Astrophysics of Galaxies
Testing the recovery of the NGC 6505 Einstein ring in deep OSN 1.5-m imaging
Homer Dávila Gutiérrez, Julio Carlos Bertua Marasca, Alejandro Heredia Teva et al. (+4 more)
The discovery of a complete Einstein ring around the nearby elliptical
galaxy NGC 6505 (z = 0.042) by the Euclid mission provides a rare, precisely characterised low-
redshift strong lens. Its Einstein radius of 2.500 arcsec is comparable to the angular resolution attainable from typical mid-aperture ground-based facilities, which makes the recoverability of the ring from the ground an open practical question. We test whether the ring can be recovered in deep Cousins-R imaging of NGC 6505 obtained with the 1.5-m T150
telescope at the Sierra Nevada Observatory (OSN), totalling 8.03 h of integration at a final effective seeing of FWHM = 2.47 arcsec, corresponding to an Einstein-radius-to-FWHM ratio of 1.01. After subtracting a non-parametric isophotal model of the
galaxy, we search the residual for coherent arc- or ring-like structure and find none at the Euclid-measured Einstein radius, with a maximum value of 1.5 sigma for the adopted radial recovery metric. An injection-recovery experiment using a simplified, Euclid-informed synthetic ring, processed through the same isophotal-modelling and residual-analysis pipeline, yields a maximum recovered significance between 0.42 sigma and 1.86 sigma across three PSF descriptions, below our operational 3 sigma recovery threshold in every case. We interpret this as a
dataset-specific non-recovery driven by the regime in which the Einstein radius is approximately equal to the FWHM of these observations, rather than as a general detectability law.
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All authors Homer Dávila Gutiérrez, Julio Carlos Bertua Marasca, Alejandro Heredia Teva, Irene Naranjo Arroyo, Fernando Núñez Martínez, Miguel Ruiz Travesí, Eugenio Grande Sáez
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Cross-listed from physics.ao-ph
Modeling the response of the marine carbon cycle to extreme CO$_2$ injection events
Punit Gandhi, Rowan Lockwood, Corinne Myers et al. (+4 more)
We explore how the response of a conceptual model of the marine carbon cycle depends on the way in which carbon is injected from the atmosphere. We find that, for single-injection pulses, the threshold amount required for a large response of the excitable system depends on pulse duration but not on its specific form. We do, however, see differences in the number of large transient responses in carbon and, correspondingly, the duration of the response for different pulse shapes. These differences are magnified as the system is pushed towards increased excitability and can be understood in terms of the geometry of an increasingly winding heteroclinic orbit. Inspired by Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), we also consider random sequences of injection pulses. We find a wide range of possible responses for a given overall amount injected and duration, depending on the mean characteristics of the individual pulses. We also identify a resonance-like "Goldilocks" zone, in which intermediate pulse durations or arrival frequencies produce the largest number of repeated transients, and we test the framework with illustrative scenarios motivated by the Siberian Traps and Columbia River Basalt Group.
