Context. Electron-molecule interaction is a fundamental process in radiation-driven chemistry in space, from the interstellar medium to comets. Therefore, knowledge of interaction cross sections is key. There have been a plethora of both theoretical and experimental studies of total ionization cross sections spanning from diatomics to complex organics. However, the data are often spread over many sources or are not public or readily available.
Aims: We introduce the Astrochemistry Low-energy Electron cross-section (ALeCS) database. This is a public database for electron interaction cross sections and ionization rates for molecules of astrochemical interest. In particular, we present here the first data release, comprising total ionization cross sections and ionization rates for over 200 neutral molecules.
Methods: We include optimized geometries and molecular orbital energies at various levels of quantum chemistry theory. Furthermore, for a subset of the molecules, we have calculated ionization potentials. We computed the total ionization cross sections using the binary-encounter Bethe model and screening-corrected additivity rule, and we computed ionization rates and reaction network coefficients for molecular cloud environments.
Results: We present the cross sections and reaction rates for >200 neutral molecules ranging from diatomics to complex organics, with the largest being C₁₄H₁₀. We find that the screening-corrected additivity rule cross sections generally significantly overestimate experimental total ionization cross sections. We demonstrate that our binary-encounter Bethe cross sections agree well with experimental data. We show that the ionization rates scale roughly linearly with the number of constituent atoms in the molecule.
Conclusions: We introduce and describe the public ALeCS database. For the initial release, we include total ionization cross sections for >200 neutral molecules and several cations and anions calculated with different levels of quantum chemistry theory, the chemical reaction rates for the ionization, and network files in the formats of the two most popular astrochemical networks: the Kinetic Database for Astrochemistry, and UMIST. The database will be continuously updated for more molecules and interactions.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has revolutionized our ability to study black holes by providing unprecedented spatial resolution and unveiling horizon-scale details. With advancements leading to the next-generation EHT, there is potential to probe even deeper into the black hole's dark region, especially the inner shadow characterized by low-intensity foreground emissions from the jet, thanks to a significant enhancement in dynamic range by two orders of magnitude. We demonstrate how such enhanced observations could transform supermassive black holes into powerful probes for detecting annihilating dark matter, which can form a dense profile in the vicinity of supermassive black holes, by examining the morphology of the black hole image.

Radiative corrections are crucial for modern high-precision physics experiments, and are an area of active research in the experimental and theoretical community. Here we provide an overview of the state of the field of radiative corrections with a focus on several topics: lepton-proton scattering, QED corrections in deep-inelastic scattering, and in radiative light-hadron decays. Particular emphasis is placed on the two-photon exchange, believed to be responsible for the proton form-factor discrepancy, and associated Monte-Carlo codes. We encourage the community to continue developing theoretical techniques to treat radiative corrections, and perform experimental tests of these corrections.

The ATLAS and CMS collaborations at the LHC have recently announced evidence for the rare Higgs boson decay into a Z boson and a photon. We analyze the interference between the process <mml:math altimg="si1.svg"><mml:mi>g</mml:mi><mml:mi>g</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">→</mml:mo><mml:mi>H</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">→</mml:mo><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:math> induced by loops of heavy particles, which is by far the dominant contribution to the signal, and the continuum <mml:math altimg="si11.svg"><mml:mi>g</mml:mi><mml:mi>g</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">→</mml:mo><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:math> QCD background process mediated by light quark loops. This interference modifies the event yield, the resonance line-shape and the apparent mass of the Higgs boson. We calculate the radiative corrections to this interference beyond the leading-order approximation in perturbative QCD and find that, while differing numerically from the corresponding effects on the more studied <mml:math altimg="si3.svg"><mml:mi>g</mml:mi><mml:mi>g</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">→</mml:mo><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:math> signal, they are generally rather small. As such, they do not impact significantly the interpretation of the present measurements of the <mml:math altimg="si4.svg"><mml:mi>H</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">→</mml:mo><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:math> decay mode.

Within the Transport Model Evaluation Project (TMEP), we present a detailed study of the performance of different transport models in Sn+Sn collisions at 270 A MeV , which are representative reactions used to study the equation of state at suprasaturation densities. We put particular emphasis on the production of pions and Δ resonances, which have been used as probes of the nuclear symmetry energy. In this paper, we aim to understand the differences in the results of different codes for a given physics model to estimate the uncertainties of transport model studies in the intermediate energy range. Thus, we prescribe a common and rather simple physics model, and follow in detail the results of four Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) models and six quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) models. The nucleonic evolution of the collision and the nucleonic observables in these codes do not completely converge, but the differences among the codes can be understood as being due to several reasons: the basic differences between BUU and QMD models in the representation of the phase-space distributions, computational differences in the mean-field evaluation, and differences in the adopted strategies for the Pauli blocking in the collision integrals. For pionic observables, we find that a higher maximum density leads to an enhanced pion yield and a reduced π⁻/π⁺ yield ratio, while a more effective Pauli blocking generally leads to a slightly suppressed pion yield and an enhanced π⁻/π⁺ yield ratio. We specifically investigate the effect of the Coulomb force and find that it increases the total π⁻/π⁺ yield ratio but reduces the ratio at high pion energies, although differences in its implementations do not have a dominating role in the differences among the codes. Taking into account only the results of codes that strictly follow the homework specifications, we find a convergence of the codes in the final charged-pion yield ratio to a 1 σ deviation of about 5 % . However, the uncertainty is expected to be reduced to about 1.6 % if the same or similar strategies and ingredients, i.e., an improved Pauli blocking and calculation of the nonlinear term in the mean-field potential, are similarly used in all codes. As a result of this work, we identify the sensitive aspects of a simulation with respect to pion observables, and suggest optimal procedures in some cases. This work provides benchmark calculations of heavy-ion collisions to be complemented in the future by simulations with more realistic physics models, which include the momentum-dependence of isoscalar and isovector mean-field potentials and pion in-medium effects.

The renormalization group equations for large-scale structure (RG-LSS) describe how the bias and stochastic (noise) parameters -- both of matter and biased tracers such as galaxies -- evolve as a function of the cutoff $\Lambda$ of the effective field theory. In previous work, we derived the RG-LSS equations for the bias parameters using the Wilson-Polchinski framework. Here, we extend these results to include stochastic contributions, corresponding to terms in the effective action that are higher order in the current $J$. We show that the RG equations exhibit an interesting, previously unnoticed structure at all orders in $J$, which implies that a single nonlinear bias term immediately generates all stochastic moments through RG evolution. We then derive the nonlinear RG evolution of the (leading-derivative) stochastic parameters for all $n$-point functions, and show that this evolution is controlled by a different, lower scale than the nonlinear scale. This has implications for the optimal choice of the renormalization scale when comparing the theory with data to obtain cosmological constraints.

Cosmic rays are charged particles that are accelerated to relativistic speeds by astrophysical shocks. Numerical models have been successful in confirming the acceleration process for (quasi-)parallel shocks, which have the magnetic field aligned with the direction of the shock motion. However, the process is less clear when it comes to (quasi-)perpendicular shocks, where the field makes a large angle with the shock-normal. For such shocks, the angle between the magnetic field and flow ensures that only highly energetic particles can travel upstream at all, reducing the upstream current. This process is further inhibited for relativistic shocks, since the shock can become superluminal when the required particle velocity exceeds the speed of light, effectively inhibiting any upstream particle flow. In order to determine whether such shocks can accelerate particles, we use the particle-in-cell (PIC) method to determine what fraction of particles gets reflected initially at the shock. We then use this as input for a new simulation that combines the PIC method with grid-based magnetohydrodynamics to follow the acceleration (if any) of the particles over a larger time-period in a two-dimensional grid. We find that quasi-perpendicular, relativistic shocks are capable of accelerating particles through the DSA process, provided that the shock has a sufficiently high Alfvénic Mach number.

Our recent works revisit the proof of chiral symmetry breaking in the confining phase of four-dimensional QCD-like theories, i.e. $SU(N_c)$ gauge theories with $N_f$ flavors of vectorlike quarks in the fundamental representation. The analysis relies on the structure of 't Hooft anomaly matching and persistent mass conditions for theories with same $N_c$ and different $N_f$. In this paper, we work out concrete examples with $N_c=3$ and $N_c=5$ to support and elucidate the results in the companion papers. Within the same examples, we also test some claims made in earlier works.

In 1676 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek discovered the Microuniverse populated by bacteria which he called animalcula (small animals). To this end he built microscopes with the resolution of 10^-6 m . 348 years later after finding 12 years ago the last cornerstone of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, the Higgs particle, particle physicists search for new animalcula either directly with the help of high energy collisions or indirectly through quantum fluctuations causing certain rare processes with a change of quark flavor to occur at different rates than predicted by the SM. While the latter route is very challenging, requiring very precise theory and experiment, it allows the resolution of short distance scales as short as 10^-21 m (Zeptouniverse) corresponding to energies of order 100 TeV or even shorter scales far beyond the reach of present high energy colliders. In fact in the coming flavor precision era, in which the accuracy of the measurements of rare processes and of the relevant theory calculations will be significantly improved, this goal could be reached. The main strategies for reaching this goal will be explained in simple terms including the most recent advances. We will summarize the present status of deviations from SM predictions for a number of flavor observables that give some hints for the existence of new animalcula responsible for these so-called anomalies.

The Excellence Cluster ORIGINS, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Excellence Strategy, EXC-2094, 390783311.

Core-collapse supernovae, the extremely energetic explosions of stars 10 times more massive than our sun, are known to be major contributors to the synthesis of the elements in the universe. Most of our understanding of these contributions is based on parameterized, spherically symmetric models. Only recently, multi-dimensional, self-consistent simulations have been carried out. Evaluating the nucleosynthesis of such large-scale simulations poses unique challenges and opens up new questions, that will be presented here. The first studies in this area, however, also show that there is a large potential for such simulations to address some long-standing tensions between theory and observations and due to the large variability of conditions predicted by the recent simulations, accurate predictions of the compositions requires knowledge of the nuclear properties and cross-sections on both sides of beta-stability.

Prepared by LLNL under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344. This research was supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe Programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant agreement No.101065891, and by the German Research Foundation through the Collaborative ResearchCentre ``Neutrinos andDarkMatter in Astro-and Particle Physics (NDM)'', Grant No. SFB-1258-283604770, and through the Cluster of Excellence ORIGINS (EXC2094-390783311).

Protocells are believed to have existed on early Earth prior to the emergence of prokaryotes. Due to their rudimentary nature, it is widely accepted that these protocells lacked intracellular mechanisms to regulate their reproduction, thereby relying heavily on environmental conditions. To understand protocell reproduction, we adopted a top–down approach of transforming a Gram-positive bacterium into a lipid-vesicle-like state. In this state, cells lacked intrinsic mechanisms to regulate their morphology or reproduction, resembling theoretical propositions on protocells. Subsequently, we grew these proxy-protocells under the environmental conditions of early Earth to understand their impact on protocell reproduction. Despite the lack of molecular biological coordination, cells in our study underwent reproduction in an organized manner. The method and the efficiency of their reproduction can be explained by an interplay between the physicochemical properties of cell constituents and environmental conditions. While the overall reproductive efficiency in these top-down modified cells was lower than their counterparts with a cell wall, the process always resulted in viable daughter cells. Given the simplicity and suitability of this reproduction method to early Earth environmental conditions, we propose that primitive protocells likely reproduced by a process like the one we described below.

Scattering experiments with three free nucleons in the ingoing channel are extremely challenging in terrestrial laboratories. Recently, the ALICE Collaboration successfully measured the scattering of three protons indirectly, by using the femtoscopy method in high-energy proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. In order to establish a connection with current and future measurements of femtoscopic three-particle correlation functions, we analyze the scenarios involving nnn and ppp systems using the hyperspherical adiabatic basis. The correlation function is a convolution of the source function and the corresponding scattering wave function. The finite size of the source allows for the use of the free scattering wave function in most of the adiabatic channels except the lowest ones. The scattering wave function has been computed using two different potential models: (i) a spin-dependent Gaussian potential with parameters fixed to reproduce the scattering length and effective range and (ii) the Argonne v18 nucleon-nucleon interaction. Moreover, in the case of three protons, the Coulomb interaction has been considered in its hypercentral form. The results presented here have to be considered as a first step in the description of three-particle correlation functions using the hyperspherical adiabatic basis, opening the door to the investigation of other systems, such as the ppΛ system. For completeness, the comparison with the measurement by the ALICE Collaboration is shown assuming different values of the source radius.

In subleading powers of soft-collinear effective theory (SCET), the Lagrangian contains couplings between soft quarks and hard-collinear quarks. Matrix elements of the hard-collinear parts of these couplings are radiative jet functions. In the position-space formulation of SCET, the Lagrangians are constructed from operators that appear to be gauge invariant. Nevertheless, we find violations of gauge invariance arise in the hard-collinear sector because gauge transformations can shift the momentum of a hard-collinear quark field from the hard-collinear sector to the soft sector, where the hard-collinear fields, by definition, have no support. The violations of gauge invariance are manifested in perturbation theory in the hard-collinear sector through the absence of certain Feynman diagrams that would be present in full QCD. A consequence of the absence of these diagrams is that the radiative jet functions that follow directly from the position-space Lagrangians are not gauge invariant, and we demonstrate this through explicit calculations in lower-order perturbation theory. We obtain gauge-invariant Lagrangians by adding to existing position-space Lagrangians terms that are proportional to the soft-quark equation of motion. These gauge-invariant Lagrangians are valid for nonzero, as well as zero, quark masses. We also remark briefly on the gauge invariance of certain Lagrangians that have been constructed in the label-momentum formulation of SCET.

