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Physics Astrophysics

astro-ph Watch Astrophysics

Monday 2 February

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

A whole-planet model of the Earth without life for terrestrial exoplanet studies

Samantha Gilbert-Janizek, Rory K. Barnes, Peter E. Driscoll et al. (+5 more)

As the only known habitable (and inhabited) planet in the universe, Earth informs our search for life elsewhere. Future telescopes like the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will soon look for life on rocky worlds around Sun-like stars, so it is critical that we understand how to distinguish habitable planets from inhabited planets. However, it remains unknown if life is necessary to maintain a habitable planet, or how all of the components of an evolving planet impact habitability over time. As a first step toward answering these questions, we present a coupled interior-atmosphere evolution model of the Earth without life from 50 Myr to 5 Gyr that reproduces 19 key observations of the pre-industrial Earth after 4.5 Gyr within estimated measurement uncertainties. We also produce a reflected light spectrum covering the possible wavelength range of HWO. Our findings suggest that life may not be required to maintain long-term habitable surface conditions. The model presented here is apt for predicting the long-term habitability of Earth-like exoplanets by coupling the interior and surface evolution. By generating realistic reflected light spectra from evolved atmospheric states, this model represents significant progress towards characterizing the observability of whole-planet evolution, which may ultimately provide a robust abiotic baseline for interpreting biosignature observations with HWO.
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All authors Samantha Gilbert-Janizek, Rory K. Barnes, Peter E. Driscoll, Nicholas F. Wogan, Avi M. Mandell, Jessica L. Birky, Ludmila Carone, Rodolfo Garcia

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Simple Improved Reference Subtraction for H4RG, H2RG, and H1RG Near-infrared Array Detectors

Bernard J. Rauscher, Dale J. Fixsen and Gregory Mosby Jr

Teledyne's H4RG, H2RG, and H1RG near-infrared array detectors provide reference pixels embedded in their data streams. Although they do not respond to light, the reference pixels electronically mimic normal pixels and track correlated read noise. In this paper, we describe how the reference pixels can be used with linear algebra and training data to optimally reduce correlated read noise. Simple Improved Reference Subtraction (SIRS) works with common detector clocking patterns and, when applicable, relies only on post-processing existing data so long as the reference pixels are available. The resulting reference correction is optimal, in a least squares sense, when the embedded reference pixels are the only references and the reference columns on the left and right are treated as two reference streams. We demonstrate SIRS using H4RG ground test data from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Project. The Julia language SIRS software is freely available for download from the NASA GitHub. The package includes a python-3 “backend” that can be used to apply SIRS corrections if a SIRS calibration file has been provided by the instrument builders.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Two faces of Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus: Mining the chemical abundance space with graph attention networks

Milan Quandt-Rodriguez, Sara Lucatello, Lorenzo Spina et al. (+2 more)

Recent studies suggest that chemical abundances hold the key to disentangling halo substructure, providing a more reliable tracer than dynamics alone. We aim to probe the Milky Way stellar halo using high-dimensional chemical abundances from GALAH DR4. By leveraging multiple nucleosynthesis channels in synergy with integrals of motion (IoM), we extract information hidden in the raw abundance space to perform chemical tagging. With a graph attention autoencoder, we reconstruct a dynamics-informed, denoised chemical space and identify coherent stellar substructures by applying ensemble clustering. Our method successfully recovers the three largest globular clusters hidden in the dataset, estimates the in-situ fraction to be approximately 41%, and chemically characterizes several dynamical halo substructures. Strikingly, stars dynamically associated with Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE) separate into two chemically distinct clusters. By examining their abundances, energy ($E$) and angular momentum ($L_z$) distributions, together with the metallicity trend with $E$, we connect these clusters to their birthplace within the progenitor by proposing a simple infall scenario: one cluster traces the metal-poor, less evolved outskirts, while the other traces the metal-rich, chemically evolved core.
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All authors Milan Quandt-Rodriguez, Sara Lucatello, Lorenzo Spina, Mario Pasquato, Marco Canducci

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A model for the emission of SGRBs-GW from binary mergers

Shad Ali

This report is divided into three main parts: 1. The first two chapters discuss the emission of Short GRB (SGRB) from binary mergers surrounded by a strong magnetic field. By introducing our model, we investigated the physics of the emission of SGRBs from rotating and charged rotating BHs. A rapidly spinning, strongly magnetized neutron star (millisecond magnetar) is the primary source of strong magnetic fields ranging from $10^{13}~\rm to ~ 10^{16} G$. The decay of the magnetic field could power electromagnetic radiation, especially X-rays and gamma rays from NSs or NS-BH mergers as their primary sources. Considering the merger of compact bodies (NS-NS or NS-BH or BH-BH), we can obtain interesting results. 2. In the next two chapters, we reviewed the BH interiors to understand the nature of black hole interior information and evaporation from its initial to final phases via entropy variation. The evolution relation obtained from two types of entropy gives diverse understandings of the evaporation of BHs under Hawking radiation. 3. The fifth Chapter is related to BH configuration (information) entropy and the thermodynamic phase transition of $f(R)$ BH. Here, we consider a d$-$dimensional black hole (BH) in $f(R)$ gravity and analyze the effect of modified gravity on critical point parameters, the difference in number densities, and configuration entropy during the BH phase transition phenomenon. These results were also compared with charged AdS BH, the holographic dual of van der Waal's fluid, and hence the BH in modified gravity.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

LISA Non-Linear Dynamics and Tilt-To-Length Coupling

Lavinia Heisenberg, Henri Inchauspé, Sarah Paczkowski et al. (+1 more)

