, I. Lloro, G. Mainetti, D. Maino, E. Maiorano, O. Mansutti, S. Marcin, O. Marggraf, M. Martinelli, N. Martinet, F. Marulli, R. J. Massey, E. Medinaceli, S. Mei, Y. Mellier, M. Meneghetti, E. Merlin, G. Meylan, A. Mora, M. Moresco, L. Moscardini, R. Nakajima, C. Neissner, S.-M. Niemi, C. Padilla, F. Pasian, J. A. Peacock, K. Pedersen, V. Pettorino, S. Pires, G. Polenta, M. Poncet, L. A. Popa, L. Pozzetti, F. Raison, A. Renzi, J. Rhodes, G. Riccio, E. Romelli, M. Roncarelli, C. Rosset, R. Saglia, Z. Sakr, A. G. Sánchez, D. Sapone, B. Sartoris, P. Schneider, T. Schrabback, M. Scodeggio, A. Secroun, G. Seidel, S. Serrano, P. Simon, C. Sirignano, G. Sirri, L. Stanco, J. Steinwagner, P. Tallada-Crespí, A. N. Taylor, H. I. Teplitz, I. Tereno, N. Tessore, S. Toft, R. Toledo-Moreo, F. Torradeflot, I. Tutusaus, J. Valiviita, T. Vassallo, A. Veropalumbo, Y. Wang, J. Weller, G. Zamorani, F. M. Zerbi, I. A. Zinchenko, E. Zucca, V. Allevato, M. Ballardini, M. Bolzonella, E. Bozzo, C. Burigana, R. Cabanac, A. Cappi, T. Castro, J. A. Escartin Vigo, L. Gabarra, J. García-Bellido, S. Hemmati, R. Maoli, J. Martín-Fleitas, M. Maturi, N. Mauri, R. B. Metcalf, N. Morisset, A. Pezzotta, M. Pöntinen, I. Risso, V. Scottez, M. Sereno, M. Tenti, M. Viel, M. Wiesmann, Y. Akrami, S. Alvi, I. T. Andika, G. Angora, S. Anselmi, M. Archidiacono, F. Atrio-Barandela, L. Bazzanini, D. Bertacca, M. Bethermin, A. Blanchard, L. Blot, M. Bonici, S. Borgani, M. L. Brown, S. Bruton, A. Calabro, B. Camacho Quevedo, F. Caro, C. S. Carvalho, Y. Charles, F. Cogato, S. Conseil, A. R. Cooray, O. Cucciati, S. Davini, G. Desprez, A. Díaz-Sánchez, S. Di Domizio, J. M. Diego, M. Y. Elkhashab, A. Enia, Y. Fang, A. Finoguenov, A. Franco, K. Ganga, T. Gasparetto, V. Gautard, E. Gaztanaga, F. Giacomini, F. Gianotti, G. Gozaliasl, M. Guidi, C. M. Gutierrez, A. Hall, C. Hernández-Monteagudo, J. Hjorth, J. J. E. Kajava, Y. Kang, V. Kansal, D. Karagiannis, K. Kiiveri, J. Kim, C. C. Kirkpatrick, S. Kruk, M. Lattanzi, L. Legrand, M. Lembo, F. Lepori, G. Leroy, G. F. Lesci, J. Lesgourgues, T. I. Liaudat, A. Loureiro, J. Macias-Perez, M. Magliocchetti, C. Mancini, F. Mannucci, C. J. A. P. Martins, L. Maurin, M. Miluzio, P. Monaco, A. Montoro, C. Moretti, G. Morgante, S. Nadathur, K. Naidoo, P. Natoli, A. Navarro-Alsina, S. Nesseris, M. Oguri, L. Pagano, D. Paoletti, F. Passalacqua, K. Paterson, L. Patrizii, A. Pisani, D. Potter, G. W. Pratt, S. Quai, M. Radovich, G. Rodighiero, W. Roster, S. Sacquegna, M. Sahlén, D. B. Sanders, E. Sarpa, A. Schneider, D. Sciotti, E. Sellentin, L. C. Smith, J. G. Sorce, K. Tanidis, C. Tao, G. Testera, R. Teyssier, S. Tosi, A. Troja, M. Tucci, A. Venhola, D. Vergani, G. Verza, P. Vielzeuf, S. Vinciguerra, N. A. Walton, J. R. Weaver