Parton showers, which can efficiently incorporate quantum interference effects, have been shown to be run efficiently on quantum computers. However, so far these quantum parton showers have not included the full kinematical information required to reconstruct an event, which in classical parton showers requires the use of a veto algorithm. In this work, we show that adding one extra assumption about the discretization of the evolution variable allows one to construct a quantum veto algorithm, which reproduces the full quantum interference in the event, and allows one to include kinematical effects. We finally show that for certain initial states the quantum interference effects generated in this veto algorithm are classically tractable, such that an efficient classical algorithm can be devised.

We forecast the sensitivity of ongoing and future galaxy cluster abundance measurements to detect deviations from the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm. Concretely, we consider a class of dark sector models that feature an interaction between dark matter and a dark radiation species (IDM-DR). This setup can be naturally realized by a non-Abelian gauge symmetry and has the potential to explain S8 tensions arising within ΛCDM. We create mock catalogs of the ongoing SPT-3G as well as the future CMB-S4 surveys of galaxy clusters selected via the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (tSZE). Both datasets are complemented with cluster mass calibration from next-generation weak gravitational lensing data (ngWL) like those expected from the Euclid mission and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. We consider an IDM-DR scenario with parameters chosen to be in agreement with Planck 2018 data and that also leads to a low value of S8 as indicated by some local structure formation analyses. Accounting for systematic and stochastic uncertainties in the mass determination and the cluster tSZE selection, we find that both SPT-3G×ngWL and CMB-S4×ngWL cluster data will be able to discriminate this IDM-DR model from ΛCDM, and thus test whether dark matter-dark radiation interactions are responsible for lowering S8. Assuming IDM-DR, we forecast that the temperature of the dark radiation can be determined to about 40% (10%) with SPT-3G×ngWL (CMB-S4×ngWL), considering 68% credibility, while S8 can be recovered with percent-level accuracy. Furthermore, we show that IDM-DR can be discriminated from massive neutrinos, and that cluster counts will be able to constrain the dark radiation temperature to be below ∼10% (at 95% credibility) of the cosmic microwave background temperature if the true cosmological model is ΛCDM.

Astrophysical uncertainties in dark matter direct detection experiments are typically addressed by parametrizing the velocity distribution in terms of a few uncertain parameters that vary around some central values. Here we propose a method to optimize over all velocity distributions lying within a given distance measure from a central distribution. We discretize the dark matter velocity distribution as a superposition of streams, and use a variety of information divergences to parametrize its uncertainties. With this, we bracket the limits on the dark matter-nucleon and dark matter-electron scattering cross sections, when the true dark matter velocity distribution deviates from the commonly assumed Maxwell-Boltzmann form. The methodology pursued is general and could be applied to other physics scenarios where a given physical observable depends on a function that is uncertain.

The statistics of thermal gas pressure are a new and promising probe of cosmology and astrophysics. The large-scale cross-correlation between galaxies and the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect gives the bias-weighted mean electron pressure, ⟨b_hP_e⟩. In this paper, we show that ⟨b_hP_e⟩ is sensitive to the amplitude of fluctuations in matter density, for example ⟨b_hP_e⟩∝(σ^{₈Ω_m0.81h0.67) 3.14} at redshift z =0 . We find that at z <0.5 the observed ⟨b_hP_e⟩ is smaller than that predicted by the state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation, MillenniumTNG, by a factor of 0.93. This can be explained by a lower value of σ₈ and Ω_m, similar to the so-called "S₈ tension" seen in the gravitational lensing effect, although the influence of astrophysics cannot be completely excluded. The difference between Magneticum and MillenniumTNG at z <2 is small, indicating that the difference in the galaxy formation models used by these simulations has little impact on ⟨b_hP_e⟩ at this redshift range. At higher z , we find that both simulations are in a modest tension with the existing upper bounds on ⟨b_hP_e⟩. We also find a significant difference between these simulations there, which we attribute to a larger sensitivity to the galaxy formation models in the high redshift regime. Therefore, more precise measurements of ⟨b_hP_e⟩ at all redshifts will provide a new test of our understanding of cosmology and galaxy formation.

In this note we study the tensor and vector exchange contributions to the elastic reactions involving the pseudoscalars mesons π⁺π^- , K⁺K^- and D⁺D^- . In the case of the tensor-exchange contributions we assume that an intermediate tensor f₂(1270 ) is dynamically generated from the interaction of two virtual ρ mesons, with the use of a pole approximation. The calculation of the two-loop amplitude is facilitated since the triangle loops can be factorized and computed separately. The results show very small contributions coming from the tensor-exchange mechanisms when compared with those from the vector-exchange processes. We compare our results for π π and K K ¯ scattering with those obtained in other works where the f₂(1270 ) is considered as an ordinary q q ¯ meson. Our picture provides a smaller contribution but of similar order of magnitude for pion scattering and stabilizes the results in the case of K K ¯ , allowing us to make estimates for D D ¯ scattering.

We present and validate the catalog of Lyman-α forest fluctuations for 3D analyses using the Early Data Release (EDR) from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We used 88,511 quasars collected from DESI Survey Validation (SV) data and the first two months of the main survey (M2). We present several improvements to the method used to extract the Lyman-α absorption fluctuations performed in previous analyses from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In particular, we modify the weighting scheme and show that it can improve the precision of the correlation function measurement by more than 20%. This catalog can be downloaded from this https URL and it will be used in the near future for the first DESI measurements of the 3D correlations in the Lyman-α forest.

Templated ligation offers an efficient approach to replicate long strands in an RNA world. The 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate (>P) is a prebiotically available activation that also forms during RNA hydrolysis. Using gel electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography, we found that the templated ligation of RNA with >P proceeds in simple low-salt aqueous solutions with 1 mM MgCl2 under alkaline pH ranging from 9 to 11 and temperatures from −20 to 25 °C. No additional catalysts were required. In contrast to previous reports, we found an increase in the number of canonical linkages to 50%. The reaction proceeds in a sequence-specific manner, with an experimentally determined ligation fidelity of 82% at the 3′ end and 91% at the 5′ end of the ligation site. With splinted oligomers, five ligations created a 96-mer strand, demonstrating a pathway for the ribozyme assembly. Due to the low salt requirements, the ligation conditions will be compatible with strand separation. Templated ligation mediated by 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate in alkaline conditions therefore offers a performant replication and elongation reaction for RNA on early Earth.

Cosmic rays (CRs) in the shape of relativistic protons and electrons are the source of non-thermal radiation in a plethora of astrophysical systems. Their emission provides insights into the strength and structure of magnetic fields, cosmic shock waves, and non-thermal pressure components in the interstellar or intergalactic medium. In the large-scale structure of the Universe CR electrons are the likely source of synchrotron emission from Radio Halos, Radio Relics, and AGN jets. CR protons on the other hand should be detectable via diffuse gamma-rays from their interaction with the thermal background gas, however, this emission has not yet been found. Estimating the gamma-ray emission from this process is required to study the non-thermal pressure support in clusters, as well as finding observational windows for potential detection of Dark Matter interaction. Simulations of the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe, the so-called Cosmic Web, give insights into the origin and evolution of the largest gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. Even state-of-the-art simulations of cosmological structure formation lack the resolution to simulate the effect cosmic rays have on their environment from first principles. We therefore require a careful sub-grid description of cosmic ray physics that can be included in such simulations to model the effect cosmic rays may have on the evolution of cosmic structure.

This letter reports the first detection of a periodic light curve whose modulation is unambiguously due to rotation in a polluted white dwarf. TESS observations of WD 2138-332, at a distance of 16.1 pc, reveal a 0.39 per cent amplitude modulation with a 6.19 h period. While this rotation is relatively rapid for isolated white dwarfs, it falls within the range of spin periods common to those with detectable magnetic fields, where WD 2138-332 is notably both metal-rich and weakly magnetic. Within the local 20 pc volume of white dwarfs, multisector TESS data find no significant periodicities among the remaining 16 polluted objects (five of which are also magnetic), whereas six of 23 magnetic and metal-free targets have light curves consistent with rotation periods between 0.7 and 35 h (three of which are new discoveries). This indicates the variable light curve of WD 2138-332 is primarily a result of magnetism, as opposed to an inhomogeneous distribution of metals. From 13 magnetic and metallic degenerates with acceptable TESS data, a single detection of periodicity suggests that polluted white dwarfs are not rotating as rapidly as their magnetic counterparts, and planet ingestion is thus unlikely to be a significant channel for rapid rotation.

Dynamically active planetary systems orbit a significant fraction of white dwarf stars. These stars often exhibit surface metals accreted from debris disks, which are detected through infrared excess or transiting structures. However, the full journey of a planetesimal from star-grazing orbit to final dissolution in the host star is poorly understood. Here, we report the discovery that the cool metal-polluted star WD 0816–310 has cannibalized heavy elements from a planetary body similar in size to Vesta, and where accretion and horizontal mixing processes have clearly been controlled by the stellar magnetic field. Our observations unveil periodic and synchronized variations in metal line strength and magnetic field intensity, implying a correlation between the local surface density of metals and the magnetic field structure. Specifically, the data point to a likely persistent concentration of metals near a magnetic pole. These findings demonstrate that magnetic fields may play a fundamental role in the final stages of exoplanetary bodies that are recycled into their white dwarf hosts.

The large-scale gaseous shocks in the bulge of M31 can be naturally explained by a rotating stellar bar. We use gas dynamical models to provide an independent measurement of the bar pattern speed in M31. The gravitational potentials of our simulations are from a set of made-to-measure models constrained by stellar photometry and kinematics. If the inclination of the gas disk is fixed at i = 77°, we find that a low pattern speed of 16–20 km s^‑1 kpc^‑1 is needed to match the observed position and amplitude of the shock features, as shock positions are too close to the bar major axis in high Ω _b models. The pattern speed can increase to 20–30 km s^‑1 kpc^‑1 if the inner gas disk has a slightly smaller inclination angle compared with the outer one. Including subgrid physics such as star formation and stellar feedback has minor effects on the shock amplitude, and does not change the shock position significantly. If the inner gas disk is allowed to follow a varying inclination similar to the H I and ionized gas observations, the gas models with a pattern speed of 38 km s^‑1 kpc^‑1, which is consistent with stellar-dynamical models, can match both the shock features and the central gas features.

Recently, hybrid bias expansions have emerged as a powerful approach to modelling the way in which galaxies are distributed in the Universe. Similarly, field-level emulators have recently become possible, thanks to advances in machine learning and N-body simulations. In this paper, we explore whether both techniques can be combined to provide a field-level model for the clustering of galaxies in real and redshift space. Specifically, here we will demonstrate that field-level emulators are able to accurately predict all the operators of a second-order hybrid bias expansion. The precision achieved in real and redshift space is similar to that obtained for the non-linear matter power spectrum. This translates to roughly 1-2 per cent precision for the power spectrum of a BOSS (Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey) and a Euclid-like galaxy sample up to $k\sim 0.6\ h\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$. Remarkably, this combined approach also delivers precise predictions for field-level galaxy statistics. Despite all these promising results, we detect several areas where further improvements are required. Therefore, this work serves as a road map for the developments required for a more complete exploitation of upcoming large-scale structure surveys.

We develop a model aimed at understanding the three mass distributions of pairs of mesons in the Cabibbo-suppressed D_s⁺→K⁺π⁺π^- decay recently measured with high statistics by the BESIII collaboration. The largest contributions to the process come from the D_s⁺→K⁺ρ⁰ and D_s⁺→K^*0π⁺ decay modes, but the D_s⁺→K₀^*(1430 )π⁺ and D_s⁺→K⁺f₀(1370 ) modes also play a moderate role and all of them are introduced empirically. Instead, the contribution of the f₀(500 ), f₀(980 ), and K₀^*(700 ) resonances is introduced dynamically by looking at the decay modes at the quark level, hadronizing q q ¯ pairs to give two mesons, and allowing these mesons to interact, for which we follow the chiral unitary approach, to finally produce the K⁺π⁺π^- final state. While the general features of the mass distributions are fairly obtained, we pay special attention to the specific effects created by the light scalar resonances, which are visible in the low mass region of the π⁺π^-(f₀(500 )) and K⁺π^-(K₀^*(700 )) mass distributions and a narrow peak for π⁺π^- distribution corresponding to f₀(980 ) excitation. The contribution of these three resonances is generated by only one parameter. We see the agreement found in these regions as further support for the nature of the light scalar states as dynamically generated from the interaction of pseudoscalar mesons.

The existence of Quantum Many-Body Scars, high-energy eigenstates that evade the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis, has been established across different quantum many-body systems, including gauge theories corresponding to spin-1/2 Quantum Link Models. We systematically identify scars for pure gauge theories with arbitrarily large integer spin $S$ in $2+1$D, concretely for Truncated Link Models, where the electric field is restricted to $2S+1$ states per link. Through an explicit analytic construction, we show that the presence of scars is widespread in $2+1$D gauge theories for arbitrary integer spin. We confirm these findings numerically for small truncated spin and $S=1$ Quantum Link Models. The proposed analytic construction establishes the presence of scars far beyond volumes and spins that can be probed with existing numerical methods.

Context. The environment inside and on the outskirts of galaxy clusters has a profound impact on the star formation rate and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in cluster galaxies. While the overall star formation and AGN suppression in the inner cluster regions has been thoroughly studied in the past, recent X-ray studies also indicate that conditions on the cluster outskirts may promote AGN activity.
Aims: We investigate how the environment and the properties of host galaxies impact the levels of AGN activity and star formation in galaxy clusters. We aim to identify significant trends in different galaxy populations and suggest possible explanations.
Methods: We studied galaxies with stellar mass log M_*(M_⊙) > 10.15 in galaxy clusters with mass M₅₀₀ > 10¹³ M_⊙ extracted from box2b (640 comoving Mpc h⁻¹) of the Magneticum Pathfinder suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations at redshifts 0.25 and 0.90. We examined the influence of stellar mass, distance to the nearest neighbouring galaxy, cluster-centric radius, substructure membership, and large-scale surroundings on the fraction of galaxies hosting an AGN, star formation rate, and the ratio between star-forming and quiescent galaxies.
Results: We find that in low-mass galaxies, AGN activity and star formation are similarly affected by the environment and decline towards the cluster centre. In massive galaxies, the impact is different; star-formation level increases in the inner regions and peaks between 0.5 and 1 R₅₀₀ with a rapid decline in the centre, whereas AGN activity declines in the inner regions and rapidly rises below R₅₀₀ towards the centre. We suggest that this increase is a result of the larger black hole masses relative to stellar masses in the cluster centre. After disentangling the contributions of neighbouring cluster regions, we find an excess of AGN activity in massive galaxies on the cluster outskirts (∼3 R₅₀₀). We also find that the local density, substructure membership, and stellar mass strongly influence star formation and AGN activity but verify that they cannot fully account for the observed radial trends.

The ALMA interferometer has played a key role in revealing a new component of the Sun-like star forming process: the molecular streamers, i.e. structures up to thousands of au long funnelling material non-axisymmetrically to discs. In the context of the FAUST ALMA LP, the archetypical VLA1623-2417 protostellar cluster has been imaged at 1.3 mm in the SO(5₆-4₅), SO(6₆-5₅), and SiO(5-4) line emission at the spatial resolution of 50 au. We detect extended SO emission, peaking towards the A and B protostars. Emission blue-shifted down to 6.6 km s^-1 reveals for the first time a long (~ 2000 au) accelerating streamer plausibly feeding the VLA1623 B protostar. Using SO, we derive for the first time an estimate of the excitation temperature of an accreting streamer: 33 ± 9 K. The SO column density is ~ 10¹⁴ cm^-2, and the SO/H₂ abundance ratio is ~ 10^-8. The total mass of the streamer is 3 × 10^-3M_⊙, while its accretion rate is 3-5 × 10^-7M_⊙ yr^-1. This is close to the mass accretion rate of VLA1623 B, in the 0.6-3 × 10^-7M_⊙ yr^-1 range, showing the importance of the streamer in contributing to the mass of protostellar discs. The highest blue- and red-shifted SO velocities behave as the SiO(5-4) emission, the latter species detected for the first time in VLA1623-2417: the emission is compact (100-200 au), and associated only with the B protostar. The SO excitation temperature is ~ 100 K, supporting the occurrence of shocks associated with the jet, traced by SiO.

When observing transmission spectra produced by the atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs), large telescopes are typically the instrument of choice given the very weak signal of the planet's atmopshere. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate that, for favourable targets, smaller telescopes are fully capable of conducting high-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy. We apply the cross-correlation technique to data from the 2.1 m telescope at the Wendelstein Observatory, using its high-resolution spectrograph FOCES, in order to demonstrate its efficacy in resolving the atmosphere of the UHJ KELT-9 b. Using three nights of observations with the FOCES spectrograph and one with the HARPS-N spectrograph, we conduct a performance comparison between FOCES and HARPS-N. This comparison considers both single-transit and combined observations over the three nights. We then consider the potential of 2 m class telescopes by generalising our results to create a transit emulator capable of evaluating the potential of telescopes of this size. With FOCES, we detected seven species in the atmosphere of KELT-9b: Ti II, Fe I, Fe II, Na I, Mg I, Na II, Cr II, and Sc II. Although HARPS-N surpasses FOCES in performance thanks to the mirror of the TNG, our results reveal that smaller telescope classes are capable of resolving the atmospheres of UHJs given sufficient observing time. This broadens the potential scope of such studies, demonstrating that smaller telescopes can be used to investigate phenomena such as temporal variations in atmospheric signals and the atmospheric loss characteristics of these close-in planets.

Context. The chemical evolution history of slow neutron-capture elements in the Milky Way is still a matter of debate, especially in the metal-poor regime ([Fe/H] < −1).
Aims: Based on Gaia-ESO spectroscopic data, a recent study investigated the chemical evolution of neutron-capture elements in the regime [Fe/H] > −1. Here, we aim to complement this study down to [Fe/H] = −3, and focus on Ba, Y, and Sr, along with the abundance ratios of [Ba/Y] and [Sr/Y], which give comprehensive views on s-process nucleosynthesis channels.
Methods: We measured the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) abundances of Ba, Y, and Sr in 323 Galactic metal-poor stars using high-resolution optical spectra with high signal-to-noise ratios. We used the spectral fitting code TSFitPy together with 1D model atmospheres, using previously determined LTE and NLTE atmospheric parameters.
Results: We find that the NLTE effects are on the order of ∼ − 0.1 to ∼0.2 dex, depending on the element. We find that stars enhanced (deficient) in [Ba/Fe] and [Y/Fe] are also enhanced (deficient) in [Sr/Fe], suggesting a common evolution channel for these three elements. We find that the ratio between heavy and light s-process elements [Ba/Y] varies weakly with [Fe/H] even in the metal-poor regime, which is consistent with the behaviour in the metal-rich regime. The [Ba/Y] scatter at a given metallicity is larger than the abundance measurement uncertainties. Homogeneous chemical evolution models with different yield prescriptions are not able to accurately reproduce the [Ba/Y] scatter in the low-[Fe/H] regime. Adopting the stochastic chemical evolution model by Cescutti & Chiappini allows us to reproduce the observed scatter in the abundance pattern of [Ba/Y] and [Ba/Sr]. Based on our observations, we have ruled out the need for an arbitrary scaling of the r-process contribution, as previously suggested by the authors behind the construction of the model.
Conclusions: We show how important it is to properly include NLTE effects when measuring chemical abundances, especially in the metal-poor regime. This work demonstrates that the choice of the Galactic chemical evolution model (stochastic versus one-zone) is key when comparing models to observations. Upcoming large-scale spectroscopic surveys such as 4MOST and WEAVE are poised to deliver high-quality data for many thousands of metal-poor stars and this work gives a typical case study of what could be achieved with such surveys in the future.

Full table of [Ba/Fe], [Sr/Fe], and [Y/Fe] LTE and NLTE abundances, uncertainties, and individual line abundances is available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/683/A73.

A dense neutrino gas exhibiting angular crossings in the electron lepton number is unstable and develops fast flavor conversions. Instead of assuming an unstable configuration from the onset, we imagine that the system is externally driven toward instability. We use the simplest model of two neutrino beams initially of different flavor that either suddenly appear or one or both slowly build up. Flavor conversions commence well before the putative unstable state is fully attained, and the final outcome depends on how the system is driven. Our results suggest that in an astrophysical setting, one should focus less on flavor instabilities in the neutrino radiation field and more on the external dynamics that leads to the formation of the unstable state.

We present SPHERE/IRDIS H-band data for a sample of 23 stars in the Orion Star forming region observed within the DESTINYS (Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars) program. We use polarization differential imaging in order to detect scattered light from circumstellar dust. From the scattered light observations we characterize the disk orientation, radius and contrast. We analyse the disks in context of the stellar parameters and the environment of the Orion star-forming region. We use ancillary X-shooter spectroscopic observations to characterize the central stars in the systems. We furthermore use a combination of new and archival ALMA mm-continuum observations to characterize the dust masses present in the circumstellar disks. Within our sample we detect extended circumstellar disks in 10 of 23 systems. Of these, three are exceptionally extended (V351 Ori, V599 Ori and V1012 Ori) and show scattered light asymmetries which may indicate perturbations by embedded planets or (in the case of V599 Ori) by an outer stellar companion. Our high resolution imaging observations are also sensitive to close (sub)stellar companions and we detect 9 such objects in our sample of which 5 were previously unknown. We find in particular a possible sub-stellar companion (either a very low mass star or a high mass brown dwarf) 137 au from the star RY Ori. We find a strong anti-correlation between disk detection and multiplicity, with only 2 of our 10 disk detections located in stellar multiple systems. We also find a correlation between scattered light contrast and the millimetre flux suggesting that disks that have a high dust content are typically bright in near-infrared scattered light. Conversely we do not find significant correlations between scattered light contrast of the disks and the stellar mass or age.

In this paper we describe the development of a streamlined framework for large-scale ATLAS pMSSM reinterpretations of LHC Run-2 analyses using containerised computational workflows. The project is looking to assess the global coverage of BSM physics and requires running O(5k) computational workflows representing pMSSM model points. Following ATLAS Analysis Preservation policies, many analyses have been preserved as containerised Yadage workflows, and after validation were added to a curated selection for the pMSSM study. To run the workflows at scale, we utilised the REANA reusable analysis platform. We describe how the REANA platform was enhanced to ensure the best concurrent throughput by internal service scheduling changes. We discuss the scalability of the approach on Kubernetes clusters from 500 to 5000 cores. Finally, we demonstrate a possibility of using additional ad-hoc public cloud infrastructure resources by running the same workflows on the Google Cloud Platform.

To date, the hot Jupiter WASP-12 b has been the only planet with confirmed orbital decay. The late F-type host star has been hypothesized to be surrounded by a large structure of circumstellar material evaporated from the planet. We obtained two high-resolution spectral transit time series with CARMENES and extensively searched for absorption signals by the atomic species Na, H, Ca, and He using transmission spectroscopy, thereby covering the He I λ10833 Å triplet with high resolution for the first time. We apply SYSREM for atomic line transmission spectroscopy, introduce the technique of signal protection to improve the results for individual absorption lines, and compare the outcomes to those of established methods. No transmission signals were detected and the most stringent upper limits as of yet were derived for the individual indicators. Nonetheless, we found variation in the stellar Hα and He I λ10833 Å lines, the origin of which remains uncertain but is unlikely to be activity. To constrain the enigmatic activity state of WASP-12, we analyzed XMM-Newton X-ray data and found the star to be moderately active at most. We deduced an upper limit for the X-ray luminosity and the irradiating X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) flux of WASP-12 b. Based on the XUV flux upper limit and the lack of the He I λ10833 Å signal, our hydrodynamic models slightly favor a moderately irradiated planet with a thermospheric temperature of ≲12 000 K, and a conservative upper limit of ≲4 × 10¹² g s⁻¹ on the mass-loss rate. Our study does not provide evidence for an extended planetary atmosphere or absorption by circumstellar material close to the planetary orbit.

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are a sensitive probe of the electron distribution in both the large-scale structure and their host galaxies through the dispersion measure (DM) of the radio pulse. Baryonic feedback models are crucial for modelling small scales for ongoing cosmological surveys that are expected to change the electron distribution in galaxies in a way that can be probed by FRB observations. In this paper, we explore the impact of baryonic feedback on FRB hosts using numerical simulations and make a detailed study of the host galaxy dispersion as a function of redshift, galaxy type, feedback model and how these properties vary in independent simulation codes. We find that the host galaxy dispersion varies dramatically between different implementations of baryonic feedback, allowing FRBs with host identification to be a valuable probe of feedback physics and thus provide necessary priors for upcoming analysis of the statistical properties of the large-scale structure. We further find that any dependency on the exact location of events within the halo is small. While there exists an evolution of the dispersion measure with redshift and halo mass, it is largely driven by varying star formation rates of the halo. Spectral information from FRB hosts can therefore be used to put priors on the host galaxy dispersion measure, and FRBs can be used to distinguish between competing models of baryonic feedback in future studies.

In this study of the 'Resolving supermAssive Black hole Binaries In galacTic hydrodynamical Simulations' (RABBITS) series, we focus on the hardening and coalescing process of supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries in galaxy mergers. For simulations including different galaxy formation processes (i.e. gas cooling, star formation, SMBH accretion, stellar, and AGN feedback), we systematically control the effect of stochastic eccentricity by fixing it to similar values during the SMBH hardening phase. We find a strong correlation between the SMBH merger time-scales and the presence of nuclear star formation. Throughout the galaxy merging process, gas condenses at the centre due to cooling and tidal torques, leading to nuclear star formation. These recently formed stars, which inherit low angular momenta from the gas, contribute to the loss cone and assist in the SMBH hardening via three-body interactions. Compared to non-radiative hydrodynamical runs, the SMBH merger time-scales measured from the runs including cooling, stellar, and SMBH physical processes tend to be shortened by a factor of ~1.7. After fixing the eccentricity to the range of e ~ 0.6-0.8 during the hardening phase, the simulations with AGN feedback reveal merger time-scales of ~100-500 Myr for disc mergers and ~1-2 Gyr for elliptical mergers. With a semi-analytical approach, we find that the torque interaction between the binary and its circumbinary disc has minimal impact on the shrinking of the binary orbit in our retrograde galaxy merger. Our results are useful in improving the modelling of SMBH merger time-scales and gravitational-wave event rates.

We present PAPERCLIP (Proposal Abstracts Provide an Effective Representation for Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training), a method which associates astronomical observations imaged by telescopes with natural language using a neural network model. The model is fine-tuned from a pre-trained Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training (CLIP) model using successful observing proposal abstracts and corresponding downstream observations, with the abstracts optionally summarized via guided generation using large language models (LLMs). Using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as an example, we show that the fine-tuned model embodies a meaningful joint representation between observations and natural language through tests targeting image retrieval (i.e., finding the most relevant observations using natural language queries) and description retrieval (i.e., querying for astrophysical object classes and use cases most relevant to a given observation). Our study demonstrates the potential for using generalist foundation models rather than task-specific models for interacting with astronomical data by leveraging text as an interface.

