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Nowadays, at least two relics of the Big Bang have survived - the cosmological microwave background (CMB) and the cosmological neutrino background (C$\nu$B). Being the second most abundant particle in the Universe, the neutrino has a significant impact on its evolution from the Big Bang to the present day. Neutrinos affect the following cosmological processes: the expansion rate of the Universe, its chemical and isotopic composition, the CMB anisotropy and the formation of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Another relic neutrino background is theoretically predicted, it consists of non-equilibrium antineutrinos of Primordial Nucleosynthesis arising as a result of the decays of neutrons and tritium nuclei. Such antineutrinos are an indicator of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. In addition to experimentally detectable active neutrinos, the existence of sterile neutrinos is theoretically predicted to generate neutrino masses and explain their oscillations. Sterile neutrinos can also solve such cosmological problems as the baryonic asymmetry of the Universe and the nature of dark matter. The recent results of several independent experiments point to the possibility of the existence of a light sterile neutrino. However, the existence of such a neutrino is inconsistent with the predictions of the Standard Cosmological Model. The inclusion of a non-zero lepton asymmetry of the Universe and/or increasing the energy density of active neutrinos can eliminate these contradictions and reconcile the possible existence of sterile neutrinos with Primordial Nucleosynthesis, the CMB anisotropy, and also reduce the H$_0$-tension. In this brief review, we discuss the influence of the physical properties of active and sterile neutrinos on the evolution of the Universe from the Big Bang to the present day.

A complete canonical formulation of general covariance makes it possible to construct new modified theories of gravity that are not of higher-curvature form, as shown here in a spherically symmetric setting. The usual uniqueness theorems are evaded by using a crucial and novel ingredient, allowing for fundamental fields of gravity distinct from an emergent space-time metric that provides a geometrical structure to all solutions. As specific examples, there are new expansion-shear couplings in cosmological models, a form of modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) can appear in a space-time covariant theory without introducing extra fields, and related effects help to make effective models of canonical quantum gravity fully consistent with general covariance., Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures

Achieving a truly accurate wavelength calibration of high-dispersion echelle spectrographs is a challenging task but crucially needed for certain science cases, e.g. to test for a possible variation of the fine-structure constant in quasar spectra. One of the spectrographs best suited for this mission is VLT/ESPRESSO. Nevertheless, previous studies have identified significant discrepancies between the classical wavelength solutions and the one derived independently from the laser frequency comb. The dominant parts of these systematics were intra-order distortions, most-likely related to a deviation of the instrumental line-spread function from the assumed Gaussian shape. Here, we therefore present a study focused on a detailed modeling of the ESPRESSO instrumental line-spread function. We demonstrate that it is strongly asymmetric, non-Gaussian, different for the two slices and fibers, and varies significantly along the spectral orders. Incorporating the determined non-parametric model in the wavelength calibration process drastically improves the wavelength calibration accuracy, reducing the discrepancies between the two independent wavelength solutions from 50m/s to about 10m/s. The most striking success is, however, that the different fibers and slices now provide fully consistent measurements with a scatter of just a couple m/s. This demonstrates that the instrument-related systematics can be nearly eliminated over most of the spectral range by properly taking into account the complex shape of the instrumental line-spread function and paves the way for further optimizations of the wavelength calibration process., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The origin and evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in our universe have sparked controversy. In this study, we explore the hypothesis that some of these black holes may have seeded from the direct collapse of dark energy domains with density significantly higher than the surrounding regions. The mechanism of the origin of such domains relies on the inflationary evolution of a scalar field acting in D dimensions, which is associated with the cosmological constant in our four-dimensional spacetime manifold. Inner space quantum fluctuations of the field during inflation are responsible for the spatial variations of the dark energy density in our space. This finding holds particular significance, especially considering recent evidence from pulsar timing array observations, which supports the existence of a stochastic gravitational wave background consisting of SMBH mergers., Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure, to align with the version published in Universe

The destruction of clouds by strong shocks and hot winds is the key process responsible for the transp orting of metals and dust from the ISM to the ICM/IGM, and establishing the multiphase structure in and around galaxies. In this work, we perform a detailed analysis of this process using two different approaches for tracking the cloud material (gas and dust): the so-called 'colored' fluid, and the Lagrangian (trace) particles. We find that for the clouds in the hot phase ($T>10^5$ K), the two methods produce significantly different mass fractions and velocities of the cloud material. In contrast, the two methods produce similar results for the clouds that are in the warm/cold phases ($T < 10^5$ K). We find that the Kelvin--Helmholtz instability is suppressed in the warm clouds of size $\sim$100 pc and metallicity $Z\gt 0.1 Z_\odot$ due to effective gas cooling. This causes a delay in the destruction of such clouds that are interacting with the hot ICM flow. We demonstrate that the dust particles that are evacuated from their 'parent' clouds to the hot medium show different dynamics when compared to that of the Lagrangian (trace) particles. Our results indicate that the dust grains swept out to the hot gas are destroyed., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures

We present a new perspective on the symmetries that govern the formation of large-scale structures across the Universe, particularly focusing on the transition from the seeds of galaxy clusters to the seeds of galaxies themselves. We address two main features of cosmological fluid dynamics pertaining to both the linear and non-linear regimes. The linear dynamics of cosmological perturbations within the Hubble horizon is characterized by the Jeans length, which separates stable configurations from unstable fluctuations due to the gravitational effect on sufficiently large (and therefore, massive enough) overdensities. On the other hand, the non-linear dynamics of the cosmological fluid is associated with a turbulent behavior once the Reynolds numbers reach a sufficiently high level. This turbulent regime leads to energy dissipation across smaller and smaller scales, resulting in a fractal distribution of eddies throughout physical space. The proposed scenario suggests that the spatial scale of eddy formation is associated with the Jeans length of various levels of fragmentation from an original large-scale structure. By focusing on the fragmentation of galaxy cluster seeds versus galaxy seeds, we arrived at a phenomenological law that links the ratio of the two structure densities to the number of galaxies in each cluster and to the Hausdorff number of the Universe matter distribution. Finally, we introduced a primordial magnetic field and studied its influence on the Jeans length dynamics. The resulting anisotropic behavior of the density contrast led us to infer that the main features of the turbulence could be reduced to a 2D Euler equation. Numerical simulations showed that the two lowest wavenumbers contained the major energy contribution of the spectrum., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

