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Physics Astrophysics

astro-ph Watch Astrophysics

Wednesday 29 April

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Euclid preparation. Refining input galaxy shape distributions for shear calibration simulations

Euclid Collaboration: H. Jansen, N. Martinet, S. Grandis et al. (+281 more)

The Euclid Wide Survey (EWS) will cover the majority of the extragalactic sky with a resolution similar to the Hubble Space Telescope. This unprecedented data set will introduce a new era of precision cosmology. However, systematic effects need to be controlled better than ever. One of the sources of systematic uncertainties in weak gravitational lensing are biases introduced during the shear measurement. Determining these biases precisely allows the calibration of cosmological measurements to within Euclid's required accuracy. The simulations that are used to determine such biases, need to resemble the real observations. In this work, we aim to learn distributions of galaxy shape parameters from real Euclid data and use the new information to augment the morphological information in the Flagship galaxy mock catalogue. The morphology is extracted using single and double-Sérsic model fits to the real data, for which we use SourceXtractor++. We train our pipeline on deep Euclid observations of a field with rich auxiliary data and then use it to simulate EWS-like data. In these simulations we compare the multiplicative bias between the morphology from the Flagship catalogue, the trained single-Sérsic morphology, and the trained double-Sérsic morphology. We find that the image simulations with the updated morphology result in a percent-level change in the multiplicative shear bias compared to the original morphology from Flagship. This bias exceeds Euclid's tight error budget by a factor of five and underlines the need for this work. Furthermore, we study the sensitivity of the multiplicative bias to key morphological parameters and show that our approach satisfies the requirements for the cosmology analysis with the first data release of Euclid.
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All authors Euclid Collaboration: H. Jansen, N. Martinet, S. Grandis, H. Hoekstra, S.-S. Li, T. Schrabback, G. Congedo, B. Csizi, F. Kleinebreil, G. Mankar, N. Zimmermann, B. Altieri, S. Andreon, N. Auricchio, C. Baccigalupi, M. Baldi, S. Bardelli, P. Battaglia, A. Biviano, E. Branchini, M. Brescia, S. Camera, V. Capobianco, C. Carbone, V. F. Cardone, J. Carretero, S. Casas, F. J. Castander, M. Castellano, G. Castignani, S. Cavuoti, A. Cimatti, C. Colodro-Conde, L. Conversi, Y. Copin, F. Courbin, H. M. Courtois, M. Cropper, H. Degaudenzi, G. De Lucia, H. Dole, F. Dubath, X. Dupac, S. Escoffier, M. Farina, R. Farinelli, S. Farrens, S. Ferriol, P. Fosalba, S. Fotopoulou, N. Fourmanoit, M. Frailis, E. Franceschi, M. Fumana, S. Galeotta, K. George, B. Gillis, C. Giocoli, J. Gracia-Carpio, A. Grazian, F. Grupp, S. V. H. Haugan, W. Holmes, I. M. Hook, F. Hormuth, A. Hornstrup, K. Jahnke, M. Jhabvala, B. Joachimi, S. Kermiche, A. Kiessling, B. Kubik, K. Kuijken, M. Kümmel, M. Kunz, H. Kurki-Suonio, A. M. C. Le Brun, S. Ligori, P. B. Lilje, V. Lindholm, I. Lloro, G. Mainetti, O. Mansutti, O. Marggraf, M. Martinelli, F. Marulli, R. J. Massey, E. Medinaceli, M. Meneghetti, E. Merlin, G. Meylan, A. Mora, M. Moresco, B. Morin, L. Moscardini, R. Nakajima, C. Neissner, S.-M. Niemi, J. W. Nightingale, C. Padilla, S. Paltani, F. Pasian, K. Pedersen, W. J. Percival, V. Pettorino, S. Pires, G. Polenta, L. A. Popa, F. Raison, A. Renzi, J. Rhodes, G. Riccio, M. Roncarelli, R. Saglia, Z. Sakr, D. Sapone, P. Schneider, A. Secroun, E. Sihvola, P. Simon, C. Sirignano, G. Sirri, L. Stanco, P. Tallada-Crespí, A. N. Taylor, I. Tereno, N. Tessore, S. Toft, R. Toledo-Moreo, F. Torradeflot, I. Tutusaus, J. Valiviita, T. Vassallo, G. Verdoes Kleijn, Y. Wang, J. Weller, G. Zamorani, F. M. Zerbi, E. Zucca, M. Ballardini, A. Boucaud, E. Bozzo, C. Burigana, R. Cabanac, M. Calabrese, A. Cappi, T. Castro, J. A. Escartin Vigo, J. García-Bellido, S. Hemmati, E. Jullo, J. Macias-Perez, R. Maoli, J. Martín-Fleitas, N. Mauri, R. B. Metcalf, P. Monaco, A. Pezzotta, M. Pöntinen, I. Risso, V. Scottez, M. Sereno, M. Tenti, M. Tucci, M. Viel, M. Wiesmann, Y. Akrami, I. T. Andika, G. Angora, S. Anselmi, M. Archidiacono, F. Atrio-Barandela, L. Baumont, L. Bazzanini, D. Bertacca, M. Bethermin, F. Beutler, A. Blanchard, L. Blot, M. Bonici, S. Borgani, M. L. Brown, S. Bruton, A. Calabro, B. Camacho Quevedo, F. Caro, C. S. Carvalho, F. Cogato, A. R. Cooray, O. Cucciati, J. E. Davies, T. de Boer, G. Desprez, A. Díaz-Sánchez, S. Di Domizio, J. M. Diego, V. Duret, M. Y. Elkhashab, Y. Fang, A. Finoguenov, A. Franco, K. Ganga, R. Gavazzi, E. Gaztanaga, F. Giacomini, F. Gianotti, G. Gozaliasl, A. Gruppuso, M. Guidi, C. M. Gutierrez, A. Hall, C. Hernández-Monteagudo, H. Hildebrandt, J. J. E. Kajava, Y. Kang, V. Kansal, D. Karagiannis, K. Kiiveri, J. Kim, C. C. Kirkpatrick, K. Koyama, S. Kruk, M. C. Lam, M. Lattanzi, L. Legrand, M. Lembo, F. Lepori, G. Leroy, G. F. Lesci, J. Lesgourgues, T. I. Liaudat, S. J. Liu, M. Magliocchetti, F. Mannucci, C. J. A. P. Martins, L. Maurin, M. Miluzio, C. Moretti, G. Morgante, S. Nadathur, K. Naidoo, A. Navarro-Alsina, S. Nesseris, F. Pace, D. Paoletti, F. Passalacqua, K. Paterson, L. Patrizii, C. Pattison, A. Pisani, D. Potter, G. W. Pratt, S. Quai, M. Radovich, K. Rojas, W. Roster, S. Sacquegna, M. Sahlén, D. B. Sanders, E. Sarpa, A. Schneider, D. Sciotti, D. Scognamiglio, E. Sellentin, L. C. Smith, E. Soubrie, I. Szapudi, K. Tanidis, F. Tarsitano, G. Testera, M. Tewes, R. Teyssier, S. Tosi, A. Troja, C. Uhlemann, C. Valieri, A. Venhola, D. Vergani, G. Verza, E. Vilenius, S. Vinciguerra, M. von Wietersheim-Kramsta, N. A. Walton, A. H. Wright

