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Physics Astrophysics

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Wednesday 11 February

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Reevaluating thermal instability in a uniform plasma: an extended analysis of instability domains

Thermal instability plays a crucial role in the dynamics of astrophysical plasmas. Building upon the foundational work of G. B. Field (1965) and the subsequent analysis by T. Waters & D. Proga (2019), this study revisits thermal instability in a uniform, non-magnetic medium. We aim to reevaluate and expand the understanding of instability domains, focusing on the classification and characteristics of thermal and acoustic modes in the presence of heating, radiative cooling, and thermal conduction. Except for Spitzer's expression for parallel thermal conductivity, heating and cooling processes are unspecified. Additionally, we investigate the existence of isobaric and isochoric thermal modes across the extreme limits of very short and very long wavelengths, as well as at intermediate wavelengths; we address a common misconception about the existence of purely adiabatic perturbations. We also perform an in-depth analysis of the dispersion relation for an infinite, uniform hydrodynamic medium, as derived by G. B. Field (1965). This enables the generation of growth rate and dispersion diagrams, providing insight into thermal instability across different wavelength ranges. With the inclusion of thermal conduction, our study refines the classification of the instability regions previously outlined by T. Waters & D. Proga (2019). Our findings confirm that their classification holds when the Field length is smaller than or comparable to the thermal wavelength. For larger Field lengths, a simplified classification becomes impractical. Furthermore, we discuss the potential implications of the catastrophic cooling instability (T. Waters & A. Stricklan 2025) in coronal rain formation.
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All authors Varsha Felsy, Ramon Oliver, Jaume Terradas, Amanda Stricklan, Timothy Waters, James A. Klimchuk

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Pollux test bench: from NUV to FUV polarimetric measurements

Pollux is a high-resolution spectropolarimeter proposed by an European consortium for HWO. The current design of Pollux features four spectropolarimetric channels, three of which are in the UV range. For the near-UV (NUV) [236-472 nm] and mid-UV (MUV) [118-236 nm] channels, the polarimeters consist of waveplates and prisms made of MgF2, a birefringent material. However, no such birefringent material can be used for the far-UV (FUV) channel [100-123 nm]. Therefore, the polarimeter for this FUV channel is composed solely of mirrors in an innovative assembly. In this talk, we aim to detail the architecture of the test bench that will allow us to validate the performance of these different polarimeters, as part of the HWO GOMaP. Given that we are working in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) range, the test bench operates in a vacuum chamber in a clean room. We will discuss the adaptable architecture of the bench based on wavelength and the measurement methodology that we will implement to test if the polarimeters achieve the precision of $10^{-3}$ required for the Pollux instrument. With this test bench, we will successfully increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of UV spectropolarimeters and, for the first time, develop a means to test FUV spectropolarimetry.
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All authors Adrien Girardot, Coralie Neiner, Jean-Michel Reess, Olivier Dupuis, Margarita Carret

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

GECAM discovery of the second FRB-associated Magnetar X-ray Burst from SGR J1935+2154

Fast radio burst (FRB) is mysterious phenomenon with millisecond-duration radio pulses observed mostly from cosmological distance. The association between FRB 200428 and a magnetar X-ray burst (MXB) from SGR J1935+2154 has significantly advanced the understanding of FRB and magnetar bursts. However, it is uncertain whether this association between MXB and FRB (i.e. MXB/FRB 200428) is genuine or just coincidental only based on this single event. Here we report the discovery of a bright ($\rm\sim7.6\times10^{-7}\,erg \cdot cm^{-2}$ in 1-250 keV) magnetar X-ray burst detected by GECAM on October 14th, 2022 (dubbed as MXB 221014) from SGR J1935+2154, which is associated with a FRB detected by CHIME and GBT. We conducted a detailed temporal and spectral analysis of MXB 221014 with GECAM data and find that it is a bright and typical ($T_{90}\sim$250 ms) X-ray burst from this magnetar. Interestingly, we find two narrow X-ray pulses in the MXB, one of which temporally aligns with the main pulse of the FRB 221014 $\sim5.70$ ms latter than the peak time of FRB 221014), resembling the feature found in MXB/FRB 200428. Furthermore, we did comprehensive comparison between MXB/FRB 221014 and MXB/FRB 200428, and find that while the two events share several common features, they also exhibit distinct differences, highlighting the variety of the MXB-FRB association morphology. This finding not only confirms the association between MXB and FRB but also provides new insights into the mechanism of and the relationship between FRB and MXB.
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All authors Chen-Wei Wang, Shao-Lin Xiong, Yue Wang, Wen-Jun Tan, Xiao-Bo Li, Dong-Zi Li, Yan-Qiu Zhang, Shu-Xu Yi, Ming-Yu Ge, Sheng-Lun Xie, Wang-Chen Xue, Bing Li, Cheng-Kui Li, Zheng-Hua An, Ce Cai, Pei-Yi Feng, Min Gao, Ke Gong, Dong-Ya Guo, Hao-Xuan Guo, Yue Huang, Jia-Cong Liu, Xin-Qiao Li, Ya-Qing Liu, Xiao-Jing Liu, Xiang Ma, Wen-Xi Peng, Rui Qiao, Yang-Zhao Ren, Li-Ming Song, Xi-Lei Sun, Jin Wang, Jin-Zhou Wang, Ping Wang, Xiang-Yang Wen, Shuo Xiao, Sheng Yang, Qi-Bin Yi, Zheng-Hang Yu, Da-Li Zhang, Fan Zhang, Wen-Long Zhang, Jin-Peng Zhang, Peng Zhang, Shuan-Nan Zhang, Zhen Zhang, Xiao-Yun Zhao, Yi Zhao, Chao Zheng, Shi-Jie Zheng

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Deep and Sparse Denoising Benchmarks for Spectral Data Cubes of High-z Galaxies: From Simulations to ALMA observations