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All authors Punit Gandhi, Rowan Lockwood, Corinne Myers, Parimita Roy, Ivan Sudakow, James Witts, Hao Helen Zhang
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from quant-ph
Axion like particles multi-parameter sensing
Hassan Manshouri, Moslem Zarei and Mehdi Abdi
The search for the
axion like particles (APLs)-one of the deepest puzzles in modern cosmology-may hold the key to understanding dark matter and dark energy. In this work, we introduce a setup taking advantage of the
quantum metrology techniques to constrain the hypothetical mass and coupling constants of APLs by employing exotic pseudoscalar
spin-
spin interactions between
fermions mediated by ALPs. A key advantage of our approach is the exploitation of position-dependent
spin sensor results to the high sensitivity of the probe. To simultaneously investigate the
axion mass and coupling constants, we invoke a multi-probe detection strategy. Through this strategy, we circumvent the singularity of the
quantum Fisher information
matrix as an ultimate upper bound on the sensitivity of any probe. For the
axion masses in the range of $m_a {\le} 10^{-3} \text{eV}$, this setup can exclude values of
axion coupling constants $g^e_pg^n_p$ down to $10^{-7}$.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies
A differentiable hydrodynamical approach to the Milky Way bar pattern speed with CO longitude–velocity data
Junichi Baba and Kohei Hattori
We present a differentiable hydrodynamical framework for modeling barred gas flow in the Milky Way and constraining broad low-loss regions in bar-pattern-speed parameter space from
Galactic longitude–velocity data. The method evolves a neutral-gas disk in a fixed barred potential, projects it into longitude–velocity ($\ell$–$v$) space, and compares predicted and target maps using a cosine-distance loss applied to processed and masked maps. This emphasizes large-scale morphology rather than the absolute emission scale. Because the forward model is differentiable, gradients with respect to the bar pattern speed can be computed and used for direct optimization in observable space. We validate the method with self-consistency hydrodynamical mocks and with an independent mock generated by a different solver with more realistic interstellar-medium physics. These tests recover or identify low-loss regions near the input pattern speed, showing that the method captures coherent bar-driven structures in $\ell$–$v$ space. We then apply the framework to the observed CO $\ell$–$v$ structure of the inner Milky Way. The data yield broad low-loss regions rather than a unique best-fitting value. These regions include moderate pattern speeds, $|\Omega_{\rm b}|\sim30$–$40\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}\,kpc^{-1}}$, consistent with current
stellar-dynamical constraints, although their location depends on the gas response time and viewing angle. This first application demonstrates the feasibility of differentiable hydrodynamical modeling of
Galactic gas as an independent kinematic test of barred Milky Way models and as a step toward multi-parameter forward modeling in position–position–velocity space.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Solar System Probes for Scalar Field Dark Matter
Edmund Ghampson, Oem Trivedi, Robert J. Scherrer et al. (+1 more)
Scalar field dark matter provides us with a well motivated alternative to conventional particle dark matter, especially when ultralight fields form coherent oscillations or compact self gravitating clumps. Here we develop three complementary
Solar System and local
Galactic level probes of such models. These probes pertain to ADAF-like
flares from scalar clump encounters with Kuiper Belt Objects, atomic clock searches for oscillatory variations of fundamental constants and astrometric microlensing by compact scalar clumps. We derive simple sensitivity estimates and null detection bounds on the scalar clump fraction, clock couplings and compact lens abundance. Our results show that
Gaia-like astrometry can probe compact scalar clumps at the percent level near $M_s\gtrsim10^{-2}M_\odot$, while future astrometric and clock experiments can extend the reach to lower masses and weaker couplings.
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All authors Edmund Ghampson, Oem Trivedi, Robert J. Scherrer, Alfredo Gurrola
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Discovery of a gravitational arc candidate at photometric redshift 1.4 in MACS J0308.9+2645 from a catalogue-based search of JWST imaging
Homer Dávila Gutiérrez
