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In lattice field theory, field sparsening aims to replace quantum fields, or objects constructed from them, with approximations that preserve the appropriate symmetries and maintain many aspects of the physics that the fields determine. For example, an effective sparsening of a quark propagator provides an efficient map from a quark propagator on a fine lattice geometry to a quark propagator defined on a coarser geometry in order to reduce storage and computational costs of subsequent calculational stages while maintaining long-distance correlations and corresponding low-energy physical information. Previous studies have focused on decimating lattice sites or randomly sampling lattice sites to reduce the size of the propagator and subsequent costs of Wick contractions. Here, we extend the study of sparsening to incorporate covariant averaging of spatial sites and examine the effects on two-point and three-point correlation functions involving various hadrons. We find that sparsening is most effective in reproducing the unsparsened versions of these correlation functions when weighted covariant-averaging is sequentially applied many times., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures; 40 pages supplementary materials with 40 figures

Recent observations have demonstrated that some subset of even moderately wide-separation planet-hosting binaries are preferentially configured such that planetary and binary orbits appear to lie within the same plane. In this work, we explore dissipation during the protoplanetary disk phase, induced by disk warping as the system is forced into nodal recession by an inclined binary companion as a possible avenue of achieving orbit-orbit alignment. We analytically model the coupled evolution of the disk angular momentum vector and stellar spin vector under the influence of a distant binary companion. We find that a population of systems with random initial orientations can appear detectably more aligned after undergoing dissipative precession, and that this process can simultaneously produce an obliquity distribution that is consistent with observations. While dissipative precession proceeds efficiently in close binaries, favorable system properties (e.g., $r_{out} \gtrsim 100$ AU, $\alpha \gtrsim 0.05$, and/or $M_b/M_{*} \gtrsim 1$) are required to reproduce observed alignment trends at wider binary separations $a_\mathrm{b} \gtrsim450$ AU. Our framework further predicts that circum-primary planets in systems with high stellar mass ratios should be preferentially less aligned than planets in equal-mass stellar binary systems. We discover tentative evidence for this trend in \textit{Gaia} DR3 and TESS data. Our findings suggest that dissipative precession may play a significant role in sculpting orbital configurations in a sub-set of moderately-wide planet-hosting binaries, but is likely not solely responsible for their observed population-level alignment., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Studying the relative orientations of the orbits of exoplanets and wide-orbiting binary companions (semimajor axis greater than 100 AU) can shed light on how planets form and evolve in binary systems. Previous observations by multiple groups discovered a possible alignment between the orbits of visual binaries and the exoplanets that reside in them. In this study, using data from \textit{Gaia} DR3 and TESS, we confirm the existence of an alignment between the orbits of small planets $(R<6 R_\oplus)$ and binary systems with semimajor axes below 700 AU ($p=10^{-6}$). However, we find no statistical evidence for alignment between planet and binary orbits for binary semimajor axes greater than 700 AU, and no evidence for alignment of large, closely-orbiting planets (mostly hot Jupiters) and binaries at any separation. The lack of orbital alignment between our large planet sample and their binary companions appears significantly different from our small planet sample, even taking into account selection effects. Therefore, we conclude that any alignment between wide-binaries and our sample of large planets (predominantly hot Jupiters) is probably not as strong as what we observe for small planets in binaries with semimajor axes less than 700 AU. The difference in the alignment distribution of hot Jupiters and smaller planets may be attributed to the unique evolutionary mechanisms occuring in systems that form hot Jupiters, including potentially destabilizing secular resonances that onset as the protoplanetary disk dissipates and high-eccentricity migration occurring after the disk is gone., Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, submitted to AJ. Email corresponding author for data files

