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Given a curve in quantum spin state space, we inquire what is the relation between its geometry and the geometric phase accumulated along it. Motivated by Mukunda and Simon's result that geodesics (in the standard Fubini-Study metric) do not accumulate geometric phase, we find a general expression for the derivatives (of various orders) of the geometric phase in terms of the covariant derivatives of the curve. As an application of our results, we put forward the brachistophase problem: given a quantum state, find the (appropriately normalized) hamiltonian that maximizes the accumulated geometric phase after time $\tau$ - we find an analytical solution for all spin values, valid for small $\tau$. For example, the optimal evolution of a spin coherent state consists of a single Majorana star separating from the rest and tracing out a circle on the Majorana sphere., Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures

LiteBIRD is a planned JAXA-led CMB B-mode satellite experiment aiming for launch in the late 2020s, with a primary goal of detecting the imprint of primordial inflationary gravitational waves. Its current baseline focal-plane configuration includes 15 frequency bands between 40 and 402 GHz, fulfilling the mission requirements to detect the amplitude of gravitational waves with the total uncertainty on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, $\delta r$, down to $\delta r<0.001$. A key aspect of this performance is accurate astrophysical component separation, and the ability to remove polarized thermal dust emission is particularly important. In this paper we note that the CMB frequency spectrum falls off nearly exponentially above 300 GHz relative to the thermal dust SED, and a relatively minor high frequency extension can therefore result in even lower uncertainties and better model reconstructions. Specifically, we compare the baseline design with five extended configurations, while varying the underlying dust modeling, in each of which the HFT (High-Frequency Telescope) frequency range is shifted logarithmically towards higher frequencies, with an upper cutoff ranging between 400 and 600 GHz. In each case, we measure the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ uncertainty and bias using both parametric and minimum-variance component-separation algorithms. When the thermal dust sky model includes a spatially varying spectral index and temperature, we find that the statistical uncertainty on $r$ after foreground cleaning may be reduced by as much as 30--50 % by extending the upper limit of the frequency range from 400 to 600 GHz, with most of the improvement already gained at 500 GHz. We also note that a broader frequency range leads to better ability to discriminate between models through higher $\chi^2$ sensitivity. (abridged), Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures. Published in A&A

One of the crucial ingredients for the improvement of stellar models is the accurate knowledge of neutron capture cross-sections for the different isotopes involved in the $s$-,$r$- and $i$- processes. These measurements can shed light on existing discrepancies between observed and predicted isotopic abundances and help to constrain the physical conditions where these reactions take place along different stages of stellar evolution.In the particular case of the radioactive $^{94}$Nb, the $^{94}$Nb($n$,$\gamma$) cross-section could play a role in the determination of the $s$-process production of $^{94}$Mo in AGB stars, which presently cannot be reproduced by state-of-the-art stellar models. There are no previous $^{94}$Nb($n$,$\gamma$) experimental data for the resolved and unresolved resonance regions mainly due to the difficulties in producing high-quality samples and also due to limitations in conventional detection systems commonly used in time-of-flight experiments.Motivated by this situation, a first measurement of the $^{94}$Nb($n$,$\gamma$) reaction was carried out at CERN n\_TOF, thereby exploiting the high luminosity of the EAR2 area in combination with a new detection system of small-volume C6D6-detectors and a high quality $^{94}$Nb-sample. The latter was based on hyper-pure $^{93}$Nb material activated at the high-flux reactor of ILL-Grenoble. An innovative ring-configuration detection system in close geometry around the capture sample allowed us to significantly enhance the signal-to-background ratio. This set-up was supplemented with two conventional C$_{6}$D$_{6}$ detectors and a high-resolution LaCl$_{3}$(Ce)-detector, which will be employed for addressing reliably systematic effects and uncertainties.At the current status of the data analysis, 18 resonance in $^{94}$Nb+$n$ have been observed for the first time in the neutron energy range from thermal up to 10 keV., Comment: NPA-X conference proceeding

