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Physics Astrophysics

astro-ph Watch Astrophysics

Wednesday 11 March

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The FAST Discovery of a binary millisecond pulsar PSR~J1647-0156B (M12B) with a candidate cross matching algorithm

Qiuyu Yu, Yujie Wang, Zhichen Pan et al. (+9 more)

We propose a pulsar candidate cross matching algorithm to sift radio pulsar search candidates from repeated observations of the same sky location such as globular clusters, high energy sources, or supernova remnants. Our method uses both the candidate spin period ($P$) and dispersion measure (DM) value; if two or more candidates from different observations have similar spin periods to within 1%, and dispersion measure values within 10%, they are likely to correspond to the same candidate detection. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of our method through the discovery of the pulsar M12B with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). This pulsar has a spin period of 2.76\,ms and a dispersion measure of $42.70 \pm 0.05\,\mathrm{cm}^{-3}~\mathrm{pc}$. This pulsar has a profile with three peaks, being faint, showing scintillation. It is in an approximately 0.53-day orbit. Our discovery indicates that more pulsars might be effectively discovered if the algorithm is applied to the search results from other archival globular cluster observations.
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All authors Qiuyu Yu, Yujie Wang, Zhichen Pan, Zhongli Zhang, Lei Qian, Zhongzu Wu, Ralph P. Eatough, Dejiang Yin, Baoda Li, Yujie Chen, Yinfeng Dai, Yifeng Li

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Full Dynamical Model (SOCOL:14C-Ex) of 14C Atmospheric Production and Transport in Application to Miyake Events

Kseniia Golubenko, Ilya Usoskin, Edouard Bard et al. (+2 more)

Extreme solar particle events (ESPEs) are caused by rare, enormously strong solar eruptions and can produce globally detectable spikes in tree-ring radiocarbon 14C, known as Miyake events, which serve as precise chronological tie-points and indicators of extreme solar activity. After production, radiocarbon is subjected to the complex carbon cycle, including large-scale atmospheric transport, which is crucially important for fast and strong Miyake events with highly inhomogeneous 14C production. A new 3D dynamical model, SOCOL:14C-Ex, of the radiocarbon atmospheric production and transport is presented here, which can model fast changes in the 14C atmospheric concentrations with high temporal and spatial resolution. Precise response curves of $\Delta^{14}$C to a reference ESPE (100xGLE#69) were computed for various event dates. They can be directly applied to analyse Miyake events under different conditions. Seven strong events over the past 14 millennia (AD 993, AD 774, 664 BC, 5260 BC, 5411 BC, 7177 BC, and 12351 BC) were analysed by fitting the reference curves to the available annual D14C data, identifying the most probable values and confidence intervals of their parameters – strength, event's date and background level. By applying corrections for the geomagnetic and atmospheric (CO2) factors, the strengths of the corresponding ESPEs were assessed. The strongest ESPE is confirmed to be that of 12351 BC, while that of AD 774 remains the strongest event during the Holocene. To conclude, a new tool, based on the radiocarbon atmospheric transport model SOCOL:14C-Ex, is presented to analyse fast changes in the $^{14}$C production.
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All authors Kseniia Golubenko, Ilya Usoskin, Edouard Bard, Sergey Koldobskiy, Eugene Rozanov

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A candidate proton cyclotron feature in the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 4656 ULX-1

Nelson Cruz-Sanchez, Enzo A. Saavedra, Federico A. Fogantini et al. (+6 more)

Ultraluminous X-ray sources represent extreme super-Eddington accretion regimes, and a subset is now known to host highly magnetized neutron stars. However, direct observational probes of their surface magnetic fields remain scarce. In this Letter, we report the detection of a narrow X-ray absorption feature at $3.29\pm0.02$ keV in the XMM$-$Newton/EPIC-pn spectrum of NGC 4656 ULX-1. The source exhibits a hard-ultraluminous state, while our timing analysis reveals a candidate pulsation at $\sim$0.9736 Hz, with a local significance of $5.5\sigma$ and a pulsed fraction of $\sim11\%$. The feature is robust against changes in continuum modeling and data-selection criteria, retaining a statistical significance of $\gtrsim3\sigma$ in Monte Carlo simulations. Interpreting the absorption as a proton cyclotron resonant scattering feature implies a local magnetic field of $B\sim(6-7)\times10^{14}$ G in the line-forming region. This value is consistent with strong magnetic fields anchored near the neutron star surface, even if the large-scale dipole is substantially weaker. Although we discuss electron cyclotron features and atomic transitions as possible alternatives, they appear less consistent with the observed phenomenology.
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All authors Nelson Cruz-Sanchez, Enzo A. Saavedra, Federico A. Fogantini, Federico García, Jorge A. Combi, Matteo Bachetti, Matteo Imbrogno, Lara Sidoli, Alessio Marino

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

On the dual nature of atmospheric escape

Darius Modirrousta-Galian and Jun Korenaga

Planetary atmospheres cannot remain hydrostatic at all altitudes because they approach finite density at infinite radius, implying infinite mass. Classical treatments address this in two directions: either retain a hydrostatic structure while allowing particles in the high-velocity tail to decouple and escape in a Jeans-type manner, or promote the gas to a continuum outflow to obtain a transonic Parker-type solution. The usual criterion compares the local mean free path to the sonic point radius. If the mean free path is shorter, the atmosphere is hydrostatic with an imposed Jeans escape flux; if it is longer, the gas is hydrodynamic with Jeans escape neglected. Here, we show that hydrogen-rich atmospheres do not separate cleanly into hydrodynamic and Jeans-escape regimes. At any radius, some particles still collide and behave as a fluid, while others have already experienced their last collision and move collisionlessly on ballistic trajectories. The relative importance of these two behaviors changes smoothly with radius rather than switching at a single boundary. The hydrodynamic channel accelerates and passes through a sonic point, whereas the collisionless channel decelerates under gravity and grows with altitude, removing mass and momentum from the collisional flow. As the collisionless component grows, the bulk flow speed reaches a maximum and then decelerates thereafter, producing profiles similar to Parker breeze solutions even though escape is carried by the collisionless channel. This two-channel framework provides a first step toward a self-consistent treatment that unifies hydrodynamics and kinetics in atmospheric loss models.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