We report a previously uncatalogued gravitational arc candidate (A1) in the massive RELICS cluster MACS J0308.9+2645 (z_l = 0.356), identified in public JWST/NIRCam imaging from programme GO-5293 through a transparent catalogue-based selection of extended, elongated, tangentially aligned sources. A1 has axis ratio a/b ~ 6.5, isophotal extent ~ 5.1 arcsec, and lies 50.9 arcsec from the cluster X-ray centre, tangentially aligned to within 1.4 +/- 3.0 deg. We show that the catalogue aper_total_abmag photometry, designed for unresolved sources, is invalid for this extended arc: the aperture captures only a few per cent of the isophotal flux and, because its radius grows with wavelength, imposes ~ 1.4 mag of spurious red colour that would drive a spurious high-
redshift solution. Extended-source photometry (isophotal, fixed matched apertures, curve-of-growth) combined with archival HST/RELICS forced photometry in seven bands yields z ~ 1.4 (range 1.2-1.7). A significant HST/ACS F435W detection independently excludes the high-
redshift solution, which would require a complete Lyman-limit dropout. At z ~ 1.4 the public Zitrin-LTM-Gauss lens model places A1 near the tangential critical curve in the single-image regime: full-map ray-tracing predicts no counter-images for z < 2, consistent with the absence of any counterpart, whereas a z = 4.4 source would require a counter-image of m ~ 22.7 where none is observed. The most probable interpretation is a singly lensed
galaxy at z ~ 1.4 behind the cluster. The arc's
curvature is concave toward the cluster centre (radius ~ 19 arcsec) but of marginal, method-dependent significance once correlated noise is accounted for. A fainter arclet (A2) is retained as a secondary candidate. Spectroscopy and a dedicated lens model are required for confirmation.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
The Interstellar Laser Beacons Hypothesis and the Cosmic Lighthouses Project
Daniel Apai, Chia-Lung Lin and Kevin Wagner
In this paper, we argue that in a realistic, resource-limited scenario senders whose intent is to maximize successful communication at the lowest cost will utilize very long-lived, pulsed beacons. Further, we argue that mass-producible
laser beacons with simpler technology ($\mu$s or ms pulses instead of ultrashort fs pulses) are more optimal if placed on interstellar orbits. Our extensive, existing surveys are mostly blind to the $\mu$s/ms-second universe and to such beacons. We show, however, that the convergence of three technologies (massively parallel processing, ultra high-speed CMOS detectors, and broadband, mass-producible diffractive-refractive lenses) now offer an exciting opportunity for a low-cost survey of the $\mu$second sky. Such survey would be astrophysically compelling and, with even low-cost
telescopes, could place volume-complete constraints on interstellar beacons within twenty parsecss.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
TESS Photometry and Radial Velocity Analysis of the sub-Neptune Exoplanet {\pi} Mensae c and the Wider {\pi} Mensae Planetary System
Skylar S. Larsen, Jake D. Turner, Nikole K. Lewis et al. (+10 more)
Exoplanet characterization relies on precise measurements of planetary orbital and physical parameters. This is particularly important for planetary dynamics and atmospheric
evolution, as orbital parameters help constrain system
evolution, resolve ambiguities, and gauge atmospheric retention. The first
exoplanet discovered by the Transiting
Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), $\pi$ Men c, is a warm sub-Neptune orbiting a bright Sun-like
star in a system containing (at least) one other
planet with a wildly different period and size. Lying near the 1.5-2.0 $R_{\oplus}$ radius gap, $\pi$ Men c is expected to have lost its
primordial hydrogen and helium, but kept heavier compounds like H$_2$O and CO$_2$. The $\pi$ Men system is well observed with decades of radial velocity measurements, and TESS has continued to observe $\pi$ Men c, yielding six years and 21 sectors of photometry. We present a comprehensive analysis of these TESS data and 22 years of radial velocity measurements to provide updated orbital ephemerides for $\pi$ Men b, c, and the proposed third
planet, $\pi$ Men d. Our newly derived $\pi$ Men c period error margins are an order of magnitude improved from previous estimates, and we estimate the mass range of $\pi$ Men d to be 13.4 $\leq$ M$_d$ $<$ 20 M$_{\oplus}$. We find that $\pi$ Men c is a uniquely interesting target for future transmission spectroscopy studies with JWST, and that existing radial velocity data are consistent with the existence of a third
planet.