The bright polarized synchrotron emission, away from the Galactic plane, originates mostly from filamentary structures. We implement a filament finder algorithm which allows the detection of bright elongated structures in polarized intensity maps. We analyse the sky at 23 and 30 GHz as observed respectively by WMAP and Planck. We identify 19 filaments, 13 of which have been previously observed. For each filament, we study the polarization fraction, finding values typically larger than for the areas outside the filaments, excluding the Galactic plane, and a fraction of about 30% is reached in two filaments. We study the polarization spectral indices of the filaments, and find a spectral index consistent with the values found in previous analysis (about -3.1) for more diffuse regions. Decomposing the polarization signals into the $E$ and $B$ families, we find that most of the filaments are detected in $P_E$, but not in $P_B$. We then focus on understanding the statistical properties of the diffuse regions of the synchrotron emission at 23 GHz. Using Minkowski functionals and tensors, we analyse the non-Gaussianity and statistical isotropy of the polarized intensity maps. For a sky coverage corresponding to 80% of the fainter emission, and on scales smaller than 6 degrees ($\ell > 30$), the deviations from Gaussianity and isotropy are significantly higher than 3$\sigma$. The level of deviation decreases for smaller scales, however, it remains significantly high for the lowest analised scale ($\sim 1.5^\circ$). When 60% sky coverage is analysed, we find that the deviations never exceed 3$\sigma$. Finally, we present a simple data-driven model to generate non-Gaussian and anisotropic simulations of the synchrotron polarized emission. The simulations are fitted in order to match the spectral and statistical properties of the faintest 80% sky coverage of the data maps., Comment: 35 pages, 17 figures

We present the catalogue of Q-U-I JOint TEnerife (QUIJOTE) Wide Survey radio sources extracted from the maps of the Multi-Frequency Instrument compiled between 2012 and 2018. The catalogue contains 786 sources observed in intensity and polarization, and is divided into two separate sub-catalogues: one containing 47 bright sources previously studied by the \emph{Planck} collaboration and an extended catalogue of 739 sources either selected from the \emph{Planck} Second Catalogue of Compact Sources or found through a blind search carried out with a Mexican Hat 2 wavelet. A significant fraction of the sources in our catalogue (38.7 per cent) are within the $|b| \leq 20^\circ$ region of the Galactic plane. We determine statistical properties for those sources that are likely to be extragalactic. We find that these statistical properties are compatible with currently available models, with a $\sim$1.8 Jy completeness limit at 11 GHz. We provide the polarimetric properties of (38, 33, 31, 23) sources with P detected above the $99.99\%$ significance level at (11, 13, 17, 19) GHz, respectively. Median polarization fractions are in the $2.8$-$4.7$\% range in the 11-19 GHz frequency interval. We do not distinguish between Galactic and extragalactic sources here. The results presented here are consistent with those reported in the literature for flat- and steep-spectrum radio sources., Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables

We derive linearly polarized astrophysical component maps in the Northern Sky from the QUIJOTE-MFI data at 11 and 13 GHz in combination with the WMAP K and Ka bands (23 and 33 GHz) and all Planck polarized channels (30-353 GHz), using the parametric component separation method B-SeCRET. The addition of QUIJOTE-MFI data significantly improves the parameter estimation of the low-frequency foregrounds, especially the estimation of the synchrotron spectral index, $\beta_s$. We present the first detailed $\beta_s$ map of the Northern Celestial Hemisphere at a smoothing scale of $2^{\circ}$. We find statistically significant spatial variability across the sky. We obtain an average value of $-3.08$ and a dispersion of $0.13$, considering only pixels with reliable goodness-of-fit. The power law model of the synchrotron emission provides a good fit to the data outside the Galactic plane but fails to track the complexity within this region. Moreover, when we assume a synchrotron model with uniform curvature, $c_s$, we find a value of $c_s = -0.0797 \pm 0.0012$. However, there is insufficient statistical significance to determine which model is favoured, either the power law or the power law with uniform curvature. Furthermore, we estimate the thermal dust spectral parameters in polarization. Our CMB, synchrotron, and thermal dust maps are highly correlated with the corresponding products of the PR4 Planck release, although some large-scale differences are observed in the synchrotron emission. Finally, we find that the $\beta_s$ estimation in the high signal-to-noise synchrotron emission areas is prior-independent while, outside these regions, the prior governs the $\beta_s$ estimation., Comment: 25 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The QUIJOTE-MFI Northern Hemisphere Wide-Survey has provided maps of the sky above declinations $-30^\circ$ at 11, 13, 17 and 19$\,$GHz. These data are combined with ancillary data to produce Spectral Energy Distributions in intensity in the frequency range 0.4--3\,000$\,$GHz on a sample of 52 candidate compact sources harbouring anomalous microwave emission (AME). We apply a component separation analysis at 1$^\circ$ scale on the full sample from which we identify 44 sources with high AME significance. We explore correlations between different fitted parameters on this last sample. QUIJOTE-MFI data contribute to notably improve the characterisation of the AME spectrum, and its separation from the other components. In particular, ignoring the 10--20\,GHz data produces on average an underestimation of the AME amplitude, and an overestimation of the free-free component. We find an average AME peak frequency of 23.6 $\pm$ 3.6$\,$GHz, about 4$\,$GHz lower than the value reported in previous studies. The strongest correlation is found between the peak flux density of the thermal dust and of the AME component. A mild correlation is found between the AME emissivity ($A_{\rm AME}/\tau_{250}$) and the interstellar radiation field. On the other hand no correlation is found between the AME emissivity and the free-free radiation Emission Measure. Our statistical results suggest that the interstellar radiation field could still be the main driver of the intensity of the AME as regards spinning dust excitation mechanisms. On the other hand, it is not clear whether spinning dust would be most likely associated with cold phases of the interstellar medium rather than with hot phases dominated by free-free radiation., Comment: 36 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Maps and derived data products available at https://research.iac.es/proyecto/quijote/

The Haze is an excess of microwave intensity emission surrounding the Galactic centre. It is spatially correlated with the $\gamma$-ray Fermi bubbles, and with the S-PASS radio polarization plumes, suggesting a possible common provenance. The models proposed to explain the origin of the Haze, including energetic events at the Galactic centre and dark matter decay in the Galactic halo, do not yet provide a clear physical interpretation. In this paper we present a re-analysis of the Haze including new observations from the Multi-Frequency Instrument (MFI) of the Q-U-I JOint TEnerife (QUIJOTE) experiment, at 11 and 13 GHz. We analyze the Haze in intensity and polarization, characterizing its spectrum. We detect an excess of diffuse intensity signal ascribed to the Haze. The spectrum at frequencies 11$\,\leq\nu\leq\,$70 GHz is a power-law with spectral index $\beta^{\rm H}=-2.79\pm0.08$, which is flatter than the Galactic synchrotron in the same region ($\beta^{\rm S}=-2.98\pm0.04$), but steeper than that obtained from previous works ($\beta^{\rm H}\sim-2.5$ at 23$\,\leq\,\nu\leq\,$70 GHz). We also observe an excess of polarized signal in the QUIJOTE-MFI maps in the Haze area. This is a first hint detection of polarized Haze, or a consequence of curvature of the synchrotron spectrum in that area. Finally, we show that the spectrum of polarized structures associated with Galactic centre activity is steep at low frequencies ($\beta \sim -3.2$ at 2.3 $\leq\nu\leq$ 23 GHz), and becomes flatter above 11 GHz., Comment: 31 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present new intensity and polarisation maps obtained with the QUIJOTE experiment towards the Galactic regions W49, W51 and IC443, covering the frequency range from 10 to 20 GHz at $\sim$ 1 deg angular resolution, with a sensitivity in the range 35-79 ${\mu}$K/beam for total intensity and 13-23 ${\mu}$K/beam for polarisation. For each region, we combine QUIJOTE maps with ancillary data at frequencies ranging from 0.4 to 3000 GHz, reconstruct the spectral energy distribution and model it with a combination of known foregrounds. We detect anomalous microwave emission (AME) in total intensity towards W49 at 4.7${\sigma}$ and W51 at 4.0${\sigma}$ with peak frequencies ${\nu}_{AME}$ = (20.0 $\pm$ 1.4) GHz and ${\nu}_{AME}$ = (17.7 $\pm$ 3.6) GHz respectively; this is the first detection of AME towards W51. The contamination from ultra-compact HII regions to the residual AME flux density is estimated at 10% in W49 and 5% in W51, and does not rule out the AME detection. The polarised SEDs reveal a synchrotron contribution with spectral indices ${\alpha}_s$ = -0.67 $\pm$ 0.10 in W49 and ${\alpha}_s$ = -0.51 $\pm$ 0.07 in W51, ascribed to the diffuse Galactic emission and to the local supernova remnant respectively. Towards IC443 in total intensity we measure a broken power-law synchrotron spectrum with cut-off frequency ${\nu}_{0,s}$ = (114 $\pm$ 73) GHz, in agreement with previous studies; our analysis, however, rules out any AME contribution which had been previously claimed towards IC443. No evidence of polarised AME emission is detected in this study., Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present QUIJOTE intensity and polarization maps in four frequency bands centred around 11, 13, 17 and 19GHz, and covering approximately 29000 deg$^2$, including most of the Northern sky region. These maps result from 9000 h of observations taken between May 2013 and June 2018 with the first QUIJOTE instrument (MFI), and have angular resolutions of around $1^\circ$, and sensitivities in polarization within the range 35-40 $\mu$K per 1-degree beam, being a factor $\sim 2$-$4$ worse in intensity. We discuss the data processing pipeline employed, and the basic characteristics of the maps in terms of real space statistics and angular power spectra. A number of validation tests have been applied to characterise the accuracy of the calibration and the residual level of systematic effects, finding a conservative overall calibration uncertainty of 5%. We also discuss flux densities for four bright celestial sources (Tau A, Cas A, Cyg A and 3C274) which are often used as calibrators at microwave frequencies. The polarization signal in our maps is dominated by synchrotron emission. The distribution of spectral index values between the 11GHz and WMAP 23GHz map peaks at $\beta=-3.09$ with a standard deviation of 0.14. The measured BB/EE ratio at scales of $\ell=80$ is $0.26\pm 0.07$ for a Galactic cut $|b|>10^\circ$. We find a positive TE correlation for 11GHz at large angular scales ($\ell \lesssim 50$), while the EB and TB signals are consistent with zero in the multipole range $30 \lesssim \ell \lesssim 150$. The maps discussed in this paper are publicly available., Comment: 60 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Maps and derived data products available at https://research.iac.es/proyecto/quijote/