We investigate the fueling mechanisms of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) by analyzing 10 zoom-in cosmological simulations of massive galaxies, with stellar masses 10^11–12 M _⊙ and SMBH masses 10^8.9–9.7 M _⊙ at z = 0, featuring various major and minor merger events. By tracing the gas history in these simulations, we categorize the gas accreted by the central SMBHs based on its origin. Gas that belonged to a different galaxy before accretion onto the BH is labeled as (i) "external," while smoothly accreted cosmic gas is classified as (ii) "smooth." Gas produced within the primary halo through stellar evolution and subsequently accreted by the SMBH is classified as (iii) "recycled." Our analysis, which includes stellar feedback, reveals that the primary fuel source for SMBHs is the recycled gas from dying stars. This recycled gas from stars in the inner region of the galaxy readily collapses toward the center, triggering starbursts and simultaneously fueling the SMBH. Galaxy mergers also play a crucial role in fueling SMBHs in massive galaxies, as SMBHs in massive halos tend to accrete a higher fraction of external gas from mergers compared to smoothly accreted gas. However, on average, it takes approximately 1.85 Gyr for external gas to enter the main galaxy and accrete onto the SMBH. Considering the presence of various other gas triggers for active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity alongside this time delay, the association between AGNs and mergers may not always be obvious.

Simulating ultra-high-granularity detector responses in Particle Physics represents a critical yet computationally demanding task. This thesis aims to overcome this challenge for the Pixel Vertex Detector (PXD) at the Belle II experiment, which features over 7.5M pixel channels-the highest spatial resolution detector simulation dataset ever analysed with generative models. This thesis starts off by a comprehensive and taxonomic review on generative models for simulating detector signatures. Then, it presents the Intra-Event Aware Generative Adversarial Network (IEA-GAN), a new geometry-aware generative model that introduces a relational attentive reasoning and Self-Supervised Learning to approximate an "event" in the detector. This study underscores the importance of intra-event correlation for downstream physics analyses. Building upon this, the work drifts towards a more generic approach and presents YonedaVAE, a Category Theory-inspired generative model that tackles the open problem of Out-of-Distribution (OOD) simulation. YonedaVAE introduces a learnable Yoneda embedding to capture the entirety of an event based on its sensor relationships, formulating a Category theoretical language for intra-event relational reasoning. This is complemented by introducing a Self-Supervised learnable prior for VAEs and an Adaptive Top-q sampling mechanism, enabling the model to sample point clouds with variable intra-category cardinality in a zero-shot manner. Variable Intra-event cardinality has not been approached before and is vital for simulating irregular detector geometries. Trained on an early experiment data, YonedaVAE can reach a reasonable OOD simulation precision of a later experiment with almost double luminosity. This study introduces, for the first time, the results of using deep generative models for ultra-high granularity detector simulation in Particle Physics.

Aims: In this work, we perform the first cosmological parameter analysis of the fourth release of Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS-1000) data with second- and third-order shear statistics. This paper builds on a series of studies aimed at describing the roadmap to third-order shear statistics.
Methods: We derived and tested a combined model of the second-order shear statistic, namely, the COSEBIs and the third-order aperture mass statistics «ℳ_ap³» in a tomographic set-up. We validated our pipeline with N-body mock simulations of the KiDS-1000 data release. To model the second- and third-order statistics, we used the latest version of HMCODE2020 for the power spectrum and BIHALOFIT for the bispectrum. Furthermore, we used an analytic description to model intrinsic alignments and hydro-dynamical simulations to model the effect of baryonic feedback processes. Lastly, we decreased the dimension of the data vector significantly by considering only equal smoothing radii for the «ℳ_ap³» part of the data vector. This makes it possible to carry out a data analysis of the KiDS-1000 data release using a combined analysis of COSEBIs and third-order shear statistics.
Results: We first validated the accuracy of our modelling by analysing a noise-free mock data vector, assuming the KiDS-1000 error budget, finding a shift in the maximum of the posterior distribution of the matter density parameter, ΔΩ_m < 0.02 σ_Ωm, and of the structure growth parameter, ΔS₈ < 0.05 σ_S8. Lastly, we performed the first KiDS-1000 cosmological analysis using a combined analysis of second- and third-order shear statistics, where we constrained Ω_m = 0.248_−0.055^+0.062 and S₈ = σ₈√(Ω_m/0.3 )= 0.772 ± 0.022. The geometric average on the errors of Ω_m and S₈ of the combined statistics decreases, compared to the second-order statistic, by a factor of 2.2.

The invisible decay of cold dark matter into a slightly lighter dark sector particle on cosmological time-scales has been proposed as a solution to the $S_8$ tension. In this work we discuss the possible embedding of this scenario within a particle physics framework, and we investigate its phenomenology. We identify a minimal dark matter decay setup that addresses the $S_8$ tension, while avoiding the stringent constraints from indirect dark matter searches. In our scenario, the dark sector contains two singlet fermions $N_{1,2}$, quasi-degenerate in mass, and carrying lepton number so that the heaviest state ($N_2$) decays into the lightest ($N_1$) and two neutrinos via a higher-dimensional operator $N_2\to \bar N_1\nu\nu$. The conservation of lepton number, and the small phase-space available for the decay, forbids the decay channels into hadrons and strongly suppresses the decays into photons or charged leptons. We derive complementary constraints on the model parameters from neutrino detectors, freeze-in dark matter production via $\nu\nu\to N_1N_2$, collider experiments and blazar observations, and we show that the upcoming JUNO neutrino observatory could detect signals of dark matter decay for model parameters addressing the $S_8$ tension if the dark matter mass is below $\simeq 1$ GeV.

Topology plays a fundamental role in our understanding of many-body physics, from vortices and solitons in classical field theory to phases and excitations in quantum matter. Topological phenomena are intimately connected to the distribution of information content that, differently from ordinary matter, is now governed by nonlocal degrees of freedom. However, a precise characterization of how topological effects govern the complexity of a many-body state, i.e., its partition function, is presently unclear. In this paper, we show how topology and complexity are directly intertwined concepts in the context of classical statistical mechanics. We concretely present a theory that shows how the Kolmogorov complexity of a classical partition function sampling carries unique, distinctive features depending on the presence of topological excitations in the system. We confront two-dimensional Ising, Heisenberg, and XY models on several topologies and study the corresponding samplings as high-dimensional manifolds in configuration space, quantifying their complexity via the intrinsic dimension. While for the Ising and Heisenberg models the intrinsic dimension is independent of the real-space topology, for the XY model it depends crucially on temperature: across the Berezkinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, complexity becomes topology dependent. In the BKT phase, it displays a characteristic dependence on the homology of the real-space manifold, and, for g -torii, it follows a scaling that is solely genus dependent. We argue that this behavior is intimately connected to the emergence of an order parameter in data space, the conditional connectivity, which displays scaling behavior. Our approach paves the way for an understanding of topological phenomena emergent from many-body interactions from the perspective of Kolmogorov complexity.

Unobscured quasars (QSOs) are predicted to be the final stage in the evolutionary sequence from gas-rich mergers to gas-depleted, quenched galaxies. Studies of this population, however, find a high incidence of far-infrared-luminous sources-suggesting significant dust-obscured star formation-but direct observations of the cold molecular gas fuelling this star formation are still necessary. We present a NOEMA study of CO(2-1) emission, tracing the cold molecular gas, in ten lensed z = 1 − 1.5 unobscured QSOs. We detected CO(2-1) in seven of our targets, four of which also show continuum emission (λ_rest = 1.3 mm). After subtracting the foreground galaxy contribution to the photometry, spectral energy distribution fitting yielded stellar masses of 10^{9 − 11} M_⊙, with star formation rates of 25−160 M_⊙ yr⁻¹ for the host galaxies. These QSOs have lower L_CO^' than star-forming galaxies with the same L_IR, and show depletion times spanning a large range (50−900 Myr), but with a median of just 90(α_CO/4) Myr. We find molecular gas masses in the range ≤2−40 × 10⁹(α_CO/4) M_⊙, which suggest gas fractions above ∼50% for most of the targets. Despite the presence of an unobscured QSO, the host galaxies are able to retain significant amounts of cold gas. However, with a median depletion time of ∼90 Myr, the intense burst of star formation taking place in these targets will quickly deplete their molecular gas reservoirs in the absence of gas replenishment, resulting in a quiescent host galaxy. The non-detected QSOs are three of the four radio-loud QSOs in the sample, and their properties indicate that they are likely already transitioning into quiescence. Recent cosmological simulations tend to overestimate the depletion times expected for these z ∼ 1 QSO-host galaxies, which is likely linked to their difficulty producing starbursts across the general high-redshift galaxy population.

Context. After the second data release of Gaia, the number of new globular cluster candidates has increased significantly. However, most of them need to be properly characterised, both spectroscopically and photometrically, by means of radial velocities, metallicities, and deeper photometric observations.
Aims: Our goal is to provide an independent confirmation of the cluster nature of Gran 4, a recently discovered globular cluster, with follow-up spectroscopic observations. The derived radial velocity for individual stars, coupled with proper motions, allows us to isolate cluster members from field stars, while the analysis of their spectra allows us to derive metallicities. By including in the analysis the recently confirmed clusters Gran 1, 2, 3, and 5, we aim to completely characterise recently discovered globular clusters.
Methods: Using Gaia DR3 and VVV catalogue data and MUSE at VLT observations, we selected cluster members based on their proper motions, radial velocities and their position in colour-magnitude diagrams. Furthermore, full spectral synthesis was performed on the cluster members, extracting surface parameters and metallicity from MUSE spectra. Finally, a completeness estimation was performed on the total globular cluster population of the Milky Way.
Results: We confirm the nature of Gran 4, a newly discovered globular cluster behind the Galactic bulge, with a mean radial velocity of RV = −265.28 ± 3.92 km s⁻¹ and a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]= − 1.72 ± 0.32 dex. Additionally, independent measurements of the metallicities were derived for Gran 1, 2, 3, and 5. We also revise the observational lower mass limit for a globular cluster to survive in the bulge and disc environment. We estimate that ∼12 − 26 globular clusters have still to be discovered on the other side of the Galaxy (i.e., behind the bulge, bar and disk), up to 20 kpc.

Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory under ESO programmes 0103.D-0386(A) and 105.20MY.001 (PI: F. Gran).

Recently there has been an intense effort to understand measurement induced transitions, but we still lack a good understanding of non-Markovian effects on these phenomena. To that end, we consider two coupled chains of free fermions, one acting as the system of interest, and one as a bath. The bath chain is subject to Markovian measurements, resulting in an effective non-Markovian dissipative dynamics acting on the system chain which is still amenable to numerical studies in terms of quantum trajectories. Within this setting, we study the entanglement within the system chain, and use it to characterize the phase diagram depending on the ladder hopping parameters and on the measurement probability. For the case of pure state evolution, the system is in an area law phase when the internal hopping of the bath chain is small, while a non-area law phase appears when the dynamics of the bath is fast. The non-area law exhibits a logarithmic scaling of the entropy compatible with a conformal phase, but also displays linear corrections for the finite system sizes we can study. For the case of mixed state evolution, we instead observe regions with both area, and non-area scaling of the entanglement negativity. We quantify the non-Markovianity of the system chain dynamics and find that for the regimes of parameters we study, a stronger non-Markovianity is associated to a larger entanglement within the system.

This work provides the first combined analysis of low-energy pΛ scattering, considering both cross section and correlation data. The obtained results establish the most stringent constraints to date on the two-body pΛ interaction, pointing to a weaker attraction than so far accepted. The best set of scattering lengths for the spin singlet and triplet are found to range from f₀ ,f₁ = (2.1 , 1.56) to (3.34 , 1.18) fm. With a chiral NY potential fine-tuned to those scattering parameters, the in-medium properties of the Λ are explored and a potential depth of U_Λ = - 36.3 ± 1.3(stat)_-6.2^+2.5 (syst) MeV is found at nuclear matter saturation density.

In dense astrophysical environments, notably core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers, neutrino-neutrino forward scattering can spawn flavor conversion on very short scales. Scattering with the background medium can impact collective flavor conversion in various ways, either damping oscillations or possibly setting off novel collisional flavor instabilities (CFIs). A key feature in this process is the slowness of collisions compared to the much faster dynamics of neutrino-neutrino refraction. Assuming spatial homogeneity, we leverage this hierarchy of scales to simplify the description accounting only for the slow dynamics driven by collisions. We illustrate our new approach both in the case of CFIs and in the case of fast instabilities damped by collisions. In both cases, our strategy provides new equations, the slow-dynamics equations, that simplify the description of flavor conversion and allow us to qualitatively understand the final state of the system after the instability, either collisional or fast, has saturated.

