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Physics Astrophysics

astro-ph Watch Astrophysics

Thursday 20 August

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Transient Early Dark Energy-Like Dynamics as a Mechanism for Enhanced Early Structure Formation in the JWST Era

Abhik Bhattacharjee, Amlan Chakraborty, Subinoy Das et al. (+2 more)

The discovery of massive galaxies at redshifts $z\gtrsim10$ by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has renewed interest in cosmological mechanisms capable of enhancing early structure formation while preserving the successful large-scale predictions of the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. We investigate a phenomenological scenario in which an exotic dark matter species can undergo a transient early dark energy-like phase during the radiation-dominated era ($10^{-7}\lesssim a\lesssim10^{-5}$) before reverting to pressureless cold dark matter. We utilize the generalized dark matter framework to model this species, which is restricted to a sub-percent fraction of the total dark matter component by CMB, BAO and Type Ia supernova data. Its background and perturbation dynamics are characterized by a time-dependent equation of state, $w(a)$, and a time- as well as scale-dependent sound speed, $c_s^2(a,k)$. The temporary negative equation of state, combined with our phenomenological pressure-response prescription, induces a finite interval of negative effective sound speed squared. This triggers an instability-driven growth of density perturbations over a limited range of comoving scales, thereby enhancing the formation of early dark matter halos. We find that the enhanced halo abundance can substantially reduce the star-formation efficiencies required to reproduce the observed abundance of JWST galaxies relative to the standard $\Lambda$CDM scenario, especially at higher redshifts. Our results demonstrate that transient early dark energy-like dynamics in a subdominant dark matter component provide a viable mechanism for enhancing early structure formation and offer a new framework for interpreting the abundance of high-redshift galaxies observed by JWST and future surveys.
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All authors Abhik Bhattacharjee, Amlan Chakraborty, Subinoy Das, Anshuman Maharana, Priyank Parashari

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Probabilistic kilonova prediction from gravitational wave inferred binary neutron star parameters

Xiao-Fei Dong, Ik Siong Heng, Gavin P. Lamb et al. (+10 more)

Kilonovae provide a key electromagnetic window into binary neutron star mergers, revealing the properties of the merging system while probing r-process nucleosynthesis of the Universe. However, only a few kilonova candidates have been detected to date, with AT2017gfo being the only one associated with a gravitational wave event, GW170817. In this work, we present Genova, a probabilistic framework for predicting kilonova spectra and light curves directly from gravitational wave posterior samples of binary neutron star mergers. This method uses a conditional normalising flow to learn the distribution of rest-frame spectra conditioned on the source-frame component masses, tidal deformabilities, viewing angle and time since merger. Other kilonova model parameters, such as ejecta opacities, are marginalised over during training, so that their effects are propagated into the predicted spectra as predictive uncertainty. In the self-consistency test, the flow model reproduces the median light curves with residuals typically below $\sim 0.1$ mag, and the ratio of the predicted central 68% interval widths remains predominantly between $0.8$ and $1.4$ over $\sim 0.4$–$8.0$ days. Comparisons with a physically distinct kilonova model show that the probabilistic prediction can remain informative beyond the model used for training. We apply Genova to GW170817/AT2017gfo using multi-band observations, including newly re-reduced $Y$-, $J$-, $K_s$-band photometry from the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, which we present in this work. The resulting predictive intervals broadly encompass the observations while capturing both gravitational wave posterior uncertainty and the variation induced by marginalised kilonova model parameters.
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All authors Xiao-Fei Dong, Ik Siong Heng, Gavin P. Lamb, Chris Messenger, Nikhil Sarin, Benjamin Rayson, Nial R. Tanvir, Jessica Irwin, Thomas Wallace, Skye Rosetti, Bo Milvang-Jensen, Andrew J. Levan, Jens Hjorth

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Re-evaluating the resolved mass-metallicity relation with a self-consistent metallicity calibration

Ziming Peng, Renbin Yan, Zesen Lin et al. (+1 more)

Aims. The mass-metallicity relation (MZR) is essential for understanding the chemical evolution of galaxies. Whether the star formation rate (SFR) plays a role in setting the metallicity has long been debated. Using various metallicity calibrations can result in different conclusions for this fundamental yet unresolved issue. Methods. We apply a self-consistent metallicity calibration based on photoionization models to re-evaluate the resolved and integrated MZR. We utilize the integral field unit data from SDSS-IV/MaNGA, with $\sim 3.5\times10^6$ spaxels and $\sim$ 4550 galaxies. We compare our preferred metallicity calibration with several strong-line calibrations in the literature and direct method metallicity. We analyze the metallicity residual of MZR to evaluate the effects of SFR and apply the partial correlation coefficient to quantify the effects. Results. The metallicity calibration we used shows the best consistency with the direct method. We provide 3 equations for resolved MZR, and verify that local SFR does not show significant correlation with metallicity. Considering the integrated properties, (s)SFR do not present correlation with the metallicity residuals. The results suggest that an equilibrium of inflow and outflow is favored, and the mass-metallicity relation does not have a secondary dependence on SFR.
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All authors Ziming Peng, Renbin Yan, Zesen Lin, Xihan Ji

Astrophysics of Galaxies

ALOHA IRDCs Molecular Line Follow-up: I. Gas properties and kinematics

Jinjin Xie, Yaoting Yan, Zhiyuan Ren et al. (+109 more)