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All authors Skylar S. Larsen, Jake D. Turner, Nikole K. Lewis, Maryame El Moutamid, Diana Solano-Oropeza, Lili Alderson, V. Abby Boehm, Daniel A. Yahalomi, Emily K. Deibert, Ray Jayawardhana, Dong Lai, Adam B. Langeveld, Kyle A. Pearson
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Illuminating M82: Simulating X-ray Emission from Galactic Winds in a Starburst Galaxy
Allison Lin, Lachlan Lancaster, Viraj Pandya et al. (+6 more)
We generate mock X-ray observations from a suite of idealized high-resolution ($\sim 4$ pc), tall-box ($\sim 2 \times 2 \times 8$ kpc$^3$) simulations of
star formation driven
galactic winds in an M82-like system, varying the spatial resolution as well as the strength and distribution of
supernova (SN) energy injection. We compare our mock X-ray observations with deep Chandra observations of the hot
plasma around M82. While the simulated total X-ray luminosity, $L_X$, increases with resolution and when SNe feedback is spatially distributed, even in the best case scenario, our simulated $L_X$ is a factor of $\sim 50-100$ lower than observed and the surface brightness profiles of X-ray emission, $S_X(z)$, fall off too quickly with distance from the
galaxy. Past results were able to reproduce these observables and we discuss potential simulation differences that could explain this discrepancy. We make the first comparison of the X-ray spectrum of our simulations to observations and find that our simulated spectrum is too soft, with a deficit of hard X-ray
photons at $\gtrsim 1$ keV. We discuss how physical processes missing from our simulations and prior work (e.g., thermal conduction and
cosmic rays) could help resolve this discrepancy.
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All authors Allison Lin, Lachlan Lancaster, Viraj Pandya, Drummond B. Fielding, Greg L. Bryan, John A. ZuHone, Sebastian Lopez, Laura A. Lopez, Christopher Carr
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
MOA-2020-BLG-108Lb: A Giant Planet Beyond the Snow Line of a Low-Mass Lens Near the Lower Boundary of the Mass-Ratio Desert
Yuki K. Satoh, David P. Bennett, Takahiro Sumi et al. (+21 more)
We present an analysis of the microlensing event MOA-2020-BLG-108, which was discovered in June 2020 by the MOA collaboration toward the
Galactic bulge. The observed light curve shows significant deviations from the standard single-lens single-source model. We find two degenerate binary-lens single-source solutions, corresponding to the wide and close configurations, with a companion-to-host mass ratio of $q\sim0.02$ and projected host–companion separations of $s=1.33\pm0.01$ and $s=0.76\pm0.01$, respectively. These solutions improve the fit by $\Delta\chi^2>4430$ compared to the single-lens model. We detected the finite-source effect in the light curve and obtained the angular Einstein radius of $\theta_{\rm E} = 0.7\pm0.1\:\mathrm {mas}$, which provides a mass–distance relation for the lens. We conducted a
Bayesian analysis to estimate the physical parameters of the lens system. The results indicate that the lens system consists of a host
star with a mass of $M_{\rm L,H} \sim 0.6\:M_\odot$ at a distance of $D_{\rm L}\sim5$ kpc and a
giant planet with a mass of $M_{\rm L,C}\sim10\:M_{\rm {Jup}}$ orbiting beyond the snow line. Conventional
planet formation theories suggest that
giant planets are unlikely to form around low-mass
stars. Furthermore, several statistical studies have suggested the existence of a companion-to-host mass-ratio desert in the range $0.02 \lesssim q \lesssim 0.05$, and the companion in the lens system discovered in this work lies near the lower boundary of this desert. Objects near the
planet-brown
dwarf boundary may form through multiple pathways, and this discovery provides an additional data point for understanding their formation mechanisms.
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All authors Yuki K. Satoh, David P. Bennett, Takahiro Sumi, Ian A. Bond, Nicholas J. Rattenbury, Daisuke Suzuki, Naoki Koshimoto, Shota Miyazaki, Rintaro Kirikawa, Fumio Abe, Aparna Bhattacharya, Ryusei Hamada, Stela Ishitani Silva, Yuki Hirao, Yutaka Matsubara, Yasushi Muraki, Tutumi Nagai, Kansuke Nunota, Greg Olmschenk, Clément Ranc, Sean K. Terry, Paul J. Tristram, Aikaterini Vandorou, Hibiki Yama
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Tracing cosmic star formation history through radio continuum spectral energy distribution and non-thermal emission
Fangxia An, Fatemeh S. Tabatabaei, Nick Seymour et al. (+11 more)
As a tracer of massive
star formation unaffected by
dust, the
radio continuum emission provides a unique window into the formation of the first
stars and
galaxies in the Universe. Recent observations show that the integrated rest-frame mid-
radio (~1-10 GHz) luminosity of
galaxies serves as one of the most robust tracers of the
star formation rate (SFR). These studies further demonstrate that the synchrotron spectral index and the shape of the
radio spectral energy distribution (SED) evolves with
redshift as a consequence of the
cosmic evolution of
star formation activity. These findings underscore the importance of deep multi-band
radio continuum observations in calibrating the SFR of early
galaxies and understanding the astrophysical processes governing their assembly and
evolution over
cosmic time. This chapter presents recent progress in
radio SFR calibrations for
star-forming
galaxies (SFGs) and reviews
radio-continuum studies of the
cosmic star formation history (SFH). We highlight the transformative potential of SKA AA4, whose broad frequency coverage and high sensitivity will enable well-constrained
radio SEDs for SFGs across a wide
redshift range.