Context. Elongated trails of infalling gas, often referred to as "streamers," have recently been observed around young stellar objects (YSOs) at different evolutionary stages. This asymmetric infall of material can significantly alter star and planet formation processes, especially in the more evolved YSOs.
Aims: In order to ascertain the infalling nature of observed streamer-like structures and then systematically characterize their dynamics, we developed the code TIPSY (Trajectory of Infalling Particles in Streamers around Young stars).
Methods: Using TIPSY, the streamer molecular line emission is first isolated from the disk emission. Then the streamer emission, which is effectively a point cloud in three-dimensional (3D) position-position-velocity space, is simplified to a curve-like representation. The observed streamer curve is then compared to the theoretical trajectories of infalling material. The best-fit trajectories are used to constrain streamer features, such as the specific energy, the specific angular momenta, the infall timescale, and the 3D morphology.
Results: We used TIPSY to fit molecular-line ALMA observations of streamers around a Class II binary system, S CrA, and a Class I/II protostar, HL Tau. Our results indicate that both of the streamers are consistent with infalling motion. For the S CrA streamer, we could constrain the dynamical parameters well and find it to be on a bound elliptical trajectory. On the other hand, the fitting uncertainties are substantially higher for the HL Tau streamer, likely due to the smaller spatial scales of the observations. TIPSY results and mass estimates suggest that S CrA and HL Tau are accreting material at a rate of ≳27 M_jupiter Myr^-1 and ≳5 M_jupiter Myr^-1, respectively, which can significantly increase the mass budget available to form planets.
Conclusions: TIPSY can be used to assess whether the morphology and kinematics of observed streamers are consistent with infalling motion and to characterize their dynamics, which is crucial for quantifying their impact on the protostellar systems.

3D plots associated to Figs. 2 and 3 are available at https://www.aanda.org

Context. Rotation is thought to influence the size of convective eddies and the efficiency of convective energy transport in the deep convection zones of stars. Rotationally constrained convection has been invoked to explain the lack of large-scale power in observations of solar flows.
Aims: Our main aims are to quantify the effects of rotation on the scale of convective eddies and velocity as well as the depths of convective overshoot and subadiabatic Deardorff layers.
Methods: We ran moderately turbulent three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of rotating convection in local Cartesian domains. The rotation rate and luminosity of the simulations were varied in order to probe the dependency of the results on Coriolis, Mach, and Richardson numbers measuring the influences of rotation, compressibility, and stiffness of the radiative layer. The results were compared with theoretical scaling results that assume a balance between Coriolis, inertial, and buoyancy (Archimedean) forces, also referred to as the CIA balance.
Results: The horizontal scale of convective eddies decreases as rotation increases, and it ultimately reaches a rotationally constrained regime consistent with the CIA balance. Using a new measure of the rotational influence on the system, we found that even the deep parts of the solar convection zone are not in the rotationally constrained regime. The simulations captured the slowly and rapidly rotating scaling laws predicted by theory, and the Sun appears to be in between these two regimes. Both the overshooting depth and the extent of the Deardorff layer decrease as rotation becomes more rapid. For sufficiently rapid rotation, the Deardorff layer is absent due to the symmetrisation of upflows and downflows. However, for the most rapidly rotating cases, the overshooting increases again due to unrealistically large Richardson numbers that allow convective columns to penetrate deep into the radiative layer.
Conclusions: Relating the simulations with the Sun suggests that the convective scale, even in the deep parts of the Sun, is only mildly affected by rotation and that some other mechanism is needed to explain the lack of strong large-scale flows in the Sun. Taking the current results at face value, the overshoot and Deardorff layers are estimated to span roughly 5% of the pressure scale height at the base of the convection zone in the Sun.

Metric perturbations induced by ultralight dark matter (ULDM) fields have long been identified as a potential target for pulsar timing array (PTA) observations. Previous works have focused on the coherent oscillation of metric perturbations at the characteristic frequency set by the ULDM mass. In this work, we show that ULDM fields source low-frequency stochastic metric fluctuations and that these low-frequency fluctuations can produce distinctive detectable signals in PTA data. Using the NANOGrav 12.5-yr dataset and synthetic datasets mimicking present and future PTA capabilities, we show that the current and future PTA observations provide the strongest probe of ULDM density within the Solar System for masses in the range of 10^-18 eV −10^-16 eV .

To understand the origin of interstellar molecules we rely on astrochemical models, the gas-phase networks of which contain ≥7000 reactions. However, just a tiny fraction of them have parameters derived in laboratory experiments. Theoretical quantum mechanical (QM) calculations can also provide this information. Unfortunately, sometimes theoretical predictions and experimental values disagree, as is the case for the paradigmatic reaction CH₃OH + OH → CH₃O + H₂O. Both laboratory experiments and QM calculations found an unexpected increase in the rate coefficients with decreasing temperature. However, experimental and theoretical estimates of the rate coefficients diverge by up to two orders of magnitude at the low temperatures of interest in interstellar chemistry. This work aims to test whether astronomical observations can help untangle this confusing situation. To this end, we first carried out new QM calculations to derive the rate coefficients of the major destruction reaction of the methoxy radical, CH₃O + H, and then we compared astronomical observations from the IRAM/NOEMA Large Programme SOLIS with astrochemical model predictions. Our new rate coefficient for the CH₃O + H reaction is 5-10 times larger than that in the astrochemical data base KIDA in the 10-100 K range. When including the new methoxy destruction rate coefficients, the comparison between observations and model predictions favours the rate coefficients of the CH₃OH + OH reaction from QM calculations. We conclude that QM calculations are an important alternative to laboratory experiments when it comes to the harsh conditions of interstellar objects and that astronomical observations can be used to constraint the rate coefficients of relevant reactions.

Context. The highly debated effect of metallicity on the absolute magnitudes of classical Cepheid variables needs to be properly quantified for determining accurate and precise distances based on their Leavitt Law.
Aims: Our goal is to obtain homogeneous optical and near-infrared light curves of Milky Way Cepheid variables complementing their already collected high-resolution spectroscopic metallicities as part of the C-MetaLL survey. Together with Gaia parallaxes, we investigate period-luminosity-metallicity relations for Cepheid variables at multiple wavelengths.
Methods: We present homogeneous multiband (grizJHK_s) time-series observations of 78 Cepheids including 49 fundamental mode variables and 29 first-overtone mode variables. These observations were collected simultaneously using the ROS2 and REMIR instruments at the Rapid Eye Mount telescope. Multiwavelength photometric data were used to investigate pulsation properties of Cepheid variables and derive their period-luminosity (PL) and period-Wesenheit (PW) relations.
Results: The Cepheid sample covers a large range of distances (0.5 − 19.7 kpc) with varying precision of parallaxes, and thus astrometry-based luminosity fits were used to derive PL and PW relations in optical Sloan (griz) and near-infrared (JHK_s) filters. These empirically calibrated relations exhibit large scatter primarily due to larger uncertainties in parallaxes of distant Cepheids, but their slopes agree well with those previously determined in the literature. Using homogeneous high-resolution spectroscopic metallicities of 61 Cepheids covering −1.1 < [Fe/H] < 0.6 dex, we quantified the metallicity dependence of PL and PW relations which varies between −0.30 ± 0.11 (in K_s) and −0.55 ± 0.12 (in z) mag dex⁻¹ in grizJHK_s bands. However, the metallicity dependence in the residuals of the PL and PW relations is predominantly seen for metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] < −0.3 dex), which also have larger parallax uncertainties. The modest sample size precludes us from separating the contribution to the residuals due to parallax uncertainties, metallicity effects, and reddening errors. While this Cepheid sample is not optimal for calibrating the Leavitt law, upcoming photometric and spectroscopic datasets of the C-MetaLL survey will allow the accurate derivation of PL and PW relations in the Sloan and near-infrared bandpasses, which will be useful for the distance measurements in the era of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time and upcoming extremely large telescopes.

Full Table 1 is available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/683/A234

Diamond operated as a cryogenic calorimeter is an excellent target for direct detection of low-mass dark matter candidates. Following the realization of the first low-threshold cryogenic detector that uses diamond as absorber for astroparticle physics applications, we now present the resulting exclusion limits on the elastic spin-independent interaction cross-section of dark matter with diamond. We measured two 0.175 g CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) diamond samples, each instrumented with a Transition Edge Sensor made of Tungsten (W-TES). Thanks to the energy threshold of just 16.8 eV of one of the two detectors, we set exclusion limits on the elastic spin-independent interaction of dark matter particles with carbon nuclei down to dark matter masses as low as 0.122 GeV/c². This work shows the scientific potential of cryogenic detectors made from diamond and lays the foundation for the use of this material as target for direct detection dark matter experiments.

Context. Prevailing N-body planet formation models typically start with lunar-mass embryos and show a general trend of rapid migration of massive planetary cores to the inner Solar System in the absence of a migration trap. This setup cannot capture the evolution from a planetesimal to embryo, which is crucial to the final architecture of the system.
Aims: We aim to model planet formation with planet migration starting with planetesimals of ~10⁻⁶−10⁻⁴ M_⊕ and reproduce the giant planets of the Solar System.
Methods: We simulated a population of 1000-5000 planetesimals in a smooth protoplanetary disc, which was evolved under the effects of their mutual gravity, pebble accretion, gas accretion, and planet migration, employing the parallelized N-body code SyMBAp.
Results: We find that the dynamical interactions among growing planetesimals are vigorous and can halt pebble accretion for excited bodies. While a set of results without planet migration produces one to two gas giants and one to two ice giants beyond 6 au, massive planetary cores readily move to the inner Solar System once planet migration is in effect.
Conclusions: Dynamical heating is important in a planetesimal disc and the reduced pebble encounter time should be considered in similar models. Planet migration remains a challenge to form cold giant planets in a smooth protoplanetary disc, which suggests an alternative mechanism is required to stop them at wide orbits.

We compute the one-loop corrections to gg → $t\overline{t }H$ up to order $O\left({ɛ }²\right)$ in the dimensional-regularization parameter. We apply the projector method to compute polarized amplitudes, which generalize massless helicity amplitudes to the massive case. We employ a semi-numerical strategy to evaluate the scattering amplitudes. We express the form factors through scalar integrals analytically, and obtain separately integration by parts reduction identities in compact form. We integrate numerically the corresponding master integrals with an enhanced implementation of the Auxiliary Mass Flow algorithm. Using a numerical fit method, we concatenate the analytic and the numeric results to obtain fast and reliable evaluation of the scattering amplitude. This approach improves numerical stability and evaluation time. Our results are implemented in the Mathematica package TTH.

In the most extreme astrophysical environments, such as core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and neutron star mergers (NSMs), neutrinos can undergo fast flavor conversions (FFCs) on exceedingly short scales. Intensive simulations have demonstrated that FFCs can attain equilibrium states in certain models. In this study, we utilize physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) to predict the asymptotic outcomes of FFCs, by specifically targeting the first two moments of neutrino angular distributions. This makes our approach suitable for state-of-the-art CCSN and NSM simulations. Through effective feature engineering and the incorporation of customized loss functions that penalize discrepancies in the predicted total number of ν_e and ν_¯e, our PINNs demonstrate remarkable accuracies, with an error margin of ≲3 %. Our study represents a substantial leap forward in the potential incorporation of FFCs into simulations of CCSNe and NSMs, thereby enhancing our understanding of these extraordinary astrophysical events.

We compute the first moments of the q² distribution in inclusive semileptonic B decays as functions of the lower cut on q², confirming a number of results given in the literature and adding the O (α_s²β₀ ) BLM contributions. We then include the q²-moments recently measured by Belle and Belle II in a global fit to the moments. The new data are compatible with the other measurements and slightly decrease the uncertainty on the nonperturbative parameters and on |V_cb|. Our updated value is |V_cb| = (41.97 ± 0.48) × 10⁻³.

The evolved stages of massive stars are poorly understood, but invaluable constraints can be derived from spatially resolved observations of nearby red supergiants, such as Betelgeuse. Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of Betelgeuse showing a dipolar velocity field have been interpreted as evidence for a projected rotation rate of about 5 km s^‑1. This is 2 orders of magnitude larger than predicted by single-star evolution, which led to suggestions that Betelgeuse is a binary merger. We propose instead that large-scale convective motions can mimic rotation, especially if they are only partially resolved. We support this claim with 3D CO5BOLD simulations of nonrotating red supergiants that we postprocessed to predict ALMA images and SiO spectra. We show that our synthetic radial velocity maps have a 90% chance of being falsely interpreted as evidence for a projected rotation rate of 2 km s^‑1 or larger for our fiducial simulation. We conclude that we need at least another ALMA observation to firmly establish whether Betelgeuse is indeed rapidly rotating. Such observations would also provide insight into the role of angular momentum and binary interaction in the late evolutionary stages. The data will further probe the structure and complex physical processes in the atmospheres of red supergiants, which are immediate progenitors of supernovae and are believed to be essential in the formation of gravitational-wave sources.

The paradigm-changing possibility of collective neutrino-antineutrino oscillations was recently advanced in analogy to collective flavor oscillations. However, the amplitude for the backward scattering process ν_p1ν_¯p2→ν_p2ν_¯p1 is helicity suppressed and vanishes for massless neutrinos, implying that there is no off-diagonal refractive index between ν and ν ¯ of a single flavor of massless neutrinos. For a nonvanishing mass, collective helicity oscillations are possible, representing de facto ν -ν ¯ oscillations in the Majorana case. However, such phenomena are suppressed by the smallness of neutrino masses as discussed in the previous literature.

Core-Collapse supernovae are driven by neutrinos. Coherent neutrino-neutrino forward scattering leads to flavor conversion phenomena. These are expected to have an impact on the dynamics of a supernova. Due to the complexity of the problem, a fully self-consistent treatment is not possible. In this study, I use a parameterized prescription, aimed at maximum flavor conversions, and infer the maximum impact of flavor conversions.

Context. Recently, large and homogeneous samples of cataclysmic variables identified by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) were published. In these samples, the famous orbital period gap, which is a dearth of systems in the orbital period range ∼2 − 3 h and the defining feature of most evolutionary models for cataclysmic variables, has been claimed not to be clearly present. If true, this finding would completely change our picture of cataclysmic variable evolution.
Aims: In this Letter we focus on potential differences with respect to the orbital period gap between cataclysmic variables in which the magnetic field of the white dwarf is strong enough to connect with that of the donor star, so-called polars, and non-polar cataclysmic variables as the white dwarf magnetic field in polars has been predicted to reduce the strength of angular momentum loss through magnetic braking.
Methods: We separated the SDSS I-IV sample of cataclysmic variables into polars and non-polar systems and performed statistical tests to evaluate whether the period distributions are bimodal as predicted by the standard model for cataclysmic variable evolution or not. We also compared the SDSS I-IV period distribution of non-polars to that of other samples of cataclysmic variables.
Results: We confirm the existence of a period gap in the SDSS I-IV sample of non-polar cataclysmic variables with > 98% confidence. The boundaries of the orbital period gap are 147 and 191 min, with the lower boundary being different to previously published values (129 min). The orbital period distribution of polars from SDSS I-IV is clearly different and does not show a similar period gap.
Conclusions: The SDSS samples as well as previous samples of cataclysmic variables are consistent with the standard theory of cataclysmic variable evolution. Magnetic braking does indeed seem get disrupted around the fully convective boundary, which causes a detached phase during cataclysmic variable evolution. In polars, the white dwarf magnetic field reduces the strength of magnetic braking and consequently the orbital period distribution of polars does not display an equally profound and extended period gap as non-polars. It remains unclear why the breaking rates derived from the rotation of single stars in open clusters favour prescriptions that are unable to explain the orbital period distribution of cataclysmic variables.

We describe a family of twisted partition functions for the relativistic spinning particle models. For suitable choices of fugacities this computes a refined Euler characteristics that counts the dimension of the physical states for arbitrary picture and, furthermore, encodes the complete BV-spectrum of the effective space-time gauge theory originating from this model upon second quantization. The relation between twisted world-line partition functions and the spectrum of the space-time theory is most easily seen on-shell but we will give an off-shell description as well. Finally we discuss the construction of a space-time action in terms of the world-line fields in analogy to string field theory.

The orbital distribution of the S-star cluster surrounding the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is analyzed. A tight dependence of the pericenter distance r _p on orbital eccentricity e _⋆ is found, $\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}})\sim (1-{e}_{\star })$ , which cannot be explained simply by a random distribution of semimajor axis and eccentricities. No stars are found in the region with high e _⋆ and large $\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}})$ or in the region with low e _⋆ and small $\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}})$ . Although the sample is still small, the G-clouds show a very similar distribution. The likelihood $P(\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}}),(1-{e}_{\star }))$ to determine the orbital parameters of S-stars is determined. P is very small for stars with large e _⋆ and large $\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}})$ . S-stars might exist in this region. To determine their orbital parameters, one however needs observations over a longer time period. On the other hand, if stars would exist in the region of low $\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}})$ and small e _⋆, their orbital parameters should by now have been determined. That this region is unpopulated therefore indicates that no S-stars exist with these orbital characteristics, providing constraints for their formation. We call this region, defined by $\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}}/\mathrm{AU})\lt 1.57+2.6(1-{e}_{\star })$ , the zone of avoidance. Finally, it is shown that the observed frequency of eccentricities and pericenter distances is consistent with a random sampling of $\mathrm{log}({r}_{{\rm{p}}})$ and e _⋆ if one takes into account the fact that no stars exist in the zone of avoidance and that orbital parameters cannot yet be determined for stars with large r _p and large e _⋆.

Aims: The BL Lac 1ES 2344+514 is known for temporary extreme properties characterised by a shift of the synchrotron spectral energy distribution (SED) peak energy ν_{synch, p} above 1 keV. While those extreme states have only been observed during high flux levels thus far, additional multi-year observing campaigns are required to achieve a coherent picture. Here, we report the longest investigation of the source from radio to very high energy (VHE) performed so far, focussing on a systematic characterisation of the intermittent extreme states.
Methods: We organised a monitoring campaign covering a 3-year period from 2019 to 2021. More than ten instruments participated in the observations in order to cover the emission from radio to VHE. In particular, sensitive X-ray measurements by XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and AstroSat took place simultaneously with multi-hour MAGIC observations, providing an unprecedented constraint of the two SED components for this blazar.
Results: While our results confirm that 1ES 2344+514 typically exhibits ν_{synch, p} > 1 keV during elevated flux periods, we also find periods where the extreme state coincides with low flux activity. A strong spectral variability thus happens in the quiescent state, and is likely caused by an increase in the electron acceleration efficiency without a change in the electron injection luminosity. On the other hand, we also report a strong X-ray flare (among the brightest for 1ES 2344+514) without a significant shift of ν_{synch, p}. During this particular flare, the X-ray spectrum is among the softest of the campaign. It unveils complexity in the spectral evolution, where the common harder-when-brighter trend observed in BL Lacs is violated. By combining Swift-XRT and Swift-UVOT measurements during a low and hard X-ray state, we find an excess of the UV flux with respect to an extrapolation of the X-ray spectrum to lower energies. This UV excess implies that at least two regions significantly contribute to the infrared/optical/ultraviolet/X-ray emission. Using the simultaneous MAGIC, XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and AstroSat observations, we argue that a region possibly associated with the 10 GHz radio core may explain such an excess. Finally, we investigate a VHE flare, showing an absence of simultaneous variability in the 0.3−2 keV band. Using time-dependent leptonic modelling, we show that this behaviour, in contradiction to single-zone scenarios, can instead be explained by a two-component model.

We present high-definition observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of >1000 Cepheids in a geometric anchor of the distance ladder, NGC 4258, and in five hosts of eight Type Ia supernovae, a far greater sample than previous studies with JWST. These galaxies individually contain the largest samples of Cepheids, an average of >150 each, producing the strongest statistical comparison to those previously measured with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the near-infrared (NIR). They also span the distance range of those used to determine the Hubble constant with HST, allowing us to search for a distance-dependent bias in HST measurements. The superior resolution of JWST negates crowding noise, the largest source of variance in the NIR Cepheid period–luminosity relations (Leavitt laws) measured with HST. Together with the use of two epochs to constrain Cepheid phases and three filters to remove reddening, we reduce the dispersion in the Cepheid P–L relations by a factor of 2.5. We find no significant difference in the mean distance measurements determined from HST and JWST, with a formal difference of ‑0.01 ± 0.03 mag. This result is independent of zero-points and analysis variants including metallicity dependence, local crowding, choice of filters, and slope of the relations. We can reject the hypothesis of unrecognized crowding of Cepheid photometry from HST that grows with distance as the cause of the "Hubble tension" at 8.2σ, i.e., greater confidence than that of the Hubble tension itself. We conclude that errors in photometric measurements of Cepheids across the distance ladder do not significantly contribute to the tension.

We develop a neural network based pipeline to estimate masses of galaxy clusters with a known redshift directly from photon information in X-rays. Our neural networks are trained using supervised learning on simulations of eROSITA observations, focusing in this paper on the Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS). We use convolutional neural networks which are modified to include additional information of the cluster, in particular its redshift. In contrast to existing work, we utilize simulations including background and point sources to develop a tool which is usable directly on observational eROSITA data for an extended mass range from group size halos to massive clusters with masses in between 1013M⊙<M<1015M⊙. Using this method, we are able to provide for the first time neural network mass estimation for the observed eFEDS cluster sample from Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma/eROSITA observations and we find consistent performance with weak lensing calibrated masses. In this measurement, we do not use weak lensing information and we only use previous cluster mass information which was used to calibrate the cluster properties in the simulations. When compared to simulated data, we observe a reduced scatter with respect to luminosity and count-rate based scaling relations.

We comment on the application for other upcoming eROSITA All-Sky Survey observations.

The Euclid mission of the European Space Agency will perform a survey of weak lensing cosmic shear and galaxy clustering in order to constrain cosmological models and fundamental physics. We expand and adjust the mock Euclid likelihoods of the MontePython software in order to match the exact recipes used in previous Euclid Fisher matrix forecasts for several probes: weak lensing cosmic shear, photometric galaxy clustering, the cross-correlation between the latter observables, and spectroscopic galaxy clustering. We also establish which precision settings are required when running the Einstein-Boltzmann solvers CLASS and CAMB in the context of Euclid. For the minimal cosmological model, extended to include dynamical dark energy, we perform Fisher matrix forecasts based directly on a numerical evaluation of second derivatives of the likelihood with respect to model parameters. We compare our results with those of other forecasting methods and tools. We show that such MontePython forecasts agree very well with previous Fisher forecasts published by the Euclid Collaboration, and also, with new forecasts produced by the CosmicFish code, now interfaced directly with the two Einstein-Boltzmann solvers CAMB and CLASS. Moreover, to establish the validity of the Gaussian approximation, we show that the Fisher matrix marginal error contours coincide with the credible regions obtained when running Monte Carlo Markov Chains with MontePython while using the exact same mock likelihoods. The new Euclid forecast pipelines presented here are ready for use with additional cosmological parameters, in order to explore extended cosmological models.

Nuclear double-beta decays are a unique probe to search for new physics beyond the standard model. Hypothesized particles, non-standard interactions, or the violation of fundamental symmetries would affect the decay kinematics, creating detectable and characteristic experimental signatures. In particular, the energy distribution of the electrons emitted in the decay gives an insight into the decay mechanism and has been studied in several isotopes and experiments. No deviations from the prediction of the standard model have been reported yet. However, several new experiments are underway or in preparation and will soon increase the sensitivity of these beyond-the-standard-model physics searches, exploring uncharted parts of the parameter space. This review brings together phenomenological and experimental aspects related to new-physics searches in double-beta decay experiments, focusing on the testable models, the most-sensitive detection techniques, and the discovery opportunities of this field.

The origin of obscuration in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is still an open debate. In particular, it is unclear what drives the relative contributions to the line-of-sight column densities from galaxy-scale and torus-linked obscuration. The latter source is expected to play a significant role in Unification Models, while the former is thought to be relevant in both Unification and Evolutionary models. In this work, we make use of a combination of cosmological semi-analytic models and semi-empirical prescriptions for the properties of galaxies and AGN, to study AGN obscuration. We consider a detailed object-by-object modelling of AGN evolution, including different AGN light curves (LCs), gas density profiles, and also AGN feedback-induced gas cavities. Irrespective of our assumptions on specific AGN LC or galaxy gas fractions, we find that, on the strict assumption of an exponential profile for the gas component, galaxy-scale obscuration alone can hardly reproduce the fraction of log (N_H/cm^-2) ≥ 24 sources at least at z ≲ 3. This requires an additional torus component with a thickness that decreases with luminosity to match the data. The torus should be present in all evolutionary stages of a visible AGN to be effective, although galaxy-scale gas obscuration may be sufficient to reproduce the obscured fraction with 22 < log (N_H/cm^-2) < 24 (Compton-thin, CTN) if we assume extremely compact gas disc components. The claimed drop of CTN fractions with increasing luminosity does not appear to be a consequence of AGN feedback, but rather of gas reservoirs becoming more compact with decreasing stellar mass.

We study the 10 Myr evolution of parsec-scale stellar discs with initial masses of M_disc = 1.0-$7.5 \times 10^4\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ and eccentricities e_init = 0.1-0.9 around supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Our disc models are embedded in a spherical background potential and have top-heavy single and binary star initial mass functions (IMF) with slopes of 0.25-1.7. The systems are evolved with the N-body code BIFROST, including post-Newtonian (PN) equations of motion and simplified stellar evolution. All discs are unstable and evolve on Myr time-scales towards similar eccentricity distributions peaking at e_⋆ ~ 0.3-0.4. Models with high e_init also develop a very eccentric (e_⋆ ≳ 0.9) stellar population. For higher disc masses M_disc ≳ 3 × 10⁴ M_⊙, the disc disruption dynamics is more complex than the standard secular eccentric disc instability with opposite precession directions at different disc radii - a precession direction instability. We present an analytical model describing this behaviour. A milliparsec population of N ~ 10-100 stars forms around the SMBH in all models. For low e_init, stars migrate inward while for e_init ≳ 0.6 stars are captured by the Hills mechanism. Without PN, after 6 Myr, the captured stars have a sub-thermal eccentricity distribution. We show that including PN effects prevents this thermalization by suppressing resonant relaxation effects and cannot be ignored. The number of tidally disrupted stars is similar or larger than the number of milliparsec stars. None of the simulated models can simultaneously reproduce the kinematic and stellar population properties of the Milky Way centre clockwise disc and the S-cluster.

High-velocity stellar collisions driven by a supermassive black hole (BH) or BH-driven disruptive collisions in dense, nuclear clusters can rival the energetics of supergiant star explosions following the gravitational collapse of their iron core. Starting from a sample of red-giant star collisions simulated with the hydrodynamics code AREPO, we generated photometric and spectroscopic observables using the nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium time-dependent radiative transfer code CMFGEN. Collisions from more extended giants or more violent collisions (with higher velocities or smaller impact parameters) yield bolometric luminosities on the order of 10⁴³ erg s⁻¹ at 1 d, evolving on a timescale of a week to a bright plateau at ∼10⁴¹ erg s⁻¹ before plunging precipitously after 20-40 d at the end of the optically thick phase. This luminosity falls primarily in the UV in the first few days, thus when it is at its maximum, and shifts to the optical thereafter. Collisions at lower velocities or from less extended stars produce ejecta that are fainter but can remain optically thick for up to 40 d if they have a low expansion rate. This collision debris shows a similar spectral evolution as that observed or modeled for Type II supernovae from blue-supergiant star explosions, differing only in the more rapid transition to the nebular phase. Such BH-driven disruptive collisions should be detectable by high-cadence surveys in the UV such as ULTRASAT.