New classification method for the dynamical state of galaxy clusters with a Gaussian mixture model

Hyowon Kim, Marco Canducci, Rory Smith et al. (+5 more)

Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound systems, and they continue their growth through mergers in a hierarchical {\Lambda}CDM Universe. Therefore, we can describe the merger stage of a cluster as the dynamical state of clusters. Previous studies have investigated this phenomenon, but several limitations remain, including reliance on dichotomous classifications, constraints on the number of indicators used, absence of reliability, and incompatibility of methods between observation and simulation studies. To overcome this, we developed an enhanced and observation-applicable cluster dynamical state classification method using the Bayesian classifier with the class-conditional Gaussian mixture distribution model using the N-cluster Run simulation data. The Bayesian classifier was designed for two merger stages (merger and relaxed) as well as three merger stages (recent merger, ancient merger, and relaxed) to provide a more detailed interpretation of the merger processes. In the results, using a larger number of indicators yields better results, with their order of importance being: magnitude difference, center offset, sparsity, Kuiper V statistic, and mirror asymmetry. Additionally, our analyses show that a projected classifier (built on the 6D space, but evaluated on lower dimensional projections) consistently produces better outcomes than non-projected classifiers (i.e., classifiers built directly on the corresponding low dimensional spaces), which means limited observation data can be used to classify with enhanced performance. Furthermore, the new classification method outperforms our previous research. This new method can suggest a way of overcoming previous limitations and provides new insights by providing the reliability of dynamical state classification results.
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All authors Hyowon Kim, Marco Canducci, Rory Smith, Peter Tino, Yara Jaffe, Ho Seong Hwang, Jihye Shin, Kyungwon Chun

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A variable ADAF disk model for X-ray binary systems

Chun Xu

We propose a variable ADAF disk model for X-ray binary systems. In this model, the accretion flow consists of an outer thin disk and an inner thick ADAF torus. The ADAF is turbulent, optically thick, and variable in size. A complete cycle of ADAF contraction, transition to a thin disk, and subsequent re-expansion corresponds to the rapid rise, peak, and decay phases observed in the X-ray outbursts of black hole binaries. This cycle also tracks the canonical evolution through the low-hard, high-soft, and back to the low-hard state in the hardness-intensity diagram. Turbulence in the ADAF, along with second-order Fermi acceleration, naturally generates a power-law particle spectrum that directly corresponds to the power-law X-ray spectra observed in most X-ray binary systems. This model unifies the presence of near-ISCO Fe emission lines with the truncated disk paradigm, as observed in the black hole system GX 339-4. It explains the 35-day period in the neutron star system Her X-1 more effectively through variable ADAF sizes than through a precessing disk. This variable ADAF framework may be extended to explain similar phenomena in active galactic nuclei.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

The fine dynamics in homologous and recurrent jets induced by persistent rising loops and mini-filaments

Hengyuan Wei, Zhenghua Huang, Yadan Duan et al. (+1 more)

Jets are common eruptive phenomena in the solar atmosphere which may occur repeatedly. Many studies of their fine dynamics have been conducted. However, the fine dynamics of persistent interactions among various features that drive recurrent coronal jets have not been studied in detail. In this paper, we use observations from the Solar Orbiter to report persistent interactions between rising loops/mini-filaments and a fan-spine-like structure, which produced more than 22 ejections. Many loops and mini-filaments under the fan-spine-like structure rose with speeds of $8 - 58\,\mathrm{km~s^{-1}}$ and an average of $27\,\mathrm{km~s^{-1}}$. These rising loops and mini-filaments interacted with the fan-spine-like structure successively, producing ejections with speeds ranging from 25 to 186\,\rm km\,s$^{-1}$ and an average at $80\,\rm km~s^{-1}$. We observed the fine dynamics of the drivers of these recurrent jets in detail, including partial eruption of mini-filaments, formation of a new mini-filament by contraction of remaining threads from the partially-erupted mini-filament, and interaction between rising loops (or mini-filaments) and the fan-spine-like structure. Brightenings appeared near the footpoint of these rising structures, followed by the formation of current sheets. Some arcades at the outflow region contracted with speeds of around $10\,\rm km~s^{-1}$, and the outflow region moved at around $8\,\rm km~s^{-1}$ toward the opposite direction. Bright blobs were observed in the current sheets, and they propagated at speeds averaging at $21\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ and had an average width of 296\,km. We emphasize the vital roles of persistent rising loops and/or mini-filaments in producing recurrent jets by interacting with the fan-like structure, and show their detailed dynamics with unprecedentedly-high-resolution observations.
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All authors Hengyuan Wei, Zhenghua Huang, Yadan Duan, Chuan Li

Tuesday 10 March

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

Theoretical Ion Sputtering Yields from Loose Powders using a Multiscale Monte Carlo Approach

Sebastien Verkercke, Deborah Berhanu, Caixia Bu et al. (+5 more)

Ion sputtering from loose powders remains poorly understood despite its relevance to planetary science and industry. We developed a multiscale Monte Carlo model to simulate sputtering from powders, using a higher-fidelity approach for the target geometry compared to voxel-based methods. Simulating Kr+ ions impacting Cu powders and flat slabs, we show that sputtering from loose powders differs markedly from that of flat slabs or rough surfaces. The main differences are: (1) for incident angles a > 0 degree relative to the bulk normal, the escaping sputtering yield is dominated by backward-directed ejecta for all ion energies; (2) for a < 60 degrees, the yield peaks toward the ion-beam origin, similar to the opposition effect seen in optical observations of airless bodies; (3) the angular distribution peak is half or less than that of a flat slab; (4) as ion energy increases, no evolution occurs from primary to secondary knock-on sputtering in the ejecta angular distribution. We attribute these behaviors to the powders interconnected voids. Ions penetrate these voids and sputter underlying grains; the ejecta then preferentially escape toward the ion-beam origin, where shadowing is minimal. We derive two fitting functions: 1) relating the escaping sputtering yield of a powder to that of a flat surface, depending only on porosity, incident angle, mean local incidence angle, and the corresponding flat slab yield; 2) providing the double-differential angular distribution of the escaping ejecta for porosities > 0.49. These provide a potentially universal fitting function of the absolute doubly-differential escaping sputtering yield from loose powders.
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All authors Sebastien Verkercke, Deborah Berhanu, Caixia Bu, Benjamin Clouter-Gergen, Francois Leblanc, Jesse R. Lewis, Liam S. Morrissey, Daniel W. Savin

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

At the stellar noise frontier: A transit survey of 121 TESS M3–M6 dwarfs

Yohann Tschudi

M-dwarf stars are the most favorable hosts for detecting small transiting planets, yet mid-to-late M-dwarfs that acquired sufficient TESS multi-sector coverage only through recent Cycle 6+ observations represent a newly accessible discovery space. This paper presents a systematic transit survey of 121 M3-M6 dwarfs (Teff = 2700-3400 K) selected as "newly enabled" targets – stars with <=2 archival TESS sectors that only recently crossed the multi-sector detection threshold, covering P = 0.5-100 d. The sample was selected from 498,312 TIC M-dwarfs via a 9-step funnel. The pipeline combines TLS with a signal validation cascade, TRICERATOPS vetting, Gaia DR3 verification, and three empirical signal reliability tests. Pipeline validation achieved 100% recovery (16/16 planets) on 10 known systems with zero false positives. The survey identifies 20 transit-like signals across 16 systems, none with prior TOI designations. The reliability framework classifies 2 as Tier 1 (High Robustness), 7 as Tier 2 (Moderate), and 10 as Tier 3 (Noise-Susceptible); one monotransit is excluded. No candidate SDE significantly exceeds its host star's noise floor. The global false alarm rate is 17.4% (21/121; Wilson 95% CI: [11.6%, 25.1%]).The 2 Tier 1 candidates are priorities for RV confirmation. The 10 Tier 3 candidates require additional TESS sectors to establish signal persistence; 9 systems need high-resolution imaging.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Linear Mode Conversion in Ultramagnetized Pair Plasmas: Single-Parameter Scaling

Dawei Dai, Ashley Bransgrove, Anirudh Prabhu et al. (+1 more)

In neutron star (NS) magnetospheres, plasma waves propagate as normal modes with distinct propagation dynamics that strongly influence observable signals. This letter presents a unified theory of linear mode conversion between Alfv'en (A), superluminal ordinary (O), and extraordinary (X) modes, incorporating the effect of magnetic-field geometry and local plasma response. Magnetic field-line curvature induces A-X conversion for low frequencies and O-X conversion at high frequencies, whereas plasma gradients alone do not drive X-mode coupling. We show that a single dimensionless parameter controls both conversion channels. The conversion efficiency follows the universal nonadiabatic transition probability of a multilevel quantum system. Efficient conversion occurs within a narrow angular window between the wave vector and magnetic field, localizing potential conversion sites in the NS magnetosphere. This linear mechanism naturally accounts for complex polarization features observed in pulsars and some fast radio bursts.
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All authors Dawei Dai, Ashley Bransgrove, Anirudh Prabhu, Jens F. Mahlmann

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Unexpectedly Weak General Relativistic Effects in Strongly Relativistic Tidal Disruption Events

Ho-Sang Chan, Taeho Ryu, Julian Krolik et al. (+1 more)

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) occur when stars are destroyed by supermassive black holes and are among the brightest nuclear transients. It has been thought that strong relativistic effects rapidly dissipate orbital energy and produce prompt disk formation when the stellar pericenter is smaller than $\sim 10$ gravitational radii. Using a general relativistic hydrodynamic simulation of a strongly relativistic TDE involving a Sun-like star and a $10^{6}\,M_{\odot}$ non-spinning black hole, we find instead that the overall evolution is similar to weakly relativistic TDEs: the debris remains highly eccentric, with most of the returned mass residing near the orbital apocenter ($\sim 250\times$ the initial pericenter distance), and shocks, rather than accretion, power the event. The simulation starts from the initial stellar approach and follows the debris evolution up to $35$\,days after the peak mass-return time ($\simeq$ $23$\,days). Although early shocks driven by strong relativistic apsidal precession and pericenter nozzle compression dissipate orbital energy efficiently, they last only about a week ($\sim 0.3$ of the peak mass-return time). Stream self-interactions increase the incoming stream's angular momentum, thereby expanding its pericenter distance, weakening precession and shocks, and reducing dissipation. These results suggest that circularization in TDEs may proceed slowly regardless of the strength of apsidal precession, with the flow remaining highly eccentric and extended during the peak optical/UV luminosity.
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All authors Ho-Sang Chan, Taeho Ryu, Julian Krolik, Tsvi Piran