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Turbulence and its Potential Impact on Solar Chromospheric and Coronal Heating

Gary P. Zank, Xiaocan Li, Krishna Khanal et al. (+8 more)

Low-frequency turbulence in the solar chromosphere remains poorly understood. We address 1) the sources of low-frequency turbulence that potentially heat the chromosphere, and 2) how turbulence is transported and dissipated throughout the chromosphere and lower corona. We use particle-in-cell simulations to investigate mixed polarity magnetic fields corresponding to emergent magnetic carpet field in coronal holes or quiet Sun regions for strong (imbalanced) and weak (balanced) guide magnetic fields. The initial mixed polarity magnetic field transitions rapidly to a turbulent state dominated by advected small-scale nonlinear structures, with a minority slab turbulence population and the emergent field is largely annihilated. Turbulence is anisotropic for imbalanced magnetic field and more isotropic for balanced cases. We develop a transport model for turbulence advected and dissipated throughout the chromosphere by randomly distributed energy-containing scale dynamical flows described by log-normal statistics. We compute the expectations for the total energy per unit volume <y>(h) J m^{-3}, the Elsasser specific energy <Z^{\infty 2}>(h) m^2 s^{-2}, the heating rate <\cdot{H}>(h) J m^{-3} s^{-1}, and the correlation length <{\lambda}>(h) km as functions of height h above the photosphere. Turbulent energy is injected into the low corona by a random "patchwork" of sites across the transition region surface. The expected energy injection rates <\cdot{S}> J m^{-2} s^{-1} for the chromosphere and at the base of the corona exceed the estimated energy requirements needed to heat both the chromosphere and corona. Similarly, we show that spicules can be heated gradually with increasing height by entrained magnetic carpet and photospheric turbulence.
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All authors Gary P. Zank, Xiaocan Li, Krishna Khanal, Alphonse C. Sterling, Masaru Nakanotani, Linging Zhao, Laxman Adhikari, Yalim Mehmet, Subramania Athiray Panchapakesan, Fan Guo, Ronald L. Moore

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

36Cl Concentrations from Polar Ice Cores Set New Constraints on the Carrington Event

F. Mekhaldi, C. I. Paleari, A. M. Smith et al. (+12 more)

The Carrington event of 1859 CE is considered as one of the largest geomagnetic storms of the observational era, and often used as a benchmark for a worst-case scenario. Yet, there exists no robust evidence of an associated solar energetic particle event of a significant magnitude, based on measurements of cosmogenic radionuclides 10Be and 14C from ice cores and tree rings, respectively. In this study, we present two 36Cl records from Greenland with 2-year and 4-year resolution from the EGRIP and NGRIP ice-core sites, together with semi-annual 10Be data from EGRIP, as well as annual 10Be and 36Cl concentrations from the Dome Summit Site, Law Dome, East Antarctica. We observe no significant 36Cl concentration increase around 1859 CE in the three records. This allows us to rule out an extreme solar energetic particle event hitting Earth associated with the Carrington event in terms of fluence above 30 MeV. Based on these ice core 36Cl measurements, we can suggest two scenarios: i) a soft SEP event with a maximum fluence above 30 MeV up to three times larger than any Space Age event or, ii) the possibility that there was no Earth-bound SEP event.
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All authors F. Mekhaldi, C. I. Paleari, A. M. Smith, A. Aldahan, J. Beer, M. Christl, C. Vockenhuber, H. Hayakawa, M. Curran, T. Erhardt, C. Plummer, K. Simon, K. Wilcken, M. Zheng, R. Muscheler

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

The IACOB project: XVII. Nitrogen abundances in Galactic O-type stars: further hints for separating binary-interaction products from effectively single stars

C. Martínez-Sebastián, G. Holgado, S. Simón-Díaz et al. (+2 more)

Context. Growing evidence is revealing the crucial role of binarity in massive star evolution. This affects evolution models and demands a refinement of the available observational constraints. Aims. To investigate the possible evolutionary origins of a sample of 117 Galactic O-type stars with luminosity classes V to III and projected rotational velocities below 150 ${\rm km}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$. Methods: We extend previous quantitative spectroscopic analyses performed within the framework of the IACOB project and obtain N abundance estimates. We investigate correlations between these abundances and other stellar parameters. As a reference, we use predictions from single-star evolution models computed using different physical prescriptions. Results. We identify differences in the N abundance distributions corresponding to three He abundance regimes (He-low, He-normal, and He-rich). For the He-normal group, the N abundance distribution peaks slightly above the expected birth value and extends up to $\epsilon_{\rm N}$=8.4 dex. For these stars, we find overall agreement with single-star evolutionary models that include efficient internal mixing and assume moderate-to-low initial rotation. In contrast, the He-rich group exhibits a bimodal N abundance distribution, with one peak at $\sim$8.1 dex and a second more enriched peak around $\sim$8.5 dex; none of these stars are consistent with predictions from single-star evolutionary models. We argue that He-rich stars are most plausibly explained as binary products. Furthermore, despite N abundance in He-normal stars with LC IV and V are reproduced by single stellar evolutionary models with efficient mixing, the same models predict a higher N abundance than observed for stars with LC III. This indicates that rotational mixing alone is unable to explain the observed distribution of N abundances among stars with normal He abundances.
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All authors C. Martínez-Sebastián, G. Holgado, S. Simón-Díaz, F. Martins, J. Puls