Infrared Dark Clouds are ideal sites for investigating the initial conditions of massive star and cluster formation. The A Lei Of the Habitat and Assembly of Infrared Dark Clouds (ALOHA IRDCs), a James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) Large Program, has mapped nearby IRDCs with SCUBA-2. Complementary molecular line observations are needed to characterise the physical, kinematic, and chemical properties of the dense gas. We aim to determine the thermal, kinematic, and chemical properties of clumps identified in the ALOHA IRDCs, and to assess their evolutionary status and level of star-forming activity. We performed single-pointing K-band and W-band observations towards 56 ALOHA IRDCs clumps using the Effelsberg 100-m and Yebes 40-m telescopes, respectively. We derived NH3 kinetic temperatures using the hyperfine group ratio (HFGR) method and identified infall and shock signatures from HCO+, H13CO+, SiO, and HNCO profiles. Water masers and NH2D emission were used as complementary tracers of chemical evolution and star formation. The clumps exhibit kinetic temperatures of 15-29 K. We detect NH2D emission towards 18 sources, with NH2D centroid velocities consistent with NH3, indicating both species trace the same dense gas component. More than half of the clumps display blue-asymmetric HCO+ profiles, identifying them as infall candidates. Water masers are detected in 22 sources, with prominent velocity ranges and variability. Broad SiO emission (>~20 km/s) indicates strong shocks, while narrower extents (<~6km/s) likely trace large-scale interactions or low-velocity shocks. The widespread infall signatures, shock tracers, masers, and NH2D emission suggest that relatively quiescent, chemically young material can coexist with dynamically active gas affected by early protostellar feedback, providing insight into the coupled physical and chemical evolution of massive IRDC clumps.
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All authors Jinjin Xie, Yaoting Yan, Zhiyuan Ren, Jarken Esimbek, Di Li, Yan Duan, Gary A. Fuller, Nicolas Peretto, Jingwen Wu, Wenjin Yang, Christian Henkel, Xuepeng Chen, Qianru He, Yongxiong Wang, Keping Qiu, Ningyu Tang, Sijia Peng, Chao-Wei Tsai, Pham Ngoc Diep, Hauyu Baobab Liu, Busaba Kramer, Kee-Tae Kim, Ken'ichi Tatematsu, Mark G. Rawlings, Maria Jesus Jimenez Donaire, Gan Luo, Xin Lyu, Jiawei Liu, Yuchen Xing, Sheng-yuan Liu, Koichiro Sugiyama, Ram K. Yadav, Willem A. Baan, Gordon Macleod, Patricio Sanhueza, Long-Fei Chen, Chang Won Lee, Yang Su, Chen Wang, Ruili Wang, Ruilin Xia, Andrej Sobolev, Dmitry A. Ladeyschikov, David Eden, Woojin Kwon, Fengwei Xu, Hongjun Ma, Daniel Harsono, Sihan Jiao, Rowan Smith, Ke Wang, Tie Liu, Guangxing Li, Xin Guan, Yuxin He, Dalei Li, Xindi Tang, Chunsheng Luo, Jianjun Zhou, Kitiyanee Asanok, Dan Bintley, Huei-Ru Vivien Chen, En Chen, Chakali Eswaraiah, Ana Duarte-Cabral, Siyi Feng, Ray S. Furuya, Tomoya Hirota, Ernar Imanaly, Xue-Jian Jiang, Qaynar Jandaolet, Abay Jengis, Weiguang Ji, Yi-Jehng Kuan, Min-Young Lee, Chong Li, Cuihuan Li, Guodong Li, Hua-bai Li, Jiasheng Li, Yujie Li, Mengting Liu, Kuan-Yu Liu, Shu Liu, Rong Liu, Yongquan Luo, Yingxiu Ma, Steve Mairs, Fumitaka Nakamura, Harriet Parsons, Jaime Pineda, Hailiang Shen, Mingke Sun, Serikbek Sailanbek, Nurzhan Shaimoldin, Ya-Wen Tang, Antneh Gashaye Tegegne, Kadirya Tursun, Glenn J. White, Gang Wu, Jifeng Xia, Yuanzhen Xiong, Naiping Yu, Nannan Yue, Xinyu Yang, Yuebin Yang, Miaomiao Zhang, Chao Zhang, Shiyu Zhang, Dongdong Zhou, Qiao Zhao, Xiang Zhao

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

SPT-3G+: A Cosmic Microwave Background Experiment for the South Pole Telescope

T. Natoli, Z. Ahmed, H. Athreya et al. (+72 more)

SPT-3G+ is the next survey receiver planned to be installed in early 2029 on the 10-meter South Pole Telescope (SPT). This new receiver will feature 6,020 polarization-sensitive dichroic pixels with transition-edge sensors observing in frequency bands centered at 90 GHz and 150 GHz. The 24,080 detectors in the SPT-3G+ receiver will be cooled to 100 mK by a dilution refrigerator and read out using microwave SQUID multiplexing. The optical design of the receiver enables a 4 degree diameter field of view, which is broken up into 14 individual optics tubes each containing cryogenic alumina, silicon, and nylon lenses. These technology choices will allow the SPT-3G+ receiver to improve on the mapping speed of the currently operating SPT-3G receiver by nearly an order of magnitude. Once deployed, the SPT-3G+ receiver will observe for 6-years an area overlapping with the BICEP survey to achieve a combined (90 GHz and 150 GHz) CMB map depth of 0.5 uK-arcmin. Data from these observations will be used to create unprecedentedly deep CMB lensing maps, discover new galaxy clusters, and detect astrophysical transients. The lensing map produced by SPT-3G+ will be used to remove or "delens" foreground B modes, where large-scale structure gravitationally lenses the CMB and converts E modes into B-mode polarization, with the goal of revealing inflationary B modes. Together with data from the BICEP Array as part of the South Pole Observatory, SPT-3G+ data will be used to constrain the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ with a goal of achieving a measurement of $\sigma(r) = 0.001$
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All authors T. Natoli, Z. Ahmed, H. Athreya, J. E. Austermann, K. Bae, A. Bapat, D. R. Barron, P. S. Barry, A. N. Bender, B. A. Benson, L. E. Bleem, J. E. Carlstrom, T. W. Cecil, C. L. Chang, S. Cisneros, A. Coerver, J. Cornelison, T. M. Crawford, R. Datta, K. R. Dibert, W. Dominguez, S. M. Duff, K. Fichman, J. P. Filippini, L. Gades, P. A. Gallardo, S. Galli, N. W. Halverson, Q. Hao, S. Henderson, R. Herbst, W. L. Holzapfel, A. Hryciuk, J. Hubmayr, D. Jones, V. Kabra, K. S. Karkare, C. King, M. A. Koc, A. M. Kofman, R. A. Lew, M. J. Link, T. J. Lucas, A. Mangu, E. S. Martsen, J. J. McMahon, J. Montgomery, J. M. Nagy, H. Nguyen, V. Novosad, S. Padin, T. Pinsonneault-Marotte, S. Raghunathan, A. S. Rahlin, C. L. Reichardt, L. Ruckman, J. E. Ruhl, M. S. Sarwar, S. Simon, R. Singh, J. A. Sobrin, A. A. Stark, Q. Taylor, C. Tucker, J. Ullom, J. Van Lanen, J. D. Vieira, A. G. Vieregg, M. R. Vissers, G. Wang, W. L. K. Wu, V. Yefremenko, E. Yilmaz, C. Yu, J. Zivick

