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We investigate black hole-star binaries formed in $N$-body simulations of massive, dense star clusters. We simulate 32 clusters with varying initial masses ($10^{4}~\rm M_{\odot}$ to $10^{6}~\rm M_{\odot}$), densities ($1200~\rm M_{\odot}~pc^{-3}$ to $10^{5}~\rm M_{\odot}~pc^{-3}$), and metallicities $(Z = 0.01,~0.001,~0.0001)$. Our results reveal that star clusters produce a diverse range of BH-star binaries, with dynamical interactions leading to extreme systems characterised by large orbital separations and high black hole masses. Of the ejected BH-main sequence (BH-MS) binaries, $20\%$ form dynamically, while the rest originate from the primordial binary population initially present in the cluster. Ejected BH-MS binaries that are dynamically formed have more massive black holes, lower-mass stellar companions, and over half are in a hierarchical triple system. All unbound BH-giant star (BH-GS) binaries were ejected as BH-MS binaries and evolved into the BH-GS phase outside the cluster. Due to their lower-mass companions, most dynamically formed binaries do not evolve into BH-GS systems within a Hubble time. Consequently, only 2 of the 35 ejected BH-GS binaries are dynamically formed. We explore the formation pathways of Gaia-like systems, identifying two Gaia BH1-like binaries that formed through dynamical interactions, and two Gaia BH2-like systems with a primordial origin. We did not find any system resembling Gaia BH3, which may however be attributed to the limited sample size of our simulations.

Understanding binary black hole (BBH) dynamics in dense star clusters is key to interpreting the gravitational wave detections by LIGO and Virgo. Here, we perform $N$-body simulations of star clusters, focusing on BBH formation mechanisms, dynamical evolution and merging properties. We explore a wide parameter space of initial conditions, with cluster masses ranging from $10^{4}$ to $10^{6}~\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$, densities from $10^{3}$ to $10^{5}~\rm M_{\odot}pc^{-3}$, and up to $100\%$ of massive stars in binaries. We show that most BBH mergers originate from the primordial binary population rather than being dynamically assembled, and that the evolution towards merger for most of these binaries is not significantly altered by dynamical encounters. As a result, the overall number of BBH mergers from the $N$-body simulations is nearly identical to that obtained when the same stellar population is evolved in isolation. Contrary to theoretical expectations, nearly all dynamically formed BBH mergers occur when the binary is still bound to its host cluster, with $\simeq 90\%$ of all dynamical mergers occurring within the cluster core region. In about half of these mergers the binary is part of a stable black hole-triple system. In one model, stellar mergers lead to the formation of a $\simeq 200\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$ black hole, which then grows to $\simeq 300\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$ through black hole mergers. Our study highlights the importance of detailed $N$-body simulations in capturing the evolution of black hole populations in dense clusters and challenges conclusions based on semi-analytical and Monte Carlo methods.

We discuss a situation where a holographic CFT state has multiple semiclassical bulk duals. In our example, a given holographic state has two simple, semiclassical descriptions, one with a closed universe, constructed using the gravitational path integral, and one without a closed universe, constructed using the extrapolate dictionary. This highlights an ambiguity in the AdS/CFT dictionary. We propose various options for resolving this tension although none are perfectly satisfactory. We also discuss what this implies for the black hole interior and the gravitational path integral., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2025 Awards for Essays on Gravitation, typos fixed in v2

We investigate the effects of prior selection on the inferred mass and spin parameters of the neutron star-black hole merger GW230529\_181500. Specifically, we explore models motivated by astrophysical considerations, including massive binary and pulsar evolution. We examine mass and spin distributions of neutron stars constrained by radio pulsar observations, alongside black hole spin observations from previous gravitational wave detections. We show that the inferred mass distribution highly depends upon the spin prior. Specifically, under the most restrictive, binary stellar evolution models, we obtain narrower distributions of masses with a black hole mass of $4.1^{+0.2}_{-0.3} \,M_\odot$ and neutron star mass of $1.3^{+0.1}_{-0.1} \,M_\odot$ where, somewhat surprisingly, it is the prior on component spins which has the greatest impact on the inferred mass distributions. Re-weighting using neutron star mass and spin priors from observations of radio pulsars, with black hole spins from observations of gravitational waves, yields the black hole and the neutron star masses to be $3.8^{+0.5}_{-0.6} \,M_\odot$ and $1.4^{+0.2}_{-0.1} \,M_\odot$ respectively. The sequence of compact object formation -- whether the neutron star or the black hole formed first -- cannot be determined at the observed signal-to-noise ratio. However, there is no evidence that the black hole was tidally spun up., Comment: Submitted to MNRAS Letters