Beyond cosmic noon, galaxies appear as faint whispers amid noise, yet this epoch is key to understanding massive galaxy assembly. ALMA's sensitivity to cold dust and [C II] emission allows us to probe their interstellar medium, but faint signals make robust denoising essential. We evaluate and benchmark denoising strategies including Principal Component Analysis, Independent Component Analysis, sparse unsupervised representations: iterative soft thresholding with 2D-1D wavelets, and supervised deep learning with a 3D U-Net, to identify techniques that suppress noise while preserving flux and morphology across peak SNRs of 2.5-8, applied to (i) synthetic spectral cubes of rotating toy disk galaxies, (ii) synthetic [C II] IFU cubes from FIRE simulations, and (iii) ALMA [C II] observations of CRISTAL galaxies and W2246-0526. Performance is assessed via RMSE, conservation of flux and spectra, noise reduction, and SNR improvement of the central galaxy. For synthetic cubes: PCA and ICA provide marginal improvement; IST reduces noise effectively at moderate SNRs but can suppress emission at low SNRs; and the U-Net outperforms IST, though it can produce quantifiable hallucinations at lower-SNRs. For moderate-SNR observations (ALMA-CRISTAL), U-Net and IST achieve comparable performance, conserving >91% flux and increasing SNR by >6. However, for observations with complex morphologies absent in the training set (W2246), the U-Net underperforms relative to IST, recovering ~80% flux, while IST robustly conserves flux and improves SNR by ~3, highlighting generalisation challenges and the need for physically-motivated training priors. We conclude that IST is a robust unsupervised denoiser for moderate-SNR data, and a synthetically trained U-Net generalises effectively to real data, dependent on training priors. This framework offers a pathway for transferable denoising for ALMA, VLT/MUSE, and JWST.
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All authors Arnab Lahiry, Tanio Díaz-Santos, Jean-Luc Starck, Niranjan Chandra Roy, Daniel Anglés-Alcázar, Grigorios Tsagkatakis, Panagiotis Tsakalides

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The metal-poor tail of the APOGEE survey II. Spectral analysis of Mg and Si in very metal-poor APOGEE spectra

H-band spectra contain very limited spectral information for stars at the most metal-poor tail ( Fe/H < -2.5) because the available Fe lines in FGK stars in this wavelength range are weak. The first paper in this series successfully identified a sample of 327 very metal-poor stars (with [Fe/H] < -2) from the APOGEE database, 289 of which are on the red giant branch. The spectra of these stars were not properly analysed by the APOGEE main pipeline because they are very metal poor. In this work, we measure metallicities for these stars using the abundances of the elements Mg and Si. We demonstrate that the absorption lines of the elements Mg and Si are of good quality despite the challenging combination of (low) metallicity, wavelength regime, spectral resolution, and signal-to-noise ratios available for these spectra. A specialised pipeline was designed to measure the abundance of Mg and Si in APOGEE spectra and yielded a robust estimate of the overall metallicity. In order to provide reliable measurements, we tested three different sets of assumptions for Mg and Si enhancement. We present Mg and Si abundances as well as overall metallicities for 327 stars, all of which had previously gotten null values from the main APOGEE pipeline for either the calibrated M/H or [Fe/H] . The typical uncertainties for our measurements are 0.2 dex. We found five stars in our sample with unusual [Si/Mg] abundances higher than 0.5, and we connect this signature to globular cluster stars, and this might be related to specific supernova events. Our data suggest a concentration of high [Si/Mg] stars in the Sextans dwarf galaxy. Other dwarf galaxies are found to agree well with results in the literature. Our derived metallicities range between -3.1 $\leq$ [M/H] $\leq$ -2.25, thereby pushing the metal-poor tail of APOGEE results down by 0.6 dex.
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All authors M. Montelius, A. Angrilli Muglia, E. Starkenburg, C. Kobayashi, A. Ardern-Arentsen, F. Gran, P. Jablonka, N. Martin, J. Navarro, F. Sestito, K. A. Venn, S. Vitali

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The metal-poor tail of the APOGEE survey I. Uncovering [Fe/H] < -2.5 stars from the inner Galaxy to the Magellanic Clouds

In the search for metal-poor stars, large spectroscopic surveys are an invaluable tool. However, the spectra of metal-poor stars can be difficult to analyse because of the relative lack of available lines, which can also lead to misclassification. We aim to identify the stars observed by the APOGEE survey that are below the metallicity limit of APOGEE's analysis. For the highest confidence candidates, we classify the orbital properties of the stars to investigate whether their orbital distribution matches what we would expect for stars that are this metal poor and to select especially interesting targets for spectroscopic follow-up purposes. We examined the properties derived by APOGEE for metal-poor stars from the literature to find signatures of stars with a metallicity below the range of the grid used for spectral analysis. The calibrated APOGEE stellar parameters provide a clear signature of the most metal-poor stars in the survey, indicated by null values for their metallicities while having effective temperatures and surface gravities determined by the pipeline. From comparison with the literature, we find that, within a temperature range of 3700 - 6700 K and above a threshold of S/N > 30, the vast majority of APOGEE stars without calibrated metallicities are very metal poor. The radial velocities provided by APOGEE, Gaia DR3 positions and astrometry along with spectrophotometric distances derived in this work allowed for the computation of their orbits. In this work, we select 289 very metal-poor red giant stars (likely below = -2.5) from the APOGEE results. Our sample contains 16 very metal-poor member candidates of the Magellanic Clouds, 14 very metal-poor stars with orbits confined to the inner Galaxy, and 13 inner Galaxy halo interlopers.
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All authors M. Montelius, E. Starkenburg, H. Woudenberg, A. Angrilli Muglia, A. Ardern-Arentsen, A. Viswanathan, A. Byström, A. Helmi, N. Martin, T. Matsuno, C. Navarrete, J. Navarro

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Chemistry in the High expansion-velocity C-rich evolved star AFGL2233. Isotopic ratios, peculiarities and evolutionary status