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

The SPT-3G+ receiver design

H. Athreya, Z. Ahmed, J. E. Austermann et al. (+71 more)

We present the thermo-mechanical design of the cryostat and camera optics for SPT-3G+, a new receiver being developed for the South Pole Telescope (SPT). The receiver consists of 14 detector arrays of 90/150 GHz dichroic polarization-sensitive pixels, totaling 24,080 transition-edge sensor detectors. Each detector array lies at the end of an optics tube, each approximately 240 mm in diameter and 772 mm in length, which are arranged in a hexagonal close-packed configuration to achieve a 4 degree diameter field of view. Each optics tube contains four anti-reflection coated lenses fabricated from different materials (alumina, silicon, and nylon) that are designed to also provide infrared filtering that reduces the radiative loading on the cryogenic stages. The optics and detectors are cooled by a combination of a pulse tube cooler for the 40 K and 4 K stages, and a dilution refrigerator for the 1 K and 100 mK stages. Thermal modeling predicts the heat load to be less than 26 W and 1 W for the 40 K and 4 K stages, respectively. The 1,550 kg cryostat has a 1.1 meter diameter at the vacuum window, which is located near the telescope Gregorian focus, and 1.75 meters in height and length. Fabrication of the cryostat will begin in 2026, with installation on the SPT scheduled for the 2028-29 austral summer, ahead of the 2029 winter observing season.
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All authors H. Athreya, Z. Ahmed, J. E. Austermann, K. Bae, A. Bapat, D. R. Barron, P. S. Barry, A. N. Bender, B. A. Benson, L. E. Bleem, J. E. Carlstrom, T. W. Cecil, C. L. Chang, S. Cisneros, A. Coerver, J. Cornelison, R. Datta, K. R. Dibert, W. Dominguez, S. M. Duff, K. Fichman, J. P. Filippini, L. Gades, P. A. Gallardo, S. Galli, N. W. Halverson, Q. Hao, S. Henderson, R. Herbst, W. L. Holzapfel, A. Hryciuk, J. Hubmayr, D. Jones, V. Kabra, K. S. Karkare, C. King, M. A. Koc, A. M. Kofman, R. A. Lew, M. J. Link, T. J. Lucas, A. Mangu, E. S. Martsen, J. J. McMahon, J. Montgomery, J. M. Nagy, T. Natoli, H. Nguyen, V. Novosad, S. Padin, T. Pinsonneault-Marotte, S. Raghunathan, A. S. Rahlin, C. L. Reichardt, L. Ruckman, J. E. Ruhl, M. S. Sarwar, S. Simon, R. Singh, J. A. Sobrin, A. A. Stark, Q. Taylor, C. Tucker, J. Ullom, J. Van Lanen, J. D. Vieira, A. G. Vieregg, M. R. Vissers, G. Wang, W. L. K. Wu, V. Yefremenko, E. Yilmaz, C. Yu, J. Zivick

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Gravitational-wave parameter estimation with machine-learning generated surrogate waveforms

Suyog Garg and Kipp Cannon

The worldwide network of gravitational-wave detectors have detected more than 350 binary coalescence events till date. Future third-generation detectors, like Einstein telescope, are expected to detect orders-of-magnitude more signals from sources with more complicated characteristics, including eccentric orbits and high-mass ratio binaries. It is well-established that the computational cost of parameter estimation for signals from these kinds of sources will be extremely high. In particular, the process could be sped-up if generating theoretical waveform predictions, used for likelihood calculation becomes faster. Recently, various machine-learning techniques has been proposed to this end. In this work, we propose a two-stage deterministic conditional-autoencoder model for generating four-parameter SEOBNRv4 waveforms. The first-stage of the model generates amplitude and phase series of the waveform, while the second-stage calibrates the residual error in the predictions. Our model achieves a median mismatch of around $10^{-2}$ with the target polarization waveforms, while the calibrated amplitude/phase series achieve $10^{-6}$ level cosine distance error. We then propose a waveform conditioning step to enable use of these surrogate waveforms for downstream parameter estimation tasks. Finally, we perform extensive parameter estimation tests, with ML and EOB waveform injections and try to recover posterior estimates for the source parameters. We find that when ML waveforms are used to recover EOB target parameter estimates, the inferred posterior have some systematic bias. This inherent bias can be estimated and corrected for, and then importance reweighting of posterior samples can enable use of low-accuracy surrogate waveforms at low SNRs.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Inflation on the lattice: scalar Gauss-Bonnet single field inflation

Fei-Yu Chen, Jing-Zhi Zhou, Zhi-Chao Li et al. (+1 more)

We use lattice methods to study inflation in the scalar Gauss-Bonnet (SGB) gravity theory. We focus on the ultra-slow-roll scenario with the peak frequency falls into the PTA band. In the parameter range we consider, we find that the lattice results exceed the perturbative predictions, which differs from the case in Einstein gravity. We further find that lattice corrections become significant when the peak of the primordial curvature spectrum reaches $\sim 10^{-2}$. We calculate the energy density spectra of second-order scalar induced gravitational waves (SIGWs) using the primordial power spectra obtained from both the lattice method and the traditional perturbative method, and analyze the SGB model in light of current pulsar timing array (PTA) observations. Our results indicate that lattice corrections enhance the ability of the SGB model to dominate the PTA observations.
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All authors Fei-Yu Chen, Jing-Zhi Zhou, Zhi-Chao Li, Di Wu

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Testing Statistical Isotropy in the FRB Sky Distribution: A Selection-Function-Aware Framework

Bruno W. N. Ribeiro, Thais Lemos, Carlos A. P. Bengaly et al. (+5 more)

We perform a test of statistical isotropy in the Universe using the sky distribution of fast radio bursts (FRBs), based on a compilation of $4066$ events detected by multiple surveys. Our method is based on the two-point angular correlation function $w(\theta)$ as in the Landy–Szalay estimator, together with a tomographic absolute-anisotropy statistic, and estimates their observational uncertainties from complementary jackknife and bootstrap resampling. Both estimators are confronted with hierarchical ensembles of isotropic mock catalogs that propagate the uncertainties of empirically reconstructed survey selection functions, as well as the Poisson fluctuations of the isotropic realizations. The significances are obtained from a covariance-aware, SVD-regularized $\chi^2$ statistic calibrated empirically against the mock ensemble, and we evaluate four nested scenarios that progressively incorporate a Galactic-plane mask and the survey selection functions. As for our results, we find that the raw FRB sky is strongly inconsistent with isotropy; Galactic masking alone reduces the tension by only a factor of $\sim 3$, whereas the selection functions reduce it by nearly four orders of magnitude, showing that the apparent anisotropy is driven by the highly non-uniform sky coverage of the contributing surveys, overwhelmingly dominated by CHIME. Only when both effects are combined we obtain that the observed distribution is fully consistent with statistical isotropy. This result is independently corroborated by the absolute-anisotropy estimator, and is stable under variations of the analysis parameters. Therefore, we find that the FRB sky distribution is consistent with statistical isotropy, helping confirm one of the main predictions of the standard model scenario.
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All authors Bruno W. N. Ribeiro, Thais Lemos, Carlos A. P. Bengaly, Rodrigo Gonçalves, K. E. L. de Farias, Lázaro L. Sales, Amilcar R. Queiroz, Jailson Alcaniz

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Non-minimal Unimodular Inflation

Manda Malekpour, Kourosh Nozar, Fateme Rajabi et al. (+1 more)