For the LISA mission, Tilt-To-Length (TTL) coupling is expected to be one of the dominant instrumental noise contributions after laser frequency noise is suppressed based, on assumptions on the size of the coupling and angular jitter levels. This work uses for the first time a closed-loop, non-linear, and time-varying dynamics implementation to simulate detailed angular jitters for the spacecraft and optical benches. In turn, this gives an improved expectation of the TTL contribution to the interferometric output. It is shown that the TTL coupling impact is limited given current estimates on the size of coupling coefficients. A time-domain Least Squares estimator is used to infer the TTL parameters from the simulated measurements. The bias and correlations limit the estimator in the case of regular datasets with amplified TTL coefficients to a relative error of $10\%$, but the subtraction of the TTL signal still works well. For lower readout noises, the estimation error diverges, which can be mitigated using a regularization term. Alternatively, using sinusoidal maneuvers improves the inference to a high accuracy of $0.1\%$ for TTL coefficients around the expected level, removing all correlations in the inferred parameters. This validates the maneuver design by Wegener et al. (2025) in this closed-loop setting.
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All authors Lavinia Heisenberg, Henri Inchauspé, Sarah Paczkowski, Ricardo Waibel

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Massive stellar cannibals: How stellar mergers drive mass-loss in extremely massive stars

J. Roman-Garza, T. Fragos, C. Charbonnel et al. (+3 more)

It has been theorized that the formation of extremely massive and supermassive stars ($>10^3\ {\rm M}_\odot$) could plausibly be the outcome of stellar mergers in low metallicity ($Z<10^{-1}$~Z$_\odot$) and dense ($\gtrsim10^3\ {\rm M}_\odot\ {\rm pc}^{-3}$) stellar environments. These objects remain relevant as they can serve as the progenitors of intermediate-mass black holes and they are also formidable chemical polluter candidates, as evidenced by the peculiar abundances seen across cosmic history. This work investigates merger-induced mass loss in extremely massive stars within a hydrodynamic framework and provides a prescription derived from the simulations to estimate both the mass loss and the outcome of the interaction. We adapted the 1D hydrodynamic, stellar structure, and evolution code MESA to simulate stellar inspirals. In our simulations, we considered stars of $>1000\,\rm M_{\odot}$ with inspiraling companions of $<100$ M$_\odot$; hence, with mass ratios of $<0.1$. As the inspiral progresses, the orbital energy of the system is lost through the hydrodynamic and gravitational drag forces. This energy gets deposited as thermal energy in the extremely massive star's envelope. We find that the total ejected mass is $\sim$10-30$\%$ of the system's mass. Our results point out that most of the energy deposited by the inspiral is used to eject mass. These findings demonstrate that merger-induced mass loss is non-negligible for the considered configurations. Thus, it is an important process to account for when investigating the formation of extremely massive stars and predicting their possible role throughout cosmic history.
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All authors J. Roman-Garza, T. Fragos, C. Charbonnel, L. Ramírez-Galeano, M. Kruckow, E. Farag

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

JWST NIRSpec's Cosmic Ray Experience at L2

Bernard J. Rauscher and D.J. Fixsen

We characterize cosmic ray interactions in blanked-off \JWST NIRSpec “dark” exposures. In its Sun/Earth-Moon L2 halo orbit, \JWST encounters energetic ions that penetrate NIRSpec's radiation shielding. The shielded cosmic ray hit rate decreased from approximately $4.3$ to $2.3~\mathrm{ions~cm^{-2}}~s^{-1}$ during the first three years of operation. A typical hit affects about 7.1~pixels necessitating mitigation during calibration and deposits around $6~\mathrm{keV}$ in the $\lambda_\mathrm{co} = 5.4~\mu$m HgCdTe detector material (equivalent to $\sim5200$ charges). The corresponding linear energy transfer is about $0.86~\mathrm{keV~\mu m^{-1}}$. As we are currently near solar maximum, galactic cosmic ray flux is expected to increase as solar activity declines, leading to an anticipated rise in the NIRSpec rate from $2.3$ to $4.3~\mathrm{ions~cm^{-2}}~s^{-1}$ by early 2027 and potentially reaching $\sim6~\mathrm{ions~cm^{-2}}~s^{-1}$ in the early 2030s. We investigate rare, large “snowball” hits and, less frequently, events with secondary showers that pose significant calibration challenges. We explore their possible origins as heavy ions, secondary particles from shielding, or inelastic scattering in the HgCdTe detector material. We discuss the implications of these findings for future missions including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Cross-listed from physics.atom-ph

Theoretical investigation of transition data of astrophysical importance in neutral sulphur

W. Li, A. M. Amarsi and P. Jönsson

Accurate and comprehensive atomic data are essential for the modelling of stellar spectra. Uncertainties in the oscillator strengths of specific lines used for abundance analyses directly translate into uncertainties in the derived elemental abundances; incomplete or biased atomic data sets can impart significant errors in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) modelling. Theoretical calculations of atomic data are therefore crucial to supplement the limited experimental results. In this work, we present extensive atomic data, including oscillator strengths, transition rates, and lifetimes for 1730 electric-dipole (E1) transitions among 107 levels in neutral sulphur (S I) using the multi-configuration Dirac-Hartree-Fock (MCDHF) and relativistic-configuration-interaction (RCI) methods. These levels belong to the configurations $\mathrm{3p^3np (n=3-7)}$, $\mathrm{3p^3nf (n=4,5)}$, $\mathrm{3s3p^5}$, $\mathrm{3p^3ns (n=4-7)}$, and $\mathrm{3p^3nd (n=3-6)}$. The accuracy of the computed transition rates is assessed by combining the comparison of the differences in transition rates between the Babushkin and Coulomb gauges with a cancellation-factor (CF) analysis. Approximately 16% of the ab initio results achieved an accuracy classification of A-B, corresponding to uncertainties within 10%, as defined by the Atomic Spectra Database of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST ASD). Applying a fine-tuning technique was found to significantly improve the accuracy of the results in the Coulomb gauge, thereby improving the consistency between the Babushkin and Coulomb gauges; about 24% of the fine-tuned transition data are assigned to the accuracy classes A-B.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Noble gases Neon and argon: a role for the chemical patterns of multiple populations in globular clusters?