Stellar evolution theories predict a gap in the black hole birth mass spectrum as the result of pair instability processes in the cores of massive stars.This gap, however, is not seen in the binary black hole masses inferred from gravitational wave data. One explanation is that black holes form dynamically in dense star clusters where smaller black holes merge to form more massive black holes, populating the mass gap. We show that this model predicts a distribution of the effective and precessing spin parameters, $\chi_{\rm eff}$ and $\chi_{\rm p}$, within the mass gap that is insensitive to assumptions about black hole natal spins and other astrophysical parameters. We analyze the distribution of $\chi_{\rm eff}$ as a function of primary mass for the black hole binaries in the third gravitational wave transient catalog. We infer the presence of a high-mass and isotropically spinning population of black holes that is consistent with hierarchical formation in dense star clusters and a pair-instability mass gap with a lower edge at $44^{+6}_{-4} M_\odot$. We compute a Bayes factor $\mathcal{B}>10^4$ relative to models that do not allow for a high-mass population with a distinct $\chi_{\rm eff}$ distribution., Comment: Accepted by PRL

We propose a Bayesian inference framework to predict the merger history of LIGO-Virgo binary black holes, whose binary components may have undergone hierarchical mergers in the past. The framework relies on numerical relativity predictions for the mass, spin, and kick velocity of the remnant black holes. This proposed framework computes the masses, spins, and kicks imparted to the remnant of the parent binaries, given the initial masses and spin magnitudes of the binary constituents. We validate our approach by performing an "injection study" based on a constructed sequence of hierarchically-formed binaries. Noise is added to the final binary in the sequence, and the parameters of the 'parent' and 'grandparent' binaries in the merger chain are then reconstructed. This method is then applied to three GWTC-3 events: GW190521, GW200220_061928, GW190426_190642. These events were selected because at least one of the binary companions lies in the putative pair-instability supernova mass gap, in which stellar processes alone cannot produce black holes. Hierarchical mergers offer a natural explanation for the formation of black holes in the pair-instability mass-gap. We use the backward evolution framework to predict the parameters of the parents of the primary companion of these three binaries. Our results indicate that at least one component of these three observed binaries was formed through a prior binary black hole merger. This approach can be readily applied to future high-mass gravitational wave events to predict their formation history under the hierarchical merger assumption., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 1 table

The global sports analytics industry has a market value of USD 3.78 billion in 2023. The increase of wearables such as GPS sensors has provided analysts with large fine-grained datasets detailing player performance. Traditional analysis of this data focuses on individual athletes with measures of internal and external loading such as distance covered in speed zones or rate of perceived exertion. However these metrics do not provide enough information to understand team dynamics within field sports. The spatio-temporal nature of match play necessitates an investment in date-engineering to adequately transform the data into a suitable format to extract features such as areas of activity. In this paper we present an approach to construct Time-Window Spatial Activity Graphs (TWGs) for field sports. Using GPS data obtained from Gaelic Football matches we demonstrate how our approach can be utilised to extract spatio-temporal features from GPS sensor data

We construct 4D flat Big Bang-Big Crunch cosmologies and Anti-de Sitter (AdS) planar eternally traversable wormholes using braneworlds embedded in asymptotically AdS${}_5$ spacetimes. The background geometries are the AdS${}_5$ magnetic black brane and the magnetically charged AdS${}_5$ soliton, respectively. The two setups arise from different analytic continuations of the same saddle of the gravitational Euclidean path integral, in which the braneworld takes the form of a Maldacena-Maoz Euclidean wormhole. We show the existence of a holographic dual description of this setup in terms of a microscopic Euclidean boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) on a strip. By analyzing the BCFT Euclidean path integral, we show that the braneworld cosmology is encoded in a pure excited state of a CFT dual to a black brane microstate, whereas the braneworld wormhole is encoded in the ground state of the BCFT. The latter confines in the IR, and we study its confining properties using holography. We also comment on the properties of bulk reconstruction in the two Lorentzian pictures and their relationship via double analytic continuation. This work can be interpreted as an explicit, doubly-holographic realization of the relationship between cosmology, traversable wormholes, and confinement in holography, first proposed in arXiv:2102.05057, arXiv:2203.11220., Comment: 50 pages, 21 figures + appendices. v2: added references and minor edits