We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2020bio, a double-peaked Type IIb supernova (SN) discovered within a day of explosion, primarily obtained by Las Cumbres Observatory and Swift. SN 2020bio displays a rapid and long-lasting initial decline throughout the first week of its light curve, similarly to other well-studied Type IIb SNe. This early-time emission is thought to originate from the cooling of the extended outer hydrogen-rich (H-rich) envelope of the progenitor star that is shock heated by the SN explosion. We compare SN 2020bio to a sample of other double-peaked Type IIb SNe in order to investigate its progenitor properties. Analytical model fits to the early-time emission give progenitor radius ($\approx$ 100--1500 $R_\odot$) and H-rich envelope mass ($\approx$ 0.01--0.5 $M_\odot$) estimates that are consistent with other Type IIb SNe. However, SN 2020bio displays several peculiarities, including: (1) weak H spectral features indicating a greater amount of mass loss than other Type IIb progenitors; (2) an underluminous secondary light-curve peak that implies a small amount of synthesized $^{56}$Ni ($M_{\text{Ni}}$ $\approx$ 0.02 $M_\odot$); and (3) low-luminosity nebular [O I] and interaction-powered nebular features. These observations are more consistent with a lower-mass progenitor ($M_{\text{ZAMS}} \approx$ 12 $M_\odot$) that was stripped of most of its H-rich envelope before exploding. This study adds to the growing diversity in the observed properties of Type IIb SNe and their progenitors., Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, published in ApJ