High expansion velocity carbon stars (HVCs) are a rare class of evolved stars whose circumstellar envelopes (CSEs) combine C-rich chemistry with unusually high expansion velocities typical of O-rich massive evolved stars. AFGL2233 has been proposed as a high-mass evolved object that exhausted hot-bottom burning. Studying its chemistry is essential to understand the nature and evolution of these objects. We characterize the chemical composition and isotopic ratios of the CSE of AFGL2233 and investigate chemical peculiarities, including the presence of N- and O-bearing species in a C-rich environment. We carried out a complete line survey at 3 mm and 1 mm using the IRAM 30m telescope, complemented by Herschel/HIFI FIR observations and interferometric maps of SiO, C2H, and HCN. Molecular emission was analyzed using rotational diagrams and radiative transfer modeling under the LVG approximation. Column densities and fractional abundances were derived for more than 30 molecular species, including isotopologues, and compared with other evolved stars. The Gaia DR3 distance of 1.236 kpc implies a luminosity of ~2 Lsun, consistent with an initial mass of 4.5-9 Msun. The molecular inventory confirms C-rich chemistry but reveals unusually high abundances of NH3, H2O, and SiN. The isotopic ratios vary among species, with 12C/13C ranging from 7 to 55. The C2H/C4H ratio is abnormally high compared with C-rich AGB stars. The presence of SiN and high NH3 may indicate N-enrichment or the influence of a companion. AFGL2233 is likely a high-mass AGB or super-AGB star with a complex evolutionary history involving nucleosynthesis, shocks, and possible binary interaction.
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All authors G. Quintana-Lacaci, M. Agúndez, L. Velilla-Prieto, J. Alcolea, A. Castro-Carrizo, J.P. Fonfría, J. Cernicharo

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Cross-listed from cs.GR

Photons x Force: Differentiable Radiation Pressure Modeling

We propose a system to optimize parametric designs subject to radiation pressure, \ie the effect of light on the motion of objects. This is most relevant in the design of spacecraft, where radiation pressure presents the dominant non-conservative forcing mechanism, which is the case beyond approximately 800 km altitude. Despite its importance, the high computational cost of high-fidelity radiation pressure modeling has limited its use in large-scale spacecraft design, optimization, and space situational awareness applications. We enable this by offering three innovations in the simulation, in representation and in optimization: First, a practical computer graphics-inspired Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation of radiation pressure. The simulation is highly parallel, uses importance sampling and next-event estimation to reduce variance and allows simulating an entire family of designs instead of a single spacecraft as in previous work. Second, we introduce neural networks as a representation of forces from design parameters. This neural proxy model, learned from simulations, is inherently differentiable and can query forces orders of magnitude faster than a full MC simulation. Third, and finally, we demonstrate optimizing inverse radiation pressure designs, such as finding geometry, material or operation parameters that minimizes travel time, maximizes proximity given a desired end-point, minimize thruster fuel, trains mission control policies or allocated compute budget in extraterrestrial compute.
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All authors Charles Constant, Elizabeth Bates, Santosh Bhattarai, Marek Ziebart, Tobias Ritschel

Astrophysics of Galaxies

JWST spectra are consistent with the edge-on star-forming galaxy scenario for the "runaway supermassive black hole"

The linear structure reported by van Dokkum et al. (2023) has been proposed as either a massive stellar wake produced by a runaway supermassive black hole (SMBH) or a bulgeless edge-on galaxy. New JWST/NIRSpec IFU observations target the tip of the structure, where a SMBH would produce a bow shock, whereas a normal galaxy would host an HII region. Using standard BPT diagrams ([OIII]5007/Hb vs [NII]6583/Ha and [OIII]5007/Hb vs [OII]6716,6731/Ha), we find that the line ratios at the tip fall on the locus of low-metallicity low-extinction HII regions. This region does not overlap with loci typical of shocks in merging galaxies. Thus, these results are consistent with the interpretation that the linear structure is a star-forming galaxy, with the bright knot representing one of its HII regions.
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All authors Jorge Sanchez Almeida, Ignacio Trujillo, Sebastian F. Sanchez, Mireia Montes

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

The role of detailed gas and dust opacities in shaping the evolution of the inner disc edge subject to episodic accretion

We investigate the effects of different dust and gas opacity descriptions on the structure and evolution of the inner regions of protoplanetary discs. The influence on the episodic instability of the inner rim is hereby of central interest. 2D axisymmetric radiation hydrodynamic models are employed to simulate the evolution of the inner disc over several thousand years. Our simulations greatly expand on previous models by implementing detailed opacity descriptions in terms of their mean and frequency-dependent values, allowing us to also consider binned frequency-dependent irradiation. The adaptive opacity description significantly affects the structure of the inner disc rim, with gas opacities exerting the greatest influence. The resulting effects include shifts in the position of both the dust sublimation front and the dead zone inner edge, a significantly altered temperature in the dust-free region and the manifestation of an equilibrium temperature degeneracy as a sharp temperature transition. The episodic instability due to MRI activation in the dead zone still occurs, but at lower inner disc densities. While the gas opacities set the initial conditions for the instability, the evolution of the outburst itself is mainly governed by the dust opacities. The analysis of criteria for non-axisymmetric instabilities reveals possible breaking of the density peaks produced by the burst. However, due to the periodicity of the instability, the inner edge itself may remain stable throughout quiescent phases according to linear criteria. Although the thermal structure of the inner disc is crucially affected by different opacity descriptions, the mechanism of the periodic instability of the DZIE remains active and is only marginally influenced by gas opacities. The observational consequences of the severely altered temperatures may be significant and require further investigation.
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All authors Michael Cecil, Mario Flock, Mykola G. Malygin, Rolf Kuiper, Prakruti Sudarshan, Alexandros Ziampras, Vardan G. Elbakyan

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Distance Estimation and Sky Localization of Eccentric Double White Dwarf Binaries from Gravitational Wave Observations inside Globular Clusters