Astrophysics of Galaxies

The intrinsic dispersion of elemental abundance ratios in nearby metal-poor halo stars

Poul Erik Nissen and Anish Amarsi

Differential abundances of C, O, Mg, Al, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Y, and Zr were determined from high signal-to-noise VLT/UVES spectra for 25 turnoff stars with -2.4 < [Fe/H] < -1.3. Effective temperatures were obtained from profiles of the H_beta line and surface gravities via Gaia parallaxes. The analysis of the spectra were based on 1D model atmospheres assuming LTE, but 3D non-LTE corrections were applied for several elements. The dispersion in linear fits to the [X/Fe]-[Fe/H] relations is around a factor of two smaller than found in previous studies. After corrections for measurement errors, the 1-sigma intrinsic dispersion of [X/Fe] at a given metallicity is 0.09 dex for Y and Zr, 0.05-0.07 dex for C, O, and Al, 0.03-0.05 dex for Mg, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Mn, and Zn, and <0.03 dex for Cr, Co, and Ni. Strong correlations between the residuals in the [X/Fe]-[Fe/H] fits are found for the alpha-capture elements Mg, Al, Ca, Sc, and Ti and between the residuals for Y and Zr. Correlations of the residuals in the [X/Fe]-[Fe/H] fits with effective temperature can be explained as due to differential atomic diffusion between elements, but its contribution to the scatter of [X/Fe] is of minor importance. Probably, both stochastic effects in sampling the IMF of CCSNe and differences in the TypeIa to CCSNe enrichment ratio between star-forming regions need to be considered in order to explain the intrinsic dispersion of [X/Fe].
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Normalizing flows for density estimation in multi-detector gravitational-wave searches

Sam Insley, Michael J. Williams, Rahul Dhurkunde et al. (+1 more)

Identifying compact binary coalescences buried within the non-Gaussian and non-stationary data taken by gravitational-wave interferometers requires sophisticated search pipelines, such as the PyCBC analysis. A critical task for these pipelines is determining the statistical significance of candidate events by comparing a "ranking statistic" against a large background set. Currently, PyCBC's ranking statistic incorporates the joint probability of the relative arrival times, phase delays and amplitude ratios of the signals seen in different detectors. These parameters are tightly constrained for physical signals but are more broadly distributed for noise. PyCBC currently relies on precomputed binned histogram-based density estimators using Monte-Carlo simulations to obtain these probabilities. However, the storage requirements for these histograms scale prohibitively with the size of the detector network, preventing PyCBC from effectively analyzing four or more detectors. In this paper, we demonstrate that these histograms can be replaced with normalizing flows, a machine learning approach to density estimation. Applying this method to data from the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo, we demonstrate that normalizing flows reduce storage requirements by over three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, our approach maintains high sensitivity, with less than a 0.05% drop in the recovery of simulated signals at a fixed false-alarm rate. By relaxing several simplifying assumptions previously required by Monte-Carlo methods, we also achieved up to a 6.55% increase in recovered signals for specific detector combinations. These results suggest that normalizing flows provide a scalable, flexible framework for the PyCBC pipeline as it expands to include four or more detectors, or to extend to searches for precessing or higher-mode signals, in future observing runs.
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All authors Sam Insley, Michael J. Williams, Rahul Dhurkunde, Ian Harry

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Cosmological evolution of fast radio bursts and its rapid decline relative to star formation rate

X. D. Jia, D. H. Gao, J. H. Chen et al. (+3 more)

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are enigmatic millisecond-duration radio transients whose physical origins remain debated. To shed light on this, we analyze the CHIME/FRB Catalog 2. By using the probability distribution of dispersion measured (DM) derived from the IllustrisTGN simulation, we compute the pseudo-redshift with $1\sigma$ error for each FRB. To derive the FRB luminosity function and event rate, we employ a non-parametric statistical method. Building upon Efron-Petrosian method, we find strong luminosity evolution with redshift, well described by $L_0 \propto (1+z)^{6.38}$. After de-evolving this trend, we apply Lynden-Bell's $C^-$ method to derive the comoving FRB formation rate which is found to decline rapidly at high redshift, following $\rho(z) \propto (1+z)^{-5.38 \pm 0.02}$. We also test the robustness of our results by considering the upper and lower limits of pseudo-redshifts, and different flux limits of CHIME. Similar results are found. This steep decline is inconsistent with a direct tracing of the cosmic star formation rate, but closely resembles the redshift evolution of short gamma-ray bursts-systems linked to compact object mergers. Our results support that the origin of FRBs is associated with old populations, such as neutron stars and black holes.
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All authors X. D. Jia, D. H. Gao, J. H. Chen, Q. Wu, S. X. Yi, F. Y. Wang

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Rotational characteristics of five photometrically variable stars

Pavlína Rutová, Marek Skarka, Jiří Žák et al. (+1 more)

This study explores photometric variability in a sample of hot stars in order to test whether variability arises from rotational modulation due to surface temperature spots. Frequencies determined from the projected rotational velocities were compared with frequencies estimated on the basis of TESS light curves. In all five cases, the spectroscopic frequency was lower than the photometric one preserving possibility that the observed brightness variations can be rotationally induced. In two of our targets, HT Cet and HD 219487, the photometric frequency spectra suggest more complex variability, likely pulsations. Our results suggest that spot activity inducing rotational modulation may exist in stars hotter than 6500 K, highlighting the value of combined spectroscopic and photometric analysis of variations.
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All authors Pavlína Rutová, Marek Skarka, Jiří Žák, Pavol Gajdoš

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

The End of the First Act: Spectral Running, Interacting Dark Radiation, and the Hubble Tension in Light of ACT DR6 Data