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All authors Fangxia An, Fatemeh S. Tabatabaei, Nick Seymour, Maryam Khademi, Zunli Yuan, Wenjie Wang, Joe A. Grundy, Mark T. Sargent, Tao Wang, Yuheng Zhang, Yinghe Zhao, Hiddo S. B. Algera, Elias Brinks, Mattia Vaccari
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
I Can Do It With A Broken Planetesimal: Characterising the planetary debris in heavily polluted cool white dwarfs
Anna-Maria Cutolo, Boris T. Gänsicke, Andrew Swan et al. (+7 more)
We present the analysis of four cool and strongly metal-polluted H-atmosphere white
dwarfs observed with X-shooter. We compared their atmospheric parameters obtained from spectroscopy, photometry and a hybrid method, finding a difference of up to $\simeq160$ K in $T_\mathrm{eff}$, and $\simeq0.3$ dex in $\log g$, between the three analyses. We adopt the $T_\mathrm{eff}$ and $\log g$ from the photometric analysis, and subsequently measured the metal abundances of the photospheric elements from spectroscopic modelling, analysing their compositions. We identified from five to eleven unique metals in the photospheres of the four white
dwarfs, with total
accretion rates ranging from $10^{8}$ to $10^{9}$ $\mathrm{g~s^{-1}}$. The compositional analysis of WD J035826.49$+$215726.16 suggests an accreted planetesimal akin to a core-rich differentiated body, with a core mass fraction of 70 per cent, placing it among the most core-rich objects known to be accreted by white
dwarfs. The parent body accreted by WD J042643.98$-$415341.44 shows an enhancement in Na compared to that of the Earth, making it most similar to primitive chondrites. The photosphere of WD J013222.88$+$052923.71 is greatly depleted in core-like material, and its composition resembles that of pure crust/mantle material. WD J232428.21$-$021643.65 has accreted the most Fe-rich planetesimal, with an Fe mass fraction of 67 per cent. We compare these results to other published studies and conclude that these white
dwarfs are among the most heavily polluted cool DAZs studied to date, increasing the sample of cool H-dominated white
dwarfs with five or more metals by 50 per cent.
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All authors Anna-Maria Cutolo, Boris T. Gänsicke, Andrew Swan, Andrew M. Buchan, Jamie T. Williams, Detlev Koester, Paula Izquierdo, Mark A. Hollands, James A. Blake, Nicola P. Gentile Fusillo
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Mitigating galaxy systematics with gravitational wave clustering
Caterina Scarpel, Nicola Bellomo, Sarah Libanore et al. (+2 more)
Although currently poorly constrained, cosmological ultra-large scales are expected to provide formidable tests not only of General Relativity, but also of the content of $\Lambda$CDM and the Early Universe. However, in this regime,
cosmic variance plays a major role in limiting sensitivity, and controlling systematic errors becomes a crucial aspect in preserving the limited information content of current and future observations. Multi-tracer analyses represent a useful technique that simultaneously allows to limit the impact of
cosmic variance and mitigate the presence of systematics. In this sense, gravitational waves might represent the perfect alternative tracer of the large-scale structure, since their detection suffers from a set of uncertainties completely different from that of traditional large-scale structure surveys. In this work, we provide a concrete example of how gravitational wave clustering mitigates the presence of systematics, and facilitate the discovery of New Physics signatures. Specifically, we focus on systematics that degrade the constraining power on local
Primordial non-Gaussianity for future
galaxy surveys; and show how catalogs of gravitational wave events detected by third-generation observatories reduce the impact of systematics while being able to maintain flexibility in the statistical analysis. Additionally, we release a new version of the Multi_CLASS code, which now provides an enhanced level of customization of the different tracers and is compatible with the latest releases of CLASS.