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The Geometric Crisis in Cygnus~X-3: Limitations of Wind-Fed Accretion and the Case for Roche-Lobe Overflow

Nicholas E. White

Cygnus~X-3 is a Galactic X-ray binary with a 4.8-hr orbital period operating in the ultraluminous regime. Although the system is viewed at relatively low inclination ($i\approx28^\circ$), it exhibits a deep orbital modulation. Recent IXPE observations show strong linear polarization orthogonal to the radio jet, indicating that the X-ray emission is dominated by reflection from the inner walls of a supercritical outflow funnel. We propose a Hybrid Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF) scenario in which a massive Wolf-Rayet donor effectively fills its Roche lobe with a focused wind driving a super-Eddington accretion stream. Using a numerical synthesis of the folded light curve, we show that the modulation is reproduced when the central funnel is periodically occulted by a vertically extended, shock-heated Turbulent Wall formed by stream impact on the outer disk rim. This produces a phase lag ($\Delta\phi\approx0.11$) between X-ray minimum and binary conjunction, with extended attenuation by the WR wind defining a broader Suppression Region. This geometry explains the enhanced iron-line equivalent width during X-ray minimum via a coronagraphic effect. The large radial-velocity amplitude of FeXXVI measured by XRISM ($K_{\rm obs}\approx430$ km s$^{-1}$) and its zero-crossing at $\phi_X=0.0$ arise naturally in the stream-impact region rather than from orbital motion of the compact object. Finally, we show that the observed secular orbital expansion ($\dot P>0$) follows directly from highly non-conservative mass transfer with inner-disk mass loss, indicating that Cygnus~X-3 is a stable, long-lived system in a supercritical accretion regime.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from hep-ph

Searching for axions with time resolved pulsar polarimetry

Francesca Chadha-Day and Tanmay Kumar Poddar

Pulsars possess strong dipole magnetic fields that can source axion fields through the axion-photon interaction. Pulsars may therefore be surrounded by axion field configurations oscillating with the pulsar's rotational period. These axions could be detected by observing their effect on the polarization of the pular's emission. In this paper, we use time resolved observations of the optical polarization of the Crab pulsar to place bounds on the axion-photon coupling, demonstrating the potential of time resolved pulsar birefringence in the search for axions.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Cosmological simulation of a radio synchrotron bridge between pre-merging galaxy clusters

Kosuke Nishiwaki, Gianfranco Brunetti, Franco Vazza et al. (+1 more)

Radio bridges are diffuse synchrotron emission observed between merging galaxy clusters. Recent radio observations have reported both detections and non-detections of radio bridges between clusters. The detections imply the presence of cosmic rays (CRs) and magnetic fields permeating the cosmic web that produce synchrotron emission observable with current facilities, whereas the non-detections suggest that specific physical conditions are required for their formation. We study the CR reacceleration by solenoidal turbulence in the filament connecting two massive clusters at an early stage of the merger. Our aim is to test whether this mechanism can generate diffuse emission in the inter-cluster region. We perform a cosmological magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) simulation using the Enzo code. We improved a run-time Lagrangian tracer method implemented in Enzo, and follow the trajectories of baryonic matter using $N=\mathcal{O}(10^7)$ tracer particles. In post-processing, we conduct a parallel computation of the Fokker-Planck (FP) equation for all tracers, with cooling and reacceleration efficiencies evaluated from the local quantities recorded along each tracer trajectory. Our simulation generate a Mpc-sized radio bridge in the early stage of the cluster merger. Within a reasonable parameter range, the reacceleration model produces a broad variety of spectra. In our fiducial model, the simulated bridge matches several properties of the one found between Abell 399 and Abell 401, such as its spectral shape, intensity profile, and pixel-by-pixel correlation between radio and X-ray intensities. The inter-cluster region is filled with turbulence induced by infalling mass clumps and subsequently amplified by the approaching motion of the clusters. The CR reacceleration by the turbulence is a viable mechanism to power a Mpc-sized synchrotron emission observed as radio bridges.
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All authors Kosuke Nishiwaki, Gianfranco Brunetti, Franco Vazza, Claudio Gheller

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Attaining Spectral Energy Distributions With Sub-Percent Uncertainties: All-Sky DA White Dwarf Spectrophotometric Standard Stars For Large Telescopes And Surveys

Abhijit Saha, Edward W. Olszewski, Benjamin M. Boyd et al. (+14 more)

We present a synopsis of the project to establish thirty-two new faint ($ 16.5 \leq V \leq 19.8 $) DA white dwarfs as spectrophotometric standards distributed over the whole sky. Our results validate the use of fully radiative pure hydrogen model fluxes for hot DA white dwarfs to predict the observed broadband fluxes from near ultraviolet through the near infrared to accuracies of a few parts per thousand. After fitting the line of sight reddenings simultaneously with the model spectral energy distributions of these stars against spectroscopic and multi-band photometric observations, we have shown that residuals have an rms of typically 0.4 percent. This indicates that the complications from interstellar dust extinction have been adequately mitigated. Our stars supplement the three brighter DA white dwarfs that define the flux scale of CALSPEC. The consequent photometric accuracy, their all sky coverage, and their brightness range that matches the dynamic range of large telescopes, constitutes an unprecedented ensemble of standard stars for both ground as well as space based use. This paper targets readers who may wish to use these as standard stars, and provides for them the essential content to understand their strengths and limitations, without traversing the technical details of analysis that are already captured in a series of papers since 2016. The narrative here describes the motivation, justification, and evolution of the analysis methods; the input data that constrain the modeling; as well as the stability of our results in the face of future improvements in models.
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All authors Abhijit Saha, Edward W. Olszewski, Benjamin M. Boyd, Thomas Matheson, Tim Axelrod, Gautham Narayan, Annalisa Calamida, Jay B. Holberg, Ivan Hubeny, Ralph C. Bohlin, Susana Deustua, Armin Rest, Jenna Claver, Sean Points, Christopher W. Stubbs, Elena Sabbi, John W. Mackenty