We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) observations of the Type Icn supernova (SN Icn) 2022ann, the fifth member of its newly identified class of SNe. Its early optical spectra are dominated by narrow carbon and oxygen P-Cygni features with absorption velocities of 800 km/s; slower than other SNe Icn and indicative of interaction with a dense, H/He-poor circumstellar medium (CSM) that is outflowing slower than a typical Wolf-Rayet wind velocity of $>$1000 km/s. We identify helium in NIR spectra obtained two weeks after maximum and in optical spectra at three weeks, demonstrating that the CSM is not fully devoid of helium. We never detect broad spectral features from SN ejecta, including in spectra extending to the nebular phase, a unique characteristic among SNe~Icn. Compared to other SNe Icn, SN 2022ann has a low luminosity, with a peak o-band absolute magnitude of -17.7, and evolves slowly. We model the bolometric light curve and find it is well-described by 1.7 M_Sun of SN ejecta interacting with 0.2 M_sun of CSM. We place an upper limit of 0.04 M_Sun of Ni56 synthesized in the explosion. The host galaxy is a dwarf galaxy with a stellar mass of 10^7.34 M_Sun (implied metallicity of log(Z/Z_Sun) $\approx$ 0.10) and integrated star-formation rate of log(SFR) = -2.20 M_sun/yr; both lower than 97\% of the galaxies observed to produce core-collapse supernovae, although consistent with star-forming galaxies on the galaxy Main Sequence. The low CSM velocity, nickel and ejecta masses, and likely low-metallicity environment disfavour a single Wolf-Rayet progenitor star. Instead, a binary companion star is likely required to adequately strip the progenitor before explosion and produce a low-velocity outflow. The low CSM velocity may be indicative of the outer Lagrangian points in the stellar binary progenitor, rather than from the escape velocity of a single Wolf-Rayet-like massive star., Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, to be submitted to MNRAS

The polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) can be used to search for parity-violating processes like that predicted by a Chern-Simons coupling to a light pseudoscalar field. Such an interaction rotates $E$ modes into $B$ modes in the observed CMB signal by an effect known as cosmic birefringence. Even though isotropic birefringence can be confused with the rotation produced by a miscalibration of the detectors' polarization angles the degeneracy between both effects is broken when Galactic foreground emission is used as a calibrator. In this work, we use realistic simulations of the High-Frequency Instrument of the Planck mission to test the impact that Galactic foreground emission and instrumental systematics have on the recent birefringence measurements obtained through this technique. Our results demonstrate the robustness of the methodology against the miscalibration of polarization angles and other systematic effects, like intensity-to-polarization leakage, beam leakage, or cross-polarization effects. However, our estimator is sensitive to the $EB$ correlation of polarized foreground emission. Here we propose to correct the bias induced by dust $EB$ by modeling the foreground signal with templates produced in Bayesian component-separation analyses that fit parametric models to CMB data. Acknowledging the limitations of currently available dust templates like that of the Commander sky model, high-precision CMB data and a characterization of dust beyond the modified blackbody paradigm are needed to obtain a definitive measurement of cosmic birefringence in the future., Comment: 36 pages, 19 figures, matches the version accepted for publication at JCAP

A new experimental area, the NEAR station, has recently been built at the CERN n TOF facility, at a short distance from the spallation target (1.5 m). The new area, characterized by a neutron beam of very high flux, has been designed with the purpose of performing activation measurements of interest for astrophysics and various applications. The beam is transported from the spallation target to the NEAR station through a hole in the shielding wall of the target, inside which a collimator is inserted. The new area is complemented with a {\gamma}-ray spectroscopy laboratory, the GEAR station, equipped with a high efficiency HPGe detector, for the measurement of the activity resulting from irradiation of a sample in the NEAR station. The use of a moderator/filter assembly is envisaged, in order to produce a neutron beam of Maxwellian shape at different thermal energies, necessary for the measurement of Maxwellian Averaged Cross Sections of astrophysical interest. A new fast-cycling activation technique is also being investigated, for measurements of reactions leading to isotopes of very short half life.

