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Physics Astrophysics

astro-ph Watch Astrophysics

Sunday 18 January

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Unveiling the First O-Type Bloated Star Candidate through ALMA and EVLA Observations

Rakesh Pandey, Aina Palau, Alvaro Sánchez-Monge et al. (+5 more)

We investigate the circumstellar environment of the O-type bloated star candidate IRAS 19520+2759 (I19520) using high-resolution observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA). Radio continuum emission traced by the EVLA (C, K, and Q bands) exhibits a spectral index of 0.5, consistent with a thermal jet. ALMA 1.3 mm continuum map reveals a compact source coincident with the optical counterpart of I19520, likely tracing the dense core hosting the central massive young stellar object. A prominent molecular outflow in the east-west direction, along with a possible secondary outflow oriented northeast-southwest, is identified in the $^{13}\mathrm{CO}$ emission. A hot molecular core and a Keplerian disk are detected in several $\mathrm{SO}_2$ transitions. Assuming an edge-on disk geometry, the dynamical mass of the central object is estimated to be in the range of $10$-$15~M_\odot$.
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All authors Rakesh Pandey, Aina Palau, Alvaro Sánchez-Monge, Raghvendra Sahai, Rolf Kuiper, Luis F. Rodríguez, Carmen Sánchez Contreras, Saurabh Sharma

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from hep-ph

Forbidden dark matter assisted by first-order phase transition and associated gravitational waves

Satyabrata Mahapatra, Partha Kumar Paul and Narendra Sahu

We propose a simple yet testable framework for light fermion dark matter (DM) with mass in the MeV–GeV range, charged under a dark $U(1)_D$ gauge symmetry. Before symmetry breaking, DM annihilates excessively into massless dark gauge bosons, resulting in an under-abundant relic and hence creating severe tension with cosmic microwave background (CMB) and indirect detection constraints. This is naturally remedied by a strongly first-order phase transition (FOPT) in the dark sector, triggered by a scalar field $\Phi$, which gives rise to masses for the dark gauge boson ($X_D$) and the physical scalar ($\phi$). To achieve the correct relic abundance while evading indirect detection constraints, the $s$-wave annihilation channel $\chi\bar{\chi} \rightarrow X_D \phi$ is strictly maintained in the kinematically forbidden regime. Crucially, due to the $U(1)_D$ gauge structure, the usual $\chi\bar{\chi} \rightarrow \phi\phi$ annihilation is strictly absent at tree level and only arises at the one-loop level. Within this framework, we explore two distinct possibilities. When the loop-induced $\chi\bar{\chi} \rightarrow \phi\phi$ channel is also kinematically forbidden, it predominantly determines the relic density. Conversely, when the $\chi\bar{\chi} \rightarrow\phi\phi$ channel is kinematically allowed, a rich interplay emerges between the tree-level forbidden $\chi\bar{\chi} \rightarrow X_D \phi$ process and the loop-level allowed $\chi\bar{\chi} \rightarrow\phi\phi$ process, with the dominant contribution being dictated sensitively by the DM mass and gauge coupling. The late-time annihilations are highly suppressed in both of these channels, either by the energetic threshold of the forbidden channel or the $p$-wave velocity suppression of the loop-induced $\chi\bar{\chi} \rightarrow\phi\phi$ final state process, rendering the scenario entirely safe from CMB and indirect search bounds...
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

The MAGPI Survey: co-evolution of baryons and dark matter in star-forming disk-like galaxies at $0.1 \lesssim z \lesssim 0.85$

Gauri Sharma, Andrew J. Battisti, Emily Wisnioski et al. (+20 more)

We present a comprehensive analysis of the dark matter (DM) content and its structural dependence in star-forming disk-like galaxies at intermediate redshifts ($0.1 \lesssim z \lesssim 0.85$), utilizing spatially resolved kinematic data from the MAGPI survey. We report the following: (1) Low stellar mass galaxies ($M_{\rm star} < 10^{9.5}\, M_\odot$) are strongly DM dominated across all radii, with average $\langle f_{_{\rm DM}} \rangle \sim 0.85$, while high-mass ($M_{\rm star} > 10^{10.5}\, M_\odot$) systems exhibit relatively low DM fractions in their inner regions ($\langle f_{_{\rm DM}} \rangle \sim 0.47$) which is equivalent to local massive disk galaxies (e.g., Milky Way and Andromeda). This suggests a mass-dependent structural dichotomy, most-likely governed by a combination of internal galactic processes and environmental influences. (2) A tight inverse correlation between $f_{_{\rm DM}}$ and baryon mass surface density ($\Sigma_{\rm bar}$), with intrinsic scatter of $\sim 0.11$ dex. This is consistent with an inside-out baryon assembly scenario and suggests that the fundamental structural correlations of galaxies were already established by $z\sim 0.85$. (3) No significant evolution in $f_{_{\rm DM}}$ with redshift across the MAGPI window, and when combined with higher-redshift ($0.6 \leq z \leq 1.5$) data from Sharma et al. 2025, we quantitatively show that the reported decline in $f_{_{\rm DM}}(z)$ is most-likely due to observational biases against low-mass systems at $z > 1$. These results offer empirical evidence for a scenario in which disk-like galaxies evolve through a co-regulated build-up of baryonic and DM components, preserving internal structural regularities (such as the total mass distribution and rotation-curve shape) throughout cosmic time.
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All authors Gauri Sharma, Andrew J. Battisti, Emily Wisnioski, J. Trevor Mendel, Sabine Bellstedt, Claudia Del P. Lagos, Caroline Foster, Adriano Poci, Katherine E. Harborne, Ryan Bagge, Stefania Barsanti, Joss Bland-Hawthorn, Iris Breda, Scott M. Croom, Karl Glazebrook, Yifan Mai, Sarah M. Sweet, Sabine Thater, Lucas M. Valenzuela, Glenn van de Ven, Sukyoung Yi, Tayyaba Zafar, Bodo Ziegler