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

A modern halo streaming model for redshift space distortions

Cheng-Zong Ruan, Baojiu Li, Carlton M. Baugh et al. (+3 more)

Accurate modelling of redshift-space distortions (RSD) in galaxy clustering is essential for extracting cosmological information from current and forthcoming large-scale structure surveys. While perturbation theory is reliable on large scales, much of the constraining power lies at intermediate and small separations, where nonlinear dynamics within and between dark matter haloes dominate. We present a halo streaming model for nonlinear galaxy clustering in redshift space that is accurate and physically interpretable. Our framework combines the streaming model for RSD with a halo-model decomposition of the galaxy clustering into central/satellite and one-/two-halo contributions. We build dedicated emulators for the key physical ingredients, trained on a suite of $N$-body simulations: halo mass functions, real-space halo two-point correlation functions, and pairwise velocity moments. By emulating these modular building blocks rather than the final redshift-space observable, this approach preserves physical transparency, enables targeted optimisation for each ingredient, and remains flexible to changes in tracer populations and galaxy-halo connection models. The resulting halo streaming model reproduces the simulated nonlinear anisotropic clustering signal down to highly nonlinear scales, while achieving the computational efficiency required for cosmological parameter inference. This framework is designed to support full-shape RSD analyses for surveys such as DESI and Euclid, facilitating precision measurements of structure growth and tests of gravity. All codes and trained emulators are publicly available in the \href{https://github.com/chzruan/freyja}{freyja} repository.
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All authors Cheng-Zong Ruan, Baojiu Li, Carlton M. Baugh, Sownak Bose, Alexander Eggemeier, David F. Mota

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Radio selection of heavily obscured AGN in the J1030 field: unraveling a missing Compton-thick population

Giovanni Mazzolari, Roberto Gilli, Marco Mignoli et al. (+21 more)

We tested the effectiveness of radio selection to discover heavily obscured AGNs, particularly at high-z, and we measured their abundance for the first time from a radio perspective. We consider the radio sources detected in the J1030 field, which is one of the fields with the deepest combination of 1.4 GHz radio and X-ray observations. We defined a radio excess parameter as the ratio between the star formation rate (SFR) that would correspond to the observed radio luminosity and the one directly derived from the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, $\rm REX=SFR_{1.4GHz}/SFR^{corr}_{SED}$. We then select as radio excess AGN those sources with $\rm REX>8.5$, corresponding to a $3\sigma$ excess above the median value. In this way, we find 145 radio-excess sources falling into the Chandra X-ray image footprint but without X-ray detection. From the deep X-ray upper limits, we estimated a lower limit to the obscuration of each radio-excess AGN, finding on average $\log (N_H/\rm{cm^{-2}})>23.7$. A CTK AGN scenario is also supported by the results of the X-ray stacking analysis performed on sources at $z>1.5$, which revealed X-ray luminosities and hardness ratios compatible with very highly obscured AGN. Finally, we computed the number density of these radio-selected CTK AGN. While at $z\sim 2$ the radio number density agrees well with the CTK AGN predictions of different population synthesis models, at $z\sim3$ the radio selection returns a CTK AGN number density $\sim 2-3$ times larger than what is predicted by the X-ray models and observations. This result supports the effectiveness of radio emission in selecting the most obscured sources, unraveling a population of AGN potentially missed by X-rays surveys at $z>3$, paving the way to a synergistic use of the future radio and X-ray facilities such as the SKAO and NewAthena.
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All authors Giovanni Mazzolari, Roberto Gilli, Marco Mignoli, Marcella Brusa, Isabella Prandoni, Fabio Vito, Ivan Delvecchio, Giorgio Lanzuisi, Alessandro Peca, Andrea Comastri, Stefano Marchesi, Marco Chiaberge, Marisa Brienza, Cristian Vignali, Matilde Signorini, Quirino D'Amato, Fabrizio Gentile, Kazushi Iwasawa, Colin Norman, Alberto Traina, Federica Loiacono, Pietro Baldini, Marianna Annunziatella, Roberto Decarli

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Kick matters: The impact of a new recoil model on the retention of hierarchical black-hole remnants in globular clusters

Tousif Islam, Digvijay Wadekar and Konstantinos Kritos

In globular clusters, hierarchical mergers are among the most promising pathways to forming massive black holes such as GW231123. A key factor determining whether a merger-remnant black hole will be retained in these environments and thus participate in subsequent hierarchical mergers is the recoil kick velocity. Analytic models for the recoil velocity are currently employed in nearly all population-synthesis frameworks. We instead use a state-of-the-art recoil-kick model gwModel_flow_prec developed from a combination of numerical-relativity and black-hole perturbation-theory data, together with data-driven techniques such as normalizing flows and the post-Newtonian structure of the kick. Employing both back-of-the-envelope estimates and detailed N-body as well as semi-analytical cluster simulations, we show that gwModel_flow_prec leads to a noticeable increase in the retention probability of hierarchical-merger remnants compared to the previously used analytic model and changes the mass and spin distribution of the black holes formed through hierarchical mergers. Additionally, we discuss the implications of our results in the context of massive binaries such as GW231123.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Neutrinos from extreme astrophysical sources