P. Ventura, F. D'Antona, M. Tailo et al. (+3 more)

We focus on the sodium destruction in models reaching the high hot bottom burning temperatures needed to efficiently cycle oxygen to nitrogen in AGB models at the nominal [Fe/H] of the cluster NGC 2808. We increase the initial neon abundance by a factor 2-4 with respect to the "standard" abundances obtained by scaling the solar values down to the metallicity of this cluster, and explore the average abundances in the ejecta obtained by adopting smaller mass-loss rates. Higher neon produces higher sodium in the AGB envelope. Lowering the mass-loss rate allows both to keep reasonably large sodium abundances and to increase the depletion of oxygen and magnesium. A balance between the lower mass-loss rates and the necessity of not increasing too much the episodes of third dredge up gives a neon abundance larger by a factor two and a mass-loss rate smaller by a factor four as best compromise. Comparison with the abundances in NGC 2808 shows a better agreement than the standard models for all the patterns of abundances, but the extreme stars (group E) requires models slightly less rich in iron. t Thus, we propose that the extreme population in NGC 2808 is composed of stars having a slightly smaller metallicity, and sketch a possible scenario for its formation, in the framework of the hierarchical clusters assembly scenario. Abundances of potassium are larger by $\sim 0.2 dex$ in the E group, but the explanation in terms of burning of the initial argon requires a drastic increase of the relevant cross section. The abundances of neon and argon at low metallicities may be an important tool to better reproduce the abundances of light elements in the framework of the AGB model for globular clusters.
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All authors P. Ventura, F. D'Antona, M. Tailo, A. P. Milone, F. Dell'Agli, A. F. Marino

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Dynamical evolution of the Uranian satellite system III. The passage through the7/4 MMR between Miranda and Ariel

Sérgio R. A. Gomes and Tibi Keizer

The passage through the $5/3$ mean-motion resonance between Ariel and Umbriel, two of Uranus's largest moons, still raises several open questions. Previous studies suggest that, in order to reproduce the current orbital configuration, Ariel must have had an eccentricity of approximately $\sim 0.01$ before the resonance encounter, which would prevent resonant capture. However, the rapid tidal circularization of Ariel's orbit implies that some prior mechanism must have excited its eccentricity before the resonance encounter. In this work, we performed a large number of simulations using an N-body integrator to assess whether the earlier $7/4$ mean-motion resonance between Miranda and Ariel could serve as a mechanism to increase Ariel's eccentricity. Our results show that, due to divergent migration, resonance capture does not occur. As the satellites cross the nominal resonance, Ariel's eccentricity is only excited to $3.4 \times 10^{-4}$, substantially smaller than the required value. Therefore, the $7/4$ mean-motion resonance is not a viable mechanism for increasing Ariel's eccentricity.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Astro-COLIBRI: An Innovative Platform for Real-Time Multi-Messenger Astrophysics

Bernardo Cornejo Avila, Sofia Bisero, Mickael Costa et al. (+4 more)

The discovery of transient phenomena, such as supernovae, novae, Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), and stellar flares, together with the emergence of new cosmic messengers like high-energy neutrinos and Gravitational Waves (GWs), has revolutionized astrophysics in recent years. To fully exploit the scientific potential of multi-messenger and multi-wavelength follow-up observations, as well as serendipitous detections, researchers need a tool capable of rapidly compiling and contextualizing essential information for every new event. We present Astro-COLIBRI, an advanced platform designed to meet this challenge. Astro-COLIBRI is a comprehensive platform that combines a public RESTful API, real-time databases, a cloud-based alert system, and user-friendly interfaces including a website and mobile app for iOS and Android. It ingests alerts from multiple sources in real time, applies user-defined filters, and situates each event within its multi-messenger and multi-wavelength context. The platform provides clear data visualization, concise summaries of key event properties, and evaluations of observing conditions across a wide network of observatories worldwide. We here detail the architecture of Astro-COLIBRI, from the data pipelines that manage real-time alert ingestion and processing to the design of the RESTful API, which enables seamless integration with other astronomical software and services.
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All authors Bernardo Cornejo Avila, Sofia Bisero, Mickael Costa, Antoine Ciric, Ilja Jaroschewski, Weizmann Kindrébéogo, Fabian Schussler

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

X-ray counterparts to stellar MeerKAT Galactic-plane compact radio sources

O. D. Egbo, P. J. Groot, D. A. H. Buckley et al. (+5 more)

Radio emission from magnetically active stars arises mainly from non-thermal processes and complements high-energy X-ray emission. Sensitive, wide-field radio and X-ray surveys now allow identification of larger samples of active stars across the Galaxy. We aim to identify and characterise radio and X-ray-emitting stars in the Galactic plane by combining MeerKAT radio data with soft X-ray observations and assess their consistency with the canonical Güdel-Benz relation, which links thermal coronal X-rays to non-thermal gyrosynchrotron radio emission. We cross-matched compact sources from the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey with counterparts from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and the first release of SRG/eROSITA (eRASS1). We computed radio-brightness temperatures and radio-X-ray luminosities to test the relation. We identify 137 stars with both radio and X-ray detections. Their $T_B$ ranges from $10^7$ to $10^{12}$ K, except two outliers: AXJ1600.9-5142 ($4.8 \pm 1.5 \times 10^{12}$ K) and HD~124831 ($8 \pm 1 \times 10^{6}$ K). The remainder are consistent with incoherent gyrosynchrotron emission. The sample lies below the canonical Güdel-Benz relation, driven by enhanced 1.3 GHz radio luminosities relative to the 5 GHz relation. This suggests the classical relation represents an upper envelope rather than a tight correlation. Additionally, eROSITA detections show early-type stars lie below the typical $\log (L_{\rm X}/L_{\rm bol}) \sim -3$ relation.
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All authors O. D. Egbo, P. J. Groot, D. A. H. Buckley, J. Robrade, A. D. Schwope, S. Freund, P. C. Schneider, B. Stelzer