We study an extension of the unimodular cosmological inflation in the context of the non-minimal coupling of a generic scalar field with gravitational sector. We consider the non-minimal coupling of the scalar field and gravity as the only source of energy-momentum tensor in this setup. Without introducing new particles other than those already existing in electroweak theory, the generic scalar field's non-minimal coupling is responsible for the generation of the seeds of perturbations for structure formation and the observed Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies in this scenario. We calculate inflation parameters in both the Jordan and Einstein frames, and then we study primordial spectral indices for slow-roll parameters in Einstein's frame at the first and second orders. The numerical results of this model are consistent with the Planck2018 and BICEP/Keck joint data sets in some subspaces of the model parameters space. By considering a sufficient amount of inflation, we estimate the strength of the non-minimal coupling parameter, $\xi$, to find appropriate new constraints on the values of this parameter. By comparing the numerical values of the inflation observables in two frames and also with observation, we comment on the issue of frames in this framework.
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All authors Manda Malekpour, Kourosh Nozar, Fateme Rajabi, Narges Rashidi

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Effective Field Theory for Freezing Gravity with Minimally Coupled Matter

Zhibang Yao

Freezing gravity (FG), a phantom-crossing dark energy model, was recently proposed in the absence of matter. In this work, we study FG minimally coupled to a perfect fluid through a detailed cosmological perturbation analysis and derive the conditions for the absence of ghost and gradient instabilities. The ghost stability conditions are obtained analytically without taking the high-$k$ limit, yielding the ghost-free range of scales and a finite cutoff when it exists. In the branch where a finite cutoff is already present in vacuum, we find that matter coupling lowers it relative to its vacuum value. Moreover, in the high-$k$ regime, the gradient stability condition guarantees a positive effective gravitational coupling for cold dark matter. We further show that two characteristic properties of FG persist in the presence of matter. First, the background and perturbation sectors remain separated, in the sense that they are controlled by independent sets of parameters, allowing FG to realize arbitrary background evolutions, including phantom crossing, while maintaining stable perturbation dynamics. Second, the scalar degree of freedom of FG becomes non-dynamical in the large-scale limit at linear order, while propagating with a finite speed of sound on small scales. Whether this behavior persists to arbitrarily high orders in perturbation theory, thereby avoiding the potential strong-coupling issue, requires further investigation through a nonlinear perturbation analysis. To make contact with large-scale structure and gravitational lensing observables, we also derive the effective gravitational coupling and gravitational slip within the quasi-static regime and express our results in terms of the EFT parameters.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Toward Operational Solar Flare Peak Flux Nowcasting: A Strategy Combining Real-Time Data, Machine Learning, and NOAA Flare Detection Criteria

Kangwoo Yi, Qin Li, Haodi Jiang et al. (+3 more)

We present the RMN strategy (Real-time data, machine learning, and NOAA flare detection criteria) for nowcasting the peak soft X-ray flux of ongoing solar flares under operationally realistic conditions. The strategy combines real-time GOES 0.1-0.8 nm X-ray observations with an attention-based sequence-to-sequence Long Short-Term Memory model. Under the NOAA flare detection criteria, predictions are evaluated at one-minute intervals from three minutes after the cataloged onset to the observed peak using the preceding 60 minutes of X-ray observations. We apply the RMN strategy to C-, M-, and X-class flares observed by GOES-8-18 from 1997 to 2024 using four-fold cross-validation. The major results of this study are as follows. First, the model nowcasts peak soft X-ray flux with RMSE and PE values of 0.26 and 3.11% for the $\geq$C-class group, 0.45 and 5.59% for the $\geq$M-class group, and 0.87 and 12.76% for the X-class group. The higher discrepancy toward stronger flare groups indicates that peak-flux prediction is more challenging for higher-intensity flares. Second, the model performance depends on flare rise time and prediction time, with larger errors for longer rise time events and improved performance as the prediction time approaches the flare peak. Shorter rise time events approach their final peak more rapidly, providing a clearer indication of the eventual peak, whereas the larger difference for longer rise time events may partly reflect more complex temporal evolution. Third, empirical coverage based on total uncertainty remains high but decreases for stronger flares, with noise uncertainty contributing more than model uncertainty.
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All authors Kangwoo Yi, Qin Li, Haodi Jiang, Meiqi Wang, Haimin Wang, Bo Shen

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Chromospheric heating and magnetic topology above the shared penumbra of a delta-spot: Multi-line inversions and multi-height magnetic-field extrapolations

M. Kriginsky, J. Leenaarts, J. de la Cruz Rodríguez et al. (+1 more)

We analysed observations of the Fe I 617.3 nm, Ca II 854.2 nm, and Ca II H lines obtained with CRISP and CHROMIS at the SST. Spatially coupled non-LTE inversions constrained the chromospheric atmosphere, while the WFA provided estimates of the chromospheric line-of-sight magnetic field. We combined these photospheric and chromospheric constraints with an HMI magnetogram as input to a multi-height field extrapolation. We characterised the reconstructed topology using the twist number, squashing factor, current density, and field-line connectivity. Results. The Ca II H magnetic signal is concentrated mainly above the strongest photospheric field concentrations, whereas Ca II 854.2 nm yields stronger and more spatially extended line-of-sight fields. The chromosphere above the shared penumbra is approximately 300 K hotter than nearby quiet regions. The selected brightening follows a chromospheric loop, with enhanced temperature and a transition from blueshift to redshift along the structure. The extrapolation recovers field strengths broadly consistent with the inversions and reveals a left-handed, flux-rope-like core following the polarity inversion line. Enhanced currents and connectivity gradients occur near parts of its boundary, where field lines connect the twisted structure to overarching loops. Conclusions. The temperature and velocity patterns and magnetic topology are consistent with reconnection between the twisted polarity-inversion-line field and the surrounding loops, depositing energy in the chromosphere and driving plasma along reconfigured field lines. These signatures do not uniquely establish reconnection, but show that combining high-resolution spectropolarimetric inversions with multi-height extrapolations can relate chromospheric energy release to the local three-dimensional magnetic structure.
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All authors M. Kriginsky, J. Leenaarts, J. de la Cruz Rodríguez, A. Pastor Yabar

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

Universal Relations for Neutron Stars from Asymptotic Analysis

Syo Kamata, Josuke Minamiguchi and Shuhei Minato

Dimensionless observables of neutron stars, such as the moment of inertia, the tidal deformability, the spin-induced quadrupole moment, and the compactness, satisfy the I–Love–Q and Love–$C$ universal relations to percent-level accuracy over a wide range of equations of state. We investigate analytically the origin of this insensitivity in the stellar structure equations. We derive asymptotic expansions of these relations directly from the differential equations and boundary conditions for slowly rotating, tidally deformed stars described by a general piecewise-polytropic equation of state. Although the differential equations allow several forms of the asymptotic expansion, we find that only one class is consistent with the observed universality, and we use this class to analyze the universal relations. Because the observables are determined at the stellar surface, information about the deep-interior equation of state can enter them only through the parameters that survive in the asymptotic expansion at the surface. We find that the universal relations depend only on three parameters: two integration constants and one polytrope index of the outermost segment. By determining how these parameters deform the relations, we show that, throughout the region of parameter space occupied by realistic equations of state, the resulting deviations remain at the percent level, consistent with the observed accuracy of the universal relations. Within the same formalism, we classify violations of universality according to the additional degrees of freedom or input data responsible for them. Since the construction relies only on the underlying differential equations and boundary conditions, the same procedure can be applied to other systems once the corresponding equations and boundary conditions are specified.
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Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

SN 2021pfs: A Type Ia Supernova Likely Affected by Progenitor Metallicity, as Revealed by Comparison with Its Twin Counterpart

Abdusamatjan Iskandar, Xiaofeng Wang, Ali Esamdin et al. (+16 more)

We present extensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of the normal type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) 2021pfs, which occurred in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5427 at a redshift 0.009. SN 2021pfs reached an absolute B-band peak magnitude of $M_{\rm max}(B)=$-19.28 $\pm$ 0.40 mag. The mag and a post-peak decline rate of $\Delta m_{15}(B)=$1.13 $\pm$ 0.06 mag. The observed properties of this nearby SN Ia closely resemble those of SN 2011fe, including the main optical spectroscopic features and photometric evolution. Despite their similar decline rates, SN 2021pfs rose more rapidly in the $U$ band but more slowly in the $r$ and $i$ bands compared to SN 2011fe in very early phases. This photometric difference, particularly at short wavelengths, can introduce a systematic uncertainty of up to $\sim$12% in distance estimates. Analysis of the host galaxy's local and global environment shows an environment consistent with producing a higher-metallicity progenitor for SN 2021pfs than that of SN 2011fe.This higher progenitor metallicity may explain the observed photometric discrepancy and the resulting distance between SN 2021pfs and SN 2011fe, though a larger sample of such "twin" SNe Ia is needed to confirm this trend and assess its impact on cosmological measurements.
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All authors Abdusamatjan Iskandar, Xiaofeng Wang, Ali Esamdin, Wenxiong Li, Xiangyun Zeng, Ruifeng Huang, Hu Maokai, Guoliang Lu, D. Andrew Howell, Curtis McCully, Samuel Wyatt, Daichi Hiramatsu, Estefania Padilla Gonzalez, Craig Pellegrino, Megan Newsome, Lluis Galbany, David J. Sand, Nathan Smith, Huei Sears

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

J0011+3443: a GPS compact symmetric object, gravitational lens, or dual AGN?

Efthalia Traianou, Tingting Liu, Roman Gold et al. (+1 more)

We present new multi-frequency VLBA observations of J0011+3443 (TXS 0008+344, z = 0.89) at 2.3, 4.9, 8.5, and, for the first time, 23.6 GHz. The source consists of two compact components A and B at a projected separation of 314 +/- 2 pc, plus a third feature C detected at 23.6 GHz at 0.6 mas from A. Archival low-resolution radio measurements confirm an integrated gigahertz-peaked spectrum, with an observed-frame peak frequency of 0.73 +/- 0.08 GHz and a peak flux density of 879 +/- 125 mJy. Comparison with nearly frequency-matched low-resolution measurements shows that the VLBA recovers 0.85 +/- 0.11 of the 4.85 GHz flux density and 0.50 +/- 0.06 of the 8.46 GHz flux density. The lower recovered fraction at 8.5 GHz suggests that low-surface-brightness emission is resolved out or falls below the VLBA surface-brightness sensitivity. We therefore interpret the VLBA component spectra as spectra of the compact recovered emission only. The 23.6 GHz morphology, the absence of a detected flat-spectrum core, the similar compact spectra of A and B, and the steep integrated GHz spectrum favor an interpretation of J0011+3443 as a GPS-class compact symmetric object, possibly in a short-lived or relic phase, although a dual-AGN origin cannot be excluded without multi-epoch astrometry.
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All authors Efthalia Traianou, Tingting Liu, Roman Gold, Richard Mushotzky

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

Effect of ion temperature on lunar photoelectron sheath

Trinesh Sana and Sanjay K. Mishra

Observations suggest that the solar wind ions impinging on the lunar surface possess a finite temperature. The effect of ion temperature on the plasma sheath over the lunar surface is investigated in this paper. To account for thermal effects, a thermal pressure term has been added to the ion-flow force equation. Quantitative estimation of sheath characteristics has been performed by solving the Poisson equation, accounting for photoelectrons, solar wind electrons, and warm ions. Notably, the presence of warm ions within the sheath, i) changes the potential, field, sheath population density structures, ii) changes the sheath thickness, iii) reduces the photoelectron trapping, and iv) reduces solar wind electron reflection, compared to cold ions. The effect is more prominent at high lunar latitudes, which in turn may significantly modulate the dust dynamics.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

A dual-polarization whitened-template trigger for real-time radio detection of extensive air showers

Qader Dorosti, Alperen Aksoy, Ilja Bekman et al. (+7 more)

Autonomous radio stations require a first-stage trigger that rejects measured background while preserving weak extensive-air-shower pulses under tight hardware constraints. We present a dual-polarization trigger based on a 16-sample whitened pulse template evaluated continuously on the orthogonal north-south and east-west channels of an Auger Engineering Radio Array station. The template is derived from detector-folded air-shower pulses and whitened using the covariance of measured background. Responses from both polarizations are combined within a fixed timing radius and compared with a calibrated threshold. On an independent test set, the trigger reaches an efficiency of 0.97, with a 95 percent confidence interval of 0.96 to 0.98, at a frame-equivalent candidate rate of 3.39 kHz. At the same operating point, an unwhitened dual-polarization template reaches 0.41 efficiency and an amplitude trigger reaches 0.16. Efficiency remains at least 0.94 in every populated signal-to-noise bin. Replay of 159.29 ms of continuous measured background yields a score-cluster rate of 6.64 kHz, below the 71.4 kHz capacity of the downstream module. The FPGA implementation accepts one dual-polarization sample per clock, closes timing at 200 MHz, and uses 2377 lookup tables, 5330 registers, and 32 digital signal-processing blocks. Register-transfer-level simulation agrees bit for bit with the reference implementation for 400 traces. These results show that background covariance, pulse morphology, and dual-polarization consistency can be combined in a compact real-time radio trigger.
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All authors Qader Dorosti, Alperen Aksoy, Ilja Bekman, Markus Cristinziani, Eric-Teunis de Boone, Vesselin Dimitrov, Chimezie Eguzo, Stefan Heidbrink, Stefan van Waasen, Andre Zambanini

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Quasi-diurnal Kelvin Wave Observed in the Atmosphere of Mars by the Pressure Sensor on the InSight Lander

Anzu Asumi, Jorge Hernández-Bernal, Kaoru Sato et al. (+1 more)