Xavier Rodrigues

In this paper I review recent results on high-energy neutrino astronomy and what they can reveal about some of the most extreme cosmic accelerators. I discuss recent measurements of the diffuse TeV-PeV cosmic neutrino spectrum by the IceCube observatory and the current flux limits in the ultra-high-energy regime, contextualizing the recent detection of an ultra-high-energy neutrino by the KM3NeT observatory. I review the recent emergence of a TeV signal from nearby Seyfert galaxies such as NGC 1068, the potential of $\gamma$-ray blazars as neutrino sources above the PeV regime, and the current status of tidal disruption events and other transient classes as possible neutrino sources. For each of these topics, I discuss ongoing developments in source models and their current limitations. I argue for the indispensable role of next-generation multi-messenger facilities, such as IceCube-Gen2, in solidifying current source associations, probing the ultra-high-energy regime, and resolving vast transient populations that remain unidentified with current statistics.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

The X-ray weakness of Little Red Dots and JWST-selected AGN: comparison with local AGN in different accretion regimes

A. Tortosa, C. Ricci, P. Du et al. (+5 more)

We investigate the origin of the observed X-ray weakness in high z LRDs and other JWST-selected broad line AGN by comparing their X-ray and optical properties with those of a diverse sample of low z AGN, including super-Eddington accreting massive black holes (SEAMBHs), NLS1s, and type I AGN from large surveys. We examine the relations between X-ray luminosity, broad H{\alpha} line luminosity, Eddington ratio, bolometric luminosity and X-ray-to-bolometric luminosity correction, and explore whether high z sources may represent analogues of local highly accreting systems. While a few LRDs and JWST-selected AGN are consistent with the SEAMBHs population in the $L_x/L_{H{\alpha}}$ versus $\lambda_{Edd}$ plane, most lie below it, suggesting either more extreme accretion conditions, suppressed coronal emission or heavy obscuration. We identify an anti-correlation between $L_x/L_{H\alpha}$ and $\lambda_{Edd}$ in the low z, high accreting subsample, consistent with theoretical expectations of slim-disc accretion. We further show that, for SEAMBHs, $H\alpha$-based bolometric luminosities underestimate SED-based values even after dust correction. We find that SEAMBHs, LRDs, and JWST-selected AGN occupy a similar high-$\kappa_{bol,x}$ regime, indicating that the relative deficit of X-ray emission compared to the bolometric output could potentially support the view that soft X-ray spectra arising from relatively cold coronae is a common feature of highly accreting systems across cosmic time. Our results are consistent with the idea that the observed X-ray weakness of LRDs and JWST-selected AGN may be linked to the physics of highly accreting SMBHs. Moreover, observational limitations at high z, including instrumental sensitivity and the steep X-ray spectra expected for highly accreting systems, likely further suppress the detected X-ray signal.
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All authors A. Tortosa, C. Ricci, P. Du, G. Venturi, L. C. Ho, R. Li, J.-M. Wang, M. Berton

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Thermal enhancement of inflationary magnetic fields

Arjun Berera, Suddhasattwa Brahma, Zizang Qiu et al. (+1 more)

We investigate primordial magnetogenesis by assuming the gauge field is prepared in a thermal state during inflation rather than the standard Bunch-Davies vacuum. The temperature $\mathcal{T}$ introduces a physical scale that breaks conformal invariance at the level of the state while preserving the standard Maxwell action. This modification results in a dissipative boost that alters the magnetic energy density scaling from $a^{-4}$ to $a^{-3}$, resulting in a present-day magnetic field $B_0$ enhancement that can potentially range from about $10^{8}$ to $10^{12}$ on cosmological scales. While this toy model alone does not satisfy observational lower bounds, it demonstrates that thermal initial conditions can significantly mitigate the conformal obstruction. Our results suggest that embedding this mechanism within a fully dynamical warm inflation framework, where dissipation continuously maintains the thermal bath, provides a highly promising path towards successfully realizing a minimal model of inflationary magnetogenesis without the need to invoke non-minimal couplings, anomalous background dynamics or nonlinear extensions of electrodynamics.
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All authors Arjun Berera, Suddhasattwa Brahma, Zizang Qiu, Rudnei O. Ramos

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Relativistic \(^{56}\text{Ni}\) Decay Lines in GRB 221009A

Rahim Moradi, Emre S. Yorgancioglu, Shao-Lin Xiong et al. (+4 more)

Long Gamma Ray Bursts are thought to originate from the core collapse of massive stars that give rise to energetic broad-lined Type Ic supernovae. The brightest burst ever recorded, GRB 221009A, has been linked to a broad-lined Type Ic supernova through late-time observations by the James Webb Space Telescope. An emission line evolving from $\sim$37 to $\sim$6~MeV is detected during the prompt phase. We propose that this time-evolving line is consistent with Doppler-boosted radioactive decay of nickel synthesized in the associated supernova and entrained in the relativistic jet, corresponding to the boosted 158~keV decay branch. We also report evidence for an additional higher-energy excess near $\sim$24~MeV at 290–300~s, detected at moderate statistical significance and consistent with the boosted 270~keV decay branch. The observed kinematics and flux evolution are compatible with expectations from radioactive decay, providing direct spectroscopic evidence linking prompt emission to supernova nucleosynthesis.
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All authors Rahim Moradi, Emre S. Yorgancioglu, Shao-Lin Xiong, Yan-Qiu Zhang, Shuang-Nan Zhang, Roland Diehl, Yu Wang

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Accreting White Dwarfs: An Unreview

Simone Scaringi, Christian Knigge and Domitilla de Martino

Accreting white dwarfs (AWDs) are among the best natural laboratories for understanding disk accretion. Their proximity, brightness, and purely classical nature make them ideal systems in which to probe the fundamental physics that governs the transport of angular momentum, the generation of outflows, and the coupling between disks, magnetospheres, and accretors. Yet despite decades of study, many critical questions remain unresolved. In this “unreview”, we therefore focus not on what is known, but on what is unknown. What drives viscosity and sustains accretion in largely neutral disks? How are powerful winds launched, and how do they feed back on the disk and binary evolution? Why do so many systems show persistent retrograde precession, and what drives bursts in magnetic AWDs? By identifying these open problems – and suggesting ways to resolve them – we aim to motivate new observational, numerical, and theoretical efforts that will advance our understanding of accretion physics across all mass scales, from white dwarfs to black holes.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Three Hundred Quasars from the Couch: A first look at high-redshift quasar discovery with SPHEREx

Frederick B. Davies, Sarah E. I. Bosman, Arpita Ganguly et al. (+9 more)

Photometric selection of luminous high-redshift ($z\gtrsim4$) quasars is plagued by contamination from numerous low-mass Galactic stars, reddened lower-redshift quasars, as well as compact luminous red galaxies. Confirmation of these rare objects thus requires extensive spectroscopic campaigns on 4 and 8-meter-class telescopes with relatively low success rates. Here we demonstrate the utility of SPHEREx spectrophotometric survey data for quasar confirmation with no ground-based follow-up required, "from the couch," applied to candidates from a purposefully simplistic photometric and astrometric Gaia+WISE selection down to low Galactic latitudes ($|b|\geq8^\circ$). Primarily from the detection of their strong broad H$\alpha$ emission lines, we discover 87 new luminous $4.0 < z < 5.7$ quasars with median $M_\text{1450} = -27.5$, including 19 quasars at $z>5$, and recover 219 previously published quasars at $z>4$. We validate our SPHEREx selection with a 100% confirmation rate in ground-based spectroscopic follow-up of 29 of our new $z>4$ quasars, including 11 unpublished archival spectra. We also discover 203 additional lower-redshift quasars at $0.3 < z < 4$, consisting primarily of relatively rare highly-reddened and strong broad-absorption-line objects that are likely missed by traditional quasar surveys. Finally, we show that the Ly$\alpha$ absorption breaks and H$\alpha$ lines of luminous quasars are already detectable at redshifts $5.7\lesssim z\lesssim6.5$ after the completion of only the first of four all-sky surveys to be performed by SPHEREx during its planned two-year mission.
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All authors Frederick B. Davies, Sarah E. I. Bosman, Arpita Ganguly, Eduardo Bañados, Silvia Belladitta, Daniel Stern, Javier A. Acevedo Barroso, Daming Yang, Joseph F. Hennawi, Feige Wang, Jinyi Yang, Xiaohui Fan

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Quantifying the impact of relativistic precession on tidal disruption event light curves

Diego Calderón, Ondřej Pejcha, Brian D. Metzger et al. (+2 more)

The tidal field of a black hole can turn a star into a gas stream whose orbit can precess, especially if the a black hole is rapidly spinning. In this work, we investigate the impact of precession on the light curves of tidal disruption events (TDE). To do so, we perform two-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of the interaction of the TDE wind and luminosity with the precessed stream wrapped around the black hole. Our results show that in events with black holes of $\sim10^6~\text{M}_{\odot}$ and no orbit-spin inclination, the line of sight has little effect on the light curves, since the stream covers a small fraction of the solid angle as the precession is confined to the orbital plane. In the case of black holes of $\gtrsim10^7~\text{M}_{\odot}$ and high inclination ($i\sim90^{\circ}$), the light curve peaks can be delayed by $\sim$100 days due to presence of the precessed stream blocking the radiation in the early phase of the event. We also discuss our efforts to model self-consistently the hydrodynamic evolution of a tidal stellar stream on curved spacetimes by the presence of a massive black hole.
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All authors Diego Calderón, Ondřej Pejcha, Brian D. Metzger, Paul C. Duffell, Stephan Rosswog

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The baryon content of magnetically arrested black hole disks and jets

Anthony Chow, Lorenzo Sironi, Bart Ripperda et al. (+1 more)

We study the transport of baryons in magnetically arrested accretion flows and relativistic jets using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that incorporate a passive Eulerian tracer. The tracer allows us to reconstruct a proxy for the physical baryon density supplied by the accretion disk while excluding the mass injected numerically to maintain stability in highly magnetized, low-density regions. Applying this method to axisymmetric black hole simulations with varying spin, we show that baryon loading of the jet is intrinsically episodic and regulated by magnetic flux eruption cycles occurring in the inner accretion flow. Each eruption evacuates baryons from the innermost equatorial region, drives reconnection in extended current sheets, and expels moderately magnetized disk material along the funnel wall, establishing a recurrent mass-loading channel. In spinning black holes, shear-driven waves along the jet boundary further enhance baryon entrainment, whereas this mechanism is suppressed in the non-spinning case. For parameters representative of the black hole accretion flow in M87, we map the global structure and time evolution of the Goldreich-Julian screening boundary, defined as the surface separating regions where the plasma density is sufficient to supply the charges required to screen electric fields parallel to the magnetic field from regions that are charge starved. For spinning black holes, we find that the electromagnetic power of the jet is predominantly carried by baryon-poor plasma, with extended time intervals of charge starvation. Our results provide a framework for diagnosing jet composition, charge starvation, and reconnection-driven mass loading in magnetically arrested black hole systems, with direct implications for particle acceleration and non-thermal emission in low-luminosity accretion flows.
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All authors Anthony Chow, Lorenzo Sironi, Bart Ripperda, Amir Levinson

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

On the angular localization of gravitational-wave signals by pulsar timing arrays