Simulations of structure formation in the standard cold dark matter cosmological model quantify the dark matter halos of galaxies. Taking into account dynamical friction between the dark matter halos, we investigate the past orbital dynamical evolution of the Magellanic Clouds in the presence of the Galaxy. Our calculations are based on a three-body model of rigid Navarro-Frenk-White profiles for the dark matter halos, but were verified in a previous publication by comparison to high-resolution N-body simulations of live self-consistent systems. Under the requirement that the LMC and SMC had an encounter within 20 kpc between 1 and 4 Gyr ago, in order to allow the development of the Magellanic Stream, and using the latest astrometric data, the dynamical evolution of the MW/LMC/SMC system is calculated backwards in time. With the employment of the genetic algorithm and a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo method, the present state of this system is unlikely with a probability of <10^{-9} (6 sigma complement), because solutions found do not fit into the error bars for the observed plane-of-sky velocity components of the Magellanic Clouds. This implies that orbital solutions that assume dark matter halos according to cosmological structure formation theory to exist around the Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way are not possible with a confidence of more than 6 sigma, Comment: LaTeX, 21 pages, 5 figures, 12 tables, published by Universe

At redshifts beyond $z \gtrsim 30$, the 21cm line from neutral hydrogen is expected to be essentially the only viable probe of the 3D matter distribution. The lunar far-side is an extremely appealing site for future radio arrays that target this signal, as it is protected from terrestrial radio frequency interference, and has no ionosphere to attenuate and absorb radio emission at low frequencies (tens of MHz and below). We forecast the sensitivity of low-frequency lunar radio arrays to the bispectrum of the 21cm brightness temperature field, which can in turn be used to probe primordial non-Gaussianity generated by particular early universe models. We account for the loss of particular regions of Fourier space due to instrumental limitations and systematic effects, and predict the sensitivity of different representative array designs to local-type non-Gaussianity in the bispectrum, parametrised by $f_{\rm NL}$. Under the most optimistic assumption of sample variance-limited observations, we find that $\sigma(f_{\rm NL}) \lesssim 0.01$ could be achieved for several broad redshift bins at $z \gtrsim 30$ if foregrounds can be removed effectively. These values degrade to between $\sigma(f_{\rm NL}) \sim 0.03$ and $0.7$ for $z=30$ to $z=170$ respectively when a large foreground wedge region is excluded., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, published as part of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A discussion meeting issue "Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades (part 2)"

At the Royal Society meeting in 2023, we have mainly presented our lunar orbit array concept called DSL, and also briefly introduced a concept of a lunar surface array, LARAF. As the DSL concept had been presented before, in this article we introduce the LARAF. We propose to build an array in the far side of the Moon, with a master station which handles the data collection and processing, and 20 stations with maximum baseline of 10 km. Each station consists 12 membrane antenna units, and the stations are connected to the master station by power line and optical fiber. The array will make interferometric observation in the 0.1-50 MHz band during the lunar night, powered by regenerated fuel cells (RFCs). The whole array can be carried to the lunar surface with a heavy rocket mission, and deployed with a rover in 8 months. Such an array would be an important step in the long term development of lunar based ultralong wavelength radio astronomy. It has a sufficiently high sensitivity to observe many radio sources in the sky, though still short of the dark age fluctuations. We discuss the possible options in the power supply, data communication, deployment, etc., Comment: final submission version, 30 pages, 16 figures

In this work, we investigate the bouncing behavior of the universe within the framework of $f(R,L_m)$ gravity, using a simple form of $f(R,L_m)=\frac{R}{2}+L_m^\gamma$ (where $\gamma$ is a free model parameter) as previously studied. The model predicts a vanishing Hubble parameter in the early and late times, with the deceleration parameter approaching a specific limit at the bouncing point. The EoS parameter is observed to cross the phantom divide line ($\omega=-1$) near the bouncing point, indicating a significant transition from a contracting to an expanding phase. The model satisfies the necessary energy conditions for a successful bouncing scenario, with violations indicating exotic matter near the bouncing point. Stability conditions are satisfied for certain values of $\gamma$ near the bouncing point, but potential instabilities in late-time evolution require further investigation. Finally, we conclude that the $f(R,L_m)$ gravity model is promising for understanding the universe's dynamics, especially during events like the bouncing phase., Comment: International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics accepted version

This research investigates the impact of the nature of Dark Energy (DE) on structure formation, focusing on the matter power spectrum and the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect (ISW). By analyzing the matter power spectrum at redshifts $z = 0$ and $z = 5$, as well as the ISW effect on the scale of $\ell = 10-100$, the study provides valuable insights into the influence of DE equations of state (EoS) on structure formation. The findings reveal that dynamical DE models exhibit a stronger matter power spectrum compared to constant DE models, with the JBP model demonstrating the highest amplitude and the CPL model the weakest. Additionally, the study delves into the ISW effect, highlighting the time evolution of the ISW source term $\mathcal{F}(a)$ and its derivative $d\mathcal{F}(a)/da$, and demonstrating that models with constant DE EoS exhibit a stronger amplitude of $\mathcal{F}(a)$ overall, while dynamical models such as CPL exhibit the highest amplitude among the dynamical models, whereas JBP has the lowest. The study also explores the ISW auto-correlation power spectrum and the ISW cross-correlation power spectrum, revealing that dynamical DE models dominate over those with constant DE EoS across various surveys. Moreover, it emphasizes the potential of studying the non-linear matter power spectrum and incorporating datasets from the small scales to further elucidate the dynamical nature of dark energy. This comprehensive analysis underscores the significance of both the matter power spectrum and the ISW signal in discerning the nature of dark energy, paving the way for future research to explore the matter power spectrum at higher redshifts and in the non-linear regime, providing deeper insights into the dynamical nature of dark energy.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is unveiling astounding results about the first few hundred million years of life of the Universe, delivering images of galaxies at very high redshifts. Here, we develop a UV luminosity function model for high-redshift galaxies, considering parameters such as the stellar formation rate, dust extinction, and halo mass function. Calibration of this luminosity function model using UV luminosity data at redshifts z = 4-7 yields optimal parameter values. Testing the model against data at higher redshifts reveals successful accommodation of the data at z = 8-9, but challenges emerge at z~13. Our findings suggest a negligible role of dust extinction at the highest redshifts, prompting a modification of the stellar formation rate to incorporate a larger fraction of luminous objects per massive halo, consistently with similar recent studies. This effect could be attributed to mundane explanations such as unknown evolution of standard astrophysics at high redshift or to the existence of exotic objects at high redshift. We comment on this latter possibility.