Dynamical interactions in star clusters are an efficient mechanism to produce the coalescing binary black holes (BBHs) that have been detected with gravitational waves (GWs). We want to understand how BBH coalescence can occur during - or after - binary-single interactions with different mass ratios. We perform gravitational scattering experiments of binary-single interactions using different mass ratios of the binary components ($q_2\equiv m_2/m_1\le1$) and the incoming single ($q_3\equiv m_3/m_1$). We extract cross sections and rates for (i) GW capture during resonant interactions; (ii) GW inspiral in between resonant interactions and apply the results to different globular cluster conditions. We find that GW capture during resonant interactions is most efficient if $q_2\simeq q_3$ and that the mass-ratio distribution of BBH coalescence due to inspirals is $\propto m_1^{-1}q^{2.9+\alpha}$, where $\alpha$ is the exponent of the BH mass function. The total rate of GW captures and inspirals depends mostly on $m_1$ and is relatively insensitive to $q_2$ and $q_3$. We show that eccentricity increase by non-resonant encounters approximately doubles the rate of BBH inspiral in between resonant encounters. For a given GC mass and radius, the BBH merger rate in metal-rich GCs is approximately double that of metal-poor GCs, because of their (on average) lower BH masses ($m_1$) and steeper BH mass function, yielding binaries with lower $q$. Our results enable the translating from the mass-ratio distribution of dynamically formed BBH mergers to the underlying BH mass function. The additional mechanism that leads to a doubling of the inspirals provides an explanation for the reported high fraction of in-cluster inspirals in $N$-body models of clusters., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures

The design and optimization of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) are key challenges for future wireless communication systems. RISs are devices that can manipulate electromagnetic (EM) waves in a programmable way, thus enhancing the performance and efficiency of wireless links. To achieve this goal, it is essential to have reliable EM models that can capture the behavior of RISs in different scenarios. This work demonstrates that the Partial Elements Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) method is a powerful tool for EM analysis of RIS-aided wireless links. It might also be integrated with optimization algorithms in order to optimize wireless communication networks.

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) modeling and optimization are a crucial steps in developing the next generation of wireless communications. To this aim, the availability of accurate electromagnetic (EM) models is of paramount important for the design of RIS-assisted communication links. In this work, we validate a widely-used analytical multiport network for RISs by means of a well-established full-wave numerical method based on the Partial Elements Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) approach. Numerical results show good agreement between the two methods, thus demonstrating i) the considered multiport network model being effective and ii) the PEEC method being appropriate for EM modeling of RIS-assisted wireless links.

As a result of evolution, many biological materials have developed irregular structures that lead to outstanding mechanical properties, like high stiffness-to-weight ratios and good energy absorption. To reproduce these properties in synthetic materials, biomimicry typically replicates the irregular natural structure, often leading to fabrication challenges. Here, we present a bioinspired material design method that instead reduces the irregular natural structure to a finite set of building blocks, also known as tiles, and rules to connect them, and then uses these elements as instructions to generate synthetic materials with mechanical properties similar to the biological materials. We demonstrate the method using the pericarp of the orange, a member of the citrus family known for its protective, energy-absorbing capabilities. We generate polymer samples and characterize them under quasi-static and dynamic compression and observe spatially-varying stiffness and good energy absorption, as seen in the biological materials. By quantifying which tiles and connectivity rules locally deform in response to loading, we determine how to spatially control the stiffness and energy absorption.

Posterior matching uses variable-length encoding of the message controlled by noiseless feedback of the received symbols to achieve high rates for short average blocklengths. Traditionally, the feedback of a received symbol occurs before the next symbol is transmitted. The transmitter optimizes the next symbol transmission with full knowledge of every past received symbol. To move posterior matching closer to practical communication, this paper seeks to constrain how often feedback can be sent back to the transmitter. We focus on reducing the frequency of the feedback while still maintaining the high rates that posterior matching achieves with feedback after every symbol. As it turns out, the frequency of the feedback can be reduced significantly with no noticeable reduction in rate.