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Reconciling the Systemic Kicks of Observed Millisecond Pulsars, Spider Pulsars, and Low-mass X-ray Binaries

Paul Disberg, Arash Bahramian and Ilya Mandel

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have been proposed as evolutionary products of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) through a stage in which they are spider pulsars (i.e., redbacks and black widows). However, recent work has found that the systemic kicks of observed MSPs are significantly lower than the kicks of LMXBs and spiders, which appears to be in tension with this evolutionary model. We argue that this tension can be relieved, at least to some degree, by considering the fact that the observed MSPs are located at relatively short distances, whereas spider pulsars are located at greater distances and LMXBs are situated even further away. We model the distance-dependent kinematic bias for dynamically old objects, which favors observing objects that have received low kicks at short distances and correct the observed systemic kicks for this bias. We find that this kinematic bias can be big enough to close the gap between the MSP and LMXB kicks, although the spider pulsars appear to come from a slightly different systemic kick distribution, but this difference is not necessarily physical. All corrected systemic kick distributions are consistent with predictions from binary population synthesis for progenitor systems with a post-supernova orbital period of $P_{\text{orb}}\leq10\,$d and a companion mass of $M_{c}\leq1\,M_{\odot}$, where the natal kicks are calibrated to the velocities of young isolated pulsars. We conclude that the difference in observed systemic kicks is not necessarily in tension with a common origin for MSPs, spider pulsars, and LMXBs.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Discovery of a soft X-ray lag in the tidal disruption event AT2021ehb

Wenjie Zhang

In this Letter, we report the detection of soft X-ray time lags-i.e. variability in the softer photons lagging behind that in the harder photons-in seven XMM-Newton observations of the tidal disruption event (TDE) candidate AT2021ehb. We find correlated variability between the soft (0.3-0.7 keV) and hard (0.9-10 keV) bands on about 10^4 s time-scales, and measure a soft lag of about 500 s. This behaviour is broadly consistent with the disk-corona reverberation scenario established in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Together with the previously reported strong hard X-ray emission and broad Fe K line, our results suggest the presence of a compact corona and prominent relativistic disk reflection in AT2021ehb. The unusually high blackbody temperature (peaking at about 200 eV) is difficult to reconcile with thermal emission from a standard accretion disk around a about 10^7 Msun black hole, and may instead be analogous to the soft excess commonly observed in AGNs, whose physical origin remains debated. Finally, the measured lags offer a possible explanation for the rapid X-ray flux decline that occurred only three days after the peak, pointing to a scenario in which the corona cools following a sudden loss of the magnetic support required to sustain it.
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Saturday 17 January

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Impact of Perfect Fluid Dark Matter on the Appearance of Rotating Black Hole

Huang Yu-Xiang, Guo Sen, Liang En-Wei et al. (+1 more)

Understanding how dark matter affects the immediate environment of black holes (BHs) is crucial for interpreting horizon-scale observations. We study rotating BHs surrounded by perfect fluid dark matter (PFDM), exploring their observable features through both analytical and numerical approaches. Using the existence criterion of the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO), we first derive joint constraints on the PFDM intensity parameter~k and the spin parameter~a. Within the resulting physically allowed parameter regime, we perform high-resolution, general-relativistic ray-tracing simulations of thin accretion disks at 87~GHz and 230~GHz, capturing the detailed brightness morphology and photon ring structure shaped by PFDM. By incorporating angular diameter measurements of M87^{*} and Sgr~A^{*} from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), we further narrow down the viable parameter space and directly compare synthetic images with EHT observations of M87^{*}. We find that the inclusion of PFDM improves the agreement with the observed compact shadow and asymmetric brightness distribution, suggesting that dark matter may leave observable imprints on horizon-scale images. Our results position PFDM as a physically motivated extension to the Kerr geometry and highlight a promising astrophysical pathway for probing dark matter near BHs with current and future VLBI campaigns.
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All authors Huang Yu-Xiang, Guo Sen, Liang En-Wei, Lin Kai

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Exploring Superfluid Angular Momentum Reservoir Effect on Pulsar Glitches and Forecasting Next Glitches of the Crab Pulsar

Pei-Xin Zhu, Xiao-Ping Zheng, Quan Cheng et al. (+2 more)

Pulsar glitches are generally viewed as stochastic events driven by sudden angular momentum transfer from the neutron star's superfluid interior to its crust. Except two peculiar pulsars with quasi-periodic glitches, this stochastic view has prevailed. Here, by clustering temporally proximate small glitches of the Crab pulsar, we uncover clear evidence of an underlying quasi-periodic modulation, challenging the paradigm of purely random behavior. Furthermore, our correlation analyses reveal a strong positive relationship between glitch cluster size and waiting time since the preceding clusters. These findings demonstrate the effect of angular momentum reservoir operating over long-term scales and enable the predictions of next glitching window. Remarkably, two minor glitches detected in July and August 2025, which align with our initial prediction made in June, should be confirmed as the onset of this predicted activity. Inspired by the initial success, we forecast the occurrence of a major glitch from now until August 2026, with possible glitch size up to a relative change in rotational frequency of $697.2 \times 10^{-9}$. Physically, the observed long-term quasi-periodicity and cluster size-waiting time correlations imply that each glitch event releases only a fraction of the stored superfluid angular momentum. This partial-release mechanism provides a unified framework for both stochastic and quasi-periodic glitch behaviors across different pulsars, underscoring the universality of the superfluid angular momentum reservoir effect. As the most intensively monitored object, the Crab pulsar serves as a natural laboratory for studying angular momentum inside neutron stars.
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All authors Pei-Xin Zhu, Xiao-Ping Zheng, Quan Cheng, Chenghui Niu, Erbil Gügercinoğlu

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS) III: The vertical structure of debris disks

Brianna Zawadzki, Anna Fehr, A. Meredith Hughes et al. (+37 more)

Debris disks – collisionally sustained belts of dust and sometimes gas around main sequence stars – are remnants of planet formation processes and are found in systems ${\gtrsim}10$ Myr old. Millimeter-wavelength observations are particularly important, as the grains probed by these observations are not strongly affected by radiation pressure and stellar winds, allowing them to probe the dynamics of large bodies producing dust. The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS) is analyzing high-resolution observations of 24 debris disks to enable the characterization of debris disk substructures across a large sample for the first time. For the most highly inclined disks, it is possible to recover the vertical structure of the disk. We aim to model and analyze the most highly inclined systems in the ARKS sample in order to uniformly extract the vertical dust distributions for a sample of well-resolved debris disks. We employed both parametric and nonparametric methods to constrain the vertical dust distributions for the most highly inclined ARKS targets. We find a broad range of aspect ratios, revealing a wide diversity in vertical structure, with a range of best-fit parametric values of $0.0026 \leq h_{\rm HWHM} \leq 0.193$ and a median best-fit value of $h_{\rm HWHM}=0.021$. The results obtained by nonparametric modeling are generally consistent with the parametric modeling results. We find that five of the 13 disks are consistent with having total disk masses less than that of Neptune (17 $M_{\oplus}$), assuming stirring by internal processes (self-stirring and collisional and frictional damping). Furthermore, most systems show a significant preference for a Lorentzian vertical profile rather than a Gaussian.
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All authors Brianna Zawadzki, Anna Fehr, A. Meredith Hughes, Elias Mansell, Jamar Kittling, Yinuo Han, Catherine Hou, Margaret Pan, Julien Milli, Johan Olofsson, Tim D. Pearce, Antranik A. Sefilian, Aliya Nurmohamed, Junu Lee, Yamani Mpofu, Myriam Bonduelle, Mark Booth, Aoife Brennan, Carlos del Burgo, John M. Carpenter, Gianni Cataldi, Eugene Chiang, Steve Ertel, Thomas Henning, Marija R. Jankovic, Grant M. Kennedy, Ágnes Kóspál, Alexander V. Krivov, Joshua B. Lovell, Patricia Luppe, Meredith A. MacGregor, Sorcha Mac Manamon, Sebastian Marino, Jonathan P. Marshall, Luca Matrà, Attila Moór, Sebastián Pérez, Philipp Weber, David J. Wilner, Mark C. Wyatt

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Timing analysis of a sample of five cataclysmic variable candidates observed by the XMM-Newton satellite

A.A. Nucita, S.M. Lezzi, F. De Paolis et al. (+4 more)

Intermediate polars are a class of cataclysmic variables in which a white dwarf accretes material from a companion star. The intermediate polar nature confirmation usually derives from the detection of two periods in both $X$-ray and optical photometry. In this respect, the high energy signal is often characterized by modulations on the white dwarf spin and the orbital period. However, noting that the periodograms may be characterized by strong features also at the synodic period and/or other sidebands, the timing analysis of the $X$-ray signal may offer the unique possibility to firmly discover an intermediate polar candidate. Here, we concentrate on a sample of five cataclysmic variable {binary} candidates: {i.e. SAXJ1748.2-2808, 1RXS J211336.1+542226, CXOGC J174622.7-285218, CXOGC J174517.4-290650, and V381 Vel, listed in the IPHome catalogue. Our main aim is to confirm if they belong to the intermediate polar class or not. The results of our analysis show that we can safely assess the intermediate polar nature of all the considered sources, apart for the case of V381 Vel which instead behaves like a cataclysmic variable of the polar subclass. Moreover, the source SAXJ1748.2-2808, previously classified as a HMXB, appears to be, most likely, an intermediate polar variable.
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All authors A.A. Nucita, S.M. Lezzi, F. De Paolis, Strafella, D. Licchelli, A. Franco, M. Maiorano

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Detection of a Millisecond Periodicity in BATSE Short Gamma-Ray Bursts

Run-Chao Chen, Jun Yang, Yi-Han Iris Yin et al. (+1 more)

Coherent oscillations at kilohertz frequencies have recently been detected in a small number of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), suggesting quasi-periodic dynamics in their central engines. A prominent example is GRB~230307A, which exhibited a brief, highly coherent, energy-dependent periodic signal interpreted as the possible spin signature of a nascent millisecond magnetar formed after a compact binary merger. Motivated by these developments, we conducted a comprehensive search for similar signals, accounting for both temporal and spectral dependencies, in 532 short GRBs with time-tagged event data recorded by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) onboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. Within this sample, we identify a single statistically significant case: GRB~960616 (BATSE trigger~5502), in which the $\sim$30~ms main emission episode is coherently modulated at 1100~Hz, with the strongest modulation above 320~keV and a fractional amplitude of $\sim$47%. Assuming the presence of a coherent periodic modulation, we use data-driven Monte Carlo simulations to place an upper limit of $\sim$8% on the fraction of the total radiated energy that can be modulated by the QPO. This event, exhibiting a periodicity at $\sim$0.91~ms, further supports the possibility that millisecond periodicities can arise during GRBs in merger-driven scenarios.
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All authors Run-Chao Chen, Jun Yang, Yi-Han Iris Yin, Bin-Bin Zhang

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Uncovering the Next Galactic Supernova with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

John Banovetz, Claire-Alice Hebert, Peter B. Denton et al. (+3 more)

Supernovae are observed to occur approximately 1-2 times per century in a galaxy like the Milky Way. Based on historical records, however, the last core-collapse galactic supernova observed by humans occurred almost 1,000 years ago. Luckily, we are well positioned to catch the next one with the advent of new neutrino detectors and astronomical observatories. Neutrino observatories can provide unprecedented triggers for a galactic supernova event as they are likely to see a supernova neutrino signal anywhere from minutes to days before the shock breakout causes the supernova to brighten in optical wavelengths. Given its large etendue, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is ideally positioned to rapidly localize the optical counterpart based on the neutrino trigger. In this paper we simulate events to study the efficiency with which supernovae are optimally localized by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. We find that the observatory is ideal for initial localization of nearly all observable supernova triggers and has a 57-97% chance of catching any supernova based on theoretical stellar mass density predictions and observations. We provide an analysis of optimal filter selection and exposure times and discuss observational caveats.
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All authors John Banovetz, Claire-Alice Hebert, Peter B. Denton, Dan Scolnic, Anze Slosar, Chris Walter

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

The gravitational energy-momentum pseudo-tensor in $f(Q)$ non-metric gravity

Salvatore Capozziello, Maurizio Capriolo and Gaetano Lambiase

We derive the affine tensor associated with the energy and momentum densities of both gravitational and matter fields, the complex pseudo-tensor, for $f(Q)$ non-metric gravity, the straightforward extension of Symmetric Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity (STEGR), characterized by a flat, torsion-free, non-metric connection. The local conservation of energy-momentum complex on-shell is satisfied through a continuity equation. An important analogy is pointed out between gravitational pseudo-tensor of teleparallel $f(T)$ gravity, in the Weitzenböck gauge, and the same object of symmetric teleparallel $f(Q)$ gravity, in the coincident gauge. Furthermore, we perturb the gravitational pseudo-tensor $\tau^{\alpha}_{\phantom{\alpha}\lambda}$ in the coincident gauge up to the second order in the metric perturbation, obtaining a useful expression for the power carried by the related gravitational waves. We also present an application of the gravitational pseudotensor, determining the gravitational energy density of a Schwarzschild spacetime in STEGR gravity, adopting the concident gauge. Finally, analyzing the conserved quantities on manifolds, the Stokes theorem can be formulated for generic affine connections
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Interior dynamics of envelopes around disk-embedded planets

Ayumu Kuwahara and Michiel Lambrechts

In the core accretion scenario, forming planets start to acquire gaseous envelopes while accreting solids. Conventional one-dimensional models assume envelopes to be static and isolated. However, recent three-dimensional simulations demonstrate dynamic gas exchange from the envelope to the surrounding disk. This process is controlled by the balance between heating, through the accretion of solids, and cooling, which is regulated by poorly-known opacities. In this work, we systemically investigate a wide range of cooling and heating rates, using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. We identify three distinct cooling regimes. Fast-cooling envelopes ($\beta \lesssim 1$, with $\beta$ the cooling time in units of orbital time) are nearly isothermal and have inner radiative layers that are shielded from recycling flows. In contrast, slow cooling envelopes ($\beta\gtrsim10^3$) become fully convective. In the intermediate regime ($1\lesssim\beta\lesssim300$), envelopes are characterized by a three-layer structure, comprising an inner convective, a middle radiative, and an outer recycling layer. The development of this radiative layer traps small dust and vapour released from sublimated species. In contrast, fully convective envelopes efficiently exchange material from inner to outer envelope. Such fully convective envelopes are likely to emerge in the inner parts of protoplanetary disks ($\lesssim$ 1 au) where cooling times are long, implying that inner-disk super-Earths may see their growth stalled and be volatile depleted.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Stability of equilibrium points in modified elliptic restricted three-body problem with various perturbation sources

M. B. Saputra, H. S. Ramadhan, Ibnu N. Huda et al. (+1 more)

This study examines the dynamics of the third body in an elliptic restricted three-body problem (ERTBP) framework, taking into account perturbations from radiation pressure, oblateness, and elongation of the primary bodies, as well as disk-like structures. The objectives are to determine the positions and stability of the equilibrium points, asses how these points shift under the influence of perturbations, and evaluate the dependence of their stability on the orbital eccentricity and perturbation parameters. The ERTBP model is modified to include a radiating, oblate primary body and an elongated secondary body modeled as a finite straight segment, alongside perturbations from a surrounding disk. The system's equations of motion are numerically solved using parameters from perturbed and classical cases. Equilibrium positions are computed over a range of eccentricities and perturbation values, and stability is analyzed using linearized equations and eigenvalue methods. In all cases, we have found three collinear ($L_1$, $L_2$, $L_3$) and two non-collinear ($L_4$, $L_5$) equilibrium points solutions. The inclusion of radiations, oblateness, elongation using a finite straight segment, and disk perturbation systematically displaces each equilibrium point from its classical location, with the magnitude and direction of the displacement varying with the perturbation parameter. Stability analysis confirms that the collinear points remain linearly stable under all tested conditions. Meanwhile, non-collinear points are stable under a specific condition. We investigate the stability boundary of these points as a function of orbital eccentricity and we found there is a critical range of eccentricity values within which stability is preserved.
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All authors M. B. Saputra, H. S. Ramadhan, Ibnu N. Huda, Leonardus B. Putra

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

The identification of new Herbig Ae/Be stars from LAMOST DR7

Jialin Liu, Jiaming Liu, Jiya Yao et al. (+5 more)

Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAeBes) are critical tracers of intermediate- and high-mass star formation, yet their census remains incomplete compared to low-mass young stellar objects like T-Tauri stars. To expand the known population, we systematically searched for HAeBes in LAMOST DR7 low-resolution spectra. Following Sun et al., we applied Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) for dimensionality reduction and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification, identifying $\sim$240,000 spectra with potential H$\alpha$ emission. After removing contaminants (non-stellar objects, extragalactic sources, CVs, and Algol systems) and restricting to B/A-type stars, we obtained 1,835 candidates through 2MASS/WISE visual inspection. Spectral energy distribution analysis confirmed 143 sources with infrared excess ($J$-band or longer wavelengths), including 92 known HAeBes. From the remaining 51 candidates, we classified 26 with strong infrared excess as new HAeBes. Color-index analysis of confirmed HAeBes and classical Ae/Be stars (CAeBes) revealed that the $(K-W1)_0$ vs. $(W2-W3)_0$ diagram effectively separates these populations: CAeBes predominantly occupy $(K-W1)_0 \leq 0.5$ and $(W2-W3)_0 \leq 1.1$, while other regions trace transition disks ($(K-W1)_0 < 0.5$ and $(W2-W3)_0 > 1.1$), globally depleted disks ($(K-W1)_0 > 0.5$ and $(W2-W3)_0 < 1.1$), and Class I/Flat/II HAeBes ($(K-W1)_0 > 0.5$ and $(W2-W3)_0 > 1.1$). More importantly, the HAeBes exhibit a clear evolutionary gradient on this diagram, with those in the Class III, Class II, Flat-SED, and Class I evolutionary stages being effectively distinguished by concentric ellipses that are roughly centered at (0,0) with semi-major axes of $a$=1.5, $a$=3.0, and $a$=4.0, and a semi-major to semi-minor axis ratio of 1.6:1.
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All authors Jialin Liu, Jiaming Liu, Jiya Yao, Zhenghao Cheng, Qingyue Qu, Zhicun Liu, Wenyuan Cui, Min Fang