In this paper, we set out to construct a set of reference mock galaxy redshift surveys (MGRSs) for the future Chinese Space-station Survey Telescope (CSST) observation, where subsequent survey selection effects can be added and evaluated. This set of MGRSs is generated using the dark matter subhalos extracted from a high-resolution Jiutian $N$-body simulation of the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmogony with $\Omega_m=0.3111$, $\Omega_{\Lambda}=0.6889$, and $\sigma_8=0.8102$. The simulation has a boxsize of $1~h^{-1} {\rm Gpc}$, and consists of $6144^3$ particles with mass resolution $3.723 \times 10^{8} h^{-1} M_\odot $. In order to take into account the effect of redshift evolution, we first use all 128 snapshots in the Jiutian simulation to generate a light-cone halo/subhalo catalog. Next, galaxy luminosities are assigned to the main and subhalo populations using the subhalo abundance matching (SHAM) method with the DESI $z$-band luminosity functions at different redshifts. Multi-band photometries, as well as images, are then assigned to each mock galaxy using a 3-dimensional parameter space nearest neighbor sampling of the DESI LS observational galaxies and groups. Finally, the CSST and DESI LS survey geometry and magnitude limit cuts are applied to generate the required MGRSs. As we have checked, this set of MGRSs can generally reproduce the observed galaxy luminosity/mass functions within 0.1 dex for galaxies with $L > 10^8 L_\odot$ (or $M_* > 10^{8.5} M_\odot$) and within 1-$\sigma$ level for galaxies with $L < 10^8L_\odot$ (or $M_* < 10^{8.5} M_\odot$). Together with the CSST slitless spectra and redshifts for our DESI LS seed galaxies that are under construction, we will set out to test various slitless observational selection effects in subsequent probes., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present a novel approach to identify galaxy clusters that are undergoing a merger using a deep learning approach. This paper uses massive galaxy clusters spanning $0 \leq z \leq 2$ from \textsc{The Three Hundred} project, a suite of hydrodynamic re-simulations of 324 large galaxy clusters. Mock, idealised Compton-{\it y} and X-ray maps were constructed for the sample, capturing them out to a radius of $2R_{200}$. The idealised nature of these maps mean they do not consider observational effects such as foreground or background astrophysical objects, any spatial resolution limits or restriction on X-ray energy bands. Half of the maps belong to a merging population as defined by a mass increase $\Delta${\it M/M} $\geq$ 0.75, and the other half serve as a control, relaxed population. We employ a convolutional neural network architecture and train the model to classify clusters into one of the groups. A best-performing model was able to correctly distinguish between the two populations with a balanced accuracy (BA) and recall of 0.77, ROC-AUC of 0.85, PR-AUC of 0.55 and $F_{1}$ score of 0.53. Using a multichannel model relative to a single channel model, we obtain a 3\% improvement in BA score, and a 6\% improvement in $F_{1}$ score. We use a saliency interpretation approach to discern the regions most important to each classification decision. By analysing radially binned saliency values we find a preference to utilise regions out to larger distances for mergers with respect to non-mergers, greater than $\sim1.2 R_{200}$ and $\sim0.7 R_{200}$ for SZ and X-ray respectively., Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, published in MNRAS

Fuzzy dark matter (FDM), an attractive dark matter candidate comprising ultralight bosons (axions) with a particle mass $m_a\sim10^{-22}$ eV, is motivated by the small-scale challenges of cold dark matter and features a kpc-size de Broglie wavelength. Quantum wave interference inside an FDM halo gives rise to stochastically fluctuating density granulation; the resulting gravitational perturbations could drive significant disc thickening, providing a natural explanation for galactic thick discs. Here we present the first self-consistent simulations of FDM haloes and stellar discs, exploring $m_a=0.2-1.2\times10^{-22}$ eV and halo masses $M_\text{h} = 0.7-2.8\times10^{11}$ M$_\odot$. Disc thickening is observed in all simulated systems. The disc heating rates are approximately constant in time and increase substantially with decreasing $m_a$, reaching $dh/dt \simeq 0.04$ ($0.4$) kpc Gyr$^{-1}$ and $d\sigma_z^2/dt \simeq4$ ($150$) km$^2$s$^{-2}$Gyr$^{-1}$ for $m_a=1.2$ ($0.2$) $\times10^{-22}$ eV and $M_\text{h} =7\times10^{10} \text{M}_\odot$, where $h$ is the disc scale height and $\sigma_z$ is the vertical velocity dispersion. These simulated heating rates agree within a factor of two with the theoretical estimates of Chiang et al., confirming that the rough estimate of Church et al. overpredicts the granulation-driven disc heating rate by two orders of magnitude. However, the simulation-inferred heating rates scale less steeply than the theoretically predicted relation $d\sigma^2_z/dt \propto m_a^{-3}$. Finally, we examine the applicability of the Fokker-Planck approximation in FDM granulation modelling and the robustness of the $m_a$ exclusion bound derived from the Galactic disc kinematics., Comment: 20 pages, 26 figures; Accepted for publication in MNRAS

A critical discussion on the $H_0$ Hubble constant tension is presented by considering both early and late-type observations. From recent precise measurements, discrepancies emerge when comparing results for some cosmological quantities obtained at different redshifts. We highlight the most relevant measurements of $H_0$ and propose potential ideas to solve its tension. These solutions concern the exploration of new physics beyond the $\Lambda$CDM model or the evaluation of $H_0$ by other methods. In particular, we focus on the role of the look-back time., Comment: 33 pages, 7 figures

We present a novel approach to estimate the value of primordial non-Gaussianity ($f_{\rm NL}$) parameter directly from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) maps using a convolutional neural network (CNN). While traditional methods rely on complex statistical techniques, this study proposes a simpler approach that employs a neural network to estimate $f_{\rm NL}$. The neural network model is trained on simulated CMB maps with known $f_{\rm NL}$ in range of $[-50,50]$, and its performance is evaluated using various metrics. The results indicate that the proposed approach can accurately estimate $f_{\rm NL}$ values from CMB maps with a significant reduction in complexity compared to traditional methods. With $500$ validation data, the $f^{\rm output}_{\rm NL}$ against $f^{\rm input}_{\rm NL}$ graph can be fitted as $y=ax+b$, where $a=0.980^{+0.098}_{-0.102}$ and $b=0.277^{+0.098}_{-0.101}$, indicating the unbiasedness of the primordial non-Gaussianity estimation. The results indicate that the CNN technique can be widely applied to other cosmological parameter estimation directly from CMB images., Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures

Cosmic inflation can enter an ultraslow-roll (USR) stage, if there is a plateau on the inflaton potential. During this stage, the primordial curvature perturbation ${\mathcal R}_k$ and its power spectrum ${\mathcal P}_{\mathcal R}$ can be remarkably enhanced on small scales. In this work, an analytical approximation is provided to systematically study the evolution of ${\mathcal R}_k$ in the USR inflation. We first discuss the asymptotic solutions of the moduli and arguments of ${\mathcal R}_k$ and its time derivative ${\mathcal R}_{k,N}$ on the sub- and super-horizon scales separately and find that all these solutions have simple exponential forms. Then, ${\mathcal R}_k$ on five typical scales are investigated in order. Our analytical approximation predicts that ${\mathcal R}_k$ first revolves around the origin in the complex plane, but if it crosses the horizon around the start of the USR stage, there appears a subsequent linear evolution towards or away from the origin. This behavior naturally explains the shape of ${\mathcal P}_{\mathcal R}$ from the sharp dip to the peak and matches the numerical results perfectly. Moreover, the minimum of ${\mathcal P}_{\mathcal R}$ is exactly proved to be nonvanishing. Our analytical approximation will help the model building in primordial black hole and gravitational wave physics., Comment: References added

We extend the anholonomic frame and connection deformation method, AFCDM, for constructing exact and parametric solutions in general relativity, GR, to geometric flow models and modified gravity theories, MGTs, with nontrivial torsion and nonmetricity fields. Following abstract geometric or variational methods, we can derive corresponding systems of nonmetric gravitational and matter field equations which consist of very sophisticated systems of coupled nonlinear PDEs. Using nonholonomic frames with dyadic spacetime splitting and applying the AFCDM, we prove that such systems of PDEs can be decoupled and integrated in general forms for generic off-diagonal metric structures and generalized affine connections. We generate new classes of quasi-stationary solutions (which do not depend on time like coordinates) and study the physical properties of some physically important examples. Such exact or parametric solutions are determined by nonmetric solitonic distributions and/or ellipsoidal deformations of wormhole hole configurations. It is not possible to describe the thermodynamic properties of such solutions in the framework of the Bekenstein-Hawking paradigm because such metrics do not involve, in general, certain horizons, duality, or holographic configurations. Nevertheless, we can always elaborate on associated Grigori Perelman thermodynamic models elaborated for nonmetric geometric flows. In explicit form, applying the AFCDM, we construct and study the physical implications of new classes of traversable wormhole solutions describing solitonic deformation and dissipation of non-Riemannian geometric objects. Such models with nontrivial gravitational off-diagonal vacuum are important for elaborating models of dark energy and dark matter involving wormhole configurations and solitonic-type structure formation., Comment: latex23, 11pt, 37 pages, with table of content; published online by EPJC

We apply a toy model based on 'pendulum waves' to gas sloshing in galaxy clusters. Starting with a galaxy cluster potential filled with a hydrostatic intra-cluster medium (ICM), we perturb all ICM by an initial small, unidirectional velocity, i.e., an instantaneous kick. Consequently, each parcel of ICM will oscillate due to buoyancy with its local Brunt-V\"ais\"al\"a (BV) period, which we show to be approximately proportional to the cluster radius. The oscillation of gas parcels at different radii with different periods leads to a characteristic, outwards-moving coherent pattern of local compressions and rarefactions; the former form the sloshing cold fronts (SCFs). Our model predicts that SCFs (i) appear in the cluster centre first, (ii) move outwards on several Gyr timescales, (iii) form a staggered pattern on opposite sides of a given cluster, (iv) each move outwards with approximately constant speed; and that (v) inner SCFs form discontinuities more easily than outer ones. These features are well known from idealised (magneto)-hydrodynamic simulations of cluster sloshing. We perform comparison hydrodynamic+N-body simulations where sloshing is triggered either by an instantaneous kick or a minor merger. Sloshing in these simulations qualitatively behaves as predicted by the toy model. However, the toy model somewhat over-predicts the speed of sloshing fronts, and does not predict that inner SCFs emerge with a delay compared to outer ones. In light of this, we identify the outermost cold front, which may be a 'failed' SCF, as the best tracer of the age of the merger that set a cluster sloshing., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The cosmological 21cm signal offers a potential probe of the early Universe and the first ionizing sources. Current experiments probe the spatially-dependent variance (Gaussianity) of the signal through the power spectrum (PS). The signal however is expected to be highly non-Gaussian due to the complex topology of reionization and X-ray heating. We investigate the non-Gaussianities of X-ray heating and reionization, by calculating the skew spectrum (SS) of the 21cm signal using MERAXES, which couples a semi-analytic galaxy population with semi-numerical reionization simulations. The SS is the cross-spectrum of the quadratic temperature brightness field with itself. We generate a set of seven simulations from $z = 30$ to $z = 5$, varying the halo mass threshold for hosting star-formation, the X-ray luminosity per star-formation rate, and the minimum X-ray energy escaping host galaxies. We find the SS is predominantly negative as a function of redshift, transitioning to positive towards the start of reionization, and peaking during the midpoint of reionization. We do not see a negative dip in the SS during reionization, likely due to the specifics of modelling ionization sources. We normalise the SS by the PS during reionization isolating the non-Gaussianities. We find a trough ($k\sim\,0.1\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$) and peak ($k\sim\,0.4-1\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$) in the normalised SS during the mid to late periods of reionization. These correlate to the ionization topology, and neutral islands in the IGM. We calculate the cosmic variance of the normalised SS, and find these features are detectable in the absence of foregrounds with the SKA_LOW., Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures

The existence of even the simplest magnetized wormholes may lead to observable consequences. In the case where both the wormhole and the magnetic field around its mouths are static and spherically symmetric, and gas in the region near the wormhole falls radially into it, the former's spectrum contains bright cyclotron or synchrotron lines due to the interaction of charged plasma particles with the magnetic field. At the same time, due to spherical symmetry, the radiation is non-polarized. The emission of this just-described exotic type (non-thermal, but non-polarized) may be a wormhole signature. Also, in this scenario, the formation of an accretion disk is still quite possible at some distance from the wormhole, but a monopole magnetic field could complicate this process and lead to the emergence of asymmetrical and one-sided relativistic jets., Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure

Around a million quasars have been catalogued in the Universe by probing deeper and using new methods for discovery. However, the hardest ones to find seem to be the rarest and brightest specimen. In this work, we study the properties of the most luminous of all quasars found so far. It has been overlooked until recently, which demonstrates that modern all-sky surveys have much to reveal. The black hole in this quasar accretes around one solar mass per day onto an existing mass of $\sim$17 billion solar masses. In this process its accretion disc alone releases a radiative energy of $2\times 10^{41}$ Watts. If the quasar is not strongly gravitationally lensed, then its broad line region (BLR) is expected to have the largest physical and angular diameter occurring in the Universe, and will allow the Very Large Telescope Interferometer to image its rotation and measure its black hole mass directly. This will be an important test for BLR size-luminosity relations, whose extrapolation has underpinned common black-hole mass estimates at high redshift., Comment: This version of the article has been accepted for publication after peer review and is subject to Springer Nature's AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02195-x