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All authors Caterina Scarpel, Nicola Bellomo, Sarah Libanore, Michele Liguori, Alvise Raccanelli
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Determination of kinematic distances of WISE & SMGPS H II regions in the Galactic plane using SEDIGISM cloud association
Moses Langa, Mark Thompson, Andrew Rigby et al. (+7 more)
One of the fundamental requirements for studying and understanding
Galactic structure and massive
star formation is accurate distances to H II regions. However, most distance assignments are hampered by kinematic distance ambiguity (KDA), sparse parallax measurements, and the large number of
radio continuum sources lacking velocity and distance measurements. We present a kinematic distance determination method via cloud association, linking H II regions from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) catalogue and the South African
Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) MeerKAT
Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS) with molecular clouds from the Structure, Excitation and Dynamics of the Inner
Galactic Interstellar Medium (SEDIGISM) 13CO (2-1) survey. The associations are established through spatial overlap and velocity coherence, and the molecular cloud velocity and distance are then assigned to the associated H II region. The method yields 741 H II regions with adopted CO-based systemic velocities, of which 640 have reliable kinematic distances based on the SEDIGISM distance reliability criteria. We validate the method using 329 H II regions with independent
radio recombination line (RRL) velocities, finding excellent agreement with a median absolute velocity difference of 3.46km/s. Our analysis resolves ambiguous velocities for 40 H II regions with multiple WISE RRL velocity measurements. Compared to the unassociated clouds, the associated molecular clouds exhibit significantly higher masses, gas surface densities, linewidths,
star formation efficiencies and dense gas fractions, and slightly lower virial parameters. This work provides a large, homogeneously-derived catalogue of H II region distances and establishes a framework for further studying massive
star formation and
Galactic structure in general.
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All authors Moses Langa, Mark Thompson, Andrew Rigby, Gwenllian Williams, Mubela Mutale, Cristobal Bordiu, Simone Riggi, Willice Obonyo, James Chibueze, Paul Baki
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Superlinear Type II Superluminous Supernovae 2017fck and 2019cmv: A Possible Origin from Interacting Thermonuclear Supernovae
Daichi Hiramatsu, Takashi J. Moriya, D. Andrew Howell et al. (+9 more)
Additional power sources to traditional
supernovae (SNe) are necessary to account for the extreme luminosities of superluminous SNe (SLSNe). A main power source for hydrogen-rich SLSNe (SLSNe-II) is thought to be circumstellar material (CSM) interaction. However, the nature of underlying SNe and their progenitor systems remain elusive as they are hidden below strong CSM signatures. Here, we present optical photometry and spectroscopy of SLSNe-II 2017fck and 2019cmv. They are characterized by post-maximum "superlinear" light curves which we also identify in a sample of Type Ia SNe interacting with CSM (SNe Ia-CSM), along with their light-curve correlations and spectral similarities. Thus, we compute a numerical light-curve model grid of SNe Ia-CSM with various SN Ia subtypes and CSM distributions. Our model grid spans the observed parameter space of SNe Ia-CSM in terms of their rise times, peak luminosities, and decline rates with a wide CSM mass range of $\sim2-11$ M$_\odot$, indicating the diversity in their progenitor systems. For SNe 2017fck and 2019cmv, we infer high CSM masses of $\sim11$ and $6$ M$_\odot$, respectively, which might be produced during the common envelope
evolution of a white
dwarf and massive ($\geq8$ M$_\odot$) or intermediate-mass ($<8$ M$_\odot$) companion. Together with the proposed connection of SLSN-II 2006gy to SNe Ia-CSM, SNe 2017fck and 2019cmv may offer a possible thermonuclear origin for superlinear SLSNe-II with peak optical luminosities up to $10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$.
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All authors Daichi Hiramatsu, Takashi J. Moriya, D. Andrew Howell, Iair Arcavi, Jamison Burke, Griffin Hosseinzadeh, Curtis McCully, Stefano Valenti, Maria R. Drout, Saurabh W. Jha, Youssef Eweis, Sergei I. Blinnikov
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Mitigating the Timing Impact of Anomalous Pulse Profile Shape Variability in PSR J1713+0747 with Gaussian Component Modeling
Shania A. Nichols, Michael T. Lam, Gabriella Agazie et al. (+31 more)
The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) achieves sub-microsecond timing precision for several millisecond
pulsars in its
pulsar timing array (PTA) with the objective of detecting and characterizing nanohertz gravitational waves. PSR J1713+0747 is one of the most precisely timed
pulsars in the array, achieving sub-microsecond timing precision. However, in April 2021, PSR J1713+0747 underwent a sudden and unusual change in pulse shape that disrupted its timing stability. As PSR J1713+0747 is a key contributor to PTA sensitivity, variations in its pulse profile significantly affect the array's sensitivity to nanohertz gravitational waves. We apply frequency-dependent Gaussian component models to decompose the pulse profile and track the
evolution of individual components through the event. This component-level method maintains phase-connected timing across the shape-change event. At L-band, the recovered TOAs have a median uncertainty of ~0.47 microseconds compared to ~0.69 microseconds for standard template matching. At 820 MHz, where profile
evolution is stronger, the recovered TOAs have a median uncertainty of ~1.63 microseconds compared to ~0.67 microseconds for standard template matching. The recovered TOAs achieve timing uncertainties comparable to conventional template matching while allowing data affected by profile variability to be retained in PTA gravitational-wave analyses. These results represent an initial step toward profile-domain timing methods capable of accounting for pulse-profile
evolution while reducing the need for additional timing model parameters.
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All authors Shania A. Nichols, Michael T. Lam, Gabriella Agazie, Anjana Ashok, Jeremy G. Baier, H. Thankful Cromartie, Kathryn Crowter, Megan E. DeCesar, Paul B. Demorest, Lankeswar Dey, William Fiore, Emmanuel Fonseca, Joseph Glaser, Deborah C. Good, Jeffrey S. Hazboun, Ross J. Jennings, David L. Kaplan, Bjorn Larsen, Georgia A. Lowes, Ryan S. Lynch, Ashley Martsen, Bradley W. Meyers, Patrick M. Meyers, Mason Ng, Daniel J. Oliver, Benetge B. P. Perera, Henri A. Radovan, Scott M. Ransom, Alexander Saffer, Ingrid H. Stairs, Mercedes S. Thompson, Amir Tresnjic, Joris P. W. Verbiest, David Wright
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Population demographics of post-interaction WDMS binaries: From common envelope evolution to stable mass transfer
Natsuko Yamaguchi, Kareem El-Badry and Cheyanne Shariat
Close white
dwarf (WD) + main-sequence (MS) binaries are end products of mass transfer (MT) that occurred prior to WD formation, making their population demographics a powerful probe of binary
evolution. Several recent works have constructed samples of WD+MS binaries with well-understood selection functions using data from wide-field surveys. These include (a) AU-scale astrometric binaries from
Gaia that can be shown to contain a WD on dynamical grounds, (b) AU-scale astrometric binaries in which a hot WD is detected through a GALEX UV excess, and (c) close binaries discovered through eclipses. Together, these samples probe outcomes of both stable MT and common-envelope
evolution, and interactions on both the red
giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic
giant branch (AGB). We forward model the three observed samples simultaneously. This approach produces robust constraints on uncertain binary