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Metal Pipe: A Broadly-Applicable Stellar Abundance Pipeline Using Isochronal Parameters

Jared R. Kolecki and Lauren M. Weiss

Characterizing exoplanet host stars at a population level requires a method of homogeneously characterizing stellar properties across all spectral types. To this end, we have developed Metal Pipe, a new code for determining stellar parameters and abundances, which is designed for use across a wider range of spectral types than many commonly used codes. It combines the widely-used package MOOG with photometric stellar parameters, a user-supplied high-resolution spectrum, and a newly curated list of spectral lines. Metal Pipe outputs values for $T_{\rm{eff}}$, $\log{(g)}$, $M_*$, $R_*$, and $L_*$ from isochrones, and abundances of C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Ti, and Fe from MOOG. In this paper, we describe the Metal Pipe algorithm and tests of Metal Pipe against previous abundance measurements on archival HIRES spectra of 503 F, G, and K type stars. We find RMS scatters of ~100 K in $T_{\rm{eff}}$, ~0.10 dex in $\log{(g)}$, and ~0.10 dex for all measured abundances. These values are comparable to estimated measurement uncertainties, verifying Metal Pipe for continued use in building a detailed abundance catalog. Future papers in this series will test Metal Pipe's applicability to late K and M dwarf stars, and provide other improvements.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from hep-th

The gravitational wave landscape of cosmic string networks with varying tension

Luca Brunelli, Filippo Revello and Gonzalo Villa

We fully classify the phenomenology of gravitational wave emission from scaling cosmic string networks with varying tension and compute the spectral indices of the resulting stochastic backgrounds. In string compactifications, periods of varying tension occur when moduli acquire a time-dependence. We present concrete examples in type IIB string theory as D3- and NS5- branes wrapping internal cycles, which become dynamical due to the effect of moduli potentials. Moreover, we use Swampland constraints to derive general bounds on the allowed time-variation of the effective string tension in FLRW backgrounds and on the resulting spectral indices.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Astrometric microlensing probes of the isolated neutron star population with Roman

Zofia Kaczmarek, Abby Halasi-Kun, Peter McGill et al. (+2 more)

Notoriously hard to detect and study, isolated neutron stars (NS) could provide valuable answers to fundamental questions about stellar evolution and explosion physics. With the upcoming Roman Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2026, a new and powerful channel for their detection - astrometric microlensing - will become available. We set out to create a realistic sample of simulated gravitational microlensing events as observed by Roman with the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. We focus in particular on the population of NS lenses, which has until now been largely understudied. We use state-of-the-art Galactic models tailored for application to microlensing by compact objects. We simulate four different NS populations with Maxwellian natal kick distributions: $\bar{v} = (150, \ 250, \ 350, \ 450)$ km/s. We apply projected Roman precision, cadence, and detectability criteria. We find the parameter space $\log_{10} t_{\rm E}$ - $\log_{10} \theta_{\rm E}$, which will be accessible to Roman observations, to be maximally efficient for classification of stellar remnants. We find a feature in this space that is characteristic to NS; using this feature, optimal samples of NS candidates can be constructed from Roman-like datasets. We describe the dependence of observable parameter distributions on the assumed mean kick velocities. As the effects of natal kicks are very complex and mutually counteracting, we suggest more detailed studies focused on the dynamics of NS are needed in anticipation of Roman and future surveys. We estimate Roman will observe approximately $11\,000$ microlensing events - including $\sim100$ with NS lenses - whose both photometric and astrometric signal are detectable; the event yield decreases by $38\%$ if gap-filling low-cadence observations are not included. We make all simulated microlensing event datasets publicly available in preparation for Roman data.
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All authors Zofia Kaczmarek, Abby Halasi-Kun, Peter McGill, Scott E. Perkins, William A. Dawson