During the initiation phase of Martian dust storms, a spectral signature of a zonal wavenumber 1 normal mode Kelvin wave (K1) has been observed in several surface pressure records. However, the K1 signal has not been extracted directly since its eigenfrequency is close to that of the diurnal tide, making their separation difficult. We apply singular spectrum analysis to more than one Martian year of InSight surface pressure observations, including the MY34 C dust storm (C34). This analysis enables us to directly extract the transient K1 signal. Clear K1 signals appear during the Northern-Hemisphere spring and autumn with the average amplitudes of around 2 Pa. They reach 8 Pa during the C34 storm, which is substantial compared with a simultaneous diurnal signal (S1) maximum of 39 Pa. Near the peak time, K1 and S1 are in phase, and unexpectedly the S1 period shortens to 23.5 Mars hours. Subsequently, K1 rapidly decays and the S1 period recovers to 24 Mars hours. The phase relation between K1 and S1 as well as the S1 period shortening indicates that a resonance occurred between S1 and K1. Comparison with simulations at the model grid point closest to the InSight landing site shows that the Mars Planetary Climate Model realistically reproduces the observed characteristics of the surface pressure variations.
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All authors Anzu Asumi, Jorge Hernández-Bernal, Kaoru Sato, Aymeric Spiga

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

A Prediction for DESI Full-Shape: Increasing Tomographic $\Omega_m(z)$ Trend

Eoin Ó Colgáin and M. M. Sheikh-Jabbari

To confirm $\Lambda$CDM deviations are due to missing physics (not systematics), one should demonstrate that the model fitting parameters exhibit qualitatively similar redshift drift across independent observables. This is the only way one guarantees new physics. Here, we show that a recent Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2 Full-Shape (FS) modelling Lyman-$\alpha$ constraint at $z_{\rm eff} = 2.33$ combined with earlier DR1 FS modelling constraints with $0.295 \leq z_{\rm eff} \leq 1.491$ leads to a straight line $\Omega_m(z) = m z + c$ with slope $m = 0.022 \pm 0.012$, $1.8 \sigma$ removed from constant $\Omega_m$. Akaike Information Criterion and Bayesian evidence confirm that constant $\Omega_m$ and increasing $\Omega_m(z)$ are statistically indistinguishable. Through the $Om(z)$ diagnostic, we review how increasing and decreasing $\Omega_m(z)$ trends map to phantom and quintessence dark energy (DE) regimes, respectively. While FS modelling constraints map to phantom DE, the decreasing and increasing $\Omega_m(z)$ trends in DESI BAO and DESI with external data make a phantom crossing inevitable. Since dynamical DE is but one interpretation for $\Omega_m(z)$ trends, it is imperative that different datasets converge on their $\Omega_m(z)$ trends before one jumps to physical conclusions. We forecast how DESI FS modelling $\Omega_m$ constraints will improve up to the final data release and explore the implications for model selection.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Quasi-periodic Eruptions from Recurrent Satellite Black Hole Transits through Magnetized Galactic Nucleus Accretion Disks

Na Wang, Jing-Tong Xing, Tong Liu et al. (+2 more)

Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are recurrent soft X-ray flares from galactic nuclei, but their origin remains uncertain. The delayed ultraviolet (UV) counterpart detected in ZTF19acnskyy provides a new constraint on viable models. We present a two-channel model in which a satellite black hole (sBH) repeatedly crosses a nuclear accretion disk threaded by a large-scale magnetic field. Gravitational focusing and dynamical drag generate hot, optically thick ejecta whose expansion and photon diffusion power the soft X-ray QPE. For fiducial Bondi-scale parameters, the model yields a characteristic X-ray duration of $\sim10^3\ \mathrm{s}$ and luminosity of $\sim10^{42}\ \mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$. For ZTF19acnskyy, the model reproduces the observed day-scale X-ray duration and energetics. Simultaneously, the sBH motion compresses and bends the background magnetic field, triggering in-disk reconnection. The reconnection channel provides the energy budget and photon-diffusion delay required for the variable UV component. Unfavorable magnetic fields or diffusion times longer than the QPE recurrence period can weaken or smear out the UV signal, potentially explaining the lack of clear UV counterparts in other QPE sources.
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All authors Na Wang, Jing-Tong Xing, Tong Liu, Ya-Ping Li, Shuang-Liang Li

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Origin of nucleosynthetic isotope variability in the NC reservoir: Evidence from Ti, Cr, and Mo isotopes

Elias Wölfer, Christoph Burkhardt, Gerrit Budde et al. (+3 more)

Nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies allow distinguishing between non-carbonaceous (NC) and carbonaceous (CC) type meteorites, and have revealed correlated isotope variations especially among NC bodies. Understanding the origin of this NC trend is important for identifying the processes that produced the NC isotope heterogeneity, and for using these isotope anomalies to reconstruct the early evolution of the solar protoplanetary disk. We report mass-independent Ti, Cr, and Mo isotope compositions for a comprehensive set of previously not or only poorly investigated meteorites, as well as acid leachates obtained from the sequential digestion of primitive ordinary chondrites. Some of the samples investigated in this study fill previously identified apparent gaps in the NC trend, suggesting these gaps reflect unrepresentative sampling of a more continuous isotopic trend. Bulk meteorites and leachates exhibit distinct isotope systematics, indicating that the NC isotope variability does not reflect selective thermal processing of presolar carriers in the disk. The NC trend also cannot reflect the continuous addition of CC dust from the outer to the inner disk, because early- and late-formed NC meteorites display largely overlapping isotopic compositions. Instead, we find that the NC isotope heterogeneity is best accounted for by fractionation and mixing among chemically and isotopically distinct dust components, similar to the processes that produced the isotopic variability among carbonaceous chondrites. On this basis we argue for the presence of substructures in the inner disk, which facilitated fractionation and mixing among distinct dust components, and helped preserve a long-lived dust reservoir from which NC planetesimals accreted over an extended period of time.
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All authors Elias Wölfer, Christoph Burkhardt, Gerrit Budde, Christian A. Jansen, Jonas Pape, Thorsten Kleine

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Quintessential \alpha-attractors, updated

Renata Kallosh, Andrei Linde, Marina Shmakova et al. (+1 more)

Quintessential $\alpha$-attractor models of single-field inflation and evolving dark energy were constructed about a decade ago. Recently, it was pointed out that some of them might be disfavored due to dark-radiation constraints on gravitational waves and the higher values of $n_s$ favored by ACT. Here we present a class of updated quintessential $\alpha$-attractor models in which a single field describes both inflation and evolving dark energy, yields higher values of $n_s$, and admits reheating scenarios consistent with the dark-radiation bound on $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$. Depending on the value of the cosmological constant $\Lambda$, these models interpolate between $\Lambda$CDM with $\Lambda > 0$ (future dS universe), dynamical dark energy with $\Lambda = 0$ (future Minkowski universe), and dynamical dark energy with $\Lambda < 0$ (future cosmological collapse). We also study quintessential $\alpha$-attractor models based on an axion-inflaton complex scalar field with hyperbolic geometry, which describe inflation and dark energy of a “phantom illusion” type compatible with DESI DR2.
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All authors Renata Kallosh, Andrei Linde, Marina Shmakova, Yusuke Yamada

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Cluster finding with outskirt stellar masses and percolation

Pablo Avalos, Conghao Zhou, Tesla Jeltema et al. (+5 more)

The abundance of galaxy clusters is a powerful cosmological probe, but optical cluster cosmology is limited by selection systematics, in particular the projection effects that affect cluster finders based on galaxy populations such as the red sequence. The outer stellar mass ($M_\mathrm{out}$) of cluster central galaxies – e.g., the stellar mass in a 50-100 kpc annulus – offers an alternative selection that relies only on the central galaxy and is therefore largely free from projection effects. Its primary systematic is instead satellite contamination, since massive clusters can host more than one galaxy with high outer stellar mass. Using the IllustrisTNG300 simulation at $z=0.4$, we quantify this contamination and investigate a simple, proximity-based percolation method to mitigate it, in which galaxies with lower outer stellar mass lying within a given radius of a more massive galaxy are removed from the sample. We find that the satellite fraction defined by the friends-of-friends (FoF) algorithm is modest even without percolation ($\leq 15\%$ for $M_\mathrm{out} > 10^{10}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$ and $<10\%$ for $M_\mathrm{out} > 10^{11}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$), and that percolation reduces it further, with the improvement increasing for percolation radii up to $3.0\,R_{200c}$. For a moderately high outer stellar mass cut ($\sim 4\times10^{10}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$) and percolation radius ($\sim 2.0\,R_{200c}$), we recover a cluster sample that is both highly complete and pure for halo masses $\gtrsim 10^{14}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$. These results indicate that outer stellar mass, combined with simple percolation, has the potential to provide a clean and readily calibratable selection of massive galaxy clusters.
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All authors Pablo Avalos, Conghao Zhou, Tesla Jeltema, Katya Leidig, Shuo Xu, Benedikt Diemer, Song Huang, Alexie Leauthaud

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Cross-listed from gr-qc

How Inflation Might Explain Large-Scale Anisotropy

Brett McInnes

Several recent observational analyses have suggested the possible existence of anisotropy in our Universe. It is often thought that this would contradict the inflationary picture. We have argued that this is not the case: if we relax the artificial restriction that spacetime torsion must be zero, then such anisotropies arise naturally, indeed almost inevitably, in a theory of torsional Inflation. This is seen most clearly if one uses a “$1\,+\,3\,$” analysis of a torsional spacetime, leading naturally to concepts of intrinsic torsion and extrinsic torsion. An anisotropic quantum fluctuation of the inflaton leads to an extrinsic torsion field which is anisotropic and which grows throughout the inflationary era, even though the intrinsic geometry of the spatial sections is isotropised in the conventional manner. This leads to an anisotropic Hubble field at the end of Inflation. The anisotropy takes a very specific and characteristic form, which in principle could be observable on relatively short cosmic scales. On the other hand, an unusual feature of torsional geometry leads to a short interval, early in the inflationary era, during which there is a torsion-induced energy flux, which leaves an anisotropic signal in superhorizon modes and thus ultimately at very large scales in the present Universe. Thus in principle torsion can explain anisotropies both on relatively short cosmic scales and also at the largest scales.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Asymmetric Aerosol Distribution on the Terminators of the Warm Saturn WASP-69 b Revealed by JWST NIRISS/SOSS

Le-Chris Wang, Sagnick Mukherjee, Stephen P. Schmidt et al. (+16 more)

How aerosols form, are transported, and cycle between condensation and evaporation across exoplanet temperature regimes remains poorly understood. Recent models and observations suggest that warm giant planets near $800$–$1000$ K may span a transition between homogeneous and longitudinally heterogeneous aerosol distributions. We present a robust detection of aerosol asymmetry in a giant planet with $T_{\rm eq}\lesssim1000$ K, using the $0.86$–$2.82~\mu$m JWST NIRISS/SOSS transmission spectrum of WASP-69 b. The evening limb shows prominent 1.4 $\mu$m H$_2$O absorption ($\Delta\mathrm{BIC}_{\rm H_2O}=+22.7$), whereas H$_2$O is not detected on the morning limb ($\Delta\mathrm{BIC}_{\rm H_2O}=-8.7$). Atmospheric retrievals reveal significant aerosol opacity on both limbs, with high-altitude, optically thick clouds muting molecular features on the morning limb and lower cloud opacity allowing H$_2$O to emerge on the evening limb. The evening terminator is hotter by $304^{+62}_{-91}$ K, consistent with morning-limb condensates partially evaporating during transport toward the evening limb. This mechanism is independently verified with 3D general circulation models. Stellar contamination or aerosols dominated by photochemical haze do not readily explain the asymmetry. From a limb-resolved analysis, we infer a stellar-to-superstellar atmospheric metallicity, with $\rm[M/H]=0.11^{+0.40}_{-0.46}$ from the equilibrium retrieval and [O/H]$=1.38^{+0.44}_{-0.79}$ from the free retrieval. We also detect an escaping metastable-helium tail extending to $3.08^{+0.50}_{-0.45}\,R_p$. WASP-69 b anchors the cooler edge of the emerging population of planets with asymmetric aerosol distributions and suggests that substantial aerosol opacity may persist on both limbs across this transition.
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All authors Le-Chris Wang, Sagnick Mukherjee, Stephen P. Schmidt, Kevin B. Stevenson, Mei Ting Mak, Patrick McCreery, Harry Baskett, Carlos Gascón, David K. Sing, Katharine A. Bennett, Duncan A. Christie, Guangwei Fu, Mercedes López-Morales, Joshua D. Lothringer, Nathan J. Mayne, Lakeisha M. Ramos Rosado, Zafar Rustamkulov, Kevin C. Schlaufman, Kristin S. Sotzen

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Multi-scale Memory and Regime Shift in the Hyperactive Repeating FRB 20240114A

Wen-Long Zhang, Sheng-Lun Xie, Jun-Jie Wei et al. (+5 more)