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

A parametric model for externally irradiated protoplanetary disks with photoevaporative winds

Luke Keyte and Thomas J. Haworth

Protoplanetary disks in massive star-forming regions may be exposed to ultraviolet radiation fields orders of magnitude stronger than the interstellar background. This intense radiation drives photoevaporative winds that fundamentally shape disk evolution and chemistry. However, full radiation hydrodynamic simulations of these systems remain computationally expensive, preventing systematic exploration of the parameter space. We present a parametric framework for efficiently generating density structures of externally irradiated protoplanetary disks with photoevaporative winds. Our approach implements a spherically diverging wind configuration with smooth transitions between the disk interior, the FUV-heated surface layer, and the wind itself. We validate this framework extensively against the FRIED grid of hydrodynamical simulations, demonstrating accurate reproduction of density structures across stellar masses from 0.3 to 3.0 M_sun, disk radii from 20 to 150 au, and external FUV fields from 100 to 100,000 G0. The complete framework is available as 'PUFFIN', a Python package that generates full 1D or 2D density structures in seconds to minutes, compared to weeks or months for equivalent hydrodynamical calculations. We demonstrate the scientific utility of this approach by modelling CO chemistry across a comprehensive parameter grid, using our density structures as inputs to thermochemical calculations. Our results show that external FUV irradiation significantly enhances CO gas-phase abundances through indirect heating mechanisms, which raise midplane temperatures and enhance thermal desorption of CO ice. This effect is strongest in the outer disk and scales with both external field strength and disk mass, with important implications for volatile budgets available to forming planets in clustered environments.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Clustering of emission line galaxies with IllustrisTNG – II. cosmology challenge with anisotropic correlation functions and ELG-halo connections

Ken Osato and Teppei Okumura

Emission line galaxies (ELGs) are the primary tracers of the large-scale structures of the Universe in ongoing Stage-IV cosmological spectroscopic surveys, which aim to measure the clustering statistics at higher redshifts $z \simeq 1.5 \text{--} 2$ with unprecedented precision. In this study, we construct realistic mock ELG samples with IllustrisTNG hydrodynamical simulations and stellar population synthesis framework. In order to validate the modelling of clustering, we measure the anisotropic correlation functions of mock ELGs and infer the linear growth rate, which is one of key cosmological parameters in galaxy clustering. As a control sample, we construct the mass-limited subhalo samples with the same number density as ELGs. The isotropic correlation functions in real space for both samples do not differ significantly. However, the quadrupole moment of the anisotropic correlation function, which is sensitive to the velocity of galaxies, is suppressed for ELGs, potentially due to the infalling motion of ELGs towards the centre of the hosting halos. The smaller amplitude leads to the underestimation of the linear growth rate and implies the velocity bias between ELGs and dark matter. When the analysis is limited to large scales $(\gtrsim 15 \, h^{-1} \, \mathrm{Mpc})$, the parameter bias vanishes. Next, we investigate the ELG-halo connection through the phase-space distribution of satellite ELGs within hosting halos and galactic conformity of star formation activity. The infalling motion is further confirmed by the phase-space distribution relative to the host halo, and this dynamics of ELGs challenges the assumption that the radial distribution of satellites follows that of dark matter.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Simulation-based cosmological inference from optically-selected galaxy clusters with $\texttt{Capish}$

Constantin Payerne, Calum Murray and Hugo Simon

Galaxy clusters are powerful probes of the growth of cosmic structure through measurements of their abundance as a function of mass and redshift. Extracting precise cosmological constraints from cluster surveys is challenging, as we must contend the complex relationship between richness and the underlying halo mass, selection function biases, super-sample covariance, and correlated measurement noise between mass proxies. As upcoming photometric surveys are expected to detect tens to hundreds of thousands of galaxy clusters, controlling these systematics becomes essential. In this paper, we present a forward-modelling approach using Simulation-Based Inference (SBI), which provides a natural framework for jointly modelling cluster abundance and lensing mass observables while capturing systematic uncertainties at higher fidelity than analytic likelihood methods - which rely on simplifying assumptions such as fixed covariances and Gaussianity - without requiring an explicit likelihood formulation. We introduce $\texttt{Capish}$, a Python code for generating forward-modelled galaxy cluster catalogues using halo mass functions and incorporating observational effects. We perform SBI using neural density estimation with normalizing flows, trained on abundance and mean lensing mass measurements in observed redshift-richness bins. Our forward model accounts for realistic noise, redshift uncertainties, selection functions, and correlated scatter between lensing mass and observed richness. We find good agreement with likelihood-based analyses, with broader SBI posteriors reflecting the increased realism of the forward model. We also test $\texttt{Capish}$ on cluster catalogues built from a large cosmological simulation, finding a good fit to cosmological parameters.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Gravitational trapping and ram pressure trapping of ultracompact and hypercompact H II regions

Lauren Martini, André Oliva, Rolf Kuiper et al. (+1 more)