The goal of rank fusion in information retrieval (IR) is to deliver a single output list from multiple search results. Improving performance by combining the outputs of various IR systems is a challenging task. A central point is the fact that many non-obvious factors are involved in the estimation of relevance, inducing nonlinear interrelations between the data. The ability to model complex dependency relationships between random variables has become increasingly popular in the realm of information retrieval, and the need to further explore these dependencies for data fusion has been recently acknowledged. Copulas provide a framework to separate the dependence structure from the margins. Inspired by the theory of copulas, we propose a new unsupervised, dynamic, nonlinear, rank fusion method, based on a nested composition of non-algebraic function pairs. The dependence structure of the model is tailored by leveraging query-document correlations on a per-query basis. We experimented with three topic sets over CLEF corpora fusing 3 and 6 retrieval systems, comparing our method against the CombMNZ technique and other nonlinear unsupervised strategies. The experiments show that our fusion approach improves performance under explicit conditions, providing insight about the circumstances under which linear fusion techniques have comparable performance to nonlinear methods., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures

The idea that discourse relations are construed through explicit content and shared, or implicit, knowledge between producer and interpreter is ubiquitous in discourse research and linguistics. However, the actual contribution of the lexical semantics of arguments is unclear. We propose a computational approach to the analysis of contrast and concession relations in the PDTB corpus. Our work sheds light on the extent to which lexical semantics contributes to signaling explicit and implicit discourse relations and clarifies the contribution of different parts of speech in both. This study contributes to bridging the gap between corpus linguistics and computational linguistics by proposing transparent and explainable models of discourse relations based on the synonymy and antonymy of their arguments., Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures

We present photometric and spectroscopic data on three extragalactic luminous red novae (LRNe): AT2018bwo, AT2021afy, and AT2021blu. AT2018bwo was discovered in NGC45 (at 6.8 Mpc) a few weeks after the outburst onset. During the monitoring period, the transient reached a peak luminosity of 10^40 erg/s. AT2021afy, hosted by UGC10043 (49.2 Mpc), showed a double-peaked light curve, with the two peaks reaching a similar luminosity of 2.1(+-0.6)x10^41 erg/s. For AT2021blu in UGC5829, (8.6 Mpc), the pre-outburst phase was well-monitored by several photometric surveys, and the object showed a slow luminosity rise before the outburst. The light curve of AT2021blu was sampled with an unprecedented cadence until the object disappeared behind the Sun, and it was then recovered at late phases. The light curve of AT2021blu shows a double peak, with a prominent early maximum reaching a luminosity of 6.5x10^40 erg/s, which is half of that of AT2021afy. The spectra of AT2021afy and AT2021blu display the expected evolution for LRNe: a blue continuum dominated by prominent Balmer lines in emission during the first peak, and a redder continuum consistent with that of a K-type star with narrow absorption metal lines during the second, broad maximum. The spectra of AT2018bwo are markedly different, with a very red continuum dominated by broad molecular features in absorption. As these spectra closely resemble those of LRNe after the second peak, AT2018bwo was probably discovered at the very late evolutionary stages. This would explain its fast evolution and the spectral properties compatible with that of an M-type star. From the analysis of deep frames of the LRN sites years before the outburst, and considerations of the light curves, the quiescent progenitor systems of the three LRNe were likely massive, with primaries ranging from 13Mo for AT2018bwo, to 13-18Mo for AT2021blu, and over 40Mo for AT2021afy., Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures, 7 tables (plus 3 available at the CDS). Accepted for publication in A&A

This article presents a few selected developments and future ideas related to the measurement of $(n,\gamma)$ data of astrophysical interest at CERN n_TOF. The MC-aided analysis methodology for the use of low-efficiency radiation detectors in time-of-flight neutron-capture measurements is discussed, with particular emphasis on the systematic accuracy. Several recent instrumental advances are also presented, such as the development of total-energy detectors with $\gamma$-ray imaging capability for background suppression, and the development of an array of small-volume organic scintillators aimed at exploiting the high instantaneous neutron-flux of EAR2. Finally, astrophysics prospects related to the intermediate $i$ neutron-capture process of nucleosynthesis are discussed in the context of the new NEAR activation area., Comment: preprint submitted to the European Physical Journal A, 11 pages, 4 figures