Stephen R. Taylor

We provide a complete study of gravitational-wave signal localization using pulsar timing arrays. We derive analytical expressions for the Cramér-Rao sky localization precision that delineate the impact of the angular proximity, $\xi$, between the pulsar and the gravitational wave source, and the precision, $\sigma_L$, with which pulsar distances are known. Interference between the Earth and pulsar terms creates rapid angular oscillations for sky-coordinate Fisher matrix elements that aid localization, which is complemented by more broadly varying antenna response gradient information. The relative importance of these factors depends on whether pulsar distances are known precisely [i.e., $\sigma_L\leq\lambda_\mathrm{GW}/(1-\cos\xi)$] or imprecisely. If pulsar distances are known precisely, tightening this distance precision improves signal localization according to $\Delta\Omega_\mathrm{sky}\propto(\sigma_L/L)^2$ until the Earth-pulsar system reaches its diffraction limit, $\Delta\Omega_\mathrm{sky}\propto(\lambda_\mathrm{GW}/L)^2$. If pulsar distances are not known well, localization precision is degraded, but more pulsars in close proximity to the source is the best means of improving. With $\alpha$ indexing pulsars, this scales as $\Delta\Omega_\mathrm{sky}~\propto~(\sum_\alpha \mathrm{SNR}_\alpha^2/\xi_\alpha^2)^{-1}$ in the small-angle limit of the unmarginalized Fisher matrix, and we derive the analytic generalization to any angle between a pulsar and the source. Finally, we study a scenario where pulsar-term phases are treated as nuisance variables that are unconnected to binary or PTA properties. This phase-decoupled scenario, which is how all PTA continuous wave searches are currently conducted, delivers localization performance similar to the antenna-response–driven case, and does not exhibit significant improvement as pulsar distance precisions are tightened.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

A Statistical Framework to Identify Kinematically Outlying LMC Globular Clusters and Implications for the LMC's Dark Matter Profile

Tamojeet Roychowdhury, Navdha, Himansh Rathore et al. (+1 more)

The LMC's Globular Clusters (GCs) bring a novel opportunity to understand the LMC's assembly history and dark matter (DM) properties, provided the kinematically outlying GCs can be reliably identified. However, traditional diagnostics like the Energy-Angular Momentum space fail because of large uncertainties on the GC velocities. In this work, we develop a new, robust statistical framework for identifying kinematically outlying LMC GCs, by using their Gaia-DR3 Proper Motions (PMs) combined with previous Line-of-Sight (LoS) velocity measurements. We use the difference between a GC's velocity vector and the average velocity vector of the surrounding red clump stars as a metric for quantifying a GC's kinematic peculiarity. We account for both the velocity measurement uncertainties and the LMC's intrinsic velocity dispersion. We find 5 LMC GCs to be kinematically outlying based on PM differences alone, and additional 6 GCs if LoS velocity information is also used. Majority of the GCs with outlying PMs are clustered at a distance of 3-4 kpc from the LMC center. The inclusion of outlying LMC GCs introduces a bias of upto 30% in the LMC's enclosed mass estimates derived using GCs as dynamical tracers; caution must be exercised in choosing the GC sample for precisely determining the LMC's DM content. We discuss the possibility that the kinematically outlying LMC GCs may be located in the LMC's elusive stellar halo and/or they could be accreted from external galaxies. Our work thus motivates future spectroscopic follow-up of these outlying GCs.
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All authors Tamojeet Roychowdhury, Navdha, Himansh Rathore, Knut A.G. Olsen

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

Stodolsky effect in the framework of Generalised Neutrino Interactions

Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay and Ujjal Kumar Dey

We study the Stodolsky effect utilizing the most general form of neutrino interactions with electrons below the electroweak scale by considering all possible Lorentz invariant operators respecting SU(3)$\otimes$U(1) symmetry. We perform our calculation for both Dirac and Majorana neutrinos and find that in the most general setting, only the non-standard neutrino interactions and the tensor interaction terms provide a non-zero contribution, apart from the Standard Model contribution. We investigate the implications for the possible detection of the cosmic neutrino background (C$\nu$B) by analysing the energy shifts that are characteristic of the Stodolsky effect. We also discuss the implication of considerable asymmetry in the C$\nu$B on the present scenario.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Steeling Weak Lensing Source Galaxy Samples against Systematics using Wide Field Spectroscopy

Joseph DeRose, Noah Weaverdyck, Martin White et al. (+3 more)

We investigate the cosmological constraining power of combined weak galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering probes, i.e. $3\times2$-point analyses, assuming flexible models for redshift uncertainty, and Lagrangian perturbation theory and hybrid effective field theory models for galaxy intrinsic alignments, galaxy bias and baryonic physics. In this context, we provide a detailed accounting of the limiting systematics on $3\times2$-point analyses. Our main finding is that in the presence of current levels of uncertainty on baryonic physics, the information content of weak lensing analyses saturates on quasi-linear scales, allowing the use of source galaxy samples that are significantly less dense, e.g. with number densities of $5\rm \, arcmin^{-2}$, without sacrificing constraining power, provided that redshift distributions can be calibrated at the $\sigma(\langle z\rangle)=0.005$ level. We show that for sufficiently narrow lens and source redshift distributions, intrinsic alignment contributions can be largely self-calibrated, though sufficient flexibility must be given to the redshift and scale dependence of this signal. The near optimality of such relatively sparse source galaxy samples opens the possibility to directly calibrate the redshift distributions and intrinsic alignment contamination of such a sample using a spectroscopic instrument like DESI, thus mitigating the dominant systematics in weak lensing analyses.
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All authors Joseph DeRose, Noah Weaverdyck, Martin White, Shi-Fan Chen, David Schlegel, Anže Slosar