Observationally, early H II regions are classified by size into ultracompact and hypercompact configurations. It remains unclear whether these phases are long-lived or transient. Understanding the physical processes that stall H II region growth may help to solve the so-called lifetime problem: the observation of more compact H II regions than expected from theory. Utilizing two-dimensional, axially symmetric radiation hydrodynamic simulations of young expanding H II regions, including the phase of early star and disk formation, we seek to better understand the trapping of H II regions. Trapping forces include gravity and ram pressure, which oppose forces such as thermal pressure expansion, radiation pressure, and centrifugal force. Without radiation pressure, the H II region remains gravitationally trapped in the ultracompact phase indefinitely. With radiation pressure, the H II region escapes gravitational trapping but experiences ram pressure trapping on larger scales. For initial mass reservoirs with high central density, no trapping occurs, while a less steep density gradient yields clear trapped phases. Hypercompact trapped phases exhibit a so-called flickering variation in H II region radius, in agreement with observations of stalling and even contraction over small time scales. With radiation pressure, low-density reservoirs experience both gravitational and ram pressure trapping, while high-mass reservoirs undergo only the latter.
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All authors Lauren Martini, André Oliva, Rolf Kuiper, Pamela Klaassen

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Two late-T dwarfs at kiloparsec distances revealed by JWST UNCOVER survey

D. H. Li, Z. H. Zhang, H. H. Peng et al. (+3 more)

We conducted a search for brown dwarf candidates in a James Webb Space Telescope deep field around A2744 to investigate the space density of these objects at kiloparsec distances. Our methodology employed an initial selection based on photometric colours, followed by spectral energy distribution fitting to both stellar atmospheric models and high-redshift galaxy templates. This approach yielded two robust T dwarf candidates and one possible L subdwarf candidate. The T dwarfs have estimated Galactic heights of 0.43 and 0.86 kpc, likely residing near the outer edges of the Galactic thin and thick discs, respectively. We measure a T dwarf surface number density of 0.094 per squared arcmin in the UNCOVER field, lower than previous predictions but consistent at the order-of-magnitude level. We also provide space number density estimates for T5-T8.9 dwarfs across different effective temperature and spectral type bins, finding that T5-T7 dwarfs out to 2 kpc have significantly lower densities than their solar neighbourhood counterparts, whilst T8 dwarfs within the thick disc exhibit densities comparable to local values. Our analysis demonstrates that broad-band near- to mid-infrared photometry provides high sensitivity to late-T dwarfs but is relatively less sensitive to L and early-T dwarfs. Spectroscopy is typically required to distinguish photometric candidates of L dwarfs, early-T subdwarfs, and high-redshift galaxies in JWST deep fields. This study demonstrates the potential for expanding our understanding of brown dwarf distributions and characteristics at unprecedented distances, offering new insights into substellar populations beyond the solar neighbourhood.
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All authors D. H. Li, Z. H. Zhang, H. H. Peng, M. C. Galvez-Ortiz, S. Y. Zhou, H. R. A. Jones

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Achondrites in meteor data: Spectra, dynamics, and physical properties of candidate aubrite and eucrite impactors

Pavol Matlovič, Adriana Pisarčíková, Veronika Pazderová et al. (+10 more)

Meteor spectroscopy presents new opportunities for investigating the diversity of small Solar System bodies and capturing the real distribution of present material types. We analyze 180 higher-resolution meteor spectra from the All-sky Meteor Orbit System (AMOS) network to identify meteoroids with atypical compositions. In addition to several iron bodies, we identify the first two achondritic meteoroids in our database, both likely meteorite-dropping impactors, and compare them with a reference ordinary chondrite meteoroid observed under similar conditions. Their spectra show strong compositional departures: one case has strong Mg and Si with low Fe, while the other has strong Ca, Al and Ti with low Mg. Derived relative elemental abundances imply an aubrite-like and a eucrite-like composition. The aubrite-like meteoroid exhibits unexpected enhancements in Ca, Mn and Ti in short-lived intensity spikes, which we interpret as rapid release of localized inclusions rather than bulk enrichment. This indicates that transient spectral features can reveal internal heterogeneity in achondritic meteoroids beyond their average composition. Dynamical and physical properties are consistent with these classifications: the eucrite-like meteoroid originated from an inner-main-belt orbit influenced by the $\nu_6$ resonance and shows compact ablation with low erosion and an estimated bulk density of 3.16 $\pm$ 0.10 g cm -3; the aubrite-like meteoroid came from a short-period, low-eccentricity orbit similar to some E-type near-Earth asteroids. Both events show atypical light curves, but our results indicate that robust identification of achondritic meteoroids in surveys generally requires emission spectra. This work presents one of the first detailed studies of achondrites from meteor observations and provides reference properties of atypical meteors for future surveys.
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All authors Pavol Matlovič, Adriana Pisarčíková, Veronika Pazderová, Tomáš Vörös, Filip Hlobik, Hadrien Devillepoix, Jiří Borovička, Mária Paprskárová, Sophie Deam, Juraj Tóth, Leonard Kornoš, Tomáš Paulech, Pavol Zigo

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Modeling Galactic Gravitational Potentials

Charlotte Myers, Nathaniel Starkman and Lina Necib

We introduce a physics-informed neural framework for modeling static and time-dependent galactic gravitational potentials. The method combines data-driven learning with embedded physical constraints to capture complex, small-scale features while preserving global physical consistency. We quantify predictive uncertainty through a Bayesian framework, and model time evolution using a neural ODE approach. Applied to mock systems of varying complexity, the model achieves reconstruction errors at the sub-percent level ($0.14\%$ mean acceleration error) and improves dynamical consistency compared to analytic baselines. This method complements existing analytic methods, enabling physics-informed baseline potentials to be combined with neural residual fields to achieve both interpretable and accurate potential models.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Investigation of magnetic topology and triggering mechanisms of a C-class flare and active-region blowout jet

Yogesh Kumar Maurya, Ramit Bhattacharyya and Peter Wyper

Coronal jets are collimated plasma eruptions which are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere. Believed to be triggered by magnetic reconnection, these jets can contribute to various phenomena, including coronal heating and particle acceleration. Coronal jets are a contemporary area of research with their onset mechanism meriting further attention. Importantly, a subclass of jets, the blowout jets, are particularly interesting because of their broad spire, suggesting substantial three-dimensional (3D) reconnection between open and closed field lines involving 3D null points. Consequently, here we explore the onset of a blowout jet associated with Active Region (AR) SPoCA 29093 detected by Spatial Possibilistic Clustering Algorithm (SPoCA). This AR produced a C1.1-class flare on 10 November 2022 and we investigate it using a data-constrained magnetohydrodynamic simulation initiated with a non force-free-field (NFFF) extrapolation of the photospheric magnetic field. Key elements of the extrapolated field lines are the presence of a 3D null and a magnetic flux rope (MFR) co-located with the jet activity region, the evolution of which is further traced in the simulation. The simulation suggests that magnetic reconnection is responsible for the evolution of the MFR, leading to a near-simultaneous onset of the flare and jet as observed by the AIA/SDO. In particular, the simulation shows spontaneous creation and annihilation of 3D null pairs via magnetic reconnection near the jet region. Such spontaneous null pair generation, in principle, can trigger or contribute to coronal jets; opening up a new avenue for further research.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Discovery of a New Spectral Transition in Swift J0243.6+6124 in the Sub-Eddington Regime

Bo-Yan Chen, Shu Zhang, Qing-Cang Shui et al. (+9 more)

We conduct a detailed spectral analysis of the Galactic ultraluminous X-ray pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124 in its sub-Eddington regime, using Insight-HXMT and NICER observations during multiple outbursts including the 2018 giant outburst. We discover a new transition at $L_{\rm t} \approx 4.5 \times 10^{37}\ {\rm erg\ s^{-1}}$, accompanied by systematic evolution of spectral parameters, in particular a significant turnover in the blackbody normalization. This transition luminosity in the sub-Eddington regime represents the fifth transition identified so far in Swift J0243.6+6124, further highlighting the complexity of its accretion-powered emission. We interpret the transition in terms of a multipolar magnetic-field configuration, where weak ($\sim 2.8 \times 10^{12}\ {\rm G}$) and strong ($\sim 1.6 \times 10^{13}\ {\rm G}$) magnetic poles dominate the emission at different accretion rates. On the magnetospheric scale, this configuration is equivalent to an effective dipole field of $\sim 6.6 \times 10^{12}\ {\rm G}$, while allowing the local surface field to exceed $10^{13}\ {\rm G}$.
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All authors Bo-Yan Chen, Shu Zhang, Qing-Cang Shui, Peng-Ju Wang, Long Ji, Ling-Da Kong, Shuang-Nan Zhang, Hua Feng, Yu-Peng Chen, Ming-Yu Ge, Jing-Qiang Peng, Wen-zhong Li

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Revisiting neutrino-driven magnetogenesis during stellar core collapse

Fan Zhang

The literature has not converged onto a precise depiction of the magnetogenesis process for pulsars, and it is profitable to preliminarily but exhaustively assess the viability of the plethora of alternative proposals, before substantial efforts are invested into simulating them in detail. In this note, we tackle one of them, taking notice of an earlier work that suggests neutrino ponderomotive force could spawn a magnetic field not so far off from pulsar strengths. We reexamine this mechanism with more modern technology, accounting for actual core collapse dynamics, and show that this mechanism is likely less powerful than originally envisioned.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A Serendipitous NuSTAR Detection of a Giant Radio Source Harboring an Obscured Active Galactic Nucleus

Vaidehi S. Paliya, S. Marchesi, X. Zhao et al. (+3 more)

Giant radio sources (GRSs) harbor the Universe's largest structures generated by individual galaxies, with projected source sizes exceeding 700 kpc. These enigmatic objects have been mainly studied at radio frequencies, and their physical properties in the high-energy domain are poorly understood. Here we present the results of a multiwavelength study focused on NuSTAR J112829+5831.8 (J1128+5831), the only known GRS serendipitously detected with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Being located in proximity to the famous interacting galaxy system, Arp 299, J1128+5831 has been serendipitously observed also by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and XMM-Newton satellites. From radio observations with the Low Frequency Array, the NRAO VLA Sky Survey and the Very Large Array Sky Survey, we have determined that J1128+5831 has an overall steep radio spectrum ($\alpha=-0.86$; $F_\nu\propto\nu^\alpha$) and a low core dominance ($C_{\rm D}=-2.4$, in log-scale), indicating the source to be viewed at large angles. From the X-ray spectral analysis, we found J1128+5831 to harbor an obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) with neutral hydrogen column density exceeding $10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. Its optical spectrum, taken with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, exhibits prominent narrow emission lines but lacks broad components, thus confirming J1128+5831 to be a Type 2 AGN powered by a radiatively efficient accreting system. Overall, the broadband properties of J1128+5831 are consistent with those observed for the general GRS population.
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All authors Vaidehi S. Paliya, S. Marchesi, X. Zhao, D. J. Saikia, Moumita Pal, Somak Raychaudhury

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

exoALMA XIX: Confirmation of Non-thermal Line Broadening in the DM Tau Protoplanetary Disk

Caitlyn Hardiman, Christophe Pinte, Daniel J. Price et al. (+38 more)

Turbulence is expected to transport angular momentum and drive mass accretion in protoplanetary disks. One way to directly measure turbulent motion in disks is through molecular line broadening. DM Tau is one of only a few disks with claimed detection of nonthermal line broadening of 0.25cs-0.33cs, where cs is the sound speed. Using the radiative transfer code mcfost within a Bayesian inference framework that evaluates over five million disk models to efficiently sample the parameter space, we fit high-resolution (0.15", 28 m s-1) 12CO J = 3-2 observations of DM Tau from the exoALMA Large Program. This approach enables us to simultaneously constrain the disk structure and kinematics, revealing a significant nonthermal contribution to the line width of ~0.4cs, inconsistent with purely thermal motions. Using the CO-based disk structure as a starting point, we reproduce the CS J = 7-6 emission well, demonstrating that the CS (which is more sensitive to nonthermal motions than CO) agrees with the turbulence inferred from the CO fit. Establishing a well-constrained background disk model further allows us to identify residual structures in the moment maps that deviate from the expected emission, revealing localized perturbations that may trace forming planets. This framework provides a powerful general approach for extracting disk structure and nonthermal broadening directly from molecular line data and can be applied to other disks with high-quality observations.
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All authors Caitlyn Hardiman, Christophe Pinte, Daniel J. Price, Thomas Hilder, Iain Hammond, Taïssa Danilovich, Sean M. Andrews, Richard Teague, Giovanni Rosotti, Mario Flock, Gianni Cataldi, Jaehan Bae, Marcelo Barraza-Alfaro, Myriam Benisty, Nicolás Cuello, Pietro Curone, Ian Czekala, Stefano Facchini, Daniele Fasano, Misato Fukagawa, Maria Galloway-Sprietsma, Himanshi Garg, Cassandra Hall, Jane Huang, John D. Ilee, Andres F. Izquierdo, Kazuhiro Kanagawa, Geoffroy Lesur, Giuseppe Lodato, Cristiano Longarini, Ryan Loomis, Francois Menard, Ryuta Orihara, Jochen Stadler, Hsi-Wei Yen, Gaylor Wafflard-Fernandez, David J. Wilner, Andrew J. Winter, Lisa Wölfer, Tomohiro C. Yoshida, Brianna Zawadzki

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Cloud-Cloud Collisions Induce Filament-Mediated Super Star Cluster Formation in the Antennae Overlap Region: Evidence from ALMA and JWST

Tomonari Michiyama, Toshiki Saito, Kouichiro Nakanishi et al. (+5 more)

The formation of super star clusters (SSCs) in galaxies remains a fundamental yet unresolved problem. Among the proposed mechanisms, cloud-cloud collisions (CCCs) have been suggested as a potential trigger, although observational validation has been limited. Here we present high-resolution ($0.12^{\prime\prime}$, $\sim14\,\mathrm{pc}$) ALMA observations of CO ($J=1\!-\!0$) emission toward a super giant molecular cloud (SGMC) in the overlap region of the Antennae galaxies. The data resolve the SGMC into two distinct velocity components separated by $\sim50\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$. One component exhibits a “U-shaped” structure within a large filament likely shaped by ram pressure, while the other shows hub-filament morphology. Such a morphology is naturally interpreted as a CCC scenario. The 108\,GHz continuum emission detected at the apparent collision interface is dominated by free-free radiation, with an ionizing photon rate consistent with the stellar mass and age of the optically identified SSCs. Supplementary infrared imaging with JWST reveals emission spatially coincident with the inferred collision interface, further supporting the CCC scenario. These results provide compelling, multi-wavelength evidence that CCCs play a key role in triggering SSC formation in merging galaxies.
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All authors Tomonari Michiyama, Toshiki Saito, Kouichiro Nakanishi, Daisuke Iono, Kazuki Tokuda, Kisetsu Tsuge, Yuzuki Nagashima, Shinya Komugi

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

Testing the wormhole echo hypothesis for GW231123

Qi Lai, Qing-Yu Lan, Zhan-He Wang et al. (+1 more)

The short-duration gravitational-wave (GW) event GW231123 has component masses inferred to lie in the pair-instability mass gap and exhibits a burst-like morphology without a clear inspiral phase, making it an interesting target for testing alternatives to the standard binary black hole (BBH) interpretation. Motivated by its phenomenological similarity to GW190521, we test a wormhole-echo interpretation by modeling a leading echo pulse with a phenomenological sine-Gaussian wavepacket. Bayesian model comparison against a BBH interpretation described by the IMRPhenomXPHM-SpinTaylor waveform yields $\ln \mathcal{B}^{\rm Echo}_{\rm BBH}=1.87$. This preference is sensitive to the BBH waveform family and Echo-prior choices, and the observed statistic is not unusual within the targeted BBH-null ensembles. The positive Bayes factor therefore does not provide robust evidence for a wormhole-echo interpretation, with the analyses considered here supporting the standard BBH interpretation of GW231123.
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All authors Qi Lai, Qing-Yu Lan, Zhan-He Wang, Yun-Song Piao

Astrophysics of Galaxies

MAUVE: Cold neutral gas in the outflow of NGC 4383 and evidence for a fountain flow

L. Cortese, A. B. Watts, J. Sun et al. (+9 more)

We present a multiphase study of the star-formation-driven outflow in the Virgo galaxy NGC 4383, combining ALMA CO(2-1) data with deep MeerKAT HI imaging and MUSE spectroscopy obtained as part of the Multiphase Astrophysics to Unveil the Virgo Environment (MAUVE) program. Our previous work revealed a spectacular ionised outflow, but the effect of the outflow on the cold phase remained unclear. Our analysis shows that potentially outflowing molecular gas is detected only within the inner 1 kpc above the disc, where CO clouds exhibit disturbed kinematics and spatial correspondence with the ionisation cone. At larger heights, the CO surface brightness rapidly drops, indicating that the molecular phase contributes little to the mass of outflowing gas. In contrast, the HI distribution shows plumes a few kiloparsecs above the disc that are aligned with the ionised cone, and complex kinematics suggestive of parts of the atomic phase being entrained in the outflow. However, the extended and warped HI disc associated with NGC 4383 complicates the unambiguous identification of outflowing atomic gas and, most importantly, the quantification of outflowing mass and loading factor. Independent support for a cold component in the outflow comes from dust extinction features associated with the outflow and coincident with HI plumes. Despite significant uncertainties in the estimate of the mass of cold gas associated with the outflow, these results suggest that the atomic phase likely dominates the cold outflow above 1 kpc. The observed cold gas velocities remain below the velocities of the ionised phase, suggesting that NGC 4383 does not host a large-scale escaping wind but more likely a galactic fountain, in which feedback redistributes material within the halo and regulates ongoing and future star formation.
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All authors L. Cortese, A. B. Watts, J. Sun, S. Sankar, B. Catinella, T. Brown, A. Boselli, P. Jáchym, T. Kolcu, S. Thater, J. van de Sande, V. Villanueva

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A Catalogue of Variable Active Galactic Nuclei Based on Multi-Timescale Variability Analysis from Fermi-LAT Data

Luana Passos-Reis, Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal Pino, Tarek Hassan et al. (+2 more)

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) sources feature supermassive black holes that launch relativistic plasma jets. They are key $\gamma$-ray sources providing a unique laboratory for studying extreme particle acceleration and plasma physics. Variability in $\gamma$-ray emission is an important signature that may constrain the size of the emission region and the physical processes driving flares. However, current large-scale $\gamma$-ray catalogs, such as the Fermi-LAT 4LAC-DR3, typically characterize variability only on long timescales (yearly or 60-day), lacking necessary constraints on short-term behavior from days to weeks. To address this, we systematically characterize $\gamma$-ray variability in AGNs across short timescales: 3-day, 7-day (weekly), and 30-day (monthly). We present a preliminary catalogue of variable AGN based on light curves from the Fermi-LAT Light Curve Repository. We show that the variability amplitude ($\sigma_{\rm NXS}^{2}$) presents similar values across different timescales, potentially increasing for a subsample of sources as the observation timescale increases. This high-cadence analysis reinforces the known dichotomy between flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs), with FSRQs consistently exhibiting stronger variability. By identifying the most luminous and variable sources at each timescale, we highlight key targets for follow-up with next-generation observatories such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), ASTRI Mini-Array, and the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), where strong short-term variability suggests highly compact emission zones and extreme particle acceleration efficiency. This catalogue contributes to the understanding of high-energy outflows in AGN jets and provides a foundation for optimizing observational strategies through a unified variability metric across timescales.
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All authors Luana Passos-Reis, Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal Pino, Tarek Hassan, Santiago Pita, Alberto Domínguez

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Bounds on the Tsallis Parameter from a deformed Neutrino Sector in the Early Universe

Matias P. Gonzalez

We generalize neutrino energy density content in the early universe near BBN era $T\simeq1$ MeV within Tsallis nonextensive statistics. By using Curado-Tsallis constraints we obtain generalized distribution functions $f_q(E)$. We compute the generalized thermodynamic integral for the energy density $\rho_q$. We define a reescaling $R^{(\xi = +1)}_{\rho}(q) = \rho_q/\rho^{\rm std}$ which is a ratio between the deformed energy density and the standard extensive case. The last was used to directly map and deform neutrino content via the effective number of neutrinos $N_{\rm eff}$. The deformation prediction was confronted against CMB$+$BAO and BBN data for $N_{\rm eff}$ by a joint/combined $\chi^2$ type-fit. We obtained the constraints $|q-1|\le 1.09\times 10^{-2}$ (95% CL) and $|q-1|\le 1.32\times 10^{-2}$ (99% CL) from the combined analysis by numerically calculating the best value of the Tsallis parameter $q_{\rm best}$.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Stellar Mass Growth in the First Galaxies: Theory and Observation

Alan Dressler and Andrew Benson

We compare the growth in stellar mass of galaxies in the $6<z<12$ epoch with predictions of a semi-analytic galaxy formation model - Galacticus. In contrast to diverse and controversial results that compare models and data for the luminosity evolution of galaxies – reported in an abundance of recent papers, we find very good, unambiguous agreement in the more fundamental quantity of stellar mass - measured from JWST observations - and Galacticus predictions. Specifically, we find good agreement for the shape of the integrated stellar mass as a function of redshift without any adjustment of parameters, and in amplitude as well, when 'feedback' is lowered by a factor of 3 compared to that required to match later-universe models and data. This result emerged from detailed investigation of the claim by Dressler et al. that bursts of star formation dominated the growth in stellar mass, specifically, that half of the galaxies with stellar mass growth of $M_* > 2\times10^8 \mathrm{M}_\odot$ in the epoch $8<z<6$ had less than $M_*<\times10^8 \mathrm{M}_\odot$ prior to $z = 8$. Here too we find agreement between models and data, namely that these ~100 Myr 'bursts' had strong in situ growth at $z\le8$, or showed (in Galacticus) substantial stellar and/or gas-rich mergers, and 30-40 Myr 'starbursts' as are common in $z<3$ galaxies. We note that, if a theoretical simulation is unable to pass the test of matching the growth of stellar mass, any success in reproducing the luminosity function is meaningless.
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