We present an observational study of the luminous red nova (LRN) AT\,2021biy in the nearby galaxy NGC\,4631. The field of the object was routinely imaged during the pre-eruptive stage by synoptic surveys, but the transient was detected only at a few epochs from $\sim 231$\,days before maximum brightness. The LRN outburst was monitored with unprecedented cadence both photometrically and spectroscopically. AT\,2021biy shows a short-duration blue peak, with a bolometric luminosity of $\sim 1.6 \times 10^{41}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, followed by the longest plateau among LRNe to date, with a duration of 210\,days. A late-time hump in the light curve was also observed, possibly produced by a shell-shell collision. AT\,2021biy exhibits the typical spectral evolution of LRNe. Early-time spectra are characterised by a blue continuum and prominent H emission lines. Then, the continuum becomes redder, resembling that of a K-type star with a forest of metal absorption lines during the plateau phase. Finally, late-time spectra show a very red continuum ($T_{\mathrm{BB}} \approx 2050$ K) with molecular features (e.g., TiO) resembling those of M-type stars. Spectropolarimetric analysis indicates that AT\,2021biy has local dust properties similar to those of V838\,Mon in the Milky Way Galaxy. Inspection of archival {\it Hubble Space Telescope} data taken on 2003 August 3 reveals a $\sim 20$\,\msun\ progenitor candidate with log\,$(L/{\rm L}_{\odot}) = 5.0$\,dex and $T_{\rm{eff}} = 5900$\,K at solar metallicity. The above luminosity and colour match those of a luminous yellow supergiant. Most likely, this source is a close binary, with a 17--24\,\msun\ primary component., Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures. Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics

We present a sample of Type Icn supernovae (SNe Icn), a newly-discovered class of transients characterized by their interaction with H- and He-poor circumstellar material (CSM). This sample is the largest collection of SNe Icn to date and includes observations of two published objects (SN 2019hgp and SN 2021csp) as well as two objects (SN 2019jc and SN 2021ckj) not yet published in the literature. The SNe Icn display a range of peak luminosities, rise times, and decline rates, as well as diverse late-time spectral features. To investigate their explosion and progenitor properties we fit their bolometric light curves to a semi-analytical model consisting of luminosity inputs from circumstellar interaction and radioactive decay of $^{56}$Ni. We infer low ejecta masses ($\lesssim$ 2 M$_\odot$) and $^{56}$Ni masses ($\lesssim$ 0.04 M$_\odot$) from the light curves, suggesting that normal stripped-envelope supernova (SESN) explosions within a dense CSM cannot be the underlying mechanism powering SNe Icn. Additionally, we find that an upper limit on the star formation rate density at the location of SN 2019jc lies at the lower end of a distribution of SESNe, in conflict with a massive star progenitor of this object. Based on the estimated ejecta masses, $^{56}$Ni masses, and explosion site properties, we favor a low-mass, ultra-stripped star as the progenitor of some SNe Icn. For others, we suggest that a Wolf-Rayet star progenitor may better explain their observed properties. This study demonstrates that multiple progenitor channels may produce SNe Icn and other interaction-powered transients., Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, published in ApJ

The purpose of this work is to characterize the diffuse Galactic polarized synchrotron. We present EE, BB, and EB power spectra estimated cross-correlating Planck and WMAP polarization frequency maps at 23 and 30 GHz, for a set of six sky regions covering from 30% to 94% of the sky. The EE and BB angular power spectra show a steep decay of the spectral amplitude as a function of multipole, approximated by a power law with power indices around -2.9 for both components. The B/E ratio is about 0.22. The EB cross-component is compatible with zero at 1$\sigma$, with upper constraint on the EB/EE ratio of 1.2% at the 2$\sigma$ level. The recovered SED, in the frequency range 23-30 GHz, shows E and B power-law spectral indices compatible between themselves with a value of about -3., Comment: Contribution to the 2022 Cosmology session of the 56th Rencontres de Moriond