Motivated by the stability of the electroweak Higgs vacuum we consider the possibility that the Standard Model might work up to large scales between about $10^{10}$ GeV and close to the Planck scale. A plausible scenario is an emergent Standard Model with gauge symmetries originating in some topological like phase transition deep in the ultraviolet. In this case the cosmological constant scale and neutrino masses should be of similar size, suppressed by factor of the large scale of emergence. The key physics involves a subtle interplay of Poincar\'e invariance, mass generation and renormalisation group invariance. The Higgs mass would be environmentally selected in connection with vacuum stability. Consequences for dark matter scenarios are discussed., Comment: 21 pages, Contribution to "The Particle-Gravity Frontier" theme issue in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, based on the 2022 Humboldt Kolleg in Kitzb\"uhel

We investigate the Baryonic Faber-Jackson Relation (BFJR), examining the correlation between baryonic mass and velocity dispersion in galaxy groups and clusters. Originally analysed in elliptical galaxies, the BFJR is derivable from the empirical Radial Acceleration Relation (RAR) and MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), both showcasing a characteristic acceleration scale $g_\mathrm{\dagger}=1.2\times10^{-10}\,\mathrm{m}\,\mathrm{s}^{-2}$. Recent interpretations within MOND suggest that galaxy group dynamics can be explained solely by baryonic mass, hinting at a BFJR with $g_{\dagger}$ in these systems. To explore this BFJR, we combined X-ray and optical measurements for six galaxy clusters and 13 groups, calculating baryonic masses by combining X-ray gas and stellar mass estimates. Simultaneously, we computed spatially resolved velocity dispersion profiles from membership data using the biweight scale in radial bins. Our results indicate that the BFJR in galaxy groups, using total velocity dispersion, aligns with MOND predictions. Conversely, galaxy clusters exhibit a parallel BFJR with a larger acceleration scale. Analysis using tail velocity dispersion in galaxy groups shows a leftward deviation from the BFJR. Additionally, stacked velocity dispersion profiles reveal two distinct types: declining and flat, based on two parallel BFJRs. The declining profile, if not due to the anisotropy parameters or the incomplete membership, suggests a deviation from standard dark matter density profiles. We further identify three galaxy groups with unusually low dark matter fractions., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, published in MNRAS

During recombination, the cosmic background radiation is disturbed, in particular, by Lyman-alpha emissions from neutral hydrogen. It is proposed to account for the subsequent time-dependent partial thermalization of the Lyman-alpha energy content in an analytically solvable nonlinear diffusion model. The amplitude of the partially thermalized and redshifted Ly-$\alpha$ line is found to be too low to be visible in the cosmic microwave spectrum, in accordance with previous numerical models and Planck observations., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to Scientific Reports (SpringerNature)

Quasars at redshifts $z>6$ are an excellent probe of the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes in the early Universe. The population of radio-luminous quasars is of particular interest, as such quasars could potentially be used to study the neutral intergalactic medium during cosmic reionisation via H$\,$I 21$\,$cm absorption studies. However, the lack of deep radio observations of $z>6$ quasars leaves the population poorly constrained, and suitable candidates for an H$\,$I 21$\,$cm absorption study have yet to be found. In this work, we present Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) 1$-$2 GHz radio continuum observations of 138 quasars at redshifts $6.0 \leq z<7.6$. We detect the radio continuum emission of the $z=6.1$ quasar J1034-1425, with a 1.6 GHz flux density of $170\pm 36\,\mu$Jy. This quasar is radio-quiet with radio-loudness, $R \equiv f_{5\text{~GHz}}/f_{\nu,\text{4400 A}} = 2.4\pm0.5$. In addition, we detect 7 other quasars at z>6, which have previously been characterised in the literature at these frequencies. Using the full sample, we estimate the radio-loud fraction to be $3.8^{+6.2}_{-2.4}\%$, where the uncertainties are 95% confidence intervals. This is lower than recent estimates of the radio-loud fraction in the literature, but is still marginally consistent with no redshift evolution of the radio-loud fraction. We explore the undetected quasar population by stacking their continuum images at their optical positions and obtain a median stacked flux density of $13.8\pm 3.9~\mu$Jy and luminosity of $\log{L_{5~\mathrm{GHz}}/(\mathrm{W~Hz}^{-1})}=24.2\pm0.1$., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, published in MNRAS

An essay on Horndeski gravity, how it was formulated in the early 1970s and how it was 're-discovered' and widely adopted by Cosmologists more than thirty years later., Comment: Invited essay for International Journal of Theoretical Physics to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Horndeski Gravity

A search has been carried out for Magnetized Quark Nuggets (MQNs) accumulating in iron ore over geologic time. MQNs, which are theoretically consistent with the Standard Models of Physics and of Cosmology, have been suggested as dark-matter candidates. Indirect evidence of MQNs has been previously inferred from observations of magnetars and of non-meteorite impact craters. It is shown in this paper that MQNs can accumulate in taconite (iron ore) and be transferred into ferromagnetic rod-mill liners during processing of the ore. When the liners are recycled to make fresh steel, they are heated to higher than the Curie temperature so that their ferromagnetic properties are destroyed. The MQNs would then be released and fall into the ferromagnetic furnace bottom where they would be trapped. Three such furnace bottoms have been magnetically scanned to search for the magnetic anomalies consistent with trapped MQNs. The observed magnetic anomalies are equivalent to an accumulation rate of ~1 kg of MQNs per 1.2 x $10^8$ kg of taconite ore processed. The results are consistent with MQNs but there could be other, unknown explanations. We propose an experiment and calculations to definitively test the MQN hypothesis for dark matter., Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables

We present deep total intensity and polarization observations of the Coma cluster at 1.4 and 6.6 GHz performed with the Sardinia Radio Telescope. By combining the single-dish 1.4 GHz data with archival Very Large Array observations we obtain new images of the central radio halo and of the peripheral radio relic where we properly recover the brightness from the large scale structures. At 6.6 GHz we detect both the relic and the central part of the halo in total intensity and polarization. These are the highest frequency images available to date for these radio sources in this galaxy cluster. In the halo, we find a localized spot of polarized signal, with fractional polarization of about 45%. The polarized emission possibly extends along the north-east side of the diffuse emission. The relic is highly polarized, up to 55%, as usually found for these sources. We confirm the halo spectrum is curved, in agreement with previous single-dish results. The spectral index is alpha=1.48 +/- 0.07 at a reference frequency of 1 GHz and varies from alpha ~1.1, at 0.1 GHz, up to alpha ~ 1.8, at 10 GHz. We compare the Coma radio halo surface brightness profile at 1.4 GHz (central brightness and e-folding radius) with the same properties of the other halos, and we find that it has one of the lowest emissivities observed so far. Reanalyzing the relic's spectrum in the light of the new data, we obtain a refined radio Mach number of M=2.9 +/- 0.1., Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures, this article has been accepted for publication in MNRAS Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society

Weak gravitational lensing of distant galaxies provides a powerful probe of dark energy. The aim of this study is to investigate the application of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to precision shear estimation. In particular, using a shallow CNN, we explore the impact of point spread function (PSF) misestimation and `galaxy population bias' (including `distribution bias' and `morphology bias'), focusing on the accuracy requirements of next generation surveys. We simulate a population of noisy disk and elliptical galaxies and adopt a PSF that is representative of a Euclid-like survey. We quantify the accuracy achieved by the CNN assuming a linear relationship between the estimated and true shears and measure the multiplicative ($m$) and additive ($c$) biases. We make use of an unconventional loss function to mitigate the effects of noise bias and measure $m$ and $c$ when we use either: (i) an incorrect galaxy ellipticity distribution or size-magnitude relation, or the wrong ratio of morphological types, to describe the population of galaxies (distribution bias); (ii) an incorrect galaxy light profile (morphology bias); or (iii) a PSF with size or ellipticity offset from its true value (PSF misestimation). We compare our results to the Euclid requirements on the knowledge of the PSF model shape and size. Finally, we outline further work to build on the promising potential of CNNs in precision shear estimation., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures

We study the intermediate tachyon inflation in an anisotropic background. By using the Friedmann equations obtained in the anisotropic geometry, we obtain the slow-roll parameters in the tachyon model. The presence of the anisotropic effects in the slow-roll parameters changes the perturbation parameters in our setup which may change its observational viability. To check this, we perform a numerical analysis and test the results with Planck2018 TT, TE, EE +lowE+lensing+BK14(18)+BAO data. We show that the intermediate anisotropic inflation in some ranges of the anisotropic and intermediate parameters is observationally viable. We also show that the equilateral amplitude of the non-gaussianity in our model is of the order of $10^{-2}-10^{-1}$. By studying the reheating process in our setup, we find that it is possible to have instantaneous reheating in this model. We also find that the temperature during the reheating in our setup is consistent with Big-Bang nucleosynthesis., Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables

We present the study of CI/H$_2$ relative abundance in the diffuse cold neutral medium. Using the chemical and thermal balance model we calculated the dependence of CI/H$_2$ on the main parameters of the medium: hydrogen number density, metallicity, strength of the UV field, and cosmic ray ionization rate (CRIR). We show that observed relative CI and H$_2$ column densities in damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) at high redshifts can be reproduced within our model assuming the typically expected conditions in the diffuse cold neutral medium (CNM). Using the additional observed information the on metallicity, HI column density, and excitation of CI fine-structure levels, as well as temperature we estimated for a wide range metallicities in the CNM at high redshifts that CRIRs to be in the range from $\sim10^{-16}$ to $\rm few \times 10^{-15}\rm s^{-1}$, hydrogen number densities to be in range $\sim10 - 10^3$cm$^{-3}$, and UV field in range from $10^{-2}$ to $\rm few \times 10^2$ of Mathis field. We argue, that since the observed quantities used in this work are quite homogeneous and much less affected by the radiative transfer effects (in comparison with e.g. dissociation of HD and UV pumping of H$_2$ rotational levels) our estimates are quite robust against the assumption of the exact geometrical model of the cloud and local sources of the UV field., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures

The observed Tully-Fisher and Faber-Jackson laws between the baryonic mass of galaxies and the velocity of motion of stars at the edge of galaxies are explained within the framework of the model of accretion of galaxies around supermassive black holes (SMBH). The accretion model can also explain the M-sigma relation between the mass of a supermassive black hole and the velocity of stars in the bulge. The difference in the mechanisms of origin of elliptical galaxies with low angular momentum and disk galaxies with high angular momentum can be associated with 3D and 2D accretion., Comment: 9 pages

The cosmic acceleration observed in the expansion of the Universe has sparked extensive research into the nature of dark energy, which is known to constitute approximately 70\% of the Universe's energy content. In this study, we explore two parametrizations of the Hubble parameter, namely power-law and logarithmic corrections, as alternatives to the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. Using observational data from Cosmic Chronometers (CC), Pantheon+, and the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) datasets, we investigate the dynamics of essential cosmological parameters, including the deceleration parameter, energy density, pressure, and equation of state (EoS) parameter. The $Om(z)$ diagnostic test is employed to classify different dark energy models. Our cosmological models, with the power-law and logarithmic corrections, are found to provide a good fit to the recent observational data and efficiently describe the cosmic expansion scenario., Comment: The European Physical Journal Plus accepted version

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) has the largest aperture and a 19-beam L-band receiver, making it powerful for investigating the neutral hydrogen atomic gas (HI) in the universe. We present HiFAST (https://hifast.readthedocs.io), a dedicated, modular, and self-contained calibration and imaging pipeline for processing the HI data of FAST. The pipeline consists of frequency-dependent noise diode calibration, baseline fitting, standing wave removal using an FFT-based method, flux density calibration, stray radiation correction, and gridding to produce data cubes. These modules can be combined as needed to process the data from most FAST observation modes: tracking, drift scanning, On-The-Fly mapping, and most of their variants. With HiFAST, the RMS noises of the calibrated spectra from all 19 beams were only slightly (~ 5%) higher than the theoretical expectation. The results for the extended source M33 and the point sources are consistent with the results from Arecibo. The moment maps (0,1 and 2) of M33 agree well with the results from the Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey (AGES) with a fractional difference of less than 10%. For a common sample of 221 sources with signal-to-noise ratio S/N >10 from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey, the mean value of fractional difference in the integrated flux density, $S_{\mathrm{int}}$, between the two datasets is approximately 0.005 %, with a dispersion of 15.4%. Further checks on the integrated flux density of 23 sources with seven observations indicate that the variance in the flux density of the source with luminous objects ($S_\mathrm{int}$ $ > 2.5$ Jy km s$^{-1}$) is less than 5%. Our tests suggest that the FAST telescope, with the efficient, precise, and user-friendly pipeline HiFAST, will yield numerous significant scientific findings in the investigation of the HI in the universe., Comment: Accepted by SCPMA. 21 pages, 14 figures. The pipeline is accessible at https://hifast.readthedocs.io

In the framework of the extended Einstein-aether-axion theory we study the model of a two-level aetheric control over the evolution of a spatially isotropic homogeneous Universe filled with axionic dark matter. Two guiding functions are introduced, which depend on the expansion scalar of the aether flow, equal to the tripled Hubble function. The guiding function of the first type enters the aetheric effective metric, which modifies the kinetic term of the axionic system; the guiding function of the second type predetermines the structure of the potential of the axion field. We obtained new exact solutions of the total set of master equations of the model (with and without cosmological constant), and studied in detail four analytically solvable submodels, for which both guiding functions are reconstructed and illustrations of their behavior are presented., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

We search for MeV gamma-ray emission between 0.75-30 MeV from five galaxy clusters, viz. Coma, VIRGO, SPT-CL J2012-5649, Bullet, and El Gordo, using archival data from the COMPTEL telescope. For this purpose we use three search templates: point source, radial disk and radial Gaussian. We do not detect any signals from Coma, SPT-CL J2012-5649, Bullet and El Gordo clusters with the 95\% c.l. photon energy flux limit $\sim 10^{-10} ~\rm{erg /cm^2/s} $. For VIRGO, we detect a non-zero signal between 0.92 to 1.63 MeV having marginal significance of about $2.5\sigma$, with the observed energy flux $ \sim 10^{-9}~\rm{ergs/cm^2/s}$. However, we do not confirm the previously reported evidence in literature for a gamma-ray line from Coma and VIRGO clusters between 5-7 MeV., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in JCAP

We investigated a bulk viscous fluid universe with cosmological constant {\Lambda} by assuming that the bulk viscosity to be proportional to the Hubble parameter. We found that for an expanding universe, the (relative) matter density will be always greater than a non-zero constant, and tends to this non-zero constant in the future. We show that the bulk viscosity model has a significantly better fitting to the combined SNeIa + CMB + BAO + H(z) data than the {\Lambda}CDM model. Generally, the evolution or values of some cosmological parameters predicted by the bulk viscosity model do not deviate significantly from which are obtained from the {\Lambda}CDM model since the bulk viscosity coefficient obtained from the astronomical observational data is so small. We also made a statefinder analysis of the bulk viscosity model and found that the evolution of the {r, s} parameters behaves in such a way that 0 < s < 1, 0.945 < r <1, indicating the bulk viscosity model is different from the {\Lambda}CDM model., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables

The theory of Big Bang nucleosynthesis, coupled with an estimate of the primordial deuterium abundance (D/H)_pr, offers insights into the baryon density of the Universe. Independently, the baryon density can be constrained during a different cosmological era through the analysis of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy. The comparison of these estimates serves as a rigorous test for the self-consistency of the Standard Cosmological Model and stands as a potent tool in the quest for new physics beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics. For a meaningful comparison, a clear understanding of the various systematic errors affecting deuterium measurements is crucial. Given the limited number of D/H measurements, each new estimate carries significant weight. This study presents the detection of DI absorption lines in a metal-poor sub-Damped Lyman-alpha system ([O/H]=-1.71+-0.02, logN(HI)=19.304+-0.004) at z_abs=3.42 towards the quasar J1332+0052. Through simultaneous fitting of HI and DI Lyman-series lines, as well as low-ionization metal lines, observed at high spectral resolution and high signal-to-noise using VLT/UVES and Keck/HIRES, we derive log(DI/HI)=-4.622+-0.014, accounting for statistical and systematic uncertainties of 0.008dex and 0.012dex, respectively. Thanks to negligible ionization corrections and minimal deuterium astration at low metallicity, this D/H ratio provides a robust measurement of the primordial deuterium abundance, consistent and competitive with previous works. Incorporating all prior measurements, the best estimate of the primordial deuterium abundance is constrained as: (D/H)_pr=(2.533+-0.024)*10^-5. This represents a 5% improvement in precision over previous studies and reveals a moderate tension with the expectation from the Standard Model (~2.2sig). This discrepancy underscores the importance of further measurements in the pursuit of new physics., Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

A viable radiation dominated era in the early universe is best described by the standard (FLRW) model of cosmology. In this short review, we demonstrate reconstruction of the forms of F(R) in the modified theory of gravity and the metric compatible F(T) together with the symmetric F(Q) in alternative teleparallel theories of gravity, from different perspectives, primarily rendering emphasis on a viable FLRW radiation era. Inflation has also been studied for a particular choice of the scalar potential. The inflationary parameters are found to agree appreciably with the recently released observational data., Comment: 21 pages, 0 fgures

While the available set of Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) data with known redshift is currently limited, a much larger set of GRB data without redshift is available from different instruments. This data includes well-measured prompt gamma-ray flux and spectral information. We estimate the redshift of a selection of these GRBs detected by Fermi-GBM and Konus-Wind using Machine Learning techniques that are based on spectral parameters. We find that Deep Neural Networks with Random Forest models employing non-linear relations among input parameters can reasonably reproduce the pseudo-redshift distribution of GRBs, mimicking the distribution of GRBs with spectroscopic redshift. Furthermore, we find that the pseudo-redshift samples of GRBs satisfy (i) Amati relation between the peak photon energy of the time-averaged energy spectrum in the cosmological rest frame of the GRB ${E}_{\rm i, p}$ and the isotropic-equivalent radiated energy ${E}_{\rm iso}$ during the prompt phase; and (ii) Yonetoku relation between ${E}_{\rm i, p}$ and isotropic-equivalent luminosity ${L}_{\rm iso}$, both measured during the peak flux interval., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted in MNRAS

We propose a specialized parameterization for the Hubble parameter, inspired by $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, to investigate the cosmic expansion history of the Universe. This parameterization is employed to analyze the Universe's late-time behavior within the context of $Q^n$ gravity, where $Q$ represents non-metricity. By using data from 57 Hubble data points, 1048 supernova (SNe) data points, and 6 baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data points, we determine the optimal values for the model parameters. Additionally, we explore three distinct cosmological models based on the parameter $n$, specifically when it takes on the values of $0.55$, $1.5$, and $2.0$. The results of our analysis indicate that our proposed parameterization, along with the associated models for different values of $n$, predicts an accelerated cosmic expansion phase., Comment: Special Issue Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of IJGMMP

The interacting binary system NGC 4490/85 = Arp 269 is intermediate in mass between the Milky Way/Large Magellanic Cloud and the Large/Small Magellanic Cloud binary systems. It is a system of 14 known galaxies. We estimate the total Newtonian gravitating mass of the NGC\,4490/85 group to be M_T = (1.37 +- 0.43) times 10^{12} M_Sun using radial velocities and projected separations of its 13~candidate members. The system of dwarf satellites in the group demonstrates signs of coherent rotation in the same direction as that of the extended HI-shell surrounding the central interacting galaxy pair. The origin of this phase-space correlated population of star-forming late-type satellite galaxies raises questions in view of the planes-of-satellites observed around more massive galaxy pairs that are, however, made up of old early-type dwarf galaxies. We also report the detection of a candidate stellar Plume near the binary. This elongated structure of low surface brightness is a likely optical counterpart to the HI-tail north of NGC 4490/85, recently discovered by the FAST radio telescope., Comment: LaTeX, 7 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, MNRAS, in press, updated for text adjustments to published version