A complete accounting of nearby objects -- from the highest-mass white dwarf progenitors down to low-mass brown dwarfs -- is now possible, thanks to an almost complete set of trigonometric parallax determinations from Gaia, ground-based surveys, and Spitzer follow-up. We create a census of objects within a Sun-centered sphere of 20-pc radius and check published literature to decompose each binary or higher-order system into its separate components. The result is a volume-limited census of $\sim$3,600 individual star formation products useful in measuring the initial mass function across the stellar ($<8 M_\odot$) and substellar ($\gtrsim 5 M_{Jup}$) regimes. Comparing our resulting initial mass function to previous measurements shows good agreement above 0.8$M_\odot$ and a divergence at lower masses. Our 20-pc space densities are best fit with a quadripartite power law, $\xi(M) = dN/dM \propto M^{-\alpha}$ with long-established values of $\alpha = 2.3$ at high masses ($0.55 < M < 8.00 M_\odot$) and $\alpha = 1.3$ at intermediate masses ($0.22 < M < 0.55 M_\odot$), but at lower masses we find $\alpha = 0.25$ for $0.05 < M <0.22 M_\odot$ and $\alpha = 0.6$ for $0.01 < M < 0.05 M_\odot$. This implies that the rate of production as a function of decreasing mass diminishes in the low-mass star/high-mass brown dwarf regime before increasing again in the low-mass brown dwarf regime. Correcting for completeness, we find a star to brown dwarf number ratio of, currently, 4:1, and an average mass per object of 0.41 $M_\odot$., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 123 pages with four ancillary files

The most massive black holes in our Universe form binaries at the centre of merging galaxies. The recent evidence for a gravitational-wave (GW) background from pulsar timing may constitute the first observation that these supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) merge. Yet, the most massive SMBHBs are out of reach of interferometric {GW} detectors and are exceedingly difficult to resolve individually with pulsar timing. These limitations call for unexplored strategies to detect individual SMBHBs in the uncharted frequency band $\lesssim10^{-5}\,\rm Hz$ in order to establish their abundance and decipher the coevolution with their host galaxies. Here we show that SMBHBs imprint detectable long-term modulations on GWs from stellar-mass binaries residing in the same galaxy. We determine that proposed deci-Hz GW interferometers sensitive to numerous stellar-mass binaries could uncover modulations from $\sim\mathscr{O}(10^{-1}$ - $10^4)$ SMBHBs with masses $\sim\mathscr{O}(10^7$ - $10^8)\,\rm M_\odot$ out to redshift $z\sim3.5$. This offers a unique opportunity to map the population of SMBHBs through cosmic time, which might remain inaccessible otherwise., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures. Nature Astronomy (2024)

We provide a novel approach to approximate bounded Lipschitz domains via a sequence of smooth, bounded domains. The flexibility of our method allows either inner or outer approximations of Lipschitz domains which also possess weakly defined curvatures, namely, domains whose boundary can be locally described as the graph of a function belonging to the Sobolev space $W^{2,q}$ for some $q\geq 1$. The sequences of approximating sets is also characterized by uniform isocapacitary estimates with respect to the initial domain $\Omega$.

As evidenced by recent survey results, majority of asteroids are slow rotators (P>12 h), but lack spin and shape models due to selection bias. This bias is skewing our overall understanding of the spins, shapes, and sizes of asteroids, as well as of their other properties. Also, diameter determinations for large (>60km) and medium-sized asteroids (between 30 and 60 km) often vary by over 30% for multiple reasons. Our long-term project is focused on a few tens of slow rotators with periods of up to 60 hours. We aim to obtain their full light curves and reconstruct their spins and shapes. We also precisely scale the models, typically with an accuracy of a few percent. We used wide sets of dense light curves for spin and shape reconstructions via light-curve inversion. Precisely scaling them with thermal data was not possible here because of poor infrared data: large bodies are too bright for WISE mission. Therefore, we recently launched a campaign among stellar occultation observers, to scale these models and to verify the shape solutions, often allowing us to break the mirror pole ambiguity. The presented scheme resulted in shape models for 16 slow rotators, most of them for the first time. Fitting them to stellar occultations resolved previous inconsistencies in size determinations. For around half of the targets, this fitting also allowed us to identify a clearly preferred pole solution, thus removing the ambiguity inherent to light-curve inversion. We also address the influence of the uncertainty of the shape models on the derived diameters. Overall, our project has already provided reliable models for around 50 slow rotators. Such well-determined and scaled asteroid shapes will, e.g. constitute a solid basis for density determinations when coupled with mass information. Spin and shape models continue to fill the gaps caused by various biases., Comment: Accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysics. 12 pages + appendices