The cosmic distance scale is built on multiple different techniques for estimating distances in space that are often connected and dependent on multiple measurements and assumptions. Double white dwarf binaries (DWDs) are common objects and are expected to produce gravitational wave (GW) signals that can be observed with space-based detectors such as LISA. By analyzing these signals we should be able to estimate the distance and sky location of the source. Previous studies have done this for circular binaries which, while they are abundant, have, in general, weaker signals than eccentric binaries and it is not possible to differentiate whether a circular binary is in the field or in a dense environment such as a globular cluster (GC). In this paper we used eccentric binaries from MOCCA GC simulations, simulated the GW signal from each binary at locations related to GCs in the Milky Way and estimated the precision on the distance and the sky location of the source. We find that distances can be estimated with higher precision than current day methods even with low eccentricity binaries and higher eccentricity further increases this precision. Although the probability of finding a tight and eccentric DWD is far lower than a circular one, we can expect to find at least a few in the dense environments of the Milky Way, such as GCs. These estimations would be independent measurements with high precision to objects inside dense environments, such as GCs inside the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds.
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All authors Yuetong Zhao, L. Hellström, Siqi Zhang, M. Giersz, A. Askar, Youjun Lu, Zhoujian Cao, D. Belloni, G. Wiktorowicz, M. Górski

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Linking Fermi blazars and radio galaxies through accretion and jet radiation mechanisms

Based on the classical unification, blazars, namely BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) and flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), are believed to correspond with radio galaxies when observed at small jet viewing angles. In this paper, we aim to compile a sample of Fermi blazars and radio galaxies to provide new insights towards a unified accretion and ejection scenario between aligned and misaligned radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs), by considering their optical emission-line classifications (low- and high-excitation radio galaxies, LERGs, HERGs), which are more representative of their accretion states. We adopted statistical analyses of accretion properties and high-energy beaming patterns for both Fermi blazars and radio galaxies to investigate a unified accretion-ejection scenario. In the gamma-ray luminosity-photon index plane, HERGs populate the region of higher luminosities and softer photon indices, akin to FSRQs, whereas LERGs fill lower luminosities with harder photon indices, analogous to BL Lacs. This parallel segregation indicates that LERGs and HERGs represent the misaligned counterparts of BL Lacs and FSRQs, respectively. The unified picture is further supported by the Compton dominance-photon index diagram, where FSRQs and HERGs dominated by external Compton (EC) emissions are distinctly separated from BL Lacs and LERGs governed by synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emissions. Similarly, the diagram of accretion rate versus gamma-ray photon index reveals two distinct accretion-ejection states: a low-accretion-rate branch (BL Lacs and LERGs) is associated with the SSC model, and a high-accretion-rate branch (FSRQs and HERGs) is linked to the EC model. These results strongly strengthen the idea of a unified accretion and ejection paradigm between blazars and radio galaxies into two distinct states.
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All authors Xu-Hong Ye, Ranieri D. Baldi, Wen-Xin Yang, Jing-Tian Zhu, Denis Bastieri, Rumen S. Bachev, Anton A. Strigachev, Jun-Hui Fan

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Cosmic-ray electron propagation in NGC 3044 from radio continuum observations

Star-forming edge-on galaxies often exhibit extended halo radiation in multiple bands, providing ideal laboratories for studying the transfer of matter from the disk to the halo. We investigate the transport of cosmic-ray electrons (CREs) and the associated galactic wind, and assess their impact on the surrounding medium in NGC 3044. We obtained the NGC 3044 total intensity image at 943 MHz from the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) observations with a resolution of 16 arcsec and an rms noise of 20 $\mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$. The sensitivity is higher than the previous observations at similar frequencies. We find that the ASKAP intensity profiles perpendicular to the disk can be fit with two exponential components. The scale heights of the thin and thick disks are $0.43 \pm 0.13$ kpc and $1.91 \pm 0.26$ kpc, respectively. By jointly fitting total intensity and spectral index profiles with one-dimensional advection and diffusion models, we find that CREs are advected outward from the disk with the velocity increasing with height in a power law. Beyond $\sim3$ kpc, the velocity exceeds the escape speed of $\sim400$ km s$^{-1}$, indicating a strong wind. We further identify a possible superbubble of radius $\sim3$ kpc filled with soft X-ray emitting hot gas and surrounded by an HI shell and a bright H$\alpha$ rim. These results demonstrate that radio continuum observations provide a powerful probe of cosmic-ray-driven winds in normal star-forming spiral galaxies.
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All authors Shengtao Wang, Xiaohui Sun, George Heald, Jiang-Tao Li, Chao-Wei Tsai, Judith Irwin, Theresa Wiegert, Jun Xu

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

First Detection of $\gamma$-Ray Emission from the Compact Symmetric Object JVAS J1311+1658

We report the first detection of $\gamma$-ray emission from the young radio galaxy JVAS~J1311+1658, classified as a compact symmetric object (CSO). This detection is characterized by a recent GeV $\gamma$-ray flare identified in Fermi-LAT data during MJD~60032.6–60132.6, with a $\gamma$-ray source detected at a significance level of $\sim6.2\sigma$. The average 0.1–300~GeV flux is measured to be $(1.6 \pm 0.6)\times10^{-8}\,\mathrm{ph\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$, with a photon spectral index of $\Gamma = 2.15 \pm 0.185$. We find that a radiative model of the radio lobes significantly underestimates the observed $\gamma$-ray emission. The strong flux and short-term variability over $\sim$100 days suggest that the emission likely originates from newly launched sub-kiloparsec-scale jets at the core. This detection provides a unique window into the extreme environments and early-stage jet activity of young radio galaxies, offering insights into their initial evolution and the formation of relativistic jets in the earliest phases of galaxy growth.
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All authors Xiong Jiang, Yang-Ji Li, Hai Lei, Da-Ming Wei

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics · Cross-listed from hep-ph

Unidentified falling objects in the LHC as dark matter signals

Unidentified Falling Objects (UFOs) refer to sporadic beam losses observed during LHC operation. The prevailing explanation is that micrometer-sized dust particles released from the beam screen produce beam losses through interactions with the protons. However, the release mechanism of these particles remains unknown. We propose that roughly $(1-10)$% of UFOs may be caused by axion quark nuggets (AQNs), macroscopic dark matter (DM) candidates with masses of order $(5-1000)\,$g. The AQN model naturally relates the dark- and visible-matter abundances ($\Omega_\mathrm{DM}\sim\Omega_\mathrm{visible}$) and provides a mechanism for generating the baryon-antibaryon asymmetry, with DM composed of both matter and antimatter AQNs. When passing underground within approximately 100km of the LHC, an antimatter AQN generates acoustic waves strong enough to trigger multiple UFO events within $2\,$s. If three correlated UFOs (placed at different locations along the LHC ring) are detected, the signal-to-noise ratio can exceed 5 across the entire allowed AQN mass range for a measurement time of about 360 hours. Practically, the LHC can serve as a large broadband acoustic detector for AQNs.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A 682-second X-ray Periodicity in CH Cygni: Evidence for a Magnetic White Dwarf

Symbiotic stars are interacting binaries consisting of a red giant and typically a white dwarf, important as potential Type Ia supernova progenitors. Despite theoretical predictions that white dwarfs in symbiotic systems should often be magnetic, direct evidence has been elusive. We report the discovery of a $682.5 \pm 7$ s periodicity in the XMM-Newton X-ray light curve that we interpret as the spin period of the WD in CH Cygni. This detection provides strong evidence for a magnetic white dwarf in CH Cygni, making it only the second WD symbiotic star with confirmed X-ray pulsations after R Aquarii. Our discovery supports the magnetic propeller model previously proposed for CH Cygni's jet activity and state transitions.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Data-driven Magnetohydrodynamic Simulation of the Initiation of a Coronal Mass Ejection with Multiple Stages

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the primary drivers of adverse space-weather events, yet their initiation and onset prediction remain insufficiently understood due to the complexity of the magnetic topology and physical processes in real solar source regions. Here, based on fully observational-data-driven magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we successfully reproduce the initiation of a CME originating from the super active region AR 13663, with only a one-minute time lag between the flare peak in observations and the velocity peak of the rising flux rope in the simulation. Moreover, the eruptive structure exhibits a multi-stage kinematic evolution: an initial slow acceleration, a plateau at a nearly stationary height, and a subsequent impulsive acceleration. These stages correspond to torus instability, the downward tension force exerted by the overlying toroidal field, and fast magnetic reconnection, respectively. Our results highlight the inherently multistage nature of CME initiation in real events. In configurations with strong overlying toroidal fields, the downward toroidal-field-induced tension force can suppress the rise of the flux rope and produce a plateau phase at a nearly stable height, even when torus instability occurs. In contrast, the subsequent fast magnetic reconnection beneath the flux rope can drive the impulsive eruption more effectively. The close agreement between the observed and simulated peak times over one minute demonstrates the strong potential of our data-driven model for predicting CME onset.
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All authors J. H. Guo, S. Poedts, B. Schmieder, Y. Guo, C. Zhou, H. Wu, Y. W. Ni, Z. Zhong, Y. H. Zhou, S. H. Li, P. F. Chen

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from physics.plasm-ph

Bridging the Kinetic-Fluid Gap: Ion-Driven Magnetogenesis to Prime Cosmic Dynamos

The origin of cosmic magnetic fields is widely attributed to the amplification of weak seed fields by turbulent dynamos. However, a critical understanding gap remains between the microscopic generation of these seeds and the macroscopic onset of the dynamo. Current kinetic models, often constrained to electron scales, predict premature saturation via magnetic trapping, leaving the generated fields potentially too weak and small-scale to effectively prime magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) processes. Here, using high-resolution kinetic simulations with a realistic mass ratio, we reveal the physics of this unexplored ion-kinetic regime. Under generalized continuous shear driving, used to simulate ubiquitous macroscopic flows, we demonstrate that the saturation of electron instabilities is not the endpoint but a precursor to a distinct, ion-dominated evolution. Massive ions, sustaining the velocity shear, trigger a subsequent filamentation instability that accesses the vast ion kinetic energy reservoir. This mechanism amplifies the magnetic energy by orders of magnitude beyond the electron-saturation limit, expanding the field coherence to ion scales. Our results establish ion kinetics as the essential ”missing link” that bridges the divide between microscopic plasma instabilities and macroscopic cosmic dynamos.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Cross-listed from physics.space-ph

Shocks, compressible perturbations, and intermittency in the very local interstellar medium: Voyager 1 and 2 observations and numerical modeling

Voyager spacecraft (V1 and V2) provide unique in situ measurements of perturbations propagating beyond the heliopause through the very local interstellar medium (VLISM), including the shocks and pressure fronts whose origin is debated. In particular, a jump in magnetic field strength, observed by V1 in 2020.4 at 149.3 au from the Sun, was followed by a distinct "hump" and persistently strong magnetic field, both requiring theoretical explanation. This paper offers an interpretation of those observations using a self-consistent, MHD model of the solar wind - LISM interaction driven by the OMNI and interplanetary scintillation data combined with a turbulence analysis of Voyager data. Our simulations convincingly demonstrate that global, solar-cycle-driven compressions, on hitting the heliopause, can reproduce those puzzling V1 observations. They appear to be associated with solar cycle 24, whereas similar interstellar magnetic field structures can occur once per cycle. The turbulence analysis reveals time-dependent magnetic compressibility that persists up to 165 au at scales below 10 days. Turbulence intermittency at scales below 1 hour is mostly confined to specific intervals, possibly associated with a broad foreshock region. The apparent disappearance of intermittency since 2022 reflects the turbulence weakening rather than a fundamental change in VLISM properties. We predict that V1 will record relatively strong magnetic field strengths until $\sim$2030, followed by weaker, infrequent perturbations. At V2, we expect multiple solar-driven compressions before 2026, followed by a major event induced by solar cycle 25 around 2030. New Horizons is expected to cross the termination shock at 80$\pm$2 au in 2031.
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All authors Federico Fraternale, Nikolai V. Pogorelov, Ratan Bera, Leonard F. Burlaga, Maciej Bzowski

Tuesday 10 February

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Not Earth-like Yet Temperate? More Generic Climate Feedback Configurations Still Allow Temperate Climates in Habitable Zone Exo-Earth Candidates

Earth's climate is influenced by over a dozen feedbacks, but only three dominate its long-term climate behavior. Models of the exoplanet habitable zone (HZ) assume that this is similar for other Earth-like planets. We used dynamical simulations to study Earth-like planets with a fourth, (potentially strong) generalized climate feedback. Across over 20,000 climate simulations, we find that the addition of the fourth feedback produces novel behaviors, including runaway and chaotic climate trajectories, that are more diverse than one would expect based on Earth's climate configuration. Non-negligible fourth feedbacks – if negative – would not lessen the probability of planets with temperate climates. However, positive fourth feedbacks decrease the fraction of exo-Earth candidates that are long-term habitable. Therefore, strong fourth feedbacks will alter (and mostly shrink) the boundaries of the classical habitable zone. When combined with occurrence rates of Earth-sized planets around sun-like stars, our results imply that the fraction of stars hosting rocky planets with temperate climates may be substantially lower than classical estimates under Earth-like climate assumptions. Our results are subject to the validity of the model assumptions and not intended to represent conclusive predictions about exoplanet populations but rather to demonstrate the potential climate diversity that emerges from non-Earth-like model configurations. Our conclusions provide context on sample sizes and science questions for next-generation exoplanet surveys.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

MAGNUS III: Mild evolution of the total density slope in massive early-type galaxies since z$\sim$1 from dynamical modeling of MUSE integral-field stellar kinematics

We investigate the total mass density slope evolution in massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) over the last 6.5 billion years ($0 < z < 0.75$). We perform a detailed dynamical analysis of approximately 200 ETGs spanning the redshift range $0.24 < z < 0.75$, utilizing spatially resolved stellar kinematics derived from high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) MUSE-DEEP spectroscopy and surface brightness models from high-resolution HST imaging. We constrain mass distributions using the Jeans Anisotropic Modeling (JAM) technique coupled with Multi-Gaussian Expansion (MGE) method. To rigorously constrain evolutionary trends, we combine this intermediate-redshift dataset with a local ETG sample ($z \sim 0.05$) from the MaNGA survey. We adopt dynamical constraints for the local sample derived using an identical homogeneous methodology, ensuring a strictly consistent comparison. We found that the total density profiles of the intermediate-redshift ETG sample are approximately isothermal and exhibit a median mass-weighted total density slope, $<\gamma_{\rm T}>=2.19 \pm 0.01$ at $<z>=0.44$, which is shallower than the local baseline of $<\gamma_{\rm T}> = 2.26 \pm 0.01$ at $<z>=0.04$. This structural shift corresponds to a redshift gradient of $\mathrm{d} \gamma_{\rm T}/\mathrm{d} z \approx -0.20 \pm 0.03$, detected at $\sim$5-$\sigma$ significance. We demonstrate that this trend is robust against model assumptions and persists even when restricting the analysis to high-velocity dispersion systems ($\sigma_e > 150$ km/s). Our findings are consistent with previous lensing-based studies and in tension with cosmological simulations. The observed steepening suggests that dissipative processes, such as gas-rich accretion and mergers, must play a non-negligible role in the late-stage assembly of massive ETGs.
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All authors Pritom Mozumdar, Michele Cappellari, Christopher D. Fassnacht, Tommaso Treu

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Searching for radio emission from stellar wind-magnetosphere interaction or co-rotation breakdown in brown dwarfs

With the improvements in radio interferometry sensitivity, the quest for coherent radio emission from exoplanets and ultra-cool dwarfs, which is indicative of their magnetic fields, has gained significant momentum in recent years. We investigated the relatively unexplored possibility of radio emission from wide-orbit brown dwarf companions, which may radiate through rapid rotation, as in isolated ultra-cool dwarfs, or via interactions between their extended magnetospheres and the host star's wind. We analysed $\sim 60$ hours of Upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array data for a set of well-characterized systems previously unobserved at 0.3-2 GHz. The targets include companions orbiting the G-type stars HD 26161 and BD-004475, the K-type HD 153557A and $\nu$ Oph, and the M dwarfs GJ 3626 and 2MJ01225093-2439505. No detections were obtained with 3$\sigma$ upper limits down to $\sim 25\,\mu$Jy/beam in Stokes V in the best cases. The light-curve analysis also revealed no evidence of short ($\gtrsim$ minutes), intense ($\gtrsim$ mJy) radio bursts. The upper limits provide tentative constraints on model parameters. However, the effects of model uncertainties, limited observational coverage, and intrinsic variability or beaming of the emission must be considered. The improvement in sensitivity of the next-generation radio interferometers will likely allow to go below the expected flux range over a much larger range of free parameters.
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All authors Rebeca Pirvu Malanda, Simranpreet Kaur, Daniele Viganò, Òscar Morata, Josep Miquel Girart, Álvaro Sánchez Monge, Devojyoti Kansabanik, Mario Damasso, Mayank Narang, Gemma Busquet, Juan Carlos Morales, Fabio Del Sordo, Kaustubh Hakim, Manoj Purvankara

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Efficient reduction of stellar contamination and noise in planetary transmission spectra using neural networks

The characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres has been transformed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), whose infrared sensitivity enables transmission spectroscopy at unprecedented precision. However, stellar heterogeneities (e.g., spots and faculae) remain a dominant source of contamination that can bias atmospheric retrievals if not properly corrected. We present a methodology for reducing stellar contamination and instrument-specific noise from exoplanet transmission spectra using neural networks, in particular the so-called Denoising AutoEncoders (DAEs). Our goals are to enable fast, accurate corrections that improve the reliability of atmospheric parameter retrievals and to promote the use of unsupervised algorithms for efficient data processing. We designed and trained DAE architectures using large synthetic datasets of terrestrial (TRAPPIST-1e analogues) and sub-Neptune (K2-18b analogues) planets. Atmospheric retrieval experiments were then performed on contaminated spectra in order to compare our deep-learning approach against standard correction methods in terms of accuracy and computational cost. Our autoencoders successfully reconstruct uncontaminated spectra, preserving essential molecular features even in low-S/N regimes. In retrieval tests, the denoising autoencoder pre-processing yields atmospheric parameter estimates broadly comparable to those obtained with simultaneous stellar-contamination fitting. Notably, our method maintains a much lower computational cost, approximately one order of magnitude smaller. These results demonstrate that DAEs outperform conventional correction methods in computational efficiency while maintaining high accuracy, paving the way for their integration into future atmospheric characterization pipelines for both rocky and sub-Neptune exoplanets.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Detecting HI Absorption in FRB Spectra: Modern Prospects and Scientific Utility

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) emit broadband radio emission that may, in rare cases, encode atomic hydrogen (HI) absorption signals as they traverse the interstellar medium of their host galaxies. Though considered in the early FRB literature, the demanding observational prerequisites and the rarity of suitable events have meant that no thorough search for HI absorption in FRB spectra has yet been undertaken. Here, we present an updated systematic analysis assessing the likelihood of modern facilities to detect such absorption features. As a proof of concept, we search for absorption in the spectrum of the bright ASKAP-localised FRB 20211127I, finding a $3\sigma$ opacity upper limit of 0.51. While this test case offers little constraining power, we find that narrow FRBs with fluences exceeding 20/70/150 Jy ms observed with MeerKAT/ASKAP/DSA can probe opacities below 0.1 - a regime in which absorption detections become physically meaningful. We further highlight that stacking thousands of bursts from hyperactive repeaters with FAST offers a very powerful avenue toward detection. Finally, we discuss the broad scientific potential of such detections, including constraints on extragalactic HI spin temperatures, a means to physically probe the environment surrounding the progenitor, and a path towards disentangling host galaxy contributions to dispersion and scattering.
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All authors Hugh Roxburgh, Marcin Glowacki, Apurba Bera, Clancy James

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor Star Candidates in the Milky Way from J-PLUS and S-PLUS

Recent large-scale multi-band photometric surveys now enable elemental-abundance estimates for millions of stars with accuracies approaching those of low- to medium-resolution spectroscopy. Using [Fe/H] and [C/Fe] estimates derived from the Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) DR3 and the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) DR4, which together cover $\sim$6,200 deg$^2$ of the sky, we identify large numbers of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars in the Milky Way. After applying data-quality cuts and evolutionary corrections to the carbon-abundance estimates, we construct a combined J/S-PLUS sample of $\sim$6.40 million stars and identify $\sim$104,900 CEMP candidates, roughly twice the number of CEMP candidates identified from Gaia XP spectra by Lucey et al. We photometrically confirm that the absolute carbon abundance $A$(C) separates CEMP stars into two primary groups, CEMP-no and CEMP-$s$ stars, consistent with previous spectroscopic studies. We also recover CEMP morphological Groups I-III in the Yoon-Beers diagram, as well as the recently proposed Group IV, and show that it is statistically distinct even in photometric data. A cumulative frequency analysis confirms that the CEMP fraction increases toward lower metallicity and that CEMP-no stars dominate in the most metal-poor regime. By comparing frequencies with and without Group IV stars, we assess their relation to CEMP-no and CEMP-$s$ stars, and examine CEMP distributions across different Galactic components. The resulting catalog provides a substantial sample for future spectroscopic follow-up, in particular to constrain the likely origin(s) of the Group IV stars.
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All authors Jihye Hong, Timothy C. Beers, Yang Huang, Jonathan Cabrera Garcia, Young Sun Lee, Vinicius M. Placco, Evan N. Kirby

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Re-visiting the Canis Major star-forming region with Gaia data release 3 data

Context: The Canis Major (CMa) star-forming region, a remote molecular cloud complex within the recently discovered Radcliffe Wave, remains under-explored in the literature. Aims: We revisit the stellar census in the CMa region, characterizing its stellar population, kinematics, and age using recent astrometric and photometric data from the third data release of the Gaia space mission (Gaia DR3). Methods: We conducted a membership analysis of Gaia DR3 sources across a 16 deg$^2$ field encompassing the youngest subgroups in CMa. This new stellar census, combined with spectroscopic observations, allowed us to investigate the structure, kinematics, and age of this region. Results: We identified 1531 objects as members of the CMa region, confirming 401 previously known members and introducing 1130 new candidate members. These objects have magnitudes ranging from 10 to 18 mag in the G band from Gaia DR3. We identified two subgroups of CMa stars in our sample labelled as Cluster A and Cluster B. They are located at roughly the same distance ($d_{A} = 1150^{+79}_{-88}$ pc and $d_{B} = 1183^{+103}_{-108}$ pc) and exhibit similar space motions that can be derived thanks to the precise radial velocities obtained in this study. The subgroups have a mean isochronal age of about 2-3 Myr. However, based on infrared photometry we show that Cluster A has a higher fraction of disc-bearing stars suggesting that it could be somewhat younger than Cluster B. Conclusions: Our analysis provides new insights into the stellar population of the Canis Major region, by identifying new members, characterizing their kinematics, and assessing their evolutionary stages. Future studies incorporating additional data from upcoming Gaia data releases, multi-wavelength and high-resolution spectroscopic observations will be essential to further advance our understanding of the history of star formation in this region.
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All authors S. Nogueira-Silva, P.A.B. Galli, J. Olivares, H. Bouy, B. P. Popowicz, P. M. Merino, T. Santos-Silva, J. Gregorio-Hetem, N. Miret-Roig, J. Alves

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Cross-listed from gr-qc

The measurable impact of the 2pN spin-dependent accelerations on the jet precession of M87$^\ast$

Motivated by recent accurate measurements of disk/jet coprecessions around some galactic supermassive black holes, the accelerations experienced by an uncharged, spinless object in the Kerr metric, written in harmonic coordinates, are analytically calculated up to the formal second post-Newtonian order. To such a level, some new accelerations make their appearance. They are proportional to even and odd powers of the hole's angular momentum. Their counterparts are not known where the primary is a material body. After expressing them in a coordinate-independent, vector form valid for any orientations of the hole's spin axis in space, their orbital effects are perturbatively worked out in terms of the particle's Keplerian orbital elements. The resulting expressions, averaged over one orbital revolution, are valid for generic shapes and inclinations of the orbit. The orbital plane's precession proportional to the first power of the hole's angular momentum and to the reciprocal of the fourth power of the speed of light amounts to about twenty per cent of the corresponding Lense-Thirring effect. The latter is believed to be the cause of the accurately measured disk/jet precessional phenomenology, currently measured to a few per cent accuracy. Although at a lesser extent, also the precession proportional to the second power of the hole's spin and to the reciprocal of the fourth power of the speed of light is measurable. Allowed domains in the parameter space of the jet precession around M87$^\ast$ are displayed.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Carbon from Interstellar Clouds to Habitable Worlds

Carbon is an essential element for a habitable world. Inner (r < 3 au) disk planetary carbon compositions are strongly influenced by supply and survival of carbonaceous solids. Here we trace the journey of carbon from the interstellar medium to the processes leading to planet formation. The review highlights the following central aspects: -Organics forming in evolved star envelopes are supplemented by aromatic molecules forming in the dense ISM to represent the seeds of (hydro)carbon supply through pervasive pebble drift to rocky planets and sub-Neptune cores. -Within the protoplanetary disk the sharp gradient in the C/Si content of Solar System bodies and mineral geochemistry outlines a tale of carbon loss from pebbles to within planetesimals and planets, and from planetary atmospheres. -Within two planet formation paradigms (pebble and planetesimal accretion) a range of planetary carbon content is possible that is strongly influenced by early (< 0.5 Myr) formation of a pressure bump that titrates drift. Overall, it is unlikely that the carbon architecture of our Solar System applies to all systems. In the absence of giant planets, carbon-rich rocky worlds and sub-Neptunes may be common. We outline observations that support their presence and discuss habitability of terrestrial worlds.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Evidence that SOL2012-06-03 Late Phase $\gamma$ Rays are Produced by $>$300 MeV Protons from CME-Shock Acceleration of Suprathermals from the Flare

A recent paper on SOL2012-06-03 reported the detection for the first time of two distinct phases of $>$100 MeV $\gamma$-radiation indicating separate acceleration processes. But such two-phase emission has been seen before and was first observed in SOL1982-06-03. The second phase is known as Late Phase Gamma-Ray Emission (LPGRE) and was cataloged for $>$40 solar eruptions, including SOL2012-06-03. Here we provide evidence that the second SOL2012-06-03 $\pi$-decay peak is the onset of LPGRE that lasted for $>$8 min. Its delay from the impulsive X-ray peak is consistent with the time it would take flare-produced suprathermal protons to overtake the expanding CME and be accelerated by its shock. The high accelerated ion-to-electron ratio in SOL2012-06-03 and other LPGRE events is consistent with the ratio observed in gradual SEP events produced by shocks and is inconsistent with ratios typically found in impulsive flares and solar energetic particle events produced by reconnection.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Solar Wind Heating Near the Sun: A Radial Evolution Approach

Characterizing the plasma state in the near-Sun environment is essential to constrain the mechanisms that heat and accelerate the solar wind. In this study, we use Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observations from Encounters 1 through 24 to investigate the radial evolution of solar wind plasma and magnetic field properties in this region. Using intervals with high field-of-view ($>85\%$) coverage, we derive the radial profiles of magnetic field strength ($|B|$), proton density ($N$), bulk speed ($V$), total proton temperature ($T$), parallel ($T_\parallel$) and perpendicular ($T_\perp$) temperatures, temperature anisotropy ($T_\perp/T_\parallel$), plasma beta ($\beta$), Alfvén Mach number ($M_A$), and magnetic field fluctuations ($\delta B/B$) for sub and super-Alfvénic regions. In super-Alfvénic regions, power-law of $|B|$, $N$, $V$, and $T$ as a function of heliocentric distance are broadly consistent with previous Helios results at $>0.3$ AU. The radial evolution of the components of the temperature tensor reveals distinct behavior: $T_\perp$ decreases monotonically with distance, whereas $T_\parallel$ exhibits a non-monotonic trend – decreasing in the sub-Alfvénic region, increasing just beyond the Alfvén surface. We interpret the increase in $T_\parallel$ as a proxy for proton beam occurrence. We further examine the evolution of magnetic field fluctuations, finding decreasing radial/parallel fluctuations but enhanced tangential/normal/perpendicular fluctuations in sunward direction. These fluctuations may provide free energy for beam generation and particle heating via wave-particle interactions.
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All authors Yogesh, Leon Ofman, Kristopher Klein, Niranjana Shankarappa, Mihailo M. Martinović, Gregory G. Howes, Parisa Mostafavi, Scott A Boardsen, Viacheslav M Sadykov, Sanchita Pal, Lan K Jian, Aakash Gupta, D. Chakrabarty, B. L. Alterman, Jaye L Verniero, K. W. Paulson, Jia Huang, Roberto Livi, Davin E. Larson, Christian Möstl, Emma E. Davies, Eva Weiler