We present a statistical analysis of FRB~20240114A, a hyperactive repeating fast radio burst, based on 11,553 bursts detected by FAST over 214 days. Our main findings are fourfold. (1) On the most active day (MJD~60381, 3,197 bursts in 4.38 hr), event-rate coherence analysis reveals persistent correlated activity extending up to 3600~s, the longest reported for any repeating FRB, showing memory persists even in intense bursting epochs. (2) The waiting-time distribution on this day is well described by three exponentials, whereas the full 214-day sample develops a threshold power-law tail, indicating burst statistics depend on the observational baseline, with long-range correlations emerging only over longer timescales, a hallmark of self-organized criticality. (3) Rescaled range (R/S) analysis of waiting times reveals a broken power law, with Hurst exponents $H_1=0.63\pm0.02$ (short-lag weak memory) and $H_2=1.04\pm0.02$ (long-lag non-stationary drift). The break corresponds to $\sim$1 hour, consistent with the 3600~s coherence limit. R/S analysis of energies similarly exhibits a break ($H_1=0.60\pm0.01$, $H_2=1.10\pm0.05$) at a different lag, reinforcing that non-stationarity affects both temporal and energetic properties. (4) Energy distributions exhibit waiting-time-dependent slopes that are consistent with the full and daily samples, and the high-energy cutoff remains constant across waiting-time groups, suggesting that the maximum energy scale is an intrinsic source property. Together, these results establish a multi-scale memory framework: the source behaves stochastically on short timescales but exhibits systemic non-stationarity over months, providing benchmarks for burst models and highlighting the need for long-term, high-cadence monitoring to capture temporal complexity.
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All authors Wen-Long Zhang, Sheng-Lun Xie, Jun-Jie Wei, Di Xiao, Long-Xuan Zhang, Shuang-Xi Yi, Fa-Yin Wang, Xue-Feng Wu

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

The Kick Velocities of Neutron Stars in Binary Systems

Paul Disberg, Ilya Mandel and Ryosuke Hirai

Neutron stars (NSs) receive natal kicks on their formation in supernovae (SNe). We consider constraints placed on the natal kick magnitudes by NSs in different classes of binary systems. We compare observed systems to predictions from the COMPAS rapid population synthesis code, where we apply kick models with varied natal kick prescriptions. Specifically, we compare binary orbits (i.e., periods and eccentricities) and systemic kick estimates of (1) Gaia observations of NS-harboring binaries (Gaia NSs), (2) NS low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), (3) NS-white dwarf binaries (NSWDs), (4) NS high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) and in particular Be X-ray binaries (BeXBs), and (5) double NSs (DNSs). In this comparison, we find that we can reproduce most of the observed properties of the Gaia NSs, LMXBs, and NSWDs with natal kicks calibrated to the velocities of young isolated pulsars, although we need a small amount of "rocket" kicks to explain the Gaia NS eccentricities. The HMXBs and DNSs, in contrast, show evidence of significantly reduced NS natal kicks. In particular, we find that an apparent correlation between eccentricity and systemic kick for DNSs can be explained by Blaauw kicks, if the natal kicks are $\lesssim 10$ km s$^{-1}$. Although our model does not align well with low-metallicity Gaia NSs, high-eccentricity BeXBs, and DNS mass estimates, we provide alternative hypothetical explanations for these systems. We conclude that a model in which NSs that are formed in binaries with high-mass companions receive significantly reduced natal kicks can provide a relatively consistent explanation for the observed NSs in binary systems.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

OutThere Survey: Addressing $\mathrm{\xi_{ion}}$ and $\mathrm{f_{esc}}$ with a population of average galaxies at z$\sim$2

Ravi Jaiswar, Anshu Gupta, Elisabete da Cunha et al. (+24 more)

Constraining the major contributors to the ionisation of the early universe is an ongoing endeavour of high-redshift galaxy research. We measure the ionising photon production efficiency and Lyman Continuum escape fraction for a sample of 230 intermediate redshift ($1.3<z<2.6$) sources observed as a part of the OutThere survey; a pure-parallel, wide-area JWST/NIRISS survey with accompanying JWST/NIRCam, NIRISS and HST photometry. The low threshold emission selection criteria for this sample makes for a large and robust control, against which other works may be contrasted, particularly for low-mass galaxies above z$>$5. This control sample allows us to verify the correlations between ionising and spectral/physical properties suggested by previous studies. We find no significant correlations between the ionising photon production efficiency ($\mathrm{\xi_{ion}}$) with the UV slope, $\mathrm{M_{UV}}$, M$_*$ or sSFR. We do find that $\mathrm{\xi_{ion}}$ correlates with [OIII]5007Å\, equivalent width (EW) (Spearman coefficient $\rho$ =0.24; p$< 4\times10^{-4}$) and H$\alpha$ EW ($\rho$ =0.63; p$<< 1\times10^{-6}$) hold even at low EW albeit with more scatter. We also find that our novel approach to determining the ionising photon escape fraction $\mathrm{f_{esc}}$ results in values within theoretical ranges (0-10%) though vary substantially in comparison to the empirical results (median $\mathrm{f_{esc}} = 0.9\%^{+1.1}_{-0.5}$ including non-detections, median $\mathrm{f_{esc}} = 1.9\%^{+8.9}_{-1.8}$ above a $0.01\%$ threshold). We find that this escape fraction method has consistently significant correlations with the redshift, SFR and M$_{UV}$ and sample-dependent correlations with [OIII]5007Å\,EW,H$\alpha$ EW and stellar mass.
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All authors Ravi Jaiswar, Anshu Gupta, Elisabete da Cunha, Cathryn M. Trott, Andrew Battisti, Isabel Perez, Karl Glazebrook, Lalitwadee Kawinwanichakij, Zackary L. Hutchens, Ivelina Momcheva, Claudia Del.P Lagos, Themiya Nanayakkara, Colin Jacobs, Danilo Marchesini, David A. Wake, Alice Shapley, Gabriel Brammer, Raphael Hviding, Casey Papovich, Ryan L. Sanders, Rhea-Silvia Remus, Mengtao Tang, Daniel Stark, Vincente Estrada-Carpenter, Joshua Speagle, Kartheik Iyer, Jasleen Matharu

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Towards independent event horizon imaging of the supermassive black holes in M87 and the Milky Way

Nithyanandan Thyagarajan, Samuel Lai, Ivy Wong et al. (+1 more)

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration's images of the supermassive black holes in M87 and the Milky Way have provided the first event-horizon-scale views of these objects, opening new avenues for studies of gravitation, accretion physics, and black hole astrophysics. Achieving these results, however, requires imaging under some of the most challenging conditions in radio astronomy, including low signal-to-noise ratios, severe calibration uncertainties, and sparse aperture coverage. With the aim of presenting independent analyses of the public EHT datasets for M87* and Sgr A*, we adopt an approach that is independent in observables, and reconstruction methodology. Our framework is based on closure invariants, a class of interferometric observables that are intrinsically immune to station-based calibration errors and therefore provide robust constraints on source structure. We combine these observables with Generative Deep learning Image Reconstruction with Closure Terms (GenDIReCT), a diffusion-based image reconstruction framework that operates in the latent space of images conditioned on closure invariants. We present independent reconstructions obtained using GenDIReCT on synthetic challenge data sets as well as real EHT data on 3C279 and Centaurus A, and compare them with previously reported results. This work demonstrates the potential of closure-invariant-driven generative imaging as a calibration-resilient framework for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and provides an independent and complementary avenue for interpreting horizon-scale black hole observations.
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All authors Nithyanandan Thyagarajan, Samuel Lai, Ivy Wong, Foivos Diakogiannis