Astronomers do not have a complete picture of the effects of wide-binary companions (semimajor axes greater than 100 AU) on the formation and evolution of exoplanets. We investigate these effects using new data from Gaia EDR3 and the TESS mission to characterize wide-binary systems with transiting exoplanets. We identify a sample of 67 systems of transiting exoplanet candidates (with well-determined, edge-on orbital inclinations) that reside in wide visual binary systems. We derive limits on orbital parameters for the wide-binary systems and measure the minimum difference in orbital inclination between the binary and planet orbits. We determine that there is statistically significant difference in the inclination distribution of wide-binary systems with transiting planets compared to a control sample, with the probability that the two distributions are the same being 0.0037. This implies that there is an overabundance of planets in binary systems whose orbits are aligned with those of the binary. The overabundance of aligned systems appears to primarily have semimajor axes less than 700 AU. We investigate some effects that could cause the alignment and conclude that a torque caused by a misaligned binary companion on the protoplanetary disk is the most promising explanation., Comment: 30 pages, 19 figures, 2 csv files included in Arxiv source; accepted for publication in AJ

We present the discovery and characterization of five hot and warm Jupiters -- TOI-628 b (TIC 281408474; HD 288842), TOI-640 b (TIC 147977348), TOI-1333 b (TIC 395171208, BD+47 3521A), TOI-1478 b (TIC 409794137), and TOI-1601 b (TIC 139375960) -- based on data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The five planets were identified from the full frame images and were confirmed through a series of photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations by the $TESS$ Follow-up Observing Program (TFOP) Working Group. The planets are all Jovian size (R$_{\rm P}$ = 1.01-1.77 R$_{\rm J}$) and have masses that range from 0.85 to 6.33 M$_{\rm J}$. The host stars of these systems have F and G spectral types (5595 $\le$ T$_{\rm eff}$ $\le$ 6460 K) and are all relatively bright (9 $ 1.7R$_{\rm J}$, possibly a result of its host star's evolution) and resides on an orbit with a period longer than 5 days. TOI-628 b is the most massive hot Jupiter discovered to date by $TESS$ with a measured mass of $6.31^{+0.28}_{-0.30}$ M$_{\rm J}$ and a statistically significant, non-zero orbital eccentricity of e = $0.074^{+0.021}_{-0.022}$. This planet would not have had enough time to circularize through tidal forces from our analysis, suggesting that it might be remnant eccentricity from its migration. The longest period planet in this sample, TOI-1478 b (P = 10.18 days), is a warm Jupiter in a circular orbit around a near-Solar analogue. NASA's $TESS$ mission is continuing to increase the sample of well-characterized hot and warm Jupiters, complementing its primary mission goals., Comment: 25 Pages, 7 Figures, 5 Tables, Accepted to The Astronomical Journal

In the {\Lambda}-CDM paradigm of cosmology, anisotropies larger than 260 Mpc shouldn't exist. However, the existence of the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall (HCB) is purported to challenge this principle by some with an estimated size exceeding 2000 Mpc. Recently, some have challenged the assertion of the existence of the HCB, attributing the anisotropy to sky exposure effects. It has never been explained why the original methods purporting the existence of the HCB produce anisotropies, even if sky-exposure effects are taken into account. In this paper, I apply the methods of the original papers purporting the existence of the HCB in various Monte-Carlo simulations that assume isotropy to analyze the empirical meaning of the significance levels of the original tests used. I find that, although the statistical tests at first glance show significant anisotropies present in the suspect sample, Monte-Carlo simulations can easily reproduce the sample in most cases, and if not, the differences can be accounted for by other statistical considerations. An updated sample raises the probability of drawing the observed clustering from an isotropic sample ten-fold in some cases. Thus the statistical tests used in prior studies overestimate the significance of the observed anisotropy, and an updated sample returns even less significant probabilities. Given the ability to reproduce the observed anisotropy in Monte-Carlo simulations, the new, higher probabilities of being drawn from isotropy for an updated sample, and the work of previous papers attributing anisotropies to sky-selection effects, the existence of the HCB must be treated as doubtful at best., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS