astro-ph.CO

Top Pith

4

gr-qc 2026-05-21 2 theorems

Modified gravity changes low-frequency gravitational-wave lensing

by Alice Garoffolo, Gianmassimo Tasinato

Wave-optics gravitational wave lensing in modified gravity

A curvature-coupled propagation equation prevents the amplification factor from reaching unity at zero frequency.

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We initiate the study of gravitational-wave lensing in the wave-optics regime within modified gravity. We consider a phenomenological setup in which the gravitational-wave amplitude obeys a curvature-coupled propagation equation. This framework reproduces the standard GR behaviour in the geometric-optics regime, while leading to qualitatively different infrared dynamics. In particular, the usual argument implying that the amplification factor approaches unity in the zero-frequency limit no longer applies. This is due to the persistence of curvature-induced interactions in the infrared, which modify the natural propagation basis itself. As a result, the standard Fresnel treatment ceases to be valid at sufficiently low frequency. The correct infrared regime is instead controlled by an interacting static Green function, with a finite-frequency completion provided by a partial-wave formulation. We show that this structure admits an equivalent distorted-wave interpretation, in which the curvature interaction is absorbed into a dressed reference propagation basis, while the residual lensing effect is encoded in finite-frequency phase shifts. We further demonstrate that these phenomena admit a natural interpretation in the language of scattering amplitudes. Wave-optics lensing can therefore probe propagation-level departures from GR that remain entirely invisible in geometric optics.

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Top Pith

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astro-ph.CO 2026-05-20 2 theorems

Photometric data alone yields first splashback mass function for clusters

by Lucas Gabriel-Silva, Laerte Sodré Jr

The Splashback Mass Function of Galaxy Clusters from Photometric Data

SDSS photometry locates cluster edges and produces abundances matching simulations at high masses.

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The splashback radius marks the physical boundary of galaxy clusters, separating orbiting from infalling material, and provides a halo definition free from pseudo-evolution. In this work, we present a fully photometric framework to measure individual cluster splashback radii and masses, and to construct an observational splashback mass function. Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, we develop a probabilistic cluster membership method based on radial and photometric redshift information, optimized through an adaptive probability cut that maximizes the detection significance of the cluster core relative to its outskirts. We apply this methodology to a sample of 499 galaxy clusters from the \textsc{CoMaLit} weak-lensing compilation and recover splashback radii from modeling cumulative galaxy number profiles. The resulting splashback radii exhibit a median ratio $R_{\mathrm{sp}}/R_{200\mathrm{m}} \simeq 1.1$, consistent with previous observational studies. Using these measurements, we recalibrate the $M_{\mathrm{sp}}$--$R_{\mathrm{sp}}$ scaling relation over a wide redshift range ($0.01 < z < 0.8$), finding a slope shallower than the constant-density expectation and no significant redshift evolution. We then apply this relation to \textsc{redMaPPer} clusters in the SDSS Northern Galactic Cap to derive splashback masses for more than $1.5\times10^4$ systems and construct the first observational splashback mass function based solely on photometric data. The resulting mass function agrees with simulation-based predictions at the high-mass end, while deviations at lower masses are consistent with known completeness limits of optical cluster catalogs. Our results demonstrate that splashback-based cluster sizes, masses, and abundances can be robustly measured in photometric surveys, enabling cosmological studies without spectroscopic or lensing data.

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Top Pith

4

astro-ph.CO 2026-05-19 2 theorems

Moving lens effect detected at 4.8 sigma with ACT and DESI galaxies

by Selim C. Hotinli, Kendrick M. Smith +5 more

First detection of the moving lens effect with ACT and DESI LS

Cross-correlating CMB temperature maps with galaxy positions reveals transverse motions for the first time, opening access to the universe's

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The moving lens effect is a secondary CMB anisotropy induced by the transverse motion of gravitational potentials. We develop a Fourier-space cross-spectrum estimator that retains the scale dependence of the signal, and apply it to the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR6 CMB temperature maps and luminous red galaxies from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys. Using the foreground-reduced ACT NILC map, we find strong evidence for a non-zero amplitude of the cross-correlation $b_{\rm ML} = 1.24 \pm 0.26$ ($4.8\sigma$) for the extended sample and $0.93 \pm 0.25$ ($3.7\sigma$) for the main sample, both consistent with the halo-model prediction for the moving lens signal. Our Fourier-based pipeline enforces separation of scales between the reconstructed velocities and the cross-correlation, which we show is essential for foreground mitigation. The residual foreground contamination is expected to be significantly smaller than the signal from both simulations and the multi-frequency analysis presented in this paper. No curl-mode test exceeds $2\sigma$, and the results are robust across analysis variants. They constitute the first detection of the moving lens effect and unlock access to transverse velocities, a new cosmological probe. When combined with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, this provides a path toward mapping the three-dimensional velocity field of the Universe, opening a new avenue for probing the growth of structure and gravity on large scales.

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hep-ph 2026-07-03

PTA data disfavors phase transitions near EFT boundary

by Simone Biondini, Philipp Schicho

A critical look at low-scale cosmological phase transitions in the PTA era

Higher-order thermal corrections in a minimal dark Higgs model shift predictions but leave signals inconsistent with observed gravitational

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Motivated by the recent evidence for a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background reported by pulsar timing array (PTA) collaborations, we perform a precision study of low-scale phase transitions in a dark Abelian Higgs sector, a minimal gauge theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking relevant for cosmological phase transitions. Using dimensionally reduced high-temperature effective field theory, we quantify the impact of thermal resummation, higher-order matching corrections, and higher-dimensional operators on the phase-transition thermodynamics and the resulting GW signal. We find that the parameter region favored by current PTA observations lies close to the boundary of validity of the effective field theory, where higher-dimensional operators become increasingly important. Even within this controlled region, the predicted signal remains disfavored by the PTA data, despite the substantial shifts induced by higher-order thermal corrections. We further delineate parameter regions where the dark and visible sectors are thermally and hydrodynamically coupled or decoupled, and revisit the dark matter phenomenology, identifying asymmetric freeze-out as naturally compatible with both the observed relic abundance and the gauge couplings favored by strong phase transitions. Our results underscore the importance of systematically controlled finite-temperature calculations for reliable GW predictions from low-scale cosmological phase transitions.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-03

Jeffreys prior recenters DESI DR1 posteriors for H0

by Marco Bonici, Simone Paradiso +49 more

Alleviating prior dependencies for DESI DR1 clustering fits through reparameterization

Places maximum a posteriori inside 68% regions and matches HOD and frequentist results once projection effects are controlled.

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Bayesian analyses of the full-shape clustering of Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 1 (DR1) exhibit prior-volume projection effects, whereby weakly constrained nuisance parameters of the Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure (EFTofLSS) shift marginalized cosmological posteriors away from the posterior maximum. We reanalyze DESI DR1 power spectrum multipoles using two complementary mitigation strategies: (i) nonlinear orthogonalization to decorrelate nuisance and cosmological parameter priors, and (ii) a fully reparameterization-invariant Jeffreys prior over all EFTofLSS coefficients, evaluated on-the-fly via closed-form Jacobians. Including data from DESI, Big-Bang Nuclesynthesis and a constraint on $n_{\mathrm{s}}$, baseline priors lead to multi-$\sigma$ projection in the Hubble parameter $H_{0}$ and dark energy equation of state parameters $w_{0}$ and $w_{a}$; the Jeffreys prior successfully recenters these posteriors to enclose the maximum a posteriori estimate within the 68\% credible regions, demonstrating clear mitigation of projection effects for these late-time expansion parameters. A hybrid Jeffreys+baseline-Gaussian configuration controls residual over-broad tails in the physical cold dark matter density $\omega_{\mathrm{c}}$ while preserving the volume correction, and is our favoured approach. We compare the credible intervals derived using our methodology to those obtained using Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD)-informed priors and to confidence intervals derived using frequentist profile likelihood analyses, finding agreement in both central values and degeneracy directions in the $w_{0}$--$w_{a}$ plane. This demonstrates that, once projection effects are properly controlled, we can make robust inferences about the late-time cosmological expansion independent of the statistical framework adopted.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-03

100 solar-mass black holes reach 10,000 solar masses in 2 Myr in SIS SIDM halos

by Zhe Meng, Tan Chen +5 more

Spherically Symmetric Fluid Simulations of Black Hole Accretion in Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos

Fluid simulations show gravity inflow outpacing SIDM heat transport in dense cores, enabling rapid early growth.

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We investigate black hole accretion in self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) halos using a self-gravitating fluid model with thermal conduction. We develop a robust one-dimensional spherically symmetric hydrodynamic code based on an operator-splitting finite-volume method. Simulating both Singular Isothermal Sphere (SIS) and Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profiles, we find that black hole growth is regulated by the competition between gravity-driven inflow and SIDM heat transport. Our results demonstrate that an SIS-like environment facilitates rapid accretion, allowing a $100\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ seed to grow to $10^4\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ within $2\,\mathrm{Myr}$. Furthermore, we show that larger initial black hole masses, steeper density profiles, and higher scattering cross sections significantly enhance the accretion rate. This study provides a comprehensive fluid-dynamical picture of black hole growth in SIDM halos.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-03

Meer21cm pipeline reaches 1 percent accuracy on HI power spectra

by Zhaoting Chen, Steven Cunnington +24 more

meer21cm: an Analysis Pipeline and Comprehensive Toolkit for HI Intensity Mapping

The toolkit recovers model spectra within 0.5 sigma on simulated 750 deg squared patches for k from 0.02 to 0.2 h Mpc inverse.

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We present meer21cm, a comprehensive python package for cosmological data analysis of single-dish HI intensity mapping surveys. This package is simple to use, with a modularised code structure designed for interactive usage. meer21cm is designed for data analysis, with particular focus on the UHF-band observation of MeerKAT Large Area Synoptic Survey (MeerKLASS). We explicitly impose meer21cm to be survey-oriented, ensuring consistent modelling of observational effects in the clustering power spectrum with the survey specifications and data analysis choices. meer21cm covers a large range of data analysis procedures post calibration, including data read-in, foreground cleaning, power spectrum estimation, mock simulation, transfer function corrections and parameter inference. It handles both meer21cm intensity maps and overlapping galaxy catalogues, allowing for multi-tracer and cross-correlation analysis between MeerKLASS and optical galaxy surveys. Tested with a simulated survey of ten $750\,$deg$^2$ sky patches in the redshift sub-band $0.6\,{<}\,z\,{<}\,0.8$, the meer21cm pipeline achieves per-cent accuracy in the power spectrum estimation for $k \in [0.02, 0.2]\,{h{\rm Mpc}^{-1}}$, with deviations $\lesssim 0.5\sigma$ between the mock and the model power spectra, where $\sigma$ is the signal variance. The meer21cm package is publicly available and easy to install, with a comprehensive documentation website at https://meer21cm.readthedocs.io

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-03

PBH mergers peak at 1.79 times ISCO frequency

by Ashu Kushwaha

Gravitational Waves from Primordial Black Holes: Connecting Low-Frequency Scalar-Induced Signatures to High-Frequency Binary Mergers

Monochromatic mass function creates direct, model-independent link between low-frequency scalar-induced waves and high-frequency merger sign

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Formation of primordial black holes (PBHs) requires a significant enhancement of curvature perturbations. This mechanism leaves a twofold gravitational-wave (GW) signature: a \emph{low-frequency} stochastic background of scalar-induced GWs (SIGWs) and a distinct \emph{high-frequency} signal from subsequent PBH binary mergers. We leverage this shared origin to establish a consistent, \emph{model-independent} connection between these two observables for a monochromatic PBH mass function. Using PBH abundance constraints on the primordial curvature power spectrum, we evaluate the stochastic SIGW background for spherical and ellipsoidal collapse models, demonstrating that the ellipsoidal scenario yields a significantly stronger signal. Furthermore, we analyze the GW signal from PBH binary mergers and find a direct correspondence between the SIGW frequency and the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) frequency of the binaries. Because GW emission is nearly maximal near the ISCO, we additionally show that the peak of the full merger GW spectrum relates to the ISCO frequency via $f_{\text{peak}} = 1.79 \, f_{\text{ISCO}}$, a relation that is independent of the binary masses. Remarkably, this unified framework connects these distinct GW channels, enabling the same primordial fluctuations to be probed across widely separated frequency bands.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-03

Bumpy axion inflation produces PBHs as dark matter

by Masahiro Kawasaki, Kai Murai +1 more

Lattice study of primordial black hole formation in bumpy axion inflation

Lattice runs in the strong-backreaction regime find a narrow peak in curvature perturbations yielding the observed abundance.

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We study primordial black hole (PBH) formation in axion $U(1)$ inflation using lattice simulations. In axion $U(1)$ inflation with a bumpy potential, the curvature perturbations can be enhanced in a narrow range of wavenumbers, potentially leading to PBH formation. After confirming that our lattice simulations reproduced the known curvature power spectra for chaotic inflation and simple axion $U(1)$ inflation, we calculate the curvature power spectrum in the bumpy axion inflation model in the strong backreaction regime. We find that large curvature perturbations are generated, which lead to PBH production with an abundance sufficient to account for dark matter.

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hep-ph 2026-07-03

Multi-peaked GWs signal phase transitions in early matter era

by Rouzbeh Allahverdi, Fazlollah Hajkarim

Gravitational Waves from Multiple First-Order Phase Transitions in a Scenario with Early Matter Domination

Time-dependent decay creates a heating phase whose gravitational-wave signatures encode transition and reheating temperatures.

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Non-standard cosmological histories with epochs of early matter domination (EMD) arise in various top-down models of the early universe. Typically, in the latter stage of EMD, temperature decreases more slowly than in a radiation dominated universe because of entropy generation from decay of the species that drives EMD. A time-dependent decay rate can significantly modify this picture and even lead to a period with increasing temperature. We study non-monotonic temperature evolution in a well-motivated scenario of EMD with a time-dependent decay rate that can give rise to multiple first-order phase transitions in both cooling and heating phases. The spectra of the ensuing gravitational waves (GW) exhibit characteristic features such as multiple peaks and a distinct behavior at high frequencies. These features allow us to determine the phase transition temperature as well as the reheating temperature at the end of the EMD. The future GW detectors can therefore provide a probe for the new physics and a window to the early thermal history.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

ALP dark matter produces Lyman-Werner photons via magnetic fields

by Abdias Aires, Robert Brandenberger +1 more

Secondary Production of Photons from ALP Dark Matter interacting with a Cosmological Magnetic Field

Chern-Simons interactions with cosmological B-fields yield sufficient flux without violating CMB or X-ray limits.