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Euclid: Early Release Observations – The extended stellar component of the IC10 dwarf galaxy

F. Annibali, A. M. N. Ferguson, P. M. Sanchez-Alarcon et al. (+175 more)

We present a detailed analysis of the old, extended stellar component of the Local Group dwarf galaxy IC 10 using deep resolved-star photometry in the VIS and NISP bands of the Euclid Early Release Observations. Leveraging Euclid's unique combination of a wide field of view and high spatial resolution, we traced red giant branch (RGB) stars out to $\sim$8 kpc from the galaxy centre, reaching azimuthally averaged surface brightness levels as faint as $\mu_{HE}\sim$29 mag arcsec$^{-2}$. Our analysis reveals that IC 10's stellar distribution is significantly more extended than previously assumed. After correcting for foreground extinction and subtracting contamination from Milky Way stars and background galaxies, we derived a radial stellar density profile from the RGB star counts. The profile shows a marked flattening beyond $\sim$5 kpc and it is best fit by a two-component (Sersic + exponential) model, yielding a total stellar mass in old (age $\gtrsim$1 Gyr) stars of $M_{\star}=(6.7$-8.1)$\times10^8 M_{\odot}$. The origin of the outer stellar component is unclear. It might have been accreted or even possibly associated with the counter-rotating HI gas in the outer regions of IC 10; alternatively, it might represent an ancient `in situ' stellar halo. We tentatively detected two symmetric stellar overdensities at the edge of our imagery, which are roughly aligned with the direction of IC 10's orbit around M31, suggesting that they could be signatures of tidal stripping. As part of our analysis, we derived a new distance to IC 10 based on the tip of the RGB, finding $D=(762\pm 20)$ kpc with a distance modulus of $(m-M)_0=24.41\pm 0.05$.
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All authors F. Annibali, A. M. N. Ferguson, P. M. Sanchez-Alarcon, P. Dimauro, L. K. Hunt, R. Pascale, M. Bellazzini, A. Lançon, P. Jablonka, J. M. Howell, K. Voggel, J.-C. Cuillandre, Abdurro'uf, G. Battaglia, L. R. Bedin, Michele Cantiello, D. Carollo, P.-A. Duc, S. S. Larsen, M. Libralato, F. R. Marleau, D. Massari, T. Saifollahi, C. Tortora, M. Urbano, M. Gatto, I. McDonald, M. Baes, J. Román, E. Dalessandro, E. Iodice, R. Ragusa, S. Pearson, S. Andreon, N. Auricchio, C. Baccigalupi, M. Baldi, A. Balestra, S. Bardelli, P. Battaglia, A. Biviano, E. Branchini, M. Brescia, S. Camera, G. Cañas-Herrera, V. Capobianco, C. Carbone, J. Carretero, S. Casas, M. Castellano, G. Castignani, S. Cavuoti, 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. Ferriol, F. Finelli, M. Frailis, E. Franceschi, M. Fumana, S. Galeotta, K. George, B. Gillis, C. Giocoli, J. Gracia-Carpio, A. Grazian, F. Grupp, S. V. H. Haugan, H. Hoekstra, W. Holmes, I. M. Hook, F. Hormuth, A. Hornstrup, K. Jahnke, M. Jhabvala, 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, M. Melchior, Y. Mellier, M. Meneghetti, E. Merlin, G. Meylan, A. Mora, M. Moresco, L. Moscardini, R. Nakajima, C. Neissner, S.-M. Niemi, C. Padilla, S. Paltani, F. Pasian, K. Pedersen, W. J. Percival, V. Pettorino, S. Pires, G. Polenta, M. Poncet, L. A. Popa, L. Pozzetti, F. Raison, R. Rebolo, A. Renzi, J. Rhodes, G. Riccio, E. Romelli, M. Roncarelli, R. Saglia, Z. Sakr, D. Sapone, B. Sartoris, M. Schirmer, P. Schneider, A. Secroun, G. Seidel, S. Serrano, P. Simon, C. Sirignano, G. Sirri, L. Stanco, J. Steinwagner, P. Tallada-Crespí, A. N. Taylor, I. Tereno, N. Tessore, S. Toft, R. Toledo-Moreo, F. Torradeflot, I. Tutusaus, L. Valenziano, J. Valiviita, T. Vassallo, A. Veropalumbo, Y. Wang, J. Weller, G. Zamorani, I. A. Zinchenko, E. Zucca, J. García-Bellido, J. Martín-Fleitas, V. Scottez

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

Stimulated radiation from superradiant scalar cloud in scalar-tensor theory

Wenyi Wang, Sousuke Noda and Taishi Katsuragawa

Scalar-tensor theories predict fundamental scalar fields of considerable interest in astrophysics and cosmology. We investigate the superradiant instability of scalar clouds around Kerr black holes, showing that stimulated decay generates detectable electromagnetic signals. The growth of the superradiant scalar cloud differs from that of other bosonic fields and depends sensitively on the matter distribution surrounding the black hole, which originates from the scalar-matter coupling realized by the chameleon mechanism in modified gravity theories. In non-uniform matter distributions, stimulated emission from scalar clouds offers an observational signature that distinguishes fundamental scalars from other light bosonic fields.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Pushchino Multibeam Pulsar Search. IX. Detection of a minute-long transient on the LPA antenna

A.M. Anpilogov and S.A. Tyul'bashev

A transient (LPA J0108+13) with repeated bursts was detected on the Large Phased Array (LPA) radio telescope at a central frequency of 110.4 MHz in the direction of the radio galaxy 3C 33. The flux density of bursts ranges from tens to hundreds of Jy, and the duration of the bursts is \approx 1^m - 4^m. In daily observations, the total duration of which at the location of the transient exceeds 200 hours in the observation interval 2013-2025, 6 bursts were found. The nature of the source could not be determined. We believe that a new type of transients has been discovered.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

A Dynamo Confinement Scenario for the Solar Tachocline and its Implications for Spin-down in the Radiative Spreading Regime

Loren I. Matilsky, Lydia Korre and Nicholas H. Brummell

At the base of the Sun's convective zone, a narrow shear layer called the tachocline separates strong latitudinal differential rotation above from nearly rigid rotation in the radiative zone below. The observed thinness of the tachocline is a long-standing dynamical puzzle because the tachocline should have spread significantly due to inward-burrowing meridional circulation, also called "radiative spreading." We recently presented the first pair of global simulations to reveal a statistically stationary tachocline confined against radiative spreading by the Maxwell stresses from the large-scale nonaxisymmetric modes of a dynamo, which penetrated into and below the tachocline through a novel magnetic skin effect. In the work presented here, we systematically examine how this "dynamo confinement scenario" works against radiative spreading in a suite of simulations as the governing parameters trend in the direction of the true solar regime. We find that as the stable stratification of the radiative zone is made progressively stronger, the dynamo cycles get longer, the magnetic field consequently penetrates deeper due to the skin effect, and the tachocline becomes more confined. Furthermore, these results have interesting consequences for solar spin-down. In all of our radiatively spreading simulations, the tachocline region spins down due to the burrowing circulation. Below the tachocline, the Maxwell stresses transmit this spin-down further to rigidify the deeper radiative zone. We thus speculate that, in addition to confining the tachocline, the dynamo may provide a pathway to communicate spin-down from the near-surface layers to the deep interior.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Captured are circularized: A relativistic treatment of extreme mass ratio inspirals crossing accretion disks

Yuhe Zeng and Zhen Pan

A small body orbiting around an accreting massive object and periodically crossing its accretion disk is a common configuration in astrophysics. In this work, we investigate the secular evolution of extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs), in which a stellar-mass object (SMO), e.g., a star or a stellar-mass black hole (sBH), collides with the accretion disk of a central supermassive black hole (SMBH), within a fully relativistic framework. We find (1) the disk always tends to align the SMO no matter what the initial orbital inclination $\iota$ relative to the disk is, (2) the final orbital eccentricity of the SMO captured by the disk is always low though the orbital eccentricity may temporarily grow when the orbital inclination $\iota$ is large and the SMO is an sBH, and (3) via collisions with the accretion disk only, only a small fraction of sBHs that are initially close to the SMBH and close to the disk can be captured by the disk within typical disk lifetime of active galactic nuclei. Two-body scatterings between SMOs in the nuclear stellar cluster play an essential role in randomly kicking sBHs towards the disk and boosting the capture rate.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Evidence for 1.01 s Pulsations of the Central Compact Object in the Supernova Remnant RCW 103 with ASCA, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR

Kazuo Makishima, Nagomi Uchida and Teruaki Enoto

The neutron-star X-ray source 1E 161348-5055, associated with the supernova remnant RCW 103, exhibits clear intensity variations with a period of 6.67 hr. To clarify the nature of this object and its long periodicity, detailed timing studies were applied to its archival X-ray data, taken with ASCA (in 1993), XMM-Newton (in 2001, 2005, and 2016), and NuSTAR (2016 and 2017). It was assumed that the 6.67 hr period arises due to the beat between the rotation and free precession periods of the star that is slightly aspherical. By removing timing perturbations to be caused by this long periodicity, the six data sets consistently yielded evidence for pulsations at periods of P~1.01 s, to be interpreted as the objects' spin period, although the optimum energy range differed among the data sets. The measured six periods accurately line up on a linear spin-down trend of dP/dt = 1.097x 10^{-12} s/s. The object is implied to have a characteristic age of 14.7 kyr, a spin-down luminosity of 4.2x10^{34} erg/s, which is insufficient to power the X-ray luminosity, a dipole magnetic field of ~4.6x10^{13} G, and a toroidal field of ~7 x10^{15} G. Its similarity and dissimilarity to magnetars are discussed. An emission geometry, which crudely explain these results, is presented.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Possible Multi-band Afterglows of FRB 20171020A and its Implication

Ke Bian and Can-Min Deng

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients of mysterious origin, with growing evidence linking at least some of them to magnetars. While FRBs are primarily observed in the radio band, their potential multi-wavelength afterglows remain largely unexplored. We investigate the possible afterglow of FRB 20171020A, a rare nearby and bright FRB localized in a galaxy at only 37 Mpc. Assuming that this source produces a future bright burst, we model the expected afterglow emission in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands under both uniform and wind-like ambient media, within the framework of the magnetar model. Our results show that the optical afterglow is the most promising for detection, but it fades rapidly and requires follow-up within a few hundred seconds post-burst. The radio afterglow may be detectable under favorable conditions in a dense stellar wind, whereas the X-ray counterpart is too faint for current telescopes. These findings suggest that rapid optical follow-up offers the best opportunity to detect the afterglow of the next bright burst from FRB 20171020A, providing unique insights into the progenitor and its environment. To assess observational feasibility, we estimate the event rate of nearby FRBs with sufficient energy to power detectable afterglows, finding a rate of $\sim$0.3 per year for CHIME surveys. Although this rate is low and the optical detection timescale is short, coordinated fast-response strategies using global telescope networks could significantly improve the chance of success. As more nearby FRBs are discovered, multi-wavelength observations will be essential in unveiling the physical nature of these enigmatic events.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Prediction of Multi-Wavelength Afterglows Associated with FRB 20200120E and FRB 20201124A

Ke Bian and Can-Min Deng

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are mysterious radio transients with uncertain origins and environments. Recent studies suggest that some active FRBs may originate from compact objects in binary systems. In this work, we develop a unified theoretical framework to model the multi-wavelength afterglows of FRBs resided in binary systems and apply it to two representative repeaters, FRB 20200120E and FRB 20201124A. By solving the dynamics and radiation processes of FRB ejecta interacting with the surrounding medium, we compute afterglow light curves in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. Our results show that radio afterglows offer the best prospects for detection, with their brightness highly sensitive to ejecta kinetic energy and ambient density. Future high-sensitivity radio telescopes, such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), could detect these signals. Optical afterglows, though short-lived and challenging to observe, may be significantly enhanced in dense environments, potentially making them detectable with facilities like the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). In contrast, X-ray afterglows are predicted to be too faint for detection with current instruments. Our study highlights the potential of multi-wavelength afterglows as probes of FRB progenitors and their surrounding environments, offering crucial insights into the nature of these mysterious transients.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Data Mining-Based Cislunar Escape-Family Analysis in The Multi-Body Models

Shuyue Fu, Di Wu, Shengping Gong et al. (+1 more)

Escape trajectories from the Earth-Moon system play an important role in interplanetary transfer. This paper focuses on the escape trajectories from a 167 km circular Earth orbit in the Earth-Moon planar circular three-body problem and the Sun-Earth/Moon planar bicircular four-body problem and is denoted to providing a comprehensive analysis on these escape trajectories. To achieve these purposes, the global maps of escape trajectories are constructed, and escape trajectories with one lunar gravity assist are pre-filtered. Then, an effective method to identification escape families is proposed based on dynamical analysis and data mining techniques. Once the escape families are identified, the corresponding characteristics are analyzed to provide insights into the construction of escape trajectories. Based on these escape families, the effects of the solar gravity perturbation on the number of escape trajectories, the emergence and disappearance of escape families, variation in generalized energy, and transfer characteristics are further summarized, providing insights into the model selection in the escape trajectory construction. This paper establishes an analysis methodology of escape trajectories from a perspective of escape families, deepening the understanding of escape dynamics.
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All authors Shuyue Fu, Di Wu, Shengping Gong, Peng Shi

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Quiet, but not silent. The X-ray activity of the Maunder minimum star HD 166620

M. M. Bennedik, B. Stelzer, H. Isaacson et al. (+3 more)

As the only known unambiguous star in a Maunder minimum-like chromospheric activity state, the properties of HD 166620 can provide valuable insight into the behaviour of the Sun during the historic extended low-states of its activity cycle. The coronal X-ray activity of HD 166620 has so far only been probed with a ROSAT/HRI observation in 1996, near the chromospheric activity maximum before the star entered its grand minimum around 2004. We conducted a deep XMM-Newton observation of HD 166620 during its chromospheric Ca II H&K activity grand minimum to achieve a better understanding of its magnetic activity. We detected HD 166620 with an X-ray luminosity of ${{\rm log}\,L_{\rm X}\,\rm{(erg\,s^{-1})}=26.56^{+0.10}_{-0.12}}$, corresponding to ${{\rm log}\,(L_{\rm X}/L_{\rm bol}) = -6.58^{+0.10}_{-0.12}}$ and an X-ray surface flux of log Fx (erg/cm^2/s) = 3.97+0.10-0.12. With respect to the earlier ROSAT observation, the X-ray brightness of HD 166620 has decreased by a factor of 2.5 during its Maunder minimum-like state. To place its X-ray properties into context, we constructed an X-ray sample of late-type stars within 10 pc of the Sun. The activity of HD 166620 is below the levels of all other K dwarfs in the 10 pc sample. The corona of HD 166620 during its grand minimum emits at the level of the solar background corona, which implies that it has no large active magnetic structures. Along with long-term Ca II H&K monitoring of HD 166620, this result provides evidence that the solar activity during the Maunder minimum was not reduced significantly below the levels seen during its present-day cycle minima. The similar X-ray surface flux of HD 166620 and the modern quiet Sun, and also their Rossby number near the critical value of spin-down models, suggest a connection between the regime of weakened magnetic braking and the occurrence of Maunder minimum states.
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All authors M. M. Bennedik, B. Stelzer, H. Isaacson, A. Binks, M. Caramazza, F. Haberl

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Template-free search for gravitational wave events using coincident anomaly detection

Daniel Ratner

Gravitational-wave (GW) observatories have used template-based search to detect hundreds of compact binary coalescences (CBCs). However, template-based search cannot detect astrophysical sources that lack accurate waveform models, including core-collapse supernovae, neutron star glitches, and cosmic strings. Here, we present a novel approach for template-free search using coincident anomaly detection (CoAD). CoAD requires neither labeled training examples nor background-only training sets, instead exploiting the coincidence of events across spatially separated detectors as the training loss itself: two neural networks independently analyze data from each detector and are trained to maximize coincident predictions. Additionally, we show that integrated gradient analysis can localize GW signals from the neural-network weights, providing a path toward data-driven template construction of unmodeled sources, and further improving precision by frequency matching. Using the CodaBench dataset of real LIGO backgrounds with injected simulated CBCs and sine-Gaussian low-frequency bursts, CoAD achieves recall up to 0.91 and 0.85 respectively at a false-alarm rate of one event per year, and achieves recall above 0.5 at signal-to-noise ratios below 10. The fully-unsupervised nature of CoAD makes it especially well-suited for next-generation detectors with greater sensitivity and associated increases in GW event rates.
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Friday 16 January

Astrophysics of Galaxies

On the role of gravity, turbulence, and the magnetic field in angular momentum transfer within molecular clouds