Dark photons, aside from constituting non-relativistic dark matter, can also be generated relativistically through the decay or annihilation of other dark matter candidates, contributing to a galactic dark photon background. The production of dark photons tends to favor specific polarization modes, determined by the microscopic coupling between dark matter and dark photons. We leverage data obtained from previous searches for dark photon dark matter using a superconducting radio-frequency cavity to explore galactic dark photon fluxes. The interplay of anisotropic directions and Earth's rotation introduces a diurnal modulation of signals within the cavities, manifesting distinct variation patterns for longitudinal and transverse modes. Our findings highlight the efficacy of superconducting radio-frequency cavities, characterized by significantly high-quality factors, as powerful telescopes for detecting galactic dark photons, unveiling a novel avenue in the indirect search for dark matter through multi-messenger astronomy.

Context. Recent observations of close detached eclipsing M and K dwarf binaries have provided substantial support for magnetic saturation when stars rotate sufficiently fast, leading to a magnetic braking (MB) torque proportional to the spin of the star.
Aims: We investigated here how strong MB torques need to be to reproduce the observationally inferred relative numbers of white dwarf plus M dwarf post-common-envelope binaries under the assumption of magnetic saturation.
Methods: We carried out binary population simulations with the BSE code adopting empirically derived inter-correlated main-sequence binary distributions as initial binary populations and compared the simulation outcomes with observations.
Results: We found that the dearth of extreme mass ratio binaries in the inter-correlated initial distributions is key to reproduce the large fraction of post-common-envelope binaries hosting low-mass M dwarfs (∼0.1 − 0.2 M_⊙). In addition, orbital angular momentum loss rates due to MB should be high for M dwarfs with radiative cores and orders of magnitude smaller for fully convective stars to explain the observed dramatic change of the fraction of short-period binaries at the fully convective boundary.
Conclusions: We conclude that saturated but disrupted, that is, dropping drastically at the fully convective boundary, MB can explain the observations of both close main-sequence binaries containing M and K dwarfs and post-common-envelope binaries. Whether a similar prescription can explain the spin down rates of single stars and of binaries containing more massive stars needs to be tested.

The eROSITA telescope array aboard the Spektrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) satellite began surveying the sky in December 2019, with the aim of producing all-sky X-ray source lists and sky maps of an unprecedented depth. Here we present catalogues of both point-like and extended sources using the data acquired in the first six months of survey operations (eRASS1; completed June 2020) over the half sky whose proprietary data rights lie with the German eROSITA Consortium. We describe the observation process, the data analysis pipelines, and the characteristics of the X-ray sources. With nearly 930 000 entries detected in the most sensitive 0.2-2.3 keV energy range, the eRASS1 main catalogue presented here increases the number of known X-ray sources in the published literature by more than 60%, and provides a comprehensive inventory of all classes of X-ray celestial objects, covering a wide range of physical processes. A smaller catalogue of 5466 sources detected in the less sensitive but harder 2.3-5 keV band is the result of the first true imaging survey of the entire sky above 2 keV. We present methods to identify and flag potential spurious sources in the catalogues, which we applied for this work, and we tested and validated the astrometric accuracy via cross-comparison with other X-ray and multi-wavelength catalogues. We show that the number counts of X-ray sources in eRASSl are consistent with those derived over narrower fields by past X-ray surveys of a similar depth, and we explore the number counts variation as a function of the location in the sky. Adopting a uniform all-sky flux limit (at 50% completeness) of F_{05-2 keV} > 5 × 10⁻¹⁴ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻², we estimate that the eROSITA all-sky survey resolves into individual sources about 20% of the cosmic X-ray background in the 1-2 keV range. The catalogues presented here form part of the first data release (DR1) of the SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey. Beyond the X-ray catalogues, DR1 contains all detected and calibrated event files, source products (light curves and spectra), and all-sky maps. Illustrative examples of these are provided.

The catalogue is available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/682/A34

This is the second paper in a series presenting the results from a 500 $h^{-1}$Mpc large constrained hydro-dynamical simulation of the local Universe (SLOW). The initial conditions are based on peculiar velocities derived from the CosmicFlows-2 catalogue. The inclusion of galaxy formation treatment, allows to directly predict observable properties of the Intra-Cluster Medium (ICM) within galaxy clusters. Comparing the properties of observed galaxy clusters within the local Universe with the properties of their simulated counterparts, enables us to assess the effectiveness of the initial condition constraints in accurately replicating the non-linear properties of the largest, collapsed objects within the simulation. Based on the combination of several, publicly available surveys, we identified 45 local Universe galaxy clusters in SLOW, including the 13 most massive from the Planck SZ catalog and 70% of those with $M_{500} > 2\times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$. We then derived the probability of the cross identification based on mass, X-ray luminosity, temperature and Compton-y by comparing it to a random selection. In relation to previous constrained simulations of the local volume, we found in SLOW a much larger amount of replicated galaxy clusters, where their simulation based mass prediction falls within the uncertainties of the observational mass estimates. Comparing the median observed and simulated masses of our cross identified sample allows to independently deduce a hydrostatic mass bias of $(1-b)\approx0.87$. The SLOW constrained simulation of the local Universe faithfully reproduces numerous fundamental characteristics of the galaxy clusters within our local neighbourhood, opening a new avenue for studying the formation and evolution of a large set of individual galaxy clusters as well as testing our understanding of physical processes governing the ICM.

We present a novel approach to measuring the expansion rate and the geometry of the Universe, which combines time-delay cosmography in lens galaxy clusters with pure samples of `cosmic chronometers' by probing the member galaxies. The former makes use of the measured time delays between the multiple images of time-varying sources strongly lensed by galaxy clusters, while the latter exploits the most massive and passive cluster member galaxies to measure the differential time evolution of the Universe. We applied two different statistical techniques, adopting realistic errors on the measured quantities, to assess the accuracy and the gain in precision on the values of the cosmological parameters. We demonstrate that the proposed combined method allows for a robust and accurate measurement of the value of the Hubble constant. In addition, this provides valuable information on the other cosmological parameters thanks to the complementarity between the two different probes in breaking parameter degeneracies. Finally, we showcased the immediate observational feasibility of the proposed joint method by taking advantage of the existing high-quality spectro-photometric data for several lens galaxy clusters.

We investigate the main tensions within the current standard model of cosmology from the perspective of the main statistics of cosmic voids, using the final BOSS DR12 data set. For this purpose, we present the first estimate of the S₈ ≡ σ₈ Ω_m/0.3 and H₀ parameters obtained from void number counts and shape distortions. To analyze void counts we relied on an extension of the popular volume-conserving model for the void size function, tailored to the application on data, including geometric and dynamic distortions. We calibrated the two nuisance parameters of this model with the official BOSS Collaboration mock catalogs and propagated their uncertainty through the statistical analysis of the BOSS void number counts. The constraints from void shapes come from the study of the geometric distortions of the stacked void-galaxy cross-correlation function. In this work we focus our analysis on the Ω_m − σ₈ and Ω_m − H₀ parameter planes and derive the marginalized constraints S₈ = 0.813_−0.068^+0.093 and H₀ = 67.3_−9.1^+10.0 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, which are fully compatible with constraints from the literature. These results are expected to notably improve in precision when analyzed jointly with independent probes and will open a new viewing angle on the rising cosmological tensions in the near future.

At z≲1, shock heating caused by large-scale velocity flows and possibly violent feedback from galaxy formation, converts a significant fraction of the cool gas (T∼104 K) in the intergalactic medium (IGM) into warm-hot phase (WHIM) with T>105K, resulting in a significant deviation from the previously tight power-law IGM temperature-density relationship, T=T0(ρ/ρ¯)γ−1. This study explores the impact of the WHIM on measurements of the low-z IGM thermal state, [T0,γ], based on the b-NHI distribution of the Lyman-α forest. Exploiting a machine learning-enabled simulation-based inference method trained on Nyx hydrodynamical simulations, we demonstrate that [T0, γ] can still be reliably measured from the b-NHI distribution at z=0.1, notwithstanding the substantial WHIM in the IGM. To investigate the effects of different feedback, we apply this inference methodology to mock spectra derived from the IllustrisTNG and Illustris simulations at z=0.1. The results suggest that the underlying [T0,γ] of both simulations can be recovered with biases as low as |Δlog(T0/K)|≲0.05 dex, |Δγ|≲0.1, smaller than the precision of a typical measurement. Given the large differences in the volume-weighted WHIM fractions between the three simulations (Illustris 38\%, IllustrisTNG 10\%, Nyx 4\%) we conclude that the b-NHI distribution is not sensitive to the WHIM under realistic conditions. Finally, we investigate the physical properties of the detectable Lyman-α absorbers, and discover that although their T and Δ distributions remain mostly unaffected by feedback, they are correlated with the photoionization rate used in the simulation.

We present the angular diameter distance measurement obtained with the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation feature from galaxy clustering in the completed Dark Energy Survey, consisting of six years (Y6) of observations. We use the Y6 BAO galaxy sample, optimized for BAO science in the redshift range 0.6<z<1.2, with an effective redshift at zeff=0.85 and split into six tomographic bins. The sample has nearly 16 million galaxies over 4,273 square degrees. Our consensus measurement constrains the ratio of the angular distance to sound horizon scale to DM(zeff)/rd = 19.51±0.41 (at 68.3% confidence interval), resulting from comparing the BAO position in our data to that predicted by Planck ΛCDM via the BAO shift parameter α=(DM/rd)/(DM/rd)Planck. To achieve this, the BAO shift is measured with three different methods, Angular Correlation Function (ACF), Angular Power Spectrum (APS), and Projected Correlation Function (PCF) obtaining α= 0.952±0.023, 0.962±0.022, and 0.955±0.020, respectively, which we combine to α= 0.957±0.020, including systematic errors. When compared with the ΛCDM model that best fits Planck data, this measurement is found to be 4.3% and 2.1σ below the angular BAO scale predicted. To date, it represents the most precise angular BAO measurement at z>0.75 from any survey and the most precise measurement at any redshift from photometric surveys. The analysis was performed blinded to the BAO position and it is shown to be robust against analysis choices, data removal, redshift calibrations and observational systematics.

In this paper we present and validate the galaxy sample used for the analysis of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) signal in the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Y6 data. The definition is based on a color and redshift-dependent magnitude cut optimized to select galaxies at redshifts higher than 0.6, while ensuring a high-quality photo-z determination. The optimization is performed using a Fisher forecast algorithm, finding the optimal i-magnitude cut to be given by i<19.64+2.894zph. For the optimal sample, we forecast an increase in precision in the BAO measurement of ∼25% with respect to the Y3 analysis. Our BAO sample has a total of 15,937,556 galaxies in the redshift range 0.6<zph<1.2, and its angular mask covers 4,273.42 deg2 to a depth of i=22.5. We validate its redshift distributions with three different methods: directional neighborhood fitting algorithm (DNF), which is our primary photo-z estimation; direct calibration with spectroscopic redshifts from VIPERS; and clustering redshift using SDSS galaxies. The fiducial redshift distribution is a combination of these three techniques performed by modifying the mean and width of the DNF distributions to match those of VIPERS and clustering redshift. In this paper we also describe the methodology used to mitigate the effect of observational systematics, which is analogous to the one used in the Y3 analysis. This paper is one of the two dedicated to the analysis of the BAO signal in DES Y6. In its companion paper, we present the angular diameter distance constraints obtained through the fitting to the BAO scale.

Abstract

In the course of the planned upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN to higher inter-

action rates, detectors and electronics of the experiments located there will also be exchanged

and replaced by more powerful components. One of these experiments is the ATLAS experi-

ment. This underwent, among other things, an upgrade of the inner forward muon spectrom-

eter in the first upgrade period (Phase 1). The Small Wheel located there was replaced by

the New Small Wheel (NSW). The New Small Wheel consists of two detector technologies:

the small-strip Thin Gap Chambers (sTGCs) and the MICRO-MEsh GAseous Structure (Mi-

cromegas) detectors. [...]

Core-Collapse supernovae are driven by neutrinos. Coherent neutrino-neutrino forward scattering leads to flavor conversion phenomena. These are expected to have an impact on the dynamics of a supernova. Due to the complexity of the problem, a fully self-consistent treatment is not possible. In this study, I use a parameterized prescription, aimed at maximum flavor conversions, and infer the maximum impact of flavor conversions.

The core-collapse of massive stars and the merger of neutron star binaries are among the most promising candidate sites for the production of high-energy cosmic neutrinos. We demonstrate that the high-energy neutrinos produced in such extreme environments can experience efficient flavor conversions on scales much shorter than those expected in vacuum, due to their coherent forward scatterings with the bath of decohered low-energy neutrinos emitted from the central engine. These low-energy neutrinos, which exist as mass eigenstates, provide a very special and peculiar dominant background for the propagation of the high-energy ones. We point out that the high-energy neutrino flavor ratio is modified to a value independent of neutrinos energies, which is distinct from the conventional prediction with the matter effect. We also suggest that the signals can be used as a novel probe of new neutrino interactions beyond the Standard Model. This is yet another context where neutrino-neutrino interactions can play a crucial role in their flavor evolution.

When QCD is described by a nonrelativistic effective field theory, operators consisting of gluonic correlators of two chromoelectric or -magnetic fields will often appear in descriptions of quarkonium physics. At zero T, these correlators give the masses of gluelumps and the moments of these correlators can be used to understand the inclusive P-wave decay of quarkonium. At finite T these correlators define the diffusion of the heavy quarkonium. However, these correlators come with a divergent term in lattice spacing which needs to be taken care of. We inspect these correlators in pure gauge theory with gradient flow smearing, which should allow us to reduce and remove the divergence more carefully. In these proceedings, we focus on the effect of gradient flow to these correlators and the reduction of this divergence.

We introduce our novel Bayesian parton density determination code, PartonDensity.jl. The motivation for this new code, the framework and its validation are described. As we show, PartonDensity.jl provides both a flexible environment for the determination of parton densities and a wealth of information concerning the knowledge update provided by the analyzed data set.

The streaming instability, a promising mechanism to drive planetesimal formation in dusty protoplanetary discs, relies on aerodynamic drag naturally induced by the background radial pressure gradient. This gradient should vary in disks, but its effect on the streaming instability has not been sufficiently explored. For this purpose, we use numerical simulations of an unstratified disc to study the non-linear saturation of the streaming instability with mono-disperse dust particles and survey a wide range of gradients for two distinct combinations of the particle stopping time and the dust-to-gas mass ratio. As the gradient increases, we find most kinematic and morphological properties increase but not always in linear proportion. The density distributions of tightly-coupled particles are insensitive to the gradient whereas marginally-coupled particles tend to concentrate by more than an order of magnitude as the gradient decreases. Moreover, dust-gas vortices for tightly-coupled particles shrink as the gradient decreases, and we note higher resolutions are required to trigger the instability in this case. In addition, we find various properties at saturation that depend on the gradient may be observable and may help reconstruct models of observed discs dominated by streaming turbulence. In general, increased dust diffusion from stronger gradients can lower the concentration of dust filaments and can explain the higher solid abundances needed to trigger strong particle clumping and the reduced planetesimal formation efficiency previously found in vertically-stratified simulations.

We discuss F-theory backgrounds associated to flat torus bundles over Ricci-flat manifolds. In this setting the F-theory background can be understood as a IIB orientifold with a large radius limit described by a supersymmetric compactification of IIB supergravity on a smooth, Ricci flat, but in general non-spin geometry. When compactified on an additional circle these backgrounds are T-dual to IIA compactifications on smooth non-orientable manifolds with a Pin⁻ structure.

We analyze TYPHOON long-slit-absorption line spectra of the starburst barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 obtained with the Progressive Integral Step Method covering an area of 15 kpc². Applying a population synthesis technique, we determine the spatial distribution of ages and metallicities of the young and old stellar populations together with star formation rates, reddening, extinction, and the ratio R _V of extinction to reddening. We detect a clear indication of inside-out growth of the stellar disk beyond 3 kpc characterized by an outward increasing luminosity fraction of the young stellar population, a decreasing average age, and a history of mass growth, which was finished 2 Gyr later in the outermost disk. The metallicity of the young stellar population is clearly super solar but decreases toward larger galactocentric radii with a gradient of -0.02 dex kpc^-1. On the other hand, the metal content of the old population does not show a gradient and stays constant at a level roughly 0.4 dex lower than that of the young population. In the center of NGC 1365, we find a confined region where the metallicity of the young population drops dramatically and becomes lower than that of the old population. We attribute this to the infall of metal-poor gas, and additionally, to interrupted chemical evolution where star formation is stopped by active galactic nuclei and supernova feedback and then after several gigayears resumes with gas ejected by stellar winds from earlier generations of stars. We provide a simple model calculation as support for the latter.

The existence of a nucleon-ϕ (N-ϕ) bound state has been subject of theoretical and experimental investigations for decades. In this letter, indication of a p-ϕ bound state is found, using for the first time two-particle correlation functions as alternative to invariant mass spectra. Newly available lattice calculations for the spin 3/2 N-ϕ interaction by the HAL QCD collaboration are used to constrain the spin 1/2 counterpart from the fit of the experimental p-ϕ correlation function measured by ALICE. The corresponding scattering length and effective range are f₀^(1/2) = (-1.54_-0.53^+0.53 (stat .)_-0.09^+0.16 (syst .) + i ⋅0.00_-0.00^+0.35 (stat .)_-0.00^+0.16 (syst .)) fm and d₀^(1/2) = (0.39_-0.09^+0.09 (stat .)_-0.03^+0.02 (syst .) + i ⋅ 0.00_-0.04^+0.00 (stat .)_-0.02^+0.00 (syst .)) fm, respectively. The results imply the appearance of a p-ϕ bound state with an estimated binding energy in the range of 12.8 - 56.1 MeV.

The nuclear equation of state (EOS) is at the center of numerous theoretical and experimental efforts in nuclear physics. With advances in microscopic theories for nuclear interactions, the availability of experiments probing nuclear matter under conditions not reached before, endeavors to develop sophisticated and reliable transport simulations to interpret these experiments, and the advent of multi-messenger astronomy, the next decade will bring new opportunities for determining the nuclear matter EOS, elucidating its dependence on density, temperature, and isospin asymmetry. Among controlled terrestrial experiments, collisions of heavy nuclei at intermediate beam energies (from a few tens of MeV/nucleon to about 25 GeV/nucleon in the fixed-target frame) probe the widest ranges of baryon density and temperature, enabling studies of nuclear matter from a few tenths to about 5 times the nuclear saturation density and for temperatures from a few to well above a hundred MeV, respectively. Collisions of neutron-rich isotopes further bring the opportunity to probe effects due to the isospin asymmetry. However, capitalizing on the enormous scientific effort aimed at uncovering the dense nuclear matter EOS, both at RHIC and at FRIB as well as at other international facilities, depends on the continued development of state-of-the-art hadronic transport simulations. This white paper highlights the essential role that heavy-ion collision experiments and hadronic transport simulations play in understanding strong interactions in dense nuclear matter, with an emphasis on how these efforts can be used together with microscopic approaches and neutron star studies to uncover the nuclear EOS.

We review the current status of astrophysical bounds on QCD axions, primarily based on the observational effects of nonstandard energy losses on stars, including black-hole superradiance. Over the past few years, many of the traditional arguments have been reexamined both theoretically and using modern data and new ideas have been put forth. This compact review updates similar Lecture Notes written by one of us in 2006 [Lect. Notes Phys. 741 (2008) 51-71].

The direct detection of core-collapse supernova (SN) progenitor stars is a powerful way of probing the last stages of stellar evolution. However, detections in archival Hubble Space Telescope images are limited to about one detection per year. Here, we explore whether we can increase the detection rate by using data from ground-based wide-field surveys. Due to crowding and atmospheric blurring, progenitor stars can typically not be identified in preexplosion images alone. Instead, we combine many pre-SN and late-time images to search for the disappearance of the progenitor star. As a proof of concept, we implement our search of ZTF data. For a few hundred images, we achieve limiting magnitudes of ~23 mag in the g and r bands. However, no progenitor stars or long-lived outbursts are detected for 29 SNe within z ≤ 0.01, and the ZTF limits are typically several magnitudes less constraining than detected progenitors in the literature. Next, we estimate progenitor detection rates for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) with the Vera C. Rubin telescope by simulating a population of nearby SNe. The background from bright host galaxies reduces the nominal LSST sensitivity by, on average, 0.4 mag. Over the 10 yr survey, we expect the detection of ~50 red supergiant progenitors and several yellow and blue supergiants. The progenitors of Type Ib and Ic SNe will be detectable if they are brighter than -4.7 or -4.0 mag in the LSST i band, respectively. In addition, we expect the detection of hundreds of pre-SN outbursts depending on their brightness and duration.

We present the Cardinal mock galaxy catalogs, a new version of the Buzzard simulation that has been updated to support ongoing and future cosmological surveys, including the Dark Energy Survey (DES), DESI, and LSST. These catalogs are based on a one-quarter sky simulation populated with galaxies out to a redshift of z = 2.35 to a depth of m _r = 27. Compared to the Buzzard mocks, the Cardinal mocks include an updated subhalo abundance matching model that considers orphan galaxies and includes mass-dependent scatter between galaxy luminosity and halo properties. This model can simultaneously fit galaxy clustering and group-galaxy cross-correlations measured in three different luminosity threshold samples. The Cardinal mocks also feature a new color assignment model that can simultaneously fit color-dependent galaxy clustering in three different luminosity bins. We have developed an algorithm that uses photometric data to further improve the color assignment model and have also developed a novel method to improve small-scale lensing below the ray-tracing resolution. These improvements enable the Cardinal mocks to accurately reproduce the abundance of galaxy clusters and the properties of lens galaxies in the DES data. As such, these simulations will be a valuable tool for future cosmological analyses based on large sky surveys.

The J-region Asymptotic Giant Branch (JAGB) method is a standard candle that leverages the constant luminosities of color-selected, carbon-rich AGB stars, measured in the near-infrared at 1.2 μm. The Chicago-Carnegie Hubble Program has obtained JWST imaging of the SN Ia host galaxies NGC 7250, NGC 4536, and NGC 3972. With these observations, the JAGB method can be studied for the first time using JWST. Lee et al. demonstrated the JAGB magnitude is optimally measured in the outer disks of galaxies, because in the inner regions the JAGB magnitude can vary significantly due to a confluence of reddening, blending, and crowding effects. However, determining where the "outer disk" lies can be subjective. Therefore, we introduce a novel method for systematically selecting the outer disk. In a given galaxy, the JAGB magnitude is first separately measured in concentric regions, and the "outer disk" is then defined as the first radial bin where the JAGB magnitude stabilizes to a few hundredths of a magnitude. After successfully employing this method in our JWST galaxy sample, we find the JAGB stars are well segregated from other stellar populations in color-magnitude space, and have observed dispersions about their individual F115W modes of σ _N7250 = 0.32 mag, σ _N4536 = 0.34 mag, and σ _N3972 = 0.35 mag. These measured dispersions are similar to the scatter measured for the JAGB stars in the LMC using 2MASS data (σ = 0.33 mag). In conclusion, the JAGB stars as observed with JWST clearly demonstrate their considerable power both as high-precision extragalactic distance indicators and as SN Ia supernova calibrators.

In dense neutrino environments like core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and neutron star mergers (NSMs), neutrinos can undergo fast flavor conversions (FFC) when their angular distribution of neutrino electron lepton number ($\nu$ELN) crosses zero along some directions. While previous studies have demonstrated the detection of axisymmetric $\nu$ELN crossings in these extreme environments, non-axisymmetric crossings have remained elusive, mostly due to the absence of models for their angular distributions. In this study, we present a pioneering analysis of the detection of non-axisymmetric $\nu$ELN crossings using machine learning (ML) techniques. Our ML models are trained on data from two CCSN simulations, one with rotation and one without, where non-axisymmetric features in neutrino angular distributions play a crucial role. We demonstrate that our ML models achieve detection accuracies exceeding 90\%. This is an important improvement, especially considering that a significant portion of $\nu$ELN crossings in these models eluded detection by earlier methods.

Dark matter particles captured in neutron stars deposit their energy as heat. This DM heating effect can be observed only if it dominates over other internal heating effects in neutron stars. In this work, as an example of such an internal heating source, we consider the frictional heating caused by the creep motion of neutron superfluid vortex lines in the neutron star crust. The luminosity of this heating effect is controlled by the strength of the interaction between the vortex lines and nuclei in the crust, which can be estimated from the many-body calculation of a high-density nuclear system as well as through the temperature observation of old neutron stars. We show that both the temperature observation and theoretical calculation suggest that the vortex creep heating dominates over the DM heating. The vortex-nuclei interaction must be smaller than the estimated values by several orders of magnitude to overturn this.

When hypothetical neutrino secret interactions (ν SI ) are large, they form a fluid in a supernova (SN) core, flow out with sonic speed, and stream away as a fireball. For the first time, we tackle the complete dynamical problem and solve all steps, systematically using relativistic hydrodynamics. The impact on SN physics and the neutrino signal is remarkably small. For complete thermalization within the fireball, the observable spectrum changes in a way that is independent of the coupling strength. One potentially large effect beyond our study is quick deleptonization if ν SI violate lepton number. By present evidence, however, SN physics leaves open a large region in parameter space, where laboratory searches and future high-energy neutrino telescopes will probe ν SI .

Neutrino-neutrino scattering could have a large secret component that would turn neutrinos within a supernova (SN) core into a self-coupled fluid. Neutrino transport within the SN core, emission from its surface, expansion into space, and the flux spectrum and time structure at Earth might all be affected. We examine these questions from first principles. First, diffusive transport differs only by a modified spectral average of the interaction rate. We next study the fluid energy transfer between a hot and a cold blackbody surface in plane-parallel and spherical geometry. The key element is the decoupling process within the radiating bodies, which themselves are taken to be isothermal. For a zero-temperature cold plate, mimicking radiation into free space by the hot plate, the energy flux is 3%-4% smaller than the usual Stefan-Boltzmann law. The fluid energy density just outside the hot plate is numerically 0.70 of the standard case, the outflow velocity is the speed of sound v_s=c /√{3 } , conspiring to a nearly unchanged energy flux. Our results provide the crucial boundary condition for the expansion of the self-interacting fluid into space, assuming an isothermal neutrino sphere. We also derive a dynamical solution, assuming the emission suddenly begins at some instant. A neutrino front expands in space with luminal speed, whereas the outflow velocity at the radiating surface asymptotically approaches v_s from above. Asymptotically, one thus recovers the steady-state emission found in the two-plate model. A sudden end to neutrino emission leads to a fireball with constant thickness equal to the duration of neutrino emission.