We search for the signature of parity-violating physics in the Cosmic Microwave Background using Planck polarization data from the Public Release 4 (PR4 or $\mathtt{NPIPE}$). For nearly full-sky data, we initially find a birefringence angle $\beta=0.30^\circ\pm0.11^\circ$ ($68\%$~C.L.). We also find that the values of $\beta$ decrease as we enlarge the Galactic mask, which can be interpreted as the effect of polarized foreground emission. We use two independent approaches to model this effect and mitigate its impact on $\beta$. Although results are promising, and the good agreement between both models is encouraging, we do not assign cosmological significance to the measured value of $\beta$ until we improve our knowledge of the foreground polarization. Acknowledging that the miscalibration of polarization angles is not the only instrumental systematic that can create spurious TB and EB correlations, we also perform a detailed study of $\mathtt{NPIPE}$ end-to-end simulations to prove that our measurements of $\beta$ are not significantly affected by any of the known systematics., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, contribution to the 2022 Cosmology session of the 56th Rencontres de Moriond

Photometric and spectroscopic data for two Low Luminosity Type IIP Supernovae (LL SNe IIP) are presented. SN 2020cxd reaches a peak absolute magnitude $M_{r}$ = -13.90 $\pm$ 0.05 mag two days after explosion, subsequently settling on a plateau for $\sim$120 days. Through the luminosity of the late light curve tail, we infer a synthesized $^{56}$Ni mass of (1.8$\pm$0.5) $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ M$_{\odot}$. During the early evolutionary phases, optical spectra show a blue continuum ($T$ $>$ 8000 K) with broad Balmer lines displaying a P Cygni profile, while at later phases Ca II, Fe II, Sc II and Ba II lines dominate the spectra. Hydrodynamical modelling of the observables yields $R$ $\simeq$ 575 $R_{\odot}$ for the progenitor star, with $M_{ej}$ = 7.5 M$_{\odot}$ and $E$ $\simeq$ 0.097 foe emitted during the explosion. This low-energy event originating from a low-mass progenitor star is compatible with both the explosion of a red supergiant (RSG) star and with an Electron Capture Supernova arising from a super asymptotic giant branch star. SN 2021aai reaches a maximum luminosity of $M_{r}$ = -16.4 mag (correcting for $A_{V}$=1.9 mag), and displays a remarkably long plateau ($\sim$140 days). The estimated $^{56}$Ni mass is (1.4$\pm$0.5) $\times$ 10$^{-2}$ M$_{\odot}$. The expansion velocities are compatible with those of other LL SNe IIP (few 10$^{3}$ km s$^{-1}$). The physical parameters obtained through hydrodynamical modelling are $R$ $\simeq$ 575 R$_{\odot}$, $M_{ej}$ = 15.5 M$_{\odot}$ and $E$ = 0.4 foe. SN 2021aai is therefore interpreted as the explosion of a RSG, with properties that bridge the class of LL SNe IIP with standard SN IIP events., Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, submitted to MNRAS

LiteBIRD, the Lite (Light) satellite for the study of B-mode polarization and Inflation from cosmic background Radiation Detection, is a space mission for primordial cosmology and fundamental physics. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) selected LiteBIRD in May 2019 as a strategic large-class (L-class) mission, with an expected launch in the late 2020s using JAXA's H3 rocket. LiteBIRD is planned to orbit the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L2, where it will map the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization over the entire sky for three years, with three telescopes in 15 frequency bands between 34 and 448 GHz, to achieve an unprecedented total sensitivity of 2.2$\mu$K-arcmin, with a typical angular resolution of 0.5$^\circ$ at 100 GHz. The primary scientific objective of LiteBIRD is to search for the signal from cosmic inflation, either making a discovery or ruling out well-motivated inflationary models. The measurements of LiteBIRD will also provide us with insight into the quantum nature of gravity and other new physics beyond the standard models of particle physics and cosmology. We provide an overview of the LiteBIRD project, including scientific objectives, mission and system requirements, operation concept, spacecraft and payload module design, expected scientific outcomes, potential design extensions and synergies with other projects., Comment: 155 pages, accepted for publication in PTEP

Holonomic quantum computation makes use of non-abelian geometric phases, associated to the evolution of a subspace of quantum states, to encode logical gates. We identify a special class of subspaces, for which a sequence of rotations results in a non-abelian holonomy of a topological nature, so that it is invariant under any $SO(3)$-perturbation. Making use of a Majorana-like stellar representation for subspaces, we give explicit examples of topological-holonomic (or toponomic) NOT and CNOT gates., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures