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Galaxy cluster mergers are representative of a wide range of physics, making them an excellent probe of the properties of dark matter and the ionized plasma of the intracluster medium. To date, most studies have focused on mergers occurring in the plane of the sky, where morphological features can be readily identified. To allow study of mergers with arbitrary orientation, we have assembled multi-probe data for the eight-cluster ICM-SHOX sample sensitive to both morphology and line of sight velocity. The first ICM-SHOX paper [1] provided an overview of our methodology applied to one member of the sample, MACS J0018.5+1626, in order to constrain its merger geometry. That work resulted in an exciting new discovery of a velocity space decoupling of its gas and dark matter distributions. In this work, we describe the availability and quality of multi-probe data for the full ICM-SHOX galaxy cluster sample. These datasets will form the observational basis of an upcoming full ICM-SHOX galaxy cluster sample analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bibliographic science papers with high citations rates are often used as an indication of the science impact of an observatory. These high impact papers are presented as examples of the best science being done with an observatory's data. But, is the number of citations by itself a good indicator of the scientific impact of the paper, and is impact a good indicator of the scientific impact of the observatory? In this paper we will present results from a recent study of Chandra high impact papers and suggest some alternative methods for identifying such papers. This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliometrics are increasingly used as metrics to measure the performance of individuals, institutions and countries. Refereed publications are the primary output of modern observatories. In this paper, I use bibliometric techniques to examine the performance of astronomical observatories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. It is well known that the period covering about seven centuries, from Aryabhata to Bhaskaracharya II (c. 476-1150), was the golden age of Indian astronomy. In the present study, we identify research trends and the growth of knowledge in the field of astronomy science research. The study is an essential tool to measure the scientific publications in the field. This study analyses the publications of astronomy research in India published during 1991-1995 and 2011-2015. The study assesses how astronomy progresses in India and its impact is reflected in the science citation index over the period 1991-1995 and 2011-2015. The publication output has been analyzed using quantitative and qualitative indicators, such as progress in research article publishing, change in authorship patterns, citation patterns during 1991- 1995 and 2011-2015, articles that received the most citations, and international collaboration with other countries. Further, the study investigated highly prolific authors and highly preferred journals. The author is from one of the FORSA institutes, therefore the study includes a separate ranking for FORSA institutes in term of output as well citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ESO's mission is to enable front-line research in astrophysics by operating and maintaining a wide range of world-class telescopes and state-of-the-art instruments. Various key performance indicators are used to understand whether ESO is achieving these ambitious goals. In order to assist the ESO Management, the Library builds and maintains the Telescope Bibliography (telbib). telbib provides insights into the performance of ESO's facilities and helps to understand publishing trends among the user community. This paper will highlight some use cases and recently added enhancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This proceeding summarizes the talk given at the opening of the UHECR 2022 conference in L'Aquila on the whitepaper 'Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays: The Intersection of the Cosmic and Energy Frontiers' [Astroparticle Physics 149 (2023) 102819 - arXiv:2205.05845] that has been prepared for the Snowmass survey in the USA. The whitepaper provides an overview of recent progress and open questions regarding the particle physics and astrophysics related to ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) and outlines the connections between the particle and astrophysics aspects of cosmic rays. It also discusses what instrumentation is needed to address the major scientific questions in ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray physics. While the upgraded Pierre Auger Observatory and Telescope Array will remain the workhorses at the highest energies in the current decade, new experiments with significantly higher exposure are needed in the coming decade. Ground arrays featuring simultaneous detection of the position of the shower maximum and the size of the muonic component will enable particle astronomy by measuring the rigidity of individual events. They should be complemented by other detectors maximizing the total exposure. This can be achieved by a few next-generation experiments using the latest developments in detection and analysis techniques: GRAND as a ground-based radio array, and POEMMA as a space-borne stereo fluorescence telescope will feature complementary approaches to provide maximum exposure; IceCube-Gen2 with its surface array, and GCOS aim at increased statistics with high accuracy for particle physics and rigidity-based galactic and extra-galactic astrophysics. While designed to discover the astrophysical cosmic-ray sources at the highest energies, the same experiments also contribute to particle physics, e.g., by studying the muon puzzle in cosmic-ray air showers, and by their discovery potential for exciting new physics, such as certain Dark Matter candidates. With the full whitepaper available as a reference, this proceeding will briefly present the science cases of the experiments, highlighting their individual strengths and outlining how they complement each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]