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Under the assumption that dark matter is a coherently oscillating pseudoscalar field coupled to electromagnetism by the usual Chern-Simons term, we study the production of secondary photons from dark matter fluctuations coupled to a pre-existing magnetic field, taking into account the spectral distribution of the magnetic field. Specifically, we apply the formalism to the case of a large-scale magnetic field generated previously via a parametric resonance instability due to the same Chern-Simons coupling. However, our analysis is applicable to any spectrum of cosmological scale magnetic field fluctuations present at the time of recombination. We show that obtaining a sufficiently large flux of photons in the Lyman-Werner frequency range is consistent with constraints from CMB and X-ray observations.

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hep-ph 2026-07-02

Neutron stars capture dipole dark matter to act as thermometers

by Sahabub Jahedi

Neutron stars as thermometers for reheating induced dipole dark matter

Momentum dependence drives efficient capture, letting internal heat constrain reheating effects on dark matter abundance.

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We investigate the electromagnetic interactions of dipole dark matter (DM) within an effective field theory framework, considering both standard and non-standard cosmological scenarios. We first study the prospects of DM production via both the freeze-out and freeze-in mechanisms within the standard radiation-domination. We then investigate how the viable DM parameter space is modified in a non-standard cosmological scenario due to entropy dilution during reheating. Existing constraints on the parameter space are discussed, and we highlight the discovery potential of future direct detection experiments to probe these scenarios. We further investigate the implications of neutron star heating for dipole DM. Due to the momentum-dependent nature of the interaction, dipole DM is captured efficiently by neutron stars, thereby making neutron star heating a sensitive probe of the dipole DM parameter space.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Lensing-X-ray coherence finds only 16% of clusters relaxed

by Giulia Cerini (1), Sayan Saha (2) +27 more

Lensing-Reconstructed Dark Matter-Intracluster Medium Coherence as a Probe of Cluster Dynamical State: Application to HSTFF, RELICS, and CLASH Clusters

Scale-dependent alignment in 49 HST clusters yields a new diagnostic that disagrees with prior classifications on 24% of systems.

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We present the first application of Fourier-space coherence analysis between the lensing-reconstructed projected mass distribution and the X-ray-emitting intracluster medium to a sample of 49 observed galaxy clusters. Using publicly available HST convergence maps from the Hubble Frontier Fields, CLASH, and RELICS programs, together with Chandra X-ray imaging, we measure the scale-dependent coherence between the dark-matter-dominated surface mass density and the hot baryonic gas. We use the coherence length, l_CR, defined as the scale above which the two maps remain at least 90% coherent, as a diagnostic of cluster dynamical state. Across the sample, dynamically relaxed systems exhibit high coherence over a broad range of scales and small l_CR/r500, while disturbed and merging systems show a loss of coherence on intermediate and small scales, yielding larger l_CR/r500. The inferred coherence lengths show sensitivity to lens-model assumptions and to the heterogeneous extent of the available convergence maps. Nevertheless, the coherence signal remains physically interpretable and provides a stringent measure of dark-matter-gas alignment. Applying a conservative threshold, l_CR/r500 < 0.2, we find that only 16% of the sample is relaxed; this fraction rises to 41% for a more permissive threshold of l_CR/r500 < 0.4. Relative to previous X-ray and morphological classifications, we find a 24% disagreement, with the coherence method identifying more systems as dynamically disturbed. These results demonstrate that lensing-X-ray coherence provides a complementary, scale-resolved probe of cluster dynamical state, while highlighting the need for homogeneous, wide-field weak-lensing maps to control reconstruction and field-of-view systematics.

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hep-ph 2026-07-02

Bubbles change axion misalignment relic density in two regimes

by Galymzhan Baltabay, Francesco D'Eramo +1 more

Axion Misalignment Across First-Order Phase Transitions

Rapid transitions boost abundance by delaying oscillations; slow ones suppress it through gradients from expanding bubbles.

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When the axion mass is generated during a first-order phase transition and becomes non-vanishing only inside expanding true-vacuum bubbles, the standard picture of misalignment production is qualitatively modified. Using lattice simulations in an expanding universe, we study dark matter production within such a framework and identify two distinct regimes. For rapid transitions, the onset of oscillations is delayed until bubble percolation, enhancing the relic abundance. For slower transitions, spatial gradients generated by expanding bubbles suppress the effective misalignment angle through the bubble misalignment mechanism. We derive a semi-analytical expression for the relic density that provides a unified description of both regimes and accurately reproduces the simulation results. Finally, we show how this mechanism also modifies isocurvature perturbations and the small-scale matter power spectrum, with important implications for axion minicluster formation.

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hep-ph 2026-07-02

No evidence for axions in 257 black hole spins

by Orion Ning, Benjamin R. Safdi +1 more

No Evidence for Superradiant Axions in LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA GWTC-5 Binary Black Hole Spins

LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA GWTC-5 data excludes masses 1.7e-14 to 3.3e-12 eV at 95 percent , one of the strongest robust bounds.

abstract click to expand

The quantum chromodynamics (QCD) axion and axion-like particles may form bound clouds around spinning black holes (BHs) when their Compton wavelength is comparable to the BH gravitational radius, depleting the BH spin through what is known as a $\textit{superradiance}$ instability. Using binary BH (BBH) spin measurements obtained from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA GWTC-5 catalog, the most extensive public BBH catalog to date containing $N=257$ mergers with BH masses spanning roughly $5$-$135$ $M_\odot$, we perform a hierarchical Bayesian analysis in the context of a BH spin population model to constrain ultralight axions. The presence of axions at a given mass would imprint a unique signature in the observed mass-spin relation relative to the formation distribution. We find no evidence for axions across more than two decades in mass, excluding axion masses $1.7 \times 10^{-14} \, {\rm eV} \lesssim m_a \lesssim 3.3 \times 10^{-12} \, {\rm eV}$ at 95% confidence. Because prior superradiance bounds in this range derive from X-ray spin measurements with substantial modeling systematics, this result represents one of the strongest robust lower bounds on the QCD axion mass.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

DESI HOD posteriors yield b_phi priors for unbiased f_NL

by Jiaxi Yu, Nhat-Minh Nguyen

How I stop worrying about non-universality and b_φ: Constraining local f_(rm NL) with b_φ priors from HOD posteriors

Sampling small-scale clustering fits generates priors that recover true local PNG amplitudes even with assembly bias present.

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Local primordial non-Gaussianity (local PNG) induces a scale-dependent contribution to galaxy clustering proportional to $f_{\rm NL}\,b_\phi$, where $f_{\rm NL}$ is the local PNG amplitude and $b_\phi$ encodes the galaxy response to a long-wavelength primordial potential perturbation. Uncertainty in $b_\phi$ is the dominant obstacle to precise, robust constraints on $f_{\rm NL}$ from galaxy surveys. We translate small-scale clustering constraints on the galaxy--halo connection into priors on $b_\phi$: sampling the posterior of a halo occupation distribution (HOD) model fit to the DESI EDR, we generate mocks from which we measure $b_\phi$ and construct its prior. Validating against additional mocks with different local PNG amplitudes, we show that the method recovers unbiased $f_{\rm NL}$, even in the presence of assembly bias.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Dynamical dark energy stays preferred when curvature and neutrinos vary

by William Giarè, Dong Ha Lee +1 more

Intertwined Constraints in Extended Cosmologies: Dark Energy, Curvature, Neutrinos, and Inflation

Combined CMB, DESI and supernova data show this deviation affects curvature and neutrino bounds but leaves the Hubble tension unresolved.

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We present a systematic reassessment of cosmological constraints beyond $\Lambda$CDM by progressively relaxing the assumptions underlying Dark Energy (DE), Curvature, Neutrinos, and Inflation. Using the latest CMB data together with DESI BAO and different SN catalogues, we show that the preference for dynamical DE persists across all the extended cosmologies considered. $\Omega_k$ remains compatible with flatness, despite a mild $2.2\sigma$ preference for $\Omega_k>0$ that is substantially degraded in dynamical DE extensions. Constraints on $N_{\rm eff}$ are broadly consistent with $N_{\rm eff}=3.04$, while cosmological upper limits on the total neutrino mass vary substantially across the cosmologies explored, ranging from $\sum m_\nu\lesssim 0.06$ eV to $\lesssim 0.2$ eV. We quantify both the preference for the mass ordering and the apparent tension between cosmology and oscillation experiments, showing that they are strongly framework dependent. We find no evidence for inflationary tensor modes, with $r\lesssim 0.035$. Constraints on the spectral index $n_s$ show significant model dependence. Allowing for the scalar runnings produces a mild shift toward $\alpha_s>0$ and $\beta_s>0$ that can reabsorb the preference for larger $n_s$ found in small-scale CMB data, although both $\alpha_s$ and $\beta_s$ remain consistent with zero at $\sim 1.5\sigma$. We highlight the implications for slow-roll inflation and benchmark models. None of the extensions considered here can resolve the $H_0$ tension. We discuss the implications for $\Omega_m$ and $S_8$. Overall, dynamical DE is the only significant deviation from $\Lambda$CDM and has the strongest impact on the inferred conclusions in the other sectors of the model.

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physics.flu-dyn 2026-07-02

Collapse flow adds no vorticity to irrotational turbulence

by Axel Brandenburg, Evangelia Ntormousi +1 more

No evidence of vorticity production from initially irrotational turbulent gravitational collapse

Simulations show all vorticity traces to initial conditions, with none generated by the gravitational collapse itself.

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Gravitational collapse creates large amounts of kinetic energy that could potentially seed turbulence. If such turbulence were also suitable to initiate dynamo action, the resulting magnetic field would further modify the dynamics, especially on small length scales. However, a small-scale dynamo requires vortical turbulence, while the collapse produces mainly irrotational motions, which may not be efficient for dynamo action. Here, we study the efficiency of vorticity production during a turbulent collapse. We use a barotropic equation of state, where pressure and density gradients are parallel, and no magnetic field, so that vorticity can only be produced by viscosity. Using direct numerical simulations of gravitational collapse, we show that, for the parameter space accessible to our numerical resolution, this effect is related to the initial irrotational turbulence and is not a consequence of the collapse flow.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Binned SNe Ia fit shows no dark energy transition

by Giovanni Montani, Iolanda Navone +2 more

Interpretation of the binned SNe Ia Master Sample data via a scalar quintessence component: phantom transition?

Best-fit viscous quintessence keeps effective w below -1 across all redshifts; supernovae data alone detect no change in dark energy nature.

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We study a modified cosmological scenario for the late Universe, involving an evolutionary dark energy model associated with the dynamics of a self-interacting scalar field in a potential-dominated regime. Through the analogy with a fluid energy-momentum tensor, we introduce a viscous contribution to the scalar dynamics, accounting for effective non-equilibrium behaviour of the self-interacting scalar cluster. The resulting picture is that of an intrinsic quintessence contribution which, due to the bulk viscosity, admits an effective equation of state parameter that can also take values below -1. Within this framework, we set up the diagnostic tool of the so-called "effective running Hubble constant", which allows us to trace possible deviations from a standard LambdaCDM model. We then compare this theoretical function with binned data from the Master Sample of Supernovae Ia, constructed assuming a LambdaCDM model in the MCMC procedure performed in each bin. We show that the self-interacting scalar field corresponding to the best fit satisfies a slow-rolling condition, since the kinetic energy remains small compared to the potential contribution throughout the redshift interval. The key finding is that, when limiting the model to specific regions of the parameter space and fitting it to the data, the transition only occurs at redshifts significantly lower than the redshift value identified by the DESI Collaboration. Furthermore, for the parameter values ensuring the best fit, no quintessence-to-phantom transition occurs (i.e., the effective equation of state parameter remains below -1 across the whole redshift domain). In other words, Supernovae data alone provide no indication of a change in the nature of the dark energy.

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gr-qc 2026-07-02

Gauss-Bonnet corrections preserve oscillons but break EFT at large coupling

by Areef Waeming, Josu C. Aurrekoetxea +3 more

Preheating and oscillon formation in Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

Simulations show curvature in dense cores drives the leading-order description out of its validity range.

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Non-perturbative processes in the early universe may create overdense structures in scalar fields like the inflaton, called oscillons. In this work, we explore whether the leading order higher derivative contributions to the scalar-tensor theory change the formation and growth of these structures, and investigate the limits in which the effective field theory (EFT) description breaks down. We find that whilst the properties of the oscillons are not significantly modified, and black holes do not generically form, for large couplings the period of formation can result in the evolution leaving the regime of validity of the EFT, at which point predictivity is lost and the next order terms in the EFT should become relevant. If the oscillons survive their formation, they tend to be stable and the EFT corrections remain bounded. The EFT breakdown is triggered by large curvature terms in the metric in the densest regions of the oscillon, meaning that approximations of such modified theories that neglect the local backreaction and non-linear dynamics of the fields may miss important effects.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

SPT-3G survey yields catalog of 7190 confirmed galaxy clusters

by L. E. Bleem, M. Klein +149 more

Galaxy Clusters Selected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect in 5 year data from the SPT-3G Main Survey

SZ-selected sample reaches median redshift 0.73 and mass 1.65e14 solar masses with 4.5 clusters per square degree

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We report a new galaxy cluster catalog, selected using the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, from 5 years of observations of the SPT-3G Main field. Drawn from arcminute-resolution data with white noise levels of 3.2, 2.5, and 8.9 $\mu$K-arcmin at 95, 150, and 220 GHz, respectively, the sample consists of 8,892 cluster candidates detected above significance $\xi=4$, with an expected purity of $>82\%$ (4,480 at $\xi\ge5$ with purity $>99\%$). Using optical and infrared data we have confirmed 7,190 candidates as clusters. The sample spans a mass range $7.9 \times 10^{13}$ $M_\odot/h_{70}$ \ $< M_\textrm{500c} < $ $1.6 \times 10^{15}$ $M_\odot/h_{70}$ with a median mass of $1.65 \times 10^{14}$ $M_\odot/h_{70}$, and a redshift range of $0.037<z\lesssim 2$ with a median redshift of $z_{\textrm{med}}$ = 0.73; 1,780 clusters are at $z>1$ and 271 at $z>1.5$. Compared to previous SZ cluster samples from South Pole Telescope and Atacama Cosmology Telescope data, the SPT-3G sample is highly consistent in mass and redshift but is significantly deeper, with per-cluster detection signal-to-noise 2-4 times higher and a cluster density of 4.5 confirmed clusters/deg$^2$. We cross match with eRASS1 cluster and point source catalogs, finding 1,279 and 1,319 matches, respectively. The SPT and eROSITA cluster mass estimates are in relatively good agreement. We perform a series of validation checks using both internal data splits and comparisons to external samples. These tests show increasing correlated (dusty) emission with redshift, with a $\sim17\times$ larger 220 GHz temperature increment for clusters at $z\sim1.5$ than $z\sim0.25$, but only weak evidence for correlated synchrotron emission. Finally, a number of clusters are flagged as candidate strong gravitational lenses.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Correct comoving distances erase reported gigaparsec anisotropy

by Till Sawala (1) ((1) University of Helsinki)

The local galaxy distribution does not violate the cosmological principle

DESI DR1 structures align with standard ΛCDM expectations once proper distances are applied, removing any apparent violation of the cosmolog

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The cosmological principle, which states that the Universe is statistically homogeneous and isotropic on sufficiently large scales, is a foundational assumption of the standard cosmological model. A recent analysis of DESI DR1 galaxy samples reported coherent anisotropic features in the local galaxy distribution extending to gigaparsec scales. If correct, this result would directly contradict the cosmological principle and motivate inhomogeneous cosmologies. Here I analyse the same data and compare them with galaxy distributions predicted by the FLAMINGO cosmological hydrodynamic simulation, performed in the standard $\Lambda$CDM paradigm. I show that the apparent anomaly disappears when the correct comoving distance scale is used. I also show that, rather than violating the cosmological principle, the observed structures are consistent with those expected in a $\Lambda$CDM Universe.

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astro-ph.HE 2026-07-02

High-spin black hole masses trace low-spin merger remnants

by Yin-Jie Li, Yuan-Zhu Wang +2 more

Smoking-gun evidence for hierarchical black-hole mergers

Peak-by-peak match in 259 events shows high-spin black holes form via successive mergers rather than isolated processes.

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How stellar-mass black holes grow after their birth is a central open question in astrophysics. Gravitational-wave observations have revealed a subpopulation of coalescing black holes with both high masses and high spins, but whether these properties arise from hierarchical mergers in dense stellar environments or from accretion onto isolated black holes has remained unresolved. Here, using a flexible mixture population model applied to the 259 binary black hole mergers in GWTC-5, we show that the mass function of the high-spin subpopulation traces, peak by peak, the predicted remnant-mass distribution of the low-spin, stellar-collapse-origin subpopulation up to $\sim80\,M_\odot$. This morphological match, quantified by a Bhattacharyya coefficient as high as $\sim0.95$, is naturally expected if the high-spin black holes are themselves the products of earlier mergers, whereas any alternative scenario would require fine-tuning, thereby providing smoking-gun evidence for hierarchical mergers. In addition, the sharp upper-mass cutoff of the low-spin subpopulation at $m_{\rm max,1}=54.2^{+7.7}_{-7.2}\,M_\odot$ yields an astrophysical $S$-factor of $S_{300}=151^{+30}_{-26}$~keV~b (68\% credible interval) for the $^{12}{\rm C}(\alpha,\gamma)^{16}{\rm O}$ reaction, in agreement with the benchmark theoretical value. These results establish that the entire observed black-hole population can be accounted for by stellar collapse followed by dynamical hierarchical assembly, without invoking primordial black holes.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

SKA array design aids 21-cm signal detection amid strong foregrounds

by Jacob Burba, Philip Bull +21 more

Foreground Characterization and Mitigation in the Observations of the CD/EoR with the SKA

Wide field of view and calibration accuracy in SKA-Low AA* aim to recover the faint early-universe signal buried under Galactic and extragal

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The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), with its unprecedented sensitivity, frequency coverage, and large collecting area, is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the Cosmic Dawn (CD) and Epoch of Reionization (EoR) epochs marking the formation of the first luminous sources and the subsequent reionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM). However, detecting the faint redshifted 21-cm signal from neutral hydrogen remains one of the foremost challenges in observational cosmology, as it is buried beneath bright foregrounds from Galactic synchrotron radiation, free-free emission, and extragalactic point sources that are 4-5 orders of magnitude stronger than the cosmological signal. In this chapter, we highlight the key components and characteristics of these foregrounds and review ongoing efforts to model, characterize, and mitigate them. We emphasize how the SKA-Low AA* configuration, through its optimized array design, wide field of view, and improved calibration accuracy, enhances our capacity to suppress foreground contamination and recover the cosmological signal. The SKA Observatory Foreground Challenge plays a pivotal role in this effort by bringing together the global EoR/CD community to develop, compare, and validate foreground removal pipelines using realistic simulated datasets. Building on the experience of existing pathfinders such as LOFAR, MWA, and HERA, these collaborative initiatives are helping refine statistical and machine learning-based approaches for signal recovery. Together, these advancements are laying the groundwork for the SKA to probe the thermal and ionization history of the early Universe with unprecedented precision.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Lens pairs from LSST yield σ(w0) ~ 0.45 on dark energy

by Paras Sharma, Simon Birrer +13 more

Strong Lensing Tomography: Double and pseudo multi-source plane strong gravitational lensing to constrain dark energy

Pseudo double-source plane systems built from single-source lenses turn photometric volume into competitive cosmological constraints without

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Tomographic measurements of gravitational lensing with different lens and source redshift distributions contain crucial information about the universe's relative expansion rate, and hence dark energy. While this technique is well-established in weak lensing, its application to strong lensing has traditionally focused on Double Source Plane Lenses (DSPLs). However, DSPLs are exceedingly rare and fundamentally limited by the Mass-Sheet Degeneracy (MSD), a systematic uncertainty underexplored in previous literature. To overcome these challenges, we introduce Pseudo Double-Source Plane Lenses (PDSPLs): pairs of independent single-source plane lenses with self-similar deflectors. This generalizes the DSPL formalism to the $\sim 10^5$ galaxy-galaxy lenses expected from upcoming surveys like LSST, Euclid, and Roman. Unlike true DSPLs, PDSPLs are free from the intermediate source mass problem by construction, eliminating the associated secondary MSD and the need for multi-plane ray tracing. We incorporate the deflector galaxy's MSD into a hierarchical forecasting framework, demonstrating that this degeneracy severely degrades constraints from small DSPL samples, thus motivating our PDSPL statistical approach. We forecast constraints on the dark energy equation of state under a Flat $w_0w_a$CDM cosmology. The LSST 10-year photometric sample alone achieves $\sigma(w_0) \sim 0.45$, while simultaneously constraining the MSD parameter and deflector power-law slope to $\sim 2\%$. Adding a prior $\mathcal{N}(0.3, 0.05)$ on $\Omega_{\rm m}$ -- simulating combination with external probes like CMB, BAO, or SNe Ia -- tightens this to $\sigma(w_0) \sim 0.29$, competitive with current Stage III weak lensing analyses. Notably, this massive photometric sample outperforms smaller subsets with precise spectroscopic follow-up (e.g., from 4MOST), confirming statistical volume dominates over per-pair precision.

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hep-ph 2026-07-02

Entropy bound forces primordial black holes to explain dark matter and early galaxies

by Sidan A, Tom Banks +1 more

Can Primordial Black Holes Be Seeds for Early Galaxies in Models Satisfying the Covariant Entropy Bound?

Tiny early black holes decay to radiation while larger ones supply all dark matter and seed JWST galaxies.

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We argue that cosmological models obeying the Covariant Entropy Bound (CEB) mathematically favor states with no localized excitations or one large black hole containing all the energy in a constrained initial state. In order to get a long radiation-dominated era, one must postulate that at a very early time, most horizon volumes of the universe contained tiny black holes that decayed into radiation. A previous work by two of the authors showed that such a scenario could fit the data on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). In order to account for dark matter, we also postulate some random black holes of at least horizon size at that time. A reasonable distribution of such primordial black holes can account for all of dark matter as well as the early galaxies seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. Some of the dark matter may also be in Planck-scale remnants of the decaying black holes. We describe our model both in terms of approximate solutions to General Relativity and a speculative quantum gravity model whose hydrodynamics matches the flat $p = \pm \rho$ FRW model that saturates the CEB.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

SKAO-MID forecasts millions of HI galaxies for BAO and RSD

by Ainulnabilah Nasirudin, Philip Bull +9 more

Cosmology from HI galaxy surveys with the SKA

Wide-field surveys yield catalogues large enough to measure baryon acoustic oscillations and redshift-space distortions, with models bracket

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The 21cm line from neutral hydrogen is expected to be a ubiquitous (albeit faint) tracer of galaxies in the late Universe. With SKAO-MID, large wide-field surveys of several million HI-containing galaxies will become feasible, resulting in catalogues of sufficient size to measure large-scale structure observables such as baryon acoustic oscillations and redshift-space distortions. While optical galaxy surveys over comparable areas are generally deeper, radio surveys of this kind have a number of other advantages, such as broader sampling of the halo mass function and the possibility of measuring luminosity distances via the Tully-Fisher relation. In this chapter, we provide predictions for the galaxy number counts versus redshift that will be achievable with a wide-field HI galaxy survey on SKAO-MID, along with corresponding forecasts for cosmological observables. Given the substantial uncertainty in the HI mass function with redshift, we bracket our predictions using a handful of different modelling methods.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Earlier haloes align LRGs more strongly beyond mass effects

by A. Herle, N. E. Chisari +2 more

Assembly bias and the redshift evolution of intrinsic alignments for LRGs

Alignment amplitude rises with redshift while slope flattens after z~1, requiring more complex models for weak lensing.

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The intrinsic alignment (IA) of galaxies is one of the main contaminants to the weak lensing shear signal. Efforts to model it often assume that the alignment strength depends only on halo mass. In this work, we use the 2.8 Gpc box-size run of the $\mathtt{FLAMINGO}$ suite to show that alignment amplitude, in addition to halo mass, depends on the formation redshift of the host haloes for an LRG-like sample. We show that the assembly histories of galaxies and haloes influence the alignment signal. After correcting for their mass evolution, we find that haloes that formed earlier have a higher alignment amplitude, as do their central galaxies. We also explore the redshift evolution of the alignment signal by fitting the amplitude with a power-law in mass at different snapshots of the simulation. We find that the amplitude of this power-law increases steadily with redshift, while the slope decreases with redshift until $z\sim1$ and then flattens. We provide an empirical mass-redshift intrinsic alignment model fit on the $\mathtt{FLAMINGO}$ simulation. Furthermore, by tracking central galaxies across snapshots, we show that the alignment signal changes with redshift beyond that associated with the change in mass, and that galaxies tracked from higher redshifts have a larger amplitude. Our results indicate that IA modeling in weak lensing surveys cannot have arbitrarily small prior ranges, and complicate the implementation of HOD-based alignment models for gravity-only simulations. They also provide simulation-based guidelines for a redshift evolution model of IA for use in observational studies.

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astro-ph.HE 2026-07-02

SKAO surveys to discover thousands of pulsars

by Bhal Chandra Joshi, Aris Karastergiou +1 more

Pulsar Science with the SKAO

High-sensitivity telescopes will support deep observations feeding tests of gravity, nano-Hz waves and nuclear matter.

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The large instantaneous sensitivity, wide frequency coverage and flexible observation modes, with large number of beams in the sky, are the main features of the SKA observatory's two telescopes, the SKA-Low and the SKA-Mid. Owing to these capabilities, the SKAO telescopes are going to be a game-changer for radio astronomy in general and pulsar astronomy in particular. Eleven chapters in this book describe their impact on different areas of pulsar science. In this overview article each chapter is briefly summarised and the inter-relationship between different pulsar science use cases are explored: new deep surveys, covering the Galactic field, globular clusters and the Galactic centre, will discover thousands of new pulsars; these will form the backbone for studies of neutron star physics and of their environments. The enhanced understanding provided by these studies will feed into the main contributions to fundamental physics from pulsar astronomy: testing relativistic gravity, studying gravitational waves in the nano-Hz regime and studying the equation of state of nuclear matter. Synergies with other science cases are also highlighted throughout this overview.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Oldest Milky Way stars reach 13.73 Gyr

by Indranil Banik, Thenujaya Kudakolawa Kaluarachchige +2 more

The age of the Universe from a large sample of the oldest Galactic stars

Large spectroscopic sample yields age consistent with 13.6 Gyr Lambda-CDM but inconsistent with 12.9 Gyr pre-recombination Hubble-tension mo

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We estimate the age of the Universe using the Xiang & Rix sample of 247,103 Milky Way stars with high-resolution spectroscopy from LAMOST DR7 and $Gaia$ eDR3 parallaxes. Stellar ages were estimated using YY isochrones up to 20 Gyr. To remove stars with unusually high and precise ages, we require old stars to be metal-poor and $\alpha$-enriched. We also require consistency between YY ages and those obtained with FLAME based only on $Gaia$ data. Our final sample of 155,600 stars within 5 kpc provides consistent cosmic age estimates using several techniques of increasing rigour. Our main results use an MCMC reconstruction of the latent age distribution, though our iterative reconstruction is very similar. Applying an innovative approach to our MCMC reconstruction and its uncertainties, we find that the oldest star has an age of $A_\star = 13.73^{+0.18}_{-0.15}$ Gyr. Varying the quality cuts can at most reduce this to $A_\star = 13.31^{+0.21}_{-0.18}$ Gyr or raise it to $14.02^{+0.18}_{-0.15}$ Gyr using a much lower or higher age-dependent metallicity ceiling, respectively. Our inferred $A_\star$ is consistent with the 13.6 Gyr expected in CMB-calibrated $\Lambda$CDM, assuming the first long-lived stars formed when the Universe was 0.2 Gyr old. This agreement casts doubt on solutions to the Hubble tension solely through new physics prior to recombination, which generally imply a cosmic age of $12.9 \pm 0.2$ Gyr to match low redshift probes. It is difficult for stellar modelling uncertainties to reconcile such a low age with our result given the low metallicities of the oldest stars in our sample and independent asteroseismic constraints.

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hep-th 2026-07-02

Symplectic eigenvalues match for Wands-dual backgrounds

by Suddhasattwa Brahma, Jaime Calderon-Figueroa +2 more

Hidden quantum-informatic symmetries of quasi-de Sitter backgrounds

Covariance matrix entries differ but quantum measures of entanglement coincide in dual quasi-de Sitter histories.

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We investigate how degeneracies in quasi-de Sitter backgrounds, in the sense of Wands' duality, are reflected in real-space quantum correlations of primordial perturbations. Using the continuous-variable Gaussian formalism for coarse-grained scalar fluctuations, we construct the covariance matrix of a pair of spatially localized modes in inflationary spacetime, and extract the symplectic invariants of the system. For a generic Wands-dual pair of backgrounds, we find that while the individual entries of the covariance matrix are highly background-dependent, the symplectic eigenvalues -- and hence the entanglement entropy, mutual information, quantum discord and log-negativity -- all coincide for the two dual realizations. Our results unveil a new ''quantum-informatic symmetry'' of the de Sitter vacuum, according to which local linear entanglement witnesses constructed from coarse-grained fields cannot distinguish between Wands-dual inflationary histories, even though their background trajectories differ. We show that the special nature of the Wands-duality symmetry (of being local, scale-independent canonical transformations) is at the heart of this duality.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Two mass-correction methods disagree on non-thermal bias in 3D

by Théo Lebeau, Nabila Aghanim +2 more

Correcting the hydrostatic mass for non-thermal gas motions: a comparison of two approaches

Total-pressure adjustment grows outward to 40 percent while effective-mass terms stay steadier, though both miss half the effect in projecti

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An accurate estimation of the mass of galaxy clusters is key to precisely and unbiasedly constraining cosmological parameters through their number count. The hydrostatic mass, estimated from the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, sphericity, and thermal-only pressure, is known to be biased by 10 to 20%, most likely due to non-thermal pressure support from gas motions. Two corrections have been proposed: i) replacing the thermal pressure by the total pressure $P_\mathrm{tot}=P_\mathrm{th}+P_\mathrm{nth}$, or ii) adding effective mass terms derived from the gas momentum equation. We compare these approaches using a numerical replica of the Virgo cluster as a case study, estimating corrected masses from 3D radial profiles in different cluster regions and from projected sightline velocities mimicking XRISM observations. We find that the two methods do not yield the same results in 3D: the non-thermal pressure correction increases the mass by a growing amount with radius (from a few per cent in the core to $\sim$40% at the virial radius), whereas the effective mass terms provide a correction that varies less with radius. When estimated from projections, the two methods agree to within a few per cent for a given sightline, but the non-thermal pressure fraction is underestimated by about a factor of 2 compared to the 3D case. Furthermore, projection effects can change the inferred non-thermal pressure fraction by up to a factor of 2, particularly when the sightline is aligned with cosmic filaments.

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hep-ph 2026-07-02

Modular symmetry model drives inflation with 1% axion isocurvature

by Yoshihiko Abe, Komei Goto +3 more

Finite modular Coleman-Weinberg inflation

Imaginary part of modulus acts as inflaton while real part dominates after reheating and may yield detectable signals.

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We propose a modular symmetric inflationary model based on a Coleman--Weinberg potential generated by integrating out heavy vector-like quarks that couple to the complex modulus field $\tau$ through modular forms. In this framework, the imaginary part of modulus $\tau$ plays the role of the inflaton, while the real part is identified with a heavy axion. We show that the model successfully explains the current cosmological observations. We further discuss reheating through modulus-dependent gauge kinetic functions and the cosmology of the axion. The axion oscillation dominates over the Universe after the reheating via inflaton decay, and then it decays before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis in the viable parameter region. The quantum fluctuation of the axion can be of order $\mathcal{O}(1)\% $ of that of the inflaton, which would induce isocurvature perturbations that may be detectable in future observations.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Black-hole wandering stops sustained accretion boosts in fuzzy dark matter cores

by Eric Ludwig, Philip Mocz +1 more

Variability in Supermassive Black-Hole Accretion Rates in Fuzzy Dark Matter Cores due to Black-Hole Wandering

Simulations show soliton-deepened potentials yield only intermittent growth unless the black hole stays confined in dense gas, limiting earl

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Soliton cores in fuzzy dark matter (FDM) deepen nuclear potentials and have been proposed to strongly boost Bondi accretion, potentially aiding rapid black-hole growth at high redshift. We test this in live Schrodinger-Poisson FDM cores coupled to isothermal gas, evolving a moving black hole that grows via a strictly mass-conserving sink. We measure boosts relative to the initial mean-density Bondi rate. Low-mass seeds, with initial black-hole masses less than about 10^6 solar masses, do not sustain large boosts: black-hole wandering and soliton sloshing drive bursty accretion, with dense gas only intermittently present near the black hole. Intermediate seeds, with initial black-hole masses around 10^7 solar masses, produce the most durable enhancement, reaching boosts of order 100 for sound speed cs = 60 km/s, while hotter gas approaches near-background Bondi rates. High-mass seeds, with initial black-hole masses around 10^8 solar masses, quickly exhaust the sink-scale reservoir and become supply-limited, suppressing long-lived growth despite the deepened potential. In general, central-potential deepening, for example by a soliton halo, does not guarantee long-lived fueling: sustained boosts emerge only when the black hole remains dynamically confined within the dense nuclear gas region. Our results suggest that SMBH formation channels relying on soliton-enhanced accretion alone are unlikely to provide sufficient early growth.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-02

Low-frequency data separate synchrotron from free-free emission

by Daniel Robins, Dominic Anstey +3 more

Synchrotron and free-free mapping with simulated REACH observations between 50-170 MHz

Joint fitting recovers synchrotron maps across the sky at 50-170 MHz while free-free recovery stays limited.

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Global 21cm experiments aim to detect the hydrogen 21cm signal by separating it from foreground emission that can be orders of magnitude brighter than the signal. REACH (the Radio Experiment for the Analysis of Cosmic Hydrogen) forward-models the sky by jointly fitting signal and foreground spectral parameters to an existing sky map. The fitted parameters yield spectrally constrained, absolutely calibrated maps of the radio sky across the full 50-170 MHz observing band, among the lowest continuous frequencies yet mapped. We assess REACH's ability to fit the 21cm signal and recover accurate foreground maps, using physically motivated foreground models of increasing complexity (starting from a pure synchrotron power law model, then introducing variable amplitudes, curvature, and a free-free component). We evaluate these models against simulated REACH observations of correspondingly complex foregrounds, based on the Global Sky Model and the Python Sky Model. To recover the 21cm signal, more complex datasets require correspondingly complex models, but this introduces degeneracies which limit accurate recovery of foreground parameters. Fitting a foreground with independent synchrotron and free-free emission enables component-separated sky mapping, which has applications beyond radio cosmology; synchrotron is well-recovered across the sky, but free-free recovery is limited. REACH is therefore capable of probing Galactic physics at uniquely low frequencies, alongside its primary goal of detecting the 21cm signal.

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astro-ph.GA 2026-07-01

SHARP delivers H0 from infrared lags in dozens of AGN

by M. Signorini, V. N. Bennert +4 more

Precision near-IR spectroscopy for understanding AGN physics and shed light on the H0 tension -- SHARP Science Book

Multi-object near-IR spectroscopy on the ELT enables time-delay measurements for many more active galactic nuclei, supporting geometric dist

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The persistent tension between early- and late-Universe measurements of the Hubble constant (H0) remains on of the most significant challenges in modern cosmology. The Spectroastrometry and Reverberation Mapping (SARM) method offers a promising, calibration-independent approach to address this issue by combining time-delay measurements of the Broad-Line Region (BLR) with interferometric angular size determinations. Current implementations of SARM, however, are limited by the difficulty of performing near-infrared reverberation mapping (RM) on the same emission lines observed by GRAVITY, restricting applications to only a few bright AGN. We propose using the capabilities of SHARP, the next-generation near-infrared spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), to overcome these limitations. SHARP's sensitivity and multi-object spectroscopy will enable (1) efficient long-term monitoring of existing GRAVITY targets with minimal time investment, and (2) systematic RM campaigns for the fainter AGN that will be observed by GRAVITY+. These advances will give us precise infrared lags for tens of AGN, enabling geometric distance measurements and a robust, calibration-free determination of H0. Beyond cosmology, SHARP will allow detailed studies of BLR structure and kinematics in the infrared, advancing our understanding of AGN physics and with repercussion on the measurements of Supermassive Black Holes (SMBH) masses.

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gr-qc 2026-07-01

Bouncing coupled dark matter produces scale-invariant fluctuations

by Samuele Silveravalle, Andrea Lapi +2 more

Cosmology with a Non-minimally Coupled Dark Matter Fluid II. Cosmological Perturbations

Fluctuations generated in the pre-bounce contraction match observations without extra scalar fields or blue-tilted spectra.

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We extend our study of a cosmological scenario in which dark matter is non-minimally coupled to gravity at the fluid level. In previous work, we showed that this interaction can drive an early phase of accelerated expansion, addressing the horizon and flatness problems, and can also lead to a cosmological bounce in the presence of spatial curvature. Here we analyse the evolution of linear perturbations in this framework. We derive the equations governing scalar, vector and tensor perturbations, and obtain analytic solutions in the relevant cosmological regimes. We find that perturbations generated during the accelerated expansion phase produce a strongly blue scalar power spectrum and are therefore incompatible with observations. By contrast, in bouncing solutions primordial fluctuations can originate during the contracting phase before the bounce. In this case, the model yields an approximately scale-invariant scalar power spectrum while keeping the tensor-to-scalar ratio compatible with current bounds, without introducing additional scalar fields. Although our treatment relies on simplifying approximations that should be refined in future work, these results indicate that non-minimally coupled dark matter may provide a viable alternative mechanism for the generation of primordial cosmological perturbations.

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gr-qc 2026-07-01

Viable horizon entropies confined near standard area law

by Pranav Prasanthan (1), Hussain Gohar (1) +4 more

Modified Cosmology from Mass-to-Horizon Relation: Background Evolution

Background evolution rules out large deviations and keeps all surviving models LambdaCDM-like today

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We investigate the cosmological implications of the mass-to-horizon relation, which provides a unified framework for thermodynamically consistent generalized horizon-entropy functionals. Using the Cai-Kim formulation of the first law of thermodynamics, we derive the corresponding modified Friedmann equations and examine the resulting background evolution. We find that cosmological viability sharply restricts admissible deviations from the Bekenstein-Hawking area law: phenomenologically acceptable scenarios are confined to a narrow neighborhood of the standard entropy, while more pronounced deviations generically spoil the standard radiation-matter-dark-energy sequence. Power-law entanglement corrections can give rise to a moderate early-dark-energy component, but only within a tightly constrained region of parameter space, whereas quantum-gravity corrections are suppressed by the Planck scale and remain observationally irrelevant. Consequently, all viable models predict a $\Lambda$CDM-like cosmological background at the present epoch. These findings demonstrate that background cosmology alone imposes stringent constraints on thermodynamically consistent generalized entropy constructions of this class.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

XRISM measures lowest turbulence yet in Abell 496 core

by Angie Veronica, Thomas H. Reiprich +10 more

The Quiescent Sloshing Core of Abell 496 with XRISM

Bulk velocity 69 km/s and dispersion 78 km/s indicate a dynamically quiet ICM despite prior cold fronts and radio activity.

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Gas motions provide insight into the dynamical history and physical processes within galaxy clusters. We investigate the kinematics of the ICM in the core of A496, a nearby, X-ray bright, strong cool-core cluster, using high-resolution data from the Resolve micro-calorimeter on board XRISM. We compared our measurement with other Resolve cluster core measurements and further compared our results with simulations and multiwavelength observations. From an optical redshift analysis, we found that the BCG is at rest with respect to the systemic velocity of the cluster. Despite multiple previously detected cold fronts and harboring a weak central radio source, Resolve observation shows that the core of A496 is dynamically quiescent. The ICM is moving with respect to the BCG with a LOS bulk velocity of $v_{\rm bulk}=-69_{-20}^{+25}\,\mathrm{km\,s}^{-1}$. We measured a turbulent velocity of $\sigma_{\rm v}=78_{-16}^{+18}\,\mathrm{km\,s}^{-1}$, the lowest value reported by the instrument on a cluster core to date. This value is in good agreement with the velocity dispersion of the H$\alpha$ filament in the core, which may indicate condensation of ICM in the wake of the radio bubble. Assuming isotropic turbulence, the ICM turbulent velocity corresponds to a subsonic 3D Mach number of $0.15_{-0.03}^{+0.04}$ and a non-thermal pressure fraction of $1.2_{-0.5}^{+0.6}\,\%$. The mechanical AGN feedback from the recent activity of the central radio source is estimated to contribute about 7-9% to the ICM heating. The 1D LOS bulk velocity from the SLOW constrained Universe simulation is consistent with the measured value, suggesting that AGN feedback has a negligible contribution. The A496 SLOW turbulent velocity, as in other reported Resolve--simulation comparisons, is higher, but remains within $1.5\sigma$ uncertainty. A496 may represent one of the most quiescent sloshing cores observed so far.

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hep-ph 2026-07-01

Radio ranges probe ultralight dark matter at 10^{-15} eV

by Jonas Frerick, Hyungjin Kim +1 more

Precision Solar System Dynamics for Ultralight Dark Matter Search

Current precision suffices if solar system density is 100000 times the local average, complementing pulsar timing.

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Ultralight dark matter exhibits an order-one density fluctuation at the scale of its wavelength. This density fluctuation exists across the entire dark matter halo and interacts with stars and planets, perturbing their motion via gravitational interactions. We investigate the possibility of using precision solar system dynamics to search for ultralight dark matter. We examine this possibility with interplanetary radio range measurements. We show that the precision of current range measurements can probe ultralight dark matter at masses around $10^{-15}\,$eV, had its density in the solar system been $10^5$ larger than the so-called local dark matter density. This limit complements other constraints, such as the one from analyses of pulsar timing observations.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

Adiabatic MTI forms plumes yielding turbulent energy ~ χ ω_T

by Lorenzo Maria Perrone, Henrik Latter

Magneto-Thermal Instability in Galaxy Clusters -- III. The Limit of Adiabatic Stratification

Shear destruction of large plumes sets the saturation scaling and enables near-sonic speeds with significant pressure support in cluster out

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In the hot and dilute intracluster medium of galaxy clusters, large-scale buoyancy instabilities can develop due to the transport of heat along magnetic field lines. In particular, the peripheries of galaxy clusters are unstable to the magneto-thermal instability (MTI), which may contribute to the observed levels of turbulence. Recent theoretical and numerical work has revealed that the stable background entropy stratification controls the nonlinear saturation of the instability, by setting the strength and the integral scale of the resulting turbulent state. However, observations of the periphery of galaxy clusters show that the radial entropy profiles near the virial radii $R_{500}$ may be flatter than predicted by models of smooth gravitational accretion. This motivates us to investigate the saturation of the MTI in adiabatic (buoyantly neutral) atmospheres, using both phenomenological approaches and Boussinesq numerical simulations, carried out with the pseudospectral code SNOOPY. We find that the adiabatic MTI saturates in a state characterised by the formation of large-scale plumes and their destruction by shear instability, yielding a new scaling law for the saturated turbulent kinetic energy, $\sim$$\chi \omega_T$, as the adiabatic limit is approached, where $\chi$ is the effective thermal diffusivity and $\omega_T$ is the MTI frequency. This predicts that the MTI plumes may achieve near sonic speeds in cluster outskirts, thus providing significant turbulent pressure support, even in the face of suppressed thermal conduction.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

Diffusion models jointly sample lensing maps and cosmology

by Benjamin Remy, Chihway Chang +1 more

Joint inference of weak lensing convergence map and cosmology with diffusion models

The network learns the full posterior from simulations and produces calibrated map and parameter samples without a differentiable forward mo

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We present a method for joint inference of cosmological parameters and convergence maps from weak lensing observations, targeting the full posterior conditioned on the observed shear field. Our approach uses implicit inference with diffusion models, learning the joint distribution from simulations, without the need to have an explicit and differentiable forward model for gradient-based MCMC sampling. We introduce a transformer-based architecture that operates in pixel space and treats cosmological parameters as additional tokens in a unified sequence, enabling efficient multimodal processing within a single network. At inference time, the trained model generates posterior samples of joint convergence maps and cosmological parameters conditioned on observed noisy shear fields. We demonstrate the method on simulated weak lensing data generated from log-normal fields in a wcdm cosmology. The model accurately reconstructs convergence maps and recovers cosmological posteriors that agree with traditional MCMC, while remaining well calibrated across the prior, with a MIRA calibration score of $0.635 \pm 0.017$ on the joint posterior (where $0.667$ is optimal). The inferred fields reproduce the correct two-point statistics as well as non-Gaussian statistics such as the one-point distribution. This work establishes diffusion-based implicit inference as a viable route toward full field-level cosmological analyses, paving the way for applications to more realistic, non-differentiable simulators.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

LSS probes raise dark energy perturbation FoM by factor 2.69

by Neel Shah, Kazuya Koyama +2 more

Constraining dark energy with complementary probes of large-scale structure

DESI RSD, DES 3x2pt and ISW data tighten EFTofDE constraints on c_B and c_M when added to CMB+BAO+SNe.

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To observationally pin down the nature of dark energy, it is essential to consistently model cosmological perturbations in the presence of dark energy alongside the background expansion and constrain this joint theory space with a large array of complementary probes. Here, we achieve this by constraining a model in the Effective Field Theory of Dark Energy (EFTofDE) framework by supplementing probes of the expansion history with several probes of large-scale structure: redshift space distortions (RSD) from DESI DR1, $3\times2$pt measurements from DES Y3, and the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect from cross-correlating CMB temperature anisotropies with galaxy number counts or CMB lensing. We demonstrate the complementarity of different probes which leads to strong improvements on constraints on DE perturbations. For our most constraining dataset combination that supplements CMB+BAO+SNe probes with DESI DR1 RSD, DES Y3 $3\times2$pt and ISW cross-correlations between CMB temperature and galaxy counts, we find an improvement in the Figure of Merit (FoM) for the DE perturbation parameters $\{c_B, c_M\}$ by a factor of 2.69. We show the phenomenological implications of these constraints by mapping them to the present-day values of the phenomenological functions $\{\mu(z), \Sigma(z)\}$, where we see an FoM improvement by a factor of 3.37. We find a significant interdependence between the posteriors of $\{w_0, w_a\}$ and $\{c_B, c_M\}$, caused by the theoretical prior imposed by the gradient stability condition within the EFTofDE framework. Finally, we compute the significance of deviation from $\Lambda$CM for the EFTofDE model when constrained with CMB+BAO+SNe datasets, finding it to be at 2.9$\sigma$. This significance is nontrivially similar to the significance for the $w_0w_a$CDM model for the same dataset combination which we find to be 3.1$\sigma$.

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hep-ph 2026-07-01

Generalized curvature lifts inflaton decay suppression in no-scale models

by Ignatios Antoniadis, John Ellis +3 more

Reheating in No-Scale Models of Inflation

Models with α≠1 or extra gauge terms produce non-zero decay rates to SM fields and new (n_s,r) predictions.

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Analogously to the suppression of inflaton decays into conformally-coupled scalar fields in the original Starobinsky $R + R^2$ model of inflation, inflaton decays to Standard Model fields are also suppressed in minimal no-scale models of inflation with field space curvature $\mathcal{R} = 2/3$. We study how this suppression can be avoided in generalized no-scale inflationary models. These include models in which the field space curvature $\mathcal{R} = 2/(3\alpha)$ with $\alpha \ne 1$ as exemplified by models derived from string theory, as well as models with non-minimal gauge kinetic terms and anomaly-induced couplings. We analyze direct and anomaly-induced inflaton couplings to gauge bosons and gauginos and demonstrate the K\"ahler-frame invariance of the physical gauge coupling. We determine the resulting reheating temperatures and the corresponding predictions in the $(n_s,r)$ plane. Finally, we consider an $R^3$ deformation of Starobinsky supergravity, which modifies the inflaton and stabilizer sectors but does not, by itself, generate new tree-level inflaton couplings to visible matter fields.

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astro-ph.IM 2026-07-01

Off-axis light path creates scratched tape artifact in Rubin camera

by Alex Drlica-Wagner, Alessio Taranto +13 more

Investigation and Mitigation of a Prominent Off-Axis Stray Light Path in Rubin Observatory Commissioning

Light at 20 degrees passes baffle gap, reflects off primary mirror to focal plane when wind screen is missing

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The "scratched tape" stray light feature is the most prominent and prevalent stray light artifact identified during the commissioning of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The scratched tape feature originates when light from large off-axis angles (~20 deg) passes between the mid-level and center-section light baffles, reflects off the primary mirror, and illuminates the LSST Camera focal plane. This scenario represented an unobstructed stray light path to the sky during Rubin commissioning due to delays in the integration of the dome slit light-wind screen. This document describes the identification, modeling, characterization, and mitigation of the scratched tape stray light artifact.

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hep-ph 2026-07-01

Monopole scaling networks yield broad-mass primordial black holes

by Daiki Aburatani, Wakutaka Nakano +1 more

PBHs and GWs from Scaling Monopoles

Stochastic number fluctuations in Hubble patches drive overdensities when v exceeds 0.1 Planck mass, also producing correlated gravitational

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Monopoles with sufficiently weak gauge couplings, or from global symmetries, can form scaling networks in the early Universe whose average energy density tracks the cosmological background. In this work, we find, by performing classical lattice simulations to estimate the overdensities, that primordial black holes (PBHs) with a broad mass spectrum can be produced during this evolution if the Higgs expectation value $v$ satisfies $v\gtrsim 0.1 M_{\rm pl}$. The formation is driven by the stochastic realization of the monopole number in Hubble patches causing the overdensities. We also show that gravitational waves (GWs) generated by the scaling dynamics are produced at the same epoch, with spectra correlated with the PBH spectra and with amplitudes testable in future observations. Interestingly, if the scaling regime is terminated by the gauge boson mass for the gauged monopole, a non-negligible fraction of the PBHs can carry magnetic charge, and the resulting magnetic Coulomb force between such charged PBHs is predicted to be comparable to the gravitational force. Together with the PBH and GW signals, this provides a smoking-gun signature of the scenario. We also point out simple cosmological scenarios, which may also apply to PBH formation from scaling cosmic strings, that allow PBHs to constitute dominant dark matter.

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astro-ph.HE 2026-07-01

Carbon-alpha rate shifts upper black hole mass gap edge by 30 solar masses

by Jeremy Sakstein, Djuna Croon

The location of the upper edge of the pair-instability supernovae black hole mass gap

Simulations identify the 12C(α,γ)16O reaction as the largest source of uncertainty in where pair-instability supernovae cut off black hole f

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Gravitational wave observations are beginning to probe the upper edge of the pair-instability supernova (PISN) black hole mass gap, a key prediction of stellar evolution. In this work, we quantify the sensitivity of this boundary to uncertainties in stellar evolution using a suite of simulations that vary inputs including nuclear reaction rates, mixing processes, and stellar winds. We find that the $^{12}{\rm C}(\alpha,\gamma)^{16}{\rm O}$ reaction rate is the dominant source of uncertainty, shifting the upper edge by $\Delta M\sim30\,{\rm M}_\odot$, with the triple-$\alpha$ rate producing a comparable shift of $\sim25\,{\rm M}_\odot$. Notably, $^{16}{\rm O}+^{16}{\rm O}$ reactions shift the upper edge by $\sim15\,{\rm M}_\odot$ while leaving the lower edge unchanged, implying they can widen or narrow the mass gap. Other processes affect the location at the $\lesssim10\,{\rm M}_\odot$ level. In contrast to the lower edge, we find that the upper edge is robust to variations in spatial and temporal resolution, indicating that it is reliably resolved in current simulations. Our results demonstrate that the upper edge carries substantial theoretical uncertainty and, while comparatively less affected by astrophysical contamination than the lower edge, provides a direct probe of the nuclear processes governing pair instability. We discuss the implications for interpreting high-mass black hole detections in gravitational wave data.

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astro-ph.IM 2026-07-01

Mapmaker marginalizes slow noise for clean CMB polarization

by Wuhyun Sohn, Simon Biquard +2 more

Robust CMB polarisation mapmaking with a rotating half-wave plate

Treating signals slower than a quarter HWP rotation as nuisances yields near-optimal maps with little intensity leakage.

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We present a novel mapmaking method for obtaining unbiased estimates of CMB polarisation, tailored to modern CMB experiments with a rotating half-wave plate. These experiments are exposed to strong unpolarised contaminant sources, such as atmospheric emission and ground pickup, which can be several orders of magnitude stronger than the sky signal. Our mapmaker mitigates these systematic effects by marginalising over all signals that vary slowly compared to the timescale of a polarimeter's angle rotation on the sky, while recovering high-fidelity polarisation maps. When the variability timescales of the unpolarised signals exceed a quarter of the half-wave plate rotation period, the method can produce maps with nearly optimal noise levels and minimal contamination. Furthermore, if the half-wave plate rotation period is sufficiently short relative to the beam-scale crossing time, the method efficiently mitigates the sky intensity-to-polarisation leakage. This mapmaker, named the Polarisation-Optimised Map-Making Estimator (POMME), is implemented within the open-source FURAX package and is ready for application to upcoming ground-based CMB surveys.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

One percent PBHs change ULDM soliton participation by twenty percent

by Xing-Yu Yang

Ultralight dark matter mixed with primordial black holes

Continuum background effect dominates while discrete fluctuations take 10 billion years to act on galactic halos.

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Dark matter candidates span many orders of magnitude in mass, from ultralight bosonic fields to massive compact objects. In this work, we connect these two extremes by investigating ultralight dark matter (ULDM) mixed with primordial black holes (PBHs). We study mixed ULDM-PBH halos by separating the continuum PBH contribution from the shot-noise fluctuation generated by discrete PBHs. The continuum contribution enters the averaged Schr\"odinger-Poisson background, while the discreteness contribution is treated as a perturbation that induces ULDM eigenmode transitions and soliton heating. The two contributions have distinct parametric dependencies: continuum effects scale with PBH fraction, whereas discreteness-driven transition rates scale with the product of PBH fraction and individual PBH mass in the perturbative regime. For a fiducial mixed halo with ULDM particle mass $10^{-22}\,\mathrm{eV}$, virial mass of order $10^{10}\,M_{\odot}$, and PBH fraction $1\%$, the continuum PBH component modifies the background density, gravitational potential, and low-lying ULDM eigenvalues only at the sub-percent level. Nevertheless, this percent-level continuum PBH contribution produces a tens-of-percent response in the coherent soliton region, changing the radial mode participation by about $20\%$. For stellar-mass PBHs, the discrete shot-noise fluctuation induces extremely slow ULDM mode transitions, with the fastest low-lying multiplet transition having a timescale of order $10^9\,\mathrm{Gyr}$ for solar-mass PBHs. In this regime, the leading PBH effect is the continuum contribution, while discrete PBH shot noise is dynamically negligible on galactic timescales.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

Each galaxy cluster adds 0.125 galaxies to exotic lensing volume

by Quentin Basto (CRAL), Johan Richard (CRAL) +4 more

Predisposition of galaxy clusters to producing exotic hyperbolic umbilic lensing configurations

Source-plane mapping across 74 models shows a random sample of 19 clusters yields 90 percent chance of one hyperbolic umbilic system.

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Strong gravitational lensing is a powerful tool for investigating the universe's large-scale structure and understanding the properties of dark matter and dark energy. The magnification and distortion of distant background sources by cluster lenses have enabled detailed studies of both lens and source populations, making these systems promising probes for precision cosmology. While classical strong-lenses are well understood, much remains to be explored for hyperbolic-umbilic (HU) exotic lenses, which produce unique telescopic effects and uncommon images with potentially very high magnifications. Identifying and quantifying these objects, along with characterising their geometric configurations, could have broad implications for studies of galaxy clusters and lensed galaxy populations. Using parametric cluster mass models, we mapped regions in the source plane where HU exotic images can form and integrate these areas over redshift to define an exotic comoving volume (V_z<10). We validated this approach on confirmed exotic systems (RXJ0437.1+0043 and Abell 1703), then applied it to a sample of 74 cluster models. We show HU-region contours for the most promising clusters, assess both systematic and stochastic uncertainties on exotic area and volume estimates, and confirm that our error remains sufficiently small to support robust conclusions. Next, we explore correlations between six cluster parameters and (V_z<10), finding that pairs of parameters, especially ellipticity with Einstein radius or cuspiness, best distinguish high-(V_z<10) systems. Finally, we estimate that each cluster contributes ~0.125 galaxies to its exotic volume on average (as a conservative lower bound), meaning that observing 19 clusters yields a 90% chance of detecting at least one HU system in a random sample.

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hep-ph 2026-07-01

Expansion boosts gravitational waves from phase transitions by 10-100 times

by Xiao Wang, Chi Tian +1 more

Nonlinear growth and amplification of phase-transition gravitational waves induced by cosmic expansion

Simulations of slow transitions show nonlinear growth in wave energy fraction once cosmic expansion is included throughout nucleation.

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We perform the first three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of cosmological first-order phase transitions in an expanding background. These simulations consistently incorporate the effects of the evolving phase transition strength throughout the full nucleation process of slow phase transitions. We find that, in addition to reducing mean bubble separations via an effectively enhanced nucleation rate, cosmic expansion unexpectedly induces highly nonlinear growth in the gravitational wave energy fraction, ultimately leading to a significant $\mathcal{O}(10)$ to $\mathcal{O}(100)$ amplification of the gravitational wave spectra. This amplification is more pronounced for initially weak transitions than for those of initially intermediate strength. Our results highlight the challenge and importance of accurately modelling slow phase transitions while accounting for cosmic expansion.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

SKA to map baryons in cosmic web filaments

by Virginia Cuciti, Surajit Paul +12 more

The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe through the SKA lenses

High-sensitivity radio observations will trace plasma and energy dissipation across the large-scale structure.

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The large-scale distribution of galaxies in the Universe forms an intricate, interconnected network known as the cosmic web. Cosmological simulations within the standard Lambda-CDM framework successfully reproduce this filamentary structure and predict that the nodes and filaments are filled with tenuous plasma at temperatures ranging from 10^5-10^8 K. The hottest and luminous plasma in the nodes corresponds to the intra-cluster medium, while the cooler, more tenuous, gas extends along filaments and cluster outskirts. Galaxies and galaxy groups form and flow along these filaments before accreting onto galaxy clusters (the nodes), outlining the dynamical evolution of large-scale structures. During this process, an enormous amount of energy is dissipated through complex plasma processes that can be traced by radio emitting electrons. Despite strong theoretical support for this picture, observational validation remains limited. While massive clusters have been widely detected across various wavelengths, cluster outskirts and the diffuse intergalactic medium within filaments has remained elusive due to their extremely faint emission. The advent of highly sensitive radio facilities such as LOFAR, uGMRT, and MeerKAT has recently enabled a few successful detections of emission from comparatively denser regions of the cosmic-web. These include radio megahalos, permeating the entire cluster volume, as well as bridges of radio emission connecting cluster pairs. In this chapter, we summarize current theoretical insights into the cosmic web, discuss observational strategies and recent discoveries, and highlight how the forthcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is expected to transform our understanding of the cosmic web and the distribution of baryons in the Universe.

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gr-qc 2026-07-01

Scale-invariant cosmologies require non-zero cosmological constant

by Chiara Cecchini, Massimiliano Rinaldi

The unavoidable de Sitter fate of a scale-invariant Universe

Unless the scalar field's quartic coupling vanishes exactly, a condition quantum effects do not protect.

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We consider a very general scale-invariant scalar-tensor theory of gravity and its flat cosmological solutions. We show that any stable configuration with non-degenerate gravitational dynamics carries a non-vanishing cosmological constant, unless the quartic self-coupling of the scalar field vanishes. Since this condition is not protected against radiative corrections, a residual cosmological constant is expected as a generic and robust prediction of this class of theories. This result suggests that dark energy may be a natural consequence of an early scale-invariant phase of the Universe.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

Periodic friction imprints same log-period on two GW bands and PBHs

by Mayukh R. Gangopadhyay

One Feature, Three Clocks: Phase-Locked Gravitational Waves, Primordial Black Holes, and Non-Gaussianity from Periodic Warm Inflation

One surge during warm inflation ties gravitational waves at mHz and deci-Hz scales, asteroid-mass black holes, and bispectrum offset to a si

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A shift-symmetric inflaton dissipating into a thermal bath couples to that bath periodically, so its friction oscillates as the field rolls. We follow what this does to warm inflation when a thermal channel opens midway through the rolling: the friction surges, and the curvature spectrum grows a sharp, log-periodically modulated peak at small scales while the CMB scales stay untouched. It saturates Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) formation in the asteroid-mass window, where the PBHs can make up an order-unity fraction of the dark matter, and it sources a scalar-induced gravitational-wave background in two bands at once -- a peak at $h^2\Omega_{\rm GW}\simeq10^{-8}$ near $3$~mHz for LISA, and a second band at $h^2\Omega_{\rm GW}\sim10^{-11}$ from deci-hertz to a hundred hertz, within reach of DECIGO and the Einstein Telescope, fed by the friction's continued growth toward smaller scales. And a separate-universe computation places its equilateral bispectrum a quarter cycle ahead of the power spectrum -- an offset fixed by the running of the spectrum and so robust to the equilateral-shape coefficient. The two GW bands carry the same underlying log-period and freeze-out phase to leading order, and the bispectrum is expected to share them: a modulation seen at two widely separated frequencies, plausibly accompanied by a $\pi/2$-shifted bispectrum, is not something a single-scale feature can fake. Because the feature is localized in the field, it imprints the same log-periodic structure on multiple observables, tying the gravitational-wave bands, black-hole mass, and bispectrum phase to a single underlying clock. We derive the freeze-out transfer function in closed form and use it to cap the first two harmonics at one quarter, and we show that the high-frequency band is itself bounded by PBHs overproduction, which turns it into a constraint on how far the friction can grow.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

EDE raises α_s, tightening tension for USR PBH models

by Miguel A. Sabogal, Antonio J. Iovino +1 more

Running into tension: primordial black holes from ultra-slow-roll inflation, spectral running, and the Hubble tension

Solutions to the Hubble tension that alter pre-recombination expansion also push the inferred spectral running upward, disfavoring negative-

abstract click to expand

Single-field ultra-slow-roll (USR) inflation is among the most studied mechanisms for primordial black hole (PBH) formation. These models predict a negative spectral running ($\alpha_s<0$), whose magnitude increases with the PBH mass. This is in tension with recent hints for positive running from Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data. However, inflationary parameters inferred from CMB data are sensitive to the assumed pre-recombination expansion history, which is precisely where new physics motivated by the Hubble tension should operate. Focusing on axion-like early dark energy (EDE) as a benchmark, we investigate the effect of such pre-recombination new physics on $\alpha_s$, and hence on the viability of USR PBH models, in light of state-of-the-art CMB data from Planck, ACT, and the South Pole Telescope, together with Baryon Acoustic Oscillation data from DESI DR2. Our analysis therefore provides an updated set of constraints on $\alpha_s$ and the running of the running $\beta_s$. For most dataset combinations, moving from $\Lambda$CDM to EDE increases the inferred $\alpha_s$: once the acoustic angular scale $\theta_s$ is fixed, EDE increases the diffusion-to-acoustic angular scale ratio $\theta_d/\theta_s$, and the shift in $\alpha_s$ compensates this extra damping by increasing small-scale power. In this sense, tension calls for tension: taking the Hubble tension seriously as an indication for new physics strengthens the challenges faced by USR PBH models. More broadly, our analysis stresses that inflationary model selection using CMB-inferred inflationary parameters such as $n_s$ and $\alpha_s$ may be premature, especially until the Hubble tension, and more generally the pre-recombination expansion history, is understood.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

f(T) gravity branches ruled out by CMB and distance data

by Mahmoud Hashim, Eleonora Di Valentino +2 more

Cosmological Viability of Exponential Infrared f(T) Gravity

Phantom branch eases Hubble tension but loses to Lambda CDM; second branch fails when background fixes force bad CMB fits.

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We investigate the cosmological viability of exponential infrared $f(T)$ teleparallel gravity using current cosmological observations. This framework realizes late-time cosmic acceleration through torsional modifications of gravity without enlarging the six-parameter cosmological parameter space of spatially flat $\Lambda$CDM, and admits two distinct solution branches: a phantom-like model (Model I) and a model featuring a negative-to-positive transition in the effective torsional dark-energy density (Model II). We constrain both branches using CMB observations from Planck, ACT, and SPT together with DESI BAO and Pantheon+ Type Ia supernovae. We find that the principal branch (Model I) alleviates the Hubble tension relative to $\Lambda$CDM, but remains statistically disfavoured by the combined dataset. The secondary branch (Model II) is decisively ruled out. We show that the failure of Model II originates from the interplay between background and perturbation constraints: once late-time distance measurements constrain the expansion history, the model becomes overconstrained, forcing correlated shifts in $\Omega_{\rm m}h^2$, $A_s$, $n_s$, and $\tau_{\rm reio}$, degrading the fit to the CMB damping tail and driving the optical depth to unphysical values. Our results demonstrate that perturbation observables provide stringent and complementary tests of teleparallel gravity beyond the background expansion history.

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gr-qc 2026-07-01

Nonminimal coupling violates distance duality in teleparallel gravity

by Rocco D'Agostino

Distance duality relation in symmetric teleparallel gravity

The standard relation survives minimal coupling but breaks when the electromagnetic field interacts with the nonmetricity scalar, linking to

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In this work, we investigate the distance duality relation (DDR) in symmetric teleparallel theories, where gravity is mediated by nonmetricity. Starting from the general metric-affine formulation and adopting the geometrical optics approximation, we show that the standard Etherington reciprocity relation remains valid in the presence of nonmetricity when electromagnetism is minimally coupled and the photon number is conserved. We then extend the analysis to a class of $f(Q)$ theories with a nonminimal coupling between the electromagnetic field and the nonmetricity scalar. We demonstrate that such an interaction modifies the conservation of the photon number current, leading to a dynamical violation of the DDR. Focusing on a homogeneous and isotropic spacetime background in the coincident gauge, we derive a generalized DDR formula that directly relates observational distance measures to the Hubble expansion rate. Furthermore, we discuss the link between the deviations from Etherington's relation and variations of the effective fine-structure constant. Specific illustrative examples of the coupling function are also analyzed, showing that phenomenologically viable models predict only small deviations from the standard DDR. Our results provide a unified framework to distinguish between the geometric and dynamical origins of DDR violations, opening new avenues for testing non-Riemannian gravity with future high-precision astrophysical and cosmological observations.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-07-01

Fifth-order bias renormalization handles two-loop power spectrum UV issues

by Thomas Bakx, Mathias Garny +2 more

Galaxy bias renormalization: Two-loop Power Spectrum, One-loop Trispectrum and Bispectrum

Framework computes one-loop bispectrum and trispectrum consistently with gradient corrections and stochastic terms.

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We present a complete treatment of fifth-order renormalized galaxy bias at the one- and two-loop level in real space, including gradient corrections to deterministic bias operators at next-to-leading order. We then provide a complete computation of the two-loop power spectrum as well as the one-loop bispectrum and trispectrum of biased tracers, and demonstrate how to jointly model these statistics in a fully renormalized framework. These statistics also require stochastic renormalization of products of two, three or four operators at coincidence, which we include at leading order in gradients by means of an operator product expansion. We verify that all UV limits of loop integrals are absorbed by the counterterms we consider. Upon solving the resulting renormalization group equations, we find a pronounced scale-dependence of higher-gradient bias coefficients. Since our renormalization prescription is performed manifestly at the operator level, our results can also easily be extended to higher $N$-point functions, higher loop orders and field-level analyses.

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astro-ph.SR 2026-07-01

High-redshift stars show larger color spreads than local ones

by Yang Chen, Xiaoting Fu +3 more

Bolometric correction for cosmologically redshifted stars with dust: an update to the YBC database

Bolometric corrections with redshift and dust produce non-monotonic colors and bigger dispersions, pointing to tighter parameter estimates w

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Observations from HST & JWST continue to reveal gravitationally magnified high-redshift star candidates, resulting in increasing demand for accurate stellar bolometric corrections to compare stellar models with observational data. We update YBC stellar bolometric correction database by incorporating bolometric corrections for cosmologically redshifted stars, called zYBC. The bolometric corrections are derived by redshifting stellar spectra from libraries, attenuated by extinction curves for both the dust in the host galaxy and the Milky Way, and followed by convolution with the transmission curves of photometric filters. Our methodology incorporates the effects due to the cosmological K-correction and the dust. Besides the spectral libraries in earlier YBC, we add NLTE-based spectral libraries for O, B stars, which are better suited for hot massive stars, particularly wind-included PoWR and CMFGEN models. The database supports key photometric systems for high-redshift studies, such as HST/WFC3, JWST/NIRCam, and CSST's MSC and MCI, and maintains the flexibility to incorporate additional photometric systems upon request. As examples, we present colors as functions of Teff at various redshifts for several photometric systems, which exhibit non-monotonic behaviors and demonstrate the necessity for a dedicated modelling. In particular, we find that the relations show larger dispersions at high redshift than the zero redshift case. This indicates that the stellar parameters of high redshift stars can be better determined than those of their local counterparts, given their redshifts reliably determined through other methods and their photometric data are of high enough quality for physical parameter determination through spectral-fitting. We also show the difference in the effect brought by the different amount of extinctions. zYBC represents a valuable resource for high-redshift star research.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Synergies key to SKA detecting 21-cm signal from early universe

by Anirban Chakraborty, Tirthankar R. Choudhury +16 more

Square Kilometer Array Synergies for the Epoch of Reionization and Cosmic Dawn

Cross-correlations with other instruments can help mitigate foregrounds and provide priors on galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization and

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Synergies with other instruments will be essential in making, verifying, and interpreting a detection of the cosmic 21-cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) and Cosmic Dawn (CD) with the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) telescope. Such synergies can (i) provide prior information about galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM) during the EoR/CD; (ii) pave the road to a first 21cm detection by mitigating foregrounds and systematics through cross-correlations; and (iii) give complimentary physical insights into the galaxy -- IGM connection. Here we review the current state of synergies and discuss what observations will best compliment SKA-low EoR/CD observations.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

High reionization depth yields first 2σ positive neutrino mass in ΛCDM

by James M. Sullivan, Roger de Belsunce +1 more

Cosmological Concordance in an Especially Opaque Universe: A Tentative Cosmological Detection of Physical Neutrino Mass in ΛCDM

The choice also brings CMB, DESI, and local H0 measurements into agreement without new physics.

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The measurement of the sum of neutrino masses is among the primary promises of precision cosmology, achievable by combining complementary early- and late-Universe probes. However, these datasets currently exhibit mild-to-strong disagreements within $\Lambda$CDM and its simplest extensions, giving rise to multiple tensions, including the Hubble tension, the preference for "negative" neutrino mass, and indications of evolving dark energy. It has recently been shown that these tensions can be alleviated by adopting a higher value of the optical depth to reionization parameter, $\tau$, when large-scale cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization data are ignored. We extend this proposal and show that an especially high prior on $\tau = 0.11 \pm 0.006$ simultaneously addresses all three of these tensions, significantly reducing the need for new physics beyond $\Lambda$CDM. We determine the "concordance" value of $\tau$ by requiring physical neutrino mass and consistency of the Hubble constant, $H_0$, inferred from the CMB and that preferred by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and full-shape measurements. Within this high-$\tau$ Universe, we obtain the first $2\sigma$ detection of a positive neutrino mass, $\Sigma m_{\nu} = 0.10^{+0.04}_{-0.05}$~eV at 68\% C.L., while restoring cosmological concordance between datasets within $\Lambda$CDM. In particular, low-redshift distance predictions are consistent with DESI BAO observations and the inferred dark-energy equation-of-state parameters are consistent with a cosmological constant, both with and without supernovae data. The concordance power of our $\tau$ prior further motivates new measurements of $\tau$, e.g., through large angular scale CMB polarization observations with the \textit{LiteBIRD}, CLASS, or proposed PICO experiments. (Abridged)

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

UDM model with early fast transition fits cosmic structure data

by Diogo Castelão, Alberto Rozas-Fernández +1 more

Testing cosmological structure formation in a Unified Dark Matter-Energy model with fast transition

CMB and weak lensing observations select rapid early shifts that include the standard cosmological limit

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Unified Dark Matter-Energy models (UDM), a class of models where dark matter and dark energy exist as a single cosmological fluid, are an alternative approach to $\Lambda$CDM. In this work we focus on a model with a fast transition between dark matter-like and dark energy-like behaviour. The epoch and rapidity of the transition are the key features to enable the formation of structure in this model. We have studied its viability using CMB and Weak Lensing data with nested sampling inference methods. We found that the preferred region of the parameter space is the one with early and fast transition models, where it also lies the model's $\Lambda$CDM limit. Our study confirms that this UDM model is able to form cosmological structure compatible with the data used.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Photometric errors label 95% of unrelaxed clusters as relaxed

by Alisson P. Costa, Andre L. B. Ribeiro +2 more

The Limits of Photometric Dynamics: Benchmarking Cluster Relaxation Diagnostics

Monte Carlo tests on 1672 SDSS clusters show Gaussian redshift errors create strong bias, so large surveys may miss disturbed systems.

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Galaxy clusters are key probes of cosmology and structure formation, yet their dynamical classification traditionally relies on spectroscopic redshifts, which do not scale efficiently with survey size. As large photometric surveys such as LSST become available, photometric redshifts offer an attractive alternative, but their impact on velocity-based diagnostics remains poorly constrained. We quantify the sensitivity of two Gaussianity diagnostics - the Anderson-Darling (AD) test and Gaussian mixture modeling (Mclust) - to different photometric redshift error prescriptions. Propagating Gaussian and Student-t uncertainties through SDSS photometric velocity distributions, we assess how the error model affects recovery of cluster dynamical states established by the independent $\Gamma$ morphological proxy. Using 1672 SDSS clusters with pre-existing $\Gamma$, we perform Monte Carlo resampling under Gaussian and Student-t errors, the latter mimicking heavy-tailed uncertainties and catastrophic outliers, plus a spectroscopic control experiment with mock photometric redshifts from spectroscopic data. Under Gaussian errors, relaxed clusters are recovered in ~95% of realizations, while unrelaxed ones in only ~5%, revealing a strong bias toward relaxed classifications. Student-t errors drop relaxed recovery to ~60-70% and raise unrelaxed to ~30-45%, though still incomplete. Paired Wilcoxon tests confirm these differences are significant. This has direct implications for large photometric surveys: dynamical studies based primarily on photometric data may significantly underestimate disturbed cluster fractions without robust spectroscopic calibration, outlier mitigation, and validation with realistic mock catalogs.

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gr-qc 2026-06-30

Black holes modify fluid properties with fixed geometry

by Iara Pintos, Daniela Pérez +1 more

Black holes in a bouncing universe

In bouncing universe, interacting fluids show background changes without spacetime alteration.

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Bouncing cosmologies offer an alternative to the standard $\Lambda$CDM model by avoiding the problem of the initial cosmological singularity by construction. In these models, the universe undergoes a contraction phase that begins in a nearly flat and dilute state, followed by a bounce, after which the universe transitions into the expanding phase described by the $\Lambda$CDM model. During contraction, most large-scale structures are expected to be erased. Black holes, however, as shown by several previous investigations, may persist through the bounce. The goal of this work is to analyze the evolution of a black hole population throughout the contraction, bounce, and expansion phases. Additionally, we investigate how the presence of black holes influences the properties of the background cosmological fluid. To this end, we develop a cosmological model involving two interacting fluids. Our findings indicate that the cosmological fluid alters its properties in a spacetime with fixed geometry.

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astro-ph.GA 2026-06-30

DLAs bias z>10 galaxy redshifts by 0.39 on average

by Kasper E. Heintz, Clara L. Pollock +24 more

JWST spectroscopy of galaxies at z>10: Damped Lyα absorbers reveal efficient star formation and hidden redshift biases

Bursty galaxies show depletion times under 20 Myr; the bias barely shifts the UV luminosity function.

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Recent observations with JWST have revealed a remarkable population of surprisingly luminous galaxies at redshifts $z>10$. Their abundance exceed predictions from simulations and empirical extrapolations from lower redshifts, suggesting a transition in the physical conditions under which the first stars formed. Here we investigate the physical conditions of a select sample of 25 galaxies with robust redshift measurements at $z_{\rm spec}\geq 10$ observed with JWST/NIRSpec Prism. We characterize their star-formation efficiency, `burstiness', and presence of strong rest-frame UV nebular lines in relation to the density of the local neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) gas reservoirs they are embedded in. We find that the prominence of strong rest-UV lines are correlated with the burstiness of the galaxies, defined as ${\rm SFR_{10\,Myr} / SFR_{100\,Myr}}$. In contrast, there are no strong connections between the HI gas column density derived from the damped Ly$\alpha$ absorption (DLA) and the $M_{\rm UV}$ brightness, ${\rm SFR_{10\,Myr} / SFR_{100\,Myr}}$, and prominence of rest-UV lines. The most bursty galaxies show a large variation in star-formation efficiencies and HI gas surface densities, though typically with very short depletion timescales, $t_{\rm dep} \lesssim 20$\,Myr. This necessites rapid gas depletion times and external replenishment from infalling, pristine gas, powering starburst episodes on equally short timescales. We further quantify the impact of strong DLAs in galaxy spectra on photometric and Ly$\alpha$-break redshift-inferences, finding average redshift biases of $\langle z \rangle =0.39$ and $0.14$, respectively, when not incorporating DLAs on the emergent spectra. We show the effect of this bias on new measurements of the cosmic UV luminosity density, $\rho_{\rm UV}$, derived here at $z>10$, finding that this has a marginal impact on the UV luminosity function.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Sampling couplings finds ghost-free tensor models

by Will Barker, Will Handley +5 more

Numerical polology: towards next-generation model-building for cosmology

Numerical polology generates priors for black hole superradiance and dark energy constraints

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The dark sector need not be restricted to simple field content. Indeed, simple bosonic configurations, such as scalar-tensor or dark photon models, contrast with the much richer picture painted by many ultraviolet scenarios. Polology is the study of propagator poles, which correspond to particle states in any given theory. We outline a numerical polology framework for discovering perturbative, ghost-free models with consistent interactions, which produces theoretical model priors by sampling the coupling space. The method is tested on tensor field theories of up to rank three. Subsequent observational constraint pipelines are illustrated for black hole superradiance (M33 X-7), dynamical dark energy (DESI DR2, Pantheon and SH0ES) and gravitational waves (GWTC-3).

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astro-ph.GA 2026-06-30

SKAO radio surveys will separate the three explanations for JWST AGN

by Giovanni Mazzolari, Dharam V. Lal +7 more

Unveil the nature of JWST-AGN and Little Red Dots with SKAO continuum surveys

Each scenario for their missing X-ray and UV light predicts a different radio signal that future observations can detect and distinguish.

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The advent of JWST has revealed a large population of AGN at $z>4$, which are $\sim1$ dex more abundant than previously expected, including also the enigmatic population of Little Red Dots (LRDs). Remarkably, the vast majority of JWST-discovered AGN and LRDs are not detected in X-rays, and most of them also show faint rest-frame UV continua and faint high-ionization emission lines, as well as unusually faint emission in the Mid and Far infrared. Recent studies investigating their radio properties have reported no significant detections, even in deep stacking analyses, reaching sensitivities of 0.5-0.1 $\mu$Jy at $z\sim 5-6$, corresponding to $L_{R}\lesssim 10^{39}\rm \ erg\ s^{-1}$. While these non-detections may be consistent with a standard radio-quiet nature, some results suggest that the radio emission might instead be significantly suppressed by other physical phenomena. Three main scenarios have been proposed in the literature to explain the physical properties of these objects across the electromagnetic spectrum: Compton-thick absorption by a broad-line region with high covering-factor, intrinsically weak emission driven by high accretion rates, or the presence of a cocoon of dense ionized gas that produces strong scattering effects. The unprecedented sensitivity of SKAO will enable the detection of the radio emission of these AGN in all three cases. Because each scenario is expected to produce distinct radio signatures, future SKAO continuum surveys will be able to distinguish between them, uncovering the physical processes responsible for their peculiar properties. Observations spanning a wide range of integration times (1-1000 hours) and frequencies with SKA-Mid and SKA-Low (0.2-11 GHz) will allow us to characterize these objects from the local Universe to high redshift, investigate possible radio variability, and test alternative scenarios to black hole accretion.

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hep-ph 2026-06-30

Heating waves form too slowly to stop bubble walls near Jouguet speed

by Benoit Laurent, Miguel Vanvlasselaer

Dynamical evolution of the pressure on the bubble wall

Dynamical evolution shows the plasma pressure builds after the wall has already accelerated, reducing the effective obstruction.

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First-order phase transitions in the early Universe are pivotal for gravitational wave production, baryogenesis, and dark matter generation. A central question is whether bubble walls reach a subjouguet or ultra-relativistic velocity - a distinction governed by hydrodynamic obstruction, where plasma heating counteracts the vacuum pressure driving the wall. Traditional analyses assume steady-state fluid profiles, but these may fail during the wall's acceleration phase. We study the dynamical evolution of the pressure on the bubble wall in local thermal equilibrium (LTE), combining analytical approximations with numerical hydrodynamic simulations. Our results reveal that the heating wave's formation time often exceeds the wall's acceleration timescale, invalidating steady-state predictions near the Jouguet velocity. We derive a revised criterion for the maximal driving pressure, which separates deflagration/hybrid regimes from detonations/runaway walls. This criterion, validated by simulations, shows that hydrodynamic obstruction is less restrictive than steady state LTE predictions suggest.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

New fit revises fuzzy dark matter halo suppression by 30 percent

by Raghunath Ghara, Adam Lidz +2 more

Fuzzy Dark Matter Halo Mass Functions at Cosmic Dawn

Simulations at z=6-11 yield a fitting formula showing less small-halo suppression than earlier work, for use in JWST galaxy formation tests.

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In fuzzy dark matter (FDM) cosmological models, wave effects impact astrophysical length scales, suppressing the abundance of small mass dark matter halos, and delaying the earliest phases of galaxy formation during Cosmic Dawn. Current and upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) measurements of the galaxy ultraviolet luminosity function (UVLF) will allow unprecedented tests of this suppression, yet significant uncertainties remain in theoretical models of the FDM halo mass function. We run a new suite of N-body simulations with FDM particle masses of $mc^{2}=10^{-22}\,{\rm eV} - 2 \times 10^{-21}$ eV and mixed FDM-cold dark matter (CDM) models with FDM mass fractions of $f_{\mathrm{F}} = 0.3-1$. We identify and remove spurious halos from discreteness noise and quantify the associated systematic uncertainty. We provide a new halo mass function fitting formula, calibrated over $z=6-11$, applicable to pure FDM and mixed dark matter scenarios. Our results are in better agreement with previous simulation-based fitting formulas than with current semi-analytic mass function models. Nevertheless, for $m c^{2} = 10^{-21}$ eV and $M \sim 3 \times 10^9 M_\odot$ we find a $\sim 30\%$ weaker suppression than earlier simulation-based formulas predict, which we attribute to their extrapolation beyond the $m_{\rm FDM}$ range previously simulated. Applying our fitting formula to the UVLF, we find that upcoming JWST observations behind foreground lensing clusters, probing $M_{\rm UV} \gtrsim -13$ at $z \gtrsim 10$, will provide a powerful test of FDM and mixed dark matter models.

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astro-ph.GA 2026-06-30

Quasar lifetimes require magnetic support in early AGN disks

by Jarrett Johnson, Phoebe Upton Sanderbeck +3 more

The Lifetimes of High-redshift Quasars Suggest Magnetic Disk Support

Proximity zone sizes show longest episodes exceed gas-pressure limits, needing magnetic pressure up to 100 times stronger.

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It has recently been suggested that a variety of data on active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be explained if AGN disks are supported against gravitational fragmentation by magnetic fields that are advected into the disk from the surrounding galaxy. Here we derive the maximum timescales over which accretion onto a black hole (BH) powering an AGN can be maintained at a given rate, both with and without magnetic disk support. We then compare these timescales to the lifetimes of episodes of sustained luminous accretion that are inferred from measurements of the photoionized proximity zones around high-redshift quasars. While some of the shortest inferred quasar lifetimes are consistent with pure gas pressure support, we find that some additional magnetic support is likely required to explain the longest inferred quasar lifetimes of > 10$^4$ yr. For these longest-lived AGN, we find that magnetic pressure in their disks can be up to a hundred times higher than the gas pressure. In addition, the lack of inferred quasar lifetimes that are definitively > 10$^6$ yr is consistent with gas pressure and advected magnetic fields being the principal sources of disk support. This adds to the body of evidence that magnetic fields play an important role in sustaining the rapid growth of supermassive BHs in the early universe.

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astro-ph.GA 2026-06-30

Dwarf AGN outflows hit 600 km/s yet stay inside 10 kpc

by Elena Arjona-Gálvez, Arianna Di Cintio +5 more

AGN-driven outflows in dwarf galaxies from cosmological simulations: Internal properties and observational signatures

Hot central bubbles accelerate the gas without ejecting it from the halo and produce evolving emission-line signatures on BPT diagrams.

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While AGN feedback is a key driver of massive galaxy evolution, its physical properties and observational signatures in the dwarf regime remain poorly understood. We investigate the impact of AGN-driven outflows on the ISM of dwarf galaxies and assess whether these events can be robustly identified through emission-line diagnostics. We analysed a high-resolution cosmological magneto-hydrodynamical zoom-in simulation from the AURIGA project. We focused on a dwarf galaxy with 1e9.7 M*/Msun hosting a BH of 1e7 Msun. We identified individual outflow episodes via pressure peaks in the gas surrounding the central BH, tracked the thermodynamic and kinematic history of such gas, and computed synthetic, spatially resolved nebular emission using photoionisation models to construct BPT diagnostic diagrams. We show that AGN activity in this regime produces compact, over-pressurised central bubbles reaching >1e6 K temperatures. These structures accelerate the ISM up to 600km/s, exceeding those driven by stellar feedback: the outflowing material does not escape the halo, but instead decelerates and redistributes within 10kpc from the galaxy center. Synthetic emission-line modelling reveals clear, time-dependent signatures of such AGN-driven feedback. Over its life cycle, the simulated AGN-hosting galaxy traces the locus of observed dwarf AGNs and migrates from the SF sequence in the BPT diagrams through the composite region into the AGN regime, highlighting a self-regulation mechanism in which the BH accretes its fuel supply, progressively moving towards the low-ionisation nuclear region. Our results suggest that AGN-driven outflows in dwarfs primarily regulate the central ISM through episodic heating and rapid gas recycling, rather than large-scale gas ejection. These processes generate observable spectroscopic signatures, offering a promising avenue for identifying AGN feedback in low-mass galaxies.

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astro-ph.GA 2026-06-30

Little Red Dots host engines below 10^5 solar masses

by Rohan P. Naidu, Jorryt Matthee +21 more

Little Red Dots as Intermediate Mass, Super-Eddington Engines: Insights from Type IIn Supernovae and The 1837-1856 Great Eruption of η Carinae

Escape-velocity limits and parallels to stellar eruptions imply super-Eddington intermediate-mass objects rather than overmassive black hole

abstract click to expand

JWST's Little Red Dots (LRDs) display a unique constellation of features that do not occur simultaneously in any other class of galaxies or AGN. Here we observe that many of these features find parallels in the 19th century Great Eruption (GE) of $\eta$ Carinae and a sub-class of supernovae (Type IIn). Drawing on these stellar phenomena -- outflows trapped by dense circumstellar gas envelopes -- we sketch a possible scenario for LRDs. Outflows from the central engine produce an enshrouding envelope of gas that may be thought of as a slow wind. This dense wind and its enormous extent produce an opacity so high that a pseudo-photosphere forms within the wind, obscuring the central engine and manifesting as a blackbody-like continuum. Radiation from the buried engine powers the system. The engine may also launch fast winds that crash into the existing envelope to generate shocks. Lines form within the wind above the photosphere -- electron scattering and absorption in the clumpy (ionized + neutral) medium account for broad wings and P-Cygni cores. A key implication is that inferences of ``overmassive black holes" may be interpreting this wind-like physics as a virial broad-line region. We propose an escape velocity argument to constrain the mass of the engine, which yields $M<10^{5} M_\odot$ for the typical LRD. The lack of variability and low surface gravity of the photosphere provide further support for intermediate mass ($M\approx10^{3-6} M_\odot$), but very luminous super-Eddington ($L_{\rm{bol}}/L_{\rm{edd}}\gtrsim5$) systems harboring a supermassive star or intermediate mass black hole. Paralleling the evolution of IIn SNe, dust production in the envelope may mark the beginnings of classical AGN. This paper explores a possible self-consistent explanation for the entire life-cycle of LRDs, from their enshrouding in dense gas to their fates as seeds of massive black holes.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Two-loop EFT model tightens σ8 errors threefold without bias

by Mikhail M. Ivanov

Galaxy Power Spectrum at Two-Loop Order: Implications for Weak Lensing Surveys and New Physics

Galaxy power spectrum computation improves precision by 40% over one-loop after adding 21 parameters, for Euclid and LSST surveys.

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We compute the galaxy power spectrum at two-loop order in cosmological perturbation theory (effective field theory, EFT). We derive galaxy bias operators through the fifth order and obtain two-loop renormalization conditions for the their bias coefficients. We compute the two-loop integrals using a renormalization scheme consistent with the CLASS-PT code, allowing for an easy interface of our new computations with standard tools used in the one-loop galaxy power spectrum and bispectrum analyses. We also derive the relevant higher-derivative and stochastic contributions, and implement IR resummation using time-sliced perturbation theory. Having identified the redundant operators, we find that the two-loop galaxy power spectrum requires 21 additional EFT parameters per galaxy sample. We compare our computation with the galaxy-galaxy and galaxy-matter power spectra from the PT Challenge N-body simulation at $z=0.61$ and find a per mille-level agreement up to $k=0.85~h$Mpc$^{-1}$. We show that even with conservative priors on all EFT parameters, the two-loop model produces an unbiased measurement of the mass fluctuation amplitude $\sigma_8$ with three times narrower error-bars than the linear theory model. The improvement over the one-loop model is $\simeq 40\%$. This suggests significant gains in the two-loop EFT analyses of galaxy clustering and galaxy--lensing two-point functions ($2\times2$ pt) from CMB lensing maps and imaging surveys like Euclid, LSST, and Roman. In addition, our two-loop computation offers a probe of new physics scenarios that modify the shape of the matter power spectrum at wavenumbers $(0.4-0.8)~h$Mpc$^{-1}$ such as the presence of ultra-light axion dark matter sub-components with masses $m_a\sim 10^{-24}$ eV.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Threads in Abell 2199 trace magnetic filaments in clusters

by R. Timmerman, L. Rudnick +3 more

The magnetic mayhem in Abell 2199: discovery of synchrotron threads and homogeneous diffuse radio lobes

LOFAR data show isolated structures likely capture emitting plasma while lobe emission varies with local magnetic strength rather than elect

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Sensitive low-frequency radio observations have started uncovering examples of synchrotron-emitting threads, isolated from the rest of radio emission in galaxy clusters. As the bridge of radio emission previously detected between the radio lobes of 3C 338 in Abell 2199 is a candidate of such a structure, we observed this galaxy cluster using the International LOFAR Telescope. These observations revealed the presence of multiple narrow isolated synchrotron threads in 3C 338: east, west and north of the AGN and its radio lobes. Chandra X-ray observations show that these structures most likely do not reside within cavities in the intracluster medium (ICM), and are therefore considered to be distinct structures from the radio lobes. Non-detections in 1.5 GHz Very Large Array observations imply that the spectral index of these newly-discovered isolated threads is likely $\alpha_{1500}^{144} < -3.0$ or steeper. We consider these isolated synchrotron threads to most likely display examples of magnetic threads within the ICM that have captured synchrotron-emitting plasma, as has recently been proposed. Furthermore, our observations reveal the radio lobes to show an almost perfectly uniform spectral index, unlike what would be expected if substantial age differences are present in the radio lobes according to standard spectral ageing models. We find that the relativistic plasma in 3C 338 is consistent with a homogeneous cosmic ray electron population, with the spectral variations dependent on the local magnetic field strength. Finally, we explore the various models that could explain this trend in the radio lobes.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Simulations bracket PBH formation threshold at 0.77–0.83

by Thomas W. Baumgarte, Katy Clough +3 more

Primordial Black Holes in a Radiation-Dominated Universe

Overdense regions re-entering the horizon in the radiation era collapse into black holes only above this contrast, matching prior estimates.

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Primordial fluctuations frozen out during inflation re-enter the cosmological horizon and can collapse, leading to the formation of primordial black holes. We perform simulations of the direct collapse of over-dense regions re-entering the horizon during a radiation-dominated epoch, using full 3+1 general relativistic simulations with the BSSN formalism. Building on previous studies, we impose periodic boundary conditions and allow the matter content of the Universe to self-consistently drive its dynamics. We analyze the evolution of over-densities in both the collapse and dispersal regimes and find a threshold, $0.77<\delta_c<0.83$, above which over-densities collapse and form primordial black holes. Our findings are consistent with previous analytic predictions as well as numerical studies that use different formalisms and computational approaches, and hence provide independent validation of those results.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Strong lens modeling scales to 512 GPUs

by Xiaosheng Huang, Linus Upson +13 more

GIGA-Lens 2.0: Strong-Lens Modeling on Multiple GPU Nodes

GIGA-Lens 2.0 distributes Bayesian fitting across 128 nodes to speed up analysis of gravitational lensing systems.

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We present GIGA-Lens 2.0: a major upgrade to the GPU-accelerated Bayesian framework for modeling strong lensing systems that allows it to be run across multiple GPU nodes. We have succeeded in running GIGA-Lens 2.0 on 128 nodes or 512 A100 GPUs. We demonstrate the speed benefits of this new version, and apply them to modeling 100 simulated systems and a real system, DESI J238.5690+04.7276. We also present other changes to the framework that have yielded further improvement on performance.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

BAO data constrains Omega_m h^2 more tightly than CMB

by Matias Zaldarriaga

Universal distance modes from DESI BAO and Type Ia supernovae: what do cosmological rulers actually measure?

The leading direction isolated from DESI and supernova distances measures this parameter combination and holds most of the tension with CMB

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We use an SVD decomposition of the low-redshift distance measurements from DESI BAO and three Type Ia supernova compilations to identify the leading linear directions probed by the data and to localize the tension with the LCDM CMB-anchored predictions. The leading direction V_0 -- whose data amplitude we denote c_0 -- is, to high accuracy, a measurement of Omega_m h^2: the projection of the data on V_0 probes essentially this one CMB-derived parameter combination. BAO constrains this parameter more tightly than the CMB itself; the three SN compilations do not. In every extension of LCDM we consider, the leading measurable direction remains V_0, and it is where most of the tension with the CMB resides. In the w0-wa extension a second direction V_1 becomes measurable and provides an independent test of dynamical dark energy; the data show no significant tension in this direction. The only other beyond-LCDM extension that opens a genuinely new measurable direction is spatial curvature, and only marginally and only for BAO; both measurable directions then independently prefer positive spatial curvature, though the second direction is poorly constrained.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Distance prior during sampling lifts GW170817 H0 tail probability to 16 percent

by Ming Han Yang, Metha Prathaban +2 more

Rapid Hubble constant inference from GW170817 using GPU-accelerated nested sampling: prior sensitivity and the limits of post-hoc reweighting

Reweighting baseline samples recovers only about one-sixth of the shift, so full reruns become necessary for accurate bright-siren results.

abstract click to expand

The bright-siren measurement of the Hubble constant from GW170817 (Abbott et al. 2017) assumes that switching from a volumetric to a uniform-in-$d_L$ luminosity-distance prior can be implemented by post-hoc reweighting of the baseline samples, rather than by re-running the inference under the target prior. Using a GPU-native heterodyned nested sampling pipeline that completes the full $n_{\rm live}=5000$ analysis in about 13 min on a single A100, we recompute the GW170817 $H_0$ posterior under four prior variants for the modern aligned-spin tidal waveform IMRPhenomXAS_NRTidalv3. Switching from the volumetric to a uniform-in-$d_L$ distance prior raises the high-tail probability $P(H_0>120\,\mathrm{km/s/Mpc})$ from 0.017 to 0.159 when imposed during sampling and shifts the weighted-median $H_0$ from 77.6 to 87.6 km/s/Mpc, while the binned MAP stays at 70.5 km/s/Mpc: both the tail and the bulk move under a change of prior that leaves the mode in place. Post-hoc reweighting of the baseline samples to the same target prior recovers only $P=0.041$ in the tail, approximately 17% of the directly sampled shift. The three prior variants that carry an independent nested sampling evidence agree to $\Delta\ln Z\lesssim 1.8$, so the data show at most a weak preference among the distance priors; the tail and bulk shifts are therefore properties of the prior, not a data update. Targeted mode-isolated runs reveal a $(d_L,\iota)$ bimodality whose high-$H_0$, low-$d_L$ branch (Mode B; $|\ln\mathcal{B}_{\rm B/A}|<1$) the volumetric prior assigns negligible mass: this is the mechanism behind the reweighting deficit. The reweighted posterior has a lower effective sample size than the baseline, independently flagging the coverage failure. The runtime budget makes full-sample prior-sensitivity reruns the default robustness tool for bright-siren cosmology, replacing post-hoc reweighting.

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astro-ph.CO 2026-06-30

Fixed covariance leaves cluster parameters unbiased but warps errors

by Henrique C. N. Lettieri, Mariana Penna-Lima +1 more

Cosmology-dependent covariance in galaxy cluster number counts: consequences for parameter inference

A single update at the best-fit cosmology restores correct S_8 uncertainties for LSST-like data.

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Galaxy clusters provide constraints on cosmology through their abundance as a function of mass and redshift. Parameter inference from cluster counts requires modelling the covariance entering the likelihood, including contributions from Poisson shot noise and super-sample covariance (SSC) induced by long-wavelength density fluctuations. Since evaluating the full covariance during parameter inference can be computationally expensive, particularly for SSC terms, many analyses compute it at a fiducial cosmology and keep it fixed. In this work, we investigate the impact of covariance misspecification on the estimation of $\Omega_c$, $\sigma_8$, and $w$. We perform a systematic analysis in which the covariance is either varied consistently with the sampled cosmology or fixed at displaced cosmological models, including intermediate strategies where only selected components, such as SSC, are held fixed. Our analysis incorporates observational effects relevant for LSST-like optical surveys, including mass-proxy scatter and photometric redshift uncertainties. We find that the estimators of $\Omega_c$, $\sigma_8$, and $w$ remain unbiased even when the covariance is evaluated at an incorrect cosmology. However, fixing the covariance can significantly over- or underestimate confidence regions. The magnitude and sign of this effect are driven primarily by amplitude-related parameters such as $S_8$. For LSST-like surveys, an inconsistent covariance specification can artificially modify the apparent $S_8$ tension inferred from cluster counts. We further show that a single covariance update evaluated at the recovered best-fit cosmology is sufficient to restore the correct uncertainty normalization. These results indicate that fixed-covariance approximations may be adequate for some single-probe analyses, but a fully cosmology-dependent treatment is required for consistent multi-probe studies. ABRIDGED

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astro-ph.GA 2026-06-30

Little red dots hold steady number density from z=2 to higher redshifts

by Federica Loiacono, Roberto Gilli +25 more

No evolution in the number density of little red dots from cosmic dawn to cosmic noon

Space density above 3e44 erg/s stays flat across cosmic dawn to noon, exceeding model predictions by factor of 350.

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We present our search for little red dots (LRDs) in the "J1030 field", a region of the sky around the $z\sim 6.3$ quasar SDSS J1030+0524, observed by the JWST EIGER program. Over 154 point-like sources selected in a JWST-based photometric catalog, we find five broad line emitters (with $FWHM \gtrsim 1000\ \rm km s^{-1}$) that are red ($F200W - F356W > 0$) and are undetected in the X-rays. We use these sources to derive the bolometric luminosity function (LF) of LRDs at $z = 2.4$ and $z = 4.5$. At $z = 2.4$, the space density of LRDs is only a factor of $\sim 2$ lower than that of all pre-JWST active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with bolometric luminosity $L_{\rm bol} \gtrsim 3 \times 10^{44}\ \rm erg\ s^{-1}$. At $z = 4.5$, our estimate is consistent with those derived for LRDs based on larger areas of the sky. A similar behaviour is observed in the black hole mass function. More importantly, we study the number density of LRDs from cosmic dawn to cosmic noon. We find that there is no significant evolution in the abundance of LRDs with $L_{\rm bol} \gtrsim 3 \times 10^{44}\ \rm erg\ s^{-1}$ at $z > 2$. We speculate that the drop at $z < 4$ seen by other studies is due to their sampling of only the bright-end of the LRDs LF. At cosmic noon, the abundance of LRDs is $n = 3.4^{+5.6}_{-2.4} \times 10^{-5}\ \rm Mpc^{-3}$, which is a factor of $\sim 350$ larger than recent model predictions and is comparable with that of X-ray selected AGNs with similar bolometric luminosity. Our result may imply that, if LRDs are the early, rapid stages of supermassive black hole growth, as suggested by some models, then the formation of black hole seeds can be efficient down to epochs as recent as cosmic noon. Alternatively, LRDs may simply be a high-accretion phase in already mature black holes.

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