Dense stellar clusters are expected to house the ideal conditions for binary black hole (BBH) formation, both through binary stellar evolution and through dynamical encounters. We use theoretical arguments as well as $N$-body simulations to make predictions for the evolution of BBHs formed through stellar evolution inside clusters from the cluster birth (which we term $\textbf{primordial binaries}$), and for the sub-population of merging BBHs. We identify three key populations: (i) BBHs that form in the cluster, and merge before experiencing any $\textit{strong}$ dynamical interaction; (ii) binaries that are ejected from the cluster after only one dynamical interaction; and, (iii) BBHs that experience more than one strong interaction inside the cluster. We find that populations (i) and (ii) are the dominant source of all BBH mergers formed in clusters with escape velocity $v_{\mathrm{esc}}\leq 30$ $\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$. At higher escape velocities, dynamics are predicted to play a major role both for the formation and subsequent evolution of BBHs. Finally, we argue that for sub-Solar metallicity clusters with $v_{\mathrm{esc}}\lesssim100$ $\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$, the dominant form of interaction experienced by primordial BBHs (BBHs formed from primordial binaries) within the cluster is with other BBHs. The complexity of these binary-binary interactions will complicate the future evolution of the BBH and influence the total number of mergers produced., Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures. Accepted by MNRAS

DNA exhibits remarkable potential as a data storage solution due to its impressive storage density and long-term stability, stemming from its inherent biomolecular structure. However, developing this novel medium comes with its own set of challenges, particularly in addressing errors arising from storage and biological manipulations. These challenges are further conditioned by the structural constraints of DNA sequences and cost considerations. In response to these limitations, we have pioneered a novel compression scheme and a cutting-edge Multiple Description Coding (MDC) technique utilizing neural networks for DNA data storage. Our MDC method introduces an innovative approach to encoding data into DNA, specifically designed to withstand errors effectively. Notably, our new compression scheme overperforms classic image compression methods for DNA-data storage. Furthermore, our approach exhibits superiority over conventional MDC methods reliant on auto-encoders. Its distinctive strengths lie in its ability to bypass the need for extensive model training and its enhanced adaptability for fine-tuning redundancy levels. Experimental results demonstrate that our solution competes favorably with the latest DNA data storage methods in the field, offering superior compression rates and robust noise resilience., Comment: Xavier Pic and Trung Hieu Le are both equal contributors and primary authors

We investigate the formation of intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) through hierarchical mergers of stellar origin black holes (BHs), as well as BH mergers formed dynamically in nuclear star clusters. Using a semi-analytical approach which incorporates probabilistic mass-function-dependent double BH (DBH) pairing, binary-single encounters, and a mass-ratio-dependent prescription for energy dissipation in hardening binaries, we find that IMBHs with masses of $O(10^2)$-$O(10^4)\rm M_\odot$ can be formed solely through hierarchical mergers in timescales of a few $100$ Myrs to a few Gyrs. Clusters with escape velocities $\gtrsim400$ km s$^{-1}$ inevitably form high-mass IMBHs. The spin distribution of IMBHs with masses $\gtrsim 10^3$ M$_\odot$ is strongly clustered at $\chi\sim 0.15$; while for lower masses, it peaks at $\chi\sim 0.7$. Eccentric mergers are more frequent for equal-mass binaries containing first-and/or second-generation BHs. Metal-rich, young, dense clusters can produce up to $20\%$ of their DBH mergers with eccentricity $\geq0.1$ at $10\,\rm Hz$, and $\sim2$-$9\%$ of all in-cluster mergers can form at $>10$ Hz. Nuclear star clusters are therefore promising environments for the formation of highly-eccentric DBH mergers, detectable with current gravitational-wave detectors. Clusters of extreme mass ($\sim10^8$ M$_\odot$) and density ($\sim10^8$ M$_\odot$pc$^{-3}$) can have about half of all of their DBH mergers with primary masses $\geq100$ M$_\odot$. The fraction of in-cluster mergers increases rapidly with increasing cluster escape velocity, being nearly unity for $v_{\rm esc}\gtrsim 200$ km s$^{-1}$. Cosmological merger rate of DBHs from nuclear clusters varies $\lessapprox0.01-1$ Gpc$^{-3}$yr$^{-1}$., Comment: submitted to MNRAS

We address some regularity issues for mixed local-nonlocal quasilinear operators modeled upon the sum of a $p$-Laplacian and of a fractional $(s, q)$-Laplacian. Under suitable assumptions on the right-hand sides and the outer data, we show that weak solutions of the Dirichlet problem are $C^{1, \theta}$-regular up to the boundary. In addition, we establish a Hopf type lemma for positive supersolutions. Both results hold assuming the boundary of the reference domain to be merely of class $C^{1, \alpha}$, while for the regularity result we also require that $p > s q$.