Through the Gertsenshtein effect, the presence of a large external B-field may allow photons and gravitons to mix in a way that resembles neutrino oscillations and is even more similar to axion-photon mixing. Assuming a background B-field (or any field that behaves like one), we examine the Gertsenshtein mechanism in the context of FLRW expanding universe models, as well as de Sitter space. The conformal invariance of Maxwell's equations and the conformal noninvariance of the Einstein equations preclude the operation of the Gertsenshtein effect at all scales. In general we find for the matter- and radiation-dominated cases, graviton-oscillations are possible only at late conformal times or when the wavelengths are much shorter than the horizon ($k\eta \gg 1$), but that the time-dependent oscillations eventually damp out in any case. The presence of charged particles additionally damps out the oscillations. For the de Sitter universe, we find that oscillations are possible only at early conformal times ($\eta \ll H^{-1}$) and for wavelengths short compared to the Hubble radius, but eventually freeze in when wavelengths become longer than the Hubble radius. In principle a Gertsenshtein-like mechanism might influence the balance of particle species in an inflationary phase before freezing in; however, we find that in all our models the mixing length is larger than the Hubble radius. We discuss several possible remedies to this situation., Comment: 27 pages, no figures

In this paper, we introduce a weak, transient and periodical derivative coupling between the inflaton field and gravity, and find that the square of the sound speed of the curvature perturbations becomes a periodic function, which results in that the equation of the curvature perturbations can be transformed into the form of the Mathieu equation in the sub-horizon limit. Thus, the parametric resonance will amplify the curvature perturbations so as to generate a formation of abundant primordial black holes (PBHs). We show that the generated PBHs can make up most of dark matter. Associated with the generation of PBHs, the large scalar perturbations will give rise to the scalar induced gravitational waves which may be detected by future gravitational wave projects., Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, refs added

It has been claimed that the variability of field quasars resembles gravitational lensing by a large cosmological population of free-floating planets with mass of about 10 Earths. But Galactic photometric monitoring experiments, on the other hand, exclude a large population of such planetary-mass gravitational lenses. These apparently contradictory pieces of evidence can be reconciled if the objects under consideration have a mean column-density that lies between the critical column-densities for gravitational lensing in these two contexts. Dark matter in that form is known to be weakly collisional, so that a core develops in galaxy halo density profiles, and a preferred model has already been established. Here we consider what such a model implies for Q2237+0305, which is the best-studied example of a quasar that is strongly lensed by an intervening galaxy. We construct microlensing magnification maps appropriate to the four macro-images of the quasar -- all of which are seen through the bulge of the galaxy. Each of these maps exhibits a caustic network arising from the stars, plus many small, isolated caustics arising from the free-floating "planets" in the lens galaxy. The "planets" have little influence on the magnification histograms but a large effect on the statistics of the magnification gradients. We compare our predictions to the published OGLE photometry of Q2237+0305 and find that these data are consistent with the presence of the hypothetical "planets". However, the evidence is relatively weak because the OGLE dataset is not well suited to testing our predictions and requires low-pass filtering for this application. New data from a large, space-based telescope are desirable to address this issue., Comment: v2: added DOI, updated references, published in MNRAS as accepted manuscript

Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), postulating a breakdown of Newtonian mechanics at low accelerations, has considerable success at explaining galaxy kinematics. However, the quadrupole of the gravitational field of the Solar System (SS) provides a strong constraint on the way in which Newtonian gravity can be modified. In this paper we assess the extent to which the AQUAL and QUMOND modified gravity formulations of MOND are capable of accounting simultaneously for the Radial Acceleration Relation (RAR), the Cassini measurement of the SS quadrupole and the kinematics of wide binaries in the Solar neighbourhood. We achieve this by inferring the location and sharpness of the MOND transition from the SPARC RAR under broad assumptions for the behaviour of the interpolating function and external field effect. We constrain the same quantities from the SS quadrupole, finding that this requires a significantly sharper transition between the deep-MOND and Newtonian regimes than is allowed by the RAR (an 8.7$\sigma$ tension under fiducial model assumptions). This may be relieved somewhat by allowing additional freedom in galaxies' mass-to-light ratios -- which also improves the RAR fit -- and more significantly (to 1.9$\sigma$) by removing galaxies with bulges. For the first time, we also apply to the SPARC RAR fit an AQUAL correction for flattened systems, obtaining similar results. Finally we show that the SS quadrupole constraint implies, to high precision, no deviation from Newtonian gravity in nearby wide binaries, and speculate on possible resolutions of this tension between SS and galaxy data within the MOND paradigm., Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables; moderate revision, matches MNRAS published version

In this study, we investigate the dynamics of the Universe during the observed late-time acceleration phase within the framework of the Weyl-type $f(Q,T)$ theory. Specifically, we consider a well-motivated model with the functional form $f(Q,T)=\alpha Q+\frac{\beta }{6\kappa ^2}T$, where $Q$ represents the scalar of non-metricity and $T$ denotes the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. In this context, the non-metricity $Q_{\mu\alpha\beta}$ of the space-time is established by the vector field $w_\mu$. The parameters $\alpha$ and $\beta$ govern the gravitational field and its interaction with the matter content of the Universe. By considering the case of dust matter, we obtain exact solutions for the field equations and observe that the Hubble parameter $H(z)$ follows a power-law behavior with respect to redshift $z$. To constrain the model parameters, we analyze various datasets including the $Hubble$, $Pantheon$ datasets, and their combination. Our results indicate that the Weyl-type $f(Q,T)$ theory offers a viable alternative to explain the observed late-time acceleration of the Universe avoiding the use of dark energy., Comment: Special Issue Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of IJGMMP

We report observational evidence of highly turbulent ionized gas kinematics in a sample of 20 Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters (LCEs) at low redshift ($z\sim 0.3$). Detailed Gaussian modeling of optical emission line profiles in high-dispersion spectra consistently shows that both bright recombination and collisionally excited lines can be fitted as one or two narrow components with intrinsic velocity dispersion of $\sigma$ $\sim$ 40-100 km s$^{-1}$, in addition to a broader component with $\sigma \sim$ 100-300 km s$^{-1}$, which contributes up to $\sim$40% of the total flux and is preferentially blueshifted from the systemic velocity. We interpret the narrow emission as highly ionized gas close to the young massive star clusters and the broader emission as a signpost of unresolved ionized outflows, resulting from massive stars and supernova feedback. We find a significant correlation between the width of the broad emission and the LyC escape fraction, with strong LCEs exhibiting more complex and broader line profiles than galaxies with weaker or undetected LyC emission. We provide new observational evidence supporting predictions from models and simulations; our findings suggest that gas turbulence and outflows resulting from strong radiative and mechanical feedback play a key role in clearing channels through which LyC photons escape from galaxies. We propose that the detection of blueshifted broad emission in the nebular lines of compact extreme emission-line galaxies can provide a new indirect diagnostic of Lyman photon escape, which could be useful to identify potential LyC leakers in the epoch of reionization with the JWST., Comment: 11 Pages, 7 Figures. A&A in Press