Mathias Garny, Florian Niedermann and Martin S. Sloth

We point out that constraints on $\Delta N_\mathrm{eff}$ reported by the ACT collaboration in their DR6 data release are surprisingly sensitive to the assumptions made about the initial power spectrum from inflation. The ACT collaboration reports no evidence of new light degrees of freedom alongside a low value of the expansion rate, thus confirming the Hubble tension. However, as we show here, when considering self-interacting dark radiation and including running, $\alpha_s$, and running of the running, $\beta_s$, of the spectral index $n_s$, the picture changes significantly. Confronting this extended model with Planck, ACT DR6, DESI DR2, and uncalibrated Pantheon+ data, we find the significantly relaxed bound $\Delta N_\text{eff}< 0.58$ at 95$\%$ CL, together with a $2.9 \sigma$ ($2.6 \sigma$) preference for $\alpha_s>0$ ($\beta_s>0$), while the Hubble tension is reduced to $2.2 \sigma$ with only three more parameters compared to $\Lambda$CDM. If the dark radiation fluid is initially coupled to dark matter, and undergoes dark radiation-matter decoupling (DRMD) around matter-radiation equality, predicting dark acoustic oscillations with drag horizon $r_{d,\mathrm{DAO}} \approx 60 \,\mathrm{Mpc}/h$, the bound is further relaxed to $\Delta N_\text{eff}< 0.68$ at 95$\%$ CL, reducing the Hubble tension below $2\sigma$. We also discuss how $\alpha_s$ and $\beta_s$ could naturally appear in inflationary scenarios, possibly connected to the end of a first act of inflation. In this case dark radiation is mostly probed by scales covered by Planck and DESI, while smaller scales carry information on inflationary dynamics.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Transient Parity Violation during Inflation: Implications for PTA Gravitational Waves

Gianmassimo Tasinato

We investigate the consequences of a transient phase of enhanced parity violation during inflation. Modeling this phase through a time-localized Chern–Simons-like coupling, we show that it amplifies primordial gravitational waves at small scales, producing a robust spectral shape with a blue growth of effective slope $n_T \simeq 2$, largely insensitive to microscopic details. This prediction lies in the range explored by recent pulsar timing array (PTA) analyses under cosmological power-law interpretations, while differing from the canonical supermassive black hole binary expectation. Our framework thus provides a predictive cosmological template to benchmark astrophysical versus primordial origins of the signal, consistent with cosmic microwave background bounds. The signal also exhibits large linear polarization and non-trivial Stokes correlations, corresponding to an almost maximally phase-coherent helicity state. Such features are difficult to realize in classical stochastic backgrounds, and their detection would provide circumstantial evidence for a primordial, coherently generated origin of the gravitational-wave background.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

TwinSpecNet: Extending APOGEE's chemical reach to low-S/N spectra via empirical paired learning

Weijia Sun, Cristina Chiappini and Samir Nepal

Large spectroscopic surveys rely on automated pipelines to deliver homogeneous stellar labels, but a substantial fraction of observations are at low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), where label estimates become imprecise or are omitted. In APOGEE, these low-S/N spectra visits sample faint and distant populations – the bulge, outer halo, and satellite systems – yet still encode recoverable chemical information. We present TwinSpecNet (TSN), a paired-learning framework that exploits APOGEE's multi-visit observing strategy: by training on empirical low-/high-S/N spectral twins of the same stars, TSN learns to suppress stochastic noise while preserving the ASPCAP label scale. TSN employs a Vision Transformer encoder with dual objectives: reconstructing high-S/N flux from low-S/N visits and predicting stellar parameters and abundances with calibrated uncertainties. TSN reduces label scatter relative to visit-level ASPCAP for S/N<60 visits. TSN reproduces the ASPCAP scale with residual scatters of $\sigma$< 19 K in $T_{\mathrm{eff}}$, $\sigma\sim$0.06 dex in $\log g$, and $\sigma\sim$0.03 dex in Fe/H. TSN tightens intra-cluster abundance dispersions, recovers cleaner chemical sequences in inner-disk and bulge and satellite samples, and improves C/N-based age precision for APOKASC giants from 1.70 to 1.59 Gyr. By learning survey-specific noise patterns from repeated observations, TSN demonstrates how empirical paired learning can extend the chemical reach of existing spectroscopic data, providing a template applicable to other multi-visit surveys.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

A Systematic Search for Optical Outbursts in IPs Using ASAS-SN

Jake Mendelsohn, Simone Scaringi, Martina Veresvarska et al. (+1 more)

Cataclysmic variables can show rapid increases in optical flux. Intermediate polars (IPs), a subset with strong magnetic fields that disrupt the inner accretion disc, have been thought to possess truncated discs that rarely undergo the disc-instability outbursts seen in dwarf novae. However, the discovery of micronovae and magnetic-gating bursts suggests that such events may occur even without a fully developed disc. Using data from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), we identify a previously unrecognised population of short-timescale optical outbursts in IPs. Initial energy estimates indicate that at least half of these bursts may be consistent with micronovae, though limited cadence reduces our ability to classify each event with high confidence. These detections should therefore be regarded as evidence of short outbursts in IPs rather than definitive micronova identifications. Our results show that such bursts are more common in IPs than assumed and may include a substantial fraction of micronovae. Simulations reveal that if micronovae occur once per year at regular intervals, up to 30% of the shortest bursts could be missed over a 10-year observing baseline. Under the same assumptions, and assuming all IPs display micronovae, we would expect 50–70% of IPs to show these bursts, yet only 14% of known IPs in our sample do so. This discrepancy suggests that not all IPs undergo micronovae. Overall, this work establishes the first comprehensive set of short burst detections in IPs, providing a foundation for future investigations and a list of candidate micronova systems for follow-up analysis.
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All authors Jake Mendelsohn, Simone Scaringi, Martina Veresvarska, Krystian Iłkiewicz

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Point-like Off-pulse GeV Emission from the Millisecond Pulsar PSR J0437-4715

Ziwei Ou

PSR J0437-4715 is a gamma-ray millisecond pulsar, which has been detected by Fermi-LAT. For understanding the nature, we analyze the GeV gamma-ray data obtained with Fermi-LAT around the pulsar region. Based on the pulsar timing ephemeris, we derived the gamma-ray pulse profile and defined on-pulse and off-pulse phase intervals. A binned likelihood analysis was performed to investigate the spectral properties of the pulsar across different phase ranges. No spatial extension was detected for off-pulse, with an upper limit radius of 0.12 degree. We further investigate the relationship between gamma-ray luminosity, X-ray luminosity, and bow-shock radius for a sample of pulsars with detected bow-shock PWN. The relationship between gamma-ray luminosity and X-ray luminosity is explored. The conversion efficiency from spin-down power to GeV emission of outer gap model is consistent with a termination shock located close to the pulsar. We discuss the potential nature of off-pulse GeV emission and the connection to bow shock pulsar wind nebulae.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

TMC-1: probing the onset of chemical complexity in space

Marcelino Agundez and Jose Cernicharo

In recent years, the obsessive interest in the observation of TMC-1 has brought a boost in our knowledge of the chemistry of cold dark clouds. The number of molecules detected in this particular cloud has been more than doubled. Two observational programmes, GOTHAM and QUIJOTE, are responsible for this spectacular achievement. Here we provide an overall view of QUIJOTE, which is a line survey carried out in the Q band (31-50 GHz) with the Yebes 40m radiotelescope, summarize the actual observational status of TMC-1, and discuss the chemistry of this remarkable source. We highlight the successes and failures of state-of-the-art chemical models to describe its chemical composition, with a particular emphasis on the origin of PAHs, which is yet far from being understood.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Studying spherical collapse and its implications in the Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity theory

A. M Velásquez-Toribio

We investigate spherical collapse in Eddington-inspired Born–Infeld (EiBI) gravity in the subhorizon, pressureless, and quasi-static regime, emphasizing the matter-gradient correction that appears in the weak-field limit of the theory. Starting from the nonlinear continuity and Euler equations, we derive the evolution equation for the density contrast and show that the EiBI contribution depends explicitly on spatial derivatives of the matter density. This feature makes the ideal discontinuous top-hat construction ill-defined, since gradient terms become singular at the boundary, and requires a regularized overdensity profile together with a coarse-graining prescription. We adopt an effective physical-gradient closure for the EiBI source term and compare two matched initial configurations: a regularized Tanh profile and a peak-based profile, calibrated to share the same characteristic radius and cumulative mass proxy. Within this framework, we compute the linear collapse threshold $\delta_c(z_{\rm coll})$, the turnaround overdensity $\delta_t(z_{\rm coll})$, the turnaround radius $R_t(z_{\rm coll})$, and the virial overdensity $\Delta_{\rm vir}(z_{\rm coll})$. Relative to the $\Lambda$CDM reference case, the EiBI correction lowers $\delta_c$, enhances both $\delta_t$ and $\Delta_{\rm vir}$, and produces a more modest reduction of $R_t$, with deviations increasing with the dimensionless coupling $\hat\kappa_{\rm BI}$ over the range considered. The nonlinear overdensity observables show the strongest response to the EiBI correction and retain a residual dependence on the internal shape of the matched profile, whereas the turnaround radius is comparatively less affected. These results identify spherical collapse as a sensitive probe of EiBI matter-gradient couplings and motivate applications to halo statistics and nonlinear structure formation.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

RV and TTV Measurements of Two Transiting Long-Period Giants around TOI-4600

Tong Hu, Zitao Lin, Sharon X. Wang et al. (+27 more)

TOI-4600b and c, originally identified by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and reported by I. Mireles et al. (2023), are a rare pair of transiting long-period giant planets ($\rm P_b=82.7$ days, $\rm P_c=482.8$ days) orbiting an early K dwarf. In this work, we refine the orbital parameters of the TOI-4600 system by combining new TESS photometry, ground-based transit follow-up, and radial velocity (RV) observations from MAROON-X. We obtain improved constraints on planetary masses and eccentricities, and update other parameters, such as the stellar age. For TOI-4600b, we measure a mass of $M_p = 74.7^{+4.7}_{-4.4}\,M_{\oplus}$ and an eccentricity of $e=0.153^{+0.020}_{-0.018}$, and $M_p = 212.53^{+13.26}_{-13.03}\,M_{\oplus}$ and $e=0.219^{+0.015}_{-0.018}$ for TOI-4600c. We find significant transit timing variations (TTV) in both planets, with semi-amplitudes of approximately $1$\,hr. We derive Transit Spectroscopy Metric values of 16.87 for TOI-4600b and 10.09 for TOI-4600c, indicating that both planets are promising JWST targets for studying the atmospheres of temperate and cold Jupiters, a relatively poorly characterized sample thus far. These updated parameters and TTV ephemerides are important for planning and interpreting future photometric, spectroscopic, and dynamical studies of the TOI-4600 system.
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All authors Tong Hu, Zitao Lin, Sharon X. Wang, Mu-Tian Wang, Ismael Mireles, Jacob Bean, Madison Brady, Nina Brown, Qikang Feng, Tianjun Gan, Chengyang Ji, Xue Li, Jiayue Zhang, Ritvik Basant, Nikita Chazov, David Charbonneau, Karen A. Collins, Tanya Das, Diana Dragomir, Zahra Essack, Juliana Garcia-Mejia, Yang Huang, Jinzhong Liu, Christopher R. Mann, Hugh P. Osborn, Aleks Scholz, Andreas Seifahrt, Patrick Tamburo, Shuming Wang, Shahidin Yaqup

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

The Phenomenological Classification of TESS Eclipsing Binaries

Shi-Qi Liu, Kai Li, Xiao-Dian Chen et al. (+1 more)

Eclipsing binaries are crucial astrophysical laboratories for studying stellar parameters and evolutionary processes. In this study, we constructed a machine-learning-based model for systematic phenomenological classification of eclipsing binaries. We first extracted eclipsing binaries from the ASAS-SN variable star catalog and cross-matched them with TESS targets. The corresponding TESS light curves were processed through a unified pipeline, resulting in a high-quality training set of 9576 eclipsing binary light curves (2801 EA, 1930 EB, and 4845 EW systems). We designed and trained a fully connected neural network (FCNN) that achieved accuracy of 99.23% and 99.03% on the validation and test set respectively, demonstrating excellent performance. Applying the trained neural network to a total of 20196 TESS eclipsing binaries collected from multiple star catalogs and performing manual visual inspection, we finally obtained 13376 EA, 2114 EB, and 4706 EW systems. The standardized preprocessing pipeline and high-performance classifier developed in this study provide a reliable tool for the rapid automated classification of massive numbers of eclipsing binary in future photometric surveys.
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All authors Shi-Qi Liu, Kai Li, Xiao-Dian Chen, Li-Heng Wang

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Effects of nucleon-nucleon short-range correlation and symmetry energy on the evolution of newly born magnetars

C. X. Liu, T. F. Feng and J. M. Dong

Millisecond magnetars are widely suggested as the central engines powering hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe). These magnetars primarily lose huge rotational energy through gravitational wave radiation (GWR) and magnetic dipole radiation (MDR), with MDR serving as an energy source for SLSNe. We study the evolution of the magnetar spin, magnetic inclination angle, and the resulting thermal radiative luminosity of the SLSNe, where the impacts of the nucleon-nucleon short-range correlation, the mass and initial spin of the magnetar, and the density-dependent symmetry energy of the dense nuclear matter on the evolution are discussed. The relativistic mean-field theory is employed to calculate the nuclear matter properties, and we particularly concentrate on the time- and space-dependent bulk viscosity which is crucial for the magnetic inclination angle evolution. It is found that the nucleon-nucleon short-range correlation weakens the damping of bulk viscosity of dense matter and therefore inhibits the growth of magnetic inclination angle, and it reduces the MDR (GWR) peak luminosity of a canonical magnetar by several times while it raises the peak thermal radiation luminosity of SLSNe by several times. For magnetars with nonrotating mass obviously lower than the $ 1.4 M_\odot$ with slow initial rotation, the magnetic inclination angle is more likely to evolve towards 0 degrees quickly, and these magnetars are not suitable as the central engine for SLSNe. Within the "family" of FSUGarnet interaction, a stiffer symmetry energy gives a lower threshold of direct Urca process and hence gives a much larger bulk viscosity coefficient, and thus it promotes the growth of the magnetic inclination angle and the GWR for canonical stars but reduces the peak brightness of SLSNe significantly.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Tidal Heating of Stellar Clusters in Fuzzy Dark Matter Halos

Yiheng Liu and Xinyu Li

Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies serve as powerful testing grounds for wave dark matter models through dynamical stellar heating. Previous simulation-based work derived a lower bound on the fuzzy dark matter particle mass using a diffusion approximation valid only when the de Broglie wavelength is much smaller than the galaxy's half-light radius. We simulate the dynamical evolution of stellar clusters in FDM halos across a wide mass range and find that for sufficiently low masses, where the de Broglie wavelength is much larger than the cluster size, tidal heating is the main mechanism. We also find that a reduced soliton mass and tidally stripped halo can suppress the heating. We demonstrate that in order to constrain FDM mass from cluster heating, the structure and environment of the FDM halo must be carefully considered.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

DINGO/GAMA /WAVES: HI-halo mass relation

Ajay Dev, Martin Meyer, Simon P. Driver et al. (+17 more)

We investigate the relation between neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) and dark matter halo mass (HIHM) using observations from the Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins (DINGO) pilot survey 100h data, combined with spectroscopic data from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey and photometric data from the Wide Area VISTA Extragalactic Survey (WAVES) photometric catalog. We employ a combination of direct detections and spectral stacking to probe the HI content of halos across a wide mass range ($10^{10.5} \lesssim M_\mathrm{h}/M_\odot \lesssim 10^{14.5}$). By incorporating WAVES photometric members on top of the existing GAMA group catalog, we present a novel approach of extending stacking analyses beyond spectroscopic completeness limits, enabling recovery of satellite HI content otherwise missed. We find that the HIHM relation exhibits a double power-law form, with a turnover near $M_\mathrm{h} \sim 10^{11.2} \text{ M}_\odot$. Central galaxies dominate the halo HI budget below $M_\mathrm{h} \sim 6 \times 10^{12} \text{ M}_\odot$, while satellites dominate at higher halo masses. Including photometric members increases the measured HI content in halos above $10^{13} \text{ M}_\odot$ by a factor of 1.5-3, highlighting the importance of gas-rich satellites in the group and cluster regime. Comparison with previous group-stacking studies shows that low-surface brightness galaxies, and intra-group HI structures contribute only a minor fraction to the total HI mass in group and cluster halos, as the summed galaxy HI masses are consistent with the total halo HI content.
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All authors Ajay Dev, Martin Meyer, Simon P. Driver, Jonghwan Rhee, Trystan S. Lambert, Paul Nulsen, Richard Dodson, Tobias Westmeier, Matthew Whiting, Sabine Bellstedt, Aaron Robotham, Jochen Liske, Elmo Tempel, Ivan Baldry, Jon Loveday, Luke Davies, Barbara Catinella, Michael J. I. Brown, Kristine Spekkens, Benne W. Holwerda

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Analytical Modeling of Far-Field Wavefront Error with Beam-Waist and Lateral-Shift Effects in Spaceborne Laser Interferometry

Ya-Zheng Tao, Rui-Hong Gao, Guangzhou Xu et al. (+1 more)

The coupling between far-field wavefront error (WFE) and laser pointing jitter is an important source of tilt-to-length (TTL) noise in spaceborne laser interferometric links. We extend the Nijboer–Zernike analytical model for far-field WFE of truncated Gaussian beams by incorporating two practical initial-condition parameters, the beam-waist-to-aperture ratio $q$ and the normalized lateral spot-shift ratio $s_r$, to account for realistic beam truncation and alignment conditions. Based on this model, we analyze the influence of $q$ on far-field WFE in addition to the conventional received-power trade-off, showing that decreasing $q$ from 1 to 0.9 and from 0.9 to 0.8 reduces the mean far-field WFE by approximately 10% and 14%, respectively, in Monte Carlo simulations of random initial aberrations. We also derive the direct contribution of lateral spot shift and its coupling with transmitted WFE (constrained to $\lambda/20$). For the normalized lateral spot-shift ratio $s_r$, a $2~\mu\mathrm{m}$ entrance-pupil displacement in a Taiji-like telescope corresponds to $s_r=0.001$ and produces a phase-angle coupling coefficient of about $0.0892~\mathrm{pm/nrad}$, close to the typical far-field TTL requirement $0.1~\mathrm{pm/nrad}$, while the spot-shift–aberration coupling terms are much smaller and can be neglected in practical tolerance estimation. These results provide a theoretical basis for beam-parameter optimization and alignment tolerance design in future space-based gravitational-wave detection missions.
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All authors Ya-Zheng Tao, Rui-Hong Gao, Guangzhou Xu, Yue-Liang Wu

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Cross-listed from math.AG

Approximating Periodic Orbits with Algebraic Curves and Related Minimal Problems

Ruiqi Huang and Anton Leykin

The Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) models the motion of a massless body under the gravitational influence of two primaries. We present a method for approximating a given family of periodic orbits by low-degree implicit algebraic curves, producing one-parameter families of algebraic orbit models. These models enable the construction of minimal problems motivated by liaison navigation, where spacecraft states are inferred from inter-spacecraft measurements. Relevant applications include initial orbit determination and spacecraft positioning. Each minimal problem defines a parameterized family of instances; for generic parameters, the number of solutions equals the degree of the associated branched covering map. We compute these degrees using both symbolic and numerical methods, and we outline a homotopy-continuation-based solver construction that can be practical for low-degree cases.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Double-Peaked Ly$\alpha$ Emission during Reionization Requires Nearby Voids and a Favorable Local Ionizing Background

Hyunbae Park, Aaron Smith, Intae Jung et al. (+11 more)

Several Lyman-alpha (Ly$\alpha$) emitters deep into the reionization era exhibit double-peaked Ly$\alpha$ emission profiles, raising the question of how the intergalactic medium can transmit photons blueward of the Ly$\alpha$ resonance at such high redshifts. To investigate this, we compute Ly$\alpha$ transmission along sightlines originating from galaxies in the Cosmic Dawn III simulation and identify cases that closely reproduce the observed double-peaked emission. In these cases, the sightlines intersect highly underdense voids located a few comoving megaparsecs from the source galaxy. These voids allow photons emitted blueward of Ly$\alpha$ to redshift through resonance without scattering while traversing them. The low opacity arises because the neutral hydrogen density scales with the square of the underlying gas density under ionization equilibrium, making sufficiently underdense regions with $\lesssim30~\%$ of cosmic mean density highly transmissive. Such voids naturally occur in the fluctuating cosmic density field, even in the vicinity of galaxies, and can also be associated with transmissive spikes in the Ly$\alpha$ forest. We find that the global probability of observing double-peaked emission is $\sim0.5~\%$ during reionization at an 80% global ionization fraction, while no cases are found at 60% ionization. We also find that this probability depends sensitively on the local ionizing background intensity, increasing by a factor of $\sim10^3$ for a tenfold increase in intensity. Recent accretion episodes of supermassive black holes can further increase this probability. These results suggest that double-peaked Ly$\alpha$ emission in high-$z$ galaxies can serve as a sensitive probe of the ionizing background during the late stages of cosmic reionization.
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All authors Hyunbae Park, Aaron Smith, Intae Jung, Hidenobu Yajima, Pierre Ocvirk, Joseph S. W. Lewis, Luke Conaboy, Paul R. Shapiro, Ilian T. Iliev, Kyungjin Ahn, Joohyun Lee, Jenny G. Sorce, Yohan Dubois, Dominique Aubert

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Early Evolution of Earth-Directed Coronal Mass Ejections in the Vicinity of Coronal Holes

Suresh Karuppiah, Mateja Dumbović, Karmen Martinić et al. (+3 more)

We investigate the deflection and rotation behavior of 49 Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) spanning the period from 2010 to 2020 aiming to understand the potential influence of coronal holes (CHs) on their trajectories. We perform the GCS reconstruction in multiple time steps and we consider the difference in the longitude, latitude, and inclination between the first and last GCS reconstructions as possible signatures of deflection/rotation. Furthermore, we examine the presence of nearby CHs at the time of eruption and employ the Collection of Analysis Tools for Coronal Holes (CATCH) to estimate relevant CH parameters. To assess the potential influence of CHs on the deflection and rotation of CMEs, we calculate the Coronal Hole Influence Parameter (CHIP) for each event and analyse its relationship with their trajectories. A statistically significant difference is observed between CHIP force and the overall change in a CME's direction in the lower corona. The overall change in a CME's direction accounts cumulatively for the change in latitude, longitude, and rotation. This suggests that the CHIP force in the low corona has a significant influence on the overall change in the direction of Earth-directed CMEs. However, as the CME evolves outward, the CHIP force becomes less effective in causing deflection or rotation at greater distances. Additionally, we observe a negative correlation between the deflection rate of the CMEs and their velocity, suggesting that higher velocities are associated with lower deflection rates. Hence, the velocity of a CME, along with the magnetic-field from CHs, appears to play a significant role in the deflection of CMEs.
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All authors Suresh Karuppiah, Mateja Dumbović, Karmen Martinić, Manuela Temmer, Stephan G. Heinemann, Bojan Vršnak

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Prediction of Celestial Pole Offsets Based on Sliding Window and Bivariate Least Squares Fitting

Wang Wei-long, Wu Yuan-wei, Li Xi-shun et al. (+4 more)

As an important component of Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP), the prediction of Celestial Pole Offsets (CPO) holds significant importance for missions such as deep space exploration. To explore a better CPO prediction algorithm that improves accuracy across different forecast spans, a CPO prediction algorithm is proposed based on a sliding window and bivariate least squares fitting. First, experiments determine an optimal sliding window of 900 days. Then, bivariate least squares fitting is performed on the selected 900-day historical data to complete extrapolation prediction. Then, bivariate least squares fitting is performed on the selected 900 day historical data to complete extrapolation prediction. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm exhibits excellent accuracy. In comparisons with prediction results from participating teams in the Second Earth Orientation Parameters Prediction Comparison Campaign (2nd EOP PCC), the algorithm's Mean Absolute Error (MAE) is superior to both ID154 and ID155. Team ID154 achieved the best dX prediction, while Team ID155 achieved the best dY prediction. Furthermore, the algorithm performs well not only on the EOP 14 C04 series but also on the newly released EOP 20 C04 series after the 2nd EOP PCC. Its prediction results are far better than those in the daily files published by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS). In terms of dX forecast accuracy, the MAE for the 10th, 30th, and 57th days were reduced by 53%, 59%, and 60%, respectively. In terms of dY forecast accuracy, the MAE for the 10th, 30th, and 57th days were reduced by 35%, 38%, and 42%, respectively.
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All authors Wang Wei-long, Wu Yuan-wei, Li Xi-shun, Qiao Hai-hua, Kong Qiao, Yang Hai-yan, Yang Xu-hai

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Blinded Mock Data Challenge: Is the Spectral Siren Technique Robust for Measuring the Hubble Constant?