evolution parameters because binaries removed from one population are predicted to appear in another. Our modeling includes a realistic initial binary population and treatments of the selection effects affecting all samples. We confirm that MT from AGB donors requires a critical accretor-to-donor mass ratio of $\sim0.4$ as found in previous work, and find that this is more stable than MT from RGB donors, for which we constrain a critical ratio $\gtrsim0.65$. A common envelope efficiency of $\alpha\lambda\sim0.3$ matches the relative numbers of close and wide systems and the period distribution of close systems. Most stable MT products in the sample, including those with RGB donors, retain nonzero eccentricities ($\simeq0.1$). The model does not fully reproduce the mass distribution of main-sequence
stars in post-common envelope binaries, which shows a cliff below the fully convective limit, possibly pointing to missing physics that may warrant future work.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies
The JADES Transient Survey III: Linking Core-Collapse Supernova Rates to Cosmic Star Formation
Christian Vassallo, Seppo Mattila, Christa DeCoursey et al. (+24 more)
We investigate how core-collapse
supernova (CCSN) rates trace the
star-formation rate densities (SFRDs) over the
redshift range $0 \le z \le 5$. For this we use new high-
redshift results from the James Webb Space
Telescope Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) Transient Survey (JTS, see the companion paper by DeCoursey et al. 2026), together with published CCSN rates. Using the observed CCSN rates to constrain the CCSN production efficiency relating SFRDs to CCSN rates, we examine how the inferred connection between
star formation rates and CCSN production efficiency depends on the
stellar initial mass function (IMF) and the adopted CCSN progenitor mass range. We find that the observed CCSN rates are consistent with
dust extinction-corrected UV+IR based SFRDs for plausible CCSN progenitor masses. Using the observed CCSN rates to directly reconstruct the
cosmic star-formation history, we recover a peak at z $\sim2$, in agreement with
galaxy luminosity-based determinations. Allowing the IMF to evolve with
redshift has only a modest impact when SFRD estimates are treated consistently, indicating that CCSN rates are not as sensitive to the change of IMF as might be assumed. Adopting higher SFRDs that include a
dust-obscured population of faint millimeter sources implies a substantial and increasing fraction of missing,
dust-obscured CCSNe at higher
redshifts. Although the inferred fraction of CCSNe missed by the surveys depends on the adopted CCSN production efficiency, we find an increasing fraction of
supernovae missed due to obscuration, rising from modest values at low
redshift to a peak at z $\sim2$, and remaining substantial toward z $\sim5$.
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All authors Christian Vassallo, Seppo Mattila, Christa DeCoursey, Louis-Gregory Strolger, Erkki Kankare, Max M. Briel, Eiichi Egami, Iikka Mäntynen, David A. Coulter, Armin Rest, Andrew J. Bunker, Alex J. Cameron, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Ori D. Fox, Kevin Hainline, Ryan Hausen, Zhiyuan Ji, Benjamin D. Johnson, Roberto Maiolino, Takashi J. Moriya, Justin D. R. Pierel, Thomas M. Reynolds, Brant Robertson, Fengwu Sun, Sandro Tacchella, Christina C. Williams, Christopher N. A. Willmer
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from hep-ph
How invisible can QCD axions be? From Supernova emission to Cherenkov signals
Luca Di Luzio, Vincenzo Fiorentino, Maurizio Giannotti et al. (+2 more)
We investigate the scenario of maximally invisible
axions, namely QCD
axions whose interactions with matter arise exclusively from the irreducible coupling to
gluons responsible for solving the strong-CP problem. We first analyze the production of such
axions in core-collapse
supernovae. In particular, we derive the corresponding SN 1987A cooling constraint and compute the emission spectra for the dominant production channels, namely nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung and pion conversion. We then investigate the prospects for detecting maximally invisible
axions in Cherenkov detectors, with the goal of establishing a robust lower bound on the overall detectability of QCD
axions.
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All authors Luca Di Luzio, Vincenzo Fiorentino, Maurizio Giannotti, Alessandro Lella, Federico Mescia