Griselda Arroyo-Chavez, Enrique Vazquez-Semadeni and James Wurster

Observations of molecular structures on scales of $\sim 0.1-50$ pc show that the specific angular momentum ($j$) scales with radius ($R$) as $j\sim R^{3/2}$. We study the effects of turbulence, gravity, and the magnetic field in shaping this scaling, by measuring clump size and specific angular momentum in three SPH simulations of the formation of giant molecular clouds, progressively adding these three ingredients. In each simulation, we define “full” and “reduced” clump samples, the latter restricted to aspect ratios $A<3$. We find that, in the non-magnetic runs, elongated clumps deviate the most from the \jR\ relation, which is best reproduced by the reduced sample in the gravity+turbulence run. In the purely hydrodynamic case, no dense elongated structures form, suggesting that turbulence alone is insufficient to generate dense filaments, although clumps have $j$ magnitudes consistent with observations. In the gravity+turbulence+magnetic field run, most of the clumps are filamentary, yet the full sample appears to follow the observed \jR\ relation. This result, rather than being a real trend, could be the combination of the increase in $j$ by the filamentary geometry, and its reduction by turbulence inhibition by the magnetic field. Finally, we measure the gravitational, magnetic, pressure-gradient, and hydrodynamic torques (which involve turbulent viscosity) in our clump samples. We find that, in magnitude, the hydrodynamic torques tend to be larger than the rest. This result is consistent with our previous work, where we proposed that gravity drives cloud formation and contraction, while turbulence redistributes angular momentum through fluid-parcel exchanges.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS) VII: Optically thick gas with broad CO gaussian local line profiles in the HD 121617 disc

A. Brennan, L. Matrà, S. Mac Manamon et al. (+24 more)

CO gas has been detected in $\sim$20 debris discs. We present ALMA observations of the CO-rich HD 121617 debris disc from the ARKS survey. Using high-resolution Band 7 observations of $^{12}CO \ J=3-2$, we analyse local CO line profiles to investigate optical depth, CO mass, and temperature. Spectra are aligned and stacked in concentric annuli to produce local line profiles. The resulting profiles are Gaussian-shaped and broadened by Keplerian shear. The line profiles are modelled using both a simplified toy model and a RADMC-3D model including projection effects and Keplerian shear. Fitting the RADMC-3D model to the $^{13}$CO data, we find that an optically thick model with a temperature of 38 K and a CO mass of $2 \times 10^{-3}$ M$_{\oplus}$ reproduces the observations. The model reproduces the enhanced emission at orbital azimuths of $\sim \pm45^{\circ}$ and $\pm135^{\circ}$, forming an X-shaped structure in the velocity-integrated intensity map, as well as the broader $^{12}$CO linewidth relative to $^{13}$CO. Scaling the model by the ISM abundance ratio ($\sim$77) also reproduces the $^{12}$CO data, though high optical depths and model assumptions limit mass constraints. We find that azimuthally averaged local line profiles appear Gaussian regardless of optical depth, cautioning against their use for distinguishing optically thin and thick emission. We constrain the mean molecular weight to $12.6_{-1.1}^{+1.3}$, dependent on model assumptions. Our $^{13}$CO results suggest that C$^{18}$O may also be optically thick in CO-rich debris discs and that the mean molecular weight is significantly higher than if H$_2$ were the dominant gas species, suggesting a non-primordial composition.
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All authors A. Brennan, L. Matrà, S. Mac Manamon, S. Marino, G. Cataldi, A. M. Hughes, P. Weber, Y. Han, J. P. Marshall, B. Zawadzki, P. Luppe, A. A. Sefilian, A. Moór, M. A. MacGregor, J. B. Lovell, A. Kóspál, M. Bonduelle, E. Mansell, M. C. Wyatt, T. D. Pearce, J. M. Carpenter, D. J. Wilner, C. del Burgo, S. Pérez, Th. Henning, J. Milli, E. Chiang

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Habitable Worlds Observatory's Concept and Technology Maturation: Initial Feasibility and Trade Space Exploration

Lee D. Feinberg, Breann N. Sitarski, Michael W. McElwain et al. (+10 more)

The Habitable Worlds Observatory is the first telescope ever designed to search for life and will be a powerhouse of discovery across topics in astrophysics. The observatory was the top recommendation of the Astro2020 Decadal Survey for large missions and a new HWO Technology Maturation Project Office was formed in August 2024 to mature the architecture, science and technology. In this paper we review the overall approach taken to mature the mission concept. We show progress on architecture development, integrated modeling, science cases, and technology roadmaps consistent with pre-formulation studies. We discuss plans for instrument studies and international engagement and science engagement including a Community Science and Instrument Team. Finally, we describe the plan forward to the Mission Concept Review.
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All authors Lee D. Feinberg, Breann N. Sitarski, Michael W. McElwain, Giada Arney, Caleb Baker, Matthew R. Bolcar, Marie Levine, Alice Liu, Bertrand Mennesson, Aki Roberge, J. Scott Smith, Feng Zhao, John Ziemer

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Increased and Varied Radiation during the Sun's Encounters with Cold Clouds in the last 10 million years

Merav Opher, Joe Giacalone, Abraham Loeb et al. (+7 more)

Recent research raises the possibility that 3 and 7 million years ago, the Sun encountered massive clouds that shrank the heliosphere–the solar cocoon protecting our solar system–exposing Earth to its interstellar environment, in agreement with geological evidence from 60Fe and 244Pu isotopes. Here we show that during such encounters Earth was exposed to increased radiation in the form of high-energy particles. During periods of Earth's immersion in the heliosphere, it received particle radiation that we name Heliospheric Energetic Particles (HEPs). The intensity of < 10 MeV protons was at least an order of magnitude more intense than today's most extreme solar energetic particle (SEP) events. SEPs today last minutes to hours, but HEP exposure then lasted for extensive periods of several months, making it a prolonged external driver. During Earth's excursion outside the heliosphere, it was exposed to a galactic cosmic ray radiation with the intensity of < 1 GeV protons at least an order of magnitude more intense than today. Therefore, the space surrounding Earth was permeated by a variable high-energy radiation. We discuss the implications for Earth's climate and biodiversity.
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All authors Merav Opher, Joe Giacalone, Abraham Loeb, Evan P. Economo, Alan Cummings, Jennifer Middleton, Catherine Zucker, Jesse A. Miller, Anna Nica, Maria Hatzaki