Christos Karathanasis, Suvodip Mukherjee, Lalit Pathak et al. (+5 more)

The measurement of the Hubble constant from gravitational wave (GW) sources is one of the independent avenues to shed light on the Hubble tension, which is associated with about an $8\%$ mismatch in the value of the Hubble constant inferred from low-redshift and high-redshift cosmological probes. Such a key measurement is expected from GW sources as it is a direct measurement of the Hubble constant using the luminosity distance without the need for any luminosity distance calibration. However, such a measurement relies strongly on the reliability of the independent inference of the source redshift of the GW source. As a result, it becomes pertinent to gauge the accuracy and precision of techniques in understanding their reliability in inferring redshifts of GW sources. In this work, we show the requirement of the spectral siren technique in knowing the mass distribution of BBHs across cosmic redshifts in order to make a reliable inference of the Hubble constant. We show by a blinded mock data challenge analysis the criticality in capturing the underlying metallicity dependence of the BBH mass distribution and its interplay with time-delay distribution for a robust inference of the Hubble constant using the spectral siren technique. In order to have a reliable measurement of the Hubble constant at the level required to resolve the Hubble tension in the future, the mass distribution of the BBHs needs to be independently inferred at all relevant redshifts with an accuracy less than the statistical uncertainty. Otherwise, a mismatch of the true model and the underlying assumption made in the analysis can lead to a best-fit model for the wrong value of both BBH population parameters as well as the Hubble constant.
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All authors Christos Karathanasis, Suvodip Mukherjee, Lalit Pathak, Sergio Vallejo-Peña, Mohit Raj Sah, Benoît Revenu, Antonio Enea Romano, Juan Garcia-Bellido

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

Trapping, Irregular Waveforms, and Efficient Radiation in Ultra-relativistic Black Hole Encounters

Hengrui Zhu, Frans Pretorius and James M. Stone

We demonstrate that ultra-relativistic black hole encounters reveal a new regime of the two-body interaction in general relativity. Evolving equal-mass, nonspinning black holes with initial center-of-mass Lorentz factors up to $\gamma\approx 5.1$ using numerical relativity, we find that the resulting waveforms defy the standard expectation of a post-Newtonian description followed by a smooth transition to a prompt Kerr ringdown. Instead, at nonzero impact parameter, the system can exhibit prolonged, highly irregular emission and significant horizon absorption, even without coalescence. We show these phenomena are driven by transient null trapping and repeated lensing of radiation in the binary interaction region. Furthermore, our simulations indicate that over $65\%$ of the initial ADM energy can be radiated as gravitational waves at $\gamma\approx 5.1$, which is substantially larger than previously estimated by extrapolating from lower boost data.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Resolved Maps of Gas and Dust in a Massive Quiescent Galaxy at z=2 from INQUEST-JWST: Evidence of Accretion and Rejuvenation

Sai Gangula, Andrew B. Newman, Meng Gu et al. (+10 more)

Quiescent galaxies in the distant universe exhibit a range of gas content that may indicate a variety of quenching processes are at play. Mapping the distribution and kinematics of the gas can illuminate its origins, but nearly all such observations have been unresolved. We present JWST/NIRSpec IFU observations of MRG-M0138, a gravitationally lensed, massive quiescent galaxy at $z\sim2$ observed as part of the INQUEST-JWST survey. We use Na I D absorption, which we detect in excess of the stellar absorption over most of the galaxy, to trace the kinematics and spatial distribution of the neutral gas in 219 spatial bins. The gas exhibits clear rotation that is kinematically aligned with the stellar disk. Both the gas and dust have a complex spatial structure, including an off-nuclear clump, a dust lane, and patches in the outer disk. The non-equilibrium distribution suggests that the gas was accreted. Analysis of the galaxy's star formation history supports this interpretation by indicating a rejuvenation event 500 Myrs ago. We identify two plausibly associated galaxies and suggest that tidal interactions are a likely source of the accreted gas. Our results indicate that some of the variation in gas content among early quiescent galaxies is not related to differences in gas consumption timescales. The detection of a gas clump at a projected distance of $\sim90$ pc from the known supermassive black hole illustrates a mechanism to fuel the episodic AGN feedback that may maintain quiescence.
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All authors Sai Gangula, Andrew B. Newman, Meng Gu, Sirio Belli, Katherine E. Whitaker, Tania M. Barone, Aliza Beverage, Andrea Bolamperti, Letizia Bugiani, Richard S. Ellis, Mariska Kriek, Allison Matthews, Themiya Nanayakkara

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

The $\beta$-Dependence of Particle Spectra in Relativistic Turbulent Reconnection

Shi-Min Liang, Jian-Fu Zhang and Nian-Yu Yi

We perform numerical simulations of particle acceleration in relativistic, self-driven turbulent magnetic reconnection using the MHD-PIC method. We systematically investigate the dependence of the non-thermal particle spectral exponent on the plasma $\beta$. We find that particle acceleration proceeds in two stages: an initial, efficient first-order Fermi phase where momentum gains are comparable in parallel and perpendicular directions, followed by a slower drift-dominated phase. The power-law slope of the non-thermal spectrum is established during the Fermi phase, as found in previous studies. Our results demonstrate a systematic steepening of the accelerated particle energy spectrum with increasing $\beta$. We derive empirical scaling relations: the spectral exponent $\alpha \propto \beta^{0.5}$ in the relativistic regime, compared to $\alpha \propto \beta^{0.3}$ in the non-relativistic case. This marked difference is rooted in relativistic physics: the increased inertial mass density ($\rho h$) in high-$\beta$ plasmas acts as an energy sink, reducing the Alfvén velocity and thereby altering the dynamics of magnetic energy release and its partition efficiency. The derived scaling provides a unified physical framework for interpreting the diversity of non-thermal radiation spectra observed in astrophysical sources, including black hole corona X-ray flares, gamma-ray bursts, and active galactic nucleus jets.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from hep-ph

Gravitational Properties of the Monopole Bag

Yu Komiya and Fumihiro Takayama

Axionic cosmologies constitute a class of models with phenomenologically rich symmetry breaking in the early universe. In the case where monopoles are present in such a background, the axion profile may be deformed; it is possible to construct a “monopole bag" state composed of a central monopole within a closed axion domain wall. We consider the gravitational properties of this composite defect, and propose that there exist both a horizonless and a black hole-like static solution for different input parameters. For the latter case, we present our results as a first step towards a new construction of a dyonic regular black hole, given the monopole bag's potential ability to evade the usual singular gravitational collapse and retain a non-trivial axionic profile by the exotic electromagnetic properties of an axionic Chern-Simons term.
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